All posts by Wintery Knight

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Republicans move to defund Planned Parenthood at the state level

Unborn baby scheming about federalism
Unborn baby scheming about federalism

From Life Site News.

Excerpt:

Days after Republican Congressmen in Washington abandoned the effort to strip Planned Parenthood of its federal funds, the battle continues in state legislatures across the country.

In North Carolina, Republicans added a provision to the state budget last week that would prohibit the state from providing grants or entering into contracts with Planned Parenthood, a measure which would deprive the organization of the $473,000 it currently receives through state family planning programs.

Representative Nelson Dollar, chairman of the House appropriation subcommittee for Health and Human Services, told the Raleigh News and Observer newspaper that the provision is unrelated to the issue of abortion.

“There are a whole host of programs being reduced. Planned Parenthood is not unique,” he said, adding that the proposed budget still allocated $3.6 million towards other teen pregnancy prevention programs.

A similar measure prohibiting state grants and contracts with Planned Parenthood was added to a pro-life bill in Indiana yesterday. According to an Associated Press report, Planned Parenthood is currently receiving $3 million in Indiana state funds.

The larger bill of which the funding provision is now a part, HB 1210, would also prohibit abortions after 20 weeks gestation. The current legal cut-off in Indiana is 24 weeks. The bill has yet to be voted on by the state Senate.

Also on Monday, Minnesota Republicans introduced SF 1224, a bill that does not mention Planned Parenthood by name, but which prohibits state grant funds from being given to any organization that provides abortions or refers patients for abortion.

If passed, the bill would remove state funds from all of the 24 clinics that Planned Parenthood operates in Minnesota.

This past week’s legislation mirrors other recent efforts in Wisconsin and New Hampshire to keep Planned Parenthood from receiving fund from state coffers. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker unveiled a budget proposal in early March which eliminates the Title V Maternal and Child Health Program. Title V is the source of roughly $1 million in funding for Planned Parenthood’s 27 Wisconsin clinics, according to the Huffington Post.

The proposed budget is currently stalled by tense debate over its radical overhaul of state finances, including cuts in education, and health-care and pension plans for public employees.

Legislative efforts in New Hampshire have also come to a standstill, after a bill specifically targeting Planned Parenthood was introduced in early February. HB 228 would, like the North Carolina and Indiana legislation, prohibit the state from entering into a contract with Planned Parenthood; it is currently retained in committee in the House.

Planned Parenthood stands to lose approximately $800,000 if the New Hampshire legislation is passed.

Read the rest, there’s more.

Abortion is about profits. It’s a business. If we vote to cut off the taxpayer subsidies, the abortions will stop. Get government out of the health care business, and the abortions will stop.

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Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff admits plan to form coalition with Quebec separatists

2008 Election Canada Provincial Map
2008 Election Canada Provincial Map

Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff is willing to lead a coalition that would include Bloc Quebecois separatists. The separatists are a significant minority of the people in Quebec (about a third) and they threaten to secede from Canada unless the other provinces give them them money collected from citizens in other provinces.

Excerpt:

Michael Ignatieff is saying clearly for the first time that he could defeat a minority Conservative government and make a case to the Governor-General that his party could govern with the support of others – and without another trip to the polls.

Until now, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff has only said the party that wins the most seats on May 2 can “try” to win the confidence of the House of Commons. While the comment carried an obvious implication, he spelled it out for the first time Tuesday.

“If [Conservative Leader Stephen] Harper wins the most seats and forms a government but does not secure the confidence of the House, and I’m assuming Parliament comes back, then it goes to the Governor-General. That’s what happens. That’s how the rules work.

“And then, if the Governor-General wants to call on other parties – or myself, for example – to try and form a government, then we try and form a government. That’s exactly how the rules work and what I’m trying to say to Canadians is I understand the rules, I respect the rules, I’ll follow them to the letter and I’m not going to form a coalition,” he said.

Mr. Harper began the campaign by stating that another Conservative minority is no longer an option; that only a majority mandate will keep him as prime minister. His original line of attack was that the other parties would form a coalition. Mr. Ignatieff continues to rule out a formal coalition – which would involve inviting members of another party to sit in cabinet – but he is clearly open to convincing the Governor-General that he can provide stable government with the support of other parties in the House.

Harper should get a bump now that we know that Ignatieff is willing to conspire to break up Canada with Quebec separatists, and willing to cut deals with the communist NDP. So on the one hand you have extorting separatists and on the other hand you have massive spending and higher unemployment which result from corporate tax hikes. There is only one option left for Canadians who are serious about federalism, fiscal responsibility and a unified Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada, led by Stephen Harper.

Here’s the current electoral map from 2008, showing electoral districts:

2008 Canada Election Electoral Map
2008 Canada Election Electoral Map

Stephen Harper is ahead by 11 points in the latest 2011 election poll.

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If you are looking for a good charity, try the Alliance Defense Fund

The Alliance Defense Fund secured a matching grant of 1.25 MILLION dollars. These guys do more for religious liberty in the world than anybody. A great organization. It’s all about getting a return for your investment, and these guys provide a huge return on investment.

Watch the video:

What they’ve done:

Christian attorneys trained at the ADF Legal Academy are on the frontlines fighting for religious freedom in communities like yours every day. These faithful allied attorneys are protecting the Body of Christ from legal attacks – and by God’s grace, are winning case after crucial case.

Some ADF victories:

  • Charles LiMandri achieved an important victory for four San Diego firefighters who were forced to endure sexual harassment during a lewd city-sponsored parade celebrating homosexual behavior.
  • Natalie Decker successfully defended a Christian couple in Colorado who were criminally charged for disciplining their child in accordance with church teaching.
  • Steven O’Ban helped the Christian non-profit organization, World Vision, win an important victory after the ministry was sued by two former employees who were dismissed after admitting that they didn’t believe in the Holy Trinity.

What they’re doing:

ADF Legal Academy-trained attorneys are in communities across America defending the constitutionally protected rights of Christians who have been censored and punished for expressing their faith. Please be in prayer for these and so many other important allied attorney cases being fought to protect Our First Liberty – religious freedom – and to keep the door open for the spread of the Gospel.

Some current ADF cases:

  • Randall Wenger is representing a 5th-grade public school student in Pennsylvania who was prohibited from distributing fliers that invited classmates to a Christmas party at her church because the school district has a policy that bars speech “promoting Christianity.”
  • Karen Mueller is defending a nurse-practitioner in Wisconsin who was fired for sharing her faith with the patients for whom she cared.
  • Daniel Cox is assisting with the defense of three young women who were arrested, shackled, strip-searched, and detained overnight by Maryland state police after peacefully expressing their pro-life views.

Religious liberty is what I would call my “core value”. The freedom to be who I really am, and to say what I really think in public, whether people like it or not. The ADF defends my religious liberty, and no one does it better.

I never give money to charities that don’t promote my worldview. My goal is not to alleviate people’s suffering, primarily. My goal is to persuade others about the truth of the gospel. And that takes legal work, policy work and research on arguments and evidence. I want to defend God’s existence and character, and to promote the social conditions (e.g. – protection of unborn children, traditional marriage, low taxes, free trade, school choice, security from terrorism, etc.) that maximize the opportunities of non-Christians to investigate the gospel for themselves.

Yes, arguments and evidence are very important, but arguments and evidence are not weighed in a vacuum. Every person on the planet was created to know God, and my job is to make sure they get their best opportunity to do that. Part of that opportunity is letting Christians have the freedom to be who they are in public, in front of non-Christians. It’s also important for me to be able to find a job, to keep what I earn, and to spend my earnings on the causes that I think are important – not to let someone else take my money and spend it buying votes from special interest groups with wasteful government spending.

My favorite charities are Reasonable Faith, Stand to Reason, Please Convince Me, CrossExamined, Faith Beyond Belief, Heritage Foundation, Family Research Council, Access Research Network, Discovery Institute Center for Science & Culture, and Alliance Defense Fund. These are charities that move the ball forward effectively.