Atheist to a Theist

2003-02-09T20:43:00.000-05:00

Blog move

I have now moved my blog over to my own web site: http://www.splendoroftruth.com/curtjester.

2003-02-04T13:33:00.000-05:00

I'll be bach (pronounced using the Ah-Nuld dialect)

I always wanted to get as many hits as Amy Welborn, and now that she has shut down her blog I guess I will.

I plan to probably return at some future date with a new blog (non blogspot), scaled back and focusing on parody and poking fun at news not otherwise covered extensively in St. Blogs.

Some possible titles.

"Pretentious Spewage" (Thanks to Patrick Madrid)

"Preaching to the Choir"

"dd" (abstract but a good title for a pun on "parody - pair of d's")

"Punny Pundit"

"Punning Papist"

"Grudge Report"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"
(Makes sure I am listed at the top of any alphabetical blogroll)

"Puns to make Scott Hahn moan"

In the meantime I will leave comedy to the good hands at And Then, Et Cetera, Oblique House.

2003-02-03T13:10:00.000-05:00

Farewell

Thank you for the prayers and comments. I have decided to close down my blog since I need to be spending more time on some other things. I have enjoyed the comments and input that I have received, but I don't see in the immediate future a chance to update this blog on any kind of regular basis. So again, thanks to any readers of this site.

2003-01-25T21:32:00.000-05:00

Blogus Interuptus

I am flying in the morning to Portland, Or, which is where I grew up. My mom's condition with cancer has deteriorated so it will more than likely be the last time that I get to see her. I haven't been back to Portland since 1985 so it is going to be very bittersweet going back because of this.

I am certainly thankful that God has brought me into the faith prior to some of the most difficult parts of my life. My Mom came into the Catholic Church during the 70's and has told me about the doctrine-free cathechesis she received. If Madison Avenue would have been employed during this time they could have advertised the Church as "100% watered down and now with no doctrines or dogmas harmful to your own opinions." The side effects of this listed in the small print would have to be very long. She also told me that the first priest who gave me a run down on the watered down faith had left the Church and married.

So chances will likely be low for any blogging until Feb 3.

2003-01-25T13:11:00.000-05:00

Listening to Tom Daschel is Exhausting

Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle called yesterday for one-time rebates of $300 per person, as much as $1,200 per family, as the centerpiece of Senate Democrats' economic stimulus plan. [Full Story]

Let's see before on the original Bush Tax Cut he said the rich would be able to buy a Lexus and those earning 50,000 dollars would be able to buy a muffler for a used car. I remember that tax rebate was 300 to 600 dollars previously so that means by his calculations his one time tax cut means each person could buy a used car muffler. Now it was obvious that he has never shopped for a used car muffler so we actually had more muffler for the buck then he proposed. Not having a memory of previous comments must be very convenient in modern politics.

I just remembered how much I like the words "Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle."

2003-01-24T18:36:00.000-05:00

Saddam's report card

VIENNA, Austria - Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) will get a "B" on his report card from nuclear inspectors who update the U.N. Security Council next week, and the United States is weighing the option of extended inspections to appease anxious European allies, officials said Friday. [Full Story]

Funny, I thought he deserved an F as in F-16 and F/A-18 But I guess a B as in B-1B and a B-52 is OK also. But seriously, I think Eve Tushnet sums up the reasons for not going to war articulately.

2003-01-24T18:11:00.000-05:00

Man fisks self

Today is my six month blogiversary since I started blogging on 24 Jul, 2002. Today I went over 10,000 hits and 465 comments, and yes hitting the refresh button so many times to increase my count was exhausting. I would like to thank Catholic Light for first mentioning my blog and Victor Lams for first sending traffic my way. Also those readers and commenters who have challenged me and helped me back on track when my charity was lacking. A special thanks to those who have blogrolled me and linked to my posts.

When I first starting blogging I would see Mark Shea post the addresses of new blogs. After a while when I never saw mine listed I thought, gee I must really suck. Only later did I find out from the posting of other bloggers that they emailed Mark asking for the listing. Boy did I feel stupid, of course that doesn't mean that Mark doesn't think my blog sucks.

Blogging has been very very good to me. It has helped reign in my natural tendencies to want to read every back issue of the Wanderer and to bash Hillary Clinton at every opportunity. Sometimes I actually think first before posting.

This was my first post six months ago.

First entry to blogdom:

And I said let there be blog, and there was blog and it was good.

Put myself in the first person like God on the very first sentence, I must have listened to Here I am Lord too many times.

"It is a good sign in a nation when things are done badly. It shows that all the people are doing them. And it is bad sign in a nation when such things are done very well, for it shows that only a few experts and eccentrics are doing them, and that the nation is merely looking on."
- G.K. Chesterton "Patriotism and Sport," All Things Considered

Hopefully my blogging will be a good sign, even if done badly. While reading through the blogs of the parishioners of St. Blog's Parish, I have been tempted to add my two cents to the discussions. Not all blogs have comment sections and there is the vanity in me that prefers not to have my ideas hidden in the comment section. This blog is my comment section on life.

"The vanity in me", what was I doing trying to get points for alleged humility? "Comment section on life"? Can you imagine the arrogance of myself for spouting such dribble.

I throw my blog on the mercy of Nihil Obstat.

Well guess what the unknown one wasn't merciful and mentioned a spelling error that got corrected before the anonymous one posted. At least the title of Nihil Obstat's post was No Mercy.

2003-01-23T17:39:00.000-05:00

Abortion

(Sung to Tradition from Fiddler on the Roof)

All: Abortion Abortion,Abortion (repeat)
Candidates: who day and night ignore their misgivings,
Appease NARAL and NOW
And Emily's List appear
Proclaiming woman's right to have no children in the house
to kill them while in the womb.
All: The candidates the candidates, Abortion (repeat)

Non Mamas: Who must know the way to make a proper home
A quiet home, a childless home?
Who must make sure nothing gets in the way
So we are free to ignore the holy book?
All: The non mamas the non mamas Abortion (repeat)

Predatory males: At thirteen I started having sex
am thankful for contraception
Without the backup of abortion
I couldn't have kept my fortune
All: Predatory males the Predatory males Abortion (repeat)

Media: And who must hide the facts and only mention choice
Preparing the lawmakers to silence the child's voice
All: The media the media Abortion (repeat)

2003-01-22T13:39:00.000-05:00

I wonder where Barney stands

Declaring they are convinced Saddam Hussein isn’t such a bad guy and therefore "there is no need for war," Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen (the Olsen Twins) led a spontaneous anti-war demonstration that ended in their arrest outside the White House. Both Mary-Kate and Ashley are demanding that President Bush use diplomacy to end the crisis with Iraq .

...Being entertainers, the Olsen Twins are longtime political activists whose first protest—shortly after their birth in 1986—was against the Reagan Administration’s support of the Nicaraguan Contras. Predictably, the twins also opposed the use of force to remove Manuel Noriega and won widespread respect in Hollywood when they protested the Gulf War by refusing to eat pizza until it was over. [Full Story]

This is getting harder by the day. I am not exactly certain that the possible war with Iraq is just, but I dislike being on the same side as Hollywood celebrities. Usually they are such a reliable pointer as to what the wrong position is. I don't remember any of them coming out when we were bombing the civilian population of Serbia to get Slobodan Milosevic to step down. I also suspect that during a Republican administration if the same situation arose as in Nazi Germany that they would also be on the streets demanding peace. Peace is not the absence of war but the presence of justice. I just get tired of brutal dictators around the world being hugged and called not such a bad guy. Obviously they haven't seen pictures of children and adults laying on ground gassed to death by not really bad guys

2003-01-22T13:02:00.000-05:00

30 years and 40 millions + lives later

In dishonor of this tragic anniversary I have listed some lyrics to some pro-life songs. I have listened to a lot of secular music mainly of the heavier and alternative types and I can't remember hearing any pro-abortion anthems, though I wouldn't be surprised if there were some. Some years back when Pearl Jam did their unplugged set that Eddie Vedder drew pro-choice on his arm with a marker and I remember laughing at the stupidity of this profound statement.

Kings X - Legal Kill

I only know what I believe
The rest is so absurd to me
I close my eyes so I can't see
But the picture just gets clearer everyday
I read somewhere to learn is to remember
And I've learned we all forgot
There was peace in her before but that was yesterday
But I can see the beauty that is here for me
The chance to live and walk free
From a legal kill
I know your side so very well
It makes no sense that i can tell
The smell of hell is what i smell
And you hand it out with handshakes every day
I have trouble with the persons with the signs
But i feel the need to make my own
Yes there two ways to be
And truth does not depend on me
But I can feel the fight for life is always real
I can't believe it's no big deal
I'ts a legal kill

Tragedy Ann - Your Escape

look at my babies cute toes and the smile that's on their face
i though of them before they were born i love them so much
don't tell me it's ok to stop this gentle newborn heart
don't tell me its ok to escape this way
is your convenience something that's justified to you
if you could ask her what she would want
would she want to be away from you?
just look at my babies just look into their eyes

Grammatrain - Execution

Watch while I'm burned in salt
tell me now where's my fault
I'm torn in two, you pull me through
oh ignore my shout now scrape me out
Oh, nation murders me, me, me
such me down your hose
pieces of my fingers and toes
use me to brew your lab rat stew
oh dissolve my voice for your woman's choice
my execution, it's your revolution
spill my blood on "civil" hands
and I pay to make you free
oh, nation murders me
yeah, with poiticians dreams
now silencing my screams, screams, screams

2003-01-21T13:38:00.000-05:00

Railing against the Raelians

Entering the headquarters of the Raelian religious sect, past a sign welcoming visitors to UFOland, is like strolling onto the set of a bad 1950s sci-fi movie, complete with a replica of the flying saucer that supposedly brought the space aliens who visited Rael, the sect founder. But the display lights don't work and inflated plastic pool seats create the command post.

It is interesting that the media has been calling the Raelians who are atheists and don't believe in any type of God a religious cult. I know that in modern dictionaries one of the definitions for religion is "a set of strongly-held beliefs, values, and attitudes that somebody lives by", though I doubt many atheists would accept atheism being called a religion. Whenever it suits the media's needs to disparage someone they will attach the label religious to them. I just don't seem to recall them attaching religious to any other atheistic organizations.

2003-01-21T13:01:00.000-05:00

Divine Rhythm Society

Check out the "Divine Rhythm Society" (DRS) of San Francisco's Episcopal Church of St. John the Evangelist, which holds "All Night Dance Celebrations" (ANDCs) in the church proper, at which some are reported to use "entheogens" (drugs used to enhance religious experience).

And if that's hard to believe, documents obtained by The Christian Challenge also suggest that the use of entheogens has been backed by both St. John's gay rector, Kevin Pearson, and gay retired Episcopal "bishop in residence," Otis Charles--who is said to have admitted trying entheogens himself.

The religious raves may be on limited-time offer, however. Conflict over the DRS*, which has been part of St. John's* since 1996, finally broke out in the liberal parish last year--after one reveler suffered (but fortunately survived) an overdose of the illegal "date rape" drug (GHB) last June. [Full Story]

Here is some info on DRS

"Divine Rhythm Society" (DRS). The DRS says that it has two purposes: "First, we create space for direct, experiential forms of spiritual practice. Recognizing that divine rhythm is everywhere, the Rhythm Society celebrates spirit through music, dance, meditation, and play.

Second, we cultivate community in which we can play out the daily life implications of insights gained from primary religious experience.

We are One in the Dance!"
Kali, Your vengeance Is such sweet sorrow You shatter all illusion
Mother Earth
You provide and destroy
Your majesty shines bright In this Milky Way.
Sophia
Please protect the children
Sanctify our knowing
With love comes wisdom.
Mother Mary
Be with us now
And at the hour of our death
Amen

I wonder if their Christmas program had "Angels we have heard are high?"

2003-01-20T18:19:00.000-05:00

On hard cases

Read Alicia's posting on Fructus Ventris about a woman whose baby was diagnosed prenatally with a lethal defect. This woman's statement is both powerful and priceless.

2003-01-20T14:23:00.000-05:00

From the "Get a life" department

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo., Jan. 16 — Suzanne Lewis was in for a shock when she sat down at home one recent night to watch television.

On came a commercial for Metamucil, the laxative, that showed what looked like a National Park Service ranger pouring a glass of it down Old Faithful and announcing that the product keeps the famous geyser "regular."

..."My eyes got bigger, and my jaw dropped," Ms. Lewis said. That is because she is the superintendent of Yellowstone and the chief steward of the park and its geysers.

The park responded to complaints with a letter saying that Procter & Gamble had not filmed the real Old Faithful or an actual park ranger and that the company was within its legal rights. But, the letter added, "This advertisement goes against all of the National Park Service's efforts to encourage people not to put foreign objects into the thermal features." [Full Story]

I understand what they mean, when my children were younger I constantly had to keep telling them "stop sticking things into thermal features." On a more serious note the scariest thing I ever saw in my life was turning around and seeing my three year old son sticking two nails into the kitchen electrical socket. Luckily nothing happened and my heart returned to a more normal pulse a month or two later. My wife and I immediately went out and bought those electrical outlet covers for all of the empty electrical sockets, so if you have young'uns I encourage you to do the same. My son was quite inquisitive and industrious, one day he told us "I fixed mommies door." Only to find out that he had managed to remove the lower and middle pins from the hinges of our bedroom door. And while I am relating childhood stories I will include one more. My son was a big He-Man Master of the Universe fan and constantly carried a He-Man sword I had made for him. I was carrying him around on my shoulders one day in a park while he was swinging his sword and evoking He-Man lines. I offered to let him walk around instead, reasoning to him saying "He-Man isn't carried around all day", he blithely replied "How about Battle Cat?

2003-01-20T13:47:00.000-05:00

ET Clone Home

The controversial organization Clonaid said Sunday that a cloned Japanese boy may be born as early as Monday.
Clonaid is funded by the Raelian Movement religious cult.

The cult maintains that two cloned girls have been born -- one each in the United States and Europe -- with their techniques. It has provided no scientific proof to back its claims. [Full Story]

Which reminds me of my favorite clone joke.

Not too long ago a scientist tried to clone himself. However, his
clone was very obnoxious and lewd, while the scientist was well
received and respected. Finally fed up with his experiment gone
wrong, he threw his clone off the roof of the laboratory; killing the
clone. He was arrested by the local police for... making an
obscene clone fall.

2003-01-20T13:27:00.000-05:00

Isn't Communism wonderful

AVANA - President Fidel Castro and millions of other Cubans voted yesterday in parliamentary elections where all 609 candidates ran uncontested. Many Cuban dissidents labeled the vote a farce and refused to participate.

State television showed Castro voting in the eastern city of Santiago, where he traditionally casts his ballot.

''We are perfecting our revolutionary and socialist democracy,'' Castro told hundreds of cheering supporters during a lengthy address outside the voting place. [Full Story]

Isn't it amazing what communism can do? Obviously only the 609 people most qualified for a post ran, thus preventing people the confusion of choosing between two or more candidates. One of the people elected was Elian Gonzales' father, I guess it is play ball and Castro will reward you. Actually I wonder what could Castro do that would actually cause the ire of the Hollywood left (yes, I know that's redundant) and the media elites, besides going to capitalism?

2003-01-20T13:00:00.000-05:00

Lets see, I got my amice, alb, cincture, maniple, stole, tunicle, dalmatic, chasuble, surplice, cope, and bulletproof shoes

A priest (SSPX) saying Mass at St. Jude's church in Eddystone escaped injury when a bullet fired at him on the altar bounced off his shoe, police said.

Several parishioners attending the 8 a.m. Mass at the Delaware County church tackled and disarmed the assailant, whom police identified as Joseph George Barder, 31.

Police said Barder has been charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering others, and carrying a firearm without a license. [Full Story]

2003-01-19T16:08:00.000-05:00

Blogroll update

Tom Abbott of the blog GoodForm has left the blogosphere in a sudden manner. I will miss his unpretentious postings and the day in the life of someone living the Catholic faith.

Additions:
Maureen McHugh A Religion of Sanity Which is back to steady posting so I have added it again.
Peggy Rettle Pilgrimage
Karl Schudt Summa Contra Mundum (which I have enjoyed for a while but forgot to blogroll)
Alicia Fructus Ventris
The Catholic Nerd Blog Which I guess is a group nerd blog (how do I join?)

And from the Disturbers of the Peace Institute:
DPI News and Commentary
The DPI Bullies 'N' Bozos BLOG

Now all I need is a Latin translation guide to Latin blog names in St. Blogs.

Update: jesus gill has abandoned blogspot to go to blogmosis and so I have updated his URL http://ibidem.blogmosis.com/ for ibidem.

Also added a new blog by Long Islander Gen X Revert. His comments have appeared around St. Blogs and he has now taken the plunge.

2003-01-19T15:14:00.000-05:00

Abortion and Christianity.

Interesting article about the variances in statements about abortion in various Christian Churches.

The Episcopal Church, 1994
"While we acknowledge that in this country it is the legal right of every woman to have a medically safe abortion, as Christians we believe strongly that if this right is exercised, it should be used only in extreme situations. We emphatically oppose abortion as a means of birth control, family planning, sex selection or any reason of mere convenience. . .

Right? This certainly concedes a lot on their part. The word right is bandied about by a lot of groups but the definition seems to be all over the map. The declaration of Independence says "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights." Inalienable rights are those rights that can not be taken away, and in this reference those given us by God. If rights are only given by the government then they can be taken away. If you believe in the governments ability to create rights then pro-abortion groups shouldn't complain if the so-called rights are taken away. If you don't believe in God-given rights, then what becomes the source of rights in a random universe? If your chances for existence are a massive improbability then how does this associate with rights that pertain to every human being? Because you are a more highly evolved organism then other you then automatically have rights assigned to you? In a society where morality is more and more subjective why are rights, especially abortion rights, seen as absolutes?

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), 1992
"We affirm the ability and responsibility of women, guided by the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit, in the context of their communities of faith, to make good moral choices in regard to problem pregnancies.

"We call upon Presbyterians to work for a decrease in the number of problem pregnancies, thereby decreasing the number of abortions.

I really don't like the choice of the words "problem pregnancies." Pregnancy is not the problem but the acceptance and support by family members and friends. How many abortions would there be if family members and friends were very supportive of that person and were helping them out?

Southern Baptist Convention, 1984
"Be it further resolved, that we deplore the practice of performing abortions, as well as dispensing to minors without parental consent or even notification, contraceptive medications which have potentially dangerous side effects, and deplore also the use of tax funds for such activities; and

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2002
"Abortion is a violation of human rights incomparable in magnitude and an atrocity for the whole human family. . . . We are committed, no matter how long it may take, no matter the sacrifices required, to bringing about a reversal of this tragic Supreme Court decision. We will speak out on behalf of the sanctity of each and every human life wherever it is threatened, from conception to natural death, and we urge all people of goodwill to do likewise."

Before becoming Catholic I thought I was pro-life. I was an increasingly pro-life atheist, even though I wouldn't have been able to defend my beliefs with my belief system. I didn't believe in the existence of souls, but I believed in human life at conception. It would have been more consistent if I believed that the development of thinking processes built up to a point where it then wouldn't be right to have an abortion, that would have been more in line. I also had no problems with contraception and sterilization. It seems to be a state secret that some forms of contraception can also act as abortifacients , where they don't prevent conception but starve to death the embryo or don't allow them to implant. Now the absence of this information isn't to surprising for most of the major media, yet I have heard thousands of hours of conservative talk radio and I never heard this mentioned. This information also seems to be missing from Protestant churches (and also in Catholic parishes), where even if they don't believe in abortion they support it through those forms of contraception. I was also for the rape and incest exemption. I might not have thought that the death penalty should be used for rapists, yet as a result I was for the death penalty for a child as a result of rape. On my way into the Church the Pope's encyclical The Gospel of Life was greatly influential to me. This was a consistent across the boards message on the sanctity of human life, from abortion and contraception to the death penalty; this was a cohesive overview of the Churches teachings. When I hear the label on politicians of being 100% pro-life I wonder if that includes rape/incest exemptions, embryonic Stem Cell research, cloning of any form, and In Vitro Fertilization? A real 100% percent pro-lifer is very rare in political circles, yet I am glad for those who are pro-life in any way. Whether that person is an atheist who is against partial birth abortion or someone who is against abortion in most cases, I am thankful for those of goodwill. The Bishop's message and the Pope's encyclical were both addressed to people of goodwill, not just those who support 100% catholic beliefs and I hope those with some pro-life convictions will grow in them.

2003-01-19T13:43:00.000-05:00

Two wrongs don't make a right, but three wrights make a plane

HER siblings called her "Sves", a diminutive meaning little sister, but the world knew her as the third Wright brother.

Without Katharine Wright’s sacrifice, the aeroplane pioneered by Orville and Wilbur would, if you will excuse the pun, not have got off the ground.

But that unique contribution was overshadowed by the renown of her brothers after they achieved the first powered and controlled flight in 1903.

A century on, history has forgotten Katharine. [Full Story]

2003-01-19T13:00:00.000-05:00

Hollywood Star Takes a Stand for Decency

[Full Story]

It is kind of a sad indictment that when I saw the headline, I knew it was about Patricia Heaton, star of ''Everybody Loves Raymond." I didn't have a hundred, ten, or five possibilities going through my head of which I might try to tie the headline to.

Then Abraham drew near, and said, "Wilt thou indeed destroy the righteous with the wicked?
Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; wilt thou then destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it?

2003-01-19T12:43:00.000-05:00

Mothers, daughters and decades of abortion

An adopted teenager, the suddenly radiant offspring of an impoverished orphan, has begun learning about abortion. Its very existence comes as a shock. It is a heart-wrenching conversation for mother and daughter.

In the 30 years since the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, the mother's thoughts have ebbed and flowed. It doesn't seem that long ago, her childhood 40 years past, when birth control methods were few, unreliable and hard to get, and women were butchered and killed at the hands of abortionists with no medical training.

...The daughter, this precious fruit of an unintended pregnancy, asks, what will I do if I get pregnant?

The mother said whatever they would decide, she would help her and love her, and her life would go on. "But I would hope," said the mother, "that you would do what your birth mother did. That would be a beautiful thing." [Full Story]

2003-01-18T11:23:00.000-05:00

A day in the life of a Guardian Angel

Angels Angels
Watcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do
When our sins make you blue
Angels, Angels
Watcha gonna do, watcha gonna do
When our sins make you blue

You know Joe being a Guardian Angel isn't all that it is cracked up to be. Yeah Uriel, I know what you mean. We are out on the mean streets all day among those who totally ignore us and generally pay us no attention. Out of the twelve choirs of angels we are on the lowest rung with no chance of promotion. Not only that Joe, but how about those pompous Seraphim sitting around all day in the bosses office, getting face time and singing over and over again. Your right about that Uriel, they have a real cushy job, almost as cushy as being Mary's Guardian Angel. Gabriel will never let us live that one down, he keeps bragging how Mary always did the Lord's will and that he only had to pop into her presence once and the rest of the time he kicked back without a worry in the world. Well Joe, that was a one time shot and the rest of us have to contend with humans of the non sinless type. What really aggravates me is that when humans do get on an Angel craze they decide to represent us as stunted chubby cheeked cherubs or as emotional fumbling double mocha latte drinking Angels. That gets me too Uriel, sometime I would like to show myself to them, then they will quake with fear at my glory and they won't mistake me for some Gerber baby wannabe.

Listening in on the Guardian Angel Scanner

...Subject turning on prime time TV, possible Code 10th (commandant) in progress. Request prayers for purity.

...Subject Catholic politician about to vote against an abortion ban. We have a Code 1st and 5th in progress, request backup.

...Subject has started a weblog, be on the lookout for a code 8th.

...Subject walking into the confessional. He has detailed his sins and wait; check we have contrition. Subject has done his penance. Request that his record be excised with a recommendation of minor temporal punishment.

2003-01-18T09:59:00.000-05:00

Skirting the issue

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Galled by a court ruling last year that let two men get away with pointing cameras up women's skirts in public, Washington state legislators are proposing updated anti-voyeurism laws to outlaw the practice.

Filming a person's "intimate areas" would be made illegal, even in public places, and DNA samples would be collected from offenders to better track them under a bill written by State Rep. Patricia Lantz, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee. [Full Story]

2003-01-17T21:44:00.000-05:00

Gay City Rollers?

First the news about Pete Townshend and now the Bay City Roller's manager has been arrested for abusing a male child. I can't tell you how much I hated the Bay City Rollers, but after dylan's rant against disco and a Bee Gee died within the same week I think I will be temperate (for a change).

These problem will all stop when rock musicians and managers are allowed to marry and they allow female bands. I am starting a group called Voice of the Fans (VOTF©®) our motto is "Keep the music, change the bands" in which are task is to get rid of musicianism. No longer should musicians be held on a pedestal or stage above the listener. We will foster basic listener involvement in the guidance and governance of bands. We want to make members of bands accountable for their actions. How long do we have to put up with lame sophomore releases and start to do something about it. We accept the screeching authority of bands, including the role of managers and the preeminent role of the Smoking Pope's.

Update: Andy says about Tom Paton's arrest "Actually, he was arrested on drugs charges stemming from an investigation into possible child abuse."

January 15, 2003
Television presenter Matthew Kelly and former Bay City Roller manager Tam Paton have been arrested in connection with a police investigation into child sex abuse allegations.The Stars in Their Eyes host was arrested by Surrey Police at a Birmingham theatre on Wednesday.

Kelly is being held overnight at a Surrey police station and will be questioned on Thursday morning.

Paton was arrested at his home in Edinburgh.

Police said the allegations against both men related to offences against boys under the age of 16 during the 1970s. [Full Story]

March 3, 2000
Bay City Rollers drummer Derek Longmuir has pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography, the Reuters news service reports. [Full Story]

2003-01-17T13:30:00.000-05:00

Fertilizers and party favors

Pacific Rim Bureau (CNSNews.com) - Rural health care workers in the Philippines reportedly are using contraceptives in ways never anticipated by donor agencies.

The country's health secretary, Manuel Dayrit, was quoted this week as saying that contraceptive pills are being used to fertilize plantations of orchids, while condoms have found a new role as party balloons.

Dayrit attributed the novel uses for the items to the fact that the supply is so abundant, the pills and condoms aren't needed.

But in the mostly Roman Catholic Philippines, birth control acceptance levels are also relatively low. The church opposes artificial birth control methods.

According to official figures cited late last year, only 3.7 million Filipinos -- or about one-tenth of the sexually-active population -- use contraceptives. Of those, 43 percent take the pill and just under 10 percent use condoms. [Full Story]

I once read a story about the introduction of contraceptives into Africa. They demonstrated condom usage via a stick and showed the women how to use birth control pills. When they came back some time later they found that pregnancies hadn't decreased and on further investigation found that the men took the pills instead of the women and that they stuck condoms on sticks and placed them by their beds.

It's amazing what can happen in a country where the Church actually teaches about contraception instead of dissenting. My wife is Filipina and so I can attest to the fact that they have a very Catholic culture there (she probably prayed as much for men as St. Augustine's mother did for him). When the Pope visited the Philippines in 1995, four million people attended a Mass in Manila making it the largest crowd in history.

2003-01-17T12:59:00.000-05:00

Monday we are celebrating ~~Martin Luther King Jr.~~ Jesse Jackson Day

From the Donahue transcript for 1/15/03.

JACKSON: No one has inspired more blacks for hope in America than I have.

I beg to differ. With Martin Luther King it was "I have a dream", with Jesse it's "I have a scheme."

[Via Rod Dreher]

2003-01-17T12:43:00.000-05:00

"Roe" speaks out

Due to health reasons, Norma McCorvey, the former "Roe" of Roe
v. Wade is limiting her interviews on the 30th anniversary of Roe
v. Wade. However, her attorney, Allan Parker, CEO & founder of The
Justice Foundation will be available for interviews in Washington,
D.C. on January 20, 21, 22, and 23.

Parker will be available to discuss her legal and social efforts
to overturn Roe v. Wade. Norma McCorvey now is the executive
director of Roe No More Ministries and speaks out against abortion
and the damage it does to women and children.

Her attorney, Allan Parker, CEO & founder of The Justice
Foundation will be available in Washington, D.C., for interviews
concerning Norma McCorvey and her efforts to overturn Roe v. Wade.
The Justice Foundation is currently assisting women who have been
hurt by abortion, and is collecting affidavits from women who have
had abortions. [Full Story]

Somehow I doubt that 60 Minutes, 20/20, CNN/ABC/NBC/CBS, etc. will be beating a path to her door. I would like to be wrong on this.

2003-01-16T19:01:00.000-05:00

You know your a Catholic nerd when

On Kathryn Lively's blog are a few suggestion added in response to a new blog, to which I add a few more

...your MP3 player was blessed by your priest
...your are troubled by the theological problems in the movie "All Dogs go to Heaven"
.. you have hot and cold running holy water
...you use BabelFish to translate all web pages into Latin
.. you have a checklist of when to perform 180 day maintenance on your scapular
.. all of your passwords contain names of Saints
.. you have a strong opinion on the translation of "Pro Multis"
...you have the Beckett Holy Card Price Guide for the current year
...your pets have a Saint Francis medal on their collars
...you can name the first thirty popes but have no idea what is on prime time TV
...you know when the priest omits any word from any of the Eucharistic prayers
...you have actually read a Vatican II document
...you know the schedule for Mass and Confession for every church in a 30 mile radius
...you have a blog listed in the St. Blogs directory

2003-01-16T13:36:00.000-05:00

Jesse Jackson must be looking for a job at the National Inquirer

Jesse Jackson, in a speech on Wednesday, declared that New York's financial district was built on an "African burial ground" and achieved prosperity "on the backs of African people."

...Jackson compared opposition to slave reparations to denying the holocaust.

Not thinking a policy is right or prudent is the same as denying a historical event?

...Jackson also claimed that the influx of immigrants to America during the late 19th century stemmed from government handouts. "People didn't come here looking for religious freedom; people came here looking for 100 free acres, the right to kill an Indian, and free labor." [Full Story]

He's complaining about government handouts? That's pretty ironic. I guess if the Irish would have shaken down companies to include more of them on their boards that it would have been more seeking of his approval. I am sure that during the potato famine in Ireland that as soon as they found out they would have the right to kill an Indian that that was drove Irish immigration. Starving and not being able to practice their religion in the open had nothing to do with it all. Free Labor? Slavery isn't exactly free labor, but wasn't it already abolished in the late 19th century? I am no history expert but was 100 free acres still a promise at this time during history?

The idea of the wealth of the US being founded on slavery is a modern myth. If you compared the North and the South during that period the North was a lot wealthier and their wealth wasn't dependent on the South. I think an argument could be made that relying on slavery probably hurt the South. After slavery was ended the South didn't stop being an agrarian culture, but actually over time became more productive. The South relying on slave labor instead of industrializing their economy didn't make the south richer and slavery actually became a crutch that weighed them down financially and morally. So this idea of Wall Street being built on an "African burial ground" is just more of the unjustified rhetoric that Jesse Jackson spews forth.

2003-01-15T20:07:00.000-05:00

Random Thoughts

Would southeastern white supporters for the Florida senator running for president be known as Graham Crackers.

Do monks get frequent friar miles?

Is being a Boy Scout a real in tents experience?

2003-01-15T12:59:00.000-05:00

Deadly celebration

WICHITA, Kansas, January 14, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Notorious abortionist George Tiller plans on giving free abortions in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that decriminalized abortion on demand. But the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue West says, no abortion is free. [Full Story]

Maybe he is on to something. On the Fourth of July we could celebrate by killing British people and on Veterans Day (formerly Armistice Day) we could kill Germans.

2003-01-14T20:06:00.000-05:00

Spilling the beans on coffee

This post by Ellyn vonHuben of Oblique House got me to thinking about my first experiences with coffee. I use to go to work with my father who was an actor and puppeteer in a children's theater at the Portland Zoo. This theater quaintly called the Ladybug Theater was in the shape of a you-guessed-it a ladybug and had toadstools for chairs (actually more like knee or shin destroyers for those not careful moving through a darkened theater). This theater was later burned down by the security guard hired to protect zoo property, obviously this security guard had been greatly influenced by the childhood song "Ladybug, Ladybug fly away home your house is on fire." My father use to drop me off at a Denny's while he would go into a bar with his friends. You could only nurse a coke for so long to try to pass time so I started ordering coffee since I had observed that coffee drinkers got free refills. I was around the age of ten and so I made my coffee as close to hot chocolate in taste and appearance as possible by filling it with massive dosages of cream and sugar. One day a waitress there asked me "Don't you know that coffee will stunt your growth?" I replied in my best geriatric impersonation "I am 60 years old and it hasn't affected me yet." Well the waitress was probably expecting any reply but that one and left laughing. No surprise that I was an equally strange kid.

2003-01-14T13:31:00.000-05:00

"Faster than government spending. More powerful and with a loco motive. Able to leap the issues in a single bound --- 'Look, up in the sky,' 'It's not Robert Byrd,' 'It's a plain politician,' 'It's Lieberman...' "

Calling himself "a different kind of Democrat," the 60-year-old repeatedly vowed to "rise above partisan politics" to push an agenda through Congress that includes "strengthening homeland security while protecting Social Security," "healing the racial divide," making health care more affordable and available, fixing failing schools and making college more affordable.

....Describing President Bush as being driven by "extreme ideologues in the administration" and beholden to "major financial interests," Lieberman claimed promises made during his 2000 campaign were not kept.

...Lieberman pledged to "bring back the prosperity of the Clinton-Gore era." [Full Story]

Yep, driven by "extreme ideologues in the administration" and beholden to "major financial interests," that is really rising against partisanship. Though partisanship doesn't bother me, I want those that I support to be extremely partisan in their positions. We have enough of Janus-like politicians talking out of both sides of their mouth at once.

A different kind of Democrat? Lets see, what would that be:

Pro-life - no that's not it
Reducing taxes for all - no that's not it
Supporting drilling oil in our own country - no that's not it
Supporting school vouchers - no that's not it
Cutting government spending - no that's not it
Pro gun rights - no that's not it
Ban human cloning - no that's not it
Approve balanced-budget constitutional amendment - no that's not it
Ban partial-birth abortions - no that's not it
Against Koyoto Treaty - no that's not it
Eliminating the Department of Education - no that's not it
Words matching actions- no that's not it
Personal accountability over government assistance - no that's not it
Letting people invest part of their Social Security - no that's not it

Oh well, I give up. I couldn't figure out what he meant by that statement.

And yes let us go back to the prosperity of the Clinton-Gore years when some corporations were hiding their massive debt behind bookkeeping scams and the stockmarket was based on the tech stocks of a phony internet business boom. What are the odds that his education reform will only be about more money to schools and that his plan for making education less expensive would actually drive up prices? What industry has the government got involved in that actually made it more competitive and reduced prices? The only help that the government can be is to not interfere and get out of the way.

2003-01-14T12:51:00.000-05:00

I wonder what his first words will be?

Blanche Skelton was feeding her baby when she heard something besides the soothing sound of ocean waves coming from a toy attached to the crib.

It was saying, "I hate you."

After asking her husband, her parents-in-law, and everyone else in the home east of Hazel Dell, they were convinced. The toy was definitely, albeit quietly, saying "I hate you."

Blanche's 6-month-old son, Alex, got the toy as a Christmas present. It makes soothing sounds and music for baby to fall asleep to, with an illuminated picture of a cartoon-style aquarium on the front.

But in between the white noise of ocean waves, a tiny babyish voice pipes up with childhood angst.

Made in China, the toy was sold by Wal-Mart and carries the Kid Connection brand, which is a store brand. [Full Story]

2003-01-13T19:20:00.000-05:00

Next Javascript project

I am thinking of developing a way to automatically update a blogroll with the current name of dylan's ever changing blog name. This might take a dedicated server tied to an atomic clock to get the requisite sampling time resolution. Possibly I could get people to volunteer their extra computer cycle times to the task as they do for scientific projects that require massive computing power.

2003-01-13T13:37:00.000-05:00

Why Jesus got the last supper all wrong

This article, 62 Reasons Why... In Conscience, We Cannot Attend the New Mass, by a priest in the archdiocese in Campos, Brazil I think is pretty unintentionally funny.

23. Because the changes such as: table instead of altar; facing people instead of tabernacle; Communion in the hand, etc., emphasize Protestant doctrines...

What was Jesus thinking when he instituted the Eucharist? The Apostles were gathered around a table at the last supper and received using their hands. Not only that but Jesus faced them when he talked to them. Shouldn't he have know that he was supposedly going against the Council of Trent?

28. Because beautiful, familiar Catholic hymns which have inspired people for centuries, have been thrown out and replaced with new hymns strongly Protestant in sentiment, further deepening the already distinct impression that one is no longer attending a Catholic function.

What do these modern hymns have to do with attending the new Mass? This would just be a function of the parish as to what hymns were sung. I have heard the older familiar hymns at Mass in some places. This is really a very weak argument.

32. Because Holy Mother Church canonized numerous English Martyrs who were killed because they refused to participate in a Mass such as the New Mass!

The English Martyrs refused to participate because of the issue of authority and the fact that the English Church went into schism. The martyrs did not accept the King of England as head of the church. The form of Mass did not immediately change there, but over time changes were made to more and more separate themselves from the Catholic Church. Because of the changes of the understanding of the priesthood they also came to loose apostolic succession.

33. Because Protestants who once converted to Catholicism are scandalized to see that the New Mass is the same as the one they attended as Protestants. One of them, Julien Green, asks: "Why did we convert?"

This one is just plain wacky. I am somewhat familiar with forms of Protestant worship services and I don't think I could ever confuse them between the newer form of Mass. Maybe some high church Lutherans and Anglicans would be somewhat familiar with it, but nobody else.

39. Because many good Catholic theologians, canonists and priests do not accept the New Mass, and affirm that they are unable to celebrate it in good conscience.

What is the definition of good "Catholic theologians, canonists and priests?" I guess it is the ones who agree with your viewpoint. I don't think even radical traditionalist would want to go by popular opinion when it comes to liturgy. I don't believe that St. Athanasius would agree with this.

48. Because the New mass embodies numerous errors condemned by Pope St. Pius V at the Council of Trent (Mass totally in vernacular, words of Consecration spoken aloud, etc. See Condemnation of Jansenist Synod of Pistia), and errors condemned by Pope Pius XII (e.g., altar in form of table. See Mediator Dei).

Mass in the vernacular is bad? What about when Latin was the vernacular language. The Latin translation of the Bible is called the Vulgate because it was translated into the vulgar (from vulgus, “the common people”) language of the people. I guess they should have used a dead language to conduct the Mass in. Vatican II nowhere said that Latin was to be eliminated from the Mass.

60. Because we recognize the Holy Father's supreme authority in his universal government of Holy Mother Church, but we know that even this authority cannot impose upon us a practice which is so CLEARLY against the Faith: a Mass that is equivocal and favoring heresy and therefore disagreeable to God.

Those gates of hell must have slammed down upon the Church despite Jesus' words. If the Pope in union with the Bishops can give us a heretical Mass, then we have a lot more to worry about then just the format of the Mass.

I personally like the Latin Mass, but I also can pray the new Mass also when it is done reverently. I favor the combination Latin/English Mass that is shown on EWTN and I think it is more in keeping with the reforms of Vatican II. But bad music and some bad translations will not keep me away from the highest form of worship on earth.

2003-01-12T20:13:00.000-05:00

Bumbling Baptism

By God, a rite should be done right.

That apparently was the thinking of a Pointe Calumet woman who complained in 1996 that her grandchild was given a botched baptism, a claim that led Catholic Church investigators to determine that about 300 children hadn't received the holy sacrament.

Instead of having one designated person sprinkle the child with holy water while proclaiming "I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit," a priest handled the water while a lay person, properly designated to do baptisms, recited the sacred line, according to a Presse Canadienne report.

"It should be done by one (properly designated) person at the same time ... in one movement," Gaetan Baillargeon, director of the church's national office of liturgy, said yesterday. [Full Story]

2003-01-12T14:03:00.000-05:00

I like my beer and doctrine not watered down

A French Government drive against alcoholism has incurred the wrath of Belgium's famous Trappist monks.

Famous for vows of silence, the Trappist monks are also well known for brewing strong beers, including Chimay and Westmalle.

But the French Government now wants to slap high taxes on any of those beers that contain more than 8.5% alcohol. [Full Story]

2003-01-12T13:20:00.000-05:00

Marin County, what a surprise

Even as U.S. troops inch toward the Persian Gulf for a possible war with Iraq, anti-war activists say it can be difficult to rally outrage or media interest back home. So a group of Marin County women has resorted to the ultimate attention grabber: getting nude.

Whatever happened to "Dressed are the peacemakers." [Full Story]

2003-01-11T12:20:00.000-05:00

Do you speak Engrish?

This website has pictures of the use of Engrish in Japan.

Q. What is Engrish? A. Engrish can be simply defined as the humorous English mistakes that appear in Japanese advertising and product design

Most of the Engrish found on Engrish.com is not an attempt to communicate - English is used as a design element in Japanese products and advertising to give them a modern look and feel (or just to "look cool"). There is often no attempt to try to get it right, nor do the vast majority of the Japanese population (= consumers) ever attempt to read the English design element in question ...

Here is text from one of the pictures:

Please Keep chair on position &
Keep table cleaned after dying.
Thanks for your corporation.

I spent two years stationed in Yokosuka, Japan on the U.S.S. Midway (CV-41) and I well appreciated the people and culture of Japan. There were many strange juxtapositions of Japanese and American culture. The first time I went out into Yokosuka it was a culture shock with almost all of the signs being in kanji and the total alien feeling of the architecture. Walking along in this environment it was pretty strange to see a seven foot plastic Colonel Sanders in front of a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant, it just looked so out of place with the rest of the Asian ambiance.

Most people there were taught English in the schools and had to have a minimum vocabulary, but they didn't really get a chance to converse in it. Normally if you wrote something out and used hand gestures you might be able to converse a little bit. They also seemed to have a vending machine for every product. There were machines out in the town that dispensed beer, cheeseburgers, and cough syrup. At bus stops they had umbrellas available in case it was raining and there were too many people to fit under the bus shelter. When I saw this I thought that those umbrellas would have a street life of about five seconds before someone would have stolen them here in the US. At there rock concerts people would sit in their chairs and watch without hardly a sound. A friend of mine and I were walking around one day and we got mooned by a group of Japanese teenagers in their car, good to see American culture being spread far and wide. Or is mooning a result of the fallen natures? I just can't imagine a group of Roman kids hanging out their posterior from their father's chariot.

Japanese shipyard workers were used to help keep up the maintenance of the ship. The U.S.S. Midway was a forward deployed ship so it's home port was in Japan and she didn't go back to the united states (until the ship was decommissioned). I was amazed at the hard work and dedication that these shipyard workers performed. They were able to do in a month or two what would have taken at least five times longer in the US. When a ship I was on was dry-docked in Portsmouth, Virginia I observed quite the opposite. Some shipyard workers in the US would urinate and defecate in parts of the ship instead of finding a working bathroom. Fast food wrappers were left everywhere. The only way you could tell the difference between an homeless person and a shipyard worker is that the homeless person would ask you for money. Once in Portsmouth they built a new aircraft elevator door (which is gigantic on an aircraft carrier), it was hilarious watching them try to get it into position - especially since it turned out they made this one inch too tall.

One of the times they were doing an overhaul on the ship, a group of us went on detachment to Iwakuni to support our ship's A-6E aircraft avionics out of avionics vans located at the the Marine Core Air Stations there on the flightline. These were real Marines uncorrupted by working alongside of us Sailors. The Gunny Sergeant there soon put us on night check to keep us degenerate sailors from influencing his Marines (and looking back, I don't blame him). We rented bikes from the base there called "benjo bombers." These were named such probably from the predilection of drunk Americans crashing these cheap bikes into benjo ditches (open Japanese sewer ditches). In fact one of our group (surprisingly drunk) did manage to crash into one of these ditches and loose his glasses, he was treated with a plethora of shots because of this. On one of our sober jaunts into the countryside, a family waved us down and invited us in. We were in an area far away from the base and not frequented by Americans. They had been educated in the states and wanted a chance to converse in English again. We were introduced to their grandfather who had fought in W.W.II and were served seaweed covered rice. It took all my acting expertise to keep my face from reflecting the disgust of my palette. It was an Oscar deserving performance and I don't think our fine hosts ever caught on. They were very nice and we later went out camping with them.

The trains were another interesting experience in Japan. They employed people to try to almost shoehorn people in to get as many people on the train as possible. I am only 5'8 but was almost a giant in this culture. One of the advantages was that even in a tightly packed train, my head protruded above the crowd into the stratosphere of the train compartment ensuring a fresher air supply. While at Iwakuni we visited Hiroshima. You would not have realized the death and destruction that had occurred with the thriving city that had been rebuilt everywhere but at the epicenter. Seeing Peace Park and the lone library that withstood the destruction brought the reality of this history into my conscience. It is one thing to read about the events and quite another to have it brought home to you.

I was also able to spend two months at the cushy (at least by Navy and Marine Corps standards) Kadena, Air Force Base in Okinawa while I was going to micro-minature repair school (advanced soldering and circuit repair). I also will never forget my trips into Tokyo, which has to be seen and experienced to be believed. For the most part people were very pleasant and courteous to us, except for the infrequent anti-American demonstrations at the gate of the naval base and the few "Japanese Only" shops and restaurants. I probably experienced more anti-military discrimination in Norfolk, Virginia (at least in the pre-Desert storm days of "Dogs and Sailors keep of the grass" signs).

2003-01-10T20:14:00.000-05:00

~~Yet if one suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed~~ Go along to get along

From Michelle's And then? blog comes:

two of Fr. Van Deerlin's comments riveted my attention. He doesn't wear a crucifix, even in a relatively friendly Arab country where he apparently ministers openly, because he "wants to blend in, not offend." Be sure to note that his reason for not wearing his crucifix is not that he fears for his life or that he fears losing the toehold the Church has in the region. He does not want to offend. "'We want to be low key,' Father John explains. 'I think it's better to be low key.'"

Blessed are the low-key for they shall not offend?

He also refrains from proselytizing. "'In the Muslim world, you cannot proselytize, and we respect that,' he says. His job is to minister to Catholics, not try to convert Muslims."

The Great Commission (or in this case the Great Omission): Go out into the whole world and don't make waves. You are the stealth fighters of the world. A city set underground cannot be seen ...rejoicing that they were counted worthy to not suffer at all in his name.

The new Pauline line would be: I have become nothing to no one so that I might save myself. ..For I am not ashamed of the gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek, and just possibly I might get around to the Muslims (but don't quote me on that).

2003-01-10T18:57:00.000-05:00

Did they make them eat Carmel Candy?

There is a photo Nicole Ingra keeps in the living room of her Kenilworth home of "clothing day" - the day she received her habit as a Carmelite nun. A crown of flowers rests on her head.

"That was a big day," Ingra recalled. "It was the first time I was called Sister John of the Cross."

All she wanted that February day in 1984 was to spend her life in cloistered meditation and prayer behind the walls of a Morris Township Carmelite monastery.

"Here I thought I was going to be basically forgotten by the world, living my life in solitude and seclusion," she said last week. "And look at what happened. I haven't had seclusion or solitude since then."

Her dream of obscurity as a cloistered nun was lost forever when Ingra and four other Carmelite nuns locked themselves in the monastery infirmary in October 1988 for a nine-month protest. Their fear: that they would be evicted because of their opposition to what they saw as attempts to liberalize what their religious order stood for.

..."We were commanded [by the prioress] to watch a video film, eat candy, and go outside in the parking lot, and we shouldn't have been out there," she said. "Bright lights were being put in our chapel, which is supposed to be subdued during prayers ." [Full Story]

When St. Teresa of Avila saw the condition of the Carmelite order while she lived she longed to return to the original Carmelite charism, thus the discalced (shoeless) branch of Carmelites came into being. I guess now we are going to need the dis-candied/dis-video/dis-bright light branch of Carmelites. I can understand their being upset by a more liberal Carmelite order, but I think obedience would have been better then locking themselves up for nine months. This seems to be the opposite of St. John of the Cross who was forced to be locked up for about a year. He came out of his imprisonment more in love with God and the fruit of this was the "Ascent of Mt. Carmel" and the "Dark Night of the Soul." The fruit of these nuns was leaving the convent and becoming certified in reflexology and aromatherapy. St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross were always obedient to their superiors, whether or not they agreed with them. Of course it is easy for me to say this sitting from my lofty perch and looking on their actions and condemning them. I am a member of the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites, what use to be called Third Order Carmelites. But most of the time I am a Disordered Carmelite.

2003-01-09T17:26:00.000-05:00

Sybil Disobedience

"You have the right to remain silent ... and so do you, and you, and you."

That's what police could be reciting from now on in the wake of a unique court ruling from the same Montana county that dealt with Unabomber Ted Kaczynski.

A judge there has decided that once is not enough when it comes to Miranda warnings for criminal suspects who have multiple personalities.
[Full Story]

I wonder if one of the personalities would be allowed to testify against the other. And what if one personality was guilty of a hate crime but the others weren't. I could see this conversation happening when one or more personalities were found innocent.

All right, you can go now. Hey, where do you think you are going. What are you still doing here I told you that you were free. Come back here I told you that you have to stay behind and are remanded to prison ....

2003-01-09T17:11:00.000-05:00

If Carly Simon was around during Jesus' life

She might have wrote:

You walked into Jerusalem
Like your lies would never be caught
Your phylacteries broad with your fringed hems
Your robe it was apricot
You knew you were God's chosen
But were acting worse than Lot
As you called for God now and then
Israel is God's vineyard you were taught

You're so vine
You probably think this psalm is about you
You're so vine
You probably think this psalm is about you
Don't you? Don't you?

The prophets came many years ago
With guile you tried to deceive
Well you said, onto the Lord you swear
And that you would never leave
But to idols you worshiped like God above
And soon you would forget me
When Elijah prayed came clouds from the sea
Clouds from the sea, and

You're so vine
You probably think this psalm is about you
You're so vine
You probably think this psalm is about you
Don't you? Don't you?

When Elijah prayed came clouds from the sea
Clouds from the sea, and

You're so vine
You probably think this psalm is about you
You're so vine
You probably think this psalm is about you
Don't you? Don't you?

Well, I hear you went up to the temple
And you tithe mint and dill and cummin
Then you flew into a rage at the people
But you didn't even notice God's Son
Well, you're a brood of vipers all the time
And when you plot, you're with
Some Sad'ducees or cause strife with the zealots
strife with the zealots, and

You're so vine
You probably think this psalm is about you
You're so vine
You probably think this psalm is about you
Don't you? Don't you?

2003-01-08T17:29:00.000-05:00

Silent No More

WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 /U.S. Newswire/ -- After 30 years of legalized abortion, women from coast to coast who have had abortions will gather in January at state capitols and in Washington D.C. to speak about their experience. Many of the women will share their stories while others hold signs that read "I Regret My Abortion."

The Silent No More campaign will tell the truth about abortion's emotional, spiritual and physical consequences.

Actress, model and author, Jennifer O'Neill, is joining the Silent No More Campaign as their national spokesperson. As a woman who was forced to have an abortion, Ms. O'Neill understands the pain, "To have the opportunity to encourage and comfort the hearts of women who have suffered is humbling, and making the whole truth known about abortion is absolutely necessary."

"We are the voice that hasn't been heard," said Georgette Forney, Executive Director of NOEL, and a co-founder of Silent No More who had an abortion at age 16. "There is a lot of talk about rights and choice, but very little attention is given to women who have abortions. I regret my abortion and I know others who feel the same way. After 30 years it's time to listen to us -- the women who have experienced it." [Full Story]

2003-01-08T13:30:00.000-05:00

An abortion by any other name would smell just as putrid

The National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL) is softening its pro-abortion identity by promoting 'choice' as part of its new name.

Thirty years after the Supreme Court legalized abortion, NARAL now fears that the Republican-dominated White House and Congress are plotting to roll back Roe v. Wade.

In response, the pro-abortion group has plotted a massive mobilization campaign and added the words "Pro-Choice America" to the end of its name. The group now refers to itself as NARAL Pro-Choice America. [Full Story]

I am tired of all the hiding behind the word "choice" and I think that we should all start using it the way the pro-deathers do. A little verbal gymnastics to drive them just as crazy as they do to pro-life supporters The next time President Bush is asked about the potential war in Iraq he should just say that that he is pro-choice. He doesn't need to mention war at all, he can just talk about the president's right to choose. Anybody that disagrees with him he can call anti-choice or say that they just can't understand because their not a president Another line he could use was "If you don't like war, don't start one." The Republican rank and file can say "I personally don't support war in Iraq, but I support the President's right to choose.

2003-01-08T12:28:00.000-05:00

Mark Shea proposes a new game

Following in the footsteps of this worthy writer, I propose a new game. Beginning from any premise whatever (sexual abuse, low SAT scores, bad school lunches, war with Iraq, spanking, etc), write a brief editorial which somehow manages to conclude, against all logic, "The solution for much of this is painfully obvious: Ordain women, and drop the celibacy requirement." Extra points if you can drip with condescending sarcasm and contempt for the stupidity of those who do not see the logic of your conclusion. [Link]

Check out some very funny entries submitted in the comment box at his blog.

Here is my entry:

Cleveland Browns lose playoff games due to male hierarchy

Many people have attributed the Cleveland Browns loss due to letting their guard down and becoming over confident. But let us examine the real reasons for this loss. If we were to go into the teams locker room before the game or during half-time we would find members of the clergy there available as team chaplains. We would observe the total one sidedness of an all male priesthood, there was no one there of the female sex in which to help those players get in touch with their feminine side. We needed to put the cleavage in Cleveland. If only we had woman priestesses, then the feminine influence would have led them to contemplate their female side and thrown a "Hail Mary" pass instead of a short pass and not getting out of bounds before the game ended. This "short pass and get into position to kick a field goal mentality" is what is wrong with the church today. Men would rather do it all themselves instead of putting it all into a woman's hands. Having unmarried male priests promotes this false idea of men being able to do it all alone. The idea of celibate men in the confessional giving advice on sexually related matters is hypocritical. There is a Dear Abby column and a Ann Landers but no Dear Joe or Dear Butch columns (and nobody wants a Dear John), people would prefer women's advice in the confessional over a repressed XY chromosome type. What is more fitting then having the XX in the confessional. A pope Joan Paul would have kept the scandal from occurring in the church in the first place.

2003-01-07T18:23:00.000-05:00

Student Essay Bloopers

...The Bible is full of interesting caricatures. In the first book of the Bible, Guinesses, Adam and Eve were created from an apple tree. One of their children, Cain, asked "Am I my brother's son?" God asked Abraham to sacrifice Issac on Mount Montezuma. Jacob, son of Issac, stole his brother's birthmark. Jacob was a partiarch who brought up his twelve sons to be partiarchs, but they did not take to it. One of Jacob's sons, Joseph, gave refuse to the Israelites.

Pharaoh forced the Hebrew slaves to make bread without straw. Moses led them to the Red Sea, where they made unleavened bread, which is bread made without any ingredients. Afterwards, Moses went up on Mount Cyanide to get the ten commandments. David was a Hebrew king skilled at playing the liar. He fougth with the Philatelists, a race of people who lived in Biblical times. Solomon, one of David's sons, had 500 wives and 500 porcupines. [Many more student essay bloopers]

There is a good reason they call it "Outcome based education" instead of "Income based education," you are guaranteed not to learn anything that will lead to an income.

2003-01-07T13:10:00.000-05:00

Martha's new food magazine

NEW YORK (AP) — Martha Stewart's new magazine all about food — and only a little about her — debuted at grocery stores and newsstands Monday.

Everyday Food enters a crowded field of food publications and a tough business climate, but many advertisers and industry analysts think that, despite Stewart's troubles of last year, she may once again succeed

...Everyday Food, which features recipes with easily available ingredients that can be made in about 30 minutes, is a significant departure from Stewart's previous magazines. [Full Story]

And I thought it would be a 101 cake recipes to hide a file in with pull outs including insider trading tips.

2003-01-07T12:53:00.000-05:00

"Higher" Biblical Criticism

Jesus was almost certainly a cannabis user and an early proponent of the medicinal properties of the drug, according to a study of scriptural texts published this month. The study suggests that Jesus and his disciples used the drug to carry out miraculous healings.

.."There can be little doubt about a role for cannabis in Judaic religion," Carl Ruck, professor of classical mythology at Boston University said. [Full Story]

Mythology professor, well at least that is consistent with this new wacko myth. This guy probably did too much research on the "medicinal properties of the drug" and thought the picture of the guy on the ZIG ZAG cigarette papers was Jesus. This would fit in nicely with the Jesus Seminar's explanation of the miracle of the loaves and fishes as the miracle of sharing. Jesus gave everyone the munchies causing them to share the food. Well, you got to love professors at Catholic universities for their inventiveness. How does Peter Kreft put up with this nonsense at Boston College?

Update: Oops, I really should look closer. dylan points out: No skin off Kreeft's nose. Professor Ruck is a few miles down the street at BU (not BC).

2003-01-06T18:55:00.000-05:00

Homerphobia

On the Simpsons episode last night I noticed the sign outside the town church said "Welcome Pissed Off Catholics."

2003-01-06T18:46:00.000-05:00

The sacred and profane

Victor Lams of et cetera has a great post on current liturgical music. His last paragraph was dead on and I strongly encourage you to read the whole thing if you haven't already.

2003-01-06T17:40:00.000-05:00

What not to put on your resume

These are ten lines culled from real resumes: [Full Story]

"Revolved customer problems and inquiries."
"Consistently tanked as top sales producer for new accounts."
"Dramatically increased exiting account base, achieving new company record."
"Planned new corporate facility at $3 million over budget."
"Directed $25 million anal shipping and receiving operations."
"Participated in the foamation of a new telecommunications company."
"Promoted to district manger to oversee 37 retail storefronts."
"Experienced supervisor, defective with both rookies and seasoned professionals."
"I am seeking a salary commiserate with my training and experience."
"Seeking a party-time position with potential for advancement."

2003-01-06T17:26:00.000-05:00

Couldn't you have gotten a dog instead?

The dispute, which has landed in federal court, is about a 1- year-old girl named Amber who lives in a quaint cul-de-sac on Northwest 11th Court. The homeowners association has asked her parents to kick the baby out.

Sanford "Hank" Marcus, 36, a small-business owner, bought his home in the neighborhood in 1994, two years before a majority of Paradise Gardens Phase One homeowners reportedly voted to restrict the neighborhood to homeowners 55 years and older.

Read more, including an excerpt from the letter sent by the association's attorney...

The age restrictions did not affect Marcus and his wife, Penny, because they bought their house before the change. But last year, Amber was born. The family received a letter in the mail this year from the association and another from the association's attorney, Kenneth Zeilberger.

"Demand is hereby made upon you to cause the immediate removal of the infant ... from your home," Zeilberger wrote. "While we understand the inconvenience such a demand will cause you, the association has determined its preference [to be a seniors-only community]."
[Full Story]

2003-01-05T16:18:00.000-05:00

New parody contest

Pete Vere of Catholic Light/Envoy Encore has started a new contest:

Listening to the debate over Church music during the ChristMass holydays, I got an idea for a contest! Basically, write a parody about liturgists to the lyrics and tune of that most insipid of modern Christmas carols, Gramma Got Run Over by Reindeer.

An invitation that I couldn't resist, so here goes.

Liturgists have stopped the priests reign, dear
They let them still say Mass on Christmas eve.
You can say there's no such thing as rubrics,
But as for me and James Akin, we believe.

She'd been reading too much NC Reporter
And we'd begged her not to go.
But she said forget meditation,
So she stumbled out the door into the snow.

When they found her Christmas mornin',
At the scene of the Mass.
"Gather Us In" had knocked her dead
And incriminatin' blood flowed from her ears

Liturgists have stopped the priests reign, dear
They let them still say Mass on Christmas eve.
You can say there's no such thing as rubrics,
But as for me and James Akin, we believe.

Now we're all so proud of Father,
He's been takin' this so well.
Seen him stopped watching Dan Rather,
And told all the liturgists to go to ...

It's now Christmas with decent singing
The Mass is no longer out of whack
And the songs are no longer cringing
Respect for the Lord in the Eucharist is back

Liturgists have stopped the priests reign, dear
They let them still say Mass on Christmas eve.
You can say there's no such thing as rubrics,
But as for me and James Akin, we believe.

Now the tabernacle is back behind the altar
And they brought back the crucifix.
And the priest now prays his Psalter,
No more of the liturgist's bag of tricks

I've warned all my faith community.
Better watch out for yourselves.
They should never give a degree,
To someone who sings or hums to OCP.

Liturgists have stopped the priests reign, dear
They let them still say Mass on Christmas eve.
You can say there's no such thing as rubrics,
But as for me and James Akin, we believe.

2003-01-05T12:47:00.000-05:00

Glory of Purgatory

Thanks to those who said a prayer and/or left a comment, greatly appreciated. This has caused me to reflect more on the mystical body of Christ and especially purgatory. I am also thankful of purgatory, especially with the statement in the book of Revelations

But nothing unclean shall enter it [heaven]

So if I make it that far I will be more than happy to receive the deep cleaning and scrubbing required to look at God in the Beautific Vision. In some ways I see the blogosphere as a metaphor for the communion of saints. We ask for others to pray for us even though normally we don't see them or know what they look like or even where they are located. And we pray for others who we also can't see. It was a great mercy of God that he allows our prayers to work in his will (it certainly wasn't required). One of the best descriptions I head of this was the example of the mother who lets her child help her in the baking of cookies, the mother certainly didn't require this help - but through love included the child in the preparation.

The prayer of a just man has great power in its effects. --James 5:16

Well I'm just a man so hopefully that will be good enough. I have often heard of the spiritual cleansing fire in purgatory and thought about the fact that we always seem to concentrate on the seemingly negative aspects of things. We normally don't see the great joy of having faults and imperfections removed from us. When we think of detachment we think of having to force ourselves from the attachment to things. There is that famous statement of St. Augustines' "Give me chastity and continence, but not yet." I try to think of it as attachment instead; attachment to God alone. To attach ourselves to God alone we must remove those many tentacles of attachment to things. Just another of those many seeming paradoxes, such as dying to ourselves to live. Our society sees many things as a zero-sum game, such as if someone earns another dollar then someone must be losing a dollar. We think that to love and devote ourselves to God more is to love and devote ourselves to our neighbor less. This zero-sum game in economics is patently false and it is even more false in our relation to God and neighbor which is dynamic. Another example that I have heard used is of a triangle; where one side of the triangle is the love of God and the other side is love of neighbor, as you approach the apex both sides get closer and at the top they are perfectly united.

My Grandmother has two sisters both living (one who is 99) and I know that there time here is closing and I have another Grandmother in her late 90s. My mother is dying from cancer and my Aunt is also not in very good condition. I certainly don't look forward to when they do die and know there will be great pain in this (just admiting this to mysellf and writing the last couple of sentences was more painful than I thought it would be), but the reality of redemption and salvation also makes me rejoice in their hopeful union with God alone.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.
And let the perpetual light shine upon them.

And may the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

2003-01-04T17:38:00.000-05:00

Prayer Request

Please pray for the repose of the soul of my Grandmother who died yesterday at 97.

2003-01-04T13:21:00.000-05:00

Just ants no rants

Check out this story about contact lenses, an ant, and prayer.
[Via Spiritual Pyromania]

And for more ant fun as opposed to antiphons. Go to antwar.com to create your own colony of ants from a selection of ant types. The cartoon host is Adam Ant, because of the site name I would have chosen Antwar Sadat for the host's name.

Biblical ant tie in from Proverbs 6:
Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.
Without having any chief, officer or ruler,
she prepares her food in summer,
and gathers her sustenance in harvest.
How long will you lie there, O sluggard?
When will you arise from your sleep?

2003-01-04T12:42:00.000-05:00

Advertising on my mind

DE WITT, Iowa - Jeff Swanson is using his head - as a billboard.

Swanson, 39, is offering to let an advertiser tattoo his head for $100,000.

He listed his offer twice on the Internet auction site eBay, and says at least one person has already called to express interest.
[Full Story] [Via Listen Don't Speak]

2003-01-04T12:18:00.000-05:00

Anti-Catholicism on parade

(AP) (PHILADELPHIA) The archbishop of Philadelphia said Friday that a satirical sketch mocking sexually abusive priests, scheduled to be performed in the city's annual Mummers Parade, is an "attack on the Catholic faith."

The sketch, put on by the Slick Duck Comic Brigade, will admittedly stretch the bounds of good taste, with priests being chased by police officers and nuns in a go-go cage.

Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, in a one-page statement, called on Catholics to "express their displeasure" with the skit, which is to be performed Saturday after rain delayed the traditional New Year's Day parade.

"This group plans to do an insensitive and tasteless skit which can only be extremely painful for any victim who has experienced any type of abuse. I am horrified that any person or group can be so callous," Bevilacqua said.

"At the same time, I express outrage over the demeaning caricature of our Holy Father, bishops, priests and religious women. While such mean-spirited mockery may be protected as free speech, it is still hateful speech and as such has no place in a city parade."

..."That is the whole point of the comics. It is political satire," said Eddie Hall, a Mummer and longtime comic who supervises the parade division that includes the Slick Ducks. "This is a group of people who are really ticked off about the scandal, and they want to make that known."
[Full Story]

In this tolerance-charged politically correct society anti-Catholicism remains the protected bigotry of choice. If they had a bunch of suicide bombers being chased by police officers with women in burkas in go-go cages, I don't think this would have been accepted. Exactly how does nuns in go-go cages reflect that people are ticked off about the scandal? If people want to engage in mockery of the church, fine; just don't have the city endorsing it. I don't think we are going to hear form the People for the Separation of Church and State on this one.

Update: Mummers Club Drops Church Parody

2003-01-03T14:35:00.000-05:00

Liturgy and Sin Reply

David Ancell of Danger! Falling Brainwaves asks:

Is it a sin to use OCP materials in your liturgy?

That depends:

Using OCP material is in itself "grave matter", but the person using it must have known it was wrong and also must have had sufficient reflection before using it.

As the Catechism states:
1859. "Using OCP material to be a sin requires full knowledge and complete consent. It presupposes knowledge of the sinful character of the act, of its opposition to God's law. It also implies a consent sufficiently deliberate to be a personal choice. Feigned ignorance and hardness of heart[Cf. Mk 3:5-6 ; Lk 16:19-31 .] do not diminish, but rather increase, the voluntary character of a SIN."

And for a little reflection on blogging 2002, OCP was the subject of my first rant July 27, 2002.

Emily Stimpson in reference to the song "Shine Jesus Shine." says "(As a completely unrelated side-note, that idiotic song is one of the few things in the universe to which I can honestly say my hatred knows no bounds. Liturgists who inflict it on their parishioners are just asking for time in Purgatory.)"

I agree whole-heartily with her. I heard that song at the end of mass at a parish I was visiting a couple of weeks ago. To make things worse the people were clapping in beat to it, as was the priest as he went up the center of the isle. Songs like this should be put into a class of songs to do penance by or songs that are penance. If St. Augustine was around today he might have said "When you sing you do penance twice". When visiting a parish and I see the dreadful "published by OCP", I know I am in for a real treat. The acronym OCP must really stand for Often Causes Pain. Going through their hymn books you would think that there were not any songs written before 1980. Now I know that these hymn books are put out by Oregon Catholic Press and I just wonder if there is any connection between these insipid songs and that Oregon was the first state to legalize euthanasia. There are already too many distractions in my head, and I need all the help I can to ensure that I worship Christ at the sacrifice of the mass.

In addition Catholic light has posts on two songs (surprisingly both published by OCP).

2003-01-03T13:15:00.000-05:00

Blessed Kuriakos Elias Chavara, Priest (Optional Memorial)

Blessed (Cyriac) Kuriakos Elias Chavara, co-founder and first prior general of the congregation of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate, was born at Kainakary in Kerala, India, February 10, 1805. He entered the seminary in 1818, and was ordained priest in 1829. He made his religious profession in 1855, in the congregation he founded. In 1861 he was named vicar general for the Syro-Malabar church; in this capacity he defended ecclesial unity threatened by schism when mar Tomas Rochos was sent from Mesopotamia to consecrate Nestorian bishops. Throughout his life he worked for the renovation of the church in Malabar. He was also co-founder in 1866 of the congregation of the Sisters of the Mother of Carmel. Above all, he was a man of prayer, zealous for the Eucharistic Lord and devoted to the Immaculate Virgin Mary. He died at Koonammavu in 1871. His body was transferred to Mannanam in 1889.

Entrance Antiphon
I will give you shepherds after my own heart, and they shall feed you on knowledge and sound teaching.

Opening Prayer
Lord God
You raised up Blessed Kuriakos Elias Your Priest
to strengthen the unity of the Church.
Grant that through his intercession
we may be enlightened by the Holy Spirit
to read the signs of the times with wisdom
and spread the news of the Gospel
by both word and example.
We ask this through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever and ever.

Prayer over the Gifts
Lord, accept these gifts from Your people.
May the Eucharist we offer to Your glory
in honor of Blessed Kuriakos Elias
help us on our way to salvation.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.

Communion Antiphon
The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.

Prayer after Communion
Lord, we receive the bread of heaven
as we honor the memory of Blessed Kuriakos Elias.
May the Eucharist we now celebrate
lead us to eternal joys.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.

First Reading
Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13

I, a prisoner for the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all lowliness and meekness, with patience, forbearing one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. there is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in al. But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.

and His gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the Body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature f the fullness of Christ.

Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 23)
R/. The Lord is my Shepherd, there is nothing I shall want.
The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want;
he makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters;
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil; for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
thou anointest my head with oil, my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Gospel
Luke 10:1-9
After this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them on ahead of Him, two by two, into every town and place where He Himself was about to come. And He said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and salute no one on the road. whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace be to this house!' And if a son of peace is there, your peace shall rest upon him; but if not, it shall return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages; do not go from house to house. whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you; heal the sick in it and say to them, 'The Kingdom of God has come near to you.'

2003-01-03T12:18:00.000-05:00

Do not pass go

The other day I jokingly referred to an article where I would explain why Monopoly is capitalistic propaganda. Well someone named Bob Willis has written an Article called "Monopoly for Liberals"

• Be sure to have lots of paper and a fresh pen on hand for each player, since the rules of the game will become increasingly more complex as time goes by. Players will be required to comply with more and more rules, and pay more and more taxes, as the game progresses. Any player found not in compliance with any rules, or failing to pay any taxes levied during the game, will go immediately to Jail without passing go, without collecting $200, and after paying government court costs of $250 K.

The rules are both politically accurate and funny. The only thing he forgot to add with the "Chance" and "Community Chest" cards was the race card.

2003-01-03T11:18:00.000-05:00

So you want to be a Rock n' Roll Star

If the answer is yes than here is a chance to simulate your band at createbands.com. Add musicians from a selection of styles and you can have them play loops or control them via the keyboard. I always wanted to create a heavy metal band called "Mutually Assured Destruction" so here was my chance.

2003-01-03T00:12:00.000-05:00

Blog Update

I have been messing around with my blog template to add a new feature. For each day any Feast, Memorial, Solemnity will be displayed at the top. Also shown will be the liturgical day and the vestment color. I did it in JavaScript for the whole month so that it will correctly display based on date. I also looked through my blogroll to see if all of the blogs I was visiting were on it. Some are new and some are ones I thought I had previously added but must have overwritten or messed up. So if yours disappeared you weren't excommunicated. I got excommunicated from Catholic Light's blogroll when they added James Akin's blog, but who can complain about being replaced by James Akin.

One thing good about reading these blogs is that it knocks the heck out of my pride. If you just watch TV, listen to the Radio, and read books on theology you can think your pretty sharp. Weblog reading has put the damper on that. There is so much knowledge and depth of information provided that I am glad that I just stick to my roll as class clown.

David Ancell Danger! Falling Brainwaves
Robert Diaz Caritate Dei
Michael Inman The Inman Family Page
Sean Gallagher Nota Bene
Bill Cork Ut Unum Sint
Oswald Sobrino Catholic Analysis
Robert Gotcher Classic Catholic
Jeff El Camino Real
Steve Shaw Listen Don't Speak
Michael Roesch Res Et Rationes
Dave Sons of Frater Louis
Will Mysterium Crucis
The Mighty Barrister
Pdawwg
The Cranky Professor
Cacciaguida
Elinor Dashwood (alias) Mommentary

Blogspot Template Advice
If you have a blog on blogspot and are planning on experimenting with template changes here are some suggestions:

Go to your current template and copy all the code in it.
Create a new blog in blogger and don't make it public.
Edit the Template and paste the code you copied from your real blog
Make changes to your heart content and if you mess it up too much you can always copy it again from the original.
When you have it the way you want it copy the code from your test blog template and paste it into you real blog

2003-01-02T11:59:00.000-05:00

And let there be ~~light~~ ticket

John Seth was not happy when he returned to his car after making an early afternoon delivery in downtown Seattle last month and found that he'd left his lights on.

He was even less pleased when a city parking-enforcement officer handed him a $28 parking ticket. Not for being in a space illegally or for having an expired meter — it was for those headlights.

" 'You left your lights on,' " Seth recalled the parking officer saying. 'We can cite for it, so we do.' "

"It's just insane." Seth said yesterday. "And the worst part of it was she smiled when she gave it to me and said, 'Merry Christmas.' "

...If there's any silver lining for Seth, it might be that if he had gotten the ticket today, it would be $38 instead of $28 because of the city's efforts to balance the 2003 budget.

Still, "For the life of me, I can't figure out what the public-safety issue is," Seth said. "I mean, is a small child going to walk too near to your lights and be vaporized?" [Full Story]

There is going to be hell to pay for this, just wait till her supervisors found out she said "Merry Christmas."

2003-01-02T11:13:00.000-05:00

Maybe the Rocky and Bullwinkle show would have been a better choice

PARENTS have complained after the traditional Christmas nativity play was ditched at a Co Down primary school this year in favour of a cult adult show.

Instead of the usual stable scenes, youngsters took part in a version of the Rocky Horror show.

Eyebrows were raised as nine and ten-year-olds at St Mary's Primary in Newcastle vamped it up in the controversial cross-dressing extravaganza.

Staff said they had "no problem" with putting on the raunchy musical.

...A spokesman for the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools said it was important children learned to become good citizens.
[Full Story][Via US Daily Report]

I would have thought cross-dressing was wearing nothing since that was the dressing Jesus wore on the cross.

2003-01-01T13:59:00.000-05:00

That new math

A Democratic pundit on Fox news talking about John Edward's voting record said:

"85 percent of the time he voted with Ted Kennedy and Republicans will use that against him, but about half the time he voted with Jesse Helms."

2003-01-01T12:02:00.000-05:00

Bumper Banality

COLUMBIA, S.C. - A federal court judge has ruled South Carolina's anti-abortion license plates are unconstitutional.

The plates, which include the slogan "Choose Life," violate the First Amendment because it give antiabortion advocates a forum to express their beliefs, while abortion rights supports have no license plate of their own, Senior U.S. District Judge William Bertelsman ruled last week. [Full Story]

What, they don't have mottos for there own license plates. I will just have to remedy the situation, after all abortion supporters really put the word license into license plate.

Support Abort
Think Selfish
Career First
Choose Death
Mind over fetal matter
No Child Onboard
Hide Incest
New Hampshire: Live free baby die

2003-01-01T11:21:00.000-05:00

Wanted: Liberal Rush Limbaugh's

Worried that their party has been outgunned in the political propaganda wars by conservative radio and television personalities, influential Democrats are scouring the nation for a liberal answer to Rush Limbaugh and the many others on the deep bench of Republican friends.

,...The efforts among influential Democrats, particularly liberals, range from a grass-roots talent search for progressive radio hosts to the creation of research organizations to provide a Democratic spin for the news media, to nascent discussions by wealthy supporters about starting a cable network with a liberal bent.

Hello, just what in the world is CBS/NBC/ABC/PBS/CNN/MSNBC/CNBC. What is the cable networks with the liberal bent they want - Pravda?

People working on these projects acknowledged they were venturing into territory where liberals have failed and failed again, most notably with the short-lived radio programs of Mario M. Cuomo and Jim Hightower, not to mention Phil Donahue's struggling liberal talk show on MSNBC.

...However, they said, the recent Republican gains have perhaps set the backdrop for the emergence of an angry liberal who could claim the same outsider status that worked so well for Mr. Limbaugh in the early 1990's.

Typical lie, it couldn't have anything to do with ideas resonating with people. How do they explain Mr. Limbaugh's audience increase during both GOP and Democratic administrations?" Mr. Donahue's show is not struggling it is dead and is on artificial respiration, the ratings flat lined after the first week.

..."If you start from the premise that the message was right, which we do, then the problem was that it wasn't getting out to the people," said one official of the Democratic Party who spoke on condition that his name not be used.

Garbage in, garbage out. Start from a faulty premise and the results are going to be skewed. The Dim erratic party message did get out and for the most part it was rejected.

..."Progressives have this problem: They sound too erudite, it's like eggheads talking at you," Mr. Athens said. "We believe that progressive talk radio can be every bit as successful as conservative talk radio if people present and format a show that people like."
[Full Whining Story]

When I looked up erudite in the thesaurus it gave James Carville and Paul Begala as antonyms. If Radio talk shows were 1 to 3 minutes long then liberal talk shows would be successful. They have always been successful in the sound bite wars but substantive solutions to real problems is a weakness. The other problem is that real people can call into these shows and challenge their opinions if they don't call screen out all who might disagree with them. Neil Boortz (who I can only listen to in moderation) once talked about an offer he made to two liberals talk show hosts to do his program for a week while he was on vacation. They would only accept the offer if they could control and screen the calls themselves.

2003-01-01T10:40:00.000-05:00

My Predictions for 2003

These predictions are 100% guaranteed or your money back.

The National Catholic Reporter will call for Pope John Paul II to resign
The Boston Globe will praise VOTF and attack the Bishop
Bill Clinton will attack Bush and ~~defend~~ invent his own record
Jesse Jackson will shake down a company until they give employment to a relative or make a charitable donation to him
The Republican leadership will act as if they lost the election and make concession after concession
Barbra Streisand will say something stupid
The ACLU will sue someone for referencing God
The Time Man/Woman/Persons/Computer of the year will not be a Republican
The Pope will not win the Nobel Peace Prize
A Hollywood Star will warn us about the environment
CNN and MSNBC will continue to lose viewers and blame it on cable saturation
All judicial nominees will be called racist
The government will grow in size

Update: Rerum Navarum has added some predictions in response to mine.

2002-12-31T13:04:00.000-05:00

Go Jeb Go

(CNSNews.com) -- Florida Governor Jeb Bush has appointed to the state Supreme Court a judge who strongly believes in judicial restraint, a conservative philosophy which holds that judges should interpret the law as it was written, not as they would have written it. Circuit Judge Kenneth Bell, 46, of Pensacola, replaces retiring Justice Leander Shaw, 72, who is stepping down next week after 20 years on the state's highest court. The Miami Herald reported that earlier this year Bell had a website promoting his candidacy for the high court, on which he stated: "Unless absolutely necessary, the courts must recognize their role as the 'weakest branch of government' and pay due deference to the legislative and executive branches." Florida Republicans have accused the Supreme Court's liberal judges of stepping on the role of the Legislature in broadly interpreting the law and creating new ones to suit their political ideologies and agendas. "I don't believe in activism of the court, either from the left or the right," Bell said. His appointment Monday was the second Bush has made to the Supreme Court. [Full Story]

I also believe in judicial restraint, I think that most of the judges we currently have should be bound in restraints.

2002-12-31T12:47:00.000-05:00

Segregationist Ships

..."The United States Navy is rich in proud traditions, yet it too is tainted with the stain of segregation. Two Nimitz-class carriers, the most powerful ships in the fleet, are named for signers of the March 12 manifesto.

This is the same Southern Manifesto where the signatures railed against the Supreme Courts decision on segregation.

"The USS John Stennis, recently returned from a tour protecting the peace in the Persian Gulf, is named for the former chairman of two powerful Senate committees and who served as Senate president pro tempore, making him third in the line of presidential succession. The USS Carl Vinson honors a segregationist Georgia congressman who headed the House Committee on Naval Affairs and the House Armed Services Committee.

"Should these ships of the line continue to bear names honoring men who helped foster the idea that segregation was acceptable and positive? As President George W. Bush said while rebuking Lott, 'Every day our nation was segregated was a day that America was unfaithful to our founding ideals.' [Full Story]

2002-12-31T11:49:00.000-05:00

LOTR and other musings.

I watched the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers at the theater and I am not going to present a review since my analytic abilities when it comes to movie or book reviews would be no more profound then "Thumbs way up." Normally I go to movies even less than Victor Lams does but I was not about to wait eight months for the rental. The movie was almost three hours long which is only slightly less than the time taken by all of the movie previews and other video game advertisements shown. I now know all the movies that are going to come out within the next ten years. Maybe I will start a new subscription service called MOVIETIME where you will be given both the time the previews start and the time the movie actually starts.

But seeing LOTR got me to thinking about the reasons why I had never read the Hobbit and the LOTR trilogy until just about two years ago. In my adolescence I was a computer geek without a computer to geek on. It wasn't till my senior year in High School that I even played with the Altair 8080 which used switches to enter programs in octal and communicated via a teletype. I have always greatly enjoyed the field of science, this was a special time of awe with the space program and moon landing occurring. I had tried experimenting on the small amplifier in a portable record player and I mixed household cleaner ingredients in a lightbulb with the base removed. That I survived my inquisitive childhood is a surprise. My father bought me electronic kits to put together to try to aim my propensities into safer directions and he also introduced me to science fiction which was the bulk of his library.

When I finally took to reading I really took to it and read constantly, and yes what a surprise that I am another shy introverted blogger who reads a lot. My Sci-fi of choice was "hard science" fiction such as Isaac Asimov, Larry Niven, Hal Clement, H.G. Wells and Arthur C. Clark. The only thing I really read outside of Sci-fi was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle "Sherlock Holmes" series and Dorothy L. Sayers "Lord Peter Wimsey" stories (introduced to my by PBS's Masterpiece Theater). I was also interested in the Roman and Greek myth and enjoyed the Odyssey and the Iliad. When I joined the Navy I found I had many opportunities to read, especially while standing in the chow line and I also picked up the bad habit of reading while eating. It was very easy to exhaust the ship's library and the books of those around me and one time I picked up what I suspect to be one of Piers Anthony's Xanth series books. All of the bad puns obviously didn't bother me but a walking skeleton was just too much for my scientific preferences and I wasn't able to overcome this prejudice at this time. Which is rather odd since my favorite genre of movies was of the "Jason and the Argonauts" and the "Sinbad" movies type

The first fantasy series that I came to read was Stephen R. Donaldson "Thomas Covenant" series, which I enjoyed greatly and so I added dwarves, orcs, and elves to my repertoire of reading. Looking back I now realized that I enjoyed these fantasy books because of the usual tight camaraderie of the characters and also that they had strong moral convictions on what they would do and in rescuing their friends. I at the same time was growing in moral convictions (not necessarily moral actions) and as I had mentioned in a previous post I found the the very characters I loved were much more moral than I was and I paled by comparison. One series of books that I read before my conversion was R.A. Salvatore's "The Icewind Dale Trilogy" a story about a Drow Elf Drizzt Do'Urden who overcame growing up in a dark elf community to leave it and to live in the human world as a ranger in the face of massive prejudice and distrust. I reread this series and the beginning "Dark Elf" trilogy and I found them to me to be very Catholic. Nowhere else had I read someone pondering about the morality of killing orcs and whether they could be redeemed. The struggles Drizzt had with the temptation to wear a mask that would hide his Dark Elf features and all of the moral problems he worked to overcome. There is a very strong redemptive streak in these books and the struggle against evil. But as I mentioned at the top of the post I am no reviewer and might have read into these books more then was there. I have no critical abilities when it comes to prose, especially since my own writing is like grammatical speed bumps so I can't say for sure that these books are well written.

Getting back to why I had never read Tolkien's works till recently, for whatever reason I just hadn't come across them yet. Towards the end my my kids high school I had homeschooled them using the courses from Seton and they had a reading list for which books they could do book reports on. I found this a very good guide for myself since it included the LOTR. It also led me to read Graham Greene, Louis de Wohl, and Evelyn Waugh. So my literary universe has been greatly increased and I look forward to all of the other great literary works that I have yet to read. My love of science has not decreased since my conversion but has deepened. Before I was like a camera stuck in zoom mode, admiring all of the details. I lived in a universe where paintings could have randomly painted themselves. Now I can zoom out and pan around a little and not only to see the beauty of creation but also it's author.

2002-12-30T16:36:00.000-05:00

Commenting on Commenting

Will of the blog Mysterium Crucis which gets better by the day is currently without commenting. In his sidebar he has posted

Enetation is the perfect commenting system for a religious weblog. It treats everyday like the Sabbath. It primarily does this by not working. If you would like to comment, I humbly request your patience and a return visit. Thank you. -Will

I don't agree that this is the perfect religious weblog commenting system, we must remember in Mark 2 it says "The Commenting system was made for man, not man for the Commenting systems." So Enetations is of the Pharisitical variety since it binds heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lays them on men's shoulders. The first four letters of Haloscan would seem to make it the perfect Religious weblog commenting system, but it now seems to be of the Jehovah's Witness variety since it has closed it's doors to new sign-ups after the first 144,000 elect.

I once went through the trials of using Enetation so I know what he is saying. Recently three people have had decrees of canonization written because it was demonstrated they had heroic virtue in the form of patient by actually waiting for a Enetation comment box to come up.

2002-12-30T14:03:00.000-05:00

This is parody, at least for a little longer

The Game Checkers is Racially Insensitive

In a bill co-sponsored by John McCain and Tom Daschle, the colors of red and black are to be banned from the game checkers. The change is to be immediate. Yesterday, Tom Daschle had this to say: "Checkers has long been a game deeply rooted in American lives and history. This change is long overdue. No longer will we see the stereotypical red representing Native Americans and black representing African Americans. Effective immediately all game boards and chips are to be 2 shades of gray. Anyone found with a checkers game sporting red and black will be subject to a stiff penalty of a minimum of 7 years in jail. This is a hate crime!"
[From the "Listen don't Speak" blog]

This bill would be a start, but it doesn't go far enough. Checkers also enforces rude behaviors and monarchism by making people jump over others to eliminate them and using such phrases as "King me." Shouldn't we just go around the other checkers politely without eliminating them. And isn't "King Me" sexist why not "Queen Me." And the whole double checker fascism where the elite are able to move as they will and the single checker proletariat can only move forward, where is the equality here? Why does Red go first, who assigned these affirmative actions to checkers? This game has a checkered past, time to eliminate it. President Nixon saved his political career by a dog named Checkers, so there must be something profoundly wrong with this game. In our next article we will explain why Monopoly is capitalistic propaganda and the game Candyland predisposes kids to obesity.

2002-12-30T12:21:00.000-05:00

Appointment of pro-life physicians to advisory panel

The Bush administration's appointment of pro-life physicians to a federal health advisory panel on Christmas Eve prompted an outcry both from the nation's pro-abortion political lobby and from the country's largest owner of for-profit abortion facilities.

...Hager serves as a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, director of the residency program in obstetrics and gynecology (OB-GYN) at Central Baptist Hospital, and he practices as a board certified OB-GYN at the Women's Care Center, all located in Lexington, Kentucky.

Gloria Feldt, president of abortion facilities owner Planned Parenthood, called Hager's choice "a frontal assault on reproductive rights."

Hiring someone that actually delivered babies and didn't suck out their brains or cut them up into little pieces is a frontal assault on reproductive rights?

The National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL), did not issue a statement after Hager's selection, but had "warned" of the possibility of his choice in the weeks leading up to the appointment.

What a pro-choice group being against someone's choice.

..."I have a passion for the health and well-being of women and their unborn/newborn offspring," Hager wrote. "The use of any medication that puts the life and health of either of these individuals at risk implores me to call for a thorough and exhaustive evaluation.

"RU 486 is such an agent," he concluded, "posing risks to women and potentially to their unborn babies."

Hager is also a member of the Physicians Resource Council (PRC), which NARAL criticized as a "radical right organization" because of the mission statement of PRC's parent organization, Focus on the Family: "To cooperate with the Holy Spirit in disseminating the Gospel of Jesus Christ to as many people as possible, and, specifically, to accomplish that objective by helping to preserve traditional values and the institution of the family.". [Full Story]

"Banned Parenthood" and "NARAL minded" being against him is about the strongest endorsement that I can think of.

2002-12-30T11:45:00.000-05:00

Unsafe sex at any speeds

This is in response to a comment on the NIH fact sheets are starting to include actual facts post below.

I take no cue from Pat Robertson but either do I take my cue from fact sheets from SIECUS. This organization promotes abortion, homosexuality, pornography, and masturbation. While the Uganda program became known as ABC, for "Abstain, Be Faithful, or wear a Condom"--very much in order of emphasis the Ugandans really never took to condoms.

Show me one person who has contracted HIV through abstinence or a couple both living in monogamy (and I am not talking about blood transfusions). This lie called "safe sex" will continue to not only kill people but will also kill families. Where is the great benefit to society that groups like SIECUS promised to bring. Abortion promised to end so-called unwanted kids, instead it now protects people who commit incest and rape, and encourages fornication and adultery by making it easier to kill the "consequences." If you want to read a real fact sheet read the encyclical "Humanae Vitae" by Pope Paul VI where he predicted the society we are currently living in. Obviously this is a hot button topic to me but groups like SIECUS only make a SICK US.

2002-12-29T12:04:00.000-05:00

I was overjoyed to find that the Catholic Church had read the Bible too!

The title line is from Peter Kreeft's conversion story Hauled Aboard the Ark. The following is an excerpt from this article:

Perhaps, I thought, these good Protestant people could worship like angels, but I could not. Then I realized that they couldn't either. Their ears were using crutches but not their eyes. They used beautiful hymns, for which I would gladly exchange the new, flat, unmusical, wimpy "liturgical responses" no one sings in our masses—their audible imagery is their crutch. I think that in Heaven, Protestants will teach Catholics to sing and Catholics will teach Protestants to dance and sculpt.

...Then one summer, on the beach at Ocean Grove, New Jersey, I read St. John of the Cross. I did not understand much of it, but I knew, with undeniable certainty, that here was reality, something as massive and positive as a mountain range. I felt as if I had just come out of a small, comfortable cave, in which I had lived all my life, and found that there was an unsuspected world outside of incredible dimensions. Above all, the dimensions were those of holiness, goodness, purity of heart, obedience to the first and greatest commandment, willing God's will, the one absolute I had discovered, at the age of eight. I was very far from saintly, but that did not prevent me from fascinated admiration from afar; the valley dweller appreciates the height of the mountain more than the dweller on the foothills. I read other Catholic saints and mystics, and discovered the same reality there, however different the style (even St. Thérèse "The Little Flower"!) I felt sure it was the same reality I had learned to love from my parents and teachers, only a far deeper version of it. It did not seem alien and other. It was not another religion but the adult version of my own.

2002-12-29T11:26:00.000-05:00

Lourdes Has Its 66th Officially Recognized Miracle

PARIS, DEC. 24, 2002 (Zenit.org).- The latest officially recognized miracle at Lourdes involves a Frenchman who was once paralyzed by multiple sclerosis, a newspaper reported.

Le Monde dedicated an entire page to the scientifically inexplicable cure of an illness that began affecting Jean-Pierre Bély in 1972. He was classified by the French health system as a total invalid by the time he went on pilgrimage to Lourdes in October 1987, at age 51.

Those who accompanied Bély did not think he would survive the trip. At the end of the pilgrimage he received the anointing of the sick in the shrine's esplanade. When he returned home, he was already able to walk. Today, virtually all traces of the illness have disappeared.

Patrick Fontanaud, an agnostic physician who looked after Bély, said there is no scientific explanation for what occurred. It was Lourdes' 66th officially recognized miracle since the 1858 apparitions of the Blessed Virgin.

The head of the Lourdes Medical Office, Dr. Patrick Theillier, told Le Monde that there are two other miraculous cures about to be recognized: a 25-year-old Frenchwoman and a 60-year-old Italian woman, both cured in 1995.
[Zenit Story] [Story from the Lourdes website]

2002-12-28T18:37:00.000-05:00

Great post by the Old Oligarch on a conversation between himself and a Wiccan. He also introduces the wonderful term kakkangelize (to announce the Bad News).

2002-12-28T13:11:00.000-05:00

Clonaids top secret process revealed!

2002-12-28T13:01:00.000-05:00

Star Trek Paranoids Unite

I just noticed something startling about the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops URL www.usccb.org. The last part contains Borg. Is this just coincidence or a plot by the Catholic collective to enforce a lukewarm Christianity on believers? Resistance is Futile.

2002-12-28T12:46:00.000-05:00

NIH fact sheets are starting to include actual facts

In this particular case, she said the National Institutes of Health convened a workshop in June 2000 to discuss new evidence about condoms. The fact sheet was based on that information and expanded beyond HIV to include some of the other findings.

"The fact sheet uses scientific research from the National Institutes of Health that finds that although there is a lot of scientific evidence to show that condom use can prevent HIV, there isn't that level of evidence for a lot of other sexually transmitted diseases," Hunter said. "We're just trying to present a balanced approach with the scientific evidence that's available."

Uganda the only country to actually reduce the amount of people contracting HIV did so not by distributing condoms but through abstinence and programs focused on morality. Just looking at this from a secular point of view: condoms have a fail rate for pregnancy 10% to 36% of the time. Now if you look at the fact that women are fertile for a small amount of time and you have this high failure rate, then how about when the possibility of contracting an STD is at any time. Obviously the real failure rate for diseases must be a lot higher. Encouraging condom use as public policy not only gives a false sense of confidence but makes Russian Roulette a part of policy. In Russian Roulette you have a sixteen percent chance of firing on a loaded chamber in sexual Russian Roulette the odds are worse if one of the people have an STD.

Waxman was also displeased about a slight change to an NCI fact sheet about breast cancer's possible link to abortion. While the old fact sheet said women who had abortions did not possess a greater risk to develop breast cancer, the new report cited studies that showed conflicting views on the issue. [Full Story]

Conflicting views? 16 of 17 statistically significant studies report increased risk of breast cancer among women choosing an abortion. 7 studies report a more than twofold increased risk. These are not studies sponsored by pro-life groups but in many cases were done by groups looking for the opposite result. The only conflict is with Democrat-Feminist dogma. It is a positive change that the fact sheet is at least acknowledging the Abortion-Breast Cancer link, but it doesn't go far enough.

2002-12-28T11:20:00.000-05:00

No Library of Congress in the Congress

Even the likes of Sen. Charles Schumer is upset that fellow traveler Nancy Pelosi, the San Francisco Democrat who is House minority leader, has closed the U.S. Capitol's only branch of the Library of Congress. Her reason: to grab more office space for herself.

"The abrupt closing of the congressional reading room and branch library has caught lawmakers and other patrons off guard, and even the two librarians who staff the small reading room are still getting used to the news," the New York Post reported today.

"They wanted the space for Ms. Pelosi's interns," said librarian Marcel Monfort. [Full Story]

It probably contained a copy of the Constitution and she didn't want that old thing around.

2002-12-27T13:02:00.000-05:00

Envoy Plug

I received my first issue of Envoy magazine for Christmas and thoroughly enjoyed it. Usually I am so cheap that I would make Clark Howard and Jack Benny look like a government program by comparison. But this year instead of reading back issues on the web I ordered both This Rock (which doesn't have back issues on the web) and Envoy. And no, the two thugs that Patrick Madrid sent over who promised to burn down my blog and trash my archives (as if blogspot needed any help doing that) if I didn't plug them didn't have anything to do with it.

2002-12-27T11:50:00.000-05:00

Predatory Government Officials

As states across the country struggle with budget deficits in the billions, many officials are beginning to eye sales taxes on online shopping.

In California alone, collecting such taxes could yield at least $200 million yearly. Nationally, local and state governments could raise billions.

"We can no longer ignore an entire segment of the retail marketplace," said Pat Leary, lobbyist for the California State Association of Counties and a frequent online shopper herself. [Full Story]

What complete government arrogance in the statement "We can no longer afford..." What we can no longer afford is eco-idiots who don't understand the simplest economic rules. One of the reasons people are shopping on the internet is to escape the high state sales taxes in their states. If they lowered their own taxes people would buy more in state which in turn would increase revenues. But no, the government continues to lust after any revenue resource that comes into view. They would strip mine the economy until it was devastated and then wonder what happened. In a state like California where many Internet business are selling products; if other states in-turn adopted these taxes then California would lose jobs and revenue. We need predatory government official notification laws so that if one moves into your neighborhood everybody would be warned.

2002-12-27T10:54:00.000-05:00

Judge finds Planned Parenthood 'negligent'

Planned Parenthood was negligent in its failure to report a 13-year-old foster-care girl's abortion to Child Protective Services, a Phoenix judge ruled.

Pro-lifers tout the case as an example of the importance of parental consent laws, the Associated Press reported. A law enacted in 2000 requires girls under 18 in Arizona to get permission of a parent or guardian for an abortion unless they seek court approval.

The Phoenix case began in 1998 when the girl, whose name has been withheld by AP, had an abortion at a Planned Parenthood clinic accompanied by her 23-year-old foster brother, with whom she was having a sexual relationship.

Court records show that Planned Parenthood did not notify authorities until the girl returned six months later for a second abortion. [Full Story]

2002-12-26T21:35:00.000-05:00

New Blog

Mysterium Crucis has the following statement:

Due to the most recent provisions in Canon Law, no literate person in the process of conversion to Catholicism can refuse to start an online journal and incessantly prattle on the minutae of his spiritual growth to a surprisingly receptive clique of lay intellectuals. Not one to disobey, Will launched this blog.

2002-12-26T12:06:00.000-05:00

Old Time Lit-ur-gy
By Bob Sedevacantist

Just take those old missels off the shelf
I'll sit and pray to 'em by myself
Today's music and me don't agree
I like that old time Lit-ur-gy
Don't try to take me to pentecostal
It is all to me just such a bore
In ten minutes I'll be late for the door
I like that old time Lit-ur-gy

Still like that old time Lit-ur-gy
That kind of Mass just soothes the soul
I reminisce, before OCP chicanery
With that old time Lit-ur-gy
Won't go to hear music that has no heart
I'd rather hear some chant or Wolfgang Mozart
There's only sure way to get me to see
Start praying old time Lit-ur-gy
One with a relic, and don't ask me to chill
Say I'm traditional, say I'm over the hill
Today' Mass your not down on your knees
I like that old time Lit-ur-gy

Still like that old time Lit-ur-gy
That kind of Mass just soothes the soul
I reminisce, before OCP chicanery
With that old time Lit-ur-gy

2002-12-26T10:33:00.000-05:00

Wal-Mart terminates pregnant Midge doll

PHILADELPHIA - She is Barbie's oldest friend, happily married and visibly pregnant with her second child -- and some parents think she's a little too real for their children.

The pregnant version of Midge, which pops out a curled-up baby when her belly is opened, has been pulled from Wal-Mart shelves across the country following complaints from customers, a company spokeswoman said Tuesday.

"It was just that customers had a concern about having a pregnant doll," Wal-Mart Stores spokeswoman Cynthia Illick said.

She said the entire Happy Family set, which included pregnant Midge, husband Alan and son Ryan, was pulled from shelves of the world's largest retailer earlier this month.

..."It's a bad idea. It promotes teenage pregnancy. What would an 8-year-old or 12-year-old get out of that doll baby?" asked Sabrina Fagan, 29, of Philadelphia.
[Full Story]

The only thing offensive in this society is now pregnancy. I guess they should just eliminate all baby dolls to keep anyone from thinking of having a baby as a teenager. If this doll had been "Cohabitation Cathy" or "Fornicating Fran" then I might disagree, but a doll in the context of a married family is something positive.

2002-12-25T13:45:00.000-05:00

The Special Charm of Christmas
(Sermon Notes by Venerable John Henry Newman, 1851)

1. INTROD.—[The] two chief festivals [of the Church are] Easter and Christmas; [of these] Easter [is] the greater.

2. Yet somehow we adorn our churches more brightly and spontaneously, now than then. There is more of heart, apparently, in what we do. And there is an inexpressible charm over all. The midnight Mass, the three Masses. The special representations, whether the Stable or the Infant. [Again, the singing of] carols.

3. Why is this? Christmas is easier to understand to the mass of men; it comes home to them more readily, and imposes an easier duty on our worship.

4. It is the difference between coming and going. The apostles felt that sorrow filled their hearts [at the going of the Lord]. Mane nobiscum Domine. Easter is the feast of the perfect. If we were perfect, we should rejoice in Easter the more [of the two festivals]. In the one Christ comes to us, in the other we go to Christ.

5. All our human feelings are soothed by Christmas— {96} Abraham had to leave his country.—We naturally do not like to move. We are allowed to remain at home: Christ comes to us as our guest.

6. And coming, He brightens everything. He does not take away, He adds. He adds grace to Nature. If at any time we might love the world, it is now. If at any time, [it is when He is come to be our Emmanuel].

7. He makes the world our home, for he deigns to be the light of it. He sanctifies families with the image of Mary and Jesus. And where there is no home in a family, then He brings us all together in one family in church. The midnight Mass is our holy celebration [of Christmas], eclipsing the world's merrymaking.

8. And we think of Him who put off all His glory, of which our celebrations are but a type. The priestly vestments a type of His glory, [which He put off in order] to come into this bleak prison and suffer for us.

9. Let us rejoice in Him.

I am sorry about stepping into the territory of Quenta Nârwenion with this Newman post and I promise not to post on Tolkien since I discovered Tolkien even later than I came into Christianity.

2002-12-24T10:35:00.000-05:00

What Christmas Carol Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
Well I am glad it wasn't "Grandma got run over by a reindeer." Merry Christmas to you and to your families. May the joy of the birth of Christ and the mystery of the incarnation overflow your heart with wonder.

Thanks to Michelle of And then for the link.

2002-12-24T10:21:00.000-05:00

Christmas with Carmel

It was on Christmas night that St Thérèse experienced her definitive 'conversion', enabling her to change from a weepy, self-centred girl to one who began to go out of herself and think of others. It was just before Christmas that John of the Cross died at midnight, lonely and in pain, at the convent of Ubeda. For him, that night was to prove 'more lovely than the dawn' as he promised his brothers that he would be singing Matins that day in heaven.

St. John of the Cross
The liturgical feasts and seasons meant more than an external commemoration; they were the occasion of an interior transformation in the spirit of the mystery being celebrated. On the day before Christmas he used to organize with the friars a kind of paraliturgical procession to recall how Mary and Joseph went in search of lodging for the divine Infant. At Christmas time above all he felt his heart pulsate with love for the Child Jesus. One Christmas, seeing a statue of the Infant lying on a cushion, he cried out, "Lord, if love is to slay me, the hour has now come. " Another Christmas, taken with love, he took the statue of the Infant in his arms and began to dance with enraptured joy.
Copyright ICS Publications. Permission is hereby granted for any non-commercial use, if this copyright notice is included.

St. Teresa Benedicta (Edith Stein)
She celebrated her first Christmas in Carmel with especial, almost childish, joy. On the mystery of Christmas, she had said in a lecture of 1930 at Ludwigshafen: "Let us put our hands in those of the Divine Babe, let us say our Yes to his invitation 'Follow me', and we will be his. The way will be clear for his divine life to become incarnate in us. It is precisely this that is the light come through the darkness, a light kindled in the soul the miracle of Christmas". But she had also said that "upon the same light, shining so brilliantly in the manger, comes the shadow of the Cross. The road leads irresistible from Bethlehem to Golgotha, from the manger to the Cross".

2002-12-23T19:16:00.000-05:00

My soul feels minty fresh

I just got back from confession and I have been reflecting on the awesomeness of this sacrament. I watched The Simpsons episode last night where Homer accidentally burns down the church and Mr.Burns introduces Madison Avenue type commercialization. You might wonder how I jumped from confession to The Simpsons, well my mind often takes strange turns and I thought of how Madison Avenue might promote confession.

Got Sin?
Want to be forgiven? Then it's time to get shriven.
Think and repent inside the box.
Your sins you spill right through the grill.
Reconciliation - new and improved name but still provides the same cleaning power. Guaranteed to forgive all contritely confessed sins or your money back. For those hard to reach spots try "Prayer and Fasting!"
Legal Disclaimer: Offer only applies with validly ordained priests with faculties from their Bishops. Current offer does not include temporal punishments due to sin. See your CCC for details.

2002-12-23T13:30:00.000-05:00

New York School Textbooks should be filed under fiction

...An error-filled version of global geography. The equator actually passes through Florida, Texas and Arizona.

...On the shelves of school libraries is a biography for young readers of the Rev. Al Sharpton, who is said to hail from the "long tradition of activist ministers like Martin Luther King Jr."

...There is also a whitewash of Louis Farrakhan, described as a "black American of achievement" who bears a "message no American can ignore." The Nation of Islam leader also shows a "willingness to forgive," the book claims.

I guess the word whitewash hasn't been politically corrected yet.

...At least three schools have bought copies of "The American Vision," a 2003 high school history textbook, published by Glencoe McGraw-Hill, that was one of the first to write about the terror attacks. In a seven-page lesson on the massacre of 3,000 innocents, students are asked:

"What are the three main reasons certain Muslims became angry with the United States?"

"Why does American foreign policy anger Islamic fundamentalists in the Middle East?"
[Full Story]

The other day their was a story about a college education being equivalent to a 1950's high school education. And I thought a time machine was impossible, but I guess an education time machine works. At this rate they will soon be able to turn back a modern degree to a 1930's 1st grade education. I am sertanly gwad I gwaduated from a fine pubrick skool b4 day went bad.

2002-12-23T13:00:00.000-05:00

Suggestions for Government Logos

The Information Awareness Office has removed it's creepy logo of a pyramid with evil eye death ray. Actually I thought it was a good idea for government agencies to have logos that more reflected the way they act. I have some suggestions for some other organizations.

Department of Education - Could use a picture of Beavis and Butthead with the motto "Every Child Equally Dumb."

Internal Revenue Service - Insert your own mental picture here (mine is not fit for public consumption).

Office of Homeland Security - Could use a picture of Alfred E. Neuman with the motto "Multiple agencies conducting mutually exclusive operations in support of each other."

Social Security Administration - The Pyramid from the Information Awareness Office could be used here instead, after all Social Security is just a pyramid scheme. The motto could be "There won't be any money in twenty twenty."

Border Patrol - A picture of large sieve is all that is needed.

United Nations - Picture of a large screw with the motto "Mocking the U.S. while making them fund us."

Update: Justin Katz of Dust in the Light has his own suggestion for the INS.

2002-12-23T08:53:00.000-05:00

Cardinal Arinze Reflects on Liturgical Changes

VATICAN, Dec 20, 02 (CWNews.com) -- Cardinal Francis Arinze, the new prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, has offered his first public comments on the state of the Catholic liturgy, in an interview published by the Italian monthly 30 Giorni. The Nigerian cardinal, who was named to head the Congregation for Divine Worship on October 1, took the Second Vatican Council as his reference point, and remarked on the condition of the liturgy 40 years after the Vatican II renewal.

The 70-year-old prelate was a participant in the proceedings of Vatican II, having been named a coadjutor archbishop of Onitsha, Nigeria, at the age of 33. The Council, he said, was "a great school" for those who attended, and a turning point for the life of the Church.

However, Cardinal Arinze observed that the introduction of the vernacular language in the liturgy "was not done without difficulty." Some traditional prayers, he said, "are not easy to translate." And proper translation is an enormous task, he continued, because "we have to be faithful not only to the spirit of the Council, but especially to what was said and written." He complained that "many bishops and priests have not adequately studied the texts of the Council," and as a result changes in the liturgy have often been done improperly.

Cardinal Arinze expressed a dim view of "creativity" in the liturgy, remarking that if priests make their own changes in the ritual, "there were will as many kinds of Masses are there are priests." Everyone involved in the liturgy, he said-- including lectors and choir members as well as ministers-- should be careful not to "attract attention to themselves rather than to the mysteries they celebrate."

"The Church did not begin today, and will not end with me," the Nigerian cardinal said. "The Church was established by the Lord, and her tradition of sacred rites cannot be changing from one day to the next."
[CWNews Full Story]

2002-12-22T16:07:00.000-05:00

I am sorry for this outburst of language but Merry Christmas and Jesus Christ who is God entered history and was born as a human child; fully God and Fully Man. The calls of happy holidays and seasons greetings has provoked me into this brutal language. If someone says anything to me about solstice, sorry they will be lying on the ground requiring a poultice. I am getting rather intolerant of tolerance especially as an cover to try to eliminate all vestiges of Christ's birth from humanity. If Christianity is tolerated anymore it would disappear if not for Jesus' promise about the gates of hell not prevailing. On TV commercial are used to advertise comedies to be played on Christmas day as the holy trinity of comedians. Movies shown under the banner of the 12 days of Christmas are movies advertised "without the good stuff cut out" (read sex and vulgarity). A couple of years ago on Christmas, Turner Classic Movies played an evil child marathon. Why is the "Wizard of Oz" now a holiday movie? The "reason for the season" it not to be kind to one another or say nice things or say Christmas is in the heart or any other sentimental crap that obscures the truth. Jesus humbled himself to be born as a human child not to provide politically correct nativity scenes, but because we are unhumbled sinners needing redemption which only God could give.

Some have said put "Christ in Christmas", well I add not only put Christ in Christmas - but also put the Mass in Christmas.