Michigan may ban abortion

The South Dakota abortion ban sailed through the legistlature this past week and is now favorably sitting on the desk of Governor Mike rounds. This law is the most restrictive abortion ban passed since Roe v. Wade. It contains only one provision, the life of the mother, as an exception to the abortion ban. Many states wanting to follow suit.
Missouri Senator, Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, propsed a similiar ban today in his legislature today.

A movement has sprung up in Michigan to illegalize abortion, headed by the Michigan Personhead Amendment.

Georgia is also considering similiar legislation.

President Bush has commented on the South Dakota legislation, saying he disagrees in the number of exception.

Asked about the provisions in the state law, Bush replied, "Well, that, of course, is a state law, but my position has always been three exceptions: rape, incest and the life of the mother."

Dubai Ports

Dr. Jerome Corsi has some excellent things to say about the Dubai Ports agreement:

Dubai has put up a "Welcome Here" sign for the billions of dollars the millionaire mullahs and their cronies have stolen from the Iranian people. Dubai has served as a financial center and country of transit for al Qaeda terrorists, including the hijackers who flew the airplanes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on 9/11. Dubai was one of the few countries in the Middle East to openly endorse the Taliban in Afghanistan. A group known as the Dubai Action Committee for the Support of the Intifada has worked with Islamic charitable organizations to funnel funds from the United States to Hamas. The list goes on.

However, a few supposedly conservative notables have sold out:

Sellouts.

Bill O'Rielly

Laurence Kudlow

Robert Novak

Planet's Population to hit 6.5 billion

Livescience.com has calculated that the world's population will hit 6.5 billion this Saturday. While I think this statistic is irrelevant to daily life, I found the terminology used in the article quite biased:

A population milestone is about to be set on this jam-packed planet.

On Saturday, Feb. 25, at 7:16 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, the population here on this good Earth is projected to hit 6.5 billion people.

"This jam-packed planet"? Our planet is far from jam-packed. According to the National Center for Policy Analysis:

If the entire population of the world were put into the land area of Texas, each person would have an area equal to the floor space of a typical U.S. home and the population density of Texas would be about the same as Paris, France.

Doesn't sound too jam-packed to me. In fact, world population numbers are often inflated for the purpose of instituting population control programs. Pierre Chaunu, professor emeritus of the Sorbonne and member of the French Academy, says that African population figures are inflated, he doubts China's figures, and notes that in the former USSR, where there is one live birth for every 7 abortions, 292 million people have never existed. Then there's the 80-120 million killed under communism who haven't been officially recognised as being not part of their countries' population statistics.

So why the population explosion scare? Chaunu says the international agencies have to justify the huge sums spent on imposing authoritarian birth control programmes in many countries. So they claim imminent danger for the planet through 'over-population'. He also indicated that a "certain number of North American experts play with fear: fear of invasion and asphyxiation by the citizens of the third world." In plain English, they're playing the race card: there's not too many people, just too many of THEM

US Professor denies Holocaust

Northwestern University Professor Arthur Butz recently supported statements made by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who called the Holocaust a myth. An American professor at a respected university believes the Holocaust did not happen.

The Pennsylvania Independent reported that several Northwester factulty members have denounced Butz's stance.

Northwestern University faculty and students continue to publicly voice their opposition to Holocaust revisionist and McCormick Prof. Arthur Butz. "Butz's Holocaust denial is an affront to our humanity and our standards as scholars, and hence mandates our censure," reads a letter signed by 60 members of the newly merged Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

No wonder our colleges are so liberal. Human Events has an excellent blog about liberal bias and indoctrination on our college campuses.

Abramoff overview

Dr. Marvin Olasky wrote an excellent overview of his in-depth study into the Abramoff scandal. While I'm sure this scandal pales in comparison to many other fund-shifting ventures (i.e. Ted Kennedy), the startling fact here is that Jack Abramoff and Ralph Reed seem to have manipulated their relationship with Christian organizations for financial gain. You read the article, and make your own judgements.

If it is all true, one has no trouble understanding why the American people, especially church-goers, are skeptical of politicians. For a political advocate to manipulate the Christian community for the purpose of big business and personal gain, is abhorrent.

Deadly cartoons

The Islamic reaction to cartoon drawings of Mohammed is startling. Consider this map supplied by Google.

I think that Flemming Rose, one of the publishers of the cartoons in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, wrote an excellent response in the Washington Post to all the critics.

The United States has an increasing Muslim population, especially in the Dearborn, Michigan area. While not every Islamic follower is bent on America's destruction, some of key figures, including Imam Mohammed Ali Elahi, the director of the Islamic House of Worship just outside of Dearborn. The Islamic House of Worship is one of the largest mosques in America.

Debbie Schlussel, a Detroit-based columnist and attorney, was the first to call attention to Elahi's ties to Iranian government officials.

“Mr. Elahi, I believe, is an agent of the government in Iran. Not only does he have sympathies for them, but he did work for them. And I believe he's still working for them,” Schlussel said. “I went to his Web site, and I found even more outrageous pictures of him with Ayatollah Khomeini, who we know held many Americans hostage for 444 days…We have pictures of him delivering prayers to the Iranian parliament. We have pictures of him with the former President of Iran, Mr. Khatami. We have pictures of him with Mr. Karrubi, who is the speaker of the house of the Iranian parliament.”

Erick Stakelbeck, a reporter for CBN news, writes about his personal interview with Imam Elahi.

Regarding Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's recent call to wipe Israel off the map, Elahi wrote:

--"It is very clear that Mr. Ahmadinejad was not making an anti-Semitic statement."

--"The Iranian president's quip can best be understood in the context of the Declaration of Independence."

--and, "Israel must stop instigating violent conflicts in the Muslim world."

Another Elahi column described Hamas founder Ahmed Yassin as a "Palestinian spiritual leader, (who) had a heart full of love for humanity." Yet another compared the Iranian constitution to that of the United States.

Eric also has a national security watch with lots of great information here.

Hillary for '08?

I realize that every person has their bad picture days. But I can't help reposting this picture of presidential hopeful Sen. Clinton. I think its rather difficult to caption the image. Perhaps her husband just told her he is really a Republican.

I'll have a contest, what do you think the caption should be? I'll post the best ones on this page in a few days.

Script for "Seconds until the next abortion"

Some of you may have noticed the new abortion ticker on the side-bar. I found it on the homepage of Capitol Resource Institute. I normally find items like this trite and useless. However, when one considers the seconds until each abortion, the concept is staggering. If you have a webpage, be it xanga.com, myspace.com, or anything else, add it. May we never let the atrocious practice of abortion out of our minds until it has ended.

Code for "Seconds until the next abortion" ticker:

<tr>
       <td height="70" valign="top" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
         <form name="counter">
           <div align="center">
             <input type="text" size="5" name="d2">
             <b>seconds left until the next abortion.</b> </div>
         </form>

<script>

<!--
//
var milisec=0
var seconds=125
document.counter.d2.value='125'

function display(){
if (milisec<=0){
 milisec=9
 seconds-=1
}
if (seconds<=-1){
 milisec=0
 seconds+=1
}
else
 milisec-=1
 document.counter.d2.value=seconds+"."+milisec
 setTimeout("display()",100)
}
display()
-->
</script>

A Less on From Muslims?

The entire Muhammed-mocking-cartoons topic has been commented on, argued, and rehashed many times. An excellent overview and digestion of topic is on the Legal Redux. I don't believe I can add much to the political discussion. However, perhaps there is a lesson here from the religious perspective.

I have viewed the cartoons, and I found them relatively innocuous. To be honest, most of them I didn't even understand the humor. (Although this one was hilarious, and probably the most disrespectful.) Yet, consider the outcry against them. Riots; violence; property damage; all because of simple cartoons.

How much more does America mock Christianity?

We need little reminding of NBC's attempted TV show, "Book of Daniel," which featured a pill-popping Episcopal priest and a homosexual son of a Republican. Thankfully NBC pulled it. Of course, NBC attempted to retaliate with a "Will and Grace" episode featuring Britney Spears and a cooking show called "Cruci-fixins." (This episode seemed like a bad marketing move considering how many people viewed the Passion of the Christ.) Americans cried out against the show, and NBC pulled it.

We have won many battles against anti-Christians. But, those were provacations that we could not afford to neglect. What will be our response in the minor areas?

Obviously I am not advocating the Muslim response. Our religion is different. At its core is peace, and love for your neighbor. However, we must never tire or weary from defending the Truth. We are not the only ones trying to defend a worldview of life.

Jonathan's Response to the State of the Union Address

I was disappointed with the President's State of the Union (SOU) address tonight. It was ambiguous, fluffy, unsubstanitive, and vague. Comments such as, "To confront the great issues before us, we must act in a spirit of good will and respect for one another. And I will do my part." And, "We will choose to act confidently in pursuing the enemies of freedom or retreat from our duties in the hope of an easier life. We will choose to build our prosperity by leading the world economy or shut ourselves off from trade and opportunity."

What exactly does that mean? Using that terminology begs the question, would the President say we will not confront the great issues? Or that we should not act confidently in pursuing enemies of freedom? Obviously it is enemies of freedom, not enemies of enslavement.

Here is an excellent goal:

Bush: Abroad, our nation is committed to an historic, long-term goal: We seek the end of tyranny in our world.

America seeks to end tyranny in the world? How exactly are we to go about this? Statements like this trivialize the SOU, and make it relatively meaningless. However, not all was lost. Bush had a few good things to say. I paid careful attention to the portion on democratic elections. (See my response to the recent Palistinean elections.) Bush said:

Bush: Raising up a democracy requires the rule of law, and protection of minorities, and strong, accountable institutions that last longer than a single vote.

The great people of Egypt have voted in a multiparty presidential election, and now their government should open paths of peaceful opposition that will reduce the appeal of radicalism.

The Palestinian people have voted in elections. And now the leaders of Hamas must recognize Israel, disarm, reject terrorism and work for lasting peace.

I believe he addressed the Palestinian elections well. His call to Hamas for the recognition of Israel is a strong and laudable statement.

Iran was also a delicate topic:

Bush: The same is true of Iran, a nation now held hostage by a small clerical elite that is isolating and repressing its people. The regime in that country sponsors terrorists in the Palestinian territories and in Lebanon, and that must come to an end.

(APPLAUSE)

The Iranian government is defying the world with its nuclear ambitions, and the nations of the world must not permit the Iranian regime to gain nuclear weapons.

(APPLAUSE)

BUSH: America will continue to rally the world to confront these threats.

And, tonight, let me speak directly to the citizens of Iran: America respects you and we respect your country. We respect your right to choose your own future and win your own freedom. And our nation hopes one day to be the closest of friends with a free and democratic Iran.

My question is, how? Iran is under the hold of Islam. It can never be free and democratic until it embraces anti-Islamic ideals such as equality, rights or life, liberty, and property. Is Bush going to send missionaries to Iran now? However, for all that cynicism, I do say that his stance against Iran gaining nuclear weapons is encouraging.

Under the topic of AIDS, Bush made an interesting observation:

Bush: A hopeful society acts boldly to fight diseases like HIV/AIDS, which can be prevented and treated and defeated.

More than a million Americans live with HIV, and half of all AIDS cases occur among African-Americans.

I ask Congress to reform and reauthorize the Ryan White Act and provide new funding to states so we end the waiting lists for AIDS medicines in America.

I question why Bush singled out African-Americans. Over half of all AIDS cases are through male-to-male sexual contact. Why didn't Bush make mention of homosexuals?

Bush also mentioned isolationism four times, and protectionism twice. He's obviously pushing for more global free trade, though it wasn't explicit. This globalist policy is absolutely abhorrent. The end result will be an "American Union," with a common security border around Mexico, the US, and Canada.

I agree with Bush about making the tax cuts permanent. He said:

Bush: Because America needs more than a temporary expansion, we need more than temporary tax relief. I urge the Congress to act responsibly and make the tax cuts permanent.

I've never met a tax cut I didn't like.

Bush also made some relatively strong statements about illegal immigration:

Bush: Keeping America competitive requires an immigration system that upholds our laws, reflects our values and serves the interests of our economy.

Our nation needs orderly and secure borders.

(APPLAUSE)

To meet this goal, we must have stronger immigration enforcement and border protection.

However, he also tried to push his guest worker program:

Bush: And we must have a rational, humane guest worker program that rejects amnesty, allows temporary jobs for people who seek them legally, and reduces smuggling and crime at the border.

My question is, how doe we have a guest worker program that rejects amnesty? That's like saying we want a rainbow with only one color.

Bush also praised the fact that, "There are fewer abortions in America than at any point in the last three decades." This is most definitely a good thing.

Along those same lines Bush asked for a ban on human cloning:

Bush: A hopeful society has institutions of science and medicine that do not cut ethical corners and that recognize the matchless value of every life.

Tonight I ask you to pass legislation to prohibit the most egregious abuses of medical research: human cloning in all its forms; creating or implanting embryos for experiments; creating human-animal hybrids; and buying, selling or patenting human embryos.

Human life is a gift from our creator, and that gift should never be discarded, devalued or put up for sale.

And so ends the substance of Bush's speech. He proposed a few initiatives, but nothing too drastic or profound. With that said, God Bless America.