Month: February 2005

More From The Abortion Queen

Okay,

HERE’S THIS PIECE FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES (which, for some reason, seems not to be subject to their NYTnoid registration hassle).

It’s all about the maybe-kinda-sorta-thinking-about-rethinking-but-also-wanting-to-just-deceive-voters rethink of abortion that is maybe-kinda-sorta happening in the Democratic Party. Maybe.

It has a number of interesting things in it, some from the Abortion Queen. F’rinstance:

Another large abortion rights group, Naral Pro-Choice, is reversing course, saying it will drop its opposition to the proposed Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act, a bill that would require doctors to offer anesthetic for the fetuses of women seeking abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Nancy Keenan, president of Naral Pro-Choice, said the organization was saving its ammunition to fight judicial nominees who might overturn Roe v. Wade. "We are standing strong in the next Supreme Court battle," Ms. Keenan said.

WHOA.

That’s significant.

If NARAL is regrouping to save their ammo for the forthcoming Battles Supreme then it means they’re on the defensive. They’ve got limited resources and are feeling the pinch of needing to conserve them. (Thanks, Thomas Sowell, for reminiding us about the myth of unlimited enemies: Pro-lifers need to realize that pro-aborts Have Their Limits And Can Be Beat.)

It’s a significant capitulation, because if the law passes and doctors are force to anesthetize babies before killing them after 20 weeks then it’s going to inject a whole lotta awareness of the subject of fetal pain into popular consciousness, and that will significantly help pro-lifers.

READ THE WHOLE THING.

Jesus Saves

A kindly reader (cowboy hat tip to him) sent me a link to the following cartoon.

First a little background, though: In Dungeons and Dragons and similar games, players are given a "saving throw"–a roll of the dice to determine whether they will fall victim to certain kinds of attacks (e.g., magical ones). A character who succeeds in this roll is said to have "saved."

Now with that background . . .

Saving_throw

[SOURCE.]

Score One For The CSICOPs!

The Center for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), which publishes Skeptical Inquirer magazine, has an anti-supernatural bias, but occasionally they get on right.

They just did!

(Well, technically they did in their November-December 2004 issue, which just showed up onlin.)

HERE’S A PIECE DEBUNKING THAT WHOLE DA VINCI CODE, HOLY BLOOD HOLY GRAIL NONSENSE ABOUT THE RENNES-LE-CHATEAU, THE PRIORY OF ZION, THE MEROVINGIAN KING LINE BEING DESCENDED FROM JESUS, WHO WAS MARRIED TO MARY MAGDALENE, ETC.

(I wonder if everyone on their staff is a P-10. Sure would be helpful in ferreting out information for their magazine.)

Our Friends, The Turks

TKS blogger Jim Geraghty is going to be moving to Turkey soon because his wife’s job is taking her there.

As a result, he’s been studying up on NATO-member Turkey, learning Turkish, etc.

In the course of his studies, he came across an interesting Wall Street Journal piece about anti-Americanism in Turkey.

Here are a few excerpts:

Among the paper’s "scoops" have been the 1,000 Israeli soldiers deployed alongside U.S. forces in Iraq, and that U.S. forces have been harvesting the innards of dead Iraqis for sale on the U.S. "organ market."

It’s not much better in the secular press. The mainstream Hurriyet has accused Israeli hit squads of assassinating Turkish security personnel in Mosul, and the U.S. of starting an occupation of Indonesia under the guise of humanitarian assistance. At Sabah, a columnist last fall accused the U.S. ambassador to Turkey, Eric Edelman, of letting his "ethnic origins" — guess what, he’s Jewish — determine his behavior. Mr. Edelman is indeed the all-too-rare foreign-service officer who takes seriously his obligation to defend America’s image and interests abroad. The intellectual climate in which he’s operating has gone so mad that he actually felt compelled to organize a conference call with scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey to explain that secret U.S. nuclear testing did not cause the recent tsunami.

Never in an ostensibly friendly country have I had the impression of embassy staff so besieged. Mr. Erdogan’s office recently forbade Turkish officials from attending a reception at the ambassador’s residence in honor of the "Ecumenical" Patriarch of the Orthodox Church, who resides in Istanbul. Why? Because "ecumenical" means universal, which somehow makes it all part of a plot to carve up Turkey.

Perhaps the most bizarre anti-American story au courant in the Turkish capital is the "eighth planet" theory, which holds not only that the U.S. knows of an impending asteroid strike, but that we know it’s going to hit North America. Hence our desire to colonize the Middle East.

It all sounds loony, I know. But such stories are told in all seriousness at the most powerful dinner tables in Ankara. The common thread is that almost everything the U.S. is doing in the world — even tsunami relief — has malevolent motivations, usually with the implication that we’re acting as muscle for the Jews.

In the face of such slanders Turkish politicians have been utterly silent. In fact, Turkish parliamentarians themselves have accused the U.S. of "genocide" in Iraq, while Mr. Erdogan (who we once hoped would set for the Muslim world an example of democracy) was among the few world leaders to question the legitimacy of the Iraqi elections. When confronted, Turkish pols claim they can’t risk going against "public opinion."

GET THE STORY.

Have fun in Turkey, Jim!

Yes!!! 1000!!!

1000_1 

The blog’s average number of hits per day has finally been drug up to 1000.

As you can see, its total hits per day are considerably higher, but the early days of the blog drag down the average. I think yesterday we got between 6000-7000 hits, but it’s hard to tell since "Today" reckons hits in a really weird way.

Those are hit, though, not distinct visitors. (I.e., they include all repeat visits and clicking into comment boxes.)

Maybe we’ll get to that level some day, though.

We’re also closing in on 300,000 total hits (in less than a year of operation).

ABORTION QUEEN: Hey, Pro-Lifers, Help Us Out!

National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL) head Nancy Keenan has written a letter to pro-lifers asking for their help (WARNING! Evil file format! [.pdf]).

Wellllllll now. . . . Isn’t that "special."

Let’s see what she has to say:

A MESSAGE TO THE
RIGHT-TO-LIFE MOVEMENT FROM
NARAL PRO-CHOICE AMERICA

PLEASE, HELP US PREVENT ABORTIONS

Hm. Help NARAL prevent abortions? They’ve seen the light and are joining our side? They’re changing their name to NURAL (National Unborn Rights Action League)? Doesn’t sound plausible. The credibility quotient of professional babykillers is low. Must be on lookout for incompetent attempts at deception.

For years, your groups and ours have waged one of the country’s most divisive political wars over a woman’s right to choose to kill her own offspring.

True.

We believe passionately that women have the right to decide for themselves when to bring children into the world kill their own children [sorry, the kids are already "in the world" as soon as they’re conceived] – without government interference. You disagree – passionately and sincerely.

Darn tootin’!

We will never resolve our differences on this basic question.

If by "we" you mean most individuals who are alive in the pro-abort movement right now and most individual pro-lifers, you are correct. Though some individuals may convert from one side to the other, most of the most committed members of both sides will remain where they are. On the other hand, if you mean our movements will always be locked in this struggle, no. Pro-lifers reproduce themselves while pro-aborts do not. Eventually, your movement will wither for demographic reasons (a phenomenon dubbed "the Roe effect"), leaving the pro-life movement free to protect unborn children again. The only question is how long it will take to stop the abortion holocaust you have initiated and how many millions of children will be murdered in the meantime.

But we should agree on an equally fundamental point: America would be a better country if no woman ever faced the difficult choices posed by an unintended pregnancy.

Yeah, and it would be a better country if there was no such thing as cancer, heart disease, obesity, or AIDS and in which nobody had to work for a living and nobody ever disagreed with anybody or had to do anything they didn’t want to do and we all had superpowers.

Not_the_enemy Furthermore, what’s all this dissing of "unintended pregnancies." Used to be a lot of folks would be excited when they got pregnant even though they weren’t intending to do so this month. Babies were looked forward to as positive things and as gifts from God. Some folks still take such attitudes, despite your propaganda campaign to equate "unintended pregnances" with unwanted babies.

What better way to end the debate (as if ending debate were an end in itself) over abortion rights than by eliminating the reasons women seek abortion?

You mean you want to change the facts that abortions are permitted by law and people have been propagandized to regard them as morally licit and to regard babies as an unwanted burden rather than as a positive contribution to humanity? Heck, yeah! I’m all up for changing those facts!

The time has come to join together in a new campaign to reduce the number of abortions.

DANGER, WILL ROBINSON, DANGER!!! IMPENDING INCOMPETENT DECEPTION ATTEMPT!!!

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid – who slightly disagrees with us only so he can protect his Mormon base on the issue of abortion – has offered a commonsensedeceptive bill deceptively called the Prevention First Act which would help reduce unintended pregnancies unwanted babies through better access to often-abortifacient birth controlcontraception. This landmark legislation represents a serious first step in addressing the problemlaughably transparent attempt to score political points with the public by appearing to claim the moral high ground while advancing our anti-baby agenda through other means that actually will increase the number of abortions occurring early in pregnancy, and I hope you–the pro-baby patsy of this evil scheme–wi’ll join pro-choiceabortion Americans and me, the Abortion Queen, in foolishly offering your support.

Let’s work together to pass this bill, and <completely insincere offer>make it the first step in a dialogue</completely insincere offer> about preventing unintended pregnanciesunwanted babies.

I eagerly await your answer despite the fact I didn’t include my address, phone number, or e-mail on this letter.

Nancy Keenan
President
NARAL Pro-Choice America

GIVE NANCY KEENAN YOUR ANSWER.

TEXT OF THE "PREVENTION FIRST" ACT. (More fisking to follow)

[Cowboy hat tip: Pajama Hadin.]

This Week's First Show (Feb. 16, 2005)

Karl and I did the honors.

LISTEN TO THE SHOW.

DOWNLOAD THE SHOW.

HIGHLIGHTS:

  • How to become an apologist.
  • Can laity conducting a Communion service self-Communicate? (Answer later in the show.)
  • What’s the problem with consubstantiation? Can an priest who leaves the Church consecrate the Eucharist?
  • Why can’t women be priests?
  • Was Mary a virgin her whole life?
  • Answer for can laity self-Communicate if they are leading a Communion service?
  • How to correct a dissenting Catholic?
  • Can a nun give a pitch for some worthy cause in place of the homily?
  • Will the caller be sinning if he has conjugal relations with his wife if she has her tubes tied?

This Week’s First Show (Feb. 16, 2005)

Karl and I did the honors.

LISTEN TO THE SHOW.

DOWNLOAD THE SHOW.

HIGHLIGHTS:

  • How to become an apologist.
  • Can laity conducting a Communion service self-Communicate? (Answer later in the show.)
  • What’s the problem with consubstantiation? Can an priest who leaves the Church consecrate the Eucharist?
  • Why can’t women be priests?
  • Was Mary a virgin her whole life?
  • Answer for can laity self-Communicate if they are leading a Communion service?
  • How to correct a dissenting Catholic?
  • Can a nun give a pitch for some worthy cause in place of the homily?
  • Will the caller be sinning if he has conjugal relations with his wife if she has her tubes tied?