Obama and Bush on the sanctity of human life

Thirty-six percent of abortions are for black babies. Seventy-nine percent of surgical abortion clinics are in minority neighborhoods. The last official proclamation President Bush made in 2009 was for the Sanctity of Human Life Day. President Obama consistently praises the work of Planned Parenthood and one of his first acts in 2009 was to rescind Bush's order on embryonic stem cell research, even though research had progressed beyond the need for it. In 2002, Bush signed into law the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, which extends legal protection to children who survive an abortion attempt. Obama was not in the U.S. Senate in 2002, but he was in the Illinois Senate and voted against such a bill for Illinois (word for word the federal bill). To my knowledge, no one else voted against saving aborted born alive infants.

Obama’s Malaysian junket

Obama is a terrible "leader." He goes to Malaysia and whines about a U.S. basketball team owner who was a known loose canon, but is silent about Democrats who call patriots terrorists and Supreme Court judges Uncle Toms, and then compares Malaysia's human right violations record to ours. Well, our violations include the government NSA snooping and IRS manipulating the code to stop right wing organizations he fears, and colluding with our "free press," but he wasn't that specific. Their violations involve freedom of religion, right to assembly, free speech, elevating some races and ethnic groups as protected, etc. Well, maybe he should have gone on about the similarities.

http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/04/24/malaysia-obama-should-speak-loudly-rights

http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2013/08/09/harry-reid-launches-slanderous-attacks-on-tea-party-republicans/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/04/30/black-congressman-stands-by-comment-that-clarence-thomas-is-an-uncle-tom/

"I think the Prime Minister is the first to acknowledge that Malaysia’s still got some work to do. Just like the United States, by the way, has some work to do on these issues," Obama said. "Human Rights Watch probably has a list of things they think we should be doing as a government."
 http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/human-rights-malaysia-united-states-work/2014/04/27/id/567978#ixzz30SXBncO0

Human rights and the UN

"Saudi Arabia now has a seat on the women's board at the United Nations. That's right, a regime where it's illegal for women to drive or leave the house without being accompanied by a male guardian, where girls were pushed into a burning building because they were trying to flee without covering their 'obscene' female faces... will be a key player in the international effort to empower women.

. . . Chilean leftist Michelle Bachelet, who heads up UN Women, praised Sudan for its commitment to gender equality in her opening statement. Yes, Sudan, a genocidal state which uses mass rapes as part of its ethnic cleansing campaign. And it's already clear that the focus of UN Women isn't to promote gender equality, but to intervene in conflict areas. Which means the odds are excellent that UN Woman will be used to crank out an endless stream of condemnations of countries that fight Muslim terrorists, while cloaking those condemnations in the name of the rights of women in the affected areas. And the Saudis are perfectly positioned to guide UN Women down that road."

George W. Bush freed more women (from the Taliban) than Lincoln did slaves, but that's not enough for the left. Will American Communists point out the inconsistency of Saudis on the women's board? American leftists don't actually approve of Islamic law and codes anymore than they do Christian, however, they are useful comrades in bringing down the common capitalist enemy--The United States.

Sultan Knish a blog by Daniel Greenfield

Do the right thing, Craigslist

Do the right thing. Shut down the sex ads and go back to making your money on used refrigerators and spare bedrooms for rent. The alternative is for all honest, decent people to stop using this service.

"More than 250 Craigslist sites exist around the world that still feature 'Erotic' sections where trafficked children and women are being sold for sex," according to the letter signed by 100 representatives from such groups as the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, the Rebecca Project for Human Rights and the Salvation Army."

Craigslist under pressure

Obama's Human Rights record

Not so great. Much worse than Bush's--actually, not even close. He at least freed all those second class citizens, aka women.

Bret Stephens examines Obama's Human Rights record.

China: no pressing whatsoever on human rights
Sudan: "incentives and disincentives" for the genocidal Sudanese government of Omar Bashir
Iran: denied funding for a human-rights group working the Iran beat to appease Tehran
Burma: where 150,000 died of starvation in plain view being denied humanitarian aid, Obama is going to change to constructive engagement
Tibet: ignore the Dalai Lama and concede to China with constructive engagement (see Burma)

Calling Dr. Glenn

I noticed this comment at Dr. Sanity's blog--she's out ill.

For the past five years, researchers in a modest office overlooking the New Haven green have carefully documented cases of assassination and torture of democracy activists in Iran. With more than $3 million in grants from the US State Department, they have pored over thousands of documents and Persian-language press reports and interviewed scores of witnesses and survivors to build dossiers on those they say are Iran’s most infamous human-rights abusers. But just as the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center was ramping up to investigate abuses of protesters after this summer’s disputed presidential election, the group received word that - for the first time since it was formed -- its federal funding request has been denied.

You just never know the accuracy of these comments--God knows I get some weird people here! So I checked for the original news story and found it at the Boston Globe by Farah Stockman.

Many see the sudden, unexplained cutoff of funding as a shift by the Obama administration away from high-profile democracy promotion in Iran, which had become a signature issue for President Bush. But the timing has alarmed some on Capitol Hill. “The Iran Human Rights Documentation Center is at the forefront of pioneering and vitally important work,’’ said Senator Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut independent, in a statement yesterday. “It is disturbing that the State Department would cut off funding at precisely the moment when these brave investigations are needed most.’’ Michael Rubin, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative Washington-based think tank, said, “It is a shock that they did not get funding.’’ A reason, he asserted, may be that “the Obama administration is so focused on engaging Iran that they don’t want this information to get in the way.’’

When Joe Lieberman left the Democratic Party it not only lost its soul, but its conscience.

One of Bush's last proclamations

National Sanctity of Human Life Day, 2009
A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America (January 15, 2009)

All human life is a gift from our Creator that is sacred, unique, and worthy of protection. On National Sanctity of Human Life Day, our country recognizes that each person, including every person waiting to be born, has a special place and purpose in this world. We also underscore our dedication to heeding this message of conscience by speaking up for the weak and voiceless among us.

The most basic duty of government is to protect the life of the innocent. My Administration has been committed to building a culture of life by vigorously promoting adoption and parental notification laws, opposing Federal funding for abortions overseas, encouraging teen abstinence, and funding crisis pregnancy programs. In 2002, I was honored to sign into law the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, which extends legal protection to children who survive an abortion attempt. I signed legislation in 2003 to ban the cruel practice of partial-birth abortion, and that law represents our commitment to building a culture of life in America. Also, I was proud to sign the Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004, which allows authorities to charge a person who causes death or injury to a child in the womb with a separate offense in addition to any charges relating to the mother.

America is a caring Nation, and our values should guide us as we harness the gifts of science. In our zeal for new treatments and cures, we must never abandon our fundamental morals. We can achieve the great breakthroughs we all seek with reverence for the gift of life.

The sanctity of life is written in the hearts of all men and women. On this day and throughout the year, we aspire to build a society in which every child is welcome in life and protected in law. We also encourage more of our fellow Americans to join our just and noble cause. History tells us that with a cause rooted in our deepest principles and appealing to the best instincts of our citizens, we will prevail.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 18, 2009, as National Sanctity of Human Life Day. I call upon all Americans to recognize this day with appropriate ceremonies and to underscore our commitment to respecting and protecting the life and dignity of every human being.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.

GEORGE W. BUSH

Yes, a just and noble cause.

Why call it Burma?

According to the State Department, the official name of the country hit by a disastrous cyclone last week is "Burma."

The Union of Burma (or Myanmar as it is called by the ruling junta) consists of 14 states and divisions. Administrative control is exercised from the central government through a system of subordinate executive bodies and regional military commanders.

Power is centered on the ruling junta--the State Peace and Development Council, or SPDC--which maintains strict authoritarian rule over the people of Burma. The Prime Minister is appointed directly by the SPDC. Control is maintained through intimidation, the strict censuring of information, repression of individual rights, and suppression of ethnic minority groups.

The SPDC continues its harsh rule and systematic human rights abuses today, and insists that any future political transition be negotiated on its terms. It proclaimed a seven-step roadmap to democracy beginning with a National Convention process, purportedly to develop a new constitution and pave the way for national elections. However the regime restricts public input and debate and handpicks the delegates, effectively excluding pro-democracy supporters.

Although the SPDC changed the name of the country to "Myanmar," the democratically elected but never convened Parliament of 1990 does not recognize the name change, and the democratic opposition continues to use the name "Burma." Due to consistent support for the democratically elected leaders, the U.S. Government likewise uses "Burma."

So there you have it. The liberals will call this junta run, unrecognized, rogue government Myanmar, and the conservatives will call it Burma. Regardless of what you call them, the Burmans, Shans, Karens, Rohingya, Arakanese, Kachins, Chins, Mons, non-indigenous Indians and Chinese, and many smaller indigenous ethnic groups are dying by the thousands because of the inaction of their government.

Update about that cyclone: "Citing the deadly Burmese storm and recent storms in China and Bangladesh, [Al Gore] declared on National Public Radio: "We're seeing consequences that scientists have long predicted might be associated with continued global warming." There's just one problem -- it's not clear there's any link between climate change and hurricane numbers or intensity. The number of big storms has been falling, not rising." Best of the Web, Joseph Sternberg, May 12