Congrats to Francis Beckwith

On being named Inside the Vatican's top Person of the Year. (h/t) Mirror of Justice blog.

As I note here, Dr. Beckwith is a former instructor at my old (cough) law school, who "reverted" to the Church early last year.

The Axis of RINO

What I Do With Time On My Hands

Attend a political rally for Mitt Romney and shoot a shaky and blurry video of it.

RINO Governor to Endorse RINO Presidential Candidate

More specifically, Ahnuld will be (clap) pahmping-up The Maverick™ .

In a related matter, I didn't watch the GOP debate at the Reagan Library tonight (mostly because I forgot it was on) but there seems to be a consensus in the politically conservative blogosphere, e.g., Powerline and Ed Morrissey, that McCain looked and did pretty bad, while Romney won. Whether or not this will help Romney for next Tuesday is unclear, but I personally hope it does.

I Guess It's Politically Significant

Longtime Congress critter from Los Angeles Maxine Waters, who infamously said she had to march at a "pro-choice" rally because her mother couldn't have an abortion back in the day, has endorsed the presidential candidacy of Hillary Clinton. In addition to being a fairly prominent Democrat, Ms. Waters is black. Given the recent controversies that Hillary has had with racial issues, I guess Waters' endorsement will help her in her battle against Obama for the Democrat presidential nomination.

I May Have To Edit The Banner On The Right

Reports are being made that RINO Rudy Giuliani will be dropping out of the presidential race next Tuesday Wednesday (YAHOO!), and will be endorsing The Maverick™. Not a real surprise to me if this endorsement happens, and it's just one more reason why I think conservative Republicans should refuse to support John McCain.

Blast From The Past

I just discovered that somebody got here by doing a search for the name of the gal I briefly blogged about back in 2002.

Wonder if it was her?

Reminder: We're One Week Away From Ash Wednesday

St. Thomas Aquinas

Today is the Angelic Doctor's feast day (St. Thomas also happens to be my patron saint).



"Good can exist without evil, whereas evil cannot exist without good."

New Year, New Look

Hopefully, more consistent blogging that you might find worth commenting about.

Hey, at least come back for the music (scroll to the bottom).

Abstain From McCain



Lots of reasons to, ranging from amnesty for illegal aliens, McCain-Feingold (McCain, through this friend of the court brief, expressly went after and tried to silence pro-life advocates), and support for continued stem cell research on human embryos.

Man, I Hope It Was For Legitimate Research

Someone got to this blog by doing a Google search for "having sexual intercourse in vegetative state."

I Know I'm Just Gonna Keep Thinking About It

OK, so I went and voted early today in the California primary, and I used one of these new computerized voting machines. While I'm using my right hand to push buttons, I'm holding and reading the things I marked on my sample ballot in my left. After choosing who and what to vote for, or against, I come to a screen that asks me if I want to accept or decline a paper verification printout. This verification printout is supposed to be like a receipt from a retail store. If you push the "Decline" icon, the computer assumes you don't want to cast your ballot, and asks if you want to start over.

Since I wanted to cast my ballot, I pushed the "Accept" icon expecting something to be printed out somewhere. All the while, I was still holding up my marked sample ballot in my left hand. When I didn't see anything printed out anywhere, I went ahead and just pushed the "Cast Ballot" button. After doing this, I lowered my left hand and noticed a small window by the side of the computer screen I had been using. Inside the window was apparently my paper verification printout. Unfortunately, by the time I noticed the printout, it was starting to scroll back into the machine, so I didn't get to see if it matched what I had selected on the computer.

Although I'm pretty sure my ballot was correctly cast by the computer, the small sense of doubt created by my failure to see the verification printout just irks me. I should have just voted by absentee ballot...

My Selection by Default



He's at least clever enough to make this play off his name.

Which reminds me, pitchers and catchers report to spring training on February 14.

Dude, Where Ya Been?

Just been too darn lazy to consistently blog. Plus, I've mostly been hanging around the discussion forums at 4Marks.com, a Catholic oriented social something or other with an online dating feature that you pay money to join.

As you might be able to guess, I like to mostly talk about politics in the forums, though I occasionally will banter about some less contentious matters, like spaghetti (clams and beef hot links sauce is some good eatin').

Since my paid membership is about to expire, and I'm pretty sure I won't renew (I don't need to pay money to be ignored by women), I should be back blogging on here again soon. I'm sure you're really excited about that.

Morons at Princeton

How much of a full blown idiot do you have to be to question the propriety of a Catholic Supreme Court Justice who attends the Red Mass? See Marci A. Hamilton of Princeton University as an illustration.

Hope His Lawyers are Being Paid Hourly

Dan Rather goes ape sh!t crazy and files a civil suit against CBS for, get this, "intentionally mishandling" the discredited story about President Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard. Gunga Dan also asserts he was wrongfully made the scapegoat by CBS, while at the same time claiming that the fabricated tale about Bush getting special treatment was never proven to be fake.

I figure one of two things will happen here. Rather either loses his case on summary judgment, or whatever it might be called in New York State, or he accepts an undisclosed settlement offer, i.e., almost nothing with waiver of attorneys' fees, from CBS.

Here's a link to an apparent copy of the complaint filed by Rather. Thirty-two freakin' pages!

Not a Good Start

Just days after hiring him, UC Irvine fires noted constitutional law scholar and flaming political liberal Erwin Chemerinsky as its first law school dean. The chancellor of the university basically, and comically, blames the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy™ for the decision.

As much as I disagree with Chemerinsky in his interpretation of the law, the guy really does know his stuff. I personally discovered this when I studied for the Bar a few years ago, and the constitutional law review course I used was presented by Chemerinsky, via videotape. Not only was his presentation well structured, Chemerinsky wasn't using any notes as he spoke, and it didn't seem like he was reading off a teleprompter or cue cards. UC Irvine, I think, has made a huge mistake in not retaining Chemerinsky, and it isn't doing itself any favors by laying the blame on unnamed conservative pressure groups.

Beckwith on Catholic Answers Radio

Recent Catholic "revert", Francis Beckwith, is the featured guest on Catholic Answers radio today. In addition to being the former president of the Evangelical Theological Society, Dr. Beckwith used to be an instructor at my law school, though he didn't actually teach any law courses. Trinity Law School has a Master's degree program that can probably be best described as a hybrid of Christian apologetics and political science. I thought about enrolling in the program while I pursued my law degree, but then I discovered I would have been required to sign a statement of faith that included some beliefs an observant Catholic could not sign off on.

Highlanders on the Rise

This is interesting. My undergrad alma mater, UC Riverside, is a top 20 national university according to the Washington Monthly. Coming in at number 15, UCR is ranked ahead of several Ivy League schools like Penn (17), Harvard (27), Yale (38) and Columbia (41).

Even more interesting, though, is which school was ranked number 1: Texas A&M. (h/t)

My Grandfather's Son: A Memoir

I've really been anticipating the release of this autobiography from Clarence Thomas ever since I first heard about it five or six months ago at a Federalist Society meeting that featured John Yoo, one of Justice Thomas' former law clerks.

Looks as though Justice Thomas will also be doing a kind of book tour. He's scheduled to appear in So. Cal. at Chapman University on December 17.

What Got My Ass Kicked Off of CatholicMatch.Com

To be more accurate, what effectively got me kicked off: writing "bobbackwardsisbob.com" in response to an objectively racist, i.e., anti-semitic, comment made by another member of the site named, you guessed it, Bob. The administration of Catholic Match said my comment, which was written in the politics discussion forum on the site, was a personal attack. Unbelievable.

Well, at least they've agreed to give me a pro rated refund of the money I paid for membership.

Clarification: Man, I'm having a bad choice of words day. I literally was not kicked off of Catholic Match. I chose, instead, to terminate my membership, at Catholic Match's "invitation," because the administration of Catholic Match restricted my posting privileges on its discussion forums for the above state reason.

Update (8/20/07) I'm back on CM again with full privileges after an apology from the administration.

I Don't See Nothin'

For about five months now, I've been commuting from Orange County to San Bernardino County for a new job. So I figured since tomorrow is a Holy Day of Obligation, and I have to be all the way out in the Inland Empire for work, I'd go to a parish near my office for Mass. Not being familiar with the area, I naturally went to the website for the San Bernardino Diocese. Try as I might, however, I can't find any mention on the site of tomorrow being the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. Therefore, I have no idea if the local parishes are going to be on their Holy Day Mass schedule. Rather than take a chance, I'm just going to go to the morning Mass at Holy Family Cathedral in Orange County, and arrive about a half hour later for work.

The Powerhouse Justice

I'm currently reading Supreme Conflict by Jan Crawford Greenburg, who is a correspondent for ABC news. Some pretty illuminating stuff about the SCOTUS, the chronology of which pretty much starts from when Sandra Day O'Connor was nominated and confirmed as a Justice in 1981.

I just recently finished the section on my favorite Justice, Clarence Thomas. Contrary to popular perception and characterization, Thomas was never Justice Scalia's intellectual water boy when he began his tenure on the Court. Indeed, during his first couple of weeks as a Justice, Thomas actually persuaded Scalia to change his mind on two cases.

An interesting side note about Clarence Thomas in Supreme Conflict is that shortly after the contentious battle over his confirmation to the Court, Justice Thomas had apparently discovered, and began drawing spiritual and emotional strength from, the Litany of Humility prayer. Given the words of this prayer, I have to believe that this is what has prevented Justice Thomas from "evolving" on the Court and lurching into judicial activism like Justice Anthony Kennedy, who is largely portrayed as being hyper-sensitive to public opinion.

It's Just Numbers, Man

I'll probably watch I Hate My 30's, but I have a feeling it'll end up on the ash heap of Gen-X nostalgia shows like this and this (both of which I actually liked).

Qualifications for Civil Servant Job

Brains is literally not one of them. This story is just so weird to actually be true that I almost half expect a somewhat respectable Catholic apologist to gleefully claim that presidential candidate Ron Paul is a serious threat to the Republican Party establishment. There's gotta be some pretty wacky stuff in your Seattle-brewed coffee to make that kind of a claim with a straight face.

If Berkeley Were An Entire Country

Being expressively against disordered behavior and Islamofascism is sure expensive in Canada. Just ask a guy named Bill Whatcott.

Does This Make Giuliani Functionally Pro-Life?

As revealed here, some of the members of The Mayor's "Justice Advisory Committee" include former U.S. Solicitor General Ted Olson, former Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson and filibustered judicial nominee Miguel Estrada. The selection of these individuals, I guess, are supposed to allay the concerns of many conservatives within the GOP regarding His Honor's rather well known liberal positions on several social issues, like abortion. Of course, we really don't know how influential this Advisory Committee is supposed to be if Giuliani is elected, much less who the other members are. Stay tuned.

Stranger Than Fiction

The Reverend Tori Spelling, who, like, got ordained online, like, presided over a g@y "wedding", like, as one of her first acts as, like, a woman of the, like, cloth. Fer sure.

Stuff is Happening

First, the long anticipated and welcomed motu proprio "freeing up" the Tridentine Mass, and coming this Tuesday (supposedly) a new document that appears to expound upon Dominus Iesus, and the therein discussion of the ecclesial nature of non-Catholic Christian, i.e., Protestant, "churches". (via)

Correction: Actually, Lumen Gentium is the original source of the topic to be addressed by the impending document.

Why I Don't Subscribe and Only Read the Sports Pages

Looks like the L.A. Times is set to run a hit piece on Fred Thompson by linking him with a pro-abortion organization that he might have done some lobbying for back in 1991. This, of course, was before Thompson was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1994, where he accumulated a 100 percent voting record on life issues and was listed as an "enemy" by Planned Parenthood.

If the L.A. Times hit piece was a complaint in a lawsuit, it would be so demurred.

No Difference Between the Parties?

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeal's split ruling to dismiss the challenge to the NSA surveillance program indirectly proves otherwise. It's indirect, because the substance of the NSA program, which pretty much divides conservatives and liberals, doesn't appear to really have been touched upon. The case was dismissed, because the challengers to the program were found not to have standing to sue.

Gobbledygook

Today marks the 15th anniversary of my constitutionally protected right to publicly hold myself out as a potato.

"At the heart of liberty is the right to define one’s own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life." - Joint Opinion of the Supreme Court in Planned Parenthood v. Casey

Evan Not So Mighty

The movie trailors for Evan Almighty didn't impress me much to begin with, and now the, at best, mediocrity of the film appears to be confirmed. Chalk yet another one up for "Hollywood Doesn't Get Religion."

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.

Rudy is Toast

At least as far as getting any kind of support from the socially conservative Republican Party base is concerned. The logically contradictory answers he gave to the abortion question was brutal.

BTW, what kind of a moron is Chris Matthews for asking Mitt Romney what he would say to Catholic leaders who would deny Communion to those Catholics who support abortion rights? The utter stupidity of the question, which is actually pretty normal for Matthews, was illuminated by Romney's clever response: "I don't have anything to say to them. They can do whatever the heck they want!"

Sliding Down the Slippery Slope

Lawrence v. Kansas, the Supreme Court case which basically made consensual sex of any sort a constitutional right, will forever be the Pandora's Box of Justice Anthony Kennedy. Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby provides the latest example of why this is so. (via)

Crazy People in High Places

Ed Whelan has the latest on "distressed" anti-Catholic law professor, Geoff Stone.

Will someone at the University of Chicago fire this guy already?

WTF?!

St. Ignatius of Loyola is rolling over in his grave over this:

The BBC has announced that tomorrow it will broadcast a “gay Mass” held last October at Most Holy Redeemer parish in San Francisco. Father Donal Godfrey, a Jesuit on staff at the University of San Francisco, said he was pleased the BBC is “exploring how gay people fit into the perspective of the Christian narrative.”

Godfrey told the London Daily Mail, “Being gay is not special. It's simply another gift from God who created us as rainbow people.”

Coming to America

No, not the Prince of Zamunda (dang, it's been almost 20 years!), but Christ's earthly Prime Minister.

Last "Acceptable" Bigotry in America Indeed

Published in the Philadelphia Inquirer after the Supreme Court's ruling to uphold the Federal ban on partial birth infanticide. (via)

College Life and Sports

The two seem to be so intertwined in our culture that when something like the Virginia Tech massacre occurs, you see reports of them in the sports section of the newspaper and ESPN.

Oh, Good Lord!

The MSM not so subtly tries its very darn best to connect the Virginia Tech murderer to the Bush Administration. (via)

Federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban Upheld by SCOTUS

By a narrow 5-4 vote with Justice Kennedy playing his usual role as the key swing vote.

Although today's ruling doesn't do anything to stop the senseless killing of children while they are still fully in-utero, it is something that pro-life advocates can be happy about. Small steps.

As a side note, the very short but to the pointconcurring opinion by Justice Thomas is just the latest example of why I think he, and not Scalia, is the smartest Justice on the Court.

Update (4/19): Jonathan Adler takes note of the inherent contradiction in Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's comments about the Court's ruling. Also note the post below Adler's regarding a possible Commerce Clause challenge to the federal PBA ban.

WMD Found in Iraq

This would probably be more widely reported in the MSM if not for the horrific events at Virginia Tech today...maybe. (h/t)

Update (4/17): Yay! The Catholic blogosphere's own version of Pat Robertson/Jerry Falwell basically blames America for the VA Tech massacre.

Missed Opportunity

As I note below in a previous blog post, it just seems incredible that nobody has apparently ever publicly asked Rudy Giuliani why he is personally opposed to abortion.

Conservative radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt had the chance to do this recently when he interviewed Giuliani and posed the question of abortion rights to him. After Giuliani did his usual song and tap dance about being personally opposed to abortion but believing pregnant women should have the right to choose it, Hewitt pretty much dropped the ball there and moved on to a whole different subject. Most disappointing to say the least.

One other thing about the aforementioned interview. When Giuliani disclosed that he had seriously considered the priesthood as a young man, but decided not to pursue it because of the vow of celibacy he would have been required to take, Hewitt responded by saying "Ah, good argument." What the hell is that supposed to mean?!

New Term for Victims of Unmeritorious/False Criminal Prosecutions

"Nifonged"

Surely, Someone Must Have Asked

I keep reading these comments from Rudy Guiliani saying that he personally opposes abortion, but thinks it should be legal for a pregnant woman to decide for herself whether to have one.

Has nobody publicly asked Rudy why he personally opposes abortion? If Giuliani opposes it because he believes the unborn child is a human being, then he will have to explain why it should be legal to allow said human being to be killed for absolutely no legitimate purpose.

A Wide Open GOP Convention in '08

As speculated by Doug Patton in Human Events, a conservative publication we've been told by a certain snotty Catholic apologist, is all on board with Giuliani simply because it ran a pro-Giuliani column by a libertarian leaning commentator named Deroy Murdock. By itself it's an idiotic assertion, made more so by the fact that just last week Human Events published another Doug Patton column which argued that selecting Giuliani as the GOP presidential nominee would kill the pro-life movement (in the Republican Party*).

*text subsequently added

Google Power

Interesting. In tracking all the visits I get to this blog, I've noticed that most of them come from Google searches rather than the much appreciated link listings I get from fellow Catholic bloggers.

Kind of a meandering thought for this Easter, but I'm still preoccupied over how I managed to lose a five dollar bill in my pocket this past Friday. Lesson learned: Don't keep a bunch of loose dollars in your pocket.

It's Not About Bunnies and Color Dyed Eggs Either

From MSNBC (via):

Ahmadinejad said he had pardoned the sailors as a gift to the British people and to mark the birthday of Islam’s Prophet Muhammed and Easter.

“On the occasion of the birthday of the great prophet (Muhammad)...and for the occasion of the passing of Christ, I say the Islamic Republic government and the Iranian people — with all powers and legal right to put the soldiers on trial — forgave those 15,” he said, referring to the Muslim prophet’s birthday last Saturday and Easter, next Sunday.

OK, one might "forgive" the president of Iran's apparent ignorant belief that Easter is about the death of Christ rather than His resurrection. Ahmadinejad, after all, is a Holocaust denying lunatic. But for the MSM not to pick up on the mistake is just one more example of how maddeningly lazy and careless it is.

Mark Shea Ignorant Rant #9090929302

Mr. Snotty Catholic and Enjoying It! is aghast that conservatives who would defend waterboarding captured terrorists for information are invoking the Geneva Convention with respect to the treatment of the captured British sailors in Iran.

What Mr. SCAEI fails to understand, of course, is that the Geneva accords apply to uniformed military personnel who are directly connected with a particular country or nation state, not members of free floating terrorist networks like al Qaeda.

The Road Toward Outlawing Refried Beans

The high court of the land basically determines, by a 5-4 vote, that your flatulence and exhales are pollutants that can be regulated by the federal government.

This is Your Brain on Scientology, Part 843983958349

Despite being an unrepentant jet plane owner and pilot, John Travolta is concerned about global warming and thinks everyone needs to do "their bit" to help heal the planet. Travolta's concern about the poor health of the environment is such that he muses whether we ought to start thinking about colonizing other planets and creating domed cities. Oookaay.

A sure sign that Travolta should immediately stop talking about alleged global warming is that environmental groups like CarbonFoot.com are actually distancing themselves from him.

Update: (4/1/07): While comments, even dissenting ones, are always welcomed here, I will delete all name calling posts that are personally directed at me.

Catholic Fatwa?!

That's what the director of an art gallery in New York (natch!) called Catholic League president Bill Donahue's public criticism of "My Sweet Lord," a life sized milk chocolate sculpture of Jesus Christ.

Freakin' clueless liberals.

Between All the Thinly Veiled Self-Righteousness and Triangulation

Did you actually read D'Souza's book before commenting on it, Mark? I bet you didn't.

Lawyers from Non-ABA Schools Need Not Apply for Job at Non-ABA School

California is one of the few states in this country that accreditates law schools, and under certain conditions, allows students who earn a JD from a non-ABA and non-state accredited law school to sit for its bar exam. Because of this liberal policy, there are quite a number of non-accredited law schools in California that literally operate out of small office buildings. (I've even heard of one school that operated out of a home garage).

I myself earned a law degree from a school that is accredited by California, but not by the ABA. From the beginning, I knew that graduating from Trinity Law School would be a severe liability for me as far as landing a job with a respected or established law firm was concerned. But because I liked the school's underlying Christian-based mission and wanted to make a contribution to its' growth and reputation (e.g., having graduates who pass the bar exam on their first try) I stayed around and didn't transfer to an ABA school when I had the chance to do so.

It certainly cannot be understated that being a graduate of a non-ABA law school has been a career liability for me. I can't tell you how many "we don't have a position to match your qualifications" letters I've gotten from law firms I submitted my resume to. Again, though, such rejection, which I'm pretty sure is mostly based on where I got my law degree from, is not unexpected. What is unexpected, and thoroughly dismaying, is that my own law school apparently doesn't think much of the juris doctorate degree it conferred on me and other Trinity Law School graduates. How else to explain the craigslist job ad it posted a couple of weeks ago where one of the minimum qualifications an applicant for an adjunct faculty position must have is a law degree from an ABA accredited school?* I tell you what, this ticked me off so much that I ripped off a scathing letter to the law school dean and the president of the university that owns the school. I basically told them that I found the job ad to be insulting, and that they can forget about me ever recommending Trinity to any potential law students. I also said that I intended to actively discourage any potential law students from even considering Trinity. It's bad enough that most law firms think a Trinity law degree is crap, but for Trinity itself to basically suggest such a thing is just an over the edge ball-buster. Unless things change, I am done with Trinity Law School and will have nothing more to do with it outside of telling anyone who will listen that it is not a school any aspiring lawyer should consider applying to or attending.
______________________

*Full disclosure: I applied for an adjunct faculty position at Trinity Law School about three weeks before the above referenced ad was posted on craigslist. At the time, I was a bit worried I wouldn't get any consideration given the fact I'm Catholic and could only affirm the school's protestant/evangelical-based statement of faith with "severe reservations" (the school does not require students to affirm this statement). However, my worries were somewhat tempered because I knew there was at least one adjunct faculty member, a Superior Court Judge, who is Catholic.

Update (3/30/07): The academic dean of the school, Don McConnell, called me today about the letter I sent. He basically told me that the craigslist job ad was not meant to slight or exclude Trinity graduates, and that my application for an adjunct position would be considered. I took his word at it, although privately I don't believe my application will be given the same weight as an applicant who holds a degree from an ABA accredited school. The bell cannot be totally unrung here, and my disappointed cynicism remains.

My 3 Degrees of Separation from Kevin Bacon

Or it might be 4 if you actually count Kevin Bacon. I can never remember how these things are counted. Anyway, I knew and went to junior high and high school with the wife of martial artist/actor Christopher Paul Ford, who was in The Karate Kid Part III with Ralph Macchio, who co-starred in My Cousin Vinny with Marisa Tomei (no relation to Christopher Paul Ford's wife), who co-srarred in Loverboy with Kevin Bacon.

Oh Wow

Someone with a U.S. Supreme Court account visited this here blog. Probably wishful thinking that it was a Justice, but who knows?

Contra-Contra D'Souza

I've not yet read Dinesh D'Souza's new book The Enemy at Home: The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11, and not sure that I will anytime soon, but I do know that a lot of conservative pundits and bloggers have been panning it for its underlying "America is at fault for Islamic terrorists" theme.

Well, there's at least one social conservative commentator that I have a great deal of respect for, Stephen Mosher of the Population Research Institute, who thinks D'Souza is pretty much on the money:

The United States, both directly and through international institutions like the World Bank, has been exporting various social pathologies into relatively innocent and untouched corners of the world for going on 40 years now under the guise of "family planning" and "reproductive health." Billions of dollars a year are being poured into programs that promote abortion, fund coercive sterilization and contraceptive campaigns, reach into the schools with pornographic sex education programs, fund anti-family and anti-child radio and television programs, undermine primary health care, and encourage governments to intrude into the private lives of their citizens. Such programs create bitter resentment in Muslim and non-Muslim countries alike, as we at PRI have documented over and over again.

Let me be clear: It is not because women in the West have abortions and premarital sex that bin Laden and his pals attacked us. They were bent on violence in any case.

But the promotion by the U.S. and other "modern democracies" of abortion, divorce, adultery, and premarital sex in Muslim countries cannot help but generate sympathy and new recruits for those who would attack the "Great Satan." One can understand the resentment of even moderate Muslims when Western-funded population controllers come knocking at the door of their houses, bearing their human pesticides and insisting that their wives be rendered sterile. Or their righteous anger when their young child arrives home from school with a pornographic sex ed booklet, funded by a grant from USAID.

Dammit Jack!

Why oh why did you not point that nuclear armed drone at Nancy Pelosi's housemansion?!

And you call yourself a patriot. Psssssh!

Sweet 16 for the Men of Troy

USC advances in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament by trouncing the University of Texas 87-68. This win was especially satisfying for Trojans fans given the heart wrenching defeat UT handed 'SC in the 2006 Rose Bowl/BCS Championship Game.

Fight on!

Bay Area "Tolerance"

Organize a public rally in San Francisco that emphasizes traditional Christian morality and condemns immoral behavior like homosexual intercourse, and these are the kind of hysterical and logically inconsistent reactions you get from Bay Area civic leaders:

"They're loud, they're obnoxious, they're disgusting, and they should get out of San Francisco.” - California Assemblyman Mark Leno

"Their homophobic beliefs are offensive, but we hope they'll become more tolerant after spending the weekend in our famously tolerant city." - San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom

With respect to Newsom's comment, I'm puzzled as to how exactly denigrating a person's religious belief as "homophobic" and "offensive" is an illustration of tolerance. Throw in Assemblyman Leno's diatribe and, well, now I'm really confused as to what "tolerance" means to Bay Area liberals.

A Poor Black Southerner at Holy Cross College...in the Early '70's

An incredibly frank and interesting interview with Justice Clarence Thomas that focuses on his undergraduate college years at Holy Cross. He discloses, for instance, that unlike the other black students that were there at the same time as him, he wasn't recruited by the school and only ended up at Holy Cross because a nun he knew back home in Georgia recommended it to him. He also laments the loss of religiosity at Holy Cross insofar as the college faculty is now comprised mostly of lay professors. (Of course, who can say it wouldn't be any less Catholic if the faculty was still mostly made up of priests from the ever increasingly heretical Jesuits? But I digress.) (link via)

When Will I Ever Learn?

That the path to a cushy university teaching job is to publicly express absolutely stupid ideas that only crazed left-wing nuts in the academic world could find merit with and love.

The most recent example I've run across: A Constitutional Law professor at the University of North Carolina who argues that the "Catholic majority" on the Supreme Court is unconstitutional. (link via)

...Beam me up Scotty!

Ammo for BDS Sufferers

How typical that the MSM is suggesting that former vice-presidential chief of staff Scooter Libby has been convicted for publicly leaking the identity of a CIA agent.

The fact is that Libby was basically convicted for obstructing the investigation into the alleged leak which ultimately was found not to have emanated from the White House or been illegal. I strongly suspect, though, that these won't matter to BDS sufferers who will reach for any excuse, no matter how remotely connected, to bash the Bush Administration.

Word That Rhymes with "Maggot" and Slang for Homosexual

Probably what Ann Coulter should have said at CPAC rather than the F-word.

Hindsight. 20/20.

Reason #84939783847 Why Snotty Catholic Apologists Should Stop Blogging About Politics

So a recent Newsweek poll of registered Republicans shows that Rudy Giuliani is in the lead to be the 2008 Republican nominee for President. For self-described snotty "truth-tellers" like Mark Shea, this is just but one more example which goes to prove that the Republican Party is "unserious" about ridding this country of legalized abortion. Of course, the problem with using the aforereferenced poll to support this proclamation is that not all registered Republicans are actual members of the Republican Party. People who belong to the latter category can have direct influence over the party's platform, which last time I looked, contained an unambiguously pro-life plank.

It might be argued that Mark's allegation is supported by the above linked to article's disclosure that close to 2/3 of the registered Republicans who were polled don't even know what Giuliani's positions are on social issues. Then again, I'd be willing to bet that at least 2/3 of all American voters who are Catholic have no idea that the former New York City mayor thinks abortion should remain legal. Even worse is that a good chunk of these Catholics may actually agree with Giuliani. Does that mean the Catholic Church is "unserious" about abortion? I certainly hope not.

New UC Law School is Unnecessary

A friend of mine forwarded this commentary from American Thinker to me about the proposed new law school at the University of California at Irvine (which is located in Orange County). The conclusion that it is unnecessary is something I agree with, and the disclosure that the school will focus on producing "public interest lawyers" is frankly disturbing.

Back in November, I had blogged that if there was to be a new UC law school, it should be located on the Riverside campus, not Irvine. But even if it was going to be located at my alma mater, the plan to make the new law school a training ground for liberal activists would be enough for me to still be against it.

Rambo Meets Jesus

Coming to a movie theater near you in 2008! (link via)

Only Anonymous Leftists Hate?

Glenn Greenwald, liberal political commentator and hand sock puppet extraordinaire, says that only anonymous bloggers and e-mailers spew the kind of invective that Ann Coulter has (unfortunately) been expressing. According to the sock puppeteer, you'll not find any prominent liberal left-winger doing the same thing.

Patterico provides a nice listing of people and their recorded rantings which says otherwise. (In the comments section, I added Ted Turner and his "Jesus freaks" insult of Catholics on Ash Wednesday in 2001).

Update: At comment #126, I added political cartoonist Ted Rall.

Stop It, Already

Ann Coulter's now well publicized reference to Democrat presidential hopeful John Edwards as a "faggot" at the Conservative Political Action Conference was unkind and uncalled for, but those prominent conservative bloggers who are rightly criticizing Coulter need to stop characterizing the insult as being on par with using the "N" word. Doing so only lends credence to the false assertion that sexual orientation is the equivalent of and indistinguishable from race and ethnicity. Regardless of whether or not one is born with same sex attraction, the fact of the matter is that gay sex is biologically unnatural, and every person with homosexual tendencies has the innate capacity to stop themselves from acting upon their desires.

Uh Huh...

In the spirit of the Lenten season, professional Catholic Apologist and BDS sufferer Mark Shea confesses his occasional sin of, get this, telling the truth in a mocking, flippant and snotty manner.

What an eye roller.

Close only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades Mark. How about confessing and repenting of the sin that you not only frequently commit in a mocking, flippant and snotty manner (a double sin) but which rhymes with the word "flying"?

Gay "Marriage"

Went to another Federalist Society sponsored event today, this time in downtown Los Angeles. The topic was gay "marriage", and there was a panel of four speakers that included the dean of Pepperdine Law School and former special independent counsel in the Whitewater matter, Ken Starr.

Two of the panelists were lawyers who are involved in challenging the constitutionality of Prop. 22, i.e., the California Defense of Marriage Act. The basis of their argument is somewhat technical, and disingenuous IMHO, but their position basically amounts to a contention that Prop. 22 invidiously discriminates against homosexuals and serves no legitimate government purpose.

The other two panelists, including Ken Starr, were presumptively against the legal recognition of gay "marriage". I say "presumptively," because the crux of their comments today pretty much focused on why the dispute over gay "marriage" should stay out of the courts and be resolved by the people through their duly elected representatives. One sensed the opposition these panelists had to gay "marriage" by the examples they provided as to how Prop. 22 could withstand constitutional scrutiny. (By "examples", I mean kinds of legitimate government purposes for which Prop. 22 serve. It is interesting to note that the government doesn't even have to be right about a particular purpose, e.g., traditional marriage results in less maladjusted children, in order for it to be legitimate.)

Since the event was co-sponsored by the left-liberal American Constitution Society, there were a significant number gay "marriage" proponents in the audience. I'm happy to report that no fisticuffs occurred, and I got 1.5 Mandatory Continuing Legal Education credits for basically $20.

Follow Up: I just remembered that one of the pro-gay "marriage" panelists attempted to argue that gay "marriage" was not an ideological issue that fell along liberal-conservative lines because noted stalwart conservatives like Andrew Sullivan are in favor of making gay "marriage" legal. Talk about self-undermining your argument.

John Yoo

I went to a Federalist Society speaking engagement today that featured John Yoo, a law professor at UC Berkeley (Boalt Hall) and former law clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas. From 2001 to 2003, Professor Yoo served as a deputy assistant attorney general in the U.S. Department of Justice.

As you might well be able to guess, the main topic of Professor Yoo's talk was the war on terror, and in particular, the national security policies of the Bush Administration (e.g., NSA wiretapping, coercive interrogation of terrorists, the Patriot Act). For all the handwringing that "civil libertarians" have been engaging in over these policies, Professor Yoo persuasively illustrated that not only does the administration have precedence on its side, none of what is going on now is nearly as "drastic" as what past presidents have done in previous wars. Roosevelt, for example, had ordered the monitoring of all forms of domestic communications a full year and a half before the U.S.'s formal entry into World War II. The Republic not only survived this seemingly imperial act, civil liberties would actually be expanded after the war concluded.

What I really found interesting about Professor Yoo is his willingness to publicly defend the Bush Administration's national security and war policies even when the administration itself does not seem all that interested in doing so. Indeed, this is the one major criticism that Professor Yoo has of the administration (he was especially critical of former Sec. of State Colin Powell and current Sec. of State Condoleeza Rice).

As a side note, I got to speak with Professor Yoo a little bit before he gave his lecture, and he informed that his old boss, Justice Thomas, will be releasing a book of his memoirs sometime this summer. In case you're wondering, the book is expected to address the whole Anita Hill affair.

Bizarre, Yes; But Not That Uncommon

Rob Vischer over at Mirror of Justice quips that Judge Larry Seidlin's handling of the Anna Nicole Smith case makes a compelling case for a return to jurisprudential formalism.

Here's a sampling of the reported behavior by Judge Seidlin:

The flamboyant Seidlin, rumored to be coveting his own reality TV show, let the proceedings spin out of control. The judge interjected himself into testimony, talked about his daily routine and wardrobe, and chatted nostalgically about his roots in New York, where he was once a cab driver. He freely gave nicknames such as "Texas," "California" and "Mama" to the people involved in the trial.

As crazy as this stuff is, Judge Seidlin's behavior isn't all that uncommon as far as judges are concerned. Fact of the matter is that a lot of judges, not all of them, are big time ego-manics who treat the courtroom as their little kingdoms where they can do almost anything they want. So when Vischer rhetorically asks if we can agree on the need to return to formalism, my answer would be an enthusiastic "yes!" Problem is, this kind of stuff has been going on for so long there's really nothing to return to.

Sign in and Say Howdy

If you look over on the right hand panel, you'll see a link to a cool new guestbook feature I set up. Feel free to sign it even if you don't leave a comment on any blog post here.

What, No Lenten Call to Fast for Tax Hikes on the "Rich"?

I dearly love the Catholic Church, but this using of Ash Wednesday and Lent by some in the hierarchy, particularly in my home diocese, to advocate illegal immigration and open borders in this country is a bunch of garbage. (link via)

In Orange County, the church asked people to fast — consuming liquids only — for one day between March 26 and 30 as an appeal for citizenship opportunities for undocumented immigrants and reductions in visa application backlogs for the families of immigrants.

The church also called for a temporary worker program.

Yeah, not only am I not going to do what is being requested by the diocese, I may see if I can organize a game of this to be played.

I Will Never Lack Confidence Again

Ever. (h/t)

Note to Lovers of Trindentine Mass

If you live in or around Orange County here in California, the Diocese of Orange has authorized (finally!) the offering of another Tridentine Mass. Said Mass will be celebrated on a six month trial basis every Sunday at 7am at the Pope John Paul II Polish Center in the City of Yorba Linda.

You think Bishop Tod Brown might be trying to set this up to fail?

Oink! Oink!

恭 喜 发 财! Happy Year of the Piggy and an early Happy Presidents Day.