As the Virginia Crisis Deepens, Will President Trump Make It Clear in His State of the Union Address that America Does not Tolerate Either Racism or Infanticide

HOW IS THE STATE OF THE UNION? IN VIRGINIA, NOT SO GOOD. Governor Ralph Northam has opened a Pandora's Box in the Old Dominion that nobody seems to be able to close. The original Pandora opened her box to let out all the troubles of the world. BUT, the last item that flew out was HOPE. And, conservatives are seeing hope from the troubles that Governor Northam has unleashed in Virginia. • • • VIRGINIA WAS MOVING LEFT. But,thanks to the Governor's double-barreled whammy, that Left swing of the pendulum may be reversing. Breitbart, as reported by Blabber Buzz, wrote on Monday : "In the space of one week Virginia’s Democrat Governor Ralph Northam may have managed to accomplish what years of Republican efforts have failed to do : put Virginia back in play for the 2020 presidential election. A bastion of conservative Republican strength from the 1970s until 2000, demographic changes and the huge growth in the Northern Virginia suburbs, home to a growing number of Democrat leaning federal employees, have changed the state so that Republicans have fared poorly in statewide elections over the past decade. The last Republican was elected governor in 2009, when Bob McDonnell, later convicted on bribery charges which were subsequently thrown out, won. Democrat Terry McAuliffe won in 2013, and Northam won in 2017. The last Republican was elected to the United States Senate in 2002, when Senator John Warner (R-VA) was re-elected to his final term in office. The last time a Republican presidential candidate won the state’s electoral college vote was in 2004, when George W. Bush carried the state by a nine point margin, 54% to 45% over the Democrat candidate, John Kerry. Democrat Barack Obama won the state by six points in 2012, and four points in 2012. Democrat Hillary Clinton won the state by five points in 2016. The state was trending further left in 2018 and 2019, but Northam’s conduct during the last week has changed all of that." • Former Virginia Attorney General and the 2013 Republican gubernatorial nominee Ken Cuccinelli told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview on Sunday, “It’s too early to tell,” if the Northam scandals will put Virginia more fully in play for the 2020 presidential election, “but it certainly hurts the Democrats. The combination of Governor Northam’s infanticide comment this week with the explosion over the racist photo from his med school yearbook has both energized conservatives and turned Democrats on their own. We will learn more about the impact on 2020 in the 2019 legislative races in which the entire General Assembly is up for election.” • Mike Rubino, who ran the Trump campaign effort in both the 2016 primary and 2016 general election, told Breitbart News Sunday : “Governor Northam’s missteps are a win-win for Republicans both in the Commonwealth and nationally. In Virginia, if Governor Northam decides to stay he won’t be able to govern effectively. If he resigns, the people of Virginia will get a Governor in current Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax who is so wildly out of step with the values and sentiments of the common Virginian that catastrophe will surely ensue. This is the gift that keeps on giving, the first big step to Virginia coming back into play for Republicans." • Prince William County Supervisor Corey Stewart, the 2018 Republican nominee for US Senate, told Breitbart News Sunday : “It completely upsets the apple cart for Democrats in Virginia, who used race to drive out voters against Gillespie for governor in 2017 and me for the US Senate in 2018. As it turns out, it was the Democrats who were the racists all along, and now everybody knows it. Democrats were planning on winning seats to take the majority back in the State Senate and House of Delegates in November 2019, and then to redistrict the entire state in 2020. Now all those plans are in the garbage can.” • Republican National Committee spokesman Steve Guest told Breitbart News on Sunday : “Our plan remains to go after every single vote. 2020 will be a clear choice for Americans : continue the pro-growth policies of President Trump that have delivered record low unemployment numbers or go with the dishonest and disastrous policies pushed by radical Democrats.” • Northam’s very bad week began on Wednesday, when he publicly supported a bill in the Virginia General Assembly that was characterized by critics as legalizing infanticide. His famously callous comment about the bill was that after the baby’s birth, the baby would be “kept comfortable” while “a discussion would ensue ” between the mother and the delivering physician. Breitbart News reported : "Discussing the controversy over Democratic delegate Kathy Tran acknowledging her bill would allow abortion when a woman was going into labor, Northam said, 'If a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen. The infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother.' ” • But, it was on Friday and Saturday that the state’s steady movement from purple to blue came into question. Here is Breitbart's report : "Friday afternoon, Big League Politics broke the story that included Northam’s personal page from his 1984 Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook. Four photographs, purportedly provided by Northam, were on the page. Three featured images of Northam, and the fourth showed two people, one a man in black face, the other a person in a KKK robe and pointed hood. Late Friday, Northam released a statement acknowledging that he was one of the individuals in the controversial black face-KKK photo. 'I am deeply sorry for the decision I made to appear as I did in this photo and for the hurt that decision caused then and now,' Northam said in Friday’s statement. But less than 24 hours later in a Saturday afternoon press conference, Northam pulled a stunning about face, acknowledging that the black face-KKK photo was on his personal page in the 1984 yearbook, but denying that he was one of the two people in the photo. Even more bizarrely, Northam admitted at the press conference that later that same year -- 1984 -- he appeared at a dance contest in San Antonio, Texas in 'black face' as Michael Jackson. He said he created the black face by putting black shoe polish on his face, and won the dance contest for his moonwalk." • The calls for Northam’s resignation came from Democrats and Republicans alike -- as soon as the story broke. The NAACP, the Virginia Democratic Black Caucus led the calls, which intensified after Northam’s Saturday press conference, when both the NAACP and Virginia Democratic Black Caucus repeated their calls, and were joined by Virginia’s Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner. Despite the growing intensity of the demands that he resignation, Northam appeared on Sunday afternoon to be determined to hang on to his job as governor, "hoping that he will receive an assist from the media," according to Breitbart. • Appearing on CNN’s AC 360 late Friday, Cuccinelli noted : “It is not easy to remove someone from office anymore at the state level than at the federal level. You’d have to have the Speaker and the President Pro Temp of the Senate both address his inability to perform his job and, and I don’t think he’s at that point. The real question is, can he do anything in the role of governor any longer? I mean, this is, this is extraordinary and mind you, this comes during the same week in which he went on Washington radio and more or less said that he was okay with letting a child born alive die on the table.” • The bottom line for Breitbart is this : "As long as Northam remains governor, Democrats in Virginia will be subject to charges of ineffectiveness, hypocrisy, baby-killing, and racism. Northam himself has become the target of withering ridicule, as evidence by this biting tweet from the Free Beacon’s Charles Lehman, one of many memes that exploded across social media over the weekend : "Ralph Northam will now be kept comfortable while a discussion ensues." — Charles Fain Lehman (@CharlesFLehman) February 1, 2019. • Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax is just 39 years old. Fairfax graduated from Duke University and Columbia Law School. He worked on the 2000 presidential campaign of Al Gore and on the Washington staff of former Senator John Edwards, the disgraced North Carolina Senator who tried to deny that he fathered a child with his mistress while his wife was being treated for cancer. The New York Times reports about Fairfax : "Mr. Fairfax made his first bid for public office in 2013, running a close second in the Democratic primary for attorney general. He is in the liberal mainstream of the party on most policy issues, from gun control and abortion rights to addressing climate change and raising the minimum wage. Republicans have been less entranced by Mr. Fairfax over the years -- he has been criticized especially for supporting a “Medicare for all” health care system -- but few of them seemed eager to speak ill of him on Saturday. During the 2017 race for lieutenant governor, Mr. Fairfax’s Republican opponent, Jill Holtzman Vogel, said during a debate that he was not informed enough 'to talk intelligently' about campaign issues. The National Rifle Association has given him an F rating." • As Breitbart clearly states -- the political bottom line is this : each day the Northam scandal continues to evolve, Republican prospects in Virginia continue to improve." • But, this is not the most important issue. The real issue is that nobody who supports infanticide at birth by calling it 'abortion' and has a history of blackface-tied-to-the-KKK photos and was nicknamed "coonman" is fit to represent the American people in any capacity. • Northam toughed it out on Monday, holding a regularly scheduled Cabinet meeting Monday morning that a source inside the meeting described as “solemn.” According to the source, Governor Northam specifically said that if he resigns, he would be resigning as a “racist for life,” and that the only way he can clear his name is to stay in office and convince people that he is not in that photo and that the photo does not represent who he is. Breitbart reports that at a later all-staff meeting, Northam said he needs more time to decide his path forward. A Virginia Democrat briefed by multiple officials who were in the meeting told CNN that the meeting was intense, with both Northam and his chief of staff described as “emotional.” The Virginia Democrat told CNN that Clark Mercer, the governor’s chief of staff, told other senior aides that they owed it to the governor to stick with him as he looks for a way to clear his name. BUT, the rally-round-the-Governor movement is clearly not happening. There is no sign of support for the Governor, and he must have that if he hopes to meet his own personal standard of staying on only if he can continue to effectively govern. Monday morning, protesters gathered outside the governor’s mansion in Richmond. And, reportedly, Northam hastily called a meeting of his top administration officials of color on Sunday night to see if anyone with deep ties to him would be willing to stand by him during a firestorm of controversy over a decades-old racist photo. The meeting did not go as Northam hoped. Not one person at the gathering told the Governor he should stay and fight. • “The press conference on Saturday probably was the end of the story for him. That was really not what he needed to do to address the situation,” said Karen Hult, who heads the political science department at Virginia Tech. “I’m afraid the die is cast at this point.” But, the Republican speaker of the state House of Delegates, Kirk Cox, said it was unlikely his chamber would move to impeach Northam. Impeachment requires a majority vote in the House of Delegates, and removal from office would require the votes of two-thirds of the state Senate. Cox told reporters on Monday : “Obviously on impeachment, that’s a very high standard. So, I think that’s why we’ve called for a resignation. We hope that’s what the Governor does. I think that would obviously be less pain for everyone.” • AND, when the gods of politics take their revenge, it is sometimes brutal and swift. While Northam was struggling to survive, Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax was confronted with a report on the same website that broke the Northam story -- Big League Politics -- that accused him of sexually assaulting a woman at the Democratic National Convention in Boston in 2004. In a private Facebook message posted by the website, the woman alleged sexual assault by a statewide officeholder whose identifying description match Fairfax. Fairfax’s top aides denied the allegations in a pre-dawn press release, and Fairfax, who was unmarried at the time, met with reporters to deny the allegations. He acknowledged a sexual encounter with the woman, though he said it was consensual. Fairfax told reporters on Monday : “That allegation is completely false. It’s completely uncorroborated. This person, a year ago, came to the Washington Post with this very same allegation. They made the decision not to publish the story because it was not credible, because it was uncorroborated, and what we know is that it is false and defamatory.” In a Monday post, the Washington Post said the woman had approached the paper after Fairfax won election in 2017. The paper was unable to corroborate her version of events, though the Post said Fairfax’s initial characterization of her account as being riddled with “red flags and inconsistencies” was not accurate. Asked whether he believed Northam or his allies were behind the renewed interest in the story, Fairfax said he did not believe the “smear” was a coincidence. Fairfax said he had not spoken to Northam for a few days. • TheHill reported on Monday that Virginia Democrat Representative Gerry Connolly said Governor Northam is "a man without a country,....This needs a little bit of time for the Governor to understand that his moral authority has collapsed." Connolly made his comments on MSNBC's Meet The Press Daily, adding, "And his ability to govern...is nonexistent. The Governor can't go to the General Assembly and advocate for an amendment or a bill with any credibility." Connolly added that Northam's "own party has abandoned him" and predicted that no candidate on the ballot in state elections this November would want to be associated with him. "He’s a man without a country right now. And I think he’s going to see that in short order." • That, dear readers, is what political chaos looks like. And it is happening to the Virginia Democrat establishment that was sure it was on its way to total power in the Commonwealth. • • • WHERE ARE THE REPUBLICANS? Has the GOP establishment lost all sense of political savvy? Or, do they simply not care to force the Democrat elites to admit that they lead a Party that is rife with supporters of infanticide and veiled racism. I cannot imagine any two issues that could do more for the future of the Republican Party than to stand with America in refusing to accept either infanticide or racism. But, we are witnessing a GOP that seems to be shrugging its shoulders. • • • IS HILLARY CLINTON PUSHING THIS ABORTION ASSAULT? She's pushing her agenda that states -- as she told America on ‘Meet the Press’ : “The unborn person doesn’t have constitutional rights, even up to the hour he/she is born.” Hillary Clinton continues to imply that she supports abortion on demand, for whatever reason a woman decides to terminate her pregnancy.” Judi McLeod of Canada Free Press pointed out on Monday that : "Proof of Clinton’s full running ‘Presidency From the Sidelines’ came in with the blood red tide of the stunning new ‘Reproductive Health Act’, announced last week by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. The mysterious, vaguely described, non-physician 'licensed health practitioners' now enabled by law to perform abortions -- up to and including the point of birth -- are graduates of the Clinton Health Access Initiative....'No one seems to be focused on the nurses and midwives’ addition to this bill, who coincidentally have been trained by the Clinton Health Access Initiative, Partners in Health, Planned Parenthood, and the Ivy League schools, for over two decades. (dcdirtylaundry, Feb. 3, 2019).' " Garrison on January 17th received another 30-day suspension from Facebook for sharing this article. He said : "The truth is a violation of community standards." • Garrison's article suggests that the groundwork for the New York ‘Reproductive Health Act’ began back in 1993 : “Clinton Foundation: Clinton Health Access Initiative, Clinton Global Initiative, and Clinton Climate Initiative, Planned Parenthood, Partners In Health, Ivy League Schools. There are lawsuits pending in at least nine states, challenging who can perform abortions, so as to expand it to nurses and midwives. Planned Parenthood has a suit going in Idaho, Maine, Missouri, and Wisconsin. In 1993, Planned Parenthood launched the Clinical Training and Research Initiative to expand the number of clinicians trained to provide abortions. They did this in partnership with family medicine and obstetrics/gynaecology resident training programs in New York City. They train nurses, certified nurse-midwives, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and physicians through Planned Parenthood affiliates and contracted residency programs. For over two decades, they have been staffing up nurses and midwives, for this very day. Think about that. This training does not stop at New York City. Their reach is global, and they have been working with international alliances for 45 years, providing clinical training to increase access to abortion services in other countries. Guess where else they have been focusing their efforts, more recently? The Caribbean region. The Clinton Climate Initiative and Branson’s Carbon War Room have been working on a Ten Island Challenge in the Caribbean since 2012, which has long since increased beyond just ten islands....Coincidentally, 10 of the islands the Clintons and Branson are setting up solar farms on, Planned Parenthood has set up the Caribbean Family Planning Affiliation (CFPA) on those islands as well. Clintons, Branson, and gang are operating on these islands, as well as Comoros, Seychelles, Mauritius, Puerto Rico, and likely more at this juncture in time...In fact, that same year in 2012, the Clinton Global Initiative announced that Planned Parenthood Federation of America was committing to combat the vulnerability of youth to unintended pregnancy, unsafe abortion, HIV/AIDS and other STDs, as well as cultural taboos around age and sexuality. They planned on training youth leaders in the US, Africa, and Latin America. The same year they launched their training initiative in 1993, Planned Parenthood touted this on their website : 'President Bill Clinton worked to make abortion 'safe, legal and rare.' He ended the 'Gag Rule,' instituted by the Bush Administration, which prevented women using federally funded health centers -- primarily poor women -- from getting the information they needed to make informed choices about unintended or health-threatening pregnancies. President Clinton reversed the 'Gag Rule' in his first week in office." • In 2017, President Trump signed an executive order bringing back the 'Gag Rule.' This rule prevents federal funding to clinics that provide abortions or refer patients to places that do, as well as cuts foreign aid from going to groups that provide abortion services. Garrison says : "This is a direct hit to Planned Parenthood and their affiliates. But whether it’s abortions at home or in foreign lands, it’s your money that is paying for them. Planned Parenthood receives $500-million a year in taxpayers funds and $30 million per year goes directly to Democrat election campaigns. Incredibly Planned Parenthood is a 501(3)C nonprofit. The Trump administration should revoke their charitable status -- defund and defang them." • Meanwhile, Clinton has found a cloud to hide under by demanding that Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam resign in feigned outrage over the 35-year-old racist pictures on his Yearbook. In this, Hillary is just like all other Democrats -- they are 'outraged' over Northam's racist past, but they say not one word about the infanticide-hiding-as-abortion laws their fellow ProgDems are pushing in states they control. The real President Trump should tell Clinton in both words and action that “Enough is Enough!” • • • DEAR READERS, as we await President Trump's State of he Union address, we should remember that the Republican establishment is standing by, passive, while the radical Democrat elite is advancing without pause. American Thinker calls it "institutionalized stupidity in the face of evil." It is hard to explain why Republicans believe they can fight these Progressives, socialists, communists, Marxists, anarchists, Islamists, and all the other identity politics groups operating under the protective umbrella of the Democrat Party. They share one goal -- the destruction of America. American Thinker states : "It would not be an overstatement to say that war is being waged against our nation -- a war the Republican Party refuses to acknowledge, and therefore will not fight....those in power on the right appear utterly clueless, cowardly, and/or complicit despite the brazen, in-broad-daylight enormity of this assault. The tactics the left employs are wide-ranging, from outright violence to big tech fascism and everything in between. It’s like an anti-American monster machine with highly coordinated moving parts rolling across the country, targeting institutions, individuals, and ideas it finds 'offensive' or 'divisive.' Many on the right chronicle these events, acting like war reporters, while the left wages the actual war. Ruthlessly. And without relent. What we are witnessing is chilling, surreal, and all encompassing in its threat. The left is the force behind the breakdown of the traditional family, an education system that brainwashes students, the dismantling of free speech, the infiltration of Islamic supremacists into every major institution, Godlessness, lawlessness, and manufactured madness. And when the left fights, they fight to win." • And, it seems the GOP will not fight at all. Listen to Paul Harvey’s 1965 broadcast “If I were the Devil,” and you will see the truth of today. You can access the Harvey You Tube video at < https://youtu.be/0NV0gk7KpEg >. • That is why I am pounding away on the infanticide issue. Ther has to be a place where we conservatives, we Americans, turn, stand, and fight. If it is not because the enemy is making it legal to kill our newborn babies, then where would we stand and fight?? as Paul Harvey said long ago, "We have truth and God on our side." Why are we not using those powerful weapons of truth and justice -- and the universal taboo of murder??? Why? • On Monday, Canada Free Press published an open letter written by David Martin of Our Lady's Workers in Southern California. The letter was addressed to President Trump : "We ask that you use your State of the Union address to encourage the nation to combat this heinous attack on life, for it most certainly will elicit God's blessing and will be a powerful spur in your plan to Make America Great Again." • It was no coincidence that on January 22, 2019, the 46th Anniversary of Wade. vs. Roe, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law the historic American atrocity called the “Reproductive Health Act” that guarantees women the “fundamental right” to have an abortion until the birth of the baby, for any reason, and with all criminal aspects eradicated. Martin states : "We now have legalized infanticide in America, and this could be leading to that time when women will be given the option to 'try their baby out' for a week before deciding whether or not to keep it or return it to the surgeons for ‘termination.’ " • That may sound ludicrous -- but how many millions of European Jews stayed in Nazi Germany in the 1930s because they thought the Holocaust could never happen?? • Vermont, Rhode Island, and New Mexico seem on the verge of joining the infanticide trend that NY Governor Cuomo started. They are tolling the death knell for America with this abomination. We must act now to put out this fire of infanticide-cloaked-as abortion. David Martin says it : "A great nation does not allow the enemy to murder its people, no more than it allows revolutionaries to break through its borders....Mr. President. This all-important endeavor of seeing to the life and safety of our country must begin with the unborn." • America has finally arrived at its critical crossroads. We conservatives, we Republicans, we Christians, we Americans will fight back and defeat infanticide, and its particularly pernicious effect on Black Americans, or we will give up and allow America to be murdered along with its newborn babies.

From the Super Bowl to the State of the Union Address, via the Southern Border

THE DAY AFTER SUPER BOWL LIII AND THE DAY BEFORE THE STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS. The easy part first. • • • SUPER BOWL LIII. It was for me a poor showing on both sides of the line. Offhand, I can think of 4 or 5 teams that would have made this a better Super Bowl...New Orleans, who should have been there but for the wildly wrong referee call late in the Rams-NO playoff game; Kansas City; Philadelphia; Baltimore...and my Forever Steelers. • Another better choice would have been to draw a random team from the AFC and NFC and lett hem play Super Bowl LIII. It could not have been worse than what we say last night. The French commentators on my TV finally found the right words for the Rams offense -- O la la la la la la. Just to put this into perspective -- the Rams punter on 3d downs had more yards in the first half than the Rams offense. • Not only were the Super Bowl LIII ratings by far the worst in NFL history, the poor numbers reflect a downward trend in the big game’s television numbers, that stretches back to 2015. The last five super Bowl overnight ratings are: 2019: 44.9 (Pats-Rams, CBS) 2018: 47.4 (Eagles-Pats, NBC) 2017: 48.8 (Pats-Falcons, Fox) 2016: 49.0 (Broncos-Panthers, CBS) 2015: 49.7 (Pats-Seahawks, 49.7). • The Fox News headline read "SUPER PATRIOTS, NOT-SO-SUPER BOWL" : The New England Patriots broke one record and tied another by beating the Los Angeles Rams 13-3, to win the lowest-scoring Super Bowl in history, and match the Pittsburgh Steelers as the NFL's only six-time Lombardi Trophy winners.... The matchup shattered the record of lowest-scoring Super Bowl to date : Super Bowl VII, when the Miami Dolphins beat the Washington Redskins by a score of 14–7 in January 1973. New England rookie running back Sony Michel scored on a 2-yard run with roughly 7 minutes remaining to give the Patriots a 10-3 lead over the Rams. Kicker Stephen Gostkowski later added a field goal late in the fourth quarter to close out the scoring." • CBS Sports said : "Patriots 13, Rams 3. Super Bowl LIII broke the record for the lowest-scoring game in Super Bowl history and it wound up being a defensive struggle few expected. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick pulled off their sixth Super Bowl title together and Julian Edelman added another chapter to his postseason legacy. Brady, playing in a record ninth Super Bowl, became the oldest quarterback to win it all at 41, and Edelman, who was named MVP, passed Michael Irvin and moved into second place in all-time receiving yards behind Jerry Rice. It just seems like the Patriots just somehow find a way to win these games year after year, and it was no different on Sunday. Was the moment too big for Jared Goff, Todd Gurley and the Rams, or was New England's defense too much? The Patriots turned back the clock with a gritty, old-school defensive masterpiece to ground the high-flying Rams on Sunday, setting a record for the lowest-scoring game in Super Bowl history. Brady's first pass was intercepted, but it did not matter. He connected with his top target Julian Edelman 10 times for 141 yards, which was enough to earn the wideout MVP honors....Tom Brady, 41, promised before the Super Bowl that he plans to keep playing, and he reiterated that after the game on the field to CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson immediately after winning his sixth title, telling her this doesn't change anything on when he wants to retire. Brady wants to play until he's 45....There aren't many coaches in the NFL who will admit that the other coach was just better, but that's what 33-year-old Sean McVay did following the Rams' 13-3 loss to the Patriots in Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta. McVay, the youngest coach to reach a Super Bowl, entered Sunday's game with the second-highest scoring offense in the league and only came away with three points, which matches a record for fewest points scored in a Super Bowl game. • MY LAST WORD? Actually two last words. My personal MVP award goes to Jared Goff, who deserves enormous admiration for standing in the weak Rams pocket all night trying to find his totally covered receivers while taking unbelievable punishment from the Patriots line -- it was the most guts shown in SB LIII. • MY REAL LAST WORD goes to Gladys Knight's national anthem. It was brilliant and unadorned singing from an enormously talented lady who, as she always does, showed class, calm, and love during a week of unkind hits because of her decision to sing at SB LIII and because of her Christian faith. The worst came from CNN's Don Lemon : "Numerous performers declined to sing at the Super Bowl this year...How do you respond to that? Gladys Knight : About what they’re thinking? People are going to have their opinions about whatever. And all I can deal with right now is what my heart says...I grew up with prayer in school, singing in school before school started. We used to sing prayer in school before school started. And we just don’t have that anymore. And I’m just hoping it will be about our country, and what we are about, and about the great country that we are." Lemon fell yet another notch but Gladys Knight sang the National Anthem last night to rave reviews. and on Monday, she proved her class again : "Thank you for allowing me this moment to honor our great nation! #SBLlll ❤️🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/VWRC2eOpW2" — Gladys Knight (@MsGladysKnight) February 4, 2019. • God bless Gladys Knight ! • • • THE STATE OF THE UNION AND THE WALL. Fox News First wrote on Monday : "With the official White House theme for speech being 'Choosing Greatness,' the president is expected to strike a more conciliatory tone and emphasize unity in his State of the Union address. But he is clearly not backing down from his demand for funding for a border wall. The government is currently funded through February 15 but could be shut down again if a bipartisan group of lawmakers doesn't reach an agreement over a budget, with the border wall a clear sticking point. Both Democrats and Republicans -- Trump and Pelosi -- remain far apart on that issue. President Trump has repeatedly suggested he will call a national emergency if Congress does not provide funding for a wall. In a wide-ranging interview before the Super Bowl and ahead of Tuesday's State of the Union address, President Trump vowed to win the partisan battle over his long-promised border wall and said Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is 'very bad for our country' and 'doesn't mind human trafficking' at the border...'I think that she was very rigid -- which I would expect -- but I think she is very bad for our country,' Trump said. 'She knows that you need a barrier. She knows that we need border security. She wanted to win a political point.' " • • • MORE US TROOPS ORDERED TO THE BORDER. Newsmax reported on Sunday that the Pentagon is sending 3,750 more troops to the southwest border, as migrants from Honduras and El Salvador continue to cross the bridge over the Suchiate River on the border between Guatemala and Mexico, in Tecun Uman, Guatemala. Newsmax also reported that the Pentagon said Sunday that the 3,750 troops will put up another 150 miles of concertina wire and provide other support for Customs and Border Protection. The additions will bring the total number of active-duty troops on the border to 4,350. News max said : "The announcement is in line with what Acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan had said on Tuesday when he provided estimates for the next phase of a military mission that has grown in size and length....Shanahan said on Tuesday that several thousand more troops would be sent mainly to install additional wire barriers and provide a large new system of mobile surveillance and monitoring of the border area. Sunday's announcement said the mobile surveillance mission would last through September 30." While members of Congress, such as Representative Adam Smith, the Washington state Democrat who is now chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, have questioned the Pentagon border mission, suggesting that it is 'distracting troops from their main work of fighting extremists abroad and training for combat,' Vice Admiral Mike Gilday, the director of operations for the Joint Staff, told the panel that he does not believe military readiness has been significantly affected. He said some units have missed training opportunities because of the deployment and others have seen less time at home between deployments than the military likes to provide. But he said there is an effort to rotate service members in and out of the mission every six to eight weeks in order to minimize any impact." • The Democrats are engaging in more partisan anti-Trump politics by refusing to admit that the southern border needs to be secure. • • • PRESIDENT TRUMP IS WINNING THE BORDER WAR. Fox News reported last week that 72% in a new Hill-HarrisX poll think President Trump and Congress will fail to reach border deal. Only 28% of those surveyed think President Trump and Congress will reach a deal on border security by February 15. • Last week, the President tweeted : “If the committee of Republicans and Democrats now meeting on Border Security is not discussing or contemplating a Wall or Physical Barrier, they are Wasting their time!” President Trump agreed to end the partial shutdown by signing a measure that will put off another shutdown until February 16 -- and 38% of those surveyed said that they think the government will shut down again. Another 34% said they believe President Trump will ultimately declare a national emergency to get the funds for his wall, a possibility the President mentioned numerous times during the shutdown. • While the President was often seen as losing the political battle over the shutdown given polls that showed more people blamed him for the closure than Democrats, just 23% of those polled believed President Trump ended the shutdown because he thought the public was blaming Republicans for it. Nearly half of those polled, 47%, said they think that Trump agreed to the continuing resolution to reopen the government because he realized that the government closure was hurting the country and federal employees. And, 30% said they believed Trump had re-opened the government because Speaker Nancy Pelosi had made clear she would not deal with him until the shutdown had ended." • According to a new poll conducted by NBC and the Wall Street Journal, Speaker Pelosi lost the good opinion of the public during the latest battle with President Trump. The Wall Street Journal stated : "Nancy Pelosi, who has gained new powers to oppose Mr. Trump through her role as House Speaker, had a 28% approval rating, well below Mr. Trump’s and unchanged since last month. Her disapproval rating grew to 47% from 41% the month before." And on the President, the WSJ said : "President Trump’s standing among Americans remained effectively unchanged even as he presided over the longest partial government shutdown in US history, the latest example of how his unusual brand of politics has resonated with a strong core of supporters. Mr. Trump’s approval rating was at 43% in a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, with 54% disapproving of his job performance. That was the same mark as in a December survey taken 10 days before the start of the shutdown. The latest survey was conducted over a four-day period that ended January 23, two days before Mr. Trump backed off his demand for border wall funding in what was widely viewed as a victory for congressional Democrats. In 2013, more Americans blamed the GOP lawmakers leading Congress than then-President Barack Obama, just as they did in the three shutdowns during President Bill Clinton’s time in office. While the President has displayed remarkable resilience -- his approval rating has never been more than 4 percentage points higher than his current mark, or 5 percentage points lower -- there has been an erosion in Americans’ views of how equipped Mr. Trump is for the job. Americans still give Mr. Trump positive marks on the economy. Some 51% in the new survey approved of his handling of the economy, with 45% disapproving." • How bad is Speaker Pelosi's standing with Americans? Legal Insurrection reports : "A White House website 'We the People' petition declaring 'IMPEACH Pelosi for treason!' has surpassed the '100,000 signatures in 30 days' requirement to trigger an official response from the White House. The 'Nancy Pelosi is a TRAITOR to the American People!' petition, created by a person identified only as 'M.G.' was created on January 18, 2019. Twelve days later, as of January 30, the petition had garnered more than 130,000 signatures -- enough to earn a response, the website says : 'Needs 0 signatures by February 17, 2019 to get a response from the White House.' The petition argues that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is a traitor to the United States because she provides support to its 'enemies' -- illegal immigrants -- by opposing border wall funding and by supporting sanctuary cities and tax- funded benefits for illegal aliens : 'Nancy Pelosi is a TRAITOR to the American People! The Constitution defines, 'Treason against the US....adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.' Illegal aliens are enemies that invade our country with drugs, human trafficking, and terrorist causing death and crime to American citizens. Nancy Pelosi adheres to these enemies by voting for and providing them aid and comfort through Sanctuary policies funded by US citizen tax dollars, and refuses to protect American people by refusing to fund our border wall, leaving our borders open and unsafe. Pelosi refused to meet with Angel families, caused the government shut down then traveled on US dollars to Hawaii and Puerto Rico while 800,000 Fed workers don't get paid, and uninvited Trump for SOTU. IMPEACH Pelosi for treason!' " • There is a lot of anger in America about the Pelosi-led Democrat refusal to even discuss border security that includes a physical barrier component. • The Daily Caller wrote last week that prior to the lengthy partial government shutdown : "Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer seemed to have complete control over the members of his party, even those who had expressed support for the wall during election campaigns. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi -- then the House minority leader -- promised that she would not appropriate a single dollar to the wall, despite Trump’s promise of a shutdown if he did not receive $5.7 billion to build on the border. But a number of rank and file Democrats have since said that they support a physical barrier in concert with other border security measures, perhaps due to pressure from the extended shutdown and a desire to prevent another one. Freshman California Representative Katie Hill, Washington Representative Adam Smith, and Illinois Representative Cheri Bustos have all conceded that fencing in certain areas is something that they are not reflexively opposed to. Virginia Representative Elaine Luria, along with 30 other members, urged Speaker Pelosi to make a deal with Trump in a letter last week and offered perhaps the most accurate view of Trump’s border proposal by Democrats yet. Luria said : 'He’s not talking about a wall from sea to shining sea. That is not what we are talking about. We are talking about physical barriers as recommended by experts.' New Hampshire Senator Maggie Hassan told CNN... : 'We all pledged to work in good faith to find common ground on border security. That’s what I’m committed to doing, and I think that really starts with making sure we’re listening to the experts on the front lines on this, and that may include strategic fencing in certain places.' But even high-ranking Pelosi loyalists are now publicly signaling that they might be open to a deal with the President. Virginia Sen. Mark Warner claimed during an NPR radio interview [last] Tuesday morning that the White House is not negotiating in 'good faith' over border security. When pressed on why Democrats haven’t moved from their initial negotiating position, Warner claimed he supported physical barriers all along. 'No, listen, I’ve said repeatedly that increased border security, even if some of that means a barrier, but it ought to be based upon the experts who know how to spend funds at the border -- not some arbitrary number picked by the President.' Warner also told Fox News last week, 'I know we’re going to have to add additional border security....We’ve got about 700 miles of existing fencing. Where folks say we need additional barrier protections, I’m all for it.' ” • BUT, Daily Caller says : "The real test of whether or not Democrats are willing to budge will come from the negotiating committee they created after the government reopened Friday night. The members of the committee include Senators Patrick Leahy, Dick Durbin and Jon Tester and Representatives Nita Lowey, Lucille Roybal-Allard, David Price, Barbara Lee, Henry Cuellar and Pete Aguilar. Unfortunately for the President, many of those congresspeople have signaled a deep unwillingness to fund anything resembling a wall. However, the increased public support for a wall from other members in their party may put pressure on the committee to be open-minded and eventually reach a deal that is favorable to both sides." • • • MIGRANTS ARE ON THE MARCH TOWARD THE SOUTHERN BORDER. Breitbart reported on January 30 : " 'Current information shows that a caravan of over 12,000 people -- there’s three that we are tracking, that the DHS is tracking en route, one that is over 12,000 by the latest estimate,' said John Rood, who is the under secretary of Defense for policy. Rood was testifying before the House Armed Services Committee. Rood said there are currently more than 2,300 active duty troops at the southern border, down from a high of 5,900 in November. But he says several thousands more active duty troops are expected to head to the border in the coming weeks, to assist the Department of Homeland Security with laying down more concertina wire, and helping to monitor the border between points of entry. Democrats, who now control the House, called Pentagon officials in to testify on President Trump’s order of active duty troops to the border in October, which they have called a political stunt by the White House before midterm election. But defense officials testified that it was the Pentagon -- not the White House -- that decided that active duty troops were able to deploy faster and were better resourced to deal with the caravans headed to the border than National Guard and reserve forces. 'That was a decision made inside the Department,' said Navy Admiral Michael Gilday, the director for operations of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Democrat lawmakers also questioned whether there was a crisis that necessitated the deployment of troops, when the number of illegal immigrants coming across the border have been higher in previous years. 'The difference is really the caravans and really the nature of the asylum seekers,' Rood said. Ranking Member Mac Thornberry (R-TX) agreed. 'One of the things that changed is that now we have thousands, and tens of thousands of migrants who are coming in caravans which we have not seen before....The days when we had a greater number of people -- but most of them were from Mexico, and you could simply put them back across the border -- are very different from these large family groups, 10, 12,000 people coming. So yes, it changed the requirements.' 'We have 42 percent increase in the number of family units. We have 60,000 unaccompanied children that were caught last year,' Representative Vicky Hartzler (R-MO) added. 'I’m a former teacher and a mom, this is a humanitarian crisis.' Representative Mike Rogers (R-AL) noted that administrations have been sending active duty troops to the US border with Mexico 'since Alamo. I’m just astounded by the fact that we continue to act stupid in Congress and fuss over things like $5.7 billion in fencing, and it cost us $11 billion dollars to shut the government down.' " • According to Rood, the projected costs for the active duty deployments by the end of January is $132 million. He said the costs for the National Guard deployment for 2018 and 2019 to amount to $550 million. But Rood said that even with the troop deployments, illegal immigrants were still coming across the border : “Just in the last three months alone, CBP reports apprehending 145,000 illegal immigrants." He said last year, there were more than 521,000 apprehensions by law enforcement, with a larger amount of people not apprehended. He said that was up from 415,000 the year before. "In the last two years alone, a larger number than the population of Washington, DC, have been apprehended, or a city the size of San Francisco, apprehensions in two years." • Representatives Hartzler and Mo Brooks (R-AL) noted that there is existing authority the administration could use to have the military build a border barrier without declaring a national emergency, through Section 284 of Title 10 of the United States Code. “Congress has actually given the DOD the ability to provide military support to law enforcement agencies specifically for countering the counter-drug purposes. Section 284 of Title 10 of the United States Code authorizes the DOD to provide support to counter drug activities to control the transnational organized crime,” Hartzler said. "The law clearly identifies various activities that DOD is authorized to conduct including the construction of road and construction of fences. Light installation along smuggling corridors, aerial, ground reconnaissance and transportation." • Rood responded that Hartzler was correct : “As you correctly point out, Section 284 of Title 10 does provide the secretary of defense the authority in performance of that counter drug mission such as blocking drug smuggling corridors to erect barriers, fencing, provide road construction things of that nature to aid in that counternarcotics mission. We have already given the authority to do this and we have a very critical mission to keep people safe and make sure that people don’t die as a result of these transnational drug cartel activity and currently they are." "So it’s imperative for us to find a solution, and I’m very hopeful that in the next three weeks we can come together in a bipartisan fashion,” Hartzler added. • Representative Brooks also pressed Rood on whether the Pentagon would carry out an order by Trump to build necessary barriers if he ordered them to pursuant to Section 284 without declaring a national emergency. Rood answered : “If we judge it to be a lawful order, yes sir, and I assume it would be.” • • • MEXICO GRANTS MIGRANTS HUMANITARIAN VISAS. And that is also swelling the nulbers coming from Central America. Breitbart reported : "The one-year humanitarian visas, promised by Mexico’s new President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, is a newly adopted policy which allows migrants to legally travel and work during their stay in Mexico. The new policy of handing out humanitarian visas began on January 17 in response to the new caravan of primarily Honduran migrants who left their home country and headed towards the Mexican border on January 15. Officials originally estimated the caravan’s size at about 2,000. Mexico now claims the caravan’s population swelled to over 12,000 migrants, according to local media and Breitbart Texas sources. Officials put the new visa policy from President López Obrador in place to deal with caravan migrants as an attempt to prevent them from traveling unaccounted for throughout Mexico. Officials say it will also prevent the caravan members from having to illegally enter Mexico from Guatemala by crossing the Suchiate river. Migrants now entering Mexico can do so by arriving at an established border crossing and applying for the humanitarian visa with Mexican immigration officials. Immigration officials explain the process will be expedited to avoid a bottleneck at the border. Although the Mexican government is encouraging members of the caravan to remain in Mexico to work, it is believed that most of the Central American migrants intend to head to the US border and attempt to cross into the United States. The new humanitarian visa policy is now believed to be responsible for the surge in the number of migrants who decided to join the caravan. Immigration officials hope the streamlined visa process will reduce processing time to five days instead of the month or longer. It is believed that many of the migrants will be able to seek out temporary work while waiting at the US border for asylum requests to be processed. Many are expected to decide to attempt to cross illegally into the United States." • Breitbart Texas recently reported that the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials say an increase in the number of large group border crossings led to the apprehension of nearly 9,000 in a small part of the Arizona border during the first part of Fiscal Year 2019. CBP officials reported that at least 26 other large groups of mostly Central American migrants crossed in a small part of the New Mexico border. Border Patrol officials define a “large group” as more than 100 migrants. Breitbart says : "It is currently unknown if this new caravan will travel northward in mass as the previous ones have done. Earlier caravans traveled in a large group in order to avoid being arrested and for protection. With the new visa’s allowing them to work and travel freely, it is believed that the caravan may break up into smaller groups according to local Breitbart sources. Although the new caravan is made up of primarily Hondurans, officials report Guatemalans, Salvadorans, and Nicaraguans are also traveling with the group. Earlier this week, the border city of Tijuana, where previous migrant caravans arrived, reported the arrival on 100 Russian migrants who were seeking an asylum request to enter the United States." • • • BARRIERS WORK. The Patriot Post reported on January 30 that Democrats "hate the effectiveness of border barriers....Democrats led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has called a border wall 'an immorality between nations' and denies evidence that a barrier would increase border security by decreasing the number of illegal crossings into the United States....The need for new and improved barriers along some parts of the border is in the news almost daily. Take, for example, the events of January 24 near Lukeville, Arizona, in the Tucson Sector of the border. Even though there is a six-lane crossing at Lukeville, migrants seek to enter the United States illegally in nearby areas that have ineffective fencing. Thus, on the 24th, Border Patrol agents found a large group -- 242 people, most from Central America -- who illegally crossed the border west of Lukeville. 'Agents discovered the group after they crawled over and under the crude vehicle barrier separating the United States from Mexico,' the Border Patrol said in a press release. Just a week earlier, a group of 84 migrants arrived nearby in a tour bus, and then crawled under the fence into the United States, where they were taken into custody by Border Patrol agents. On December 19-20, in nearly the same place, the Border Patrol apprehended 306 Central American migrants crossing illegally into the US. Clearly, the fencing in that part of the Tucson Sector is not working." The Patriot Post says : "The vehicle fencing did nothing to stop recent crossings near Lukeville and in other places on the border. In addition, some of the pedestrian fencing is easy to breach because it is old, falling apart and was never that imposing in the first place. The Trump administration seeks to do three things : 1. Replace some ineffective pedestrian fence; 2. Replace current vehicle fence with new pedestrian fence; and 3. Build new pedestrian fence in some currently unfenced areas. The construction of barriers dramatically reduces illegal border crossing attempts. Looking at the Yuma Sector along the border in western Arizona, in 2005, before the construction of barriers, the Border Patrol caught 138,438 illegal crossers, according to figures compiled by the Center for Immigration Studies, which favors greater restrictions on immigration. Last year, with barriers, there were 26,244 such apprehensions in the Yuma Sector. The San Diego Sector in California is a case study in the effectiveness of a border barrier. In 1986, before the construction of a barrier, there were more than 628,000 apprehensions, while untold numbers of others successfully made it across the border illegally. In 2017, after the construction of extensive barriers, there were 26,086 apprehensions, according to the Border Patrol. Would anyone argue that border barriers had nothing to do with those striking before-and-after reductions? And, given what is happening in the Tucson Sector and other places today, would anyone argue that new, more daunting barriers such as the Trump administration proposes would not reduce the number of illegal crossings?" • • • DEAR READERS, we will see what President Trump has to say on Tuesday evening when he delivers the State of the Union address, but one fact is indisputable -- border barriers work. Yet some Democrats, led by the Speaker Pelosi, deny that fact and insist that new and better barriers wouldn't increase border security. Other prominent Democrats, such as recently declared presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris of California, have called the Trump barrier proposal a "medieval vanity project." But, other Democrats seem more willing to take a fact-based approach. Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, a member of the Democratic leadership, said recently : "In the past, we have supported...enhanced fencing,"And I think that's something that's reasonable that should be on the table." AND, even in the ultra- Progressive state of California, there are some reasonable voices. In an op-ed published in TheHill, Representative Tom McClintock, a California Republican, urged President Trump to recognize Democrat Party obstruction in Congress for what it is, realize that Nancy Pelosi and her thugs are never going to pony up the funds for the wall, and go back to the considered-and-discarded idea of declaring a national emergency. Not for the sake of a political victory, McClintock wrote, but for the fact that is actually IS a national emergency at the border. Here is an excerpt form Representative McClintock's op-ed : "Walls have been used for thousands of years to impede unauthorized entry, and for one reason : They work. And they still work. When Israel built a 144-mile wall to protect its southern border with Egypt, illegal immigration fell 97%. The $5.7 billion that Trump has requested to build a wall first authorized in 1996 is a fraction of the cost incurred by American citizens every year to support the illegal population in this country....The impasse cannot go on much longer, and the President cannot unilaterally appropriate funds for the wall. But in 1976, Congress authorized the President to reprogram already appropriated but unobligated military construction funds for the defense of the nation. And what is more central to national defense than the integrity of our borders?....Some have argued that the money to secure our southern border would necessarily come from other Defense Department projects. It’s an odd logic that argues the defense of the Iraqi border is more important than the defense of our own border.” • Do even some Republicans oppose President Trump’s option to declare a national emergency because they’re concerned about other Pentagon projects. Not likely. Like Democrats, these Republicans know that it would actually work. It would actually go a long way towards solving the problem of illegal immigration, which is the LAST thing many Republicans want to do -- sadly, their motive is the low-cost labor these poor and often trapped and misused illegal immigrants provide once in the US. That is simply disgusting. These Republicans have no place in the Grand Old Party of Lincoln. The President’s most important priority is the safety and security of the nation. He must and will build the wall, or barriers -- you choose the word. And, in doing it, President Trump would be living up to the very highest duty of his office. And, very likely, securing for himself re-election in the process. Consider this from American Thinker : "While President Trump is correct to remain committed to building a border barrier and has asked all Cabinet agencies for wall funding, he can fund the entire barrier without having to declare a national emergency. Instead, he can draw full funding for a complete border barrier from unobligated balances. Unobligated balances 'are the amounts of budget authority that have not yet been committed by contract or other legally binding action by the government.' Former Senator Tom Coburn described unobligated balances as 'essentially money for nothing.' While in 2012 there was an estimated $687 billion in unobligated balances, unobligated balances in federal and trust funds in FY 2019 is estimated to be a whopping $1,156 ,136,000,000. This plan works on multiple levels. Not only will it finally pay for the border wall, but it will also be impossible for Democrats to stop it. A President using unobligated funds to finance a project is hardly unprecedented. President Johnson used it to fund his Great Society, while Nixon dipped into it to fund the Vietnam War. The Bush’s also used these funds to help pay for the Iraq War. Far too often these funds are simply returned to the Treasury or are used on projects that don’t have noticeable benefits for Americans. Shouldn’t this money be used for something that will protect us here at home? And using unobligated funds to pay for the wall wouldn’t require the approval of Congress. He just needs to have the Treasury reclaim that money, and then he can use a portion of the $2 trillion sitting unused in federal and trust funds." • Speaker Pelosi thinks border barriers are "immoral," and she won't support voter ID to prevent illegals from voting. There's a cynical logic in her ProgDem position. • BUILD THE WALL, MR. PRESIDENT.

Republicans -- for the Love of God's Creation, Speak Out Against the Democrat Racist Agenda of Infanticide

DOES ANYONE REALLY KNOW WHO AND WHAT DEMOCRAT GOVERNOR RALPH NORTHAM IS?? We take a look. But, first -- SPRING IS ON THE WAY. I know you've all been waiting breathlessly to find out what Pennsylvania's own -- and the ONLY real animal-world weather prognosticator -- Punxsutawney Phil had to say about Spring Saturday morning. Well, breathe easy. Here is my sister's report : "Phil just said, 'My shadow I did not see, so Spring is on the way.' Phil has been doing this since 1887 and this is only the 19th time he did not see his shadow. Way to go Phil!" I really hope this applies to Europe, too. AND, Groundhog Day always falls on the same day as Candlemas, February 2. Candlemas -- The End of Christmas. After both Christmas and the season of Epiphany, the end of the Christmas celebrations come on February 2nd, 40 days after Christmas, with Candlemas. It's called Chandeleur in French. All over Europe today, people celebrate the Purification of the baby Jesus in the temple at Jerusalem 40 days after his birth, the Jewish ritual after childbirth and for the firstborn son -- by serving crepes and pancakes -- any grain-based food. I had pancakes and bacon for supper on Saturday. If you missed it, you can still have pancakes or crepes to celebrate Candlemas. The festival is called Candlemas beacuse this was the day that all the Church's candles for the year were blessed. • Blessing newborn babies brings us joltingly back to Governor Northam. • • • NROTHAM IS A DEMOCRAT -- BUT CNN LABELED HIM (R). BizPac Review reported it on Saturday : "As CNN host Anderson Cooper reported the governor’s apology to his relatively small viewer base Friday evening, a chyron appeared at the bottom of the screen. That chyron read as follows : “Gov. Ralph Northam (R) Virginia.” Ladies and gentlemen, this is CNN : This subtle manipulation of the facts by CNN, which distorts the truth on a daily basis, triggered almost as much outrage as Northam’s photos for the simple fact that the far-left network controls so much of the airways. It is, as noted by Fox News, the only news network airing at every airport in America." • Here is some of the backlash -- "This is disgusting. All day I’ve seen Democrats try to smear Republicans by mentioning “Republicans” in tweets about Ralph Northam but this is another level of manipulation. This wasn’t a mistake. @CNN wants to subconsciously make viewers blame a Democrat’s racism on Republicans. https://t.co/DHK67EhgCS" /// "CNN labels bigoted, racist Democrat Governor Ralph Northam a ***REPUBLICAN*** CNN is propaganda for the Left. pic.twitter.com/j75iTtnHIU" /// "When you think CNN can’t go any lower, they run the Democrat Ralph Northam story saying he was a REPUBLICAN. They need another name other than fake news. Let’s call them what they are. LIARS!" /// "This is what Democrats do, re-write history. It’s no mistake @CNN is now falsely labeling infanticide, black face/KKK Ralph Northam a Republican. Nothing new. pic.twitter.com/U4trERRMrd" • • • NORTHAM : "I AM NOT A RACIST -- AND I WASN'T IN THAT PHOTO." Fox News wrote on Saturday that : "Embattled Virginia Governor Ralph Northam told at least one fellow Democrat Saturday that he was not in a racist 1984 yearbook photo of two men dressed in blackface and a Ku Klux Klan outfit -- despite admitting he was in the picture a day earlier -- and that he does not intend to resign, a dramatic twist in the face of mounting calls from members of his own party for him to step down. Virginia State Senator Louise Lucas' office told Fox News that Northam reached out to her to say that he is not in the photograph and that he would not be resigning. That came after the Virginia Democratic Party tweeted that it had received word that Northam would not be resigning over the photo as they believed he should." • If that sounds a lot like "I did not have sex with that woman," that's because it is very similar. Democrat President Clinton used the 'deny everything' tactic to save his skin and presidency. Governor Northam is noy trying the same tactic. • Fox News says : "The New York Times reported that Northam had spoken to multiple state Democrats, and had also been calling former classmates at Eastern Virginia Medical School to get more information about the picture. The photo, on Northam's page and showing the two men in racist garb, was first published by Big League Politics Friday. Fox News obtained a copy of 1984 yearbook page from the Eastern Virginia Medical School library in Norfolk. On Friday, Northam released a statement initially saying that the photo was of him -- although he did not say which man was him. He apologized in both the statement and a later video statement, calling the photo 'racist and offensive,' but vowed to continue in office despite the increasing pressure for him to step down. 'Earlier today, a website published a photograph of me from my 1984 medical school yearbook in a costume that is clearly racist and offensive,' he said. 'I am deeply sorry for the decision I made to appear as I did in this photo and for the hurt that decision caused then and now.' " This video is available at < https://twitter.com/GovernorVA/status/1091510484468146176 >. Governor Northam said in the video : "My fellow Virginians, earlier today I released a statement apologizing for behavior in my past that falls far short of the standard you set for me when you elected me to be your governor. I believe you deserve to hear directly from me." He said in the video that he has spent the last year as governor fighting for a Virginia “that works better for all people” and added : “I am committed to continuing that fight through the remainder of my term and living up to the expectations you set for me when you elected me to serve.” • But Democrats both in Virginia and nationally lined up to call for Northam to resign. On Saturday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on Northam to "do the right thing" and called the photo "racist and contrary to fundamental American values." Former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, another Democrat, tweeted : "This has been a heartbreaking day. Ralph Northam is my friend and he served well as my Lt. Governor and as Governor. His actions on display in this photo were racist, unacceptable and inexcusable at any age and any time....The situation that he has put himself and the Commonwealth of Virginia in is untenable. It's time for Ralph to step down, and for the Commonwealth to move forward." The Virginia Legislative Black Caucus said in a statement that the yearbook photos “rip the scabs of an excruciatingly painful history and are a piercing reminder of this nation’s sins. Those who would excuse the pictures are just as culpable.” The group said it felt betrayed by Friday's revelation and said the legacy of "slavery, racism, and Jim Crow has been an albatross around the necks of African Americans for over 400 years." • Democrat 2020 presidential wannabes also called for Northam to step aside. Cory Booker tweeted : "These images arouse centuries of anger, anguish, and racist violence and they’ve eroded all confidence in Gov. Northam’s ability to lead. We should expect more from our elected officials. He should resign." Kirsten Gillibrand tweeted : "There aren’t two sets of rules for our friends and our foes : Right is right and wrong is wrong. Americans deserve to be respected by their leaders, and racism cannot be excused in our government or anywhere else. Having seen the photo, I believe Governor Northam should resign." Senator Kamala Harris tweeted : "Leaders are called to a higher standard, and the stain of racism should have no place in the halls of government. The Governor of Virginia should step aside so the public can heal and move forward together.” Former Vice President Joe Biden, also considering a 2020 run, tweeted : "There is no place for racism in America. Governor Northam has lost all moral authority and should resign immediately, Justin Fairfax is the leader Virginia needs now." • Virginia GOP Chairman Jack Wilson saying his pledge to fix the damage wasn’t enough. Wilson told CNN : “It’s not enough, it’s not acceptable and clearly we cannot establish a double standard. If this were a Republican governor, the calls for his resignation would be fast and furious and widespread. He just basically lost the moral ability to lead the Commonwealth and so he should resign for the good of the Commonwealth.” On Friday, Virginia’s Republican Party said that the picture was “unforgivable” and made reference to the abortion controversy, with a tweet : "What Ralph Northam did was unforgivable. Given his statements on the right to life coupled with the most recent revelations, he has lost the moral authority to continue to govern and should resign immediately." • • • NORTHAM ALSO SEEMS TO FAVOR INFANTICIDE. The calls for Northam's resignation based on his racist medical school yearbook came a day after Northam sparked outrage -- but no noticeable calls for his resignation -- with his comments about a controversial abortion bill that one sponsor had said this week could allow women to terminate a pregnancy up until the moment before birth. Northam, a former pediatric neurologist, was asked about those comments and said that third-trimester abortions are done with “the consent of obviously the mother, with consent of the physician, multiple physicians by the way, and it’s done in cases where there may be severe deformities or there may be a fetus that’s not viable. So in this particular example if a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen, the infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother.” While the intent of Governor Northam's comments was not clear, conservqtive commentators and lawmakers took the remarks to mean he was discussing the possibility of letting a newborn die -- or even killing it outright. Northam pushed back, with his office saying his comments were limited to actions physicians may take in the case of “tragic or difficult circumstances” such as a non-viable pregnancy or “severe fetal abnormalities.” He later tweeted: I have devoted my life to caring for children and any insinuation otherwise is shameful and disgusting.” • Here is what Canada Free Press had to say about that : "We’ve finally regressed to the Nazi T-4 Program in all but name. You know, where we get to murder all 'life unworthy of life.' That was the Nazi line which ok’d doctors to sign off on mental illness, chronic alcoholics, folks with gross anatomical abnormalities, folks with incurable diseases, people with STDs, babies with birth defects, babies afflicted with hydro- and macro- cephaly, babies with Down’s syndrome, and send them to places like Bernburg, Brandenburg, Grafeneck, Hadamar, Hartheim, and Sonnenstein." • The Democrat Party did not seem to think about this -- or do the Democrat elites brush off the burgeoning infanticide laws in Democrat-controlled states as an inconvenience?? AND, where are the national Black leaders calling these creeping abortion-to-delivery laws for what they are -- the massive murder of Black Americans' babies. • • • ACT THREE -- I AM NOT IN THAT PHOTO. Northam's Act One was 'I am deeply sorry for being in that photo.' His Act Two was ' I don't know which person I am in the photo.' • Now comes ACT THREE -- 'I'm not in the photo.' TheHill reported that Governor Northam denied Saturday he had any prior knowledge of the racist picture that appeared on his medical school yearbook page and rejected bipartisan calls for his resignation. At a Saturday press conference, Northam said : “I am not and will not excuse the content of the photo. It was offensive, racist and despicable. When my staff showed me the photo in question yesterday, I was seeing it for the first time. I did not purchase the [Eastern Virginia Medical School] yearbook and I was unaware of what was on my page....When I was confronted with the images yesterday, I was appalled that they appeared on my page, but I believed then and now that I am not either of the people in that photo....I recognize that many people will find this difficult to believe. The photo appears with others I submitted in a page with my name on it. Even in my own statement yesterday I conceded that based on the evidence presented to me at the time, the most likely explanation that it was indeed me in the photo. In the hours since I made my statement yesterday, I reflected with my family and classmates and affirmed my conclusion that I am not the person in that photo.” • During the 40-minute press conference, Northam calmly rejected the pleas for him to leave office, suggesting doing so would be the easy way out : “If I were to listen to the voices calling on me to resign my office today, I could spare myself from the difficult path that lies ahead. I can avoid an honest conversation about harmful actions from my past. I cannot in good conscious choose the path that would be easier for me in an attempt to duck my responsibility to reconcile. I took an oath to uphold this office and serve the people of this commonwealth to the best of my ability. As long as I believe I can effectively fill that task, I intend to continue doing the business of Virginia.” • While denying he appeared in the photograph in question, the Governor admitted past mistakes he said were racially insensitive, including darkening his face as part of a Michael Jackson costume for a dance competition. Northam also addressed the nickname “coonman,” which appeared below his image in the yearbook, saying it was bestowed upon him by two older students whose “motives or intent” he did not know. Northam put some of the blame on the incidents on “the place and time that I grew up,” suggesting that such practices were “commonplace” in 1984. But former Governor Douglas Wilder, a Democrat, would be elected lieutenant governor just two years later, becoming the first Black statewide elected official in Virginia’s history. • Shortly after the press conference concluded, Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez released a statement doubling down on calls for Northam to leave office : “His past actions are completely antithetical to everything the Democratic Party stands for. Virginians and people across the country deserve better from their leaders, and it is clear that Ralph Northam has lost their trust and his ability to govern. It’s time for Ralph Northam to step aside and let Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax serve Virginians as their next governor.” BUT, Lieutenant Governor Fairfax did not appear to have any desire, at least publicly, to supplant Northam, saying in a statement he was “glad” the governor apologized : “The Governor needed to apologize, and I am glad that he did so. He also reached out to me personally to express his sincere regrets and to apologize. I have worked closely with Ralph Northam over many years. He has been a friend to me and has treated my family and me with hospitality and respect. At this critical and defining moment in the history of Virginia and this nation, we need leaders with the ability to unite and help us rise to the better angels of our nature. I remain committed to serving and helping to heal the Commonwealth moving forward. Now more than ever, we must make decisions in the best interests of the people of the Commonwealth of Virginia.” • • • VIRGINIA DELEGATE TRAN HAS "SAFETY CONCERNS." BizPac Review reports that : "Democratic state lawmakers had to table the event in Lorton on Saturday which was to have constituents meet with state senators Scott Surovell and George Barker as well as Delegate Kathy Tran, a co-sponsor of Virginia’s Repeal Act, a bill that sought to loosen restrictions on third-trimester abortions, Fox News reported. 'Unfortunately, we are postponing our joint legislative town hall meeting scheduled for Saturday, February 2 due to security and safety concerns for our constituents who planned to attend as well as participants coming to youth sports activities at South County High School,' Tran wrote in a post on Facebook. 'We value talking to constituents about their concerns for our community and how we can help address them,' the first-term delegate from Fairfax County continued. 'We had looked forward to continuing this dialogue and sharing legislative updates this weekend. While we are very disappointed to have to make this decision, the safety of our neighbors and constituents is paramount. We will update our constituents once our town hall is rescheduled. We will continue to make ourselves available to hear our constituents’ priorities, including those with differing opinions.” • Virginia Democrat Governor Northam stepped into the mess as well, commenting on Tran’s bill while appearing to suggest leaving babies to die even after birth. • The online comments were many -- "We only heard what you said, which is that you’d allow babies to be killed while the mother is going into labor, and it only goes further downhill from there. Honestly, do you people not know the controversy is stemming from VIDEO OF YOU SAYING THESE THINGS?" /// "There is no medical condition in a mother or unborn baby that necessitates a late term abortion. Anytime a Democrat claims 'health of the mother' as a reason to support late term abortion... they’re lying." /// "Sorry. Your bill speaks for itself. This time, we didn't have to pass the bill to find out what was in it." /// "Kathy Tran's defense to this video will now be--Who are you going to believe, me, or your lying eyes and ears?" /// "The extremists on the Left conveniently change their tune when there's a backlash. But the agenda remains the same." • • • UNCLE JOE BIDEN MAY BE IN RACIST TROUBLE. BizPac Review reported on Saturday that : "Former Vice President Joe Biden and a possible candidate in the next presidential election formerly argued that integration would keep Black people from fully embracing their identities and rejected busing as an attempt to desegregate schools. 'I think the concept of busing...that we are going to integrate people so that they all have the same access and they learn to grow up with one another and all the rest, is a rejection of the whole movement of black pride,' then-Senator Biden said in 1975 after facing criticism from white voters, the Washington Examiner reported Friday. Desegregation is 'a rejection of the entire Black awareness concept,' Biden said, according to the Examiner. Biden was a Delaware Senator from 1973 to 2009." • BizPAc Review compares these statements to those Biden made during his 1972 run for Senate, when he supported the federally-mandated practice of busing. Biden previously claimed he knew segregation and busing were terrible things, but flipped-flopped on the issue following voter backlash, according to the Examiner. He described busing in his 2007 biography as a “liberal train wreck” that tore people apart in the 1970s. Biden said in September 2008 that the fight for civil rights has been a staple in his political life after he was selected as Barack Obama’s vice presidential candidate. “The struggle for civil rights was the animating political element of my life,” Biden said, according to the New York Times. • • • ARE WE SEEING THE SURFACING OF A DEMOCRAT CORE BELIEF?? A core belief that infanticide is okay and that being racist to win elections is also okay. • American Thinker's Ed Timperlake wrote on Sunday : "We see the true core beliefs of these people in the wake of Northam's medical school blackface and Ku Klux Klan photo scandal, and his even more scandalous statement defending infanticide....it's simply stupid and awful. But it seems to go beyond that, representing a historic sea change in the political landscape. First, the Governor advocated the actual murder of a baby, positioning the Democratic Party itself into that stance. That was evident from the spot-on critique of the matter from Senator Ben Sasse, a Nebraska Republican : 'This is morally repugnant,' Sasse said. 'In just a few years pro-abortion zealots went from ‘safe, legal, and rare’ to ‘keep the newborns comfortable while the doctor debates infanticide.’ I don’t care what party you’re from -- if you can’t say that it’s wrong to leave babies to die after birth, get the hell out of public office.' Yet the governor’s position on baby murder only drew the normal political theater of “blah, blah, blah” -- words of criticism without any call to resign. With no call to leave office, it was the expected normal political theater of shallow and meaningless political posturing by his fellow elected Virginia Democrats, which include Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax, and Commonwealth Attorney General Mark Herring." • BUT, then, says Timperlake : "The photos of his medical school yearbook page came out. Suddenly, everything changed. As many throughout America could see in a bumbling and soon to be amazing historic press conference, Governor Northam not only tried to walk away from his horribly racist yearbook picture, he also showed a willful blindness on his VMI nickname of 'coonman.' How could his defenders use the fact that he was a Virginia Military Academy graduate and Army doctor to defend his not resigning over the infanticide advocacy, and then pivot at light speed to call for his resignation only when the nickname and the photo came out? Senior elected officials in Virginia, and others who had previously defended Northam's integrity by referencing his being a VMI grad and Army doctor found themselves at a truth- telling moment. These Democrat hollow men came out to criticize and call for resignation because they had the picture. It was only when this picture was made public that they all changed their position. What they are now advocating is essentially : Leave, just leave, you fool, before you totally damage our party's political brand." • Ed Timperlake calls out the Northam affair for what it is : "In my opinion, the Democratic Party is the party of certitude, with a trust us, know-it-all attitude on many issues, science and medicine included. Thus, we all have to accept, in our need for medical assistance there is such a thing as an arrogant doctor. But no person in America has to accept the fact that there is such a thing as an arrogant and stupid doctor, and Dr. Northam is the new poster person for that role. So far he has violated the VMI Honor Code, by making two factually contradictory statements. First, his contradictions about the picture. It is me in the picture, and then, it is not me, and oh yes, how did it happen? Regardless of the ultimate truth, he lied, and the VMI Honor Code states : “A Cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, nor tolerate those who do.” He has disgraced his Army commission because I doubt he would have been admitted into the modern truly colorblind Army if a recruiting officer had seen the photo, even around 1984. Finally, serving as an active duty Army doc, had he killed a living, breathing, baby intentionally, he would have not had a chance to be Governor because he would still be in Leavenworth military prison. As far as calls for him to leave, who knows what he will do. If he doesn’t, the well-known ending to “The Hollow Men” may foreshadow the problem the modern Democrat Party finds itself in : "This is the way the world ends, Not with a bang but a whimper." • • • DEMOCRAT PARTY AND INFANTICIDE. Canada Free Press journalist Judi McLeod has another idea. "Call for the Immediate Resignation of Dr. Ralph Northam, American Academy of Pediatrics" is the title of her article. McLeod says : "God Almighty is the giver of all Life and Light, and no matter how hard their wicked legislation pushes for Post Birth Abortion, Governors Andrew Cuomo (New York), Ralph Northam (Virginia) and Gina Raimondo (Rhode Island) will never get away with it. Snuffing the lives of innocent little babies up to and including the moment of their birth is the monstrous act of codifying cold-blooded murder. Trying to cover up out-and-out murder with the fallacious alibi they’re doing it to protect women’s rights to reproductive health care is Progressive politics gone way too far." • Feminist ‘Catholic’ Raimondo is only the latest in the abortion-to-delivery camp. McLeod points out that Governor Raimondo wrote a January 29 letter to Chairman of the House Committee on Judiciary Robert Craven [cited in LifeSite News, February 1, 201] : “I write in strong support of House Bill 5127, which would enshrine the important provisions of Roe v. Wade in state law....I support efforts to protect Rhode Island women’s right to reproductive health care. This bill maintains the status quo in Rhode Island as it has existed for decades, but is important now in light of uncertainty about changes that may come from the Federal government.” • There have been no calls for Governor Raimondo to resign over her support for a quasi-infanticide position on abortion. • Virginia Democrat Governor Ralph Northam has said he doesn’t regret his abortion comments, calling insults directed at him “disgusting.” • No Democrat voices were raised in opposition when New York Governor Andrew Cuomo lit up the One World Trade Center -- where 3,000 innocent people lost their lives in the 9/11 terrorist attack -- in a hideous pink light to celebrate New York state's newly passed infanticide abortion law. • Progressive Democrat politicians just do not care not about babies or about infanticide -- or about the murder of unwanted newborns, for that matter. They freely attack the Right to Life Movement, but they have not been able ot stop it. The Movement increases in number by year and McLeod says it "carries an unwavering candle whose flame is impossible to gut even with all the huffing and puffing sent blowing its way. Yes, the Progressive Left, which exploded in tyranny within a month of regaining House control in Midterms 2018, is now going all out to get rid of babies in all late stage abortion, even allowing 'licensed health practitioners' in on the act. They aren’t saying that among the 'licensed health practitioners' will be money-grubbing Planned Parenthood. Bold and unrelenting as they are, this is one battle in which the Progressives are doomed to finally hit rock bottom. Keeping them in perspective means imagining them as they really are : akin to a bunch of flop house floozies trying to turn God’s millennia old World on its ear." • Meanwhile, Northam has vowed to not resign, insisting he will serve out his term. McLeod's point is this : "Only the American Academy of Pediatrics, motto of which is “Dedicated to the health of all children,” to which Northam owes accountability, can effectively bring about his his resignation. Call for the immediate resignation of Dr. Ralph Northam, fellow pediatricians. Do.it.for.the.children." • • • DEAR READERS, Where are the Republican leaders standing up to tell America that DEMOCRAT politicians are killing babies, and disproportionately Black babies. Where are the Republican leaders who are standing up to tell America that DEMOCRAT governors agree with the killing and that one of the Democrat governors even has a history of appearing in blackface when he was nicknamed "Coonman." WHERE is the GOP??? This is not politics. It is Criminal Law 101. It is infanticide. It is -- to call it by its name -- murder. And, it is accompanied to the death chambers by an overt and undiminished segregation-era racism that is as old as the Democrat Party. • For the love of God and His Creation, Republicans, speak up !!!

Has the Radicalized Democrat Party Become the Party of Death?

ABORTION RADICALIZATION INTO MURDER BECOMES REALITY. February 2 is Groundhog Day, the day when we Pennsylvanians looked to Punxsutawney Phil to tell us if winter was over. I'll be keeping an eye on the TV on Saturday for Phil's prediction, but my heart will be grieving for the misled radical Democrats who believe it is okay to kill babies being born. How did we ever fall into this black pit? The answer lies in the often- ridiculed "slippery slope" that tilts toward extreme results when the first step off the moral high ground it taken by any society. • • • NEW YORK AND VIRGINIA LEAD THE WAY DOWN THE SLIPPERY SLOPE TO MURDERING BABIES. Fox News reporter Alex Pappas wrote on Wednesday : "There is outrage as a video showing Virginia Representative Kathy Tran saying the plan would allow abortions up until the moment of birth. The abortion debate erupted anew this week after a video surfaced showing the Democratic sponsor of a Virginia abortion proposal acknowledging it could allow women to terminate a pregnancy up until the moment before birth, for reasons including mental health." • Kentucky's Republican Governor Matt Bevin tweeted : “First New York, and now a proposed Virginia bill that would legalize abortion up to the moment of birth. This is a sad commentary on the culture of death that continues to creep insidiously into the laws of our country.” • Virginia Democrat Delegate Kathy Tran is the sponsor of "The Repeal Act" that seeks to repeal restrictions on third-trimester abortions. The bill -- tabled in committee this week -- has the support of top Democrats in the state, including Governor Ralph Northam. It would remove many restrictions currently in place regarding late-term abortions, including doing away with the requirement that two other physicians certify a third-trimester abortion is necessary to prevent the woman's death or impairment of her mental or physical health. The third trimester lasts until 40 weeks. • Fox News revealed this Q&A between Todd Gilbert, the Republican House majority leader and Tran during a hearing Monday. Gilbert asked Tran if a woman who has physical signs she is about to give birth could request an abortion if a physician said it could impair her "mental health" : "Where it’s obvious that a woman is about to give birth. She has physical signs that she is about to give birth. Would that still be a point at which she could request an abortion if she was so-certified -- she’s dilating," he asked. Tran answered : “Mr. Chairman, that would be...a decision that the doctor, the physician and the woman would make at that point.” Gilbert replied : “I understand that. I’m asking if your bill allows that.” Tran replied: “My bill would allow that, yes.” • Virginia Republicans shared video of the exchange, posting, “Heartbreaking... This isn't in New York, this isn't in California, this happened just this week right here in Virginia.” • Virginia House of Delegates Republican Caucus posted this on Facebook : “Virginia House Democrats proposed legislation to allow abortions up to just seconds before that precious child takes their first breath...Thankfully, our strong conservative majority was able to defeat this bill.” • Tran has said it "eliminates medically unnecessary and unduly burdensome requirements that make it difficult for women to access abortions," recognizing that "women have the constitutional right to make healthcare decisions about their own bodies." • The Virginia effort to allow abortion right up until the moment of birth follows the New York passage of a bill last week loosening the restrictions on abortion. • • • NEW YORK IS LATEST STATE PUSHING ABORTION LAWS AMID FEARS ROE VS. WADE WILL BE OVERTURNED. That's how Fox News describes what is going on in Democrat-controlled state legislatures. Fox News' Alex Pappas says : "The loosening of the laws comes as pro-abortion activists fear the newly conservative Supreme Court will overturn the 1973 ruling that made abortions legal. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo last week directed the One World Trade Center and other landmarks to be lit in pink Tuesday to celebrate the passage of the "Reproductive Health Act."....Under the Reproductive Health Act, non-doctors are now allowed to conduct abortions and the procedure could be done until the mother's due date if the woman's health is endangered or if the fetus is not viable. The previous law only allowed abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy if a woman's life was at risk. If Roe v. Wade were overturned, 16 states could take steps to ban abortion. Four have laws that would trigger bans, while 12 others have anti-abortion laws on the books that have been ruled unconstitutional by courts or have not been enforced due to the 1973 Supreme Court decision, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-abortion research organization." On January 9, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo called for a change to the state’s constitution to enshrine abortion rights. Leading pro-life leaders called his statements "abhorrent" and "out of step" of mainstream politics. Speaking at an event in Manhattan, Cuomo said that he hopes to pass an amendment that “writes into the constitution a provision protecting a woman’s right to control her own reproductive health.” He was joined at the event, hosted at Barnard College, by former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Americans United For Life CEO Catherine Glenn Foster told CNA : "Governor Cuomo's extremist push to conflate abortion with healthcare is a tragic example of politics and ideology triumphing over medicine and the science of embryology.” In New York, changing the state constitution requires the state legislature to approve the amendment in addition to passage in a statewide voter referendum. The earliest such an amendment could be passed is 2021. • • • EVEN DEMOCRATS ARE IN DISARRAY OVER THESE NEW RADICAL ABORTION BILLS. The Daily Caller reported on Thursday : "Most Democrats on Capitol Hill appeared uncomfortable, unable or unwilling to discuss recent state legislature bills that would allow abortions up to the point of birth Thursday. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi claimed earlier in the day at her weekly press conference that she was unaware of comments made by Virginia Democratic Governor Ralph Northam when he was asked on WTOP about the Repeal Act, legislation that would allow termination of a pregnancy up until the day a woman gives birth. 'If a mother is in labor...the infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable,' Northam said. 'The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and mother.' The Virginia bill...failed in committee over in Richmond, but Northam’s defense of it drew criticism across the country. Prior to Northam’s own remarks, a video clip of Tran confirming her bill would allow abortions up until the day of birth went viral....Now, other states are considering such legislation, including Rhode Island, Maryland, Maine and New Mexico, the Associated Press reported." • The Daily Caller noted that : "Coverage of Governor Northam’s comments went beyond just conservative media outlets and talking heads. New York Magazine, CNN, the Washington Post, NPR, NBC News, CBS News and ABC News, among others, all covered Governor Northam’s remarks, yet many lawmakers claim they had no idea what he said or did not want to talk about the Virginia bill at all." • Here are the comments collected by Daily Caller -- Senaror Bob Menendez (D-NJ) “I have to look at what you’re talking about. I don’t know which bill you’re talking about.” (New York’s and Virginia’s bills) /// Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) “I haven’t seen them…” (on Gov. Northam’s comments) /// Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) “I don’t know what he said. I don’t know what he said.” (on Gov. Northam’s comments) /// Representative Gerry Connolly (D-VA) "I don’t want to comment on that.” (On the Virginia REPEAL ACT) /// Senator Joe Manchin (D- WV) “I haven’t seen anything. I’ve been in retreats. Obviously, I just got out of a meeting.” (on Gov. Northam’s comments) /// Senator Pat Leahy (D-VT) “I have no idea what he said. I have no idea what has happened there. I do follow the governor of Vermont though, all the time.” (on Gov. Northam’s comments) /// Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) “I know what it is about. I have not listened.” (on Gov. Northam’s comments). • The Daily Caller stated that : "Other Democratic lawmakers who appeared aware of the current ongoing debate related to late-term abortion bills spoke to The DC as well and described their support for the Supreme Court’s 1975 Roe v. Wade decision and/or their support for their state’s current laws." Here are those comments reported by the Daily Caller -- Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) “Delegate Tran has a bill to change existing Virginia law. I support the existing Virginia law, which has been in place since the mid-70s and it puts conditions upon a third-trimester abortion. I support the existing law, not the Tran bill. I don’t think the existing law needs to be changed. I’m not going to comment about comments. I’ll just tell you the existing Virginia law, I think, is the right law, and it’s consistent with Roe versus Wade, where the state is able to impose meaningful regulations of a third trimester of pregnancy." /// Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) “You know everybody -- that’s a matter of conscience how people feel. I have pretty strong views about that -- woman’s right of choice.” /// Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) “I’m pro-choice and I support Connecticut’s laws regarding choice, so Connecticut’s not talking about changing its laws. /// Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) “This is what I think about all of this. I think people need to sit down and talk a little bit about what we can do to keep people -- women -- from having to make very, very difficult choices.” Q: Do support partial birth abortion? “I support the law as it stands right now and that’s what we’re going to stick with, and I just think that we all need to speak a little bit together and talk about how we can do to...I don’t speak for New York....I don’t speak for the state legislature.” /// Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) “I support Roe v. Wade. Ok? That’s the only thing that I support. I support Roe v. Wade which is, you know, the second trimester and I support Roe v. Wade and its limitations.” /// Representative Jose Serrano (D-NY) “That’s an issue for the state Senate but I think what they did was the right thing to give women the right to make choices.” Q: So, you support a baby being aborted up to the ninth month? “I support a woman making that decision for herself....I’m not supposed to legislate my personal feelings. We’re supposed to legislate what is right for the public.” /// Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) “I think it’s a great statement for women’s rights. New York has always been a flagship state for human rights-civil rights, the home of the women’s movement in Seneca Falls. The Equal Rights Amendment was introduced there. It’s very fitting that New York should be the first state to ratify codified put into law of Roe v. Wade. I think it’s the right thing to have done and I support.” Q: “Do you support partial birth abortion, though?” “I support women’s right to choose and their health and make decisions about their health.” • • • SENATOR SASSE SPEAKS UP FOR BABIES, CALLS OUT GOVERNOR NORTHAM. Fox News interviewed Republican Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska on Thursday. Senator Sasse said Virginia Governor Ralph Northam should resign if he doesn't back down from his comments on a controversial late-term abortion bill, saying the governor effectively endorsed "infanticide." Sasse, pro-life Republican, said Northam’s comments were “morally repugnant” and argued the Democratic governor should “get the hell out of office” if he doesn’t support protecting the life of a child who survived an abortion. "The comments the governor of Virginia made were about fourth-term abortions," Sasse said on Fox News' "The Daily Briefing with Dana Perino." “That’s not abortion, that’s infanticide.” • Both Fox News and Catholic News Agency (CNA) later reported that Senator Sasse seeks to fast-track a bill to protect abortion survivors. CNA wrote : "US Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE) has announced that he will introduce the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act to the Senate on Monday, and is calling for a voice vote to pass the measure. Sasse announced on Thursday that he is beginning the Rule 14 process, which would bring the bill directly to the Senate floor and bypass the normal committee consideration of a piece of legislation. He said that he hopes his bill will be passed by a unanimous voice vote. 'On Monday evening, I’m going to be asking unanimous consent -- for Senators to come to the floor,' he said. 'I’m going to ask all 100 Senators to come to the floor and be against infanticide. This shouldn’t be complicated.' Sasse started his floor speech by referencing the “morally repugnant” comments made on Wednesday by Virginia Governor Ralph Northam (D)....'Let’s really be clear about what we’re talking about here. We’re talking about fourth-trimester abortion, or what anyone in the normal world calls ‘infanticide,’ said Sasse, in reference to Northam’s comments. 'This should be so far beyond any political consideration. We’re talking about a tiny life that has done nothing wrong to warrant being left to die, cold and alone on a table.' Sasse stressed that all of his colleagues should be able to say that killing a newborn baby is wrong, and that 'this doesn’t take any political courage.' ” • The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Act would penalize doctors and medical professionals who do not provide medical care to infants who survive abortions. The bill is co-sponsored by more than three dozen Republican Senators. The House version of the bill was introduced by then-Representative (now Senator) Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and has 131 co-sponsors, including one Democrat, Representative Dan Lipinski (D-IL). • CNA says : "Although Sasse emphasized that a voice vote should not be complicated, there is a significant chance the bill will run into opposition. When the House of Representatives voted on their version of the bill in January 2018, all but five Democrats voted against it. Cases where infants have survived late-term abortions are rare, but do occur. Pro-life activist Gianna Jessen was born in an abortion clinic following a failed saline abortion attempt when her mother was 30 weeks pregnant. In 2013, Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder for killing babies who had survived abortion attempts at his clinic, as well as one count of involuntary manslaughter in the death of a patient who died of an overdose in 2009. He is now serving several life sentences." • • • WILL THE REAL CATHOLIC CHURCH PLEASE STAND UP. Granted that not all Christians are Catholic or even agree with the pre-eminence given to the papal-led church -- it is clear that with the major Christian Protestant churches all over the lot when it comes to abortion, if there is going to be a Christian voice going forward to support the fight against radicalized abortion that erases the line between abortion and infanticide, it will be the voice of the Catholic Church. • • • CARDINAL DOLAN IS STANDING UP. Timothy Cardinal Dolan is standing up. CNA reported on Tuesday about Cardinal Dolan's comments on NY Governor Cuomo : "The Archbishop of New York said Monday that New York’s governor has insulted the Church, flaunted publicly his dissent from Catholic doctrine, and celebrated the January 22 signing of the states 'ghoulish radical abortion-expansion law. Instead of admitting that abortion is always a tragic choice, and that life-giving alternatives should be more vigorously promoted, the governor and his ‘Progressive’ supporters celebrated signing the bill. At the governor’s command, even the lights of the Freedom Tower sparkled with delight.' ” • Cardinal Dolan wrote his remarks in a January 28 op-ed in the New York Post, saying that the state’s recently passed Reproductive Health Act “allows for an abortion right up to the moment of birth; drops all charges against an abortionist who allows an aborted baby, who somehow survives the scissors, scalpel, saline and dismemberment, to die before his eyes; mandates that, to make an abortion more convenient and easy, a physician need not perform it; and might even be used to suppress the conscience rights of health care professionals not to assist in the grisly procedures. All this in a state that already had the most permissive abortion laws in the country. Those who once told us that abortion had to remain safe, legal and rare now have made it dangerous, imposed and frequent.' ” • The Democrats for Life of America agreed. In a January 29 statement, the group said : “Abortion is big business in New York with unlimited public funding and an abortion rate twice the national average. The Governor’s new law will not address the high abortion rate, nor will it help pregnant women who feel pressured or coerced into abortion. The law will help influential and financially flush abortion corporations increase their customer base and profit margin. One in three aborted children were African American and one in four were Hispanic. The new law further exploits women, particularly minority populations who are over-represented in these numbers. We call on New York legislators -- particularly Democrats -- to embark on a mission to make New York, the state, have the lowest abortion rate in the Nation. The estimated $18 million that would be spent yearly on abortion, could be put toward programs to prevent pregnancy including contraception and sex education, prenatal and postnatal healthcare, public housing, affordable child care, and paid maternity leave. Furthermore, we recommend outreach to minority communities to vastly bring down the perceived targeting of women and babies of color. As Democrats, we advocate for Progressive solutions to problems facing the weakest in society : the poor, minorities, women, and children-- even if they are yet to be born. New York should repeal this anti-women law and no other state should replicate it.” • While Cardinal Dolan has been outspoken in his opposition to the abortion law, and Cuomo’s support for it, some Catholics have called for him to excommunicate or impose some other canonical sanctions on the governor, but Dolan has recently indicated he is unlikely to do so. • • • VIRGINIA CATHOLIC BISHOPS ARE STANDING UP. CNA's Christine Rousselle wrote on Thursday that : "Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington and Bishop Barry C. Knestout of the Diocese of Richmond issued statements Thursday condemning a proposed abortion bill in the Virginia legislature and comments made by the state’s governor. 'This bill rightfully failed--but I am, along with so many people of good will, distraught that this bill was introduced in the first place,' said Burbidge in the statement released January 31. 'It could have paved the way for babies to suffer a violent and gruesome death moments before birth and could have been harmful to women,' he added." And, Rousselle wrote that : "Bishop Burbidge called the [Northam] remarks a 'staggering admission' about the proposed fate of children, one that 'reflects a new level of deep-rooted animus against the inherent goodness of every child.' ” • Rousselle states : "The combination of Northam’s comments and the bill’s provisions are a sign of 'how far abortion advocates are willing to go in taking the life of a precious child,' [quoting] Burbidge. • In his own statement, Richmond's Bishop Knestout called the proposals “horrific,” “outrageous,” and “vicious,” and said that there is “no place in a civil society for this sort of thought and action.” Bishop Knestout called statements made by Northam and Tran “equally disheartening and reprehensible....We should not be legislating in favor of abortion, let alone third trimester abortions, at all,” said Knestout, adding that “all our actions and decisions should be life-giving.” • One of the bill’s co-sponsors, Delegate Dawn Adams (D-Richmond) said after the bill failed that she would not have supported the bill had she understood its provisions better. Adams said in a letter to her constituents that she believed the bill merely repealed pro-life reforms introduced in 2012, and was surprised that “it sought to do much more.” Adams apologized for failing to “exercise due diligence” before agreeing to co-sponsor the bill. “Had I researched each line of removed language, I would have seen that, and known that there was more research to be done,” she said, adding that she is still in favor of abortion rights. • But, while Virginia's Catholic Bishops and one of the bill's sponsors are speaking out against the bill and Governor Northam’s radio comments as an implied endorsement of infanticide, a Catholic bioethicist told CNA that he did not believe the governor explicitly went that far. Here comes the SLIPPERY SLOPE -- Dr. Joe Zalor, an ethicist at the National Catholic Bioethics Center, told CNA that he did not see the comments as discussing infanticide, per se, but he did find the bill itself to be “highly problematic” and he is glad that it was tabled in committee. Zalor drew a distinction between circumstances were a child may have survived an abortion and when it was born with such a severe condition that it was medically dying of natural causes from the moment of birth. “There’s nothing morally wrong if you have a child with a very severe illness and there’s really nothing that medicine can do -- it is admissible...to give the child comfort care and let them die a natural death in the arms of their parents,” explained Zalor. Infanticide, he said, involved the taking of deliberate action to hasten the death of the infant. Zalor said that he believes this bill, and similar legislation being considered in other states, is “the culture of death being exposed for what it is. And it’s very, very ugly. A silver lining to this may be that people are waking up.” • • • NEW YORK CATHOLIC BISHOPS ARE STANDING UP. The Catholic Bishops of New York reacted against the likely passage of the Reproductive Health Act, which passed and expands abortion access throughout the state. The Bishops said it will only increase family suffering. The bill was first introduced in 2007, but was often blocked by a Republican-led state senate. The New York state senate recently returned to Democrat-majority control for the first time since 2010. • The New York Catholic Bishops stated : "Words are insufficient to describe the profound sadness we feel at the contemplated passage of New York State’s new proposed abortion policy. We mourn the unborn infants who will lose their lives, and the many mothers and fathers who will suffer remorse and heartbreak as a result. The so-called 'Reproductive Health Act' will expand our state’s already radically permissive law, by empowering more health practitioners to provide abortion and removing all state restrictions on late-term procedures. With an abortion rate that is already double the national average, New York law is moving in the wrong direction.” • The Catholic Bishops recalled their pledge “to offer the resources and services of our charitable agencies and health services to any woman experiencing an unplanned pregnancy, to support her in bearing her infant, raising her family or placing her child for adoption. There are life-affirming choices available, and we aim to make them more widely known and accessible.” • The Bishops noted that Governor Andrew Cuomo and state legislators “hail this new abortion law as progress. This is not progress. Progress will be achieved when our laws and our culture once again value and respect each unrepeatable gift of human life, from the first moment of creation to natural death. Would that not make us truly the most enlightened and progressive state in the nation?” • Americans United for Life CEO Catherine Glenn Foster told CNA earlier this month that “Under Gov. Cuomo's leadership, New York nail salons will be more regulated than abortion facilities." • THE NATIONAL CATHOLIC PRAYER VIGIL FOR LIFE IS STANDING UP. At the opening Mass of the National Prayer Vigil for Life at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC, Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City said in his sermon : “The pro-life ethic challenges us to care about the sacredness of every human being throughout the life spectrum. We are called always and everywhere to promote the dignity of the human person.” The Archbishop was speaking on the eve of the annual January March for Life. Pro-life supporters, seminarians, priests and bishops from across the country attended the Mass ahead of the March for Life, which drew hundreds of thousands from across the country. Archbishop Naumann said the idea that pro-lifers care only about the unborn is “simply not true.” He pointed to the care and work of volunteers who give their time and money to support pregnancy centers and other programs to support pregnant women in difficult circumstances. “We are concerned about the life and dignity of the human person wherever it is threatened or diminished,” said Naumann, who is chairman of the US Catholic Bishops’ Conference pro-life committee. “Anyone whose life is threatened and anyone whose human dignity is disrespected have a claim on our hearts.” • Mercy is a force that permeates the entirety of the pro-life movement, said Archbishop Naumann. Pro-lifers should have mercy not only for an unborn child or for a frightened expectant mother, but also for post-abortive parents who “deeply regret authorizing the killing of their own child,” for abortion advocates “who verbally attack (pro-lifers) and label us extremists,” and for those who work in the abortion industry. • Among the bishops concelebrating the Mass were Cardinal Séan O’Malley of Boston, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, president of the US bishops’ conference and Archbishop of Galveston-Houston, and Archbishop Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States. • • • WHERE ARE THE AMERICAN PROTESTANT CHURCHES?? Religion News Service wrote about the March for Life on January 18, the day before the March : "Nearly 45 years after the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, hundreds of thousands will rally in the streets of Washington. The annual March for Life is overwhelmingly composed of religious Americans. Initially conceived as a mostly Catholic event, the march has included significantly more Protestants in recent decades. Yet at the March for Life, the historic denominations of mainline Protestantism are hardly represented at all. The simplest explanation is that the largest Methodist, Anglican, Lutheran, Presbyterian and Congregationalist denominations support abortion rights. In fact, these and other progressive faith groups include advocacy for a woman’s right to choose as part of their robust commitments to gender equity, family well-being and social justice." • RNS says that while abortion is often portrayed as a binary issue, with religious people against it and secular people for it, the truth is much more complicated. America’s faith communities feature significant differences of opinion about the legality and morality of abortion. • BUT, the SLIPPERY SLOPE was also marching. RNS said : "At the March for Life, Catholics and white evangelicals will march alongside their clergy. Yet half of Catholics and a quarter of white evangelicals believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Those evangelicals are mostly invisible in the political and religious debates over abortion rights. The media, the politicians and even their pastors act as though every evangelical Christian thinks abortion should be criminalized in this country. That is simply not true. Likewise, mainline Protestants who oppose abortion rights also get lost in the debate. They dissent from their liberal clergy and co-religionists, but may hesitate to feel at home politically or theologically with their Catholic and evangelical friends at the March for Life. Much of Americans’ division over abortion rights is a function of partisanship. But just as in the religious sphere, there is much more ideological diversity on abortion than we suppose. More than a third of Republicans think abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while about a quarter of Democrats do not." • RNS says that one trend line we can observe is that : "Religious traditions that strongly affirm abortion rights are declining faster than conservative traditions that oppose abortion. As the mainline Episcopal Church and Presbyterian Church (USA) decline, conservative denominations such as the Anglican Church in North America and the Presbyterian Church in America are gaining ground. Both are strongly opposed to abortion rights and are increasingly visible at the March for Life. While opponents of legal abortion have always held a hard-line position, abortion-rights supporters’ increasingly extreme pronouncements may strain alliances with faith groups. The United Methodist Church, to take one example, affirmed abortion rights in 1972. But at almost every quadrennial General Conference since, Methodists have watered down their abortion position to the point where it is pro-life and pro-choice. It says everything and nothing. Liberal Protestants could once support legal abortion with the caveat that it was a tragic necessity, or that it should be 'safe, legal and rare.' But today, Progressive rhetoric has completely shed the idea that abortion is tragic or should be rare. Instead, abortion is celebrated as the fundamental right on which all female liberation relies. For Christians squeamish about abortion, today’s radical messaging may be a pill they cannot swallow. And yet the United Methodists’ ambivalence reflects what Americans actually believe about abortion rights : It’s complicated. At the March for Life, mainline Protestants will not have their pastors and bishops alongside them, as evangelicals and Catholics will. But maybe mainline Protestants, so often castigated as a muddled middle, can help improve our broken debate about abortion -- both in political and religious life." • • • DEAR READERS, unless or until the mainline Protestant Christian churches in America decide in favor of the fundamental Christian principle of life being a sacred gift from God, there will be no voice to take the lead in opposing the radicalized Democrat Party EXCEPT the voice of the Catholic Church. That is not to say that all Protestants who oppose abortion should become Catholics. BUT, it does say that Protestants and their groups that want to make a difference in the fight for the right to life of the unborn -- and even the right of those in the process of being born -- should seek common ground with Catholic groups and Bishops who are speaking out and standing up against abortion, particularly in its virulent form as seen in New York and Virginia. • As with every moral issue that the radicalized Democrat Party and its leaders oppose, they see abortion rights as a fight against the Christian principles in the US Constitution that they also oppose. Christians must unite in this fight to protect and honor life. • Nobody in the Democrat Party will be with us. This is the radicalized Progressive Democrat elite, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who are now trying to strike the phrase, “So help me God,” from the oath witnesses take when they testify before the House Committee on Natural Resources. Reacting to the news of the removal of the reference to God, House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney of Wyoming said : “It is incredible, but not surprising, that the Democrats would try to remove God from committee proceedings in one of their first acts in the majority. They really have become the party of Karl Marx." The committee is chaired by Arizona Democrat Representative Raúl Grijalva. • This is also the Democrat Party that has supported Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, even as Venezuela tragically declined under him and Venezuelans fled, and are still fleeing, the country because they are jobless and starving. • Has the radicalization of the Democrat Party made it the Party of Death -- the death of babies and the unborn, the death of Venezuelans who oppose socialist marxism, AND the death of God in America.