IMPORTANCE OF PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTION DEBATE . . ."We know, of course, that passing a ban on this particular abortion technique won't directly save many lives. We are well aware that a variety of late-term abortion procedures are available as an alternative to partial-birth abortion. But the process of enacting these bills is far more important than whether they are eventually signed into law. This process provides us with a valuable teaching opportunity. Lest you doubt the importance of that opportunity, The New York Times (May 25, 1997) reported on an April 1996 Gallup poll that found 57% of Americans opposing partial-birth abortion. But after three months of Congressional debate on the issue, a July poll revealed that opposition had risen to 71% of Americans. That is enormous progress. And as for the argument that opposition to a particular type of abortion concedes the right to perform other types, just wait until we begin to debate the savagery of those other types, one procedure at a time. This strategy helps the public see abortion as an act of violence that kills a >baby and that is progress by any measure."[Gregg L. Cunningham, Esq., >Center of Bio-Ethical Reform, P.O. Box 8056, Missions Hills, CA 91346. >(818) 360-2477] NON-POLITICALLY CORRECT FACTS YOU CAN USE . . .[The Deweese Report, 2/96]Subscriptions $29.95. American Policy Center, 13873 Park Center Road, Herndon, VA 20171 PC Claim: Environmentalists warn that trees are disappearing. PC Claim: Global Warming is getting worse each year. PC Claim: The ozone hole over the South Pole is getting larger and larger
while new holes are opening up over the Northern Hemisphere. HUMAN CLONING . . .Harold Varmus, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) testifies before a congressional committee that he finds human cloning personally "offensive", but went on to say that the cloning of humans should not be rejected out of hand. [WORLD, "Deja vu", 3/15/97] Homosexuals and lesbians, however, do not find the concept of human cloning to be offensive. According to Ann Northrop, columnist for the New York homosexual newspaper LGNY, "Essentially, this is sort of the final nail in men's coffins. Men are now totally irrelevant, if this [cloning] is in fact true and possible and becomes routine. Men are going to have a very hard time justifying their existence on the planet, I think." [Washington D.C. (EP), reported in Metro Voice, May,97] Ms. Northrop is quoted in the USA Today as saying, "[T]his has the potential of giving women complete control over reproduction ... a stunning possibility that could, carried to its logical extreme, eliminate men altogether." [USA Today, 3/6/97] Gay activist Frank Kameny agreed that cloning could be beneficial for homosexuals -- "Because many gay men and women wish to have children of their own, ... cloning ... would seem to offer possibilities of particular interest and unique value to gay people." [Washington D.C. (EP), as reported in Metro Voice, May 1997]TITLE I PROGRAM DECLARED FAILURE . . .A new study of the federal government's oldest and most expensive K-12 education program (Chapter I until 1994, now called Title I) brands it a failure. The Prospects study, authorized by Congress in 1988, began tracking 27,000 students in grade l, 3, and 7 in 1991 to determine whether these students were helped by the $7.2 billion a year spent by the government for remedial programs. These students were tested annually until 1994. A preliminary assessment released in 1993 reported that Chapter I remedial classes did nothing to narrow the achievement gap between rich and poor children. In addition, poor children's low scores stayed the same whether they were given Chapter I remedial classes or not. The recent final assessment report confirmed those early findings. [School Reform News, The Heartland Institute, May 1997] According to Chester E. Finn, Jr., president of the Fordham Foundation and a former assistant secretary of education under President Reagan, the recent assessment report was "the sixth or seventh evaluation in 32 years, and they've all come to the same conclusion" as the new study. The truth, Finn said, was "embarrassing" for the government. Since its inception 32 years ago, the government has spent nearly $100 billion on remedial education. "It's the biggest park-barrel project in American education," said Finn. [Washington Times, 4/1/97]CASINO "KID CARE" . . .Casinos across the country, including Kansas City, are going to new extremes to entice families into their establishments. Gambling halls are adding daycare centers and special "kids activities" so that gambling will be more convenient for those who have children. Station Casino in Kansas City is the first in the area to plunge into family entertainment, offering a state-of-the-art childcare center, called Kid's Quest, complete with a shadow wall, a movie room, and a star stage. "If casino management isn't using kids as lures to get parents into the gambling halls, it's at least making sure mom and dad will find it convenient to park the kids in a theater or the arcade while they give the roulette a spin." [Barbara Shelly, "Can casinos be center for family fun?, Kansas City Star, 6/25/97] A survey conducted at 11 casinos revealed that more than three-fourths of the gamblers would not have been gambling if daycare centers had not been provided. Sue Dunkley, spokesperson for a management company that runs child care sites for the gambling companies, defends the industry, claiming it's better for offspring to be in their care because "people who are going to gamble are going to figure out a way to gamble one way or the other." [Newsweek, 1021/96] |