DNC NEWS:

Operation Rescue Condemns Police Brutality Against Peaceful Pro-Life Teens At DNC

August 28th, 2008

Two girls, ages 15 and 17, were attacked and arrested without warning by police while peacefully exercising their First Amendment Rights outside Sen. Obama's hotel

Denver, CO - Two young girls were brutally attacked by police Wednesday evening without warning as they were chalking the sidewalk with pro-life messages outside the Westin Hotel, where Democratic Presidential Nominee Barack Obama is staying. The girls were knocked to the ground, kneed in the back, handcuffed, and painfully dragged away.

Arrested were Jayne White, 17, and Julia Giacopuzzi, age 15, who were participating in a peaceful demonstration that was part of A Prayer For Change events.

Also arrested was Rev. Patrick Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition.

Click picture below to view video of the arrests:

According to Rev. Mahoney, the group had received permission to sidewalk chalk from Denver City Attorney David Fine and Denver Deputy Chief Police John Lamb and had been "sidewalk chalking" for six days prior to the arrests without incident.

They were later released and are now consulting attorneys in anticipation of possible legal action against the city.

"I am shocked at how cowardly these police officers behaved by attacking little girls without warning or provocation," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. "Operation Rescue condemns this act of violence against peaceful demonstrators. There was absolutely no reason for it. Police officers are expected to control themselves better than that, and if they can't they should not be in law enforcement. We call for immediate disciplinary action against the officers involved in the brutality incident involving Miss White and Miss Giacopuzzi."

"Operation Rescue spent the week participating in A Prayer For Change with Rev. Mahoney and these young people, who have conducted themselves peacefully and appropriately at all times," said Newman.

Rev. Pat Mahoney is available for comment at 540-538-4741.

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About Operation Rescue

Operation Rescue is one of the leading pro-life Christian activist organizations in the nation. Operation Rescue recently made headlines when it bought and closed an abortion clinic in Wichita, Kansas and has become the voice of the pro-life activist movement in America. Its activities are on the cutting edge of the abortion issue, taking direct action to restore legal personhood to the pre-born and stop abortion in obedience to biblical mandates. Click here to support Operation Rescue

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Web site: www.operationrescue.org

E-mail: info@operationrescue.org

DNC NEWS:

Peaceful Teenage Demonstrators Arrested at the Democratic National Convention Near Senator Obama's Hotel

DENVER, Aug. 27 /Christian Newswire/ -- Police officers use excessive force and brutality in arresting two young women, aged 17 and 15 years old, at the Democratic National Convention in Denver for peacefully demonstrating yards away from where Senator Obama is staying.

View video of arrests

Also arrested was the Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition of Washington, DC.

Jayne White, 17, and Julia Giacopuzzi, 15, both from Lake Arrowhead, California, were arrested in front of the Westin Hotel where Senator Barack Obama is staying while at the Democratic National Convention.

View pictures of the young women arrested

The two young women were arrested, without warning, while peacefully writing pro-life messages on the sidewalk in front of the Westin Hotel with sidewalk chalk where Senator Obama is staying.

Rev. Mahoney was arrested and threatened with a felony for leading the event.

After being arrested, the group was later released.

The group had received permission to sidewalk chalk from Denver City Attorney David Fine and Denver Deputy Chief Police John Lamb and had been "sidewalk chalking" for six days prior to the arrests.

Jayne White, age 17, was rushed from behind, physically forced to the ground, had a police officer dig his knee into the back of her neck, pulled her arms and cuffed her behind her back.

Julia Giacopuzzi, age 15, was rushed by a police officer, had her arms twisted behind her back, lifted up off the ground and then cuffed.

Jayne White, age 17, states, "I was peacefully sidewalk chalking when I was forcefully pushed to ground by a police officer from behind. As I was being cuffed on the ground, the police officer pushed his knee into the back of my neck. I was pulled roughly off the ground and taken away. I was given no warning to stop and was completely shocked when I was arrested. My back was throbbing from his knee."

Julia Giacopuzzi, age 15, comments, "As I was sidewalk chalking, I was rushed by a police officer without warning and lifted up off the ground and was cuffed. I was then dragged by the police into the Westin Hotel."

Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition, adds, "I am absolutely stunned, sickened and appalled by the excessive use of force by these police officers against these two young women at the Democratic National Convention. They were rushed without warning, physically forced to the ground, had a knee driven into their back, cuffed and dragged away. Their crime was simply writing pro-life messages on the sidewalk yards away from the hotel where Senator Barack Obama is staying. It must be stressed that they had permission from the Denver City Attorney and Police Department to do this and they were given no warning to stop.

I was arrested for simply being accused of being "the leader" of the event.

For the past ten months, I have had numerous news conferences in Denver expressing concerns that free speech rights and the First Amendment might be crushed during the Democratic National Convention. I have said repeatedly that demonstrators are not terrorists and that the city of Denver should do all within their power to ensure civil liberties would be protected.

Sadly, the city of Denver ignored these warnings and the civil rights of two young women and myself were trampled. How is it possible that at the Democratic National Convention two young women could be brutalized by the police just yards away where Senator Obama is staying for writing a political message on the sidewalk? Upon my return to Washington, DC, I will be meeting with our legal team to discuss our legal options against the city of Denver and the Democratic National Convention."

For more information or interviews call:

Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney 540.538.4741

Kaitlin Clare 540.538.4822

Dr. King's Dream Includes the Unborn Says Dr. Alveda King

ATLANTA, Aug. 28 /Christian Newswire/ -- On this, the 45th Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, Priests for Life Pastoral Associate Dr. Alveda King released the following statement:

"Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a man of God, a man of great compassion, and a man of non-violence, once said, 'The Negro cannot win as long as he is willing to sacrifice the lives of his children for comfort and safety.' I know in my heart that if Uncle Martin were alive today, he would join with me in the greatest civil rights struggle of this generation - the recognition of the unborn child's basic right to life.

"My uncle Martin would agree that we cannot end poverty, hunger, or suffering by killing those who might suffer. We cannot claim to guarantee equal rights if we deny the rights of the helpless. And we cannot feign ignorance of the fact that those who are torn apart, crushed, or left to die on an abortionist's table are just as human as we are.

"My uncle said that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. There is injustice in our land. We have turned being unwanted into a crime penalized by death. Today, I echo the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - let freedom ring. From every mountain top, let freedom ring for all Americans, wanted and unwanted, born and unborn."

Priests for Life is the nation's largest Catholic pro- life organization dedicated to ending abortion and euthanasia. For more information, visit www.priestsforlife.org.

FROM LIFESITENEWS.COM

Pro-Life Billboard Vandalized with "Joker" Face Paint and Slogan: "Why So Serious?"

FREEPORT, Illinois, August 27, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A billboard showing a baby's face and the words "Abortion: The Ultimate Child Abuse" was vandalized in the style of Batman: The Dark Knight villain the Joker.

The baby was made up to look like the arch-villain from the recent Batman film, with black spray paint circling the eyes and red duct tape stretched across the mouth in imitation of Joker's signature grotesque smile. Under the pro-life message was spray painted the Joker's famous line from the new movie: "why so serious?"

According to Pro-Life Corner, the duct tape has been removed, but attempts to remove the paint damaged the underlying image. Stephenson County Right to Life, the organization behind the advertisement, will need $400 to replace the sign - a large sum for a small group, says Chris Clukey, the group's spokesperson.

The Joker-themed criminal act is not the first of its type, as other areas have reported similar incidents since the release of the box-office smash hit Batman: The Dark Knight, which features the paint-smeared Joker as the paragon of amoral abandon.

Two weeks ago, the Associated Press reported the arrest of two 18-year-old men in Virginia who scattered terrorist threats on Joker cards.

To donate to Stephenson County Right to Life for a new billboard call 815-815-232-2538, or visit http://prolifecorner.com/?q=support to give via Paypal.

See related LifeSiteNews.com editorial:

Batman The Dark Knight - Should We Fear Imitation of the Joker?
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/aug/08081408.html

DNC NEWS

'Party Crashers' Final Day at DNC: 'Post Abortive Women' to Disrupt Women's Caucus on August 28, Followed by Press Conference DENVER, Aug. 27 /Christian Newswire/ -- "Once I realized I murdered my child, the burden of turmoil and guilt nearly destroyed me - including an attempted suicide. Abortion kills children, and mars women for the rest of their lives. "As a post abortive woman, my highest political priority is to make abortion illegal and unthinkable, so that other women are not thrown into the abyss of post- abortive hell. "I intend to tell the 'women's caucus' that their pro- abortion agenda is not only a crime against children, but treachery against women of the highest order. We need to help women in crisis pregnancies, not encourage them to destroy their children. "There are millions of women hurting from the unspoken shame and guilt of abortion, and they need our help. They need to own what they did, embrace their lost children, and find healing, mercy and forgiveness." -- Laura Rohling What: "Party Crashing:" Women's caucus, Convention Center, 14th and California. And... Press Conference: 11:00 A.M., in front of visitor entrance of Convention Center. Who: Laura Rohling, and other post abortive women. Where: Entrance of Convention Center, at California and 14th. Post abortive women will be present to do interviews, and answer questions.

Youngest premature baby born 15 ounces developing normally in Mexico

Shiryu Juárez Medina

Mexico City, Aug 27, 2008 / 11:28 am (CNA).- Shiryu Juárez Medina was born on May 29 in Mexico City at 23 weeks, weighing 15 ounces. He overcame numerous obstacles and with the assistance of specialists and the love of his family he will leave the hospital in a few days, having become the youngest premature baby in the world.

Continue reading this miracle story here: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=13646

PRO-LIFE MEMORIAL DAY

By Judie Brown

In the midst of all the clamoring, posturing and bickering of the election season, it is easy to get swept up in discussions on how to vote, if one should vote and why it is important to vote. And, of course, it is of the utmost urgency that we take full advantage of our freedoms in America and do all we can to select those men and women who will keep our nation safe from external dangers and internal strife.

Not only do we entrust the implementation of just laws to these people, but we also rely on them to make prudent decisions in matters affecting the rest of the world and those who defend our nation at home and abroad.

As Americans, we commemorate our war heroes and their sacrifices by setting aside one day each year to honor them: Memorial Day. On that day, we remember in prayer and in our hearts the thousands of valiant, heroic men and women have given their very lives to protect our right to live in the land of the free and the home of the brave. They are the ones who have secured our liberty and confirmed with their blood the principles that make America great.

So why am I asking you to take time out of your politicking and busy schedule to think about a memorial day of a different sort? The single most important reason is this: Electioneering is not saving preborn babies, and the so-called pro-life individuals who have been elected as a result of our blood, sweat and tears have not even made a dent on restoring personhood to the preborn.

Far too many in this nation have never thought of the struggle to end abortion as a war – a war that has taken more lives than all the wars in the history of America combined.

This is precisely why we set aside a day each October to mourn the loss of the millions of Americans who never had a chance to live. Not a one of them will ever have an opportunity to cast a vote, wear a uniform or defend the borders of this nation. They are dead, and if you put this fact in the proper context, its profoundly tragic dimensions become even clearer. For example, those 744,600 Americans who died prior to birth in 1973 alone would today be 35 years of age and contributing to society in ways we cannot even imagine.

Maybe one of those 35-year-olds would have discovered a cure for Parkinson's disease. Perhaps one of them would have mesmerized a nation with a vision of what it means to follow Christ and never count the cost. It is feasible that at least a few of them would have been among those heroic men and women we honored this past Memorial Day.

But they are all gone – murdered in the wombs of their mothers before they ever had a chance to give a hug, shed a tear or inspire a child. Their loss is our loss, and we must never forget them, lest we forget the real reason why we struggle to end this plague.

American Life League sponsors the annual Pro-Life Memorial Day on the first Monday of October to call attention to these victims of the culture of death. On that day, the Supreme Court starts its new term. It is appropriate to commemorate the aborted children on that day, as it is the United States Supreme Court that imposed the tragic Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions on our nation.

In addition, October is Respect Life Month all across America. We will participate in Life Chain; 40 Days for Life will be well under way and religious services will be held so that Americans can pray for our nation, mothers who have aborted their children and all others affected by this tragedy.

October is the month when leaves change colors, and autumn presents us with an array of colors that please the eye, reminding us of God's awesome gifts. Appropriately, October 6, 2008 is also the day when we will take time out to remember those boys and girls whose fate was intentionally and irrevocably sealed by the slice of a knife, the stab of a needle in the heart or some other grisly practice resulting in premature death.

More than 49,000,000 children have died in this tragic war being waged in the wombs of mothers on a daily basis. To my mind, this sobering fact should prompt anyone truly committed to ending abortion to use October 6 as an opportunity to remember the dead and resolve to actively pursue the protection of those persons not yet created – none of whom should face premature death by abortion.

For details on Pro-Life Memorial Day and the apparel designed for silent, prayerful protests on October 6, see http://www.prolifememorialday.com/2008/.

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=2316

____________________________
Katie Walker
Director of Communication
American Life League
1179 Courthouse Road
Stafford, Virginia 22554
540.659.4942
kwalker@all.org
http://www.all.org/