Are We Drifting Left?

K-Lo at The Corner notes a somewhat discouraging new Gallup Poll which shows Rudy Giuliani leading Fred Thompson for the GOP presidential nomination. On the upside, of course, it's still very early and Thompson hasn't even formally declared his candidacy. Plus, it looks like Thompson's numbers are on the upswing.

I Really Hate Cigarettes

I received some documents in the mail from a potential client yesterday, and they just reeked of cigarette smoke. For reasons of stench alone, I'm inclined to be in favor of outlawing cigarettes. I'm not, however, in favor of devoting tax money to support media campaigns against cigarettes and tobacco companies. Such is done here in California through the Department of Health Services. Either make cigarettes illegal or leave the attacks on Big Tobacco™ to privately funded groups.

Could She Be Anymore Condescending?

So for Nancy Pelosi, because "science" is a gift from God, killing embryonic human beings and extracting their stem cells for something that cures nothing is a good thing that all sincere religious people should embrace.

The line to smack Congresswoman Pelosi upside the head starts behind me.

Only in Cafeteria/Seamless Garment Catholic Land

Michael Perry, a professor at Emory Law School and a Mirror of Justice blogger, is aghast (aghast!) that every Catholic on the U.S. Supreme Court voted to reverse a lower court ruling which forbade the exclusion of potential jurors who express a personal opposition to the death penalty. The real kicker in Perry's post is that he equates the Court majority's assumed pro-capital punishment position to Rudy Giuliani's pro-legalized abortion stance.

Now, even if it were true that Justices Kennedy, Scalia, Roberts, Alito and Thomas were all pro-capital punishment, I would defy Perry, hell anyone, to provide documented proof that the Church FORMALLY regards the death penalty as being intrinsically evil, such as She does abortion. I can tell you right now that it can't be done.

Freakin' academians.

Update: Thomas Berg is now perpetuating the lie that the Court's ruling somehow runs counter to Church doctrine and that capital punishment is regarded as an intrinsic evil.

Not That I Really Care

Paris goes back to the Big House. If nothing else, this is a great illustration of how judges are pretty sensitive to public opinion.

Where's the Number for that Truck Driving School

If I was this attorney, and I had these many lawsuits AGAINST me, I would seriously consider finding a new profession.

I'm just sayin'...

Update: Dang. The link showing all the lawsuits against the attorney doesn't come up automatically. Well, if you're interested, just type in "guest", then type in the guy's name.

Congrats to the Shmucks

Southern California finally has a Stanley Cup champion. Who'd have ever thought it would be the team that was basically established to promote a movie franchise by the Mouse Company?

Meanwhile, going on 40 years and still nothing.

June 4, 1989

民主!

I Can Relate

Problem is, I'd have a gun drawn on me and would get thrown in the pokey for this kind of tirade in the court room.

The Crackup

Since everyone else is pointing to the latest Peggy Noonan column on how Bush has pretty much screwed up the conservative movement in America, I may as well too.

I still think Dubya was right about Iraq, though. But as with a lot of other things, his inability to be publicly articulate about it has really hurt him.

Ascent of the "Quasi-Catholics"

Within the context of asking who might speak for the quasi-religious in America, David Brooks in the New York Times today notes the correlation of how Catholics in America have ascended to economic prosperity by essentially becoming less committed to their faith. In reading this, Mark 8:36 immediately came to my mind.

Anaheim vs. Ottawa

I suspect this will be a ratings nightmare.

Thud

The sound I heard during the last scene of the "24" season finale. I did think for a split second, though, that Jack might jump off the cliff.

The Fat Lady is Tuning Up

I personally wasn't going to support John McCain in the GOP presidential primaries anyway, but his central role in pushing through the Senate what can only be regarded as an amnesty bill for illegal aliens, as well as his highly intemperate behavior toward anyone who disagrees with him, has got to be the beginning of the end for McCain's campaign.

Jerry Falwell Passes

An intriguing and controversial public figure he was, and who I will probably most remember as the main player in one of the most significant free-speech cases ever decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Update: Ah, the intolerant Left arises to express its, uh, condolences. How utterly predictable and sad.

Knowing What Roe v. Wade Really Means

As Ed Whelan finds, it makes a big difference on whether most Americans favor overturning this atrocity of a ruling.

Documenting "Choice"

Check out the website for this new documentary about abortion in a "pro-choice" world.

I especially found interesting a comment by a black woman in the trailer who says that abortion clinics mostly target and are located in minority communities. I think that this is probably true, as within a 1 mile radius of where I used to work in the city of Santa Ana, which has a fairly large population of Spanish speaking people, there were at least three Spanish speaking "family planning" clinics that I was aware of. (via)

Don't Let the Door Hit You on the Way Out

Just as the Church welcomes back Francis Beckwith, somewhat prominent blogger Bill Cork has announced his departure and return to Seventh Day Adventism. Wonder if that will be the next stop for former disgruntled Catholic convert and now Catholic basherRod Dreher. Reading the link, logic dictates that Dreher will be leaving the Orthodox Church soon, right? Right? Bueller?

Welcome (Back) to the Party, Pal!

Looks like Francis Beckwith, who used to teach at my law school, has come back to the Church. Given his relative prominence as an academic, maybe the MSM will start talking to Dr. Beckwith about all matters Catholic rather than tired liberal heterodox yahoos like John Dominic Crossan and Fr. Richard McBrien.

Yeah, it's wishful thinking, but all things, no matter how crazy, are possible.

Update (5/5/07): Dr. Beckwith posts comments on the news of his return to the Church.

BTW, the Jimmy Akin post I link to above makes reference to a post by James White, an anti-Catholic Christian apologist who has found it necessary to publicly pooh pooh all over Dr. Beckwith's reversion. Especially worth noting about Mr. White, in case you already don't know, is that he has a sister named Patty Bonds, who is a Catholic convert and last I saw, a contributing writer to the Envoy Magazine blog.

Low Lives

The bad apples of the legal profession come shining through again with their high profile moral stupidity.