Category: Current events

That’s not the way it is: How the media misleads on stem cell research

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Josh Brahm, who works with Right to Life of Central California, has written a devastating analysis of 9 Things The Media Messed Up About the Obama Stem Cell Story. While this is an issue we’ve visited here, it is educational to see names named and sources cited to clearly demonstrate what we’re talking about. As I’ve said before, there is either a laziness or a willful intention to deceive by media members that is going on with the issue of stem cell research. While some of the media offenders in Josh’s analysis are in his immediate area in California, there are still plenty of national news media organizations who are guilty of misreporting the issue.

I would highly recommend not only reading Josh’s excellent work yourself but helping those around you understand it better as well. The media, for the most part, is not helping in this matter and, in fact, is making it worse by doing shoddy work.

Embryonic snake oil salesman

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Charles Krauthammer, who doesn’t come off as a religious right wingnut, says Barack Obama’s address while reversing Bush policy on embryonic stem cell research was unserious:

This is not just intellectual laziness. It is the moral arrogance of a man who continuously dismisses his critics as ideological while he is guided exclusively by pragmatism (in economics, social policy, foreign policy) and science in medical ethics.

Science has everything to say about what is possible. Science has nothing to say about what is permissible. Obama’s pretense that he will “restore science to its rightful place” and make science, not ideology, dispositive in moral debates is yet more rhetorical sleight of hand — this time to abdicate decision-making and color his own ideological preferences as authentically “scientific.”

Read the rest here.

Don’t let DST cheat your Sundays

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Here is a good idea. How about not waiting until Saturday night to move your clocks ahead an hour? Change them on Friday night or Saturday morning. This person did and gave themselves a day to get adjusted. I think we might try it at our house next year.

 

HT: 22 Words

Boys wrestling girls — for sport and shame

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Girl wrestlerI was curious to come across this post by John Piper addressing girls wrestling boys because the same thing happened here in Nebraska. While the state tournament is ongoing in Minnesota, it already happened here and the result was the girl managed to finish second in the 103-pound weight class. In both cases, it was the first time that a girl wrestled in the state tournament.

While much positive media attention was given to the girl in each case, not as much was focused on the boys who had to wrestle against girls or those who had concerns. One writer who was at the event in Omaha said the fans at the arena were decidedly against the girl even though she wrestled for an Omaha school. For as many positive reactions to the story about the Minnesota girl, there were also comments like the one below:

First, let me start by saying that wrestling is a great sport for girls. Next, let me challenge them to the same standards boys have to go through if they want to play a typically female sport. They can’t handle it. You see for everyone that makes excuses and whines about it’s sexist to keep them out – it’s not. In fact it’s equality at work. The problem is girls like this don’t understand being equal DOES NOT mean they get their way. First double standard, where boys are strong than girls post-puberty, the girls are allowed to play on boys’ teams in middle school when the girls are bigger. If they get to beat up on the boys in middle school, you can’t whine when boys return the favor in high school. Second, in wrestling, this girl has an unfair advantage because she can maintain lower weight classes later in life, thus giving her more experience. Any wrestler worth his or her salt will tell you experience will trump gender anytime. She often ends up wrestling freshman. Not only that, since girls have a lower center of gravity, it’s harder to throw her. Third, what about the sexual harassment? Boys are uncomfortable wrestling her and she doesn’t care. I wonder how she would feel if a bunch of boys decided to come shower with her. You know, nothing sexual – just a shower. If the coach explains it’s just a shower I’m sure she’ll be ok with it. God knows the boys can’t complain because her right to participate overrides their right not to be harassed. Basically, girls have no problems taking boys’ spots but then they whine and cry like babies when boys – even small boys – show up to take theirs. Heck, they whine and cry even if the boys don’t want their spots and just want an equal chance to participate in their own sports. (Look at the Title IX quotas)You see mhandler, You have NO idea what you’re talking about. There are about 3 states, PA, NY, and MA that allow boys on girls teams. The rest don’t. Wanna know how I know? My 70 pound godson wanted to play field hockey because his roller hockey team isn’t sanctioned and the state said he was too big and strong to play against the 200 pound girls. Again, it’s fine if she wrestles. Let her go out and get a bunch of girls so she can wrestle them – just like a boy would have to do if he wanted to make a new team. Is it too much to ask the princesses to simply live up to the same rules the boys have to live by? Fight for equality. Fight Title IX

A rant, yes, but some strong points as well. I’m sure that there are advocates who would argue just as strongly the other way, but in the end it’s pretty clearly a no-win situation for any boy. Girls who want to wrestle should wrestle — with other girls. But mixed gender wrestling does no one any good.

Good news: The bailout is working (in a way)

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From Scott Ott at the dcexaminer:

The Treasury Department announced today that the bail out [sic] of AIG Insurance, which began in September under the Bush administration, is working better than expected.
Encouraged by the company’s loss of nearly $62 billion in the 4th quarter of 2008, the Obama administration injected another $30 billion into AIG this week.

“The government stepped in last year with $150 billion because AIG was too big to fail,” said Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. “The stock was trading in early September at more than $20 per share.

Today it’s worth less than 50 cents a share. If we keep pumping billions of tax dollars into it, I’d say we’ll soon reach the point where AIG won’t be too big to fail, and then we can stop giving them money.”

The stimulus bill: Pass first, read (and regret) later

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With the economic stimulus bill clocking in at 1,434 pages, it should disturb you that it was not released in it its final form until last evening and that the House is scheduled to vote on it today. From the Associated Press:

A day after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., announced agreement had been reached between the White House and congressional negotiators, the measure still had not been revealed in full late Thursday. After a disagreement over school construction funds had been resolved, causing several hours of delay, it took hours for staff aides to read the huge bill line by line to make sure no mistakes were made.

Over at the The Sundries Shack, the magnitude of what is happening is put in perspective:

Just know, as you’re at work (Friday), that the Democrats will be voting to spend about $800 billion dollars without having the foggiest idea what they’ll be spending it all on. Oh, to be sure, they know how much money they’ll spend on their little pet projects but that’s it. They are taking on faith that throwing all that money at our economy is going to be good for us, even though they have no good idea where all the money is going to land.

Supporters of this bill have said that they have to “do something” fast. Well, that’s exactly what they’re going to do – “something”. I suggest that we stop them from passing this bill until they can at least tell us exactly what that “something” is.

Gallup poll: Most disagree with president on Mexico City policy

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A new Gallup poll shows that 58 percent of Americans disagree and only 35 percent agree with the president about his decision to reverse the Mexico City policy:

Obama’s decision to reverse the prohibition on funding for overseas family-planning providers may be the least popular thing he has done so far. This was an executive order that forbade federal government money from going to overseas family-planning groups that provide abortions or offer abortion counseling. Fifty-eight percent of Americans disapprove of Obama’s decision to lift this ban, while only 35% approve of it. The ban on federal funds to these groups was put in place by Ronald Reagan, but lifted by Bill Clinton. George W. Bush re-instituted the ban after taking office in 2001, but Obama has once again lifted it.

Not surprisingly, this was the one early decision he made that didn’t get wall-to-wall media coverage. Likewise, there was scant coverage when 250,000 marched in Washington to mark the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade and call for change.

Do you have a church or a club?

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What is The Recession For?

God sends recessions to his people to pull up the roots of our joy from the pleasures of the world and sink those roots into the pleasures of the glory of his grace. Here’s he clearest recessionary text about this in the Bible—2 Corinthians 8:1-2. It describes the roots of the joy of the Macedonian believers in their “recession.”

We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.


The AP can’t make up its mind

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The Associated Press (or maybe just its editors) can’t seem to decide on how to report the elections in Iraq:

This is the headline on its main news page.
This is the headline on its main news page.
When you click on that link from the main page, this is the headline that greats you.
When you click on that link from the main page, this is the headline that greets you.

Perhaps the first headline was just a case of wishful thinking on the part of the editor?

We are all needy people

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My thoughts and prayers are with the folks who are navigating their way through their neighborhoods and towns in the wake of ice storms. My friend Barry, who is from Missouri, has posted some pictures and some background about the storm there and what it’s left behind. I also have other friends who have been caught in the storm in their areas as well.

It is during times like these that we have opportunities to look at how God moves powerfully in our lives, even in ways that seem harsh. With one brush of His hand, God breaks into our lives and gives us just a glimpse of his power, creativity and sovereignty. We are left amazed and helpless. God, who seeks glory in all things, stands alone during the storms in our lives. Daniel 4:35 says God “does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, ‘What have you done?’ ”

But we can also know “that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” It’s good to know that the same powerful God who makes the storm also directs our lives for good if we love him. And see our need.

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