Marketing Etiquette

Anybody know whether attorneys ever buy advertising space in a parish bulletin? Would it be too crass?

Adios Sacto

Today marked my final day as a resident of the northern portion of the central valley of California. After 2 1/2 years of enduring some of the most extreme hot and cold weather in my life, I'm off to the Bay Area to open up my own law practice. The idea is to focus on employment law, but the need to generate some revenue may force me to do some "slip and fall" cases.

One thing I will miss about Sacto, however, is St. Stephen's parish, which is run by the Fraternal Society of St. Peter and exclusively celebrates the Tridentine Latin Mass. Thanks, though, to the power of the Internet, I was able to find St. Margaret Mary in Oakland which offers the Tridentine Mass once every Sunday.

The "We Hate Christianity Judicial Tour" Rolls On

The Muslim version of Michael Newdow may get his day in front of the SCOTUS, which in case you already didn't know, begins its sessions with the proclamation of "God save the United States and this honorable Court.

Since 1894, Mississippi's flag has contained the Confederate battle emblem, a blue X with 13 whites stars over a field of red. Experts differ on whether the X in the Confederate battle emblem is the St. Andrew's Cross.

David Sansing, professor emeritus of history at the University of Mississippi, said Monday that people have claimed erroneously for years that the cross is the St. Andrew's Cross.

"What is in the Confederate battle flag is a blue saltier. The St. Andrew's Cross is a white diagonal cross on a blue field," Sansing said. "The man who designed the (Confederate battle) flag makes no reference to the St. Andrew's Cross."

Religious Liberty Year in Review

The article here provides a pretty decent summary. Although there's been some victories, I'd say that in the near future, things are going to get worse for First Amendment jurisprudence before they get better. This will especially be the case if Bush doesn't win reelection and get all of his appellate court nominations approved.

Devilish

Maybe I'm being a little uptight, but this just doesn't seem to be the kind of picture that a parish should be using to promote its young adults group.

A Day After the Feast of the Holy Innocents

Moloch is alive and well for 2004, as a federal District Court judge in New Hampshire declares that requiring parents to be notified of their daughter's intent to obtain an abortion is unconstitutional.

Matter Matters

Some nice sentiments and reflection by P.S. Bradley on the significance of the Feast of the Incarnation (or is it the Feast of the Nativity?).

Mele Kalikimaka!

Now, Back to Christmas

For all you baseball enthusiasts out there (like me) the highly publicized A-Rod for Manny Ramirez trade is now officially dead. In related news, the Red Sox are still cursed and the Dodgers, who were in line to possibly acquire Nomar Garciaparra if the A-Rod deal went through, still don't have a lineup that can hit the baseball. Harumph.

A Word on the State of Faith

Courtesy of Michael Novak.

Recently, British scientist Richard Dawkins was described as "an atheist, and a strenuous and militant and proud one." (One does not hear often of humble atheists, but they do appear.) "He thinks religious belief is a dangerous virus, and that it is a crime to infect the mind of a child with it." He calls religions "dangerous collective delusions" and "sinks of falsehood." He especially regrets the public influence of religion: "He is made apoplectic by the pontifications of religious 'leaders' on such questions as whether human clones would be fully human." For Dawkins, in short, "Religion is superstition, like astrology, alternative medicine, and the rest."

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, about ten percent (or a little less) of the world population is atheist or agnostic. So however upscale the views of Professor Dawkins, he has his propagating work cut out for him. Most nonreligious, secularist people, it appears, actually believe in God; they just don't like organized religions.

Is Gonzaga Catholic?

Increasingly, and sadly, no.

A Little Message From You Know Who, Perhaps?

One-third of San Francisco experiences a power outage; cause is still a mystery. Metaphorically, of course, San Francisco has been "dark" for decades.

Looks Like the NFL Hasn't Heard of Title VII

Jon Kitna of the Cincinnati Bengals is fined by the NFL for wearing a hat with a cross on it during a post-game press conference. (link via Mark Shea)

Ann Coulter's Man O' the Year

And it is former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore.

The ACLU began its onslaught against then-Etowah County Circuit Court Judge Moore in 1995, when an ACLU lawyer, apparently depressed that he was not chosen to play Mrs. Claus in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade that year, wrote a letter to all the state judges in Alabama protesting their practice of having a prayer in the courtroom every few weeks. (Obviously you can't have prayer in court: It might distract all the people holding their hand over a Bible and swearing before God Almighty to tell the truth.)

Everything had been going just fine in Alabama -- no defendant had ever complained about the practice -- but upon receiving a testy letter from the ACLU, all the other Alabama judges immediately ceased and desisted from the foul practice of allowing prayer in court. Judge Moore did not.

Chutzpah

The city of Palm Beach is ordered to submit a formal argument in defense of its position that a Jewish menorah ceases to have any religious significance when it is placed next to a Christmas tree. I expect Palm Beach will engage in an extensive distortion of the Supreme Court's ruling in Lynch v. Donnelly.

Bias Against People With Religious Beliefs

Trial lawyers recommend against selecting as jurors in personal injury cases, individuals with "personal responsibility biases." People with such biases are apparently not compassionate enough.

"It is helpful to divide the jurors into two groups: the personal responsibility group and compassion-altruistic group," Wenner wrote. "Jurors who are extreme on the personal responsibility bias, or who have a high need for personal responsibility, will strongly favor the defendant. In contrast, jurors who are extreme on the compassionate-altruistic bias, or who have a high need for compassion, will strongly favor the plaintiff." (...)

"The personal responsibility jurors tend to espouse traditional family values," Wenner continued. "Personal responsibility jurors often believe that when someone harms you,
the best response is to turn the other cheek. A lawsuit is viewed as revenge and unproductive ... often, these jurors have strong religious beliefs."

WWJD

A lot of Catholic anti-war types have been posting inane comments in the blogosphere about the alleged moral inconsistency and hypocrisy of United States policy toward Iraq and Saddam Hussein. More specifically, some people are implicity suggesting that since the U.S. at one point in time actually provided military support to Saddam (how much and why, they never say) we ought not to be claiming any kind of moral victory in his toppling and capture.

In response to comments like this, I'll usually say that it's a good thing that geopolitics isn't religion, and rhetorically ask if we should just go ahead and put Saddam back in power with a written apology. However, since the remarks are coming from Christians, Catholics in particular, I think a more apropos and effective response would be to rhetorically ask if Jesus should also be condemned for moral hypocrisy since He effectively enabled someone whom He knew was going to act in an evil manner (Judas).

Pope Sees "Passion" Film

And he approves of it. (Link via Drudge) I wonder if the ADF will now dare to call JPII an anti-Semite. Stay tuned.

First Time for Everything

Because of concerns about spreading the flu, the Archdiocese of San Francisco has instructed all of its parishes to temporarily restrain from offering the Communion chalice and asking parishoners to only receive the Eucharist in the hand. I happened to be attending a Novus Ordo Mass in San Francisco when this announcement was made, and as such, it was the first time in my five years as a Catholic to receive Communion in the hand. The experience was a little unsettling for me, if only because I was incredibly self consciece about leaving any particles of the Eucharist in my hand. I was at least comforted by the fact that the priest who read the Archbishop's letter took the time to mention that not receiving Communion on the tongue would be a sacrifice for many of us.

BTW, note that the article I linked to states in the first paragraph that the Communion wine symbolizes Christ's blood. Just one more example of mainstream journalistic inaccuracy and sloppiness.

From Our Bulging "I Sure Am Glad I Believe in an Authoritative Magisterium" File

Clergy in New Joisy argue that the Bible supports "gay marriages."

While opponents of domestic partnership quote the Bible to denounce the legitimacy of gay relationships, Holzbaur argues the message delivered by Jesus Christ is "radical inclusively" of all people and to "love your neighbor as yourself."

"It definitely is all on how one interprets Jesus' message," Holzbaur said. "The biblical scholarship I follow looks at not only the written word but the time the scriptures were written.

"The Bible at one time was used to promote and approve of slavery, and we no longer believe that is true," Holzbaur continued. "It's been used to keep women in a place of submission, and that is no longer true. We believe that God is still speaking."

California Prisons Go Kosher

Bring on the gefilte fish!

Nolan said that in California, the response until now had been for prisons "to offer another helping of mashed potatoes" instead of a balanced diet to an inmate whose religion does not permit eating pork.

Capitalisms Roots in Catholicism

A most intriguing article by uber-theologian Michael Novak.

It was the church more than any other agency, writes historian Randall Collins, that put in place what Weber called the preconditions of capitalism: the rule of law and a bureaucracy for resolving disputes rationally; a specialized and mobile labor force; the institutional permanence that allows for transgenerational investment and sustained intellectual and physical efforts, together with the accumulation of long-term capital; and a zest for discovery, enterprise, wealth creation, and new undertakings.

False and Stupid Syllogisms

While sitting on the bus yesterday, I overheard the following syllogistic conversation a young lady sitting next to me was having with someone on her cell phone: "Halliburton has big time contracts with the U.S. military in Iraq. Vice President Dick Cheney used to own (?!) Halliburton, so that's why we bombed Iraq."

In order to illustrate how stupid I thought this mindless lib was, I was real close to sarcastically asking her if she thought all Germans were Nazis because the Nazi Party came out of Germany, or if all blacks lack buoyancy because you never see any black Olympic swimmers. Fortunately, the impulse in me to be obnoxious subsided; plus, she got off the bus soon after I sat down next to her.

Paradoxical Bumper Sticker O' the Day

Seen on a car while driving back to Sacto from San Francisco last night: "Treehugger"

Nothing, however, tops "No War for Oil" stickers on cars that require diesel fuel. Liberals; they're funny without even knowing it.

This Doesn't Seem Very Smart

Illegal immigrants protest the repeal of a California law that would have allowed them to have driver's licenses.

Pablo Lopez, 44, of Santa Ana, marched with about 70 others from an Orange County landscaping company that had released its employees for the boycott. Lopez said he was an undocumented immigrant for 12 years and drove without a license, but was always afraid of getting stopped by police and deported.

"People come to this country for opportunity. That's what we're fighting for," said Lopez. "We come here to work hard and we have family that we have to protect. If we don't have a license, we won't be able to do that."

Any chance that INS was around to pick these people up?

Many First Christians Were Jews, So Why Aren't You's?

Jews for Jesus are sued over an alleged false conversion story.

I once had an informal debate with a member of Jews for Jesus over the general Protestant belief of sola scriptura (JFJ's tend to subscribe to it). Needless to say, the debate ended with the JFJ member accusing me of having some deep seeded darkness in my heart for challenging the notion that the Bible is the sole authority and deposit of the Christian faith.

Obnoxious Self-Centered Bumper Sticker O' the Day

Seen while driving to work this morning: "Just Say No to Sex With People Who Are Pro-Life"

Pray for us Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Kucinich is a Dork

And the people who support him should be prohibited from voting...ever.

Jesus is the Reason

The GrinchList.com is a response to the growing censorship and revisionist policies and practices concerning Christmas that is evident in retail stores, public schools, government offices, businesses, and the media. Our mission is to compile an ongoing list of businesses and organizations that engage in egregious cultural revisionism and expose them to the millions of consumers whose heritage is being expunged from the public cultural arena.

Update: The editors of Grinchlist annoyingly and needlessly make the following religious distinction: Public schools celebrate “Hispanic Heritage Month” embracing the emergence of the largest pool of new Immigrants, yet fail to mention that this same group has contributed equally to the growth of the Christian and Catholic ranks.

If You Aren't Liberal, You Aren't "Diverse" and "Tolerant"

After publishing a study which showed that Wells College professors are profoundly to the Left of Center, a College Republican Club gets shot down in its application for official school recognition.

The Always Quotable Justice Scalia

Re: the SCOTUS' upholding of a largely unconstitutional campign finance reform bill.

This is a sad day for the freedom of speech. Who could have imagined that the same Court which, within the past four years, has sternly disapproved of restrictions upon such inconsequential forms of _expression as virtual child pornography, . . . tobacco advertising, . . . dissemination of illegally intercepted communications, . . . and sexually explicit cable programming, . . . would smile with favor upon a law that cuts to the heart of what the First Amendment is meant to protect: the right to criticize the government. For that is what the most offensive provisions of this legislation are all about . . .

The first instinct of power is the retention of power, and, under a Constitution that requires periodic elections, that is best achieved by the suppression of election-time speech. We have witnessed merely the second scene of Act I of what promises to be a lengthy tragedy. In scene 3 the Court, having abandoned most of the First Amendment weaponry that Buckley left intact, will be even less equipped to resist the incumbents writing of the rules of political debate. The federal election campaign laws, which are already (as today's opinions show) so voluminous, so detailed, so complex, that no ordinary citizen dare run for office, or even contribute a significant sum, without hiring an expert advisor in the field, can be expected to grow more voluminous, more detailed, and more complex in the years to come.and always, always, with the objective of reducing the excessive amount of speech. Justice Scalia dissenting and concurring at 3, 19 (citations omitted).

Who's Your Role Model Howie?

Crazy, but funny, comparison via Mark Shea

Why Humans Can't Allow Machines to Make Decisions

The USC football team is ranked #1 in the coaches' and writers' polls, but gets left out of the national championship game by a computer. Outrageuous.

Student Wins Lawsuit Against Former High School

This is an update of the story I blogged here. The judge's written opinion vindicating student free speech can be read here.

CT Article on the Blessed Mother

CT finally put the cover story I blogged about here on their website.

The Morally and Intellectually Impoverished Media

Matt Lauer of the Today show effectively blames Ronald Reagan and Jerry Falwell for the stroke that Hugh Hefner, poster boy for abortion, teenage pregnancies, venereal diseases and every other negative consequence of sexual impurity and immodesty, suffered in the '80's. What a punk.

When Islam and Judaism Aren't Religions

A Catholic mom sues a school district for not allowing her kids' nativity scene to be part of a Christmas display that included a menorah and an Islamic star and crescent.

While school officials wouldn't discuss the lawsuit, legal briefs filed said it has "drawn an appropriate line between secular holiday decorations and those that are purely religious."

The New York Civil Liberties Union agreed: "The Constitution prohibits government from promoting religion, any religion, and that means that public schools can be in the business of promoting religion," Donna Lieberman of the NYCLU said.

More proof of ACLU stupidity and bigotry.

BTW, I think the writer of the article meant to write "can't" in the last sentence quoted above.

Brownshirt Lawyers

The ACLU demands a school district superintendent be investigated for allowing a local minister to dress up like Santa Clause and discuss the meaning of Christmas with students.

"I think this superintendent doesn't understand the separation of church and state," said Mary Davidson, president of the Douglas County chapter of ACLU. "He should see the error of his ways and repent."

[Uncharitable Alert] What an idiotic and condescending bee-och! First of all, I challenge anyone to point out to me where in the Constitution it says "separation of church and state." Try in the same place where it says "right to privacy" -- nowhere. Secondly, what exactly in the following statements from the Supreme Court doesn't Ms. Davidson understand:

"Our prior holdings do not call for total separation between church and state; total separation is not possible in an absolute sense." Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602, 614 (1971)

"[the wall of separation] metaphor…is not a wholly accurate description of the practical aspects of the relationship that in fact exists between church and state." Lynch v. Donnelly, 465 U.S. 668, 673 (1984)

Lastly, Ms. Davidson's insipid remark about the school district superintendent repenting just reflects how much of a fundamentalist zealot she is in her hostility to Christians and Christianity. God have mercy on her and the Molochian organization she serves.

It's not Hateful to use the Word "Hate"

At the direction of Father Robert Spitzer, Gonzaga University revokes the ridiculous hate speech code violations made against the College Republican club.

Moloch Says, "F*** Free Speech!"

"The right to kill babies is much more important!"

Lingering Remnants of Anti-Catholic Gray Davis

Oral arguments are set for tomorrow in Catholic Charities' challenge to a state law which requires them and like agencies to include contraception in employee health benefits.

The arguments by the state that Catholic Charities is a secular institution because it serves non-Catholics is stupid. On the other hand, since I understand a lot of Catholic Charities publicly distribute things like condoms, I think it's a little disingenuous for them to say that because they have the word "Catholic" in their name, they are a religious institution that should be exempt from a clearly anti-Catholic law.

Separated at Birth?



The guy on the left, of course, is country singer Glen Campbell after his recent arrest for assault and driving under the influence, while the guy on the right is convicted rapist and murderer Warren Summerlin, whose death sentence case was just accepted for review by the SCOTUS.

Happy Turkey Day!

To everyone who actually might be reading this blog.

Of Course it Has

Not content to be the top dog in everything that is gay, San Francisco makes an appeal to become America's number one death camp.

Federal Judge Questions School's Brownshirt Tactics

In a lawsuit filed by a Catholic student whose views were affirmativelyexcluded from a public school program on homosexuality and religion, the judge in the case rhetorically likened the school's actions to book burning in Nazi Germany.

Only religious leaders who endorsed the school’s pro-homosexual “religious” belief were allowed to sit on the panel. School officials denied Hansen’s request to have a panel member who would express the Roman Catholic belief on homosexual activity. School officials hand-picked the pro-homosexual panel members, selected the Gay Straight Alliance faculty advisor to act as “moderator,” prohibited “open” questions to panel members, and expressly prohibited the students from personally interacting with any panel member before, during, or after the panel discussion.

Oh pleeeeze let the defenders of the school in this case come out and shoot themselves in the foot by saying that the Catholic Church's position on homosexual conduct amounts to illegal "hate speech." Please, please, please...

Jeopardy and the Catholic Church

Methinks there is at least one writer on the popular game show who might be Catholic (or at least Orthodox), since there's been quite a few questions of late related to the Church. I noted one of these questions here. Other questions, which by the way almost everyone on the show answered incorrectly, include the mother of the "City of God" Saint who herself is a Saint and was a Berber (St. Monica) and the names of the two men that a European city established in 1703 has used, even though these men were born 1800 years apart (St. Peter and Lenin). On the latter question, which was a Final Jeopardy question, one of the contestants had written "Lenin and Peter," but got it wrong. In order to be credited with the right answer, "St." or "Saint" had to be included with Peter.

Was the Blessed Mother Protestant?

I was reading this editorial (via Relapsed Catholic) warning Evangelicals of the dangers of incorporating cultural trends in their ministries when I noticed this cover picture from next month's Christianity Today Magazine:



There wasn't an accompanying article linked to the picture, but I'm genuinely curious about the types of claims that are made with respect to the cover title. Maybe CT, which in case you aren't aware is Protestant, will have it on their website later next month.

From Our Bulging "Our Culture is in the Sewer" Files

The culturally and morally impoverished cheer as L.A. repeals its ban on lap dancing.

At Crazy Girls, a gaudy Hollywood establishment on La Brea Avenue replete with Venetian statues on its roof, men and women crowded the darkened interior to watch girls twirl around a metal pole in skimpy underwear to the sound of blaring hip-hop and rock music.

When asked what drew them to strip clubs, some joked it wasn't for love of modern dance.

Only in San Francisco

A man who lives in the middle of one of the busiest sections of San Francisco sues a local Catholic parish (the one where Joe DiMaggio was married and buried) for loud bell ringing.

They're so annoying, he says, that the church should stop the chiming during funeral services. Sunday morning clanging should be scaled back, too, Coe said, because the racket is ruining his girlfriend's slumber on the rare day she can sleep in.

This bizarre crank, who has apparently never heard of the suburbs, also likes to complain about noises made by passing cable cars, foghorns that are frequently blown by cargo ships in the bay and "beeping" buses.

Pledge of Allegiance

Although I just discovered we have more time to get it filed, I probably won't be blogging too much for the next few days as I scramble to finish an amicus (i.e., "friend of the court") brief for the Pledge of Allegiance case in the SCOTUS. I'm actually revising and editing a brief drafted by somebody else, so it doesn't really contain all the arguments I would make. Ah well, at least it's an opportunity to have my name appear on something that could be read and considered by one of The Nine Eight (Scalia recused himself from the case).

Hollywood's Self-Centered Culture Strikes Again

This is sad. Actor Tom Cruise, who at one point in his life apparently had aspirations of being a Catholic priest, helps convert actress, love interest, and one-time Catholic Penelope Cruz to Scientology.

Multiple Offenses Against God and Nature Makes for Bad Law

Working its way through the courts here in California is the case of two separated lesbians who are in a custody battle over children they each have biological links to via artificial insemination.

The case has polarized much of the San Francisco Bay Area's large lesbian community -- many of whom have become parents with their female partners through a variety of methods, including artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization. Mosely has the backing of San Francisco's National Center for Lesbian Rights, which filed an amicus curiae brief with the appeal court in hope of clarifying the law in a field that's getting increasingly complicated as more same-sex couples have children.

"It's right at the heart of everything we hope to establish in the law," says Shannon Minter, NCLR's legal director. "We very much want the courts to find that when a same-sex couple has a child together using assisted reproduction that they are both automatically parents -- without the need for an adoption."

In other words, forget about the welfare of the children, the state needs to start treating disordered sexual proclivities on the same level as sex (i.e., male and female).

Federal Judge Say "Locals Only 'Bra"

The famed Kamehameha Schools in Hawaii are allowed to continue discriminating against any student applicant who isn't "Hawaiian."

"This is an incredible day for Kamehameha and we are ecstatic with the judge's decision," said Board of Trustees Chairwoman Constance H. Lau. "It was clear that the judge upholds that Kamehameha's programs are designed to correct all the imbalances of the past and we look forward to the day when Hawaiians will be on equal footing with all the residents in this state."

I put the word "Hawaiian" in quotes because I personally knew an otherwise haole (i.e., Caucasion) gal who was able to get into Kam because she was able to show she had maybe 10% native Hawaiian blood in her. And no, she didn't come from an impoverished family. What a farce.

(B)ig (C)rappy (S)ystem

USC is ranked number 2 in both the writers' and coaches' polls, while THE Ohio State"Puke-eyes" are ranked number 4. However, the computer geeks at the BCS have knocked USC, who demolished Arizona last week 45-0, out of the number 2 spot and replaced it with the incredibly overrated Pukes (yes, Miami got shafted last year). If the BCS standings pretty much stay this way until the end of the year (there's no way the Pukies beat Oklahoma) look for the clamoring for an eight team playoff system to be beyond deafening.

As for the upcoming games this Saturday, Go Trojans and Go Big Blue!

Troubling but Largely Unsurprising

The Massachusetts Supreme Court strikes down the state's "ban" on gay "marriages". The one redeeming thing, however, is that the court stopped short of saying same sex couples had the right to obtain marriage licenses. (link via Drudge)

Yeah, but You're the Wrong Kind

Unlike former NBA Star Charles Barkley, the incredibly slutty acting Brittany Spears embraces her status as a role model.

In a radio interview to be broadcast Monday, the 21-year-old pop star said parents should not be worried if their children want to copy her. (...)

Spears, who kissed Madonna at the MTV Video Music Awards, also talked about her relationship with the singer, saying there was a special connection between them.

"She's like my godmother in a way. I don't listen to that many people, I'm a very stubborn person. When someone tells me not to do something, I do it, that's just my rebellious nature," Spears said.

I think she actually meant to say Madonna is a "role model" since godmothers are bascially supposed to provide authoritative direction to their godchildren. Although seriously misguided and shallow, at least Brittany hasn't in all seriousness misidentified Chicken of the Sea as chicken (a la fellow hoochie girl singer Jessica Simpson)--- yet.

Innocent Mistake or Purposeful Lie?

In pointing out a couple of articles which report on the crystallizing link between Saddam Hussein and Al Queda, Catholic apologist extraordinaire Mark Shea wrongly notes that President Bush had initially refused to say that such a link existed. Of course, what President Bush refused to confirm was a link between Saddam and 9/11.

Being the admirer I am of Mr. Shea's writing and skills in apologetics, I normally would have dismissed his inaccurate observation as an innocent mistake. However, since columnist Juan "I'll jump to any conclusion that supports my left wing agenda" Williams of Fox News Sunday was called on the floor for making the exact same false accusation about President Bush, I'm left wondering whether Mr. Shea's comments weren't intentionally revisionist. Whatever the case might be, there's no shortage of people writing in Mr. Shea's comment boxes, including yours truly, to set him straight.

In the Grand Tradition of American Sectarianism/Denominationalism

A new liberal religious group is formed to counter conservative Christian organizations.

The nonprofit organization, the Clergy Leadership Network, plans to formally announce its formation on Friday and will operate from an expressly religious, expressly partisan point of view. The group cannot, under Internal Revenue Service guidelines, endorse political candidates, and it will have no official ties to the Democratic Party.

But the driving purpose of the organization, according to its mission statement, is to bring about "sweeping changes — changes in our nation's political leadership and changes in failing public policies."

The New Guvanah

Good Grief!

(link via Drudge)

This is a good image and story to bear in mind whenever you might think that the rich and famous have it all and are never unhappy. On the contray, they probably tend to be more miserable than the poorest person in Calcutta.

It's Not a Democracy!

Although I think it's utterly stupid and reflects a level of ignorance on what the Church is, I can sort of see why non-Catholic Americans would ever conduct a job approval rating poll for Church Bishops. However, for professed Catholics (lay or religious) to be commissioning such polls is, in my opinion, inexcusable because it politicizes doctrine and foments dissent within the Church.

The Kids Aren't Alright

So I'm watching the game show Jeopardy again last night, and all three contestants are college kids (one from Carleton College, one from Middlebury College, and one from UC Berkeley) who are competing in a special tournament. Under the category of Yale Graduates, the "answer" was a U.S. Supreme Court Justice who is of African-American descent. Since in the entire history of the Supreme Court there have only been two black Justices, you'd think at least one of these presumably well informed students would have been able to wrongly answer "Who is Thurgood Marshall?" (The right answer, of course, is Clarence Thomas). Well, not only did only one of the three contestants chime in to give an answer before the buzzer (and it wasn't the UC Berkeley student) the answer this guy gave was "Who is Antonin Scalia?" Needless to say, I fell out of my chair hysterically laughing.

So Much for Protestant Iconoclasm



You know it isn't Catholic when the group feels the need to publish a
Statement of Faith. (picture found via Mark Shea.)

Homo Apoplexy

Gay activists express revulsion over Gov. Bush's joking comment that it might be a good thing San Franciscans, many of whom are gay of course, are an endangered species.

"It's extremely insulting," AP quotes Matt Foreman, the head of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, as saying. "But of course I would say that gay people in Florida are far more endangered than gay people in California."

They have a "Task Force." Marching Gay Brownshirts indeed.

Christmas Gift Suggestions

This year, I was thinking of giving books to my associates at work who are all Protestant. One book I was thinking of giving is "Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II" by George Weigel. Other books I've considered include "The New Faithful: Why Young Adults are Embracing Christian Orthodoxy" and "Open Embrace: A Protestant Couple Rethinks Contraception."

Since none of my associates are at a place in their faith journey that they would consider looking at or reading a book that challenges their underlying Protestant beliefs (e.g., sola scriptura) I'm a little hesitant to give anything dealing in straight, no nonsense Catholic apologetics. So if you have any books to suggest, please avoid passing along any titles that read something along the lines of "Evangelicalism is not Enough" or "Attacks on Catholicism by 'Bible Believing' Fundamentalists."

No More Moore

Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore is kicked off the court for defying a federal court order to remove a Ten Commandments display.

I certainly feel bad for the guy, because I think his heart was in the right place. But even if the federal court's order lacked legal justification (which I believe it does) Justice Moore still had an obligation to comply with it until all appeals were exhausted. And no, this situation is nowhere near the same as racial segregation in the South.

Update: Here's a link to the opinion removing Judge Moore from the bench. While driving back to the office from lunch, I heard Americans United for Separation of Church and State head idiot Barry Lynn comment on the radio that Judge Moore lost his job because he decided to take religion into politics. Too bad that's the exact opposite of what the decision says.

Funny Celebrity Golf Term

The "Rock Hudson." Your shot, or put, looks straight, but it's really crooked (i.e., it's not straight).

WMDs and the Show "24"

So far this season, the theme of the Fox Television show "24" has focused on the pursuit of a teenager in Los Angeles who is being used as a pawn and has been infected with a deadly virus by big time Mexican drug dealers who want to break their head honcho out of prison. The virus in the kid's body is still dormant, but once its released into the air, estimates are that up to 20 percent of the population of Los Angeles will be killed within a week.

Now I know "24" is pure fiction, but the show does provide some illuminating insight regarding the justification for the war in Iraq, and our current "failure" to find any WMDs there. First of all, it is well worth noting and repeating that prior to the war, no one, not even France and Germany, ever denied that Saddam Hussein had chemical WMDs, and that he had defiantly failed to account for all of them. Second, given the fact that even a small pocket-sized vial of a manufactured virus has the capacity to kill several thousand people within a short amount of time, it should not be surprising that no WMDs have yet to be found in a country that is as big as California. Indeed, given the ease by which these chemicals can be hidden and transported, I wouldn't be totally surprised that chemical weapons may never be found in Iraq. However, the evidence indisputably shows that they were there, and that giving Saddam more time to come clean with them would have been pure folly and against our better interests. On this basis, I maintain my position that the war in Iraq was just, and that President Bush should not feel pressured to admit that any mistake was made or that the course of action he took was wrong.

Uh, Maybe it was Just a Bureaucratic Mistake?

Pro-homo church is "baffled" by a praising letter it received from President Bush after he proclaimed the establishment of "Marriage Protection Week."

In the Realm of Reality and Existence, Jesus Christ Wasn't

That's essentially one of the claims being made by New York Schools as a justification for their policy of banning Christmas nativity displays. Of course, I'm sure New York is consistent and also prohibits schools from having equally egregious and unhistorical Christmas displays of Santa Claus and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

Statement Against Same-Sex Unions Proposed

Could U.S. Bishops actually be "stepping up" and showing some cojones? If they do, expect Andrew Sullivan to go into total meltdown mode.

Considering Whether to Recommend

That's what the U.S. Bishops apparently expressed yesterday in regard to the imposition of sanctions on politicians who support abortion rights and the death penalty. In the meantime, they've got more important things to tend to like making sure they have accurate statistics on farm job injuries and a clear position on the humane slaughtering of farm animals.

Judge Draws Heat for Black Man Halloween Costume

Strange how the NAACP gets mad over this, but remains silent whenever Eddie Murphy dresses up and caricatures caucasions, and more specifically, Jews (see old eps of Saturday Night Live and the movie "Coming to America").

Judge Timothy C. Ellender, a state district judge in Terrebonne Parish, has acknowledged that he wore the costume, including an "afro" wig, but said it was a harmless joke. "It's a tempest in a teapot," he told The Courier of Houma.

Ellender did not immediately return a call for comment on Monday.

Jerome Boykin, president of the NAACP's Terrebonne Parish branch, said Monday that Ellender's costume stereotyped blacks as criminals and convicts.

"For a judge to take the time to paint his face black with shoe polish, put on an afro wig, a prison jumpsuit and shackles ... and walk around in public, I feel he ain't fit to be a judge," Boykin said.

BTW, I was watched something called "Hollywood Uncensored" on the E! Channel over the weekend, and it seems that actor Kelsey Grammer thought it would be neat to dress up like a priest at a Holloween party held at the Playboy mansion. It's a good thing I already avoid watching the show "Frasier," otherwise I'd boycott it.

Best Law School in Michigan

The relatively new, and very Catholic, Ave Maria School of Law outdoes all Michigan law schools on the Michigan bar exam.

Twenty-six of the 28 Ave Maria graduates -- 93 percent -- passed. Among first-time test takers, the University of Michigan Law School was second at 90 percent.

The passing rate for all first-timers on the Michigan Bar exam was 75 percent. Among all test takers, the statewide average for passing was 68 percent.

And lest you think that Ave Maria can't really be compared to U of M because the latter has more students, bear in mind that U of M only had 12 more people than Ave Maria taking the exam for the first time.

So Much for Sola Scriptura

In a paradoxical (or hypocritical?) exercise of papal-like authority, noted Evangelical Protestant minister John MacArthur "excommunicates" the Episcopalian Church over its decisions to consecrate an openly homosexual bishop and allow same sex unions to be blessed. (link via Envoy Encore)

"This is not the true Church. Their theology is aberrant, their conduct is aberrant, and they engage themselves in things that are utterly ungodly and unbiblical," MacArthur says. "I think you have to see it as the church of Anti-Christ -- and why would a believer want to be a part of the church of Anti-Christ?"

Light to No Blogging Next Week

I'll be down in So. Cal. all of next week on vacation and for a couple of job interviews. If things work out with the latter, it looks as though I might be moving out of Cowtown (people in Sacramento are actually proud of their city being called this) and back down to Tinseltown.

Passing Observation

Although most of them are pretty secularized and liberal, the Bay Area is a virtual Mecca of Catholic colleges and universities. Within San Francisco itself, there's the University of San Francisco and Campion College (aka the "Anti-USF"). Just across the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County, there's Dominican University. Over on the East Bay, there's Holy Names College and St. Mary's College. Down in the Peninsula and South Bay, there's the College of Notre Dame and Santa Clara University.

None of the above seven schools is probably more than fifty miles from each other (Campion is right across the street from USF). This is a pretty stark contrast to the number of Catholic colleges in all of Southern California, which probably has twice as many members of the Church than the Bay Area. Going north to south, there's Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, which is about 75 miles from Loyola Marymount University in Westchester (i.e., West Los Angeles). After LMU, you won't hit another Catholic college for about another 120 miles -- the University of San Diego.

Oh yeah, there are no Catholic colleges in all of Central California, although two are supposed to be in the works for the Sacramento region: the University of Sacramento and De La Salle University. How Catholic they will be is anyone's guess.

Can't Believe Nobody Got it Right

I'm watching the game show Jeopardy last night, and the final "question" was the word that describes 1.1 billion people in the world today, and was basically first applied by St. Ignatius of Antioch around the year 100 A.D. Given the fact that this word describes 1.1 billion people, you'd think at least one of the fairly bright contestants on the show last night would have known the correct answer (which must be given in the form of a question). Heck, even I, not the sharpest tool in the shed, knew the answer right off the bat. Well, two of the contestants (one an attorney and the other a college professor) wrongly answered "What is Christian?" and the third contestant answered "What is Chinese?" Needless to say, I suppose it would be fairly safe to presume that none of last night's contestants are the word that describes 1.1 billion people today.

You Knew There Had to be One Out There

Catholic priest and university professor, Father Kevin O'Rourke, thinks Gov. Bush did a bad thing for Terri.

O'Rourke, the author of four books on medical ethics, finds it sad that the governor has tried to justify his actions on religious grounds and that Bush has used Schiavo's plight to curry favor with the religious conservatives.

''For Christians, it is a blasphemy to keep people alive as if you were doing them a favor, to keep people alive in that condition as if it benefits them. It doesn't benefit them,'' O'Rourke argues. "I know it is wrapped up in the pro-life, antiabortion activity, and while I am antiabortion, I also know there is eternal life and that we should not confuse or equate the antiabortion effort with the notion of withdrawing life support from dying people.

"They act as though the most important thing is to lead a long life and Christians who read the Gospel seriously believe that it is a good life you are pursuing, not a long life. But this notion of having a long life has become the watchword for these groups. Life is terminal. Life by definition is going to have an end.''

Also note this crazy comment by Sandol Stoddard, one of the founders of the hospice movement in the United States: "We are in the most death denying society that I have ever heard about or read about. We just don't want to accept the idea that we are going to die.'' You think Stoddard might be pro-abortion?

Terri's Schiavo's Right to "Privacy" Violated

So argues the vultures representing Michael Schiavo who have filed briefs challenging the legality of the emergency statute that allowed Gov. Bush to reinsert Terri's feeding tubes.

It argues that her constitutional right to refuse medical treatment was, in essence, cast aside by a statute that allows the governor to do that under any whim and without any standards and without any review," said George Felos, who represents Michael Schiavo, after filing the document.

Frigtening how Felos equates what is at best an alleged request to commit suicide through starvation as a mere refusal of medical treatment. I wonder if he thinks food is something that ought to be classified as a controlled substance.

Big Chink in the "Born Gay" Myth

The man who led the charge in the '70s to remove homosexuality off of the APA recognized list of mental disorders will be publishing a study that shows "ex-gay" therapy works.

If taken seriously, the study's findings have a far-reaching impact, [Robert]Spitzer said.

"First, it questions the current conventional view that desire for therapy to change sexual orientation is always succumbing to societal pressure and irrational internalized homophobia," he wrote. "For some individuals, changing sexual orientation can be a rational, self-directed goal. Second, it suggests that the mental health professionals should stop moving in the direction of banning therapy that has as a goal a change in sexual orientation."

The Operative Word in File Sharing is "Sharing"

Father Kowalski on the morality -- as distinguished from legality -- of downloading MP3's. (link via Relapsed Catholic)

New technologies often make existing products obsolete. Who buys buggy whips anymore? These new media technologies do not nullify the property rights of artists and publishers, but they do decrease the financial value of those rights! This is a crucial point that the media conglomerates don't want you to realize. All those shiny plastic disks sitting in stores and warehouses are less valuable today than ten years ago, because their content is more easily distributed. This is why I personally believe that swapping MP3's online falls under acceptable private use (morally - not necessarily legally). There may be a moral problem here, but it is the vendors' problem to solve, not the consumers. Ancient Chinese proverb: He who owns the cattle builds the fence. Just because Sony could sell CD's at a big profit for 15 years, it does not follow that they have a moral right to continue doing so. The market changed. They have the duty to change their product or accept that it is of less value now.

No Shortage of Fundie TV

I usually pass right on by them, but I've recently been catching a few novel and uintentionally amusing Protestant tv shows that are broadcast here in the Sacramento region. One is a cooking and health show produced by 3ABN (Three Angels Broadcasting Network). What I found kind of interesting about this show is the consistent emphasis it places on having vegetarian dishes and diets. Even the bacon bits that are used in certain recipes aren't made from real pork. Lo and behold, I've since discovered that although it doesn't claim to be owned or affiliated with any Christian denomination, 3ABN has pretty close ties to the Seventh Day Adventist church. In case you aren't aware, Seventh Day Adventists adhere to traditional Jewish dietary laws and generally tend, for claimed health reasons, to be vegetarians. They also don't believe people have immortal souls or in the existence of Hell. What barely keeps Seventh Day Adventists within the scope of Christianity is their acceptance of the Trinity and Jesus' divinity.

An even more goofy show that I've recently seen is a call-in Bible discussion show featuring a guy named Harold Camping. This guy not only preaches that the era of the "church" is over and we are currently in the process of the Great Tribulation, he also seems to believe that watching any movies about Jesus, or owning any artistic depictions of Him, is a violation of the Commandment against worshipping graven images. Yeah, wierd.

Another Reason to Stay Out of Public Schools

The California Teachers' Association endorse Howard Dean for President. Hacks.

Now There's a Contradiction in Terms

Democrats start up a newliberal "think tank".

Saint "Pepto Bismol"

Please especially pray for me today. (I've gotta lay off those frozen burritos).

Pray for the Persecuted

Twelve "underground" Catholic clerics in China are arrested.

Religious gatherings are banned in China unless held under the auspices of state-approved religious groups. China broke links with the Vatican in the 1950s and has its own Catholic Church, which pledges loyalty to Beijing instead of the pope.

In the pope's most recent list of new cardinals, it was widely assumed that one appointed "in pectore" — without his name being given, for his own protection — was Chinese.

Gotta be East Coast Bias

Keeping up the sports theme today, it confounds me to end how USC can be ranked no. 3 in the writers' and coaches' polls, but be ranked no. 4 behind Florida State (ranked no. 5 in the aforementioned polls) in the BCS poll.

Update: In case anyone is wondering, the BCS poll is the only ranking system that really matters, since it determines who plays for the national championship.

It's the Curse, Stupid!

The Boston Red Sox fire their manager, even though he brought them to the brink of winning the AL Penant.

If it were me, I would have left Pedro in the game too.

You Mean This Just Doesn't Happen in California the United States?

An Italian court orders a Crucifix in a public school classroom be removed. The interesting twist to this story is that display of the Crucifix is actually required by law.

Evil Empire Defeated

I'm a little late in commenting on this, but I was sure glad to see the Marlins win the World Series, if only because as both a Dodgers and Red Sox fan, I truly despise the Yankees. I'm a little confused, though, on which saint Marlin Manager Jack McKeon thanked for looking out for him at the post game press conference. Was it St. Theresa (of Avila) or St. Therese (of Lisieux)?

Intriguing

Is it just a coincidence that there are massive brush fires going on at the same time to the immediate north, east and south of Los Angeles? Joseph Farah at WorldnetDaily.com wonders.

In August, Australian authorities launched an investigation into reports al-Qaida planned to spark bushfires in a new wave of devastating terror attacks.

A June 25 FBI memo to United States law enforcement agencies revealed a senior al-Qaida detainee claimed to have developed a plan to start midsummer forest fires in the U.S.

The terrorist hoped to mimic the destruction that devastated Canberra last summer, killing four people and destroying more than 500 homes, as well as in other parts of Australia.

The memo, obtained by the Arizona Republic newspaper, said an unidentified detainee revealed he hoped to create several large, catastrophic wildfires at once.

Anti-Catholic Twit

This guy's bigoted screed against the Church and JP II is as idiotic as the lawsuit filed against worldwide Jews whose ancestors allegedly stole from Egypt 3300 years ago.

Blessed Mother Teresa Film Premiere

Wish I was in So. Cal. to see it tonight.

The video homage was designed to allow Mother Teresa, in effect, to narrate her state funeral. It provides a final stage from which to address faith.

"She discusses the nature of evil or sin as loss of the presence of God," Ann Petrie said. "She said as you have love in action, you have hatred in action and that is a great spiritual poverty."

Holy Crap!

I did a Google web search for "catholic celebrities" and among the first results that pop up are links to sites that say "Catholic Celebrities Britney Spears Nude Daytona Beach Shots" and "Free Britney Spears Hot Mpegs Catholic Celebrities".

There are some seriously warped people out there.

Expect This Confused Teen to be a Poster Boy for the Gay Brownshirt Brigade

Teen sues Christian school for expelling him after he admits to being gay and refuses to seek counseling.

Karen Doering, an attorney with the National Center for Lesbian Rights in Tampa, agrees that the school did nothing illegal.

"Unfortunately, in the state of Florida, discrimination based on sexual orientation is not specifically prohibited by any law," Doering told the paper. "When it comes to public schools, it is clear the Constitution protects youth based on sexual orientation; however, that does not apply to private schools."

She must be referring to the Florida State Constitution (of which I know nothing about) because there is no specific protection afforded to individuals on the basis of sexual orientation in the U.S. Constitution. And no, Lawrence v. Texas did not just make practicing homosexuals into a protected class of persons.

Same Democrat Sh%#, Different Day

California Supreme Court Justice, and D.C. Court of Appeals Nominee, Janice Rogers Brown is conservative, pro-life, and Black. If you think Senate DemocRATS aren't going to resort to jingoistic lies and propaganda to derail her nomination, I've got some swamp land in Florida I'd like to sell you.

Typical Union Thuggery

In case you haven't heard or read, several supermarket unions throughout Southern California have gone on strike (technically, they've been "locked out"). As is pretty typical of unions when they picket, two members have been arrested for allegedly beating a replacement worker with basball bat.

What is it with these thugs, and why is it that unions are even necessary anymore with all the legal protections that employees have against "exploitation"? I'm telling you, the only people who benefit from unions these days are the elitest/communistic mafiosos who run them, and not the common rank and file members or those employees who are forced to pay non-member "fair-share" fees.

The Job Has Its Funny Moments

As an attorney who, for the remaining 2 1/2 months at least, primarily focuses on defending religious liberties, I get contacted by a good number conspiracy kooks. The most recent contact was from some guy who claims that the Dalai Lama and practioners of Buddhism were responsible for 9/11, and not the Islamic terrorists who were apparently under their insidious control. I'm not making this up. The guy's explanation for how the DL and Buddhists manipulated the terrorists is a bit unclear, but it has something to do with a mixture of sand and urine and them throwing it into the Potomac River. Anyway, whenever I get these kind of calls or e-mails, I'm reminded of how thankful to God I should be on the vocation that He has inspired me to pursue. Really.

If it Doesn't Have a Kung-Fu Grip, it's a Doll

Just in time for Christmas, the Ann Coulter Talking "Action Figure" is now available for purchase!

NOW Goes Apoplectic Over Federal PBA Ban

Looks like someone has been taking courses in propaganda from our old friend Baghdad Bob.

"Try as you might, you won't find the term 'partial birth abortion' in any medical dictionary. That's because it doesn't exist in the medical world—-it's a fabrication of the anti-choice machine," [NOW President Kim] Gandy said.

TV Movie About Ronald Reagan to Air on CBS

And starring as the former President is...Mr. Barbara Streisand (James Brolin). With that in mind, it would seem the odds of pigs gaining the ability to fly are better than this movie being accurate, or even objective.

Why is This News?

Maybe the "objective" media is just happy that Moloch is ready and willing to fight the impending ban on one type of baby butchery.

Passage of the legislation will end a long congressional battle that began in 1995 when Republicans gained control of both the House and Senate and used the debate as a way to place Democratic abortion rights lawmakers on the defensive. Former President Clinton vetoed two measures, arguing they were unconstitutional, and a third attempt to enact legislation was thwarted when Democrats gained control of the Senate midway through 2001.

Yet the triumph of abortion foes in Congress will also trigger a new phase in the larger war.

The Center for Reproductive Rights, the ACLU and Planned Parenthood are all poised to file suits challenging the ban in scattered locations, possibly even before the president has time to sign the legislation.

A fourth group, NARAL Pro-Choice America, intends to go after the president politically with television commercials in Iowa and New Hampshire, the first-in-the-nation caucus and primary states of the 2004 presidential campaign.

Witchhunt at RWU

A university named after the effective founder of the Baptist Church in the United States shuts down a conservative student-run newspaper that dared to accuse the school of supporting anti-religious policies.

The story begins in August, when the university sponsored two speakers under the ostensible banner of diversity. As things turned out, the speakers, Judy Shepard, mother of slain homosexual Mathew Shepard, and James Dale, a gay man kicked out of the Boy Scouts, were interested in anything but diversity. Instead, the speakers took the occasion to denounce organized religion and cast aspersion upon President Bush’s demonstrable commitment to civil rights.

“Churches are damaging us as a society,” Shepard explained in a mandatory speech to freshmen during Welcome Week. “They don’t allow us to grow,” she continued. Students expecting a talk focusing exclusively on the evils of homophobia—what we would expect from Shepard—were unpleasantly surprised by Shepard’s tirade against churches.

Ninth Circuit Reversed Yet Again

SCOTUS vindicates a lawyer who had characterized his own client as a "stinking thief jailbird" during trial.


The high court reinstated a conviction in the case of Lionel Gentry, a California man convicted of stabbing his pregnant, drug-addicted girlfriend during an argument.

"To be sure, Gentry's lawyer was no Aristotle, or even Clarence Darrow," the court wrote in a short, unsigned opinion.

Still, the lawyer's choice of words or strategy did not rise to the level of harming his client, the court said. The lawyer may have had good tactical reasons for presenting the case the way he did, the high court added.

"By candidly acknowledging his client's shortcomings, counsel might have built credibility with the jury and persuaded it to focus on the relevant issue in the case," the court said.

A bit of an overrationalization by the Court if you ask me, but the decision does seem to be correct.

Render Unto Caesar

Bill Pryor responds to criticisms of his role in the removal of the Ten Commandments monument in Alabama.

Now that the monument has been removed, the media and demonstrators have returned home, and the shouting has subsided, I want to state a respectful and complete response to these arguments. I believe I had a moral duty, as a Christian, to obey the federal injunction. There was no moral justification for civil disobedience.

My oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution, sworn to God with my hand on the Bible, required me, as attorney general of Alabama, to obey the injunction without regard to whether I agreed with the basis for that injunction. My moral duty was not in conflict nor even in tension with my legal duty. My Christian duty instead provided the foundation for my public duty.

The Party of Non-Belief

Daniel Henninger of the Wall Street Journal notes that electoral contests between Democrats and Republicans have effectively become battles between secular liberals and God-believing conservatives.

According to the national convention delegate surveys, write Messrs. Bolce and De Maio, "60% of first-time white delegates at the [1992] Democratic convention in New York City either claimed no attachment to religion or displayed the minimal attachment by attending worship services 'a few times a year' or less. About 5% of first-time delegates at the Republican convention in Houston identified themselves as secularists."

In the 1992 election, Bill Clinton got 75% of the secularist vote, while the current President's father received support from traditionalists (churchgoers) by 2 to 1. That pattern held in the 2000 election. "In terms of their size and party loyalty," Messrs. Bolce and De Maio argue, "secularists today are as important to the Democratic party as another key constituency, organized labor."

You Know the World Isn't Going to End...

When both the Cubs and Red Sox blow a chance at winning a championship -- again.

Un-freakin'-believable

Moral theologian who dumped his first wife for a younger woman slams JP II for unfulfilled promises. (article via Mark Shea).

The Vatican has also forced its opposition to condom use — even to prevent the spread of AIDS — onto the U.N. stage and elsewhere. This kind of ignorance is not just unfortunate; it is murderous. And this energetic pope has personally taken this message around the world.

So what Mr. Maguire is telling us here is that the pope has been going around the world and telling people who have AIDS to engage in sexual intercourse. Mr. Maguire presumably also has a bridge in Brooklyn that he would like to sell.

Yes, Farm Animals Have More Protection to Life Than Terri Schiavo

Under Title 9 Section 2.131(a)(2)(ii) of the Code of Federal Regulations:

Deprivation of food or water shall not be used to train, work, or otherwise handle animals; Provided, however, That the short-term withholding of food or water from animals by exhibitors is allowed by these regulations as long as each of the animals affected receives its full dietary and nutrition requirements each day.

Judicial Brownshirt?

The Florida judge who sentenced Terri Schiavo to death gets innundated with angry e-mails; says he was just doing his job.

Gee, where have I heard that before? Oh yeah, the Nuremberg Trials!

Suicide by Court Order

The Barrister has posted an interesting 'blog on the legal ironies surrounding Terri Schiavo, and how under certain circumstances, Governor Bush could actually commute Terri's efective death sentence.

For the sake argument, however, let's say Terri's dirtbag of a husband is to be believed, and that she actually did express a clear desire not to be kept alive should she ever be in a permanent vegetative state (which, btw, I don't believe she is in). Would this make the decision by the Florida courts to have her feeding tubes removed so she can slowly die credible, or even correct? Absolutely not. People in a permanent vegetative state are not, per se, suffering from a terminal illness that would normally kill them without the aid of artificial life support. As such, what Terri has allegedly requested to do here is commit suicide on the subjective premise that being in a permanent vegetative state is undignified and less than human. From a rational and moral standpoint, this is not something the state of Florida should be condoning, much less assisting. But it is, and as long as it does so, one should not be surprised to learn one day that licenses will be available for anyone who is interested in running a business specializing in assisted suicide. Jack Kervorkian isn't a deranged criminal. He was just ahead of his time.

Half of U.S. Catholics (and the Media) Don't Know What the Hell They are Talking About

That's the only way to describe this idiotic poll by USA Today regarding JP II's "declining approval numbers." People, even though it entails having to perform some political duties, the papacy is no more of a political office than Judas' betrayal of Jesus was a recall.

No Great Evangelical Blogs

According to conservative political radio show host Hugh Hewitt (who, btw, used to be Catholic). Gee, I don't know. Although I have some typical Roman Catholic based issues with it, the Evangelical 'blog at Christianity Today isn't half bad.

My Sentiments Exactly

More Bombshells in Kobe Bryant Case

The lead investigator testifies that the alleged victim not only admitted to twice having sexual intercourse with other men just before her encounter with Kobe, the underpants she wore to the hospital the day after she was allegedly raped by the Lakers superstar contained someone else's semen. Quoting Drudge, "Developing..."

Barbara Boxer=Death

There's little question that she perpetuates this culture with her rabid support of unfettered abortion rights. Taking the charge one step further, however, Concerned Women for America, a conservative political activist group founded by the wife of fundamentalist End Times guru Tim LaHaye, has ascribed a link between Boxer and the recent tragic death of a pregnant teen who had taken the abortion pill RU-486.

Seems Pontius Pilot-esque

Gov. Bush "washes his hands" with Terri Schiavo; claims separation of powers doctrine prevents his office from doing anything more.

"This is in the court's hands," Bush's press secretary Alia Faraj told WorldNetDaily. "Our government has committed these decisions to the judicial branch, and we must respect that process." (...)

Vowing to fight to the end, Robert Schindler has urged Gov. Bush to intervene by ordering Florida's Department of Children and Families to investigate whether Michael Schiavo mistreated and withheld therapy from Terri. Schiavo denies those charges. (...)

Bush's spokeswoman, Faraj, maintained, however, the governor does not have the authority to order such an intervention, restating that the courts have made their decision.

Bill Spann, a spokesman for the Department of Children and Families, would not answer directly whether the agency has the statutory power to intervene at this point in the process, stating only "the issue has already been decided by the courts of the state of Florida."

SCOTUS Will Review Pledge Case

Although, there is a slight chance the Court won't even make a ruling on whether the words "under God" is constitutional, since also under examination will be the legal standing of Michael Newdow to sue.

Scorched Earth

Not content to just fade away quietly, "Gay" Davis signs another gay-friendly bill that requires businesses with "large" state contracts to extend benefits enjoyed by spouses to "domestic partners."

Beat the Irish!

After pounding Stanford (a.k.a. the trees) this past Saturday, #5 USC (who is ranked fourth in the USA Today/ESPN poll) will be playing unranked arch-rival Notre Dame for the 75th time next Saturday. Since the game is at South Bend, don't expect the Trojans to thrash the Irish as bad as they did last year (44-13). Fight On!

Update: The week after USC, Notre Dame will be playing Boston College, the only other Catholic university with a Division 1-A football team. I'll be rootin' for the Eagles.

Maybe They Can Call It "Cuba West"

After Arnold's win, California Lefties offhandedly suggest that the state's coastal region should secede.

Oscar Grande is still "in shock" over the results of Tuesday's recall election, but the environmental activist takes comfort knowing his friends and neighbors feel equally disturbed by the Republican actor's lopsided victory.

"This is still San Francisco, and we're like our own little island from the rest of California," said the 30-year-old organizer in the city's Mission district. "The folks in the suburbs and the Central Valley were so pumped about him -- it really blew me away."

Arrogance personified, no? By the way, in case you haven't been there in a while, San Francisco has become quite the haven for the homeless panhandlers. People in this city are absolutely clueless when it comes to government.

JP II's 25th

A more or less nice summary of the Holy Father's papacy. However, like most of the secular media, the writer of this column can't resist displaying his utter ignorance of Catholicism.

[Fisk mode on]

Under John Paul II, Rome has been unyielding in its opposition to birth control, the ordination of women and all forms of abortion. Changing attitudes in the West toward homosexuality, divorce and sex outside the bounds of marriage have done little to convince the pope to reconsider church teachings in those areas.

This paragraph appears to do two things. First, it takes a backhanded swipe at the pope for not "rolling with the times," and then it presumes that the pope can change Church doctrine whenever he well feels like it. The sad part of this, of course, is that a lot of American Catholics actually believe this.

In recent years, a widening scandal over sexual abuse and criminal sexual conduct by American priests finally got the pope's attention.

Finally got his attention? I guess for media folk, you're ignoring a problem until you say something to them about it. What arrogance.

Countless public opinion polls on the pontiff and his policies have come to the same conclusion: People love the pope, while disagreeing with much of his doctrine.

Policies?! His doctrine?! This sentence pretty much confirms how ignorant this writer is about the Catholic faith. More importantly, though, it provides a great example of how Americans have a great tendency to impose worldly standards to things that are not of this world.

[Fisk mode off]

Rush's Addiction

Liberals are anything by unpredictable. Consider, for example, the following feeble attempt at "gotcha logic" in this article I found via Lex Communis (link on the right side of this page). As you'll see, the focus of the article/commentary is on Rush Limbaugh's admitted addiction to prescription pain killers, and the fact that he might have obtained some of it through unlawful means. The commentator, whose name is unimportant, provides several past quotes from Rush regarding users of illegal drugs, and how he believes such persons should be prosecuted and jailed. In a rhetorically whimsical manner, the commentator wonders if Rush would apply the same standard to himself. Obviously, like so many other knee-jerk Liberals, this typical political hack has taken the tone of trying to paint Rush as some sort of moral hypocrite who ought never to be taken seriously again by anyone. Nevermind the fact that the drugs Rush became addicted to and might have obtained illegally are in and of themselves not illegal, or that he has never said that he should be exempt from any illegal act he might have committed. This hack has also conveniently overlooked the fact that Rush has never once encouraged anyone to view him as some kind of role model (he affirmed that today). At most, Rush has merely used himself as a living example that even after multiple failures (which he has always owned up to and taken responsibility for) a person can still succeed through sheer perseverence and a commitment to hard work. Rush has not deviated from this message in his latest life challenge, and it is a shame that people who disagree with him are frothing at the mouth and using this occasion to try and discredit him. Liberals just don't seem to understand that you aren't claiming to be a perfect person by consistently standing up for what is right or moral.

Houses of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act

Nice piece on why it should be enacted and signed into law, even though it annoyingly uses the words "the church" in an obvious and decidedly Protestant manner (i.e., the church is not visible and it bascially includes anyone who is "born again" and accepts Christ as their personal blah, blah, blah...).

Straight Outta Left Field

As an attorney and Lakers fan, I gotta report this shocker. Defense attorneys in the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case suggest that the alleged victim's injuries might have resulted from having sex with three different men in three days. Man, I don't think even the best public defender would have ever thought of asking that question. It'll be real interesting to see how this plays out.

They're Gonna Do It Anyway

That's the mantra one usually hears whenever an opposing argument is raised about the prudence of teaching minors about "safe sex" and condoms (which, as recently confirmed by the Vatican, is an oxymoron). Of course, if there was any merit to the "they're gonna do it anyway" rationale, one has to wonder why in the world states like California continue to spend millions of dollars on making and showing teen-based anti-tobacco/cigarette ads. Just this week alone, I've seen two kids in their early teens, one of whom actually looked like he was 11 or 12, walking along the street and openly puffing away on their death sticks.

Final Tabulations

Here are the final vote counts for some notable candidates in California's recall election.

Gallagher -- 4,864
Edward T. Kennedy -- 2,584
Richard Simmons -- 1,225
Michael Jackson -- 661
Robert Dole -- 236

I don't care what anyone says, it was fun while it lasted.

It's Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve

An Arizona appeals court upholds the state's "ban" on same-sex marriages.

"This is a huge victory because it repudiates the first homosexual assault after the Lawrence v. Texas decision," said Benjamin W. Bull, chief counsel with the Phoenix-based Alliance Defense Fund. "The Arizona Court of Appeals rejected any notion that Lawrence v. Texas legitimized same-sex marriage."

"That notion has now gone into the dumpster of history with all other hare-brained notions," he added.

The Name You Know

That was the campaign slogan of an Eddie Murphy movie character who cons people into thinking he was somebody that they had once before elected to office. Although he probably didn't intend to do the same thing, I'm sure a lot of people voted for George Schwartzman (he received over 10,000 votes) on the mistaken belief that they were voting for Ahnuld.

Flashback to 2000

Remember how in the last presidential election, most of the states that went for Gore were located on the two coasts (the blue states) while everyone in the middle pretty much went for Bush (the red states)? As a reflection of that phenomena, the results of this past recall election confirms that there is a definite political devide between California's coastal region and her own version of America's "flyover country."

The Muslim Barbie Doll

Razanne has the body of a preteen. The doll comes in three types: fair-skinned blonde, olive-skinned with black hair, or black skin and black hair.

Her aspirations are those of a modern Muslim woman. On the drawing board for future dolls are Dr. Razanne and possibly even Astronaut Razanne. There's also Muslim Girl Scout Razanne, complete with a cassette recording of the Muslim Scout's oath.

The idea light bulbs are furiously flashing in my head. I need investors to help me start a line of Buddha Barbies, Catholic Catherines, Fundamentalist Francines or Evangelical Emmas, Mormon Melissas...

Andrew Sullivan Must be Seething Over This

Dubya proclaims Oct. 12 through Oct. 18 as Marriage Protection Week.

Marriage is a union between a man and a woman, and my Administration is working to support the institution of marriage by helping couples build successful marriages and be good parents.

Not Sexy, but Significant

SCOTUS will hear an 11th Amendment case (which deals with sovereign immunity) that could potentially affect the enforceability of civil rights laws against government officials.

Texas Solicitor General Rafael E. Cruz argues to the high court that federal courts cannot enforce provisions of a state-signed consent decree that go beyond the requirements of the federal law involved.

Federalism and separation of powers, he said, "ensure that federal courts cannot do what the district court has attempted, to use a consent decree to take over a state program and dictate its daily operation, freed in equity from the constraints of federal law."

It's a little confusing, but it basically seems what Texas is trying to argue is that the 11th Amendment prevents the courts from enforcing an agreement that the state has freely entered into.

In the End...

I voted yes on the recall and effectively wasted my vote on a pro-life and family candidate who absolutely had no chance to win -- and it wasn't Tom "I've been letting the Dems play me like a drumb" McClintock.

On a related note, Sacramento County has got to get rid of its current use of numbers only punch-card ballots (you have to match the numbers to the candidates and questions that appear in a pamphlet that the county provides). Although I tried to be careful, it's driving me crazy that I can't remember if I punched the right numbers on the ballot initiatives that were presented.

What the Hell?!

Various dioceses, including Boston, adopt a sex ed program designed by a prostitution advocate group that lists employment opportunities in homosexual publications.

The "Talking About Touching" program is taught in over 5,000 public schools nationwide, and over 20,000 schools globally, according to Joan Duffell, director of community education for Seattle-based Committee for Children which produces the program. Average cost to a diocese for the program is $20,000 to $50,000 for the initial year.

The problem, complain some Catholic parents in the Archdiocese of Boston and elsewhere, is that the Committee for Children is actually the cleaned-up name of COYOTE – "Call Off Your Tired Old Ethics" – an advocacy organization for prostitution. (...)

"The forerunner of COYOTE was WHO, "Whores, Housewives and Others," said St. James. "Others meant lesbian, but it wasn’t being said out loud yet." (...)

The Seattle branch of COYOTE is affiliated with COYOTE chapters in the U.S., as well as the National Task Force on Prostitution in New York. Additional liaisons that help defend "sex workers rights" are: International Committee for Prostitutes Rights in the Netherlands, Hooking Is Real Employment, or HIRE, in Atlanta, and Prostitutes of New York, or PONY.

Proposition 54

Because of the recall, this important ballot initiative, which would prohibit all government agencies in the state from collecting information on peoples' ethnicity or race, has kind of been lost in the shuffle. ("MEChA"mante has run a couple of thinly veiled opposition ads that are really commercials for his gubanatorial election campaign). I'm supporting Prop. 54, and so should every Californian, especially those of Chinese descent in San Francisco who are familiar with all the controversies that have occurred at Lowell High School.

Update: In case anyone is curious, here's a 1999 article by Michelle Malkin that provides a brief summary of what happened at Lowell.

Brokaw Sucks

But if you're like me, you already knew that. Anyway, here's a nice example of how biased Tom B. is against just about anyone with an (R) by their name.

Their Actions Betray Their Words

I was listening to a replay of last Friday's Catholic Answers, and a real interesting observation was made regarding the common Protestant (i.e., Evangelical/Fundamentalist) belief that the Bible is the sole and final authority of the Christian faith: If Protestants really believed this, then there wouldn't be 30,000+ non-Catholic Christian denominations. (Yes, a "non-denominational church" is a denomination).

Typical PC Blather

Before going to Mass this morning, I caught the pre-game show on Fox, and as expected, everyone was slamming Rush Limbaugh for his assertions about Donovan McNabb and the media's general coddling of black NFL quarterbacks. Former Los Angeles Raider, current Radio Shack ad-man, and part-time B-movie thespian Howie Long called Rush's remarks "at best ignorant, and at worst racist." He didn't bother to elaborate on either point.

Even more perplexing and nonsensical statements were made by Ha-vahd grad James "JB" Brown, who said that given the one time dearth of black QBs in the NFL because of preconceived and unfounded notions about their intelligence, something which Brown concedes the sports media used to focus a lot on and question, maybe a little media coddling is a good thing. At the same time, Brown expressed rhetorical confusion as to why Limbaugh would want to aggrevate "old wounds" that have seemingly been healed. Talk about wanting to have it both ways.

As to Rush's assertion that Donovan McNabb is overrated, consider McNabb's career pass completion percentage and quarterback rating to that of Seattle backup QB Trent Dilfer, who as I previously noted, is white, has actually won a Super Bowl ring, but is nowhere near as famous as McNabb.

Career Pass Completion %

McNabb: 56.4
Dilfer: 55.6

Career Quarterback Rating

McNabb: 77.5
Dilfer: 71.3

Source: CNN/SI

Evangelical Megachurchism

Entertain them and they will come. Although in some fairness to the megachurch discussed in this article, it does engage in a lot of charity work for the poor.

At worship services today, [Adventure Christian Church Pastor Rick] Stedman and other church leaders will officially open their $12.3 million state-of-the-art sanctuary that holds more people than the Sacramento Community Center Theater. Churchgoers will be able to watch services from theater-style chairs in the main auditorium or on flat-screen plasma TVs in the coffee shop or bookstore.

The church -- or campus as members call it -- has a library, a prayer room, a K-3 school and an area that will be turned into a maternity boutique where low-income women can shop for free once a month.

"It will be as nice as a Nordstrom and will have everything from free day care to personal shoppers," said Executive Pastor Don Brewster.

A baseball diamond and a soccer field are in the works.

Nearly 6,000 people are expected to attend one of the three services in the new facility every week.