Looking For Life On Mars - And Here

The debate here on earth, goes on and on about when a human embryo is to be considered a life. Those who consider an abortion to be "killing" a life believe that life began at the moment of conception. Those in opposition say that there is no life there since the embryo has not yet developed. The pro-life and pro-abortion people are constantly at war over when life begins. 

Space scientists have been very busy, probing Mars and other planets, looking for evidence of life. It is their belief that if they were to find a single cell of algae, microbe or even a bacteria, it would be considered a very significant discovery. It would be sufficient for them to call any alien organism or cell they can find - life. And yet, there so much controversy here on earth - about what constitutes life. Biologists, theologians and laymen will continue to debate this emotionally charged issue. 

I say that all of these groups who are intent on arguing about when life begins might consider doing a study. Whether it is the people who are exploring the planets, or those who are engaged in the pro-life/pro-abortion controversy, I have a challenge for them.

Since the scientists consider a single cell to be life. I say that we should first be able to explain an existing simple, living single cell. Let's look at one familiar and very curious cell. 

It is the single cell called a spirochete, the male reproductive cell. A powerful microscope will be needed because we're talking about a really tiny organism. Being a living cell, it is able to do all the things that any other living organism can do. It is born, it feeds, it does work, it is capable of locomotion, it eliminates waste, and it reproduces. All of that is going on in only a single cell! As Frank Sinatra would say, "That's Life!".

Those who are pondering the question of when exactly does a human life begin should look closely at this single cell. There is so much we don't know and so many questions that are hard to answer. This little cell has a tail that it uses to propel itself. Using its tail, it swims forward toward a destination. Where's it going? It has no map or compass, but somehow, it knows where to go. And it knows what to do!

How does it know that? It doesn't appear to have a "brain", but it knows how to do a lot of "thinking" things. We are faced with lots of questions: How did it learn these things? Did it go to school? How does it know how to wiggle its tail just the right way for swimming? Did it's Dad teach it to swim? Where does it get the magical invisible force that powers it's tail? Is there a battery - a motor? Where's the brain that tells it what to do?  Does it have a sense of touch to feel when it is bumping into stuff and then be able to turn away? How does it know when it has arrived at its destination? How did this little cell get so perfectly engineered?

Answers to these questions are difficult to answer. That leaves us with a lot of opinions and few facts. Maybe we can use a computer - a big one. Let's use IBM's "Watson", the world's largest and fastest computer. Given enough data, maybe then, we will be able to answer the question "what is life and when does it begin"? My guess is that even that most powerful computer will hold up, saying that it needs to have more data. So, if we can't even figure out one little cell, stop the fighting!!

The Perfect Enemy

 

Being an American citizen in this land of the free gives us a great opportunity to live a good life. Our Constitution protects us from anyone or anything that would threaten that freedom, including the government itself. And yet, there is a serious danger that our freedom is being lost.

Did you ever think that our Constitution and our way of life could be used against us? An enemy, who is devious enough would find it very easy to do just that. If they were to use our rights, "Freedom of religion", "Freedom of Speech", and our welcoming, generous nature, they could defeat us and remain unscathed.

In the past we have fought enemies who meant to harm our country, but they were clearly defined by their political ideology. An enemy whose goal was to destroy us, was easily defined and just as easily opposed and defeated.

The enemy we face today is not easily defined, and it may not be easily defeated. It has arranged its goals and its political ideology in a very clever way. They have  wrapped their political ideology inside the protective cloak of their religion. Their ideology and their religion are one, therefore, they are fully protected by our Constitution. Using this uniquely powerful freedom, they have become an enemy that has protected itself from being attacked, or even accused. 

As a minority, they have many unearned rights in this country even though they hate us. Even as an enemy of our country, it is not considered a factor in their gaining citizenship. We don't discriminate, so being in our free country, they are allowed to join our military and to run for office. They use our democratic system to insist on changes to our laws so as to include their Sharia laws.

This enemy is trained to be "Soldiers of Allah". They learn about their duties in their mosques. Most believe that if they die while killing infidels, they will be rewarded with martyrdom and eternal life. Like good soldiers, they are willing to give their lives to destroy their enemies. They need no direct orders from military officers, nor do they need uniforms or arsenals of modern weapons. 

It is Allah who commands them - every man, woman and child. They have already been given their instructions as part of their religious training and it is buried in each of their hearts. Any Muslim, at any time, may choose to kill as many infidels as he wants, whenever and wherever he feels like doing so. That's a formidable army.

As we have seen with the murders of our soldiers at Fort Hood, this enemy is even free to join our military. They are free to emigrate into America and other nations. When they arrive, most will not adapt to those societies. They withhold any loyalty to the nation within which they reside. They remain loyal and obedient only to their god and to their prescribed system of beliefs and laws (Sharia). When called upon, they are ready to do their duty. 

Their birthrate is higher than those of the Western nations to which they have emigrated. Many of the world’s modern nations have low birth rates. Muslims will eventually outnumber the natural citizens of those countries. With vast majorities, they have only to vote themselves into positions of power, establish Sharia law and succeed at their goal of converting the world to Islam. It appears that we are part of a "perfect storm" created by a well-designed, well-orchestrated scenario. 

While the population is kept busy worrying about things like drill or not, Wall St., banks, abortion, immigration reform, illegal aliens, jobs and the economy, the Religious War of 1991 continues - unopposed. We have been spun into a chrysalis. When we emerge, it may very well be a different world. We may not be doomed, exactly, but we will not be in Kansas anymore, Dorothy . 

America and the Longest War

Our government officials tell us that we are at war with terrorism. This is illogical and inaccurate, and maybe even deceptive. Since the brutal attack on September 11, 1991 we all know exactly who we are at war with. We know them to be the same enemy that has been killing Americans around the world for over seventy years. 

Yes, we are against terrorists and Terrorism, but it is the people who use this tactic against us that we are at war with. This tactic is a horrible, yet effective way to strike "terror" in the hearts of a foe. How can we be at war with the tactic that an enemy is using - and not the enemy who hates us and wants to kill us by using it? Who is the enemy who has declared war on us? 

War started in the early 1970's. On October 6, 1973, the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, Egyptian forces attacked Israel from across the Suez Canal, while at the same time Syrian troops were flooding the Golan Heights in a surprise offensive.  On October 17, OPEC, representing several Arab nations, struck back against the U.S. by imposing an oil embargo. Overnight, the price of a barrel of oil rose from $3 to $5.11. In January 1974, they raised it further to $11.65. We were singled out for having supported Israel in the war. So now it was our war. 

In the years that followed, there were several attacks on Americans around the world by Muslims in Yemen, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Indonesia and Kenya. Then in 1978, Islamic Iranians captured 53 Americans from our embassy and kept them in prison for more than a year. It was no longer a war with a particular country. It is the religion of Islam that has declared war on the USA. Islam is represented by millions of believers in many nations around the world. 

Although Muslims represent different nationalities, they are of one belief. Islam has radical, violent forces in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Somalia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Pakistan, Bosnia, Croatia, Albania, Algeria, Tunisia, Lebanon, the Philippines, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Chechnya, Uzbekistan, Syria, Iraq, and Kashmir. Millions of believers have emigrated into America and most of the developed nations of Europe.

The leaders in Iran instructed these people years ago, to join the jihad - "holy war".  Islamic spokesmen invoke this as a duty for all Muslims, in their relations with non-Muslims, until the whole world is brought under the mantle of Muhammad.

In an early speech by Osama bin Laden, he spoke to those believers and alluded to the Ottoman Empire. He was counting on the classical understanding of all Arab speaking nations, explaining that the world is divided into the "realm of Islam" and the "realm of the sword". (Infidels/non-Infidels). Muslims in all countries around the entire world understood.

When our people were killed in New York, newspapers in the Arab world were gleeful. An Egyptian columnist after 9/11 - "I cannot restrain my joy. I have witnessed the defeat of American arrogance, tyranny, conceit and evil" - Another columnist said, "Muslims see what has happened as divine retribution" A Libyan columnist called it, "The happiest day of my life" and a Kenyan newspaper said, "Every Muslim is Osama bin Laden".

To me, there is no doubt about who our enemy is. The truth is that this "Religious Holy War" is being forced on us by Islam. This religion is at war with the USA, Israel and all "infidels". Nationalism is not a factor - it is their religion that unites them. For the first time in our history,  we are hearing, "death to Americans, Jews and Christians wherever they are". Frightening stuff from an enemy who has already proven that he could hurt us badly. 

What about the "tactic" of terrorism? In war, the ideal tactic is one that will put fear in the heart of your foe. This enemy knew that it would have to confront the strong military forces of the USA and Israel. They would need some way to multiply their power in the conflict. It was easy for them to choose terrorism, an asymmetrical tactic. How would they put fear in the hearts of such strong, civilized and modern countries? Cut off heads, kill women and children indiscriminately, have many who will blow themselves up just to kill some of their enemy - that's how. 

Mothers are taught that strapping a bomb to their own child's body will please their God and will reap rewards for them in heaven. Those irrational and horrible acts make a modern and civilized society's blood run cold. That's what terrorism is all about and why it has worked so effectively.

Until we are willing to name, confront and to fight our actual enemy, the future will continue to be dominated by fear, loss of life and massive financial costs. The 1000 year religious war with Islam began on 9/11/1991.