Laura Echevarria

New Blog Address

2009-09-16T17:49:00.002-04:00

My blog is now officially located at www.lauraechevarria.com. I finally figured out how to set up a WordPress.org blog. Check out the new site!

It's Official, My Blog Has Moved

2009-09-09T09:38:00.003-04:00

As of September 1, 2009, the new URL for my blog is www.lauraechevarria.wordpress.com . You can also type in www.lauraechevarria.com or www.cultureandpoliticstoday.com and reach the new blog.

Robert Schindler, Sr., RIP

2009-08-30T22:11:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, the father of Terri Schindler Schiavo, Bobby Schindler and Suzanne (Schindler)Vitadamo passed away. He and his wife, Mary, went through so much trying to save Terri. I was priviledged to have met him on several occasions during that time and my deputy press secretary was even loaned out to them for a little while to help handle all the press they were getting.

The blessing is that, while he will be missed, he is finally with Terri and I’m quite sure he is rejoicing at the reunion. In fact, I’m surprised we couldn’t hear it.

May God bless the family during their grief; my prayers are with them.

Blog Talk Radio

2009-08-29T07:53:00.001-04:00

Today's Blog Talk Radio episode was about Ted Kennedy's liberal legacy and the Democrats push to pass Obamacare in his memory. Listen by clicking on the player on the right.

Senator Kennedy, RIP

2009-08-26T23:00:00.000-04:00

Though I disagreed with him on just about everything, his death is still a loss. Though his death was expected by his family, mourning is no easier. My prayers are with them during this time of loss.

Mmmm. . .New York Times Admits Rationing of Health Care Could Happen

2009-08-25T18:13:00.006-04:00

Robert Pear, writing in the New York Times on the 20th, discovers that conservative concerns about the rationing of health care, if reform should pass, are legitimate.

Wow, what will the Times think of next...maybe they can pursue actually investigating conservative concerns before publishing stories that rubber-stamp the White House line?

h/t Newsbusters

"Death Panels"

2009-08-20T10:01:00.004-04:00

Michael Cannon of the Cato institute writes in the Detroit Free Press and defends Sarah Palin's assertion that a universal health care plan would create death panels.

She is not the only one to believe this. Most universal health care systems like Canada's or Great Britain's use a QALY-like system to determine whether or not someone will receive treatment.

To give an example:

Under QALY, say you are 80 years old and you need a hip replaced. The surgery is slated to cost $30,000 but you are expected to live maybe only another five years (based on government estimates, of course), "experts" would take the number of your life-years remaining and amortize the cost of the surgery over that time. In other words $30,000/5 = $6,000 per year. They may decide the cost is too great for the return of only five more productive years.

However, if you are 55 years old and need a hip replacement, you are likely to have 30 years left to live. So the "expert" again takes $30,000 and divides this time by thirty. This stretches the cost out to $1,000 per year and from a cost/benefit analysis makes sense so the "expert" signs off on the surgery.

QALY stands for Quality-adjusted life year and is more complicated than what I just described. For example, if you are in a wheelchair you likely would get only .5 years adjusted for every year you have left because you are not in "full" health, etc.

The QALY systems basically looks at cost/benefit analysis but it's not for experimental space planes or vortex cannons, we are dealing with living, breathing human beings, not things.

h/t Sister Toldjah

Bob Novak, RIP

2009-08-18T13:57:00.003-04:00

The conservative columnist Bob Novak died earlier today. He was diagnosed with brain cancer last year. He was 78.

When I first began working at National Right to Life, someone from Mr. Novak's office would call at least once a week to fact check or get the latest on a piece of legislation.

Mr. Novak's columns skewered the Left and sometimes the Right. He was a member of the old-school of reporters and journalists and he will be missed.

Bob Novak, RIP

Blog Talk Radio

2009-08-14T18:28:00.003-04:00

Be sure to join me tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. for "Politics and Culture," my radio show on Blog Talk Radio.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver, RIP

2009-08-11T09:33:00.003-04:00

It was announced this morning that Eunice Kennedy Shriver has died at the age of 88. She was the sister of Ted Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy and President John F. Kennedy and the mother of Maria Shriver. The link to CNN's webpage has more about her life as the founder, along with her husband Sargeant Shriver, of Special Olympics but what they fail to note were her pro-life convictions. Eunice Kennedy Shriver was unapologetically pro-life and I had the honor of just being in the same room with her on several occasions at the National Right to Life Proudly Pro-Life Awards Dinner held in New York City. I can't honestly say that I met Mrs. Shriver, I believe I did once, briefly, but my job was to keep the press at bay so I usually stayed away from the top level guests unless an interview was requested.

She was also one of many important Democrats who protested the party's pro-abortion platform.

My prayers are with the family as they mourn the loss of this wonderful woman.

The Snitch List?

2009-08-07T18:57:00.004-04:00

Michelle Malkin writes about the latest coming out of the office of one of the many White House czars:

This week, President Obama's health care overlord, Nancy DeParle, launched a taxpayer-funded initiative to recruit an Internet Snitch Brigade that will combat "disinformation about health insurance reform." As the White House explained in a special online bulletin:

"These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain e-mails or through casual conversation. Since we can't keep track of all of them here at the White House, we're asking for your help. If you get an e-mail or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov."

What will health care czar DeParle do with this information? Where will it be stored? Who has oversight of the czar's powers, budget and personnel? Concerned citizens, alas, will have a hard time tracking down the "Office of Health Care Reform" created by executive order in April. There is no central website for the office, no direct channel for transparency and no congressional accountability.

Czars report directly to the president, and as Malkin points out, they have no accountability to Congress only to the president. This is troubling especially in light of the villification ordinary citizens are experiencing if they oppose ObamaCare.

Supporter of ObamaCare Strikes Back--Literally

2009-08-07T17:55:00.004-04:00

Not surprising ya'll...

h/t Sister Toldjah

Blog Talk Radio Show Tomorrow AM

2009-08-07T17:45:00.002-04:00

Don't forget--I will be broadcasting live at 7:30 a.m. for 15 minutes. I will be looking at health care reform and in particular the fact that the Associated Press reported what we knew all along: ObamaCare includes abortion. If you can, please listen in. If you are unable to join me live, I'll be posting the link on this website.

Robert P. George on DOM and the Link to Abortion

2009-08-04T08:33:00.006-04:00

Yesterday's Wall Street Journal featured an opinion piece by Robert P. George on traditional marriage. George is the professor of jurisprudence at Princeton University and founder of the American Principles Project. He writes about the dangers of redefining marriage:

If marriage is redefined, its connection to organic bodily union—and thus to procreation—will be undermined. It will increasingly be understood as an emotional union for the sake of adult satisfaction that is served by mutually agreeable sexual play. But there is no reason that primarily emotional unions like friendships should be permanent, exclusive, limited to two, or legally regulated at all. Thus, there will remain no principled basis for upholding marital norms like monogamy.

Now before anyone gets excited and argues that gay marriages would be monogamous, Professor George is talking about the basis for marriage in general. His major argument is that marriage is designed to have the potential for procreation. Not that every marriage will result in children or that every sexual act in marriage will result in children but that the institution of marriage is designed for the creation and rearing of children. He also points out:

Candid and clear-thinking advocates of redefining marriage recognize that doing so entails abandoning norms such as monogamy. In a 2006 statement entitled “Beyond Same-Sex Marriage,” over 300 lesbian, gay, and allied activists, educators, lawyers, and community organizers—including Gloria Steinem, Barbara Ehrenreich, and prominent Yale, Columbia and Georgetown professors—call for legally recognizing multiple sex partner (“polyamorous”) relationships. Their logic is unassailable once the historic definition of marriage is overthrown.

Is this a red herring? This week’s Newsweek reports more than 500,000 polyamorous households in the U.S.

Now all of these arguments are to point out the dangers of the Supreme Court ruling against California's Proposition 8 that is likely to go before the Court following a federal lawsuit that was filed.

Professor George notes the relationship between a potential decision creating a "right" to gay marriage and the "right" to abortion created in Roe v. Wade:

By short-circuiting the democratic process, Roe inflamed the culture war that has divided our nation and polarized our politics. Abortion, which the Court purported to settle in 1973, remains the most unsettled issue in American politics—and the most unsettling. Another Roe would deepen the culture war and prolong it indefinitely.

Some insist that the Supreme Court must invalidate traditional marriage laws because “rights” are at stake. But as in Roe, they are forced to peddle a strained and contentious reading of the Constitution—one whose dubiousness would undermine any ruling’s legitimacy.

Professor George, as always, writes well-reasoned, informative articles and opinion pieces. This one is no different and certainly makes the case that our generation could see another Roe ruling.

By removing decisions like abortion from the democratic process, the Court created an issue that troubles America's very core and divides us today--over 35 years later.

If Sotomayor is confirmed, would they have the votes to do it again with the definition of marriage?

Townhall Meeting?

2009-08-03T22:07:00.001-04:00

Well, looks like the Dems are discovering that America is not happy with the fast-track version of ObamaCare. Take a look. Many thanks to Family Research Council for the video link:

House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers Will Introduce Amendment to Make Health Care a "Right"

2009-07-31T20:21:00.006-04:00

Oh, brother, the Dem philosophy is "if it ain't in the Constitution, and we like it, let's put it in."

I missed this early this week so many thanks to CNSNews.

Leave It to the Dems to Start Name Calling

2009-07-30T18:06:00.003-04:00

As usual, when Democratic leaders can't take the heat they start name-calling. For Nancy Pelosi, it's not "lets debate the facts" it's more like "he took my ball and he's a big meannie." I mean really, come on, all of America knows it for what it is (whining) and it just makes the Dems look like that have nothing substantial to talk about.

Science Czar Co-Authored Textbook Claiming that Babies (Already Born!) Will "One Day" Become Human Beings

2009-07-29T15:20:00.007-04:00

Sounds ridiculous and something one would expect out of someone believing the earth is still flat but it's true.

Nancy Pelosi Tries to Sidestep Questions on Abortion in Health Care Reform

2009-07-29T15:12:00.003-04:00

John King does a great job trying to nail down an answer from Nancy Pelosi on this issue.

Nurse Forced to Participate in an Abortion Against Her Beliefs

2009-07-27T12:36:00.003-04:00

Alliance Defense Fund is representing a nurse in Brooklyn who claims that Mount Sinai Hospital forced her to participate in an abortion against her beliefs and wishes. Other hospital staff in supervisory positions allegedly lied to the nurse about the seriousness of the situation.

Obama's Science Czar Once Called for Population Control through Sterilization and Abortion

2009-07-26T19:15:00.003-04:00

In 1977, John Holdren, the president's science czar, authored a book with along with Malthus enthusiasts, Paul and Anne Ehrlich, that called for population control measures involving sterilization and abortion. See this column in the Washington Examiner by David Freddoso.

The Washington Post Thinks the President is Misleading the Public on Health Care?

2009-07-26T16:16:00.003-04:00

My first response was to gasp, then to shake my head in wonder--today's Washington Post criticizes (yep, I'm still shocked) the president for misleading the public on the true cost of healthcare reform.

Just Horrible...

2009-07-25T10:53:00.005-04:00

This story of a gang-rape of an 8-year-old Liberian refugee by four Liberian refugee boys ages 9 to 14 comes out of Phoeniz, AZ. My heart goes out to this little 8-year-old girl. My daughter is only ten so the horror of what happened to this little girl in Phoenix really hits home.

The situation is made all the more difficult by her family's rejection of her. In Liberia, women are traditionally blamed for rape although great strides have been made in changing these cultural attitudes.

h/t Newsbusters

Blog Talk Radio

2009-07-25T08:18:00.003-04:00

I managed to finally do my test program and-- I'm still laughing. I didn't go on air on schedule, I hit the wrong key and tried to close down my internet connection, etc. But I finally figured everything out and went on for my test for about a minute or two. I may have to do another test just to figure out how to fade out my intro music. That or re-record my intro music to get it to fade down and out.

Now, my biggest problem may be that I used to work in radio as an announcer and using a phone for a mic is rather bizarre and feels unnatural. I'll make another announcement soon about an actual show date. I think I want to do one more test first.

Thanks to all of you who are interested in it!

Red State Offers This Look at Health Care Rationing in Oregon

2009-07-24T17:06:00.002-04:00

Over at Red State, they take a look at what happens in Oregon when patients choose the "public option" for their health care.