Is meth bad?

Veith at WorldMagBlog asks about Methamphetamines, “Are these fears overblown? Can any of you shed light on this drug and the problems it poses?”

My memories go back to the son of one of my great friends, and mentor. His same was Noah. He was an energetic high school student when I first met him, and about as nice a kids as you'd ever want to meet. I remember when Noah, and another girl I knew quite well spent the evening together fishing. They were so enrapted in talking with each other they lost all track of time, and I was there the next morning when Noah apologized to her dad for bringing her in so late, and accepted full responsibility. I was immensely impressed with him. So much so that I debated introducing him to my sister-in-law, but I remembered how much I hated it when people tried to fix me up, back when I was single, and didn't.

With moving to a neighboring town, a wife and kids and jobs, I didn't see Noah and his family for several years. I bumped into Noah's father in a Wal-Mart where he was volunteering his time to help people do their taxes. I asked about the family, each one individually, and when I asked about Noah, Jerry's face got serious.

“Oh, so you hadn't heard?”

Jerry told me, with an amazing control over his own emotions, the events of the previous years.

The last I'd spoken to Noah he was just beginning college and was frustrated with balancing study with work. That frustration grew and grew. Noah's parents were and have always been very driven people. Incredible Christians with seemingly unlimited energy and compassion. Both are from broken homes, so I would imagine there's quite a bit of emotional history that fuels their efforts. Noah, of course, grew up in about the best parenting environment there could be. He, like his siblings, was firmly grounded, but as with many kids who grow up in stable homes, lacked that drive that comes from a childhood of want; that hunger for stability that is so often lacking in a broken home.

Then came someone claiming to have a solution. A co-worker of Noah's gave him some pills. He said they'd give him the energy to get the things done he wanted done. Grounded as he was, Noah still decided to try it. As with most evil, the first bit is satisfying, and has little negative consequences, other than the illusion that it is safe. Before he knew what had happened Noah was addicted to methamphetamines.

He tried getting off of them, and with his parents' support went through a program, but while the chemicals may leave, the memories don't. The addiction comes not just from the chemicals, but from the knowledge of how quickly those chemicals can make your problems go away for at least a little bit. Noah realized he would have to live the rest of his life enslaved by the addiction. Remaining free would be an unending struggle. The emotional impact was too much.

Sneaking his father's service revolver out, Noah went to work. Once there he called out the co-worker, the drug pusher, who'd gotten him addicted. Noah shot and killed him, then turned the gun on himself.

In Noah's mind, it would seem he couldn't just end his life, without removing the source of the evil that enslaved him. In a very real sense, the drug pusher murdered Noah, and Noah returned the favor.

Meth is evil. It kills. It enslaves. It ruins lives and families. It is every evil thing it's accused of being. And it must remain illegal.

Posted by Jack Lewis at 11:20 AM Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

March the Ninth

This day in history:

March 9th, 1841 - US Supreme Court rules in favor of Africans abducted by Portuguese, who rebelled and took over the slave ship, Amistad, carrying them to Havana, Cuba.

An extremely interesting case. Take the time to read about it.

March 9th, 1858 - Albert Potts of Philadelphia patents the street mailbox

Nothing much to comment on, I just thought this would be an interesting item to impress people with as you went through the day.

March 9th, 1959 - Barbie, the popular girls' doll, debuted, over 800 million sold

That would make her 46. Holding her age well I must admit.

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“Terri’s law” goes Federal

From BPNews:

Sen. Mel Martinez, R.-Fla., introduced the Incapacitated Persons Legal Protection Act March 7, while Rep. Dave Weldon, R.-Fla., offered the House of Representatives version March 8. The bill numbers are S. 539 in the Senate and H.R. 1151 in the House.

The legislation would give Schiavo and other incapacitated people the legal protections often associated with death row inmates. Those protections would include the right to a “de novo review,” which is a review of the evidence by a different court. The measure is based on the constitutionally protected “writ of habeas corpus,” which enables a federal court to determine if a state court is restricting a person’s liberty.

It will be interesting to see what rationalizations the cult of Death (Liberal Democrats) will offer to stall the bill while Terri suffers? There really needs to be more media coverage on this issue. The MSM pretends Terri doesn't exist since they have the typical Liberal attitude that less-than-perfect people don't have the right to make them uncomfortable. The outrage of what Michael Schiavo through the willing assistance of Judge Greer is doing should appall everyone.

coverage: WorldMagBlog

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Hiding abuse with murder

From Tampa Bay Online:

Terri Schiavo could be taken away by state agents if the Department of Children & Families fails in its bid to delay the removal of her life-sustaining feeding tube, her husband's attorney said Tuesday. ...

In a document made public through the efforts of the Tampa Tribune and News Channel 8, a DCF official said the agency needs up to 60 days to investigate “30 detailed allegations'' of Michael Schiavo's actions as guardian of his brain-damaged wife.

“The allegations in the abuse reports go the the heart of whether abuse, neglect and/or exploitation has been perpetrated by the guardian such that any relief afforded by this court to this guardian prior to the conclusion of such investigation would be tragically misplaced,” wrote DCF Adult Protective Services supervisor Michael Will.

I'm sure there are abusive people all over the nation that would like to be able to remove any evidence that could prove their guilt. Funbny how quick social service agencies are to rip apart families on flimsy complaints, yet they take years to respond to well over 100 abuse complaints against one man.

Posted by Jack Lewis at 11:17 AM Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Say what?!?

This is simply too strange:

State Rep. Brian Duprey of Maine has introduced legislation to prohibit abortions on unborn children who are gay. The measure has raised eyebrows and generated debate whether or not genetics has any bearing on someone's sexuality....

Last month, Duprey told the Portland Press Herald newspaper that listening to the Rush Limbaugh show gave him the idea for the bill. Limbaugh had commented that if scientists ever discovered a gene that caused a person to be gay, then homosexual activists would become pro-life "overnight."

An organization calling itself “The Pro-life Alliance of Gays and Lesbians” is supporting the bill. What's really funny is that it poses two “pillars” of Liberalism in conflict with each other. My prediction: Liberalism isn't about compassion and caring. At it's core it has always been about the antithesis of true morality. Of the two, the defense of homosexuals against imagined hate crimes and the continued slaughter of unborn children, it's obvious which is the more evil. Liberals will find some way to rationalize that the bill is bad.

There's an interesting discussion of the bill at WorldMagBlog.

Posted by Jack Lewis at 11:16 AM Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

What's sauce for the goose...

In the battle over the rights of unborn children, the lovers of death have often used activist judges to ignore the law and the facts and rule against pro-life activists, even going so far as to use laws designed to combat organized crime against pro-lifers, in spite of the authors of the laws demanding that it was never their intend for them to be used that way.

The most recent attempt failed.

In the first abortion battle of the new Congress, members of the Senate rejected a "poison pill" amendment to a bankruptcy bill that opponents say would have targeted pro-life protesters.

The Senate voted down an amendment by Senator Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, that would prevent political protesters from using bankruptcy as a means of escaping payment for fines and penalties they incur by breaking the law....

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid asked senators to support the amendment.

"This amendment is not about abortion. It's about holding those responsible who commit violent acts and believe they are above the law,'' he said about the Schumer motion.

The problem is the very people the amendment targets, did not commit acts of violence. But then, hey, what's another lie to a Democrat.

Senator Jeff Sessions, (R-Alabama) said existing law already prevents a person convicted of wrongful conduct from using bankruptcy as a means of avoiding paying fines or debts.

"Bankruptcy reform is necessary and long overdue," pro-life Congressman Joe Pitts (R-Pennsylvania) in a statement following the vote. "But we should not use the push for reform as an opportunity to sneak in an attack on peaceful protesters."...

"There is absolutely no justification for singling out pro-lifers from bankruptcy protections other than open bigotry against faithful, pro-life activists, who are not reputed to pose a threat to America's financial institutions," says Tony Perkins, [Family Research Council] president.

"Other protesters, including those who support abortion, will remain protected by bankruptcy laws," Perkins explained. "Is this fair in America -- are we, as advocates for life, now considered second-class Americans?"

Underhanded, blatantly-unfair and immoral actions such as this sends a message that the law is not about fairplay, but about “might makes right”. When the law becomes an unjust tool for bullies, some on the extreme of the issue being assaulted will decide they, too will step outside the law. It happened in the sixties when some “peace” activists resorted to bombings and other violent crimes, and it's happened when the more extreme in the pro-life movement feel they must do as the pro-death legislators and judges do -- ignore the law and invent their own.

And the irony is, when people like Paul Hill take the law into their own hands, rather than blaming the activist legislators and judges that continue to disrespect the law, the media blame pro-lifers.

Posted by Jack Lewis at 11:15 AM Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

...should be sauce for the gander

A good example of the kind of rationalized injustice the Left live by is the recent Indiana Court of Appeals ruling, which overturned a jury decision which had awarded DePauw University education program coordinator Janis Price more than $10,000 in lost wages.

The university had cut Price's pay, stripped her of all her titles, suspended her teaching duties, and placed her on probation, all for passing out Christian literature in class -- material that a university official construed as "anti-gay literature" in violation of the school's anti-harassment policy.

A jury agreed with Price that the Indiana school officials had treated the plaintiff unfairly and violated her rights. But even before the three-judge panel announced it was setting aside the jury's decision, the reprimanded employee says the December 7 online edition of the DePauw newspaper was already reporting that her favorable verdict had been overturned.

The newspaper reported the verdict a whole week before it was officially announced. Even Price wasn't notified until December 14th. Price and her lawyers want to know why the court was in communication with the university.

But that is only one of the improprieties the Christian administrator sees in the handling of her case. Price also notes that one of the panel members, Judge Terry Crone, is a DePauw alumnus, a fact she feels should have forced the jurist to recuse himself from the proceedings. And, she adds, "He also is well-acquainted with John Neighbors, who is the DePauw lawyer and a 1971 graduate of DePauw University."

Yet Crone didn't recuse himself from the decision. The decision was written by Judge Crone, a 1974 graduate of DePauw University, and the other two judges signed that they concurred, with no further comments.

Posted by Jack Lewis at 11:13 AM Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Harvard's new speech codes

From the Harvard Crimson:

After some students were offended by Jada Pinkett Smith’s comments at Saturday’s Cultural Rhythms show, the Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Transgender, and Supporters Alliance (BGLTSA) and the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations have begun working together to increase sensitivity toward issues of sexuality at Harvard....

In a press release circulated yesterday by the BGLTSA—and developed in coordination with the Foundation—the BGLTSA called for an apology from the Foundation and encouraged future discussion of the issue.

Jada Pinkett Smith is the wife of actor Will Smith. What did she say that was so outrageous and offensive?

“Women, you can have it all -- a loving man, devoted husband, loving children, a fabulous career”

Harvard homosexual activists complain that her comments were too “heteronormative”, a word apparently meaning “treating heterosexuality as if it is morally superior than homosexuality” I have to guess because there's no definition for it in any of the regular online dictionaries. (well, to give credit where it's due, I appreciate the homosexuals at Harvard inventing a new word rather than stealing an old one)

Anyway...

...the [Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations] has pledged to “take responsibility to inform future speakers that they will be speaking to an audience diverse in race, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, gender and class,”

In other words, censor the speech of all future speakers. Well, we at least know what Harvard's priorities are when it comes to basic Constitutional rights.

Posted by Jack Lewis at 11:11 AM Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Teaching morals

What do Robert Davidson, Debra Lafave, Adrianne Hockett, Carol Flannigan, Kim Alexander, Donna Carr Galloway, Heather Ingram, Cheryl Reyna, Harriet Gordon, Lynna Lea Weusthoff, Tanya Hadden and Pamela Diehl-Moore have in common? Well for one things they are each and every one former schools teachers. Why are they former school teachers? Because each and every one had an sexual relation with a student, some as young as 11 years-old.

While the case of Mary Kay Letourneau received a deluge of media attention, similar cases have all but been ignored by the media.  Why?

Could it be that these cases punctuate the drastic need in America's school for a foundation of morality? Such a concept is not popular with the MSM, and reporting the numerous cases of teacher/student affairs would demand such a conclusion.

It's ironic that after the ACLU successfully removed the Ten Commandments from government schools, a rash of school shooting began. Now we have a rash of teacher/student affairs. When you claim the words “Thou shalt not kill” and “Thou shalt not commit adultery” don't belong in a government school because they are religious, and therefore irrelevant to a government education -- what do you expect to happen?

Posted by Jack Lewis at 11:10 AM Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

How to cover up a volcano

It takes a 2.0 earthquake and a giant cloud of ash to get Mount St. Helens in the news again. Oh, I can understand the MSM's reluctance to allow attention to be focused too long on a phenomenon that has succeeded in trashing the religion of Evolution so soundly.

Posted by Jack Lewis at 11:08 AM Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Same lies, new package

Yesterday James Taranto (first item) commented on the inability of Arab nation to continue to blame Israel for any problem their people experienced. Apparently, and WorldNetDaily reports, that hasn't stopped them from continuing to try:

Syria has published an updated version of the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion," an anti-Semitic story that claims Jews run the world by proxy, adding to it Islamic extremist ideology and dedicating the work to Palestinian suicide bombers, WorldNetDaily has learned.

The new edition of the Protocols was introduced at February's Egyptian International Book Fair, considered the most important event in the Arab literary world, and was published by a Syrian company, Dar al-Awael, which credits Syria's Ministry of Information with approving the text of the book.

The work contains several sections that claim Jews control the world, the Holocaust was a Zionist creation, and Israelis seek to kill Arab children, according to a translation provided to WND by Israel's Center for Special Studies. Chapters include "Judaism is a closed religion," "The Jews are treacherous," and "The laws of humanity and humanistic behavior among Jews are only valid for themselves."

The “Protocols” have been out a long time, and were even used by Hitler in his campaign to demonize Jews and blame them for anything and everything. One mistake many people have made in condemning the “Protocols” (One which WND, commendably, doesn't make) is to refer to them as a “forgery”. A forgery would imply that there is an original. A document created wholly from the evil imagination of some anti-Semite, would not be a forgery, but a hoax, or fraud.

Syria is frantic to try to divert attention from their oppression of the people of Lebanon, and of course Israel and the Jews, and the usual scapegoat for any Arab atrocities.

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What new story does Sgrena have today?

The Italian media is finally beginning to question Giulina Sgrena's multiple, conflicting accounts of the events that led to the death of Nicola Calipari. They still automatically disbelieve anything the US says, until it's proven.

In an ironic twist, Reuters reports...

A man given six months to live by his doctors has been told by an Italian court to come back in 14 months to hear the outcome of his demand for insurance damages.

Carmelo Cisabella, 39, has an inoperable spine disease and is anxious to pick up some $596,300 in already-agreed damages from his insurers to help ease his final months of life, Il Messaggero newspaper reported Tuesday....

Italian justice is notoriously slow and it takes on average 3,041 days to obtain a definitive sentence in a civil case.

This would be the same Italian government that demands we punish our soldiers before we even have time to investigate whether they've done anything wrong or not.

Sgrena coverage: Michelle Malkin (also here, here and here), Little Green Footballs, Outside the Beltway, The Jawa Report, Reihl World Views, Wizbang, Airborne Combat Engineer, Right Wing News, Now you know, Six Meat Buffet, In the Bullpen

Posted by Jack Lewis at 11:04 AM Comments (0) | TrackBack (1)

Can I laugh now?

Liberals are in a snit over Ann Coulter's sarcastically referring to Helen Thomas an “old Arab”. Apparently being called an “old Arab” is really, really bad, whereas being called “Hitler” is acceptable. (If I were Arab, I think I might not appreciate that).

In context, what Ann wrote in regards to Jeff Gannon being able to get a temporary daily pass to the White House briefings was:

Press passes can't be that hard to come by if the White House allows that old Arab Helen Thomas to sit within yards of the president. Still, it would be suspicious if Dowd were denied a press pass while someone from "Talon News" got one, even if he is a better reporter.

How is it that Liberals cannot see the attempt at humor on Ann's part? (admittedly, Ann's humor is dripping with sarcasm, but it is obvious when she's speaking “tongue in cheek”)

Ironically, Liberals are also in a snit that Nancy Soderberg's exchange with Jon Stewart (fourth item), where she said,

“As a Democrat, you don't want anything nice to happen to the Republicans, and you don't want them to have progress. But as an American, you hope good things would happen.”

...is not being recognized as the “obvious” joke that they claim it was.

Right.

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