Obama's State of the Dis-Union pits men against women

In his State of the Union Address last night, President Barack Obama's otherwise lackluster speech still managed to stir emotions - of the negative type - by pitting men against women. After all, what does the president like better than making people angry at each other? In this case, he pulled out the old gender pay gap myth.

Though there is a widespread perception that women are paid less than men on average, the perception goes wrong in thinking that such pay disparity is about cases when a woman doing the exact same job as a man for the same hours, in the same company or industry is paid less than her male co-worker. That is not, however, where the disparity lies. The "pay gap" simply looks at the median earnings of all men and women who are full-time workers, and because the average of men's earnings skew higher, feminists cry discrimination. But were they to take a closer look at the facts, they'd have to recant their accusation.

The fact is, men and women make different career choices for different reasons. A U.S. Department of Labor study found the average full-time working man works 8.14 hours a day, compared to 7.75 hours for the full-time working woman. Naturally, this would result in the man making more money.

Even more to the point, the natural differences between men and women result in different priorities, and therefore, different job ambitions. Women in general tend to seek jobs that offer comfortable and safe working conditions. In particular, women with children tend to choose lower paying jobs in return for companies that offer work-life balance packages that allow them to be more available for their children. Fathers, on the other hand, tend to seek work that can best support their families, which often means longer hours.

Men also are much more likely to take on dangerous or physically demanding jobs that most women simply don't want to do. You don't see many women working on oil rigs, construction sites, coal mines or the like. These jobs pay more because it's difficult to find people who are able and willing to do them. People crying discrimination need to understand that the oft-repeated statistic that women make on average "70 cents on the dollar compared to men" simply reflects an overall average of all pay for all jobs across the board.

But what do logic and facts matter when Obama can take an opportunity to divide us? He's doing it with race and class. Why not add a fight between men and women into the mix as well?

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New York leadership to conservatives: Leave.

Newly elected New York Mayor, Bill de Blasio, told reporters today at the US Conference of Mayors in Washington, DC, that he completely agrees with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's recent remarks that "extreme" conservatives don't belong in New York.

"I stand by that 100 percent," de Blasio said.

According to Cuomo, "extreme" conservatives are those who believe in the right to life, the right to self-defense, and in traditional marriage - and that there is no place for them in the state of New York.

Apparently ending human life in the womb, even in the ninth month,  allowing criminals to have free reign over us, and suppressing people's religious beliefs is not extreme.

I used to live in New York. I guess I'm not welcome there anymore. So much for the tolerant, accepting, freedom-loving left.

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Is President Obama using black people for political gain?

President Barack Obama's election in 2008 was heralded as a sign that racism could truly be put to rest in America. Yet one of the first things Obama did as President in February 2009 was to cancel the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, a successful voucher program that provides scholarships to low-income children – many of whom are black – to attend their school of choice. Essentially what Obama told these young black children hoping to get a better future is, "I don't think you should have it." 

Also, just last year, Obama supported Eric Holder in his lawsuit against Louisiana for its school voucher program that helps poor black children to escape failing schools in order to get a better education.

In the hypocrisy that has become his mantle, Obama gave a speech last week extolling the virtues of higher education. Too bad he doesn't think underprivileged children deserve to get a good primary education. 

Of course, that may be part of the plan. After all, if black people can't escape from terrible schools, their employment prospects will be awful. They likely will be welfare-dependent, and therefore reliable Democratic voters for decades to come. We already have record numbers of welfare participants, and Obama announced recently he wants to expand the welfare state, a.k.a. his voting base.

By his actions, it appears Obama thinks that keeping black people down will force them into government dependency, which will ensure their voting loyalty. And the fact that he takes every chance he can get to fan the flames of racism by telling the black community what victims they are of white society only ensures this loyalty, which in turn serves to keep the black population down.

As we prepare to acknowledge Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Obama's contrast to the civil rights leader is stark. Where Dr. King promoted the dignity of every human being regardless of skin color, Obama seems to want to capitalize on that skin color for his own political gain.

Way to use people, Mr. President. Too bad you didn't learn anything from the true role model we have in Dr. King.

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What changed these people's minds on abortion in a matter of minutes?

Since the horrible ruling of Roe v. Wade almost 41 years ago to the day, over 55 million lives have been lost to abortion. But there are signs of hope that things can change. One is the increasingly large numbers of young people whose eyes are being opened to the lie that abortion is just a harmless choice. The growing numbers of young people attending the March for Life in D.C. each year is an indication of this.

Other hopeful signs include record numbers of abortion clinics that closed in 2013 - at least 44 closed - and abortions themselves have fallen from a high of 1.6 million in 1990 to 1.2 million in 2012. In addition to the surge in pro-life involvement of young people, these numbers may be due in part to new state laws that require clean facilities and access to hospitals should something go wrong during an abortion.

But there is something else making the rounds that may be having a larger impact than anyone knows. A short movie called "180" is the story of about eight people who all supported abortion, but who, upon seeing the movie, changed their minds in a matter of minutes to become pro-life. What is it about this short, 33-minute movie that changes these people's minds so quickly? You decide. Watch it here: http://180movie.com/

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