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Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Think Life Chain and 40 Days for Life

This time of the year sees some important pro-life activities. Forty Days for Life begins September 22nd and goes through October 31st when sidewalk activists in 239 locations throughout the US, Canada, Australia, England, Northern Ireland and Denmark will engage in a concentrated 40 days of prayer and sacrifice while witnessing and sidewalk counselling at local abortion mills. Many locations have a continuous presence around the clock, while others have a modified schedule. The statistics from 40 Days for Life are impressive. Since it began in 2007:
•More than 350,000 have joined together in an historic display of unity to pray and fast for an end to abortion
•More than 11,500 church congregations have participated in the 40 Days for Life campaigns
•Reports document 2,811 lives that have been spared from abortion — and those are just the ones we know about
•35 abortion workers have quit their jobs and walked away from the abortion industry
•Six abortion facilities completely shut down following local 40 Days for Life campaigns
•Hundreds of women and men have been spared from the tragic effects of abortion, including a lifetime of regrets
•More than 850 news stories have been featured in newspapers, magazines, radio shows and TV programs from coast to coast ... and overseas
•Many people with past abortion experiences have stepped forward to begin post-abortion healing and recovery   (Data from the 40 Days for Life website.)
If there's a 40 Days for Life near you, why not plan to spend at least a few hours there during the campaign witnessing to the precious gift of life. Many amazing stories have been shared. Maybe you can be part of one. 

Another activity taking place this fall is The Life Chain on October 3 from 2-3:30 p.m. Last year 1600 locations around the country and in Canada participated. In my own community of Woodstock, VA we are involved for the second year. Life Chain is a silent prayer witness. Participants stand quietly praying on the sidewalk holding signs that read Abortion Kills Children, Jesus Heals and Saves, Abortion Hurts Women, etc.  It's a non-confrontational way to influence the local community to confront the devastation of abortion. Think of a woman in a crisis pregnancy looking for a sign from God about her abortion and she drives down a street where hundreds of signs beseech her to choose life. Life Chain has stories to tell as well. One coordinator tells how she was discouraged at the small turnout in her town until a man stopped his car nearby, jumped out and ran over. He pointed to the baby in the car and said she was saved from abortion and thanked her for being there. Join the Life Chain. You will never know until Judgment Day the real value of your small sacrifice of time.

Monday, August 30, 2010

More on Fr. Richard Rohr

When anyone talks about exposing Fr. Richard Rohr's past, they may mean it literally. Fr. Rohr is big on nakedness. I posted excerpts from a talk he gave at New Ways Ministry in 1997 yesterday on the Where is Fr. Haley? blog. Maybe Fr. Rohr's into clothes these days, I don't know, but he sure was fascinated by nudity as an important part of the male experience ten years ago. Read my post here about this pathetic excuse for a priest. For those who believe the nonsense that one should never say anything negative about a priest -- that is certainly true with regard to private sins and personality quirks. However, it is absolutely irrelevant when it comes to public scandals which must be exposed (There's that word again.) and condemned.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Sunday Meditation: The Value of the Elderly Sick

Every Sunday I take Communion to five residents of a local nursing home in Woodstock, VA. I only take two hosts because of swallowing issues with several individuals and the possibility that someone will not be able to receive. Since Jesus is entirely present in each particle of the host I don't deprive anyone, and it ensures the hosts are consumed. What a privilege to bear the Savior to these dear souls.

Each time I visit is a unique experience and today illustrated that. When my husband and I arrived we found Linda (I'm not using real names to protect the privacy of the residents) in the TV room. Linda has Alzheimers and is frustrated sometimes over not being able to remember things, but she almost always recognizes me as the lady who brings her Jesus, and what a smile she gives me along with a cheery greeting. I took her out to the lounge and showed her pictures of our newborn granddaughter and than prayed with her and gave her Communion. Linda always engages in a verbal dialogue with the Lord she loves so much. "Thank you, Jesus. Thank you for coming to me. I love you so much. I want to be with you. Please when it's my time take me to live with you."  Her prayer is always similar, very simple, and filled with the language of love.

Trinity and Richard Rohr: A Union of Heretics

Thanks to my friends at Restore D.C. Catholicsim, I found this announcement that Richard Rohr will speak at Trinity University in Washington, D.C. on October 23rd. It was listed on the Archdiocese of Baltimore's website. 
Franciscan Mission Service 20th Anniversary with Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM
October 23, 2010, 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Trinity College Center, 125 Michigan Ave. NE, Washington, DC 20017
Please join us in celebrating Franciscan Mission Service’s 20 years of training and supporting lay missioners throughout the world. The event will feature a keynote address by Father Richard Rohr, OFM, a Franciscan priest, author, teacher, and founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation.

Franciscan Mission Service trains and supports lay missioners who serve for three years in Franciscan placements around the world. The missioners live in impoverished communities, working with the poor and marginalized for the improvement of conditions. Upon returning to North America, lay missioners continue to answer the call to lifelong mission by working to transform North American people and society.

Event details:
Saturday October 23, 2010 at 7:00 pm, Trinity College Center, Washington, DC
$75 per ticket
Franciscan Mission Service.
PO Box 29034. Washington, DC 20017. http://www.franciscanmissionservice.org/
Laura Perez - laura@franciscanmissionservice.org or 202-832-1762
You may not know much about Richard Rohr who was ordained a Catholic priest even though he doesn't act like one,(Well, maybe like Martin Luther.) so here's the scoop. Los Pequenos de Cristo of New Mexico, where the padre runs his new age Center for Action and Contemplation, has a dossier a mile long on his heretical actions which include blessing same sex unions and endorsing Soulforce, a homosexual advocacy group that works for same sex marriage. Rohr is a new age apologist who promotes the Enneagram and the idea of the "Cosmic Christ" first popularized by Dominican Matthew Fox who worked with a witch named Starhawk. (This stuff is so goofy, you'd think it was a spoof. Really, you can't make it up!) In the latest issue of Los Pequenos' newsletter, The Pepper, Stephanie Block wrote an event taking place in Albuquerque at a local Catholic parish:
Rohr's next major CAC-sponsored event, the Creation as the Body of God Conference  advertised in the July Sunday bulletin of Albuquerque's Sacred Heart Roman Catholic parish, appears to be a development of Rohr's Cosmic Christ ideas, adopted from the terminology of Matthew Fox.
The term "creation as the body of God" has also been floating around eco-theology circles for awhile. Hyun-Chul Cho, author of An ecological vision of the world: toward a Christian ecological theology, writes, '[C]reation may be conceived as a cosmic body, which is penetrated by and steeped in the spirit. In this perception of creation as the body of God and God as the spirit of this body, the whole creation is viewed as an organic body in which all creatures form a web of relationships in virtue of the spirit. [Can't you see all creation pulsing like an amoeba with blobs stretching out to enfold every form of life into one body? Sounds like a scene from a bad science fiction flick!] At the same time, the spirit preserves the body by infusing it with life-sustaining breath. This body-spirit perception of the world and God works as an antidote against the strong dualistic and anthropcentric tendency toward nature which is still predominant in us." [Hmm...Dualistic? You mean like realizing that people are people and rocks are rocks?]
That is more or less Rohr's theology, what he calls "an expanded view of the mystery of Incarnation in the cosmos" [Wow! That's deep! The Incarnation means God became universe.] and claims, "What the Christ means is the confluence of divinity and physicality, spirit and matter. When the material and spiritual worlds coexist, we have Christ." [Hey...If you hug a tree really tight will you and the tree become Christ.] [Rich Heffer, "The eternal christ [sic] in the cosmic story," National Catholic Reporter, 12/11/09. Interview with Richard Rohr]
As further insight in what Rohr would be presenting, Creation as the Body of God Conference materials say, "The whole of Creation, the Body of God, is suffering from oppression and disease. [No, we're suffering from sin, not "ecological sin, but personal sin.] We, as Christians, are called to participate in the liberation and healing of the Earth and ourselves [So go to Confession!], we:
  • Honor and experience the Oneness of ALL God's Creation [This is the heresy of pantheism: We are called to be good stewards of creation not to become one with creation.]
  • Enter with the Earth into the transformative space of suffering [Huh? Does that mean if I prune a tree I should feel its pain?]
  • Work toward restoring right relationship with Creation and the Creator through the exploration of environmental ethics [Ah yes, like the ethics of the global warming crowd who lie about science to accumulate power. Exactly what Jesus was about, eh? Power Politics!]
  • Develop and strengthen our own prophetic voices to bring about the renewal of the face of the Earh through compassionate action [I don't think he means the corporal works of mercy.]
  • Live from the eco-centric, rather than the ego-centric [Recycle, use one sheet in the bathroom, take a shower once a week, throw away your electric appliances, turn off your air conditioner, and trade your car for a bicycle. Hmm...Do you think Richard Rohr is doing that?]
It's not surprising that Trinity University is hosting this scandalous event. They stopped being Catholic years ago. In fact, we did a lead article on Trinity in the Spring 2010 issue of the Les Femmes newsletter, THE TRUTH, titled, Trinity: the Catholic School Pat McGuire Killed. This is one more stab wound in the corpse.

As for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, why in the name of all that's holy are they promoting this heretic? This is one more example of what's wrong with the world.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Will excluding the social issues derail the tea party movement?

Bryan Fisher makes the case that the tea parties will fail if they censor the social issues. Here's a portion of his article:
Most folks in the Tea Party movement recognize that it is far worse for a nation to be morally and spiritually bankrupt than to be fiscally bankrupt, and are in the movement, at least in part, because they are alarmed at the moral drift in this country and want to do something about it.

This strain of moral libertarianism is a threat to the Tea Party movement. If the Tea Party is to be an effective voice, it must unapologetically press an agenda of fiscal, constitutional and social conservatism. Authentic conservatism is holistic, and knocking one of the three legs off the stool will prove fatal in the end to the Tea Party effort.

Authentic conservatives are economic libertarians and cultural conservatives. Not one or the other.

Cultural libertarians are not conservatives at all. They have far more in common with the hippies of the '60s than they do with George Washington and Thomas jefferson.

The Tea Party will forfeit its claim to reflect the values of the Founders if it does not affirm the message of cultural conservatism as well as economic restraint. Let's not forget that it was the father of our country who said that religion and morality both are "indispensable supports" of political prosperity
Read the complete article here. What do you think? Should the tea parties avoid social issues like the plague to support the big tent philosophy or should they openly affirm the social issues?

Friday, August 27, 2010

Love Cares Enough to Tell the Truth

This video is all about tough love. If you care about someone, you don't lie to him. "You're doing drugs? Mainlining? Hey, no big deal; just enjoy yourself....You're in a relationship with a married man? Hey, no big deal; you have a right to be happy....You have a habit of shoplifting? Hey no big deal. Those big companies can afford it." People living a sinful lifestyle need to hear the truth from someone close to them. They don't care what strangers say, but can be reached by the person they know loves them. What they don't need is ear tickling and encouragement to continue their self-destructive behavior. If you know someone living the homosexual lifestyle, love them enough to tell them the truth. Hell is forever.

Will Conservatives Abandon the Moral Issues...and Become Irrelevant?

Events of the past few weeks indicate that the battle for conservatism is at a crossroads. With Ann Coulter scheduled to  speak at GoProud's HOMOCON event, and Glenn Beck declaring the gay marriage movement not important enough to engage, we're seeing the further normalization and acceptance of the gay agenda. And is it surprising? Gays have a lot of money. They also have plenty of social acceptance, both in the mainstream media and among the clueless young. They've won the "tolerance" battle convincing millions that sodomy is a civil right and that mutual masturbation and worse is equivalent to marital relations.

The fact is, criticizing the gay agenda will get you attacked and labeled a "nut job" quicker than almost any other issue, even abortion. Let's take one example from the gay playbook. If you want to experience first hand the "jamming" strategy of gay activists (i.e., screaming loud and long against anyone who challenges their agenda), just take a position exposing the vicious homosexual propaganda being paid for and promoted in the public schools with taxpayer dollars. Millions are being spent in Massachusetts alone. The money, among other things, has paid to print and distribute to teens the Little Black Book: Queer in the 21st Century. (Warning: clicking on the link will expose you to disgusting and graphic material. But isn't it interesting homosexuals can call themselves "queer" but if you do, you're a homophobic bigot.)

The black book is nothing but a teaching manual for perversion. You have to see it yourself to believe it and I urge parents with kids in public schools to check it out, because this type of homosexual indoctrination is not limited to Massachusetts.

The "condom guide" includes photos of the erect male organ with instructions on correct condom use. There's another double page describing various types of homosexual sex acts including titles in the margin and their definitions. Here are the titles:  "F***in', Suckin', Spit or Swallow?, Rimming? [with the definition], Watersports (P*** Play), Fisting, Toys, Mutual J***in' Off."

This is for children, remember. The book also includes a list of Boston bars and clubs for "the discerning queerboy." (And they say they aren't recruiting? )

Now the head of Mass Resistance who's been fighting this perversion is Brian Camenker. In my book he's a hero who deserves the thanks of parents everywhere for exposing the dark underbelly of the public schools. And yet when he's invited to participate in local tea party events, a RINO named Christen Varley who, besides being an establishment hack, also heads a poltically correct tea party with some of her friends has gone after Camenker bigtime. Varley, a friend of the liberal media in Boston, is trying to undermine any meetings that include Camenker. She managed to get most of the speakers at one tea party rally to back out which caused the event to be cancelled. (Bunch of cowards!) She also got writer Don Feder to cancel at another tea party event that went on without him. (I'm sure disappointed in Don Feder!)

The big danger to the tea party movement is that they'll buy the lie that they need to restrict the issues to fiscal conservatism and dump the moral issues. If they do that, the movement is dead, just one more useless version of what we have already. What's bringing this country down is our moral collapse. The financial crisis is the direct result of the moral collapse. A quote often attributed to de Tocqueville pegs it.  "America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great." We long since ceased to be good. Can we reclaim our moral heritage? I don't know. But one things for sure; we won't do it with political correctness. We need moral warriors. Brian Camenker illustrates the fighting spirit that made America great. He's a brave man. Pray for him and for his group. We need them!

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Alaska Joins 37 Other States by Passing Parental Notification

Alaska Voters Pass Measure for Parental Notification
Pro-lifers Outspent But Win Decisively
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor

August 25, 2010

Juneau, AK (LifeNews.com) -- Alaska voters easily passed Measure 2, a ballot proposal to allow parents in the state the right to know when their teenage daughter is considering an abortion. The state will now have a law requiring abortion practitioners to notify a parent of a minor girl 48 hours before performing an abortion on her. Read more...

Will George Soros Be Funding this "Catholic" Dissent Group?

Homosexual activists are gearing up to start a new dissent group called Catholics for Equality composed of gay activists who want to see the Church change her teachings. I can't believe these folks really think the Church will change her teachings, so I can only presume this is about advancing hatred against the Church. You know, that wicked, misogynist, homophobic group headed by men in skirts who lack tolerance, compassion, yadda, yadda, yadda.

 God have mercy on these poor deluded servants of the evil one. Read more here.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

The Great Raid: A War Movie Worth Watching

Larry and I just watched The Great Raid, a WW II movie about the most successful rescue mission in our military history. The Army Rangers in a surprise attack freed 500 POWs who were slated for "liquidation" in a Japanese prison camp in the Phillippines. About 120 Army rangers with the help of local Phillippino guerillas took on several thousand Japanese and succeeded with only two American casualites and 21 Phillippino. It's a great movie that also shows the courage of the underground who were smuggling medicine and other supplies to the prisoners. They paid a heavy price. But what courage! "No greater love than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend." The underground is shown meeting at a Catholic Church with two of the priests courageously assisting. The movie is rated R for the violence, but there's nothing gratuitous. It shows the horrendous reality of war. Pray for peace.

From Harvard to the Convent: 2010 Valedictorian Enters Religious Life

Many in the world think a vocation to the religious life is a waste. Why would someone want to "give up her life" to be a contemplative or limit her choices by joining a teaching order or one that works with the elderly?

A 2010 valedictorian from Harvard shares the journey that led to her entrance to religious life. Mary Anne Marks heads from Queens, NY to Ann Arbor, MI this week to enter the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist. What led this classics scholar, who gave her valedictory speech in Latin, to skip grad school for the novitiate? Read her interview with National Review to explore how the seed of this special calling takes root and is nurtured along the way. And pray for this young woman as she enters a new and exciting chapter in the story of life.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

They're After Our Money: Can't wait to see this movie!

This looks to be a serious look at the economic situation, but with a lot of laughs. I couldn't help chuckling over Nancy's idiotic statement saying they had to pass the health care bill to find out what's in it. That was no lie from the bobblehead babe. We all know she didn't read it. And we keep finding more and more that's in the bill that has NOTHING to do with health care. Like the college loans details.

Huh? Who's earmark was that from the most moral administration in history?

Check out the movie trailer and the website and get ready to laugh and cry. (Hopefully we'll be laughing a lot on election day.)

Of Witch Doctors and Abortion Regulation

While Chuck Robb was governor of Virginia (1982-1986) he eliminated regulation of abortion facilities which were, at the time, under the scrutiny of the Virginia Department of Health. Liberals talk a lot about "safe" abortions, but they're always first in line to make sure that abortionists enjoy free rein. Wouldn't want to hamstring them with the same kind of regulations that apply to other free standing surgical clinics: like cleanliness, hiring only licensed personnel, having basic equipment on hand to deal with complications, etc. 

Blacks Defend Tea Party Against Racism Charge

The liberals want to present monolithic pictures of blacks as liberals and the tea partiers as racist. This video puts the lie to both pictures. Black conservatives may represent a small group or they may be the spearhead of a growing group who are beginning to see that liberalism is destructive. In any cases I applaud these articulate conservatives!

The Answer to Islam! A Coptic Priest Who's Willing to Lay Down His Life for Jesus

Pray for this brave coptic orthodox priest who has drawn so many muslims to faith in Jesus Christ. There is a 60 million bounty on his head from the "religion of peace" and he's been labeled one of the most dangerous infidels in the world. His brother had his tongue cut out and was murdered for evangelizing Muslims.  A talk scheduled in Vienna, Austria in May had to be cancelled because of terrorist threats from the "religion of peace." Pray for all brave Muslims seeking the truth in Jesus Christ, that they may have the courage of the early martyrs to embrace Christianity despite the dangers in doing so. I wish Catholics in the United States had the same love for Christ exhibited by this Christian coptic priest. Be sure to read the interview with this modern day Daniel linked after the video.



Interview with Fr. Botros

A Sunday Meditation: Searching for the Truth


I've posted before about the Catholic Mothers' Board I'm on. I love these young moms all of whom are struggling to understand the faith in all its fullness. They are so precious and so open to loving and sharing every seeker who comes to the board. They have found the truth in the Catholic Church and are evangelizing one another in such a beautiful way. They edify me and give me great hope for the future as they raise their little ones in the faith.

Today I read the post of a young mom who has been away from the Church for awhile. From what she said, it's clear she never received good catechesis. Friends and family have counseled her to be a cafeteria Catholic, but she is honest enough to know that isn't right which is why she left and joined a Protestant congregation. But she knows something is missing and came to the board to share her heartfelt longing and her doubts over those things she does not accept. Her little one hasn't been baptized and she is wondering whether to baptize in the Church when she does not accept all the teachings. What a painful joy it is to be searching for the truth. And how many others out there are treading water in the same murky sea of doubt and confusion.

Here's what I wrote on the board in response to this dear young mom's crie de coeur. I share it here for others who are struggling with the decision to return to the faith or to explore the Catholic Church. How we long for you! Please don't delay.

Dear young mom,

Thank you so much for sharing your heartfelt story. As soon as I started reading your post I began praying for you. Many Catholics have been deprived of the faith through bad teaching and preaching. There are so many examples of public dissent, even from bishops and clergy, that it would be surprising if people WEREN'T confused.


We all start out as babies in the faith accepting things because our "mom" (Holy Mother Church) told us so. Then as we grow older we learn the whys. If you have your baby baptized in the Church you make the little one accountable as a Catholic, so you need to be able to make the promise to raise your children in the faith. But if you believe that the Catholic Church was founded by Christ (almost all other religions broke away from the Catholic Church) you are inside the door already. Do you accept the creed? That's the summary of our faith; everything else grows from that.



If you DON'T come back to the Church, you deprive yourself of God's greatest gifts: the sacraments of Holy Eucharist, Penance, and the Anointing of the Sick. Read John 6 for the Biblical imperative on the Eucharist. The one central thing that keeps me close to the heart of the Church is the Holy Eucharist. Every time each of us receives we become a living tabernacle carrying Jesus inside ourselves like Mary carried Him for nine months in her womb. You can't get closer to him than that. And even the wonderful fellowship of Protestant churches can't compare.



If you wait until you understand everything, you will never come back. Who understands all the mysteries of the faith? The Trinity? St. Augustine met a heavenly messenger (a little child) on the beach who was trying to empty the ocean into a pail. When he told the child it was impossible, the little one replied, "So is trying to comprehend the Trinity." We are all babies in the faith. Letting yourself be "fed" by the Lord is the first step. Remember what Jesus said about having faith "the size of a mustard seed."



Come back for the intimate love of Jesus and then explore all the glorious teachings. There are so many nay sayers out there who will try to keep you out, but they just don't understand.



God loves you so much and he misses that intimate union with you in the Eucharist.



I'm adding you to my rosary journal. Whenever my husband and I say our rosary we offer it for all the intentions recorded there. Join us by saying the rosary or a daily decade or even three Hail Mary's. The Blessed Mother will take you by the hand and lead you into the heart of the Church.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Joseph Farah Describes the Controversy with Ann Coulter


I give Joseph Farah a lot of credit for the way he has handled the controversy over disinviting Ann Coulter to the the Taking America Back Conference in Miama. Coulter, sadly, has behaved like a spoiled child having a tantrum name-calling and spewing vitriol. She reminds me of the screaming meemies of the National Organization for Women as she uses extreme language to attack and linguistically disembowel someone who has supported her over the years. What a sideshow. The left must be loving it!

I could never imagine anyone describing Coulter as a lady, but am, nevertheless,  amazed to see her act in a way that can only be described with a word I don't use. She is being coddled and pampered by the homosexuals for her betrayal of her base. No surprise. She appears to be lapping it up which just further demeans her.

Farah has responded as a gentleman, treating Coulter with respect even though she doesn't see it. The article below describing everything that occurred reminds me of the Old Testament story in 2 Maccabees. During the reign of the tyrant Antiochus, the Jews were forced to consume meat offered to idols. The elderly scribe Eleazar refused. Those in charge of the ritual meal urged him to bring his own meat and pretend to eat what was forbidden. He responded firmly, refusing to scandalize others and bring shame and dishonor to his old age. "I will leave to the young a noble example of how to die willingly and generously for the revered and holy laws."

What's significant here is the response of Eleazar's associates. His courage convicted them of their own evil. They "became hostile toward him" and immediately led him to the instrument of torture, no doubt inflicting as much pain as possible. Does this not sound like the raging Ann Coulter? 

As my mom used to say, "A guilty conscience needs no accuser."

God bless Joseph Farah and World Net Daily. If the conservative movement wants to mean anything in this country, it needs to stand firm on the moral issues, issues that have been supported by moral governments throughout history. Fiscal issues are minor in the culture wars. Moral issues (abortion, embryonic stem-cell research, euthanasia, same-sex marriage, special rights for homosexuals, hate speech laws, etc) are what really matter most. Those who ignore the central issues can get a pass as "moderates." Those of us who stand for life and the traditional family are labeled rabid extremists. Wear that label as a badge of honor!

___________________________________________________________

I guess I hit a nerve

Joseph Farah

Posted: August 20, 2010 1:00 am Eastern

World Net Daily

© 2010

I'm sad that I have lost Ann Coulter as a friend.

But I have no regrets about my action this week in disinviting her to be a keynote speaker at our Taking America Back National Conference in Miami next month.

It was the right thing to do under the circumstances – no matter the consequences.

I guess you could say she didn't take it well.

She told the Daily Caller I dumped her for publicity.

"Farah is doing this for PUBLICITY and publicity alone," she wrote in an e-mail.

She expressed anger that WND had quoted from an e-mail exchange between the two of us.

"He's a swine for using my private e-mails politely answering him," she wrote. "Why would he do such a despicable thing … for PUBLICITY."

The evidence that I am a "publicity whore," according to Coulter, is that my "promotion of the birther nonsense (long ago disproved by my newspaper, Human Events, also Sweetness & Light, American Spectator and National Review, etc., etc., etc.) He's the only allegedly serious conservative pushing the birther thing. For ONE reason: to get his hits on his website."

There's more angry vitriol, which you can read for yourself, if you like.
But I want to begin with the issue of constitutional eligibility.

Coulter is an attorney. She studied law. I believe she knows, as any informed person does, that Barack Obama has never proven his constitutional eligibility for office – not even close. Worse yet, he was never asked to do so by any controlling legal authority, which is an outrage that needs to be rectified.

That has been my approach and the approach of my news agency from the beginning. I'm proud of the work we have done on this and continue to do. Since we began this campaign, the tide has turned. According to the latest CNN poll, at least 58 percent of the American people – many of them Ann Coulter's biggest fans – have seen the light and don't believe Barack Obama's birth story. Far from being about publicity, this campaign has cost WND dearly on that front. As I have pointed out publicly before, I have not appeared on even one television news show for the last 15 months as a direct result of my commitment to this issue. I don't think I have to point out how frequently Ann Coulter has appeared in that time – often for saying some rather provocative things.

But there's one more point I would like to make about her overreaction to being disinvited to the WND conference.
I hadn't planned to share publicly the plea I made to Ann to change her mind about her plan to validate and affirm the legitimacy of GOProud and its Homocon event. But now I think I must. It's important to know that my communications with Ann prior to our decision was part of a broader effort to reach out to several media celebrities who seemed to be compromising on a critical moral issue. One of them, a personality more famous and popular than Coulter, immediately saw the light and made a correction – Ann did not.

Here it is in its entirety with one exception, the reference to that other personality:
Until now, I have asked you a couple of pointed questions about your participation in the Homocon event.

Now, in the Christian spirit of Matthew 18, I want to tell you what I think in very clear terms. We don't really know each other well. But I still consider you a friend and a fellow freedom fighter.

Homosexuality is a sin, according to the Bible. God calls it an abomination. Paul (Romans 1:18-32) calls it a judgment on societies that turn away from God. I'm sure it has not escaped your attention that America is now one of those societies. Meanwhile, we have people – homosexual and heterosexual – who take pleasure in the increase of this abomination and its acceptance, just as Paul said.

This is how homosexuality literally destroys societies.

I know you don't want to see America destroyed. I've read all your books, and I'm a fan of your columns. I know you want what's best for our country – and I believe you're a sincere Christian.

Whether you believe it or not, or whether or not it is your intent, your acceptance of this speaking engagement is affirming GOProud, which is, I'm sure you've noticed, winning the hearts and minds in the conservative movement – with CPAC, Grover Norquist and others who don't necessarily bring a Judeo-Christian worldview to the party. GOProud is having a field day marketing you and legitimizing itself further in the conservative movement through its association with you.

It's a very big deal, Ann, and it's bigger than you. Glenn Beck threw in the towel last week on same-sex marriage, saying since it doesn't affect him, it doesn't matter. Materialistic utilitarianism – much of the conservative movement is moving in that direction.

I believe this is a time when God is calling his people to stand up for what's right. I'm afraid you're really blurring the lines for many of your fans.

Speaking to this group is not the same as speaking to a group of college students anywhere. Presumably, you speak to them not just for money, but to change their minds. The only way you might change some minds and hearts at Homocon is to confront them with their sin. I don't get the impression that is what you are being paid to do. These are folks who are being sheltered from the consequences of their sin. By giving a standard conservative rah-rah speech to them, you are embracing them as part of the conservative movement.

GOProud truly represents a blight on the conservative movement. The more the movement embraces them and accepts them, the more it will render the conservative movement useless and irrelevant.

Think of the moment your acceptance of this engagement came – just after a judge rejected the will of the people of California on Proposition 8. That was judicial tyranny at its worst, and it came from a self-interested homosexual judge.

In case you haven't figured it out, I am imploring you not to do this thing. … I really think it is a big mistake for you, one that has consequences for the movement you love and for the country you love.

I promise you this will be the last missive you receive from me on this topic unless you ask for more.

And that was that. I never heard from Ann Coulter, again – until her now famous name-calling fusillade.

You be the judge.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Joseph Farah is founder, editor and CEO of WND and a nationally syndicated columnist with Creators Syndicate. He is the author or co-author of 13 books, including his latest, "The Tea Party Manifesto: A Vision for an American Rebirth," and his classic, "Taking America Back: A Radical Plan to Revive Freedom, Morality and Justice," now in its third edition and 14 printings. Farah is the former editor of the legendary Sacramento Union and other major-market daily newspapers.

Glenn Beck and Ann Coulter: the Credibility Gap


A true conservative wants to "conserve" what's good from the past and preserve it for future generations. The word derives from the Latin conservare meaning to guard, to preserve, to cherich, to treasure, to save. And yet two celebrity conservatives, Glenn Beck and Ann Coulter, recently came out legitimizing homosexuality. It puts their "conservative" credentials in serious jeopardy.

Frankly, I was shocked when Glenn Beck decided that the institution of marriage, which is almost as old as human civilization itself, just isn't worth defending. Beck even laughed when questioned about it on the O'Reilly factor. He responded to Bill O'Reilly's question, "Do you believe gay marriage is a threat to the country in any way?" saying, "A threat to the country? No I don't." Then he added with sarcasm, "Will the gays come and get us?" and quoted Thomas Jefferson, "If it neither breaks my leg nor picks my pocket, what difference is it to me?"

Interesting response. It could equally justify indifference toward slavery or abortion or, for that matter, rape or spouse abuse, or pornography or any number of other moral issues. Hey, whatever floats your boat! As long as it doesn't affect me personally, "what difference is it to me?"

The Ann Coulter controversy arose when she decided to keynote the HOMOCON conference in September sponsored by GoProud, a self-described group of conservative gays. It caused World Net Daily (WND) to disinvite Coulter as the keynoter for their Take Back America National Conference next month. Ann went ballistic calling Joseph Farah, head of WND, "a swine" and "a publicity whore" and labeled WND "fake Christians" only interested in driving folks to their website and making money. This from a woman who said of her speech for GoProud, "They hired me to give a speech, so I’m giving a speech. I do it all the time. I speak to a lot of groups and do not endorse them. Giving a speech is not an endorsement of every position held by the people I’m speaking to.”

So who exactly is the "whore" who will do her thing for anyone who comes up with the money even if it lends legitimacy to their evil agenda? She disingenuously compared her decision to speaking on liberal college campuses, a totally different situation. I find it hard to believe she really thinks they are the same thing, but it makes a good sound bite.

Farah responded to Coulter's sophistry saying, "GOProud is about infiltration of the conservative movement and dividing it from within with twisted and dangerous ideas way out of the mainstream of American public opinion. Ann Coulter is, I'm afraid, validating this effort for money. I support her speaking to people with whom she disagrees on college campuses. That's a good idea. I do it, too. But if you see the way GOProud is exploiting its coup in getting Ann Coulter to speak to its HOMOCON event, you begin to understand what a mistake this is for a conservative icon like Coulter."

Farah is right and Ann Coulter's attack on him shows exactly how prideful this woman is. Farah seems to me to be a consistently conscientious man who sees the battle for the culture much more clearly than Ann Coulter does. I've read Coulter's books and even given them as gifts, but I've always been uncomfortable with her crass rudeness and immodest clothing as well as her glibness. But for her to call her critics "fake Christians" for objecting to her legitimizing homosexuality is staggering. The homosexual movement is chortling over their coup in getting an icon of conservatism to give them credibility. But it totally undermines Ann Coulter's.

In view of what Coulter thinks of people like me, I'll never buy another of her books. She's made it clear that those of us who oppose legitimizing the gay lifestyle are "fake Christians." Although what exactly makes her a Christian, I'm not sure. After all she herself says her motivator is money. And the Bible says you can't serve both God and Money. So who is her god? The Bible also condemns homosexual activity in no uncertain terms as a sin that cries to heaven for vengeance. But Ann has decided that lending her name to homosexual "conservatives" (exactly what are they conserving?) is the way to go. You pays the money, you gets the girl. Sounds a lot like the same deal that goes down in the red light district every night.

I'm disappointed in Glenn Beck and Ann Coulter, but not really surprised. After all, the homosexual movement has a lot of money and influence and you pay a big price for bucking them. So why not fudge a little by cosying up to the fiscal conservatives in the gay movement? Just close your eyes to the fact that they also promote things like gay marriage, gay adoption, lowering the age of consent, undermining the military, and special rights for homosexuals paid for by American families.

Beck and Coulter apparently think the culture war is a game. They've created a credibility gap for themselves. Some things can only be conserved by consistently fighting for the truth. The Bible calls us to "do all that your duty requires and hold your ground." Those who claim to be Christians have a particular obligation to carry out that Biblical imperative. And holding ground on the essential laws of God, like the reality that marriage is a God-given institution between one man and one woman, is primary. Glenn Beck and Ann Coulter have freely given up ground to the enemy. When soldiers do that, it's treason. Is it any less a treason when the battle is spiritual?

Take off the Rose-Colored Glasses and See the Real Islam!


Understanding the true nature of Islam grows more important every day as mosques and Islamic ghettos rise up in cities all over the United States. I haven't read the book described below but plan to get it. The "religion of peace" is a sham. And the bland acceptance of its peaceful pretense by the naive endangers our security.

After the book review I've included a "quiz" that is circulating on the internet. It gives a pretty clear picture of the dangers we face from those who follow Islam according to Mohammed and the Qur'an.

From The New Oxford Review

Islamic Contradictions
July-August 2010 By Philip Blosser

Book Review: Cracks in the Crescent. By Hussein Hajji Wario. Bethany Press. 252 pages. $24.95.

Since the events of 9/11, Christians in the West have become increasingly interested in what makes the Muslim world tick. Writers and publishers, for their part, have begun turning out a growing number of books introducing Western Christians to the world of Islam. Offerings from Catholic publishers include Jacques Jomier's The Bible and the Qur'an (Ignatius Press, 2002), Dan­iel Ali and Robert Spen­cer's Inside Islam: A Guide for Catholics (Ascension Press, 2003); Spen­cer's Islam Unveiled (Encounter Books, 2003), and Giorgio Pao­lucci and Ca­mille Eid's interview-based volume, 111 Questions on Islam: Samir Kha­lil Samir, S.J., on Islam and the West (Ignatius Press, 2008), to mention but a few.

Hussein Hajji Wario's Cracks in the Crescent warrants special notice. Two facts set this book apart. First, Wario is not only a former Sunni Muslim with years of experience in an Islamic culture, but unlike many Muslims was thoroughly educated in the esoteric aspects of Islam. Second, the arguments he uses to expose Islam — arguments honed by years of experience of debating Muslim peers after his Christian conversion — are drawn from the extensive literature of Islam itself, not merely the Qur'an, but Islamic history, Seerah (the life of Muham­mad), Sunnah (specific words, actions, and practices of Mu­hammad), and Hadith (narrations based on the words of Muhammad shedding light on the Qur'an and matters of jurisprudence), and Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence). The purpose of his book, Wario says, is to help both Muslims and non-Muslims seeking answers about the true nature of Islam.

Wario was educated in traditional Islamic schools, called ma­drassa, in Kenya during his formative years. Upon graduation he served as a madrassa teaching assistant and as a muadhin, the man who calls Muslims to prayer, in his native hometown. The first fourteen chapters of his book chronicle his upbringing in the monolithically Muslim community of his Kenyan Orma tribe, the shocking persecutions that followed his Christian conversion in 1989, and his emigration to the United States, where he attended Hope College in Michigan. The final two chapters deal thematically with the distortions behind the "Jesus of Islam" and the "Promised Comforter," whom Muslims understand to be Muhammad.

Western readers will be startled to read Wario's account of the tight, hierarchical network of Muslim clerics who strictly oversaw every aspect of Wario's education. All of life revolved around the madrassa and local mosque. As soon as he was old enough, he was taught to read and write Arabic, and then to read the Qur'an. Along with fellow schoolboys, he still bears scars from the floggings they received when they misspelled or mispronounced words from the Qur'an.

Friday, August 20, 2010

"The Secret of Sanctity and Happiness" - Cardinal Mercier

My sister sent me the email below several weeks ago and I've been meaning to post it. I love the idea of going down into the tabernacle of my soul to worship the Lord God who comes to me whenever I receive Him in the Holy Eucharist. Think of it. Everyone who attends daily Mass and receives Jesus worthily carries Him out into the world -- literally for the short time He is physically present in our bodies. We are a literal tabernacle and even a monstrance, showing Christ to the world. Let us listen to Him often so we will conform our wills more and more to His.

From my sister (Thanks, Carol):

Came across this prayer in an old Wanderer by Cardinal Mercier who was archbishop of Malines, Belgium from 1906 til 1926.Here in his own words is the daily spiritual exercise of Cardinal Mercier:

"I am going to reveal to you the secret of sanctity and happiness. Every day for five minutes control your imagination and close your eyes to the things of sense and your ears to all the noises of the world, in order to enter into yourself. Then, in the sanctity of your baptized soul(which is the Temple of the Holy Spirit), speak to that Divine Spirit, saying to Him: 'O Holy Spirit, beloved of my soul, I adore you. Enlighten me,guide me, strengthen me, console me. Tell me what I should do. Give me your orders. I promise to submit myself to all that you desire of me and accept all that you permit to happen to me. Let me only know your WILL.'

"If you do this, your life will flow along happily,serenely, and full of consolation, even in the midst of trials. Grace will be proportioned to the trial, giving you strength to carry it, and you will arrive at the Gate of Paradise laden with merit. This submission to the Holy Spirit is the secret of sanctity."

Désiré-Joseph Cardinal Mercier

Steven Brigham: Exposing the myth of "safe and legal" abortion

I blogged about abortionist Steven Brigham last month. He's a butcher with a chain of abortion mills in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and New York.  It came to my attention this week that he also owns  facilities in Virginia, one in my old county of residence, Fairfax.

Brigham's license was revoked in New York in 1994 for gross negligence and his appeal of the decision was denied. To read the complaint and the medical board's decision including a detailed description of the damage done to two women through laceration of the cervix, perforation of the uterus, and other serious injuries go here.  Warning: it's not for the faint of heart. One patient required 7 units of blood after being admitted to the hospital.

Lest you think Brigham has learned his lesson, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported last month that he had been ordered to close his four Pennyslvania abortion mills for employing unlicensed care givers. There have also been complaints about his filthy facilities and his failure to follow even minimal standards of medical care. Brigham's negligence is well documented. Go here. He also is a tax evader and owes over $200,000 in back payroll taxes in Pennsylvania.

Brigham has a slick website advertising his American Women's Services chain. Among the many mills on the site are the two in Virginia: the one in Fairfax and another in Virginia Beach. What's not advertised on the website is his history of being on the wrong side of the the law and his consistent medical malpractice. And the only thing unusual about this abortionist is the degree of his malfeasance. Anyone who's done sidewalk counseling has run into many cases of abortion malpractice. Let's face it. Abortion attracts the bottom feeders. Steven Brigham is a graphic example, but he has plenty of company.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Handicaps Offer Challenges to Greatness

This young man could have given up on life. He didn't. He started to play the piano at age 19 and it has become a passion that offers hope for the future. His ambition is to be a music producer. Do you think life is too hard? The only failure, is the failure to try - using your God-given gifts, perhaps in unusual ways. Celebrate life! No matter its limits and challenges. every life is a gift from God. This young man plays the piano with his feet, Tony Melendez plays the guitar. Living without arms has given these young men the opportunity to be an example of hope to millions. God bless them!



Tuesday, August 17, 2010

In the Thick of the Battle

I've almost finished reading the Aug/Sept issue of Catholic World Report. There's an interesting article about new film, Cristiada, being made about Mexico's war against the Church back in the 1920s. Most Catholics have heard of Fr. Miguel Pro, one of its victims, but how many really understand what was going on when an atheistic dictatorship launched an all-out war against Catholicism and killed thousands of priests and religious and Catholic laity.

Coincidentally, I've been reading about the war against the faith in 16th and 17th century England and I recently picked up another book about the Spanish Civil War which also saw thousands of clergy murdered for the faith.

So many wars throughout history have been anti-Christian or specifically anti-Catholic. I think that's why the Lord of the Rings is so powerful. The battle is always the same: good vs. evil, the dark attempting to overcome the light, hatred vs. Christ's command to love, the struggle not to be seduced by "the precious" creatures of the world.

I'm so glad to be Catholic. It makes puzzling it all out so much easier that it would otherwise be. Life is hard, but the faith is a lamp unto our feet. It may only light up our next step, but we are never left alone in the darkness even when the lights are going out all around us.

Monday, August 16, 2010

FDA Approves New Abortion Drug

Last week the FDA unanimously approved a new abortion drug, euphemistically labeled "Ella." It operates by blocking progesterone which prevents both implantation and sustaining pregnancy. The FDA is promoting it as an "emergency contraceptive," not surprising since deceiving women has become the established practice where "reproductive health" is concerned. (Actually, the term reproductive "health" always reminds me of 1984 newspeak where the "ministry of love" engages in torturing those who engage in thought crimes. There is nothing "healthy" about these dangerous drugs.) That Ella is an abortifacient is self-evident from the fact that one can take it up to five days after sex. Obviously, it does not stop the uniting of an egg and sperm if ovulation has already occurred. So the only possible means of "preventing pregnancy" after conception is early abortion either through preventing implantation or shutting off progesterone which allows the baby to develop.

Here are some of my objections to "Ella."

First of all, I resent the name since I have a darling little granddaughter named Ella who is as full of life and joy as a two-year-old can be. To have her name attached to a drug whose only purpose is killing babies in the womb is obscene.

Secondly, the FDA is supposed to protect women from both dangerous drugs and deceptive advertising. They did neither by releasing the drug. What they are doing, however, is allowing the federal government to fund an abortifacient drug while pretending it's a contraceptive and they are willing and eager to lie to women about it. And the game goes on.

Third, (which is the primary reason) murdering babies is just plain diabolical. It must be stopped!

Fourth, there are liars, damn liars, and the FDA.

Anyone who trusts this evil bureaucracy on anything would believe in the peanut butter cure for cancer. Think about it. If FDA docs don't care about the baby's health and the mother's health, why would they care about yours? Last year a group of scientists at the FDA complained about corruption relating to approval of medical devices. See the video below. I'll be doing some research to see what's on the internet with regard to approval of abortifacient and "contraceptive" drugs. I bet there's a money trail between the FDA and the drug companies producing these evil drugs. What are the odds that FDA doctors have links to BIG PHARM? Pretty good I'd say. As the Bible says, "Love of money is the root of all evils."

Stay tuned....

For more information see:

FDA Approves Dangerous Ella 

FDA Approves Emergency Contraceptive

Manipulating Meetings So You Don't Have to Answer the Tough Questions

I've been to a lot of manipulated meetings in my life. One way to control the content is to schedule presentations to fill up every second. Then the scheduled time for the meeting comes to an end and, oh my, no time for questions. Another strategy is the index card. Hand out cards and tell your audience they must submit their questions. All the softballs get answered and, oh my, there's no time for the hard questions. But thug strategy seems to predominate among liberals. How would you feel asking questions with this guy looming over you? Melissa Bean is from Illinois and apparently believes in Chicago style politics. 


It's not surprising she'd use a thug to intimidate voters. She's also a bully and thug when it comes to unborn babies. She favors abortion on demand, embryonic stem cell research. She couldn't even find it in her philosophy to vote against sexual predators driving minors across state lines to get abortions.


Getting her out of office should be a priority in November.




Sunday, August 15, 2010

Feast of the Assumption

The Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady emphasizes the importance of sacred tradition to our faith. Nowhere in the Bible is there anything about Mary being taken into heaven (or her Immaculate Conception for that matter). The end of her life, like its beginning, is shrouded in mystery.

Did Mary suffer the pangs of death? The Church doesn't tell us. She, who shared in the passion of her Son, could have desired to imitate His end on earth by physically dying. On the other hand, since death had already been overcome and since Mary had shared spiritually in His suffering and death, was her physical death necessary? Mary would choose as she always did, "Be it done unto me according to your Word." Mary's entire life was a dying to self; the end of her time on earth would be the same.

Whether or not Mary died physically, the Church has believed since the fourth century that she was taken up body and soul into heaven where she is enthroned as Queen of heaven and earth.

Mary, Queen of angels, Queen of patriarchs, Queen of all the faithful, pray for us.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Modern Murder: Euthanasia is Here!

If you don't know what's going on in the medical profession, your life is in danger. In a culture of death, the groups most vulnerable are the weak: the young, the old, and the handicapped. What you don't know can kill you. I personally know of several people whose lives were prematurely ended in the way described in this article. Be on guard! Not all doctors are Dr. Death, but there are enough today that you can't trust blindly. Get second opinions from trustworthy sources. Ask for the medical charts. Don't let your loved one be killed by the "compassionate" medical team. Remember, it was doctors who killed the "useless eaters" in Nazi Germany. Hitler never imposed euthanasia, the doctors requested it. Hitler just extended their logic when he created the death camps to take care of the "subhuman" race. This nurse is giving witness to the horrendous reality of the culture of death. Its next target may be you or someone you love.


Are you being targeted for euthanasia?
By Mary Therese Helmueller, R.N.

In 1984, while working as charge nurse in the intensive care unit, a 20-year-old man asked, "Can you give my mother enough morphine to let her sleep away?" I was horrified. "I can not kill your mother," I responded. That was only the beginning. Recently, an 80-year-old was admitted to the emergency room and the physician said, "LET'S DEHYDRATE HER"; one more patient was sentenced to die in hospice with NO TERMINAL DIAGNOSIS and once again, THE LIVING WILL determined the death of a 70-year-old man regardless of how he pleaded to live. I can no longer remain silent.

    Your life may be in danger if you are admitted to a hospital, especially if you are over 65 or have a chronic illness or a disability. The elderly are frequently dying three days after being admitted to the hospital.. Some attribute it to "old age syndrome" while others admit that overdosing is all too common. Euthanasia is not legal but it is being practiced. Last year the New England Journal of Medicine reported that 1 in 5 critical care nurses admit to having hastened the death of the terminally ill! I believe the percentage is much higher. I have worked with nurses who even admit to overdosing their parents. No one knows the exact euthanasia rate in the United States, however Dr. Dolan from the University of Minnesota states that 40 percent of all reported deaths is probably a conservative estimation. If this is true then the United States is executing euthanasia at a higher percentage rate than the Netherlands where it is also illegal but widely practiced.

    Did you know that many doctors and nurses whom we trust are speaking openly about their desire to practice euthanasia? In fact they are even speaking about ending their OWN lives when they reach the age of 65 or BEFORE if diagnosed with an illness. Some even admit to stealing the drugs for their own lethal injection. Think about it. These are the same people who will determine the value of YOUR life. If they do not value their own, how can you expect them to value yours? 

Condemning the Generous

I'm not into reality shows, but I recently read about a couple who's in one, Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar. They live debt free in a house they built, but that's not enough for the "tolerant" of the world because this couple has committed the unforgivable crime: they have "too many" children. Michelle Duggar gave birth to their 19th child last winter when little Josie was born prematurely by C-section. Read more about this amazing couple and their attitude toward life by clicking on the hotlink. You can also read the vitriolic comments from "liberals" whose liberality does not extend to being open to life and welcoming children with open arms. They call the Duggars "selfish." These are the same folks who celebrate the murder of little "unwanted" babes in the womb. They remind me of the mother in the Solomon story who wants the living baby killed. Their name is Legion.

The Bible and the tradition of the Church teaches us differently. A child, the Bible says, is like an arrow in the quiver. Blest is the man who has a quiverful. Many saints learned the gospel in the school of the large family. St. Catherine of Siena, I believe, was the 21st.  God bless the Duggars! May their positive attitude toward children spread. And may we all be open to God's will: the parents of many children, the parents of few, the parents who  mourn like Hannah because they have none. Conforming our hearts and minds to the Lord is the key to happiness. My prayer for the Duggars is that they find the fullness of the faith in the Catholic Church. Imagine all these young ones spreading the Eucharist far and wide.

For more on this Christian family visit their website. 

Friday, August 13, 2010

Is Another Roe v. Wade Coming? This Time on "Gay" Marriage?

The writing is on the wall as they say. The California ruling declaring Proposition 8 unconstitutional, made by a reportedly homosexual judge (Is any media asking why he didn't recuse himself?), is moving us toward the next national abomination: overturning all state laws against same-sex marriage. Most states, by the way, have laws on the books defining marriage between a man and a woman, just as they had laws outlawing abortion before Roe v. Wade cast them all to the whirlwind.

The decision was so obviously biased that any right-thinking person must see it. Unfortunately, right-thinking is rare these days and in the world of homo-correctness any argument to overturn reason will do. The national motto, for all practical purposes, is I'm okay, you're okay.

Judge Vaughn Walker says that the Constitution guarantees the equality of heterosexual and homosexual marriage. In other words, they are the same before the law. Such a ruling is ridiculous on its face. If it were true, it wouldn't matter to a society whether people chose one or the other. But, in fact, if everyone, or even a majority of citizens, chose same-sex marriage it would mean the death of the society. How does sodomy advance the common good which is the purpose of the law?

On the other hand, if technology can give us cloned children and petri-dish children nurtured in an artificial womb, who needs babies arriving in the "normal" way. We will be in the utopia depicted in Brave New World where children are conceived in test-tubes, "nurtured" in state institutions, and channeled into their future roles through behavior modification. They will be kept happy and in-line with the drug Soma, orgies, and mind-deadening entertainment (the feelies).

We're already getting close to that "reality." We look like Brave New World with our focus on films and "reality" shows, drugs like Prozac and tranquilizers to reduce emotional pain and anxiety. There's our sanctification of sterility with the priesthood of Planned Parenthood dispensing its sacraments to ensure the lack of fruit in the womb while it chants "choice, choice, choice... tolerance, tolerance, tolerance."

This latest ruling will likely wend its way to the Supreme Court. If Obama names one more justice (What a name for those who have dispensed injustice and insanity from the bench), the outcome will likely enshrine same sex sodomy in the law.  And our transformation into Sodom will move forward another giant step.

The balance of power has never really worked in this country. I don't think a Supreme Court justice has ever been impeached although there are certainly plenty of times it would have been appropriate.  The power of those nine (actually, a simple majority of five) is unlimited. The only check on their power appears to be mass rebellion by the people like the Civil Rights Movement. But only good people stand up to evil and we are no longer good.  De Tocqueville predicted our downfall when he said that the United States would only be great as long as we were a moral people. We are a moral people no longer.

But the remnant can keep the truth alive like the Japanese of Nagasaki who two-hundred years after the expulsion of the Jesuit missionaries continued to transmit the faith to new generations. Please God, we will have the same courage to defend the truth and keep the faith alive in our children and grandchildren. If we do not, we will be like the evil king of Babylon, King Belshazzar in the Book of Daniel, who saw the heavenly writing on the wall that predicted not only the destruction of his kingdom, but his personal destruction as well.

"St. Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle...."

Thursday, August 12, 2010

What's Wrong With the World? Here's One Answer: Heretical Priests

This video is making the rounds on some of the Catholic blogs. Apparently this isn't the first time Ather has defended heresy. And from the positive comments on YouTube, it's pretty obvious his ear-tickling is winning fans.

What's odd, though, is that what he wants already exists -- it's called Episcopalianism. Why doesn't Father join ECUSA (Episcopal Church USA)? They already have all these wonderful things he wants. The fact is, however, that priests like this are only given any time at all because they preach dissent and heresy. Who would care about Father's opinions if he wasn't wearing a Roman collar? And that explains why Jesuit priest Fr. Robert Drinan quit Congress rather than leave the Catholic Church. He could pretend in the Church to be a brave defender against the mean old pope. If he left, he'd just be one more ex-priest. Who, after all, remembers Fr. George Stallings? Or Fr. James Callan? Or Fr. Dale Fuschek (is that how he spells his name? Who cares?) Once priests leave, they lose their huge audience. That's why most of the heretics keep their bodies in the Church while their minds and spirits are long gone. Those who leave are actually the honest ones. Those who stay are there for the bells, incense, bingo, and attention from the worshipful who think they are so...so...so brave to stand up to Rome. Besides, if they leave they also lose their rectories, stipends, gifts, and, for some, access to cash in the collection basket.

Once you pick and choose your moral teachings, you can probably justify almost anything: killing babies, same-sex marriage, serial marriage, lying, theft, etc.

Pray for priests -- especially the bad ones who are in danger of hell. They drag a lot of souls with them toward the hot fire. If you don't want to get burned, stay away from them!


Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Phyllis Schlafly on the NEA

The National Education Association is one of the nuttiest groups on the planet. They aren't about education, by the way. They are all about accumulating power for their little fiefdom and about propagandizing young people (and old people, i.e. teachers and parents) into moral relativism. But they went a little too far when they celebrated the anniversary of the Communist takeover of China by Mao on their website. Phyllis Schlafly, with her usual astute insight, wrote:
What does Diversity mean to you? Same-sex marriage? Building a giant mosque on the 9/11 spot in New York? Elena Kagan on the Supreme Court?
To the largest teachers union, the National Education Association (NEA), diversity means celebrating the anniversary of the Communist takeover of China by Mao Zedong. The NEA posted this on its website calendar as a Diversity Event for October 1.
Thankfully, we live in a wonderful era when parents, Tea Partiers, conservatives, and students can rapidly spread the news ignored by the mainstream media. After this activity suggestion for teachers was reported on WorldNetDaily, the Mao calendar item disappeared (without comment) from the NEA's website. Read more....
The foolish folks who celebrate Communism never had to live under Communist tyrants systematically arresting and murdering (take your pick): the intelligentsia, political opponents, Catholic priests and religious, Protestant clergyman,  Jews (remember the pogrom in Fiddler on the Roof? It's based on reality.), homosexuals, etc. ad nauseum. The irony is that if we actually lived under Communist rule, many of the people serving as useful idiots would be the first shipped off to the gulags. Which just goes to show that sin makes people stupid.

So if you haven't been to confession for awhile, go this week. Confession is not only good for the soul; it's good for the mind as well. Those who confess are less of a mess.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Chicago CCHD working for real reform

Life Site News reports that the Chicago branch of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development is making real strides in cleaning up the organization. Because of changes in the way they administer the program, including letting people in the pew designate whether their money stays in Chicago, 50% of the collection is now going to local efforts including pro-life groups.

Congratulations to Rey Flores, Chicago's director, for his honest commitment to serving the poor instead of local community organizers. If you live in Chicago, give Rey a call and commit your CCHD donation to local efforts. If you don't live in Chicago let the collection basket pass you by. Most dioceses cooperate with evil by funding organizations that advance liberalism, even abortion and contraception. The scandal is on-going in some dioceses. So be on guard.

Of This and That

Visiting grandkids is always an adventure. The big adventure of our current visit to Austin is a little girl named Mary Josephine, born last Saturday weighing 7lbs 1 oz. 19 and a quarter inches long. She resembles a little rosebud with plenty of soft light brown hair and big blue eyes. She has a healthy set of lungs which kept Mom and Dad up all night Sunday into Monday, but is now settling into a civilized young lady. It is sweet to see the lineup as older brothers and sisters wait their turn to hold her. Even Andrew, three, talks about "baby sister" with awe.

That's the big excitement, but there are minor adventures. One unexpected one happened in the shower. I guess I'm compulsive, but I tend to clean while I'm in the shower, wiping down all the level places. This shower has a window ledge covered with shampoo and conditioner bottles. I was moving things and wiping when I came upon a little bag of something I thought was potpourri. I picked it up and some spilled out into the shower exploding around my feet. Fortunately I have a strong heart. It was certainly a wake up call to find the little "poppers" (left over from July 4th I presume) in the shower. The humidity hadn't diminished their power and I was surprised nobody banged on the door to see what in the world I was doing in there.

So now I'm on guard. What else is in store for me on this visit? Adventures galore I'm sure. That's the joy of family, especially grandchildren and we are surely blessed with a gaggle of those. Little Mary Josephine is number nineteen. Holding her and marveling at her perfection reminds me of Mother Teresa's comments about children -- "Can there ever be too many flowers?" Certainly not in the grandchild garden. Thank you, Lord, for family.

And one last entry. My husband was rereading To Kill a Mockingbird in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of its publication. And now that he's finished I've picked it up again as well. What a lovely book! Atticus Finch is one of the hero-fathers of American literature. Not big and strong physically like the John Wayne heroes. But a character as strong as the anvil the blacksmith uses to hammer the plow head. Scout, however, is too young to realize what a great man her daddy is. In fact, his lack of accomplishments embarrasses her until she sees the town sheriff pass his rifle to Atticus when their town is threatened by a mad dog. "I can't shoot that well, and you know it," he says. Atticus calmly takes aim, shoots, and the dog drops. Scout is bemused that her father never told them about this secret talent.He should be proud of it, she believes. When she tells the neighbor, Miss Maudie,  the wise lady replies, "People in their right minds never take pride in their talents."

I think this may be my favorite quote in the book. It's food for a meditation on humility.

May you have a day filled with eye (and ear) popping adventures that celebrate life!