Is Anybody There?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says Yahweh Sabaoth" Zach 4:6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dio di Signore, nella Sua volontà è nostra pace!" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." Ben Franklin 1759

Saturday, June 30, 2012

Obama - Shilling For Planned Parenthood

The other day I pointed out how Obama is doing all he can to undermine article 26 of  the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In the post I shared where the article says "Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children." (emphasis mine) I went on to say "That not only includes which school or home schooling, it includes the right to reject the sex ed agenda that Planned Parenthood promotes & is backed by Obama."
For those of you who doubt that I present this video:

The video is from a speech that he gave on Monday (25 June 2012) at Oyster River High School in Durham, N.H.
As I have pointed out in many, many previous posts, Planned Parenthood is absolutely opposed to allowing parents any rights when it come to abortion, & just as opposed when it comes to parents having a say when it comes to whether their children are feed the sex education program pushed by Planned Parenthood to create a whole new generation of customers for their abortion services. Rather than reiterate what I have said, I recommend that you check out the materials that Stop Planned Parenthood & American Life League have as well as this ALL video (caution, video for mature audiences only).
Additionally, Obama is doing all he can to make it look like he is buddy-buddy with the Catholic Church rather than waging the all out attack on it as well as the rst of us, Catholic or not. At the appearance Monday he also included  included a phrase referencing his past work involving “Catholic churches” on social justice issues: “As a young man, I worked with a group of Catholic churches who taught me that no poverty program can make as much of a difference as the kindness and commitment and involvement of caring neighbors and friends and fellow parishioners.” Oh please!!!!!!!! (FYI: This has been repeated in several speeches nearly verbatim since Obama’s campaign kicked off this spring. )
The type of Catholycs Obama are refering to  are those like Fr. Michael Pfleger, a left-wing priest who was sanctioned by Cardinal Francis George for praising the candidate in 2007 as “the best thing to come across the political scene since Bobby Kennedy.” They are the same ones that defy the Magesterial teaching of the Catholic Church & support abortion, birth control & gay marriage as well as women's ordination.  (See 'Fortnight for Freedom' shows Catholic split for example)
Obama is simply trying to widen that split as well as mislead those who may not be well informed (read anyone who relies on the Main Stream Media, The NonCatholic Reporter & even many diocesan newspapers) to think it is OK for Catholics to vote for him.
We must pray & speak up to get the truth out. All Obama is doing is leading us deeper into the "culture of death". & his flagship for that is the "tax" known as ObamaCare. But we must also pray that God will raise up Pro-life candidates (or maybe even run yourself) & work to get them elected & when they do, hold them to the fire to work to build a Culture of Life instead.

For more on Obama's incestuous relationship with Planned Parenthood, check out Obama and Planned Parenthood: A Presidential Romance
Sources: Obama preaches Planned Parenthood, gays in the military to high school students

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posted by Al @ 2:40 PM   0 Comments

Friday, June 29, 2012

Papa Benedetto Declares Archishop Sheen Venerable

J.M.J.



The Vatican announced Thursday that Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen is now “Venerable” It stated that Papa Benedetto had signed a decree recognising that the archbishop heroically lived Christian virtues.
 It has been more than a year since the Congregation for the Causes of Saints received the volumes of documents about Archbishop Sheen’s life that were gathered in his home diocese of Peoria. During that time, the Congregation has been examining Sheen's cause based on those documents.  The Congregation will have first examined if the archbishop had shown evidence of the three theological virtues of faith, hope & charity, & then the four cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude & temperance.
The theologians & cardinals in the Congregation assigned to this cause will then have confirmed that he did indeed practice heroic virtue. This was then presented to Papa Benedetto who, with the aid of the Consulters from the Congregation, then declared him "Venerable" by signing & promulgated the decree of heroic virtue. Now Archbishop Sheen  may be venerated by all the faithful.
Now all that is needed for him to be declared blessed is the confirmation of a miracle wrought through Sheen's intercession. Last year the investigation of an alledged miracle involving the alledged healing of healing of James Fulton Engstrom, who was born without a pulse was concluded her in the USA & sent on to the Congregation for their investigation. Should the Congregation decide it is an authentic miracle they will then recomend to the Pope that Archbishop Sheen be approved by the Pope. When that is done, a date will be set for his beatification. That means that we will likely see the 1st ever beatification ceremony held on American soil will occur in the Diocese of Peoria. After that another miracle will have to be approved before he can be declared a saint.
It is hard to believe it has been 40+ years since I 1st got to hear & see Archbishop Sheen speak in Oelwein. (18 May 1970) A few years later I got to hear him in DBQ. While he is not the only person up for sainthood that I have seen live (Blessed John Paul 2 is the other) he is the 1st & so far the only person from America. There are one or two others from America that may come up down the road (1 of whom is still living), but for now he is the only one. I don't say this to brag. I say this as a reminder that saints are held up for all of us to imitate & learn from in our growing in sanctity & journey towards Heaven. Venerable Fulton* has, through his writings, recordings & TV & radio broadcasts, provided us with plenty to aide us in that journey. & over the years reading & listenning to him has born fruit in my life. I pray that it will continue to do so & not only in my life, but in the lives of all who read this.

The Archbishop Fulton J Sheen Foundation which is promoting his cause had the following to say on their blog today:

Friday, June 29, 2012

VENERABLE SHEEN

J.M.J.

June 28, 2012

Friends,

Good news travels fast! At least, I am certainly hoping that the GREAT news about the Cause for Archbishop Fulton Sheen has reached you and your friends by now. On June 28, the Holy Father Pope Benedict promulgated the decree recognizing the heroic virtue of Archbishop Fulton Sheen – and therefore, Fulton Sheen is now rightly called “VENERABLE” – the last major “title” before “blessed.”

This announcement marks the culmination of ten years of hard work, generous donations, and mostly lots of prayers. And you have been a part of this team-effort all along. I think this calls for a celebration!

On Sunday, September 9, 2012 at 10:30am in the Cathedral of Saint Mary, Peoria, Illinois, Bishop Daniel Jenky, CSC, will offer a Mass of Thanksgiving to celebrate Venerable Fulton Sheen. This is the same Cathedral where Sheen received his vocation, was ordained a priest, and offered his first solemn Mass. There could be no better place to give glory to God and to honor Venerable Fulton.

As you have been part of this work, I invite you to share in this party!

Come! Our enclosed newsletter includes information about the September 9 celebration. Our website --- CelebrateSheen.com – includes all the help you need in planning your pilgrimage to Peoria and provides exclusive invitations to our “friends of Sheen.”

Pray! From the beginning, this cause has been and remains a spiritual work. Especially if you aren’t able to physically come to Peoria, you can be truly spiritually present. Use the enclosed envelope to send us your intentions. These intentions will be presented during the Offertory of our Mass of Thanksgiving and placed on the altar of the Cathedral. At the end of Mass, these petitions will be entrusted to the Lady’s Altar, just as Father Fulton Sheen entrusted his priesthood to our Lady on the day he was ordained a priest.

Give! Your generous financial support has brought the Cause to this point and has helped to lead others to Christ through Fulton Sheen’s spiritual legacy. You have helped to bring over 200,000 Wartime Prayer Books to our military. You provided over 5000 books to our seminarians. And the work continues. Even as we celebrate Venerable Sheen, there is much work to do here and in Rome. Please consider a gift in honor of Venerable Sheen.

It has been my profound experience that Fulton Sheen brings people together – and I am very grateful that he has brought you into this work. Together let us celebrate – and be rededicated in prayer and effort. As God wills and the Church approves, there are even greater celebrations just ahead!

Commending you to the care of the Lovely Lady Dressed in Blue, I am,

Sincerely in the Lord,

Msgr. Stanley Deptula
Executive Director
 

So as Venerable Fulton would say:



"Bye now, and God love you!"

Source: Archbishop Fulton Sheen Becomes "Venerable"

__________________
* It still seems a little weird to call him venerable. But I know that will pass. & God willing, it will soon be St. Fulton, the 1st of that name.

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posted by Al @ 2:55 PM   0 Comments

Thursday, June 28, 2012

ObamaCare Won, The Constitution, the States & the People Lost

As most people know by now, the Supreme Court issued its ruling on ObamaCare this morning. & in doing so, came to that conclusion in what seems to be the most convoluted bit of logic I have seen in a long time.
FoxNews & the other news media got the initial ruling right, that under the mandate could not be upheld under the Constitution's Commerce Clause. But then came the rest of the story, the Court ruled the mandate wasn't a mandate, as Obama claimed, but a tax.
Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote "The Affordable Care Act is constitutional in part and unconstitutional in part. The individual mandate cannot be upheld as an exercise of Congress's power under the Commerce Clause. That Clause authorizes Congress to regulate interstate commerce, not to order individuals to engage it. In this case, however, it is reasonable to construe what Congress has done as increasing taxes on those who have a certain amount of income, but choose to go without health insurance. Such legislation is within Congress's power to tax." (emphasis mine) HUH????????
So what is to stop Congress, or the Obama administration (as well as future administrations) from now using taxes to completely regulate our lives as the ruling elite see fit? In my opinion, as well as many, many others, NOTHING. This ruling has added to the continued shredding of the Constitution.
Before I go on, I think we should remember that the Constitution was written to limit the powers of the Federal goverment while protecting the sovereignty & the rights of the states & the people. That is why, when concerns were raised about the Constitution during its ratification, the promise of a Bill of Rights was made. While all of the 10 Amendments in the Bill protect those rights, the 9th & 10th Amendments leave no room for doubt that the Constitution wasn't granting the Federal government unlimited power. The 9th Amendment says "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people." & the 10th says "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." It can't get any clearer than that.
& while the Supreme Court rulings have usually allowed the "commerce clause" to justify overruling state soveriegnty when it shouldn't, & occasionally individuals rights as well,this is an unique twist.
Add this to the Arizona ruling on Monday & we have a huge backdoor attack on the sovereignty of the states & the people. While the ruling Monday did uphold the Constitutionality for states to check IDs, as Justice Antonin Scalia said in his dissent “Are the sovereign states at the mercy of the federal executive’s refusal to enforce the nation’s immigration laws? A good way of answering that question is to ask: Would the states conceivably have entered into the union if the Constitution itself contained the court’s holding?” If this had been the original view of the Framers of the Constitution, “the delegates to the Grand Convention would have rushed to the exits from Independence Hall.”
While Scalia has come under much criticism for saying that, he is absolutely right.
& just like that little bone thrown on Monday allowing ID checks, this ruling does throw 1 small bone to state sovereignty, it allowed states to refuse to expand the Medicaid program without fear of losing existing Medicaid funds.
But what good do those do when ultimately the Federal Government has been given full reign to do whatever it wants in enforcing or not enforcing the law & using taxes to gain absolute control over our lives?
While much of the above has already been talked about on talk radio & will continue to be debated in the days ahead, there is 1 thing that hasn't come up much, how this will affect the HHS’s “preventive services” mandate forcing religious (especially Catholic) & other employers to cover sterilization and contraception, including abortifacient drugs. This is of huge concern since HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has said that  “We are at war," with the Catholic Church & others who oppose the mandate.This  sovereignty over the entirety of the nation’s religious infrastructure was given her by the way ObamaCare was written.
If ObamaCare had been rightly ruled unconstitutional, all it would have done is delay the inevitable attack on the religious liberty of those who uphold Catholic teaching as well as any other people who would disgree with what the Federal government determines as acceptable public expression of their faith. As it is, this ruling has kept the attack on religious liberty to the forefront. At the same time, it has given the federal government away arround calling the mandate a mandate. From how I see it, now the Federal government can simply claim that it is enforcing a tax, not attacking religious liberty. & to justify that, they will use what is currently allowed by law using tax money paid by the Catholic Church as well as those who have moral objections to abortion & artificial birth control.
1st of all, even the Hyde amendment doesn't absolutely ban the use of federal funds to pay for abortions. & while how much varies from state to state, Medicaid does cover some types of birth control, including the pill.
So, since we already are paying taxes to cover things we object to, this is just another of those taxes could very likely be the arguement. & I wouldn't be surprized if the Courts by it given what we have seen this week.
Ultimately, this is a reminder that we can not let up in our prayers. Not only that we must repent for the sins of our nation, taking Daniel's example (Daniel 9) as a guide. We must also do what we can to make reperation for these sins by our prayers as well as fasting. We must also work for truly Pro-life leaders to be elected.
I do not know if it is to late to turn aside God's judgment from our nation. But even if it isn't we still have the responsibility to speak up as well as pray. We cannot assume it is too late. No matter what, we still must be the faithful remnant God has called us to be.

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posted by Al @ 2:50 PM   2 Comments

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Melinda Gates - Closing the "Windows" to Future Microsoft Customers

Yes, I opted for that title intentionally, as you will see in a minute.
In April, Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as well as a Catholic, announced her multi-billion dollar foundation’s new “NoControversy” campaign to reinforce universal access to birth control as a priority in the developing world.
In a speech at a TedxChange conference in Berlin, Germany, she argued that contraception has been mistakenly associated with population control, abortion, forced sterilization & mortal sin. Additionally, she insisted they are “side issues” that “have attached themselves to the core idea that men and women should be able to decide when to have a child.” However, in the Gates Foundation's  Annual Letter for 2012, they drew a direct connection between “unsustainable” population growth & poverty. The letter posits contraception as an essential tool to ensuring that “populations in countries like Nigeria will grow significantly less than projected.” So much for her claim that population control is a side issue. IMHO, her attempts to seperate them are merely smoke & mirrors to try to misdirect people from the truth, that the ultimate agenda is population control as well as its subtle racist undertones of who they are trying to eliminate.
 It has recently been announced that will be hosting a Family Planning Summit in London this July. It should be no surprize that joining her in this effort are two of the biggest pro-abortion groups in the world, the UN Population Fund & International Planned Parenthood Federation (whose racist roots have been well documented here & elsewhere).
Austin Ruse, the president of C-FAM, a pro-life group that leads the battle for the pro-life cause at the United Nations, explains what the goal of the conference is.
“They say they want to raise $4 billion to promote contraception among poor women. This is population control plain and simple, population control aimed at poor dark-skinned women.”
He added “We have tried to get pro-lifers registered for this summit so there can be a counter voice but we are getting shut out by Planned Parenthood.” That Planned Parenthood is shutting out those who will counter their lies is no surprize.
The groups she is siding with also give me more reason to believe her attempts to seperate the aforementioned "side issues" are an attempt to mislead & misdirect people away from what is really going on. As C-FAM poinst out in An Open Letter to Melinda Gates, "The Gates Foundation’s primary partners are NGOs and governments that engage inabortion and population control campaigns." If she really sees them as side issues, then why is she aiding & abetting those groups that see them as the main issues? Like I said, smoke & mirrors.
In addition to it being an open letter to Melinda Gates, it is a petition as well. & C-FAM is calling on all those who are Pro-life to sign it. According to Austin Ruse “We hope to gather 100,000 signatures from all over the world and we will hand deliver them to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation headquarters in Seattle, Washington and/or directly on the steps of the Family Planning Summit in London on July 11.”  The entire text of the letter is as follows:

Dear Ms. Gates,
We are writing to you from all over the world. We are mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents.
We are students, teachers, doctors, lawyers, farmers, laborers, parliamentarians and policy makers, rich, poor and middle class. We are people from all walks of life.
We are deeply concerned with your upcoming Family Planning Summit. The Gates Foundation’s primary partners are NGOs and governments that engage in abortion and population control campaigns. The Summit’s purpose is to launch a global campaign to pressure governments to encourage women to view children as burdens and expendable.
First, we understand that participation in the summit is limited only to those who agitate for more funding for family planning. We wonder if you will dialogue with those who may have another vision?
You say women around the world tell you they want contraception. Perhaps that is because the people surrounding you are devoted to contraception and abortion. Your summit is organized by – and limited to – pro-abortion and population control advocates.
Second, we understand that the International Planned Parenthood Federation is mobilizing civil society participation. You said specifically in your TED speech that this initiative would have nothing to do with abortion. We wonder how this can be when your main partner is the world’s biggest abortion provider?
Third, we fear that such a global effort will inevitably lead to abuses. Whenever governments and NGOs get together to encourage poor women to use contraceptives, the result is often coercion and abuse. In fact, your partners for the Summit – the United Kingdom’s DFID, IPPF and UNFPA – have all been implicated in abuses against women related to family planning.
Will you hear the voices of women and men who love and want children, or those who have been victims of contraception, abortion and population control campaigns? Will you invite discussion on the consequences of not having, or having too few children? Will you equal or surpass this Summit with support for healthy child-birth programs?
We urge you to re-consider the Family Planning Summit.
We urge you to consider that this mission is fraught with danger and may not be what the women of the world really need.
We urge you to listen to the voices of we hundreds of thousands!
Yours sincerely,

At this point, the English version has 17,800 signatures (including mine , of course), the Spanish has 1,352, & the French has 555. That comes to 19,707 signatures, just short of 1/5th of those they wish to gather,
Please add your voice to those of us who have already signed. It is important for Gates & her associates to be aware that we are NOT going to be silent, nor are we being taken in by her claims that this isn't about abortion & population control. They may not listen, but we will know we have done our part.



PS: Hopefully by now everyone will have gotten my meaning in the title of this post.

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posted by Al @ 3:04 PM   2 Comments

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Thought for the Day - 26 June 2012

posted by Al @ 5:08 PM   0 Comments

You Know Things Are Getting Bad for Obama When Jimmy Carter Starts Attacking Him

In an Op-Ed piece for Monday's New York Times, Jimmy Carter, lashed out at the Obama administration's record on human rights. He said that the "United States is abandoning its role as the global champion of human rights." He went on to say that because of how far  the "nation’s violation of human rights has extended" the result is that   "our country can no longer speak with moral authority on these critical issues."      
Carter goes on to talk about the  Universal Declaration of Human Rights & how the USA has violated "at least 10 of the declaration’s 30 articles, including the prohibition against 'cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.'”   
Among the things he lists are American citizens’ being targeted for assassination or indefinite detention, recent legislation that has made legal the president’s right to detain a person indefinitely on suspicion of affiliation with terrorist organizations or “associated forces,” &  the recent changes that have canceled the restraints in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to allow unprecedented violations of our rights to privacy through warrantless wiretapping & government mining of our electronic communications.     
To a large extent, he is right to say that the USA has violated the human rights of its citizens. But what is interesting are the rights listed in the Declaration that he ignores.
One of those that I am refering to are the recent attacks on religious freedom by the Obama administration through the HHS mandates requiring the Catholic Church to pay for birth control & abortion causing drugs. That clearly violates Article 18 that says "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance." (emphasis mine) Besides the HHS mandate, Obama has clearly worked to limit the right to publicly manifest the religious expression of Christians, especially in the public square. In doing so he is aiding & abetting groups like the ACLU & Freedom From Religious in their to drive religion out as well. Don't forget that Obama talks about "freedom to worship" not free expression of religion as the 1st Amendment promises.
Then there is Article 16 that talks about the fact that "The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State." His attacks on marriage as between a man & woman are clearly documented. Article 16 makes it clear earlier on that marriage is between a man & woman.
Then there is Article 6, "Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law." Obama's widespread promotion of abortion is a clear violation of this.
Finally let's look at what Article 26 says. It focuses on the right to an education & ends by saying "Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children." (emphasis mine) Did you see that? Parents, not the government have the right to chose the kind of education their children get. That not only includes which school or home schooling, it includes the right to reject the sex ed agenda that Planned Parenthood promotes & is backed by Obama.
I highly doubt Carter realized how far beyond what he was pointing out the reality of the violations actually went. Given that Carter's big thing is burnishing his own image on foreign policy, he is trying to distance himself from Obama's attacks that are destroying the US's credibility in that area. In the end, this isn't about Obama, it is about Carter. In one sense he is admitting that the Obama administration is his second term. Additionally, he is actually admitting that there now is 1 president that could rank below him as having a failed presidency, Obama.
The fact that Carter is abandoning ship is a huge sign of how vulnerable Obama is. But this doesn't mean we can take it for granted Obama will lose. Instead, Romney must go after Obama & make it clear that we cannot continue with four more years of the damage Obama is doing, here & abroad with how he is handling foreign affairs. If we do, we are signing the death warrent for the USA. Romney must also make it clear that he will reverse the course that both parties have put our country on with laws like that detention law that was passed last December with bipartisan support. If he doesn't, then all Romney will do is delay the inevitable, not stop it.
& if Romney doesn't do all he can to provide leadership to end abortion, because without protecting the rights of the most helpless, the unborn, then the rest doesn't matter.

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posted by Al @ 2:35 PM   1 Comments

Monday, June 25, 2012

Thought for the Day - 25 June 2012

posted by Al @ 5:02 PM   0 Comments

As I Said, The Main Stream Media Critics Are Attacking "For Greater Glory"

In May I made a prediction about how the Main Stream Media PC gang would review For Greater Glory. (here & here) While expecting a few to be fair, I added " For the rest, watch the reviews be positive about the Hispanic actors & how they played their roles, while attacking the movie in a similar way to how they attacked October Baby because of that movie's Pro-life message." In short, I predicted it would be attacked for its positive view of the Catholic Church. Well I have been proven right, sad to say.
The Rotton Tomatoes page for the movie currently shows a reviewer 16% approval rating by movie critics. When you get to the top list it drops to 6%. However the audience approval rating is 86%, quite a difference. (Note these are subject to change as more reviews are added, but at this point the numbers probably won't change much.)
I would have to say the review that is the best proves my point about reviews attacking the Catholic Church is the review of the movie by Roger Ebert. I have to ask after reading it, does he just NOT get what this movie was about, or is he intentionally being dense to cover up his subtly attacking those who stand up for the Catholic faith.
In the 1st paragraph he talks about the historical background of the film. But in the 2nd paragraph he begins to attack the movie. "An atheist and a hero of the revolution, Gorostieta signed on for the cash and because he supported the principle of religious freedom. In the context of a new English-language epic called "For Greater Glory," that principle apparently applies only to Catholics. No other religion is ever mentioned." (emphasis mine) Well DUH???????????? This movie is about the attack on the Catholic Church lead by Calles. Of course it doesn't mention other religions. Calles wasn't attacking them the way he attacked the Catholic Church. BTW, nowhere in the movie does it imply that the principle of religious freedom only applies to Catholics. Ebert is letting his anti-Catholic prejudice which shows up even stronger later in the review to undermine the message that an attack on the religious freedom of any church & the people who belong, is an attack on the religious freedom of everyone.
I would also remind Ebert of the origin of the word catholic. The word catholic was derived via the Late Latin catholicus, which came from the Greek adjective καθολικός (katholikos), meaning "universal." So in fact, looking at the attack on the Catholic Church's religious freedom does apply the principle to other religions as well.
Also, as the Wikipedia article on the 1917 Mexican Constitution points out "Articles 3, 5, 24, 27, and 130 as originally enacted were anticlerical and restricted religious freedoms, as well as the power of the Catholic Church, in part due to a desire by anticlerical framers to punish the Mexican Church's Hierarchy for its support of Victoriano Huerta." Did you get that Ebert?, the restrictions were aimed at the Catholic Church & Calles was using those restrictions to attack the Catholic Church. Also, these restrictions remained after the war & they were NOT removed until 1992. & even then, not all of them.
Later he says "This war has all the elements to make it well-known, but I confess I'd never heard of it. A close Mexican-American friend, well-informed in Mexican history, told me she never has, either. Is it in the usual history books? "
No, it has been buried. Ebert might do well to remember that even though the war ended in 1929, the attacks on the Catholic Church continued. Like I already said, the Constitutional restrictions remained. & continued to be sporadically enforced. After the war the government executed some 500 Cristero leaders and 5,000 other Cristeros. & that is just 1 example. So naturally, they were going to do their best to keep it out of the history books. We are seeing a modern form of historic revision with FDR & his memorial in DC. They omitted his wheel chair & his cigarette holder, to intentionally present a different picture.
Ebert goes on to say "It is well-made, yes, but has such pro-Catholic tunnel vision I began to question its view of events. One important subplot involves a 12-year-old boy choosing to die for his faith. Of course the federal troops who shot him were monsters, but the film seems to approve of his decision and includes him approvingly in a long list of Cristeros who have achieved sainthood or beatification after their deaths in the war."
Now we get into the meat of Ebert's attack on the Catholic Church. 1st of all, I again remind him that this is about the attack on the Catholic Church, so naturally it will be pro-Catholic. apparently that is something he doesn't like. Which fits in well with the current anti-Catholic attitude in Hollywood that usually uses the Catholic Church as it's whipping boy.
On the other hand, he called The DaVinci Code "preposterously entertaining." He went on to say "Both (book & movie) contain accusations against the Catholic Church and its order of Opus Dei that would be scandalous if anyone of sound mind could possibly entertain them." But nowhere does he criticize it for its anti-Catholic tunnel vision.
& yes, the film does approve of José Sánchez del Río's decision. He chose to die for the faith like many other martyrs for the faith did over the past 2000 years, martyrs of all ages, young & old. Some were even younger than José. & the reason he was included in the list is because the Catholic Church approves of his actions as well. Apparently Ebert thinks he knows better than the Catholic Church who should or shouldn't be made a saint. He might do well to look at the whole process. It just doesn't declare anyone a saint. There is a long process of discernment that ensures the person is really a saint in Heaven.
As Fr. Barry pointed out to me after Mass on Sunday, what we saw in the movie were people growing in their faith & towards sainthood. That is exactly what we say in the movie when it came to José. IMHO, José's last few days were shown as his taking up his cross willingly to follow Jesus. The journey to his execution  came across to me as José's  Via Dolorosa.
Ebert does, sort of, get 1 thing right. He says "President Calles (Ruben Blades), who can't believe the Cristeros can possibly be successful, pursues the war beyond what seems to be all common sense." (emphasis mine) He got that right. Calles hatred of the Catholic Church blinded him to using any Catholic sense. Something that seems somewhat true of Ebert as well when it comes to this review.
Ebert then goes on to add  "It's one thing to enforce legal restraints on the Catholic Church and another — a riskier one — to order such extremes as sending all the bishops and foreign-born clergy out of the country and authorizing the murder of priests in their own churches." (emphasis mine) Here we get to a very interesting point & one that may reveal a hidden motive in Ebert's attack on the movie & the Catholic Church. Ebert apparently approves of Calles' use of the Constitution to restrict the religious freedom of the Catholic Church. Could it be because he sees a parallel in the Obama asdministrations's attempt to use ObamaCare to put what they say are "legal restraints" on the Catholic Church? & he sees this movie as a reminder that what Obama is doing is just as wrong as what Calles is doing? Apparently so, & like the rest of the media he is trying to subvert &/or silence the message by attacking the messenger as I pointed out.
He ends the review with another attack on the Catholic Church. "If it had not hewed so singlemindedly to the Catholic view and included all religions under the banner of religious liberty, I believe it would have been more effective. If your religion doesn't respect the rights of other religions, it is lacking something. "  (emphasis mine) You will notice that he restates the attack he started the review with. He wants to remind us that if you only show the Catholic view in a movie about the Catholic Church than that invalidates the message. In one sense, this is another example of the spirit of relativism so widespread in the world that Papa Benedetto has been regularly warning us about.
But then we have that last line than can only be read as an out & out attack on the Catholic Church for its views on homosexuality, abortion & birth control, among others. He is intentionally confusing respecting the religious liberty rights of others with being able to proclaiming the truth. The Catholic Church fully respects religious liberty. Ebert should read Dignitatis Humanae. It says  "the human person has a right to religious freedom," which is described as "immunity from coercion in civil society." Did you get that last line? It clearly points to what Obama is doing, not the Catholic Church. But, just like the rest of those who support Obama, Ebert is twisting what the Catholic Church is saying to imply it is attacking others who believe differently rather than defending its own right to not be forced to support abortion, birth control etc.  He knows full well that the Catholic Church isn't taking away other's rights. Or disrespecting them.
On the other hand, Ebert is saying it is OK to take away the Catholic Church's freedom if society doesn't like what it teaches. There is no need to respect the Catholic Church or those who are faithful to its teachings. He is giving glowing approval to Obama's attack on religious freedom for those who disagree with what Obama thinks is right.
The sad thing is that Ebert was raised as a Catholic. These days he admits to being a secular humanist.* His attack on this movie also shows how far he has come from the day when was critical of films that he believed are grossly ignorant of or insulting to Catholicism, for example  Stigmata & Priest. Now he attacks those films that uphold authentic Catholicism.

______________
*As an aside, he says in the article that  "Catholicism made me a humanist before I knew the word." What he fails to point out is that there is a huge difference between secular humanism & the humanism promoted by the Catholic Church that has its basis in the fact that man is made in the image & likeness of God. (Note: it is not religious humanism as modern humanists try & promote either.) That humanism has been arround in the Catholic Church since the start. Although it received its greatest expression in the Catholic Church's support of the arts during the Renaissance, something that probably never would have happenned without the support of the Catholic Church. & don't forget that it was the Catholic Church who provided the foundation for it by the preservation of civilization in the monasteries during the Middle Ages. (I once again recommend you read Thomas E. Woods, Jr.'s book How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization for more on this subject.
Additionally, he admits to being pro-choice when it comes to abortion, another motivation for his attack on the Catholic Church's freedom through his attack on this movie. Of course he is going to support the Obama administration's forcing the Catholic Church to pay for abortions & attack anything that reminds people of what is really going on with the administration's actions, they are an attack on religious freedom.

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posted by Al @ 3:27 PM   0 Comments

Friday, June 22, 2012

If You Haven't Seen "For Greater Glory" Yet, Why Haven't You?


Wednesday night I was finally able to go see For Greater Glory, the movie about the 1920s Cristero War that I have been talking about in several posts. The movie was released on 1 June 2012 but only arrived in DBQ last Friday (15 June) for a one week engagement.  While there wasn't a large crowd for the 7 pm showing, I would say that I knew at least 75% of the audience.
Where do I begin??? Seriously, this is definitely a must see movie. When it was over & the credits began there was almost complete silence. When I went home I had to dig out something light to watch because of how it effected me. This morning when I was talking to a friend who had been there, he asked me if I had trouble getting to sleep afterwords. Others have had similar reactions.
In short, this is a powerful movie that tells the story of those who refused to let Mexican President Plutarco Elías Calles get away with his attempt to destroy the Catholic Church in Mexico. While the movie doesn't mention it, part of his motivation came from being a freemason.
I will try not to give away too much of the story. The movie starts out with Calles calling on the Mexican Congress to enact  legislation known formally as The Law Reforming the Penal Code (unofficially as the Calles Law). The law was simply supposed to enforce the 1917 Constitution's seperation of church & state. But what it really was inteded to do, & did, was open the doors to an all out persecution of the Catholic Church in order to destroy it. Calles was played by Ruben Blades who gave an excellent performance. His portrayal of Calles gave me the impression that Calles was one of those villians who often appears in a Bond movie, someone who puts up a front to the public (in this case the US government & others) but is really wholey motivated by an evil agenda.
We soon meet Fr. Christopher, a Catholic priest played by Peter O'Toole, who befriends 13 year old  José Luis Sanchez del Rio (Mauricio Kuri). Fr. Christopher's witness of the love of Christ to José begins to have an effect on the boy to strenghten his faith. As the attacks escalate Fr. Christopher in mudered by the Federales with José  as a witness. O'Toole played that scene with just the right blend of fear & faith. You could see that Fr. Christopher was not relying on his own strength, but was keeping his eyes on Jesus & praying for the grace he needed to face his martydom. Later, after witnessing the Federales kill 2 other people, José  & a friend take off & join the Cristeros. They are not allowed to fight. Instead they help out arround the camp.
At the same time we see the efforts of Anacleto González Flores (Eduardo Verástegui) & others to find a peaceful solution to the attacks on the Catholic Church. Unfortunately Calles rejects all those efforts. Soon groups are organizing across Mexico to take up armed resistance against Calles. 1 of those groups is lead by Fr. Vega (Santiago Cabrer) The National League for the Defense of Religious Liberty, a group that was originally founded for peaceful protest, realized that they need an experienced General to lead them. Enrique Gorostieta Velarde (Andy Garcia in 1 of his best roles ever) is contacted. His wife, Tulita Gorostieta (Eva Longoria) is a faithful Catholic), but Gorostieta is an atheist. But he is also a firm believer in religious liberty & with the support of his wife, agrees to lead the Cristeros.
Obviously a 145 minute movie cannot cover everything that happenned over the 3 years of the Cristero war. Much of the film focuses on the training, the battles & the struggles of the Cristeros. But some of it does focus on what went on in the US & the American Ambassador's efforts. Additionally, the movie doesn't paint the Cristeros leaders as perfect. It does show some of the mistakes they made, the pride of some leaders as well as their deep faith. Several times we witness a part of a Mass for the Cristeros.
Other things get mentioned in passing. 1 of those is the involvement of the Knights of Columbus. The movie only mentions the KCs contacting the US government. But they did much more. The KCs were already active in Mexico. Like many other Catholic organizations, they came under attack by the Calles government. Several KCs who were martyred in the Cristero War have been either beatified or declared saints by the Catholic Church. You can read more about what they did in 2 articles in the May 2012 issue of Columbia: The Untold Story of the Knights during the Cristiada & The Voice for Religious Freedom Knows No Border.
While there wasn't an excess of blood or gore, the movie did accurately portray the violence. That included the hangings. 1 of the things shown was how Calles had the bodies hung on telephone poles, including those alongside the railroad tracks. The reason for this was the same as that used by the Roman empire for why they crucified criminals & rebels along public ways. It was to send a message that if you don't stop rebelling the same fate awaited you.
The portrayal of the hangings reminded me of something else. I am refering to the hangings by the Ku Klux Klan in the USA. Again the hangings were a means of terrorizing those the KKK opposed. That included Catholics. The KKK was rabidly anti-Catholic & would do anything to help wipe them out. That meant they fully supported what Calles was doing. In fact, the Klan offered its 4 million members as soldiers for the Calles regime should any group or country intervene militarily.
While not mentioned in the movie, another big supporter of Calles efforts to wipe out the Catholic Church in Mexico was Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood. She praised Calles’ campaign against the Church & saw it as a step toward making her work easier: “With the yoke of medievalism thus thrown off we can anticipate a splendid development of the government work for birth control already begun in Mexico.” Of course her other reason for wanting promoting birth control in Mexico had to do with her racist eugenics agenda. Remember she saw Mexicans as an inferior people. This agenda is still carried on by Planned Parenthood today. & not only in Mexico but in all of Central & South America.
1 of the things shown in the movie were attempts by the Federales to get Catholics to aposticise. Saying, “¡Viva Cristo Rey!” (Long Live Christ the King!), the battle cry of the Cristeros, was considered to be an act of treason. The scenes where the Federales tried to get Catholics to deny Christ or be shot again reminded me of how the early Christians were given the choice of worshiping Caesar or being martyred. To not worship Caesar was treason. The movie shows many Catholics  facing death with  “¡Viva Cristo Rey!”  on their lips.
I know that many people like to walk out the second the credits start at the end of the movie. In this case, I would say don't. The credits start with telling what happenned to some of those portrayed in the movie. Throughout the credits we see actually pictures of the events during the war. 1 of those pictures is of Blessed Miguel Pro (José Ramón Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez) being martyred.
The movie was rightly rated R because of the violence depicted. I won't make the arguement here that, given the violence & sex in some PG-13 movies, that it could have been rated that instead. Clearly, this movie is not suitable for very young children. But given the exposure to so much violence in video games, most teens (& some 10-12 year lods) would be able to handle it. In fact, I would strongly recomend that parents of teens take them. & then use the movie as a starting point for a discussion on what it means to live the Catholic faith, especially the cost. Why were the martyrs, from the early days of the Catholic Church until now, willing to lay down their lives for what they believed in. Another topic would be how does this compare to the attacks on the Catholic Church & religious faith in general by the Obama administration. How is this persecution similar or different? Could we be seeing Catholics arrested & martyred in the US for refusing to submit to the attacks on the Catholic Church (& other Christians as well)?
I hope we never face the type of persecution the Calles government wrought on the Catholic Church. (Note: even after the agreement, persecution continued. Calles' government often did not abide by the terms of the truce. In violation of its terms, executed some 500 Cristero leaders & 5,000 other Cristeros.) This movie has inspired me to continue my efforts to see that it doesn't. We must have the same courage that the early Christians as well as the Cristeros had. We must ask God to give us the strength & graces needed to live our faith & defend it, even if it may some day cost us our lives.

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posted by Al @ 2:36 PM   0 Comments

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Fortnight For Freedom Begins Tommorrow

This is just a reminder that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops have called on all Catholics to set aside time between 21 June to 4 July 2012 as a special period of prayer, study, catechesis, & public action will emphasize both our Christian and American heritage of liberty.
. Dioceses as well as parishes around the country have scheduled events &/or provided materials to help with this prayer & reflection. Here in Dubuque, the Archdiocesan website does have a page listing several resources.
Archbishop Hanus released the following statement:
"Fortnight for Freedom"
"The approaching observance of Independence Day on July 4 reminds us that religious liberty has been an important value in our country since the Declaration of Independence. The First Amendment of the US. Bill of Rights states: ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibit-ing the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.’"
The Power of Prayer put together a booklet with prayers & reflections for each day. (I know it was also distributed at at least 1 parish in the area as well.) Also a flyer was put out with a novena for 25 June to 4 July. Some dioceses are doing more than others. Sadly some are doing little more than mentioning it in passing. In DBQ some priests have said no to promoting it because it is "political".
Follow the links above to the USCCB website to see what your diocese is doing & to get resources to help you to pray & take actions over the next 2 weeks.
As President Reagan said "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free." (This is only 1 version of what he often said.)
These next 14 days may be a make or break it time for the USA. Participating in this Fortnight for Freedom is not an option, it is a must. Each of us must spend at least some time over the next few days praying for our country, we must repent of the sins of our country as well. But we must all do more as the Holy Spirit leads us. Speak up, write letters to the editor, go to local events. Challenge your friends to action as well.
If we don't do all we can, then some day each of us will have to answer to God for our failure to do what we should have. I don't know if it is too late to stop God's judgment on this country. I don't know if our fight for freedom will include having to be martyred for the faith. All I do know right now is that God has called us to pray & the act. I pray I have the grace to hear & do all I should rather than just the bare minimum.

posted by Al @ 5:09 PM   0 Comments

Letter to the Editor In Wednesday's TH

Last Thursday I put up a post about how Jill June lied about the availability of telemed abortions. While I knew it was important to write the post, I also knew I couldn't stop at that & feel I had done everything I could to spread the word. I did pass what I discovered on to DBQ Co Right to Life as well as some Pro-life friends in the area as I saw them. But there was 1 more thing I knew I had to do. That thing was to write a letter to the editor of the local paper. So I mulled over what I should say since we are limitted to 250 words as well as prayed for guidance for the right words. On Friday afternoon I went on to the TH website, went to the submit links, clicked on "submit a letter to the editor", wrote it & sent it. Usually the TH calls before printing a letter & I don't subscribe to the paper, so I was suprized this afternoon before Mass at the Power of Prayer & people began committing me on the letter.
I am happy to say that, except for correcting a couple of typos, they didn't edit anything out. I was also pleasantly pleased with the title they gave it as well.
I am sharing the above as a reminder that prayer should usually lead to action of some sort. For some that should include writing letters to the local paper. Abortion supporters regularly do so. & we need to get the truth out to counter what they say.
Note: At this point, the number of comments are up to 9. & on the pro-abortion side, much what I expected. The pro-abortion people do their best to say June didn't lie, ignoring the actual words used in both cases, or attack me (no surprize, I expect it & can take it), or repeat the same lies in some form. I am also willing to bet I will likely get at least 1 anonymous letter in the mail attacking me as well. I usually do. I point this out, not for sympathy, but to make you aware of what you can expect if you do speak up. Their responses are predictable. But that doesn't matter since the truth will be out there & will probably touch the heart of at least 1 person. It may encourage someone who is Pro-life to go on, it may change a heart, you don't know. All that is important is that you prayerfully speak up under the guidance of the Holy Spirit & God will do the rest.

Letter: Planned Parenthood trying to fool Dubuque 
FROM ALLEN TROUPE 2003 KEY WAY Telegraph Herald| 8 comments
In the TH's June 14 article on the new Planned Parenthood clinic in Dubuque, Jill June said, "At this point in time, the Dubuque health center does not provide abortions, but we won't say we never will."
But KWWL-TV reported that "June said the new location has the ability to provide telemedicine, which can include abortion services if a patient requests the service."
If what she said to the TH is true -- that they do not currently provide them -- then how could she tell KWWL that they do have them available if you ask?
Either they do or they don't provide them. At best she was being disingenuous when she said the Dubuque site doesn't offer them, or she was intentionally lying to the TH.
Either way, she was being less than truthful when she said the Dubuque site doesn't provide abortions. If they provide telemedicine services in Dubuque, then they are providing telemed abortions. June has clearly admitted it.
That wasn't the only misstatement she made. As someone who prayed in front of the old site, I say it was impossible to trespass unless you actually walked into the building. For Planned Parenthood, they consider exercising our free speech rights to be harassment when it isn't. In reality, they hate the idea of us telling the truth about them.
People of Dubuque, don't be fooled. Jill June is intentionally trying to mislead you. She wants to look like they are the good guys, when they aren't.

posted by Al @ 3:51 PM   0 Comments

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Autistic Children, How Soon Until the "Culture of Death" Targets Them?

A couple of days ago I was reading an article in the Knights of Columbus Magazine Columbia. The article,   Treating Disorders, Transforming Lives was about the work being done at  the Knights of Columbus Developmental Center at the SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center in St. Louis with autistic children. You might remember that Cardinal Glennon was where Baby Joseph was taken for life extending surgery after the Ontario courts had overruled the parents wishes & were going to allow the doctors to take him off of life support instead. The surgery allowed him 6 more months of life than he would have had. & it allowed him to die with the true dignity he deserved.
The article hilighted the wonderful work that the Center is doing helping  children with intellectual developmental  In particular it looked at the work done to diagnose & treat children with autism.  The professionals at the Center can make an autism diagnosis as early as 18 months of age. In 2007, the Center was designated a Missouri Autism Center. It has helped the state develop screening & treatment guidelines for this spectrum of disorders. The Center is now evaluating & treating almost 2,000 children a year.
The article also talked about an expansion in the works. "The new facility will provide more space for Higgins to interact with the children, and his crate will no longer be jammed in a corner of the conference room. The new examining rooms, meanwhile, will be big enough to accommodate more family members and specialists. Maxim is also glad to have room for new, evidence-based programs like PEERS, which teaches social skills to teenagers while their parents get coached on the material in another room." (FYI: Higgins is a specially trained  goldendoodle that helps ease the childrens fears & make them feel more comfortable as they go through the tests & exams.)
& while all that is going on there is good news, something in the article caught my eye that raised a red flag about the future safety of these children, especially before they are born. "'Autism is definitely a genetic disorder,' Maxim says. (Dr. Rolanda Maxim, the center’s medical director) 'Every day we are identifying more genes that are linked to autism.' Those genes only create a predisposition to the disorder, though. 'There are certain triggers in the environment,” Maxim explains, “and we have only identified a few of them.'” (emphasis mine)
My thoughts ran back to how our society is dealing with another genetic condition, Down syndrome. As I have pointed out many times before, with current pre-natal testing & diagnosis, about 90% of those pre-born children who have been diagnosed to have Down syndrome are being aborted. Down syndrome occurs in one out of every 733 babies born in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention has estimated that, on average, 1 in every 110 children has an autism spectrum disorder. But, in some studies, the prevalence has measured as high as 1 in 80. Add to that the fact that in 2009 a test was being developed for pre-natal screening of autism was being developed & just this year another prenatal test that allows doctors to diagnose some 3,500 genetic defects previously undetectable before birth has been developed.
I think by now you see where I am heading.  If these tests become standard, how long before children with the genetic predisposition to autism will be aborted as regularly as those with Down syndrome? Or children with other genetic problems as well?
Add to that, the recent article published in the Journal of Medical Ethics (JME) calling for the normalization of infanticide for any reason.   After-birth abortion: why should the baby live?, was written by  Alberto Giubilini (Department of Philosophy, University of Milan, Milan, Italy; and Centre for Human Bioethics, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), & Frencesca Minerva (Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia).
In their abstract, the authors state:
“Abortion is largely accepted even for reasons that do not have anything to do with the fetus’ health. By showing that (1) both fetuses and newborns do not have the same moral status as actual persons, (2) the fact that both are potential persons is morally irrelevant and (3) adoption is not always in the best interest of actual people, the authors argue that what we call ‘after-birth abortion’ (killing a newborn) should be permissible in all the cases where abortion is, including cases where the newborn is not disabled.”
(emphasis mine)
Add to that:
“Therefore, we claim that killing a newborn could be ethically permissible in all the circumstances where abortion would be. Such circumstances include cases where the newborn has the potential to have an (at least) acceptable life, but the well-being of the family is at risk. Accordingly, a second terminological specification is that we call such a practice ‘after-birth abortion’ rather than ‘euthanasia’ because the best interest of the one who dies is not necessarily the primary criterion for the choice, contrary to what happens in the case of euthanasia.”
(emphasis mine)
Yes you read that right, "after-birth abortion".
As Dr. Gerard M. Nadal put it "In that last breathtaking sentence, the authors leave behind Dr. Jack Kevorkian, the “Death with Dignity’ movement, euthanasia, and even the vile excesses of the Dutch physician assisted suicide experience, propelling us into the scenario where those who may be perfectly healthy apart from even the mildest limitations imposed by a genetic condition may be murdered by their parents." He also said the article was "worthy of the rabid Nazi propagandist Julius Streicher’s screeds in his publication, Der Sturmer." As you may remember, Streicher and the other Nazi leaders who went to the gallows with him deemed Jews, homosexuals, the mentally retarded, & those with autism (among others) as, “Life unworthy of life.” (emphasis mine)
Add to this the work being done by Princeton University Professor Peter Singer to promote a simlar agenda, & Dr. Catherine Constable's saying  all patients evaluated as being in a “permanent vegetative state” (PVS) should by default have artificial nutrition and hydration (ANH) withdrawn unless they have made a prior wish to be kept alive among others & you see the "culture of death" in full swing to dehumanize anyone who doesn't fit into a group's definition of what it means to be human. In short, we will see a full scale eugenics effort to clean up all those who are unfit to be considered human & thus having a right to live.
Where does it end? Well we already have a prime example of that in Hitler & his slaughter of the Jews as unfit to live & less than human. Other groups he slaughtered included Catholics, Christians, Gypsies & homosexuals as unfit to live as well.
& we have seen how Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood held similar ideas. & Planned Parenthood is still working to promote them as well (Maafa 21).
I have to add to the mix one more thing, ObamaCare. If it is upheld, it will add soon add abortions to the mix. It already has death panels as a part of it. You can be sure that those panels will limit, if not ban most or all of what is being done to help children with autism as to expensive for the results. That will encourage even more women to abort their potentially autistic children,
That is why I asked the question "How soon?" rather than will the "culture of death target children with autism. If we allow our culture to continue on this path, you can be sure that what I have said in this post will happen.
Before I conclude, I would suggest you read the entire Columbia article. You will see a prime example of what happens when the Culture of Life is allowed to flourish.
In conclusion, I remind everyone that we must continue to pray & work at building a Culture of Life in the USA & elsewhere. As I have said before, we must begin, end & undergird all our efforts with prayer. We must ask the Blessed Virgin Mary, San Giuseppe & other saints like Blessed Margaret of Castello & St. Gerard Majella to intercede as well. This is, in the end, a spiritual battle. & it is spiritual weapons that will win it.


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posted by Al @ 3:11 PM   2 Comments

Monday, June 18, 2012

Given My Experience, This Doesn't Surprize Me!!!!!

The big news from Rockford this weekend was that a school bus used by Pro-lifers in their battle against the recently closed abortion mill was fire bombed last Friday night.
WHAT??? YOU DIDN'T KNOW THAT?????
I can't say that I am surprized if you didn't. Except for the post on Rockford Pro-Life Corner blog & articles on the Life News & LifeSiteNews websites, it has been mostly ignored.*
The bus was  owned by Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Academy. It has been well known throughout Rockford for its beautiful pro-life pictures & words asking people to “pray to end abortion”.


According to the Pro-Life Corner blog "The damage was extensive to the bus as windows were broken in on both sides and fire bombs were thrown inside to cause maximum damage. It has been speculated that this bombing of a pro-life Christian school bus is in retaliation for the closing of the Rockford abortion mill that is located not far from where the school bus was attacked."
So what did the Rockford Register Star cover that weekend?
On the day of pro-life school bus being bombed, the Rockford Register Star ran a story about an attack against a building made by a pro-lifer that occurred 12 years ago
They brought up again the story of Fr. John Earl who damaged the Rockford abortion mill in 2000.  As the post points out "Fr. Earl paid his debt to society and has been a model citizen ever since for over a decade, but the Register Star brings up that 12 YEAR OLD STORY again, using Father Earl’s reassignment to a new parish as an opportunity to rehash what should now be a thing of the past and yet they ignored a current attack- the firebombing of a pro-life school bus."
Yet another firebombing in Rockford does make the news. & it occurred early in the morning on the same day that the bus was firebombed. A car was set on fire at 1 am & an unexploded “Molotov cocktail” was found nearby. The paper called it a suspected arson.
Yet it wasn't until Monday, & I am sure after a lot of outrage by Pro-lifers & supporters of the porivately owned school (probably a huge overlap), that the Rockford paper finally did post an article on the bus. It only took the Rockford paper a little over 8 hours to post the 1st car being firebombed. Yet it took the same paper almost 2 &1/2 days to post the story about the Pro-life school bus. Like I said, it had to be done only after a huge outcry. A lot of which was inspired by the Pro-life Corner post.
Of course, the Rockford paper does get a dig in at the Pro-life Corner blog as well. & I am sure that some of it was in retaliation for drawing attention to their pro-abortion bias. The article said "Speculation was reported on an anti-abortion website that the fire may have been set as an anti-Catholic message or in retaliation against anti-abortion groups that campaigned to close the Northern Illinois Women’s Center in Rockford."
1st of all, notice that they simply call it an anti-abortion website, not Pro-life. & there was no speculation that it was to send an anti-Catholic message. The only anti-Catholic message mentioned in the post was the one that the Rockford paper was apparently sending out in its Fr. Earl story. The post did also point out the long running anti-Pro-life, anti-Christian bigotry as well as the cover-up by the Rockford paper of actions by the Rockford abortion mill. "The Register Star again shows it may have a deep and firmly held bigotry towards Christians and pro-lifers by bringing up incidents from 12 years ago and disregarding current acts of terrorism against Christian citizens. To this day the Register Star has never reported on the many documented hate crimes committed by the Rockford abortion mill and its supporters. At the time this article is being written, they have completely ignored a hate crime against Christian pro-lifers and an act of violence (firebombing) and arson against school children, yet they want to continue to regurgitate an incident by a pro-lifer 12 YEARS AGO!"
Their coverage of the Pro-life bus' firebombing only goes to prove that the bigotry exists at the paper. If the paper can get the car bombing story up in a few hours, & if the Pro-Life Corner can get a post, pictures & a video (below) up in a day, how else do you explain the delay in covering the bus' firebombing other than out & out bigotry against the Pro-life movement & the Catholic Church?

_________
*FYI: the reason I can't say I am surprized comes from personal experience with the local media back in 2010. Back then my mobile home I was living in at the time was vandalized. I posted on it. But it wasn't until after I raised a stink with the TH about their ignoring anything that was written. In the post on it I shared how I was treated by the TH editor. I honestly think his attitude towards me was, at least in part, because he wasn't happy I called the paper on its bias.  At that point it was the Pro-life presence on the web that ran with it to get the news out, including how the media treated me. Not that I was looking for attention for myself, But because it is clear that the Main Stream Media will ignore any violence towards Pro-lifers if it can. The reason is simple. Those stories (several of which I have posted about under Violence/Vandalism Against Pro-Lifers) don't fit in with the agenda of the MSM & the abortion industry to paint us as the bad guys.
They want to show that violence is the norm, not an aberation with us. They want to show that the violence is all done by "anti-choice/abortion" people, not "pro-choice" people. They want to paint all "pro-choicers" (read pro-abortion) as a sweet, loving group of people who are only trying to protect the woman's right to chose. The truth is, the violence done against those who are pro-abortion is usually done by those who are, at best, on the fringe. & when something does happen, the Pro-life leaders are out there to quickly deny it. Not so with the violence against Pro-lifers. It is usually done by those who are at the heart of promoting abortion.
The closed abortion mill at Rockford is a prime example of how the media slants the news. They ignored most of what its owner, Wayne Webster did. Including the hatefilled racist & violent signs he put in his windows, as well as his attacks on protestors. Of course he was aided & abetted by friends on the city council as well. But as you saw above, a 12 year old story about a priest was brought up. In this case it served a double purpose, to attack the Pro-lifers, as well as the Catholic Church & particularly the Diocese of Rockford that, under the leadership of recently retired Bishop Thomas Doran, helped lead the charge against the Rockford abortion mill. Check out the Pro-Life Corner blog for more.
This is why it is so important for us to speak up, contact the media when they ignore our side, tthat includes writing letters to the editor with the truth, & to blog about it as well. It is clear that, for the most part,  the media won't tell the truth about the Pro-life side. Unless we force them to.

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posted by Al @ 5:17 PM   0 Comments

Saturday, June 16, 2012

I Hate To Say I Told You So When It Comes to Embryonic Stem Cell Research (No I Don't)

For as far back as I can remember, the proponants of embryonic stem cell research (ESCR) have been screaming (literally as well as figuratively) that the only stem cells that offer any real hope were embryonic stem cells. They would ignore, downplay &/or out & out lie about the facts when it came to the successes involving adult stem cells or umbilical cord stem cells. They would also lump all stem cells together to mislead people. & if you dared to oppose the use of embryonic stem cells they would then say you were against all stem cell research, another lie.
Well, in the past few years, despite huge amounts of funding from state & local governments, embryonic stem cells have been proven to be anything but a source of hope. In fact, they have been proven to be a huge waste of our money that could have beem used to expand research using adult stem cells that continue to offer real hope. (See links in side bar for sites with success stories)
In fact, while not actually admiting failure, many promoters are backing away from their earlier claims (like Michael J Fox's foundation).
Which takes me to 1 of the latest successes using adult stem cells.
According to a recent story in The Telegraph, "Scientists have grown human bone from stem cells in a laboratory." In this case, the adult stem cells were taken from fat tissue. Yes, fat cells. So much for 1 of the ESCR claim, that adult stem cells are unipotent. This is 1 of the oft repeated & long disproved lies ESCR proponants have used.
Dr Shai Meretzki, chief executive of Bonus BioGroup, with the human bones grown from stem cells

It took the researchers  around a month to grow them into sections of fully-formed living human bone up to a couple of inches long. The 1st trial on patients is on course to be conducted later this year It will be done by an Israeli biotechnology company that has been working with academics on the technology.
Professor Avinoam Kadouri, head of the scientific advisory board for Bonus BioGroup, explained how it would be done. "We use three dimensional structures to fabricate the bone in the right shape and geometry. We can grow these bones outside the body and then transplant it to the patient at the right time.
By scanning the damaged bone area, the implant should fit perfectly and merge with the surrounding tissue. There are no problems with rejection as the cells come from the patient's own body."
The technology has been developed along with researchers at the Technion Institute of Research in Israel. It uses three dimensional scans of the damaged bone to build a gel-like scaffold that matches the shape. The stem cells, known as mesenchymal stem cells are obtained from the patient's fat using liposuction. Then they are grown into living bone on the scaffold inside a "bioreactor" – an automated machine that provides the right conditions to encourage the cells to develop into bone.
The technique has wide potential. Ultimately, it could allow doctors to replace bones that have been smashed in accidents, fill in defects where bone is missing such as cleft palate, or carry out reconstructive plastic surgery. Professor Kadouri also said that work was under way to grow the soft cartilage at the ends of bones. The cartilage will be needed if entire bones are to be produced in a laboratory.
Research has been done using lab rats has already been done.. They have successfully received the bone transplants. The scientists were able to insert almost an inch of laboratory-grown human bone into the middle section of a rat’s leg bone, where it successfully merged with the remaining animal bone. So much for PETA's continuing claim that that animal research serves no useful human purpose. As Wesley J. Smith said in the Life News article I found this out from, this shows that PETA's claim is a lie. Something I wholeheartedly agree with.
While the ESCR gang would like this whole fiasco involving the failed use of embryonic stem cells to fade away quietly, we must not let it be forgotten. We must remember that fraudulent claims were made in order to get money for this research. & that if they were willing to do it one or more times in the past, they will do it again.
Meanwhile, we can rejoice that once again real hope has been given to people using adult stem cells rather than false hope that was used to justify the murdering of unborn babies in the name of Mengeleian style research.


Source: Embryonic Stem Cell Research Debate Dying as Adult Cells Progress

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posted by Al @ 3:36 PM   4 Comments

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