Life Matters

In this edition of Life Matters Commissioner Johnston builds on the basic premise of what the 'Right to Life" really is. It is not about your opinion or your feelings. It is not about your personal religion. It is about a simple fact often asked in the history of Western Civilization: "Does the law protect the innocent? And if not, why not?" Brian begins from a rather extraordinary source, the Catholic Catechism (2273). The Catholic Catechism itself declares that this issue is not religious in nature, but is instead the basic element of any civil society... religious predilection is not the debate. A just government will protect those innocent lives that are dependent upon it, or it is not a just government.  Brian also explores several films that underscore this essential premise. One is a Western film, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Drawing from his experience as an English teacher, Brian explains that movies are about much more than meets the eye. Like all good stories, they actually have an undergirdin

The right to life is a very specific idea that our founding fathers put in the founding documents of our nation.  They were reflecting a cultural value they’d inherited through Western Civilization - the idea that human life is significant, that human beings are not merely animals.  Therefore, the laws should protect vulnerable human beings from the predations of people who would take advantage of them, including the government. We are in a battle of ideas. If you do not engage in the issues that are threatening the culture of life, then you risk being taken in this battle.  If you casually them aside, or reduce them to mere passing emotions, or personal religious inclinations, you are hurting rather than helping.  We want to equip you to help fight the battle. It is a battle over objective facts, and today we want to encourage you to fight by becoming engaged in the election season.  Rabbi Dennis Prager joins us, and underscores the need to accept the civic responsibility of participating in elections. This

The right to life, the principle that every individual is unique and that every human life is valuable and should be protected are important concepts that are enshrined in the founding documents of the United States. Today we will talk about the culture that emanates from those ideas which is important because it is the culture that we’ve inherited as citizens but one that is also under attack.  So often we can take these ideals that our culture is rooted in for granted and fail to see that what is inherently ours as human beings, our right to life, can be taken from us if we don’t fight against laws and ideas that fail to protect that right to life. We experience a variety of seasons throughout our existence: life seasons, natural seasons, holiday seasons, etc, but today we are considering Election Season.  Election Day is not the be all, end all of an election.  Many people may find themselves overwhelmed with the information thrown at them throughout a campaign. Many are uninformed. Many are disinterested

Brian interviews Jim Wilson, Author, lecturer, Anglican priest, regarding his new work Generation, a novel exploring the deeper issues of the 1960's. Brian explains how Life Matters explores the ideas of the right to life, that every life has a significance that can not be readily recognized, yet is given by our sheer humanity. "Endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights," was how America's founders put it. But this was a reflection of the ideas which they had inherited up to that moment. They had inherited the values of Western Civilization. At its heart Western Civ is built on the premise that human beings are not mere 'smart animals', but that we are more, that we are spiritual entities. This assertion lies at the heart of our assertions regarding the nature of mankind, and the moral duty of the law to protect the lives of those who cannot protect themselves.  It is this cultural premise that is under attack at this moment. Our culture is trying to determine if the core values of Western Civ sh

Brian joins Alexandra Snyder of Life Legal Defense Foundation at the State Capitol as they discuss AB 282, a measure to expand assisted suicide marketing in California. Assisted suicide was legalized in California in 2015 but has been in court challenges, led by Life Legal Defense. On June 15, 2018 an appeals court again removed the stay on the law, and it will apparently remain legal until the case works its way up to the State Supreme Court. It is therefore legal at the moment for you to ask a doctor for lethal medication in California. What is NOT legal is for third parties, other people to encourage you to kill yourself.  If AB 282 becomes law, it will be legal for third-parties, heirs, nursing home staff, anyone else for that matter, to encourage and promote suicide to a vulnerable patient. The way the measure is written it may also authorize mass-marketing via radio and television. Suicideologists and psychologists strongly warn against ANY positive portrayal of suicide in mass communications as viewers

The facts matter! In this program Brian is on the other side of the table in his interview with Craig Roberts, host on "Life Line" on SF Bay area's KFAX. This is a more careful analysis of polls and of the language used by pollsters, NOT in an attempt to discover public opinion, but instead to intentionally form public opinion. This is being done in the summer of 2018 precisely because advocates of abortion on-demand fear the approval by Judge Brett Kavanaugh may pose a threat to abortion-on-demand. This unconscionable misrepresentation of legal facts, the nature of the Roe decision, and the actual feelings of Americans about abortion needs to be understood. A recent NBC poll on "Roe v. Wade' is contrasted with a contemporaneous Gallup poll that examines when and why abortions are done. Make sure that you and your friends and family understand what the real abortion situation is in America.

Once China fell to Communist control in the 1940's, a deafening silence was all that could be heard from its people and even its government. Bits and pieces were known of the on-going 'Cultural Revolution'.  Mao's decades long, vice-like grip on the lives of millions slowly loosened only to be wrenched from his dying hands by more faceless, less iconic members of the politburo. In the early 1980's the still VERY Communist China slowly allowed foreigners access to its culture and its people. Steven Mosher was a young Stanford graduate student and one of the first foreigners allowed direct involvement with the people of rural China. His knowledge of the language allowed him an unprecedented and immediate rapport with these oppressed people. Today he is recognized for his heroic work in revealing the forced-abortion, one-child policy of Communist China. He has gone on to write many books on both China and the deadly myth of 'overpopulation'. He serves as the President of the Population Research Institute. He is

At the 2018 National Right to Life Convention, Brian had the opportunity to speak with Fr. Frank Pavone.  Fr. Frank is a Catholic priest who has been in the right-to-life movement for a long time.  But, the right to life issue in simply a Catholic issue.  But, is the right to life simply a Catholic issue? As Fr. Frank points out, it is not about Catholicism or any other religion for that matter.  It is not about our faith.  It transcends that.  This battle is a battle for the heart of Western Civilization.  Once you understand what Western Civilization is and what it is built on, you will see that this is a battle for the foundational structure of those ideas that have shaped our society.

Every human being is unique.  We are not mere animals.  Our founding fathers put it well that human beings did not invent themselves and government did not create human beings.  We are created by a Creator and endowed uniquely by that Creator with certain inalienable rights, first and foremost the right to life.  It is the government’s duty to protect your right to be alive and all of the rights that then emanate from your life. We will talk about California today and the need for the state to get ready for the overturning of Roe v. Wade.  The California legislature is one of the most radical in the nation as the laws that are being introduced are beyond the pale. Now is the time to discuss these issues, to educate yourself on the laws they are proposing, and to fight for your right to life and the rights of you loved ones. Be a part of the process. Be a part of the answer in California.  Join us on August 14-15th, 2018 at the Take Back California Conference & Lobby Day. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/take

Every human being is unique.  We are not mere animals.  Our founding fathers put it well that human beings did not invent themselves and government did not create human beings.  We are created by a Creator and endowed uniquely by that Creator with certain inalienable rights, first and foremost the right to life.  It is the government’s duty to protect your right to be alive and all of the rights that then emanate from your life. We will talk about California today and the need for the state to get ready for the overturning of Roe v. Wade.  The California legislature is one of the most radical in the nation as the laws that are being introduced are beyond the pale. Now is the time to discuss these issues, to educate yourself on the laws they are proposing, and to fight for your right to life and the rights of you loved ones. Be a part of the process. Be a part of the answer in California.  Join us on August 14-15th, 2018 at the Take Back California Conference & Lobby Day. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/take

Are you surrendering your daughters to an ideological machine promoting abortion?   Many Girl Scout troops are actually sponsored by churches! Brian examines one of the 'nicest' and appealing institutions that has been co-opted by the wrong ideas: The Girl Scouts of America and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGS). Anne Saladin of mygirlscoutcouncil.com explores what has happened to the organization in just recent the recent past. She had been a Girl Scout and enjoyed it. It was her Church that re-introduced her to the 'new' Scouts which is now promoting much more than merit badges and cookies. This organization has become one more tool of ideology aiming itself precisely at young, developing, and vulnerable minds.

The right to life is a very specific idea and that idea has created a culture that revolves around the notion that human beings are significant.  Each of us has a significance in the life we are given.  This is an assertion adopted by the founders of the United States.  They coined the phrase, “right to life,” - that every individual is endowed by our Creator with a right to life.  This is an inalienable right.  The government does not bestow it upon us.  The government’s job is to protect this right to be alive and the other rights that emanate from our life, our very existence. If the wrong ideas, the wrong laws are put into place, lives are taken.  Lives are lost.  Lives become things that are disposable.  The significance of this debate over the protection of lives is very present in our culture and we need to be prepared and educated in order to fight for the right to life. Assisted suicide is a very real issue in our culture right now.  Go to stopassistedsuicide.com to sign a petition to prevent this tr

Today we discuss a practice banned in much of the world but government sponsored in the United States, and particularly in California: the artificial creation of human beings and their routine disposal which sometimes this includes bizarre experimentation. Go to nrlconvention.com. We address not merely in-vitro human 'creation' but altering and 'experimentation' via cloning or Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer. Dr. David Prentice explores these procedures and their implications.  Join Dr. Prentice, our host Brian Johnston, NRLC President Carol Tobias, and pro-life folk from across the nation at the 2018 National Right to Life Convention. nrlconvention.com

Brian starts by examining policy implications of the top two primary system in elections. California is one of a handful of states that have adopted this system that ignores party affiliations. Elections matter because elected representatives make policy. Policies matter. Laws matter. Laws are merely ideas that are enforced. If you are not paying attention to the world of ideas then you are going to see some terrible ideas FORCED upon you and others that are helpless to resist them. Brian replays an interview with Dr. Joel Brind (Baruch College, CUNY), the world's leading expert in the abortion-breast cancer connection. The interview is from a previous NRLC convention and Brian reminds folks to make the extra effort, if at all possible, to come the the annual NRLC convention, where they can get an in-depth understanding of all the many aspects of the Right to Life issue.

Brian explains one of the more subtle and seductive 'ideas' that has wormed its way into contemporary thought: Eugenics.   He gives a quick background to its origins and to the common misunderstanding that eugenics, as a cultural value, was somehow eradicated through the defeat of Nazi Germany. But before the 'deep dive' and interview with some folks from Iceland, where the gene pool has been 'cleansed of Down Syndrome', he examines the events in Ireland of May 25, 2018. Brian, who's a first generation American from Ireland, had explained in depth the significance of the Irish debate over abortion in earlier broadcasts (hear Podcast 56 and 57).  During his most recent journey to Ireland, his flight stopped in Iceland, and there he interviewed Icelandic citizens on the eugenic practice of testing for and eliminating individuals with Down Syndrome. Eugenics is the practice of applying genetic manipulation to human beings. In practice, it usually (as in the case of Iceland) requires the 'culling' or removal of '

It's a battle out there. You know that. That doesn't mean you should hide or avoid the battle. In the political world, and the question of whether laws will protect vulnerable live, lives are at stake.  Don't drop out or shrink back from your responsibility to ensure that the vulnerable are protected. As a citizen it is your responsibility, and substituting emotional feeling-stuff instead of speaking up about your own laws is not facing the reality of the times in which we live. As in our previous program, Brian uses the very specific election of 2018 to actually examine deeper, ongoing issues that tend to come up in most elections. Failure to understand these deeper issues only ensures that you will be confused about what to do the next time around. Brian examines the most important race in California and how attempts by 'deep state players,' many of them billionaires from out of state, have been specifically designed to mislead and alienate pro-life voters.   In California's primary system, only the top two

The State Fair Political Practices Commission has now confirmed that billionaire businessman, pro-abortion progressive, Michael Bloomberg is financing the Travis Allen attempt to divide the Republican Party and it is expressly in writing, the purpose is to ensure there are only two Democrats on the fall ballot.  Republicans will have no opportunities in the fall if this scheme of Travis Allen and Michael Bloomberg is carried out. Please, vote for John Cox for California governor. John Cox is against Planned Parenthood funding by the deep state.  You’ll only have two Democrat, pro-abortion deep state candidates on the ballot if you vote for Travis Allen.  John Cox is the man to stop the madness in Sacramento. This is paid for by the California ProLife Pac, not endorsed by any candidate.

Words and politics - how can you discern? Brian takes a deep dive into the actual principles at stake in the coming election by examining how they are always at stake in ALL elections. If you understand that you are better prepared to think this election and all elections through. California geography makes California of great importance. Since at least the 1950’s, the California Governorship has impacted the whole country. Governor Earl Warren went on to Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. But even if they don't go on to President, as Ronald Reagan did, the Governor of this state plays  a huge part of influencing the nation. So geography matters. If you move to Minnesota in the summer, don't complain about the harsh storms of the winter, if you don't understand your surroundings, your geography. California is subject to harsh political storms because of its huge importance. Prepare to face the political storms and understand them. Don't just curse the 'weather you don't understand.'  Rise above it. Prepare f

Abortion-On-Demand is now routine throughout all of Europe and in most of Western civilization. One of the last holdouts is the nation of Ireland. Under Ireland's 8th Amendment, the laws of that country re-enforce the legal right to life for all vulnerable human beings, particularly those in the womb.  But on May 25th, 2018, a national plebiscite will be held. It is being pushed by all of the political parties that control the Dublin government. A pro-abortion media and a political climate that favors European progressivism has placed Ireland as one of the final holdouts against the legalized dismissal of human lives.  Ireland is the youngest, most prosperous per capita country in the European Union. It has the lowest death rate and the highest birth rate of that entire greying continent.  Brian Johnston gives background on the laws protecting innocent lives in Ireland and the political efforts to bring those to an end. He includes a special interview with Peadar Tóibín,  member of the Irish Dáil, and explain

Abortion-On-Demand is now routine throughout all of Europe and in most of Western civilization. One of the last holdouts is the nation of Ireland. Under Ireland's 8th Amendment, the laws of that country re-enforce the legal right to life for all vulnerable human beings, particularly those in the womb.  But on May 25th, 2018, a national plebiscite will be held. It is being pushed by all of the political parties that control the Dublin government. A pro-abortion media and a political climate that favors European progressivism has placed Ireland as one of the final holdouts against the legalized dismissal of human lives.  Ireland is the youngest, most prosperous per capita country in the European Union. It has the lowest death rate and the highest birth rate of that entire greying continent.  Brian Johnston gives background on the laws protecting innocent lives in Ireland and the political efforts to bring those to an end. He includes a special interview with Peadar Tóibín,  member of the Irish Dáil, and explain