05/06 Morning Report

Oh, my God! Hell is freezing over! The NY Times reports that liberal professors are changing their views on gun controlThe Liberals have said for years that the Second Amendment does not cover the individual right to have guns—only for state militias to be armed. Well, there are now several liberal professors who are changing their minds. And, their views are beginning to change a judiciary opinions. Professor Levinson, at the University of Texas said:

If only as a matter of consistency, Professor Levinson continued, liberals who favor expansive interpretations of other amendments in the Bill of Rights, like those protecting free speech and the rights of criminal defendants, should also embrace a broad reading of the Second Amendment. And just as the First Amendment’s protection of the right to free speech is not absolute, the professors say, the Second Amendment’s protection of the right to keep and bear arms may be limited by the government, though only for good reason.

Of course, the Times, being staffed by liberals, also did it’s best to undercut the potential of these changes by further stating:

The individual rights view is far from universally accepted. “The overwhelming weight of scholarly opinion supports the near-unanimous view of the federal courts that the constitutional right to be armed is linked to an organized militia,” said Dennis A. Henigan, director of the legal action project of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. “The exceptions attract attention precisely because they are so rare and unexpected.”

Scholars who agree with gun opponents and support the collective rights view say the professors on the other side may have been motivated more by a desire to be provocative than by simple intellectual honesty.

It took two decades for the idea to break loose that the individual has gun rights as liberally interpreted as free speech (aka pornography publishers). I wonder what the next two decades will hold in this arena.
(…well…it just goes to show that wonders never cease…)

Meanwhile ABC seems to have discovered that Evangelical Christians are ”suddenly” supporting adoption. Well, I admit it is becoming more main stream. However, adoption has been advocated nationally by many ministries over the years. In fact, on thing Christians were known for in ancient Rome was taking in homeless, abandoned and orphaned children. My suspicion, though I cannot prove it, is more of the moderate (…yes, read that liberal…) elements of the church are re-discovering how important this action is. Here is what I believe: If you claim to be a Christian, and you do not take personal action to help those in need (…yes, read that mean not letting the government or church leadership take responsibility for doing everything…), then you are a hypocrite. Your personal action may take the form of writing soldiers to let them know they are not forgotten. It may take the form of adopting orphans. It could take many different forms. But, it must be a personal action—not something another party does for you. It’s time the Church began being the Church, again.

Meanwhile, in Iraq, an al-Qaeda video declares the Democrats recent withdrawal proposal is proof of America’s defeat. Is anyone really surprised by that? Critics of the liberal cry for departure dates have said this claim would be made. And, the liberals have denied it would be an issue. The fact that the video played the race card—using video from the 1960s to claim US racism—is really pathetic. Sure, there are still problems among different races in America—and it isn’t just between whites and other races (aka the Asian/Hispanic turf wars in many West Coast cities). But, at least there are efforts being made to work through those issues. Why don’t we compare apples to apples, for just a moment. Can someone show me similar efforts being made by al-Qaeda? Iran? Hamas? In fact, al-Qaeda seems to have been behind the suicide bomb aimed at Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi. They also warned Sunnis not to cooperate or work with Shiites. Their brand of racism (aka religionism) is much more destructive, not to mention bloodier, than what we see here.
(…do I really need to go on…)

Finally, there was more sad news reported in the Dallas Morning News.

HOUSTON – A 19-year-old soldier from a Houston suburb died this week in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense said Friday.

Pfc. Joseph G. Harris, of Sugar Land, died Thursday. His death is under investigation, officials said.

Harris was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C.

Pfc. Harris, at our house we remember your cry—the cry of all warriors:

"Tell them of us and say,
For their tomorrow, we gave our today."
--The Kohima Epitaph--

We remember what you have given. And we say thank you for the tomorrows you have given others. May God give back to your family more than they have sacrificed and lost.

And, now, we dance In Memoriam.

04/19 Morning Report

People have been complaining about “cheap Chinese goods” for years. Well, this BBC article is just more fuel on the fire. The huge rise is hazardous goods in the EU comes primarily from China. Isn’t that sweet? Want to read the dumb part of it all?

Ms Heemskerk said that the high proportion of Chinese goods among those withdrawn said more about the volume of imports from China, than Chinese safety standards.

So…these are hazardous items. But they are only hazardous because there are so many of them?
(…and they wonder why liberals are so frightening to conservatives…)

And, in related (…sort of…) news, the markets took another tumble today because of fears on the Chinese economy.
(…Imagine!...Cheap goods…produced in massive quantities…causing to rapid an economic growth…that affects everyone…who would have thunk it?...)

In a continuation of yesterdays partial birth abortion discussion, the writers over at Conservative Thoughts had some more quotes from the political candidates.
(…not that there are any surprises in who said what…but they are worth reading…)

On the subject of political knee-jerk reactions, be very ready for an avalanche of such proposals in the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings. For those who wonder why nothing was done, you should read these musings from the Political Pistachio. Now, I admit he is on a rant here. But, check out the facts he posts, and consider what real solutions may be needed here—like teaching people responsibility for their actions.
(…kindly remember…in the commission of the shootings at Columbine High School some 30 existing state and federal gun laws were broken…plainly new laws are not what is required…)

On the subject of Virginia Tech, I cannot say how sorry I am that so many families are suffering due to their losses of friends and family right now. The prayers of my house and family go out to all right now. I know it isn’t much in the midst of this horrible situation, but one spark of good news came in this AP report:

University officials announced Thursday that Cho's victims would be awarded their degrees posthumously and that other students might have the option of ending their semester immediately.