I just saw on a news update from the World Over with Raymond Arroyo that Obama has selected two prominent women to a Communications post and Domestic Policy. Both are extreme pro-abortion on demand advocates. Also, both played a major role in helping Obama campaign for his election win.
These two women are:
White House Communications Director - Ellen Moran is current the head of Emily's List, "a political action committee (PAC) in the United States that aims to help elect progressive female candidates who are pro-choice to office. It was founded by Ellen Malcolm in 1984" (WIKIPEDIA)
She responsible for the strategic direction of the org, and has played a major role in Democratic party campaigning, etc.
From CNA - "EMILY's List also states being "committed to a three-pronged strategy to elect pro-choice Democratic women: recruiting and funding viable women candidates; helping them build and run effective campaign organizations; and mobilizing women voters to help elect progressive candidates across the nation."
For a candidate to be considered for funding from EMILY’s List there are three requirements: The candidate must be a woman; she must be a Democrat; and she must support unrestricted access to taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand.
The List’s support for abortion-on-demand is so strong that it has cut funding from politicians who voted against extreme pro-abortion positions. Two examples of this are Senators Mary Landrieu from Louisiana and Blanche Lincoln from Arkansas who lost funding from EMILY’s List when they voted to ban the gruesome practice of partial-birth abortion."
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=14420
Domestic Policy Director - Melody Barnes. "She was previously Executive Vice President for Policy at the Center for American Progress[2] and led the CAP's Faith and Progressive Policy Initiative. She left the CAP in June of 2008 to work on the Obama campaign. She also serves on the advisory board for the Obama presidential transition team. She previously served as the Director of Legislative Affairs for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and as assistant counsel to the United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties[4], where she worked with Congress to pass the Voting Rights Improvement Act of 1992. She was also a board member of EMILY's List." (WIKIPEDIA).
It also appears the domestic policy position will oversee these partipants as part of the policy (with exception of economics). Ignore the names since they are currently Bush's appointees. Just read the actual role.
Richard B. Cheney (Vice President)Michael Leavitt (Secretary of Health and Human Services)Michael Mukasey (Attorney General)Elaine Chao (Secretary of Labor)James Peake (Secretary of Veterans Affairs)Dirk Kempthorne (Secretary of the Interior)Margaret Spellings (Secretary of Education)Steve Preston (Secretary of Housing and Urban Development)Chuck Conner (Secretary of Agriculture)Mary Peters (Secretary of Transportation)Carlos Gutierrez (Secretary of Commerce)Samuel Bodman (Secretary of Energy)Henry Paulson (Secretary of the Treasury)
Additional Participants
Stephen L. Johnson (Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency)Edward Lazear (Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers)Jim Nussle (Director of the Office of Management and Budget)Keith Hennessey (Assistant to the President for Economic Policy)John Walters (Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy)
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
List of Papers that Endorsed Obama and McCain
Before I forget, might as well have this on record! Somehow copy and paste is acting funny, so they are clumped together.
Newspapers endorsing Democrat Barack Obama:
Alabama
Tuscaloosa News
California
Contra Costa Times Daily Breeze Fremont Argus Fresno Bee Hayward Daily Review La Opinión Long Beach Press Telegram Los Angeles Daily News Los Angeles Times Marin Independent Journal Modesto Bee Monterey County Herald Oakland Tribune Pasadena Star-News Sacramento Bee San Bernadino Sun San Francisco Chronicle San Gabriel Valley Tribune San Joaquin Herald SJ Mercury News San Mateo County Times Santa Cruz Sentinel Stockton Record Tri-Valley Herald Walnut Creek Journal Colorado Cortez Journal Denver Post Durango Herald Gunnison Times Ouray Plain Dealer Florida Daytona Beach Miami Herald Naples News News-Journal Orlando Sentinel Palm Beach Post Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Georgia
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hawaii
Honolulu Star-Bulletin
Idaho
Idaho Stateman
Illinois
Chicago Tribune
Chicago Sun-Times Arlington Hgts Daily Herald Rockford Register Star
Indiana Fort Wayne Journal Gazette Richmond Palladium Item
Iowa The Hawk Eye Mason City Globe Gazette Storm Lake Times
Kentucky Lexington Herald-Leader
Maine Bangor News Brunswick Times Record
Massachusetts
Boston Globe Standard-Times
Michigan
Detroit Free Press Michigan Chronicle Muskegon Chronicle Minnesota St Cloud Times
Missouri
Columbia Daily Tribune Kansas City Star St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Nevada
Las Vegas Sun
New Hampshire
Cabinet Press Concord Monitor Nashua Telegraph New Jersey Asbury Park Press
New Mexico Las Cruces Sun News Santa Fe New Mexican
New York
Buffalo News
New York Daily News El Diario/La Prensa North Carolina Asheville Citizen-Times Greenville Daily Reflector Durham Herald Sun News & Observer Wilmington Star News
Ohio Akron Beacon Journal Cleveland Plain Dealer Canton Repository Dayton Daily News Times-Reporter Springfield News Sun Toledo Blade Oregon East Oregonian Mail Tribune Oregonian Register-Guard Salem Statesman Journal
Pennsylvania Philadelphia Inquirer Express-Times Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Tennessee Chattanooga Times Commercial Appeal Tennessean
Texas Austin American-Statesman The Eagle Houston Chronicle Lufkin Daily News Utah Salt Lake Tribune Virginia Falls Church News Press
Washington The Columbian The Olympian Seattle Times Seattle Post-Intell. Tri-City Herald Walla Walla Union-Bulletin Yakima Herald
Washington, DC
Washington Post
West Virginia Charleston Gazette
Wisconsin State
Journal Newspapers endorsing Republican John McCain:
California Bakersfield Californian Napa Valley Register Press-Enterprise San Diego Union Tribune SF Examiner Colorado Daily Sentinel Mountain Valley News Pueblo Chieftain Florida Tampa Tribune Maryland Baltimore Examiner Massachusetts Boston Herald Lowell Sun Nevada Las Vegas Review-Journal New Hampshire Foster's Daily Democrat Union Leader New York New York Post Ohio Columbus Dispatch Findlay Courier Oregon Bend Bulletin Texas Amarillo Globe News Beaumont Monitor Corpus Christi Caller-Times Dallas Morning News San Antonio Express-News Wichita Falls Times-Record Virginia Daily Press Washington Spokesman Review Washington, DC DC Examiner West Virginia The Intelligencer Wheeling News Register
Newspapers endorsing Democrat Barack Obama:
Alabama
Tuscaloosa News
California
Contra Costa Times Daily Breeze Fremont Argus Fresno Bee Hayward Daily Review La Opinión Long Beach Press Telegram Los Angeles Daily News Los Angeles Times Marin Independent Journal Modesto Bee Monterey County Herald Oakland Tribune Pasadena Star-News Sacramento Bee San Bernadino Sun San Francisco Chronicle San Gabriel Valley Tribune San Joaquin Herald SJ Mercury News San Mateo County Times Santa Cruz Sentinel Stockton Record Tri-Valley Herald Walnut Creek Journal Colorado Cortez Journal Denver Post Durango Herald Gunnison Times Ouray Plain Dealer Florida Daytona Beach Miami Herald Naples News News-Journal Orlando Sentinel Palm Beach Post Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Georgia
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hawaii
Honolulu Star-Bulletin
Idaho
Idaho Stateman
Illinois
Chicago Tribune
Chicago Sun-Times Arlington Hgts Daily Herald Rockford Register Star
Indiana Fort Wayne Journal Gazette Richmond Palladium Item
Iowa The Hawk Eye Mason City Globe Gazette Storm Lake Times
Kentucky Lexington Herald-Leader
Maine Bangor News Brunswick Times Record
Massachusetts
Boston Globe Standard-Times
Michigan
Detroit Free Press Michigan Chronicle Muskegon Chronicle Minnesota St Cloud Times
Missouri
Columbia Daily Tribune Kansas City Star St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Nevada
Las Vegas Sun
New Hampshire
Cabinet Press Concord Monitor Nashua Telegraph New Jersey Asbury Park Press
New Mexico Las Cruces Sun News Santa Fe New Mexican
New York
Buffalo News
New York Daily News El Diario/La Prensa North Carolina Asheville Citizen-Times Greenville Daily Reflector Durham Herald Sun News & Observer Wilmington Star News
Ohio Akron Beacon Journal Cleveland Plain Dealer Canton Repository Dayton Daily News Times-Reporter Springfield News Sun Toledo Blade Oregon East Oregonian Mail Tribune Oregonian Register-Guard Salem Statesman Journal
Pennsylvania Philadelphia Inquirer Express-Times Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Tennessee Chattanooga Times Commercial Appeal Tennessean
Texas Austin American-Statesman The Eagle Houston Chronicle Lufkin Daily News Utah Salt Lake Tribune Virginia Falls Church News Press
Washington The Columbian The Olympian Seattle Times Seattle Post-Intell. Tri-City Herald Walla Walla Union-Bulletin Yakima Herald
Washington, DC
Washington Post
West Virginia Charleston Gazette
Wisconsin State
Journal Newspapers endorsing Republican John McCain:
California Bakersfield Californian Napa Valley Register Press-Enterprise San Diego Union Tribune SF Examiner Colorado Daily Sentinel Mountain Valley News Pueblo Chieftain Florida Tampa Tribune Maryland Baltimore Examiner Massachusetts Boston Herald Lowell Sun Nevada Las Vegas Review-Journal New Hampshire Foster's Daily Democrat Union Leader New York New York Post Ohio Columbus Dispatch Findlay Courier Oregon Bend Bulletin Texas Amarillo Globe News Beaumont Monitor Corpus Christi Caller-Times Dallas Morning News San Antonio Express-News Wichita Falls Times-Record Virginia Daily Press Washington Spokesman Review Washington, DC DC Examiner West Virginia The Intelligencer Wheeling News Register
Protests Over a Rule to Protect Health Providers
There is this "midnight regulation" stuff that Bush is trying to get in before his term ends. So, I just wanted to add this into the list of culture of life activities. This article is from the New York Times. I am not sure if it will pass, but basically Bush wants to allow health care professionals to be able to refrain from a job if it is against their personal beliefs. According to the news, there is already some act from 1964 that allows people to not have to act against their person beliefs unless it causes some hardship on the company. Seems to me like there is a loophole. And the legislation Bush is trying to push through would plug it. As a result, Planned Parenthood is upset.. blah, blah.. saying it would create a loophole for employees. Anyway, here is the article:
Protests Over a Rule to Protect Health Providers
new_york_times:http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/18/washington/18abort.html
By ROBERT PEAR
Published: November 17, 2008
WASHINGTON — A last-minute Bush administration plan to grant sweeping new protections to health care providers who oppose abortion and other procedures on religious or moral grounds has provoked a torrent of objections, including a strenuous protest from the government agency that enforces job discrimination laws.
The proposed rule would prohibit recipients of federal money from discriminating against doctors, nurses and other health care workers who refuse to perform or to assist in the performance of abortions or sterilization procedures because of their “religious beliefs or moral convictions.”
It would also prevent hospitals, clinics, doctors’ offices and drugstores from requiring employees with religious or moral objections to “assist in the performance of any part of a health service program or research activity” financed by the Department of Health and Human Services.
But three officials from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, including its legal counsel, whom President Bush appointed, said the proposal would overturn 40 years of civil rights law prohibiting job discrimination based on religion.
The counsel, Reed L. Russell, and two Democratic members of the commission, Stuart J. Ishimaru and Christine M. Griffin, also said that the rule was unnecessary for the protection of employees and potentially confusing to employers.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 already prohibits employment discrimination based on religion, Mr. Russell said, and the courts have defined “religion” broadly to include “moral or ethical beliefs as to what is right and wrong, which are sincerely held with the strength of traditional religious views.”
Mr. Ishimaru and senior members of the commission staff said that neither the Department of Health and Human Services nor the White House had consulted their agency before issuing the proposed rule. The White House Office of Management and Budget received the proposal on Aug. 21 and cleared it on the same day, according to a government Web site that keeps track of the rule-making process.
The protest from the commission comes on the heels of other objections to the rule by doctors, pharmacists, hospitals, state attorneys general and political leaders, including President-elect Barack Obama.
Mr. Obama has said the proposal will raise new hurdles to women seeking reproductive health services, like abortion and some contraceptives. Michael O. Leavitt, the health and human services secretary, said that was not the purpose.
Officials at the Health and Human Services Department said they intended to issue a final version of the rule within days. Aides and advisers to Mr. Obama said he would try to rescind it, a process that could take three to six months.
To avoid the usual rush of last-minute rules, the White House said in May that new regulations should be proposed by June 1 and issued by Nov. 1. The “provider conscience” rule missed both deadlines.
Under the White House directive, the deadlines can be waived “in extraordinary circumstances.” Administration officials were unable to say immediately why an exception might be justified in this case.
The proposal is supported by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Catholic Health Association, which represents Catholic hospitals.
Sister Carol Keehan, president of the Catholic Health Association, said that in recent years, “we have seen a variety of efforts to force Catholic and other health care providers to perform or refer for abortions and sterilizations.”
But the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association, 28 senators, more than 110 representatives and the attorneys general of 13 states have urged the Bush administration to withdraw the proposed rule.
Pharmacies said the rule would allow their employees to refuse to fill prescriptions for contraceptives and could “lead to Medicaid patients being turned away.” State officials said the rule could void state laws that require insurance plans to cover contraceptives and require hospitals to offer emergency contraception to rape victims.
The Ohio Health Department said the rule “could force family planning providers to hire employees who may refuse to do their jobs” — a concern echoed by Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
Under the Civil Rights Act, an employer must make reasonable accommodations for an employee’s religious practices, unless the employer can show that doing so would cause “undue hardship on the conduct of its business.”
In a letter commenting on the proposed rule, Mr. Ishimaru and Ms. Griffin, from the employment commission, said that 40 years of court decisions had carefully balanced “employees’ rights to religious freedom and employers’ business needs.”
The proposed rule, they said, “would throw this entire body of law into question.”
Mr. Leavitt, a leading proponent of the rule, said it would increase compliance with laws adopted since 1973 to protect health care workers.
“Federal law,” he said, “is explicit and unwavering in protecting federally funded medical practitioners from being coerced into providing treatments they find morally objectionable.”
As an example of the policies to which they object, Bush administration officials cited a Connecticut law that generally requires hospitals to provide rape victims with timely access to and information about emergency contraception.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell of Connecticut, a Republican, said the state law represented “an earnest compromise” between the rights of rape victims and the interests of health care practitioners who had moral or religious scruples against emergency contraception.
The state attorney general, Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, said the proposed regulation “would blow apart solutions and compromises that have been reached by people of good will in Connecticut and elsewhere.”
Protests Over a Rule to Protect Health Providers
new_york_times:http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/18/washington/18abort.html
By ROBERT PEAR
Published: November 17, 2008
WASHINGTON — A last-minute Bush administration plan to grant sweeping new protections to health care providers who oppose abortion and other procedures on religious or moral grounds has provoked a torrent of objections, including a strenuous protest from the government agency that enforces job discrimination laws.
The proposed rule would prohibit recipients of federal money from discriminating against doctors, nurses and other health care workers who refuse to perform or to assist in the performance of abortions or sterilization procedures because of their “religious beliefs or moral convictions.”
It would also prevent hospitals, clinics, doctors’ offices and drugstores from requiring employees with religious or moral objections to “assist in the performance of any part of a health service program or research activity” financed by the Department of Health and Human Services.
But three officials from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, including its legal counsel, whom President Bush appointed, said the proposal would overturn 40 years of civil rights law prohibiting job discrimination based on religion.
The counsel, Reed L. Russell, and two Democratic members of the commission, Stuart J. Ishimaru and Christine M. Griffin, also said that the rule was unnecessary for the protection of employees and potentially confusing to employers.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 already prohibits employment discrimination based on religion, Mr. Russell said, and the courts have defined “religion” broadly to include “moral or ethical beliefs as to what is right and wrong, which are sincerely held with the strength of traditional religious views.”
Mr. Ishimaru and senior members of the commission staff said that neither the Department of Health and Human Services nor the White House had consulted their agency before issuing the proposed rule. The White House Office of Management and Budget received the proposal on Aug. 21 and cleared it on the same day, according to a government Web site that keeps track of the rule-making process.
The protest from the commission comes on the heels of other objections to the rule by doctors, pharmacists, hospitals, state attorneys general and political leaders, including President-elect Barack Obama.
Mr. Obama has said the proposal will raise new hurdles to women seeking reproductive health services, like abortion and some contraceptives. Michael O. Leavitt, the health and human services secretary, said that was not the purpose.
Officials at the Health and Human Services Department said they intended to issue a final version of the rule within days. Aides and advisers to Mr. Obama said he would try to rescind it, a process that could take three to six months.
To avoid the usual rush of last-minute rules, the White House said in May that new regulations should be proposed by June 1 and issued by Nov. 1. The “provider conscience” rule missed both deadlines.
Under the White House directive, the deadlines can be waived “in extraordinary circumstances.” Administration officials were unable to say immediately why an exception might be justified in this case.
The proposal is supported by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Catholic Health Association, which represents Catholic hospitals.
Sister Carol Keehan, president of the Catholic Health Association, said that in recent years, “we have seen a variety of efforts to force Catholic and other health care providers to perform or refer for abortions and sterilizations.”
But the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association, 28 senators, more than 110 representatives and the attorneys general of 13 states have urged the Bush administration to withdraw the proposed rule.
Pharmacies said the rule would allow their employees to refuse to fill prescriptions for contraceptives and could “lead to Medicaid patients being turned away.” State officials said the rule could void state laws that require insurance plans to cover contraceptives and require hospitals to offer emergency contraception to rape victims.
The Ohio Health Department said the rule “could force family planning providers to hire employees who may refuse to do their jobs” — a concern echoed by Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
Under the Civil Rights Act, an employer must make reasonable accommodations for an employee’s religious practices, unless the employer can show that doing so would cause “undue hardship on the conduct of its business.”
In a letter commenting on the proposed rule, Mr. Ishimaru and Ms. Griffin, from the employment commission, said that 40 years of court decisions had carefully balanced “employees’ rights to religious freedom and employers’ business needs.”
The proposed rule, they said, “would throw this entire body of law into question.”
Mr. Leavitt, a leading proponent of the rule, said it would increase compliance with laws adopted since 1973 to protect health care workers.
“Federal law,” he said, “is explicit and unwavering in protecting federally funded medical practitioners from being coerced into providing treatments they find morally objectionable.”
As an example of the policies to which they object, Bush administration officials cited a Connecticut law that generally requires hospitals to provide rape victims with timely access to and information about emergency contraception.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell of Connecticut, a Republican, said the state law represented “an earnest compromise” between the rights of rape victims and the interests of health care practitioners who had moral or religious scruples against emergency contraception.
The state attorney general, Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, said the proposed regulation “would blow apart solutions and compromises that have been reached by people of good will in Connecticut and elsewhere.”
Culture of Life Achievements - Bush 2001-2008
The Accomplishments
Building a Culture of Life
(source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/achievement/chap15.html)
"President Bush signed legislation to end partial birth abortion - a procedure the late Democratic Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan described as "as close to infanticide as anything I have come upon."
The President signed the Born Alive Infants Protection Act, which ensures that every infant born alive, including an infant who survives an abortion procedure, is considered a person under Federal law.
The President signed the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which provides that under Federal law, any person who causes death or injury to a child in the womb shall be charged with a separate offense, in addition to any charges relating to the mother.
President Bush restored the Mexico City Policy, which states that taxpayer funds should not be provided to organizations that pay for abortions or advocate or actively promote abortion, either in the United States or abroad.
President Bush's 2005 budget includes $10 million to support maternity group homes for women in crisis.
In August 2001, the President announced his decision to allow medical research using embryonic stem cells while still respecting and upholding the value and sanctity of human life. This policy permits, for the first time, Federal funding of research using existing stem cell lines while not sanctioning or encouraging the destruction of additional live human embryos.
The President created the President's Council on Bioethics to study the human and moral ramifications of developments in biomedical and behavioral science and technology.
President Bush has called on the Congress to pass a law banning all human cloning.
States now have the option to provide vital health care services to promote healthy pregnancies for women and their unborn children who would otherwise be ineligible for coverage under the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). States are also able to provide eligibility to unborn children of low-income immigrants, which results in access to important prenatal care. "
Now that we have a new president in the White House, let's see if he will keep these accomplishments in tact.
Building a Culture of Life
(source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/achievement/chap15.html)
"President Bush signed legislation to end partial birth abortion - a procedure the late Democratic Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan described as "as close to infanticide as anything I have come upon."
The President signed the Born Alive Infants Protection Act, which ensures that every infant born alive, including an infant who survives an abortion procedure, is considered a person under Federal law.
The President signed the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which provides that under Federal law, any person who causes death or injury to a child in the womb shall be charged with a separate offense, in addition to any charges relating to the mother.
President Bush restored the Mexico City Policy, which states that taxpayer funds should not be provided to organizations that pay for abortions or advocate or actively promote abortion, either in the United States or abroad.
President Bush's 2005 budget includes $10 million to support maternity group homes for women in crisis.
In August 2001, the President announced his decision to allow medical research using embryonic stem cells while still respecting and upholding the value and sanctity of human life. This policy permits, for the first time, Federal funding of research using existing stem cell lines while not sanctioning or encouraging the destruction of additional live human embryos.
The President created the President's Council on Bioethics to study the human and moral ramifications of developments in biomedical and behavioral science and technology.
President Bush has called on the Congress to pass a law banning all human cloning.
States now have the option to provide vital health care services to promote healthy pregnancies for women and their unborn children who would otherwise be ineligible for coverage under the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). States are also able to provide eligibility to unborn children of low-income immigrants, which results in access to important prenatal care. "
Now that we have a new president in the White House, let's see if he will keep these accomplishments in tact.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Welcome
The purpose of this site is track culture of life activities in government. Now that Obama has been elected, I'd like to make sure we keep tabs on him for the next four years. That way, when 2012 comes around, we have a documentation of what his administration has done for promoting the culture of life - for better or worse.
Anyone can participate in this site. However, I encourage folks to be prudent, and evaluate the sources for biases and inaccuracies before making judgement.
Anyone can participate in this site. However, I encourage folks to be prudent, and evaluate the sources for biases and inaccuracies before making judgement.
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