I Love Life! Walk 2008

The Blatzkritters will be participating in the I Love Life! Walk this year on May 17. We are asking those who feel so lead to support us, and more importantly, support the Amnion Crisis Pregnancy Center by donating here.

My sister-in-law has been volunteering for this Pro-Life organization for the past few years and our church, Bethlehem Baptist Church, also works with Amnion.

Thanks & God Bless!

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Below is a letter from my wife:

Dear Friends and Family,

Jim and I recently accepted the challenge to raise funds to support Amnion Crisis Pregnancy Center in the I Love Life! Walk on Saturday, May 17th. Amnion CPC provides free, life-saving assistance to pregnant women in crisis. We will be walking as a family in honor of our two children, Lydia and Titus, and the baby that I miscarried.

One in four women will end their pregnancies due to lack of compassionate care and practical assistance. It is our goal to help Amnion Crisis Pregnancy Center provide women with the following free services: pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, counsel for the young woman, man and parents throughout the unplanned pregnancy, maternity and baby supplies, evangelism and bible studies, post abortion grief counseling, middle and high school abstinence presentations.  Please join us by pledging support of our participation in the I Love Life! Walk or by directly contributing generously to Amnion Crisis Pregnancy Center. Your tax-deductible contribution will fund innovative outreach and awareness programs for underserved women in crisis in our community.

Whatever you can give will really help! We truly appreciate your support and will keep you posted on our progress.

Thank you so much for your time and support of this important outreach to help moms find hope for their future and their baby’s future! Every step counts for life!

Your Friend,
Katy Blatzheim

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Now playing: Rose Blossom Punch - Par Avion
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Why You, Christian, Cannot Vote For Barack Obama

On Saturday, 3/29/2008, Barack Obama said at an event in Pennsylvania,

“When it comes specifically to HIV/AIDS, the most important prevention is education, which should include — which should include abstinence education and teaching the children - teaching children, you know, that sex is not something casual. But it should also include - it should also include other, you know, information about contraception because, look, I’ve got two daughters, 9 years old and 6 years old. I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby…”

God forbid his daughters might take responsibility for their “mistake”. Good grief! If any young women were ever positioned in life to deal with an unplanned pregnancy, surely the Obama girls will be. Daughters of a wealthy, intact and loving family, there would be no reason for these girls to acquire an abortion other than convenience. Of course, it would not be difficult to conceive a young woman having an abortion when her father refers to the contents of her pregnant womb as some kind of cruel punishment or disease.

This is not Pro-Choice. This is Pro-Abortion.

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Now playing: Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Baltimore
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A Response to the Libertyville Abortion Demonstration Video

I stumbled onto this Pro-Choice video on YouTube today. The author disabled embedding, so I wasn’t able to place it directly on this post. I was, however, able to add it to my vodpod application (you can click on it at the top of my list).

The interviewer behind the camera, let’s call him Jackball, asks the following question to various abortion protesters:

“Should abortion be illegal?”

Abortion protester predictably replies:

“Yes, I think abortion should be illegal.”

Jackball:

“If aboriton were illegal, should there be a penalty for the women having these illegal abortions? (What should the penalty be?)”

Most of the protesters stumble and stammer before stating, “I don’t know.”

What does this answer mean? It means nothing more than that these particular protesters had not thought about what the legal ramifications of having an abortion, in a future where abortion is illegal, should be. That’s it. However, Jackball follows several of these I don’t knows with the following:

“You’ve been involved in this movement for [x] years, and you’ve never thought about what would happen to the women?”

Nice sleight of hand, Jackball. The obvious jab here is that these protesters don’t care about real women, but only “theoretical persons”. Of course, this is not what any of the protesters actually said. They merely stated that they haven’t thought out the legal/punishment aspect of the issue.

And what if they haven’t? So what? How is this relevant to the real issue at hand - whether or not a human fetus is deserving of the legal protections afforded to other ex utero humans?

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And yes, Jackball, those complicit in performing abortions, were they to become illegal, should face punishment. This would include the pregnant woman who knowingly and willingly permits her human fetus to be killed. What punishment, exactly? I don’t know, but if society were to rightly recognize a human fetus as deserving as much legal protection as a human infant, I wouldn’t want to be caught killing one.

This video seems to be little more than propaganda for the already persuaded - an attempt to make one’s opposition look foolish. Bravo. While I’m sure you gave airtime to only the most eloquent of your interviewees, Jackball, if you stumble onto this post and are looking for an intelligent conversation on the abortion issue… I’m your Huckleberry.

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Now playing: Grammatrain - Execution
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“Amazing Grace”, Abortion and Imagery

The fam and I recently watched Amazing Grace. I was struck by a scene in which William Wilberforce ambushes a group of British MPs (Members of Parliament) on board a pleasure cruise of the harbor. Wilberforce is standing on the deck of a slave ship and assails his unsuspecting audience with a graphic verbal description of the horrific conditions experienced by those Africans kidnapped by British slavers.

I couldn’t help but compare this stunt with the use of imagery by Pro-Life/Anti-Abortion advocates. I thought it revealing that Wilberforce’s trap is shown to be a bold and heroic move. What is the difference between Wilberforce’s recitation of the evils of slavery and a Pro-Lifer’s use of abortion imagery? None, I think.

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Now playing: Wovenhand - Bleary Eyed Duty
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Abortion is Funny

The Blatzkritters have been without cable television for the last few years. This has been a tremendous blessing in our home, because it has drastically reduced the amount of programming we view individually and as a family. It has also removed a heap of tele-trash that had been beaming into our living room from various cable channels.

Unfortunately, the break room at my workplace is furnished with both a television and cable programming. And because I work nights, I am exposed to the worst that cable television has to offer.

Several weeks ago, a few coworkers and I were watching The Sarah Silverman Program on Comedy Central. In this particular episode, Ms. Silverman unwittingly joins a radical anti-abortion group. As the episode progresses, Ms. Silverman begins to figure this out and decides to leave the group, because she just can’t give up having abortions. The entire episode made light of abortion and treated it as very comical. My coworkers all laughed and were ribbing me and asking if I was offended, because they know that I hate abortion. (The ribbing was good natured; I love my coworkers and we get along swimmingly.) I said that I didn’t find the episode funny, and left it at that.

A few days later, we were sitting in the computer room for our break time. I was suddenly struck with an irresistible urge to make a point. I logged on to Abort73.com and launched this video. The video is essentially a slideshow of various pictures of abortion byproducts - dead babies and pieces of dead babies. One of my coworkers shrugged it off and laughed. The other became a bit upset and asked me to turn the video off. I did not. Instead, I laughed and said, “C’mon! Abortion is funny! Remember how funny that episode of The Sarah Silverman Show was last week!”

My response was probably immature and a little inappropriate. However, it is amazing to me how upset some people will become when confronted with the reality of abortion. Philosophical and ethical arguments on the matter are all good and fine, but I believe every individual willing to allow (and make light of) this practice must first look it in the face. It is intellectually dishonest to take a position on abortion (particularly a position in favor of its allowance) without viewing with your own eyes what it actually is.

This is no laughing matter.

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I’ve added the vod:pod application to this blog and added the above video (”This is Abortion”). I find the revulsion expressed toward these kinds of images both fascinating and enraging. Why do we not have these kinds of reactions against images of the Nazi Holocaust? You cannot watch any kind of visual media on WWII without being exposed to images of ovens, gas chambers and heaps of emaciated corpses. I think that’s a good thing. We should never forget what happened at Auschwitz and Birkenau. Likewise, we must face the images of abortion. Someday, I pray, our children and grandchildren with look upon these images with a similar horror.

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Now playing: Jars of Clay - God Will Lift Up Your Head
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Abort 73.com Gift-Matching

I just received an email from Abort73.com about an amazing opportunity to give to a very worthy organization. A young couple has committed to matching up to $10,000 donated to the organization this month.

This God-centered anti-abortion organization aims to “eliminate the injustice of abortion… [by]… educat[ing] young people with the massive body of evidence that stands against it.” If you have not visited their site before, you should definitely check it out. The Mrs. and I sport a number of their snappy t-shirts.

If you are passionate about ending abortion, this is an excellent opportunity to advance the cause.

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