Test. Sorry

Trying something out. I apologize. Happy All Saints! :)

Bolivian Catholics asked to forgo human skulls

Just slightly amusing, in a morbid way:

LA PAZ--Bolivia's Catholic church has called on the faithful to stop using human skulls at special Mass celebrations, a practice some link to occult powers.

The Bolivian Episcopal Conference on Friday asked the overwhelmingly Catholic nation to cast aside the "growing" trend of seeking protection from bad luck by making offerings of coca, cigars or drinks to human crania.

As much of the world celebrates Halloween and Mexico prepares for its Day of the Dead, Bolivian bishops had another festival on their minds, the Day of Skulls, which falls on November 8.

Eeeeew. Come on people. Remains belong in the ground. Or burned.

Why I hate MSM reporting on the Catholic Church

From Where the Rubber Hits the Road, a new blog by Fr. Tim Moyle of Mattawa, Ontario. Quoting The American Catholic:

Vatican Condemnation of Halloween is False

...

L’Osservator Romano covers all of Pope Benedict XVI”s public activities, publishes editorials by prominent clerics and laypeople, and runs official documents from the Vatican. The fact that it publishes editorials by prominent clerics does not mean that it is official, standing policy of the Vatican. Only the Vatican via it’s official documents can do this. Hence the confusion when editorials are run that can be confusing to most non-Catholics and even Catholics themselves.

Looking at the shoes tells a lot about a female's political persuasion?

What a steaming pile of crap.

The primary reason our womenfolk are at war with the looming spectre of the nanny state is because you can't buy Jimmy Choos in a socialist paradise.

Who the hell is Jimmy Choos?

The only sensible footwear you'll find in a right-wing woman's closet are the Nike cross-trainers that go with her gym membership.

Everything else has a three-inch heel. Minimum.

I positively loathe high heels.

And when that plate of food is put in front of you by the right-wing hottie you had the good sense to marry, it will be 100% tofu-free.

'

I like tofu.

Our women

I'm not the member an effing tribe, there, pallie! I'm not "yours".

What a bore of a columnist. Lost five minutes of my life reading that tripe.

I agree with Kathy Shaidle:

I also bemoan the fact that the Official Right seems to have laid down a Sarah Palin/Ann Coulter aesthetic standard for conservative women.

I'm glad that the MSM doesn't paint right-wing women as all frumpy. But come on, most people are just regular folks and spend their days in their sweats and sneakers.

From the "you've got to be kidding" file

'Gay' man sues Bible publisher for 'mental anguish'

But there's no persecution of Christians WHATsoever.

Mother Charged in Murder of Her Autistic Son

Is anyone else reminded of Tracy Latimer?

While full details on the case are yet to be revealed, one advocate for people with disabilities has urged authorities not to treat autism as a "mitigating factor," but instead to "extend special legal protection" to Canada's vulnerable.

Watch the leftoids defend the killing as the merciful thing to do, given the circumstances.

Maricruz: abortion survivor

I want you to think about how mothers think of their unborn babies. Normally they have loving and considerate thoughts for the baby. It's not unusual for mothers to speak to their unborn children, and for these unborn children to respond.

Meet Maricruz.


She's the lady in the wheelchair:

Twenty-one years ago, her mother tried to abort her. This was an attempted chemical abortion; her mother took a pill, which was assumed to be RU-486. It is believed that the drug was being used experimentally in Central America at the time.

To make a long story short, the abortion pill didn’t work. Maricruz was born three months premature. She survived, but was left severely handicapped and must use the wheelchair. Maricruz has three siblings in Central America — and four others who were aborted.

The feminist message to Maricruz is this: it's too bad you didn't die, Maricruz. Your mother needed you dead, and she had every right to kill you, because you didn't live up to our standards of humanity. Your mother's power and autonomy depended on her power of life and death over you when you were in the womb, and she was not able to complete the job, which is really too bad, because her will as your mother is more important than your existence. She matters; you didn't.

That is the message of "choice".

Personally, I want none of it. I want feminists to stop usurping my gender, speaking in my name and stating that my autonomy and my power rest on the ability to kill my unborn child because it's a lie. Sure, the choice to kill and the ability to carry out makes me powerful-- after all, it's the case of the stronger have power over the weak. The lie consists in assuming that because I don't have the ability that I am NOT powerful, not autonomous, not in control.

I would also add that power is responsibility, especially responsibility towards others, and one's children. The right and the power to control one's body does not give one the license to kill the innocent.

Pro-Life Movement constantly broke

There's only one solution.

Evangelize the rich.

They don't have to be Canadians.

Rich people will spend obscene amounts of money on all kinds of things. If you convert some to the pro-life cause, they will give.

Accused Shooter of James Pouillon Found Competent to Face Murder Charges

What I'm most looking forward to is a description of what he was thinking when he shot James Pouillon. If I were the family of the victims, I wouldn't just want him to go to jail: I'd want an explanation. If I didn't get it, I would feel gyped.

VIDEO: Pro-abort coverage of 40 Days for Life Ottawa

I normally wouldn't give pro-aborts the time of day. I just found this video interesting, in that, unlike typical pro-abort coverage, they gave a lot of airtime to the pro-life view.



I had to laugh when they referred to the "Rosary Group". They have been going up and down Bank street for years. You can see it in their beat-up signs. It's like the pro-aborts only suddenly discovered them. Gee, where ya been?

If the Rosary Group was such a threat to the well-being to the clinic's staff and clients, how come they didn't do anything about it before?

And I like how they focused on the rally on Parliament Hill. There are three events, out a total of forty days. Where is the "threat" against "choice"? What exactly are the escorts protecting against, really? From the women seeing "upsetting" signs like "I regret my abortion? From being handed a pamphlet?

How paternalistic of them.

Another paternalistic thing that they do is that they always hide the truth about what abortion does-- to both the woman and the unborn child.

In the video, a pro-abort protester rolled her eyes when there was mention of defending the unborn child. It seems that she does not know or does not care that this is what she is defending:

A Burn In Hell Contest? WTH?

WASHINGTON – Anti-abortion activist Randall Terry is calling on people to burn effigies of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid this Halloween, as part of a "Burn in Hell" video contest to protest the health care legislation in Congress.

Terry, founder of Operation Rescue, said Tuesday that the contest serves as a political and spiritual statement that "gives people a chance to peacefully vent their rage."

"If Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid force us to pay for child killing and they die unrepentant, they will burn in hell for this," Terry said in a telephone interview.

No thanks!

The whole purpose to my being Catholic is to get people NOT to burn in hell.

I just don't like the whole symbolism of the thing. I have ideological disagreements with these people-- I don't want to symbolically disfigure or destroy them.

It's just tacky. The kind of thing the left would do.

Terry insisted the contest was not a threat to Reid or Pelosi.

Wait a minute. Bush and other Republican figures get burned in effigy all the time. Are people going to suggest this is some form of proto-terrorism now?

Another (minor) assault at #40Days for Life Ottawa

Vigiler gets egged.

Obviously a planned attack.

"What we want is climate justice!"

Yeah! Canadian winters are a crime against humanity! No fair!!!

While endorsing an NDP-sponsored bill on climate change, Cressy described the group as a non-partisan coalition of faith-based organizations, social justice groups and environmental organizations.

Non-partisan, my butt!

NDP MP Nathan Cullen, who stood outside watching after the protesters were ushered from the building, praised the disruptive tactics.

Is that a good idea...praising the disruption of the House? Isn't this unparliamentary? Shouldn't this MP be disciplined for his remarks? I wonder...

First person account of the attack at the Ottawa #40Days for Life

Read all about it here.

This kind of thing makes me more determined than ever to witness to the right to life.

I'm sure the aggressors are all proud of themselves for having punched out a protester with a sign around his neck. Woohoo. Way to go, tough guys.

The spirit of #40Days for Life will live on in Ottawa

A chapter of the Helpers of God's Precious Infants is being set up in Ottawa.

They will pray outside the clinic on abortion days, Wednesday to Friday, from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm.

VIDEO: Pelosi on Elm Street

Another Steve Crowder video. I never saw the original, but it's funny.

More Bureaucratic Garbage from the Bishops on D & P

The Bishops' reaction to the problem of Development and Peace is so NDP:

Strike a committee!

The Bishops said the recent Encyclical by Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate, provides light for helping review the mandate and operations of Development and Peace. In their statement, the Bishops also said they “have decided to establish an ad hoc committee which will collaborate with Development and Peace in this work of revision and in implementing the recommendations this past June of the CCCB Committee of Inquiry.”

(...)

The new ad hoc committee will be asked to clarify the role of the Bishops in the governance structures of CCODP, as well as give special attention both to the oversight by Development and Peace of its partners and projects, and how it is strengthening links with Bishops in those countries where it is present. The committee is to report to the 2010 CCCB Plenary Assembly on CCODP progress on these issues, which will allow the Bishops of Canada “to decide on future actions.”

Who the heck is in charge over there?

Is everything decided by committee?

It's like a government bureaucracy. Lots of meetings and report-writing to avoid having to deal with the problem.

There's a reason why God selected a monarchical structure of power in the Church.

Because it's easier that way to get things done.

Bishop Co-Author of D&P Investigation Admits: "I Just Should Have Followed Up more"

LifeSiteNews:

"They themselves, in honest and blunt questioning, told me that they themselves are not in favor of abortion," he said. "In no way are they supportive or sponsoring anything dealing with abortion. That was their frank [response], when we asked them point blank."

(...)

When LSN noted that that the UN document in question was only one piece of seven pieces of evidence LSN had reported, the archbishop admitted frankly he was not aware of and did not consider the other evidence. "No, the other ones, to be honest with you, I haven't followed too closely," he said.

(...)

Despite the brevity of the interview, LSN was able to show the archbishop online evidence of direct pro-abortion advocacy of one of the five groups he investigated. To this revelation the archbishop frankly and apologetically acknowledged, "I just should have followed up more."

I get the sneaking suspicion that the bishosp don't take the abortion issue all that seriously. Notwithstanding Archbishop Currie's answers.

Think about it. If a group funded by bishops were accused of calling for the death of a certain group of born citizens, wouldn't they look a little harder?

Of course people will lie or creatively distort the truth to their advantage when money is involved.

I suspect that the relationship between these groups and D & P is so cozy that the bishops felt comfortable accepting them on their word.

You accept people on their word when you know and trust them.

It's good that the bishops are coming to this realization.

But I want to know this: when will bishops lay down the law with respect to politicians who openly flout Catholic teaching?

It doesn't involve money. It doesn't involve an investigation to Latin America.

Look at their voting record. Call the politicians in. Tell them what they did is against the Word of God and puts their soul in peril, and if they don't repent, deny them communion and, in extremis, excommunicate them.

What is so hard about that?

Catholics give these politicians their money and their votes. Shouldn't the bishops be no respecter of persons, and make sure politicians have the same treatment as D & P?

Handheld Ultrasound: It has down sides, too

LifeSiteNews had an article hailing the advent of hand-held ultrasound devices.

Pro-life activists see the potential uses for their movement.

But I can also see the evil uses people may make of it.

For one, feminists can bring these gadgets into third world countries and use them to perform illegal abortions.

Another possible use is for sex-selection abortions. Legitimate ultrasound operations might never use them, but unsavoury characters might use them to reveal to a woman the sex of her baby.

That's always been the double-edged sword of ultrasound. It reveals the humanity of the unborn child, but it also facilitates abortion.

Pro-lifer assaulted at #40Days for Life Ottawa

Received by email:

1) Ground Zero Report:

On Wednesday night, there was a violent attack on one of our vigilers, a youth co-ordinator from one of our churches. The police were called and are investigating. He is going to the dentist to have work done on his teeth which were damaged in the assault.

Here are two reports from different individuals:

1) Basic details: 2 girls and 2 guys came across the street yelling at them. One girl started breaking up signs. One guy punched Chris as he attempted to call the police and knocked the phone out of his hands. Another girl who was with the victim then called police. Chris was punched again. They took the signs and umbrellas and dropped them around corner.

2) I don't know if you know yet, but there was a serious incident last night at the 40 Days for Life vigil. Two young adults were at the vigil site around 2am, when some young men came out of a bar, drunk and starting yelling at the young lady and causing a ruckus. The young man asked them to stop and they beat him up. He was beaten so badly that he requires dental work. He was actually replacing a female friend of his at the vigil. I don't know if the people involved want their names mentioned. I can find out if I have the opportunity.

Suffice to say that I know both of them and I got this information from the young lady's house mate.

Folks, I spoke to the young man in question and he told me that was very shaken up by the incident, but was better now. In fact, I heard he was planning to go out again last night or tonight. He does not have any health benefits, so the cost of the dentist work will have to be paid out of his own pocket. I am therefore asking people to offer to donate to his expenses. I think that if he is willing to take the hit for the unborn, we can at least pick up the tab.

Let us not be dissuaded by this incident, but understand that when such things occur, it is because the spiritual realm is being shaken by the saints and things are in motion for change.

Bishops propose "dialogue" with pro-lifers

I always bristle when Quebec clergy propose "dialogue".

It has to do with the nature of Quebec Catholicism.

When I was living in Quebec, the only kind of Catholicism I saw from the Church was the watered-down, touchy-feely, liberal, modernist-by-omission kind of Catholicism, especially in the Prions en Église (the weekly missal in Quebec).

I don't want no lousy "dialogue".

I want a conversation. A conversation where each party says exactly what they're thinking. None of this hide-behind-nicey-nicey-ness garbage.

Which is what "dialogue" has become. It has become a way of shielding differences and never resolving issues.

As far as I'm concerned, Fr. Rosica was wrong in stating that Ted Kennedy had a right to a public funeral.

Development and Peace is WRONG to fund pro-abortion groups in the Third World.

We have a system where such questions can be determined: Is Fr. Rosica right or wrong? Is D & P right or wrong?

We can submit these questions to competent authorities.

But I'm not sure that the Catholic elite is all that interested in the answers.

I suspect this is more about co-opting the pro-lifers and trying to brainwash them into thinking that modernism and proportionalism are acceptable in the Catholic Church.

If that's not the case, then all they have to do is reject modernism and proportionalism.

Somehow I doubt it.

Chicago Nun Volunteering as Abortion Clinic Escort

This epitomizes the problem with the Church.

A nun is in flagrant violation of Church law, has been for close to thirty years, and she is not disciplined.

She should be automatically excommunicated. She should be laid with every conceivable canonical penalty.

It's bad enough that she denies the equality of the unborn children, but that she facilitates their death is outrageous.

Shame on the Dominican Order.

Canadian Catholics Need a Deeper Faith

Says Robert Ventresca at the National Post.

I fundamentally agree with the piece, but I find it went into a lot of cliche's about Church problems, without really getting to the heart of the matter.

Getting to the heart of the matter. One of the problems of the Church :)

The heart of the problem in the Catholic Church is that faith is treated like an academic subject, a series of abstract deductions that lead one to a conclusion that one accepts as a working hypothesis-- because that's where the evidence leads.

There's nothing wrong with deductions, conclusions, hypothesis or going where the evidence leads.

But faith is not a deduction, or a conclusion, or hypothesis.

It's a relationship to God. A personal God. An intimate God. An interventionist God. A real, bona fide, supernatural, omnipotent Supreme Being who cares and orders the world for your benefit, and is your ultimate source of happiness and delight.

God is not just a necessary conclusion to explain something. If you treat him like it's all about thought processes and putting two and two together, then you will never have real faith.

To me, this is the problem of the Church. God and the Catholic Faith is treated like philosophical or political ideology, the way that one would approach post-modernism or feminism.

God is not ideology.

He's real. He cares. He requires obedience for our own Good, because he loves us.

Faith is accepting the authority of God because he says so and trusting his say-so because he cares.

If you do not trust him to be loving and if you do not accept that he is able to accurately impart his thought then you cannot accept him at his word.

If you accept him as loving, if you accept his power and his word, then you can have faith.

All the dissent and apathy in the Church is symptomatic of not recognizing God for who he is and what he can do.

There are so many people who cannot fathom that God can organize world and individual events that the pope will never utter an erroneous teaching (as per the dogma of church infallibility).

They cannot fathom that God would assure that the Church would transmit Sacred Tradition (that is, unwritten Revelation) in an accurate fashion, in spite of the failings of her members.

They can't picture it. In their minds, humans are too weak-- and their own weakness means that they really can't perceive or assimilate God's Truth properly.

As if God can't overcome human weakness! (Even the weakness of billions of people.)

The truth is, Catholics don't trust God enough. They don't trust him to transmit Revelation. They don't trust him to protect Church doctrine from error. They don't trust him to guide personal or world events.

They have too much invested in not trusting him.

So in not trusting him, Catholics in Canada are treated to an impoverished Catholicism; one without Mary, the angels, the saints, miracles, sacramentals, healings, apparitions, eucharistic adoration, and so forth.

Theirs is the religion of thoughts and sentiments; not of actual divine manifestation.

The goal of this impoverished Catholicism is to change your thinking NOT your soul. Their spirituality is purely psychological, not supernatural.

Part of the solution is partially educational. Of course, more Catholics need to learn the rudiments of the faith.

But part of it is also philosophical. Our world resists belief in the supernatural. Some people might think because it's illogical.

It has nothing to do with logic. It's perfectly logical to believe in God and the Catholic Faith.

It has to do with the vested interest people have in not accepting the supernatural.

When you accept that man is the measure of things, and that all beliefs are relative, it's very easy to justify oneself and one's motives.

I would also say in parting that faith is a gift. While it's necessary to have all the right information and arguments, man's will and intellect can only go so far. Faith, as a supernatural virtue, requires divine grace. It is not the work of man. It is facilitated by humility, good works and one's own questioning. But it can only come by the work of God. God doesn't reward those who make faith into an intellectual exercise. He will reward those who see faith as the pursuit of God himself. But that reward will come in God's time, not man's.

Surprise! Abortionist confesses to being...pro-abortion!

Wow, who wudda thunk?

Anti-anti confesses:

I am pro-choice. But I am not very good at it.

(...)

Example: Young Woman gets pregnant. She’s not terribly young (19? 20?), is physically able to safely carry a pregnancy to term, and is emotionally secure enough to decide whether or not to become a mother. Let’s say Young Woman is in her second or third year of college. She is doing well, has high hopes of becoming the first in her family to achieve a post-secondary degree, but ***-it-all, she ends up pregnant. And she’s keeping it.


My response: ???


Now, I do believe that Young Woman is perfectly capable of raising children, and even of doing so on her own. Hell, my mom’s a single mom too. And I do believe that with financial and emotional support from Young Woman’s family, which she very well may have, her baby can certainly grow up in a loving environment. Why then, does it drive me nuts for a woman to end her education, or at least postpone it, because of a pregnancy? I’ve personally seen enough Young Women leave school never to return. I’ve spoken to hundreds of Young Women who want nothing more than to finish school, but can’t because they have no way to pay for abortions. They break down in tears. I have such a hard time correlating young motherhood with success and independence. Can Young Women have both? If they can, why are so many unable to achieve them? Whenever I see this happen, I can’t help but lose my pro-choice bearings and think to myself “why couldn’t you have had an abortion?” This is terrible! Who am I to question a woman’s personal choice? An anti?!

But it has nothing to do with her stock and trade. She has no financial vested interest in abortion whatsoever!

She concludes:

I have many experiences to experience, and many parts of my mind to open up. So I appreciate the input and wisdom of my fellow Abortioneers who help me daily in this pursuit. Ready for action!

One reason that the "pro-choice" philosophy doesn't work: it assumes that all choices are equal.

They're not.

Even if abortion weren't an injustice, choices aren't all good. Some choices are dumb. Speaking strictly from an egocentric point of view, why would a woman have a baby if it undermines her success in life? After all, women aren't just "incubators", right? They have hopes and dreams, and if a baby gets in the way, well, they can just have another one down the road.

It's obvious that for a woman who wants to make a success of herself-- that is, achieve some worldly goal, abortion is the answer.

Why give that up to be an unsuccessful, nameless, lowly mother with no achievements?

I love The Abortioneers blog. You get everything uncensored. If you want the dirt about abortion, they offer it straight up.

Sex-related offenses offenses of the past now human rights

George Jonas:

The Pill, along with the “make love, not war” generation of the Vietnam years, propelled Western societies from their quiet quasi-Victorian 1950s lagoons to a virtual Sodom and Gomorrah within a decade. The solemn pillars of misdeeds buttressing society’s moral edifice either crumbled or metamorphosed into “choices” one by one:

* Divorce “progressed” from a scandal that cost Nelson Rockefeller his political career in 1964 to a statistical commonplace (about 50% for first marriages in the U.S.);

* Pre-marital sex changed from a taboo to standard practice for teenagers (including Polanski’s 13-year-old victim);

* Adultery was reduced from a grave marital misconduct to an irrelevancy in no-fault divorce;

* Fornication grew from biblical prohibition to fashionable spouse-swapping venues at Plato’s Retreat and, eventually, the Internet;

* Abortion turned from a crime into a civil distinction (a medal for Dr. Morgentaler); and

* Homosexuality from a love that dared not speak its name into one that couldn’t shut up about it.



None of this mitigated what Polanski did, but by the time he was detained in Switzerland, his misdeeds were virtually the only sexual offences left. The rest became human rights. Polanski’s pillar was holding up society’s edifice of sexual mores. When Hollywood tried to knock even this one down with Whoopi Goldberg’s “rape but not rape-rape” plea, something snapped. The next thing on the screen was a lynch mob — and dumb me, with nuances about ages of consent.

H/T John on Life

Naked baby ad rejected by Calgary Transit

At first, I thought this baby was ugly. But then it kind of grows on you. It took quite some skill to make this sculpture.

Pro-Life Student Forced into Isolation on Day of Silent Witness by School Principal

WIARTON, Ontario, October 21, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - 16-year-old high school student Jennifer Rankin fully intended to unite her voicelessness with that of the unborn as part of the annual Pro-Life Day of Silent Solidarity when she arrived at school yesterday, reports Bill Henry of Sun Media.

She was impeded, however, by her school principal, who stated that the right to free speech does not apply on school property and who forced Rankin to remain in isolation for the entire day as long as she participated in the event.

During the annual Day of Silent Solidarity international campaign, which is organized by Stand True Ministries, students don red bands on their arms and red duct tape on their mouths, remaining silent while passing out fliers about the atrocity of abortion.

Rankin, 16, arrived at Peninsula Shores District School in Wiarton, Ontario yesterday morning, with the red tape over her mouth and with the simple word 'life' written upon it. She and her mother were stopped at the door, however, by school principal Patricia Cavan, while police cruisers stood nearby. Cavan initially told Rankin that she could not enter school property, but then consented to allowing her in the building, separated from other students.

"I was taken directly into a small room that was opposite the vice-principal's office and I was in there all day," Rankin told Sun Media. "I wasn't allowed to speak with or see any other students and students were not allowed to come and see me and I was isolated in that room for the entire day."

Police cruisers? Isolation.

Wow, pretty heavy handed.

I hope this case goes to court. I hope this makes it to the Supreme Court of Canada. I want to know what our legal system has to say about this.

She said that school policy prohibits the dissemination of one-sided information on religious, political, or other issues that are controversial.

Given that she was silent, it's pretty hard to pass out information. The pamphlet she had may have had information, but her witness was generally not of an educational nature.

You do get to have and express opinions in a public school setting. When I consider what public schools will allow, this seems a little hypocritical.

Of interest to all bloggers: Canadian news media less free: watchdog

Canadian Press:

Chris Waddell, a journalism professor at Carleton University, says another issue of news media freedom that comes to mind is the Canadian Human Rights Commission, which has come under fire recently over a couple of high-profile cases.

One of those cases involved a Mark Steyn book excerpt on the Maclean's magazine website. The excerpt was accused of promoting hatred and contempt of Muslims.

That case was tossed out, but led some to demand that the commission be disbanded.

Moreover, many Canadian journalists complain the country's freedom-of-information legislation lacks teeth.

The Access to Information Act allows people who pay $5 to request files held by the federal government.

The law requires a response within 30 days, though departments can take extensions under certain conditions. But delays of 120 days or longer are common, and even then the government frequently misses its own deadlines.

The Harper government recently nixed recommendations to expand and modernize Canada's access-to-information and privacy laws.


(...)

Mary Agnes Welch, president of the Canadian Association of Journalists, says reporters all over the country are having trouble prying even the most basic information from the federal government.

She says it takes departments days to answer routine questions, and even then replies often come in the form of email talking points.

"The amount of information flowing out of Ottawa has come to a trickle," Welch said.

Ottawa Archbishop Objects to "Business as Usual" with Development and Peace

God Bless Archbishops Prendergast and Collins!

Nevertheless, Archbishop Prendergast said that the bishops of Ontario were very concerned with the situation. He referred to a letter circulated to bishops from D&P, saying that he felt that here the bishops were being asked to continue with "business as usual" with D&P. The Ottawa Archbishop added: "I'm not sure we can accept that."

Again Archbishop Weisgerber interjected to note that they were only to be discussing the current report presented by Bishop Grecco.

Archbishop Collins acknowledged that the bishops would be having a "lengthy discussion" about the matter later in the week, but noted that there were problems with the report as presented. He noted that the report had misrepresented or misunderstood the criticisms of D&P.

The Archbishop referenced the top of page six of the report as problematic, which says that D&P was accused of "financing and promoting abortion programs and advocacy."

Archbishop Collins pointed out that D&P was "not accused of that." He thus suggested reviewing the text of the report. "It is important," he said, "to be accurate." He continued: "When one is criticized it is important to either admit when the criticism is just or prove that it's not." He concluded, "It's important to I think listen to what the criticism is."

Finally! Some back bone in this Church! Woohoo! This has help restore my faith in the episcopacy.

I hope this leads to real change. I'm still a little cynical about that, though.

I wonder what supporters of D & P had to say. I'd be really curious to know their views. Maybe they're saving their views for the closed-door session.

Will we finally have an honest conversation in this Church? Will people spell out what they think and what they mean, instead of skirting around the issues?

Explosion at Parliamentary Boiler Room

Ottawa Citizen:

The eruption tossed back a 51-year-old worker and spewed steam at him, burning more than half his body. By late afternoon, his condition was growing worse at The Ottawa Hospital's General campus.

(...)

The explosion blew out two doors, damaged the roof and buckled an exterior wall, said Nitschmann, crippling what he says is the largest heating plant in Canada. It may also be one of the oldest, built in 1918. The equipment was up to date, however, with six high-pressure boilers, fired by natural gas. They bring the water to superheated temperatures of 480 degrees at pressures of about 185 pounds per square inch or more. By comparison, a car tire takes about 35 pounds per square inch.

(...)

Nitschmann understood that there was a natural gas explosion in one of the boilers. "The discussion is going to be why."

Let us pray.

Mona Burqa

I just thought this was an interesting image.




To me, that images just says what's wrong with niqab and other such clothing.

The Swiss site 24 Heures is offering it as a screen saver, but I don't know who would want that on their computer's desktop.

Being the Lone Voice

Lindsay Oliver is an acquaintance of mine, and she shares her experience of praying at 40 Days for Life, Halifax:

A young couple walked past the site, seemingly paying no attention to it or the people there, but then, they walked past me. Out of the corner of my eye I saw their walk slow, and they turned their heads, doing a double take on me and then slowly, they walked away. Perhaps they were surprised seeing a younger woman there, praying to end my so-called “freedom to choose,” or perhaps it was something else, without having talked with them, I can’t say what went on in their hearts and minds for those few seconds, but I can say what went on in mine: conviction and power. Normally that attention would have made me feel timid, but today, seeing two young people take notice of me, made me feel powerful and again, confident in what I was doing. It finally hit me just how important and powerful counter-cultural youth can be and I thank God that I was there, and given the opportunity to experience that lesson.

Ever since my youth, being the "lone voice", speaking up when no one else would has made me feel powerful. I've been like this since at least the age of 12 or 13.

It's true that standing alone can make you vulnerable. But if you don't risk it, you'll never win. You have to be willing to expose yourself. And that means expecting people to insult you, and possibly even physically threaten you.

When we get over our fear of vulnerability, that's when we become strong. There are many human motives to dissipate our fears. But the best motive is Jesus Christ.

Look at the Crucifix. There is the picture of vulnerability. To people of his time, it was the picture of defeat and shame. Not only was Jesus tried,convicted scourged and executed-- he suffered these things in the most humiliating way possible.

Remember the way the Roman soldiers and other mockers scoffed at him? Remember how they gave him vinegar to drink when he was thirsty, and tried to finish him off with a spear?

That's part and parcel of the life of those who stand up for the Truth. If that's the life of the Master, what do you suppose awaits the servants?

But nothing would have been gained without that trial. The phrase "no guts, no glory" applies to Christians. People think that being part of a social movement should be something that makes you feel good, something that lifts you up in the eyes of the people, the way the Civil Rights movement did for Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks.

It doesn't work that way.

If you really want to advance the cause of unborn children, you must be willing to work against the consensus; you must be willing to take your jabs. You must be willing to submit to the experience of the cross, feeling humiliated and defeated, but trusting in the power of God to raise us up.

It is that willingness to bear all trials that will allow us to win. In life, when two teams of equal talent play against each other, it is the team that wants it most that wins. Even in a game where the teams are unevenly matched, the will to win can sometimes make up for the lack of strength.

When pro-lifers are willing to be that lone voice, and suffer whatever must be suffered, that's when we will be powerful. It doesn't take millions of people to change public opinion and change the course of public policy. And I know there are millions of pro-lifers in Canada. When we want it badly enough, we'll have our victory.

Somebody has to be pro-abortion

Creative Minority Report:

The funny thing is that pro-aborts get mad when you call them pro-aborts. They demand to be called pro-choice. They say nobody's pro-abortion. Really? Even the quite profitable abortion industry? That's like saying McDonald's is actually against people eating fatty foods, they just firmly believe in giving people the choice to eat fatty foods.

Could you imagine a Mcdonald's spokesperson saying, "While we agree that eating a Big Mac or one of our tasty McRibs is always regrettable decision we must insist that Big Macs should be safe, legal and rare."

That would be rather absurd, wouldn't it? Well, it's just as absurd when the pro-aborts say it too.

Yes, I know feminists and their enablers defend an ideology of "choice".

But "choice" is not what's at issue.

It's abortion.

Choose anything you like. As long it doesn't kill somebody.

Why is it that people run from being labelled "pro-abortion". It mystifies me. Can't people be both pro-choice and pro-abortion?

Another interpretation people put on the label "pro-abortion" is that it sounds like they're mandating people having an abortion.

I never bought that.

I'm pro-a-lot-of-things. Name a healing surgery-- I'm for it! I wouldn't mind being called "pro-tonsilectomy". Does it automatically imply that I think it's the solution for everyone, or that people should have that surgery.

Of course not.

Even people who do abortions or are somehow involved in the access to abortions don't like being "pro-abortion".

I just find that when it comes to the pro-abortion side of the discussion, the rules of logic and the English language seem to be thrust out the window.

I think the truth is that even people who support legal abortion are a little bit ashamed of it. That's why they bristle at being called "pro-abortion".

Yet, in Canada, there are about 100 000 abortions every year.

Somebody is pro-abortion in this country. Let's just admit it.

Sarah Palin: Good Intentions Aren't Enough with Health Care Reform

I can't help but love Sarah Palin:

Those driving this plan no doubt have good intentions, but good intentions aren’t enough. There were good intentions behind the drive to increase home ownership for lower-income Americans, but forcing financial institutions to give loans to people who couldn’t afford them had terrible unintended consequences. We all felt those consequences during the financial collapse last year. Unintended consequences always result from top-down big government plans like the current health care proposals, and we can’t afford to ignore that fact again.

(...)

Here’s a novel idea. Instead of working contrary to the free market, let’s embrace the free market. Instead of going to war with certain private sector companies, let’s embrace real private-sector competition and allow consumers to purchase plans across state lines. Instead of taxing the so-called “Cadillac” plans that people get through their employers, let’s give individuals who purchase their own health care the same tax benefits we currently give employer-provided health care recipients. Instead of crippling Medicare, let’s reform it by providing recipients with vouchers so that they can purchase their own coverage.

Now is the time to make your voices heard before it’s too late. If we don’t fight for the market-oriented, patient-centered, and result-driven reform plan that we deserve, we’ll be left with the disastrous unintended consequences of the plans currently being cooked up in Washington.

IMAGES: #40Days for Life in NYC

H/T

One Million Spaniards March Against Abortion

Arriba!

That's the biggest pro-life gathering I've ever seen.

Check out the crowd. And it was covered on television, live!

Arranca la manifestación contra la reforma de la Ley del Aborto

HazteOir also said abortion opponents also planned demonstrations Saturday in front of Spanish embassies in other countries, including Italy, France, Poland, Ireland, the United States, Nigeria and in several Latin American nations.

No Canada? Yikes.

McGill University Officials Speak Out Against Silencing of Pro-Life Presentation

LifesiteNews:

"We have to make a distinction between hate speech and speech we may find hateful," Mendelson said. "Just because someone finds something very disturbing and very problematic does not make something hate speech."

At a meeting of the McGill Senate on Wednesday, Principal Heather Munroe-Blum criticized the protesters for not allowing Ruba to share his opinion freely, saying that the protest had brought a "dark cloud" over the university campus, reports McGill Daily.

"The intimidation of protestors was so significant that students who were involved in the planning of the event were intimidated against continuing with their program," she said. "I see this really as blight in the context of a university that is known worldwide for its academic freedom and freedom of speech. ... I urge them to consider reconvening the event right away."

Hospital has duty of care to the unborn, judge rulesIt

Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice has ruled that Guelph General Hospital did owe a duty of care to an unborn child whose family claims that negligence during the baby’s delivery led to brain damage.

In a decision released Wednesday, Justice Wolfram Tausendfreund rejected an argument from Guelph General Hospital, three obstetricians and four obstetrical nurses that they had no such obligation in the case of Kevin Liebig, who was born eight years ago with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, or brain damage cause by oxygen deprivation.

“The duty to both mother and fetus in the maternal-fetal care scenario has long been established in Canadian jurisprudence,” he wrote.

I wonder if this will be appealed to the Supreme Court.

It's interesting that in Canadian Law, for the purposes of abortion, mother and fetus are one. But for delivery, they are not.

#40Days for Life Participant in Fresno, California Assaulted by Abortion Advocate

Fresno, CA (LifeNews.com) -- A pro-life person who participated in the 40 Days for Life event in Fresno, California was assaulted on Thursday afternoon by an abortion advocate. Victor Fierro, director of the Hispanic pro-life group Latinos4Life, was the victim of an assault by a woman who first tried to intimidate him.

Yesterday, a pro-abortion woman shouted obscenities at participants in the 40 Days for Life event, which is part of a national campaign.

The woman first attempted to break a security camera pro-life advocates installed to protect themselves and catch any harmful activity on tape. The attacker then cut Fierro’s arm with an unknown object, drawing blood, stormed back to her car and fled the scene.

Josh Brahm, the education director of Right to Life of Central California, told LifeNews.com that much of the encounter took place right behind the camera, but the audio was captured by the device. It also registered her face and license plate number.

“We're just trying to hold a peaceful prayer vigil out here. We're law-abiding citizens, standing on a public sidewalk, with the full support of the Fresno Police Department," he told LifeNews.com.

"Yet, several pro-abortion-choice people have been harassing us since day one. Now it’s turned physical," he added.

(...)

Why I just can't believe the hype

Martin Masse writes:

Nowadays, it's just one big scare after another filling up our daily lives. Who could forget the AIDS crisis, the Y2K bug, global warming, terrorism, SARS, avian flu, the collapse of the banking system, and so on. The end of the world is announced every six months, unless something is done, something generally costing billions of dollars and requiring at times draconian restrictions of our way of life. All of these announced catastrophes come and go, however, and the Earth keeps turning.

(...)

The pattern is always the same. Those who express skepticism or who challenge the reasoning behind the big scare are called reckless, irresponsible, or "deniers." Every time, governments take advantage of the situation to reduce our traditional rights and freedoms a little bit more. And when a big scare passes, we forget everything, fail to carry out a critical post-mortem, and just move on to the next one.

(...)

As with global warming, the more we realize that the "experts" don't even agree amongst themselves and that the supposed "consensus" on the question is just a myth meant to delegitimize and silence opponents, the less the population will swallow everything it's told without question.

Since the Conservatives have morphed, maybe Canada needs a new party

MICHAEL DEN TANDT

If only there were a party on the scene now to carry the fiscal conservative banner. You could call it -- the Reform Party? Hmm. Now that has a nice ring.

There's already a Freedom Party and the CHP. Why don't they just run a full slate of candidates?

What we also might need is a reinvigorated conservative movement. Part of the reason this is allowed to happen is that the electorate allows it. If the electorate changes, politicians will respond in kind.

VIDEO: I GOTS'A PEACE PRIZE! (Official Song)

Steve Crowder rides again:

City of Vancouver to Ban Public Opposition to Olympics

Xanthippa's Chamberpot:

The IOC – an organization which has, over and over and over, been demonstrated to be corrupt to its core – is now in charge of what free citizens of a supposedly free country may – or may not – express! On their private property, none the less!

RE:

People are only allowed to display signs that already exist or new "celebratory" signs that foster a festive spirit around the Olympics in a designated 40-block zone, said the association's David Eby.

Offenders could face fines up to $10,000 or six months in jail, he said.

This is an ABOMINATION.

You should be able to say whatever the hell you like on your lawn, ESPECIALLY if it's of a political nature.

Vancouver, capital of fascism as far as I'm concerned.

Disgusting. I can't believe this is happening in a democracy.

Would-be Republican Governor of Alabama Would Make Abortion Ban a Priority

To this Canadian, all this pro-life sentiment is shocking.

Bentley, a retired physician and a state representative from Tuscaloosa, said at a Montgomery news conference Tuesday that he prefiled in the Alabama Legislature a proposed constitutional amendment to ban most abortions in Alabama. The proposed ban would make an exception where the pregnancy threatens the life of the mother or in cases of rape or incest.

The proposed amendment is similar to a proposed ban passed by the South Dakota Legislature but was rejected by voters in that state last year.

Bentley said most members of the Alabama Legislature say they oppose abortion. He said he hopes they will follow up on those statements by voting for his proposal.

"Most legislators say they are pro-life. We are going to find out how pro-life they are," Bentley said.

Montana Abortuary to Close

But that's impossible! 87% of all counties lack an abortion provider! It can't be shutting down. It has to provided a service that's overwhelmingly in demand!

Montreal Woman Almost Dies of Botched Abortion

Thursday, October 8th, 2009, will be a date seared in the mind of Christine Dupuis-Labelle of Laval, Quebec. That is the date she underwent a second trimester abortion and almost died. Source

She was already the mother of an 8-month old baby when she decided to get an abortion at 3 months into her pregnancy. Since she was past 12 weeks gestation (14 weeks LMP) she was referred to the CLSC des Faubourgs in Montreal. In Quebec-speak, a 14- week abortion is referred to as a "late-term abortion" and only a few centres do them. The CLSC des Faubourgs is also notorious because its abortion unit is headed by Jean Guimond, who will defend abortion on any grounds for all nine months.

She went in for the abortion at 9 am. After two hours in the recovery room, she went to the bathroom, and noticed that she was bleeding quite heavily. She told the nurse, but the nurse sent her home anyway.

Worried, Christine did not want to be alone. So she accompanied her boyfriend, who went on an errand to St. Jerome. (See GoogleMap for more info). It's about a 45-minute drive.

On the way, the bleeding got worse. The pain became almost unbearable. They headed towards St. Jerome Hospital. She arrived at about 1 pm, and underwent an emergency operation in which she received a blood transfusion. She told le Journal de Montreal that the staff told her that had she arrived five minutes later, it could have been fatal. "They saved my life," she said.

She says that she is traumatized and wonders if she will ever be able to have more children. But she was even more traumatized by what happened AFTER the abortion, when she tried to reach the abortionist on several occasions, but to no avail. At this point, she doesn't want to talk to him, and intends to lay a complaint against him.

And here's the kicker in all this: THE ABORTIONIST IS NOT NAMED!

Isn't that a hoot? She almost dies of an abortion. Women may not want to deal with this guy, who's shown such incredible negligence. But the reporter doesn't name the person responsible.

It's just so pro-woman, isn't it? Protect the abortionist, leave women in the dark.

...

As an aside, I was so taken aback by the address of the CLSC des Faubourgs:

1705 Rue De la Visitation

For Catholics, the Visitation is one of the most pro-life events in the New Testament, where the unborn John the Baptist acknowledges the unborn Jesus as Lord.

The paper reported that there are about 800 abortions at des Faubourgs every year. It specializes in second-trimester abortions. It also organizes appointments for third trimester abortions in the US.

Jojo Ruba: On Pro-Abort Reaction to His Lecture

In reaction to the McGill students' attempt to shut down his talk, Jojo Ruba wrote:

What they don't understand is what they're expecting pro-lifers to do: They acknowledge that we believe abortion takes a human life but argue that we should do nothing to try and prevent these deaths.

Think about that for a minute: If you believe that a group of Canadians were being legally killed at a rate of 300 every day and taxpayers fund their executions, would you be satisfied if you were told that you can believe what you think but shouldn't force your views on others? Wouldn't decent, tolerant Canadians do everything in their power to help create laws to ensure all of us are treated with the same dignity and respect? And wouldn't you share that message regardless of how many people are offended?

Garth Turner Gives it to us Straight

He's quitting politics again. I have issues with the guy, but I can't argue with his parting statement:

To date, no party or leader has treated you honestly to an explanation of what a $56 billion deficit or $600 billion debt mean for your family or your finances. Suggesting there’ll be no tax hikes, spending cuts or mortgage increases is akin to Stephen Harper telling us one year ago Canada was immune to recession and our budget would stay balanced. It’s crap. But apparently crap that people like hearing.

10 Reasons Why Pastors Avoid the Culture War

At Big Hollywood.

8. They have bought into the Taliban comparison: Pastors have muffled their political/cultural voices because they fear being lumped in with Islam by the politically-correct thought police. The correlation made between Christians’ non-violent attempts at policy persuasion and the Taliban’s kill-you-in-your-sleep campaigns is nothing more than pure, uncut crapola.

#40Days for Life: The Making of a Pro-Life Renaissance

My latest column at No Apologies.

It is my fondest wish that every city and every town in Canada with an abortion facility would host “40 Days for Life;” not only because it is spiritual leaven for our country, but it is political leaven for our movement.

VIDEO: Introduction to Sidewalk Counseling

Insurance Company Discriminates Against Fat Baby

Bastards:

Underwriters, the people who are in charge of assessing risk for insurance companies, have decided that baby Alex's pre-existing condition — obesity — makes him a high-risk patient and have denied him coverage.

(...)

At 17 pounds, Alex is in the 99th percentile for height and weight for babies his age. His parents were told insurance companies don't take babies above the 95th percentile, no matter how healthy.

Dr. Doug Speedie, medical director at insurance company Rocky Mountain Health Plans, told KKCO-TV, it’s possible for a baby to be above the 95 percentile and still be healthy, and admitted the system is flawed.

“Your weight is not an absolute determinate of health," Speedie said. “Unfortunately when we try to sell people insurance, a number has to be used as a cutoff."

And of course, people are going to say this proves the need for a public system.

More like the Insurance people have their heads up their butts.

How can you predict that a baby in the 99th percentile will be unhealthy? If anything, just the fact that the kid is a baby means he's a really safe bet.

UPDATE

Fat baby can get coverage after all, insurer says

Rocky Mountain Health Plans said Monday it will no longer consider obesity a "pre-existing condition" barring coverage for hefty infants. The change comes after the insurer turned down a Grand Junction 4-month-old who weighs about 17 pounds. The insurer deemed Alex Lange obese and said the infant didn't qualify for coverage.

The child's father works at NBC affiliate KKCO-TV in Grand Junction, and news accounts about the boy's rejection made national headlines.

Government insanity alert: seniors' group needs permit to walk in the park

Because they pay a fee to take part in the event.

Councillor Rob Ford called the fee a "scam and a shake-down" by city officials.'

"This is a scam and they're robbing the seniors," Ford charged. "This is nothing but a shakedown against seniors."

That about sums it up for me.

For goodness sakes, don't they have some drug traffickers to chase or something?

VIDEO: Police Arrest Image of Jesus Christ

The creators take a bit of license with the word "arrest", but you'll get it:



I liked the image of Jesus in the squad car. That just about summed up the situation form me.

This is just not good for the city's reputation.

Message to the Clergy

Catholic Dialogue:

As it happened so many times in the Old Testament, the people had strayed far away from God and had to repent. In the homily, the priest pointed out that God asks the priests to repent first. This is interesting. Why the priests first? Because as leaders of the people, the priests have a huge influence on the morals of the people. As go the priests, so goes the people.

If the priests don't repent and don't teach the faith properly, we cannot build a Culture of Life.

SSMU: Pro-aborts were victimized

The Student Society of McGill University doesn't get it.

Secondly, it is worrisome that the Deputy Provost interprets a large percentage of students being outraged and appalled at an event to be a tyranny of the majority.

Is it even a majority?

SSMU had hoped that Mendelson would consider the impact as well as content of the presentation instead of ignoring the formal intervention of students’ representative body by using the rhetoric of academic freedom.

You have freedom or you don't. That's how it works. If you want a one-sided university, then found a university that answers only to one ideology.

McGill acted as an enabler for a group attempting to violate SSMU’s governing documents.

So? The University doesn't belong to you. The University Administration is in charge of the University, not the Students Union.

The resolution regarding “Echoes of the Holocaust” was passed because the subject and format of the planned presentation violated the SSMU Constitution and Equity Policy.

And you don't run the university.

Council did not pass judgment based on individual opinions, but on the constitutionality of the event overall.

Rank hypocrisy. Of COURSE the opinions were judged! You think it's offensive to make analogies between abortion and the Holocaust.

SSMU did not censor Choose Life’s opinions, but the offensive format within which those opinions were being presented.

How do you say "abortion and the holocaust have parallels" without saying that?

Moreover, the SSMU Council, as the highest governing body of SSMU, has ultimate authority over SSMU clubs. McGill University must respect the right of SSMU to govern groups under its jurisdiction according to its constitution, by-laws, and policies.

No it doesn't. See, your union's existence is by virtue of the University's authority.

SSMU is also disturbed by McGill’s callous disregard of its need to protect students.

Protect them from what-- an idea?

The Deputy Provost has argued that the behaviour of the protestors was disappointing and appalling. SSMU understands that the disruptive behaviour of the protestors impeded on an event that the University had permitted to happen. However, the University has failed to address the concern that all other formal avenues had been exhausted, but to no avail. Vulnerable students tried to communicate their concerns to the University through the available channels: the SSMU executive, SSMU Council, AUS Council, the McGill Tribune, and The McGill Daily. There were no other avenues through which to stop this event, which they deemed victimizing, offensive, and stifling of educated debate, from happening.

So the Student were quite alright to shut down the event-- got that folks? The Student SUPPORTS this protest.

"Vulnerable students" give me a break.Vulnerable in what way, exactly? That their widdle feewings were hurt?

Well, other students' feewings may be hurt by the SSMU. Do they get protection?

Do you notice how they use "feelings" to protect their ideological dominance? THEY feel bad, therefore THEY get protection. If others feel victimized and offended, well tough luck.

The whole "feelings" rhetoric is a charade.

Part of growing up is neutralizing those feelings to engage in discussion of facts and logic. Can't neutralize those feelings? See a health counsellor.

Furthermore, it is unfair to expect these student protestors to watch a presentation calmly and to engage with a speaker when such a presentation would make them feel violated, demonized, and silenced

There's those darn feelings again! THEY feel violated, demonized and silence.

If pro-lifers feel violated, demonized and silence, well too bad!

If they feel vioalted, demonized and silence, then they should find other constructive avenues for their "feelings" such as a counter-lecture.

In his February 27, 2009 article in the McGill Reporter, “Free and Open Expression on Campus,” Mendelson said that free speech should be permitted as long as “we do not create a hostile environment for members of our diverse community.” This event created a hostile environment and should not have been permitted.

It created a hostile environment for pro-lifers, but who cares, right? The SSMU created hostility towards pro-lifers, whereas the pro-lifers had none towards those who disagreed with them.

What a farce!

It is possibly most disappointing that when students peacefully engaged in a public response to this hostile environment, they were removed through a police intervention.

Gotta love that! They were SHUTTING THEM DOWN. They violating the pro-lifers' right to assembley, right to free speech, but they're the victims!

Engage in a public response-- you just don't do it by violating other people's rights.

Students felt entirely abandoned by the McGill administration upon seeing fellow students removed from the safety of the downtown campus and handed over to the Montreal police and the public media.

No SSMU-- YOU felt abandoned. You do not speak for all students, even though you think you do.

We will continue to engage in a conversation with the McGill administration concerning their respect for SSMU and our students’ rights.

What a farce. They represent only those who agree with them.

Most importantly, as the representatives of all undergraduate students, we will hold ourselves to the highest standard of accountability to our students and to the SSMU constitution, by-laws, and policies.

LOL. "Highest standard of accountability". What a joke! They take themselves WAAAAY too seriously.

VIDEO: "No Bubble Zone" Press Conference Chicago, IL 10/07/09

Chicago City Council passed an ordinance creating a bubble zone around an abortion clinic. This is the press conference/counter-protest.

VIDEO: SCHOOL'S FOR FOOLS!! (Obama & School Choice)

Hilarious.

NYT Blogs about fetus photos

I am wonderfully surprised at this Lens blogpost about Monica Miller, who photographs aborted fetuses, as well as the story behind "Malachi" one of the aborted babies seen in pro-life protests.

French Culture Minister Denies Participation in Sex Tourism: Says "Young Boys" were Really Adult Prostitutes

I've been following this story on the French blogs and in the media. I'm rather disgusted that this man is allowed to be a cabinet minister in a democratic government.

Mitterrand has gone on t.v. to defend himself, saying that the prostitutes were about his age, 40ish. Like we're supposed to believe that among these "gosses" and "gamins" (boys) he picked out a "boy" of forty.

His denial of pedophilia sounds like he's using a mental reservation. I think he's saying that he did not have any relations with pre-pubescent boys. But he doesn't exclude post-pubescent boys. It's Thailand for crying out loud! That's why people go there.

It all sounds like Bill Clinton's "I did not have sexual relations with that woman"-- holding on to one meaning of a word, while knowing that his audience is thinking of another meaning.


And now a new scandal has broken, in which it has been revealed that he spoke up as a character witness for two youths who were convicted for a gang rape of a 16-year-old girl in the Island of Réunion. One of the youths was his-- get this-- godson. This occurred during his tenure as the head of the Villa Médicis in Rome, a kind of tax-funded artistic retreat to foster the next generation of artists. He used his position to help the youths' reintegration into society.

The artificial uterus: it's coming

An article from a University of Montreal website examines a study done by a student doing her Master's in sociology.

A French biologist, Henri Atlan, is quoted in saying that in ten to a hundred years, the artificial uterus will be used for the conception, gestation and birth of a foetus (interesting terminology!).

Of course, it would be immoral from a Catholic standpoint to use this uterus for routine gestation. But it could have moral uses. For instance, it could be used in cases where the child is born too early.

Some feminists might like this contraption because it eliminates the reproductive differences between men and women. The truth is, even if women didn't have uteruses, they would still be essentially different from men.

I also think it could have some benefit for the pro-life cause. Imagine millions of people having babies in this uterus. They could see for themselves that the unborn child is a human being from conception.

It could also be anthropologically significant to see the unborn child independent of the mother. It could reinforce the case for the equality of the unborn child. If this fetus is a human being in this artificial uterus, it's equally a human being inside a mother's uterus.

I think an artificial uterus would be a disaster. I think it would mean the abortion rate would rise because the incentive to carry a pregnancy to term would be diminished. Why go through all the trouble of pregnancy when a machine can do the job for you?

VIDEO: McGill Pro-abortion protesters act like idiots

At Jojo Ruba's Echoes of the Holocaust presentation.



The break into Old McDonald had a farm at about the two minute mark.



I encourage you to repost this. In fact, I think we should write McGill University and tell them what a disgrace this is.

More videos here

Abortion is violence...says abortionist

Quoting from The abortioneers, which I featured yesterday.

Really, you should read the whole thing. There's too much to quote.

There is violence in abortion, especially in second trimester procedures. Certain moments make this particularly apparent, as another story from my own experience shows. As a third-year resident I spent many days in our hospital abortion clinic. The last patient I saw one day was 23 weeks pregnant. I performed an uncomplicated D&E procedure. Dutifully, I went through the task of reassembling the fetal parts in the metal tray. It is an odd ritual that abortion providers perform – required as a clinical safety measure to ensure that nothing is left behind in the uterus to cause a complication – but it also permits us in an odd way to pay respect to the fetus (feelings of awe are not uncommon when looking at miniature fingers and fingernails, heart, intestines, kidneys, adrenal glands), even as we simultaneously have complete disregard for it. Then I rushed upstairs to take overnight call on labour and delivery. The first patient that came in was prematurely delivering at 23–24 weeks. As her exact gestational age was in question, the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) team resuscitated the premature newborn and brought it to the NICU. Later, along with the distraught parents, I watched the neonate on the ventilator. I thought to myself how bizarre it was that I could have legally dismembered this fetus-now-newborn if it were inside its mother's uterus – but that the same kind of violence against it now would be illegal, and unspeakable. Yes, I understand that the vital difference between the fetus I aborted that day in clinic, and the one in the NICU was, crucially, its location inside or outside of the woman's body, and most importantly, her hopes and wishes for that fetus/baby. But this knowledge does not change the reality that there is always violence involved in a second trimester abortion, which becomes acutely apparent at certain moments, like this one.

But here's the howler:

I must add, however, that I consider declining a woman's request for abortion also to be an act of unspeakable violence.

Isn't that hilarious? If you refuse to act, that is-- DO NOTHING-- it's an act of unspeakable violence.

We have to launch a campaign to stop the left's inflationary and conflationary language.

An act of violence is when you physically assault someone.

If there's no assault, there's no violence.

Refusing to do anything is not violence.

And isn't it a leftist mantra that violence breeds violence?

And isn't interesting that refusing a woman is the bigger more heinous violence than taking a human life

Feminist supremacy, anyone?

The pro-choice movement has not owned or owned up to the reality of the fetus, or the reality of fetal parts. Since the common anti-abortion stance is that the fetus has a right to life, those who support abortion access necessarily deny such a right. However, in doing so, the fetus is usually neglected entirely, becomes unimportant, nothing.

"Fetuses are not that important," says Joyce Arthur.

Instead of acknowledging what is on the placards, abortion rights activists may say in response to them that they are fake pictures or that abortions don't really look like that. However, to a doctor and clinic team involved in second trimester abortion, they very well may.

I just wonder why more pro-lifers don't issue the challenge: if the photos are fake, where are the real ones? Show what abortion looks like. I've been issuing that challenge for a couple of years now, and no one has taken me up on it.

It is worth considering for a moment the relationship of feminism to violence. In general feminism is a peaceful movement. It does not condone violent problem-solving, and opposes war and capital punishment. But abortion is a version of violence. What do we do with that contradiction? How do we incorporate it into what we are as a movement, in particular a feminist movement?

Since when has "contradiction" been a problem among feminists? They're products of post-modernism, aren't they?

The thing is: if our thoughts can accommodate our internal contradictions for some time, reality can't. Reality is not some post-modern projection. It has rules independent of our thoughts.

The principle of non-contradiction applies.

Oh, and says the abortionist:

We need not be afraid to acknowledge the value of early human life – which I would suggest from my perspective on the “front line” is missing from mainstream abortion rights discourse.

More Feminist Supremacist Garbage

Broadsides:

Now, we can go around endlessly, as we already have many times on this blog, as to whether an embryo=a child. But, if you are going to talk rights here, then a woman's right not to be an incubator trumps a zygote's right to exist.

A woman who does not love her unborn child is an incubator.

Got that?

She's not a woman who doesn't love her unborn child.

She attributes the motive of dehumanization to pro-lifers; thereby making herself into one (in her mind).

And that makes killing her unborn child okay.

And folks, let's get the biology straight: The zygote stage lasts about 24 hours. The blastocyst and morula stage about a week. By the time a woman has a surgical abortion, the unborn child is at an embryo or fetal stage. He looks more like this:



Or maybe this:



Women have responsibilities as well as rights. They have a responsibility towards an unborn child even if that unborn child does not have her consent to be there. A woman's right to control her body is not a license to kill an unborn human being.

There is no such thing as a moral choice to kill innocent human beings.

Feminists keep wanting to bring it back to "reproductive rights".

Well feminists: killing a prenatal human being is not a reproductive right.

Description of a pregnant abortionist doing an abortion

The abortioneers:

When I was a little over 18 weeks pregnant with my now pre-school child, I did a second trimester abortion for a patient who was also a little over 18 weeks pregnant. As I reviewed her chart I realised that I was more interested than usual in seeing the fetal parts when I was done, since they would so closely resemble those of my own fetus. I went about doing the procedure as usual, removed the laminaria I had placed earlier and confirmed I had adequate dilation. I used electrical suction to remove the amniotic fluid, picked up my forceps and began to remove the fetus in parts, as I always did. I felt lucky that this one was already in the breech position – it would make grasping small parts (legs and arms) a little easier. With my first pass of the forceps, I grasped an extremity and began to pull it down. I could see a small foot hanging from the teeth of my forceps. With a quick tug, I separated the leg. Precisely at that moment, I felt a kick – a fluttery “thump, thump” in my own uterus. It was one of the first times I felt fetal movement. There was a leg and foot in my forceps, and a “thump, thump” in my abdomen. Instantly, tears were streaming from my eyes – without me – meaning my conscious brain - even being aware of what was going on. I felt as if my response had come entirely from my body, bypassing my usual cognitive processing completely. A message seemed to travel from my hand and my uterus to my tear ducts. It was an overwhelming feeling – a brutally visceral response – heartfelt and unmediated by my training or my feminist pro-choice politics. It was one of the more raw moments in my life. Doing second trimester abortions did not get easier after my pregnancy; in fact, dealing with little infant parts of my born baby only made dealing with dismembered fetal parts sadder.

The point is that, visually and viscerally, doing an 18-week abortion is different from doing an eight-week abortion. Removing a microscopic fetus and gestational sac is visually and viscerally different from removing what looks like a fully formed but small baby. Though I focus on D&E here, similar difficulties hold true for second trimester medical abortion.

Face it folks: abortion kills a human being.

Abortionist says birth control pill and abortion=same thing

Dr. Peter Kopf says:

Well, it's a philosophical question. But to us, ethically, having an early abortion and taking birth control pills are the same procedure, because certain types of birth control prevent the development of a fertilized egg and leads to miscarriage.

I.E. The pill kills. Thanks for confirming that.

On adoption he writes:

Well, adoption is very simple, if they are interested we discuss it. It's sort of a misconception in some circles that ladies who choose pregnancy termination would be interested in adoption, that's one thing people don't understand.

Abortion is birth control. Adoption is giving up your child and not accepting your duties as a mother. Most women are not interested in that. It's only in a religiously-altered mind that that's a true option.

He has a point.

Look, the idea behind abortion is to get RID of the pregnancy. If you're going to have a child only to give him away, you're giving away THE PRIZE.

On late-term abortion:

Well, as long as you have an early abortion, that's birth control. If you have a late-term abortion, that's euthanasia. I mean c'mon, let's face it. You do an abortion at 30 weeks, you know, you could do a C-section and you have a little baby in your hands. That's euthanasia.

But euthanasia is something that's coming, you know. I mean c'mon. It already exists in Holland, Belgium and Switzerland."

(...)

It's coming, I mean, you can't avoid it. You can cry against it, but it's a necessity. The only way you can control suffering and dying a most miserable death is by properly developed, medically-supervised euthanasia.

Sure, doc. It's such a necessity that doctors have practically banned it for hundreds of years.

Doesn't he sound like an abortionist?

José Ruba's presentation "Echoes of the Holocaust" hosted by Choose Life McGill--hijacked by protestors

From Campaign Life-Quebec's blog:

As the presentation got underway, about 20 protestors began shouting and singing children's songs. They then crowded around the vacant podium (Mr. Ruba having absconded) and continued signing for the better part of an hour, at which point police arrived. Two protestors were taken, but many were left behind. When the police left, protestors resumed and disrupted the presentation (which had fitfully resumed) until the two hour mark, at which point event organizers were informed by campus officals that time had run out and the room had to be closed for the night.

Protestors then filed out, along with most of the audience. A police officer showed up again, answering some questions for the campus media.

We'll have video of the whole debacle tomorrow...

They can't debate properly, so they shout people down. Only one opinion allowed about abortion on campus. Nice going pro-aborts. Your intolerance is showing.