David Ancell / Monday, August 28, 2006 / Comments(0)
NOTE: I just read some stuff on the regrettable decision by the FDA to make the morning-after pill available without a prescription. The site named PharmacyOneSource posted some students’ opinions on this. Most of them were moral relativism, and a few said that they covered the issue in ethics class. I posted a comment on their board, and the text of it is below.
It seems that something has been lost in this discussion about a pharmacist’s right to refuse to dispense certain medications. Almost every post takes it for granted that whether the use of a morning-after pill is immoral is simply a matter of opinion. Well, if that were so, then I’d be one to dispense this whether I agreed with one’s opinion or not.
However, there seems to be so little consideration of a larger issue. Are we taking a human life by using this medication, at least some of the time (e.g. in use after ovulation)? Well, either we are or we aren’t. Both can’t be true.
Maybe some people will read this and think we just don’t know, so why worry. Well, if we really don’t know whether we have a human life or not, we should err on the side of caution. We wouldn’t fumigate a building until we knew everyone was out. We wouldn’t do so simply on the basis of not knowing whether there was anyone there or not.
The question that I see is: Do we care about whether we are extinguishing a human life? Well, either we will be called to give an account one day, or we won’t. Both can’t be true. Once again, it seems dangerous not to err on the side of caution here.
Many in our profession live with the idea that we can’t know anything that isn’t provable by science. Well, if so, then prove that by science! Many “ethics” classes that are being presented (including the one that I suffered through) are hindered by this. They are closed-minded to even the possibility that there may be a truth in this matter that binds all of us.
Well, by now I’m sure you are aware of where I am coming from. Simply put, we will have to give an account of what we did to preserve human life at any stage. We can’t afford to shrug this off as a matter of opinion.
Category: Posts imported from Danger! Falling Brainwaves, Uncategorized
David Ancell / Saturday, August 26, 2006 / Comments(0)
Weird Al Yankovic has a new album coming out this month. He’s offered a free download of a song entitled Don’t Download This Song. As far as I can tell, it appears to be completely original. So, go ahead, download it and listen.
Category: Posts imported from Danger! Falling Brainwaves, Uncategorized
David Ancell / Friday, August 25, 2006 / Comments(0)
This may be old news for some of you, but the FDA approved the sale of Plan B without a prescription. I was hoping I’d never see this as I can think of several reasons why this shouldn’t be. You can find them in this letter that I wrote. They are planning to make these available behind the pharmacy counter so that people can ask a pharmacist for them. This means that someone at the pharmacy has to be involved in the act, which is going to impute at least some of the guilt of the act to them.
This gives people just one more way to send themselves to Hell. This must be overturned. What really makes me sick is the chair of Barr who says he wants this available without a prescription to younger teens. I pray for his conversion. Teenagers can be reckless enough without this kind of help, and so can some older people.
The bottom line is that this drug shouldn’t be available at all. It is an abortifacient. Once can’t simply declare it otherwise by changing a personal definition of pregnancy.
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David Ancell / Sunday, August 20, 2006 / Comments(0)
For those who are wondering what happened to my podcast, don’t worry. I will be back. I just haven’t had quite so much time lately. I guess I haven’t blogged much lately either. This past weekend, I was visiting my parents. I wanted to play with my MacBook Pro away from home. At first, I had quite a time getting the authentication right, but once it worked, it really worked.
I’m liking this thing more and more. I’m carrying it to hot spots just to play with it. I’m in a McAllister’s Deli now. It works great. The main advantage it has is that it boots in 30 seconds, so I don’t usually have my food before the darn thing is finished booting. This is a lot of fun.
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David Ancell / Monday, August 14, 2006 / Comments(0)
Thanks to Catholic World News, I found out about this interview with Pope Benedict XVI. Rather than trying to highlight it, I’d recommend that you take a look at it. It isn’t too long, and it is well worth reading.
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David Ancell / Friday, August 11, 2006 / Comments(0)
I don’t know about you, but I’d sure hate to have been a customer at this parking garage. The cars were all held hostage while the city was in a dispute with a software company. Can’t we all get along?
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David Ancell / Monday, August 07, 2006 / Comments(0)
I just read that Senator Sam Brownback is sponsoring the Assisted Suicide Prevention Act to prevent controlled substances from being used for assisted suicide. This follows from the decision by the Supreme Court that the Bush administration could not use the Controlled Substances Act to prevent the use of controlled substances in an assisted suicide. Given the gravity of the matter, this needs our support. Let us not forget that euthanasia could become the way of dealing with the disabled if it isn’t stopped.
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David Ancell / Thursday, August 03, 2006 / Comments(0)
I guess you’ve heard that I’m playing with Macs now. I plan to do my audio stuff on Mac this year. To accomplish this, I found a great deal on a MacBook Pro at CompUSA. Unfortunately, the first one I got kept crashing every time I used the wireless. I called AppleCare, and they made me an appointment at the Apple Store. They offered to repair it, but I explained that I had just bought this two days ago. The guy got the manager, and they replaced the notebook. It did take some time, but hey, it appears that I have a working unit now. I’m blogging from it now.
These days it’s hard to get any kind of service. At least Apple provides a place to go for questions. Besides, I’m not supporting Bill Gates’ and his reported contributions to organizations that I don’t particularly care for. Granted, I don’t know if Jobs is any better, but neither have I heard that he supports “population control” measures.
Category: Posts imported from Danger! Falling Brainwaves, Uncategorized
David Ancell / Wednesday, August 02, 2006 / Comments(0)
After this post, I ran across this article on Catholic Exchange that discusses why raising the minimum wage may not be the way to bring about a living wage for people. I do want to make sure we understand that, while Catholic Social Teaching requires that employers pay employees a living wage, this does not necessarily mean that all Catholics are required to believe that the minimum wage should be raised.
This article is a case in point as to how a Catholic can argue against raising the minimum wage without going against the teaching of the Church. The Church teaches that all should receive a just wage. The laity can work out how to do this.
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David Ancell / Wednesday, August 02, 2006 / Comments(0)
I’m back. I have been off work for the past three days, and I’ve needed it to catch my breath. The next step is to catch up on housework as my apartment is a mess. In fact, I can’t find something I really need to find right now. Oh well, I think I can get it replaced if I must.
Anyway, I wanted to share a little more about the Steubenville conference. You may be aware that Jim Cowan is no longer doing the music, but Bob Rice has taken his place. I was quite impressed with the band and with how they combined both the traditional (Holy, Holy, Holy, The Church’s One Foundation, All Creatures of Our God and King) and the contemporary (including Professor Rice’s original songs). I hope that he and his band come out with their own CDs. In the meantime, you can check out Bob Rice’s music at his web site, and you can check out the band at their web site.
They had two Bob Rice CDs for sale at the bookstore, and I bought both. I didn’t think I’d like the bluegrass, but I have found that I like what I’ve listened to. He is a great songwriter. When I got home, I bought the MP3s from the Backyard Galaxy album, which you can find on his site. Check it out when you get a chance.
Category: Posts imported from Danger! Falling Brainwaves, Uncategorized