Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Catholic Vote: Faithful Citizenship

A cool video I found on the Statement of the U.S. Bishops

LINK: Faithful Citizenship

...and another video on being a faithful Catholic


Financial Mess: Burning Down the House

I was sent this video link via email from a friend about a week ago and I finally had a change to try to view it on YouTube yesterday evening.

I say try because YouTube removed it from their inventory.

Why? I don't know. With all the other questionable videos in their inventory, why would they remove this particular one? Was there any graphic, degrading, gory, sexual, dehumanizing scenes in this flix?

Hmmm... maybe I shouldn't view it after all? Another friend at worked had seen it and he's pretty reliable. He assured me that the video in question was not that kind of video.

So I searched the web for another link other than YouTube.

The video in question; 'Burning Down the House: What Caused Our Economic Crisis?'

A video investigating the Fannie Mae debacle. Now I've seen other video on YouTube that bash the present administration and a certain political party to no end.

So why this particular one.

I don't know, judge for yourself...




I guess the 1st amendment only works for some and not for others...

Dura Realidad - Hard Truth: Abortion


thanks to Jill Stanek for this video link.


For our Spanish speaking visitors, this video from 'Bella' actor Edurardo Verastegui. Edurardo explains the Hard Truth (Dura Realidad) of abortion


LINK: I'll post the edited version of the video still up on YouTube later. View the unedited version here.


LINK: To Jill post on the video HERE

Monday, September 29, 2008

BailOut Text!



Okay, here is a (PDF) of the the bailout details. It's a hundred and some pages long but everyone should at least read through it once. (Thanks to 'little green footballs')

After all we all have to pony-up for this massive boon-doggle.


I myself, am specifically concerned with the compensations to the executives after they leave the ailing companies, golden parachutes, is what it's called.

Here's an extract of the text on that subject.











(This starts the section pertaining to the executive compensation...)







(Here is the paragraph outlining 'No Golden Parachute payments to Senior Executives...




Okay, so far so good)








BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE...


(Now here is the bottom-line. The cancellation of the golden parachutes is ONLY FOR NEW SENIOR EXECUTIVES!
All present Senior Executives will still have the ability to GET GOLDEN PARACHUTES!)
I'm I reading this wrong? Maybe someone out there in web-land with more knowledge on the economy can correct me if incorrect.
I'm hearing Pelosi/Reid telling me not to worry about this?
What's your take on this... anyone?












World's Biggest Cruise Ship!


You wouldn't think the world was on the verge of financial collapse with the debut of this 315m-long, 3,000 passenger cruise ship completion.


... but here it is.




It might be time for the phrase: 'We're gonna need a bigger boat' to enter retirement.
For this mighty vessel, the largest ever passenger ship, dwarfs all that stands next to it, making the thousands of spectators which came to see it's launch look little more than ants as they waved the graceful ship out of the port.

The 315m-long ship is so wide it barely squeezed out of the Papenberg watergates, but ably helped by two tug-boats it escaped on it's to the North sea, where it will head to Denmark.

Highlighted Website: Catholics in the Public Square







If you're trying to keep up with catholic concerns in the public square where else would you go than.. you got... 'Catholics In The Public Square'



Always keep informed. Headline Bistro is another great resourse to bookmark.

You Tube Ethics: Eucharistic Desecration

The world of YouTube is a very strange place indeed. It's a mixed bag of videos, some good some bad.

And let's face it, you have to be careful where you step. You could get something really smelly on your shoe.

It's not a place to hangout. I go there just long enough to view a video someone has pointed out to me on my faith or other 'clean' interest, but you could easily head into treacherous waters.

Case in point: YouTube Allows Videos of Eucharistic Descration

People can find a video of almost anything on YouTube: babies’ first steps, Saturday Night Live skits, news clips, concerts and now – to the shock of Catholics everywhere – desecration of the Eucharist.

YouTube has long been a destination for Catholics seeking video clips of Masses, apologetics lectures or devotions, but now Catholic outrage is growing as the site has become home to a string of videos depicting acts of Eucharistic desecration, including flushing a host down the toilet, putting one in a blender, feeding one to animals, shooting one with a nail gun and more.

“I don’t know what to say,” said a stunned Msgr. C. Eugene Morris, professor of sacramental theology at Kenrick Glennon Seminary in St. Louis, when told about the videos. “I am outraged that YouTube is tacitly supporting this and giving this behavior an audience.”
MORE

Interview: Archbishop Chaput - Render Unto Caesar


Thanks! to InsightScoop & Catholics in the Public Square.

A five part video series with Archbishop Chaut is a must see in this current election period.

If you haven't yet had a chance to read the Archbishop's book 'Render Unto Caesar', you're missing out on one of the most important books of the year. Just finished it myself.

The role of our faith in this election is of the utmost importance. One wouldn't think this with the emphasis on the economy these day's. But don't think that the current situation we're in has nothing to do with our faith. Anyone familiar with the catholic virtues wouldn't hesitate to acknowledge a lack of morality as at least part of the problem.

LINK: NRO - Archbishop Chaput Video Interview (5 parts)

A quick review of the Human Virtues and Cardinal Virtues, as well as the Gifts of the Holy Spirit can be found HERE: CCC 1803-1832

Virtue - Catholic Encyclopedia

Friday, September 26, 2008

Bailout Plan: Dems Redirects Moneys to Acorn Group

A done deal?

A Done Deal"

... let me say that one more time.

A DONE DEAL?!

If this is a part of the DONE DEAL that I hear the Democrates claim this is, throw it in the trash!

Dems Bailout Proposal Redirects 'Paulson's Profits' To Left-Wing.... Will Media Notice?

... the Democrats already have a plan to siphon off any repayment of the people's money back to the treasury by adding one little line to the agreement that would end up stealing money from any repayments and giving it to left-wing political advocacy groups like ACORN, the National Urban League and the Hispanic group La Raza. Instead of trying to help the economy, the Democrats just want more money for their left-wing political constituents. It's business as usual for the Democrats, of course, but a bigger question is will the media let them get away with it?
MORE

L'Osservatore Romano Weighs in on U.S. Economic Woes

I'm still have trouble coming up with a solution that I understand and can support on fixing this economic mess.

So is the rest of the world....

L'Osservatore Romano paper has their perception and American Papist comments.

... add your thought to his post.

On L'O.R. adding its two cents to US economic woes

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Morning Joe: Article Reading Selection

Interesting articles today

Dining With Evil

Why We're Floundering

The Whole World and the Soul of Robert Bork

Name Calling I Like

40 Days For Life

1st Choice For Voters: Which Guide?

Obama's Revealing Disconnect

Does Science Really Have Laws?

Voting Morality: Part II

Part II is up at Jimmy Akin.
SDG (aka not Jimmy) is on a roll... must read.

Elections, Voting and Morality, Part 2

Vanity of Vanities, Says Qoheleth

Got into work a little earlier today and as usual, I begin my day by read the Daily Readings for the day.

The first reading from Ecclesiasties 1:2-11 caught my interest. It begins

Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth,
vanity of vanities!
All things are vanity!What profit has man from all the labor
which he toils at under the sun?
One generation passes and another comes,
but the world forever stays.
The sun rises and the sun goes down;then it presses on to the place where it rises.
Blowing now toward the south, then toward the north,
the wind turns again and again, resuming its rounds.
All rivers go to the sea,yet never does the sea become full.
To the place where they go,
the rivers keep on going.
All speech is labored;
there is nothing one can say.
The eye is not satisfied with seeing
nor is the ear satisfied with hearing.

I had to read more so I read through the rest of the book of Eccl.

Needless to say, I needed some extra help understanding what I was reading. So I popped over to New Advent website and looked up Ecclesiastes.

Qoheleth is the son of David , or so that's how he introduces himself, and Qoheleth is going on about his observations of his present time. All the hard times and good times, the bad and good, the sun rises and the sun sets, the rich taking advantage of the poor, visa versa, etc. etc. etc..

Most of us remember this book for it's chapter 3:

There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens.

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant.

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to tear down, and a time to build.

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.

A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them; a time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces.

A time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away.

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to be silent, and a time to speak.

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

For those old enough it's the lyrics to that old Birds hit of the '60's.

Anyway, I guess it caught my interest this morning because as I went to bed last night after watching the news, I remember all this vanity of vanities talk.

Everyone mashing their teeth, gawking in anger over the financial crisis, the war, the environment, the latest sports scores. My children perplexing over the next day test, I worried about my fathers surgery of that day.

All these observations, and I guess I realized, I was doing the same thing that Qoheleth was doing!

Qoheleth's message? What was he trying to say?

Maybe a reminder that "to everything, there is a season."

God's providence will see us through and he does have a plan. We may get lost in the day's tials and tribulations, joys and griefs, but we can always be certain that God is in control.

So I feel sort of better this morning. I realize that I shouldn't rely on people for my daily dose of happiness or financial comfort or whatever.

People can let you down, things can go wrong.

This final thought on my mornings reading adventure:

Every age may learn from his teaching that man's true happiness must not be looked for on earth, not in human wisdom, not in luxury, not in royal splendour; that many afflictions await everybody, in consequence either of the iniquity of others, or of his own passions; that God has shut him up within narrow limits, lest he become overweening, but that He does not deny him a small measure of happiness if he does not "seek things that are above him" (vii, 1, Vulg.), if he enjoys what God has bestowed on him in the fear of the Lord and in salutary labour. The hope of a better life to come grows all the stronger the less this life can satisfy man, especially the man of high endeavour. (newadvent.org: Ecclesiastes)


So...

Don't worry, Be Happy... (hope that little tune sticks in your head today)

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Anglican Leader: Lourdes Authentic

Woo Baby...

The Archbishop of Cantebury, Dr Rowan Williams has accepted the visions of the Virgin Mary as fact.

Here's the article

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, was today branded a ‘papal puppet’ after he became the first leader of the Church of England to accept visions of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes as historical fact.

He asserted that 18 visions of Our Lady allegedly experienced by Bernadette Soubirous in 1858 were true.

His words shocked millions of Protestants worldwide because they not only signified a break with Protestant teaching on the Virgin Mary but also Dr Williams’s personal acceptance of the Catholic doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, which is explicitly linked to the apparitions.(UK Mail Online)
MORE

AP has this covered as well...

NYT: Bias?



Here's an interesting site.

Scrubbing the New York Times in search for truth... or not.

40 Days for Life: You can make a difference

Saw this '40 Days for Life' website mentioned on AP.

A must see video.... get involved




You can make a difference

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Voting Morality: "What's a Catholic to Do?"

Great post over at Jimmy Akin Website, by SDG (aka Not Jimmy).

He talks about the challenge of deciding which one of the candidates has the higher moral ground, best reflects our Catholic values.

It's lengthy but worth the read.

Elections, Voting and Morality Part I


In this election season, questions about voting and morality are naturally under discussion in the Catholic blogosphere and the larger Catholic world. At times, the range of possible answers being proposed and discussed has included some dubious opinions and claims.

There are good reasons not to be thrilled with either of the two major candidates, and it's not surprising that some thoughtful and serious Catholics and others may choose not to vote at all, or to vote for some quixotic third-party candidate as a form of protest against the major candidates.

More surprisingly, some serious Catholics have seemed at times to incline toward the view that, although one of the two major candidates is far less problematic than the other, even the less problematic candidate is still problematic enough to make supporting or voting for either of the two major candidates not only not obligatory, but actually objectively wrong. Rarefied theories regarding the purpose and moral significance of voting have been floated that seem hard to reconcile with Catholic teaching.

Even more surprisingly, some serious Catholics have actually gone so far as to argue that the preferable candidate is one whose agenda is about as radically opposed as it is possible to be to Catholic teaching on fundamental moral issues (including abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem-cell research, therapeutic cloning and same-sex marriage) rather than his opponent whose views are much more convergent with Catholic teaching on most, if not all, of those issues. (More on this later.)

This last view has become most widely associated with Douglas Kmiec, Professor of Constitutional Law at Pepperdine University's School of Law and former Dean and St. Thomas More Professor of Catholic University's law school. After working with fellow Catholic scholar Mary Ann Glendon on Mitt Romney's presidential bid, Kmiec stunned American Catholics by endorsing Barack Obama for president.

MORE

Obama plays the FAITH CARD

Looks like Barack is going to try to convince us that he has our faith values.

Oh really?

'Voting All Our Values'... is that his new buy-line?

How can you vote for ALL our values? Some values will conflict with other values. I guess compromise is the hidden word here. While compromise sounds like a perfectly good word. Right? I mean, give a little, take a little; "can't we all just get along" scenario.

Thomas More advocated "respect for all laws, even unjust ones. In the face of unjust law, More advised waiting for a 'place and time convenient' to advocate change." (Charles Chaput, Render Unto Caesar, pg 175)

However there are certain values which we can never compromise on. Abortion is one of them. That to me is the purpose of this 'Faith Tour'. Barack needs to nullify the Christian vote on this issue.

With Thomas More it was Henry VIII divorce, today it's abortion. More knew that in the face of serious evil, he was aware of the Christian pursuit of patience, compromise and prudence. Without an informed conscience though, it can easily lead to moral laziness and cowardice. There comes a time and place where one must stand their ground and not compromise on issues of their faith. Abortion is one of these evils.

'Compromise' becomes the casket for our integrity of faith.

AP & the Christian Broadcasting Network have the details on the 'Obama Faith Tour'

... beginning next week the campaign will start an official faith tour in key battleground states called “Barack Obama: Faith, Family and Values Tour”. The subheading of the tour is as follows: “Voting ALL Our Values”

... top faith surrogates will hit the trail for Obama. Some of those high profile figures include Former Indiana Congressman and pro-life Democrat Tim Roemer, Catholic legal scholar Doug Kmiec, and author Donald Miller.

Monday, September 22, 2008

More Catholic Bashing...

This from Carl of InsightScoop

Anti-Catholicism and the Culture of Death

Supporters of assisted suicide bait Catholics

Financial Mess: The Blame Game...

This has been the ultimate "who did it" blame game since well I don't know.

The financial mess has fingers pointing from one side of the aisle to the other and well most of us are trying to figure it all out.

While the overall answer maybe, "there is enough blame to go around" it just doesn't satisfy the palate.

...so the search for the answer goes on.

This article helps.

How the Democrats Created the Finalcial Crisis: Kevin Hassett (Bloomberg.com)

Why did Bear Stearns fail, and how does that relate to AIG? It all seems so complex.
But really, it isn't. Enough cards on this table have been turned over that the story is now clear. The economic history books will describe this episode in simple and understandable terms:
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac exploded, and many bystanders were injured in the blast, some fatally.

...

What happened next was extraordinary. For the first time in history, a serious Fannie and Freddie reform bill was passed by the Senate Banking Committee. The bill gave a regulator power to crack down, and would have required the companies to eliminate their investments in risky assets.

Different World

If that bill had become law, then the world today would be different. In 2005, 2006 and 2007, a blizzard of terrible mortgage paper fluttered out of the Fannie and Freddie clouds, burying many of our oldest and most venerable institutions. Without their checkbooks keeping the market liquid and buying up excess supply, the market would likely have not existed.

But the bill didn't become law, for a simple reason: Democrats opposed it on a party-line vote in the committee, signaling that this would be a partisan issue. Republicans, tied in knots by the tight Democratic opposition, couldn't even get the Senate to vote on the matter.

...

But we now know that many of the senators who protected Fannie and Freddie, including Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Christopher Dodd, have received mind-boggling levels of financial support from them over the years.
Throughout his political career, Obama has gotten more than $125,000 in campaign contributions from employees and political action committees of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, second only to Dodd, the Senate Banking Committee chairman, who received more than $165,000.

Clinton, the 12th-ranked recipient of Fannie and Freddie PAC and employee contributions, has received more than $75,000 from the two enterprises and their employees. The private profit found its way back to the senators who killed the fix.

There has been a lot of talk about who is to blame for this crisis. A look back at the story of 2005 makes the answer pretty clear.

Oh, and there is one little footnote to the story that's worth keeping in mind while Democrats point fingers between now and Nov. 4: Senator John McCain was one of the three cosponsors of S.190, the bill that would have averted this mess.



Added Links:

Bill: S.190

S.190 Title: A bill to address the regulation of secondary mortgage market enterprises, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Sen Hagel, Chuck [NE] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (3) Latest Major Action: 7/28/2005 Senate committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
COSPONSORS(3), ALPHABETICAL [followed by Cosponsors withdrawn]: (Sort: by date)
Sen Dole, Elizabeth [NC] - 1/26/2005
Sen McCain, John [AZ] - 5/25/2006
Sen Sununu, John E. [NH] - 1/26/2005


LAST ACTIONS:

This bill never became law. This bill was proposed in a previous session of Congress. Sessions of Congress last two years, and at the end of each session all proposed bills and resolutions that haven't passed are cleared from the books.

Last Action:
Jul 28, 2005: Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.


Sep 16, 2008 10:43 PM - What Does "Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably." mean? - Read Answers

Answered by a visitor on Sep 17, 2008 11:03 PM - This was just a way for S.190 to be delayed through amendment. It then died at the conclusion of the 109th Congress when the 110 Session began in January of 2007. Shortly after, a similar bill (S. 1100) was reintroduced with the amendments in the 110th session of Congress where it remains pending.

Answered by a visitor on Sep 18, 2008 8:45 PM - Since this was a general question I've collected the answers and gotten some expert information on the matter and posted a detailed answer on the GovTrack blog: http://www.govtrack.us/blog/2008/09/18/what-does-ordered-to-be-reported-with-an-amendment-in-the-nature-of-a-substitute-favorably-mean/

Obama \ McCain: And the Truth Shall Set You Free

All those political ads are making my head spin. Especially when I hear something in them and say to myself.

"Hey wait a minute, that doesn't sound right!"

I'm sure we've all done that...

Here's a website that reviews all those ad claims and sets the record straight.

Here's an example:
Turns out, our initial postFreddie, Fannie and Barackwas erroneous. We’ve struck out the incorrect sections from our earlier post.

We said originally that Obama was the fourth largest recipient of donations from troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. That’s wrong. Our post was drawn from data from the Center for Responsive Politics’ Web site, OpenSecrets.org. But the data we used were incomplete.

We talked to a spokesperson from the Center for Responsive Politics who told us that looking at all election cycles since 1989 (the first year for which CRP has data), Barack Obama is in fact the second-largest recipient of contributions from employees of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, their unemployed spouses and dependent children and both of the FMs’ political action committees.
According to
CRP, Obama’s total contributions from the FMs work out to $126,349. Of that sum, $6,000 comes from the FMs’ political action committees, and the rest from individuals who work for one of the two companies. Obama’s FM contributions account for about 0.03 percent of his total contributions to date. McCain’s FM haul is a smaller $21,550, all from individuals. That’s about 0.01 percent of his total contributions. We stand by our doubts that either candidate will be much swayed by numbers of this size.
... to be fair, one on McCain. After all the truth will set you free...
Confused about whether John McCain really predicted the fall of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? We don’t blame you. The McCain-Palin campaign says he did, and as proof, they point to a 2006 speech in which McCain exhorts his colleagues to vote for legislation he cosponsored, legislation that would have regulated the misbehaving mortgage giants. The Obama campaign says he did not and point out that McCain said in 2007 that he didn’t see the crisis coming. Kinda looks like 2006 McCain versus 2007 McCain.

Luckily for you, our colleagues at PolitiFact.com have financial experts at their fingertips. They’ve sorted through the dueling McCains and found that while he isn’t totally dissembling, McCain is stretching a little bit of fact nearly to the breaking point.

PolitiFact.com (Sept. 17): We give McCain some credit for weighing in on problems surrounding Fannie Mae, even though he got involved after a comprehensive government report issued a loud alarm to anyone watching. However, his attempts to depict those efforts as some sort of early warning that could have lessened the current credit crisis just don’t wash. All McCain was talking about then was the potential fallout of accounting troubles in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He didn’t say anything about a freewheeling climate among creditors that had major financial institutions becoming badly leveraged on bad loans. We rule his claim Barely True.
We recommend reading
PolitiFact’s analysis. We recommend sticking them on your daily reads list, too (along with FactCheck.org and The Wire, of course). For the next 46 days, we all need all the facts we can get.

Friday, September 19, 2008

WestCoastCatholic - 2 Years Old Today


Put another candle on my birthday cake...

Whoo Hoo! 2 years old today!

Here's my original 1st post.

Nicholas Provenzo - morally justifiable decision to kill him (Trig) in an abortion.

Outrageous!

Only one thing I'd like to say Mr. Provenzo, you are a dirtbag!

Libertarian Group Condemns Sarah Palin for Not Killing Disabled Baby in Abortion

Provenzo, who writes for the Center for the Advancement of Capitalism, not only bashes her for allowing Trig to be born, but says she should have made the so-called morally justifiable decision to kill him in an abortion.

The Center for the Advancement of Capitalism bills itself as a group "dedicated to advancing individual rights and economic freedom through Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism."

"Like many, I am troubled by the implications of Alaska governor and Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin's decision to knowingly give birth to a child disabled with Down syndrome," Provenzo writes.

"Given that Palin's decision is being celebrated in some quarters, it is crucial to reaffirm the morality of aborting a fetus diagnosed with Down syndrome (or by extension, any unborn fetus)—a freedom that anti-abortion advocates seek to deny," he adds.

MORE

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Campaign 2008 is about Life Issues NOT JUST MONEY!

Seems like money has taken the focus off of the life issues of this campaign in the past week or so, but as a Catholic I would rather have a life saved (baby) rather than an extra dollar in my pocket.

Yes, everyone is feeling the pinch, some more than others. Much of it self inflicted when it comes to personal debt. A lot of it from greedy CEO's and large corporations.

We will always have these problems and we can bicker all day for the right solution and who's to blame.

However, with life issues it's different. I wouldn't want to meet my maker and explain to him that I helped save Freddie Mac but that I traded that for millions of babies lives...

Campaign 2008: the Life Issues

Thirty-five years after Roe v. Wade struck down the abortion law of all 50 states, the life issues remain the most sharply contested in American public life. They are also signature issues of Catholic concern, not for any "sectarian" reason but because the life issues engage first principles of justice, principles that form the moral foundations of the free and virtuous society. That has been the case for decades. But things are different this year, in two respects.

First, the biotech revolution is gaining momentum. Human-animal hybrids created for research purposes are now legal in Britain; "savior-siblings" artificially created to provide spare parts for a sick brother or sister are openly discussed throughout Europe; the pressure to provide public funding for such practices in the U.S. will inevitably intensify. Then there is what some consider the overriding strategic consideration in this election cycle: the real possibility that the next presidential term could produce a Supreme Court majority willing to return the abortion issue to the people and their legislators, where the Constitution leaves it.

Thoughtful Catholic voters will thus want both to pose serious questions to both the principal presidential candidates.
MORE

U.S. Bishop invite McCain & Obama to a Pow-Wow

Now that sounds like a good idea to me.

I don't think it will happen but it is a good idea.

Bishops invite presidential candidates for a sit-down

They're saying "stop on by!":
Leaders of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) have invited both major party presidential candidates to meet with them before the election, reportedly to discuss social issues. The bishops who would attend any such meeting are chairmen of USCCB committees on pro-life issues, education, migration, international affairs and communications.A spokeswoman for the McCain campaign told the Wall Street Journal that the Republican senator wants to accept the invitation, but does not know if he can fit a meeting into his schedule.Sister Mary Ann Walsh, Media Director of the USCCB, confirmed to CNA that neither candidate has accepted the invitation yet.

MORE

McCain has already been sitting down with some of the Bishops already.

The McCain campaign also disclosed last month that the senator was meeting privately with Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia. He met with Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver shortly before the Democratic convention. Both were outspoken critics of Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Biden.

Also from Catholic Culture - Obama, McCain make case for Catholic Vote: Bishops seek meetings

Big Bang Machine- Part II


Okay, one more time....


Seems that the previous test was a bunk, so the Large Hadron Collider is ready to go once more.




... push the button Max!

Cafeteria Journalism - Pro-Choice Spin

The NYT has figured out why many Catholic Democrats (and Hilary voters) are moving to the McCain camp.

It may be because the bishops are being a little more vocal with pro-choice politicians or with voter guides like the one from Catholic Answers from San Diego, California.

Even though the reporter recognizes the shift to McCain from 'progressive Catholic', he still offers his take (spin) on the issue in the final paragraphs of the article


Abortion Issue Again Dividing Catholic Votes

... After the 2004 election, progressive Catholics started to organize and appeared to win some victories. In 2006, the bishops’ conference all but banned outside voter guides from parishes. And last fall, the bishops revised their official statement on voting priorities to explicitly allow Catholics to vote for a candidate who supports abortion rights if they do so for other reasons. And it also allowed for differences of opinion about how to apply church principles. The statement appeared to leave room for Democrats to argue that social programs were an effective way to reduce abortion rates, an idea the party recently incorporated into its platform.

The Bishops allowed Catholics to vote for candidates who support abortion? I think not.
Oh, and we can interpret the application of church principles. They mean Catholic teaching on abortion of course...

Their revisions set the stage for a clash of voter guides. Catholic Answers is again promoting its “nonnegotiables” voter guide; a new group, Catholics in Alliance for Common Good, has produced a chart comparing the candidates’ views on the war, taxes, the environment and other issues as well as abortion.

Thank God for Catholic Answers...

The same debate is already playing out almost every day in the letters section of Scranton’s newspaper, said Jean Harris, a political scientist at the Jesuit-run University of Scranton. “It is a running debate between Catholics saying ‘abortion is the only issue’ and others saying ‘you have to look at the whole teaching of the church,’ ” she said.
MORE

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Believers for Obama



Looks like now that Barack has a tee-shirt out with the message, it's official. Our faith beliefs are covered.




.... he's still for abortion though, but that cross on the tee-shirt means it's okay to vote for him.








Clinton and Palin together....NOT

This speaks volumes about the bi-partisanship of the Obama team. Clinton said she as part of the team, didn't she?

Clinton cancels appearance over Palin

Reporters who got notice yesterday of an event headlined by both Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton figured the prospect fo an SNL skitof come to life was too good to be true, a gift from the campaign gods.

But for a few hours, it was. “We are pleased to inform you that the keynote speakers at the “Stop Iran. Now!” Rally are confirmed to be Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Governor Sarah Palin and Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel,” read an e-mail from a leader of a Jewish group planning the event.

But the curtain came down on the comedy sketch-turned-reality before the duo ever hit the stage: Clinton officials soon said they had not been told Palin would be on hand — and that her presence, which made the event a political one, would mean the absence of the New York senator.
MORE

Gawker "you've got dirt on your hands"

I'm counting Gawker.com as an offical dirt site from now on. (right up there with Hufffinton and Kos)

Play in the dirt... you're gonna get dirt on your self. (I can't tell you how many times I had to re-write my comment about Gawker to clean it up before posting this)

Sarah Palin's private email hacked, family photes raided....


I'm starting a new 'Label' : Shame files

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Presidential Candidates: Lawyer or Non-Lawyer

Trubador has a good post on the Presidential Candidates.

He lists each parties Candidates, Pres &VP's and notes if they are lawyers or non-lawyers.

Lawyer Candidates since 1980

good job Trub, thanks for the info..

WCC+<><

United States Constitution Week




Did you know that this is U.S. Constitution Week?

Not one of the news outlets on whatever channel or ANY of the Candidates for President of the United States have not mentioned it! At least that I've heard.

Wednesday is the actual Constitution Day, September 17th.

Pay a visit to the National Constitution Center website.

Here's a new book out by Lynne Cheney "We The People, The Story of Our Constitution"







Also, Here's one that looks like a very interesting read.


We Hold These Truths: Catholic Reflections on the American Proposition by John Courtney Murray


Born Alive Truth



I saw an interview with a individual that is an abortion survivor.
That's right, Gianna Jessen was an infant who's mother aborted her and through the efforts of a caring nurse and the grace of God survived weighing just 2 pounds.

Gianna is now a supporter of laws that require medical treatment to babies who make it through the horrific methods of abortion. At present there are not adequate laws in most States that allow for this life giving effort.

The babies that live through the birth after the attempted abortion are now either "suffocated, strangled, or left to die on their own", as Gianna described it.

Mr. Obama has voted down 4 TIMES! law that would allow for this medical assistance. Barack says these laws were not needed because there were other law that would do the same thing.

So his argument goes...

Here's a site that has the lowdown: Born Alive Truth


here's Gianna's website: Gianna Jessen. Read her story there.

Monday, September 15, 2008

B16 Message: Shun the worship of modern idols...

"Shun the worship of modern idols and hope in the promises of Christ".

Boy, do we need to heed this message in today's world. We see how the idol of money is creating havoc in our economy, greed and self interest the culprits in the banking collapse.

Pope: Shun the worship of modern idols and hope in the promises of Christ
Over 200,000 people gathered at the square surrounding the Les Invalides complex in Paris this morning for Mass with the Pope. In his homily the Holy Father urged his listeners to “shun the worship of idols,” including the idea that man can bring “about the kingdom of eternal joy on earth.”

"In the First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians," Benedict XVI said, "we discover ... how much the counsels given by the Apostle remain important today. 'Shun the worship of idols,' he writes to a community deeply marked by paganism and divided between adherence to the newness of the Gospel and the observance of former practices inherited from its ancestors.”
"This appeal to shun idols," he added, "is also pertinent today. ... The word 'idol' comes from the Greek and means 'image,' 'figure,' 'representation,' but also 'ghost,' 'phantom,' 'vain appearance.' An idol is a delusion, for it turns its worshipper away from reality and places him in the kingdom of mere appearances."


"Now," the Pope asked, "is this not a temptation in our own day - the only one we can act upon effectively? The temptation to idolize a past that no longer exists, forgetting its shortcomings; the temptation to idolize a future which does not yet exist, in the belief that, by his efforts alone, man can bring about the kingdom of eternal joy on earth!" In the same way, "have not money, the thirst for possessions, for power and even for knowledge, diverted man from his true destiny?"
MORE

B16 in Lourdes this weekend

150th anniversary of the apparitions of Lourdes and there were over 50 thousand faithful there to help celebrate

(CNA news)
The vice president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, Archbishop Octavio Ruiz Arenas commented this week on Pope Benedict’s trip to France, saying that it is “truly a Marian pilgrimage” and that “he [the Pope] wants to place great emphasis on the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the apparitions of Lourdes.”

Archbishop Ruiz made his statements on Vatican Radio, adding that the dogma of the Immaculate Conception reminds “the entire Church that Mary was born without original sin and was full of grace from the very moment of her conception in preparation for that magnificent event of the Incarnation of the Son of God. Therefore the visit of the Holy Father to Lourdes constitutes first of all recognition by the Church of that dogma that has touched the deepest part of the hearts of all Catholics.”

Jill Greenberg: McCain Photographer

Well, many be the name of her website says it all, The Manipulator.

She knows what she's doing and she does it well. She is a talented photographer, very professional with a nack for tweaking her photography to say what she wants it to say. This is not a bad thing, she admits it.

I like some of her photos.

The question is not Jills photography art, the question lies more with the people who hire her and for what motives.

Anyways, here's and article on Jill Greenberg

'Time' Article: Joe Biden a Catholic Problem?

AP analyzes the Time Magazine article.

Does Joe Biden have a Catholic Problem ? (Original Article - Time Magazine)

Time Mag asks: Does Joe Biden have a Catholic Problem?
The short answer is, of course - yes, he does.


There's so many little quibbles I have with this piece, I've decided to go point-by-point first:
  • Abp. Chaput did not get "marginalized in the bishops conference — losing key leadership elections — in part because of his extreme views about denying communion to politicians."
  • "[the recent actions of the bishops] has Catholics Democrats worriedly asking themselves: Can one of their own ever again win national office?" The answer is: yes, if they stop allowing/promoting abortion.
  • "[Kerry] was utterly unprepared for the attacks that came his way." No, he had his entire public career to prepare himself, if he had even bothered to understand his Church's teaching.
MORE

Hollywood Secrets of the Palin/Gibson Interview

This story from the NewsBusters website. Thanks

We're well aware of the saying 'smoke and mirrors', however how many of us are aware of the fine art of Camera Lens a Camera Angles?

This website points out the Hollywood art of making things smaller or larger than they really are to create a mood or move the viewer to see things, well through a specific lens.

Was this applied to the Palin/Gibson interviews?

Don't know if this is true or if it is true if it was intentional, however this individual, who says he is working in the hollywood industry lays out his case where this may have taken place.

Judge for yourself.

Charlie Gibson and ABC News Camera Trickery

I'm a Director in Hollywood. I've also created visual effects for movies and commercials for 23 years. I'm not disclosing my name at this point, because frankly I've already suffered enough job loss because I was "outted" as a conservative. But enough about me. I caught a commercial teaser for the Charlie Gibson interview of Sarah Palin and something caught my attention as a Director immediately: The use of the position and choice of lenses to minimalize Governor Palin.
MORE

Interesting...

More Hollywood Camera Angles - McCain Mag Pictures


Looks like the Camera/Lens Jockies are at it again...

lgf has the post on the fixed McCain pictures

The Atlantic's McCain Cover

Gerard Vanderleun posts about some quite amazing perfidy from The Atlantic and photographer Jill Greenberg, whose photo shoot with John McCain was deliberately set up to produce ominous, threatening pictures—by using outright trickery: Out-Takes: Behind The Atlantic’s McCain Cover.

At Photo District News, there’s an article with more details, and Greenberg’s own words about this disgraceful episode: PDNPulse: How Jill Greenberg Really Feels About John McCain.

MORE

Saturday, September 13, 2008

The Gene That Causes Religion, they found it!

That's right!

Scientist have found the Gene within the Human Genome that causes us religious fanatics to BELIEVE!

I found this faith changing discovery (shown via a video presentation below) on one of my favorite websites

InsightScoop - Carl Olsen
who in turn found it via Mark Shea

So enjoy...

McCain is Computer Iliterate?

So is McCain computer illiterate?

Obama seems to think so and he said so in a new T.V. ad described HERE

But is it true that McCain really doesn't know the power of the internet?

Once again lgf has the lowdown.

McCain sets 'em up and knocks them down

ABC Trimmed the Transcripts!

Okay, it appears that my post concerning the transcripts of the first Palin/Gibson interview were NOT complete transcripts.

Why not?!

Well, we know that ABC has a T.V. time limit to maintain, so they may have felt the need to 'trim, nip and tuck' where they could to adjust for this presentation. Gibson could have mention this, but he didn't.

I think they could have 'trimmed, nipped and tuck in other areas of the program. Like all that negative, straw man (...woman), reason's to not trust Sarah Palin, narrative they lead off the show with.

What was that all about?

The show lead off with all these National Enquire type headlines before Charlie and Sarah sat down with each other.

I get it, just to frame their bias intent.

Anyways, I think Mark Levin may have the complete interview. The bold and underline parts are sections of the interview left out.

COMPLETE INTERVIEW

Who's Zooming Who? - Charlie Gibson's Gaffe

The detailed analysis of the Palin, Gibson interviews are now surfacing on the internet. Overall, most everyone (on both sides) say that Sarah Palin did fair.

The real truth about Sarah's performance may take a little more time to analyze. The word is out that ABC highly edited. More on that later.

Her performance was okay, in other words, they couldn't find any major gaffes, although they do point to one in this part of the interview:

GIBSON: Do you agree with the Bush doctrine?

PALIN: In what respect, Charlie?

GIBSON: The Bush — well, what do you interpret it to be?

PALIN: His world view?

GIBSON: No, the Bush doctrine, annunciated September 2002, before the Iraq War.

PALIN: I believe that what President Bush has attempted to do is rid this world of Islamic extremism, terrorists who are hell-bent on destroying our nation. There have been blunders along the way, though. There have been mistakes made, and with new leadership, and that’s the beauty of American elections, of course, and democracy, is with new leadership comes opportunity to do things better.

GIBSON: The Bush doctrine as I understand it is that we have the right of anticipatory self-defense, that we have the right to a preemptive strike against any country that we think is going to attack us. Do you agree with us?

PALIN: Charlie, if there is legitimate and enough intelligent and legitimate evidence that tells us that a strike is imminent against American people, we have every right to defend our country.

Well, we've been hearing the media go on about how Palin is ignorant of the Bush's policy, 'The Bush Doctrine to be specific.

What I didn't know was that there is no WRITTEN Bush Doctrine and in fact there are at least 4 versions of the supposed doctrine.

lgf (Little Green Footballs) has the story.


and the original article from the Washington Post

Charlie Gibson's Gaffe

The New York Times got it wrong. And Charlie Gibson got it wrong.

There is no single meaning of the Bush doctrine. In fact, there have been four distinct meanings, each one succeeding another over the eight years of this administration -- and the one Charlie Gibson cited is not the one in common usage today. It is utterly different.

He asked Palin, "Do you agree with the Bush doctrine?"

She responded, quite sensibly to a question that is ambiguous, "In what respect, Charlie?"

Sensing his "gotcha" moment, Gibson refused to tell her. After making her fish for the answer, Gibson grudgingly explained to the moose-hunting rube that the Bush doctrine "is that we have the right of anticipatory self-defense."

Wrong.

More


Summary of 'Bush Doctrines': (Taken from the WP article)

1. ... the Bush administration policies of unilaterally withdrawing from the ABM treaty and rejecting the Kyoto protocol, together with others, amounted to a radical change in foreign policy that should be called the Bush doctrine.

2. Then came 9/11, and that notion was immediately superseded by the advent of the war on terror. In his address to the joint session of Congress nine days after 9/11, President Bush declared: "Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists. From this day forward any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime." This "with us or against us" policy regarding terror -- first deployed against Pakistan when Secretary of State Colin Powell gave President Musharraf that seven-point ultimatum to end support for the Taliban and support our attack on Afghanistan -- became the essence of the Bush doctrine.

3. A year later, when the Iraq war was looming, Bush offered his major justification by enunciating a doctrine of preemptive war. This is the one Charlie Gibson thinks is the Bush doctrine.

4. The fourth and current definition of the Bush doctrine, the most sweeping formulation of the Bush approach to foreign policy and the one that most clearly and distinctively defines the Bush years: the idea that the fundamental mission of American foreign policy is to spread democracy throughout the world. It was most dramatically enunciated in Bush's second inaugural address: "The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world."

Which one of these would you have answered to?

Sarah answer #4, Gibson thought #3 was the only 'Bush Doctrine'.

Or did he. Was he setting up Sarah to look foolish or was he confused himself?

So.. as the song say's, "who's zooming who?"

Friday, September 12, 2008

ABC 's show 'The View' is not a show that I usually watch... okay I avoid pretty much.

McCain was on 'The View' today and as you might expect, a hostile environment awaited him and Cindy.

While I'll never understand his decision to agree to attend the show, I'm sure that he expected that things might be uncomfortable, but that expectation would be an understatement.

It was a dog pile....

Now earlier in the year, Barack and Michelle Obama also paid a visit to the show.

How were they treated?

You be the judge.

PART I


PART II


PART III


PART IV


Okay, now that you've sat thru that interview, here is the McCain interview. The difference is very evident.

PART I


PART II


Part III


... Thru all that the McCain's were very gracious.

These ladies should be ashamed of themselves.... and I use the word "ladies" because I'm trying to be charitable.

Community Organizer: What did Obama do?

Here are a few interesting articles on the subject that I haven't seen in the regular press.

Very eye opening.

Why Organize? Problems and Promise in the Inner City by Barak Obama

Creation Myth

Saul Alinsky

Rules for Radicals, what is it? (short definition)

Rules for Radicals, a little more in depth