As reported in yesterday’s Congressional Quarterly, a senior aide to Speaker Pelosi, Wendell Primus, said approval of Obamacare could be completed by”close to the Easter recess.” Dem aides conceded, however, that their optimistic outlook is not shared widely in Washington. Their role is to play the “optimist” in the public arena.
“I do think that there is still the possibility that Congress can move on health care reform this year,” said a top Dem healthy policy aide. “It will take both the House and Senate pulling together.”
The theory for passage continues to revolve around a scenario in which the Senate would use the “reconciliation” process to avoid the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster. Primus admitted that a highly-complex process would have to take place for this to be accomplished.
Abby Johnson rocked the nation last year when she announced she was leaving her position as director of a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic. Abby has now joined the right-to-life movement and is one of the most sought-after speakers.
Wisconsin Right to Life is thrilled to be bringing Abby Johnson to Madison on May 12. She will speak at the Inn on the Park at 7:00pm. Star talk show host Vicki McKenna will MC the event. Admission is $10. Reservations can be made by calling 877-855-5007.
Abby’s road from abortion clinic director to right-to-life advocate will not be detailed here. People need to come and hear her life-altering experience first hand. Hope to see you there.
Is it in or out? Alive or dead? It has become almost comical to see who is saying what on a daily basis. President Obama all but called the pro-abortion plan dead one day last week, and someone must have read him the riot act. The very next day, he was going to fight to the bitter end for health “insurance” reform.
Speaker Pelosi continues to glowingly claim that she will deliver health care reform to the American people, who have indicated in large numbers that she can keep her plan.
Bringing in Republicans to discuss ideas with the cameras rolling is the next step. Abortion funding as part of the package is still on the table for the Administration, Pelosi and Reid. Hopefully, the Republicans and Stupak and company will jettison that part of the plan. The mere fact that talking instead of voting is occurring indicates that Pelosi and Reid don’t have the votes for the pro-abortion measure they are desperate to push through. And, that is good news.
Next month marks the fifth anniversary of the starvation death of Terri Schindler Schiavo. It is both a vindication and a tragedy that new testing reveals some patients diagnosed as being in a “persistent vegetative state” can comprehend what is being said and answer simple questions. This in spite of their outward appearance of being unaware of their surroundings.
The Schindler family (Terri’s mother, father, brother and sister) begged for such tests to be done on Terri. The villain in the Schiavo case was and continues to be Judge Greer who never gave Terri a fighting chance. Greer refused the family’s request for sophisticated brain scanning. In the words of Wesley Smith, “I will go to my grave believing the judge knew what he didn’t want to know.” That Terri could indeed comprehend what was going on around her.
Beyond Terri, this new research has profound medical and ethical implications for patients who languish in a state in which they appear to lack awareness. Many decisions to remove life support systems, even feeding tubes, have been made based on the seemingly hopeless “persistent vegetative state” of the patient. Why allow the person to languish, they argue, when they have lost their humanity? Let them die a “dignified” death.
When Rom Houben, a Belgian man, “woke up” 23 years after being in a diagnosed PVS state and related that he was conscious that whole time, many scoffed and attempted to undermine this man’s experience and the findings of the medical people working with Houben. The new study gives further evidence that some patients really do have an “inner voice.”
“We were astonished when we saw the results of the patient’s scan and that he was able to correctly answer the questions that were asked by simply changing his thoughts,” said Dr. Adrian Owen who is the co-author of the new study. “Not only did these scans tell us that the patient was not in a vegetative state but, more importantly, for the first time in five years it provided the patient with a way of communicating his thoughts to the outside world. We can be pretty confident that he is entirely conscious. He has to understand the instructions, comprehend speech, and then make a decision.”
These findings open up a whole new universe in the thinking of the medical community and the decisions made by families. Most importantly, the findings breathe new life and hope into patients who cling to consciousness not evident to the outside world.
In an interview with ABC News, Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) says that Congressional leaders and the White House are continuing work to hammer out an Obamacare “compromise” that can be passed by the Congress. Urging them on at a Town Hall meeting yesterday was the President himself.
While Rangel believes the Senate will use the “reconciliation” process to get the job done, Senate leader Harry Reid says that cannot be the first step. “We can’t go first,” said Reid. “I don’t know how procedurally we can start reconciliation.” Reconciliation normally is used only on budget, not policy, issues and allows the Senate to pass a bill shy of the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster.
Word is that Speaker Pelosi will first attempt to get a smaller bill approved dealing with the health care industry. This bill may not have abortion implications but it is too soon to tell.
It is the sickest of reality shows. Pregnant women (who aren’t really pregnant) tell stories about their “predicaments” and viewers are allowed to vote on whether they should have abortions. The show is called “Bump” and is a web-based creation.
As Kathleen Parker reported in her January 31 Washington Post column, the show was inspired by President Barack Obama’s commencement address at Notre Dame. If that doesn’t make sense, neither does the rationale. Obama said he wanted to find ways to communicate about solutions for unintended pregnancies. Somehow, a reality show inviting the public to help make abortion decisions accomplishes that purpose.
“In the end, self-selecting strangers will become as a thousand Caesars, offering a thumbs up or down on the unborn,” says Parker. She finds the show and its premise “slightly creepy.” And, so do we.
The most-watched ad during Sunday’s Super Bowl is bound to be the Pam and Tim Tebow ad. Kudos to the pro-abortion individuals and groups who are trying desperately to convince America that this wholesome, heartfelt personal story is somehow akin to showing a beating on national television. All they are doing is piquing interest in the ad and revealing how pro-abortion and anti-choice they actually are.
How Pam Tebow’s story of refusing to abort her son while facing a serious health problem is a death blow to Roe v. Wade leaves people scratching their heads. America gets it, and groups like NOW fail to understand that they can no longer buffalo the American public into embracing their skewed views. Apparently the Gallup poll of last May showing that a majority of Americans now self-identity as pro-life was seen by them as an aberration. Even one of their staunchest allies, the New York Times, supports CBS in airing the ad.
Special thanks to Pam and Tim Tebow for putting their beliefs on the line by being a part of this historic commercial. Can’t wait to see it!
Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) now confirms that a compromise had been reached on the differing Senate and House versions of Obamacare on January 15, four days before the revolutionary Massachusetts election of Scott Brown. The goal, as everyone knew, was to pass the bill before the President’s State of the Union Address, giving him the achievement of his prize piece of legislation.
Harkin told The Hill: “we had an agreement with the House, the White House and the Senate. We sent it to [the Congressional Budget Office] to get scored and then Tuesday happened and we didn’t get it back.” That’s how close we were to passage of this massive pro-abortion, health care rationing bill.
Pundits are now all over the place as to where Obamacare stands. Most are declaring it dead. But the congressional leadership is not about to give up that easily. They intend to use the reconciliation process, denying the Senate the ability to filibuster, to deliver their Obamacare compromise as a package of smaller bills. We must remain vigilant for the next chapter of Obamacare.
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