Sunday, July 04, 2004
Summer Reading, I
Summer is when I finally get some time to read what I want to read, and I started off this summer with Dune by Frank Herbert, a sci-fi book that practically started a cult following. Let me tell you, it wasn't the easiest book to get into. It's long, and I don't have the best reading habits when it comes to long books, but I managed to get all the way through (I was so determined not to quit). At first, I had a very hard time understand why it has such a following. It was interesting, yes, but to me, it wasn't engaging enough for such a fan base. However, between watching the Sci-fi channel's miniseries Children of Dune and finishing the book, I came to understand the attachment more. It truly is a great story, an epic, and a tragic family history. I think that's what I really came to connect with, the fate of the Atriedes family, how despite their best efforts, they ended up plunged in betrayl and death and tragedy. Now the whole Dune series has been slotted into my summer reading. I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a sci-fi/fantasy epic.
Monday, April 26, 2004
Save the Whales and Kill the Babies
I went to Aquire the Fire over this weekend, an awesome Christian teen conference down in Balitmore, and one of the speakers there spoke about sex. She told us that if we took all the American deaths in all the wars in the last hundred years, World War I through the Iraq operation now, it would not equal the number of babies killed every year by abortion.
How can we do this? How can we be silent and let this happen? How can we be accomplices to murder? It's time I commit myself to taking a stand against this crime, and I challenge all to do the same. This is not a choice of a woman - this is the life of a child. The phrase "It's a child not a choice" may seem over used, but it's so true. How can we claim the power to decide whether or not a baby lives or dies? What gives us that so called "right?" And how can we take away the baby's right - the right to live? It's a shame that we have so degraded human life.
For those of you who are unconvinced that life begins at conception, I challenge you to read "ProLife Answers to ProChoice Agruments" by Randy Alcorn. If you are so sure that an unborn baby is not a life, then it is no threat to you. But what if you're wrong? Can we stand to err on the side of murder? Will you refuse to take this book and read it? Are you afraid of being wrong?
If there was one issue that I could choose to mark the grave importance of this year's election, I think it would be abortion. The President has always been in support of life. How can Mrs. Heinz Kerry say that she believes abortion is "stopping the process of life" and yet be pro-choice (see article below)? Isn't "stopping the process of life" also known as killing, murder? How dare Senator Kerry say "...the goverment should stay out of the bedrooms of Americans"? This is not about the privacy of Americans. This is about the sanctitiy of the lives of Americans. As much as you value the lives of the soldiers in Iraq, Mr. Kerry, so value the lives of the babies here. This is not an issue about the lifestyles Americans choose, about their sexual lifestyles. This is about the murder of millions. How dare you twist the issue! The Kerry's are trying to walk both sides of a decisive line. You cannot have "rare but... safe and legal" abortion. How would you propose to do this, Senator Kerry? And if you make it rare, why is that? Is it because you believe it is the killing of a child? Is it because you believe it is wrong? And if it is morally wrong, how can we make it legal? If it is murder, how can we legislate that? If you are not against abortion, Senator Kerry, you are for it. You cannot walk this rope without falling.
The decision you make this coming November about the President of the United States is crucial. Our nation is in a moral crisis that we must all pull together and work to rectify. It's time to stand up and do something about this. If we don't, how many more babies will die? Who could I save if I just worked a little, talked to a few people, prayed a little harder? What could her name be? What might his children look like?
Are we really this cruel and heartless? Are we really this morally deluded?
How many more thousands of babies are we ready to sacrifice?
Here are some other thoughts on abortion and the "March for Women's Lives:"
After Abortion
Cor ad cor loquens
"ProLife Answers to ProChoice Arguments
A survey of Aborted Women
Abortion Statistics - What You Didn't Know
How can we do this? How can we be silent and let this happen? How can we be accomplices to murder? It's time I commit myself to taking a stand against this crime, and I challenge all to do the same. This is not a choice of a woman - this is the life of a child. The phrase "It's a child not a choice" may seem over used, but it's so true. How can we claim the power to decide whether or not a baby lives or dies? What gives us that so called "right?" And how can we take away the baby's right - the right to live? It's a shame that we have so degraded human life.
For those of you who are unconvinced that life begins at conception, I challenge you to read "ProLife Answers to ProChoice Agruments" by Randy Alcorn. If you are so sure that an unborn baby is not a life, then it is no threat to you. But what if you're wrong? Can we stand to err on the side of murder? Will you refuse to take this book and read it? Are you afraid of being wrong?
If there was one issue that I could choose to mark the grave importance of this year's election, I think it would be abortion. The President has always been in support of life. How can Mrs. Heinz Kerry say that she believes abortion is "stopping the process of life" and yet be pro-choice (see article below)? Isn't "stopping the process of life" also known as killing, murder? How dare Senator Kerry say "...the goverment should stay out of the bedrooms of Americans"? This is not about the privacy of Americans. This is about the sanctitiy of the lives of Americans. As much as you value the lives of the soldiers in Iraq, Mr. Kerry, so value the lives of the babies here. This is not an issue about the lifestyles Americans choose, about their sexual lifestyles. This is about the murder of millions. How dare you twist the issue! The Kerry's are trying to walk both sides of a decisive line. You cannot have "rare but... safe and legal" abortion. How would you propose to do this, Senator Kerry? And if you make it rare, why is that? Is it because you believe it is the killing of a child? Is it because you believe it is wrong? And if it is morally wrong, how can we make it legal? If it is murder, how can we legislate that? If you are not against abortion, Senator Kerry, you are for it. You cannot walk this rope without falling.
The decision you make this coming November about the President of the United States is crucial. Our nation is in a moral crisis that we must all pull together and work to rectify. It's time to stand up and do something about this. If we don't, how many more babies will die? Who could I save if I just worked a little, talked to a few people, prayed a little harder? What could her name be? What might his children look like?
Are we really this cruel and heartless? Are we really this morally deluded?
How many more thousands of babies are we ready to sacrifice?
Here are some other thoughts on abortion and the "March for Women's Lives:"
After Abortion
Cor ad cor loquens
"ProLife Answers to ProChoice Arguments
A survey of Aborted Women
Abortion Statistics - What You Didn't Know
Monday, April 12, 2004
Spiderman 2
This trailer is incredible. I could definitely see Spiderman 2 surpassing the first one, if only by a margin (I'd have to say X-2 was better than X-Men. I have high hopes for the third movie, even if they are dimmed a little by realistic pessimism that movies go down in quality as the number following the title gets higher). The Spiderman movies present such a great internal conflict for Peter Parker. Where does he draw the line between his life and the consuming life of Spiderman? "With great power comes great responsibility." Amen to that. Something we can all apply to our own lives.
But doesn't Mary Jane ever get tired of playing the damsel in distress? First she was dangled over the edge of a bridge, now she's carried off by the Doc Oc guy. Poor girl needs some superpowers of her own.
But doesn't Mary Jane ever get tired of playing the damsel in distress? First she was dangled over the edge of a bridge, now she's carried off by the Doc Oc guy. Poor girl needs some superpowers of her own.
Why I Love Tony Blair
Tony Blair on Iraq and Our Complacency
One thing I really like about this speech is how Mr. Blair points out how the minority is causing trouble in Iraq. He says, "The current upsurge in violence has not spread throughout Iraq. Much of Iraq is unaffected and most Iraqis reject it. The insurgents are former Saddam sympathisers, angry that their status as 'boss' has been removed, terrorist groups linked to al-Qaeda and, most recently, followers of the Shia cleric, Muqtada-al-Sadr."
It is very hard for Americans to make judgements on the mindset of an entire country. What do we know about what is going on over there besides what we are told by our media? What do we know of all the advancements being made that Mr. Blair mentioned, the banks, the growing economy, the growing equality, the possibility of advancement in education? We see the extremists, the terrorists, running around, ambushing our troops, abducting our citizens, but what does the average citizen say? What of those who lost family members to Sadaam's regime, those women who are just now realizing their rights? What of those who long for unity and peace?
Mr. Blair says the terrorists realize what these attacks in Iraq do to our mindset:
"They know it is a historic struggle. They know their victory would do far more than defeat America or Britain. It would defeat civilisation and democracy everywhere. They know it, but do we? The truth is, faced with this struggle, on which our own fate hangs, a significant part of Western opinion is sitting back, if not half-hoping we fail, certainly replete with schadenfreude at the difficulty we find."
If we pull out of Iraq now, what then? Will we watch as a nation crumbles in on itself, so close to freedom and democracy, eaten alive by extremism and terrorism? What will the world think of us then, as we turn our back on what is our responsibility? Regardless of what we may have thought going into the war, the truth is that the rebuilding of Iraq is our responsibility now, and we must see it done. Peace will not come to Iraq if we abandon it now.
"...Have we the stomach to see it through?"
via Drudge Report
One thing I really like about this speech is how Mr. Blair points out how the minority is causing trouble in Iraq. He says, "The current upsurge in violence has not spread throughout Iraq. Much of Iraq is unaffected and most Iraqis reject it. The insurgents are former Saddam sympathisers, angry that their status as 'boss' has been removed, terrorist groups linked to al-Qaeda and, most recently, followers of the Shia cleric, Muqtada-al-Sadr."
It is very hard for Americans to make judgements on the mindset of an entire country. What do we know about what is going on over there besides what we are told by our media? What do we know of all the advancements being made that Mr. Blair mentioned, the banks, the growing economy, the growing equality, the possibility of advancement in education? We see the extremists, the terrorists, running around, ambushing our troops, abducting our citizens, but what does the average citizen say? What of those who lost family members to Sadaam's regime, those women who are just now realizing their rights? What of those who long for unity and peace?
Mr. Blair says the terrorists realize what these attacks in Iraq do to our mindset:
"They know it is a historic struggle. They know their victory would do far more than defeat America or Britain. It would defeat civilisation and democracy everywhere. They know it, but do we? The truth is, faced with this struggle, on which our own fate hangs, a significant part of Western opinion is sitting back, if not half-hoping we fail, certainly replete with schadenfreude at the difficulty we find."
If we pull out of Iraq now, what then? Will we watch as a nation crumbles in on itself, so close to freedom and democracy, eaten alive by extremism and terrorism? What will the world think of us then, as we turn our back on what is our responsibility? Regardless of what we may have thought going into the war, the truth is that the rebuilding of Iraq is our responsibility now, and we must see it done. Peace will not come to Iraq if we abandon it now.
"...Have we the stomach to see it through?"
via Drudge Report
Sunday, March 14, 2004
Saturday, March 06, 2004
Maniac
He says the President, I'm thinking maybe it's him. Okay, first of all, I don't really listen to talk radio, so I don't know anything about Stern. But from reading the article I was struck by a flaw in his purpose. He says, "I'm about to be served up my head on a platter because all I wanted to do was make people laugh." You want to make people laugh about politics? Sure, there's a time for that, but it also sounds like he wants people to take him very seriously. So which is more important, making people laugh or dedicating yourself to the truth (or what he thinks is truth) behind politics. And if it's the former, how much will he twist the latter to get his precious laughs?
People whose goal in life are to make others laugh are not bad people, but you'd better know them well, or they might become careless with topics, issues, and the truth just to make you laugh.
People whose goal in life are to make others laugh are not bad people, but you'd better know them well, or they might become careless with topics, issues, and the truth just to make you laugh.
Wednesday, March 03, 2004
Through the Wardrobe
It's nice to see the Chorincles of Narnia getting a movie break; if other fantasy movies made in the last few years are any precedent, it should be good. I do wish Peter Jackson and Weta were working on it, but can we always have our way? Let's keep our fingers crossed for The Hobbit.
Lord of the Oscars
I had to ask, on Sunday, why the Oscar Orchestra bothered to learn any other music besides the Gondor theme?
Kudos, Peter Jackson, cast and crew. You deserved every little golden man you won.
Kudos, Peter Jackson, cast and crew. You deserved every little golden man you won.
Finally, someone following the laws
It's refreshing to see someone who follows the laws, what with the disaster in San Francisco. Plan and simple, people, regardless of how you feel on the subject, law is law. If I don't agree that I should have a license for my gun, that doesn't mean I can keep one without registration. That's not civil disobedience. Nor is this. I may not agree with Spitzer's personal views, but I admire him for upholding the law in the face of the public loud mouths.
I was slighted by Sen. Russell Feingold's (D) comment about this being a divisionary tactic. If so, than it's of the Democrat's devise, no? If I recall correctly, the President only took a stand after the wave of illegal activity began. Here's the thing that my dad's been pointing out: this issue is becoming increasingly demanding of the American people. You are going to have to make a decision whether or not you support this behavior. If you don't, you agree with the President, and I hope you will live out your beliefs in the vote. If you do, then you're more inclined toward the Democratic platform. If you don't do anything, then you're voting pro-gay marriage. It's not just that Republicans are pro-heterosexuality. It's that Demoracts are pro-homosexuality.
I encourage you, before you push that button or pull that lever, to think hard about where your convinctions are on this issue, and to vote according, because it's one or the other. There is no inbetween.
I was slighted by Sen. Russell Feingold's (D) comment about this being a divisionary tactic. If so, than it's of the Democrat's devise, no? If I recall correctly, the President only took a stand after the wave of illegal activity began. Here's the thing that my dad's been pointing out: this issue is becoming increasingly demanding of the American people. You are going to have to make a decision whether or not you support this behavior. If you don't, you agree with the President, and I hope you will live out your beliefs in the vote. If you do, then you're more inclined toward the Democratic platform. If you don't do anything, then you're voting pro-gay marriage. It's not just that Republicans are pro-heterosexuality. It's that Demoracts are pro-homosexuality.
I encourage you, before you push that button or pull that lever, to think hard about where your convinctions are on this issue, and to vote according, because it's one or the other. There is no inbetween.
Proof that the guys in my class will never grow up...
I thought it might stop after college... But then again, you just want to giggle when you read this.
DrudgeReport
DrudgeReport
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