I get the distinct impression that Pat Buchanan thinks the death penalty needs to be regularly imposed in this country.

Again and again, in Illinois and across America, people have voted to retain this ultimate sanction for the most vicious and vile killers among us. Our Constitution provides for a death penalty. For centuries, it has been a part of our criminal justice system. When Illinoisans elected [George] Ryan [governor], they were voting to retain it. Every killer on death row is there because a jury, after hearing all the evidence, voted unanimously to put him there.

Students in Mass. who were suspended for passing out candy canes with Bible verses on them have filed a lawsuit.

Eerily enough, a similar situation occurred last month at a high school in Reno, NV. However, after yours truly sent the school district a sternly worded demand letter, the decision to prohibit the candy cane distribution was reversed. They were smart; the school in Mass. wasn't.

More California cities decide to ban Jesus Christ from city council invocations.

The Superior Court of Los Angeles County ruled that such sectarian invocations violate the Constitution's separation of church and state. The appellate court upheld that ruling in September 2002. The Burbank council has not formally decided to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court yet, but Mayor David Laurell said it's only a matter of time.

"I think we need to take this ruling to the highest court of the land," Laurell said. "It has already had statewide impact and could have nationwide impact."

Will you people in South Dakota please make Tom Daschle go away.

Justice Scalia publicly voices complaint on how the courts have gone too far in separating church from state.

As an example, he pointed to an appeals court decision in California that barred students from saying the Pledge of Allegiance with the phrase "one nation under God."

That ruling is on hold pending further consideration by the same court, but the Supreme Court could eventually be asked to review the case.

Justice Thomas reportedly sells memoirs for a cool mil.

The book is expected in stores in the fall of 2005. Thomas, 54, will write about growing up in coastal Georgia during segregation, and will include details about his family, his time in a Roman Catholic seminary and his bitter Senate confirmation hearings in 1991, says publisher Alfred Regnery, who says he read and unsuccessfully bid on the working 125-page manuscript.

I tell you what, Pres. Bush is showing me some cojones with his decision to renominate Charles Pickering for the Federal judiciary (what with the whole Trent Lott fiasco and all). My only hope is that the general public will see through the predictable rantings of people like Sen. Charles Schumer who are relining up their old idiotic platitudes about how Pickering is a threat to civil rights and will send American blacks back into slavery.

Sen. Patty Murray says her bin Laden remarks weren't an attempt to try to paint him as a hero.

"I have to tell you that it's really important that people don't twist or construe remarks that were made to an AP student group in a Vancouver high school," she told Fox News in a Senate corridor after attending a "power coffee" with the 13 other women senators on Capitol Hill.

Whatever Patsy. I'm guessing you also think that oral sex really isn't sex (unless a Republican does it), and that the word "is" has several variable meanings.

Pam Anderson is allowed to teach Sunday school classes?! Assumming it's at a Christian church, I think someone there needs to read that passage in the Bible about causing children to sin and tying a millstone around one's neck. Yikes!

Looks as though the Jerry Falwell School of Law (aka Liberty University School of Law) is set to open its doors for the first time this Fall. What are the chances that Larry Flynt will be a donor to the school?

The negative impact of emphasizing critical thinking over factual knowledge: College seniors today know less about history than high school grads 50 years ago.

Seems to me like modern higher education needs to adopt a Catholic "both/and" approach rather than a Protestant "either/or" one.

Highly publicized scandals notwithstanding, Christianity is still flourishing worldwide.

The New York Times' sick love affair with Roman Polanski

Some old folks will recall that Polanski, who commonly assaulted women cinematically, ("Repulsion," "Rosemary's Baby," "Chinatown"), was convicted of drugging a 13-year-old girl with pills and champagne and then raping her in his hot tub.

Toasted by his sensitive filmdom friends with "13-year-old champagne," Polanski fled the United States and lolled about in Europe where his pedophile lusts were considered so very creative.

Strange that Catholic pedopriests don't receive the same laudatory media treatment as artsy filmdom child molesters.

2003 Orange Bowl Final: USC 38 Iowa 17

Why does ESPN continue to employ Lee Corso (who erroneously proclaimed Iowa would upset USC)? Just wondering.

What the hell is the purpose of agnosticism? Do adherents of this "maybe there is, maybe there isn't" belief really think they are covering their bases? C'mon now.

One final comment on atheism: those of you in the United States who adhere to this shrill screed of ignorance and limited thinking (one does not play God by directly aiding in the healing of someone who is ill or injured) ought to be damn glad that the founding fathers of this country believed in the existence of a divine creator (read the Declaration of Independence). If they had believed that the inalienable rights of humans were but a social construct rather than a product of moral precepts written upon the hearts of all men by nature's God, you would more than likely be living right now under the authoritative regimes of the Soviet Union or Nazi Germany; assumming, of course, you haven't already been aborted for not having the genetic charateristics of an ideal Arian or Soviet. Then again, maybe this is what you atheists want.

Utah's ban on "wrongful life" lawsuits is upheld by Utah state supreme court.

The court ruled in an appeal brought by the parents of a 4-year-old Salt Lake City girl born with Down syndrome. Marie Wood and Terry Borman sued the University of Utah Medical Center in 1999 after their daughter was born, claiming they were given incorrect readings from prenatal tests and were led to believe the girl would not have chromosomal disorders.

Third District Judge Homer Wilkinson threw out the lawsuit, and the justices affirmed his decision Tuesday.

Underlying this case is the parents' assertion that their right to possibly (more like, probably) abort their "imperfect" daughter was violated. Perfect candidates for the maniacal Raelians if you ask me.

BTW, Happy New Year!

It might be little late to mention it now, since everyone probably already knows, but it is worth emphasizing the fact that the Raelians are atheists.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

There they go again.

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

Cool, I've been quoted.

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

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

USC 44
Notre Dame 13

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

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

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

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

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

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

USC 52
UCLA 21

Up next: Notre Dame

Go 'SC!

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

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

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

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

You have got to be kidding me.

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

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

Seems to me Herod would have loved Planned Parenthood.

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

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

A great pro-life judicial nominee is confirmed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Supreme Court to agrees to hear web porn case.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The enigmatic paradox of Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate Mitt Romney:

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

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

Boston College upsets Notre Dame in Catholic Bowl 2002.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

If you're an Evangelical, think GM.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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