As I approach middle age, it is such a comfort to see the Wahoo! headline above. I began working out two weeks ago, five days a week.
Thank goodness the people at Wahoo! have clarified that death is only a “risk,” not a certainty (or even a high probability).
Thought I should share this good news.
Categories: stuff in my head
For those who may not have been controlled by, er, listening carefully to talk radio or other media sources over the last couple of weeks, there are a few terms that have been used extensively which may require some explanation.
First, there has been a lot of discussion about immigration. Those who felt it would be inappropriate to create a path to citizenship for those who entered this country by violating the existing laws have been said to be against family unification. As one of the people who contacted my senator requesting that he oppose a measure which had he helped to sponsor, let me just say that I’m all for family unification. You should be unified with your family, and no one would disagree. The difference is that I think families should unify in countries where they are legal entrants.
Those who favored granting citizenship (also read as voter registration) to the illegal residents are no longer known as Liberals – turns out that was an ugly word that nobody liked, especially if it were hung around their neck. Those people are now known as Progressives, primarily because much of the funding for said group’s mouthpieces comes from George Soros, he of Progressive Insurance fame (and my, isn’t that a self-serving little buzzword; product placement in every article about the left-wing point of view). Clearly, those who don’t agree with progressive thinking must be regressive, or digressive. I, for instance, wish we would revert to a time where people debated differences in rational terms, rather than by trying to use the government to shut differing opiners up.
Oh, and that brings us to the last term: Fairness. In the real world, fairness means that everybody gets a chance to state their point of view. In the Progressive view, it means that any conservative expression must be balanced by a liber– oops! — progressive expression. Please note that progressive statements would not need to be counterbalanced by conservative statements; the mainstream media would continue running stories about how the government should be giving out more cheese, with nary a mention of how much of that cheese would come from the pockets of thems of us who worked hard to get out of the burger joint.
Oh, to be fair, I should mention that not all employees of sushi joints are happy to be there, either.
So, in summary: Illegal residents, be fair to your family and mine and make progress back to the land where your legal status resides. Feel free to apply for citizenship here – I’d welcome you with open arms. Better stop before I digress.
Categories: Luck of the Irish · on being politically incorrect · stuff in my head
Atlanta, Ga – A second primate has died while in the care of Zoo Atlanta this year. Coupled with the deaths of two whale sharks at the Atlanta Aquarium, animal leaders have begun calling for an immediate withdrawal of captive animals in Atlanta.
A spokesperson for the OFANAK (Ostriches for a New Animal Kingdom) said that the death rate among animals in captivity in Atlanta is beginning to approach the rates where animals kill each other in the wild, proving that the animals would be better off in the wild.
Representatives for LUCiD (Lemmings United for Cliff Diving) echoed the sentiments of OFANAK, adding that “good little Darwinians have a responsibility to let us die off in peace.”
Representatives for Zoo Atlanta were speechless.
Categories: on being politically incorrect · stuff in my head
This one has a little experience; anyone listening?
Categories: Blinded me with science · on being politically incorrect
Categories: not at all original · on being politically incorrect
I believe I’ve quoted these words before -
“If we want to bring an end to abortion, we must be about the business of changing hearts rather than changing laws.“
The gentleman who said that had bought a large house in suburban Atlanta and opened it to women who were expecting but unable to stay in their home. I’ve long forgotten the man’s name, but his words will be with me always.
Sadly, neither side of the extremes in the abortion debate has much compassion.
Those who advocate for the woman’s right to choose abortion ignore the rights of the other person involved, the child. Once the woman is in the stirrups, she is forgotten.
Those who picket against the practice of abortion are notoriously hateful to the mothers. Nothing says “lovin’” like being called a murderer.
What is missing from the debate is any concern for both of the parties in the process. And I realize that this paragraph will probably cost me a few regular readers, but it is time for those of us who abhor abortion to hold up an honest mirror and see if we like what we see. I don’t.
Remember the words of Christ:
And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. – Matthew 6:5
The application is that God need not reward you for public (self-)righteousness; you have already rewarded yourself if you are making a public display of your faithfulness.
If you are still reading, thank you.
The Pro-Life movement has allowed themselves to be cast as anti-freedom by their opponents, and we have been too wrapped up in our own holiness to recognize that screaming and judging has done little to positively affect the hearts of the people.
So what should we be advocating?
First, abstinence programs are getting traction. Young people are choosing abstinence, and not just for reasons related to faith. The emotional scars many of our generation carried into marriage as a result of the “if it feels good” attitude of the 70s and early 80s have been seen, and a growing percentage of the next generation are making smarter choices. At the same time, the press plays up the promiscuity that still pervades much of our society. So for those who do not abstain and find themselves with fewer positive choices, what next?
Adoption. For every child in this country put up for adoption, there are anywhere from a dozen to twenty families who would gladly adopt. There are people who would gladly raise that child as their own, who generally don’t really care about the circumstances that led to conception. Many have biological barriers but hearts with an empty cradle; others, like my family, have a heart for children that doesn’t differentiate between the child born through us versus the child born for us. And with the open adoptions now practiced throughout this country, the birth mother can often be as involved or un-involved in the child’s life as she chooses.
When I posted the story the other day about the USC student who appears to have allowed two infants to die, my heart’s cry wasn’t “the selfish girl should get life for this;” it was “what a waste – two more kids that could have been raised in loving homes, discarded with the trash.” The vengeful thoughts came later.
It is counter-productive to call people murderers or baby-killers. I’ve committed enough sins in my own life that I should not be pointing the finger of judgment at others. It irks most of us to hear it, but “judge not lest ye be judged” applies to this situation as much as any other.
Let’s be about educating people to positive choices, not condemning them for bad ones.
Maybe, if we show that we are more serious about loving life than judging others, just maybe we can start to have that “salt of the earth” effect that Jesus spoke of.
Matt
Categories: on being politically incorrect · stuff in my head
Need something to get you riled up this morning? This should do it.
Ashcraft was arrested in October 2005 after a newborn was found in a Dumpster behind the 29th Street Cafe. DNA evidence proved it was her son.
Prosecuting Deputy District Attorney Franco Barrata had cited a coroner’s conclusion that the baby was born alive, but defense attorney Mark Geragos had repeatedly challenged that assertion in court.
“I’m extremely pleased,” Geragos said of the ruling. “Obviously [the Ashcraft family is] delighted, and I’m happy for them.
Categories: stuff in my head
I am a conservative – more to the center than some, definitely further right than many. Among the beliefs I hold is that abortion is wrong. I agree with the traditional faith-based arguments against it, and I believe there are compelling arguments from psychology and sociology that also support that point of view.
However, the issue of abortion is not my heartbeat.
There is more to my life, and much more to my family’s future, than the legal status of that one issue.
That’s why I have no trouble supporting either Rudy Giuliani or (better yet) Fred Thompson for President.
Among Republicans, I see no other electable options. It is fine to say that you will hold the moral high ground and only support someone you agree with down the line of whatever issues are most important to you; but there are far too many people who are going to stay home on election day and allow our country to turn further toward socialism. It is fine to make a “statement” with your ballot; just be careful about the statement you make.
Don’t misunderstand – I wish we could have it all; but there are too many of “we” with varying shades of belief for that to happen.
If we don’t get a President in place in the next election who will take a machete to the budget and restore some common sense to the District, I’m betting my grand-kids will be reading about America as history. As the history of the conquered. As one nation, rather than an assortment of contiguous nation-states. As a shining beacon that threw buckets of water to douse its own fire, opting for the decay that befell Europe two centuries earlier.
When Election Day arrives, don’t stay home. Don’t limit yourself to a single issue, regardless of how important that one issue is to you. The next election is not about one issue, and you should be ashamed of yourself if you are so selfish as to let the country rot because you’re stuck on one point rather than looking at the big picture.
The centrists in both parties are still waiting for someone they can support. As Reagan pulled many Democrats across the line, I believe either Thompson or The Mayor could get the job done.
Categories: stuff in my head
Evan O’Dorney won the national spelling bee this year. I’m sure you’ve been waiting for the word on that. I wonder how much people paid for the ads before the final round.
Spelling is not even his favorite subject. Evan is a musical prodigy and a math wiz. In one post-mortem of the bee, he said that he doesn’t like spelling because it is all about memorization – there is no creativity involved. Last year he was distracted during the competition because he was was composing in his head.
Evan also has all of the social skill one might assume goes with being brilliant in math and music.
Someone posted a painful interview by CNN’s Kiran Chetry (former Fox News personality), who was trying to find some topic to draw Evan into a discussion, but Evan wasn’t biting.
The thing that bothers me about this interview was not the awkward silences or one-word answers. I knew people even geekier than me in high school, and Evan is not the most extreme I’ve seen.
The thing that gets me is how people have responded to the YouTube post of the interview.
People are just nasty. “What an a******” or “f***in retard” are fairly standard comments. I understand that people tend to fear that which they do not understand, but how can so many people be so incredibly hateful to someone about whom they know nothing?
Who raises their kids to be that spiteful?
It is one thing to deal with the normal quiet snickers and occasional wedgies that a geek suffers in normal teendom; but the web provides a whole new way to try to destroy people personally.
Don’t be hatin’. Peace out.
Categories: Bad internet · Bad media · stuff in my head
Even though Angela had maintained a 3.84 grade point average in her collegiate classes, the college would not give her the degree she earned because she never received a high school diploma.
I’m not picking on anyone, or even a particular party…do these rules make sense to anyone?
Categories: on being politically incorrect
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