Would We Take the Life of Someone in a Coma?

   Supposing we take the life of an unborn so early in the pregnancy that the being has no consciousness, and no feelings.
   Could we not ask the same question of someone in a coma? Would it be okay for us to take that life? It might be the person will come out of the coma and live a great and wonderful life, but if we catch him or her before they can get out of the coma, is it okay to take their life?

Don't Snuff Out a Life Before it Even Begins

  One could argue, in the early stages, the unborn have no feelings, and no sense of being. So, they don't know know, don't care, and don't miss it if their lives are taken. It might as well be a plant being butchered.
   I thought on this logic today, and was beginning to accept it.
   Then, I remembered thoughts from long ago, of how, if not aborted, the embryo becomes a person walking upon the face of the earth. Are we to snuff that life out before it even begins?

Why no Such Thing as a Real Cabbage Head?

   Why are there no cabbage heads? I mean, real cabbages heads, ones with brains? Why are there no plants with brains? Or, plants with beating hearts and blood vessels? Or plants with hands or noses or lungs?
  Why are there no animals with photosynthesis? Or animals that bear fruit? Or animals that have leaves and limbs?
   All plants are so different from all animals is so many ways, that it does make you wonder, if they have common DNA, why not, then, features that are common in some species?
   One possible answer? Perhaps all DNA is not passed from progenitors, but is created by pressures in the environment, and then passed along after being created.
   I imagine one answer, as to why plants do not have brains, is found when you notice all animals move from one location to another. The very nature of moving about and maneuvering requires intelligence. So, a creature adapting to its environment would need to develop intelligence as it developed the ability to move. This does follow the principle of natural selection.
   (Rewritten 3/26/15)

Violence Begets Violence; When 1 has a Gun, Another Goes to Get 1

   Violence begets violence. When one has a gun, another goes to get one. That is not to say guns cannot protect us against criminals, and not to say there are not times for guns. But, it is to say, some of the violence we have comes from those who buy guns to protect themselves.
   I think of those who suggest that if only criminals have guns, we'll be in trouble, so we should all go out to buy them. Such a call to arms, is it wise? What will happen if we all go buy guns? Those who need them will be happy they did. But, what of those who live day-to-day with no need for guns? Among them are those who will end up using the gun wrongly. It goes back to the first three words I offered: Violence begets violence. If we all buy guns because we see a trend in society toward violence, there will be some amongst us who end up using the gun for violence.

Measure not the Wealth of a Nation in the Prosperity of a Few

 One man's riches, do not the prosperity of a nation make. Nor do 500 billionaires necessarily make the country bounteous.
  Rich people often control the economy, but they don't always prosper it.
  It seems it should be a corollary of a good economy that you don't need for men to become rich. To the contrary, there are times when their large incomes become a drain on the economy. Possible case in point: Among our affluent are the high rollers in the medical industry, yet the populace, as a whole, struggles to pay insurance and medical bills. And, another possible case in point: Top executives in the military industrial complex are very well off, yet the burden to the taxpayers is great, accounting for more than half of the national budget.
   I say possible case in point, because I have not seen studies on the percentage of money flowing into the pockets of industry high executives.
   But, I wonder.
   It could also be argued that any company paying its employees so meagerly they remain poor is a drain on the economy, as a whole, for they keep more people in poverty than the number of those they prosper.
   Well, I would write more, but 'tis late, and bed calls. But, I go to bed suggesting the wealth of a nation should not be measured in the prosperity of the few. I go to bed suggesting the prosperity of a few can be the burden of the many.

Being a Prophet is More than Just Prophesying

(Index -- Great poems) 

Being a prophet is more than just prophesying. One of the ways a prophet is a prophet, is that he directs us to truths and leads us into God's ways. As I was searching for inspirational poetry tonight, I ran across a website featuring five poems quoted in General Conference by Thomas S. Monson, our current prophet.
  I had been searching through poems, looking for some I might consider the best poems of all time. Some of these quoted by President Monson, I consider as among the best. This first one, I'm not sure I'd include in the world's finest, if the whole poem were quoted, but I like this verse quoted by President Monson.

Good timber does not grow with ease:
 The stronger wind, the stronger trees;
The further sky, the greater length;
 The more the storm, the more the strength.
By sun and cold, by rain and snow,
 In trees and men good timbers grow.
   -- Douglas Malloch

This one also seems to have been quoted just in part, though I could not find more of it.

Why build these buildings glorious,
If man unbuilded goes?
In vain we build the world,
Unless the builder also grows.
We are blind,
Until we see
That in the universal plan
Nothing is worth the making if
It does not make the man.
  -- Edwin Markham

One more, I'll quote here. This one is titled, It Shows in Your Face.

You don't have to tell how you live each day;
You don't have to say if you work or play.
A tried true thermometer serves in the place,
However you live it shows in your face.

The false, the lies, that you bear in your heart,
Will not stay inside where if first got it's start.
Blood and muscle are a thin veil of lace;
What you wear in your heart, you wear on your face.

If your life is unselfish, if for others you live,
Not how much you get, but how much you give,
If you live close to God and his infinite grace
You won't have to tell, it shows in your face.

 -- Karlene Garner

 It is true another person could have quoted to me these poems. But, prophets are special sources for obtaining wisdom. Guiding me into truth is part of their calling, and I tend to appreciate truths that come from them.

Industrial Military Complex Execs Needs to be Knocked off the Hill

   We cannot cry for ending the national debt unless we also demand reining in military spending. With defense costs being 57 percent of the budget, we surely should realize as much.
   I do not say we should not keep a good national defense. We must. Only do I say that we should not allow the industrial military complex to overcharge us so much.
   And, they are. There are times they sell us things we don't need, and times they overcharge for what we do need.
   We worry about soaring medical costs. Even so, military costs are out of control. Yesterday, I posted on how in order for medical costs to go up, you need little more than finding a payer rich enough to pay however much you charge. If somebody has a lot of money, someone else will be reaching in their pocket to take it out.
   Uncle Sam has the deepest of pockets. In a sense, that is, for he will borrow however much money is required. So, however much you want to raise the bill, rest assured Uncle Sam will find a way to pay you. That being true, there is going to be a tendency for contractors to take as much money from him as they can.
   Rob him blind, so to speak.
   Where does the money go? I don't believe the average person working for a military contractor makes an overly amount, at all. But, I would bet the chief executives do. Are they living high on the hill? I don't know any, personally, but don't believe it's a secret these men are very well off.
   How to get them to charge Uncle Sam less? How to get them to live on much reduced pay? Those are hard questions. It needs to be done, but how do we go about it? How to you convince the CEO of Boeing to live off $130,000 a year?
   And, I'm not so sure I wouldn't cut him that low, if I could -- him and everyone else in his board room.