Idaho Chooses Life

Boise’s Channel 7 ran a story on Planned Parenthood’s outrage over being dropped by the Komen Foundation. The impression they convey is that all of the Treasure Valley is up in arms because the local abortion clinic will no longer receive money raised under the auspices of “fighting breast cancer”.

Perhaps local donors will no longer be interested in finding a cure.

It has long been a curiosity that Komen got involved with the Abortion Industry in the first place. Setting aside the growing body of research which shows a linkage between abortion and increased risk of breast cancer – the simple truth is that Planned Parenthood does not do mammograms. The money they’ve been getting from Komen is in the form of “pass-through grants”, whatever that is. (There is an informative article on this point now up on LifeNews.Com). The local news “reporter” failed to ask anything about Planned Parenthood’s ability to actually screen for breast cancer. They simply gave Planned Parenthood staff the chance to publicly chastise and threaten Komen.

Channel 7 also failed to contact this organization for a fuller explanation of the upside for Komen. While there may be abortion zealots who are offended about not simultaneously helping kill babies while supporting cancer research – many in the pro-Life movement are energized. In fact, Komen is reporting that its donations have doubled since the announcement. That was, apparently, too much information to share with viewers in Idaho.

In truth, Channel 7 – the “Idaho News Leader” – rarely covers the pro-Life movement, despite the views and values of an overwhelming majority of its audience. How sad.

If you enjoyed this article, consider subscribing to the full-feed RSS.

Idaho Chooses Life

The pro-Life community is buzzing with the tremendous news that Planned Parenthood has lost the legitimizing cover of the breast cancer lobby. The Komen Foundation’s decision to end its partnership with the Abortion Industry is a huge blessing – on many levels.

There is the money which Komen has transferred from life-loving citizens to those promoting the death of women and babies. Seeing Planned Parenthood lose several millions in charitable support is certainly encouraging.

And we are all excited by the fact that pro-Lifers will no longer have to argue or wince or boycott fundraising efforts designed to end the scourge of breast cancer. In fact, we encourage our readers to at least send the Komen Foundation an email to express our gratitude; a donation in the name of innocent children would be better. Komen deserves sincere praise for protecting the integrity of the effort to treat and cure breast cancer.

But in the long term, the best aspect of this development is that Planned Parenthood can no longer hide its evil behind the skirt of “fighting breast cancer” – as if it were principally concerned about the health or lives of women. Whenever their killing operations have been exposed, they seek to change the subject by pointing to their work with Komen.

That ruse just got a lot harder.

If you enjoyed this article, consider subscribing to the full-feed RSS.

Idaho Chooses Life

The Board of Idaho Chooses Life has voted to oppose the creation of a state insurance exchange because of the myriad dangers it poses to Idahoans. Implementing ObamaCare, even as we challenge it before the U.S. Supreme Court, just doesn’t make sense. The pending lawsuit provides with a great exit ramp.

But the nation’s best hope is a rejection of Barack Obama at the polls this fall.

We have distributed a “Policy Statement” on the idea of a state exchange to key members of the Legislature and are now meeting to reinforce our message. Rather than voluntarily submit to the edicts of Obama and Secretary Sebelius, Idaho must offer national leadership by choosing a private-sector path to better, cheaper health care.

If you enjoyed this article, consider subscribing to the full-feed RSS.

Idaho Chooses Life

President Obama issued a public statement this past Sunday honoring the Supreme Court for its heinous act 39 years ago this week:

“We must remember that [Roe v. Wade] not only protects a woman’s health and reproductive freedom, but also affirms a broader principle: that government should not intrude on private family matters.”

That is special. As the present leader of a movement to strip Americans of privacy and their right to pursue happiness and retain the fruits of their labor – the one area Obama would acknowledge “privacy” is in the matter of destroying an innocent life. In his view, the destruction of a defenseless human being should remain a “personal” matter between a mother and her abortionist.

How truly sad it is that the “leader” of the free world has nothing more to offer than legitimizing moral chaos in the name of “freedom”.

We ask that you join us in praying to the Lord Almighty that He would raise up a righteous man to help restore America’s moral grounding by tearing down the high altars of libertinism.

If you enjoyed this article, consider subscribing to the full-feed RSS.

Idaho Chooses Life

Americans United for Life has released its pro-Life rankings of the states for 2012. They rank Idaho as the 19th “safest” place for preborn children in the country – at least in terms of the legal protections afforded our preborn brothers and sisters. That is an improvement of four spots from the year before, reflecting our strong 2011 legislative session. In 2009, AUL ranked us at 26 among the states.
Leading the list for the past several years has been Louisiana, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania.

A deeper look at the rankings shows that, generally speaking, the states governed by the ultra-liberal 9th
Circuit are the deadliest. California and Washington have been fighting over dead-last for several years. The average ranking for states in the 9th Circuit – without Idaho and Arizona – is an appalling 45th. Part of that phenomenon reflects the Abortion Lobby’s death grip on the political culture in states like Montana, Washington, Oregon and California. But one cannot discount the deleterious impact of 9th Circuit judges on the pro-Life movements operating within their political orbit.

The rankings from AUL are by no means the last word on the subject, as the organization does come at the question with certain biases. However, it does give us a feel for state of the nation and the great disparity between the states.

It also reminds us of the work we have left to do.

If you enjoyed this article, consider subscribing to the full-feed RSS.

Idaho Chooses Life

Pro-Lifers will gather once again on Saturday, January 21st to mark the 39th year of our national suffering under the Supreme Court edict legalizing abortion.

In Boise, folks will meet at the Julia Davis band shell at 1 pm. A rally on the steps of the Idaho Statehouse to defend preborn children will follow the march down Capitol Blvd.

Our best estimate is that over 54 million children have lost their lives under the Roe regime. May the Maker of Heaven and Earth reach down and save us from our great national sin.

If you enjoyed this article, consider subscribing to the full-feed RSS.

By Andi Elliott

What a heartwarming story…Dogged Determination Rescues Pooch! Many thanks to the Clark County Sheriff’s Department for responding to this dog’s misfortune and especially to former neighbor, Chief Deputy Boyd Eddins, and to the SAR folks. Thankfully, Chester had the good fortune to fall into a mine shaft located in Clark County and not in Jefferson where he lives.

I can recall many instances of animals needing help in Jefferson County that were ignored. There was the missing prize Boxer that was left tied to a tree for three days in the cold because the Sheriff would not respond. (I heard that the owners were not happy when they finally found their dog.) Then there was the little Chihuahua puppy that was thrown against the wall resulting in a broken shoulder. Even with veterinarian documentation, the sheriff’s department ignored the cruelty this little one suffered. Then there was the badly starved horse over east of Roberts this past spring.

Just think of the terrific headlines that would have been possible had Sheriff Olsen responded with help for the mother dog with two broken legs left without vet care… “Sympathetic Sheriff Cares for Canine” or “JCSD Cares for Crippled Canine? How about “Owner Charged with Animal Cruelty”?

It’s a wise sheriff who knows the value of positive publicity. Before moving to Jefferson County, I was nominated as the State Public Affairs Officer for the Virginia Wing Civil Air Patrol and I’ll gladly volunteer to help Sheriff Olsen create a positive public image. Good job, CCSD!

If you enjoyed this article, consider subscribing to the full-feed RSS.

Idaho Chooses Life

A story last month in Newsweek attempts to portray Pocatello woman Jennie McCormack as the next Norma McCorvey, more victim than perpetrator. She is the woman at the center of a lawsuit which seeks, among other things, to create a “right” to easy abortion access.

This woman apparently killed her preborn child – during the late 2nd or early 3rd trimester – using RU-486 pills she obtained over the internet. McCormack tells her sympathetic media confessor that she decided to end the baby’s life for the sake of her other children. (Quite a burden for those siblings to carry).

In a lawsuit against Bannock County prosecutor Mark Heideman, Ms. McCormack argues that not only does she have a right to an abortion – she has the “right” to access an abortion provider. Her constitutional gripe is that there aren’t enough abortion providers in Southeast Idaho. So far, she has found a sympathetic audience in federal judge Lynn Winmill. (In fact, we are hard pressed to recall a single instance when Winmill has denied demands from the Abortion Lobby – but that is fodder for a congressional investigation).

The upshot of this lawsuit is a drive by the Abortion Industry to legalize the use of RU-486 at any stage of pregnancy and without medical supervision. Such a circumstance would contradict regulations issued by the FDA when it approved the deadly drug – in which they limited its use to the first 49 days of a pregnancy, as well as requiring a physician’s involvement to protect the health and lives of women using it).

This lawsuit highlights one of the great lies behind the Abortion Industry’s claim that it is all about protecting women. The strategy to remove any restrictions on the sale and use of RU-486 is all about money.

We encourage you to read the disturbing account of McCormack’s crusade to expand abortion in Idaho for yourself by clicking here.

As an aside, we would urge Ms. McCormack to be cautious about her present role as professional victim for the Abortion Industry. We had a chance to meet and talk with the original Norma McCorvey when she came to Boise in 2010. She continues to carry a heavy burden for the role she played in moving Planned Parenthood’s agenda. It is hard to see how this ends well for Ms. McCormack.

If you enjoyed this article, consider subscribing to the full-feed RSS.

By Richard Larsen

This time of year we celebrate a very significant birthday. The birth of one who so dramatically affected history, that it provided the line of demarcation in reference to the human timeline. Anno Domini, Latin for “the year of our Lord,” contracted to AD, is affixed to all legal documentation signifying years since that important birth, and BC, or “Before Christ,” represents the human timeline before that historically documented advent.

Birthdays are significant for they acknowledge the arrival of someone who has touched and influenced the lives others. They’re much more than just acknowledgement of a single day representing their arrival on the scene, but rather celebrate the contributions and influence of one’s life on others. Based solely on the universally accepted Gregorian calendar, there is no more significant birthday than Jesus Christ’s.

Academics seeking to secularize the de facto Gregorian calendar dating system used globally, have attempted to replace the AD and BC designations with the more nonsectarian references of CE and BCE, or Common Era and Before Common Era. But try as they might, they just can’t seem to get away from the dating system centered on the birth of one Jesus of Nazareth. However they choose to reference it, it’s still based on the birth and life of Jesus.

Even though December 25th is not the day Christ was born, it has become the worldwide custom for acknowledging and celebrating it. The actual date of His birth is unknown, although Biblical scholars are in unanimity that it was not the 25th day of the twelfth month. Recognizing it at that time was very convenient early on since pagan festivities were in full swing at that time of year and it allowed early Christians to celebrate Christ’s birth unnoticed since they wouldn’t appear conspicuously celebrating at a time the pagans weren’t.

The tables have turned over the centuries. Here in American apparently 92% of us celebrate Christmas, while only 6% claim they do not. And only 25% of those, according to the same Rasmussen survey, indicate that they celebrate a holiday other than Christmas at this time of year. When you do the math, that’s 92% that celebrate Christmas, 1.5% who celebrate a different holiday, 4.5% who don’t acknowledge any holiday this time of year, and 2% that don’t seem to know.

Yet in spite of the overwhelming celebration and support of Christmas, there seems to be no shortage of “Grinches” intent on dampening the spirit of the season. The ACLU in Tennessee sends out letters to 137 school administrators admonishing them to not focus on “one particular religious holiday,” (wonder which one they mean?) Carolers are thrown out of a post office. The governor of Rhode Island declares the official state Christmas tree a “holiday tree.” Stores direct their employees to wish customers “Happy Holidays” rather than “Merry Christmas,” apparently incognizant of the fact that the numbers (92% versus 1.5%) are firmly in the “Merry Christmas” camp. And misguided and intolerant groups and individuals force the removal of the iconic symbols of the Holy Day, like Nativity scenes, somehow believing their rights are impinged upon by such displays

Much like the academicians who just can’t bring themselves to acknowledge Christ’s birth in their scholarly works, cultural secularists take umbrage at even the reference to the holy day based loosely on his birth.

To those of such thin skin, intolerance, and narrow mindedness, I would gently direct them to review their calendar, which lists the official federal holidays each year. Right there in black and white it says “Christmas” on December 25th. It doesn’t say “Holidays,” or “Seasons,” or any other politically-correct yet factually errant appellation, it says “Christmas.”

And the efforts to cleanse the country of Nativity scenes, whether on public property or not, is as illogical and misguided as removal of Pilgrims from all Thanksgiving festivities, or Old Glory from 4th of July celebrations would be. The icons and symbolism of holidays are fundamental to holiday observance.

The First Amendment to the Constitution states that, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” To rational people, recognizing a national holiday that happens to have “Christ” in the name, no more constitutes an “establishment of religion” than a public prayer does. Yet efforts to thwart those outward expressions is clearly a violation of “the free exercise thereof,” perhaps not by congress, but by intolerant and misguided malcontents exercising the tyranny of the 1.5% minority.

As long as the official calendar says “Christmas Day,” then Christmas programs, Christmas trees, expressions of Merry Christmas, and the symbolism of the holiday are themselves politically correct, appropriate, and culturally viable. And in that spirit, I lend my voice in contributing to the chorus of the 92% with my own, “Merry Christmas to all!”

If you enjoyed this article, consider subscribing to the full-feed RSS.

By Andi Elliott

Today I received the copyright notification from US Copyright Office regarding my book, And None Would Help…The Story of Barbie…the Mother Dog With Broken Legs. You might remember that last year Raul Torres of Jefferson County filed charges against me for trespassing and against Troy Jackson of Boise for helping Torres’ dog with broken legs that he refused to provide veterinary care for. Both sets of charges were dropped months later as there was no basis in fact and it became the #3 top story on local Channel 3 TV for the year.

On the 3rd of December, I had Torres served with a summons and I have also filed a complaint with the prosecutor’s office requesting that they take action against Torres for filing a false police report. Torres never spent one day in court throughout the entire six month ordeal. Many times I thought about how unfair that was…especially since I had been sent out to his home by the Sheriff’s department to offer help with the dog. All Torres had to do was to sign a citation. When the deputy served me with the paperwork, he told me that Torres was upset about the media attention.

Now I’m learning just how serious filing a false police report can be and the consequences for doing so. In Idaho, the filing of any type of false report with law enforcement is a misdemeanor and depending upon the situation, the charges can even be elevated to a felony. Penalties can include fines and even jail time. Additionally, civil charges can be filed and the time period to do so extends for years. You know…it’s time that folks learn that actions have consequences.

Andi Elliott

Tea Party Patriots Idaho State Co-Coordinator
President of For the Love of Pets Foundation

If you enjoyed this article, consider subscribing to the full-feed RSS.