100% of Your RDA of Ken

The "Horror" of Hypocrisy

I’ve come to the conclusion that the greatest “sin” that anyone can commit in America today is hypocrisy. Last week, it was a headline reading “Anti-Gay Lawmaker At Gay Club Before DUI Arrest” that was trumpeted all around the liberal blogs. I even saw it as a friend’s Facebook status update, with many comments saying, “Hahaha, look at this jerk, this just proves that he was wrong all along!”

Sorry, that’s simply not true.

Just because someone does something objectively wrong doesn’t make the action right all of a sudden. Nor does committing a wrong action mean that the principled arguments establishing the action as wrong are instantly false, either.

We live in a fallen world, where we all struggle against doing what we know is wrong. We have the power to choose to give in to temptation, or to virtuously resist. We can call upon God, the saints, and our friends to help us choose the right and do the good.

Ridiculing people who fall to their own temptations doesn’t make us better people than they are. It just debases our own humanity.

An Open Email to Congressman Earl Blumenauer

Congressman Blumenauer,

I have contacted you several times in the past regarding the attempt to reform health care that is currently being considered in the US Congress. I urge you once again to vote NO on the bill that has been presented for consideration through the process of reconciliation.

You must vote NO because this bill does not respect the conscience of a majority of Americans on the question of abortion, including me. I have received canned responses from your staff before on this issue, and I will not accept another. You have been wrong on the question of abortion, and this is your chance to correct your position. Abortion is murder of the innocent, plain and simple. If this health care bill passes, it will be state-sponsored murder, and that is unacceptable.

The only response I expect from you is a NO vote on health care if the House leadership attempts to pass this bill through reconciliation. That is the only acceptable response you can send.

Grandpa Wallace's Obituary

Jerry Wallace, who launched Hinzerling Winery in Prosser, Washington, in 1976, passed away Jan. 6. He was 90.

Wallace was a Seattle police officer beginning in 1944. At one time, he was the Seattle mayor’s personal security office and driver. He retired in 1968 and took over security for the Federal Way School District.

In 1972, he and his family moved east of the Cascades to Prosser, where they planted one of the earliest commercial wine grape vineyards in the region. Hinzerling Vineyard was the first in the state to use drip irrigation. Wallace and his wife, Dee, also founded the Roza chapter of the Enological Society of the Pacific Northwest.

In 1976, Wallace and his son Mike launched Hinzerling Winery, making it one of the state’s oldest wineries. The winery is especially well known for producing some of the state’s top Port-style wines.

In 2008, Jerry Wallace was nominated as a Legend of Washington Wine by the state wine industry.

He also was an avid organist and keyboard player. He is survived by his three children, Mike, Pam and Steve, as well as eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

There will be a memorial service celebrating Jerry’s life at a later date at Hinzerling Winery, Prosser. Remembrances or inquiries about the service may be sent to JCW@Hinzerling.com.

An Email to the President

Mr. President, I urge you to maintain the language and intent of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment that was passed as part of H. R. 3962. You recently appeared on ABC television and said that you think that the language needs to be changed regarding abortion coverage, because you wanted to pass a health care bill, not an abortion bill.

Stupak-Pitts simply ensures that this IS a health care bill by removing abortion from the discussion. Politifact.org confirms this analysis, that Stupak-Pitts maintains the status quo.

When you spoke to Congress, you said that your plan was to remain abortion-neutral. Stupak-Pitts makes that happen. If you remove or substantially change the language, you’ve tipped the bill into a pro-abortion stance, which makes your earlier statement a lie and a broken promise.

If a bill comes before you that does not contain the exact provisions and language that Stupak-Pitts provided, I urge you to veto the bill.