In the Torchlight for May 2, 2010

Torchlight Post:

The abortion battle continues at the state level, while we wait for the court challenges to Obamacare to work themselves out. While there are no great surprises as to which states have taken action so far (all went for McCain in 2008), dozens more reportedly are now considering abortion limitations. As discouraging as the passing of Obamacare was, for multiple reasons, this is no time to stop keeping up the good fight regarding the unborn. This is the human rights issue of our times, and it will influence directly the ethics that surround neonatal care, stem cell research, cloning, human hybridization, etc. on one end of life’s cycle and long-term care, “extraordinary measures.” euthanasia, assisted living, etc. on the other--particularly if we continue our national flirtation with centralized medicine.

Recent Items from the News Digest:

• The president announced a commission to address the mushrooming national debt. A classic case of closing the barn door after the horses are gone.
• Congressional Democrats and the White House crossed Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham by pushing for immigration reform ahead of the climate change legislation he had been working diligently to bring forward. Democrats need at least one cooperative Republican senator for any legislation from here on out. As the president continues to push an aggressive agenda, it’s not yet clear where the agenda now sits.
• An online pet pampering network site has gone live. George Will among others has taken to calling the recent financial crisis, the Great Recession. Note that this pet site is not targeted at the insulated uber-rich, but at millions of Americans. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with this kind of networking, but any further comparisons of this economy to the Great Depression ought to be heaped with epic scorn.
• Hawaii’s Republican Gov. Linda Lingle has until July 6th to decide on a bill establishing same sex civil unions. Hawaii was one of the first states to adopt a protection of marriage act. The civil union bill mimics the benefits granted to marriages, but does the (minimal) courtesy of not having to redefine what marriage means. Nevertheless, a rose by any other name… So far the governor is keeping it close to the vest.

"In the Torchlight" is a weekly post that is part of Sunday Snippets. Sunday Snippets is a Catholic carnival that is hosted each week by RAnn at This, That and the Other Thing. This week's carnival includes, from Dymphna's Well, a post about a new study showing that watching R-rated movies as a child increases the likelihood of underage alcohol use.

[submitted by e-mail]