Health Care teams up with Law and Order?

Maybe it is just me...perhaps I'm just being hypersensitive. But, did anyone one else watch tv the night the Obama-care bill was passed? During my lunch break from work, I was flippin' through the channels with my wife and stopped at "Law and Order." What I saw was a full episode of anti-Catholic propaganda, and the last few minutes of another show that seemed like it was on the same path. You probably know the routine: Catholics hate gay people, we're super intolerant, priests are all deviants, we hate women, so on and so forth...

I think if I hadn't been watching coverage of the health care reform debates all day, I might not even have noticed it. But, the second it started to soak in, it made me a little sick to my stomach. It just seemed a little too convenient and well timed. Its old school politics to demonize the primary opposition with lies and bigotry, but, its usually not quite so obvious.

Like I said...maybe its just me. But I doubt it.

Planned Parenthood Covering Up Child Rape/Abuse

Its incredibly sad that as much of our tax money goes to this organization already, under the deceitful guise of "public health." That amount is scheduled to increase dramatically if the president's idea of "health care reform" passes. I have a hard time expressing how bad Planned Parenthood is for the future of any society. The St. Michael Society has this story on their site (see link below). If one Planned Parenthood clinic has this much disregard for our children, what's to make anyone think that any other clinic is any better. Its the dark legacy of Margaret Sanger at work.

For the 10th Time on Tape: Planned Parenthood Covering Up Child Rape/Abuse:

Christmas Eve Senate Vote

The Senate has the final round of voting to pass the Reid health care bill, on this, the eve of our Lord's birth. So far, this has been an incredibly interesting and insightful look into the workings of our government.

Being a future social studies teacher, I shudder to think how I'm going to explain this process to my future students. All of the lessons and diagrams of government I've had to go over seem a little lacking, even misleading to a great degree.

How do I start with this one?

I suppose it would be important to let them know that the "right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," as written in our Declaration of Independence, are really only suggestions. Whether or not you possess the right to life depends on who is in power at the time. And if you happen to fall under the category of those not possessing that right, others will be forced to pay for your execution, even if the majority of Americans don't think that should be the case.

What else? Oh yes, elected officials are not in Washington to represent the people who elected them. What is really important is how they further the agendas of those who finance their re-election. It's perfectly fine for them to sell out any "values" or "morals" that they might have used to get elected, as long as they get a good deal. Plus, it's okay for them to distort and misrepresent the faith community they claim to belong to, because "values" and "morals" are goods for sale, not to be protected and proclaimed. That sort of stuff needs to stay at home.

I know all this sounds really pessimistic. That's the point. But, the hope is that this won't be a lesson plan I'll have to make. I still have faith in our system, but I have infinitely more faith in God.

Merry Christmas!

Obama Admin. Threatens Base Closure

It was reported yesterday in The Weekly Standard that Nebraska Democrat, Senator Ben Nelson, received a phone call from someone within in the Obama administration. Now remember, Senator Nelson is the same senator who proposed the amendment which would have stopped funding of abortion in the senate health care bill. He has mentioned that he would stand in opposition to the bill if abortion funding was included. He represents an important vote for Democrats if this bill is to move forward.

Now, back to the phone call. It is reported from sources in the Senate that a member of the administration called the senator and threatened to add Offutt Air force Base to the infamous BRAC list, which is the list of military bases up for closure. Spokes people within both senator Nelson's office and the Obama admin. are denying these charges. But, that's not really all that surprising, its Democrats protecting Democrats. This is simply another example of the trend this current government put into place of so-called "Chicago Style" politics.

So far in the health care marathon, there have been a couple examples. The senator from the great state of Louisiana, Mary Landrieu, was bought off in exchange for a yes vote, reportedly with $300 million of our tax money. Senator Nelson is, apparently, being strong armed with threats to get a yes vote, using our national defense as a poker chip. The president's administration is in bed with unions (SEIU), so these baseball bat tactics don't come as surprising. "Czars" of extremely questionable backgrounds are being appointed to high posts without congressional review, and definitely without public review.

This is what it looks like when a democracy becomes undemocratic and begins the journey to the state of being "something else." What that something else might be, I'm not sure yet. I can't help but look back to the Manhattan Declaration and its call to Christian conscience. I honestly don't know what the situation might be in a year. American history has very few precedents for us to look back on and take wisdom from in regards to the possible complete erosion of the American system. Not only is the political system being severely compromised, but the philosophy which that system is based.

Catholics Should NOT Support Senate HC Bill

The Nelson Amendment, which would have prevented the tax payer funding of abortion in the Senate bill, has been voted down in the Senate. This means that any future vote is either a vote for life or for abortion. From what I've heard, these votes could happen as early as Christmas.

Other issues, such as the lack of any protection of conscience, also looms large within the bill.

Please contact your elected officials and remind them who they work for. Also, give your support to your local bishop and let them know that they don't stand alone on this critical issue.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has an excellent news release that was published on Dec. 9 on the bishops website. Cardinal George made a striking remark near the end of the release that needs to be a rallying cry.

Go to www.usccb.org to find out more regarding the healthcare debate. It's vital that everyone is educated and knows the ramifications of what might be on the horizon.

Senate Votes Down Life

The weekend held a lot of promise. For college students like me, finals week was right around the corner. For Catholics like me, the celebration of the Immaculate Conception was right around the bend. And for those looking in on politics and the struggle for life (in more ways than one) in the Senate health care debate, a huge vote was around the corner.

It almost seemed like all these things were coming together at an oddly conspicuous point. The outcome couldn't have been anymore contrasting. Just as Catholics across the globe were remembering the birth of the Mother of God, men and women in the Senate of the United States voted down a bill that would have prevented tax payer funding of abortion in the Senate health care bill.

Could there be a more striking cry out to the faithful?

Nevermind college finals. I'm doing fine in that department. The question is whether or not the people we chose to represent us are passing that test.

Senate healthcare bill and Rep. Stupak

I have to admit, I haven't been watching the coverage of the Senate version of the health care bill nearly as closely as I did the House coverage. I think that says a lot on its own. The coverage by pretty much every media outlet has been much more subdued and seemingly less interested in this round. 60 votes for the bill is all that's needed for passage in the Senate. The limited coverage I have seen makes it seem like passage is a 50/50 possibility. The Senate's version of Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, talks confidently about getting the 60 needed, but he admits that they're currently a handful of votes short.

What I've been trying to find out is the status of any pro-life amendments that could make their way into the Senate bill. Luckily, rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich) is putting the Obama adms. feet to the fire regarding the House's passage of abortion funding restrictions. White House advisor David Axelrod said the president would intercede and remove any abortion restrictions from the House bill. Rep. Stupak then brought up a great point...the bill already passed the House!

Is Planned Parenthood a little ticked about the situation so far? Maybe...could that be getting the Obama admin. a little nervous? I sense a little bird in Mr. Axelrod's ear.

MSNBC: Fairness in News?

I was just winding down tonight when I thought to myself, "hey, I wonder whats going on with the coverage of the health care bill?" I flipped past MSNBC and saw a little interview with a high ranking spokesperson for NARAL, one of the leading pro-abortion groups in the country. Then I took a look at the MSNBC website and wasn't too surprised. Quotes referring to the action of bishops as getting senators and representatives "to fix these bills with pro-life amendments," were common. As if this is a diabolically demented act. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is portrayed, unashamedly, as an underhanded, evil organization of Washington insiders bent on controlling helpless politicians like Nancy Pelosi. And this is one of the same stations that criticizes more conservative stations, like Foxnews, for pushing a view.

Great job MSNBC! You have officially called all Americans stupid with a semi-straight face.

Just in case you want to check out this little example, here's the story

Pelosicare AND Stupak Passes the House

Big weekend in politics. Democrats actually managed to get a vote started on Saturday for the Pelosicare bill. The surprising thing isn't that it passed. With the Democratic majority, it would have been a demostration of pure incompetence if it hadn't. The event that struck me as important (as a Catholic and a tax payer) was the passage of the Stupak amendment, which prevents the tax payer funding of abortion. Dems and their supporters were fighting tooth and nail trying to keep the Stupak Amendment out of the equation. The argument was that the bill didn't concern abortion, so an amendment preventing the funding of abortion was unnecessary. Kind of a funny thing to get so worked up about, don't you think? If its not in the bill, why the worry about an amendment that would make sure funding couldn't get slipped in? Perhaps thats what the plan was all along? Kudos to Mr. Stupak for following through. Time to see what the Senate has to offer!