Harsh Times

Supporting Stem Cell Research:

Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe that we owe it to the American public to explore the potential of stem cells to treat the millions of people suffering from debilitating and life-threatening diseases. Obama is a co-sponsor of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007, which would allow research of human embryonic stem cells derived from embryos donated (with consent) from in vitro fertilization clinics. These embryos must be deemed in excess and created based solely for the purpose of fertility treatment.

        So these clinics are originally set up for people who are having trouble making a baby.  They get the egg, get the sperm, mix it up in a medium, allow the sperm to get up in there, and then put it back in the mom’s whatever (uterus). 

        In effect, what exceedingly generous people want is for people to line up to do this without the intention of staying pregnant.  They want the egg and sperm to develop into an embryo, take it out of the mom (and correct me if I’m wrong on this sequence of events, but to the best of my knowledge, you can’t get an embryo without natural incubation in the mom), and suck stem cells out of the embryo…

NOTE:  An embryo is a person during the second period of prenatal development.  A person is characterized as an embryo 2 weeks after conception and lasts in this characterization until about week 9.

…thereby terminating the pregnancy.  Sounds like another form of abortion to me.

        Anyway, Obama’s website has a vague and peculiar way (like the rest of the short paragraphs on all of the issues) of attempting to justify the action.  It says that the embryos ‘must be deemed in excess’.  What exactly does that mean? 

        “You know, we really don’t need all these eggs and sperm,” says mom and dad. 

        Secondly, who would deem them so?  Also, wouldn’t this create a new greed-influenced market where possible [monetary] incentives would conveniently increase the quantity of those ‘deemed’ embryos? Wouldn’t the firms that extract and research those stem cells be partial to slipping the ‘deem captain’ a few bucks to get them some more research material?  Of course that is all speculation, but very probably in my opinion if you think about a logical chain of events.

 

Addressing the Moral Concerns of Advanced Technology

            Stem cell research offers tremendous hope for those suffering from a variety of deadly diseases - hope for both cures and life-extending treatments. However, the compassion to relieve suffering and to cure deadly disease cannot erode moral and ethical principles.
                For this reason, John McCain opposes the intentional creation of human embryos for research purposes. To that end, Senator McCain voted to ban the practice of "fetal farming," making it a federal crime for researchers to use cells or fetal tissue from an embryo created for research purposes. Furthermore, he voted to ban attempts to use or obtain human cells gestated in animals. Finally, John McCain strongly opposes human cloning and voted to ban the practice, and any related experimentation, under federal law.
                As president, John McCain will strongly support funding for promising research programs, including amniotic fluid and adult stem cell research and other types of scientific study that do not involve the use of human embryos.
                Where federal funds are used for stem cell research, Senator McCain believes clear lines should be drawn that reflect a refusal to sacrifice moral values and ethical principles for the sake of scientific progress, and that any such research should be subject to strict federal guidelines.

                I would like to point out how much more detailed McCain’s position is on the issue.  It’s much harder to figure out if McCain is trying to pull one over on you, and has very little question.  Even if you were on the opposite side of the table at least you would know where he stands.  This is not traditional political strategy.  You want to do what Obama does, which is to stay vague so that you can precise your position when it benefits you later. 

        A good example of this is his position on Iraq.  He wants to end it.  A while ago he wanted all troops back by March of 2008, which, of course, was a mute trumpet because he didn’t have the power, the influence, or stamina of convincing all of Congress and Senate, and the President to do so.  It was a simply a pretty tune to firstly placate the anti-war folks, and secondly, to entice his prospective voters. 

        Now, he still says he wants to end the war.

        Great man, so do I!  The question is, when?  Now? Later?  Or perhaps when the job is done?  Most successful people (which is what I’d like to be) like to finish what they started.  However, he added this little snippet of information to his bold statement:  ‘Responsibly’.  He wants to end it responsibly.  Tell me how is this any different than how I, McCain, or the rest of logical America want to end it?  Again, shouting out key words that draw in the numb and mesmerized. 

        I seriously do not understand the Obama voter.  I would be rather offended if someone thought of me as so easily captured.

SNL’ Palin-Incest Joke
by FOXNews.com Monday, September 22, 2008

In Saturday Night Live’s second attempt to mock this year’s vice presidential race, a sketch lampooning The New York Times as out of touch has instead touched off a firestorm by casually throwing out a much more insidious inference — incest — between Todd Palin and his pregnant, teenage daughter, Bristol.

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It seems like there is no limit to what liberal comedians (and conservative in some cases -don't know if Kramer (Seinfeld) is or not) will say. Obviously NBC/MSNBC is a liberal outlet (perhaps on the same basis that Fox is conservative), but it seems as though as SNL was writing this skit, ideas just got out of hand. One thing led to another and they decided to be crude and vulgar which lead to tasteless.

Honestly, the first skit on Palin was slightly amusing at certain parts. However, it's the whole liberal mentality that sometimes puts liberals, themselves, on a make-believe pedestal. The liberals I come across on a daily basis always have this superiority complex about them. This was the same complex I felt come across the screen (actually, on Youtube because I didn't watch it when it aired). It's incredibly annoying. I don't like people who think they're better than another group of people based on race. The same is true for political party.

 Comedians and actors alike should stick to what they do best; making people laugh and entertaining. Whenever they get into the political arena, they ruin a big part of their audience. A room full of a group of people who like the same guy or girl in entertainment are most definitely split on world/nation views. People don't tune in to a comedy skit show to be swayed on who to vote for (much like students in a liberal teacher's classroom (I go to CUDenver)). They tune in because they want a release of all the stupid political ads.

Revealed: UK’s first official sharia courts

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ISLAMIC law has been officially adopted in Britain, with sharia courts given powers to rule on Muslim civil cases.

The government has quietly sanctioned the powers for sharia judges to rule on cases ranging from divorce and financial disputes to those involving domestic violence.

Rulings issued by a network of five sharia courts are enforceable with the full power of the judicial system, through the county courts or High Court.

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Sad, sad is the day for (formerly) Great Britain. 

Sharia law is demeaning to women, and intolerant to anyone other than Muslims.

Hopefully the US doesn't follow suite.

I was at the CNN site today, and they had one of those polls again that obviously lean toward the 'left' in their questions.  Today's question was my title.

 

To tell you the truth, people, I don't get it.  Why is there all this talk about the economy being bad.  The only thing I get that's negative about is high gasoline prices, and a high deficit.  Other than that, things couldn't be peachier... for me at least.  

 

Then, I go on to ask how my my friends and family and neighbors are doing, and big surprise that they're doing wonderful too.   The richest person I know has near hundreds of millions in assets and funds.  The poorest person I know has $100.00 in the bank.   However, both are always in this state of economic condition.

 

As for me, I'm a full time student, I'm a landlord/property manager, Army Reservist, and I don't struggle for anything except which movie to watch at the theater, or who to take to the ball game with me (go Rocks).  Sure, my credit is shot due to bad calls on credit cards that I was living off of two years ago, but that was MY CHOICE.  

 

I think the biggest factor in financial hardships are people, and them taking on too much debt, expecting 'not to make payments for 6 months' or thinking their ARM won't change, or thinking that they'll keep making the same amount or money, or more in the future. 

 

Anyone can get a job right now.  The problem is, most of us don't want to get something 'beneath us' until we find our 'dream job'.   We want the dream job right here, right now.

 

The economy is doing great right now.  Am I wrong?

 

What about you? 

 

Guard survives Iraq, dies on job at U.S. prison

 

From Kelli Arena and Kevin Bohn
CNN

ATWATER, California (CNN) -- Jose Rivera survived two tours of duty in Iraq, but his job as a corrections officer at a high-security federal prison in California cost him his life.

CNN asked the federal Bureau of Prisons why it opposes giving its corrections officers nonlethal weapons. In a statement, the bureau said the issue is under review and no final decisions have been made.

"However," the bureau added, "we also know through 75 years of experience that federal correctional facilities are managed most effectively through frequent and direct communication with inmates."

 Read the whole article here.

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I had to post this one, folks.   It amazes me how plainly STUPID people can be who are in positions of authority -who have no idea how things really function.  I give you an example of a school board or superintendent vs. the teachers in the classroom.    In this case we have guards vs. a 'bureau' or the department of corrections. 

What they say, in effect, is that Prison Guard Jose Rivera should have talked his way out of that situation.  The shanks the prisoners killed him with were simply microphones, I suppose. 

Who shares my outrage at how bureaucratic and liberal our government is starting to function as? 

I hope his mom sues the DOC for leaving her son with 100 inmates without protection from other guards or a gun, peperspray, or even brass knuckles.  These guys, the guards, are like soldiers also. They protect us from them (prisoners) that would do us harm.   Same goes for the Border Patrol.   They need to do their jobs and have the ability to inflict serious pain on those that would do them or us harm.