In response to Governor’s Nixon’s request for state departments to identify programs that can be cut to address the current state budget crisis, the Missouri Department of Health is recommending cuts to the Alternatives to Abortion program (ATA). ATA funding for fiscal year 2010 could be cut entirely or reduced severely.

ATA provides a wide range of emergency services to women facing crisis pregnancies. The Missouri Department of Health contracts with a consortium of faith-based providers, including Catholic Charities of St. Louis and Kansas City-St. Joseph. Services provided include housing, counseling, prenatal care, job placement assistance, and adoption referrals. Research shows that providing alternative services encourages more women to carry their unborn child to term thereby reducing the number of abortions.

On Tuesday, July 14, Governor Nixon decided against cutting $1.5 million for the Tour of Missouri bike race. See this link for more information. Surely saving unborn children is more important than a bicycle race!

No one disputes that the state budget is under severe constraints. Governor Nixon plans to withhold $325 million from the state budget proposed by the Missouri General Assembly. Some budget cuts are certainly necessary, but the ATA program merits more budget protection than, say, enrichment programs for gifted children (surely, these kids can get along without enrichment for a year in order to save unborn children).

In the context of the multi-billion dollar state budget, the $1.9 million allocated for the ATA program represents a very modest investment toward saving unborn children and assisting women in crisis pregnancies. Ultimately, a state budget is a moral document: it shows what our state’s priorities are. Missouri has been a leader in reducing abortions and the ATA program has been a key component of that pro-life effort. Cutting ATA would be a step backward in our state’s efforts to save unborn children and to support pregnant women.

In January, Governor Nixon promised to fully fund ATA (see the MCC Press Release or Life News article).This is one campaign promise citizens need to make sure Governor Nixon keeps!

ACTION REQUESTED:

Contact Governor Nixon immediately!!! See contact information below:

Contact Gov. Nixon

PO Box 720
2nd Floor State Capital Bldg
Jefferson City, MO 65102

Phone: (573) 751-3222

E-message:

http://governor.mo.gov/contact/

THE MESSAGE:

Please don’t cut funds from the Alternatives to Abortion program. This program offers women in crisis pregnancies a wide range of services, such as emergency housing, counseling, prenatal care and adoption referrals. ATA is one way our state can reduce abortions while supporting women in need. In the context of a multi-billion dollar state budget, the $1.9 million allocated for ATA is a very modest investment in protecting unborn children and helping women in crisis pregnancies. Saving unborn children is more important than a bicycle race!
___________________________________________________________________________________________

OK, I do not encourage that programs for “gifted children” be cut. But I whole heartedly agree that the money should go to ATA over the Tour of Missouri Bike Race. If our “representatives” in Washington can discuss making it mandatory that insurance or the national government pay for abortion, our state and national government should also be required to fund CHOICES against abortion.

I think everyone would agree that abortions are a terrible thing. Even the pro-choice crowd say they want it to be rare. If funding for ATA is pulled, it is likely that abortions will INCREASE as these women will be left with little other choice. ~HB

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”~Declaration of Independence.

In 1776, these words were an act of treason. These words are known as “The Right of Revolution”. We are all given certain rights by our Creator and, when the government violates these rights, we have the right to alter or abolish the government.

The men that signed this document did so knowing that they were putting their lives at stake. Sadly, we are no longer those people.

We have a right to Life. It does not say the right to life is exclusive to those out side of the womb nor does it say the right to life is limited to those who have not convicted certain crimes. There is not “Right to life but….” in the Declaration.

We have a right to Liberty, or the right to act according to our own will. The right to sit on the steps of the county courthouse handing out copies of the Bible or the right to watch as much porn as we desire. It is not the “Right to Liberty but….”

We have the right to the “Pursuit of Happiness”. If it makes you happy to smear lime Jell-O over your body while dancing naked in your living room or to run your business paying your chief Executive an outrageous salary, that is your right. It is not the “Right to the pursuit of Happiness, but…”

Among all of these rights that are listed in the “Right of Revolution”, the Right to alter or abolish the Government is King. When we no longer have consent of the governed, it is time for a change.

No, I am not saying it is time for a violent revolution like we had in 1776. We do have the most powerful weapon at our disposal, the right to vote. I propose we “alter the government” in 2010 by cleaning the House (and the Senate).

Consent of the governed is a memory, something to be read about in history book. Here are some recent examples:

• 66% of Americans are not sure or think Cap and Trade will HURT the economy. Only 19% think it will help. Cap and Trade passed 219-212 in the House. (Rasmussen)
• Only 44% of Americans supported the Bush Bailouts (Rasmussen)
• Only 37% of Americans supported the Obama stimulus (Rasmussen)
• 53% of Americans believe that Abortion should be legal under certain circumstances, but only 23% believe it should be legal in all circumstances.

The list could go on and on. The point is that the politicians have stopped listening to the People. They tell us that these issues are “sophisticated” and “nuanced”. What they are really saying is “You are just the ordinary people; you are too stupid to understand.”

It is time that We the People speak up with one unified voice. One that can’t be ignored. We need to speak with our votes. If we don’t, all the bitching and moaning in the world won’t matter. You can write all the letters and blog posts that you want, but they will continue to be ignored by those who think they know what is in our best interests.
It is time to stand up and BE the Founding Fathers for the next generation and LIVE the Spirit of 1776.

I’m a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me. There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you’re willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now. You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would horribly feel so disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut job am I? Will you please tell me?

Well, these are briefly my views and issues for which I seek representation:

One, illegal immigration. I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels. Stop the violence and the trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty, not again. Been there, done that, no resolution. P.S., I’m not a racist. This isn’t to be confused with legal immigration.

Two, the TARP bill, I want it repealed and I want no further funding supplied to it. We told you no, but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed. Freeze, repeal.

Three: Czars, I want the circumvention of our checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the czars. No more czars. Government officials answer to the process, not to the president. Stop trampling on our Constitution and honor it.

Four, cap and trade. The debate on global warming is not over. There is more to say.

Five, universal healthcare. I will not be rushed into another expensive decision. Don’t you dare try to pass this in the middle of the night and then go on break. Slow down!

Six, growing government control. I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. I want less government in my life, not more. Shrink it down. Mind your own business. You have enough to take care of with your real obligations. Why don’t you start there.

Seven, ACORN. I do not want ACORN and its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them every time on every real estate deal that closes. Stop the funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audits and investigations. I do not trust them with taking the census over with our taxpayer money. I don’t trust them with our taxpayer money. Face up to the allegations against them and get it resolved before taxpayers get any more involved with them. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, hello. Stop protecting your political buddies. You work for us, the people. Investigate.

Eight, redistribution of wealth. No, no, no. I work for my money. It is mine. I have always worked for people with more money than I have because they gave me jobs. That is the only redistribution of wealth that I will support. I never got a job from a poor person. Why do you want me to hate my employers? Why ‑‑ what do you have against shareholders making a profit?

Nine, charitable contributions. Although I never got a job from a poor person, I have helped many in need. Charity belongs in our local communities, where we know our needs best and can use our local talent and our local resources. Butt out, please. We want to do it ourselves.

Ten, corporate bailouts. Knock it off. Sink or swim like the rest of us. If there are hard times ahead, we’ll be better off just getting into it and letting the strong survive. Quick and painful. Have you ever ripped off a Band‑Aid? We will pull together. Great things happen in America under great hardship. Give us the chance to innovate. We cannot disappoint you more than you have disappointed us.

Eleven, transparency and accountability. How about it? No, really, how about it? Let’s have it. Let’s say we give the buzzwords a rest and have some straight honest talk. Please try ‑‑ please stop manipulating and trying to appease me with clever wording. I am not the idiot you obviously take me for. Stop sneaking around and meeting in back rooms making deals with your friends. It will only be a prelude to your criminal investigation. Stop hiding things from me.

Twelve, unprecedented quick spending. Stop it now.

Take a breath. Listen to the people. Let’s just slow down and get some input from some nonpoliticians on the subject. Stop making everything an emergency. Stop speed reading our bills into law. I am not an activist. I am not a community organizer. Nor am I a terrorist, a militant or a violent person. I am a parent and a grandparent. I work. I’m busy. I’m busy. I am busy, and I am tired. I thought we elected competent people to take care of the business of government so that we could work, raise our families, pay our bills, have a little recreation, complain about taxes, endure our hardships, pursue our personal goals, cut our lawn, wash our cars on the weekends and be responsible contributing members of society and teach our children to be the same all while living in the home of the free and land of the brave.

I entrusted you with upholding the Constitution. I believed in the checks and balances to keep from getting far off course. What happened? You are very far off course. Do you really think I find humor in the hiring of a speed reader to unintelligently ramble all through a bill that you signed into law without knowing what it contained? I do not. It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. It is a slap in the face. I am not laughing at your arrogance. Why is it that I feel as if you would not trust me to make a single decision about my own life and how I would live it but you should expect that I should trust you with the debt that you have laid on all of us and our children. We did not want the TARP bill. We said no. We would repeal it if we could. I am sure that we still cannot. There is such urgency and recklessness in all of the recent spending.

From my perspective, it seems that all of you have gone insane. I also know that I am far from alone in these feelings. Do you honestly feel that your current pursuits have merit to patriotic Americans? We want it to stop. We want to put the brakes on everything that is being rushed by us and forced upon us. We want our voice back. You have forced us to put our lives on hold to straighten out the mess that you are making. We will have to give up our vacations, our time spent with our children, any relaxation time we may have had and money we cannot afford to spend on you to bring our concerns to Washington. Our president often knows all the right buzzword is unsustainable. Well, no kidding. How many tens of thousands of dollars did the focus group cost to come up with that word? We don’t want your overpriced words. Stop treating us like we’re morons.

We want all of you to stop focusing on your reelection and do the job we want done, not the job you want done or the job your party wants done. You work for us and at this rate I guarantee you not for long because we are coming. We will be heard and we will be represented. You think we’re so busy with our lives that we will never come for you? We are the formerly silent majority, all of us who quietly work , pay taxes, obey the law, vote, save money, keep our noses to the grindstone and we are now looking up at you. You have awakened us, the patriotic spirit so strong and so powerful that it had been sleeping too long. You have pushed us too far. Our numbers are great. They may surprise you. For every one of us who will be there, there will be hundreds more that could not come. Unlike you, we have their trust. We will represent them honestly, rest assured. They will be at the polls on voting day to usher you out of office. We have cancelled vacations. We will use our last few dollars saved. We will find the representation among us and a grassroots campaign will flourish. We didn’t ask for this fight. But the gloves are coming off. We do not come in violence, but we are angry. You will represent us or you will be replaced with someone who will. There are candidates among us when hewill rise like a Phoenix from the ashes that you have made of our constitution.

Democrat, Republican, independent, libertarian. Understand this. We don’t care. Political parties are meaningless to us. Patriotic Americans are willing to do right by us and our Constitution and that is all that matters to us now. We are going to fire all of you who abuse power and seek more. It is not your power. It is ours and we want it back. We entrusted you with it and you abused it. You are dishonorable. You are dishonest. As Americans we are ashamed of you. You have brought shame to us. If you are not representing the wants and needs of your constituency loudly and consistently, in spite of the objections of your party, you will be fired. Did you hear? We no longer care about your political parties. You need to be loyal to us, not to them. Because we will get you fired and they will not save you. If you do or can represent me, my issues, my views, please stand up. Make your identity known. You need to make some noise about it. Speak up. I need to know who you are. If you do not speak up, you will be herded out with the rest of the sheep and we will replace the whole damn congress if need be one by one. We are coming. Are we coming for you? Who do you represent? What do you represent? Listen. Because we are coming. We the people are coming.

-Janet Contreras

The Obama administration is fighting to block access to names of visitors to the White House, taking up the Bush administration argument that a president doesn’t have to reveal who comes calling to influence policy decisions.

Despite President Barack Obama’s pledge to introduce a new era of transparency to Washington, and despite two rulings by a federal judge that the records are public, the Secret Service has denied msnbc.com’s request for the names of all White House visitors from Jan. 20 to the present. It also denied a narrower request by the nonpartisan watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which sought logs of visits by executives of coal companies.

CREW says it will file a lawsuit Tuesday against the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Secret Service.

“We are deeply disappointed,” said CREW attorney Anne L. Weismann, “that the Obama administration is following the same anti-transparency policy as the Bush administration when it comes to White House visitor records. Refusing to let the public know who visits the White House is not the action of a pro-transparency, pro-accountability administration.”

Groups that advocate open government have argued that it’s vital to know the names of White House visitors, who may have an outsized influence on policy matters. The visitor logs have been released in only a few isolated cases, most notably records of visits by lobbyist Jack Abramoff to the Bush White House, and in the “filegate” investigation of the Clinton White House.

The Obama administration is arguing that the White House visitor logs are presidential records — not Secret Service agency records, which would be subject to the Freedom of Information Act. The administration ought to be able to hold secret meetings in the White House, “such as an elected official interviewing for an administration position or an ambassador coming for a discussion on issues that would affect international negotiations,” said Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt.

These same arguments, made by the Bush administration, were rejected twice by a federal judge. The visitor logs are created by the Secret Service and maintained by the Secret Service, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth ruled in 2007 and again this January. CREW had requested records of visits to the Bush White House, as well as the residence of Vice President Dick Cheney, by leaders of Religious Right organizations.

The Bush administration appealed Lamberth’s decision, and the Obama administration has continued to press that appeal.

“It is the government’s position,” the Secret Service wrote last week to msnbc.com in denying access to the visitor logs, “that the vast majority, if not all, of the records … are not agency records subject to the FOIA. Rather, these records are records governed by the Presidential Records Act” and “remain under the exclusive legal custody and control of the White Office and the Office of the Vice President. After the resolution of this litigation, we will respond further to your request if necessary.”

The visitor records are kept in two databases:

Worker and Visitor Entry System (WAVES). This Secret Service database includes information submitted to the Secret Service about individuals who have a planned visit to the White House. This information includes the name of the pass holder submitting the request, the date of the request, the time and location of the planned visit and the nature of the visit or the person to be visited. This information may be updated with the actual date and time of entry and exit. Msnbc.com also requested lists submitted to the Secret Service of groups or delegations of visitors with planned visits to the White House.
Access Control Records System (ACES). This Secret Service database includes information generated when a pass holder, worker or visitor swipes a permanent or temporary pass over an electronic reader at entrances or exits. This information includes the name of the visitor, the badge number, the post or location, and the date and time of entry or exit.
No private information requested
Msnbc.com excluded from its request any private information on the White House visitors. It asked that the Secret Service delete from the logs any dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and home addresses (other than city and state).

In addition, msnbc.com asked the Secret Service to exclude information on security precautions and the results of background checks on prospective visitors.

The Bush White House had taken several steps to close off access to the visitor logs, steps repeatedly rejected by the federal judge.

In May 2006, the Bush White House signed a memorandum of understanding with the Secret Service, declaring that the logs are agency records, under White House control.

In October 2006, CREW sought records of visits by nine religious leaders: James Dobson, Gary L. Bauer, Wendy Wright, Louis P. Sheldon, Andrea Lafferty, Paul Weyrich, Tony Perkins, Donald Wildmon and Jerry Falwell.

The Bush position was rejected in December 2007 by Judge Lamberth, a former federal prosecutor who was appointed to the bench by President Ronald Reagan. Lamberth gave the White House 20 days to hand over the public records. But CREW did not get the visitor logs.

In September 2008, Homeland Security said that it did not plan to release the visitor logs, claiming that the visitor logs were protected by the presidential communication privilege in the law.

Judge Lamberth ruled again, denying that claim on Jan. 9. The judge wrote that a simple list of visitors is not a communication at all, because it includes no details on the topics discussed during a meeting, and therefore is not protected by a presidential communication privilege.

The Bush administration appealed on Jan. 14, a week before the end of President Bush’s term of office.

In late January and again in May, the Obama administration had opportunities to change course, when it filed papers in the appeals court, but stuck with the Bush position.

In February, the White House spokesman, LaBolt, told msnbc.com that the policy was under review. “We are reviewing our policy on access to visitor logs and related litigation involving the previous administration to determine how we can ensure that policymaking in this administration happens in an open and transparent way, and that we take appropriate measures to ensure that we are operating in a secure environment.”

But last week, in denial letters to msnbc.com and CREW, the Secret Service continued to cite the Bush position.

Asked Monday whether the White House plans to continue to oppose release of the records, White House spokesman LaBot said the policy is still under review. He also cited a list of “the unprecedented steps the administration has taken to promote openness and transparency.” These include instructing all agencies to adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure in Freedom of Information Act decisions, and overturning the practice of allowing other executives, aside from the president, to assert executive privilege to block access to an administration’s records.

Unpersuaded was the attorney for the watchdog group CREW, which was formed in 2003 during the Bush administration to increase open government.

“It’s great that President Obama made this commitment to transparency,” attorney Weismann said. “But now you need to make good on it.”

He will be remembered as having cultivated such value lessons as
knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm, and that life isn’t always fair.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not kids, are in charge).

His health began to rapidly deteriorate when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate,
teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch,
and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer aspirin to a student, but could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Finally, Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense finally gave up the ghost after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot, she spilled a bit on her lap, and was awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.

He is survived by two stepbrothers, My Rights and Ima Whiner.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.
If you still know him pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.

- Author Unknown

According to Robert Cahalan, climatologist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center “For the last 20 to 30 years, we believe greenhouse gases have been the dominant influence on recent climate change.”

This may not come as such a big surprise to those who weren’t so ready to swallow the Al Gore theory. We all knew that Earth has experienced dramatic changes in its history, going from ice ages to periods of extreme heat (even to the point of melting all the ice on the planet).

Many have suggested that the Sun was responsible for these climatic changes and pointed out that low (or non-existent) solar activity often appeared during cooler periods on the planet.

It would now seem that NASA agrees with this finding. Thomas Woods, a solar scientist at the University of Colorado in Boulder said “The fluctuations in the solar cycle impacts Earth’s global temperature by about 0.1 degree Celsius, slightly hotter during solar maximum and cooler during solar minimum,” and added “The sun is currently at its minimum, and the next solar maximum is expected in 2012.”

Between 1650 and 1715, almost no sunspots were observed on the Sun’s surface and this is believed to have been partly responsible for the Little Ice Age in Europe.

There have been few, if any, sunspots for some time now, but does this mean we have reached a turning point and can expect temperatures to fall again?

Unfortunately, it is difficult to predict what the Sun will do in the distant future, although the Sun usually goes through an 11-year cycle of activity. We could just as easily expect an ice-age, or a continued rise in temperatures. If I was forced to make a guess, I would say that this is just a temporary break in the proceedings and the temperatures will continue to rise once the sunspots reappear (probably in the next 6-12 months).

Whilst evidence seems to clearly show that the Sun is related to the Climatic changes on our planet, that does not rule out other forces at work. It is easy to be impressed with the power and size of our Sun, and the fact that it makes our life possible. But this is nothing compared to the Universe as a whole. There are many things much bigger and more powerful out there, most of which we do not understand at all.

Who can say there isn’t another factor out in space that is affecting our Sun, or perhaps even our galaxy? We have already seen how some scientists were quick to assume that man was responsible for the warming and seemed unable to consider the “big picture”. Is it possible we may rush into another assumption, before exploring all the alternatives?
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Hard to believe, ain’t it? ~HB

Yes, this is another one of those “Obama is just like the leaders of the Nazi party” posts. Really, think of the many parallels.

Nazis focused on the minds of the youth knowing they would influence (or intimidate) the older generations.

Anyone disloyal to the Furher was prosecuted (or persecuted).

Children were manipulated by their parents to sing the praises of Der Furher.

Generally, personality cults are most common in regimes with totalitarian systems of government, that seek to radically alter or transform society according to (supposedly) revolutionary new ideas. Often, a single leader becomes associated with this revolutionary transformation, and comes to be treated as a benevolent “guide” for the nation, without whom the transformation to a better future cannot occur. This has been generally the justification for personality cults that arose in totalitarian societies of the 20th century, such as those of Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler. (again from Wikipedia)

Am I saying that Obama is a Nazi or Hitler? No, I am not. I am showing the tools and methods used in the German “Great National Mind-fuck” are alive and well in the U.S.

Government control of industry. Government control of banking. Government control of healthcare.

21 (or is it 22 now) government figures that report ONLY to the President.

Is putting control of all these sectors under one man and his sycophants a good idea? Is it a good idea to allow this “end-around” of the system of checks and balances?

Welcome to the Third Wave

(Ed. Note: Thanks to Willyloman at American Everyman for turning me onto the Third Wave info and video.)

This is what we can look forward to in an Obama Administration. They already have the Ministry of Truth” going around the country re-writing events and silencing contrarian views of “The One”.

War is peace

Wealth Redistribution is Capitalism