Outside The Asylum

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...

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 betwe...

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 us...

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.

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

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.

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!

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 : 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 : He won the debate, but only by being insane.

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

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 most brilliant thing about poverty that I have ever read.

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...

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 : 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 : 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.