Senator John McCain got kicked around pretty good at Saturday’s Arizona Republican convention. He has been censured by several different Republican districts in recent years for his liberalism. McCain also droned on about his sidekick, Senator Jeff Flake, handpicked successor to former Senator Jon Kyl for ease in controlling. Flake and McCain have long pushed for amnesty at the expense of the rule of law, as well as backing the homosexual agenda Employment Non-discrimination Act. They walk hand in hand with Democrats on these issues. McCain and Flake were unexpected, last-minute drop-ins at the state convention, where Robert Graham was re-elected state GOP chairman. C.T. Wrght introduced McCain and implored precinct committeemen to show respect to McCain because of his military record.
Month: January 2015
For Planned Parenthood, Abortion Really i$ About Choi$e
Abortion is the single largest cash-generating service Planned Parenthood provides. It accounts for around half of the roughly $300 million dollars generated in revenue from its patients, making Planned Parenthood the largest abortion provider in the nation.
The income generated from these abortions is critical for the growth and viability of the organization — a fact that was not lost on its leadership. Former Planned Parenthood facility directors have, in sworn legal documents, stated that they had mandated abortion quotas.
One director said that a consistent theme from Planned Parenthood leadership “was how family planning services were a drain on the budget, but abortion services were keeping the center afloat.” In light of those financial realities, it’s understandable why Planned Parenthood would mention adoption and parenting options, but the profitability of abortion would ultimately trump them both.
A corporation that accepts government funding can be accused of financial fraud if it receives and spends money it is not entitled to, or uses taxpayer money for purposes outside the restrictions associated with the funding. Former Planned Parenthood employees and concerned U.S. taxpayers have come forward with allegations that Planned Parenthood routinely commits this kind of fraud.
Additionally, a 2011 exhaustive report was submitted to Congress alleging that waste, abuse, and potential fraud by Planned Parenthood may reach multiple millions of dollars.
Federal and state audits of family planning funding found a minimum of $95.7 million in waste, abuse, and potential fraud from 1995 to 2009.
Of this amount, at least $7.8 million was identified in separate state audits of Planned Parenthood affiliates in four states: New York, California, Washington, and Texas.
Federal audits of family planning programs from 1995 to 2009 identified a total of nearly $88 million in overbilling. And according to the Inspector General’s Office at the U.S. Department may actually be as high as $99 million.
All told, extensive waste, abuse, and potential fraud have been identified to date in more than 25 percent of Planned Parenthood’s U.S. affiliates that have been reviewed so far. Five others are the subjects of federal whistleblower lawsuits by former Planned Parenthood employees alleging fraud.
For all sources and citations, please visit www.InvestigateTheirPlan.org.
White House Outraged over Boehner Invitation to Netanyahu
By John Semmens – Semi-News — A Satirical Look at Recent News
The invitation House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) issued to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress has the Obama Administration in a state of apoplexy.
“The Speaker did not have President Obama’s permission to issue such an invitation,” complained Press Secretary Josh Earnest. “Prime Minister Netanyahu did not have the President’s permission to accept the invitation. It’s a major breach of protocol that undermines Executive Supremacy.”
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) characterized Boehner’s move as “a critical blunder. I wouldn’t be surprised if the President were to use this as an excuse to disband Congress.”
Confidential sources inside the White House report the President’s anger as “unconstrained. There no telling what he might do to levy an appropriate punishment for this disobedience. When subordinates spit in the President’s face, as Boehner and Netanyahu have done, it calls for harsh retaliatory measures. He can’t just let it go.” Ideas said to be under consideration include assisting Hamas in reprisals against Israeli civilians, tacitly acquiescing in Iran’s efforts to wipe Israel off the map, and strategically leaking embarrassing information contained in Boehner’s FBI files.
Secretary of State John Kerry professed to be confused by the unfolding events. “The Israeli Prime Minister already met with President Obama last October, I don’t see the point of his proposed speech to Congress,” Kerry said. “There is nothing that Congress could do for him that the President wouldn’t veto. Netanyahu is foolishly betting on the wrong horse. In the process he has angered the world’s most powerful man. This cannot turn out well for him or his people. The only hope for the voters of Israel is to elect someone more in tune with President Obama’s wishes. Their country’s very survival is at stake.”
In related news, Kerry continued his campaign to clarify Islamic doctrine by insisting that those committing atrocities in the name of Allah are not Islamic. “We reject the notion that violence aimed at reigniting the holy war of Islam against unbelievers is a genuine form of the religion,” Kerry maintained. “Making war for religious reasons is not a 21st century way of thinking. It has no credibility in our modern society.”
Kerry contended that “it would be more accurate to characterize these barbarians as ‘Islamish’ rather than Islamic. Mere mimicry of the actions taken by Muslims 1400 years ago cannot be the behavior of a truly civilized person. It simply cannot succeed.”
Bush/Romney Political Wedding Falls Through
Hopes that a political wedding between former governors Jeb Bush (R-Fla) and Mitt Romney (R-Mass)–both potential Republican contenders for the presidency—would sweep aside other rivals fell through this week. While both the Bush and Romney camps were loath to release many details, insiders say the chief sticking point was who would be on top.
Romney spokesman Richard Butz laid the blame on what he termed “Bush dynastic aspirations. It was our feeling that Mitt ought to be the one at the top of the ticket. Our polling shows that a substantial number of voters wish they had voted for Mitt in 2012. Giving them a second chance—to kind of right the wrong they’d done—would be the stronger ticket, in our opinion.”
“The Bush people, though, felt that people really miss the fact that the United States has no royal family, so to speak, and that the previous electoral success of Jeb’s father and brother had erected the beginnings of a foundation for a quasi royal family,” Butz said.
The two are now expected to go their separate ways. Romney seems likely to focus his bid for the GOP presidential nomination on a theme of completing former President Johnson’s unfinished war on poverty and combating global warming. Bush, in contrast, looks to remind GOP voters of the good times that prevailed when his father and brother led the fight for a kinder, gentler future through military interventions in the Mid East.
In related news, expected Democratic presidential contender former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has vowed to crush all opponents under a massive wad of campaign cash. Clinton donor Don Peebles boasted that “we will raise enough money to overwhelm anyone who would think of trying to deny Hillary the nomination and the presidency. Early projections point to a war chest in excess of $1.5 billion. The smart money, the big money is all behind Hillary. The ‘grassroots’ will be mowed down and mulched. It’s that simple.”
Reid Can’t Read
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev) acknowledged that injuries to his eye sustained in an exercise apparatus mishap last month prevent him from reading. Rather than being an impediment to his legislative performance, though, Reid insists that it will be an asset.
“The premise that a lawmaker needs to read the words he is enacting into law is erroneous,” Reid asserted. “Attempting to read the 1000 page bills we are asked to act upon is time consuming and, ultimately, unnecessary. Even when I could read I couldn’t bring myself to wade through the 2000 pages of the Affordable Care Act. But as everyone knows, we passed it anyway. And now millions of people are enjoying the health insurance it mandates.”
More important than undertaking the tedious task of reading the fine print of pending legislation according to Reid, “is knowing the answer to one simple question: ‘what does President Obama want us to do.’ As long as we act to carry out his will I’m confident that we’ll be on the right track.”
President Issues Statement Commemorating 42nd Anniversary of Roe vs Wade
President Obama hailed the 42nd anniversary of 1973’s Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion at any time for any reason throughout a woman’s pregnancy.
“Since 1973 over 50 million unwanted births have been prevented,” Obama pointed out. “That’s 50 million mothers spared the toils and troubles of rearing children they did not want. That’s 50 million individuals spared the indignity of being an unwanted child.”
The President also took this anniversary as an opportunity to call for “continued vigilance against those who would have us backtrack on this vital human right.” Two instances of “backtracking” as the President sees it are HR36 (the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act) and HR7 (No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act).
As Obama sees it “the evil of HR36 is that it would elevate an undue concern for the momentary pain suffered by a late term aborted fetus to a level that could neutralize the right given to all women by the 1973 Supreme Court decision.”
“The equally pernicious HR7 would relieve taxpayers from bearing their fair share of the burden of financing abortions,” the President added. “Once a right has been decreed it is everyone’s responsibility to support its full implementation. No woman should have to pay an out-of-pocket expense in order to exercise her right to an abortion. No person should be allowed to cite discredited moral objections in an effort to avoid paying for it.”
In related news, Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis) have introduced a bill aimed at “preventing states from getting out of step with national policy on abortion.” “Abortion is too crucial an issue for us to allow individual states to deviate from the path set by our President,” Blumenthal argued. “If the Supreme Court has ruled that any woman is entitled to an abortion for any reason how can we sit back and allow states to chip away at that right? Contentions that restrictions are intended to spare the fetus pain have no standing. The Court didn’t provide for an exception in the case of pain to the fetus. We must not allow states to try to sneak restrictions on abortion into their laws via an illegitimate concern for fetuses’ so-called rights.”
President Touts Expansion of Welfare State to Boost “Middle Class”
In his 2015 State-of-the Union address, President Obama lamented the unfairness of a society where only the few do spectacularly well. He proposed to rectify this injustice by expanding government programs that would offer pittances to a broader number of people who comply with specified behaviors. One stark example was the President’s proposal to penalize individuals who set aside money for their own children’s education with higher taxes that would be used to partially fund community college for all.
“Why should those who have the means to finance their own children’s college be permitted to do so when the children of others have to forgo college because they can’t afford it?” Obama asked. “The decision on who goes to college and who doesn’t should be made using a collective benefit calculus. The government, as the representative of the collective will of the people, has the moral authority to decide who will and who won’t best serve society by being further educated. My plan will move us closer to realizing this ideal.”
The President made a similar case against individuals profiting from their own efforts to save and invest. “Investing society’s scarce resources is too important to be left to the anarchy of private choices,” Obama contended. “Individuals are narrowly focused on how profitable an investment might be. We need to shift away from a system that leaves the bulk of our financial resources in private hands to one where the major part of the money and decision making are in the hands of the government. Only the government has the scope of expertise to determine the rightful allocation of resources and benefits for all the people.”
A Satirical Look at Recent News
John Semmens is a retired economist who has written a weekly political satire column for The Arizona Conservative since 2005. He says working on his satires is one of the ways he tries to honor the liberties that our nation’s Founding Fathers tried to protect.
Please do us a favor. If you use material created by The Arizona Conservative, give us credit, and DO NOT change the context. Thank you.
Mesa Tribune in the Tank for Same-Sex Marriage
A Mesa Tribune article offers more evidence that the left-stream media just cannot be trusted to be honest with Arizona’s citizens. The article “No Easy Answer” plays fast and loose with the reality of the existing marriage culture in Arizona.
The story co-written January 18 by Jeff Grant and Eric Mungenast gets it wrong right out of the starting gate.
The co-writers open by referring to an October 17 federal court ruling in Arizona that allows homosexuals to marry. Then it goes on to say churches in Arizona differ on whether or not to marry same-sex couples — basing their positions on the Bible.
The court actually struck down Arizona’s constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Newly elected Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich is fighting against this blatant act of judicial activism.
Next the Tribune writers remarkably claim, “As confusing as it may seem, the dueling positions are part of the landscape upon which the state is forging ahead in the new era of homosexual rights in what’s considered one of the most fundamental of those rights — that two people who love each other to be legally united.
First, the state is not “forging ahead in a new era of homosexual rights.” More than 1.2 million Arizonans voted to enact marriage law … and they endorsed the long-held, by societies through the annals of time, commonsense recognition of marriage as one man and one woman.
A single activist judge disenfranchised those voters by turning democracy on its head and moving Arizona backwards to a point of not recognizing that boys and girls need a mother and a father. If the state is supposedly “forging ahead” and re-thinking marriage, someone forgot to tell the state and millions of voting citizens.
The next problem is that Grant and Mungenast fail to understand the nature of marriage. When county officials grant requests for marriage licenses they do not inquire if the couple are in love. That’s because marriage is a private commitment with a public purpose. If marriage was only about love, you could marry your favorite aunt or uncle. The co-writers are not breaking new ground with their obvious left-wing bias, but merely re-stating the tired, refuted language of homosexual pressure groups. Because left-stream media in Arizona are in the tank for the homosexual agenda.
So it is to be expected that a left-wing mouthpiece like the Tribune would feature a photo with the story of a pastor who said he is willing to marry same-sex couples. And the story also uses a breakout quote from someone in favor of same-sex marriage on page 1 before it jumps inside to page 8. There is nothing in support of current marriage law on page 1.
But then we should never expect anything related to balance in Arizona’s left-stream media coverage of social or political issues. They march in lockstep with those dedicated to tearing down the long-held social order.
On page 8, The propaganda piece quickly establishes a list of churches that will perform same-sex weddings and quotes a person from an organization pressuring for same-sex marriage.
Eventually, and begrudgingly, the story brings in an opponent of same-sex marriage — Past Bart Brauer of a Lutheran church in Tempe. He explains that homosexuality is not how God lives.
The next eight paragraphs are used to affirm same-sex marriage. One person from a homosexual pressure group says we have to wait for religion to evolve to a point of accepting same-sex marriage. He also claims we have to protect religious freedom, but those words ring hollow because homosexual activists and leftist dominated cities are using nondiscrimination policies to trample Christians and First Amendment religious freedom.
Remarkably, the story claims some churches are waiting for the Supreme Court to act on marriage before making their own decisions. Implying that courts — not the Bible, not God’s Word — are the determining factor for some churches. The co-writers also make the point that marrying homosexuals also is broadening the congregation, as if it is a marketing plan.
Shortly before the end of the story, the co-writers quote officials from the Catholic Church and the Mormon Church who uphold marriage as “churches in opposition.”
But then Grant and Mungenast quickly back to their real purpose as they state same-sex couples “turned away are left to find a church willing to perform the ceremony.
Ninety-seven percent of the article is on one side of the issue. That’s unfair and unbalanced.
* * *
The Arizona Conservative advocates for marriage as the union of one man and one woman for several reasons:
- Homosexuals make up just 2 percent of the U.S. population, and estimates are less than that in Arizona. There is no groundswell of support for same-sex marriage in Arizona, and the judge acted against the compelling interests of this state when he struck down our marriage law.
- Despite the repeated inaccuracies of the left-stream media, homosexuality is not genetic. It is the result of environmental impact on individuals, most notably disconnection between father and child, the rape of children (some of whom act upon the pornography they have seen), and activism in public schools and society. Many male homosexuals were sexually abused by men or older boys.
- Counseling is available — and effective — in Arizona for individuals with unwanted same-sex attraction.
- The pressure groups and the public schools are doing a disservice to people struggling with same-sex attraction by claiming these stressors in their lives are to be celebrated and by demanding radical new laws to normalize homosexuality. The testimonies of thousands of people who came out of homosexuality prove this. People with these struggles need Jesus and the love and compassion of their family, friends and church, as well as counseling, more than anything else. Without these positive influences, it is no wonder so many people struggling with same-sex attraction feel unhappy and unfulfilled.
- Children need both a mother and a father. Two men cannot provide the nurturing care of a mother. Two women cannot provide what a father brings to child development.
- All the radical laws and rights conferred by activist judges and leftist lawmakers may get those legislators re-elected and those judges celebrated, but they will not heal the hurting hearts of people with same-sex attraction.
- The left-stream media in America does a tremendous disservice to people struggling with same-sex attraction by perpetuating false claims about the causes of homosexuality, how many people are struggling with it and by sucking up to homosexual pressure groups. In Arizona, this includes virtually all the television stations, daily newspapers, and numerous radio show hosts.
- Heterosexual marriages last far longer than homosexual couplings (more than 10 years on average, compared to 18 months). When hetero couples make it to 10 years, the divorce rate plummets to extraordinary lows. The hetero divorce rate has been declining for several years. The homosexual couples who have been together for several years raise the average UP to 18 months.
- The children of hetero parents do better than the confused children in homosexual homes on all accounts. The studies claiming otherwise are unscientific (many subjects were self selected for reasons of bias) and non-representative of the population (due to small sampling sizes). The best science we have, along with the personal testimonies of many adults who grew up with a homosexual parent and the attendant dysfunctions, confirms the problems of same-sex parenting. Thus, it is unwise to allow same-sex adults to adopt children.
You will never hear any of this from the left-stream media; no wonder a majority of Americans do not trust the media for accuracy. Homosexual pressure groups will react to this with anger, not civility, and will claim these facts are “lies.”
These nine points represent the truth and have never been refuted.
Squishy Republicans Scuttle Congressman Franks’ Fetal Pain Bill
By Tony Perkins, President, Family Research Council
| The streets of Washington were warming up just as pro-life action was heating up inside Congress! Late Wednesday, a handful of Republicans managed to derail an effort that had been underway for months on the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act — stalling a bill that pro-lifers had hoped to celebrate during today’s March for Life.
After meeting all day with conservatives, House Rules Committee Chair Pete Sessions (R-Texas) made the reluctant decision to pull the pain ban and replace it with another pro-life measure, H.R. 7, the No Taxpayer Funding of Abortion Act, which is another one of FRC’s top priorities. The plan had been to move Rep. Trent Franks’s (R-Ariz.) five-month abortion limit first and then turn off the spigot for federal dollars for abortion next. Unfortunately, that plan was spoiled — not by liberal Democrats, but so-called pro-life Republican women like Renee Ellmers (N.C.) and Jackie Walorski (Ind.). Both had previously voted for the measure but last week began organizing opposition to the rape and incest reporting requirements, which were a part of the compromise they help reached in the last Congress. What the reporting requirement does is simple: it insists that anyone who says they were raped and seeks an abortion after the fifth month of pregnancy has to report the assault to authorities. If Ellmers and others had picked this fight before, pro-lifers might understand. But the reality is, Ellmers and her RINO allies voted for this exact same language in 2013 when the Pain-Capable bill passed the House. So you can understand why groups like FRC were confused — not only by the timing of this stand (just days before a vote that had been planned since last year), but by the group’s sudden opposition. While I was on Capitol Hill yesterday meeting with members, FRC’s government affairs team and thousands of you around the country tried to rally the House to overcome these obstacles. Ultimately, leadership decided it would be best to put the bill on hold for now and fast-track the No Taxpayer Funding of Abortion Act. For Ellmers and others, the backlash since last night’s betrayal has been severe. Today, the North Carolina politician tried to put out the fires of withdrawing her co-sponsorship by insisting that she was still “pro-life.” She’ll have an uphill climb proving it, after sidelining one of the first real meaningful unborn protections of the new Congress. Of course, some are quick to put the blame at House leadership’s feet. I’m not one of them. As Rep. Franks said later, this isn’t the end of H.R. 36. “GOP leaders want to try to create as much unity as we can.” Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), the lead GOP sponsor of the bill that replaced Franks’s — and one of the strongest advocates for the unborn the U.S. House has ever seen — agreed. The Pain-Capable measure is “only delayed,” he promised, as we “just work through some bits.” While this isn’t exactly how pro-lifers planned to mark the 42nd March for Life, we were just as thrilled that House conservatives united to pass the No Taxpayer Funding of Abortion Act — a bill that would permanently wall off taxpayers from the bloody business of abortion in ObamaCare and other federal legislation. For Rep. Smith, Democratic sponsor Rep Dan Lipinski (Ill.), and the entire movement, seeing the No Taxpayer Funding of Abortion pass the House was tremendous victory, several years in the making. And not just for us — but for an overwhelming number of Americans who support the idea (68% according to this morning’s polling). To the credit of House leaders, all but one Republican — even the wobbly ones — voted yes on the bill. As disappointed as we are at the handful of members who delayed the pain ban, we applaud the House leadership for remaining committed to advancing pro-life legislation. Protecting Life, One Step at a TimeWhile hundreds of thousands poured out on the National Mall with fresh hope for the conservative majority, members inside the Capitol were giving legs to that optimism. To observe the solemn anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the House took a stand to save the children of “choice” by creating a blanket ban on taxpayer-funded abortion across the entire government, permanently. From the government’s abortion surcharge to the abortion-heavy D.C. plans (which FRC’s exposed), Americans are more implicated than ever in the procedure that a majority oppose. Liberals insist the country doesn’t need H.R. 7 because it has the Hyde Amendment (which prevents taxpayer-funding of abortion in federal appropriations bills). But unlike H.R. 7, the Hyde Amendment has to be reauthorized every year to stay in effect. The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act would save Congress from that annual fight and political horse-trading that takes place just to keep taxpayers mostly out of the abortion business. H.R. 7 will create a permanent, government-wide ban on abortion funding — not just for health care bills, but also for overseas aid, and anything else that Congress subsidizes. As plenty of research shows, that doesn’t just save money — it saves lives! And what better way could we commemorate this day than that? ProLifeCon 2015: A Year for HopeIf you’re reading this, you know well that digital media is one of the central battlegrounds of the pro-life movement. Today at FRC headquarters, digital media specialists from around country gathered to talk about how to best move America to a culture of life online. From the professional to the public servant to the personal, the 10th annual ProLifeCon offered motivation to anyone who speaks out online that we can make a difference. Senators Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and James Lankford (R-Okla.) gave us their perspectives of this year’s pro-life potential on the Hill. We also heard from our friends who head pro-life organizations like Senator Rick Santorum, Star Parker, Kristan Hawkins, Charmaine Yoest, and Roland Warren. Susan Gallucci gave us a poignant look at the positive work that can be done at a maternity home like D.C.’s Northwest Center. Film producer Ann McElhinney joined us by Skype to talk about going the masses to fund their movie about abortionist Kermit Gosnell. Chelsea Patterson encouraged the audience about the power of a person’s own story in standing for life. Miss Delaware 2011 Maria Cahill showed us how the lasting rewards of serving a worthy cause are more important than any earthly crown. Jenna Gassew and Dan Haley shared the powerful story of their baby Shane and how even a terminal diagnosis in the womb didn’t mean that his life didn’t matter. I also had the privilege of presenting pro-life blogger Jill Stanek with FRC’s inaugural Digital Pro-Life Pioneer Award for excellence in paving the way in being a voice for the unborn online. If you missed it, you can watch all the day’s action on-demand here: ** FRC also marked the Roe anniversary by writing a couple of key columns, including Ken Blackwell’s Washington Times piece, “Aborting Black America” and Rob Schwarzwalder’s “The Abortion Industry: A Study in Predation.” Tony Perkins’ Washington Update is written with the aid of FRC senior writers. |
Arizona Abortionist Distressed about Having to Adhere to Safety Regulations
By Cathi Herrod, President, Center for Arizona Policy
If there’s one thing you read this week, it has to be this article in the Washington Post from a Phoenix area abortion doctor.
Gabrielle Goodrick has run a private abortion clinic in the Valley since 1999. She penned this article for the Washington Post to explain what it’s been like as the state has passed a number of regulations on the abortion industry.
CAP supported and even drafted these laws to ensure abortion clinics were held to common sense health and safety standards, and were providing women with all the information women deserve on pregnancy and abortion. The laws passed because Arizona citizens rose up and elected pro-life legislators to pass the laws and a Governor – Jan Brewer – to sign the laws.
For the pro-life community, Goodrick’s article is both encouraging and deeply disturbing.
What I find encouraging is that CAP-supported laws are having an impact.
In the article, Goodrick recounts what it was like for her performing abortions in Arizona prior to our state passing these pro-life laws:
“…One of my family practice patients had an unplanned pregnancy. I told her, ‘if you want to come back in two days, we can do it, like any other medical thing.’ So she went home, we did a couple of consent forms, and that was it. Then I started getting referrals.
Literally I needed a pulse oximeter to monitor their vitals, a vacuum machine and staff and a recovery room, and the knowledge and skills to do it.
That could never happen now. You have to be a licensed abortion clinic, and have inspections, and all kinds of things that didn’t exist in the year 2000.”
It’s untenable that clinics like Goodrick’s didn’t have to be inspected or licensed before performing abortions. Yet thankfully today, they are held to these basic standards.
What is also good to see is that because of common sense laws like these, clinics are shutting down. Goodrick writes:
“Even in the last 4 years, we’ve lost a lot of clinics. There’s 3 Planned Parenthood locations that do medical abortions and surgery. But really in terms of private clinics there are maybe 4 or 5. Texas has a lot of press, but we have no rural providers at all.”
But as I said, there are aspects of Goodrick’s piece that are deeply upsetting.
Throughout the piece, there is an overall sense of how casually Goodrick approaches the issue, that this is a procedure that is just a “medical thing,” instead of a life-altering (and ending) decision.
It’s this casual view of abortion that leads to more than 13,000 abortions per year in Arizona.
January 22 is the 42nd anniversary of Roe v Wade – the U.S. Supreme Court Case that legalized abortion in America. Goodrick’s article and these 13,000 lost lives are a reminder of what we’re facing, how far we’ve come, and what we still need to get done.
This week, take time to re-assess how you can make a difference in the fight to build a culture of life that protects both preborn children and their parents. Consider helping out your local pregnancy resource center. Pray for those working in the abortion industry. Send a note to your elected officials encouraging them to support pro-life measures.
Governor Ducey Trimming Fat from State’s Bloated Spending
Tom Jenney, president of Americans for Prosperity Arizona Chapter, writes …
The wailing and moaning you’re about to hear on your television and see in your newspaper is the sound of Arizona’s spending lobbies after they read the executive budget released today by Arizona’s new Governor, Doug Ducey.
TAKE ACTION TO SUPPORT GOV. DUCEY’S BUDGET
Supporters of Big Government will HATE this budget:
â— The school district bureaucrats who steal money from the students and teachers in our classrooms will loathe the fact that Gov. Ducey’s budget reduces administrative bureaucracy by $113 million (with no cuts to actual classroom spending).
â— The corporate crony capitalists will wail about the $100 million slush fund Gov. Ducey wants to take away from the Arizona Commerce Authority.
â— The educrats who waste taxpayer money and student tuition dollars at our community colleges and universities will scream about the $84 million in reductions to their budgets.
They and their hundreds of lobbyists are going to fight hard to try to stop these cuts. We need Arizona’s taxpayers, producers and consumers to STAND UP NOW and support Gov. Ducey’s budget reforms.
Ducey’s budget has more than $660 million in spending reductions for the fiscal year starting July 1 ($360 million is permanent and $304 million is temporary). The permanent reductions will increase to nearly $450 million in the following fiscal year, when – for the first time since the go-go days of the real estate boom – the state budget will actually be structurally balanced. WITH NO TAX INCREASES.
For real.
We’re not kidding.
We have always had a core of real fiscal conservatives at the Arizona Legislature who believed in balanced budgets and wanted to protect Arizona’s taxpayers, producers and consumers. But for the first time in recent memory, an Arizona governor is actually taking the leadership role of holding the line against the growth of Big Government.
The executive budgets of Governors Napolitano and Brewer had absurdly high revenue predictions and dangerously high spending proposals that had to be cut down by the real leaders in the Legislature. But it’s a new day in Arizona! (For you budget wonks out there, Gov. Ducey’s $9.1 billion budget is well under the prudent budget limit of population-plus-inflation.)
Obama Says Armed Response to Muslim Terrorism Wrong Approach
By John Semmens – Semi-News — A Satirical Look at Recent News
While attempting not appear to condone the murder of the Hebdo staff and the Jewish hostages at a kosher supermarket in Paris last week, President Obama blamed France’s failure to integrate Muslims into their society.
“The fact is, Europe has done a poor job of making Muslim immigrants feel welcome,” Obama said. “In country after country Muslims are isolated in ghetto-like conditions rather than dispersed among the general population like they are in the United States.”
The President dismissed contentions that the concentration of Muslims into enclaves was by choice. “The Muslim way of life has very specific requirements,” Obama asserted. “Practitioners need to be free to drop down wherever they are to answer the five daily calls to prayer. Men need to be free to walk the streets without being lured into raping uncovered women or being assaulted by the aroma of roasting pork. They need to be secure from insults to their faith. General European societies do not meet these requirements. So Muslims are forced to try to insulate themselves from a depraved environment.”
“Tracking down and arresting or killing the perpetrators of attacks like those we saw in Paris is too little, too late,” the President contended. “A proactive policy of accommodating the needs of the Muslim faith would interdict the sources of animosity before they explode into violence. If communities could provide convenient sites for prayer so that Muslims wouldn’t have to block streets, if women were more fully clothed in public, if only halal foods were offered, Muslims would feel more at home and have less cause for anger.”
An important component of the President’s vision of a “proactive policy” is “the prevention of offensive journalism.” “A responsible media would not engage in the dissemination of words or pictures that disturb Islamic jihadis,” Press Secretary Josh Earnest alleged. “Americans can be assured that the President will take the steps he deems necessary to see that this doesn’t happen here.”
In related news, Secretary of State John Kerry defended the Administration’s decision to send James Taylor to France to sing one of his hit songs–”You’ve Got a Friend”–in lieu of joining other heads-of-state who marched for press freedom and against Islamic extremism. “The march conveyed an ‘us vs. them’ image that President Obama feels undermines his efforts to find common ground with Muslims driven to violence,” Kerry explained. “We both believe that ‘music has charms to soothe a savage breast.’ A song about friendship will do more to abate anger on both sides than an ‘in-your-face’ defense of the free speech rights of purveyors of blasphemy. Even the Pope is in agreement with us on this.”
Kerry has also offered to “give a big hug” to anyone in Paris who wants one. Thus far there have been no takers.
Hebdo Attackers “Smeared” by Child Porn Revelations
Radical imam Anjem Choudary characterized investigators’ disclosure that Cherif Kouachi and Amedy Coulibaly—murderers of the Hebdo cartoonists—were frequent visitors to websites featuring child pornography as “a smear of their reputations.”
French detectives found five child porn photos on Coulibaly’s laptop and 37 on Kouachi’s PC. Kouachi’s “favorites” folder included lurid pictures of young boys and girls involved in sexual acts with adults.
“Just because Western culture declares relationships between adult men and pre-teens to be illicit doesn’t make it so,” Choudary complained. “The Prophet’s (may peace be upon him) favorite wife married him when she was only six years old and consummated the marriage when she was nine. To hold that young Muslim men seeking to emulate the perfect man are deviant is an insult.”
In related news, celebrations hailing the Hebdo gunmen as “heroes” have taken place in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey and the Islamic State. Pir Muhammad Chishti, a Muslim cleric in Pakistan, insisted that “they weren’t terrorists—they did this for all Muslims, killing the criminals responsible for insulting the Messenger of Allah.”
President Calls for Government to Takeover Broad Band Service
Lambasting what he termed “a confusing cacophony of competing private providers,” President Obama called for government “to step in and simplify everything by consolidating all broad band service under one umbrella.”
“Right now, consumers face the continuous burden of choosing which plan to purchase,” the President pointed out. “There’s always a fear of choosing unwisely. If we eliminate this necessity to choose, consumers will be freed from this task. Instead of being faced with a difficult dilemma of what to do if their current provider is unsatisfactory, all consumers will be enrolled in a standard, uniform service. No one would have to worry that they might’ve gotten better service with another provider. All would be assured that they are getting the best that is available.”
Obama compared his proposal to British Prime Minister David Cameron’s inferior plan to ban all encrypted communications. “If the government becomes the only provider of broad band communications it can easily block any encrypted content,” he argued. “This is simpler and more effective than trying to outlaw private parties using encryption. I think all sensible people can agree that there are no good reasons why anyone’s conversation needs to be hidden from the government. Government is the protector of people’s rights. The more power it has, the more able it will be to do the best job possible.”
Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn) disagreed, “One might have thought that after the Obamacare debacle that the notion that trying to bring everyone into a government plan would be seen as an improbable cure for whatever shortcomings might be perceived in any sector of our economy. The President’s faith that more government is what this country needs is stunningly out of step with the American people.”
President Urges Sounder Business Practices for Small Businesses
On Thursday, President Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum, directing all federal agencies to give federal workers six weeks of paid leave for parents with a new child. The President is expected to call for Congress to pass similar legislation compelling all American companies to offer the same six weeks of paid paternal leave.
Small business owners are worried about the cost of this new entitlement. The President’s Council of Economic Advisers has estimated that the cost of this new perk for federal employees will run to $250 million per year.
Press Secretary Josh Earnest downplayed these small business fears as “short-sighted and selfish. A narrow focus on the bottom line overlooks the broader impacts on society as a whole. Granted, some specific firms may go under as a result of this new policy, but a much larger number of employees will gain valuable new benefits. As the President sees it, sacrificing the few for the sake of the many is sound policy.”
Houston Mayor Says Jury Trial Unnecessary
Critics of Houston Mayor Annise Parker’s new protections for transgenders (allowing them to use whichever restroom they desire regardless of their anatomy) saw their petitions aimed at getting Mayor’s policy on the ballot arbitrarily declared invalid.
The Mayor now wants these critics to be judged by a “Special Master” for “attempting to overturn simple justice through improper utilization of the petition process.” Those accused of this made-up crime have demanded a jury trial, a demand for something that Parker calls “ludicrous and unnecessary.”
“The role of a jury is to determine the facts of a case,” Parker lectured. “In this case there are no facts in dispute. Fact number one: there is a new policy extending restroom rights to transgenders. Fact number two: those accused have admitted that they are opposed to this policy. There is nothing for a jury to rule on. All that is needed is for the Special Master to decide what penalty should be meted out to these offenders.”
However, another fact is that Judge Robert Schaffer in the Harris County District Court, rejected Parker’s Special Master protocol—a move that Parker says she will simply veto. “The voters of this city chose me as their ruler, not Judge Schaffer,” she argued. “The will of the people cannot be set aside by an unelected judge.”
Canned Goods to Provide Security at Alabama School
Huntsville, Alabama’s W.F. Burns Middle School Principal Priscilla Holley sent a letter home with students asking the parents of each of them to equip their child with 8 ounces of canned goods that the student would use as a weapon against armed intruders. The idea is that the possibility of being hit by a can of beans would deter gunmen from harming the children.
A key feature of this plan, according to Holley, is “the element of surprise. We believe that a barrage of cans thrown by our 12 and 13 year-old students would be a formidable response.”
The Principal maintained that tossing cans at armed intruders was “the best compromise option. Some argued for a civil disobedience approach where all the children would simply go limp. Some suggested adopting a Biblical ‘smile turneth away wrath’ approach, but our district has a zero tolerance for anything relating to religion. Others suggested hiring a retired police officer as an armed on campus counter measure, but our Board felt this would be an endorsement of the kind of violence we need to eradicate in our society.”
Holley said she hopes the can defense is never put to the test, but remains confident of its over all efficacy.
A Satirical Look at Recent News
John Semmens is a retired economist who has written a weekly political satire column for The Arizona Conservative since 2005. He says working on his satires is one of the ways he tries to honor the liberties that our nation’s Founding Fathers tried to protect.
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Cong. Franks Working to Protect the Innocent, Vulnerable Children that Planned Parenthood would Profit from Destroying
By Tony Perkins, The Family Research Council
Leaders across the country have passed more than 200 pro-life laws since 2010 — and House Republicans are hoping to make it more! In the first few days of GOP control, members are putting their priorities front and center — including a ban on abortions after five months. The bill, sponsored by our good friends Reps. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), is almost identical to what the House passed last year: the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.
“More than 18,000 ‘very late term’ abortions are performed every year on perfectly healthy unborn babies in America,” Franks said. “These are innocent and defenseless children who can not only feel pain, but who can survive outside the womb in most cases, and who are torturously killed without even basic anesthesia.” It would also help stop so-called doctors, like the now imprisoned Dr. Kermit Gosnell, who are willing to allow babies be born alive to more easily kill them if the abortion doesn’t work.
Not surprisingly, liberals (the same ones who made abortion funding one of their first goals in power), are slamming conservatives for running with the mandate voters gave them in November. Together with Franks’s bill, the House and Senate are moving ahead with five measures to protect — not just women’s health — but innocent children’s. You can help them by calling your congressman and asking him or her to support the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act!