Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who is rumored to be on Sen. John McCain’s short list for the Vice Presidency, gave birth to her fifth child at 6:30 this morning, according to the Anchorage Daily News.
The boy’s name is Trig Paxson Van Palin. He’s 6 pounds, 2 ounces.
A spokesperson said the governor and her son are healthy and resting comfortably today. The baby wasn’t due until May 18. “It was quite a surprise,” a spokesperson said.
The Palin family issued a statement that read: “Trig is beautiful and already adored by us. We knew through early testing he would face special challenges, and we feel privileged that God would entrust us with this gift and allow us unspeakable joy as he entered our lives.
“We have faith that every baby is created for good purpose and has potential to make this world a better place. We are truly blessed.”
Asked what special challenges the family was referring to, the spokesperson said, “It’s a family matter, and that information should come from the governor herself.”
Now I wonder if Barack Obama will call the governor and express his condolences for her being punished by a baby.
But just look at the two sides of this question. Obama’s “punished with a baby” comments and Sarah Palin who knew she was having a special needs child and didn’t see it as a punishment but a blessing. When you think of how many of the children with special needs are aborted today, it’s shocking and saddening. But it’s the logical end to the secular Darwinist philosophy.
Anyway, congrats to the Alaska Governor and her family. God bless and I hope to see you on stage at the Republican National Convention.
April 22, 2008 at 1:27 pm
God Bless that family. This story really shows the difference between the two sides of this issue.
To Obama a baby is only judged by how it makes the parents feel. A little myopic if you ask me.
April 22, 2008 at 3:19 pm
I don’t think that there are “two sides” to this issue. It’s a lot more complicated than that. First let me start off by saying I am 100% prolife, and I would never call a baby a punishment under any circumstances. But we live in a country where the general culture AND the government do very little to support families with children. Especially children with special needs. I know of a number of families who have children with many medical issues who live hand to mouth and struggle to make it day to day under the weight of their medical bills. On top of that they face a great deal of ignorance on the part of society in general where discriminating against those with disabilities is commonplace. They still see their children as blessings, but often times they are among the few who do. I have not seen the Republican party do anything to help this situation. In fact, I have seen them take health care help AWAY from working families with children. Obama did not say that people with disabilities are a burden as this headline implies. He was talking about a young single mother having a child out of wedlock. It was a poor choice of words, and a poor way to view the situation nonetheless (although it is in step with the way I believe most people in our culture think.) But he does want to provide MORE support not less support to those who struggle with medical bills. The Republicans may say they love children as a party, but I have not seen the evidence of such.
Nan
April 22, 2008 at 3:38 pm
I wonder what government programs you’re talking about that the Republicans have taken away. It seems to me that Congress and Bush have increased spending and not cut anything at all. Please let me know.
April 22, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Why is every hateful statement that Sen. Obama makes a “poor choice of words” or “taken out of context”?
Wouldn’t it be possible that the audacious Senator occasionally means what he says? Perhaps Obama’s voting to support partial birth abortion should be noted before defending him as somehow supporting children.
I really don’t think it is up to politicians to support our children, and we will certainly be let down if we rely on our partisan gasbags to raise our kids for us.
JBP
April 22, 2008 at 7:34 pm
Sorry for the length but this one really hit home and I think that people who presume to know what is for the best need to take a step back and really think about what they are saying and what their true agenda is.
Nan there ARE 2 sides to every issue……….right and wrong-black and white-evil and good. I have a special needs child and I assure you that there are numerous government programs as well as private organizations that can help and do. We have an upper middle class income and are helped by many of them so I can not imagine a family that is truly struggling would not be helped by these same programs and many more programs that our income rules out for us. So this is just more liberal spin.
If Obama was referring to unwed, young, single women —who cares—it is still wrong………. and if you believe he wants to help with medical bills and disabled children I’d really like to put a wager on that one……….Its all just talk to get the job. Did you ever stop to ask yourself how he is going to do this?…..
And so if you support Obama you can say and call yourself what ever you like but you are not supporting the culture of life in any way so do not deceive yourself or others.
And one last insight for Nan and her I defend Obama – but I am pro life- but this is what everyone else thinks so we need to go along for the ride–ideas. It is hurtful when society judges these kids. And it is hurtful that you justify it with ignorance. There is no excuse for hurting these individuals and it has little to do with education and it has everything to do with common decency- one of the many things our society lacks. And while the pain and the sorrow of seeing your disabled child hurt is sometime more than a parent can take…………the joy of their successes are the purest joys I have ever been blessed to share. And in my last 6 years that we have had with our son I have talked with many people who are disabled and I have never met one that has ever indicated that they did not wish to be alive…………
Mom of 5
April 22, 2008 at 7:54 pm
Matthew:
Have you heard about the SCHIP cuts? These affect working families who make too much money to qualify for Medicade but do not have enough money to buy private insurance or who may not be able to secure insurance for their children with medical issues. The link below is to a story about a family with a four year old boy who has Down Syndrome. They have been unable to get him the medical care that he needs because of these
cuts.
JBP, I am not planning on letting any politicians raise my children. And I don’t need any support right now. But, if I had a child with multiple medical challenges and I worked and still could not get insurance to pay for needed appointments, I would be very frustrated. And I would be angry hearing the Republicans who cut the funding saying how much they love children.
Nan
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89521878
April 22, 2008 at 8:36 pm
Hi Mom of 5:
I just saw your comment, and I am sorry that my comment hurt you. You are right, there is no excuse for hurting people with disabilities. I believe that our culture is profoundly diseased and certainly does lack common decency. I see this across the political spectrum. I do not think “this is what everyone else thinks, so I need to go along for the ride.” As I said above, I agree that it was wrong for Obama to say what he said about a baby being “a punishment.”
However, I also cannot call the Republican party “prolife.” Yes, they are nominally against abortion. But I think that in most things they are right there on the bandwagon in this materialistic culture of death that Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict have talked about. They love the unborn children of single unwed mothers, but once those children are born and the mothers need help or support, the attitude becomes “you had the child, you support it.”
I believe as you do that every child has a right to be born. And I wish we lived in a culture that valued all life. If there was a true “prolife” party, I would support them.
Again, I apologize for saying anything that hurt you personally. I don’t know what is best for you. If things are working for your family under the current administration, that is really good. There are a lot of families who are struggling. I think we need some serious reform in our health care situation.
Nan
April 22, 2008 at 8:36 pm
There are literally hundreds of Catholic and other charitable hospitals and care organizations out there that support sick kids AND do not want to perform partial birth abortions.
I seriously doubt the Democrats have the least intentions or capabilities of making better medical care available for more people (nor do the Republicans).
The false dichotomy is that if we surrender more power to a candidate pledged to partial birth abortion, then we can help kids with Down’s Syndrome.
There are literally thousands of way to assist sick children, none of which require the benevolence of politicians.
JBP
April 22, 2008 at 8:49 pm
I seriously doubt the Democrats have the least intentions or capabilities of making better medical care available for more people
Well, don’t vote for them then. I’d like to give them a chance to try. There is no false dichotomy. There are 2 imperfect choices.
Nan
April 22, 2008 at 9:14 pm
Hmmm. Free health care or 40 million aborted babies? Hmmm. Which one is more important.
April 22, 2008 at 9:23 pm
Hmmm. Free health care or 40 million aborted babies? Hmmm. Which one is more important.
You are right of course. Once the babies are born your job is done. Who cares if anyone takes care of them . . .
April 22, 2008 at 10:03 pm
Because the Republicans don’t believe in government health care makes them less caring?
Let’s talk to the folks who already get government health care. It’s called the VA. Last I read they’re riddled with scandal and poor care.
And Democrats want to expand this when they can’t handle just veterans already.
The Catholic Church urges people to help people and that is something we should all do more of but I hesitate to establish a government run healthcare.
April 22, 2008 at 10:22 pm
Tyranny of the majority I suppose would be the case here. Because a large number of people want “free” healthcare, they seem to think that a smaller number of people should pay for it, and are willing to sacrifice the murder of innocent children to make it happen.
Ridiculous on both accounts. I have no illusions that the Republicans are doing a good job with healthcare, but they are not the ones with the abortion test in their national platform.
If you want to try out the Democrats, why not do it without dragging the rest of us along? That is, work within your Church or neighborhood to provide “free” healthcare instead of forcing an overly complex system onto those who do not want it.
Why do leftish ideas require such absolute demands on the rest of society?
JBP
April 22, 2008 at 11:01 pm
Because the Republicans don’t believe in government health care makes them less caring?
Cutting health care funding for children definitely makes them less caring.
If you want to try out the Democrats, why not do it without dragging the rest of us along? That is, work within your Church or neighborhood to provide “free” healthcare
I promise not to drag you along. I only have one vote, just like you.
I am not qualified to provide any sort of health care, but I do work with the St Vincent de Paul Society at my parish.
Nan
April 22, 2008 at 11:12 pm
We all share the goal of expanding access to quality healthcare to all children and all Americans.
The recent S-Chip bill did not advance those efforts.
The legislation contains language to allow expanding the definition of “child” to the age of 21 and the definition of “poor” to include those making $82,000 per year. SCHIP will then enroll an additional 1.2 million people by 2012. Of those 1.2 million, CBO estimates that 600,000 have private health insurance coverage today.
In short, there was no cut. There was simply no expansion. The S-Chip bill in 2007 was simply an end run for socialized healthcare.
Nan, government does very little well. They’re in charge of the border. They’re in charge of the Post Office. They’re in charge of the Veteran’s Administration. None of these are even close to effective.
Private charities do it better.
April 23, 2008 at 2:13 am
Nan,
Since you won’t drag me along, can I be exempt from paying for abortions at Cook County Hospital? Can I be exempt from paying for Viagra for those under the prescription drug benefit plan? Can I be exempt from building empty hospitals so that the cost basis for Medicaid reimbursement rises?
I do not want to be part of the tax salve to your conscience. If you need to save your soul with taxation, why do you insist that others be a part of it, despite to obvious problems with the system?
Go raise money, volunteer at the hospital, do what you must do, but please quit demanding that I pay for the wretched system we have.
I do not think tyranny is much of an answer to the health care “crisis”.
JBP
April 23, 2008 at 4:26 am
JB Powers,
Well said. You nail it.
April 23, 2008 at 5:19 am
The company that I work for offers medical coverage for it’s employees. I have the choice of spending the $20.88 per week (my portion) for insurance, or I could just pocket the money and forgo the coverage.
I am an adult, and I am quite capable of making my own choices. As an adult I should also face up to the consequences of my actions (or inaction).
The federal government should not be taking on the role of the over-indulgent parent, bailing out the wayward child when things get a little bit difficult. This only creates dependency and removes personal responsibility.
Haven’t we learned a thing from the (failed) welfare system?
-Rich
April 23, 2008 at 6:26 am
Since you won’t drag me along, can I be exempt from paying for abortions at Cook County Hospital? Can I be exempt from paying for Viagra for those under the prescription drug benefit plan? Can I be exempt from building empty hospitals so that the cost basis for Medicaid reimbursement rises?
No, I guess not. If those are the things that our Republican government is funding right now and you want to be a law abiding citizen, you have to help fund them. I don’t agree with those things either. Also, can I be exempt from paying for a war that makes no sense and is not making us any safer? It would be great if we could all pay taxes for only the things we believe in. That is not how democracy works. We each get a vote, and we have a choice between two parties, neither of which is a perfect fit for our individual beliefs.
The federal government should not be taking on the role of the over-indulgent parent, bailing out the wayward child when things get a little bit difficult. This only creates dependency and removes personal responsibility.
You are missing the point. There are people who work and yet cannot get insurance or cannot get enough insurance. If you have good insurance, good for you. What about the people who work full time and have a medically fragile child and are living hand to mouth because they cannot keep up with the medical bills? Do you love that child before his birth, but after his birth complain that you do not need to pay any more taxes because things are just “a little bit difficult” for his family. Shouldn’t we as a society care about our weakest members even after they are born?
Nan
April 23, 2008 at 1:21 pm
“What about the people who work full time and have a medically fragile child and are living hand to mouth because they cannot keep up with the medical bills? Do you love that child before his birth, but after his birth complain that you do not need to pay any more taxes because things are just “a little bit difficult” for his family. Shouldn’t we as a society care about our weakest members even after they are born?”
Medicaid is already in place for people in this situation. What the Dems want to do is put us ALL on Medicaid…or whatever they will call it.
-Rich