Florida Would Ban Abortion Post-Viability, Ohio Moves to Ban Abortion Insurance, and More

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Photo Credit: Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi / LifeSiteNewsAs the Senate voted to confirm Sylvia Mathews Burwell as the new HHS Secretary to oversee the implementation of ObamaCare, states around the country were voting to protect the unborn, fighting for marriage, and wrestling with a wave of transgender “anti-discrimination” proposals that would allow biological men to use women’s restroom and shower facilities.

Florida

The state of Florida is poised to protect children from abortion if they have the capacity to survive outside the womb. H.B. 1047, which would bar abortions after viability, passed the Senate by a party line 24-15 vote. State Sen. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, told the Miami Herald if a woman wishes to abort, she should “make that choice before the baby is able to live on its own outside of the womb.” The bill previously passed the House 70-45 and is now on the desk of Gov. Rick Scott, a pro-life Republican. He is expected to sign the measure, which would penalize abortionists who abort a child after that point unless they certify, in writing, that an abortion is necessary to save the mother’s life or physical health. The move comes as the Florida Planned Parenthood PAC has launched a voter campaign designed, in the words of CEO Lillian Tamayo, to focus on “the wave of anti-women’s health legislation.”

State Attorney General Pam Bondi has asked a federal judge to throw out a lawsuit challenging the state’s constitutional marriage protection amendment, saying redefining marriage would “impose significant public harm” on society. More than 61 percent of Florida voters approved Florida’s Amendment 2 in 2008, with surveys finding the state’s black population among those most likely to approve. The ACLU is suing to overturn the measure, which was intended to protect an ancient institution that fosters child-rearing. “Florida’s marriage laws, she said in her court brief, “have a close, direct, and rational relationship to society’s legitimate interest in increasing the likelihood that children will be born to and raised by the mothers and fathers who produced them in stable and enduring family units.”

Ohio

An Ohio bill would bar all insurance companies statewide from covering abortion except in the case of ectopic or tubal pregnancies. The legislature had the first hearing on H.B. 351, introduced by Cincinnati Rep. John Becker, on Tuesday. It would also prevent taxpayers from subsidizing abortifacient contraception such as the IUD for state employees through their insurance plans. Democratic Rep. John Carney said it is “just a fact” that the IUD is not an abortifacient; however, health agencies and the device’s manufacturer agree the IUD may prevent the implantation of a newly conceived child. The insurance provision follows the lead of neighboring Michigan, which is traditionally more liberal on abortion. The Ohio bill does not allow anyone who receives state funds to purchase the separate “abortion rider.”

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Surge in Kids Illegally Crossing into U.S. Alone Strains Border Patrol

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Photo Credit: AP / Brian SkoloffThe flood of young children pouring across the southwestern border is worse than the administration has previously acknowledged, and efforts to deal with unaccompanied minors are overwhelming the Border Patrol, distracting it from going after smugglers and other illegal immigrants, according to an internal draft memo from the agency.

The four-page memo, authored by Deputy Border Patrol Chief Ronald D. Vitiello and dated May 30, contradicts the administration’s argument that the border is secure enough to begin legalizing current illegal aliens already in the U.S.

Instead, Chief Vitiello paints a picture of a government struggling to cope, leaving the children suffering poor conditions, agents unable to focus on major security threats and little sense that it will get better.

Known within the Homeland Security Department as Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC), their numbers have skyrocketed this year, forcing the department to siphon manpower and money from its other critical border duties.

“The large quantity of DHS interdiction, intelligence, investigation, processing, detention and removal resources currently being dedicated to address UAC is compromising DHS capabilities to address other transborder criminal areas, such as human smuggling and trafficking and illicit drug, weapons, commercial and financial operations,” Chief Vitiello wrote in the memo, which was viewed by The Washington Times.

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Backpack Found Containing 400 Health-Exchange Enrollees’ Information, May Be Compromised

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Photo Credit: loststreet2010 / Creative Commons The personal information of around 400 health-exchange enrollees may be compromised, according to a statement issued today by Access Health CT CEO Kevin Counihan.

The statement notes that a backpack was recovered in Hartford that held “four notepads with personal information for approximately 400 individuals. The backpack also contained Access Health CT paperwork and it appears as though some of that personal information may be associated with Access Health CT accounts. It is still unclear where the backpack came from, and we are working [with] the Hartford Police Department to investigate, and contact the individuals whose information may be compromised. … Let me be clear: we are sorry this happened. This is a very serious situation and we will hold the person or persons who are responsible to account.”

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Growing Number of Dads Home with the Kids

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Photo Credit: Aurimas / Creative Commons By Gretchen Livingston.

The number of fathers who do not work outside the home has risen markedly in recent years, up to 2 million in 2012.1 High unemployment rates around the time of the Great Recession contributed to the recent increases, but the biggest contributor to long-term growth in these “stay-at-home fathers” is the rising number of fathers who are at home primarily to care for their family.

The number of fathers who are at home with their children for any reason has nearly doubled since 1989, when 1.1 million were in this category.2 It reached its highest point—2.2 million—in 2010, just after the official end of the recession, which spanned from 2007 to 2009. Since that time, the number has fallen slightly, driven mainly by declines in unemployment, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.3

While most stay-at-home parents are mothers, fathers represent a growing share of all at-home parents – 16% in 2012, up from 10% in 1989. Roughly a quarter of these stay-at-home fathers (23%) report that they are home mainly because they cannot find a job. Nearly as many (21%) say the main reason they are home is to care for their home or family. This represents a fourfold increase from 1989, when only 5% of stay-at-home fathers said they were home primarily to care for family.

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Dissolving the Institution of Marriage

By Taylor Lewis.

For years, opponents of same-sex marriage fretted that the unleashing of gay nuptials would open the door for all types of sexual decadence. Last presidential cycle, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum was panned heavily for comparing gay marriage to polygamy at a New Hampshire stop on the campaign trail. After a college student questioned his vigorous opposition to same sex couples being wed, Santorum responded in turn: “If it makes three people happy to get married, based on what you just said, what makes that wrong?” The remark was met with boos from students and condemnation from the liberal press.

Less than two years later, Santorum ran a victory lap after a federal judge struck down a ban on polygamy in Utah. The ruling didn’t enshrine the right to polygamy in the state per se; it only held that polygamous individuals can’t be discriminated against under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution. They still don’t have the right to marry, but give it time.

The judge’s decision was easily predictable. Shortly before the Supreme Court struck down the federal non-recognition of same-sex marriages last summer, one liberal writer had already moved on to advocating for legalized polygamy. The berating of conservative slippery-slope hysteria? Quickly forgotten for the sake of more freedom.

Since at least the Reagan Era, the early proponents of same-sex marriage in America assured traditional folks that they only wanted the same monogamous love enjoyed by heterosexuals. Andrew Sullivan, the passionate gay marriage supporter who broke cultural and political barriers as head of the New Republic, wrote in 1989 that marriage “provides an anchor, if an arbitrary and weak one, in the chaos of sex and relationships to which we are all prone.” It was this institution Sullivan wished to incorporate into gay life. While admitting that “gay leadership clings to notions of gay life as essentially outsider, anti-bourgeois, radical” he found being both “gay” and “bourgeois” to no longer be “an absurd proposition.”

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North Korea Says it is Holding an American Tourist

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Photo Credit: REUTERS / KCNANorth Korea has detained a 56-year-old man from Ohio, accusing him of an unspecified crime after he traveled to the communist-led country as a tourist, the nation’s state news agency and the man’s family said. The North is now holding three Americans.

The state-run Korean Central News Agency identified the latest detainee as Jeffrey Edward Fowle. It said Friday that he arrived in North Korea on April 29 and authorities were investigating him for committing acts inconsistent with the purpose of a tourist visit. It did not give details.

U.S. officials confirmed the detention but didn’t identify the person for privacy reasons, nor comment on reports that he was held after leaving a Bible in his hotel room.

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Active Euthanasia Comes to North America

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Photo Credit: Ostia / Creative CommonsThe poison has jumped across the Atlantic from Netherlands and Belgium: Quebec has legalized active euthanasia.

I have discussed the contents of new law at length previously and I don’t want to repeat myself. However, the bill did undergo some changes since I wrote about it, and there are certain sections of the new law that need to be emphasized, so here goes:

The euphemism for homicide in the law is “aid in dying,” which in turn, is defined as part of “end of life care.“

Receiving “end of life care”–including euthanasia–is now a positive right. From the law (my emphasis):

RIGHTS WITH RESPECT TO END-OF-LIFE CARE: 4. Every person whose condition requires it has the right to receive end-of-life care subject to the specific requirements established by this Act. Such care is provided to the person in a facility maintained by an institution, in a palliative care hospice or at home.

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WATCH: 70 Years Later, D-Day Vet Jim ‘Pee Wee’ Martin Jumps Again

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Photo Credit: CNNJim “Pee Wee” Martin acted like he’d been here before, like jumping from a plane is as easy as falling off a log.

Maybe that’s because he had — 70 years ago.

“I’m feeling fine,” Martin told reporters moments after landing in a French field. “… It was wonderful, absolutely wonderful.”

Martin was part of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division that parachuted down over Utah Beach in their bid to retake France and, eventually, the rest of Europe from Nazi Germany. They actually touched down in enemy-controlled territory a night before what’s referred to as D-Day.

His jump Thursday in the same area was different and — despite his being 93 years old now — a whole lot easier.

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Couples Now Demanding ‘Social Media Prenups’

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Photo Credit: Sky News A top US attorney says a third of her clients are now asking for social media clauses in prenuptial agreements.

Ann-Margaret Carrozza specialises in estate planning in New York and says each breach of an agreed social media rule can result in a fine of up to $50,000 (£29,700)

She said a typical clause will state couples cannot post nude photos, embarrassing photos or anything that is likely to harm a spouse’s professional reputation.

She told ABC News: “It’s a huge issue because we all know this stuff, once it’s out there, you can’t shake it.

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Somewhere in Hell, Bin Laden is Smiling

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Photo Credit: WND‘Obama and His Aides Have Lost Their Minds’

By Bob Unruh.

Former Republican Rep. Allen West two days ago called for President Obama’s impeachment over his decision to swap five known terror leaders for a soldier whose behavior is under investigation, arguing Obama apparently violated U.S. law forbidding material aid to terror groups.

Nevertheless, Obama defended his decision Thursday, saying he offered no apologies for releasing five Guantanamo detainees – who had been determined to be too dangerous to be freed – in exchange for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who has been accused of desertion.

West, in a promotion for his political action committee, took aim at Obama’s unapologetic stance.

“Obama and his aides have lost their minds,” he said in an email for the Allen West Guardian Fund.

West’s outrage reverberated throughout his comments.

Read more from this story HERE.

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Somewhere in Hell, Bin Laden is Smiling

By Patrick J. Buchanan.

Bowe Bergdahl was “an American prisoner of war captured on the battlefield” who “served the United States with distinction and honor,” asserted Susan Rice, the president’s national security adviser…

But if a man jumps overboard, to desert, and half a dozen sailors perish in stormy seas trying to rescue him, the Navy does not welcome the AWOL seaman back aboard with bands playing, all hands on deck and the captain hosting a celebration.

The man is put in the brig to face charges on return to port.

That is the military ethos Gen. Dempsey rightly praises.

But if Barack Obama, Susan Rice and the White House thought that swapping five senior Taliban commanders for Bergdahl would be cheered, it only testifies to how far removed they are from the band-of-brothers culture of the American military.

Consider the damage this debacle has been done.

Read more from this story HERE.

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Photo Credit: APObama makes ‘absolutely no apologies’ for Bergdahl terror trade and claims Taliban would have KILLED POW if he had told Congress

By David Martosko.

President Barack Obama doubled down Thursday on his handling of the Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl prisoner swap, saying he makes ‘no apologies’ for releasing five Taliban terrorists in exchange for the safe return of an accused U.S. Army deserter.

‘I make absolutely no apologies for making sure we get back a young man to his parents,’ he said in Brussels during a joint press conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron, ‘and that the American people understand that this is somebody’s child and that we don’t condition whether or not we make the effort to try to get them back.’

‘We had a prisoner of war whose health had deteriorated, and we were deeply concerned about [him],’ Obama told reporters about Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. ‘And we saw an opportunity and we seized it. And I make no apologies for that.’

Hours later the Associated Press published claims that the administration told U.S. senators that they were kept in the dark about the hostage swap because the Taliban threatened to kill Bergdahl if information about the negotiations was leaked.

Keeping the negotiations secret because of a death threat, however, may not hold water and is already being described among congressional aides as a flimsy excuse.

Read more from this story HERE.

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Photo Credit: REUTERSMoves to clear Guantánamo gathering pace: Administration officials say more prisoners will be freed

By AFP.

Moves to free detainees from the US military prison in Guantánamo Bay are gathering pace as the administration works to close the notorious jail, a top US official has said.

“There are a significant number of transfers in the pipeline at various stages and I think you’re going to be seeing substantial progress this year,” the senior administration official said.

The official refused to be drawn on any specific figures amid a furore over the release of five Taliban prisoners in exchange for a captured US soldier in Afghanistan.

Of the 149 prisoners still remaining in the jail in southern Cuba since the weekend releases, 78 have been approved to be freed without charge. The group, which includes 58 Yemenis and four Afghans, are awaiting transfer out of the jail.

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Reminders from Ronald Reagan (+video)

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Photo Credit: TownHallBy Sarah Jean Seman.

Former president of the United States Ronald Reagan died ten years ago on June 5. While leading the American people from 1981 to 1989 the U.S. economy grew, Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev famously tore down the Berlin Wall, and Reagan earned the title “The Great Communicator…”

If the 40th president were alive today, he might offer the American people these reminders:

1). Government Overreach:

“The most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”

2). Inequality:

“The American dream is not that every man must be level with every other man. The American dream is that every man must be free to become whatever God intends he should become.”

Read more from this story HERE.

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Be inspired! WATCH: Reagan’s ‘Boys of Pointe Du Hoc’ D-Day Commemoration

By Jamie Weinstein.

Thirty years ago, on the 40th anniversary of the D-Day landings, Ronald Reagan delivered one of the most iconic speeches of his presidency.

Read more from this story HERE.