The interview came about due to Horace’s new National Policy Analysis for the National Center, “When the Dead Vote, the Living Suffer: Department of Justice is Wrong to Oppose Voter ID.”

In that paper, Horace wrote:

Some states and jurisdictions might be understandably concerned that “ghost voting” and other types of voter fraud are allowed to run rampant when state-ID isn’t required. Indeed, thirty-one states currently demand some form of valid identification before voters can pull the lever for their favored candidate, and states are increasingly looking for constitutional ways to strengthen their voting laws in an effort to clamp down on election fraud.

…

Unfortunately, many of the common sense efforts being tried by states have been resisted by the Obama Administration, and legally challenged by its politically-charged Department of Justice.

…

The irony is that minorities know full well the history of voter suppression techniques. American history is replete with examples of poll taxes, literacy tests and even physical intimidation designed to limit the exercise of the franchise. Ghost voting is just as sinister and is even harder to detect.

Yet voter ID is a straightforward solution that the DOJ ought to be demanding, rather than opposing.

I attended portions of the meetings held in preparation for this report, and offered my comments as part of the open hearing. A video of my testimony is available here.  I am disappointed with TPSAC’s approach so far.  

The draft report fails to properly take into account the potential, as well as documented benefits of switching from the most harmful form of tobacco use, cigarette smoking, to lower-risk, but still not safe products, such as dissolvable tobacco and snus.

An examination of the beginning of the report makes the approach clear.

TPSAC considered the burden of tobacco‐related morbidity and premature mortality to be the appropriate indicator in addressing this element of its charge. That burden reflects the number of users of tobacco products, their patterns of use, and the risks of the products that they use, as set out in Figure 1.  

TPSAC lumps together all forms of “tobacco-related” effects, as if all forms of tobacco use were equally harmful. You might think that Figure 1 illustrates that “the risks of products they use” are different, but Figure 1 shows no such difference.

The report fails to appropriately acknowledge that cigarettes are by their nature more harmful than smokeless products, which are less dangerous because they are not burned and not inhaled.

The report gives little credence to the Swedish experience,
 as studied in published reports by University of Louisville’s Dr. Brad Rodu.  Dr. Rodu found that in Sweden, where snus replaced cigarette smoking, citizens suffered significantly fewer tobacco related diseases, including less oral cancer.

TPSAC writes that the Swedish tobacco harm reduction experience has “unique characteristics,” and therefore we shouldn’t place much weight on the very well-documented reduced rates of tobacco related illness, as the population began using snus rather than cigarettes.

Of course the experience in Sweden has “unique characteristics.” And Snus is different than the dissolvable tobacco products TPSAC is reporting on. But that doesn’t mean we can’t learn a tremendous amount from their experience.  And of course, some differences between Sweden and the U.S. suggest that we ought to be more like the Swedes. I doubt that many Swedes would have switched to snus if they were subjected to American-style scare campaigns; if they were, they’d  probably still be smoking cigarettes.

Furthermore, TPSAC makes the completely unfounded argument that
, “For health benefits to be obtained, complete substitution of snus for cigarettes was needed.” 

In plain english, that means, that TPSAC believes that in order for smokeless products to have any redeeming value to current smokers, anyone trying to switch must switch completely and never smoke even one cigarette again.

Consider: if you smoke ten cigarettes a day, and you substitute snus for five of those cigarettes, there would be zero benefit to your health, according to TPSAC. This is simply untrue. We know that the more cigarettes you smoke, the more you harm yourself. And while completely quitting all tobacco use is best, cutting your smoking in half, even with the help of smokeless products, would yield real health benefits. It’s too bad, for smokers, and those of us who have to pay for their health care, that TPSAC is unwilling to admit this.
 

While D.C.’s Occupy locations are among the last of those kinds of protest encampments left, the sneaker riots unfortunately seem to be continuing unabated.  Are we in for “sneaker spring” uprisings as the economy continues to stagnate and people continue to fixate on petty extravagances such as high-priced athletic shoes?

Last summer, this sort of boorish behavior first began receiving national attention when “flash mobs” robbed stores in flurries of unstoppable criminal behavior.  In December, shopping malls become riot scenes — replete with assaults and looting — when not everyone could get their own pair of Nike’s Air Jordan XI Concord sneakers.

Over this past weekend in Maryland, it was Nike’s new Foam sneaker.  At Valley Mall, it was reported that around a dozen police officers cleared out the approximately 150 people battling over 90 pairs of the shoes.

Project 21 has long been a critic of self-appointed community leaders who meekly stand aside as morality declines in their neighborhoods.  Project 21 spokespeople are condemning the obvious moral decline that is plaguing America right now, and have been quick to commend those springing to action as well as those who choose to ignore or perpetuate the problem by trying to redirect blame from people who need an infusion of the values that helped make America great.

Project 21’s Lisa FritschFor example, last August, Project 21 spokeswoman Lisa Fritsch praised Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, Philadelphia NAACP president J. Whayatt Mondesire and Milwaukee NAACP president James Hall, Jr. for calling out the rioters and demanding more civility.  Lisa wrote in a New Visions Commentary:

But while violent “flash mobs” may be on the rise and in vogue, black youth have engaged in self-destructive behavior for decades. They have been a virulent destructive force in their communities — embracing drugs and crime, leaving a lineage of illegitimacy and thumbing their noses at educational opportunities.

…

Until recently, this problem was confined to urban communities.  Now that it’s spreading, people are taking notice.  The mobsters obviously think the ghetto is now too small for their devious diversions.  They’ve acquired a taste for the finer sections of town.

In this bleak economy, cities cannot afford to have residents afraid to leave their homes. It’s an awakening that’s long overdue.

The tough love of curfews and community action are a good start.  And, while Mayor Nutter’s comments on the state of the culture is exactly what needed to be said, it was his candid spiritual estimation of the situation that gets to the root cause of the problem of the decline of morality in the black community.

Project 21’s Deneen BorelliMore recently, after December’s sneaker riots, Project 21 fellow Deneen Borelli wrote in January:

These instances point to a moral breakdown of our society — especially among young people with misguided priorities who are not held accountable for their actions.  Morals have seemingly taken a back seat to things that are thought to be worth more than respect.

…

Why are black leaders largely mute about this bad behavior?  Where were the voices of black leaders standing up against the “flash mobs” in 2011?  Why isn’t the White House decrying its former colleague for publicly preparing for what he refers to, and one must assume, is hoping to help instigate, a “turbulent” year?

Actions have consequences. To continue on this destructive path will result in a bleak future that for many will include violent acts, incarceration and even early death.

Our country is in vital need of a morality surge in which parents, grandparents, church members and lawmakers all play a role.

There are thousands of misguided youths who desperately need love, guidance and discipline on a consistent basis.  This would help put them on a path towards personal responsibility and success.

Both Lisa’s and Deneen’s New Visions Commentaries were initially published on the Daily Caller web site.  As this problem continues, these won’t be the last times that Project 21 members speak out about America’s moral decline.

Deneen Borelli in “Fire From the Heartland”

From Citizens United Productions, “Fire From the Heartland” is billed as the “first-ever film to tell the entire story of the conservative woman in her own words.”  Deneen is joined by Phyllis Schlafly, Michelle Malkin, Representative Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) and others, discussing the part women played in building America and how conservatism has played a central role in that development.

“Fire From the Heartland” will be screened on Thursday, February 9, at 11:00AM eastern in the CPAC Theater at the Marriott Wardman Park and is open to all CPAC attendees.

Deneen and Tom Borelli will be at CPAC 2012 as well.

To follow is a trailer for the film that includes Deneen:

Joining David on the plaza was Dan Joseph of MRCTV.  They talked about the permit and the National Center’s plans.

As the interview winds down, some of the plaza’s more permanent fixtures begin to stir and give a preview of the kind of interactions that might be in store for the National Center in the coming weeks.

Good heavens!! Can this be serious?

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service put out a press release today saying, in part:

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Welcomes Inaugural Class of Diversity Change Agents

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today graduated its first Diversity Change Agent Training Class, approximately 60 committed Service employees at all levels of the agency who will serve as mentors and advocates for workforce diversity. Graduates of the course will be utilized throughout the Service as role models...

Deputy Director for Operations Rowan Gould, along with each Regional Director is hosting a "Championing Diversity" workshop this week to reach a broad audience at all levels that will train and educate Service members on how to be champions of diversity...

"Almost all of us, if we're fortunate, can point to a person who, through their actions and integrity, had a profound influence on our life and how we view the world. That's why this program is so powerful. As an agency, we are strongly committed to workplace diversity, but it is the effort and example of committed individuals that will truly enable us to realize this vision," said Deputy Director Gould.

...As part of its commitment to diversity, the Service has also finalized and begun to implement a five-year diversity and inclusion plan which will allow the agency to progressively realize its vision of inclusiveness at all levels of the agency...

No wonder the Public Lands are in such disarray and decay. No wonder native flora and fauna are vanishing and being replaced by non-native alien invasive species. No one is minding the shop. Still more proof of the fact that good stewardship of land, habitat, and wildlife can only come through private ownership and the self-interested concerns of private owners, and seldom, if ever, from 9-5 bureaucrats with every possible conflicting interest and no dedicated long-term concerns.

What, me worry?

This is precisely what happened to the nation's government forests. Over the years the U.S. Forest Service took on every imaginable goal and interest -- except healthy forest management. It filled its ranks with what were called the "Ologists" -- experts in every sort of study except for forestry. Protecting everything in the woods except the trees themselves. And while perhaps "politically correct" in the eyes of some -- it has led inexorably to the sad state of the government woods. Dying and dead from vast overcrowding, accumulation of staggering amounts of forest debris and undergrowth -- fuel loads -- trees weakened by the stress of overcrowding and a struggle for water and nutrients -- and then susceptible to disease, insect infestations, and catastrophic stand replacement fires -- destroying forests, wildlife, endangered species, watersheds, and viewsheds for decades, if not centuries.

Will that sad scenario become the fate of the nation's wildlife now? Will the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service now be sending duck hunters, elk hunters, and even birders, out into field and stream dressed in tutus? The Possum Police will now be engaged in "job shadowing?" Will that help expand waterfowl populations or rare butterflies and Neotropical migrant songbirds? Tell me it isn't so.

You can't make this stuff up.

But, after savage criticism from the left, Komen backed down and agreed to consider funding Planned Parenthood again in the future.

Between the flip and the flop, Project 21 spokeswoman Stacy Washington noted that Komen was “right to shy away from partnering with any organization with a history such as this — much less being under investigation.  In doing so, they have received praise from past critics who now will support the organization.”

But then came the flop.

Shocked by Komen’s rapid turnaround, Stacy chastised the craven actions of Komen executives, saying:

In a stunning display of cowardice, Susan G. Komen for the Cure has reversed itself and reinstated funding after a firestorm of criticism from the pro-abortion mob.  In essence, they cannot make their own decisions about where their grants will be directed.  As is the norm with Planned Parenthood, if you partner with the Hotel of Death the following rule persists: you can come in, but you can never leave.  

By backing down from its strengthened grant standards, Komen has proven that (1) it has no integrity, and (2) it cares less about protecting life – in all of its forms – and more about protecting its reputation. 

I will no longer be running the Komen Race for the Cure.  I cannot stand with an organization that refuses to stand up for itself.  As Amy pointed out, it’s ironic and shameful that Komen will fight tirelessly for the lives of adult women with breast cancer and not give any heed to the millions of lives of unborn women that are lost daily. 

Unfortunately, it looks like the donations Komen received this week from the thousands of us who wanted to cheer the organization’s courage are non-refundable.  How convenient for Komen.  Calls to the Race headquarters go straight to voicemail, and messages are limited to only a few seconds – not long enough to even explain why I want a refund. 

All of this is very disappointing, though I must admit not very surprising.  Unfortunately, we all too often see organizations bending over so as to not offend liberal constituencies. 

I do see two silver linings though as I reflect on this sad turn of events.

1. Opponents of abortion are no longer ignorant of Komen’s support for Planned Parenthood.  The association between the two organizations was not widely known before, and this week’s public flip-flop has ensured that we will be much more careful in the future about where our money goes.
   
   
2. We are reminded why the National Center’s Free Enterprise Project (FEP) is so desperately important.  Just as public backlash led Komen to back down today, the FEP uses the will of the American people to pressure CEOs of large corporations to back down from using corporate dollars to support liberal causes. 

If you’re unfamiliar with the effectiveness of the FEP, check out its recent victory pertaining to the Ford Motor Company as one example.  I encourage you to use the money you would have sent to Komen to instead support the work of the FEP by donating here.  The events of this week demonstrate that organizations will run if their reputation is on the line — and the FEP is a great warrior for our side with demonstrated effectiveness and honorable goals in sight.

Deneen’s segment is expected to air around 4:40PM eastern.  That’s well before kick-off.

Check your local listings for Fox News Channel on cable.  Fox News is available on channel 118 on Fios, channel 205 on Dish Network and channel 360 on DirecTV.

And also, to be fair, baby boys are at equal risk.

Setting aside Komen's comfort with abortion, this is an all-time dumb move from a non-profit management perspective; possibly the biggest since the Nature Conservancy forgot the meaning of the phrase "conflict of interest." Komen began the week with a reputation as a widely-respected health-oriented cancer-fighting organization with a relative handful of "more sorrow than in anger" critics and ended it having gravely insulted tens of millions of people, leaving very many current and potential donors absolutely furious (the kind of furious they take to their graves). From a marketing perspective, Komen now has branded itself as a left-wing organization that "cures" pregnancy as well as breast cancer. Doesn't matter if that's fair, it's happened, and unnecessarily so. The damage may be irreparable at this point.

President Obama on his search for green jobs.

President Barack Obama’s similarities with Herman Mellville’s character Captain Ahab are striking.  

Both were abandoned by family members (Obama by his father, and Ahab by both parents).  Both have unfortunate names (Obama’s middle name is Hussein which is shared by deceased tyrant Saddam Hussein, and Ahab was named after a despised King of Israel who worshipped idols).  Most importantly, both men are driven by an obsession that results in repeated failures.  

No matter how many times Ahab failed to capture Moby Dick, he continued to steer the Pequod after the beast.  Likewise, no matter how many times Obama’s green jobs efforts fail, he just keeps spending more taxpayer money on doomed projects.  

It’s not uncommon for a green energy company propped up with taxpayer money to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.  The Solyndra scandal that lost taxpayers a half-billion dollars is well known, but there are many others.

Just last week, Ener1, a government-backed battery company, announced it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.  The company was always a gamble because it was reliant on a strong market for electric vehicles that has not materialized.   But no matter, Obama’s team granted the lithium-ion company $118.5 million.  (Click here to watch a video of Vice President Joe Biden visiting Ener1 and praising them as a stimulus success story.)  

According to the Hill, Ener1’s “grant was part of a broader program aimed at promoting the development of electric-vehicle battery technology.” 

Just two days before Ener1’s bankruptcy announcement, during his State of the Union address to Congress, Obama praised his electric-vehicle battery program saying: 

In three years, our partnership with the private sector has already positioned America to be the world’s leading manufacturer of high-tech batteries.

While he didn’t mention Ener1 by name, the company’s bankruptcy deals a significant blow to Obama’s high-tech battery plans.  To keep the President from putting his foot in his mouth, maybe somebody at Ener1 should have informed Obama’s speechwriter that the company planned to file bankruptcy two days after the speech.  It’s not as though Obama has not worked with green firms before to control negative information.  Prior to the 2010 mid-term elections, the Obama Administration pressured Solyndra to delay announcing planned lay offs that would have been politically damaging to Obama’s party.  

Ener1’s announcement comes on the heels of Beacon Power’s bankruptcy.  Beacon is a flywheel energy storage company that received $43 million taxpayer dollars from the same stimulus slush fund that produced Solyndra.  It too filed for Chapter 11 protection this past October.  

For a more complete list of Obama’s green energy failures, click here. 

Conservative and free-market commentators have relentlessly assailed Obama’s green energy efforts as a waste of tax dollars – and, in the case of Solyndra, crony capitalism.  (For just a few examples of the National Center’s criticism of Obama’s green energy programs, see here, here, here and here.)

Those concerns have fallen on deaf ears.  Captain Obama continues to steer the ship of state after green jobs.  No amount of failing companies or wasted money can deter him. 

Now, however, Obama’s own Labor Department says enough is enough.  Monday, USA Today reported that the U.S. Department of Labor recommended cancelling the remaining green jobs program from the stimulus bill.  USA Today’s report notes that the program is falling far short of expectations: 

The program’s goal was to train 124,893 people and put 79,854 in jobs. But 17 months later, 52,762 were trained and 8,035, or roughly 1 in 10, had jobs. Those numbers come from an audit by the Department of Labor’s inspector general, which recommended that the administration end the program and return unspent money.

The full report is available here.

Obama should heed this advice.  Instead of wasting our money, he and his advisors should evaluate federal regulations that hamper hiring and economic growth and remove these barriers.  Spending hundreds of millions of dollars on green energy failures just to net a handful of jobs is lunacy.  

Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA) – who is investigating the Solyndra scandal – looked deeper into the Inspector General report and discovered that the green jobs program is actually doing even worse than USA Today reported: 

President Obama touted green jobs as a way to improve the environment and as a central pillar of his stimulus program. The Inspector General’s report released yesterday paints a starkly different picture than what the Administration sold the American people. The Department of Labor was supposed to have trained over 124,000 people for these new green jobs, but less than half that number has actually received training. Of those, some 8,000 were placed in jobs yet only 1,300 workers had jobs lasting more than six months.

No objective observer can accept this failure rate.  It is human to admit mistakes and move on.  It is obsession to continue on the same failed course time and again.  For the sake of the economy – and taxpayers’ wallets – President Obama should abandon his quest for green jobs.  

After all, obsession did not work out so well for Ahab and the Pequod.  

He also puts the lie to the allegation made by Planned Parenthood’s CEO that an employer who declines to pay for an employee’s birth control is dictating an employee’s access to birth control.

I just checked on Amazon, and condoms run about a quarter each. Not exactly unaffordable, even in Obama’s economy.

In what can only be seen as a stunning victory for the pro-life movement, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure charitable organization announced it would no longer be making grants to Planned Parenthood.

Although all grants in process will be funded, new monies will no longer be directed to any organization under investigation by any local, state or federal authorities.

Planned Parenthood is currently being checked out by congressional investigators regarding allegations that the group inappropriately spent taxpayer money on abortion services.

This news comes on the heels of a banner year for the pro-life movement on a nationwide scale.  Planned Parenthood lost access to taxpayer funding in nine different states (Florida, Indiana, Kansas, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin) to the tune of over $61 million.  The murderous butcher Kermit Gosnell was finally brought to justice along with others who aided in his gruesome activities.  In 2011, the U.S. House of Representatives launched the aforementioned investigation into the practices of Planned Parenthood.  And it seems more Americans are pro-life than ever before.

Abortion is rooted in the eugenics movement — initially undertaken under the auspices of preventing the poor, indigent and mentally disabled from reproducing.  Historically, abortion centers target poor inner city neighborhoods — locating their centers at the nexus of any population that has an increasing birth rate.  To quote the mother of the eugenics movement, Margaret Sanger [http://dianedew.com/sanger.htm]: “We do not want word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population… if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members.”  And speaking of large families with more children than they could afford: “The most merciful thing that a large family does to one of its infant members is to kill it.”

Sanger helped to found what became the Planned Parenthood of today, and her influence is so revered that there is a yearly award given in her name to those that further the group’s aims.  Hillary Clinton, Jane Fonda and Phil Donahue are proud recipients.

Susan G. Komen for the Cure is right to shy away from partnering with any organization with a history such as this — much less being under investigation.  In doing so, they have received praise from past critics who now will support the organization such as Americans United for Life president and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest.  Yoest said:  “As a breast cancer survivor, I applaud the decision made by the Komen Foundation to discontinue their partnership with the billion-dollar, abortion mega-provider, Planned Parenthood.  The work of the Komen Foundation has life saving potential and should not be intertwined with an industry dealing in death.”

With this and other recent achievements, the pro-life movement is having a definitive impact on changing the American landscape for the better.

That is what our very own David Almasi told Alex Pappas of the Daily Caller yesterday.  

Starting February 13, the National Center is planning daily lunchtime rallies and events in Freedom Plaza as a counter-protest to the Occupy D.C. folks who have been living in that same park for months, dubbed “Occupy Occupy D.C.”  Almasi, the National Center’s executive director, is spearheading the activist project. 

Unlike the Occupiers, the National Center obtained a proper permit from the Parks Service in advance, and we plan to abide by all park laws and regulations.  

The Daily Caller quotes Almasi: 

“We don’t plan to break any of the rules they seem to be breaking.”

But Almasi said they’ll be there “on a regular basis” to promote the message of freedom — “what’s missing from [the Occupy] protests.”

The National Center is planning to work with other conservative organizations to enhance the opportunity to promote free-market and pro-growth economic values in a location that – until now – was dominated by the big government beliefs of the far left.

UPDATE: Komen reversed its decision on Friday February 3, 2012.  Read my response to the reversal.

Yesterday brought the stunning and delightful news that Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the nation’s most prominent breast cancer charity, cut off funding to Planned Parenthood.

Last year, a close friend of mine was diagnosed with breast cancer.  A group of our friends put together a Komen Race for the Cure team to support her.  I agreed to join them for the 2012 race, and took up running this past fall with that goal in mind.  However, as I started to look into the Komen–Planned Parenthood connection, I realized that — in good conscience — I couldn’t support Komen.  In the meantime, I have looked for other ways to support my friend in ways that didn’t involve questionable connections.

In past years, Planned Parenthood affiliates were awarded millions of dollars by Komen to subsidize breast cancer screenings and mammograms.

By running with Komen, and thus funding Planned Parenthood’s breast cancer efforts, I knew I would freeing up more money in Planned Parenthood’s budget to do what it does best: to advise abortion-minded women and often end the lives of their unborn babies.

Angry abortion proponents believe that Komen has “cave[d] to anti-woman extremists.”  It’s no surprise they are upset about Komen’s decision.  But Komen has not suddenly become pro-life.  It hasn’t started funding pro-life groups.  Komen has simply stopped alienating a large part of the American population through its association with one controversial group. 

By ending its funding of Planned Parenthood, Komen has now become a viable funding choice for millions of pro-life Americans like myself.  Rather than suddenly depriving poor women of low-cost screenings, it now has the opportunity to fund even more screenings as pro-lifers freely support the organization without reservation.  And Komen can continue its good work while still obeying the medical ethic of “first, do no harm.”

We need to let Komen know that we have its back on this decision.  Its leaders are hearing from thousands of people who are upset about their decision.  Make sure they hear from those who support them by doing one or more of the following:

1.  Email them at news@komen.org and thank them for their courageous decision.

2.  Donate to Komen.  Angry pro-abortion activists are now threatening to withhold money to find a cure for breast cancer, and those who agree with Komen’s decision need to fill in the gap — and then some — to remind Komen’s leaders that they made the best decision for their organization.

3.  If you’d like to join me and many others in a physical representation of our new support, consider joining “Team Life” on June 2 in Washington, D.C. for the 5K Race for the Cure.  You can run it, walk it or financially support “Team Life” by clicking here.

Thank you, Komen.  Thank you on behalf of all of us pro-lifers who hate cancer and have wanted to support you for years.  Can you hear us now?