TheDuke's Domain

I will, Lord willing, be posting more on this topic in later posts. This post will soon be published in a Right To Life newsletter. This story deserves more comment than this post, but this is just the beginning.

Death by committee is here. According to reports out of the Netherlands, doctors at the Gronigen University Hospital have given at least four infants lethal doses of drugs under an “experimental” policy called the Gronigen Protocol. The policy has been developed by doctors, administrators and prosecutors to allow a committee of doctors to administer lethal doses of drugs to be admitted to children younger than age 12 if the child has been determined to have a terminal illness or has been determined to have too much pain and suffering.

Another key feature of the protocols is that parents do not have the final say as to whether their child lives or dies but can have only an advisory role in the decision. While this policy is seen as experimental in nature, the Netherlands, Belgium and Great Britain are considering assisted suicide laws similar to the one approved by Dutch voters in 1994.

This policy is a clear result of our thinking we can determine who has life and who doesn’t. We determine this for those with terminal illness, stem cell research and now we are willing to kill already born children because of pain and suffering. God asks us to look after the least of these. He demands that we act justly and love mercy. This policy is a flagrant denial of these commandments and must be stopped where it is and done away with.

To describe this film as dishonest and demagogic would almost be to promote those terms to the level of respectability. To describe this film as a piece of crap would be to run the risk of a discourse that would never again rise above the excremental. To describe it as an exercise in facile crowd-pleasing would be too obvious. Fahrenheit 9/11 is a sinister exercise in moral frivolity, crudely disguised as an exercise in seriousness. It is also a spectacle of abject political cowardice masking itself as a demonstration of "dissenting" bravery.

Cristopher Hitchens talking about Michael Moore's film Fahrenheit 911. This is the best quote of the year in my opinion because it is ruthless, it is timely and encapsulates many people's opinion of the movie.

"...My husband says we're going with the Bob Jones curriculum and that's that, but it's expensive. It costs several hundred dollars. I mean how much expense does it take to teach little kids four letter words...?"

A co-worker of mine late one night talking about homeschooling her children.

*sigh* A big day is coming up soon. I am expecting my second child. I have been humbled by parenting skills with my first, my daughter Anastasia. I feel as though I haven't done enough to develop my girl or to actually teach in the fear and admonition of the Lord. I dearly love her and I will dearly love this second child when it (we don't know the gender yet) makes their debut around the 22nd.

My biggest anticipation for me is seeing my wife go through labor pains for the first time because we had to have a c-section with Ana. I also worry about neglecting my daughter. I know that if she doesn't receive adequate attention and love from me, then she will seek it elsewhere, probably in other men she would have no business being around. It is a big challenge. My God have mercy upon me and grant me and my wife grace enough to bear this responsibility.

Stephen Moore has a column today making the case for President Bush to pick Larry Kudlow as the director of the National Economic Council, the group charged with formulating and articulating the administration's economic policies.

At first glance, I thought this was Moore being something of a homer since both men are leaders in The Club For Growth, a conservative political group that seeks to elect true believing conservatives to Congress. I'm sure that there is some homerism going here, but upon further review, I have to admit that Larry Kudlow would be a brilliant choice for the position.

I must admit that most of what I know about supply-side economics and how to say it have come from the able pen of Mr. Kudlow. He has a way of taking macro economics in particular and boiling it down in ways that common schleps like me can understand and articulate it. I have a huge personal debt of gratitude to Mr. Kudlow for this reason. I also have been inspired by his ability to overcome a substance abuse problem earlier in his life. Larry Kudlow is a good man and the president would do well to consider him for the spot. The pick would be offbeat, but effective if he was given half a chance to articulate and direct White House policy. To that end, I have my doubts about Kudlow's ability to cut through the media static that surrounds the White House should he actually get the position, but that is part of the job he would have and I'm sure that he could find ways around the media screen if given a chance.

Larry Kudlow would be missed on cable, but his service to his country would be invaluable. I agree with Stephen Moore: Kudlow for NEC chairman.