Majority of Americans are Pro-life

I found this on the Democrats for Life Website.


Polls are consistently showing that Americans are becoming more pro-life. A December poll conducted by Zogby International, a respected nonpartisan polling firm, confirms that, by a 53% to 36% margin, the public supports the statement, "Abortion destroys a human life and is manslaughter."

In December, pollster John Zogby teamed up with Brad O'Leary of the O'Leary Report to examine the cultural differences in states that elected George W. Bush as president in 2000 and those that voted for Al Gore. The poll also contained questions relating to abortion.

As previous polls have shown, a strong majority of Republicans take a pro-life position, but so do a sizable number of Democrats.

Some 68 percent of Republicans agreed with the statement that abortion "destroys a human life and is manslaughter" while 43 percent of Democrats in the U.S. also agreed.

The Zogby poll also showed that Americans are more inclined to support "restrictions on abortion" compared to five or ten years ago.

According to the poll, 22 percent of Americans were more interested in abortion restrictions, while only 11 percent were less interested.

Sixty-six percent said their views on abortion restrictions were the same as they were five or ten years ago. Since polls have consistently shown considerable support for laws such as parental notification, informed consent, and unborn victims legislation, the Zogby poll confirms Americans are moving in the direction of ensuring that sensible limits are placed on legalized abortion.

Other recent polls also confirm a majority of Americans have a pro-life perspective.

An October 2003 Washington Post-ABC News poll, timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the papacy of Pope John Paul II, found a majority of Americans and Catholics believe abortion is "morally unacceptable."

Some 58 percent of all respondents said they thought "abortion, when the mother's life is not in danger" was morally unacceptable. About 66 percent of Catholics agreed.

Only 39 percent of Americans and 30 percent of Catholics found abortion morally acceptable.


(1/16/2004)
- By Steven Ertelt, Life News

Is this a just War?

I am a Catholic, so I get my definition of "Just War" from the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

And before anyone starts screaming about the Church being against the war, don't preach about Catholocism unless you know what you are talking about. As a Catholic, I can have a different of opinion about whether I believe this is a just war. This is not like the abortion issue, where killing a baby is black and white.

from section 2309 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

The strict conditions for legitimate defense by military force require rigorous CONSIDERATION. The gravity of such a decsiion makes it subject to rigorous conditions of moral legitimacy. At one and the same time:

- the damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave, and certain;

- all other means of putting an end to it must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective;

- there must be serious prospects of success;

- the use of arms must not product evils and disorders graver than the evil eliminated. The power of modern means of destruction weighs very heavily in evaluating this condition.

The evaluation of these conditions for moral legitimacy belongs to the prudential judgment of those who have responsibility for the common good.

We can argue these points until the cows come home, but as a Catholic I can answer all these questions and still sleep with the decision that it is a just war. The Holy See felt like number 2 wasn't fully explored. I just think that 11 broken resolutions and a history of Saddam meant we couldn't wait any longer.

We also have to go on the information available at the time, (ie, Russia, Israel, the Clinton Admin, France, Britain, and Germany) all thought Saddam had WMD. The Blind idealogues on the left can't call Bush a liar, but then ignore the fact Clinton, Gore, Kerry, Albright, Putin, MI6, Tenet, etc, etc. all agreed at the time. I just don't believe they were all making this up for the hell of it.

Anybody who thinks that the Afghans and Iraqis are not better off, need to watch something other than CBS, The NYTimes and the Daily Show.

We clearly didn't start this war, Saddam and Islamo Fascist did.

Fearless Election Night Prediction

How about this scenario for Election night.

Bush picks up WI, IA, and NM from 2000
Bush loses NH, and FL from 2000.

We find this out by Midnight, giving Bush 267 EVs and Kerry 265. Everyone thinks we are headed for a certain tie. AK is then called for Bush, and everyone in the MSM assumes HI will go to Kerry....they stall and stall and stall thinking their numbers are wrong, and then with a sad face and a destroyed heart Dan Rather has to announce at 5 AM EST that HI has in fact voted narrowly for George Bush.

GWB gets 4 more years 273 - 265.

The Hospital Window

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same
hospital room.
One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour
each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs.
His bed was next to the room's only window
The other man had to spend all his time flat on his
back. The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of
their wives and families, their homes, their jobs,
their involvement in the military service, where they
had been on vacation.

Every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window
could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to
his roommate all the things he could see outside the
window.
The man in the other bed began to live for those one
hour periods where his world would be broadened and
enlivened by all the activity and color of the world
outside.
The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks
and swans played on the water while children sailed
their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm
amidst flowers of every color and a fine view of the
city skyline could be seen in the distance.
As the man by the window described all this in
exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the
room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque
scene.
One warm afternoon the man by the window described a
parade passing by. Although the other man couldn't
hear the band - he could see it In his mind's eye as
the gentleman by the window portrayed it with
descriptive words.
Days and weeks passed.
One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for
their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man
by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep.
She was saddened and called the hospital attendants
to take the body away.
As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked
if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was
happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was
comfortable, she left him alone. Slowly, painfully, he
propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look
at the real world outside. He strained to slowly turn
to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a
blank wall. The man asked the nurse what could have
compelled his deceased roommate who had described such
wonderful things outside this window.
The nurse responded that the man was blind and could
not even see the wall. She said, "Perhaps he just
wanted to encourage you."

Bush Trounces Gore in Electoral College

I ran across this today, after Polipundit gave me a homework assignment. With all the good news from the polls today, now I am nervous again.

Kerry Excommunicated (Update: Vatican denies)

I wonder if this will actually help Kerry politically? My theory is the Catholics that are voting for Kerry are mostly non-practicing Catholics, and anti-Iraq war Catholics. Among this type of Catholic, this move will likely make them sympathetic to Kerry. Obviously Rome shouldn't be concerned with political implications of their decisions.

Rome is very careful to point out that they don't endorse candidates at all, however there are some things faithful Catholics need to consider before voting. Newark Archbishop John Meyers wrote an article about this.

Among Catholics that attend church on a weekly basis (excluding the anti-Iraq war Catholics) a large percentage (70%) are voting for Bush, this will not change their minds. So even though the conservative Catholics that feel justified that Kerry has been excommunicated I suspect this will actually help Kerry polically. IF he trully is a faithful Catholic, as he states, this move would be devastating. Hopefully Susan Collins (R), Ted Kennedy (D), and Tom Harkin (D) will take note of Rome's action and start protecting innocent unborn babies.



Kerry said to be excommunicated

Los Angeles, Oct. 18 (CWNews.com) - A consultant to the Vatican has said Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry has incurred the penalty of excommunication from the Catholic Church.

The consultant made his statement in a highly unusual letter to Marc Balestrieri, a Los Angeles canon lawyer who formally sued John Kerry in ecclesiastical court for heresy.

UPDATE: Vatican denies it responded to lawyer seeking Kerry's excommunication

Heaven or Hell?

While walking down the street one day a US senator is tragically hit
by a truck and dies.

His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.

"Welcome to heaven," says St. Peter. "Before you settle in, it seems
there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these
parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you."

"No problem, just let me in," says the man.

"Well, I'd like to but I have orders from higher up. What we'll do is
have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can
choose were to spend eternity."

"Really, I've made up my mind. I want to be in heaven," says the
senator.

"I'm sorry but we have our rules." And with that, St. Peter escorts him
to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. The doors
open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the
distance is a club and standing in front of it are all his friends and
other politicians who had worked with him. Everyone is very happy
and in evening dress.

They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the
good times they had while getting rich at expense of the people.
They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster, caviar
and champagne.

Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly guy who has a
good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good
time that, before he realizes it, it is time to go.

Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator
rises. The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on heaven
where St. Peter is waiting for him.

"Now it's time to visit heaven."

So, 24 hours pass with the head of state joining a group of contented
souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They
have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone
by and St. Peter returns. "Well then, you've spent a day in hell and
another in heaven. Now choose your eternity."

The senator reflects for a minute, then the senator answers: "Well, I
would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful,
but I think I would be better off in hell."

So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down,
down to hell.

Now the doors of the elevator open and he's in the middle of a
barren land covered with waste and garbage. He sees all his friends,
dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags. The
devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder.

"I don't understand," stammers the senator. "Yesterday I was here
and there was a golf course and club, and we ate lobster and caviar,
drank champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now all there
is a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What
happened?"

The devil looks at him, smiles and says, "Yesterday we were
campaigning ...

Today you voted."

If embedded reporters were at Iwo Jima

This is in the conservative Washington Times today. Zell Miller does a parody of the nonsense we see on our news today.

DAY 1
With the aid of satellite technology, Cutie Cudley interviews Marine Pfc. John Doe, who earlier came ashore with 30,000 other Marines.
Cutie: "John, we have been told by the administration that this island has great strategic importance because if you're successful, it could become a fueling stop for our bombers on the way to Japan. But, as you know, we can't be sure this is the truth. What do you think?"

A simple lesson on the American Tax system

Tax Cuts - A Simple Lesson In Economics

This is how the cookie crumbles. Please read it carefully.

Let's put tax cuts in terms everyone can understand. Suppose that every day, ten men go out for dinner. The bill for all ten comes to $100.

If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh $7.
The eighth $12.
The ninth $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do.

The ten men ate dinner in the restaurant every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve.

"Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily meal by $20."

So, now dinner for the ten only cost $80. The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes.

So, the first four men were unaffected. They would still eat for free. But what about the other six, the paying customers? How could they divvy up the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share'?

The six men realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being 'PAID' to eat their meal.

So, the restaurant owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings). The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% savings).
The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28% savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to eat for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

"I only got a dollar out of the $20," declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man "but he got $10!"

"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than me!"

"That's true!!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!"

"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!" The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for dinner, so the nine sat down and ate without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up at the table anymore. There are lots of good restaurants in Europe and the Caribbean.

Kids are so smart

A teacher in a small Vermont town asks her class how many of them are
John Kerry fans. Not really knowing what a John Kerry fan is, but
wanting to be liked by the teacher, all the kids raise their hands
except one boy.

The teacher asks Little Johnny, who had not raised his
hand, why he has decided to be different.
Johnny says, "I'm not a John Kerry fan."

Teacher says, "Why aren't you a John Kerry fan?"
Johnny says, "I'm a George Bush fan."The teacher asks why he's a George Bush
fan.
The boy says, "Well, my mom's a George Bush fan and my dad's a George
Bush fan, so I'm a George Bush fan!"

The teacher is kind of angry, because this is Vermont and she is a
liberal, so she asks, "What if your mom was a moron and your dad was an
idiot, what would that make you?"

Johnny says, "That would make me a John Kerry fan."