Month: July 2005

Posted on George W. Bush

abortion and the U.S. supreme court

once again a president of the united states has the historic opportunity to appoint a justice to the u.s. supreme court. this is an important choice because the supreme court can make rulings affecting all of us. we shall see which partisans are right with their views on bush’s pick.

the main issue on each group’s mind is abortion, specificially roe v. wade, which legalized abortion in the first place. the potential to change this decision motivates each group. i would like to see roe v. wade overturned. life has value and abortion cheapens that value. unfortunately, i don’t believe it will be overturned, regardless of how many supreme court justices bush appoints. there are too many obstacles to overcome to completely outlaw abortion.

what we can do is take small steps, such as parental notification, to help teens think twice about making this decision. we need to encourage parents to get involved in their kids’ lives. having a parent around to give advice on situations their daughters/sons face is key to heading off future problems. yes, even in the best of circumstances, kids screw up. but having an involved parent could short-circuit disaster in many cases.

it’s wrong to kill babies. it’s also wrong to bomb clinics or take the law into your hands to kill abortionists. bombing clinics and killing abortionists in cold blood is not acceptable in a civilized society. civilized societies have laws. the way to affect change is to make the case for a change in those laws.

here’s the question though — if abortion becomes illegal, how will that be enforced? punish the clinics without a doubt. but how about the young women who get these abortions? what would you do with them? it doesn’t seem like throwing them in jail would be the right thing to do. we need to think through the implications of overturning roe v. wade before trying to do it.

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Posted on Uncategorized

tucker carlson is mad crazy

there are many crazy ideas out there today. luckily, most of these obviously do not affect meaningful change in society. that’s the beauty and ugliness of the first amendment — that we cannot be punished for saying something totally stupid in a public forum. many of our government bureaucrats abuse this privilege daily just to be on tv. but most of the time we ignore them…and this usually works.

some suggestions are difficult to ignore because they are so unbelievable. this is why i am taking a certain tv talking head to task on his views on acceptable behavior in schools. what is the purpose of a school? in case anyone has forgotten, it is to educate our young people and to prepare them to succeed in the real world. i would think that anything distracting from this purpose should not be excused or justified.

the idea that sex between a teacher and a student is understandable, especially in junior high, is simply absurd. kids that age, and even some older ones, shouldn’t be having sex at all. self-control is possible. more kids should be encouraged to practice it. teachers should be more focused on teaching kids math, science, and reading skills rather than their own “needs”. the book should be roundly chucked at any teacher who tries a stunt like that. there should be an official policy against it…including firing the offender. harsh? perhaps. deterrent? without a doubt.

if this is intended as a joke, it’s a bad one. tucker, please try a different script. this one’s not working for you.

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Posted on Random Musings

The Intro

welcome to my blog!

this blog will be primarily about sports, life, and politics. i believe that talking heads on tv and ideologues, both conservative and liberal, tend to distort the debate on political issues. i will try to inject a common sense perspective on these topics and others of interest to me.

feel free to post your comments as well. if you want to know more about me, more details will be posted soon. enjoy the rant! lisa

Posted on Random Musings

random musings on live 8

the cynic in all of us questions the value of mega-concerts such as live 8. we rush to question motives and whether hypocrisy exists in all the rhetoric dished out during the show. it’s a natural skepticism. it is a legitimate question whether all the stars put their money where their mouth is, and they definitely should. however, the cynic that dismisses the whole thing as celebrities trying to validate their fame and fortune by promoting a worthy cause is missing part of the story. i don’t know whether live 8 will be the catalyst for meaningful change it desires to be, but if it can provide a wake-up call to those who have been discouraged by the monotony and prosaic reality of everyday life, thatÂ’s a worthy achievement. I believe that this at least is possible.

perhaps we have lost our ability to believe in something bigger than ourselves. we can easily lose sight of the bigger picture when we get bogged down in the details. we look at the fortunate fools who still believe and trust in the power of a big dream, and we are envious. we are envious because we used to be where they are. we know better now. we are smarter, too smart to believe, to dream, or to act like our lives mean something. here’s to the ones who haven’t become jaded and cynical enough to settle for being ordinary. dreamers with a plan can change the world. we have seen it throughout history. we can’t all be singers, or actors, or people with a great big stage to influence huge crowds of people. but we all have a part to play. we all can make a difference where we are. this is too easily forgotten. if i take nothing else from live 8, i take this: don’t lose the belief in the impossible. that is what makes us feel alive. that is what keeps us from being ordinary and settling for an existence that can never satisfy us.