No Runny Eggs

Our twin boys, Thing 1 and Thing2 are in fifth grade.  Parenting is a full contact activity at this age.  While they aren’t yet old enough to get into major trouble, they are flexing and testing their independence muscles.  One of the areas where we’ve had to work with both of the Things is in their choice of friends.

Both of the Things are very social and compassionate boys (Insert “where did they get the from?” here).  From a very early age they had a spirit that let them make friends with anyone and everyone.  For the most part, this character trait has been a great advantage to them.  However, as the saying goes; the greatest strength can be the greatest weakness.

Because the boys accept others so readily, they don’t always use good judgement in determining who they should be friends with.  A couple of times they have befriended other boys who did not have the same values regarding school work, school behavior or behavior with other kids.  On a couple of occasions, the poor choice of a friend has gotten one of the things in trouble in school.  Our counsel to them has always been that while we want them to be friends with as many people as possible, they need to be aware of the behaviors of the people they choose to be friends with.  Like it or not, we are judged by and impacted by the company we keep.

Wow, that was a lot of stage setting for this article from WSJ.  It seems that the PGA is about to have a really tough season.  While the financial situation of some previously large sponsors like GM, Chrysler and Stanford Group Co. have left some holes in the sponsorship line up, the big problem is the loss of Tiger Woods.

The loss of Woods is and will, have a large financial impact on the PGA:

Ticket sales are down, fewer hospitality tents have been sold, and the title sponsor had to be lured with a cut-rate price.

It is a harbinger of what the PGA Tour may be without its most popular player. Three of the Tour’s 46 tournaments scheduled for 2010 don’t have a lead corporate sponsor, nor do 13 of next year’s tournaments. Television viewership of the first two events of this year’s Tour tumbled.

While the PGA will be challenged this year, they have no one to blame but themselves.

It’s become clear that the behavior which caused Tiger Woods to step out of the tour was not a behavior that was hidden from those around him.  It’s now clear that Woods’ behavior was well known on the tour.  One would have to believe that if not actually assisting in his behavior, people associated with the tour abetted the behavior simply by keeping it from the public and not dealing with it.

What’s all this have to do with my counsel to the Things?  Well, like the Things, the PGA had a choice of how closely to embrace their friend, Tiger.  They did not remain casual friends.  No, the PGA made Tiger their BFF while knowing that his behavior was dangerous to himself as well as the reputation of the PGA. 

The result?  Because the PGA not only listed Tiger as their BFF but perpetuated the mystic of the clean cut, family guy, knowing that the truth was something far different, when Tiger fell, so did the PGA.

The halcyon days of both Tiger and the PGA may be over, we’ll have to see.  The Things have both learned how to be friends without letting the friendship dictate who they are as individuals.  It will be interesting to see whether the PGA will be able to learn that same lesson.

Sometimes, when working with small children, it’s possible to assume too much about the child’s intellectual capabilities  and their ability to  grasp a topic.   Apparently, that was my mistake when I tried to explain to Nancy Pelosi her error on abortion theology.

After getting not only my advice, but that of several prominent Catholic Archbishops, Nancy remains steadfast in her belief that Catholicism allows for abortion. Nancy is standing on the following statement by Saint Augustine:

the law does not provide that the act (abortion) pertains to homicide, for there cannot yet be said to be a live soul in a body that lacks sensation …

OK Nancy, we tried the 4 year old level and that didn’t take. Let’s try the 3 year old level.

Nancy, it’s well documented that fetuses (read that babies) at 8 weeks can feel pain. Even using Saint Augustine’s definition, all second and third trimester abortions and the last month of the first trimester would be considered homicide. I wonder if Nancy will sign up for that? Along those lines, If Nancy believes that St. Augustine is the final arbiter of knowledge for medical science, perhaps she would be OK if the next time she went in for her “nip and tuck” the surgeon refused to use anesthesia because of course, it didn’t exist at St. Augustine’s time!

There is only one thing worse than someone with an ego that knows no bounds. That is someone with an overinflated ego who, when presented with irrefutable proof of their error and ignorance, clings to their ego as the arbiter of all knowledge.

Steve has started (restarted) his Ask Egg series which provides insightful advice to the lost souls of politics.   Similar to Steve, I will start a column today and it will be focused on teaching simple truths to Liberals.   Liberals have a penchant for taking obvious truths and making them complex by adding multiple levels of relativism and obfuscation to the discussion. Part of my purpose is to help these lost souls regain control of simple, concise thinking. Today I start recurring column titled “Talking to Four Year Olds.”

First the Democrats had the presumptuous presidential candidate.   Now, they appear to have the presumptuous Pope in waiting.

In an interview this weekend on “Meet the Press,” Nancy determined she had an appropriate pay grade to determine when life began. This account from William Donohue:

"I would say that as an ardent, practicing Catholic, this is an issue that I have studied for a long time. And what I know is, over the centuries, the doctors of the Church have not been able to make that definition." Responding, moderator Tom Brokaw told her that the Catholic Church "feels very strongly" that life begins at conception. Pelosi said, "I understand. And this is like maybe 50 years or something like that. So again, over the history of the Church, this is an issue of controversy."

I’ll let Mr. Donohue give the slap down response:

"Here is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says: "˜Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception.’ It also says, "˜Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable.’ Looks like Pelosi didn’t study the subject long enough. But not to worry: We are sending her a copy of Catholicism for Dummies today (the Catechism is like maybe a bit advanced).

My first attempt at educating a four year old:

I understand. And this is like maybe 50 years or something like that. So again, over the history of the Church, this is an issue of controversy.

A simple; “You’re wrong!” should suffice but ,I’ll give a bit more evidence. Donohue provides the Catechism answer. It’s source, if you claim Christianity, is authoritative, The Bible.

From Isaiah 49:

1 Listen to me, all you in distant lands!
Pay attention, you who are far away!
The Lord called me before my birth;
from within the womb he called me by name.

and

5 And now the Lord speaks"”
the one who formed me in my mother’s womb to be his servant,
who commissioned me to bring Israel back to him.
The Lord has honored me,
and my God has given me strength.

(Emphasis mine)
Isaiah made a claim of God personally knowing him while he was in the womb! He didn’t say “you named me at my birth,” or “You developed me from birth to manhood.” He specifically referred to activity while in the womb and he referred to “me” and not ” a pile of plasma.” And, just for the record, most of the Bible was written a bit more than 50 years ago.

OK, if Bible talk is a bit too advanced for your four year old try this one:

The basic argument of the “pro choice” crowds is that abortion is a women’s choice and it’s OK because it’s not a life. Let’s deconstruct that a bit:

Let’s stipulate that if you can survive outside of the womb, you are a life. I think we can also stipulate that you are a life even if you have to use extraordinary means. Even four year olds believe that people who have horrible diseases should get the benefit of extraordinary means to extend their lives.

When I was born if you weren’t nearly a full term baby, your chances of survival were very low. In fact (not that you’d know it now) but I was a full term baby and the story goes that my Great Grandmother told my Grandmother, out of earshot of my mom, that I was too small and wouldn’t survive. To the disappointment of many, I fooled her! Today, babies at 24 weeks are considered viable and the shortest gestation which the baby survived was about 21 weeks.

So what’s changed in the past (mumble, mutter, harumph, harumph) half a century? Well obviously, the medical community has gotten a lot smarter and technology has gotten much better. What’s not changed? Conception still occurs the same way (sperm fertilizes egg) even though we’ve found ways to help that and babies still develop in the same way and the same rate that they always have. In other words, what God designed hasn’t changed a bit but what Man understands about it continues to evolve.

Which brings me to a simple question:

If the only thing that is changing is our understanding and ability to define “viable,” doesn’t that mean that the fetus is viable and therefore a life from the day of conception and the only thing that prevents it is that we aren’t smart enough to successfully intervene…..YET?