A crowd that size deserves ample news coverage. However, only a few stations chose to cover this event.

When Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell ran in 2009 the Washington Post spent the campaign trying to persuade the FTC to penalize him for false advertising since his campaign was not built around social issues.

Any time a “conservative Republican,” does not make the three A’s (abortion, abstinence & alternative lifestyles) the centerpiece of his campaign; the Posties are convinced he’s misleading voters.

McDonnell didn’t have to discuss social issues because at that time conservative Virginia felt he was solid on those points. Instead, McDonnell focused on jobs and economic development.

(For what happens during a campaign when the base no longer trusts the candidate see Obama 2012.)

Now social conservatives may have to re–evaluate McDonnell. In sharp contrast to Gov. Scott Walker (R–WI) who remained conservative during nationwide controversy, McDonnell appears to be avoiding controversy at the expense of his commitment to social conservatives. Initially in hopes of becoming the Romney VP pick, now for a spot in the administration.

The differing outcomes of June’s three controversies illustrate my point.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority controls construction of Metro’s Silver Line rail route to Dulles Airport. MWAA has an appointed board of directors, but only a minority is appointed by Virginia’s governor. And only one of the Virginia appointees was McDonnell’s, the other three having been appointed by his Democrat predecessor.

The board initially required a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) specifying only union contractors — or contractors paying union wages with union work rules — could bid on Phase II of the Silver Line.

McDonnell and the legislature objected and the board responded by giving construction firms with a “voluntary” PLA a higher rating during bid evaluation.

McDonnell forcefully responded by reiterating no additional Virginia taxpayer dollars would be forthcoming unless the PLA was eliminated. Then he took advantage of a recently passed federal law and made two new appointments to the MWAA board, even though the existing board refused to seat them.

McDonnell did not budge an inch during the controversy even though there was a danger Phase II would never be built. The MWAA board finally decided completing the line was more important than scratching union backs and it eliminated the PLA requirement.

The governor decisively employed financial and public pressure to bend the board to his will and score a victory for Virginia taxpayers.

The second example is the firing of the University of Virginia’s first female president, Teresa Sullivan, on June 10^th.

Rector Helen Dragas, a McDonnell appointee, lobbied other members of the Board of Visitors until she had enough votes to fire Sullivan. Then Dragas confronted Sullivan with the tally and demanded her resignation, without doing so at a formal board meeting.

Although legal, the maneuvering ruffled more than one set of university feathers and it lacked the transparency and ritual hand–wringing demanded of most academic decisions.

Uproar ensued. There were board resignations, “superstar” professors threatened to leave and large donors put a clamp on their wallets.

McDonnell had no role in the ouster and was out of the country when it happened, but the bad publicity was on his watch. Twelve days later he delivered an ultimatum: if the board did not make a final decision on Sullivan by Tuesday the 26th, McDonnell would demand the entire board’s resignation on Wednesday the 27th.

The Board reinstated Sullivan. McDonnell again was decisive and swift.

Compare those two instances with the third. In 2011 McDonnell signed a bill regulating abortion clinics the same way out–patient surgical centers are regulated. This resulted in two outcomes: first veterinary clinics no longer had more regulations than abortion clinics. And second, Democrats finally discovered a small business burdened by unnecessary regulation.

Step two was implementation by the Virginia Board of Health — completely dominated by McDonnell appointees. But McDonnell’s board voted to grandfather existing abortion mills, exempting them and effectively gutting the new law. The decision surprised abortion cheerleaders and stunned pro–life advocates.

Representatives from the Attorney General’s office advised the board it was improper to amend a law passed by the General Assembly, but the board refused to change its decision.

So what did the governor do when his board acted willfully, shocked his pro–life base and affronted the General Assembly? He did nothing. His spokesman said, ““The governor will review the final regulations when the board submits them for his review.”

It’s now over two months later and the governor is evidently “reviewing” up a storm. This gains him nothing from abortion promoters, who will never support him, and erodes the trust of the life community. The delay only serves to avoid MSM negative publicity.

I’m sorry to say it’s difficult to avoid the conclusion Gov. McDonnell is proving to be another Republican who “grows in office” but not in stature.

This story is filed under ‘Traditional Values’ but a better category would simply be ‘Love’.

At first glance, Rick Van Beek appears a typical father to his thirteen year old daughter Madison. But Maddy is a little different. She has Cerebral Palsy and can’t walk or talk. Every father wants his child to be healthy, in the clip below, Van Beek shares how accepting his daughter’s imperfections also helped his own personal growth.   

Madison loves to be outside. A few years ago an out of shape Van Beek saw his daughter participating in a race and was inspired to be the one taking her hand, pushing her stroller and carrying her when needed. He gave up smoking and began to get himself in better physical condition, eventually forming Team Maddy. Together they have now run over 70 races including half marathons.

The following story aired just before their last race in May. As you watch it listen to this dad getting choked up when talking about not himself, but how his daughter inspires others. It’s a good reminder how our children, though not born perfect, often have a profound influence on those around us, including strangers. Sometimes all it takes is a father’s love.

Team Maddy Fox 17 (Please click on this link, the direct upload was not available. You’ll be glad you watched it.)

NEW ALBANY, Miss.,

Personhood Mississippi, the leading principled advocate for Biblical bioethics and equal protection under the law for all human beings from the biological beginning of life until natural death, issued the following statement about this act:

“We are grateful that the House has passed HB 1196 by a wide margin. The intent appears to be that if the Senate passes this bill that surgical abortion in this state will largely be eliminated — representing a protection from death for thousands of unborn children in Mississippi and protection from the Spiritual, emotional and physical danger of abortion for their mothers.

“Especially encouraging is the fact that this act does not dehumanize some preborn children in an effort to save others. Rather it protects an entire class of human beings regardless of their means of conception or perceived imperfections, without devaluing those who have not reached this age. Overall this is a promising next step in the battle in recognizing the personhood of pre-born children and providing them equal protection under the law. If the bill becomes law it begins the process of rolling back judicial usurpations like Roe v. Wade.

“It appears that the 78 Representatives that voted for HB 1196 heard and understood the message their constituents sent on Initiative 26 rather than listening to the abortion industry and their allies in the media. We hope the Lt. Governor Reeves and the State Senate heard the same message and will send this bill without amendment to our solidly pro-life Governor Phil Bryant.”

Even in their reduced circumstances, Democrats can take solace in the fact a vote of the people forced them to relinquish power. Compare that with Virginia’s Republican leadership that has given veto power over controversial legislation to an unelected comedian.

Jon Stewart has never been on a Virginia ballot, yet the host of ‘The Daily Show’ had the power to kill the initial ultrasound bill deader than a “clump of cells” at a Planned Parenthood clinic.

The nefarious ultrasound bill was designed to put a human face, so to speak, on the receiving party of an abortion. The law Stewart vetoed would have required doctors to inform women they had the right to view an ultrasound image of the unborn child prior to terminating its life. This seems only fair. Frequently in capital murder cases the defendant is allowed to make a final plea before judgment is passed. Why not allow an unborn child to make a silent plea for its life before the abortion is carried out?

It was assumed the ultrasound would be the “jelly on the belly” procedure where the nurse spreads a lubricant on the woman’s abdomen and rubs an ultrasound wand over the surface.

If the bill had passed, Virginia would have joined seven other states that avoided attracting the attention of comedians and passed bills requiring an ultrasound before an abortion.

GOP leadership started running for cover when they learned that during the first four to eight weeks of pregnancy jelly–on–belly often doesn’t produce a useable image. Instead what doctor’s refer to as a “transvaginal ultrasound” and Democrats tastefully describe as “state sponsored rape” is required. Without getting into the roto–rooter details, the transvaginal spends a lot more time inside a woman’s plumbing than Republican leaders are comfortable with.

Naturally pro–death Democrats and their media enablers accused Republicans of violating the doctor–patient relationship and the woman’s body. But the fact is 98 percent of early abortions already involve a transvaginal ultrasound ordered by the doctor. Republicans aren’t demanding a second probe, their bill simply gave the woman the right view the image that the abortionist produced to cover himself for malpractice purposes.

For Democrats it’s all a matter of context. Ultrasounds for more efficient abortions are science. But if you want the ultrasound to help preserve the baby, keep your rosaries off my ovaries!

But Democrats in a sexual frenzy are not typically subject to coherent thought. Yesterday, when an amended bill passed that removed any chance the GOP could be blamed for transvaginal ultrasounds that were already taking place, Sen. Louise Lucas (D–Pelvis) thundered, “Women who want to have abortions will go to back alleys. Women will die. They are not going to let you tell them what to do with their bodies!”

That makes perfect sense. Rather than look at an ultrasound that Planned Parenthood is already performing, women are going to opt instead for that nice man with the coat hanger waiting behind the tattoo parlor.

Aren’t Democrats supposed to be the party that encourages civility? It might help the abortion debate if we paid more attention to people who actually had some knowledge of the procedure and less to hysterics. My recommendation is limit interviews to people who have personal experience with one of the two procedures. Pro–life supporters must have participated in delivering a baby. “Choice” supporters must have been part of an abortion. What’s more, I’m flexible on extent of participation. For men, starting the ball rolling on a pregnancy won’t count, but carrying “tissue” to the dumpster will.

As for Republicans, they’ve managed to look as feckless in Virginia on the ultrasound bill as national Republicans did on the payroll tax cut bill. They should have either shown some backbone and kept the original or passed an amended bill that required the woman to listen to the baby’s heartbeat, which is detectable after only 18 days.

It’s uncertain whether Chief Comedian Stewart will weigh in on the Commonwealth’s budget impasse, but here’s an idea. It’s seems Verizon FiOS is dropping ‘Bridges TV’ from its lineup. The network was founded to “dispel negative stereotypes about Muslims” but has had trouble attracting viewers since the network’s founder decapitated his wife in the Bridges TV office in 2009.

That’s a situation rich in irony, but something tells me Stewart wouldn’t touch it with a 10–foot vaginal probe.