You are looking at posts that were written on April 18th, 2007.
Posted on April 18th, 2007 by Mark.
Categories: Entertainment.
Sadly two tracks does not an album make. So many of the tracks are lackluster.  No hooks, nothing to draw you in. Hell, Reznor himself seems bored with a lot of the material here. I suppose preachy lyrics is where it ended?  Was there nothing important enough being said to sing the heck out of it and sell it? I don’t know, that’s why I’m asking. Half of this stuff is so disjointed that I don’t even care what’s being said. If Reznor sounds like he phoned this in, I really fail to see where I should feel compelled enough to explore what he’s trying to say… if anything. Beyond a gimmick ladened buildup there is little that is interesting here.
Anybody?
Posted on April 18th, 2007 by Mark.
Categories: News.
Today the Supreme Court handed down a decision which bans partial birth abortions. This is an abortion procedure which is done when a pregnancy has progressed 12 weeks or longer. Now I am pro-choice but I am also pro-life. I have never understood how being pro-choice is somehow being pro-death. I think that everybody finds the prospect of abortion a distasteful one. There is nothing “pro” about it. All I advocate is that a woman be given the opportunity to choose what she deems best for herself. Whether or not you find that to be a selfish take or not is your business. Peace with God and their conscience is a matter for they themselves to deal with, not the state. That said, I support the Supreme Court’s decision.
I know that some will say that this has opened the door for more widespread action with some states likely pressing the issue to ban abortion outright. Perhaps that will end up being the case, but I don’t think the majority will support moves like that.  Woe unto the state legislature that takes on the hot potato of abortion as a whole. Partial birth abortions are a bit different. I think that people find the procedure to be especially vile and I know that I myself do. When you get to a point where a procedure like this is the course of action available to you, I think you consider adoption or some other alternative. Twelve weeks along is a good clip, we’re not talking about some nebulous blob of cells anymore. However, if a case can be made that the procedure is necessary to insure the health and well-being of the mother exceptions of course should be made.Â
For those who are going to get hysterical about this, and I know some will, the procedure of intact dilation and extraction must be put into context.Â
More than 1 million abortions are performed in the United States each year, according to recent statistics. Nearly 90 percent of those occur in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, and are not affected by Wednesday’s ruling. The Guttmacher Institute says 2,200 dilation and extraction procedures—the medical term most often used by doctors—were performed in 2000, the latest figures available.
The law bans a method of ending a pregnancy, rather than limiting when an abortion can be performed.
I support the court’s decision and think that women need to be proactive when it comes to determining whether or not they are pregnant and how they intend to handle it. If you want the “choice” you also need to be responsible and deal with things in a timely manner. I support a woman’s right to choose, but I also think that at some point a pregnancy is too far along for it to just be stopped. Is that at twelve weeks? I don’t know. I do know that if you really consider what it is that is done to a fetus that is aborted through the IDX procedure and then examine how far along a fetus is at 12 weeks, you can’t really rally behind this procedure.Â
Posted on April 18th, 2007 by Mark.
Categories: Editorials.
Media is not allowed to attend the funerals of those that have fallen in war. Pictures may not be taken of their caskets. Who is it that forbade us from being reminded? Who is it that rarely seeks to remind himself? The same man that issued the proclamation allowing the flag to fly at half staff because of what happened at Virgina Tech. Yet, few and far between is the funeral or memorial service that Mr. Bush attends for those that have made the supreme sacrifice.
Should we not as a nation be forced to confront the losses that we have suffered in the wars to which we have been committed? Why has media been banned from covering the war dead? Was this done for the sake of the families or for the sake of a president that does not want the public reminded that people are dying in his solitary pursuit? I think the argument that media has been banned from military funerals for the sake of the families of these brave folks rings hollow. I think that families are feeling a real disconnect between the sacrifice their loved ones have made and the people for whom the sacrifice was made. How many of us are truly touched by these wars? How many of us truly take into account those that have perished? Death is given no name when it involves soldiers. Four dead, five dead, three thousand plus dead… that is how death is measured in this war. Look at the outpouring for Pat Tillman, the one soldier to fall that was allowed to maintain his name. Should we not mourn the 3,311 lost as vigorously as we will mourn these 32?
The President will stand before this nation and be contrite about death when he bears no responsibility. What? Was there no nameless middle manager in the administration willing to attend the convocation yesterday? Why no media ban here? It’s been disgusting watching reporters muster as much sympathy as they can while asking people in shock hideously inappropriate questions. We will dwell on the senseless violence of this incident, but we will not even examine the costs of war or celebrate the selfless sacrifice of those that have given their lives in the pursuit of a supposed righteous cause.
Color me a cruel and inhumane cynic, but I think that the actions of the president are hollow and hypocritical.