Observations from the Swamp #1 – Politics, Parties, Puppets and Peers

(An outsider’s view from inside)

In about twenty months America will again determine a course for the future and not a moment too soon.  Maybe we should all agree that this time we will support the president we elect and give him or her a chance to do some good for “we the people.”

What a novel idea indeed.  However, it sure looks like a painful path lies ahead to get there.

Think about the monumental task ahead for our president, whoever it may be.  First, they have to traverse the minefield called the primary election, and win.  Only two will be left standing of the nearly thirty candidates of the Democrats and Republicans.  Then they must get elected president a couple of months later.

On the one side we have the Republican incumbent Donald Trump, who thinks he should have been immortalized as the newest American Action Hero and given a Marvel comic Book Series.

The other side are two dozen or more Democrats of all stripes, sizes, genders and bias, who are promoting everything to everyone regardless of the cost, the consequence, or even the possibility for approval.  In truth,  they are all chasing Joe Biden.

Of course, reporting on the election circus is done by the highly suspect news media and I use that description with much trepidation.  Once upon a time there was a definable, properly sourced, and credible news media.  It was objective, gave both sides to every story, and very seldom were they rewarded with a byline – which means getting credit for a story for those too young to remember.

Today objective and unbiased stories are nearly impossible to find.  Today reporters want to be the story, the stars of the Virtual Internet News era, which means they tell you what to think.

Fortunately, the vast majority of people place little credibility in the news media.  That is a fact that can easily be sourced.  Look at the latest Nielsen TV ratings and note viewership has fallen off the cliff.  Gallop polls show the News Media credibility is fighting Congress for the least trusted of American institutions.

In the fifty-four years I have been eligible to vote there have been eleven presidents, Kennedy – Johnson – Nixon – Ford – Carter – Reagan – Bush Sr – Clinton – Bush Jr – Obama – Trump.  Six Republicans and five Democrats.

Only four served a full two terms.  Three smoked pot as if that is a big deal.  Six graduated from the Ivy League which has now controlled the American Presidency for thirty straight years, and that might be a big deal.

As for me, I am the embodiment of diversity.  For eight years I was a Democrat, a Republican for eighteen years, and a Registered Independent going on thirty years.  From my perspective, it was hard to tell the difference between the two parties, other than their meaningless political platforms.

Now I want to apologize to my native home state of Iowa, safely located in the Midwest, the American heartland.  You are under invasion from the ever-growing herd of Democratic candidates and will be for the next nineteen months.

The avalanche of presidential candidates comes on the heels of the last presidential election where nearly twenty candidates competed.  Oh, and they bring with them those dastardly fake news crews, political pundits and professional politicians.

You see poor Iowa is host to the first major vote in the presidential primary election, the legendary Iowa caucuses.  For the past two years since the last presidential election Iowa has been inundated with five hundred-year floods, quite an anomaly for a natural disaster.  It was also inundated by people running for president in 2016 and now they are off and running for the 2020 campaign.

Just the two major parties have now offered nearly fifty candidates, with over thirty for the 2020 slugfest, to win the hearts, minds and pocketbooks of those good people and unsuspecting Iowa Hayseeds.  That means there have been nearly as many candidates in just two elections as the total number of presidents in our nation’s history.

It really was a swamp!

People I met from around the world always marveled at all the choices available to American consumers, but fifty presidential candidates defy logic.  Bear in mind that does not include the third-party radical fringe candidates also on the ballot.

American voters have to find their way through a lot of smoke and fog to pick the right person.  Iowans will be the first to make their mark in our election Olympics and fear not, they will be up to the task.

When caucus day comes Monday, February 3^rd, 2020 it will be the first indication of who actual voters are backing, not who the overly ambitious and biased reporters and anchors are telling them to back.

I am betting on those Hayseeds to set the record straight for our national debate.  Will it be the anti-establishment Action Hero Trump or the consummate establishment Bobblehead Biden?  Stay tuned…

First the Kentucky Derby - now the Preakness - another X Files like day at the track in Triple Crown Racing

A new thoroughbred hero is born

After the most bizarre Kentucky Derby in history where the winner lost and the loser won in the first disqualification in the 145 years of the Run for the Roses, we thought those mischievous Derby devils would leave the Preakness alone.  It was just not to be.

Bodexpress at birth

You see, the last horse to qualify for the Derby was one Bodexpress, and after two horses scratched (dropped out), leaving Bodexpress in the Number 20 position.  He finished Number 13 in the race, a rather ominous omen heading into the Preakness.

Bodexpress, a substitute for Derby

Then the Derby had the near disastrous finish as horses were bumping off each other like bowling pins from a strike as they thundered toward the finish.  In the end Maximum Security, the winner, was disqualified, the first time in history, and Country House, an unknown 45-1 long shot who finished second was named winner.

There was an official inquiry and after more than 20 minutes, the winner was disqualified.  Because the finish is being contested in court, Maximum Security owners decided not to run in the Preakness, a grueling two weeks after the Derby.  Then the eventual Derby winner was disqualified from the Preakness because of a cough.  The top two Derby finishers were not even going to run in the Preakness.

In the Preakness, a new Thoroughbred Hero of the Twitter age suddenly emerged when the 13th place Derby horse, Bodexpress, tossed his rider out of the starting gate as the other horses broke out.  Not considering losing a rider a big deal, the feisty Bodexpress took off anyway and before long was catching up with the main pack heading into the last turn.

The Bodexpress Preakness riderless ride

He might have even caught the leaders but a track rider tried to pull him from the pack and the Bod Master resumed his riderless race across the finish line.  You really must watch the race video, hearing the stunned announcer trying to explain why a riderless horse was in the race.  The photos i this story tell the rest.

With or without a rider that thoroughbred came to race and race he did, not only finishing in the middle of the pack, but went on to make another circle of the entire racetrack before finally being caught by the officials.

In the end, the very horse that was bumped and knocked out of contention in the Derby by Maximum Security, War of Will, would finally get a well deserved Triple Crown trophy.

         

Roe versus Wade - What to do, what to do? - When life begins! The rest of the story...

When the dust settles and the debate stops and the latest polarization of the nation passes, where will the nation be.  Will we finally settle the moral question of "When Does Human Life Begin?"

Roe versus Wade is forty-six years old.  It might be one of the oldest laws on the books based on a state of science and technology that has never been updated or changed for nearly fifty years.  In order to legalize abortion there had to be a determination of when life began.  That was a key component of the case.

The problem in 1973 was no one knew when life began and  determining the moment life begins, at least in the eyes of the courts, was a matter of science and technology.  That is what Roe versus Wade did nearly 50 years ago.  Science has now proven the definition is obsolete.

Science and Technology

Think about it, the advances in science and technology have been monumental since 1973.  In 1973, the year Roe versus Wade was decided, technology saw the first cell (mobile) phone demonstrated for commercial use.  During the next 46 years we have seen this bulky beast morph into today's smart phone which has the processing power of large computers from the seventies.  Yet the science behind Roe versus Wade never changed.

Personal computers did not exist in 1973 and look where they are today.  In virtually every field of science and technology there has been lightning change, with products often going to market about the same time they were becoming obsolete.

The digital revolution was just beginning and it brought change never experienced before in our history.  Yet Roe versus Wade remained trapped in time and never changed.  In 1976 Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs launched the Apple personal computer.  By 1980 Sony introduced the Walkman.

The first Space Shuttle was launched in 1981, the same year laser eye surgery was developed.  In 1982 quantum dots were discovered.  Compact discs (CDs) arrived in 1983.  By 1989 the worldwide web was invented, yet Roe versus Wade technology was still stuck in a time warp.

In the first two decades of the twenty-first century the change has become even greater in all aspects of our lives as the digital revolution took control.  Yet through it all the Roe versus Wade technology has remained frozen at the 1973 level.

It is hard to believe there has been no update to Roe versus Wade medical science and technology since the time we were just beginning to end the Vietnam war.  That is an insult to technology and a denial of truth to the people of America.

What is the record of the Abortion exceptions in Roe versus Wade?      

Advocates claimed abortion was needed in three cases, rape or incest, a threat to the health of the baby, or a threat to the health of the mother. History has proven them wrong. Multiple studies performed with the advantage of actual statistics show only 1% of all abortions resulted from rape or incest, just 2% resulted because of the health of the baby, and 2% resulted from the threat to the health of the mother. In other words the three major causes for passing Roe versus Wade actually represented no more than 5% of the total abortions performed.

Based on the claims in the debate over Roe versus Wade we should not even have a law since so few abortions performed meet the primary needs used to justify the law. However, there is another reason to reconsider the language of the law besides 60 million deaths and no justification for the law, that is what the law did do in the first place.

When does life begin with today's technology?

Roe versus Wade was a ruling by the Supreme Court that centrally held that a mother may abort her pregnancy for any reason, up until the "point at which the fetus becomes ‘viable'". The Court defined viable as being potentially able to live outside the mother's womb, albeit with artificial aid. In 1973 viability usually occurred at about seven months (28 weeks) but might occur earlier, even at 24 weeks. Medical breakthroughs since the ruling and prenatal advances have demonstrated that the ability of the fetus to live outside the mother's womb can come at a much earlier time.

James Elgin Gill

The record for the world's most premature baby is shared by James Elgin Gill, a Canadian man born at just 21 weeks 5 days in 1988. James was born so early that he was expected to die at birth or, if he survived, to have multiple and severe handicaps. James beat all of the odds, growing to be a healthy teenager was known to be heading off to college at the typical age.

Amilia Taylor

American baby Amilia Taylor was born at 21 weeks 6 days in October of 2006. Because Amilia was conceived by in vitro fertilization, her gestational age can be pinpointed exactly, an impossibility for most infants. Although she needed oxygen at hospital discharge, was anemic, and has mild osteopenia she is otherwise a normal, healthy girl.

The successful birth of these two premature babies is living proof of the need to update Roe versus Wade and the 28 week limit.  They are living proof that Roe versus Wade is scientifically wrong, a baby can now survive at 21 weeks, not 28 weeks.

Clearly the language of the law is flawed, so what should it be? Here is the test for all pro-abortion groups who claim they really aren't advocating taking lives.   If you are sincere in wanting to protect human lives while pursuing an abortion option, then you should have no problem accepting the newest scientific evidence of when life begins.

Scientific Proof of Life versus Death

There is one medical test widely accepted and upheld by the courts to establish that a human is legally alive or dead.  All 50 states have used this test for over 30 years.

The Uniform Determination of Death Act, promulgated in 1980 and supported by the President’s Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research, has served as a model statute for the adoption of state legislation that defines death. The act asserts: “An individual, who has sustained either irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions, or irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem, is dead. A determination of death must be made in accordance with accepted medical standards.”

Since brain activity is the legal measure for the cessation of life, then it must also be the legally accepted measure of the beginning of life. A fetus becomes a living baby when brain activity can be first measured. According to established science with the use of an electroencephalogram, or EEG, activity in the brain can be detected as early as six weeks gestational age (6). Whether brain activity begins at this time or started earlier but becomes detectable at this time is uncertain; it is known that neural connections begin forming as soon as neurons begin forming, as early as 14 days gestation.

Those politicians claiming to be Constitutional lawyers or protectors of the Constitution should embrace scientific advances that have proven when brain activity is detected, at six weeks, and since the courts accept brain activity as a reliable measure of life or death, then life can be scientifically proven at six weeks.

As science improves, the brain wave activity will consistently be detected some time between 14 days and six weeks.  All hospitals are equipped with EEG machines and they could be adapted to complete these tests for pregnant women.

Roe versus Wade Needs a Scientific Overhaul

Roe versus Wade, adopted nearly four decades ago, is medically and scientifically obsolete in the determination that life begins at 28 weeks. Responsible members of Congress and the White House should advocate, in the interest of scientific accuracy, a change in the law to reflect the latest scientific advances. With nearly 55 million abortions already performed, do we really want to keep terminating the lives of babies we know are living beings?

Abortion is not a matter of pro choice when the baby being aborted is a living, human being in the eyes of science. Pro Life and Pro Choice advocates should join in seeking this correction of a flawed law and the Trump Administration and Congress should make it the law of the land.

Implementing the New Scientific Findings

In the end this could be the easiest huge policy change regarding a volatile social issue in history.  It would not appear to require any action by Congress or the President.  Since the courts have recognized The Uniform Determination of Death Act as the national standard for scientifically proving death over life, then the same standard and same tests, can determine when the fetus becomes a "human" life or person, when life begins according to science and the courts.

Most governors or state attorney generals could find a way to incorporate the missing language from Roe versus Wade, the lack of a court tested determination of the difference between life and death, through executive order or the many remedies used in the judicial process.

Another option to clarify this issue would be for a legislature to amend whatever their determination of death law to use it as a determination of life or death.  There are many avenues open to those who really want to end the debate and protect those children who are not protected under the current flawed laws.

Get your governor or state attorney general to act and act now and this debate can be brought to a close.  We will have a scientific determination of when life begins and ends, and we will stop using abortion as just another form birth control to terminate unwanted pregnancies.

Gianna Jessen — Abortion Survivor

God is using Gianna to remind the world that each human being is precious to Him. It is beautiful to see the strength of the love of Jesus, which he has poured into her heart. My prayer for Gianna, and for all who listen to her, is that this message of God’s love will put an end to abortion with the power of love.

Mother Teresa

Most of all, we will all agree on life.

The Dark Side of Abortion in the world of wealth and technology of today.

One other aspect of life that has changed dramatically since the passage of Roe versus Wade is the tremendous concentration of wealth in the hands of so few.  Billionaires are now the measure of success, yet another tribute to technology advances, where once it was millionaires.

Money in and of itself can be bad or good depending on the intent of the owner, but if these billions are in the hands of a few unscrupulous, greedy, power hungry or paranoid people it is only natural they would pursue the extension of their lives, or the cloning of replacements for themselves.

Technology has also created a new field of biological modification, through the Human Genome program and others, that are shattering all efforts to restrict the use of human body parts for replacement organs, or biological work to master human cloning.

Already a massive Black market for human parts and organs has become a thriving black market business, but with the availability of the aborted fetus, it is also poised to become very lucrative practice for many years to come.  Money talks.

The world market and demand for body parts.