The Rift in the Church: Who has the better argument? | The Lewis Crusade

The Rift in the Church: Who has the better argument? | The Lewis Crusade:

One of my favorite secular country music songs is "Burning Bridge" by George Strait.  It is a deeply philosophical song that claims that a man sees best "by the light of a burning bridge", that is only while breaking the ties that bind.

John is a man with Marfan Syndrome.  He's not long for this world, in fact, he's lived more than 20 years past what his doctors predicted he would die.  He's viewing this world from the light of his own burning bridge.

And what he has to say about the Church is downright fascinating.  It is the history that American Catholics- on both the left and the right- are trying to actively hide.

Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot.

Since I became unemployed, I've gotten very depressed. It doesn't help that the wifi isn't working on my laptop and my wife uses the entire front of the house for the daycare, which is our only source of income at the moment other than my unemployment check. That hasn't hurt too bad yet, but it has stopped my blog posting as regularly while I search for a new job. They say searching for a job is a full time job in and of itself; add a 9 year old special needs boy to the mix who is home for Christmas Break, and it becomes a job and a half. But I'm getting there. Off to update my Linked In profile until I hit 100% complete.

5 laws that would work better

In light of the recent tragedies, gun control is in the news again. Classic gun control is about controlling either weapon or ammo. But here are 5 potential laws that could prevent gun violence by controlling people rather than guns:
1. Metal detectors in every public building, set high enough to prevent false positives but low enough to catch an AR-15, tied into the fire alarm system. Evacuate if it goes off, depriving the shooter his victims.
2. Tie mental health records into police records, and create a no-sell database that can be accessed by smartphone using bar code reading of official ID and merely returns a sell or don't sell return. Make it mandatory for all gun sellers and gun shows, including private sales.
3. Divorce is a danger sign that somebody's life is becoming unstable. 8 murder suicides in Oregon since 2008 were linked to divorce. Filing for divorce should trigger a temporary gun confiscation for both spouses, and should be grounds for a search warrant. Likewise, while often less violent, widowers are in danger of suicide and should be watched closer.
4. Better depression support. As our society becomes more secular, we are losing the emotional support that religion provides. There should be support for those who fall into despair, and there is not. The fact that most incidents lately end with the suicide of the shooter is an indication of the real problem.
5. RFID tags on all weapons and any other valuable property. If stolen, these tags should be the type that can be read at a distance. They should be waterproof, very hard to remove, and be handed out for free by law enforcement; scanners should be able to be purchased by the public as well as used by law enforcement.

There is some cost to this. As there is for everything. But the benefits of these 5 laws is important. And solves other problems than the original, so should be done anyway.

Keep Portland Weird, or Keep Portland White?

Portland Public Schools has allowed Planned Parenthood to teach children at different schools and give children money to learn how to not have children. But the list of schools is very interesting when compared with demographic information.

School	Students that are White	Planned Parenthood on Campus?
Jefferson	17.2%	Yes
Benson	28.7%	Yes
Roosevelt	30.8%	Yes
Madison	37.2%	Yes
Franklin	49.5%	No
Grant	65.6%	No
Cleveland	68.7%	No
Lincoln	75.4%	No
Wilson	77.8%	No

The implication, I believe, is clear. For Portland Public Schools in white-bread Portland, Oregon at least, Project Negro never ended. Planned Parenthood was specifically invited into those schools that have majority nonwhite students. Portland has learned NOTHING in the last 100 years when the KKK tried to close all the Catholic Schools because they didn't want "Those People" here; and today, "Those People" may have changed by they're still trying to prevent "Those People" from breeding.

This isn't about AIDS reduction, this isn't about "Women's Health", this is about racism- population control of groups seen as less than human by the majority-white Portland Public School Board.

Fides et Ratio

The one thing I still can't get over in my discussions with Buddhists and Atheists is the separation of reason and faith. The real problem, though, lies not with the people I can discuss things with in a reasonable fashion, but rather those who separate faith from reason and can't be talked to at all.

Life and love

I've got a bit of a love-hate relationship with Michael Voris. I've been banned from commenting on his youtube channel for asking about a scathing comment he made about Social Justice Catholics and Soup Kitchens a while back. I also often don't like his strong Republican Catholic Politics that seem to run through his videos. It often reminds me of Thomas E. Woods telling the pope that morality doesn't have anything to do with economics.

Having said that, every once in a while Michael Voris hits upon something very good and orthodox that can heal the pro-life/social justice divide. Today's video on the job of Catholics being primarily saving souls rather than saving lives, is an excellent inroad to that divide. I've often said our best weapon against abortion and euthanasia, is simple charity- and same against the lust filled, love denying scourge of homosexual "marriage" that is now attacking so many young people, trying to teach them to ignore love and substitute lust instead.

Laws will never solve the problems that an authentic Catholic pro-life movement faces; but charity and conversion can. You can't stop Planned Parenthood very easily- but you can rob them of patients by providing food, clothing, and shelter to a young woman who has had her chastity violated. You can't stop a terminally ill patient from taking poison to preserve his family's inheritance, but you CAN donate to provide hospice care so that such a patient is not tempted to suicide. You can't stop a bank from making a family homeless- but you can give that family the support they need to get back on their feet. You can't stop those who hate authentic love from spreading a contraceptive, lust separated from love and procreation mentality to our young people, but you CAN organize chaperoned social activities for those same young people that protect their chastity while letting them learn about the opposite gender.

Social justice and pro-life need not be enemies. Nobody should, by analogy, tell the poor to have as many children as possible then refuse to let the father earn enough money to feed them (Republican anti-union side); and nobody should tell the pregnant single mother with four children that she will only be admitted to the soup kitchen if she kills the fifth (Democratic pro-abortion side). In respecting life- all life- even the unwanted and unplanned and children of rape and incest- even the unhoused and unfortunate victims of capitalism- we can begin to find truly Catholic Unity. And when we find that unity, we will find converts by our very example.

Rowan Atkinson in 'We are most amused' - YouTube

If the Gospel According to John had been written by a modern English Comedian....

Rowan Atkinson in 'We are most amused' - YouTube:

Leo XIII - Libertas

Pope Leo XIII on the word Liberty.  It doesn't mean what the Libertarian Party and the Libertines and even the Republicans and Democrats want you to think it means.


Leo XIII - Libertas

Baby boomers have raised 3 generations who don't date

Catholics, Awake! Marriage Doesn’t Just Happen! | Crisis Magazine:

An interesting bit of data from a professor on even a supposedly Catholic campus.  Young people have forgotten how to date.

They have lost the ability to be romantic- they have changed love into mere lust, and are all the more lonely because of it.  They don't hold hands anymore!

Is it any wonder they are for gay marriage, having mistaken lust for love?

Is it any wonder that even when marriage happens, as it will for less than 10% of the Millennial generation, it often ends in divorce or annulment?

Is it any wonder that our society is teetering on a fiscal cliff, with no children to take care of the old and more people depending on government for retirement?

America, you had the sexual revolution to create "free love" (by which you meant widespread indulging of lust) and in response, you have destroyed LOVE itself!

Adultery is NORMAL?

Now, let me get this straight: I do not think a man usually should have been fired for having sex with a woman not his wife. To me, that is just what men and women do. wrote Ben Stein on the whole General David Petraeus affair (and I do mean affair- he was caught with a woman 20 years younger than he is). If that is what passes for Conservative Values these days, that adultery is "just what men and women do", then it is no wonder Obama won: We've abandoned anything resembling morality at all.

Ode to the Death of America, 2012

With Apologies to Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel beforehand:

Hello Darkness my old Friend, I've come to talk with you again, About visions that others want me to believe, About darkness falling quite swiftly.

And the vision, that is planted in my brain, Still remains. Amid the ruins of Obammy.

Restless pondering I ponder alone, Amid the victory of Death, And the profits softly creeping, Dow Jones falling quite swiftly, And the Layoffs! As households quickly fall!

Homeless sleeping on the sidewalk, Babies killed by their mothers, Grandma shoved off a cliff in her wheelchair.

These visions, implanted in my brain, All remain Among the end, of innocence.

Yet First World Problems these really are, At least the drones won't attack tonight, At least not here, in the Homeland.

Little children being burned alive, Just because siblings are Jihadists, And the hunger, as rain never falls.

These are the visions I should work on, Increasing justice so that more can live, Feeding the hungry and housing the homeless, And wanting the uns!

The results of the election

This is what my church looks like to me

I really need to get to confession this weekend before Mass.

How do Calvinists do it?

Perhaps believing in the total Sovereignty of God and Predestination helps. But right now, I don't have much evidence for those (I'm still a relatively good Catholic) but I do have overwhelming evidence for the Total Depravity of the American Voter.

Or rather, at least 99% of them.

98% of American Catholics.

50% of which voted for Bush, er, Obama.

48% of which voted for Bush, er, Romney.

Which means 98% of American Catholics voted AGAINST CHRIST and for INTRINSIC EVIL.

How do you contemplate that and NOT be tempted to suicide? Right now,it is obligation and duty alone keeping me in line.

The polls are in

Obama has won, and America officially hates Catholics. I held out some hope until the last second, but knew in my heart that the Eugenicists have always seen us as a danger to their false happiness. Forward! Obama's definition of forward is extinction of his enemies. Included in his enemies are his own future grandchildren.

An inauspicious omen

From the final poll commentary on Electoral Vote.Com, a poll aggregator:

"A sign of the closeness of the race comes from the first actual election returns, as usual, from Dixville Notch, NH. Traditionally all the voters assemble at the polling station at midnight on the start of election day and vote. The votes are then reported at 12:01 A.M. The village has correctly predicted the past three presidential elections. This morning the results were announced. It was a tie, 5 votes for Obama and 5 votes for Romney. An inauspicious omen."

The definition or Rape, redone

As one respondent to my recent philosophical expansion of the concept of rape pointed out, the Church does indeed have a very good definition in the CCC, paragraph 2356:

2356 Rape is the forcible violation of the sexual intimacy of another person. It does injury to justice and charity. Rape deeply wounds the respect, freedom, and physical and moral integrity to which every person has a right. It causes grave damage that can mark the victim for life. It is always an intrinsically evil act. Graver still is the rape of children committed by parents (incest) or those responsible for the education of the children entrusted to them.

My previous definition doesn't use "violate sexual intimacy", but that is indeed what I am talking about when I refer to using another person for sexual pleasure without regard to their well being.

True love, true sexual intimacy, is indeed violated with contraception when it blocks the procreation of new life for which the sexual act is intended. Likewise, same sex violates the sexual intimacy of the individual by enabling sexual release without procreation. And of course- sexual intimacy- in the fullness of Church teaching, is restricted to marriage of the lifelong heterosexual monogamy style.

So no, my definition does not violate 2356 of the Catechism. It just explains it in simpler terms.

I would point out that the clergy sexual abuse scandal, is always in violation of this teaching, and is in fact the same crime.

Two very old science fiction novels

Two novels by Fr. Robert Hugh Benson that I recently read have greatly affected my view of the pro-life movement; particularly with respect to Euthanasia. I heartily recommend them to those who like steampunk science fiction; even though they were written nearly 100 years ago and were NOT considered steampunk at the time. The first novel, _The Lord of the World_ was science fiction in it's time, but today would be Steampunk Dystopia- much like George Orwell's 1984, it predicts an utter socialist totalitarian government taking over the world. Euthanasia is not only common, but at the end of the book, nuking Rome and then Nazareth became the solution for The Catholic Problem. The second novel, a bit of a prequel to the first, called _The Dawn of All_ deals with the near death experience of a ex-Catholic in the last stages of terminal cancer, who is given a vision of what the world would be like if Catholicism reigned supreme. Before the coma, he was given the choice between last rights and hospice; and had chosen hospice. After the coma, he was calling for a priest. I found them to be very interesting reading. Two examples of steampunk technology from them: The Volors, basically that world's version of our modern jetliners, which are actually lighter than air craft. And the un-named method of long distance communication, which seems to be some form of speech recognition telegraph.

The economy of Knightshelm

Money changers in the temple is bad. Money changers outside of the temple, well, that can turn enough profit to be useful.

I have written before about Knightshelm, my dream planned community for Knights of Columbus that have been told by the larger community in Oregon that they're too worthless to live. I've written about how I'd like to build the Venerable Fr. McGivney Chapel, the retreat house, the 4th Degree Assisted Living Center, the RV park, and the Sustainable Trading Post/Grocery Store/Post Office.

Now I'd like to examine how such a community would interface to the surrounding communities.

I propose a two-tier private monetary system, pinned to the value of a US dollar, with a physical currency and a virtual currency. The physical currency, called Saints, will consist of any Saints medal. All Saints medals will be honored, and will be able to be purchased in the Trading Post gift shop for a fixed rate of 2/$1US. ONLY in the gift shop can US currency be used, and the only other currency accepted will be Saints. They will also be able to be purchased with the virtual currency of KnightsHours- at a rate of 20 Saints/KH. Thus, a KnightsHour, the virtual currency, is valued at a fixed rate of $10USD.

Work in the gardens, in the Trading Post, in the RV park, in the Chapel, or in the Assisted Living Center will add to your virtual account at a rate of 1KH/hour. This includes degree work in the chapel basement for candidates on a 4 Degrees Retreat; the Degree team will be paid in KnightsHours.

All Supreme insurance payouts will go directly into Knightshours accounts at a rate of 1 KnightsHour/$10USD.

A local wifi network and specialized smartphone applications will give access to each individual's KH account, and of course, in the Trading Post Gift Shop, KH can always be exchanged for USD or Saints at the fixed rates. For the purpose of accounts- a married couple, being of one flesh, shall share a KH account- and thus, when either one dies, there shall be no loss of previously accrued KH.

God provides each of us with 24 hours each day for free- we should be able to use that time to our profit. But in Fraternity, why should one brother's time be any more valuable than any other brother's time? Why should a widow's time be worth any less than a brother's time?

Prices in the Trading Post can be adjusted to meet Just Wage and Fair Price- In other words, large enough to pay for the time needed to create the good out of raw materials, but still low enough to be affordable.

And thus, the only allowable form of Usury in KnightsHelm is the difference between what we can make Saints for, vs $.50. I recently purchased 40 St. Clare Medals online for confirmation students for $.48 each, so this is pretty close.

Hellish Pro-Abortion Attack on Catholic Cathedral

Hellish Pro-Abortion Attack on Catholic Cathedral:

This is what pro-choice is really all about- hatred of the un's.  Demonic hatred of the unwanted, the unplanned, the unable.  The last gasp of the failed sexual revolution that created way more damage than it was supposed to fix.

Blessed Pope John Paul The Great- FEMINIST?

I used to consider myself a feminist. Back when I was in grade school, I was well aware of the Equal Rights Amendment and wanted it to pass, desperately. Of course, at that same time period in history, feminism was being co-opted by the commercialized sex and murder for hire trades, and so in my 20s I eventually became more conservative. Or perhaps more liberal. In 1995, Pope John Paul II wrote a letter to the world about this. If you think that the Church has declared a war on women, you need to read this. The Holy Father's Letter to Women

If the GOP loses

It will be because with pro-lifers, they are exactly like the mean researchers in the Art Supplies Marshmellow Test- they've failed us so many times now that we have a hard time believing that they will ever be truthful, let alone successful.

New Atheists

I wouldn't mind the New Atheists so much if the "Good without God" movement resulted in say, helping pregnant women become mothers and maybe even convincing banks and rich people that they don't need empty houses and we should be giving those houses to the man who used a curb for a pillow last night.

Do you really think it's possible to be Good without God? Then I challenge you to SHOW IT!

My definition of rape

Using another human being for sexual pleasure with no concern for either that person's immortal soul nor intent to create a new life and spend the time it will take to bring that new life to the point of being a functional citizen of civilization. Thus, homosexuality is rape. Thus, one night heterosexual stands are rape. Thus, premarital sex, even with "consent", is rape. Thus, everything the videos on Take Care Down There teach teenagers to do, is rape. Do you understand yet? ------------ Edit- after I posted this this morning (in my defense I've been very busy at work up until now) I found out about Amanda Todd in Vancouver- who was so tormented by our sexual culture, including being tricked into sexting and being exposed on the internet, just like TOP intends to do with students from Benson High, that she committed suicide.

UPDATE: Controversial ads on the sides of buses and trains « How We Roll – A Blog for TriMet Fans

UPDATE: Controversial ads on the sides of buses and trains « How We Roll – A Blog for TriMet Fans:

I'm not sure which is sadder.  That we have so many citizens in Portland to support such ads that are frankly, bigoted against the other side in a civil war halfway around the world; or that anybody would find such adverts offensive to begin with.

Joe Biden's Remarkable Incoherence on Abortion

Joe Biden's Remarkable Incoherence on Abortion:

He won the debate, but only by being insane.

To all nonprofits

If you are going to use telemarketing to raise money, don't outsource it. For instance, apparently last night the Beaverton Education Foundation was attempting to raise money for Beaverton Public Schools. I remember seeing two calls come in with a Caller ID Name of Fargo, North Dakota. I'm sorry, but I'm NOT going to answer the phone for an out of state call that I am not expecting.

Raw video: Ryan and Biden on abortion and their Catholic faith

Raw video: Ryan and Biden on abortion and their Catholic faith:

Answer- NEITHER one is actually orthodox on Catholic teaching on this.  Ryan isn't Catholic pro-life because despite believing life begins at conception (verified by ultrasound!) he's bigoted against the children of rape and incest.  Biden isn't Catholic pro-life because he doesn't understand that women and doctors need to accept science- and he's bigoted against the children of rape and incest again.

I hope Planned Parenthood gets outlawed- did you hear Biden's gaffe where he said that he thought Romney would appoint judges who would outlaw Planned Parenthood?

As I said in a post of facebook earlier this week- bigotry against unplanned and unwanted children is just that- bigotry without ANY evidence behind it.  Unplanned children deserve as much a chance at life as you do.

This is what happens when you oppose same-sex marriage in Maryland

This is what happens when you oppose same-sex marriage in Maryland:

This must be some strange use of the word "Diversity" of which I have not previously been aware.

The Simpsons Opening - Real-life Style - YouTube

The Simpsons Opening - Real-life Style - YouTube:


VERY well done.  I must show my son, a big Simpsons fan, this.

The 5 Stupidest Habits You Develop Growing Up Poor | Cracked.com

The 5 Stupidest Habits You Develop Growing Up Poor | Cracked.com:

The most brilliant thing about poverty that I have ever read.

Defense for the poor man in the 21st century

Ok, not too poor, but given the current use of drones by the American government, and the strong possibility that no matter who wins in November, sometime in the next 20 years we WILL face a situation where the American President feels the need to use drones to defend the rich against the poor (which group of poor, of course, depends on the political party in power at the time, we were never at war with Eurasia, we are now at war with Eastasia), it's time to start thinking about an adequate defense mechanism that everybody can afford.

And I think I know what it is, taking a play out of the book of Winston Churchill, scaled down to the modern drone/rc toy:

Mylar balloons, filled with hydrogen cracked out of water with solar power, tethered to the ground with 30,000 foot reels of 2-lb test monofiliment line.

Create a wide enough perimeter around your town/commune/church/union hall (once again, the target depends upon who is in power at the time) and you won't have to worry about the Drone Wars. Or those pesky passenger jets either.

Maybe we need Aspergerphobia

MercatorNet: Homophobia: what does it really mean?:


Hmmm....so the way to get a mental illness respected instead of bigoted against is to invent a fake phobia to describe the prejudice against the mental illness?

Pro Life Cares

Pro Life Cares:
Answering the charge that pro-lifers, don't care about those with disabilities or the poor.

TriMet adopts mobile ticketing for smartphone users | OregonLive.com

TriMet adopts mobile ticketing for smartphone users | OregonLive.com:

Neat idea, but what is to prevent the evil hacker in my brain from having this app on my smartphone, sitting in the middle of the MAX train, and only buying a $2.50 2 hour ticket (or a $5 Day Pass) when the ticket inspector comes by?  As opposed to what I currently do, which is a $100 monthly pass?

I like the idea- but I think lower priced tickets and pricing should NOT be available this way.

An African Woman's Open Letter to Melinda Gates

An African Woman's Open Letter to Melinda Gates:

The real reason contraception is evil- is because it is First World Myopia.

Got to watch which blog I'm posting on

I was about to make a very political post about "The First Epistle of Geoffery to the Americans"- a good read and a good reminder to not pour too much time and treasure into either ending abortion or whatever seems to have replaced helping the poor on the left. And I accidentally posted it to Our Peaceful Place- a Christian pro-life organization that actually follows the advice in that epistle.

So in this season of hyper-politics, if you use "BlogThis" plugin for Chrome, remember to set your blog to the right place!

The New Sexual Predators « Public Discourse

The New Sexual Predators « Public Discourse:

They said I was mad to equate sex without procreation with rape.  Well, here's the reverse- procreation without sex is indeed rape- the victimization of our fertile female population.  And who is at the forefront of this new form of rape?  Homosexuals and women!

Somehow I can't think of this as the sort of "radical orthodoxy" that Dorothy Day Promoted in this interview, where she actively labeled contraception and abortion as they are used in America today as a genocide, one of the first people to do so.

Faith Works!

Fr. Dwight Longnecker has started A new e-newsletter called Faith Works. You can read the initial issues here. From my initial reading, it appears that it is to be an attempt to give a Benedictine approach to the joining of the spiritual and corporal works of mercy.

Most of us are good at one or the other of these- but few are good at both, and those who are, often get labeled Saints by the people around them.

Back in the 1970s when I was growing up, the Catholic Church was not so good at teaching either of these; the more formal spiritual works of mercy were being suppressed, the corporal works of mercy were being limited to charity for the poor for the most part. Well, there's more to life than just working in soup kitchens. But I fear we're beginning to be headed the other way now.

Planned Parenthood TOP program- child porn?

In Portland, Oregon, a pro-life teacher was forced to distribute permission forms from Planned Parenthood's TOP program. The second page of these forms was a release allowing them to use the children in videos and pictures, and to conduct medical procedures on them. If TOP is truly about sex education (bad enough from a Catholic perspective, I've seen the porn they think is educational- it's close to Hentai and child porn as is), then why do they need permission for medical procedures as well as *video* and *pictures*? Do you know that your pro-choice dollars are going to fund child porn?

Being male and pro-choice is a mistake

They claim that male sexuality is different, that men don't want to be fathers. They lie. The entire point in life is reproduction. That's as true for an amoeba as it is a man. ALL life on Earth has this in common- the drive to reproduce. Frustrating that drive is going to have repercussions. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but someday you are going to regret, as a Man, contraception and abortion that you participated in. It will happen if you give yourself time to think. There is no choice in this. Only the ability to choose to do the wrong thing.

A message for those attempting to escape the Obama Epistemic Closure Bubble

A message for those attempting to escape the Obama Epistemic Closure Bubble:

Why Obama is NOT pro-woman.

Love Jesus and Hate Religion? Count Me Out.

Love Jesus and Hate Religion? Count Me Out.:

This is for all the Emergence folks around me.  You know the type- the Christian believer who never goes to church out of some imagined hypocrisy in it's members.  The good Catholic man who won't join Knights of Columbus because Ted Kennedy was a Knight (and a horrid Catholic when it came to the subject of abortion, or even basic human decency like calling an ambulance when you've had a car accident and your mistress is hurt).


The Church is a hospital for sinners, not a Disney Resort Complex for Saints.

Beware

Your moral compass is far easier to monkey with in a push poll than most people think.

Makes me want to put a push poll about abortion on survey monkey and spread it around.

An opportunity

Clip and Send:

Mark Shea, in the above blog posting, suggests an interesting way out for Catholics in this horrid election.  We know the Democrats will not listen to our concerns.  The Bishops have pretty much stated a vote for Obama is a vote to end the public ministry of the Church.  The trouble is, so is a vote for Romney.

But the difference, is that Romney has given us a chance to complain.

A very bad chance, I've never seen a web page programmed so badly.  But still a chance.

Spread this far and wide.  If they get a few million people all saying the same thing, maybe they will begin to listen.

Why are Muwahiddun so illogical?

To get Google to erase the movie they're attacking the NYSE.

Either the "Cyber fighters of Izz ad-din Al qassam" are so amazingly illogical that it is hard to believe they are technically capable of the threatened attacks, or they are incredibly clueless on how a capitalist economy works. They need to attack Youtube directly to have any effect at all- and good luck doing that.

---------- Due to other discussions, I have the opportunity to update this. We now know this was just propaganda to cover up Obama's errors in Libya.

47% of the country are Moochers says Mitt Romney. Apparently he never tried to lead a church ministry, despite being a Bishop of the Mormons.

As anybody who has ever tried to lead a ministry knows: the 20/80 rule exists and is plainly visible. 20% of the people in any given organization will do 80% of the work. The other 80% will do the remaining 20% of the work.

Thus, in some ways- 80% of the people are moochers.

And I've got to say a man who makes *all* of his fortune over hostile takeovers and irrational debt and bad advice to the businesses he took over so he can take his cut of their assets that they earned, is a moocher.

Contraception=Robot

Ok, nobody liked my analogy of contraception with rape- for good reasons, even though I stand by both definitions. But let us defuse it a little. Say that someday, they invent a first aid robot that would greatly reduce the lethal nature of all household accidents and sickness. But doing so created an artificial intelligence of such complexity that some religions started defining it as having a soul- and thus, owning one could be considered slavery. Furthermore, mass production reduces the cost of owning one to something *anybody* could easily afford. Should the HHS department of the United States require that insurance companies provide you with such a robot, free of charge to you, but raising the cost of insurance to your employer? If you were a member of a religion that considered ownership of such robots slavery, should you be fined several thousand dollars a year for refusing to provide one?

Catholic High School in London, Ont Accepts Muslims

Catholic School in London, Ontario is in the process of being the first high school in this city to provide a prayer room for Muslim worship.

My only question is- Is there an adoration chapel that the Catholic Students in this Catholic High School can spend study hall in?

The American Spectator : It's Later Than Any Dare Think

The American Spectator : It's Later Than Any Dare Think:

And it is later than anyone thinks.  But this is not the first time this has happened in history with the interface between Christianity and Islam, and it won't be the last.

The Crusades are often brought up as one of the failures of Catholicism and Christianity.  Actually they were a bit of a success, if a bit late- 600 years after Mohammed started the religion and series of empires that would remove the cradle of Jewish Civilization from the control of Rome (and much as that particular war has gone on as well, Christians are *still* just subsects of Judaism, a few generations removed) Europe finally got up and did something.  Not much, but something- and doing so stopped the hordes from advancing and likely saved Christianity.

Ok, they had some help, from the other side, with the Mongol Hordes opening up a 2nd front in Asia for the Islamics to fight, but between the pinch- they stopped Islam from taking over the world.

We can let the Islamic Reformation burn for a while longer- and we'll STILL win

Word of the day Deophobia

New word of the day Deophobia. It is an apt description of a certain generation of secularists in America who are so afraid of authority, that they must avoid any mention of Christianity.

Best explanation of Overpopulation ever

The Per Square Mile Foundation explains resource usage and allocation- and what our choices really are for population.

We would need 5 earths to live like people do in the United Arab Emirates at our present population- but if we all lived like subsistence farmers in Bagladesh, we could support a population of 28 billion easily.

To me, this is the best argument yet for distributionism.

Neurotypicals, can't live without them

Apparently yesterday as I descended into the madness that is autistic based morality, I started out with something worth discussing.

That point got utterly lost once somebody said the word "inappropriate" to me. All my posts for the rest of the day in that thread were the exact opposite of that wonderful bit of advice I started with.

I still think any form of sex that does not embrace the procreative and unitive aspects of heterosexual lifelong monogamy is essentially rape. It's more rape of the "date rape" definition than of the "kidnap, tie up this woman and rape her with a chainsaw" type, but NEITHER is a good thing to do, and both will harm the other person involved, as well as harm yourself.

But having said that there is also the point that you need to take people where they are. Ideals are great, but sometimes the road from current reality to ideal, or even from mortal sin to possibly getting into purgatory someday, is indeed a long one- and people need to be free to make that journey on their own.

Why I am against gay marriage part II

Natural Law, Homosexuality and Genetic Disorders | The Lewis Crusade:

As this other individual suffering from genetic diseases can proclaim, genetic disease means you're not capable of certain actions.  One symptom of my autism is a struggle with the mortal sin of gluttony.  Due to this I can no longer go on many carnival rides with my son.  At 300 lbs, I simply no longer fit in the seatbelts.

You can live without sex.  You can even have rather intimate human relationships without sex.  Catholic moral code is discovered, like physical laws, not enacted, like your nation's laws.  Change the language all you want, you can't defeat the REAL Natural Law, any more than you can eat radio signals.

Neurotypicals- can't live with thiem

Can't, apparently tell them the truth.

I am informed that my equivalency between rape, date rape, stalking, statutory rape, homosexual acts and contraception is something that apparently neurotypicals who want to have sex without consequences can't handle, and just makes me look bad.

I don't blog about such things to look good. I spend most of my life putting on an act for neurotypicals, acting normal for their benefit, because they can't handle me rocking, or not looking them in the eye, or whatnot. I refuse to lie just to save their little feelings when they're committing acts that should be criminal.

Why am I against gay marriage?

Because one of the primary purposes the gay agenda has is to raise children. And all of the early data suggests that gay parenting raises malformed citizens.

Ben Stein used to be able to use English better

While I agree with him that there isn't much hope coming out of the Obama Administration, at least for those of us who wished for a less corrupt regime than the Bush Dynasty, there has been plenty of change. For the worse.

Why the gulf coast is an incredibly bad place to live

Especially if you haven't yet invested in an emergency rubber raft

Bill Nye the Illogical Guy

Bill Nye is in the news again, this time for a rant about creationism that I surprisingly agree with. But did you catch the subtle change in doctrine for him? Jump forward to 1:53 in that video when he claims we need children for the future.

Compare this to an episode of Bill Nye the Science Guy on Populations where he seems to believe that we need FEWER children if this planet is going to have a future. Not just fewer dumb creationists, but fewer children at all.

So which is it Mr. Nye? Are children the future? Or is the Environment? Or is this false dichotomy just as false as your fake war between science and religion?

Why is it

Why is it when somebody is crying about another person getting something for no work, they're always talking about government and never about bankers or stockholders?

I'm sorry I hurt her feelings

I am sorry I hurt her feelings by bringing her parents into it, but what I am NOT sorry for is pointing out her bullying by using the word homophobe. I did so by calling her a heterophobe- and of course, that means that in her eyes, her parents sinned by having a heterosexual marriage.

I am convinced that gay marriage advocates are indeed heterophobic. Otherwise, civil unions would be an adequate solution.

Foundations

I'm currently re-reading Isaac Asimov's Foundation series, starting with the 2nd trilogy that wasn't actually written by Asimov but was written after his death. I'm thus starting with _Foundation's Fear_ by Gregory Benford.

It is just now occurring to me that Catholicism, as seen through the prism of convert Leah Libresco's mathematics-inspired Virtue Ethics, might, as Gregory Benford predicts with his use of the Joan of Arc and Voltaire simulations internal to the novel, provide a solid foundation for Asimov's concept of psychohistory..

To this end, I wonder if the researchers who are looking into the real psychohistory could in fact benefit by being given access to mathematics, virtue ethics, and the records in the Vatican Library that give 2000 years worth of experimental data into the subject of evolving morality.

Favorite Sins for Americans

Is the concept of a Favorite Sin falling prey to the pastoral concept that sin does not exist? An Anglican Bishop writing about favorite sin did his research and found "worry or anxiety" to be the sin 60% of Americans felt was a favorite sin they committed over and over. This is in stark contrast to what I would think would be the top three favorite sins of America: Fiscal Libertine Greed, Sexual Libertine Greed, Gourmet Libertine Gluttony. Our broken economic system, our broken homes, our incredibly obese bodies, bear witness to those three sins. But worry or anxiety? Not only is that not a serious mortal sin at all, but to me it seems a virtue- if you don't bother to think about what can go wrong, how are you going to avoid it?

Honestly?

Anywhere in America, set out a self-serve kiosk with honesty system rules and a 100% markup and YOU WILL EARN MONEY. Guaranteed.

Why the Fallen Angels Apparently Don't Matter

Apparently, pedophiles are an oppressed minority that now wants the same rights as homosexuals. Tell me again what Pastor Perez and Fr. Perez did wrong?

Two Fallen Angels, two drastically different outcomes

I wrote a bit back on Fr. Angel Perez of Woodburn, OR and Pastor Angel Perez of Kissimmee, FL. Both men were charged with sex abuse of young children this past summer.

But some curious differences have arisen between Fr. Perez and Pastor Perez. And while I'm not real sure, there seems to be a correlation between theological differences inspiring bias in the system. I invite any and all readers to leave their explanations for these differences in the comment box.

Fr. Perez	Pastor Perez
Bail: Fr. Perez is being held without bail, his unlimited loan from the Archdiocese for his Lawyer is cited towards making him a flight risk, his position with the church is cited as giving him further contact with children, the fact that none of his victim's supporters showed up in court where several parishioners supporting him did turned out to be a negative.	Pastor Perez was let out on bail as he protested his innocence, and proceeded to embezzle funds for the bail from the church.
Fr. Perez instantly felt guilty when caught- even when still drunk went over to the kid's house to beg his family to stay in the church despite his personal sin.	Pastor Perez on the other hand, not so much- he is still protesting his innocence several months later.

I will add more to the above table as this story continues. But I find it highly interesting that the Protestant is not living up to his crime, but is given leniency during the process; but the Catholic Priest who confesses and admits his crime they're treating like a major danger to the community.

Voting for the soul

Many left and right wingers believe the twin contradictory myths that voting third party is a wasted vote or a malevolent vote (in the first case, because the third party candidate can never win, in the second, because they think votes for a third party candidate mean that the mainstream candidate with the opposite view has a better chance of winning). Being the type of political Catholic with no home whatsoever in the major political parties (for instance, one of my pro-life views is that the children of a rape should be allowed to live, something the GOP has just come out AGAINST), I often get the argument from one side or the other for voting for their favorite lizard.
But an interesting theological argument I've been presented with from Mark Shea is that voting isn't about who wins the election- It is instead about integrity, conscience, and my ability to live with myself. Which puts an entirely different spin on my answer to such people- and gives me reason behind my historical tendency to NOT vote for the major parties in Presidential elections.

I still don't know if I should throw my vote to Virgil Goode of The Constitutional Party, whose only down side seems to be a bad case of anti-Mexican Racism, or Jimmy McMillan of The Rent Is Too Damn High Party, who seems to be a bit of a moral relativist (in that he's against gay marriage but is ok with gay civil unions saying that "A man should be allowed to marry a shoe if he wants to"). But I'm damned sure I don't like Obama/Biden's drone war and war on Catholicism, and I'm equally skeptical of Romney/Ryan's flip flops on major moral issues depending on who they are giving a speech to.

The sad case of a Fallen Angel

What a difference a few decades can make. MOST of the clergy abuse sex scandals took place 1956-1986, with cases coming into view in the mid 1990s. In 2002, Fr. Angel Perez was ordained in the midst of the sex scandals, he often labeled this as a sin. Nobody ever expected such a pious priest to be accused. Now, less than a week after Fr. Perez fell from grace, everybody's talking it seems.

Clericalism is indeed a heresy, but it seems in Oregon at least, the combination of the Archdiocese Bankruptcy and Americanist Liberalism as a result of the Clergy Sex Abuse Scandals has now destroyed *ANY* false respect for the priesthood when the priest is not worthy of it. This in and of itself is a good thing- our Church may be a hierarchy, but sometimes the people holding the office are not worthy of the office.

Now, as to Fr. Angel's specific case. While clearly alcohol played a role, there are many other disturbing bits of evidence in this article. Thank God this child clearly had Called to Protect training as a part of his CCD classes (as is mandatory now in the Archdiocese of Portland) and reported the abuse right away, not to church officials, but to the police as is proper.

The attempt a few days before to plan a camping trip with the child should have been a huge red flag right there. This isn't a Catholic-era Hollywood Movie about Boys Town, you don't let a child spend the night with an unmarried man or woman who is not a relative. Ever. The only exception to this rule should be foster care or adoption, with random visits by the authorities.

Secondly, it's clear to me that despite the priest trying to blame his sin on his alcoholism, this was pre-planned, else why would the air mattress be out on the floor, and the movie in the DVD player? And why didn't the priest invite the whole family over?

Third, the public intoxication. Why was a priest drinking at a parish picnic to begin with, let alone to excess?

Fourth the parents. Why would ANY parent let their 12 year old sleep overnight alone with an unrelated adult in this day and age?

These four items, and this story, need to be added to the Called to Protect series as a warning to all parents, catechists, and priests. This behavior is inexcusable. The only thing that went right- the police begun their investigation, and indeed made the arrest, before anybody at the Archdiocese was ever aware of the complaint. THAT is how you should handle clergy abuse.

-------------UPDATE

I'd be glad to trade our Fallen Angel for the one of the same name from Kissamee Florida who apparently is only accused of financial embezzlement.----Update to my update, apparently I was wrong. The Angel Perez in Florida is a Pentecostal pastor- and he IS charged with sexual abuse as well.

Paul Ryan on being a Catholic Politician

Paul Ryan at Georgetown made an interesting speech for the new Americanist Catholic Politician- replace debt with babies and the same speech and same philosophical points could have been made by Biden or Pelosi.

What I find interesting though is that he doesn't explain his philosophical hatred of WIC- which is one of the most pro-life forms of welfare that there is. He claims he only cuts welfare for "those who don't deserve it". Well, if a supposed strong pro-lifer doesn't think that a fetus or a child under 5 years from birth is deserving of welfare, then I have to wonder who is.

Charity is a duty. It isn't optional.

Why Catholicism isn't Socialist or Capitalist

What Economic System Does Catholicism Promote? | The Lewis Crusade:

Easily the BEST article I've read so far on the Cafeteria Catholic men chosen to be our next Vice President- and what the Church *really* supports in an economic system (hint- the Soviet Stock Exchange ain't it).

Best description of liberal/conservative I've ever read

Steve Yegge has a whole new programming theory about politics in the office. I love his definitions of liberal and conservative: Conservatives are risk adverse, liberals are engaging in risky behavior.

It gets us away from the stupid American Political definitions that have so poisoned the well as of late. Count me as spiritually and socially conservative, fiscally liberal, and software engineering centerist leaning right (but that may be because I play in the Microsoft sandbox, which this google programmer in the linked article lists as Batshit Conservative).

War on Christianity defined

Well, mainline, Catholic, Christianity anyway:

Fine for not covering an employee with health insurance after August 1, 2012: $2000/employee/year.

Fine for not covering contraception and chemical abortion after August 1, 2012: $36,500/employee/year.. Tell me again why this is about women's healthcare and NOT about punishing Catholics specifically for an unapproved-by-Obama belief?

Weird Theory of the Day

Celebrities are attracted to divorce, because after experiencing the love of the fans, no single human being can compare.

The problem with postmodern Christianity

Is that there's no actual Christ in it. Or much of anything else. 400 blank pages is about right for a Catechism of Postmodern Christianity. There is no philosophical difference between postmodern Christianity, neo-Paganism, and Atheism- if it feels good, do it. We used to call that Hedonism. But really it's a form of Egoism- the worship of one's own selfish desires, sometimes turned outwardly towards good works, but only when convenient. This requires NO effort of conversion on the part of the individual- instead of changing to meet God, you change God to meet you- and in so doing, remove all objective definition of either God or Morality. I see no purpose whatsoever in postmodernist Christianity- you can be an atheist and run a shelter and a soup kitchen if it makes you feel good.

John C. Wright Consecrates Pagans to the Sacred Heart of Mary

Neopaganism and No Starch | John C. Wright's Journal: "But first a long digression: for I must say before I say more that my example of disappointment with neopaganism comes not from any real life witches I know, all of whom I honor and love as friends (even when they call on fertility goddesses to bless their lesbian handfasting, unaware of the several ironies involved — come now: friends can smile at each other’s flaws, can they not?) but only from their stories they tell about themselves. Naturally the reality is more complex than the stories.

That I bear them no enmity no honest man can doubt: I also pray for the salvation of their Witchy souls to the Virgin, whom my Protestant friends, or one of them, solemnly tell me is a pagan goddess. If my Protestant friends are right, then who better to act as intercessor?"

Triage

I am extremely pro-life. But I'm not a black and white simplistic thinker. And for that reason, the one situation I waver on in my pro-life tendencies is the issue of triage.

This isn't just about abortion. It can happen in an accident on the freeway- where two victims come in to the emergency room, there are enough resources to only treat one, and the other has little chance of survival.

The old TV Show M*A*S*H had an excellent episode where one soldier had his aorta shot out, another soldier had a head would with 3/4ths of his brain missing- and they waited until the one with worse injuries died to harvest the aorta for the one they could save.

And yes, it happens in abortion as well. The liberal at church who attacked me so vehemently a few weeks ago, is an emergency room nurse. Back in the 1980s, before she became pro-choice, she was faced with a woman in the emergency room in a coma from a 7 month undiagnosed ectopic pregnancy. Today, there'd be an excellent chance of performing a cesarean and having both mother and child survive- back then it simply wasn't possible to save both. So in support of the seven other children the mother already had- they saved the mother.

I'm often asked what I'd like to see happen legally with abortion. Evangelium Vitae *requires* faithful Catholics to oppose legal abortion- in all instances.

But I'm not real sure we should punish doctors in a triage situation with jail. Here's another option that I think is more correct, yet recognizes that "Safe, Legal, and Rare" is a lie and that abortion is always and forever evil:

I’m for replacing *all* medical abortions after 20 weeks with cesarean birth, making all non-medically necessary abortions illegal, and *requiring* any doctor performing an abortion for *any* reason to fill out a triage report and pay for the decent burial and funeral of the fetus, which the mother should be required to attend, and in which the triage report is read into the public record. And Catholic women who find themselves in this situation should go to a Project Rachel weekend as soon as possible.

In other words, I recognize in this fallen world, abortions before 20 weeks *might* be necessary in a “save the patient you can because your skills aren’t good enough to save both” scenario. But evil should never be easy, and should always come with a cost. And that cost is often psychological as well as physical.

You might be a conspiracy theorist if

Your conclusion still has untested data.

Why I believe in a male priesthood

Because I can't imagine going to a woman for confession. I really can't. Women need to talk. They need to talk so much they think a man who is largely ignoring them is a good listener. I simply can't imagine one keeping confidential what she would hear in the confessional.

Birthers need to get a refund on their law degrees

The Internet Constitutional Lawyers are at it again with respect to Obama's parentage. I am not a lawyer- but I am a software engineer with a google machine! United_States_v._Wong_Kim_Ark is the deciding case in 1898. Minor v Happensett has already been ruled as moot to the case: Arizona Judge rules Minor V. Happersett as moot to the case of President Obama

Because 1. It left the question open for a future generation, and 20 years later, USvWKA answered it. and 2. Minor v Happensett was reversed by constituional Amendment (19th)

Collectivist Capitalism

An interesting story on alternet about how the Soviets Won in the end. Not by taking over our government- but by forming Soviet-Style Politburos overseeing every business, overseeing every industry, reducing liberty and choice down to a few eliete-approved ways to be conned out of your hard earned money.

Reinhard Marx - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Reinhard Marx - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

I think I can finally call myself a Marxist again.  Not Karl though.  Reinhard.  This courageous cardinal is taking on the big boys on both the left and the right when it comes to economic social justice.

I make the decisions

That's what one woman who bothered me at church a couple of weeks said when she told me she was boycotting the Fortnight for Freedom and when I asked her if she believed in Apostolic Authority. It makes this video seem appropriate. I didn't embed it on purpose- as I think it's best to "middle click" (push down on your mouse's scroll wheel) on the link to open it in a new tab. Or right click and select "open in new tab", works just as well.

The Utopia of Knightshelm

My dream that I see NO material way of ever accomplishing, but I'm going to put it down here. A 360 acre town located somewhere in Oregon, I'm thinking the West Side of the Southern Cascades would be the ideal climate for the town of Knightshelm, based around six institutions:

1. The Venerable Fr. McGivney Chapel, which is an irregular octagon basement, with a Maltese Cross main floor containing the Sanctuary, and a solar panel roof providing energy for the main complex in the shape of a shield (and thus, shows up as the Emblem of the Order on Google Earth). Stairs to the basement are hidden by a moving altar- and are closed when in EF/Latin placement against the wall, but open when in OF/Novus Ordo placement away from the wall.
2. The Permaculture General store, in which the entire produce section is an indoor/outdoor garden, the meat section includes a pasture and livestock as well as a butcher shop, and one way of purchasing food there is in exchange for volunteer hours. It would include the post office and only require money for imported luxury foods, like coffee.
3. The Fourth Degree Assisted Living Center- a cross shaped building topped with a sculpture of a dove, a rooftop garden, and a huge circular solar panel providing extra energy for medical equipment. Contains 20 apartments, a centralized restaurant, and a small medical clinic.
4. The Three Stories Family Shelter, taking in homeless Knights and their families- one floor each in honor of the Virtues of Charity, Unity, and Fraternity. Required for staying there is doing volunteer time in one of the other institutions.
5. The Family Retreat Lodge- a combination restaurant, meeting hall, movie theater, drama stage, and daycare.
6. The Knights of the Road RV and Trailer Park. A KOA style resort, perhaps actually run under the KOA brand.

Main export service: Family Exemplification Retreat Weekends, which start with a First Degree on Friday Night, followed by Eucharistic Adoration, Catholic Daughters Exemplification for the Wives and Squires Exemplification on Saturday Morning, Saturday Noon EF Latin Mass, Second and Third Degree on Saturday Afternoon, Catholic Family Movie Night on Saturday Evening, Sunday Morning OF Mass, Sunday noon Brunch, and Sunday Afternoon Exemplification in the Fourth Degree.

Cardinal Schonborn on Controversy

Our Sunday Visitor is quickly becoming one of my favorite centerist Catholic websites, and this interview with Cardinal Schonborn of Vienna is a great example. I love his take on Medjugorje, despite the fact that in angers people that he has NOT disobeyed the church and come out as a defender of the apparitions, and it angers people on the other side that he has provided "pastoral care" for groups of pilgrims.

I fully agree with his decision to let a chaste homosexual serve on a local pastoral council (wish I could get one for my Knights Council!). And the way he's handling the dissident group "Call to Disobedience" (a group that like Voice of the Faithful, doesn't understand the value of either obedience or faith) is downright inspired- by asking them NOT to give up their dissent, but ask the deeper questions their dissent promotes. As I experienced on Sunday, it's easy to go with the flow of Libertineism, either fiscal or sexual, at the expense of our faith. The far more courageous path is the Catholic Way- realizing that the Church is a Hospital for Sinners, not a Resort with Amusement Park for Saints. And as Cardinal Schonborn said in the interview- the first person we need to evangelize- is ourselves.

The problem of religious liberty

One other conservative at Church refused to take a yardsign for the 4th Of July- because the Islamics have proven to him that religious liberty is a bad idea.

In the mean time though, the following actions have been taken:

The Bishops' Migration and Refugee Services division is now disqualified from a federal contract to provide services to victims of human trafficking because they will not refer women for abortions.

Catholic Charities has been forced out of adoption and foster care services in Boston, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and the entire state of Illinois for refusing to place children in same-sex couple households. Some sections of recent state immigration laws prohibit priests from providing the Sacraments to an illegal immigrant. Regardless of how one feels about the illegal immigration issues facing our country, our priests should still be able to provide for the spiritual needs of anyone.

New York City is banning religious groups from renting schools on weekends for services even though non-religious groups are still allowed to rent the same facilities for any other use.

The Christian Legal Society at the University of California Hastings College of Law was denied student organization status because it required its leaders to support an abstinence pledge.

As Bishop Stephen Blair of Stockton recently said, "We serve people because we are Catholic, not because they are Catholic!" Catholic institutions are open to all in need. Unfortunately, local, state, and federal government entities are making it harder and harder for them to serve the needy unless they fit themselves into various bureaucratic boxes that violate our beliefs. Catholic and Christian groups around this country hold a proud cultural tradition for many. Yet, government at every level is forcing them to change some of the vary things that make them great.

The other side is winning the war on turning liberty into libertine. They MUST be stopped.

The problem with liberals

Is that they've become as bigoted and hateful as conservatives. A woman at church- I don't even know why she's still Catholic, yelled at me for supporting the Bishops for Fortnight for Freedom- because she apparently thinks that all the Bishops want is to oppress nuns and lesbians and women who want to kill their children.

The irony made me so angry I haven't been able to stop thinking about it in nearly 20 hours.

Next time I get cornered like that, I'm going to ask the woman with woodstockhome syndrome if while praying, she ever stops talking to listen.

Genetically Modified Humans

This is rather tame in comparison, but I can see now where this slippery slope is headed.

[Sarcasm on][fake future sf advertising voice on]

Introducing new Monsanto Brand Humanoid Sex Slaves! Available in Male, Female, and Hermaphrodite! If you're a pedophile, allow 1-2 years for delivery. All else allow 6-8 years for delivery. Patented forced puberty, infertility, and absolute loyalty guaranteed for your pleasure (and of course, to service our copyrights and prevent you from creating one yourself).

[fake future sf advertising voice off][Sarcasm off]

Bad Data, so I wrote a better survey

It is rare that I find I disagree with a study so completely. Despite the headline, it wasn't about comparing atheists to Christians or non-Chrsistians to Christians which seems to me to exclude about 6/7ths of the potential dataset. It also seemed to me to be horribly derivative, as it relied on WORLD *government collected census* data but with an AMERICAN point of view. I'm still only interested in Americans, but if you are international and choose to respond, well, please do so using American political definitions. So I wrote a better survey Please take it regardless of who you are and what you believe.

Welcome to Marian Caskets | Marian Caskets

Welcome to Marian Caskets | Marian Caskets:

Ok, I want this added to my will, and the will of all my Catholic and Christian relatives and friends.  Just think of the good we could do saving a couple of thousand per funeral; and in addition to that, having the solace of a part of our funeral costs going to ultrasounds to save the lives of babies.

For the sake of a Toilet, Europe was Lost

Or, how an economist with a Nobel Prize and a Silver Spoon in his mouth destroyed the economy of the first world just because building codes wouldn't let him place a toilet in the room he wanted it in in his Italian Villa. Yes, that's right- because Robert Mundell, back in the 1960s, couldn't get a toilet moved, he decided to give Ronald Reagan bad advice, invent the euro, and remove the power of monetary management from governments throughout the first world, resulting *directly* in massive unemployment ans social upheaval and the 1% rich getting richer while the rest of us get poorer. How is that for class warfare? I'd call the Euro the nuclear bomb of class warfare- may God have mercy on Robert Mundell's soul, because nobody else should.

Pious Legend Blurb?

At the tail end of For Greater Glory which I finally saw last night (took time to get a babysitter and all that rot) a pious Mexican Legend from the era is given a single line of text- the young boy hanged in an attempt to push Blessed Jose into apostasy, came back to life.

Never mind the fact that the only written witness from the time period that we have to Blessed Jose's death seems to be Fr. Marcial Maciel, who knew him in childhood but has since been discredited in a sex scandal; I'd like to hear more about this Lorenzo, the Lazarus of Mexico. Anybody have any links to anything about him?

Can somebody please explain to me

How our new congressional representative, Susanne Bonamici, can vote for sex-selection abortions and support Obamacare's right to poison women to remove their fertility, and still call herself a feminist?

The Evil Side of Same Sex Marriage

Canadian courts are being bombarded by anti-hetero lawsuits. Oh yeah, I know, it can't happen in the United States because of the First Amendment, supposedly. Well, in Canada the Constituion wasn't passed as a single document, and didn't include religious liberty until 1982, but here is the "Charter of Rights and Freedoms" on religious Liberty:

Rights and freedoms in Canada Fundamental freedoms

2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms: (a) freedom of conscience and religion; (b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication; (c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and (d) freedom of association.

Seems pretty straightforward doesn't it? And yet homosexuals in Canada are abusing the court system to take revenge upon heterosexuals.

Real Catholic TV becomes The Church Militant

Well, whattyaknow, Michael Voris can be obedient to the Bishops when he wants to be- or as my favorite left-wing Cafeteria Catholic priest once said "I will Obey for I took a vow of Obedience, but I didn't take a vow of silence and they have to listen to me first!"

Partisanship and the Roman Catholic Church

In the United States, any Catholic with integrity at all is in a double bind whenever a vote comes up. We are NOT to support intrinsic evils with our vote; yet the two major political parties and MOST of the third parties, support policies that are, quite simply, intrinsic evils. One side claims that their intrinsic evils must be excused because of the good they do, the other side claims that their intrinsic evils must be excused because of the good they do, the third side claims that their intrinsic evils should be excused because of freedom and patriotism which MUST include their favorite sins as well. It's ALL wrong. NO amount of good can excuse an intrinsic evil- only admitting that the evil IS evil and resolving to no longer be involved in it, brings the forgiveness of God and repentance. And that means, you can't vote for either side that is immersed in intrinsic evil- EVEN if you believe it means that the other side will win. Winning is not the point. Being MORAL is the point. And for that reason, I'm going to call out the partisan sheep wherever I find them. Whether it is the "personally pro-life but also pro-choice" Catholic, or the "personally against war and torture except when it comes to whomever the President decides to call a terrorist this week" Catholic, they're both as much cafeteria Catholics as anybody.

The New Abortion

Abortion is no longer limited to the unborn, thanks to the Terror Tuesday Worship of President Obama at the Church of St. Drone. I don't know how *ANYBODY* can consider this behavior compatible with Christianity, and certainly NOT with the Social Justice teaching of the Roman Catholic Church.

In the end analysis

If we believe what the atheists say to be true, then all human knowledge in every philosophy, including science, is just myth and religion.

Is subsidiarity denied by Obamacare?

What, specifically, in the federal regulations that are Obamacare prevent the creation of clinics by free associations of like minded religious people that do not provide the services that religion believes in?

An idea for an invention

For a kinder, gentler, 21st century military/police force:
A gun that is a combination Taser and Glock with tri-state noise-activated safety. Normally off, the sound of a normal gun being cocked releases the safety on the Taser for 5 minutes, the sound of a gunshot releases the safety on the Glock for 20 minutes. Thus insuring that non-lethal force is only available when the bad guy has lethal force available, and lethal force is only available after the bad guy has already fired once.
Based on the idea that evil is only permissible in response to evil, and even then, is best done quickly.

I am the Unfit

Introduction:  When Mararet Sanger, a cradle Catholic, was growing up, she failed to learn the meaning of sacrificial love.   After seeing her mother struggle to raise childern, and after working with the poor, she developed a theory of economics linking poverty to race, culture, and large families.  And so she started Planned Parenthood with the slogan More Children for the Fit, Fewer for the Unfit.  And so she started promoting contraceptive and abortive poisons, to reduce the population of the unfit.

On This Memoral Day, I offer this meditation for all worldwide, of all ages, whom society has labeled Unfit, unworthy of sharing this planet with us.

I am Unfit

My mother is a teenager, just starting out in Life
I am the Unfit
I am the Child of Poor Parents
I am the Unfit
I have a genetic disease
I am the Unfit
My mother was bit by a mosquito and I am in danger of microcephaly
I am the Unfit
I have a terminal illness
I am the Unfit
I signed up with the Military to feed my family
I am the Unfit
I am accused of treason
I am the Unfit
I am accused of murder
I am the Unfit
My parents were of two different races
I am the Unfit
I am the wrong race
I am the Unfit
My father raped my mother and I was conceived
I am the Unfit
I am the genius scientist that is face blind
I am the Unfit
I have a genetic defect
I am the Unfit
My parents abuse children
I am the Unfit
I will spend more over my lifetime than I will earn
I am the Unfit
I struggle with Same Sex Attraction
I am the Unfit
I am Ugly
I am the Unfit
I have a socially transmitted disease
I am the Unfit
I am a boy
I am the Unfit
I am a girl
I am the Unfit
I am a hermaphrodite
I am the Unfit
I have autism
I am the Unfit
I am the minimum wage worker working three jobs
I am the Unfit
I am the unionist
I am the Unfit
I am the little person
I am the Unfit
I am the obese
I am the Unfit
I have cancer due to pollution
I am the Unfit
We are infertile in our marriage due to synthetic estrogen in the drinking water
I am the Unfit
I am the son of an unwed mother- God knows the Future
You do not
Who are you to decide that
I am the Unfit?
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10 years in edit, for the other side of the equation.  If you are facing a crisis pregnancy, there is help available.  If you are facing a temporary financial crisis that your pregnancy complicates, there is help available.  If you are facing relationship issues with your spouse, there is help available.  If you have had an abortion you now regret, there is help available.  If you are facing issues due to rape or medical issues, there is help available.

Each of those links, goes somewhere different, but if you are in that moment of panic after a positive pregnancy test, they can be very useful.

All of them are free to the woman seeking help, I personally give monthly to many of them, even when it hurts to do so.

Why does the New York Times Hate Women?

It may be that I've become so extreme that the middle looks to be the other side to me. But in thinking about the recent rush of the Obama Administration to reduce human fertility; and in light of the recent revelation to me that most forms of contraception are poisons, both to the human species and the rest of the environment; I have to ask the question. Why would any self-respecting liberal be for taking women, whose UNIQUE contribution to our society is preservation of the species in a way men can never obtain, and poison them to remove that unique contribution? And they accuse US of misogyny. I can't think of anything more hateful than sterilization for superficial, material reasons. Not to mention the second hand side effect of synthetic estrogen in our drinking water destroying entire species of fish and reducing human fertility still further. Women, pregnancy, and children- the three hatreds of the left wing in America.

Anderson's Law- or the Cardinal Bernard Law

Mark Shea, over at Patheos, brings up the idea of a new form of Godwin's law covering the Catholic Sex Abuse Scandal of 1956-1986. Turns out Jay Anderson at Pro Ecclesia already proposed this way back in 2007. A rather ironical movement is building off of Mr. Shea's page to rename it after Cardinal Bernard Law- not only because of the pun, but because of the fact that the Cardinal has been so deeply implicated in the scandal.
Anderson's law is as follows:

“As a debate involving the Catholic Church (either a discussion about the Church specifically, or a discussion in which the Church is taking a position) grows longer, the probability of someone mentioning the sex scandal approaches one.”

Jay also has a corollary (which I suppose can be called “Anderson’s Corollary”):

“Once such reference to the Scandal is made, whoever mentioned the Scandal has automatically “lost” whatever debate was in progress.”

Will the courts save the Catholic Church?

Twin stories today- first Thanks Be To God- Obama will NOT be allowed to arrest Catholics for defying him or send the drones after you in your sleep. The Contraceptive Mandate had kind of overshadowed this other related story of how they snuck repealing the Constitution into the National Defense Appropriation Act of 2012.

On a related note 40 Catholic institutions are suing the Obama Administration, including the Our Sunday Visitor newspaper.

Obama, you're gonna have your day in court. Maybe the birthers could not get you there, but the Catholic Church will.

Pro-choicers: Why they hate us

A woman at church gave me new insight today into the pro-choice movement. And "social justice" pro-choice Catholics in general. They hate those who suffer, because they suffer. So much so that they think death is better than life; that death is better than suffering. They claim that the simple is complicated- when to me, preventing somebody's birth, either through contraception or abortion, is as great as a statement of hatred as torture and war. And they've twisted this around to be a form of love; it's charity in their mind to kill the suffering. This is not Catholicism- this is atheism writ large; the wish to destroy those who get in their way of a perfect world. But here's the positive- they're turning off their own supporters. A Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus once said that our best weapon against abortion is not law, but charity. However, as long as one child is denied the right to life, as long as God's will is thwarted by the actions of man, and as long as the NDAA2012 is in place and they keep building the concentration camps to put pro-lifers in; people like me are not human. We do not have basic human rights. We don't have the right to life, and without the right to life *NO* other right matters- the right to choice itself makes no sense because the child has no choice. We need a culture of life- as long as one child can be killed because they get in somebody's way, then it is only a matter of time before priests are targeted by drones while saying Mass.

Gay Marriage is not ancient

Thanks to Nancy Pelosi, it's gay marriage day at Mark Shea's blog. But he's linking to some very interesting articles- including proof AGAINST the idea that Gay marriage is an ancient Catholic Ritual. Apparently Nancy Pelosi gets her liturgical knowledge from rumor rather than fact.

Liberals, get this through your thick skulls

To Orthodox Catholics, all sex outside of monogamous, lifelong marriage with no divorce, is a form of rape.

The non-religious aren't sane

Reductionism is a very useful philosophy in science. It allows the scientist to make assumptions that simplify complex systems down to something understandable by a single human in a single lifetime. It allows engineers to then take that work and make practical inventions with it. But outside of science- when applied to cosmology, to religion, to the complex emotional and non material world of the human soul- reductionism fails because Occam's razor only works on simple systems, not complex ones. The human mind is too complex to be explained by materialism alone. And thus, atheists are insane.

Time is an aspect of God

The reason arguing with atheists online is useful, despite the fact I doubt I've ever convinced anybody or ever will, is that I learn new things about my own Catholic faith. For instance, I recently ran across this little gem that I will paraphrase: God doesn't need to do anything to destroy the universe should he choose to; God would need to *stop* doing something to destroy the universe. What a profound idea. The idea that NOTHING we observe, no event we observe, could possibly happen without God. He's the ultimate cause, EVERY other cause is a subset of him. Including our own free will. Including all good. Including what we perceive as evil because we're too limited to understand the reasons behind the cause. Everything. Thus the idea- one of God's main powers is total control over time. He needs to *actively* will time to continue, in the direction that it continues. He's omnipresent on the time scale- that is, there is no time that He doesn't exist because without Him, time itself would not exist. It's non-falsifiable, so outside of the realm of science, we're definitely talking theology here, but it's still a very profound bit of theology- one that provides an alternate explanation to the phenomena that Stephen Hawking has observed.

Letter from Senator Wyden

I'm pretty sure this is just a form letter- but the fact that he has me now pegged as a pro-life activist doesn't bode well for a worst case scenario that some pro-life activists have been warning about. Still, I quote in part:

Despite the Administration’s efforts to respond to concerns registered by the religious community in their February notice, some folks — including Members of Congress — have called for additional modifications. During the Senate’s recent consideration of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, S. 21, Senator Blunt offered an amendment that would have not only allowed religiously affiliated organizations to deny contraceptive coverage but also allowed an employer to arbitrarily choose to deny coverage of other preventive services such as cancer screenings or flu shots for men and women. I voted against bringing this amendment up for a vote because it would have set sweeping new precedent regarding an employer’s ability to choose what is or isn’t included in their employees’ health coverage regardless of religious affiliation.

To which my response, for both Senator Wyden and Senator Blunt- why is pregnancy considered a disease equal to cancer?

Idea for a new product, offered for free

A web browser that includes a small graphic that ties to a religious authority for review of websites. Said application could include funding such a religious authority by subscriptions; three icons would need to be designed for "not reviewed", "reviewed with serious concerns" and "reviewed with no concerns" (the last being similar to the Nihil Obstat granted to certain books in past generations). Clicking on the icon would go to the website of the religious authority displaying more information about the review. I could see every Catholic archdiocese, and even certain other religions to which orthodoxy is important, buying the server-side software; and at least hundreds of sales of the client side software.

Southern Baptists, 170 years ago, were unbiblical

Why is it whenever some small cult seeks to actually change the world to suit their point of view, and a fundamentalist objects, the initial response is "if the church can ignore the Bible on slavery, then they should ok my favorite sin"?

Well, guess what folks- what the Bible says on slavery is NOT what you think it is. What the Bible says about slavery, is to treat it like adoption. Now while I'm sure some plantation owners in the Southern US did indeed treat slaves like their own children (in fact, we got Blessed Fr. Tolton, the first African-American priest, that way- from a Catholic slave owning family who DID treat the children of their slaves as their own children, including encouraging Fr. Tolton in his vocation), the fundamentalist Southern Baptists were more likely to quote the Bible out of context to support their racism and the inhuman practices of chattel slavery.

So that is why we should not just blanket "ignore the Bible"- because ignoring the Bible leads to an entirely different place than you think it does.

Why you are always wrong

The Church calls it Original Sin, this more secular article calls it evolution where our brains for 2 million years developed to be hunter gatherers, but now we have civilization and have yet to actually evolve to fit into civilization. Either way- you're more wrong than you think- and so am I. So are we all.

So this is how Democracy Ends, Part II

A Dying Man Writes America's Obituary. My friend with Marfan Syndrome, as death seems to be getting ever closer, has a blog that is continually sounding ever more mystical. In this one, he analyzes the relative merits and problems of a Democratic Republic in the light of our two main Presidential Candidates, Barak Obama and Mitt Romney- and comes to the conclusion that EITHER getting into the Presidency at this point in history means the end of Constitutional Conservativism in the United States, and likely the end of our Republic itself.

Rick Santorum on Religious Liberty

The Candidate I can no longer vote for, because he dropped out of the race before the Republican Primary in Oregon, speaks out on the perils of being a religious man in the public sphere.

Why Killing Children is Popular

I came across this seven year old interview left out of a Frontline show promoting abortion. I find it very interesting because it includes peer pressures on college students in the 19-24 age group drawn from Boston Area colleges, and it shows the *STARK* cognitive dissonance between the peer pressure to have sex, and the peer pressure against babies. The same article also has a broken link, but I found it At least one researcher that suggests properly subsidized teen pregnancy would be a better idea than abortion.

Where charity should rightly end, and sorrow begin

Let me get this straight A bunch of family planning eugenicists don't like what the church teaches about human sexuality, and utterly disagree with the Pope, while holding Obama up to be a Saint on Earth who hath brought free contraception to all through the insurance companies. They don't understand the concept of the government forcing people to materially cooperate in sin is wrong, so they buy into the idea that the fake accounting trick that the Obama Administration is putting forth will fool both Man and God. Oh yeah, and the problem isn't with Obama, it's with the Pope.

I've got news for you Democrats out there who prefer Obama to Pope Benedict XVI- Martin Luther solved your problem for you 500 years ago. Seeing as how you no longer believe in Apostolic Authority, there are 30,000 other Christian religions to choose from that deny it. Why don't you go find one of them to join instead of attempting to force 1.1 billion faithful Catholics to remake the Church in YOUR image?

Chuck Lorre Productions Vanity Card 198c

On an offense that almost became a defense, if it wasn't for the Censors at CBS- Chuck Lorre fell into the modern myth of "all Catholic Priests are pedophiles" when writing this script originally; the censors attacked him on it, themselves falling into the myth that "All Catholics are in denial about all priests being pedophiles", when actually proving the reality that "All Americans who are worried about pedophiles are giving generic non-denominational pastors a free pass to do whatever the hell they like, merely because they don't have a magisterium that makes rules and policies about such things". In reality, of course, the Church has been trying to regulate the sex lives of it's priests since the 1100s actively and since the early Church (it's mentioned in Paul's letters in the Bible!) passively; with varying degrees of success and failure on this topic. But the grand majority of Roman Catholic Priests not only believe in and practice the vow of celibacy faithfully; they do so at a great personal mental cost. I for one applaud them for it. Even of the three priests I've known in my personal life who have supposedly failed on this- one I doubt greatly he did what he's been accused of (despite Chuck Lorre's faith in the American Justice System, conviction does not equal truth), the second spent two years trying to figure out what to do before taking any action, and the third, while he did cause a scandal, did so in a way that was so quiet many of the people in the town didn't even know it had happened.

Channeling Chesterton: On Miracles

Miracle. The dictionary defines it as "an event that appears unexplainable by the laws of nature and so is held to be supernatural in origin or an act of God." The Key Word there is appears- for all of the laws of nature are in and of themselves supernatural in origin and an act of God. Just because we've grown as a species to the point where we understand some of them, does not make them any less of a miracle.

I'm officially voting third party for the main election

Rick Santorum has left the Presidential race, likely due to daughter Bella's continued fragility. As a special needs parent myself who has made career and financial decisions due to my son's disabilities, I fully understand and support his decision, just as I would have supported him for the Republican Primary. I do not know if I'm still early enough to switch my registration back to Constitution Party- in a fit of pique I might throw my primary vote to Ron Paul as the least evil left in the Republican camp (and yes, me saying that a Randroid like Ron Paul is the least evil left, means that the Republicans are truly scraping the bottom of the barrel in my book).

Fundamentalists are their own worst enemy

Message to London Islamic Protesters- YOU are the biggest insult to Islam that exists in this world today. Irrational fundamentalists who would use violence outside of legitimate human authorities are the single biggest insult to Islam and Christianity that has ever existed. Scripture taken out of context is NOT an authority on anything at all- it can't be, because an authority requires judgement and a book is not capable of rational thought. Not the Koran, not the Bible. EVER.

Your very existence, insults the Prophet Mohammed, Jesus Christ, Allah and God. Stop it, learn to read, and become productive members of society.

Some Pro-Life definitions

It has recently been proven to me in a conversation on facebook that I use some language surrounding pro-life issues differently than the majority of Americans. Here are my definitions, and I refuse to waver from them based on mere democratic peer pressure.

Abortion- the active taking of a life of a fetus. NOT included are operations to remove an already dead fetus.

Birth control- artificial techniques used to provide moral assurance of not getting pregnant. Natural Family Planning is not included because there is no such moral assurance, even when done correctly, God could still give you a little miracle. Female and male hormonal therapy for various cancers and other complaints also does not count, because the intent isn't moral assurance of not getting pregnant. The reason I say moral assurance is because other than full surgical sterilization, there is no known method of reversible birth control that can provide absolute assurance- and in fact, when used correctly, condoms have a worse error rate than NFP (1% for full NFP with callendars, temperature, and data analysis, 3% error rate for manufacturing defects in condoms).

Death Penalty- A duty based act of a legitimate government to remove an individual's life to protect other members of the society. Outdated, because any government with modern post 1802 technology in metal working can substitute a sentence of Life in Solitary with No Hope of Parole Or Escape. Plans forthcoming in a future blog posting for a jail cell of my own design that can provide absolute assurance against escape or parole, or even further contact with the rest of the human species.

Just War- a war fought, against a legitimate government intent on invading other nations, to prevent invasion. I hold to Augustine's original definition, which forbade a just army from fighting foreign wars or invading another nation in return, and using techniques that show love for the enemy including bringing wounded soldiers from the battlefield into local domestic hospitals, regardless of which side the soldier was originally fighting on. More modern definitions are available for debate, but I find most of them highly suspect and full of the type of foreign entanglements that made WWI, WWII and the Cold War so hard to deal with. I'm not even for the so-called War on Terror, for I can see how modern information technology can give us a conception-until-natural-death record for every human being on the planet, and that would eliminate any possibility of a terrorist act.

Euthanasia- the ending of pain for a terminally ill patient. I was once in the anti-life camp on this topic, but modern post 1995 advances in hospice technology and pain management have made my original views about quality of life vs quantity of life completely obsolete. As has my own diagnosis of disability. Thou shall not know the hour or the day isn't prophecy- it's promise- and it's the way human beings were meant to die, not knowing ahead of time.

I hope referring to these definitions in the future, will help avoid some rather unpleasant what-if scenarios presented that are outside of these definitions, as well as clarifying my own positions on these topics.

Sleep Apnea Part II

Well, I've done the sleep study, and yes, I definitely have a severe case of sleep apnea. One more interim thing to try before going on the CPAP machine- a dumbbell shaped neck pillow, and sleeping on my back to keep my airway clear. We'll see how that goes.

The Liberal, The Conservative, and the Catholic

This is a part 1.  It would have been another Channeling Chesterton, but like Chesterton, to do that I need to do my research and I have not yet even found the book.  I just heard about this morning.  So this is a really superficial treatment of the basic concept, which is what are the real motivating values of Americanism, and how does Catholicism differ.

A recent researcher asked an interesting set of political questions.  But he asked people to put themselves in the mindset of their perceived enemies- he asked conservatives to predict how liberals would respond, and liberals how conservatives would respond.  Turns out only conservatives could do this exercise, and the reason was tied to motivating values.

Liberals in America, it seems, are stunted politically, they are motivated by care for the victim, liberty for themselves, and preservation of resources.  Conservatives add to this respect for authority, rule of law, and the concept of sanctity, or the sacred.  As I said, I have not read the book- I want to, but it will have to wait for now.

But even hearing about this experiment, and the apparent results, brings me to describe a third type: the ideal Catholic, who is as foreign to America as an Ausralian Aborigene.  Our values do overlap the conservative and mimic the liberal- but are different from both. 

The Catholic motivating values are Love, Hope, Charity, sanctity (sacredness), respect for authority, rule of law, a duty to victims, a duty to the poor, and a duty to Life itself.

I would say, as in theology, only the ideal Catholic is Universal and complete on all questions.

--------I don't have time right now, but it turns out it's a study; one which considered the conservative values as immoral Here's another blog that discusses the core issue.