Capital Security

Today I was having a gyro near the Colorado capitol in downtown Denver, and a policeman all in black with “HOMELAND SECURITY” written across his chest in grayish white was wandering around our restaurant.  I didn’t think much of it until I realized he was carrying a little black box the size of a deck of cards that was ticking erratically.  My friend I was with said he was looking for something, investigating.  And I’m a little silly, but I didn’t think so, and I ignored it.  My friend, she has more experience than I do.  She was right.  A little later he explained to the owner – a round-headed short man with silver hair and kind eyes and an apron – that the radiation levels weren’t high enough to be anything serious (a bomb like those in nightmares).

 

I suppose the owner was worried that there was something wrong with his shop, or that someone was plotting terror from one of his tables, and he hovered just behind the officer’s shoulders.  The all in black man was very calm, telling the man that his sensor had sounded an alarm as he drove by…  My friend asked people if they’d recently been though those out of control full body scanners at the airports.  Probably someone eating there must have had something medical done that day, said the man with the little black ticking box. And he didn’t ask all of us sitting there, but he also didn’t look like he was going away.  So the lady in the corner raised her hand half way and confessed to having had a PET scan that morning. And apologetically, “My doctor said I should be fine to go out.” People look around kind of nervously. Some joke. Some are puzzled.  Ms. Radiating wants to know if he really could sense her from all the way outside.  The officer (who was probably wearing a lead vest, himself) reassured the rest of us that we weren’t in danger.  Then he shows the woman his Geiger counter (how frightening) to prove to her that yes, the numbers were quite high enough for him to have detected.

 

The officer was DRIVING BY and his radiation detector picked up the woman’s aftereffects of the PET scan. (I always wondered what our law enforcement actually did to try to keep dirty bombs from going off.)  Most likely following protocol, he reported the mildly increased radiation. The report went straight to Washington, DC. We’re talking Pentagon and Homeland Security. Probably not Obama, since he has much more important things to worry about than nuclear scares at home and abroad.  The woman cooperatively provided the officer with her name and contact info in case anyone needed to follow up on his report and confirm that she wasn’t a terrorist, just a patient in the tech-y US of A.

 

True story.

 

To God be all glory,

Lisa of Longbourn

 

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Stopping Abortion in Colorado

“You know about the rally, right?”  That’s the question I received this morning from a refreshingly enthusiastic pro-life activist.  My answer was no.  I am, as an adult, new to the abortion protest/action scene, and am not on any mailing lists, and have not frequented pro-life websites; I am vaguely aware of major news items relating to issues of Life, and have a Psalm 139 worldview on the value of human life. 

Some of you may know that I’ve been spending early Saturday mornings outside the Planned Parenthood near Denver City Park, praying for everyone around, meeting people, and trying to intercede for the lives of the babies about to be killed along with the souls of the mothers, fathers, workers, volunteers, and protesters.  In this way I’ve been made aware of some Colorado developments in the fight against abortion. 

Hope: Baby Hands and Feet
One was covered this week by local TV stations, and the Rocky Mountain News.  A group called Colorado for Equal Rights is trying to put an amendment to the Colorado Constitution on the ballot for November 2008 that would define person as beginning at fertilization.  This would be a huge step for protecting unborn babies, and is a “loophole” specifically acknowledged in the Roe v. Wade case.  The logic in the 70’s for the case was flawed.  Science is even more compelling now to define life at the earliest possible moment. 

The first thing to be done is to acquire 76,000 petition signatures (in 6 months) from Colorado residents registered to vote, in order to put the issue on the ballot.  Then campaigning must be done to encourage people to vote for the amendment, and to vote in the first place.  Fortunately ’08 is a presidential election year, which usually means big turnout and attention to political issues. 

Opponents’ strongest argument is that we are clearly trying to overturn the “right” to abortion, but did not mention abortion anywhere in the amendment.  They believe that as soon as voters know the connotations of the amendment, they would choose not to support the change to the constitution.  However, there is nothing wrong with the amendment, as upheld by the Colorado courts.  The laws talk about personhood.  We’re trying to legally define what a person is.  Seems like a relevant question to me.  This political step is already raising awareness.  Hopefully it will challenge a lot of voters, and especially Christians, to consider their definition of life and position on abortion or even contraception. 

The other news item I’ve encountered is regarding a new Planned Parenthood facility.  If you have been following US news from the conservative side, you may have heard about Aurora, Illinois, which recently suffered the illegal construction of the largest abortion facility in the country.  I say illegal because to build the office, Planned Parenthood did their best to keep the use of the building a secret, lying on construction permit papers and to contractors.  Despite pro-life opposition pointing these things out, the building is open for business.  A similar plot is underway in Colorado, but the pro-life groups have earlier notice, and are jumping in with both feet in order to stop construction of what may well replace Illinois’ Planned Parenthood as the largest abortion provider in the country. 

So they’re having a rally, to get information out and to use public opinion to pressure neighbors of the facility, contractors, sub-contractors, and anyone involved to stop construction.  So far it seems they have focused their protest on the leadership of Weitz company, the contractor in charge of the project.  The December 1 rally will begin outside the property (in the area formerly associated with Stapleton Airport) slated to become an abortion mega-clinic.  

That’s what I know.  I wish that people would tell me these things when I don’t know, so I’m sharing them with you.  And yes, I guess I’m that young, starry-eyed enthusiast who despite avoiding the college scene wants her share of activism.  Join me?

To God be all glory,

Lisa of Longbourn

PS: I didn’t duplicate any links in the above; they’re all separate.  You can click on any one of them for more specific information. 

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