Gender Selection Abortions are Legal

The House of Representatives will vote on a proposed ban of sex-selection abortions on Wednesday (TOMORROW). Please, please call your representative (RIGHT NOW) and ask them to vote yes on HR 3541.

Not sure of your congressional district or who your member is?  Go to the government website (link below) and it will assist you by matching your ZIP code to your congressional district.

http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

This website will also be provide you with links to your member's website and contact page.

If you are in District 8 (like The Woodlands) your rep is Kevin Brady: 936 441 5700

http://www.lifenews.com/2012/05/29/video-planned-parenthood-encourages-woman-to-get-sex-selection-abortion/

http://liveaction.org/blog/sex-selective-abortion-thrives-in-america-courtesy-planned-parenthood/

If your child's school allows 'Day of Silence' propaganda, keep your child at home April 20

Let your school officials know that if they are going to allow social and political action in class, your child will not be there.

The Day of Silence, which is sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), fast approaches. This year it will take place in most public schools on April 20. On this day, thousands of public high schools and increasing numbers of middle schools will allow students to remain silent throughout an entire day-even during instructional time-to promote GLSEN's socio-political goals and its controversial, unproven, and destructive theories on the nature and morality of homosexuality.

Parents must actively oppose this hijacking of the classroom for political purposes. Please join the national effort to restore to public education a proper understanding of the role of government-subsidized schools. You can help de-politicize the learning environment by calling your child out of school if your child's school allows students to remain silent during instructional time on the Day of Silence.

Parents should no longer passively countenance the political usurpation of public school classrooms through student silence.

If students will be permitted to remain silent, parents can express their opposition most effectively by calling their children out of school on the Day of Silence and sending letters of explanation to their administrators, their children's teachers, and all school board members. One reason this is effective is that most school districts lose money for each student absence.

School administrators err when they allow the classroom to be disrupted and politicized by granting students permission to remain silent throughout an entire day.

Visit this website for complete information on opposing the Day of Silence.

TAKE ACTION

1. Call your local schools and ask whether they permit students or teachers to remain silent in the classroom on "Day of Silence." IMPORTANT: Do not ask any administrator, school board member, or teacher if the school sponsors, endorses, or supports DOS. Schools do not technically sponsor the Day of Silence. Technically, it is students, often students in the gay-straight alliance, who sponsor it. Many administrators will tell you that they do not sponsor the DOS when, in fact, they do permit students and sometimes even teachers to remain silent during instructional time. Also ask administrators whether they permit teachers to create lesson plans to accommodate student silence.

2. Find out what date the event is planned for your school. (The national date in 2012 is April 20, but some schools observe DOS on a different date).

3. Inform the school of your intention to keep your children home on that date and explain why.

For more information or questions, visit Day of Silence Walkout.

It is very important that you forward this alert to your friends and family members.

Sincerely,



Tim Wildmon, President
American Family Association

Superintendent Bullies Christian Student, Calls Him 'Ignorant'

I urge you to send an email to Shawano Superintendent Todd Carlson. Urge him to immediately apologize for his unconstitutional and irrational censorship and humiliation of student Brandon Wegner.

January 25, 2012

Dear Reader,

School officials at Shawano High School in Wisconsin have censored and punished Brandon Wegner, a 15-year-old, for writing an op-ed article explaining the Biblical view of homosexuality and supporting natural mother-father adoption, according to Liberty Counsel.

After Brandon wrote this article he was pulled into hours of meetings with school administrators and staff, without his parents' knowledge.

Superintendent Todd Carlson told him that the column "went against the bullying policy," and asked him if he "regretted" writing it. According to Liberty Counsel, when Mr. Wegner stated that he did not regret writing it, and that he stood behind his beliefs, Superintendent Carlson told him that he had "to be one of the most ignorant kids to try to argue with him about this topic," that "we have the power to suspend you if we want to" and that the column had "personally offended me, so I know you offended other people!"

Brandon's opinion was a part of an editorial page which presented viewpoints both for and against homosexual adoption, each articulated by a student. After the school newspaper was published in the local town paper, a homosexual in the community complained to the school. School officials then censored Brandon's article, forcing him and his classmates to pull the page out of the newspaper before distribution at the school.

Mathew Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, said "The bullying at Shawano High School is by Superintendent Todd Carlson and the school officials, not the student, Brandon Wegner. The school officials have displayed blatant intolerance of a view on homosexuality held by many people. The school's actions are shocking and unjustified. The superintendent should immediately apologize and stop the bullying."

THIS IS A CALL TO ACTION!

Send an email to Shawano Superintendent Todd Carlson. Urge him to immediately apologize for his unconstitutional and irrational censorship and humiliation of student Brandon Wegner.

Ask Mr. Carlson to publicly acknowledge that, in the future, all students will be allowed to express their religious beliefs, free from bullying and harassment by school administrators, staff and other students.

Here is my email - feel free to use it as a template (there is also a template if you follow the link above)

Dear Mr. Carlson:

I am deeply distressed by your actions against one of your students, Brandon Wegner. 
Your actions were very discriminatory and unconstitutional.

Censorship and bullying one of your students because of his religious convictions is discrimination at its worst. Referring to Brandon as "ignorant" is a clear violation of professional ethics.

I urge you to apologize to Brandon and his family immediately.

I also ask you to publicly acknowledge that, in the future, all students will be allowed to express their religious beliefs, free from bullying and harassment by school administrators, staff and other students.

Sincerely,

_________________________

Catholic Same as Methodist?

A Call to Acton -- Christian Woman Faces Execution in Pakistan

Pakistani Christian woman, Asia Bibi 

Please read this NBC article and forward it to as many people as possible, asking them to send a letter to Pakistan's president and to President Obama, urging their immediate action to save this woman's life. 

There are email addresses and a sample email at the bottom of this post. 

The government of Pakistan, an alleged ally of the U.S. in the War on Terror, has sentenced a mother of 5 to death. Her crime worthy of execution? 

She is accused of speaking poorly about Muhammad, the Founder of Islam.

Aside from the fact that the charge hasn't been proven, this is a grave and glaring violation of basic human rights.

But where is the outrage from worldwide news agencies and human rights groups? Where are the feminists? Where is usual sermon about religious tolerance from our Nobel prize-winning President Obama? We saw a far greater outcry when some backwoods Florida pastor threatened to burn some copies of the Quran!

HERE IS THE ARTICLE - LINK AT END:

In early November, in the dusty city of Sheikhupura in Pakistan’s heartland, Asia Bibi, an illiterate Christian woman and mother of five, was sentenced to death by hanging under the country’s blasphemy laws.

Her crime? She allegedly insulted the Prophet Muhammad.

Almost immediately, the death sentence unleashed international condemnation, and put pressure on Pakistan’s government to overturn the verdict and amend the country’s blasphemy laws – a holdover from a 19th century penal code designed to protect minority religious sects during British colonial times.
The law was radicalized during the 1980’s under the military dictatorship of General Zia ul Haq. He imposed life sentences, even death, for blasphemy to appease the mullahs and legitimize his grip on power.

Pope Benedict XVI appealed for clemency but hard-line Islamic groups have threatened civil war if the government pardons Bibi or attempts to amend the law.

Bibi’s husband, 48-year-old Ashiq Masih, is desperate, convinced radical Islamic groups are aiming to kill the family. He has gone into hiding, along with his children, sheltered inside a Christian colony in an outlying district of Sheikhupura. Masih insists his wife was framed, a victim of old score-settling in their village of Ittan Walli, where his family was just one of two Christian families.

Anjum Naveed / AP

Ashif Masih, right, husband of Christian woman Asia Bibi who had been sentenced to death, and daughters Sidra Shahzadi and Isham Ashiq listen to Pakistani minister for Minority Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti, unseen, during a meeting in Islamabad, Pakistan on Nov. 24.

“She was picking berries with other women, when she was sent to get water,” her husband said. “One of the women refused to drink the water after my wife dipped her cup into the bucket. This woman said it was contaminated because it was touched by a Christian.”
According to Masih, all the women then started taunting his wife, and shouting insults against her mother and their children. Bibi just repeated the same insults back at them. “The name of the holy prophet never came up.”

At the time, Masih said he thought that was the end of it. It wasn’t.
“Five days later, the local cleric came to our house, followed by an angry mob, and dragged my wife away,” he said, recalling the incident that took place in June 2009. They beat her, ripped off her clothes and accused her of insulting the prophet. Then they locked her up in a house until the police came to take her away.”

In an interview with NBC News, Qari Muhammed Salem, the local cleric in Ittan Walli, accused Masih of lying. “I talked to everyone who witnessed this incident and she is guilty,” he said. “She confessed to the crime in front of the entire village and then she begged for forgiveness,” he insisted.
“She even told me she said these things in rage during a heated argument and would never think of blasphemy,” he said. Salem said he called the police to lock her up, only to protect her, because the angry mob would have killed her.

Najma Yousaf, a sister of Bibi, still lives in the family home in Ittan Walli, a rural village of approximately 10,000 inhabitants, almost all Muslim. “I’m not afraid to live in our house,” she said. “The villagers are all very nice with me, my husband and our children. They are angry with my sister.”
Bibi, 45, is the first woman condemned to death under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. While no one has ever been executed, most of the accused – all men – languish in prison alone and forgotten.
Human rights groups point out that the law is a convenient way to settle scores, often among the Christian community who total about 2 million of Pakistan’s 175 million people.

In a statement released from New York, Human Rights Watch, called for Pakistan’s government to immediately introduce legislation to repeal the blasphemy laws.

“Asia Bibi has suffered greatly and should never have been put behind bars,” said Ali Dayan Hasan, senior South Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The injustice and fear the blasphemy law spawns will only cease when this heinous law is repealed.”

You can read the rest of the NBC article  HERE.
The article was written by NBC's Carol Grisanti and Fakhar ur Rehman

Please send in your emails and letters TODAY - right now. Call the White House, call your representatives. Do whatever you can.

Pakistan's President: publicmail@president.gov.pk

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi: http://www.speaker.gov/contact/

President Obama: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

 In our family, we each sent this email to the White House, Pakistan's President (edited) and to Speaker of the House (Nancy Pelosi)

As an American citizen, I have helped to contribute the billions of tax dollars that my country has provided to Pakistan's government and military.

Since Pakistan is supposedly our partner in the War on Terrorism, I am appalled that this ally is carrying out its own act of terrorism against an innocent mother of five children.

I refer to the scheduled execution of 48 year-old Bibi Hasih, a Christian woman who will be killed by Pakistan's government for the alleged crime of blasphemy unless you and others successfully intervene. Pakistan's abysmal human rights record is worsened by its hateful system of apartheid against Christians, other non-Muslim religious minorities, and women.

It is time for democratically elected leaders in the U.S. and Pakistan to get serious about human rights and combating terrorism. This case provides a high-profile opportunity to draw a clear picture of the difference between a free society and a theocratic dictatorship. I thank you for any efforts you will make on the behalf of Bibi and others.

Truce? We Cannot Agree to Disagree on Life!

Father Frank Pavone: No Truce on Abortion

Father Frank Pavone, the national director of Priests for Life and one of the foremost respected pro-life Catholics in the country, has penned his response to the abortion "truce" potential Republican presidential candidates Mitch Daniels and Haley Barbour have advocated in recent months.
 
"Sorry, but this is a proposal we in the pro-life movement can't accept. There can be no truce," Pavone writes in a new column at the Washington Times.


"It is dismaying to hear some pro-life politicians calling for a 'truce' on social issues like abortion - possible White House contenders Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour among them. Their suggestion is that it's more important to do whatever is necessary to get elected than to worry about issues that appear to be intractable," he says.
Pavone says asking pro-life advocates to "agree to disagree" on abortion is akin to asking them to change their position on the killing of unborn children. He says,

"Why do we disagree in the first place? When we oppose abortion, we disagree with the notion that it is even negotiable. We do not only claim that we cannot practice abortion, but that nobody can practice it, precisely because it violates the most fundamental human right, the right to life."

"To "agree to disagree" means that we no longer see abortion for what it is - a violation of a right so fundamental that disagreement cannot be allowed to tamper with it," the Priests for Life leader continues. 

Pavone also argues against the notion that Roe v. Wade is settled law or not relevant for the 2010 elections.

• No issue is less settled than abortion. 

• More importantly, America's courts and legislatures have a history of changing "settled law," he argues, and cited the eventual overturning of the Dred Scott case and Plessy v. Ferguson .

"Many reversals of Supreme Court cases came about when new evidence made it clear that someone's rights, not previously recognized, were being violated," he said. 


"We are now witnessing the same trend regarding children in the womb. Evidence that has been around for quite some time demonstrating their humanity, and their inalienable right to life, is finding its way into legislatures and courts," Pavone continued. "With hundreds of embryological studies, and massive evidence of the harm abortion does to women, such evidence, combined with new legal concepts, can challenge Roe v. Wade in the same way its erroneous ancestral decisions were challenged."


Pavone noted that the day after Roe v. Wade was decided, the New York Times headline read, "Supreme Court settles abortion."
"It has remained the most unsettled issue on our national landscape," he concluded.

The truce has come under fire from Rep. Mike Pence, Congressman Paul Ryan, and former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, among others.
Also, several pro-life gorups, including LifeNews.com, released a joint statement condemning the truce.

You can read the entire article HERE. 
SOURCE: LifeNews.com

3 Scranton-Area Catholic Hospitals are Shutting Down Because of Obamacare

The other day Father Z posted a little entry about how the “Magisterium of Nuns” is making war on the American bishops.  The liberal sisters, who have compromised their Catholic identity, are trying to set up an alternative magisterium over and against that of the actual duly appointed shepherds.
In the debate about Obamacare, for example, the LCWR types and the Sr. Keehan types provided cover so that pro-abortion “catholic” politicians could vote in favor of legislation that, down the pike, would provide federal funding of abortion.
Take a look at this from CatholicVote with my emphases:

The bad consequences of Obamacare are on full display in Pennsylvania, but the lessons that the situation provides should motivate us all into taking action nationwide.
Jeffrey Lord at American Spectator has done us all a service by calling attention to the scandal in PA:
Can you say “October Surprise”? A mushrooming political battle over ObamaCare involving the White House, two incumbent Pennsylvania congressmen, three Catholic hospitals and a nun has just exploded in, of all places, Scranton, Pennsylvania. Charges from the Scranton medical community of intimidation by the Obama White House and its allies are filling the air.
It is a long, complex story, which I encourage you to read, but Father Z does a good job of summarizing:

• 3 Scranton-area Catholic Hospitals are shutting down because of Obamacare regulations that are set to go into effect soon. The CEO of the hospitals, Kevin Cook, is on record saying Obamacare is “absolutely” responsible for their painful decision to shut down. There’s a strong posibility the hospitals will be sold to a secular organization which would perform procedures against Catholic teaching. In other words, it is becoming more and more difficult for Catholics to have access to ethical health care.
• Sr. Carol Keehan – the nun and President of the Catholic Health Association, who famously received a “thank you pen” from President Obama for her work in turning Catholic congressman to give up their opposition to Obamacare, has been trying to bully Kevin Cook into changing his story about why his hospitals are closing, because she knows what a political powder keg the headline “Catholic hospitals closing because of Obamacare” will be in this critical election season
• CatholicVote has entered the fray: we’ve recorded a powerful radio ad to air in the Scranton market, so that Catholics and other citizens can know about the harmful consequences of Obamacare in their own district. Congressmen Paul Kanjorski and Chris Carney both voted for Obamacare, and both are facing tough challenges from pro-life alternatives this November.

Here’s what you can do to help our mission to educate Catholics and other citizens about the harmful consequences of Obamacare, and about the need to elect responsible, pro-life representatives….
1. Watch the ad
2. Help us with a small (or large!) donation so we can buy airtime for the ad by clicking HERE.
3. Share this message with your friends and family!
I believe this story is important because it shows in real-life terms that the flawed legislation pushed through Congress and signed into law by President Obama is already hurting the quality of health care offered in this country, and especially hurting Catholic hosptials. It is therefore especially scandelous that some high-profile Catholics, such as Sister Keehan, continue to attempt to obfuscate the truth of the matter because of ideological commitments. Again, I would encourage you to read Jeffrey Lord’s full exposition of this story.
Let’s stop what is happening in PA from happening to other Catholic hospitals across our country!

Full credit for this post goes to Father Z over at What Does the Prayer Really Say.

Red is for Pentecost

Wear red this Sunday.   It's Pentecost and so, it is fitting.


I'll bet you probably wear your favorite sports team's colors or logo.

Maybe you've worn your Alma Mater's colors when watching the big game with friends (especially if they graduated from the opposing University!).

Do you wear red, white, and blue for July 4th?
What about "Christmasy" clothes around Christmas or green on St. Patrick's Day?
Hmmmmm?

 Think of red as being celebratory. More importantly, it is a symbol of the Holy Spirit.

Father will wear red.

The idea is being suggested all over the Catholic blogshere and Catholic News via the internet. I'm giving credit to One True Faith.  And, it is a great idea and reminder!

The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told Portrays Our Mother Mary as a Lesbian

Please send your immediate e-protest against a blasphemous play that refers to Our Lady as a lesbian!!! May 4, 2010 The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told will soon show at The City Theater in Austin, Texas, and this blasphemous play is a vile insult to the Mother of God! – because she is portrayed as a lesbian! There are two ways you can help stop this blasphemy: Send your e-protest message to the Austin City Theater AND/OR You can send a donation to help the effort (info at the bottom of this email) Press reports say The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told refers to Our Lady as a lesbian. It presents a homosexual version of the Old Testament, with scenes of "Adam and Steve" in full frontal nudity. According to The New York Times, the playwright himself is a homosexual, and this is how he describes his play: "I wanted the Garden of Eden in Central Park, and Mary as a lesbian mother, which would certainly help me comprehend immaculate conception." (The New York Times, 12/6/98) REACT NOW! Protests work! But only if thousands speak out. Here's something encouraging: Recently, we got the blasphemous homosexual "Jesus" play Corpus Christi canceled at two theaters. Also, Planned Parenthood was deleted from the websites of two Catholic universities due to our protests. But these protests worked ONLY because thousands joined us. The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told can be shut down if we get thousands of Catholics to say "CANCEL THE INSULT TO OUR LADY." People need to know that: According to City Pages: "Contrary to church doctrine, the Virgin Mary turns out to be a flaky lesbian… Adam, Steve, and company have gathered in a Chelsea loft to celebrate Christmas and a second immaculate conception."    (City Pages, 1/19/00) So, please: Send your e-protest message. AND/OR Send a special gift to spread our protest to 250,000 Catholic worldwide.     On behalf of the Virgin Mary’s honor, please join me in this protest. Sincerely in Jesus and Mary, Robert E. Ritchie America Needs Fatima www.ANF.org P.S.: Please send a gift today so I can send this urgent message to 250,000 Catholics immediately to protest The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, which is perhaps the most shocking blasphemy ever against the purity of Our Lady. Theater contact information: The City Theater 3823 Airport Boulevard Austin Texas 78722-1347 Phone: (512) 524-2870

Rev. Euteneuer, Abby Johnson Speak at Houston Coalition Fundraiser

A Homeschooling Mom who is in my Yahoo Group posted this. . . . It NEEDS to be shared.

  Last night I attended the fundraiser for the Houston Coalition for Life at the Galleria Westin Hotel.  Those several hundred in attendance gathered for encouragement after a busy year, to break bread and to hear Reverend Euteneuer, president of Human Life International, and Abby Johnson, former Planned Parenthood administrator, speak.  

     As Abby Johnson walked to center stage, she was greeted by a standing ovation.  For those of us who know the policies and methods of operation of Planned Parenthood, we marveled at a radically changed heart and mind as she recalled the day that she witnessed an abortion being performed through the use of an ultrasound.  

 The ultrasounds at Planned Parenthood are always silent, she said.  Better that a mother doesn’t hear the beating of that small flicker on the screen which is her baby’s heart.  But it doesn’t matter, for the mother never sees the flicker, for they are not allowed within the mother’s sight.  It is a proven statistic that over 60% of mothers who are considering an abortion change their minds when they see their baby on an ultrasound.  

     The abortion proceeded and to her horror, the baby moved away from the instrument.  One of the most often asked questions during an abortion encouragement session is, “Will the baby feel it?”  Planned Parenthood counselors are instructed to answer no.  That day, as she watched this life move away, she had to ask herself what she had been promoting for eight years.  Johnson was being groomed  to become the chief administrator of the largest Planned Parenthood Clinic in the world right here in Houston, Texas.   

   When the encouragement for an abortion session ends, the mother goes to the cashier and she is asked for the payment of $130.  To many of us, that doesn’t sound like much.  However, most of these women are on one income and have other mouths to feed.  So, the pitch isn’t over.  For in that confused moment a statement like this from the cashier hones in for the close:  “Or if you decide on an abortion, we won’t charge you today.”  

   To make matters more difficult, Johnson said, she was informed that abortions at the new facility on the Gulf Freeway would take the lives of unborn children up to 24 weeks.  She questioned this statement as she had been told that it would be 20 weeks.  She was told the timeframe of 20 weeks was given so that the public could get used to the idea; that 24 weeks wouldn’t seem so bad afterwards.  

 She had always told her family that she would quit her job the day abortions exceeded 20 weeks.

As we all know, Abby Johnson walked away from Planned Parenthood a few weeks later and has never looked back.  Today, her witness is invaluable to what Rev. Euteneuer called the Church leadership's responsibility to become Joshua, and us, the Church Militant to follow that leadership.  

Abby Johnson agreed, saying that as she worked at Planned Parenthood, she never heard a word from the pulpit against abortion.  When she later asked why, her pastor responded that he was afraid of offending the congregation.  I tried to recall when Christ was afraid of offending the people with the truth.  Didn’t he offend them so badly that we mourn and fast as I write?  Was the cross a convenient prize for the act of social graces and political correctness? 

Rev. Euteneuer wasn’t the man I’ve always pictured.  He is small in stature, he blessed the gathering and prayed over us before he left, and every word he spoke was embraced in love and grace.  Among his many stories was that of Joshua (the Church leadership) defeating Jericho with his army (the Church militant).  He spoke of the Mayan ritual of sacrificing babies to their gods; how the Spanish tried to stop this and then how it ended with the appearance of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  There was always a drum beat during the sacrifices to drown out the screams as the priest passed the baby over the fire.   

   After listening to the witness of Abby Johnson we know what the drum beat of today’s Planned Parenthood is:  lies and deception.  For if this is the protocol for their abortions, what then, is the goal of their “health care”?   We only need to extend the logic.  In doing so, the next question is, when do they come for you?

   Reverend also related the story of how Nicaragua, removed abortion from their books of Law.  It took a few years and the process went something like this:  unite a strong church leadership, under which is a strong Church militant to show up at these mills and then the laws will be changed.  Johnson wisely related that if Roe vs. Wade were overturned tomorrow, abortions would still take place.

     

 Action must start in the Church!

 

What do we do?  After Reverend gave us the formula of 80% prayer and 20% work, we were beseeched to go to our pastors, to our priests, to our leadership to expose this crime; we must proceed under Church leadership.

   One has to ask themselves as the 45-50 babies scream today as they are being suctioned, torn, and sliced from their mother’s wombs at Planned Parenthood downtown:  “What can I do?”  Don’t we?

   The drum beats have to be deafening to the American conscience.  Don’t they?  To look in the mirror is painful, so maybe that’s why we walk away when we do, myself included.  Planned Parenthood has done their job well and my business and thoughts are not about my neighbor.  Or the legal murder of her baby.  

  It was the images of the praying Church on the sidewalks of Planned Parenthood that were burned into the mind of Abbey Johnson.  They appealed to her conscience and brought her to the gates of the Coalition for Life in Bryan, Texas when she needed support  for her decision to choose life.  The sidewalks in front of Planned Parenthood are the front line against abortion.  It is there that minds are changed and lives are literally saved.  

Joshua could have stayed home and prayed.  And we need prayer, but we also need to work.  This is a real battle for truth, justice, and human dignity.

This is a call to the Church militant.  Joshua sounds the trumpet!  God forgive us and grant us the wisdom, grace, and energy to work and pray for what is the primary litmus test of our society and culture:  life!

 

Carol        

"Progress should mean that we are always changing the world to fit the vision, instead we are always changing the vision." - G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

Mother Teresa Postage Stamp

Please take 15 seconds and sign the petition at StampOutBigotry.com to urge the Post Office to issue their new stamp honoring Mother Teresa. Atheist groups are mounting a campaign to censor the stamp and we need to fight back.

Sign the petition now at www.StampOutBigotry.com

I have copied and pasted the letter to the Postmaster General. If you agree, please click over and sign the petition.





Dear Postmaster General,

We are shocked and saddened by reports that atheist groups are now mobilizing to stop the USPS from issuing a new stamp honoring Mother Teresa.

I urge you to stand by your decision to issue the stamp on August 26th, and to reject the bigoted attacks aimed at trashing this faith-filled nun who spent her life caring for the poor and needy of our world.

The group protesting the stamp has unjustly accused Mother Teresa of having a “dark side,” and has attacked her for using her religious faith in her service to the sick and poor. Furthermore, these same groups never protested a stamp honoring Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., though he proudly understood his fight for civil rights to be rooted in his Christian faith.

With love and her charity, Mother Teresa cared for tens of thousands of people regardless of need, race, sex, or religion. She cared for people because they were human, and continues to inspire millions of people even after her death.

In 1979, Mother Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize for her tireless service to the poor. The charity she founded continues to help people in India and throughout the world, including the United States.

For these reasons, we strongly encourage you to stand by your decision to issue this stamp.

Please stamp out this religious bigotry, and issue the Mother Teresa stamp as promised on August 26th.

Sincerely,

Brian Burch
President
CatholicVoteAction.org

A CALL TO ACTION: Support the Superbowl Pro-Life Ad

Support the Tebow Pro-Life ad by contacting Sean J. McManus.  sjmcmanus@cbs.com
It is a Focus on the Family ad. 

McManus is the President of CBS News and Sports 
And/or call 212-975-4321

related articles: 
Washington Post - The groups that want CBS to pull Tim Tebow's Super Bowl ad are the ones that are truly offensive.  2-2-10
Ashton Kutcher disses Tim Tebow on The View 2-2-10 

and this:
You knew it would come to this when Tim Tebow and his mother Pam entered the nasty, divisive world of partisan politics.
   Now they are being “Swiftboated” by pro-choice attorney and activist Gloria Allred, who has all but painted Pam Tebow as a liar for claiming doctors in the Philippines recommend she undergo an abortion when she was pregnant with Tim.  Allred uses the argument that abortions were illegal at the time in the Philippines and therefore the Tebow’s pro-life Super Bowl commercial on CBS is “misleading advertising.”
   By now you know the Tebow’s story: Pam Tebow was doing missionary work in the Philippines in 1987 when she was pregnant with Tim and contracted an illness known as amoebic dysentery. The sickness was so serious, doctors told her the fetus could be deformed and advised her to get an abortion. Pam Tebow opted against the abortion and gave birth to a baby that turned out to be one of the greatest college football players of all-time.
   Here is Pam Tebow’s account as given to the Gainesville Sun:
   Pam Tebow fell into a coma after contracting amoebic dysentery, a bacteria transmitted through contaminated drinking water. During her recovery, she received a series of strong medications. And even though she discontinued the regimen when she discovered the pregnancy, doctors told Pam the fetus had been damaged. … Doctors later told Pam that her placenta had detached from the uterine wall, a condition known as placental abruption, which can deprive the fetus of oxygen and nutrients. Doctors expected a stillbirth, Pam said, and they encouraged her to terminate the pregnancy.”
   “They thought I should have an abortion to save my life from the beginning all the way through the seventh month,” Pam said. “We were grieved. And so my husband just prayed that if the Lord would give us a son, that he would let us raise him.”
   Although Allred claims she isn’t questioning the truthfulness Pam Tebow’s story, she really is. Allred told MSNBC, “She (Pam Tebow) could have gone to prison for two to 6 years if she’d had an abortion” (in the Philippines). I think the ad should reveal that abortion was illegal at the time.”
   Allred also wrote a letter to CBS, in which she said, “No sugar coated religiously inspired ad which fails to give all of the relevant facts should be permitted to air on CBS or anywhere else. If this ad airs and fails to disclose that abortions were illegal at the time Ms. Tebow made her ‘choice,’ then I intend to file a formal complaint of misleading advertising with those federal commissions.”
   My take: Allred should be ashamed of herself. Pam Tebow said doctors recommended she should get an abortion.  She never said doctors recommended she should get an abortion in the Philippines. The fact is Pam Tebow is an American citizen and could have easily flown back to the United States to get an abortion at any number of abortion clinics throughout this country. She chose not to.
   For Gloria Allred to try and “Swiftboat” Pam Tebow by questioning the honesty of her story is political partisanship at its ugliest and dirtiest.
SOURCE: Orlando Sentinel

Prayer Rally and Justice March in Houston

January 17th and 18th, 2010 Prayer Rally and Justice March in Houston

A coalition of pro-life advocates and religious leaders plan to gather in Houston on Jan. 17^th and 18^th to oppose what will be the largest abortion facility in the country. The coalition is hoping for several thousand people to participate in the two day event. Lou Engle from The Call and several high profile national figures will lead the march. This will be preceded by a Prayer Rally the evening of January 17^th. The schedule is as follows:

January 17th

6-11PM:    Prayer Rally led by Lou Engle at Grace Community Church, 14505 Gulf   

                Freeway in Houston.

 

January 18th

9:30AM:     Gather at the Catholic Charismatic Center parking lot (1949 Cullen) for

                Praise and Worship and to hear from the national figures who will lead the

                Justice March.  

11:30AM:  The Justice March will begin and go through some of the neighborhoods of

                the East End , while a prayer vigil at Planned Parenthood, 4600 Gulf Fwy.,

                will occur simultaneously.

1:00PM:     Press Conference with the national leaders of the Justice March at

                Planned Parenthood, 4600 Gulf Freeway.

 

Please join this peaceful Prayer Rally and Justice March as we pray for an end to abortion, and publicly oppose and expose the huge expansion of Planned Parenthood in Houston . For more information, visit www.boundforlife. org.  

What Will You Do?

What Can You Do?

1) Get informed and Join us! Visit the CCHD Web site so you know both sides of the story. Sign up for updates on the campaign via the form on the right side of this page. For more information on the investigations that led to this campaign, click here.

2) Support organizations that serve the poor in a way that faithful Catholics can trust. Some CCHD money has certainly gone to good groups in your diocese, so learn where the money goes and if the organization is sound, politically neutral, and in compliance with Church teaching, give to the group directly. Also, send us links This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to faithful Catholic and other Christian organizations that support Catholic Social Justice teaching and all teachings on Catholic life and family issues.

3) Help us to Investigate local CCHD grantees to ensure that they are sound, non-political organizations which in no way oppose the Church or her teachings. View lists of recent CCHD grantees here and do your own web and, if necessary, personal investigations, and contact us This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to share what you’ve learned. We will follow up and verify findings before publishing them on the site.

4) Pray that the CCHD will return to a truly Catholic understanding of social justice work and service to the poor. Much needs to be done, and we welcome a return to all of good will who take up this essential work in communion with the Catholic Church.

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" Hosea 4:6

Aborted Fetal Material Used in NEOCUTIS Anti-Wrinkle Creams

Children of God for Life announced today that Neocutis, a bio-pharmaceutical company focused on dermatology and skin care is using aborted fetal cell lines to produce several of their
anti-aging skin creams.

H/T Catholic Fire for this info!!

"It is absolutely deplorable that Neocutis would resort to exploiting the remains of a deliberately slaughtered baby for nothing other than pure vanity and financial gain," stated Executive Director Debi Vinnedge. "There is simply no moral justification for this."

For years Children of God for Life has been a watchdog on pharmaceutical companies using aborted fetal cell lines in medical products and they have received thousands of inquiries from the public on the use of aborted fetal material in cosmetics.

Until now, this was the first time they have encountered any company bold enough to put the information right on their own website and product literature. A quick investigation into the science behind the products revealed the shameless data.

(note from Soutenus: Unfortunately, I believe this is a sign of the times . . . how dare we question the "right" of women to do whatever she wants with her body - whether she has a baby in her wombs or not. Mark my words, someone will come forward espousing the wonderful "recycling" taking place here.)

Neocutis' key ingredient known as "Processed Skin Proteins" was developed at the University of Luasanne from the skin tissue of a 14-week gestation electively-aborted male baby donated by the University Hospital in Switzerland. (The photo at right is a baby at 14 weeks in the womb)

Subsequently, a working cell bank was established, containing several billion cultured skin cells to produce the human growth factor needed to restore aging skin. The list of products using the cell line include: Bio-Gel, Journee, Bio-Serum, Prevedem, Bio Restorative Skin Cream and Lumiere. But Vinnedge is calling for a full boycott of all Neocutis products, regardless of their source.

"There is absolutely no reason to use aborted babies for such selfish motives," Vinnedge said. "It is anti-life, anti-woman and counter-productive as Neocutis is about to find out!"

Children of God for Life is calling on rival cosmetic companies to take advantage of some free advertising by their company.

"We know there are companies using moral sources for collagen and skin proteins. We intend to publicly promote these other cosmetic companies competing with Neocutis that are willing to step forward and contact us."

Meanwhile Vinnedge advises women who are using Neocutis products to throw them in the garbage and to contact the company to express their concerns.

In addition she advised, "Contact some of these competing companies and ask them to verify their products are morally produced. If they are willing to commit to it in writing, they will get our endorsement."

Contact Neocutis:
Neocutis Inc.
3053 Fillmore Street # 140
San Francisco CA 94123
Phone: 1-866-636-2884

UPDATE!! From Children of Life for God

Dear Readers:
Below is the shocking response received from Neocutis President, Mark Lemko to one concerned woman who wrote to ask them about their use of aborted fetal material. My comments to correct his patently false statements follow the email but I am sure you will be able to figure out quickly as you read this that these people have no shame, no morals, no souls.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Mark Lemko <Mark.Lemko@neocutis.com>
Date: Tue, Oct 27, 2009 at 4:36 PM
Subject: NEOCUTIS
Dear L. Hall:

Perhaps a simple response is the best.

We believe we are the victims of vicious and damaging misinformation.

We feel that we are in complete compliance with the laws of God and the laws of man.

We were not involved with the acquisition of the original sample of fetal tissue.

However, we know the sample was obtained in a legally, morally, ethically and medically correct manner.

None of our products contain any of the original fetal cells or tissue. None of our products contain aborted babies.
Our lysate is prepared from cultured fibroblasts that have never been part of a fetus.

We are not abortionists nor do we condone voluntary or procured abortion and as such have a clear mind that we have not committed or are complicit in an evil act.



Mark J. Lemko

---

The Facts

1) The only ones here who are victims are the aborted babies and the women who have been shamelessly exploited and duped! The information we have provided is straight from Neocutis' own words, from the NIH, PubMed and Science publications.
2) No one who exploits and uses another human being for profit is within any laws of God or man. Are we to believe that God condones using the remains of butchered children to make some woman look more youthful? He can't be serious.
3) They most certainly were involved with the acquisition of the original sample of fetal tissue. You see, Neocutis is - again in their own words: "a spin-off from the Medical School of the University Hospital of Lausanne, Switzerland" - where the original abortion was done.
4) There is nothing in the harvesting of aborted baby body parts that is moral or ethical. Legal, perhaps. Medically correct? You mean of course that the abortion was done in a manner that would ensure the fetus was delivered intact for research purposes. Can't do that with a saline abortion or a D&E method. But prostaglandin abortions cause the woman to go into mini-labor and pass the intact baby. So yes, they did their abortion in a manner that was medically correct for what they needed.
5) How stupid does this person think we are? Does he truly believe we are going to open a jar of one of their skin creams and find fetal tissue and aborted babies in there? Their lysates he mentions, however, are most certainly part of the aborted baby. Here is how the product was developed - again - in their own words:
A cell bank was established starting with a single skin biopsy of fetal skin tissue. The cell bank is stored frozen in liquid nitrogen and can be kept for many years, thereby providing a sustained supply of cells for PSP® production over decades. PSP® (Processed Skin Cell Proteins) is obtained after cell lysis of cultured skin cells originating from this cell bank
Neocutis Bio-restorative Skin Cream with PSP™ (a proprietary cosmetic ingredient developed at the University of Lausanne) is the only product containing the specific natural human growth factors and cytokines associated with natural bio-restoration of the skin. The unique formulation of PSP™ provides skin with the optimal balance of skin nutrients helping to preserve or restore skin when stressed.
In order to produce PSP®, frozen cells from one or several ampoules of the Working Cell Bank are thawed, transferred into appropriate cell culture vessels and then expanded under standard cell culture condition respecting stringent manufacturing procedures. Thereby, cells from one Working Cell Bank ampoule are multiplied to yield several billion cells (Figure 2). These cells are then harvested, carefully washed and prepared for cell disruption. Cell disruption or lysis is realized by several freeze-thaw cycles and allows obtaining a mixture comprising skin cell proteins, called PSP® or ‘Processed Skin Cell Proteins’. Freeze-thawing is a relatively gentle process [22] and allows the production of a naturally balanced mixture of skin cell proteins present in the cells at the moment of cell disruption. (end of quote)

If the lysates did not contain those original intact human fetal skin cell qualities and proteins, they would be worthless! 

6) They may not believe that they are guilty of complicity in an immoral act, but the Vatican most certainly does:

From Dignitas Personae (Pope Benedict XVI December 2008)
The use of human “biological material” of illicit origin

34. For scientific research and for the production of vaccines or other products, cell lines are at times used which are the result of an illicit intervention against the life or physical integrity of a human being. The connection to the unjust act may be either mediate or immediate, since it is generally a question of cells which reproduce easily and abundantly.

This “material” is sometimes made available commercially or distributed freely to research centers by governmental agencies having this function under the law. All of this gives rise to various ethical problems with regard to cooperation in evil and with regard to scandal. It is fitting therefore to formulate general principles on the basis of which people of good conscience can evaluate and resolve situations in which they may possibly be involved on account of their professional activity.

It needs to be remembered above all that the category of abortion “is to be applied also to the recent forms of intervention on human embryos which, although carried out for purposes legitimate in themselves, inevitably involve the killing of those embryos. This is the case with experimentation on embryos, which is becoming increasingly widespread in the field of biomedical research and is legally permitted in some countries… [T]he use of human embryos or fetuses as an object of experimentation constitutes a crime against their dignity as human beings who have a right to the same respect owed to a child once born, just as to every person”.54 These forms of experimentation always constitute a grave moral disorder.55

35. A different situation is created when researchers use “biological material” of illicit origin which has been produced apart from their research center or which has been obtained commercially. The Instruction Donum vitae formulated the general principle which must be observed in these cases: “The corpses of human embryos and fetuses, whether they have been deliberately aborted or not, must be respected just as the remains of other human beings. In particular, they cannot be subjected to mutilation or to autopsies if their death has not yet been verified and without the consent of the parents or of the mother. Furthermore, the moral requirements must be safeguarded that there be no complicity in deliberate abortion and that the risk of scandal be avoided”.56

In this regard, the criterion of independence as it has been formulated by some ethics committees is not sufficient. According to this criterion, the use of “biological material” of illicit origin would be ethically permissible provided there is a clear separation between those who, on the one hand, produce, freeze and cause the death of embryos and, on the other, the researchers involved in scientific experimentation. The criterion of independence is not sufficient to avoid a contradiction in the attitude of the person who says that he does not approve of the injustice perpetrated by others, but at the same time accepts for his own work the “biological material” which the others have obtained by means of that injustice. When the illicit action is endorsed by the laws which regulate healthcare and scientific research, it is necessary to distance oneself from the evil aspects of that system in order not to give the impression of a certain toleration or tacit acceptance of actions which are gravely unjust.57 Any appearance of acceptance would in fact contribute to the growing indifference to, if not the approval of, such actions in certain medical and political circles.

At times, the objection is raised that the above-mentioned considerations would mean that people of good conscience involved in research would have the duty to oppose actively all the illicit actions that take place in the field of medicine, thus excessively broadening their ethical responsibility. In reality, the duty to avoid cooperation in evil and scandal relates to their ordinary professional activities, which they must pursue in a just manner and by means of which they must give witness to the value of life by their opposition to gravely unjust laws.

Therefore, it needs to be stated that there is a duty to refuse to use such “biological material” even when there is no close connection between the researcher and the actions of those who performed the artificial fertilization or the abortion, or when there was no prior agreement with the centers in which the artificial fertilization took place. This duty springs from the necessity to remove oneself, within the area of one’s own research, from a gravely unjust legal situation and to affirm with clarity the value of human life.

You see Mr. Lemko -There is no "simple response"
when it involves profiteering from the destruction of another human being!