GOP Blizzard
This is an early and abbreviated "End of Day" today. Apparently a Republican blizzard is about to hit Washington. I say that because it looks like it will shut down the government!
Much of our staff lives miles outside of the capital, and the next few days will be challenging. We hope to be back up and running on Monday. Everybody in the path of the storm should take necessary precautions and stay safe.
The Big Picture
Charles Krauthammer, insightful as always, has a must read column in today's Washington Post, pointing out the historic shift that took place in the Middle East last Saturday, January 16th -- "Implementation Day" for President Obama's nuclear deal. Consider this excerpt:
"In a stroke, Iran shed almost four decades of rogue-state status and was declared a citizen of good standing of the international community, open to trade, investment and diplomacy. . . On Saturday, the Iranian transport minister announced the purchase of 114 Airbuses from Europe. This inaugurates a rush of deals binding European companies to Iran, thoroughly undermining Obama's pipe dream of 'snapback sanctions' if Iran cheats.
"Cash-rich, reconnected with global banking and commerce, and facing an Arab world collapsed into a miasma of raging civil wars, Iran has instantly become the dominant power of the Middle East. . .
"In 1938, the morning after Munich, Europe woke up to Germany as the continent's dominant power. Last Sunday, the Middle East woke up to Iran as the regional hegemon, with a hand -- often predominant -- in the future of Syria, Yemen, Iraq, the Gulf Arab states and, in time, in the very survival of Israel."
Defending Life
Hundreds of thousands of Americans came to Washington, D.C., today for the annual March for Life. They came in spite of blizzard warnings. They came in defiance of the left's scorn. That speaks volumes of their dedication. This morning I met with pro-life activists, leaders and members of Congress. I am confident we will win this battle.
The march marks a tragic anniversary in America -- the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision legalizing most abortions nationally. Since that ruling 43 years ago, more than 57 million innocent lives have been sacrificed in the name of choice.
We fought a civil war to settle the question of whether some men could be considered property, possessing no rights we were bound to respect. In keeping with our founding principles, we rightly determined that every life has dignity and is worthy of respect.
Roe v. Wade is an injustice based on the same misguided philosophy as Dred Scott -- that some humans are not "people" for the purposes of our Constitution. But I have confidence that this good and decent land will someday once again live up to its image as a "shining city upon a hill," when every child is welcomed into the world and protected under the law.
A lot of people come to Washington every day, often to lobby for some kind of self-interest. What is striking about the March for Life is that the people coming to Washington today are here to lobby on behalf of others who can't even thank them. In return for their selfless efforts, they will be called "fascists" and "extremists" by those on the left. They will be accused of turning the clock back on women's rights.
But it is the left that wants to turn back the clock. Modern technology allows us to see into the womb, making it virtually impossible to deny the humanity of the unborn child. The science of conception is settled! Those who deny the reality of life are the true deniers of science.