On Human Life

A fantastic feature appeared in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin last week on the war between the Culture of Life and the Culture of Death in the world today. I have only skimmed a few of the articles, but they have been excellent and they contain information that EVERYONE needs to read, especially Catholics.

See here: Of Human Life

Our tyrannical courts

How dysfunctional is our system of government at the present moment? Here's how dysfunctional.

Five years ago, the Supreme Court handed down a verdict in the Lawrence v. Texas case declaring that Americans have a God-given right to practice sodomy and that laws limiting the act were unconstitutional. Amazingly, by a vote of 6-3, the SCOTUS magically discovered this "right" after 227 years of American history when laws banning this disgusting practice could be found on the books of nearly every state at one point or another. Indeed, Thomas Jefferson himself, as governor of Virginia, signed a law that mandated castration as the punishment for someone convicted of sodomy.

Today, by a vote of 5-4, the Supreme Court affirmed that citizens have the God-given right to keep and bear arms as explicitly stated in Second Amendment. (Click here for the full text PDF of the decision).

Yes, that's right. Had one vote gone the wrong way, the SCOTUS would have overturned an amendment to the U.S. Constitution and taken away a fundamental individual right that has existed since the founding of the nation.

We are in big trouble in this country.

$4.05/gallon gas because you voted for a Democrat

This graphic is brilliant and needs to be spread around everywhere...

Our Black-Robed Popes

The Supreme Court of the United States, in one of their patented 5-4 decisions, declared that it is unconstitutional to enforce the death penalty in case of child rape. (Warning, file is a PDF).

Yes, you heard that right. If some fiend rapes a child, he may not receive capital punishment anywhere in the United States.

Now, I agree with the Pope that capital punishment, in this day and age, is largely unnecessary. However, given the hideous facts of some of these child rape cases, I'd be hard pressed to argue that the death penalty wasn't warranted. I also understand that my opinion on this matter may not reflect that of the majority of others in this country and that folks in other states have an absolute right to decide how to govern themselves with regard to issues like this.

But in another case of usurpation of the right to self-government, the five unelected judges of the Supreme Court have taken it upon themselves to decide for the entire nation when the death penalty may or may not be applied.

The reasons for this ruling as provided by the five liberal dictators on the court are completely specious and yet another example of unelected judges not only making law from the bench, but pontificating on morality as well. As Justice Alito wrote in dissent:

The Court provides two reasons for this sweeping conclusion:

First, the Court claims to have identified “a national consensus” that the death penalty is never acceptable for the rape of a child;

Second, the Court concludes, based on its “independent judgment,” that imposing the death penalty for child rape is inconsistent with ‘the evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society.’”

Did you get that? The Supreme Court (or at least the five liberal tyrants on the Supreme Court) have decided that they are the arbiters of our 'evolving standards of decency.' Don't forget, it was the Supreme Court that ruled that 'evolving standards of decency' now included God-given rights to abort our children, buy, sell, and produce pornography, and engage in sodomy.

Am I the only one who feels just a bit uncomfortable with individuals like Justices Stevens, Bryer, Ginsberg, Souter, and Kennedy defining our national morality?

Our tolerant friends on the left

Can you figure out how this scratch mysteriously appeared on my car in the visitor parking lot at Bryn Mawr College?

(Cue Jeopardy music)....

Extra credit if you can figure out why.

Do as I say, not as I do

Here's an amusing story about the patron saint of environmental movement, Al Gore.

Energy Guzzled by Al Gore’s Home in Past Year Could Power 232 U.S. Homes for a Month

Remember, when the left moans about America's "profligate" energy consumption, they're talking about the rest of us not them. Most of our enlightned leaders have no intention of ever walking the walk.

I'm reminded of General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev. As leader of the worker's paradise of the Soviet Union, where the vast majority of the proletariat lived in a state of scarcity and want, Brezhnev nonetheless managed to accumulate a collection of antique cars.

Book Review: Red Hugh—Prince of Donegal

Ireland is oppressed by the forces of Elizabeth, the English queen. A few strongholds in the far northwest remain free of English domination, but Elizabeth has her eyes on these as well. In order to subdue Donegal, the English kidnap prince Hugh O'Donnell, heir to his ailing father's castle and lands, and lock him in prison in Dublin.

Red Hugh: Prince of Donegal tells the tale of Hugh's imprisonment, attempts to escape, and his heroic fight against the English. It is engagingly written and is a quick and satisfying read. The characters are very well drawn--from the brave and long-suffering Hugh, to the indomitable Queen Ineen Duive, Hugh's mother; from the brawny and charming MacSweeney to the cruel English captain Leeds.

Originally published in 1957, this new edition of Red Hugh is produced with modern audience in mind. It includes a useful map of northern Ireland which allows the reader to follow the action with ease. The book is well suited for kids aged 10 and up, though I admit to enjoying it myself at over thrice that age. The primary lessons taught are bravery, loyalty to family and country, and perseverance even in seemingly hopeless situations.

President Bush to convert to Catholicism???

Somehow I doubt it, but an article in the London Telegraph today is hinting at it.

Keep in mind, however, that for The Telegraph, anything having to do with the Catholic Church or (gasp!) the Pope is considered evil, bad, wicked, pernicious, etc. So in my opinion, this is nothing more than an opportunity to bash President Bush.

That said, if Mr. Bush were to convert, I'd welcome it! He's proven to be a fairly lousy politician, but I always thought he was effective when it came to testifying about his faith in Christ.

Obama on US energy independence -- No we can't!

Here's the latest in a series of graphics I'm working on to educate people about Barack Obama.


Please feel free to steal this if you think it's useful.

Defend the Family in California

California, the state that wants to mandate homosexual education for children and outlaw homeschooling is at it again. This time, the black-robed dictators on the California Supreme Court have issued a mandate saying that the state must recognize "marriages" between two men or two women. This is in direct contradiction of a voter initiative banning such phony marriages which passed 60%/40% some years ago.

The voters in California aren't taking this lying down, however. And as this issue has the potential to affect ALL of us via the Full Faith and Credit clause of the US Constitution (phony marriages in CA will have to be recognized in other states), we need to support the good, upstanding Californians who are fighting this battle. Here are two websites to check out:

Recall California State Supreme Court Justice Ron George

Protect Marriage.com

We can either work now to defeat this assault on our traditional values, or else wait and be forced to fight the battle in our own backyards in a few years.

The America-Hating Left Sinks to a New Low

Just when you thought the anti-war, anti-American left couldn't sink any lower, they plummet to Marianas Trench level. Below is a photo I snapped today of three absolute tools displaying their ignorance on Independence Mall in Philadelphia:


These morons have no idea how much harm they do their cause with stunts like this. A woman colleague of mine who is generally a liberal commented after seeing this display that these cretins ought to meet the business end of a blunt object.

For the record, I have no problem with legitimate expressions of dissent from President Bush's Iraq policy. Heaven knows, I've voiced it on occasion myself. But this approaches John Kerry-like status in terms of slandering our military.

Here's another picture of the same three morons:

Subway snubs homeschoolers

The Subway restaurant chain is running a story contest for kids with the grand prize being $5,000 in athletic equipment. Their official rules state:

Contest is open only to legal US residents, over the age of 18 with children in either elementary, private or parochial schools that serve grades PreK-6. Home schools not eligible.

In response to a storm of protest from homeschoolers, Subway issued the following non-apology apology, couched in some of the most ridiculous post-modern marketing-speak I've ever seen:

We at SUBWAY restaurants place a high value on education, regardless of the setting, and have initiated a number of programs and promotions aimed at educating our youth in the areas of health and fitness.

We sincerely apologize to anyone who feels excluded by our current essay contest. Our intention was to provide an opportunity for traditional schools, many of which we know have trouble affording athletic equipment, to win equipment. Our intent was certainly not to exclude homeschooled children from the opportunity to win prizes and benefit from better access to fitness equipment.

To address the inadvertent limitation of our current contest and provide an opportunity for even more kids to improve their fitness, we will soon create an additional contest in which homeschooled students will be encouraged to participate. When the kids win, everyone wins!

Did you get that? No? Well, I happen to be an expert at deciphering post-modern marketing-ese. Here's the translation.

We at Subway are sincerely sorry you annoying cretins found out about our contest. We didn't intend to exclude you — honest — even though our promotional copy specifically said "no home schools will be accepted". The reason we didn't include you is because there's a good chance you'll win — given all the time you spend studying and not attending diversity/sex ed/global warming alarmism classes — and we just can't have that. Oh, and by the way, you're still excluded from this contest, but we swear on our mother's grave that we'll include you in future contests. Trust us!

Well, the only good thing about this is that I don't have to boycott something I like. As I come from the land of cheesesteaks and hoagies, I have always found Subway sandwiches to be utterly tasteless and vile.

Obama on Abortion

Here's the first in a sequence of graphics I'm working on to help shine the light on Barack Obama's empty rhetoric of "Change" and "Hope." In reality, his idea of change is the same snake-oil the hard left has been selling since the New Deal almost 80 years ago.

On the topic of abortion, Obama may be the most anti-life candidate ever to win a major party's nomination. Recall that he considers babies to be "punishments." He should get ZERO pro-life votes.

Cultural relativism, modesty, and John Paul II

In a wide ranging conversation last week, the topics of modesty, cultural relativism, and JP II's Theology of the Body were raised. On one side, the position was taken that modesty could mean different things to different cultural traditions, and the example of a bare-breasted woman from Papua New Guinea acting as lector at a Mass for John Paul II was put forward as something that could be acceptably modest there, but not in the West. Further, it was posited (I think) that the reason it wasn't acceptable in the West was due to a cultural defect on the part of Western civilization that overly sexualizes the body.

While certainly agreeing with the later point--that the dominant "post-Christian" Western culture hyper-sexualizes the body, I took the position that cultural relativism was not a proper position to occupy and that Christianity has and should influence the cultures it comes into contact with in terms of correct behavior and mode of life. This includes how men and women display their bodies in public which should be modest and not tending toward attire (or lack thereof) that would arouse sexual desire in the opposite sex. This view was criticized as stemming more from American Puritanism than from Catholic teaching.

Of course, this is part of a wider, long-standing debate that goes back at least to the time of Fr. Matteo Ricci in China and before concerning which parts of a non-Christian culture are compatible with Christianity and could be retained, and which are not and should be discarded.

The Jesuits and other missionaries in the New World had much the same issue when preaching among the Hurons, Algonquins, and Iroquois. In general, the missionaries in New France made it clear to those who would be Christians that they would not baptize them until they believed and understood the tenets of the Catholic faith and conformed their lives to Catholic moral teaching. For many of them, this was tremendous change as Eastern Woodland life allowed for pre-marital relations and easy divorce, encouraged the blood-feud, sanctioned the murder of slaves at the whims of their masters, and celebrated the grotesque torture and cannibalism of enemy captives.

Indeed, going back to early Christian times, the Church has always been a culture unto itself and deeply countercultural to those it encounters in this world. The ancient martyrologies are replete with stories of early Christians who rejected their own culture to embrace Christ. To me, it seems somewhat condescending and paternalistic that we must make the modern road to Christianity more "culturally sensitive" for people from Papua-New Guinea than it was for the Greeks, Romans, Franks, Slavs, or Hurons. Indeed, this modern method of inculturation may often do more harm than good, blurring the distinctions between Christianity and those non-Christian practices that should be abandoned or at least deeply transformed. Claudio Salvucci's forthcoming book, The Roman Rite in the Algonquian and Iroquoian Missions is instructive on this.

But returning to the subject of modesty, here's the relevant section from the Catechism:

2521 Purity requires modesty, an integral part of temperance. Modesty protects the intimate center of the person. It means refusing to unveil what should remain hidden. It is ordered to chastity to whose sensitivity it bears witness. It guides how one looks at others and behaves toward them in conformity with the dignity of persons and their solidarity.

Based on this, it seems not unreasonable to expect a woman from any culture to cover her breasts before approaching the lectern at Mass.

More on this later.

Another cop killed. Same failed policies pushed.

Philadelphia Police Sargeant Stephen Liczbinski was murdered by three mutants on May 3. The actual killer, Howard Cain, used an SKS-carbine--a Chinese-made infantry rifle--to slay Sgt. Liczbinski. The suspects were fleeing from a bank robbery they had just committed. Eric DeShann Floyd, Howard Cain, and Levon Warner are career criminals who embraced Islam while in prison according to an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer. They were wearing Muslim garb during the robbery. The trigger man, Cain, was gunned down by police soon after the murder.

This is an awful story on so many levels. What is simply mind-boggling is that the mayor, Michael Nutter, and his allies in the local media are attempting to use this tragedy to further strip 2nd Amendment rights from law abiding citizens. Of course, these criminals broke existing laws simply by having these guns in their possession. As felons, these individuals were already forbidden from owning firearms. Not surprisingly, career criminals aren't up on the latest gun-control statutes.

The ones who are most dramatically affected by idiotic gun-control laws are innocent, law-abiding citizens. Making it harder for law-abiding citizens to own guns to curb violent crime is like putting down every dog in the city because some maul people. Criminals will still find a way to get firearms and by criminalizing gun ownership, the law-abiding will just become easier prey.

Locking predators like these three away forever is the only way to end the carnage in Philadelphia and other major cities. Don't expect Democrats like Michael Nutter to call for any reform in that direction, however. Convicted felons are an important voting block for Democrats.

Algae-fuel? Maybe not as crazy as it sounds...

PetroSun, Inc. announced in April that they will be ramping up their algae biofuel operations to produce an estimated 4.4 million gallons of algal oil per year on several salt water ponds covering 1,110 acres in Rio Hondo, Texas. CEO Gordon LeBlanc said:

“Our business model has been focused on proving the commercial feasibility of the firms’ algae-to-biofuels technology during the past eighteen months. Whether we have arrived at this point in time by a superior technological approach, sheer luck or a redneck can-do attitude, the fact remains that microalgae can outperform the current feedstocks utilized for conversion to biodiesel and ethanol, yet do not impact the consumable food markets or fresh water resources.”

In a press release from PetroSun released in early April, LeBlanc also commented:

"It will probably be stated that some of the above content might be considered politically incorrect from those who have chosen to stick their heads in the sand. That's their problem. Our children and grandchildren will require alternative fuel options to function as a similar social and economic system that the past three generations came to expect from cheap and abundant oil. Independents and wildcatters built the oil and gas industry. PetroSun has accepted the role of an alternative energy wildcatter and is moving energy forward... NOW!"

I like this guy's attitude. And since the stock of PetroSun (PSUD) is selling at a paltry $0.16/share as of today, I went out and bought myself 1000 shares. Foolish? Maybe, but considering the EE savings bond is earning about 1.4% interest and inflation is a lot higher than the government is admitting, there are plenty of other less risky ways to lose $160.00 in this economy.

Pope Benedict XVI on the Sex Abuse Crisis

Sandy Rios writes the following on TownHall.com:

When [Benedict XVI] said he was ashamed of the existence of pedophile priests and their subsequent abuse of young boys, unlike the scoffers, I believe him....The church, however slow, has made attempts to purge themselves of this sexual deviance with one notable—and perhaps fatal—flaw. “We will rid the church of pedophile priests,” said Pope Benedict on his flight to America. That’s good news except for one thing: the root problem among the priests was homosexuality, not pedophilia.

Of course, she's 100% right on the money with regard to the root of the sex abuse crisis. However, she's wrong when she assumes that Benedict hasn't addressed the homosexual priest issue. In fact, it was one of the very first things that he did upon being elected Pope.

The link below goes to the text of the 2005 instruction forbidding homosexuals from entering the priesthood.

On Priesthood and Those With Homosexual Tendencies

This document says the following:

In the light of such teaching [quotes from the Catechism of the Catholic Church on homosexuality and the need to respect individuals with homosexual attractions while condemning homosexual acts], this dicastery, in accord with the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, believes it necessary to state clearly that the Church, while profoundly respecting the persons in question, cannot admit to the seminary or to holy orders those who practice homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called "gay culture."(10)

Such persons, in fact, find themselves in a situation that gravely hinders them from relating correctly to men and women. One must in no way overlook the negative consequences that can derive from the ordination of persons with deep-seated homosexual tendencies.

By doing this, Benedict XVI was reinforcing a directive that the Vatican had issued in 1961 saying basically the same thing.

The big problem we face in this country is with the homo-friendly bishops who have historically refused to obey this order--with horrendous consequences.

And the truly amazing thing is that a huge number of politically well-connected people are trying to force the Boy Scouts to make exactly the same mistake that the American bishops made by giving people with disordered sexual attractions easy access to young people.

The Pope can only do so much. In the end, it's our local leaders who are to blame for this hideous scandal--and we ourselves for not demanding that they follow the guidelines clearly set out by the Vatican.

Book Review: Beyond the Desert Gate

Apollodorus is a merchant at Philadelphia in the Decapolis of ancient Palestine. Since the beginning of the Jewish War, his excursions have been more perilous and on his most recent return trip, he has brought back a man left to die by the Romans--a man who has no memory of what happened to him or even his own name. "Xenos", as he is called, is befriended by Apollodorus's young son, Philo--one of three, the others being Conan and Nicanor.

On his next caravan, however, Apollodorus is killed and his sons are forced by financial concerns to lease their property to the Roman garrison. Conan decides to join the Roman federated troops to earn his living while Nicanor steals off to join the Jewish resistance. Philo remains at home to serve the Roman garrison and care for Xenos, who soon recalls his past--a past which goes back to the previous book in this series, The Ides of April. Events will bring the three brothers back together as each tries to make sense of the war and the suffering of the Jewish people.

In terms of historical research, Beyond the Desert Gate recreates life in Roman Palestine very well. My major gripes with the book are the ponderous plot and insufficient character development. The book is the fourth part of a series of five books and has trouble standing on its own. The description of the siege of Macherus was well done, particularly the climax which was very affecting, and the Christian elements were also appreciated. But over all, I think this book will have trouble holding the attention of the audience it's intended for--older kids ages 14 and up.

Book Review: Brunelleschi's Dome

No, this isn't a book about an Italian guy with a big head, although Filippo Brunelleschi certainly had a massive ego. Brunelleschi's Dome is about the city of Florence generally during one of the greatest periods of genius and creativity in human history. It is also, specifically, about the life of Filippo Brunelleschi, a classic genius of the Italian Renaissance, and his magnificent dome which dominates the skyline of Florence to this day. Like so many of his contemporaries, Brunelleschi had a high level of expertise in a variety of fields. He was an artist, an engineer, a craftsman, an historian, and an overall solver of impossible problems. He was also a bit of a whack-job whose failures were nearly as spectacular as his successes.

With this book, Ross King has penned an engrossing popular biography of Brunelleschi, as well as a history of the construction of his famous dome. While the book goes into some detail regarding the engineering behind the construction of the dome, the prose is never heavy and is written so that the layman, such as myself, never gets bored or lost.

My wife and I visited Italy in 2000 and climbing to the top of the Duomo was one of the high points (literally!) of the trip. I wish I had read this book beforehand! I therefore highly recommend it to anyone who is planning a visit to Florence. It will give you that much more appreciation for the amount of work--and genius--that went into the construction of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore.

Abortion and mental illness at Yale

File this under: "How sick can our society get?" An art student at Yale has apparently artificially inseminated herself and then taken abortifacient drugs to produce miscarriage. Not once. Not twice. But multiple times. Why? Here's the kicker...

For an art project!

Don't believe me? Here are the money quotes from the story in the Yale Daily News entitled For senior, abortion a medium for art, political discourse:

Art major Aliza Shvarts '08 wants to make a statement.

Beginning next Tuesday, Shvarts will be displaying her senior art project, a documentation of a nine-month process during which she artificially inseminated herself "as often as possible" while periodically taking abortifacient drugs to induce miscarriages. Her exhibition will feature video recordings of these forced miscarriages as well as preserved collections of the blood from the process....

The "fabricators," or donors, of the sperm were not paid for their services, but Shvarts required them to periodically take tests for sexually transmitted diseases. She said she was not concerned about any medical effects the forced miscarriages may have had on her body. The abortifacient drugs she took were legal and herbal, she said, and she did not feel the need to consult a doctor about her repeated miscarriages.

Shvarts declined to specify the number of sperm donors she used, as well as the number of times she inseminated herself....

"I believe strongly that art should be a medium for politics and ideologies, not just a commodity," Shvarts said. "I think that I'm creating a project that lives up to the standard of what art is supposed to be."

The display of Schvarts' project will feature a large cube suspended from the ceiling of a room in the gallery of Green Hall. Schvarts will wrap hundreds of feet of plastic sheeting around this cube; lined between layers of the sheeting will be the blood from Schvarts' self-induced miscarriages mixed with Vaseline in order to prevent the blood from drying and to extend the blood throughout the plastic sheeting.

Schvarts will then project recorded videos onto the four sides of the cube. These videos, captured on a VHS camcorder, will show her experiencing miscarriages in her bathrooom tub, she said. Similar videos will be projected onto the walls of the room.

What else can I say? This young woman is clearly mentally ill. What is most shocking is that there are no adults left on Yale's campus to denounce this vile, ghoulish exhibit, and recommend Ms. Schvarts to the counseling she so desperately needs. Indeed, as this is an art project, we must assume that somewhere, a member of Yale's faculty actually sanctioned it!

What this young woman did isn't art. It's a crime against humanity.

Pray for her. Pray for our country.