Not only am i fed up with politics, I just foud out that the re-make of Red Dawn, which was slated for release this fall has been set back to sometime in 2011--thanks, MGM.
First I have to wait forever for Harry Potter 7--then I find out that it's HP7 and 8, then I realize that a movie I have been awaiting isn't happening when they said...again.
If I hadn't had a great dinner of chicken baked with 'taters, i'd just decide the universe was trying to give me a stroke.
TRIUMPHALIST--YOU GOT A PROBLEM WITH THAT?
Saturday, September 25, 2010
THIS POST WILL PROBABLY CONTAIN FOUL AND HARSH LANGUAGE.
And I have decided I will not read or watch news for the next 72 hours, because i am about as fed up as I can get without vomiting.
To the Democratic Party:
Just how f***ing stupid do you thing we are, anyway? I take this personally--you think I'm to stupid to pay attention to what's going on? let me tell you some things i see going on, that give the lie to Mr Kerry's insistence that you miserable, power hungry fear mongers are having problems because I have a short attention span.
First, the contempt with which you hold the electorate isn't hard to remember. From Mr. Obama's non -answer to one of his own supporters who called him out, to your very own insistence that you're having problems because we have short attention span, you continually treat us with disdain.
You say we have a short attention span, yet we do remember that although over 60% of us a very worried about our southern border, you do nothing about it, and oppose attempts by states and municipalities to do something. We remember your disregard of the 10th amendment. We remember your belated pledge to send 1500 national guard troops to help Arizona--we remember also the foot dragging in getting them on the ground, and most of all we remember that you guys hamstrung them with so many restrictions that they are pretty much ineffectual. We also remember that your California Representative, Ms. Sanchez is making an attempt to fire up support by trying to frighten Hispanics into thinking that an anti immigrant immigrant will be elected who isn't Hispanic. So we remember your racism.
We remember your unequal enforcement of hate speech and civil rights laws, and your continuing attempts to cover it up.
You say we don't pay attention, but we notice the slight of hand in this campaign, from Presidential trips and fund raisers--from a president who can be--and is--referred to as a perpetual candidate, yet who has taken numerous vacations--at great expense to us who are struggling with a profound economic slump. We especially notice the attack ads that are cropping up on the Democratic Party's part-that don't refer to the issues, and which veer from half truths to lies so egregious that the NC Democratic Party is getting sued for character assassination.
We remember that you guys paid ACORN to be your street muscle, then dropped them like a hot coal when their actual nature came out and your association was embarrassing. We remember that you have as a part of your history and heritage Tammany Hall, and seem to be reverting thereto!
We remember that you have tried to censor or silence news networks that speak up about you, we remember that you have three times tried to gain control of the Internet to silence bloggers. We remember all kinds of shit.
And most of all, we remember that you promised us change that matters. Well, we got it. you've made things worse for every one I know, and that matters one hell of a lot to me.
And I bet the Democratic Election Worker who called and asked me about how I felt about the Democratic Party and voting for them, right after I heard that john Kerry thinks you guys got problems because we arn't paying attention and have no attention span, and that the Republican candidate in NC has been falsely accused of multiple felonies involving drugs--which the prosecutor, at the time the Dems are citing, says is a lie, I told her all of this.
She was very polite in thanking me for talking to her, and I didn't cuss or raise my voice.
But you sons-of-bitches better not think you can treat the electorate and imbeciles forever--'cause we do have an attention span, and here in fly over country, we bear a grudge.
To the Democratic Party:
Just how f***ing stupid do you thing we are, anyway? I take this personally--you think I'm to stupid to pay attention to what's going on? let me tell you some things i see going on, that give the lie to Mr Kerry's insistence that you miserable, power hungry fear mongers are having problems because I have a short attention span.
First, the contempt with which you hold the electorate isn't hard to remember. From Mr. Obama's non -answer to one of his own supporters who called him out, to your very own insistence that you're having problems because we have short attention span, you continually treat us with disdain.
You say we have a short attention span, yet we do remember that although over 60% of us a very worried about our southern border, you do nothing about it, and oppose attempts by states and municipalities to do something. We remember your disregard of the 10th amendment. We remember your belated pledge to send 1500 national guard troops to help Arizona--we remember also the foot dragging in getting them on the ground, and most of all we remember that you guys hamstrung them with so many restrictions that they are pretty much ineffectual. We also remember that your California Representative, Ms. Sanchez is making an attempt to fire up support by trying to frighten Hispanics into thinking that an anti immigrant immigrant will be elected who isn't Hispanic. So we remember your racism.
We remember your unequal enforcement of hate speech and civil rights laws, and your continuing attempts to cover it up.
You say we don't pay attention, but we notice the slight of hand in this campaign, from Presidential trips and fund raisers--from a president who can be--and is--referred to as a perpetual candidate, yet who has taken numerous vacations--at great expense to us who are struggling with a profound economic slump. We especially notice the attack ads that are cropping up on the Democratic Party's part-that don't refer to the issues, and which veer from half truths to lies so egregious that the NC Democratic Party is getting sued for character assassination.
We remember that you guys paid ACORN to be your street muscle, then dropped them like a hot coal when their actual nature came out and your association was embarrassing. We remember that you have as a part of your history and heritage Tammany Hall, and seem to be reverting thereto!
We remember that you have tried to censor or silence news networks that speak up about you, we remember that you have three times tried to gain control of the Internet to silence bloggers. We remember all kinds of shit.
And most of all, we remember that you promised us change that matters. Well, we got it. you've made things worse for every one I know, and that matters one hell of a lot to me.
And I bet the Democratic Election Worker who called and asked me about how I felt about the Democratic Party and voting for them, right after I heard that john Kerry thinks you guys got problems because we arn't paying attention and have no attention span, and that the Republican candidate in NC has been falsely accused of multiple felonies involving drugs--which the prosecutor, at the time the Dems are citing, says is a lie, I told her all of this.
She was very polite in thanking me for talking to her, and I didn't cuss or raise my voice.
But you sons-of-bitches better not think you can treat the electorate and imbeciles forever--'cause we do have an attention span, and here in fly over country, we bear a grudge.
The Progressive Consensus and the Black Holocaust
Jessie Jackson once called Abortion a "Blach Holocaust" because of the disparate numbers of abortions performed on black women, (well, more accuratly on unborn black children). In fact, Rev. Jackson was once one of the most outspoken critics of abortion and Planned Parenthood. Then he "got the word" that to have traction within the establishment of the Democratic Party, he had to toe the progressive line that Planned Parenthood was untouchable.
And that is the Progressive Party Line. PP has been caught covering up for statutory rape in so many places, so many times that it is clear that it's an unwritten policy to do so. They have been implicated in forced and coerced abortions so many times it's clear that it is an unwritten policy to do so. These things have been verified by written testimony, by sworn testimony and by video taping the acts as they were committed. over and over again this has happened but Planned Parenthood has gotten a free pass, to support a woman's alleged right to murder her unborn child.
But there is an even darker aspect to the progressive consensus on abortion. (And I use the phrase "progressive consensus" on purpose. There is not "progressive conspiracy", or anything like it--there is no need for one, as the progressive faction in America, and globally, have pretty much the same ideas. So there is no need of conspiracy. Or collusion. They simply agree with one another over what should be done and how to do it.) The fact that not only does Planned Parenthood target African Americans, but that the progressives who dominate our media are bound and determined to obscure this.
Take the advertisement campaign by Heroic Media. it points out that PP places it's facilities disproportionately in 'minority neighborhoods'. These ads have been rejected without explanation by the majority of media outlets.
I have heard the argument that these facilities are so placed because those neighborhoods tend to be low income. I also reject this argument. First, there are a great many low income neighborhoods made up of predominately Caucasian groups, and they do not receive the same attention. So the logic of placement is unevenly applied. Second, there is history. Margaret Sanger, the inspiration and origin of PP, was a blatant racist, who referred to African Americans as "human weeds" that should be eliminated. She was the well spring of the Eugenics Movement in the US, which was eventually-after the Second World War, rejected as racist and immoral. It was't lost on the American people that the Third Reich's eugenics programs were inspired by and patterned after Ms. Sangers. (And no, I am not comparing Planned Parenthood with Nazi's, I am historically linking them to Nazis).
The ads from Heroic Media point out that of the 160 known PP facilities in the US, 100 of them were located in communities with a higher proportion of African Americans than the state in which they were located. it also points out how many children of African descent are killed by PP, and how that makes PP the leading cause of death for African American children.
The ad refers people to www.ppabortsaa.com . Which is worth going to check out.
Tellingly, The ad has been rejected by billboard companies in various areas, who give conflicting 9within the same company) reasons for it's rejection. And most tellingly, the media outlet that found that the ad was relevant and needed to be aired was Black Entertainment Television, which is airing it.
And that is the Progressive Party Line. PP has been caught covering up for statutory rape in so many places, so many times that it is clear that it's an unwritten policy to do so. They have been implicated in forced and coerced abortions so many times it's clear that it is an unwritten policy to do so. These things have been verified by written testimony, by sworn testimony and by video taping the acts as they were committed. over and over again this has happened but Planned Parenthood has gotten a free pass, to support a woman's alleged right to murder her unborn child.
But there is an even darker aspect to the progressive consensus on abortion. (And I use the phrase "progressive consensus" on purpose. There is not "progressive conspiracy", or anything like it--there is no need for one, as the progressive faction in America, and globally, have pretty much the same ideas. So there is no need of conspiracy. Or collusion. They simply agree with one another over what should be done and how to do it.) The fact that not only does Planned Parenthood target African Americans, but that the progressives who dominate our media are bound and determined to obscure this.
Take the advertisement campaign by Heroic Media. it points out that PP places it's facilities disproportionately in 'minority neighborhoods'. These ads have been rejected without explanation by the majority of media outlets.
I have heard the argument that these facilities are so placed because those neighborhoods tend to be low income. I also reject this argument. First, there are a great many low income neighborhoods made up of predominately Caucasian groups, and they do not receive the same attention. So the logic of placement is unevenly applied. Second, there is history. Margaret Sanger, the inspiration and origin of PP, was a blatant racist, who referred to African Americans as "human weeds" that should be eliminated. She was the well spring of the Eugenics Movement in the US, which was eventually-after the Second World War, rejected as racist and immoral. It was't lost on the American people that the Third Reich's eugenics programs were inspired by and patterned after Ms. Sangers. (And no, I am not comparing Planned Parenthood with Nazi's, I am historically linking them to Nazis).
The ads from Heroic Media point out that of the 160 known PP facilities in the US, 100 of them were located in communities with a higher proportion of African Americans than the state in which they were located. it also points out how many children of African descent are killed by PP, and how that makes PP the leading cause of death for African American children.
The ad refers people to www.ppabortsaa.com . Which is worth going to check out.
Tellingly, The ad has been rejected by billboard companies in various areas, who give conflicting 9within the same company) reasons for it's rejection. And most tellingly, the media outlet that found that the ad was relevant and needed to be aired was Black Entertainment Television, which is airing it.
My Gun Nut wish List
I wish i had a few more guns. Actually, I wish i had specific guns.
I would love to have these guns:
Savage MkII: a .22lr bolt action rifle, perfect for plinking and target practice, as the ammo is cheap enough that you can actually afford to practice. it's available with a scope, which can let you exploit the accuracy of a .22LR at ranges of under 75 yards. (.22 transition the sound barrier--slowing down--at about 80 yards, the turbulence of which affect accuracy. you can use sub-sonic ammo which will be accurate out to about 100 yards, but costs a lot more!) Being a bolt action it can use a greater variety of ammunition than a semi auto.
Savage Edge: Another bolt action model with a scope. I would want it in .22-250. that's a very high velocity cartridge, that shoots very flat--not a lot of curve in the trajectory--and is ideal for varmint hunting, mostly for coyotes, which I have taken an extreme dislike too.
Springfield Armory MILSPEC M1911: Just what it says--a model 1911 .45 auto. made to the last modifications and specification that the US military used before adopting the M92. I like the 1911 for one reason above all: it is the safest carry pistol ever designed. The idea would be to have side arm for camping, hiking and fishing that would deal with feral dogs and "coydogs". No I'm not paranoid--there has been an upsurge in attacks in the last decade in the woods of Southern Indiana.
Biretta NEOS .22-45: A relatively inexpensive .22LR semi auto pistol, with the same balance and ergonomics of a 1911cheap target practice that would make up it's purchase price in about 750 rounds of target practice.
A Good 12ga Pump Shotgun, with interchangable barrels: Because that would let me slip from a 24" upland game barrel, to a rifled slug barrel, to well, lots of other barrels. That makes it perhaps the most versitile hnting gun onecan buy. I favor Mossberg, but am not xceptionally into brand loyalty--they're lots of good brands. I do insist on a wooden stock, without any of the Tak-Tee-Kool claptrap, and want a heavy gun, as that's the easiest way to tame recoil!
I would love to have these guns:
Savage MkII: a .22lr bolt action rifle, perfect for plinking and target practice, as the ammo is cheap enough that you can actually afford to practice. it's available with a scope, which can let you exploit the accuracy of a .22LR at ranges of under 75 yards. (.22 transition the sound barrier--slowing down--at about 80 yards, the turbulence of which affect accuracy. you can use sub-sonic ammo which will be accurate out to about 100 yards, but costs a lot more!) Being a bolt action it can use a greater variety of ammunition than a semi auto.
Savage Edge: Another bolt action model with a scope. I would want it in .22-250. that's a very high velocity cartridge, that shoots very flat--not a lot of curve in the trajectory--and is ideal for varmint hunting, mostly for coyotes, which I have taken an extreme dislike too.
Springfield Armory MILSPEC M1911: Just what it says--a model 1911 .45 auto. made to the last modifications and specification that the US military used before adopting the M92. I like the 1911 for one reason above all: it is the safest carry pistol ever designed. The idea would be to have side arm for camping, hiking and fishing that would deal with feral dogs and "coydogs". No I'm not paranoid--there has been an upsurge in attacks in the last decade in the woods of Southern Indiana.
Biretta NEOS .22-45: A relatively inexpensive .22LR semi auto pistol, with the same balance and ergonomics of a 1911cheap target practice that would make up it's purchase price in about 750 rounds of target practice.
A Good 12ga Pump Shotgun, with interchangable barrels: Because that would let me slip from a 24" upland game barrel, to a rifled slug barrel, to well, lots of other barrels. That makes it perhaps the most versitile hnting gun onecan buy. I favor Mossberg, but am not xceptionally into brand loyalty--they're lots of good brands. I do insist on a wooden stock, without any of the Tak-Tee-Kool claptrap, and want a heavy gun, as that's the easiest way to tame recoil!
Racism and Politics in America
I was born in 1959. That's probably the most important ting to remember when reading this post. it's important because I grew up in the first TV generation, and from young childhood I watched the world through the screen of a TV-especially through the news. My family was big on the news, and Walter Cronkite was almost part of the family.
Through the miracle of broadcast TV, I watched Watts burn, when I was about six. I saw the riots across the US. My cousin was deployed to the Detroit riots to help put them down. I watched, at 9, the Chicago Democratic convention explode into a bewildering melee of violence and anger.
The various pieces of legislation concerning Civil Rights and hate Crimes are not theoretical or historical entities for me. They are events in my life. And watching these things unfold has profoundly affected y world view. You can't watch people beaten down by clubs, set upon by dogs, crushed with fire hoses or burn their own neighborhoods without becoming aware of race in America. What you take away from it is up to you, but you will take something away.
I determined that Martin Luther King was right--it's not colour, or ethnicity, or national origin that's important, it's character. What a person is, how they carry themselves, what they stand up for, or against, in the end are the most important things.
And I am appalled at the direction racial bias has taken, and the role it is playing in our current polity and this election cycle in particular.
I am ashamed that ever voted for a Democrat. Because, the Democratic Party has come to rely on race, more than substance, to keep its base fired up.
But more than rhetoric, the current administration is resorting to racist acts to hold what they have in the face of popular disillusionment with it's economic and social policies. And they are far to often getting a free pass from most of the press.
Take this for example. In California, Democratic Representative, Loretta Sanchez, has gone on Spanish Language Television (Univision) and said that the "Vietnamese" are trying to take "this seat" away from Hispanic people. She accused the Republican Candidate, a person named Van Tran, of being anti Hispanic and anti Immigrant . That last makes no sense at all, as Van Trans family arrived in the US a refugee immigrants. Her rhetoric betrays something else disturbing s well--the concept that congressional seats belong to ethnic groups, not geographical districts. This plays is a natural consequence of the ethnic and racial gerrymandering I have seen practiced since the 70s, with growing dismay. (One Democratic incumbent, whose name I unfortunately forget, tried to get her district redrawn this summer to ensure her reelection!)
Another example is President Obama's heightened efforts to speak to black churches, in an effort to galvanize his support base into protecting democratic seats in congress. He is playing to the idea that blacks need to vote democratic to get more services and better treatment from the government. It is blatantly racializing the electoral process.
I might dismiss this as the normal rough and tumble of electioneering, but there are two things that stand out to me. one is the involvement of ACORN in the last election, with it's subsequent investigation for voter fraud and other election violations, and it's successful re-branding of itself into various "new" community activist groups, to maintain it's power even though it had been exposed as a corrupt group that tried very hard to steal elections through ballot stuffing and other practices recent of Tammany Hall (come to think of it, Tammany hall was an institution of the Democratic Party as well!). The other is the move in the last two years by the Department of Justice to selectively enforce the Voting Rights Act and the laws against voter intimidation.
Most of us remember President Clinton being subject to impeachment proceedings. it's become part of the popular mythology that he was brought before the Senate because he received and act oral gratification from a White House intern. That's incorrect. he was brought before the Senate because he lied under oath--the crime of perjury. (I will say here that the sexual peccadilloes of politicians aren't really all that important if they do not violate civil law-for one thing, probably half of our presidents and elected officials have something of that nature in their closet, and for another, these things are used mostly when the popular perception of the issues do not support actions against the elected official. They are simply a dirty political tactic, and one that violates Catholic moral teaching concerning gossip and unnecessarily exposing the faults of another to public scrutiny.) But the act of perjury is always serious--it strikes at the root of the ability to regulate the actions of various administrations, and the officials in them. This is not a digression from my topic, it's to show that perjury in elected officials is always serious, and that the electorate takes it seriously--so seriously that effort must be expended to divert perceptions from it.
Because right now, the Department of Justice is engaging in perjury concerning racial politics in America.
The Department of Justice dismissed the voter intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party. When questioned about this by members of Congress, Thomas Perez testified, under oath, that political appointees had nothing to do with the decision to drop the case. Mr. Perez is an Assistant Attorney General, who works for the US AG, Eric Holder. He is himself a political appointee. Unfortunately for Mr. Perez, and for the DOJ, and for Mr. Holder and the Obama administration, Judicial Watch used the Freedom of Information Act to gain access to the internal records concerning this issue.
The documents clearly establish that this was a political decision. A political decision undertaken by political appointees. It's even worse, when one considers that there had already been a judgment against the New Black Panther Party, based on testimony and evidence from security cameras that voter intimidation, and intimidation of poll workers. Both are violations of the Voting Rights Act. Moreover, there was testimony and evidence that people walked away from the polls rather than face the Panthers, who were working as a team. So an Assistant US Attorney General lied to Congress. If this isn't a serious matter calling into question the ethics of the Administration, and it's racial bias, what is?
How about Christopher Coats? he testified yesterday at a Congressional hearing concerning these issues, and characterized the DOJs actions as a "travesty of justice". Mr. Coats was the voting chief for the DOJ. After pursuing the case against the NBPP, he was transferred to the US Attorney's office in South Carolina--which looks a lot like a demotion and retaliation to me. The DOJ has spent months trying to block his testimony before the hearing, and told him not to testify. He invoked the laws against retaliation against whistle blowers and asked Congress to protect him from retaliation. The substance of his testimony was disturbing.
He said that since a 2005 case against a black official in Mississippi a backlash against enforcing cases in a racially equal way had developed. His testimony confirmed that of J. Christian Adams who said that the departments activities cultivate an environment that is opposed to race neutral enforcement of the voting rights act, and that the Department is "hostile"cases in which the victims a white and the defendants are black.
The DOJ says that this is all rhetoric, and is not based in evidence. Except for the sworn testimony of black Republican poll workers who were threatened by the Panthers, Video tape of the Panthers calling white election workers "crackers" and voters walking up to the polls, seeing the Panthers, and turning around and leaving. Not to mention that the DOJ rational for dismissing the charges on the basis that the Panthers were Poll Observers, even thought the documents do not show them as being certified as such, and people complaining of threats were clearly shown to be certified Poll Observers.
So we have Loretta Sanchez attempting to turn the election into an kind of ethnic contest, with it's concurrent threat of ethnic violence. We have ample evidence of the Department of Justice enabling racist threats and voter intimidation. We have the mayor of New Orleans stating on TV that they are going to make the city a "Chocolate City"--a city for African Americans.
I have been dismissing the claims that the Democrats are fomenting a racial war as over the top rhetoric. But, as I look into what's going on, I begin to wonder. I do not think that the intent is to create racial ad ethnic strife. Bu that's clearly the direction it's heading. i have reached the conclusion that the Progressive wing of the Democratic Party is inherently racist. And unfortunately, that's the wing in control of the Party.
Through the miracle of broadcast TV, I watched Watts burn, when I was about six. I saw the riots across the US. My cousin was deployed to the Detroit riots to help put them down. I watched, at 9, the Chicago Democratic convention explode into a bewildering melee of violence and anger.
The various pieces of legislation concerning Civil Rights and hate Crimes are not theoretical or historical entities for me. They are events in my life. And watching these things unfold has profoundly affected y world view. You can't watch people beaten down by clubs, set upon by dogs, crushed with fire hoses or burn their own neighborhoods without becoming aware of race in America. What you take away from it is up to you, but you will take something away.
I determined that Martin Luther King was right--it's not colour, or ethnicity, or national origin that's important, it's character. What a person is, how they carry themselves, what they stand up for, or against, in the end are the most important things.
And I am appalled at the direction racial bias has taken, and the role it is playing in our current polity and this election cycle in particular.
I am ashamed that ever voted for a Democrat. Because, the Democratic Party has come to rely on race, more than substance, to keep its base fired up.
But more than rhetoric, the current administration is resorting to racist acts to hold what they have in the face of popular disillusionment with it's economic and social policies. And they are far to often getting a free pass from most of the press.
Take this for example. In California, Democratic Representative, Loretta Sanchez, has gone on Spanish Language Television (Univision) and said that the "Vietnamese" are trying to take "this seat" away from Hispanic people. She accused the Republican Candidate, a person named Van Tran, of being anti Hispanic and anti Immigrant . That last makes no sense at all, as Van Trans family arrived in the US a refugee immigrants. Her rhetoric betrays something else disturbing s well--the concept that congressional seats belong to ethnic groups, not geographical districts. This plays is a natural consequence of the ethnic and racial gerrymandering I have seen practiced since the 70s, with growing dismay. (One Democratic incumbent, whose name I unfortunately forget, tried to get her district redrawn this summer to ensure her reelection!)
Another example is President Obama's heightened efforts to speak to black churches, in an effort to galvanize his support base into protecting democratic seats in congress. He is playing to the idea that blacks need to vote democratic to get more services and better treatment from the government. It is blatantly racializing the electoral process.
I might dismiss this as the normal rough and tumble of electioneering, but there are two things that stand out to me. one is the involvement of ACORN in the last election, with it's subsequent investigation for voter fraud and other election violations, and it's successful re-branding of itself into various "new" community activist groups, to maintain it's power even though it had been exposed as a corrupt group that tried very hard to steal elections through ballot stuffing and other practices recent of Tammany Hall (come to think of it, Tammany hall was an institution of the Democratic Party as well!). The other is the move in the last two years by the Department of Justice to selectively enforce the Voting Rights Act and the laws against voter intimidation.
Most of us remember President Clinton being subject to impeachment proceedings. it's become part of the popular mythology that he was brought before the Senate because he received and act oral gratification from a White House intern. That's incorrect. he was brought before the Senate because he lied under oath--the crime of perjury. (I will say here that the sexual peccadilloes of politicians aren't really all that important if they do not violate civil law-for one thing, probably half of our presidents and elected officials have something of that nature in their closet, and for another, these things are used mostly when the popular perception of the issues do not support actions against the elected official. They are simply a dirty political tactic, and one that violates Catholic moral teaching concerning gossip and unnecessarily exposing the faults of another to public scrutiny.) But the act of perjury is always serious--it strikes at the root of the ability to regulate the actions of various administrations, and the officials in them. This is not a digression from my topic, it's to show that perjury in elected officials is always serious, and that the electorate takes it seriously--so seriously that effort must be expended to divert perceptions from it.
Because right now, the Department of Justice is engaging in perjury concerning racial politics in America.
The Department of Justice dismissed the voter intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party. When questioned about this by members of Congress, Thomas Perez testified, under oath, that political appointees had nothing to do with the decision to drop the case. Mr. Perez is an Assistant Attorney General, who works for the US AG, Eric Holder. He is himself a political appointee. Unfortunately for Mr. Perez, and for the DOJ, and for Mr. Holder and the Obama administration, Judicial Watch used the Freedom of Information Act to gain access to the internal records concerning this issue.
The documents clearly establish that this was a political decision. A political decision undertaken by political appointees. It's even worse, when one considers that there had already been a judgment against the New Black Panther Party, based on testimony and evidence from security cameras that voter intimidation, and intimidation of poll workers. Both are violations of the Voting Rights Act. Moreover, there was testimony and evidence that people walked away from the polls rather than face the Panthers, who were working as a team. So an Assistant US Attorney General lied to Congress. If this isn't a serious matter calling into question the ethics of the Administration, and it's racial bias, what is?
How about Christopher Coats? he testified yesterday at a Congressional hearing concerning these issues, and characterized the DOJs actions as a "travesty of justice". Mr. Coats was the voting chief for the DOJ. After pursuing the case against the NBPP, he was transferred to the US Attorney's office in South Carolina--which looks a lot like a demotion and retaliation to me. The DOJ has spent months trying to block his testimony before the hearing, and told him not to testify. He invoked the laws against retaliation against whistle blowers and asked Congress to protect him from retaliation. The substance of his testimony was disturbing.
He said that since a 2005 case against a black official in Mississippi a backlash against enforcing cases in a racially equal way had developed. His testimony confirmed that of J. Christian Adams who said that the departments activities cultivate an environment that is opposed to race neutral enforcement of the voting rights act, and that the Department is "hostile"cases in which the victims a white and the defendants are black.
The DOJ says that this is all rhetoric, and is not based in evidence. Except for the sworn testimony of black Republican poll workers who were threatened by the Panthers, Video tape of the Panthers calling white election workers "crackers" and voters walking up to the polls, seeing the Panthers, and turning around and leaving. Not to mention that the DOJ rational for dismissing the charges on the basis that the Panthers were Poll Observers, even thought the documents do not show them as being certified as such, and people complaining of threats were clearly shown to be certified Poll Observers.
So we have Loretta Sanchez attempting to turn the election into an kind of ethnic contest, with it's concurrent threat of ethnic violence. We have ample evidence of the Department of Justice enabling racist threats and voter intimidation. We have the mayor of New Orleans stating on TV that they are going to make the city a "Chocolate City"--a city for African Americans.
I have been dismissing the claims that the Democrats are fomenting a racial war as over the top rhetoric. But, as I look into what's going on, I begin to wonder. I do not think that the intent is to create racial ad ethnic strife. Bu that's clearly the direction it's heading. i have reached the conclusion that the Progressive wing of the Democratic Party is inherently racist. And unfortunately, that's the wing in control of the Party.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Sesame Street = FAIL
OK--so the people who are responsible for Sesaeme Street have decided not to air the piece with Katy Perry dressed like...well, Katy Perry. they decided this after is was seen on You Tube, and parents called, wrote, e-mailed the Childrens Television Workshop to complain.
This isn't agood thing, it's a failure.
The failure is that the consensus on Sesame Street staff is that Katy Perry is a suitable role model for kids--little girls in particular. this consensus is amply demonstrated by their willingness to have her, in a bustier, sing her songs with Elmo.
Think about it. then look at the evolution of Sesame Street over time. They tried to up the anti in presenting the hypersexualized world of the Secularist Faction (hey! I just coined a phrase!) as normal. And they got called on it. But they were willing to try it. I wouldn't be suprised if Sesame Street videos stopped getting previewed on You Tube--that way it would be too late for parents to complain.
This isn't agood thing, it's a failure.
The failure is that the consensus on Sesame Street staff is that Katy Perry is a suitable role model for kids--little girls in particular. this consensus is amply demonstrated by their willingness to have her, in a bustier, sing her songs with Elmo.
Think about it. then look at the evolution of Sesame Street over time. They tried to up the anti in presenting the hypersexualized world of the Secularist Faction (hey! I just coined a phrase!) as normal. And they got called on it. But they were willing to try it. I wouldn't be suprised if Sesame Street videos stopped getting previewed on You Tube--that way it would be too late for parents to complain.
What Ever Happened to Minor Seminaries?
When I was in high school, the Archdiocese of Indianapolis operated the "Latin School", a minor seminary. Not long before that time the Francscans operated one at Mt. St. Francis. These, along with most of the others in the English speaking world went away.
That was a major mistake. Major. Mistake.
The Presbyteral Assembly said that since most of the boys who went to a minor seminary wouldn't go on to the priesthood, perhaps they were a waste of time and money. Oddly, no one felt that a firm grounding in the faith and an excellent college prepatory education among laymen might be of value to the Church. Odder still, no seemed to trip to the fact that 60% of the priest in the Archdiocese were graduates of the Latin School.
Well, we're short priests now.
But there is a ray of hope. The FSSP is operating acollege prep school in PA, and another group, called the Insitute of the Incarnate Word is operating a flat out Minor Seminary in Minnesota. They quote a document from John Paul II, Pastoris Dabo Vobis, that calls for the re establishment of minor seminaries to foster vocations. (Like so many Papal Documents--it is consigned by the Anglophonic Heirarchy to obscurity! how much do you want to bet tht if there were a Papal Document saying we should all sing kumbaya, they would enforce it with draconian vigor?) The Institute acknowleges that part of the reason was that are are so few places for boys who feel the call to study, in the english speakingworld. It is my belief that we laymen, should, perhaps with the help of the Serra Club, lobby for and try to fund some more schools like this.
BTW-the tuition is kept deleberatly low, and if a boy is from humble circumstance and can't pay--he attends anyway. A nice antidote to the economic elitism that often dominates our current Catholic school system.
That was a major mistake. Major. Mistake.
The Presbyteral Assembly said that since most of the boys who went to a minor seminary wouldn't go on to the priesthood, perhaps they were a waste of time and money. Oddly, no one felt that a firm grounding in the faith and an excellent college prepatory education among laymen might be of value to the Church. Odder still, no seemed to trip to the fact that 60% of the priest in the Archdiocese were graduates of the Latin School.
Well, we're short priests now.
But there is a ray of hope. The FSSP is operating acollege prep school in PA, and another group, called the Insitute of the Incarnate Word is operating a flat out Minor Seminary in Minnesota. They quote a document from John Paul II, Pastoris Dabo Vobis, that calls for the re establishment of minor seminaries to foster vocations. (Like so many Papal Documents--it is consigned by the Anglophonic Heirarchy to obscurity! how much do you want to bet tht if there were a Papal Document saying we should all sing kumbaya, they would enforce it with draconian vigor?) The Institute acknowleges that part of the reason was that are are so few places for boys who feel the call to study, in the english speakingworld. It is my belief that we laymen, should, perhaps with the help of the Serra Club, lobby for and try to fund some more schools like this.
BTW-the tuition is kept deleberatly low, and if a boy is from humble circumstance and can't pay--he attends anyway. A nice antidote to the economic elitism that often dominates our current Catholic school system.
Narcissism and Liturgial Abuse
I read a very interesting article on the Catholic Eduction Resource Center site ( www.catholiceduction.org ) about priestly and cutural narcissism and iturgical abuses. It matches my observations as well as being grounded in the social and psychological sciences.
Written by Paul Vitz, who has a PhD in psychology and excellent academic credentials, it spells out what we observe so often--that priests who are fond of liturgical abuse, especially the improvisation of part of the prayers, are attention hounds who put their ego before their vocation.
I have seen this over and over, and have long thought that it was essentially a carry over from the iconoclastic 60s and their seamless morphing into the "Me Decade" of the 70s. As our culture began to lose it's sense of community, and of duty and objective truth, the idea of the individual became paramount. not the value of the individual, but the gratification of the individual ego. It's all about *me*.
This attitude is ingrained in our society, yet unfulfilled. I once saw an advertisement for a clothing store in Bloomington that had the phrase "We know that the holiday season is all about you", putting on offer items guaranteed to rivet attention on the person wearing them. This attitude has permeated the Church as well.
Dr. Vitz cronicles several instances of Liturgical abuse, major and minor, and pointed out, from the view point of a psychologist how they were indicative of narcissism. I could do so as well, from a Dominican Friar requiring the pianist (!) at the Mass, to provide "sound effects" during the homily to acts that divert attention from the Liturgy itself to the celebrant. Nor are such things restricted to the ordained: we have all seen Liturgies where the "Music Minister"dominated to proceedings to the point of giving direction for each and every gesture and act of the congregation.
The ordinary Form of the Mass has become such a mess of abuses,not because it is in itself bad, but because it appeared when the cultural narcissism of the times came to the forefront of public life. Virtually every Liturgical Abuse you would care to chronicle is proscribed by one liturgical document or another--but the egos of the celebrants and their "co-conspirators" choose to ignore them.
The narcissism of these people is most manifest when you complain. I complained to a Conventual Franciscan Friar, the Pastor of St. Anthony of Padua parish in Clarksville In that he was using wineglasses for the Precious Blood. When asked, I mentioned that the practice had been abrogated. this guy became visibly angry and denied it: he lied to justify his own preference in the Liturgy. This unwillingness to face criticism or correction is a symptom of the underlying narcissistic tendencies that lead to liturgical abuse.
And we need to be very aware of how this has affected the vocation situation in the US. narcissism isn't attractive, and good men fight shy of it. When young men, who tend to be idealistic, see it on display, they might not use the word, but they know what they are seeing. Good men do not embrace what is dishonorable, hence the decline in vocations.
Certainly, Rogerian Analysis and Therapy needs to be considered as well. it entered into the Religious houses and Seminaries in the 60s, with well documented results--a generation of Priests and Religious were formed to be narcissists.
I hope people in authority read this article.
Written by Paul Vitz, who has a PhD in psychology and excellent academic credentials, it spells out what we observe so often--that priests who are fond of liturgical abuse, especially the improvisation of part of the prayers, are attention hounds who put their ego before their vocation.
I have seen this over and over, and have long thought that it was essentially a carry over from the iconoclastic 60s and their seamless morphing into the "Me Decade" of the 70s. As our culture began to lose it's sense of community, and of duty and objective truth, the idea of the individual became paramount. not the value of the individual, but the gratification of the individual ego. It's all about *me*.
This attitude is ingrained in our society, yet unfulfilled. I once saw an advertisement for a clothing store in Bloomington that had the phrase "We know that the holiday season is all about you", putting on offer items guaranteed to rivet attention on the person wearing them. This attitude has permeated the Church as well.
Dr. Vitz cronicles several instances of Liturgical abuse, major and minor, and pointed out, from the view point of a psychologist how they were indicative of narcissism. I could do so as well, from a Dominican Friar requiring the pianist (!) at the Mass, to provide "sound effects" during the homily to acts that divert attention from the Liturgy itself to the celebrant. Nor are such things restricted to the ordained: we have all seen Liturgies where the "Music Minister"dominated to proceedings to the point of giving direction for each and every gesture and act of the congregation.
The ordinary Form of the Mass has become such a mess of abuses,not because it is in itself bad, but because it appeared when the cultural narcissism of the times came to the forefront of public life. Virtually every Liturgical Abuse you would care to chronicle is proscribed by one liturgical document or another--but the egos of the celebrants and their "co-conspirators" choose to ignore them.
The narcissism of these people is most manifest when you complain. I complained to a Conventual Franciscan Friar, the Pastor of St. Anthony of Padua parish in Clarksville In that he was using wineglasses for the Precious Blood. When asked, I mentioned that the practice had been abrogated. this guy became visibly angry and denied it: he lied to justify his own preference in the Liturgy. This unwillingness to face criticism or correction is a symptom of the underlying narcissistic tendencies that lead to liturgical abuse.
And we need to be very aware of how this has affected the vocation situation in the US. narcissism isn't attractive, and good men fight shy of it. When young men, who tend to be idealistic, see it on display, they might not use the word, but they know what they are seeing. Good men do not embrace what is dishonorable, hence the decline in vocations.
Certainly, Rogerian Analysis and Therapy needs to be considered as well. it entered into the Religious houses and Seminaries in the 60s, with well documented results--a generation of Priests and Religious were formed to be narcissists.
I hope people in authority read this article.
Oh Waaaaa-AAAAAAA!
What's going on:
Street Roots is a non profit newspaper dedicated to the homeless and impoverished in Portland. They are having a whine in, because the local Diocesan office of the CCHD has defunded them. They were defunded because of their referral of people to Planned Parenthood.
They were contacted this spring over their practices, and told that they couldn't get funded if they continued to teat PP as a resource. They chose to continue listing PP as a resource. They were duly defunded. OK--so far everything is on the up and up.
Then they published an editorial, saying that the defunding was "a shot in the heart". Well, too damned bad. They were given the chance to keep their funding and turned it down It was more important to them to do something that is counter to the goals, beliefs and practices of the group funding them. Really, how can the expect a group to give them money when they practice things that are inimical to the funding agency? They go on to say that the CCHD doing harm to 'our entire community that is working to end homelessness". That's rich, considering that the Catholic Church is the worlds largest provider of social services. It's especially rich when one considers that this group put Planned Parenthood referrals before any other services in pursuit of their goal of ending homelessness, that could have been achieved with the funding they lost.
What's most interesting about this:
In the editorial about not getting Catholic Money to do things that work against the primary mission of the Church, Joanne Zuhl (...there is only Zool! [sorry, couldn't resist]) wrote that the loss of funding was due to "Catholic conservative groups that via the prolific capacity of the Internet" want "radical overhaul" or '"disbandment" of the CCHD.
Well,that's true enough, and is good reason to take pause and look at those Bishops who are complaining about our Internet presence. Because it allows us to effectively speak and network for the first time in forty years, we can make our voices heard, and require our Chief Pastors to live up to their job descriptions. And, for the first time, we have an effective way to monitor and speak out about what they do with the money we donate.
The executive director of Street Roots says that the reforms are a "witch hunt born out of fear and intolerance". That's so much B.S.. It's not born of fear, it's born of courage. The courage to do what is right in the face of popular and political pressure to go along with a society bent on it's own dissolution.
(Yes, that's strong verbiage. But Societies and Cultures do not collapse because of external pressures, they commit suicide, and the progressive agenda has born it's fruit of societal and cultural suicide. like the Good Book says, "By their fruits you shall know them".) It's not a witch hunt if there really are witches, that's to say, if there are abuses and misuse of Catholic money to support groups that militate against the mission of the Church.
Diocese across the country are either opting out of the CCHD, or reforming the funding process. Chicago has abjured the use of CCHD funds for "political empowerment", and gone instead to the practice of working towards economic empowerment. Others are reforming the system as well.
This is due almost entirely to faithful Catholic laity reporting what's happening behind closed doors, in a bureaucracy dominated by dissenting and heretical laymen.
Street Roots is a non profit newspaper dedicated to the homeless and impoverished in Portland. They are having a whine in, because the local Diocesan office of the CCHD has defunded them. They were defunded because of their referral of people to Planned Parenthood.
They were contacted this spring over their practices, and told that they couldn't get funded if they continued to teat PP as a resource. They chose to continue listing PP as a resource. They were duly defunded. OK--so far everything is on the up and up.
Then they published an editorial, saying that the defunding was "a shot in the heart". Well, too damned bad. They were given the chance to keep their funding and turned it down It was more important to them to do something that is counter to the goals, beliefs and practices of the group funding them. Really, how can the expect a group to give them money when they practice things that are inimical to the funding agency? They go on to say that the CCHD doing harm to 'our entire community that is working to end homelessness". That's rich, considering that the Catholic Church is the worlds largest provider of social services. It's especially rich when one considers that this group put Planned Parenthood referrals before any other services in pursuit of their goal of ending homelessness, that could have been achieved with the funding they lost.
What's most interesting about this:
In the editorial about not getting Catholic Money to do things that work against the primary mission of the Church, Joanne Zuhl (...there is only Zool! [sorry, couldn't resist]) wrote that the loss of funding was due to "Catholic conservative groups that via the prolific capacity of the Internet" want "radical overhaul" or '"disbandment" of the CCHD.
Well,that's true enough, and is good reason to take pause and look at those Bishops who are complaining about our Internet presence. Because it allows us to effectively speak and network for the first time in forty years, we can make our voices heard, and require our Chief Pastors to live up to their job descriptions. And, for the first time, we have an effective way to monitor and speak out about what they do with the money we donate.
The executive director of Street Roots says that the reforms are a "witch hunt born out of fear and intolerance". That's so much B.S.. It's not born of fear, it's born of courage. The courage to do what is right in the face of popular and political pressure to go along with a society bent on it's own dissolution.
(Yes, that's strong verbiage. But Societies and Cultures do not collapse because of external pressures, they commit suicide, and the progressive agenda has born it's fruit of societal and cultural suicide. like the Good Book says, "By their fruits you shall know them".) It's not a witch hunt if there really are witches, that's to say, if there are abuses and misuse of Catholic money to support groups that militate against the mission of the Church.
Diocese across the country are either opting out of the CCHD, or reforming the funding process. Chicago has abjured the use of CCHD funds for "political empowerment", and gone instead to the practice of working towards economic empowerment. Others are reforming the system as well.
This is due almost entirely to faithful Catholic laity reporting what's happening behind closed doors, in a bureaucracy dominated by dissenting and heretical laymen.
Go watch some (web) TV
Salve Regina, http://paramedicgoldengrl.blogspot.com has three very nice videos up about the FSSP, well worth watching.
Go watch them.
(I think that the virus protection and fire wall on my puter prevents the URLs from coming to life)
Go watch them.
(I think that the virus protection and fire wall on my puter prevents the URLs from coming to life)
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
This Just In-Deliberate Profanation of the Blessed Sacrament
In Ireland, at a celebration of the Mass in the Extraordinary Form, a communicant objected to receiving Communion on the tongue, made a grab for the Sacred Body of Christ, upset the ciborium, and spilled the blessed sacrament onto the floor, saying to the Priest who was celebrating the Mass "You're in Ireland now".
Why?
I often ask this. it seems "progressives" in the Church (not to use the more accurate terminology "modernist Heretics") want to prevent or disrupt anything smacking of tradition, devotion, or piety. They behave in a hateful and disruptive manner, as if they were slave to the Dark Side. perhaps they are. no Catholic who accepts the Teaching of Transubstantiation, or who understands the nature of the Mass would do this.
BTW--the man was a laicized priest.
Why?
I often ask this. it seems "progressives" in the Church (not to use the more accurate terminology "modernist Heretics") want to prevent or disrupt anything smacking of tradition, devotion, or piety. They behave in a hateful and disruptive manner, as if they were slave to the Dark Side. perhaps they are. no Catholic who accepts the Teaching of Transubstantiation, or who understands the nature of the Mass would do this.
BTW--the man was a laicized priest.
Tacky....Just Tacky
KFC has hit upon a new way of bolstering it's flagging brand. No, not spending fortune on buying the naming rights to the new stadium in Louisville.
They are paying college girls $500 bucks to pass out coupons while wearing fitted sweatpants-tightly fitted-with the words "double down'" on the but. Tacky.
I imagine the girls are thinking 'Wow! 500 bucks to pass out coupons!" unfortunately,that's not quite what's going on. Let put it this way, If I were to ask college girls if i could rent their ass for $500, how many would call the cops? probably all of them. they don't really see what's going on. Heck, if I were to ask a college girl if I could write a double entendre on the seat of their pants for $500 buck, I'd get slapped, numerous times.
But they have them passing out coupons, and that makes it advertising, so somehow, it's all good.
Geee..what ever happened to being aware of exploitation?
As for KFC--try better service, better food and cleaner stores, might help more than girl buts in the fall.
They are paying college girls $500 bucks to pass out coupons while wearing fitted sweatpants-tightly fitted-with the words "double down'" on the but. Tacky.
I imagine the girls are thinking 'Wow! 500 bucks to pass out coupons!" unfortunately,that's not quite what's going on. Let put it this way, If I were to ask college girls if i could rent their ass for $500, how many would call the cops? probably all of them. they don't really see what's going on. Heck, if I were to ask a college girl if I could write a double entendre on the seat of their pants for $500 buck, I'd get slapped, numerous times.
But they have them passing out coupons, and that makes it advertising, so somehow, it's all good.
Geee..what ever happened to being aware of exploitation?
As for KFC--try better service, better food and cleaner stores, might help more than girl buts in the fall.
USCCB Does Good
The USCCB has asked congress to strengthen and improve the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit.
Bishop William Murphy has said that these things will help workers and people raising children provide the necessities of life. he also said that if congress doesn't do anything, these people will be worse of than before.
It's essentially a process of letting people keep what they earn, and provide for themselves, rather than putting them in the situation of needing handouts and subsidies to live.
A radical concept--letting people have dignity through being secure, in their property and earnings, from confiscatory taxation and dependency upon the state.
Bishop William Murphy has said that these things will help workers and people raising children provide the necessities of life. he also said that if congress doesn't do anything, these people will be worse of than before.
It's essentially a process of letting people keep what they earn, and provide for themselves, rather than putting them in the situation of needing handouts and subsidies to live.
A radical concept--letting people have dignity through being secure, in their property and earnings, from confiscatory taxation and dependency upon the state.
Hiliary Clinton is Doing Something I Like
Seeing as how i think we should encourage our government to do things that make things better, in a rational way, I want to take the time to say that on one issue, at least Hilliary is dong the right thing.
As Secretary of State she has committed the US to spending $50 million over the next ten years for cook stoves in South Asia, India and Sub Saharan Africa. The money is to be used, not to give out cook stoves, but to help build indigenous industry to produce inexpensive stoves to replace the open fires and clay stoves currently in use.
This is a good thing. The use of rock and clay fireplaces, and other poor methods of cooking contribute to 1.9 million premature deaths each year. mostly of women and kids. They are fuel inefficient, so that they contribute mightily--in fact more than logging--to deforestation and loss of plant cover. (There are area of Madagascar where not only have the trees and grasses been removed for fuel--so have the roots and rhizomes.) More efficient stoves prevent smoke inhalation deaths of women and kids-more prevalent than we think--and reduce particulate pollution.
it's a cheap way to make a big difference. And for those of us who bothered to read The Ugly American, the importance of this type of aid is apparent.
Oh--to the Editors of the Drudge Report, who tried to label this as a boondoggle--get a handle on the issues, and the facts of life in the developing world. And try to do a little research into insurgency. this sort of aid is remembered with gratitude. More infrastructure to a Kleptocracy leads to revolution. So get a clue.
As Secretary of State she has committed the US to spending $50 million over the next ten years for cook stoves in South Asia, India and Sub Saharan Africa. The money is to be used, not to give out cook stoves, but to help build indigenous industry to produce inexpensive stoves to replace the open fires and clay stoves currently in use.
This is a good thing. The use of rock and clay fireplaces, and other poor methods of cooking contribute to 1.9 million premature deaths each year. mostly of women and kids. They are fuel inefficient, so that they contribute mightily--in fact more than logging--to deforestation and loss of plant cover. (There are area of Madagascar where not only have the trees and grasses been removed for fuel--so have the roots and rhizomes.) More efficient stoves prevent smoke inhalation deaths of women and kids-more prevalent than we think--and reduce particulate pollution.
it's a cheap way to make a big difference. And for those of us who bothered to read The Ugly American, the importance of this type of aid is apparent.
Oh--to the Editors of the Drudge Report, who tried to label this as a boondoggle--get a handle on the issues, and the facts of life in the developing world. And try to do a little research into insurgency. this sort of aid is remembered with gratitude. More infrastructure to a Kleptocracy leads to revolution. So get a clue.
Italian Wisdom Vs British Bigotry
Carlo Giovanardi, Secretary of State for Family Affairs in Italy, has publicly noted the statistical correlation between Gay Adoption and the increase in human trafficking of babies in those jurisdictions that allow it.
He then went on to state that Gay adoption is an act of "psychological violence" against the children involved (and there are many,many studies that note the difference in outcomes for children reared by same sex couples compared to heterosexual couples--they don't fare nearly as well)
The second comment on the news site that I read this on was from the UK. It started with the phrase "Perhaps there is a link between eating too much spaghetti and deranged thinking." The thing is, Mr. Giovanardi was speaking from a position that is supported by statistical data and sociological research that was conducted in many regions. The commenter opened with an ethnic slur. the commenter then went into an anti religious screed against all religion, and Catholicism in particular.
This article was posted on the Catholic News Agency site.
He then went on to state that Gay adoption is an act of "psychological violence" against the children involved (and there are many,many studies that note the difference in outcomes for children reared by same sex couples compared to heterosexual couples--they don't fare nearly as well)
The second comment on the news site that I read this on was from the UK. It started with the phrase "Perhaps there is a link between eating too much spaghetti and deranged thinking." The thing is, Mr. Giovanardi was speaking from a position that is supported by statistical data and sociological research that was conducted in many regions. The commenter opened with an ethnic slur. the commenter then went into an anti religious screed against all religion, and Catholicism in particular.
This article was posted on the Catholic News Agency site.
The Benedict Bounce
This is probably mean spirited, but Damian Thompson has a piece up at The Telegraph that I really enjoyed, more for it's felicitous turns of phrase than any other reason. I'm going to quote some here, just because I like them so well, even if they are a trifle snarky:
One thing the Church of England is good at is taking spiky Anglo Catholic congregations,merging them with a more mainstream parish, shipping in a less "extreme" vicar --and in 10 years a woman is celebrating the Eucharist (amid clouds of incense, naturally).
(Incidentally, if certain ultra Caaaartholic [sic] north London decide to stay Anglican, I think the least they can do is take down their pictures of the Pope).
The success of the ordinariate doesn't depend on Mass Transit.
...doing liturgy properly as real Catholics but without the interference from a local RC bishop whose idea of Solemn Mass is one of those Star Trek style concelelebrations.
Even Anglicans who have not intention of "poping" recognize that Benedict exercises a teaching authority that highlights Rowan William's increasingly fragile position within his own community. (Ans, as someone observed during the visit, he is ale to express himself more clearly in his third language than +Rowan can in his first.)
It's a good article for it's observations and content, and yu might want to read it, but I just liked they way parts of it were worded.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/damianthompson/100054794/benedict-will-bounce-anglicans-into-the-roman-catholic-church .
One thing the Church of England is good at is taking spiky Anglo Catholic congregations,merging them with a more mainstream parish, shipping in a less "extreme" vicar --and in 10 years a woman is celebrating the Eucharist (amid clouds of incense, naturally).
(Incidentally, if certain ultra Caaaartholic [sic] north London decide to stay Anglican, I think the least they can do is take down their pictures of the Pope).
The success of the ordinariate doesn't depend on Mass Transit.
...doing liturgy properly as real Catholics but without the interference from a local RC bishop whose idea of Solemn Mass is one of those Star Trek style concelelebrations.
Even Anglicans who have not intention of "poping" recognize that Benedict exercises a teaching authority that highlights Rowan William's increasingly fragile position within his own community. (Ans, as someone observed during the visit, he is ale to express himself more clearly in his third language than +Rowan can in his first.)
It's a good article for it's observations and content, and yu might want to read it, but I just liked they way parts of it were worded.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/damianthompson/100054794/benedict-will-bounce-anglicans-into-the-roman-catholic-church .
Monday, September 20, 2010
Is it wrong...
...that I sometimes have fantsies about spraying the insides of the amps and electronics of the (not proficient) rock band next door with a mixture of brine, chlorene bleach and lime water?
The Electric Chainsaw Massacre
We have had this tree at the end of the driveway. It wasn't popular. The Queen of the House didn't like it because it was a weed tree-a volunteer growth of an undesirable species, (one whose name, I was taught,is "piss elm" because of the way it smell when burning). I didn't like it because it was effectively shading out part of the grass and ground cover, exposing soil to erosion . Son-n-Law didn't like because it was home to a large group of small birds that left their leavings all over the cars.
So, Son-in-Law goes over to Ace Hardware and returns with an electric chainsaw. The tree is gone, although we are still dealing with the piles of limbs and cut up logs.
The Queen is happy--the weed tree is gone. I'm happy--sun light is reaching the yard. The little birds are not happy-their roost has disappeared.
Son-in-Law is not happy--the little birds just moved into the Holly Trees, which also overhang the cars. All that sweat for nothin'.
Daughter was trying, a few minutes ago, to entice Dexter the cat to go hunting the little birds-it's her car they are roosting over.
So, Son-in-Law goes over to Ace Hardware and returns with an electric chainsaw. The tree is gone, although we are still dealing with the piles of limbs and cut up logs.
The Queen is happy--the weed tree is gone. I'm happy--sun light is reaching the yard. The little birds are not happy-their roost has disappeared.
Son-in-Law is not happy--the little birds just moved into the Holly Trees, which also overhang the cars. All that sweat for nothin'.
Daughter was trying, a few minutes ago, to entice Dexter the cat to go hunting the little birds-it's her car they are roosting over.
The Lair of the Catholic Cavemen
The Lair of the Catholic Cavemen
Has a video documentary you need to see--even if you hate The Catholic Caveman.
Click and go.
Has a video documentary you need to see--even if you hate The Catholic Caveman.
Click and go.
Jut Odd Thoughts
Some of them are quite odd, actually.
Alan Turing has a lot to answer for...starting with the proliferation of long, poorly written books. Seriously. since word processing became easily and cheaply available, the average new novel in the us has jumped from 180 pages to over 600. and since it has become much less laborious to write a novel, more people are giving it a go, who probably shouldn't! I mean, how many people do you know who are trying to write a book on their PC?
Survivalists are not going to make it...past about the first two weeks of the End of Civilization. Maybe it's because of my time in the 2d US Cavalry, but I tend to think worst case. These guys are really, really hung up on their guns. But when you look at areas that have suffered a breakdown of the civil order and infrastructure other things become much more important. So before you spend all that money on yet another fancy gun, think about what "after action review' says. For instance, in Sarajevo toilet paper became the most sought after trading commodity. What about bleach? Without available medical care and supplies, it might be nice to safeguard against pathogens, eh? The 800-1000 bucks a battle rile will cost you will also buy a lot of rice and beans. not to mention salt. These guys all seem to have fantasies about standing around with their big guns, with spent brass scattered everywhere, ruling the world. I think they're gonna kill each other off.
The Roamer Dinghy is brilliant...but ugly to the max. I wonder if some bright young engineer couldn't revisit the concept and make something a little less strange looking. But still, a 14 foot open boat that's self righting, self draining and provides sleeping space for two is kinda neat!
Climbers need to stop dominating the rucksack market...because most of us don't climb! A pack that is a good design for climbing isn't so hot for trail walking and general backpacking. We need more useful outside pockets, for one thing, and a suspension system that allows us to shed heat better--it's cooler in the mountains, yes, but a lot of us don't go there!
I was looking forward to the new Hawaii 5-O...but then I heard Grace Park was going to be in it as a main character. Losing interest fast.
About two months 'till Harry Potter...and I am waiting very impatiently.
I wonder what would happen...f I were to be given five minutes on the floor at the next meeting of the USCCB, to speak my mind.
Squirrel season, and I don't have...the right scope mounts for the .22. However, I do own a 20 ga. that shoots quite well. We'll see how it goes.
You'd think that at 50... I wouldn't be as easily distracted by pretty girls as I was at 20. and, you'd be right. the problem is, that I've found in the ensuing 30 years that there are a great many more pretty girls than I first thought. So I still spend too much time distracted.
I have no idea...why I spent time on anything this random, but I did.
Alan Turing has a lot to answer for...starting with the proliferation of long, poorly written books. Seriously. since word processing became easily and cheaply available, the average new novel in the us has jumped from 180 pages to over 600. and since it has become much less laborious to write a novel, more people are giving it a go, who probably shouldn't! I mean, how many people do you know who are trying to write a book on their PC?
Survivalists are not going to make it...past about the first two weeks of the End of Civilization. Maybe it's because of my time in the 2d US Cavalry, but I tend to think worst case. These guys are really, really hung up on their guns. But when you look at areas that have suffered a breakdown of the civil order and infrastructure other things become much more important. So before you spend all that money on yet another fancy gun, think about what "after action review' says. For instance, in Sarajevo toilet paper became the most sought after trading commodity. What about bleach? Without available medical care and supplies, it might be nice to safeguard against pathogens, eh? The 800-1000 bucks a battle rile will cost you will also buy a lot of rice and beans. not to mention salt. These guys all seem to have fantasies about standing around with their big guns, with spent brass scattered everywhere, ruling the world. I think they're gonna kill each other off.
The Roamer Dinghy is brilliant...but ugly to the max. I wonder if some bright young engineer couldn't revisit the concept and make something a little less strange looking. But still, a 14 foot open boat that's self righting, self draining and provides sleeping space for two is kinda neat!
Climbers need to stop dominating the rucksack market...because most of us don't climb! A pack that is a good design for climbing isn't so hot for trail walking and general backpacking. We need more useful outside pockets, for one thing, and a suspension system that allows us to shed heat better--it's cooler in the mountains, yes, but a lot of us don't go there!
I was looking forward to the new Hawaii 5-O...but then I heard Grace Park was going to be in it as a main character. Losing interest fast.
About two months 'till Harry Potter...and I am waiting very impatiently.
I wonder what would happen...f I were to be given five minutes on the floor at the next meeting of the USCCB, to speak my mind.
Squirrel season, and I don't have...the right scope mounts for the .22. However, I do own a 20 ga. that shoots quite well. We'll see how it goes.
You'd think that at 50... I wouldn't be as easily distracted by pretty girls as I was at 20. and, you'd be right. the problem is, that I've found in the ensuing 30 years that there are a great many more pretty girls than I first thought. So I still spend too much time distracted.
I have no idea...why I spent time on anything this random, but I did.
British anti-Catholicism? Look at ABC!
So various parts of the press have been talking about the outpouring of anti-catholic sentiment in the UK--to include parts of their secular humanist community. Well, heck, on Guy Fawks Day in many locations they still burn the Pope in effigy, what did we expect, other than a heroic, uncompromising humility on the part of Benedict?
What I'm more upset with is the Anti-Catholicism being practiced by the American MSM. Like ABC--they decided to put some papal coverage on the news. What did we get? Two minutes of coverage of a "protest of 10,000 people". But even at that they couldn't avoid mentioning that simultaneously there were 65,000 people cheering him in the streets., which got one sentence of reporting time.
Another outlet mentioned that people were "lined up six deep" to see the Papal motorcade, but the picture on the screen showed that while there were people lined up six deep-on one side of the street--but also that there were people lined up 30-40 deep on the other side, which was not mentioned verbally.
So make your choice--the coverage is either slanted, or not. But remember to look at the facts, and what isn't said as well.
What I'm more upset with is the Anti-Catholicism being practiced by the American MSM. Like ABC--they decided to put some papal coverage on the news. What did we get? Two minutes of coverage of a "protest of 10,000 people". But even at that they couldn't avoid mentioning that simultaneously there were 65,000 people cheering him in the streets., which got one sentence of reporting time.
Another outlet mentioned that people were "lined up six deep" to see the Papal motorcade, but the picture on the screen showed that while there were people lined up six deep-on one side of the street--but also that there were people lined up 30-40 deep on the other side, which was not mentioned verbally.
So make your choice--the coverage is either slanted, or not. But remember to look at the facts, and what isn't said as well.
Looking at Belgium
Jozef de Kesel is the new Bishop of Bruges He was consecrated a bishop in 2002, and served as an auxiliary bishop until moving to Bruges to replace Vangheluwe, who raped his own nephew.
"One could say that there should be celibate priests, but ,for people to whom celibacy is humanly impossible, the opportunity should be given of becoming a priest".
Ok--now I'll comment. First, the priesthood isn't, strictly speaking, humanly possible. It becomes possible through the grace of God. It is conferred by the Sacrament of Holy Orders, which imparts the grace necessary to serve, and places an indelible mark upon the soul of the recipient. Secondly--the priesthood is not an "opportunity", like some secular profession. People should have the opportunity to become professors or accountants. The priesthood is a calling, and an answering.
On Ordaining women: "That is certainly negotiable, and I hope for it, but it is still more sensitive than the issue of celibacy. I think that the discussion about celibacy can proceed much faster than the debate on the admission of women to the priesthood."
Whoa! Negotiable? Not hardly! And to express a "hope for it", as a bishop is to defy the discipline of the established ecclesiastical authorities--material schism. After all, this debate was declared closed in the 90s, by the Pope, exercising his ministry of Teacher. Another big warning sign--the words discussion and debate applied to a teaching of the Church which has remained constant since the times of the Apostles. As St Pius X said in Pascendi Dominici Gregis, one of the hallmarks of the Modernist Heresy is to frame heretical claims in the guise of debate--passing heretical statements as rhetorical questions and honest inquiry. It's also good to not something else: Msgr de Kesel makes an assumption that if there is enough discussion and debate, his point of view will triumph. It's like the American nuns in the 70s and 0s--they get told no, and say that further dialog is needed, i.e. He cannot accept that Daddy told him no, and continues to be spoiled and disobedient.
Considering the example set by the Belgian Bishops, and the statements by this bishop, is it any wonder that the formally great seminary of Bruges has exactly one incoming student this year?
And yes, i am aware that I have accused a Bishop of material schism and heresy. Someone has to.
"One could say that there should be celibate priests, but ,for people to whom celibacy is humanly impossible, the opportunity should be given of becoming a priest".
Ok--now I'll comment. First, the priesthood isn't, strictly speaking, humanly possible. It becomes possible through the grace of God. It is conferred by the Sacrament of Holy Orders, which imparts the grace necessary to serve, and places an indelible mark upon the soul of the recipient. Secondly--the priesthood is not an "opportunity", like some secular profession. People should have the opportunity to become professors or accountants. The priesthood is a calling, and an answering.
On Ordaining women: "That is certainly negotiable, and I hope for it, but it is still more sensitive than the issue of celibacy. I think that the discussion about celibacy can proceed much faster than the debate on the admission of women to the priesthood."
Whoa! Negotiable? Not hardly! And to express a "hope for it", as a bishop is to defy the discipline of the established ecclesiastical authorities--material schism. After all, this debate was declared closed in the 90s, by the Pope, exercising his ministry of Teacher. Another big warning sign--the words discussion and debate applied to a teaching of the Church which has remained constant since the times of the Apostles. As St Pius X said in Pascendi Dominici Gregis, one of the hallmarks of the Modernist Heresy is to frame heretical claims in the guise of debate--passing heretical statements as rhetorical questions and honest inquiry. It's also good to not something else: Msgr de Kesel makes an assumption that if there is enough discussion and debate, his point of view will triumph. It's like the American nuns in the 70s and 0s--they get told no, and say that further dialog is needed, i.e. He cannot accept that Daddy told him no, and continues to be spoiled and disobedient.
Considering the example set by the Belgian Bishops, and the statements by this bishop, is it any wonder that the formally great seminary of Bruges has exactly one incoming student this year?
And yes, i am aware that I have accused a Bishop of material schism and heresy. Someone has to.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
I Finally Get Versus Populam Celebration
I prefer ad Orientam celebration of the Eucharist. But now at least I understand vesus Populam
celebrations. It came to me at Today's Mass, just before Father proclaimed the Gospel.
At the Ritus Initiales the option exists for the celebrant to incense the Altar. Our parish does this on Sundays and Solemnities. This action is meant to give glory to God, to symbolize our prayers rising to heaven and to serve a didactic purpose. Whenever incense is used at Mass, it marks the presence of God, or Christ, in the Liturgy. That's why it's used on the gifts, and at the Gospel reading, and on the ministers of the Altar, and on the faithful.
The four ways Christ is present in the liturgy are thus marked: first of all, in the Eucharist, secondly in the ministers of the Altar, acting in Personna Christi, in the scripture readings, especially the proclamation of the Gospel, and in the assembled Faithful, who are part of the Body of Christ.
The Altar is a "primary symbol" of the the presence of God. (The Eucharist is not a symbol it is the reality of Christ, truly present, boby, blood, soul and divinity.) that's why it get incensed at the opening of the Liturgy.
So when father went to say the priestly prayer that is recited before the proclamation of the gospel, and he made his inclination--his profound bow--I got the meaning of versus Populam.
It's about God being in our midst. I realized then that celebrations facing the people are not a mindless innovation, which is what I had thought. Rather, it's a way to underscore that God is in our midst, in the person of the Holy Spirit, and in the person of Christ, who promised that where ever two or more gathered, he would be their too.
I still prefer Celebrating "to the East", and still regard facing the people as an innovation. But I no longer regard it as mindless. Miscarried? Yes, I think it often has been. And it does lend itself to Liturgical abuse, given the more permissive rubrics of the Pauline Missal. Certainly, ad Orientam celebration has the sanction of 1973 years of use, and the testimony of the Fathers that we received it from the Apostles. But now, at least, I'll feel less of a sense of mindless innovation for the sake of innovation when I go to Mass
celebrations. It came to me at Today's Mass, just before Father proclaimed the Gospel.
At the Ritus Initiales the option exists for the celebrant to incense the Altar. Our parish does this on Sundays and Solemnities. This action is meant to give glory to God, to symbolize our prayers rising to heaven and to serve a didactic purpose. Whenever incense is used at Mass, it marks the presence of God, or Christ, in the Liturgy. That's why it's used on the gifts, and at the Gospel reading, and on the ministers of the Altar, and on the faithful.
The four ways Christ is present in the liturgy are thus marked: first of all, in the Eucharist, secondly in the ministers of the Altar, acting in Personna Christi, in the scripture readings, especially the proclamation of the Gospel, and in the assembled Faithful, who are part of the Body of Christ.
The Altar is a "primary symbol" of the the presence of God. (The Eucharist is not a symbol it is the reality of Christ, truly present, boby, blood, soul and divinity.) that's why it get incensed at the opening of the Liturgy.
So when father went to say the priestly prayer that is recited before the proclamation of the gospel, and he made his inclination--his profound bow--I got the meaning of versus Populam.
It's about God being in our midst. I realized then that celebrations facing the people are not a mindless innovation, which is what I had thought. Rather, it's a way to underscore that God is in our midst, in the person of the Holy Spirit, and in the person of Christ, who promised that where ever two or more gathered, he would be their too.
I still prefer Celebrating "to the East", and still regard facing the people as an innovation. But I no longer regard it as mindless. Miscarried? Yes, I think it often has been. And it does lend itself to Liturgical abuse, given the more permissive rubrics of the Pauline Missal. Certainly, ad Orientam celebration has the sanction of 1973 years of use, and the testimony of the Fathers that we received it from the Apostles. But now, at least, I'll feel less of a sense of mindless innovation for the sake of innovation when I go to Mass
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