by
Family Research Council
January 20, 2007
In preparation for the upcoming Blogs for Life conference, FRC Blog and ProLifeBlogs.com held a joint symposium on the merits of incrementalism (approaching pro-life issues on an incremental basis, gradually achieving our goals by compromise and exceptions) versus absolutism (settling for nothing less than full legal recognition of the sanctity for life).
One of the most intriguing entries we received comes from Michael New, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Alabama. Because Professor New doesnt have a blog weve decided to post his essay here.
°°°°°°
I really appreciate Family Research Councils willingness to allow me to post a comment on the ongoing debate in the pro-life movement between absolutism and incrementalism. Many young pro-lifers do not realize the extent to which this debate divided the pro-life movement in the years immediately following the Roe vs Wade decision. After all, in recent years, this debate has become somewhat less polarizing. Starting in the mid 1980s absolutists and incrementalists quit fighting over how to design a human life amendment and turned their attention toward changing the composition of the Supreme Court. These efforts enjoyed fairly broad support among various factions of the pro-life movement and tensions cooled somewhat.
Continue reading
by
Family Research Council
January 20, 2007
On Monday, January 22nd at 9:00 am, Family Research Council will host Blogs for Life, the second annual conference of pro-life bloggers. The event will be streamed live via webcast from FRC.org. (Visit the FRC homepage on the day of the conference for more details.)
Blogs for Life is scheduled to take place the day of the 34th annual March for Life, during which thousands of pro-life advocates gather in the Nation’s capitol to celebrate life and demand the reversal of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion.
The conference will feature Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA). Other featured speakers include Bobby Schindler, the brother of Terri Schindler Schiavo and Ramesh Ponnuru, noted author of The Party of Death and senior editor at National Review.
A panel on new media will also be held with David All (David All Group), LaShawn Barber (LaShawn Barber’s Corner), Mary Katherine Ham (TownHall.com), Rob Bluey (Heritage Foundation), Tim Ruchti (ProLifeBlogs.com), and Peter Shinn (ProLifeUnity.com).
Blogs for Life is an excellent opportunity for individuals and organizations to network with pro-life bloggers and develop an understanding of how weblog technology can be used to strategically promote life and transform ideas into action as we move toward a post-Roe America.
Who: Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS)
Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA)
Bobby Schindler
Ramesh Ponnuru
What: The second annual conference dedicated to advancing the pro-life message via weblog technology.
When: Monday, January 22, 2007
9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Where: Family Research Council
801 G. Street, NW Washington, DC 20001
RSVP: online at www.blogs4life.com
Continue reading
by
Jared Bridges
January 12, 2007
In the past, communist states were known for periodic shortages of things like eggs, milk, and toilet paper. However, the People’s Republic of China may have an even bigger problem on their hands — a shortage of girls. If officials’ predictions are correct, within 15 years there will be 30 million less women of marriageable age than men in the country.
The gender imbalance doesn’t appear to be due to growth of the “He-Man Woman Haters Club,” but to a rise in sex-selective abortions. The government’s encouragement of one-child per family has prompted a society with a traditional preference for sons to illegally abort girls.
As China has about a third of the world’s population, a gender imbalance like this will give rise to major problems not only for China, but the world. From the AP story:
The report predicted that by 2020 the imbalance would mean men of marriageable age especially those with low income or little education would find it difficult to find wives, resulting in possible social problems.
The problem is not just a rural issue, with the newborn gender imbalance also widening in cities. In the first 11 months of 2006, there were 109 boys born in Beijing for every 100 girls.
China Daily said one way to solve the problem would be to create a proper social security system so rural couples would not feel they needed a son to depend on when they get old.
Somehow a social security system doesn’t seem quite adequate an answer. Perhaps it’s time China revisits its population control polices before they lose their feminine side altogether!
Continue reading
by
Family Research Council
January 11, 2007
600,000 prostitutes, 5.7 million with AIDS and Richard Gere sees the answer in condoms- which are not completely effective in stopping the spread of the disease and doesnt stop other STDs?
Gere dances with Indian sex workers in AIDS fight
Hollywood star Richard Gere cheered on thousands of Indian prostitutes dancing to raunchy Bollywood songs on Wednesday and urged them to refuse sex without condoms to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.
“No condom, no sex. No condom, no sex. No condom, no sex,” Gere hollered into a microphone as about 10,000 prostitutes gathered at a dusty Mumbai fairground joined him in chorus.
The actor, dressed in a brown jacket and black trousers, presented awards to sex workers in recognition of their work on various HIV/AIDS intervention programmes.
“You’re unique. This is amazing, an unbelievable experience,” said the star of the hit movie “Pretty Woman”, also known for his support to the people of Tibet.
“This is unfathomable. This will not happen in the U.S. or Europe, or even in Asia.”
The United Nations says 5.7 million Indians are living with HIV/AIDS, the world’s largest caseload. Many of those infected are prostitutes.
Mumbai has an estimated 600,000 prostitutes, but a sizeable number of them are not in brothels which makes implementation of HIV/AIDS intervention programmes difficult.
Continue reading
by
Family Research Council
January 11, 2007
Apparently the Big Bad Wolf is wanted for questioning
Three Pigs Trigger Fire in Rural Serbia
BELGRADE, Serbia — A farmer’s home in northern Serbia was destroyed in a blaze caused by three pigs that broke out of their pen, walked into the living room and knocked over the TV, police said Wednesday.
The television tube burst, starting a fire that spread through the house late Monday in Temerin, 50 miles, northwest of Belgrade, local police said.
No people were hurt, but the pigs perished. The farmer was out at the time, police said.
Continue reading
by
Family Research Council
January 11, 2007
Yale barbershop singers recovering after ambush http://http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070110/ennew_afp/afpentertainmentus_070110163008&printer=1
Wed Jan 10, 11:30 AM ET
Members of a close-harmony group from Yale University are recovering after being ambushed and beaten up while on tour in California.
Members of the a cappella Baker’s Dozen were performing at a party in San Francisco at the new year when their rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner” apparently sparked taunts and threats from fellow partygoers.
As the group left the house, they were attacked by dozens of assailants, suffering scrapes, black eyes and concussions, said Connecticut’s News Channel 8.
“Besides any bruising or scrapes to the face, the main injury I suffered was I broke my jaw in two places,” one of the singers, 18-year-old Sharyar Aziz, was quoted as saying.
Continue reading
by
Family Research Council
January 10, 2007
US News and World Report found some interesting tidbits in the Democrats bill on 9/11 beyond what we reported on yesterday in the Update. Is it any wonder they are vulnerable to criticism they are weak on the War on Terror? The tidbits include.
TSA unionization: The country’s airport screenersa force that today includes about 43,000 people have been unable to formally unionize, which has greatly upset the Unions, who the Democrats are extremely beholden to. The House bill gives all TSA employees collective bargaining rights, including the right to strike.
Redress for watch listers: Democrats want to create a formal Office of Appeals and Redress that will handle the few cases each year of people who believe they are incorrectly on the TSA’s no-fly or special selectee list.
Funds for Muslim schoolchildren: 9/11 commission member Tim Roemer praised Democrats on Monday for introducing a bill that would ensure “progress on winning hearts and minds around the world.” Democrats plan to create an International Arab and Muslim Youth Opportunity Fund that would invest in public education in Arab and Muslim countries. No word in the bill on how much such an effort would cost.
Continue reading
by
Family Research Council
January 10, 2007
The first educational television network launches on this day in 1967. Seventy independent, affiliated educational stations interconnected to show a live broadcast of President Lyndon Johnson’s State of the Union address. The network, called National Educational Television, started broadcasting regularly scheduled programs in November. It eventually grew into the Public Broadcasting System. When it was first created in 1967 it was before the Internet, satellite television, DVDs, and cable TV with hundreds of channels. A case might have been made then that there was a public benefit to subsidize other voices and programming. Now, with the media explosion of the past quarter century, there is little justification left for public subsidies that total hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
QoD: Who shot him? I asked. The grey man scratched the back of his neck and said: Somebody with a gun. Red Harvest by Dashiel Hammett, who died on this day in 1961.
Continue reading
by
Family Research Council
January 10, 2007
One from the Vatican
And one from me
Talk about distinguished company!
Now I need to work on my new encyclicals
Continue reading
by
Family Research Council
January 9, 2007
On this day in 1776 Thomas Paine anonymously published his pamphlet “Common Sense,” setting forth his arguments in favor of American independence. “Common Sense” advocated independence for the American colonies from Britain and is considered one of the most influential pamphlets in American history. Credited with uniting average citizens and political leaders behind the idea of independence “Common Sense” played a remarkable role in transforming a colonial squabble into the American Revolution. At the time Paine wrote “Common Sense,” most colonists considered themselves to be aggrieved Britons. Paine fundamentally changed the tenor of colonists’ argument with the crown when he wrote the following: “Europe, and not England, is the parent country of America. This new world hath been the asylum for the persecuted lovers of civil and religious liberty from every part of Europe. Hither they have fled, not from the tender embraces of the mother, but from the cruelty of the monster; and it is so far true of England, that the same tyranny which drove the first emigrants from home, pursues their descendants still.”
QoD: If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands? Comedian Milton Berle. On this day in (DELETED) a woman who probably deserved a few extra hands let alone sainthood was born, my Mom.
Continue reading