Hillary's Christian Consultant

The guy's name is Burns Strider. I mean, c'mon.

Rudolphus Rubrinasus

The pre-Vatican II version.

Al Qaeda Takes Credit for Dems' Mid-Term Victory

It will be interesting to see to what extent the Dems will try to distance themselves from this claim, if at all.

Link via

Idiots

We appear to be at a point in our culture where ANY person can commit sexual harassment, even if that person may not even know or understand the concept of sex.

A kindergarten student was accused earlier this month of sexually harassing a classmate at Lincolnshire Elementary School, an accusation that will remain on his record until he moves to middle school.

Washington County Public Schools spokeswoman Carol Mowen said the definition of sexual harassment used by the school system is, "unwelcome sexual advances, request for sexual favors and/or other inappropriate verbal, written or physical conduct of a sexual nature directed toward others."

Mowen said that definition comes from the Maryland State Department of Education.

According to a school document provided by the boy's father, the 5-year-old pinched a girl's buttocks on Dec. 8 in a hallway at the school south of Hagerstown.

...

The incident was described as "sexual harassment" on the school form.

Yep. A 5 year old who may not be able to tie his own shoes is capable of sexual harassment. Adults can be so un-freakin'-believable.

Oh, That's Why the Anglican/Episcopal Church is Dying

Jesus. Poop. Sex.

That about summarizes this laugh out loud article by the Director of Lay Education for the (Anglican) Diocese of Montreal.

Link via

I Should Add This to My Resume

After all, not everyone gets recognized as Time's Person of the Year.

Oh, wait...

From Our Bulging "Being Married Does Not Prevent Sexual Perversion" Files

I don't want to sound mean, but I somehow don't think the "she's too pretty for jail" defense will be utilized in this case.

A flirtatious Brandy Lynn Gonzales lured five boys from her fifth-grade classes into sexual acts at movie theaters, her apartment and even her classroom, prosecutors said Thursday.

At least one student was taken to her apartment, where he was sexually assaulted by Gonzales, 27, and her husband, Johnny Gonzales, 31, said Assistant Harris County District Attorney Denise Oncken.

"Evidently, according to the victims, she was quite a flirt in the classroom," Oncken said.

I Wish I Could Say I'm Surprised

A Carter appointed Federal judge in San Francisco (natch) says it's perfectly constitutional for a city to formally attack the Catholic Church for it religious/moral position on homosexuality.

In her decision upholding the resolution against the Law Center's constitutional challenge, the federal judge defended the City by essentially claiming that the Church invited the attack by publicly expressing its teaching on moral issues. In her written opinion, the judge stated, "The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith provoked this debate, indeed may have invited entanglement, by its [doctrinal] statement. This court does not find that our case law requires political bodies to remain silent in the face of this provocation."

Actor Peter Boyle Dies

Interestingly enough, the former cast member of the hit television show Everybody Loves Raymond was a Christian Brothers monk before becoming a professional actor. The Internet Movie Data Base has more details about Boyle's life and cause of death here.

Kathy Shaidle notes that Boyle was a lifelong political leftist.

Apocalypto and the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Probably not a coincidence that Gibson's newest movie opened right around this feast day. As reported by LifeSite, there's a new Spanish film that focuses on OLG and which acts as a good historical follow up to Apocalypto.

Follow Up: Dense that I sometimes am, I failed to notice that Apocalypto opened in the U.S. on the day of the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, and one day before the feast of St. Juan Diego. Within this context, Amy Welborn links to an interesting movie review of Apocalypto by Bill Cork.

The Navy and Mother are Both Wrong

A 32 year old single mother relinquishes custody of her 13 year old daughter in order to enlist in the Navy.

As far as I'm concerned, the Navy is wrong for saying single custodial parents can't enlist, and this mother is wrong for trading in custody and the upbringing of her daughter in order to pursue her "dream" of a naval career. A pox on both houses.

(Link via)

Famous Mormon Football Players

Had no idea Merlin Olsen, Sean Salisbury and Danny White were LDS adherents. Wonder if they all wear/wore "holy" jock straps? (Kidding!)

(Link via)

Why Aren't There More?

Guess it's that time of the year when many high school seniors are getting their applications off to different colleges. Speaking of colleges, and putting the issue of orthodoxy aside, I am somewhat amazed that there is only one four year Catholic university in Los Angeles County and a total of 4 four year Catholic colleges/universities in all of Southern California (which I would say runs from Bakersfield down to San Diego). Considering that one of these colleges, John Paul the Great University has basically just started operating and holds all of its classes in an office building, there are really only 3 established Catholic colleges/universities (Loyola Marymount, Thomas Aquinas College and University of San Diego) in the region.

Compare that to the San Francisco Bay Area, where there are a total of 6 established four year Catholic colleges/universities (University of San Francisco, Dominican University, Holy Names University, Notre Dame de Namur University, Saint Mary's College, and Santa Clara University). Throw in the University of Sacramento, which is only about 100 miles from San Francisco, and there are 7 institutes of higher learning in the area with a Catholic identity.

How the heck did such a discrepancy occur?

I'm Confused

I've been Catholic for about 9 years now, and I'm still not entirely sure when one is required to go to Mass on certain feast days. In the past, there have been Holy Days of Obligation that fell on a weekday, but were moved to Sunday for "convenience." I'm wondering if this was done with the feast of the Immaculate Conception, which was formally yesterday, in the Diocese of Orange since there is nothing on the diocese website mentioning this day as a Holy Day.

'Bout Time

LifeSite news reports that the Vatican has approved Bishop Bruskewitz's 1996 excommunication of Call to Action and other dissident groups operating in the Lincoln, Nebraska diocese. It took the Vatican almost 11 years, but I suppose if we looked at it from the perspective of God, that's like a millisecond. (link via RelapsedCatholic)

Rosie O'Donnell: Immoral, Left-Wing, Bigoted Hypocrite

The self-anointed "Queen of Nice" shows yet again why she is far from it.

Effin' pig!

The Amusing World of Law

A year in review. (link via RelapsedCatholic)

Oy!

More video footage of the asinineHalloween Mass by Fr. Fred Bailey.

Back in Town

For the past week, I've been out of town and my only Internet access was through a computer that is 8 to 10 years out of date. Translated, that means everything I looked at loaded at a snail's pace.

Yes, I am bummed that USC lost. But, it's just a sport and life goes on.

Anyway, I'm pretty tired after driving for several hours, so I'll resume blogging tomorrow.

Fight On 'SC!

Beat the powder blue clad Baby Boo-Boo Bears!

Happy Thanksgiving

To all 3 of my readers. Please also keep in mind and be thankful for all the men and women serving in our armed forces - particularly the cooks.



Update: I'm going out of town, so in case I don't post anything more over the holiday weekend, I'd also like to say, FIGHT ON 'SC! BEAT THE IRISH!

The Mormon Mitt

There's some recurring chatter on The Corner today regarding Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, and whether his status as a member of the Church of Latter Day Saints will hurt his chances of ever becoming President.

K-Lo has posted a blurb about how Andrew Sullivan has derisively declared Romney to be a "Christianist" presidential candidate. This, of course, is Exhibit A that Andrew Sullivan, a self-identified Catholic, is a complete ignoramous when it comes to matters of religion. Read this article on Mormonism to find out why.

Personally, I don't care what Romney's religious affiliation is as far as his qualifications to be President are concerned. I suspect this is also true for many conservative Evangelicals like a friend of mine who once told me that she would feel more comfortable voting for a Morman man to be President than an Evangelical woman.

Update (11/22/06): Well, apparently Andrew doesn't think Mormons are Christians. What the heck does he mean by "Christianist" then?

Slightly Over 1 in 3 New Births in U.S. are Out of Wedlock

Most of them to unwed mothers in their 20's.

I suppose if there's any good news in this, it's that the rate of teen pregnancies has declined to their lowest levels on record.

And No Man Will be Able to Tell How Much of it is Fake

Anti-warniks are planning a global orgasm for peace day this winter. I suspect the diner scene in "When Harry Met Sally..." will be required viewing for many of those wishing to participate. (link viat Drudge)

Rose Bowl Locked Up

'SC beats the beatniks from Berzerkley, 23-9 to secure a bid to the Rose Bowl. If the Trojans can beat the Domers and Bruins in the next two weeks, they are almost sure to play in the National Championship game against Ohio State.

A "Hmmmmm" Moment

For all intents and purposes, the Chinatown of every U.S. city is a ghetto (i.e., a place comprising of mostly low income residents). And yet, they all tend to be popular tourist attractions.

Interesting paradox, no?

The OC's Newest Law School

Coming (most likely) in 2009 on the campus of UC Irvine.

Bad choice by the Regents in my view, given that there are already three ABA-accredited and one State Bar accredited law schools in the county. Meanwhile, the ever growing Inland Empire (i.e., Riverside and San Bernardino counties) has only one ABA law school, and that only came about recently. Irrespective of the fact that I'm an alumnus of the school, I really believe UC Riverside should have been home to the UC system's newest law school.

Notre Dame is Increasingly Becoming CINO (Catholic in Name Only)

The inside scoop from a recent Domer graduate.

I also have to say that if the pope were ever to make a pronouncement that Catholics are forbidden from drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon under penalty of excommunication, I'd really have no problem with it.

(link via RelapsedCatholic)

If?!

OJ Simpson is apparently set to tell the world how he would have murdered his wife, Nicole, if he had done it the first time around.

Whatever, OJ. The fact that you even have something in mind pretty much confirms what everyone who isn't drinking Kool-Aid, or was a juror in your criminal trial, knows: You're a freakin' murderer!

A Somewhat Troubling Encounter

I was at the monthly St. Thomas More Society of Orange County meeting today and happened to make some small talk with a local priest, whose name I can't remember. Turns out that prior to being ordained, this priest was a practicing civil lawyer who received his juris doctorate from Georgetown. Upon learning this, I asked the priest what he thought about the controversy regarding Georgetown's recent naming of a human rights faculty chair after the infamous Fr. Robert Drinan, a known abortion rights advocate.

Surprisingly, this priest was unaware that there was a controversy, and wanted to know where I had heard Fr. Drinan supported abortion rights. Upon my responding that that Fr. Drinan has long been outspoken in favor of the right to abortion, the priest more or less dismissed me by saying that if that were the case, he would have heard about it before today. At saying this, our conversation ended mostly because the priest had just been asked to give a benediction to start the meeting.

It's at times like this that I wish I had instant access to the Internet to find evidence in support of a point I make in casual conversation. Hopefully, this priest will set himself straight on Fr. Drinan, though I doubt he'll remember that we talked about it today.

San Francisco Values Will be the Death of San Francisco

The continuing suicide of the City by the Bay rambles on.

Then Why Did You Give Them Control of Congress?!

I suppose this poll which says that most Americans rank Iraq as a top priority, but do not think the Dems have a plan to deal with the war, supports the conventional wisdom that people voted against the Republicans this year and not for the Dems.

It's still bizarre, though. I mean, if you aren't happy with how the Republicans (i.e., the Bush Administration) is running the war, why in the world would you allow, by way of voting or not voting, the Dems to take control of Congress knowing full well that they don't have a war plan, and are therefore at greater risk of screwing the war up even worse than you (erroneously) think it already is?

Reversed...Again

The SCOTUS once again reverses the wacky 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, this time in a California death penalty case.

Schmucks Shot Down

Fight on 'SC! Next up are the Bears from Berzerkley.

G@y Stalin

So, Sir Elt, what do you think of organized religion?

"I think religion has always tried to turn hatred towards gay people. Religion promotes the hatred and spite against gays.

"But there are so many people I know who are gay and love their religion. From my point of view I would ban religion completely.

"Organised religion doesn't seem to work. It turns people into really hateful lemmings and it's not really compassionate."

I don't think he's "joking" a la John Kerry.

I'd Support Him

Mark Levin at National Review makes the suggestion that soon to be former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum should run for President in 2008.

I think it's a great idea and I agree with Levin that Santorum, a most decidedly pro-life conservative/traditional Catholic, has national appeal despite his recent and largely unsurprising loss in blue state Pennsylvania.

Now let's say Santorum doesn't run for President. On the off chance that a vacancy opens up on the Supreme Court in the next couple of years, I think Bush would be smart to consider nominating Santorum to be a Justice. Although he is an unapologetic conservative Republican, Santorum has long been known as someone who worked extremely well with liberal Democrat Senators (e.g., Barbara Boxer). These friendly relationships could ultimately be decisive in getting him confirmed without the mother of all political battles being waged.

Wait'll They Get a Load of Me

She does too look like him!



(inspired by Jim Treacher via PSB)

Iran Loves the Dems

Here's to you True Conservative™ who wanted to teach a "lesson" to the GOP in this last election cycle.

I'm Wondering

If the war in Iraq isn't going as well as some people are blindly asserting, then why were terrorists cheering for the Dems to win on Tuesday?

Update: Seems several of our guys over in Iraq were not cheering for the Dems to win on Tuesday, and are concerned over the "resignation" of Donald Rumsfeld.

[sarcasm] Nice going on letting the Dems take over all of Congress True Conservatives™. [/sarcasm]

Only the GOP Can Hurt the GOP

The Dems and their moonbat minions can only help.

Update: Borrowing from Lynyrd Skynyrd, I hope Charlie Rangel will remember; a Southern Man don't need him around anyhow.

Will Justice Kennedy Flip?

In 2000, the SCOTUS by a 5 to 4 count knocked down Nebraska's ban on partial birth abortions. At the time, there were basically 2 swing voters on the Court, Justices O'Connor and Kennedy. Although Kennedy would vote to uphold the ban, O'Connor didn't.

Now, almost seven years later, the SCOTUS has revisited the issue of partial birth abortion in the form of a legal challenge made by pro-abortionists to the Federal statute, signed by President Bush, banning the procedure. Oral Arguments before the Court were made today.

With Alito having replaced O'Connor on the Court, it would appear that the Federal ban on partial-birth abortions will be upheld by a one vote margin. That is, of course, unless Justice Kennedy has somehow "grown" on this issue in the last seven years and votes with the Dark Side of the Court (Justices Ginsberg, Breyer, Stevens and Souter). The fact that something like this must be worried about provides strong evidence for one of the most likely negative consequences of yesterday's Dem takeover of Congress, and more specifically, the Senate: the appointment of another David Souter to the SCOTUS.

If the Senate confirmation hearing on the nomination of Robert Bork to the SCOTUS had taken place in 1986, Bork today would be a SCOTUS Justice. That is because in 1986, the GOP had majority control of the Senate. However, Bork's hearing was in 1987, the year the Dems took back the Senate after the 1986 mid-term election. Although they probably would have tried to do it anyway, the Dems control of the Senate made the "Borking" of Bork, and all other subsequent judicial nominees cut from a similar cloth, that much easier than it otherwise would have been. As a result of this new practice by the Dems, Ronald Reagan was effectively forced to nominate a relative unknown jurist with almost no paper trail. That unknown jurist ended up being the now Justice Anthony Kennedy who, at best, has had a mixed record on social issues like abortion. Indeed, the Dems practice of "Borking" eventually led to the nomination of David Souter, who is considered by all non-judicial activist proponents (i.e., people who think judges shouldn't be making up rights and laws out of thin air) to be nothing short of a disaster.

Now that the Dems have again regained control of the Senate, I fully expect that if Dubya gets the chance to fill another seat on the SCOTUS, he will have no choice but to nominate another Anthony Kennedy, or worse, another David Souter. While it is true that Dubya has shown a propensity to do this anyway (see Harriet Miers), GOP control of the Senate provided the necessary leverage to make the President change course and nominate what ended up being Sam Alito. With this leverage now gone until at least 2008, I'm not so sure that I want any seats to open up on the SCOTUS.

And so it Begins

This is on all the heads of those of you who either sat out the election or voted for a third party candidate as a means to "punish" the GOP.

And if Pres. Bush gets to fill another vacancy on the Supreme Court, I can almost guarantee you that a Harriet Miers/David Souter-like candidate will be selected. This time, however, there probably won't be a darned thing we can do to stop it since there's no way in hell that a Dem controlled Senate will confirm an Alito or Roberts.

Thanks a lot, dorks!

Meet the Black Robert Byrd

Minnesotans elected to Congress yesterday Keith Eillison, a black Muslim/former Catholic Dem who had an affiliation with the anti-Semitic Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam.

Robert Byrd, of course, is a longtime Dem U.S. Senator from West Virginia who won reelection yesterday and was a member of the Kook Klucks Klan.

Veto

A word and power that President Bush would be well advised to often employ in the last two years of his administration.

Go Vote

More importantly, vote Republican. Unless, of course, you want to pay higher taxes and put our country's national security at risk. Then by all means, vote Democrat or third party.

Almost Like Another Bye Week

The Trojans certainly weren't looking past the Tree toward next week's match up with the cheating Shmucks of Oregon.

If I Thought Screaming Would Help

I'd most certainly do it.

Update (11/6/06): Video of the sordid affair can be seen here. See if you can spot the theological contradiction. Hint: Focus on the woman wearing a pink wig and horns.

New Yuck Times: Bush Told the Truth About Iraq and Saddam

Well, that's not exactly what it says, and you can pretty much bet the farm that the Times will deny it confirmed any such suggestion. Whatever.

I'm also taking wages on how long it will take one of the leftist nutroots blogs to dismiss the story and mindlessly rant about the Times being manipulated by Karl Rove and his right wing media machine. (link via The Anchoress)

Will Mark Shea be Consistent?

In case you haven't been following, there is a running controversy in the Catholic blogosphere over the subject of torture and whether the Catholic Church views it as intrinsically immoral. Appropriately described magisterial fundamentalists like Mark Shea have consistently been arguing that "torture" is intrinsically immoral and that any professed faithful Catholic who questions it or says otherwise is a fortiori an apologist for Satan. So much for meaningful discussion with Mr. Shea.

Anyway, the basis for the magisterial fundy position on torture basically comes from one paragraph (paragraph 80) in a papal encyclical called Veritatis Splendor:

The Second Vatican Council itself, in discussing the respect due to the human person, gives a number of examples of such [intrinsically evil] acts: "Whatever is hostile to life itself, such as any kind of homicide, genocide, abortion, euthanasia and voluntary suicide; whatever violates the integrity of the human person, such as mutilation, physical and mental torture and attempts to coerce the spirit; whatever is offensive to human dignity, such as subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution and trafficking in women and children; degrading conditions of work which treat labourers as mere instruments of profit, and not as free responsible persons: all these and the like are a disgrace, and so long as they infect human civilization they contaminate those who inflict them more than those who suffer injustice, and they are a negation of the honour due to the Creator".

Now, in addition to "torture," you'll notice that there are other things listed in the above paragraph like "deportation", "subhuman living conditions" and "degrading conditions of work..." With respect to these words and terms, so-called Apologists for Satan, such as myself, are of the position that they are ambiguous and, more significantly, undefined in Veritatis Splendor. As such, the above paragraph cannot, contrary to what the magisterial fundamentalists assert, be regarded as a doctrinal teaching of the Church. If it was, then how in the world can the Church Herself not be a tool for Satan in light of these reported charges against the Vatican's television station? (link via RelapsedCatholic)

Kerry Apologizes...

If you were too stupid to realize that his "joke" was not meant to be an insult.

"I sincerely regret that my words were misinterpreted to wrongly imply anything negative about those in uniform, and I personally apologize to any service member, family member, or American who was offended."

Prime.Grade.Jerk.

How Left-Liberal is California?

Jerry "Governor Moonbeam" Brown is probably going to be elected the State's Attorney General despite the fact that he essentially allowed sexual harassment to occur in his office while he was the mayor of Oakland.

Appearing next to Chuck Poochigian -- Brown's Republican opponent in the state attorney general's race -- Nereyda Lopez-Bowden accused Brown of ignoring her complaints about Jacques Barzaghi, who had been at Brown's side for decades before he was fired in 2004.

"He enabled Jacques Barzaghi for many years to continue his 'predatorial' behavior and harassment of women and men in the office," said Lopez-Bowden, speaking publicly about the incident for the first time.

Ms. Lopez-Bowden actually filed a lawsuit for the alleged acts by Barzaghi and settled out of court for $50,000. Settlements, of course, are not an admission of wrongdoing by anyone, but given the amount of money Ms. Lopez-Bowden received, she must have had a pretty strong case.

From an election standpoint, although this story would seem to be ripe for further investigation into Brown's character and fitness to be California's top law enforcement officer, the MSM has all but ignored or buried it (the hardcopy version of the Sacramento Bee news story that I link to above, for example, is on page A6). I can only imagine how much attention this matter would get from the MSM if, say, Linda Ronstadt's former boyfriend were a Republican and was named Arnold Schwartzenegger.

Why You Shouldn't Vote Democrat

Yeah, Kerry probably didn't mean to insult members of the military, but he did.

"You know, education, if you make the most of it, if you study hard and you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, uh, you, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq."

You Should Really Read Andrew Sullivan's New Book

Because, as reported by James Taranto, it's critically acclaimed by none other than Andrew Sullivan. (link via Dean Barnett)

* "This is a book about ideas, not political prescriptions. . . . It's an attempt to start the long road back to conservative intellectual clarity. . . . If you still care about those first principles, and why they are more relevant today than ever, . . . buy the book."--Andrew Sullivan

* "If the book can prompt the usually level-headed David Brooks to contradict himself in order to criticize it and has sent Hugh Hewitt into conniptions, it might just be on to something about what has gone wrong with American conservativsm [sic]."--Andrew Sullivan

* "They're angry. They wouldn't be if they didn't know this book exposes them in ways few yet have."--Andrew Sullivan

* "These people are truly rattled by this book. I believe it's a depth charge into the degerenacy [sic] of the current conservative movement."--Andrew Sullivan

* "Why are so many contemporary 'conservatives' lying about the contents of this book? The only reason I can come up with is that they are deadly afraid of its arguments. . . . Which is why you should read the book."--Andrew Sullivan

This is Just Fishnet Stocking Weird

Some background: Tan Nguyen is the Republican nominee for Congress for the 47th Congressional District in California. Geographically, this district encompasses an area that is essentially in the middle of Orange County. The current occupant of this congressional seat is Loretta Sanchez, the only House Representative from the OC who is a Democrat.

Mr. Nguyen got himself into some trouble recently over a letter he authorized to be sent to several households about illegal voting. Questions about attempted voter suppression are being investigated. Needless to say, Mr. Nguyen is maintaining his innocence and going forward with an otherwise ill-fated and, as illustrated by the video below, increasingly comical campaign against an entrenched incumbent (who, ironically, won the seat back in the mid-'90's in an arguably illegal fashion).



(link via RedCounty)

Chick or Treat

Joe Carter of Evangelical Outpost does a nice takedown of the infamous Jack Chick comics/tracts and the suggestion that they be given to little kids on Halloween.

To me, though, Chick is not just another anti-Catholic bigot. When I was a kid Jack Chick was the man who was responsible for more nightmares than the Twilight Zone and Kolchak: The Nightstalker combined. Chick not only scared the hell out of me, he made me afraid that hell was all around me.

While his comic books are less well known than his tracts, they were a primary source of literature around my fundamentalist church. In a typical display of twisted '70s fundie logic, our congregation believed that comics about Satan and the occult were more wholesome than reading about Spiderman or Archie and Jughead.

Republicans Don't Love the Lord

So affirms Democrat US Senate candidate, and "non-judgmental" judger, Harold Ford. (link via Powerline)



BTW, notice that Ford uses the hereto never before heard of word, "misfortunate". As one of the Powerline guys notes, if Ford were a Republican, he'd be ridiculed as being stupid.

Quoting Jack Bauer...

Dammit!!

Can't say I didn't see this upending coming, though.

Pray for the Voters of South Dakota

Hopefully, a majority of them will vote "Yes" on Referred Law 6, which essentially bans all abortions in South Dakota.

From Our Ever-Bulging "Give Me an Effin' Break!" File

The totalitarian/Maoist Khmer Rouge once widely, and abusively, used a method of waterboarding on political dissidents in Cambodia. Vice President Cheney apparently has no problem with using waterboarding on captured terrorists for the purpose of extracting information about terrorist plots. Therefore, in Mark Shea's "I don't have to define the meaning of torture; I know it when I see it!" world, Cheney and the Khmer Rouge are basically indistinguishable insofar as sanctioning evil is concerned.

Now, in order for the above syllogism to have any sort of merit, one has to accept that waterboarding is torture, and that torture is intrinsically immoral. The former proposition is a close call, but I am inclined to believe that, by itself, waterboarding is not torture. This article in FrontPageMagazine.com makes a strong case for my belief.

With respect to whether torture is intrinsically immoral, at least as far as the Catholic Church is concerned, the answer is that it is not, and no amount of documented misleading rants and false proclamations by people like Mark Shea changes this fact.

In light of all this, one is left to conclude that Mark Shea thinks Cheney=Khmer Rouge because both involve human beings who breathe air. Preposterous to anyone not suffering from Bush Derangement Syndrome.

Update (10/27/06): VP Cheney denies he expressed support for waterboarding by agreeing with a radio interviewer that it was a "no brainer" to allow captured terrorists to be dunked in water for purposes of extracting information. I believe Cheney, and here's why: First, waterboarding doesn't involve dunking anyone, so it's entirely possible Cheney thought the radio interviewer was talking about something else. Second, and more significantly, Cheney isn't stupid, and given the high level of controversy over waterboarding, I can't imagine Cheney would throw fuel on the fire by coming out in a radio interview this close to Election Day and saying he supports the practice. Thus, unless there is hard proof that he is lying about not supporting waterboarding (BDS induced cynicism falls well short of this) Cheney should be given the benefit of the doubt.

Now This is a Response Ad

Michael J. Embryo. Click the screen to go to the originating website. The responses which try to dismiss the embryo as a human being are, at best, idiotic. (via RelapsedCatholic)

Cheer for "Soop"

I don't have a dog in this year's World Series fight, but I will be cheering for the success of Cardinals pitcher Jeff Suppan, a graduate of Crespi Carmelite High School in Encino, CA who contributed his voice to the ad against embryonic stem cell research in Missouri.

Counter Celeb Ad to Michael J. Fox Lie

The operative word being "counter", as opposed to "responsive". I can't for the life of me figure out what Jim Caviezel is saying at the beginning of the ad.



Briefly on the infamous Michael J. Fox ad, I found it especially sickening that Fox used his illness in the manner that he did in order to more effectively perpetuate outright lies about Jim Talent's position on non-embryonic stem cell research (Fox makes no distinction between non-embryonic and embryonic).

And oh yeah, new research shows that injecting embryonic stems cells into people with Parkinson's disease will cause them to develop brain tumors.

Georgetown U. is not Catholic

Latest proof is the law school's endowment of a human rights chair in the name of Fr. Robert Drinan, disingenuous pro-abort Jesuit priest extaordinaire. What a joke. (link via Open Book)

Founding Fathers and the Nicene Creed

John Derbyshire over at The Corner asks which ones subscribed to it, and he posts a few reader responses.

Rick Brookhiser throws in his two cents.

Although some of the responses are interesting, I'm not sure they are all correct, insofar as there seems to be an erroneous equating of religious devoutness to full acceptance of and agreement with the Creed.

Luck O' the Irish?

Domer fans think so.

Here's my take on the outcome of "Hated Ones" Bowl '06:

From a USC Football Fan Perspective

Tomorrow is the the "Hated Ones" Bowl.

vs.

Kelo and Prop. 90

Such was the topic at a symposium I went to today that was co-sponsored by the Chapman University Federalist Society and the Pacific Legal Foundation. Although most of the audience appeared to be anti-Kelo and pro-Prop. 90 (which I, myself, am) the 3 panels of symposium speakers were equally divided.

One of the speakers, who is a professor of law at Chapman University, made an incredibly bizarre argument in support of the majority decision in Kelo. Basically, this professor asserted that the Constitution, i.e., the 5th Amendment, does not prohibit the government from taking a person's property and giving it to another private party for their own personal profit. In light of this, Kelo was made under a strict constuctionist jurisprudence, and according to this professor, to criticize Kelo for what it allowed necessarily reflects a preference for judicial activism (which conservatives, like myself, generally disfavor and denounce).

Needless to say, I had a big eyeroll moment. Then again, seeing as how this professor had once clerked for Justice Stevens, the author of the Kelo majority opinion, I shouldn't have been very surprised to hear what I heard.

From this symposium, it seems most of the opposition to Prop. 90 is based upon a fear that it will cause all kinds of needless and costly litigation, because the initiative is allegedly poorly written. I didn't particularly find these arguments convicing, and I especially found it interesting that many of the groups who are wringing their hand in opposition to Prop. 90 were also vigorously opposed to the great and revolutionary Prop. 13.

Voting Dem is a Bad Risk

So too is sitting out the election. A frightening, but very real, reminder of why:

Magisterial Fundamentalist™ at it Again

Big time Bush Derangement Sydrome induced screed. When, of if, you get through that, click over to Seeking Justice for some calm and rational discussion that may or may not persuade you (I, myself, lean toward the former).

"Full of Grace"

Such is the name by which God, through the Archangel Gabriel, called Mary, who was the topic of discussion last night at a lecture I went to given by Catholic apologist Tim Staples. Lots of useful information in defense of the Catholic position that Mary was without sin. One of the things that I really found fascinating, though, is the parallels in the Old and New Testaments which clearly show that Mary was, and is, the Ark of the New Covenant. Click here for an article by Steve Ray that expounds more upon this issue.

Addendum: One of these days, I'm going to have to spend the time to read/unpack this encyclical on Mary since I understand it contains a lot of good apologetics materials.

Psalm 58

I just got back from the monthly meeting of the St. Thomas More Society of Orange County, where the featured speaker was Fr. Hugh Barbour, a Nobertine priest and Prior of St. Michaels Abbey in Silverado. Fr. Barbour's lecture topic, which was understandably condensed, was the Psalms and their functional history (i.e., the history of the Psalms as a form of regular prayer by the faithful).

As a humorous aside, Fr. Barbour pointed out Psalm 58, which he said could be recited whenever you're feeling particularly oppressed by anyone. Not a bad idea. (In context, Fr. Barbour said this psalm is a prayer for protection from the devil and/or evil).

Pathetic

Instead of owning up to his bad behavior, the disgraceful Mark Foley has tried to blame it on a priest who allegedly molested Foley when he was a child. Now Foley, as part of his "healing process," is set to name that priest.

Baseball's Real Golden Age

Any somewhat affirmative reference by George Will to the Dodgers will get a mention here.

Another Close One

But the good guys win again.



We're also #2 in the BCS.

Thanks for Stopping By

Especially to those who came by way of the following Google word searches: "ca best day to report for jury duty" and "guadiam et spes".

Oozing in Irony

At about the same time Rod Dreher announces his departure from the Catholic Church because of bad bishops comes this news item about the upcoming canonization of Blessed Mother Theodore Guerin. (link via relapsedcatholic)

Dem Contradictions on Child Molesting

It's outrageously bad when a congressional Republican might have been involved in it (though I don't believe Mark Foley has been accused of doing anything more than sending inappropriate and morally repugnant e-mails) but there's deafening silence when Dem enablers in Hollywood glorify it in film. (link via Seeking Justice)

Glorified and Self Inflicted Elder Abuse

I just can't help thinking that's what the final(?) Rocky movie is basically about. What is he, like 60?

Well, Why Not?

Cindy Sheehan claims she is a finalist for the Nobel "Peace" Prize this year. For the non-unhinged, this would seem to be a joke, but given the sordid list of past Nobel recipients (e.g., Jimmy Carter, Yasser Arafat and Mikhail Gorbachev) I would not be surprised if it were true. (link via Drudge)

House Speaker Pelosi?

**Shudder**

From a speech the ultra-left representative gave in 2003 (link via Hugh Hewitt):

The United States does not need a multi-billion-dollar national missile defense against the possibility of a nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missile.

Alec Says, "Blame Bush! Blame Bush!"

A moment of comic absurdity for an otherwise tragic accident.

Lawyer in the Pool!

I've gotta report to jury duty tomorrow and I'm hoping I either get on a jury panel fairly quickly or I'm let go early. In case you don't think the former is possible for a lawyer, think again. About four years ago, I was selected to be an alternate juror in a murder trial.

Bishop Brown: Religious/Spiritual Utilitarian

Some spot on analysis by Amy Welborn of the pastoral letter and DVD distributed by Bishop Brown throughout the Diocese of Orange (of which I reside).

Troll/Trolling

Don't use the word(s) in the context of online discussion groups or forums if you don't have a clear understanding of what it means. You run the risk of looking stupid if you do.

Oatmeal Foreign Policy

Looks as though the Quakers have filched the Dem's talking points on possible NorK nukes (i.e., it's BushHitler's™ fault).

Update: Terrorist-loving Peanut Farmer Foreign Policy: Jimmah chimes in and jumps on the blame BushHitler™ bandwagon. (link via The Corner)

Catholic Heaven Rocks!

The Simpson-fied Jesus would agree.

Calling Tony Soprano

John Derbyshire over at National Review suggests the whole NorK nuke problem can be solved by having Kim Jong-Il whacked. Irresponsible? Maybe not.

Democrats: Predictably Contemptible

Yep, it's all BushHitler's™ fault that the NorKs might have nukes. Slick didn't have anything to do with it at all.

Ted Turner: Terrorist Best Friend

Another Tight One

But the Trojans keep winning despite racking up injuries to key players.



Update: Dang! Dodgers were swept by the Mets. For some reason, I find the Mets incredibly more annoying than the Yankees. Probably has to do with the fact that the Dodgers, my favorite team, are in the National League.

Dems are Clueless Example #233482348924

This is kind of like calling a touchdown a home run (or vice versa).

Liberals and Lack of Self Awareness

There's something incredibly Naziesque about the Unhinged Left's latest attempt to prove that BushHitler™ exists. (link via The Anchoress).

A liberal government watchdog group has asked the Secret Service to release its records of prominent conservative Christian leaders' visits to the White House, but one of those leaders called the request "an act of Christianophobia."

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request on Wednesday. The group said in the request that the records are "likely to contribute to the public's understanding of the influence that conservative Christian leaders have, or attempt to have, on the president in the exercise of his authority."

A Win for Marriage in the Courts

A California Court of Appeal upholds Prop. 22, aka California's Protection of Marriage Amendment.

Unfortunately, expect an appeal to the California State Supreme Court to be made.

Foley and Democrat Hypocrisy

Take it away Ann!

But now, the same Democrats who are incensed that Bush's National Security Agency was listening in on al-Qaida phone calls are incensed that Republicans were not reading a gay congressman's instant messages.

Let's run this past the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals: The suspect sent an inappropriately friendly e-mail to a teenager — oh also, we think he's gay. Can we spy on his instant messages? On a scale of 1 to 10, what are the odds that any court in the nation would have said: YOU BET! Put a tail on that guy — and a credit check, too!

When Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee found unprotected e-mails from the Democrats about their plan to oppose Miguel Estrada's judicial nomination because he was Hispanic, Democrats erupted in rage that their e-mails were being read. The Republican staffer responsible was forced to resign.

But Democrats are on their high horses because Republicans in the House did not immediately wiretap Foley's phones when they found out he was engaging in e-mail chitchat with a former page about what the kid wanted for his birthday.

The Democrats say the Republicans should have done all the things Democrats won't let us do to al-Qaida — solely because Foley was rumored to be gay. Maybe we could get Democrats to support the NSA wiretapping program if we tell them the terrorists are gay.

Getting It Right

It looks as though the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals will be correcting the egregiously incompetent and politicized ruling that Federal District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor, a Carter appointee, made on the constitutionality of the NSA surveillance program.

As an aside, when news of Judge Taylor's ruling was first reported in mid-August, noted legal and homeland security expert Mark Shea expressed his support for it on grounds and principles that have absolutely nothing to do with what the surveillance program is and how it functions. In other words, Shea didn't know what the hell he was talking about; at the same time, he gave public endorsement for the type of jurisprudence which produced rulings like Roe v. Wade.

TORTURE!!!

Under the oh-so-clear "everyone knows what it is" standard professed by great legal minds like Mark Shea, there's absolutely no reason why this latest controversy on the handling of prisoners at Gitmo shouldn't be regarded as another example of Bush-sponsored torture.

Entrenched in Stupid

A leftist writer at Slate (yeah, I know, that's redundant) suggests Justice Scalia is racially insensitive because he equates tequila with Mexico. (link via Hot Air).

Update (10/5/06): I suppose this means Mexico is self-loathing.

Blog Changes

If you previously left a message to one of my postings here and don't see it anymore, I didn't erase it. Long story short, I accepted the invite from Blogger to try its' new beta program and the new blog template I made doesn't seem to let me use the Haloscan comboxes I had on my old blog template. If, or until, I ever figure out how to put the comboxes back, I'm just going to use the comment system provided by Blogger.

Random Thought of the Day

Physical exercise is a pain, but I do generally feel a lot better after doing it.

Just Keep Winning 'SC

Doesn't matter by how many points.

It's Probably Like Time Travel

Ok, I passed the California Bar Exam, generally regarded as the toughest in the country, on my first try. So I'd really like to know if there's any way I can transform my law degree from a non-ABA school into a law degree from an ABA school.

In a Word...

Absolutely. And it isn't torture. (See especially Nos. 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8).

Update: The Case For Waterboarding

Although waterboarding is normally employed as the last resort and the frequency of its use kept secret, it has been made known that so far it has worked every time it has been tried. Thanks to its extraordinary efficacy, we have been able to obtain a great amount of critical intelligence that would have otherwise remained inaccessible. With the help of this information we have captured al-Qaeda operatives, stopped deadly plots, and saved many innocent lives. One of the fruits of Mohammed’s confession, to give one example, was the thwarting of a conspiracy to fly an airliner into the Library Tower, the tallest building in Los Angeles.

Given these facts, it is almost incomprehensible that there are some people in this country who insist that we relinquish this life-saving tool. Resting their objections on ethical grounds, they try to convince us that the procedure is morally unacceptable. But theirs is a misguided stance, since careful consideration shows that waterboarding is in fact one of the least injurious among interrogation techniques.

To see why this is so, it is enough to contrast it with the most common approach which involves a combination of sleep deprivation and cold exposure. Frequently requiring days and even weeks to break the captive’s spirit, it carries a real possibility of long-term physical and psychological damage. Worse still, it often fails to achieve the desired effect with the result that the captive is subjected to prolonged hardships, but we still end up without the information we so urgently need.

Waterboarding, on the other hand, is fleeting in duration with the actual discomfort lasting seldom more than a couple of minutes. And since a man can be safely deprived of oxygen for at least twice as long, there is almost no risk of long-term harm. The possibility of injury is further reduced by the fact that the procedure calls for no direct physical contact between the subject and his interrogators. Not even as much as pushing or chest slapping is required at any time, making waterboarding one of the safest and least confrontational among interrogation methods. Involving the lowest risk of long-term harm and the least amount of cumulative discomfort, it is also the most humane. Most importantly, it is the most effective.

Update 2 (9/30/06): So, in Mark Shea's anti-"torture" world, would these guys be regarded as pro-torture torture victims?

ATM for Jay-sus!

Brought to you by your friendly neighborhood Evangelical Mega-Church, although it appears that at least one Catholic diocese in the U.S. had seriously thought about using an "Automatic Tithing Machine".

Those kinds of reservations emerged in Baton Rouge, La., before Baker went into business. About three years ago, the Roman Catholic diocese there worked with a Canadian company to produce a machine that would accept bank card donations from churchgoers. Church officials hoped to place it in the Cathedral of St. Joseph, an imposing Gothic Revival building near the banks of the Mississippi River that dates to the 1850s.

It's not an Aerosmith kind of place. Church officials eventually changed their minds.

"I think that when it actually came time to put a kiosk in the back of a cathedral, it just wasn't quite, well — I'd like to say 'kosher,' but we're Catholic," said Mark Blanchard, the stewardship director for the diocese.

7-11Eleven Drops Citgo

That would be the Citgo owned by the country of Venezuela, which is currently being ruled by the sulphur sniffing Hugo Chavez.

As a long time Big Gulp and Big Bite Hot Dog consumer, I salute your decision 7-11Eleven! Now, about those semi-pornographic "mens' magazines" you keep displaying in front of the cash registers...

A Place for Mark Shea

Never let it be said that the "Party of Torture" doesn't have a big tent.

Update: Shea gets taken down by Victor Morton (not sure if it's the same Victor Morton who occasionaly writes for National Review).

Yeah, Mel's an Idiot

He follows up drunken stupid remarks about Jews with (apparently) sober stupid remarks about the U.S. military in Iraq.

It's one thing to be against the war; it's quite another to basically suggest that military personnel are a bunch of lemmings. Borrowing from Laura Ingraham, shut up and act or direct movies, Mel.

Arizona Roadkill

A smothering defense helps give 'SC a win in the desert. Fight on!

Bubba Goes Berzerk

See the video clip here.

Clintoon is obviously counting on the American public to have a short memory. Fortunately, blogs like Ace of Spades are around to easily deconstruct the disingenuous finger wagger. (Warning: some foul language)

Update(9/24/06): Remember the last time we all saw Bubba Bill wagging his finger? (link via Michelle Malkin)

Update 2(9/24/06): Fox News never grilled Bush Administration officials about going after bin Laden before 9/11? The heck it didn't, Bubba.

Day of Rage Observation Deck

See the latest news on what's going on during this high holy day for adherents of the Religion O'Rage. (link via The Anchoress)

It Seems "Rough" Interrogation Works

Bill O'Reilly had ABC investigative reporter Brian Ross on tonight, and according to Ross, the controversial interrogation methods (e.g., waterboarding) that the CIA has been widely rumored to be using on captured terrorists like Khalid Shaikh Mohammed has produced information that led to the breakup of at least 14 planned terrorist attacks against the United States. 14! One of the apparent targets of these planned attacks was the historic Library Tower in downtown Los Angeles.

When some so-called anti-torture human rights advocate, whose name escapes me, was confronted with this information on O'Reilly, the best response that she could give was: How do we know that we couldn't have gotten the information in a less drastic manner? Exactly what that less drastic manner is, she (predictably) didn't say, nor would she answer the question of whether she would allow a captured terrorist to be roughed up for information if doing so would save the life of a loved one. No better friend of the terrorists is this woman.

Correction: It wasn't 14 planned terrorist attacks that were thrwarted, but 14 cases where reportedly rough interrogation tactics were used, and which resulted in information that led to the breakup of several planned attacks, including one against the Library Tower.

Dehellenization and Protestantism

In the very same speech from Pope BXVI that adherents of the Religion O'Rage are all riled up about comes this illuminating comment about the dehellenization of religion (Christianity specifically):

Dehellenization first emerges in connection with the fundamental postulates of the Reformation in the 16th century. Looking at the tradition of scholastic theology, the Reformers thought they were confronted with a faith system totally conditioned by philosophy, that is to say an articulation of the faith based on an alien system of thought. As a result, faith no longer appeared as a living historical Word but as one element of an overarching philosophical system. The principle of sola scriptura, on the other hand, sought faith in its pure, primordial form, as originally found in the biblical Word. Metaphysics appeared as a premise derived from another source, from which faith had to be liberated in order to become once more fully itself. When Kant stated that he needed to set thinking aside in order to make room for faith, he carried this program forward with a radicalism that the Reformers could never have foreseen. He thus anchored faith exclusively in practical reason, denying it access to reality as a whole.

What the pope is essentially suggesting here is that Protestantism is a historical cause of the separation of faith from reason. This is quite an indictment, which I am quite sure many Protestants, Fundamentalists in particular, would take umbrage with. Despite such disagreement, though, I'm fairly confident that there will be no worldwide Protestant fatwas to assasinate the pope or burn Catholic church buildings. At most, we might see an offensive anti-Catholic tract by Jack Chick, which I personally find more amusing than anything else.

Did Pat Buchanan Write His Script?

Iranian President, and known Holocaust Denier, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks directly with the al-Jazeera like American MSM in a dinstinctly Buchananesque manner:

President Bush’s policies in the Middle East are “moving the world toward war,” Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday, maintaining that Iran was a peaceful nation that merely wanted to be left alone to “stand on its [own] feet.”

“The U.S. government thinks that it’s still the period after World War II,” Ahmadinejad said in an interview with Brian Williams, anchor and managing editor of “NBC Nightly News,” a mindset that led Bush to believe that he “can rule, therefore, over the rest of the world.”

Stick to Your Day Job Mark

Exhibit number 23923283 that when it comes to foreign policy and the law, uber-Catholic apologist Mark Shea doesn't know sh!t. His suggestion that the Bush Administration's desire to narrow (i.e., clarify) the meaning of the word "torture" in Article 3 of the Geneva Convention necessarily amounts to a desire to codify or sanctify Abu Ghraib is just over the top idiotic. Though I am not hopeful it will ever happen, I'd like to know how Shea doesn't think having his blog or one of his books seen by an inmate down at Club Gitmo couldn't fall under Article 3. After that, I'd like to know what alternative solution Shea has for interrogating terrorists who want to KILL not only him, but his wife, kids, and pets.

Of course, actually proposing anything would require Shea to obtain and possess some knowledge of information beyond what is reported in the very same MSM he regularly lambastes for knowing sh!t about Christianity. Why bother doing this, when ignorantly bitching and moaning is so much easier.

And So It...Continues

Michelle Malkin reports on the latest murder committed by the Religion of Rage.

Churches Attacked in West Bank and Gaza

So in accordance with liberal/anti-Iraq war logic which blames President Bush for increased terrorism in Iraq, the pope is at fault for these attacks on Christian churches because of his recent verbal "attack" on Islam. Right?

Saddam is Trustworthy

Such is the inference one can only draw from a Sept. 8 Senate Intelligence Committee report which basically takes the former dictator at his word and concludes that Saddam had no ties to al-Qaeda or Islamofascist terrorism.

And if you believe that, then you won't mind if I start calling you Ms. Sheehan.

Fight On 'SC!

Beat the Cornholios!

I Support the Pope

But you probably could have already guessed that. It's good to say, and see in other places, anyway.

Religion of Rage Rages On

How making a sincere critical inquiry into Islam gets you mindlessly branded as another Hitler and Mussolini. (link via Drudge)

A Small Sample of the Fruits of Liberalism

The continuing, and altogether predictable, downfall of Air Scamerica. (link via Drudge)

It's One Thing to Criticize Accuracy

It's quite another to threaten outright censorship. Click here for some of the clips from Path to 9/11 that the Clintoons don't want anyone to see (maybe because it might actually be accurate?).

Shut Up and Act!

Brad Pitt on when he will marry Angelina Jolie: "Angie and I will consider tying the knot when everyone else in the country who wants to be married is legally able," the 42-year-old actor reveals in Esquire magazine's October issue, on newsstands Sept. 19.

Given the fact that Angie has been known to make out with her own siblings, I'm presuming 'ol Brad is including brothers and sisters in his altogether idiotic remark.

Proof of Liberal Media Bias No. 8928329839...

Clinton bitches, ABC caves and switches.

9/11 Commemoration Rally in L.A.

This looks cool. I may go. Sign message suggestions welcomed. (link via Michelle Malkin)

Better Late Than Never?

Either the AP has been duped (again), I'm seeing things (which is possible) or the Klan has radically changed its membership requirements.

Law Schools O'Plenty in California

Seems like there's new ones, most of them correspondence schools, popping up every other month.

Also looks like the Inland Empire (i.e., San Bernardino and Riverside Counties) finally has an ABA accredited law school to call its own. Really should have happened years ago at UC Riverside, which is my undergraduate alma mater, but the much talked about establishment of a law school there just never came to fruition.

Evangelicals and Foreign Policy

I was at a bookstore yesterday and happened across this written piece by Walter Russel Mead in Foreign Affairs on Evangelical Protestantism and U.S. foreign policy.

I've only glanced through it real quick, but this paragraph caught my eye:

Why focus exclusively on Protestantism? The answer is, in part, that Protestantism has shaped much of the country's identity and remains today the majority faith in the United States (although only just). Moreover, the changes in Catholicism (the second-largest faith and the largest single religious denomination in the country) present a more mixed picture with fewer foreign policy implications.


Not exactly sure what Mr. Mead means by this and, unfortunately, it doesn't look like he elaborates.

Booty Answered the Call

USC 50
Bubbaville 14

The Post-Bush Era Begins Tomorrow in Arkansas

Fight On!

The New MTV Generation: Just Plain Dumb

Video footage here to prove it. (link via Michelle Malkin)

The Party of Death is Also Anti-Semitic

"In the last year, grassroots contributors like us gave more than $300 million to the Kerry campaign and the DNC, and proved that the Party doesn't need corporate cash to be competitive. Now it's our Party: we bought it, we own it, and we're going to take it back." - Statement from MoveOn PAC 12/9/04

In light of the above, the information contained in this article about MoveOn.org certainly leaves no doubt that the 'Rat Party hates Jews. (link via The Anchoress)

You Know You're a Self-Righteous Knee-Jerker When...

You classify stuff like this as "torture." (link va Drudge)

Living Up to the Name "Meathead"

Rob Reiner, who as far as I know has never come clean about the campaign scandal he was recently inolved in, wants Mel Gibson to admit that The Passion of the Christ movie, which the late Pope John Paul II pretty much thought was faithful to the New Testament, is anti-Semitic. (link via Drudge)

Fox Reporters Freed After Forced Conversion

I'm not about to criticize the two Fox News Channel reporters who were kidnapped by Palestinian terrorists and did what they felt was necessary, i.e., "converted" to Islam at gunpoint, to stay alive. In fact, I think they are very brave men. Nevertheless, it does make me think. If it were me in that situation, would I have been willing to die and be a martyr for Christ? I'd like to think I would, but by the same token, if you could be reasonably certain you would be allowed to live and even freed by going along with the demand to "convert," I probably would have done the same thing that these reporters did.

Update: Kathy Shaidle provides a great reminder on the power of defiance and the grace to actually do it.

Quick Observation

Or a rant. From my various verbal battles on different political bulletin boards, I've come to the conclusion that self-described moderates are the most politically pretentious people around. Just because they refuse to categorize themselves as either Left or Right, so-called "moderates" have this annoying tendency to anoint themselves as the objective voice of reason in criticizing the positions of self-admitted conservatives and liberals.

Something About (the Blessed Virgin) Mary

There's a new movie coming out this December called the The Nativity Story which apparently focuses on the impending birth of Christ from the Blessed Mother's perspective.

Curiously enough, this film was written by an Evangelical Protestant, which somwhat contrary to the conclusion of this article about the movie (link via Mirror of Justice) seems to confirm the rising interest (dare we even say devotion?) among Evangelicals in Mary as a perfect role model of Christian faith.

Goldwater: Democrat Hero

That seems to at least be the conclusion some will take away from this upcoming HBO movie on the late U.S. Senator from Arizona. Even though Barry Goldwater is generally viewed as a forefather of political conservatism in this country, his pro-abortion and gays in the military positions frankly made him more libertarian (or, should I say libertine?) in my eyes than anything else. (link via Drudge)

The "Tolerant" Left's Deranged Obsession with Ann Coulter Continues

The latest example from the San Francisco Chronicle. This Peter Hartlaub guy bears an amazing resemblance to a clueless and unhinged liberal I used to skewer on the discussion forums at Catholic Match. As far as I know, though, the other guy's name is Mike and he's from Ohio.

Fres-yes

Long road trip today to and from downtown Fresno for a court appearance that lasted all of about five minutes and resulted in a desired continuance so that I could get a motion for a change of venue (i.e., transfer the case to So. Cal.) on file.

Didn't have much of an opportunity to look around, but Fresno sure did have a small town feel to it. If it wasn't for the hot summer weather, I think I'd consider living there...maybe.

Do As I Say, Not As I Do

Al Gore's glaring hypocrisy: priceless (link via Southern Appeal)

Public records reveal that as Gore lectures Americans on excessive consumption, he and wife Tipper live in two properties: a 10,000-square-foot, 20-room, eight-bathroom home in Nashville, and a 4,000-square-foot home in Arlington, Va. (He also has a third home in Carthage, Tenn.) For someone rallying the planet to pursue a path of extreme personal sacrifice, Gore requires little from himself.

Then there is the troubling matter of his energy use. In the Washington, D.C., area, utility companies offer wind energy as an alternative to traditional energy. In Nashville, similar programs exist. Utility customers must simply pay a few extra pennies per kilowatt hour, and they can continue living their carbon-neutral lifestyles knowing that they are supporting wind energy. Plenty of businesses and institutions have signed up. Even the Bush administration is using green energy for some federal office buildings, as are thousands of area residents. But according to public records, there is no evidence that Gore has signed up to use green energy in either of his large residences. When contacted recently, Gore's office confirmed as much but said the Gores were looking into making the switch at both homes. Talk about inconvenient truths.

I Need an Exemption from Job Interviews

Because I just totally suck at them; today being example number 234249230493.

Staring Down an Idiotic Nutbag

OK, so I'm at a Labor Board Hearing today representing the owner of a small mom & pop bakery in L.A. whose own brother and sister in-law, both of whom were unrepresented, filed a complaint against him for failing to pay them due wages. The brother and sister in-law claimed they were owed about $25,000, while my client was of the position they were owed nothing because they were never employed with him. Although my client had witnesses and documentation to back up his position, my client, upon my strong recommendation, settled the case for less than 10% of what the brother and sister in-law were claiming.

The reason why I encouraged settlement in this matter was because the State Labor Board is notorious for being employee/claimant friendly. Indeed, the experience at my firm has been that even though an employer may have great evidence to present at a Labor Board "trial," Labor Board hearing officers, who aren't even attorneys for crying out loud, will more often times than not award an employee what he is asking for.

When it looked as though there would be no settlement between the parties (all of whom are Mexican and speak little english) the interpreter that we were using left the room to get the hearing officer. In the interim, my client's brother started talking a bunch of smack to my client in Spanish. When I told the brother, in english, to stop speaking to my client, he started getting mad and told me to quit pointing my finger at him. When I "asked" him what he was going to do about it, he "answered" by repeating my question and told me in a hushed aggressive tone to stop pointing my finger at him. At that point, I asked him if he was threatening me. Possibly knowing better not to do that, he again repeated his command for me to stop pointing my finger at him, even though I wasn't. When I then sarcastically asserted that he didn't understand english, he angrily mumbled some gibberish about my not understanding something or other. After that, we just stared each other down for a minute or so until I looked away with a slight smile.

I tell ya, if it wasn't for the total unpredictability of Labor Board hearing officers and the amount of money my client possibly could have been personally liable for, I would have loved to have tried this case. Clearly, I had gotten under the skin of this nutball brother of my client(during settlement discussions, he and his wife were being argumentative when I brought up the evidence I intended to present to prove that my client never employed them). But, alas, the interests of my client came first, and since these two crooks were willing to take the absoulte amount of money my client was willing to give them to just go away, settling was the most prudent thing for him to do.

Sometimes Republicans Make a Wrong Choice

But I've yet to see in my lifetime one elected Democrat executive appoint a competent, non-politicized judge. Carter appointee Judge Anna Diggs Taylor is just the latest example of why electing a Democrat basically means making the judiciary into a super legislature. Her ruling on the Bush Administration's NSA intercept program is so bad and political, it makes otherwise sympathetic liberals cringe, as noted here and here.

Same State Court, but Different System

My first, and probably last, encounter with the Fresno County Family Court has been interesting. Apparently, Fresno County segregates family law cases where the parties are in pro per (i.e., not being represented by an attorney). Hearings for such cases are heard by a rotating panel of temporary judges and commissioners, and they are held on Fridays in a courtroom that is normally used for small claims actions. In short, in pro per family law cases in Fresno County seem to almost be treated like, well, small claims cases. I'm not saying whether it's bad or good. Just different.

An Illustration of the Paradox that is Evangelical Christianity

An interesting article here about the near unanimous embrace of artificial contraception by Evangelicals who, I think, are normally against the legal right to abortion. (link via Open Book)

Now, of course, a good majority of my fellow Catholics in the United States probably also embrace the "contraceptive culture." While this is certainly distressing, the fact that the institutional Church remains steadfast in holding an opposing position certainly says something about how much value the Church places upon things it regards as enduring and transcendent truth. No amount of "evolving attitudes" in society will sway her to change. This, in my view, is one of the significant distinctions between Evangelical Prostestantism and Catholicism. An Evangelical Protestant (or "mere" Christian) is still an Evangelical Protestant if he dissents from what, say, the Evangelical Free Church of America believes and teaches about contraception. Indeed, it is more than likely that an Evangelical "church" will change or conform its beliefs to those of its members or potential members (i.e., so-called "seekers"). A Catholic, however, has effectively ceased being Catholic if he dissents from what the instituional Church teaches.

Yes, Popes Can Be Wrong

When not speaking ex cathedra and on matters outside of the faith. (link via Open Book) Pat Buchanan and his ilk must be jumping for joy over Benedict's seeming "belief" that war brings no good to anyone, including the victors . And don't think for a moment that they won't try to make Benedict's misguided ruminations into an article of faith that Catholics are bound to abide by.

Go to Mass Tuesday!!

More of a reminder to myself than anything else. But if it helps you out too, great!

Just 3 More Weeks...

...until USC football kicks off its new season in Charlie Trie-land. Can hardly wait.

Coming Soon

It's actually for my own edification more than anything else, but in the next few weeks I'm going to start posting rants and complaints against certain lawyers and firms I've been dealing with the past two years, and who have earned permanent spots on my personal Sh!t List. Stay tuned.

Throwing Stones in Glass Houses

Chutzpah doesn't even begin to describe Robin Williams. (link via RelapsedCatholic)

At Least Gibson Was Drunk #2

The last acceptable form of bigotry in America indeed. Don't hold your breath for any Gibson-like apology. (link via Open Book)

So That's Why Johnny Can't Read

I'm supportive of this school district's policy to "ban" cleavage, but things would be a whole lot easier if they just required school uniforms. And don't even get me started as to why this story is even considered news.

Catholic and Republican

I often hear and read how many Catholics in this country refuse to identify with either of the two major political parties because, it is claimed, there are aspects in each party's national platform which run counter to the Catholic faith. It's pretty easy to see how this is true with the Democrat Party, what with its express support for abortion and homosexual rights (pg.38), as well as embryonic stem cell research (pg.31). I don't, however, see anything in the GOP platform which goes against unchangeable Catholic tenets. Am I missing something, or are people just talking out of their rear ends?

Prank Call the Hezbos!

Real phone numbers listed here. (link via Michelle Malkin)