Taking A Stand: Embryonic Stem Cell Research

"...and because I consider all your precepts right, I hate every wrong path. Your statutes are wonderful; therefore I obey them." Psalm 119: 128-129

"If this bill were to become law, American taxpayers would for the first time in our history be compelled to support the deliberate destruction of human embryos." President George W. Bush

"Unfortunately, because of the stubbornness of one man — President Bush — these people continue to suffer as they wait" Diana DeGette, D-Colorado

As maligned as our president is these days, George Bush has done something to remind me why I admire him and why I voted for him. He stood up against Federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, further supporting his assertion that this legislation "crosses a moral line that I and many others find troubling." I can't agree more.

In cases of rape, incest, or danger to the mother's health, I agree that abortion may be the only option. But otherwise it is immoral. Period. There is nothing you can say or show me that would justify it - not even the harvesting of embryonic stem cells.

"A woman should have the right to control her own body," is something I've heard argued, and I totally agree. With all the preventative measures out there - for both women and men, there's really very little excuse for an unplanned pregnancy. The problem these days is that too many people are not willing and able to take responsibility for their own actions. And parenting a child is an immense responsibility.

Another concern is that the harvesting of embryonic stem cells could encourage some women to get pregnant for the sole purpose of providing stem cells. They would essentially prostitute themselves to the health care industry who in turn would likely pay them as little as possible.

Stem cell research does not require embryonic stem cells. Just as it is no longer necessary to kill a rabbit to determine a pregnancy, it is also not necessary to terminate a human life to harvest stem cells. Duh! There is plenty of material out there. Embryonic stem cell research is just another way to justify abortion.

Stem cells offer us hope to potentially cure many dreaded diseases. I'm all for that. But stem cells do not have to be embryonic.

I have one of those dreaded diseases myself. I have type-II diabetes. I expect it will be my ticket to heaven sooner or later. So what? Even Lazarus - whom Jesus raised from the dead - eventually died again. We all die, and stem cell research isn't going to change that.

Too many people have already sacrificed their lives for my physical needs and my freedom. Indeed, Jesus sacrificed his life for my very soul.

Personally, if it ever becomes practice, I will ensure any medical directive of mine clearly states that I will not allow the life of a human embryo to be sacrificed in order to save mine. If such measures are taken against my wishes, then those medical personnel better hope it doesn't work. Because when I get better, I will sue the crap out of them.

Do you think President Bush is being stubborn? Do you think I am being stubborn? Fine. But know this - some things are right and true whether you believe in them or not. I've made my stand.

Ding Dong, the Bill is Dead

I was very pleased to see that the immigration reform bill that was being considered by Congress is dead - at least for now. For too many reasons to specify, it was a bad bill (and if it does get resurrected, I will go into detail at that time). I would even go as far as saying this bill was unconstitutional. One thing that is certain is that our Congress very nearly sold us out.

I have no problem with hard-working, law-abiding people who want to become U.S. citizens - in fact they make our country that much better, and they already contribute to the national economy. But this bill would have handed the keys of our country over to gang members, drug traffickers, terrorists, welfare leeches, and various other ne'er-do-wells.

Arizonans and the residents of other border states have made their voices clear on this crisis. We are fed up with the Federal government not enforcing the laws already on the books. It is the states now that have to take up the slack with tough legislation of their own.

Instead of taking junkets to Iraq and Afghanistan (and in Nancy Pelosi's case - Syria!), our congressmen need to come see what it's like right here. It's high time that Ted Kennedy get his fat ass down here.

Pet Food Crisis: Why Are We Exporting Wheat From China?

This whole thing related to the pet food recalls has gotten quite messy. We're finding now that the tainted stuff has been fed to livestock, so now it's in the human food supply. And now there have been two arrests in China of those thought responsible. They'll probably end up getting shot or hanged or something. Not that the Chinese necessarily care that they've tainted our food supply. They're more concerned about saving face and possibly losing some export business.

Which begs the question: WHY ARE WE EXPORTING WHEAT FROM CHINA?

Meanwhile, I've attached a link to the latest recall list from the FDA.

Thursday Report, 3 May 2007

New Appliances Anyone?
Last month I paid off Home Depot for the new dishwasher we got last Christmas. Now our refrigerator is on the blink. Keep in mind that my wife has been wanting a new refrigerator for quite some time. So I went and looked up refrigerator repair on the internet and came back to my wife saying, "So you want a side-by-side this time?" The new fridge arrives Monday.

Just When You Thought Things Were Bad in YOUR House
Our older daughter J and our grandson have moved in with her fiancee and his daughter. You may recall they have a new puppy, Zoe. Well Zoe had a little accident a few weeks ago and apparently (although not apparent the first time it was X-rayed) she broke one of her front legs. She's having surgery today.

On top of that, J went to the emergency room because of abdominal pain. She has gallstones. She will be discussing gall bladder surgery soon.

A Good Supreme Court Decision
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that those idiots who get involved in police chases can't sue the police for stopping them, provided the police don't use excessive force in stopping the suspect vehicle. Mind you, when a car is speeding along and barely under control, it only takes a tap of its bumper to push it completely out of control. Just ask the plaintiff - he was speeding along at 100 m.p.h. on a suspended license. The police intervened according to the standard procedure for stopping these wingnuts, and now he's a quadraplegic. If you ask me, it's better than having him kill an innocent bystander and ruin other peoples' lives.

Iraqi Government Entity Targets Sunnis
While we're busy "surging" against the insurgency, it was reported that Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki has set up an office within the government consisting of military advisors dealing with the whole mess over there. This agency has been found to have an extreme Shiite agenda which is only contributing to the sectarian violence. Cute.

Oh, What A Tangled Web We Weave
Meanwhile, it appears that some Sunnis have had enough of al-Qaeda, as evidenced by the increasing numbers of Sunni militants who are fighting against al-Qaeda; they've even claimed that they killed the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq.

Gosh, don't you just love a civil war based on differing religious, political, and economic agendas?

Phoenix Suns Advance to the Western Conference Semifinals
Last year they made it look hard. This year, they made it look easy (except for the one game they lost). Just like last year, the Suns faced the Lakers in the opening series of the NBA playoffs. But this year, there's something different about this team, and I like their chances. The Suns were able to dispatch the Lakers in five games. Now they face the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday. Should be interesting. And a lot of fun to watch.

How 'bout Those Diamondbacks?
Since last week the Arizona Diamondbacks are 5-2. I'm not sure how, sometimes, but I'll take it. Looks like their biggest nemesis this year will be the Dodgers.

The Don Imus Scandal: Can We All Just Move Ahead?

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked him, "Lord, how often do I have to forgive a believer who wrongs me? Seven times?" Jesus answered him, "I tell you, not just seven times, but seventy times seven." Matthew 18:21-22

Let's face it. When Don Imus made his derogatory remarks about the Rutgers women's basketball team last week, he was an idiot. His comments were unacceptable. Period. And I think it was right for his radio show to be suspended. And I think it was perfecly alright for Rev. Al Sharpton and Rev. Jesse Jackson to call Imus out.

I've never heard Don Imus' show. In fact, I never even heard of Don Imus until this whole thing came out. I don't know anything of his character or his beliefs. I have heard a recording of the comments he made on the infamous broadcast, and I agree they were distasteful as they were polorizing.

I also know that Don Imus has apologized profusely for his comments and has thrown himself at the mercy of the public, those he directly offended, and his staunchest critics. Don Imus has figuratively nailed himself to a cross for his offense. Which is more than anyone can say for former Arizona governor Evan Mecham, a horse's ass who made similar racial slurs on a daily basis without apology.

And now Imus has been fired. That is certainly the perogative of his employers; the loss of listeners and sponsors is probably enough to justify Imus' termination.

But is that enough to make the likes of Sharpton and Jackson happy?

To these Christian leaders, I would ask now that they step up to their faith. Imus has apologized enough already. Are they willing to forgive? And if you forgive seventy times seven, have you really forgiven the first 489 times?

What The...? The Defense of Marriage Initiative

I don't yell at the TV very often, but I did last night. Married couples would be required to have children within three years or their marriage would be annulled. What the...? Excuse me?

According to this news report, "Initiative 957 was filed by the Washington Defense of Marriage Alliance. That group was formed last summer after the state Supreme Court upheld Washington's ban on same-sex marriage."

Here's the details:

• If passed by Washington voters, the Defense of Marriage Initiative would:
  add the phrase, “who are capable of having children with one another” to the legal definition of marriage;


• require that couples married in Washington file proof of procreation within three years of the date of marriage or have their marriage automatically annulled;


• require that couples married out of state file proof of procreation within three years of the date of marriage or have their marriage classed as “unrecognized;”


• establish a process for filing proof of procreation; and


• make it a criminal act for people in an unrecognized marriage to receive marriage benefits.¹

These people have absolutely no clue what a marriage is. And now that the people of the great state of Washington have spoken up and taken a stand in favor of marriage, this bunch of sore losers has taken their fight to a new low. Let's hope this initiative goes down in flames.

---

¹http://www.wa-doma.org/Default.aspx

Saddam's Cat: A Little Sick Humor

Sorry, I couldn't resist sharing this from an email I got.

Is America Getting Too Soft?

I'm wondering now if there will soon come a time when we as nation will say to the terrorists, "Okay, you win." And then what? That will certainly be a dark day for the United States - that is, if we continue to exist.

Border Incursion into Arizona [link to story]

We have had National Guard troops from various states stationed along the border with Mexico. This is meant to discourage illegal immigration and smuggling into the U.S. Early this month, an armed band of gunmen crossed the border into Arizona. No shots were fired, but the National Guard troops did withdraw from the area. Despite having up to 6000 troops on the border, they have authorization to engage anybody.

Excuse me? This is something we should be very concerned about. This act of agression was no less than an armed invasion of U.S. soil, and yet we have rules of engagement that do nothing to protect the integrity of our border, and are probably designed more to appease the ACLU. Even the Palestinians - outgunned and outmaneuvered - fight back whenever the IDF makes an incursion into their territory. These invaders have no honorable intent, and every effort should be made in capturing them or eliminating them if they don't cooperate, even to the point of calling in airstrikes if it comes to that (there are two Air Force bases and a Marine Corps air station in Arizona).

The last time this country had a border incursion was when Pancho Villa raided New Mexico. We dealt with it then; we need to deal with it now.

Iraq

What can I say that I haven't already? It sounds like we're ready to give up in Iraq, just like we did in Vietnam - and look what they've had to endure.

We justified our invasion of Iraq by stating they possessed weapons of mass destruction. Despite the reports from the press who would have you believe we found none, we have found them. No, not stadium-fulls. But caches have been found and documented. You don't need a lot of mustard gas to kill a lot of people. Saddam had plenty. And remember, he was executed for killing a mere fraction of his own people.

Lots of innocent people continue to lose their lives in Iraq, and the people losing those lives typically are civilians - those Iraqis trying to live a decent life - and those who have travelled a long way to help the Iraqis (but not the UN - they bailed out, remember?). How many combatants have been killed? Very few in comparison to those innocent bystanders.

There is no victory in Iraq unless we buckle down. Our enemies are those who don't fight with honor. They target the weak so that we will lose our will to fight. If we abandon Iraq, we are just as dishonorable as those we are fighting. The honorable thing to do is to eliminate that enemy and demand no less than unconditional surrender.

Some History

The Declaration of Independence was not a slam-dunk; the Revolutionary War continued for more than five years after that. The British were the odds-on favorite to win, and they nearly did. There would have been no defeat with honor for the thirteen colonies; the fight for liberty would have been over. And those who had signed the Declaration of Independence would have been signing their own death warrants.

But America did prevail, for the will to fight for liberty was stronger than whatever the mighty British Empire (argueably the greatest nation on the planet at that time) could throw at them.
When the American Civil War broke out, many on both sides believed it would be over quickly. Although outmanned, outgunned, and outmaneuvered by the Union, the Confederacy displayed a tenacity unlike any combatant in all of history, and at times it appeared they could actually win the war. Instead of a brief war with few casualties, the American Civil War was a drawn-out, ferocious ordeal that lasted four years and was one of the most dealy, second only to World War II.

President Lincoln had to deal with generals in the field that, for whatever reason, were not getting the job done. Even by the summer of 1864, the war was not going well for the Union. There was not only a question of whether Lincoln would re-elected - there was even a question of whether we would be re-nominated! Finally by autumn, the Confederacy had been delivered some crushing blows deep in the South. Lincoln was re-elected (his chief oppenent being one of the generals he had fired) and the Union juggernaut by this time could not be stopped. By April the war was over.

Do the Math

Here are some statistics from American history's more deadly moments

Battle of the Bulge

16 Dec 1944 - 25 Jan 1945

19,276 killed
Hurricane of 1900, Galveston TX

8 September 1900

6,000 - 12,000 killed
Battle of Gettysburg

1-3 July 1863

7,863 killed
Guadalcanal Campaign

7 Aug 1942 - 9 Feb 1943

7,099 killed
Earthquake/Fire, San Francisco

18 April 1906

3,000 - 6,000 killed
Battle of Antietam

17 September 1862

3,654 killed
Battle of Shiloh

6-7 April 1862

3,477 killed
Battle of Iwo Jima

19 Feb - 26 Mar 1945

6,140 killed
Iraq War

23 Mar 2003 - 13 Jan 2007

3,019 killed (so far)
Terrorist Attacks - New York/Washington/Pennsylvania

11 September 2001

2,973 killed
Hurricane - Lake Okeechobee FL

16 September 1928

2,500+ killed
Attack on Pearl Harbor

7 December 1941

2,335 killed
Hurricane Katrina

29 August 2005

1,836 killed
Battle of Normandy (first day - D-Day - only)

6 June 1944

1,465 killed

Conclusion

We Americans tend be an impatient bunch. In our fast-moving society, we want results now - and if we can't get the results we want, then to heck with it.

After 9/11, I remember how proudly we Americans flew our flags. I remember how we Americans put yellow ribbons on our cars as our troops set off to make things right. Nowadays our cars are festooned with ribbons of all colors. Don't get me wrong - some of these causes are great - but why do others warrant their own ribbon? And what about the flags? Where have they all gone?

So here we are in America in 2007. We sip our Starbucks coffees, pump cheap gasoline (yeah, it could be much worse!), satisfy our materialistic urges with goods made in China, wait for tech support from a call center in India, and wonder what Britney Spears is up to (as if she were important). Where would we be if all those were gone?

The generation before mine tells stories of the Great Depression and how they sacrificed much just to survive. I often wonder if the generations after mine would even know how to cope with something like a Great Depression or a desperate global war. And I gotta ask you: Is America getting too soft?

Can Iraq Really Get Tough?

"If the Iraqi government does not follow through on its promises, it will lose the support of the American people — and it will lose the support of the Iraqi people...The Prime Minister understands this" - President George W. Bush, 10 January 2007

Let us hope that the Iraqi Prime Minister understands the situatiion in his country - lest his fate will be similar to that of the late former president, Saddam Hussein.

In tonight's address to the nation [full transcript], President Bush acknowledged his full responsibility for the mistakes made in Iraq. He made it clear that the Iraqi government and the Iraqi people needed to take more responsibility for their own destiny. He also acknowledged it would probably be too difficult without a little extra help from 20,000 additional U.S. troops.

Both Prime Minister Maliki and President Bush have declared that the sectarian and political violence that has been ripping Iraq apart will no longer be tolerated. It's about damned time. Much bloodshed could have been avoided if this had been the official policy all along. Hopefully it's not too little too late.

This has been an unpopular war. But that's not President Bush's fault. He sincerely committed us and other nations to go in and liberate the Iraqi people. With the exception of the U.K. (who's now faltering in their support), our allies have given meager support, both militarily and in helping reconstruct Iraq. Even the so-called-almighty UN bailed out completely after the horrific bombing of their headquarters in Baghdad. Despite all that, Saddam Hussein was forced out of office and was eventually captured - mission accomplished! And Saddam was made to answer for a mere fraction of his crimes against humanity - at the hands of the Iraqi people.

Al-Qaeda and other radical Islamists decided to take advantage of the fog of war and fog it up even more. Add to that mix certain factions within Iraq who took advantage of the absence of the tyrannical Ba'ath regime. These are people who do not follow rules of engagement or abide by the Geneva Convention. They fight dirty. Americans typically do not. And when those few do, they get crucified in the world press for it. If America was truly bloodthirsty and uncaring, we could end this war in a matter of minutes.

I do not like this war, not one bit. But we cannot allow Iraq fall into the hands of an extremist regime - that would put the entire world at risk. Nor can we allow the war to be conducted in the manner that it has. The Iraqis have to get tough. We need to help them. Perhaps just toughening up the rules of engagement would be enough. I personally would even go as far as unconditional surrender.

Yes, this is an unpopular war. And President Bush has just gone double-or-nothing.

Butcher of Baghdad No More

Saddam Hussein's first actions as president included standing before the Iraqi legislature and calling out the names of his opponents, who were then dragged out and executed. So began the legacy of the Butcher of Baghdad who has some 500 additional documented crimes to his credit. This morning before dawn, Saddam Hussein was hanged for just one of those crimes - one of the more dispicable and convictable crimes - the murder of 148 people in a chemical attack. A vicious animal has been put down.

Some have said that the new Iraqi government is acting as America's puppet. Or this is a personal vendetta by the Bush family. But common decency is universal, and when you consider what this bastard did, he really did get a fair trial by his fellow Iraqis. Genocide and crimes against humanity are unacceptable. Period. If America is expected by the world community to stand up for the cause of human rights, then I'm proud to be an American today.

Some say there will be reprisals. But for now there is dancing in the streets of Iraq. Imagine that.