“Get out of Iraq!”

It’s the mantra of the left and seems to be picking up steam. I have to confess, it’s down in the depths of my heart too. Let’s get our troops home. I want this war over for several reasons:

I don’t like my soldiers being in harm’s way. I’ve heard the cutesy clichés such as “It’s more dangerous on a US interstate than in Iraq” or “More Americans die per capita by murder in our cities than soldiers die in Iraq” or some other semantically contrived comparison. But bottom line, we don’t intentionally subject our citizens to this harm. The longer our soldiers are in Iraq, the greater a chance of violence being done to Americans.

I don’t like them being away from their families. Kids have to go to bed without a dad or go off to school without a mom and spouses have to carry the load of civilian life…of family life, alone. This is one of the worst consequences of the war. American families are broken up because someone is overseas.

I don’t like my government spending millions and millions of dollars on wartime costs. The costs, whenever I see them from time to time in an obscure report, are mind-boggling.

But there’s something I don’t like that tops of all those. I don’t like my homeland being attacked. I don’t like innocent civilians living within the United States of America in fear. I don’t like 3,000 Americans being obliterated in one day. I don’t like children being vulnerable. And that’s what our President and so many others in America don’t like either. That’s why we took the war to them. Terrorists have declared war on America. We will fight them here or we will fight them where they live. I prefer the latter.

We must support this war. Only united support by Americans can hasten the war’s end. Bringing our troops home is one thing. Finishing the job that must be finished is quite another.

Great News!

After following so many polls over the past year, this is the first one that indicated we (my side opposing stem cell research) are ahead. This one was done by the Joplin Globe.

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Poll Results
Would you vote for a candidate that favors the use of stem cells in medical research?

1. Yes. Stem cell research is needed to cure disease and improve the quality of human life. 36.59%
2. No. Stem cell research is immoral and could lead to human cloning. 51.22%
3. Maybe, it depends on the candidates other positions. 12.20%
4. I don't plan to vote at all. False%

41 votes counted.

This poll is not scientific and reflects the opinions of only those Internet users who have chosen to participate. The results cannot be assumed to represent the opinions of Internet users in general, nor the public as a whole.

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Oh rats! The fine print reads “41 votes counted.” Not very scientific or reliable. But what poll is? I’ll take whatever encouragement there is.

We still have our work cut out for us, convincing fellow Missourians that embryonic stem cell research is immoral. Let’s get to it.

Go here for more information.

Coalition gets big bucks

The Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures recently passed the $16 million mark in contributions. What most people don’t realize is that 96% of this came from Jim & Virginia Stowers of the Stowers Institute in Kansas City. The Institute will make millions if Amendment 2 is approved.

The Coalition has been spending a ton of money. I can’t help but chuckle when I think of driving my Hyundai to a speaking event, grabbing a Big Mac along the way. And others (on our side) are just like me. No airplane tickets, consultant fees or Panera bread reimbursements.

Ultimately, it isn’t about money, it’s about truth. Amendment 2 will legalize killing human embryos for scientific experimentation. Come on, Missouri, we can do better. Tell your friends to vote NO on Amendment 2.

P.S. Did you know Amendment 2 is almost 2,000 words long, occupying 5 pages of text? It's one of the most sweeping changes in the history of our state constitution. Read the full text here.

Sherwood Baptist Church has gone into the movie making business. Their newest release (and evidently their second film) is called Facing the Giants. From viewing the trailer on the film's website, I'd pay money to see it and encourage others to do so as well.

The really interesting twist in this story is that the Motion Picture Association of America gave the movie a PG rating. Did these Christians slip in a little foul language, trying to make the coach or another character seem more realistic? Nope. Did they show a little cleavage on some cheerleaders, hoping to entice some Junior High boys into buying a ticket? Wrong again. It seems the MPAA gave the film the PG rating instead of a G rating because it is a Christian film.

Kris Fuhr, vice president for marketing at Provident Films, which is owned by Sony Pictures, told Baptist Press that the MPAA "decided that the movie was heavily laden with messages from one religion and that this might offend people from other religions."

So, Jesus talk now ranks with profanity and nudity. Welcome to 21st century, post-modern America.

P.S. Try to see the show.

Missouri and the No Clone Zone

Cellular Engineering Technologies, based at the University of Iowa’s Oakdale Research Park, has given us yet another reason to vote NO on Missouri’s Amendment 2. Last week, researchers publicized their discovery of a method to isolate stem cells from human fat tissue, converting those cells into neurons lost in Parkinson’s disease. And who knew liposuction could be so beneficial?

Now, do proponents of Amendment 2 seriously want to put human embryos on the same moral level as fat? I fear some do. And that’s what is so frightening about this measure. It is reflective of a cultural that has so little value for human life.

We don’t need embryonic stem cell research. If the time, attention and money that is being poured into this political movement were being poured into adult stem cell research, we would be much farther down the road of healing than we are. Bravo to medical researchers who are doing this moral and ethical research, yielding results that are both positive and real.