Baby Baby

Time for the abortion rant.

The so-called right to abortion was a fabrication of activist courts, when Roe v. Wade caused a lib supreme court to create a vague privacy right out of thin air.

If you want to talk constitutionality, the actual article that applies is the Equal Protection clause. Babies are people too, actually. In case anybody didn't know, science has proven it: A fetus is not some blob of tissue, but a living, feeling, heart-beating baby. Abortion is the barbaric practice of tearing that baby limb-from-limb out of it's mother's womb and tossing the remains in the trash.

OK, tell me all about how hard-hearted I am by ignoring the rights of women, being the insensitive male I am. No, don't say I don't understand - I understand completely. Pregnancies occur by mistake regularly, and can be incredibly inconvenient. These circumstances usually involve somebody who's made a mistake, and is unprepared financially or otherwise to birth, care for, and raise a child.

I heard someone say once during an abortion debate that most women would rather abort than give up a child for adoption. How can anybody who thinks about that for more than 2 seconds logically justify that choice? Here's the real choice for crisis pregnancy: have the child and give the best gift in the world to a young family who longs for that baby.

Of course, it sounds easier than it is. The embarrassment of letting friends and family know about a pregnancy, the likelihood that the boyfriend will run away faster than you can say "I'm pregnant", being in the middle of a challenging collegiate program or bidding for that job promotion, or possibly being disowned by unforgiving parents. It is all tough, I know.

But if that life growing inside is your little child, who is completely dependent on you and is already bonding to your voice, is important enough, there is a way. You can take a semester off and go live in a group home until the baby arrives. You can stay in school or at the job and plan a short vacation around the due date to give birth, then return immediately after recovery. You can live with friends or relatives who will gladly help in any way they can to make sure your child is healthy and well cared for. If all that fails, call me - I'll be happy to take your baby rather than see it aborted.

Recently I saw a story that pointed out that the vast majority of abortions in America are performed for racial minorities; particularly blacks. What a terribly racist system, supported by the libs who are supposed to be champions of minorities. Somebody needs to get the truth out about this, plus the lies being tossed around about "protecting the mother's health" to justify partial-birth abortion.

I hold no illusions of an overturn of the bad court decision anytime soon. But I was thinking about all the energy spent by the government under the Clintons around smoking. If the same energy was expended by national leaders in communicating the facts about abortion, alternatives to abortion, and promoting adoption, I believe it would be incredibly successful.

If we teach everyone about fetal development while removing all possible reasons women choose abortion today, there's a real chance we could nearly eliminate the practice in our lifetimes. I just hope we can find national leaders who are willing to take it on.

Basketbrawl

So everybody knows about the brawl in Detroit last weekend that has resulted in the "death penalty" for the Indiana Pacers. The incident has raised lots of questions and generated lots of opinions, many of which are ludicrous.

I've heard wild theories from people who want to sound smart, talking about coddled athletes, drunken fans, societal failures, the so-called hip-hop culture, and even the war in Iraq to try to explain what happened. It's laughable.

What happened is easily seen on the constant video replays our television networks are only too happy to provide, ad nauseum. Pacers player (Artest) fouls Pistons player (Wallace), who is frustrated anyway by the fact that his team is being beaten and doesn't personally like the player who fouled him. He reacts by trying to instigate an on-court fight, but the Pacers player retreats. Players and coaches from each side move in to assist the officials with restoring order.

That's where the story should have ended. Had the Pistons had adequate security in place, it would have ended there. As the players, coaches, and officials worked to calm down Wallace, who by the way was still trying to get to Artest, presumably to deliver a few punches, Artest made a show of being above the fray by lying down on the scorer's table.

This enraged nearby Pistons fans, at least one of which threw his full beer cup at Artest, which hit him sqarely in the mid-section. This set off the tempermental Artest, who immediately jumped into the seats to find the offending fan. Unfortunately, he had no idea which fan threw the beer, and began pummeling a fan who was probably innocent. (I don't know whether that particular fan was taunting him.)

The action of jumping into the stands triggered a general riot, with several drunken Pistons fans converging to try to get their own shots at Artest, again with no security personnel in sight. Another Pacer, Jackson, either trying to protect his teammate or caught up in the emotions of the moment, joined Artest in the stands and began pummelling fans that were attempting to attack Artest.

In the meantime, a few fans spilled onto the court, and O'Neal punched one that confronted him there. Apparently somewhere else in the arena a chair was thrown by a fan that missed his intended Pacer target and injured another fan.

Finally, the teams were escorted off the court. The Pacers made their way to the locker room through a gauntlet of beer cups, popcorn, and whatever else could be found by fans to hurl at the players.

So, is there some deeper meaning or explanation for this terrible incident? Not at all. How many men in this situation would react similarly? I consider myself to have a fairly cool head, but if I was assaulted by a full beer cup during a sporting event, I can't be absolutely certain that I wouldn't react with similar anger.

This incident has little to do with race, culture, "hip-hop", and certainly nothing to do with the Iraq war. It is simply a tragic combination of elite athletes in the heat of competition, an emotional contest between bitter rivals, drunken fans, and an inexcusable lack of security.

Do the offending players deserve to be punished? Absolutely. Is the punishment meted out by the Commissioner appropriate? I don't think so. In my opinion, Artest should receive a 20-game suspension with strict probation the rest of the season. In other words, any unacceptable behavior when he returns to the court would result in immediate suspension for a full year.

Jackson and O'Neal should also receive suspensions, but for fewer games.

Finally, the Detroit franchise should be fined heavily. I'm thinking in the millions of dollars. They should forfeit their remaining games to the Pacers this season, and be forced to hire security for all future games. They also should be forced to discontinue beer sales at their games, and all fans involved in assaulting players should be banned from attending any future events.

Weekend Update

Well, my analysis of the football game was correct in every respect but one; I predicted a close game, and it was a blowout in favor of the visiting team.

Columbus North was unable to stop Warren Central's potent triple-option, and the WC offensive line dwarfed and dominated the North defensive front 7. WC scored on every possession until late in the fourth quarter, when they had already emptied their bench. On many occasions throughout the game, North's defense seemed to have them stopped for a third-and-long, but each time WC broke a big play, in several cases for a TD.

North's offense didn't have a bad night - they actually proved that they could move the ball on WC, although they stalled drives with some mistakes and some good WC defensive plays.

It was still a great run, and the season provided lots of positive memories for the players, coaches, families, and the Columbus community.

Too bad it's over, but now we can turn our attention to other things.

High School Football Final 4

Yes, this is all about the Columbus North Bulldogs (Columbus, Indiana) playing Warren Central for the Semi-State title and the right to play for the 5A State Championship on Thanksgiving weekend in the RCA Dome.

Nobody around the state seems to believe the 'Dogs stand a chance against the perennial powerhouse Warren Central, who by the way is the defending state champion. Win or lose, our team has had a great, historic run, that has already made great memories for the players (including our own Tim).

Here's the game analysis for this Friday night:

Warren Central is a super-sized Indianapolis high school that has built a tradition of state champion football teams. They run a Wing-T Option offense that relies on speed and deception, with a gigantic offensive line and a group of 3 very talented speedy backs. They have one loss for the season, to Center Grove, a team that was beaten by Avon in the Sectional first round. Avon was defeated by Columbus North in a tough but convincing game in the Sectional Semifinal, where they were held to only 6 points. Warren Central and Columbus North have played and beaten three teams in common, with Warren Central owning the overall largest win margins. North beat one team by a wider margin, but Warren Central drubbed the other two with what look like running-up-the score games.

Warren Central got to this game by defeating fellow Indy powerhouse Ben Davis by two points with a late come-from-behind score. Columbus North comes off a convincing 24-0 shutout of Castle High School to earn the right to represent the southern half of the state in this semifinal matchup.

Game conditions are predicted to be wet and muddy, which many think slightly favors Columbus North. Apparently Warren Central has had some turnover and offensive production problems in wet and muddy conditions, while North's defense seems to thrive in those games.

To win, North must continue to play shut-down defense, as their run-oriented offense is unlikely to generate a lot of points. Offensively, if North cannot get their '3-headed monster' running backs going, they will have to be able to throw effectively. The expectation is that Warren Central has thoroughly scouted North's offense, and will probably pack 9 guys in the box on defense to stifle the run and dare them to throw down the field. That strategy was used to great effectiveness by Bloomington South last year in eliminating North from the playoffs, as well as by Columbus East in the second game of this season in handing the 'Dogs their only loss this year.

For Warren Central to win, they will have to first avoid overconfidence. It has been a very long time since a southern school has been competitive on a state level, and Warren Central doesn't appear to be giving Columbus North much respect. On the field, WC will probably find North to be much tougher on defense than they expect, just as their other playoff opponents have this post-season. WC will have to find a way to break some big plays with their running offense and rely on their defense to shut down North's offense, or they will have to throw the ball to win.

I won't make any predictions on the game, mainly because I haven't seen Warren Central play. I do expect it to be a close, hard-fought game, which will most likely be decided on one or two key big plays and/or turnovers.

Either way, it's fun and exciting, but what can be most fun and exciting is if North pulls out the victory and goes to the RCA Dome next weekend. What a great experience for the kids, and what fun for the parents!

Got Healthcare?

How about some real solutions to problems for a change?

If you don't really care much for reading about healthcare, go ahead and stop reading now. If you are, and know somebody who might be able to do something about it, please send my blog link to them.

To solve any problem, you first have to understand it. Here are the basics of the healthcare problem:
1. It costs too much.
2. Individuals can't get insurance, especially if they already have a health problem.
3. Our life expectancy keeps rising, partly because we're able to use drugs, surgery, and technology to keep us alive a lot longer than in the past.
4. Providers are in the business for the money rather than more altruistic motives. Healthcare is a profit-making enterprise that's becoming a huge chunk of our GDP.
5. People who have disappointing results are egged on by trial lawyers to sue the doctors & hospitals, which drives up cost further.
6. Medicine is focused on treatment instead of prevention.

It's tempting to throw up our hands and admit defeat. The system is nearly broken, and there seems to be nothing we can do about it. I'd say there's plenty that can be done about it, but every solution has a rich and powerful anti-constituency that will fight to the bitter end to keep them from being implemented.

It's admittedly very high-level, and nothing here is an original idea. However, there isn't anybody on the national scene that I know who is promoting all of these solutions together.

Anyway, here's how we fix the system:
1. Provide employers with attractive tax incentives to cover their employees in comprehensive health plans, including prevention and wellness. I also like Bush's idea for health insurance portability, which allows individuals and families to keep their plan as they change jobs. The logistics might be tricky, but it could be an excellent idea.
2. Let small businesses band together to purchase health coverage for their employees at the same rates the big companies get.
3. Implement tort reform that takes the following form: Before a malpractice lawsuit may be brought against a doctor, hospital, hmo, etc., the complaint must first be presented to a medical review board for determination of whether there is reasonable evidence of malpractice. The board must be made up of a mix of medical professionals and laymen proven to have no conflict of interest, who review each case and the evidence and decide whether the suit has merit. Along with this, get rid of the silly restrictions against suing HMO's for malpractice or improper denial of care.
4. Set up clinics and hospitals and/or provide subsidies to community health service organizations that provide indigent and uninsured patient care. Anyone can avail themselves of the services at these identified providers, and will be asked to pay as much as they can afford up to the limit of standard usual, reasonable, customary established rates. Provide interest-free government-guaranteed loans to help patients pay for their care, and use tax dollars (gasp!) to fill the gaps. For the average person, the message is, "if you need care, come to this location and you'll receive it regardless of your insurance status or ability to pay. However, you will be asked to pay as much as you can afford toward your treatment."
5. At these government-supported public healthcare organizations, focus on teaching hospitals and utilize young medical students as much as possible, supervised of course by professional staff.
6. Provide attractive tax incentives for physicians and surgeons who provide indigent care with minimal or waived fees. For example, a heart surgeon who does 50 bypass surgeries per month could perform 5 per month for uninsured patients, taking whatever they can afford. The difference between what the patient pays and the normal fee for the surgery would be deductible on the surgeon's tax return.
7. Eliminate the mountains of paperwork. The government and private insurers have required such extensive paperwork that providers are getting buried in administrative overhead costs, not to mention delayed payments. A unified, standard electronic reporting form must be developed and accepted by all insurers, which all providers create on their computer system and transmit directly to the appropriate insurer. The technology exists, all that's needed is standards to eliminate the huge and growing costs of compliance with insurer's paperwork requirements.

Yes, my concept is a partnership between government and private healthcare companies. Let's not delude ourselves - we're going to provide these services to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay. So we have to accept the fact that there will always be uninsured people who get sick and need treatment. Rather than turning them away, we should be prepared to subsidize their treatments, surgery and drugs. With help from private organizations, plus hospitals, physicians, and drug companies, along with making it as easy and attractive as possible for all employers to cover their employees, I think the tax-funded portion could be managed.

We've already got Medicare and Medicaid, which are both socialized medicine. All I'm suggesting is that we could manage these programs more efficiently by opening or subsidizing specific clinics, hospitals, nursing homes, etc. for those who don't have private coverage. By the way, these places would not be government-run, but managed by private companies licensed by the government who are encouraged to be efficient and keep costs down while maintaining a high level of service.

Seems pretty simple to me, but of course it isn't perfect. There is no perfect, but there can be pretty good - this approach I think is pretty good.

High School Football Fridays

It's regional championship night. For me, that means taking a bus full of parents way down to Indiana's toe to watch Columbus North and Castle. Should be fun, if rather chilly. There's something kind of special about watching the next generation play a sport you played about 30 years ago.

Even when I've got no more kids playing, I think I'll still try to make the time to get to the high school games on Friday nights. The whole experience of sitting in the bleachers, watching the kids on the field, their classmates in the stands, the band, the cheerleaders, the concession stands; it all evokes memories of special days that we can relive to some degree by revisiting that high school stadium on Friday night.

Tim's had ups and downs for his senior year. On the up-side, he's been on the field more than in any one of his 5 years playing football. A perennial benchwarmer, even though he still has been unable to break through the starting lineup, he has seen some decent playing time and been able to contribute with tackles, a fumble recovery, and even a touchdown catch! On the other hand, a sprained ankle and maybe a little time in the coach's doghouse has kept him off the field for 5 games.

As an admittedly biased Dad, it's been a little bit frustrating having him on the sidelines when healthy while believing he could be contributing on the field. Once the winning combination was identified by the coach, he's stayed with the starters only until a game is well out of reach, which means at least a 28-point lead. By then, Tim doesn't really care if he plays, because he feels the playing time is meaningless. I don't blame him.

Even though I may have had some more success as far as playing time in my high school football days, I certainly never caught a TD pass (I was a lineman). Our HS team, especially in my senior year, was in a rebuilding phase with a brand new coach. Coach Mirer was a great coach, though. It really didn't surprise me when just a few years after I graduated, my alma mater won the State Championship with my brother David on the team.

There are a few noticeable changes since my high school days. Weightlifting has become a huge factor - we just had a Universal machine, but even then conditioning was focused on leg strength, neck strength, and speed. It would be more difficult for me to play with these bulked-up weightlifters given my 1974 6'2" 180 lb playing size.

The CN Bulldogs are expected to beat Castle, but a business acquaintance in Bloomington who's son played the same team in the Regional a few years ago tells me it's a tough place to win. He felt their visiting Bloomington South team was hurt by "homer" officials who overlooked constant fouls by Castle while flagging non-existant violations on the visitors to wipe out big plays. I certainly hope that's not what we'll see tonight.

Even with a win tonight, virtually nobody gives the 'Dogs a chance against their Semi-State opponent, the winner between Warren Central and Ben Davis. On the other hand, nobody around the state really knows very much about this Columbus team that came out of nowhere to win a share of their conference championship and beat very good teams to get this far. Let's hope they can sneak up on that next powerhouse opponent to get into the dome Thanksgiving weekend.

Go Dogs - Beat Castle! Go Tim - show them your stuff!

The Real Church

The level of hatred of Christianity by the election losers, now that the "blue states" folks feel free to show their true colors, is stunning. What horrible examples did these people have growing up that gave them such a negative perspective on people of faith? Is it a result of their actual first-hand experience with Christians, or perhaps more a misguided perception fed by their friends and acquaintances in those coastal megolopoles where the groupthink has taken over the mob?

As I try to sift through the vitriol from the Atheist Left, the main issues that seem to come through are that Christians want to round up gays, outlaw abortion and throw any Doctors and women who participate in them in jail, spy on adults in their bedrooms, etc. And of course, all of this comes from a bunch of evil hypocrites who engage in these activities themselves but want to pretend they're above reproach.

Christians need to engage in more introspection, and the Church as a whole (Catholic and Protestant) is badly in need of a revival. Truly the Church cannot decry ungodliness in this country without first looking inside itself. How many churches now either provide open or tacit approval to those in their midst who are living in a state of sin; to avoid the hypocrisy label, we must be equally strong in counseling against premarital relations, cohabitation, abortion, adultery, and homosexual behavior.

I think part of the hatred being expressed toward people of faith is based on the apparent hypocrisy of a church that is outspoken against Gay Marriage, but strangely silent on adultery and multiple marriages so prevalent in our society. Catholics have been harmed terribly by the horrible actions of a few priests, Episcopalians by the ordination of an openly Gay bishop, and many other sects by a watered down, feel-good approach trying to be relevant but teaching people nothing.

The answer is for the Church to be consistent on issues of morality, while being sure to make those cases in a loving manner. We have to be firm on issues of sin, but never strident or hateful. Our message to the world must be clear on the basic tenets of our faith; love and acceptance, redemption for sinners, and the joy of being part of the family of God.