TheFrontPageCover
~ Featuring ~
The Abortion Debate
by Tom Mclaughlin
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Ms. Blasey-Ford Attorney Casts Doubt on Appearance
by sundanceCotton Calls for a Vote Citing dummycrats-Dems
Character Assassination of Kavanaugh
by Molly PrinceMcConnell: Kavanaugh Will Receive a Vote in the Senate
by Andrew KugleNavy, Air Force Test Deploys 2,000-Pound Mine at Stand-off Range
by Ben Werner
{ news.usni.org } ~ A joint Navy and Air Force test successfully deployed a 2,000-pound shallow-water mine from altitude and at speed from outside a presumed enemy’s anti-aircraft range... a first for the U.S. military – during the recently completed Valiant Shield 2018 exercise. A U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber dropped the 2,000-pound Quickstrike-extended range (ER) mine into the water near the Northern Marianas, and the mine was directed into position by a Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) kit, according to a U.S. Pacific Fleet statement. A Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft monitored the test to collect data, and Navy divers recovered the inert mine afterward. “Quickstrike mines in the past were dropped by just gravity weapons. So the B-52 or other bombers had to be low to meet their accuracy,” Air Force Capt. Craig Quinnett, the Quickstrike’s B-52 test lead, said in a video of the test released by the Air Force. “So now with JDAM and the Quickstrike ER, this gives us the ability to deploy precision mines, so we can stand off, put these weapons exactly where we know they’re going to go, so we don’t have to get in, get low next to the enemy’s weapons. So the Quickstrike-ER is a huge step forward for the naval mines.” Laying mines from the air is not new for the Navy and Air Force. The problem with older mines, though, is that accurately placing them in the water required bombers to fly low and slow, often making several passes over what could be a heavily defended target area, according to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command officials in a news release....
U.S. Urged to Rapidly Prepare for Electromagnetic Pulse Attack
by Bill GertzThe Abortion Debate
by Tom Mclaughlin
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| At the Kavanaugh hearing { tommclaughlin.blogspot.com } ~ “Are you planning to debate abortion in class?” asked our new principal. We were standing in the hallway near my classroom in the early1980s. “Yes,” I said. “Don’t,” she said. “Why not?” “Because…” She paused, seeming surprised that I would question her. “Because eighth graders are too young to discuss it.” |
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| At the Kavanaugh hearing “But we’ve debated it several times the past couple of years and they’ve handled it quite well,” I said. She was new in the job, and the first principal I’d worked with who was a contemporary, both of us were in our early thirties. She was a bit overweight with short hair and she wore pant-suits or long dresses, usually with a brightly colored shawl over one shoulder. She declared herself a feminist and her mode of dress I afterward realized was a uniform for feminists of the time. “I invite parents to come in to observe the debates each year,” I said, “and many have accepted. Usually, four or five come to each class.” “Why did you choose to debate abortion?” she asked. |
“Eighth graders aren’t mature enough to debate abortion,” she insisted.
“Hmm,” I said. “But some eighth graders have abortions. Did you know that?”
“Yes,” she said, breaking eye contact and shuffling a bit.
“If they’re old enough to have abortions they’re old enough to discuss them, don’t you think?”
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| At the Kavanaugh hearing At that point, her secretary walked up, excused herself, and handed the principal one of those pink message slips. She read it and said, “I’ll have to get back to you on this.” She never did, and I went ahead with the debates. |
That plainly worded definition is typical of 14-year-olds. They’re refreshingly direct. Every year, in every class, the first student I called on would define abortion in almost exactly the same way.
“Does everyone agree with that definition?” I’d ask.
Then I’d ask how a pro-choice person would define abortion. Students would ponder what I said and offer suggestions like: “It’s when a woman finds out she’s pregnant and doesn’t want to be, so she goes to a doctor and he takes it out.”
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| At the Kavanaugh hearings |
“Not bad,” I’d say. Eventually, I’d get one that sounded just like something out of NARAL literature, such as: “When a woman terminates her pregnancy,” which I’d also write on the board.
Often a student would ask my opinion at this point and I’d say, “I’ll tell you after the debate is over.”
Students chose which side they wanted to argue. If there were too many on one side or the other, I’d try to even them up by challenging some to argue the opposite of what they believed. Some of my best students would usually offer to do so.
After that, I let them sit in their groups to prepare. My instructions were that they start recording their side’s strongest arguments on one list, then record their opponents’ strongest arguments on another. 
“Why do you want us to list our opponents’ arguments?” they’d ask.
“So you can prepare counter-arguments to use during the debate when they bring up those points,” I’d answer. “It’s what opposing lawyers would do in a courtroom. You need to research all sides of any issue. As someone said once: ‘You don’t fully understand your own side unless you understand your opponent’s.’”
Often a student would ask my opinion at this point and I’d say, “I’ll tell you after the debate is over.”
Students chose which side they wanted to argue. If there were too many on one side or the other, I’d try to even them up by challenging some to argue the opposite of what they believed. Some of my best students would usually offer to do so.
After that, I let them sit in their groups to prepare. My instructions were that they start recording their side’s strongest arguments on one list, then record their opponents’ strongest arguments on another.
“So you can prepare counter-arguments to use during the debate when they bring up those points,” I’d answer. “It’s what opposing lawyers would do in a courtroom. You need to research all sides of any issue. As someone said once: ‘You don’t fully understand your own side unless you understand your opponent’s.’”
Comments
being an adult at 15 is also troubling. why did she play around and get pregnant. It was her decision to get pregnant and she knew what she was doing. abortion is not the correct why to solve the mistake she took.
just thinking of a 15 yr old getting pregnant is horrendous but having an abortion is worse.