Puffs

A headline of a story in the Lincoln newspaper last week was a surprise, but also seemed a bit humorous. I’m sure you’ve heard of the bird flu outbreak that has killed more than five million birds in Nebraska alone in the last year. Well, the headline read: “3 Nebraska cats have died from bird flu.”

From the bird’s point of view, it sounded like they were getting a little revenge for all the years, those cats preyed upon the birds, and usually got the worse of the deal.

Well, the story went on to say the three cats in Nebraska are half of the total cats reported lost to bird flu in the past year. All three cats were “outside” cats and the theory is that they most likely ate infected birds and died because of that. The higher number in Nebraska is attributed to the fact we are dab smack in the middle of the central flyway for all the migratory birds. More birds, more bird flu, more cat deaths.

It’s interesting what a person learns by reading newspapers. It’s not all that useful at time, but, I’m sure I miss a lot on Social Media as well.

A O

Something else that brought a smile to my face was the Nebraska Cornhusker baseball team. They won their three game series over Northwestern University last weekend. It was against a team that hasn’t won many games this season, however, the Huskers won these and by large margins. Let’s pray the Husker baseball team continues its success against the more talented teams in the Big Ten Conference. Also . . . the Husker softball team is having a good year as well and to top it off, the bowling team placed third in their national tournament.

Go Big Red.

A O

You know another interesting thing in today’s world? To me, it is those little phrases, or words expressed at times they would seem ‘out-of-place’, or inappropriate for the occasion. Lately, I’ve had a number of people use the word “perfect” as a response in situations that did not call for a response of “perfect.”

As you know we spend a fair amount of time (as do many a Nebraska ‘older person’) going to and from doctor’s or therapy visits. At times some are in the morning and some in the afternoon and we sometimes have to grab a meal between them.

Recently, it seems we’ve gotten a lot of responses of “perfect” upon our decisions of what to order to eat.

I have no idea of how those people knew our food order was “perfect” or not, but so often that is the response we get . . . “perfect.”

I know what is meant by the response but it would be so much better if the response would be “great” or just a simple “OK.”

But . . . that’s the way the world turns. We are all free to use whatever words we want. Why else would I be passing on my thoughts every week?

A O

Since we’re talking about the use of words this week, I’d like to suggest that we take the time to think of the use of certain words and the context they are used in.

In the political arena, especially. Last week I was watching TV one evening and a political ad for the Lincoln mayor position were being aired. In the ad, one candidate was using the word “extreme” over and over.

She was saying the other candidate was “extreme” because she opposed abortions. Women had a “right” to abortions.

For all of civilized life, almost every decade of life, unborn children have had the protection of society. It was the normal thing to protect unborn children, it was not the “extreme” thing to do. Everyone did it . . . that is up until about the last 50 years. But all of sudden, it is “extreme.”

Then, this “right” to an abortion is another view I have trouble with. Up until 50 years ago, nobody had a “right” to kill unborn children. This “right” came about when the U. S. Supreme Court was lied to and changed centuries of moral belief allowing abortion on demand in the U. S.

What it all boils down to is “calling right, wrong, and wrong, right.”

Someone much smarter than I am, said when society come to that point . . . it has a problem.

I hope the Supreme Court decision that changed its direction 50 years ago gives everyone a chance to step back and realize what is “right” and what is “wrong.”

A O

Following is one other bit of news that has the radical Liberals (mostly Democrats) upset.

“A federal judge ruled late last week that the Food and Drug Admin- istration’s approval of an at-home abortion pill more than two decades ago was improper and didn’t consider all of the pill’s risks to patients. He also did what many in his profession have failed to do: recognize the humanity of the child in the womb. If the decision is upheld, the abortion drug that’s responsible for more than half of all abortions in the United States could ultimately be pulled off shelves.

The judge used 67 pages to determine that the FDA had exceeded its authority in issuing both a fast-track approval of the abortion pill mifepristone and in later loosening restrictions designed to ensure its safest possible use. He temporarily suspended the FDA’s approval but allowed the Biden administration seven days to seek review from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.

Maybe the most interesting part of the story came near the end when the judge penned the following: “Jurists often use the word ‘fetus’ to inaccurately identify unborn humans in unscientific ways. The word ‘fetus’ refers to a specific gestational stage of development, as opposed to the zygote, blastocyst or embryo stages … Because other jurists use the terms ‘unborn human’ or ‘unborn child’ interchangeably, and because both terms are inclusive of the multiple gestational stages relevant to the FDA Approval … this Court uses ‘unborn human’ or ‘unborn child’ terminology.

Another example of the need to watch how “words” are used.

A O

A final word on this subject for this week comes from Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, appearing last Sunday on CNN”s “State of the Union” after Health and Human Services Secretary Zavier Becerra, who criticized a judge’s order to ban the abortion drug.

The quote: “Women have a whole lot more other issues than just abortion . . . Let’s talk about the other things that are happening in this world.”

A O