Last May, Dr. George Tiller was gunned down by a pro-life activist in Sunday church. Yesterday the activist, Scott Roeder, was convicted of Dr. Tiller’s murder.

A Kansas jury deliberated just 37 minutes before convicting an anti-abortion activist of first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of an abortion provider.

Roeder says he has no regrets concerning his actions and justifies them by claiming he killed Dr. Tiller to “save lives”.

Prosecutors initially fought to keep abortion out of the trial, claiming that Tiller’s death was a straightforward case of premeditated murder.

Tiller was no stranger to life endangerment. He was regularly attacked and received numerous death threats throughout his career. He figured it was only a matter of time before someone succeeded in his death. No matter what your personal beliefs are on the issue, what happened was a tragedy and an example of extremism.

Roeder will be sentenced on March 9 & faces life in prison.

A little over a week and a half ago, I posted about a bill being proposed in Indiana that would collect winnings won in casinos by parents who are behind in child support payments and handing them over to the kids.

Last Wednesday, the bill moved forward to the state Senate:

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 9-1 Wednesday to advance a bill to withhold gambling winnings from parents who owe back child support and win more than $1,200 on slot machines and different amounts on other winnings.

Of course, the casinos are still complaining about it, citing the same reason: searching and checking the names against a list of those owing child support would cause a two minute delay on the casino floors.

Two minutes. That’s all.

Two minutes the casinos aren’t making money, I guess….

Governor Mitch Daniels supports the bill, saying:

“…. helping single parents collect child support is more important than any minor inconvenience to casinos.”

See the full article here. (Jan 13, 2010)

Original bill proposal article from ABC. (Jan 6, 2010)

Back in September, and again in November, the entertainment section of the internet nearly exploded when pictures of Suri Cruise surfaced wearing high heeled shoes. A three-and-a-half year old Suri.

Is it appropriate? Is it safe? Is three years old too young? I personally think it’s too young, but that is my opinion. Do I let my own daughter wear heels? Well, she has a pair of Barbie shoes that have, like, a half-inch heel on them. She wears them, but there are certain rules that go along with wearing them: no running, no climbing stairs and she can’t wear them all day. I understand the dress up aspect-just about every little girl has gone into their mother’s closets and tried on some heels.

Some doctors are more concerned with the effect one-inch-plus heels could have on developing kids’ feet-

Unlike other trends, heels pose physical risks that include a tightening of the heel cord and changes in the growth plate.

Would you let your toddler wear high-heels?

In Glasgow, Scotland, a new regulation states

a parent must escort children under 16 years old to the washroom in places such as restaurants.

and any other “licensed” restroom. What are they afraid of? Children being snatched? Pretty sure most 14-16 year olds can handle going to the bathroom by themselves.

“While children are in any part of licensed premises and in particular the toilet areas, they must at all times be within sight of an accompanying adult.”

Really? I’m sure the 15 year olds love that. Mom or Dad  tagging along to the bathroom? Ew. Gross.

They claim the rule is in place to prevent any harm to the children, but it sounds more like businesses covering their butts if something should happen.

They also “expect licensees to apply this rule with a degree of common sense,” the council said.”

A DEGREE OF COMMON SENSE. Right. Doesn’t seem like common sense prevails here.

Read the article here.

Hard to believe when you’re pulling your hair out for the third time in a week or when you’re caught in tantrum-land.

But, according to a study done by Brigham Young University, having kids can actually lower your blood pressure, especially women.

The study involved 198 adults who wore portable blood pressure monitors, mostly concealed by their clothes, for 24 hours.

The monitors took measurements at random intervals throughout the day – even while participants slept. This method provides a better sense of a person’s true day-to-day blood pressure.

The effect was more pronounced among women, with motherhood corresponding to a 12-point difference in systolic blood pressure and a 7-point difference in diastolic blood pressure.

Read the entire article here.