Life Is Good

Guest blogger Sean Miller

Guest blogger Sean Miller

A people of hope, says guest blogger Sean Miller, must respond to the suffering of others with compassion and solidarity — and reject the solutions of abortion and euthanasia.

Life Is Good

In 1989, brothers Bert and John Jacobs began selling designer T-shirts out of an old van in the streets of Boston.

At first, they were not very successful. Then, one day they put a smiling stick figure on a shirt with the phrase “Life Is Good.” Bingo! They sold 48 shirts in under an hour. That was only the beginning of their adventures that made their company an international success.

One day, my co-worker Jack – a good-natured guy with a sunny disposition — came into my classroom wearing a “Life Is Good” T-shirt. We started to joke around about the message on the shirt. But I noticed that whenever he wore it, it seemed to give rise to good feelings in us, and those around us. I think it subliminally made us aware of how much we had to be thankful for. Yes, it reminded us, life is very good! Continue reading

Yep, There Are Some Prolife Dems

imageAnd here’s one of the best: NY State Sen. Ruben Diaz from the Bronx, who won the 32nd District Tuesday night, taking 96% of the votes.

Sen. Diaz is an outspoken opponent of abortion.

“I am a Democrat, but you know that the Cuomo agenda is a poison to me,” Diaz  told Newsday. “So as long as the Republicans need my vote to stop the Cuomo radical agenda, I will be with them.”

 

Balance of Power Shifts Prolife!

Election Night 2014 saw Republican candidates pick up enough votes to win control of the state Senate here in New York. And Republican victories across the nation have secured both the House of Representatives and the Senate in Washington!

While not all Republicans share our prolife views, the party has traditionally supported legislation to defend the unborn, so this bodes very well for the future.

The victory in Albany  — where the Republicans now hold the required 32-vote majority in the Senate — means that it is unlikely the controversial abortion plank of the Women’s Equality Act will advance anytime soon.

In Washington, the prolife margin in the House of Representatives was increased, while in the Senate, we picked up seven more prolife votes, with two more possible when the races are finally decided.

This means that prolife legislation that has already passed the House (like the bill that would prohibit abortions after the age that babies can feel pain or the bill that would stop taxpayer funding of abortion) will finally have a chance in the Senate at the next session of Congress.

Yesterday was an very important step forward as the right-to-life movement scored big gains in the mid-term elections.

Now, at first glance, it may seem that Election Night didn’t change things much in Rockland County.

After all the votes were cast,  Rockland still has only one prolife voice at the state legislature — Sen. William Larkin representing Haverstraw/Stony Point (Congratulations Sen. Larkin, and thank you for all you’ve done!!)

Yes, Gov. Cuomo and all the other proabortion supporters — Sen. Carlucci and Reps. Jaffe, Zebrowski, and Skoufis — as well as our Congresswoman Nita Lowey, are still in office.

However, remember we’re from a very “blue” neck of the woods. We have to hang tough and keep working and never give up.  But keep your eye on the state and national horizon. The sun seems to be rising there. And don’t forget that wherever there’s a prolife victory, it’s a win for all of us.

 

 

NOV. 4 — EVERY PROLIFE VOTE IS NEEDED

VotePLOn Nov. 4, we have the opportunity to play a role in deciding which way our country will go — whether more good laws are passed and more babies are saved, or more bad laws are passed, lengthening the shadow of abortion across our nation.

It all depends on who comes out to vote.

And please don’t think it doesn’t matter here in liberal, pro-abortion New York. Gov. Cuomo’s abortion agenda has been stopped in its tracks for two years now — thanks to the brave prolife legislators who were willing to stick their necks out and thanks to you who supported them.

But Cuomo has vowed that next time the abortion plank of his Women’s Equality Act will become law — and that could happen as early as January, if things go bad this Tuesday.

Below are links to some of the races that will be on the ballot in Rockland County, along with the voting records and positions of the candidates on legislation with tremendous ramifications for the inalienable “first right” — the Right to Life.

Compare the candidates, and get to the polls and vote your values on Nov. 4. Urge your family and friends to go too. Every prolife vote is needed!

U.S. House or Representatives — 17th Congressional District
Governor of New York
New York State Senate
New York State Assembly

 

 

40 Days of Life Ends on Sunday, Nov. 2

With four days to go in this autumn 40 Days of Life campaign, more and more reports of blessings are coming in from the 297 vigils in 11 countries. Over 400 babies, that we know of, have been spared from abortion.

The 40 Days of Life will close on Sunday, Nov. 2, at 3:00 p.m., at Perlman Drive in Spring Valley with prayers for life and gratitude for all the people who came to take part or who prayed for the success of the campaign at home. God bless you all. Please come down and join us for this closing ceremony.  NOTE CORRECTION: THE TIME IS 3:00 (NOT 3:30)

Here are more photos from the 40 Days for Life in Rockland in the past weeks.

(To enlarge a photo, click on it and then you can use the arrow to the right to advance thru the slide show.)

2015 March for Life Theme Announced

From Jeanne Monahan, President of the March for Life:

EveryLifeI am very excited to announce the theme of the upcoming March for Life: Every Life is a Gift!  In 2015, with this emphasis, we hope to shed light on the sad fact that a disproportionately large number of pre-born babies given a “poor prenatal diagnosis” are targeted for abortion.

March for Life Assistant Director Bethany Goodman wrote a terrific op-ed on the topic published in Breitbart News today. In it she discussed the full and happy lives that many people who have Down Syndrome experience!!

99 percent of individuals with Down Syndrome said they were happy with their lives and 97 percent liked who they are.  Furthermore, the study showed that 99 percent of parents of a child with Trisomy 21 love their child; 97 percent of these parents were proud of their child; and 79 percent of such parents felt that their outlook on life was more positive because of their child with Down Syndrome.  In terms of siblings’ feelings about Down Syndrome, 94 percent of older siblings expressed feelings of pride towards their siblings with Down Syndrome; 88 expressed feelings that they were better people because of their siblings with Trisomy 21.

A number of studies have shown that preborn babies with disabilities are aborted at rates from 60 percent to as high as 90 percent. At the March for Life, we believe that every life is a gift and we look forward to focusing more on this vital topic! Please stay tuned in the coming months as we continue to delve into this critical issue and seek solutions!

The date of the March for Life is Thursday, January 22.

40 Days of Life: Saving Lives Where We Live

There's the 40 Days for Life logo -- and it's the same message in any language. This sign is from Croatia, one of the 13 countries where 40 Days of Life vigils have been taking place.

There’s the 40 Days of Life logo — and it’s the same message in any language. This sign is from Croatia, one of the 11 countries where 40 Days of Life vigils have been taking place.

Right now, 40 Days for Life campaigns are happening in 297 cities in 11 countries.

365 lives (that we know of) have been saved since Sept. 24, the first day of the 40 Days autumn 2014 vigil.

Why has 40 Days of Life program captured the the imagination of so many?

Because everyone knows that abortions don’t happen in the White House, Supreme Court, houses of parliament, or seats of power around the world.

That may be where the political battles that make the news take place. But the real battlefields — the true life and death ones — are in cities and towns, large and small. That’s where the abortion clinics and Planned Parenthood offices are. That’s where lives are truly at stake, and that’s where they can be saved.

There are about two weeks left. If you’ve been thinking about coming to pray at the vigil but haven’t done so yet, please don’t let this chance slip by. Please call to sign up for an hour. 845-492-6709

And be sure to come to the closing ceremonies on Sunday, Nov. 2,  at 3 p.m. on Perlman Drive in Spring Valley.

Here’s a link to an update posted on the 40 Days for Life website about the vigil that has been taking place in Spring Valley. (When you land on the page, scroll down a bit.)

And here are photos of some of the participants at our local 40 Days for Life campaign in Rockland.

(To enlarge a photo, click on it and then you can use the arrow to the right to advance thru the slide show.)

 

 

Life Chain Held on Respect Life Sunday

L1210822On Oct. 5, Respect Life Sunday, hundreds of Rocklanders gathered in Nanuet for the 22nd Annual Life Chain –standing together along the intersection of Route 59 and Middletown Road to pray for an end to abortion and for healing of all who suffer because of it.

Life Chains were held in over 1,500 cities, according to the campaign’s national organizers.

L1210844The signs held by the participants carried their message: Abortion Kills Children, Adoption the Loving Option, Jesus Forgives and Heals. Several people brought their own home-made signs: “Today is my birthday because my mom chose LIFE”  and “God created ALL of US for a reason.”  MORE PHOTOS FOLLOW Continue reading

Come to the Life Chain — Sunday, Oct. 5

Pat and son

Pat Sweeney and Son for Life (Life Chain 2011)

“There are a group of people who would like to silence everybody and have everybody go along to get along, but that’s not going to be very helpful for us in the long run, in terms of solving our problems. And somebody has to be courageous enough to actually stand up to, you know, the bullies.” ~~ Dr. Benjamin Carson.

That’s what the Life Chain is all about. Standing up to the “bullies,” who want the world to believe that commitment to the inviolate right to life of the unborn is a “war on women” and that destroying an unborn child is a “choice.”

That’s why we need you to be with us at the Annual Life Chain in Nanuet on Sunday, October 5. To join with the thousands who will be participating in Life Chains across America that day to witness to the violence of abortion and to pray for our country’s conversion to a culture of Life.  Continue reading