Quote of the Day
Half the world is composed of people who have something to say and can't, and the other half who have nothing to say and keep on saying it.
Robert Frost
Finally! Osama Bin Laden Confirmed Dead!
We Americans have been waiting almost 10 years for this war criminal to be brought to justice for the indefensible murder of nearly 3000 civilians. There had been some recent reports of bin Laden being conspicuously visible in the Pakistan/Afghanistan area. President Obama mentioned in his address tonight that he authorized a US Navy Seals unit which recent invaded an Abbottabad, Pakistan mansion where Osama bin Laden and his allies were killed in a firefight. Kudos to all the military and intelligence personnel whom have doggedly pursued this fugitive and successfully completed their mission. There is no doubt that President Obama made the capture or killing of bin Laden a top priority and tonight has achieved that objective. Congratulations, Mr. President!
There is still some anxiety because of rumored reprisal terrorist attacks in the event bin Laden was caught or killed, but I have no doubt in our ability to persevere in this righteous cause!
The Blessed John Paul II: Santo Subito!
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Coutesy of ABS-CBN News |
Up to 1.5 million Roman Catholics today celebrated joyously the beatification of Polish-born Karol Wojtyla, the first non-Italian Pope in centuries (since 1523). Beatification is the first stage of a 2-stage process to sainthood and signifies a person worthy of public veneration. The process includes a thorough investigation of the holiness of the deceased person and a well-vetted miracle through the intercession of the holy one; in the late pope's case, a French nun was reportedly cured of Parkinson's disease, the same disease that affected the late pontiff's health at the end of his life. Sainthood is conferred after a second vetted miracle, one after beatification.
There will always be those whom blame the pontiff for bureaucratic failures in proactively protecting the innocent victims from a few rogue child predator priests. My principles are unambiguous: I have a visceral dislike for bureaucracies, convoluted laws, lack of responsibility and accountability, and anything that fails to acknowledge the primacy of ministry to all God's children. Let us be clear: all priests take a vow of celibacy, and the Church holds any priests whom violate sexual ethics (sex only in the context of marriage) and their priestly vows morally accountable for their actions. To violate the trust of children is specially heinous in the eyes of God, for Jesus loved the little children (Luke 18:16). I think some in the hierarchy were unrealistic in the expectation that child predators can be cured and trusted without close supervision in a target-rich environment; I'm sure others worried about scandal and/or due process rights for any unjustly accused. I don't judge John Paul II on his administrative and reform abilities, but on his intrinsic holiness and unparalleled, godly ministry.
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Courtesy of AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, Pool |
Defunding Planned Parenthood in Indiana:
Thumbs UP!
Planned Parenthood is the largest abortion provider in the US, and money is fungible; even if federal funding is in a "lockbox", other funds can be redeployed for abortion services. Planned Parenthood is misleadingly attempting to posture itself as a medical services provider versus an advocacy organization. Planned Parenthood will argue denial of family planning or other medical service funding for reasons other than non-performance is prohibited by federal law; the state of Indiana counters relevant Medicaid services will be available at 800 (versus 34) locations in 92 counties subject to the same criteria: Planned Parenthood itself decides its own destiny by its operational policies and business decisions whether it is eligible for continued government funding.
In fact, the US House wanted to defund Planned Parenthood in the recent budget funding kerfuffle, but President Obama vowed a veto. Would Obama really want to veto a budget bill and take the heat for a government shutdown? I think he was bluffing. But my message to the House GOP is: if you are going to risk a Presidential veto, make it worth your while: deep, significant cuts across the board. Don't sweat the small stuff: it's not enough to pick and choose your pockets of savings based on Democratic crony interests, like Planned Parenthood. Even hundreds of millions amount to little more pocket change when you are dealing with a $3.5T or so in federal spending: in order to get a truly bipartisan agreement, both sides are going to accept cuts that affect their own special interests. (And they SHOULD. ALL of them.)
I do think we have a social problem; when 4 out of 10 births involve unmarried women, we have a fundamental breakdown in the institution of marriage. I do think government has a vested interest in the preservation of society and maintaining the stability of the institution of marriage and family. But I think there are other organizations (e.g., churches) that can address these issues. I don't think it's an issue of teens and young adults not knowing about safe sex practices and preventive technology. For example, young men should be able to understand the risks of unprotected sex, including their financial responsibility for raising a child; the use of condoms or a vasectomy is an investment that pays for themselves if the person chooses an active sex life. But I see the issue being one of individual responsibility, not the state. The state should focus on its core functions. Quoting from one of my earlier posts:
I prefer using a metaphor of the federal government conglomerate, where paternalistic progressive empire-building at the federal level has outstripped the Executive Branch's ability to effectively manage it... When a conglomerate starts losing money and focus, what we typically look to do is to spin-off or shut down those units which don't focus on core competencies--things like national defense and foreign policy, public health and safety, national financial services, public resource and infrastructure management, and our federal judiciary and interstate regulation.
Mitch Daniels' decision to support the Indiana bill is being examined in terms of Presidential politics, since he has been widely discussed (including this blog) as a possible 2012 GOP candidate. The buzz has only increased given the fact that a friend, Governor Haley Barbour (R-MS), recently dropped out of contention for nomination. Mitch Daniels caused an early stir a few weeks back, when he suggested a few weeks back that the GOP put socially conservative issues on the back burner for 2012. This caused an immediate outcry from social conservatives, in particular, prospective candidates like former Pennsylvania US Senator Rick Santorum. I strongly support Mitch Daniels in that assessment: from the standpoint of pragmatic politics, the President has very little influence over abortion in terms of public policy. There is a far bigger issue: the long-term sustainability of this federal government, which has promised more than it can deliver. I've made it very clear where I stand on the abortion issue, as recently as last Sunday's post, and Mitch Daniels was similarly clear: Mitch Daniels never abandoned his pro-life roots, and this legislation is not a flip-flop or hypocrisy.
What Daniels was speaking of is that Barack Obama would like to distract next year's voters with litmus test issues, like Planned Parenthood, PBS, the Arizona immigration law, and Scott Walker's public sector curbs on collective bargaining: anything at all to deflect the fact that we will have a third consecutive year of $1.3T deficits or higher, three active military efforts, a massive expansion in federal health care legislation, spiking energy prices, and at best anemic job growth, still millions below the number employed in December 2007. Obama is like a slick-talking used car salesman trying to sell the 2012 his Presidency has been a cream puff. He doesn't want to talk about the job engine or economic engine, the 2000-page owner's manual, or the meager mileage it gets on a trillion dollars pumped into it... Mitch Daniels is like the grownup in the room, saying the 40-year abortion battle continues; it's important, but we also need to reach out to moderates and independents whom differ on this one issue. There is a huge difference between deemphasizing and abandoning a position. Just because you put something on the back burner doesn't mean your position has changed. You simply have more pressing legislative priorities. (Mitch Daniels also made it clear that union reform was not one of his higher priorities earlier this year. The problem is that divisive legislative battles early in a session burn bridges needed for legislative compromise.)
The reactions of the pro-abortion choice partisans to Daniels' decision on legislation involving Indiana public funding of Planned Parenthood are predictable: so much for the "truce" and Daniels is being motivated by Presidential ambitions. A truce doesn't mean capitulation; Daniels' position distinguishing between contraception and abortion, as I discussed last Sunday in the context of the Griswold decision, has been consistent. As for his Presidential ambitions, I was on the record last August encouraging Mitch Daniels' entry into the race. Daniels has repeatedly expressed ambivalence over joining the 2012 race, and most polls have shown the largely unknown governor (outside of Indiana) in the lower single-digits of support.
Fukushima Nuclear Incident Update
No new posts on the major blogs I follow. Presumably the reactor pressurized vessels 1 through 3 and spent fuel pools 1 through 4 are replenished with coolant on as-needed basis, temperature and pressure in the RPV's are declining/stable, and contaminated water from the reactor 2 turbine building is in process to the rad waste storage tank.
Political Humor
A few originals:
- Donald Trump attended last night's White House Correspondents' dinner. He almost didn't get in, though: security recognized him from Celebrity Apprentice.
- President Obama sarcastically noted at the dinner that (obvious) decisions like Trump's firing of space cadet actor Gary Busey would keep him up at night. Trump responded that he was happy to have given Obama some ideas on resolving that air traffic controller problem.
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
ABBA, "Happy New Year"
