Under Obama's Healthcare Plan, Mom Dies. Hear it from his own lips!

Priceless! Obama really has no respect for life at all. Not the preborn, and not the elderly. How selfish can one man be?

Planned Parenthood is so proud of Obama. This is the type of thing that great pro-life organizations like American Life League fight against all the time. Being pro-life isn’t just about being anti-abortion, it’s about human rights at all ages and the dignity that all life deserves, not the least of which is the right to life itself!

Cross posted at: Rappahannock Red

60 is a Dangerous Number for Our U.S. Senate

Will this be the number of United States Senators who vote in lockstep with their Fuhrer und Frau anti-woman, anti-life Nancy Pelosi? Or, will some remain loyal to their country and vote their actual conscience? At the very least, will some remain loyal to their CONSTITUENTS who are made up of BOTH Democrats and Republicans.

Time will tell.

Records will be recorded.

Votes will be affected in 2010.

Federal GOP Fights to the End to Defend US Jobs and USA's Future from 'An Inconvenient Myth'

By Associated Press Writers H. Josef Hebert And Dina Cappiello

WASHINGTON – In a triumph for President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled House narrowly passed sweeping legislation Friday that calls for the nation's first limits on pollution linked to global warming and aims to usher in a new era of cleaner, yet more costly energy.

The vote was 219-212, capping months of negotiations and days of intense bargaining among Democrats. Republicans were overwhelmingly against the measure, arguing it would destroy jobs in the midst of a recession while burdening consumers with a new tax in the form of higher energy costs.

At the White House, Obama said the bill would create jobs, and added that with its vote, the House had put America on a path toward leading the way toward "creating a 21st century global economy."

The House's action fulfilled Speaker Nancy Pelosi's vow to clear major energy legislation before July 4. It also sent the measure to a highly uncertain fate in the Senate, where Majority Leader Harry Reid said he was "hopeful that the Senate will be able to debate and pass bipartisan and comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation this fall."

Obama lobbied recalcitrant Democrats by phone from the White House as the House debate unfolded across several hours, and Al Gore posted a statement on his Web site saying the measure represents "an essential first step towards solving the climate crisis." The former vice president won a Nobel Peace Prize for his work drawing attention to the destructive potential of global warming.

On the House floor, Democrats hailed the legislation as historic, while Republicans said it would damage the economy without solving the nation's energy woes.

It is "the most important energy and environmental legislation in the history of our country," said Rep. Ed Markey of Massachusetts. "It sets a new course for our country, one that steers us away from foreign oil and towards a path of clean American energy."

But Rep. John Boehner, the House Republican leader, used an extraordinary one-hour speech shortly before the final vote to warn of unintended consequences in what he said was a "defining bill." He called it a "bureaucratic nightmare" that would cost jobs, depress real estate prices and put the government into parts of the economy where it now has no role.

The legislation would require the U.S. to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020 and by about 80 percent by mid-century. That was slightly more aggressive than Obama originally wanted, 14 percent by 2020 and the same 80 percent by mid-century.

U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels are rising at about 1 percent a year and are predicted to continue increasing without mandatory limits.

Under the bill, the government would limit heat-trapping pollution from factories, refineries and power plants and issue allowances for polluters. Most of the allowances would be given away, but about 15 percent would be auctioned by bid and the proceeds used to defray higher energy costs for lower-income individuals and families.

"Some would like to do more. Some would like to do less," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said in advance of the final vote. "But we have reached a compromise ... and it is a compromise that can pass this House, pass that Senate, be signed by the president and become law and make progress."

That seemed unlikely, judging from Reid's cautiously worded statement. "The bill is not perfect," it said, but rather "a good product" for the Senate to begin working on.

And there was plenty to work on in a House-passed measure that pointed toward higher electricity bills for the middle class, particularly in the Midwest and South, as well as steps to ease the way for construction of new nuclear reactors, the first to be built since the accident at Three Mile Island in 1979.

The bill's controversy was on display in the House, where only eight Republicans joined 211 Democrats in favor, while 44 Democrats joined 168 Republicans in opposition. And within an hour of the vote, both party campaign committees had begun attacking lawmakers for their votes.

One of the biggest compromises involved the near total elimination of an administration plan to sell pollution permits and raise more than $600 billion over a decade — money to finance continuation of a middle class tax cut. About 85 percent of the permits are to be given away rather than sold, a concession to energy companies and their allies in the House — and even that is uncertain to survive in the Senate.

The final bill also contained concessions to satisfy farm-state lawmakers, ethanol producers, hydroelectric advocates, the nuclear industry and others, some of them so late that they were not made public until 3 a.m. on Friday.

Supporters and opponents agreed the bill's result would be higher energy costs but disagreed vigorously on the impact on consumers. Democrats pointed to two reports — one from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and the other from the Environmental Protection Agency — that suggested average increases would be limited after tax credits and rebates were taken into account. The CBO estimated the bill would cost an average household $175 a year, the EPA $80 to $110 a year.

Republicans questioned the validity of the CBO study and noted that even that analysis showed actual energy production costs increasing $770 per household. Industry groups have cited other studies showing much higher costs to the economy and to individuals.

The White House and congressional Democrats argued the bill would create millions of "green jobs" as the nation shifts to greater reliance on renewable energy sources such as wind and solar and development of more fuel-efficient vehicles — and away from use of fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal.

It will "make our nation the world leader on clean energy jobs and technology," declared Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., who negotiated deals with dozens of lawmakers in recent weeks to broaden the bill's support.

Pelosi, D-Calif., took an intense personal interest in the measure, sitting through hours of meetings with members of the rank and file and nurturing fragile compromises.

At its heart, the bill was a trade-off, less than the White House initially sought though it was more than Republicans said was acceptable. Some of the dealmaking had a distinct political feel. Rep. Alan Grayson, a first-term Democrat, won a pledge of support that $50 million from the proceeds of pollution permit sales in the bill would go to a proposed new hurricane research facility in his district in Orlando, Fla.

In the run-up to the vote, Democrats left little to chance.

Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif., confirmed by the Senate on Thursday to an administration post, put off her resignation from Congress until after the final vote on the climate change bill. And Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., who has been undergoing treatment at an undisclosed facility, returned to the Capitol to support the legislation. He has said he struggles with depression, alcoholism and addiction, but has not specified the cause for his most recent absence.

___

On the Net:

American Clean Energy and Security Act: http://tinyurl.com/ph52vs

Obama is God Says MSNBC... Above the Earth, Above America- Woah!

It's 3am- North Korea Explodes a Nuclear Bomb- Obama Knows Nothing About It. May God Help the USA from This Void in Leadership

So much for our fearless leader and his iPod diplomacy with terrorists! It's Memorial Day weekend and North Korea just exploded a NUCLEAR BOMB! [no joke]

Did we know about this? According to the White House spokesman, "We're still trying to confirm this."

Hello? Isn't it a little late? Maybe the Richter scales going crazy in Japan can lend a clue!

Maybe Nancy Pelosi, the #3 person in charge of America, can find someone in the CIA to whisper in her ear, what's going on.

Maybe Obama, can ask his teleprompter what to do.

Biden probably gave them the formula to build the damn thing in the first place!

This happens a couple of days after the former South Korean president commits suicide, and we're supposed to say, "what a coincidence," I guess.

I'll bet the South Koreans are on crap-your-pants alert right now while we're going to WalMart to get extra Doritos for the cookout tomorrow. I wonder if Obama's lapdogs MSNBC and CNN will cover this at all.

Keep in mind according to the WaPo:

"We are aware of the reports of a nuclear test by North Korea," a State Department official said late Sunday, speaking on condition of anonymity because the test was not yet confirmed. "We are consulting with our allies. Once we have established the facts, we will have more to say."

The country is believed to have enough plutonium to make six to eight bombs. Last month it said it would reopen its plutonium factory at Yongbyon to produce more.

Here's the story from AP News just moments ago at 12:30am Monday...

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea announced Monday that it successfully carried out an underground nuclear test, weeks after threatening to restart its rogue atomic program.

The country's official Korean Central News Agency called Monday's test "part of measures to bolster its nuclear deterrent for self-defense."

President Lee Myung-bak convened an emergency security session. His spokesman, Lee Dong-kwan, confirmed that a nuclear test may have been carried out in the North.

Seismologists from the U.S., South Korea and Japan reported earthquakes in an northeastern area, where North Korea conducted a nuclear test in 2006.

A 4.7-magnitude earthquake was registered in northeastern North Korea at 9:54 a.m. (0054 GMT), the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The quake, measured at a depth of 6 miles (10 kilometers) underground, occurred 40 miles (70 kilometers) northwest of the city of Kimchaek, the USGS said.

The Japan Meteorological Agency also said it detected seismic activity Monday morning. "We are checking whether they were due to a nuclear test," agency official Gen Aoki said in Tokyo.

In Seoul, the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources reported a 4.5-magnitude quake in Kilju in North Hamgyong Province.

North Korea also carried out a nuclear test in October 2006 in Kilju, a test that drew sanctions from the United Nations and prompted five other nations to push negotiations on a nuclear disablement-for-aid pact with North Korea.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Andy Laine said the U.S. government had no confirmation of a new nuclear test.

"At this point we've seen the reports and we're trying to get more information, but we're not able to confirm at this time," Laine said.

Obama Promises to Reduce Federal Spending by Less Than One Penny?

It would be even less if this guy had a bigger table! This is really a neat perspective!

Candidate Obama vs. President Obama

Let's also not forget the "bring our troops home right away" speeches... now Commander-In-Chief Obama is sending thousands of our men & women to Afghanistan... again.

That may be the right decision and it may not be- but it's 180 degrees from what he campaigned on.

Dept. Homeland Security's "Fusion Centers" Say YOU Are A Terrorist If...

Fox News:
If you're an anti-abortion activist, or if you display political paraphernalia supporting a third-party candidate or a certain Republican member of Congress, if you possess subversive literature, you very well might be a member of a domestic paramilitary group.

That's according to "The Modern Militia Movement," a report by the Missouri Information Analysis Center (MIAC), a government collective that identifies the warning signs of potential domestic terrorists for law enforcement communities.

"Due to the current economical and political situation, a lush environment for militia activity has been created," the Feb. 20 report reads. "Unemployment rates are high, as well as costs of living expenses. Additionally, President Elect Barrack [sic] Obama is seen as tight on gun control and many extremists fear that he will enact firearms confiscations."

MIAC is one of 58 so-called "fusion centers" nationwide that were created by the Department of Homeland Security, in part, to collect local intelligence that authorities can use to combat terrorism and related criminal activities.

More than $254 million from fiscal years 2004-2007 went to state and local governments to support the fusion centers, according to the DHS Web site.

During a press conference last week in Kansas City, Mo., DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano called fusion centers the "centerpiece of state, local, federal intelligence-sharing" in the future.

"Let us not forget the reason we are here, the reason we have the Department of Homeland Security and the reason we now have fusion centers, which is a relatively new concept, is because we did not have the capacity as a country to connect the dots on isolated bits of intelligence prior to 9/11," Napolitano said, according to a DHS transcript.

READ MORE...

Is this McCarthyism Liberal-style? Beware Conservatives! You may become MIA.... Missouri Information Analyzed... and then you're screwed!

Is it just me, or are you imagining a new Jeff Foxworthy book coming out, "You Might be a Domestic Terrorist If...?"

Why the Democrats Want You to Believe We Live In A Democracy

By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON – In a swift victory for President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled House approved a historically huge $819 billion stimulus bill Wednesday night with spending increases and tax cuts at the heart of the young administration's plan to revive a badly ailing economy. The vote was 244-188, with Republicans unanimous in opposition despite Obama's frequent pleas for bipartisan support.

"This recovery plan will save or create more than three million new jobs over the next few years," the president said in a written statement released moments after the House voted. Still later, he welcomed congressional leaders of both parties to the White House for drinks as he continued to lobby for the legislation.

Earlier, Obama declared, "We don't have a moment to spare" as congressional allies hastened to do his bidding in the face of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. The vote sent the bill to the Senate, where debate could begin as early as Monday on companion measure already taking shape. Democratic leaders have pledged to have legislation ready for Obama's signature by mid-February.

A mere eight days after Inauguration Day, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the events heralded a new era. "The ship of state is difficult to turn," said the California democrat. "But that is what we must do. That is what President Obama called us to do in his inaugural address."

With unemployment at its highest level in a quarter-century, the banking industry wobbling despite the infusion of staggering sums of bailout money and states struggling with budget crises, Democrats said the legislation was desperately needed.

"Another week that we delay is another 100,000 or more people unemployed. I don't think we want that on our consciences," said Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and one of the leading architects of the legislation.

Republicans said the bill was short on tax cuts and contained too much spending, much of it wasteful, and would fall far short of administration's predictions of job creation.

The party's leader, Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, said the measure "won't create many jobs, but it will create plenty of programs and projects through slow-moving government spending." A GOP alternative, comprised almost entirely of tax cuts, was defeated, 266-170. [MORE]

HOPE for CHANGE. I Now Do!

Real HOPE that can change your life comes from inspiration like this. You think we have troubles in Your family? America? The World?

Imagine being born like this, and then look how he celebrates God's glorious gift of life...

Unfortunately, there are those that believe abortion is the answer to having a 'defect' like this. President Obama says he'll sign into law, the Freedom of Choice Act as soon as it's re-drafted in the new 111th congress.

FOCA is a proposed pro-abortion law that would take everything related to abortion away from the states' control such as parental notification, a waiting period to kill your baby, signing release forms, being required to have an ultrasound so you understand that what you're killing is alive already, and many other programs geared to fully educate the mother about her decision. Not one of these things prohibits her from killing her baby, but it does make her pause to understand the risks and the full weight of her decision. After all, there are hundreds of examples where a women DIE from having the procedure. Would they have made the same "choice" if they knew it was going to kill THEM too?

If FOCA passes, people like the man in this video will be most-assuredly killed in their mother's wombs since ultrasounds would easily detect abnormalities. Not the least of those killed would have been born perfectly normal and healthy though.

America has allowed the legal killing of now more than 50,000,000 babies since Roe v. Wade in 1973. That's one abortion every 26 seconds...

Keep REAL HOPE alive! I was inspired by this man's brief speech and I hope you will be too:

London Says: Calm down! He's not President of the World

By Matthew Parris from The London Times Online:

Everyone, from Australia to Kenya, seems to think Obama will improve their lives. They should prepare for disappointment.

When half of mankind seems lifted by hope, nothing looks meaner than to disparage the dream. But what is this Obama mania? The world did not change for ever on Tuesday. No messiah has come among us. Miracles have not become possible. There is no new dawn. Calm down dear, it's only a US presidential election.

Here's my entry for Daniel Finkelstein's Comment Central competition for an eight-word expression of hope for the President-elect of the United States. Eight words precisely. “I hope he will let us down gently.”

But oh, what a long way down: down from the crest of expectation on which Barack Obama now surfs, on to the rough shingle of daily politics. Would that the wave might subside smoothly into the gentle swell of history. Would that it were not destined to break, dashing dreams and spawning new cynicism.

But I fear it will. Writing from Australia, and reading the local and the British press reaction to this election, I am appalled by the unanimity.

[READ MORE...]

Fredericksburg, VA: Obama's Bloated Attendance Report is Deflated by 100+ Actual McCain-Palin Supporters: VA IS McCAIN COUNTRY!

The Fredericksburg, VA region will not turn blue, or even a shade of purple this November as Obamamaniacs would like us to believe. This is FIRMLY Republican ground, and I've never been more convinced than today when THOUSANDS of cars honked their horns vigorously in support of today's grassroots activism display by a cooperative effort of regional McCain supporters.

This idea sprung up at a typical jam-packed nightly calling session at the regional GOP Headquarters this past Thursday night, even though we weren't certain whether Obama would cancel the MWU event to go to Washington, D.C. and put his 143 days of experience in the U.S. Senate to good use and solve the financial crisis.

You see, that's where Senator John McCain was today instead of glad-handing a bunch of ninnies like Barry Obama was.

I was proud to be part of a one-hundred-plus-strong army of McCain-Palin supporters from throughout the greater Fredericksburg region, who answered the action call of their committees to "welcome" his highness Obama to the campus of Mary Washington University today— and boy did we!

We lined a quarter-mile of Jefferson Davis Highway with patriots of Virginia who proudly held 4'x8' signs supporting John McCain and Sarah Palin. We would have gone farther, but we ran out of signs!

We let Obama know that this is McCAIN COUNTRY! Not one- repeat- NOT ONE Obama sign or supporter came out AT ALL on the road we lined for more than five hours! Not one Obama supporter or sign holder came out on any side street of the city either!

Yes, some houses have his signs in their yard like any other election, and despite more than 30 huge McCain signs being slashed and stolen the night before off of private property and front yards of houses, we managed to get them all replaced and fortified with proud McCain supporters who were happy to guard their property against these cowards and vandals and beat back the "invasion" of a few hundred Obama disciples who trickled in over the rest of the afternoon.

The press is trying to report a huge lie of seemingly insignificant information, but if this is any indication of the way they do their Sunday morning polling (when conservatives are IN CHURCH) then you too may just be a "believer" that Obama is winning too.

Who wants to decry BULLS%#T first? Here's your chance if you were there- no matter who you supported... They're saying Obama's visit to Fredericksburg, VA was greeted with "26,000 supporters." Yep- that's the official count released tonight.... in a tiny city of 21,000 total residents, on a campus of about 4,500 students that issued a permit for Obama's historic visit for 1,500 people (that's one thousand five-hundred) in a roped off area about the size of a baseball field's infield and some outfield too, they fit "26,000 people" ...reportedly. BEEE ESSS!

Watch the video news reports- you'll see quick pan shots of a crowd not more than about 25 deep in a semicircle in front of the stage...

I've never seen this kind of false propaganda get out into the news in person before except in the opposite case when the MSM (mainstream media) covers a Washington, D.C. annual Pro-Life rally and ignores the attendance volumes and plays them off as barely attended.

At least in the case of the Free Lance-Star article not written by a bonafied liberal-lover named Chelyen Davis, Kelly Hannon had the decency to mention the Pro-Lifers from multiple organizations that dutifully reminded the Obama guests that Obama supports post-birth "born alive abortions" aka, infanticide, and proudly fundraises cash for Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest taxpayer-subsidized for profit abortion chain. Not to solely pick on Obama, Hillary Clinton is close friends with Cecile Richards, the CEO of P.P., but Hillary is ollld news now, so I'll end that tangent.

Interestingly enough, both FLS writers or their editor, left out any mention in either article about the hundred-plus McCain folks outside the gates. Fortunately for our side tens of thousands saw us with their own eyes and know that they're not alone just because they're part of the so-called 'silent majority'. Election day will reveal just how silent they are. Their car horns certainly weren't silent today.

Back to the point; the press is reporting that enough people to fill HALF OF RFK STADIUM somehow squeezed into a baseball diamond. Call Guinness people- this one is for the record books!

HOGWASH! Several thousand attending— absolutely, I buy that— and why not? He's a rock star after all. Yes, several hundred- perhaps a thousand were lined up around the permitted area too and on sidewalks in the area, but it is a university for pete's sake- students are there in that volume on any given school night! I suppose you could STRETCH the numbers to hit 4,000 if you included all the students milling around too... but c'mon guys- 26,000??

While some of his drones were nice enough to give us only the thumbs down as we waved to them as they entered the campus of Mary Washington University, still other sheep gave us the middle finger and shouted "F*#@ every one of you BAS@#^&@!!" which happened at least a dozen times with the exact same quote.... one only wonders how they orchestrated this identical mantra so well when their Lord and savior (Barack Hussein Obama, a fine Christian man from the mid west the press will tell you) couldn't even get to Fredericksburg on time! He was 2 hours late getting to the stage.

Was he fashionably late or making hype build up? Maybe he just couldn't decide if he needed a tactic or a strategy to get there.

The press reported on tonight's TV news that supporters endured SIX rain storms before he got there... wow- now they rewrite the weather too! YES it poured like a monsoon from about 5:00- 5:30, and then stopped instantly. Amazingly there was even a rainbow! I figured- Obama himself MUST be on stage now... the clouds parted and a rainbow was present for heaven's sake. But no, he was practicing his speech in the car apparently.

If you listen to the same press, you'll hear how he 'won' the debate against John McCain too (though he couldn't remember the name of the soldier when he said "I have a bracelet too" to McCain in response to McCain bringing up how he wears a bracelet as a request from a mom of a fallen U.S. soldier to honor his memory.

Have YOU had enough Obama-mania? I sure have. As a local county GOP member, I'm doing something about it.

Want to get involved too? Call your local GOP committee or the Fredericksburg Regional GOP Headquarters at (202) 507-0841, located in South Stafford off exit 133b.

I'd like to extend a special thanks to the UMW Young Republicans who came out in volumes today and cheered enthusiastically for their candidate. You made all the difference in our success and filled in our ranks tremendously! Sorry, this is the only picture I snapped of you when you first started arriving- if you have a better one with all 30-40 of you, send it! (p.s. next time use permanent markers! Sorry the rain ruined all your hard work.)

Also- be sure to come to the Fredericksburg EXPO center this Thursday October 2, 2008 for a FREE event with "thousands" of your closest Republican friends: Sarah Palin debating Joe Biden live on Jumbo TV's (via satellite) See http://www.fredgop.com/ for details. You must register to attend- space is limited.

All your favorite elected officials will be there including former U.S. Senator George Allen and Congressman Rob Wittman!

Why Abortion is a Pivitol Election Subject, by the FLS?

Wow!

Who knew the FLS had an editor with common sense and the ability to not spin a topic against Republicans? Though it doesn't happen often (but it does happen and I link to it when it does), the editorial page got this one right.

Without human rights— specifically, without the right to live— what good are any other rights and laws?

In a few days we can expect the liberal drool of deathspeak and justification for abortion that will come after it unfortunately, but here it is while it's relevant and on the spot:

----------------------------------------------------------

by Linda J. White/ The Free Lance-Star

[LINK]

WHEN John McCain announced Sarah Palin as his pick for vice president, conservative Christians were electrified. Finally, a solidly pro-life choice woman who, by refusing to abort her own Down syndrome baby, and in dealing with her daughter's pregnancy, was confirming the value of every human life.

But when I expressed this to a friend of mine, a person I enjoy and respect, her consternation was apparent. "Why does it have to be that one single issue," she asked, "and why does religion have to play such a big role in politics? Our country is in trouble!"

At that point, I realized we had some 'splainin' to do.

Why is abortion such a big deal? I can hardly blame anyone for taking that viewpoint. Nearly four decades ago, a close friend came to me with a confession: She was pregnant. I remember sitting in my dorm room asking her, with a certain degree of wonder, how it felt to have a new life inside her. And then I supported her through her abortion.

I was motivated back then by my concern for my friend, pragmatism (having the baby would have profoundly disrupted her life), and a decidedly secular worldview. I had been brought up in a mainline church, and my knowledge of the Bible was minimal. It took personal failure and a disruption in my own circumstances to change that.

Think of "worldview" as the basic presuppositions we have about life--the grid through which we filter information and synthesize our responses to it. Most Americans see life through either a secular worldview or a religious worldview. Either man is the center of all things and the arbitrator of right and wrong, or God is.

The extreme of the former is expressed by British professor Richard Dawkins: "The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is at the bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, and no good--nothing but blind pitiless indifference. DNA neither knows nor cares. DNA just is, and we dance to its music."

No God, no good, no ultimate meaning. If we are simply dancing to our DNA, then there is no objective, absolute right or wrong. We can decide morals on our own, making up the rules as we go. We came from a chance collision of egg and sperm, and when we're dead, we're dead.

If there is a God, we have two choices: discount his current involvement in the world or acknowledge him as sovereign. I took the first position in my ignorant youth--I believed in God, but I saw him as a distant deity--irrelevant, really, to my day-to-day life. Although I thought of myself as a Christian, I had essentially adopted the secular worldview. I did what seemed right to me.

Then I learned more. Conservative Christians, I found, believe God has spoken through the Bible and the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and is very involved in everyday life. God is sovereign. He decrees what is right and wrong, and we are answerable to Him.

Over and over again in the Old Testament, God admonishes His people to "choose life." Over and over again, He punishes his beloved Israel for its refusal to follow his ways. Psalm 139 proclaims: "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb." And therein lies the heart of the issue: If life is sacred and each child a gift, abortion is thumbing our collective nose at the Creator--the same God to Whom we cry out when we are facing hurricanes or terrorist attacks. Why should God bless Americans when we disrespect His most basic gift? We've aborted 40 million lives since 1973.

Certainly, as my friend said, there are other issues we need to be concerned about. Among them are corporate greed and corruption, governmental malpractice, health care costs, and the role of lobbyists and special-interest groups in Washington and Richmond. But to me, the bellwether issue is abortion. It's foundational if we expect God's help with the rest.

That's why I can't get past Barack Obama's views on the subject. Picture this: A woman goes in for a late-term abortion. Somehow, some way, that tiny baby survives the procedure. There it is a fully formed human being, albeit one that needs some help. Do you suction his tiny airway? Feed him? Or do you put him on a counter and let him die? Obama was the only Illinois state senator to vote against a bill authorizing doctors to treat that child. Not even NARAL opposed that measure. His position reflects amazingly poor moral judgment.

But why should religious beliefs play such a strong role in politics? Well, let's see. The religious beliefs that grew out of the Reformation have given us, among other things, the concept of inalienable rights (endowed by the Creator), our system of checks and balances (needed because of the sinful nature of man), the idea that all people--including the king--are answerable to God's law, minority rights, government by consent, and our precious freedoms (press, religion, speech, etc.).

So do orthodox Christians want a theocracy? Not at all. One of the first principles of the Bible is free will. We get to choose; we also get the consequences. But it's our duty to stand up and say what we believe: Abortion takes an innocent life.

This isn't new. Abortion and infanticide were common in Rome, and the earliest Christians rescued babies left to die from exposure.

Philosopher Ravi Zach-arias tells a fitting joke: One night two Australian sailors on shore leave go into a London pub and get plastered. While they're drinking, a terrible fog sets in. When they finally stumble out of the bar, the sailors quickly get lost. Then a man approaches them, emerging out of the fog. Underneath his topcoat is the uniform of a high-ranking British naval officer. One of the sailors asks, "S'cuse me, bloke, but do you know where we are?" The officer, highly offended, responds, "Do you know who I am?" The sailor turns to his buddy and says, "God 'elp us, mate. We don't know where we are, and he doesn't know who he is!"

That's the condition of 21st-century man. We don't know who we are: beloved individuals created in the image of God. And we don't know where we are: drifting away from His objective moral standards. God help us.