The usual Open Thread rules apply: be concise, be charitable and, above all, be amusing!
Open Thread
- Donald R. McClarey
Donald R. McClarey
Cradle Catholic. Active in the pro-life movement since 1973. Father of three, one in Heaven, and happily married for 43 years. Small town lawyer and amateur historian. Former president of the board of directors of the local crisis pregnancy center for a decade.
First week back in school. Despite it being a Catholic school, I am amazed at how many of my freshmen have been raised as “nothing” in their lives (solid 30%).
When I ask in their opening essays to describe their life’s experience with religion, so many of those “nones” emanate a deep desire to find faith and meaning. Even though I’ve done this assignment for years, I get renewed each year in whether I ought to be hopeful or depressed in reading them.
If your vacationing in Yellowstone this weekend the 7:30am
Yoga with Bison has been perminatly removed from the parks adventure series. (Who would of thunk it?) The Tea with Queens poetry hour for children will not resume due to a terrible case of jock itch. So sad for the little ones.
Have a great Labor Day TAC.
Did anyone see the Trump town hall in Wisconsin with Tulsi Gabbard? (I watched some of it on Right Side Broadcasting). Excellent format for both of them and glad I watched it instead of the disastrous Kamala interview.
However, Trump threw me for a loop when he said he would mandate health insurance coverage of IVF, in response to Tulsi’s story of how she and her husband resorted to IVF and how incredibly expensive it was. Of course Trump framed it as helping families have babies, but this is going to be hard for his pro-life supporters to explain away. He had better include a conscience exception for religious organizations and individuals if he’s really going to do this.
There are already some states like Illinois that require insurance plans covering anything related to pregnancy to also cover abortion AND various forms of fertility treatment, including IVF (at least 2 attempts), so if a Trump IVF mandate included conscience exemptions it might actually be an improvement.
Pro-lifers who are already disillusioned with Trump are only going to be more so after this, but given the alternative of a Harris Administration, I don’t know what else they can do except stay on the Trump Train.
Yesterday, Trump stabbed every pro-life Floridian in the back by openly declaring, for the whole world to hear, that he will be voting to enshrine unrestricted abortion into the constitution of the State of Florida. We’ve been working night and day to get the message out about this horrible amendment, and this emmenneffer undermined everything with one statement.
What a moron! He proves he hasn’t learned a thing since 2016. Does he really think he can win over the suburban women demographic by throwing pro-lifers under the bus?!!? They’ll never vote for him, but every time the Democrats goad him into making these pro-abortion comments, he loses thousands of pro-life votes.
There doesn’t seem to be any moral reason to vote for him now … Just a financial one. He’s betting on people choosing mammon over God.
Trump is fighting this election with a rope around his neck. He is doing what he thinks it takes to win. As a practical matter I think he will be the same pro-life president he was during his first term as to judges, pardon the prisoners that the Biden administration have prosecuted for violation of the Face Act and prevent the Democrats from attempting to enact abortion laws. That is about all we can expect from a president since Dobbs returned the issue to the states. IVF funding is a proposal that I expect would quietly get sent to the round file. I doubt if Trump has changed his stance since this interview 9 years ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xEeIRfrpCY
Trump is spooked by the consistent failure of the pro-life cause to win referendums since Dobbs. I can understand the ire of pro-lifers as to Trump, I feel some of it myself, but it is unrealistic to expect politicians to be out front when a cause is showing itself as disorganized and weak. Time for pro-lifers to adapt and win the fights on the state level as to referendums, and to stop acting as if the fight was won with Dobbs.
Many a Pro-lifer fuels their automobiles with gasoline. Fuels their homes with Natural Gas, propane. They shop for food, pay their bills and try hard to balance their budget.
I don’t like Trumps compromises on life issues, however I don’t see a Republic under the Harris banner…except for a banana republic.
She is a Marxist. Government, and the love thereof, is her God.
Are you better off now since you were four years ago?…Pres. Ronald Reagan asked us.
I can’t hold my vote come election day. A no vote is only helping to cripple America. If you think the FACE act is being abusive now, can you imagine the claws coming out of her administration to punish free speech or right to protest?
Hold Fast. Trump must get the pro-life vote if we are to fight another day.
“If you think the FACE act is being abusive now, can you imagine the claws coming out of her administration to punish free speech or right to protest?
Hold Fast. Trump must get the pro-life vote if we are to fight another day.”
Agree totally. A Trump Administration, at least, would presumably not treat pro-lifers as domestic terrorists and would not go out of its way to discredit crisis pregnancy centers and imprison clinic protesters. If I had one piece of advice to offer Trump on this subject, I would say: make it clear that while states are free to adopt whatever restrictions or lack thereof on abortion availability that they wish, that does NOT mean they should actively discriminate against pro-lifers or force individuals or organizations to facilitate, endorse or pay for abortions.
Can’t say I’ve done goat yoga, but I do back stretches with a Corgi every morning.
Don’t mind the licks.
For health reasons I’ve forwarded this info ad to members of my family who suffer from TDS and a lack of Independent thought. Great ad. Hope it helps.
https://x.com/NicoleShanahan/status/1829291690277966165
…..or force individuals or organizations to facilitate, endorse or pay for abortions.
Defund Planned Parenthood!
https://thefederalist.com/2024/08/29/j-d-vances-d-c-suburb-is-only-hate-free-if-you-agree-with-democrat-authoritarians/
I’m curious to know if the dame she mentions is married to the head of the Cato Institute, the Niskanen Center, the Mercatus Center or some other outfit.
It seems that Amendment 4 would not be on the ballot in Florida or have a chance in passing if DeSantis hadn’t overreached and signed the six week ban. And it looked more like he had a stronger desire to pander to primary voters in Iowa than actually saving babies. So, if Amendment 4 passes, you can probably than DeSantis for that.
“It seems that Amendment 4 would not be on the ballot in Florida or have a chance in passing if DeSantis hadn’t overreached and signed the six week ban. And it looked more like he had a stronger desire to pander to primary voters in Iowa than actually saving babies. So, if Amendment 4 passes, you can probably than DeSantis for that.”
This is nonsense. Murder Inc. is putting these amendments on the ballot all over the country, ten in this current election, several in the last (one just passed in Ohio). And if you think trying to keep people from murdering children with heartbeats is “overreaching”, well, why bother voting for pro-life candidates at all if saving lives is off the table?
Trump’s campaign press office has “clarified” his statement. Having sat through the pontificate of Francis, I know how meaningless that is.
CAG, Murder Inc is putting these measures on the ballot because they know they stand a chance of passing. They are a lot smarter than our side when it comes to political pragmatism. The drubbing of pro-life measures across many states after Dobbs proves that!
True, trying to keep people from killing babies isn’t an overreach. But stupidly pandering to primary voters under the guise of it is.
I think Donald is right. Trump is doing whatever he can to win, even if that means he must throw a bone to the liberal white elitist feminists. Better to vote for Trump who’s partially pro-life than Kamala who is 100% pro-death. In the current climate, a perfect pro-life candidate cannot win. Too many suburban white women who want genital titillation without consequence, and men who want the same with no responsibility.
As for goat yoga, cute but nope. Not for me. I prefer weight lifting and my rowing machine. 7 kilometers in 39 minutes –> dripping sweat with a soaked t-shirt –> now that’s a real workout. The attached pic shows me doing dumbbell presses. Chest and abs, then the rower. A full body workout. God is good to this 66 year old diabetic cardiac patient. He has given me the strength for one more repetition on the bench, one more mile on the sidewalk, one more kilometer on the rowing machine. And thanks be to the Lord Jesus, I am no longer obese, my doctor doesn’t reprimand me any longer, and my wife isn’t revolted by gelatinous folds of fat (she’s actually quite pleased). Deo gratias ago.
“Murder Inc is putting these measures on the ballot because they know they stand a chance of passing. They are a lot smarter than our side when it comes to political pragmatism. The drubbing of pro-life measures across many states after Dobbs proves that!”
Greg, you are exactly right here … and after 50 years of Roe v Wade, these measures have a chance of passing virtually everywhere, so they’re trying everywhere. They can afford it … It has nothing to do with the heartbeat bill.
The amendment they’re trying to pass here would allow for children to get abortions up until birth without parental consent provided a “medical practitioner” (NOT a doctor! Not even a defined legal term … Could be the receptionist at the abortion clinic for all we know) determines that the child could suffer anxiety were she to have the child.
Personally, I don’t even care how Trump votes on it, but to openly support it is to spit in the face of every pro-life worker here! It’s way beyond taking our votes for granted, he’s publicly divorced the pro-life movement and what he’s done here all but ensures that this amendment passes!! And honestly, does anyone believe that this declaration of his will draw pro-abortion votes away from Harris? Really?
Trump has announced that he is voting against Amendment Four in Florida. Pressure works.
Praise God!
Thanks Donald!
CAG, if DeSantis hadn’t signed the six week ban, there’s no way the pro-aborts would gone as far as they have here. This not only basically gives a green light to abortion at any time, it writes it into the state constitution and requires a super majority of 60 percent to pass. Painting a six week ban as extreme is far easier than a 15 week ban is. The pro-aborts know this. They would scheme in some other way, but they wouldn’t have done this so soon because they know it wouldn’t pass with just the 15 week ban in place.
DeSantis likely would not have signed that six week ban if he had not been running for president and stupidly thought his pandering to Iowa primary voters with all in Iowa strategy had any chance of success.
DeSantis’ presidential campaign revealed a very unflattering truth about him.
I have my serious problems with Trump, but in the seemingly likely event Amendment 4 passes, which would turn Florida into California as far as abortion is concerned, a far greater share of the blame will lie with DeSantis than Trump.
Greg, I think you may be suffering from DeSantis Derangement Syndrome. You keep repeating your opinion that Governor DeSantis is somehow responsible for the pro-abortion constitutional amendment on the Florida ballot this November. Do you also blame the Florida legislature for writing and passing the life-saving bill?
These 6 states have already amended their constitutions since Dobbs:
California
Michigan
Vermont
Kansas
Kentucky
Ohio
Amendments to state constitutions are on the ballots this November in these 10 states:
Arizona
Colorado
Florida
Maryland
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New York
South Dakota
Together, that’s fully 1/3 of the country. I think it should be evident that Governor DeSantis hasn’t signed life-saving legislation in 15 of these 16 states. Only in Florida has he signed legislation that has saved the lives of hundreds of children. What about the other 15? Who’s to blame for those? Did all of their Governors also pass baby-protecting legislation that angered the pro-abortion crowd enough to motivate them into drafting abortion-enshrining ballot initiatives?
Clearly, the ones to blame for these, and all future pro-abortion ballot initiatives, is the Abortion lobby. There’s too much money to be made killing children to allow even a single state to ban abortions without a fight.
Here in Florida, altering the state constitution is SOP for those ideologues who want to enact hard to repeal change. In November 2002 the publicly educated electorate of Florida passed Amendment 10 which banned gestation crates for pigs:
https://dos.elections.myflorida.com/initiatives/fulltext/pdf/34174-1.pdf
Something which obviously should’ve only been a law was deemed worthy of a constitutional amendment. This seems to be the preferred course of action for the deathmongers in the wake of Dobbs. That’s not DeSantis’ fault either, that’s just the way it is.
DeSantis being possessed of the same idiocy of much of the rest of the political arm of the pro-life movement is no big shock. Arizona, for example, had that old law on the books that was a gift for the pro-aborts. Political pro-lifers in Arizona were definitely asleep at the switch on that one.
The success of the pro-aborts post Roe is due in large part to the idiocy of the political pro-life movement that seems more concerned with looking more pro-life-than-thou and grifting than saving babies. They were more heartbroken than the pro-aborts when Roe was overturned because the Roe being in place was a major source of fundraising.
The Florida state legislature walks in lockstep with DeSantis. They got rid of the resign to run law so DeSantis could run for president without having to relinquish the governorship. What did they get for their efforts, other than an eight month Dukakis tank ride of a presidential campaign?
DeSantis had to know he was handing a gift to the pro-aborts when he signed that six week ban (the fact Amendment 4 is likely to pass should have told him the so-called heartbeat bill was unpopular), but he somehow thought it would help him in the Iowa primary.
Trump’s rhetoric doesn’t help matters, but if Amendment 4 passes, it will be far more due to DeSantis’ foolishness than Trump’s.
Nah … If amendment 4 passes it’ll be because the folks in Tampa and South Florida are Godlessly selfish.