Thought Quotient

Bush Signs Fetus Rights Legislation

President Bush signed legislation today that makes it a crime to harm a fetus during an assault on a pregnant woman.

The bill passed by a 245-163 vote in the House and by a 61-38 margin in the Senate.

What is the reasoning behind the 163 House and 38 Senate votes against this? Those that did not vote for it will probably say that it would lead to a chipping away of the abortion rights in this country. What does that say about abortion when a bill of this sort can’t be agreed to because of the moral conflict with abortion rights?

Here is a quote today from Kate Michelman, the president of NARAL Pro-Choice America (formerly The National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League)…

“Everyone agrees on the need to protect pregnant women and the developing lives within them from harm � and with just a few phone calls, the President could have persuaded Congress to pass a consensus bill doing so without entangling it in the abortion rights issue.”

If everyone agrees, why didn’t everyone agree to this legislation? There is no way to address issues of this sort without running smack dab into the moral question of abortion and it’s consequences.

Note: She even mentions “developing lives” in the previous quote. So the logical conclusion is that an abortion ends a developing life. But she didn’t say that, she said that everyone agrees we need to protect the developing lives from harm. How is abortion not harmful? We are only denying reality when we say that it is a choice and not a harmful act to the developing life inside and a harmful act spiritually to the woman.

Stand or Run Away

Three Americans among 4 civilians killed in Iraq
Residents hang bodies from bridge

In every conflict situation in life we have two choices: stand and fight or run away. Times such as these are inevitable - no matter how much we would like to pretend like they aren’t. There are many people in our nation who would say that we have no business in Iraq… that we are wrong for having a military presence there. I think this situation proves otherwise. The forces at work in Iraq which are behind terrorist events like these have to be stopped. Intentionally targeting civilians, intentionally killing innocent people is wrong. Period. There is no argument to this point. Such terrorist activity must be stopped. We can stand by and say, “we shouldn’t get involved, it’s not our business”. But the fact is, such remarks are based in fear. Fear that our lives might be on the line for the issue of right and wrong. Fear that our children might have to fight and die for what’s right. Fear that our comfort might be upset by standing up against evil. Fears that exist in every one of us.

However, fear of the consequences of doing what’s right is not an excuse to do wrong. We have a choice. We can stand and fight against the people who would gloatingly hang the bodies of murdered innocent civilians from the side of a bridge, or we can cower and turn away until our choice is taken away and they’re hanging our people from our own bridges in the U.S. We can’t afford to harbor any delusions… one way or another, eventually we will have to fight or die. Those who say otherwise paint pretty pictures that have no basis in reality. It’s time to face reality.

What kind of worldview is this??

George Carlin is a comedian who has a penchant for social commentary. Yet I think this is one of the most wacky views of the times we live in that I have ever seen….

CNN: What do you think of the state of the world today?

We’re all given a ticket to the American freak show the day we’re born and some people, they put their ticket away. Me, I watch the show.

There are too many things wrong with this to even try to break it down. I’m pretty sure that his grammar is correct for the most part though, I’ll give him that.

The Real American Idol

Nope, not a singer belting out another standard pop tune…but the almighty dollar. One thing that cannot be said is that tv doesn’t pander to the demographic that gives them the highest profit turn-around. Today that appears to be the youth who watch loads of tv and are attracted to the latest superficial trends like moths to a flame. The lure of the shiny, flashy, cool stuff is just too much.

To reinforce that, comes this story where we hear the head of Viacom (who is worth 8.9 billion dollars by the way) talk with glee about the prospects of more…

“Mexico has 50 percent of its population under 24, which, as I like to say, is music to our ears,” he said. “Because those are the demographics that our brands focus on.”

So it looks like he’s admitting that tv is not about the show content, but rather the commercials that are shown in between. That would explain why television shows are so bad these days. Also, what about this…

Redstone also said Tuesday that he has been in discussions with U.S. cable operators about the possibility of launching a gay and lesbian channel. He called the would-be network “a good channel for them, and a good channel for Viacom.”

I would venture to say that Viacom looks at this channel as a great opportunity to tap into another group of viewers/consumers…this time by disguising it as a socially progressive (aka “trend-setting) channel. A good channel to Viacom is not one that promotes any kind of redeeming values, but instead promotes their advertisers products.

John Kerry - The Pimp.

Working with youth culture provides a person with a constant source of slang terminology. It becomes a game for me really, trying to determine what each new word means and then to start using that word around teenagers until they decide it’s no longer cool anymore because “the old guy” is using it. It’s terribly entertaining actually! But every now and again, it’s also very applicable to our culture at large.

In our youth culture, the word “pimp” no longer holds it’s original meaning - although much of the negative connotation is still there. For example, “Pimp My Ride” on MTV. Originally meaning a man who served as the middle-man for street prostitution, “pimp” has mutated (thanks to negative hip hop influence) into a variation on the concept of cool. So, if a young person comes up to you and says, “that shirt is so pimp“… you can go home satisfied that your wardrobe has survived evaluation by the youth fashion police.

However, when used as noun instead of an adjective, the word carries significantly different meaning. In younger children, a 10 year old might consider himself a pimp if he has several “girlfriends” and particularly so if those girlfriends are competing for his attention and giving him things. This moves to a less innocent meaning in later teens and much of hip-hop culture where the meaning is similar but the idea is that the more women a male has providing him with favors… from financial favors to sexual favors - the bigger “Pimp” he is. But in the broadest sense it means pretty much the same thing as the somewhat outdated (in teen circles) term - “Player”. A pimp is someone who manipulates other people to his own gain - a hustler. Someone who uses flashy appearances and enticing words to hook people into his/her influence then uses them as resources for his/her personal profit.

John Kerry is a pimp. This article is a good example of what I’m talking about. He’s got all the right words (regardless how hypocritical) to say and all the flashy physical appearance to make a good pimp. All he needs is a little more “bling”.

U.N. Security Council condemns Israel, not the violence

> the resolution failed to mention recent attacks by Hamas, including a suicide bombing in Ashdod that killed 10 Israelis last week. It also limited its condemnation to violence in the Palestinian territories, omitting attacks in Israel.

Once again, anti-Israeli terrorism gets a pass from the U.N. After all, it was the death of a Hamas leader that brought about this resolution. Forget about the Palestinian boys and girls that are used as clandestine bomb delivery systems. Forget about the organized hate that teaches boys and girls that this is a blessed thing to do. Forget about the countless Palestinians that have grown up hearing that Israel is nothing but an evil oppressor. Forget about those same Paliestinians that feel that death is far better than living.

That is an issue that needs to be addressed, and until it is, things will continue to look bleak in that region.