Abortion Causes Mental Health Problems for Women

A study recently published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry shows that women who have an abortion face a dramatically increased chance of psychological consequences , including depression, anxiety, and suicidal behavior.

Scientists who conducted the 25-year study of New Zealand women age 15 to 25 report that girls 15 to 18 who had not gotten pregnant had a 31.2 percent chance of experiencing major depression, while girls who became pregnant but did not have an abortion had a 35.7 percent chance. However, girls who had an abortion had a 78.6 percent chance of experiencing major depression.

The results for anxiety were similar, with girls not getting pregnant having a 37.9 percent chance of experiencing anxiety and girls who got pregnant who did not have an abortion having a 35.7 percent chance. Girls who had an abortion had a 64.3 percent chance of suffering from anxiety.

The study further shows that 23 percent of girls with no pregnancy had thoughts of suicide. That number was 25 percent for those who became pregnant but did not have an abortion. However, 50 percent of those who had an abortion experienced suicidal thoughts.

The researchers pointed out that the negative mental conditions occurred after the abortions, not the other way around. In other words, care was taken to assure that the research was measuring the effect abortion has on a woman's mental health, not the effect of a prior mental health condition on a woman's chances of having an abortion.

Happy Republicans; Not-So-Happy Democrats

Good news for Republicans! We're happier than Democrats.

According to a Pew Research Center study , "45% of all Republicans report being very happy, compared with just 30% of Democrats and 29% of independents." Furthermore, "Republicans have been happier than Democrats every year since the General Social Survey began taking its measurements in 1972."

I'm not sure, though, that we needed this survey to tell us that Democrats are not very happy. Just look at them!

No Free Speech in Germany

This Reuters report out of Duesseldorf, Germany shows that there is no free speech in that country.

It seems that a 61-year-old man has been arrested and sentenced to a year in prison and 300 hours of community service for printing the word "Koran" on sheets of toilet paper and sending them to television stations, magazines, and mosques. The toilet paper was sent along with a letter that called the Koran a "cookbook for terrorists."

According to the article, the German criminal code allows for a maximum sentence of three years in prison for insulting religious beliefs.

Can anyone figure out the port deal alliances?

Talk about a strange situation! The President, of whom I have been generally very supportive, approves of the sale of a British port security company to a company owned by the United Arab Emirates. My thoughts are, "This is absurd! Why would Bush allow U.S. port security to fall into the hands of an Arab owned company? What is he thinking?"

I know my liberal friends will say that they have been asking that last question for a long time, and it pains me to have to say something about the President that they will agree with, but this port deal just makes no sense to me.

At first I thought that maybe I just didn't understand the situation. However, the large numbers of republicans who have joined democrats in opposing this deal have helped to assure me that I am right in my opposition to this.

But the thing that has really convinced me that I am right in opposing the President's position on the port deal is the fact that former President Jimmy Carter is backing the President's position. Carter has been one of Bush's most vocal critics, and for him to now support the President while many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle oppose him is very odd.

What is it they say about politics making strange bedfellows?

Muslim Woman's Appreciation of Hitler

This picture was found on the German website n-tv.de , where the caption under the picture reads as follows:

Frauen demonstrieren am Mittwoch in der pakistanischen Hauptstadt Islamabad gegen die Mohammed-Karikaturen. Was genau sie mit dem Plakat sagen wollen, bleibt unklar.

Translated, the caption reads

Women demonstrate on Wednesday in the Pakistani capital Islamabad against the Mohammed caricatures. What exactly she wants to say with the poster, remains unclear.

Well, the meaning of the poster may be unclear to whoever wrote the caption, but it seems clear enough to me: Hitler was responsible for the murder of 6 million Jews, and this Muslim woman is showing her appreciation.

That says a lot about the state of Islam. It's also a bit ironic considering that many Arabs claim the Holocaust never happened.

Valuable Research Results!

As I was browsing headlines this morning, this one from caught my attention:

Study: Watching Calories Takes Commitment

My first thought was "I wonder how much money was spent on this study."

Well, the article doesn't say how much money was spent, but it does say that the research consisted of a two-decade study!

That's right. Researcher Barbara Hansen of the University of South Florida, Tampa spent two decades studying monkeys in order to come to the following conclusion:

When forced to slim down by as much as 25 percent, (some monkeys) regained the weight they'd lost once caloric restrictions were lifted regardless of whether they'd been on a diet for two months or two years.

Wow! Who would have thought it? If you start eating more, you'll regain the weight you lost!

When Hansen presented her findings to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, she summarized the results of her research by saying, "The price of leanness is eternal vigilance."

Just think, it only took Hansen two decades to figure this out. And because the University of South Florida is a public institution, we can all rest easy knowing that public tax dollars are being put good use gaining valuable information such as this.

posted by Bryan Alexander - 11:52 A.M.

Hey, Bryant Gumbel - Get Over It

Here's a recent comment on the Winter Olympics from Bryant Gumbel, speaking on HBO's Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel.

Try not to laugh when someone says these are the world’s greatest athletes, despite a paucity of blacks that makes the Winter Games look like a GOP convention.

Funny, I have watched several of this year's Olympic events, and the race of the athletes never entered my mind. Now, don't write a comment telling me that the reason race never entered my mind is because I'm white like most of the athletes.

If you tell me that's the reason I never noticed the race of the Winter Olympic athletes, I'll have to tell you that I have also watched several college basketball games this winter, and the race of those athletes never entered my mind either, at least not until I read Gumbel's comments about the Winter Olympic athletes.

I think, maybe, you have to be a racist if things like this bother you.

posted by Bryan Alexander - 3:37 P.M.

Democratic Leadership Reach Another New Low

I had just posted my comments on the contemptible way in which the elite media was handling the Cheney hunting accident story, and what do you know? I see the following headline on Breitbart.com: Democrats blast Cheney secrecy after shooting

Isn't that a surprise? The Democratic leadership and the nation's elite media are singing the same outrageous tune. They both want to turn a tragic accident into political gain.

Senator Hillary Clinton said this in commenting on the situation:

The refusal of this administration to level with the American people on matters large and small is very disturbing, because it goes counter to the way our constitutional democracy ... is supposed to work.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid offered this bit of brilliant insight:

I think the reason it took the vice president a day to talk about this is part of the secretive nature of this administration.

Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer of New York added the following:

In light of the recent shooting accident and all the questions surrounding his role in the leaking of classified national security information through his Chief of Staff Lewis Libby, there are many questions that Americans have for VP Cheney.

If these blatant attempts to use this accident for political gain do not disgust mainstream America's most ardent supporters of the Democratic Party, nothing will. This is pathetic.

posted by Bryan Alexander - 12:09 P.M.

Elite Media at Its Worst

I don't know of anything that shows the utter desperation, not to mention the despicable nature, of the elite media in the United States, any better than the Dick Cheney hunting accident. As we all know by now, US Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot hunting partner Harry Whittington while hunting quail on Saturday.

It was an accident; it happens. Yet to listen to the barrage of questioning from the elite media, you would almost think that Cheney had this planned all along.

I'm not a hunter, but from what I hear from those who are, it seems that accidents of this kind are not all that uncommon. Still, the left is so hungry for something, anything to pin on this administration, that this accident has ignited a feeding frenzy that should be an embarrassment to all fair-minded persons.

This accident involves human lives: the life of 78-year-old man who has been shot and who we now know has suffered a mild heart attack as a result of his injuries, and the live of a man who is dealing with the trauma of having been the one who pulled the trigger. To turn this into a political issue is appalling and inexcusable.

Another Liberal Politician Spreading Anti-American Propaganda

What is it that causes liberal politicians to feel the need to go abroad and to then badmouth the United States? Bill Clinton did it last November when he told students at the American University of Dubai that "I don't agree with what was done (in going into Iraq). It was a big mistake. The American government made several errors ..."

I wrote at that time, "It’s fair for Clinton to hold this opinion. It’s acceptable to have this debate within the halls of Congress. It’s not acceptable to denigrate our own government before the eyes and ears of the world."

Now, former Vice President Al Gore, speaking in Saudi Arabia, has told a mostly Saudi audience that the United States has committed "terrible abuses" against Arabs since 9-11, and that Arabs have been "indiscriminately rounded up" and held in "unforgivable" conditions.

Why doesn't bin Laden and some of the other terrorists just hire liberal American politicians to write their anti-American propaganda for them? It would save them time, and they couldn't do a better job if they wrote this stuff themselves.

Herald News Wants to Hide the Truth

When the Will County, Illinois, chapter of the National Right to Life Committee tried to buy space for a pro-life ad in the Joliet-based Herald News, the ad was rejected.

The Herald News rejected the ad saying that the sonogram photograph of an unborn child was "too graphic."

The Will County Right to Life then submitted two more ads to the paper, both of which were likewise rejected.

When questioned about the paper's refusal to print the ads, Steve Vanisko, manager of the Herald News' advertising department, said, "I'm saying that the newspaper reserves the right, just like any other paper, to reject any ad for any reason. And that's what we did. Period. End of story."

Here are the ads the paper rejected.










Do these photos look graphic to you? It looks to me like the Herald News does not want America to know the truth: that the unborn baby is just that - a baby. It's not a glob of tissue. It's not part of the woman's body for her to do with whatever she wants. It's a baby who is living - living within its mother's womb, but living none-the-less.

Is All Common Sense a Thing of the Past?

This story out of Massachusetts (how appropriate) makes me wonder if common sense any longer has a place in the world.

It seems that a first grader has been suspended for three days from Downey Elementary School for sexual harassment. Evidently, the six-year-old boy put two fingers inside a girl's waistband while she was setting on the floor in front of him.

Well, I can see why they can't allow that to go on. If they don't immediately put a stop to this kind of behavior, this six-year-old could soon be harassing all the little girls of Downey Elementary.

Then again, maybe they should just let him stay on the prowl. After all, if he's a democrat, he may someday become President.

John Bolton for the Nobel Peace Prize

Remember the Democrat filibuster that forced a recess appointment of John Bolton as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations?

I wonder how those democrats feel now that Bolton has been nominated for the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his role in exposing Iran's plans to develop nuclear weapons.

I'm sure they will be lining up to praise Bolton's work and to admit their misjudgment of the man.

These People Have No Shame

It was supposed to be a celebration of life. Today's memorial service for Coretta Scott King brought together family, friends, civil rights leaders, and government officials of both political parties, including four Presidents – two Republicans and two Democrats. It was supposed to be one time when men and women of good faith could come together, put aside political differences, and honor a courageous woman who stood for what she believed, suffered for what she believed, and made a difference because of what she believed.

That is what it was supposed to be. But that is not what it turned out to be. The part about putting aside political differences was just too much to ask of some in attendance.

The Reverend Joseph Lowery, who along with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, couldn't pass up the opportunity take a jab at President Bush, who was seated directly behind him.

We know now there were no weapons of mass destruction over there, but Coretta knew and we knew that there are weapons of misdirection right down here. Millions without health insurance. Poverty abounds. For war billions more but no more for the poor.

How tempting it must have been for the President to refuse to shake Reverend Lowery's hand after that. However, the President, with the respect appropriate for a solemn occasion, warmly embraced Reverend Lowery, showing the class that the Reverend had not been able to show.

Reverend Lowery was not the only one unable to resist taking a shot at the current President. Former President Jimmy Carter decided to use the occasion to call to mind the current wiretapping issue by mentioning that it was difficult for the Kings "personally with the civil liberties of both husband and wife violated as they became the target of secret government wiretaps."

Maybe President Bush should have reminded President Carter that it was President John F. Kennedy's Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy who authorized those wiretaps. That's right, the heroes of the left, the champions of the poor, the defenders of minorities, were the ones who committed the act that President Carter chose to use to admonish President Bush at a moment when he was supposed to be honoring Coretta Scott King.

Pathetic.

What's the Difference?

What's the difference between Islam and Judaism? Besides the differences in theological beliefs, there is the difference in the way in which the followers of the two faiths react to offensive language toward their respective faiths.

A Danish newspaper prints caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. Rioting breaks out across Europe and into Africa. Diplomatic sanctions begin, death threats are issued, and embassies are bombed.

A Northwestern University professor agrees with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in calling the Holocaust is a myth. Northwestern University President Henry Bienen calls the comment an embarrassment and an insult. That's it. No rioting, no death threats, no bombings.

A pretty significant difference, don't you think?

Polling News Not Good for Hillary

Following a recent CNN-USA Today Gallup poll in which 51% of voters nationwide said they would definitely not vote for New York Senator Hillary Clinton for President while only 16 percent said they definitely would vote for her, a new poll indicates that voters in New York State are equally unenthused about a President Hillary Clinton.

A Marist College Institute for Public Opinion poll found that only 41% of registered voters in New York State want to see Mrs. Clinton run for President, while 49% do not. Furthermore, if Clinton does run, 62% of registered voters in New York State believe that she will not win.

This Gets So Old!

The kind of vile, bigoted, hate-filled speech spewed Wednesday evening from the mouth of NAACP Chairman Julian Bond is getting to be really old. I hardly have the energy to even write about it anymore, but I think that as much as possible, people need to be constantly reminded who the real hate mongers in this country are.

Speaking at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina, Bond said, "The Republican Party would have the American flag and the swastika flying side by side," and in language reminiscent of Harry Belafonte's calling Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice "Uncle Toms," Bond referred to Powell and Rice as "tokens."

In the past Bond has referred to Republicans as "Taliban," and to black conservatives as “ventriloquist dummies.”

What do this man and others like him think they are offering to the black community, or to anyone else for that matter, that is helpful?

A Proud Moment for the Democrats

Perhaps the most telling sign of what the National Democratic Party has become came a little more that halfway through Tuesday's State of the Union address.

The most wildly enthusiastic response the President received from the left side of the aisle came when he said, "Congress did not act last year on my proposal to save Social Security..." The democrat side stood, applauded, and hooted and hollered.

How proud they must be to stand as the obstructionist party.

Hillary Clinton on the State of the Union Address

I found Hillary Clinton’s statement on the President’s State of the Union address interesting, especially her comments on what she evidently believes the President said or did not say in regard to energy.

President Bush's message tonight was loud and clear: you’re on your own...everyone is on their own to deal with rising energy costs in the absence of a real plan by the President to meet our long term energy needs...

So that is what Mrs. Clinton heard the President say, and this is what she says we need to do in regard to energy:

We need to make a real commitment to achieving energy independence and to invest in energy research and development that will help us finish the job.

Now let’s look at what the President actually said in regard to energy.

So tonight, I announce the Advanced Energy Initiative -- a 22-percent increase in clean-energy research -- at the Department of Energy, to push for breakthroughs in two vital areas. To change how we power our homes and offices, we will invest more in zero-emission coal-fired plants, revolutionary solar and wind technologies, and clean, safe nuclear energy.

We must also change how we power our automobiles. We will increase our research in better batteries for hybrid and electric cars, and in pollution-free cars that run on hydrogen. We'll also fund additional research in cutting-edge methods of producing ethanol, not just from corn, but from wood chips and stalks, or switch grass. Our goal is to make this new kind of ethanol practical and competitive within six years.

Breakthroughs on this and other new technologies will help us reach another great goal: to replace more than 75 percent of our oil imports from the Middle East by 2025. By applying the talent and technology of America, this country can dramatically improve our environment, move beyond a petroleum-based economy, and make our dependence on Middle Eastern oil a thing of the past.

So let’s recap what Bush said about energy: A 22-percent increase in clean-energy research for zero-emission coal plants, solar and wind technology, nuclear energy, hybrid and electric cars, and hydrogen powered cars; a specific goal of making ethanol competitive within six years; and a specific goal of reducing oil imports from the Middle East by 75 percent by 2025.

That sounds like a “real plan by the President to meet our long term energy needs.” That sounds like a “real commitment to achieving energy independence and to invest in energy research and development.”

Mrs. Clinton should have been thrilled with what the President said about energy. He couldn't have done a better job of outlining an energy plan that would reflect what Mrs. Clinton says needs to be done if she had written the speech for him.

What in the world was Hillary watching?