Follow The Missiles

In politics there is a saying everyone understands, "Follow the money." A comparable saying when dealing with Iran might be, "Follow the missiles."

When the Iranian nuclear negotiations began, one of the primary objectives of the West was to guarantee that the Iranian facility at Fordow was shuttered. Everyone agreed that the facility, which housed a major part of Iran's nuclear weapons program and was built inside a mountain, had to be closed.

But as the negotiations progressed, the fate of Fordow ultimately became one of Obama's biggest concessions to Tehran. And to further sweeten the deal for Iran, Obama agreed to end many sanctions against the Iranian regime, the world's leading state-sponsor of terrorism.

As soon as the sanctions were lifted, Russia announced that it would sell highly sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles to Iran. This week, Iran announced that it deployed the Russian S-300 missiles to Fordow -- the very facility where it claims nothing unusual, just research, is taking place.

Could Iran's intentions be more obvious?

Let me say this as bluntly as I can: When we eventually discover that Iran is cheating, as it always does, efforts to take out the facility will be vastly more difficult. American and Israeli lives will likely be lost as a result of the policies pursued by the Obama Administration.

Speaking Of Lives Lost. . .

Susan B. Moskosky, a top official in the Obama Department of Health and Human Services, published a report last week in the "Public Health Reports" journal. It contained this disturbing statistic: "Each year, approximately 2.8 million women have an unintended pregnancy. Approximately 42% of these end in abortion. . ."

Do the math: That's 1,176,000 abortions a year.

Official government data is notoriously behind the curve when it comes to reporting on abortion. For example, the most recent government report on abortions performed in America was released in November and it only covered data from 2012.

That year, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control, there were 699,202 reported abortions. But if Ms. Moskosky's figures are correct, that means there has been a shocking 68% increase in abortions in recent years.

One abortion is one too many in my view. But the notion that nearly 700,000 innocent unborn babies -- more than 13,000 a week -- AT A MINIMUM -- are destroyed in the United States is unimaginable.

With all the headlines of terrorism, racism and idiotic quarterbacks, it is easy to overlook the weakest and most vulnerable in our society. And for all the talk about justice -- social justice, environmental justice, economic justice -- the taking of innocent life remains the greatest injustice of all.

Obama Packs The Court

The Supreme Court, as its name clearly implies, is the nation's most important court. As such, it tends to get all the attention, yet it handles relatively few cases -- about 80 -- each year. That means the vast majority of cases and controversial issues are decided by the hundreds of judges who preside over the lower federal courts.

As everyone knows, the death of Justice Antonin Scalia left the Supreme Court split 4-to-4 on many major cases this year. When that happens the decision of the lower court prevails.

And while Obama may not get to tip the balance on the Supreme Court (Senate Republicans, who control the confirmation process, are insisting that the next president fill Scalia's vacancy), he has had a decisive impact on the ideological balance of the nation's lower federal courts -- especially the appellate courts, just one step below the Supreme Court.

These appointments make a big difference. A Fox News report notes that the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Richmond, Virginia, used to be "one of the most conservative appellate courts in the country."

But Obama's appointments dramatically changed the makeup of the bench. So much so that the Fourth Circuit "recently struck down North Carolina's voter ID law" and also "ruled in favor of a transgender student seeking to use high school bathroom facilities matching the student's gender identity rather than biological gender."

By the way, a recent Gallup poll found that 80% of Americans, including 77% of minorities, support voter ID laws. Recent polling also found that only a third of voters supported Obama's transgender public school bathroom mandate. Yet unelected judges are thwarting the will of the public -- just as they have done on abortion and the definition of marriage.

And it's not just the Fourth Circuit. According to Fox News, "When Obama took office, only three appellate courts had more Democrat-appointed judges than Republican-appointed judges. Now, nine of the 13 circuits do."

While federal judges serve for life, the men and women who nominate and confirm them -- the president and our senators -- do not. They must answer to the American people at the ballot box.

That means you CAN influence the courts.

But to do that, you must vote. Are you registered to vote? How about your friends and family members? You can't vote unless you are registered. Register today.