Georgia is now open to untold fraud and ethics problems thanks to HB142, the “ethics reform” bill, pushed for by Tea Party and liberal activist groups.  That’s right, I place the blame for this incredibly bad bill full of loopholes on the grassroots activists because that is where it belongs. Let me explain.

Grassroots activists in Georgia have been pushing for “ethics reform” under the Gold Dome in Atlanta for years. Last summer they were successful in getting a “non-binding” question on both primary ballots asking if Georgians were in favor of a $100 cap on gifts from lobbyists to lawmakers.  Georgians overwhelmingly answered yes on the question and the Georgia General Assembly listened.  At the beginning of the legislative session in January, the Georgia Senate Rule Committee created a rule that would cap gifts from lobbyists at $100.  Speaker David Ralston took it one step further and actually authored House Bill 142.  The original bill was horrible and looked more like payback than anything.  After enormous outcry, it was changed twice in committee.  Although it still wasn’t a good bill after the changes, it wasn’t bad either.  But the GA Senate disagreed, and sent it back to the house with key parts stripped out of it.  Into conference committee they went.

At cancer clinics across the county, doctors are being forced to turn away thousands of Medicare patients. 

According to experts, this is just another impact of the sequester cuts – but unlike the cancellation of White House tours, these cuts could have deadly consequences for many Americans. 

Cuts to the Medicare program officially took effect on April 1, and Oncologists are arguing this 2% reduction in funding makes it next to impossible to continue to administer expensive chemotherapy drugs and keep their clinics afloat.  Thousands of patients are being notified that they will need to seek treatment elsewhere. 

While Planned Parenthood and Democrat women in Congress claim to speak for all women, the young women in our Youth in Action series have something to say about that. Contrary to popular belief, those groups do not speak for all young women — many have views that are quite the opposite.  Below is an interview with young activist Brittney Morrett.

Q: Why did you get involved in politics?  

A: I didn't grow up in a very political home, but from a young age the ideas of justice, liberty, self-discipline, and the ability to succeed with hard work were instilled in me. As I grew older that naturally translated to politics and wanting to protect what I hold most dear - my freedom and my family. 

Q: How did you get involved?  

A: I first got involved when I was about 14 and I joined the local Teenage Republicans. We would go to conservative rallies, volunteer for local candidates, hold voter registration drives, and other things of that nature. From there I joined pro-life groups, college conservative groups, and the like.

Planned Parenthood has always been a firm proponent of the destruction of life within the womb, operating under the guise of “women’s rights.” “Your body, your choice,” they say, conveniently forgetting the fact that we’re not talking about the mother’s body, but another body contained within. Now, however, one Planned Parenthood representative has said that the fate of an alive, born baby who survives a failed abortion is still up to the mother -- yes, that’s post-birth abortion.

To me, the only conceivable way someone can be pro-abortion is if they truly believe that life doesn’t start until the baby is out of the womb, though how anyone can believe that is beyond me; the fetus has a heartbeat and its own unique fingerprints, and denying that an ultrasound portrays anything but a living human -- not a “blob of tissue” -- seems impossible.

This, then, has been the greatest strategy of the pro-life movement: Prove that a fetus is, indeed, a life. Since an abortion is the destruction of a fetus, an abortion destroys life, and therefore is morally wrong and should be outlawed.

In the past few months, however, two separate things have happened that cause me to worry about the future of the pro-life movement and the future of our culture, because these two things scoff at the most convicting argument against abortion.

Nationally popular Sheriff Joe Arpaio has become the target of a recall.  Why does this matter if you happen to live outside of Maricopa County, Arizona? It is the epitome of a targeted campaign to subvert the will of the voters, and a colossal waste of tax payer money. It is also a blueprint for taking down and intimidating politicians nationwide who oppose a leftist agenda.

When the voters of Wisconsin elected Governor Scott Walker, and he implemented the policies he had promised during the campaign, the state capital was deluged with chaotic and dishonest protestors who vandalized the premises to the tune of $7.5 million.  They used fake doctor’s notes given out during the protests to excuse their absence from government work.   After the raucous protests failed to intimidate Governor Walker, a recall effort was organized against GOP state senators that cost the taxpayers $2.1 million in 2011, and not willing to accept the will of the voters, a statewide recall was launched in 2012 at a projected (but interestingly I am unable to find a final number) cost to taxpayers of $9 million.   People all over the country watched Governor Walker get railroaded by opposition elections officials who allowed clearly fake Mickey Mouse and Adolf Hitler petitioners be counted as valid signatures in the recall petition .