A Cultural Jew Finds Faith and Joy at Christmas

"As a Jewish child, I never celebrated Christmas. I found out what I was missing on Christmas Eve, 1973.

"My high school boyfriend Brian invited me to join his family for their celebration. The event floored me. It wasn't just the illuminated tree, the music, and the pleasure of opening gifts. It was the power of the holiday to transform Brian's ordinary family.

"Laughing, singing hymns, praying -- they were absolutely radiant. I had never seen them so joyful. And in their presence, I felt joyful, too.... more

Irreconcilable Differences with the USCCB: Time for a Divorce

Faithful Catholics following the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB) over the years wonder if the organization represents the views of the bishops – at least the orthodox bishops. The number of scandals emanating from the bishops’ bureaucracy is shocking! Truth and error cannot happily coincide. When the truth unites itself to the lie, it becomes a lie. So what is the proper response to the USCCB’s cooperation with evil? It may be the same one taken by another group in the Church – faithful vowed religious women who chose divorce rather than continue the connection to their sisters of the lie. Can the USCCB be reformed or should those bishops who love the truth separate themselves from what has become an evil bureaucracy undermining the Church? (Read more here. Click on "Newsletter".)

Heaven: Don't Risk it for the World!

An email friend recently wrote to me after reading my essay in Love in the Ruins. In our email exchange she promised to send me a CD that tells of her "miraculous conversion" 14 years ago from a "militant, pro-abortion, anti-catholic feminist" who was a "member of NOW, NARAL and a volunteer at Planned Parenthood," to a woman "in love with my faith." How I look forward to hearing her story.

Our correspondence reminded me of a book on my library shelf that tells the stories of a number of converts or reverts to the Catholic faith. Prodigal Daughters was edited by noted Catholic author Donna Steichen whom I consider a beloved friend and mentor. In examining the index, I saw that I know several of the women who tell their stories and I eagerly read them. They are simple but compelling stories.

And so I sent an email to my new on-line friend. I shared with her the feeling I had after reading the conversion stories of these lovely women. "It makes me realize that every person has a story to tell. Some are comedies (those that end happily in salvation) and some are tragedies (those that end in condemnation), but we are, each of us, a novel in progress and only in the end will the author of life who watches us cross the last t and dot the last i, determine the end of the story. Oh if only we can help those around us have happy endings to their stories!"

I think my New Year's resolution must be to remember that every person I meet, no matter how muddled their thinking or evil their actions, is a precious creation of our gracious God. We are all works in progress. Each person's story is a novel, each life a painting. Some among us, the saints, have lives that produce canvases worthy of great art museums. Some of us will produce more modest works like calendar art or a child's watercolor displayed on the refrigerator. All of us, however, are the beloved of the Father. He desires every one of us to be with Him in heaven. He will plunge us into hell, but only if we refuse heaven. The trapdoor to hell opens and the evil one falls by the weight of his own pride.

Hell is a mercy to those who ultimately choose evil and reject God. Evil cannot exist in the presence of God; it would be annhilated. Which is why Milton shows Lucifer plummeting into hell once he commits his audacious act of defiance against God.

The Almighty Power
Hurld headlong flaming from th' Ethereal Skie
With hideous ruine and combustion down
To bottomless perdition, there to dwell
In Adamantine Chains and penal Fire,
Who durst defie th' Omnipotent to Arms.

Nothing on earth is worth risking the loss of heaven. As the Lord says:

I have set before you this day life and good, and on the other hand death and evil: That thou mayst love the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways, and keep his commandments....
But if thy heart be turned away, so that thou wilt not hear, and being deceived with error thou adore strange gods, and serve them:
I foretell thee this day that thou shalt perish....
I call heaven and earth to witness this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Choose therefore life, that both thou and thy seed may live. (Deuteronomy 30 - Douay version)

Defining the Difference between Democrats and Republicans

The joke below has been circulating on the internet, and is worth posting to give my conservative friends a laugh. There certainly isn't much to laugh at these days with liberalism destroying the country. Now some Democrats may take offense at the idea that they aren't hard-working and I acknowledge that I know many who are - good hard-working family folk, which leads me to believe they are really conservatives at heart. They just don't know it - yet.

What do they have in common with the Democrats in Congress? Not much. Most Democrats in Congress are lawyers. As Bruce Walker pointed out in a 2008 Article for American Thinker, the Democrats are the lawyers' party. "Every Democrat [presidential] nominee since 1984 went to law school (although Gore did not graduate.) Every Democrat vice presidential nominee since 1976, except for Lloyd Bentsen, went to law school. Look at the Democrat Party in Congress: the Majority Leader in each house is a lawyer." And most of the members are lawyers as well.

Compare that to the Republican party, Walker says. "The Republican Party is different. President Bush and Vice President Cheney were not lawyers, but businessmen. The leaders of the Republican Revolution were not lawyers. Newt Gingrich was a history professor; Tom Delay was an exterminator; and Dick Armey was an economist. House Minority Leader Boehner was a plastic manufacturer, not a lawyer. The former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is a heart surgeon. Who was the last Republican president who was a lawyer? Gerald Ford, who left office thirty-one years ago and who barely won the Republican nomination as a sitting president, running against Ronald Reagan in 1976. The Republican Party is made up of real people doing real work."

Yup! That's why most business owners who actually make things and provide real services (other than those making money by feeding at the public trough) are conservative. Small business owners invariably support Republican principles because they enable business to prosper and grow offering jobs and security to American families. Those employed by government tend to be Democrats.

And after all that, if you still want to read the joke - here it is:

My dog sleeps about 20 hours a day. She has her food prepared for her. She can eat whenever she wants, 24/7/365. Her meals are provided at no cost to her. She visits the Dr. once a year for her checkup, and again during the year if any medical needs arise.

For this she pays nothing, and nothing is required of her. She lives in a nice neighborhood in a house that is much larger than she needs, but she is not required to do any upkeep. If she makes a mess, someone else cleans it up. She has her choice of luxurious places to sleep. She receives these accommodations absolutely free. She is living like a queen, and has absolutely no expenses whatsoever. All of her costs are picked up by others who go out and earn a living every day.

I was just thinking about all this, and suddenly it hit me like a brick in the head; my dog is a democrat.

STOP! Don't Take Down that Christmas Tree.

Is your Christmas tree already outside at the curb? Have you shifted your attention to Valentine's Day, the next commercial holiday on the shopping calendar?

Please, no, especially if you're a Catholic. The celebration of Christmas BEGINS on December 25th and continues until the Baptism of the Lord celebrated this year on January 10. The Church offers us an extended Christmas party with the three kings coming on Epiphany and many feasts and celebration along the way.

Don't shortchange Christmas. Enjoy some of the customs (and recipes) of the season with your family.

Feast of the Holy Innocents

Today is a feast day that shouts to the American holocaust. It commemorates the murder of the baby boys in Bethlehem by King Herod. When the wise men did not return to let him know where the Messiah was, he ordered his men to kill ALL the little boys under two years of age. This atrocity was not out of character for Herod. He was a butcher who even murdered his own son.

Bethlehem was a small town and modern writers believe fewer than a dozen babies under two actually died in the attack. The historian Josephus, who details a number of Herod's crimes, doesn't mention it at all. Despite the small numbers, to the families impacted it surely was a tragedy, but the event can't even come close to competing with the atrocity of abortion in our own day. As Mother Teresa said, if a mother can kill her own child what is left for us to do to one another. The mothers of Bethlehem wept and lamented the loss of their children. Many women today claim their abortions were liberating.

But there are the others, women who often years after killing their babies realize the immensity of what they have done. Like the mothers of Bethlehem they are "Rachels" weeping for their children who are no more.

Pray to the Holy Innocents today to intercede for an end to the world-wide holocaust of abortion and infanticide and for the mothers who weep for their babies.

The Worst Part of Global Warming? Scaring the Children!

Using children to advance a shaky hypothesis is absolutely despicable but it's happening. In this John Stossel video, the kids have clearly been brainwashed to think ONE POLITICALLY CORRECT THOUGHT - that man-made global warming is a fact. It isn't. But that doesn't keep the liberal left, who use global warming to amass power and money, from using children to advance their goals. This is the same liberal left that favors abortion on demand. One can only come to the conclusion that liberalism is a philosophy that hates children - and humanity in general. Children are cogs in the liberal ad machine to tug at the heart strings when it's useful. They are the "Obama kids" and little global warming fanatics. We certainly need to save the world, but not from man-made global warming, but sin which is the root of all unhappiness.

Be good stewards of the earth, but don't let your children become little global warming robots for the liberal left spouting nonsense as fact. It's the same nonsense that promotes Darwinian evolution as fact. These non-scientists simply declare that the "debate is over." It's anything but.





This last film is the most terrifying scenario. It was shown at the opening of the Copenhagen conference which took place in the midst of a huge snowstorm. The conference followed the Climategate exposure which shows the lengths to which the global warming scaremongers will go to perpetrate their fraud. It's all about money and power. Al Gore, who gives almost nothing to charity, is reaping millions off global warming alarmism.

The Poster City for the Liberal Left: How Liberal Entitlements Ruined Detroit.

With the liberal left working to turn the entire country into one huge entitlement program, Detroit's blight may be coming to a city near you.

I visited my actress sister when she was doing a show in Detroit back in the 1986 and the city was collapsing then. She was renting a room in a huge old mansion (that could have been the set for a haunted house) in a section of town that had gone from super-wealthy to crumbling and crime-ridden. The owner talked about how she chased the hookers away from the front of her property.

Yup, thanks to all the liberal programs, like the Model Cities Program, taxpayer money has been poured into failed liberal policies guaranteed to destroy prosperity. But don't worry, if you don't live in Detroit and are missing out on all the goodies. This vision for America is probably coming to your town soon - if Obama/Pelosi/Reid have anything to say about it.

By the way, some of the comments debunking this video take issue with the black bear sightings in the Detroit area, but it's true and easily checked. A local TV news program ran a show on it in August 2008.

St. Stephen's Day

Holy Mother Church in her wisdom follows the joyful celebration of the Messiah's birth with the feast of the first Christian martyr, St. Stephen, a deacon. Members of the synagogue challenged Stephen to a debate, but were unhappy with his arguments and accused him of blasphemy. They dragged him outside the city of Jerusalem to stone him to death. As they were murdering him, he had a vision of heaven with Jesus sitting at the right hand of God. As he died he imitated the Lord caying, "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge."

The Church gives us this reminder that the Christian life is not just the joy of Christmas morning, but the challenge of suffering throughout the day. We rejoice over the salvation freely offered by the babe in the manger, but the reality is He calls us to "pick up your cross" and follow. Christianity is not a soft religion filled with a prosperity gospel that promises sweetness and light. It is the invitation to become soldiers for Christ, spreading the gospel, not by a physical sword, but the sword of prayer and sacrifice.

St. Stephen, help us to imitate your courage and widsom and your spirit of forgiveness of your enemies. May we be willing to lay down our lives for Jesus.

O Holy Night - Rejoice for Jesus Christ is Born!

Women in Iraq: Don't Get Pregnant or Else!

Major General Anthony Cucolo, head of Army forces in northern Iraq, issued an order in November forbidding pregnancy among military personnel under his command. In a recent telephone interview, the general said, "The message to my female soldiers is that I need you for the duration.” Military rules require that pregnant soldiers vacate a war zone within 14 days of the Army learning of the pregnancy. The general also said, according to news reports, "I can’t tell you how valuable my female soldiers are. They fly helicopters. They run satellites. They’re mechanics. They’re medics. Some of the best intelligence analysts I have happen to be female. You start losing them when you’re facing a drawdown, and you really hurt the unit.” The ban includes married couples stationed together.

The draconian nature of this measure has broad implications for women serving in Iraq. The ban doesn't include sexual actiivity so soldiers can have all the sex they want as long as they make sure they don't become or remain pregnant. The implications in terms of promoting birth control and abortion are obvious. This puts incredible pressure on the woman who becomes pregnant to have an abortion as well as giving the man, if he's a fellow soldier, a serious reason to pressure her to kill the baby. It also puts the general in the bedroom shaking his finger at the couple saying, "Uncle Sam needs you. No babies allowed."

This isn't the only example of anti-family sentiment in the Army. In November Alexis Hutchinson, a single mom, deliberately missed her deployment flight to Afghanistan because she had no one to take care of her 10-month-old son. Her mother intended to care for the boy, but cancelled and the Army refused to provide more time for an alternate placement plan demanding she put her child with protective services for foster home placement. Hutchinson did not comply and was briefly imprisoned. Her deployment is now on hold. Single parents aren't the only ones impacted by situations like this. The Army frequently deploys both parents to war zones requiring families to leave their children in the care of relatives or friends.

General Cucolo's ban on pregnancy draws one squarely back to the argument about women in the military. Why does the military even allow single moms to enlist or deploy women, other than nurses, to war zones? The answer is easy. An all volunteer military in a country that has murdered one third of its children for the last thirty years has no option. The pool of recruits is limited. But does that justify a general virtually standing in the bedroom at the foot of the bed with a condom in one hand and a disciplinary order in the other telling married couples when they can have children? You don't give up fundamental human rights when you join the Army. But this is the same anti-family military that thinks nothing of deploying both parents to a war zone and imprisoning a single mom whose childcare plan fell through.

What's next in this topsy-turvy world where individuals are seen as nothing but canon fodder and wage slaves?

Army general in Iraq issues pregnancy ban

Seven soldiers punished thus far under pregnancy ban

This is Global Warming?

Twenty inches of snow in the D.C. metropolitan area, subzero temperatures in Europe wreaking havoc, snow in the south of France and a summer snowfall in Australia.... The planet doesn't seem to have a fever, but a bad case of the shivers. The fact that it was all happening during the Copenhagen shakedown over the climate change hoax was more than amusing.

But the tailors (Al Gore and company) selling the emperor his new clothes just go on unfazed. They just keep changing the words. Did you notice how seamlessly they shifted from "global warming" to "climate change?"

At any rate, don't give away your winter coat. You might want to buy matching earmuffs.

Stop Abortion: NO EXCEPTIONS!

Since the beginning of the abortion wars (which started years before Roe v. Wade), the life of the mother exception has been standard fare in many legislative bills. But the fact of the matter is that language including a "life of the mother" exception is unnecessary and dangerous.

First of all, if the mother's health is so precarious that carrrying the baby is likely to kill her, an abortion, which is a serious surgical procedure, is dangerous as well. A doctor who considers both patients will balance the risks to both and deliver the baby early if necessary to give both mom and child the best chance for survival.

In point of fact, there are almost no cases where a mother must sacrifice her own child to save her life. In the case of uterine cancer or an ectopic pregnancy where the baby is growing in the fallopian tube, procedures are done that are NOT abortions. The diseased organs are removed. In the case of an ectopic pregnancy surgery is generally done before six weeks. One doctor who removed a diseased tube described the baby as "swimming with a natural swimmer's stroke." Unless artificial wombs or a method is developed to transfer babies to the womb, there is no hope for survival at present, but these surgeries are not abortions. In the case of a cancerous uterus, the diseased organ is removed and, once again, if the baby is too little to survive, he or she will die, but that is a secondary result and not the intent of the operation.

The Catholic church allows these procedures under the principle of double effect. The purpose of the surgery is not to kill the baby, but to remove the diseased organs. The primary intent is curing the mom of the disease, the secondary effect is the death of the baby who cannot be saved. There can never be a direct attack on the little one as happens in abortion where the death of the baby is desired and sought and a surviving child is considered a "complication."

Some mothers facing cancer have chosen their babies' lives over their own and have refused treatment, which is a heroic action. They delay anything that threatens the baby as long as possible which may or may not reduce their own chances of survival. Saint Gianna Molla is a modern saint who put her baby first. Last year, LifeSiteNews reported on another. Some women begin chemotherapy while still pregnant but follow a different regimen that poses fewer risks to the child. There are many options with modern medicine. Killing the baby is not treatment.

A few cases have been reported where unborn babies have saved their mothers' lives. In one, a mother with kidney failure had the baby's kidneys take over for her diseased ones. In another, twins kicked the mother so hard, a tumor growing in her cervix was dislodged.

The life of the mother exception is bogus and often becomes a loophole allowing any and every abortion. For example, Roe v. Wade said that in the third trimester the state could limit and even ban abortion unless it was necessary to preserve "the life or health" of the mother. The companion decision, Doe v. Bolton defined "health" to include the woman's physical and mental health, her family situation, and her age. In other words she could have an abortion because she was too young, too old, had all the children she wanted already, or felt depressed.

It's time for all politicians who describe themselves as "pro-life" to take a "no exceptions" stand against abortion. And groups that call themselves pro-life should do the same. Describing a bill as "pro-life" when it allows exception for rape, incest, and life of the mother is a deceit. No matter how life begins, there are no accidents with God and he doesn't make mistakes. If we don't respect the life of every one of His little ones threatened by abortion, we kid ourselves that we are pro-life!

Unborn baby saves mother's life after pregnancy hormones reveal she has a deadly brain tumour

How my twins saved my life by kicking loose a tumour while still in my womb

Baby survives Mom's chemo in womb
Why the Life of the Mother is Not a Valid Exception for Abortion

The Democratic Senators Did It! Now It's Time for Payback Starting with Harry Reid!

The months of debate over the federal government takeover of health care resulted in last night's Senate debacle of a partisan power grab by the Democrats. Not a single Republican voted for the monstrosity for good reason. It supports abortion, contains massive payoffs, punishes health care professionals, and will mean rationing and reduced care for millions especially the elderly. This is no "reform" but business as usual for the elitists in Washington, D.C.

That Ben Nelson caved in after being promised a big Christmas stocking full of goodies shows exactly how corrupt the process is. He and Mary Landrieu are the poster children for how to succeed on Capitol Hill. Hold out for the big bribe. All the Dems who got nothing, know that next time they should refuse to cooperate until the bribe machine ponies up bigtime in payment for their votes.

It's time for taxpayers to kick the bums out. Every single Democrat who voted for this tax and spend power grab needs to be sent home starting with corrupt senator-in-chief, Harry Reid.

Celebrating Motherhood!

Christmas is only a few days away and it seems a good time to celebrate motherhood. I have a special motivation since one of our sons and his wife just shared the great news that in God's time a new baby has announced his/her presence and will be formally welcomed to the family next summer.

In honor of the little one and all moms, especially my five daughters and daughters-in-law who are all moms, here's a celebration song from Go Fish.

If you want to sell a big lie, ask an expert!

Fourth Sunday of Advent

"O Clavis David (December 20) O Key of David (Apoc 3: 7) Scepter of the house of Israel, you open and no man closes; you close and no man opens (Isa 22: 22). Come, and deliver him from the chains of prison who sits in darkness and in the shadow of death" (Ps 107: 10).

I'm sitting at my computer watching the wind blow the snow off the trees. The wind-chill was below zero when we got up this morning and, even with the sun shining brightly, is probably in the single digits. (Which reminds me of my son Neil. We were talking one morning when he was five or so about the "wind chill factor" and he very solemnly said at the end of the conversation. "I wouldn't want to live in the wind chill factory!") It certanly would be a cold place today.

Suppose you were imprisoned in the darkness of the wind chill factory -- cold and alone, "chained" by your sins. A frigid wasteland is as much a symbol of hell as hell fire. When evil reigned in Narnia it was a place of snow and ice, but no Christmas cheer. In Hans Christian Anderson's fairy tale, The Snow Queen, Kai and Gerda, best friends, are separated when a sliver from an broken mirror created by an evil troll is embedded in Kai's heart. The broken mirror symbolizes a distorted reality that freezes out goodness and beauty. In both stories, sin and sorrow are connected to coldness and frigidity.

Jesus comes to give sight to the blind, not only the physically blind, but those blinded by sin. When he restores sight, he shows us all things as they really are, the good, the true, and the beautiful. Evil is a negation. Good thrusts it back into hell. That's why holiness shines so brightly in the hell holes of the death camps and gulags. The fire of God's love melts the ice and snow of the cold heart.

If you haven't been to confession for Christmas you still have a few days left. It warms the heart.

They should have gone to GoToMeeting.Com

The Climate Summit Boondoggle in Copenhagen is having a negative impact on the global carbon footprint. The Wall Street Journal reported the following:

Majken Friss Jorgensen, managing director of Copenhagen's biggest limousine company told the London Telegraph on Dec. 5th that she reckoned that between her and her rivals the total number of limos in Copenhagen for the global warming conference has already broken the 1,200 barrier. The French alone rang up last Thursday and ordered another 42. "We haven't got enough limos in the country to fulfill the demand,' she says. 'We're having to drive them in hundreds of miles from Germany and Sweden."

And the total number of electric cars or hybrids among all those limos? "Five," said Ms. Jorgensen.

They should have held their sessions via GoToMeeting.com. Think of all the carbon emisssions poor Mother Earth would have been spared, not to mention the city of Copenhagen. All those political gasbags emitting CO2, not to mention methane, is more than one city should have to bear.

A Bizarre Story from Sri Lanka

ELEPHANTS ATTACK IN ORISSA EXACTLY ONE YEAR AFTER PERSECUTIONS

Only those who persecuted and murdered Christians are being targeted by the elephant herds if reports are accurate. The people are calling the animals "Christian elephants."

Pope Pius XII declared "Venerable"

The Vatican released a list today confirming the beatification of five and naming nine new "venerables" including Pope Pius XII and Pope John Paul II.

I have been hoping and praying for Pope Pius XII to be acknowledged for his goodness and holiness. A big thank you to Pope Benedict for not bowing to the political correctness of our wicked age that rewrote history to turn the World War II pope from a hero into a villain. Pope Pius XII did more than any other world leader to save the Jews. In Rome Jews were given falsified baptismal certificates, hidden in many monasteries and convents, and even in Vatican City. When the Jews of Rome were required to produce gold as ransom, the Vatican provided gold vessels from the Vatican treasury to make up the deficit.

The lies about Pope Pius XII continue to circulate thanks, in part, to the slanderous play, The Deputy, penned by Rolf Hochhuth, a German Protestant which portayed the pope as a silent accomplice.

It's true the pope mostly worked underground, for good reason. When the Dutch bishops denounced the Nazis, Hitler immediately expanded the deportation order to include all the Jewish converts to Catholicism. Edith Stein was one of the most famous victims of that retaliation.

Sometimes silence is prudent and many Jews were grateful that the pope did not antagonize a monster over whom he had no control. Throughout his entire priestly career, Pius XII was an implacable enemy of the Nazis and they knew it. They planned to kidnap him if they could invade the Vatican. The pope had left his resignation in the event they were successful.

I remember well when the pope died. It was 1958 and I was eleven years old. I saved the newspapers showing him lying in state at St. Peters. He was a hero who devoted his life to the people of God, not just Catholics, but all. In the end, because of his courage, and his order to all the religious institutes to hide the Jews of Rome only 1,000 of the 8,000 were deported. Few did as much as the pope. The on-going slander against him is shameful ingratitude.

How Pius XII Protected Jews

Pius XII and Hitler: The Truth, countering the thesis of “Hitler’s Pope” by John Cornwell

Pope Pius XII and the Jews

The Weather Outside is Frightful....Must be Global Warming!

All I can think about today is snow. Lots of it! It reminds me of the snow scene in Dr. Zhivago. This is the closest we'll ever get to a Russian winter, I expect. Where's global warming when you need it?

When we got up this morning we had close to a foot already and it's supposed to snow all day and into the early evening. We will definitely have a white Christmas because this isn't going anywhere soon. Opening the doors is a challenge even where they are in semi-protected areas.

Fortunately, there's a four wheel drive Yukon in the garage (I know, I know, Al Gore wouldn't approve.) so hopefully we will make it out to Mass tomorrow. But even that is a big question mark since our driveway is about 100 feet long and I expect the snow plows will do a number on the end of it requiring a serious dig out.

Larry tried pushing the snow with our John Deere tractor which is equipped with a small snow plow, but it was a hopeless task. We need a scoop and dump truck for this amount of white stuff.

So we are officially snowed in (Better than being snowed out. Back in 2003 when we had two back-to-back storms with about 18 inches of snow, we were returning from a trip and couldn't get into our driveway. Fortunately, the gentleman who plows out the church lot came over and dug us in.)

What will I do as I admire the beauty outside my window? Write more Christmas cards, bake some cookies, and maybe decorate the tree. A time like this in our frenetic world is an invitation. But also a challenge for those who MUST be out in it. Pray for their safety. I'm thinking particularly of all the dear staff at the nursing home where I take Communion on Sundays. Some of them live on the other side of the mountain. May God protect all those who must travel in this winter blizzard and carry them safely to their destinations. Everybody else, have the sense to stay home and enjoy the view.

Freedom of Choice? Tolerance? Anyone? Anyone?

Judge upholds ruling against photographers who declined work at homosexual ceremony

Everybody has rights these days except Christians living out their moral values. Where is the "freedom to choose" and the "tolerance" of the left? There is none.

As I've said before it is the coercion of evil. Evil will not be satisfied until all are forced to join in the murder of good. Call it the first rule of evil: All must be forced to participate, especially those who oppose it.

Yes, Virginia, Infanticide is A-okay!

This is the natural result of abortion and it wasn't the first case as the quote below shows. The baby is unwanted? Kill it. This mom just used the economy plan. A lot cheaper than visiting a late-term abortion mill. Bob McDonnell says he'll sign a bill to close the loophill. It won't help this poor little one, but may save others. If this case doesn't trip your horrified switch, something's wrong with your wiring.

State law loophole means mother will not be charged in the death of her newborn

loophole in VA law allows mothers to kill newborns

The Campbell County Sheriff’s Office and Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office worked unsuccessfully to get the law changed after another baby died in the county in a similar case. Emerson said they asked two delegates and one state senator to take the issue up in the General Assembly. He says the three lawmakers refused because they felt the issue was too close to the abortion issue.

More on Copenhagen and Climategate

Climategate, Copenhagen & the Collapse of Climate Change

Please Send Some Global Warming This Way

About now I'm longing for the Medieval warm period which was considerably warmer than today despite the fact that the carbon footprint of man was like Friday's footprints in the sand in Robinson Crusoe. In fact, Greenland got its name because the glacial land mass was filled with lush green meadows where Norsemen settled and farmed.

Here in Virginia I'm longing for a little global warming. We are due for a major storm tonight that may give us the biggest snowfall ever in December. Brrr. And next week the temps are supposed to be down in the teens for a frigid cold snap.

And then there's the big snowstorm in Copenhagen during the Chicken Little conference. God's sense of humor is so delightful! Oh, and has anyone noticed that all they're talking about is money? That is, after all, what the global warming scam is all about.

In the meantime, I guess we'll just have to put on more layers here and stock up on all the major necessities of life: like toilet paper and hot chocolate. It looks to be a long, cold winter.

Out of Work for Christmas

Unemployment is devastating any time, but at this time of the year it is particularly stressful. How do you give your children Christmas? How do you put food on the table? In my county in Virginia, Shenandoah, 1/5 of residents receive food stamps or some other form of government aid. But what most need is a stable job, something that is becoming less sure as the current administration increases our economic woes through insane tax and spend policies.

My niece's husband was out of work for five months before he landed a new one that, thank God, pays more than the former. But they had to sell their house at a $10,000 loss and had family help with the use of my sister's second home for a few months.

A friend of mine and I used to talk about how the Lord would punish this nation. In view of the fact that we have traded the very lives of our children, our future, for economic prosperity, punishment through the pocketbook was pretty predictable. The fact is, when that happens, who is in the best situation? Those who have large families. They can depend on one another for assistance. And that is God's blessing to those who strive to be faithful. Christians won't be immune to the disasters of their times, but will be better able to withstand them because of the support they receive from each other.

If you are financially blessed, give generously this Christmas to those who are suffering. The measure you measure out will be measured back to you.

And pray that the government takeover of health care and all the other takeovers will ultimately fail. A family can't spend itself into prosperity and neither can a country.

Poll Reveals Trauma of Joblessness in U.S.

U.S. recovery appears firmer as unemployment drops Only in the mainstream media can a one-month drop from 10.2% unemployment to 10% be considered a "recovery."

Turnabout's Fair Play - Take That, Greenpeace Liars!

CFACT drops the banner on Greenpeace ships in daring land and sea raids

Hat tip to James Evans at Orate Fratres.

O Come Emmanuel: Join the Church in praying the O Antiphons

From an article at Catholic Culture:

As Elsa Chaney in Twelve Days of Christmas states, "[The O antiphons] seem to sum up all our Advent longing as they paint in vivid terms the wretched condition of mankind and his need of a Savior.'"

The "O" Antiphons are the verses for the ancient hymn O Come, O Come Emmanuel. The first letter of the Messianic titles: Emmanuel, Rex, Oriens, Clavis, Radix, Adonai, Sapientia—spell out Latin words ERO CRAS, meaning, "Tomorrow, I will come."

The antiphons are part of the evening prayer of the Divine Office, the antiphon before and after the Magnificat. They are also the alleluia verse before the Gospel at Mass.

In these last few days before Christmas, join the Church in praying the O Antiphons.

The Silent Monks "Sing" the Halleluiah Chorus!

When will the bishops wake up? Eliminate the USCCB!

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Catholic Reporter Gets the Axe for Private EMail!

Don't you just love it! Reporters in the mainstream media can march in gay pride parades and voice all kinds of vicious assaults against those upholding traditional values with nary a blink from their bosses. But let a reporter say one word disagreeing with politically correct corruption and BAM - right in the kisser. Not only did this reporter get the axe, but his wife's cooking column as well. So much for the much-touted "tolerance." Two thumbs down for the Portland, ME Morning Sentinel. Let's pray this reporter gets good legal representation.

Catholic reporter fired over comment on same-sex 'marriage' campaign

Sometimes you win a small skirmish!

"Actor Sam Elliot has blamed the Catholic Church for stopping sequels from being made to the Golden Compass movie based on the first book of Philip Pullman’s atheistic trilogy His Dark Materials...." Read more.

Science Run Amuck!

The Wanderer had a shocking article in From the Mail in the December 3 issue that described Army experiments on GIs from about 1945 until at least 1975. A number of these took place at Edgewood Arsenal in Maryland. One of the programs, MKULTRA, was a top secret program to test various substances using "volunteer" military grunts as guinea pigs who signed vague "consent" forms that never clearly explained the experiments. They were sprayed, fed, and injected with numerous harmful substances including serin gas, LSD, mescaline, anthrax, mind-altering drugs, etc.

According to The Wanderer article, Gordon P. Erspamer is the lead attorney for a lawsuit by a group of veterans harmed by these immoral experiments many of whom still suffer serious medical consequences today. Erspamer wrote an article for TruthOut in October from which From the Mail quotes.

An additional kink in the story is the fact that a number of Nazi scientists secretly brought into the country after W.W. II under Operation Paper Clip were working at Edgewood Arsenal during the time of these immoral experiments. Some of the scientists imported into the U.S. were involved in human experimentation at Nazi concentration camps for which they should have faced war crimes tribunals.

This is the ugly side of science that treats humans as guinea pigs for research. It sure isn't the first time. Tuskegee comes to mind as do the mass eugenic sterilizations that took place all over the U.S. in the early years of the 20th century, often with the approbation of the courts. The same abuse continues today with cloning and embryonic stem cell research that treat little unborn babies as so much "lab material" to be manipulated and disposed of. The only difference is the size of the victims.

Science has the capacity to do great good, but only when the dignity of human life is respected. "First do no harm" is supposed to be the rule of medicine. Unfortunately, in the culture of death, individuals are expendable.

Third World Black Women: Lab Rats for the Rich Countries

Catholic Culture Commentary: Most Unfortunate

Can you imagine the uproar if this study were done in the United States among a majority population of white women - say college coeds on ivy league campuses? But poor black African women are expendable. Let them get AIDS; it will reduce the excess population. Where's the uproar?

Abortionist Admits He's "Killing"

If you don't hear Twilight Zone music while you watch this, you aren't listening.

Curtis Boyd, an ordained baptist minister (who's now Unitarian) prays for the "spirit" of the pregnancy to "go back to God." Get out the barf bag. What God is he talking about? Baal? Moloch? Astarte? Gaia?

This reminds me of a deathscort, Jim Lemon (now deceased, God have mercy on him), who would spend his Saturday mornings at the abortion mill next to St. James in Falls Church, VA. He claimed he wasn't paid by the abortionist, but I never believed him.

Jim and I used to exchange letters. I'd send him little prayer notes and he would respond, usually pontificating that the "little souls" went back to God to be sent to parents who wanted them. It was a bizarre way to justify murder, but it seemed to work for Jim.

On the other hand, Jim wasn't quite so blasé about the death of pets. He had a dog named Pumpkin who died at a veterinary hospital when he was left alone at night after surgery. After that, Jim worked tirelessly for legislation to require vet hospitals to have staff on the premises 24/7. I used to beg Jim to think of the babies as puppies. Then he might have had some compassion for them. Jim was a retired postman and could have been the poster boy for a conference on how ordinary people champion evil.

As I watched the video, I wondered how much money this guy rakes in from his abortion business. He puts a sugar coating on what he knows is killing, but if he really believes what he says, why isn't he counseling women to look for compassionate solutions that let both mom and baby live? He kills up to 24 weeks. If the mom waited another several weeks she could deliver and give the baby away. A 28 week old baby has about a 90% survival rate.So what is really going on here?

The answer is simple I think. Abortionists like he and George Tiller enjoy the sense of being God that power over life and death gives. He's a man of the lie who uses a miniscule number of hard cases to publicly justify the numerous convenience abortions performed. Not that the hard cases are legitimate, but they sure help a man of the lie play "let's pretend" and gain the sympathy of the "pro-choice" world who portray him as a "hero for women in need."

The reality is, these guys enjoy killing. Like Mengele and the doctors helping to "purify the race" by eliminating the unfit. If they didn't enjoy killing, they could not do it! Once you face the reality of the murder of the innocent, you either stop because you are horrified or you continue because you are fascinated (or love the money too much to stop). Listen to the witness of those who leave the business. No one is twisting this guy's arm to kill children. He does it willingly.

When you gaze into the face of Dr. Boyd, consider that it may be the closest you ever come to looking directly into the face of evil. Like those who tried the banal little clerk Adolf Eichmann, who sent tens of thousands of Jews to the death camps, you will be shocked at the banality of the killing machine. He looks like a nice man. Would you trust him with YOUR life?

A Christmas Tale of a Little Wise Man

I have a friend who has a grandson, Brendan (12), who's been battling leukemia for several years. He also has Downs Syndrome. His mom and grandad both have email lists of prayer warriors and I am fortunate to be on them. So when Brendan has a crisis I get a prayer alert and updates about what they are going through. I've been amazed and edified at the courage of this young man and his family. But I've also been blown away by Brendan's incredible wisdom. I wish I were as spiritually smart as this little victim soul.

My friend sent an email last year sharing a comment Brendan made about why he's going through this on-going battle with cancer. He told his mother that he's helping Jesus with his suffering so that more people will get into heaven.

Recently, Brendan's family had another scare. Brendan is undergoing chemo, but he had an unusual episode where he went catatonic. His eyes rolled up in his head and he just went unconscious which scared his poor mom out of her wits. After going to the emergency room and trying to figure out what was happening, they ended up talking to the psychiatrist who has worked with Brendan before to help him and his family cope.

Here's what my friend, a long-time pro-life activist, sent out to the list:

On Thursday, my grandson, Brendan, was at a clinic in Fairfax for chemo treatment through his central line, implanted months ago to use for administering his chemo. The line began to leak. We had hoped it had been repaired earlier in the week. The old central line was removed surgically, Friday at 12:30 , and a new one put in. This was done with great risks, but the surgery turned out to be successful.

After the surgery, a hospital psychiatrist visited Brendan about his fainting/catatonic fits he goes into when he’s stressed out.

A few minutes after the pleasantries, the doctor asked Brendan why he thought he was having these episodes. Brendan paused, turned and looked the doctor straight in the eyes and said: “Jesus blinds me with his light.” The doctor asked him if he thought this was a good or bad thing. Brendan said it is good because, “Jesus takes over fighting the cancer for me so I can take a rest. Then I wake up and I’m ready to fight cancer more.” This is an exact quote.

The doctor’s jaw dropped. He looked at Brendan’s parents who were speechless but indicated they had never, ever suggested this to him. The doctor said: "In all my 20 years as a doctor treating kids with psychological issues, I’ve never heard such a beautiful response from a kid…and to hear it at Christmas time. Wow!”

The doctor asked Brendan’s parents if they were ok with this and if so, to tell Brendan it was ok with them and they won’t worry about him when it happens again -which they did. The doctor told Brendan he’s great and that he was going to tell the hospital chaplain about “this wonderful patient."

All this, I am convinced, is attributable to your spiritual help. A million thanks to you for this help.

During this Christmas season will you take Brendan and his family to the Christmas crib and pray for the complete success of his chemo treatments? I have no doubt that you will be in this little saint's prayers as well because he has a spirit of gratitude for all the goodness of the people around him.

Christmas is about both giving and receiving. When the wise men travelled to Bethlehem they brought gifts for the Christ child, but what He gave them was worth far more. Your prayers for Brendan and his family will bless you beyond measure.

In Defense of Santa Claus

One of my favorite bloggers (my daughter Alice) wrote a wonderful post in defense of Santa Claus. Bravo! I love it. Santa brings us to the crib and kneels with us at the manger. As one wonderful Santa at a nursery in Merrifield, VA told our children when they were young (but not too young), "Santa is the clown of Christmas." He is indeed. He entertains us with his antics coming down the chimney like an acrobat and rising up it again. (How does he do that?) His flying reindeer charm us with their impeccable training.

After he told the children about his own lowly place in Christmas, this amazing Santa showed them a nativity scene and talked about the birth of Jesus. I still remember it bringing tears to my eyes as I listened and watched him with my wide-eyed little ones. And he may be there still. After all, Santa is ageless.

Don't spoil the Christmas magic with a joyless focus on literalism. Watch Miracle on 34th Street and celebrate Kris Kringle.

Global Warming: Is it Really About Population Control?

Even before Climategate, many conservatives knew there was more to the global warming scam than money. It's about control, stupid. Hey, the polar ice caps are melting and mankind is killing the planet. We gotta get those filthy little polluters before birth. Voluntary abortion isn't killing off enough of them though, so it's time for the world to adopt the Chinese final solution -- a mandatory one-child policy vigorously enforced by abortion and sterilization.

In her draconian opinion column in the Financial Post, Diane Francis, who has two children, called for world implementation of China's one-child policy so we can save the world before it's too late. Her ideas fit nicely with the U.N. de-population program. Robert Muller, a 40-year employee at the U.N. boasted at the Global Citizenship 2000 Youth Congress that the U.N. had "prevented the birth of 2 billion, 200 million people." He didn't boast about the coercion, manipulation, and violation of human rights (especially those of poor third-world nations) used to achieve this goal.

In the opinion of the population utopians the "right" number of humans for the earth is 100 to 500 million. In a world of six billion that means they want to eliminate most of the earth's population. There ain't no way to do that short of mass extermination!

It's nothing new, of course. Thomas Malthus, an 18th century Chicken Little, was trying to make a case for overpopulation based on the inability of the earth to feed its population 300 years ago. He predicted all kinds of disasters to justify state control over the individual. His prophecies were bunk! As were those of bug scientist, Paul Ehrlich, who in the 1960s published The Population Bomb with a photo of a sweet baby inside a lit time bomb. He also predicted mass starvation and other apocalyptic events. He fizzled as well, but it hasn't prevented him from continuing to wring his hands and jump on the eco-disaster bandwagon.

And now we have the climategate scam. Global warming is a manufactured crisis geared to get the world on board to accept all kinds of draconian approaches to "save the planet." It is all about empowering those who want to control mankind in one way or another. Imagine the whole world as China where the population police are at the door dragging mothers to abortion mills and forced sterilization clinics. It is particularly ironic that this is all happening at the same time the world is facing a demographic winter.

I hope most people won't fall for all this alarmism. It's not about a real threat to the planet, it's about love of power and money. Many of the elites in our culture would be delighted to eliminate the hoi poloi of the world who are messing up their favorite vacation spots (as long as there are enought to serve them).

Of course, the elite expect to remain at the top running things. (You don't think George Soros, Al Gore, Barack Obama, Ted Turner, Bill Gates, Oprah, and all the other rich and powerful of the planet expect to be among those considered excess population do you?) The population control gang may be in for a surprise if they ever actually achieve the ends they're working toward. The devil has a way of turning against his useful dupes. Read The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe or Gounod's opera, Faust. Playing God is a dangerous proposition.

For opinions countering Diane Francis click on the articles below.

One Child Policy Outrage after Copenhagen

The Re-Birth of Population Control

Planned Parenthood and Poinsettias: Ask the question - Who supplies your poinsettias?

If the answer is Ecke Family Nursery ask for an alternative supplier. Ecke is a major supporter of Planned Parenthood. Don't support abortion with your flower purchases. Ask for an alternative supplier or pick an alternative flower. Have a Costa Rica Christmas with their favorite flower - orchids. Or decorate with Christmas Kalanchoe.

Planned Parenthood and Poinsettias

Why are they lying to women?

Answer: Because if they tell the truth, most women won't choose an abortion. Planned Parenthood is interested in the bottom line. Watch them lie to the woman in this video. Would you buy a used car from these people?




Evidence of Counseling Abuse at Planned Parenthood Continues to Surface in Undercover Student Video

Gaudete Sunday

On this third Sunday of advent, the priest changes his purple vestments for rose to alert us to the nearness of Christmas. Awake, you sleepers, and prepare your hearts for the coming of Christmas!

This is my favorite Advent hymn because it is so joyful. I wish I could find a professionally done version to share, but these were the best I could do. The joy of this hymn filled my heart this weekend with the anticipation of the coming season of light. No matter how dark our world and what troubles may be ahead of us, the Messiah is born. He was born 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem. He lives now among us, and He is coming again at the end of time. Prepare the way for Him. Come, Lord Jesus!

The Coercion of Evil

You're a dad. You don't want your children exposed to sex education that promotes fornication, contraception, abortion, and sodomy. You refuse to allow your children to participate in a play called "My Body Belongs to Me" that teaches children how to have sexual intercourse.

What happens? Well, if you live in Germany you're arrested and thrown in jail which is exactly what happened to eight German fathers. Here's an excerpt from an article by a German parents' rights group:

Christians in Germany have faced enormous persecution from the German government for removing their children from the German public schools, either through homeschooling - an illegal act according to a law instituted during the Third Reich - or taking them out of select classes they deem harmful to their Christian values, which is also illegal.

The fact that these children often outperform their counterparts in state schools has little bearing on the matter for Germany; the government's stated public policy is to suppress the existence of Parallelgesellschaften or "parallel societies" based on "separate philosophical convictions" through the education system.

The Youth Welfare Office or Jugendamt - an institution similar to Child Protective Services - acts as the government's chief intervening instrument, and when prison and fines do not bend Christian families into compliance, they recommend that these Christians lose parental custody of their children.

In one case, the Jugendamt, accompanied by 15 heavily armed police, forcibly seized 15 year-old Melissa Busekros in the dead of night from her family in 2007 against her will. However, legal intervention ensured that Busekros was legally permitted to return to her family upon turning 16.

It's clear that in Germany the children belong to the state. The fact that the law banning homeschooling originated under Hitler is chilling. All homeschooling families are in danger of having their children taken from them. Read more here.

This is one more example of the coercion evil, in this case the murder of innocence. No disagreement will be tolerated. The children must be perverted and if parents have to be imprisoned and families ripped apart to do it, too bad.

Even in the Country Schools Aren't Safe!

I live in the country, "out in the middle of nowhere" according to my children. But it's obviously not far enough to have missed the influence of our XXX-rated culture. Several weeks ago a teenager at the local high school was assaulted by two classmates (age 16 and 17) who are facing felony charges for "attempted inanimate object sexual penetration." It happened in an unsupervised weight room after school during wrestling practice. A third student involved may be charged with assault and battery.

One of the most shocking aspects of the incident is that, while the attack occurred, about twenty other students watched but did nothing to interfere or alert a coach or teacher. But is it surprising? We've sexualized children to the degree that anything goes. Kids sext each other on their cell phones. They are barraged with pornographic movies, TV shows, print media, and advertisements. From morning to night they are immersed in sex messages. And those messages don't stop at the schoolroom door. Sex ed and homosexual ed are not only in particular programs; they are part of an integrated curriculum.

When the president's "safe schools czar" is a man involved in promoting homosexual sado-masochism as normal, why is using sex as a weapon in schools surprising?

We live in a culture where sexual violence of all stripes is on the increase. Any activity or program that normalizes sexual immorality and depravity is part of the problem.

Dear Editor:

The sexual assault at Central High School several weeks ago is appalling, but hardly surprising. The sexualization of children in the public schools has been going on since this grandmother was a young mom protesting anything-goes sex ed in Fairfax Country. Now just a generation later schools in many parts of the country have moved from telling kids how to get birth control without their parents' knowledge to promoting homosexuality in kindergarten. What's next?

Wake up, parents, - "inanimate object sexual penetration" is a staple of homosexual sex as is "fisting" and other disgusting practices.

Of course, parents could take their concerns to President Obama's "safe schools czar" Kevin Jennings. Good luck! Jennings, a "gay" activist, is the founder of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network and the Gay-Straight Alliance clubs which are supposedly about providing "safe schools" for all students.

Jennings' history tells another story. In 2000 he was the keynote speaker at the infamous "Fistgate" Conference at Tufts University where hundreds of young teens side by side with teachers were introduced to the joys of "gay" sex including sado-masochism. In 2005 GLSEN produced the "little black book" addressing "queer life in the 21st century." I can't describe in a family newspaper the depraved contents of this booklet. See it for yourself at http://www.massresistance.org/docs/issues/black_book/black_book_inside.html.

This is the kind of material promoted by GLSEN which boasts 700 GSA clubs around the country. It's never been about "safe schools." It's about recruiting sexually confused kids into a lifestyle where young boys are considered "chickens" and the men who desire them are "chicken hawks." Unless parents stop deluding themselves about homosexuality and the sexualization of our children from the playpen, more episodes like the one at Central High School are inevitable.

Mary Ann Kreitzer

Obama's Safe Schools Czar isn't Safe for Children

Kevin Jennings, the X-rated homosexual activist who serves as Obama's "Safe School Czar" is as safe for kids as the guy in the proverbial trenchcoat hiding in the bushes near the school waiting for his next unsuspecting victim. Talking dirty to kids and recruiting them to the homosexual lifestyle has been his life's work. Mass Resistance has exposed his evil agenda for what it is and 53 congressmen have called for his removal.

Jennings is just the latest Obama scandal among the group of tax-cheats and bribe-takers masquerading as public servants at the White House. No wonder so many Americans are up in arms.

One Nation Under God...

Uganda Considering Death Penalty for Gays!

Uganda is considering a bill to make homosexual behavior a crime that could even result in imposition of the death penalty. While Christians oppose sodomy and same-sex acting out, executing those who engage in it is not the answer. The bill would even criminalize outreach ministries to gays with prison sentences for "aiders and abeters" of homosexual behavior.

All of us are sinners (except those who never reach the age of reason, whose only sin is the one inherited from Adam and Eve). Most of us have committed sins serious enough to deserve, not only physical death, but the spiritual death of eternal damnation. Why stop with homosexuals engaged in consensual sin? How about serial adulterers like Tiger Woods? And fornicators? You could empty out most dorms in the U.S. with that legislation. How about those who rob the taxpayers by diverting money to special interests? How many would be left on the floor of Congress? Then there are the abortionists, crime syndicates, and gangs perpetrating murder and mayhem. Who would be left at the end of the executions?

There are seven "deadly sins;" lust is only one of them.

Uganda and other countries in Africa are trying to protect the family and it's a laudable goal. It's one of the reasons the U.S. had anti-sodomy laws until they were overturned by the 6-3 2003 Lawrence vs. Texas Supreme Court ruling. Law is supposed to protect the common good and anti-sodomy laws are legitimate. At the very least they prevent homosexuals from recruiting the young which is one of Uganda's goals. (Isn't it interesting that most sinners like Tiger Woods are in the closet. Wouldn't it be nice if the homosexuals had stayed there instead of demonizing as homophobes everyone who deplores their behavior?)

The Ugandan legislator who introduced the bill, David Bahati, welcomes "constructive criticism" to improve the law, but thinks serious action is necessary to prevent homosexuals from "recruiting" the young. In view of the experience here in the U.S. with active recruitment efforts beginning in kindergarten it's easy to understand the concern of Africans over negative "western influence."

According to the Associated Press:

The Ugandan legislation in its current form would mandate a death sentence for active homosexuals living with HIV or in cases of same-sex rape. "Serial offenders" also could face capital punishment, but the legislation does not define the term. Anyone convicted of a homosexual act faces life imprisonment.

Anyone who "aids, abets, counsels or procures another to engage of acts of homosexuality" faces seven years in prison if convicted. Landlords who rent rooms or homes to homosexuals also could get seven years and anyone with "religious, political, economic or social authority" who fails to report anyone violating the act faces three years.

Let's pray that Uganda alters their law to eliminate capital punishment for homosexuals, but criminalizing attempts to spread it to the young sounds like common sense to me. Sodomy pushers are at least as dangerous as drug pushers.

Photo Laugh of the Day!

What Holiday Are You Celebrating?

Two "Catholic" Governors who Think They're Pope

It's amazing when so-called Catholic politicians presume to dictate the doctrines of the Catholic Church to the rest of us. Nancy Pelosi tried it and was roundly corrected. Ted Kennedy was a perennial false preacher (whose son and nephew are following in his dishonest footsteps). And there are hordes of others who remind me of nothing more than the barbarians who sacked Rome in the early centuries after Christ. Of course, despite their most insidious efforts, barbarians and heretics can never overcome the truth. But the neo-barbarians are still trying.

Enter Jesuit-trained Virginia governor Tim Kaine and Maryland governor Martin O'Malley posturing as Catholics who know their faith and daring to correct the archbishop of Washington, D.C. for defending Church doctrine on the sanctity of marriage. Archbishop Wuerl has said the Church will withdraw from social programs funded by the District that require the Church to cooperate with the evil of homosexuality. Since efforts to exempt the Church from the legislation forcing participation, there is no other moral choice.

Good for Archbishop Wuerl.

As for the two heretical Catholics, God help them. They should pay attention to the bumper speaker that reads, "Heaven: Don't Miss it for the World!"

Life is short, eternity is long. Nothing, absoolutely nothing, is worth risking eternal damnation.

Two Catholic Governors Lash Out at DC Catholic Church for Same-Sex "Marriage" Ultimatum

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Many Catholics confuse Mary's Immaculate Conception with the Incarnation of Jesus. One of my daughters had her sixth grade teacher (at a Catholic school no less) correct her when she said the Immaculate Conception happened when Mary was conceived without original sin in the womb of her mother Ann. Tara was absolutely right, but it took a handout from the Basilica Shrine of the Immaculate Conception to convince the teacher she was mistaken. Good for Tara for not backing down. And good for the teacher who correctly instructed her students about the feast.

Just goes to show, you are never too old to learn and that we need to study the doctrines of our faith.

All of us are conceived with original sin. Why? Because Adam and Eve couldn't give us what they didn't have.

Think of it this way.

Before original sin, Adam and Eve's DNA was perfect. They would never die, they were totally physically and mentally integrated: no defective genes, no sensitivity to physical ailments or mental illness. In other words, they were perfect, both physically and emotionally.

Then they listened to the devil, a murderer and liar from the beginning and a quack who sold them a big dose of snake oil. He injected them with a genetic fault that infected every one of their cells, one that destroyed their original integrity (their "hard drive" in computer lingo) and destroyed their ability to pass on their original perfection. So, instead of that, they gave all their children the defective gene, one that inclined them toward sin and weakness.

Mary however, was saved from this genetic catastrophe by the great physician who corrected the fault in the egg cell of her mother, Ann, and the sperm cell of her father, Joachim. So, when she was conceived, she received the same perfection given to Adam and Eve at the beginning, which is why she's called the "New Eve."

Today is a great feast day, one that is so important the Church makes it one of the few "holy days of obligation" that require Catholics to attend Mass as if it were Sunday. Who could object to honoring this so glorious mother, especially in the holy season of advent when we focus on the perfection of her Son? Note that the feast occurs nine months before the date when Catholics traditionally celebrate Mary's birthday, September 8th.

So enjoy the feast. Have a special treat with the family and praise the Holy Mother of God! "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee."

Happy feast day!

Why Episcopals and Anglicans are fleeing to Rome!

Los Angeles Episcopalians elect lesbian bishop

Anglican leader urges restraint over lesbian Episcopal bishop

Election of lesbian bishop divides Anglican community

Like I said in an earlier post today. Evil will force everyone to endorse it. And so the episcopals will rub the noses of all their followers in the sodomy of the gays and lesbians.

But what can one expect from a religion founded by an adulterous king who murdered his ex chancellor, St. Thomas More, when he couldn't force him to approve of his adulterous marriage to Ann Boleyn?

The Lawyers' Party

By Bruce Walker

The Democratic Party has become the Lawyers' Party. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are lawyers. Bill Clinton and Michelle Obama are lawyers. John Edwards, the other former Democrat candidate for president, is a lawyer and so is his wife Elizabeth. Every Democrat nominee since 1984 went to law school (although Gore did not graduate.) Every Democrat vice presidential nominee since 1976, except for Lloyd Bentsen, went to law school. Look at the Democrat Party in Congress: the Majority Leader in each house is a lawyer. (Read more....)

No Protection for Medical Professionals in Senate Bill

Conscience Protections for Pro-Life Medical Professionals Not in Senate Health Bill

There's an interesting reality about evil. It's voracious. It is NEVER content with consuming the soul of the sinner. It must force the non-sinner to cooperate in the evil so it can consume him as well.

You don't want to pass the abortionist his bloody tools to perform the murder? Too bad, do it anyway. You don't want to sell the pill that will prevent the tiny baby from implanting in the womb? Too bad, do it anyway. You don't want to participate in the starvation and dehydration of a handicapped person? Too bad, do it anyway. You don't want to pay for all these things? Too bad, do it anyway.

Satan is a greedy devil. He wants every single one of us and will do whatever he can to get us. So follow the advice of St. James. "Submit to God; resist the deveil and he will take flight. Draw close to God, and he will draw close to you. Cleanse your hands...purify your hearts.... Be humbled in the sight of the Lord and he will raise you on high." James 4:7-10

Saying a Prayer of Thanksgiving on Pearl Harbor Day!

I'm offering my Mass and rosary today for my dad and mom who were Pearl Harbor survivors. I've blogged before about my parents who were both on the islands (Dad on a ship in the harbor, Mom on Oahu) when the Japanese planes began their devastating attack. If you want to read those posts go here, here, and here.

I'm so grateful to God that Daddy survived the war and that he and mom went on to have a large Catholic family whom they raised in the faith. I'm a Catholic today because they gave me a gift that I opened and embraced. Without their witness, would I ever have found the Church? Who knows.

If you're blessed to be Catholic I hope you'll join me in remembering today the people who made it possible. Faith is a gift, but it's freely given.

I wish I could find the Scripture passage (I think from the Old Testament) that says something like, "How can the people learn unless someone is sent." Mom and Dad were sent by God to a little village (Some would say not so little.) called the Schneider family where they were the first catechists of their ten children. Thanks, Mom and Dad, I love you! Please keep praying for this woefully imperfect child of yours.

The Price of Integrity at Ave Maria University? A Cool $4 Million!

You've probably heard the joke about the man who says to the beautiful woman, "Will you have sex for me for a million dollars?"

She bats her eyes and says, "Sure. Where and when?"

Then he says, "How about for ten dollars?"

Insulted, she responds furiously, "What do think I am?"

The man answers coolly, "We've already established that; we're just haggling over the price!"

Well, sad to say, Ave Maria University in Naples, FL has sold its Catholic soul to pro-abortion billionaire Tom Golisano who donated $4 million to build an athletic complex which will bear his name. That he's pro-abortion is easily established and Ave Maria officials were apparently aware of it. What's particularly galling is that, according to Golisano, Tom Monaghan agressively solicited the donation.

To those who think this is a tempest in a teapot rather than a serious scandal, consider how you would feel if Planned Parenthood donated $4 million for a science building named after Margaret Sanger or less notorious Dr. Alan Guttmacher. What if they built a TV studio and communications building donated by a billionaire neo-Nazi who wanted to name it for Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels?

One might be able to give Monaghan a pass if he approached Golisano saying, "Look, you're in serious trouble with the Lord because of your commitment to abortion. Why don't you at least invest some of your wealth in our university. We'll promise you nothing but prayers for your conversion. We won't have any kind of ceremony honoring you. We'll name the building after St. Paul because of all his statements about running the race, and we'll ask our students to pray for the anonymous donor."

I might be able to go along with that approach. It might even convert the guy. But to honor a pro-abortion rich man at a Catholic university, to offer him honor and respectibility, and even a standing ovation for his generosity...well, in my opinion, that makes it even harder for him to repent. How can the Lord condemn a man who gives $4 million to a Catholic school named after His mother? What a mockery!

I have eighteen grandchildren and the first two will be in high school next year. I hope they never consider going to a Catholic university with a building named after a public pro-abortion figure. I've spent my entire adult life fighting abortion and other culture of death initiatives. What Tom Monaghan and Ave Maria have done is a reprehensible public scandal that deserves condemnation from every serious Catholic.

If you have money to contribute to Catholic education, give it to a college that truly deserves the name, not one that will sell its integrity for 30 peices of silver.

Sixth Bishop Passed Up CCHD Collection

Bishop Edward J. Slattery of Tulsa, OK, is the sixth bishop who declined to support the CCHD collection this year. While the bishop held a collection that Sunday the funds were reserved for self-help projects within the diocese. Read more here. The bishops boycotting the collection included:

Bishop Robert J. Baker - Birmingham, Alabama LSN

Bishop John O. Barres - Allentown, Pennsylvania LSN

Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz - Lincoln, Nebraska LSN

Bishop Victor Galeone - St. Augustine, Florida Statement LSN

Bishop Robert C. Morlino - Madison, Wisconsin Statement LSN

Bishop Edward J. Slattery - Tulsa, Oklahoma

After Three Marriages and Five Children Meredith Baxter Outs Herself as Lesbian

Let's see if I've got this right. A woman who was married three times and had five children was really a lesbian all along and all her problems with men stemmed from the fact that she really didn't know who she was. Hogwash! Isn't it just as likely that Baxter's disastrous relationships with men turned her away from men and toward lesbianism?

And now she's making herself the poster girl for being that "one person you know" who will affect the way you vote on "gay" rights. How much of this interview was an act. "I'm such a private person." And the National Enquirer was going to out her so she beat them to it to frame the story her own way. Where does the real Meredith end and the actress Meredith begin?

Sorry, I just don't buy it. Lesbians are not born, they're made. How many years did Baxter live as a heterosexual woman? A lot more than the seven years she's spent with her girlfriend. Sexual expression is a choice. Heterosexual men in prison can choose homosexual sex as an outlet. Disillusioned heterosexual women can choose lesbian lovers who "understand" them.

As I watched this interview I recognized several women I know who decided they "had a right to be happy" so they threw off their moral values ("I don't know what I believe any more!") to justify sinful (heterosexual) choices. Meredith sounded just like them in this interview.

She can reecreate her past to justify her present lifestyle, and it may even convince some people, including herself, but I don't buy it. Rationalizing evil is still rationalization.

Pray for Meredith Baxter and her lover. Life is short; eternity is long. And as Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan recently said, active homosexuals cannot go to heaven. Mortally sinful behavior is an impenetrable obstacle to union with God. Only repentance opens the door to salvation. One of the saddest things about this episode to me is the public scandal that will lead many others into sinful choices, especially the young.

There are a few who commit serious sin, but never lie to themselves about what they are doing. Oscar Wilde, I think, was one of these which probably explains his deathbed conversion. And praise God for it! His portrait of Dorian Gray was more than a little autobiographical. Unlike Wilde, however, Meredith Baxter has not only embraced immorality, she has also become a person of the lie calling evil good. What a devastating thing to do to her children!

I'll be offering my daily rosary for her in appreciation for those seven seasons on Family Ties when she played such a loving mom. May the Lord lead her back to the truth and to repentance and resurrection.



Meredith Baxter Became a Lesbian, Let’s Pray She Becomes a Christian