Here a personal Thanksgiving Reflection by Sarah Palin which she dedicates to Trig. It is beautiful and awesome.
From LifeNews.com: On Thanksgiving, my family’s traditions will reflect the loyal, active, robust, big family life that shaped me. We’re so fortunate to be together to share the making of another year’s memory. In these late autumn days with temperatures dipping to 20-degrees below zero, we’ll brave Alaska’s biting cold to run and skate and ride – just because we can, and for that I am so thankful. Life in America’s Last Frontier is not an easy living, but it’s a good living. Here in Alaska, where I’m never without inspiration, an optimistic pioneering spirit still permeates, and harsh conditions force us out of self-centeredness and towards community – often in order to survive.
This need for selflessness – and the blessings that come with it – sharpened for me almost four years ago when I was given the gift of broader horizons, clarified priorities, and more commitment to justice and compassion for my fellow man who faces challenges and fears. I was granted this through a gift that arrived in a tiny, six-pound, awe-inspiring bundle. We named him Trig.
I know America’s potential for goodness, thus greatness, because I see it every day through my son. Nothing makes me happier or prouder than to see America’s good heart when someone smiles at my Trig. I notice it happens often in airports. Often a traveler passing by does a double-take when they see him, perhaps curious about the curious look on his face; perhaps my son momentarily exercises an uncontrollable motion that takes the passerby by surprise. Perhaps, as an innocent and candid child announced when she first met Trig, they think “he’s awkward.” But when that traveler pauses to look again and smile, and maybe tells me what a handsome boy I have, I swell with American pride. I am so thankful for their good heart. They represent the best in our country and their kindness shows the real hope we need today.
I am thankful that, as in so many areas of life, the bitter people who say bitter things about someone facing challenges are so outnumbered. There have been stinging criticisms, even from people still screaming that Trig should never have been born, but we know those critics may be the loudest and most malicious, but they’re not the majority.
To me, when individuals reflect the greater societal acceptance of someone facing challenges, they show the best of humanity – even by offering a simple pat on Trig’s head or a knowing smile shot our way. Conversely, when a society works to eliminate the “weakest links” (as some would callously consider the disabled) or “the unproductive” (as some would callously consider the very young and the very old), it eliminates the very best of itself. When a society seeks to destroy them, it also destroys any ability or need for sincere compassion, empathy, improvement, and even goodwill. And those are the very best qualities of humanity! Those are the characteristics of a country that understands and embraces true hope! America can be compassionate and strong enough as a nation to be entrusted with those who some see as an “inconvenience,” but who are really our greatest blessings. Through Trig, I see firsthand that there is man’s standard of perfection, and then there is God’s. Man’s standard is flawed, temporary, and shallow. God’s standard lasts an eternity. At the end of the day, His is what matters.
So, this Thanksgiving my family will bundle Trig up and grin while we watch him through ice-frosted eyelashes as he curiously takes in all that is around him in the crisp open air. I hope your Thanksgiving gives you the opportunity to find that reminder of what really matters, too. For me, my perfect picture of thankfulness is my perfectly awesome son. With him, all is well with my soul and I know I am blessed.
Glenn Reynolds is dreaming in the land of Oz when he predicts that Rick Santorum will be the next candidate in the GOP field to drop out. Santorum has some of the most ardent supporters who are willing to back him the whole way to the White House. Stacy McCain is correct in his analysis. Rick Santorum is riding on the bump which he received, and continues to receive from both his masterful debate performance and his unexpected fourth place finish in the Iowa Straw Poll. It was quite unexpected for Santorum to do that well in the straw poll. Pro-life Catholics and anti-Jihadists are probably Santorum's most ardent supporters, we are very loyal to him and aren't about to abandon Santorum for some other lesser candidate at this point in time. Rick Santorum keeps on chugging along, working his hardest with a small amount of funds, relaying his message of liberty, religious freedom, economic policies to boost the economy, foreign policy agenda, immigration policy (specifically illegal immigration), and his staunch pro-life message to the American people. Stacy rightly points out that Rick has even seen an uptick in online donations since last Thursday's debate. He is gaining momentum so there is no reason for Rick Santorum to hang it up at this stage in the presidential race. Now I'm not sure whether Newt Gingrich is going to be the next candidate to drop out of the race as Stacy predicts but it is certainly possible with all of his previous campaign troubles. I think the next GOP candidate to drop out could be either McCotter or Huntsman.
Here is Rick Santorum's exchange with Ron Paul on Iran:
Every innocent human life is precious and Rick Santorum understands this as evidenced by his answer to an abortion question during the debate.
To display that his campaign is gaining momentum Rick Santorum has released a video touting his 4th place finish in the Iowa Straw Poll.
This was a great campaign description by Santorum. He said, "This is the little engine that could campaign".
I stand with Lisa Graas and other pro-lifers in supporting the Republican Party's 2008 pro-life platform. Here is the part which discusses abortion in relation to the Constitution:
Faithful to the first guarantee of the Declaration of Independence, we assert the inherent dignity and sanctity of all human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution, and we endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to unborn children.
Lisa goes onto explain why abortion has everything to do with the 14th Amendment and not the 10th Amendment:
Do you see anything in there about the 10th Amendment? No. There is a very important reason for that.Abortion has nothing to do with the 10th Amendment. It has everything to do with theFourteenth Amendment or potentially a valid Human Life Amendment.
Why is that? Simple. An unborn child is a “person“. All “persons” are protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. Here is the specific provision in Section 1 of the amendment which protects unborn children…and the rest of us, from being destroyed by a rogue state legislature.
nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
The rights of “persons” to equal protection of the laws trumps state legislatures. Read McDonald v. Chicago, a recent Supreme Court decision in which the Court ruled (correctly) that States must extend the Second Amendment right to bear arms to citizens within that state. If it were not for the Fourteenth Amendment, any state could ban guns. Because of the Fourteenth Amendment, NO state may ban guns.
This goes the same with abortion. NO state may allow abortion. Period. Because the unborn child is, objectively, a person.
It is true that prior to Roe v. Wade, the States handled the abortion issue. But that doesn’t mean it was legitimate for them to. It was not legitimate for slavery to be a “state’s rights” issue either. The reason is that…hold onto your hats, libertarian Tea Partiers, states do not have “rights”. They have “powers”. People have rights. The unborn have rights. Rights come from God Almighty, not the federal government and not state legislatures. They come from God alone. America is supposed to be on a journey toward a greater respect for human dignity. The Founders did not end slavery. Slavery was rightly ended because of that journey.
Those who argue that abortion is a “states rights” issue are taking us backward to the Founders….who did not end slavery. America rightly ended slavery. America must also journey forward and end abortion by recognizing the personhood of the unborn child, thereby acknowledging that the child is protected under the Fourteenth Amendment.
Rick Perry does not understand this. Sarah Palin doesn’t either. Ron Paul certainly does not. Michele Bachmann “may” understand this, but I’m just not sure. RICK SANTORUM understands that our rights come from God, not government. He understands that all levels of government, both federal and state, must defend our God-given rights.
And you thought I supported him because of his cowboy boots? Nuh uh. He’s the only one who “gets” that our rights actually trump both state and federal powers.
Are we clear now? I certainly hope so because I blogged on this ad nauseum during Kentucky’s U.S Senate primary and ended up writing in the name of a real pro-life Republican during the general election. I won’t compromise on personhood and the Fourteenth Amendment, no matter how many trillions of dollars Obama spends. You can take that to the bank. I’m voting for Santorum.
We cannot build a decent America on top of a pile of dead babies and brutalized women. Anyone who claims to be for freedom while claiming state powers trump our rights is just (knowingly or not) giving you a different brand of salt water to drink than the Left is giving you through their brand of “economic justice”.
Refresh and strengthen this nation. Quench the thirst of the downtrodden and uplift them by freeing them from their oppression. Vote for Rick Santorum.
Here are some newsworthy stories over the past week or so which I have been meaning to cover but haven't gotten a chance to til' now.
The U.N. admits that they underestimated the cost of going "green." The U.N. originally estimated the cost would be as much as $600 million a year over the next decade, but now the U.N. has recalculated and said it going to cost a whopping $1.9 Trillion per year over the next 40 years. So, the new total adds up to $76 Trillion. Is it me or have you noticed that whenever a progressive calculates how much one of their "grande" programs is going to cost they usually get it wrong and under estimate how much it going to cost?
More on this by Dan Gainor at Fox News:
The new 251-page report with the benign sounding name of the “World Economic and Social Survey 2011” is rife with goodies calling for “a radically new economic strategy” and “global governance.”
Throw in possible national energy use caps and a massive redistribution of wealth and the survey is trying to remake the entire globe. The report has the imprimatur of the U.N., with the preface signed by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon – all part of the “goal of full decarbonization of the global energy system by 2050.”
Make no mistake, much of this has nothing to do with climate.
The press release for the report discusses the need “to achieve a decent living standard for people in developing countries, especially the 1.4 billion still living in extreme poverty, and the additional 2 billion people expected worldwide by 2050.” That sounds more like global redistribution of wealth than worrying about the earth’s thermostat.
That’s because it is. The report goes on and says “one half of the required investments would have to be realized in developing countries.” In other words, $38 trillion would go to the developing world.
The survey details where that money would go. “Survey estimates that incremental green investment of about 3 percent of world gross product (WGP) (about $1.9 trillion in 2010) would be required to overcome poverty, increase food production to eradicate hunger without degrading land and water resources, and avert the climate change catastrophe.”
So eradicating hunger and overcoming poverty are now part of the climate debate.
It’s also interesting to notice the escalating scale the U.N. is using for its costs. This is a 200 percent increase from the previous Stern Report, which called for 1 percent of global WGP. But that wasn’t enough so Stern revised his claim in 2008, warning there were “many ways of acting to make it more costly” and said 2 percent was needed. Apparently so. Now it’s 3 percent.
It wasn’t that long ago – Nov. 11, 2009 to be exact – when lefty writer Naomi Klein, author of "The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism,” told readers the cost of going green was going to be $600 billion a year.
Eighteen months later, the price of our “one last chance to save the world” has increased $13 trillion – and that’s just over the next decade.
The Klein piece was controversial because she admitted the left was looking for the first world to pay a “climate debt,” what she described as “the idea that rich countries should pay reparations to poor countries for the climate crisis.” The new U.N. report doesn’t use those terms, but they are there in spirit.
The U.N. calls for a push toward the “green economy” even though it freely admits “there is no unique definition of the green economy.” The survey's introduction rationalizes the massive cost by explaining “the green economy concept is based on the conviction that the benefits of investing in environmental sustainability outweigh the cost of not doing so.” So, by that rationale, any cost is sustainable.
And, as in all things from the U.N., government is the solution: “Governments will have to assume a much more central role” in making the change to a green economy. Where there’s government, there must be control and “active industrial and educational policies aimed at inducing the necessary changes in infrastructure and production processes.” CONTINUED
This is a great example of why you never get into bed with a progressive. The No-Child Left Behind law exacerbated the problems with public schools. It upped the ante so that depending on how well students performed on tests determined whether a teacher was doing his or her job. Are standardized tests really a good (legitimate) standard to judge whether a person is knowledgeable in certain subject areas or only an indicator of how well a student is able to take a standardized test? George W. Bush and Ted Kennedy's plan added financial incentives, penalties, and near national standards. According to a multi-year investigation it has come to light that the Atlanta Public School system took part in standardized test cheating from the teachers to all the way up the food chain.
For the past decade, Atlanta’s schools received national praise for their success — success measured by performance on standardized tests. And as the performance increased, the benchmarks for the tests increased. Consequently, cheating had to become more widespread.
It got to the point where teachers were having parties where they’d sit down on a weekend together and wholesale erase and redo students’ test answers. Children unable to read were making near perfect scores on reading comprehension tests. The Superintendent and her school bosses would scream racism when anyone dared question what was going on. They’d behave like global warming scientists and destroy documents requested by the media. They’d fabricate, alter, and destroy evidence and obstruct investigators.
At Venetian Hills, a group of teachers and administrators who dubbed themselves “the chosen ones” convened to change answers in the afternoons or during makeup testing days, investigators found. Principal Clarietta Davis, a testing coordinator told investigators, wore gloves while erasing to avoid leaving fingerprints on answer sheets.
Davis refused to answer the investigators’ questions. She could not be reached Tuesday.
At Gideons Elementary, teachers sneaked tests off campus and held a weekend “changing party” at a teacher’s home in Douglas County to fix answers.
Cheating was “an open secret” at the school, the report said. The testing coordinator handed out answer-key transparencies to place over answer sheets so the job would go faster.
When investigators began questioning educators, now-retired principal Armstead Salters obstructed their efforts by telling teachers not to cooperate, the report said.
“If anyone asks you anything about this just tell them you don’t know,” the report said Salters said. He told teachers to “just stick to the story and it will all go away.”
Salters eventually confessed to knowing cheating was occurring, the report said. He could not be reached Tuesday.
At Kennedy Middle, children who couldn’t read not only passed the state reading test, but scored at the highest level possible. At Perkerson Elementary, a student sat under a desk, then randomly filled in answers and still passed.
At East Lake Elementary, the principal and testing coordinator instructed teachers to arrange students’ seats so that the lower-performing children would receive easier versions of the Fifth Grade Writing Tests. CONTINUED
Bishop Thomas Paprocki, the Bishop of Springfield, will be joining LIFE Runners and running in the Kansas City Marathon in October. Life Runners is a team of pro-life runners dedicated to raising funds for pro-life charities and spreading the Gospel of Life.
“The suffering times during speed workouts and long runs are potent prayers to help save the unborn and families,” explained the co-founder of the group, Pat Castle, in an interview with LifeSiteNews,
The organization grew out of a weekday email prayer devotional founded by running partners Pat Castle and Rich Reich. As chemistry professors at the Air Force Academy, Castle and Reich trained for marathons together in the mountains of Colorado Springs, and prayed together every morning before work.
When Reich moved to Florida in 2007 to work on his PhD, the two continued their weekday morning prayer devotionals over email. They began sharing their emails with family and friends, and eventually started a blog, which they named Living In Faith Exchange (LIFE) Group Devotions.
A year later, they formed the first LIFE Runners team to compete in the 2008 Chicago marathon. Castle and Reich continue to send out regular email devotions through LIFE Group, which Castle calls “the spiritual feeding arm” of the running group.
But personal prayer is only one element of what LIFE Runner Fr. Jonathon St. Andre refers to as “redemptive running.” Team members also seek to evangelize through pro-life slogans on their jerseys.
An Albuquerque woman who violently attacked peaceful pro-life activists outside a late-term abortion mill has been apprehended by Albuquerque Police and charged with one count of battery and one count of aggravated battery. Did anyone hear this reported by the MSM? The way the MSM portrays pro-life activists as the violent ones but then totally ignores reporting when a pro-abortion supporter commits an act of violence irks me to no end.
Here is the video of the incident.
Then we have Obama actually admitting that welfare encourages dependency.
At the Twitter Townhall Obama said:
I think we should acknowledge that some welfare programs in the past were not well designed and in some cases did encourage dependency.… As somebody who worked in low-income neighborhoods, I’ve seen it where people weren’t encouraged to work, weren’t encouraged to upgrade their skills, were just getting a check, and over time their motivation started to diminish. And I think even if you’re progressive you’ve got to acknowledge that some of these things have not been well designed.
He’s absolutely right. The United States welfare system has not promoted prosperity and self-reliance but, rather, a culture of entitlement. Since the federal government got into the welfare business with the War on Poverty back in the 1960s, the poverty level has remained nearly the same, yet government welfare spending has soared. Today, the federal government operates over 70 welfare programs at a cost edging toward $1 trillion a year, or roughly 13 times the cost of what it spent in the 1960s. And unfortunately, President Obama’s comment doesn’t acknowledge that it was not simply “some welfare programs in the past” that “did encourage dependency.” In reality, the story is no different today. Of the more than 70 welfare programs in operation today, only one requires able-bodied recipients to work or look for work. The President’s suggestion that today “there are work obligations attached to welfare” is vastly out of touch with what is really taking place. Furthermore, that he has attempted to slash funding for the program that seeks to promote the one thing that has the greatest effect on reducing poverty—marriage—further evidences his misunderstanding of poverty in the United States. Children in single-parent homes are five times more likely to be poor, and 80 percent of all long-term poverty occurs in single-parent homes. Little wonder, then, that nearly three-quarters of all families with children on welfare are headed by single parents. Tragically, the number of out-of-wedlock births has skyrocketed since the War on Poverty began. The majority of these births occur to low-income women, those most likely to struggle as single parents. Sadly, many of these women come from communities where marriage is all but obsolete and where they rarely, if ever, receive the important message of waiting to have children until they are married. Yet the President has attempted to de-fund efforts to promote marriage among the members of these communities.
We need to stop the progressives agenda to further the destruction of the family unit.
I have been working on my Eagle links post but due to my working a lot of hours this week I won't be able to post it until Friday.
