What Is & Isn't Scary

My paisan, Neil Cavuto sees a problem with what some of the news reports about the economy. This time arround he points out some facts that most of the newscasts don't want you to hear. Why? If you knew this their scare tactics wouldn't work.

'Happy' Halloween

This Halloween day, allow me to be the one not to scare you. The financial anchor not to doom-and-gloom you.
You see, sometimes some in the media like to trick you and make you think things are awful.
For these crape-hanging few, every day is Halloween.
So they trick you into thinking the economy is in a recession.
Someday it will be. But the treat right now is it's not — not by a long shot.
We just got word that the economy grew darn close to 4 percent in the latest quarter — the first time we've seen that kind of back-to-back strength in more than three years.
Others trick you into thinking there's a mortgage meltdown. Trust me, we've got some mortgages in trouble, but the vast majority are not.
In fact, let me treat you to this far-from scary stat: 96 percent of all mortgages are being paid on time, month in and month out. It's true.
Here's what isn't: Tricking you into thinking Merrill Lynch is the start of some spooky spiral.

It might well be. But it ain't now.
Because right now, with most earnings out, most earnings are up.
I suppose like a broken clock, the end-of-the-world crowd will get something right. And something will go wrong. Because the trick to avoiding treats in the media is never reporting the treats in the first place.
That's not scary, my friends, that's just sad.
Happy Halloween. And I mean that, happy Halloween.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN?!!!!!

(For sound click on this!)

WHERE IS DOROTHY WHEN WE NEED HER?

Happy 272nd Bithday Mr. President!

"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

11 October 1798

An Evening with an Exorcist

Most people know Fr. Thomas J. Euteneuer from his work as president of Human Life International. But what a lot of people don't realize, Fr. Euteneuer has also been involved with several exorcisms over the last 5 years. Yes, exorcisms. Despite what many people have tried to claim, within as well as outside the Catholic Church, Satan & demons are real & all Catholics are required to believe in their existance. They are fallen angels & are powerful. But they are also created beings & thus not as powerful as God.

Given the demonic roots of abortion, Fr. Euteneuer's involvement doesn't surprize me. In fact, it makes lots of sense.

On 21 October 2007, Fr. Euteneuer gave a talk in Rosedale, MD at the Church of the Annunciation. The talk was sponsored by Friends in Faith. It was billed as "a talk on Exorcism and Spiritual Warfare". Fr. Euteneuer "talked about how demons target their victims and how an exorcism takes place."

He "said he’s been involved in exorcisms for nearly five years and has performed three or four that expelled demons as well as several deliverances, which use prayer teams for people who aren’t fully possessed." & that "he is investigating three current cases of possession."

“The church does not have a magic wand they wave … exorcism and its deliverance from evil is a process.”

"Demons tempt and persecute people, he said, but if they get inside the person, that’s obsession; when the devil has complete control over the person, that’s possession. “If you live in a state of grace, you have no problem with the devil getting in you,” Father Euteneuer said. “I don’t want people to think because the devil is so powerful there’s a demon around every corner.”

But people unwittingly invite a demon in, through an Ouija board, a séance or “New Age stuff,” he said, adding, “if you live a life of totally unrepentant mortal sin for a length of time, that’s an invitation.” People who are victimized can be targeted because of their vulnerability, and demons also prey on people not in a state of grace who have contact with someone practicing the occult.

Sometimes God allows the possession, and he cited an example of an exorcism in Germany that ultimately increased faith and spirituality there.

Before an exorcism is considered, doctors must rule out physical causes or mental illness. He detailed the case of an 18-year-old who initially was diagnosed with schizophrenia, but no drug could stabilize him, and when asked to read the Bible, he read it in a language that he didn’t speak.

Speaking a language the person doesn’t know is a classic sign of possession; others include knowledge of things or events they couldn’t possibly know, being told what to do by beings and a failure to respond to all forms of medical treatment.

If an exorcism is warranted, it must be approved by the bishop; Father Euteneuer estimated only about 5 percent of all cases investigated are strictly demonic possession."

After the talk there was a Q & A period that saw a wide range of questions about the topic. In fact it even went on informally during the time afterwords for refreshments.

There was 1 questioner he cut off. Describing herself as a paranormal researcher, she was totally dressed in black, including thick eyeliner & black fingernails. "“Let me encourage you to stop doing this – this kind of fascination is not normal,” he told her. When she tried to continue, he said, “I reiterate my request that you get out of this completely because this can seduce you.”"

The overall response by those attending was positive.

(Source: Exorcist fascinates audience with demonic details, The Catholic Review)

121 Years Old & Still As Beautiful As Ever

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her nameMother of Exiles.

From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

"The New Colossus"

by Emma Lazarus

1883

It was on 28 October 1886 that the Statue of Liberty (aka Liberty Enlightening the World) was dedicated. Some of my maternal grandparents & greatgrandparents passed through Ellis Island on their arrival from Italia in the early part of the 20th Century. They were welcomed by her upon their arrival. They came over, not for a handout but because America offered hope. They weren't guarenteed success, but they knew that if they worked hard America offered them the chance for a better life. They followed the rules & obeyed all the laws to get here. They didn't come in illegally, but legally. They didn't come merely to take, but to give as well. I grew up with neighbors that were also from Italia as well as Mexico. All here legally & all here for a better life. & they found it. They became a part of this country, learning its ways & language. They kept their culture while also becoming a part of the culture that is the great american melting pot.

The Great American Melting Pot

(Schoolhouse Rock)

Unfortunately, today many people think they don't have to play by the rules. In coming in illegally they insult not only Lady Liberty but mia famiglia & miei amice. They think that there should be unlimited immigration. They come & refuse to become a part of American society. This is contrary to Catholic Social teaching which doesn't require unlimited immigration & requires immigrants to obey all laws, including immigration laws, as well as to become a part of that society, not a seperate group within that country.

2241 The more prosperous nations are obliged, to the extent they are able, to welcome the foreigner in search of the security and the means of livelihood which he cannot find in his country of origin. Public authorities should see to it that the natural right is respected that places a guest under the protection of those who receive him.
Political authorities, for the sake of the common good for which they are responsible, may make the exercise of the right to immigrate subject to various juridical conditions, especially with regard to the immigrants' duties toward their country of adoption. Immigrants are obliged to respect with gratitude the material and spiritual heritage of the country that receives them, to obey its laws and to assist in carrying civic burdens. (Catechism of the Catholic Church) (Emphasis mine)

298. Institutions in host countries must keep careful watch to prevent the spread of the temptation to exploit foreign labourers, denying them the same rights enjoyed by nationals, rights that are to be guaranteed to all without discrimination. Regulating immigration according to criteria of equity and balance is one of the indispensable conditions for ensuring that immigrants are integrated into society with the guarantees required by recognition of their human dignity. Immigrants are to be received as persons and helped, together with their families, to become a part of societal life. In this context, the right of reuniting families should be respected and promoted. At the same time, conditions that foster increased work opportunities in people's place of origin are to be promoted as much as possible. (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church) (Emphasis mine)

Yes, illegial immigrants have been exploited. That is wrong. But their being here illegally is just as wrong. I am all for welcoming as many immigrants as we can to the United States. But only within the above guidelines. & only those who are willing to obey all the rules from Day 1.

Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation

The Feds Are Coming, The Feds Are Coming! Be Very Very Afraid!!!!!

My paisan Neil Cavuto has it right once again. Our Founding Fathers would be shocked that the Feds would even consider sticking their noses into these areas. They believed in individuals being responsible for their actions & would be horrified at anything that would undermine the sanctity of contracts.

Concerned By Government Concern

It's about food.
It's about your home.
It's about your life.
The government is worried about all of the above.
All I'm saying is you should be worried they're worried.
Here's why:
They're telling you that you can't take care of yourself. You can't be trusted with what you put in your mouth or what you sign on the mortgage dotted line.
So they'll tell you what to put in your mouth and they'll save you from what you signed on that dotted line.
Does anyone see a trend here?
Personal responsibility has now become government responsibility.
We don't eat right. The government will make damn sure we do eat right.
We don't read the fine print on a teaser-rate mortgage, the government will forgive our stupidity signing that mortgage.

Inequities in the tax system? Just tax the rich guy more — that should do it.
Bit by bit, quite literally bite by bite, what we do, who we are and how we act, is being decided in some corridor in Washington.
It begins with them suggesting we eat a salad. It ends with our having to swallow something far more meaningful: our pride.

BELLA Opens in Theatres Today

Many months ago I wrote a post about seeing an advance showing of the movie Bella. It was originally due to be released to theatres on 15 Aug, but was delayed until today. Unfortunately the movie is only opening in a limited number of theatres at present. The website has a complete list. Please check out the list on the official website. & if you are in a city where it will be showing, please go this weekend. The movie needs to open to good box office numbers to get a wider distribution. For my review check out the post from last May here. I cannot stress enough how good a movie this is & how important it is to see a movie with a poisitve Pro-Life message to succeed.

Here is the trailer:

Again, if you are somewhere where it is showing PLEASE go see it.

The More Things Change (Cardinal Mercier Edition)

Recently I came accross a pastoral letter issued by Désiré-Félicien-François-Joseph Cardinal Mercier, Archbishop of Mechelen (now Mechelen-Brussels), Belgium. It was written to expound on what Pope St. Pius X had said in his encyclical Pascendi Dominici Gregis as well as in Lamentabili Sane (The Syllabus of Errors). I found several things interesting about what he said as well as why he wrote the letter. It showed how much some things have changed & how much some things are just the same.

Changed

1. In the 2nd paragraph he talks about how the Church in Belgium has avoided the errors of Modernism & why. "You have been preserved by the vigilance of your pastors, by an impartial scientific spirit, and by the Christian submission that animates the representatives of higher learning in your country." (Emphasis mine) Do I even have to expand on the hilited lines? These days there are many priests & bishops who have embraced some or all of the modernist heresies & proclaim them, misleading the people rather than leading them properly. & given the screaming here in the US about Ex Corde Ecclesia it is clear that most so-called Catholic Colleges are in rebellion rather than submission to the authority of the Church.

2. "The representatives of philosophical and theological teaching in our University, those in our free branches of studies, and those also in the Seminaries and Religious Congregations, have unanimously and spontaneously given weight to this declaration in a document signed by each one of them, in which they state that the Pope, by his courageous Encyclical, has saved the Faith and protected Science." Again contrast this to the way the majority of Catholic Colleges/Faculty have reacted to the requirements found in Ex Corde.

Same

1. Later he explains in part why he wrote the letter, looking at how the press has been covering what the Holy Father had to say. "It is a well-known fact that scarcely had the Pope spoken, or rather before he had spoken, and from the moment that the telegraphic agents heralded his coming announcement, the unbelieving press began to misrepresent it, and the newspapers and reviews hostile to the Church in our country neither published the text nor the general tenour of the Encyclical with fulness or frankness." (emphasis mine) You could substitute so many things that Papa Benedetto has written or spoken lately & the same thing about the press' handling of it could be said. & for the same reasons.

Clearly Cardinal Mercier took his responsibilities as shepherd seriously. "Nevertheless, beloved brethren, I consider it a pastoral duty to bring to your knowledge this Pontifical Encyclical." (emphasis mine) Contrast this to the silence of so many bishops in the face of pro-abortion politicians for example.

& that included knowing the need for unity with the Pope. "The unity of Christian Faith is safe only in the Catholic Church, and the Catholic Church is only stable on the Chair of Peter."

May the Lord bless us with many priests & bishops who follow in the footsteps of Cardinal Mercier.

Margaret Sanger & the Ku Klux Klan Rally

Most people are aware that the founder of Planned Parenthood is Margaret Sanger. But what most people are not aware of is who she really is & what she really believed in that led her to start Planned Parenthood.

In a sentence: Margaret Sanger was a racist who supported eugenics. She believed that all colored people, people of Southern European origin & Christians should be sterilized so they couldn't reproduce. As a Catholic & someone of Italiano descent, that alone is 2 strikes against her. If she had had her way, I wouldn't exist. Good in her mind, but clearly not in mine, or my friends.

She also was a big fan of Adolph Hitler & what he was doing to the Jews. When people saw what Hitler was doing to put eugenics in practice she distanced herself from him. She also downplayed her views. But, she never repudiated them. Planned Parenthood was a big part of her plan to eliminate minorities. & they have never officially repudiated her views either, although they also cover them up as best they can.

Most biographies out there today usually ignore this fact. But, there are plenty of copies of her books & magazine articles where she was promoting this out there to belie those claims. (see Margaret Sanger. "The Eugenic Value of Birth Control Propaganda", Birth Control Review, October 1921, page 5 for example)

But the truth is out there, despite the all the attempts to cover it up.

Why do I bring this up. The reason is simple, as a lead in to answering a request I received in an e-mail I received Monday. I was asked if I could promote the 3rd Annual Margaret Sanger at the Klu Klux Klan Contest being held by The Truth About Margaret Sanger blog. The info about the contest he sent me was:

"Participants in this year's contest are encouraged to commemorate Sanger at the Klan rally in unique artistic ways. Drawings, cartoons, historical novels, haiku, dance, plays, videos, paintings, quilts, rap, puppetry, modern interpretations of Sanger speaking to the Klan, reenactments of the speech on YouTube, mime, audio recordings of actual Sanger quotes she may have reused when speaking to the Klan - - there is no limit to the artistic ways this historic event can be commemorated. Please note, this year we will not be accepting photoshopped entries." This years judges are Jill Stanek and Sean Dailey.

I have to add an additional comment here. In using the term commemorate he isn't doing so to honor what she did. What she did & the fruit it is still bearing is an "INFAMIA!" Rather , it is to remind us of the horrible evil that she promoted so that we will be aware of it, educate others about the truth of who she was & to be better able to fight against the evils that still go on because of her work.

More info & full rules can be found here: Announcing the 3rd Annual Margaret Sanger at the Ku Klux Klan Rally Art Contest. The contest ends 31 Oct 2007. If any of you have any talent & want to help get the real truth about Margaret Sanger out there, here is an excellent opportunity to do so.

Dare to Be Weird

Weird Al is 48 today. No it isn't my birthday. It is Weird Al Yankovic's natal day.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Weird Al, he is a song parodist in the footsteps of such greats as Spike Jones, Tom Lehrer and Allan Sherman . He got his big break when a tape he sent to Dr. Demento's radio show got played. Since then he has done take offs on everyone from Michael Jackson to Red Hot Chile Peppers. He has probably recorded the only polka version of Queen's Bohemian Rapsody that is out there. (His albums often contain polka medleys of rock songs)

Even though he has joked about it himself, he is NOT related to Polka great Frankie Yankovic. Some years ago Musicland did put out a promo CD with music by both of them on it. He also made 1 movie, the cult classic U.H.F. & in the 90s had a short lived Saturday AM show called (naturally) The Weird Al Show.

There are way to many great videos to post them all. But here are a couple of his classics:

Like A Surgeon

Like a Virgin

I Lost On Jeopardy

(Our Love's In) Jeopardy

Happy Birthday Weird Al. May you blessed with many more great songs to parody & years in which to do so.

Maybe There IS Another Reason

Like all the hot air put out by Al Gore about global warming being the real cause of it.

Anyhow John Stossel joins a growing list of people, including a court in England that have said AlGore is WRONG, WRONG, WRONG! The debate IS NOT over. Global Warming is happening, we just don't know the real reasons why.

1 Of Life's Little Ironies

In 1976 there was a big to do about the possibility of a Swine Flu pandemic. (much like the Bird Flu a panic a couple of years ago) The nation mobilized to get people vacinated to keep humans from getting Swine Flu. A new air hypo was used. It was canceled when several deaths & other serious side effects occured. (I got the shot but no problems.)

Today I saw a headline in the TH's Agribusiness section that shows how things have & haven't changed:

Pig farmers encouraged to get flu shots

The reason to keep pigs (swine) from getting Human Flu.

Ironic isn't it? 30 + years ago we were worried about getting it from them. Now it is the opposite.

Before I get any nasty comments, this isn't ment to make light of the seriousness of getting the flu shot every year. I got mine Sat. I am a firm believer in getting it as a preventative measure.

In fact, there is good reason for farmers to get the shot. Given how human, swine & avian flu can intermingle & become a new variety, esp in pigs & birds, & the resulting new virus could create a pandemic before a vaccine is developed, doing so just makes sense.

As I said, so does getting the annual innoculation even if you aren't a pig farmer or raise poultry. Unless you have a good reason not to (egg allergy, Guillain-Barré syndrome & a few other reasons) it is just good sense to protect yourself from what is a dangerous illness. Even more so if you are in a high risk group. & in doing so, you also help reduce the odds of a new variety developing.

Unfortunately, reduce, not eliminate is the best we can do in dealing with the flu. The influenza virus is a nasty creature that comes in many varieties that combine & recombine in enough different ways that humans, swine & birds can never develop complete immunity. Thus the need for trying to make a best guess about next year' strains & developing a vaccine to counter them. Since it takes at least 6-9 months to produce enough vaccine after the determination of the potential strains, about a year lead time is needed. Fortunately, they have gotten pretty good at making the right guess, good, not perfect. This is why things are in full gear to get started on the 2008 vaccine already. You may still get a new strain that came along since when they had to start making the next year's supply of vaccine, or an older 1 that you have no immunity to. But, annual shots do help you. & over time they give you some short range protection, at least until the older viruses have done enough of a DNA shuffle to no longer match up to your antibodies.

Again, I urge people to get the vaccination. Esp if you are in at at risk category.

For more (& better) info on influenza check out the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) website section Info on influenza. It includes info on who should get the shot so you can know your risk factor.

Democrats learn a lesson

(Source: protein wisdom )

Let's Pray Bishop McManus Does What He Said He Would

College's Catholic status threatened for hosting pro-abortion groups at conference

(Source: Catholic News Agency) Bishop Robert J. McManus of the Diocese of Worcester, Massachusetts has condemned the decision by the Jesuit-run College of the Holy Cross to rent meeting space to a conference that includes Planned Parenthood and NARAL workshops. He has asked the college president, Father Michael C. McFarland, to cancel the event's reservations. The president's refusal could endanger the college's official Catholic standing.

The Massachusetts Alliance on Teen Pregnancy's Teen Pregnancy Institute is scheduled to use the college's conference facilities on October 24. Some of its speakers will discuss contraceptive methods and initiatives to provide teens access to such methods.

The chancery received hundreds of complaints from Catholics outraged about the college’s assistance given to the conference. The archbishop attacked the college's actions as "truly scandalous" for supporting "an attitude or behavior which leads another to do evil." He said that the college's apparent support for positions contrary to Catholic teaching was confusing and upsetting for the Catholic faithful.

He also clarified Catholic doctrine: "The moral teaching of the Catholic Church on respect for life at all stages of its development is manifestly clear. Life is a fundamental good that must be protected and respected from the moment of fertilization to natural death. This teaching is so basic and important that it provides the foundation upon which much of the Church's moral and social doctrine rests. It is beyond modification and compromise."

Holy Cross officials have reported that they will not cancel the Teen Pregnancy Institute's meeting despite the many complaints. They claimed "Holy Cross in no way supports or endorses Planned Parenthood, NARAL, or other organizations that engage in or promote practices contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church

President McFarland said that contractual obligations required permitting the conference to go ahead. He also defended accommodating the conference: "…the college believes a meeting of adult professionals pooling resources, engaging in a dialogue and exchanging information is a beneficial way of grappling with pressing issues related to the health and well-being of Massachusetts teenagers and children."

Bishop McManus responded by explaining his pastoral and canonical duties to determine what institutions can properly call themselves Catholic. He suggested that permitting the event could endanger the college's Catholic status: "It is my fervent wish that the administration of the College of the Holy Cross will unequivocally disassociate itself from the upcoming conference sponsored by the Massachusetts Alliance on Teen Pregnancy so that the college can continue to be recognized as a Catholic institution committed to promoting the moral teaching of the Roman Catholic Church."

[The article is quoting from an official statement issued by Bishop McManus on 10 October 2007. (Complete text here)]

It is refreshing to see a Bishop who is willing to stand up & throw down the gauntlet to those who would sidestep or ignore the Church's teachings. Bishop McManus clearly states what the Church's teaching on Respect for Life is. Why they are important & why it is so important to follow them. He also clearly explains what is wrong with Holy Cross even allowing this event. & as for the College's excuses: "SORRY!" they do not pass muster.

He says: "To deny Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice a forum in which to present their morally unacceptable positions is not an infringement of the exercise of academic freedom but a defensible attempt to make unambiguously clear the Catholic identity and mission of the College of the Holy Cross." ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!

The Bishop is right to call what Holy Cross is doing a scandal. & it is clear that he has a heart for his people for which he has spiritual responsibility. He is doing what he can & should do to get rid of the "confusion" this is causing for the faithful.

I suspect that Holy Cross will allow the conference to go on. I hope & pray they don't. But if they do, that Bishop McManus will have the courage & strength to follow through by taking away the recognition of the college as a Catholic College.

A Couple of Fond Farewells

For Different Reasons.

This past week 2 people passed away that I have to make mention of. The 1st is a Bond Girl, Deborah Kerr. She was born Deborah Jane Kerr-Trimmer on 30 September 1921 in Helensburgh, Scotland, UK. She died on 16 October 2007 in Suffolk, England, UK. She will be mainly remembered for her starring roles in The King And I (Anna), An Affair To Remember (Terry McKay) and From Here To Eternity (Karen Holmes), as well as many others. But she was also in the 1st big screen version of Casino Royale (1967). In it she played Agent Mimi/Lady Fiona McTarry, M's widow. Her job is to corrupt Sir James Bond (David Niven). Instead he has an effect on her. She had some hilarious scenes. The only scene I could find with her in it is just a short appearance near the end of the scene. It does show what happenned to her after her failure to corrupt Bond. It takes place towards the end of the movie.

Farewell to the real English Rose.

Also, on 17 October Theresa Brewer (nee Theresa Breuer) passed away. Starting out on The Major Bowes Amateur Hour radio program in 1936. She had several big hits. Here are a couple of my favorites:

Ricochet Romance

Music, Music, Music

(I think the piano player is the Schnoz, Jimmy Durante)

Sweet Old Fashioned Girl

1981 TV Appearance including the above

Democratic Musings

I know that I rarely comment about the Democratic race, but there have been 3 things recently that caught my eye.

The 1st is something Camille Paglia had to say about Hillary Clinton. Ms Paglia has been, rightly so, called a firebrand. She recently came out with a scathing criticism of Hillary declaring she cannot win. & shouldn't win either. This is from an interview with Canada’s Globe and Mail:

“I listen to conservative talk radio, because the callers really do give one a sense of where popular sentiment is at the moment. And I just don't see how any of the Democratic candidates is going to be able to present the national-security credentials that will be crucial in this election."

“The Republicans have [Mitt] Romney, [Rudy] Giuliani, [Fred] Thompson, even [Mike] Huckabee - a series of candidates who would be way more credible than Hillary, if only because of the projection of strength they give.”

“She has a powerful machine. But many, many other candidates will be draining off support … The Democrats around me don’t want to go backward into the Clinton years.”

“There's an over-clever, over-conceptualized political personality there who has trouble being an ordinary person."

For someone with so much international exposure, she's not great on the stage. She's well prepared with her sound bites. But when she has to play outside her sphere of preparation, she seems taken by surprise… "

“She's essentially a policy wonk. She has no vision. "

“Then there's the sense of her espousing feminist ideals on the one hand, but also tolerating gross exploitation and insult from her womanizing husband.” (Writer Paglia: Hillary Can't Win)

Ms Paglia has gotten it exactly right. These are are solid reasons why Hillary shouldn't be elected let alone even nominated. The fact that she is a Democrat who voted for Bill Clinton & a feminist lends creedance to her words as they can't be written off as merely a partisan attack. Let's hope that the Dems have the sense to see the sense in what Ms. Paglia has to say. I predict Hillary's camp won't. In fact, look for them to get the long knives out.

Next, A bit about some of Barak Obama's potential family ties:

"Vice President Cheney is related to Sen. Barack Obama.

At least that was the stunning announcement made yesterday by Lynne Cheney, who said that the very white vice president from Wyoming is in fact the eighth cousin of Obama, the Senate's only African American member. She said she discovered the link, traced back to a Huguenot who figured prominently in Maryland history, while researching her latest book.

"Obviously, Dick Cheney is the black sheep of the family," Obama spokesman Bill Burton said." (Obama and Cheney, Making Connections)

I love the spokesman's "play on words" comment. My question: "Where did Barak go wrong?" Meanwhile, I highly doubt that a family reunion will soon be in the works between the 2 branches of the famiglia.

Finally there is this news item from Sen. Chris Dodd's camp:

"Democratic presidential candidate Chris Dodd doesn't quite qualify as an Iowa resident, but his wife and kids will soon be able to claim that title — at least until the caucuses.

Jackie Dodd, scheduled to appear tonight at a Polk County Democrats' dinner in Des Moines, will announce that she and their two daughters — Grace, 6, and Christina, 2 — will move to Iowa until the January caucuses.

"We have decided as a family to spend the remainder of the campaign here in Iowa with our children," Jackie Dodd said in a statement released by the campaign today. "We want our family to be together as we talk to as many caucusgoers across Iowa as possible – to talk about why Chris is running for president and what separates him from the field.

Campaign aides said the family has rented a house in Des Moines." (Dodd's family moving to Iowa)

"Democratic presidential candidate Chris Dodd will have a new pitch to Iowans: Vote for a neighbor.

"They've rented a house in Des Moines and the girls will be coming out as well," campaign spokeswoman Taylor West said Friday. "It's one more piece of strengthening our operation in Iowa. We are committed to the state."

The Dodds are arranging to enroll Grace in kindergarten." (Play of the Day: Dodd moves to Iowa )

For the 1st time in decades, Iowa has a Democratic Senator who actually lives in Iowa. Unlike Harken who represents Iowa but doesn't really live here. Harkin's real home is the place he owns in The Bahamas. He has a mailing address in Iowa to maintain his residency (technically). But he isn't an Iowa resident any more than Hillary Clinton is a New Yorker. (Notice a pattern here with Democratic Senators?)

Welcome to Iowa Se. Dodd, only please take Harkin with you when you leave!

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

It is now official, Sen. Sam Brownback has dropped out of the 2008 Presidential race. At the press conference in Topeka, KS he put it this way: "My yellow brick road came just short of the White House this time."

The news reports suggest that #2 finisher in the Iowa Straw Poll, Gov. Mike Huckabee will be the candidate to gain the most from Brownback's dropping out. Time will tell. I know that I will be giving Huckabee as well as Congressmen Tom Tancredo & Duncan Hunter & others a closer look to see which 1 best fits where I am at. The only definite no-start is Giuliani because of his strong pro-choice stands. The others are all Pro-Life. Some stronger than others.

Some people have commented that Huckabee's biggest negative is that he is a former governor of Arkansas from Hope AR, just like Bill Clinton. The Clinton negatives may rub off on him. Something he is dealing with by showing that he is nothing like Clinton.

Tancredo can sometimes come accross as harsh & anti-immigrant rather than anti-illegial immigrant.

Hunter is supported by some people who's opinions I respect. I haven't had a chance to meet him yet, so I haven't gotten any strong impressions about him either. The question I have is, can he overcome the same low #s that did in Brownback. (This is also true of Tancredo.)

Congressman Ron Paul has a lot of good stands. He has upset some people with his strong (& apparently accurate) claims that the Iraq War is unconstitutional because the Congress never actually declared war. He has some strong support in some Catholic circles. There is even a blog, Catholics for Ron Paul. 1 of the contributors is Thomas Woods Jr, whom I have mentioned before.

Ron Paul is actually more of a libertarian than a conservative. The biggest weakness with Ron Paul is that, to put it bluntly, a percentage of his supporters are flakes. Unfortunately, they give a bad name to the majority of his supporters who aren't as well as Congressman Paul himself. Yes, the flakes are the heirs of John Birch but at this point I see no need to put Ron Paul & the majority of his supporters in that camp like some in the conservative media have. There are some areas in which Ron Paul IS very far from what a Bircher believes. & a couple of my friends who a big Ron Paul supporters are definitely NOT flakes, nor could you by any stretch of the imagination put them in the Bircher camp.

Fred Thompson, Mitt Romney & John McCain all have a few stronger negatives with me. None of which are, as yet, insurmountable Like Rudy & his support of abortion. So, at this point, if any of those 3 ended up being the nominee, I could support them.

The Iowa GOP has ste 3 Jan for the Caucus dates, now New Hampshire is talking about a Dec primary. So, there is a lot still in the air, including who will still be arround when the IA Caucus & NH Primary actually take place.

Stay tuned . . . .

NoBunny Does It Better!*

Yes, they actually worked in all the Eon/Danjaq films.


*With apologies to Marvin Hamlisch, Carole Bayer Sager, & Carly Simon.

Brownback Out?

According to an AP report, Sen. Sam Brownback will announce today that he is withdrawing from the race for the Republican nomination for President of the United States. Brownback's campaign website has a news release about a press conference to be held today at 3:45 pm CDT today in Topeka at the State Capitol. It doesn't give any clues as to what the conference will be about. I suspect that the AP story has got it right.

According to the AP, the reason is the campaign's problem with fundraising. According to Chuck Hurley, a Brownback advisor: "Brownback's campaign didn't catch fire. It's just the field is still so full, and the pool of voters he was most fishing from was almost perfectly split between him and Mike Huckabee."

Unfortunately that is true that the campaign didn't catch fire as it should have. But I don't think it is only for the rason given by Hurley. The reality is that the media all but ignored Brownback's 3rd place finish. It struck me like they were intentionally ignoring how well he really did. This is the 1st time I honestly remember the fact that the media hasn't payed close attention to 3rd place, despite it's past historical significance.

In reality, he should have gotten better coverage & a bounce in funds etc. That he didn't because of the lack of coverage by the Main Stream Media shows the power the MSM still has despite the fact it acts like it has lost so much power. (It is declining, & deservedly so, but not as fast, unfortunately, as the would have you believe.) What puzzles me is how much Fox News ignored it.

Another part of what hurt Brownback was his support of a path for citizenship for illegal immigrants. As a result, many conservatives who normally would have supported him went to other Pro-Life candidates instead. & even though I don't agree with it, I understand his logic behind it.

As a Brownback supporter I don't want to see him pull out, but I understand why he probably will.

If the report is right, & he does also announce he will run for governor of Kansas, I wish him well. Should he win, it will give him added qualifications should he decide to try again down the road to run for president.

The big question for me is, who will I switch my support to? & what can we do to guarentee that it isn't Rudy who gets the nod?

Bill Cosby - Dirty Laundry That Needs To Be Aired

The Cos got in trouble when he 1st said this. But he was right then & he is right now. The said part is too many people are criticizing him for airing dirty laundry rather than applauding him for bringing out into the light problems that need to be honestly faced, discussed & dealt with. It is not merely a "black" problem. It is everyone's problem because it affects all of society. The problems exist, it doesn't matter who says it, white or black. What matters is that Cos has offered the solution: Family, fathers, faith and fighting for your children.

Link: sevenload.com

College of Cardinals Now Has an Iowa Connection

Papa Benedetto released the names of his new appointments to the College of Cardinals today. There were 23 new Princes added to the list. 18 will be eligible to vote for the next pope after their elevation during the consistory on 24 Nov 2007. The other 5 named are over 80 & thus inelligible to vote. In an interesting turn of events 2 American Archbishops who were expected to be named weren't (Archbishop Wuerl of DC & Archbishop O'Brien of Baltimore). Instead Archbishop Daniel DiNardo (right) of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston was appointed instead. Observers see this as a recognition of the growth of the Catholic Church in the South & Western parts of the USA. the other American Bishop named was Archbishop Foley.

Cardinal Designate DiNardo has an Iowa connection. He was born in Steubenville, Ohio. He was ordained a priest for the Pittsburg Diocese in 1977. After 20 years of service to the Church in variour roles he was appointed Coadjutor* Bishop for the Diocese of Sioux City, IA in 1997 by Pope John Paul the Great. In 1998 he took over as Bishop upon the retirement of Bishop Soens. In 2004 he was named named Coadjutor Bishop of the Diocese of Galveston-Houston. Upon the elevation of the diocese to archdiocese, he became Coadjuter Archbishop. When Archbishop Fiorenza retired in 2006 he became Archbishop. I am not sure, but I think he is the 1st Cardinal to have spent a part of his priestly ministry in Iowa.

Another name that was of interest to me because of my involvement in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal movement was that of Archbishop Paul Josef Cordes. Archbishop Cordes served 10 years as Episcopal Advisor to the International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Office (now ICCRS) in Rome. He has written several books on various aspects of the Charismatic Renewal.

The full list of Cardinal Designates is as follows (Source: Vatican Information Service release):

New Cardinal Electors:
1. Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches
2. Archbishop John Patrick Foley, Pro-Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem
3. Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, President of the Pontifical Commission for the Governance of the Vatican City-State
4. Archbishop Paul Joseph Cordes, President of the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum"
5. Archbishop Angelo Comastri, Archpriest of the Vatican Basilica, Vicar General for the Vatican City-State and President of the Administration of St. Peter’s
6. Archbishop Stanisław Ryłko, President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity
7. Archbishop Raffaele Farina, Head of the Vatican Archives and Library
8. Archbishop Agustín García-Gasco Vicente of Valencia (Spain)
9. Archbishop Seán Baptist Brady of Armagh (Ireland)
10. Archbishop Lluís Martínez Sistach of Barcellona (Spain)
11. Archbishop André Vingt-Trois of Paris (France)
12. Archbishop Angelo Bagnasco of Genova (Italy)
13. Archbishop Théodore-Adrien Sarr of Dakar (Senegal)
14. Archbishop Oswald Gracias of Bombay (India)
15. Archbishop Francisco Robles Ortega of Monterrey (Mexico)
16. Archbishop Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston (USA)
17. Archbishop Odilio Pedro Scherer of São Paulo (Brazil)
18. Archbishop John Njue of Nairobi (Kenya)

Honorary Cardinals:
1. His Beatitude Emmanuel III Delly, Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans
2. Archbishop Giovanni Coppa, emeritus Apostolic Nuncio to the Czech Republic
3. Archbishop Estanislao Esteban Karlic, emeritus of Paraná (Argentina)
4. Fr. Urbano Navarrete, S.J., former rector of the Pontifical Gregorian University
5. Fr. Umberto Betti, O.F.M., former rector of the Pontifical Lateran University

Praise God for the blessings he has bestowed on these men in giving them this honor. May God grace them with all of the gifts of the Spirit thjey will need in their new role as advisors to Papa Benedetto.

_____________________

* A coadjutor is a (arch)bishop named to a diocese as an assistant to the current bishop. He is co-ruler of the diocese in all but ceremonial precedence. He also automatically takes over as bishop when the current bishop dies, retires, resigns, or is reassigned. A coadjutor is usually appointed when the current bishop' health or (sometimes, but not always) when the current bishop is nearing retirement age. His appointment enables him to become familiar with the diocese before he has to fully take over.

Credible Political Footballs

Monday morning I received the following comment for 1 of my posts on Ann Coulter's latest. However it had nothing to do with the post. So, I rejected it as a comment & decided to put it in a post with some response of my own. (Note: Spelling, etc in the comment is exactly as I received it. I did a simple copy & paste.)

Allen,

To be credible yu have to have more than one issue. The fact is the abortion issue is a fraud issue because it is a political football if there ever was one. Let the Supreme Court reverse it . The never will. Rove vs Wade will not be reversed because Republican women especially would leave in drives. The only Republicans left would be the fundamentalists.

She signed herself as Philothea.

When I did a check, I found there is no info on this person. So, it appears to me that she doesn't have the courage of her convictions. Otherwise, she would be willing to use more than a fake name.

But, I will respond anyway.

1. Pro-Life is not 1 issue. It is a whole group of issues, including abortion, euthenasia, cloning, & stem cell research (what is & isn't ethical).

2. & even if it was just about abortion so what? Some issues are so overriding in importance that they eclipse everything else. Abortion IS 1, just like slavery was in the 1800s. Everything she said about opposing abortion being a single issue & that it will never end was what was said about slavery. According to her logic, people like Harriet Elizabeth Beecher Stowe were wrong to be so single-minded in their efforts to end slavery. Or what about Dr. Martin Luther King in the area of Civil Rights? Were they fraudulant issues because they were "political footballs"? Do I have to bring up any other "political footballs" to prove my point?

3. As for the claim about the # of people leavng the Republican Party esp women, it is patently false. Most Republicans I know are Pro-Life, men & women. & most of us in the party who are Pro-Life are not fundamentalists. I even know a few people who are agnostic that are also Pro-Life.

4. As for the bit about being credible, credible to who? You? You don't know me, nor do you know anything about how credible I am, on anything. & if my credibility in your eyes depends on my supporting abortion than you have the problem, NOT ME. I'm more concerned with doing what is right. & that is defending life from conception to natural death. Even if that means MY being attacked physically as well as verbally. & I have been in some situations over the years where I have been threatened physically while trying to exercise my Constitutionally protected right to protest peacefully. I support Pro-Life groups & candidates, & not just with money. & I undergird all this with prayer. I think that is credentials enough.

In conclusion, Philothea, your comment is made up of half truths & discredited canards. Much of what you say is totally devoid of logic. But it does have 1 bit of value. It shows how indefensible the pro-choice side really is.

PS: It was Roe v Wade & Norma McCorvey (Roe) has since admitted the truth about hw she was used & come over to the Pro-Life side.

St. Gerard Majella C.Ss.R.

Today is the feast day of my paisan & Confirmation padrone St. Gerard Majella, C.Ss.R.. He is the patron saint of expectant mothers (esp those with having difficulties), "il santo dei felice parti" (happy childbirth), & 1 of those adopted by the Pro-Life movement as a padrone. He is also 1 of the patron saints of those falsely accused. It is for 1 incident in his life that he is padrone for all these things.

St. Gerard was born on 23 April 1726 at Muro, Italy. His father, Dominic, was a tailor. His mother, Benedetta, was deeply pious & raised Gerard to have a deep love for Jesus. At aged 12, his father died 7 he was apprenticed with a tailor. While the tailor loved him, the foreman of the shop bullied him & at times even beat him. After 4 tears he was ready to go on his own. Instead he took a job as a servant with the Bishop of Lacedonia. The bishop had a reputation for his temper & nagging. Servants normally didn't stay too long as a result. Gerard stayed for 3 years until the bishop died. It was a difficult job, but it enabled him to spend time with the Blessed Sacrament.

Aged 19, he now returned to Muro where he set up his own tailor shop. The shop prospered. But, Gerard didn't keep much of the money for himself. He set aside what was needed to support his mother & sisters. The rest went to the poor or to have Masses said for the dead.

Lent of 1747 saw him reach the decision that would set the course for the rest of his life. He wanted to be as Christlike as he could. So, he decided to join the Capuchin friars. He was denied admitance so he became a hermit.

In 1749 15 Redemptorist missioners came to Muro & began preaching at the 3 Catholic Churches in town. Gerard asked the superior, Fr. Cafaro, to grant him permission to join, but Gerard was turned down because of his health. This didn't discourage him. He kept pestering the missioners. When it was time for them to leave Fr. Cafaro told Gerard's family to lock him in his room until they left. Even a locked door wasn't enough to stop him. Tying his bed sheets together he climbed out the window & caught up with the Redemptorist band, now 12 miles away. To Fr. Cafaro he said: "Take me on, give me a try, then send me away if I'm no good." Surrendering to such perseverence, he sent Gerard to the Redemptorist community in Deliceto. The letter of introduction accompanying him said: "I'm sending you another Brother, who will be useless as far as work is concerned..."

Despite this poor recomendation, he was accepted. On 16 July 1752 (Our Lady of Mt. Carmel) he took his 1st vows. Gerard loved it there. St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori put love of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament at the heart of Redemptorist life. When asked what he wanted most, Gerard replied: "to love God much; always to be united with God; to do all things for the sake of God; to love everything for God's sake; to suffer much for God. My only business is to do the will of God." & over the years it included different roles, garderner, sacristan, tailor, porter, cook, carpenter, and clerk of works of the new buildings in Caposele.

1754 the greatest test of his complete surrender to the will of God came. As a part of his work he had met the Caggiano family. A daughter, Neria, had left the convent of San Salvatore 3 weeks after she entered. She began telling falsehoods about the convent to justify leaving it. The people, knowing St. Gerard, doubted her. So, she decided to destroy his reputation to save hers. She began to tell her confessor, Fr. Benigno Bonaventura, a sordid tale of an affair between St. Gerard & her younger sister Nicoletta. She was able to shore up her lies with dates & times that she knew were when St. Gerard had been at her home. She had no qualms about destroying her family to save her reputation. Nor did she care about piling sin upon sin by also doing so in the Confessional.

Fr. Bonaventura had no reason to doubt her, so he ordered her to write St. Alphonsus about the accusations. She also released Fr. Bonaventura from the seal of Confession so he could write. When St. Alphonsus got the letters he called for a careful investigation of the charges. Then he called St. Gerard in & laid the charges before him. In imitation of Christ before Pilate, he remained silent. This left St. Alphonus no other choice than to suspend him from his duties, banning outside contact of any form, & forbiding him from receiving the Eucharist.

This went on for month after month. Finally Neria fell ill & was near death. Waking up to the evil thing she had done, she wrote St. Alphonsus to confess her lies, admiting the calumny she had done. St. Alphonsus called for Gerard & asked him why he hadn't defended himself. "How could I, my Father? Does not the Rule forbid me to excuse myself and to bear in silence whatever mortifications are imposed by the Superior?" was the reply. "Very good, very good, my son," rejoined Alphonsus, with difficulty mastering his emotion, "go now and God bless you."

In the Positio super virtutibus (for his canonization) the following was written about the incident: "It is well to note here that the rule in question is undoubtedly to be understood of excusing oneself where breaches of regular observance are concerned, and not where there is question of enormities so unworthy of a religious. Anybody else, no matter how obedient, would have thus interpreted that rule. When Gerard in his great humility and utter heroism did not do so, he won the admiration of all his brethren, not excepting the holy Founder himself."

His trials continued in a different form now. In 1755, while at Caposele, he was seized by violent hemorrhages and dysentery. His death was imminent. His superior ordered him to get well. He rose up, healed & returned to his work. a month later he took ill again. On 15 October 1755, just before midnight, he died of tuberculosis. A while before his death he posted the following on his door as his last will & testament: "The will of God is done here, as God wills it and as long as He wills it."

During his lifetime he was gifted with a variety of Spiritual gifts, knowledge, ecstatsies, prophecy, discernment of spirits, and penetration of hearts, bilocation, and with what seemed an unlimited power over nature, sickness, and the devils. He even predicted the date & time of his death/ After his death God continued to work powerfully through Gerard's intercession. He was beatified on 29 January 1893 by Pope Leo XIII. On 11 December 1904 by Pope Saint Piu X declared him a saint.

How did St. Gerard become the patron saint of expectant mothers? The story goes thus: 1 day he was leaving a home when he dropped his handkerchief. a young woman saw & brought it to him. "Keep it. One day it will be of service to you.". Puzzled, she still obeyed. A few years later this women was no expecting her 1st child. Complications had set in as she was about to give birth. Remembering what he said, she called for someone to fetch it. When it was placed on her stomach, the pains ceased & the child was born safely. the cloth was passed on from woman t woman as she gave birth. By 1904 only a small piece remained. Yet, got was still working through the relic. Other pieces of cloth touched to it were also used powerfully by God over the years.

________________________

St. Gerard, padrone mio, I ask for your powerful intercession on this, your feast day. As we celebrate your joyful entry into Heaven, I ask that you would go before the Throne of Grace & ask the Father to bless our efforts to put an end to the scourge that is abortion. Bless all those groups who are there to offer women alternatives to abortion so that their efforts will be successful. & bless the work of those groups like Rachel's Vineyard, who strive to bring God's healing forgiveness to those men & women who have been hurt emotionally as a result of their participation in an abortion. With thanksgiving we ask this in the name of Jesus Our Lord & Savior.

I Guess It's Time for Us to Start Acting Our Age!*

* Yeah, Right!

Well, its official, my generation (Baby Boomer) is finally starting to arrive at that magical mystical realm that is Social Security. On Monday the 1st Baby Boomer, Kathleen Casey-Kirschling (right), filed to start receiving her retirement benefits. She was born 1 minute after midnite on 1 January 1946. She will be 62 next January & thus able to begin receiving reduced benefits. (Eligibility for full benefits will depend on what year us Baby Boomers are born & will gradually require us to work well beyond the traditional age of 65.)

"I think I'm just lucky to be at the top of the boom. I'm just one of many many millions and am blessed to have been in this generation and really blessed and to take my Social Security now," said Ms. CaseyKirschling during a ceremony held at the National Press Club featuring Social Security Commissioner Michael J. Astrue.

According to a FoxNews report she is the 1st of up to 80 million of us Baby Boomers who will qualify for the retirement payout. "We're going to have tens of thousands of baby boomers retiring every week over the next decade or so and that means that by time we get to 2017, just 10 years away, we will no longer be collecting enough payroll taxes to pay Social Security benefits," said former Minnesota Democratic Rep. Tim Penny.

My generation has often been accused of not growing up. & at times rightly so. Now, we are starting to reach retirement age,

Maybe it IS time for us to grow up?

NAH!!!!!

Another Look at Ann Coulter on Judaism & Christianity

In this case, it is an article on LifeSite that accuses Donny Deutsch of being the real intolerant bigot:

"CNBC's Big Idea host Donny Deutsch has shown himself to be an intolerant bigot when it comes to Christianity. During a program with conservative commentator Ann Coulter he mercilessly attempted to smear her as anti-Semitic for expressing the belief that all people, Jewish believers included, should become Christian - normal for any truly believing (as opposed to phony, nominal or cultural) Christian who must consider Christianity to be the truth."

"After a diversion to another topic Deutsch brought the conversation back to his desired topic. "You said I should not - we should just throw Judaism away and we should all be Christians, then, or," he said as Coulter cut him off matter-of-factly with "Yeah."

The affirmation of belief in a solitary truth obviously was anathema to Deutsch's relativistic fervor as he continued with incredulity saying, "You can't possibly believe that." Painting all sincerely believing Christians as ignorant Deutsch continued, "You can't possibly - you're too educated, you can't."

Outrageously, from that point Deutsch began a more vigorous attempt to smear Coulter associating a sincerely held belief in the truth of Christianity with extermination of the Jews. "Why don't I put you with the head of Iran? I mean, come on. You can't believe that," persisted Deutsch."

Deutch goes on to ask her if she means the following (quoting Ahmadinejad): ""Let's wipe Israel off the earth." I mean, what, no Jews?"

But as the author points out: "Here Coulter referred to the fact that Christianity regards itself as the completion or perfection of Judaism since Christ was the fulfillment of the Old Testament and God's revelation to mankind. Coulter said, "No, we think - we just want Jews to be perfected, as they say.""

The author ends the article with this: "Newsflash for secular humanists who adhere to the credo of relativism: Christians worth their salt believe they have the one true religion and the greatest happiness both in this world and in the next comes with accepting the Truth, and living it."

(Taken from Like Ann Coulter, All Faithful Christians Believe "Jews Need to be Perfected" an Editorial by John-Henry Westen, H/T: American Papist )

I don't regularly watch Mr. Deutch's show, so I can't say for sure, but I highly doubt he got in high dudgeon when Ahmadinejad actually called for wiping Israel off the face of the Earth like he did with Ms. Coulter. A desire for all Jews to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus the Messiah is far different from calling for the anihilation of an entire people. Yet, Deutch has no problem saying that caring for a person's salvation is the same as genocide, ethnic cleansing & the like.

Elsewhere Steve Gilbert posted an article (Coulter Blasted For Espousing Christian Dogma) that quotes Fr. Richard John Neuhaus via his website, First Things: "The Roman Missal modified by Pope Paul VI in 1969, and put into effect in 1970, has this formulation: “Let us pray for the Jewish people, the first to hear the word of God, that they may continue to grow in the love of his name and in faithfulness to his covenant.” The following prayer is this: “Almighty and eternal God, long ago you gave your promise to Abraham and his posterity. Listen to your Church as we pray that the people you first made your own may arrive at the fullness of redemption.”

Of course some Jews may be offended at the suggestion that the fullness of redemption is found in Jesus Christ, but their problem is with Christianity as such… "

Gilbert also gives a couple other examples. This is taken from the Oxford University Guide To the New Testament: "The Epistle to the Hebrews asserts the superiority of Christ to the prophets, the angels, Moses, Joshua, and the Jewish priesthood. Christ brings a superior covenant, a superior tabernacle, and makes a superior sacrifice. Like many other authors whose task is Christian self-definition, this author uses the Hebrew Scriptures to illustrate the authenticity of his claims. For example, several Old Testament prophets mention a new covenant that God will make with the Jews. Drawing on Platonic thought, this author argues that the old covenant was a foreshadowing of the new, an imperfect reflection of a perfect reality.

Scholars do not know when or where this book was written. It is clear, though, that the author was concerned to define group boundaries. He argued that Christianity represented the perfection of Judaism. Christianity was the religion foretold by the prophets. Those who did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah, moreover, were not the true people of God."

& this from the Catholic Encyclopedia entry on the New Testament: " Other doctrines, specifically Christian, are not added on to Judaism to develop, but rather to supersede it. In reality, between the New and Old Testaments there is a direct but not revolutionary succession as a superficial observer might be inclined to believe; just as in living beings, the imperfect state of yesterday must give way before the perfection of today although the one has normally prepared the other. If the mystery of the Trinity and the spiritual character of the Messianic Kingdom are ranked among the peculiarly Christian dogmas, it is because the Old Testament was of itself insufficient to establish the doctrine of the New Testament on this subject; and still more because, at the time of Jesus, the opinions current among the Jews went decidedly in the opposite direction."

His post also points out how the media is misquoting Ann Coulter. She actually said: "(W)e just want Jews to be perfected." Yet headline after headline claims she said: "Jews Need to Be Perfected."

Noel Sheppard reports that Ann Coulter said this to Steve Malzberg of WOR Radio Thursday 11 Oct (audio available here): "I stated the doctrine of Christianity. Apparently, as we're always told in church, but you don't always, you don't always see it, Christianity is a radical and offensive doctrine. But I think, um, we'll see, I don't think most Jews are as stupid as Donny Deutsch."

"That comes from that raging anti-Semite St. Paul. This is a straight statement of Christian doctrine...This is what Christians believe. We believe the Old Testament, and we think the New Testament completes that. I mean, the New Testament is obviously anticipating some Christ coming. Jews say, "Not that Christ. You got the wrong one."...I was just saying that we consider when Jews become Christians, that is becoming a perfected Jew. And that is precisely the theological term."

Another interesting fact that pops up in a lot of the stories is that Hilary's buddies at Media Matters are behind the outrage. Could this be a preemptive strike against the Republicans? A possible scenerio comes to mind. (& I have no proof. This is only a suggestion, but a logical 1.) Attack the Republicans for being in bed with "fundamentalist" Christianity to help get Giuliani nominated to show they aren't. If that happens it results in exactly what they want. Keeping Pro-Life people from voting for Rudy & handing the election to the Dems. IF (& this is a big if) this is true, it is another reason to be sure that we work to get a strong Pro-Life Republican nominated.

& it also accomplishes another thing. It smears any orthodox Church teaching that doesn't fit into their liberal relativistic religion. Isn't this like what Nero did when he burned Rome?, blame the true Christians for something that isn't true about them to silence them & get rid of them. This seems to me to be more evidence that we are entering into a period of major persecution against Christianlity. (This is something I'll have to go more into at another time.)

Happy 80th Sir Roger

Sir Roger Moore who took over as James Bond in 1973's Live & Let Die turns 80 today. He was born on 14 Oct 1927 in Stockwell, London, England, UK. On 11 Oct 2007 he was honoured with the 2,350th star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. The address is very appropriate: 7007 Hollywood Boulevard.

Here is the promo for the VHS Wide Screen collection of his Bond movies:

Here is an interview when made during the filming of The Spy Who Loved Me:

Here is an interview at the start of his playing The Saint on TV (The 1st answer, not serious, turned out to be a bit prophetic):

Here is a montage of his various roles (Bond, Simon Templar, Lord Brett Sinclair, Cousin Beauregarde Maverick from England & others):

& finally, we find out what really happenned to 007's mum:

Te Salute Sir Roger!

What She Said Was Different From What St. Paul Said How?

Paul in his Epistle to the Romans:

"Just as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man's obedience are many to be made upright. " Romans 5:19

"Brothers, my dearest wish and my prayer to God is for them, that they (the Jews) may be saved." Romans 10:1

"I want it to be the means of rousing to envy the people who are my own blood-relations (The Jews) and so of saving some of them." Romans 11:14

Ann Coulter on the Donnie Deutch Show:

DEUTSCH: We should all be Christian?
COULTER: Yes.

(later)

DEUTSCH: We should all be Christian?
COULTER: Yes. Would you like to come to church with me, Donny?…
COULTER: No, we think — we just want Jews to be perfected.

A major them of Paul in Romans IS his desire that all Jews come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. In other words come to the perfection that they are called to come to found in the Torah.

For reiterating what the Church has taught for nearly 2000 yrs & continues to teach, Ann Coulter is criticized by groups like CAIR who are the real anti-semites (My opinion, they are using this to cover their hatred of the Jewish people.) 1 website has posted a $1000 reward for a video of Ann Coulter being pelted by bagels. ("Pelt Ann Coulter With Bagels And Win $1000!")

OK, I don't always agree with Ann Coulter's approach to things. At times she can be harsh & strident, but not this time. In this case, the whole thing is overblown. But then the same can be said about the reaction when the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued Responses to Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine on the Church. Anyhow, don't take my word for it, here is the video:

The FedEx bit is a bit innacurate, but I don't hear any calls to forcible conversion, just the desire that they be saved. The same desire that Jesus, St. Paul, St. Peter & the other Apostles had.

When Jesus' comments to the rich young man or to His disciples about the Eucharist offended them & drove them away, He didn't apologize for saying the truth. Nor did Paul when he criticized the Jews for their lack of faith by rejecting the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If Jesus wanted the Jewish people to accept Him as Messiah & Savior, who am I to disagree?

The reality is, this is a distraction to the real problem that is out there, Islamo-fascism. The thing that groups like CAIR ARE defending & supporting. If the radical branch of Islam, as represented by people like Irani President Ahmadinejad, get their way, they will make Hitler look like an amateur. Jews & Christian alike will be attacked & killed in the name of Allah. I know that a lot of people won't want to hear this, but the more I see the state of things, the more I see us heading the way of Pre-WW II Germany & Italia. I pray I am wrong in my concerns, & will do all I can to see that they don't come true. & a part of that is to call those of the Islamic faith who claim that it is a religion of peace to publicly denounce people like Ahmadinejad & his ilk in no uncertain terms. Your silence on Ahmadinejad, et al speaks louder than any claims to the contrary.