Brown Pelican Society of Louisiana

The Holy Eucharist, Vatican II tells us, is “the source and summit of the Christian life” (Lumen gentium, no. 11; cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1324). Since the Christian life is essentially a spiritual life, we might say as well that the Eucharist is the “source and summit of Christian spirituality” too. http://www.ewtn.com/library/DOCTRINE/SOURCSUM.TXT

Adoration Of The Blessed Sacrament (with Hymns)
Video is an actual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament from Boston Ma.

There are Catholics within the Church that are actively twisting Church teaching to advance an evil agenda.

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When it comes to being a bishop, the bishop of Rome is telling the other bishops to get in line and do it now.

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With Liberty and Prophylactics for All!

A tiny town on Cape Cod has taken one thing off its back-to-school list: parental involvement. To the astonishment of most every media outlet in America, the Provincetown school board voted unanimously to pass out condoms to all students–starting with first graders. Under Massachusetts law, individual school districts are allowed to make their own policies about sex education. But in the first grade? she told reporters. “They have to go and ask for it. I’d rather them not have the conversation.” I suppose she would prefer baskets of free birth control at the elementary school doors? Six-year-olds are usually worried about catching cooties–not Chlamydia! As if that weren’t outrageous enough, school leaders won’t allow parents to opt-out. The rule specifically states that Provincetown will not honor requests from moms and dads who want to keep their kids out of the distribution program. In fact, some board members argued that the new policy didn’t go far enough. Committee member Shannon Patrick actually complained that students can’t have private access to the stash of condoms. “I don’t like that students can’t be discreet about this,”

Regardless of how liberal the community may be, it boggles my mind that these activists are getting away with openly defying a family’s authority. In district after district, schools are creeping in and substituting their judgment for that of parents’. It’s all part of the Left’s broader strategy to sexualize children and break down inhibitions so that they become the next generation of Planned Parenthood clients. Beth Singer, the Provincetown superintendent tried to argue, “They are children. They often act without information–on assumption, things they’ve heard… I think information is always important for kids.”

She’s right. Information is important–from parents. In most schools, kids can’t even take a Tylenol without their mom’s or dad’s permission, but now it’s okay to encourage six-year-olds to have sex without ever calling home? On matters that directly affect a child’s health, it is imperative that families are central in the decision-making process. Even parents who are supportive of condoms for older children should be warned that research shows they aren’t effective. Greater access to contraception doesn’t reduce teen pregnancies or abortion. David Paton, who has authored four major studies in this area, went so far as to say that “It is clear that providing more family planning… has actually led to an increase [in contraception rates]… It appears that if people have access to family planning advice, they think they automatically have a lower risk of pregnancy.”

Unfortunately, this is exactly the kind of “health care” that this administration envisioned for every school in America when it passed ObamaCare. School-based clinics, free birth control pills, millions of dollars for Planned Parenthood–it’s all in there. And when those fail, as even liberals expect them to, taxpayers will give free abortions to every woman who wants one. What a difference an administration makes. Under President Bush, kids learned about the real ABCs: abstinence, be faithful, and (as a last resort) contraception.

Oil and Prayer Do Mix!

Last week, the Louisiana Senate passed a resolution calling for a Day of Prayer for the Gulf disaster and those impacted by it. Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) has said the crisis will put 84,000 Louisianans out of work. Similar prayer calls are being organized for the other Gulf States. John Stemberger, President of the Florida Family Policy Council, is working on a coordinated effort, and is asking believers and churches across America to unite in prayer for the Gulf this Sunday, June 27^th. And on July 4^th, I’m urging Christians, pastors, and churches across America to join us in observing the second Call2Fall, and to make this 4^th of July a time, not just to celebrate, but to cry out to God for our nation. Pastors in all 50 states are uniting in prayer by taking a minimum of five minutes during their Sunday services to lead people in repentant prayer for America. Please let your pastor know by pointing him to www.Call2Fall.com where he can follow the directions for churches. Check out the site yourself and click “I’m In!”

http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=WU10F19&f=PG07J01

….It is imperative to thoroughly understand this evolving ideological movement in order to effectively resist it.  The socialist ideology is so pervasive that it will probably never be completely defeated.  Time after time, it has been seemingly destroyed and discredited, only to rise again in a new incarnation.  Its adherents play by no rules (other than Alinsky’s), and their ends justify any means required…..

By Andrew Thomas,  American Thinker, June 25, 2010

…he is the least qualified person ever to be elected president . . . worked as a civil-rights attorney, whatever that means . . . taught at a law school, which may be why he always sounds as if he’s lecturing to twenty-somethings….

By Daniel Oliver, American Spectator, 6.18.10

When John F. Kennedy Jr.’s plane crashed into Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, in July 1999 some observers said he had gotten himself into a “square box,” meaning that he had run into the limits of his experience and his imagination.

Barack Obama is in a square box, and observers are now beginning to talk about his inevitable crash.

There was some question about JFK Jr.’s flying experience. There’s no dispute about Barack Obama’s executive experience: he has none. In fact, he is the least qualified person ever to be elected president.

Prior to being elected, he had done almost nothing. Certainly nothing requiring, or teaching, executive ability.

He served in some capacity as a “community organizer,” which Sarah Palin might say is like running a Sunday-school picnic, but without the kids.

He worked as a civil-rights attorney, whatever that means. And he taught at a law school, which may be why he always sounds as if he’s lecturing to twenty-somethings.

He served in the Illinois legislature for a few yeas, but spent most of his time voting “present.” Then he served in the U.S. Senate, but for only two years.

Would the directors of any mid-sized company have asked him to be its CEO? He wouldn’t even have qualified for — in Ross Perot’s memorable phrase — middle management.

He is a man without significant executive experience in life.

He also seems to have little imagination. His supporters say he is tremendously brilliant. Maybe. But how do we know? Obama has never released his college or law-school grades, and, given the educational institutions he attended (Columbia College and Harvard Law School), we are entitled to assume he may have been an affirmative-action admittee. As he was to the White House.

Besides, the relationship between brains and imagination is not clear. Harvard brains are obviously not a necessary condition for a fertile imagination. President Reagan went to Eureka College. But he had the imagination — the vision — to reduce taxes and win the Cold War. He inspired America and was the most successful president of the 20th century. (Roosevelt only won a war. Reagan won a war and saved the economy.)

Certainly nothing Barack Obama has done since becoming president shows much imagination. He is a complete knee-jerk liberal. Not a single action he has taken makes you say, “Wow, that was clever.”

His economic policy is straight from the FDR-progressive mold. And although, like Roosevelt’s, it has failed miserably (skyrocketing deficits, persistent unemployment), he lacks the imagination to try something else. Even his speeches are turning into liabilities. Exhibit A (or are we up to Exhibit Q now?): his Oval Office speech on BP, which his friends panned.

His foreign policy is now a Washington joke. Rude to America’s friends, obsequious to her enemies, he leaves people wondering what disaster will be next. He got off to an awful start by taking the wrong side in the Honduras crisis. The good guys threw out the bad guy, and Obama backed… the bad guy.

It has only gotten worse. Iran seems set to get the bomb. Israel is friendless in this administration, even when it seeks to keep the bad guys out of Gaza, Israel’s Cuba. In Europe he is known as “Obama the Impotent.” The president of France wonders out loud if he is “weak.” Obama has even dissed our best allies, the British, repealing (to the extent one man can) the long-term “special relationship.” And much, much more.

Some people are suggesting that if the Republicans win big in November, Obama may make a midterm course correction, as President Clinton did. But Clinton was a man of experience. (He was also a Rhodes Scholar.) Before he became president, he had been elected governor of Arkansas, defeated for reelection, then reelected two years later. He figured out what people wanted and gave it to them. He even realized that America wanted welfare reform, although he didn’t.

Clinton, George Will said, was not our worst president; but he was the worst man ever to become president. Obama is not the worst man ever to become president. But he is certainly the most incompetent, as Americans, watching this weak community organizer flail impotently against the BP oil spill, are now coming to realize.

Obama’s performance will not get better, because Obama lacks the experience and the imagination to make it better. His crash now seems inevitable.

http://spectator.org/archives/2010/06/18/barack-obamas-square-box

6-22-10 Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey talks with Neil Cavuto in a town hall setting about the state’s financial troubles. Chris Christie says there is a $46 billion dollar debt in the pension fund and reform MUST take place. He takes on the teachers union head on and I must say, this guy is fast becoming a hero of mine. Great Interview!

Patriot Post, Chronicle, June 23, 2010

Insight

“Liberty will not descend to a people, a people must raise themselves to liberty; it is a blessing that must be earned before it can be enjoyed.”

–English cleric and writer Charles Caleb Colton (1780-1832)

“But what is liberty without wisdom, and without , virtue? It is the greatest of all possible evils; for it is folly, vice, and madness, without tuition or restraint.”

–British statesman Edmund Burke (1729-1797)

By Kathleen Gilbert, June 24, 2010, LifeSiteNews.com

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Several major pro-life leaders are urging the Catholic Health Association (CHA) to back a pro-life amendment to the federal health care law, days after the organization reiterated its support for health reform, thereby breaking with the leadership of U.S. bishops who have decried the vast abortion funding embedded in the legislation.

At CHA’s annual summit last week, President Obama, who played an active role in convincing the group to break with the bishops’ pro-life stand, praised the group for supporting the measure in a videotaped message. CHA President Sr. Carol Keehan’s support for the health reform law has been widely recognized as having been crucial for the bill’s ultimate success.

At a meeting in St. Petersburg, Fla. last week, Cardinal Francis George, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), reiterated his condemnation of CHA for stubbornly supporting the pro-abortion bill. He called CHA’s position a “wound to Catholic unity” that provided political cover for Catholic Democrats to fall in line behind the bill.

In response CHA continued to defend itself, issuing a statement Tuesday lauding the measure’s provisions extending health coverage to the uninsured.

But in a letter dated Thursday, pro-life leaders called upon CHA President Sr. Carol Keehan to prove CHA’s dedication to pro-life Catholic principles by supporting an amendment that would halt the flow of taxpayer funds for abortion under the new law. Signatories to the letter include leaders with the Susan B. Anthony List, the Catholic Medical Association, Americans United for Life, Family Research Council Action, and other top pro-life and Catholic groups.

“A core group of pro-life Democrats looked to you for leadership in their decision to vote for the healthcare bill with only an Executive Order to address protection of the unborn and consciences of healthcare providers and taxpayers,” wrote the leaders. “You are in a position now to use your leadership to support a vital bill that will amend the new healthcare law to permanently protect Life.”

The group urged Keehan to respond “as soon as possible” with her support for the Protect Life Act offered by Congressmen Joe Pitts (R-PA) and Daniel Lipinski (D-IL). The proposed amendment currently has 108 bi-partisan co-sponsors.

Although Obama issued an executive order meant to ensure that no federal funds would go to abortion just after the bill’s passage in March, the group of pro-life signatories reminded CHA that there can be “no guarantee that abortion funding will be excluded without statutory language preventing federal funds from covering and/or subsidizing abortion in the healthcare bill.”  Pro-life leaders and independent analysts have largely concluded that the executive order does little or nothing to change the content of the bill.

“As we have seen numerous times in the past, if abortion coverage is not explicitly excluded from legislation it is implicitly included,” they wrote. “In order to ensure that unborn life is protected in this bill, H.R. 5111 needs to become law.”

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/jun/10062412.html

Catholic News Agency, June 25, 2010

Baptist Press, Thursday, June 24, 2010

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (BP)–Four Gulf Coast governors are calling on residents to set aside Sunday as a Day of Prayer to pray for a solution to the oil spill and for citizens impacted by the disaster.

Alabama’s Bob Riley, Louisiana’s Bobby Jindal, Mississippi’s Haley Barbour and Texas’ Rick Perry all issued proclamations calling on prayer for the spill, which entered its 66th day Thursday.

“Throughout our history, Alabamians have humbly turned to God to ask for His blessings and to hold us steady during times of struggle. This is certainly one of those times,” Riley said in a statement.

Riley’s proclamation reads in part, “Citizens of Alabama are urged to pray for the well-being of our fellow citizens and our State, to pray for all those in other states who are hurt by this disaster, to pray for those who are working to respond to this crisis, and to pray that a solution that stops the oil leak is completed soon.”

Perry’s proclamation says it “seems right and fitting that the people of Texas should join with their fellow Gulf Coast residents” and others across the country and around the world “to thank God, seek his wisdom for ourselves and our leaders, and ask him for his merciful intervention and healing in this time of crisis.”

Barbour’s notes that the spill threatens the “livelihoods of our fellow citizens, the environmental beauty of our coast, and our quality of life.” Jindals’s says “Louisianians all across the world are united in hope for an end to this catastrophic event and pray for” the coast’s recovery.

(The full text of the proclamations are contained at the end of this story.)

Southern Baptist Convention messengers meeting in Orlando, Fla., June 16 passed a resolution calling on churches and Christians “to pray for the end of this catastrophe and for the homes, lives, cultures, and livelihoods of those in the Gulf Coast region.” The resolution also made a statement regarding the environment, asserting, “Our God-given dominion over the creation is not unlimited, as though we were gods and not creatures.”

Michael Foust is an assistant editor of Baptist Press.

Alabama Gov. Bob Riley:

“WHEREAS, Alabama is suffering from an unprecedented disaster caused by the explosion and sinking of the BP Deepwater Horizon and its aftermath, a disaster that threatens the livelihoods of our fellow citizens, the environmental beauty of our coast, and our quality of life; and

“WHEREAS, throughout our history, Alabamians have turned in prayer to God to humbly ask for His blessings and to hold us steady during times of difficulty; and

“WHEREAS, citizens of Alabama are urged to pray for the well-being of our fellow citizens and our State, to pray for all those in other states who are hurt by this disaster, to pray for those who are working to respond to this crisis, and to pray that a solution that stops the oil leak is completed soon:

“NOW, THEREFORE, I, Bob Riley, Governor of Alabama, do hereby declare Sunday, June 27, 2010, as a Day of Prayer in Alabama and encourage individuals to pray on their own or with others, according to their own faith, in an expression of faith and hope.

“BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that citizens of Alabama are also encouraged to give personal thanks to God for the blessings we have received and for God’s continued guidance during these difficult times.”

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal:

“WHEREAS, Louisiana is entering the 66th day of an economic and environmental crisis caused by the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which is the largest oil spill in American history; and,

“WHEREAS, The Deepwater Horizon oil spill already has a profound effect on Louisiana, its coastline and its people and our entire Louisiana way of life; and,

“WHEREAS, The people of coastal Louisiana are being directly impacted by the closure of our waters for fishing and oyster harvesting and many are struggling to make ends meet or provide for their families; and,

“WHEREAS, The continuing BP oil spill disaster follows the damage caused by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav and Ike, which impacted many of the same communities now being struck by oil; and,

“WHEREAS, Louisiana, known around the world as the Sportsman’s Paradise, is blessed with a bounty of natural treasures, including unique wildlife and fisheries and vibrant communities and traditions that are now threatened due to the ongoing catastrophic damage to our wetlands; and,

“WHEREAS, The suffering of Louisiana’s state bird, the brown pelican, which was only recently removed from the endangered species list, has become symbolic of the continuing damage caused by the BP oil spill to our fragile coastline and the entire ecosystem it supports; and,

“WHEREAS, Louisiana’s people are coming together to help each other now during this time of crisis just as they have persevered through losses before; and Louisiana fishermen, shrimpers and oyster harvesters are now on the frontlines of the oil spill, fighting to protect our coast; and,

“WHEREAS, Hundreds of members of the Louisiana National Guard are working tirelessly to shield our fragile marshland from oil that continues to hit our shores – even as many of them just recently returned from fighting for our country overseas; and Louisiana scientists, biologists, veterinarians and wildlife agents battle against the oil every day to rescue and rehabilitate wildlife that survive being impacted by the oil; and,

“WHEREAS, Coastal parish leaders from all along the coast have come together to implement their own ideas to protect our waters and our shores, often fighting to convey the sense of urgency and quick action that this crisis demands; and,

“WHEREAS, The American people continue to offer their support through prayers and charitable donations, and business owners and scientists share their ideas for stopping the oil; and,

“WHEREAS, Louisianians all across the world are united in hope for an end to this catastrophic event and pray for the recovery of our coastline, the rehabilitation of our fish and wildlife and the restoration of our extraordinary coastal areas that are unlike any other place in the world; and,

“WHEREAS, Our collective fight to recover from this crisis and prevent future damage continues today;

“NOW, THEREFORE, I, Bobby Jindal, Governor of the State of Louisiana, do hereby proclaim June 27, 2010 as a Statewide Day of Prayer In the State of Louisiana and in the Gulf of Mexico.”

Texas Gov. Rick Perry:

“WHEREAS, the Gulf Coast has suffered an unfortunate loss of life due to the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, which continues to threaten livelihoods, economies and precious coastal wildlife ecosystems with devastation and destruction; and

“WHEREAS, throughout our history, both as a state and as individuals, Texans have been strengthened, assured and lifted up through prayer; and

“WHEREAS, prayer provides peace and guidance in times of crisis and conflict, and reminds us of the comforting assurance of God’s love for us all; and

“WHEREAS, it seems right and fitting that the people of Texas should join with their fellow Gulf Coast residents and others across the country and around the world to thank God, seek his wisdom for ourselves and our leaders, and ask him for his merciful intervention and healing in this time of crisis;

“NOW, THEREFORE, I, RICK PERRY, Governor of Texas, under the authority vested in me by the Constitution and Statutes of the State of Texas, do hereby proclaim Sunday, June 27, 2010, as a Day of Prayer in the State of Texas. I urge Texans of all faiths and religious traditions to offer prayers on that day for the healing of individuals, the rebuilding of communities and the restoration of entire Gulf Coast environment in the wake of this disaster.”

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour:

“WHEREAS, Mississippians are suffering from an unprecedented disaster caused by the April 20, 2010, explosion and resulting oil spill from the BP Deepwater Horizon oil well, a disaster that threatens the livelihoods of our fellow citizens, the environmental beauty of our coast, and our quality of life; and

“WHEREAS, “Prayer allows us an opportunity to reflect and to seek guidance, strength, comfort and inspiration from Almighty God; and

“WHEREAS, citizens of Mississippi are urged to pray for the well-being of our fellow citizens and our State, to pray for all those in other states who are hurt by this disaster, to pray for those who are working to respond to this crisis, and to pray that a solution that stops the oil leak is completed soon:

“NOW THEREFORE, I, Haley Barbour, Governor of the State of Mississippi, hereby proclaim June 27, 2010, as a Day of Prayer in Mississippi for relief from this crisis and restoration of the Gulf of Mexico and shoreline.”

Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press www.BPNews.net

http://townhall.com/news/religion/2010/06/24/4_gulf_coast_governors_call_for_day_of_prayer_on_sunday

By Michelle Malkin, Patriot Post,  Friday, June 25, 2010

President Obama’s Labor Secretary Hilda Solis is supposed to represent American workers. What you need to know is that this longtime open-borders sympathizer has always had a rather radical definition of “American.” At a Latino voter registration project conference in Los Angeles many years ago, Solis asserted to thunderous applause, “We are all Americans, whether you are legalized or not.”

That’s right. The woman in charge of enforcing our employment laws doesn’t give a hoot about our immigration laws — or about the fundamental distinction between those who followed the rules in pursuit of the American dream and those who didn’t.

While in Congress, she opposed strengthening the border fence, supported expansion of illegal alien benefits (including driver’s licenses and in-state tuition discounts), embraced sanctuary cities that refused to cooperate with federal homeland security officials to enforce immigration laws, and aggressively championed a mass amnesty. Solis was steeped in the pro-illegal alien worker organizing movement in Southern California and was buoyed by amnesty-supporting Big Labor groups led by the Service Employees International Union. She has now caused a Capitol Hill firestorm over her new taxpayer-funded advertising and outreach campaign to illegal aliens regarding fair wages:

“I’m here to tell you that your president, your secretary of labor and this department will not allow anyone to be denied his or her rightful pay — especially when so many in our nation are working long, hard and often dangerous hours,” Solis says in the video pitch. “We can help, and we will help. If you work in this country, you are protected by our laws. And you can count on the U.S. Department of Labor to see to it that those protections work for you.”

To be sure, no one should be scammed out of “fair wages.” Employers that hire and exploit illegal immigrant workers deserve full sanctions and punishment. But it’s the timing, tone-deafness and underlying blanket amnesty agenda of Solis’ illegal alien outreach that has so many American workers and their representatives on Capitol Hill rightly upset. Continue reading →

“The dons, the bashaws, the grandees, the patricians, the sachems, the nabobs, call them by what names you please, sigh and groan and fret, and sometimes stamp and foam and curse, but all in vain. The decree is gone forth, and it cannot be recalled, that a more equal liberty than has prevailed in other parts of the earth must be established in America.”

—John Adams, letter to Patrick Henry, 1776

CATHOLIC NEWS AGENCY, JUNE 25, 2010

William was born in 11th-century Italy to a noble family. He was orphaned as an infant and raised by relatives. At the young age of 14, he made a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, and decided to devote his life to God as a hermit.

He returned to Italy and lived as a hermit for two years at Monte Solicoli, where he was credited with healing a blind man. At Monte Vergiliano, his reputation for holiness attracted many disciples, and in 1119, he established a monastery with a Rule based on the Benedictines.

Five other houses were formed during his lifetime, but only the original survives today. He died June 25, 1142 of natural causes.

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint.php?n=514

The Brown Pelican has been experiencing technical difficulties this morning.  Hopefully, things will be worked our for Friday’s postings.

Thanks for your patience and loyalty.  We greatly appreciate all of our readers.

Lucifer heads one Army while the Mother of God stands at the head of the other. You must choose, now!

When all is said and done, the truth is simple. Two opposite, but unequal forces are gathering – as they always have. At the head of one is Satan and at standing at the head of the other is the Queen of Heaven. Whose army are YOU in?

Please watch this episode of the Vortex and pass it along to your friends and family.

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Obama Expands His Pro-Homosexual Agenda by Regulation, ‘Interpretation’

By Fred Lucas, Staff Writer, CNSNews, June 23, 2010

President Barack Obama  (Flanked by “Catholic” V.P. Joe Biden)  participate in a Gay Pride Month event at the White House on Tuesday, June 22, 2010. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Washington (CNSNews.com) – Without action by Congress, President Barack Obama on Tuesday announced that his administration will issue regulations applying the Family and Medical Leave Act to homosexual couples and requiring most hospitals to allow homosexuals to visit their partners.

One conservative group criticized the White House for handing out “political favors” to the homosexual lobby – and vastly expanding presidential power in the process.

“Piece by anti-democratic piece, the White House is executing its plan for a vast expansion of presidential power,” the Family Research Council said. “What this administration has accomplished is nothing less than suspending the power of Congress.”

Speaking at an LGBT [Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender] Pride Month reception in the East Room of the White House on Tuesday evening, Obama told homosexual activists that his Labor Department has made it clear that under the Family and Medical Leave Act, “same-sex couples – as well as others raising children — are to be treated like the caretakers that they are.”

Hours before the White House reception started, President Obama’s Labor Department announced a new “interpretation” of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the 1993 law that allows workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period to care for loved ones or themselves.

“All families, including LGBT families, are protected by the FMLA,” the Labor Department said. It described the move as “a victory for many non-traditional families, including families in the lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender community, who often in the past have been denied leave to care for their loved ones.”

A lesbian couple awaits the arrival of President Barack Obama at a LGBT Pride Month event at the White House on Tuesday, June 22, 2010. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

At Tuesday’s reception, President Obama also said he’s instructed Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to make sure that hospitals participating in Medicare or Medicaid allow homosexual partners the same privileges and visitation rights as straight partners.

“And before we came out here today, I wanted to make sure that I had followed up — Secretary Sebelius will officially be proposing this regulation,” Obama said. “And I can also announce that the secretary has sent a letter today asking these hospitals to adopt these changes now – even before the rule takes effect.”

(As CNSNews.com previously reported, the hospital visitation regulation has been described as a solution in search of a problem, since most hospitals allow patients to have whatever visitors they wish.)

Obama on Tuesday also touted passage of the federal hate crimes law; he pledged to end the ban on homosexuals serving openly in the military; and he pledged to repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

Obama already has issued an executive order to extend more benefits to gay and lesbian federal employees. “I’m going to continue to fight to change the law: to guarantee gay federal employees the exact same benefits as straight employees – including access to health insurance and retirement plans,” he said Tuesday.

Constance McMillen, the Mississippi teen who wanted to attend prom with her girlfriend only to see the prom cancelled in response, attended the LGBT Pride Month event at the White House on Tuesday, June 22, 2010. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

At the start of his evening remarks, the president acknowledged a friendly crowd.

“I was going to say welcome to the White House — but you guys seem like you feel right at home,” Obama said. “And it is also great to have so many activists and organizers from around the country — folks who fight every day for the rights of parents and children and partners and citizens to be treated equally under the law. And so we are very proud of all of you.”

Obama reminded the crowd that he has “called for Congress to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act,” a federal law that says no state can be required to recognize a same-sex marriage performed in another state. So if DOMA is repealed, for example, the states of Kansas or Mississippi – which have not legalized homosexual unions — would have to recognize a homosexual marriage performed in Massachusetts.

“I believe that committed gay and lesbian couples deserve the same rights and responsibilities afforded to any married couple in this country,” Obama said.

Some homosexual activists expected Obama to move more quickly on their issues, and they have criticized his slow pace. But the president argued that change comes slowly: “We can already point to extraordinary progress that we’ve made over the past year on behalf of Americans who are gay and lesbian, bisexual and transgender,” Obama said. “Just stay with me here for a second.

“Last year, I met with Judy Shepard, Matthew Shepard’s mom, and I promised her that after a decades-long struggle, we would pass inclusive hate crimes legislation,” Obama said. “I promised that in the name of her son, we would ensure that the full might of the law is brought down on those who would attack somebody just because they are gay. And less than six months later, with Judy by my side, we marked the enactment of the Matthew Shepard Act.  It’s now the law of the land.”

The repeal of the don’t-ask-don’t-tell military policy — which prohibits homosexuals from openly serving in the military — is within reach, Obama said.

“Thanks to [Rep.] Patrick Murphy and others, for the first time in history, the House has passed a repeal that would allow gay men and women to openly serve in our armed forces. And this repeal is authored so that the Pentagon can complete its review of the policy — which is critical, by the way, not only to passage, but it’s also critical to making sure that the change is accepted and implemented effectively.

“In the Senate, the Armed Services Committee has approved repeal for the first time, and the full body is poised to vote soon,” Obama continued. “So here’s the bottom line:  We have never been closer to ending this discriminatory policy. And I’m going to keep on fighting until that bill is on my desk and I can sign it.”

Where’s Congress?

The conservative Family Research Council says the Obama administration’s new regulations will “sweep away the law protecting marriage and turn the Family and Medical Leave Act into another weapon that the White House will use to bludgeon DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act) into extinction.”

Moreover, the Labor Department’s new interpretation of the Family and Medical Leave Act “will be implemented without so much as a courtesy call to America’s real lawmaking body, Congress,” FRC warned.

“Under Article I of the Constitution, America’s lawmaking ability is wholly vested in the House and Senate–not government agencies or 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. By granting these special privileges to homosexuals — privileges that are in direct conflict with U.S. law — the President is breaching the Constitution and its limits on Executive authority.”

The Family Research Council  says President Obama is getting away with it because he knows that Americans will keep quiet on issues such as homosexuality.

“But no matter how indifferent voters may be to the President’s gay agenda, they must understand that the White House is gaining power to use in other areas,” FRC warned.

“The administration is becoming a government bully that steps on the rights of states, the will of the people, and the morals of our nation. And slowly but surely, the President is disarming America from fighting back. He will keep testing the boundaries of his authority until we relinquish all of ours.”

….This administration hopes that the more time conservatives spend wringing their hands about these changes, the less time they will spend doing something about them…..

Labor Strike: DOL Bombs away at DOMA

At tonight’s gay and lesbian pride bash, the White House won’t be giving out party favors–but political favors. Before America’s most prestigious residence is transformed into a festival of perversion, the President got the celebration started early by altering a major federal policy. Yesterday, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced that it would order companies, including private businesses, to give 12 weeks of unpaid leave to homosexuals who want to care for their partner’s sick child or loved one. The Department is expected to make a formal announcement about the changes tomorrow, giving the revelers plenty to toast tonight.

Essentially, these regulations would help sweep away the law protecting marriage and turn the Family and Medical Leave Act into another weapon that the White House will use to bludgeon DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act) into extinction. As it’s been described by DOL officials, this “new interpretation of the law” (as they’re describing it) will be implemented without so much as a courtesy call to America’s real lawmaking body, Congress. Piece by anti-democratic piece, the White House is executing its plan for a vast expansion of presidential power. It’s exactly what FRC’s Ken Blackwell and Ken Klukowski predicted in their book, The Blueprint: Obama’s Plan to Subvert the Constitution and Build an Imperial Presidency. What this administration has accomplished is nothing less than suspending the power of Congress. Under Article I of the Constitution, America’s lawmaking ability is wholly vested in the House and Senate–not government agencies or 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. By granting these special privileges to homosexuals–privileges that are in direct conflict with U.S. law–the President is breaching the Constitution and its limits on Executive authority. He isn’t just pushing the envelope–he’s signed, stamped, and mailed it.

How is he getting away with this? Easy. He knows that Americans will keep quiet, especially on issues like homosexuality. But no matter how indifferent voters may be to the President’s gay agenda, they must understand that the White House is gaining power to use in other areas. The administration is becoming a government bully that steps on the rights of states, the will of the people, and the morals of our nation. And slowly but surely, the President is disarming America from fighting back. He will keep testing the boundaries of his authority until we relinquish all of ours. When he squeezes out every last drop of resistance, the administration will stalk the states. We’ve already witnessed what the White House is capable of through ObamaCare and the Arizona immigration law. What next? He could threaten to unravel state marriage amendments by “interpreting” them the same way he interprets the Family and Medical Leave Act–by rewriting them.

As much as Barack Obama may care about the upcoming elections, he is quietly building an Executive safety net that will more than cushion the blow if November 2^nd wipes out his party’s leadership. After all, why worry about losing the congressional majority if you can execute your policies without it? You’ve heard of activist judges. Well, meet the first activist President. He has a pointed, under-the-radar strategy motivated by two things: mobilizing his affluent homosexual base to give more and work harder for victory this fall, while demoralizing the vast majority of America that disagrees with his radical agenda. This administration hopes that the more time conservatives spend wringing their hands about these changes, the less time they will spend doing something about them.

In marriage battle after marriage battle, the Left has witnessed what we’re capable of when we operate out of deep moral conviction for what we know to be true and best for America. They know that their money is no match for the wealth of passion and energy we can deliver when liberals attack our families, our faith, and our freedoms. Do you want to stop this rising tide of immoral public policy? Now is not the time to shrink back in despair. Now is the time to increase the fervency of our prayers and the focus of our actions. Join us for Call2Fall on July the 4^th and contact your congressmen today and ask them to defend the Constitution by opposing the President’s attempts to create new laws by executive order.

The Emperor’s New DISCLOSE

You can add the President’s name to the list of supporters on the DISCLOSE Act, or as we like to call it, the 2010 Incumbency Protection Act.” The White House issued a statement of endorsement this week, just as Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) tried to quash the rumors that the Senate wouldn’t take up the bill if it passed the House. Despite outrage from his own side, Sen. Reid wrote, “We commit to working tirelessly for Senate consideration of the House-passed bill so it can be signed by the president in time to take effect for the 2010 elections.” Considering the tough race the Majority Leader faces it is no surprise he wants to move quickly to silence the opposition.   Meanwhile, H.R. 5175 seems to be inching closer to a vote in the House as Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) tries to cobble her shaky coalition back together after several Democrats stepped away from the bill.   Once again, she resorted to some backroom wheeling and dealing to buy back her support, this time by protecting government contractors who might be banned from political speech during election season.  As always, Speaker Pelosi is on the lookout for new ways to undermine democracy to get her legislation passed. In a great sound bite from the debate, Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.) described it as “auctioning off the First Amendment.” Going once… going twice…

http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=WU10F17&f=PG07J01

Feds Shut Down Sand Berm Dredging

The new Supreme Court pick, Elena Kagan, has never been a judge. She’s never seen a courtroom from the bench. She’s never had a judge’s responsibilities. Elena Kagan has never instructed a jury or ruled on a point of law—any point of law. She’s never tried a criminal case, a civil case, or even a traffic case. She has not decided even one constitutional issue.

We don’t know whether or not she believes the Constitution is the foundation of American law or whether she thinks, like many, the Constitution constantly changes based upon the personal opinions of Supreme Court justices. But either way, Elena Kagan has never had to make a constitutional call in a court of law in the heat of a trial.

She has never admitted evidence or ruled out evidence or ruled on the chain of custody regarding evidence. She has never made even one decision regarding any rule of evidence. She has never ruled on the exclusionary rule, the Miranda doctrine, an unlawful search and seizure allegation, a due process claim, an equal protection violation or any constitutional issue.

Human Events, June 23, 2010

Photo: Interior Secretary Ken Salazar

THE GULF OIL SPILL 06/23 12:00 A.M.
> > > Salazar lied to get the offshore-drilling ban enacted — and a federal judge gave him what he deserved. ► MICHELLE MALKIN


image by Richard Terrell