Mel Who?
Coming to a high school gym near you "Mormonism: The Movie." (news link via Relapsed Catholic)
About 400 people gathered in the Torrance High School auditorium Tuesday night to see the new film based on the Book of Mormon and to hear its director, Gary Rogers, discuss the movie's creation and how he is showing it in one-night or weeklong stints around the country.
That, of course, is a far cry from the hoopla and huge box office grosses for Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ." But Mormon audience members say Rogers' movie, "The Book of Mormon Movie, Volume 1: The Journey," has special significance to them, even if ticket sales are a tiny fraction of those of "The Passion."
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not endorse the movie — as a voice-over says before it starts. However, members of the Los Angeles Temple who went to the Torrance screening said it would be an educational experience for anyone unfamiliar with the Mormon Church.
"It's a good introduction to the Book of Mormon," said Carolyn Allen, who works for the Church's Southern California Public Affairs Council.
"I think it makes people think about their own beliefs," said her husband, Jack.
Rogers, who is Mormon, said his dream to create the film started when, as a boy, he saw Cecil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments."
"So many people have produced stories from the Bible — wonderful stories," said Rogers, who grew up in Salt Lake City. "The Book of Mormon is a similar book of Scripture … and nobody had attempted to make a movie."
Saturday, March 13, 2004
Public Schools and Sexual Abuse
School boards are elected by popular vote and pulbic school employees are allowed to be married, right?
Millions of children might be victims of sexual misconduct by teachers or other public school employees, according to a draft report commissioned by the U.S. Department of Education.
Despite the lack of sufficient data, the scope of the problem appears to far exceed the priest-abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church, according to the report's author, Charol Shakeshaft, professor of educational administration at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y.
The report, required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act, concludes the issue "is woefully understudied," reports Education Week.
Nearly 10 percent of students have been targeted with unwanted sexual attention by school employees, the best available data indicates, according to Shakeshaft.
School boards are elected by popular vote and pulbic school employees are allowed to be married, right?
Millions of children might be victims of sexual misconduct by teachers or other public school employees, according to a draft report commissioned by the U.S. Department of Education.
Despite the lack of sufficient data, the scope of the problem appears to far exceed the priest-abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church, according to the report's author, Charol Shakeshaft, professor of educational administration at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y.
The report, required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act, concludes the issue "is woefully understudied," reports Education Week.
Nearly 10 percent of students have been targeted with unwanted sexual attention by school employees, the best available data indicates, according to Shakeshaft.
Friday, March 12, 2004
Number Three on the All Time List
It may only be a footnote in reference books and the Vatican has not planned any celebration or festivity, but Pope John Paul II will reach another milestone in his papacy Sunday.
John Paul, who marked the 25th anniversary of his election as pope on Oct. 16, will surpass Pope Leo XIII to become the third-longest-serving pontiff in the history of the Roman Catholic Church.
"It's a beautiful thing, because it's a gift of our Lord," said Cardinal Paul Poupard, a Frenchman who has worked alongside the 83-year-old pope at the Vatican for several decades.
But even in an institution where life at the top often begins when prelates reach their 60s, some are asking whether term limits should be imposed for future popes.
One of the Vatican's most powerful officials, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, gave an indication of the thinking in an interview last month with an Italian religious affairs magazine.
Asked whether future popes may be elected to a fixed term, he said:
"The pope is selected for life because he is a father and his paternity comes before his role. Perhaps in the future, with life being prolonged, one also would consider new norms, but it doesn't seem to me to be a current issue."
It may only be a footnote in reference books and the Vatican has not planned any celebration or festivity, but Pope John Paul II will reach another milestone in his papacy Sunday.
John Paul, who marked the 25th anniversary of his election as pope on Oct. 16, will surpass Pope Leo XIII to become the third-longest-serving pontiff in the history of the Roman Catholic Church.
"It's a beautiful thing, because it's a gift of our Lord," said Cardinal Paul Poupard, a Frenchman who has worked alongside the 83-year-old pope at the Vatican for several decades.
But even in an institution where life at the top often begins when prelates reach their 60s, some are asking whether term limits should be imposed for future popes.
One of the Vatican's most powerful officials, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, gave an indication of the thinking in an interview last month with an Italian religious affairs magazine.
Asked whether future popes may be elected to a fixed term, he said:
"The pope is selected for life because he is a father and his paternity comes before his role. Perhaps in the future, with life being prolonged, one also would consider new norms, but it doesn't seem to me to be a current issue."
Thursday, March 11, 2004
At Least They Got This Right
Fresh off of its supremely stupid decision in the Catholic Charities case, the California Supremes order a halt to Emperor Newsom's unlawful decree to have gay "marriages" recognized by the City of San Francisco. The 3800 unholy unions that have thus far been sanctified are now in limbo.
Fresh off of its supremely stupid decision in the Catholic Charities case, the California Supremes order a halt to Emperor Newsom's unlawful decree to have gay "marriages" recognized by the City of San Francisco. The 3800 unholy unions that have thus far been sanctified are now in limbo.
I Don't Know What to Make of This
It isn't unusual that a Christian-based organization would vehemently protest the perpetuation of a long established p*rn/strip club. What is unusual is that such an organization is only now protesting the club after moving next door to it a few years ago.
It isn't unusual that a Christian-based organization would vehemently protest the perpetuation of a long established p*rn/strip club. What is unusual is that such an organization is only now protesting the club after moving next door to it a few years ago.
Is Gonzaga Catholic?
The Jesuit college's law school student government won't recognize a local chapter of the Christian Legal Society because it believes CLS' requirement that club officers be Christian is improperly discriminatory. Religious liberty means nothing to these yayhoos.
"Gonzaga owes its very existence to the constitutionally guaranteed right to organize around its religious identity, but it is allowing the SBA to deny these same fundamental rights to its students," said Greg Lukianoff, FIRE's director of legal and public advocacy.
Christian Legal Society leaders said the university's vice president for student affairs, Sue Weitz, assured the group in an e-mail message it had "university recognition." But the group argues this is not the same as SBA recognition, which would have conferred a set of important benefits, including university funding.
Even the one benefit conferred by "university recognition" was lost in February, according to CLS leaders, when the group's SBA account was closed.
The Jesuit college's law school student government won't recognize a local chapter of the Christian Legal Society because it believes CLS' requirement that club officers be Christian is improperly discriminatory. Religious liberty means nothing to these yayhoos.
"Gonzaga owes its very existence to the constitutionally guaranteed right to organize around its religious identity, but it is allowing the SBA to deny these same fundamental rights to its students," said Greg Lukianoff, FIRE's director of legal and public advocacy.
Christian Legal Society leaders said the university's vice president for student affairs, Sue Weitz, assured the group in an e-mail message it had "university recognition." But the group argues this is not the same as SBA recognition, which would have conferred a set of important benefits, including university funding.
Even the one benefit conferred by "university recognition" was lost in February, according to CLS leaders, when the group's SBA account was closed.
Wednesday, March 10, 2004
If Asked, He Would Consider being the Goose to Kerry's Maverick
Rather than denying he would accept an invitation to be John F'n Kerry's running mate, Sen. John McCain merely doubts any possibility that he would even be asked.
"John Kerry is a close friend of mine. We have been friends for years," McCain said Wednesday when pressed to squelch speculation about a Kerry-McCain ticket. "Obviously I would entertain it."
Within hours, the Arizona senator's chief of staff, Mark Salter, closed the door on that idea. "Senator McCain will not be a candidate for vice president in 2004," Salter told The Associated Press, saying he spoke for the senator.
McCain had emphasized how unlikely the whole idea was.
"It's impossible to imagine the Democratic Party seeking a pro-life, free-trading, non-protectionist, deficit hawk," the senator told ABC's "Good Morning America" during an interview about illegal steroid use. "They'd have to be taking some steroids, I think, in order to let that happen."
Note: Or Botox.
Rather than denying he would accept an invitation to be John F'n Kerry's running mate, Sen. John McCain merely doubts any possibility that he would even be asked.
"John Kerry is a close friend of mine. We have been friends for years," McCain said Wednesday when pressed to squelch speculation about a Kerry-McCain ticket. "Obviously I would entertain it."
Within hours, the Arizona senator's chief of staff, Mark Salter, closed the door on that idea. "Senator McCain will not be a candidate for vice president in 2004," Salter told The Associated Press, saying he spoke for the senator.
McCain had emphasized how unlikely the whole idea was.
"It's impossible to imagine the Democratic Party seeking a pro-life, free-trading, non-protectionist, deficit hawk," the senator told ABC's "Good Morning America" during an interview about illegal steroid use. "They'd have to be taking some steroids, I think, in order to let that happen."
Note: Or Botox.
Misplaced Passion
Given the lack of calls for pogroms against Jews by Christians, and the growing popularity of the film, why exactly did organizations like the ADL make such a fuss over Mel Gibson's TPOTC?
Sadly, the answer is as simple as it is straightforward: What is good for the ADL is not necessarily good for the Jewish people.
Because while The Passion was getting all that free publicity, so too was the ADL, sharing the limelight with Mel Gibson and co-starring along with him at your local neighborhood news outlet.
ADL leaders were giving interviews, being quoted by national news organizations, and raising the profile of their organization. And that, apparently, is far more important than the larger interests of the Jewish community.
But the story does not end there. It actually gets worse.
FIGHTING anti-Semitism, after all, is good business. According to its 2001 annual report, the ADL's total operating expenses were $51,535,000. And that is just for one year alone.
Then there is the American Jewish Committee (AJC), which is currently running a "Centennial Campaign" that seeks to raise $100 million by 2006. According to the campaign's promotional literature: "Since 1989, AJC's net assets have grown steadily to more than $65 million."
And there are other American Jewish groups as well, such as the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the American Jewish Congress, all of whom claim to be in the forefront of the battle against anti-Semitism, and all of whom are vying for their part of the shrinking pie of Jewish philanthropy.
Pouncing on an issue such as a Mel Gibson flick, getting your name in the paper nearly every day, is one sure-fire way to attract more donors and outdo competing organizations. It may not actually help the Jewish people, but it sure does help the bottom line.
Given the lack of calls for pogroms against Jews by Christians, and the growing popularity of the film, why exactly did organizations like the ADL make such a fuss over Mel Gibson's TPOTC?
Sadly, the answer is as simple as it is straightforward: What is good for the ADL is not necessarily good for the Jewish people.
Because while The Passion was getting all that free publicity, so too was the ADL, sharing the limelight with Mel Gibson and co-starring along with him at your local neighborhood news outlet.
ADL leaders were giving interviews, being quoted by national news organizations, and raising the profile of their organization. And that, apparently, is far more important than the larger interests of the Jewish community.
But the story does not end there. It actually gets worse.
FIGHTING anti-Semitism, after all, is good business. According to its 2001 annual report, the ADL's total operating expenses were $51,535,000. And that is just for one year alone.
Then there is the American Jewish Committee (AJC), which is currently running a "Centennial Campaign" that seeks to raise $100 million by 2006. According to the campaign's promotional literature: "Since 1989, AJC's net assets have grown steadily to more than $65 million."
And there are other American Jewish groups as well, such as the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the American Jewish Congress, all of whom claim to be in the forefront of the battle against anti-Semitism, and all of whom are vying for their part of the shrinking pie of Jewish philanthropy.
Pouncing on an issue such as a Mel Gibson flick, getting your name in the paper nearly every day, is one sure-fire way to attract more donors and outdo competing organizations. It may not actually help the Jewish people, but it sure does help the bottom line.
Why Not?
PS Bradley posts a circulating e-mail on the logical next step of recognizing gay "marriages" in cities like San Francisco. Marrying myself. Hmmmm...
PS Bradley posts a circulating e-mail on the logical next step of recognizing gay "marriages" in cities like San Francisco. Marrying myself. Hmmmm...
Tuesday, March 09, 2004
America: Holocaust Central
I have no way to directly prove it, but this has got to be the reason why pro-aborts have been hell-bent on keeping Bill Pryor off of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. (newslink via The Mighty Barrister)
An appeals court ruled earlier this year an expectant mother can be aborted by force if the physician argues it is necessary to "protect the health of the mother."
But pro-life attorney Chris Sapp is prepared to challenge the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling Jan. 23 in Roe II v. Aware Women Center for Choice, Inc., says the Virginia-based Population Research Institute. PRI is "dedicated to ending human rights abuses committed in the name of 'family planning,' and to ending counter-productive social and economic paradigms premised on the myth of 'overpopulation.'"
Sapp is asking the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiori acknowledging a woman's right to say "no" to an abortion at any point in time.
I have no way to directly prove it, but this has got to be the reason why pro-aborts have been hell-bent on keeping Bill Pryor off of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. (newslink via The Mighty Barrister)
An appeals court ruled earlier this year an expectant mother can be aborted by force if the physician argues it is necessary to "protect the health of the mother."
But pro-life attorney Chris Sapp is prepared to challenge the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling Jan. 23 in Roe II v. Aware Women Center for Choice, Inc., says the Virginia-based Population Research Institute. PRI is "dedicated to ending human rights abuses committed in the name of 'family planning,' and to ending counter-productive social and economic paradigms premised on the myth of 'overpopulation.'"
Sapp is asking the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiori acknowledging a woman's right to say "no" to an abortion at any point in time.
The Hypostatic Union Between Jesus and Swine
PETA aims to offend and distort Scripture once again with their new ad campaign.
PETA aims to offend and distort Scripture once again with their new ad campaign.
Monday, March 08, 2004
The Left Drew First Blood
PJB on the real instigators of the culture war in America.
Who is in your face here? Who started this? Who is on the offensive? Who is pushing the envelope? The answer is obvious. A radical Left aided by a cultural elite that detests Christianity and finds Christian moral tenets reactionary and repressive is hell-bent on pushing its amoral values and imposing its ideology on our nation.
The unwisdom of what the Hollywood and the Left are about should be transparent to all. But if this assault on the sensibilities of the majority continues, the candidate of Hollywood and the Left, John Kerry, will pay a price in November.
PJB on the real instigators of the culture war in America.
Who is in your face here? Who started this? Who is on the offensive? Who is pushing the envelope? The answer is obvious. A radical Left aided by a cultural elite that detests Christianity and finds Christian moral tenets reactionary and repressive is hell-bent on pushing its amoral values and imposing its ideology on our nation.
The unwisdom of what the Hollywood and the Left are about should be transparent to all. But if this assault on the sensibilities of the majority continues, the candidate of Hollywood and the Left, John Kerry, will pay a price in November.
John F'n Kerry Really Loves the F-Word
Go to his official campaign website, type "f--k" and "s--t" in the search engine, and see all the articles where he regails America with those lovely words.
Go to his official campaign website, type "f--k" and "s--t" in the search engine, and see all the articles where he regails America with those lovely words.
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