Super snub

Have you seen this ad yet?



Well, NBC would rather if you didn't: NBC Rejects Pro-Life Super Bowl Ad Educating Viewers on Obama and Abortion

Why do you think NBC would censor the ad? Is it obscene? Certainly not. Offensive? No way. Profane? Not in the least. So what's the problem?

Oh, yeah. It's... Effective.

MCCL March For Life 2009

We were very lucky to have a sunny, warm (for January) day for today's march at the Minnesota State Capitol. Attendance was great -- estimated at four to five thousand!

I approached the Capitol right at noon, and followed the herd toward the steps:



By 12:30, the crowd had assembled on the steps (with many more on the grounds behind the Capitol steps),...



...and the program was begun. I managed to get an audio recording of the program. To listen to the whole thing, use this link:

Audio of entire program (43:04, 4.9 MB)

Audio links of specific program segments are also provided below.

The program began with the singing of Amazing Grace, followed by an introduction by MCCL President Leo Lalande.



Audio of introduction (6:06, 761 kB)

Then, the opening prayer was given by Pastor Rob Wassenaar of Grace Church in Eden Prairie.



Audio of prayer (2:09, 254 kB)

Next, one of the featured speakers was Governor Tim Pawlenty.



Audio of Gov. Tim Pawlenty (4:37, 544 kB)

Following the Governor, MCCL officer Jordan Bauer gave an energetic speech.



Audio of Jordan Bauer (6:13, 730 kB)

The next featured speaker was Lt. Governor Carol Molnau.



Audio of Carol Molnau (1:55, 226 kB)

The speaker who generated the most applause was (former, and hopefully soon again) Senator Norm Coleman.



Audio of Sen. Norm Coleman (6:27, 758 kB)

Then, some statements were read from US Congressmen who could not be in attendance, and the pro-life Minnesota state legislators in attendance were recognized.



Audio of recognition of pro-life legislators (5:58, 702 kB)

The program closed with the playing of taps, the singing of God Bless America (I regret that I don't recall the singer's name, but she was very good.), and some final remarks by Leo Lalande.



Audio of program close (3:01, 356 kB)

This was my first time attending the March for Life, and I'm definitely glad I went. The size of the crowd was encouraging, and I was particularly glad to see the great number of young people in attendance. That bodes well for our movement in the years to come.

Following the MCCL program in the Capitol rotunda was a program by Silent No More Minnesota, during which a number of women shared their testimonies of the damage abortions had done to their lives and of how they now have come to terms with the grief and can share their stories to promote the pro-life cause.

These are remarkably courageous women, and their testimonies were quite moving.



I have audio from that program as well, so look for that in a separate post soon...

Don't be this guy

For those on both sides of the life debate, today, January 22, the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, is an emotional one. As we speak out, march, write our representatives, or whatever, it is important that our expressions be respectful and peaceful.

Although 99.9% of us behave ourselves when expressing our views, it's people like this that news organizations will focus on.

ST. PAUL (AP) - A driver rammed his SUV into the front door of an abortion clinic here on Thursday, the anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision, police said. No one was injured.

A 32-year-old man was arrested and taken to Ramsey County jail on suspicion of aggravated assault, said police spokesman Peter Panos.

The building was struck at 7:30 a.m. The clinic's front door and surrounding stonework suffered minor damage.

Watch the local news tonight, and see who gets more coverage -- the 4000+ who peacefully attended the March for Life today in St. Paul, or this guy?

Acts like this do not help our cause.

Reminder

Tomorrow is MCCL's March for Life at the Capitol in St. Paul at noon.

From MCCL's website:

More details about the march

A printable flier for the March of Life

See you there!

See the whole person

Although others at the Corner are objecting to the analogy, I think it's quite apt and well-stated by Mike Potemra

Yes, it's true that the new president is a 100 percent partisan of "abortion rights"—and that will indeed have very bad short-term consequences for the effort to protect unborn human beings. But it's also true that we are installing as commander-in-chief a man whose skin color would once have left him, too, defined as "less than human" by American law. A black person can be president because there cannot, in reality, be something that is only "three-fifths" human. This, I think, is why young people are the demographic group most disposed to be pro-life: They are the ones most likely to be able to see past the prejudiced orthodoxies of the past, and see in an unborn girl or boy what is really there—one of us, marvelously made.

Barack Obama thus represents both the future and the past. In showing that America can get over anti-black bigotry, he represents our future. In resisting the idea that the unborn deserve protection, he is very much stuck in the past. I learned only very recently that it was the late and already much missed Rev. Richard John Neuhaus who suggested to George W. Bush the language that the not-yet-born should be "welcomed in life and protected by law." That, I think and pray, is our future. It's the deepest promise of our country.

Not a good start

President Obama hasn't even been sworn in yet, and we're already seeing the first assault on the Pro-Life cause by his administration.

Obama Officials Confirm He Will Fund Foreign Abortions Starting Wednesday

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Officials with the incoming administration of Barack Obama have confirmed that he will indeed overturn a pro-life policy of President Bush on his first day in office. Despite campaigning on the rhetoric of wanting to reduce abortions, Obama will make one of his first actions promoting them globally....

"One effect of Obama's anticipated order will be to divert many millions of dollars away from groups that do not promote abortion, and into the hands of those organizations that are most militant in promoting abortion as a population-control method," [Douglas] Johnson, [the legislative director of National Right to Life,] explained.

(Thanks to littlebytesnews)

Noble Cause

The folks at Personhood have a goal to memorialize each of the 50,000,000+ lives lost from abortion since Roe v. Wade (HT FamilyCoalition).

Since 1973... 50 million children have died as a result of legalized abortion in the United States. There is no visible monument to their passing. No pictures of death and destruction to prick our consciences and bring these dark deeds into the light. There is no enduring reminder that they were our hope and our future. They are voiceless, faceless and anonymous thereby leaving no lasting impression upon our generation. Unlike Hurricane Katrina, there is little residual evidence that we have suffered a tragedy of biblical proportion.

During the Jewish Holocaust, Nazi Germany, assigned numbers to each new death camp arrival. This de-humanizing mark was tattooed on their bodies in indelible ink to remind them that they were less than human. Sadly, the victims of our modern day holocaust, lack even this act of de-personalization. They have been labeled "non-persons" under our law and are deposited in our landfills as "medical" waste. We have launched this website as a respectful attempt to memorialize their loss by giving EACH a name and acknowledging their time among us.

The loss of 50 million people is hard to imagine. The Vietnam War Memorial Wall is ten feet high and 500 foot long and contains 58,000+ names. Comparatively, a similar wall depicting all 50 million names would extend to over 81 miles in length. An entire generation is gone and we never knew them. It would seem a small thing that we acknowledge their passing and clothe them in death with human dignity by assigning each a name. Certainly... we can do no less.

Fifty million. That's a big number. That's the number of lives lost in the attacks of September 11, 2001 -- times 17,000.

Thanks, Bernie!

Layoffs at Planned Parenthood are being blamed in part by losses incurred from the Bernie Madoff scandal.

There is at least some justice in the world...

Chuck Norris on FOCA

Chuck Norris has a nicely-written article at World Net Daily speaking out against the forthcoming FOCA legislation (HT
40DaysForLifeMadison). Closing graphs:

Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1809: "The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only legitimate object of good government." He was not, of course, writing about the America of today, with state-sanctioned and even subsidized abortion, and a movement to promote the killing of the elderly through euthanasia. But he could have been. And his belief in what should be "the first and only legitimate object of government" should still stand – and that includes for the president of the United States of America. But if he and his administration won't protect the rights of the living (even in the womb), then who will? A left-leaning Congress?

All of our elected officials should uphold that preeminent objective of government and strive to get us back to the view of humanity that emphasizes the immortal worth of every human being. Without that, we can never believe that all people (including those in the womb) are created equal, that they have inherent, unalienable rights, and that the protection of those rights is "the first and only legitimate object of good government."

And, if our politicians won't protect unborn human life, then we must. With Sanctity of Life Sunday on Jan. 18, and Obama being inaugurated on Jan. 20, the annual March for Life pro-life rally in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 22 (the very anniversary of Roe v. Wade), and FOCA looming on the legislative precipice of Congress and the White House, now is the time to march and take action again to defend the unborn. (That's why I devoted an entire chapter to "Reclaim the value of human life" in my new cultural manifesto, "Black Belt Patriotism," and why my wife, Gena, passionately entreated for the unborn in our most recent interview now online.)

Please, before FOCA flies onto the congressional floor in the upcoming days, sign the online petition to fight FOCA and then contact your representatives and senators to tell them how you expect them to vote on the bill. You can write them online by simply entering your zip code here.

Keep fighting

Thanks to United Families International for passing along an uplifting story of a UK family who ignored their doctor's advice to abort their baby and now are proud parents of a healthy son.

Scans showed a life-threatening heart condition and also the possibility of a rare genetic disease – Edwards Syndrome.

Gaynor and Lee Purdy were urged to consider an abortion after each scan but are glad they never went through with the abortion.

Baby Kai is now ten months old and weighs just 14lb but his parents say he is happy and healthy.

Mrs Purdy said: "Little Kai is perfect."

She continued: "We refused to give up on him and decided throughout the pregnancy that as long as he was fighting, we would continue fighting with him...."

Thank you for sticking up for your little fighter!

2008 Hall of Shame

Hat tip to Michelle Malkin for pointing to this post by the American Life League:

Red Faced and Red Handed: Top Ten Pro-Abortion Moments of 2008

All the truly pathetic hits are there, from "above my pay grade," to "her primary qualification seems to be that she hasn’t had an abortion." Good stuff.

Here's hoping to restore some sanity in 2009.

Bailout for the abortion industry?

David Freddoso of National Review Online reports on the wish list for incoming President Obama by the pro-abortion lobby.

On the way out the door, President Bush has delivered a bailout of the domestic automotive industry, which under its current business practices could not possibly survive in a free market. President Obama, on the other hand, may see as his first task a bailout of the abortion industry.

Among the many left-wing interests that have submitted wish lists to the Obama transition team is a conglomeration of 50 abortion-advocacy groups, all of whom want the U.S. taxpayer to stand and deliver. When their 55-page report to Obama calls for an end to "ideologically driven government restrictions," it really means that the government should be paying more of the bills for groups that advocate and perform abortions....

The report is audacious in the scope of its demands, most of which would mean more money for the groups that authored it. In all, it calls for $1.5 billion for groups that engage in abortion advocacy and perform abortions. Among its demands is an expansion of funding for Title X health clinics, from $300 million to $700 million, and greater freedom in how that money is spent. Of the 4,400 such clinics in America, about 450 are run by Planned Parenthood, whose domestic and international arms are listed as co-authors of the report.

The report also calls for an increase in international "family planning" funds from $461 million to $1 billion, much of which would go to the groups that authored the report and their affiliates. And it calls for an end to the ban on using this money for abortion. The report requests $65 million for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), whose officials were discovered in 2000 to be assisting Chinese officials in enforcing that country’s coercive population-control program....

Another goal of the 50 abortion groups is to expand direct federal funding for abortions by repealing various laws that protect taxpayers from paying for them. This is particularly interesting to read, considering the popular opposition to taxpayer funding of abortions. Currently, appropriations amendments prevent Medicaid or Medicare funding for abortions in most cases (the Hyde amendment) and prevent the Department of Defense from paying to facilitate abortions on military bases in foreign countries. The report calls for these provisions to be repealed. Importantly, the report also calls for abortion to be covered under any national health-care plan produced by the Obama administration....

What do you think? Is this how you want your tax dollars to be spent? If not, please let your elected officials know how you feel.

Stop the hypocrisy

Chad the Elder of Fraters Libertas, summarizes nicely the problem of the Catholic church's choice to provide cover for Pro-Choice politicians instead of standing firm in its principles.

We often hear about the Catholic Church's culpability--usually grossly overstated--in the Crusades, the Inquisition, and the sexual abuse scandals of recent years (among others). Rarely do we hear anyone talk about the responsibility that the Catholic Church in America, through what its leaders have done or more often failed to do, bears for allowing and in some cases even aiding and abetting Catholic politicians in developing this "cover" that has resulted in millions of abortions being performed over the last thirty-five years.

The role of Catholic priests, bishops, theologians, and other leaders should not be to help Catholics justify supporting something that the Church has deemed inherently wrong. The participation of so many leaders of the Church in this deceitful blurring of what should be a clear moral line is a shameful stain on what should be the Church's strong and unequivocal record on supporting life.

Of course, I completely agree that this "should be a clear moral line." Recently, I took a stand against the church I attend by declining an invitation for formal membership because of the greater United Methodist Church's policy proclamation supporting the right to abortion. I agonized over that decision, but it is important to speak up whenever the line between right and wrong is being blurred.

Time to roll up the sleeves

Happy New Year to all!

As 2009 begins, we now stand with only two weeks left until the Barack Obama presidency commences. President Obama will have essentially a free pass to set the policy direction for our country with the aid of Democrat majorities in both houses of Congress, Left-leaning courts, and a complicit media.

It is time to brace ourselves for a full-on four-year-long (at least) assault to the Pro-Life cause. There will be little opportunity to advance our agenda legislatively in the near future, so our best course of action is to focus on spreading awareness of atrocities as they occur, celebrating successes where we can find them, and working to change hearts and minds by education about the horrors of abortion.

To that end, a great way to get started in this new year is to participate in MCCL's March for Life at the Capitol in St. Paul on January 22, the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision.

From MCCL's website:

More details about the march

A printable flier for the March of Life

See you there!