Thread by iowamark.
When a society supports strong families led by one man and one woman, it has benefits for the economy as well, Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann said Monday during a visit to the University of Iowa.
Marriage between a man and a woman is a foundation block for a strong America, but marriage has been under attack, Bachmann, a potential 2012 Republican presidential candidate, said. She also noted the financial implications of pregnancies to unwed mothers, through welfare and other government spending.
“Social conservatism is fiscal conservatism,” Bachmann said to loud cheers from the crowd of about 200. “You can’t separate” the two.
Bachmann’s visit Monday was part of the presidential lecture series sponsored by Iowa conservative group The Family Leader. The lecture series has brought several prominent national politicians to Iowa City in recent weeks.
She talked of the “three-legged stool” needed to hold up American society: upholding life, marriage and strong family life; promoting a strong economy and job creation; and national security. Bachmann said she was a strong opponent of U.S. involvement in Libya, a situation she calls a “big mistake.”
“He has no idea what our military goal is in Libya,” she said of President Barack Obama.
But the greatest threat to national security is not Iran or Libya, it’s the national debt, Bachmann said. She rallied against Obama’s health care overhaul, which she said will cost more than anyone imagines and provide people less care, and said she was disappointed with the federal budget plan released last week, which she believes doesn’t go far enough to cut government spending.
There were some vocal protesters who repeatedly shouted questions during a portion of Bachmann’s speech. When she took questions after the speech, Bachmann invited one of the protesters to ask the first question. The pair were asked to leave the ballroom a few minutes later. One of the protesters asked Bachmann “how much oil do you want?”
Bachmann, who lived in Waterloo until she was 12, responded that she wants a lot more than the United States has now, but she wants it to come from U.S. oil fields instead of from the Middle East. The United States could be the most energy-rich country in the world if it accessed its oil, its natural gas and developed more wind and solar energy, she said.
“We could supply our own energy cheaper and be an exporter,” she said.
Coralville resident Randy Crawford said after the speech he thinks Bachmann has a lot of common sense about the U.S. tax system and about societal stability, such as her opposition to abortion and gay marriage.
“It’s what we need a lot more of,” Crawford said. “She’s head and shoulders above Obama.”
Thread by me.
Terri Schiavo was subjected to a painful 13-day starvation and dehydration death by her former husband who refused to provide her with proper medical care and rehabilitative treatment.
Not wanting to see other patients endure the same ordeal, the foundation Terri’s family started to help disabled people receive proper care announced today it is supporting the New Beginnings Community Center of Medford, New York that will help people in similar situations.
The Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network told LifeNews that New Beginnings is a state-of-the-art outpatient rehabilitative facility for Veteran’s, Traumatic Brain Injury Survivors and other cognitively and physically disabled persons. It is designed to provide rehabilitation, management and recovery services in an exceptional, stimulating and safe environment.
The center reached out to the family to dedicate the building to the memory of Terri and her family agreed to do so.
Bobby Schindler, Terri’s brother and the director of the foundation, told LifeNews.com: “We are truly blessed by the vision of New Beginnings Community Center. We believe that this grand opening will set an example for health care facilities across the country to begin to fully understand that just because someone experiences a cognitive disability, and their physical appearance may change, their human dignity does not.
“We are dedicating New Beginnings Community Center in Terri Schindler Schiavo’s memory,” Allyson Scerri, New Beginnings Founder and President, added.. “This is our way of honoring Terri’s memory, her battle for proper treatment as a cognitively disabled person, and all others who did not have the chance for rehabilitation.”
One of the goals at the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network is to partner with care centers that provide assistance for brain injured individuals and support for their families.
Suzanne Vitadamo, another foundation director who is Terri’s sister, said, “This is a very special event for our family and our network. We are delighted to know that New Beginnings will be a great resource and safe haven for those that have experienced a brain injury. The underlying message is that there always remains hope for these patients and their families.”
“We remain optimistic that this will be the first of many extended health care facilities to embrace a ‘safe haven’ concept of care which will not deny any treatment or therapy to the cognitively disabled and traumatic brain injury survivors,” Vitadamo added.
The family of Terri Schiavo will be participating in this special dedication, at the grand opening on Sunday, April 17. To learn more about New Beginnings Community Center, visit their website www.nbli.org.