Abortionist Admits: “Of Course We Know It’s Killing” Babies

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Photo Credit: LifeNewsBy Sarah Terzo.

Abortionist Neville Sender was quoted saying:

“Of course we know it’s killing, but the state permits killing in certain circumstances.”

Monica Migliorino Miller Abandoned: the Untold Story of the Abortion Wars (Charlotte, North Carolina: St. Benedict Press, 2012) 183

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Photo Credit: LifeNewsThese Premature Babies Survived, So Why Is it Okay to Kill Them in an Abortion?

By Sarah Zagorski.

According to the Office for National Statistics, 80% of babies born extremely premature will survive. Professor Neil Marlow, a consultant neonatologistat University College London Hospital said, “We found that babies born at 27, 28, 29 weeks, which had really high mortality rates when I was doing the first study, are now doing well and living normal lives.”

The Telegraph shares more:

In 1974 the outlook for a baby born before 26 weeks – two thirds of the way through a normal pregnancy – was poor. ‘They almost certainly wouldn’t have survived,’ Dr Mike Smith, a paediatric consultant who started working with premature babies that year, says.

Before 1995 evidence about the survival and care of premature babies was – like this – largely anecdotal. Then a groundbreaking study called EPICure recorded all births in the UK between 20 and 25 weeks, six days. Out of 4,001 births, the first EPICure study (another study took place in 2006 and the latest, following the original children, now aged 19, is due to be finished next year) found that 311 babies survived and were eventually discharged, including two babies born at 22 weeks, six at 23 weeks, 100 at 24 weeks and 186 babies at 25. The study concluded that babies born before 24 weeks who survived were still ‘unusual’.

But now, thanks to medical advances, more and more micropreemies, that is babies born before 26 weeks, survive. The Telegraph shared that from the 1970s to the 1990s doctors typically would not treat a baby born before 23-24 weeks. Sometimes they would ventilate the baby, but otherwise the baby was left alone. The medical problems these babies faced included everything from unformed lungs to a damaged brain to tissue, but these issues are no longer considered “untreatable. ”

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Photo Credit: ReutersAppeals court allows Texas to begin enforcing tough new abortion restrictions

By AP.

A federal appeals court Thursday gave Texas permission to fully enforce a sweeping abortion law signed by Republican Gov. Rick Perry last year that would effectively close all but seven abortion facilities in America’s second-most populous state.

Two years ago, Texas had more than 40 abortion facilities. Many clinics have already closed under a part of the law requiring doctors who perform abortions to obtain hospital admitting privileges, and now more than a dozen remaining clinics are set to shutter as well.

The decision by a panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court in New Orleans wipes out what was a fleeting victory for abortion rights groups — a lower court in August blocking requirements of the law that say clinics must meet hospital-level operating standards to stay in business.

The ruling is only a stay pending a full appeal, but the court wrote that Texas is likely to prevail. If it does, the clinics would have to make costly upgrades to meet the new standards and reopen.

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Judicial Watch Sues DHS For Information Surrounding Release of 36,000 Criminal Aliens

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Photo Credit: TownHallBy Katie Pavlich.

Government watchdog Judicial Watch has filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security for information surrounding the release of 36,000 criminal aliens into American communities earlier this year. The lawsuit comes after DHS officials failed to respond to a May 15, 2014 FOIA request in the amount of time required by law.

In the lawsuit, Judicial Watch is seeking “Any and all records of communications including, but not limited to, emails and memoranda, to or from personnel in the office of the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (including its component offices, such as the Office of Public Affairs), from May 1 to May 15, 2014, concerning, regarding, or related to the report published by the Center for Immigrations Studies concerning the release of 36,000 criminal aliens.”

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Photo Credit: GettyGOP Chairman Touts Immigration For Economy, Sidelines Obama’s Amnesty

By Neil Munro.

Republican Party chairman Reince Priebus outlined a November immigration platform that emphasized the contribution of immigrants to economic growth, but downplayed opposition to President Barack Obama’s immigration-boosting actions.

“We need to make sure America remains a place where people aspire to work and dream and live,” Priebus said in a morning speech in Washington D.C. “Our country should be a welcoming place for those who want to come here and do it the right way,” he said in a speech that was intended to offer a GOP alternative to Obama’s policies.

But GOP populists pushed back, saying Priebus is not sufficiently anti-amnesty.

“The elephant in the room is amnesty for illegal immigrants, and if the Republicans fail to take a strong stand against it, they will squander an opportunity and continue to lose elections,” warned Jenny Beth Martin, head of the Tea Party Patriots, in a press statement.

“Americans oppose amnesty, and it is a winning issue for conservatives,” she said, and added a sharp warning to Priebus.

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Mark Levin Calls for Investigation into Obama Intel Briefings

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Photo Credit: White HouseBy Wynton Hall.

On Tuesday, conservative radio talk show host Mark Levin called for an investigation into the contents of President Barack Obama’s daily intelligence briefings that warned of the Islamic State’s (ISIS) rise years ago–a claim substantiated by Obama’s own national security staff in comments to the Daily Mail.

“He was aware of all of it, if he had read his intelligence briefings,” said Levin. “He is the commander-in-chief. The reason they put together that daily intelligence briefing–Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and sometimes two or three times a day, depending–is so he’ll read it. That’s the least he can do, because most presidents, all previous presidents, have had it explained to them, so they can ask questions right there on the spot and interact. But not Obama.”

Levin said an investigation is needed to find out “what Obama knew and when he knew it” about the Islamic State’s rise to power.

Read more from this story HERE.
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Photo Credit: Mark Levin: ‘Have You Noticed Nothing Really Works Under This President?’

By Susan Jones.

“[H]ave you noticed really works under this president, from the Secret Service to immigration to the economy?” conservative talk-radio host Mark Levin asked Fox News’s Sean Hannity Wednesday night.

“Is there anything this president, from your perspective, has done well?” Hannity asked Levin.

“No. There’s not a thing he’s done well,” Levin replied. “And here’s the problem, Sean. People who support big government, centralized government, liberalism — well, congratulations, you have it. And it’s an absolute disaster.

“And here’s what’s remarkable to me. He doesn’t go back and actually look at something, have some circumspection, say, You know, we’re going to fix Obamacare. Let’s pull back. Maybe we bit off more than we can chew. It’s full speed ahead, the foot on the gas pedal.

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Rand Paul: ‘Can You Imagine If A Whole Ship Full Of Our Soldiers Catch Ebola?’

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Photo Credit: Richard Ellis / GettySen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is questioning President Barack Obama’s decision to send 3,000 U.S. military personnel to West Africa to help combat Ebola, worrying that troops might contract the virus.

Speaking to “The Laura Ingraham Show” Wednesday about the first case of Ebola inside the U.S., the potential 2016 presidential contender stated it has to be a concern about having thousands of soldiers on the same ship who could have been in contact with the deadly virus.

“You also have to be concerned about 3,000 soldiers getting back on a ship. Where is disease most transmittable? When you’re in a very close confines on a ship, we all know about cruises and how they get these diarrhea viruses that are transmitted very easily,” Paul told Ingraham. “Can you imagine if a whole ship full of our soldiers catch Ebola?’

Paul said he felt “political correctness” is getting in the way of government officials making sound decisions to deal with the Ebola threat.

“I really think that it is being dominated by political correctness and I think because of political correctness we’re not really making sound, rational, scientific decisions on this,” Paul noted.

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Iraqi Vicar: No Communion in Nineveh this Week for First Time in 2,000 Years

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Photo Credit: Reuters The Islamic State’s goal of eradicating Christianity from its ancient home in northern Iraq is nearly complete, report Christian officials remaining in the area. According to one Vicar, last week marked the first time in millennia that Christians did not receive Holy Communion in Nineveh, northern Iraq.

As the Telegraph reports, Canon Andrew White, the only Anglican Vicar remaining in Iraq, reported that Communion did not take place in Nineveh this year. “All [churches] are closed, all their people have run away.” Canon White noted that the few Iraqis remaining in the region are there due to poverty or immobility, and that those remaining fear for their lives constantly.

He added that many in the area expressed concern over the possibility of airstrikes on the region, citing the possibility of civilian casualties. “From the Iraqi point of view, the only way we can gain some kind of real safety and real removal of the Islamic State, as they call themselves, would be by having troops on the ground,” he noted. President Obama has categorically refused to entertain the option of ground troops in Iraq during this operation.

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Michelle Obama Tells Students to Stop Rebelling Against Her… Says “Change is Hard”

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Photo Credit: WisPolitics.com / Creative CommonsFirst Lady Michelle Obama has a simple message for students across the nation who don’t like her school lunch program: “Don’t be mad.”

Obama said during a recent interview cited by The Hill that she understood a certain amount of “grumbling” because “change is hard” (H/T WZ).

The first lady’s signature Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act has limited the amount of calories, fat, salt, and other ingredients in foods served to students in school breakfasts and lunches. This year, additional regulations covering vending machines took effect.

The report said that Obama thought children would enjoy “vegetables that have a little flavor, sweetness.” Examples given were broccoli, celery, and carrots.

Ah, yes … the sweet savor of broccoli. It’s almost enough to put one into a diabetic coma, just thinking about it.

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Flashback: Senator Obama Rips Bush for Being Unprepared for Avian Flu Epidemic

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Photo Credit: Pete SouzaA nice catch from our friends at Grabien, who got it from Ace [update] and who had to go all the way back to 2005 to find this nugget and the contemporaneous coverage at the NYT. At the time, the US prepared for a predicted epidemic of the avian flu, also known as H5N1, of global proportions. The virus had been identified for 18 years by that time, but by the end of 2004 had only resulted in 36 deaths and 50 known cases over the prior two years, according to WHO data. In 2005, the number of cases would jump to 98 and deaths to 43, and the prevention of a pandemic became a high priority. At that time, then-Senator Barack Obama scolded the Bush administration on the Senate floor, and quarterbacked a protest letter from his fellow Democrats over the slow response and lack of preparedness by the White House:

This lack of planning is compounded by the fact that we still don’t have a FDA approved vaccine against avian flu, and the one drug that many countries are relying on—Tamiflu—may be less effective than experts had thought. The manufacturer is also struggling to meet the demand, and it could take up to 2 years for it to make enough for the U.S. stockpile, presuming this Administration finally puts in an order for the drug. …

The failure to prepare for emergencies can have devastating consequences. We learned that lesson the hard way after Hurricane Katrina. This nation must not be caught off-guard when faced with the prospect of an avian flu pandemic. The consequences are too high.

The flyways for migratory birds are well-established. We know that avian flu will likely hit the United States in a matter of time. With the regular flu season coming up shortly, conditions will be favorable for reassortment of the avian flu virus with the annual flu virus. Such reassortment could lead to a mutated virus that could be transmitted efficiently between humans, which is the last condition needed for pandemic flu.

The question is will we be ready when that happens? Let’s make sure that answer is yes. I urge my colleagues in the Senate and the House to push this Administration to take the action needed to prevent a catastrophe that we have not seen during our lifetimes.”

Read more from this story HERE.

With Dry Taps and Toilets, California Drought Turns Desperate

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Photo Credit: Jim Wilson / The New York TimesAfter a nine-hour day working at a citrus packing plant, her body covered in a sheen of fruit wax and dust, there is nothing Angelica Gallegos wants more than a hot shower, with steam to help clear her throat and lungs.

“I can just picture it, that feeling of finally being clean — really refreshed and clean,” Ms. Gallegos, 37, said one recent evening.

But she has not had running water for more than five months — nor is there any tap water in her near future — because of a punishing and relentless drought in California. In the Gallegos household and more than 500 others in Tulare County, residents cannot flush a toilet, fill a drinking glass, wash dishes or clothes, or even rinse their hands without reaching for a bottle or bucket.

Unlike the Okies who came here fleeing the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, the people now living on this parched land are stuck. “We don’t have the money to move, and who would buy this house without water?” said Ms. Gallegos, who grew up in the area and shares a tidy mobile home with her husband and two daughters. “When you wake up in the middle of the night sick to your stomach, you have to think about where the water bottle is before you can use the toilet.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Can Abercrombie Refuse to Hire a Muslim Teen Who Wears a Hijab? And Other Cases the Supreme Court Will Take Up This Year.

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Photo Credit: NewscomThe Supreme Court’s 2014-2015 term officially begins next Monday. On Thursday, the justices added eleven cases to their docket. Here are the noteworthy additions:

EEOC v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores: Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, employers may not discriminate based on race, color, religion or national origin in the hiring or firing of employees. Thus, employers must reasonably accommodate the religious practices of their employees or prospective employees, unless such an accommodation would cause an “undue hardship.” The EEOC filed suit against Abercrombie for refusing to hire a Muslim teenager who applied to be a model because wearing a hijab conflicted with the store’s style guidelines for their models. The issue before the Supreme Court is whether Abercrombie is liable under Title VII only if it received explicit notice from the job applicant that their style guidelines conflicted with her religious beliefs.

Ohio v. Clark: The Sixth Amendment’s Confrontation Clause requires that a criminal defendant has the right to “be confronted with the witnesses against him.” In every state, teachers have a legal obligation to report suspected child abuse to the authorities. Are any statements made by a child to a teacher considered “testimonial,” making them subject to the Confrontation Clause at trial? In this case, the trial court determined that the child victim could not testify and admitted evidence of the child’s statements to his teacher, but an appellate court reversed, finding this violated the defendant’s constitutional rights. This presents the Supreme Court with an opportunity to further define the contours of the Confrontation Clause.

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The View From China on Hong Kong’s Massive Demonstrations

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Photo Credit: Frank Li / NewscomAs thousands of protestors flood downtown Hong Kong in opposition to Beijing’s efforts to control the political future of the “Special Administration Region,” there is growing concern about how this situation will be resolved.

For the people of Hong Kong, the issue is straightforward. Under the terms of the Basic Law, negotiated between the People’s Republic of China and the British government when Hong Kong was still a colony, the PRC committed itself to preserving the institutions that had made Hong Kong such a success—a free press, an independent judiciary, civil liberties and a civil society—for the half-century after reversion in 1997.

This program of “one country, two systems” was touted not simply as a means of ensuring the continued prosperity of Hong Kong, but also as a bellwether for the possibility of eventual application to Taiwan.

Because Hong Kong had not held elections while under British rule (a hypocritical point from Beijing’s perspective), how the territory’s chief executive would be selected had to be addressed in the Basic Law. A gradual transition was agreed upon, wherein Hong Kong would implement a policy of universal suffrage over time to elect a chief executive.

In 2014, in preparation for the scheduled 2017 elections, the universal suffrage plan was unveiled. Beijing held to the letter of the agreement—there would be elections for a chief executive where all the eligible citizens of Hong Kong could vote, but the range of possible candidates would have to pass muster from Beijing.

Read more from this story HERE.