Live Fire with Chuck Holton

Yesterday, President Bush vetoed a stem cell research bill. His comments afterwards made his reasons clear – he vetoed it because it’s wrong.

America is also a nation founded on the principle that all human life is sacred. And our conscience calls us to pursue the possibilities of science in a manner that respects human dignity and upholds our moral values.

I appreciate the fact that we’re joined by a lot of folks who share the deep desire to advance science and at the same time uphold our moral values.

…Destroying human life in the hopes of saving human life is not ethical. And it is not the only option before us.

We’re already seeing remarkable advances in science and therapeutic uses of stem cells drawn from adults and children and the blood from umbilical cords with no harm to the donor.

Not surprisingly, this move caused liberal democrats a new bout of whining. Among them, Hillary Clinton lambasted the President’s veto of a stem cell research bill, saying, “This is just one example of how the president puts ideology before science, politics before the needs of our families,” (but of course! who would think to put ethics before science!)

Ideology before science? What’s she saying? That it’s wrong to pursue medical advances in a way that don’t cause the destruction of human life? Or that it’s wrong to say that destruction of human life is wrong?

The hypocrisy is staggering – whenever the president asserts that there is such a thing as objective morality, somebody starts carping that he’s letting his religious beliefs get in the way of his judgment. Which is a tacit assertion that doing so is wrong, which is itself a call to an objective moral standard – their own religious belief, if you will.

And this begs the question: If our President is referring to the God of love, who created the universe and gave it life, who is the author of the liberal worldview, which seems to place such importance on the death of others?

I still have to sort of snerk every time I hear someone comment negatively on homeschooling, especially when studies continue to roll in showing that homeschooling generally equals a better education, and that’s only on measurable statistics like scores on college entrance exams. Even the military has come to the realization that it wants homeschooled kids. Perhaps it’s because since 1998 when they first started allowing homeschoolers to enlist without jumping through flaming hoops, the percent of young homeschooled men and women “who required a waiver for drug or alcohol offenses prior to enlistment” was exactly 0%.

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In honor of those who gave their lives on the beaches of Normandy 63 years ago, please take a moment and read this article. It’s good to remember, especially in light of the current geo-political situation.

In World War II, the United States suffered over 400,000 military casualties, and every man, woman and child knew the cost of “supporting the troops.” It meant going without meat, enduring gas rationing, and often sending mother to work in a factory and father off to war for an indeterminate amount of time – sometimes years.

In the war on terror, we’ve suffered just under 3,500 military deaths. Every one of those sacrifices deserves to be honored and remembered. But these days, “Supporting the troops,” often means something completely different than it did in 1944. Nowadays some people’s “support” comes in the form of criticizing the mission, voting to cut funding for the troops, and calling for them to return home before finishing the job.

It’s a sad state of affairs, but fortunately, our men and women on the front lines share the same unwavering resolve that their fathers and grandfathers did on Normandy – to fight on and complete the mission.

For those who have lost brothers at arms, it’s the highest honor they could do for their fallen.

63 years from now, may our grandchildren read our history and see how we mustered the will to finish the job and defeat the islamist cowards, once and for all.

And may the example of people like Wafa Sultan finally give the world’s peace-loving Muslims the courage to change their culture from the inside out, by learning to love their children more than they hate the infidel.