News and commentary (News & Commentary)

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The video politicians who support legal abortion don’t want you – or anyone else – to see! Fr. Frank Pavone Priests for Life/Gospel of Life Ministries - In truth, they fear this video more than anything because it shows the inhumane cruelty and barbarity of the abortion procedure. It puts the spotlight of the abortion “debate” right where it needs to be ... on what abortion does to the child in the womb! After all, if we’re going to debate abortion in this country, let’s make sure everyone knows exactly what we’re talking about. Sadly, the word abortion has lost its meaning. That’s why politicians can get away with making themselves sound appealing to voters when they say they support the legality of abortion ... or of a woman’s so-called “right to choose”. But when people come to see and know what actually happens during an abortion, then a woman's “right to choose” takes on a different feel. That said, if you are serious about wanting to end abortion, click here to watch the short video that has sent shock waves through the abortion industry, and to learn more about the project we are launching this election season! Make no mistake: This video has the power to literally end abortion! The response has already been overwhelming. Pro-life activists have been re-energized. Fence-sitters have been awakened to the true horror of abortion. And even abortion advocates have been converted. If you have trouble with the link above, and would like to go directly to the Youtube page which features this powerful video, click here. 

Senate Again Tries to Sneak in Hate-Crimes Legislation - Family News in Focus - Bill would create special category of crime based on sexual orientation of victim. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., is trying to give special rights to homosexuals by sneaking hate-crimes legislation into a major Defense Authorization bill. The tactic has been tried before; last time, the hate-crimes amendment was dropped from the Defense bill. "They want to sneak it under the radar and force the president's hand," said Matt Barber, policy director for cultural issues at Concerned Women for America. The hate-crimes legislation would create a category of crime for actions said to be motivated by prejudice based on “sexual orientation” and “gender identity." Peter Sprigg, vice president for policy at the Family Research Council, said it's a freedom of speech issue. “It sends a very serious message, disturbing message, that opposition to homosexuality constitutes hate," he said.

Obama denounces former pastor Obama told reporters Tuesday that Wright's comments do not accurately portray the perspective of the black church. "The person I saw yesterday was not the person that I met 20 years ago," Obama said of the man who married him.

The George Soros Network - Discover The Networks.org - George Soros is one of the most powerful men on earth. A New York hedge fund manager, he has amassed a personal fortune estimated at about $7.2 billion. His management company controls billions more in investor assets. Since 1979, his foundation network -- whose flagship is the Open Society Institute (OSI) -- has dispensed an estimated $5 billion to a multitude of organizations whose objectives are consistent with those of Soros. According to Richard Poe, co-author (with David Horowitz) of the 2006 book The Shadow Party: "The Shadow Party is the real power driving the Democrat machine. It is a network of radicals dedicated to transforming our constitutional republic into a socialist hive. The leader of these radicals is ... George Soros. He has essentially privatized the Democratic Party, bringing it under his personal control. The Shadow Party is the instrument through which he exerts that control. ... It works by siphoning off hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign contributions that would have gone to the Democratic Party in normal times, and putting those contributions at the personal disposal of Mr. Soros. He then uses that money to buy influence and loyalty where he sees fit.

Right-To-Carry Michigan Celebrates Sixcess! Michigan celebrates six years of lower crime rates since the enactment of Right-To-Carry laws. With due respect to the police, they simply can’t be there to protect each of us,” one Michigan permit holder pointed out. “If you’re in a bad situation and have to resort to calling 9-1-1, then it’s probably too late.”  ...National statistics reflect a 31-year low in criminal violence, while 23 states have passed Right-to-Carry laws since 1991 and the number of privately owned firearms has risen by some 70 percent. Researchers believe that if holdout states had adopted concealed-carry, it’s possible that they could have avoided annually as many as 1,570 murders, more than 4,000 rapes and some 60,000 aggravated assaults. The statisticians point out that when Right-to-Carry laws have been put in place, individual counties have experienced an 8.5 per-cent drop in murder rates, a 5 percent reduction in rapes as well as a 7 percent decline in aggravated assaults.

Did you know - Eight U.S. Presidents have been NRA members. They are Ulysses S. Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Richard M. Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George Bush.

Higher Taxes Don't Work In liberal-progressive-socialist theory, taking your money via taxes and cycling it through Washington, DC, magically makes the economy more efficient. Historical experience doesn’t support that thesis. To justify their proposals for socializing health care and health insurance, Senators Clinton and Obama proclaim the repeatedly disproved socialist argument that government is more efficient than private enterprise, because private business is driven by greed and overcharges the public to make a profit. For a counter argument, read this opinion piece from the Washington Times: Dangerous delusions - By Richard W. Rahn - Have you ever wondered why so many people see higher taxes and more government as the solution to every problem, despite the empirical evidence that more government reduces economic efficiency and growth and diminishes our liberties?

Clinton shatters pork record Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) requested $2.3 billion in earmarks for fiscal 2009, nearly three times the second largest senatorial request this year. Clinton’s request takes pork-spending greed to a new level after last year’s $837-million request by Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) turned reformers’ heads. Among the three presidential candidates, Clinton is by far the biggest spender. Barack Obama foreswore earmarks for 2009 and all his requests have totaled $740 million in his three years in the Senate. John McCain has yet to tally a single earmark request, sticking to his position against wasteful government spending.

Chicago Heat After a weekend that saw 36 shootings in Chicago, perpetual Mayor Richard Daley has decided to equip Chicago police officers with “high-powered M4 carbines” (more commonly known as “assault weapons” when owned by civilians). Just one day after blaming the gun industry for Chicago’s crime problem, Daley said it was “not a difficult decision” to issue rifles to every police officer, making it unclear whether Daley thinks guns are the problem or the solution. Daley also failed to elaborate on how the Chicago Police Department’s new acquisitions were supposed to help citizens defend themselves in the city with America’s second-strictest gun control laws (crime-ridden Washington, DC, is first). A famous quote goes likes this: “The beatings will continue until morale improves.” Such absurd reasoning has its own parallel in Chicago, where official policy is that defenselessness will continue until crime improves. Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama supported his hometown’s draconian stance on self-defense last week when he told the Chicago Sun-Times, “There has not been any evidence that allowing people to carry a concealed weapon is going to make anybody safer.” In light of Obama’s opinion, we think he should give up his Secret Service detail, since it isn’t “going to make anybody safer” and is therefore a waste of taxpayer money. Meanwhile, law-abiding gun owners are busy proving Obama wrong. When an angry customer pulled a gun on the manager of a grocery store on Monday in West Palm Beach, Florida, the manager and his assistant both drew their own handguns, forcing the attacker to retreat. Manager Marino Hernandez and assistant manager Robert Espinal found the criminal, 73-year-old Marshall Hugo Grant, cowering in the parking lot, where they detained him until police arrived. We’re not sure how Hernandez and Espinal would have been safer without their guns, but we’re sure Barack Obama does. Leftists always know a great many things that aren’t so.

Illegal Aliens Demand 'Rights' and 'Reforms' I was planning to take the day off today and start my weekend a little bit early. However, I had the misfortune of reading the AP story on the May Day marches by thousands of illegal aliens who are demanding their "rights." Not only is the notion of lawbreakers taking to the streets to demand legal benefits completely outrageous, but the way the "news" story is worded is insane. When people break the law, there should be consequences. We should not close down streets in order for them to "show unity." What is going on here?!?! If you go by the AP's story, it's like there is no such thing as an "illegal" alien.

American Legion Tackles Illegal Immigration - Illegal immigration has been termed a “victimless crime” by open borders advocates. Yet the influx of illegal aliens over American borders hurts both Americans and the illegal aliens themselves. According to FSM Contributing Editor Mike Cutler: Illegal aliens are subject to slum-like living conditions Illegal aliens are often exploited by their employers Unprotected borders mean that Americans are subject to infiltration by violent criminals and potential terrorists The presence of illegal aliens willing to work for a pittance drives down wages, which affects the ability of Americans and legal aliens to support their families There is also the issue of Social Security fraud and identity theft, a growing crime category that victimizes thousands of Americans every year. And, as previously noted by Family Security Matters, deadly diseases such as tuberculosis (which were in steady decline over the past half century) are seeing a resurgence within the immigrant population. If illegal immigrants are streaming over the border unchecked and unscreened, a potential health disaster for all Americans is in the making. ...The Legion has prepared a free booklet entitled A Strategy to Address Illegal Immigration in the United States (available for downloading here), which outlines the problem (Crime and Terrorism, Education, Disease, Employment and Wages) as well as a multiple strategy solution.

Put The Blame Where It Belongs By Michael Reagan - In case you haven't noticed, gas prices are soaring, hiking the cost of food and just about everything else. If you believe Hillary Clinton, the blame for all this lies on the shoulders of those greedy oil companies and their bloated profit margins, a notion that like just about every other snake-oil remedy she tries to peddle is simply not the case. ….That policy is set by three individuals two who are located in New York City. If you want to drill in Alaska or the Gulf of Mexico or in the continental U.S. -- where billions of gallons of petroleum are just waiting to be tapped -- or build refineries, these three people stand in your way. They are John Flicker of the National Audubon Society, Frances Beinecke of the Natural Resources Defense Council, and Trip Van Noppen of the organization Earthjustice.

Robert Samuelson, Newsweek and Washington Post Contributing Editor, Regarding Congressional Complicity in the Rising Costs of Fuel: "It may surprise Americans to discover that the United States is the third-largest oil producer, behind Saudi Arabia and Russia. We could be producing more, but Congress has put large areas of potential supply off-limits. These include the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and parts of Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico. By government estimates, these areas may contain 25-30 billion barrels of oil (against about 30 billion of proven U.S. reserves today) and 80 trillion cubic feet or more of natural gas (compared with about 200 tcf of proven reserves). "What keeps these areas closed are exaggerated environmental fears, strong prejudice against oil companies and sheer stupidity."

Stoplight video commentary, Stuart Shepard explains how this past winter's weather didn't follow the script written by global warming alarmists.

Indoctrination - Without a Heritage every generation starts over

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Poll Shows Less Than 3 Percent of Americans are Gay - Just 2.9 percent of Americans older than 18 identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual, according to a groundbreaking poll released Wednesday by New York's Hunter College. Gay-activist groups and the mainstream media often cite a 10 percent figure. Caleb H. Price, research analyst for Focus on the Family, said the poll confirms the 10 percent figure is a myth. “This poll roughly agrees with the University of Chicago’s landmark National Health and Social Life Survey," he said, "which found that only 1.4 percent of women think of themselves as lesbian or bisexual and only 2.8 percent of men identified themselves as gay or bisexual.” The poll was funded through a grant from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, a gay-activist group.

Fix my kid The majority of children raised by Christian parents will not live for Jesus as adults. How can this be?

(See: Education or Indoctrination: The primary responsibility of education DOES NOT belong to schools. Don't let the indoctrination of your children bring shame to you. )

Extra, Extra...

Why We Whisper The Economic Costs of Sin Imagine the following social experiment: You divide up Americans into two groups. Those who agreed to live by traditional moral values live in certain states. Those who reject traditional values take up residence in other states that would allow them to do whatever they pleased, morally speaking. After 20 years, which states would be better off—economically speaking? The traditional values states would be far better off, because the liberal states would be spending $500 billion dollars every year dealing with the economic costs of their moral decisions.

Conservative commentator Charles Krauthammer delivers the Drayer/Wettreich Lecture at an event sponsored by the Dallas/Fort Worth Committee for Heritage. (Video -45 Minutes)

Consource.org: The Constitutional Sources Project - President’s Message: The Journey Inspired by a Document - Lorianne Updike - A little over four years ago, I wrote an article on Jefferson’s 1801 letter to the Danbury Baptists from which the phrase “wall of separation between church and state” derives. It was in the process of researching and writing this article that I became aware of how compelling yet unavailable the documents are that created this nation. I stayed late nights at my law school carrel, surrounded by “The Papers of Thomas Jefferson” edited by Julian P. Boyd that I had convinced the library special collections staff to allow me to keep—temporarily—at my carrel. I was consumed as I read every (published) letter that Jefferson had ever written or received about religion. Yet I had to travel 2,000 miles to complete my research because the J. Reuben Clark Law School’s special collections library did not have all that I needed. This experience gave me the background for recognizing a good idea when Randy Guynn approached me the summer of 2004 with the concept of creating a website containing primary sources related to freedom of religion and, later, the motivation to co-found ConSource in 2005. This journey was impelled and inspired by the Danbury Letter.

Massachusetts -

Lesbian activists at Smith College riot, shut down Ryan Sorba speech on “The Born Gay Hoax” as police watch. See exclusive videos. “We’re here, we’re queer, get used to it!” Smith College, Northampton, MA - April 29, 2008 Dozens of lesbian activists at Smith College climbed in through windows and stormed the podium in a riot scene shortly after Ryan Sorba began a speech on his upcoming book, The Born Gay Hoax. The melee forced an end to the speech before a packed hall in the library on the Northampton campus. Uniformed police officers and a plainclothes security guard were in the room but mostly just stood and watched. Rather than take action against the rioters, the officers and a university official walked to the podium and ordered Sorba to leave the room “for his own safety.” There were no arrests and no charges of disorderly conduct. This would seem to be a clear violation of the Massachusetts’ Civil Rights statutes. Here's our exclusive footage:

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Chip Ford's CLT Commentary Greetings activists and supporters: According to the Tax Foundation in its annual report, national Tax Freedom Day – the day taxpayers have earned enough money to pay all of this year's federal, state and local tax obligations and nothing else – fell on April 23 this year.

Massachusetts, as usual, trailed behind, celebrating its own Tax Freedom Day only yesterday, April 28, five days later. Tax Freedom Day in Massachusetts is 6th latest in the country, behind only Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, California, and Washington state. New Hampshire, 35th, celebrated it on April 15th.

They keep telling us we're "not Taxachusetts any more," but facts are stubborn things: Every year Massachusetts shows up in the basement for Tax Freedom Day among the 50 states. In last year's (2007) report, Tax Freedom Day across the nation arrived two days later than in 2006; on average Americans worked strictly to pay for government from January 1 until April 30.

In Massachusetts we'd worked until May 6th -- which was also two days later than the previous year. In 2007, Massachusetts rated ninth from the bottom; we worked longer for the government than people in 41 other states did during 2006. Is there any wonder why -- why this year Massachusetts has dropped from having the 9th down to the 6th heaviest tax burden of any state in the nation -- why Tax Freedom Day finally arrived here only yesterday? Why beginning just today what can begin keeping what we earn now that the taxman has been paid?

Just look at the Beacon Hill tax-and-spend culture. It's evolved into tax-and-spend-then-borrow-and-spend-then-tax-even-more. The $28 billion state budget being discussed at the State House for next fiscal year (FY-2009) will be an increase in spending of over a billion more than this fiscal year's ($26.8 billion) as adopted last spring.

All we've heard for months is that the state is in a fiscal crisis with a $1.3 billion deficit -- but state tax revenue not only has surpassed "expectations" but broken the record. The State House News Service reported: "[Tax revenue] receipts have continued to break records, even amid a national economic downturn.... Through March, inflation-adjusted baseline tax revenue growth was 3.2 percent more than the same period last fiscal year.... [A]ctual revenues have consistently outperformed projections in recent years, and are running $772 million above the original estimate for this year."

What's "The Best Legislature Money Can Buy" to do will all this wealth of ours? It could break another record by keeping its word, the pledge it made when it killed the voters' tax rollback in 2002.

All the planets are aligned in the difficult trajectory the Legislature arranged to "trigger" a miniscule reduction in the income tax -- the sop they threw voters back then after giving them the middle-finger Beacon Hill salute. It could reduce the income tax rate from 5.3 percent to 5.25 -- its last "promise" though that won't amount to even the proverbial "cup of coffee a day." It's not much -- and still will likely take until 2014 to reach the traditional 5 percent income tax rate -- but it'd be a shocker.

Imagine, politicians on Beacon Hill keeping their word? Nah, I doubt it. Want to bet "The Best Legislature Money Can Buy" weasels out of even that paltry reduction -- a "cost" to the state of a relatively mere $50 million? After all, members of the House of Representatives have already proposed some 1,500 earmarks that if adopted will add an additional $1.5 billion in spending to the $28 billion now under discussion.

"The Best Legislature Money Can Buy" is in the midst of its members' annual feeding frenzy, when strange things happen overnight. Look at the vote on tax increases a few weeks ago. It now has surfaced that, not only did the Legislature hike taxes on smokers and businesses -- but a select few large corporations with interests offshore got a big wet kiss from the leadership. A kiss that comes close to canceling out the tax increases.

"It's somewhat embarrassing," one clueless legislator responded after having this inconvenient little fact pointed out to him. "Since it was introduced at the last minute - and there was a desire to get this voted on that day - there was an understanding we would be working with incomplete information." No recorded roll call vote, nobody knew what they were passing with their voice vote, or even what they were voting on -- and once again something came back and bit them.

Can't you just hear them? Aw shucks, it's only $100-$200 million. Gimme a break. "The Best Legislature Money Can Buy" indeed. Watch their antics closely, especially after dark. Animal House is playing at a State House near you.

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State House News Services Advances - Week of April 27, 2008 [Excerpt] - Last week, Citizens for Limited Taxation disseminated poll results that found that six in seven Massachusetts residents would prefer the Legislature to cut spending rather than raise taxes. The poll of 500 likely voters, conducted between April 9 and April 13, found that 72 percent of respondents would vote against Proposition 2˝ overrides and that two-thirds want the Legislature to roll back the income tax rate to 5 percent from its current 5.3 percent. The poll, conducted by Fabrizio, McLaughlin & Associates, had a 4.4 percent margin of error.

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