Friday Tweet Recap

During the week I'm usually tweeting out articles via Twitter so here are a few things that you might have missed that caught my attention this week:

Seven marks of false teachers. This is especially good advice if you're either looking for a church or evaluating what pastors to listen to .

I am really bad at remembering someone's name so this article provided some pretty helpful tips.

I didn't realize John Piper had retired from the pulpit earlier this spring. He's spending a year in Knoxville which is a lovely city not far from where I live. The most striking thing he said in this article is that he intentionally left Minneapolis behind to give his successor at Bethlehem Baptist Church some breathing room.

It was Father's Day last Sunday and Joel Miller has some thoughts on what every child needs to hear from their dad.

My daughter pointed this one out to me. I think it has to do with the fact she wants to major in theatre. 10 Ways Being a Theatre Major Prepared Me For Success.

John Stonestreet has some thoughts about what to say to our daughters about the morning after pill.

It's a little bit of a shock but longtime Los Angeles Dodgers play-by-play announcer Vin Scully almost signed with the New York Yankees. And demonstrating that he is a true Renaissance man, he took to Twitter earlier this week during the Dodgers-Yankees series. It was as beautiful as you could have imagined.

More baseball: Grantland's Jonah Keri examines the flawed importance of the closer. I have always wondered whether too much emphasis is placed on the 9th inning. Now I'm sure of it. This also made me think of this piece from Joe Posnanski.

This article got me thinking: 9 Qualities of Truly Confident People. It's an interesting read. On a related note, the four questions great leaders ask.

Some of these vintage rules for conversation (from 1875!) are really remarkable. It would be interesting to see how different our conversations would be if we applied these rules.

Life Magazine has been posting photos from their vast library online. The latest installment is unpublished color photos of the ruins of Normandy following D-Day. These pictures are amazing.

Also from the Life Magazine archives, color portraits from the 1950s of Ella Fitzgerald and other jazz legends.

Here's a list of 8 things you shouldn't do every day. I confess that I am guilty of quite of few of these mistakes.

Some tips on how to read a book. I will admit I hadn't thought about some of these strategies before and they look like they are worth a try. This article also has some tips on how to read more books including some interesting ways to keep track of books on your reading list.

That's it. Have a great weekend.

The Catholic Church Fights Back

President Obama may have picked the wrong fight when his administration announced they were forcing the Catholic Church to provide contraceptives including the morning after pill to their employees. In his unforced error, the President may have awakened the sleeping giant of the Catholic Church and set the wheels in motion for a permanent political shift. From the Daily Mail:

Prominent Catholic leaders across the U.S. have threatened to turn voters against President Obama over his controversial plans to offer free birth control.

The fight is over a provision of the health reform law announced on January 20 that would require health insurance plans -- including those offered by institutions such as Catholic-affiliated hospitals and universities -- to offer free birth control including sterilization.

According to estimates, there are some 70 million Catholic voters – and many could be posed to vote against the president in the crucial upcoming election.

Catholic League head Bill Donohue said: ‘Never before, unprecedented in American history, for the federal government to line up against the Roman Catholic Church,’ CBS New York reported.

'This is going to be fought out with lawsuits, with court decisions and, dare I say it, maybe even in the streets.' Archbishop Timothy Dolan, who was promoted to the status of a Cardinal just weeks ago, spoke out about the issue. 

'It’s not about contraception. It’s about the right of conscience,' he told reporters. 'The government doesn’t have the right to butt into the internal governance and teachings of the church,” he said.

'This is not a Catholic issue, it’s an American issue. We’re strong on this issue of conscience, and that’s what’s at stake here.'

Catholic clergy on Sunday called on the faithful to write Congress to protest new birth control rules from President Barack Obama's administration, stepping up a campaign that began a week ago with denunciations from the pulpit at Masses across the country.

Catholics are traditionally staunchly pro-life despite their tendency to vote for Democrats. But over the past couple of election cycles, Catholics have slowly begun to wake up to the fact that many prominent Democrats who also profess to be Catholics (think John Kerry and Nancy Pelosi) don't hold the same values as those that the church endorses. 


The Catholic Church is rising to the challenge because they realize this controversy is not just about abortion. It's also about religious liberty. And they are finally realizing that Democrats that they have worked to elect over the past several decades are not their allies. It's about time.

Liberal Columnist Calls for Defunding of Planned Parenthood

It's not every day that I will link to an article by Kirsten Powers but this one is worth reading in its entirety:

During the recent debate over whether to cut off government funding to Planned Parenthood, the organization claimed that its contraceptive services prevent a half-million abortions a year. Without their services, the group’s officials insist, more women will get abortions.

I’ll admit I bought the argument—it makes intuitive sense—and initially opposed cutting off funding for precisely that reason.

Then I did a little research.

Turns out, a 2009 study by the journal Contraception found, in a 10-year study of women in Spain, that as overall contraceptive use increased from around 49 percent to 80 percent, the elective abortion rate more than doubled. This doesn’t mean that access to contraception causes more abortion—though some believe that—but that it doesn’t necessarily reduce it.

In the U.S., the story isn’t much different. A January 2011 fact sheet by the pro-abortion rights Guttmacher Institute listed all the reasons that women who have had an abortion give for their unexpected pregnancy, and not one of them is lack of access to contraception. In fact, 54 percent of women who had abortions had used a contraceptive method, if incorrectly, in the month they got pregnant. For the 46 percent who had not used contraception, 33 percent had perceived themselves to be at low risk for pregnancy; 32 percent had had concerns about contraceptive methods; 26 percent had had unexpected sex, and 1 percent had been forced to have sex. Not one fraction of 1 percent said they got pregnant because they lacked access to contraception. Some described having unexpected sex, but all that can be said about them is that they are irresponsible, not that they felt they lacked access to contraception.

Ms. Powers goes on to torpedo one of Planned Parenthood's claims that their services help reduce the number of abortions in the United States. However, the numbers over the past ten years tell a different story:

Over this time period, the U.S. government has funneled billions of dollars to Planned Parenthood, in large part because the organization claims to provide services to avoid unplanned pregnancies – a laudable goal. Yet despite a robust budget—Planned Parenthood reported a total annual revenue of $1.1 billion in its last financial filing—the organization has done absolutely nothing to change the fundamental dynamics of the United States’ abortion rate.

Digging a little deeper, Ms. Powers finally discovers the true agenda behind Planned Parenthood and why taxpayer funding should end:

To preserve its federal subsidy, Planned Parenthood continues to claim that without its contraception services the abortion rate will go up. This deception smacks of a fleecing of taxpayers in an effort to promote an ideological agenda, rather than a sincere effort to help women plan families.

What is that ideology, exactly? To find out, you have to dig through Planned Parenthood’s tax forms because the group certainly isn’t going to tell you. According to its most recent tax filing, the purpose of Planned Parenthood Federation of America is to provide leadership in “[a]chieving, through informed individual choice, a U.S. population of stable size in an optimum environment; in stimulating and sponsoring relevant biomedical, socio-economic, and demographic research.”

So it is, in reality, a population-control organization. Funny, this was never mentioned in the gauzy $200,000 advertising campaign launched last week. It also doesn’t make it into the “About Us” section of the group’s website, which repeatedly claims its mission is to protect women’s health, when in fact the real mission is to keep the birth rate at whatever level the leaders believe it should be. 

To hear Planned Parenthood and their supporters, they exist only to provide Pap smears or breast exams or prenatal services. In fact, President Cecile Richards has gone so far as to erroneously imply that they provide mammograms. (A spokesperson for the group confirmed to me that this is untrue.)

Planned Parenthood officials are allowed to believe whatever they want and to pursue whatever goals they choose. But their dishonesty in how they present their organization to the public, along with ignoring basic statistics about their area of expertise, makes you wonder what else they are hiding. It’s also hard to deny that they are at core a blindly ideological organization, not a run-of-the-mill charitable nonprofit.

Whatever you think of abortion rights, this is not the kind of organization that taxpayers should be funding.

Hats off to Ms. Powers for being willing to do a little homework and discover the truth. If more liberals were willing to set aside the preconceived notions about abortion and examine the facts behind the claims of Planned Parenthood cutting off taxpayer funding would be a no-brainer.

Virginia Senate Votes To Regulate Abortion Clinics

Today's vote by the Virginia Senate makes me proud to be a Virginian:

With the backing of two Democrats and a tie-breaking vote cast by Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, Republicans in the Virginia Senate today won approval of an amended health bill that would require the state's abortion clinics to be regulated like hospitals.

The 20-20 vote on Senate Bill 924, which now heads to Gov. Bob McDonnell, represents a significant victory for anti-abortion activists, who have been trying for years to restrict access to abortion in Virginia, only to have bills killed in the Democrat-controlled Senate Education and Health Committee. McDonnell has indicated he would sign the legislation.

Democratic lawmakers and women's rights advocates decried legislation, which was altered on the floor of the House earlier in the week through an amendment tacked onto an unrelated bill by Del. Kathy Byron, R-Campbell and came to the Senate without being debated or discussed in committee.
They said it would effectively restrict a woman's access to abortion services by forcing the state's 21 clinics to meet standards set by the Board of Health regulating hospitals -- standards that include things like expanded hallways, parking lots and elevators that most clinics could not afford.
Currently, first-trimester abortions are considered medical procedures that can be performed in physicians' offices, similar to medical procedures such as colonoscopies, vision correction surgery, cosmetic surgeryand dental surgery. Abortions in the second trimester or later must be performed in a hospital setting.
The amended legislation would require that any medical office performing more than five first-trimester abortions per month be classified as a hospital and subject to regulations devised by the State Board of Health -- a body that is appointed by the governor.

This is sensible legislation and reasonable in light of recent stories such as the massacre in Philadelphia last month. Hats off to the Senators who had the courage to stand up and do the right thing and protect the cause of life.

UPDATE: The Associated Press claims this is a tactic to force abortion clinics to close:

Virginia took a big step Thursday toward eliminating most of the state's 21 abortion clinics, approving a bill that would likely make rules so strict the medical centers would be forced to close, Democrats and abortion rights supporters said.

Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Republican and Catholic, supports the measure and when he signs it into law, Virginia will become the first state to require clinics that provide first-trimester abortions to meet the same standards as hospitals. The requirements could include anything from expensive structural changes like widening hallways to increased training and mandatory equipment the clinics currently don't have.

While abortion providers must be licensed in Virginia, the clinics resemble dentists' offices and are considered physicians offices, similar to those that provide plastic and corrective eye surgeries, colonoscopies and a host of other medical procedures.

Democrats and abortion rights supporters said the change would put an estimated 17 of the state's 21 clinics out of business. Most of the clinics also provide birth control, cancer screenings and other women's health services.

"This is not about safety for women. This is about ideology, and this is about politics," said Tarina Keene, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia. "The women of the commonwealth are going to be the ones left to suffer."

Abortion rights supporters warned of legal challenges while supporters heralded it as a way to make the procedures safer.

"It is not about banning abortions," said Sen. Jill Vogel, R-Winchester. "It is simply caring for women who are about to have an invasive surgical procedure and creating an environment for them where they have the opportunity to do that in a place that is safe."

No other state requires clinics that provide early abortions to meet hospital standards.

For years, abortion advocates have claimed that they want to make abortions safe. But as opponents of this bill have revealed what they really want is for abortion to be available on demand at any time. Their concern for the health of the woman ends when reasonable regulations to insure a woman's health are introduced. Once again the hypocrisy of abortion advocates is in plain view for all to see.

NARAL Chief: "They Are So Young!"

According to LifeSiteNews, NARAL president Nancy Keenan has grudgingly admitted what many in the pro-life movement have seen: young women are flocking to the defense of the unborn (Hat tip: James Taranto):

The pro-life movement in America is growing in leaps and bounds, attracting young, zealous women to defend the unborn in droves - a fact that even the president of NARAL has now admitted.

NARAL's Nancy Keenan told Newsweek last week that she considers herself a member of the "postmenopausal militia" – a phrase that captures the situation of pro-abortion leaders who are aging across the board, including the leadership of Planned Parenthood, and the National Organization for Women. Newsweek's Sarah Kliff notes that "these leaders will retire in a decade or so."

Keenan also remarked on the enormity of this year's March for Life in Washington, D.C., and, according to Newsweek, is troubled that such passion has faded among the youth on her side of the movement.

"I just thought, my gosh, they are so young," Keenan said about stumbling on this year’s March for Life in Washington. "There are so many of them, and they are so young."

While March for Life estimates it drew 400,000 pro-lifers to Washington for this year's March, Planned Parenthood's "Stop Stupak" rally in December only
drew about 1,300 attendees.

In addition, Newsweek revealed that NARAL's own research on American youth shows more reason for Keenan to worry: a survey conducted by the group found that, while 51 percent of pro-life voters under 30 considered abortion a "very important" voting issue, only 26 percent of abortion supporters in the same demographic felt similarly.

James Taranto attributes this "enthusiasm gap" among abortion activists to what he terms "the Roe Effect". In simple terms, the theory is that pro-abortion women are not having babies and therefore are not raising children to carry on their pro-abortion beliefs. While it may still take a while to play out politically, perhaps we are finally starting to see signs that America is becoming a more pro-life nation at last.

Pro-Choice Columnist Calls Out Intolerant Left

Few things have caused as much controversy in recent days as Tim Tebow's upcoming pro-life Super Bowl Ad. Abortion advocates have been critical of Tebow and of CBS' decision to air the spot during the upcoming game.

But the most remarkable thing I've seen yet is this column from Washington Post writer Sally Jenkins. Ms. Jenkins takes the abortion advocates to task for their criticism of the young football star:

I'm pro-choice, and Tebow clearly is not. But based on what I've heard in the past week, I'll take his side against the group-think, elitism and condescension of the "National Organization of Fewer and Fewer Women All The Time." For one thing, Tebow seems smarter than they do.

Tebow's 30-second ad hasn't even run yet, but it already has provoked "The National Organization for Women Who Only Think Like Us" to reveal something
important about themselves: They aren't actually "pro-choice" so much as they are pro-abortion. Pam Tebow has a genuine pro-choice story to tell. She got pregnant in 1987, post-Roe v. Wade, and while on a Christian mission in the Philippines, she contracted a tropical ailment. Doctors advised her the pregnancy could be dangerous, but she exercised her freedom of choice and now, 20-some years later, the outcome of that choice is her beauteous Heisman Trophy winner son, a chaste, proselytizing evangelical.

Pam Tebow and her son feel good enough about that choice to want to tell people about it. Only, NOW says they shouldn't be allowed to. Apparently NOW feels this commercial is an inappropriate message for America to see for 30 seconds, but women in bikinis selling beer is the right one. I would like to meet the genius at NOW who made that decision. On second thought, no, I wouldn't.

There's not enough space in the sports pages for the serious weighing of values that constitutes this debate, but surely everyone in both camps, pro-choice or pro-life, wishes the "need" for abortions wasn't so great. Which is precisely why NOW is so wrong to take aim at Tebow's ad.

Be sure to read the whole thing. Hats off to Ms. Jenkins for calling out the intolerant critics on the Left who wish to demonize the Tebows. Though we may not agree on whether abortion is wrong we can at least agree that we can respectfully disagree with each other.

End of Life In a Nutshell

Leave it to Richard Brookhiser at National Review to sum it up:

We already know what Dr. Obama thinks about the beginning of life. Not confidence-making for the end.

Indeed.

Will Obamacare End Roe v. Wade?

At least according to this article in The American Spectator, the answer is yes:

Stated or unstated, a driving force behind modern liberalism takes root in the 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, in which abortion was legalized. The Court found a "right to privacy" guaranteed by the due process clause of the 14th Amendment, saying that a woman had a constitutional right to abort her child up until the "point at which the fetus becomes viable." The Court quite specifically defined viability as the point at which a fetus is "potentially able to live outside the mother's womb, albeit with artificial aid. Viability is usually placed at about seven months (28 weeks) but may occur earlier, even at 24 weeks."

Quite aside from the political acrimony the Roe decision has generated from the day it was issued, the hot debate over President Obama's health care proposal alters the abortion debate in a fashion quite unintended. If passed, ObamaCare could instantly set up a legal confrontation between the principle behind President's health care system -- and the principle undergirding Roe v. Wade. Which in turn would launch a political battle royal between proponents of government health care and abortion rights.

Why?

A reading of the Roe decision leaves no doubt whatsoever of what abortion advocates have claimed ever since the opinion was handed down. To quote the Supreme Court decision directly:

We repeat, however, that the State does have an important and legitimate interest in preserving and protecting the health of the pregnant woman, whether she be a resident of the State or a nonresident who seeks medical consultation and treatment there, and that it has still another important and legitimate interest in protecting the potentiality of human life.

If, as Roe clearly states, "the State does have an important and legitimate interest in preserving and protecting the health [emphasis mine] of the pregnant woman" -- why doesn't it have "an important and legitimate interest" in protecting the health of the rest us?

The article goes on to point out that the fundamental premise behind universal health care is that the government could be deciding who gets what medical care thus taking the decision-making process out of the hands of the patient and putting into the hands of bureaucrats. If that's so, you can be sure that abortion advocates will be at odds with those who want a single-payor health system.

Gift Certificate of Death?

Apparently that's what Planned Parenthood of Indiana has in mind offering gift certificates for their services including abortions. (hat tip: LaShawn Barber)

The Washington Times rightly points out that Planned Parenthood has reached a new low. Offering these so-called gift certificates is nothing more than a political ploy:

Women do not need Planned Parenthood for their basic health care. And the vouchers are not lifesaving, they are political instruments of the pro-choice movement. More importantly, contraception and abortion are not forms of "health care": They are lifestyle choices with life-altering consequences.

This just makes me sick.

Quick Takes - 9-12-08

Some random thoughts for the weekend. Sorry to make it mostly political but that's the kind of week it has been.

It's not secret that MSNBC is basically the cable news home of the Angry Left. But apparently the management is beginning to get the clue as they remove their leading shouters, Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann as anchors from their election coverage. Instead, they'll be analysts which I guess is where they should have been all along. Then again, it appears the network is doubling down on being the official news network of the Left by adding Air America talker Rachel Maddow to the lineup. Maybe the network couldn't find any conservative voices to join the sinking ship.

Sometimes the foreign press has keen insights into American politics. Case in point.

More great analysis from across the pond: Underestimate Governor Sarah Palin at your own peril.

Still more: Governor Palin is not so small town after all.

Somehow I don't think it would be wise for Senator Obama to bring up earmarks.

Comparing Senator Obama to former Enron CEO Ken Lay. An very interesting comparison.

Then again, maybe Senator Obama's biggest problem is his pride. (Via Hot Air)

I have one question for Joe Biden: What were you thinking?

Congress is back in session but apparently in no hurry to deal with our pressing energy issues or anything else important. Just a side note, that post's author, Mrs. Michelle Bachman, is a mother of five who also happens to be a Representative from Minnesota.

Something lighter: dressing domestic rodents in Bavarian attire. Oh the scandal!

This gets me thinking about the congressional races and what the effects will be downstream if Senator McCain and Governor Palin manage to pull out a big win. Could it be possible that the Democrats will actually lose seats instead of making the big gains that were originally predicted?

Why I am not surprised? The man who developed Astroturfing is Senator Obama's campaign manager. Anyone starting to see a pattern?

Unreal. Absolutely unreal.

News in one of the oldest espionage cases in American history. And an interesting take from Glenn Reynolds.

One of the reasons we homeschool our kids is so that we don't have to deal with garbage like this.
Oops. The headline on the original post makes it even funnier.

There's a reason that actors should stick to acting.

Abortion and Down Syndrome. An interesting observation on eugenics.

The end of the Associated Press? Could be.

Have a great weekend.

Unforced Errors

If Barack Obama loses the election this November (and at this point it's impossible to say whether he will - it's too close to call) it will be because of a series of unforced errors. They are missteps in the campaign that when taken individually don't seem like a huge issue but when combined have the effect of totally derailing what would have otherwise been a hugely successful campaign.

1. The Berlin Speech

It's a speech notable not so much for what he said but where he gave it - surrounded by 200,000 or more European fans. It was Obama trying to act presidential. Some pundits compared it to John F. Kennedy's 1963 speech in Berlin. Obama was already the presumptive Democratic nominee but seemed to be acting like the presumptive president. The most memorable thing about the speech is it was fodder for one of the most effective commercials created by Senator John McCain's campaign.

2. Russia Invades Georgia, Obama Goes on Vacation

As the Beijing Olympics get started, Russia invades neighboring Georgia in a move that brings to mind the early days of the Cold War. Coincidentally, the invasion occurs on the same day that Barack Obama heads to Hawaii for a week long vacation. John McCain stays on the campaign trail and immediately comes out on the side of the Georgians. Obama is left to issue statements for the week that first offer a very confusing response to the crisis. He eventually gets around to blaming Russia but then naively suggests the UN Security Council should take action. Apparently the Senator was not aware of Russia's veto power in the Security Council. By the end of the week Obama has completely changed his position. His response appears weak in a time of crisis and he's rightly criticized for staying on vacation while Eastern Europe is in turmoil.

3. Says answer on abortion is "above his pay grade".

On August 16, Barack Obama and John McCain appear at the Saddleback Leadership and Compassion Forum hosted by the church's pastor Rick Warren. Each candidate is asked separately the same questions but the results couldn't have been more strikingly different. Senator McCain's answers were direct and concise while Senator Obama's answers tended to be more rambling. But the most telling moment of the entire debate was when Pastor Warren asked Senator Obama at what point a baby gets human rights. The Senator's response was, in part, "Well, I think that whether you are looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity, you know, is above my pay grade." As soon as he said that, it was clear that would be the kind of verbal gaffe that would dog him for the remainder of the campaign because it showed a complete unwilingness to take a firm position on a very divisive issue.

4. Joe Biden nominated for Vice President

In order to negate criticism that he is weak on foreign affairs (see item #2 above), Obama selects Joe Biden, the six-term Senator from Delaware as his running mate. The selection is not a huge surprise as he was considered on the short list for some time. However, the rollout of the nomination was a fiasco. He had promised to announce it first to supporters via text message. The media got wind of the pick before the announcement and the official word didn't come from the campaign until 3 A.M. Eastern time. At least cell phone companies benefitted. The other consequence is he forfeits his greatest campaign advantage: the idea that he is a relative outsider ready to change Washington by selecting a running mate who has been part of the establishment almost as long as he's been alive.

5. Hillary Clinton Not Picked for VP and Not Even Considered

Just prior to the opening of the Democratic National Convention in Denver came word that Hillary Clinton, who garnered the support of some 18 million primary voters, had not even been vetted for VP. Obama's failure to nominate Hillary as VP caused great anger throughout Democratic circles giving rise to various protest groups that got a lot of coverage both before and during the convention. As a result, the public gestures of unity seemed awkward and forced.

6. Obama Accepts Nomination At Invesco, or Berlin Part Deux

Obama moves the final night of the Democratic Convention to Invesco Field, home of the Denver Broncos, to accept his nomination in front of over 80,000 cheering fans. Though the campaign tries to downplay the speech, it reminds some of the Berlin Speech. Some Democrats privately worry that the speech may be over the top. At least he solidifies support in that all-imporant constiuency: the media.

If Obama loses, the media will likely focus mostly on item #5. That, to me, is the biggest mistake he made throughout the whole campaign. But it's the combination of all these factors that will ultimately sink his candidacy.

Quick Takes - 2-29-08

Random links of interest for your weekend enjoyment (with a huge tip o' the hat to my lovely bride for her exhaustive research):

People who work alone are more productive? A new study suggests this is the case. From my personal perspective, I've worked from home for over four years now and find I am much more productive than I ever was working in an office. (hat tip: Evangelical Outpost)

Honoring Champions President Bush welcomed the 2007 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox to the White House on Wednesday. They also spent time at Walter Reed Army Hospital visiting with wounded soldiers (scroll down for pictures). But the highlight for manager Terry Francona and slugger David Ortiz was riding on motorcycles in the motorcade.

Flushing money down the toilet. Atlanta spends $300,000 on toilets for homeless people.

Doctors said abort the baby, parents defy them and he's born healthy. This story begs the question how many babies that are aborted based on a doctor's recommendation would otherwise be born healthy.

All the news that's fit to recycle. The New York Times tries to stir up more trouble for Senator John McCain by regurgitating old inquiries about his birthplace.

Movie Trailer of the week. Here's a peek at The Final Season. This looks like it could be great.



Portrait of a hero (Part 1). A Marine loses his leg in Iraq but rather than letting that slow him down returns to active combat.

Portrait of a hero (Part 2). An Amry Sergeant, home after two tours of duty in Iraq, bought a scratch-off lottery ticket on a whim at a convenience store. Little did he know he would win $1 million. Now he's getting set to return to Iraq for his third tour of duty.

Does higher turnout among Democrats in the primaries mean a landslide in November? Not necessarily.

Grandma said so. Several news outlets made the regrettable decision yesterday to disclose that Prince Harry has been fighting on the front lines with the British Army in Afghanistan. But the best part of the story is that Queen Elizabeth (his grandmother) told him he was going to be deployed.

Dave Barry on getting a colonoscopy:

OK. You turned 50. You know you're supposed to get a colonoscopy. But you
haven't. Here are your reasons:
1. You've been busy.
2. You don't have a history of cancer in your family.
3. You haven't noticed any problems.
4. You don't want a doctor to stick a tube 17,000 feet up your butt.

I can relate to #4. Been there, done that. (hat tip: Betsy's Page)

Anyone can have a bad year century. The Chicago Cubs get ready to start year 100 since their last World Series championship.

The troop surge in Iraq is working. Just ask Angelina Jolie.

Maybe she should have bought the dogs a different chew toy. It's just a thought.


Have a great weekend.

"House" and Abortion

Last night, "House" (Tuesdays, 9 p.m. Eastern on Fox), showed why it is by far one of the best dramas on television in an episode that dealt with abortion in a way unlike any other show on television ever has before.

The episode opens with celebrity photographer Emma Sloan (who happens to be five months pregnant) coming to the hospital after suffering a stroke. After running a series of tests, House comes to the conclusion that it is the baby that is making the mother sick. The mother is dying and if the baby isn't delivered she will die. House is in essence, arguing for aborting the baby to save the mother. But Sloan wants to keep the baby and challenges House to find a way to save them both. The highlight of the episode is a scene involving an operation on the baby that no doubt was inspired by this famous incident that causes House to rethink his position not only on abortion but realize that he was dealing with a real human being and not just a clump of tissues.

This marks the second time this year that the show has tackled the subject of abortion. In another episode, House encounters a rape victim who became pregnant as a result. House argues that the best thing to do is terminate the pregnancy. While the girl resists at first she eventually decides to have the abortion.

The producers of "House" should be commended for tackling such a controversial subject. While the episodes may not necessarily change anyone's mind, they at least provide a good place to start a conversation on this subject.