The conference in Des Moines, IA Saturday was a great success. It was a privilege to be a part of the event, with my talk and a whole teen program by our own Annie Casselman and John Jansen.
Great Conference in “Red State” Iowa
Mark Crutcher of Life Dynamics spoke on his effective efforts to close down abortion mills and convert the abortionists. His talk was not only informative but very entertaining.
George Grant is the author of more than a dozen books, including the deceit and tactics of Planned Parenthood in his now famous Grand Illusions. He not only targets abortion but is also setting up schools in the Middle East and has been in Iraq five times this year organizing youth schools. His knowledge of Islam is second to none.
Jim Sedlak followed my talk on the spiritual dimensions of the abortion battle. Jim explained the sinister programs of Planned Parenthood over the years. If there is anything you want to know about Planned Parenthood, Sedlak is the man to get in touch with at the American Life League. He is the expert.
Meanwhile, the organizers scheduled a simultaneous conference for teens down the hall and had Annie Casselman and John Jansen of our Generations for Life youth outreach division give an all-day seminar on chastity, the problems modern teens face in a secular culture, and how to keep the commandments in a culture that to a great extent has disavowed them.
We left the conference convinced that there is a mood change in the country, but also that there is a whole lot of work to be done to bring America back to a respect for life. We also left with updated information on the abortion industry and how they are planning for the future. The abortionists will fight with every dirty trick they know to keep the abortion industry going.
Our hat is off to Iowa Right to Life for their highly successful conference. Meanwhile, they finally finished counting the votes, and Iowa joined the Red states after all.
Liberal Dems Still Don’t Get It
The Democrats and their fellow travelers, the secular media, are still chaffing at their many defeats in the past election and their discovery that many voters based their vote on the moral issues rather than the economy and the “gimme” issues that Alan Keyes talked about during his campaign for U. S. Senate.
The headlines tell much of it and here are a few from recent Chicago papers:
- “Journalists can’t grasp electorate’s morality” by Dennis Byrne, one of the good guys
- “Dems got left in the Dust,” by Laura Washington
- “Even in Illinois Bush made Inroads”
- “Nation’s deep divide includes its churches”
- “Turnout of GOP faithful had more impact on election than faith itself”
Then two very negative columns under one headline by two Chicago Tribune columnists, the liberal Clarence Page and libertarian Steve Chapman, who can’t bear to admit that there are such things as objective moral values in “A vote for moral revival? No way.”
There are dozens of other stories with headlines like, “Democrats buck up, it’s time for your revival,” and “Moral of this election: Don’t dismiss values.” William O’Rourke says “Moral values’ voters now have it their way” while Mark Steyn says the “Condescending Dems still don’t get it.” His theme is that the Democrats went too far by putting all their eggs in one basket, banking on abortion and gay rights to be win issues, but blind to the fact that much of middle America is still clinging to moral values that oppose these evils.
Carol Marin dug up a Methodist minister who agrees with her that morality is pretty much a private matter, and Dawn Trice blames the high exit poll naming moral values as the most important issue a decision by evangelical whites rather than a true values system. David Garrow blames Kerry’s defeat on John Edwards, whom he is convinced was the wrong man to run for vice president on Kerry’s ticket.
Insurance Plan for Federal Workers Is Good News
Some good news for Catholics in Illinois: federal workers in 27 downstate counties have the option to enroll in an insurance plan that does not cover contraceptives, fertility treatment or abortion. An article by Jennifer Skalka calls this the first such plan in the nation offered to federal workers, and that it is aimed at Catholics.
Gloria Feldt of Planned Parenthood Federation of America is among pro-aborts who oppose the new plan.
