Mor-TON on Abortion [link]

Mort Konracke opines that the GOP would be in great trouble if the Supreme Court votes to uphold the South Dakota abortion ban and overturn Roe v. Wade. That may be too simple of an answer. I think that timing is important.

The litigation process for overturning that statute will be divisive and will motivate activists on both sides (though mostly the pro-abortion activists). Things would reach a moderate level of anxiety when the case reaches the Supreme Court. All hell would break lose for the few weeks after a decision overturning Roe is announced. If this happened in September or October of this year, the GOP would indeed be in serious trouble.

But then, reality would set in. A hand full of states would vote to outlaw abortion. Many other states would vote to enact common sense restrictions. A hand full of other states would take no action at all on abortion (or would take steps to add abortion rights to their state constitutions).

The political middle would not see much difference in the world. Most of the laws limiting abortion would be sensible and moderate...the crying and shouting by the pro-abort extremists would be ugly and seem stupid. Most Americans would, within a few years, would feel at ease with the new state of affairs.

The pro-abort extremists would continue to mobilize and complain....like all the other radical lefties do. But they would become part of the background noise. The pro-life forces would disband (which would be a loss for the GOP, but not a big one since there are plenty of other social issues now to keep those people fired up).

Long term, it would be a benefit for the country as a whole, and the Dems would lose a fundraising argument...they lost the Supreme Court, Roe was overturned, but the sky did not fall.

The NEW sports drink - sorta [link]

I heard a report on the radio about a sports drink that may soon be competing with Gatorade . . . chocolate milk!

Now it appears that the six-time gold medalist may have been onto something. A new study shows that plain old chocolate milk may be as good -- or better -- than sports drinks like Gatorade at helping athletes recover from strenuous exercise.

The study, published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, was small in scale; it was partially funded by the dairy industry. But dietitians say the study should help to counter the notion that high-tech, expensive supplements are better than whole foods when it comes to athletic performance. They also note that milk contains key nutrients, such as calcium and vitamin D, in quantities that sports drinks can’t match.

Who knew? Wow!

In the study, nine male cyclists rode until their muscles were depleted of energy, then rested four hours and biked again until exhaustion. During the rest period, the cyclists drank low-fat chocolate milk, Gatorade, or Endurox R4. During a second round of exercise, the cyclists who drank the chocolate milk were able to bike about 50% longer than those who drank Endurox, and about as long as those who drank the Gatorade.

The findings suggest that chocolate milk has an optimal ratio of carbohydrates to protein to help refuel tired muscles, researcher Joel M. Stager, PhD, Indiana University kinesiology professor, tells WebMD.

So, when I go to the gym tonight, I should see if they . . . GOT MILK

Abortion - another commentator without a clue [link]

Lionel Shriver writes in the Guardian Unlimited:

"...I have studied the eyes of the fanatics who regularly picket abortion clinics in the US and I do not see love of tiny unborn babies. I see hatred. "

Really? I personally know many of the leaders of the pro-life movement and, while I sometimes see anger and frustration, I don't see much actual hatred.

What is really going on here is the same culture war that has been raging in America since I was a kid - the same stand-off between the strait-laced, self-righteous toe-the-line types who wear hats to church, and the grubby, licentious long-hairs brandishing peace signs with whom I grew up. Both factions are still shouting at each other across the cultural divide, and these poor foetuses are just weapons flung like ripe tomatoes. The abortion issue in the US is not about babies. It's about control, about power, about who can tell whom what to do, about who despises whom and their disgusting lifestyle. In short, it's about grown-ups.

No, it is a fight to protect innocent life. It is a dispute about respect FOR life in light of the metaphysical uncertainty about when life and consciousness actually begin. Is there an immortal soul? If there is, when does it "attach" to one's body. If there is not, the moral situation is even worse. That "clump of cells" has only one chance for life and consciousness...if we allow it to be artificially terminated, we create a principle that life is disposable.

The term "pro-life" could not be less apt. (Enjoy the irony that many a "pro-lifer" also supports capital punishment.) Only the abortion rights movement has a genuinely positive agenda, the protection of a woman's right to make her own decision about an admittedly thorny moral issue whose implications are intimate.

More ad hominem attacks. Abortion is a positive agenda? Cutting up unborn children is positive? I think the liberal pro-choice movement is hypocritical: it is ok to terminate life or potential life of unborn innocents...but by ALL means protect the lives of violent, antisocial killers.

The emotional force driving pro-lifers is profoundly negative; alas, it is our negative emotions that usually pack the most punch. The anti-abortion movement is fired up with loathing - for permissive, Godless lefties who don't even get nervous when threatened with eternal damnation since they don't believe in it (which must be terribly frustrating).

Even more ad hominem attacks. I consistently see more hatred and loathing (and self righteousness) in the liberal pro-choicers. For sure, I have seen pro-lifers who go to far and make an easy-to-parody spectacle of themselves...but they are a small minority and the vast majority of pro-lifers reject their approach and their message. But the pro-choicers seem to revel in the excesses of their more extreme members.

Police Shootings...a proposal [link]

I saw this little gem of a comment this morning, and I have to say that I agree:

Lawyers have fixed it so that it's hazardous for police to shoot anyone, especially on the run. The argument is that shooting inflicts the death penalty for lesser crimes. I agree that this argument is valid. The solution would be to make fleeing from law officers a capital crime.

Allowing criminals who are fleet of foot to evade arrest is a sign that we don't take our laws seriously. If we want our criminal laws to be obeyed, there must be significant consequences for their violation. Otherwise the criminal justice system becomes a kubuki dance filled with symbols and rituals but little meaning or importance.

The Sinking Molly Ivins [link]

Molly is mad! The Dems just aren't pushing the "progressive" agenda hard enough. She wants action! And just what action are we talking about?

1) Iraq is making terrorism worse; it’s a breeding ground. We need to extricate ourselves as soon as possible. We are not helping the Iraqis by staying.
2) Full public financing of campaigns so as to drive the moneylenders from the halls of Washington.
3) Single-payer health insurance.

Oh...my...GOD! Please, let the Dems fight for these issues! They would lose, BIG TIME!

We ARE making a difference in Iraq. If we pull out, the terrorists will claim victory. They would be able to recruit like mad, and soon we would have hundreds of thousands of eager jihadis attacking Americans and Westerners on a regular basis. Deep in her heart, Molly (and most other Dems) thinks the world is really a safe place. Well...it isn't.

Public financing of elections? Oh yeah. And who decides which candidates get the funding? Whining losers and political wannabes will get in line for their campaign funds right along side the devoted, qualified pols. C'mon Molly, maybe on TV, a former school teacher can become a hard as nails President (aka President Laura Roslin on BATTLESTAR GALACTICA), but in real life, we would end up with a different group of losers to replace the losers we have now.

Single payer health insurance? Why not just legislate the health care program out of the movie LOGAN'S RUN. You turn 30, you get terminated! Excellent health care plan. And it solves the problem of long term care for the elderly.

Molly and her friends are not living in the real world anymore. Hopefully, fate will not allow them to put their plans into action.