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Being thus arrived in a good harbor and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of heaven, who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean, and delivered them from all the perils and miseries thereof.
These are the words of William Bradford recounting the Pilgrims' arrival at Plymouth Bay in 1620. Though many myths have sprung up about the Pilgrims, history confirms that the Pilgrims were a people devoted to God in life and government. After enduring great hardships and heartbreak the Lord blessed them with bountiful provision, and the Pilgrims held a celebration of thankfulness with food, fun, and rejoicing with the native inhabitants.
With our Pilgrim heritage in mind, Abraham Lincoln officially made Thanksgiving a national holiday amid the hardships of the Civil War. His words in 1863 still ring true almost a century and a half later.
We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown.
Our nation's presidents continue to honor Thanksgiving. On November 15 President George W. Bush issued his Thanksgiving Proclamation for 2007.
We Americans often take for granted the amazing privileges and benefits we possess under our unique form of government. In a helpful piece at National Review British-born writer Mark Steyn reminds us that in our written Constitution we have a treasure that is the envy of the world and exceedingly worthy of our great thanksgiving.
And this editorial from the Wall Street Journal, which has been published annually since 1961, expresses the feelings of travelers who have learned to cherish their country.
Thanksgiving has also become a time to enjoy and appreciate our families. The family is a gracious gift from God and the health of our families is a sure indication of the health of our nation. It is thus fitting that the President has proclaimed this Thanksgiving week "National Family Week." This Thanksgiving, remember to thank the Lord for the many blessings He so graciously bestows.
Happy Thanksgiving from AdvanceUSA!
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
 I Thessalonians 5:18
Professor
New reviews a recent book on NRO and contemplates the “politics
of life” both “past, present, and future.”
Research
published yesterday by Japanese and American scientists shows that pluripotent
stem cells can be derived from adult skin cells. This breakthrough could make unnecessary
research that harms embryos and endangers women because human eggs and embryos
would no longer be needed to obtain pluripotent stem cells (i.e. stem cells
that can become any tissue type). Once
again, the science supports ethical alternatives to embryonic stem cell
research. Excerpt of a Baltimore
Sun article:
Yesterday's announcements raise the possibility that cells
taken from sick patients could be reprogrammed and used to repair tissues
damaged by heart disease, diabetes and other illnesses.
The technique, achieved earlier this year in mice, holds
two potential advantages. Because cells would originate with a patient's own
body, they wouldn't be likely to trigger rejection once they are transplanted
back.
But scientists said they were just as enthusiastic that
the method, if it clears technical hurdles ahead, could sidestep moral
objections over techniques involving cloning, the use of donated eggs or the
destruction of human embryos.
Father Thomas
Berg, writing at NRO, explains
the implications of this development declaring “a new day has dawned in the
world of stem-cell research.”
As the BBC reports, it appears Professor Ian Wilmut has finally faced the fact that the successes of ethical stem cell research indicate that human cloning is totally unnecessary. The professor makes clear his concerns are purely pragmatic as he does not share the ethical concerns of the pro-life community. The Telegraph also reports here.
Hopefully the human cloning promoters in Missouri will take notice.
Click here for more information on human cloning.
So says
Dr. Alveda King, the niece of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as LifeNews reports.
In what
is either an example of scientific ignorance or intentional distortion, the
main stream media seems intent on portraying Colorado’s proposed ballot initiative as
seeking to give rights to “human eggs” or “fertilized eggs.” As the New
York Times reports (distorts):
A proposed amendment to the Colorado Constitution that
would give legal rights to fertilized human eggs may be headed for the ballot
next year, raising the prospect of a heated local debate over abortion…
And from
the Associated
Press:
The Colorado Supreme Court cleared the way Tuesday for an
anti-abortion group to collect signatures for a ballot measure that would
define a fertilized egg as a person.
What the
New York Times and other media outlets apparently fail to understand is that
when a human egg is fertilized (naturally or in a lab) what results is no
longer an egg but an individual human embryo (a zygote to be scientifically specific).
This embryo is a separate human life which should benefit from all inalienable
human rights, and that is exactly what the proposed Colorado constitutional amendment would
do. To call an embryo a “fertilized egg” is like calling a newborn child
a “fetus outside the womb.”
It seems
very ironic that even though religious conservatives are accused of being scientifically
ignorant, it is actually the media that gets its science wrong.
For more
information on stem cells, human cloning,
and the amazing results coming from ethical adult stem cell research
check AdvanceUSA.org.
Congressman
Paul Broun (R-GA) is one of the newest members of Congress and the latest
member to propose legislation declaring that human
life begins at conception thus threatening the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court
decision which legalized abortion on demand. Excerpt from LifeNews:
"From a medical and scientific basis, there is no doubt
that human life begins at fertilization," the lawmaker added. "My
legislation would ensure that, as a matter of law, unborn children are
correctly determined to be ‘persons’ and are provided Constitutional protections
under the 14th Amendment.”
Under his legislation, “the right to life guaranteed by the
Constitution is vested in each human being, and is the paramount and most
fundamental right of a person."
The bill is an attempt to legislatively overturn Roe v.
Wade, the Supreme Court ruling that permits abortion, and would make obtaining
an abortion "illegal or incredibly difficult," Broun's spokesman John
Kennedy said.
At yesterday evening’s Federalist Society meeting President Bush spoke on constitutional interpretation, the proper role of judges, and the over-politicization of confirmation hearings. Excerpt:
“Advocates of a more active role for judges sometimes talk of a ‘living constitution.’ In practice, a living Constitution means whatever these activists want it to mean. They forget that our Constitution lives because we respect it enough to adhere to its words.”
Here, here, Mr. President! To read a transcript of the entire speech click here.
This
article from Human Events explains the latest developments
regarding dangerous hate crimes legislation and its current status.
Excerpt:
The Massachusetts Democrat [Sen. Kennedy] smeared the
military to win votes for his “hate crimes” amendment to the National Defense
Authorization Bill for 2008. The ploy, unfortunately, worked. Sixty
senators supported his “hate crimes” amendment to the Defense Authorization
Bill, which is now in conference committee.
The Hill
newspaper reports. Excerpt:
One hundred ninety-four out of 200 House Republicans are
backing the effort to block the anticipated revival of the Fairness Doctrine,
which they believe is a tool Democrats will use to cut down on the number of
conservative radio talk shows. The Fairness Doctrine was discarded by the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) during the Reagan administration in
1985. Not one Democrat has signed the petition, which requires 218 signatures
to trigger a vote.
The six Republicans who have opted not to sign Pence’s
petition are Reps. Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.), Robin Hayes (N.C.), Timothy
Johnson (Ill.), Mike Rogers (Ala.), John McHugh (N.Y.) and Ralph Regula (Ohio).
 AdvanceUSA has learned that ENDA, after having
passing the House of Representatives recently, will likely be put on the Senate
“calendar” within a week. This means that it could be considered at any
time. However, there are about a hundred total bills on the Senate
calendar, so it is not certain that the Senate vote on ENDA is imminent.
It could even be pushed back to next year.
Be
assured AdvanceUSA will keep a watchful eye on this dangerous
legislation. For more information on ENDA click here
or here.
AdvanceUSA
had the privilege of attending a lecture last week by John West (Senior Fellow
at the Discovery Institute) at the Heritage Foundation at which he explained
the effects of scientific materialism on American culture and political
thought. In his lecture West highlighted 5 specific effects of scientific
materialism evident today.
- technocracy elevated above
democracy
- pursuit of utopianism
- dehumanization
- moral relativism
- stifling of free speech and
free debate
To hear
an audio recording of this very insightful lecture click here
or here.
For more information about this and other Heritage Foundation events click here.
 Bishop Harry Jackson, Jr. voices his concerns with a
number of issues he sees as a threat to religious freedom. Doubtless the
ENDA bill and hate crimes legislation are clear and present dangers to free
religious expression, and the movement to
resurrect the discredited “fairness doctrine” is a blatant affront to free
speech. Read Jackson’s
full
column here.
For more
information on religious freedom click here or here.
LifeNews reports. Rep.
Mike Pence (R-IN) is championing similar legislation in the House.
The
Telegraph reports that for the first time scientists
have successfully cloned monkeys. The
ability to clone primate embryos indicates that the unethical cloning of human
embryos for research is a real possibility. Once again, scientists have
shown what is possible. It is now up to mankind as a whole to demand what
is ethical. Do we believe that human lives can be used for scientific
experimentation, or do we believe science should be subservient to ethics?
As
another UK
paper, the Independent, reports:
A technical breakthrough has enabled scientists to create
for the first time dozens of cloned embryos from adult monkeys, raising the
prospect of the same procedure being used to make cloned human embryos.
For more
information on human cloning click here.
 Some couples
unable to have children naturally are choosing to adopt unwanted IVF embryos
(snowflakes). The Columbia Missourian reports on the case of Chad
and Tanya Tatro and others who chose embryo adoption because of their religious
convictions. Their stories belie the oft repeated excuse by embryonic
stem cell proponents that “leftover embryo will only be discarded if we don’t
use them for research.” Note: The graphic to the left is an actual
photograph of the Tatro’s adopted embryos. Excerpt from story:
Embryo adoption is a growing phenomenon, especially among
Christians whose faith has put them in the middle of the debates over abortion
and stem-cell research. For people like the Tatros, this relatively new,
controversial form of adoption is as much a moral issue as it is a personal
decision. Moreover, many conservative Christians are re-focusing their energy
on the culture wars in a way that emphasizes adoption and foster care as part
of a solution. Embryo adoption is an option created by the explosion of in
vitro fertilization, which often results in embryos that are subsequently
destroyed or donated to stem-cell researchers. Stoddart, the executive director
of California-based Nightlight Christian Adoptions, established Snowflakes in
1997 to give leftover frozen embryos a chance at life. A year later, the first
stem cells were extracted from a human embryo, and Stoddart said the new
science and the ethical debate it has generated have helped his business. “If
it weren’t for that, trying to get the word out would be much harder,” he said.
“Embryo adoption is more relevant when juxtaposed to the embryonic stem-cell
debate.”
Embryo
adoption raises a number of legal questions which are discussed in another
article in the Columbia Missourian.
Check out
the Snowflakes website
to find out more about this exciting program. Click here for more
information on stem cell research.
 AdvanceUSA attended a recent lecture on the Hill at
which Greg Koukl, Christian thinker and radio host, spoke about the secular
reasons to oppose same-sex (gay) marriage. Koukl made the point that
Christians must not be content to refute same-sex marriage simply theologically
but also must make substantive public policy arguments to show that protecting
traditional marriage is indeed a “compelling public interest” based on data and
plain reason. His material is well worth reading.
Koukl has
generously made his lecture notes available and our friends at Faith & Law
have kindly posted
them online. To find out about articles, audio files, and video by
Greg Koukl click here.
For more
information from AdvanceUSA on protecting traditional marriage click here or here.
 In an insightful piece entitled “Two
forces combined to blindside stem cell champions” Susan K. Livio explains
how social conservatives and fiscal conservatives united to defeat the recent
New Jersey ballot initiative that would have spent hundreds of millions of tax
dollars on unethical embryonic stem cell research. Here’s hoping the
strong union of so-cons and fiscal-cons will be maintained around the
country. Excerpt from the Star-Ledger:
With polls reporting wide support for stem cell research
and expectations that low voter turnout would help them, proponents of a $450
million bond thought they had reason to be optimistic about Tuesday's
referendum.
But these and other miscalculations helped doom the
measure, political scientists, conservatives and elected officials said
yesterday. Supporters failed to grasp an unintentional alliance of two forces:
public discontent with the state's borrowing, and the work of conservatives and
religious leaders who opposed the ballot question's passage.
Unfortunately,
as LifeNews reports, the proponents of spending tax-payers’ dollars on unethical and unproven research will
continue despite the clear demonstration of
the will of the people of New
Jersey.
A USA
Today story reports on the successes of
using adult stem cell injections to treat damaged or diseased hearts.
The article tries to downplay the progress but cannot deny that adult stem
cells have shown real benefits while unethical embryonic stem cell research
promises only theoretical benefits.
Some
scientists would have you believe that we need to experiment on human embryos
in order to study diseases and how to treat them. But as the BBC reports,
scientists in the UK
are learning about the development of a serious, commonly occurring bone cancer
which often afflicts children by studying stem cell
development in dogs.
For more
information click here.
In a
victory for religious liberty and freedom of conscience, the AP
reports:
A federal judge has suspended Washington state's requirement that
pharmacists sell "morning-after" birth control pills, a victory for
druggists who claim their moral objections to the drug are being bulldozed by
the government.
The
“morning after pill” (Plan B) can act as an abortifacients (abortion-causing
drug) and has serious unaddressed health concerns.
 Originally known as Armistice Day because it
commemorated the peaceful conclusion of “The Great War” (World War I) in 1919,
Veterans Day, as it is now known, is a time to remember those who serve and
have served in our armed services. To honor those who risked their lives
in the service of our nation, AdvanceUSA would like to share the following.
A recent
Wall Street Journal article urges Americans to show respect to our fallen
soldiers regardless of their views on particular wars. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has
posted numerous Veterans Day resources on its
website for citizens to know how and where to celebrate this important
holiday. Click
here to read President Bush’s 2007 Veterans Day Proclamation.
Take time
this weekend to thank the Lord for the men and women who selflessly served our
country and be sure to thank the veterans you know for their courage and
sacrifice. Their dedication preserved our freedom.
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