Another comment on atheism: It is, by far, the most violent and deadly "religion" ever to have existed in this world.

"If there is no God, everything is permissible." -- Fyodor Dostoevsky

A link for our atheist friends to ponder and meditate upon. Also bear in mind that in the Christian tradition, God has given man a sovereign free will (thus, the Christian belief that God made man in His own image). As such, if God made Himself totally visible to us so that we would have no choice but to believe in His existence, He would effectively be suppressing that which he desires us to have: a free will.

Over the weekend, I saw this movie on DVD called High Fidelity starring John Cusack. Aside from the stream of foul language and the underlying glorification of pre-marital sex, I thought it was a pretty clever movie. Especially amusing is how John Cusack's character, who presumably is over 30, goes through the effort of tracking down girls he knew in junior high school and high school to find out why they broke up with him (they are part of his personal top 5 breakups). I found this funny only because I've often thought about doing something like this myself.

It would appear as though at least one Bible translation does not contradict the Darwinist notion that man was made from slime. According to Genesis 2:7 in the Douay Rheims Bible: "And the Lord God formed man of the slime of the earth: and breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became a living soul." Of course, how man was made from the "slime" remains a point of dispute between Darwinists and so-called "Creationists".

Kwanzaa is to African culture what The Great Leap Forward was to Chinese culture: a disastrous byproduct of socialist ideals.

The Raelian's and their demented desire to play God with humanity

The group's founder says he met little green space aliens on a visit to a French volcano in the 1970s. That man -- a former French journalist named Claude Vorilhon, who now calls himself Rael -- says the extraterrestrials told him they created life on earth through genetic engineering.

Whenever I'm bored, I like to do random Google searches on people I once knew at my Southern California high school. It's kind of fun to see some of the results I get. Here's the homepage of Mark Torrance who, as you will see, was easily the most brainy guy in the class (enrollment at a California public school notwithstanding). Here's a webpage made in homage to my high school by an interesting fellow by the name of Mark Yale. Finally, included in this 2000 article about a free clinic in San Francisco is a quote from a gal by the name Marlene Cambra. I'm not entirely certain if this Marlene is the same one I knew in high school (I never knew her to be fluent in Japanese, even though she is part Japanese) but it is kind of interesting to see that this clinic is in the same neighborhood where my grandparents live. I'll have to drop by there one of these days to see if she still volunteers there.

The L.A. and San Francisco Nazis (a.k.a. the L.A. and San Fran. Bar Associations) petition the California State Supreme Court to pass a rule that would effectively bar state judges from joining the Boy Scouts or any other organization that has a negative view of homosexuality.

A most blessed Christmas to one and all from my "secret" vacation spot in Northern Cal.!

In case you haven't read it already, Envoy has been doing mucho gusto blogging on what the definition of a "Catholic Traditionalist" should be. I pretty much fashion myself as a traditionalist (as defined by Peter Vere) to the extent that I accept the legitimacy of the oft controversial Novus Ordo Mass, but am quite critical of how so many bishops allow parishes to take license with how it is performed (e.g., congregants holding hands during the "Our Father" prayer, receiving communion in the hand, singing hymns to folksy guitar music, etc.) Anyway, the discussion is fascinating, and quite informative.

Looks to me like U.S. Senator Patty Murray is itchin' to be Osama bin Laden's campaign manager. What are the odds that most of the media are going to overlook this story or rationalize it away? Trent Lott has gotta be wishing he was a Democrat right now.

Update: The above article now includes a response from Sen. Murray. She basically asserts that the publication of her comments is sensationalist and, thus, unnecessarily divisive. In other words, liberal unpatriotic -- that's right, UNPATRIOTIC --Democrats should be able to publicly utter as much stupidity as they want without examination or critique.

So let me get this straight Governor Davis. It's much more important to give children material objects than a right to life. Sounds perfectly idiotic to me.

Uh, excuse me Slick, but didn't you confer a Presidential Medal of Freedom Award to a known segregationist by the name of J.William Fulbright?

Even after assimmilation and a couple of generations, most American Catholic Hispanics adhere to the Church's teachings on abortion and homosexuality.

Regarding religion, 70 percent of the Hispanics interviewed identified themselves as Catholics. Of these, 79 percent said abortion is unacceptable compared to 53 percent for white Catholics. Homosexual intercourse was judged unacceptable by 71 percent of the Hispanic Catholics and 50 percent of the non-Hispanic white Catholics.

Can a pro-life Catholic be a federal judge? Of course, unless the question is being posed to Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, or Jack Chick.

I was reading some of the comments people have made on Amy Welborn's blog (link on the side of this page) in regard to a story on how Ford is planning to run an ad campaign that targets people who only like having same sex sexual intercourse and believe that the only purpose for sexual intercourse is self gratification. What amazes me about many of the comments that are made is the presupposition that homosexuality is equivalent to race and ethnicity. This is hardly the case from either a biological or legal standpoint. Insofar as the latter is concerned, which in large part is based upon the former, if people with homosexual affictions ought to be accorded the same status as blacks, asians, caucasions, jews, whatever; we may as well accord similar legal status to necrophiliacs, pedophiles, polygamists, and people who just "love" their dogs and gerbils!

I've been hearing reports on the news that Senator Lott has changed his position on racial issues like affirmative action (i.e., racial quotas). If this is true, then it's obvious to me that the man has no principles and should not be leading the Republican Party in the Senate. On a related note, anyone else find it oxymoronic that Lott was on an all black television station to deny he supports racial segregation?

You know, I'm baffled. If Trent Lott is so evil because he **allegedly** supports segregation, then why do so many American blacks and their patron white saints on the Left get away with demanding and supporting things like exclusively black schools, black studies programs, black dorms, black clubs, and black television stations?

From a partisan political armchair quarterback perspective, here's how the Republican Party should handle the Democrat attack on Trent Lott: First, admit what Lott said was kinda dumb, but that it shouldn't be seen as anything more than an attempt by him to pander to the audience he was addressing -- i.e., supporters and friends of Strom Thurmond. Second, go on the offensive and bring up the fact that the Democrat Party is the historical party of segregation in this country. Third, bring up the fact that when he was a U.S. Senator, Al Gore's father opposed the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Fourth, bring up the fact that just this past October in Arkansas, Slick Willy Clinton publicly praised former U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright, a known segregationist who had publicly condemned the Supreme Court's ending of school segregation in the famous case of Brown v. Board of Education. (Heck, Clinton even awarded Fulbright a Presidential Medal of Freedom Award!) Finally, if things get really nasty, throw out this quote that U.S. Senator, and former KKK member, Robert Byrd made last year in an interview on Fox News Sunday: "There are white niggers. I've seen a lot of white niggers in my time. I'm going to use that word." That oughtta shut the Dems and their enablers in the media up.

The President's Faith Based Initiative has been enacted. Aside from its constitutionality, which it probably is, an interesting question is raised as to how much of this money will be funneled to certain religious organizations that, you know, sponsor and encourage nasty acts of violence against non-believers.

Patty B. provides some sobering statistics on the decline of Catholicism in America. If the numbers are accurate, I'm not sure I really agree that the blame should be solely laid at the feet of Vatican II. If there has been any failure in the last 40 years, it has been the weak, almost hands-off, approach that Rome has taken in imposing discipline on bishops and priests who continually insist upon distorting traditional Catholic teaching; teachings that Church "progressives" erroneously believe that Vatican II disavowed.

There they go again.

I've not seen any news stories on this yet, but the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that school board invocations that make references to Jesus Christ are sectarian, and therfore, unconstitutional. If you have Lexis or Westlaw, the name of the case is Bacus v. Palo Verde Unified School District.

Cool, I've been quoted.

Due to a heavy workload and the fact that I am sick as a dog, blogging will be intermittant. Got some interesting cases I'm working on though, including a fertility clinic that is being sued for discrimination by a lesbian patient. The twist in this case is that the doctors who initially treated the lesbian have claimed that their "wrongful" actions were motivated by their religious convictions. I'm not representing the doctors or the clinic, but simply writing a "friend of the court brief" at the request of their attorneys.

Illinois schools dispatch edu-cops to troll for "truant" homeschool kids. Freakin' commies!

USC 44
Notre Dame 13

Go UCLA? Unfortunately, 'SC fans will have to root for the crosstown rivals against Wazoo if we want our team to go to the Rose Bowl. Ugh...

San Francisco appellate court says Berkeley can punish Scouts for ban on homosexuals.

Not a surprising decision, given the source. On to the state supreme court we go.

Pat Buchanan on the showdown in Alabama over the Ten Commandments monument.

Roy Moore, a Vietnam vet, was lately a judge in Etowah County. Presented a carving of the Ten Commandments, Moore proudly hung the plaque in his courtroom, where it attracted the horrified notice of the ACLU, which found a federal judge to order Moore to take it down.

If the feds want this plaque down, said Moore, tell them to send U.S. marshals to tear it down. Moore's defiance was electrifying. And Gov. Fob James backed Moore up, saying that if the feds sent in marshals, he, his state troopers and the Alabama National Guard would meet them on the courthouse steps.

USC 52
UCLA 21

Up next: Notre Dame

Go 'SC!

The City of Berkeley, in response to an amicus brief I wrote in support of the Sea Scouts, has expressed outrage over how I could compare homosexuality with pedophilia, necrophilia, and bestiality. If it was even worth my time to file a reply to their innane response, I would ask them why exactly they presumptively believe pedophilia, necrophilia, and bestiality is any less perverse and unnatural than homosexuality.

11/23/02 correction: Actually, I meant why they presumptively believe pedophilia, necrophilia, and bestiality is any more perverse and unnatural than homosexuality.

Michigan Supreme Court may hear case to decide question of when life begins. If they do, I'm pretty sure they will try to weasel the issue so that the non-existent constitutional right to an abortion will be preserved.

Thousands of wannabe lawyers in California will soon find out if they have passed what most people consider to be the toughest bar exam in the country (it's three days of nerve racking hell). Good luck, because, you know, California is really short on lawyers.

You have got to be kidding me.

While a federal court decides if Missouri's partial-birth abortion ban is constitutional, a state appellate court has determined that the ban does not allow the procedure to be done even if the life of the mother is at risk. I personally see this as a red herring given the fact that well over 95% of partial-brith abortions are never performed in life threatening situations.

Alabama judge will appeal Ten Commandments monumnet ruling; says he has no plans to remove it. I say, "good for him! Fight the lemmings!"

Seems to me Herod would have loved Planned Parenthood.

Planned Parenthood recently announced the release of its line of holiday cards. Each card reads, "Choice on Earth." One card adds, "Warmest wishes for a peaceful holiday season."

Woo hoo! My graduate school alma mater, the University of Hawaii, cracked the USA Today/ESPN top 25. Who knows, maybe they'll get invited to a bowl game this year.

A great pro-life judicial nominee is confirmed.

And the establishment of "anti-religionism" rolls on.

Where did the modern understanding of "separation of church and state" come from? If you said Thomas Jefferson, you're wrong. It was former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black, whose anti-Catholicism highly influenced his 1947 ruling in Everson v. Board of Education that the First Amendment imposes a "high and impregnable" wall between church and state. For more information on this, see Separation of Church and State by University of Chicago law professor Philip Hamburger and Thomas Jefferson and the Wall of Separation Between Church and State (Critical America) by American University professor Daniel Dreisbach.

A maddening pet peeve -- paying a fast food cashier 1 cent over the total amount, and not even being asked if I would like the change. If anyone would like some extra napkins, hot sauce, or straws, drop me a line.

One of my all-time favorite congressmen, Rep. Chris Cox (who is also Catholic) is sponsoring a bill that would help fund the restoration of an old missionary church building. I'm not sure if the "separation of church and state" lemmings will oppose this bill, but given the fact that the whole mission is a state historical landmark, I tend to doubt it.

Dagnabbit! I butchered my job interview with the Madera County Counsel's Office today. I hate getting those "Thank you for applying, but we will no longer be considering you" letters. Ah, well. Guess I just wasn't meant to live near Fresno.

There is, without a doubt, a glaring relationship between Protestantism and American consumerism. Unfortunately, the Catholic Church in the United States hasn't exactly escaped being infected by the latter itself.

Supreme Court to agrees to hear web porn case.

"Shortly after the Child Internet Protection Act (CIPA) was passed by Congress and signed by President Clinton in 2000, a group of libraries, Web sites and Internet users backed by the American Civil Liberties Union sued in federal district court, claiming that the law violates the First Amendment because the filtering software sweeps up a large amount of legitimate material as well as obscenity or child pornography."

Is there any doubt that Berkeley is nothing but wasted air space?

If you've ever seen a soap opera or variety show on Univision, this story really shouldn't be a big surprise.

"Randy Thomasson, executive director of the Campaign for California Families, said that it has been his experience that the major Spanish language media outlets such as Univision and La Opinion, rarely cover pro-family issues. "The last time La Opinion covered something from our side was in 1996," he said in a telephone interview. Thomasson said, approximately, "90 percent of the time, Univsion does not cover our pro-family news conferences in spite of the fact that Latinos are very family-oriented. Thomasson also noted that when his group has pitched pro-family stories to La Opinion, they have not been receptive. "Earlier this year we had a press conference at the Los Angeles city hall over the Marriage Protection Pledge. Andrea Franklin, from our office, spoke with them about covering the event. I just don't think they are very interested," Thomasson said."

Happy Veteran's Day. For all my Protestant brothers and sisters, this day is akin to all the feast days the Catholic Church devotes to the Saints in Heaven (i.e., those who have lived a heroic life in Christ) throughout the calendar year.

I'm guessing swap meet merchants who sell "Folex" watches and "Mucci" handbags will be watching this case with great interest and concern.

The two cases giving rise to the Supreme Court's current review of California's "Three Strikes" law involves one guy who was convicted of stealing over $1,000 worth of golf clubs and another guy who stole about $150 worth of videotapes. The latter fellow was given 50 years in prison without possibility of parole, while the former was subject to a sentence of 25 years to life with the possibility of parole. The big question I struggle with "Three Strikes" sentencing is the propriety of factoring in past convictions for which a person has technically paid his debt to society for. Such a scenario almost seems like a person is being subjected to double jeopardy for a single crime, which is patently unconstitutional. Yet, there is little question that "Three Strikes" is largely responsible for the dramatic drop in crime in California, and has probably saved many lives. This is really one of those times that I'm glad I'm not a Supreme Court Justice.

California Attorney General's office says abortion "doktors" must report suspected sex abuse. There are, however, some apparent loopholes. If so, and I will try to find out if there really are any, they need to be closed.

So now that there is a Republican majority in the Senate, dare we start thinking Chief Justice Scalia? Hmm...

Supreme Court hears arguments over the constitutionality of California's "Three Strikes" law. In case you don't know what this is, it's a law that automatically imposes a minimum 25 year sentence on any person convicted of a crime who has had two prior felony convictions. One of the problems many people see with California's three-strikes law is that it is possible for a person to get anywhere from 25 years to life for stealing a pizza (which actually happened). I'm a little conflicted myself on it, but I think the Supreme Court will ultimately uphold this law.

As much as I'm disappointed with how the election results here in Crazy California went (please pray for all the unborn babies), at least the rest of the country appears to have shifted more towards sanity.

I'm starting to brace myself for the wave of phone calls I'm going to start getting if "Gumber" Gray Davis wins reelection here in California. Believe you me, the "homo floodgates" are about ready to burst out here, and it will take nothing short of a miracle to contain it to a mild drip.

Berkeley to America: Forget the gangs and drug dealers, we need to incarcerate the non-organic coffee sellers. Morons.

There is no sense in talking about any other right if there is no right to life. As such, if a candidate is "pro-choice" he/she will not be getting my vote even if he/she is in the same party as me.

Dan Quayle's alma mater, DePauw University, is sued for religious discrimination. Just from the article, I can see how the plaintiff in this case can allege a violation of her federal statutory rights. As to whether her constitutional rights have been violated, the plaintiff won't have any standing to make these allegations unless she can show that the university, which is private, acted under the color of state or federal law.

The enigmatic paradox of Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate Mitt Romney:

"Two weeks ago, the Boston Globe asked how, as a graduate of Brigham Young University, he could reconcile his financial support of his alma mater with his statements opposing discrimination against homosexuals. BYU bans homosexual behavior by its students and faculty.

Mr. Romney replied: 'BYU is a religiously oriented university. I just don't think religion should be part of a campaign.' Not exactly a forceful response."

Boston College upsets Notre Dame in Catholic Bowl 2002.

Saw this link at Amy Welborn's 'blog. All the more reason to be Catholic if you ask me.

Priest's endorsement of a pro-life candidate draws ire of (anti)Americans United for Separation of Church and State. What do you think the odds are that AUSCS head bozo Barry Lynn would totally overlook the "Rev." Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton endorsing a pro-abortion candidate?

Well here's something you don't see reported or commented upon every day: Supreme Court Justice complains about overprotective application of the 11th Amendment. I bet you at least eight out of ten people, including lawyers, in America couldn't tell you what the 11th Amendment is. As a matter of fact, they don't even mention it in the article.

A blessed All Saints Day to one and all in the Church Militant.

Why and when did "born again" Protestants become so annoying to many in American civil society?

"In pursuit of an answer Hart, a professor of church history at Westminster Theological Seminary in Escondido, Calif., ranges nimbly across American Protestant history in the 19th and, especially, 20th centuries. When he comes to the upheaval of the 1960s, he remarks that 'the United States entered a new phase of cultural history in which Protestantism no longer yielded a common sense of purpose and set of standards as it once had'...the change from 'a Protestant to a post-Protestant society...made evangelical politics appear to many as old-fashioned, if not a little obnoxious.'"

On this, the 485th anniversary of the start of the Defor.., I mean, Reformation, Cardinal Dulles says Vatican II reaffirmed the authority of the papacy.

If you're an Evangelical, think GM.

In listening to the lyrics of their song, I had an inkling that Lifehouse might be a "Christian" band. Great to see that the lead singer is very much influenced by his faith.

Bob Kunz writes in reaction to the Bob Jones University story I posted on October 21, "Hey, I'd rather be confronted with Michelle's judgmental attitude than the implied subjectivist ("well, that may be truth for you, but this is truth for me" - "why can't we all just get along?") alternative."

Gee, if that's what I implied, I didn't mean to. Guess I should have qualified myself by writing "I do, however, believe that there is truth, and Michelle is far from having any clear grasp of it." My main point, however, was to show how problematic fundamentalist Christian theology tends to be in that it recklessly encourages judgment on another person's salvation. Yes, the only way to Heaven and God is through Jesus, but it is not for us to judge, for we are not God, whether a person who has not fully accepted Christ is eternally damned to Hell. Remember, with God, all things are possible.

Yessss! The Giants lost! Wooooo! In case you're wondering, my two favorite teams are the Dodgers and anyone playing the Giants.

Object to being sent a pro-homosexual policy memo and lose your job.

"Kodak is constantly trying to cram this diversity/inclusive culture crap down our throats. We are told by management that all beliefs are welcome. Well, as Rolf found out, if your opinions and fundamental beliefs go against the Kodak party line, you will be gone."

Assumming they have the right guys, someone has some serious 'splaining to do.

Can't really blog for the next few days as I have to try to churn out a "friend of the court" brief involving the Boy Scouts.

UCLA won't sign onto pledge combatting campus "anti-Semitism". I put the quotes around anti-Semitism because it seems to be used in a way that includes opposing foreign policies that are favorable to Israel. If that's the case, then I would probably agree with UCLA's hesitancy. In and of itself, expressing opposition to certain foreign policies that are favorable to Israel is no more anti-Semitic than opposing MFN trading staus for China is anti-Chinese. The characterization can change, of course, depending upon the underlying motivation for the opposition.

Bob Jones University may be making steps to clean up its image as far as racial matters go, but it is still perpetuating strident anti-Catholicism.

"The school's public relations problems probably come as much from its attitude toward other religions as from its past racial policies. Michelle Berg, a junior with a trendy short-handled purse whom I meet in the student center, assures me, 'We love [Catholics]. We have a way for them to be saved from hell.' But this involves telling them that 'what they believe is wrong' and unfortunately, says Berg, 'people don't see that as love.'''

It's one thing to not agree on the truth. But if being judgmental and presumptuous about another person's salvation is an expression of true Christian love, then send me to Hell right now because I will never be a Bob Jones fundamentalist.

Just for fun, I went to this people search engine and discovered there are at least 12 other men in America who share my name. The only problem with this search engine is that it has me listed in a city I haven't lived in for almost two years. Ah well...

Proposal on handling sexual abuse by priests will apparently be rejected by the Vatican.

Just to make it clear, meditation on a specific set of mysteries should be done on the following days: Monday and Saturday, and Sundays from Advent to Lent (Joyful Mysteries); Tuesday and Friday, and Sundays from Lent to Easter (Sorrowful Mysteries); Wednesday and Sundays from Easter to Advent (Glorious Mysteries); Thursday (Luminous Mysteries). Got that?

Don't look for mandatory U.S. Sugeon General's warnings to appear on the informational packets ofGay-Lesbian Student Alliance clubs anytime soon.

Congregationalist Protestants or faithful Catholics? I tend to think they are the former more than the latter.

Protestant Bible smugglers in China risk their lives for God. Although I find the work of these overseas missionaries to be admirable, this article inadvertantly exposes the intrinsic problems that Protestantism (via the principle of sola scriptura) has caused and perpetuates -- e.g., lack of theological cohesion and doctrinal confusion.

"Lee’s most important book is his 'Recovery Version' of the New Testament, a densely annotated edition with a translation that he said is faithful to the original Greek. Footnotes and cross-references more than double the size of this Bible, first published in English in 1985 and in Chinese in 1987."
...

"In a footnote to the Book of Romans, for example, Lee writes that true Christians are like Christ – 'they have both humanity and divinity.' Critics say this demeans Jesus.

Others cite comments in which Lee seemed to urge people to pray in his name, a practice Lee denounced.

'I have heard that some of you worship me as God and address me as Lord,' he wrote in 1991. 'I am deeply troubled by this. According to the teaching of the Bible, you shall never worship any man as God.'"

Do they deserve to be called Catholic colleges?

"At the alumni office for the Dominican University of California (in San Rafael), Holly said that she would have to look into how many alumni had gone on to ordination and call back. After two weeks with no return phone calls, Holly was contacted again. Her tone was noticeably colder. 'We're not going to be able to disclose that information. It's against our policy.'"

Because I work in an environment that is almost entirely dominated by Evangelical and Fundamentalist Protestants, I've noticed that there are certain words that they (Protestants) tend to frequently use in their everyday conversations. Some of it is tinged with anti-Catholicism, although I don't believe most of the people I encounter realize it or harbor ill will toward me. Here's a sampling:

"worldview" i.e., one's moral perspective

"Oh my gosh!" i.e., an exclamation without taking the Lord's name in vain

"biblical or biblically -based" i.e., my position on, say, using vibrators finds support in the Bible, and is therefore true (doesn't matter that nobody else sees what I see)

"fellowship" -- i.e., act of worship with fellow "Bible-believing" Christians (often entails singing "praise" songs)

"Bible-believing Christians" i.e., professed Christians who have the same or similar conservative biblically-based moral views, and believe that the Bible is the sole authority on and deposit of the Christian faith.

"non-denominational" i.e., not a denomination; just Christian

"Christian" i.e., not Catholic

I'm with Eve Tushnet; Harry Wu should have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Because it dares to ask whether using a vibrator is biblical, Focus on the Family programs are dropped by a popular Protestant radio station in So. California.

Jimmy "I was almost killed by a rabbit" Carter wins the Nobel Peace Prize despite the fact he once endorsed Yasser Arafat's sham election in Palestine and publicly bristled when the communist Sandinista government, led by the tyrannical Daniel Ortega, was legitimately ousted in Nicaragua.

Something is rotten in Oslo.

I guess if I was ignorant (or a devoted fan of the "Left Behind" series) I'd actually be worried over the latest reading of the Rapture Index.

Satan, of course, believed this as well.

Is George Barna anti-Catholic? From his latest survey on religious beliefs, it certainly appears that way. First of all, he makes the claim that many Catholics (and Protestants) hold beliefs that conflict with the teachings of the Bible. Uh, who made Mr. Barna, a self described Evangelical Protestant, the authoritative interpreter of the Bible?

Second, his unqualified comments about the "surprising" number of Protestants who like praying to, in his words, "deceased saints", clearly reflects his ignorant belief that such Catholic inspired conduct amounts to idol worshipping and that the saints in Heaven aren't alive.

George Barna clearly has a lot of theological issues he needs to work out. Until then, I would give his statistical findings as much credence as I would to surveys conducted by the California Democratic Party -- almost none.

I've been getting a few calls about this new student Satan club in the San Mateo school district. As distressing as it is, this club has as much of legal right to be formed under the Equal Access Act as a Christian club.

Hey, if you happen to be a graduate of North Torrance High School like me, check out this site.

In looking at paragraph 2309 of the Catechism (the elements of the "just war" doctrine"), I'm inclined to think that the Vatican is being a little ignorant in its opposition to a possible U.S. military preemptive strike against Iraq.

"[Archbishop Renato Martino] recalled the Vatican's opposition to the 1991 Gulf War, saying: 'Everyone knows the way it turned out. War doesn't resolve problems. Besides being bloody, it's useless,' he said."

Uh, if I recall, not only did the Gulf War last less than six months, but we got Sadaam's tyrannical fat a** out of Kuwait. How can the Archbishop say that no problems were resolved and it was a useless endeavor? I suppose if there was one mistake about the war, it's that we didn't immediately go after Sadaam back in Iraq. However, if we did, the coalition we had built for the mission in Kuwait probably would have fallen apart. And then Clinton came into office...

Protestants in Mexico are disturbed over religious expressions made by the president of their country -- who happens to be Catholic. Legitimate concern over an establishment of religion or anti-Catholic bigotry?

Link via RelapsedCatholic.com: Two pro-life Hollywood stars appear and hold their own on TV talkshows.

Jesse Jackson shows up in Brazil to offer support for seemingly anti-Catholic political candidate "Lula".

"But even if he has the lead, Lula is leaving little to chance, insisting to the crowd that he shares the same ideals — and endured the same discrimination — as Jesus.

'Who in human history was more revolutionary than Jesus Christ? Who fought more for social justice?" Lula asked. "The same elite that is prejudiced against us today, had a prejudice against him.'"

Go here to check out my choice for California Governor. He's got a funny picture of a guy in chicken suit on there.

Despite the total lack of news coverage, Gov. Gray (out) Davis has vetoed an atrocious bill that would have required foster parents to attend homosexual sensitivity training classes, and prohibited foster child placement agencies from discriminating against foster parent applicants on the basis of their sexual orientation.

The game, of course, isn't over. Believe you me, if Gray-out is reelected this November, expect this and other pro-homo bills that got shot down this year (e.g., the "civil unions" bill) to get reintroduced by the Democrat dominated Legislature and signed into law in a heartbeat.

Too busy to blog today. Hope to have something tomorrow.

Pat Buchanan helps launch new political magazine called American Conservative.

"...American Conservative magazine was founded with the sole purpose of drawing a line in the sand against the so-called hijackers of the conservative movement, say its leaders.

'We're trying to take back the good name of conservatism from these right-wing impersonators,' Buchanan said at the magazine launch this week."

Aha! The U.S. Supreme Court has recognized secular humanism as a religion in the case of Torcaso v. Watkins, 367 U.S. 488, 495 note 11.

"Among religions in this country which do not teach what would generally be considered a belief in the existence of God are Buddhism, Taoism, Ethical Culture, Secular Humanism and others. See Washington Ethical Society v. District of Columbia, 101 U.S. App. D.C. 371, 249 F.2d 127; Fellowship of Humanity v. County of Alameda, 153 Cal. App. 2d 673, 315 P.2d 394; II Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences 293; 4 Encyclopaedia Britannica (1957 ed.) 325-327; 21 id., at 797; Archer, Faiths Men Live By (2d ed. revised by Purinton), 120-138, 254-313; 1961 World Almanac 695, 712; Year Book of American Churches for 1961, at 29, 47."

Self-worshippers plan march on Washington.

"We are participating in this march to reclaim the American nation as a secular nation because we feel it's being moved more and more to a religious nation," said Katherine Bourdonnay, a spokesperson for the Council for Secular Humanism.

It seems kind of odd that atheists and secular humanists would confine the word religion to those who believe in the existence of and worship a divine being. It is my understanding that the origin of the word religion comes from the Latin word for "relationship", as in a relationship with God or another person. Since atheists and secular humanists have a strong tendency to emphasize relationships with material things like money (indeed, that is how they sadly measure the value of their lives), it would seem that they are trying to foster as much religion, if not more, as a devout Christian might. The only difference, of course, is that you don't hear very many Christians saying that secular humanists and atheists can't be informed by their beliefs in the public square or popular government. Talk about violating the Establishment Clause!

Speaking of The Civil War, I understand that the writer of the song "Dixie," which the Confederacy sort of adopted as its anthem, was not only a "yankee northerner," he was also Catholic. I've been able to confirm the former (Daniel Decatur Emmett was born in Ohio and was not particularly enamored when the Confederacy coopted his song), but I haven't been able to verify the latter.

I've been watching the digitally remastered edition of The Civil War on PBS over the last few nights, and there's just a chock full of interesting information I missed the first time I saw it several years ago. I just may go out and buy the DVD.

Federal death penalty law is ruled unconstitutional. This is only somewhat of a bombshell, because only a particular law involving the death penalty is being ruled upon and not the death penalty itself.

U.S. District Judge William Sessions said the law does not adequately protect defendants' rights.

"If the death penalty is to be part of our system of justice, due process of law and the fair trial guarantees of the Sixth Amendment require that standards and safeguards governing the kinds of evidence juries may consider must be rigorous, and constitutional rights and liberties scrupulously protected," he said.

On my Notre Dame football musing below, a reader informs me that neither Knute Rockne (until he later converted) or Ara Parseghian were Catholic when they were the head coach of the Irish.

Speaking of sports, who are some of the most famous and greatest American athletes who are (or were when they were alive) also faithful Catholics? There must be a few, but for some reason I can only think of Roger Staubach, former great quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys. I read somewhere that even during his playing career, Staubach was a daily communicant. How awesome is that?

Governor Gray Davis rationalizes abortion, and now embryonic stem cell research, on the premise that pre-born children are not human, and that such things will better our society. Hitler, of course, had the same perspective regarding the Jews and the involuntary experimentations that were done on them. Thus, to equate people like Gray Davis to Adolf Hitler is justified, although Davis is more of an equal opportunity offender.

Just a passing curiosity, but I wonder if in addition to being the first black head football coach at Notre Dame, Tyrone Willingham is the first non-Catholic head football coach at said university.

Cool...Mel Gibson movie on the Passion to be in Latin and Aramaic.

Even though the Catholic Church in the United States has significantly grown in the last few years, I'd be curious to know what percentage of new members in other growing religious faiths (e.g., Mormons, Evangelical Protestants, etc.) are fall-away Catholics. I once heard on EWTN that behind the Catholic Church, the second largest Christian "denomination" in the United States are people who were once Catholic.

Students from across the country today will be holding a "See You At The Pole" event at their schools to offer prayers for classmates, parents, friends, and their country. Although it is held out as being "interdenominational" (i.e., Catholics can participate too!) See You At The Pole tends to primarily attract good-hearted folks from the various quarters of Evangelical and Fundamentalist Protestantism. Myself, I see this event as an annual test for school principals and school districts on their understanding of the meaning of free speech.

Another Chinese bishop, loyal to the Holy See, is arrested.

"Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake:"

-- Matthew 5:11 (DR)

Unlike their cohorts in academia, liberal pro-abortion activists set sights at destroying another great nominee for the federal judiciary.

So how bad was anti-Catholicism within America's Protestant subculture? Here's a resolution that the National Association of Evangelicals, a multi-denominational group that many prominent Fundamentalists like Bob Jones think is too "liberal", adopted prior to the presidential election of John F. Kennedy in 1960:

Roman Catholicism And The President Of The United States

Whereas, separation of Church and State is the historic American principle, BE IT RESOLVED that the NAE state its belief:

1. That discussion of the church-state separation principle along with all of its implications is legitimate and inevitable whenever public office is under consideration, and

2. That commitments to the principle of church-state separation are necessary from all political candidates for the Presidency regardless of their religious affiliation, and

3. That the commitment of a Roman Catholic candidate to the separation principle is particularly necessary because the Roman Catholic Church, both as a political and religious organization, has for many centuries fostered the policy of church establishment in various degrees, according to its own political and religious interests within a situation, and has exerted pressures on public officials to that end, and

4. That the real source of unrest in respect to church-state separation is the total lack of any convincing commitment of the Roman Catholic Church to the principle of church-state separation, which could only come from the highest authority of that organization and could only be evidenced by the realignment of Catholic policy in those countries where Catholicism is now the established religion, and

5. That due to political-religious nature of the Roman Catholic Church, we doubt that a Roman Catholic president could or would resist fully the pressures of the ecclesiastical hierarchy.

Prior to the NAE redesigining their website, I pulled some other old resolutions they had regarding, I believe, the "danger" of allowing Bishop Samuel Stritch to be elevated to the College of Cardinals. I've only glanced through the NAE's resdesigned site, and while they actually admit to adopting anti-Catholic resolutions like the one above, I didn't see anything about a subsequent rescinding of them. Very curious.

Outside of the loony fringes of the Bob Jones' and Jack Chicks' of this world, is anti-Catholicism among most of our separated Protestant brothers and sisters really a thing of the past? In taking a look at some of the courses offered by a few of the more popular "born again" Protestant colleges in this country, one has to wonder. For example, here is a course offered at the Bible Institute of Los Angeles (BIOLA) University:

TTTH707 Roman Catholic Theology
Units:2.0
School:Talbot School of Theology
Course Description:
A detailed study of the tenets of Roman Catholicism; reading from representative Roman Catholic literature; particular attention given to the distinctions between Roman Catholic and Protestant doctrines. Especially helpful for those contemplating missionary service in countries dominated by Roman Catholicism. Elective .

Here is course offered at Trinity International University, whose law school I am a graduate of (Yes, I did lodge a formal complaint after I discovered it. As expected, they denied the course was designed to train Evangelical missionaries on how to convert Catholics):

ST 737 ROMAN CATHOLIC THEOLOGY
An examination of the claims and practices of traditional Roman Catholicism, of the "revolution" introduced by the Second Vatican Council, and of current modernist and traditionalist trends, together with an evangelical critique and an evaluation of the possibilities of collaboration with and evangelism among Catholics today.

So yeah, while secular humanism is the greatest cause of anti-Catholicism in America today, one can clearly see that some of the hostility toward the Church is still flowing out from this country's Protestant subculture.

Retired janitor of a Catholic high school in So.California beomes one of its largest donors.

"D'Heygers, who dropped out of school after the eighth grade in Belgium, has spent the bulk of his adult life serving students who begin their Mater Dei years at the age when his own education ended. Now retired from his position as head caretaker, he still lives on campus. His living room displays crosses and Mater Dei memorabilia, including an honorary high school diploma. Announcements from the school's speaker system filter in. Students talk to him around his dining room table, where his black cat, Monarch II, jumps up to be petted."

What are the chances that Mel Gibson is a SSPX sympathizer? Let's hope Jim Caviezel doesn't possess this attitude and is able to talk some sense to Mel.

Regarding the item below this, the state court of appeals apparently ignored Bacus v. Palo Verde Unified School District (11 F.Supp.2d 1192), a 1998 federal case in California that held there was nothing unconstitutional about a reference to Jesus Christ in a school board invocation.

And don't give me any lip about California's establishment clause being more narrow than the First Amendment's Establishment Clause. The state Supreme Court has definitively ruled in East Bay Asian Local Dev. Corp. v. State of California, 24 Cal.4th 693 (2000) that if a policy or act by the government does not violate the First Amendment's Establishment Clause, it will not violate the state's establishment clause.

In an apparent fit of "9th Circuit-itis," a California state court of appeals rules that invoking the name of Jesus Christ during a city council invocation is unconstitutional. Curiously enough, the guy who brought the suit against the city council is sitting in jail for allegedly plotting to bomb a mosque and a congressman's office.

Sacramento Kings fans: Feel the groan.

Awww, two lying pro-abortion adulterers hugging one another. Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, doesn't it?

In a straight party line vote, Dummycrats reject nomination of Prescilla Owen to the federal judiciary. This probably would have never happened, of course, if "Jumpin'" Jim Jeffords hadn't switched parties and given the Dummys a one person majority in the Senate, and thus a majority on the Judiciary Committee.

Unsurprisingly, there is a severe shortage of priests in the Sacramento diocese. There are lots of reasons for this, but it certainly doesn't help that the diocese draws most of its priests from questionable and uninspiring seminaries like St. Patrick's in Menlo Park and Mount Angel in Oregon.

"St. Patrick's had as its academic dean, Father Carl Schipper, who was arrested for soliciting sex with minors and distributing child porn over the internet in 2000. San Francisco archbishop William Levada invited Father Gerald Coleman to take his place. Coleman is well known as a supporter of what he calls "chaste" homosexual unions and publicly opposed Proposition 22, the defense of marriage initiative. Michael Rose interviewed seminarians at Mount Angel seminary in Oregon for Goodbye, Good Men, who said their superiors persecuted them for praying the rosary."

Arrgh... No time to really blog , so here's something to ponder: To assert that God knows the future wrongly assumes that God has a past and a future. In other words, because God is outside the bounds of time and space, God does not know the future, but "only" knows.

Have a great Labor Day weekend. I intend to use part of it reviewing a case on appeal involving the Boy Scouts and the People's Republic of Berkeley.

I just learned an interesting fact about my native Los Angeles. The city was actually named after the Blessed Mother and the title she holds as the Queen of Angels. As a relatively recent Catholic convert (about 4 years), this was quite a pleasant discovery. However, as a product of the public school system in California, I'm pretty steamed that this kind of information was withheld from me.

The new NFL season is approaching and, alas, another year will go by without my native Los Angeles having a team. Having a grown up a die-hard Rams fan, I was crushed when they left for St. Louis in the early nineties. I just wish the ownership of the Rams would show some class and change the name of team, like the Browns and Oilers did when they left for Baltimore and Tennessee.

I'm thinking of adopting the New Orleans Saints as my new favorite team, because, well, of the reference to saints. I don't know. Maybe I just won't pay much attention to pro football again like I have for the past 7-8 years.

Ha! In relation to the post below, Bob Jones III apparently quotes a hymn written by a Catholic priest (Frederick Faber) to defend his proposed substitution of the word "fundamentalist" with "preservationist". The hymn, Faith of Our Fathers, was also apparently inspired in part by the awful persecution of Catholics by Henry VIII. Thanks to Kathy C. for the 411.

I've often wondered how to best distinguish a Protestant fundamentalist from a Protestant evangelical. Thanks to some people I know who see themselves as the latter, now I know. A Protestant evangelical is basically a fundamentalist with a college degree.

Speaking of fundamentalists and college, the folks at good 'ol Bob Jones University have apparently been considering adopting a new description of themselves. How does Protestant "preservationist" strike you?

Beam me up! A couple of interesting links from the folks at The Corner. The Democrat Party candidate for governor in Ohio is married to Kate "Captain Janeway" Mulgrew, who is pro-life.

You know, I'm getting pretty sick of some of these ignorant Protestant evangelicals and fundamentalists who ascribe committee documents coming out of the USCCB as a teaching of the Catholic Church. It's obvious that guys like Jim Sibley will jump on any chance they get to slam an institution they have deep seeded contempt for.

Granted, the "reflections" on the evangelization of Jews was sloppy and subject to misinterpretation. But even if it wasn't, unless the document is affirmed by the entire USCCB and by Rome, it amounts to nothing more than a theological opinion piece.

Link picked up from Amy Welborn's blog: Comic book heroes and their religious faith. The Thing from the Fantastic Four is Jewish. Who knew?

Ah, Canada. The fascist euro-trash of the Americas.

Information that the goose-stepping pink mafia doesn't want you to know or see. Long live the Internet!

It's great that the FCC is considering yanking this radio station's license, but how much do you want to bet that the two moron DJs who encouraged the disrespectful and criminal act at St. Patrick's are going to be hired by some other unscrupulous, money-obsessed station manager.

The push to indoctrinate children to accept homosexuality as normal has gotten more aggressive. For reasons known only to it, the Visalia Unified School District in California has agreed to a settlement with the ACLU whereby VUSD will mandate homosexual sensitivity training for all teachers and students from the 8th grade through the 12th grade.

The alleged purpose, of course, for these re-education camps is to help prevent acts of hostility and violence toward "outed" teens and effeminate teen males. Think there will be any assurances that devout Christian students and teachers who believe homosexuality is a sin won't be targeted for hostile treatment? Probably not, which is what makes this settlement so ironic, stupid and dangerous.

Link from Relapsedcatholic.com: Luther bobble head dolls. Interesting. You would think Protestants would believe this leads to the kind of "idol worshipping" that we bad 'ol Catholics like to do.

An act of perversion, disrespect and INTOLERANCE.

Pilgrimage to Graceland. Someone pass me that deep fried 'nana sandwich...

So what exactly do judges wear under their robes?

The decision by Cardinal Law to allow sexually abusive priests to continue with their duties after receiving "medical intervention" raises some interesting issues. First and foremost, who medically intervened, and what are their credentials? While the scandal in the Church is certainly, well, scandalous, the situation appears to offer a great opportunity to legally attack the credibility of most human sexuality research and studies. It is such research, of course, which has led to the increasingly widespread belief that homosexuality is, at the very least, the equivalent of race and ethnicity. However, once it is shown that the entire basis of this research was formed out of unethical and criminal conduct (e.g., sexually molestation of children), the whole house of cards that is human sexuality studies will tumble. The trick now, of course, is to get the Church to sue those people whom they foolishly relied upon for advice in dealing with sexaully aberrant (i.e., homosexual) priests.

Looks like the baby killers in the California Legislature are getting close to passing a bill that would essentially require all doctors in residency in this state to learn how to perform abortions. Jerks...

The more I read about this garbage occurring in the University of California system, the more I rue the day I ever attended and graduated from one of its schools.

Convicted sex offender faces 60 molestation counts while acting as a Little League Coach.

To reiterate: it's a values/cultural problem, not a problem with the Church and its positions on sexual morality.

God will not be saving...at Costco.

Despite its feeble attempt to spin a federal judge's order as not particularly significant, the city of Cypress was dealt a crushing blow on Tuesday in its effort to use eminent domain to take a church's property so that it can build a tax-generating Costco retail center instead.
...

The city said that denying Cottonwood the right to build a church would not impose a "substantial burden" on it. But the judge said that "Preventing a church from building a worship site fundamentally inhibits its ability to practice its religion."

God again prevails in Minnesota as the reprimand of two state employees who broght Bibles to a mandatory "diversity training" seminar was found to be unlawfully discriminatory.

A very sad day for L.A. Sports fans as the legendary voice of the Lakers, Chick Hearn, has passed away. (LA Times requires registration, blah, blah, blah...)

Sacramento Kings fans: Feel the anxiety.

Here's an interesting website that offers a weekly Catechism study. The program officially starts on August 19.

There should not be one complaint about these billboards from "gay marriage" advocates.

When you crunch the numbers, the ratio between the number of boys who have been sexually abused by the age of 18 and the number of adult bi/homosexual males is around 4 to 1. By stark comparison, the ratio between the number of girls who have been sexually abused by the age of 18 and the number of adult heterosexual males is around 1 to 11.

The numbers don't lie: Every "gay" male IS A POTENTIAL PEDERAST. So why is there even any question about banning homosexually inclined males from the priesthood?

My opinion of Voice of the Faithful: A bunch of hypocritical, power hungry crackheads.

More revelations from the seminar I attended featuring Dr. Reisman: The widespread notion that people with homosexual tendencies are "normal" because they are born that way can be directly traced to the false and criminal "research" on human sexuality done by Alfred Kinsey in the 1940s and '50s. Contemporary purveyors of Kinsey's junk science include Dr. John Money, who helped found the Johns Hopkins Center for Sexual Disorders, and Dr. Fred Berlin, who had apparently advised Cardinal Law on the handeling of pederast priests.

Message to pro-homosexual bloggers in and outside of the Catholic Church (e.g., Andrew Sullivan and Mark Hardy): Unless you are willing to defend the willful raping of children in the name of science, you have absolutley no leg to stand on in defending homosexuality. Every person, particularly a male, who is afflicted with homosexual desires IS A POTENTIAL PEDERAST (see stats below on ratio between number of sexually abused boys and number of bi-homosexual males). Much praise should thus be given to those who recognize the disorderliness of their condition and commit themselves to a life of chastity.

Governor of Louisiana advises women in state to pack "heat".

Wow. According to data collected byDr. Reisman in 1991, there were approximately 1-2 million practicing bi/homosexual males in the United States and approximately 6-8 million boys in the United States who had been sexually abused. Conceding the fact that some of these boys were probably sexually abused by females, it is highly unlikely that the number of female on boy abuse is very significant (perhaps less than 1/2 of 1 percent). From Dr. Reisman's findings, which are based on census figures, police and social services reports, the intimate link between homosexuality and pederasty seems undeniably clear.

I learned something very interesting today from Dr. Judith Reisman. Prior to 1948, when the Kinsey studies on human sexuality were published, there was no such thing as a "sex specialist". As such, every so-called professional in the area of human sexuality today may rightly be called an Alfred Kinsey disciple. The problem with this, however, is that much of the data that Kinsey and his cohorts collected was derived from illegal (and immoral) conduct that they themselves directly engaged in -- e.g., pedarasty (sp?). This being the case, one can only come to the logical conclusion that every professional sex specialist since 1948 is an outright fraud.

Governor "religion is for losers" Ventura inadvertantly proclaims "Christian Heritage Week". God is amazing, isn't He?

Now how are you gonna know if someone is going to Hell if you kill him to test your theory?

There is an intense rivalry between Catholic Church and Protestant sects in Guatemala. As the linked article appears to suggest, much of this rivalry is the result of the missionary work done by various Protestant churches in the United States.

It's been a while since high school spanish class, so forgive me if I muck this up:Quines es Juan Diego?.

The Anti-Christian Lunatics Union once again succeeds in distorting the Establishment Clause; this time for the purpose of telling kids they should have as much sex outside of marriage as possible.

Accused murderer demands to see child porn in exchange for confession. I'm guessing if it were up to the ACLU, this sick son of a &*@! would get his wish.

A case of "You can't legally dissolve what doesn't (and shouldn't) exist."

Link to news story on a "gay" couple trying to get a divorce.

Preeminent Establishment Clause distorters The Anti-Christian Lunatics Union (ACLU) wins in getting a cross removed from the Mojave National Preserve.

Ailing obese man files a lawsuit against the fast food industry claiming they made him an addict to their products. In light of the amount of money people have gotten from the tobacco cases, this story is hardly a surprise. I'm trying to see if it might be possible to use the tobacco cases to sue the porn industry.

The Dems are back in "Bork" mode for the judicial hearings of Priscilla Owens.

"At yesterday's hearing, liberal senators pressed Owen on abortion, on advocacy in decisions, and on allowing personal beliefs to sway decisions. 'I am deeply concerned,' Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California told Owen. 'You've looked in other places to find a rationale not to do what Texas law called for.'"

I'm not certain about the context, but I'm assuming mafiosa princess DiFi is referring to the fact that Justice Owen has rarely voted for allowing a female minor to legally bypass notifying her parents before getting an abortion. The thing of it is, Texas law does not require judges to grant female minors a notice bypass under all circumstances (indeed, the law requires that minors be fully informed of abortion alternatives, which Justice Owens found did not always occur). By her line of questioning, you can pretty much count on Senator "I don't want people to own handguns, but I carry one in my handbag" Feinstein not to vote for confirming Justice Owens. (As a side note, a relative of mine once mooned Feinstein when she was mayor of San Francisco).

Borrowing from Kathy Shaidle, from the Thank God I Don't Live in New York file:

The Bush v. Gore presidential election case is an example of a hypocritical Supreme Court majority that broadens the rights of states only when it serves conservative ends, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday.

What other evidence does one need to show that Hillary is nothing but a pro-centralized government communist?

An appeal has been made to the Supreme Court to challenge the constitutionality of Texas'anti-homosexual acts law. If the case is accepted, the Court will revisit its 1986 decision in Bowers v. Hardwick, which upheld the constitutionality of Georgia's anti-sodomy law.

My hope is that the Court will deny review of the case and simply maintain the status quo regarding the right of states to determine which immoral and disordered acts will be deemed illegal. Long live the 10th Amendment!

Mmmm. This cake recipe looks pretty good. I wish I had the time and utensils to make it.

An organization called Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX) has filed a lawsuit against the National Education Association for sexual-orientation based discrimination (i.e., discrimination against people who are heterosexual). Although I support the general purpose of PFOX, I'm not so sure this lawsuit is a good thing, if only because it appears to further the treatment of sexual desire as the legal equivalent of race and ethnicity.

The legal and cultural assault on marriages (and morality) moves to Indiana and Washinton, D.C.

Nice little mention of U.S. Senator Sam Brownback's Catholic conversion (you'll need to scroll down). Brownback's sponsor was Senator Rick Santorum, who took an opportunity to rip American cultural liberalism for The Problem.

China continues in its persecution of the Church: "detains" one nun and several children attending a religious class.

Say you work for a secular newspaper that is owned by a religious institution. Now imagine that you believe you have been passed over for raises and promotions at the paper because you do not belong to the religious organization that basically employs you. However, in order to support the claim that you have been unlawfully discriminated against, you need to find out whether those who have been promoted over you are religiously affiliated with the newspaper's owner. Can you do that or is it a violation of the right to privacy? That's a question currently "percolating" in federal court. Personally, this is an issue I need to stew over for a while, but my initial thought is that it should be permissible to delve into a person's religious background given the compelling interest the government has in preventing religious-based discrimination in the secular workplace.

A state court in Washington (figures) has ruled that employment discrimination against people who practice sodomy and lesbianism is unconstitutional. Well hell, why don't we just throw in pedophiles, masturbators and people who like to have sex with animals while we're at it!

It is apparrently okay in Bay Area government schools to physically tape little children to the floor and cause them trauma so long as it is done in the name of education.

The Problem extends beyond denomination and sect.

Army personnel use charge cards to buy "services" at strip clubs.

"Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said the individuals spent the money 'on lap dancing and other forms of entertainment,' running up a total bill of $38,000. Grassley disclosed the results of the General Accounting Office probe in testimony Wednesday before a House government operations subcommittee."

The reactions of the 9th Circuit judges to the protests over the court's Pledge of Allegiance decision shows just how out of touch and arrogant members of the judiciary are.

Thomas Buchanan on Science and God.

"In our world, theology has taken a back seat to science, but only because we have allowed it to. It is still a much more difficult thing to understand—the workings of the Lord of the Universe—and although many excellent scientists are working today, I know of few world-class theologians. I believe this is because theology is a broad discipline requiring an understanding of many fields—history, philosophy, literature, science, and so on—while science is a far more narrow discipline, requiring specific technical skills and little knowledge of anything else. Most scientists I know do not have the skills to study theology."

Some real interesting lawsuits are coming down the pike, so posts to this blog may be sporadic.

Can religious institutions and/or associations, like the Catholic Church, discriminate on the basis of religion in the sale, rental, or occupation of property it owns? Pursuant to Title 42 Section 3607 of the United States Code the general answer is "yes". Guess it's time to break out those "No Baptists Need Apply" signs...

Baptist school rejects Catholic teen even though non-Baptists are allowed to attend. Sad, yet unsurprising.

A quadriplegic is suing a strip club for alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In other words, a handicapped boob is suing for the right to see some boobs.

A couple of days ago, Amy Welborn posted a story on how some parishoners in Ohio had refused to call for the oustering of a priest who had molested a 14-year old girl. I posted a comment expressing my lack of surprise at this if the parish in question was one where people regularly held hands during the "Our Father", received communion in the hand, left Mass right after communion, applauded after Mass, and encouraged the use of altar girls. To me, all of these are signs of dissent and heterodoxy. Well, this guy Jim read my comments and felt the need to send me some e-mail for which I sent a response (the last message is chronologically listed first here).

----------------
Let's put it this way: you got the full extent of communications from me
that I felt was worth my time.

Go pray to you idol, Pio Nono.

-----Original Message-----
From: Roger Ho
Sent: Thursday, July 11, 2002 4:31 PM
To: McCrea, Jim
Subject: Re: YOU ARE A DISTURBED MAN

Is that the best you can do?

The fact that you felt the need to use quotation marks tells me that you
are a relativist who has no qualms toward fomenting dissent.
Theologically, there is a word to describe people like you -- Protestant.

--- "McCrea, Jim" wrote:
> Your version of what is "orthodox" and "hetrodox" in Catholicism is
> sadly
> skewed.
>
>
> Jim McCrea
> E-mail: jim.mccrea@elan.com
---------------------

As any objective observor can see, Jim is pretty feeble minded. I'm praying he isn't Catholic, and I'm also praying for his conversion to the truth.

WorldnetDaily.com has done an excellent expose on the targeting of American children by homosexual activists. Through my law practice, I can personally attest that the movement to morally relativize homosexuality in California's public schools is especially aggressive. I find it highly ironic that at the same time public confidence in the Catholic Church is waning because of The Scandal, no widespread outrage is being expressed over a movement that effectively gives rise to state sponsored pedophilia.

I've just been informed of a somewhat disturbing trend in the law. Strident homosexual practitioners and activists are apparently using domestic violence statutes to obtain restraining orders against people of faith. There is a case in Minnesota where a teacher at a Catholic school has obtained a restraining order against a parent whose "crime" consisted of writing the school priest and questioning whether the presence of a possibly "gay" teacher was safe and complied with Catholic doctrine. The matter is now on appeal to the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

In Maryland, a lesbian couple obtained a restraining order shortly after a Christian family moved in next door. What did the Christian family do? Your guess is as good as theirs, although they suspect the Christian bumper stickers on their cars might have prompted the lesbians' apprehension. No big surprise to learn that the ACLU is representing the lezbos.

According to reports, it appears as though the daughter of the guy who won the Pledge of Allegiance case is a Christian who has no problem with either reciting the Pledge or saying the words "under God". There is no morality in atheism.

Won't be able to blog for the coming week as I'll be in Cancun, Mexico for a litigation academy sponsored by the Alliance Defense Fund. It's great work if you can find it.

I understand that Rep. Mike Honda, a liberal Democrat from San Jose, was one of the three congressmen that voted against condemning the 9th Circuit's decision on the Pledge of Allegiance. Since Honda is of Japanese descent, this got me thinking about Asian-American politicians, and how there really aren't any that can be classified as conservative, much less Republican. This is most odd, given the fact that Asian culture tends to be relatively conservative, both fiscally and socially. And given the troubles that many Americans of Asian descent have encountered at the hands of government (see, e.g., Communist China, North Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia) you'd think we would be a consistently solid Republican or conservative voting block. Sadly, however, too many Asian-Americans have bought into the ridiculous, liberal belief that "whitey" wants to oppress us. As a result, we tend to support and vote for any politician with an Asian name, despite the fact that they may have an ideology that is at odds with the traditional and transcendent values that most of us were brought up with and still hold.

Oddsocks Productions goes Orwellian -- changes "The Hunchback" to "The Bellringer". What a bunch of retards, errrr, mentally challenged individuals.

A tried and true limousine liberal -- Gores move into wealthy Nashville neighborhood. I wonder if they bought the property with their own money, or did some generous Buddhist monks just happen to have some extra land laying around to give to poor old Al and Tipper?

The financial scandal that Xerox is currently in is something I'm very sorry to see. Until his retirement a few years ago, my father had worked for Xerox for 25 years as an electrical engineer.

"Gay" activists bent on attacking and destroying the Church have apparently committed their own September 11th hijacking.

Seemingly following in the footsteps of the 9th Circuit, the 10th Circuit Court of appeals upholds bar on religious tiles at Columbine High School.

The judge who wrote the Pledge of Allegiance case has put an indefinite stay on enforcing his decision. This is an obvious ploy to save face. On the one hand, if the entire 9th Circuit reviews the case and agrees with the judge's decision, he'll at least have safety in numbers for when the Supreme Court reverses them. On the other hand, if either the full 9th Circuit or Supreme Court affirms the lower district court decision in favor of the government, it will be as if the judge never wrote his stupidity because he put a stay on it.

Even though they've got lifetime appointments, this situation clearly shows how sensitive judges (liberal judges in particular) are about their public image.

Curious how the NEA's handwringing over the Supreme Court's voucher decision is a lot like the handwringing that Sacramento Kings fans are still engaged in. Get over it! YOU LOST!

In citing the case of Lemon v. Kurtzman the 9th Circuit seems to have conveniently ignored this sentence from the decision: "Our prior holdings do not call for total separation between church and state; total separation is not possible in an absolute sense. Some relationship between government and religious organizations is inevitable."

Proof that the 9th Circuit doesn't even follow its own precedence: In the 1970 case of Aronow v. United States, the 9th Circuit found no conflict bewteen the Establishment Clause and the government's use of "In God We Trust" on its coinage, currency, official documents, and publications.

After the travesty of the 9th Circuit's decision on the Pledge, the Supreme Court has just ruled that school vouchers are constitutional.

UCLA Law Prof., and hopeless libertarian, Eugene Volokh finds the 9th Circuit's decision in the Pledge of Allegiance case to be a "perfectly plausible application" of Supreme Court precedence. Talk about giving yourself some wiggle room! Volokh's choice of words here suggests to me that he actually has no problem with the 9th Circuit's decision, even though it provides a perfect example of judicial activism (which, I presume, Volokh opposes given his longtime membership in the Federalist Society). C.Y.A. Euge, C.Y.A.

Reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools is found to be unconstitutional. The idiots in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals have done it again.

A nice little story on faith in the workplace. By the number of calls I get, not a lot of people are aware of the broad protections that are afforded to people of religious faith in the workplace. The source of these protections is Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which is mostly used in racial discrimination cases.

Most unfortunate: Bush administration quietly extends benefits to same-sex couples -- puts stamp of approval on disordered lifestyle.

Un-freakin'-believable! The Presbyterian church has affirmed the right to kill pre-born babies. On this note, I wonder why those lame-brains in "Catholics" for a Free Choice don't join them instead of trying to create dissent within the Catholic Church? I'll say this much for Martin Luther: at least he had the integrity to quit the Church rather than trying to cause turmoil and confusion within it.

Death penalty related case -- Supreme Court says juries, not judges, must decide whether an accused murderer's crime is worthy of being punished by the death penalty.

Given the changing trends in public opinion on the death penalty, this could very well result in a substantial decrease in executions...except in Texas.

Let's see the lavander mafia try to go against this group in Miami. As I've repeatedly asserted in this blog, homosexual desires are not the equivalent of race and ethnicity.

Talk about no brainers -- Supreme Court bars FLee Bailey from arguing before them.

More evidence that the requirement of celibacy in the priesthood is not the problem.

Yet another reason for maintaining the celibacy requirement in the priesthood.

From Fox News: Conservatives slam John Ashcroft for allowing Deputy AG Larry Thompson to speak at a gay pride event held at the Department of Justice.

"Just because he is fighting terrorist threats is no excuse to allow an officially sanctioned celebration by his department of immoral, unhealthy behavior that is illegal in nearly 20 states," said Robert Knight, director of the Culture and Family Institute. "I have to ask: Why is Mr. Ashcroft, a committed Christian, using his official capacity to celebrate sin?"
...

But gay employees at the Justice Department said conservative groups shouldn't have a problem with Thompson's speech since he didn't focus on lesbian and gay issues.

"He could have given that speech to a bunch of tourists," said DOJ Pride board member Mark Hegedus.

Like most pro-homosexual activists, Mr. Hegedus is missing the point. The objection is not with Thompson speaking to the group, it's with the whole event even taking place.

School bans "tag" game to preserve student self esteem: Only in the People's Republic of Santa Monica could something like this happen. Oh wait, it could also occur in that third world American city known as Berkeley.

The Supreme Court has ruled that executing mentally retarded murderers is unconstitutional -- cites change in public sentiment as main reason for decision.

Although I am against applying the death penalty to the mentally retarded, this ruling by the Court is absolutely ridiculous. Trends in public opinion should not be dictating judicial decisions. As with abortion, the Court should have allowed the individual state legislatures to decide for themselves whether convicted murderers who are mentally retarded should be executed.

The University of San Francisco's loss is Ave Maria College's gain. Father Fessio will be missed out here on the leftist coast.

I posed the following question on defining sexual deviancy to homosexual defenders on June 13. Here's one response I got (italicized) with my reply (bold):

I would define sexually devient conduct as predatory behavior, that stimulates you at the expense of another's mental, emotional, or spiritual loss of preceived well being.

This definition is problematic for a couple of reasons. In addition to automatically excluding blatant deviants who engage in acts like bestiality, also excluded are pedophiles who argue and believe that children can give informed and reasoned consent to sexual intercourse with adults. The basis for this argument and belief stems from the junk science research that "Heir Doktor" Alfred Kinsey put out fifty years ago. It is this same study that homosexuals use to argue that their "death-style" is perfectly natural and normal.

For a thorough eye-opening refutation of Kinsey, visit the site put up by Dr. Judith Reisman.

The decision by Nickelodeon to broadcast a program about children who are raised by homosexuals is most unfortunate. Rather than teaching kids to respect the humanity of a person despite his many faults, Nickelodeon is obviously trying to normalize and legitimate homosexuality by telling kids that "gay" couples who raise children are as much a "family" as married men and women with children.

Epiphany: There have been many occasions where I have thought about stealing from somebody. I don't know where these thoughts come from or why I have them. However, because I realize that stealing is intrinsically wrong, I refrain from doing it. But does the fact that I have the desire to steal make me a thief? No, because I have not stolen anything. Should my desire to steal alone afford me the legal status of a thief? Hardly. Should thieves, as a "class", be given the same civil protections that racial minorities like blacks and asians enjoy? That's just plain stupid. By way of analogy, then, why are individuals who tragically experience homosexual desires (but by God's grace do not act upon them) classified as "gay", and why should individuals who choose to practice homosexuality be given the same legal protections as racial minorities (who do not choose their ethnicity)? Hmmm...

Score another victory for those goofy JWs! The Supreme Court says cities cannot require door-to-door evangelizers and political canvassers to get permits.

"'It is offensive not only to the values protected by the First Amendment, but to the very notion of a free society, that in the context of everyday public discourse a citizen must first inform the government of her desire to speak to her neighbors and then obtain a permit to do so,' the court said in an 8-1 decision."

Addendum to my UC San Diego experience (below): a couple of female students got undergraduate degrees in something called "critical gender studies". For all you young girls out there, you too can spend four years at a major university to learn how to hate men!

Well, I just returned from So.Cal where I attended a friend's wedding and a cousin's graduation ceremony at UC San Diego. Regarding the latter, if there was ever any doubt that the University of California system was being run by a bunch of leftists, the names of the indivdual colleges at UC San Diego should lay such doubt to rest. First there's the college named after Sierra Club founder John Muir, hero to many a tree hugging eco-fascist. Then there's the college named after Earl "let's base constitutional law on feelings and other psychobabble principles" Warren, former governor of California and Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Third is Thurgood Marshall college, named after the late Supreme Court Justice who, in the later part of his life, reportedly had his clerks write all his decisions while he fell asleep in front of the T.V. Finally, there's Eleanor Roosevelt college, which is named after the long dead First Lady that Hillary Clinton apparently has regular conversations with.

At least the weather in San Diego was nice...

Looks as though my plate is full this weekend, so I won't be able to blog much for a couple of days. I'm attending a friend's wedding in L.A. and a cousin's graduation down in San Diego. It'll be nice to get away from the Sacramento heat for a couple of days.

If you think U.S. Bishops have been abusing their authority in regard to the welfare of children, they have absolutely nothing on the abuse of power practiced by our government through Child Protective Services. Why no media coverage here?

Question to those who find nothing abnormal about homosexuality: How do you define sexually deviant conduct?

With so much attention being directed at the Bishops' conference in Dallas, I've sort had a revelation as to why so many defenders of homosexuality are up in arms about proposals to keep more men with uncontrollable homosexual tendencies out of the priesthood. If "gay" priests pose an imminent danger to children they happen to run across or encounter, just think of the kind of danger that "gay" non-priests (e.g., teachers) pose to children they encounter on a daily basis! Homosexual activists and their defenders simply cannot afford to have people make this realization.

Lakers sweep!! Sacramento Kings fans are still in denial and whining. Sacramento is definitely a city with an inferiority complex.

Yet another reason to hate government schools: the principal of an elementary school in Morgan Hill, CA (near San Jose) one day felt the need to show and tell a class of five year olds how babies are made and the proper medical terms for male and female genitalia. The principal did all of this without informing parents or allowing them an opportunity to opt their children out of the instruction (both of which are required by law).

The Supreme Court has stayed the execution of a retarded inmate until it determines whether such executions are constitutional.

I personally believe it is constitutional, although I don't necessarily favor executing anyone in the absence of some imminent danger to the safety of others.

I find it curious how so many people refer to the Catholic Church in the United States as the "American Church". The problem I have with this term is that it suggests a kind of separateness or independence from the whole. Because there is only one Church, I think it would be more appropriate to refer to her as either the Catholic Church in America or the Catholic Church in the United States.

I'm finally back on line! Woo Hoo! I'll start blogging more extensively tomorrow as its late and I want to catch the Laker game. I'm prayin' for a sweep!