Seven Quick Takes are hosted by Jen.
1) I Right now my kitchen (where my computer is) smells like onions. Dinner tonight is Creamed Chicken with Corn Bread Dressing. (The recipe for the dressing is coming in November.) I did all my prep around lunchtime, including chopping the onion for the creamed chicken, which I then put into the pan I'll be using and covered with the lid. I just took the lid off. Whew!
2) It is a gorgeous fall day outside. Lots of red and yellow, fading to brown, but still enough green for contrast. I love to look at fall, but I don't really spend much time outside enjoying it. Good thing there is a window right by my desk.
3) We went to our local Right to Life banquet last night. Well, actually, except for the food part, we ran it. Tickets, seating plans, speaker, decorations, programs. you name it. But Roger didn't have to be emcee this year, since somebody has finally stepped forward to take over as president, after almost two decades. So next year there will be a banquet committee, and all we'll need to do is show up. The new president has the people-motivation skills we lack, and I expect a lot of good things to happen. Thank you, Joe!!
4) Election day is in less than two weeks. Michigan is not electing a US senator this year, but every other state and local office is up in the air. Some races have a clear (to me) best choice, some are a little fuzzier. But I'm putting on my patriot hat and telling you -- no matter where you are, or where you stand on issues -- to get out there and VOTE! A country where people take their responsibility in this area seriously will be a better country than one where they don't, even if the "wrong" candidates win.
5) Our local park system is awesome! I've mentioned the walking/running/biking trails before, but the beaches and museums are also great, and we just acquired a lighthouse! Furthermore, local groups have gathered donations and grants to repair it and care for it. So if you ever come to visit I'll be sure to take you to see it.
6) My stomach is growling. I've been cautiously trying to lose some weight but eating only when I'm physically hungry. Well, I am! But I'm going to wait for the Cornbread Dressing, because man, is that tasty!
7) Those of you who care about grammar may have noticed that I lean toward the use of the "Oxford comma"; that is, a comma after the item before the "and" in a list separated by commas. Example: I like vanilla, butterscotch, and chocolate ice cream toppings. Modern usage says the comma after butterscotch isn't necessary, and should be omitted. Go read this, (specifically the photo caption) and see if you agree!
And that's it for this week's version of Seven Quick takes. Have a great weekend!
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Friday, October 22, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
In (Partial) Defense of Bart Stupak
(For anybody who comes here expecting to read nice family stuff: if the title of the post didn't tell you, this is a political semi-rant. Come back some other time for more of the usual....)
I, as a pro-life conservative (social AND fiscal), am very disappointed by the vote in the House of Representatives passing the so-called "Health Care Bill." I believe a more accurate title would be "Socialized Medicine Bill." But I am also very disappointed by the flood of articles I am seeing which state that passage of this bill indicates that there is no such thing as a "pro-life Democrat."
I was raised by a life-long (Old) Democrat who was also totally pro-life. When it became apparent that the modern Democratic Party had bought into abortion at the platform level, he faced a rough choice. He'd never voted for a Republican and wasn't about to begin, but he couldn't in good conscience vote for a pro-abortion candidate, either. I'm sure that the township clerk was regularly confused -- this was in the days of paper ballots -- by the write-in votes for some Minnick or another. My dad's solution was ingenious; if the Democrat wasn't pro-life, he'd vote for one of his brothers. Now of course, in terms of who won those elections, this was exactly the same as if he hadn't voted at all. But it satisfied both Dad's duty as a citizen AND his conscience.
I happen to believe that Bart Stupak made a mistake in judgment in believing that an Executive Order would prevent this bill from funding abortion. But I think those who are ready to write him off as "not pro-life" are also making a mistake. They forget that the second word in "Pro-Life Democrat" is Democrat. Representative Stupak wanted this bill to pass, badly. (I also disagree with his judgment about whether that is a good thing, but that's another post.) I suspect most of his detractors made the mental error of equating "pro-life" with "conservative." That's like equating "red" with "apple." Yes, many apples are red, but the two categories are only overlapping, not identical.*
Time will certainly tell whether Bart Stupak violated common sense in voting for the "Health Care Bill" on promises of an executive order. But I think in fairness that unless the future proves otherwise,we should believe that it was only common sense that he violated, and not his pro-life principles.
* Funny story for those of you who stuck out the politics -- The parents of one of Roger's boyhood friends took their son to kindergarten round-up. Afterward they were told by concerned school staff that he might be mentally slow; he couldn't tell the tester what color an apple was. The parents laughed their heads off! They ran an apple orchard, and the son wanted to know what kind of apple before he answered. Apple doesn't always equal red.
I, as a pro-life conservative (social AND fiscal), am very disappointed by the vote in the House of Representatives passing the so-called "Health Care Bill." I believe a more accurate title would be "Socialized Medicine Bill." But I am also very disappointed by the flood of articles I am seeing which state that passage of this bill indicates that there is no such thing as a "pro-life Democrat."
I was raised by a life-long (Old) Democrat who was also totally pro-life. When it became apparent that the modern Democratic Party had bought into abortion at the platform level, he faced a rough choice. He'd never voted for a Republican and wasn't about to begin, but he couldn't in good conscience vote for a pro-abortion candidate, either. I'm sure that the township clerk was regularly confused -- this was in the days of paper ballots -- by the write-in votes for some Minnick or another. My dad's solution was ingenious; if the Democrat wasn't pro-life, he'd vote for one of his brothers. Now of course, in terms of who won those elections, this was exactly the same as if he hadn't voted at all. But it satisfied both Dad's duty as a citizen AND his conscience.
I happen to believe that Bart Stupak made a mistake in judgment in believing that an Executive Order would prevent this bill from funding abortion. But I think those who are ready to write him off as "not pro-life" are also making a mistake. They forget that the second word in "Pro-Life Democrat" is Democrat. Representative Stupak wanted this bill to pass, badly. (I also disagree with his judgment about whether that is a good thing, but that's another post.) I suspect most of his detractors made the mental error of equating "pro-life" with "conservative." That's like equating "red" with "apple." Yes, many apples are red, but the two categories are only overlapping, not identical.*
Time will certainly tell whether Bart Stupak violated common sense in voting for the "Health Care Bill" on promises of an executive order. But I think in fairness that unless the future proves otherwise,we should believe that it was only common sense that he violated, and not his pro-life principles.
* Funny story for those of you who stuck out the politics -- The parents of one of Roger's boyhood friends took their son to kindergarten round-up. Afterward they were told by concerned school staff that he might be mentally slow; he couldn't tell the tester what color an apple was. The parents laughed their heads off! They ran an apple orchard, and the son wanted to know what kind of apple before he answered. Apple doesn't always equal red.
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