How can you be pro-life if you kill people?

I write again with very grave news. With all else going on in this crazy mixed up world, I would like it if just once I was bringing good news about the causes I care about. but, no. Alas, I am not. Today, it is about George Tiller the infamous late-term abortionist. He was recently shot to death while participating as an usher in his church. I really don't understand how anyone could think violence against another living being could be ok? It absolutely isn't. Violence is not justified, it is not justified, it is not justified. My heart goes out to his family and friends as well as my prayers.
I can't put it anymore beautifully than Robert George has.

The ends do NOT justify the means.

Sorry I have been so silent lately. I've got the end of semester fever. Things have been crazy busy, especially with a family member getting married last month. I really wanted to comment on a recent news piece I heard about on the radio. I believe this article in Newsweek covers what the talk show hosts were discussing. Here is a bit of the article:

"University of California, Los Angeles, research ophthalmologist Arthur Rosenbaum stepped from his home one morning last June and discovered a firebomb had been planted under his white BMW. Cops evacuated the neighborhood, the bomb squad came, but the device's crude fuse had already fizzled. Rosenbaum's UCLA colleague, neuropharmacologist Edythe London, was less lucky. In October, a garden hose was shoved into a broken window of her Beverly Hills, Calif., home, flooding it, causing thousands of dollars in damage. And then on Feb. 5, a Molotov cocktail detonated on her doorstep, scorching her entryway but failing to burn down the house.

Who would want to target academics? Underground militant animal-rights activists took credit for the attacks, but despite an FBI investigation, no one has been arrested. UCLA officials complain that protesters--angry over the school's use of research primates--have continually harassed, threatened and vandalized the university, as well as its faculty and staff."

That's the gist of it. Click on the link to read more of the story. I love animals. I am very adamant that animal testing is morally unacceptable. Let me be very clear: What these animal activists did is not ok. It is NOT OK. It is NOT OK. It is NOT OK. The ends never justify the means when violence and harassment is involved. This is disgraceful and they should be ashamed of themselves. I don't care how important the cause (this goes for activists of any kind not just animals) violence is never the answer. I am thoroughly disappointed in my fellow animal activists. The point of living an animal friendly life is extending your realm of compassion to animals. This means you must have compassion on ALL humans as well. I don't know the religious affiliation of these thugs who did this, but this is especially true for Christian political activists. The actions of these individuals have disgraced the reputation of animal activists everywhere and hurt the movement. Yes, that's right, they are really hurting animals by their actions. I hope staff at UCLA will stay safe and unharassed in the future. I hope a peaceful dialogue can be had on both sides.

Let me leave you with some quotes from an amazing man of peace:

Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars... Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Porn IS human trafficking.

I don't write about human trafficking as much as I would like. It's an issue that is largely underestimated and under covered.

I just finished reading an eye-opening article in World Magazine's newest issue about the problem of child sex slavery in the United States. Surely, child prostitution is a gross epidemic in other countries, but I had yet to realize the depth of it in my own country.
The most beautiful part of the article was the spotlight on an organization working against it and how they get to the heart of the matter. Sure, they help the girls get out of the bad situations and this is a very important job. However, they are also working on changing a culture that exploits and degrades women.

The Church needs to be a leader in this. We need to speak out about this problem and about the infection of sin in the church. (Christians fall prey to porn too and porn and human trafficking are linked)

http://www.thepinkcross.org/
http://www.humantrafficking.org/updates/469/

12 year olds impassioned speech against abortion

I know this has been picked up by the majority of the pro-life blogs across the internet and has gotten over 200,000 hits on youtube, but just in case anyone hasn't seen it.... please take a look.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOR1wUqvJS4&eurl=http://www.care2.com/c2c/people/profile.html?pid=745236049

Take time to love yourself this Valentine's day

Take some time to take care of yourself. I promise it isn't selfish. Especially if you have others counting on you to be refreshed. Here are some tips to stay at the top of your game:

Don't forget quiet time
Health experts now agree that there are many aspects to health including physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. Take some time to slow down. Go somewhere quiet. Get outside in the fresh air, go to a park or a museum where you can be surrounded by something beautiful. If you are a Christian take some time to pray or meditate on scripture.
1 Samuel 25:6 "Long life to you! Good health to you and your household! And good health to all that is yours!"

Shut Off the News
For goodness sake, turn off the news every once in a while! Don't read blogs for a day. They will still be here tomorrow. For political and social activists this can be hard to do, but trust me its important. Being constantly bombarded by depressing news can numb you to the true horrors of this world. It's OK to take a break. Spend time with friends or family doing something fun or new and exciting. You will come back with more energy to combat injustice.
Proverbs 15:30 " A cheerful look brings joy to the heart,
and good news gives health to the bones."

Flaxseeds
Get in your Omega-3s with flaxseeds. Grind them up and sprinkle them on salads, bake them in breads (sweet or savory) or blend them in a smoothie. Other sources are Walnuts and Almonds. Try Odwalla's Berries GoMega bar.
For more information on Omega's click here.


Grace and Peace to you!

Same old tired arguments

There should be a name for the "People who care about animals don't care about people" argument. I'm going to call it the Mutually Exclusive Fallacy. It just shocks and saddens me that after all this time, people still don't get it. They repeat it blindly.
I guess I'll have to continue repeating myself too until it sinks in.
SO....
Further proof:
From the website Canadian Serial Killer's:
"Born in Vancouver British Columbia on the first day of January 1940, Clifford Robert Olson Jr killed a total of eleven people before being caught. From a young age, Clifford Olson was in trouble with the law. Olson was a known bully who it was rumoured tortured and killed animals."

As many cops learn cruelty to animals can be a gateway to violence against humans. And the opposite is also true:
""Amazing Grace," a film biography of William Wilberforce, anti-slavery crusader and co-founder of the world's oldest anti-cruelty society, captures Wilberforce's deep devotion to animals and his determination to end the cruelty and suffering imposed upon them in the late 18th and early 19th centuries." (from HSUS) Of course he also devoted his life to making slavery illegal in England.

More examples:
http://www.vegansoapbox.com/care-more-about-animals-than-people/
http://www.ringsurf.com/ring_browser.php?id=99538

An update on my last blog post.

I would like to point out that the author of the article in my last blog post responded to the criticism many animal rights/welfarist posted. I would like to say that I may have jumped to conclusions about the article in question. However, my comments about the pro-life movement in general still stand. I would still like to urge pro-lifers who do not agree with the animal rights movement to end their hostility towards those who support both the life movement and animal rights. As I said it is doing no one justice.

Disunity is harming women and babies

Please read this article entitled: Seal Pup Silliness
The gist of the article is that it is silly to fight for humane treatment of animals. It makes the fallacious argument that I have often rebutted here that if you care about the welfare of animals you must not care about fellow human beings.

Here is my response:
This is why the pro-life movement is failing. You alienate people with different beliefs for example those who are both pro-life and animal rights activists. We are squabbling amongst ourselves while women and unborn babies are being harmed by abortion. Even I, a staunch animal rights activist, am appalled that most who fight for animals to be treated humanely don't think of the plight of unborn humans, but this kind of attitude (i.e. calling the fight for humane treatment of seals "silly") is not helping anyone. As I said it is alienating part of the pro-life movement. I understand your frustration, but please try to see things from others point of view.

Thank you.

and here is further proof that many in the animal rights movement (some pro-life some pro-choice) care about humans:
Vegan Peace on buying sweatshop free (wait, what? They care about the conditions of people who make their products too? Not just animals? Shocking!)
Notmilk on abortion
All Creatures on abortion
The liberal case against abortion
Human Rights Section of ARCO (ARCO stands for Animal Rights Community Online. Being a message board you will obviously find a diverse amount of opinions. Obviously I will not deny there are SOME animal rights activists that are callous towards humans, but please don't generalize.)
Episcoveg blog (Episcopal blog that's mostly AR, but also mentions the problem of hunger and poverty and pascifism.)

and of course my blog! I hope I have conveyed my deep concern for God's children as well as his creation.


P.S. I apologize for my snarky tone I am just so tired of having to explain this concept to people. It shouldn't be that hard to understand!

Another Gem from C.S. Lewis

"Dreams of the far future destiny of man were dragging up from its shallows and unquiet grave the old dream of Man as God. The very experiences of the dissecting room and the pathological laboratory were breeding a conviction that the stifling of all deep-set repugnances was the first essential of progress."
- That Hideous Strength pg. 203

I like this quote for two reasons. The first is the same reason I would recommend this book to people. The premise of this science fiction novel is a struggle between science and morality. Let me just say that I do not think science in itself is evil. I am alive today, because of medical progress. However, scientists today are trying to play God. They spend so much money and time on things like ED medicine that does nothing to further humanity. All the while conducting cruel tests on animals (usually). Not to mention the others evils such as cloning, embryonic stem cell research, human/animal hybrids and so on. There is such a great need for ethical scientists today. Where have they all gone?

The second gem of wisdom in this quote is that cruelty to animals deadens human's senses. It is the starting point at which people move on to violence towards fellow humans. Furthermore, a large majority of role models were kind to animals. Take for example, St. Francis or William Wilberforce, who both fought to make slavery illegal in England and also founded the first SPCA.

For more information on why we should not support animal testing please visit this website:
http://veganpeace.com/animal_cruelty/animal_testing.htm (warning: graphic pictures)

Pulling weeds and trying new products

I was gardening quietly yesterday. It was the perfect day with the sun out, clear blue sky as far as the eye could see and a gentle breeze. I was going to attempt to come up with some profound metaphor for using weeds, but I decided to let creation do all the talking.






and now for something completely different! A product review for:
Kozy Shack Soy Vanilla Pudding Cups

The texture was amazingly creamy. I just wanted to roll it around my tongue. The taste was pretty good too. Just the right amount of sweetness and vanilla flavour. It did have a distinct soy taste, but not in a negative way. Overall, I would buy it again when I have spare cash for treats. I give it 4 stars. They have chocolate pudding too! I will try it next.

Its a sin

The Oxford's new dictionary aimed at children has taken out words such as sin and added words like blog and MP3 player. While I understand the need to keep up with the times, the words they took out were important. (Read the story: here) Baudelaire wisely noted that: "the devil's best trick was to convince us he doesn't exist". In a world that is increasingly falling apart we would do well to remember the definition of sin. Of course there is the religious implications of a society that blurs the lines, but in the late 1800s Durkheim (a Sociologist) came to the conclusion that the moral confusion that comes with modernity led to higher suicide rates. This is a phenomenon he called anomie.

Only so much one can do.

I look around me and see so much cruelty so much hate. I do believe love will triumph one day, but in the meantime it can be so hard to take. I wish I had an endless amount of time and money and words to give to the causes I care about, but I don't. Especially money this time of year and with the way the economy is going.... It's so frustrating sometimes. There's only so much one person can do. I feel like I'm trying to drain the ocean with an eyedropper.

Goulash

I cook much like the way I was raised (minus the meat.) For the most part it is simple cooking with non-expensive ingredients. Both my parents are decent cooks who don't really use recipes. They throw stuff together that sounds good and it usually ends up being tasty. This is why I don't really post recipes often, but for some reason I have had the urge too.

This is a meatless take on a meal growing up that my parents called "Goulash"
(measurements are basically guesses)

1 cup cooked pasta (elbow or shells)
3/4 cup spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup corn
1/2 cup garbanzo beans (also known as chickpeas)
any other veggies you want.

Throw it in a pan and heat and serve.


Now for some ideas for giving back this season:
Donate cans to your local food pantry. Canned food can be bought relatively cheaply. Here you can buy a can of veggies, fruit or beans for $1. You can spend less than $5 to help someone who needs food. All over the news is stories of longer lines at food pantries with less to go around.

An eco-tip:
There are many ways to save wrapping paper: Use bags that you can reuse or reuse old wrapping paper. Wrap presents in old paper shopping bags, cloth or old ads.

Have a merry Christmas all and a happy holiday season. :)

Vegan Cookies part 2

Argh! The pictures aren't working.... oh well.
Here is the link to the recipe I thought some might want it:
Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup flour (I use organic, unbleached, white flour)
1/2 cup sugar (I use Florida Crystals)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 egg replacer
cinnamon and sugar for coating
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=6394.0

The changes I made were instead of egg replacer I used a tablespoon of lemon juice and added an extra tablespoon of maple syrup. They came out a little crumbly but otherwise perfect. I also decorated them instead of putting cinnamon and sugar.

Joyful Vegan Baking

I love Christmas cookies!
I baked and decorated sugar cookies tonight, I felt like a little kid.
I'll probably post pictures later.

Attacks on Free speech

Thank you to the Canadian blog: ProWomanProLife
to alerting me to the threat to free speech that is occurring. For more information check out the blog (p.s. if you enjoy the blog as much as I do please vote for them for the Canadian bloggie awards) but I will give you a basic rundown of what happened. Pro-life groups are being told they can not hold up signs showing the realities of abortion,because they are too graphic. I would like to point out that as a life activist I do not use graphic images. However, this is a college campus, not an elementary school. These are adults and if they are old enough to have an abortion then they should be old enough to see what the aftermath looks like. Not to mention that you don't have to be pro-life to be outraged by the University's decision. You just have to enjoy free speech and want others (even those whom you may disagree with) to be able to enjoy that as well.
So, please take a look at this well-written sensible blog.

Recent Elections

One good thing to come out of the recent elections was that Proposition 2, in California, passed. I was ecstatic. Prop 2 banned confining animals in crates. After all the sweat,tears,prayers,emails,blogs,flyers... I can't believe it passed!!

Not all the news was good. Proposition 4 or Sarah's law would have made it mandatory to inform gaurdians of a minors intent to have an abortion. It lost by 4% Pro-lifers will need to double their effort now. We can do it. I have faith. More sweat and tears and prayers are needed.

The dangers of abusing knowledge

"Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering."
Luke 11:52

I was reading a post from a blog I frequent that is called R.A.G.E. Media. This is how they describe their mission

"R.A.G.E. Stands for Rebellious Affirmation of Greater Existence.

The phrase has a double meaning: First, that there is a greater existence for humanity than we generally realize. We sell ourselves short, in other words, of our potential and our purpose. Secondly, that there is a superior being greater than ourselves. "

The post was about embryonic stem cell research specifically, but I have been thinking a lot about how many scientists are abusing the knowledge that our creator gave to us as a gift. Their is great danger in doing so. It sounds silly, but you can look at old science fiction novels to see where our society is headed and how eerily accurate they have been so far. Yes, it is still fiction, but all fiction is rooted in some fact. Schindler's list is a good example of this point. The blog quotes a sci fi computer game where a robot sings about science. Read the lyrics and blog here. One of the things the robot says is 'we do what we must because we can.' It really struck a cord with me. This seems to be the philosophy of the many unethical scientists of today. It must have been a divine appointment then when I was reading C.S. Lewis' Out of the Silent Planet and came across these quotes:

"You cannot be so small minded as to think that the rights or the life of an individual or of a million individuals are of the slightest importance in comparison with this [advancement of science] "

"I happen to disagree," said Ransom, "and I always have disagreed even about vivisection[animal dissection/testing]... " (pg.29)

I added the words in the brackets to elaborate. It just chills me that some people really feel this way. So, what will history say about us? That we wasted the brain God gave us or that we used our knowledge wisely? That we created something terrible and monstrous such as in the movie I am Legend or that we created (ethically) something that enriched and/or saved lives? Will the history books declare "Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.(Deuteronomy 4:6) With the way things are going I am glad we have a master author with a plan.

Mother's day

Proverbs 10:31
"10A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.
15 She gets up while it is still dark;
she provides food for her family
16 She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.
20 She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.
26 She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her.
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
31 Give her the reward she has earned,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate."

I cut parts of it out, only because it is a very long passage, but worth reading all of it. If you are a young woman (such as myself) it should be the reference for the characteristics we should strive for. I thought these verses were relevant to today. Especially the last few where we are called to praise and bless our mothers for all they do for us.

Now, I'd like to speak about two issues close to my heart. (No, I will not let politics take a holiday off as a subject of my blog. Injustice never sleeps, so neither will I.)

The first is abortion. Please give pregnant mothers hope and an alternative option. Please support local pregnancy centers. Donate time, money or items to them. You can even donate for free by using the search engine good search. I bring up abortion as a topic for mothers day because abortion not only effects the child, but the mother as well. I love and respect women. The "pro-choice" movement has deluded America into thinking being anti-abortion is the same as being anti-woman. How can I be against my own gender?



The other issue is the treatment of mother hens and cows in factory farms. Please take a look at these other blogs:
universal mothering
Maternal instincts belong to all animals

because they deserve better.

I wanted to post a few lyrics from Relient K's song Death Bed. It is a beautiful song/story about redemption.

[Jon Foreman of Switchfoot sings, as the voice of Jesus:]
I am the Way
Follow Me
And take My hand
And I am the Truth
Embrace Me and you'll understand
And I am the Light
And for Me you'll live again
For I am Love
I am Love
I, I am Love

(thanks to http://www.findlyrics.com/relient_k/death_bed/)

It is a long song, almost 11 minutes, but well worth it. It is so well written.