Prioritizing the News of the Day

Here are some headlines that you may or may not learn about in today's news:

• Approximately 3,000 children murdered in their mothers' wombs today.
• Congress soon to vote on one of the largest tax increases in American history, under the poor disguise of something called "cap and trade."
• American soldiers involved in conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• Some calling for the resignation of a governor of a state containing 4.5 million people.
• An over-the-hill rock star who has been in trouble for doing unspeakable, perverse things with children and whose music grates on the ears of millions of Americans died yesterday.

The first four are significant things going on today that will affect (or even end!) the lives of Americans for some time to come. The fifth item, though sad, is not going to affect most of us, and certainly not in a life-changing way.

We are going to be better citizens if we deal with those first four matters properly...so let's get to work.

How Bad Is It? 29-year-old has 21 children by 11 women

Alas, tis so. Examiner.com tells us:

As if Octomom wasn't bad enough, a Tennessee man, 29 year old Desmond Hatchett has now fathered at least 21 children he can't support. Hatchett was in child support court again last week. His name appeared on the dockett 11 times in one day, representing 15 of his children.

Hatchett says he wasn't out to set a record. He says he never intended to have this many children, "It just happened." He fathered the children by at least 11 different women and he claims all of the mothers knew about his large family. The children range in age from newborn to 11 years old.

This is a sad story at all levels. The children cannot be supported by their father, and likely have no good male role model (since their daddy isn't filling that position). The women are reaping the consequences of their sin by, among other things, having to support these children without a father. Since Desmond only has a minimum wage job, and since only 50% of his income can be taken (by law) for child support, and since it has to be split so many ways, some of the women get just a few dollars a month. The taxpayers, of course, will be saddled with massive costs related to the upkeep of these children (and probably their mothers, too).

Desmond should be put in jail if he ever fathers another child out of wedlock.

Good News! Majority of Americans Now "Pro-Life"

As you can see from this graph, a new Gallup poll has determined that there are now more Americans who identify themselves as "pro-life" than "pro-choice." This is very encouraging for those of us who view abortion as a moral evil.

So the question arises: Why are more people identifying themselves as pro-life? Are there simply more people coming around to the proper point of view? Are more Americans repulsed by our president's militant pro-abortion views? To be honest, I have no idea...but I am glad to see it.

Thanks to theblogprof for bringing this to my attention.

Record Numbers of Births, Births to Unwed Mothers

The headline reads, "More Babies Born in 2007 Than Any Other Year in U.S. History." The reported number was 4,317,119 births.

This is going to get some mileage in the press because it exceeds the previous record, set 50 years earlier, at the height of the "baby boom." It is not particularly impressive when one considers that fifty years ago, the number of women of childbearing age was approximately half of what it is now.

Consequently, the "rate" of birth is not even close to what it was back then.

The more important and troubling aspect of the story is this: About 1.7 million of those births were to unwed mothers. This means that, on average in 2007, there was a baby born to an unwed mother every 18 seconds...a child who will, statistically, likely grow up without the blessings of married, loving parents who demonstrate biblical marriage and morality.

And if you consider how many babies are aborted annually, you will see that only about half of the children conceived in the wombs of American women will make it out of the womb to be greeted by married parents.

Proverbs 14:34: "Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people." We should be praying to God for His mercy upon our nation. Our reproach is deserved.

Crazy Headline of the Week

"Jail Inmate Escapes for Cigarettes, Tries to Sneak Back In"

It gets better: He broke into a store to steak 14 packs of cigarettes.

The jail, incidentally, is a smoke-free facility. Here's the story.

Ironic Headline of the Week

"Chavez Urges Obama to Turn to Socialism"

Really. You can read the whole article here.

The Worst News Days of the Year...

...are the Wednesday through Friday surrounding Thanksgiving. Consider the numbing predictability:

Wednesday: Obligatory reporter at airport, discussing how busy the airport is. Other reporters reporting on traffic in the region. Obligatory predictions from AAA about how many more/less people will be driving/flying during the upcoming weekend. Relevant weather issues discussed.

Thursday: There is no news, unless terrorists attacked somewhere in the world. Obligatory reporter found at a local agency where free dinners are being provided to those who otherwise could not afford them. Obligatory coverage of parades and, since there's time to kill, discussion of tomorrow's big sales and crowds. Sports coverage is the highlight of the day.

Friday: Obligatory reporters at local area Wal-Marts, Best Buys, and other big box retailers discussing how early the lines began to form (video of lines in the middle of the darkness being shown here) and what products these people are looking to buy. From somewhere will come a report of crowds who were (to put it kindly) disruptive and/or injuries from a trampling somewhere. Sports coverage is again the highlight of the day.

Nothing is happening in politics (and perhaps that's just as well), the markets are quiet, and the biggest local event may well be a Santa sighting.

Perhaps they could just produce these programs in advance and give more people the day off?

Maddening Story of the Day

This piece comes from the Associated Press, and can be found here. Here are excerpts...the ones that irritate me...

EATON RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Jennifer Granholm on Monday signed into law a package that will require more electricity to come from renewable sources, raise residential rates, restrict competition among power companies and encourage energy efficiency.

Granholm held two energy bill-signing ceremonies, one in Detroit and one in Eaton Rapids southwest of Lansing. She said the new measures will create new renewable energy jobs.

She had two ceremonies to celebrate the raising of my electric rates?!?

Residential energy rates are expected to rise now that the measures are law. The state's largest utility, DTE Energy, estimated a typical resident could pay an extra $12 to $15 a month for electricity within five years. Consumers Energy, the second-biggest utility, estimated an average residents may pay $6 to $7.50 more.

And, no, the fact that Consumers serves the Kalamazoo area does not give me any comfort.

More Proof You Should Be Skeptical of Statistics...

The following is a quote from an article about Jim Abbott:

Nearly 50 million Americans have disabilities, and according to the Department of Labor, two out of every three Americans with disabilities are unemployed.

Quite simply, this is highly misleading.

If the above statistics are both true and both refer to the same group of people, simple mathematics dictates that approximately 33 million Americans are unemployed. I'm not sure what the number of employment-eligible people is in the United States, but even if we place it generously high at 200 million, that means the unemployment rate in this country is near....

16.5%.

Even here is Michigan, where we have the highest unemployment of any state in the nation...it's only about 9%. And according to today's report, the national rate is at 6.1%.

Conclusions:

• One or both of the above statistics are wrong.
• People should be careful to verify what they read.
  

John Edwards—Have You Heard?

Foxnews.com reported a couple days ago that John Edwards was cornered by National Enquirer reporters in a Beverly Hills hotel, in the middle of the night, after spending several hours in the hotel room of one Rielle Hunter and her (reportedly, "their") child. The Enquirer story has already been released, and they claim to have additional photos not yet shared with the general public. And unlike many of the Enquirer's "stories," this one seems to have some journalistic merit to it.

So why has this gotten Zero coverage from the mainstream media...the same mainstream media that howls at any sniff of scandal, real or imagined, from most other politicians [esp. GOP politicians]? One very interesting scenario (of several) came from this article. I share the quote here:

And if journalists try to defend their lack of interest by saying that they just don’t believe the story, they could start by asking themselves if an innocent man, who had already been accused of having a love child with this woman in December, would arrange to spend several hours with her late at night alone in a hotel room? And would he then rush into a bathroom to avoid reporters? And would he then issue non-denials by condemning tabloids but refusing to answer why he was visiting the woman in the first place or whether he was indeed the father of her baby? Is that how an innocent man would act if the woman was, as the cover story goes, just the woman who had an affair with one of his aides?

I agree—this is not how the innocent would act. The innocent would simply issue a vehement denial and probably give their alibi for the evening. Edwards, to my knowledge, has not done this. It will be interesting to see where this story goes.

Tutor.com: An Interesting Article

Among the many things I do which I generally enjoy (and also make money from) is to do online tutoring for tutor.com. There is an interesting article about this service on the NY Times website here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/31/fashion/31CYBER.html?ref=personaltech
I encourage you to read it. I am not mentioned in the article.

Wisdom From The Family

My brother Adam had the following editorial published in the Patriot-News (view it here if you wish). The comments are wise; this is probably his best editorial yet.

Choice Was Made

Sunday, January 27, 2008

I read with disgust the answers given by Dorothy Fulton concerning abortion (Jan. 13). She states, "A woman is not free unless she can control her own body and choose whether she will or will not be a mother."

If a woman is seeking an abortion because she does not want children, then she has already lost control of her body. She gave up that control when she engaged in an act that caused the pregnancy. The choice was made; it is now a matter of what to do with the consequences.

Many women make the choice of whether to have children, but they do so responsibly, via birth control or abstinence.

What has this innocent child done to deserve such an abrupt ending to a life that is just beginning? The pro-abortion, anti-consequence crowd would have us believe that this child is the enemy.

What has caused society to devalue life to this degree?

God created human beings in His image. It is my opinion that people are trying to kill off God (in their heart and mind) by killing off those who are created in His image.

-- ADAM MATESEVAC, Lower Swatara Twp.

Headline: I'm 86, Not 8

This story is both funny and interesting on so many levels. The beginning of it is copied below; the remainder can be read here.

Senior Citizens Protest Denial of Doughnuts at Senior Center

Sunday, September 23, 2007 (Associated Press)

MAHOPAC, N.Y. — It was just another morning at the senior center: Women were sewing, men were playing pool — and seven demonstrators, average age 76, were picketing outside, demanding doughnuts.

They wore sandwich boards proclaiming, "Give Us Our Just Desserts" and "They're Carbs, Not Contraband."

At issue is a decision to refuse free doughnuts, pies and breads that were being donated to senior centers around Putnam County, north of New York City. Officials were concerned that the county was setting a bad nutritional precedent by providing mounds of doughnuts and other sweets to seniors.

The picketers said they were objecting not to a lack of sweets but that they weren't consulted about the ban.

"Lack of respect is what it's all about," said Joe Hajkowski, 75, a former labor union official who organized the demonstration. He said officials had implied that seniors were gorging themselves on jelly doughnuts and were too senile to make the choice for themselves.

C. Michael Sibilia said, "I'm 86, not 8."

Inside, some seniors said they missed the doughnuts but others said they were glad to see them go.

"It was disgusting the way people went after them," said 80-year-old Rita Jorgensen. "I think the senior center did them a favor by taking it away."

Some More Enjoyable News

This one, like the G.I. Joe article just mentioned, comes from Foxnews.com; but this one is much more enjoyable to read:

Here's the link; the text of most of the article is copied below.

ESCATAWPA, Miss. — A man trying to call a news station to complain about not getting a FEMA trailer after Hurricane Katrina accidentally dialed 911 and was charged with making methamphetamine after police arrived, authorities said.

Curtiss Randall Coleman was trying to get the number for Biloxi's WLOX-TV on Wednesday just before the 6 p.m. newscast, investigators said. He misdialed when trying to reach directory information and called 911 instead of 411.

When he hung up on the emergency dispatcher, the Jackson County Sheriff's Department was sent to the home to see if anyone was in need of assistance.

Deputies said that when they arrived at Coleman's house, no one answered the door. Officers broke in and allegedly found a methamphetamine lab.

Coleman, 53, and four others were arrested, including Coleman's son, Christopher, 30. A fifth suspect remains at large.

"It was a calamity of errors on Mr. Coleman's part," said Sgt. Curtis Spears, commander of the Narcotics Task Force of Jackson County.