Bobby Schindler: The President’s Torturous Dilemma

Townhall ^ | 5/31/09 | Bobby Schindler

[wagglebee]

I spent a lot of time watching news coverage of President Obama’s recent speech at Notre Dame. I couldn’t help but be reminded of my sister Terri’s two-week ordeal that took place at the hospice facility where she was killed in March of 2005.

The was so much that was eerily similar—from the amount of media present and the pro-lifers who were there in prayer, to the dozens of people who were arrested for protesting against what was taking place.

Along with so many other Catholics, I found it profoundly disturbing that President Obama was not only invited to speak at a Catholic university but that he was given an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. It was what Vatican official Archbishop Raymond Burke referred to as the “source of the greatest scandal”.

However, just as disturbing to me was watching the Catholic students, parents and faculty praising President Obama by giving him standing ovations for his “can’t we all just get along about abortion” speech.

They seem to have forgotten the president’s extreme pro-abortion record when he was in the Illinois state senate and his already-lengthy actions in favor of abortion as president. His direct assault on the value and dignity of life and human rights runs completely contrary to Catholic teaching.

But that didn’t seem to diminish the red carpet treatment he received from Notre Dame President John Jenkins who invited Obama to speak. It is shocking and disheartening that a Catholic university would show such adoration for a president who has already been categorized as one of the most pro-death politicians to ever be elected to office.

Of course watching and listening to the media’s fawning coverage was just as difficult as listening to Obama himself. Indeed, the media would repeatedly insist that pro-lifers should try and find common ground with Obama’s position on abortion and embryonic stem cell research. It seems that the mainstream media wants to portray conservatives as a group that needs to adhere to the Obama administration’s policies and his vision of “change” or risk becoming extinct. As is frequently the case, they clearly just don’t get it.

Amidst all this media coverage I also reflected on Obama’s position on euthanasia and his offensive remark about Terri during the campaign. Then candidate Obama claimed his biggest “regret” as a senator was trying to stop Terri’s imposed death. This is especially scary because a growing number of health care experts are already warning us that Obama’s new health care plan could potentially open wide the door to euthanasia in our nation.

Make no mistake: President Obama’s position on how we should treat the most vulnerable members of our society is the same for disabled and medically vulnerable people as it is for innocent unborn children. In short, he seems to believe they fall outside the protection our nation offers. This is especially absurd, given his crusade to protect America’s sworn enemies from methods of “torture” (his word) that fall far short of what happens during an abortion or a euthanasia death by dehydration and starvation.

This same man who advocates unlimited abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy and regrets trying to save the innocent from a horrifying death by dehydration is doing everything is his power to protect the “rights” of the most merciless terrorists in our custody. His administration has even expressed outrage that caterpillars were put in a room with a terrorist as a form of torture. Since the average caterpillar is neither scary nor dangerous, it made me wonder how that would compare to depriving our most vulnerable American citizens—innocent of any crime—of food and water until they dehydrate to death. I find it ironic that he doesn’t seem worried about “regretting” what might happen if any of these terrorists are set free to attack America again.

During all this Notre Dame controversy I also heard more than once from our media that “54 percent of Catholics voted for Obama.” That is a number I never agreed with because I believe that zero percent of true Catholics voted for Obama. If you adhere to the teachings of the Catholic Church, you did not vote for him. “Catholics” who voted for Obama chose the “change” and false “hope” offered by a dynamic candidate over the values of their faith. To my mind, they are not Catholics at all.

It was, however, heartening to read of the hundreds of thousands of Catholics (including nearly 100 cardinals and bishops) who did object to the president speaking at Notre Dame and also to see all of the people who showed up to protest Notre Dame’s decision.

Words have meaning and one can only hope that Obama believes in his own rhetoric about change, because if his position does not change with respect to life—and he remains an advocate for the continued death of our most vulnerable—then Notre Dame will be forever associated with giving such a person not only a platform for his position but a prestigious award for it as well. What a badge of shame for a previously great university.

[wagglebee]

It's not troubling, it's a CRIME.

Thread by topher.

Alabama AG Calls Undercover Video of Planned Parenthood 'Extremely Troubling'

MONTGOMERY, Alabama, July 7, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Alabama Attorney General Troy King has called a new undercover video released last week showing Planned Parenthood of Alabama apparently breaking state mandatory reporting laws for sexual abuse "extremely troubling" and requested the full recordings. The student-led nonprofit responsible for the recordings, Live Action, immediately sent the full footage, which the Attorney General's office received yesterday.

The video shows a Planned Parenthood staffer, identified as "Tanisha," telling a purportedly 14-year-old girl with a 31-year-old "boyfriend" that Planned Parenthood "does sometimes bend the rules a little bit" when it comes to reporting statutory rape to state authorities. Despite strong parental consent laws in Alabama, "Tanisha" also explains that a person with the "same last name" as the 14-year-old would suffice as a guardian or parent to sign off for the minor's abortion. In an interview last week, King said, "If that tape is an accurate depiction of what's happening, that's very troubling," and "if that video is true and accurate and correct, it's extremely troubling from a legal and moral point of view."

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office has also expressed concern about the contents of the video and warned of potential repercussions for Planned Parenthood. Lt. Randy Christian said: "Anyone who sees that should be disturbed by it, and I hope they're disturbed by it. For a 31 year old to have sex with a 14 year old, that is rape in the second degree. I think they are not only morally obligated to report it - the law requires them to report it, and there could be some serious consequences otherwise."

Lila Rose, president of Live Action and the UCLA student who went undercover posing as the 14-year- old in the video, called for a thorough state investigation of Planned Parenthood. "Attorney General King should use this evidence to subpoena records and witness testimony from Planned Parenthood of Alabama and the state Department of Human Resources," she said.

Rose notes that in 2006, three Alabama abortion clinics were placed on probation after an investigation found them operating outside state regulations. King said of the current allegations, "We have knowledge that the law may have been broken and I think we're compelled at that point to see if it has or not."

"Attorney General King is absolutely correct," says Rose. "How many other rapes has this single clinic covered up? When mandatory reporters at Planned Parenthood can 'bend the rules a little bit' in service of their abortion-first mentality and put vulnerable young girls at risk, someone needs to stand up and put a stop to it."

(To view the undercover video click here)

[wagglebee]

The death monger in UK have been dealt a setback.

Thread by me.

"Victory": Assisted Suicide Amendment Defeated in House of Lords (UK)

WESTMINSTER, July 8, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Pro-life campaigners in Britain yesterday welcomed a reprieve in the battle against euthanasia as a bill that would have legalised assisted suicide was defeated in the House of Lords. In a vote of 194 to 141, an amendment to the government's Coroners and Justice Bill was defeated last night that would have sanctioned assisted suicide in the UK and facilitated Britons going overseas to commit suicide.

The amendment had been put forward by Charles Falconer, a former Lord Chancellor and major figure in Tony Blair's New Labour and part of a cadre of euthanasia campaigners at Westminster. Under current UK law, it is illegal for someone to assist another to commit suicide, even if done out of the country. The chief prosecutor, however, has instructed police to turn a blind eye to violations in the latter case.

Paul Tully, general secretary of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children called the defeat of the bill a "significant victory for the right to life."

"Time and again Parliament has blocked attempts to undermine the protective ban on assisted suicide," he said. Tully called upon euthanasia campaigners to drop their parliamentary effort that is "offensive to very many people who live with, or care for those with, disability or terminal illness."

Peter Saunders of the Care Not Killing Alliance, in an email to supporters, congratulated them for their lobbying efforts and called the vote a "fantastic result." He said, "We have fought them off for another year."

In the debate in the House, Baroness Campbell, a disability rights advocate who has spinal muscular atrophy, said that the amendment would send "a signal of despair" to the disabled and the terminally-ill. Lord Falconer's amendment would be a major change in the way our culture regards people who are disabled, she said.

She warned the House, "Legalising premature death as a treatment option plants a seed of doubt about one's right to demand help to live with dignity and undermines the state's responsibility to ensure that all citizens can live with dignity."

"If this amendment were to succeed, it would place a new and invidious pressure on disabled and terminally ill people who think that they are close to the end of their lives." She noted that no major disability organisation supported the amendment and only a minority of vocal disabled individuals supported it. . .

[Dante3]

Good news.

[wagglebee]

Unfortunately the death mongers will just bring it back every year until they get their way.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[wagglebee]

Being pro-life has all but been declared a crime.

Thread by Pope Pius XII (the FReeper, not the deceased Pontiff).

IRS Demands that Pro-Life Group Swear it Will Not Oppose Planned Parenthood

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has told a non-profit coalition of pro-life groups in Iowa to promise that it would not organize protests at Planned Parenthood abortion facilities before it is granted tax exempt status.

Pro-life lawyers say the organization has steadily kept within the guidelines for non-profit religious, educational and charitable groups. However, several months after the group applied for tax-exempt status, an IRS agent contacted Coalition for Life Iowa president Sue Martinek to inquire as to whether the group engages in any "picketing" or protesting at Planned Parenthood, and questioned the group's prayer activity outside Planned Parenthood facilities. . .

"We will not be silent.
We are your bad conscience.
The White Rose will give you no rest."

[wagglebee]

The Pope SHOULD have given Zero an exorcism.

Thread by NYer.

Pope gives Obama 'unannounced' gift: Vatican document on right to life and bioethics

Vatican City, Jul 10, 2009 / 11:37 am (CNA).- Pope Benedict XVI received President Barack Obama this afternoon in his private library, and after 36 minutes of private conversation, the pair emerged without providing any details about their topics of conversation. Nevertheless, the Holy See revealed that the Pope gave Obama an “unannounced gift”--a Vatican document on bioethics and the right to life.

"The G8 has been very productive, 20 billion dollars have been allocated [to poor countries]; that's something concrete," President Obama told the Pope when he asked about the summit, as photographers and journalists were ushered out of the Papal library.

The meeting between the Pope and the U.S. President started at 4:25 p.m. local time, after an unusually short meeting of ten minutes with the Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.

After the private conversation, and again in front of the cameras, President Obama gave the Pontiff a stole that was drapped upon the body of St. John Neumann from 1988 to 2007. The Pope instead presented the president with a mosaic portraying St. Peter's Square and the Vatican Basilica, and an autographed copy of his latest social encyclical “Caritas in Veritate.”

[wagglebee]

I've been called much worse (by FReepers even).

Thread by me.

NEA General Counsel Complains of Attacks from "Right-Wing Bastards"

SAN DIEGO, California, July 9, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The general counsel for the National Education Association (NEA), America's largest teacher's union, complained last week of the "conservative and right-wing bastards" that are "after" the NEA. At the same meeting, the NEA rejected a proposal that would have ceased their abortion advocacy, and went on record in support of same-sex "marriage."

"We are not paranoid, someone really is after us," said General Counsel Bob Chanin in an address to NEA affiliates on the occasion of his retirement.

"Why are these conservative and right-wing bastards picking on NEA and its affiliates? I will tell you why: it is the price we pay for success. NEA and its affiliates have been singled out because they are the most effective unions in the U.S."

Chanin also noted that, in his opinion, NEA's advocacy is "effective" "not because of our creative ideas, it is not because of the merit of our positions, it is not because we care about children, and it is not because we have a vision of a great public school for every child. NEA and its affiliates are effective advocates because we have power." . . .

[wagglebee]

Hopefully the media will be forced to describe it as "payback for Bork".

Thread by rhema.

Support for Sonia Sotomayor Crumbles as Pro-Abortion Bona Fides Established

The more that the American public learns that Sonia Sotomayor may supports unlimited abortions throughout pregnancy if she is confirmed for the Supreme Court, the more they oppose her nomination. A new Rasmussen Report poll finds a plurality now oppose the Senate confirming her.

The finding comes as more information is revealed about her involvement with a pro-abortion Hispanic group that filed numerous legal briefs promoting unlimited abortions.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey find a small 37 percent believe Sotomayor should be confirmed while a larger 39 percent say she should not. The rest of those polled are undecided on her nomination.

Two weeks ago, the numbers were much brighter for President Barack Obama's first Supreme Court pick. At that time, 42% favored confirmation, and 34% were opposed, according to the Rasmussen poll.

Democrats now favor confirmation by a four-to-one margin while Republicans are opposed by a three-to-one margin. Among those not affiliated with either major party, 23% favor confirmation, and 49% are opposed. . .

[wagglebee]

America is a Republic and this should be decided legislatively, not by unelected judges.

Thread by NYer.

New poll confirms Americans trending pro-life, more willing to ban abortion

Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Jul 10, 2009 / 01:33 pm (CNA).- A new poll commissioned by the Knights of Columbus supports other reports that say Americans are increasing becoming pro-life. About 49 percent of Americans now describe themselves as pro-life, while 60 percent think abortion should be legal only in a few circumstances or not at all.

The poll, undertaken in partnership with the Marist Institute for Public Opinion at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York, conducted a telephone survey of 1,223 Americans in May 2009 and claims a margin of error of plus or minus three percent.

An October 2008 Knights of Columbus/Marist Institute poll showed 44 percent of Americans considered themselves to be pro-life. This figure increased to 49 percent among the May 2009 respondents. Men and women were about evenly split on abortion but were still slightly more pro-life than those polled in 2008. . .

[wagglebee]

Dead or not, they just want our "parts".

Thread by me.

‘Cardiac Death’ Allows One to Kill the Organ Donor

July 10, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In 2006, research done by Dr. Gerald Buckberg, a cardio-thoracic surgeon and UCLA expert, demonstrated that a person can survive cardiac arrest for an average of 72 minutes if they are given the following treatment: cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, the use of a heart-lung machine to keep blood and oxygen circulating, and gradual restoration of blood and oxygen flow.

This research was done at hospitals in Alabama and Ann Arbor, Michigan and also in Germany. Of 34 patients, seven died, only two had permanent neurological changes and 25 recovered completely. One patient had been in cardiac arrest for two and a half days. Similar results were obtained by research in Japan, Taiwan, and elsewhere in Asia. . .

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[wagglebee]

I apologize for neglecting the Terri Dailies thread the past several days. My wife and I have company from out of town staying with us for two weeks and it is taking far more time than I would have liked. Hopefully later in the week I will be able to do some pinging, and a few others may also help out.

Thanks for understanding and God Bless.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[Lesforlife]

Enjoy your friends and fellowship!!

We appreciate you!!!!

[floriduh voter]

No need to apologize. I’ve been scanning instead of posting and bttt. I’ll be bk when Charlie Crist does something stupid again. Gee, that would probably be sooner rather than later.

[wagglebee]

JimRob sums up the Sotomayor hearings perfectly!

Speaking of judicial empathy

Speaking of judicial empathy, where was the empathy for the helpless Terri Schiavo as she was dehydrated to death by judicial order, without even the simple kindness of allowing the grieving parents to wet her blistering lips as she was being tortured to death?

Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.

"We will not be silent.
We are your bad conscience.
The White Rose will give you no rest."

[wagglebee]

The culture of death's latest attempt to glamorize murder.

Thread by NYer.

British conductor dies with wife at assisted suicide clinic

One of Britain's most respected conductors, Sir Edward Downes, and his wife, Joan, a choreographer and TV producer, have died at an assisted suicide clinic in Switzerland, their family said today.

Downes, 85, was almost blind when he and his 74-year-old wife, who had become his full-time carer, travelled to Switzerland to end their lives, a family statement released to the BBC said.

Born in Birmingham, Downes had a long and distinguished career, including conducting the first performance at the Sydney Opera House. He worked with the BBC Philharmonic and the Royal Opera House in London.

The statement from the couple's son and daughter, Caractacus and Boudicca, said they "died peacefully, and under circumstances of their own choosing".

The statement continued: "After 54 happy years together, they decided to end their own lives rather than continue to struggle with serious health problems."

The couple died at a clinic run by Dignitas, the Swiss organisation that operates a specialist euthanasia service. . .

[wagglebee]

I guess "hope and change" has given Ginsburg the courage to admit what she really believes.

Thread by rhema.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg and a Question of Eugenics

Here's what Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said in Sunday's New York Times Magazine: "Frankly I had thought that at the time (Roe v. Wade) was decided," Ginsburg told her interviewer, Emily Bazelon, "there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don't want to have too many of."

The comment, which bizarrely elicited no follow-up from Bazelon or any further coverage from the New York Times — or any other major news outlet — was in the context of Medicaid funding for abortion. Ginsburg was surprised when the Supreme Court in 1980 barred taxpayer support for abortions for poor women. After all, if poverty partly described the population you had "too many of," you would want to subsidize it in order to expedite the reduction of unwanted populations.

Left unclear is whether Ginsburg endorses the eugenic motivation she ascribed to the passage of Roe v. Wade or whether she was merely objectively describing it. One senses that if Antonin Scalia had offered such a comment, a Times interviewer would have sought more clarity, particularly on the racial characteristics of these supposedly unwanted populations.

Regardless, Ginsburg's certainly right that abortion has deep roots in the historic effort to "weed out" undesired groups. For instance, Margaret Sanger, the revered feminist and founder of Planned Parenthood, was a racist eugenicist of the first order. Even more perplexing: She's become a champion of "reproductive freedom" even though she proposed a "Code to Stop Overproduction of Children," under which "no woman shall have a legal right to bear a child without a permit." (Poor blacks would have had a particularly hard time getting such licenses from Sanger.) . . .

[wagglebee]

I have a feeling the 50 million murdered American babies in Heaven have very long memories as well.

Thread by lakeprincess.

Fetuses found to have memories

They weigh less than 3 pounds, usually, and are perhaps 15 inches long. But they can remember.

The unborn have memories, according to medical researchers who used sound and vibration stimulation, combined with sonography, to reveal that the human fetus displays short-term memory from at least 30 weeks gestation - or about two months before they are born. . .