Category Maybe It’s Just Me, But…

General ramblings of an easily amused mind.

Silencing the Pro-Life Movement

Ed 1 Comment

The first time my friend invited me to attend a Lutherans For Life meeting, my immediate thought was, “I don’t want anything to do with those pro-life nuts.” Running through my mind were pictures of abortion clinics being bombed and abortionists being shot. I also thought of hate-filled protesters shouting and throwing things. I didn’t want to be involved in any of that stuff. And I’m glad to say that after being involved in the life issues for over 12 years, I haven’t been involved in any of those activities.

But that’s the way the media portrays pro-life groups and people. I’m not saying there have never been extreme actions perpetrated by individuals who didn’t quite understand what being “for life” is all about. It’s taken many years and many words to teach people, including pastors, that most pro-life folks love human life and they don’t want to hurt anyone, even someone committing a grievous sin like abortion. Most pro-life folks I know believe life is precious because God created that life and Jesus Christ died for that life. Most pro-life folks that I know believe that the best way to reach those on the other side of the abortion debate is to extend a hand of love with the Good News of Jesus Christ. And all pro-life folks that I know condemn the violent actions that a few misguided individuals have taken. It’s taken many years and many words to dispel the image of the violent “anti-abortion” protester that the media created by only focusing on the negative actions of a few extremists.

And now it looks like we’ll be re-educating all over again.

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The Gloating Begins

Ed

The Guttmacher Institute is touting the newly re-found leadership role of the US in promoting reproductive rights around the world–including abortion (see my blog,  “Exporting Death”).

Maybe it’s just me, but…why does it seem that those who want to promote reproductive health and rights around the world don’t ever want to promote the one sure-fire way that someone won’t get an STD or get pregnant: abstinence? Why is it that they won’t teach that it’s okay to not have sex but they will teach that you should be able to indulge in complete sexual freedom despite potential consequences and get an abortion for any reason at any time  if you do get pregnant?

This Just Doesn’t Make Sense

Ed

I have really bad pollen allergies. I also have severe allergic reactions to cats.  Getting married to a woman who had two cats and moving to Virginia (where my nose constantly runs because of the pollen) was a bad combination.  So, I’ve been taking Claritin-D every day since 2007.

One of the main ingredients of Claritin-D is pseudoephedrine and because pseudoephedrine is the main component in the illicit production of methamphetamine, I have to produce identification when purchasing my Claritin-D. Now if you have allergies like I do, then you know the drill: go to Wal-Mart, stand in line at the pharmacy, take out your driver’s license, and let them scan it. Now there’s a record of what I bought and how much I bought.  Presumably, if I tried to go to another Wal-Mart immediately, the computer will scan my ID and inform me that I just bought all the Claritin-D that I need for now at another store and Wal-Mart won’t allow me to purchase more drugs.

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Freedom of Choice?

Ed 3 Comments

Every December, I renew my membership in the IEEE (formerly known as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). I keep this membership to stay somewhat connected to my educational roots as a systems engineer, even though my career path took me in a different direction some years ago. The IEEE has a Code of Ethics for its members, something I presume all members have read and, by maintaining a membership with the organization, subscribe and adhere to.

According to the first item in the code, I “agree to to accept responsibility in making decisions consistent with the safety, health and welfare of the public, and to disclose promptly factors that might endanger the public or the environment.” Now you may think this isn’t a big deal–after all, we’re just talking about engineers--but members of this organization are engineers that work in all aspects of life, from designing weapons systems to electric power plants to the brake controllers for freight trains. In essence, members of this organization touch our lives each and every day in countless ways that we don’t even know about.

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