Abortion: United States: At Least 839,226 in 2004

For 2004, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the number one cause of death for human beings was heart disease with 652,486 dying from this cause.
For those of us who accept that human life begins in some sense at conception, the actual number one killer in this country is abortion, with at least 839,226 [...]

Three Last Things About Iran: Shia Pres, Taliban, Nuclear Power

I have finished the book:
Curtis, G. E., & Hooglund, E. J. (2008). Iran: A country study. Area handbook series. Washington, DC: Library of Congress, Federal Research Division.
And I have three last factoids about Iran that I didn’t know:

p. 221 – The Iranian constitution specifies that the President MUST be a Shia Muslim.
p. 247 – In [...]

Three More Things About Iran: Safety, Taxes, Deposing Leader

Continuing my journey through:
Curtis, G. E., & Hooglund, E. J. (2008). Iran: A country study. Area handbook series. Washington, DC: Library of Congress, Federal Research Division.
Here are three more things I didn’t know about Iran:

p. 182 – Iran is considered one of the safest destinations among developing countries.
p. 192 – As of 2004, 50% of [...]

A Day of Thanksgiving – 1951

Hat tip to my friend Rebecca Blakely for posting the link to this video on Twitter.
This video is a touch heavy handed and patriarchal, but I think it’s still a good statement of things to be grateful for in this country of ours. There are also two bits that should be [...]

Happy Thanksgiving!

To all of my fellow Americans, I hope you have a terrific Thanksgiving with family and/or friends. This afternoon, my spouse and I will be dining with a friend and our godson on prime rib.
Gratitude isn’t just a warm and fuzzy feeling. It also has many psychological and spiritual benefits. So I hope today that [...]

Three More Things About Iran: Prisoners, Deforestation, Cars

Continuing my journey through:
Curtis, G. E., & Hooglund, E. J. (2008). Iran: A country study. Area handbook series. Washington, DC: Library of Congress, Federal Research Division.
Here are three more things I didn’t know about Iran:

p. 156 – In the first half of 2007, some 600 labor leaders were reportedly imprisioned and thousands of workers have [...]

FOCA: Read it for yourself

Update: February 6, 2009 – As of this writing, FOCA has not yet been reintroduced into Congress, I searched the official federal legislation site THOMAS using the word abortion. There are now 15 bills relating to abortion before Congress, but not FOCA.
If someone finds a reintroduced FOCA some other way, please leave a bill [...]

A Different Kind of Jihad

We we Americans hear the word “Jihad”, most of us instantly think “holy war” and some of us think about either al-Qaeda or perhaps Iran. Maybe even Syria even though they are ruled by a secular government.
I’ve heard Jihad translated as struggled and Mohammed himself distinguished between the lesser jihad of external battle and the [...]

Three More Things About Iran: Illegals, Coeds, Doctors

Continuing my journey through:
Curtis, G. E., & Hooglund, E. J. (2008). Iran: A country study. Area handbook series. Washington, DC: Library of Congress, Federal Research Division.
Here are three more things I didn’t know about Iran:

(p. 106) Afghans are the “illegal alien” laborers in Iran furnishing a good deal of construction work. They have not been [...]

Death Watches Worth Reading

Shel Holtz is a podcaster/public relations blogger who is also a cynical optimist after my own heart. He’s cynical about pronouncements about “The Death of [Your Trend/Technology Here] and optimistic about the actual prospects of [Your Trend/Technology Here].
In a new post called Death Watch, Shel explains the popularity of declaring things dead and says he’s [...]