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As with yesterday’s post about the NEA, where a high ranking official without shame articulated that group’s real objectives (money and power) in contradiction to its stated goals of improving education, today we bring you something similar, though thoroughly crude and disturbing, by Planned Parenthood. It’s a video, by our friends at Catholicvote.org, of a Planned Parenthood march and rally earlier this year. The video simply records pro-abortion radicals saying (often screaming) what they believe, while (to put it kindly) distorting what pro-lifers believe. Of course, the Mainstream Media won’t embarrass its own movement by covering such nonsense (but when there’s a Tea Party rally calling for commonsense spending restraint . . . you know what happens). Neither did the MSM cover this rally of “liberals” last year, where participants gladly called themselves socialists and communists. (But let a conservative call these radicals what they admit to being and the media contrives a firestorm.)

Still, it’s important to hear what the pro-abortion side truly believes (government funding and insurance coverage of abortion on demand), in their own (shrill) words. Nothing close to “safe, legal and rare.” Of course, liberals claim that conservatives distort their positions and it is conservatives who are out of touch. But it’s hard to claim Planned Parenthood is reasonable after watching this. As with the teachers union, what Planned Parenthood says (and how it acts) for public consumption and what it sincerely shrieks when it thinks no one is watching is vastly different.

“Government should fund Planned Parenthood.”

“I want Planned Parenthood to be like Starbucks. I want a Planned Parenthood on every corner.”

Bringing at least a modicum of school choice and education freedom long has been a goal of reform minded people who realize that the government-run education monopoly is holding back academic achievement. This Tuesday, the Senate Finance Committee has a chance to show its open mindedness and independence from the education establishment when it votes on HB 2314, patroned by Delegate Jimmie Massie’s (R-72, Henrico).

The bill establishes a tax credit for businesses donating to non-profit organizations providing scholarships to free and reduced lunch students (family of four earning less than $40,793 per year). Despite fierce opposition from the Virginia School Board Association and the Virginia Education Association, the bill passed the House of Delegates 54-45 this week.

The modesty of this bill is testimony to how tenacious and powerful the Educrat establishment is in Richmond. It will fight to the death anything that hints at cracking its monopoly or reforms it from within. This is no exaggeration. The Educrats even are resisting a bill to provide for more physical education (HB 1644), patroned by Delegate John O’Bannon (R-73, Henrico). (See Washington Post Virginia Politics Blog.)

On the heels of yesterday’s well-attended Family Foundation Day at the Capitol and rally focused on school choice, we think there is real momentum to pass HB 2314. It’s certainly well passed time, considering the state of public education in certain areas of the state and for certain families that are trapped with no option but to attend an inadequate public school.
 
Similar scholarship programs in Pennsylvania and Florida have been huge successes. Florida’s program is a prime example, where demand for a program started in 2001 has grown from $50 million to $88 million, providing scholarships for more than 33,000 low-income children.
 
The bill is designed to avoid the nefarious ”negative fiscal impact” to the state. In fact, the fiscal impact will be all positive. Florida’s program, for example, saved that state $36 million in the 2008-09 fiscal year alone, according to the Florida Office of Program Analysis and Government Accountability.
 
In Florida and elsewhere, thousands of children have been given opportunities for a better education through scholarships created because funding is available. Despite cries of “taking money from children” in public schools, the scholarship programs in other states have in no way negatively affected public schools. 
 
Unfortunately, the Senate Finance Committee has been very hostile to any legislation that provides education freedom to families. Last year, it killed a similar bill by a 9-6 vote — see committee members make outlandish and outrageous comments.
 
In two different polls conducted by, or on behalf of, The Family Foundation or other education freedom supporters over the past three years, large majorities of Virginians have indicated their support for tax credits like the one created in HB 2314.

Certain liberals like to say, “Conservatives want to take us back,” although they never specify where. Perhaps it’s more a case of liberals holding us back — or stuck in the past — with ideas no longer as effective as once were, and never moving forward with proven reforms.

Please contact members of the Senate Finance Committee and urge them to vote for HB 2314. We are close and only need to flip two votes.

When conservatives, such as Sarah Palin, first brought up the fact that the health care legislation in Congress at the time, and eventually passed, included death panels, the Left threw a hissy fit (see Saul Relative at Yahoo! as an example). Her statement was called, “Lie of the Year,” among many other unflattering things. So, where’s the Left’s outrage at economist Paul Krugman? 

Mr. Krugman is the leading voice in America for government intervention in the economy. Liberals revere him and has won a Nobel Prize for economics. He writes frequently in the New York Times, where he deviates from economics to thrash conservatives, adding to his prominence among the ruling class elites who think they know everything and that they must control your decisions through an increasingly larger government. We he speaks and writes, the Left — activists and those in government — take heed.

Last weekend, on ABC’s This Week, Mr. Krugman went well beyond what Governor Palin said about Obamacare — and it wasn’t the first time either. Not only did he adamantly claim there were death panels, he was proud of it! He said the “death panels” — his term — will save the government money (see FoxNews.com) by denying and choosing which treatments will be funded (not to mention his call for a behemoth new national sales, or ”VAT,” tax). So, the hyper left should be furious at Mr. Krugman. Either he let the cat out of the bag, exposing Obamacare advocates as the real liars, or, if they truly believe there are no death panels, they should impale his intelligence as they did (and still do) to Governor Palin (see Ethel Fenig at American Thinker). 

Hear it all for yourself. The first video is from last weekend. But, remarkably, without much notice, he said the same thing in the spring without much attention paid to it. But don’t believe me: Check the shock on liberal host Christiane Amanpour’s face in the first video. A facial expression is worth more than a 1,000 blog posts.

 Krugman: Endorse the “Death Panels!” Amanpour: Darn it Paul, you’re giving it away!

 Krugman: “Death Panels” will save money and make “binding judgements” on treatment!

When Barack Obama says conservatives have no new ideas, he has a point: Although returning to a limited constitutional democratic republic method of governing is an idea more than 200 years old, it’s still the best political idea ever put into practice in the history of the world. Sometimes, the best ideas aren’t necessarily the new ones, nor even the old ones. The best ideas are the timeless ones.

How many times can a president decry his own nation? We know Barack Obama doesn’t think much of certain “bitter clingers.” He also hammers away at people and institutions that create jobs as “selfish.” His administration is more concerned with white Christian veterans from Western states than documented law breakers. We could launch a blog only on the insults he heaps upon his fellow Americans. But yesterday he went a step further and called for the “punishment” (at the polls) of conservatives whom he called “enemies.” So much for the “post-partisan” presidency, the uniting “annointed one.” In the Age of Obama, if you have a different idea you are branded.

I’m not your ruler, daggonit, so go out and punish our enemies!

You have to feel sorry for him, though. He clearly laments the fact that he is not our king, although he governs as a ruler and not a democrat. But let’s give the president some charity. After all, he said his opponents could join him in a car ride . . . only, they must “sit in the back seat” (see Stop The ACLU).

The great conciliator: “Enemies” need to take a seat “in the back.” So much for uniting the country.

We’ve been making the case that our 25th Anniversary Gala speaker, Congressman Mike Pence (R-Ind.), is one of the leading conservatives in America. Well respected by his colleagues and those in the conservative media, his star is shining brightly among the grassroots now, too, as Saturday he won the closely watched Values Voter Summit Presidential Straw Poll with 24 percent of the vote over 17 potential candidates (see Politico.com).

The 2,000 summit attendees voted (see Outside The Beltway’s Doug Mataconis) last year’s gala speaker, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, second. The others who received votes in the straw poll, in alphabetical order, were Haley Barbour, Jan Brewer, Chris Christie, Mitch Daniels, Jim DeMint, Newt Gingrich, Bobby Jindal, Bob McDonnell, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Marco Rubio, Paul Ryan, Sarah Palin, Rick Santorum and John Thune.

This year’s gala not only will be a chance to hear one of the leaders and intellectual forces behind the conservative movement, but also to share in the celebration of 25 years of fighting the good fight for traditional and family values. Already, more than 900 people have bought tickets to the event (nearing last year’s record), and you will want to see for yourself why Congressman Pence is so respected by thousands of conservative grassroots leaders and activists from around the nation.

This very special Family Foundation event, one that will be remembered long after it is over, is Saturday, October 9, at the Greater Richmond Convention Center at 6:30 (5:15 sponsors reception with Congressman Pence). To order your tickets or for sponsorship information, get complete details here, e-mail us at Gala@FamilyFoundation.org, or call The Family Foundation at (804) 343-0010.

See the speech that drove Values Voter Summit attendees to vote Mike Pence its 2012 presidential favorite:

Pence, commonsense and common values: “Those who would have us ignore the battle being fought over life, marriage and religious liberty, have forgotten the lessons of history. As in the days of a house divided, America’s darkest moments have come when economic arguments trumped moral principles.”

Today is the 223rd anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution, know as Constitution or Citizenship Day. Not surprisingly, polls are finding that a vast majority of Americans are woefully under-educated about the Constitution and its principles.

One poll found two-thirds of Americans admit they don’t have a clue what our nation’s foundational document says. This extraordinary failure of our education system is having a devastating impact on our society and culture. Not understanding the basic principles of our government, its duties and the restrictions our Founding Fathers placed on it, is at least partially responsible for the mess we now have in Washington, D.C. Blame the politicians, yes. But the fact remains that as long as Americans continue to vote for people like President Barack Obama, whose vision for our nation is thoroughly alien to that which our Founders created and to what the constitution actually states — as illustrated by his vast expansion of government — we are going to continue to get what we deserve.

One simple way to reconnect with our founding principles is to read the U.S. Constitution, which we highly encourage, especially on this anniversary day each year. Click here to read it if you haven’t in a while. To see what one group is doing to improve constitutional literacy, and how you can help, click here.

Also on the front page of many newspapers today are reports that the poverty rate in the United States, to no one’s surprise, has risen. Of course, most of the articles quote left-leaning politicians or think tanks that are quick to blame the government for not doing enough to take care of people in need. Unfortunately, because so many Americans don’t know what our constitution says, or what our Founders meant by what it says, the message that “the government needs to do more” often finds support.

What the articles don’t mention is that, according to the Heritage Foundation, “since the beginning of the War on Poverty, the U.S. has spent $15.9 trillion on means-tested welfare. And today, spending on welfare programs is 13 times greater than it was in 1964.” Yet poverty continues to rise.

The articles choose to ignore the far more dramatic impact that family fragmentation and out-of-wedlock births have on poverty. For example, “children born to single mothers . . . are five times more likely to live in poverty than children born to married parents. Today, over 40 percent of children are born outside wedlock, and the numbers are particularly devastating for Hispanics (51.3 percent) and African-Americans (71.6 percent).” Marriage drops the probability of child poverty by an astonishing 82 percent.

We conservatives often are accused of focusing on “divisive” social issues such as marriage and abortion at the expense of “more important” issues like the economy and poverty. But it is, in fact, our concern about those in poverty that requires us to do more to promote and strengthen marriage. We can choose to continue down the route we’ve been following since 1964 and apply band-aid solutions after the fact, or we can do the hard work of providing the only long-range solution to poverty — stable marriages and families.

The Family Foundation’s Annual Gala is one of Virginia’s premiere political events and an opportunity to get your message in front of the commonwealth’s most dedicated pro-family, traditional-values conservatives. Last year’s gala, featuring keynote speaker Mike Huckabee, was our most successful ever and nearly doubled the previous attendance record. This year’s special 25th Anniversary Celebration Gala, with keynote speaker Congressman Mike Pence (R-Ind.) is no different. We already are on our way to matching last year’s attendance with five weeks to go and invitations just arriving in mailboxes. Whoever said the conservative movement was dead after 2006 and 2008 (and there were many) might want to rethink their prognostications.

As part of the the 25th Anniversary Celebration Gala, we will produce a special program for the evening. The program is an excellent opportunity for pro-family small business owners, family-friendly organizations or elected officials and candidates to promote their enterprises to like-minded conservatives, while also supporting the work of The Family Foundation. To learn more, click here and download the order form using the link at the bottom of the page. The deadline for submitting ads is Friday, September 17. For more information, contact John Downer at 804-343-0010 or john@familyfoundation.org. Opportunities to sponsor or purchase tickets for this special 25th Anniversary Gala are still available as well.

Thank you for your support of The Family Foundation. We hope you’ll consider advertising in the program and joining us on Saturday, October 9.

We’ve grown accustomed to the Left shutting out dissent and attempting to control information, most notably at colleges, where conservatives either are denied opportunities to speak on campus or, when they are, are shouted down and otherwise treated rudely. Not exactly fulfilling higher education’s mission, but nothing like what we see now coming from the White House, which is supposed to define the differences between American governance and those of tight-fisted, undemocratic regimes. 

First, it was the unprecedented ”interview” of Supreme Court Justice nominee Elena Kagan that the White House produced — shielding her from the Mainstream Media — and posted on the White House Web site, as if the Obama administration thinks its best friends are going to give Kagan a rough time (see The Raw Story Blog, here). Either her record and lack of qualification is that bad or they are trying to conceal a radical ideology.

Then there is the case of the White House putting the kibosh on the New York Times, which simply wanted to observe her brother teach a class (see Free Republic). Since when does the government have that authority? Have it or not, it exercised it, and Hunter College High School disallowed the Times from sitting in, saying that ”media requests now had to be given final approval by the White House.” What? But that wasn’t enough. It also reached further into the family tree, when it slapped down an interview with her cousin (see Sharon Oterman at the Times’ City Room Blog).

Staged interviews and gagging relatives are one thing, but the White House within the last day or so really has taken the cake: It suspended the Twitter account of the guest celebrity chef brought in to prepare the state dinner in honor of Mexican President Felipe Calderon (NBC Chicago Blog). Apparently, Rick Bayless, who is cooking pro bono, was divulging too much information about the meal (see Lynn Sweet Chicago Sun-Times) as well as conventional interviews with those right wingers at NPR and other MSMs, and the Obama administration is afraid of any revelations of double standards and ill-perceptions: First Lady Michelle’s obesity campaign may come into ridicule once the opulent delicacies and calorie-rich menu is disclosed, and the high-living lifestyle won’t set well with Americans suffering during a recession.

While every administration tries to spin the news and limit access to officials in order to limit damage, actually producing the news is an entirely new function of a democratic republic. Even allowing for the application of new technology making it possible to put out, in essence, a video news release, there is no excuse for the decidedly old-school hammering of free speech and press by third parties, not to mention the hypocrisy of shutting down an invited guest’s own techie communications to the public (as if the menu and festivities won’t be disclosed eventually).

More to the point, the control the Obama state has put on its own fawning media, is another example of the left actually doing what it asserts conservatives do. In fact, its behavior is more like a paranoid third world regime. But what it doesn’t understand, apparently, is that, just as with regimes, the more suppression, the more revelation. The more revelation, the more desperate and pathetic a government looks and becomes.

Michael Paul Williams is a Richmond Times-Dispatch columnist who puts the lie to the myth that the paper is “conservative.” A front page metro section columnist whose topics expand well beyond issues affecting Greater Richmond, he blames every societal ill and snowless Christmas on conservatives. He bangs out knee-jerk responses to to anything conservatives do and screams that the world is coming to an end. Why, yesterday, he even was upset that some mindless cable comics who have fewer viewers than he has readers  might make some jokes about Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. Williams’ concern? The attorney general is embarassing our state over a lapel pin! Horrors! We’ll never survive! 

Unlike the accusation that the AG was “changing” the state seal to cover an exposed breast on the Roman goddess Virtus, Mr. Cuccinelli simply bought his staff — with donated money — lapel pins that replicated an actual historic flag that hangs in the capitol itself.

Mr. Williams thinks this somehow is a religious view “encroaching on government.” What about Mr. Cuccinelli’s freedom of expression? Are Americans not allowed to wear whatever buttons and stickers they want? Or is that right reserved only for liberals? Instead, Mr. Williams and the hysterical liberal crowd would have you believe the attorney general somehow ordered all official state flags and stationery changed (which only the legislature can do). It’s typical leftist demagoguery: Misdefine the issue and blast away with vindictiveness, derision and hate. The irony is hard to escape any regular reader of Mr. Williams, who has uncommonly come to the defense of a historic Virginia symbol.

But I digress. The real issue here is that Mr. Williams dares to call Mr. Cuccinelli and The Family Foundation, among others, “priggish”! How dare you, sir!

For the record, in our office, front and center as you enter, we proudly display this:

Exposed breast in all its glory, The Family Foundation is decidedly NOT priggish!