There is a snarky pro-abortion bumper sticker that I have seen from time to time, and it reads like this. “Against abortion? Don’t have one.” I concede that it’s a pretty clever slogan, but the line actually amounts to an endorsement of moral anarchy. Libertarianism can never be an ultimate ethic, and no one would be able to tolerate it if it were tried as a matter of public policy. If you don’t believe me, then consider a little thought experiment, and see if the bumper-sticker ethic really works. Try these on for size: “Against wife-beating? Don’t beat yours.” “Against rape? Don’t assault anyone.” “Against murder? Don’t kill anyone.” “Against…
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Does Pro-life Law Make a Police State Society?
In the Washington Post last week, Linda Hirschman alleges that John McCain’s pro-life position could lead to a kind of “police state” if he were elected president. She writes: “In the 1980s, when abortion was severely limited in then-West Germany, border guards sometimes required German women returning from foreign trips to undergo vaginal examinations to make sure that they hadn’t illegally terminated a pregnancy while they were abroad. According to news stories and other accounts, the guards would stop young women and ask them about drugs, then look for evidence of abortion, such as sanitary pads or nightgowns, in their cars, and eventually force them to undergo a medical examination…
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Anchors Away: Olbermann and Matthews Are Out
The New York Times is reporting that Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews have been relieved of their anchor duties: “MSNBC tried a bold experiment this year by putting two politically incendiary hosts, Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews, in the anchor chair to lead the cable news channel’s coverage of the election. “That experiment appears to be over.
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Monkeys Are People Too
Despite the title of this post, I don’t believe that “monkeys are people too.” Nevertheless, an ABC news report says that some people think that they are. This is one you’ll have to see to believe. According the report, people are “adopting” monkeys and living with them as their surrogate “children.” These people call these adopted monkeys their “babies,” and they even dress them up like little infants. The stories of these “adoptions” ought to scandalize anyone who still cares about the sanctity of human life. Is it any wonder that human life is so devalued in our culture when there are people who do not know the difference between…
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Dobson Says Obama Distorts the Scripture
Dr. James Dobson sharply criticized Senator Barack Obama yesterday on the “Focus on the Family” radio program. If you missed it, this is one you’ll want to hear. Among other things, Dr. Dobson said of Obama, “He’s deliberately distorting the traditional understanding of the Bible to fit his own worldview, his own confused theology.” Dobson says that Obama is “dragging biblical understanding through the gutter.” Dr. Dobson is responding to a speech that Senator Obama gave in 2006 in which Obama compares Dr. Dobson to Rev. Al Sharpton. You can listen to the broadcast below, or visit CitizenLink.org and listen to it there. [audio:http://focusfamaction.edgeboss.net/download/focusfamaction/c4daily/2008-06-24-daily-c4.mp3] The speech to which Dobson is…
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N. T. Wright on ‘The Colbert Report’
Bishop N. T. Wright appeared last night on the Comedy Central program “The Colbert Report” to promote his book Surprised by Hope. You can watch the video below. Two thoughts:
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To Spank or Not To Spank?
What do you do when the Bible conflicts with expert sociologists? Especially when the sociologists are warning against spanking your children as a means of discipline? U. S. News & World Report recently interviewed spanking “expert” Murray Straus, professor of Sociology at the University of New Hampshire. Among other things, Straus argues that children who are spanked are more likely to grow up to be violent and sexually deviant. Pretty scary, right? Well, I think that’s was the point. The spirit of the age is virulently opposed to spanking of any sort and is unable to distinguish between abuse and corrective discipline. At the end of the day, I think…
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Maggie Gallagher on California Gay “Marriage”
Maggie Gallagher on the California Supreme Court’s decision to legalize gay “marriage”: ‘If the California decision stands, there simply is no longer any case to be made we have begun to win the war for judicial restraint. If a court can rule that same-sex marriage is a fundamental right (i.e., one deeply rooted in our nation’s traditions) then it can make up anything. Elite legal minds get to figure out what they think and break it to the rest of us once they’ve decided. . .
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The Faith of Tim Russert
Don’t miss Jon Meacham’s compelling article on Tim Russert’s earnest Roman Catholic faith. One of the great anecdotes from the article is story of Russert trying to convince Meacham to appear on “Meet the Press” to “defend the faith” against the atheism of Christopher Hitchens.
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Albert Mohler on Gay “Marriage” Case
Yesterday, Dr. Albert Mohler’s radio program covered the Supreme Court of California’s decision to overturn the statewide Gay “Marriage” ban. His guests are Maggie Gallagher and Dr. John Eastman, and you’ll want to hear this one. [audio:http://www.sbts.edu/MP3/totl/2008/AMP_05_15_2008.mp3] One of the most troubling aspects of this decision is that the court classes homosexuality as if it were a characteristic like race or gender. Mohler writes: ‘The court also declared sexual orientation to be a class protected by a “strict scrutiny” test of all legislation and regulation. In so doing, the California court became the first in the nation to apply this test on the basis of sexual orientation. This move also…