Abortion, Drones, Immigration, Nuclear Weapons, Mouments Men Revisited?, What Was Once Thought Preposterous

HR 36, HR 816, and the Pill Kills

• "Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 242-184 to pass the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (H.R. 36), a bill that seeks to protect unborn children from painful, brutal late-term abortions after 20 weeks, or 5 months of pregnancy.

Rep. Keith Rothfus spoke in favor of H.R. 36. Tweet him (@KeithRothfus) and call his office ((202) 225-2065) to thank him for his commitment to Life!....
Rep. Glenn Thompson spoke in favor of H.R. 36. Tweet him (@CongressmanGT) and call his office ((202) 225-5121) to thank him for his commitment to Life!....
Rep. Joe Pitts spoke in favor of H.R. 36. Tweet him (@RepJoePitts) and call his office ((202) 225-2411) to thank him for his commitment to Life!....
Rep. Mike Kelly spoke in favor of H.R. 36. Tweet him (@MikeKellyPA) and call his office ((202 225-5406)) to thank him for his commitment to Life!" (See Pennsylvania representatives speak in favor of H.R. 36, Susan B. Anthony List)

• The Life at Conception Act (HR 816): Its full purpose is 'to implement equal protection under the 14th article of amendment to the Constitution for the right to life of each born and preborn human person.'  The bill says: 'Congress hereby declares that the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested in each human being. . . . For purposes of this Act: The terms "human person" and "human being" include each and every member of the species homo sapiens at all stages of life, including the moment of fertilization, cloning, or other moment at which an individual member of the human species comes into being.'  There are no exceptions in this bill. It declares that every preborn human being, from the first moment of their existence, has the right to life.  The bill currently has 87 cosponsors. You can see the list here....You can SAVE ALL THE BABIES. SUPPORT H.R.816" (American Life League, 5/15/15).  MIKE FITZPATRICK IS NOT A CO-SPONSOR! 

• "Join American Life League in our Pill Kills National Day of Action on June 6, 2015, by organizing an event in your community" (http://thepillkills.org/).

Lethal Drones, Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and "Unlocking Human Dignity"

• "In May 2013, my predecessor as Chair, Bishop Richard E. Pates, sent a letter to Thomas Donilon raising serious moral questions about the use of lethal drones.  Those concerns have not abated.'" (Bishop Oscar Cantú, Chair of the USCCB's Committee on International Justice and Peace, 5/11/15).

• "The Holy See declared at the beginning of the NPT Review Conference [i.e., Ninth Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons]:  'We are all aware that the goal of a world without nuclear weapons is not easy to achieve. ... But this is neither a reason nor an excuse not to implement the obligations undertaken in conformity with the NPT. ... Ethics based on the threat of mutually assured destruction is not worthy of future generations'....The United States and other nuclear weapons possessing states bear a particular responsibility for nuclear disarmament and despite the success of the New START Treaty in further reducing the numbers of weapons, there has not been enough progress" (Bishop Oscar Cantú, Chair of the USCCB's Committee on International Justice and Peace, 5/12/15).

• "As Catholic bishops in the United States, we approach immigrant detention not so much as a public policy issue, but as pastors concerned with the well-being of those we love and serve....We urge Catholic institutions to increase their commitment to immigrant detainees and their families. We urge the Administration and Congress to build an immigration system that affords due process protections, honors human dignity and minimizes the use of detention" (Bishop Eusebio L. Elizondo, M.Sp.S. and Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, Unlocking Human Dignity: A Plan to Transform the U.S. Immigrant Detention System).

"Monuments Men" Revisited? U Penn Scholar Katharyn Hanson Testifies Before Congress

• "Minority religious heritage sites throughout ISIS held areas of Iraq and Syria have been suffering enormous damage and face constant risk. The targeted extermination of religious minorities by ISIS results in mass death and also the erasure of the outward manifestations of the minority religious culture, threatening the continuity of their religious practices....In thinking about how we can address the intentional destruction of minority religious and cultural heritage, I would like to offer three recommendations of actions that can be taken now by the Committee and the U.S. Government.
   First, to the extent possible, we need to offer humanitarian assistance to religious and refugee communities as well as the displaced museum curators, librarians, archivists, and archaeologists who are working at great personal risk to protect religious and cultural heritage inside Iraq and Syria....
   Second, this Committee should use its powers to inquire into the efforts by the Department of Defense to protect religious heritage and other cultural sites during action against ISIS....
   Finally, there is bipartisan legislation on cultural heritage protection, the Protect and Preserve International Cultural Property Act, HR 1493, now pending in this Congress. Introduced by Mr. Engel, Mr. [Chris] Smith, Mr. Royce, and Mr. Keating" (May 13, 2015).

What was Once Thought Preposterous

• While Frank Capra's Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) could certainly be faulted for making light of mental illness, it argues that supposed "mercy killings" are absurd.
  
  
  (Arsenic and Old Lace, 1944)

• In Laurel and Hardy's March of the Wooden Soldiers (1934), Stan and Ollie save Little Bo Peep from a forced marriage to Silas Barnaby.  The subsequent suggestion that Stanley and Silas have actually become married is treated as absurd.
  
  (March of the Wooden Soldiers, 1934)