FROM LIFENEWS.COM:

Barack Obama Repeats Pro-Abortion Litmus Test for Supreme Court Judges
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- In a Thursday interview with NBC News, Barack Obama repeated the pledge he's made throughout the campaign. Obama indicated he would only appoint judges to the Supreme Court who support unlimited abortions, in what is a clear pro-abortion litmus test for federal justices. "And so my criteria, for example, would be -- if a Justice tells me that they only believe the strict letter of the Constitution -- that means that they possibly don't mean -- believe in -- a right to privacy that may not be perfectly enumerated in the Constitution but, you know, that I think is there," Obama said. NBC News columnist Mark Impomeni understood the clear meaning of Obama's words. "No originalist judges need apply," Impomeni wrote in response. "The right to privacy is a code word for abortion rights. The focus of liberal jurisprudence since Roe v. Wade first conferred the right to an abortion has been the protection of that 'right.'" And with Roe guaranteeing virtually unlimited abortions throughout pregnancy for any reasons, based on the so-called privacy right, Obama is confirming his intent to only select pro-abortion judges who want no limits on abortion. Full story at LifeNews.com

New Video Ad: Barack Obama Wants to Reverse Ban on Partial-Birth Abortions
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Barack Obama is so out of step with mainstream America that he favors overturning a ban on partial-birth abortions that polls show more than 70 percent of Americans support. That's the message of a new Internet ad distributed by the Family Research Council. The ad mentions how the respected late Democratic Sen. Daniel Moynihan supported the ban and described the abortion procedure for what it is. "Democratic Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan drew a line against partial-birth abortion, calling it 'too close to infanticide,'" the FRC ad says. "But Barack Obama crossed that line, voting against a measure that would have banned partial-birth abortion in Illinois." "Barack and Michelle Obama even used the partial-birth abortion issue in an appeal to raise campaign cash," the ad continues. "Barack Obama aggressively supports a bill that would overturn all state and federal partial-birth abortion bans," the ad explains. "The culture of death has a good friend in Barack Obama." Full story at LifeNews.com

Catholics United Threatens Churches, Pastors Over Pro-Life Literature Drops
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- This weekend, tens of thousands of pro-life advocates will head to both Protestant and Catholic churches to provide pro-life voting information to church members. The pro-Obama group Catholics United sent out an email to its supporters urging them to confront the pro-life advocates at the churches. Each election year pro-life advocates distribute information designed to educate voters, and this presidential election is no different. The information makes it clear that Barack Obama is pro-abortion and only John McCain has an authentic pro-life position when the two are compared. CU spokesman James Salt says Catholics United is heading up the campaign to "put the brakes" on the literature drops. He urges his pro-Obama forces to call pastors and priests to ask them to ask pro-life advocates to leave church property. Salt urges callers to ask that church officials monitor the parking lots and go as far as removing the pro-life information from cars after the information is distributed. Father Frank Pavone, the head of Priests for Life, wasted no time in responding to the threats and told Salt that Catholics United would face a potential lawsuit if it disrupted the Constitutionally-protected free speech activities of pro-life advocates. Full story at LifeNews.com

Hispanic Actor Eduardo Verastegui Reminds Latino Voters Obama Pro-Abortion
Los Angeles, CA (LifeNews.com) -- Hispanic actor Eduardo Verastegui has a last-minute reminder for Hispanic voters nationwide: Barack Obama doesn't share your pro-life values on abortion. The actor has released videos on abortion and the elections that have been popular in the Latino community. In his latest, Verastegui explains the crisis of abortion in America, while explaining Barack Obama's pro-abortion track record and agenda. "Barack Obama does not share our traditional Latino values," he says. "That's what inspired me to put this video together. I want people to know the truth about Obama." "As a Latino, I was also shocked to learn that most abortion centers are located in neighborhoods where Hispanics and minorities live," Verastegui says. "It broke my heart when I discovered that more than 650 Latino babies are killed every day by abortion in the U.S." Full story at LifeNews.com

Latino Catholic Bishop Tells Hispanic Voters Obama Not Pro-Life on Abortion
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A Catholic bishop is working with pro-life advocates to launch a radio and email campaign telling Hispanics that Barack Obama is not pro-life on abortion. Several Catholic groups are confusing voters with erroneous claims that Obama takes a pro-life position, something Bishop Rene H. Gracida refutes. More than 2.9 million Hispanic Catholics received an email Friday morning from Bishop Gradcida, of the Diocese of Corpus Christi. "We only have days left before a critical election to elect a new president. In this moment, like no other moment in history, Hispanic votes will decide the future of the United States. That means that we have a great weight of responsibility," the letter said. "A Catholic cannot say that he/she voted in this election in good conscience if he/she votes for a candidate in favor of abortion," Bishop Gradcida continues. "Barack Obama is a candidate in favor of abortion." "I am Bishop Rene A. Gracida, reminding all Catholics that they need to vote in these elections with an informed conscience," the letter adds. Full story at LifeNews.com

Pro-Life Women's Group's Mailer to Half Million Voters Hits Obama on Abortion
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A national organization for pro-life women is joining the fray to persuade what polls show are the 14 percent of voters who are either undecided or soft in their support for Barack Obama or John McCain. The Susan B. Anthony List has a professional new mailing that hits Obama on his pro-abortion views. The mailing is headed to 500,000 voters in the battleground states of Ohio, Minnesota, Michigan, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, and Colorado. The mailer shows a baby carriage on railroad tracks and says, "if you saw this, you would take action -- wouldn't you?" The flip side of the mailing says Obama wouldn't and highlights his votes against a measure in the Illinois legislature to provide medical care for newborns who survive failed abortions. "Barack Obama voted four times against the Illinois State Born Alive Infants Protection Act," the SBA List mailing explains. "Despite hearing horrifying testimony from nurses about health babies being left to die in hospital supply closets, he voted against protecting these innocent children who defied all odds and survived an abortion." "Seem to gruesome to be true? It's true." Full story at LifeNews.com

40 Days for Life Pro-Life Campaign Nears End, 441 Babies Saved From Abortion
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The latest 40 Days for Life campaign to draw attention to the destruction of human life at local abortion businesses is nearing the end, but the director of the campaign tells LifeNews.com he is hearing from dozens of pro-life groups in local communities that want to continue. "Even after praying and fasting for 40 days - and being involved in vigils that in many cities went round the clock, seven days a week -many of the people who are participating in this campaign simply don't want to see it end," David Bereit says. "Tens of thousands of people have prayed in front of abortion facilities, many for the first time," the campaign director explained. "They see the impact of that peaceful presence, and they yearn to keep going." Beginning September 24, intensive 40 Days for Life campaigns have been conducted in more than 175 communities in 47 states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa and two Canadian provinces. Bereit said the biggest success of the campaign may have been jumpstarting efforts by existing groups to do more in their community and taking existing efforts that had grown stale and given them new life. Full story at LifeNews.com

British Parliament MPs File Motion to Force Northern Ireland to Legalize Abortion
London, England (LifeNews.com) -- Thirteen members of the British parliament have filed a motion saying that the 1967 law that legalizes abortion in the rest of the U.K. should be extended to Northern Ireland. Labour Party MP Diane Abbott is leading the effort in the House of Commons to force abortion on the region. The measure also calls on the taxpayer-funded National Health Service to pay for the abortions of Northern Ireland women who travel to England for them. A previous attempt to force abortion on Northern Ireland failed as MPs were prevented from adding an amendment to do so to the pro-cloning HFE bill. Bernadette Smyth, the head of the NI pro-life group Precious Life told LifeNews.com she thinks the latest move by Abbot and her supporters is nothing more than a "publicity stunt." The pro-life group has called on the MP who tabled the motion to "butt out and stop interfering" in Northern Ireland's protection of unborn children. Full story at LifeNews.com

International Abortion Advocates Attempt to Co-Opt Inter-American Commission
New York, NY (LifeNews.com/CFAM) -- Two initiatives from the pro-abortion Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) landed before the Washington-based Inter-American Commission on Human Rights this week. The first was a 'thematic hearing' on whether abortion providers and by extension, non-governmental organizations that advocate abortion should be called human rights defenders. The second challenged the right of Costa Rica to determine the content of its laws after the country's Supreme Court determined that In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) violated right-to-life guarantees under the American Convention on Human Rights. Both efforts appear to be part of a CRR-orchestrated strategy to co-opt the generally well-regarded Inter-American Commission as a platform for promoting CRR's agenda to overturn abortion laws in Latin America and to rewrite the American Convention on Human Rights. Full story at LifeNews.com

FROM http://www.jillstanek.com/

Perfect for Halloween: new FRC ad reminds voters of Obama's ghastly support of partial birth abortion

If Obama Wins, History Will Blame the Clergy

OPINION, October 31 /Christian Newswire/ -- The following is submitted by Randall Terry Founder, Operation Rescue:

I am convinced that if Obama wins, future historians will conclude that it was because of the clergy that Obama won...

Please ponder four critical moments in history:

1-      The birth of the Church;

2-      The American Revolution;

3-      The German Church before and during the holocaust;

4-      The Church in America today…

Consider the Church as Recorded in the Book of Acts

... Why were they killed? Because they preached that Jesus is Lord of heaven and earth; that Jesus is the King of kings, that "all authority in heaven and earth" is His (See Matthew 28:18), and that God would make Jesus' enemies a footstool for His feet. (See Acts 2: 34, 35)

That message was illegal to preach. In fact, those who hunted Paul brought charges that the Apostles preached what was not lawful for Romans to hear; things "...contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another King, Jesus." (See Acts 17:7)

They preached that Christ was above the Emperor, and that their first obedience was due to Him. The Roman authorities viewed them as revolutionaries; Heaven viewed them as heroes.

Think of the German Church During the Holocaust

Adolph Hitler declared just after he was voted into power:

The parsons will be made to dig their own graves. They will betray their God to us. They will betray anything for the sake of their miserable little jobs and incomes." (The Nazi Persecution of the Churches, J.S. Conway.)

...overall, Hitler's assessment of German clergy proved true. After the war, Martin Niemoller wrote Guilt and Hope, and basically blamed the German clergy for Hitler's rise to power. If only the clergy had spoken out early on, Hitler could have been stopped. The clergy chose silence and safety; they lost the life and soul of their nation in the exchange, and the condemnation of countless generations to come.

Heaven viewed them with tears; history views them in contempt....

...What hardships do American Clergy face today

To derail and defeat Obama?

Will they be hunted? No.

Will they be beaten? No.

Will they go to a concentration camp? No.

Will they be executed? No.

The most they will face is annoying letters from the IRS, and maybe some low-grade litigation. And maybe, just maybe, they will have to surrender their tax exempt status.

Let me put it plainly: Is there even one active Catholic Bishop who will risk his life to end the abortion holocaust? Is their even one Evangelical leader who will risk being a martyr to speak out against Obama, and help end the slaughter of babies.

It is not likely, because not even one of them will risk his tax-exempt status. They have run with men and grown weary, how can they run against horses?

In short: The pulpits of America stand silent; they do not resist the baby-killing tyrant named Obama by name, because childish fear has gripped the heart of clergy.

Stated plainly: they have sold their pulpit; they are hirelings. They have agreed to accept "hush money" from the 501(c)3 tax code in exchange for not naming the names of political villains and despots...

Go to www.randallterry.com to read entire commentary.

Permission granted to quote from in part, or to reprint in entirety.

To contact Mr. Terry for an interview, call 904 687 9804.

ELECTION REFLECTION

Happy Halloween!

From all of us at American Life League, we wish you and your family a very happy and a very safe Halloween!

By Judie Brown

I just finished reading another commentary on the upcoming elections. It is said that this is a defining moment in our nation's history, not to mention the history of the pro-life movement. Some even say that all that we mere human beings have accomplished politically in the fight's brief, nearly-40-year history could be totally undone.

As I was reading these commentaries, a few thoughts came to mind, and instead of keeping them to myself, I am inspired to share them with you. They all revolve around one of my favorite Catholic priests, the late Father John Hardon, S.J. I miss him terribly, but have never forgotten some of his most profound words, which apply to each of us in these days leading up to November 4 and certainly the days that will follow.

Writing on a Catholic's responsibility in the pro-life movement today, he commented, 

Saint Ignatius explains it all in his Spiritual Exercises. The followers of Christ are in constant conflict with the followers of Satan. Who would doubt that the massive genocide in the modern world is the result of demonic seduction? Not only individuals but whole nations have been seduced by the devil. Jesus told the unbelieving Jews who challenged His claims and wished to kill Him by telling them, "The father from whom you are is the devil, and the desires of your father it is your will to do. He was a murderer from the beginning."  (John 8:4-1).

So it was in first century Palestine. So it is at the close of the twentieth century in America.

Not to know this is not to know that the devil is behind the global genocide that has spread like an epidemic of death throughout the world. 

Though Father Hardon wrote these words nearly 10 years ago, they apply more today than ever before.

Regardless of how the world views it, abortion is a curse that has been brought about by human emotions, attitudes and desires. Whether we care to admit it or not in polite company, it is most certainly an evil action promoted with extreme vitriol, night and day, by Satan himself and his minions.
In fact, if you think about it for a moment or two, it is clearly one of the vilest acts in human history. What is even more grotesque is that we are living in an age when the killing of a preborn baby is described as a "right," and in fact, is lauded by many in politics, not to mention private life.

Abortion is the direct murder of an innocent child – a child whose future is known to God, but who will never be known to his parents or the world itself. These children go silently to their graves, which are frequently trash bins or incinerators. There is no regard for their integrity as perfect expressions of God's love for the world.

They are, in a manner of speaking, martyrs whose only error in life was that their fate resided in the hands of human beings who thought nothing of taking their lives. Their killers assuaged any possibility of guilt with excuses that differ, one from the other, like the trees in a forest. It is a tragedy that words cannot possibly describe. It is a pox upon our land that will never be resolved in a voting booth.

So, while others will expound endlessly about this coming election being a defining moment or the most historic event in our nation's history, I would like to reflect on this coming Tuesday in a completely different way. It is, as is every day, an opportunity for pro-life Americans to renew our commitment to God, not to partisan politics.

Let us prepare for whatever may come and whatever horrors may await mankind by most sincerely surrendering today, tomorrow and every day to Christ. Let us offer Him our meager efforts with a prayer of trust in His power to right every wrong and to work through us toward His victory for the human person.

His name will not be found on any ballot, but His power is undeniable.

The perfect prayer for this daily spiritual exercise is the Lord's Prayer. As Father Hardon taught,

The perfection of the Our Father is unique because it comprehends everything which it behooves us to ask of God as either necessary or useful for salvation. Its seven petitions have been variously compared to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, to the seven Sacraments, and to the three theological and four cardinal virtues of the New Law.

Surely in our day and age, we should be begging God as never before to protect us from sin, to lead us away from the temptation to betray or deny Him, and to deliver us from the worldly attractions that are constantly before us.

Let us recall these profound words written by Father Hardon: "To heroically live out what we believe is not child's play. It means that our lifestyle reflects our faith which does not believe that we have here a lasting home."

Let us pray for our nation, and more importantly, for each human being, so that respect for the human person becomes the defining reason why – in the land of the free and the home of the brave – votes are cast in recognition of Our Father, Who art in Heaven.

Judie Brown is president of American Life League and a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

Respond to Judie
http://www.all.org/newsroom_judieblog_response.php?id=2386

Miss America 2001 Angela Baraquio Urges Americans to 'End the Reign' of Roe v. Wade at JustONEJudge.com

"If Roe is not overturned, the children I teach will grow up as part of a culture of death learning that when we had our one real chance to end this atrocity, we didn't do enough."

CLEVELAND, October 31 /Christian Newswire/ -- Angela Perez Baraquio, Miss America 2001 and Miss Hawaii 2000, is urging Americans to end the reign of Roe v. Wade on her recently released video at   www.JustONEJudge.com.. She urges people to vote November 4th because of the far-reaching effects of the Supreme Court nominations by the next president and confirmation by United States Senators. 

"As a teacher and mother I see just how important it is to protect children," she states in the video. "Did you know that in the United States, the most dangerous place for a child to be is in the mother's womb?"

The goals of the JustONEJudge.com campaign are twofold:  1) to emphasize the importance of one individual's vote and how each person can educate himself or herself on find out where the candidates stand on the issue of life, and 2) to get signatures for the online petition to be presented to the next president and Senate, demonstrating the large numbers of citizens who are passionate about the issue of life. 

"This issue needs to return to the states, so citizens can lobby their state legislatures for laws that protect the dignity of all human life from the moment of conception through natural death," said Jason Jones, founder of Just ONE Judge.    

The JustONEJudge.com campaign asks Americans to study all the candidates and to pledge their votes to candidates who will support the nomination and confirmation of a Supreme Court Justice who values life.

"If Roe is not overturned, the children I teach will likely grow up as part of a culture of death learning that when we had our one real chance to end this atrocity, we didn't do enough," Baraquio states in the video.

Just ONE Judge is a nondenominational, nonpartisan, not for profit, grassroots citizens' organization focused on educating people to learn about the candidates and to understand how their one vote can impact the all-important vote on the Supreme Court of the United States.   To learn more visit www.JustONEJudge.com.  Contact us at 920-544-1378 or info@JustONEJudge.com.

FROM CATHOLIC LEAGUE

THIS IS WHY I AM PROUD TO BE A ROMAN CATHOLIC! AND WE KNOW OUR ENEMY: SATAN!

ELECTION ISSUES SPARK VITRIOLIC RESPONSE October 31, 2008

The Catholic Church’s opposition to abortion, and its endorsement of the pro-marriage resolution in California, Proposition 8, has triggered an avalanche of criticism, much of it vitriolic. Here is a sampling:

· The National Catholic Reporter blasts all the bishops—“Not one among the bishops has had the courage”—to take on pro-life Catholics who have allegedly “distorted” the abortion issue

· Rabbi Brad Hirschfield criticizes Cardinal Egan for being anti-abortion, saying, “We need to stop litmus testing each other over single issues” like abortion. “We”?

· Catholics for Choice says that pro-abortion Catholics “are in good company, and in good conscience” for rejecting the Church’s teaching on this subject

· Rev. Daniel Kanter, a Unitarian, says the Catholic Church “employs a measure of fear” to get Catholics to oppose abortion

· Rev. Jonathan Tran, a Baptist, opines, “If the Church doesn’t tell us what to do with our ballots…and genitalia, who will?” “Us”?

· Professor Frank K. Flinn says the Catholic Church has not always been opposed to abortion, implying that the Catholic Catechism, the bishops and the pope are all wrong

· Rev. Geoffrey Farrow, a gay priest, says the Catholic Church’s opposition to gay marriage represents a “hurtful” theology

· Atheos, a musician, says Proposition 8 “is nothing but Bigotry—good ol’ Christian bigotry”

· Los Angeles Times writer Steve Lopez says that “Speaking up for the dignity of gay people must be a greater sin than being accused of molesting minors”

Catholic League president Bill Donohue responds as follows:“Even worse are American Atheists, Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Freedom from Religion Foundation. All accuse the Catholic Church of abusing its power by favoring Proposition 8, yet none says anything about the more than 100 houses of worship and religious organizations which oppose it. Their hypocrisy is appalling.”

Copyright © 1997-2008 by Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights.

FRIDAY LINKS:

• http://www.onebabyonevote.com/ (Questions for pro-life, undecided voters)
• Bishop Loverde of Arlington, VA on "change for the right reasons"
• Vatican Encourages Psychological Testing to Prevent Homosexual Priesthood (LSN)
• Breaking news: Planned Parenthood admits infanticide (Jill Stanek) (LifeNews)
• Catholic voters no longer beholden to bishops and abortion (Jill Stanek)
• Render Unto Caesar (The Catholic Thing)
• Barack Obama's Health Care Plan Covers Abortion, Would Require Tax-Funding (LifeNews)
• Bishop Robert Carlson of Saginaw MI's statement for Catholic voters
• Bishop Tobin: "I don’t know about you, dear reader, but I could never vote for a candidate – of any party for any office – who supports laws that promote or allow the death of thousands of children in the hideous crime of abortion. I just don’t want that on my conscience."
• Bishop Zubik says "he will open up all the churches on Monday – some around the clock – so people can come pray about how they should vote on Tuesday"

Thanks to American Papist Blog: http://www.americanpapist.com/

FROM LIFENEWS.COM:

Barack Obama's Health Care Plan Covers Abortion, Would Require Tax-Funding
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A leading pro-life group has uncovered a questionnaire the campaign of Barack Obama filed with a pro-abortion web site. The survey makes it clear that Obama's national health care plan would include abortions and that they would likely be funded at taxpayer expense. The Obama campaign responded to a question about health care from the pro-abortion RH Reality Check web site. "Senator Obama believes that reproductive health care is basic health care," the campaign said, using the phrase that abortion advocates employ to refer to abortion. "His health care plan will create a new public plan, which will provide coverage of all essential medical services. Reproductive health care is an essential service," the Obama campaign added. The Obama camp also made it clear that any private insurance companies wanting to participate would also be required to provide abortion coverage. "And private insurers that want to participate will have to treat reproductive care in the same way," the Obama campaign responded. Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council, says the answers make it clear to him that Obama would fund abortions with federal taxpayer dollars and make people in private insurance plans pay for abortions because insurance companies would pass on the additional costs to customers. "While the health care debate has largely focused on whom the candidates' plans will fund, more Americans need to understand exactly what they would fund," Perkins explains. "According to these [questionnaire] excerpts, Obama's plan would treat abortion as a basic health care mandate for both taxpayers and private health insurers to subsidize." Full story at LifeNews.com

Barack Obama Would Restore Funds to UN Group Involved in Forced Abortions
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Barack Obama supports federal funding for abortions and opposes funding crisis pregnancy centers or abstinence education programs, but his campaign also confirms he supports funding a group that is involved in forced abortions. The UNFPA would receive taxpayer funds under an Obama administration. That's despite research confirming the UNFPA's participation in the China family planning program that prohibits families in the Asian nation from having more than one child. The coercive policy also includes forced abortions, forced sterilizations, and has seen Chinese population control officials remove offenders from their jobs, harass family members and required forced labor or imprisonment for those violating the policy. Chinese officials have also gone as far as jailing Chen Guangcheng for more than three years because the attorney spoke with American media outlets about a violent forced abortion campaign in his city. President Bush has revoked funding for the UNFPA every year during his administration for violating a U.S. law prohibiting sending public funds to groups that promote forced abortions. Full story at LifeNews.com

Video Shows Babies Left to Die After Failed Abortions in Method Obama OKed
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A new video of a Planned Parenthood staff member in New Jersey has surfaced showing abortion centers leave babies to die who survive failed abortions. The video shows the kind of infanticide that Barack Obama opposed stopping in Illinois continues to occur. The pro-life group Students for Life of America released the videotape Thursday of a nurse at a federally-funded Title X Planned Parenthood center describing how an abortion would be performed on a 22 week unborn child. In the footage, the Planned Parenthood nurse describes to the pregnant woman that the abortion would entail delivering her son alive. After the mother asks if the baby can be born alive, the nurse admits that "it does happen, but it wouldn't be able to survive on its own so eventually the baby does die." SFLA director Kristan Hawkins says the footage is "shocking" because it confirms that the practice of allowing infants to die after they survive a failed abortion or a purposeful premature birth continues to happen. Hawkins also told LifeNews.com that it confirms there was no reason for presidential candidate Barack Obama to vote four times in the Illinois legislature against a bill to make sure such infants receive appropriate medical care if they survive the late-term abortion procedure. Full story at LifeNews.com

Poll Shows Nine Percent Obama Lead Drops to Three, McCain Coming Back
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Another new poll shows the lead Barack Obama built up during the last two weeks has evaporated. A Fox News/Opinion Dynamics survey shows the nine-point advantage pro-abortion candidate Barack Obama had over John McCain has narrowed to just three percent. Obama led McCain by a 49-40 percentage point margin last week but that has dropped to a 47-44 percent lead. The Fox News poll shows the race tightening because independent voters are less favorable to Obama -- dropping to a five point advantage this week from a nine point advantage last week. Similarly, Obama held an 11-point lead with Catholics last week and that has dropped to a 46-46 percent split now. "Independent voters have long been regarded as one of the keys to this race and these results may foreshadow a tightening in the battleground states where independents carry disproportionate weight," Ernie Paicopolos, of Opinion Dynamics Corporation, told Fox News. Full story at LifeNews.com

Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good Study Wrong on Abortion Laws
by Dr. Michael New
During this election cycle, a study on abortion released by Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good (CACG) has received plenty of attention from Democrats and pro-life supporters of Barack Obama. The spin is that state level pro-life laws only have a marginal impact on abortion rates and increasing welfare expenditures is a superior strategy for reducing the incidence of abortion. However, the study contains methodological shortcomings. A proper analysis of the data demonstrates that pro-life laws are effective and casts serious doubts about whether more generous welfare benefits actually result in abortion reductions. Furthermore, a closer look at the results actually provides evidence that some pro-life laws are effective. Many media reports are eagerly claiming that this study demonstrates that pro-life laws are ineffective. However, taking the results at face value, they actually provide some evidence that pro-life legislation is correlated with abortion declines. Two separate regressions of state abortion data from 1982 to 2000 find that Medicaid funding of abortion increases abortion rates by approximately 13 percent and 10 percent respectively. However, in their write-up, the study’s authors give these results relatively little attention. Full story at LifeNews.com

African-American Group Runs Ads Bashing Obama on Abortion in Missouri
Jefferson City, MO (LifeNews.com) -- An African-American group is running a campaign during the final week of the elections in the battleground state of Missouri to show voters how Barack Obama is out of touch with the black community on abortion. With little media attention paid to the issue, the Black Republican Political Action Committee says voters deserve to know where he stands. The campaign will reach African American voters in Kansas City and St. Louis and includes a five-day cable television schedule and Christian radio ads. A direct mail piece will reach more than 55,000 African American households. "Four out of every ten black children are aborted, but that's just fine with Barack Obama," the group's ad says. "Barack Obama called partial-birth abortion a legitimate procedure and opposed a bill protecting babies who survive abortions denying health care to infants who are dying on the table." Full story at LifeNews.com

Vote Pro-Life, Differences Between McCain and Obama on Abortion Too Great
by Colin Mason
On Tuesday, we will participate in a historic election. The stakes are high, and the campaign hard-fought. Already, in states like North Carolina and Florida, early voting has drawn record-smashing crowds. The nation’s voters are engaged in this election to a degree rare in American history, and pro-life voters must play their part. It is of paramount importance that values voters go to the voting booth on November 4th, and that they bring their pro-life convictions with them. There are stark differences between the two candidates on the life issues. John McCain has a perfect pro-life voting record in his years in the Senate, and has chosen a committed social conservative as his running mate. Barack Obama, for his part, has a record of consistently voting against the unborn. His radical stance in favor of abortion is illustrated by his insistence, at a Planned Parenthood function, that on the "fundamental issue" of choice, he "will not yield and Planned Parenthood will not yield." Full story at LifeNews.com

Pro-Life Group Funds Ads in Key States Against Obama, for Senate Candidates
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The Family Research Council is undertaking a last-minute effort to urge voters to oppose Barack Obama because of his pro-abortion record and to support pro-life candidates for the House and Senate. The FRC Action PAC is launching a radio and newspaper ad campaign in the last push before Election Day. Radio ads will target Senate races in Mississippi, Georgia, Kentucky and the Michelle Bachmann Congressional race in Minnesota. "On Monday, a newspaper ad will run in eight Ohio newspapers analyzing the impact of a President Barack Obama and an unchecked far-left Congress," the pro-life group told LifeNews.com in a statement. "Such a scenario would lead to radical policies" on abortion. In Georgia, the FRC radio spot endorses Senator Saxby Chambliss, saying that he "opposes abortion on demand" and that his opponent, Jim Martin, has made "protecting abortion rights one of his top legislative priorities." The Kentucky ad says Democratic challenger Bruce Lunsford "doesn't think that a criminal that murders a pregnant woman should be charged with killing her unborn child" -- referring to his opposition to the unborn victims bill. Full story at LifeNews.com

Christians Who Vote for Obama are Voting Against the Word of God

Someone has to Say it ... Christians Who Vote for Obama are Voting Against the Word of God MEDIA ADVISORY, October 31 /Christian Newswire/ -- Obama says he is a "Christian" yet, he supports abortion--all abortion! He says women have a right to kill their own children if they choose to do so. But GOD says that is a lie! GOD says children are a gift. Psalm 127:3, says: Lo, children are a heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is His reward. In Jeremiah 1:5, GOD says "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou came forth out of the womb I sanctified thee..." Psalm 139:13-16 - For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee for I am fearfully and wonderfully made... my substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret... Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written... Regarding abortionists and those who kill unborn children, Exodus 21:22-25 states: If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished... and goes on to say: And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. Here's what God also says if anyone kills a fatherless child. Exodus 22:22-24 – If thou afflict them in any wise and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry; and my wrath shall wax hot... So what God does Obama worship? What kind of Christian would openly and purposely go against the Bible, the word of God? Maybe, one who is not really a Christian at all. II Corinthians 11:13 says: For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And for no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Day Gardner is the president of the national Black Pro-Life Union in Washington, DC and can be reached for comment via email: dgardner@NBPLU.com or by calling 202-834- 0844.

Fr. Tom Euteneuer: Commending the Bishops

	Spirit & Life®
	"The words I spoke to you are spirit and life." (Jn 6:63) Human Life International e-Newsletter Volume 03, Number 40 | Friday, October 31, 2008
	..................................................................................	www.hli.org
	Commending the Bishops Faithful Catholics in the US have been both stunned and gratified by the recent show of episcopal strength in dealing with the heretical nonsense of "Catholics" in public life who clearly misrepresent the Church's teaching on vital issues. To date, more than fifty bishops have spoken out about this kind of misconduct or issued guidelines about voting at this critical juncture in our nation's history. The trend is truly heartening. Let's pray that it continues! Much more could be done, of course, but I am grateful that more bishops are standing up to strengthen and protect the faith of millions. Many have been longing for this show of valor from our fathers in the faith - and yes, they are our spiritual fathers. When they are strong, we are strong; and when they are weak - the flock is ravaged by wolves. A few bishops deserve special mention. A good example is Bishop Jaime Soto of Sacramento, CA, who stood up before the misnamed "Catholic Gay and Lesbian" conference last month and proclaimed the Church's natural law teaching that homosexual acts are mortal sins. A whole group walked out of his speech in protest, and he was reviled afterward for daring to present Catholic teaching to them. The organizer of the conference actually apologized to the attendees for the talk! Bishop Soto made no apologies though. Likewise, San Diego Auxiliary, Bishop Salvatore Cordileone, has been the strongest champion of the legal effort to define marriage as between one man and one woman to combat the radical homosexual lobby in California. Nor can we fail to mention the strong pro-life stances of Archbishops Burke (now in Rome) and Chaput (Denver) as well as Bishops Vasa (Baker, OR), Farrell and Vann (Dallas, TX), Martino (Scranton, PA) and Mallooly (Wilmington, DE) who are representatives of a group of other bishops who have made their voices heard forcefully on the Catholic voting issue. It is not just in the US, however, where bishops have been applying their authority in an astonishing fashion. Here are just a few more of the good things happening around the world in the episcopal college: The Bishops of Canada issued a statement criticizing the bestowing of Canada's highest honor, the Order of Canada, on extreme abortionist Henry Morganthaler as if he were an example of all that makes Canada proud. Cardinal Turcotte of Montreal actually returned his own Order of Canada medal as a sign of protest to this mockery; John Cardinal Njue of Nairobi, Kenya recently issued a marvelous, hard-hitting pastoral letter to his Archdiocese concerning the efforts to legalize abortion in that pivotal African country which to date has been such a stronghold against the culture of death; The Philippines Episcopal Conference came out forcefully against the US- and UN-inspired Reproductive Health Bill which attempted to legalize every form of perversion on that Catholic populace; the bill was subsequently defeated but the bishops know that theirs is a regular battle in which they must engage for the souls of their people. Thankfully, there are many more examples of episcopal courage that we could add to the reflections but suffice it to say that there seems to be a new wind blowing through the College of Bishops all around the world these days. Perhaps that wind is originating from Bavaria, but whatever its origin, let us continue to pray for our bishops and priests who are always on the firing line between the culture of life and the culture of death. We also need to thank them personally when they speak out in order to encourage them to do even more! Now that the example has been set, let us hope that other bishops and priests will have the audacity of our hope in Christ to go out and do the same!		SL Links   About the Author SL Archives Donate Tell Us About Yourself   SL Action Items   Bishop Martino's Pastoral Letters Joint Statement from Bishop Kevin Farrell and Bishop Kevin Vann Archbishop of Omaha Issues Voting Statement To Be Read At All Parishes This Sunday Scranton Bishop Releases Video Slamming Groups "Treading on the Name Catholic" with False Voting Doctrine Bishop Compares Election to Battle of Lepanto
	Sincerely Yours in Christ, Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, President, Human Life International
	Copyright 2008 - Human Life International Permission granted for unlimited use. Credit required. Human Life International 4 Family Life Lane -- Front Royal, VA 22630 U.S.A. Phone: (540) 635-7884 Fax: (540) 622-6247 E-mail: hli@hli.org Website: www.hli.org

Let us be vessels of hope to all we meet, and encourage others to CHOOSE LIFE

Intention:

Pray that we become vessels of hope to all around us, especially to those who minister in the pro-life movement.

Scripture:

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!"

-- Luke 24:1-5

Reflection:

This meditation, based on a sermon I once heard, is adapted for pro-life concerns.

It's Friday. Jesus is on the cross. He has been killed by his enemies; he is off the scene. But that's because it's Friday. Sunday's comin'!

It's Friday. Abortionists continue their work 3,300 times a day, tearing off the arms and legs of little babies and crushing their heads. But that's because it's Friday. Sunday's comin'! It's Friday. Pro-abortion groups receive blood money from billionaires who are as deceived as they are. But that's because it's Friday. Sunday's comin'!

It's Friday. Liars attempt to speak for all women and hide the pain of abortion, and ignore the evidence of how it harms women, and call abortion a blessing. But that's because it's Friday. Sunday's comin'! It's Friday. People of hardened hearts guard the clinics and usher desperate women in to have their abortions, while keeping them from the pro-life people who want to give them hope. But that's because it's Friday. Sunday's comin'!

Hope does not mean that we ignore or minimize the evils around us. It means, rather, that we see the whole picture, which is that evil is conquered because of what happened one Sunday morning. The power of sin and death has been broken by the Resurrection of Christ. We are called to proclaim, celebrate, and serve that victory, waiting in joyful hope for Christ's return and the full flowering of the Culture of Life! Indeed, Sunday's comin'!

Prayer:

Lord, fill your people with new hope. Make us vessels of hope to all around us, especially to those who minister in the pro-life movement, that as we engage in the difficult work ahead, we may experience the peace and joy that come only from you and that nobody can take away from us. We ask this through Christ our Lord, amen.

Fr. Frank Pavone
National Director, Priests for Life and President, National Pro-life Religious Council
--------------------

Bishop Gracida's Radio Ad Airs as Pro-Life Television Commercial in Ohio

Bishop Gracida's Radio Ad Airs as Pro-Life Television Commercial in Ohio MEDIA ADVISORY, October 30 /Christian Newswire/ -- His Excellency, Bishop Rene H. Gracida, made an incredible radio spot defending life, and stating that no Catholic could vote for Obama with a clean conscience. A dedicated pro-life businessman from Ohio, Mark Nelson, took the radio file, and made it into a TV commercial. It is running between now and the election in Steubenville Ohio and the surrounding area. Mr. Nelson has offered the hi-resolution version for anyone else who wants to run this on TV in their area. http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=7kDZzkcaRO0 Please watch this, and forward it to other media sources, and your friends. Randall Terry is available to discuss plans for the next 5 days to defeat Obama.

650 Latinos Killed Daily in USA... Barack Obama's Response May Surprise You

Hollywood Actor, Producer and Former Telenovela Star Produces Incredible New ENGLISH and SPANISH VIDEOS About Barack Obama

DALLAS, October 30 /Christian Newswire/ -- Eduardo Verastegui, actor, producer, singer and star of the award-winning 2007 movie "Bella," warns Latinos about Barack Obama in an eye-opening new video which can be seen at   www.ObamaMustSee.com.

In the video, Eduardo explains that 650 Latino babies are killed by abortion every day in the USA, and how, tragically, Obama's pro-abortion response will makes things worse.  When Eduardo learned about Obama's anti-family agenda, he decided he had to produce this video and show people the truth.

Eduardo says, "Barack Obama does not share our traditional Latino values...That's what inspired me to put this video together. I want people to know the truth about Obama."

"As a Latino, I was also shocked to learn that most abortion centers are located in neighborhoods where Hispanics and minorities live. It broke my heart when I discovered that more than 650 Latino babies are killed every day by abortion in the US," said Verastegui. "We need to put an end to abortion - and political candidates play a very important role in this matter."

In the video, Verastegui explains Barack Obama's pro-abortion positions, saying: "Did you know that Barack Obama supports abortions performed in the final months of pregnancy? That Obama supports partial-birth abortions? That Obama wants to finance abortions with the taxes you and I pay?"

"As a legislator, Obama voted several times against a bill that tried to help babies who survive abortion, and are born alive." And "Obama wants to remove all pro-life laws that currently protect unborn babies and their mothers in many states."

Verastegui explains, "Mr. Obama does not want parents of a pregnant minor as young as 13- years-old to be notified before she aborts her baby.  Insane anti-parent laws like this allow child molesters and sexual predators to force young girls into secret abortions to cover up their sexual crimes."

Co-producer John Finn, says, "Thank goodness Eduardo has the character and courage to go public with a video like this.  Americans need to know the truth about Barack Obama, and thanks to our host, famous Hollywood star Eduardo Verastegui, the video is spreading like wildfire across the Internet."

"We're working hard to get this message e- mailed to millions of Americans ASAP and we encourage everyone to help by sending it to their personal e-mail lists. Also urgently needed . . . donations will allow us to e-mail blast this powerful video to millions of Latinos in the USA."

Originally produced in Spanish and offered on YouTube, now a stunning new English version of Eduardo's video is available online.  You can view both videos at:

Click:  www.ObamaMustSee.com or www.DuraRealidad.com

Media DOWNLOADS: FREE Video and Audio DOWNLOADS are also available at the Web sites for use in radio and TV shows. Click:  www.ObamaMustSee.com or www.DuraRealidad.com
Spanish and English-speaking spokespersons available.

Dallas Ad Agency Exec has 10,000 Praying in 5,000 Zip Codes at PrayForSarahPalin.com

DALLAS, October 30 /Christian Newswire/ -- Vicki Garza, owner of Garza Creative Group, announced today that her volunteer website www.prayforsarahpalin.com has reached 30,000 unique visitors. Of those, over 10,000 have committed to pray daily for Sarah Palin's peace, protection and wisdom as well as for the other candidates on the ballot. Garza explains what led her to form the prayer site: "I felt compelled to create this website when Senator McCain urged everyone to 'do something' in his acceptance speech for the Presidential nomination of the Republican party. As a mother of five and grandmother of seven, as well as a Christian businesswoman, I can relate to Sarah Palin. The verbal attacks, mocking jokes and disgusting videos and photos that have come out against her have been mean-spirited and demeaning. There is no doubt she needed the power of prayer surrounding her every minute of every day during the campaign process. This site was something I knew I could do for her." With this race as tight as it is, Garza believes our prayers and our Christian walk will make a difference. "When it's all over and the dust has settled after the elections, our faith to believe God for the best in our nation will be counted unto us for righteousness. And those who were watching us have either witnessed us praying and walking in love and grace, or they have seen us stoop to the level of other mean- spirited people. I'd rather be found faithful in prayer." To view Garza's YouTube video, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cD-Tlaye8Jk

FROM CALIFORNIA CATHOLIC DAILY:

Here's another sick story from California. These people will have a lot to answer for on Judgment Day! May the Divine Mercy be in their souls!

Deacon John

Bad for the environment?

Sierra Club comes out against Proposition 4

The San Francisco-based Sierra Club, founded by California environmentalist John Muir in 1892 to "explore, enjoy and protect the planet," is urging its members to vote against Proposition 4, saying the family notification before a minor's abortion initiative might result in more babies being born, which would be bad for the environment.

In an interview with the Bay Area Reporter, a newspaper catering to homosexuals, California Sierra Club director Bill Magavern was asked what Proposition 4 had to do with the environment. According to the newspaper, "Magavern said that the club has long been pro-choice and that Prop 4 would 'block access to family planning,' therefore, it is a population issue that affects the environment."

The environmental group's opposition to Proposition 4 caught the attention of the Bay Area Reporter because the organization failed to instruct its members on how to vote on Proposition 8, the measure that would ban same-sex marriages in the state. In a column titled "Prop 8 briefs – Sierra Club silent on Prop 8," the newspaper reported, "The Sierra Club, one of the country's foremost environmental clubs, declined to take a position on Proposition 8, the same-sex marriage ban, but urged Californians to vote no on Proposition 4, the parental notification measure. Some gays were surprised at the club's omission of the most controversial initiative on the November ballot."

"Sierra Club is a pro-choice organization," says the group's web site, and the club has previously endorsed a 1970 resolution drafted by Zero Population Growth. Among the provisions of the resolution: "families should not have more than two natural children," "state and federal laws should be changed to encourage small families and to discourage large families," "policies, and attitudes that foster population growth or big families, or that restrict abortion and contraception, or that attempt to constrict the roles of men and women, should be abandoned."

Last year, members of the Sierra Club partnered with representatives of Planned Parenthood and traveled from one end of California to the other for a series of conferences called "Sex and the Environment." The 2007 tour was part of the Sierra Club's Global Population and Environment Program, which states as its mission: "to protect the global environment and preserve natural resources for future generations by advancing global reproductive health and sustainable development initiatives." The term "reproductive health" has long been understood as a code word for "abortion," especially in Third World countries where the outright use of the word "abortion" would be politically unwise.

FROM LIFESITENEWS.COM:

Archbishop of Omaha Issues Voting Statement To Be Read At All Parishes This Sunday

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski

OMAHA, Nebraska, October 30, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Archbishop of Omaha, Most Reverend Elden F. Curtiss, has provided the people of his diocese with a clear directive on the "serious moral obligation to promote the common good by exercising our right to vote," which he has asked pastors to make available to parishioners this weekend.

Explaining that "the core of Catholic moral and social teaching is respect for the sacred dignity of every human life," the Archbishop joined the more than 80 Catholic prelates who have said that abortion and right to life are the defining issues in this election.

"In this election, like many before it, we are faced with a conflict of values in candidates. There are many serious issues at stake in this election, but none is more important than abortion," he wrote.

The archbishop quotes Mother Teresa who once pointed out, "abortion has pitted mothers against their children and women against men. It has sown violence and discord at the heart of the most intimate human relationships ... It has portrayed the greatest of gifts - a child - as a competitor, an intrusion, and an inconvenience" (Letter to US Supreme Court, February, 1994).

Stating the need to show concern for the well-being of those in society who are hurting and in need, and especially to give help to women with unplanned pregnancies who are without the resources to give birth or to care for their babies, Archbishop Curtiss again stresses "the very first right we must protect, if all human rights are to be protected, is the right to life for the unborn. Those who do not understand or accept this basic human right are unworthy of our trust."

The Archbishop concludes, "The stakes are high for all of us in this coming general election. It is up to us as individual voters to study the issues, examine the position of the candidates, pray before we enter the voting booth, and then cast our ballot in accord with consciences that are formed by the values and principles of our Catholic faith."

In a related statement, Bishop Robert W. Finn of Kansas City-St. Joseph, already having proclaimed abortion and the life issues to be the defining issues in the upcoming election, has requested, together with the other Bishops of Missouri, a week of prayer leading up to the election - "a week of prayer for the protection of Human Life."

Bishop Finn also touched on Sen. Obama's support for the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA).

"Our Catholic moral principles teach that a candidate's promise of economic prosperity is insufficient to justify their constant support of abortion laws, including partial-birth abortion, and infanticide for born-alive infants," the Bishop writes.

"Promotion of the Freedom of Choice Act is a pledge to eliminate every single limit on abortions achieved over the last thirty-five years. The real freedom that is ours in Jesus Christ compels us, not to take life, but to defend it."

The Bishop asks that the faithful to "pray and make some sacrifices for our country," especially invoking "the Guardian Angels of 47 million babies lost through abortion in our country in the last thirty-five years. This horrendous loss of life remains one of the greatest threats to human civilization we have ever faced."

Link to text of Archbishop Curtiss' statement: http://www.archomaha.org/newsandevents/pdf/ArchbishopsVoting...

Link to Bishop Finn's request for prayer: http://catholickey.org/index.php3gif=news.gif&mode=view&...

Read related LSN coverage:

Over 80 Bishops Say Abortion/Life Issues Defining Issues of Election
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/oct/08102710.html

U.S. Bishops Come out Swinging against Abortion, Pro-Abort Politicians
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/oct/08101706.html

Renown Pro-Life Leader Expresses Desire to Vote Obama

This is a little confusing, but read the whole article for surprise ending! [Deacon John]

WASHINGTON, October 30 /Christian Newswire/ -- National Pro-Life leader Paul CB Schenck has issued the following statement. Schenck is co-founder of the National Pro-Life Action Center near the Supreme Court and National Pro-Life Radio.
 
The presidential election is closer than we think: national polls seem to show that Barack Obama has a commanding lead throughout the country. In almost every one, he is 3, 4, 5 some even 10 + points ahead of John McCain.

But there is s till a large number of "undecideds" out there - and they could well determine the outcome. I am among those "undecideds." Yes, I admit - with less than a week to go, I am not yet committed to a single candidate. Let me try to explain why -

I really want to be able to vote for Barack Obama. I want the long shadow of slavery, Jim Crowe and racial discrimination to be forever banished from our memory and experience. I want to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King's color blind society by choosing the son of an Anglo mother and African father as my national leader. I want to tell my African-American family (I have 5 black nieces and nephews) and friends that I don't judge leadership qualities on the basis of skin color or ethnic identity. I want to lift up the poor and share the wealth. I want to show the world that America is not a prejudiced society and that we are the friends of the colored nations of the world. And yes, that we can elect a man by the name Hussein.

But I'm torn - truly tormented by Sen. Obama's baffling and inexplicable belief in victimizing the weakest, most vulnerable and voiceless members of our human community. I cannot comprehend his endorsement of dehumanizing the purest, most innocent and non-threatening persons, or his casual dismissal of our very nearest neighbors. Neither do I understand his unwillingness to extend the protection of the law to the people who hold forth the highest promise and greatest potential of any of the human race. It stupefies me that Barack wouldn't provide basic health care to the innocent victims of lethal violence. I am stumped that the son of a single mom raised by his grandparents wouldn't use his good offices to defend an abandoned child.

Senator Obama's support of abortion - which kills the pre-born child and forever scars her mother and father, is so confusing to me that I can't get past it to cast my vote for a man who otherwise promises to transform our national conscience. If I were to cast my vote for this man who in so many other ways fulfills my aspirations for our country - I feel that I would be selling out tomorrow's generation to assuage my own feelings of guilt over racism. So, I'm no longer undecided: I won't be voting for Barack Obama. 

Schenck is available for interveiws and response by calling Ms. Day Gardner at 202-834-0844.

Dr. Paul Schenck, Founding Director, National Pro-Life Action Center. http://www.nplac.org/