No More Ho Ho Ho

At first I thought this had to be a joke, but it seems real.

Santas in Australia's largest city have been told not to use Father Christmas's traditional "ho ho ho" greeting because it may be offensive to women, it was reported Thursday.

Sydney's Santa Clauses have instead been instructed to say "ha ha ha" instead, the Daily Telegraph reported.

One disgruntled Santa told the newspaper a recruitment firm warned him not to use "ho ho ho" because it could frighten children and was too close to "ho", a US slang term for prostitute. [source]

Where do I begin? Any woman who would be offended to hear Santa Claus say "ho ho ho" is out of her mind and needs to get psychological help. What's next? Consider the alternatives:

• Ha ha ha promotes the stereotype that fat people are jolly.
• Hi hi hi implies that Santa is a user of illegal drugs.
• Hu hu hu may be offensive to owl lovers.
• Hee hee hee will be heard by radical feminists as a male chauvinist taunt.

Unless someone invents a new vowel, it appears that Santas throughout the English-speaking world will have no choice but to stand there in silence and stare at the kiddies. Children who expected a jolly old man will be sorely disappointed. Before you know it, Santa will be regarded as the creepy man in red who appears every year to frighten youngsters. Merry Christmas!

Feline Music

With 6.7 million views on YouTube, this cat named Nora is officially a star. Click here if you don't see the embedded video. There's also a sequel if you want more.

Nora's sublime and thoughtful notes are a vast improvement over most of what passes for music today. Hopefully she will devote all of her nine lives to composition and give us a full symphony.

Hat tip: Sister Mary Martha

Rudy & The Christians

I have a couple of theories about Rudy Giuliani’s continued high support among conservative Christians. Pat Robertson’s endorsement is only the latest evidence that Rudy’s softness on abortion and other social issues isn’t a deal killer.

First, most evangelicals and conservative Catholics really don’t think about these things very much. A substantial minority are very devoted and active in pro-life causes, of course. These are the people who stage the sidewalk prayer vigils, staff the crisis pregnancy centers, and write blogs. They make a lot of noise but in the big picture there aren’t that many of them. Most people are far more concerned about things that they think relate to their everyday lives.

Rod Dreher recently quoted a CBS News survey of white evangelicals which found that the four most important elections issues were health care, the Iraq war, immigration and the economy. Abortion is way down the list. With these priorities, it’s not hard to see why people are willing to overlook Rudy’s weak spots.

The second point is something I can’t prove with hard data but it makes intuitive sense. Most people hate to make important decisions by themselves. They would much rather be told what to do and what to think. As the World War II “Greatest Generation” leaves the scene and people who grew up with LBJ’s welfare state take control, there is a common attitude that the government will take care of us. People look to the president as a kind of National Dad who gives us money so we can go out and party.

Because the terrorists threaten our right to party, we need Dad to protect us from them. We feel better when Dad is a tough guy who can beat up anyone who gets in his way. Rudy Giuliani looks, talks and acts like a tough guy. Therefore, people want him to be their Dad.

The same is true, to a lesser degree, for John McCain and Fred Thompson. The non-tough guys like Romney, Huckabee and Paul don’t have this image, and that’s why they aren’t likely to win. The objective fact of whether a candidate promotes the right policies is just not important. Retailers have long known that packaging is what sells. It’s equally true in politics - and Giuliani has great packaging. As long as he makes a few noises about being a religious guy, even most Christians won't look much deeper.

In fact, I could argue that evangelical Christians are even more likely than the general public to fall into this category. Just look at the "megachurches" that draw in thousands of people every Sunday. Many - and perhaps most - are built around a pastor with a strong personality who uses his sermons to tell people what they want to hear. They "vote" for this pastor by choosing to attend his church instead of another. These churches are a tiny microcosm of the American electorate.

We’ve all had the experience of buying a product that looks great on the shelf, only to find after we open it that it doesn’t do the things we thought it would. We find the same thing with politicians after we elect them. Christians who vote for Giuliani because they think he will keep them “safe” may find themselves in more danger than ever. Too bad presidents don't come with a warranty.

Mom and Dad Wanted Me Dead

This is bizarre.

A doctor can't be held liable for resuscitating a baby who was born without a heartbeat and survived with severe disabilities, the state Supreme Court says.

The baby's parents filed a malpractice lawsuit after the baby's 2004 birth. They claimed doctors in Vancouver, Wash., were negligent when they continued to resuscitate the baby for almost half an hour, after he was born without a heartbeat.

The parents also said the medical team should have gotten their consent before continuing to revive the baby.

But the Supreme Court justices say the doctor can't be held liable for failing to stop resuscitation efforts on a baby. [source]

More detail can be found in the Washington State Supreme Court opinion here. Nichole Stewart-Graves was 35 weeks pregnant in 2004 when she began having contractions. She went to the hospital with her husband, Todd Graves. Up to that point there had been no problems in the pregnancy. Nurses detected that the baby's heartbeat was failing and Nichole gave permission for an emergency C-section. She was then placed under anesthetic.

When the baby was born doctors could not detect any heartbeat and began working to resuscitate him. After 24 minutes the baby's heart began to beat. He survived but is permanently disabled with cerebral palsy, mental retardation and many other serious problems. He will require extensive care for his entire life. The parents named their baby boy "Liam."

The parents sued the doctor, the hospital, and everyone else in sight on the grounds that they should have let little Liam die. Yes, that's right - not "wrongful death" but "wrongful life." They say the doctors actually worked too hard to save their baby's life.

The court opinion is strange to read because Liam is, technically, the one filing the suit. His parents speak on his behalf. So you get odd sentences like "Liam made the same allegations as his parents regarding the lack of informed consent and negligence for continuing the resuscitation." Apparently, we are supposed to believe that Liam really wanted to die and the evil doctor should have just read his mind.

It is undeniably true that Liam will never have a normal life. Nevertheless, he has Life, and all life is a gift from God. It is not our place to give it or take it. Had God wanted Liam to die, then nothing the doctors did would have helped. The fact that he was saved suggests God wants Liam on this Earth - alive.

We see similar things when unborn babies are pre-natally diagnosed with conditions like Down's Syndrome. Parents often decide to abort such babies because they won't have "quality of life." This is the first step down a very slippery slope. Once we begin deciding that some lives just aren't worthwhile, where does it end? A lot of old people don't have much quality of life, either. How about poor people? Blind people? Mentally ill people? Where does it end?

Fortunately, in this case the Washington Supreme Court agreed that the doctors were not negligent. They were simply doing what doctors are supposed to do. Justice won in the end, but this case truly has no winners. Unlike some parents who develop a heroic love and dedication for disabled children, this couple clearly wishes their son had never been born. It is unclear to what degree they are involved in his care. It sure sounds like they regard him as a burden rather than a blessing.

If, someday, Liam is able to understand what happened, what will he think? Mom and dad wanted me to die? What a horrible way to go through a life that is already hard enough.

Hat tip: WWWtW

Happy Veteran's Day

However noble or evil you may think any particular war is, those who answer their nation's call deserve our thanks. Most do not desire, and will not seek, any special recognition. So it is fitting that we have a day to honor them.

Some veterans saw the worst of war. Others stood in wait. All sacrificed much for the greater good. On this day, find one and say "Thanks."

Platonism at the Gym

If you think the religious zealot is hateful to the spiritually indifferent or to those who actively reject his belief, just try to talk to a true Gym Bunny or a Gym Jock. Their utter disdain for your physical weakness, your lack of motivation, your ill-defined abs and flabby butt, their venomous contempt for your high calorie, high fat diet and your ignorance of proper supplementation—all of these combine in a heart so spiritually pure in its hatred for the body that these Gym Bunnies and Jocks would scare the dungeon masters of the Spanish Inquisition with their zealotry!

Make no mistake: their torturous routines on those robotic machines are not about loving the flesh…no, no, the flesh must be denied, tamed, shaped, and beaten into submission. [more]