Category: culture

Andrew Klaven sees the light on Abortion

Datechguy

and he isn’t even running for the Republican nomination for president:

I was for many years in sympathy with Roe’s argument: people have a right to privacy and abortion is a private decision. I now find it impossible to continue in that belief. This is painful for me not only because it seems to violate my natural libertarianism but also because a lot of the women I know and love have had abortions and it simply isn’t in my heart to condemn them — or indeed anyone — for what I know was a painful, sometimes devastating, decision.

Why? Because he is unwilling to skip the question: “is an unborn child a human being or not?” anymore nor the logical conclusions the “pro-abortion” answer leads to:

You can see pro-choicers stumble over this problem of logic when feminists, say, complain that people are aborting far more girls than boys or when gays worry that the discovery of a “gay gene” may lead to a “gay holocaust” by abortion. It ain’t a holocaust if you’re not killing people. And if unborn children aren’t human, why shouldn’t parents kill them off until they get the one they want?

I still believe it’s possible for a person of good will to make the argument that a fetus is not fully human for some small period of its development. Thomas Aquinas did — and the man was a saint. But more and more, that point of view is coming to seem to me pre-scientific. In any case, if that’s the argument pro-choicers want to have, let’s have that argument, and no other — because no other matters.

I’ve always questioned why the people said abortion should be “safe, legal and rare”. If an aborted child is nothing but a mass of cells who cares if it rare? Why is it any different from removing a hangnail?

And for those who make the financial argument in favor of abortion Klaven brings video:

Via the Virginian and one more thing to note:

I don’t know if homosexuality is genetic and neither do you but if science ever proves it we will see two things:

1. We will see the sudden influx of Gays and Lesbians into the pro-life movement

2. We will discover who really is pro-life in the pro-life movement.

It took only 17 days

Datechguy

On June 25th in a post called In NY the people have the right to be wrong I said this:

3. I will be shocked if we don’t see a devout Muslim suing in NY for the right of polygamy. There is a significant population of Muslims in the state. If one can change the definition of marriage that has stood for thousands of years by a popular vote then there is no rational basis to deny a form of marriage that has been continually recognized by nations of the world and at least one of the worlds major religions for over a millennium.

I got the religion wrong but 17 days later:

On Wednesday, the Browns are expected to file a lawsuit to challenge the polygamy law.

The lawsuit is not demanding that states recognize polygamous marriage. Instead, the lawsuit builds on a 2003 United States Supreme Court decision, Lawrence v. Texas, which struck down state sodomy laws as unconstitutional intrusions on the “intimate conduct” of consenting adults. It will ask the federal courts to tell states that they cannot punish polygamists for their own “intimate conduct” so long as they are not breaking other laws, like those regarding child abuse, incest or seeking multiple marriage licenses.

Via Robert Stacy McCain who quotes Justice Scalia’s dissent in the above mentioned case and comments:

What can we say when such an awareness just suddenly starts emerging? And what possible objection can any liberal voice in the matter, without attempting to “impose morality” on Kody Brown and his wives?

Let’s remind you of what the Catholic Bishop of New York wrote on the subject just this week:

Veterans my age and over can remember sixty years ago when we fought widespread, no-fault divorce, convinced it would lead to a cheapening of the marriage bond and harm our kids (as, of course, scholarly studies now report has, indeed, happened). Recall how the Church resisted the “contraceptive mentality,” fearing it would rupture the sacred bond between love and the procreation of children. Then, remember how the Church sounded the alarm over rising rates of promiscuity, adultery, pre-marital sex, and cohabitation prior to or instead of marriage. And now we ring the steeple bell again at this latest dilution of the authentic understanding of marriage, worried that the next step will be another redefinition to justify multiple partners and infidelity. If you think I’m exaggerating, within days of the passage of this bill, one major newspaper ran a flattering profile of a proponent of what was called “nonmonogamy.” Apparently, “nonmonogamy” is the idea that society is unrealistic to think that one man and one woman should remain faithful in marriage, and that openness to some infidelity should be the norm!

The irony being that over and over the consequences the Catholic Church warned society about came to pass when society and some mainline Churches embraced these changes over the years.

We are likely at least a generation and a half away from the full consequences of this nonsense, but they will come. The legal victory of polygamy in states that embrace gay marriage will come mush faster.

Dawkins vs Watson Forgiveness is not an option

Datechguy

I can’t add much to Stacy McCain’s absolutely hilarious take on the confrontation between two giants of Atheism, Richard Dawkins and Rebecca Watson but there is a point I want to quickly make.

The offending words spoken to Ms. Watson were as follows:

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I find you very interesting, and I would like to talk more. Would you like to come to my hotel room for coffee?”

Stacy’s reference to an old 1970 song that I actually had the 45 for not withstanding. I think normal people would agree the following:

  • The words were not offensive and were exceedingly polite.
  • At 4 a.m. after presumably having a few drinks Ms. Watson might be excused for reacting more strongly to such a phrase than she might have at say, 11 a.m. bereft of alcohol.
  • In what was once called “polite society” the social faux-pas from this, if any, would be considered trivial and dismissed lightly.

Alas we are dealing with people who make their living off of their perceived victimhood are unlikely to make such consideration and so Watson played the victim and Dawkins played the snark until confronted at which time he bravely ran away from the likes of Watson and Marcotte. Stacy McCain again:

Once the feminists started screaming for blood, Dawkins’ fellow atheists were only too happy to throw him under the bus. The reaction was as if Dawkins himself had hit on Watson.

This is one of those episodes where the totalitarian impulse of feminism is glaringly apparent. Feminists ferociously suppress dissent and seek to impose a conformity of thought, so that anyone within the movement who expresses doubt about the dogma and the agenda is condemned as a heretic…

…All in all, it’s rather ironic that the atheist Watson ended up a devotee of feminism, the most intolerant religion of them all.

Christianity is all about redemption and forgiveness, we Catholics even go to confession and have our sins wiped away. This whole episode would be, to a Catholic, an example of a venial sin, however to the feminist left as Richard Dawkins has discovered (and believes) there is no such thing as venial sin, just those who are allies and those who are enemies.

4th of July in Fitchburg 2011

Datechguy

Here are the pictures from the 4th of July in Fitchburg Mass. 2011

I’ll have the Youtube videos up as soon as I can.

If this is your first visit to my site you can Catch me on the Radio on WCRN AM 830 Worcester Saturdays at 10 a.m. to noon. Its 50,000 Watt signal comes in fine here. My latest show is available by clicking on my Fedora.

You can find the main page here, my radio archive here and the link where you can find the other sites I right at here. and I’m on Twitter at @datechguyblog

Update here are the youtubes, the first is from before the parade

Can’t have a parade without bagpipes

Seeing that almost every elected person in Fitchburg is a democrat I asked about the Harvard study that claims 4th of July parades are a waste of time for Democrats since they create and reinforce republicans.

I asked Mayor Wong, Rep Steve DiNatale, Councilwoman Rosemary Reynolds, and Mayoral Candidate Joe Solomito about the Harvard Study, they all thought very little of it. You might also notice that my arch enemy friend Chris (congrats to him and his wife) on his new daughter BTW of the secular humanists was marching in the parade as well and somehow I don’t expect him to suddenly be holding an “atheists for Palin” sign anytime soon.

One of the people I asked during the parade was a man named Buzz:

Somehow he has remained a democrat over the years, but to play it safe I found a democrat after the parade. I wondered if this prolonged exposure to the stars and stripes etc would convert Margaret.

Apparently not. I think that J.D. Mullane who did a similar things at his local parade nailed it:

It doesn’t take a PhD from Harvard to see that the study is a shot aimed at dividing Americans by political party over celebrating freedom.

The rub isn’t between Democrats and Republicans, or even between liberalism and conservatism. It’s Americanism v. pernicious progressivism.

but Buzz nailed it better.

Update 2: You might remember Margaret was complaining about the end of the parade and the bikers without their helmets. I guess she knew what she was talking about:

A New York man died Sunday while participating in a ride with 550 other motorcyclists to protest the state’s mandatory helmet law.

Police said Philip A. Contos, 55, hit his brakes and his motorcycle fishtailed. Contos was sent over the handlebars of his 1983 Harley Davidson and hit his head on the pavement.

Serious irony.

Vinnie’s Grapes on the 4th of July

Datechguy

If you do an internet search for Vincent Anderson of Fitchburg Mass.you will find very little. No pictures, not much for records and only a listing of his Birth (August 25th 1918) and Death (October 18, 2008).

For decades I saw him in church but had never really knew him. I only knew his garden which was the last of the great Italian gardens in the old Italian Neighborhood near my church. It is dominated by grape vines as wide as a man’s leg. They vines had been brought over by his wife’s father from Sicily in the 19th century and over the century plus that they have grown in the yard on Heywood street.

I met him proper during 2007 and would visit him occasionally. He was kind enough to give me one of his old hats and we talked a bit. I heard about his time as an infantry man in WW2 in Europe, his work days and how his garden took up most of his time. His wife had died a few years earlier and he wasn’t all that worried about following her when God was ready. I got to know his son, daughter and some of his grandchildren who are all involved in our church.

One day a few months before he died I stopped by and asked him a favor: Could I have some clippings from his vines to plant in my backyard? Vinnie said sure, but if I wanted grapes, I should just buy a new plant. It would take ten years for a clipping from that vine to give me any grapes, a store-bought vine would produce fruit must faster. I smiled and answered: “You don’t understand, I don’t want grapes, I want your grapes so that years from now when my children and grandchildren eat them, I can say they are eating Vinnie’s grapes and tell them about you.”

Vinnie gave me three clippings and I planted them that year just before he died. Two of them took. They have slowly grown bigger and yesterday my wife called me outside on a pretext and asked me to check on the vines. I had a pleasant surprise:

The small vine with Vinnie's Grapes

The small vine had the first of the grapes that I saw, as for the large vine it is overflowing:

The large vine is doing well

And it looks like I’ve picked up a hidden guard for the new grapes:

Can you see my guard?

If you can’t see him clearly here is a closer look:

I've hired him for the duration

Yesterday at mass I saw Vinnie’s Daughter and grandson who were serving, they were pleasantly surprised when I told them about the new grapes already on their way.

On the Fourth of July we celebrate the independence of our county and the birth of a great and free nation. It is good to remember these grand ideas but let’s not forget the little things. So today as you celebrate remember the life of Vinnie Anderson and his family. He was an ordinary American, who became a solder, married the daughter of a man who came from Sicily for a better life. He was a man who for decades tended the garden his father in law planted with his wife and children just down the road from the church that great grand children now attend. A garden that has been passed down now through three different centuries and three generations of a family that has lived the freedoms that his father in law came to American to experience, the freedoms Vinnie fought for.

Remember him because his story repeated a million times, is the story of America.

Update: Here is his obit from 2008

Fertility is not a disease

Roxeanne De Luca

Al Gore, father of four and profligate polluter, stated that people ought to refrain from reproducing quite so much in order to save the environment.  As I said in the comments on Hot Air, the idea that Americans need to control their reproduction to suit Gore’s whims is ridiculous and self-absorbed.

When Al Gore and his ilk talk about “fertility management”, they are never talking about encouraging young men to keep their pants zipped up, nor to abstain during their wives’ fertile periods.  Rather, their contraception/abortion mentality is predicated on the assumption that women will still be sexually available to men, just without the nasty side effects (environmental and on his wallet) of child-rearing.  Children are the natural result of sexual intercourse between two young, healthy people, not something to be “managed” by drugs and child-murder.

Given that out-of-wedlock childbirth is associated with a host of societal ills, 40% of American babies are born out of wedlock, and Americans are delaying marriage, Gore could have advocated not for population control, but for abstinence until marriage; if followed, it would reduce the out-of-wedlock birth rate and the birth rate in general.  Telling, however, that the solution of all of the anti-natalists is always contraception (to be pumped into a woman’s body, never a man’s) and abortion (affecting only the unborn, not the born), never any natural and sensible way of dealing with fertility.

Beyond that, Gore’s comments are aimed at the wrong audience.  If Gore were capable of checking out population growth charts, he would understand that telling Americans to manage their fertility is the equivalent of those “coexist” bumper stickers: no matter how nice the sentiment, it’s simply not aimed at the appropriate audience. America is #122 in terms of percent population growth – beaten out by fertility maniacs like Luxembourg, the bunny-like Australia, and that perennial baby-machine, Israel.  On a plus note, the American population is expanding faster than that of the Vatican See, which is made of up a lot of old, celibate people.

As a final thought: anyone who wants Social Security to stay stable, without raising the retirement age or cutting benefits, should be out there begging young women to get knocked up and haranguing young men to marry them (which would bring economic stability to the new family unit), enough already with “finding yourself” in a haze of pot smoke. Pyramid schemes and “fertility management” are mutually exclusive.

Apparently our parents grandparents and great grandparents were all criminals…

Datechguy

…because they spanked us:

A judge in Corpus Christi, Texas had some harsh words for a mother charged with spanking her own child before sentencing her to probation.

“You don’t spank children today,” said Judge Jose Longoria. “In the old days, maybe we got spanked, but there was a different quarrel. You don’t spank children.”

Rosalina Gonzales had pleaded guilty to a felony charge of injury to a child for what prosecutors had described as a “pretty simple, straightforward spanking case.”

This is true in the same way that the left tries to convince us that apparently they were all bigots for not supporting Gay Marriage….

…Yet they are celebrated as the “greatest generation.”

I’d like to ask the judge in this case if he thinks it is a coincidence that our society of medicated children and schools more interested in social education than knowledge and discipline have produced a violent and undisciplined youth as opposed to those who came before us?

Our grandparents (mine were born in the 1880’s) lived and thrived without the advantages that the baby boomers insisted on. I am absolutely convinced that one of the reasons we’ve seen such a upending change in values over the last 20 years is for the children and grandchildren of those who achieved so much with so much less to convince themselves of their own superiority based on culture and belief since there is no reason for them to have any such believe based on actions or achievement.

The religious and cultural bedrock that made the “greatest generation” and their parents what they are, are values (culturally and religiously judeo-christian) that the modern left and media would consider “far right and conservative” and what the attendees of NetRoots Nations would call “extreme”.

This contradiction: reverence for what they did, while attacking what they are; if considered rationally would cripple the American left and the American media. So they ignore it in the same way that radical Islamists tell themselves and the followers in their madrasas that they are conquering even as their ranks are decimated.

They believe it religiously because if they considered it rationally it would required them to take stock of their own beliefs, and that’s a price too high for them to pay.

Its yet another reason to use this:Quote and episode:

You know, the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don’t alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit their views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that need altering.

Our grandparents are the facts that need altering.

Update: Jazz at HotAir links and makes some good points, but note that the judge didn’t cite those circumstances, just saying that “we don’t do this anymore.” That’s not a reason.

The Very Happy Warrior, My Interview with Ladd Ehlinger

Datechguy

If there is one things you can definitely say about Filmmaker Ladd Ehlinger, he enjoys his work.

Our interview concerning his new viral video (that I’ve written about this week) had almost a continual laugh track as he reacted to question after question with laughter before and after each answer he gave. Considering that his video has gone from Zero to 402k hits in less than 50 hours he has a lot of cause to be laughing.

I talked to Ladd Thursday afternoon approximately 48 hours after the launch of his viral video. As you might gather from the video in question his language can occasionally be a spicier that I would normally use but it is what it is

DaTechGuy: What impact has the video has on the race in CA-36?

Ladd Ehlinger: It put Janice Hahn on the defensive. She’s alleging collusion between the Turn Right USA PAC and the Huey campaign. There is none, and has she has filed an FCC complaint. Since the video has only aired on the internet I’m not sure what the basis of that complaint is.

DTG As the Huey campaign hasn’t hired you or the PAC why the video in this particular district?

LE: Rick (from the PAC Turn Right USA) lives in the district as do I occasionally, and I did do an ad on the Matte Fein campaign.

DTG: Have you had much media from this campaign?

LE: NPR, local stations in LA, done a lot of local media, practically the only people who have not called have been Fox and MSNBC.

DTG: MSNBC did hit you for the video?

LE: Yes but they are too “wimpy” to have me on. I’d be happy to face sit across from Rachel Maddow in NY. I’ll bring the beer.

DTG: Now I didn’t run the video on my site because I didn’t think it was appropriate but many of the sites most strongly condemning it have embedded it. Isn’t that a contradiction?

LE: Yes. They think it’s a fundraising opportunity. That it’s good for them. They’re wrong. When you wrestle with a pig you get muddy.

DTG: And has this caused the issue of the program to be raised?

LE: Hahn answers all question on the gang issue as “debunked” but that’s a load. A complete load! Too bad the consultants of the Huey campaign are wussies but hey, that’s nothing unusual, just like the condemnations of the ad from the state party. Unfortunately the GOP in California is squishy and flaccid. They’re all Bob Dole. Of course Arnold & Whitman didn’t help matters here any. Whitman was a disaster.

DTG: Are you worried it will cause people to hesitate before hiring you in the future?

LE: I couldn’t care less. If a candidate doesn’t have the balls to hire me, I don’t want to work for him.

DTG: Let’s talk the video itself, how long did it take to shoot?

LE: About a week.

DTG: And the rappers you used?

LE: They’re a group called Splack Pack. They perform nationwide.

DTG: Did they have any objection to the material?

LE: Dude, we had a blast shooting the video. It was a parody of a song they perform called “Shake Your Ass Bitch”. They didn’t consider it sexist or racist. Hell, they helped write it and come up with some of the gags. Oh my god! CueDog doing the cowboy butt-spank! That dude does physical comedy better than Chaplin, and UncleHead is a master at facial expressions.

DTG: Have they gotten any flack over it?

LE: They don’t care, they love it, their reaction to me was “whatever man!”

DTG: I notice that your TRUSA and http://hahnshomeboyz.org site that the video directs viewers to has been down for quite a long time

LE: Yes we’ve been subject to almost continual DOS attacks within a few hours of the video’s release. I figure they will continue right up till the election.

DTG: They must take it very seriously. Do you plan anything more in the future?

LE: We have a few things in the works. Nationwide stuff and local stuff. Want to do a great viral on Obamacare. Should be very funny.

DTG: Ladd thanks for your time.

LE: Thank you!

Update: A hacker uncovered

Ace and Allahpundit Ginger Lee Archie Bunker and Sammy Davis Jr.

Datechguy

Burried in a pretty good roundup of the Democratic meetings on Anthony Weiner at Hotair is this question from Allahpundit:

I’m confounded by her claim that she didn’t reciprocate any of Weiner’s sexual overtures in their chats. She has no reputation to protect so there’s no obvious reason for her to lie, but she’s also been known to say — publicly — “I want to have sexual relations with Anthony Weiner” and “He can get buck wild anytime I’m around.”

Ace has the same things to say:

Before you say that’s BS — she really doesn’t have a terribly strong reason to lie. She’s a porn actress. She doesn’t have a reputation for sexual modesty to protect.

You have to remember something, the difference between a porn actress and a prostitute is marketing. Both are paid to have sex with assorted men and/or women, but a porn star does it in front of a camera to market for a global audience.

The difference between a street corner or a spot in Ladd’s Commercial is her ability to market a sexual persona to men who buy her videos or subscribe to her web site etc etc etc…Her “He can buck wild anytime I’m around” stuff was part of that, but when Weiner bought the marketing, thought she meant it, and she shut him down.

“Porn Star” is what she does when she is on the clock. It’s not her hobby or what she does on her days off. If you believe it is then you are falling for the marketing. It brings to mind this exchange from All in the Family with Sammy Davis Jr.

This exchange starts at :35

Archie : Sam where are you flying out to tonight, Las Vegas Maybe?

Sammy Davis Jr: No I have a TV special to do in Hollywood.

Archie: Orrr Gee that’s beautiful yea! Well er while your hanging around, maybe could you give us a little preview, one of the songs you’re gonna do?

Gloria: Dadddy Mr. Davis makes his living entertaining , you’re asking him to go to work

Mike: Yeah Arch how would you like to be a guest in someone’s house and they say: “C’mon Arch do some packing and lifting for us.”

Weiner started following her for the same reason any guy was following her. I’ll wager a bunch of guys tweet her. The only difference between them and Weiner is he was in a position to get a tweet back.

Update: I wrote this at 8 a.m. this morning, reports are now coming out that Weiner will resign today. Apparently he can take hits from the DCCC and the congress but when you’ve lost Ginger Lee you’ve lost your seat. 2 p.m. presser is scheduled.

Update 2: Stacy McCain reminds us of the timeline.

For the first 10 days, Weiner lied, lied, lied, and the liberals who believed Weiner were wrong, wrong, wrong, while conservatives were right, right, right. In the past 10 days, since Weiner’s June 6 press conference, liberals have tried to forget that their credulity in believing Weiner’s lies, and the idiotic conspiracy theories they proffered in his defense.

Now is the day when Jeffrey Toobin, Joan Walsh and a lot of other liberals must be called to account.

and apparently Gennette Cordoba has decided to resign as well…from Twitter.

Do you remember when we were told this was a non-story and a Breitbart invention?

It depends on what TPM means by “thoroughly debunked”

Datechguy

As the hit count of Ladd Ehlinger’s viral video on CA-36 manages to rise (on twitter @Webszachandrews tells me it has doubled since my post this morning) without my embedding of it; we see that Talking Points Memo DC apparently has a different definition of “thoroughly debunked” than CBS News:

A man who said he left a ruthless street gang in Central America and later won praise for his anti-gang work in Los Angeles was arrested Wednesday by authorities who allege he conspired to kill a rival even as he spoke out against gang life.

Alex Sanchez, 37, who heads the local office of the nonprofit Homies Unidos anti-gang group, was taken into custody at his Bellflower home on federal racketeering charges

I may be what some call a “wanna be” but I think this would be what people might consider a “legitimate story” as opposed to what Sam Stein calls: “fairly uncontroversial” at Huffpo. At least Talking Points Memo implies by its very name that it is spinning.

Normally one would not consider the video in question an example of “raising the level of debate” but it’s hard not to raise the level when it started at zero. But in the interest of raising the level of debate lets instead embed this video by Kerry Pickett on a protest in the NY 9th District to ask Anthony Weiner to resign:

Talk about a classic Brooklyn accent. I’ll bet his parents or grandparents were Dodger fans.

Amazingly this is actually raising the level of debate. I suspect if the DCCC’s call for Weiner to resign has not been effective I can’t imagine their shouts on this video will be.