Hillary insults Canada over abortion

If the biggest story of March is health care reform, the second biggest is how the Obama Administration has taken a wrecking ball to diplomatic relations with our allies. Yesterday, Hillary Clinton knocked Canada by demanding that they invite several other countries and "indigenous peoples" to a conference of Arctic nations. This is despite the fact that Canada was hosting the conference. It's also despite the fact that Canadian troops are fighting and dying in our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Today she took the snub to a whole new level.

At issue is the decision by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who is promoting better maternal mortality as its signature initiative at the upcoming G8 summit Canada is hosting in June.

Harper was initially reluctant to include contraception in the centerpiece plan Canada is advocating, but he has ruled out including abortion.

That met with opposition from Clinton, a longtime abortion advocate and the top international official in the administration of pro-abortion President Barack Obama.

"You cannot have maternal health without reproductive health," Clinton said at a Tuesday news conference. "And reproductive health includes contraception and family planning and access to legal, safe abortion."

The Toronto Star described the incident as "a grenade in the lap of her shell-shocked Canadian hosts." It's certainly rare for America to be more progressive on the abortion issue than other western powers. For an American secretary of state to lecture other nations on the need to provide abortions is almost unheard of. It's also diplomatically insulting. Harper may very well agree with Clinton; under his leadership in 2005, Canadian Conservatives dropped opposition to abortion from their party platform. He's likely putting abortion off-limits so as to not offend the sensibilities of others, something Hillary Clinton apparently doesn't understand.

Notice that Clinton said that abortion should be "legal" and "safe". Bill Clinton famously said that abortion in America should be "safe, legal, and rare." His wife tellingly left out the "rare" part. Then again this is the same Hillary Clinton who gave a speech commemorating the founding of the UN Population Fund, which has been accused of aiding and abetting forced abortions in China.

The Obama Administration has already outraged Britain and Israel this month. Looks like we can add Canada to the list too.

Abortion executive order today, states prepare to sue

Barack Obama will initiate his biggest kickback on health care reform today. The executive order clarifying that ObamaCare can't fund abortions will be signed by the president at a private ceremony this afternoon. Bart Stupak and other pro-life House Democrats will be reportedly be in attendance. The signing won't be open to the press, presumably so the feathers of Obama's pro-choice allies aren't ruffled any further.

Meanwhile immediately after Obama signed health care reform into law yesterday, attorney generals representing 13 different states filed a lawsuit.

"We are convinced that this legislation is fundamentally flawed as a matter of constitutional law, that it exceeds the scope of proper constitutional authority of the federal government and tramples upon the rights and prerogatives of states and their citizens," David Rivkin, Jr., an attorney representing 13 of the states, told ABC News.

The challenges to the legislation focus on the mandate that requires an individual to buy health insurance. The states are also worried about the extent to which the statute imposes a financial burden -- in resources and personnel -- on them.

The states headed to court are Alabama, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, Florida, Michigan, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Washington. Their case specifically focuses on the unconstitutional individual mandate, but their underlying concern may be something very different. If ObamaCare stays law, states will see their Medicaid bills skyrocket as people become eligible for subsidies. After health care reform was implemented in Massachusetts in 2006, the state was nearly driven to bankruptcy and was only saved by an injection of federal funds. The same could happen in every state across the nation if the attorneys general aren't successful.

The lawsuit represents the most significant challenge to the federal government by the states since the Civil War.

Obama's abortion executive order is completely useless

Last night, ObamaCare passed the House of Representatives for the final time after the president persuaded Bart Stupak's pro-life Democrats to vote yes. Obama wooed Stupak with an executive order that will supposedly prevent taxpayer money from funding abortions. Unsurprisingly, the president hasn't signed the order yet, and it's just as well because it's total bunk. The text has been released already and the entire document is a big loophole.

The order would supposedly require insurance plans in the newly-created federal exchange to be segregated from private ones that provide abortions. This would prevent abortions from being funded by any public money. But the text never specifically establishes this segregation. Here's what it says instead:

"I hereby direct the Director of OMB and the Secretary of HHS to develop, within 180 days of the date of this Executive Order, a model set of segregation guidelines for state health insurance commissioners to use when determining whether exchange plans are complying with the Act's segregation requirements, established in Section 1303 of the Act, for enrollees receiving Federal financial assistance."

In other words, the executive order doesn't segregate the funds. It just asks OMB Director Peter Orszag and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius to figure it out. Sebelius is stridently pro-choice and gained notoriety when she defended radical abortionist George Tiller in her home state of Kansas.

It would have been very easy for the president to simply type, "Under absolutely no circumstances shall federal funds be used for abortions except in the cases of rape and incest, and where the life of the mother is threatened." Instead we get this:

The Act maintains current Hyde Amendment restrictions governing abortion policy and extends those restrictions to the newly-created health insurance exchanges.

In other words, if the Hyde Amendment is ever overturned -- certainly a possibility given how pro-abortion Obama is -- then this act enables federal funds galore to be used for abortions. When Massachusetts implemented its universal health care plan, abortions ultimately ended up being covered thanks to the bill's loose language. It will only be so long before the same thing happens here.

And of course, at the end of the document, we have the usual closing print that concludes all executive orders.

(c) This Executive Order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity against the United States, its departments, agencies, entities, officers, employees or agents, or any other person.

The executive order isn't the law of the land. No executive order ever has been the law of the land. Bart Stupak held out for months on the principle that siphoning federal funds to abortion doctors is wrong. He wanted specific legal protections in ObamaCare to this effect. Instead he got a loosely-worded executive order that becomes irrelevant if the law is changed or if the president decides he doesn't like it anymore. When Stupak's deal was struck yesterday, the House Pro-Choice Caucus stayed silent. Later every one of them voted in favor of the bill. They understand what eluded Bart Stupak: this ultimately means nothing.

Did this man just kill ObamaCare?

It's always hard to tell given how dense and arcane congressional procedure is, but right now it looks like ObamaCare is officially dead.

The Senate Parliamentarian has ruled that President Barack Obama must sign Congress’ original health care reform bill before the Senate can act on a companion reconciliation package, senior GOP sources said Thursday.

The Senate Parliamentarian’s Office was responding to questions posed by the Republican leadership. The answers were provided verbally, sources said.

House Democratic leaders have been searching for a way to ensure that any move they make to approve the Senate-passed $871 billion health care reform bill is followed by Senate action on a reconciliation package of adjustments to the original bill. One idea is to have the House and Senate act on reconciliation prior to House action on the Senate’s original health care bill.

The House doesn't have enough votes to pass the Senate bill for a number of reasons. The Senate bill covers abortions, which has pro-life Democrats united behind Bart Stupak pledging to vote no. The Senate bill bars illegal immigrants from health care coverage, which has members of the House Hispanic Caucus threatening no votes as of this morning. The Senate bill doesn't include a public option, which has turned off a few progressives. And most damaging of all, the Senate bill is loaded with special deals for senators like the Cornhusker Kickback that spell political suicide for Blue Dog congressmen from fiscally conservative states.

The House and the Senate need to approve the same bill, since the Senate legislation differs from the House's. The idea was to use what's called a "reconciliation sidecar" -- a package of changes to the Senate bill passed with a simple majority vote -- to make the bill agreeable for House members. The sidecar was written by the White House and would have made several changes, most notably the elimination of the Cornhusker Kickback.

The parliamentarian's ruling means that the House can't pass the sidecar. Both houses must pass the Senate bill and the president must sign it before any changes can be made. Pelosi already doesn't have the votes to do that and is losing more every day.

The Senate parliamentarian's name is Alan Frumin. He was appointed in 2002 after Republicans fired the previous parliamentarian...for forbidding them from using reconciliation on a bill. Barring something completely unforeseen, another Saturday Night Massacre in which Frumin gets shown the door might be Obama's only remaining move.

Radically pro-abortion Dawn Johnsen to be confirmed

Dawn Johnsen, Obama's pick to head up the crucially important Office of Legal Counsel, cleared her first hurdle for confirmation yesterday. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved her in a 12-7 vote along party lines. Now all Johnsen needs is an up-or-down Senate vote and she's in.

Johnsen is a bona fide pro-abortion radical and has no business working in our government. In a 1989 abortion court case, Johnsen argued, "Statutes that curtail abortion choice are disturbingly suggestive of involuntary servitude, prohibited by the Thirteenth Amendment, in that forced pregnancy requires a woman to provide continuous physical service to the fetus in order to further the state’s asserted interest." She later compared pregnancy to the government "conscripting" a woman's body. In other words, abortion must be kept legal because a woman carrying her baby to term is the same as slavery. (I'm sure Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are out in the streets right now protesting her offensive idiocy. Right?)

Johnsen is also a supporter of the Freedom of Choice Act, which would obliterate every state-level anti-abortion law in America, from parental notification to partial birth abortion bans. She previously worked for the National Abortion Rights Action League and, of course, the ACLU.

Johnsen's charge, the Office of Legal Counsel, has been described by Newsweek as "the most important government office you've never heard of." The OLC acts as a small court for the executive branch, ruling whether or not their actions are legal and constitutional. During the Bush administration, the OLC had to sign off on everything from waterboarding to warrantless wiretapping. Johnsen, the nutty abortion-obsessed lawyer, will have final say over every major executive decision Barack Obama makes.

Obama's mentor Quentin Young: Radical abortionist

In order to know Barack Hussein Obama, you must understand the radical left-wing activists who shaped his upbringing. One of these radicals is Dr. Quentin Young, a Marxist former physician from Chicago. Young is the so-called "father of single-payer health care" in America. According to lefty journalist John Nichols, "Obama...learned about single-payer health care from his old friend and neighbor Dr. Quentin Young, the longtime coordinator of Physicians for a National Health Program." Young was present at the famous meeting at Bill Ayers' house in 1995 that launched Obama's political career.

Now the tireless blogger New Zeal has uncovered evidence that Young was much more than that. In 1970, Chicago radical Mike Soto testified before Congress in the aftermath of the Weathermen's "Days of Rage" riot in Chicago. Soto said of Young, "He is the movement doctor. He has taken care of me at times...He is also an abortionist doctor, takes care of abortions...I was given medicine by him without prescription. Shots and things like that..."

In 1996, about 50 radicals attended a reception for abortionists in Chicago hosted by former Students for a Democratic Society leader and later Obama supporter Mike James. One of the celebrated speakers at the event was none other than Quentin Young.

By the way, recall that Soto gave his testimony before Congress in 1970...three years before abortion was legalized by the Roe v. Wade decision.

So in addition to Marxists like Frank Marshall Davis and terrorists like Bill Ayers, we can now add an outlaw radical abortionist Chicago doctor to Obama's list of mentors.

Obama spies on praying protesters

Last year, it was revealed that Barack Obama's Department of Homeland Security was conducting an investigation into "right-wing extremist" groups. The administration quickly assured us that this was completely harmless, and wouldn't be used to intimidate critics of Obama.

It lied.

Today came the news that DHS put together a threat assessment on pro-life activists praying rosaries in front of a hospital in Wisconsin.

"The assessment came before an expected rally last year in response to the University of Wisconsin Hospital board decided to allow abortions.

In February 2009, pro-life advocates planned to protest the hospital's decision to open up the new Madison Surgery Center to abortions.

The Associated Press reported today that the department said it 'destroyed all of the copies of the assessment after an internal review found it violated intelligence gathering guidelines about 'protest groups which posed no threat to homeland security.'"

DHS apparently destroyed the report, but the Middleton Police Department in Wisconsin still has a copy. They're refusing to release it because they were ordered not to...by Obama's Department of Justice.

Obama's Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, is a notorious incompetent whose agency couldn't stop a terrorist with a bomb in his pants, even when warned by his dad. But somehow Napolitano has the time and resources to spy on pro-life prayer vigils. It's time she got a kick in the pants.

Just what this administration needs: a minority czar

The latest czar just might be the most hilarious.

"To stem the criticism [of Obama from minority groups], NBA legend Magic Johnson plans to meet with Obama in Washington, D.C., this week to suggest the president appoint a high-profile liaison between the White House and the black and Latino communities — a minority czar, of sorts. "The next 12 months will really be the test for him," Johnson tells NEWSWEEK. "I think we in the community will really have to begin to see the changes needed to get us back on track in 2010." Among the issues Johnson wants Obama to address: the growing number of unemployed black men; the continued practice of big banks refusing to lend money to minority businesses; and the rise in HIV and AIDS in the black and Latino communities. [But he won't address the black abortion rate, which is three times higher than the white abortion rate.] Johnson plans to nominate himself for the job: "And if he wants someone else, that's fine, too. But the sooner the better."

Obama already has a diversity czar at the FCC, but that just isn't enough. Barack Obama, America's first black president who worked on the streets of Chicago, apparently needs a czar to tell him what's going on in black and Latino communities. This will be his 35th czar.

Obama's radical OLC nominee will clear the Senate

A serious and very unfortunate victory for Barack Obama was announced today. Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Penn.) indicated that after meeting with Dawn Johnsen, Obama's radical nominee to head up the Office of Legal Council, he will support her confirmation. With Republican senator Richard Lugar also in Johnsen's camp, this should clear her path through the Senate entirely.

The left-wing blogosphere is thrilled with this development, and they should be. Dawn Johnsen is a bona fide left-wing radical. She is vehemently pro-abortion and has argued that forcing a woman to carry a fetus to term is the equivalent of slavery. The Office of Legal Counsel is a crucial branch that essentially determines the law for the entire executive branch. With Specter giving in, that power will shortly be in Johnsen's hands.

Notes:

1. The Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) assists the Attorney General of the United States in his function as legal adviser to the President and all the executive branch agencies. The OLC drafts legal opinions of the Attorney General and also provides its own written opinions and oral advice in response to requests from the Counsel to the President, the agencies of the executive branch, and offices within the Department of Justice. Such requests typically deal with legal issues of particular complexity and importance or about which two or more agencies are in disagreement. The Office is also responsible for providing legal advice to the executive branch on all constitutional questions and reviewing pending legislation for constitutionality. The decisions of the Office are binding on all executive agencies.

2. Dawn Johnsen worked for the American Civil Liberties Union as a staff counsel fellow on a one-year fellowship from 1987 until 1988, and then worked for the National Abortion & Reproductive Rights Action League (currently NARAL Pro-Choice America) from 1988 until 1993. From 1993 to 1998, Johnsen worked in the Office of Legal Counsel in the Clinton Administration. She was a Deputy Assistant Attorney General from 1993 until 1996, and served as Acting Assistant Attorney General heading the OLC from 1997 until 1998.

Obama won't give up on radical pro-abortion nominee

Barack Obama has thrown many embattled political nominees under the bus, but not when there's a radical pro-abortion lawyer at stake. Today, Obama renominated his pick for the Office of Legal Council, Dawn Johnsen -- despite the fact that Johnsen is a legal zealot with frightening views on the issue of abortion.

Johnsen is one of the legal minds behind the Freedom of Choice Act, a proposed bill that would swing a wrecking ball at all state and local abortion restrictions in the nation, making abortion on demand the law of the land. In a 1989 abortion court case, Johnsen argued, "Statutes that curtail abortion choice are disturbingly suggestive of involuntary servitude, prohibited by the Thirteenth Amendment, in that forced pregnancy requires a woman to provide continuous physical service to the fetus in order to further the state’s asserted interest." She later compared pregnancy to the government "conscripting" a woman's body. In other words, being pro-life is the same as being pro-slavery. When questioned by Sen. Arlen Specter about these nutty statements, she lied to Congress, denying having ever made them.

Unsurprisingly, Johnsen cut her legal teeth at the National Abortion Rights Action League, and earlier at the ACLU.

There are plenty of radical judges and lawyers out there, but Johnsen has been nominated to head up the Office of Legal Counsel, the most important government agency no one's ever heard of. The OLC acts as a mini-Supreme Court for the executive branch. If the president wants to do something constitutionally questionable, he must first receive OLC approval.

Which makes Johnsen the perfect legal rubber stamper for Barack Obama's radical agenda.

Hillary Clinton to honor a group accused of aiding forced abortions in China

Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama's secretary of state, is scheduled to deliver a speech on Friday commemorating the 15th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development. The ICPD was a meeting of world leaders and UN delegates to discuss an array of creepy issues, including population control and family planning. The conference created the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), a motley collection of intellectuals determined to blanket the world with birth control and help women with "reproductive health".

The UNFPA has repeatedly stated that "reproductive health" doesn't mean abortion. But Stephen Mosher, president of the Population Research Institute, led a fact-finding mission to China several years back and discovered that the UNFPA was working hand-in-glove with Chinese population authorities -- who are responsible for enforcing China's one-child policy and carrying out forced abortions and sterilizations. A delegation led by Rep. Chris Smith (D-N.J.) found the same thing.

The relationship between the China and the UNFPA is so strong that the Chinese State Family Planning Commission (How's that for Orwellian?) awarded former UNFPA director Dr. Nafis Sadik with their Population Prize Award back in 2002. Sadik gracious accepted.

This is the organization whose 15th anniversary Hillary Clinton will be lauding. Of course, given Barack Obama's radical pro-choice record, it's no surprise at all.