Commentary

It is no great insight to observe that President Trump has summoned a whirlwind of change to the federal government.  The foundations of the bureaucratic state are shaking: We must pray that he succeeds in forcing them to give way.

Less attention has been paid to the President’s continued commitment to recovering a culture of Life within America.  That commitment was revealed by his restoration of Reagan’s “Mexico City Policy” of prohibiting the use of our tax dollars to finance the killing of preborn children in foreign lands.

We also applaud his pardoning of pro-Life warriors abused by Joe Biden under the auspices of the FACE Act for the crimes of praying around Planned Parenthood abortuaries.  But this is only a first step in recovering decency and constitutional principles.

Our bold Vice President recently delivered a stunning speech to European elites regarding their clear disdain for democracy and religious freedom.  He castigated princes for their persecution of Christians willing to publicly – or even privately – defend the cause of the vulnerable through draconian laws.  And, yet, America itself paved the way for these kinds of laws under Clinton when the FACE Act was enacted.  This federal statute creates a wall of silence and protection around abortuaries in order to make the killers of preborn children feel secure and safe in their evil. 

President Trump must lead America toward a restoration of justice – and respect for the First Amendment – by pushing Congress to repeal the FACE Act altogether.  Legislation has been introduced by Sen. Mike Lee to do just that.  But given the immense power of the Abortion Lobby and socialized media, combined with the general dysfunction of Congress – we fear that it will require a major push from President Trump himself to get this bill through Congress.

Another urgent pro-Life agenda item is the defunding of Planned Parenthood. Suggestions have appeared in the past couple of weeks that DOGE and the Trump Administration is looking at the massive amount of money flowing from the federal government to Planned Parenthood.  This must become an action item.  We cannot hope to recover the culture from the clutches of the Death Industry while they receive some $750 million each year from the Treasury.  That money is the rocket fuel for their on-going deception effort, resulting in the on-going slaughter of millions of innocent babies.

We are currently working in the Idaho Legislature to gain passage of a Joint Memorial to Congress & the President, urging approval of a family planning waiver to Idaho’s Medicaid program.  This change requires Medicaid recipients get their birth control pills from their primary care physician – and not some parasitic vendor like Planned Parenthood.  The Idaho Legislature enacted this program change in 2019.  But the federal government under Joe Biden has not even bothered to respond to Idaho’s petition for approval.  We need to get this waiver approved so that Idaho Planned Parenthood is cut-off from the Medicaid Program.  Perhaps this can become a successful model for other states.

President Trump has an overwhelming list of daunting challenges before him.  We must continue to pray the Lord’s wisdom and courage for him and those in the Administration.

Minnesota native Michele Bachmann was our guest speaker at this year’s Christmas Dinner.  She delivered a powerful talk, an analysis of the practical impact associated with choosing to accept the gift of Life from our Creator.

Idaho and Minnesota provide the wise observer with a powerful contrast, as the peoples of each state are on very different paths.

Minnesota once was a leader in protecting pro-Life values – despite its historical embrace of more liberal policies.  In fact, Minnesota was once ahead of Idaho in providing basic protections for preborn children.  They were ahead of us in requiring parental consent for abortions.  They were ahead of Idaho in denying taxpayer funds for abortions.  They enacted a ban on Partial Birth Abortions before Idaho did.

As you may have heard, Minnesota is on a radically different path these days.  These days, it is among the nation’s most radical states in actually promoting abortion and the mutilation of tender children under the guise of “transgender medical treatment”.  This hard turn toward the Culture of Death has come at a price.

The people of Minnesota have turned to inept leadership … people like Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison. No objective observer of this past presidential election could deny that Tim Walz is pretty much a dufus.  Thank the Lord he got nowhere near the White House.

Contrast Minnesota’s foolish leadership with the high caliber of leaders nurturing Idaho’s future: Governor Brad Little and Attorney General Raul Labrador, to name just two.  We are blessed to have such competent, morally sound leaders; our legislature and executive branch are loaded with rich examples of quality leadership that will help Idaho families for many years to come.

I submit to you that each of the states is harvesting the curses and blessings promised by the Lord at the very beginning of the Biblical story of His saving grace:  In his last speech before the Israelites, Moses says:

                “I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.  Now choose life, so that you and your children may live ….”  (Dt. 30:19).

Many falsely believe that the abortion issue is some kind of distraction to the “real issues” – guns, taxes, crime.  They are mistaken.  The question of refusing God’s gift of Life is at the very heart of nearly every problem and challenge we face as a society.  He is, after all, our Creator.

It may seem like the contrast between a Walz and Little has nothing whatsoever to do with abortion.  But I submit it has everything to do abortion.  Immature and corrupt leadership is part of the curse associated with rejecting God’s commands.  And that sorry leadership reaches into all aspects of Minnesota’s future.

The fact is, Minnesota is a state in serious decline.

It now ranks 35^th among the states in population decline.  It ranks 25^th in the nation for reading scores among 4^th graders in the public school system – where once it could take pride in leading the nation in literacy.  Minnesota ranks 33^rd in the country for new business start-ups.  Net farm income is projected to decline some $2.7 billion in that state over 2023.  And Minnesota ranks 40^th in growth, as measured by the state’s GDP. 

These are all signs that Minnesota is reaping what it has sowed.  The embrace of a culture of Death does not just affect the tender preborn. It carries with it an increasingly severe judgment that affects everyone in that society. Judgment is inescapable and certain.

Thank God Idaho is on a radically different path.  We are being blessed by that same God … by those same precious promises as we continue to battle to rebuild a Culture of Life in Idaho.

Because of the Defense of Life Act … Idaho stands as a light to the nation.

Updated photo of the state of things in Minnesota:

This Thanksgiving is Particularly Important.

America has been especially blessed by the Lord throughout its history – from a miraculous founding to overcoming the threats of two world wars to protecting our precious grant of freedom.  God has used America to provide a beacon of hope to a world mired in paganism, oppression and poverty.

But these past several years have been downright painful as that beacon of light grew pretty dim.  It often felt like evil, perversion and chaos were about to swamp the boat as the “progressive agenda” was shoved down our throats at every turn.

Many Americans shared a sense that the country was at a critical crossroad during this last election.  Millions of Americans feared what would become of us should Ms. Harris win the presidency and extend the progressive revision of our nation.  It seemed unlikely that the American Vision would survive a Harris Presidency.  Yet, in our hearts, we knew that she was the kind of leader we deserved.  For much of this long Biden reign, it seemed the only rational thing was to reach out to the Lord and plead for His intervening mercy.

Just weeks ago, the Lord answered those prayers.  He has granted us a reprieve, a chance to repent and recover those values which have always made America unique among the nations. 

We have a hard struggle ahead; so much damage has been done to this nation by Biden & Co.  But today we can take a long breath to soberly consider what God has done for us.  Hope has been restored.  The chance to overcome utter insanity has been given us.

As we gather today to mark God’s bounty, it is imperative that our thanksgiving carry a somber recognition of our great escape from certain calamity.

Thank you, Lord, that we still live in biblical times.

by Dennis Mansfield & Christ Troupis

In Monty Python and the Holy Grail, a peasant confronts King Arthur, “(You) treat me like an inferior!” Arthur responds: “Be quiet, I am your king…” the peasant’s wife mutters, “Well, I didn’t vote for you.”  Her voice echoes strongly today. This November Idaho will adopt or reject Proposition 1 (Ranked Choice Voting/Open Primaries).

The King Arthurs of Idaho want to abolish closed party primaries, to keep the peasants quiet. Vote NO on Prop 1.

Many will vote on this proposition without knowing much about it. They’ll vote based on a vague, feel-good sense of “fairness.” Machine politicians will smile. But this is not good for Idaho. So, who is it good for? A lot of outside big money interests poured resources into Idaho. The machine politicians were ousted by the rank-and-file Idahoans and left simmering until now. Their combined work is a disaster in disguise.

We have long believed that political parties best serve their purpose when they stick to their principles. In 2008, 18% of votes in the Republican Party Primary were cast by Democrats. That’s why I (Christ) brought suit and I (Dennis) testified on behalf of the Idaho Republican Party to close its primary. 

Democrats don’t vote in Republican primaries to promote GOP values.

We won the lawsuit. A greater benefit: Politicians became more accountable to the People to deliver what they promised. Since then, the Republican Party has elected more candidates who support family values than ever before. The machine politicians have been ousted from control of the party and they don’t like it. They need Democrats voting in an “open” Republican primary to dilute conservative values and promote the “uni-party,” objectives of big government.

Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) works like this: Four candidates are on your ballot. You can vote for each one in order of preference.  If you only like one candidate, you can vote once for that candidate, and you lose your other 3 votes.  If no candidate gets over 50% of the votes, the candidate in fourth place is eliminated, and the ballots of those who voted for that person as their first choice are “reallocated” based on their 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th choices.  This is a “second vote” for the group whose candidate was eliminated. So, the people who voted for the #4 candidate get two votes. This process continues until someone gets over 50%. If there is another “reallocation”, the people who voted for the #4 candidate get 3 votes, the group who voted for the #3 candidate get 2 votes.  If you only voted for the one candidate of your choice, you get 1 vote. That is vote dilution…and a scandalous attack on the sacred American principle of “one person, one vote”. 

The Foundation for Government Accountability discovered, in the 2010 San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ General Election, more than half of the ballots were thrown out because of RCV, and only 8,200 ballots determined the final result. New York City, Minneapolis and Portland all have RCV.  Is it any wonder, New York City’s council just voted for reparations and voted to release violent criminals without bail? These are the end-results of RCV elections.

The Ultimate Problem

When I (Christ) worked with the Trump team on the 2020 Wisconsin recount, I learned there are a lot of ways to steal an election.  All based on one principle, dilute real votes with ‘fill in the blank’ votes. That’s RCV’s potential. 

With the passage of Proposition 1, the GOP closed primary would be dead and we would be forced to vote for 3 candidates we don’t want, in order to have our 1 vote count. Our vote would be diluted by the rest of the votes and possible voter fraud would be ushered in. It’s a disaster in disguise. Vote NO on Proposition 1. As Monty Python so clearly stated, “We’re not dead yet.”

Dennis Mansfield is a former candidate, a business coach and an author

Christ Troupis is a retired attorney and an author

With Ms. Harris’ pick of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate, Planned Parenthood’s ownership of the Democratic Party is cemented.  This will mean that the number one issue for Democrats this fall will be abortion-on-demand.  Perhaps the only issue they willingly discuss.

Gov. Walz has made a mess of Minnesota on many fronts, but none more disturbing than his hearty embrace of Planned Parenthood’s deadly agenda.  He has enshrined their transgender agenda into Minnesota law by creating a “safe haven” for children from across America to obtain sex change operations and treatment in Minnesota without parental knowledge or consent. 

But his rabid support for their abortion agenda is even more chilling: He has made Minnesota into an “abortion sanctuary” state – welcoming women from across the nation to schedule their “abortion vacations” in the North Star State.  State tax dollars are available to help.

Gov. Walz has gone even further in promoting abortion tourism: He signed a law guaranteeing that a woman will get a dead baby out of the deal.  In Minnesota, it is now legal to kill an infant who survives an abortion by denying post-birth treatment.  This is stone cold murder by any rational definition.  Radical people like Bill Maher might be “okay with that” … but we are confident most Americans will shudder at such barbarity.

So this is the state of affairs in America as we face the most consequential election since 1860.

The choice before Americans will be one of Life … or Death.  Blessings or curses.  For any Christian voter queasy over President Trump’s brash style, we beg you to seek the Lord’s face on this matter.  There is no longer any grey territory, and your duty is crystal clear.  Get off the couch, off the pew and vote as if lives depended upon it because that is what time it is.

Think we oversimplify things?  Ponder these words from the Democrat Candidate for Vice-President:

“My record is so pro-choice that Nancy Pelosi asked me to tone it down.  I stand with Planned Parenthood.”

DAVID DALEIDEN SPEAKS OUT …

Suppression of evidence, hand-picked judges… jackboot raids of private residences … gag orders… Sound familiar?

As California Attorney General, Kamala Harris weaponized the powers of her governmental office to cover up Planned Parenthood’s illegal sale of aborted baby body parts and chill our First Amendment rights to speak freely about it.
It’s not hard to figure out why. Planned Parenthood and the rest of the abortion industry have been her major political sponsors for almost 15 years. And now they want her to be their extremist Abortion President.

I have first-hand experience with Kamala Harris’ weaponization of government. In late 2015, in retaliation for CMP’s undercover reporting on Planned Parenthood using partial-birth abortions to sell aborted babies and their body parts, AG Harris opened a criminal investigation, not of the traffickers of aborted babies—but of my reporting on it.

After a secret meeting with top Planned Parenthood officials implicated in the undercover videos, Kamala Harris ordered a raid on my home by eleven California State officers. Planned Parenthood specifically asked for the undercover footage to be seized.

You can review the facts in this video report CMP released previously:

Along with federal Judge William Orrick III—who opened, funded, and operated a Planned Parenthood clinic—AG Kamala Harris was Planned Parenthood’s not-so-secret San Francisco weapon to silence critical reporting on their wrongdoing and obstruct ethical officials’ attempts at holding them accountable for the barbaric crimes of selling aborted babies.

Would it surprise you to learn that Judge Orrick was also an early elite supporter of Kamala Harris for California Attorney General?

The fact is, my team and I have been fighting against a corrupt and coordinated lawfare campaign from Planned Parenthood’s key allies in both federal and state, civil and criminal court systems for NINE years!

Frankly, we never would have had a fighting chance if it wasn’t for your generous support all along the way.

We are still facing a nearly $25 million total fine from Judge Orrick (on appeal), remaining video recording charges in San Francisco (the only such case in California history!) that the Attorney General refuses to drop, and stonewalling from state and federal officials about our public records requests for the documentation of Planned Parenthood’s government-sponsored sale of aborted babies.

Your support has been key to allowing me and my team to: Keep the undercover videos online and circulating despite Kamala Harris and Judge Orrick’s attempts to censor them for Planned Parenthood Reveal Planned Parenthood’s criminal contracts with NIH-funded research universities to sell “proprietary” aborted babies for ownership of lucrative university royalties Prompt Congressional and federal law enforcement investigations of Planned Parenthood’s fetal trafficking and successful state enforcement against them in southern California and Texas Focus attention on the humanity of babies in the womb throughout pregnancy, leading to Mississippi’s successful 15-week-limit challenge and the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe v. Wade, saving countless lives Help us file a pending federal civil rights lawsuit against Kamala Harris for weaponizing her office to suppress First Amendment rights We are busily at work on further investigative reporting to be published this summer. We must continue to speak and publish freely so that Kamala Harris cannot cover up Planned Parenthood’s sale of aborted baby body parts any longer.

What an extraordinary week we have just been through.  President Trump was very nearly killed by an assassin during an inexplicable failure by the Secret Service to perform even the most rudimentary security precautions.

Then came an amazing Republican Convention.  We witnessed President Trump’s amazing comeback from 2020 … and the emotional terror of the assassination attempt … to accept the party’s nomination for the third straight time.  More than that – the convention was illuminated by the voices of many ordinary Americans: the Gold Star parents of servicemen lost in Afghanistan; the parents of an American citizen held captive by terrorists in Gaza; the victims of illegal immigrant crime; a courageous cultural star recount her awakening after years of being manipulated by the Democrat Media Machine.  A very inspiring week.

And then the Empire struck back.

Within a week of President Trump’s heroic escape … the Stalinesque leaders of the Democrat Party forced an incumbent president to quit on his own re-election campaign.  The clique in charge of this political machine determined that Biden had outlived his usefulness.  Despite having raised some $300 million; despite winning something like 98% of the delegate votes over the past half year; despite repeated public declarations that he was ready to finish the race – the Stalinists who run the Democrat Politburo have ordered Biden to leave: We can do this the easy way … or the hard way. Mr. Chauncey Gardner is expendable. And it is truly alarming that this kind of unaccountable private power could be so effectively wielded against a sitting President of the United States.  But those are the days in which we live; the days from which we desperately need to escape.

And within twenty-four hours, the Stalinist-Democrats have gathered up some $85 million in new corporate funding for their chosen replacement: VP Harris.  And like dutiful sheep, a majority of the delegates once elected to support Biden … have already flopped to support The New Leader.  Wow. 

(One could only hope that there is enough integrity left in this party that they will quickly and quietly destroy any tv ads, bumper stickers or radio jingles claiming to be the “defenders of democracy”.)

But the priority for the Democrat Ministry of Truth will be to turn its considerable powers to the matter of selling America on what a wondrous Leader Kamala Harris will become if we but give her the keys to what is left of the Republic.  They will be hard selling us the notion that Harris is “brilliant” … “a tough prosecutor” … “young and energetic” … blah … blah… blah.  And at least one of those things might be more or less true.

What concerns us most is that Kamala Harris is even more obsessed with abortion than Joe Biden; even more hostile to Christianity than our nominally Catholic president.  In fact, it may be the case that Harris has been a key engineer, driving Biden to ever more radical abortion policies.

Let us review just some of the highlights from Harris’ public service:

• As Attorney General of California, Harris employed the full weight of state government to persecute and prosecute an American hero because he had the wits and courage to expose Planned Parenthood’s grossly evil baby parts business.  You will recall that David Daleiden conducted a series of undercover videos detailing Planned Parenthood’s trafficking of aborted baby parts back in 2014 and 2015.  But rather than using her office to prosecute and shut-down such illegal and immoral practices – Kamala Harris went after Daleiden.  She sent armed agents to his apartment in San Diego to seize all of his computers, video files, records; she led efforts to get a court order forbidding him from making any of his damning videos public.  She made David Daleiden the criminal – not Planned Parenthood.

Without doubt, Planned Parenthood owes their survival after this scandal to Kamala Harris.

• Ms. Harris has fought to strip doctors and nurses of conscience protections – making it a condition of their medical license that they perform abortions and other procedures they find objectionable.
  
• Ms. Harris has also demonstrated an intense hostility toward pregnancy care centers.  She actually got legislation passed in California requiring pro-Life centers to advertise Planned Parenthood’s abortion services inside their facilities.

What a disaster it would be for Kamala Harris to somehow gain the White House.  She is a wholly owned agent of Planned Parenthood.

As we witness these extraordinary events, it is important to steel our hearts for the outrages yet to be revealed.  We must strengthen our hearts for battle … and we must appeal to the God of Heaven for wisdom and resolve to meet this most dangerous threat to the Republic.

Today marks the second anniversary of the historic Dobbs decision.  While the people of this nation continue to struggle with detoxifying our culture from fifty years of abortion ideology – this is a day to give thanks to the Lord.  In His great mercy, He heard the prayers of many crying to Him for justice.

The rejection of Roe was nothing short of miraculous.  So many things had to happen for the Supreme Court to finally confess its great sin to the American people.  There has never been a ruling like Roe in all of American history – when the Supreme Court itself violated the Constitution to amend the Constitution by fiat.  The Founders could never have imagined such a gross breach of the sacred public trust.

In addition to the Almighty, we must acknowledge a number of historic figures in bringing about this monumental correction.  There is, of course, Donald J. Trump.  Unlike his Republican predecessors, Mr. Trump meant what he said when he promised that he would scour the land to find pro-Life, Constitutionally-committed jurists.

But we must also honor two living giants in our midst:  Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Sam Alito.  These two men have borne the burden of defending the Constitution for decades, subjecting themselves to public scorn for insisting that a great lie was being perpetrated upon the American people.  They kept the faith … and saved the Constitution.  For a season, they had the worthy companionship of Justice Scalia – but, alas, he did not live to see the final victory on June 24, 2022.

On this historic day, we look to Scripture to express our joy:

                “Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom and broke away their chains.  Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, for he breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron.”  (Psalm 107:13-16).

But the overturning of Roe is just the beginning step in restoring justice to the land.  There are many battles ahead as we continue our fight to bring healing to the culture, and repentance for the great sin of destroying our own children.  May the Lord continue to be merciful and continue to provide help. We certainly cannot rebuild a Culture of Life without His aid.

In his 2021 inaugural address, President Biden remarked, “The will of the people has been heard, and the will of the people has been heeded. We have learned again that democracy is precious.”

Then, a year later, this self-declared unifier sued my state for exercising democracy.

Idaho passed the Defense of Life Act in 2020 to protect the lives of women and their unborn children. The law officially became enforceable in June 2022, when the Supreme Court ruled Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that the people and their elected representatives in the states have the power to pass pro-life laws. Idahoans stand to protect life, and our law is a reflection of their will.

But the Biden administration didn’t care. A couple of months after Dobbs gave this decision-making power back to the states, the administration manipulated a federal law to say we still don’t have that power. The Justice Department sued Idaho, claiming that a federal law – the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) – supersedes our own law and in fact even forces emergency room doctors to perform abortions.

This could not be further from the truth. EMTALA contains no provisions about abortion. In fact, that particular law requires emergency room physicians to care for pregnant women and their “unborn child[ren].” No conflict exists between Idaho’s law and EMTALA. A conflict does exist, however, between the will of the people of Idaho and the Biden administration’s adherence to an extreme abortion agenda.

EMTALA was passed to ensure that emergency rooms serve everyone, regardless of their ability to pay. The purpose of this law is to save lives, not to take them. Similarly, Idaho’s law ensures that mothers’ and children’s lives are protected. There is harmony between Idaho’s law and EMTALA, but the administration is attempting to sow discord. Rather than seek to save lives, it is twisting the law into something unrecognizable, all to endanger lives and unnecessarily burden emergency room staff.

Emergency room doctors in Idaho – and in every state, in fact – treat women who suffer from ectopic pregnancies, miscarriages, and other life-threatening conditions. Doctors are bound by oath to protect their patients – every patient, including unborn children. The actions of the administration would force them to violate their oath and violate state law.

Because the administration is attempting to put its will above the people of Idaho, my office is standing in defense of our law. A lower court ruled against our ability to enforce our law, so we appealed that decision to the high court. Our efforts have already paid off. In January, the Supreme Court not only agreed to hear our case but also allowed us to enforce our law while the Court reviews the administration’s actions.

Make no mistake about it: Although Biden claims that his “whole soul” is in on uniting America, his administration is pushing an extreme agenda that is seeking to end lives rather than save them. His administration is attempting to use federal law to trump state law in direct opposition to the people of Idaho and legal precedent. Rather than respect democracy, Biden is kowtowing to abortion lobbyists, who stand to lose the most by allowing the unborn to have a chance at life.

With the help of the legal firms Alliance Defending Freedom and Cooper and Kirk – both of which have impressive track records at the U.S. Supreme Court – my office is working to uphold Idaho’s law. The Supreme Court heard our case Wednesday as we asked the court to end the Biden administration’s lawlessness and reckless disregard for life, women’s health, medical integrity, and democracy. A favorable ruling will uphold what Idaho’s law and EMTALA are both written to do: save lives.

Like conservatives across the state, we were excited to learn that U.S. Senate Kari Lake was coming to Idaho Falls.  She has become a leading voice in America for restoring integrity to our election system and for the values that made America the greatest nation in history.’

Imagine our profound disappointment, then, when we saw this heroine join the media mob in calling for an immediate “fix” to Arizona’s historic law protecting preborn children.  The law protecting preborn children from the horror of abortion was enacted by the people of Arizona before it became a state.  And it was reaffirmed by the people of that great state numerous times until the right to life was snatched away by the Roe Court in 1973.

Our heroine joined the mob in calling the law archaic, and in need of “improvement” – by which Mrs. Lake meant that more abortions should be made legal in Arizona.

But the right to Life is no more archaic than the right to bear arms or the right to freely exercise our faith.   These ancient values are the very foundation of our greatness as a people and nation.  They are gifts from our Creator. It is only through the recovery of these honored virtues that we can recover our greatness.

It is a shame that Mrs. Lake missed a great teaching opportunity.  Rather than respond in a panic to the supposed threat to her election hopes – she missed a chance to seize the moment by calling Arizona citizens to account and reflection.  This was an opportunity to expose what we have lost, and to appeal to the nature of our best selves. It was a genuine leadership moment.

We can only pray that, during her visit to Idaho Falls, Kari Lake will have time to reflect.  Perhaps some of the conservative leaders in eastern Idaho can help her find her way back.  Because if we cannot trust a politician to protect the most vulnerable among us when their ambitions might be at risk – how can we trust her to face the many torments of the great swamp that is Washington?