A Video on Abortion

Not really my style of music, but some things to think about in this student video on abortion.

Loving us to Death

More love from the religion of peace.

From CNS News:

A televised graduation ceremony at a Palestinian kindergarten in Gaza shows little boys dressed in black masks, camouflage fatigues, carrying toy guns, and waving green Hamas flags.

The children vow that their most "lofty aspiration" is death for the sake of Allah.

The ceremony aired on Hamas' Al-Aqsa Television on Thursday. The kindergarten is run by the Islamic Association in Gaza, which is the group that gave rise to Hamas.

Lesbian: Facilitate My Homosexuality

From the Christian Post:

Linda Carlson said she tried to use the Internet site in February to meet a woman but could not based on her sexual orientation. When Carlson wrote to eHarmony to complain, the company refused to change its policy, according to the lawsuit filed on her behalf in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

The lawsuit claims that by only offering to find a compatible match for men seeking women or women seeking men, the company was violating state law barring discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

You see, it isn't just enough for homosexuals to have you turn a blind eye to their unnatural sex practices, you must applaud it, and if possible, you must enable and facilitate it. This woman wants to use the courts to force a private business to facilitate her practice of homosexuality.

Homosexuality today isn't a passive agenda; it is militant, and it won't be satisfied until everything bows before it's desires.

A Top Spammer Arrested

I read the other day where one of the top spammers was arrested. It was stated that now that he was apprehended we ought to see less spam. I must have one of the other top spammers ruling my mailbox. One that has taken over the arrested one's turf, because I have been getting even more spam than before. Amazing, I can even remember when I lived in anticipation of hearing, "You have mail." Little did I know what a curse those words could become. My wish for the year is to get a "Return to Sender" button. One that says I left no forwarding address. :-)

An Energy Blast from the Past

Just heard a good commercial on the radio. It's from a group called "The People of America's Oil and Natural Gas Industry." It's about energy and a return to the nostalgia of the 1970s and the heyday of mood rings, disco, bad hair, long lines at the gas station (and America's greatest president: Jimmy Carter).

I managed to find their commercial online here.

Homeschooler Wins National Spelling Bee

HT to Sibby Online for pointing out that a homeschooler won the national spelling bee.

As Steve aptly pointed out, the amount of taxpayer dollars we throw at education is really no indicator at all of academic excellence (hint: homeschoolers pay for ALL their education expenses ON TOP OF paying the same taxes to the public education system that everyone else does).

Really, though, we have to consider priorities and what's truly important. This kid may be able to spell...but is he socialized and does he know how to put on a condom?


UPDATE: NewsBusters features an analysis on the homeschooler spelling bee win:

When California homeschooler Evan O’Dorney, 13, won the National Spelling Bee on Thursday night, the nation’s press reacted with a yawn.

Apparently the plight of immigrants was a more important aspect of the spelling bee. That and attributing the success of the winner to his eating habits.

We mustn't embarrass our government education system!

Three Arrested for Central High School Arson

From the Rapid City Journal:

The three, all 18 and of Rapid City, are Jesse Antes, McKenzie Koenen and Gabriel Rensch, who was an honor-roll student and was scheduled to graduate Sunday with high honor. Rensch was also a recipient of the President’s Award for Academic Excellence.

These young men had so much potential and opportunity before them. Now...evaporated, because of a stupid prank.

We MUST teach our children to think, to act responsibly...and teach them ahead of time that there are consequences.

Republican Donors "Dry Up"

From WorldNetDaily:

Just two days after President Bush slammed critics of his immigration policy, the Republican National Committee has reportedly fired all 65 of its telephone solicitors, as donors are said to be furious over the Bush's stance to give legal status to millions of illegal aliens.

"Every donor in 50 states we reached has been angry, especially in the last month and a half, and for 99 percent of them immigration is the No. 1 issue," a fired phone-bank employee told the Washington Times.

President Bush has done a lot of things right...and he's done a lot of things wrong.

His position on immigration (basically an "amnesty" position) is one of the most wrong.

The amnesty bill in 1986 was one of Ronald Reagan's biggest (of his few) mistakes.

Will we never learn from history? Why is the concept of enforcing our laws so difficult for some people--even presidents--to grasp?

Everybody Needs a Purpose

The headline from yesterday's Madison Daily Leader: "Paula Abdul says she found her purpose in life when she became a judge on 'American Idol'"

Where ever she was before getting this gig on American Idol...I feel really bad for her. In fact...I still do.

Congressional "Reality Show"--Bread and Circuses...Again

By Paul E. Scates

If the only news you get is from the networks or the newspaper, you may think that the next great moment in U.S. history will be the passage of the Kennedy/McCain immigration bill, or some “compromise” version of it. Perhaps you’ve forgotten, though, that just a few months ago the news headlines were all about the impending bankruptcy of the Social Security system.

What have these two items to do with one another, you ask? Well, for the 12 million illegal immigrants currently in the U.S. (a more realistic, non-politically correct figure is 20 million or more), Social Security benefits will be available to them at retirement age. That’s only part of the estimated $2.5 Trillion this “compromise” will cost American taxpayers. And no, the immigrants have not paid one red cent into Social Security, nor have their elderly relatives, who will also be eligible. (Full Story)

Hard to Accept What We Can't Dismiss

GUEST COLUMN

By Ralph Hatcher, M.D.

Mr. Ellis' piece on the opening of the Creation Museum this week is a well-stated indictment of the pro-Darwin scientists who find themselves tangled in their "just so" stories and dismissal of the mountain of evidence that is contrary to their pet theories. Their position is becoming less and les tenable and endeavors such as the Creation Museum represent a serious, credible threat to their worldview, if not their professions. (Full Story)

Media Blackout on al-Qaeda Torture

From the Media Research Center:

ALEXANDRIA, VA—The U.S. Defense Department released photos last week of an al-Qaeda torture chamber in Iraq, which showed various torture tools—blow torches, meat cleavers, hammers, drills, metal files—drawings of torture methods, and photos of actual victims found in another house in Karmah who had been burned, mutilated, and tortured in myriad ways.

To their credit, CNN and Fox News Channel ran stories on the declassified material. Yet nine days since the material was released, neither ABC, CBS, NBC, The New York Times nor The Washington Post has run a story with the photos of this shocking evidence of al-Qaeda’s barbarism.

Surprised? I'm not.

Approval of Homosexuality at All-Time High

LifeSite.net points to a new Gallup poll showing "tolerance" for homosexuality at an all-time high.

Why the change? This excerpt contains much of the answer:

American Gallup Poll results, released this morning, indicate that tolerance of homosexuality within the United States has reached a record high. According to the Poll, since 1977 public support of legalization of “homosexual relations between consenting adults” has risen from 43% to a record-breaking 59%.

According to Gallup, the general trend is an increased support for homosexuality. Notably, the observed increase in acceptance of homosexuality has occurred concurrent with a nationwide promotion of homosexuality in the American public elementary school system.

Combining the education system's promotion of it with a full-court press from the media, and it's no wonder acceptance of homosexuality is increasing. That, and people who while they generally know right from wrong are too PC-paralyzed to contradict the "wisdom" of the elites.

The homosexual strategy for acceptance has worked very well, just as Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen outlined about 20 years ago in their book "After the Ball: How America Will Conquer Its Fear and Hatred of Gays in the '90s."

I read this book back in 1993 while most heterosexuals have ignored it to their detriment. Even then, you could see their strategy playing itself out in the media. Looking back now, you can see it crystal clear.

Even though the horse is already out the barn door, I'd recommend anyone who cares about family, marriage and morality to find a copy (I first read it from the library, before I bought a copy from a second-hand book store). It will open your eyes...and you'll likely be amazed at what's been going on below the radar of your conscious perception.

If we're ever going to educate the public on how they've been duped on this subject, more people need to read it.

No Positive Mention of Marriage

It's going to be one of them days, I think...

From This Is London:

Academics are calling for teachers to be banned from promoting marriage in the classroom.

They say homosexuality must be given equal status to stop the spread of "bigoted" attitudes in schools and university campuses.

Current Government guidance on sex education says children must be taught "the importance of marriage for family life".

I think the best that could even remotely rationally be argued for homosexuality would be, "You don't have to like my homosexuality, just let me do it."

But that's not good enough. Homosexuals and their "useful idiots" must completely destroy the value, nobility, prestige and meaning of marriage before they'll be happy.

Essentially, they know deep down that homosexuality is an unnatural practice. They also know that it's immoral and that God condemns it. They also know that it's an unhealthy practice. They also know it's a quite silly and irrational thing to do, when you get right down to it.

So hoping to assuage all this guilt and embarrassment, they feel they have to tear down normalcy so that there is no coherent standard by which to measure the behavior of their passion.

It would be sad for them if these efforts only affected them. But they undermine the stability and well-being of both adults and children around the world. And that makes it downright outrageous.

Say Homosexuality is Wrong=Inciting Violence

This is the kind of stuff you get with "hate crime" laws such as was passed by the U.S. House (and voted for by Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin) recently.

From LifeSite.net:

BELFAST, Northern Ireland, May 30, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Irish Democrat Ian Paisley Jr. is being investigated for a "breach of his ministerial pledge of office" over statements against homosexuality. Paisley told HotPress magazine, "I am pretty repulsed by gay and lesbianism. I think it is wrong. I think that those people harm themselves and - without caring about it - harm society." He continued, "That doesn't mean to say that I hate them. I mean, I hate what they do" according to an Ireland On-line report.

While homosexual activists groups and those among his fellow politicians are accusing him of inciting violence, in his statements, Paisley does make the important distinction between the homosexual person and the homosexual act. He indicates the importance of condemning homosexual behavior as unnatural and harmful to both the person and society, but also points out that people must give homosexual persons full respect.

The Case for Action Against Iran

Norman Podhoretz makes the case at the Wall Street Journal Opinion Journal for bombing Iran.

It's a lengthy read, but worth it. Check out these paragraphs to whet your appetite, then go read the whole article:

Much of the world has greeted Ahmadinejad's promise to wipe Israel off the map with something close to insouciance. In fact, it could almost be said of the Europeans that they have been more upset by Ahmadinejad's denial that a Holocaust took place 60 years ago than by his determination to set off one of his own as soon as he acquires the means to do so. In some of European countries, Holocaust denial is a crime, and the European Union only recently endorsed that position. Yet for all their retrospective remorse over the wholesale slaughter of Jews back then, the Europeans seem no readier to lift a finger to prevent a second Holocaust than they were the first time around.

Not so George W. Bush, a man who knows evil when he sees it and who has demonstrated an unfailingly courageous willingness to endure vilification and contumely in setting his face against it. It now remains to be seen whether this president, battered more mercilessly and with less justification than any other in living memory, and weakened politically by the enemies of his policy in the Middle East in general and Iraq in particular, will find it possible to take the only action that can stop Iran from following through on its evil intentions both toward us and toward Israel. As an American and as a Jew, I pray with all my heart that he will.

President Bush knew back in 2001 that we needed to deal with Iran. However, it would have been foolhardy to try and do so with our western flank exposed to a belligerent Saddam Hussein in Iraq. In fact, I strongly suspect Bush saw Iraq as a step in the direction of dealing with the greatest threat in the Middle East: Iran.

Bush, in his down-home Texas way, probably misunderestimated the capacity of Democrats and other liberals to put their appeasement tendencies and political ambitions ahead of our country's security.

The Left in America and throughout the world has so undermined President Bush that I doubt he has it in him to deal with one of the greatest current threats to world peace and security (Iran).

For the sake of us all, I hope he proves me wrong.

The Heart of a Good Man

The book from which I read my daily devotions featured a penetrating quote today from the Russian writer Ivan Turgenev:

I do not know what the heart of a bad man is like, but I do know what the heart of a good man is like, and it is terrible.

As someone who frequently examines my own heart and compares it to the heart of Jesus (who is the only standard by which I am to measure my life), I know how true that statement is.

Opening the Whole Can

Looks like Pat Powers over at the South Dakota War College just opened the whole can of whoop-stuff on former state senator Stan Adelstein.

Go check it out, but watch for flying chairs and beer bottles.

Senator Calls on Plame to Explain

USA Today says Senator Kit Bond, (R-MO), vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, wants Valerie Plame to explain why she can't get her story straight on the circumstances surrounding Joe Wilson's trip to Niger prior to the Iraq invasion.

Here are Plame's three versions of how Wilson was sent to Niger, according to Bond:

•She told the CIA's inspector general in 2003 or 2004 that she had suggested Wilson.

•Plame told Senate Intelligence Committee staffers in 2004 that she couldn't remember whether she had suggested Wilson.

•She told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in March that an unidentified person in Vice President Cheney's office asked a CIA colleague about the African uranium report in February 2002. A third officer, overhearing Plame and the colleague discussing this, suggested, "Well, why don't we send Joe?" Plame told the committee.

Wilson/Plame had their hearts set on undermining the Bush administration from the beginning. The exposure of her connection to the CIA was never a crime, since she was not a covert agent (as numerous sources have testified her CIA employment was common knowledge around D.C.), and this whole thing was nothing but an excuse to undermine President Bush and the Iraq War.

The fact that Plame can't keep her story straight is further evidence of that.

When Amnesty Isn't Amnesty

From the New York Times, President Bush accuses people who recognize the amnesty bill as amnesty of fear mongering:

“If you want to scare the American people, what you say is the bill’s an amnesty bill,” Mr. Bush said this afternoon at a training center for border enforcement agents located in this town in Georgia’s southeastern corner. “That’s empty political rhetoric, trying to frighten our citizens.”

Mr. President, it's simple: if people who broke our laws to get into this country aren't sent back out of this country, it's amnesty.

Time to Retire Public Schools?

The Weekly Standard has an excellent article by David Gelernter, professor of computer science at Yale, that examines "A World Without Public Schools."

Public schools have been the dominant tool for educating children for a long time in America. But should it be that way? Does it have to be that way? Is the public school system the best way to educate our children? Or are we stuck in a way of thinking that is, as the author says,

like a broken child's toy we are too sentimental to throw away?

With academic performance lagging, and considering the moral wasteland many public schools have become (not to mention the dangers, such as Columbine, and the incendiary device at Central High School in Rapid City yesterday, and a host of incidents in between), certainly we owe it to ourselves and our children to ask ourselves: Are public schools the best way to educate our children? Are public schools the only way to educate our children?

Gelernter envisions a system not unlike what we have now, except that everyone would have an education voucher they could use where they wanted:

In the system I am picturing, education would continue to be free and accessible to every child, and all taxpayers would continue to pay for it. Parents would be guaranteed access to "reasonable" schools that cost them nothing beyond what they pay in taxes. It would all be just like today--except that public schools would have vanished.

There are few areas where government can do better than free-market competition (with national defense being one of them). Free market competition has a lot to do with what has made America such a great, productive and powerful nation. The same could be said of the West in general. Competition tends to motivate producers of goods and services to try and produce the product that consumers will want over their competitors. This usually means more innovation, more solutions, and a better product.

If you hear that a certain mechanic in town does lousy work, you're probably not going to bring your car there, are you? If you hear a certain homebuilder makes crummy homes, you're probably not going to hire them to build your new house, are you? Of course, there will always be crummy mechanics and crummy homebuilders, but many mechanics and homebuilders work hard to prove to you that they're not like the crummy ones.

And if there was only one mechanic in town, or one homebuilder in town, how hard do you think he'd be working to get your business? Where would be his incentive for excellence if he could say, "Tough. Where else are you going to go?"

Which is where many people are stuck with the public school system. Many people believe, whether it's true or not, that they can't afford to take their child out of public school. But if everyone had an education voucher, suddenly the playing field is level. And what happens to the schools?

People just won't "buy" the bad ones, and the competition should motivate schools to compete for education dollars (just as construction or landscaping companies compete for business) by working to prove they can do a better job of educating your children.

The article also examines the education system not only from the standpoint of academic performance, but regarding what kind of people schools are turning out. It points out that for about the first 150 years of public education in America, there was consensus on the kind of people we wanted our children to be. That was back in that time that liberals pretend never existed: when America was clearly, demonstrably and undeniably a Christian nation. Even people of other faiths wanted their children to grow up with a moral standard that was in harmony with Judeo-Christian values. We might have disagreed on who God really was, but we all believed in the reality of absolute truth, and all agreed that murder, lying, homosexuality, premarital sex, etc. was wrong.

During these years there was broad agreement on skills-teaching and character-building (or the teaching of worldviews and moral frameworks). The two areas were intertwined. Since the 1970s, consensus in both departments has fallen apart. Both areas are important, but not equally. Disputes about the teaching of skills can be patched up or compromised. Disputes about morality, worldviews, and character-building make public schools untenable.

In our socialist-promoted infatuation with "diversity," our old national motto of "e pluribus unum" ("Out of many, one") upon which this great nation was founded has become "e unum pluribus".

On this vein (and hopefully not digressing too much), the author makes the case that liberalism is a religion (it's close relative "secular humanism" has already been recognized by Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black as a religion in Torcaso v. Watkins). As such, the liberal ideology heaped upon children in public schools is unconstitutional under their own interpretation of the inviolate relationship between religion and government:

So we reach another disqualifying problem with America's public schools. They are teaching our children religion. The apostles and propagandists of American left-liberalism speak of their new faith as blatantly and aggressively as public schools of bygone ages ever spoke about biblical religion or Americanism. And thus our public schools blatantly, aggressively violate the Constitution.

But back to the issue of the future of education itself, and the prospect of retiring the public school system...

If you believe your child should be educated in a private school that carries the secularist bent to the hilt, you could do that (though our public schools are already about 90% of the way there). If you are a Hindu and want your child educated in a private school that reinforces your Hindu worldview, you could do that. If you are a Christian and want your child educated in an environment that reinforces your values, you could do that. Or if you want your child educated in a values-neutral environment (if such a thing is possible), then you could send your child to one that was trying to provide that kind of environment.

A "free" education would still be accessible for all, regardless of religious affiliation or lack thereof. And since the taxpayer-funded vouchers would be available to all, without regard for religious affiliation or lack thereof, there is no way whatsoever to logically argue that the First Amendment is being violated by respecting one religious establishment over another, which was essentially the intent of the First Amendment with regard to religious establishments.

Sounds reasonable, doesn't it? Of course, the social engineers who depend on the public schools as their engine to manufacture good little socialist drones won't like it. And neither will education establishment bureaucrats. And neither will the teacher's unions.

But those aren't "real people," anyway. They aren't the ones with "skin in the game," other than feathering their own nests. They aren't the ones who have to watch their children get a poor excuse for an education, where they can graduate into the adult world barely able to read and knowing nothing of history. They aren't the ones who have to watch their children go off to a secular institution that will work systemically to sanitize their child of any faith or moral values they try to instill in their offspring.

I don't think privatizing the education system would be a magic bullet for the moral and academic confusion plaguing many children today. That, for the most part, starts at home and can only be fixed at home. But at least parents who want the best for their children wouldn't have to subject their children to schools that aren't adequately educating their children. And they wouldn't have to send their children to a school that would undermine every value they are trying to teach their children.

I have to think that even most parents who do a poor job of building up their children at home would be able to see the difference in a lousy school and a good school, and send their child to the better school if it didn't cost them anything to make the better choice.

We're long overdue for having this debate. And we shouldn't let a bunch of social engineers and entrenched bureaucrats stand in the way of getting a good education for our children.

HT to the World Magazine blog for a good article.

Evolutionists Freak Out over Creation Museum

The religion of evolution is so entrenched for some that they get pretty wacky when you blaspheme against it, as the new Answers in Genesis Creation Museum is doing.

From WJAC TV:

Edwin Kagin, who participated in a protest outside the museum on this opening day, said teaching children that science supports the Bible rather than evolution "is a form of child abuse" and "terrorism" that could plunge America into a new dark age.

That's quite a closed-minded and intellectually obtuse statement. Pretty much undermines his credibility on anything he'd have to say.

Some appear willing to take their faith in evolution even farther:

Carl Kerby, founding director of Answers in Genesis, which built the museum, said there already have been death threats and incidents of vandalism.

He said one museum opponent asked on the protesters' Web site if he should bring a gun to the opening day rally.

All this hubbub really just goes to prove the need for getting some reason back into science. And it shows that the Creation Museum is already doing such a good job that it has evolution disciples quaking in their boots.

Poll: Bible Still Reliable

The Washington Times features an article on a Gallup poll about the Bible:

More than three-quarters of Americans believe the Bible is literally the word of God or inspired by the word of God, according to a trio of Gallup surveys, with 19 percent saying the Good Book is a compendium of myth and legend.

The three surveys found that an average 31 percent of the respondents said that "the Bible is absolutely accurate and should be taken literally word for word," according to Frank Newport, editor in chief of the Gallup Poll.

Forty-seven percent said the Bible was "the inspired word of God," and 19 percent said it was a book of ancient fables, history and "moral precepts" recorded by man.

The breakdown of beliefs has not changed much recently: The average number of people who take the Bible literally, in fact, has remained steady since 1991.

While I'd like to know more about the meaning of some of these questions (what does "the inspired word of God" really mean to people?), I find it heartening news, especially in light of the nonstop assault on anything Godly from the mainstream media. If you believed the impression they're trying to give, there are only about 9% of Americans who believe in God, and all of these are knuckle-draggers.

Another mention in the article, this time from a Barna poll, and I find the wording on this one more meaningful (without any real regard to the party affiliation of respondents):

Seventy-eight percent of Republicans and 69 percent of Democrats say the Bible is "totally accurate in all of its teachings

And perhaps the most encouraging of all, it looks like we might actually be making some progress in dispelling the myth perpetuated left and right for the past few decades that America was not founded a Christian nation by Christians:

A Pew Research Center survey of 1,010 adults last year found that 67 percent of Americans say the United States is a "Christian nation," compared with 60 percent a decade ago.

We've a long way to go, but my day just got brighter...

Incendiary Device at Central High School Yesterday

From the Rapid City Journal, more "fun" at Central High School yesterday:

Rapid City Central High School was evacuated shortly after 1 p.m. Tuesday after an "incendiary device" ignited a small fire that burned three lockers in the west end of the building, police said.

No one was injured in the incident, which was first thought to be a small explosion because of nearby debris.

Three bomb dogs from Ellsworth AFB came in to help clear the building.

The article also said lockers had been turned in for the year, so that will make it more difficult to pin down who did it.

Protecting People from Their Own Carelessness

KELO reports on a group of teenagers who were hospitalized after driving into Long Lake near Lily in Day County.

In light of the lawsuit against Rapid City for not protecting careless teenage drivers from themselves, I suppose Day County or perhaps the state of South Dakota is responsible for this accident. Look at the parallels:

From the Rapid City Journal, on the Canyon Lake incident:

The crash was caused by the inattentiveness of the driver, Charrisa Hitchcock, then 16, Nooney said. Her car slid off a sharp curve on a slippery road in Canyon Lake Park when she looked down to retrieve something from the floor of her car, the city's lawyer said.

Nooney also said Hitchcock had driven in the park many times before and was going much faster than the posted 10 mph speed limit.

And from the Long Lake incident:

The Highway Patrol, which estimates that the car was going about 100 miles an hour at the time, says it was racing another vehicle when the accident occurred.

Common sense says that if you have an accident where 99.9% of drivers have no problem--and you're breaking the law and driving inattentively to boot--then the fault is all yours, and you have no business suing the government (the taxpayers) for not protecting you from your own stupidity.

But then, it's not really about that, is it? It's about getting on the cash gravy train. And it's time the courts and the people brought an end to this kind of nonsense.

Kranz Stem Cell Article: Thune Hit Piece

David Kranz's piece in the Argus Leader yesterday looks like a classic piece of misdirection.

It discusses how the issue of stem cell research "divides" the South Dakota congressional delegation. Predictably, Johnson and Herseth Sandlin support destroying human embryos in the hopes research may someday result in a cure. Equally predictably, Thune opposes embryonic stem cell research.

So was this article intended to inform the reader about the issue of stem cell therapy...or was it intended to paint Senator John Thune as a mean, uncaring, cold, unscientific man who just doesn't care that there are people suffering out there, in need of cures that are just right around the corner, if only we could get these Bible-thumping moralists out of the way so we can use human embryos for medical research?

I suppose you have to commend the Argus for even bothering to mention that Thune supports adult stem cell research; for the Argus, I guess that qualifies as "balance." But they somehow "missed" perhaps the most pertinent and important fact about stem cell research: adult stem cell therapy has ALREADY helped people. There wasn't a single mention of that in the article.

While the Kranz piece makes it sound as if adult stem cell research only offers the hope of cures such as the claims made about embryonic stem cell research, adult stem cell research has reached the point that it's no longer just research: it's therapy that has already been used dozens of times.

It has restored vision to a blind man. A heart valve was also grown recently using adult stem cell therapy.

In fact, here is a list of successes adult stem cell therapy has ALREADY had. In case you're too afraid to look at it and see the truth, there are 72 maladies on this list. Meanwhile, the crickets are still chirping as we wait for even one success from embryonic stem cell research.

Here is another article with more detail about some of the treatments adult stem cell therapy has ALREADY provided while we wait for even one from embryonic stem cell research.

Adult stem cell therapy was also recently used to create insulin.

Let me say it again, in case I wasn't clear before: embryonic stem cell research, which destroys human embryos (i.e. human life) has yet to yield a single success. Meanwhile, adult stem cell research is ALREADY curing illnesses and injuries.

The Argus Leader piece somehow failed to point out this simple but absolutely pivotal difference in stem cell research.

Why, I wonder?

Canadian Health Care Inefficient, Unsustainable

The National Center for Policy Analysis features a release from the Fraser Institute on some of the wonderful reasons why we should adopt a health care system like Canada or other socialist nations:

- Universal care only appears to cost less in Canada because public health insurance does not cover many advanced medical treatments and technologies commonly available in America.

- Canadian patients do not get the same quality or quantity of care as American patients -- on a comparable basis, Canadians have fewer doctors, less high-tech equipment, older hospitals and receive fewer advanced medicines.

- Canadians currently wait an average of almost 18 weeks between the time they see their family physician and the time they receive treatment from a specialist.

- Statistics show that among patients who received health-care services in 2005, 11 percent waited longer than three months to see a specialist.

- 17 percent waited longer than three months to get necessary non-emergency surgery.

- 12 percent waited longer than three months to get necessary diagnostic tests.

The report also points out that the Canadian nationalized health care system is financially unsustainable; the cost is growing faster than revenue...and Canadians already have pretty high taxation.

Another NCPA report today points to the high taxation in Britain, another socialized medicine country. The report says British workers are paying $13.10 in taxes for every hour they work. When I lived there in the late 1980s, in addition to wonderful things like being taxed for broadcast TV (they had vans that drove around looking for people watching TV without having paid their TV tax, too) they even had a tax for people who had an outside water faucet for your garden hose.

Socialized medicine? No thanks.

Review of DOC Foster Care

The Argus Leader features a story on a review by Corrections Secretary Tim Reisch of DOC foster care. This comes after the arrest of former state Rep. Ted Klaudt who is accused of raping two girls in his foster care.

I interviewed Senator Bill Napoli and Gwen Caldwell of Voices of Women last week for my Rapid City Journal column today. They recommend an independent oversight agency that can ensure the Department of Social Services is not overstepping its bounds in many cases, and in some cases may be turning a blind eye to problems of the Klaudt variety.

DSS often acts like they don't have to obey the same Constitution that police and other government officials do, so I wholeheartedly support much better oversight of this department.

Cindy Sheehan Retires

According to CNS News, Cindy Sheehan, the peace mom, is throwing in the towel.

Cindy Sheehan says she is resigning as the "face" of the American anti-war movement.

In a letter posted on a liberal website Monday, Sheehan complained about the smears and hatred directed at her by liberals since she renounced her ties to the Democratic Party.

As I knew was the case, when Dems couldn't get the same mileage out of her they once did, they had no use for her. The Left does that with blacks and every other minority or special interest group; once they have no use for you, you're no longer welcome at the table.

"Being called an 'attention whore' and being told 'good riddance' are some of the more milder rebukes [sic]," Sheehan wrote in a long letter posted on the DailyKos blog.

She said she has reluctantly concluded that "I was the darling of the so-called left as long as I limited my protests to George Bush and the Republican Party."

Sheehan also noted that while conservatives "slandered and libeled" her as a "tool of the Democratic Party," liberals did the same thing -- "when I started to hold the Democratic Party to the same standards that I help the Republican Party."

I disagree with her when she says her son died for nothing (he died to protect his country, and to extend a shot at freedom to the Iraqi people), but I do agree with her in one thing she said, though for a different reason:

"Casey died for a country which cares more about who will be the next American Idol than how many people will be killed in the next few months

Far too many people know everything about this circus-like "American Idol" show that I refuse to watch, just like they know everything about this sports event or that musical group over there, but know absolutely nothing about the greater world around them, or its history.

There's nothing wrong with these things in and of themselves, but when our priorities are pleasure-pursuits over things that really matter, it's disgusting and sad.

It's said that those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. Also, those who are armed with a vote and the ear of lawmakers, yet do not pay attention to the world around them, are a danger to their fellow Americans and a threat to liberty.

I wish Cindy Sheehan well, but I'm glad she's decided to leave the public stage. She's done far more harm than good. I hope she can find peace, and someday be reconciled to the knowledge that her son did indeed die a noble death.

Flags Replaced With Swastikas in Wash.

This speaks for itself in the World that Has Gone Mad...

Flags Replaced With Swastikas in Wash.
From Associated Press
May 29, 2007 12:54 AM EDT
ORCAS ISLAND, Wash. - Vandals burned dozens of small American flags that decorated veterans' graves for Memorial Day and replaced many of them with hand-drawn swastikas, authorities said Monday.

Defective & Disabled: The Inability to be Productive Citizens?

There are those who seem to feel that to be defective and disabled is unacceptable. People who readily say they would not wish to live under certain circumstances, which can even involve the mere use of a wheel chair to get around. People who see the disabled as valueless and nothing more than a drain on our resources. To these snob peoples, who see perfection as a requirement to a rightful place in society, I have this quote from the article "One-Limbed Med Student to Graduate UCLA" (Associated Press, May 28, 2007 1:20 AM EDT) to share...

"Kellie Lim, who became a triple amputee at age 8 because of bacterial meningitis, is to graduate from UCLA's medical school on Friday, and she plans to focus on childhood allergies and infectious disease."

The Michigan native, 26, does not use a prosthetic arm and manages to perform most medical procedures - including giving injections and taking blood - with one arm. She walks on a pair of prosthetic legs.

"Just having that experience of being someone so sick and how devastating that can be - not just for me but for my family too - gives me a perspective that other people don't necessarily have," Lim said."

And if that weren't amazing enough, the article further states that Lim was raised by a blind mother.

But the disabled are less valuable? The disabled only drain society? They can't possibly be productive citizens? What world do these snob people live in? It certainly isn't the same one that Kellie Lim and her mom live in.

Abortion: "Laden with Power to Devalue Human Life"

By Linda Schauer
State Director, Concerned Women for America of South Dakota

After 11 years of vigilance on the part of those who respect life, the United States Supreme Court voted to uphold the national ban on partial-birth abortion (PBA) signed into law by President Bush in 2003.

The court decided that the ban does not violate a woman's right to abortion and voted in favor of protection for the most vulnerable members of society from a "brutal and inhumane" death.

Writing for the majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy noted "that the government has a legitimate substantial interest in preserving and promoting fetal life." Under the 14th Amendment the government is responsible for protecting all citizens under the law. Great respect for unborn life and reverence for the birth process appeared to be the theme of Kennedy's opinion. He stated that abortion is "laden with power to devalue human life." (Full Story)

Will South Dakota follow Minnesota when it comes to a tougher smoking ban?

By Gordon Garnos

AT ISSUE: Minnesota became the 20th state a couple of weeks ago to ban smoking in most public buildings. This includes a ban in bars and eateries and just about every other public building in the state. Our question is will South Dakota follow in the footsteps of our neighboring state to the east? Also, the question of should more liquor licenses in the state be authorized by the South Dakota Legislature? That will be discussed in Part II in today's column. (Full Story)

Transsexual Methodist Minister Reappointed

Minister has sex change

WASHINGTON, May 25 /Christian Newswire/ -- A United Methodist minister in Baltimore who underwent a surgical change of gender identity has been reappointed, it was announced at the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, meeting now in Washington, D.C. The former Rev. Ann Gordon, now known as Rev. Drew Phoenix, told the annual conference of a "spiritual transformation" since the sex change procedure. (Full Story)

Delta Airlines Plays Explicit Video on Flight

Supposedly played on "private" screens

NEW YORK, May 24 /Standard Newswire/ -- On May 17, Morality in Media received a call from a citizen in Atlanta who reported that Delta Airlines had aired HBO's "Rome," with scenes of nudity and simulated sex, on overhead TV screens in the aisle. When he complained, he was told the program should have been available only on "private" screens. When he objected to showing "Rome" on "private" screens, he was told the airlines would be editing sexually explicit scenes to three seconds or less and that passengers who objected to content on "private" screens would be reseated. (Full Story)

More Evidence of Emergency Contraception as Abortifacient

It was already common knowledge among many in the pro-life community that the Plan B "emergency contraception" pill can cause an abortion by preventing the implantation in the uterus of a fertilized egg (already an individual human being with distinct DNA by that time).

But a new article from LifeSite.net says there is new evidence of this potential.

TORONTO, May 28, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In a recent article in Fertility and Sterility R.T. Mikolajczyk and J.B. Stanford proposed a model experiment that estimated the effectiveness of the disruption of ovulation by Levonorgestrel used as an "emergency contraceptive," based on the prevention of fertilization.

The authors suggest that mechanisms other than disruption of ovulation contribute to this "reduction of clinical pregnancy." Those mechanisms were said to include inhibition of sperm migration and reduction of sperm capacity for fertilization (both contraceptive mechanisms) and "mechanisms that act after fertilization," that is, prevent implantation of the embryo in the uterus.

17,000 People Who Don't Exist

Apostles of the Global Warming religion claim their "science" is "settled" and that there is no disagreement in the scientific community on man-made global warming.

Well, there are over 17,000 verified signatures by PhD scientists who don't believe in anthropogenic global warming. It's call the Oregon Petition.

Here is the text of the petition, a scientific statement on the environmental effects of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide, and a list of signers by state.

Wikipedia has an entry for background information, but as always with Wiki, take everything with a slight grain of salt, just in case.

Because no one disagrees on anthropogenic global warming, that's a lot of people who don't exist. In addition to the Oregon Petition, there are also other declarations on the same subject by numerous people who don't exist.

Can the Uninsured Afford Health Care?

According to some of the findings of the Zaniya Project, maybe a large segment of the uninsured can afford insurance...and just don't want it?

According to a chart on distribution of uninsured by income, the second largest income segment of uninsured is the "over $50,000" at 18.9%. When you look at "over $40,000" that figure becomes 27.9%.

So nearly 1/3 of the uninsured could probably afford insurance if they wanted it. And when you consider that only about 8% or 9% of South Dakotans are uninsured in the first place, this doesn't appear to be the huge problem it's made out to be.

Are there people who need help? Of course; there always will be people who are overwhelmed by medical bills.

Is it such a huge problem that we need to risk more government intervention, more taxes, more loss of freedom, more cost, and diminished quality? No.

American Legion Stands Against Secularist Assault

From OneNewsNow:

The American Civil Liberties Union has already filed suit to remove crosses at veterans' memorials, like the Mt. Soledad cross in San Diego and the Sunrise Rock cross in the Mojave Desert, which is now covered by a box. That has prompted the American Legion to join forces with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) and Liberty Legal Institute in a campaign to defend veteran's memorials.

At a press conference in Washington, American Legion past national commander Thomas Bock announced the project. "We stand here today to put the ACLU and any other organization on notice that filing self-enriching lawsuits for the removal of religious symbols that are on veterans memorials will not be tolerated," he stated.

These God-haters won't be content until they've sanitized America of any reminder that this nation was founded by Christians on Christian principles.

But some of us are determined to stop their secularization and rewriting of history. Are you?

Thanks to Those Who Gave All

Thank you to those who gave all to defend their country. Thank you to the families of those who gave all; you gave your loved one that all of us might stay free.

Don't listen to the whiners; they're just a vocal minority. The vast majority of the country loves you and appreciates your sacrifice.

One of the most remarkable things about the U.S. military is that we repeatedly spill our blood not only to keep ourselves free, but to make others free and make their lives better. While being made up of flawed human beings, as any group is, the United States Armed Forces is perhaps the most noble military the earth has ever seen.

We remember, this Memorial Day, and we thank you for your service to our country.

Islam in Prophecy and History

The study on Islam by Dr. Richard Wells at South Canyon Baptist Church in Rapid City was very good tonight. Attendance was good and there was a fair number of notable faces present.

Dr. Wells began the evening by introducing the audience to several books from which he referenced, quoted and read. The Qur'an, of course, was one. Others were the Concise Encyclopedia of Islam, The Truth About Mohammed, and What Went Wrong: The Clash Between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East. I believe all but one of these were written by Muslims, and the remaining one was written by one of the foremost authorities on Islam in the West; I just forget which one was which.

Wells said Islam was basically an amalgamation of many religious practices and philosophies that were already common in Arabia when Mohammed started having his "visions" in AD 610. One of the influences on Mohammed was Judeo-Christian teachings, which likely came to him through his wife's cousin, who was a Christian, and through a slave boy that Mohammed adopted, who was also a Christian. However, Wells said the type of Christianity that was practiced in Arabia at that time was not orthodox, and usually involved some form or another of heresy. So the picture of Christianity that Mohammed received was likely a very distorted one.

Wells quickly covered Mohammed's visions, his bouts of depression, and his flight to Medina, where his religious teachings first began to catch on. Mohammed died in AD 632 but his followers continued to work hard. Within 100 years, Islam had conquered the Arabian peninsula, the Middle East, North Africa, part of Spain, and was threatening France when Muslims were stopped at the Battle of Tours in 732.

Despite the occasional setback such as Tours, Muslims never suffered a major defeat until they made two failed attempts to take Vienna. Here, for the first time, Muslims were forced to make a treaty, and apparently it sent a shudder through the Muslim world that perhaps it has not yet recovered from.

Wells also challenged the notion put forth by many, including President Bush, that Islam is a "religion of peace." Reminding us all of what we see on TV and in the newspapers almost daily (despite all the "religion of peace" talk), Wells said the dominant desire of the Muslim world is the total annihilation of the Jews. Why, you might wonder, do Muslims hate Jews and the state of Israel so much?

Because the mere existence of Israel brings to light something Muslims find hard to accept, Wells said: that the Islamic world is inferior (Wells was reading from "What Went Wrong?" here).

To illustrate his point, Wells asked the audience if they could name any cars manufactured in Islamic countries? He asked if anyone could name any imported goods manufactured in Islamic countries? There was silence.

Wells reminded the audience that Israel just regained statehood not quite 60 years ago, and that it has been surrounded, outnumbered and outgunned by the Muslim world...and that it's continued existence is "a humiliation to Islam of the first order" (I believe he was quoting from "What Went Wrong?" here).

Examining Genesis chapter 16, Wells then looked at the prophecy regarding Ishmael, from whom Muslims are descended.

12 He will be a wild donkey of a man;
his hand will be against everyone
and everyone's hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
toward all his brothers."

Contrast this to the prophecy regarding Abraham's offspring through Issac. Issac would bring blessing to all nations, but Ishmael would bring only war and conflict. (I know all Muslims aren't terrorists, but many are, and far too many of the remainder remain silent with no condemnation of the terrorism committed by other Muslims. So when you hear the word "Islam," do you think "grace," "peace," "love," "order," "stability," "nobility"...or do you think of violence, war, bombings, blood, killings, and the like?)

Wells wrapped up the evening by reading from the Concise Encyclopedia of Islam (which was written by a Muslim, he said). He read the definition of "jihad" which the Qu'ran teaches, as "a divine institution of warfare to extend Islam into the non-Islamic territory."

He also read a passage which said "In colonial times [which was the Western colonial time, such as when Britain was in control of Palestine] when Islamic countries were not under Muslim control, this was an anomalous condition from the point of view of Islamic law." In other words, it was an illegitimate condition, or an aberration, for Muslims not to be in total control. What this means is that Islam refuses to coexist with others unless the population with which they live accepts a state of second-class citizenship.

Part 2 will be next Sunday night at 6:30 pm at South Canyon Baptist again. If you're in the Rapid City area, you won't want to miss it.

SDWC Interview with Sam Kephart

South Dakota War College has a 10-question interview with Sam Kephart of Spearfish who recently announced his intention to challenge Senator Tim Johnson in 2008.

Go read it here.

DV Poll Results: What should be done to protect South Dakota legislative pages?

Here are the results of last week's Dakota Voice poll: What should be done to protect South Dakota legislative pages?

• Background checks on page host families 3.13%
• Background checks on legislators 9.38%
• Pages should never be in a legislators quarters 18.75%
• Pages should never be alone with an adult 9.38%
• Nothing new; recent problems were familial, not page-program related 25%
• End the page program 34.38%
  

I hope the top answer isn't what happens. I think the page program is a good opportunity for young people to learn about and participate in our government. The problems we've seen lately occurred between people who knew each other outside of their legislative duties, and the incidents could have happened anywhere, not just when the legislature was in session.

The new poll is now in the upper left corner: What's the best way for the US to achieve energy independence.

Thanks to those who voted in last week's poll!

Episcopal Churches Leave Denomination Over Heresy

The Washington Times reports on the churches leaving the Episcopal denomination's failure to hold to Biblical truths; one key doctrine where Episcopal leadership is disregarding the Bible is its condemnation of homosexuality.

COLORADO SPRINGS -- Members of the dissident Grace and St. Stephen's Episcopal Church have voted overwhelmingly to split from the Episcopal Church and join the conservative Anglican convocation, church officials announced yesterday.

The Rev. Don Armstrong, church rector and leader of the breakaway movement, said yesterday that 93 percent of participating parishioners voted to leave the national church and Colorado Diocese.

Hundreds of Episcopal parishes have left the denomination in disputes over the church's move leftward, notably its 2003 decision to support same-sex blessings and the ordination of V. Gene Robinson, an openly homosexual bishop in New Hampshire.

Pagans can be expected to act like pagans; it's a sad thing when people within the church turn up their nose at the Bible.

Oil Firm Behind Elk Point Project?

The Argus Leader has an article today featuring speculatin about the mystery "Gorilla Project" near Elk Point:

A Texas oil firm's connection to two Web site addresses provides possible new clues in the mystery of what company is behind the so-called "Gorilla Project" near Elk Point.

Internet domain names registered by the Texas firm Hyperion Resources include Hyperionelkpoint.com, registered in October 2006, and Hyperionsd.com, registered in April 3, according to an Argus Leader search of public registries and databases.

Strengthen Marriage and Reduce Uninsured

Another interesting fact in the Zaniya Project website information was in the preliminary estimates presentation.

According to this, the single largest block of uninsured by marital status is the "divorced/separated" group at 18.8%. By contrast, the married group showed 6% uninsured.

As if we needed one, yet another reason to promote and strengthen marriage.