The Median Sib

I remember a little over five years ago when my daughter and son-in-law invited me to go with them to witness the sonogram during which they’d find out if their baby would be a boy or a girl. Of course during the sonogram, the technician would also take measurements and do other checks to make sure the baby was developing normally. I was excited. When I’d had my two pregnancies back in the 70’s, I had felt fortunate to hear the baby’s heartbeat via a stethoscope. That seemed like a pretty advanced medical achievement at that time. I had never even heard of sonograms.

As I went into the sonogram room, I told my daughter and son-in-law that I would sit off to the side. My intention was to be an observer and not intrude in any way on their experience as the baby’s parents. My resolve to stay in the background lasted about a minute.

As the technician moved the wand (is that what it’s called?) over my daughter’s belly, suddenly there on the screen was the baby! So clearly! I jumped up to get closer so I could see more clearly. As the technician moved the wand, she pointed out the baby’s beating heart, the backbone, the brain. We could already see the fingers and toes and face. When the technician told us it was definitely a girl, we all cried, “Lily!” because that was to be her name. We watched as she moved her arms and then began to suck her thumb. We were all crying with joy at the absolute miracle that was Lily - still growing inside her mother, but alive and well and very much a real baby. She was no longer a depersonalized “fetus”. She was our Lily.

When looking at a pregnant woman’s abdomen, it’s hard to visualize a baby underneath all those layers of skin and tissue. A sonogram makes it real. After seeing with clarity the baby’s features, there is no denying the human life that is there.

And that bring me to my topic. I was reading Cozy Reader the other day and saw this post referencing this article in the Lexington Herald-Leader. The article reports that a pro-life clinic in Lexington has installed a sonogram machine. It’s effective. What do patients see during their sonograms?

“We’ve had babies wave. … We’ve had babies smile. We’ve had babies suck their thumb. If they’ve had a little bit of caffeine, they’re jumping around,” said Frost, the center’s nurse manager.

Kim Conroy, Sanctity of Human Life director for Focus on the Family, says two-thirds of the women who view their fetuses on an ultrasound machine at a pregnancy resource center end up rejecting abortion.

I can understand that. Once a woman realizes that it isn’t a “fetus” but a real, live, active baby in there, abortion suddenly becomes not such a welcome choice.

However, some abortion-rights activists have opposed the use of sonograms. These are the people who claim they want women to make informed decisions. Instead of wanting to make sure that women who choose to abort their baby understand fully the ramifications of their decision, they claim that the use of sonograms puts inappropriate pressure on women.

“It’s a manipulative tool,” said Ginny Copenhefer, a former lobbyist with the Kentucky Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. “I don’t think it’s fair to heap guilt on them because they feel they have to terminate a pregnancy. That’s just the most cruel form of abuse that I can imagine.”

Again, this remark and attitude exposes the often two-faced nature of many on the left. All the talk about “pro-choice” is merely a popular sound bite. They talk the talk of informed choice but can’t walk the walk. Women should be able to make truly informed choices and understand that there are reasonable options to abortion. Better for a woman to KNOW what she is “terminating” than to live with a lifetime of regret once she learns that she ended the life of another human being - her own child.

Although the pro-abortion proponents would have us believe otherwise, the debate on abortion truly isn’t about “choice.” It isn’t about government trying to dictate what we do in the privacy of our homes. It isn’t (as I read on a pro-abortion site earlier this evening) about Christians trying to grow more Christians. That’s just silly. It’s a life and death debate about protecting babies.

Yes, there are some serious issues about unwanted children, poverty, maternity health care, child care, and many others. As a society we have trouble handling the children that are already here. And if there are laws against abortion, what do you do with women who get abortions anyway? There are major issues involved in making laws against abortion. However, there is a bottom line. There are some matters that are open to interpretation and belief. On others issues, civilized nations need to draw a line in the sand. Human life is precious. We don’t decide who has value and who is worth saving based on another person’s feelings. We should do everything we can to protect those who can’t protect themselves.

My how time flies when you’re blogging! Seem like only yesterday when I started this blog. At the time I tried to think of a clever title for my blog but was having no luck. I wanted something unique and meaningful to me but not something unwieldy to say or write. Then, since I’m the middle of seven children, I typed in “Middle Child”, but that name was already taken. For some reason substituting the phrase “The Median Sib” came to mind, and I typed that in, clicked “submit”…and lo and behold, no one had taken that name. Thus, The Median Sib was born.

The 10,000th visitor to The Median Sib will be here within a little while. Sure, there are some blogs that receive that many visitors in one day - in a few hours. For me, though, the 10,000 mark is significant. As I type this, the site meter is at 9,997. If you’re the 10,000 visitor and you would like a guaranteed one-of-a-kind Blog Hog tote bag (see photo below), let me know. I have a couple left, and I’ll be glad to reward your loyalty in reading The Median Sib.

Most of all, thanks to each person who makes The Median Sib a regular part of their reading each day.

There’s some great reading available at The Black Republican. He refers to the Glenn Reynolds book: An Army of Davids: How Markets and Technology Empower Ordinary People to Beat Big Media, Big Government, and Other Goliaths.

Those of us in the blogosphere not big enough to actually sling the big missiles, we are the rocks. Those of you who don’t actually blog yourselves but just use blogs as a source of news and information, you are the rocks. We are the ones that make the impact, the ones who make sure the shots from the Davids are felt by the Goliaths. Oh, we little Davids may occasionally take a shot or two ourselves, but our real value lies elsewhere. By bringing up issues at home, work, or school and using arguments advanced by the New Media (whatever your viewpoint), by holding elected officials accountable for their actions with information gleaned from blogs, by writing letters to newspaper editors, by informing friends, family, and coworkers about the issues that affect their everyday lives that otherwise gets hidden or overlooked by the MSM, we ensure that those shots fired by the Davids actually strike flesh. The choice of those “five smooth stones” by David was of critical importance, as is the impact each of us can have.

I like that metaphor. I’ve often been discouraged by the news and felt that my one small blog is insignificant. However, a single rock can have a big impact, but the greater impact is all those rocks together.

But as time has passed we rocks have become more polished, smooth, hard, and have learned to be self directed… and our impact is being felt. Expect the leftist Philistines to become more and more anxious as they begin to see their champion Goliaths - big Government, the MSM, Hollywood, Academia - suffer a death from a thousand cuts.

An Army of Davids: How Markets and Technology Empower the Little Guy to Beat Big Media, Big Government, and Other Goliaths

Others writing on An Army of Davids: Technosight Blog, Outside The Beltway, Old Controller, Shooting the Messenger, Michelle Malkin, The Truth Laid Bear, Politics and Religion, Atlas Shrugs, Expose the Left, SoxBlog, The Cigar Intelligence Agency, PelicanPost, The Anchoress, TigerHawk, The Bookcast, Badger Blog Alliance, Gathering In Light, One Hand Clapping

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Santa Cruz: Illegal Immigration Cesspool

Excerpt: The city of Santa Cruz, which often takes controversial approaches to social issues, has now established what is believed to be the nation’s first hotline for day laborers — most of whom are undocumented — to report unscrupulous employers.

Weblog: Freedom FolksTracked: 03.07.06 - 9:01 am

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Islamophobia? Yes! Islamohatred? No!

Tuesday, March 7th, 2006 at 2:11 am by carol

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I admit it. I am Islamophobic. That doesn’t mean I hate Muslims or the Islam religion. It means simply that I fear what Islam has become. I fear Islam because of the the radical, irrational, beheading, murdering and pillaging Muslims that are shown in the news. I fear them because they carry signs declaring that they would kill us without a second thought simply because we are not Muslim. I fear them because of the Muslim mother who sent sons on suicide missions and said she wished she had more sons to sacrifice for Allah. I fear them because some of their leaders have encouraged the ones in other countries to blend into western society in order to gain trust to later help with terrorist activities.

I think any non-Muslim in his/her right mind is Islamophobic. It is a smart thing to be in today’s world. It isn’t an irrational fear, but a fear based on widespread real and visible evidence of unstable and irrational Islamic behavior.

Islamophobic is not Islamohatred. I don’t hate Muslims. I hate some of them - yes. But as a group, I don’t hate them. I think that the large majority of them were likely born into the religion and don’t realize how destructive it has become. They know only what they are being told by the radical and murderous leaders.

We should be proud to be Islamophobic. Only idiots wouldn’t be.

You can check out Wikipedia for a thorough description of Islamophobia.

There is Islamophobia Watch: Documenting the war against Islam.

Others writing on Islamophobia: The Anchoress, FaithFreedom, Michelle Malkin, Sister Toldjah, Power Line, Captain’s Quarters, Blue Star Chronicles, Atlas Shrugs, All Things Beautiful, Pedestrian Infidel, Right Truth, Water Cooler Wisdom, The Fall of Jericho, Mark Levin Fan, Infidel Bloggers Alliance, Cox & Forkum, Infinite Monkeys, Gina Cobb, Protein Wisdom, Jihad Watch, My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, Mudville Gazette, Little Green Footballs, Iraq The Model.

Permalink  2 Comments »  Filed under: Danish Cartoons, Politics, Islamic Extremism, Liberal Insanity