Open Letter To The Gazette Papers Regarding Carhart Abortuary

Last February Maryland's Office of Health Care Quality investigated sixteen abortion centers in Maryland.  Of these, twelve were found to be deficient in meeting Maryland regulations.  The Germantown Reproductive Health Services, staffed by Leroy Carhart, was one of the twelve failures.  However, in a very strange article in the May 24th issue of the Gazette newspapers, Dr. Joshua Sharfstein of that Maryland office told the Gazette staff writer that no deficiencies were found at the Carhart center.  Thursday evening I sent the following letter to the Gazette.  I make it public below.  Please note that the hyperlinks will take you to all pertinent background information, including the reports on the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene site.  Now the letter follows:

In the May 24^th issue of the Gazette appeared the following article, “State investigation clears Germantown abortion clinic”.  Regrettably the article is factually inaccurate.  Yes, the Office of Health Care Quality did investigate Germantown Reproductive Health Services in February 2013.  On March 26, 2013, that office issued to the abortion clinic a “Notice of Current Deficiencies”.  In its very first paragraph it stated quite plainly that the facility was NOT in compliance with the requirements of the Code of Maryland Regulations 10.12.01.  The report, in its entirety, can be found at the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s web site; it is in pdf format and can be downloaded.  I link to it now.

Among the cited deficiencies of Germantown Reproductive Health Services are the following items:

• Nurses caring for sedated patients unable to document that they received adequate training.
•  At least three individuals functioning as registered nurses did not possess valid Maryland licenses
• No policies were in place to ensure that staff were trained to transfer patients to hospitals in the event of emergencies.  
• Single-dose medication vials were not discarded in accordance with regulations.
• Unlabeled pre-drawn syringes were found.
• Instruments were not properly cleaned and sanitized after usage.

The foregoing list is not exhaustive; additional shortcomings are listed in the report.

The Germantown abortion clinic was not the only one investigated by the Office of Health Care Quality.   Sixteen of Maryland’s abortion clinics were examined during the February time frame.  Of those sixteen, twelve failed the inspections.  Again, the reports are found (in downloadable format) on the DHMH website.  In fact, as the article states, four of these centers did have their licenses suspended due to the nature of the shortcomings found in those centers; details can be found in their individual reports.

Dr. Joshua Sharfstein told Senator Midddleton, Representative Hammen and presumably the Gazette staffer Ryan Marshall that “no deficiencies were found” at the Germantown facility.  If he omitted mention of these very significant and relevant reports that are clearly on the DHMH’s site, Dr. Sharfstein was not being completely forthcoming with these individuals and, by extension, to the citizens of Maryland.

Would The ACLU Have Grinded Their Axe For FDR?

In South Carolina, a graduating valedictorian prepared to give his address.  His speech was thoroughly "sanitized" by the politically-correct thought police.  When the moment came, he ripped up the pre-approved screed and led the attendees in the Lord's Prayer.  In this article (that contains video) we read that the ACLU is going to seek information about religious activities.

Today is the 69th anniversary of the D-Day Invasion by Allied forces during World War II.  President Roosevelt's announcement of that invasion is below.  In all fairness, I must warn ACLU types, rabid atheists and other politically-correct hacks that there are (dare I say this?) prayers to Almighty God contained therein!   Eeek. Eeek.  You've been warned!

Two Catholic Profiles In Courage

PROFILE #1
A few days ago, Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield IL debated dissident faux-nun and New Ways dabbler Sr Jeannine Gramick on the topic of so-called "gay marriage".  The event was entitled "Two Catholic Views on Marriage".  Right off the bat, Bishop Paprocki corrected that misnomer, stating quite clearly that there is only one authentically Catholic view of marriage - which also happens to be the only authentic view of marriage.  He also stated that his late secretary, Mary Stachowicz, was murdered by a gay activist 11 years ago for daring to suggest that he change his lifestyle.  He contrasted the media's silence about her murder in comparison with that of Matthew Shepherd who was murdered at around the same time.  I remember those incidents and recall noticing the disparity of media attention regarding those two crimes.  Please follow this LifesiteNews link for a complete text of the bishop's remarks.  Kudos to Bishop Paprocki for speaking plain truth to the face of political correctness.

PROFILE #2
Mark Birk plays the center position for the Baltimore Ravens.  He went with them to the Super Bowl.  He's also a Catholic and pro-life activist.  Most of the Ravens attended an audience with President Obama.  He opted not to join them, owing to Obama's support of Planned Parenthood and of the murder of babies.  That might make a football fan out of me yet!

It's nice to have some good news for a change!

A Warning To Bishops

So Much For Freedom Of Choice

Intelligent people always knew that the buzz-phrase "freedom of choice" was a mockery, something in which the pro-abortion crowd never believed.  Now they are dropping their pretenses.

Princeton "bioethicist" Peter Singer declared his latest schlock: "Women's reproductive rights may one day have to be sacrificed for the environment".  And where was he when he made this none-too-surprising statement?  Why, he was at that Women Deliver Conference last week, along with Melinda Gates, Kathleen Sebelius and Leroy Carhart.  What a charming bunch of folks.

(By the way - Women Deliver, Inc has 501c3 status.  I wonder if Lois Lerner made them jump through hoops and turn over their donor lists, website passwords, etc?  But I digress!)

Read that LifeSite News article; Singer's arrogance is actually quite typical of progressives.  Don't you just get a thrill when he says regarding women's rights, "there can be imaginable circumstances in which you may be justified in overriding them."  Wanna bet that Carhart and other abortionists in attendance were contemplating how they might "assist" in such "overriding"?

He's concerned - very concerned - about "greenhouse gases".  One immediate step he and all the other attendees could take would be to shut their mouths and stop emitting their own noxious gases.  But that won't happen.

I link to a previous post regarding the anti-life underpinnings of environmentalism.  These underpinnings were made starkly evident last week.  Please read and pass on.

Addendum: For a nice synopsis on real ecology in the service of humankind, see what Pope Francis says about the saving of babies as being the most important aspect of preserving environment.

What's The Point, Asks The Vortex

Today's Vortex touches upon the chequered careers of two prelates that are drawing to their ends due to their impending retirement ages.  One of them is Bishop Robert Lynch of St Petersburg, FL.  I agree that Lynch's blog post is dopey enough, but that was not the "lowest of the low" for Bishop Robert Lynch.

It was in his diocese, under his (supposed) watch, that Terri Schiavo was allowed to be brutally murdered via dehydration and starvation.  Bishop Lynch went so far as to rebuke those who endeavored to save her life for causing "lack of peace".  He forbade his priests from offering comfort to the Schindler family (they did have assistance from a priest attached to the Military Archdiocese).  When it was evident that Terri would die during or after Holy Week, he fled his see - in direct violation of Canon Law.  And while he wouldn't allow her parents use of a Church for any sort of memorial service, he did allow her murderous husband Michael to marry his fornication partner weeks later in a Catholic Church.  What a guy!

Good riddance to Bishop Lynch.  May he spend his upcoming retirement in prayer and reparation.

True Church Leaders Opt To Part Ways With Boy Scouts

Note that I said true Church leaders.  The National Catholic Committee on Scouting has disqualified itself from that classification with their convoluted attempt to justify the exposure of boys to toxic influences.  You may read their tripe here.  My friend Rey Flores had an article published in the Wanderer that rightly rebukes the NCCS.

Father Derek Lappe, pastor of Our Lady Star of the Sea in Bremerton, WA, published a letter in his parish bulletin detailing why he was separating his parish from the Boy Scouts.  I urge all to carefully read it, as he explains the truth of the matter most thoroughly.

I am happy to report that Dr Taylor Marshall, a good Catholic blogger, is at work on a Catholic alternative: The Scouts of St George.  Read his blog pieces: both of them.

There are good Protestants who rightly perceive the dangers posed by the shameful capitulation of the Boy Scouts to the Tyrants of Political Correctness.  The Southern Baptists will separate from the Scouts, taking away 45,000 congregations and 16 million members.  I trust they will derive programs for their boys.

As usual, the Vortex serves up some words of truth to Catholic parents regarding this latest gay assault on Catholic families.

Abolish The IRS

There never was a Constitutional basis for the existence of this behemoth.  They tyrannical monstrosity it has become is merely the logical consequence of the overreaching authority it has been allowed to exert over citizens.  It's time to abolish it.  At this IJR article, watch the video in which Senator Ted Cruz is voicing what so many of us believe to be the correct course of action.

UPDATE:  The IJR link isn't working, so let's try this one.  Apologies!

Kiddie-Gun Paranoia Worsens

This latest has occurred in Nebraska, and this time the little would-be terrorist is 3 years old.  He's totally deaf and has to sign his name.  However, his school doesn't like his name-sign, the one taught to him by his parents from day one.  Apparently the ninnies who run that school think it looks too much like a gun so they want him to change his name-sign.  His parents are standing up to the real bullies and have made this national news.  You can see the interview here.

Here's some common-sense education for those who think they're qualified to teach our children.  Now read carefully, boys and girls (or whatever gender you call yourselves)!  Here are some basic facts.

• Human fingers are not firearms.
• Pop-Tarts and other breakfast pastries are not firearms.
• Little children saying "pow, pow" is not a deadly weapon being discharged.
• Hello Kitty bubble blowers are not firearms.
• The little toy soldier plastic guns, no bigger than an adult fingernail, are not firearms.
• A drawing of a gun is not an actual gun.

And now, dear children (that is, the overgrown brats who inhabit the NEA and chapters, school administrations and school boards), do we understand these basic facts of reality?  You probably do, but are ever so zealous to brainwash and traumatize our children into being obedient and docile sheeple who are always beholden to the statists and progressives.

Some Religions Are More Equal Than Others

How Orwellian the Obama regime has become.  We hear now that the Department of Justice (of AP-email-snooping infamy) is rattling its saber against those of us who dare question the portrayal of Islam as a "religion of peace".  DOJ official William Killian said that federal civil rights laws can be violated by those who post "inflammatory documents aimed at Muslims" on social media.  Only these Minions Most Mindless know what constitutes "inflammatory" in their (excuses for) minds.

So if I link to the article about the Muslim who murdered and beheaded two Coptic Christians in Jersey City, am I being "inflammatory"?  How about if I link to this interview of an Egyptian Muslim cleric who gives pointers on how to properly beat one's wife?  (By the way - where are all the feminists?  Why, oh why, aren't they in an uproar over this?)

Well, speak I will.  This is still the United States of America, where there is at least still some lip service paid to the Constitution - for now.  Go to this Breitbart article about last week's Congressional hearing regarding the DOJ misadventures.  Trent Franks is questioning Thomas Perez, Assistant Attorney General of the DOJ Civil Rights Division.

This "inflammatory" nonsense is simply a ploy to get good people to shut up about the obvious encroachment attempt by adherents to a violent ideology.  By the way, if Islam is truly a "religion of peace", would someone please point me to the links where mainstream muslims denounce their misbehaving brethren for beating women, blowing up the Boston Marathon, 9/11, etc?