They braved the cold, young and old

This is one of the many signs held up during the recent March for Life, which marked the 38th anniversary of the Supreme Court case that decriminalized abortion in the United States. Frankly, the first time I heard about the March for Life being held to commemorate such an incident, my initial reaction was one of bewilderment: Why celebrate such a horrid thing? Then I understood that it was meant to remind Americans of the grim consequences of that 1973 case and to prompt people everywhere to work for a culture of life despite the backing of the law for depriving some members of society of the basic right to life.

The 2011 March for Life in Washington DC was held on Jan. 24 and was estimated to have been attended by some 250,000-400,000 people. Below are some more photos, taken by Victoria Gingras, Matt Kassens, Generations for Life, and the person who took the photos for a National Catholic Register article.


The main banner...





One of the misleading catch phrases in the pro-abortion movement...





A simple and thought-provoking reminder...





Another reminder, this time of government policies that don't belong in civilized society...





I suppose this is the main street on which participants marched...





Can't add anything to this...




The baby in the sign sure looks a lot like the lady holding the sign...





Something that even Dr. Seuss has pointed out...




Very heartening to see a diverse crowd...




For more photos and coverage, go to St. Blogustine, MommyLife, Generations for Life, National Catholic Register, and Caritas in Veritate.

Moptops in (plastic) motion

I've been thinking of these four a lot lately.

And there's been a Lego display and play area in SM Megamall the past couple of weeks.

So... enjoy!

Noteworthy quotes

"Our science tells us there is a unique, never to exist again, human individual in a mother's womb. Why, in America, have we come to the place where we can kill that individual to solve our problems?" -- Raymond Ufford, M.D.

* * * * *

If you choose to destroy:

- the children born or unborn, you destroy love and the future
- the sick or disabled, you destroy compassion
- the elderly, you destroy wisdom, respect and the past

Can we really do without these? Have you never been young, sick or injured? Will you never be old in someone's eyes? Therefore, do unto others as you wish to have done to you.

-- Anne Bauer, M.D.


Source: Physicians for Life

When the future looks bright...

... why don't the pessimists simply wear shades? Why do they work to spread darkness around the world?

This seems to be what leaders of the "free world" have been doing for some time now. It's no secret now that the present US administration is consistently calling for universal access to the procedure in which unborn babies are deliberately killed. Can they not be satisfied with having their own babies killed? Must they now extend their reach to the lives of people living in other parts of the world?

A nation that kills its own children is a nation without hope, said the late Pope John Paul II. I wonder how the current US president and his supporters regard the growing life inside a mother's womb. A blob of tissue or some other similar concept that defies science? But then why am I surprised? The president is known for having a low regard for the lives of others, betraying a hint of discrimination and an ignorance of the principle of equality. Here's an excerpt from an entry I wrote two years ago about the March for Life:

I think this year's March for Life takes on an even deeper significance because the United States's new leader is one who seems to discriminate against some persons as far as recognizing and respecting their dignity is concerned. It is very saddening.

I find it quite disturbing that the person occupying the highest office in that country advocates allowing a newborn to die instead of being given life-saving medical attention, if the baby happened to survive an abortion. In essence, that's what Pres. Obama said when he -- as a legislator -- repeatedly struck down the Born Alive Infant Protection Act, which extends legal protection to an infant born alive after a failed attempt at induced abortion. For him, the law should let a baby who survives an abortion be left alone to die. And just now I learned from this 2002 article that Obama also "opposed measures to criminalize those who transport minors across state lines for the purpose of obtaining an abortion." Isn't this tantamount to protecting old men who prey on minors from arrest? I realize this article is six years old, but if it's accurate, and unless Obama has changed his stance on the matter, the time element is irrelevant.

This is the much-celebrated new leader of the "Land of the Free"?

To be sure, I'm not in a ranting mood. So what caused this post that dwells on the American president's anti-human-rights-for-pre-born-babies position? Well, while link-hopping to search for news and pictures of the just-concluded March for Life, I came across a striking statement. From the Jan. 22 article:

"President Barack Obama is marking the 38th anniversary of the Supreme Court's landmark decision on abortion by calling the procedure a constitutional right he's committed to protecting."

With a leader like that, the country's citizens had better take to heart that adage which says that what's necessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing. Doing nothing ought not to be an option, and in doing what's right, it pays to look to a civil rights advocate for some guidance:

"The time is always right to do what is right."
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

The search is on

Remember this? It's one of the many commercials that debuted during last year's Superbowl:





Charming huh? Well, I recently learned that there are several equally inventive but simple ads in the series. Such as this one, which I really love:




Creativity knows no bounds when it's guided by sound values. And how expensive can such a simple production be? Hardly any cost, and you leave your audience smiling--with a positive brand image in their minds whether or not they're aware of it.

Let's see how the commercials at this year's Superbowl coverage fare...

Of feline 'guests' and other creatures

Well, hello there, blog! It's been quite a while....

These days I'm thinking more about animals that roam the earth--more specifically, undesired animals that frequent our home. Kittens are cute, but when their grownup counterparts drop by our house and come and go as they please--acting as if it's the designated hang-out venue for feline creatures--it is irksome to me. Check out the laid-back animal here:



This and several other cats have been spending a lot of time on our premises the past couple of months--snoozing on the cemented ground, under the car (ON the car, too, no doubt, based on the trail of paw prints from hood to windshield to roof!), near the dirty kitchen. And the nonchalance with which this particular cat gazed at me as my steps awakened it while it napped on a stack of dusters, simply bothered me. Oh, hi there, it seemed to say quietly as my presence obviously did not make a difference on the creature's plans. Don't feed them! advised friends and family. We don't, I told them, but they still come back and hang out.

Well, that happens when you don't have a dog. But at least there's not a mouse or rat in sight, owing to the tambay cats. We have ants, though, which I'm dealing with thanks to a recommended deadly weapon, the Terro Ant Killer. I've yet to get a picture of the trail of tiny crawlers feasting on the fatal liquid...

We do have winged creatures that we see every morning inside the house, and they are most welcome.









They aren't real, though, but the picture is a peaceful and relaxing one. Not a bad scene to greet one while having breakfast. We get our fill of the chirping of birds (real ones) every morning; fortunately, there are still many of them flying about in the neighborhood, and they choose to rest once in a while on the steel bars outside our living room windows. A welcome sight indeed, and the kind of tweeting that I like!