The Reality of Gendercide

This week’s radio commentary…

It’s not popular story-telling today, but it’s true nonetheless. First Century Christians rescued newborn infants, especially baby girls, left by their parents to die by exposure, a common practice in a Roman culture that preferred sons over daughters and despised deformities.

Today, such infanticide is illegal in the West and in most places around the developing world. Tragically, abortion has replaced this terrible practice with a judicially legalized procedure that is a little less visible to our sensitive eyes. The end product is the same – innocent babies are mercilessly killed.  However, with abortion, some can convince themselves it really isn’t murder.

Added to this horrific story is gendercide, or as that marvel of Internet knowledge called Wikipedia tells us, gender-selective mass killing. Mass killing?  Surely I’m exaggerating.  Well, let me give you a current figure: more than 160 million.  That’s how many women are missing from the world today because of gender selection, according to Mara Hvistendahl, the author of a new book called Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boys Over Girls and the Consequences of a World Full of Men.  Sounds like mass killing to me.

How is such a travesty possible?! If you’ve had a child recently, or you know someone who has, then you probably already know the answer to that question. Today ultrasound technology is available around the world, is relatively inexpensive, and reveals the gender of a baby and for some unfortunate girls, gives their parents the opportunity to “wait” for a boy by aborting their little girls.

This is not an isolated cultural practice—we’re talking about 160 million girls missing worldwide! For the sake of comparison, Russia’s population is approximately 143 million and Japan’s is approximately 128 million. We’re missing an entire country’s worth of women because of selective abortions!

The natural, God-ordained male-female ratio is 105-100. That’s 105 boys born for every 100 girls born. As Jonathan Last of the Wall Street Journal notes, that ratio “is biologically ironclad.” That’s just the way it is, until you throw abortion into the mix.

In India, that male-female ratio is 112-100. In China, it’s 121-100, although in some Chinese towns it’s over 150. Azerbaijan is 115-100, Georgia is 118-100 and Armenia is 120-100. And it also happens in the United States of America—so we are not innocent. The ratios in the population-dense countries of China and India have skewed the global ratio to the unheard of 107-100!

Here’s the kicker: women are killing women. Hvistendahl says in her book that “women used their increased autonomy to select for sons.” So-called female empowerment has turned into all-out gendercide with the intentional killing of unborn girls. If you’re familiar with the pro-life movement, you won’t be surprised by some of the international organizations with their bloody hands in the sex-selection phenomenon: Hvistendahl lists The Planned Parenthood Federation, The Rockefeller Foundation, the Ford Foundation and the United Nations among the culprits. All of those organizations are known for their population control inclinations.

But there’s another aspect to this story. The appropriate alarm the author of Unnatural Selection and other commentators and demographers express over the consequences of a disproportionate male-female ratio really confirms the case for marriage.  The research shows when unattached, single men are in significant numbers, violent, unstable societies result.  Simply put, when there are not enough women for men to marry, the men are left to themselves—and it’s not only not pretty, it’s downright dangerous, especially for women who frequently become victims of crime and involved with the sex trade.  Whenever you step outside that perfect ratio God created we all suffer; but it seems like women get it the worst.

Once again, it comes down to marriage and life—the two issues that absolutely galvanize the conservative base in Wisconsin and nationwide and turn us out to the polls, even in mid-summer recall elections. This is simply more proof that our issues, our core issues, are foundational and imperative to the future prosperity and the continuation of society.

This is Julaine Appling for Wisconsin Family Council reminding you the Prophet Hosea said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”

>>listen to/download the mp3 file

Wisconsin Values

This week’s radio commentary…

I don’t know about you, but everywhere I turn lately I keep hearing about Wisconsin values. On the one hand, I hear that collective bargaining, workers’ rights or conservation efforts constitute Wisconsin values. And then I’ll hear that, actually gun rights, low taxes or a good business environment constitute Wisconsin values. So many values! But what are the fundamental values that really make Wisconsin work? Frankly, they’re the values we hold the most dear – family, life and liberty.

Those were the values that surprised the media years ago when they discovered how many people go to the polls because they’re concerned about things such as marriage, unborn babies, religious liberty and strong families.

We understand that those values, those fundamental values, are the foundation on which the house of Wisconsin is built. Without strong families, without the right to life, without religious liberty and all the 1st Amendment rights, without the institution of marriage—our state will crumble.

Don’t let anyone tell you that these recall elections are just about collective bargaining, Scott Walker, the Republican majorities in the state legislature or taxing the rich, the middle class or the poor. Those are all valid issues but they are just surface issues.

On November 2, 2010, we the people of the sovereign state of Wisconsin voted in to power a governor and legislative majorities that promised to pay attention to their constituencies, to put the state’s fiscal house in order, to create a better business environment in Wisconsin, to bring new jobs and to uphold the values that uphold the prosperity and future of Wisconsin.

That’s what we were told, and to date, some of those promises have been fulfilled. However, it’s just the beginning—there is so much more work to do. We need to hold those reelected or newly elected officials accountable, and we need to support and champion their pro-life, pro-family initiatives and ensure those promises are kept.

But here we are facing nine State Senate recall elections that could change the majority of the State Senate and the legislative agenda we voted in on November 2, 2010. And with that change in majority we would be back to basically the same State Senate we voted out of power last November. And where would that put us? If you think it just means we’re back fighting about collective bargaining and tax cuts for businesses, you’re wrong.

I wish I could show you what we see in our office so that I could impress you with the gravity of the situation our state is now facing. Do you realize that organizations such as Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, Fair Wisconsin, the state’s largest pro-homosexual organization, and other groups that are fundamentally anti-life, anti-marriage and anti-Christianity are working hard and spending a great deal of money to unseat pro-life, pro-family State Senators in the recall election?

They are doing this because they are desperate to stop the work of organizations such as Wisconsin Family Council, Pro-Life Wisconsin and Wisconsin Right to Life and individuallegislators such as Reps. Andre Jacque (R-Bellevue), Evan Wynn (R-Whitewater) and Sens. Rich Zipperer (R-Pewaukee), Pamela Galloway (R-Wausau) and Dan Kapanke (R-La Crosse) and many others!

They know that the pro-life, pro-family movement in Wisconsin means business and they’re afraid we’re going to get our work done. So they’re milking the recall elections for all they are worth to try to stop us, stop you and stop the legislators you voted into office last November.

That’s why these recall elections affect all of us, even those of us who don’t live in one of the recall districts. For those of you who live in the districts—vote your values! But don’t wait until Election Day to start protecting your values. You can get involved right now. Even if you don’t live in the district, you can still get involved. There’s plenty for everyone to do!

Are you ready to protect your values? Are you ready to protect that vote you cast last November and the legislative initiatives you want to see accomplished in Wisconsin? If so, then go to wifamilyaction.org and click on “Take Action” to find out how you can get involved. Or, you can contact our office at 888-378-7395.

Don’t let all the values talk distract you from what’s really at stake in these recall elections. If you don’t protect your values, who will?

This is Julaine Appling for Wisconsin Family Council reminding you the Prophet Hosea said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”

>> listen to/download the MP3 file

Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land

This week’s radio commentary:

“Proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants.”  You may recognize that phrase—it comes from Leviticus 25:10 and refers to the year of Jubilee for the Hebrews. The phrase is also inscribed on the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, in Independence Hall—where 56 delegates signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776—or thereabouts.

God is the author of liberty; freedom is His idea, not man’s. Consider this language from the Declaration of Independence.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

The framers of our country understood that God is the One Who bestows liberty—unalienable rights they called them. Government does not bestow liberty! Listen to the next sentence from the Declaration.

“That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

Yes, you heard that right. Governments are instituted to protect those rights, not to bestow or withdraw them. We’ve heard a great deal of rhetoric about rights and liberties over the past six months in Wisconsin. But what we find is that when government creates certain supposed rights—such as the “right” to health care or collective bargaining for instance–guess what happens? If government grants the so-called “right,” government can take that “right” away.

But life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness—those rights are unalienable and government does not have the jurisdiction to take them away because government did not create those rights. That’s the way it’s supposed to work, anyway.

Freedom and liberty are as important now as they were 235 years ago when the signers of the Declaration pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honors for liberty. And many of them never fully realized the liberty for which they sacrificed their lives, sacred honor and fortunes.  But they did know they were sacrificing for future generations so that their children and grandchildren could enjoy freedom. Now, over two hundred years later, Americans are still known for our independent streak. We like our freedom.

And yet in spite of our love affair with liberty, we’ve allowed government to incrementally siphon away our freedoms, making us—and our children—more and more dependent on government. In fact, many of our families are more dependent on government than we may even realize. Government provides free education, it provides food and necessities for our children, and it provides day care and health care.

Why should we be worried about that? Because families are the bedrock of our country, of our state! When families are strong, our state is strong economically and socially. Families are Wisconsin’s best natural resource and we need to be strengthening the independence and integrity of the family unit, not keeping that unit dependent on government hand-outs.  That’s not freedom.

That is why we have to hold our elected officials accountable, and why we must be actively engaged in the happenings of our government. Politicians are happy to expand entitlement programs that increase dependence on government because it creates voters who want to keep them in power. But families, and children, are the ones harmed by the vicious cycle of poverty that government dependency creates.

The 2011-2013 budget Gov. Walker signed on Sunday is a good start for reducing families’ dependence on government. The budget defunds Planned Parenthood—an agency that thrives on making people dependent on government. The budget also does not include staggering government spending and the irresponsible borrowing that saddles the next generation with enslaving debt. That’s significant!

When our Founding Fathers envisioned freedom for us—they were not envisioning lifestyles funded by the state or federal government. Quite the contrary. The Declaration of Independence is about self-government and, naturally, independence. They were “proclaiming liberty throughout the land, to all the inhabitants thereof.”  Now, it’s our turn. Let’s celebrate this Independence Day with a renewed commitment to strengthening the independence and integrity of the family.

This is Julaine Appling for Wisconsin Family Council reminding you the Prophet Hosea said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”

Listen to/download the MP3 file.

The Biggest Rally Ever

This week’s radio commentary:

Six months ago who could have imagined that we would be facing nine State Senate recall elections this summer?  Most of us had very different plans for our summer than getting involved in campaigns, volunteering and voting. And yet, we’re faced with the very real possibility of losing the pro-life, pro-family, pro-liberty majority we voted in last November.

Whatever happens in the Senate this summer will affect all of us, whether we live in a Senate recall district or not. The nine recall elections this summer could change the majority in the Senate, giving power back to the same Senate Democratic caucus that voters removed from power last November.

Our sister organization, Wisconsin Family Action, has been working hard over the last six months to forward your pro-family, pro-life, pro-liberty values in Madison and with your help, we’ve met with good success. However, we still have a lot to do to protect our families, our churches and our communities in Wisconsin.

Now, the focus is on the recall elections. Political parties and other interested parties from both sides are pulling out the stops to get their candidates elected or re-elected in those nine districts. And everyone is calling on their grassroots to get involved.

You are the game-changer this summer. Your involvement in the campaigns, your decision to vote and your conversations with friends and acquaintances this summer could mean the difference between victory and defeat for the candidate you support.

Whether you live in one of the nine recall districts, or not, you can still get involved. The six recall elections for the Senate Republicans are Senate District 02: Rob Cowles (Green Bay); Senate District 08: Alberta Darling (River Hills); Senate District 10: Sheila Harsdorf (River Falls); Senate District 14: Luther Olsen (Ripon); Senate District 18: Randy Hopper (Fond du Lac); and Senate District 32: Dan Kapanke (La Crosse).

The three recall elections for the Senate Democrats are Senate District 12: Jim Holperin (Conover); Senate District 22: Bob Wirch (Kenosha) and Senate District 30: Dave Hansen (Green Bay).

There are two main ways to get involved this summer; giving of your money and giving of your time and effort. If you live too far away from one of these districts to volunteer your time, you can still give money. If you do live close enough, there are many opportunities to volunteer, whether it is with the candidate’s campaign or with others attempting to get out the vote.

Wisconsin Family Council and Wisconsin Family Action are working to educate voters and to get-out-the vote this summer for the recall elections. We would love to have you partner with us this summer! If you would like to volunteer with us, you can sign up on our website. Go to www.wifamilyaction.org and click on Take Action. Or you can give us a call at 888-378-7395.

Since the beginning of this year, we’ve heard a great deal of talk about having “our voices heard.” Well, in a Constitutional Republic such as Wisconsin we have a very effective, tried-and-true provision for making our voices heard. It’s called a free and fair election. When we turn out to the polls and cast that vote, government hears our voice loud and clear—just like it did last November.

Naturally, we still have a responsibility to contact our elected officials and to hold them accountable once they take office. But the crescendo for our collective voice is when we cast that ballot on Election Day and choose someone else to represent our voice in the halls of government.

Think about it. Election Day is the biggest rally ever! Tens of thousands of Wisconsin citizens gather at the polls—not to fight, not to shout and yell—but to silently and formally delegate our right to self-government to individuals who will be our voice in closed-door meetings, in public hearings and committees, in the media and on the floor of the Senate and Assembly chambers. That’s the beauty of a representative form of government!

So what will you do to protect your vote and your values this summer? How will you get involved in our representative form of government?

This is Amy Lewis for Julaine Appling at Wisconsin Family Council reminding you the Prophet Hosea said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”

>> listen to/download the MP3 file

The case for fatherhood

I’d like to make a case for fatherhood based on some facts that are frequently overlooked but that are relevant to the budget debate we’ve been having in Wisconsin lately.

This week as the state legislature debated the state budget, Democratic lawmakers berated the GOP for defunding Planned Parenthood  in the state General Purpose Revenue for “family planning services.”  They accused GOP legislators of being against poor women, of denying healthcare to underprivileged women and taking us back to the Stone Age, basically.

Aside from the many, compelling reasons that the state should not be funding an organization like Planned Parenthood, I would suggest that state-funded “family planning services” are really a short-term, short-sighted, dependence-creating solution to rising teen pregnancy and STD’s rates.  When you have a problem, particularly like spreading STD’s, you need to implement immediate solutions, but more importantly, you need long-term solutions.

So what’s one of the most important long-term solutions?  Fatherhood.  Involved fathers can make all the difference in the decisions young girls make–whether they participate in risky (read typically life-altering) behaviors or not.  Here are just a few examples:

• Teenage girls who have a close relationship with their father are less likely to engage in sexual conduct.
• Teenage girls in intact families are less likely to become pregnant compared to their peers in other family structures
• A strong father/daughter relationship is linked to less depression, sexual activity and pregnancy for girls.

Wow!  And those are just a few of the ways that involved fathers benefit their  daughters’ lives; there are many more, and many benefits for young boys as well.  You see, a father’s unique role in his daughter or son’s life provides, among other things, security, affirmation, affection, discipline, material provision and oversight.  Those are all incredibly positive value-adds that have been shown to discourage risky, anti-social or self-destructive behavior.

Stronger families and present, involved fathers are the long-term solution for a society of young women sold a bill of goods by the likes of Planned Parenthood.  How can the state promote families and fatherhood?  Well, it takes a little more work than funding family planning services, but here are a few policy items Wisconsin Family Action is working on or has plans for in the future–they’re all focused on strengthening the independence and integrity of the family:

• Remove marriage penalties in the state’s welfare programs
• Require a longer waiting period and extensive counseling for couples with minor children considering a divorce (in the absence of abuse, abandonment or adultery)
• Build incentives for premarital counseling into marriage licensing provisions

It’s time for our state to invest in the long-term solution of fatherhood and intact families for our children–and particularly young women–instead of creating dependence on government and enabling harmful and sometimes criminal behavior.

Another Pro-Life Victory

This week’s radio commentary…

Over two years ago, tens of thousands of Wisconsin citizens from across the state came together to help protect the lives of innocents against a plan to kill 125 second trimester, late-term babies a year at the Madison Surgery Center.

It was a long process that involved the joint efforts of pro-life organizations and individuals who were dedicated to saving those babies—and maybe their mothers— no matter how much time, money and effort it took. We rallied in freezing temperatures at the UW campus. Open records requests were filed, many of them. Tens of thousands of individual signatures were gathered for petitions. Dozens of individuals took turns praying outside the Madison Surgery center in all weather until the plan started falling apart. Hundreds of Wisconsin residents boycotted the UW health system and even more contacted those behind the late-term abortion plan, urging them to change their minds.

As a result of the dedication and commitment of the pro-life movement in Wisconsin, the late-term abortion plan started slowly unraveling. The abortionist who was going to be performing the abortions at the Madison Surgery Center took a job in another state. Pressure from pro-life health care professionals employed at the Madison Surgery Center weakened the resolve of the Madison Surgery Center board and eventually, we learned they would not be hosting the abortion center.

And then, late last year, the UW Hospital and Clinics Authority (UWHCA) announced they had dropped the plan to provide late-term abortions at the Madison Surgery Center and did not have another facility at the time to replace the Madison Surgery Center. It was wonderful news and a great tribute to the effectiveness and determination of the pro-life movement in our state.

However, despite multiple attempts in the State Legislature to institute such a statute, we do not have any law that curbs the UWHCA system’s ability to reinstate the late-term abortion plan at another facility on another day.

In fact, Pro-Life Wisconsin broke the story last year that UW medical residents were actually doing rotations at Planned Parenthood to view and to learn to perform abortions.  We had no assurance that taxpayer funds were not being used to subsidize those rotations at the Planned Parenthood abortion clinic.

Then, at about 11:00 this past Friday night, June 3, the Joint Finance Committee (JFC)—the powerful committee that vets the state budget before it goes to the floors of the Senate and the Assembly—voted to prohibit the involvement of the UWHCA and its employees in an abortion procedure.

There are a number of heroes behind this pro-life victory, including all of you who participated in the effort over the last couple of years to stop the abortions at the Madison Surgery Center. The pro-life organizations that coalesced to fight the plan were also involved in promoting the motion on Friday.

Rep. André Jacque (R-Bellevue), was the driving force behind the motion that the JFC approved on Friday night. Sen. Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend) and Rep. Dan LeMahieu (R-Cascade), both ardent pro-life members of the JFC, introduced the motion and the JFC voted on party lines, 12-4, to approve it.

Now the budget goes to the floors of the State Assembly and State Senate this month where legislators in both chambers can introduce amendments in an attempt to alter the budget before the members vote on it. And then, the governor has the final authority to sign or veto the budget, or to veto the budget in part.

However, the public outrage over the plans to do late second-trimester abortions at the Madison Surgery Center should show that Wisconsin taxpayers are not interested in cutting any check for abortionists, abortionists-in-training or for the facilities they use.  Pro-life victories are always hard-won, but they are definitely sweet—and very much life-saving.

This Julaine Appling for Wisconsin Family Council reminding you the Prophet Hosea said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”

Listen to/download the MP3

 

Prosser wins – what it means for Wisconsin

Yesterday, almost two months after the State Supreme Court election, JoAnne Kloppenburg finally conceded the race to Justice David Prosser.  Even after the long and tedious recount process, Prosser still led by a margin of 7,000+ votes and it was  evident that a court challenge likely wouldn’t change that.

What does Prosser’s reelection to the State Supreme Court mean for Wisconsin?  The most significant outcome of the finally over election is that Wisconsin retains a conservative majority on the highest court in the state, 4-3.  Court observers predicted that a Kloppenburg win would have moved the bench to a liberal majority.  In fact, after the high-profile, expensive, contentious Supreme Court race and the drawn-out recount process, it appears that the conservative bloc on the bench is more solidified than ever before.

Considering the significance of the cases that will likely end up before the State Supreme Court in the next few years, the judicial philosophy of the justices on the bench is as important as everyone made it out to be.  Wisconsin’s State Supreme Court will likely consider cases challenging

1. The new Voter ID law
2. Gov. Doyle’s same-sex-only, statewide domestic partnership registry (Appling, et. al., v. Doyle, et. al.)
3. Gov. Walker’s policy significantly limiting collective bargaining for public employees
4. The rules regulating guardianship for child custody cases
5.  Religious liberty in the public square
6. The defunding of Planned Parenthood in Gov. Walker’s 2012-2013 state budget

That’s just a small sampling of the kind of cases Wisconsin’s high court will likely decide in the next few years.  And there is some merit in the claim that our State Supreme Court is one of the more influential courts in the country–the high court’s decisions could have far-reaching impact beyond our state.

The outcome of this race was hugely significant and also rather telling.  Coming, as it did, on the heals of the most contentious public policy battle in recent state history, the race received far more attention than it would have otherwise.  With 1.5 million votes cast, and a 7,000-vote margin, it highlighted the deep divide in Wisconsin politics, a divide that will no doubt continue into the recall election cycle.

Memorial Day – Never Forget

I am the proud granddaughter of two retired U.S. Marine Corps officers.  I grew up attending Memorial Day ceremonies at the local cemetery with my grandpa, followed by a hot lunch at the VFW post.  It made quite an impression on my mind and my eardrums, scared as I was of the 21-gun salute.

The USMC is part of my heritage, not only because of my grandparents’ service, but because my parents and my grandparents taught me to remember and appreciate the sacrifices others made for my liberty.  Memorial Day is a national day of observance when we remember the ultimate sacrifice so many servicemen and women made for our country.  As a nation, we have a proud history of honoring those who died in service to the USA.  Arlington National Cemetery, with its white headstones stretching out solemn acre after solemn acre, is a hallmark of our nation.

And yet, somehow we’ve cheapened Memorial Day with a 3-day weekend, special retail sales events, parties and a host of other things.  And I’m a chief offender, I’m ashamed to admit.  I’m not suggesting that celebrating on Memorial Day is wrong, but let’s show some respect for those who gave their lives so that we could live in prosperity and freedom.

But most importantly, let’s pass the legacy of Memorial Day onto our children.  A day of observance and remembrance is the perfect opportunity to teach our children about the cost of liberty, to tell them the stories of family members who gave their lives in service to their country and to make sure that, as a nation, we never forget.

I’m grateful for those who made sure I would never forget: my paternal grandpa who is dead but whose patriotic legacy lives on in our family; my maternal grandpa who walked me down The Wall in DC, and through the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico and told me the stories of his fallen comrades; my grandmas, whose military wives-stories I will always remember, my mom and dad who took me to military museums, taught me the Marines’ hymn and instilled in me a profound appreciation for those who died for my freedom.

What will you do this Memorial Day to remember and to pass on the legacy to the next generation?  What will you do to ensure that we never forget?

Don’t feed the abortion giant

This week’s radio commentary:

In some ways it was an odd setting for the big showdown: a stuffy committee room on the fourth floor of the State Capitol filled with legislators, staffers, media, a few pro-lifers and some pink shirts.  The pink shirts are the trademark of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin supporters, and they were there. We were all waiting for the powerful Joint Finance Committee (JFC) to take up a motion regarding taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin and other abortion-providing, family planning organizations.

The will to defund Planned Parenthood has been growing in the country, with the efforts in the US House of Representatives leading the charge. Although we’ve been talking about the provisions in the Governor’s budget to defund the abortion giant here in Wisconsin, we’ve been waiting to see what the JFC would do with the governor’s proposal.

The JFC can vote up or down, or adopt an alternative to the governor’s proposals in the budget. Whatever they approve goes to the Assembly and Senate floors where members can amend the budget before they pass it and before it goes to the governor.  Once it gets to the governor’s desk, Gov. Walker can use his line-item veto power to make limited changes to the legislature-approved budget.

Last week we found out exactly what the JFC would do with Governor Walker’s proposal to remove public funding for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin from the state budget. Republican members of the JFC submitted a motion to reinstate the family planning funding the Governor had slashed from the state budget. Their motion would also approve Walker’s proposal to remove 15-44 year-old boys and men from what used to be known as the Family Planning Medicaid Waiver program and is now called the BadgerCare Family Planning Only program.

However, the Republican motion, while reinstating the funding, would also protect taxpayer money from going to organizations that perform abortions or make referrals for abortions or that have affiliates that do abortions or refer for them. Another provision requires that parents be notified if their minor children seek so-called “family planning services” through what has been known as the “Family Planning Medicaid Waiver” program—money which, by the way, goes to Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin as the largest provider. This common sense provision allows parents to protect their child in critical situations, including those which could constitute statutory rape.

These provisions are truly significant. As you can imagine, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin and their allies—which included the 4 Democratic legislators on the JFC—were none too happy about the GOP’s motion. Not surprisingly, the Democratic legislators on the JFC were quite outspoken in their support for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin’s so-called “health care” for women and upset that that the GOP JFC members wanted to pull that public funding.

After much debate and lecturing from the Democratic members on the committee, the JFC passed the motion on a party-line vote, 12-4, taking the first step in defunding the abortion giant in Wisconsin.

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, which provides the majority of the abortions in the state, has been the primary recipient of the General Purpose Revenue funds involved with the JFC’s motion. Generally, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin receives close to $1 million each year of these Title V Maternal and Child Health family planning funds, which is just one source of public funds for the giant abortion provider.

A recent review of taxpayer money going to Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin in a given year, through both state and federal funds, all of which is taxpayer money, shows the organization received over $18 million in 2010.

Last week’s vote in the JFC was a good start to reining in public funding for such abortion-providing, abortion-promoting groups. We look forward to continued efforts to staunch the flow of tax dollars going to Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin and other organizations that advance a life-taking agenda. Thanks to the twelve Republicans on JFC, we’ve begun the process.

Planned Parenthood’s outspoken opposition and near rants regarding last week’s action in the JFC session highlights the real impetus behind Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, and it’s not providing so-called women’s “health care,” as they said; it’s money, just as we’ve known all along.

This is Julaine Appling for Wisconsin Family Council reminding you the Prophet Hosea said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”

>> listen to/download the MP3 file

Recall Elections Have Consequences

This week’s radio commentary…

You’ve been waiting for this for years: more protections for women and unborn children against the abortion industry, less government intrusion intro your home, your family, your school and your community, more school choice and other educational alternatives for our children, a better business environment in the state and maybe even lower—dare I say it?—lower taxes.

Perhaps, after the November 2, 2010, election you experienced a glimmer of hope that the things you’ve been waiting for would become reality. For the first time in years, Wisconsin has a pro-life, pro-family, pro-liberty governor and a pro-life, pro-family, pro-liberty majority in both houses of the state legislature.

We’ve all had high expectations for the 2011-2012 legislative session. In fact, we have a legislative agenda of about 7 or 8 items we would like to see the legislature pass this session. Those items include repealing the comprehensive sex education “Healthy Youth Act” mandate, defunding Planned Parenthood through the state budget, protecting religious liberty in Wisconsin and building better divorce laws that protect the interests of children.

Many other individuals and organizations were also gearing up for an exciting couple of months as an historically large class of freshmen legislators brought their energy and creativity to bear on the state’s many problems.

And then something happened, called the Budget Repair Bill, and life as we know it changed drastically. One of the things that changed is we now have nine recall elections in the State Senate and we don’t know for sure whether we’ll still have a pro-life, pro-family, pro-liberty majority in the State Senate at the end of this summer. So instead of working almost exclusively on legislative agendas this spring, summer and fall, the state is facing an entirely new campaign cycle that no one could have anticipated four or five months ago.

Eight of the recall elections will take place on July 12. The senators involved in those elections include Republicans Senators Dan Kapanke, Luther Olsen, Alberta Darling, Sheila Harsdorf, and Randy Hopper.  The Democrats include Senators Jim Holperin, Dave Hansen, and Bob Wirch.  The following geographical areas are involved:  River Hills, River Falls, Conover, Ripon, Fond du Lac, Pleasant Prairie, Green Bay and La Crosse.  if there is primary, the primary will take place on July 12 and then the general election will take place on August 9. The Government Accountability Board (GAB) has not yet scheduled the recall election for the ninth senator, Republican Sen. Bob Cowles from Green Bay.

If Wisconsin loses the pro-life, pro-family, pro-liberty majority in the State Senate, I can guarantee you that those high hopes we had for this cycle will be dashed. We cannot get pro-life bills passed if Planned Parenthood-endorsed legislators hold the majority in the State Senate.

We cannot get pro-family bills passed if we have a majority of State Senators who believe the state knows better than parents how to raise their children. We cannot improve the business and jobs environment in the state of we have a majority of State Senators who believe government can regulate and tax the state out of the recession.

We cannot protect our students against harassment for religious expression in our public schools if the majority of our State Senators believe there’s no place for religious expression in the public square or the public schools.

We cannot hope to lower taxes and stop government over-spending if we have a majority of State Senators who act like the state’s funds are unlimited and it is there job to spend the taxpayers’ money—every dime of it.

The fact is the recall elections could change the outcome of the votes you cast in last November’s election. It may seem like these elections are not very important—after all, it’s only for 9 officials.  But in reality everything is at stake.  Who occupies the seats in our state senate is very important and consequential.  Even if you don’t live in one of the districts where there is a recall this summer, you should care about those elections.

The truth is that elections have consequences that affect all of us. The recall elections this summer could change everything for the pro-life, pro-family cause in Wisconsin.

This is Julaine Appling for Wisconsin Family Council reminding you the Prophet Hosea said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”

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