Running Out Of Energy? Burn The Babies 

The right to destroy innocent unborn children, a moral and cultural poison injected into the American body politic in 1973 by the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision, has led to evils like Kermit Gosnell, the monstrous "doctor" who bizarrely displayed the arms and legs of aborted babies in jars in his office. 

This morning comes news out of Britain that in more than two dozen government-run hospitals aborted babies and miscarried fetal remains were burned in furnaces as medical waste without the knowledge of parents. The Telegraph reports that mothers were instead told that the remains had been cremated. At least two of the hospitals use the furnaces as "waste to energy" generators to provide heat. 

I would like to think there would be universal outrage at this news. But I suspect there won't be. If the unborn child is not a human life worthy of dignity and respect, what difference does it make how it is disposed of? But, of course, each pre-born baby is made in the image of the same God who hung the stars in the sky so how they are treated makes a great deal of difference. 

America is better than 2,900 abortions a day. Great Britain, which in one of its finest hours held off the monstrous Adolf Hitler, who specialized in burning bodies in furnaces, is better than today's breaking news. But as long as Western Civilization embraces abortion on demand, it will continue to sink further into the mire of moral relativism and societal decline. 

Religious Freedom On Trial 

Tomorrow is a tremendously important day for religious liberty in the United States. The Supreme Court will take up two key cases challenging Obamacare's contraception mandate. The cases revolve around the question of whether the federal government can compel businesses owned by men and women of faith to provide services that violate their deeply held religious beliefs. 

One of the cases involves Hobby Lobby, a chain of arts and crafts stores owned by a devout Southern Baptist family. The company is not opposed to birth control. It is adamantly against paying for sterilization or so-called "morning after" drugs that kill babies in the womb. But coverage of such "emergency contraception" is mandated under Obamacare. If Hobby Lobby refuses to obey this particular Obamacare mandate, it faces fines in excess of $1 million a day. In other words, the government is telling this family: Provide what you morally abhor or we will bankrupt you. 

For some time now, conservatives have been warning about the erosion of religious liberty in the United States and that a form of persecution is beginning to take root. It is plain for everyone to see in the Hobby Lobby case. If the court rules that the government can force private business owners to violate the teachings of their faith, it will have essentially gutted the First Amendment. 

Meanwhile, this is a multi-front war. Last week, we reported on the growing hostility toward faith at the Air Force Academy, which appears to be promoting atheism. 

Cardinal Raymond Burke, known as the Vatican's chief justice, said recently that President Obama's policies "have become progressively more hostile toward Christian civilization." Burke added: 
 

"[Obama] appears to be a totally secularized man who aggressively promotes anti-life and anti-family policies. Now he wants to restrict the exercise of the freedom of religion to freedom of worship, that is, he holds that one is free to act according to his conscience within the confines of his place of worship but that, once the person leaves the place of worship, the government can constrain him to act against his rightly-formed conscience, even in the most serious of moral questions. Such policies would have been unimaginable in the United States even 40 years ago."

Every pastor in America should be explaining this to their parishoners. 

Will Russian Tanks Roll Again? 

NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove, warned yesterday that Russian President Vladimir Putin may have designs on additional territory near Moldova. "The (Russian) force that is at the Ukrainian border now to the east is very, very sizeable and very, very ready," General Breedlove said. He added, "…it is very clear that Russia is acting much more like an adversary than a partner."

And what is the administration's reaction to this news? Tony Blinken, a top national security official, appeared on CNN this weekend. After conceding that "it's possible they are preparing to move in," Blinken added that providing U.S. military assistance to Ukraine was "very unlikely to change Russia's calculus." 

Why must the Obama Administration continue thinking out loud? Telegraphing weakness or the unwillingness to act only invites aggression.

Unfortunately, the mantra of "There's nothing we can do" continues to echo on the left and the right. I have outlined before many things that should have been done already, such as approving the Keystone pipeline and fast-tracking permits for liquefied natural gas plants. If those things had been done at the beginning of Obama's presidency, we would now be in a position to sell natural gas to our European allies, which would strengthen their hands without fear of a Russian energy boycott. 

Here's something else: Obama should announce that the budget he sent to Congress, which cuts the Army to pre-World War II levels, was obviously drafted before the leader of Russia proved he was untrustworthy and had expansionist aims. Obama should announce that he is withdrawing that budget and sending a new one that increases defense spending. 

Too Pricy For VP, But OK For FLOTUS? 

First ladies take overseas trips and often make outstanding representatives for the country. Inevitably it costs money. How much is the question. USA Today reports that Mrs. Obama is staying in the Presidential Suite at the "5-star Westin Hotel" in Beijing. 

That's odd because the Westin was reportedly too expensive for Vice President Joe Biden's trip last December. That was a good call. But at $8,400 a night, how did it suddenly become affordable for the First Lady?

Speaking of China, Nancy Reagan was raked over the coals when she wanted to replace the White House china, which had not been updated since the Johnson Administration. The media blasted the Reagan White House for being out of touch. 

But now many so-called "journalists" are silent.