Content by steffens
Posted at 1:16am on Feb. 10, 2008 Let Us Talk No More of the Inevitability of McCain
By steffens
...at least until his nomination actually is inevitable.
The media has often had difficulty with, at least, two things: math and language. Distorting them or not understanding them or misinterpreting them.
McCain being 400 delegates short of the nomination notwithstanding his success on Super Tuesday and the subsequent dropping out of Mitt Romney does not mean that the nomination of Mike Huckabee is "mathematically impossible." It means there are still necessary delegates to be secured, states to be won, and voters to have their say.
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Posted at 7:41pm on Jun. 10, 2007 Support the Parental Rights Amendment
By steffens
My wife and I attended the annual Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators conference this past June 8-9. One of the keynote speakers was Michael Farris, founder of the Home School Legal Defense Association and of Patrick Henry College. He is promoting a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution called the Parental Rights Amendment. You can learn more about the amendment, and the need for it, here.
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Posted at 11:36am on May 17, 2007 Hadley Arkes Responds to the WSJ's Editorial on Giuliani and the Right
By steffens
I have said that I cannot and will not vote for Rudy Giuliani in the general election if he should win the Republican Party's nomination for president. On May 11, the Wall Street Journal editorialized ("Rudy and the Right") against such a stand, concluding that "Mr. Giuliani has his strengths and weaknesses, but he shouldn't be disqualified for the nomination because of his views on a single issue [abortion] that a President can't do much to change other than through the courts." Myself and others like me, said the WSJ, "seem oblivious to the realities of contemporary life and the complexity of social change."
Today, the WSJ published Hadley Arkes' excellent response in a letter to the editor ("Abortion: We See Real Human Beings Killed"). Professor Arkes articulates two key points: 1) a President can do a number of significant things following an overturning of Roe v. Wade; and 2) the issue of the protection of unborn children cannot be relegated to a peripheral issue by those of us willing to follow through to the conclusion of our premise, that these are human beings being killed in the abortion procedure.
The Professor's letter, in part:
Posted in Life Issues — Comments (12) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 12:05am on Jan. 9, 2007 The State of the Stem Cell Wars
By steffens
Time's Michael D. Lemonick asks "Are the Stem Cell Wars Over?" based on a new report in Nature Biotechnology that researchers have derived stem cells from "amniotic fluid that surrounds a developing fetus" that are "very close to a complete state of non-specialization," like embryonic stem cells. The stem cells derived from amniotic fluid do not require the killing of human embryos or fetuses.
Lemonick is wrong to suggest the war may be over.
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Posted at 7:35pm on Oct. 29, 2006 Philip Morris Punitive Damages Case Should Give Us a Clue To What Roberts and Alito Would Do With Roe
By steffens
As Peter Lattman at the WSJ Law Blog notes, on October 31, the U.S. Supreme Court "will hear oral arguments in a case challenging a $79.5 million jury verdict against Philip Morris, taking up the punitive damages issue for the first time since 2003."
This case has implications beyond the dispute between the parties involved, and even beyond the future liability risks of deep pocket defendants. It will tell us what Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito believe about substantive due process and stare decisis.
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Posted at 1:40pm on Sep. 5, 2006 Faithful Democrats Launches
By steffens
Former DNC Chair David Wilhelm has started a web site for Christian Democratic activists called Faithful Democrats, reports the AP. The "About Us" page states that its mission is to "provide a Christian-focused, Democratic community online." They are also "eager to act on our beliefs to make the country we love a more just and compassionate place." That's all fine and good, but what do they believe? There is no statement of faith to be found on the site.
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Posted at 12:42am on Jul. 16, 2006 Senate to Vote on Embryonic Stem Cell Research Funding
By steffens
Promoted from Diaries by Thomas
The Senate is set to vote on an important piece of legislation on Tuesday; important because of its destructiveness if passed. Literally. "With just days to go before the Senate is scheduled to vote on a hotly anticipated bill that would loosen President Bush's restrictions on human embryonic stem cell research, both sides of the scientifically and ethically charged issue have ramped up their publicity machines and attacks on each other," reports the Washington Post. "The legislation, already passed by the House, would for the first time allow scientists to use federal funds to conduct research on new colonies of the medically promising cells, which are controversial because human embryos must be destroyed [read: killed] to obtain them." Majority Leader Bill Frist, who last July disappointingly stated his support for the bill, announced that the debate on the bill, HR 810, would take place on Monday and the vote on Tuesday.
More below.
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Posted at 5:00pm on Jan. 18, 2006 At the Iowa Caucuses: Nussle v. Vander Plaats
By steffens
I attended part of the 2006 Linn County Republican Caucus Monday night. There are two persons running for the Republican nomination for Governor this year--Congressman Jim Nussle and businessman Bob Vander Plaats. Nussle, the establishment favorite, brought out some big guns around Iowa, including former Texas Congressman Dick Armey, former and long-time Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, and former RNC chairman Ed Gillespie. Gillespie was the "keynote" speaker in Linn County (Cedar Rapids). Except his remarks hardly seemed keynote-like. He had not really prepared much, or at least it seemed as if he hadn't. Gillespie's message was: Vote for Nussle because he is a Republican, he is well known, and he will win.
It provided the big name hype. It did not inspire.
Posted in User Blogs — Comments (0) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 3:11pm on Feb. 14, 2005 Google for Dems
By steffens
Google may make good products, but their employees make poor political decisions. USA Today reports that of the $207,650 Google employees gave to federal candidates for last year's elections, 98% of the money went to Democrats. Perhaps this is the reason it took so long for Google News to include Redstate.
Interestingly, Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, both billionaires, gave nothing.
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Posted at 12:10am on Feb. 11, 2005 Christian Defense Coalition Invites Hillary Clinton to Abortion Talk
By steffens
Hillary Clinton is getting a chance to make good on her stated hope of finding "common ground" with pro-lifers on abortion to reduce the number of abortions. LifeNews.com reports that "the Christian Defense Coalition is taking up the senator on her offer to find common ground. The pro-life group is sending Clinton a letter explaining why."