Remembering Terri Schindler-Schiavo

Tomorrow, March 31, is the second anniversary of Terri Schiavo's cruel death by judicial fiat. Her brother, Bobby Schindler, writes on the meaning of her life and death to our society.

As hideous as it was, the truth is, long before Terri's case made headlines, the removal of basic care – food and water – was becoming commonplace. It continues to happen every day across our country oftentimes in cases, like Terri's, where the patient does not suffer from any life-threatening condition.

Much of the problem that exists stems from a blind acceptance of misinformation that has moved us from a firm belief in the sanctity of life to a "quality of life" mindset, which says that some lives are not worth living.

How those terrible days leading up to Terri's death were covered by this blog can be reviewed by looking at my March 2005 archive.

The Bigger Picture

The increasing tenseness of the latest Iranian hostage crisis makes very timely, Victor Davis Hanson's article explaining that U.S. Involvement in Iraq is not to blame for terrorism and violence in other parts of the world and that an arbitrary withdrawal will not make it go away.

Should a peace candidate win the American presidency in 2008, prompting the U.S. to pull out of Iraq before the democracy there is stabilized, in the short term we will save lives and money. But as the larger war continues after we withdraw, jihadists will still flock to the Sunni Triangle. Hamas and Hezbollah will still rocket Israel. Syria will still kill Lebanese reformers. Iran will still try to cheat its way to a nuclear bomb. Ayman al- Zawahiri will still broadcast his al Qaeda threats from safety in nuclear Pakistan. The oil-rich, illegitimate Gulf sheikdoms will still make secret concessions and bribe increasingly confident terrorists to leave them alone. And jihadists will still try to sneak into the United States to kill us.

Joe Lieberman Says No to Dems' Legislating on Iraq Strategy

Senator Joe Lieberman, the Independent Democrat from Connecticut, says the deadline that Congress wants to impose on the U.S. actions in Iraq is "arbitrary and inflexible".

Amazingly, however, just at the moment things are at last beginning to look up in Iraq, a narrow majority in Congress has decided that it's time to force our military to retreat. Rather than supporting Gen. Petraeus, they are threatening to strip him of the troops he says he needs and sabotage his strategy.

Joe Lieberman's independent streak (at least on national security issues) is a blessing to our country at this critical time.

Falcon Launch 'Partial Success'

The SpaceX Falcon 1 launch took place on Tuesday. SpaceX claimed 95% of the test's objectives were met even though the test payload did not achieve orbit. The next launch is to orbit an actual customer's satellite, the Defense Department's TacSat 1.

Ready to Rumble

Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is set to launch its Falcon 1, version 2 launch vehicle possibly as soon as tomorrow from Kwajalein Island in the Pacific. The rocket has been upgraded since a failed launch attempt a year ago. A successful launch will be another milestone in the emerging commercial space industry.

I'll be out of town for a few days, but check here for updates including information on a launch time, a possible webcast, and the (hopefully successful) outcome.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!



Artist unknown, Link by Catholic Forum

Catholic Forum provides descriptions of St. Patrick here and here.

Saint Patrick's Breastplate

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort me and restore me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

In the spirit of the holiday, check out LiveIreland.com for webcasts of Irish music and other media direct from Ireland.

Amazing Grace

Tonight I saw the movie Amazing Grace, which tells the story of William Wilberforce, the British MP who courageously led the fight to end the slave trade two centuries ago.

Wilberforce is an inspiration for those today who are fighting for the dignity of every human life against the appalling evils of abortion, embryo destruction, euthanasia, genocide, human trafficking, etc. A few blocks from the movie theatre in downtown Silver Spring where I saw the film is a Planned Parenthood abortion facility where I join others in prayer on the sidewalk on Saturday mornings, playing our small part in continuing Wilberforce's fight in today's society.

Taking the Hill

After today's training session, I'll be joining ~thirty volunteers tomorrow and Tuesday for this year's ProSpace March Storm Congressional briefings. This years agenda includes initiatives related to prizes, infrastructure, commercial transportation to the International Space Station (ISS), and focusing the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) on the goals beyond Earth orbit.

Iraq: Past and Future

Victor Davis Hanson writes at National Review Online, describing the mistakes made in executing the war in Iraq following the initial success in toppling Saddam Hussein's government, but argues that the outcome is not irrevocably lost.

But if we have an orphaned war that is dubbed lost, it nevertheless can still be won. None of our mistakes has been fatal; none is of a magnitude unprecedented in past wars; all have been cataloged; and few are now being repeated. We now understand the politics of our Iraqi odyssey, with all its triangulations, and the ruthlessness of our enemies.

Not arguments, rhetoric, pleading, or money right now can save the democracy in Iraq. The U.S. military alone, in the very little remaining time of this spring and summer, can give Iraqis the necessary window of security and confidence to govern and protect themselves, and thereby to allow the donors, peacekeepers, compromises, and conferences to follow.