There is a campaign underway to renew the focus on defining life as having begun at conception. The bill (HR 552) introduced back in Feb ‘05 is here. The Prolife Alliance has an interesting summary of why this would end abortion on demand without a constitutional ammendment.

When the Supreme Court handed down its now-infamous Roe v. Wade decision, it did so based on a new, previously undefined “right of privacy” which it “discovered” in so-called “emanations” of “penumbrae” of the Constitution.

Of course, as constitutional law it was a disaster. But never once did the Supreme Court declare abortion itself to be a Constitutional right.

Instead the Supreme Court said:

“We need not resolve the difficult question of when life begins. . . the judiciary at this point in the development of man’s knowledge, is not in a position to speculate as to the answer.”

Then the High Court made a key admission:

“If this suggestion of personhood is established, the appellant’s case [i.e. “Roe” who sought the abortion], of course, collapses, for the fetus’ right to life is then guaranteed by the [14th] Amendment.”

That’s exactly what a Life at Conception Act would do.

Greenpeace added two zeros to the end of the regular direct debit donations for 10,000 UK supporters.

Oops.

I got a kick out of this. Muslims who want to buy homes but not pay interest, in accordance with Shariah, have an option in the new University Islamic Financial Corp., which allows them to beat the Shariah on a technicality!

University Bank also offers a mortgage alternative loan transaction program - or MALT - which replaces a traditional home loan with a redeemable lease.

The bank holds the home in trust, and a home buyer makes monthly payments to that trust. Each rent payment includes a set amount of savings, which builds the buyer’s equity in the home. When the savings account equals the home’s original purchase price, the buyer owns it.

Via MM.

Tampa Bay v. New Orleans. Song selection for halftime show? “Rock You Like a Hurricane.”

Ouch.

Daniel Pipes has an interesting discussion.

Israel’s prime minister, Ariel Sharon, has suffered a massive brain hemorrhage; at the very least, his long political career appears to be over. What does that mean for Israeli politics and for Arab-Israeli relations?

Basically, it signals a return to business as usual.

Since the State of Israel came into existence in 1948, two points of view on relations with the Arabs have dominated its political life, represented by (as they are presently called) Labour on the left and Likud on the right.

Labour argued for greater flexibility and accommodation with the Arabs, Likud called for a tougher stance. Every one of Israel’s 11 prime ministers came from the two of them, not a single one came from the plethora of others. The two parties together suffered a long-term decline in popularity but they jointly remained the pivots and kingmakers of Israel electoral life.

Or so they did until six weeks ago.

Read the rest here.

The most outrageous story of the day month comes via WCAX.

There was outrage Wednesday when a Vermont judge handed out a 60-day jail sentence to a man who raped a little girl many,many times over a four-year span starting when she was seven.

The judge said he no longer believes in punishment and is more concerned about rehabilitation.

Prosecutors argued that confessed child-rapist Mark Hulett, 34, of Williston deserved at least eight years behind bars for repeatedly raping a littler girl countless times starting when she was seven.

But Judge Edward Cashman disagreed explaining that he no longer believes that punishment works.

“The one message I want to get through is that anger doesn’t solve anything. It just corrodes your soul,” said Judge Edward Cashman speaking to a packed Burlington courtroom. Most of the on-lookers were related to a young girl who was repeatedly raped by Mark Hulett who was in court to be sentenced.

Via Large Bill who says:

The judicial system may not only be about punishment, but it plays a key role. For what kind of case was the judge saying punishment is inappropriate? Was it a traffic offense? Was it a civil case requesting punative damages? Nah, nothing important like that. Just a minor case of some scumbag repeatedly raping a young girl from age 7 to 10. This rapist should not have lived to reach trial and the judge sentences him to 60 days in jail. 60 days! Unbelievable. This judge should be removed from the bench forthwith.

Via Michelle Malkin.

UPDATE: Taste of Liberty compares the Cashman debacle with that of the Catholic Priests, and ties it back in to Alito.

Blogger Chuck Holton was there.

Incidentally, the local paper did a bio of Chuck, and it’s pretty fascinating.

No, this is not a joke.

Your old TV set may well go dark in 2009, and believe it or not, that’s a good thing.

That’s because, at the end of last year Congress approved legislation that set a date for the switch from analog to digital television — February 17, 2009.

…

The difficulty, of course, is that the analog broadcast system will then be shut down — which will leave most of today’s TV sets unable to receive a signal over the air.

…

To avoid a consumer revolt, Congress has set aside about $1.5 billion to smooth the transition. Owners of outmoded TV sets will be eligible for two vouchers, worth $40 each, to help buy converter boxes that will enable today’s analog TV sets to receive digital signals.

Yes, the very same federal government that is cutting back on college loans and food stamps will soon be issuing TV vouchers.