:: The S.I.C.L.E. Cell ::

:: Thursday, February 28, 2008 ::

I would never move a pile of live cows with a forklift, but I support the right of others to choose to do so.

:: ashli 4:43 PM # ::
...

"David's Stone: Personhood

By Michael Hichborn

The ongoing effort to save preborn babies from the culture of death is akin to the epic battle between David and Goliath. While the pro-life movement struggles just to maintain its grassroots support base, the massive and powerful culture of death has access to all of the money, political power and propaganda it could ever want.

At least David had the nerve to show up for the fight. Right now, in Colorado, a 20-year-old law student has taken up David's sling and is prepared to throw the deadly stone while some self-professed pro-life leaders, politicians and clergymen cower because they believe that "now is not the right time."

In November 2007, Kristi Burton, founder of Colorado for Equal Rights, won an important victory in the state supreme court allowing her to move forward with Proposed Initiative 36. The initiative simply states that "the terms 'person' or 'persons' shall include any human being from the moment of fertilization." This initiative is the lynchpin for restoring the right to life for all preborn babies, because in the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision, Justice Harry Blackmun wrote, "If this suggestion of personhood is established, the appellant's case, of course, collapses, for the fetus' right to life would then be guaranteed specifically by the [14^th] Amendment."

Over the past 35 years, nearly 50,000,000 preborn babies have been legally butchered in their own mothers' wombs. The most we have to show for our effort to stop this carnage is an alleged ban on the heinous practice of partially delivering a baby, stabbing him or her in the back of the head and then sucking his or her brains out. Hailed by some as a pro-life victory, the so-called ban on partial-birth abortion isn't truly a ban because the Supreme Court decision itself included instructions permitting doctors to circumvent the ban by injecting the baby with poison before completing the grisly procedure. What is so completely baffling, however, is that organizations like the National Right to Life Committee will pop a champagne cork for a ruling that won't stop a single abortion, but will not support or will even directly oppose the personhood initiative – which would directly end all abortions – because they claim that "now is not the right time."

Some may ask, "If now is not the right time to save babies, when is?" But it's more appropriate to ask, "Why not now?' What do pro-life leaders, politicians and clergymen have to lose by acting now instead of waiting for "the right time"? If the initiative fails, do we admit defeat, tell the babies we're sorry we couldn't do better, pack up and go home? How many amendments and legislative measures are voted upon only once before being passed? The answer is less than one percent! If the initiative fails, you start over and try again and you keep trying until it works. It is hard, tedious and frustrating work, but when compared with the suffering of innocent preborn children who face dismemberment and death, the decision is an easy one. Only those locked in their lofty ivory towers, comfortable with merely drawing a salary to do "pro-life" work, remain silent or oppose real pro-life measures while they wait for "the right time."

There is no "right time." David went into battle against Goliath without military or combat training and without a sword, shield or helmet. He carried only a sling and some rocks. He was a mere boy and the timing was as much against him as his size and strength. But his courage and faith in God led to victory. In truth, the victory over the culture of death will not be ours to claim, just as the timing is not ours to decide. Kristi Burton heard the call from God to defend human life and answered it without question, without waiting for "the right time" and without compromise. Her leadership brings to mind the words of a shepherd who slew a giant:

You come against me with sword and spear and scimitar, but I come against you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel that you have insulted. Today the LORD shall deliver you into my hand; I will strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will leave your corpse and the corpses of the Philistine army for the birds of the air and the beasts of the field; thus the whole land shall learn that Israel has a God. All this multitude, too, shall learn that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves. For the battle is the LORD'S, and He shall deliver you into our hands. (1 Samuel 17: 45-47)

When doing the work of God and calling on people to support the defense of babies, can timing really be an issue? While pro-life leaders, politicians and clergymen stand idly by, waiting for "the right time," Kristi Burton puts it all in God's hands, stands in the arena, takes careful aim and throws."

:: ashli 4:34 PM # ::
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Fetus Watch:
Click on "play" and find the "blob of tissue."
Hint: You'll know it by the human arms, legs, fingers, toes, eyes, etc.

:: ashli 11:56 AM # ::
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You know, this just continues to tick me off:
Bill "I-did-not-have-sexual-relations-with-that-woman" Clinton telling LIFERS to tell the truth!

The audacity!

I mean, it would be comical if the man and his interesting wife had no power. But the horrifying fact is THEY DO. Listen to the duped abort-o-bots cheering in the crowd. (I used to be one of them, btw, and I'm sorry.) Chug, chug, chug...part of the machine.

Bet when Clinton "went off" he didn't stop to think that hey, maybe some of the kids holding signs were hurt by abortion after being duped by the machine. Nope, it's just a "political issue" on which we disagree.

GIVE ME A FREAKIN' BREAK! This ain't no game here, dude. This is life and death and the continued degradation of a nation. This is sanctioned child killing, and he KNOWS it, otherwise he wouldn't have used the term MOTHER.

He used the term MOTHER, people!!! Even Bill Clinton knows that a mother's child is at the crux of the abortion issue. He didn't say "woman," he didn't say, "individual;" he said MOTHER.

A woman is only a mother if she has a child.

Once again feeling like Charlton Heston...

:: ashli 2:20 PM # ::
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"Every doctor and every MOTHER..." Hmmm...



We will talk about the "criminalization" argument in another post. As it is, the tots want breakfast.

Before I go, I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize to America, again, for voting for Bill Clinton.

"Tell the truth," indeed. What a liar.

HT: Students for Life

:: ashli 10:25 AM # ::
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From ALL re: YouTube:

"YOUTUBE CONCEDES ERROR IN BANNING AMERICAN LIFE LEAGUE'S PRO-LIFE VIDEO

Censored Video Restored After Objections from Pro-Life Media and Supporters

Washington, D.C. (14 February 2008) – After numerous articles and pressure from Catholic and online media, Google-sponsored YouTube cited a “technical malfunction” as the reason American Life League’s pro-life video was censored by YouTube staff.

"Once word got out that YouTube had allowed the Planned Parenthood ads our report was based on to remain on their site, while at the same time censoring our report, a flurry of e-mails, blog posts, and complaints from the pro-life community pressured YouTube into reversing their decision," said Jim Sedlak, vice president of American Life League.

The original notification e-mail sent to American Life League by YouTube reads, "After being flagged by members of the YouTube community and reviewed by YouTube staff, the video below has been removed due to its inappropriate nature."

Three days later, American Life League received a second e-mail that said:

"This email is to inform you that a video was recently removed from your account due to a technical malfunction. The issue has since been remedied and we appologize (sic) for any inconvenience or distress this may have caused. The following video(s) have been reinstated and your account has not been penalized."

According to YouTube's user guide:

"When a video gets flagged as inappropriate, we review the video to determine whether it violates our Terms of Use—flagged videos are not automatically taken down by the system. If we remove your video after reviewing it, you can assume that we removed it purposefully, and you should take our warning notification seriously."

Praising the YouTube decision, Sedlak commented “We are pleased that YouTube has reversed their decision to remove our video. Our ALL News Report was neither objectionable nor inappropriate. While it is unfortunate that YouTube chose this tactic in the first place, it is encouraging to note that they corrected their poor decision in a timely fashion.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

· American Life League's reinstated "Planned Parenthood Sells Sex" report (link)

· Alliance Defense Fund (link)

· Catholic News Agency (link)

· EWTN (EWTN)

· Inside Catholic blog (link)

· News Busters (link)

· Catholic Answers blog (link)

· Pro Life Blogs (link)

· Catholic Fire blog (link)

· Google-sina medical, health articles, (link)

· Digg (link)

· The Brown Pelican Society blog (link)

· USA Partisan blog (link)

· Fred Martinez’s Monitor blog (link)

· Weasel Zippers blog (link)

· St. John Valdosta’s blog (link)

· Theology Online (link)

· Some Have Hats blog (link)

· Casusa Nostrae Laetitiae blog (link)

· Major Autem His Est Caritas blog (link)

· Bob Enyart Live (link)

· Free Republic blog (link)

· Clip Marks (link)

· Café Theology blog (link)

· The Boondocks blog (link)

· The Curt Jester blog (link)

· Katoliko blog (link)

· Aussie Coffee Shop(link)

· Per Christum blog (link)

· Missa’s Place blog (link)

· The Divine Source of Motherhood blog (link)

· The Source Daily (link)

· Vital Signs Blog (link)

· Truth Seeker 24 blog (link)

· Political Party Poop blog (link)

· Birth Story blog (link)

· Steve’s Serendipities blog (link)

· Tim Blair News blog (link)

· Moonbattery blog (link)

· AP Check blog (link)

· L.I.F.E. blog (link)

· Political Vindication blog (link)

· Dyspepsia Generation blog (link)

· Alyeh blog (link)

· Dog Supplies Blog (link)

· News Unfiltered (link)

· Yahoo News (link)

· Bio-Medicine (link)

· MichNews (link)

· Individual.com (link)

· Examiner.com (link)

· Buzz Tracker (link)

· Street Insider (link)

· Power Blog (link)

· Clip Marks (link)

· One News Now blog (link)

· Freedom Zone blog (link)

· Blog Net News (link)

· Red Tram International (link)

· DMN Forums (link)

· Day Life (link)

· Pew Sitter blog (link)

· Jill Stanek (link)

· Catholic Blogs (link)"

:: ashli 8:41 PM # ::
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Gotta give 'em props for repackaging and trying to appear a li'l mo' hip. OK, so they still have a long way to go, but ALL's message is as great as ever:

:: ashli 10:30 PM # ::
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As if abortion supporters needed any more proof that fetuses are human beings!
(And...uh...dogs!)



HT: TRA

:: ashli 10:28 AM # ::
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"American Life League’s pro-life message was CENSORED by Google-sponsored YouTube!!! Worse, while YouTube banned the pro-life video criticizing Planned Parenthood’s “Safe Sex” television advertising campaign for “inappropriate content,” the pro-abortion Planned Parenthood advertisements ALL’s Report was based on, as of February 11th, 2008, continue to be hosted by YouTube.

American Life League is yet another victim of Google-sponsored YouTube’s selective and biased censorship. Send YouTube a message. Sign the petition and tell YouTube:

No more silencing the pro-life message!!! Sign up now!"

Here is what YouTube considered to be "inappropriate material."

And yet THIS was totally appropriate!?! (WARNING: profanity--and insanity)

:: ashli 9:47 PM # ::
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"In California, a girl under 18 years can't get a flu shot, a cavity filled, or an aspirin dispensed by the school nurse without a parent knowing BUT a doctor can perform a surgical or chemical abortion on a minor girl (under 18) without informing her parents."

If you live in California and think the above isn't just a picture of consistency, vote for Sarah's Law.

HT: JD

:: ashli 9:37 PM # ::
...

Note:
Re: the poultry analogies in the post below:
I'm for killing chickens for meat, but only if the chickens have been treated humanely and had a good life, with the sun on their backs and a few juicy grasshoppers here and there, before being swiftly beheaded with one swing of a very sharp hatchet. I'm no wimp. My resume reveals that I worked in the funeral industry. I've embalmed bodies while making plans for lunch. I understand life and death, beauty and ugliness, and I understand necessity--as in the case of lopping off a yard bird's ever-lovin' noggin for Sunday dinner. But make no mistake: I also understand that a human child is not a chicken.

More on this later...

:: ashli 11:14 PM # ::
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A long excerpt from an email to a dear friend on the subject of graphic images of aborted children...

"hello, dahling.

you know i love you AND your nyquil rant. i can't help but disagree with you though, very respectfully and lovingly and sensitively, about the graphic images in general. i agree with you 100% that pfl shouldn't be forcing them on people who don't want to receive their newsletters, but i'm in contact with one truth truck driver, and he relates that among the many, MANY hate messages they receive, there are always a handful of women who are on their way to an abortion business when they get stuck behind a truth truck in traffic--and they choose not to go through with the abortion. those are women who were not reached by me or any other lifer bloggers sitting here on our unhappy little arses blogging our hearts out whenever we feel the need to. i don't hang out at abortion businesses either, but patte does; that's her gig, and she is the reason that a few women change their minds and don't go in -or- they come right back out of the building still intact. i don't think my blog has ever done anything to prevent one single abortion, but i know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that ***** has... apparently, that was ***** facet of the issue to cover. lots of little facets, different ground to be covered by many different people. every little thing helps.

perhaps the images are harmful to me and you, but i don't think a child has ever been killed because of them, while i do know children have been saved because of them. and anything that saves people from experiencing what we and our aborted children have experienced--well i'm for it, even if it hurts my feelings. i'm for the greater good, and the life and joy of others is a greater good than [me] being protected from my grief.

i do want to say this:
i had seen the pictures of aborted children BEFORE i ever aborted a child. while they were icky and somewhat tragic, i never found them to be emotionally devastating until after i aborted my child. what that tells me is that my heightened emotional response (anguish, sorrow, etc.) really stems from ME aborting my child. the pictures hurt me because i killed my child. the consequences are an unfortunate result of choosing abortion. quite frankly, that is just the way it is. it's part of the joy of the whole abortion experience; it should be in the brochure. the bottom line is that it would be unconscionable for me to oppose something that literally saves lives on the grounds that it reminds me of something i did that hurts my feelings.

now, before you get any ideas, my room isn't plastered with graphic abortion pin-ups! i'm not self-flagellating. i don't expose myself to pfl or even cbr (truth truck organization run by another mother-hater) [because] i don't want to be exposed; i know the images have nothing to teach me that i don't already know. however, i don't discount them, because i know they have work to do in their own little section of this whole entire issue. as an interesting aside, the truth truck driver i told you about does get messages from mothers who have aborted. the images have gotten some of them thinking about things. my friend had a long dialogue with a woman (with 5 SICLEs) who was furious. long story short, they became friends and she invited him to come and speak at her church, which he did, and >100 precious, at-risk people were educated about abortion. my friend prefers to use images of healthy gestating children but, when educating, does feel the need to contrast it with one single photo of abortion. this only makes sense.

i'm not against a well-rounded education or photo journalism. i'm not upset when peta, a group that i find particularly hypocritical, uses video and image examples of animal cruelty to get their point across. it makes me uncomfortable but it also makes me think twice about my nice, clean bucket of fresh, fried kfc. and i wasn't angry and appalled when the image of a deceased ernie pyle was recently recovered. it depicted a turbulent part of our history and served as a reminder of the sacrifices people have made to tell the truth. i'm all about the truth, and images certainly help people convey what is going on in reality. discussion, worthwhile as it is, has its limitations, and photography sometimes expresses what words just can't say.

you and i hurt because what is in those pictures happened to our children. THIS is what we are talking about when we say "My abortion hurt me." [Note: I prefer "My SICLE hurt me."] Those tiny broken arms and legs are OUR children, and the pictures, used properly, help to tell their story--which is our story, because naturally, we are interwoven. the pictures convey just what the heck all the fuss is about. Emmett Till's mother wanted the world to see her broken son, because she wanted everyone to seriously meet racism face to face, to see just how bad and harmful hatred and violence really are. i want the world to see my child every now and again; i don't want anyone to forget what happened, what happens around 4,000 times a day in America alone--just how bad abortion is. i don't want it to go away until it goes away. the poultry industry gets rid of the cruelty and the guts before they package and sell their product; they make it easy for me to buy. we should never help the abortion industry sell their product; we should expose what goes on in their industry.

Like Martin Luther King Jr., i want abortion opened with all its ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light, and our tears and stories aren't enough, because in the end, that's nothing more than personal perspective. how you and i feel about aborting our children doesn't matter any more than how the mothers at imnotsorry.net feel about aborting their children. the thing that does matter is those little arms and legs that are separate and apart from our bodies, ourselves. pictures of whole children illustrate that beautifully, while pictures of aborted children illustrate what happens when we conveniently forget."

:: ashli 10:35 PM # ::
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