Chicago Pro-Life Flash Mob Overwhelms Pro-Aborts in Chicago

 Want a great big shot of pro-life adrenaline? On the 26th a pro-abortion crowd in Chicago demonstrated in support of Planned Parenthood. What they didn't know is that a group of young, enthusiastic pro-lifers organized a "flash mob" to counter their protest. They came with bright yellow balloons printed with "LIFE" and brought a sign reading "Orange you glad to see us?" to counter the orange shirts of the opponents. After their joyful demonstration they chanted the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. God bless these young people from the Survivors Generation! God is winning through the peers of the aborted babies who I know were there in spiritual solidarity with their brothers and sisters. See more videos at Fr. Z's blog.

These young people could give life to a cadaver! Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever.

The Powerful Story of a Muslim's Conversion to Christianity!

No More Dough for Babies' Foe, Stop Planned Parenthood's Baby Death Row!

Pray in thanksgiving for all those in Congress who voted to end funding to Planned Parenthood. The biggest baby killer in the world has begun a $200,000 ad campaign (with taxpayer money?) to lobby to keep picking our pockets. Keep the pressure on at both the federal, state, and local level. NO MONEY FOR PLANNED PARENTHOOD!

Mass Rebellion Over New Translation!

I haven't seen the entire new translation of the Roman Missal yet, but, considering the sometimes banal and bad translations in the current text, it has to be an improvement. The International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) has a long history of providing liberal, dumbed-down translations that eliminate the sense of the Mass as a holy sacrifice. It's been the happy, clappy banquet party of the lamb with sour suffering shoved under the altar cloth for many years. ICEL also gets the credit for politically correct and "inclusive" language which almost eliminated the generic male pronoun in favor of awkward  and ugly alternatives. I still cringe when I hear "human beings" replacing men, meaning all mankind. What's not to understand about the sentence, "Jesus came to save all men?" As a woman I do not feel threatened or overlooked by that terminology. And so I rejoice to see the coming changes and hope that much of the "inclusive language" will be reversed. (For an interesting historical perspective on ICEL's impact on the Mass see Kenneth Whitehead's 1998 article, How "Inclusive Language" Came to the Liturgy: ICEL's Strategies in "Shaping English Liturgy" in the Adoremus Bulletin.)

Where Are Equal Rights for Christians? "Gays" are more equal than others!

Chicago police did nothing to protect the rights of Catholics when "gay" hate-mongers trespassed at Holy Name Cathedral Feb. 14th to chant and threaten church-goers who were called "bigots." Who are the real bigots? Those who harrass and intimidate others to accept the lie that "gays" deserve special rights. A depraved sexual lifestyle, whether it's same-sex sodomy, promiscuity, adultery, fornication, self-abuse, bestiality, polygamy, polyamory, pornography, etc. is not a civil right. And most of those engaging in sexual immorality don't demand it. To treat the "gay" issue as a "civil right" comparable to discrimination against blacks is an insult to the memory of Martin Luther King and all those who struggled and even died for equal rights. The founders never intended to provide constitutional protection to lust. Same sex attraction has no more right to special privileges than sado-masochism and other perversions. Whose to say the man who likes his women whipped and tied to the bed wasn't "born that way as well?"

As for the police being instructed to allow this to go on, it was a shameful betrayal and discrimination against Catholics. Imagine for a moment that these bigots were KKK members at a black church or skinheads on the property of  a synagogue, or pro-lifers outside Planned Parenthood. Do you doubt that arrests wouldn't quickly follow? Is there any possibility that the law would have been suspended? Unthinkable!

But Chicago has always been the city of corruption and now it's Rahm Emmanuel's town. Catholics can expect the dead fish treatment. After all, we're just "mackeral snappers" who deserve whatever we get. Prepare for more of this. Verbal harrassment now; clubs and steel bars in the future. As Fr. John Hardon often said, "Raise your children to be martyrs." But follow the example of the calm Catholics outside the cathedral and pray for the poor deluded men and women who are slaves to their lust. Satan is never satisfied with sin and sinners being tolerated, he demands that evil be declared good and good be declared evil, hence the attack on the Church.

It's no surprise; in fact it was foretold. "In the last days, mocking, sneering men who are ruled by their passions will arrive on the scene....You are forewarned, beloved brothers. Be on your guard lest you be led astray."  (2 Peter 3: 3, 17) But there's a warning to the "protesters" as well. "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil." (Isaiah 5:20) In the end, no one will avoid the reckoning.

Pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for the grace of final perseverance for yourself and for those in proximate danger of hell.

Read more at Fr. Z's blog.

Balancing the Budget in Wisconsin

We're seeing in Wisconsin a microcosm of the country as a whole. There's no money and something has to give. With gas rapidly rising and people out of work, raising taxes will just make the problem worse. What Gov. Walker is doing is asking state employees to tighten their belts the way the private sector has been doing for a long time. My husband and I have family members in the business world who have lost jobs, seen their salaries cut and their benefits reduced. Why should public workers expect to be protected from the economic realities of life? And frankly, I'm sick of hearing about poorly paid teachers. I worked in a parochial school fifteen years ago and earned about $25,000 a year with a Masters degree. Believe me, it was a lot less than public school teacher. I'm not complaining. It was my choice and I wanted to be in the same school my children attended. There were teachers there who were single parents and widows among others. I never heard one word of complaint from those heroic women. These whiners need to grow up.

Below are links to some articles and a video about what Scott Walker is trying to do to restore fiscal sanity to his state. The unions should be helping instead of taking to the streets with their threats and bullying, a deplorable example for our children. Their behavior, unfortunately, is what you get in a welfare state where everyone thinks he deserves more from Obama's "stash." Sorry, folks, there is no stash; there are only taxpayers with limited resources and they're bled dry.

Governor's budget repair plan has merit

48% Back GOP Governor in Wisconsin Spat, 38% Side With Unions

Why Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker Is Right About Collective Bargaining

Support Gov. Walker. You can take a survey on the governor's handling of the controversy in Wisconsin here. You can vote to support his approach in U.S. News' poll here. At present the poll is running against Gov. Walker which which may mean the unions have been organizing a response. Let your voice be heard as well if you support the governor.

His Grace is Sufficient for You: A Song for Sunday

Sunday Meditation: The Power of the Holy Eucharist and Eucharistic Adoration

Adoration Transforms Acushnet, MA parish

St. Mary's in Elm Grove, WI

How to Renew Your Parish (section from larger document)

The Pope Urges Eucharistic Adoration

For Adoration Locations in the U.S.

Support Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker: Pass It On!

Do Flu Vaccines Matter?

No, according to a number of epidemiology experts who've studied the data. A 2009 Atlantic article reports on the research of Dr. Lisa Jackson who wondered if the flu statistics for the elderly were accurate (50% fewer deaths among the vaccinated). She hypothesized that the reduction in the death rate was due, not to the flu vaccine itself, but to the fact that those who received it were healthier to begin with and less likely to die. Here's what the article reports:

Jackson and three colleagues set out to determine whether the mortality difference between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated might be caused by a phenomenon known as the “healthy user effect.” They hypothesized that on average, people who get vaccinated are simply healthier than those who don’t, and thus less liable to die over the short term. People who don’t get vaccinated may be bedridden or otherwise too sick to go get a shot. They may also be more likely to succumb to flu or any other illness, because they are generally older and sicker. To test their thesis, Jackson and her colleagues combed through eight years of medical data on more than 72,000 people 65 and older. They looked at who got flu shots and who didn’t. Then they examined which group’s members were more likely to die of any cause when it was not flu season. Jackson’s findings showed that outside of flu season, the baseline risk of death among people who did not get vaccinated was approximately 60 percent higher than among those who did, lending support to the hypothesis that on average, healthy people chose to get the vaccine, while the “frail elderly” didn’t or couldn’t. In fact, the healthy-user effect explained the entire benefit that other researchers were attributing to flu vaccine, suggesting that the vaccine itself might not reduce mortality at all. Jackson’s papers “are beautiful,” says Lone Simonsen, who is a professor of global health at George Washington University, in Washington, D.C., and an internationally recognized expert in influenza and vaccine epidemiology. “They are classic studies in epidemiology, they are so carefully done.”

The results were also so unexpected that many experts simply refused to believe them. Jackson’s papers were turned down for publication in the top-ranked medical journals. One flu expert who reviewed her studies for the Journal of the American Medical Association wrote, “To accept these results would be to say that the earth is flat!” When the papers were finally published in 2006, in the less prominent International Journal of Epidemiology, they were largely ignored by doctors and public-health officials. “The answer I got,” says Jackson, “was not the right answer.”

Not only were they not the right answer, but they would have a major financial impact on the pharmaceutical firms that produce flu vaccines and the doctors and businesses that sell them. As usual, the answer is follow the money. It's a big motivator even for the ethical and honest.

Another expert, Tom Jefferson, has also questioned the wisdom of flu vaccines:

The most vocal—and undoubtedly most vexing—critic of the gospel of flu vaccine is the Cochrane Collaboration’s Jefferson, who’s also an epidemiologist trained at the famed London School of Tropical Hygiene, and who, in Lisa Jackson’s view, makes other skeptics seem “moderate by comparison.” Among his fellow flu researchers, Jefferson’s outspokenness has made him something of a pariah. At a 2007 meeting on pandemic preparedness at a hotel in Bethesda, Maryland, Jefferson, who’d been invited to speak at the conference, was not greeted by any of the colleagues milling about the lobby. He ate his meals in the hotel restaurant alone, surrounded by scientists chatting amiably at other tables. He shrugs off such treatment. As a medical officer working for the United Nations in 1992, during the siege of Sarajevo, he and other peacekeepers were captured and held for more than a month by militiamen brandishing AK-47s and reeking of alcohol. Professional shunning seems trivial by comparison, he says.

“Tom Jefferson has taken a lot of heat just for saying, ‘Here’s the evidence: it’s not very good,’” says Majumdar [a physician and researcher at the University of Alberta in Canada]. “The reaction has been so dogmatic and even hysterical that you’d think he was advocating stealing babies.” Yet while other flu researchers may not like what Jefferson has to say, they cannot ignore the fact that he knows the flu-vaccine literature better than anyone else on the planet. He leads an international team of researchers who have combed through hundreds of flu-vaccine studies. The vast majority of the studies were deeply flawed, says Jefferson. “Rubbish is not a scientific term, but I think it’s the term that applies.” Only four studies were properly designed to pin down the effectiveness of flu vaccine, he says, and two of those showed that it might be effective in certain groups of patients, such as school-age children with no underlying health issues like asthma. The other two showed equivocal results or no benefit.

And, in fact, the very populations that are recommended for it are the least likely to be helped, those with compromised immune systems. Healthy individuals respond to the vaccine by creating antibodies like mad; those whose immune systems don't work well get little benefit leading Jefferson to ask, "Is vaccine necessary for those in whom it is effective, namely the young and healthy? Conversely, is it effective in those for whom it seems to be necessary, namely the old, the very young, and the infirm?" He's recommended a placebo trial in the elderly which some researchers consider "unethical." His response: "We have built huge, population-based policies on the flimsiest of scientific evidence. The most unethical thing to do is to carry on business as usual.”

As for me, I don't get flu shots and don't plan to. I think a better strategy is doubling my dose of Vitamin D3 (I get blood tests twice a year to test the level.) which is a big immune system booster. And for an anecdotal demonstration, one of my sons and his wife started using it this year for their family and it's the first good winter they've had in years. Since several of their children are prone to asthma, it's no small thing to reduce upper respiratory illnesses! A side benefit for me is that I'm not getting my winter eczema any more. For a medical discussion on Vitamin D3 visit go here.

Gardasil Death and Illness Statistics Still Rising

It's time for a class action lawsuit against the pharmacy company that produces Gardasil. That's Merck which is committed to the culture of death. Merck produces chemical contraceptives which can cause abortions. They also stopped producing vaccines from moral sources several years ago and now offer only those developed from aborted babies. Merck is on the latest Life Decisions International boycott list. Merck is one of the reasons we will not own any stocks in pharmaceuticals. Too many are up to their eyeballs in promoting death. As for school systems that require this vaccine, parents need to fight for the sake of their children. How do you think the parents of the 47 dead girls feel, or those whose children are damaged for life? They are among the casualties of the sexual revolution that refuses to encourage abstinence but will vaccinate 6th graders (12 years old!) with a dangerous drug because of sexual promiscuity that is promoted in the schools through Planned Parenthood and their sex ed propaganda.

Censorship in New York: The Truth Hurts

This four-story billboard was pulled from a building in the SoHo district of NYC after complaints to Lamar advertising company led by Al Sharpton. So much for free speech. Can't have pro-abort New Yorkers upset with by the truth! A few black babies might survive the abortion gauntlet.

 See the article here.

Wisconsin Needs to Boot Out These Babies in the Next Election

After running away and hiding to avoid a vote they knew they'd lose, the Democrats continued their babyish behavior on the floor of the State House after the vote was taken. Boo-hoo they lost. Wearing their their psychedelic orange shirts they carried on for several minutes chanting "shame, shame." The only shame is that they still have jobs on the public dole.

It doesn't matter to these folks that the state has no money or that public employees should not be able to rob the taxpayers, they will have their way. And money grows on trees, don't you know? The only sensible response for the people of Wisconsis is to boot out these boobs in the next election!

This must be the "civility" Obama and the Democrats were talking about?

Nominations for Choir Director and Organist at Your Local Dissenting Parish

Hey, they're better than the rock bands at some parishes I've been to! I nominate Tucker for choir director and Nora for organist.

Starting the Day with a Gloomy Picture from Imprimis

Reading Imprimis first thing in the morning is a little unsettling. Did I say "a little?" In the January issue Brian Kennedy, president of the Claremont Institute, wrote about the twin threats to America of the rise of Islam within our shores and the growing nuclear power of Iran, Russia, and China outside. He paints a gloomy picture. While the average Muslim may not be seeking the destruction of America, there is a small percentage that is committed to jihad. Since there are anywhere from 3-7 million Muslims in the country, 100,000 radicals who advocate terrorism and suicide bombings is a significant danger. While the administration spouts rhetoric about the "religion of peace," organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) seek a "global Islamic state." Kennedy quotes an MB document obtained in 2007 during the Holy Land Trial which reads:

Breaking News from the Virginia Family Foundation: State Senate Passes Clinic Regulations!

I was thrilled to get the following alert from Virginia Cobb of the Virginia  Family Foundation. The clinic safety bill was killed in the Senate Committee on Education and Health which is so consistently pro-abortion it's called the "graveyard" for pro-life bills. But this time, pro-life senators took the strategy of adding abortion mills as an amendment to SB 924, a bill regulating hospitals and nursing homes. Senator Kathy Byron of Roanoke introduced the amendment. Two pro-life democrats, Phil Puckett of Tazewell and Chuck Colgan of Manassas, joined the eighteen Republicans to make it a 20-20 tie with Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling casting the deciding vote. I cannot stress enough the significance of this vote. Pro-life Virginia has been trying for ten years to get minimal regulation of abortion mills passed. The recent exposure of like Kermit Gosnell's "house of horrors" in Philadelphia showed the dirty underbelly of "safe, legal abortion." Thanks be to God for this moment. The Board of Health will now be required to write abortion "clinic" safety regulations. Pray that the executive branch holds their feet to the fire. It's about time they were treated like other medical facilities.

From the Virginia Family Foundation:

Victory Alert: Abortion Clinic Safety Passes Senate!!

In a historic vote, the state Senate today approved legislation that requires the Board of Health to create regulation for abortion centers in Virginia! After over two decades of hiding behind a veil of political secrecy, abortion centers in Virginia will now face greater scrutiny and better health standards.

After a long and passionate debate on the Senate floor, the vote was 20-20 with Lt. Governor Bill Bolling casting the deciding vote in favor of the bill!

We will provide more information on this tremendous victory later.

The Painful Reality of Facebook and Family

I don't go on Facebook very often. It is too darn painful! The faith is being or has been lost on both sides of our family. While our own children are still practicing Catholics and raising their children in the faith (Thanks be too God, despite many failures of their parents.) many of our nieces and nephews, not only have left the Church, but have swallowed all the lies of the secular world. And there are the other painful moments as well. One niece sent me a nasty response and unfriended me after I sent her a private e-mail advising, gently I thought, that she was sharing too much intimate information. Facebook, after all, is a very public communication method. You might as well write all your business on the front page of the New York Times.

Another niece was promoting Planned Parenthood and  I entered the discussion with some of the facts about this behemoth of child-killing. That's not the conversation to win friends since most already have their minds made up. I certainly do. Killing babies is non-negotiable! But for pro-abortion folks the right to "choose" is a sacrament. They never finish the statement to choose "to kill a baby." They won't even consider that an "unwanted" baby has any rights at all. So the debate usually ends up in verbal fisticuffs. As the daughter of an admiral, a sarcastic one at that, I'm sure I'm guilty of lacking gentleness in my comments. Mea culpa, I need to study Socratic dialogue. The first duty of the Church Militant, after all, is to love our adversaries.

My niece, in fact, loves born babies and I really don't understand the mental disconnect between associating a baby in the womb and a newborn in the arms. The baby doesn't change after birth; only his or her place of residence is different. How can you love one and be cavalier about the murder of the other? After all, none of us would be here if our mothers had not allowed us to live under their hearts for nine months before birth.

After being chided by my niece for my "tone" which followed a comment about Planned Parenthood's "prenatal care" which is laughable -- if women don't want to plan not to have children or kill the ones they've already conceived, PP generally hands them a list of "resources" and waves good-bye. Certainly understandable. How many staff members would turn out like PP executive director Abby Johnson and flee the premises if constantly confronted by the ultrasound of a baby in the womb. It's hard to kill someone to whom you've been introduced.

At any rate, I think I'm giving up Facebook for Lent and resolving to fast more for pro-abortion relatives whom I fear will face the judgment of God if their hard hearts are not changed. Jesus spoke so often about what you do for the least ones, will He overlook those who supported killing them? I'm also going to pray for my ancestors who passed on the faith. The only reason I'm a Catholic today is because of them. What a debt of gratitude I owe to my parents and my grandparents and great-grandparents and all those who tried hard to teach their children the truth, loved Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, and gave an example of faith.

Thank you, Mom and Dad and all you other unnamed family members who loved Jesus and the Catholic Church. May Larry and I do everything possible to help our own children and grandchildren cling close to the barque of Peter which is the only sure lifeboat in this stormy world.

Needing Some Good News?

I don't know about you, but I'm sick of all the bad news. So consider this a good news commercial break.  from Real Catholic TV.

Egypt Update: Christians Asked to Bow in Worship of Allah. Is this how it begins?

Recently I blogged about the results of a Pew Poll on What Egyptians Really Want. It was not good news for Egypt's Coptic Christians. And now, in the latest development, World Net Daily reports that a senior Islamic cleric, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, called on the Christians who joined in a celebration rally in Cairo's Tahrir Square to bow in worship of Allah. Most of those attending were Muslims. Bit of an intimidation, don't you think? Maybe even more considering that al-Quaradawi is a spiritual leader for the Muslim Brotherhood, the extremist group that advocates violence to advance Islam. Both Hamas and al-Qaida, the terrorist groups, started in The Muslim Brotherhood.

It's true that al-Qaradawi had conciliatory words for the Christians. Nevertheless, the article reported:

A top source in Egypt's Coptic Christian community told WND he and other Coptic Christians held a meeting last Monday with officials at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo to raise objections about the inclusion of the Brotherhood in the constitutional committee.

The source said the Christian community pointed out that the official Muslim Brotherhood charter, amended in 2007, calls for the imposition of Islamic law in Egypt.

Among other things, the charter, obtained by WND, states that non-Muslims cannot hold government positions and must pay to the state the jizya, or special Islamic protection tax.

So what kind of a government is going to rise from the ashes of Egypt's revolution? Will it remind us more of Philadelphia's Constitutional Convention in 1787, Paris in 1793 during the Reign of Terror, or Moscow in 1917 when the Bolsheviks came to power? Check out my post on Pat Buchanan's description of the aftermath of Turkey's "democratic" changes. Revolutions don't necessarily have happy endings. Think of the poor Cuban people in 1959 after Castro came to power. Please pray for the Christian Copts in Egypt. They must be very nervous at present.

Collective Bargaining in Government Jobs Means Taxation Without Representation for Local Taxpayers!

Until I read the article below, I had not considered the fact that collective bargaining for government employees essentially taxes local citizens without representation. They have no one at the bargaining table and no input on decisions that will raise their taxes. Isn't "taxation without representation" what we fought a war over?

Beverly Gunn wrote a  fascinating article that relates to the current teacher strike in Wisconsin. In 1980 teachers in Sierra Vista, TX struck for six weeks and the wives of officers at a local army fort took their places in the classroom. After reading about Beverly's experience I hope the Wisconsin governor sticks to his guns. As for the teachers they have set a sorry example for their students lying, pretending to be sick, using fake sick notes, etc. Should they not receive at the very least the same punishment that students would get for such behavior?

On a side note the teachers' unions have never been about teaching the kids or even about teachers' rights. They are all about advancing the leftist agenda and power for the unions. Here are the goals of the National Education Association (NEA) from their 2010 convention summarized by Phyllis Schlafly in a Townhall article. Note the leftwing agenda, much of which has nothing to do with education. And one other thing, 95% of NEA contributions go to Democratic candidates and to lobby for radical political issues. Here are their goals with my comments in parens.

-- Mandatory full-day kindergarten attendance for all children, with federal money if the state can't afford it. (Get the kids early for more indoctrination in the leftist agenda.)
-- Substantial increases in federal education funding. (This lets the feds set the curriculum and limits local control.)

-- Repeal of the right-to-work provision of federal labor law. (This means forced unionization. What about "choice" for teachers?)
-- A tax-supported, single-payer health care plan for all residents of the U.S., its territories and Puerto Rico. (What about "choice" in health care?)

-- Federal funding for the education of illegal aliens. (The left encourages illegals because it gives them more foot soldiers to work for Democrats who promise multiple goodies, including amnesty.)
-- Federal programs to teach schoolchildren about different sexual orientations. (Advancing sexual perversion starts in kindergarten. No local control.)

-- Legislation to prohibit religious organizations that accept federal funding from basing hiring decisions on religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, or HIV/AIDS status. (What about the so-called "separation of church and state? How come it allows the government to control religion?)

-- Affirmative action to redress historical patterns of discrimination. (More goodies to buy voters.)

-- Legislation to study possible reparations to African-Americans to address residual effects of slavery. (More goodies to buy voters.)
-- Statehood for the District of Columbia. (Two more liberal senators and a rep to vote for liberalism.)

-- Opposition to tuition tax credits, vouchers and parental option or "choice" in education programs. (Gotta keep the kids on the liberal plantation, especially in the inner cities. No "choice" for you!)

-- Opposition to denying student aid to illegal alien college students. (Buying more support regardless of the injustice to legal aliens and citizens.)

-- Opposition to using draft registration as an eligibility criterion for financial aid. (They loath the military.)
-- Opposition to the testing of teachers as a criterion for job retention, promotion, tenure or salary increases. (This might expose how many of their union members are functional illiterates.)

-- Opposition to legislation that denies illegal aliens' access to public schools. (Again...buying support with goodies.)

-- Opposition to designating English as the official language of the United States. (Keeps people 2nd class citizens and dependent.)

-- Opposition to the use of voter ID cards for voting in local, state and national elections. (This might limit the ability of dead folks to vote.)

-- Opposition to privatization of Social Security. (What's this got to do with education?)
-- Opposition to any constitutional amendment limiting taxes or the federal budget. (Ditto? They want their grubby hands in the taxpayers' pockets!)

Note how few of these items have to do with education. They have everything to do with promoting liberalism. Fight the NEA at every opportunity!

________________________________________

When Teachers Strike: A Memoir
By Beverly Gunn

In the early fall of 1980, our family was stationed at an Army Post named Ft. Huachuca, Arizona. The town next to the base was Sierra Vista, Arizona. The teachers of Sierra Vista schools became a testing ground for collective bargaining by the NEA, in one of their early excursions into union control vs taxpayers. But a strange turn of events happened that fall that bear revisiting, since the strikes in Wisconsin center around collective bargaining, and as a consequence, local taxes.

In 1980, teachers at all the schools in the town of Sierra Vista decided to go on strike. They were encouraged by the NEA to do so, since the NEA was powering up to unionize in other states and to try to control local issues usually decided by local tax districts and local taxpayers. The teachers called the strike and schools closed, but the Mayor and Superintendent of schools in the town of Sierra Vista conferred with each other and agreed that collective bargaining would take away from local taxpayers the ability to control local taxes. Collective bargaining may work in a private institutional setting, but when local taxes are involved, collective bargaining essentially means loss of local control, or taxation without representation.

Complete article here...

Islamization of the United States is a Serious Threat to our Freedom

In the video below, a CAIR (Council for American-Islamic Relations) official, Nezar Hamze, tries to embarrass Florida Congressman Allen West. West  is a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel who was elected in 2012 on a platform that resonates with the tea party. CAIR is a pro-jihadist radical front group for Islam. They are on a list of unindicted co-conspirators in a Holy Land Foundation case where five leaders were found guilty of financially supporting the violent terrorist group Hamas. CAIR portrays Islam as a religion of peace while they support terrorism and terrorist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood. Not every Muslim subscribes to the violence in the Koran, but it is certainly there. Not only does the Koran support killing the infidel who refuses to convert, but honor killings of women and children. Sharia Law is incompatable with our constitutional republic.

Allen West is on target when he calls Islam a "totalitarian, theocratic, political ideology." Watch the second video to see West's 2010 address to the Freedom Defense Initiative.  He sums it up well when he says, "When tolerance becomes a one way street it leads to cultural suicide. When I am able to fly to Saudi Arabia with my bible in hand ,with  my cross around my neck to go to Mecca and go to a a church, then, guess what, we're good to go. But until that point, we have to understand the objectives and goals that Islam has set forward." Islam has been at war with the west since the middle ages and they still are. The tactics are subtle when they don't have the numbers, a quiet waiting game. But  "no-go zones" where Sharia law rules and non-Muslims are endangered are expanding all over the world. See here and here  and here. The writing is on the wall and it's not pretty for non-Muslims which is why we need leaders like Allen West. 

Bernard Nathanson, Converted Abortionist, Dead at 84

May he rest in peace in the loving arms of our most forgiving Lord.

From the National Catholic Register:

Bernard Nathanson Dead at 84


‘I am one of those who helped usher in this barbaric age.’ After putting thousands of unborn children to death, he became one of the great leaders of the pro-life movement.

by STEPHEN VINCENT
 
NEW YORK — Dr. Bernard N. Nathanson, an obstetrician who oversaw the performance of about 75,000 abortions before becoming a leading pro-life advocate and a convert to the Catholic faith, died after a prolonged battle with cancer this morning in New York. He was 84.  Continue reading....

Pat Buchanan's Take on the Middle East Meltdown

As we watch the Middle East meltdown, what should be America's response? Pat Buchanan summarizes it simply:

What vital interest of a United States staring at bankruptcy would be imperiled if we got out of the way, stopped fighting these countries’ wars and paying these countries’ bills and let these people determine their own future for good or ill?

Amen! Let's work for energy independence and get out of the way. We cannot afford to be the world's policemen nor is it winning us friends. Most of our allies are facing the very real prospect of being taken over by anti-American, Islamic radicals. And it's what their people want. It's time for us to mind our own business. If the world doesn't want democracy, if they want to duke it out, we do not have the manpower or resources to stop it. Maybe the answer is to start limiting our foreign entanglements and foreign wars. It's time we "got out of the way". All our intervention has not made America safer. Now we need to butt out and worry about protecting ourselves from the dangers within our own shores from out-of-control spending, out-of-control immigration, and out-of-control moral degeneracy. America, heal thyself!

A Middle East Without America?
18 Feb

By Patrick J. Buchanan

The fever sweeping the Middle East is now coursing through Libya, Yemen, Iran and Bahrain, where the U.S. Fifth Fleet is based.
In all four nations, state violence is being used to crush the rebels, and regime survival hangs on whether security forces and the army stand behind the government or stand aside.

A new Middle East is dawning. What will it look like?

Perhaps the nation to study is Turkey, which has already gone through a democratic and dramatic transformation. Read more here...

More on Wisconsin Doctors Giving Out False Sick Notes

I posted a video yesterday of doctors giving out fake sick notes for teachers in Wisconsin. Two medical professionals (at least) blogged afterwards about the unethical actions of their colleagues. They identified the quacks by name as well. (Kathy Oriel, MD; Lou Sanner, MD; Anne Eglash, MD; Hannah Keevil, MD; and James Shropshire, MD) Their behavior makes a mockery of the doctor-patient relationship and their own integrity and honesty (of which they demonstrated they ain't got any!).  So now it's up to you, dear readers. How about contacting the state medical board asking what they intend to do about these LMDs (Lying Medical Doctors). Here are the links to the articles:

Physicians Betraying Their Oath

Kathy Oriel, MD: If You're Going To Train Leaders, Stop Making Excuses And Lead By Example

Tell the Medical Examining Board of the Wisconsin Department of Regulation and Licensing what you think of the unethical and unprofessional actions of these doctors. Here's the e-mail address:

DRLBoards@wisconsin.gov

And a hat tip to Fr. John Malloy at A Shepherd's Voice for putting me onto these blogs. It's good to know that some in the medical profession don't think much of these liberal politic docs.

Peter Kreeft Defends Live Action's Planned Parenthood Sting!

One of my favorite authors is defending the actions of Lila Rose and Live Action I'm happy to say. I never thought they did anything wrong in the first place and now a heavyweight in Catholic academia is saying why. See my original defense here and Peter Kreeft's here. I'm glad to know I'm in good company even if I don't explain it as well as this hero of mine. And if you haven't read his Socratic dialogue books, treat yourself. My husband and I listened to his introduction to philosophy lecture series in a set (Great Books? Modern Library? - can't remember the source) we borrowed from the library. He makes hard subject matter not only understandable but entertaining.

Doctors Provide Fake Excuses for Wisconsin Teachers

It's fraud plain and simple! These are probably the same doctors who cheat Medicare and Medicaid. Hey, a liar is a liar is a liar. Every one of the doctors depicted in this video should be arrested and charged with fraud. If this were my doctor, I'd call and challenge him with his lack of integrity and I would never be in his office again. What kind of care can you expect from liars who are willing to lie and cheat for a political purpose?

Don't Just Condemn the Bad; Acknowledge the Good: The Movieguide Awards Gala

One of the wonderful things about Church history is learning the numerous occasions where wise Holy Mother Church addressed pagan practices by substituting something good for something evil. Saints and the poor souls in purgatory take the place of goblins, ghouls, and evil spirits. The winter solstice is replaced with the celebration of Christmas, etc. Praising the good is always a wise practice for parents as well. Rewarding the good often multiplies good behavior. I think it was St. Francis de Sales who said you can catch more flies with a  spoonful of honey than with a barrel full of vinegar.

And that's the principle behind the Movieguide Awards Gala that recognizes inspiring and faith-affirming film projects. Secretariat, The King's Speech, and Voyage of the Dawn Treader are among this year's awardees (I saw and recommend all three), but less famous films are also on the list. Take a look and praise God for filmmakers who are offering audiences alternatives to the violence, filth, and nihilism of so much Hollywood fare. Movies aren't going away any time soon, so let's support the good ones!

2011 Movieguide Awards - Best Mature Films Red Carpet

Wisconsin Teachers Say They Care About Kids: Actions Speak Louder Than Words

While Wisconsin teachers are playing truant with their "sick out" what are the kids doing? Who knows? Do the teachers care? In Madison County school was closed for three days during what constituted an illegal strike. Well, the kids missed three days of indoctrination in liberalism.

Myself, I'm inclined to think the county ought to do what Reagan did with the air traffic controllers -- fire them all and hire folks who really want to work. But they say they'll be back on Tuesday. Aren't the kids lucky?

A Bumper Sticker That's Totally on Target! And Work to Defund Planned Parenthood!

Get involved! Join the Tea Party Revolution and work for real conservatives. For starters, call your Senators and ask them to support the House vote to defund Planned Parenthood, the biggest abortion provider in the world. The Capitol Switchboard number is 202-224-3121. To find direct contact information go to the U.S. Senate website. (Hugs to Martina, my daughter-in-law, who posted this on Facebook. Love ya, sweetie!)

"Death Panel" in Canada to Kill Baby Against Parents' Wishes

The parents just want to take their baby home to die, but doctors and the court have mandated a quicker death in the hospital against the parents' wishes. (See article here...) Is this type of mandate where doctors and judges, not parents, decide when your children die coming to a hospital near you? No, it's already here. Remember Hugh Finn and Terri Schiavo. Obamacare rationing will increase these atrocities. Where is this family's "right to choose?"

Pray for this poor family and their precious little one and, if you're on Facebook, join their page.

House Votes to Defund Planned Parenthood

WASHINGTON (The Blaze/AP) — The House has approved a Republican proposal to block federal aid for Planned Parenthood.

The 240-185 vote on Friday is a victory for anti-abortion forces led by Indiana GOP Rep. Mike Pence. He says taxpayer money should not go to groups that provide or promote abortion. See more...

Hey...George Soros loves Planned Parenthood so much. Let him pick up the tab!

Michelle Malkin shared a really stupid comment by Democrat Rep Gwen Moore who argued last night during debate that abortion is better for unplanned babies than a life "eating Ramen noodles or mayonnaise sandwiches." I wonder if she polled folks who grew up poor to see if they would agree. My husband grew up in West Virginia, the son of a machinist who worked at a small local machine shop. They lived in a tiny house with one bathroom shared by his parents and eight brothers and sisters. He says he supposes they were poor but never felt deprived. No doubt Rep. Moore thinks the right to life requires an I-pod and a cell phone. But remember that the first to be invited to see the King of Kings who was born in a stable and laid in a manger were poor shepherds watching their flocks. Elitists like Gwen Moore need a reality check -- like being booted out of office.

As for Ramen noodles, I buy them by the dozens and use them as a base for lots of receipes. How about Ramen noodles tossed with olive oil, shrimp or chicken, green onions, fresh veggies and herbs from the garden, and parmesan cheese.

Here We Go Again....Looking for Answers In All the Wrong Places!

As if we don't have enough troubles. Can you imagine the problems when we have married priests getting divorced, etc. Ending celibacy is not the answer! More wrong solutions to poorly defined problems. Why don't we try some really radical things: don't ordain homosexuals; restore the liturgy; teach the doctrine; serve the poor, sick, and suffering; do the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.... Becoming the Episcopal Church is not the answer. Let's face it, good answers never come from that part of the world. Remember the Dutch catechism?

Catholics Rethink Celibacy Rule

Liberal Bias of the '60s Papal Birth Control Commission Revealed in Released Documents

Our Sunday Visitor has an extensive report in their latest issue about the Birth Control Commission that advised Pope Paul VI prior to the release of Humanae Vitae in 1968. Theologian Germain Grisez has released commission documents. See here.  Turns out the members were biased in favor of approving contraception. No surprise really; it's been know for years. But now those interested in the history of how we got where we are today with rampant dissent, "Catholic" groups undermining sexual morality, etc. can find documented answers right here among the "respected" clerical experts, members of the commission lobbying for contraception. Among the 19 priest theologians participating only three voted against changing Church teaching. Three abstained. The others believed the doctrine on contraception was "reformable." Among the bishops voting for it were Archbishop John Deardon who hosted the first Call to Action convention in Detroit in 1976 which was taken over by liberals and became the impetus for the radical dissent group and Lawrence Cardinal Shehan, bishop of Baltimore and a fan and supporter of pro-abortion Jesuit Fr. Robert Drinan. Archbishop Leo Binz of St. Paul, with whom I'm unfamiliar, voted that contraception is always morally wrong. Good to know there was at least one sensible bishop in the group.

I have a personal interest in the commission because one of the two married couples involved were Pat and Patty Crowley, founders of Christian Family Movement to which my husband and I belonged for many years. Patty and I both graduated from Trinity College in Washington, D.C. although she was decades ahead of me. After Pat's death, Patty became the "grandmother" of Call to Action and helped advance their heretical views on on contraception, abortion, homosexuality and lesbianism, women's ordination, etc. ad nauseum. Patty tried to block pro-life resolutions I wrote for our CFM group at the request of the national office which were introduced at a CFM Convention in the 1970s. Fortunately, the married couples attending had more sense than to be in awe of this "icon" of liberalism who was lobbying to defeat resolutions upholding the sanctity of human life that specifically condemned abortion and euthanasia.

Reading these commision documents, I expect to learn a lot more about the turbulent period of Church history that has so disfigured the bride of Christ. Those who used Vatican II to effect radical changes in liturgy and worship were also striving to radically change Catholic moral teachings. That they had so much help from those who should have been defending the faith is a tragedy.

We owe Germain Grisez a debt of gratitude for releasing these documents. You can also read a brief biography of Fr. John Ford, S.J., one of the three theologians upholding the Church's traditional view of marriage and the openness to life. He and Grisez, at the request of Alfredo Cardinal Ottaviani, prepared a response to the commission's final report advocating acceptance of contraception. We owe these men a tremendous debt of gratitude.

The fight over contraception is one more proof that the Holy Spirit guides the Church and the gates of hell assisted by Catholic theologians and unfaithful laity will never prevail against her.

LifeSiteNews Under Attack -- Is Fr. Gravel Channelling Fr. Drinan?

One of the sources I frequently turn to is LifeSiteNews (LSN). So I was distressed to see they are being sued for $500,000 by a Canadian priest. Let me describe him in a sentence by saying he's Canada's Fr. Robert Drinan who died in 2007 after years of undermining Catholic doctrine and scandalizing millions. Like our own disgraceful Fr. Judas, Fr. Raymond Gravel is "pro-choice" and spent some time in politics before being forced to step down by the Vatican. (Hmm...is this man channelling Fr. Drinan?) He has publicly criticized Church teachings on abortion, contraception, homosexuality, married priests, etc. (Heretics are so predictable!) Here's what was written about Fr. Gravel in 2006 by Luc Gagnon, president of Campagne-Québec Vie and editor of the journal Égards:

Father Gravel gave a long interview last summer to the 'gay' magazine Fugues (June 2, 2005), published in Montreal. It was a true confession of a disturbed priest, which he would never have made in a Catholic publication.. He was born in 1952 in the small village of Saint-Damien-de-Brandon. From ages 16 to 24, he was a 'gay' prostitute in Montreal and took drugs. After a terrible sexual relation with a client that led him to the hospital, he became a bartender at 'gay' establishments. At 32, he entered the seminary in a dramatic change to fulfill a childhood dream, but with no real spiritual conversion....

Father Gravel is not a fan of the new Pope, Benedict XVI. "I was disappointed when I learnt that the new Pope was the German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger," he said. His bishop, Gilles Lussier from Joliette, was warned by the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith about his rebel priest. "My public positions on abortion and gay 'marriage' were not well received by Rome. My bishop even received a letter from the Holy See saying that if I continue in my opposition to the doctrine of the Catholic Church, I would have to face the consequences." The author of that letter was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. "Fortunately, I have the support of my bishop, but the day he leaves his position, I might have some trouble." (See more...)

Just another example of a flaming gay allowed to enter the priesthood whose dissent, according to his own words, is enabled by an unfaithful (to the Church) bishop. One can only imagine the extent of the damage he and his bishop have done to the flock. (It is personally painful to me to see a heretic like this coddled by his bishop, while a faithful priest like Fr. James Haley who blew the whistle on porn and embezzlement in the rectory is out in the cold.)


So...this pro-abortion priest is suing LifeSiteNews for defamation. Why? Because they said....(drum roll)...he's pro-abortion! Please stop laughing! Canada is so loony the courts may take this madman seriously and for LifeSiteNews $500,000 is a year's operating expenses. If you can help defend against this lawsuit visit LSN. The Thomas More Society is assisting them, but they have no Canadian office so defending against the lawsuit is likely to be expensive. 


Pray for Fr. Gravel and pray for our poor Church. With shepherds like him and his bishop, we need prayer (and exorcism) more than ever! 

A Question of Ethics: Lila Rose and Live Action in the Spotlight

Two theologians, William May and Germain Grisez have criticized the tactics used by Live Action to expose Planned Parenthood's cooperation in covering up statutory rape and sex trafficking despite being mandatory reporters. Grisez told Catholic News Agency, “Catholics should regard such activity as morally and legally unacceptable...From a moral point of view, I would call it scandal in the strict sense – that is, leading another to commit a sin. From a legal point of view, I would call it suborning agreement to cooperate in criminal activities.” William May also criticized the "sting" operations but discussed ways they could be morally licit using "mental reservation."

This all sounds to me like the argument over how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. Clearly the Vatican itself during World War II issued fraudulent baptismal certificates to Jews and hid them in cloistered convents and monasteries. They did not require them to be baptized. How  was that not a direct deception? Were those hiding Jews from the Nazis or English householders hiding priests from Queen Elizabeth's henchmen required to answer "yes" when asked if they had Jews or priests in the house? "Oh, yes, they're upstairs hiding behind the false wall in the bedroom." How would the two theologians address that situation? Today as then real lives are at stake.

I worked for eight year at a crisis pregnancy center with an ambiguous name that many called "deceptive" because we withheld information from women phoning for abortion appointments. We never told a direct lie but we were well aware that we were misleading women. If a woman called seeking an abortion we never told her we didn't do them we just evaded the question. A phone call might go like this.

Woman: Hi, can you tell me how much your abortions cost?

Counselor: When was your last period? Have you had a pregnancy test?

Womn: I'm three weeks late and I took a home test and it was positive.

Counselor: Why don't you come in. About half the women we see aren't pregnant. We use a very accurate medical test. We'll do the test and have you speak to a counselor.

Woman: How much is the abortion?

Counselor: An abortion can cost anywhere from $250 on up depending on how far along you are and whether there are any complications. But we have lots of ways of financially assisting. Why don't you make an appointment and come in and talk to one of our counselors and we'll go from there.

Woman: Can I have the abortion the same day?

Counselor: Virginia requires a 24 hour waiting period. We can answer all your questions and explain all your options and how we can assist you when you come in for the appointment. 

Most women made appointments and we saved about half the babies in danger of abortion. Some counselors were uncomfortable with the mental reservation so we had an in-service with a priest who talked about truth. Not everyone has a right to the complete truth. Withholding information can certainly be morally licit in particular cases. The obnoxious neighbor who calls Mom three times a day has no right to know that she's home. Saying "She's not here (for you)," is perfectly legitimate. In fact, there was a day when people "paid calls" and sent up their cards. Getting word back from the butler that no one was home didn't mean they weren't physically there. It meant they weren't receiving callers.

I haven't listened carefully to the Live Action tapes of the recent sting. I did watch the videos of Lila pretending to be a 13 year old minor seeking an abortion and I think it would be morally legitimate to respond to the query, "How old are you?" with "(I look) thirteen."

As for leading people into sin. A friend of mine responded to that nonsense saying, "The PP employees may have been led in to a false/hypothetical or deceptive situation...but they had the opportunity to act of their own free will to choose to do good (report the sex traffickers) or evil (support sex trafficking, knowing some girls were underage) in that situation, & they chose evil."

Exactly!

If Planned Parenthood really cared about the women the video might have shown a counselor saying, "You're boyfriend is committing statutory rape, dear. We'll have to report him." But that truly is a fantasy when speaking about the leading abortion provider in the world. Abortion is their bread and butter. The more the monier.

I agree that the end doesn't justify the means. I just don't see the means in these cases being a problem any more than the investigative reporters from the Sun Times (years ago) who went into Chicago abortion mills with male urine samples to see what they would do. Almost all declared the male urine "positive" for pregnancy. Seems the abortion mills didn't need much encouragement to be "led into sin."

It's interesting that the focus has been taken off Planned Parenthood's evil to focus on Lila Rose and Live Action's tactics. I say right on, girl! Pray and fight and if saving babies and young women requires mental reservation and withholding truth from those who aren't entitled to it, go for it!

What do you think readers?

Regulating Abortion Mills in Virginia: HB 1428 Faces Committee Vote on Thursday

Pro-abortionists love to spout rhetoric about making abortion "safe, legal, and rare," but they really only care that it's legal for all nine months (and a little longer for some. They oppose common sense measures even to protect the mother's life and health. You would expect feminists to be outraged by abortionists who use unqualified personnel to give anesthesia or don't have medical equipment to revive a woman who goes into cardiac arrest, etc. But the fact is, most only seem to care about abortion being protected. A few dead or maimed women are collateral damage -- especially poor, minority women who are the most likely victims since most abortion mills are located in the inner cities. Medicaid is the engine that propels abortion and fraud is rampant. See the Planned Parenthood Washington State fraud case.

On Thursday the Virginia Senate Committee on Education and Health will take up HB 1428 which would require abortion mills to abide by the same regulations that cover other free-standing outpatient surgical facilities.

Thought for the Day: Why We Need the Second Amendment

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote." -- Benjamin Franklin

Pew Poll Tells "What Egyptians Really Want"

If you are under the impression that Egypt will suddenly jump into the "democracy" column of world governments, you need a reality check. Here's what a Pew Research Center poll last year found according to an editorial in Investors Business Daily:

• 49% of Egyptians say Islam plays only a "small role" in public affairs under President Hosni Mubarak, while 95% prefer the religion play a "large role in politics."

• 84% favor the death penalty for people who leave the Muslim faith.

• 82% support stoning adulterers.

• 77% think thieves should have their hands cut off.

• 54% support a law segregating women from men in the workplace.

• 54% believe suicide bombings that kill civilians can be justified.

• Nearly half support the terrorist group Hamas.

• 30% have a favorable opinion of Hezbollah.
• 20% maintain positive views of al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden.

• 82% of Egyptians dislike the U.S. — the highest unfavorable rating among the 18 Muslim nations Pew surveyed

How these attitudes will play out in forming the new government is yet to be seen. Pray hard!

Mubarak's Out, But What's Next?

I've been watching the uprising in Egypt with concern. I love living in a Constitutional Republic where the people, at least in theory, run the show through our elected representatives. Our form of government certainly isn't perfect and some are more equal than others (the inhabitants of Capitol Hill for example), and some are not equal at all (pre-born babies). But at least we can speak up and fight for what we believe without being sent to the gulag or dragged off in the middle of the night for interrogation by the secret police and possible assassination.

Well, the dictator Mubarak has resigned and the military is now in control and there is massive rejoicing. This morning, as I read the reports, however, I immediately thought of the parable of the swept house in Luke's gospel. The devil is expelled. He goes roaming around the world looking for new habitation only to come back with seven devils more evil than himself to reenter the "swept and tidy" house. The result, Luke tells us, is that "the last state of the man is worse than the first." (Luke 11: 25-26) Will this be Egypt's future?

Ave Maria University Gets a New President

Pray for Ave Maria University. We need faithful Catholic schools, but it's been a rocky ride in Florida according to a local resident and reporter. See her take on the new president and the state of the school.  I've always thought that monstrosity of a church, designed by Tom Monaghan, looks like an upside down boat, not a particularly inspiring visual for a community that supports the bark of Peter.

Miracle of Pre-Natal Development

Modern ultrasound is a miracle in itself, providing a window into the womb. Think how many babies would be saved if every woman saw an ultrasound of her little one. The pro-aborts try to dehumanize the baby with the word "fetus" but that just means "young one" or "little one." Pass this on to every pregnant woman you know, especially if she's considering an abortion.

Some Good Articles for Fighting the Sexual Revolution

Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. During her apparitions, Mary described herself saying, "I am the Immaculate Conception." Later at Fatima she told the little shepherd children that most sinners go to hell for sins of the flesh and she showed them a vision of people falling into hell "like snowflakes" as Jacinta said. The children said they would have died on the spot without the protection of the Blessed Mother. The answer to the sexual revolution is chastity. Chastity isn't abstinence, it is the right and moral use of our sexual powers. Only when we do that, can we be truly happy. God wrote the owner's manual. If you misuse your car and try to run it on honey because it's so sweet, you destroy your car. The same goes for misusing what God gave you. The road to happiness is loving God and embracing His will.

Part of that will is for us to engage the culture. It is absolutely essential for the Church Militant to fight the culture of lust we live in whether heterosexual or homosexual. We need facts and a vision of the beauty of God's plan to do it well. Here are some facts and arguments about the evils we face. Use them to fight the absolute deluge of feeling-based nonsense that promotes deviant and promiscuous behavior. The prophet Malachi tells us what God expects of us -- to act justly, love tenderly, and walk humbly with God. Let us work for that ideal as we fight for the faith and the culture.

Answering the Top 10 Arguments Used to Push Homosexuality

Ten Myths About the Porn Industry

The Epidemic of Pornography Use and Destroyed Marriages

The Fornication Culture

Modest Brides! Congrats to the Arlington Catholic Herald

I've been harping for years on the immodest brides in the Arlington Catholic Herald's wedding section. Strapless dresses and lots of cleavage often graced (or should I say disgraced) their pages. So I was thrilled this week to get the Feb 10-16 issue that showed all three bridal photographs depicting lovely, modestly-dressed brides. I visited the website where there are 14 photos of recently married couples and, sad to say,  four or five need Fatima t-shirts over their dresses. But at least they didn't make the newspaper and I was delighted to see other young brides with shoulders covered looking sweet and innocent as brides should (even if they aren't).

Pray for young couples tying the knot. The world is an unkind place today and if couples aren't grounded on the rock of the Lord, the shifting sands of the world are likely to bring their families crashing down. How well they weather the storms of life depends on their foundation.

Lord Jesus, who blessed the couple of Cana by a miracle, bless all young couples entering into the marriage covenant today. Mary, our Mother, intercede for them.

Marriage Prayer
Lord, help us to remember when we first met and the strong love that grew between us.
To work that love into practical things so nothing can divide us.
We ask for words both kind and loving, and for hearts always ready to ask forgiveness as well as to forgive.
Dear Lord, we put our marriage into Your hands.
Amen.

Two Thumbs Up for Mike Pence! Deny All Funding to Planned Parenthood!

World Net Daily on "Dropping the H-Bomb": Homosexualizing the U.S. Military

For the first time in its history World Net Daily has posted their complete magazine on line. The issue of homosexualizing the military is that important. Among those writing in the issue is a hero of the Vietnam War, Jeremiah Denton, a faithful Catholic, who returned to the U.S. after years in a POW camp. He described the culture shock of finding a country that in a few short years had become almost unrecognizable to him because of the moral collapse. His book, When Hell Was in Session, is a must read for anyone who wants to understand what our POWs experienced in VietNam and why the betrayal by liberals like Jane Fonda was so evil and insidious.  

Check out World Net Daily's on-line magazine and pray that many will read why officers are resigning their commissions rather than participate in the immoral indoctrination of their troops. I'm sure this is deja vu for some veterans. A friend of mine, a Navy Captain, resigned his commission in the 80s when Bill Clinton watered down military discipline with the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy. The new policy further distorts and debases military readiness with a huge social experiment in political correctness.  God help our poor country!

Live to Dance

I'm late getting this up, but I hope you have a chance to watch the season finale of Live to Dance tonight. I got an email today from Tim Winter at Parents Television Council about their award in excellence to Paula Abdul for family-friendly programming. Here's what the award said:

Live to Dance is a delightful program which features dancers of all ages and dance routines of all styles. You’ll see ballet, ballroom and hip-hop dancing performances; and you’ll be inspired by the performers who are tots, teens, adults and seniors.

Unlike many other reality television competitions, which sometimes lapse into questionable taste, Live to Dance is consistently clean and perfect for viewers of all ages.

This will be my first time watching the program, but I think dancing is a wonderful form of expression whether it's a tiny tot twirling like an autumn leaf in the living room or my husband and me squaring up with three other couples. Here's a sample. See what you think.

Gamaliel's "Useful Theology"

I blogged yesterday about faith-based community organizers with a focus on Gamaliel Foundation's funding from George Soros. Today Stephanie Block had an article about Gamaliel posted at Spero Forum. Those who think they are supporting Christian principles when they contribute to a group like Gamaliel need to think again. These "progressive" organizations spin their agenda in "faith-based" language, but their principles are more in line with "liberation" theology than Christian theology.

Stephanie's article examines Gamaliel's immigration position which is basically to spin Biblical language about welcoming the stranger to justify the Democrats' positions of amnesty and open borders. They ignore the primary duty of government to promote the common good of its citizens. As Stephanie sums up, "Propaganda written to sound 'theological' isn’t real theology."

Fox Story on the Confession I-APP

Digital Help for Confessing Catholics : MyFoxDFW.com

An I-APP for Confession?

I don't have an I-phone or in I-pad so I'm not buying the I-APP for Confession, but the ad for it is just plain bizarre in my opinion. According to Bill Donohue of the Catholic League it's an examination of conscience and has an imprimatur from Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend. Donohue says the media have been mis-characterizing it. (Wouldn't that be a surprise?) It's not phone-in confession and you can't get absolution without making a personal visit to the local padre. Phew! That clarification is sure a relief!

I can certainly see the value of tapping into the I-phone, I-pad craze. If you can get young people to think about the state of their souls and give them a push toward the confessional -- all the better. Nevertheless, what I see at the I-APP store makes me queasy. If you've downloaded the app, I'd love to hear your opinion of it. Is it really likely to help you make a holier confession? Or does it trivialize the sacrament?

Republicans will lose in 2012 unless they embrace both fiscal AND social issues

A bunch of short-sighted Republicans (I won't say conservatives) claim that to win in 2012 they must jettison the social issues like pro-life, traditional marriage, etc. They are singing GoProud's song, an old tired tune that has been shown time and again to be false as a three dollar bill. Reagan showed that the social issues were part of a winning strategy. RINOs have been running from them ever since which is why we have the debacle in Washington now.

Elaine Donnelly has a great article at Big Peace. Here are a few excerpts:

Under Reagan’s leadership the pro-family movement joined with economic and national defense conservatives to build a strong and effective political force.  The resulting coalition became Reagan’s famous “three-legged stool”—a redefined, stable conservatism that expressed unequivocal support for sound economic principles, national security, and traditional family values.

The combined platform appealed to Reagan Democrats, thousands of whom had never been active in politics before.  When newly-motivated pro-family grassroots activists joined forces with what had been a small conservative movement, the result was something big: the Reagan Revolution....

According to a Rasmussen poll released on Friday, 32% of voters are conservative on both fiscal and social issues—up eight points since 2007.  Only 6% are liberal on both fiscal and social issues, down from 9% in 2007.  The same poll indicates that 69% of GOP voters say they are social conservatives.  The potential for a strong new coalition exists, since economic freedom and national security cannot endure when government policies undermine or weaken free enterprise, our military, and the institutions of marriage and family.

Convergence of the Constitution-centered Tea Party movement with pre-2009 conservatives brings the entire movement to a turning point that is not a crisis—it is an opportunity.  Happy Birthday, Ronald Reagan—May your legacy and the principles you stood for change American history again.

Let's pray and work for true conservative principles that honor the right to life and limited government.

Baby Innocence and Baby Precious: Little Pro-Life Witnesses

You know what they say about a picture being worth a thousand words. A three dimensional object must be worth ten thousand. Out on the sidewalk in front of the abortion mills I've always had a baby model in my pocket. Nothing can help a mom to connect more with the baby within than to "see" her little one and to hold him. And the most precious models I've ever found are "Baby Innocence" and "Baby Precious" from Heritage House. They were designed by a doll maker and are beautifully detailed down to little fingers and toes.

These little models are also wonderful for teaching little children. My two-year-old granddaughter heads straight for my purse when she comes into the house so she can "hold Gramma's baby." My little model lives in a baby sock and is usually clasped in the plump little hand of my real live "baby" who insists she is now a "big girl." This morning she found another one of my models, a less detailed one but just as recognizable as a baby. So she has been walking around all day with her "twins" and asking me to help her bigger doll to "hold the babies."

I just ordered five more models to give away. What better way to share the good news that life is precious than to give someone a life size model of that precious little one in the womb.

Soros Money Funds Faith-Based Community Organizers

The enemy within, i.e. Judas, is much more effective than the enemy without. Hence George Soros, an atheist who thinks HE's God, funds numerous "faith-based" groups that are working to help advance his evil agenda. Stephanie Block, a researcher who studies community organizing groups, reports that "secular forces are dramatically expanding their investments in faith-based, Alinskyian organizing, too." She goes on to describe grants being made to to the Gamaliel Foundation. "which is...a network of faith-based Alinskyian community organizations." Gamaliel is a "progressive," i.e. liberal group.

George Soros' Open Society funnels big bucks into Gamaliel and its circle of associated faith-based organizations like Faith in Public Life and the Center for Community Change who also invest in Gamaliel. Here's what Stephanie's research shows:

The next question we must ask is where do Faith in Public Life and the Center for Community Change get the money to give to Gamaliel? Among their contributors is George Soros’ Open Society Institute. Faith in Public Life received two $225,000 grants from Open Society Institute in for 2009-2010. For its part, CCC received two Open Society Institute in 2008: $600,000 for “general support” and another $250,000 specifically for its Immigration Reform Movement efforts; in 2009, it received an additional $930,000. That not exactly chump change…and one can see how Faith in Public Life and CCC might have a bit left over to pass along to Gamaliel.

Of course, Gamaliel has been getting its own grants directly from the Open Society Institute - $300,000 over two years in 2008 and a second award of $300,000 beginning in 2010. The Open Society Institute, in other words, is another institutional contributor to Gamaliel, directly and, one might argue, indirectly.
So, what is George Soros’ Open Society Institute’s interest in Gamaliel - or in, for that matter, Faith in Public Life or CCC or all the other Alinskyian organizing networks it funds?

There are probably numerous answers. The Open Society Institute, fueled by George Soros’ opinions and money, is a generous funder of Catholics for a Free Choice, Planned Parenthood, the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL), and a host of other abortion “rights” organizations. It has also funded the United Religions Initiative (URI), which promulgates the idea that all religions and spiritual movements are equally “true” and with it the concept that the goal of the spiritual is social reform – including the principle of population control.

Gamaliel and the other faith-based Alinskyian organizing networks are right there, in among the Catholics and Evangelicals and other religious bodies that might, historically, have been expected to resist progressive positions.

The greater their entrenchment, however – the more involvement with an Alinskyian organization is seen as a legitimate expression of spiritual values – the greater the advancement of progressive ideas and policies. This is propaganda and progressive activism in one highly effective package.

As the Bible says, "Love of money is the root of all evils" and there's plenty of Soros money perverting organizations that should be working for the Lord. Many, however, are doing just the opposite. Most orthodox Catholics would hardly recognize many of its activities as remotely Christian. Satan's greatest deception is perverting the Church. To read Stephanie's complete article go here.