{"id":76566,"date":"2024-09-09T06:00:34","date_gmt":"2024-09-09T10:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?p=76566"},"modified":"2024-09-06T14:40:51","modified_gmt":"2024-09-06T18:40:51","slug":"monday-miscellany-9-9-24","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2024\/09\/monday-miscellany-9-9-24\/","title":{"rendered":"Monday Miscellany, 9\/9\/24"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The problem with 15-week abortion bans; Switzerland is reconsidering its neutrality; and leftist dictator changes the date of Christmas.<\/p>\n

The Problem with 15-Week Abortion Bans<\/h4>\n

Republicans<\/a> trying to stake out a \u201cmoderate\u201d position on abortion have been proposing banning the procedure after 15 weeks.\u00a0 But 96% of abortions<\/a> happen before 15 weeks.<\/p>\n

Several states ban abortion after 6 weeks, but that still allows for 44.8% of abortion<\/a>.\u00a0 It does prevent 55.2% of them, which is not nothing.\u00a0 But setting gestational benchmarks is still legalized abortion.<\/p>\n

\n

The question is whether a developing child in the womb is worth protecting.\u00a0 Is he or she a human being?\u00a0 If so, abortion at any stage is abhorrent.<\/p>\n

On some, maybe most issues, there is a continuum of positions, with a spectrum in the middle that can be described as \u201cmoderate.\u201d\u00a0 Abortion is not like that.\u00a0 It\u2019s a binary issue:\u00a0 you either support it or you don\u2019t.\u00a0 There is no \u201cmoderate\u201d position.<\/p>\n

A pro-lifer can push for laws that result in fewer abortions, as in the 6-week states (with Florida\u2019s law being challenged with a referendum that would remove virtually all restrictions).\u00a0 But a 15 week ban only masquerades as \u201cmoderate,\u201d since it still legalizes nearly all abortions.<\/p>\n

HT:\u00a0 David Mueller<\/a><\/p>\n

Switzerland Is Reconsidering Its Neutrality<\/h4>\n

Since 1515, Switzerland has been a \u201cneutral\u201d country, successfully staying out of foreign wars, even as they raged all around it.\u00a0 The last century saw two world wars, but those world at war did not include Switzerland.<\/p>\n

Not that they didn\u2019t have wars<\/a>.\u00a0 They had some civil wars and were invaded a few times, most notably by Napoleon.\u00a0 And Swiss mercenaries<\/a> were highly prized employees through the 19th century, fighting as contract workers rather than troops under the authority of their government.\u00a0 But Switzerland didn\u2019t take sides in international conflicts.<\/p>\n

Swiss neutrality was formally recognized by other nations, making Switzerland useful for international diplomacy (as a place where warring sides could meet to negotiate with each other) and international finance (with the famously confidential \u201cSwiss bank accounts\u201d allowing for transactions free of government interference).<\/p>\n

Today, though, Switzerland is reconsidering<\/a> its policy of neutrality.\u00a0 A study group has issued what is being described as a \u201cbombshell report\u201d recommending that Switzerland develop a \u201ccommon defense capability\u201d with the European Union and NATO.<\/p>\n

The main reason is the continent-wide fear of Russia in light of its\u00a0 attack on Ukraine.\u00a0 Sweden and Finland had also been officially neutral throughout the Cold War, but the fighting so close to their borders led them to join NATO.<\/p>\n

There is also a financial motive.\u00a0 Swiss law forbids selling weapons to countries that are at war.\u00a0 The Swiss defense industry is missing out on money to be made by exporting military supplies.<\/p>\n

The study group\u2019s report recommending modifying Switzerland\u2019s neutrality policy is very controversial in Switzerland, with opposition coming from both right wing and left wing parties.<\/p>\n

Leftist Dictator Changes the Date of Christmas<\/h4>\n

The leftwing dictator of Venezuela, Nicol\u00e1s Maduro<\/a> is giving a gift to his people, celebrating his election to the presidency that virtually everyone condemns as fraudulent<\/a>.\u00a0 He is making Christmas come early.<\/p>\n

On his weekly television show, Maduro made this announcement:\u00a0 \u201cThis year and to honor you all, to thank you all, I am going to decree the beginning of Christmas on October 1. Christmas arrived for everyone, in peace, joy and security!\u201d<\/p>\n

In the midst of mass protests and arrests of his critics, Maduro\u2013who has opened two new prisons to accommodate his 2400 new political prisoners\u2013evidently wants to spread holiday cheer, with Christmas decorations and music going up early.\u00a0 He also hopes to boost the economy, as workplaces give Christmas bonuses and shoppers spend more freely.\u00a0 Inflation in Venezuela<\/a> this year is 99.98%, which sounds like a lot, but it has come down since 2018 when it was 63,374%.<\/p>\n

This is not the first time Maduro has revised the liturgical calendar.\u00a0 Last year he had Christmas start on November 1.\u00a0 In 2021, he had it start on October 4.<\/p>\n

Christmas, of course, is a season.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t find out when the Christmas season in Venezuela will end.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know what this change does to Advent and Epiphany.<\/p>\n

At any rate, this is an especially blatant\u00a0case of government presumption, asserting its authority over religion, culture, and time itself.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The problem with 15-week abortion bans; Switzerland is reconsidering its neutrality; and leftist dictator changes the date of Christmas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1281,"featured_media":65538,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,20,21,26,27,36,49],"tags":[74,631,5688,14907,11720,2920],"class_list":["post-76566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","category-history","category-holidays","category-law","category-life-issues","category-politics","category-war-2","tag-abortion-restrictions","tag-date-of-christmas","tag-nicolas-maduro","tag-republicans-and-abortion","tag-russias-invasion-of-ukraine","tag-switzerland"],"yoast_head":"\nMonday Miscellany, 9\/9\/24<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The problem with 15-week abortion bans; Switzerland is reconsidering its neutrality; and leftist dictator changes the date of Christmas.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2024\/09\/monday-miscellany-9-9-24\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Monday Miscellany, 9\/9\/24\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The problem with 15-week abortion bans; 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