Canned Bacon

A.V. Club opens and eats a can of bacon with video to prove it.

Read about and watch the event here.

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I’m Catholic, staunchly anti-abortion, and support Obama

I found this commentary a bit captivating and thought I would share.  It comes from Nicholas Cafardi, a high profile anti-abortion Catholic legal scholar.

You can read it in its entirety here, but below are some highlights, and it’s the last highlight that I list that continues to stick with me:

  • I believe that abortion is an unspeakable evil, yet I support Sen. Barack Obama, who is pro-choice. I do not support him because he is pro-choice, but in spite of it. Is that a proper moral choice for a committed Catholic?
  • Despite what some Republicans would like Catholics to believe, the list of what the church calls “intrinsically evil acts” does not begin and end with abortion. In fact, there are many intrinsically evil acts, and a committed Catholic must consider all of them in deciding how to vote.
  • Obama’s support for abortion rights has led some to the conclusion that no Catholic can vote for him. That’s a mistake. While I have never swayed in my conviction that abortion is an unspeakable evil, I believe that we have lost the abortion battle — permanently. A vote for Sen. John McCain does not guarantee the end of abortion in America. Not even close.
  • Let’s suppose Roe v. Wade were overturned. What would happen? The matter would simply be kicked back to the states — where it was before 1973. Overturning Roe would not abolish abortion. It would just mean that abortion would be legal in some states and illegal in others. The number of abortions would remain unchanged as long as people could travel.
  • The right to abortion is guaranteed by the federal judiciary’s interpretation of the Constitution. And while the president appoints federal judges, the connection between a president’s appointments and the decisions rendered by his appointees is tenuous at best. After all, in 1992, five Republican-appointed justices voted to uphold Roe v. Wade in Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Yet on other intrinsic evils — an unjust war, torture, ignoring the poor — I can address those evils directly by changing the president.
  • There is a difference between being pro-choice and being pro-abortion. Obama supports government action that would reduce the number of abortions, and has consistently said that “we should be doing everything we can to avoid unwanted pregnancies that might even lead somebody to consider having an abortion.” He favors a “comprehensive approach where … we are teaching the sacredness of sexuality to our children.” And he wants to ensure that adoption is an option for women who might otherwise choose abortion.
    Obama worked all of that into his party’s platform this year. By contrast, Republicans actually removed abortion-reduction language from their platform.
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How Friendly Are You?


Your Friendliness Score is 70 (Friendly)


No doubt about it, you are a good friend and a friend to many.
You’re one of the first people your friends call when they have news.

You are quite popular, and your circle of friends is always growing.
And while you are always making new friends, you are careful not to leave your old friends behind.

While you are a great friend, you’re not perfect. Sometimes you slip a little.
Make sure to listen to your friends and make time for them. Occasionally they feel a little neglected.
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I’ve always wondered about this

What happens if a presidential candidate passes away at the last second?

Each party has its own protocol for this scenario, but in neither case does the running mate automatically take over the ticket. (Congress could also pass a special statute and push back Election Day, giving the dead candidate’s party time to regroup.)

If John McCain were to die before the election, the rules of the Republican Party authorize the Republican National Committee to fill the vacancy, either by reconvening a national convention or by having RNC state representatives vote. The new nominee must receive a majority vote to officially become the party candidate.

If Barack Obama were to die before the election, the Democratic Party’s charter and bylaws state that responsibility for filling that vacancy would fall to the Democratic National Committee, but the rules do not specify how exactly the DNC would go about doing that.

And then there’s answers to all sorts of other scenarios such as death after the election but before the inauguration.

Slate.com

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