November 2004 Archives

Free Dominion finally got the picture up of the President sharing a big Texas grin as he gives us the thumb's up...

Groningen Academic Hospital in the Netherlands has taken up a brave new policy of murdering defenseless, sick babies.

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - A hospital in the Netherlands - the first nation to permit euthanasia - recently proposed guidelines for mercy killings of terminally ill newborns, and then made a startling revelation: It has already begun carrying out such procedures, which include administering a lethal dose of sedatives.

The announcement by the Groningen Academic Hospital came amid a growing discussion in Holland on whether to legalize euthanasia on people incapable of deciding for themselves whether they want to end their lives - a prospect viewed with horror by euthanasia opponents and as a natural evolution by advocates.

When pro-lifers pointed out that the West was on that "slippery slope" toward child murder, they were dismissed by most people, including far too many political conservatives. "Nonsense," they said. "Abortion is about removing cell blobs. It's a stretch to say we'd go from that to murdering an infant."

Behold, the masterpiece of the Culture of Death: using men with advanced medical degrees and years of experience to kill the most vulnerable members of our society. If some toothless redneck smothered his baby daughter because she cried too much, we would rightly call him a monster. But if parents can't stand to have a "defective" baby for any longer, even if the baby's pain could be medicated until the end of his short life, and they get well-dressed, well-paid, well-groomed men with serious expressions to murder their child -- well, that's medicine, isn't it?

May God have mercy on the blackened, shriveled souls who would even conceive of such a thing.

[Pictures care of FreeDominion.ca]

Wow, today was totally awesome! I was like fifteen feet from the President, the First Lady and Condi Rice. Here's the pic of the motorcade:

The RCMP kept their promise to Canadian pro-Bush activists. In exchange for not showing up at Parliament Hill where the anti-Bush hooligans (featuring more New Yorkers than Canadians, and Bob Dylan) had gathered, the police arranged for the pro-Bush demonstration to be held within the security zone at the airport. We were not told of this until after we had met at a neutral mall parking lot, where we could sift legitimate pro-Bush supporters from anti-Bush trouble-makers.

Connie Wilkins and Mark Fournier, co-founders of Freedominion.ca, organized the rally. Free Dominion is the official Canadian sister site of Free Republic. Here's a great pic of Connie at the pre-rally in the mall parking lot, just as she's surprising us with the news that we will be rallying for the President at the airport and not the mall:

About two hundred of us showed up to rally for Bush, including some Americans. This was pretty good given the temperature was below freezing. We welcomed our American cousins as they were of the sane variety (and not the New York rioters). Also unlike the anti-Bush rally, we outnumbered the Americans by about 10 to 1 at our pro-Bush rally. Nevertheless, the Americans who showed up displayed the class as the President -- after the pre-rally, they approached each of us Canadians and personally thanked us for giving the President a warm welcome. (They also showed American hospitality when, despite our protests we should treat them as our guests, they picked up the tab for coffee and donuts at Tim Horton's between the pre-rally and the rally.)

From there we headed off to the airport, where we were allowed into the outer security ring, checked out by the RCMP and Secret Service, and began to rally along the side of the road at the airport hangar -- meaning we would be the first Canadians that the President would encounter after touchdown. We had a great time, chanting "Dubya", "We Want Bush", and "Carolyn is a Mad Cow" (a reference to Canada's most anti-American member of parliament.)

Finally, the big moment -- the fake Bush came through with his motorcade and we cheered, not quite certain if this was the real thing. Fortunately, the Secret Service intervened and held us back, at which point everything clicked for those of us who weren't certain. In hindsight, it seemed a little strange that the President was driving his own cadillac.

About ten minutes later, the real President Bush came bye. We recognized the presidential seal on his limo and started chanting "Bush!" over-and-over-again. We stopped when we saw the First Lady, and started to chant "Laura!" The president seemed a little taken aback at first, but we were sure he didn't mind.

At this point he confirmed our suspicions. The biggest Texas grin you ever saw came over his face as he slowed down the limo, stopped waving and gave us the big thumb's up. I cannot describe the euphoria we felt at that point. We were like ten to fifteen feet away from him. Some young mother pointed the president out to her toddler and said, "That's what a real leader looks like honey. He's pro-life." Half of us screamed "Bush!" while the other half screamed "Dubya!" Within a few seconds, the "Bush!" chant won out the president just nodded his head like he wanted to say, "This is way cool!"

Obviously this is what the President was thinking. We FreeDominioners would have been happy with the thumb's up and Texas grin he shared with us, but the President had something else in mind as his motorcade pulled away. He was happy we were there and he was darn well gonna show his Canadian supporters his gratitude. But we didn't know it.

From there our group disbanded as the President went downtown. He was greated by obnoxious protesters on parliament hill (protesters who became violent later on.) Meanwhile Connie and Mark joined Sonya and I for lunch downtown, near our place, which also happened to be near where the anti-Bush protest was taking place. So we had to hide our signs and whatnot. As the pizza arrived, we received news that the President was about to give a short press conference.

Then, during the press conference, the President stated: "I frankly felt like the reception we received on the way in from the airport was very warm and hospitable, and I want to thank the Canadian people who came out to wave — with all five fingers," About half an hour later is when the violence started, as we heard the sirens and watched all sorts of emergency vehicles make their way to the anti-Bush protest site.

But again, thanks to Connie and Mark from FreeDominion.ca for organizing such a warm, Canadian, five-fingered welcome for President Bush.

I finally got around to installing smoke detectors in the kids' rooms on Saturday, and I read something I didn't know: smoke detectors are only good for 10 years. After that, you should throw them out. As we have a 40-year-old house and the previous owner was something of a penny-pincher, I'm assuming ours are at least that old.

Also, you can now buy lithium-powered sealed detectors whose batteries will last 10 years, and then you throw them out. They're $20 at Home Depot, and they're one less thing I have to worry about. Just one more thing to worry about during the holidays, yes, but you might want to take a few minutes to replace your detectors. At worst, you'll lose less than an hour of your time, and at best, you will have prevented someone's premature death. Maybe even your own!

15 Reasons to consider adoption. The last two:

14. You can have some fun if your kids don't look like you, or like each other. One foster/adoptive mother of many responds to incredulous inquiries about her "unusual" family by saying: "Yes, they are all mine. They all have different fathers."

15. With adoption, you don't have to watch the development of cloning and wonder somewhere in the secret places of your heart whether you contributed in some small way to a society that accepts the manufacture of human beings.

BAGHDAD — Hope has become increasingly rare among Iraq's Christian minority, which says it is under threat as never before.

Some people who claim to believe in 'reproductive freedom' apparently don't believe in their opponents' freedom of speech.

They decided to vandalize a statue of our Lady and paint slogans next to a pro-life memorial at a Catholic parish in Cambridge, Massachusetts, over the weekend.

As an aside, so far the Boston Globe website has no coverage of this crime. Maybe they'll get around to it eventually.

Pro-lifers continue to spread the message of life: Sarah Terzo's Abortion Quotes page lets the people who've performed and experienced abortions speak for themselves.

I get the impression that my confessions are shorter than average. That is not because I sin less than other people. I try to go to confession at least once a month, and I rarely go more than six weeks without receiving the sacrament. (Grace is like gasoline to my soul: I run fine as long as I keep pouring it in regularly.)

At first, I thought I was just underestimating the time. "Time flies when you're recounting your offenses against God," as the saying goes. But a couple of weeks ago, I waited for more than an hour behind 10 people or so, and I couldn't have taken more than two minutes. This has happened with many different priests at several parishes, so I don't think I'm imagining it; even when the people in front of me are taking 5-10 minutes, I'm finished in half that time.

What's going on here? Usually, I think of my sins beforehand and rattle them off unless the confessor asks me for clarification. If there are some mitigating or exacerbating circumstances, I mention them. For example, a while ago I missed Mass through no fault of my own, but I felt relieved because I had a lot to do that evening. That was clearly not a mortal sin, but since I treated Mass that day as a chore, it showed how far I was from saintly perfection.

Do people try to get pastoral advice in the confessional? I take it if it's offered, but I don't ask for it unless I have a question about something I'm confessing. Or do a lot of people need on-the-fly catechesis, and priests try to teach the penitents that certain things are sinful? I have several spiritual shortcomings, but resistance to orthodox teachings isn't one of them.

I'm not fishing for someone to say "you're so holy, Eric," because I know that's not true. I'm truly curious.

Now is the time to pour out your wrath upon your least favorite Christmas songs. The musically feeble, the quasi-blasphemous, the cringe-inducing, the silly...vent your righteous criticism in the comments box.

Here are some of mine:

"Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer" wasn't funny the first time I heard it. It's even less funny the hundredth.

"Wonderful Christmas Time," by Paul McCartney. If it weren't Paul McCartney, nobody would play this insipid '70s synthesizer-driven trash. I note that Disney Corp.'s animatronic doll Hillary Duff has remade the song. Great! I look forward to hearing it in Macy's!

"Santa Baby." Creepy, creepy, creepy. Sexualizing a children's fantasy is always bad.

"I Saw Daddy Kissing Santa Claus." Totally inappropriate and...oh, wait — I think this is only sung by the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington. Nevermind.

"Last Christmas," by George Michael. This guy was responsible for more than his share of bad '80s lyrics ("Guilty feet ain't got no rhythm"), and this is a choice example:

Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
The very next day, you gave it away...

What are your favorite Christmas songs and hymns? For myself, I still love hearing "O Holy Night." "Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day" is a lovely and blissfully non-ubiquitous song. Corelli's Christmas Concerto in G minor is probably my favorite piece of Christmas chamber music (I wrote about it last year.) I don't have a favorite hymn, but "Adeste Fideles" gets my blood moving.

As a public service, I would like to issue my annual reminder that the Hallelujah Chorus is for Easter, not the Nativity of Our Lord and Savior.

I went to the church nearest the Nameless Entity, in a blessed old urban parish run by the Dominicans. One of my Advent penances is to go to confession every week, and I thought I'd get started a week early.

This was the second time I had this particular Dominican. He is, I'm convinced, an entirely orthodox and kindly old man, with a genuine love for sinners and an evident joy for God's creation. However, both times he didn't ask me to make an act of contrition. The second time, I said one to myself as he gave me absolution.

I believe that this is a defect in the form of the confession itself, but the absolution is still valid. But what should I do when I have him next time? Charitably correct him? I'm uncomfortable with doing that — it doesn't seem very penitential. Maybe I should say, "Father, do you mind if I say my act of contrition?" I'm open to suggestions.

Bonus question: after I went to confession, I stayed for daily Mass, but I had finished eating lunch at around 11:45 and the Communion was at about 12:35 or 12:40. I abstained from the Eucharist because I had eaten less than an hour before, because I had not planned to attend Mass.

I think I did the correct thing, but is there any kind of exemption if you did not deliberately break the one-hour fast before receiving? I don't think there is, but I just thought I'd check to see if anyone knew.

Sports Illustrated wants your vote for Sportsman of the Year, and one of the candidates is Pat Tillman, the football player who gave up millions of dollars to enlist in the Army. As you recall, he was killed fighting murderous thugs in Afghanistan earlier this year.

I don't really pay much attention to sports, so I can't say much about the other candidates. But it seems to me that the heart of sportsmanship is realizing that no matter how important the game might be, it's just a game. That's why you treat your opponent fairly, you don't cheat, you act with dignity...and sometimes, you walk away for something more important.

If you have a moment, vote Pat Tillman for Sportsman of the Year. He's the second picture from the bottom.

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13)

I kid you not. The Liberals up here are trying to have President Bush charged with War Crimes when he visits this week. (Canadian conservatives give Delta Force backed up by the NY State National Guard about 1:35 hrs to bust the Pesident out if the Canadian gov't were stupid enough to follow through.) While this seems silly enough, the lawyers behind this effort are now threatening reporters who provide unbiased commentary as well.

Speaking of which, I'll be at a pro-Bush rally in Ottawa this coming Tuesday. You can check out FreeDominion.ca for the information. If you don't see a blog entry from me by Wednesday at noon, it probably means the Velvet Curtain had Canadian pro-Bush protesters arrested for thought crimes.

Kathy Shaidle!

For those of you not tuned in to Relapsed Catholic (you should be) Kathy recently stated that she knew since her childhood that she would never win a beauty contest. While it is rare that our favorite Battle-Fem of the Dominion is wrong, we at Catholic Light's Canadian subsiduary disagreed.

Thus on behalf of many of Kathy's loyal readers, we now crown Kathy Shaidle Miss Catholic Light Canada 2004!

This week, Paige and I announced to our families and friends that we're expecting a baby next summer, right around Independence Day. For those of you keeping score, the next one should be a girl, since the pattern has been boy-girl-boy so far.

When we made the announcement last night at Thanksgiving dinner, Charlie, our older boy, thought it was great. Our daughter Anna didn't take it very well, asking if we could give the baby back. Christopher, the toddler, asked for more pie.

Paige's dad, ever the planner, was concerned about how tired she would be, the impossibility of paying for four college educations, etc. I would be lying if I told you that the same things didn't cross my mind. We have a general idea of how we will manage these things, but we hardly have things planned down to the last dime.

This year, I got a new job with a significant (though not gigantic) raise, and we bought a bigger house. Career-wise, I seem to be several years ahead of my contemporaries — during meetings at the Nameless Entity, I often look around and see no one without a few gray hairs.

I'm confident that God didn't provide these things because he wants me to ditch my crappy 14-year-old car for a Miata, or so Paige can start spending more money on clothes. I figure if we keep cooperating with him, he will continue to bless us. That's the way it's gone so far, and I don't see any reason to stop now.

Anyway, if you could spare a prayer to St. Gerard on behalf of Paige and the baby, I would greatly appreciate it.

As I write this, the 2001 Glutton Bowl is on the Fox Sports channel, with contestants vying to eat as much as possible of hot dogs (25), hamburgers (11), whole beef tongues (1.5), mayonnaise (128 fl oz), or whatever in a limited time. The Weekly Standard has a piece on the event and other forms of competitive eating.

Each competitor is introduced with some fact about their background; my favorite was the guy who had been banned from an all-you-can-eat shrimp restaurant.

It's a regular SpongeBob crime wave.

First some oversized figures of SpongeBob Squarepants were swiped from Burger Kings in Michigan, Minnesota and Utah.

Now police in Wisconsin are on the lookout for spongenappers who clipped a six-foot Squarepants that was promoting the SpongeBob movie opening.

No ransom note was left in Sheboygan -- although in Minnesota, the list of demands includes ten Crabby Patties for SpongeBob's return.

It's too late to get one for today!

New wine bottle holds 1200 glasses

The 153kg bottle was the work of master glass blowers in the Czech Republic, and holds the equivalent of 173 standard bottles of Beringer Vineyards 2001 Private Reserve Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. That translates to 1200 glasses of wine.

The bottle, dubbed Maximus, was certified as the world's largest by the Guinness World Records. The Morton's steakhouse chain, to celebrate its 25th anniversary, partnered with California-based Beringer to create the record-setting bottle.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland public school students are free to thank anyone they want while learning about the 17th century celebration of Thanksgiving — as long as it's not God.

And that is how it should be, administrators say.

Young students across the state read stories about the Pilgrims and Native Americans, simulate Mayflower voyages, hold mock feasts and learn about the famous meal that temporarily allied two very different groups.

But what teachers don't mention when they describe the feast is that the Pilgrims not only thanked the Native Americans for their peaceful three-day indulgence, but repeatedly thanked God.

"We teach about Thanksgiving from a purely historical perspective, not from a religious perspective," said Charles Ridgell, St. Mary's County Public Schools curriculum and instruction director.

The article also quoted school administrators from several counties who said they do not include religious matter in their curriculums. None of the persons quoted said the state had directed the schools to exclude the teaching of religion.
However, Mr. Ehrlich criticized the article, saying it reported that the state has set the local school districts' curriculums.
"I have checked with my education folks [and] that is not accurate at all," the Republican governor said. "Obviously, curric- ulum issues are local in nature. Local school boards have a lot of input in curriculum issues."

No, it doesn't really look like this:

But there's a real-life Confession-Mobile in Germany, offering "reconciliation with God and men":Of course, for the charity Aid to the Church in Need, taking the grace of the sacraments into the marketplace is standard procedure.

Robert Conrad sentenced for DUI accident

Or do is this a true patriot?

Great-Grandmother Being Deployed to Iraq

"I volunteered," said Lena Haddix... "I wanted to do something for the country, because I was always left behind taking care of the children."

Please keep Kathy Hannan in your prayers, she has terminal cancer and will likely pass into eternity in the coming days. She had been an administrative assistant at our parish.

(Thanks to Grig at FreeDominion.ca)

Since the following comment from the thread on Tim Drake's new book was, for lack of a better expression, off-topic, I thought I would re-post it here:

-----------
Why would anyone accept Peter Vere's opinions? Even the Adoremus Bulletin disagrees with his views (see the letters section in the October 2004 edition of the Adoremus Bulletin). He likes to think that he doesn't criticize traditional Catholics as a whole, yet his many writings (letters, articles, etc) tend to lean in that direction.

The bottom line is that like many modern Catholics, he does not know anything about the Traditional Latin Mass, fails to define it in accord with traditional Church teaching, and fails to know its true history and development. Tim Drake has this same problem! They lack intellectual honesty. Yet Vere will say he attends the "old" Mass but where is his defense of it? He is more of a critic of the traditionalist movement than a friend. Meanwhile, the Church is being infiltrated with blasphemies such as the charismatic pentecostal-style Life Teen Mass and the "gay mass", but no books or articles are written against these issues by neo-catholics, yet the Traditionalist movement, which is far less common in the Church, is more criticized

-fr. adler, STL
-----------------------

Anyway, time for another plug of More Catholic Than The Pope...

This snipet of "hocus-pocus Catholicism meets pop-culture and gets paid for it" guarantees we'll be seeing images of the Virgin Mary in all sorts of things...

And here's the winner of the most counter-productive devotional statement of all time:

"I would like all people to know that I do believe that this is the Virgin Mary Mother of God," Duyser, a work-from-home jewelry designer, said in the casino's statement.

Often, when I'm looking for something at CVS, I notice the aisle containing something called "Family Planning." I've looked at the contents, and except for the ovulation detectors, it's all about contraception.

Shouldn't the aisle thus be called "Family Prevention"?

Yesterday, we sang the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" as the recessional hymn. Only in "Gather," it's listed as "Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory." Wouldn't want to use the common title! So bellicose!

I could live with the name change, but I can't take the politically correct bowdlerization of the hymn's words themselves.

Verse 3: "He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgement seat"
becomes
"He is sifting out all human hearts...."

Verse 4: "As he died to make men holy, let us die to make men free"
becomes
"As he died to make all holy, let us die that all be free."

Which, I suppose, is a little better than "let us live to make all free," which is another variation I've seen. Who dares to do such things? Probably the same people who lecture us about the integrity of "art" and the "artist." Unless the artist is dead, and the art in question's copyright has expired.

Somebody made these changes so that "men" is not used as a generic plural noun for male and female human beings. The rationale is that women are oppressed when such a thing gets printed in a hymnal.

The reason this is stupid -- and I apologize if you think "stupid" is name-calling, but the adjective is perfect -- the words of the hymn were written by Julia Ward Howe. As the name implies, she was a woman!

To all those who want to impose their feminist ideas on the rest of us by changing the words to one of the most well-known and beloved hymns in American history, I have four words of advice: Write your own damn hymn.

Amen.

An ad for "Spam Washer E-mail Software"

Ah, irony.

...Tim Drake has a new blog to celebrate his new book of the same name. It's a great book, which I recommend to anyone wondering where the Church is headed or anyone tempted to despair over the Church in America. You can visit Tim's new blog at www.youngandcatholic.com and find out more about Tim's new book, and about what young Catholics are up to and even submit your own profile as a young Catholic.

[Update -- at the request of some of my old homeschooling friends, I'm also opening up this contest to homeschoolers who wish to participate, provided they have the permission of their parents.]

As my long-time readers are aware, each fall I put up a copy of one of my books for a mini-competition. This year, the book is Surprised by Canon Law and the competition is open to all Catholic homeschooling moms hanging around St. Blog. In 100 words or less, please share in the comments' section why canon law should be a part of your child's homeschooling curricula. Best entry receives a free autographed copy. Contest closes Dec. 15th, 2004.

[Here's the unedited version of my November Of Canons and Culture column for the Wanderer.]

For the first time since returning to Canada, I’m surrounded by young orthodox Catholics. Like the rest of the Canadian cottage industry, literally speaking, the Viamede Resort considers late autumn the off-season. The weather is beautiful and the cottage rentals are inexpensive. Thus about sixty of us have gathered outside of Peterborough to relax, pray, and network among ourselves.

John O’Brien, son of Catholic novelist Michael O’Brien, is the main organizer of this gathering. As principal of Wayside Academy, John is part of the growing private Catholic education movement in Canada. According to the school’s website, Wayside Academy “is dedicated to forming young Catholic students into the leaders of tomorrow, and teaches according to the ‘classical curriculum’ method, which stresses the grammar, logic, and rhetoric of each subject.”

While the school currently teaches students from grades one to ten, O’Brien plans on adding a junior high-school year in September of 2005 and a senior year in 2006. Readers concerned with the modern state of Catholic education may should stop by Wayside’s website and read John’s excellent reflection: Catholic Education: Principles of Recovery.

Fr. Scott McCaig from the Companions of the Cross is this year’s retreat master. His preaching on the Sacrament of Confession is legendary among Catholics and in Canada. He did not disappoint. Father spoke of personal prayer, Lectio Divina, and the need for regular confession within the context of St. Ignatius of Loyola’s spirituality. “To be effective in carrying out the Church’s apostolate,” Father states, “you must face your sins honestly in the confessional. God already knows your sins, but you must face them candidly and receive the grace of this sacrament, or both you and your apostolate will falter over time.” Sage advice from an experienced confessor.

John Pacheco and his family rented a nearby cottage. We have five girls between the two families, and other young couples brought the fruit of their marriage as well. So this is a wonderful opportunity for our wives to form lasting friendships as our children run along the beach and explore nature’s mysteries.

Earlier this evening, I enjoyed a glass of brandy with Luc Gagnon, no stranger to the Wanderer, and Jason Kenney. Jason is the thirty-five years old Member of Parliament from Calgary, Alberta. Since winning his first federal election over seven years’ ago, Jason has grown into the most reliable voice of social-conservatism in Canadian politics.

During the Clinton years, Jason became the subject of a strange Canadian sex scandal. The controversy began when the mainstream media reported Jason had previously sworn off pre-marital sex near the beginning of his political career . After his conversion to Catholicism, Jason would share that Pope John Paul II was his main inspiration to do so. Nevertheless, Canada’s mainstream media found Kenney’s revelation more upsetting than that of the former US president. Given the nation’s permissive approach to sex education, how had the public school system failed Canada’s youngest and most promising politicians? Yet Jason survived this episode with his morals intact. He is living proof one can aspire to a political career in Canada without forfeiting one’s moral virtue–a lesson our “Catholic” prime minister likely finds disconcerting.

For my own part, I enjoyed this opportunity to reconnect with fellow orthodox Catholics in Canada and share in what G.K. Chesterton once dubbed “the fellowship of the pint, the pipe and the cross.” After a hectic move during the summer followed by a punishing schedule this past fall, I needed to rekindle my prayer life. It had become rather dry as I increasingly found myself simply going through the motions. Like any good physician of the soul, Fr. McCaig drew upon Holy Scripture and the wisdom of the saints to heal me from this latest bout of spiritual malaise.

Additionally, O’Brien invited me to introduce my two new books to the Canadian audience gathered. These are: More Catholic Than the Pope: An Inside Look at Extreme Traditionalism, co-authored with Patrick Madrid, and Surprised by Canon Law: 150 Questions Laypeople Ask About Canon Law. I co-authored this last title with Michael Trueman who is also a lay canonist. Although the books have been available in the United States for over a month, they are just hitting Catholic bookstores in my native land.

After watching the Catholic faith die in Canada over the past three decades, this weekend left me optimistic. Other young Catholics are working to reclaim Catholic orthodoxy in Canada, and we are slowly networking and coming together for the greater glory of Christ and His Church. Please keep us in prayer.

there's a Web site for everything.

On NRO, Jack Dunphy gives his take on the marine accused of killing a wounded Iraqi insurgent in Fallujah. Trust me, it's worth reading the whole thing for last couple of paragraphs.

Addiction to porn destroying lives, Senate told - link via Drudge

Mary Anne Layden, co-director of a sexual trauma program at the University of Pennsylvania, said pornography's effect on the brain mirrors addiction to heroin or crack cocaine. She told of one patient, a business executive, who arrived at his office at 9 a.m. each day, logged onto Internet porn sites, and didn't log off until 5 p.m.

A friend of mine is a divorced mother of a 17 year old. She tells me she keeps track of what her son is doing on the internet with the computer in his room. "I don't mind him looking at porn as long as it's not too sick," she said.

That's a real problem. I explained to her what the probable effects of a habit of pornography begun during such formative years. How is he going to view women if he looks at porn all day? As sexual objects for his own gratification. Do you think he's going to be able to be chaste when he's dating if he spends a good chunk of time watching porn every day? Do you think he'll have a long-term, loving marriage with a woman if all he's focused on is sexual gratification. Do you think he'll want to get married at all or just shack up while it's convenient and expedient?

She wasn't willing to consider any of the potential effects of his budding porn habit. I think she was afraid to confront him about it, perhaps she didn't even see anything wrong with it. But that's just one kind of victim of pornography. The "performers" themselves are also victims, probably the worst victims. I know the Old Oligarch has posted on this in the past but I can't find any links on his site. O-O, if you're reading, post a link if you will.

Help a brother out here. I'm looking for an Encyclopedia of Catholic Symbols in general and information about dominican symbols specificially: the Dominican Shield, the habit, and the Dominican Cross.

Please help me out in the comments or over email! Thanks a million!

A reader in Massachusetts sent a note the other day looking for some advice. She's thinking of moving to Virginia, together with her husband and their several little kids, and she'd like to know if she can find strong and sound church life there. Can our Virginia readers and writers recommend places to live or schools to attend (Catholic or public)? How the Commonwealth is doing in regard to Catholic issues? (Probably better than Massachusetts.)

Discuss.

Just found out via Mark Shea's blog that Gerard Serafin, writer of the Catholic Blog for Lovers and keeper of St. Blog parish roll has passed on. His warmth really shined through in his writings. He was always a ray of light among us and will be missed very much. Please pray for his soul.

A meteor is coming and we're all going to die, British teacher tells pupils- link via Drudge

A British schoolteacher, attempting to motivate her pupils into making the most of each day, told them a meteorite was about to smash into the Earth and that they should all return home to say goodbye to their families, a report said.

The teacher at the high school in Manchester, northwest England, only realised her lecture was misjudged when many of the assembled teenagers started crying, the Sun newspaper said in its Friday edition.

According to the report, the unnamed female teacher made the announcement to around 250 pupils at St Matthew's Roman Catholic High School during their regular morning assembly..

The Times of London doesn't seem to be terribly sympathetic to the beleagured insurgents of Fallujah.

THE last hours of the mujahidin are terrifying. With the city they once ruled with the absolute authority of medieval caliphs now overrun by American and Iraqi troops, they have to keep moving. To pause even for a few minutes can mean instant death from an unseen enemy. A group of 15 fighters dressed in black and carrying an array of weapons ducked into a two-storey house in war-torn southern Fallujah yesterday morning. Their movement was picked up by an unmanned spy plane that beamed back live footage to a control centre on the edge of the city. Within minutes, an airstrike was called and the house disappeared in a giant plume of grey smoke.

From a house across the road, the explosion flushed out another group of guerrillas. Deafened by the blast, they stumbled out into the street, formed a ragged line and started off on the marathon to postpone their deaths, the drone dogging their every step.

The battle for Fallujah is all but over. The main north-south road in the once-dreaded Jolan district is a US military highway. Any guerrilla who could make his way back up from the last pockets of resistance in the south would see the mujahidin graffiti — “Jihad, jihad, jihad, God is Greatest and Islam will win” — replaced by slogans daubed by the US-backed Iraqi Army, posted the length of the route.

Apart from a few women and children, the only civilians [the Iraqi officer] had seen were men of fighting age, about 500, detained for vetting. He said that some civilians had said that insurgent snipers had shot anyone trying to leave their homes. As US troops sweep through the houses, they are unearthing the insurgents’ horrifying secrets — more akin to the handiwork of serial killers than guerrillas or even terrorists — that have shocked the world and explain why this offensive has met with so little opposition from the Arab world.

In the south of Fallujah yesterday, US Marines found the armless, legless body of a blonde woman, her throat slashed and her entrails cut out. Benjamin Finnell, a hospital apprentice with the US Navy Corps, said that she had been dead for a while, but at that location for only a day or two. The woman was wearing a blue dress; her face had been disfigured. It was unclear if the remains were the body of the Irish-born aid worker Margaret Hassan, 59, or of Teresa Borcz, 54, a Pole abducted two weeks ago. Both were married to Iraqis and held Iraqi citizenship; both were kidnapped in Baghdad last month.

US and Iraqi troops have discovered kidnappers’ lairs filled with corpses or emaciated prisoners half-mad with fear, and piles of bodies of men who had refused to fight with the insurgents. As the guerrillas run their last sprint from death, sympathy for their cause is running out among Iraqis.

Specter Wins Judiciary Panel Chairmanship - foxnews.com

Defying Islamic traditions, a Bahraini woman disguised herself as a bearded Muslim sheikh to lead Friday prayers but was stopped before she reached the pulpit, a cleric said on Thursday...

"At first I didn't think it was a woman. I thought it was just a cleric I didn't know. Then when her beard began to slide off and her voice grew soft during a scuffle we found out she was a woman," the sheikh said.

This one I don't have to see to tell you what I think. Yuck.

Incidentally, I'm sick of people telling me I just have to accept gayness or bisexuality, historic or otherwise.

...reports the priest, who pleaded guilty to a single count of ordering child porn online has been sentenced to 30 months in jail and two years of probation.

Reverend Matthew Carnacky, who has served in nine parishes throughout the city and suburbs was sentenced on charges of knowingly possessing child pornography.

The 57-year-old Carnacky was removed from active ministry in July of 2003 after he become part of a New York based pornography probe.

It's Adam. He just ate the new "Monster Burger" from Hardee's. While McDonald's is phasing out the "Super" sizes, no doubt in the interest of public health but possibly motivated by the fear of a class-action lawsuit decades hence, Hardee's puts forth this delicious combination of cow and pig - a 2/3 pound double burger with bacon and so much cheese it can hardly be called cheese only, a new adjective is needed to describe the amount of cheese contained therein. It is a gigantical portion of cheese. Caseus magnus. But why call it the "Monster Burger"? They would do well to give it some appeal to the hip-hop generation by calling it the "Monstah Burger" which, incidentally would be my rapper name if I was a rapper. It would be either "Monstah Burger" or "Massive Breakfast." My rapper name, I mean.

Anyhow, don't eat the Monster Burger- it's bad for you and gluttons go to Hell. Pray for Adam.

A laxative for the soul.

...a bad day.

UPDATE: Kevin Sites, the NBC journalist at the scene, doesn't seem convinced that he saw a murder: "I have witnessed the [M]arines behaving as a disciplined and professional force throughout this offensive. In this particular case, it certainly was a confusing situation to say the least."

1. The guy wasn't a prisoner, he was a combatant. After a combatant indicates he wishes to surrender, and is searched and restrained (hands tied, blindfolded, etc.), then he is a prisoner. Until then, he's a combatant.

2. Unlike civilians, enemy combatants are presumed to be mortal threats unless they are obviously incapacitated or have surrendered. This combatant was apparently making no move to surrender, although he may have been incapacitated, which would be a crucial fact.

3. From the time of the initial invasion last year, the insurgents have completely disregarded the laws of war, which ban the use of the "ruse," appearing to surrender and then continuing to fight when the Coalition forces approach them. They have also booby-trapped dead and wounded men, as well as used the suicide-bomber attire that is so fashionable on the West Bank.

4. We have no idea what all the facts are. One left-wing Australian paper calls this incident "cold-blooded murder." I am betting that they haven't used that phrase to describe the bombings of Iraqi marketplaces or police stations.

5. Under Catholic teaching, it is permissible for servicemen acting under legitimate authority to use deadly force against the enemy -- even when the an individual member of the enemy poses no immediate threat. For example, if a enemy soldier is sleeping in his bed, one can justifiably slit his throat. It might not be nice, it might not be sporting, but it is permissible.

6. Sprinkled in with our military — indeed, any fighting force — are those contemptable persons who enjoy the thrill of killing for its own sake. They can be weeded out beforehand, but some will always slip through. That being said, I have no idea whether this Marine fits into that category.

7. Marines will protect their own, but if one of their own has done something criminal or dishonorable, God help him, because the Marine Corps won't. Robert Bork, himself a Marine lawyer in the 1950s, says that if he were a innocent defendent, he would want to face a military jury, but if he were guilty, he would prefer a civilian jury.

An aside: This has no bearing on the moral question of whether this shooting was justified, but I am reminded of the Iranian response to the USS Vincennes accidently shooting down one of its civilian airliners, killing dozens of people. According to one account that I read, the Iranian government believed that it wasn't an accident — they truly thought the U.S. directly ordered the shooting.

Here's the sick part: afterwards, the Iranians were impressed with our "bloodthirstiness," and resolved to treat the U.S. with more respect. After all, it's something they would have done to demonstrate their own lack of scruples. That's one of a zillion examples of why we're deeply involved with pacifying the Middle East.

The stuff is hitting the fan here in Arlington. Silenced priest warns of gay crisis - Washtimes

I can't believe I missed this story earlier today. Fr. James Haley has dropped another bomb in the media, as if the covers of gay porno mags on the evening news three years ago wasn't enough, he says now that based on his experience in the Diocese 60% of the presbyterate is gay. What the heck?

Here's my take: Reverend Haley didn't get what he wanted from Bishop Loverde when he came forward with evidence of priestly wrongdoing, so he went to the media. Haley hasn't gotting a ruling on the proceedings held to determine if he will be laicized, so he is going to the media again. The truth of the original allegations in no way justifies him going to the media with the evidence he presented to Bishop Loverde. Not only did he disobey Bishop Loverde, he scandalized the Diocese in the worst way possible. He's doing it again.

Sal -

It really is a night to say what the heck! [He's referencing my post below] If any of you were unlucky enough to watch the Bishop's Conference Mass this evening at the National Shrine you're probably thinking the same thing. The bishops were commemorating the 25th anniversary of their pastoral letter on racism, Brothers and Sisters to Us, in which they declared "racism is a sin." Let me tell you, that Mass was a sin.I tuned in towards the beginning right before the proclamation of the Gospel in time to see the camera pan a shot of the front row of bishops which was the entire black episcopate in the United States. So what? It's Bishop Gregory's last Mass as Conference President; they honor the black bishops and promote the black cause. Nice enough. Then as if transported to the deep South the Gospel choir begins their rendition of the Alleluia in rounds. But wait, you think it can't get more interesting? Oh, my friends, it does. I flipped back in time to see the recessional out and was amazed to see the "crowds" in the Basilica. They must have been at least 200 strong! In a Basilica that can seat thousands, at one of the most important Masses of the year, and at a time when our bishops need some kind of support where is the flock? I am reminded of the quote from Scripture, Matthew's Gospel I believe, "like sheep without a shepherd." Hmmmm, seems like the shepherds are missing their sheep. What do you think?

Sincerely

M. Ball

Mr. Ball,

I think your views don't reflect those of the happy bloggers here at CL. But thanks for writing anyhow.

This weekend, my wife and I were at a little town on a river in eastern Virginia. The parish church probably sat 200 people and had only one Mass on Sunday morning because the priest has to say Mass at a mission parish early in the day.

Here's some highlights:

Mass was packed and had people standing in the lobby. We arrived about 15 minutes early and made it just in time to find two seats in the choir loft (no choir in the loft - just additional seating.)

Mass was 35 minutes long with full music.

About 50% of the attendees were over 70.

There's a bunch of devotional groups at this parish. There's a glass-encased Infant of Prague outside, there's a Marian group, among others. It was nice to see that even though Mass was brief, the parish seems to have a strong devotional life.

The inscription on base of the Infant of Prague statue read "Get this silly outfit off me!"

The organ had full tremolo on. I turned to my wife and said "Hot dog!" and she said "Where are my roller skates?"

There were many, many Bush/Cheney stickers on cars in the lot.

There were big signs in the lobby area that said "You can't be Pro-Choice and Catholic!"

Attention readers in DE, PA, and NJ. A friend pointed this rather cryptic ad out to me via email about the estate of a deceased priest being put up for auction. A blurb can be found on this website for the date of November 13:

Father Hewitt had collected massive sizes and amounts of 100 year old italian marble from St. Michael's Passionist Monastery in union city, NJ. Along with statues, icons, marble cornices, and WWII Marine Corp, full library (700+ volumes), restaurant ware (Buffalo and Shenango Pottery, stainless cookery, etc.), and an outhouse (Yes, We're selling the outhouse).

UPDATE: Word from my friend was the auction was a mix of religious folks and antique dealers. A good soul did successfully bid on a full-size statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel for the Carmelite Nuns of the Ancient Observance in Coopersburg, PA. The nuns were ectastic to get the statue.

My choir will be doing the Ralph Vaughan Williams "Antiphon" from Five Mystical Songs on Christ the King. If you don't know that set of songs, you should load up WinMX and poke around. Or go to the library. Or hit Amazon.com.

It's a pretty tough piece: the parts are high, there are many key changes, the organ part is a beast. We managed to learn the parts last night, so we should be in good shape for a week from Sunday.

Here's the text:

Let all the world in every corner sing,
My God and King!

The heavens are not too high,
His praise may thither fly:
The earth is not too low,
His praises there may grow.

Let all the world in every corner sing,
My God and King!

The church with Psalms must shout.
No door can keep them out:
But above all, the heart
Must bear the longest part.

Let all the world in every corner sing,
My God and King!

Consider the following from this site:

WHAT: A prayer vigil to call attention to a
growing atmosphere of homophobia in the Catholic Church.
WHEN: Tuesday, Nov. 9, 8-9:30am & 3:30-5pm.
WHERE: Chancery of the Arlington Diocese at 200 N. Glebe Rd., Arlington, Va.
WHO: Soulforce DC and other supportive groups and people of faith who are concerned about the fundamentalist drift of the Catholic Church.
WHY: The Arlington Diocese has not responded to 3 recent letters from Soulforce DC expressing our concern about the tone and
content of recent statements and documents from the Catholic Church concerning gays and lesbians. They have ignored our requests
for dialogue to begin the process of reconciliation and healing. We vigil to let
the victims of homophobia know that they are not alone and to give them hope for a more just and loving world.

Did it happen?

(Thanks to Fr. Sibley for the link.)

I have occasionally expressed bewilderment at Maureen Dowd, who holds the Anna Quindlen Pseudo-Catholic Chair at New York Times University. Her columns are shoddily written, too-clever-by-four-fifths screeds; indeed, I once asked, "is Maureen Dowd the dumbest prominent columnist in America, or the most prominent dumb columnist in America?"

Honesty requires me, though, to point out when she says something that is truly clever, and spirited to boot. The New York Post's gossip column says:

SEN. Zell Miller (D-Ga.) laced into New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd yesterday on the "Imus in the Morning" radio show, saying, "The more Maureen Loud [sic] gets on 'Meet the Press' and writes those columns, the redder these states get. I mean, they don't want some highbrow hussy from New York City explaining to them that they're idiots and telling them that they're stupid." Miller also suggested "that red-headed woman at the New York Times" should not mock anyone's religion: "You can see horns just sprouting up through that Technicolor hair." Dowd responds: "I'm not a highbrow hussy from New York. I'm a highbrow hussy from Washington. Senator, pistols or swords?"

Three institutions made me what I am today: the Roman Catholic Church, my family, and the United States Marines. The latter is turning 229 today, which is a cause for celebration among Marines around the world.

At the moment, Marines in Fallujah are celebrating by demolishing a snake pit of oppressive murderers. By all accounts, they are doing well, and one more chapter of our history is being written. The Marine Corps has never lost a battle in its entire history, and it will not now.

Long before I went to war, I thought about the kind of person I would want by my side if I were in combat. I figured I'd want a bunch of ruthless killers around. Not amoral murderers, but men who were at peace with themselves and well-trained to react correctly. A moment of mortal danger isn't the time for self-doubt or philosophizing.

It's a good feeling to be around hundreds of men whom you've never personally met, but who would crawl through a hail of bullets to drag your wounded body to safety. Which is why I'll forgive my brother Marines for their occasional crudities and failings.

Happy birthday, Marines. I wish you safety, and above all, victory over the unjust. I wish I could be there with you.

John. J. Miller cites some NRLC ratings at The Corner:

In the 105th, 106th, and 107th Congresses, Reid actually earned a higher pro-life rating than Specter. Imagine that: the Democrats' minority leader is more consistently pro-life than the Republican who is next in line to chair the Judiciary Committee.

On the Ignatius Press website.

He said the party is desperately in need of a compelling narrative to tell voters, rather than the "litany of issues" the party stands for now.
He said Mr. Bush and Republicans presented just such a story: "These guys had a narrative — we're going to protect you from the terrorists in Tikrit and from the homos in Hollywood. That's it," he said. "I think we could elect somebody from Beverly Hills if they had some compelling narrative to tell people about what the country is."

The democrats did have a narrative - Bush is an idiot and anyone who votes for him is a retard. Again, not compelling. I don't think the Democrats will ever be able to reconcile the rabid secularists with Christians. The "big tent" just isn't that big.

'Fired Up' Kerry Returning to Senate
Aides Say He Wants to Act as Counter to Bush,
and Possibly Run in 2008

Rod Dreher on the Corner on NRO.

My friend Jonah Goldberg swats one out of the park today:

What Maher, Raines, and Smiley fail to grasp is that all morality is based upon transcendence — or it is merely based on utilitarianism of one kind or another, and therefore it is not morality so much as, at best, an enlightened expediency or will-to-power. It is no more rational to vote based on a desire to do "good" than it is to vote based on a desire to do God's will. Indeed, for millions of people this is a distinction without a difference — as it was for so many of the abolitionists progressives and civil-rights leaders today's liberals love to invoke but never actually learn about.

Love, in fact, is just as silly and superstitious a concept as God (and for those who believe God is Love, this too is a distinction without a difference). Chesterton's observation that the purely rational man will not marry is just as correct today, because science has done far more damage to the ideal of love than it has done to the notion of an awesome God beyond our ken. Genes, hormones, instincts, evolution: These are the cause for the effect of love in the purely rational man's textbook. But Maher would get few applause lines from his audience of sophisticated yokels if he mocked love as a silly superstition. This is, in part, because the crowd he plays to likes the idea of love while it dislikes the idea of God; and in part because these people feel love, so they think it exists. But such is the extent of their solipsism and narcissism that they not only reject the existence of God but go so far as to mock those who do not, simply because they don't feel Him themselves. And, alas, in elite America, feelings are the only recognized foundation of metaphysics.

It's time to get back to things Catholic like bashing church art since Vatican II. At first I thought to entitle this post "abstract art" in Latin, but upon consulting a Latin dictionary I found there is no word for "abstract." Abstract art is ars quod nulo sensu percipi notio mente sola concepta or “art removed from the sphere of the senses.” Amazing what Latin tells us about ourselves, isn't it? Abstract art isn't entirely removed from the realm of the senses. Such as it is, it obviously presents something to the senses.

Consider a church that removed a beautiful Crucifix and replaced it with a big, red wall. The Crucifix is a symbol of so many of the treasures of the faith: the mystery of the Incarnation, the price of our redemption, the eternal high priest, the wisdom, power, and humiliy of God. I could go on but you get the point. The big, red wall is a big, red wall. "It's the blood of Christ, Sal." No, it's a big, red wall. And near the big, red wall is a priest who never preaches about the Eucharist. You could say it is anything! It's a sunset, it's a sunrise, it's red, red wine. The point is the meaning isn't evident. Anyone can say it is about anything. They could even say red is blue or green if they wish.

An example are these visages of the Stations of the Cross. Aside from the Roman numerals there is nothing literally symbolic them. Are those the women (all two of them!) of Jerusalem weeping as the head of Jesus passes along the way? I think these stations are wretched. Welcome to that 70's Parish.

Denis Boyles on NRO. Read this amazing intro:

In the middle of the thundering herd's race to blame the values issue for Kerry's defeat, Jeff Jacoby — the Boston Globe's tenuous link to reason — had some bad news for the idiots of the global village this week: "For four years, Americans watched and listened as President Bush was demonized with a savagery unprecedented in modern American politics....And then on Tuesday they turned out to vote and handed the haters a crushing repudiation."

Very cutting edge, Americans. We may be on to something again. In the '60s, it was free love. Nobody had to pay for it. Now it's free hate — and nobody's buying that, either. Virtually every major European newspaper is giving away lifetime supplies of toxic text and poisonous bile, all directed toward George W. Bush and the Americans hate-filled Brian Reade in the Mirror calls "the frightened and clueless...self-righteous, gun-totin', military lovin', sister marryin', abortion-hatin', gay-loathin', foreigner-despisin', non-passport ownin' red-necks...who hijack the word patriot and liken compassion to child-molesting." Persuasive, no?

No, it's not. The party without a soul has some soul-searching to do.

"You see, to me, protecting the unborn child follows naturally from everything I know about my party and about my country. Nothing could be more foreign to the American experience than legalized abortion. It is inconsistent with our national character, with our national purpose, with all that we've done, and with everything we hope to be." - Gov. Robert Casey

...this past election, in more ways than one. Just when I thought my Casey Democrat heart couldn't rejoice any further, I discover that in bucking the Democratic Party's pro-abortion/anti-marriage platform, Casey democrats also bucked the [WARNING: Coarse Analogy] middle-finger that middle-America sent Hollywood Democrats. Democrats-for-Life has just posted the following score-card. If current trends continue, it appears that we may be the only Democrats left as voters continue to abort the political aspirations of Abortion Democrats.

[Update -- just discovered from a fellow Casey Democrat, albeit one who stuck by the party this past election and tried to bring change from the inside, that not all of the above candidates won. Nevertheless, he said enough pulled through so that things are still looking pretty good.]

Sorry for another shameless self-promotion, but Zenit recently interviewed me over my new book Surprised by Canon Law. Although the interview initially began with questions about the book, we soon strayed into all sorts of hefty issues like the legitimacy of children after an annulment, pro-abort Catholic politicians receiving Holy Communion, and the inviolability of the seal of confession in light of the recent sexual misconduct crisis among the clergy. Here's a link to the complete text of the interview.

...here's an actual sign from PA that, if we substitute "Borking" for "Working", would say it all

A Party on Its Knees by George Neumayr in the American Spectator

The problem is that Casey Democrats find themselves in such bad company. The "people of faith" (a PC way of saying "Christians") are continually marginalized by those who believe religion is for dunderheads and throwbacks from the Dark Ages. Expect the leopard to change its spots on the outside and retain it's atheistic guile on the inside. Maybe Hillary will get ordained a Baptist minister before '08! And Barak Obama will become Catholic and change his name to Barak O'Connor.

Happy Sunday, everyone!

Update: please visit NotSpecter.com

I should probably know better by now. Readers consistently send me the most compliments when I'm writing about canon law, and the most hate mail when I write about politics. That being said....

As a Casey Democrat, one of the things that most irked me about the last election is that the DNC refused to run a pro-life democrat even when it was in their best interest to do so. Take Arlen Specter. The Pennsylvania senator possesses less credibility vis-a-vis family values than Bill Clinton addressing a teen chastity conference. A Casey Democrat could have easily unseated Specter.

Even Ann Coulter said she would vote Democrat in any race where Specter was the Republican candidate. Along with Kennedy and Daschle, Specter has repeatedly outed himself in the Senate as the third member of the Abortion Trinity. Mere days have passed since the election, and Specter couldn't wait to betray social conservatives. In case you haven't heard, Specter warned Bush not to name any pro-life candidates for judicial appointments. This is the thanks the pro-life Bush and Santorum receive for saving Specter's electoral butt during the primaries...

Someone needs to point out to the GOP that they won this election because Casey Democrats and Miller Democrats crossed over to their side on the family values platform. Granted, Miller Democrats also support the war in Iraq, but for the most part Casey Democrats do not. The latter also do not support most of the Republican fiscal platform. But they split their vote precisely because abortion and marriage are two non-negotiable issues that trump fiscal policy.

Additionally, we need to protest and complain to Rick Santorum. I respect all his hard work in the Senate for pro-life causes, but he co-operated with evil when he supported Specter over Pat Toomey during the Republican primaries. While we cannot know with absolute certitude what would have happened in the primaries, the race was so tight that Toomey would likely have won if Santorum had supported him. Heck, he likely would have won if Santorum had simply stayed out of the race rather than rally behind Specter.

Even the best people make mistakes now and then, which is why I don't hold this against Santorum. I believe Santorum is a good and honest pro-lifer who has the best interest of children in the womb at heart. But we must still protest and take Santorum to task for supporting Specter during the primaries. We can forgive him this lapse of judgment, however, he has an obligation to make things right insofar as he is capable.

It's time to rally the forces and Bork Specter's potential appointment as chair of the Senate Judicial committee.

A bit of good news: farmers are facing up to water shortages by adopting 'no-till' methods that reduce the need for irrigation. I'm glad to hear it. Living within our (environmental) means isn't as scary as people might think.

"MoveOn CurlsUp InCorner"

David Horowitz says those who pushed the gay agenda is this election undid themselves.

In the previous post, I used the phrase "Loony Left," which I apply not to honest, intellectually serious people who hold liberal views, but to the people on the left who are truly unhinged.

If you want a working definition of the Loony Left, look at these pictures from an anti-Bush rally in Berkeley the day after the election. [WARNING: bad language on a few of the signs.]

My favorite is the "CAN WE SECEDE ALREADY?" sign. Yes! Yes, you can! Do you want just the Bay Area, or all of California?

The runner-up is "I'M ASHAMED TO BE AMERICAN." I've always thought it was easier to change yourself rather than change the world around you, so maybe that guy should emigrate. That way, he won't have to be ashamed, because he won't be an American. And we have one fewer nut-case on the streets. Everybody wins.

Giant turd Michael Moore, fresh off his four-year-long campaign to defeat George Bush, has taken down his self-promoting, self-congratulatory Web site, replacing it with a list of Americans who died in the War on Terror, and a collage of their faces that make up an image of President Bush.

You might think this is a mournful tribute to those who died in a needless war, and that Moore only opposes the War on Terror because he cares so much for the "little guy" who suffers. But that is one of the turd's little conceits. In fact, he does not care at all about death and suffering, unless the death or suffering is useful to him.

You will recall that hours after the September 11 attacks, he lamented that the hijackers killed a lot of Gore voters, not Bush voters. (That statement was removed from his site, but plenty of people saw it and quoted it.)

You will recall that he compared the vicious thugs in Fallujah to the Minutemen (did the Minutemen ever murder and desecrate the corpses of British contractors trying to protect a food shipment?) He also said the thugs will win.

You will recall that his "Fahrenheit 9/11" exploited scenes of injured U.S. servicemen.

You will recall that he wished for the deaths of American servicemen on his Web site, to expiate the sin of going to war against the peace-loving regime of Saddam Hussein.

To our friends on the left: dump the turd! It will be good for you. He's a master manipulator, egging you on so you'll pay attention to him. At the ballot box, he's a hindrance. While you're at it, ignore the rest of the Loony Left, too.

Many of you, like me, have been drowning in election-related news this week, but let's not lose sight of a remarkable fact: two powerful pro-abortion pseudo-Catholics went down to defeat, in large part because they were pro-abortion.

Senator Tom Daschle won his seat as a pro-lifer, but once his ambition seized him, he dumped that stand, going so far as to sign a fundraising letter for Planned Parenthood. South Dakota voters, among the most conservative and religious in the nation, dumped him for a staunchly pro-life candidate.

Senator John Kerry, who went around saying that he was an altar boy in his youth (just like Hitler!), was one of the most reliable pro-abortion votes in the Senate. You probably heard that he lost to that pro-life other guy, whatshisname.

In Daschle's case, his bishop explicitly and publicly singled him out for his crimes against human life &mdash and it worked. Despite winning numerous statewide offices over a quarter-century, and despite the clout he brought South Dakota by being the minority leader, voters turned him out.

Kerry's case is much less clearly linked to an episcopal rebuke. However, many bishops made it clear that Catholic politicians must not cooperate with evil by voting for laws that violate human life. In the crucial states that Kerry lost (Ohio and Florida in particular), that resonated.

Don't believe me? Consider this: John Kerry, only the third Catholic nominated for the presidency by a major party, received a minority of Catholic votes — fewer than Protestant Algore did in 2000.

White liberals think that because non-white minorities tend to vote for Democrats in America, therefore the Darker People (as they think of them) in the rest of the world must be secular liberals.

This is exacerbated by American universities, which, in their zeal to foist their warped ideology on young minds, trains non-whites to think of their skin color first in their intellectual formation. The schools also established things like Third World Studies and African Studies, where entire regions are seen primarily through the prism of exploitation, colonialism, and racism.

So it must be a continuing surprise every time the Darker People show they have not only minds of their own, but spines. How much more awful when the DP, having received the Gospel, refuse to abandon it for money.

The Anglican bishops of Africa deeply disagree with their Anglo-American co-religionists on the acceptance of homosexual acts and unions. Their faith teaches them that those acts are gravely sinful. While they are poor, they refuse to give in to their richer (and increasingly less numerous) white brethren.

In their latest gutsy move, the African Anglican bishops have agreed to pull their theological students from corrupt Western schools:

The Primate of Nigeria, Peter Akinola, put it bluntly: "Now we have discovered that they have a new theology and a new religion we feel it would be dangerous for the future of our church to continue to send our own future leaders to those institutions."

F-16 Fighter Fires At School In New Jersey

I received a picture of the rifle scope that saved Sgt. Bowers' life in Iraq. Thought you might want to see it.

I wasn't aware of this, but Karl Rove took control of our blog some time during election season. So Dan Rather says.

In case anyone else wants to arrange Masses for the faithful departed, in gratitude for their intercession, I recommend contacting the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. They help the Pope support mission priests in many countries.

I've never been more proud to be a Casey Democrat. Bush's narrow victory, Tom Daschle's defeat, and the overwhelming support for ballot measures defending the traditional definition of marriage send a clear message to the DNC elite. We will not be silenced when it comes to defending our moral values. Keep pushing abortion and homosexual "marriage" and you alienate a nice chunk of your traditional base. This will haunt you come election day.

Kerry could have won this election. In fact, Kerry would have won this election if wasn't such a pro-abort and pro-homosexual extremist. Republicans put together a nice coalition, but they simply did not have the numbers to re-elect Bush. Casey Democrats -- that is, pro-life Catholic Democrats -- are what put Bush over in both Florida and Ohio. And we will likely continue putting over pro-life Republicans so long as there are no pro-life Democrats for whom we can vote.

Andy Card gave the Kerry folks an ultimatim this morning - concede with dignity because Bush is going to make a Victory speech today. They can't be silent and the "every vote must be counted" is getting ripped based on how many provisional ballots are in Ohio and the fact that they are provisional.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Is it me, or are the dems conspicuously absent from the morning news shows? FoxNews has had Frist, Giuliani, Chambliss, etc. all in the last 40 minutes. I know it's Fox, but this has got to mean something.

Got a voice mail at the Schultz house around 4pm urging us to get out and vote for Bush and Davis.

Done and done. And done and done again since wife.com voted the same way.

I was glad to see three priests at the elementary school at which I vote. Two had clerical collars on, one was in street clothes. One was Bishop Justs of Latvia who used to be a pastor at St. Marks (he must have kept his residency in the Vienna, VA area.)

Rented by the GOP to take people to the polls.

Great synopsis of when polls are closing and such.

"Catholic Lawyers and Scholars Speak out on the Threat to Catholic Values Posed by a Kerry Presidency" - link via the Corner

Here's another post about one of my Marine friends. At first, I didn't think I liked Todd Bowers because I thought he was a showoff — he was always clowning around and making jokes (though never at the expense of others) — but I came to see that I was wrong about him. He was constantly trying to improve people's moods, in his own weird way, and he would quietly help people out if they were having problems of any kind.

Some evenings, he and I would sit and smoke on the big ramp above the well deck, where dozens of tanks, artillery, and assorted vehicles were parked. We would talk about everything, and nothing in particular; often, other Marines would join our languid conversations.

He was on a different eight-man civil-affairs team than me, so when the war came, he went out with 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines, and I went out with 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines. During the conflict, as I listened to the regimental and battalion radio networks, I paid close attention anytime 1/2 was mentioned. I couldn't wait to see Bowers again, so we could compare notes.

After the war, when he moved to Kuwait, he began taking instruction for Catholic baptism, and asked me to be his sponsor. Unfortunately, I left the country before he did, so I couldn't continue with him.

A friend sent me this article. I pray for my fellow Marines and soldiers every day. Maybe you should too, if you aren't already — I like to think my prayers might have helped a little bit. Read on.

CAMP BAHARIA, Iraq (Nov. 1, 2004) -- A rifle-mounted scope designed to enhance enemy visibility on the battlefield saved the life of a Marine during a Sept. 17 firefight on the outskirts of Fallujah, but not the way intended.

Sgt. Todd B. Bowers, a member of the 4th Civil Affairs Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, spotted enemy snipers during a security patrol outside the restive town of Fallujah. While returning fire, a sniper-fired round hit Bowers' advanced combat optical gun site, mounted on his M-16A2 service rifle. Fragmentation from both the ACOG and the bullet were peppered across the left side of Bowers' face.

"It was about a four-hour firefight. Bullets were flying everywhere, and as I returned fire, it felt like my weapon blew up," said Bowers, 25, a native of Washington, D.C.

A Navy corpsman removed a piece of fragmentation and applied a pressure dressing to his left cheek.

As the corpsman began calling for a medical evacuation, Bowers refused and kept on fighting alongside his fellow Marines.

"After he was cleaned up, I knew he would be okay, but I was surprised that he didn't want to leave on a medical evacuation," said Sgt. Jung Kil Yoo, a member of 4th CAG. [He shouldn't have been surprised. -Eric]

Small pieces of fragmentation can still be seen on the left side of his face.

"Luckily, I had my ballistic goggles on to protect my eyes, without them I probably would not be able to see out of my left eye," said Bowers.

He can still see the bullet lodged in his scope, which was given to him by his father, John Bowers, two days before leaving to Iraq.

"The last time I saw my dad was the day he handed me the scope," said Bowers.

His dad was a former sergeant in the Marine Corps, who didn't want to see his son go into combat without a useful piece of gear.

"The ACOG was the best purchase I have ever made in my life," said John to his son during a phone conversation.

Bowers' heroism and loyalty to his unit impressed even those who knew him well.

"I knew he was a good Marine," said Yoo, 28, a native of Neptune, N.J. "Where some would freeze up, he stood his ground and continued to press forward."

"Sgt. Bowers was able to keep a cool head about the whole situation," said Lance Cpl. James J. Vooris, 20, a native of Albany, N.Y., and a combat photographer with Headquarters Company, Regimental Combat Team 1.

With all that was going on around him, Bowers did not have time to stop and think about what happened.

"I didn't realize how lucky I was till later that day when I sat down to think about it," said Bowers.

As a constant reminder of how the scope possibly saved his life, Bowers plans to keep the scope and mount it on his mantel when he returns home.

"It's (the bullet) there and I am glad it stayed there," said Bowers as he pointed to his ACOG still mounted to his weapon.

Bowers, who has been in Iraq since August, is currently serving a seven-month deployment, his second tour in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

News from Fr. Johansen: as the Terri Schiavo case starts to move up to the Federal level, the local judge in her case extends his order preserving Terri's current situation indefinitely.

(Via Amy.)

I had planned to write a more general critique of John Kerry and his ideas, but it's been done to death, and I've written about all of it before. There's one more aspect I'd like to address, however.

I apologize that this post isn't more explicitly "Catholic," in that it's about Kerry's character, and my judgment is subjective. On issues that touch on matters of Catholic doctrine, I will simply say that Kerry is manifestly, enthusiastically for the wrong side. If you are Catholic and voting for Kerry, you are voting to perpetuate or create very real evils, which are not counterbalanced by any goods that outweigh them.

Camilo and I had been targeted by mortars, cannons, machine guns, and sniper fire, but we escaped without a scratch. Luke wasn't so lucky. When the unit deployed last summer (minus Camilo and me), he was only there for a few days before he saw trouble. His humvee's gunner, positioned on top of the vehicle, saw a man who was loitering around their convoy start to run away at breakneck speed. The gunner, knowing the guy was up to no good, swung around to engage him.

The man detonated a homemade mine, the force of which exploded into the engine compartment and rushed into the driver's position, where Luke was. A bunch of insurgents started popping off rounds at the convoy, and the Marines started firing everything they had in their direction.

Meanwhile, Luke was trying to get his bloody body out of the vehicle. Kevin, another member of my original civil affairs team, ran to help him. He applied first aid to his mangled legs. Eventually, the insurgents ran off -- knowing from experience that a real battle with Marines would ensure their deaths -- and the convoy rushed back to the base.

Luke was stabilized and evacuated, and made it back to the States within a few days. The doctors did their best, but had to amputate the bottom part of one leg below the knee. On his other foot, he lost two or three toes (I can't remember how many). Also, he had lost most of his hearing in his right ear from the explosion, but because the doctors were focused on saving his limb, they hadn't had time to treat his ear properly.

Yet when Camilo and I visited Luke, he wasn't negative at all. He was looking forward to moving to a rehabilitation facility, where he could more easily see his wife and sons. The next week, he would be fitted for a prosthetic foot, and eventually he would walk again.

Luke talked about his future: he had been a cop, and thought he might stay in law enforcement in some way. He had a contact at the FBI, who was eager to interview him. He said that he could probably stay in the reserves, because all he needed to do is pass the physical fitness test, but because of the career change and his family, he thought he might get out.

"I mean, I'm pretty sure nobody would blame me for leaving," he said. "I kinda feel like I've done my part, you know?" I looked at him to make sure he was serious. He was.

The three of us chatted for a little while longer, and then Camilo had to get back to work (I was between jobs that week). We shook hands, wished him well, and left the room. I looked at the doors as we went down the hallway, and noticed that most of them had Purple Hearts taped underneath the patients' names.

Camilo and I ate a late lunch, talking about many things, including, of course, the vagaries of fate. He and I had wives and kids, just like Luke; why him, and not us?

I drove Camilo back to his office. On the way to my house, I started to replay Luke's words, but kept coming back to what he said about leaving the Marines. My mind started thinking the same thing, over and over —

He had almost half his leg blown off and lost half his hearing, yet he was only "pretty sure" he had done his part.

Since I was driving, I had to keep wiping tears out of my eyes so I could see. I didn't pity Luke, and even if I did, he wouldn't have wanted it. He was quite happy to be alive. In my swirl of emotions, the overriding one was anger toward the war's opponents.

Well, that's not exactly true. For the few opponents who have stayed calm and rational, and laid out their reasons for objecting to the war, I hold nothing against them. This group of people does, after all, include the Holy Father, and although I disagree with them, I respect their opinions.

Most public opponents are, however, providing moral support to the kinds of thugs and murderers who blow up good men (and women, and children). They probably, somewhere in the back of their minds, know that the rest of the world is watching and listening, but they don't care. To them, the war is wrong, and George Bush is evil. To stop both the war and the president, any verbal attack is justified, even if their words are broadcast to the lairs of our enemies, encouraging them to think that if they can just behead a few more innocent contractors, and blow up a few more humvees, they can drive the Great Satan back to his shores.

That vicious, petty men like Michael Moore are not silenced by the Left is sure proof of my point. Not every liberal hates America, but if you hate America, you have a ready-made home on the Left. And these days, no left-winger will tell you to shut up for making a mockery of their ideology, much less ask you to be more responsible when voicing objections, lest the enemy be encouraged.

You'd think that the Democrats' nomination of a decorated war veteran would make them reign in their worst tendencies, but it hasn't. As the race has tightened, Senator Kerry has reached the point where his rejection of the Iraq War — and by implication, any military action except to hunt down bin Laden and bin Laden alone — is identical to the Loony Left's.

Kerry didn't invent the scurrilous tactics of the Left, but he was under no obligation to ape them. He did that of his own accord. He's smart enough to know that the whole "wrong war, wrong place, wrong time" stuff has to warm the hearts of America's enemies. (Those would be the same people who are bombing and shooting Americans, and beheading civilians.) He just doesn't seem to care.

I call that a betrayal. Kerry also came home and called his fellow veterans war criminals in front of a national audience, though he has never documented one single war crime he ever witnessed himself. I'd call that a betrayal, too. In fact, I'd say that he betrayed his men when he made sure he got three Purple Hearts and a ticket home from Vietnam. What kind of commander leaves his own men exposed to danger, while he goes to a cushy desk job in the U.S.?

Yet even if Kerry loses, something like fifty million people will vote for him. They don't care that he's adopted the substance and rhetoric of the clown-turd Moore. (Who, incidently, is ecstatic that Osama is plagiarizing him, too.)

It's fair to say that if Kerry wins today, it's a rejection of the Iraq War. Then Luke's sacrifices, as well as my tiny sacrifices, will be cast aside as trash. That's why I take this so personally, and am incapable of being objective. To the marrow of my bones, I do not think that John Forbes Kerry has the moral qualifications to command Luke or the thousands of honorable men like him.

I don't want to hear anything about "supporting the troops" if you believe any of that left-wing crap about blood-for-oil or Halliburton. If you want to support the troops, demand victory. Our cause is just, and the outcome, if followed to its conclusion, will be a more just world. Not a perfect one, but a marked improvement.

If you oppose the war — any war — you have a duty to do it in such a way that it doesn't make the situation worse. Can we all agree on that? You also have a duty to police your side of the fence, and make sure that people who share your opinions aren't rooting for the other side, or recklessly giving hope to evil men. If you don't do that, you sin against justice, along with the rest of that shameful rabble.

Tuesday is All Souls' Day, so it's a time to remember how fond we are of the faithful departed; let's pray that they may swiftly enter into the joy and glory of Heaven.

Let's ask them also for their prayers for our fellow countrymen as they go into the voting booth. May wisdom from God move the hearts of all people to support what is truly good and just.

John Mallon just pointed out to me that Inside the Vatican magazine, in its October issue, has a valuable pre-election dossier of columns and interviews.

If you haven't had a chance to get the positions of Archbishops Raymond Burke (St. Louis), Charles Chaput (Denver), and John Myers (Newark) in their own words, it's a good opportunity. There are also contributions from laymen such as Catholic Worker supporters Mark and Louise Zwick, pro-life activists Judie Brown, Austin Ruse, and Steven Mosher, journalist Farley Clinton, and Ambassador Ray Flynn.

St. Blog's own Rev. Stephen Hamilton, STL contributes a pastoral letter, and Thomas Szyszkiewicz adds a helpful timeline and summary of the 'Communion controversy'.

Thanks, John.

In case anyone is facing a choice of two equally pro-abortion politicians, allow me to recommend my policy: punish the pro-abortion incumbent.

I'll be following that rule regardless of party affiliation on Tuesday. Not that it'll help much: the incumbent State Senator here has the NARAL endorsement and the challenger has NOW's. Still, if the incumbent loses, the Mass GOP will have one less moral imbecile thinking he can advance his career over the dead bodies of the unborn.

Charlie, my five-year-old, has become interested in the presidential election. The only thing I've told him about it is that President Bush wants to fight bad guys, and John Kerry wants to talk to bad guys, even if the bad guys just want to hurt people.

"Does that mean people who vote for John Kerry are bad people?" he asked.

"Not necessarily," I replied. "It does mean they're making a bad choice."

My words seemed to have had more than a slight effect on him. Yesterday, when the kids were out trick-or-treating, my wife reported that Charlie saw a yard sign and sounded out the words on it. "K...eh...r...ee...Kerry. Those people are voting for John Kerry!" he exclaimed.

Meanwhile, all the kids he was walking with started walking up to the front door. "Hey, don't go up there!" Charlie yelled. "Those people are voting for John Kerry!" My wife tried to explain that this really wasn't the time for arguing. Besides, wouldn't he at least like some candy from them?

"No," Charlie said. "It might be poisoned!"

I spent part of this past weekend with about fifty-five other Canadians, a half-dozen Americans and a Frenchman. We are all hoping that President Bush wins on Tuesday. (I felt sorry for our friend from France who was besieged by "Kerry for President of France" t-shirts. "We have enough problems!" he replied.)

Anyway, this may seem hopelessly optimistic on my part, but I think the print media is wrong. We'll know by Wednesday morning, but I'm predicting Bush wins with a 10-12 point spread in the popular vote.

Additionally, we enjoyed some hilarious on-line computer animation from jib-jab, including It's Good to be in D.C. and This Land. (Warning, some of the political humor in these animations is a little coarse.)