"When You're Heading Into First and Feelin' Somethin' Burst...

Researchers speculate that E.coli induced diarrhea might prevent colon cancer. If the same holds true for diarrhea caused by lactose intolerance, hand me that glass of milk right now!

Is Alberto Gonzales Spanish for David Souter?

President Bush may be running a political risk with conservatives if he decides to tap the seemingly pro-abortion White House Counsel for a spot on the SCOTUS.

Social conservatives would feel betrayed — the rank-and-filers, that is, not just the leaders of the Washington groups — since the chief reason they were given to vote for Bush was that he would nominate "strict constructionists" like Scalia and Thomas. But Republican senators are not going to vote against a Bush nominee who's also the first Hispanic nominee to the Supreme Court, whatever conservatives say. Conservative opponents of Gonzales will have to be careful not to threaten more than they can deliver.

Former U.S. Attorney General Wants to Impeach Bush

First Ramsey Clark calls Christ a terrorist; now, this bit of...tomfoolery.

(Nice enough of a tone for ya, people?)

Novak's Case for Just War in Iraq

To tell you the truth, I was convinced for the need to militarily disarm Iraq a few months ago. My only concern at this point is the weather. Apparently, it gets pretty hot in Iraq starting in April. As such, if we're gonna go, we gotta do it soon. Who gives a rats-a&# what those ungrateful Poodles and squarehead Krauts think!

Prohibit Students From Praying, and You Can Forget About Getting Any Federal Money

In YOUR FACE Barry Lynn!

This Loss to California Would be a Gain for the Country

If, as speculated, positions on the SCOTUS open up, Bush may nominate current California Supreme Court Justice Janice Brown.

Brown is a conservative African-American who’s ruled against affirmative action and abortion rights. Her nomination would let Bush add the court’s third woman and second African-American in one swoop.

You Never Know 'Til You Try

It's So Hard to Find Good Help These Days

Sacramento "Handshake Man" slips by security to give President Bush a "message from God."

More Proof that a Little Knowledge (and Hubris) Can be Very Dangerous

A high schooler sues to get an "A" grade changed to an "A+" so as to increase his chances of becoming valedictorian.

"If You're Gonna Bomb the Jews, Make Sure You Avoid Killing Any Animals!"

PETA is much ticked because Yasser Arafat sponsored a bombing in the West Bank that resulted in the death of a... donkey.

Dubious Objection or Consistent with Church Doctrine?

North Dakota Bishops oppose proposed state law to criminalize abortion.

In response to a letter from [pro-life activist] Attorney [Peter] Crary requesting support for the bill, Christopher Dodson, Executive Director of the North Dakota Catholic Conference, stated that the bill was unacceptable to the Bishops because it holds culpable the woman who intentionally procures an abortion. “[C]riminalizing the woman,” Mr. Dodson explained, “serves no legitimate purpose[.]”

Mr. Dodson further indicated that even were the proposed legislation to grant the mother legal immunity for killing her own child, it still would not pass muster with the Catholic Bishops of North Dakota because it lacked “a realistic possibility of withstanding constitutional scrutiny.”

Lord, Help Him

"I am Peter Pan," [Michael Jackson] says in a soft, fluttery whisper belied by the 5 o'clock shadow creeping up his cheeks.

In Honor of Prez. Reagan's Birthday: There They Go Again!

Senate Dems will filibuster Estrada nomination; fatboy Kennedy asserts nominee is "short-tempered".

From what I've heard, even though Estrada is considered to be conservative, he did come out in support of applying the RICO statutes against pro-life demonstrators. I'd appreciate it if anyone can confirm this.

Fence-Post Mary Apparition in Australia

Somehow, I don't think Rome will be designating this as being worthy of belief. I mean, geez, the only way you can make anything out is by standing 1,000 feet away and being near sighted.

Student at Ave Maria College Loses Public Financial Aid Because of Theology Major

This story is almost a carbon copy of Davey v. Locke, a case that went all the way up to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals last year. Despite the general looniness of the 9th Circuit, the student actually won this important religious liberty case.

Interestingly enough, the Davey case involved a state statute that has its roots in early 20th century American anti-Catholic sentiment. Commonly referred to as a "Blaine Amendment", several states not only have this statute, its application has been expanded beyond targeting the Catholic Church to anything that is Christian.

Buddha U.

What would be more strange than a Newman Center on the campus of good 'ol Bob Jones University? How about a Newman Center on the campus of a Buddhist college like Soka University in Aliso Viejo, CA? Heck, I find it kind of wierd that there's even a Buddhist university in this country. I wonder if there are any beds in the dormitories, or do students just sleep on the floor while sitting in the lotus position? Ohmmmmmmm...

Pee Wee Herman Probably Could Have Used This

Japanese scientist invents a rain coat that makes the wearer invisible.

Gov. Davis Recall Effort Reemerges

Who knows, maybe it will go somewhere this time.

The talk of recall comes after voters in November begrudgingly re-elected the Democratic governor -- by a scant 5 percent margin -- despite an aggressive campaign against Bill Simon, a relatively unknown Republican opponent.

Election Day proved what opinion polls had long surmised: Davis had not recovered from a steep decline in his popularity during the rolling power blackouts of 2001 and failed to win back many in his own party.

Now, Davis is considered more politically vulnerable as he unveils his plans to fill a budget shortfall estimated at between $26 billion and $35 billion over the next 17 months.

Well Now We Know For Sure He's Guilty

Phil Spector hires O.J. "Dream Teamer" Robert Shapiro to defend him on murder charges.

Interesting Catholic sidenote: Robert Shapiro got his law degree from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.

'80's Has-Been Alert!

To tell you the truth, I'm suprised the "Poorman" is even still alive.

The Right Choice: Catholic University Bookstore Cancels Speaking Appearance by Pro-Abort Politician

All is not lost among the nation's youth -- especially among Catholics.

Sean McConeghy, a 21-year-old senior from Staten Island, N.Y., said he was startled to learn last week that [Eleanor Holmes]Norton was scheduled to visit campus. After complaining unsuccessfully to the president's office, he asked members of the College Republicans and Students for Life to join him in complaining to the bookstore.

"This is nothing specifically against Ms. Norton. It's against the viewpoint," he said. "We felt that giving someone with those viewpoints a forum on this campus would not be in keeping with the principles for which we stand."

Video at Lincoln Memorial Suggests 16th Prez Would Have Been Pro-Homo and Pro-Abort

Incredibly doubtful if you ask me, but some ill-formed minds of the teenaged variety are apparently being sucked into this bit of tax-funded propaganda and drivel.

"I liked it... I think [Lincoln] would have [supported homosexual and abortion rights] because that's how Lincoln was; he was very supportive of the people. He didn't care who you are and what you are, he loved everybody," said Elizabeth Baksi, a high school student from Houma, La., after viewing the video.

Paging Tom Cruise...

New Vatican document analyzes and critiques the New Age movement.

When presenting the document to the press today, Cardinal Paul Poupard, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, said that "the New Age phenomenon, along with many other new religious movements, is one of the most urgent challenges for the Christian faith."

"It is a religious challenge and, at the same time, a cultural challenge," he said. With its doctrines on God, man and the world, which are "incompatible with the Christian faith," the New Age "is at the same time symptom of a culture in profound crisis and a mistaken answer to the present situation of crisis," Cardinal Poupard said.

Time for change?

I can't seem to get this stupid template to keep my archives updated. Ah well, I've gotta to get around to changing my links anyway (what with Amy Welborn shutting down her 'blog down).

More Catholic than we think?

In addition to being sincere and consoling, President Bush's announcement of the Space Shuttle tragedy appears to have given us a slight glimpse into his underlying theological beliefs. At the end of his address, Pres. Bush said "...we can pray that they [the crew of the Columbia] make it home." Not everyone on the Columbia, of course, was Christian. Ask most Fundamentalist or Evangelical Protestants what they think the eternal destiny of the these non-Christians are, and they will probably tell you Hell. For the President, however, he seems to think that God is merciful enough to save those who, through no fault of their own, have never professed faith in Him or Christ. Not bad for a Methodist. I wonder if brother Jeb (who is Catholic) is rubbing off on him.

"They slipped the surly bonds of Earth to touch the face of God." -- President Ronald Reagan on the tragic deaths of the Space Shuttle Challenger crew in 1986.

May God grant the Space Shuttle Columbia crew eternal rest through Christ.

Woo hoo! Only two more months 'till Opening Day in baseball, and the Dodgers have signed...Ron Coomer? Bet the Giants are shakin' in their shoes now, by golly.

On both the old and new calendars, today is the feast day of St. John Bosco.

Well this is incredibly perverse. A Canadian court (big surprise) awards a divorced couple damages for the "wrongful birth" of their Down's Syndrome child.

A [British Columbia] Supreme Court justice ruled this week that Dr. Ken Kan must pay the child's mother, Liu-Ling "Lydia" Zhang of Vancouver, $10,000 in damages.

The justice also awarded American Simon Fung, the father, $20,000 in damages and $295,000 for the cost of his daughter Sherry's future care.

Dr. Kan was negligent in failing to send Zhang for an expedited amniocentesis test, which likely would have detected her baby's chromosome defect, Justice Michael Catliff ruled.

Zhang would have aborted her pregnancy had she known her daughter would be born with Down's, the mother has said.

Gung Hay Fat Choy! Time to celebrate by going out and getting a sheep style 'do.

Broadest U.S. Christian alliance, that includes the Catholic Church, is proposed.

The loosely knit alliance would represent five segments of U.S. Christianity, listed in the plan as "Evangelical/Pentecostal, Historic Protestant, Orthodox, Racial/Ethnic and Roman Catholic."

The Catholic church and most evangelicals and Pentecostals do not belong to the National Council of Churches, which is currently the nation's largest ecumenical group. If the new alliance does emerge, it could supplant the National Council or radically alter its role in American Christianity.

Not enough time to examine their qualifications?! Give me a freakin' break! Before the Republicans took back control over the Senate, you idiot Democrats had more than a year to question these judicial nominees! Admit it. You guys are just mad because Sen. Hatch isn't giving you enough time to run your asinine smear campaigns!

Prof. to students: "No recommendation unless you accept my belief that we are descendents of monkeys and the origin of life is just one big happy accident."

After reading Mark Shea's blog on "Evangelicalese", I'm in need of some clarification. When Protestants mention the "sanctuary" of their chapels, are they generally including the pews where everybody sits (or stands and claps their hands to cheery music)? My understanding of the sanctuary in a Catholic context is that it only includes the immediate area around or in front of the altar (sometimes cordoned off by Communion rails).

Old calendar feast day: St. Francis de Sales

New calendar feast day: St. Gildas the Wise

Could this possibly be the case where the SCOTUS gets to revisit the question of whether an unborn child is a "person"? Hmmm...

Oh yeah, this makes sense.

For all my fellow Tridentine loyalists who go by the old calendar, today is the feast day of St. Peter Nolasco. If you're going by the new calendar, it is the feast day of my patron saint, St. Thomas Aquinas.

Ewwwww!

On a more serious matter, SCOTUS declines to hear juvenile death penalty case.

The Supreme Court has allowed the death penalty to be imposed on killers who were 16 or 17 at the time of their crimes. Lawyers for Oklahoma inmate Scott Allen Hain said the minimum age should be raised to 18.

"While they appear to be fully-grown physically and may seem to be functioning as adults, their judgment and impulse-control are simply not that of adults," attorney Steven Presson told justices in filings.

Hain was 17 when he and an older friend abducted and killed a young couple in 1987. They locked the victims in their car trunk and set it afire.

SCOTUS declines to hear Mattel appeal over song that calls Barbie a "blonde bimbo."

The song, by a Danish group called Aqua, includes the lyrics, "I'm a blonde bimbo in a fantasy world/Dress me up, make it tight, I'm your dolly."

Mattel Inc. (MAT), which gets $1.5 billion or more annually in Barbie sales, complained that an advertisement for the song ran during Saturday morning cartoons and that MCA Records Inc. even wanted to sell the recording at toy stores.

The Bucs don't have a chance unless Warran Sapp or Brad Johnson have a relative who is a priest or nun . (article requires registration)

"I'm part of the Raider Nation," said Sister Kathleen Gannon, a nun in Berkeley whose nephew, Rich Gannon, is Oakland's starting quarterback.

"When Rich first came out here to the Raiders, I said, 'Rich, they have a very bad reputation," she said. "But he said, 'Aunt Kath, I know that's their reputation, but if you talk to the guys they have a very deep spirituality.' "

I'm glad to see the feds have finally done something to make California fix its woeful foster care system. Perhaps the feds' findings will prove useful in beating back proposed bills to make private foster care agencies place children with homosexual applicants.

Do it! Do it!

Bishop Wiegand of Sacramento advises Gov. Davis to stop receiving Holy Communion for as long as he supports pro-abortion policies. The way I see it, "Gray-out" should be looking at this as a favor, since he is blaspheming our Lord every time he receives the Eucharist. (How else should a person who receives Holy Communion while in a state of mortal sin be described?)

How incredibly dumb do you have to be to not know that eating a Big Mac with fries every day will make you fat?

Roe has seen the light of truth, but her former attorney is still in the dark.

Cold, hard, and sad facts on this, the 30th anniversary, of Roe v. Wade.

The retirement watch on Chief Justice Rehnquist grows.

He is now in his 17th year as chief justice, and the 31st as a member of the court. Recent health problems, the political calendar, and Rehnquist's success in advancing a conservative agenda all have helped fuel the retirement speculation.

''He is the most likely to retire, and the stars are aligned right for it,'' suggested Roger Pilon, vice president of legal affairs at the Cato Institute, a libertarian legal advocacy group. Given that the Congress and presidency are both controlled by Republicans, Pilon said, ''it's the opportune time for him to retire; all that could change with the next election.''

Nice to see the Ninth Circuit got something right for a change. They rule that Maui County Council members, in their capacities as individuals, cannot claim government immunity when they are sued under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000. In other words, if a government entity violates a plaintiff's rights under RLUIPA, each individual responsible for that violation (e.g., a city or county council member) can personally be on the hook for any damages incurred.

The capital of Raider Nation (yes, I'm on the bandwagon) gets a new, and seemingly better, bishop. (Hey, any guy labeled a "conservative" by the ultra-liberal SF Chronicle can't be all bad).
(link via Amy Welborn's blog)

In light of the fact that Martin Luther King was an adulterer and partly named after the man who effectively ignited the Reformation and Protestantism, I just can't get very excited about MLK Day. Maybe the government should have just called it "Civil Rights Day" or "Title VII Day".

Somehow, I doubt the founding fathers ever envisioned lap dancing as being a First Amendment right.

This is just utterly twisted.

Stewardship. Genesis tells us that we are created in God's image and that with that gift comes the responsibility for "...every living thing that moves upon the earth" (1:27-28). It follows that, as moral agents, women have the God-given responsibility to make decisions about the course of action that seems to them most responsible in cases of unwelcome pregnancy.

The SCOTUS upholds the constitutionality of "double jeopardy" death sentence.

The Constitution guarantees that no one will be "subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb." That means that once acquitted of a crime, someone cannot be tried again.

Double jeopardy protection does not apply in Sattazahn's case, because the first jury did not acquit him but merely disagreed whether he deserved to die, Justice Antonin Scalia wrote for the court majority. He was joined by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and Justices Sandra Day O'Connor, Anthony M. Kennedy and Clarence Thomas.

Without having actually read the decision, I suppose the majority was correct insofar as the "double jeopardy" principle applies to convictions and not sentences. Still though...

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...