President Obama made much of the Executive Order he signed last March. It was supposed to stop federal funding of abortion. It was given as a fig leaf to formerly pro-life Democrats who had voted for ObamaCare and enabled it to pass, narrowly, in the House of Representatives.
Most pro-life Americans knew the Obama order was a charade. We have had this administration pushing vigorously for abortion-on-demand from the first day they took office. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had hardly taken her oath of office before she told a House Foreign Affairs committee hearing early in 2009 that "sexual and reproductive rights and health" were a major goal of the Obama administration. She assured House members she would do all in her power to help overturn foreign countries' pro-life laws. The Obama administration may not want to protect democracy demonstrators in the streets of Tehran. That would be, they say, "meddling." But they are more than willing to trample the sovereignty of other nations to advance the Planned Parenthood agenda.
Take Kenya, for example. Kenya suffered terrorist attacks back in 1998 because of their close ties to the U.S. You would think that this East African ally would get a special measure of respect, especially because Barack Obama's late father, and many of his relatives, hail from Kenya. Think again.
President Obama dispatched his veep, Joe Biden, to Kenya last month. Vice President Biden went there specifically to lobby for a new constitution for Kenya. Article 26 of that new constitution would repeal the country's long-standing pro-life law on abortion. He spurned the efforts of American-based pro-life groups who are working to prevent this Roe v. Wade of Kenya. Their selfless activities, he said, are "one of the drawbacks of democracy."
So, having groups using their free speech rights to dissent, appealing to fellow Christians is a "drawback of democracy?" James Madison, call your office. To make matters worse, Joe Biden told Kenyans that by passing the pro-abortion constitution, they would "allow money to flow" to Kenya from other countries.
No, Joe, responsible dissent is one of the strengths of democracy; bribery is one of its drawbacks.
Congressman Chris Smith (R-N.J.) is protesting this intervention -- this pro-abortion meddling -- by Joe Biden in the affairs of a self-governing African nation. He notes that Biden's heavy-handed intervention may well be against federal law. Since 2006, the law has said "no foreign assistance funds may be used to lobby for or against abortion." This sounds like another case of Joe Biden over the line.
Joe Biden's long-term abortion advocacy is well-known. Years ago, he was hailed at an Amtrak train station by then-Sen. Warren Rudman (R-N.H.) The pro-abortion Rudman and Biden ran to meet one another. They embraced on the train platform, laughing and almost weeping for joy. Two middle-aged men jumping up and down like schoolboys on a vacation; that must have been quite a sight.
This scene was all because Rudman's secret assurances to Biden, then the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, about Justice David Souter had proven correct: Souter would be a solid vote for abortion-on-demand. When Souter began twenty years of liberal judicial activism on the Supreme Court, Biden and Rudman were relieved and rejoiced.
Grove City College's Paul Kengor, a careful researcher, documented all of this from the memoirs of Warren Rudman. (You know Professor Kengor is a great scholar. Who else would read Warren Rudman's memoirs?)
Souter recently left the Court. He left town without renown. What fate awaits Joe Biden?
That's not nearly as important as the fate of millions of Kenyans yet unborn.
Stolen any elections for the Republicans lately?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Blackwell
The hypocrisy here is just dripping.
an excellent point. speaking of which, i loved your performance in hbo's documentary, "hacking democracy."
You, like every pro-lifer, love the fetus, hate the newborn. In this country mothers don't get free pre-natal screening, they don't have guaranteed maternal leave, no paid sick days to care for sick child and if they are poor and work in minimum wage jobs they will never have paid vacation either.
If Joe Biden did what you wrote in your post I can only congratulate him. Hopefully Kenyans will listen.
So many pro-lifers (not all, but the vast majority) here in the states are against abortion but also vote for leadership that cuts vital programs that actually improve life of a newborn. Why are the unborn cherished and crack babies neglected?
Second, wouldn't it be a far better use of your time and energy to worry about the people in your own country who are actually living and who are struggling to survive an economy that threatens every aspect of their existence? Moreover, today there are millions of unemployed Americans who can't pay their mortgages or rents and who can't afford groceries or other basic necessities and who are desperately need Congress to pass legislation extending unemployment insurance payments.
If you do this on paper, but don't also empower them reproductively, then a paper victory is all you have. Reproductive control is a basic right that a woman must have in order to take advantage of those other rights.
If I can't determine absolutely when I become pregnant then it is trivial to derail my education and/or economic path. Its hard to get a new business off the ground when you are big as a whale and the nicest schools in the world can't accomplish much when your short term memory is being chemically suppressed.
If what you say is true and there was a vast conspiracy to get this done ( as opposed to, oh, I dunno, it being something the people of Kenya WANT because they are sick of seeing starving children fighting with dogs in the street ) .... well if its true then GOOD FOR THEM.
Brava!
I am glad that you care for the unborn children. Please do tell us, how do you intend on helping those in Kenya care for their over-population problem? How about those in the US? The right tell us not to provide for those in need. Who cares for these children when born without social services?
Please don' tell me that the charitable organizations will do. And that the private individuals with their generous donation would do. It simply is not enough.
Interestingly, Canada, European countries where they have safety nets, they have fewer abortions, better health coverage, less imprisonment of their population, fewer drop outs, less homelessness and poverty. Coincident? Heck, no.
Sincerely,
-A born and bred Kenyan a.k.a. Someone Who Knows What The Hell He's Talking About
How dismissive of the people of Kenya do you have to be to take the only issue with whether a new constitution is a good thing to be whether it outlaws abortion. Kenya is a country with a history of bad government. Depending on the content of that constitution, its adoption could be a major boon for an important African country. Blackwell has reduced it to whether the government limits people's choices the way he wants it to.
And the Biden comment is not given enough context to guess what he was actually saying. If you are going to quote people out of context, you really need to hide that fact better for it to be effective.
You are SOOOO lucky we are normal adults, dude. Seriously.