An urgent manhunt is underway in the New Jersey town of Helmetta for a suspect in connection to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. Gregory Yetman evaded arrest and fled into the woods near his home. @sramosABC has the latest from the scene. https://t.co/dTi9VnsrDMpic.twitter.com/jh8cRhUpEy
Isn’t there some rule to journalism about not becoming part of the story?
Yo, @AP, @Reuters, @cnn – what your freelancer in Gaza Hassan Eslaiah is doing on a motorbike with a grenade, on his way to the massacre of women and babies? Is a grenade part of the equipment you provide? pic.twitter.com/jU85KEo7Ec
I probably wouldn’t get a ride to a terrorist attack with the terrorist. After posting videos of myself supporting the terrorists and photos with the terrorist boss.
At some point, someone might mistake me for a terrorist, rather than a journalist.
Is that a joke? If holding a grenade doesn't make you a combatant, why does holding a camera make you a journalist? Being paid money for propaganda doesn't grant one immunity from the consequences of being an armed participant in a terrorist attack.
Most students are living in a bubble and don't want to know the facts about Hamas, yet they show up to support them, marching, chanting, and waving banners anyway.
There's a strange combination of ignorance and arrogance pervading every single pro Palestinian rally worldwide.
You guys had some interesting comments on the abortion issue.
What I think you miss is that Democrats aren’t looking to compromise with you. They just voted en masse for abortion right up until birth. They are funded by PP and the other abortion mills. Do you really think PP will compromise on their biggest money maker? Do you think Dems will do so if it effects their campaign dollars? They aren’t looking for 15 week ban compromises, heartbeat laws, or any other compromise. That’s reality.
So why compromise your belief that life is precious to placate people uninterested in compromising their position?
Completely stupid and naive to tell pro-lifers to compromise on abortion. The pro-abortion side isn’t interested in compromise. They’re for abortion on demand through all nine months without apology – nothing less. They will fight as adamantly against a 25 week ban as they will…
I think my kid was an elephant in a play once. There was no killing. You can't un-radicalize people that raised in this kind of hate. Not all of them. War is a way of life and they worship death. Hard to wrap my head around this.
If you’re interrupting a free speech hearing repeatedly, you’re not really into free speech.
And is it still bad to interrupt “official proceedings” or is that only when R’s do it? Asking for thousands of Jan6ers.
Pro-Palestine demonstrators repeatedly interrupt the House Judiciary Committee hearing on free speech on college campuses + the rise in antisemitism and antisemitic violence. pic.twitter.com/hheHUvHAh2
“How is it that university administrations that have waded into every political issue of the day, are now suddenly bound by ‘institutional neutrality’ when it comes to the murder of children?” pic.twitter.com/aEVP5HbqfG
“Canary Mission has doubled down on Rashida Tlaib. Will the American media establishment double down on silence?
Two weeks ago, the independent non-profit Canary Mission issued a report connecting the House Democrat to three Hamas fundraisers. Not a single major American media outlet picked up on allegations that a sitting member of Congress had ties to a terrorist organization that had just killed over 30 Americans in Israel, not to mention had a dozen or so more as hostages. A week after that, the number of media outlets reporting on those allegations was still zero.
On Wednesday, Canary Mission issued an updated report on Tlaib’s connections to Hamas. This time, they have linked six Hamas-connected activists who raised money for her first term in the House:
Canary Mission can confirm that at least 6 Hamas-linked activists fundraised for Tlaib during her 2018 Congressional campaign: Mwafaq Jbara, Sheikh Muhammad Qatanani, Huwaida Arraf, Salah Sarsour, Rafeeq Jaber and Abdelbaset Hamayel. …
Other Key Findings:
PFLP Connections: The Black4Palestine activist group that Tlaib co-founded in 2015 worked publicly with terrorists from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) no less than 8 times from 2016 to 2020.
Guest of Honor Linked to Terror Group: One of Rashida Tlaib’s guests for her January 2019 swearing-in was Fatah activist Mazen Dola. He is the cousin of a terrorist who lured an Israeli teenager online for a date and then murdered him in cold blood, in 2001. Two and a half years before attending Tlaib’s swearing-in, he attended the release of his cousin from an Israeli jail along with armed members of Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade.
Hamas-Linked Fundraiser Host: One of Tlaib’s 2018 fundraiser hosts, Mwafaq Jbara, met with a Hamas co-founder while in a maximum security Israeli jail. He called for the death of Jews and praised the terrorist who killed U.S. Army veteran Taylor Force.”
“This time, Free Beacon reported on the new report fairly quickly:
Anti-Israel representative Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.) is connected to at least “six terror-linked activists who all served as cohosts for fundraisers for her 2018 congressional campaign,” according to a report from a watchdog group.
Just a day after the “Squad” member was censured by the House for promoting anti-Semitism, Canary Mission—an organization that monitors Jew hatred across the country—says it has identified three new Tlaib fundraisers who are connected to terrorism.
This includes one Tlaib fundraiser who “met with a Hamas co-founder while in a maximum-security Israeli jail” and another said to be allied “with multiple terror groups, including Hamas,” according to the findings provided by Canary Mission to the Washington Free Beacon. A third Tlaib fundraiser was allegedly convicted “by an Israeli military court for providing material support to Hamas,” according to the findings.
When I first read this yesterday, I had assumed it was about the first Canary Mission report. When I discovered that CM had discovered more connections between Tlaib and Hamas activists and associates, I decided to wait until this morning to see which American media outlets would actually report this as news. Now that they’ve had 48 hours to investigate these new allegations, how many outlets have reported on them? Let’s use the search phrase Tlaib Canary at each of these outlets, without quotes:
New York Times: Zero, although two older and unrelated links come up. The search term Tlaib Hamas produces 22 links from the past month, but none of them about her potential links to Hamas as detailed by Canary Mission.
Washington Post: Zero. The search term Tlaib Hamas only produces two links, neither of them pertinent.
Detroit Free Press: Zero.
Associated Press: Almost 800 returns, but nothing on either Canary Mission report. An attempt to drill down with the search term Tlaib “Canary Mission” narrowed it down to 253 non-pertinent returns.
Reuters: Zero.
CNN: One hit on a link to a video of Tlaib ‘tear[ing] up’ during her defense against the censure motion, but nothing on the Canary Mission reports. CNN’s search functions are terrible and rudimentary, but a search on Tlaib Hamas doesn’t seem to generate any link to coverage of Canary Mission’s reports … although it does produce a link to CAIR’s claims of ‘unprecedented’ Islamophobic bias complaints. Priorities, priorities.
NBC News: Zero. Again, Tlaib Hamas also doesn’t return any story covering the Canary Mission reports, but it does return a lot of non-pertinent coverage.
ABC News. Zero pertinent returns.
CBS News: Zero pertinent returns. (CBS’ search feature does not return a unique URL.)
Fox News: Good luck using their search feature. It’s worse than CNN’s. I’ll just give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they mention the Canary Mission report.
New York Post: Zero? Zero. Maybe we shouldn’t give Fox News (same parent company) the benefit of doubt after all. For that matter, News Corp’s Wall Street Journal hasn’t covered it either.
Al Jazeera? Zero. (I expected nothing more, of course.)
In other words, we have a well-known group that routinely exposes anti-Semitic figures in Academia that has documentary evidence of links between a sitting member of Congress and a listed terror group …. and no American media outlet is interested in that story, not even to debunk it. Why? If the SPLC claimed that a House Republican had ties to the Klan, that would be headline news at all of these outlets (and should be!). More than two weeks after the first report on these alleged links between Tlaib and Hamas-linked fundraisers and activists, and a month after Hamas killed 30-plus Americans and still hold more as hostages, though, not a single major American news outlet will pick it up, not even to “fact check” or debunk it.
This is an outright scandal. What happened to holding those in power accountable? What happened to democracy dying in darkness? For crying out loud, what happened to basic journalism?”
“U.S. — The Republican Party checked itself into a rehab facility this morning, having hit rock-bottom in the throes of its addiction to losing.
“Once we got that first taste of losing, we just couldn’t stop,” said Ronna McDaniel, Chairwoman of the Republican Party. “Next thing you know, you have to lose even bigger just to match the thrill of that first crushing defeat. It’s a vicious cycle.”
Over the last several years, friends have watched the Republican Party steadily descend into addiction, with one loss inevitably leading to dozens more. “The Republican Party kept saying it didn’t have a problem, that it could quit losing any time it wanted to,” said long-time acquaintance Dan Gould. “They even got clean for a few months here and there, like back in 2022 with that Virginia governor. But — they could never stay away for long.”
After experiencing that first euphoric high of losing the U.S. House of Representatives, the Republican Party found the urge to lose just could not be satiated. After losing the Presidency, the Republicans tried to satisfy the losing compulsion by losing the U.S. Senate, governor seats in multiple states, the U.S. Senate again, legislative chambers in five states, Supreme Courts in swing states, and more. “We just can’t get enough losing,” said Ms. McDaniel, looking at the November 2023 results. “I can’t stop jonesing for one more epic beating.”
At publishing time, the Republican Party had left rehab swearing it was clean.”
Of course, the far left is not interested in compromise on abortion. I am of the generation when abortion first became legal. I know life went on very well for generations of people with abortion illegal. I know the history and the absolute evil of what is now promoted as normal and even good. Unfortunately, the generations since then do not have my perspective. Nor does anyone who does not walk by the Spirit, getting wisdom from families and churches etc. I said we can compromise with legislation, Aj, not on principal. Nor does the fight end. That won’t end until Christ returns, no doubt.
Abortion is mostly about the Sovereignty of God. The phrase ‘between a woman and her doctor’ is a lie itself, since it leaves out the ultimate, scientific reality of another human being involved. There is much discussion to have, and politicians need to do it. Still, sometimes compromised must be accepted. One battle at a time is won in a war. If battles were ignored in a war until the whole thing is won, the side ignoring the small battles will be the loser.
Aj, thank you for your stance on life. I do see both points of view, and know you are right about the lack of compromise on the other side. I personally know lufe begins at concfption which under all circumstances hassd’s been allowed for His good purposes to produce a person bearing His image. Ultimately and rightfully our laws need to support that life at conception for each embryo deserves to live as much as anyone else does on the planet. No fair for mere people to pick and choose which ones are worthy. But as a pragmatist in daily saving the most lives that can be saved, it seems prudent to work toward the end goal by chipping away at the death culture until hearts of the living are persuaded of God’s truth. The other side has nothing to lose by their lack of compromise. OTOH, we have manu lives to lose.
I have a friend who upon hearing I did not believe in abortion under any circumstance asked about the case of a tubal pregnancy that endangered the mother’s life. I said, in that case I would save the mother’s life. But how many times is that an issue? That is splitting hairs to get someone to compromise. It felt like a gut punch that she even asked me.
In principle, I agree with you fully, but for the sake of saving more . . .
I hope I have not made you feel more alone, but hugged for standing your ground for life in your own precious way.
AJ, it’s not about placating anyone. It’s about accomplishing what we can legislatively in a world where not everyone shares our ideals.
It’s a false dichotomy that everyone is either as pro-life as you and I or as pro-abortion as PP. There are a lot of people somewhere in between.
The problem is that all the proposals seem to have been written by people at one end or the other.
If a proposal comes up like Ohio’s, of course we’d vote against it, as I voted against Michigan’s proposal last year.
If a proposal comes up like Kansas’s, of course I’d vote for it. But it wouldn’t pass, as Kansas’s didn’t. So it accomplishes nothing.
What we need are proposals that create restrictions a majority of people will vote for. That doesn’t give us everything we want, but it gives us more than we’ve got.
Otherwise it’s like a person who rejects a glass half full of water because it’s half empty. Hey, I’m thirsty, I’ll take what I can get.
Ecoptic pregnancies make up about 2% of all pregnancies and the procedure to deal with them saves the mom’s life–and it must be done.
It’s not an abortion.
One of the major risks of buying your abortion kit over the internet without any discussion with a medical person is an ecoptic pregnancy might be missed. It will kill you if you are not seen immediately.
For example, did you know that shoulder aches while pregnant need to be reported?
If a woman has a ecoptic pregnancy and mentions her shoulder area aching, it’s almost too late to save her–because that means the rupture has occured. She MUST be seen immediately.
I’d never heard that before about a month ago–and I’ve been in this world a long time. 😦
That’s interesting about the shoulder pain. When my daughter was in the ER in August with belly pain and shoulder pain, one of the first questions she was asked was whether or not she was pregnant. In her case it was the rupture of a liver tumor. I guess different kinds of belly trauma can have that effect on the shoulder.
Aj @8:40 – The point is that the culture is not ready to shut down all abortions; the Dobbs decision, as legally correct (and morally as well) as it was, doesn’t change the fact that we have a stark divide that will require some accommodation and, yes, compromise, in a pluralistic society.
And states are free to pass their own take on how abortion should be handled, what restrictions are acceptable or not (which is what the Dobbs ruling essentially allowed for).
The US isn’t the New Creation, we continue to labor on this side with sin.
Governing a nation such as ours will always require some give and take as we wouldn’t want (I presume?) an authoritarian federal government laying down the rules. Or perhaps some do wish to move to that form of government? I wonder at times.
Both parties have to figure out how to proceed to govern this nation and the states, though currently neither “side” appears very willing to compromise much, thus the stalemate until that changes again.
Meanwhile, people will vote with their feet and there will be something of a patchwork among the states.
I don’t think one can argue that abortion limits have become a motivating factor among many who aren’t on the full pro-life side. Consensus won’t be easy (and probably will remain state-by-state), but it’s what our country has to figure out.
Founders never said it would be easy — or perfect.
And excellent comments by Kathaleena (10:07) (“One battle at a time is won in a war. If battles were ignored in a war until the whole thing is won, the side ignoring the small battles will be the loser”)
And Kevin (11:24) (“It’s not about placating anyone. It’s about accomplishing what we can legislatively in a world where not everyone shares our ideals. It’s a false dichotomy that everyone is either as pro-life as you and I or as pro-abortion as PP. There are a lot of people somewhere in between.”)
The battle is spiritual.
So meanwhile, we carry on in the cause of reaching hearts and minds on these issues.
And yes, we seek what solutions can be reached in this moment of time, praying and working toward a more perfect union that will reflect a more robust value for life someday, at both ends of the lifespan (assisted suicide has a growing and general acceptance which is worrisome and opens yet another front on the life-protection spectrum).
None of these issues are easy, especially in our era of advance medical procedures that also can keep physical life supported for much longer. Many tough and complicated questions we must work through in that overall battle to protect life at all stages. God knows.
I think we’re talking about two different things, AJ. I’ve been looking at the ballot initiative process. Ordinary voters aren’t like Congress, where everyone is in lock-step on one side or the other. If we can craft compromise ballot initiatives that a majority will vote for, including Republicans, Independents, and Democrats (some of whom are actually pro-life!), we can win some battles.
Legislation in Congress is more difficult because almost everyone votes party line almost all the time. I think we agree that as long as the Democrats have a majority of either house or the presidency, we’re not going to make much progress.
Honestly, I don’t remember exactly what started this conversation, and I’m not sure I meant to contradict anything you said. Or if I did, I don’t remember what it was. If I have time I’ll go back and read yesterday.
Thinking about how members of Congress vote in lockstep with their parties, I’m reminded of a line from the “HMS Pinafore” song “When I was a Lad I Served a Term”:
I always voted at my party’s call,
And I never thought of thinking for myself at all.
(He never thought of thinking for himself at all.)
I thought so little they rewarded me,
By making me the ruler of the Queen’s Navy…
What I would add to this conversation is related to something DJ said: “So meanwhile, we carry on in the cause of reaching hearts and minds on these issues.”
Whether abortion is legal or illegal, a woman who is determined to have an abortion will find a way. Yes, some will be dissuaded, but banning abortion completely will not end it. (I have read that the number of abortions went up a bit after Roe v Wade was overturned.)
The pro-life side was making significant inroads into “changing hearts and minds” on the issue, even among young people. The current situation, with some pro-life politicians trying to completely outlaw abortion in their states, has hurt the pro-life cause.
I don’t know the statistics off-hand, but have read that some countries, such as Canada, I think, that have legal abortion also have lower abortion rates than we do. Putting our energies into what is seen as “taking away a right” will backfire on the pro-life cause, as the result of these ballot initiatives have shown.
There were very few abortions before abortion was legal. I doubt the new situation has encouraged abortion whatsoever. There is just a lot of noise from those who have always supported it. The value of a law is to show something is considered immoral and wrong. It does make it more difficult for some and that will save lives. People who want to will always find a way to break the law, whether it is murder, theft, etc. That doesn’t mean we don’t have laws. That includes against abortion.
Ultimately, though, it is a spiritual battle as is so much else.
Janice, don’t feel bad about the ectopic pregnancy question. I was accused of wanting my niece dead because of that. That is pathetic, but when you want to justify your position and can’t, you have to make ad hominem attacks.
No, the Democrats don’t seem to want to compromise on anything and they are very good about sticking together. Showing how extreme they are, though, is of benefit.
Wandering Views 
It’s urgent.
Sure.
LikeLiked by 1 person
More questions for the outlets in question.
Isn’t there some rule to journalism about not becoming part of the story?
WaPo “journalist” Megan McCardle has excuses, of course.
LikeLike
Those who don’t learn the history of things are bound to say stupid stuff. But they’re out there protesting anyway.
I guess ignorance is bliss.
LikeLike
You guys had some interesting comments on the abortion issue.
What I think you miss is that Democrats aren’t looking to compromise with you. They just voted en masse for abortion right up until birth. They are funded by PP and the other abortion mills. Do you really think PP will compromise on their biggest money maker? Do you think Dems will do so if it effects their campaign dollars? They aren’t looking for 15 week ban compromises, heartbeat laws, or any other compromise. That’s reality.
So why compromise your belief that life is precious to placate people uninterested in compromising their position?
The left is all in on abortion. They’re not looking to make a deal with you.
I just can’t agree.
LikeLike
The sins of the parents indoctrinated onto the children.
LikeLike
Tell me why he’s wrong.
Go.
LikeLike
If you’re interrupting a free speech hearing repeatedly, you’re not really into free speech.
And is it still bad to interrupt “official proceedings” or is that only when R’s do it? Asking for thousands of Jan6ers.
LikeLike
The enemy within.
And yes, the media is an enemy of the people as well. Their silence on this shows that yet again.
“New Canary Mission Report Ties Tlaib to *Six* Hamas Fundraisers”
https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2023/11/10/new-canary-mission-report-ties-tlaib-to-six-hamas-fundraisers-n591219
“Canary Mission has doubled down on Rashida Tlaib. Will the American media establishment double down on silence?
Two weeks ago, the independent non-profit Canary Mission issued a report connecting the House Democrat to three Hamas fundraisers. Not a single major American media outlet picked up on allegations that a sitting member of Congress had ties to a terrorist organization that had just killed over 30 Americans in Israel, not to mention had a dozen or so more as hostages. A week after that, the number of media outlets reporting on those allegations was still zero.
On Wednesday, Canary Mission issued an updated report on Tlaib’s connections to Hamas. This time, they have linked six Hamas-connected activists who raised money for her first term in the House:
Canary Mission can confirm that at least 6 Hamas-linked activists fundraised for Tlaib during her 2018 Congressional campaign: Mwafaq Jbara, Sheikh Muhammad Qatanani, Huwaida Arraf, Salah Sarsour, Rafeeq Jaber and Abdelbaset Hamayel. …
Other Key Findings:
PFLP Connections: The Black4Palestine activist group that Tlaib co-founded in 2015 worked publicly with terrorists from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) no less than 8 times from 2016 to 2020.
Guest of Honor Linked to Terror Group: One of Rashida Tlaib’s guests for her January 2019 swearing-in was Fatah activist Mazen Dola. He is the cousin of a terrorist who lured an Israeli teenager online for a date and then murdered him in cold blood, in 2001. Two and a half years before attending Tlaib’s swearing-in, he attended the release of his cousin from an Israeli jail along with armed members of Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade.
Hamas-Linked Fundraiser Host: One of Tlaib’s 2018 fundraiser hosts, Mwafaq Jbara, met with a Hamas co-founder while in a maximum security Israeli jail. He called for the death of Jews and praised the terrorist who killed U.S. Army veteran Taylor Force.”
“This time, Free Beacon reported on the new report fairly quickly:
Anti-Israel representative Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.) is connected to at least “six terror-linked activists who all served as cohosts for fundraisers for her 2018 congressional campaign,” according to a report from a watchdog group.
Just a day after the “Squad” member was censured by the House for promoting anti-Semitism, Canary Mission—an organization that monitors Jew hatred across the country—says it has identified three new Tlaib fundraisers who are connected to terrorism.
This includes one Tlaib fundraiser who “met with a Hamas co-founder while in a maximum-security Israeli jail” and another said to be allied “with multiple terror groups, including Hamas,” according to the findings provided by Canary Mission to the Washington Free Beacon. A third Tlaib fundraiser was allegedly convicted “by an Israeli military court for providing material support to Hamas,” according to the findings.
When I first read this yesterday, I had assumed it was about the first Canary Mission report. When I discovered that CM had discovered more connections between Tlaib and Hamas activists and associates, I decided to wait until this morning to see which American media outlets would actually report this as news. Now that they’ve had 48 hours to investigate these new allegations, how many outlets have reported on them? Let’s use the search phrase Tlaib Canary at each of these outlets, without quotes:
New York Times: Zero, although two older and unrelated links come up. The search term Tlaib Hamas produces 22 links from the past month, but none of them about her potential links to Hamas as detailed by Canary Mission.
Washington Post: Zero. The search term Tlaib Hamas only produces two links, neither of them pertinent.
Detroit Free Press: Zero.
Associated Press: Almost 800 returns, but nothing on either Canary Mission report. An attempt to drill down with the search term Tlaib “Canary Mission” narrowed it down to 253 non-pertinent returns.
Reuters: Zero.
CNN: One hit on a link to a video of Tlaib ‘tear[ing] up’ during her defense against the censure motion, but nothing on the Canary Mission reports. CNN’s search functions are terrible and rudimentary, but a search on Tlaib Hamas doesn’t seem to generate any link to coverage of Canary Mission’s reports … although it does produce a link to CAIR’s claims of ‘unprecedented’ Islamophobic bias complaints. Priorities, priorities.
NBC News: Zero. Again, Tlaib Hamas also doesn’t return any story covering the Canary Mission reports, but it does return a lot of non-pertinent coverage.
ABC News. Zero pertinent returns.
CBS News: Zero pertinent returns. (CBS’ search feature does not return a unique URL.)
Fox News: Good luck using their search feature. It’s worse than CNN’s. I’ll just give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they mention the Canary Mission report.
New York Post: Zero? Zero. Maybe we shouldn’t give Fox News (same parent company) the benefit of doubt after all. For that matter, News Corp’s Wall Street Journal hasn’t covered it either.
Al Jazeera? Zero. (I expected nothing more, of course.)
In other words, we have a well-known group that routinely exposes anti-Semitic figures in Academia that has documentary evidence of links between a sitting member of Congress and a listed terror group …. and no American media outlet is interested in that story, not even to debunk it. Why? If the SPLC claimed that a House Republican had ties to the Klan, that would be headline news at all of these outlets (and should be!). More than two weeks after the first report on these alleged links between Tlaib and Hamas-linked fundraisers and activists, and a month after Hamas killed 30-plus Americans and still hold more as hostages, though, not a single major American news outlet will pick it up, not even to “fact check” or debunk it.
This is an outright scandal. What happened to holding those in power accountable? What happened to democracy dying in darkness? For crying out loud, what happened to basic journalism?”
LikeLike
It’s funny because it’s true.
“Republican Party Checks Into Rehab For Addiction To Losing”
https://babylonbee.com/news/republican-party-checks-into-rehab-for-addiction-to-losing/
“U.S. — The Republican Party checked itself into a rehab facility this morning, having hit rock-bottom in the throes of its addiction to losing.
“Once we got that first taste of losing, we just couldn’t stop,” said Ronna McDaniel, Chairwoman of the Republican Party. “Next thing you know, you have to lose even bigger just to match the thrill of that first crushing defeat. It’s a vicious cycle.”
Over the last several years, friends have watched the Republican Party steadily descend into addiction, with one loss inevitably leading to dozens more. “The Republican Party kept saying it didn’t have a problem, that it could quit losing any time it wanted to,” said long-time acquaintance Dan Gould. “They even got clean for a few months here and there, like back in 2022 with that Virginia governor. But — they could never stay away for long.”
After experiencing that first euphoric high of losing the U.S. House of Representatives, the Republican Party found the urge to lose just could not be satiated. After losing the Presidency, the Republicans tried to satisfy the losing compulsion by losing the U.S. Senate, governor seats in multiple states, the U.S. Senate again, legislative chambers in five states, Supreme Courts in swing states, and more. “We just can’t get enough losing,” said Ms. McDaniel, looking at the November 2023 results. “I can’t stop jonesing for one more epic beating.”
At publishing time, the Republican Party had left rehab swearing it was clean.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
Of course, the far left is not interested in compromise on abortion. I am of the generation when abortion first became legal. I know life went on very well for generations of people with abortion illegal. I know the history and the absolute evil of what is now promoted as normal and even good. Unfortunately, the generations since then do not have my perspective. Nor does anyone who does not walk by the Spirit, getting wisdom from families and churches etc. I said we can compromise with legislation, Aj, not on principal. Nor does the fight end. That won’t end until Christ returns, no doubt.
Abortion is mostly about the Sovereignty of God. The phrase ‘between a woman and her doctor’ is a lie itself, since it leaves out the ultimate, scientific reality of another human being involved. There is much discussion to have, and politicians need to do it. Still, sometimes compromised must be accepted. One battle at a time is won in a war. If battles were ignored in a war until the whole thing is won, the side ignoring the small battles will be the loser.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Aj, thank you for your stance on life. I do see both points of view, and know you are right about the lack of compromise on the other side. I personally know lufe begins at concfption which under all circumstances hassd’s been allowed for His good purposes to produce a person bearing His image. Ultimately and rightfully our laws need to support that life at conception for each embryo deserves to live as much as anyone else does on the planet. No fair for mere people to pick and choose which ones are worthy. But as a pragmatist in daily saving the most lives that can be saved, it seems prudent to work toward the end goal by chipping away at the death culture until hearts of the living are persuaded of God’s truth. The other side has nothing to lose by their lack of compromise. OTOH, we have manu lives to lose.
I have a friend who upon hearing I did not believe in abortion under any circumstance asked about the case of a tubal pregnancy that endangered the mother’s life. I said, in that case I would save the mother’s life. But how many times is that an issue? That is splitting hairs to get someone to compromise. It felt like a gut punch that she even asked me.
In principle, I agree with you fully, but for the sake of saving more . . .
I hope I have not made you feel more alone, but hugged for standing your ground for life in your own precious way.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sorry for the typos. No matter how much I edit,two or more appear for each corrected.
LikeLike
AJ, it’s not about placating anyone. It’s about accomplishing what we can legislatively in a world where not everyone shares our ideals.
It’s a false dichotomy that everyone is either as pro-life as you and I or as pro-abortion as PP. There are a lot of people somewhere in between.
The problem is that all the proposals seem to have been written by people at one end or the other.
If a proposal comes up like Ohio’s, of course we’d vote against it, as I voted against Michigan’s proposal last year.
If a proposal comes up like Kansas’s, of course I’d vote for it. But it wouldn’t pass, as Kansas’s didn’t. So it accomplishes nothing.
What we need are proposals that create restrictions a majority of people will vote for. That doesn’t give us everything we want, but it gives us more than we’ve got.
Otherwise it’s like a person who rejects a glass half full of water because it’s half empty. Hey, I’m thirsty, I’ll take what I can get.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Ecoptic pregnancies make up about 2% of all pregnancies and the procedure to deal with them saves the mom’s life–and it must be done.
It’s not an abortion.
One of the major risks of buying your abortion kit over the internet without any discussion with a medical person is an ecoptic pregnancy might be missed. It will kill you if you are not seen immediately.
For example, did you know that shoulder aches while pregnant need to be reported?
If a woman has a ecoptic pregnancy and mentions her shoulder area aching, it’s almost too late to save her–because that means the rupture has occured. She MUST be seen immediately.
I’d never heard that before about a month ago–and I’ve been in this world a long time. 😦
https://www.healthline.com/health/pregnancy/shoulder-pain-pregnancy#serious-causes
LikeLiked by 3 people
That’s interesting about the shoulder pain. When my daughter was in the ER in August with belly pain and shoulder pain, one of the first questions she was asked was whether or not she was pregnant. In her case it was the rupture of a liver tumor. I guess different kinds of belly trauma can have that effect on the shoulder.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Aj @8:40 – The point is that the culture is not ready to shut down all abortions; the Dobbs decision, as legally correct (and morally as well) as it was, doesn’t change the fact that we have a stark divide that will require some accommodation and, yes, compromise, in a pluralistic society.
And states are free to pass their own take on how abortion should be handled, what restrictions are acceptable or not (which is what the Dobbs ruling essentially allowed for).
The US isn’t the New Creation, we continue to labor on this side with sin.
Governing a nation such as ours will always require some give and take as we wouldn’t want (I presume?) an authoritarian federal government laying down the rules. Or perhaps some do wish to move to that form of government? I wonder at times.
Both parties have to figure out how to proceed to govern this nation and the states, though currently neither “side” appears very willing to compromise much, thus the stalemate until that changes again.
Meanwhile, people will vote with their feet and there will be something of a patchwork among the states.
I don’t think one can argue that abortion limits have become a motivating factor among many who aren’t on the full pro-life side. Consensus won’t be easy (and probably will remain state-by-state), but it’s what our country has to figure out.
Founders never said it would be easy — or perfect.
-dj
LikeLiked by 1 person
And excellent comments by Kathaleena (10:07) (“One battle at a time is won in a war. If battles were ignored in a war until the whole thing is won, the side ignoring the small battles will be the loser”)
And Kevin (11:24) (“It’s not about placating anyone. It’s about accomplishing what we can legislatively in a world where not everyone shares our ideals. It’s a false dichotomy that everyone is either as pro-life as you and I or as pro-abortion as PP. There are a lot of people somewhere in between.”)
The battle is spiritual.
So meanwhile, we carry on in the cause of reaching hearts and minds on these issues.
And yes, we seek what solutions can be reached in this moment of time, praying and working toward a more perfect union that will reflect a more robust value for life someday, at both ends of the lifespan (assisted suicide has a growing and general acceptance which is worrisome and opens yet another front on the life-protection spectrum).
None of these issues are easy, especially in our era of advance medical procedures that also can keep physical life supported for much longer. Many tough and complicated questions we must work through in that overall battle to protect life at all stages. God knows.
-dj
LikeLiked by 2 people
Kevin,
“It’s about accomplishing what we can legislatively in a world where not everyone shares our ideals.”
OK, so show me one area where compromise with Democrats is possible.
You can’t name one, because there isn’t one, no, not even one. This is a fact.
The rest of you are welcome to chime in too. Name one thing Dems will compromise on. Dem leadership will not allow it.
LikeLike
That was me, obviously.
Aj
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think we’re talking about two different things, AJ. I’ve been looking at the ballot initiative process. Ordinary voters aren’t like Congress, where everyone is in lock-step on one side or the other. If we can craft compromise ballot initiatives that a majority will vote for, including Republicans, Independents, and Democrats (some of whom are actually pro-life!), we can win some battles.
Legislation in Congress is more difficult because almost everyone votes party line almost all the time. I think we agree that as long as the Democrats have a majority of either house or the presidency, we’re not going to make much progress.
Honestly, I don’t remember exactly what started this conversation, and I’m not sure I meant to contradict anything you said. Or if I did, I don’t remember what it was. If I have time I’ll go back and read yesterday.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thinking about how members of Congress vote in lockstep with their parties, I’m reminded of a line from the “HMS Pinafore” song “When I was a Lad I Served a Term”:
I always voted at my party’s call,
And I never thought of thinking for myself at all.
(He never thought of thinking for himself at all.)
I thought so little they rewarded me,
By making me the ruler of the Queen’s Navy…
LikeLike
The last two comments were mine, I’m not sure how I got logged out.
LikeLike
What I would add to this conversation is related to something DJ said: “So meanwhile, we carry on in the cause of reaching hearts and minds on these issues.”
Whether abortion is legal or illegal, a woman who is determined to have an abortion will find a way. Yes, some will be dissuaded, but banning abortion completely will not end it. (I have read that the number of abortions went up a bit after Roe v Wade was overturned.)
The pro-life side was making significant inroads into “changing hearts and minds” on the issue, even among young people. The current situation, with some pro-life politicians trying to completely outlaw abortion in their states, has hurt the pro-life cause.
I don’t know the statistics off-hand, but have read that some countries, such as Canada, I think, that have legal abortion also have lower abortion rates than we do. Putting our energies into what is seen as “taking away a right” will backfire on the pro-life cause, as the result of these ballot initiatives have shown.
LikeLike
There were very few abortions before abortion was legal. I doubt the new situation has encouraged abortion whatsoever. There is just a lot of noise from those who have always supported it. The value of a law is to show something is considered immoral and wrong. It does make it more difficult for some and that will save lives. People who want to will always find a way to break the law, whether it is murder, theft, etc. That doesn’t mean we don’t have laws. That includes against abortion.
Ultimately, though, it is a spiritual battle as is so much else.
Janice, don’t feel bad about the ectopic pregnancy question. I was accused of wanting my niece dead because of that. That is pathetic, but when you want to justify your position and can’t, you have to make ad hominem attacks.
No, the Democrats don’t seem to want to compromise on anything and they are very good about sticking together. Showing how extreme they are, though, is of benefit.
LikeLike