Thy Hand Hath Provided: Homemade Fire Starter

Thy Hand Hath Provided: Homemade Fire Starter: I was going to just show you a picture of these and ask you to guess what they are.  I imagined some of you would guess bird seed/suet and o...

Thy Hand Hath Provided: Thoughtful Gifts Related to Taking Meals to Others...

Thy Hand Hath Provided: Thoughtful Gifts Related to Taking Meals to Others...: Did you know that Take Them A Meal (.com) has a blog in addition to their meal organization site ? Well, they do and today I'm so ple...

Thy Hand Hath Provided: Preparing for Advent & Some Gift Ideas

SOME GREAT CHRISTMAS IDEAS IN THIS POST. And the blog itself has wonderful ideas for saving money!

Thy Hand Hath Provided: Preparing for Advent & Some Gift Ideas: In years past, I've "prepared" for Advent  during Advent.  Not the best way to really ready my heart when "preparing" means Christmas shopp...

Bill O'Reilly: Bill's Column - Caylee's Law http://ping.fm/0UoWP

WKPI (PBS) - 12midnightET, TONIGHT - GREAT PERFORMANCES with ERIC CLAPTON and multiple other great guitarists!

TIANANMEN SQUARE:
With protests for democratic reforms entering their seventh week, the Chinese government authorizes its soldiers and tanks to reclaim Beijing's Tiananmen Square at all costs. By nightfall on June 4, Chinese troops had forcibly cleared the square, killing hundreds and arresting thousands of demonstrators and suspected dissidents.

AUSTRIA, DENMARK, FRANCE, NETHERLANDS, NORWAY, SPAIN, SWEDEN, SWITZERLAND and THE U.K. HAVE REPORTED CASES, the WorldHealthOrg said.
*****************
The resistance to antibiotics in laboratory testing suggests the strain may have originated in a geographic region with high levels of antibiotic use, possibly an area with domestic farm animals or in a developing country, Tauxe said. THE “EPICENTER” OF THE OUTBREAK IS THE AREA SURROUNDING THE NORTHERN GERMAN CITY OF HAMBURG, said John Dalli, the European commissioner for health and consumer policy. AUSTRIA, DENMARK, FRANCE, NETHERLANDS, NORWAY, SPAIN, SWEDEN, SWITZERLAND and THE U.K. HAVE REPORTED CASES, the WorldHealthOrg said. All infections found outside Germany, except for two, are in people who had recently visited northern Germany or had contact with a visitor from the area, according to the WHO. TWO E. COLI CASES WERE IDENTIFIED IN THE U.S. AMONG TRAVELERS RETURNING FROM EUROPE, according to the CDC.

On this day in 1935, George Herman "Babe" Ruth, one of the greatest players in the history of baseball, ends his Major League playing career after 22 seasons, 10 World Series and 714 home runs. The following year, Ruth, a larger-than-life figure whose name became synonymous with baseball, was one of the first five players inducted into the sport's hall of fame. George Herman Ruth was born February 6, 1895, into a poor family in Baltimore. As a child, he was sent to St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys, a school run by Roman Catholic brothers, where he learned to play baseball and was a standout athlete. At 19, Ruth was signed by the Baltimore Orioles, then a Boston Red Sox minor league team. Ruth's fellow teammates and the media began referring to him as team owner Jack Dunn's newest "babe," a nickname that stuck. Ruth would later acquire other nicknames, including "The Sultan of Swat" and "The Bambino."

Deadly E.Coli outbreak in Europe, began in northern Germany.

ON THIS DAY in 1980, CNN (Cable News Network), the world's first 24-hour television news network, makes its debut. The network signed on at 6 p.m. EST from its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, with a lead story about the attempted assassination of civil rights leader Vernon Jordan. CNN went on to change the notion that news could only be reported at fixed times throughout the day. At the time of CNN's launch, TV news was dominated by three major networks--ABC, CBS and NBC--and their nightly 30-minute broadcasts. Initially available in less than two million U.S. homes, today CNN is seen in more than 89 million American households and over 160 million homes international. CNN was the brainchild of Robert "Ted" Turner, a colorful, outspoken businessman dubbed the "Mouth of the South." Turner was born on November 19, 1938, in Cincinnati, Ohio, and as a child moved with his family to Georgia, where his father ran a successful billboard advertising company. After his father committed suicide in 1963, Turner took over the business and expanded it. In 1970, he bought a failing Atlanta TV station that broadcast old movies and network reruns and within a few years Turner had transformed it into a "superstation," a concept he pioneered, in which the station was beamed by satellite into homes across the country. Turner later bought the Atlanta Braves baseball team and the Atlanta Hawks basketball team and aired their games on his network, TBS (Turner Broadcasting System). In 1977, Turner gained international fame when he sailed his yacht to victory in the prestigious America's Cup race.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY - June 1, 1792 - KENTUCKY BECAME THE 15th STATE TO BE ADMITTED TO THE UNION:
After Virginia beyond the Appalachian Mountains became known as Kentucky County. Eventually the residents of Kentucky County petitioned for separation from Virginia. Ten constitutional conventions were held in the Constitution Square Courthouse in Danville between 1784 and 1792 In 1790, Kentucky's delegates accepted Virginia's terms of separation, and a state constitution was drafted at the final convention in April 1792. On June 1, 1792, Kentucky became the 15th state to be admitted to the union. Isaac Shelby, a military veteran from Virginia, was elected the first Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY - June 1, 1792 - KENTUCKY BECAME THE 15th STATE TO BE ADMITTED TO THE UNION:
After Virginia beyond the Appalachian Mountains became known as Kentucky County. Eventually the residents of Kentucky County petitioned for separation from Virginia. Ten constitutional conventions were held in the Constitution Square Courthouse in Danville between 1784 and 1792 In 1790, Kentucky's delegates accepted Virginia's terms of separation, and a state constitution was drafted at the final convention in April 1792. On June 1, 1792, Kentucky became the 15th state to be admitted to the union. Isaac Shelby, a military veteran from Virginia, was elected the first Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

The famous tower clock known as Big Ben, located at the top of the 320-foot-high St. Stephen's Tower, rings out over the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London, for the first time on this day in 1859.

After Conaway was discovered unresponsive on May 11, manager Phil Brock first said that an overdose of painkillers was a likely culprit, but that theory was disputed by Celebrity Rehab's Dr. Drew Pinsky, who said that there was no sign of an intentional overdose. "There is no evidence showing Jeff died from an overdose. This was aspiration with overwhelming pneumonia and sepsis. Jeff is another example of a pharmaceutical death from the overutilization of prescription drugs," Pinsky, who visited Conaway late last week at Encino-Tarzana Regional Medical Center, told E! News Friday. "Please continue to pray for his friends and family. They appreciate your support." Conaway's death has rattled his pals. "Yet again another beautiful soul is wasted due to the growing problem of pharmaceutical addiction," Corey Feldman told E! News. "I have lost way too many friends because of irresponsible practices where doctors are overmedicating obvious addicts. It's horriffic and disgusting! My heart goes out to Jeff's family, he was a wonderful human." Former Munsters star Butch Patrick, who partied with Conaway back in the day, simply said, "I am devastated." While Conaway sought treatment for his various addictions back in the 1980s, he had relapsed by the 2000s. He appeared on Celebrity Fit Club in 2006, but left the show to go to rehab early in the season. In 2008, he took his demons to Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew, where he became known for his trainwreck tendencies. "I've tried to commit suicide 21 times," he told Howard Stern in an interview that year. "I'm terrible at it! I get depressed over how come I can't kill myself," he laughed, when Howard and Robin Quivers joked that he was obviously terrible at it. "Mostly it's been with pills," he admitted when asked how he had attempted suicide in the past. "I've taken enough pills to knock an elephant out...God wants me on this planet for some reason or another." In January 2010, Lizzi (whose real name is Victoria Spinoza),  told E! News that Conaway had been increasingly despondent in the days before a drug-induced fall at his home left him with a broken hip that required surgery and a stay in a convelescent home. "He knows the meds are killing him. He can't get off them," Lizzi said. E! News last spoke to Conaway while he was recuperating in March 2010, and he sounded more optimistic. "I have made a tremendous amount of progress," he said. "I wasn't about to give up. I didn't come this far to give up. God didn't bring me this far to drop me." Though Lizzi and Conaway were in contact in the days before his collapse, their relationship had been rocky for some time. They filed dueling restraining orders against each other in March, with Spinoza claiming that her ex was "mentally unstable and dangerous" and Conaway claiming that she was stealing his medication and sneaking into their house to drug him at night. Lizzi was the one who discovered Conaway unconscious and called 911, having driven to his house to take him to a doctor's appointment. Earlier this week, a judge granted a temporary restraining order, filed by Conaway's sister, that barred Lizzi from visiting Conaway in the hospital. Lizzi was unsuccessful in her bid to overturn the order and didn't have a chance to see Conaway before he passed. "Vikki is distraught right now. She can't even breathe. She wasn't able to see," mutual friend Aubry Fisher told E! News. Conaway was married to Rona Newton-John, Olivia's sister, in the early '80s. He is survived by wife Kerri Young Conaway, sisters Shreve and Michele Goffin, and stepson Emerson. May he finally rest in peace.

Man wanted for questioning in missing child case http://ping.fm/tSj3P

Last night I found this article about Henry Kissinger. Coupled with the Wikipedia article about him, I learned some things that took away a lot of the respect I had for him. His attitude and actions towards the Jews and the nation of Israel, were more than surprising and disappointing.
***********
THE JERUSALEM POST - first published 12-27-2007:
HENRY KISSINGER'S Jewishness was equally a source of neurosis, according to Willie Fort. Reared as a deeply observant Jew, Kissinger slipped away from beneath the Orthodox shadow of his parental home when he was drafted into the army in 1943. His rebellion was so absolute and his assimilation so total that when he was sworn in as secretary of state he took his oath of office on a Christian Bible on a Sabbath day with his gentile second wife at his side. Yet, try as he might, Henry Kissinger would never succeed in shedding his thin, Jewish refugee skin. Willie emitted a cynical laugh at this, and observed, "I learn through the White House grapevine that whenever Nixon feels Kissinger is getting too big for his boots he is not averse to resorting to nasty anti-Semitic barbs to cut him down to size. He has even been known to call him 'my Jew boy' to his face. It is said that he is careful not to bring too many Jewish staff members to meetings with the president for fear of arousing his anti-Semitic streak. And when it is aroused he pretends to shrug it off, concealing his humiliation. But then, back in the privacy of his room, he invariably goes into a tantrum and takes it out on his subordinates."

HENRY KISSINGER - 88 YRS OLD TODAY:
Kissinger was born, May 27, 1923, Heinz Alfred Kissinger in Fürth Bavaria, Germany during the Weimar Republic to a family of German Jews. His father, Louis Kissinger (1887–1982) was a schoolteacher. His mother, Paula Stern Kissinger (1901–1998), was a homemaker. Kissinger has a younger brother, Walter Kissinger. The surname Kissinger was adopted in 1817 by his great-great-grandfather Meyer Löb, after the city of Bad Kissingen. In 1938, fleeing Nazi persecution his family moved to New York. Henry Alfred Kissinger is a German-born American political scientist, diplomat, and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He served as National Security Advisor and later concurrently as Secretary of State in the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. After his term, his opinion was still sought by many following presidents and many world leaders.

UK! UK! UK! Gooo Cats! We love you!!! GoBigBlue BigBlueNATION!! NCAA MarchMADNESS FinalFour KentuckyWildcats Kentucky Wildcats

NationOfBlue - Did you post a GameScorePrediction on the NationOfBlue website? What were your score predictions? ScorePrediction UK

RT NCAA Basketball - UK and OHIOState TIED at HalfTime: 30-30 -- GO CATS!! Wildcats Buckeyes NationOfBlue GoBigBlue! Kentucky

RT GasStrike-We've had enough-GAS STRIKE March10th-DO NOT BUY GAS-If EVERYONE does not buy gas for ONE DAY it will HURT THE OIL COs! tcot

RT GasStrike-WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH-GAS STRIKE March10th-DO NOT BUY GAS! If everyone does not buy gas for ONE DAY, it will HURT THE OIL COs!

Ohio: SEIU Thugs Storm Restaurant Where GOP Senators Are Dining, Assault Owner and Staff http://ow.ly/48nuO

NOTW Christian clothing presents I AM ALL YOU NEED shirt-NAMES OF GOD make up the FACE OF JesusChrist on the shirt! http://ow.ly/48nh6

The Most Entrepreneur-Friendly States

Greatest Movie Line Ever!

I copied this video clip from Mark Levin's MySpace page.
It's hilarious!

************

Greatest Movie Line Ever!

mike | MySpace Video

Blogging and Tweeting the Health Care Reform Bill

I will be blogging and tweeting the Health Care Reform Bill (HR 3962) as member of the "HealthCare Reform Bill Review Board" Group on Team Sarah.  This, of course, is my blog:  Colley's: God, Family, Country....  And you can follow me on Twitter @Colley1962.

The Review Board has been divided into groups with a leader for each group.  Each member has been designated a specific set of 10 continuous pages to read of the House version of the Health Care Reform Bill.  Their findings will then be submitted to the leader of their group.  The finalized summaries will then be blogged and tweeted  by certain individuals who already have blogs and Twitter accounts.

Since the House version of the Health Care Reform Bill is 1990 pages, this is a daunting task.  But hopefully some headway will be made, and some sort of "understanding" of what this Bill contains will come from our efforts.  This is being done for those who will be affected most by this bill:  the citizens of the United States who did not have any input into the forming of the bill or any say about how it will change their lives.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Coal Mining and the Power Shift Organization

The following comment is one I left on the website called "Power Shift '09." You might have heard Glenn Beck talking about it on his show today, Tuesday, September 1, 2009. It was scary. One of Obama's Czars, Van Jones, spoke at their March convention. That was originally why I went to the website. I was watching Beck, and I got interested in what that Jones guy was saying. But once I got on there, I found articles about the Energy Bill, coal mining, and a specific story about some "tree-sitters" in West Virginia trying to stop Massey Energy from starting a mountain-top removal job. But I had just read yesterday that those people had been arrested, so I had to write a comment. And here it is.

****************************

First of all, I am going to voice my opinion (and I hope you respect that). My husband works for a coal company (not Massey) who uses mountain-top removal as did my father. My brother drives a coal truck. My father-in-law, grandfathers, another brother, and numerous relatives past have worked in the coal mining industry, both above ground and underground. No, it is not perfect. But it has kept a roof over our heads, fed and clothed our families, paid our bills etc. for decades. And whether you want to believe it or not, the coal industry HAS gotten better at dealing with the environmental issues, safety issues, etc. Because if it had not, the United States would look like China. But China gets to belch out all of the unfiltered CO2 that it wants to into the same air that surrounds our planet, that every human being lives on, without any repercussions. As a matter of fact, the United States just keeps dealing with China as if nothing is wrong. But the hard-working men and women of America--who are trying to abide by the laws, who are trying to make ends meet and take care of their families--are just getting more and more restrictions laid on them to the point where it will be so difficult, if the Waxman-Markey Bill passes Congress, no one will be able to continue to work in the coal industry. And electricity will cost a fortune. So I ask you, where are these thousands of people in the coal-mining industry going to go for new jobs? I am serious about wanting to know your suggestions for jobs. Can you suggest some jobs equivalent to what my husband has now? The following is a break-down of my husband's job benefits:

--He grosses an average of $50,000 per year.

--Health Benefits (80/20) including Major Medical, Dental, Vision-- but Vision only covers one free check-up per year.

--The company carries $10,000 in Life Insurance on each employee.

--An optional 401k with the company matching 30% of what each employee deposits into his/her account.

************
FROM THE CHARLESTON, WV GAZETTE:

August 31, 2009

MOUNTAINTOP-REMOVAL ACTIVISTS ARRESTED AFTER ENDING TREE VIGIL
By Ken Ward Jr.
Staff writer

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Two anti-mountaintop removal activists came down from a pair of Raleigh County treetops Monday morning, after a week protesting blasting by a Massey Energy mining operation.

Nick Stocks and Laura Steepleton were arrested after separately descending from the platforms where they took up residence Aug. 25 as part of an ongoing campaign of civil disobedience against mountaintop-removal coal mining.

The complete article can be found at the following link:

http://www.wvgazette.com/News/200908310837

With our country's economy in the condition that it is in right now (and not looking to get much better any time soon), what are your suggestions? That is why, to me, the above article is not such bad news.

Sincerely,
Pam Bartley

The Auto Bailout and Cash for Clunkers

Just my opinion. This is a comment I posted to someones blog post on the website called "The Freedom Torch." I've only been on the site for a few days. But it seems to be very good for Conservatives, Republicans, and Libertarians.

********************

I don't think the "Auto Bailout" or the "Cash for Clunkers" has been worth the paper the programs were written on (even though it is probably quite a bit of paper)!

The U.S. government should not be running private companies. Proving how bad that idea was is that after GM was taken over by the government, Obama was heralded by Fidel Castro!

And the "Cash for Clunkers" was one of those things that looks good on the surface--Obama seems to be good at those kind of things--like a shiny, red apple with a worm in it, when you get past that enticing cover, it's rotten to the core:

(1)People get $4500 of their own money that they originally paid to the IRS...
(2)To help them buy a car that will put them in debt...
(3)So that their old car (that probably still runs) can get crushed into a pile of rubble. This step is so that no one else can ever drive the still-useful vehicle ever again. (I would say the used-car salesmen, people who usually buy used cars because they can't afford new cars, and vehicle collectors are cringing at this great idea!)...
(4)Then when tax time comes around, they have to pay taxes on that same money that was so generously given to them to help buy that new car that put them into debt.

It's just a vicious circle that makes no sense. Not much that the liberals do seems to make any sense!

Next:
Health Care and the Energy Bill -- Oh goody, what fun!

Senator Edward Kennedy and ObamaCare

As I am watching the news of Senator Kennedy's passing mixed with the ongoing news of the so-called "Health Care Reform" which I prefer to call "ObamaCare," because there has been no bipartisan efforts involved in the ongoing construction of this Congressional bill. Not that the Republican Party has not offered ideas; it's just that every idea that has been offered has been promptly shot down by the Democrats. There is a major concern that has arisen since Senator Kennedy's death in reference to the "ObamaCare" Bill. Because Senator Kennedy has spent a large part of his political career trying to get some kind of health care reform passed in Congress, the Democrats will be using his death as just another tool to get this horrendous Bill of theirs passed.

And speaking of Senator Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy's political career, he was elected as Senator from Massachusetts the same year I was born--1962. That was 47 years ago! My goodness! Should a politician be allowed to stay in the same office for that length of time? FOX News stated that there are only two other senators who have held the office longer than Kennedy. Of course one of those is Robert Carlyle Byrd of West Virginia and the other is James Strom Thurmond of South Carolina (See following Wikipedia paragraphs). And Senator Kennedy was trying to get the Massachusetts law changed so that a Democrat could be appointed by the Democratic Governor to his position in the Senate instead of having an election within 160 days. But he had, in 2004, that same law changed to suit his needs when he WANTED an election instead of an appointment by then Republican Governor Mitt Romney. Just how much power do these senators think they wield, especially when they have been in office for almost 50 years?

It is way past time for a housecleaning...Congressional housecleaning that is! And as far as the "ObamaCare" Bill, I do not mean to be disrespectful of the dead, but that Bill should die with Senator Kennedy!

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Robert Carlyle Byrd (born November 20, 1917) is the senior United States Senator from West Virginia, and a member and former Senate Leader of the Democratic Party. Byrd has been a Senator since January 3, 1959 and is the longest-serving member in the Senate's history. He is also the oldest current member of the United States Congress, and is the first politician in U.S. history to serve as a U.S. senator uninterrupted for half a century.

Byrd is President pro tempore of the United States Senate, a position that puts him third in the line of presidential succession, behind Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He also held this post previously from 1989 to 1995, briefly in January 2001, and from June 2001 to January 2003. In this role, Sen. Byrd signs bills passed by Congress before they are sent to the president to be signed into law or vetoed.

Byrd holds a wide variety of both liberal and conservative political views. A lifelong Democrat, Byrd did not leave the party as its views shifted from social conservatism to social liberalism. He has also held many leadership positions: Senate Conference Secretary, Majority Whip, Minority Leader and twice Majority Leader. He is the only former party leader currently in the Senate.


James Strom Thurmond of South Carolina (December 5, 1902 - June 26, 2003) was an American politician who served as governor of South Carolina and as a United States Senator. He also ran for the Presidency of the United States in 1948 as the segregationist States Rights Democratic Party (Dixiecrat) candidate, receiving 2.4% of the popular vote and 39 electoral votes. Thurmond later represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 1954 to April 1956 and November 1956 to 2003, at first as a Democrat and after 1964 as a Republican, switching parties as the conservative base shifted. He served as Senator through the 1990s, and left office at age 100 as the oldest serving and longest-serving senator in U.S. history (although he was later surpassed in the latter by Robert Byrd). Thurmond holds the record for the longest serving Dean of the United States Senate in U.S. history at 14 years. He conducted the longest filibuster ever by a U.S. Senator in opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1957, at 24 hours and 18 minutes in length, nonstop. He later moderated his position on race, but continued to defend his early segregationist campaigns on the basis of states' rights in the context of Southern society at the time, never fully renouncing his earlier viewpoints. He is the only U.S. Senator to reach the age of 100 while still in office.

Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. In office from November 1962 until his death, Kennedy served nine terms in the Senate. At the time of his death, he was the second most senior member of the Senate, and the third-longest-serving senator in U.S. history. He was best known as one of the most outspoken and effective Senate proponents of progressive causes and bills. For many years the most prominent living member of the Kennedy family, he was the youngest brother of President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert F. Kennedy, both victims of assassinations, and the father of Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy.

Kennedy was a manager in his brother John's successful 1960 campaign for president. He then worked as an assistant district attorney for Suffolk County, Massachusetts. Kennedy entered the Senate in a 1962 special election to fill the seat once held by his brother John. He was seriously injured in an airplane crash in 1964 and suffered from lifelong back pain as a result. Kennedy was elected to his first six-year term in 1964 and was reelected seven more times.

The 1969 Chappaquiddick incident resulted in the death of passenger Mary Jo Kopechne and impaired his chances of becoming President of the United States; his 1980 presidential election ended in a primary campaign loss to incumbent Democratic President Jimmy Carter. Kennedy was known for his oratorical power, his 1968 eulogy for his brother Robert and his 1980 Democratic National Convention rallying cry for American liberalism being among his best-known moments.

He became known as "The Lion of the Senate", through his long tenure and influence. More than 300 bills that Kennedy and his staff wrote were enacted into law. He was known for working with Republicans and to finding compromises among Senators with disparate views. Kennedy played a major role in passing many laws that affect the lives of all Americans, including the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, the National Cancer Act of 1971, the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Ryan White AIDS Care Act in 1990, the Civil Rights Act of 1991, the Mental Health Parity Act in 1996 and 2008, the State Children's Health Insurance Program in 1997, the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002, and the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act in 2009. In the 2000s, he led several unsuccessful immigration reform efforts. During decades in office, Kennedy's major legislative goal was enactment of universal health care, which he continued to work toward during the Obama administration.

Kennedy battled a malignant brain tumor, diagnosed in May 2008, which limited his appearances in the Senate. He survived longer than doctors first predicted. He died on August 25, 2009, at his home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.

Report Shows Decrease In Abortion Providers, Calls For Procedure To Be Mainstreamed

New York City, N.Y., Jul 30, 2009 / 04:23 pm (CNA).- As Americans continue to shift towards pro-life views, the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) has issued a report analyzing the continuing decline in abortion providers and calling for abortion to be accepted as a part of mainstream health care.

In its “Defending Human Rights” report, the CRR voiced its concern over the declining number of abortion providers throughout the country. According to the Guttmacher Institute, the number of abortion providers in the U.S. declined by 25% between 1992 and 2005.

The report found that some states in the U.S. currently have as few as one abortion provider. International abortion providers are struggling as well, as indicated by the ending of the Women on Waves organization, which used to operate a boat in international seas, providing abortifacient pills for women living in countries where abortion is illegal.

In particular, the CRR noted with concern that there are “few new, young doctors entering the field” and as a result, the number of abortion providers “is dwindling almost across the board.”

The CRR attributes this decrease to harassment and attacks that it claims are “routinely targeted” at abortion providers and clinics.

Mary Spaulding Balch, state legislative director for the National Right to Life Committee, told CNA that she believes the real reason for this decrease in abortionists is the nature of abortion itself.

“I think they have been diminishing in number for years because this is the type of trade that is contrary to the reason that people go to medical school,” said Spaulding Balch, observing that most people enter the medical field with hopes of preserving and saving life, not destroying it.

“It’s difficult to find people willing to be abortionists,” she said. “It’s not easy on the nerves.”

Spaulding Balch believes that the lack of young doctors entering the abortion industry is due largely due to a change in perspective due to new technology, including ultrasounds and fetal surgery. The older generation of doctors began practicing when ultrasounds were not common and fetal surgery was nonexistent, she explained.

But developments in those two areas make it very clear that the unborn child is indeed a living human being. “Newer generations of doctors are understanding the unborn child as the second patient,” she told CNA.

The CRR report also denounced laws requiring a waiting period before obtaining an abortion, as well as those that require an ultrasound to be performed, or counseling and materials to be given to women. The publication claimed that such information is “irrelevant, unnecessary, misleading, or medically inappropriate information” for women considering an abortion.

Spaulding Balch responded to this claim by saying that abortion supporters are hesitant to inform women because “the more information a woman has on the subject, the less likely she is to go forward with the abortion.”

“If they were truly pro-choice, as they claim to be, they would not be afraid of giving the woman more information, so that she can make the best choice possible,” she continued, noting the important role of information in true consent.

Rather than being “irrelevant” or “medically inappropriate,” Spaulding Balch explained to CNA that the information required to be given to women seeking an abortion is actually “simple and basic.”

This information includes a description of what the abortion procedure entails, possible risks of the procedure and possible alternatives. “This would be considered normal and reasonable information for any other procedure,” she said.

“This information is all reasonable, rational, and relevant to the decision the mother is about to make.”

Another topic included in the CRR report is the “stigma” of abortion providers among medical professionals and the general public. The document says that abortion is “marginalized and perceived as ‘dirty’ and outside of normal medicine practice,” and that this negative image results in many doctors refusing to perform, assist in, or even refer abortions.

The report claims that this stigma exists “because abortion is not integrated into mainstream healthcare.”

Saying that it is a “normal human reaction” for people to be repulsed by the idea of abortion, Spaulding Balch rejected CRR's argument. “There is something inherently evil about it,” she said, explaining that people understand this instinctively, and that is why they are still not comfortable with it, even 30 years after its legalization.

Spaulding Balch contrasted abortion with other medical procedures that are uncommon or may be otherwise “not integrated into mainstream health care,” but which the general public does not view with distrust. The fact that it is not mainstream health care is not the cause of the revulsion, she said. Rather, it is the horror of the abortion itself. “There is an inherent distinction between treating a rare disease and killing a living human.”

The publication of the report comes amid discussions of a health care reform package that would allow abortion to be required as a minimum health care benefit. Spaulding Balch explained to CNA that abortion advocates are working intensely to have the package approved in an attempt to save the dying industry.

“The abortion industry knows that they need this for their survival. They must make abortion part of mainstream health care, or the industry will see its demise,” she said.

Shared via AddThis

ARE YOU A WILLING SOLDIER?: My View On Janine Turner's OpEd In FOX News

Read Janine Turner's OpEd on FOX: "What Would Our Forefathers Think Of America Today?"! It is a great article imagining what the great Founders of our nation would think if they were to be able to return to America today.

What would George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, etc. think about the way our government is run? What would they think about the way our society has evolved? Would they be proud, or would they be shocked or maybe even angry? Think about all of the sacrifices that the men, women and children have willingly made to have the freedoms and the form of government and Constitution that we now take for granted so easily. The many months that the first arrivals to the New World had to stay aboard a ship filled with people and animals, unwashed and some sick and dying. Many died and never got to set their feet on the ground of what would be their new home, their new nation...America.

We too soon forget the sacrifices that have been made so that we may freely worship God, speak what is on our minds, own a firearm to defend our families, work and own a business without being overtaxed by a corrupt government. Wait...this is sounding like what our present government is trying to do to us even now! The only way to stop it is to have the same fighting spirit in us that our Founding Fathers had in them. We cannot and we will not allow what we have inherited from our Founding Fathers, who fought (some to the death) so that we could have these freedoms, taken from us by corrupt politicians. We must fight with our words, our actions, our ballot boxes, our letters, our marches. We will not let the corrupt have our nation...The United States of America!

The Word of God says, "Do not be weary in well-doing. For you shall reap in due time, if you do not faint." And I have been a Christian, a Believer in the Word of God, long enough to know that what God says, He will do! We have every weapon that we need to be triumphant in our warfare: The Holy Bible (which is the Word of God), the Power of Prayer, the Holy Spirit and the Angels of God to work on our behalf, and the Constitution of the United States. All we need now are Soldiers willing to volunteer for the fight! Are you a willing Soldier?

FOX NEWS NETWORK: Why No Tea Party Coverage?

Some of the reasons for less coverage of the July 4th Tea Parties are:

1. It was a holiday, and there was special programming in some of FOX News Network's (and most other network's) lineup instead of the regularly scheduled programs that usually give the Tea Parties the most coverage.

2. Many of the reporters and/or commentators on FOX News Network that take such an interest in the Tea Parties have been taking their vacations during the past few weeks.

3. Glenn Beck has had guest hosts a lot lately, because he has been experiencing some health problems.

4. The Michael Jackson story is still taking up TOO MUCH air time!

About a week ago on Bill O'Reilly--The Factor--Bill and Gretchen Carlson (FOX News Morning Show--Weekdays) had a disagreement:

Bill said FOX was right in giving so much coverage to Michael Jackson's death (specifically the day he died, even though that was the day that the House of Representatives passed the Cap and Tax Energy Bill and it hardly got a mention), because of the ratings the MJ story generated, thereby, generating income for the network. Bill said it was a sound business decision, because the ratings went down that day every time another subject was being discussed.

But Gretchen's argument was that the "core audience" of FOX News Network was upset because they could not get any coverage of the more important issues that day and even several days following MJ's death. And FOX News Network had a responsibility to its more loyal viewers who expected more from the network.

In my opinion, all who watch FOX News on a regular basis should mount a campaign telling the network executives, and each show that airs on FOX News Network, that we want and expect more from FOX. Their advertisement is "Fair and Balanced" reporting. That is not balanced at all...it is far from balanced.

Are you concerned that the only news network that we have been able to depend on, to give a decent reporting of the news, is going the way of the other networks? If FOX is just going to start worrying about "the bottom line" and how many people are watching at a given time, can we depend on them to report the hard facts of the news? And more importantly...ARE WE GOING TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT?

Boycott Letterman

First of all, I had been a viewer of the David Letterman show on CBS for several years. I didn't watch every single show, but I did watch on a fairly regular basis...depending upon the guest line-up.

Mr. Letterman had a serious health scare concerning his heart and had to have multiple bypass procedures. He then had a child with his girlfriend. And I, mistakenly, assumed that with these life experiences and with age he would "mellow out" and become a little wiser. But not so for Mr. Letterman. Because I started noticing that he was making very lewd and sexually explicit comments about women, not just in his jokes, even towards his female guests. I sometimes wondered why these "women of Hollywood" or "TV personalities" would just sit there and continue to joke around with him as if what he was saying meant nothing. Because they usually put forth such a liberal front, I assumed they would have something to say to Mr. Letterman in defense of women's rights. But I never saw anything like that. Even Katie Couric just laughed when he talked and joked about Governor Sarah Palin. Women should stand up for other women without concern for each others political labels!

So I began cutting way back on my viewing time of the "Letterman Show" on CBS. It seemed to me as if David Letterman was becoming a "dirty old man," and I didn't want to be a regular viewer of it. Then on Tuesday, June 9th 2009, he verbally attacks a 14-year old girl in one of his "jokes."

Most of the following is taken from a post on the Team Sarah website. I changed some of the wording. But most of the credit goes to those who did the research as is mentioned in the article.

****************************************************************

David Letterman’s camp has set up a voice mail to handle complaints regarding his sexual joke about Governor Sarah Palin’s 14-year old daughter Willow. But the only way these people will listen is if they are hit where it counts...THEIR POCKETBOOKS. Help us boycott Letterman sponsors. They are listed below. Also, contact the provided sponsors and express your outrage at the disgusting comments made by David Letterman. No daughter of a liberal politician would be attacked in such a disgusting way. And if she were, all hell would break loose on the mainstream media outlets! The double standard is beyond disgusting, and it needs to stop. A big thanks to Curth (on Team Sarah) for providing contact information and GAbuckeye (also on Team Sarah) for posting the info on theTeam Sarah Newswatch Group. We have a small but strong army currently working on Twitter to get the message out about the Letterman Boycott Campaign. A shout-out to sarahpalinlinks on Twitter for organizing the Sarah Palin Web Brigade Team #spwbt. They provide a central place on Twitter for Palin supporters to work together for the common cause of supporting and defending Governor Sarah Palin.

Letterman Sponsors:
TV.com
On The Border Restaurants
Best Western
Intel
CBSports.com
JohnFreida.com
DiTech
Lexus
Earn My Degree
True Credit by TransUnion
Lifelock
Bowflex
Mars Candy
Capitol One
LasikPlus
Embassy Suites
EBay
ancestry.com

Lila Rose Story: Help Me Digg It To The Front Page!

I posted the following on my Team Sarah blog. All who read this, please click on the link to the DIGG website and try to Digg the story all the way up!

****************************************************

There is a story about Lila Rose, the young woman who uncovers crimes inside the Planned Parenthood organization, on the FOX News website. I submitted the story to DIGG. So please, everyone go to DIGG and Digg the story to the front page! I know that sounds almost impossible, considering Digg is such a liberal website, but let's try anyway!! CLICK ON THIS LINK for the DIGG article submission: College Student Is Rising Star In Ant-Abortion Movement

P.S. I used the term "Anti-Abortion" instead of "Pro-Life," just because that's how the original title of the story is written on the article.

Craig T. Nelson Refuses To Pay Taxes!

I just saw Craig T. Nelson on the Glenn Beck show. He played the lead role on the TV show "Coach." He told Beck that he was going to stop paying taxes! He said that he refuses to pay for all the debt that the government has incurred through these bailouts. And that if he wanted to buy stock in the auto business, he would have done it on his own. Nelson also admitted that he would probably have to spend some time in jail, but he had to make a statement! Brave man. I applaud him for standing up for his beliefs. And being from the "Hollywood crowd," that can't be too easy! Glenn Beck usually comes on FOX News Network at 5 p.m. and again at 2 a.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday. And my listings state that he also comes on 2 a.m. Saturday, 9 p.m Saturday, and 5 a.m. Sunday.

Memorial Day 2009: Bugles Across America

I remember when my uncle, who had served in the Army in Vietnam, died.  I believe it was during the 1980s.  There was no one in uniform to play "Taps" for him.  At the cemetery all there was to play "Taps," in honor of the man who had fought and lost both of his legs in battle, was a cassette tape recording.  On this Memorial Day I saw a video on the FOX News website of Tom Day, founder of Bugles Across America, who says he plays 24 notes to honor our fallen soldiers and veterans.  Tom Day is a man who is spending his time and money to make sure there is someone "in person" at the burial site of every military person who has given his or her life fighting in the service of our country, or spent a number of years in the military serving our country.  Please visit Bugles Across America to find out more about this great service to our soldiers.  Bugles Across America may be able to provide someone to play "Taps" for a soldier that you know who deserves more than a recording.  My uncle, Jasper "Jib" Ezekiel Colley, was the person that I immediately thought of when I saw that video.  So if you are able, while you are on the website, give as much as you can to help financially support this great service to our American military.  By the way, if anyone out there served in the military with my uncle, leave me a comment and let me know.  I would really like to talk to you.

GOV. PALIN VETOES $28M IN STIMULUS MONEY: FOX News-- May 21, 2009

GOV. PALIN VETOES $28M IN STIMULUS MONEY: FOX News-- May 21, 2009

Alaska governor becomes the only governor to turn down federal stimulus money for energy efficiency.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

QUOTE FROM THE ARTICLE:
"Alaskans and our communities have a long history of independence and opposing many mandates from Washington, D.C.," Palin said in a statement announcing the veto.

                                                        **************************

THIS SHOWS THAT GOVERNOR SARAH PALIN IS A LEADER AND NOT AFRAID TO GO AGAINST WASHINGTON'S WAY OF DOING THINGS. Kudos to Governor Palin. I just wish more governors, more politicians in general, were like her. If there are any politicians reading this, you better get your heads out of the ground (or wherever they're at). Because 2010 and 2012 are going to be here before you know it, and FISCAL DISCIPLINE IS JUST ONE OF THE THINGS AMERICA IS LOOKING FOR IN OUR "NEWLY ELECTED" OFFICIALS.

My First Blogging Experience...

I've never blogged before.  So I am a "newbie."  I will just be writing my thoughts, personal experiences, etc. for the time being.  Here goes...

My body is very sore all over, as I had a fall early yesterday morning.  I am also trying to mentally prepare myself for surgery Monday morning (March 30 @ 7 a. m.)--a complete hysterectomy.  My doctor says that I will have to stay in the hospital 2 or 3 days.  I don't mind the surgery itself as much as the after effects of the anesthesia.  It makes me shake all over after waking up.  I continue to do this for 2 or 3 days, usually.  And it also effects me psychologically, it seems.  At least, that's the only way I can describe it.  Sort of a "twilight zone" feeling.

This may be my last post for a while.

JUST STARTED

JUST STARTED TODAY. COME BACK TO SEE WHAT WILL HAPPEN!!