June 21, 2005

Bad Choices
By Lady Liberty

In early1973, Roe v Wade effectively legalized abortion - with constraints as determined by the states - in the US. Despite that decision, the abortion debate has continued virtually unabated since then. In fact, it's heated up as pro-life activists feel more of a sense of urgency as more than a million abortions are performed annually, and pro-choice forces are becoming more and more concerned that their "rights" will be mitigated or even reversed by a conservative majority Supreme Court.

I've long contended - and in fact still do - that a woman's choice is made when she decides to have sex without protecting herself against pregnancy rather than when she discovers she's pregnant. I've also always believed that abortion isn't the problem. It is, instead, the unsatisfactory solution to another problem: unwanted pregnancies. That's why I've repeatedly suggested that an adequate sex education coupled with broad access to birth control is the only way the abortion issue will ever truly be settled. (Read the rest here)

Civil Disobedience: A Christian Value
By Doug Newman

In 1940, at Dunkirk, on the northern coast of France, a British military officer sent a telegram to London consisting of the following three words: “But if not.”

The person in London who read the telegram recognized this as a reference to the Old Testament (Daniel 3:17-18, KJV): “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.”

When faced with the choice of serving God or serving man, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego would sooner be incinerated than worship a graven image. (Read the rest here)

Americans Are Finally Waking Up to the Failure of U.S. Policy in Iraq
By Ivan Eland

Although the American people slept through the facile national debate about whether the Bush administration should invade Iraq and the post-invasion unraveling of justifications for doing so, the public is finally waking up to the nightmare of U.S. policy in Iraq. And their representatives in Congress, many of whom were previously hiding in the bushes, are now beginning to get the courage to finally speak out.

A recent New York Times poll shows how low support for the Bush administration’s adventure in Iraq has sunk. Sixty percent of the American public thinks that the U.S. effort to bring stability to Iraq is going badly, fifty-nine percent disapprove of the way President Bush is handling the situation, and 51 percent now believe that the United States should have stayed out of Iraq in the first place. All of these measures of support for the war effort have gradually deteriorated over time and can be expected to decline further as the carnage continues. (Read the rest here)

Muddle at the Supreme Court over Medical Marijuana
by Sheldon Richman

When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against medical-marijuana users, many critics of the decision thought the six-justice majority failed to show compassion for severely ill people. But the Supreme Court doesn’t sit to dispense compassion. It’s supposed to ensure that Congress respects the Constitution and, by extension, individual liberty. How did it do on that count?

Before we get to that question, a foreword is in order. Under California’s Compassionate Use Act, doctors may prescribe marijuana to patients with severe medical problems. Those patients are then permitted to grow marijuana for their own use. The state closely regulates the prescription, cultivation, and use of the product to prevent others from obtaining it. (At least nine other states have similar laws.) (Read the rest here)

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The Mailbag for Tuesday

Libertarian Commentary on The News
By Nathan A. Barton © 2005

Just a couple more days of Spring left - done your spring housecleaning, yet? If not, it is not too late: declare your independence of the denizens of Stateland by signing the New Declaration of Independence today, and then write your congrus-critturs and tell them as far as you are concerned, they're fired. Start a local petition to get a couple of senators that really represent your state and a representative that understands what the word means - and that it is NOT a synonym for grafter (well, that it shouldn't be). You may not get all the trash out, but I am sure you'll feel better: at least, that is my opinion, if not that of anyone else!

Your comments are welcome - please give me and TPoL feedback! (Please use the form at the bottom of the page!)

Our Right to Defend Ourselves

Maryland: Man kills wife, then killed by son
The Morning Call
An East Rockhill Township man blasted his way into his home with a shotgun Saturday and killed his wife as she talked to a 911 operator - then was shot to death by the couple's 15-year-old son, authorities said. Andrew Detwiler, 44, of 30 Greenleaf Circle, shot his wife, Suzanne Detwiler, 40, about 10 a.m. at the family home after loading an empty shotgun he had wrested from the boy, said Bucks County District Attorney Diane Gibbons. The father took the shotgun as the boy and his 17-year-old brother pointed unloaded shotguns at him in an attempt to scare him away from their mother. Detwiler was holding a knife to his wife's throat, Gibbons said. The couple had begun arguing earlier that morning, police said. Gibbons described Andrew Detwiler's shooting death as justifiable, saying the boys acted heroically. ''There's no question that he acted solely for the purpose of saving his mother's life,'' said Gibbons, who added that the 15-year-old would not be charged.

What a horrific tragedy on the day before Father's Day. And many, sad lessons to be learned (relearned) and remembered. 1. Calling 9-11 did not help. 2. Having an unloaded weapon did not help. 3. If he hadn't used the shotgun, the man would have used the knife: firearms are tremendous equalizers for the weaker and younger to defend themselves against a stronger predator. Gratefully, the one son had the courage and sense to do what had to be done, or there would have no doubt been four dead in an all-too-common murder-suicide. (Read the rest here)

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