A Prayer with Insight

Posted on by metroupe

%22Help me know how to obtain relief from

The Valley of Vision book of Puritan Prayers is a goldmine.  I pick it up from time to time.  I read (and prayed) this one this morning and found a section that is worth sharing.

“Grant that I may never trust my heart,
depend upon any past experiences,
magnify any present resolutions,
but be strong in the grace of Jesus:
that I may know how to obtain relief
    from a guilty conscience
  without feeling reconciled to my imperfections.”

Emphasis mine.

You can read the whole prayer here at the Banner of Truth website.

You’re Not Multitasking, Your Switching Between Tasks. And It Doesn’t Work

Posted on by metroupe

Multitasking Doesn't Work Twitter

This is a good and (mercifully) brief article on the not-so-obvious truth about multitasking. We often do it because we think we are getting more done. The truth is the opposite. When we try to focus on more than one thing at a time, we end up gettting less done, it takes longer, and the work is generally of a lower quality. This article includes some good suggestions and links to research.

“What does it even mean anyway: multitasking?

“The actual term ‘multitasking’ is misleading because we might think we’re doing more than one thing at once, but that’s not what our brain is actually doing.

“What essentially happens when we switch between tasks is just that – we switch between tasks.

“Our brain is easily distracted and jumps from task to task, taking longer to complete all tasks simultaneously than it would if it attacked them one by one.”

3 Deadly Effects of Multi-Tasking, and Why It’s Worse Than Marijuana.

Photo credit: “SunsetTracksCrop” by Arne Hückelheim – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons – 

You Should Read This: “I Don’t Know If I’m Pro-Choice Anymore”

Posted on by metroupe

Protect children

“That’s bullshit! These are babies that are being killed. Millions of them. And you need to use your voice to protect them. That’s what a man does. He protects children—his own children, and other children. That’s what it means to be a man.”

This is what Ruben Navarette’s wife told him about his neutrality on the subject of abortion. Navarette is a syndicated journalist who has never written on the topic of abortion, until now. And what prompted the change of heart?  The videos. And an angry woman that is close to him.

The whole article is worth reading. Here are some highlights:

“After all this, I still consider myself pro-choice, as I have for the last 30 years. I staked out this position during my freshmen year in college. Even then, I understood the abortion debate was a tug-of-war between competing rights—those of the mother versus those of an unborn baby. I sided with the mother. And I tried not to think about the baby….

“I arrived there for a simple reason: Because I’m a man. Many will say that this is not a very good reason, but it is my reason. Lacking the ability to get pregnant, and thus spared what has been for women friends of mine the anguishing decision of whether to stay pregnant, I’ve remained on the sidelines and deferred to the other half of the population.

“Over time, I made refinements—going along with waiting periods and parental notification laws at the state level, and coming out against the barbaric practice known as partial birth abortion.

“As I’ve only realized lately, to be a man, and to declare yourself pro-choice, is to proclaim your neutrality. And, as I’ve only recently been willing to admit, even to myself, that’s another name for “wimping out.”

“At least that’s how my wife sees it. She’s pro-life, and so she’s been tearing into me every time a new video is released. She’s not buying my argument that, as a man, I have to defer to women and trust them to make their own choices about what to do with their bodies. To her, that’s ridiculous—and cowardly.

“You can’t stand on the sidelines, especially now that you’ve seen these videos,” she told me recently. “That’s bullshit! These are babies that are being killed. Millions of them. And you need to use your voice to protect them. That’s what a man does. He protects children—his own children, and other children. That’s what it means to be a man.”

via I Don’t Know If I’m Pro-Choice After Planned Parenthood Videos – The Daily Beast.

Corroborating Evidence. Why I Don’t Believe The Planned Parenthood Videos Are A Lie

Posted on by metroupe

corroborating evidence

A number of people have expressed suspicion about the recent Planned Parenthood videos, even calling them “deceptive.” It seems that many of us are eager to give the abortion industry the benefit of the doubt. We don’t want believe that such terrible things can be happening just up the street, paid for by your income taxes, defended by our darling political candidates.

There are a few people that I have read that seem like they are attempting to evaluate the facts without bias. For instance Tim Stanley at the Telegraph wrote a piece on the current scandal.  He travels around debating pro-lifers. He is an abortion apologist and he is disgusted by what has been happening. He writes,

“The Planned Parenthood scandal isn’t about whether or not abortion should be legal. It’s about medical ethics, big money politics and public morality. You can be pro-choice and still feel sick to your stomach about it.”

There are others like Camille Paglia who wrote, 

“Now I am a former member of Planned Parenthood and a strong supporter of unconstrained reproductive rights. But I was horrified and disgusted by those videos and immediately felt there were serious breaches of medical ethics in the conduct of Planned Parenthood officials.”

But most of the voices I hear coming from the prochoice side of the discussion are vigorously defending Planned Parenthood as if that organization cannot be separated from women’s rights.  We are often eager to believe that corporations could be corrupt and unethical, but not this corporation. And so there is an eagerness to denounce the video evidence the way conspiracy theorists deny the lunar landing. But in this case it may be worse because many have rushed to defend Planned Parenthood but admit they haven’t even watched the videos

This account below from Abby Johnson is an example of one of the reasons I don’t believe they are deceptive. I suppose it is not really just a “reason” but more like a category of evidence. They match up with what many other former PP employees have said. There is A LOT of corroborating evidence.

By the way I recently learned about an investigative report from 15 years ago done by 20/20 that pretty much reveals the same thing. Though not from “pro-life extremists.”

Abby Johnson was a director for Planned Parenthood and she left the organization when she realized the horror of abortions. You can read her story in “Unplanned.”

She writes (about abortion in general not necessarily fetal tissue donation in this quote) on her Facebook Page,

“I remember one day at Planned Parenthood we were standing around in the POC lab talking about how far along Warren Hern performed abortions (he performs them up until the date of birth in Colorado). I remember my boss laughing and saying, “He aborts them so far along they come out crying and looking for their mama.” Everyone in the room laughed as she made the motion of holding a baby up and spanking it’s bottom. I went to a friend of mine and asked her what she thought of aborting babies so late…I had always been uncomfortable with late term abortion. She said, “Well, it’s better to kill them before they are put in a dumpster.” And that was how I then began to justify late term abortion in my mind…”better than in a dumpster.” 

Since leaving Planned Parenthood, that conversation has always haunted me…how easily I could justify something so heinous. I have since learned that if you have to justify something, then you probably shouldn’t believe in it. 

Thank God for redemption and mercy.”

The videos echo what a number of present and former abortion providers have been saying for years.  There is a LOT of this kind of testimony.  If you are interested in looking at this issue, you don’t have to rely on the videos by themselves.  This post is just about one other source of corroboration. There are others. But to be open minded about this you would have to at least believe that it was possible that as a nation we have been defending the indefensible.

Read more about former abortionists here.  It seems like one of the most powerful tools for changing their minds was exposure to abortion itself.

Here is a page with links to videos with former abortion providers telling their stories.

Why Does It Take So Long to Say We Are Sorry?

Posted on by metroupe

Why does it take so long to say that we are sorry? To acknowledge wrong doing and ask for pardon? Why do whole societies refused to acknowledge their past injustices and thereby turn them into present evils? Why do onlookers stand by, becoming complicit by their silence and inaction? Why are we more afraid of the loss of money, influence, and political good will than we are for the cancer of cowardice that grows inside when we stand by in silence?

Armenian Memorial

I just attended an important event at the Armenian Genocide memorial at Fresno State.  It was very moving to me. My eyes were filled with tears. I am sad to say that before moving to Fresno in 2009 I hadn’t even heard of this event. But many Armenian friends have shared the history and even personal accounts from their families.  Oddly enough, I had tears in part because of the great injustice, but they were also tears of joy because an evangelical Turkish pastor had come to continue a process of reconciliation and healing. Even though others would not acknowledge the genocide, he was there to acknowledge, apologize, and seek reconciliation among brothers in Christ. It was a beautiful event. It was a miracle a century in the making.

This year is the 100th anniversary of this great evil, and still the government of Turkey and many others refuse to acknowledge that it even happened, let alone to apologize.  My own president and government have refused to make a simple statement using that “G” word.  And it is strange because the U.S. Doesn’t even need to apologize as the perpetrators of what happened in 1915. We don’t need to acknowledge that WE did it.  We just need to acknowledge that someone else did a great crime. But so far, we won’t. But I am hopeful that this will change.

Armenians_marched_by_Turkish_soldiers,_1915
Armenians marched by Turkish soldiers in 1915

 

When we refuse to call evil exactly what it is, we give it power.  Others may be emboldened to repeat similar acts with a sense of impunity. It was only 24 years after the great outbreak of the genocide in 1915 that Hitler acknowledged it, but in a sinister way. He said, “who, after all speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians.”  He was posturing for the annihilation of the Jews, and he viewed this as the trial run.  The worldwide silence on this issue, the failure of other nations to intervene or even “remember” what happened while the events were still fresh in memory had implications. It inspired Hitler. It made him feel that he could not only repeat these acts, but that he could get away with it. He interpreted the silence and concluded hat this group of people were so despised that the world would be better off for their destruction. Such are the depraved justifications of mad men.

But why would it take so long for a nation like ours, one so entangled in its own quest for social justice, to even call this event what it is?

There are many answers, but none of them will can bear the weight of our silence.  What does matter is that now we have become part of the problem, we have refused to leave the great stream of indifference that flows through history.  Even while we pat ourselves on the back for our moral progress.  Now, even though we weren’t the perpetrators we need to apologize for failing to act, and failing to offer the simple gesture of words. We must ask forgiveness for our unwillingness to pay the price for speaking the truth. And we must acknowledge that it took us far too long to do it.

What is the Difference Between Planned Parenthood Presidents Cecile Richards and Gloria Feldt?

Posted on by metroupe

PlannedParenthood Presidents

The Internet makes all the difference. 15 years ago Chris Wallace was part of an undercover investigative report about several companies obtaining fetal tissues from abortions and turning around and selling them for profit. The doctor in this video said that he can obtain a fetus for $50 and turn around and sell the parts for $2,500. But did you hear anything about it back then? You aren’t hearing much about it now from the mainstream networks, but the power of social media and the Internet has dislodged the choke hold that mainstream media has on the stories it wants to cover. I suppose you could say that the video is “heavily” edited, but you will never know because 20/20 doesn’t release the complete footage of their work, unlike the Center for Medical Progress.

Watch the Video Here.  It is worth the 7 minutes of your time for some historical context. And if you are familiar with the current investigative videos it will seem like deja vu.


Note also that this video exposes a history of:

  • Compromised consent procedures, including outright dishonesty.
  • Changing medical procedures during abortions in order to obtain “better” specimans for sale.
  • And profiting from the sale of the bodies of these unborn children.

Here is something else important. Note how Gloria felt responds to the charges raised by the undercover video (back in 2000). The  former Planned Parenthood president said, “It seems inappropriate, totally inappropriate. Where there is wrong doing it should be prosecuted, and people doing that kind of thing should be brought to justice.” (7:22 in the video) That is a far cry different from what we are getting from current Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards. What we are getting now is an apology about “tone,” and the constant message that any outrage over this is political and anti-woman… That any investigations must be motivated by partisan interests. We are hearing lots of name calling (“extremist”) for anyone concerned about these illegal activities, etc.

Read more about this from lifenews.com here.

Can I Kill It?

Posted on by metroupe

Can I Kill It?

You are washing dishes and your young child walks up behind you and says, “Dad, can I kill it?”  What do you have to know before you can answer that question?  You have to know what “it” is. If it is a spider you might say, “yes, please, let me help you.” But if it is the neighbor’s cat or his baby brother you have to say no. There are certain things we do not kill

A friend (Josh Brahm) told me this story. And I am sure he got it from someone else. But it is a fitting parable for the abortion issue

Have you noticed that recently there is a bizarre commitment to avoid this question? Some people approach it like it is suspicious package at the airport. As if ignoring the truth will somehow make it go away.  The reason is fairly obvious. If we answer this question it based on observation, common experience, and science then the answer is pretty clear, and it comes with a freight train of implications. Unborn babies are just that. Babies that haven’t been born yet. They are indeed human babies.  In recent weeks America has been confronted with these uncomfortable facts. They have limbs, livers, kidneys, skulls, hearts with electrical systems, central nervous systems, etc.  The exact same kind that other humans have. That is why they are worth so much money.

My family and I watched this video interview (below) with Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards where she answers the question “when does life begin” by saying the question is irrelevant to the work of Planned Parenthood.  I guess it isn’t good for business to admit that the organisms that you are planning to kill and sell are both alive and human.  Even worse, she says that because there is disagreement on the subject of what constitutes a living human, each woman gets to determine that for herself.  I wonder if Cecile would be eager to allow others to make that decision about her.  BTW, I will let you in on a secret, having one set of standards for yourself and another set for other people is not good.

By the way, on the issue of trying to deny full humanity to other people, haven’t we learned from history?  It isn’t good to believe that someone is 2/3 of a human.  “Am I not a man?”

I am a man

A few thoughts.  First of all, this is dodging the issue. This question is definitely relevant, and we definitely know when life begins. My son, a college sophomore who just completed anatomy and physiology in preparation for a nursing major, watched the video and exclaimed, “that’s ridiculous, an unborn child matches all 7 characteristics of life!”

Second, the question of what constitutes a human life is not something we want to allow people to decide for themselves. Historically, this has been the strongest tool of tyrants. Deny the status of human being to your quarry, and you can perpetrate your will in barbaric ways.  That has been the story of imperialism.

Let me ask you a question: Does her answer give you confidence that she is engaged in good and honest activities? Or like she is being evasive and trying to hide from inconvenient truths? What is your take on the interview?

Photo courtesy of Justpo

When Father Is A Monster: Stalin’s Daughter

Posted on by metroupe

Joseph Stalin was a monster who often treated his friends worse than his enemies. What was it like to be his daughter? Horrible.

Here are some snippets from a NYT review of a new biography on Stalin’s Daughter. It looks fascinating, but at over 600 pages, only serious history lovers will read it. But it looks fascinating.

 

“But as she [Stalin’s daughter] gets older, she starts seeing and hearing more, and sinister shadows creep into the light, dimming it little by little. The aunts and uncles begin to vanish one by one. Her grandmother says: “Where is your soul? You will know when it aches.” Her mother draws a little square over the child’s heart with her finger and tells the girl, “That is where you must bury your secrets”; then, before the girl’s seventh birthday, she shoots herself in her own heart with a Mauser pistol. The little girl’s world is shattered, never to be the same. Troubled and lonely, she will spend decades trying to escape the horror of her past, the terrible weight of history. “You can’t regret your fate,” she will say later, “though I do regret my mother didn’t marry a carpenter.” She is Svetlana, her father is Joseph Stalin, and her extraordinary story is the subject of “Stalin’s Daughter,” Rosemary Sullivan’s thoughtful new biography.

“In 1967, 14 years after Stalin’s death, Svetlana Alliluyeva created an international scandal by defecting to the United States, only to return to the Soviet Union in 1984, then run away again in 1986, each escape taut with cloak-and-dagger suspense worthy of any spy thriller. She fell in love disastrously and often, had three children from three of her four failed marriages, published several books, made a million dollars, lost a million dollars, moved from home to home with the restlessness of a nomad, abandoning the past again and again, driven by eternal disquiet, “always leaving things all over the globe,” in the words of her younger daughter, Olga, before dying nearly destitute in Wisconsin, at the age of 85, under the anonymous name of Lana Peters. Olga scattered her ashes in the Pacific Ocean. The historical context of Alliluyeva’s unsettled life, the immense monstrosity of Stalin forever looming behind her, makes her story impossibly haunting and equally impossible to put down.”

via ‘Stalin’s Daughter,’ by Rosemary Sullivan – The New York Times.

Planned Parenthood is the Ray Rice of the Pro-Choice Movement

Posted on by metroupe

 

Planned Parenthood is the Pro-ChoiceRay

During the 2014 football season a scandal erupted surrounding Ray Rice, a running back for the Baltimore Ravens. A casino surveillance video showed Rice dragging his unconscious fiance out of the elevator. There was real concern and even outrage  expressed. But the whole story wasn’t known to the public at first. Then a second video was leaked from INSIDE the elevator showing Rice (an NFL running back) punch an average-sized woman into unconsciousness. Many remarked that it was not merely the vicious blow that he delivered but the way he treated her unconscious body that seemed to add insult to injury.

Seems pretty clear cut. This is a bad guy, right? Well, he is also a very successful running back, and a favorite in the community. He racks up lots of yardage and points for the Ravens and that translates into lots of money and fan support. Hard core fans couldn’t believe that the video told the whole story. There must have been more. She must have attacked him first. Maybe she had it coming…

The NFL has conduct policies and Ray Rice should have been in big trouble. He should have lost his job. But the initial punishment handed down by the NFL’s commissioner Roger Godell was light in comparison to the crime. And the public was rightly outraged. Gradually the NFL’s history emerged of showing leniency to it’s successful/money-generating players while handing out harsh punishments to the rank and file.  It seems that strong, successful football players get cocky and think they can break the law and get away with it.  And for a long time they have been right.  Everyone was glad to give them a get out of jail free card as long as they put up numbers for the team.

As the storyline solidified, the outrage surrounded the ethics of the NFL.  Did they have any ethics?  Is winning games and making money more important than doing the right thing? More important than violence?

Eventually the scandal bumped from the head story on ESPN to the front page everywhere.  But something was different this time. Players are accused of rape, sexual assault, and physical abuse all the time. The NFL has been facing these issues for years. What made Rice’s case such a big deal? 

It was the video, that horrible video. You couldn’t watch the video without disgust.  Gradually public sentiment shifted and  Ray Rice was suspended and fired. The initial punishment was overturned and replaced with something more fitting. Why? One reason. The video.

Then the headlines drifted from talking about Ray Rice, to talking about the NFL.  Had they seen the video when the first, lighter punishment was handed out.  They claimed that they had not. They claimed they only saw the footage from outside the elevator.  Did they know how bad it was?  Did they even want to see the whole story?  Was the new punishment really a stance for what is “good and right” or just a response to public opinion. Was the NFL in damage control mode, only moved when the potential loss of revenue from the scandal outweighed the loss of revenue from Rice’s talent?

The nation was having a conversation. Do athletic accomplishments give you a pass on domestic violence? Are the goals of making money and winning football games more important than protecting vulnerable women?

Well, Planned Parenthood is the Ray Rice of the prochoice movement.  In fact, right now it is their bad behavior that is the biggest threat to abortion rights in America.  Sure they rack up a lot of yards for the team, but they can’t contain those disturbing videos.  Their star players, their medical directors, are seen haggling dismissively about the body parts of children and talking about the need to get their stories straight so they can stay out of legal trouble.

And sadly the prochoice movement is acting like the NFL, acting like the mindless fans that support their team no matter what. It seems that abortion covers a multitude of sins.  If you provide abortion services, you are not even vulnerable to wrong doing.  If you are watching,  right now many prochoice voices are suggesting that it isn’t even possible for Planned Parenthood to be guilty of breaking the law.  No need for an investigation.  On social media we are told that if Planned Parenthood looses its funding, women will have no place else to go. Women are telling stories about all the great things that Planned Parenthood has done for them.  And they sound like mindless fans worried about their fantasy football scores.

But what about those videos? There is a good chance that we haven’t yet seen what happened inside the elevator.

 

Haiku 8.3.15

Posted on by metroupe

Haiku 8.3.15

Haven’t had as much time for poetry lately. Here are a few offerings.

Study Abroad

A video call

Daughter in London, good times

Retold taste better

 

Patio 

August in Fresno

Finally a cool morning

A rare summer treat

 

Essentials

Downsizing our home

Hard, but good in many ways

Unclutter my life