Seriously Representative Ray...?

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_11591862

You know this just kills me and is yet another reason our State Legislature drives me nuts. In a year when there is going to have to be major budget cuts, and hard choices to be made, Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield, apparently has introduced an anti-abortion bill into the State Legislature that would make illegal abortions a second-degree felony. Come on. Seriously Rep. Ray?! Allow me to shoot your bill full of holes.

-First off, all of our prisons are already over-crowded, and will probably become more so due to budget cuts, and you want MORE people imprisoned for something that is ENTIRELY the woman's choice? Not to mention filling up the courts.

-Secondly, in order for this bill to even be enforced you have to: A) monitor all health records for pregnant women, and B) force doctors to violate patient-doctor confidentiality; both of which are illegal under today's personal privacy laws.

-Thirdly, I find it very interesting how the Republican party as a whole prides itself in its ideal of smaller government equals better government. The less government there is, the better people will be. Well just a minute...HELLO! By legislating things that are strictly personal choices and are strictly private choices of those involved, such as gay marriage or abortions, you are making government BIGGER! It is IMPOSSIBLE to legislate "morality" without BIG GOVERNMENT!

-Finally, I find it very asinine when the same people who say abortions should be banned because "life is sacred" are often the very same people who promote the death penalty as capital punishment. You honestly think that revenge killing is better or more politically correct, than terminating a pregnancy as a way to save a mother, escape the responsibilities or consequences of unprotected sex, or any other reasons why abortions are performed? It is a complete contradiction in terms. If you think "life is sacred" then you MUST think ALL of it is regardless of what people do with their lives.


The other bill mentioned being introduced by Rep. Wimmer, R-Herriman, is just as bad and makes no sense to me. Granted I'm not a doctor so I don't know how everything works in a pregnancy but to me anesthetizing the fetus before performing an abortion is just asking for trouble. You can't anesthetize a fatally sick patient to ease his or her suffering and yet you want to do that to a fetus that is joined to its mother? What happens if something goes wrong and the mother is anesthetized, or her health put in some other danger, in addition to the fetus? If the mother dies or is affected by the procedure then is the doctor then guilty of murder? If you value life are you willing for this bill to set a precedent that makes an adult anesthetizing bill more likely to be passed?

44th Presidential Inaugural

After watching the Inauguration of President Obama and seeing the sea of people there, I thought I would share my thoughts on what I saw and how I felt about it.

I thought his speech was excellent as his almost always are. It was full of images and words that I think this nation needed to hear. If he succeeds as President, I think it will be a speech that is long remembered. He has defined what he wants the country to do to help itself and the world. He has set the bar high for himself and the country and I look forward to seeing how close we come to doing it.

I also thought the sea of people who were there was also a very powerful image in itself. If I was an opponent or enemy of this country, that image alone would cause me pause and send shivers down my spine. Not from fear of arms, but fear that when this country is united as one we can be a force of ideals so powerful that NOTHING can stop us.

Admiral Yamamoto of the Japanese Imperial Navy said in 1941 after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor: "I fear that all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill it with a terrible resolve." I think that if this new attitude in America holds, and the President succeeds, that our opponents and enemies will shudder as this giant fully awakens anduses ALL of its power to make the world a better place for everyone

Middle East thoughts

I'm going to apologize in advance if this is hard to follow. Its one of those where you know what you want to say but you can't always do it in a clear and orderly sentence. Its probably really two separate blogs but I wasn't sure how to separate them cleanly since it all pertains to the Middle East.

Right now we have three religions fighting each other in the Middle East because they all feel that their way is the right way and the right cause. To me all of this conflict is pointless, helps no one, advances nothing, and proves nothing. Christians, Jews, and Muslims have all been fighting over the "holy land" since their religions were founded. Right now its the Jews and Muslims (Israelis and Palestinians), in the past it was the Christians and Muslims (the Crusades), and tomorrow who knows. With so much bloodshed and constant attempts for sole control of it, can it truly even be called the "holy land" anymore? I think not.

War and blatant killing violates the belief system of every single religion. How can a religion fight to solely "claim" the "holy land" when by doing so involves the taking of life? Why should anyone follow a religion, or any god look upon a religion favorably, that can't even follow its own rules? How can a religion claim that abortions are murder on one hand, and involve itself in "holy wars" on the other?

The way I see it is either all religions are wrong, or they all are right (including the beliefs of Atheists, Agnostics, Buddhists, etc) and there is no single "true religion." It would be pointless for multiple religions to exist if only one was "true" because it would create precisely the conflict we see today. Each religion claiming and fighting that they are the one "true religion". If all religions are right, then fighting (I include trying to gain converts under this) and slaughtering each other only condemns everyone rather than prove who is right and who is wrong.

Israelis and Palestinians have been fighting each other for centuries and this most recent spat made me wonder. Do they even know or remember who or what started their war? For all anyone knows it could be petty as one man stealing another man's wife! This latest fighting only makes things worse and continues the cycle. Each side blames the other for atrocities that the other committed, and yet can't admit to their own. Israel accuses the Palestinians of fighting out of schools, mosques, etc and yet who is to say that Israel isn't, or hasn't in the past, done the same thing. Palestinians accuse Israel of committing atrocities and yet often commit the same ones against Israel. Both sides are only making things worse for themselves the more they fight. If both have forgotten what truly caused the war, how can either side claim victory? Both sides are wrong and until BOTH sides are condemned and have action taken against them in the international community it will just go on, and on, and on. Yes, the Palestinians may have started this most recent fight but Israel can't be free of blame either. The whole thing has devolved into a disgusting and seemingly endless war of retribution. If their land is truly as holy as they claim they believe then they should be willing to release their claim on it. If it is holy then that land should belong to everyone and to no one.

Again, it all comes down to what I feel is the simple truth: 1) either every religion is wrong and is something created by society to cope with the world; 2) all religions are right and all this fighting to prove which religion is "true" is pointless; or 3) the answer is something else entirely that no one knows or understands.