And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

-- Luke 1:8-14


We pray to the Lord that this great Christmas Celebration will soften our hearts; that Idaho and the nation will be a more welcome place for God’s little ones in the year ahead. May we receive the gift of Life as these simple shepherds did – with hearts full of gladness for the blessing which is each new life.

Like many addicted to public subsidy, Planned Parenthood complains that taxpayers are too stingy with their dope.

Rebecca Poedy, Commander Idaho Planned Parenthood just published a guest opinion in the Idaho Statesman (12.20.07) whining about the fact that Congress has just adjourned without raising the subsidy for birth control pills. She charges that Congress will force young women in college to pay $40 per month for their birth control pills as a result of changes made in some formula or other to cut federal outlays for health subsidies.

Her piece fails to tell readers that her interest in this whole matter is pure business: What Congress really did in 2006 was challenge the sweetheart contracts Planned Parenthood had leveraged with various drug makers to obtain birth control pills at below-market prices. These questionable arrangements allowed Planned Parenthood to make huge mark-ups on their so-called “clients” – and make millions in profit.

But let us set aside that matter for a moment.

Poedy’s whiny complaint comes on the same day the Statesman printed an article about the plight of low-income seniors in Idaho and the doctors who treat them. Because of rising budget costs, Congress has been trying to reign in Medicare reimbursements for doctors. Susie Pouliot, CEO of the Idaho Medical Association is quoted in the article as saying that doctors were spared a major hit last week, when Congress put off a substantial cut in payments to doctors treating Idaho seniors.

Still, the cuts are coming later next year – and could amount to some $50 million in lost revenues for Idaho doctors. Those cuts mean Idaho seniors will have an ever more difficult time finding medical care, especially in smaller communities, as doctors find they simply cannot afford to treat Medicare clients.

It is in this context that one can truly see the self-centered nature of Poedy’s demand for more taxpayer subsidy of birth control pills: Is it more important that seniors on fixed incomes get the medical care they need to survive – or for girls in college to get cheap birth control pills so they can happily engage in recreational sex between exams?

The answer, unless you are part of the evil abortion empire, is more than obvious. But just because it is obvious, do not foolishly assume that Planned Parenthood will ever concede the point.

As we enter a more intense period of the 2008 political cycle – interrupted but for a few days by Christmas – we see very strong efforts underway by the “Rockefeller Wing” of the Republican Party to remove moral questions from the political debate. We see candidates like Rudy Giuliani surfacing on a platform of national security and economic development.

This effort is not limited to the national scene. Leaders of various special interest groups based in Boise, usually associated with Republicans, have been very active in the past couple months recruiting candidates and raising money to challenge key conservative legislators in next year’s primary election. They are specifically looking for “moderates” who want to increase government spending on education, increase taxes for projects like the “urban railroad” – and, most importantly, candidates who will oppose the pro-Life agenda in the Idaho Legislature.

The campaign can best be seen as an organized reaction to the election of conservative Lawerence Denney as Speaker of the Idaho House, and the loss of many “moderate” Republicans in the last election cycle.

We are, therefore, expecting a very intense set of legislative primaries next spring.

But as these powerful lobbyists work to persuade influential politicians that the Republican Party is best served by candidates who hold no strong moral positions on issues like abortion or the homosexual agenda – they would do well to heed the admonition of President Abraham Lincoln.

I recently tumbled across a fascinating book about Lincoln’s extraordinary address to leading Eastern opinion makers in the winter of 1860 at Cooper’s Union. On the way to describing that history-making address and Lincoln’s preparations, author Harold Holzer shares a powerful letter written by Abraham Lincoln to U.S. Senator Thomas Corwin (R-OH).

Lincoln responds to Corwin’s argument that the new Republican Party ought to find candidates who refused to focus so much attention on the slavery question. Corwin feared this issue would drive away moderate Democrats and Independents at the polling booth.

Lincoln called such thinking “idiotic”. While arguing that extremists should not carry the party standard, Lincoln emphatically declared that winning Republican candidates would be those who understood slavery “as being the living issue of the day”. He further warned that history had already proven the failure of a politics driven solely by economic concerns: The Whigs, once able to elect presidents, were, by 1860, virtually non-existent.

This book, Lincoln at Cooper Union, reminds us all that the Republican Party was actually established around core moral principles. Eliminate that moral center – and you have a political project without meaning except to the few guys trying to line their own pockets.

Republican-turned-Democrat Paul Morrison told Kansans late last week that he would resign his post as Attorney General at the end of January. His declaration comes just days after a sex scandal became public.

Just a decade or so back – such an action would have been considered mandatory by elected officials caught in sexual scandal, if only as a kind sop to traditional values. But since Bill Clinton, the bar has been lowered to the point where it is darn hard to find wood from dirt. One must suspect, therefore, that Morrison is not so much embarrassed by the sexual harassment allegations, as he is worried by charges that he used sex and emotional blackmail to convince his lover to abscond with documents and insider information from Phill Kline’s office.

That is a potentially serious criminal matter.

Can you imagine Morrison’s discomfort now that his future is in the hands of Phill Kline? For many years Morrison has treated Kline with contempt, and he must be mortified that Kline has now appointed a special prosecutor to investigate potential tampering by Morrison.

We are personally confident, however, that Morrison can expect only professional conduct from Phill Kline. Based upon our interactions with him, it is clear that Kline will not abuse his office for personal retribution – but he will no doubt seek justice.

Meanwhile, pro-abort Governor Kathleen Sebelius has indicated she has started interviewing candidates. Press reports from Kansas suggest she will try and name a successor to Morrison by mid-January.

Given the fact that she is a personal beneficiary of George Tiller’s abortion empire in Kansas, there is no chance that she will appoint anyone who is not sold-out to the Abortion Lobby. Thus the interference with Phill Kline’s work will likely continue, if on a more subtle basis.

It is difficult not to see God’s hand in all of this, specifically a vindication of Phill Kline.
The need for prayer continues.

Could the abortion battle in Kansas get any more bizarre and complex? The Capitol Journal reports that the pro-abort Attorney General of that state, Paul Morrison, has just been hit with a sexual harassment lawsuit following a multi-year sexual affair with a woman in the Johnson County Prosecuting Attorney’s office. The affair began while Morrison served as DA – and then continued after he became Kansas Attorney General.

Mrs. Carter, the purported victim, remained on the staff of the Johnson County Prosecuting Attorney after Morrison left as the Director of Administration.

The issue of Morrison’s extra-marital activities was a campaign issue last year in his challenge of pro-Life champion Phill Kline. Morrison vehemently denied that he had broken faith with his wife and even used her to publicly defend their marriage.

Of even greater import is the allegation made by Morrison’s former lover, Linda Carter, that he used her during the past year to obtain documents and information about the internal workings of the Johnson County Prosecutor’s office – particularly as it related to Phill Kline’s continuing efforts against Planned Parenthood and George Tiller.

It would seem likely that these latter charges, contained as allegations in Carter’s lawsuit, represent the most serious threats to Morrison’s political and legal future. Such unethical behavior would presumably lead to sanctions by the Kansas State Bar.

The Kansas City Star is reporting that another grand jury may be convened to investigate Planned Parenthood. This is a separate proceeding from the criminal charges they already face as a result of the efforts by Johnson County Prosecutor Phill Kline.

Attorneys from Planned Parenthood went to court last week, demanding that Judge Kevin Moriarty stop the grand jury from investigating additional criminal issues surrounding Planned Parenthood’s abortion operation in Kansas. He refused to do so. Judge Moriarty did, however, delay the seating of the grand jury until December 10th so that Planned Parenthood could pursue appeals.

The paper reports that they intend to do so – following the same path taken earlier by their compatriot, George Tiller.

This latest action is the fourth distinct legal action against the abortion industry in Kansas.
George Tiller faces criminal charges, as well as an additional grand jury investigation. The same is true for Planned Parenthood.

This phenomenal state of affairs is unprecedented in the history of America’s abortion industry – and all is the result of groundwork laid by Phill Kline. Developments in Kansas will have national implications.

We seek your prayers on behalf of Phill Kline and the attorneys working with him.