This is pretty funny:
Some of the latest Sarah Palin nastiness as Wesley Smith as been tracking it: Palin Derangement Syndrome Continues, Horrors: Palins’ Decision to Love Trig Might Reduce Eugenic Abortion
Previous post:
She Tuned Me into a Newt!
McCain-Palin: “Change is Coming” on Stem Cell Research Policy
This is not encouraging:
ANNCR: They’re the original mavericks. Leaders. Reformers. Fighting for real change.
John McCain will lead his Congressional allies to improve America’s health.
Stem cell research to unlock the mystery of cancer, diabetes, heart disease.
Stem cell research to help free families from the fear and devastation of illness.
Stem cell research to help doctors repair spinal cord damage, knee injuries, serious burns.
Stem cell research to help stroke victims.
And, John McCain and his Congressional allies will invest millions more in new NIH medical research to prevent disease.
Medical breakthroughs to help you get better, faster.
Change is coming.
McCain-Palin and Congressional allies.
The leadership and experience to really change Washington and improve your health.
Paid for by McCain-Palin 2008 and the Republican National Committee.
JOHN MCCAIN: I’m John McCain and I approved this message.
A McCain spokesman spoke to The Hill on what this means regarding his position on research using human embryos:
The ad does not specifically refer to embryonic research, which is opposed by most politicians and activists who, like McCain, do not support abortion rights.
The omission is not a signal that McCain is backing away from his record in favor of embryonic stem cell research, spokesman Brian Rogers said.
“Clearly, John McCain supports it,” he said, emphasizing that the ad is intended to refer to all forms of stem cell research, including experiments using human embryos and those using cells from adults.
Indeed, “change is coming” to Washington. It looks like no matter who is president, we can say goodbye to our current stem cell policy as laid out in the White House stem cell report: Advancing Stem Cell Science Without Destroying Human Life (published Jan. 2007 and updated April 2007) by the Domestic Policy Council. See: John McCain and ESC Research
From the stem cell report:
Embryos are humans in their earliest developmental stage. We do not have to think that human embryos are exactly the same in all ways as older humans to believe that they are entitled to respect and protection. Each of us originated as a single-celled embryo, and from that moment have developed along a continuous biological trajectory throughout our existence. To speak of “an embryo” is to designate a human being at a particular stage.
Our nation was founded on the principle that all of us are created equal, and endowed with a right to exist that is shared fully by all humans. There is no such thing as an excess life. And the fact that a human lacks some particular capacity, or even is going to die, does not justify experimenting on that individual, or exploiting him or her as a natural resource. That has long been the standard in medical ethics—as encoded in the Hippocratic Oath, as well as more modern codes like the Physician’s Oath in the 1948 Declaration of Geneva, which states: “I will maintain the utmost respect for human life from the time of conception.”
A policy that defends the inviolability of human life does not preclude the hopeful possibilities of new findings and new therapies. It simply means we must harness the creative powers of our advancing knowledge only to humane and morally balanced means and ends. Amidst today’s dizzying pace of technological innovation, it is worth taking care to make sure that our moral and ethical policies keep up. The biotechnology revolution will bring sound and wholesome human results over the long run only if it is sensibly governed.
The stem cell debate is only the first in what will be an onrushing train of biotechnology challenges in our future. We must establish a constructive precedent here for taking the moral dimensions of these issues seriously. We must make certain we don’t force ourselves into a false choice between science and ethics—because we need both.
White House stem cell page
Previous posts:
Disability Advocates Need NOT Support ESC Research!
White House Stem Cell Report
News Flash: The Federal Government Funds ESC Research
President Bush Leads on Stem Cell Research
America’s Death Wish – Video
Here’s video of Fr. John Corapi reciting his article Death Wish: the impending suicide of a once great nation (h/t Catholic Fire.) It’s wonderful – watch the whole thing:
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Part 1
Part 2
“A nation that kills its own children is a nation without a future” – JP II
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This is your wake up call, America:
Previous posts:
Wake Up America!
Preserving America’s Freedom
Do We Have a Rendezvous With Destiny?
Be Instruments of Peace
As pro-life people we must love and respect all human life, including those who do not love us in return, and even those who wish us harm. In today’s Gospel reading Jesus tells us,
“To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you…love your enemies and do good to them…Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful…Forgive and you will be forgiven…For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.” (Lk. 6:27-28, 35, 36, 38)
Today’s anniversary gives us the opportunity to put this teaching into practice. Remember, those who attacked us seven years ago did so out of hate and hate can only be defeated by love. May we learn to love and forgive our enemies, especially those who wound us so deeply. Let hatred not enter our hearts no matter how grieved we may be. May our enemies turn from their evil ways. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
In this time of hatred, violence and war, let us strive to be instruments of peace and love for all human beings.
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.
From today’s evening prayer (plus a few lines):
“Finally, all of you, be of one mind, sympathetic, loving toward one another, compassionate, humble. Do not return evil for evil, or insult for insult; but, on the contrary, a blessing, because to this you were called, that you might inherit a blessing. For: “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep the tongue from evil and the lips from speaking deceit, must turn from evil and do good, seek peace and follow after it” (1 Peter 3:8-11)
Previous post:
Loving Our Enemies
She Turned Me ino a Newt!
Well, that accusation hasn’t come out…yet. But it wouldn’t surprise me if it did. American politics, and the American media, has reached an all-time low with the ongoing smear campaign against Sarah Palin. Last week Vanity Fair published an “Authoritative Trig Palin Timeline” regarding the online rumors about Trig’s parentage. In it they juxtapose the “official story” with the “wingnut conspiracy theories” and encourage viewers to vote on which scenario is more likely. They even repeat a rumor about her alleged extramarital affair and suggest that’s how Trig might have been conceived. I think they are attempting (unsuccessfully) to be satirical here, but the very mention of this trash in their publication without criticism or rebuttal gives it some credibility. They’re not alone in this either. There was that US Weekly rag with the intentionally damaging headline: “Babies, Lies and Scandal!” And plenty of the tv news shows are discussing any and all of these Palin conspiracy theories, lies and personal attacks, critically or not (for example). See Charlie Martin’s now famous list (h/t) of all of the ridiculous Palin Rumors.
No Man’s Blog relates the whole circus to this scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail:
She has been accused of naming two of her daughters after witches.
It is sickening that this garbage is making its way into what should be more “respectable” and “credible” news sources. Buy why such animosity toward this woman? What’s it all about? Wesley Smith says:
Their Hatred of Palin is Not About Energy Policy: It’s About Trig. Could it be? Consider the South Carolina Democrat Party leader’s suggestion that Palin’s “primary qualification seems to be that she didn’t have an abortion.” She has since apologized. And then there is this class act. NRO’s Monica Charen also thinks Trig is the cause of the media’s ire: Is Trig at the Heart of Media’s Reaction to Palin?
From Smith re: the Vanity Fair article:
This is Vanity Fair, not a supermarket tabloid. And it isn’t alone. Vile. Sexist. Defamatory. But nothing is too low a blow to destroy the monster who dared give birth to a baby with Down syndrome and declare that she saw perfection in his eyes.
The coming media judgment – I can see it now:
The Almighty: Did you dress Sarah Palin up as an adulterer, a liar, a neglectful mother, etc…?
Media: No, No, No, No…yes, yes, yes, yes, a bit, a bit, a bit but she did willfully give birth to a disabled son!
Is it just Trig that sends these people over the edge? Perhaps. But I think it’s more than that. I agree with Mark Shea, their main problem is the fact that they’re just Freakish Enemies of the Normal. Happy marriage, bad! Large, loving and supportive family, bad! Electing to love and care for a disabled child, BAD! Successfully balancing motherhood and a career, bad!
*Cartoon by Robert Arial (h/t Jill Stanek)
Disability Advocates Need NOT Support ESC Research!
While running his mouth at a rally today Democrat vice-presidential candidate Joe Biden questioned how those who oppose embryonic stem cell research could possibly be committed to caring for the disabled:
“I hear all this talk about how the Republicans are going to work in dealing with parents who have both the joy…and the difficulty of raising a child who has a developmental disability, who were born with a birth defect…Well, guess what folks? If you care about it, why don’t you support stem cell research?”
He uses the typical blanket term “stem cell research,” but he is quite obviously referring to stem cell research using human embryos.
But where is there one iota of evidence to support the notion that in order to truly love the disabled you must support embryonic stem cell research? Answer: nowhere. After more than 20 years of experimenting with ESCs in rats and other animals there have been no advancements that have lead researchers to begin trials in human beings. In fact ESCs have failed to even obtain FDA approval for being safe to use in human clinical trials due to their ability to form tumors and the great risk of tissue rejection (see more on the dangers of ESCs here).
Meanwhile adult stem cells continue to see success and progress in treating human beings and even new research on iPS stem cells is advancing farther than anything having to do with ESCs.
Yet you still have politicians like Biden and the delusional and dangerous Diana DeGette out there advocating the need for research that requires the use and destruction of nascent human life and demanding that our tax dollars pay for it. What’s more insulting is that they have the nerve to accuse us of not caring about the disabled because we reject such unethical, unproven and unnecessary research in favor of something that actually works – and doesn’t require us to kill human beings in the process!
So what do we have to do to get it through to these people that ESCs are NOT the way to go? Rebecca of Mary Meets Dolly has a suggestion:
Nothing is more powerful than a person with paralysis, or diabetes, or Parkinson’s or heart disease speaking out and demanding that public money and attention be paid to research and therapies that are already treating patients or are in human clinical trials. If I was suffering from a disease, I would be hopping mad that any taxpayer money was going to fund things like human cloning because it is a field that is decades behind adult stem cell research. Imagine how much faster cures would come if that 3 billion dollars that California has earmarked for stem cell research was put into ethical research instead of paying scientists to tinker around with human cloning for the next 20 years.
If society is to know that adult stem cells are the way to go, those with diabetes, Parkinson’s, cystic fibrosis, blindness, Alzheimer’s, lupus, sickle cell anemia, autism (and the list goes on and on) have to get mad and DEMAND it.
I would also add spinal cord injury, which is the disability that I personally live with, to that list of treatments from ASCs (see here and here.)
Yes, we should get mad. Our persons, our conditions are used and exploited to advocate the destruction of human life for scientific research by these people who largely ignore and, as a result, even stand in the way of the most promising and effective stem cell research.
The science is on our side! Not only have ASCs proven to be more effective, but scientists admit ESCs “may not deliver therapy for anything.” See what is the real future of ESC research.
*sigh* “When ridiculed, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we respond gently” (1 Corinth. 4:12-13.) It’s that responding gently part that I’m having trouble with… Truly, though, I understand that the majority of those who support ESC research are honestly looking for a way to ease human suffering. But even such a noble end does not justify the use and destruction of innocent human life. The research is just unethical, period and its advancement is not progress, but a threat for man and for the world (Spe Salvi, 22).
Related:
Yuval Levin on Biden and Developmental Disabilities
Where the Real Booming Stem Cell Business Is
Where’s the Beef?
The Palins Mix Family and Politics
I addressed this a few weeks ago using an interview with Palin during which she stated, “my baby will not be neglected.” This weekend I read a 
very nice Washington Post article about the Palin’s family life after Sarah became involved in politics, specifically after she became the Governor of Alaska. I particularly enjoyed the account of Gov. Palin taking her infant son Trig along with her on routine visit to one of the State prisons:
One Friday in June, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin joined the chief of the state prison system on a tour of the Point MacKenzie Correctional Farm, a 90-minute drive north of Anchorage. It was a routine visit but for the presence of the governor’s infant son, Trig.
Palin held her baby in her arms as the warden drove a short distance around the facility, said corrections director Joe Schmidt, who sat next to Palin.
The article goes on to explain:
Of the many striking images of Palin — sportswoman, beauty queen, populist — in Alaska the most iconic is working mother, a perfectly coifed professional woman balancing public duties and child-rearing in a charismatic blur of multitasking…
Long before she burst onto the national scene last month, Palin made politics a family affair in Alaska. Her role as a wife and mother shaped her entry into politics, proved central to her appeal to supporters and generated the greatest controversies in her abrupt ascension to the GOP ticket. From her children’s names to her husband’s public celebrity and role as unofficial adviser, Palin has created a reputation among Alaskans less as a rugged individual than as a maverick with a large and colorful family in tow…
The children were always in the picture — Piper close by at a native first-fish ceremony, Trig snuggled in a baby pouch as the governor posed with wounded vets, Bristol confessing to spending $30 on a leg waxing while an Alaska magazine writer took down the exchange: “You have razors,” her mother said.
Of course they’ve had to make many adjustments to a new life between two cities and with two working parents – relying on support from grandparents and other family members. But it is quite obvious that Palin remains a devoted wife and mother first.
I realize that life as a Vice President will be much more intense and demanding than that of a State Governor, that it’s farther from home and they will have to make new adjustments and possibly even some greater sacrifices. But I would not dare say that such a position would cause Palin to be any less of a mother to her children or that the family itself will somehow fall apart as a result.
There isn’t one way to parent. What works for one family may not work for another. And indeed, some families, like the Palins, make even the oddest and most difficult situations work out in their favor.
More from today’s NYT story:
Ms. Palin’s three-day maternity leave has now become legend among mothers. But aides say she eased back into work, first stopping by her office in Anchorage for a meeting, bringing not only the baby but also her husband to look after him.
Many high-powered parents separate work and children; Ms. Palin takes a wholly different approach. “She’s the mom and the governor, and they’re not separate,” Ms. Cole said. Around the governor’s offices, it was not uncommon to get on the elevator and discover Piper, smothering her puppy with kisses.
“She’ll be with Piper or Trig, then she’s got a press conference or negotiations about the natural gas pipeline or a bill to sign, and it’s all business,” Ms. Burney, who works across the hall, said. “She just says, ‘Mommy’s got to do this press conference.’ ”
Ms. Palin installed a travel crib in her Anchorage office and a baby swing in her Juneau one. For much of the summer, she carried Trig in a sling as she signed bills and sat through hearings, even nursing him unseen during conference calls.
Todd Palin took a leave from his job as an oil field production operator, and campaign aides said he was doing the same now.
Cute Baby Blogging
Pics of some of the latest survivors of Roe v. Wade:
Kale, born on 8/9
Ryan, born in June, and big brother Blake
These children belong to two of my best friends.
Previous posts:
An Altar of Life Giving Sacrifice in honor of little Kale’s mother’s 27 hrs of labor.
Pray for Babies Ryan and Kale
Ethical Science Helps Paraplegics Stand and Walk
It’s amazing what technology can do these days! Wesley Smith posted an article about “ReWalk” last week. It’s basically a wearable robotic suit that can help paraplegics stand and walk. The ReWalk is in clinical trials in Tel Aviv’s Sheba Medical Centre and will soon be used in trials at the Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute in Pennsylvania.
I’m not sure how practical this would be for daily use for someone like me, but it would be cool to try out! Here’s a video:
I mostly use standing as a means of exercise more than anything else. Shortly after my accident I got leg braces that allowed me to both stand and “walk” with a walker.
It was an awkward kind of walking. My knees were locked straight and I just sort of swung my hips and threw my legs out in front of me one after the other (the guy in the picture here with me is Mark Kuhn from Columbia, MO who designed the braces together with a local paraplegic):
I tried to use the braces a couple times a week just as an opportunity to be in a different position and exercise some different muscle groups and I really enjoyed it. But after a while it became a little difficult to keep up with since I needed an extra person around to help me get up into a standing position and then back down again.
These days I use a standing frame with a leg gliding feature. With all the hardware around me I don’t quite get the “feel” of standing as I did with the leg braces (which don’t fit me anymore), but I do get a good workout.
There are some awesome products out there for people in wheelchairs. Some of my favorite new finds are these more independent beach wheelchairs: The Tremor and The Beach Cruzer. Watch a video of the Beach Cruzer here.
Cute Convention Kids
Little Piper Palin was too cute last night with her brother Trig (h/t: Jill Stanek):