Catholic Priest Agrees That Abortion Is the Only Way Out

http://votelifecanada.blogspot.com/2007/12/catholic-priest-agrees-that-abortion-is.html

VotelifeCanada has a piece that I've linked to above that is quite sad.

I’m reading Saving Those Damned Catholics. It’s a recent book by Judie Brown, President and co-founder of American Life League. The following excerpt is a sample of the contents.



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My Pastor Said the Abortion Was My Only Way Out!


Fifteen years ago I got pregnant; I wasn't married at the time. I was in college. 1 knew a terrific priest at the local parish church. His name was Father X. I went to him after I found out that I was pregnant, and we talked about how this pregnancy would affect my life. I had slept with a friend, and I never intended to get pregnant. I only had one year to go before graduation; I was engaged to a very fine man from my hometown; and I knew that if i did not have an abortion, my fiancé would leave me, my degree would be put on hold, and my life would be ruined. Father X listened to all I had to say and immediately reached out to me and said, "Pat, you have to do what is right for you in this situation. God loves you, and he will be with you regardless. Just be careful and be sure to get plenty of rest after the surgery."


For years after my abortion, I wept every time I saw a baby. I had nightmares every year when what would have been my baby’s birthday approached. I did not graduate because I felt so depressed after the abortion that I turned to alcohol. I got a job in a local bar and had more one-night stands than I can remember. I did not marry the man to whom I was engaged because I felt dirty and evil; I knew I just wasn't good enough for him. I knew that I had murdered my own baby and that a Catholic priest said I was doing what was best. My pain was so severe that I often felt that death would be superior to life.


And then one day I heard about a retreat that was dedicated to helping men and women experience healing after an abortion. So I signed up. On the second day of the retreat, I had the opportunity to go to confession. I had not been back inside a Catholic church since that day when the priest encouraged me to kill my baby. But somehow I knew that God wanted me to surrender this tragic sin to Him and tell Him how broken I was, how sorrowful I was, how much I needed my Father to forgive me.


Father Murphy, the retreat priest, was the most awesome priest I have ever met in my entire life. He shared with me the wonderful nature of Christ's forgiveness when the sinner is truly repentant. He assured me that over time I would feel not only the sense of relief but the assurance that I could also forgive myself and move on with my life. He shared his sorrow with me that Father X had not explained to me that I was a mother and that my baby would bring me joy, not pain.


For the first time in years, I felt the beginning of closure. I understood my own sin and the tragic nature of that sin. I also understood the sin of that priest, who had the chance to at least tell me why I should not murder my baby and chose instead to be an accomplice in my baby's execution. At the end of the confession, Father Murphy told me that I must forgive Father X.


Now my life is back on track; I am practicing my faith, and I pray for Father X every day. But I still wonder why any priest would do such an awful thing.



The true villain in this mother's story is the priest, not the abortionist. It is true that the abortionist used the instruments to kill the baby, but the fact is that the priest facilitated the abortion by doing absolutely nothing to stand in the way of this young woman's ultimate decision. The question in a case like this one, which is all too common, is why-why would any Catholic priest be so blasé about an act so criminal, so vile, so wrong?


Why didn't he use the opportunity to affirm this young woman's motherhood? Why didn't he explain to her that her baby's life was worth more than all the degrees in the world? Why didn't he let her know that he would visit her fiancé with her and do what he could to help this young man see the courage of her decision to carry this baby to term? There are so many positive things this priest could have done-yet he chose to commiserate with the young mother and support her decision to have an abortion.

Blaming the Victim: A feminist perspective that violence is deserved

This is from the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (http://www.tfp.org/TFPForum/TFPCommentary/injured_in_line_duty.htm):

By Michael Whitcraft

At 6:30 am on Saturday, December 22, while most were snug in bed, resting up for Christmas activities, veteran pro-lifer Ed Snell was arriving at Hillcrest Abortion Center, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He had come with two other activists to persuade women entering the clinic not to abort their pre-born children.

The group customarily meets at the clinic and has saved many lives. In fact, they have been so effective, that the clinic erected a 7-foot privacy fence to cut off all communication between the women and the pro-lifers. However, their efforts were scuttled, when the activists began bringing ladders so they could speak over the fence.

Mr. Snell, age 69, preferred to stand on a more solid foundation, so he constructed a plywood platform on the roof of his car to elevate him above the fence.

“This platform gives him a real steady base and a commanding view,” said fellow activist and eyewitness John McTernan. As Ed stood on his platform that morning, a man and woman exited a car in the parking lot and proceeded towards that door of the abortion mill.

When Mr. Snell tried to counsel the woman, his words were cut short when the man became furious, jumped the fence and, in the words of Mr. McTernan, “leaped on the vehicle with Ed and catapulted him off of the vehicle and onto the ground.” Mr. Snell hit his back and head on the pavement and was knocked unconscious.

His medical report outlines the extent of his injuries: “multiple trauma, right subarachnoid hemorrhage (bleeding in the area between the brain and the tissues that cover the brain), compression fractures of four vertebrae (T3, T4, T5 and T10), right scapula fracture and fracture of the fourth and fifth ribs.” Before doctors were able to stop the bleeding in his head, they even feared Mr. Snell would die.

When asked on the phone about the vicious attack, the receptionist at Hillcrest Abortion Clinic refused to give a recorded statement and angrily shouted: “He got what he deserved! He earned what he got!” She then hung up the phone.

Immediately after the attack, Mr. McTernan ran over to Ed and was frightened to see that he was unconscious and breathing irregularly. He reported the attack to “911” and then shouted to the assailant: “You assaulted him and he is unconscious.” Agitated, the man replied: “I did not assault him, I just pushed him,” with an aggressiveness that made Mr. McTernan fearful for his own safety.

Ed was taken away in an ambulance and three police officers arrived to investigate. They went into the clinic, where the assailant was waiting. After a few moments, the assailant and his companion left the clinic freely, got into their car and drove away.

Shocked, Mr. McTernan shouted to the police: “What are you doing? That’s him! That’s the assailant!”

One cop replied: “It is none of your business!”

Mr. McTernan: “I am making it my business, Ed Snell is my good friend!”

The officer then threatened to arrest Mr. McTernan for interfering with a criminal investigation. Mr. Mcternan replied: “Go ahead and arrest me, I am not afraid. I want to know why the assailant walked away from this scene where an elderly man was left unconscious. We have excellent attorneys and we will sue you if you do not do your job.”

She angrily responded: “Don’t threaten me or I will arrest you!” She then returned to the police car and drove away. At the time this article was written, the Harrisburg Police Department had not returned a phone call requesting a statement on the incident.

Once the extent of Mr. Snell’s injuries were discovered, the assailant was arrested.

Nevertheless, as Mr. McTernan put it: “I cannot imagine me [as a pro-lifer], striking someone connected with Hillcrest [Abortion Center], knocking them unconscious, the police coming, the injured person being taken away in an ambulance and the police letting me go. There is something wrong with that.”

There is also something wrong with the lack of media coverage of the incident. At the time this article was written, a google search about the attack returned no results.

Ed returned home just in time to celebrate Christmas with his family. He was released from the hospital on Christmas Eve, just a couple of hours before Bishop Kevin Rhodes of Harrisburg arrived to pay him a visit.

Doctors expect him to make a full recovery, although it will take a long time. “Ed is very sore,” said Mrs. Snell in a telephone interview, “he is black and blue and the doctor said that it will be a full eight weeks before his bones heal completely.”

Mrs. Snell is thankful for the prayers that Ed has received and hopes these will continue. She feels confident that, supported by these prayers, he will recover well.

As for Mr. Snell, he is not yet accepting telephone calls, but feels humbled by all the prayers and attention he has received. A man of faith, he feels called to his work and remains undaunted. As Mrs. Snell aptly put it: “I know that the Devil is busy and that he does not like the work that Ed does, but if that is the case, then Ed is doing the right job.”

Please keep Mr. and Mrs. Snell in your prayers and, due to the lack of press coverage, please email this article to all your friends

http://defendlife.blogspot.com/2007/12/pro-life-activist-injured-in-line-of.html

Learn more about pro choice violence here.
http://abortionviolence.com/

1400 African American babies aborted daily in the USA

I thoughtful article on the impact of abortion on the black community from the perspective of a member of that community

http://hellonegro.wordpress.com/2007/12/28/over-1400-african-american-babies-are-aborted-each-day/

Over 1,400 African-American babies are aborted each day
Jump to Comments
“Abortion is so critical to us, because this is essentially a genocide. According to the census of 2006, African Americans are reproducing below replacement level, which is 2.1 children per household, and we are now at 1.9. We need to turn this around quickly, because over 1,400 African-American babies are aborted every day. That’s going in the wrong direction.” - Walter B. Hoye II, executive elder of Progressive Missionary Baptist Church of Berkeley

I’ve posted about African-Americans and abortion before and it’s a very very touchy subject. In the black community, I find that most people have a don’t ask don’t tell policy. Whether someone has had one…you don’t ask. That’s med’ling in grown business, if you will. If you had one, you only tell the people you trust or you keep it to yourself. But of course, the topic is not one that anyone would consider cause for casual conversation. Why? I think the major factors are the huge black christian community that considers it and premarital sex sinful and community stigma around abortion. The stigma part of the equation created in me an internal struggle. I really couldn’t say that I was pro-abortion, because I don’t believe a life should die because you and your partner don’t want it or made a mistake and didn’t use a condom…etc. However, I don’t think that children should be born into families where they are not wanted, will not have proper parenting, or will suffer as a result. I also don’t think that it’s my job to decide whether other women should have the option (especially in cases of rape, incest, or when the mother or child is endangered by the pregnancy). It’s a very very touchy issue. In the end, when it comes to questions of life and death, I believe that there is a place for government, church, and personal choice. Ultimately I think that each individual, male and female should have the choice of many informed choices when it comes to pregnancy. Abortion, adoption, parenthood, It’s not my choice to make.

But enough of what I think…I want to know what you readers think about African-Americans and abortion.

A Catholic Voters Overview

http://www.catholicvoter.com/2007/12/28/how-ron-paul-not-john-paul-convinced-me-that-abortion-is-a-tragedy-not-a-right/

I found the thoughts of this Catholic Blogger interesting

Before you get up on your britches here me out. I don’t like talking about Abortion, I would rather ignore it as I have done for the last 25 years or so. I am a bit of an anti-authoritarian type; I don’t like to be told I need to wear a seatbelt, or that I can’t smoke cigars in public or I need to pay my taxes. I am a lapse Catholic, not even an A&P Catholic anymore, but that does not mean I still don’t hold to a Catholic morality or philosophy, that has been branded into me, by my Irish Mother.

I have grown up under the cloud of Roe vs. Wade where a few white men, 5 to be exact now have determined for the whole nation that Abortion is legal. Notwithstanding the fact that they have no “Authority under the Constitution to make such a decision”, the Constitution only allows federal courts to hear cases regarding the “regulation of interstate commerce.” Ron Paul’s position is that it is up to the individual states to determine the legality of Abortion rather than the Federal government. This I agree, wholeheartedly, but this is not why I am writing the article.

Pope John Paul II tried his best to argue for the “sanctity of life”, however I didn’t find his argument convincing mostly because a priest was telling me that I had to abide by his opinion, the whole “papal infallibility” thing has made the pope a virtual non-entity, regarding moral concerns. I don’t pay attention to anyone that claims they are always right, it is a ludicrous idea and I believe it hurts the church rather than helps it, at this point. If you can walk on water and ascend to heaven, then I might believe you,… maybe.

I have always been opposed to Abortion, it is an emotional response, primal. I can’t understand how a mother can kill her own child? I have heard all the arguments, a woman doesn’t have the money, the lack of maturity, but what most gets me about the abortion question, is not why women get abortions, but that they call it a Right? The Right to choose. The right to choose what? To kill a baby? In ancient times they would call this human sacrifice.

Abortion is our modern-day human sacrifice ritual. It is an unconcious mechanism because we don’t acknowledge that we are taking a life. American women have killed over 55 million kids since Roe vs. Wade was instituted in 1972. When a woman goes in for an abortion, after the baby is sucked out of the womb, neither doctors or nurses look at the child. They all know as I do, as I am writing this that is a sickening and horrifying procedure, it is a tragedy not a right. In 25 years of hearing women proclaim that Abortion is a right, I have never met one that was not severely emotionally damaged. The woman that I have been in relationships with that have had Abortions are dead on a certain level, often they have some form of sexual dysfunction; such as not being able to have an orgasm. Women who have had abortions are often are extremely self destructive sexually, having multiple partners and are unable to form a lasting bond with a man. Women often complain that Men are irresponsible and not men, while that may be true on a certain level. From a Man’s perspective, I don’t have much respect for a woman who feels that it is her right to have 3-4 lovers at the same time or that she can kill a child that I created without my consent. That really does not turn me on or create a feeling that I want to live the rest of my life with this woman. So yea, I will treat her like a whore and have a one-night stand with her. If it is a right to choose, then you need to also take responsibility for the enormous “guilt and shame” that will come with that choice. I was caught stealing at 15. I went home crying and felt awful for weeks after, I would not get out of bed and I could not bear to see other people, especially those who knew I was a thief. Increase this by a factor of a 100, I can only imagine what a woman must feel like after an Abortion.

Now getting to Ron Paul, Dr. Ron Paul. He was a vietnam surgeon for 5 years, think Hawkeye and a baby obstetrician for 20, he delivered over 4000 babies. He obvious has have this conversation on Abortion with thousands of women. I saw him on the view and he sat in the middle of 5 liberal Pro-choice women. They immediately launched into an attack on the Abortion topic, I was wincing just thinking about what he was going to say.

He casually said that Abortion is an act of violence and that his oath as a doctor is to protect life not take it, he was not self-righteous as a Huckabee or a George Bush. Ron Paul then turned the question around and started talking about late term abortion, he said do you believe in late term abortion? None of them said yes, they all said of course not. he then changed the question to one that fundamentally you do not agree in abortion is a right. The women were dumb-founded, I was dumbfounded, there were perhaps for the first time being taught to think on a deep level about the meaning of Abortion that just the knee-jerk political slogans being propagated by the Liberal left.
It was then a question of when a fetus became a life. Ron Paul then brought up the fact that he could be sued for murder if he screwed up as a doctor at any stage of the pregnancy. By the end of the interview, these women were actually starting to like Ron Paul as everyone invariable does who meets the guy. The good Doctor is actually healing both women and men of this horrific tragedy known as Abortion and getting them to think on a deeper more philosophical way than just the standard black and white thinking being promulgated by the Main Stream media. With Ron Paul, what we have on our hands is a living character out of a Norman Rockwell painting. A man steadfast in his beliefs, who does not wear his religion on his sleeve, a very catholic viewpoint from a man who is the son of a Protestant dairy farmer.

In Honour of Benazir Bhutto

Assassinated Pakistan Leader Benazir Bhutto Was Strong Abortion Opponent
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
December 27, 2007


The world mourned the loss of assassinated Pakistani leader Benazir Bhutto on Thursday, but her death was more than a setback for those hoping for democracy in this war-torn nation. Bhutto was a member of an international pro-life women's movement that understood abortion causes medical, mental health and other problems for women.
When Bhutto was the prime minister of Pakistan, she helped lead a delegation to the 1994 Cairo population conference that confronted abortion advocates looking to make abortion an international right.

"I dream ...of a world where we can commit our social resources to the development of human life and not to its destruction," she told the United Nations panel at the time.

Bhutto was one of only two women to address the conference.

Instead of telling women in nations where population growth is an issue that they should kill their offspring, Bhutto told world leaders that the best solutions is "tackling infant mortality, by providing villages with electrification, by raising an army of women."

She hoped to "educate our mothers, sisters, daughters, in child welfare and population control, by setting up a bank run by women for women, to help women achieve economic independence, and to have the wherewithal to make independent choices.”

Bhutto warned conference participants that "this conference must not be viewed by the teeming masses of the world as a universal social charter seeking to impose adultery, abortion...and other such matters on individuals, societies and religions which have their own social ethos."

One of the leading pro-life women's groups in the United States, Feminists for Life of America, honored Bhutto in the 1998 issue of its publication The American Feminist. The group named Bhutto as one of the first and best "remarkable pro-life women" around the world.

"Prime Minister Bhutto advocated a more holistic approach to resolving population-control issues worldwide," the group said of the Pakistani leader.

FFLA said Bhutto prefers "the empowerment of women" over their destruction via abortion.

The loss of an amazing testimony to the pro-life movement.

A feminist response to teenage rape

LAS VEGAS – A former high school track coach and substitute teacher is facing a felony charge stemming from allegations he got a team member pregnant and helped her get an abortion, authorities said.
Kenneth Craig, 28, was free Thursday pending a preliminary hearing Feb. 20 in Las Vegas Justice Court on a felony charge of sexual misconduct with a student, court officials said. The charge carries a possible sentence of one to five years in prison.



AdvertisementCraig was arrested Dec. 20. It was not immediately clear if he posted bond or was freed without bail. The public defense lawyer who represented him at a court appearance on Monday did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Craig worked as a substitute teacher for the Clark County School District from May 2003 to May 2007, and was a track coach at Las Vegas High School from February to May 2006, according to a police arrest report.

A school district spokeswoman said Thursday she could not disclose whether Craig quit or was fired.

Craig told school district police in March that he had sex with the student after she graduated, but Las Vegas police said e-mails and cell phone messages between Craig and the then-17-year-old senior contradict that account. Craig declined to give Las Vegas police a statement in September, police said.

The former Las Vegas High student, who police said now lives outside Nevada, told police she and Craig first had sex in March 2006 at her parents' home. Medical records obtained by police through a grand jury subpoena showed the victim had an abortion in June 2006, the same month she graduated, police said.

The relationship first was reported to school district police by the current Las Vegas High girl's track coach, Uvette Gonzaque-Francis.

As a public education employee, Gonzaque-Francis was required by law to report suspected abuse involving students. Records show school police turned the case over to Las Vegas police in April.

Craig's ex-girlfriend, Deanna Riddle, told police she suspected Craig had a relationship with the girl, and said she drove the girl to a doctor's office near the end of her senior year in school.



It is interesting to me that the feminist news publications are not tackling the actions of a teacher who raped a young girl and then facilitated an abortion. As long as the outcome of the pregnancy is abortion that seems to dilute their reaction. Here is the news article outlining this man's actions:

Former Las Vegas track coach accused of sex with teen student

LAS VEGAS – A former high school track coach and substitute teacher is facing a felony charge stemming from allegations he got a team member pregnant and helped her get an abortion, authorities said.
Kenneth Craig, 28, was free Thursday pending a preliminary hearing Feb. 20 in Las Vegas Justice Court on a felony charge of sexual misconduct with a student, court officials said. The charge carries a possible sentence of one to five years in prison.

was arrested Dec. 20. It was not immediately clear if he posted bond or was freed without bail. The public defense lawyer who represented him at a court appearance on Monday did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Craig worked as a substitute teacher for the Clark County School District from May 2003 to May 2007, and was a track coach at Las Vegas High School from February to May 2006, according to a police arrest report.

A school district spokeswoman said Thursday she could not disclose whether Craig quit or was fired.

Craig told school district police in March that he had sex with the student after she graduated, but Las Vegas police said e-mails and cell phone messages between Craig and the then-17-year-old senior contradict that account. Craig declined to give Las Vegas police a statement in September, police said.

The former Las Vegas High student, who police said now lives outside Nevada, told police she and Craig first had sex in March 2006 at her parents' home. Medical records obtained by police through a grand jury subpoena showed the victim had an abortion in June 2006, the same month she graduated, police said.

The relationship first was reported to school district police by the current Las Vegas High girl's track coach, Uvette Gonzaque-Francis.

As a public education employee, Gonzaque-Francis was required by law to report suspected abuse involving students. Records show school police turned the case over to Las Vegas police in April.

Craig's ex-girlfriend, Deanna Riddle, told police she suspected Craig had a relationship with the girl, and said she drove the girl to a doctor's office near the end of her senior year in school.

In case persons believe that the recent timeline is the obvious reason for their silence I'd like to suggest it's not that neat and tidy. lifenews.com has shared that there have been FOUR recent cases of children having abortions following rapes by persons in positions of trust.
http://www.lifenews.com/state2709.html

That's God's Problem!

Adoption by the dozen: Couple parents 17 children

AIRFIELD TWP. — "Christmas can be very loud around here," said Scott Rosenow, looking at the crowd of Christmas stockings hanging from the fireplace mantel.

But that was far from a complaint.

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Forgive him if he says that with a fair amount of pride and indescribable joy. Rosenow, 50, and his wife, Kathy, 48, have worked hard at creating a large and loving family, which in the last week has grown to 17 children with the finalization of three adoptions, plus a new son-in-law and a grandchild on the way.

The Rosenows have four biological children. Erin, their second, now 26, was born with severe learning disabilities and communication disorders, plus a damaged kidney and malformed bladder valves. Her first surgery was at age 3½.

The youngest, Ryan, now 18, was born without a right hand. Doctors at first told them there was nothing that could be done, but they met a team of surgeons in Louisville, Ky., who did the first of 25 surgeries when he was 10 months old. It was to get closer to these surgeons that the Rosenows moved from Alabama.

When Ryan was 2, Kathy heard a radio interview with Tim Burke, who gave up a $600,000 salary as a pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds so that he could help his wife, Christine, take care of the four special-needs children they adopted.

"Their story was fascinating, and we thought we could do that, too," Kathy said. "We had seen the bonding that had taken place between Ryan and Erin. They both were getting beat up by the world.

"Erin would come home from school crying because they were so hard on them, so we determined early on that our house would be a safe place for them. We taught them to treat each other with respect and we did not allow them to make fun of each other.

"When we started finding out about so many kids out there without a place to go, we started talking about adoption."

It wasn't easy for them, nor something they undertook right away. The cost of Erin's therapies and the various operations on her and Ryan had emptied the family's savings accounts, and adoptions — especially international adoptions — were very expensive.

Six years later, they heard about Nathan, a newborn who was abandoned outside an orphanage in Bolivia, so young that his umbilical cord was still attached.

"That's our son," Scott said. "We've got to get him out of there."

And when Kathy protested that they just couldn't afford it, Scott replied, "That's God's problem."

For four months they sent out letters and explained the situation to everyone they knew. They eventually borrowed $7,000 to get the rest of the money so they could go to Bolivia to get their son.

"While we were there, we were amazed at the poverty," Kathy said. "We'd never left the country before, and we realized that in America we have everything and they have almost nothing. We saw disabled people begging in the streets, and we realized that was the life Nathan would have been destined to have had we not gone down there to get him."

After they brought Nathan home, they'd watch him play with his brothers and sisters on the floor.

"Before long, we started thinking we could do one more, but it just kept going," Kathy said.

The family has or will, in the near future, adopt 13 children.

"We weren't trying to build a family," Scott said. "We were trying to save a child."
http://www.middletownjournal.com/hp/content/oh/story/news/local/2007/12/26/mj122607rosenowmain.html

Islam should not be blamed for terrorism," UN conference

Islam should not be blamed for terrorism," UN conference

The international community should counter the spread of Islamophobia partly due to "misinformation and misperceptions", participants at a UN counter-terrorism conference said.

Speaking at the 3-day conference, experts said there is a need for the international community to counter the spread of Islamophobia, which they noted has been growing in recent years partly because of misinformation and misperceptions about the religion.

The emergence of "misguided groups" that have deviated from the straight path to fanaticism, violence and extremism, attributing their acts to Islam, in no way justifies associating this phenomenon with the Islamic faith, they said during the conference titled "Terrorism: Dimensions, Threats and Countermeasures" in Tunis.

"It profits from weak State capacity to maintain law and order," said co-chair and Tunisian Culture and Preservation of Heritage Minister Mohamed El Aziz Ben Achour, during the concluding session on November 17.

"These vulnerable areas are exploited by terrorists to mobilize recruits and justify violence. None of the religions are a cause of political radicalism and extremism. Religious doctrine may be 'tools of mobilization,' rather than a direct cause," he said at the conference which was jointly organized by the UN's Department of Political Affairs and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).

Participants agreed that terrorism flourishes in environments where there is discontent, exclusion, humiliation, poverty, political oppression and human rights abuses, as well as in countries engaged in regional conflicts.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=09c88aac-9dcf-4651-9d7d-f313cc04d1b0&ParentID=d01d7a7c-e1bf-4d47-a252-c090bee4744e&MatchID1=4617&TeamID1=3&TeamID2=4&MatchType1=1&SeriesID1=1163&MatchID2=4625&TeamID3=1&TeamID4=6&MatchType2=1&SeriesID2=1165&PrimaryID=4617&Headline='Islam+should+not+be+blamed+for+terrorism'

Trenton Quick: A disturbing end to a short life

Disturbing Details in Death of 4-Year-old Boy

Eyewitness News has uncovered new information in the murder case involving 4-year-old Trenton Quick, the little boy police say died as a result of child abuse.

North Las Vegas police arrested the little boy's mom, 24-year-old Amber Scott and her boyfriend 21-year-old Trevor Carter, in connection with the death. Both made their first appearance in court Friday via video. Carter, who is charged with murder, was denied bail. Scott's bail was set at $40,000. She is charged with abuse and neglect.

Details of the child abuse have not been released, but coworkers and family members of Scott say they are positive 4-year-old Trenton did not die in the car accident that police say Trevor Carter staged.

In the hours following the bail hearing, Amber Scott made a call to coworkers, who talked with Eyewitness News.

Family members and coworkers say Trenton had an accident in his pants early Tuesday morning and Trevor Carter, who goes by the nickname TJ was not happy. They say Amber, how was at work, talked with Trenton on the phone.

"She could hear TJ screaming in the background and saying 'I'm not putting up with your kid (expletive) in his pants anymore. He's 4-years-old. He's a little old to be doing this.' Amber said 'just clean it up' and 'I'll take care of it when I get home,'"kathryn Averitt, coworker.

Scott's coworker says the little boy then told his mom he got "whooped real bad." The coworker says not too long after that phone call, Amber Scott got another call at work about a car accident in North Las Vegas and that her little boy was dead.

The two other children who were living in the home are still in protective custody.

www.lasvegasnow.com

God these people must hate children

Extreme parenting has come to be associated with images of overly involved parents — this generation's stage parents, who manage and control every minute of their child's life, imposing their adult dreams and desires onto the little ones in a pathetic attempt to fuel their own insatiable need for success and recognition. As familiar as this parental profile has become, another form of extreme parenting has emerged, one that is getting harder to ignore. I am referring to the increasingly ubiquitous parenting approach that rejects the use of the word "no," and in which even the most reasonable degree of parental limit-setting is consistently absent.

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EMAIL TO A FRIEND PRINT THIS ARTICLE Discuss this article (16) Most of us have been in social situations where we've observed, with incredulity, a parent bow to the extreme demands of a menacingly persistent child, inches from a tantrum — "Okay, but honey, that's your last package of Twizzlers before breakfast." Worse, many of us too often have been that parent. What is happening here? I thought the Dr. Spock generation put an end to tyrannical rule within family life a few generations ago. It did not. In too many families the tyrant still rules — but today he is much shorter.

How did the power balance in our parent-child relationship become so off-kilter? In what other relationship would we give in to someone we love, as a matter of course, saying "yes" to every demand, every whim, no matter how unreasonable — and expect our emotional connection to remain unharmed? "I know, dear, our new neighbor really is a knock-out, especially in that two-piece. Well, okay, but just this once, and don't be home too late, it's a work night."

On the very far end of the non-confrontational parenting trend, and seemingly designed for Our kid's emotional "immune systems" need exposure to life lessons that involve at least the risk of disappointment.parents who would rather get out of the driver's seat altogether, is an organization called Taking Children Seriously. TCS adherents attempt to parent without infringing upon the children's will. When there's a conflict, they find a compromise between the child's and parent's desires; eliminating the win/lose dynamic. The examples provided on their website seem absurdly idealistic, and impossible for any parent who needs to care for a newborn sibling, meet a deadline or get dinner on the table to implement. Not to mention, this approach seems to overlook the profound limitations of a young child's capacity for reason and impulse control.

Aside from this extreme example, this recent transformation in child-rearing appears to be a twisted, supercharged version of what began benignly as a "child-centered" approach to family life. Its effect on our children is attracting notice — and not just among our in-laws. Several new books have appeared within the last year, each identifying a cultural phenomenon of concern to any of us who are attempting to raise happy, healthy, well-adjusted children. If the experts' predictions are on target, we're facing a future filled with overgrown, ill-tempered, and entitled Baby Hueys who will spend their adulthood wondering why they can't sustain an intimate adult relationship or hold down a decent job.

It's not just that many American parents are under-parenting by not setting reasonable limits. Paradoxically, we are also over-parenting by making every effort to ensure that our children are not given the opportunity to fail. At the same time, our pediatricians are urging us to cut back on the excessive use of hand sanitizers and antibiotics (kids need exposure to some germs if their immune systems are going to successfully fight the really bad ones), our child development experts are telling us to stop excessively slathering our children with the word "Yes." Our kid's emotional "immune systems" need exposure to life lessons that involve at least the risk of disappointment, failure or emotional turmoil if they are going to be able to withstand the bigger setbacks and losses they will inevitably face in adulthood.

We just ran a story on Babble.com that tackles what for Generation X has become a taboo subject: discipline.

Kathryn J. Alexander's "The War on No: Is 'child-centered' parenting producing a generation of brats?" says that the emphasis in recent years on making children feel secure has had an unfortunate consequence: kids who have never heard the word "no," and so who are unprepared for the real, "no"-filled world.

She writes:
It's not just that many American parents are under-parenting by not setting reasonable limits. Paradoxically, we are also over-parenting by making every effort to ensure that our children are not given the opportunity to fail. At the same time, our pediatricians are urging us to cut back on the excessive use of hand sanitizers and antibiotics (kids need exposure to some germs if their immune systems are going to successfully fight the really bad ones), our child development experts are telling us to stop excessively slathering our children with the word "Yes." Our kid's emotional "immune systems" need exposure to life lessons that involve at least the risk of disappointment, failure or emotional turmoil if they are going to be able to withstand the bigger setbacks and losses they will inevitably face in adulthood.

We asked Babble readers if they thought kids today were being spoiled; an amazing 89% said yes.

Do you agree? How do you / did you / would you handle your own kids? We touched on this some last week when the Times reviewed the hardcore early Sesame Street and compared it to the much softer fare serve up to today's kids. And this anti-discipline trend seems to go hand-in-hand with the everyone-wins entertainment.

On the playground, we often see parents explaining in great detail to a two-year-old why he can't run out into traffic while the kid stands there blinking in confusion. Personally, we're very adamant about saying no when it's called for, enforcing a bedtime, sending thank-you notes and all those traditional strict-parent things.

And yet, whenever we brag about how well-behaved our son is, we bring down some kind of cosmic jinx on the house and the next day he's all trying to chase the cats and throw baseballs through the window. So for the cats' sake, we won't say we have it all figured out, but we will say we're whole-heartedly committed to raising a good citizen.

Given the attachment-parenting thrust of the current generation and the emphasis on self-esteem and creativity rather than fairness and maturity, sometimes it seems that creating responsible, capable adults isn't currently all parents' first priority.
http://news.aol.com/newsbloggers/2007/11/30/are-gen-x-parents-raising-spoiled-brats/

Baby-on-Board Review: Be By Baby

Baby-on-Board Review: Be By Baby

But our favorite thing about Be By Baby isn’t even their merchandise. The store offers free weekly playgroups where you can bring your kid and enjoy the company of other parents in their muraled back room. Interested in meeting other parents whose primary language is Spanish? Want to connect with other same-sex parents, or families of multiples? Just need somewhere inside to play while it’s bitter cold? Check out their website for these themed get-togethers (scheduled to start up again in January), as well as their (also occasionally free) classes covering topics from CPR to cloth diapering.
http://chicagoist.com/2007/12/14/babyonboard_rev_18.php

'Imagine no religion,' says atheists' display

Connecticut atheists, taking advantage of a town's policy of allowing holiday-season displays in its public park, have erected a 10-foot tall sign in celebration of the winter solstice that includes a message blaming the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, on religious believers.

The 3-sided sign was erected in the Town of Vernon's Central Park on Dec. 1 by the Connecticut Valley Atheists. The two sides facing Main Street feature a pre-attack image of the Twin Towers with the sun shining between them and the message, "Imagine no religion," drawn from the John Lennon anthem, "Imagine."

Use of the image is meant to say the Twin Towers would still be standing were it not for religion, CVA coordinator Dennis Himes told the Hartford Courant.

The goal is to "simply emphasize an advantage of atheism, something good about atheism," Himes said. "Al-Qaida is not a terrorist organization that happens to be religious, it is a terrorist organization that is inspired by its religious beliefs."




The third side of the sign faces town hall with a message about the winter solstice – the basis for the group being given a permit. It reads:

"In late December the sun is lower and days are shorter than any time of year. Throughout the rest of winter the sun gets higher and the days get longer. Because of this people have celebrated the winter solstice from time immemorial. People used to believe that gods moved the sun across the sky. Today we know that there are no gods, and that the sun moves by natural causes, and we celebrate not only the movement of the sun but our ability to understand that movement."

"We would prefer no displays promoting theological worldviews be displayed at all, but as long as they are we thank the Town of Vernon for permitting atheists equal access," the group says on its website.

"The town marked off three spots in the park," Himes said. "The notice to groups said first come, first served, so we picked the one right in front of town hall. We fully expected the other displays to be up around the same time we put ours up."

While the town issued permits to a local synagogue for a menorah display and to a group of churches that plan to place a creche in the park, the atheists were the first to erect their display – indeed, as of the weekend, theirs remained the only display except for a large Christmas tree Mayor Jason L. McCoy had a town crew erect 10 feet from the atheists' sign.

McCoy rejected suggestions placement of the tree is meant to obstruct views of the atheists' display. When told that it did, in fact, obstruct the view, McCoy responded to the Courant, "Oh, really – that's unfortunate."

McCoy and other town officials have been fielding complaint calls for a week from residents angry at the group's suggestion their religion was responsible for 9/11.

"People are not offended the atheists have something up there, and they're not offended by whatever they celebrate. What they're troubled by is they feel [their] religion is equated with being involved in terrorism," McCoy said.

Officials also said the tone of the atheists' display appeared to be more political and not consistent with the description given on their permit application of a "triangular stand displaying information about the winter solstice, atheism and human light observance."

Himes insists the town made the issue political when it decided to allow religious displays on public property.

"The original question was whether Vernon would have a nativity scene on church property or town property," Himes said. "The difference between those two is a political difference."

For generations, Vernon has displayed its circa-World War II creche in the park, but it was moved to St. Bernard Church last year after Hines complained, saying the town was violating the separation of church and state.




Republican town committee members passed a unanimous resolution calling for the creche to be returned to its traditional location in the park in 2007. A new policy, crafted last August, grants equal space for any group wanting to set up traditional displays or symbolic messages during the month of December.

Sandi LaChapelle, owner of Russ' Time Rock 'n' Roll Diner, told the Courant visitors to her business have been commenting on the photo of the sun streaming between the Twin Towers.

"The sun forms a cross," she said.

"That certainly wasn't intentional," Himes said.
http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=59111

The Pickton Trial: Voices Lost

This weekend Mr. Pickton was found guilty of killing Mona Wilson, Sereena Abotsway, Marnie Frey, Andrea Joesbury, Georgina Papin and Brenda Wolfe. There will be much debate as to whether or not it should have been a different conclusion - first degree versus second but I'd like everyone to remember the humanity of these young women.

Marnie's family made a beautiful webpage remembering special memories with her in her childhood. Her biological daughter thanks her for relinquishing her to other family members to raise. http://www.vanishedvoices.ca/MemorialRoomMarnie.html

Andrea Joesbury's family has spoke out from the earliest days about their disagreement with portraying these young women from the angle of their addictions or their life on the streets rather than remembering them as human beings with lives and families.

``I am content with the image I have in my heart of Andrea, as well as the rest of the family,'' Cummer wrote.

``We know all her faults and blessings and her smiling face is with each and everyone she had met.''

It's my hope that everyone will look past all of the blemishes in people's lives and remember that really human being died a horrible death on that farm in BC and focus on justice for them rather than the difficulties in their lives.

Abortionists speak!

I didn't do a good job with my children, the only reason I'm up here is to be with them. But they don't appreciate what their father has done. I love them, but they don't understand their grandpa. I can't even talk to them about it."


Bill Baird
Clinic Owner
The Republican, 06/19/2006

Nine years before Roe Vs Wade Mr. Baird had established the first national abortion referral centre and then went on to run clinics in Boston and New York. He moved his then wife and their five children to Hampden in 1971 and saw them just on weekends. Eventually though his children became Christians and people of faith. They are deeply religious conservative adults.

Abortion doctor Tommy Tucker told the Atlanta Journal Constitution in a May 16, 1993 interview:


"We're perceived as being dirty, underhanded, the lowest echelon of the medical practice."


In 1993, Tucker told Time Inc:


"I wish I would never ever have to do another one. I don't like it. It's not fun. It's not like you're curing a cancer or fixing a broken bone. You're terminating a potential life."

Feminist History

Feminists for Life on their website has some persuasive insight into the history of feminism:

Susan B. Anthony
In her publication The Revolution, was written:
"Guilty? Yes. No matter what the motive, love of ease, or a desire to save from suffering the unborn innocent, the woman is awfully guilty who commits the deed. It will burden her conscience in life, it will burden her soul in death; But oh, thrice guilty is he who drove her to the desperation which impelled her to the crime!"
Abortion was referred to as "child murder."
The Revolution, 4(1):4 July 8, 1869
"We want prevention, not merely punishment. We must reach the root of the evil...It is practiced by those whose inmost souls revolt from the dreadful deed."
The Revolution, 4(1):4 July 8, 1869
"All the articles on this subject that I have read have been from men. They denounce women as alone guilty, and never include man in any plans for the remedy."
The Revolution, 4(1):4 July 8, 1869

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Elizabeth Cady Stanton
She classified abortion as a form of "infanticide." The Revolution, 1(5):1, February 5, 1868
"When we consider that women are treated as property, it is degrading to women that we should treat our children as property to be disposed of as we see fit."
Letter to Julia Ward Howe, October 16, 1873, recorded in Howe's diary at Harvard University Library
"There must be a remedy even for such a crying evil as this. But where shall it be found, at least where begin, if not in the complete enfranchisement and elevation of women?"
The Revolution, 1(10):146-7 March 12, 1868

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Emma Goldman
"The custom of procuring abortions has reached such appalling proportions in America as to be beyond belief...So great is the misery of the working classes that seventeen abortions are committed in every one hundred pregnancies."
Mother Earth, 1911

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Mattie Brinkerhoff
"When a man steals to satisfy hunger, we may safely conclude that there is something wrong in society - so when a woman destroys the life of her unborn child, it is an evidence that either by education or circumstances she has been greatly wronged."
The Revolution, 4(9):138-9 September 2, 1869


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Victoria Woodhull
The first female presidential candidate was a strong opponent of abortion.
"The rights of children as individuals begin while yet they remain the foetus."
Woodhull's and Claflin's Weekly 2(6):4 December 24, 1870
"Every woman knows that if she were free, she would never bear an unwished-for child, nor think of murdering one before its birth."
Wheeling, West Virginia Evening Standard, November 17, 1875

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Sarah Norton
"Child murderers practice their profession without let or hindrance, and open infant butcheries unquestioned...Is there no remedy for all this ante-natal child murder?...Perhaps there will come a time when...an unmarried mother will not be despised because of her motherhood...and when the right of the unborn to be born will not be denied or interfered with."
Woodhull's and Claffin's Weekly, November 19, 1870

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Mary Wollstonecraft
As early as 1792, Mary Wollstonecraft wrote "A Vindication of the Rights of Women," which Susan B. Anthony admired enough to serialize in The Revolution. After decrying, in scathing 18th century terms, the sexual exploitation of women, she said:
"Women becoming, consequently, weaker...than they ought to be...have not sufficient strength to discharge the first duty of a mother; and sacrificing to lasciviousness the parental affection...either destroy the embryo in the womb, or cast if off when born. Nature in every thing demands respect, and those who violate her laws seldom violate them with impunity."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Matilda Gage
"[This] subject lies deeper down in woman's wrongs than any other...I hesitate not to assert that most of [the responsibility for] this crime lies at the door of the male sex."
The Revolution, 1(14):215-6 April 9, 1868

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Alice Paul
The author of the original Equal Rights Amendment (1923) opposed the later trend of linking the E.R.A. with abortion. A colleague recalls her saying:
"Abortion is the ultimate exploitation of women."

Human Life Matters: A blogger's comments on Robert Latimer

http://humanlifematters.blogspot.com/2007/12/about-robert-latimer-being-denied-day.html

Mark Pick up is an Edmonton activist for persons with disabilities and he speaks eloquently on the subject of Mr. Latimer recently being denied day parole.

After seven years in prison for murdering his disabled daughter, Robert Latimer applied for day-parole. On December 5th 2007, his application was denied. Parole Board panel member Kelly-Ann Speck told Latimer, "We were left with the feeling you have not developed the kind of sufficient insight and understanding of you actions,".


Indeed!
Robert Latimer remains defiant and unapologetic for gassing his 12 year old daughter Tracey to death in 1993. She had cerebral palsy. He told the panel, "I still don't feel guilty because I still feel it was the best thing to do." A majority of Canadians (70%) support Latimer. Many believe he should not have been charged with a crime in the first place and many other Canadians believe he did a favour for his daughter by killing her. He has become a Canadian folk hero.
Inaccuracies about Tracey's life
Since the beginning of this case, the media has misrepresented the humanity of Tracey Latimer.
On December 6th 2007, Victoria Times Colonist reporter, Rob Shaw, reported about the parole Board denial of the previous day. He wrote that Tracey was a "bed-bound quadrplegic who could not speak or feed herself ...". She was not bed-bound! Tracey Latimer went to to a developmental centre five days a week for a regular school day. There were discussions about integrating her into the regular school system. From Monday-Friday Tracey traveled to school on a regular school bus and returned home at the end of each school day on the same bus as her siblings and other children -- right up to the Friday before she was killed.
Tracey was not in constant pain as has been widely reported throughout the years. That assertion is simply not true. At Robert Latimer's trial it was clearly established that her pain was intermittent. Despite her cerebral palsy and the various trials she faced, Tracey Latimer was a happy child as the court transcripts clearly show. She loved music, sleigh rides, television, games, parties, the circus, sleepovers and pets. Tracey adored her family and her face would brighten at the very sight of them. She did not have the mental capacity of a four month old infant -- another inaccuracy widely reported. That was a grossly inaccurate speculation thrown out to the court by a family practitioner: Her life contradicted this assertion, her natural childhood joie be vivre proved him wrong and said something else.
Tracey Latimer had something to bring to the world. At one point during the court proceedings, her mother Laura acknowledged that Tracey brought beauty to their lives. She reminisced, "Tracey enriched our lives. Tracey made us better people, she --Tracey taught us how to love."
Apparently her father forgot what she taught. Tracey's parents were tired, Bob's patience had run out, there was a new baby in the family. It was time to move on with life. Robert Latimer put Tracey out of his misery.
Robert Latimer/Susan Smith
It's curious that with the media's help, Robert Latimer became a Canbadian folk hero. A year after Robert Latimer murdered his daughter, American Susan Smith put her car into a South Carolina lake, drowning her two little boys, Alex and Michael. Why is Susan Smith universally reviled to this day for killing her children while Robert Latimer became a folk hero after killing his child? The difference is this: Susan Smith killed two healthy children while Robert Latimer killed one disabled child. Tracey Latimer was not cute; Michael and Alex Smith were adorable. What should we make of the dramatic difference in public response and attitudes? Are disabled children worth less than healthy children? Would Robert Latimer be a folk hero and enjoy the support of a majority of Canadians if Tracey had been a healthy child? No, I don't think so.


Cold winds of public opinion


Robert Latimer was returned to his jail cell yesterday but his case served to set new public sympathy for so-called mercy-killers in Canada. Today, a public opinion survey was conducted by Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper about the Parole Board's decision to deny Robert Latimer day-parole. More than 80% of respondents disagree with the parole Board's decision. They think he should been given it. The Canadian Civil Liberties Association's Allan Borovoy said the government of Canada should step in and pardon Latimer. Lawyer Borovoy calls the imprisonment of Robert Latimer a "national disgrace."

It's a scary time to be disabled (as I am). Apparently it's a disgrace to imprison the killer of a person with a disability. We are held in low public opinion. The winds of public opinion blow colder than a Canadian winter for the disabled of Canada.
Mark Pickup

Posted by Mark Pickup at 1:06 PM



3 comments:
Jim Todd said...
Mark:
Once again I find that I and many others have been given the big lie and have fallen for it hook, line and sinker. I believe that everyone is better alive then dead. I believe that we should all be loved and given the best treatment to keep us alive. I have had several discussions with people concerning Robert Latimer and I am always getting it thrown in my face that I am an unfeeling, sadist who wants people to suffer because I feel that Latimer was not justified in doing what he did to his daughter. I am also satisfied that the parole board did not release him.
Could you lead me in the direction of your sources of information? I too would like to dethrone this "pop- hero".
Most of all, Mark, do not get discouraged because of the mass media attitude and lies towards the disabled. Your life and attitude about life and Christ speak volumes of what it means to be human, to be Christian.
Remember you in my prays and thoughts.

Jim Todd

December 6, 2007 7:47 PM
T E Fine said...
You mention Susan Smith - the Andrea Yates case happened in my backyard in 2001. I remember the uproar at the U of Houston about how evil she was, how horrible she was - heck, I had an atheist professor talking about how she was morally reprehnsible and deserved the death penalty!

I am disgusted that 70% of Canadians support or pity Latimer. Where's the righteous anger and indignation? Where's the sympathetic pains for his baby girl? What kind of beasts are we growing these days, that they let a kin slayer slide under *any* circumstances?

They won't let him out - good. He doesn't deserve what he's got, let alone any kind of reward for his behavior.

He's the kind of guy that makes it a real trial to pray for your enemies.

Austin Peck was a model who then went on to have a seven year run on DAYS OF OUR LIVES followed by a role on As the World Turns. He was a fan favourite when he was on Days of Our Lives generating lots of fan mail.

He quite publicly became a born-again Christian and he's outspoken about his faith.

He's a frequent guest on TBN.

I am beginning to highlight born-again Christians who are famous.

Deezer D is an actor, rapper and speaker. He is best known for his role as Nurse Malik on ER.

Motherhood Meme

1. How many children call you Mommy/Mom/Mama?:
All three do.

2. Girl? Boy? or both?

Three boys have been born so far.


3. Did you know what you were having?:
Yes we did. I had complications so had more ultrasounds than average so towards the end it gets pretty obvious!

4. How old were you when you became a Mom?
I was young.

5. How long were you in labor?
I've blocked that out!


6. What was your least favorite thing about labor?
Having people be abrupt and unsympathetic

7. Do you want more kids?:
Yeah, I've always wanted a large family.

8. Do you plan on having more soon?:
After our next baby we are considering taking a break.

9. Does daddy change diapers?
yes but more at the beginning then when they get older.

10. How many times have you been peed on?

Too many times to count!


11. Barfed on?:
Too many times. Yes.

12. Is your child named after anyone?
Two of them are.

13. How did you come up with their name(s)?
Different answer for each chid and it's personal.

14. When your child(ren) gets in trouble, who is the bad guy?
Believe it or not, me! I am the tough one!

15. And who is the good guy?
We're both the good guy.

16. What is the longest you have been away from your child(ren)?
Overnight.

17. Kids bedtime routine?
Different routine for each child. With the older two they get a story and a massage before they go to bed. They were fussy boys as babies so infant massage kept me sane and they've just grown into it as a routine. They have problems falling asleep without a message. I also either sing to them or read to them - or my husband does - and the kids get to pick that. With our littlest one he's held until he falls asleep and we talk to him or sing to him.

18. Are your toes painted?
Always!

19. Last movie you saw in the theater?
I don't remember.

20. Last time you had a date?
We have not had a date since my husband had an accident several weeks back but we have been pretty faithful at finding time to ourselves even if not an official date. We wake up early and have breakfast together on the deck before anyone is up.

21. One thing you will not give up just because you are a mom?
I would give up anything for them if it was necessary but I like to find time to myself which is pretty easy for me despite having a few kids because of the amount of help and support I have.

22. One thing you did give up now that you’re a mom?

You automatically give up a sense of catering to yourself instinctively and it doesn't seem a sacrifice it's just an automatic thing.

I think I also gave up ease in decision-making. Everything seems so much more complicated in terms of making a decision. I find myself more reflective, more philosophical, and much more willing to re-evaluate things now that I am responsible for other people.

23. Best Mom you know?
My own mother is a great mom.

Wedding Meme

I agreed to do this one but I'm eliminating some of the questions or passing on them because some stuff I won't give away online.

1. Where/How did you meet?
We met through inter-church activities growing up but it didn't initially have a romantic context because we were quite young.


2. How long have you known each other?
Childhood.


3. How long after you met did you start dating?
Several years.


4. How long did you date before you were engaged?
Pass.


5. How long was your engagement?
Our engagement length kept being stretched out by a family illness. It just didn't seem the right time to get married with an illness looming. We were formally engaged for just shy of two years.

6. How long have you been married?
A few years - nothing more precise!

7. When is your anniversary?
Pass, that leads to identity theft issues.


8. How many people came to your wedding reception?
120


9. What kind of cake did you serve?

My husband had a groom's cake which was basically a digestible small version of a wedding cake that was all chocolate. The wedding cake was a 7 tiered cake that had layers that were fake and layers that were actual food. We have those fake layers on display in the house under glass. We had fresh flowers decorating our cake. It was red velvet which is my husband's favourite - mine not so much!


10. Where was your wedding?
Edmonton, Alberta


11. What did you serve for your meal?
We had a very casual rehearsal dinner which was a barbeque and a day out at the lake with water skiing. For the wedding we had a lovely buffet that had chicken as the main dish.


12. How many people were in your wedding party?

We had a big wedding party because of the number of flower girls.


13. Are you still friends with them all?
Yes.


14. Did your spouse cry during the ceremony?
Yes.


15. Most special moment of your wedding day?
Lots of different things were special. My sister had passed away at that time and we found a way of honouring her during the ceremony. We did it in a way that wasn't morbid.

On a happier note there were a couple of things. My husband truly had the most beautiful wedding vows written. I hadn't read them before and I remember thinking "You are so outdoing me!" because he is just more articulate and sweet. He's also very musically talented. He picked out the music for the wedding ceremony and then he brought a personal musical touch to the reception.


16. Any funny moments?
Yes but I'll keep that to myself!

17. Any big disasters?
Not really.

18. Where did you go on your honeymoon?
We had a short local honeymoon.

19. How long were you gone?
It was short!

20. If you were to do your wedding over, what would you change?
Having more time to ourselves after rather than my husband having to start work.

21. What side of the bed do you sleep on?
I sleep on the left.

22. What size is your bed?
King size.

23. Greatest strength as a couple?
That we see each other through kind and charitable eyes and really intend to always magnify each other's strengths rather than tear each other down.

24. Greatest challenge as a couple?
My eating disorder and all of the issues that linger around that.

25. Who literally pays the bills?
Both of us - depends on the bill but mostly me.

26. What is your song?
I will be here.

27. What did you dance your first dance to?
Our first dance ever or at our wedding? Our first dance was to a crappy country and western song and I dont' even know! I was just glad he asked me to dance!

28. Describe her wedding dress.
I had two. My parents were very opposed to the one I liked so I got a more traditional dress. My husband actually saw how much despair I had over not getting the dress I wanted and he made arrangements for me to have the dress I really liked for the reception! It was a long white dress with a tighter-fitting bodice and a beautiful big hoop of a skirt! it was backless and had lots of beadwork.

29. What kind of flowers did you have at your wedding?
White roses with streamers.

30. Are your wedding bands engraved?
Yes.

Meme

A meme posted by friends on their sites:

MOUTHOLOGY
Q. What is your favorite fast food restaurant?
A. Wendy's because I loved their bakes potatoes but McDonalds for french fries!

Q. What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of?
A: Potatoes

Q.What are your pizza toppings of choice?
A. Chicken and spinach at BP.

TECHNOLOGY
Q. What is currently on your computer wallpaper?
A: A picture of my kids.

Q. How many televisions are in your house?
A: 5 shamefully.

BIOLOGY
Q. Are you right-handed or left-handed?
A. Right.

Q. When was the last time you had a cavity?
A. Never had one.

Q. Have you ever been knocked unconscious?
A. Yes.

OTHEROLOGY
Q. What color do you think looks best on you?
A. Pink

Q. Have you ever saved someone's life?
A. I was a nurse before I got married - I'd like to think I contributed to someone living.

Q. Has someone ever saved yours?
A. No, I've not been sick or in a high risk situation.

DUMBOLOGY
Q: What is in your left pocket?
A: Right now? A pacifier.

Q: Is Napoleon Dynamite actually a good movie?
A. Never heard of it!

Q: Last time you had a run-in with the cops?
A: Yesterday when I reported a MVA

LASTOLOGY
Q: Last person who called you?
A: My sister Hannah

Q: Last Person you hugged?
A: My husband.

FAVORITOLOGY
Q: Number?
A: Don't really have one.

Q: Season?
A: Summer!

CURRENTOLOGY
Q: Mood?
A: Tired.

Q: Listening to?
A: Christmas music.

Q: Watching?
A: The computer screen.

RANDOMOLOGY
Q: What can you not wait to do?
A: Wake up my kids.

Q: What's the last movie you saw?
A: Can't remember.

Q: Do you smile often?
A: Yes