It's called a double standard. You might want to look into it. OK. Find the logical flaw in this argument:

Lawyers for Natallie Evans and Lorraine Hadley filed papers in the court as the first step to challenging a law that says both parties must consent to the storage and use of frozen embryos. The women argue the law violates their human rights because they are now infertile...Muiris Lyons, the women's lawyer, said the case would affect everyone in Britain undergoing in vitro fertilization treatment.

"The law as it stands gives their respective former partners a complete veto. They say that is unfair and discriminatory," said Lyons....Lyons said lawyers would argue that if Evans and Hadley had become pregnant naturally and the embryos were in their bodies, their partners would have no say at all.

So, according to Lyons, it's OK if the mother gets a complete veto, but not the father.

I'm not a lawyer. but the reasoning seems a little fishy to me. First, the whole argument for giving the mother unqualified control over the destiny of her fetus is the fact that it is in her body, or as some put it, "My body; my choice." If the embryo isn't in her body, that reasoning no longer applies. The fact is that they didn't become pregnant naturally, the embryos have never implanted in their uterus, so why should they have any more say in the outcome than the fathers? It follows that if both have an equal say, and they can't reach an agreement, then the embryos should not be implanted.

A Different Perspective
I watched some of the coverage this morning after I got home from work. I've read a lot of the blogs covering the coverage, including those that say we're carrying on too much about it. Apparently some folks see this as a healing catharsis, a way of gaining a little closure and moving on, while others see it as picking at a scab, rather than letting it heal. I see it a little bit differently. I see a people standing together, mourning our dead, saluting our heroes, and saying to the world "NEVER AGAIN!" We are commemorating an event that, God willing, will remain unique in American History. We remind ourselves that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance, and complacency leads to tragedy. We remind ourselves that Evil does exist in the world, and it can't be appeased or ignored. There are people who are opposed to our very existence, and will use any means at their disposal to hurt us. The history of man is a bloody tangle of war and destruction, and the last few decades of relative peace and stability is the exception, rather than the rule. We forgot that for awhile, getting lost in a morass of moral relativism and wishful thinking. We said to the world, "Can't we all just get along?"

The answer was,"No."

I remember that the nuns at school used to teach us that fighting never solved anything. Tell that to the slaves freed during the War Betwee the States. Or to the American Indians. Or to the Carthaginians, if you can find any. The use of force has solved every major question throughout history. We pretend to be civilized now, and tell ourselves that we solve our problems with diplomacy rather than armies, but diplomacy doesn't mean a tinker's damn without the army to back it up. Just as an example, let's look at Iraq. They have violated the agreements which ended the Gulf War, and have faced no repercussions from the international community or the UN. Hussein knows that the UN will not act, and therefore he ignores their 'diplomacy.' He makes the right noises, but does nothing. The only diplomacy a rogue will accept comes at the end of a rifle barrel, and only if he thinks you have the will to pull the trigger.
Of course, the nuns also told us that it takes two to make a fight. Wrong again, Sister. Or partially right, at best. It's true that you need two sides to make a fight, but if one side refuses to fight, that doesn't eliminate the fight; it just makes it a lot shorter, and grants the aggressor an easy victory. Look at WWII. Had the Allies not fought back, would the world be a better place now?

Bottom line is there comes a time when war is necessary. Now is such a time. We can wait longer, let our enemies grow stronger, let them hit us again, let them strike at our citizens, our families, our children, but why? Hussein has declared war on the US, and never rescinded that declaration. We have evidence that he is seeking the capability to inflict great harm to our nation. Do we have to wait until another 3000 people die before we act?

I don't think so. You don't let a rabid dog bite your kids before putting him down.

America, What a Country!

They were a young couple in their mid twenties, just starting out. He worked in construction, or maybe as an auto body mechanic. He had close-cropped hair, and wore a Smith and Wesson muscle shirt. She was plump, but not overly so, and was on her lunch break from the Dollar Store. They both had the harried look of a couple for whom income almost precisely matched expenses, leaving precious little margin for error. He made 10 dollars an hour or so, and she chipped in 6, and they were making it, not living high and fancy, but there was a nice double wide that would be theirs after another 236 payments, and the requisite pick up truck out in the parking lot with 85,000 miles on it that he had bought back when he was still single. You could see that the day was coming soon when the pick up would be traded in for a minivan, or a used SUV if he had a good year. Just getting by and dreaming of the days when they would do more than get by, and might even get a little ahead. There was a bass boat with his name on it, as well as some new living room furniture to replace the hand me downs they got as a gift from her parents when they got married.

They had decided to eat out for lunch today, maybe to celebrate a promotion, or to enjoy some time together, or maybe because she was too busy or tired to cook. He brought their daughter, a cute little girl about 5 years old with him to see Mommy. They had come to the local buffet, because the food was good, and cheap. With an ease born of experience they traded off watching the little girl as plates were filled; she watched the little girl while he got his salad, then she got her daughter’s food. Then while they ate, she went back for her food. Dad got their daughter for the second round, and so on. They talked all through lunch, sharing their days and laughing with their daughter.

The buffet was impressive, steam and refrigerator tables loaded with food. There was fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy (it’s required by law that all buffets serve fried chicken). There was lasagna, taco salads, grilled chicken breasts, pork cutlets, baked fish, fried okra, lima beans, spinach, corn on the cob, baked potatoes, sweet potato wedges, several relishes, pizza, spaghetti, sandwich fixins’, a full salad bar with spring onions, lettuce spinach, tomatoes, sliced, or cherry, diced ham and turkey, shredded cheese, real crumbled bacon, several dressings. Off to the side was the dessert bar, with puddings, gelatins, cakes, pies, and ice cream. He made three trips and she made two, and the little girl made four (two to the dessert bar).

The price for this magnificent feast for three?

Under $18.00 including tip.

Think about that for a minute. For basically one hour’s labor, this blue-collar family was able to eat a meal rivaling Bacchanalian banquets. What a country!

At the same restaurant, there was a girl named Amy waiting tables. She was a pretty little thing, in her early twenties, and sporting a gaudy engagement/wedding ring. She was well dressed, with expensive jewelry, and there was an innocence to her expression that told she had never had to struggle for anything. She had a nice smile as she greeted her customers, and rushed to fill their drink glasses while they headed to the buffet. She carried a little of that smile with her as she worked, like she had a small secret she found amusing. Around 2:30, her husband showed up in their new Audi with their son, a 5-year-old tyke just out of pre-school. Her husband was neatly attired in slacks and a dress shirt, tie pulled loose at the neck as he led his little boy towards the back of the restaurant. He said hello to his wife as she moved to hug him, then stopped at the barely perceptible shake of his head. He wasn’t one for public displays of affection; it just didn’t fit his image.

The little boy pulled up a chair to one of the tables in the back, crossed his legs on the seat, and began coloring as his dad said goodbye and went out to the car, straightening his tie as he headed back to the office. Amy gave her son a quick hug and went back to waiting tables. The little boys eyes followed her hungrily as she moved around the restaurant, refilling drinks, seating new customers and bussing tables. Every now and then, she would look over at her boy, and when their eyes met, his face lit up with a huge grin. Eventually her shift would end, and she would take her little boy home to the suburb, make dinner, then plop down in front of the TV for a few hours of mindless entertainment before going to bed. Her husband would stay at work late, working to pay for the Audi, the house, the second car they planned on getting soon, and to put money away for his son’s college fund. The little boy would play video games in his room until bedtime, then come downstairs to kiss his mommy goodnight, and go to bed. Tomorrow, the story would play out again, and again, as Daddy got ahead, and Mommy got her pin money, and the little boy got...what?

What a country!

A prediction There will be no terrorist attack on American soil today, although there might be one on one of our embassies in Europe or Asia. BAsic strategy says you attack while your target is not looking.

We're looking.

Also, when you're a mosquito biting a bear, it's a bad idea to wake the bear. The US has not slipped back into complacency yet. An attack now would ensure the destruction of the Middle East

A new addition Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome the latest addition to my links, The Talking Dog, who growls from his den in Brooklyn NYC.

An Explanation I haven't been blogging much lately, but I have a really good excuse. One of my regular readers suggested that I write a book.

So I am.

I don't know if it will go anywhere or not, but I didn't know whether this blog would go anywhere or not either. I'm not going to quit blogging entirely, but I am going to blog less, maybe three times a week or so, just to keep you up to date on everything. Between work, keeping house, chasing kids, wood turning and building furniture, I'm running out of time to eat and sleep, much less blog. Of course, if anything major happens in the world or in my life, you can be sure I'll write about it here. There is an immediacy to blogging that you don't get while writing a longer project.

Anyway, wish me luck, and I'll let you know how it goes.