Today my firstborn turned 18

Today my firstborn turned 18 years old. This is a milestone, not only in your life, but in the lives of your mother and me. Today is the result of years of questioning ourselves, falling on our faces for wisdom, and hoping that God is bigger than our mistakes for your sake (He is, of course). We have also seen the fruit of our labor and faith as you have grown up into the man you are now, though I can take no credit for the grace of God.

As a child you were always compliant. So much so that we thought other parents must really be doing it wrong to have so many complaints about parenthood...then we had our next child, and understood. To be fair, Todd has grown to become very compliant and hard working but this letter isn't about him.
You have had your challenges to face. You have been knocked down by life at times, and sometimes by your own doing. You have seen hard times and poverty, and yet you have this gift for being able to stand back up, dust off yourself, and continue on as though nothing has happened.

Today you are a man in the eyes of the law. In my eyes you have been a man for quite a while. Today you can vote. You can claim your independence. You can buy things on credit in your own name. You can have your own checking account with real checks and everything. These are good things but they all carry a responsibility with them. If used incorrectly they can become an insurmountable burden. Don't just save what you have after spending, spend what you have after saving. Living debt free is the best option. Strive to maintain your debt-free status.

As a parent, the one thing I take the most pride in is something I cannot take any credit for, your faith in God. It has thrilled my heart to count you as my brother as well as my son. We are co-heirs with Christ. We will inherit the Glory of heaven someday. Which is relieving when you consider what I will end up leaving for you on Earth.

Changes in your life are going to start coming like a fireball. Graduation will mark an end of a big chapter and from there you will begin the venture of a career. Don't be concerned that you don't know what that career is yet, in truth, you have already begun your career. You are a follower of Christ. Your job is secondary to that fact. He will guide you to the right place. Not all tasks will be pleasant. Many will stretch you in difficult ways. Many will be well suited and you will easily shine with them. Do all things for the Glory of God and you will find the joy in all of it. "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." (James 1:2-4, ESV)

You are only 8 years away from my age when I had you. In my time between 18 and having you, I joined the Navy, learned some useful skills, and wasted many years away from the Lord. After the military I worked only to support my weekends with my friends. The Lord drew me back to Him in His mercy and brought me your mother, and then You...and the rest of the kids.

I wasted many years trying to do things only to please myself, a trait I still struggle to repress. You have a head start. You are already walking with the Lord. Seek Him first and believe that He wants the best for you even when things of this world start looking like more fun. The truth is that sin IS fun. It does satisfy the cravings of the flesh, for a season, but the repercussions of a foolish decision can be very costly. While sin satisfies the flesh, it does not ever fulfill. It will always leave you wanting more and never fully attaining. It is the carrot on the stick. Always before your eyes but never within reach. Always promising but never fulfilling. I give these warnings, not because of any danger you are in, but because I know of the dangers and temptations that are coming.

Further down the road to come the Lord may bless you with a wife. That will be in His timing and of His choosing if you are patient and willing to wait for the best. In preparation for that time, do not invest your time looking for the right spouse, work on being the right spouse. God will bring your wife to you when you least expect it. I will have another letter for you when that time comes.

18 years have flown by. I still see the little boy jumping on the bed and singing "You are my sunshine". The boy running from a band-aid as though we were threatening amputation. Those first guitar lessons together (you taught me so much). The long haired Emo phase (So glad that is over). The tough transition from the church of glitz and glamour and clowns to a church of sobriety, piety, and the Cross. You have grown into a man who I am very proud of. I thank God for the privilege of the last 18 years with you. I thank God for the years to come.

Happy Birthday son, I love you

Dad

Republicans care nothing about the poor.

Ah the careless and unchecked lies that get spewed all over the internet and other media.

According to this study taken from 2008, the states who voted republican tended to be more charitable than the states who voted democratic. The top 8 most charitable states were all republican while the bottom 7 states were democratic. In fact, if you add up all of the percentage points for republican states vs. democratic states, the count comes out to 119.5 Republican vs. 113.9 Democratic, despite the fact that there were only 22 republican states vs 28 democratic states in 2008. That means Republicans were more charitable than Democrats with less states.

Now one might say that Republicans were able to be more charitable because they have all the money. After all,  everyone knows that republicans are all about the super-rich so they must have more money to give away. Well according to this article, the richest states were largely democratic while the poorest states were largely republican.

Any chance we can finally put this one to rest? Probably not.

Truth rarely means much in politics.

Pornography

Using pornography to satisfy God-given sexual desire is like eating Twinkies to satisfy God-given hunger.

We mistake taste and titillation as being the totality of the purpose for God-given hungers and desires. Junk food may satisfy our cravings but it does not address the intention of hunger which is to nourish our bodies. Pornography is a cheap substitute for intimacy within marriage. It satisfies the craving but it leaves us undernourished sexually.
Sexual desire is intended to bring us together with our spouse and share the unity we have with each other. It is a celebration of intimate relationship. It is a picture of our vulnerabilities before Christ as we share in His intimate love for us. We display ourselves before God, naked and with blemish, and He accepts us and loves us as we are. Every time we join with our spouse, we are celebrating this image.
Pornography leaves us without most of the other benefits of sex. Intimacy, acceptance, protection, bonding, pheromones, Oxytocin, endorphins, etc. God's purpose for the desires he gives us are for our good. It is grace on God's part that he built in these desires. They make it pleasing and easy to do His will. If we can just believe that His way satisfies more fully.

John Piper has an excellent discussion on this very thing.

Theistic Evolution

Theistic evolution is the idea that the theory of evolution does not contradict scripture. The account of creation in Genesis coincides with secular scientific theories on evolution. I am puzzled by the concept of the theistic evolutionist. In my mind this is the most difficult position to defend. My issue isn't with their desire to embrace evolutionist thinking, nor their desire to embrace their faith. My issue is that they try to do both at the same time when they are mutually exclusive to each other. The theistic evolutionist has the daunting task of not only reconciling evolutionary theory with scientific data, but then reconciling that theory with scripture. The former issue of defending the theory (or theories) of evolution are not the subject of the post so I will not go into that area here.

The most difficult area of reconciliation between these two concepts is in the age of the Earth. Standard evolution theory puts the Earth at 4.5 billion(ish) years old. The dating of the Bible puts the age of the Earth at roughly 6500 years. That leaves a lot of reconciling for the theistic evolutionist. Neither the creationist nor the evolutionist have to wrestle with this as they both understand that it can not be reconciled.

Genesis 1 and 2 give the account of creation which is boiled down to this:

Day 1: The heavens, the earth, light and darkness.

Day 2: Heaven

Day 3: Dry land, the seas, and vegetation.

Day 4: The sun, the moon and the stars.

Day 5: Living creatures in the water, birds in the air.

Day 6: Land animals and people.

Day 7: God "rested".

In each account the day is marked with a number and highlighted with a definition of the evening and morning. The Hebrew word "yom" is what we translate to the word "day". Yom is used 1109 times in the Bible to describe a 24 hour period. Only 9 times is it used to describe an era or long passage of time. Every time yom is used with a number such as 40 days, or day 7, etc., it refers to a 24 hour period. Every time yom is used with the descriptor of evening (ereb) and morning (boquer) it refers to a 24 hour period. In Genesis we have the daily account of creation highlighted with both a numerical reference and a description of morning and evening. It seems that the author was especially careful to point out this usage of yom as being literal.

The most common attempt to get around this issue is with 2 Peter 3:8 "But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." This passage references Psalm 90:4 "For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night." The first thing to note here is that 2 Peter is not referencing creation in any way. The context tells the reader to not lose hope in God's promise just because He seems slow in fulfilling it. God is patient and will fulfill His promise in His timing. God is not bound by the anxiety of time as we are. We are encouraged to be patient as well. We should also note that 2 Peter says a day is like a thousand years, Peter is using a simile. The correct understanding of a day as a 24 hour period is what makes this simile so powerful in its contrast to the thousand years. This is that same kind of simile we find in Psalm 90.

The psalmist uses a synonymous parallelism to contrast the thousand years period by two short periods. The usage of this passage to defend theistic evolution is especially difficult. If one accepts the contrast of a thousand years with the day as literal here they must also see the contrast of the thousand years with a watch of the night as literal. I hardly think a watchman could keep his eyes open for that long.

The contextual understanding of these passages is to highlight how different our perception of time is from God's. We only have 70 or so years to fulfill our promises. God has all of eternity to fulfill His. We can have faith in His promises because of this.

Another problem with the day of Genesis being 1000 years is that vegetation was created on day 3 and sunlight on day 4. I have trouble imagining vegetation surviving for a thousand years waiting for sunlight.

That is not the only problem with theistic evolution though. The TE also has to contend with the lack of scriptures defining a day as a million years. There is a lot of years to reconcile between 6000 creation "days" and the 4.5 billion years tauted by the evolutionists. There is also the problem of the fossil record. Evolutionists claim millions of years of animal life before man appeared on the scene based on the fossil record, but there was no death before the fall in the garden. Animal and human fossils should be found very close to each other according to the biblical account.

I know there is a difference between the theory(ies) of evolution and the origins of the Earth but in the case of reconciling Genesis to secular scientific thought they are so closely related that it makes no sense to approach the topic from two separate paths. The theistic evolutionist has a lot of hurdles to overcome in their understanding of creation, more so than the pure evolutionist. In my opinion there is no way to marry the two. They directly contradict each other. I would advise the theistic evolutionist to consider the large, and growing, volume of science behind creation. There is no need to wrestle with seeming contradictions in scripture and science. The scientific evidence supporting the biblical account is great.

Ultimately, the Christian must understand that our walk is one of faith. We must believe in order to be saved. Truth will not contradict itself. We may not understand it with our human perception but that does not change truth. God is gracious in that we do have the witness of science to help our belief but "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." John 20:29b

Get off the fence my TE friend.

The trial of Casey Anthony

I admit that I have not been following the Casey Anthony trial at all but of the little I know of it, it is sad that another young life was lost at the whim of her mother. I do have to wonder though, if it were just two years earlier, and the mother facilitated for someone to help birth the baby somewhat, then take a pair of scissors to the back of the baby's skull, then have the baby's brains sucked out before crushing the skull, Casey might have been heralded as a heroine activist for feminine rights.

Why should two years make a difference? why should 2 months or 7 months inside the womb make a difference?

I am confused by the Facebook posts of friends, whom I know to be pro-choice, who beguile Casey. They are dismayed at the brutality with which the baby was killed and the callousness of the mother who went dancing within a week of doing it. Somehow the irony is lost on them when considering how much more brutal an abortion is. 

Maybe it took Casey a little longer to decide she didn't want the baby.  Maybe she didn't feel the need to hire a doctor at that point since she could do it herself. How can one really decide if they are ready to start a family within 3 or 6 months of getting pregnant? It really takes a few years to make that decision after one has lived through all of the adjustments that are needed with a newborn. How about the terrible twos? Even if the mother survives the newborn phase, surely the government can't force her to go through the terrible twos if that is not her wish, and lets not even talk about the teenage years!

When you make life and death a personal decision, you have to validate all reasons that someone would have for doing it. It is their right to decide after all. You can't say that your desire to not want to risk birthing a child at your old age is any more valid than someone else not wanting to look "fat" for the prom. You can't say that waiting until 6 months is more or less responsible than deciding at 1 month to kill the child. How can we then cast judgement on a young woman who took 2 years (and 9 months) to decide whether or not she wanted to keep the baby alive? If we condemn her actions, then on what grounds do we not also condemn the actions of those who legally kill their children at a much younger age?

I have compassion for Casey. She lives in a world where the lives of our young are valued only on the basis of the mother's consideration of them. How can that philosophy not come to the next logical conclusion? I feel for all of the mother's out there who are, or have, faced this same dilemma. It has been drilled into us for decades that life and death are ours to decide. When there is no absolute basis or policy to regulate the action of that decision then the standard shifts from person to person. Life is meaningless but in the eye of the beholder.

We scoff at Casey's callousness but proclaim the value of abortion based on the mother's callousness and apparent lack of emotional harm. We marvel at the brutality of this child's death but find live dissection and burning of the unborn child to be "harmless".

God grant us the grace to submit the decisions of life and death to Your hands except where You have delegated that decision to us. May we have wisdom to bear that decision with the weight that it deserves. May we learn to value human life as You do. You value us so highly that You would send Your very Son to pay the penalty for our sin in order to reconcile our sin with Your holiness. If You died for this unborn child, how can we then devalue its life based on the whims of a wicked and foolish heart?

Can we get some insurance reform please?

I am all for insurance reform. The cost to the average american taxpayer is becoming unbearable. I would love to see a public option put in place to allow everyone to participate.

I am not referring to the healthcare reform that is threatening to be pushed on us right now. The insurance reform I am speaking of is CAR insurance.

Every state in the union requires car insurance. The minimum standards change from state to state but everyone must have some level of insurance. I wish I could come up with a product and have the government mandate that everyone must buy it. I wouldn't have to worry about the quality or the cost.

Car insurance largely became mandatory state by state throughout the 1980's and 90's. Prior to that time car insurance might have cost $300.00 per year as insurance companies competed with each other to show value in their product to the consumer. Now, in Michigan, basic coverage can cost $500.00 to $1500.00 per year, or even more. This is only for basic coverage which provides little to no value to the insured other than compliance with state law. Much of that cost comes from the insured absorbing the cost of the uninsured. The uninsured take the risk because a ticket for no insurance may cost a couple hundred dollars. If you are ticketed once a year on average, the cost is significantly less than being insured. If your vehicle is totaled in an accident it was likely already a beater and is easily replaced. If someone else is hurt in the accident, that is what the basic coverage is designed to provide for. The uninsured runs the risk of being sued for medical costs in that case, but like many other areas of life for the poor, the prohibitive costs offer few alternative options. Even with the new driver responsibility fee of $200 per year, on top of the ticket for no insurance, the cost is still cheaper than carrying basic insurance coverage.

(As a side note, you would have to be blind to see the driver responsibility fee as anything other than another tax that is designed to bolster the insurance companies and provide revenue for a failing state economy.)

Lets assume for the moment that the government really does devise laws and financial mandates for our betterment and not to cover their own ineptitude.

I propose that if we had a "public option" to meet minimum state requirements we could ensure full compliance with the law. We could wrap up the cost of the basic coverage in the cost of car fuel. That way you contribute to the insurance as you drive. The bigger users of gas will likely be the ones at the most risk of an accident due to their longevity on the road, therefore the contribution ratio becomes the most evenly divided when paid for through fuel cost. This would also promote "green" cars which is another political drive by the government for our own good.

We would have to lock down the use of the funds to cover the cost of the insurance to ensure that the government would not be allowed to dip into the funds for other reasons as they are prone to do.

This "public option" for car insurance would also still allow private insurance companies to continue their benevolent work of providing comprehensive coverage at an affordable and competitive rate. Car loan providers would still require comprehensive coverage to protect their investments, but the consumer would benefit from competitive rates as insurance companies try to win the customer with the best value. This can only happen when the consumer is not mandated to buy their product.

And best of all there is no reason to fund abortion through car insurance so even this congress should have no problem getting this passed.

As always I am open to alternative thoughts on this. What do you think?

If George Bush was an idiot..

Note: This was taken from an email that has been passed around. Author Unknown.

If George W. Bush had been the first President to need a teleprompter installed to be able to get through a press conference, would you have laughed and said this is more proof of how he inept he is on his own and is really controlled by smarter men behind the scenes?

If George W. Bush had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to take Laura Bush to a play in NYC, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had reduced your retirement plan's holdings of GM stock by 90% and given the unions a majority stake in GM, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had made a joke at the expense of the Special Olympics, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had given Gordon Brown a set of inexpensive and incorrectly formatted DVDs, when Gordon Brown had given him a thoughtful and historically significant gift, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had given the Queen of England an iPod containing videos of his speeches, would you have thought this embarrassingly narcissistic and tacky?

If George W. Bush had bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had visited Austria and made reference to the non-existent "Austrian language," would you have brushed it off as a minor slip?

If George W. Bush had filled his cabinet and circle of advisers with people who cannot seem to keep current in their income taxes, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had been so Spanish illiterate as to refer to "Cinco de Cuatro" in front of the Mexican ambassador when it was the 5th of May (Cinco de Mayo), and continued to flub it when he tried again, would you have winced in embarrassment?

If George W. Bush had mis-spelled the word "advice" would you have hammered him for it for years like Dan Quayle and potatoe as proof of what a dunce he is?

If George W. Bush had burned 9,000 gallons of jet fuel to go plant a single tree on Earth Day, would you have concluded he's a hypocrite?

If George W. Bush's administration had okayed Air Force One flying low over millions of people followed by a jet fighter in downtown Manhattan causing widespread panic, would you have wondered whether they actually get what happened on 9-11?

If George W. Bush had failed to send relief aid to flood victims throughout the Midwest with more people killed or made homeless than in New Orleans, would you want it made into a major ongoing political issue with claims of racism and incompetence?

If George W. Bush had created the position of 32 Czars who report directly to him, bypassing the House and Senate on much of what is happening in America, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had ordered the firing of the CEO of a major corporation, even though he had no constitutional authority to do so, would you have approved?

If George W Bush had proposed to double the national debt, which had taken more than two centuries to accumulate, in one year, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had then proposed to double the debt again within 10 years, would you have approved?

So, tell me again, what is it about Obama that makes him so brilliant and impressive? Can't think of anything?


Don't worry. He's done all this in 5 months -- so you'll have three years and seven months to come up with an answer.

In the new series "V", it i said that the most dangerous weapon that the enemy possesses is devotion. Devotion of the people can be a great thing if the object of devotion is trustworthy and unwavering like God is but when you have devotion to a man you tend to give him a pass for questionable actions. This is just further proof that of George Bush and Obama, it is the man who is admired or condemned, not his actions.

Pro-Choice Arguments - Foster Care

While there are variations, the general argument is that if the millions of unwanted unborn were to be born anyways, they would only find themselves in an already over-populated foster care system, and that we should be spending our time advocating for adoptions out of the foster care system before spending time fighting to save the lives of the unborn.

The truth is that according to foster care statistics found at childwelfare.gov, the average age of children entering foster care is 10 years old. These are not newborns who are sent directly to foster care. Carrying an unwanted child to term would not automatically result in a swelling of our foster care system. Most adoptions take place directly at birth by parents who have spent time on a waiting list with their adoption agency. There is simply no direct correlation between not having an abortion and a rise in foster care. Of the 50,000 newborns annually that are put up for adoption, every single one is immediately placed with a family. There are currently 2 million prospective adoptive parents on waiting lists. There are not enough newborns to meet the demand of potential parents waiting for direct adoptions so many have turned to the foster care system, thankfully. However there are slim pickings within the system too.

At any given time there are about 500,000 kids in foster care. On the average 300,000 enter foster care per year and 290,000 exit the system. Over half are returned to their original families. 15% live with relatives. 10% are emancipated. Only 17% are even available for adoption. Most kids exit foster care within a year of entering it. Less than 10% stay longer than 5 years. For a foster kid to become eligible for adoption the birth parents must first lose their parental rights. Then there is a mandated waiting period if it was voluntary. The whole process takes an average of 3.5 years. With the average age of entering foster care being 10, and a waiting period of 3-4 years for adoption, it is easy to see why many end up being emancipated instead. The low number of foster care adoptions is not due to a lack of demand, it is due to the very long process of making children available for adoption. Nevertheless, there are many eager adoptive parents waiting for children to become available to adopt. While I am not happy with the extended time spent within the foster care system for the child, I am glad it is a difficult thing to lose your parental rights.

A pro-choicer might suggest that the unborn are better off dead than to be born into the foster care system.

These are children who were wanted but taken from bad parents or by over zealous CPS workers. Not one child in foster care today could be said to prefer death to their current existence as evidenced by the fact that they are still alive. Suicides do happen but they are rare and, most importantly, it is the child's CHOICE to take their life, not the mother's.

So what about orphanages? If they don't end up in foster care then surely the orphanages Will swell with over population.

At the 1955 conference on induced abortion held by Planned Parenthood, one expert recalled that "Dr. Donnelly brought out that there are a great many originally unwanted children in this world who have become very deeply wanted after birth, and I don't think this is simply reaction formation. There are women who do not realize how gratifying it can be to mother a baby until they actually have it in their arms, and maternal feelings are aroused by the tangible situation." - Dr. Joseph Lidz, quoted by Mary Calderone, M.D., Medical Director of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (editor). Abortion in the United States. New York: Paul B. Hoeber, Inc., 1956. Page 127.

This was from a planned parenthood conference that took place in 1955 when abortions were illegal. The panel included such notables as Alan Guttmacher, Alfred Kinsey, Robert Laidlaw, Mary Calderone, and many others. Planned Parenthood advocates themselves recognized the strength of the maternal instinct. Parenthood produces an amazing transformation on new parents. It was also noted at the same conference that many women who sought out an abortion would change their mind after a month if they had not yet secured the abortion. Having a surprise unintended pregnancy is a huge shock especially for the young who have other plans in life. They go through the 5 stages of grief. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Abortion becomes the easy answer to the first 4 stages. Once the woman reaches the stage of acceptance, she embraces her baby and the idea of becoming a mother. I suspect there may be a chemical reaction associated with pregnancy that helps the mother bond to her child but I am not aware of any studies to that end.

There is a pro-choice philosophy that says it is damaging to both woman and child to give your child up for adoption. Typical of this anti-life attitude is a statement in a booklet amusingly entitled "Let's Tell the Truth About Abortion." This booklet, issued by Planned Parenthood to its clients in Colorado, states; "But aren't there alternatives to abortion? Yes, there are. A pregnant women can carry the baby to term and she can then keep it or relinquish the baby for adoption. Relinquishment is often not a very humane procedure." - Rocky Mountain Planned Parenthood. Fight Back Press, 1985.

Not a humane procedure? Yet in their twisted thinking, burning the baby alive with a saline solution and then sucking it's body apart piece by piece is somehow more humane. They say that it is damaging to the woman to give up her child for fear of not ever having full assurance that their child is being well taken care of. I have two thoughts here; First, the worst case scenario that could happen to that child is a torturous death, something they seek to avoid by giving the child a tortuous death within the womb instead O_o Second, couples who seek adoption have a vigorous application process that tests for home life, finances, secure housing, etc., 60% of children who are adopted out come from single parent, low income situations and move to couples with a higher median income level. An adopted child's foundation for success is very strong.

Banning abortion will not swamp foster care or even adoption agencies. It will cause only a small increase in population as it will cause most people to ensure they don't get pregnant in the first place by either making the decision not to engage in sex, or by using protection. Abortion on demand has paved the way to lazy atitudes regarding procreation and a ban on killing the unborn will likely reverse that attitude.

Impossible pro-life questions - The burning house

From time to time I get the "impossible" question designed to trip up the core argument of any pro-lifer thereby rendering his arguments powerless and securing abortion for women for centuries to come, muwahahahahaha!!!!...ahem, sorry.

One such example is the burning house question. It goes something like this; You are passing by a house that is on fire. You know that there is one young child passed out on the floor and in another part of the house are 100 frozen embryos waiting to be implanted. You only have time to save one or the other. Who do you choose to save?

The intention of the question is to get the prolifer to admit that either the embryo is not really as valuable as the born child, or you care nothing about born children in your zeal to protect the unborn at any cost.

On the surface it sure seems like a good "gotcha" question, but I have found that my answer fails to really satisfy the asker. My answer to this is always "It Depends". I am often accused at this point of trying to evade an answer, or trying to change the question, or even at one point I was accused of trying to argue in the hypothetical by questioning the question. (as though the question isn't already in the hypothetical).

So what does it depend on? I'm so glad you asked because few pro-choicers ever let me explain. The question does not provide enough information, as is, to give a definite answer. First let me say that I am not a fan of the IVF industry because of the practice of creating more embryos than are intended on being used. I know the process is costly and the idea is to create a surplus with the expectation that only a few will survive. In my mind this is another example of playing with life and death for financial reasons and that isn't a very large gap from abortion itself. I sympathize with couples who want to have their own child. I don't even need to point out the obvious availability of adoption. But If IVF is going to be attempted then I would have to insist that it is done on a one-at-a-time basis. You simply don't create life and then discard it whether it is in a womb or a petrie dish.

That having been said, when rescuers are sent into situations like this, they have to make life and death determinations. They do that by deciding quickly who has the best chance of survival. That viability is a very shifting sand. Many things come into play with this. How close is the EMT to one victim over the other? How badly injured are both parties? Can one be expected to recover from their injuries better than the other? I feel for anyone who finds themselves having to make that decision.

In this scenario, I would have to ask myself which group was more viable at the time I showed up. I am not trained in cryogenics at all so I would have no idea if the equipment was even still working and if there were any living embryos still inside. Even if I could know that, I would have to know that the embryos had a likely chance of survival outside of the building. Can cryogenics be mobiley supported? Even if I knew that the answer was yes so far, would I know that these embryos were dedicated to a couple? or were they already designated for destruction?

There are many factors involved in this question. Assuming that all things are equal and both the child and the cryogenic container full of embryos had equal chance of survival, I would have to save the 100 lives over the other single lost life. This is of course not realistic as all things would not be equal in my case. Why are there cryogenics in the house anyways? and where are the child's parents? Ah so much for hypothetical.

While I'm at it though let me ask a question of my own. If the unborn are indeed only potential life (despite all scientific evidence otherwise) then we should be able to equate that to other unborn life as being only potential and not actual. Therefore why can I not make my morning omelettes out of eagle eggs? Why do we protect their unhatched while we let our unborn die? If there is no eagle inside the egg but only a potential eagle then the egg should be as available as a chicken egg. Are eagle eggs even tasty?

More on healthcare

Ok, so taxes are indeed higher in France with their healthcare system. What about the cost comparison between the average premium payment for a family of four and the proposed added tax on a family of four? Considering the bulk buying power that could come from a large customer base such as the government, I would have to anticipate that the added tax would be lower than what I am currently paying on my insurance premiums. Not to mention the incredible cost of medical bills that are not covered by my insurance. My mounting debt could certainly be influencing the appeal to healthcare reform.

Consider this, We pay taxes to cover other emergency costs such as Fire, Rescue, and Police. I know emergency rooms must give you basic life saving care but it's not like those costs are just absorbed and forgotten by the hospital. Is it unreasonable to expect basic healthcare to be covered by the government as well? I am certainly not suggesting that we allow the government to cover all "healthcare" such as elective surgery, i.e. abortion, mole removals, augmentations, etc.

So where would the dividing line be? I don't know. The current level of debate on this is far too early. We have government provided services in place already that we can look at for precedence on what should be covered, but there is much to look at. This issue is not ready for a vote. It is not even ready to be drawn up in a bill yet. The fact that it is being rushed through is of grave concern to me. Only corruption can come when there is a reluctance to have full disclosure and debate.

Our system of checks and balances was put into place to make the act of passing laws a very slow process. There is good reason for it. We need time to digest the facts and take in all the information. We need time to set up checks and balances within any new law. We need time to investigate the ramifications of any new law. No good law comes easily.

Do I actually support universal healthcare?

I don't watch the news. I don't read the newspaper. I develop my viewpoints by asking myself questions and then researching my answers. I find that my conclusions most often line up with conservative right-wing viewpoints. So I am surprised to discover that I am actually considering the idea that universal health care may be the right way to go.

I have seen the studies that reflect how poorly things are going for Canada and I have experienced first hand how medicaid is more of a hassle to deal with then simply dying. But I have recently been looking at France's health care system and I am struggling to understand why it would not work here. The WHO has rated them as the top health care system in the world. I don't see the WHO as having any moral compass whatsoever so I always take their statistics with a huge grain of salt. They have been known to have questionable methodology in gathering their data, but the fact that they rated them number one made me want to know why.

I have only begun to research this so I admit I am a novice but I can usually find the holes fairly quickly if the liberals really like something. This time I have not been able to find any negative on the surface with France's health care system. A doctor visit will net a cost of about $28.oo in France. I, on the other hand, have medical bills flying out of my ears. The quality of health care does not seem to be suffering as I would have suspected. There don't appear to be any long waits in line. I can't find evidence of any rationing of health care. About 75% of the doctors and hospitals accept the government health care system in France. I have to search for days with my insurance to find the few doctor's that are not out of network. France also has private health insurance that can supplement if you are not satisfied with the government level of care.

I always assumed that privatized health care drove innovation and competition. Somehow that does not seem to be stopping the French. My gut tells me that there is something that I have not yet uncovered. There must be a negative. Perhaps the taxes are outrages, I haven't looked into the cost yet. I know I pay a pretty penny for my private insurance. I know the French are paying about $7.00 per gallon for gas, but I don't know how much of that reflects on their health care system, if any.

We have no problem paying taxes for Fire and Police protection, I am not sure why doctor care doesn't fall under that same umbrella.

I do know that their government regulates cost. A doctor can expect to make $50 - 100,000 per year. That sounds like a great salary from my perspective but I am not in favor of limiting someones ability to make money. I hold no envy for the Gates, buffets, and Hefner's of our society. They have taken the risks and done well, they should absolutely benefit from their entrepreneurship.

Leftists have been disingenuous by suggesting that we don't want health care reform or that we want things to stay the way they are. My daily phone calls from collectors and my ever-draining bank account tells me that my health coverage is not adequate. But Obama and Pelosi have not suggested a system on par with France. Their solution scares me quite frankly. It seems more on par with what Canada has, and their system is in real trouble.

I also cannot support a system that is intent on supplying the funds to kill hundreds of thousands of children per year. I will gladly take my growing debt over the guilt of coercively partaking in such destruction. Obama has been offered many solutions from the right to make his plan more palatable but he has balked at every one.

Do I want universal health care? I think I actually might.

Do I want what Obama has proposed? I am almost certain that I don't.

Conversations with a pro-choicer - Is the fetus alive?

I am going to do a few posts highlighting different conversations I have had with pro-choicers that deal with specific objections to abortion. My intent is two-fold. First I want to show how the logic is revealed through actual conversation, and second I want to show how a kind word can turn away wrath.
I am frustrated with many in my camp who want to do good by making a pro-life change in this world, but their method is bent on ridicule and insult. I have never seen this as an effective method for changing hearts and minds.
In this conversation I want to show how a respectful tone can do much to set your opponent at ease. This by itself wont change their mind, but it is essential if the logic and facts are expected to do their job to make sure you don't close their ears.

I have included the comments of some of my comrades in arms. Some are beneficial comments, some are detrimental to the conversation. In the end I am glad to say that the point was won on my opposing friend's heart. He is still pro-choice but he is more open now than before to talk things through with me. The conversation may appear disjointed at times, that is just the nature of these message boards.

DBD
in all the time i have been posting on this channel, (and others) not one person has been able to show me conclusively that an embryo is a human being. not once! you would have thought that if there was something other than a leap of faith involved, someone would have shown me the evidence?

shardoin
DBD - not one person has been able to show me conclusively that an embryo is a human being. Admittedly, I am shocked that this would even be in question. Have you ever heard of a woman giving birth to anything other than human?

DBD
what has that to do with anything? a fertilised egg might become a human being.

IGNAT
DBD,In its 1859 Report on Criminal Abortion, the American Medical Association (AMA) understood that 'the independent and actual existence of the child before birth as a living being' was a scientific truth. Nothing has changed since that time. For the past 150 years doctors have known that life begins at conception. UVVAct of 2004 defines an UNBORN CHILD as a human being at any stage of development (ZYGOTE, EMBRYO, FETUS) who is carried in the womb of the mother.

DBD
I could go and check on your 60 year old report, but every time i do, i find that you have twisted or cherrypicked the facts, (like in the uvv 2004 case below) and that what you say is irrelevent. cutting and pasting BITS of documents and hoping that no-one take the time to check them is not a good debating strategy. and incidentally if what some people said 60 years ago was proof of anything, why did no-one act on it yet?

shardoin
DBD - why has no one acted on it? You are asking the wrong question, that's why. The abortion debate doesn't bring into question the humanity of the fetus; it is about the right to live for the unborn human being. It is a civil rights fight, not a semantics fight.

DBD
no i am asking the question I want an answer to, not the one you want answer, if theres a difference that doesnt mean I got the question wrong.

shardoin
That’s fine; we can take the long route. The reason no one has acted on what was said 60 years ago is that it doesn't have any bearing on the debate. No one is saying that the fetus is not a human being.

DBD
I am

shardoin
DBD - I am. If that is the case then the onus is on you to present evidence to support your position. It is a position that is contrary to science, semantics, and the medical community. I look forward to seeing your arguments though.

DBD
The onus is not on me because abortion is a legal activity, and i am not trying to chance that or stop anyone excercing their legal right, the onus is on you.

shardoin
DBD - the onus is not on me ...I can see you are having trouble following this. You made a statement that you have the onus to support. If I had said that abortion was not legal I would have the onus to present evidence. The position you took is that a fetus is not a human being. The onus is on you to support that position.

DBD
Buy a dictionary mine says "any man woman or child of the species homo-sapiens, no mention of fetus's

shardoin
PERSON
Noun
1. human being - any living or extinct member of the family Hominidae.
The fetus is a member of the family hominidae.

DBD
its not living or a member.

shardoin
If you are saying the fetus is not alive then I look forward to seeing your supporting evidence.

DBD
I told you I don’t NEED to support it, you NEED to prove me wrong. I look forward to that.
DBD
unfortunately i have to go out, see if you change the law before i come back.

shardoin
DBD - you NEED to prove me wrong...Clearly you don’t understand the rules of debate. When you posit an opinion, especially one that is a contrary opinion, the onus is put on you to support your opinion. Otherwise it becomes discarded as merely opinion.

DBD
thats what YOU say.

shardoin
DBD - Are you seriously insisting that I supply evidence that the fetus is alive? Would you like supporting evidence for gravity as well?

Merl
DBDPro-lifers do not particularly careabout what pro-aborts consider "good debating strategy".Because you and you kind would rather see pro-lifers as a collection of submissive weeners. That's one dream that ain't going to happen.Ever.

DBD
"pro-lifer" dont seem to care about what a lot of people consider

shardoin
What do a lot of people consider?

DBD
a lot of people consider abortion to be ok

shardoin
The fact that a lot of people consider it ok is not an argument for anything. Mob rule does not always mean right rule. The latest polls show that the majority are pro-life, but again that really means nothing. A lot of people considered slavery to be ok once too.

DBD
no they dont

shardoin
I dont know what you are disagreeing with unless you specify

DBD
the majority of americans 75% said in that* poll, that they agreed with abortion, some under certain unstated conditions , (me too), 51% plus or minus 3% the majority you are talking about said they felt more pro life than pro choice when face witha false dichotomy. gallup spokesmenn said they thought the hickup was a kneejerk reaction to obamas recent abortion policy.

shardoin
what false dichotomy?

DBD
are you pro choice or pro lfe.

Merl
DBD - and a lot of people don't consider abortion to be ok.

DBD
"and a lot of people dont consider abortion to be ok", and i respect their right to not have one.

Merl
DBD - No person has the right to take the life of a helpless unborn babe.

DBD
actually  undead abortionists do. go and have a look at the facts.

Merl
DBD"..undead abortionists.."?You also referred to people (including yourself) as being "undead corpses" last night.Your outlook on life is truly bizarre - it explains a great deal about your pro-abort stance.

shardoin
The property or quality that distinguishes living organisms from dead organisms and inanimate matter, manifested in functions such as metabolism, growth, reproduction, and response to stimuli or adaptation to the environment originating from within the organism.

DBD
but that could all be as a result of the conection by umbilical cord to the mother. once these functions can be performed independenty of the mother, (for a n extended period) then a fetus can be said to be alive.

shardoin
None of the functions of life happen because of the cord. From the moment of conception, the conceptus begins to reproduce thru mitoses, it metabolizes, it responds to its environment. Even the placenta is grown by the fetus, not the mother.

DBD
you can apply all of this logic to a vaginal wart.

shardoin
Really? Does a vaginal wart have its own DNA? Seriously are you here for real debate or just to troll?

DBD
why is dna at all relevant?

shardoin
Why is DNA relevant?Because DNA is one huge way in which we can determine autonomy.

Merl
DBD - Human Beings as unto a wart! Your slip is showing.

shardoin
Independence is also not a criterion for life. A newborn has no independence. It cannot survive on its own. A conceptus exhibits every trait of life prior to attaching itself tothe uterine wall, independent of the mother.

DBD
"independence is not a criteria for life", who says so?

shardoin
Who says so? Biologists who define what constitutes biological life.

DBD
biologists say that dna is relevent in defining what constitutes a human being?

shardoin
Yes biologists do say that DNA is relevant for defining not only a human being but any other animal.

Merl
DBD - Re: "once these functions can be performed independenty of the mother, (for an extended period) then a fetus can be said to be alive.'Who do you think you are - the author of life? You, who doesn't even understand the cause of the force which holds him to the ground.Life begins at the moment of conception. Fact.

DBD
facts are provable, and please tell me what is the cause of the force that holds me to the floor?

shardoin
What is the cause of the force that holds me to the floor? Giant magnets

Merl
DBD For a person who believes that he knows when life begins - he has to ask Merl as to what the cause of the force is that holds him to the ground? What a joke.

DBD
you accused me of being ignorant because I didnt know something and you cant show that you know it? that is a joke

Merl
DBD.Don't try to reverse the argument - a typical pro-abort tactic.You claim to know when life begins - therefore, you tell us here tonight, what the cause of gravity is.There's no scientist on earth who knows the answer to that question.Perhaps you do - seeing as you claim that life begins at some moment other than at conception.

DBD
shardoin, can we then state categorically that if something were to have its own individual human dna that it is a human being?

shardoin
You are putting the cart before the horse. Genetic tests identify the being already present before you. It can define that being as being human, or the DNA can identify the type of animal that the item came from as in a hair which would be a byproduct of that being.

DBD
so dna shows only that it is a part of something that is/was alive?

shardoin
DNA identifies the owner of the item in question. Be it an arm, a hair, an entire body. DNA doesshow that whatever is being tested was once alive though, you are correct on that. DNA requires life to exist.

Meta
"[DNA] shows only that it is a part of something that is/was alive?"DNA shows a great deal more than that. It shows which particular species it is, among other things. FBI DNA evidence has been being used to prove cases in court for decades.The DNA of an organism determines what species that organism is.

DBD
so what we have ascertained thus far unless I am mistaken, (which is not impossible) is that a fertilized egg, has its own human DNA, which shows indisputably that it is or was at some point alive? is that right so far

shardoin
So far we seem to be on the same page ...continue please.

DBD
" continue please" I got nothing, I 'm trying to remember why it was relevent?

shardoin
lol, that's fine. We can pick it up later if you want to take a break.

DBD
thanks but what i mean is that you now now convinced of the facts that I oulined, and i have nothing more to add to or question on that subject. I cant remember (or never knew) why the matter would be of any signifigance.

shardoin
I'm not sure why it is significant either; you started the line of questioning.

DBD
"you started the line of questioning" so where were you before you were so rudely interupted?

Lorra41
" To accept the fact that after fertilization has taken place a new human being has come into being is no longer a matter of taste or opinion...it is plain experimental evidence".The "Father of Modern Genetics" Jerome Lejeune....Univ. of Descarte, Paris.

Lorra41
Everyones life begins at fertilization. This is an irrefutable fact of biology. No matter how far along in the pregnancy, abortion always ends the life of an individual human being.

shardoin
The criterion for biological life has been established. It is not opinion; it is a consensus of scientific study. The conceptus fulfills every criterion for biological life.

DBD
biological life does not mean a human being though right?

shardoin
Biological life only means human biological life if it is biologically human.

DBD
biological human life does not mean a biological human being though right?

shardoin
Biologically speaking...yes

DBD
yes it does not?

shardoin
lol yes it does mean a biological human being. Biologically it can'tbe anything else.

DBD
so to recap again, shortly after conception, a fertilised egg contains its own human dna and is biologically a human being? is that right?

shardoin
not shortly after conception, but AT conception. Otherwise we are in agreement.

Meta
"a [fertilized] egg, has its own human [DNA], which shows indisputably that it is or was at some point alive? is that right so far"Never thought of it that way, but I have no disagreement with that statement. The DNA is used to determine species and individuality. Life is determined by the characteristics of the organism, those characteristics being, cellular division (growth), metabolism, autonomous movement and reaction to stimuli.

DBD
and is an independent life.

shardoin
Dependency is too loosely defined; I would say an individual life.

DBD
individual will do for me.

shardoin
ok :)

DBD
1 more question (which I dont expect you to be ble to answer) why, after commenting on this vid for months and repeatedly asking, is this the first time anyone has told me all this?

shardoin
ur right, I can’t say why that is but I hope I was helpful to you.

DBD
" but I hope I was helpful to you" not really, because now i will have to endure pro.lie merl and ignatious costantly ranting that human life begins at conception, because technically speaking they are right, but thanks for trying.

shardoin
Well you could always join us :)

DBD
thanks for the invite but i dont like the company you keep.

shardoin
There are all kinds in both camps. Life at conception is just the beginning. There are plenty of arguments to work thru from that starting point. I don’t hang my hat on that argument alone. Hopefully we will be able to hash thru these together again.

ignatius
DBD,You still deny the basic scientific facts.Your opinion does not change the scientific facts -- You lie and you lie nothing more nothing less.Embryology, Fetology, Obstetrics, and Biology have clearly confirmed that human life begins at conception. And that zygotes, embryos, and fetuses are unborn children who are human beings, carried inthe womb of the mother (UVoVAct of 2004; 1981 Senate Report, S-158 of 97th Congress).

DBD
"you still deny the basic scientific facts" really? oh and as you know the uvv act 2004 specifically excludes abortion

shardoin
The exclusion of abortion is a political act. It doesn’t mean that they thought these were human beings, UNLESS the mother wanted to kill them. They were being political cowards.

DBD
“they were being political cowards" maybe, they still excluded abortion, and it is unreasonable to select some information and and ignore other pieces of information from the same document because you say it is unreliable.

shardoin
What information was being ignored? They did not deny the humanity of the fetus when they gave exclusion for abortion.

DBD
"they did not deny the humanity of the fetus" and neither did I, (after you explained it to me), the fact being ignored is the fact that that documents states that that protection is not extended to abortion.

shardoin
I agree to the limits of that document in protecting the unborn, but I believe He used that document to show that the fetus was officially classified as a human being legally. There are certainly plenty of inconsistencies in the law when it comes to protecting the unborn.

DBD
hey i wouldnt wanna be the next person to ask me "which came first the chicken or the egg?"

shardoin
lol


*next day*


kirs
DERBULL: You said in you post"Life begins at conception, technicaly THEY ARE RIGHT ! "Thankyou for that :D

DBD
dont thank me thank sardoin (sp?)

kirs
Ummmmmm page 9 der it was definatly you my dear,pop your specks on and go look,,but hey its a good day ,der has admitted something he has been denying to be true,,well done der,,see it didnt hurt did it ! XD

DBD
ha ha!, why you have to be rude? typical. what I meant was, dont give me the credit for saying that, thank sardoin(sp?) he explained it to me.

DBD
sHardoin


This topic is certainly a hot topic and it takes a great deal of patience to keep from attacking your opponant, rather than their facts or logic. I slip often enough but I am also easy to acknowledge it if I am called out or if I recognize it myself. When you engage someone on this topic remember why you are talking to them about it. What is your ultimate goal? Are you there to just cast stones or do you care to change their heart and perhaps change enough hearts to save 50 million babies a year?

Abortion is the leading cause of death for the unborn. We cant afford to be the reason for losing this fight. Present the facts, present your sound reasoning and then just get out of the way.