Mark P. Shea's Blog, page 1385

Lucy the Cuteness Says...

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Babies Rock! Repeal Roe v. Wade!

Muslim Bullies Feel Persecuted

Again.

Boo hoo.

Fascinating profile of a prolife lawyer

It's not only fascinating because Harold Cassidy is fascinating, but because he has the guts to take his case to the lion's den: Mother Jones.

He manages to make a dent in the inbred contempt of the author of the piece, and he deeply threatens the combox commentariat, who turn to one another for solace and support and Orwellian 15 Minute Hate Denunciations of Cassidy against the cries of the own consciences like primates engaged in grooming behavior after the death of the alpha male in their tribe.

I hope I get a chance to shake that guy's hand some day.

Praise to Those Who Do Good: Go GOP!

I'm hard on the GOP for their long history of not much caring about abortion while pretending to.

So it's only fair that I give John Boehner and his crew due credit for championing the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act".

It remains to be seen if the GOP leadership are really serious or are just pushing it because they know it will be vetoed, so they can posture and look prolife without having to actually do anything. But, as Paul said, "What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in that I rejoice." I think Boehner, at any rate, is sincere as are several other GOP Congresscritters. The ones who are more cynically calculating I can live with, just so long as they support the bill.

At the same time, let's not forget that passage of the bill means, basically, that we will return to the tepid sub-Carthaginian levels of intereSt in the issue typified by a Congress with the Hyde policy in place. Better than nothing, and not the pro-abortion zealotry of the Dems. But not exactly a robust plan for dealing with our absurd and evil abortion regime, which the GOP has yet to demonstrate the slightest interest in tackling. So while I'm happy with this baby step, only time will tell if it is a step or merely a token measure to keep prolifers on the GOP reservation while it pursues its real interests (truckling to the rich and powerful and building the Great Society Empire abroad) as it did last decade.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Prayer Request

...for a dear and beloved priest friend whose mother has had a heart attack and is failing.

Father, grant her the grace of a happy death if it is your will that she come to you now and grant grace, peace, and consolation to her family and all who love her. Mother Mary, pray for her and her loved ones. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Hey Washington State! Listen up! Serious Threat to Crisis Pregnancy Centers

Hearing Scheduled on Bill to Shut Down Pregnancy Centers

Proving once again that pro-abortion forces don't like choice as much as they say they do, the Washington state legislature has renewed their effort to shut down the pregnancy resource centers in Washington that offer woman an alternative to abortion clinics. Here's what you can do:

1) Attend a hearing on Monday, January 24 th , at 1:30 pm in House Hearing Room If you want to attend the hearing, please show up by 11 a.m.

2) Call your legislators at 1-800-562-6000 and ask them to oppose HB1366 and SB 5274

3) Forward this to your friends.

Last year at the hearings, pro-life advocates outnumbered abortion industry employees by a ratio of at least 10 to 1. That was one of the primary reasons the bill was not passed.

However, in order to prevent that from happening again, Big Abortion is working overtime to make sure that their representatives outnumber supporters of pregnancy centers.

The bill (HB 1366) that is being heard on Monday would do the following things: 1. It creates two classes of medical/pregnancy centers based on whether or not they provide abortion services.

2. Requires centers that do not provide abortion services to disclose that fact in five different languages (English, Spanish, Chinese, Cambodian, and Laotian) in 30 point font on the front door of the centers, and on any advertisement or notice promoting the centers services.

3. Creates regulations and liabilities associated with medical records that do not apply to any other medical/pregnancy centers in Washington State.

4. Creates a private cause of action (lawsuit) against pregnancy centers for violations of any of the above regulations. In lawsuits against pregnancy centers: (1) anyone can be an aggrieved party even if you have never been in or even seen a pregnancy center; (2) there is no need to prove damages; (3) those who sue a pregnancy center can collect legal fees from the center if they win; (4) but pregnancy centers cannot collect legal fees if they win.

In summary, this bill creates significant liability for non-profit, faith-based, pregnancy centers that receive no tax dollars and provide at least $16 million in free services to communities in Washington simply because they do not offer abortion services. The stated reason is that they are afraid that women who are looking for an abortion will go to one of these centers. Why the attention of the Washington State legislature is required to prevent that from happening is something each of us can ponder for ourselves.

The Family Policy Institute of Washington is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to promoting public policy that recognizes the significance and sanctity of the family in Washington State.

Family Policy Institute of Washington
Seattle 16108 Ash Way, Suite 111 A | Lynnwood, WA 98087
| P 425-608-0242 | F 425-608-7216 www.fpiw.org

Unleash the power of the blog! If you are a Washingtonian reading this, get the word out. If you aren't please pray that this latest bit of subterfuge from the powers of hell will be defeated.

Since I made fun of George Lucas Yesterday...

it's only fair that I quote this today:

If there was a moment when the culture of enlightened modernity in the United States gave way to the sickly culture of romantic primitivism, it was when the movie "Star Wars" premiered in 1977. A child of the 1960s, I had grown up with the optimistic vision symbolized by "Star Trek," according to which planets, as they developed technologically and politically, graduated to membership in the United Federation of Planets, a sort of galactic League of Nations or UN. When I first watched "Star Wars," I was deeply shocked. The representatives of the advanced, scientific, galaxy-spanning organization were now the bad guys, and the heroes were positively medieval — hereditary princes and princesses, wizards and ape-men. Aristocracy and tribalism were superior to bureaucracy. Technology was bad. Magic was good.

Michael Lind, being a subcriber to Utopian Nitwittery, says this like it's a bad thing. But Daniel Larison, not being a utopian nitwit, points out where Lind errs. Hint: it has to do with the obliviousness of both Lind and Roddenberry to the fact of original sin.

This is why I also appreciated JMS' Babylon 5, an even less gleaming future completely lacking in leotard-clad conflict resolution counselors and the conviction that we will get rid of money in 200 years and spout secular nostrums. His future is full of corruption, labor strikes, conspiracy, tormented relationships and, last but not least, religion (and even Catholics) that Roddenberry foolishly assumed would go the way of the dinosaur. Lucas's dumbed-down Force worship was the first nod to that fact after the secular happy face desert created by Roddenberry. Give credit to the man for breaching the dike.

From Across the Pond...

...a reader writes:

Someone has uploaded a video to YouTube, which contains an excerpt from a BBC radio programme broadcast late last year on the state of the Church in Britain. Unlike the usual BBC fare, this was actually a pretty good programme, presented by a Catholic journalist.

I thought you might be interested in giving it a wider circulation, since

a) the outrageous situation is not untypical in the UK, yet is unlikely to change absent lay Catholic reaction;

b) it ties in nicely with "Disorientation", while perhaps suggesting that a high school edition is needed for British youth going to Catholic schools.

This appears to have been tied to the Pope's visit. I wonder if the leaven he kneaded into English Catholicism is starting to go to work? I'd be interested in hearing from our cousins in the UK on that point. The comboxes are open, ladies and gentlemen.

Omak Me Yours Tonight

or "Ilwaco Million Miles for One of Your Smiles".

It's an awesome poem based on Washington State place names by the immortal Washingtonian Willard Espy.  All Washingtonians should be required by law to learn it.

Prayer Request

A reader writes:

My new receptionist, a recent convert, has informed me that her 80 year old mother has congestive heart failure and bronchitis. At her age that is a deadly combination and I am asking for prayers on behalf of her mother, Gladys.

Father, hear our prayer for Gladys, that she may be completely healed in body, soul, and spirit, that you Name may be glorified through Jesus Christ your Son. Mother Mary and St. Luke pray for her, her caregivers, and all who love her, especially her daughter.