Apple comes through?

Now, I have my problems with Apple beginning but certainly not ending with their banning of the Manhattan Declaration app from the App Store.  That said, there is also the well know banning of porn apps from the store as well.  Now we get this story about how the digital assistant software Siri sends people asking about abortion to pregnancy resource centers.  I'm not quite sure what if anything this means, but it is definitely interesting.

Ever wonder...

...what Planned Parenthood was planning way back in 1969?  Here ya go!

http://cdn.abbyjohnson.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/jaffememo.pdf

Video!

At last, we have the first part of the conference up on YouTube!

2 Points for the Home Team!

Good just arrived in my inbox.  Check it out below!

Attorney General Bill Schuette announces two

abortion businesses permanently closed

Updated November 21, 2011

Michigan's prolife Attorney General Bill Schuette filed a lawsuit in Eaton County Circuit Court to permanently close two abortion clinics in Michigan. The lawsuit is focused on the Health Care Clinic in Delta Township and the Women's Choice Clinic in Saginaw.
In response to the lawsuit, Eaton County Circuit Court Judge Calvin Osterhaven signed a temporary restraining order (TRO). A hearing was scheduled for Monday, November 21, 2011.
According to an agreement submitted by Schuette and the owner of the abortion businesses, the two clinics will be permanently closed and the owner, along with his wife, are banned from ever organizing another abortion clinic. Eaton County Circuit Court Judge Calvin Osterhaven approved the agreement.
Right to Life of Michigan President Barbara Listing said, "I laud Attorney General Schuette for following the law and pressing charges against the owners of these two abortion businesses. Those involved in the occupation of abortion are not above the law. Our attorney general has uncovered violations which resulted in the Health Care Clinic and the Women's Choice Clinic being shut down."
Schuette said, "To ensure accountability and patient safety, Michigan law requires medical facilities to be incorporated with a licensed medical professional at the helm. Strict enforcement of the law ensures medical clinics cannot put profit ahead of responsible patient care."

March for Life

If you live around Grand Rapids and want to go to the March for Life in Washington D.C. how about going on the bus the diocese has chartered.  Here's the form:

Diocese of Grand Rapids - 2012 March for Life

Adult Bus Registration

Please submit by DECEMBER 2, 2011 with payment of $200

Name:_____________________________________________________

Home Address:______________________________________________

______________________________________________

Day Phone:_________________________________________________

Email:_____________________________________________________

Emergency Contact Information:________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

Special Needs:______________________________________________

Amount enclosed: $_________

If you require financial assistance, please contact Sr. Colleen Ann Nagle, F.S.E., Director of Pro-Life Activities, at (616) 897-7842, X339

We will be leaving at 5:00 pm on Saturday, January 21, 2012 from Cathedral Square. The $200 fee covers the bus transportation, the hotel for one night stay and any printed materials. All meals are the responsibility of the attendees. You are invited to bring a personal sized cooler to store any food and drink. We will arrive back in Grand Rapids at approximately 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday, January 24, 2012.

Pro-life Democrates hopefull...

...that conscience protections will be expanded beyond what HHS has suggested.  Let's hope they're right.

The Situation?

This is a pretty good assessment of what our country's leadership concerning its relationship with "the Catholic  Vote."  I've often maintained that Obama is either an idiot or a genius. 

Go Bishops!

As many of you probably already know, the Bishops are fighting the contraception mandate that recently came out of the dungeons of Health and Human Services.  Between this, the loss of funding for a successful anti-human trafficking program and other things such as the attack on the Defense of Marriage Act, it really does seem like the present administration is gunning if not for the Church in particular, then certainly for traditional Christianity in general.  And the Bishops aren't taking it lying down.  This really makes me happy as it is yet more evidence that Bishops really have been developing a spine over the last few years.  Interestingly, this "re-spinification" seems to coincide to some degree with the breaking of the sex abuse scandal.  It's as though there were a collective realization that being nice and accommodating just wasn't working and that they should return to being forthright and honest with themselves and others about some of the Church's more unpopular teachings.  Whatever the case, I'm happy to see the Bishops standing up and fighting the trend of secularization.  

Healthcare

Apparently, the Supreme Court is going to decide whether or not Obamacare is constitutional.  If they find it to not be so, this could alleviate a lot of the problems that our Catholic hospitals and colleges are looking at with the mandated contraception coverage.  To say nothing of the abortion funding loopholes that exist within the bill.

HELP

That is, the HELP Pregnancy Crisis Aid Center in Grand Rapids. 
I met with one of staff last Friday who took me on a tour of their facility and explained what they do.  First, they do pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, education on abortion, contraception, child rearing, finances, etc.  They also do things like hand out diapers, and clothes for the little ones.  Now, one of the things that really set them apart is that they help mothers and their children until the child is two years old.  So they are definitely not vulnerable to the negative stereotype of the pregnancy centers, where they just hand you a bottle, a pack of diapers and send you out the door.  Of course, I haven't actually run into a crisis center that actually fits that stereotype, have you? 
Anyway, other good things are that they don't require appointments, you don't need to join anything and they don't ask questions.  They are there to help, period.
They are also Catholic, apparently the only Catholic pregnancy center in the area.  So if you can offer them any support at all, it would be a great thing. 
Speaking of which, we also spoke about fundraising.  During that conversation, she threw out a phrase that really intrigued me, "a baby shower for the Blessed Mother."  Now, what she meant by that was just have the guys from my Knights council bring in diapers or clothes or something to be donated.  But that just doesn't seem big enough.  I'm thinking that this coming spring, we might have some sort of small educational event here in Holland to raise some funds for it.  I'm not sure what shape that will take yet so I'll have to talk to some people about how to get that rolling.
And before I forget, here's the website:  http://helppregnancy.org/

Personhood

Sadly, the personhood amendment in Mississippi failed on Tuesday.  There seem to be a large number of reasons for this that largely centered around questions over just how far the amendment would reach.  It's a sad defeat but the real fight for our culture continues. 

Video Update

I heard earlier today from the person working on the video from the conference that the first part at least should be on You Tube next week sometime.  I'll post the link as soon as I get it.

Interesting...

Apparently there is a small skeptics group that meets in Holland, calling itself Skeptics in the Pub.  From the article, it seems that most of the attendees are young people who had some simple questions about certain things and never got good answers from their parents and pastors.  From there, they likely drifted away until they just didn't see the point anymore.  Not that that would describe all of the young skeptics but I'd dare say it would work for more than a couple. 
Whatever the case, they represent a significant group of people that the Church should actively be engaging. 

And meanwhile in Michigan...

...this just landed in my inbox.

Attorney General files lawsuit to close two abortion businesses  

Michigan's prolife Attorney General Bill Schuette filed a lawsuit in Eaton County

Attorney General Bill Schuette

Circuit Court to permanently close two abortion clinics in Michigan. The lawsuit is focused on Health Care Clinic in Delta Township and the Women's Choice Clinic in Saginaw.

Schuette said, "To ensure accountability and patient safety, Michigan law requires medical facilities to be incorporated with a licensed medical professional at the helm. Strict enforcement of the law ensures medical clinics cannot put profit ahead of responsible patient care."

Right to Life of Michigan President Barbara Listing said, "I laud Attorney General Schuette for following the law and pressing charges against these two abortion businesses. Those involved in the occupation of abortion are not above the law. Our attorney general has uncovered violations which should result in Health Care Clinic and Women's Choice Clinic being shut down."

Right to Life of Michigan will continue to follow this lawsuit and will provide information when the Court enters a judgment in the case.

Pray for Mississippi

Tomorrow, Mississippi goes to the poles to vote on the personhood amendment.  Pray that this passes and survives the numerous appeals that are sure to follow.  And yeah, there will be appeals and counter-appeals, etc.  So needless to say, the amendment won't mean much on a practical level for sometime.  Still, this is an important step in that it draws attention to the humanity of even the smallest child. 

This is a good article on Mississippi's personhood amendment.  Check it out and spread the info around the water cooler.

Arguements that only go so far

As many of you are no doubt aware, there was recently some to do about the global population reaching 7 billion.  This was of course joined with the usual fear-mongering about over-population and the usual response from my fellow pro-lifers about how if things don't turn around global population will peak somewhere around 9 billion mid-century and drop after that with whole peoples dying along the way. 
First, let me say, that response is a good one, so far as it goes.  I've no doubt about the factual nature of the argument.  My problem is that people assume that that will actually work to convince people of the error of their ways.  With some, it might help. But with those who have actually thought about over population and are really worried and want to do something about it, it won't make a lick of difference.  In fact, they'll take as evidence that people are listening to them, in effect making it an unintended compliment.  In short, they see the demographic time-bomb as a good thing. 
So, what should we do?  I'd focus on the fact the everyone in the world could live in Texas and have a reasonable amount of land.  Or the fact that we are paying farmers to not farm parts of their land.  Or better yet, the value of each of us a child of God.
Anyway, just my thoughts.

Personhood

Read this from Crisis.  And then cry, or pray, or both. 

Abstinence

Apparently Wisconsin just passed some legislation concerning sex ed that places an emphasis on abstinence and marriage.  Now, I don't know a thing about the legislation beyond that but naturally, the usual suspects are in a bit of a huff over it.  I just don't get it.  If the goal is the reduction of teen pregnancy then emphasizing the desirability of remaining a virgin until married is actually the best way to go about it.  Sure not all of them will listen and many will only listen for a while, but what on earth makes anyone think that the kids will listen any more to talk about condoms and pills?  Besides, those things don't always work.  The only sure way to not get pregnant is to not have sex.  And the best way to not be a single parent is to wait until you are married to have sex.  This shouldn't be that hard. 
Of course, it isn't really about teen pregnancy anyway, it's about expanding the sexual revolution until not only is "consequence free" promiscuity accepted and widespread (as it is today) but actively promoted and encouraged at an early age (a goal many are already pushing).  

Fertile ground for euphemism

I was listening to NPR this morning on the way to work.  Yes, I listen to NPR sometimes, it keeps my blood pressure up.  Anyway, they were talking about the Mississippi person-hood amendment.  Now, I'm not here to fisk the whole piece or anything but there was part in particular that irked me.  Well, actually two parts.  First, they said that the ammendment would redefine person-hood.  There is just so much wrong with that statement that it boggles the mind.  First, where do we get off saying that "we" define what makes a person.  I grant, from an atheistic and possibly an agnostic perspective, this does make sense since in the former people can basically define things as they please as there is no consequence, no judge save history.  And in the latter one can always plead ignorance.  But for a believer of any sort, person-hood is essentially defined by God and revealed on the natural level through those common characteristics of all people and through divine revelation as to the reality of the soul.  I'm sure the reporter meant that person-hood was being redefined in the legal, not philosophical sense, but it amounts to the same thing in practice.  And the track record for societies that try to split that hair isn't very good.
The second thing about the report that bothered me was that they said it redefined person-hood has beginning at "fertilization."  Note that they avoided the term conception.  In fact, they avoided the term for all of the report that I was able to listen to.  Why would they do this?  We, both words denote something as happening.  The term conception means that something is being conceived.  What is being conceived?  The immediate connotation is a baby, a new life.  The term fertilization makes one think of...lawn care.  The attempt to depersonalize the newly conceived child couldn't be more blatant. 
There are a couple of genuine concerns with the legislation that were brought up in the report such as how it would affect ectopic pregnancies, leading me to believe that the language could be tightened up a bit.  But then, I'm no lawyer.  In any case, I hope the amendment passes, as we will have at least one state where a the womb is not longer a dangerous place for a child to be.  Barring the various court challenges that are sure to follow of course. 

Chastity Force

This past weekend I went to a Chastity Force conference at my parish.  It's made up of a team of mostly young people teaching the value of the human body in ways appropriate to various age groups.  My two oldest kids went as well and really seemed to enjoy themselves.  Their big project was to draw a house and then the presenters went from the uniqueness of the houses to the uniqueness of each one of them.  For the adults, there were a couple of good talks which focused n the necessity of interior conversion and conviction and of passing those things on to our kids.
There was also a brief concert featuring Amanda Vernon who has sung around the world, including World Youth Day.  Her voice is nothing short of amazing, to say nothing of her versatility demonstrated by the number of different genres she performed in/ All in all, it was a good time with an impressive group of people teaching a message that our society really needs to hear.  If you hear about Chastity Force coming to a parish near you, I highly recommends that you go.