Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Why am I not surprised?

Michael J. Fox Admits He Hasn't Read Missouri Stem Cell Research Prop
New York, NY (LifeNews.com) -- Actor Michael J. Fox has been on a national crusade late in this year's elections to promote candidates who back embryonic stem cell research. He started his campaign by slamming a pro-life candidate in Missouri and backing a massive proposal that would promote embryonic stem cell research and human cloning. However, the actor admitted in a weekend interview that he hasn't read the text of Missouri's Amendment 2. He also said he opposes cloning, even though the proposition promotes it. In an interview with ABC's "This Week" with host George Stephanopoulos, Fox, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, admit he hasn't read the lengthy Missouri embryonic stem cell research proposal he supports. "And so I have to qualify it by saying I'm not qualified to speak on the page-to-page content of the initiative," Fox admitted. Although, I am quite sure that I'll agree with it in spirit, I don't know, I – in full disclosure, I haven't read it, and that's why I didn't put myself up for it distinctly." Fox said he opposes human cloning, but Amendment 2 calls for human cloning for research purposes. He also said he opposes human egg farming, which the proposal could wind up promoting as well. Read the complete story.

Saturday, October 28, 2006

MOKAN Update

I want to continue these updates, but please don't miss Frank's Post below this one!

Missouri Residents Should Defeat Human Cloning Prop, Doctors Say
Jefferson City, MO (LifeNews.com) -- Doctors from across Missouri joined leaders of a national Christian medical group at a press conference Thursday to speak out against Amendment 2, a controversial ballot initiative that would promote human cloning and embryonic stem cell research. They said the measure has numerous problems. Russ Dieterich, MD, who is the head of the Missouri task force of physicians for the Christian Medical Association, said he's worried the amendment is deceiving state residents. “When Missourians go to the polls, the description on the ballot leads them to believe they are voting against human cloning when they actually will be voting to protect it," he said. Dr. Dieterich is also concerned about the cost to taxpayers. “The wording of the amendment states that state and local government cannot withhold or deny funding for lawful stem cell research," he said. "This would mean that Missouri tax dollars would be spent on human cloning.” Meanwhile, J. Lynn Teague, MD, Associate Professor at the University of Missouri School of Medicine, said the measure would put the state on record advocating the destruction of human life. "Early stem cell research, somatic cell nuclear transfer, whatever you want to call it--is cloning," Dr. Teague asserted. "It’s making a person--a very tiny person." Read the complete story.

Kansas Abortion Practitioner Again Spends Thousands on Campaigning
Wichita, KS (LifeNews.com) -- A leading late-term abortion practitioner who was responsible for the abortion death of a disabled teenager last year is spending thousands of dollars in another attempt to defeat pro-life Attorney General Phill Kline. Kline upset George Tiller with an investigation into whether sexually abused girls were getting abortions. Tiller targeted Kline during the 2002 elections and spent tens of thousands of dollars in an effort to defeat him. It appears the same thing is happening this time around. A group called Kansans for Consumer Privacy Protection has been sending out harshly critical campaign mailings attacking Kline. The organization has the same office address as ProKanDo, a pro-abortion political action committee Tiller founded. Kline spokeswoman Sherriene Jones told the Lawrence Journal World newspaper, the evidence seems clear that Tiller is behind the latest attacks. “This is evidence that George Tiller is beginning his backdoor assault on the attorney general," she said. Abortion has been an issue int he race as Kline faces pro-abortion Democrat Paul Morrison, the Johnson County district attorney. Morrison has said he would halt the probe into whether girls who were victims of statutory rape got abortions and the crime not reported to law enforcement. Read the complete story.

DON'T MISS FRANK'S POST JUST BELOW HERE!

Friday, October 27, 2006

Dear Fellow Catholic Missourians

It has saddened me deeply the past few weeks as I have overheard a number of conversations among fellow Catholics concerning the proposed Amendment 2 that will be on the ballot in Missouri this November. These conversations indicate that despite a dedicated effort by our Bishops, Priests, and many concerned laypersons, many Catholic Missourians are still being misled about the true nature of Amendment 2 and what it entails. If you haven’t had time yet to consider the remarks of your Bishop or your Pastor concerning the high stakes of Amendment 2, then I humbly ask that you will at least take a few moments to reflect on the concerns of a fellow layperson.

In short, Amendment 2 is a bad initiative; not only because it entails unethical procedures, but also because its authors and advocates are purposely being deceitful about its content. As Edmund Burke is often quoted, “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing.” Perhaps no other time in recent Missouri history has there been such an occasion as next November 7th that good people must stand up and do something.

As residents of the Show Me State, we should be proud of our long-standing cultural tradition of reserved pragmatism. We don’t fall prey easily to slick sales promotions and trumped-up marketing campaigns, just as Missourians of an earlier era were well known for their wise reservations concerning itinerant con men peddling miracle cures and other panaceas. Show me. Give it to me straight. What’s in the fine print? This is our heritage, and it has served us well.

Although numerous advertisements requesting our “Yes” vote on Amendment 2 this November have been carefully produced to demonstrate that the amendment has good intentions and would benefit Missouri, a careful reading of the amendment itself shows otherwise. In short, we are about to be taken on some snake oil. There is no more important time to call upon our “Show Me” heritage and take a close look at the fine print.

At its core, the passage of Amendment 2 would allow for public funding of cloning human beings in order to harvest their stem cells for research. Yet the authors of Amendment 2 (who happen to be lawyers for the huge biotech corporations that would receive this funding) claim that the amendment actually bans human cloning. How is this possible? Simple—by just arbitrarily changing the definition of cloning and then “ban” this phony definition. See section 6, part 2 of the amendment for this false definition of cloning.

The procedure utilized to clone a human being, or any mammal for that matter, is called “Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer.” This is accomplished by combining a female egg cell with the nucleus of another living cell. The result is a cloned embryo. For their research purposes, these biotech firms will then destroy these embryos in the process of harvesting their stem cells. Amendment 2 most certainly does not ban this practice—to the contrary, it legalizes and protects it.

What the amendment does “ban” is the implantation of an already cloned human embryo into the uterine wall—which is pointless anyway because the authors of the amendment never intended to do that. They don’t want to implant human embryos in a uterus; they just want to destroy them to get at the stem cells. Even the National Academies of Science and the American Medical Association agree that Amendment 2 doesn’t ban human cloning—because it does no such thing. Amendment 2 only bans the implantation of already cloned human beings.

Furthermore, the advocates of Amendment 2 claim that it does not allow the purchase and harvesting of human egg cells by powerful biotech corporations for stem cell research—as they are certainly aware that thoughtful Missourians would be concerned that such a “market” would unfairly exploit poor and vulnerable women. Once again though, the devil is in the details. Although the biotech corporations may not be allowed to purchase egg cells from female donors, the amendment places no such restriction on fertility clinics. These clinics could offer lucrative incentives to women in need to harvest their egg cells and then make their own huge profits by selling these ova to the biotech corporations. In turn, the corporations could reap millions in tax-payer funding. Not unlike many questionable practices in the world, if you want to know the true intentions of the key players—follow the money trail.

To make matters worse, the process of extracting egg cells is difficult and has the potential for serious health risks for the donor. First, the woman is given large amounts of hormones and fertility drugs to induce her ovaries to release up to 15 eggs at once. Over-stimulation of the ovaries in this manner can lead to future infertility and in some cases can even be fatal. To extract these eggs, the woman is sedated and a large needle is passed through the wall of the vagina. Though certainly an unpleasant and risky endeavor for the woman—the authors of Amendment 2 made sure to protect the biotech corporations from any unpleasant risks. The amendment includes loophole protection that would guard cloning researchers from legal responsibility if women are injured or die while selling their eggs. Amendment 2 classifies as illegal any attempt to create “disincentives” to stem cell research. What could be more of a disincentive than wrongful death litigation?

Those opposed to Amendment 2 are not opposed to cures being found for people suffering from terrible diseases. In fact, many people opposed to Amendment 2 suffer from these diseases themselves or have family members who do. What they are opposed to is deceptive tactics being used by powerful corporations to swindle tax-dollars out of decent and hard working Missourians. They are opposed to poor and vulnerable women being exploited by these corporations’ desire to turn a profit at the public’s expense. They are opposed to human embryos being created and intentionally destroyed on some CEO’s gamble that embryonic stem cell research might prove advantageous in the next fiscal year. They are opposed to people suffering from terrible diseases being given false hope by the insinuation that “if only we were allowed to harvest more stem cells from more embryos—we could find a cure for you.”

Patents for the cure of any of these diseases would mean huge financial gain for the corporation who discovers it—and, more importantly, for its investors. Normally, this would be an incentive for private investment, as it is for the millions of private dollars invested in industries such as computer software and pharmaceuticals. If they build a better program or discover a new indication for a drug, there can be a huge return on one’s investment. Yet the biotech industry feels compelled to go the public money route concerning embryonic stem cell research. Why? Perhaps because they are aware that private investors have begun to doubt the potential return on embryonic stem cell research. Much more promising results have already been identified using adult stem cells—ones that would not require the cloning and destruction of human embryos. Friends, neighbors, and co-workers can theorize and ponder all day long about the supposed benefits or downfalls of embryonic stem cell research, but investors don’t theorize and ponder—especially large investment brokers. They bet their money where there is the highest chance of return, and apparently not too many are betting on embryonic stem cell research.

Advocates of Amendment 2 would like Missourians to believe that this issue concerns those who want to find cures vs. those who don’t want to find cures, or even uncompassionate religious persons vs. compassionate researchers who only wish to help people who are suffering. Neither of these could be further from the truth. Amendment 2 is about powerful biotech corporations hoping to turn huge profits by legally exploiting poor and/or desperate women, exploiting sick and suffering people by giving them false hope, and cloning and destroying human embryos that have no one to advocate for them—and they plan do all of this with taxpayer funding. It is a classic example, on many levels, of the rich and powerful exploiting the poor and defenseless for financial gain.

I’m not asking anyone to believe this post at face value, just as I wouldn’t want anyone to take the word of the Amendment 2 advocates at face value either. I am simply asking that all Missorians get a copy of the purposely confusing and long-winded amendment—all five pages if you print it on a laser printer—and read it for themselves. Demand that the authors “show” you the true nature of Amendment 2 by not falling prey to their professional marketing campaign and advertisements and by studying the amendment for yourself. A copy of Amendment 2 can be downloaded from http://www.nocloning.com/. It is my sincere hope that in doing so a majority of Missourians will reject this deceitful initiative at the polling booth this November.

Thursday, October 26, 2006

The Debate in MO is "Heaton" Up

I hope I'm the first one to get that pun in! There's quite a constellation of stars gathering in the Show Me State (soon, young Missourians will think the "show" stands for "television show").

At one level, this is absurd. Can we do *nothing* in this country without the approval of Hollywood? Christians felt so affirmed when Mad Mel gave them something to see at the box office, but did they really need this, should it have meant so much that someone from Hollywood, a real life *actor* had endorsed their faith?

Nevertheless, you want people to pay attention and the usual method--scantily clad women--does not seem appropriate here, so what are ya gonna do?

Don't get me wrong, "they started it" is true in this case. Strategically, if they are getting their message out, we have to counter. I'm sorry its come to that, but that's the way it is.

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Patricia Heaton, Sports Stars Rebut Michael J. Fox on Missouri Stem Cell Ad
St. Louis, MO (LifeNews.com) -- Pro-life advocates in Missouri have prepared a response ad to one that actor Michael J. Fox has made in numerous states that contains misleading information about pro-life candidates and their views on stem cell research. The new ads feature St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jeff Suppan and stars Jim Caviezel of "The Passion of Christ."

Fox recorded an ad that aired during the first game of the World Series and St. Louis-area voters were falsely told that pro-life Sen. Jim Talent, who is in one of the nation's closest Senate races, does not support stem cell research. "Amendment 2 claims to ban human cloning, but in the 2000 words you won't read, it makes cloning a constitutional right," Suppan says in the ad.

Suppan will be pitching for the Cardinals tonight and the ad is slated to be shown during the World Series. The ad also features former St. Louis Rams quarterback Kurt Warner, Patricia Heaton of the hit comedy series Everybody Loves Raymond, and Kansas City Royals star Mike Sweeney. "This is a powerful response to the misleading ads about Amendment 2," Cathy Ruse, a spokeswoman for Missourians Against Human Cloning, tells LifeNews.com.

"The truth is, Amendment 2 would create a constitutional right to human cloning and human egg trafficking in Missouri," Ruse says. "We are so pleased to have this kind of star power behind our efforts to expose the deceptions in Amendment 2." Read the complete story.
Michael J. Fox Blasts More Pro-Life Candidates on Stem Cell ResearchWheaton, IL


(LifeNews.com) -- Actor Michael J. Fox is continuing his barrage against pro-life candidates on the issue of stem cell research. A longtime actor who is afflicted with Parkinson's, Fox has come under fire from pro-life groups and candidates over his misleading ads that claim candidates who oppose embryonic stem cell research oppose all research in general. Fox campaigned in a Chicago-area congressional district on Tuesday to back pro-abortion candidate Tammy Duckworth.

Meanwhile, Fox has continued his line of false ads with another one in Wisconsin that promotes Gov. Jim Doyle, who has been one of the staunchest advocates of making taxpayer pay for research that destroys human life. "What you decide can affect millions of people -- like me, like your family," says Fox. "Please, re-elect Gov. Doyle. For all of us." Calling himself a "one issue guy," Fox said he was "honored" to help Doyle. The ad blasts Mark Green for opposing embryonic stem cell research even though he has a $25 million dollar plan to have the state promote adult stem cells. "His latest ad, which is part of a national smear campaign by Democrats, flat out lies about my record on stem cell research," Green said in a statement. "However, using a celebrity to further Jim Doyle's false attacks does not make them any more true." Read the complete story.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Limit role of extraordinary ministers, Vatican tells US

Limit role of extraordinary ministers, Vatican tells US
Oct. 25 (CWNews.com)

The Vatican has instructed the Catholic bishops of the US to discontinue the practice of allowing extraordinary Eucharistic ministers to assist with the purification of chalices after Communion.

In an October 12 letter to Bishop William Skylstad, the president of the US bishops' conference, the prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship reported that Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news) ordered an end to the American practice. Cardinal Francis Arinze (bio - news) was responding to a request from the US bishops' conference, asking for approval to continue the policy.

Bishop Skylstad, in turn, wrote to all American bishops on October 23, informing them that "it will be necessary to inform all pastors that extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion may no longer assist with the purification of sacred vessels at Mass."

Full Story

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Richard Dawkins is a Fool

I am delighted that one of the leading Roman Catholic seminaries for the training of young priests in Ireland is closing down because it can't get any recruits. When I read that in the newspaper, it left me smiling for the rest of the day. However, if the Catholic Church does die in Ireland - and I devoutly hope it will - I hope that it will not be replaced by some other idiotic superstition like New Age-ism or some other kind of religion. The Roman Catholic Church is one of the forces for evil in the world...(ref)

For commentary and links, click here.

I do not understand.

I do not understand what makes people able to through live babies in the trash. I do not understand what allows people to kill babies. I do not understand what lets people through dead babies in the trash. I do not understand how a woman who kills her baby can be upset that it is not treated respectfully. I do not understand how a British prelate can talk about treating a "fetus" with "reverence and dignity" while passing over its wholesale slaughter. I just do not understand.
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Cambridge, England (LifeNews.com) -- A British hospital is coming under fire for burning the bodies of babies killed in abortions in the furnace used to incinerate trash the hospital produces. Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge has admitted using the hospital's incinerator to burn the bodies and says its because it can't afford the fees charged by a local crematorium.

An unnamed woman who had an abortion there learned about the hospital's policy and said she was appalled after finding out how Addenbrooke disposed of her baby's body.
The hospital told her it had a policy of "sensitive disposal" and said it did not burn bodies of babies from abortions at the same time as it incinerated trash.
"I am furious and very hurt," the woman told the Cambridge Evening News. "Imagine my horror when I discovered that my baby was incinerated in the same furnace as the hospital rubbish."
"Why should people like me and my partner suffer more because of this dreadful policy?" she asked.
Pro-life advocates interviewed by the Cambridge newspaper were shocked to learn what is taking place at the hospital.
"The fact they are now disposing of human remains like they would any other waste product shows what society and this hospital has come to," Michaela Aston, spokesman for pro-life charity Life, said.
"It is just so disgusting. What has happened to the dignity of the human being? It reflects increasingly certain people in society's attitudes to the unborn child just flushing them away, or burning them like any other waste," Aston told the newspaper.
"Hospitals are supposed to be healing places and places to bring life into the world, not places to get rid of it," she said.
The newspaper reported that an Addenbrooke spokeswoman told it that Cambridge Crematorium used to cremate the bodies of babies killing in abortions at no cost but said it now charges more than $20 for each baby's body.
The spokeswoman told the newspaper that the incineration follows all laws and guidelines.
The hospital will tell women who have abortions about the disposal process.
"Patients undergoing termination of unwanted pregnancy are informed that disposal will be within the hospital," the spokeswoman said. "If patients request additional information, they are put in touch with a member of the bereavement team who meets the patient and discusses in detail the arrangements."
Dr. Anthony Russell, Bishop of Ely, told the newspaper that the hospital should work with religious groups to find a more humane way of treating the babies after abortions.
"I am sorry to know this is the practice currently being adopted by the hospital. I recognize there is a wide range of responses to this issue, but believe the disposal of fetuses should be undertaken reverently and with dignity," he said.
http://www.lifenews.com/nat2683.html

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"My baby"? "My baby"? She doesn't think it has a right to life, but it has a right to a dignified burial? And the hospital practice that the Anglican Bishop objects to is the destruction of fetuses *outside* the womb? I am told that Great Britain is the most secular nation in the world (hard to believe it could be more secular than France). It has ended in a form of madness only Chesterton could have foretold (and he did!).

Double Double Toil and Trouble

Michael J. Fox Blasted for Misleading Missouri Stem Cell Research Ad
St. Louis, MO (LifeNews.com)

Residents of St. Louis are understandably excited as their hometown baseball team is in the World Series. However, Missourians are being shown more than they bargained for when tuning into the television broadcasts as they're also having to watch a stem cell research ad that is getting national attention for its misleading nature. The commercial ran on Sunday evening and features actor Michael J. Fox, who has previously upset pro-life advocates with his embryonic stem cell research advocacy.

The ad features Fox, who is clearly increasingly suffering from the effects of Parkinson's disease, but who makes inaccurate generalizations about stem cell research. “In Missouri, you can elect Claire McCaskill, who shares my hope for cures,” Fox tells viewers urging them to support the pro-abortion, pro-cloning candidate. "Unfortunately Senator Jim Talent opposes expanding stem cell research," Fox claims. "Senator Talent even wanted to criminalize the science that gives us a chance for hope."

Though the ad makes it appear Talent opposes all kinds of stem cell research, he has voted in favor of spending millions in federal funds for adult stem cell research, the only kind of research that has ever cured a single patient. What Talent has opposed is forcing taxpayers to pay for studies using embryonic stem cells, which can only be obtained by destroying human life. Read the complete story.

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At the same time, abortion opponents in MO need to send a message to Talent that he needs to reign in his advertising wing which was censured by FactCheck.org this week for misleading attack adds in which he makes it look like newspapers have uncovered deception in Claire McCaskill when the newspapers were really just quoting her opponents.

That's a pretty serious breach of ethics and the Pro-Life movement is not served by deception. I think Pro-Lifers should go to his website and tell him that such practices only hurt the Pro-Life movement in the end.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Just a Reminder

Catholic Church Not Opposed to All Stem Cell Research

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A leading priest who monitors bioethics issues says the public has gotten the misconception that the Catholic Church opposes all types of stem cell research. As the 2006 elections heat up, pro-life candidates have faced the same criticism as attack ads fail to distinguish between embryonic stem cell research and adult. Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, director of the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia, spokes about the distorted view the public has in a talk entitled "Cutting Through the Spin of Stem Cells and Cloning."

"It is incorrect to say that the Roman Catholic Church is against stem-cell research," he said, according to a Canadian Catholic News Service report. "It is only correct to say the Roman Catholic Church is against embryonic stem-cell research." "The ethical concerns differ with the source of the stem cells, because you do have to destroy an early and vulnerable human to get embryonic cells," he explained. Pacholczyk explained that the Catholic Church supports adult stem cell research, which is the only type of stem cell study that resulted in treatments for patients.

Read the complete story.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

MO Stem-Cell Update: Follow the Money

It looks like Big Stem-Cell is at it again...


Missouri Stem Cell Research Company Buying State Cloning Initiative
Jefferson City, MO (LifeNews.com)

New campaign finance reports in Missouri show that pro-life advocates have alleged all along -- an embryonic stem cell research company is spending tens of millions of dollars in an effort to buy public support for a statewide initiative that would have the state backing human cloning. The Stowers Institute in Kansas City has raised and spent almost $28.75 million dollars according to new state campaign finance reports. That dwarfs the approximately $1.5 million pro-life advocates have spent attempting to defeat the cloning proposal. Just 500 people have contributed any money to the Coalition for Lifesaving Cures, the Stowers-financed organization that backs Amendment 2. As a result, about 97 percent of the group's funding has come from just two people -- Jim and Virginia Stowers, founders of the Stowers Institute, which stands to gain financially if the measure is approved. They are the founders of American Century mutual funds. Jaci Winship, of the group Missourians Against Human Cloning, told the St. Louis Post Dispatch newspaper that the Stowers have made a mockery of the state's political process and she worries their money will drown out the public debate over human cloning and embryonic stem cell research. "It's not a broad-based citizens' initiative," she said.

Read the complete story.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Susan B. Anthony and Abortion

This week the news is from my new stomping grounds. Susan B. Anthony is burried here in the Rochester Municipal Cemetery (the largest in the country) and the Susan B. Anthony Women's Studies Department shares a hall with us (the Philosophy Department). Here's the brief story:
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New York Times Op-Ed Claims Susan B. Anthony Not Pro-LifeNew York, NY (LifeNews.com) -- The New York Times is coming under fire from pro-life groups for claiming that woman's suffragist leader Susan B. Anthony was not pro-life despite numerous quotes and other indications she resolutely opposed abortion. The attack comes from Stacy Schiff, who chose to write about the women's rights advocate because Carol Crossed, a longtime Feminists for Life leader, recently purchase Anthony's two-story house in which she grew up. "There is no question that she deplored the practice of abortion, as did every one of her colleagues in the suffrage movement," Schiff writes, but she goes on to question Anthony on abortion anyway. Feminists for Life has routinely cited an 1869 article in her newspaper denouncing “child murder,” labeling abortion “a most monstrous crime,” and advocating its end. Anthony even talks about post-abortion problems when she says an abortion "will burden her conscience in life, it will burden her soul in death.” But, Schiff claims Anthony did not believe in making abortion illegal and she claims that editors of Anthony's papers say she did not write the article in question.
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I'll be looking into this a bit as I have time.
(Full Story)

Here's the end of the full story, it's too good to miss:

Ultimately, Foster said Schiff’s summary of the early feminists’ beliefs parallels her own previous analysis that "Without known exception, the early American feminists condemned abortion in the strongest possible terms."
"No revisionist history or claims of not knowing what a historical figure would think about a current issue, no matter how amusingly worded, will erase the clear legacy of this heroic woman," Foster concludes.

The Feminists for Life website has some nice historical stuff here.

Saturday, October 14, 2006

MO Life Issues Update

Jefferson City, MO (LifeNews.com) -- A state initiative that would have Missouri promoting both human cloning and embryonic stem cell research is ahead by a huge margin according to a new survey. The latest Survey USA poll indicates that Amendment 2 has more support today Missouri voters than it did than a month ago. The poll has Amendment 2 passing by a 57 to 27 percentage vote.

That's an expansion in support from the last Survey USA poll the firm conducted in September, which showed state residents backing the initiative by a 52-24 percent margin. That means support for the human cloning plan has increased by five percent while opposition has gone up three percent.

As voters have learned more about the measure, the number not certain how they will vote has dropped 8 points, to 16% of the likely voters.

According to the new poll, men back the initiative 61-28 percent and women back it by a lower 53-27 percent margin. Republicans oppose the measure 51-33 percent while Democrats back Amendment 2 by a 75-7 percent clip.

Residents of St. Louis and Kansas City are more likely to favor it while central and Ozark area Missourians are more likely to oppose it.

The new SurveyUSA poll was conducted exclusively for KSDK-TV St. Louis and KCTV-TV Kansas City. Some 900 Missouri adults were interviewed Monday-Wednesday. Of them, 796 were registered to vote. Of them, 497 were judged to be "likely voters."

Missourians Against Human Cloning - http://www.nocloning.org

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Update on Missouri Stem Cell Ammendment

Missouri's Titanic Embryonic Stem Cell Research Initiative Deceptive
Jill Stanek

Consider the iceberg, of which only the tip is visible. Such is the short Missouri Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative to be voted on next month. Beneath it looms a titanic constitutional amendment. Amendment Two, as it is called, is a proportional Titanic. At five pages and 2,000 words, it is half the length of the entire United States Constitution. Its opening paragraph - conveniently omitted from promoter Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures' website - lists 45 sections of the Constitution of Missouri it would incredibly delete or change. Amendment Two is also a linguistic Titanic. Crafted by researchers and groups with financial stakes in its passage, it is packed with convoluted legal and scientific jargon chopped up and buried in various places so it really says the opposite of what they say it says. Why would Show Me State voters - of all voters in the land - agree to drastically alter their own Constitution to ends no one can predict, all to force speculative science experiments on themselves forever? Even without knowing Amendment Two's specifics, doing so would seem schizophrenic. Read the complete story.

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Life-issues in my old stomping grounds

In Missouri, stem-cell research scientist...I mean actor Michael J. Fox was stumping for Clair
McCaskill and the ballot initiative to promote the destructive research and human cloning. I wish that I could somehow still vote in MO so I could support Jim Talent. One interesting item is that Fox supposedly said "I'm a one-issue guy." Abortion advocates have long derided pro-lifers as "single issue voters," so I wonder where's the outrage (actually I don't wonder).

(Full Story)

In Jefferson City, Missouri Association of Fire Fighters Locals 42 and 3808 have endorsed the stem-cell research ballot initiative. The line this time is that it will lead to treatments that will help burn victims. Now obviously, if actors and firefighters are issuing position papers on biomedical research, the research must be conclusive, right?

Not according to MIT Professor James Sherley. Speaking this week from Australian National University, he points out that precisely because of the potency of stem cells, they cause tumors when injected into human subjects. Thus, he says, stem cell treatments are no more likely to work than we are likely to cure cancer. At any rate, the cure for cancer must come first.

(Full Story)

And this out of Topeka, KS where it was my great misfortune to live for a few years (lots of good friends from there though), pro-life state Attorney General Phil Kline was looking into cases of sexual abuse and key evidence was whether certain victims had had (or been forced to have) abortions. Of course, the abortion mills would not cooperate and pro-abortion challenger Paul Morrison threatened to try to shut down the probes. He's apparently now backing down, but he's still running negative adds against Kline.

(Full Story)

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Chestertonia

"There are those who hate Christianity and call their hatred an all-embracing love for all religions." G.K. Chesterton, 1906
This is perhaps the defining summary of my experiences in the Religion Department at the universities in which I've studied. Twice on campus this year I've seen students sporting anti-Christian paraphernalia.

One student had a black T-short with a cross on a white background enclosed in a red circle with a diagonal slash running through it. Another had a big black and white patch on her back back with an upside-down cross and the words "Religion Free".

Somehow I doubt these kids also have corresponding T-shirts with the symbols of certain other religions similarly defamed (that might not be safe if they did!). The fact is I don't know what their beliefs about other religions are, but I do know that among the most hateful of Christianity are those most in favor of "Religion".