[Apologetics] FW: They Really Do Believe We Are Idiots

Tue Aug 11 11:32:29 EDT 2009

This news item states in part:

"Organized by liberal-leaning evangelicals, some mainline Protestant
clergy, and some Catholic groups, it will include Obama participating in
a call-in program with religious leaders streamed on the Internet on
August 19, prayer meetings, and nationwide television ads."

I would like to know exactly which Catholic groups are promoting the
despicable Obama health care plan that would provide federal funding of
elective abortions, ration health care for everyone, and encourage
euthanasia for seniors.

Maybe they mean the sham group Catholics for Choice.  But if they mean
actual Catholic organizations, I want to know which ones.

Art Kelly

________________________________

From: nrlc at nrlc.org [mailto:nrlc at nrlc.org] 
Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2009 10:55 AM
To: Art Kelly
Subject: They Really Do Believe We Are Idiots

 <http://www.nrlc.org/images/nrlogo2.gif> 	National 
Right to Life	       Today's 
News & Views

Today's News & Views
August 11, 2009

They Really Do Believe We Are Idiots 

"Liberal religious groups announced on Monday they are teaming up with
President Barack Obama in a national campaign to counter the
surprisingly vehement conservative opposition to his plan for overhaul
of the U.S. healthcare industry this year. Organized by liberal-leaning
evangelicals, some mainline Protestant clergy, and some Catholic groups,
it will include Obama participating in a call-in program with religious
leaders streamed on the Internet on August 19, prayer meetings and
nationwide television ads."
     From "U.S. religious left wades into healthcare fight," which
appeared yesterday in Reuters.

When a reporter and/or media outlet is behind you, your vocal support
for something or another is "passionate," "caring," even "prophetic."
When they don't, that same intensity is "vehement," "fueled by anger,"
even (to quote Democratic congressional leaders) "unAmerican."

 <http://www.nrlc.org/News_and_Views/Aug09/Wallis.jpg> 	
Jim Wallis

Some of the same religious leadership that helped Obama navigate the
political shoals last year are putting the band back together again,
this time in an attempt to blunt massive grassroots resistance to health
care "reform." Let me talk about a few of the particulars.

If you believe a lot of the "mainstream" press, resistance is either
synthetic, bought and paid for by those "opposed to health care reform,"
ill-informed, and/or stoked in part (as Reuters put it yesterday) by
"Christian and conservative radio," and/or leaders of the "religious
right."

As you undoubtedly know from watching television or reading accounts,
President Obama and the Democratic leadership in Congress are fighting
back.

The two-fold strategy appears to be (yet AGAIN) to marginalized anyone
who wants an explanation of how they are going to square various
circles, and to (yet AGAIN) stop talking about specifics (which always
gets them into loads of trouble) and return to the kind of sparkling
generalities that Obama specializes in.

That's where the Religious Left comes in the form of something called
"People of Faith for Health Reform and its "40 Days for Health Reform."
One of the usual suspects is Jim Wallis, who told Reuters that "his
group's mission is to keep universal health-care coverage alive as a
'moral issue.'" 

According to NPR, the division of labor goes like this. The Obama
Administration has rolled out a website to contest "wild rumors" about
its health care initiative and to "call out misinformation." (Gulp! ) So
what is the role of this "coalition of progressive religious leaders"? 

"Argue morality," or, according to Liz Halloran, "more specifically,
what members characterize as the moral and religious imperative of
providing 'inclusive, accessible' health care coverage and the need for
a civil discourse about the issue, says Jim Wallis of the progressive
Christian group Sojourners, one of the coalition sponsors." (Keep that
"civil discourse" comment in mind.

So, let's look at the ad. (www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaBq0QeM3-8) True,
there is one statement that is unobjectionable. A pastor looks in the
camera and says, "God's given us a spirit not of fear but of love and
action."

But the rest of the ad is the usual us v. the "special interests" drivel
that is the hallmark of those who insist you either accept the thrust of
the Democrats health care "reform" sight unseen, or you want nothing. 

The first statement in the 30-second ad tells you all you need to know:
"Special interests in Washington are spending millions to block health
insurance reform," followed by "Killing reform will boost their
profits." In case anyone misses the point a moment later a woman opines,
"The special interests are strong."

However, thanks to NPR, there can be little doubt of the campaign's real
motivation. "According to Gordon Whitman of the PICO National Network, a
faith-based community organizing group that is also one of the
coalition's sponsors, the group's effort will focus on moderate, swing
districts where 'religion is significant to public life.'"

They really do believe we are idiots, don't they?

Switching gears but to a related subject, there's been an enormous
amount written about "Section 1233 of the health-care bill drafted in
the Democratic-led House, which would pay doctors to give Medicare
patients end-of-life counseling every five years," as the Washington
Post described it. How much should we be worrying about this?

Let me offer the concluding paragraphs of "Facing the Challenge of
Health Care Rationing," a page one story in the July/August issue of NRL
News, written by NRLC's Burke Balch, JD. Mr. Balch, director of NRLC's
Robert Powell Center for Medical Ethics wrote the following.

The House legislation, as reported from the Energy and Commerce
Committee, contains provisions to promote advance directives like
"living wills," including:

1) Medicare reimbursement for consultations about "advance care
planning" between health care providers and their patients when they
enter Medicare, every five years thereafter, and if they become
seriously ill;

2) requiring private and public health care plans to give potential
enrollees the option to establish advance directives; and

3) a public education campaign, toll-free telephone hotline, and
clearinghouse to promote advance directives and other advance care
planning. 

Advocates of such measures frequently cite the cost savings if, as they
expect, this promotion results in more directives rejecting lifesaving
treatment. "We refer to the end-of-life discussion as the
multimillion-dollar conversation because it is associated with shifting
costs away from expensive ... care like being on a ventilator in an ICU,
to less costly comfort care ...," said Holly Prigerson of Boston's
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. National Right to Life strongly encourages
the execution of a pro-life advance directive, the Will to Live (see
www.nrlc.org/MedEthics/WilltoLiveProject.html). However, the pro-life
fear is that efforts to push patients and prospective patients to
prepare advance directives may in practice become a means of persuading
or pressuring them to agree to less treatment as a means of saving
money. Moreover, governmental promotion of advance care planning must
not include the "option" of assisted suicide. Especially in the Senate,
NRLC is working to address these concerns through negotiations and, if
necessary, by preparing amendments to be offered in the Senate Finance
Committee and on the Senate floor.

It is critically important that pro-life citizens make their voices
heard while senators and representatives are at home during August, and
after they return to Washington in September. The contemplated
restructuring of America's health care system will affect the life--and
death--of every American. 

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