Obama’s Definitions of Children and Adults

The recent controversy regarding the administration’s opinion that fifteen-year-old and younger females should be able to go to a drug store and purchase, without a prescription from a doctor and without the parents’ knowledge, was set aside on April 5^th by Judge Edward Korman, from the Eastern District of New York, who gave the FDA 30 days to remove age restrictions on the sale of emergency contraception, such as Plan B One-Step.

In his ruling, Korman was dismissive of the government’s arguments and, in particular, previous decisions by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius that required girls under 17 to get a prescription for the emergency contraceptive. In 2011, Sebelius overruled a recommendation by the FDA to make the drug available to all women without a prescription. The FDA said at the time that it had well-supported scientific evidence that Plan B One-Step is a safe and effective way to prevent unintended pregnancy.

Sebelius, however, said she was concerned that very young girls couldn’t properly understand how to use the drug without assistance from an adult.

She invoked her authority under the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and directed FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg to issue “a complete response letter.” As a result, “the supplement for nonprescription use in females under the age of 17 is not approved,” Hamburg wrote at the time.

On May 1^st Sebelius’ agency challenged Korman’s decision. The move is the latest chapter in a 10-year, controversial debate about who should have access to the drug and why.

Plan B prevents implantation of a fertilized egg in a woman’s uterus through use of levonorgestrel, a synthetic form of the hormone progesterone used for decades in birth control pills. Plan B contains 1.5 milligrams of levonorgestrel, more than “the Pill” contains. It is considered a form of birth control, not abortion by some. However, the Catholic Church maintains that Plan B is a form of abortion, because fertilization has taken place.

On May 2^nd Rep. Steve Stockman (R), of Texas’s 36^th congressional district, tweeted “Democrats on health care: 15-year-olds who want birth control are adults. 26-year-olds who want health insurance are children.” Admittedly, Stockman likes to shock. In April he made available a bumper sticker which read “If babies had guns, they wouldn’t be aborted.”

However, Stockman makes a good point. In Obamacare, “children” can remain on their parents’ health insurance until their 27^th birthday. I don’t think I would call a 26 year old woman a “child” with what that implies in the sense of housing, feeding, care, etc. that a parent would give a pre-teen.

Yet, the Obama administration considers those females who are 16 to be adults when it comes to Plan B. Judge Korman would go below 15. He’s just plain nuts.

As a former school administrator I could not give a student an aspirin without a parent’s permission. Yet, in this Orwellian world, Judge Korman feels it’s okay for females under 15 to go to the drug store and purchase the “morning after” pill without anyone knowing.

Catholic Kathleen Sebelius and Obama himself are not much better in their positions. President Obama said on May 2nd he was comfortable with his administration’s decision to allow over-the-counter purchases of a morning-after pill for anyone 15 and older.

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday had lowered the age at which people can buy the Plan B One-Step morning-after pill without a prescription to 15 – younger than the current limit of 17. The FDA decided that the pill could be sold on drugstore shelves near condoms, instead of locked behind pharmacy counters.

Obama, speaking at a news conference while in Mexico, said the FDA’s decision was based on “solid scientific evidence.”

Mr. O, you are certainly no scientist, nor much of a person consistent on anything…and we have you leading this country until 2017. As a pro-life Catholic, I cannot wait until you leave office and stop inflicting your twisted moral logic on everyone…and don’t get me started on the economy, gay marriage, the regulations curtailing the coal industry, or the Benghazi cover-up.

Mixing Theology with Cement

I am a simple kind of guy, who, when undergoing any project —whether it be taking astrophotographs, writing a blog on theology, or planting crops for our farm market — does a lot of praying. I think cherry, apple, strawberry and grape growers can relate as we enter the critical frost season. As a Catholic, Mary and the Holy Spirit are my go-to persons for help.

As winter was ending on the calendar, I decided, since we heat our house with wood, to build a wood shed with a floor of cement.

We do have a furnace in the basement which is capable of heating with oil or wood, but heating with oil has been erased from my memory. Our house, on the east side of Lake Leelanau, has lots of glass windows, and on average I would use 10 gallons a day. Now if you figure 30 days in a month times 8 months times $4.00 a gallon for oil, that works out to a little under $10,000 a year.

I explored heat pumps and outdoor heating units, wood pellets, propane, as well as the cost of running a natural gas line through tons of roots, but came to the conclusion that wood from our own woodlots was the best choice. Not only that, but a new fireplace insert heats the upper floor nicely. Getting wood into the fireplace requires some hard work. I have chain saws, a buzz rig, two tractors, etc., but I’m what you would call a “senior” so my endurance is limited.

Anyway, after some prayer, I began to plan to build the wood shed. The first thing that had to be done was clear out an area near the house. Easier said than done. We had split about 15 face cords for this past winter, piled it all on wood pallets, and covered it with a big plastic tarp. Too many problems, what with snow, melting, refreezing, etc. See what this deteriorated to by the end of February.

For 2013-14 this temporary setup had to be replaced. A permanent structure was the thing. Clearing out the several trees, which I cut to stumps, needed big equipment. A local company with back hoe and claw was there the same day. Dealing with frozen pallets, stumps, and roots was a challenge, but it was done in an hour and a half. Laying out a 12′x21’ framework came next.

Then came digging 14 post holes. I purchased a small powered auger and began drilling down a couple of feet.  I have rented diggers before, but for the money I paid for a new powered auger, why rent? I will use it again for planting 200 gallon containers of blueberries and other planting jobs.

The auger didn’t have a reverse, but I only got hung up on one root. I wanted to go down at least 24 inches, but the auger didn’t quite make it, so I purchased a two-handled post hole digger.

At the bottom of the holes I placed 6”-round cement pads and anchored treated 4x4s on top of them, packing everything with Quickcrete.

Within the week, I requested 3½ cu. yds. of cement to be delivered by a local company. The day arrived, sunny, with no rain or snow in the forecast. Three hours delayed, the cement truck came. Clouds were gathering. After the first screed, it rained. Having rescreeded, big snowflakes left polka dot impressions on the cement floor. Hey, it was only a Wood Shed.

The next steps involved drilling holes for 6” long x ½” carriage bolts to tie horizontal 2x8s and 2x6s to the 4x4s together.

In the midst of crazy weather forecasts, son Ben came up from Grand Rapids to help finish the project. We first placed 3/8” 4′x8′ plywood sheets on the framing as an underlayment for the metal roof. Ben used a nailer for this job.

Then we hoisted the 3’x12’ green metal panels up and he screwed in sheet metal screws. The roof angles at 20 degrees, so rain and snow drain and slide off.

Six hours later, we were done … and it began to rain … but only after I had parked my snowmobile under the new roof.

The next week, my wife Marlene and I added several 2x4s as bracing for future wood stacks. The shed will hold a ton of wood! It will dry well because we get wind from all directions and it will be ready for use this fall.

The final product…

We have two log splitters, one of which is in the picture. Now the real work begins … 25 cords of wood for next winter! We do have a start though. I do have to say that everything lines up … the building is solid as a rock, and all my prayers were answered … except maybe the snowflakes from heaven, but if the flakes were heaven-sent, what more could a simple man like me ask?