Obama Needs His HUD Examined
February 11, 2013 - Monday
Just three weeks after a federal court ruled that the White House had overstepped its authority in certain "recess" appointments, the President isn't showing any signs of backing off his second-term power grab. During tomorrow's State of the Union speech, the President is expected to announce another round of "executive actions" on issues he doesn't feel Congress is moving quickly enough to address. Like his two dozen gun initiatives, these directives would help President Obama implement the more controversial parts of his agenda without the House and Senate's approval.
"It's a very dangerous road he's going down..." said Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa). "Just because Congress doesn't act doesn't mean the President has a right to." Although the White House wouldn't comment on the details, officials have confirmed that his actions would include special right for homosexuals and cross-dressers in the workplace. With lawmakers in both parties unwilling to push Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), the President is moving ahead on his own version, which would ban government contractors from "discriminating" on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. As a presidential candidate, Barack Obama promised to put the "whole weight of [his] administration behind... a fully inclusive [ENDA]." His position, which would have ordered employers (like schools and day care centers) to hire transsexuals, drag queens, and drag kings, was considered "too radical" even for his own party. Now the President is considering the next best thing: demanding full conformity with his views for anyone working with or for the federal government.
In the meantime, it looks like some government agencies already tried taking matters into their own hands. According to sources in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, a local project was put on hold until county commissioners agreed to rewrite their non-discrimination ordinance to include homosexuals. "If the county wants to receive nearly a half-million dollars from the federal government for a sewer project this month, it must redefine its definition of family to include same-sex couples."
A local newspaper jumped on the story, exposing HUD's totalitarian tactics. "The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is requiring local government who receive federal housing money to redefine the term 'family' in their fair housing ordinances," Jessie Higgins reported. "New ordinances must include 'a single individual and families regardless of actual or perceived sexual orientation'..."
When the incident started getting more attention, the government suddenly backed off. Unfortunately, that doesn't change the fact that the Obama administration was willing to blackmail local communities into accepting its extreme positions on marriage and family. And under the President's new executive action, that could be the norm. When special rights are given to one group, it's always at the expense of another. For hurting regions like Vanderburgh, commissioners may have to wrestle with the prospect of missing out on federal aid or selling out their conscience.
Sadly, we've seen this kind of bullying from the administration before. The President has tried to extract compliance with his radical views by withholding taxpayer dollars from Catholic Charities for its adoption criteria, from Texas for its "family planning" grantees, and from the Catholic Bishops for their sex trafficking victims program. In most instances, the government's ultimatums have backfired. Let's hope the same is true now.
The Mourning After
While liberals drone on about a "war on women," the real one is happening right under their noses. Late last week, the world lost a bright 29-year-old kindergarten teacher to an abortion industry making millions on the lies of "choice." Jennifer Morbelli was expecting a little girl, but after some fetal abnormalities were detected, she and her husband decided to abort their daughter in the eighth month of the pregnancy. Since only a handful of clinics still perform gruesome late-term abortions, Jennifer had to travel from New York to the office of the infamous LeRoy Carhart (George Tiller's heir apparent) in Germantown, Maryland. It was the last trip she and her unborn daughter would ever make.
Jennifer returned to the clinic a couple days later in serious pain. When Carhart "couldn't be reached" to help, she was taken to a local hospital where she coded six times and then died. Tragically, Jennifer isn't Carhart's first victim. "The Abortion Evangelist," as Newsweek calls him, botched the abortion of Christin Gilbert in 2005 and another woman, whose screams are heard in the background of this horrific 911 call last year.
In a stunning irony, Michael Martelli, the Executive Director of the Maryland Coalition for Life, points out that on the day of Jennifer's death, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene posted on their website that they "issued a license to Carhart's clinic to perform abortions--without a single inspection of the facility."
"What is most appalling," Martelli said, "is that the State of Maryland refused to hear the pleas of this community, and has allowed this man to continue to butcher women and children." Instead, the state turned a blind eye to a barbaric procedure that dismembers unborn children and endangers women's lives. Yet with the exception of a small blurb in Washington Post's metro section, no one seems to notice that this kind of negligence kills.
Today, FRC's Anna Higgins joined an emotional prayer vigil for Jennifer's family and spoke at a press conference about the senselessness of the tragedy.
"As we have seen over and over again in states like Pennsylvania, Arizona, Maryland and Kansas, abortion facilities and procedures remain unsanitary and unsafe. Another botched abortion at an Elkton, Maryland clinic in 2010 resulted in a woman suffering serious internal injuries and led Maryland, one of the most abortion-friendly states in the country, to quietly enact stricter abortion facility regulations in July of 2012. We urge the state of Maryland to follow through on enforcement of regulations like clinic inspections which could potentially save lives. The protection of women and children, not the convenience of clinic owners and operators, should be of paramount importance to the state of Maryland. [Jennifer's death] could have been prevented had abortion been more tightly regulated in this state."
For Pope Benedict, a Graceful Departure
In an announcement that caught the entire world by surprise, Pope Benedict XVI has decided to step down as the Catholic Church's highest official. Citing his age and dwindling strength, the 85-year-old Pope says he has had "to recognize [his] incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me." Although Pope Benedict is the first pontiff to resign in 600 years, his decision was a selfless one. It was an extraordinary act of humility for a man holding one of the most important positions in the world to step aside, knowing that he could pave the way for a new leader of the church.
Pope Benedict will be sorely missed in the global movement for human life and the family. In a culture so divided, his was a voice of reason and influence. As Speaker John Boehner said today, "People of all nations have been blessed by the sacrifices he has made to sow the seeds of hope, justice, and compassion throughout the world in the name of Our Lord and Savior." We join our Catholic friends in thanking Pope Benedict for his tireless work--and pray that his successor is just as committed to speaking truth in a confused world.
** On today's edition of "Washington Watch with Tony Perkins," we talked with FRC's Dr. Pat Fagan about his annual MARRI "Index of Family Belonging and Rejection" study. Also, Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) gave listeners a preview of what to expect during tomorrow night's State of the Union. To listen to the show tomorrow morning or to find an American Family Radio station near you, check out TonyPerkins.com.