Commentary

As we begin an uncertain 2021, it is important to reflect on the blessings of 2020.  That is, of course, no easy task.  And yet it is most important in the midst of trials.

There is no reason to reflect at any length of the trials of 2020.  It was a year like none other in American history.  It began with a corruption of the Constitutional provision for impeachment; then proceeded to months of rioting and lawlessness in major cities, with Democrats rooting on their street activists from the bleachers.  And then there was Covid, Covid … and more Covid.

Leftists across the nation took full advantage of the Chinese Virus to manipulate and mangle election laws in order to maximize their chances to win the presidency.  As of this writing, it remains to be seen whether they succeed.

In the midst of such outrageous abuse of the American people, it is understandably difficult to find the blessings of 2020.  And yet, they are there.

We can be grateful for the courage and determination of our President, Donald Trump.  His leadership during 2020 will shine for generations.  He managed to keep America’s economy functioning during an unprecedented health scare, preaching courage and hope while most other “leaders and experts” worked feverishly to drive the herd into isolated caves.  He led efforts to provide the various states with health care equipment and facilities, while lashing the medical community to produce a vaccine in record time.  And all year, he defended our core values, the Constitution – while beating back a savage personal and political attack from the Left unseen since the days of Lincoln.

But we may also be grateful for the opportunities 2020 presented:

Parents and families were able to spend more time together.  And those same parents may well have learned a great deal about the failings and prejudices of our modern educational system.

We were able to gather in places of worship, after our right to do so was temporarily suspended in an initial over-reaction to the advice of our expert class.  Even now, religious liberty and the First Amendment are under assault across the nation.  But that, too, is an opportunity for gratitude – for it shows us in a most powerful way to better appreciate what we may have taken for granted.  Hopefully, the gathering together in worship of our Creator will forever more be less of a chore and filled with more joy as a result of what we’ve endured in 2020. 

In fact, 2020 is loaded with such demonstrations of our vulnerability to the technocratic state.  Going to work, to school, to the grocery store have all been impeded by a government apparatus few of us would have believed possible just a year ago.  For those with the eyes to see … this past year has shown how very fragile our Constitution and liberties are.  We have now seen first-hand that there is a whole army of political and cultural leaders determined to remake the nation and bequeath the next generation a European-ized version of America in which the freedoms to assemble, to worship, to own property, to work, to redress our government… to live … are no longer inviolable rights – but merely nice suggestions.

Let us be grateful for the mortal threats of 2020, and resolve to make 2021 better.  Let us pray that the new year will be one which sees patriots rising in defense of our heritage. 

And let us continue to beseech Heaven that the Lord will come to our aid and deliver us from evil.

What an extraordinary development. On Monday, the President issued a proclamation honoring the pro-Life cause and the movement which has refused to accept the deranged morality of the Supreme Court.

President Trump was as clear about his pro-Life convictions as is he about most things: “Though the fight to protect life is not yet over, we commit to advocating each day for all who cannot speak for themselves.”

This is but another amazing development in the presidency of Donald Trump. He has indisputably established himself as the greatest pro-Life champion to occupy the White House in the Roe era.  What makes him so unique is that he is not simply supportive of one pro-Life law or another – he has established an Administration which advocates a pro-Life philosophy.  Trump is not willing to make a deal here or a concession here.  He wants his presidency to be pro-Life at every opportunity.

It is downright thrilling.

Trump does not merely respond to pressure from the Life Lobby to help with the new project for defending the innocent. He has identified himself as one our members, even a leader of the movement in his own right.  We just have never seen that kind of leadership before.

May the Lord continue to protect and guide him. And may the Congress get on the train and strengthen this historic moment.

A court battle has been raging over the fate of a preborn child in Texas. The baby’s mother is a 17-year old illegal immigrant who apparently came across the border to obtain an abortion.  Because she is in federal custody, she is demanding that American taxpayers pay for the abortion.

Texas AG Ken Paxton has been fighting against a tax-funded abortion, arguing that immigrants who come to the U.S. illegally do not thereby constitutional rights- particularly a right to elective abortion. “Texas must not become a sanctuary state for abortions,” he has proclaimed.

President Trump has engaged in the effort to protect the life of the preborn child.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement has intervened in the case, insisting that refugee shelters cannot facilitate abortions for minors without the director’s express and specific approval. Director Scott Lloyd, appointed by President Trump, has withheld his approval.  So the ACLU has stepped in to force the issue in court.

The abortion champion won the first round before Judge Tanya Chutkan – an Obama appointee.

But the Trump Department of Justice entered the fray and appealed the district court ruling. The U.S. Court of Appeals in D.C. blocked the lower court’s ruling yesterday.

We are most encouraged by the pro-Life integrity being demonstrated by the President and various appointees. Please join us in praying for the life of that little one.

During his news conference with President Trump this week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell publicly committed to a vote on the Pain-Capable Abortion Ban sponsored by Sens. Lindsey Graham and Mike Crapo. Perhaps we will see a vote before Christmas

That is certainly good news. The legislation, which will serve as a ban on late-term abortions after 20 weeks, has already passed the House.

However, it seems likely to end in more disappointment for the pro-Life community.

It is our understanding that this legislation will be subject to the Democrat filibuster. That means we will witness another victory by the Democratic minority because of arcane Senate tradition; thereby thwarting the Trump Agenda and defying the desires of the American people.  And the horrific practice of dismembering babies in the womb continues.

Perhaps it is important to remind our elected officials that the filibuster rule cannot be found in the Constitution. There is no mention in those founding principles of the Republic that every piece of legislation must acquire a super-majority in order to become law.  There is not even a federal statute to that effect.  It is simply a Senate Rule – a long standing tradition, if you will.

And, just maybe, there was a day when such a rule was a good idea. Maybe it worked to level things out and encouraged bi-partisanship.  But that would be a day long since passed.  The new Democrat Party has no interest in compromise, bi-partisanship or comity.  It exists to serve its masters – organizations like Planned Parenthood and donors like George Soros.  And Democrats know full well that the dysfunction of the U.S. Senate is in their vital interest.

Why Republicans have not awakened to these obvious facts defies explanation.

Nothing could be more soothing to the general public than a restoration of confidence in the U.S. Congress. And that confidence has everything to do with getting the people’s business done.  Set aside the question of abortion for a minute – how about simply restoring the basic appropriation process?  How about addressing the huge backlog of House-passed legislation awaiting action?

Senate Republicans must come to terms with the fact that they are in a gun fight. They need to come to the fracas armed with something more lethal than a salad fork.

Eliminate the filibuster rule.

The House posted a strong vote yesterday in favor of legislation that would outlaw abortions of babies after the 20^th week of a pregnancy.  There would be exceptions for the life of the mother, and instances of rape or incest.  Idaho’s Raul Labrador and Mike Simpson joined with 235 other congressmen to support the proposal brought forth by our friend, Congressman Trent Franks of Arizona.

Prior to the House vote, President Trump issued a public statement supporting the legislation, arguing that its passage was a critical step toward rebuilding a culture of life in the United States.

How right he is. Did you know that there are some 430 abortion clinics around the country which perform abortions on babies after 20 weeks’ gestation?

Even more chilling: America is one of only 7 countries in the world that permit late term elective abortions. We are joined by Canada, China, Netherlands, North Korea, Singapore and Vietnam.  Quite a disturbing company to be in.

This is actually the third time such a restriction has passed the Congress. And each time, the bill has become mired in the stalling tactics of Senate Democrats who owe their office to Big Abortion.  Without strong leadership and reform of Senate rules, it is hard to see this present version faring much better.  But we live in a world of miracles as well as tragedy.  So it is rational to hope that soon America will recover its role as the beacon of righteousness in a world craving such leadership.

Various media outlets have obtained a draft of a proposed Executive Order being prepared for President Trump’s signature. Liberals in the media, Abortion Industry and homosexual agitators are, predictably, “outraged”.  They claim he is on some dangerous, radical mission to persecute them.  But the simple truth, as with so much of the Trump agenda, is to restore a respect for fundamental American principles, law and culture.

Reportedly, the draft EO insists that the federal government and its agencies adhere to Supreme Court decisions and statutes which safeguard the religious liberties of American citizens. The only thing radical about this action is the focus it puts on the Obama government, which waged all-out war on the First Amendment and the religious beliefs of many millions.

For example, it was the Obama Administration which repeatedly forced Little Sisters of the Poor to mortgage its very existence by waging expensive lawsuits to defend its right not to pay for, or otherwise subsidize, abortion through bizarre ObamaCare regulations. And, in fact, Trump’s Executive Order specifically instructs the Departments of Labor, Treasury and Health & Human Services to provide proper relief to this order of Christian nuns.

The Order would further order all federal agencies to protect the religious liberties of federal employees, and would stop the government from discriminating against private Christian charities because they uphold traditional beliefs in the sanctity of Life and Marriage.

News reports suggest that Trump’s action will provide comprehensive protections to religious practice and restore much of what Obama tried to destroy. It is a moment to be celebrated, not only because of it marks a recovery of religious freedom, but a recovery of Constitutional government.

But be prepared for more protests, car burnings and frivolous lawsuits.

Presidential candidate Donald Trump issued a public letter to the nation’s pro-Life community this past week, affirming his pro-Life values and expressing his determination to advance the Life agenda.

In his letter, Trump restated his commitment to four specific policy agenda items:

1. Nominating pro-Life judges to the Supreme Court of the United States;
2. Signing into law the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which would essentially make abortions after 20 weeks illegal in the United States;
3. He would seek to defund Planned Parenthood so long as it performed abortions. Instead, he would re-direct the hundreds of millions in tax dollars to legitimate women’s health care providers; and
4. Trump would ask Congress to make the Hyde Amendment a permanent part of the federal code. This long-standing provision is usually attached as rider language to appropriation bills and restricts the use of federal monies to pay for elective abortions.

There is no question that these four action items represent a formidable pro-Life agenda for a new president’s first term. But even that awareness fails to capture the true stakes in November for America’s preborn children.

The Democrat nominee, Hillary Clinton, is a long way past the time when she declared that abortion should be rare in the United States. During her last run for the nomination, it became crystal clear that she is as rabid a supporter of Planned Parenthood’s agenda as any member of its Board.  Clinton has publicly declared her support for tax-funded abortions and is committed to nominating the most rabid abortion-supporting lawyers to all levels of the federal bench.

Thus, we must appreciate not only what Donald Trump might accomplish as president, but what he will be able to prevent should he defeat Clinton and Planned Parenthood in November.

It is time to be in serious prayer for the outcome of the national election.

The National Right to Life Committee announced yesterday that it was formally endorsing Donald Trump for President. In a public statement, NRLC focused on Hillary Clinton’s radical agenda to expand abortion in America – while acknowledging Trump’s oft-repeated commitment to appointing pro-Life judges to the federal bench.

After securing the nomination, Mr. Trump issued a public list of eleven potential nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court in the event that he gets the opportunity to make such appointments. The list of possible candidates was met with universal acclaim by pro-Life activists familiar with the records of those individuals.

Mr. Trump has also repeatedly stated his intention to end the federal government’s partnership with Planned Parenthood – America’s largest merchant of prenatal death.

By contrast, Hillary Clinton has led her party into a deeper partnership with the world’s most nefarious organized crime ring. She has endorsed Planned Parenthood’s demand for public financing of abortions and pledged to appoint abortion adherents to all levels of the federal judiciary.

Mrs. Clinton has even gone so far as to call for a reform of Christian theology in order to end formal opposition to legalized abortion.

The urgency of this presidential contest was highlighted by revelations that abortion cheerleader Barack Obama has – in addition to his Supreme Court appointments – made some 326 appointments to federal district courts around the country. He has been immensely successful in packing the courts with liberals.  As of now, he has managed to gain a majority of Democrat appointees in 9 of the 13 federal court circuits.  With a lifetime license to kill and destroy, these liberal federal judges will be wreaking havoc on American justice for decades.