Moderate Schmoderate

The Rapid City Journal has an article today calling Dist. 33 Democrat senate candidate Dennis Finch a "moderate Democrat."

The article notes that he opposes abstinence based sex ed and teaching anything other than the religion of evolution.

It also says he wants to spend more money on education, which in political circles is a euphemism for throwing more money at the bureaucracy without any standards for improvement.

Also mentioned is his desire for a "blue-ribbon task force" to address South Dakotans without health insurance. Forgetting that many people don't even want to throw their money down the insurance hole, this is another political euphemism for support of socialized medicine--which has proved to be a joke in other countries such as Canada and the UK (I lived in England for 3 years, so I've experienced it firsthand).

While I doubt his opponent, Republican Dennis Schmidt, is a moderate either, it doesn't look like Finch is any more a "moderate" than I am.

Rape Counselor and Rape Survivor: Abortion Isn't the Answer

The Forum page of the Rapid City Journal today had an interesting piece from Kelly Patterson, a sexual assault counselor. She speaks from a lot of experience:

As many politicians and organizations have presumed to speak for the victims of rape/incest, I wish to address this issue from a very personal perspective, both as a sexual-abuse counselor and as a victim of rape. I know and understand the devastation of this crime of violence against the innocent victims. As a rape survivor, I abhor violence against any innocent human being. And who is more innocent than the unborn baby?

From all her experience in this tragic area, did these women she counseled believe abortion was the answer:

all have reported that the child was the one beautiful thing that came from such an ugly experience and actually helped in their healing process. For the incest victims, the pregnancy was the thing that finally exposed what was being done to them in their homes.

She says again a few sentences later

Almost without exception, these women hold to the belief that the abortion hurt them much more than the abuse ever did.

Does abortion after a rape-caused pregnancy solve anything:

To suggest abortion to someone who has just been the victim of a violent crime becomes a short-sighted solution. Promoting an abortion at this time, knowing that it will most likely compound her pain and prolong her healing, is simply wrong.

She sees the harm being caused by this "short-sighted solution" as an epidemic:

We are creating an epidemic in our country with post-abortive trauma. As with any traumatic experience, the pain of abortion needs to be dealt with in the open. While there has been some recognition of post-abortive trauma, it is generally minimized. It is time society acknowledges this detrimental aspect of the abortion issue.

Doctor Poll Doesn't Represent all Doctors

I know that sometimes the "educated" end up the farthest from truth, but I still found it hard to buy the oft-mentioned poll about doctors who support abortion.

Now this letter today from the RC Journal:

Biased statistic

Dr. Marvin Buehner is misleading the public in his Oct. 7 letter, stating that, "A poll of South Dakota physicians revealed that 70 percent of physician respondents were opposed to HB1215." Stating this biased statistic to influence public opinion is misleading and wrong.

This biased statistic represented only "respondent" physicians who knew about and chose to respond to the poll. Furthermore, the number of physicians who did respond to the poll represented only a minority subset of total South Dakota physicians. Many South Dakota physicians I have spoken with knew nothing about this poll.

In my experience, a significant number of South Dakota physicians are unwilling, for personal as well as professional reasons, to go on the record publicly or to respond to polls on HB1215. However, I can personally attest that many South Dakota physicians, including many OB-GYN physicians, have told me of their clear support of HB1215.

The public should not be misled by a claim stating that a majority of South Dakota physicians oppose or support HB1215! Without a statistically appropriate study, we may never really know this answer.

South Dakota voters deserve discerning and truthful information about HB1215.

MICHAEL J. STATZ, M.D.
Rapid City

Minimizing an Event

The Aberdeen News is reporting about 250 people attended the "For Such a Time as This" rally in Aberdeen with Alan Keyes, Rick Scarborough and Laurence White last night. (You may recall, attendance was about 750 in Rapid City Monday night).

From what I'm hearing, the reporter, Angela Mettler, must be a victim of the "new math" liberals have been forcing on public schools in recent decades, because I'm being told from people who were there that there were a minimum 500--if not 600--in attendance.

What's the deal with the so-called "objective" mainstream (so-called) media? Must they try to minimize any traditional, life-affirming opinion that they don't agree with? Do they really need to misrepresent facts in order to make the pro-life position look provincial or unpopular? If that were really the case, there'd be no need misrepresent, would there?

To those of you who are convinced there's no bias in the "mainstream" press, just keep your head buried in the sand.

Protect Women from the Horror of Abortion

Another powerful video at VoteYesForLife.com is the one featuring Kayla Brandt's story.

Kayla is the one you may have heard on some of the radio commercials. The story she tells in her video is much more detailed...and much more heart-wrenching.

As she says, sometimes abortion seems to be the most expedient thing to do at the time. But the resulting agony can last a lifetime.

Go and watch, if you have the courage to face (second-hand) the horror of abortion.