Abortion Rights

There's an article in the New York Times about a situation in India where, because of a cultural preference for male children there is a significant incidence of females being aborted after the parents learn the sex of the child. This happens often enough that it is illegal for doctors to reveal the sex of the child to parents who get an ultrasound.

I would imagine that to hear of such a practice would shock and disgust many abortion-rights supporters. Aborting a pregnancy just because it's a girl? Unconscionable!

But... whatever happened to a woman's right to choose? What sort of world do we live in where ripping an unborn child from the womb is acceptable, unless it's done because you don't want a daughter? If abortion is as sacred a right as we are told, and if the child in the womb doesn't matter, then what's wrong with choosing whether or not you want a son or daughter before deciding to abort?

I am honestly curious how these two thoughts are recconciled by those who would support abortion. I honestly can't make sense of it.

Earthquakes

I'm still trying to keep somewhat on top of the latest earthquakes map-wise. Since last I mentioned it, I've added some color-coding and caveats to the map description. Check out the links at the left.

Debt

I like arbitrary targets. So while $267.37 was an unusual amount to transfer from my last paycheck, it also means I'm under $2,000 remaining on my credit card - $1,999.99 to be exact. With a government rebate and three pay periods in May, I should be under $800 by the end of that month, and on pace to meet my goal of being credit card debt-free before I turn 30.

Ronald McDonald House

Honestly, I didn't know there was a Ronald McDonald House in Reno. It goes to show that you often don't know about many things that might be happening under your very nose. The Ronald McDonald House is a 14,000 square foot mini-hotel that's adjacent to Washoe Medical Center. It provides a place to stay for families who live more than 30 miles away who have a child at, or recieving treatment at Washoe Medical Center. From families coming in from Winnemucca to parents of foreign exchange students from India, it's a much cheaper alternative to staying at a hotel.

But the fact that it is cheap doesn't mean the place is run down. It's well-maintained, from the custom built gumball-machine playhouse in the back, to the laundry facilities downstairs, to the donated sleep-number beds in many of the rooms. They don't pay a dime for food, but recieve lots of donations from the community, and have a "chefs" program that lets people cook meals for them, which is what we did last night.

For a large pot of chicken soup, a couple bowls of salad, a couple trays of cornbread, and a couple pans of brownies, we were able to deliver and dash - leaving the food available as families were able to eat. Hopefully, it was a blessing to them. Had we not gotten a tour of the building, we'd have been in and out in minutes. It took me maybe an hour total, and most of that was on the couch watching "It Takes A Thief" while the brownies (my contribution) baked.

If you'd like a way to serve with your family, small group, Bible study, etc - consider something like this. It's almost no burden for the givers - but you're providing support for a great organization and people who are dealing with having their child - in some cases, their prematurely born infant - in the hospital.

The Death Penalty

I just don't trust it.

This is the story of a man on death row in Texas. The US Supreme Court declined to allow an appeal to go forward, and this man is again moving forward toward death.

There were no witnesses.
He maintains his innocence.
He had no previous criminal record.

Those are the things that scare me the most in a death penalty case. If someone confesses, or if there's an eyewitness, or even if the convict had a previous record that would support the it's-been-a-pattern argument then I'd be more inclined to give it a chance. But it seems to my utterly untrained eye that there's a much larger margin for error when these things are true. And the death penalty isn't something that gives you much room for "Oops!"

More on Zimbabwe

This is more than a political dispute. This is brutal, inhuman rule by thugs and criminals. Even in this article, where the man's picture shows him lying in what appears to be a hospital bed, has his face obscured for fear of reprisal.

From the BBC World News: "Zimbabwe Victim: I Wailed In Pain"

"...I could hardly identify them, everything was happening under the cover of darkness. They shouted that I was a good-for-nothing MDC activist, out to effect a regime change. They even doubted that I could run a shop, given my age. They said I got the money from the MDC, through its British sponsors. Of course, that's not true.

After being subjected to thorough beatings that lasted until the early hours of the morning, something that I never imagined took place. That was a sad ghastly side of human nature. I want to believe for now, it never happened. They took dry grass from nearby, burnt it, and placed my hands above the flame for about three minutes.

I wailed, howled in pain, and many in the surrounding homesteads could hear my voice. But they could do nothing to help. The war veterans are gods, feared in the villages..."

Zimbabwe: It's Official

When you deploy the police and military to ensure that you win an election, any pretense of democracy is gone. The international community should be embarassed if it pretends that Zimbabwe is in any way a democratic state, starting with Mugabe's ally President Mbeki of South Africa. The emphasis below is mine:

"April 18 (Bloomberg) -- Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe deployed the army, police and intelligence officers to intimidate voters in rural areas to ensure he wins a presidential run-off vote, two top members of his party said.

The officials, who belong to the ruling Zanu-PF party's politburo, said the security forces are working with youth militia loyal to the party and groups who describe themselves as veterans of Zimbabwe's 1966-1979 liberation war against a minority white-led government..."

22 to 25 weeks

That's the end of the second trimester. Babies born at this stage of development are very weak, and notjust a few die, despite the hospital's best efforts. But the child pictured in this article (about the survival rates of very young preemies) is a person nevertheless.

Unless the mom didn't want him. Then, "it" might just be an abortion (warning: this links to the WebMD description of one such procedure). That thought makes me ill.

Earthquakes

Northwest Reno has had over 70 earthquakes in the past 5.5 days. Here's a map of where they were, when they were, and what intensity they were.

Ethanol: The Real Story

Another well-phrased insight from my favorite economic policy blog:

As a result of ethanol subsidies and mandates, the dollar value of what we ourselves throw away in order to produce fuel in this fashion could be 50% greater than the value of the fuel itself. In other words, we could have more food for the Haitians, more fuel for us, and still have something left over for your other favorite cause, if we were simply to use our existing resources more wisely.

We have adopted this policy not because we want to drive our cars, but because our elected officials perceive a greater reward from generating a windfall for American farmers.