I really like the Congressman Cao Ad Running in New Orleans

Please oh please let him get reelected

Good ad running in Nw Orleans.

Feingold Ad In Catholic Newspaper Rasing Objections

See Milwaukee Catholic Herald's Feingold ad fromthe Badger Catholic. Sigh I really wonder what people are thinking at times. YES THIS IS A BAD IDEA WHY ARE WE DOING IT. STOP!!

Catholic Diocese of Shreveport Dedicates Front Cover and Stories to Troops and Veterans

Hurrah!!

See War and Faith: Honoring the Lives of Veterans and related article Locals Reach Out Through Operation Support Our Troops

Just Discovered Video of John Adams & Thomas Jefferson TV Ads!!

Oh this is so great. First Things has Vote for Thomas Jefferson Because John Adams is a Blind, Bald, Crippled, Toothless Man

Why Imposing An One Size Fits All Catholic Sexual Abuse Policy Is Hard

Vatican reporter John Allen shows an concrete example here. See Thinking globally about sex abuse crisis.

Did Obama President Obama This Week Endorse Outing of Gay Republicans?

A disturbing event that might have long term implications to American politics happened this week. This week in the White House itself Obama was interviewed by a progressive gay blog that has endorsed and engages in the outing of GOP folks that are gay, bi. or have varying degrees of same sex attraction.

The pattern of the progressive gay left and their repeated breaking of the social contract is now being endorsed more and more.

The action happened this week when Americablog was one of five progressive bloggers invited to the White House. You can read their post on the meeting at Transcript of Q and A with the President about DADT and Same-sex marriage , Joe's report from blogger meeting with President Obama , and Obama meets 5 top progressive bloggers in White House, including Joe Sudbay of AMERICAblog .

Americablog companion blog is AMERICAblog Gay . Both John Aravosis (who runs these blogs) and what appears his deputy Joe Sudbay contribute to both. Joe Sudbay is pictured above.

Now these gay progressive bloggers were very mad at Obama for not delivering to their concerns. This was shown in perhaps a more revealing post than they intended. See here.

Joe and I are upset with Obama, and we, for example, raised nearly $43,000 for the man, According to the White House, our money now doesn’t count. Great, would they like to give it back? I for one, would love the $1000 back that I personally donated to the Obama campaign. Joe gave even more. I suspect a lot of our readers wouldn’t mind their contributions back too, since apparently they’re not appreciated.Then there’s all that work we did for the campaign, all the dirty work they asked us to do – and we did it, gladly, and quietly – none of that counted either, apparently.--Americablog, August 10, 2010.

Well what dirty work is that? Both Sudbay and Arvarosis are part of a group of gay progressive that believe in and have outed of political officials, reporters , and perhaps more shocking GOP Congressional staff. The last is a bit shocking because the unofficial rule in Washington that even in the rough and tumble world of election politics staff is generally off limits.

Now to be fair even among American progressive gays this tactic is controversial and not approved of by all. This is why it appears the WHITE HOUSE itself giving them a voice is so disappointing and significant.

We have recently learned of the tragic episode where a Rutgers student was filmed having gay sex and that incident was filmed and put out to the public. That student killed himself . That was denounced as a hate crime. However what if had been a underpaid, 24 year old GOP staffer that worked for a conservative Senator filmed having some gay liaison. Would that be justified in their view?

The outings of Staff and politicos have been not frequently lately. This is because the DEMS had the White House had ample majorities in both chambers of Congress. That is now likely to change. I suspect the self imposed gatekeepers of what is politically correct of gays in political life will now return to their tactics of blackmail and outing.

That is why the White House meeting is so disappointing. They very could have picked another progressive gay blog to meet with that did not engage in this behavior. They did not. Perhaps as we have seen they had too for their quiet dirty worked they performed.

The White House needs to be asked if they endorse these political tactics now before it we continue to go down a path we will regret. If not then even the opposition to this in the gay political movement might evaporate.

If Barney Frank Goes Down Thank The Jews

Expect to see AIPAC and the Jewish displeasure toward how Obama has handled relations with Israel on full display on Tuesday in many races. This has largely gone under the radar because the media for some reason pretends this does not exist.

Meet one of the possible biggest victims. That is Barney Frank

Contentions has Is Frank Toast?

John Paul the II Plays Big Role in George Bush's New Book

I saw this on Drudge that has some excerpts:


In the chapter "Stem Cells", Bush describes receiving a letter from Nancy Reagan detailing a "wrenching family journey".

But ultimately, Bush writes: "I did feel a responsibility to voice my pro-life convictions and lead the country toward what Pope John Paul II called a culture of life."

In the book, Bush describes an emotional July 2001 meeting with the Pope at the pontiff's summer residence.

Savaged by Parkinson's, the Pope saw the promise of science, but implored Bush to support life in all its forms.

Later, at the Pope's funeral -- and after a prodding from his wife that it's a time to "pray for miracles" -- Bush found himself saying a prayer for the cancer-stricken ABCNEWS anchor Peter Jennings.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH- Catholics Must Protest Loudly Against Keith Olberman and MSNBC

See Catholic-bashing MSNBC needs to call off Keith Olbermann

Drug Use Charges Come Into Shreveport Mayors Race In Big Way!! (Updated)

My Bossier has the news and the documents at

Shreveport Mayor's race: Glover on the hot seat because of alleged drug use

Update- Well it appears this got more interesting. A widely read conservative blogger and someone that is politically active has had quite enough of the Wooley Campaign in her view and endorses GLOVER.

See the link via My Bossier The Shreveport Mayor's Race: A conservative endorses Glover

Knights of Columbus to Help Restore JFK's Grave

The Deacon Bench has Knights of Columbus restoring JFK's grave

The Conservative Republican Revolution in Puerto Rico

Great article here at Puerto Rico’s happy warrior

Italian Newspaper Clears Pope Benedict Of Murdering Woman Found In Attic

Well at least we do not to have worry about that!!

The translation of the article from Sacri Palazzi is located on this page. The stuff in [ ###] is the bloggers comments who is translating.

That 'cardinal's button' found with a corpse in a church attic

Translated Oct. 28, 2010

Dear friends, for some days now, there have been surrealistic news reports on the case of Elisa Claps, a young woman from Potenza (capital of the Basilicata region in southern Italy] who was killed in 1993 and whose body was only discovered recently in the attic of a church. Indeed, attention has been called to a thick police report (600 pages) that has particularly dwelt on one of the objects reportedly found near the body: a red button.

The report claims that it appears to be from a cardinal's garment, especially since it would certainly not have come from the cassock of don Mimi Sabia, the parish priest of the Church of the Trinity who died in 2008. "Given the fact that the button appears to have come from a priest's garment, because of its particular shade of red", the report says, "and granted that the color of the cloth has not changed over time [apparently, it is a cloth-covered button], the button could well have come from a cardinal's habit". [As if red cloth-covered buttons could only come from a cardinal's habit!]

The Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno, reading that it could be a cardinal's button, promptly reconstructed which cardinals had visited Potenza in recent years, and discovered that Cardinal Ratzinger had come to Potenza 20 days after the killing. The next cardinal's visit was two years later, with Cardinal Ersilio Tonini, and next, Cardinal Roger Etchegaray in 1997. The newspaper argued: "if the body had been there since September 12, 1993 [when the murder happened]... that button would have fallen off in the attic before the killing. But the last cardinal's visit before then foes back to 1981", when Cardinals Giovanni Benelli and Anastasio Ballestrero visited some communities truck by an earthquake.

And that is the way in which Cardinal Ratzinger's name has come up in these news reports which have the effect of associating him with the crime! Last night, in the program Chi l'ha visto [Who saw it] on Rai-3, they even showed a video of the cardinal, now Pope, when he received a literary prize in Potenza, which was the reason for his visit on October 3, 1993, 20 days after Claps had disappeared and was presumed killed.

"It is obvious", said the program host Federica Sciarelli, "that a cardinal would have no reason to go to the attic of a church, and we apologize that we have associated the Pope to this episode". Nonetheless, the association has been made. No one appears to have thought that the button could already have been there before the body was hidden in the attic.

Just as no one has seemed to consider that the button, even if it appears to be a 'cardinal-type' button, could have come from some other garment, such as a carnival version of a cardinal's habit!... But there it is! The big news was that Cardinal Ratzinger was in that church 20 days after the murder! Allow me to suggest other investigative trails which might shed light on some Italian crime mysteries....

The Aldo Moro case: a terrorist from the German gang Baader Meinhof observed that less than a year before the late Prime Minister was abducted [and subsequently killed by Brigata Rossa terrorists] Joseph Ratzinger was in Rome, the city from which the late Prime Minister was abducted...

The Bologna massacre: The terrorist bomb exploded in the waiting room of the city's train station. How many times has Cardinal Ratzinger passed through that same station?... The asassination attempt on John Paul II: Wasn't Cardinal Ratzinger at the scene of the crime, St. Peter's Square, four years earlier for the consistory at which he was created cardinal?... The homicide-suicide of a Swiss Guard officer*: That night, Ratzinger was in his home near the Vatican, a few hundred meters from the crime scene... We could go on infinitely... And who knows what someone like Dan Brown might contribute to these scenarios?

Why A Democrat Defeat in USA Could Help Africa

An interesting piece at For Africans, an Obama defeat at polls can bring help

How the Secular and Catholic Press Covered Pope Benedict's Statement On Immigration

Get Religion looks at the coverage of the Pope's statement on immigration and how it was covered in the press. Too bad he did not mention the Simpson's cartoon and maybe the secular press would have spent more time on it.

See Pontificating on immigration

Here is a part:
It’s not that the church’s views — at least those presented in the first paragraph above — haven’t been well documented in the press. I think the media actually has done a generally good job of reporting on the Catholic church’s position that refugees are to be welcomed. But the second message, which, admittedly, may be a new emphasis, hasn’t been well covered. The Pope thinks that countries have the right to regulate their borders and that migrants need to integrate into their host country? That’s interesting stuff.

I figured that in this election year when border regulation is having a serious impact, this would get some noteworthy coverage. But it appears that it hasn’t, at least yet. The Associated Press issued a four paragraph piece. Reuters had seven graphs. The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal mention was only a few dozen words. The Catholic press did more thorough coverage. Here’s Catholic News Service’s piece and here’s Catholic Culture, which said that the message sounded several familiar themes about treating all refugees with dignity while being more explicit about the right to defend borders and the need for migrants to assimilate.

But in general, this nuanced message was too nuanced to receive significant media coverage. It really is a shame when only the loudest or most extreme voices in contentious fights are heard.

More Church of England Parishes Rejecting Priestess Pastors

See
More parishes reject Church of England bishops who ordain women priests

Forgive me if I use the correct word for the female priests!!

Feds Need To Get Involved In Shooting OF Louisian Lawer By Arkansas Police

Seriously. People are starting to get more outraged over this. See Coroner Does About-Face On Where Lawyer Shot

How Adults Sapped Any Fun Out Of Halloween For Kids (Wall Street Journal)

What a great and yet depressing article.. Instapundit has the link at 'Stranger Danger' and the Decline of Halloween-No child has ever been killed by poisoned candy. Ever.

How many other areas of life have we seen this in? A lot.

Great Positive Article in Dallas Morning News On the Catholic Bishop

Nice to hear "Catholic" Dallas is doing so well now. See Dallas Catholics say bishop has lifted diocese.

More Anti Catholic Mailers Allegations? I Still DON"T SEE IT

Good Grief I rarely disagree with the American Papist but I guess I will do so again. See his post Update: Second and Third Dem ANTI-CATHOLIC mailers discovered!

Ok have you read it? Maybe I am really obtuse but I don't see it.

Lets take the Angel pic first. OK every know the real scripture is Blessed is the Poor. The ad is trying to make a point. A Catholic Social Justice point. Now you might disagree with that point but that does not make it ANTI CATHOLIC.

The second image is full out Catholic imagery. But is the pic of the ALTAR & the Statue meant to send an Anti Catholic message? No it intends to sends the message he does not practice what he preaches.

Repeat you might think that is wrong!! It very well might be incorrect!! In fact I suspect it is. However that is not Anti Catholic.

I am just saying one cannot just yell anti Catholic anytime some Catholic imagery is done in a ad. Heck it sort of makes me feel good. That is if you are going to reference Christianity then put up Catholics stuff. It is universal.

I take anti Catholic ads very serious. I have highlighted serious cases of Anti Catholicism in a Missouri race and in Wisconsin. I have referenced a possible anti Catholic undertone in the Cao race.

Here I don't see it.

Democrat 2010 Halloween Horror Films

I saw this on twitter and thought some of these were funny

Night of the Voting Dead
Ms O'Donnell Goes to Washington
Circuit Court 9 from Outer Space
When Harry met Sharon
I Saw What You Did Last Summer (and it was NOT a recovery)
Dial T for Tea Party
2 Houses for Sister Sarah
The Hand That Rocks the Gavel
"Christine!"
The Minority Report
"The Delaware Witch Project"
"Ordinary People"
The Robo-call is Coming from Inside the House
The Fall of the House of Representatives
The Children of the Cornbelt
Whatever Happened to Baby Jane's Ballot?
The Omen: Rasmussen II
Day of the Living Voters

Halloween and the Anti Catholic Legend Jack Chick !!!

Oh Joe Carter has a great piece for the upcoming holiday. This has actually been a consistent sub theme of the holiday among some folks for some time. As a kid I got one of these tracts sneaked with the candy I can recall.

Jack Chick has actually and his cartoons actually have some bit of a non Christian following believe it or not.

See Trick or Tract: Satan, Jack Chick, and Other Halloween Horrors

Not Shocking- More Bad Reporting On Vatican , Jews, and Israel

THe MSM drives me nuts some time and in this case sadly a lot of Catholics , that should know better, parrot the line.

Reporter John Allen has a good piece othe recent Middle East Synod. See Thinking straight about Israel, the Jews and the Archbishop

Creative Minority Report has a good discussion going on (though I wish he would slightly edit the title for the reasons Allen gives) that has two good Jimmy Akins links as to Catholic viewpoints on the modern State of Israel. See here.

Catholic Blogs and Social Media Having Influence In Diocese of Austin Texas

The religion reporter at the Austin Statesmen make an interesting observation that is related to the Catholic AP blog story that is so much in the news. See The importance of Catholics on the web

Some Amazing Reasons That You MIGHT Be Denied A Permit of A Shotgun / Rifle In New York City

WOW just WOW!! Some of these reasons are just wacko!! This is so foreign to me. The Volokh Conspiracy has Reasons You Might Be Denied a Rifle/Shotgun Permit in New York City

Episcopal Church USA Situation Far Worse Than Imagined

If the secular media was not so focused on the Catholic Church and running endless stories on such things as female ordination that might have the peculiar yet revealing comments that Primate Katharine Jefferts Schori made at an important meeting of the upper echelon.

It is really worth your time looking at the analysis of Anglican Curmudgeon at Constitutional Crisis in ECUSA - Pt IV: Leeks, Watermelons and Fleshpots of Egypt.

Truly breathtaking.

Stand Firm gives an overview of what the Cumudgeon said at Anglican Curmudgeon: Cracks at the Top [another superb analysis by the Curmudgeon]:

*For the first time in its 221-year history, the Church has mortgaged its prime property to help pay for lawsuits;
*Church leadership (and the lack thereof) has caused the DFMS and its treasurer to play fast and loose with the stated purposes for drawing on donor trust funds to finance diocesan litigation;
*The Church has loaned more than a million dollars of its sorely needed funds to groups with no ability to repay such amounts, even if they finally prevail in the pending lawsuits;
*The Church has gone to inordinate lengths to prop up groups as Potemkin dioceses, just so they can serve as plaintiffs in the lawsuits, while having little potential to remain viable on their own;
*General Convention, 815 and the Executive Council are all running in different directions, with no regard for the limits imposed by the Constitution and Canons; and, last but not least,
*The Church is in a deadly, downward spiral of declining membership, declining revenues and greatly increased debt.

To be clear I don't think their New York Headquarters has been mortgaged yet but it is apparent it is likely.

A overriding theme of the people that paid close attention to this meeting is this. That the Episcopal Church USA will slash it budgets to the bone but the LITIGATION and their cost will continue. That litigation being the suing of breakaway Diocese and the "loaning" of money to Parishes to sue their Dioceses that are lets say more traditional leaning.

In other words the Primate is making a choice to mortgage property so as to obtain other property that will never have the value of the money loaned.

Now perhaps what she and her liberal supporters are doing is smart. At this stage they might think they have to go to the end in their high stake gambit of making sure that no legitimate alternative Episcopal Church structure forms.

However as you can see it "appears" there still might be even a few progressive voices in the higher ranks that are seen the Primate is ruining the Church and trying to apply the breaks. I have a feeling they waited too long too speak out.

All the while it appears the march on for her to obtain almost like Papal management skills marches on. She might reign over ruins but she will or her successor will reign as some Episcopal type Pope. Though I am getting to the point where I would not be shocked if her supporters did some enabling act at the end of her to allow her to stay forever.

See CURIA-SER AND CURIA-SER from MCJ as to her power moves as relating to latest meeting.

Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, Make A Major D.C. Purchase

Huge news. See Finally: JP Center Sells... To the Sisters

I love that this is by CUA.

Archbishop Chaput's Address To Air Force Academy Cadets Make Me Want To Fly a B-52!! (Text)

This is inspiring. I people that are not even Catholic would love this. See Thoughts on a New Knighthood

The whole thing is so great I almost don't want to excerpt parts!!

The word “vocation” comes from the Latin word vocare, which means to call. In Christian belief, God created each of us for a purpose. He calls each of us by name to some form of service. No higher purpose exists than protecting other people, especially the weak and defenseless. This is why the Church, despite her historic resistance to war and armed violence, has held for many centuries that military service is not just “acceptable.” It can also be much more than that. When lived with a spirit of integrity, restraint and justice, military service is virtuous. It's ennobling because – at its best – military service expresses the greatest of all virtues: charity; a sacrificial love for people and things outside and more important than oneself. It flows from something unique in the human heart: a willingness to place one's own life in harm's way for the sake of others.

The great Russian Christian writer Vladimir Solovyov once said that to defend peaceful men, “the guardian angels of humanity mixed the clay [of the earth] with copper and iron and created the soldier.” And until the spirit of malice brought into the world by Cain disappears from human hearts, the soldier “will be a good and not an evil.” (i) He expressed in a poetic way what the Church teaches and believes. And you should strive to embody this vision in your own service...........

...my generation has, in some ways, been among the most foolish in American history. We’ve been absorbed in our appetites, naïve about the consequences of our actions, overconfident in our power, and unwilling to submit ourselves to the obligations that come with the greatest ideals of our own heritage.

Most generations of Americans have inherited a nation different in degree from the generations that preceded them. You will inherit an America that is different in kind – a nation different from anything in our past in its attitudes toward sexuality, family, religion, law and the nature of the human person; in other words, different and more troubling in the basic things that define a society. My generation created this new kind of America. Soon we will leave the consequences to you. ...........

Bishop of Dallas Makes Statement On Father "Dissent" Curran's Upcoming SMU Speech

Yes Father Curran is still around believe it or not!! The SMU Catholic Student site has the Bishop's statement up here.

Father Curran is like boys wearing parachute pants in 80's. A bad fad that we can laugh about now.

Pope Benedict Presents the Church's Balanced Teaching On Immigration

Good stuff here today. Sadly we cannot put this into a thirty second soundbite for election time but oh well.

Aggie Catholic has The Pope On Immigration.

Anti Pawlenty Ad Does Not Look Anti Catholic To Me

It appears a lot of conservative Catholics are running with this. This is just one example. See Photos: Minnesota Dems’ breathtakingly offensive campaign literature.

Now I agree with Catholic Vote there is a double standard here as to religion but to call this ad anti Catholic is pushing it.

First from just a political stand point the AD is clever. Everyone knows that Catholic Priests are not against the poor and everyone knows the Catholic Church is a big advocate for the poor. The AD is using a little bit of satire which again is clever.

However why in the world are people assuming this is a Catholic Priest? Lutherans wear collars too!! Minnesota has a ton of Lutherans.. Gov Pawlenty is a Lutheran. Pawlenty has come under fire from some Lutheran Bishops as to his cuts.

I think people in Minnesota might get that connection. Now I am not saying the AD is right in it's claims but anti Catholic? Hard to see.

Update- Be sure to go to the link above where Catholic Vote has the back of the piece. It appears focused on a Protestant Preacher.

Threat to Religious Liberty By Repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell - Archbishop of the Military Quoted

As this very well done Get Religion piece notes thank God for the Baptists. Because they are the only religious media raising the real issues here involved with Military Chaplains and the possible repeal of the Don't Ask Don't Tell. See Don’t ask, don’t tell, don’t cover.

It is not as if a important Catholic Church does not have a position. That position was stated by the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of the Military which is quoted:


There is no easy way out of this church-state maze.
If “don’t ask, don’t tell” is repealed, “no restrictions or limitations on the teaching of Catholic morality can be accepted,” noted Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for Military Services. While Catholic chaplains must always show compassion, they “can never condone — even silently — homosexual behavior.”
A letter from Metropolitan Jonah of the Orthodox Church in America to the chaplains board was even more blunt: “If our chaplains were in any way … prohibited from denouncing such behavior as sinful and self-destructive, it would create an impediment to their service in the military. If such an attitude were regarded as ‘prejudice’ or the denunciation of homosexuality as ‘hate language,’ or the like, we would be forced to pull out our chaplains from military service.”
So be it, said Gundlach. While these chaplains “worry about being discriminated against, they openly discriminate against some of the very people they are pledged to serve and serve with. If the hate speech currently uttered by some conservative chaplains and their denominations is any indication of how they will respond in the future, we can expect this discrimination to continue.”
These chaplains need to resign, he said. The armed services “will be the better for it.”

Exactly the issues are complex and yet no one is aware of the HUGE POTENTIAL CONFLICT LOOMING. It seems this needs to be part of the discussion.

Get Religion notes:
And what happens if the conservatives are right and that any advocacy of traditional doctrines by chaplains is labeled “hate speech,” with offenders either being punished or simply denied the ability to advance in rank? If you read the views of theological liberals, there will be no problems after repeal, unless there are problems. No one is talking about “hate speech,” except for those who believe that conservatives are already guilty of “hate speech.”

Exactly!! So in other words one might he hesitant to take the words of theological liberals that say hey there will be no problem but at the same time in other venues calling this hate speech.

This needs to be looked at by Catholics. IF there is a repeal there must be some ironclad protections in protecting Lay and Cleric Catholic in the ranks.

Geaux Orthodoxy Geaux Icons- Eastern Orthodoxy Gets Rare Media Attention In the Red Stick (Baton Rouge)

A couple of nice articles here. Live the Trinity has links on them both at Exceptional article(s) about Orthodoxy in Baton Rouge

Fr. Jim Martin Has A Rather Simplistic Review of Catholic Blogs

I mentioned this AP article earlier at my post The Associated Press Looks at Conservative Catholic Bloggers!

The every quotable Father Martin has chimed in we see. The Deacon Bench has his comments at Bloggers "shining a spotlight on Catholics who do not live the faith"

He says:
This is a disastrous trend for the Catholic church, for several reasons.

First of all, too many of these inquisitorial bloggers attack anonymously, which makes it next to impossible to hold them to any real accountability. Likewise, many commenters on such blogs also hide their real identities when carrying out their own attacks, which also get linked to and repeated by other bloggers. This seems utterly craven and completely cowardly: If you are so sure of your fidelity to the Catholic church, so sure of the veracity of your opinions, and so sure of your mission, why are you hiding behind a pseudonym?

Those who are attacked by those bearing fake names have real names, real reputations and real jobs at stake. Second, many these attack-bloggers betray little theological knowledge. It is one thing to be informed by a theological scholar with years of relevant experience working at the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, for example, that your article or book or lecture is not in keeping with the tenets of faith. Or to have your work critiqued by someone who has carefully considered your arguments, and after weighing what you say regarding the tradition, responds in charity.

It is quite another to be attacked with snide comments by someone barely out of college who spends his days cherry-picking quotes and thumbing through the Catechism in an endless game of gotcha.

Third, the focus of their blogs is almost risibly narrow. Here are the sole topics of interest, in the order in which they cause foaming at the mouth (or on the keyboard): homosexuality, abortion, women's ordination, birth control, liturgical abuses and church authority. Is this the sum total of what makes us Catholic?

Now what to say to all that. There is no doubt that Catholic blogs of all types need to be self critical. However Father Martin needs to be it appears more aware of the reality of Catholic blogs.

Those issues he list have made Commonweal, the publication he is associated with America, US Catholic, and last but not no means least the National Catholic Reporter foam at the mouth for decades.

The difference now a days is the the balance in the force has been corrected. That is the above publications no longer have a monopoly in the American Catholic media. In fact now the American Catholic media is having to compete with the entire Anglo Catholic media worldwide.

But is he correct that blogs ( and one gets a feeling he is thinking just so called "conservative") blogs have such a limited viewpoint.

I think not.

Now there will always be the person that can go on the net start a blog and engage in a non stop war against his Diocese. However in the whole scheme of things how much they do account for as to Catholic blog land? Maybe 1 percent? Now it is true as to the wider Church many blogs are holding some people's feet to the fire. However are all these people uneducated? Are they not often citing other compelling authority that does not just include the Catechism? I think so.

However what is irksome about Father Martin's comments is the well the ignorance. This ignorance strangely can be seen as to how conservatives and blogs are portrayed. It fails to note the wide diversity of opinion.

As to "conservative" blogs (I prefer the term Orthodox) we see this diversity all over the place. In fact locking at the main blogs Catholics go too and link every day it readily apparent.

OSV has a link to a list today of the biggie Catholic blogs (though I think that list is leaving a couple of biggies out like The Anchoress , American Catholic, and the widely read Mirrors of Justice. However it is the big ones.

Now for some blogs they will have a niche. For instance I don't expect a blog whose concerns is workers rights to talk about lets say birth control. I don't expect a blog whose primary focus is on Liturgy to lets say comment on the issue of the just wage.

Most of those blogs appear to me in the very Orthodox category and engage a wide variety of issue. There has been over the last two years a very robust discussion among these blogs about "Just War" , immigration, economics, Health Care, the use of enhanced interrogation techniques etc etc. In fact many of those blogs listed often engage each other with somewhat opposing viewpoints. It gets heated at times but it is robust and indeed often intellectual

If Father Martin was paying attention he would have noted that.

Further those blogs have been critical in getting information out that the secular press ignores. They get past the Catholic sound bite we hear way too much of. For instance if not for many of those blogs and their help the recent Papal trip to the UK and the Holy Father's message would have gone unnoticed.

The above blogs have played important roles in the sexual abuse crisis. They have kept the heat on the Church however they were a important part of correct misleading reporting by the secular press this year.

Finally on top of that they talk about ole fashion Christianity and the Gospel and how we can apply it to our lives.

So while bloggers need to be challenged to blog in Christ at their side I find Father Martins complaints a tad overblown.

Pope Benedict Enjoys the Occasional Marlboro Red Cigarette?

Wow I have missed all these reports till now. From the UK Telegraph The Pope, the President, and now Nick Clegg: The world is run by (ex-) smokers

And persistent reports over the last few years indicate that Pope Benedict XVI enjoys an occasional cigarette – Marlboro Red, it is claimed – in quiet moments, away from prying cameras. For this reason I am reproducing the distasteful photograph above, which I found on the internet: I apologise if it causes offence to anybody. During World Youth Day in Australia in 2008, a bodyguard claimed that the Holy Father had smoked three cigarettes in quick succession. To think of the Pope enjoying a relaxing draw on a King Size cigarette packed with smooth Virginia tobaccos… it only makes me admire him more.

After Mosque Issue Can Christians Be Upset By Federal Court Allowing San Francisco Government's Anti Catholicism?

Ugh!!! Well I am likely going to disagree with this. I want to read the full opinion and I will comment further later. See Court rejects suit over S.F.'s blast at Vatican.

This is the problem. We have just gone through the Mosque issue in NYC. During that time I warned that it seems improper that many conservative Christians were wanting local Govt Bodies to make resolutions and have politicos make statements on whether a religion is proper and to get involve of the placement of a house of worship.

In other words I was saying what the San Fran Board of Supervisors was doing and what some conservative Christians were doing as to the Mosque seemed a little too close for comfort.

Now on the flip side Liberals that yelling Separation of Church and State as to the Mosque will largely cheer this opinion.

Inconsistency on both sides.

In Louisiana A Lawsuit Among the Tea Party Has National Implications ?

I am not sure fully what is going on here but it seems big.

My Bossier is on top of it. See first Nation's largest Tea Party organization files suit against Bossier man

and more at

New Public Watchdog group forming

Last of The Huey Long Children Has Died -Palmer Reid Long

His interesting Obit is in the Shreveport Times today.

Historic Baltimore’s Mount Calvary Episcopal Church votes to enter the Catholic Church

MCJ has BLOWBACK.

Update- See some more info at Mount Calvary Church Update

Black Protestants and Pentecostals That Dress Up Like Catholic Bishops

This is one area of the Christian faith I am not sure how developed. See Archbishopderrickyoung's Blog Who is theArchbishop of The Abundant Life International Fellowship Inc. He tells us is " one of the fastest growing Pentecostal Holiness Denominations in the world!"

He actually explains the structure of all this at Understanding Archiepiscopal and Episcopal Grades by Archbishop Mar Derrick L. Young D.D., J.C.D.

Now a lot of that looks like something you would see in any Catholic book on the subject. It is not clear how or why Archbishop Young thinks he is Apostolic succession to these Bishops but I am sure he has some theory somewhere on his blog.

Again this strikes me as strange. I wonder in the important influence of the AME in American Black history is sort of playing a role here.

In Michigan Advertsing For A Christian Roomate Might Be Illegal

NOT THE ONION.

See Woman Sued for Seeking a Roommate Via Her Church's Bulletin Board via Anglican Curmudgeon

A Houston Jew Asks What if the Purpose And Need For J Street

He is asking all the right questions and making all the right observations I think.

David Love Not Clarence Thomas Owes Apology To African Americans

A rather silly, stupid, and anti intellectual article has got me riled up this morning. In fact it has got me so upset it has got my mind off LSU's heartbreaking loss to Auburn. For that I thank the author of this piece.

See Why Clarence Thomas Owes African-Americans an Apology

Now I know what is going on here. Looking at Mr Love's politics it is clear he not talking here as a legal commentator but as someone with a specific political agenda. Well that is fine I guess. However it does not excuse the tones of character assassination, and misleading statements.

Further this article in my view quite dangerous as to the issue of black Americans and the Civic / legal life.

Mr Love for whatever reason has decreed that to be African American one must think X and in fact if one is the law field one cannot have X Judicial philosophy. It appears that certain avenues of inquiry have been made off limits to blacks by Mr Love. That does not sound very progressive to me

Now Mr Love can get away with this because the average American, no matter what their politics, is pretty clueless about the law.

They might rant about a Supreme Court opinion , but it is a rare event that they actually read it themselves. Further the American public only hears about a small percentage of cases that come before the court. Thus the public does not see the overriding Judicial viewpoint of an individual Justice. Mr Love takes advantage of all this.

I would recommend downloading this very readable recent law review article. Via Mirrors of Justice and their link see "Clarence X? The Black Nationalist Behind Justice Thomas's Constitutionalism"

Mr Love is quite aware of those cases but has decided not to engage them or even list them. In Catholic terms this is a sin of omission. In secular terms it is intellectual dishonesty.

Now let me address just a few points of his article itself.

Mr Love gives us this whopper:
Thomas was the only justice to vote against a key provision of the Voting Rights Act on the grounds that blacks no longer need protection against denial of ballot access through intimidation and violence.

Now one should be alerted right off the bat that this is one case he decided not to link. So I will do it for him. See the overview and various links at Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District No. 1 v. Holder.

Now this is an interesting case on many levels. It is also an example (listen to the oral arguments which is linked) of where despite the huge misgiving of most of the conservative Justices they gave huge deference to Congressional finding. Thought they hinted strongly they were not buying it.

In a nut shell the case involves certain parts of the historic voting act whose provisions are largely restricted to the states of the Old Confederacy.

Majority/ Minority voting political districts are what are at issue here. These majority / minority voting districts on the local, state, and federal level are easier to form in these States.

Mr Love fails to clue in readers that almost every Southern Republican votes for the extension of this act. Why do they do that? Mr Love knows the answer no doubt.

When a black majority district is done in many cases it makes the surrounding districts more white and more Republican. I have no doubt if this act was not extended the GOP would have little chance for instance talking control of the House this year.

Now there is an argument , one that I agree with, that many of these majority/ minority districts are a disaster for African Americans on the whole. That is it actually dilutes African American voting power. You might get a black face elected but what about the African Americans in the other surrounding districts? There influence become very limited. It also has the effect of preventing coalition politics. In fact from Mr Love's political progressive viewpoint this is a disaster for him too. It has resulted in a vast number of very very conservative Congress critters being elected. That is because they do not have to form a coalition with somewhat more moderate to liberal black voters.

Mr Love again knows this but he must abide by the unspoken rule that this pact between black politicos and the GOP cannot be discussed in public. Many of the conservative Justices don't come out and say it , but one can sense that they find using the Constitution to implement this political arrangement rather distasteful. Mr Love does not let Justice Thomas speak for himself here so I will give that opportunity. Go to page 21 of the opinion and start reading.

Mr Love in his tome also states:
Thomas staunchly defended gun rights for African-Americans by cynically making an argument that had hints of Malcolm X or the Black Panther Party. He suggested that black people needed guns to protect themselves from the mob violence of the Ku Klux Klan during Reconstruction. True, but that argument seems misplaced in the realities of present-day black America, when young black men in the cities are shooting each other to death. The staunch second amendment advocate had nothing to say about that.

Mr Love in this case links to an article talking about Justice but not to the opinion itself. Though I do give Mr Love credit that he links an article that is somewhat positive of Thomas. Again I will provided Justice Thomas speak for himself. See overview and links to the opinion at McDonald v. Chicago.

Mr Love for no reason use the term "cynically" here. There is nothing at all to indicate that Thomas is being a cynic here. Our former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has wrote an incredible book on her life and family. That is Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family (2010).

We learn that her minister Father was a big believer in gun rights and that it played a role in Southern blacks being able to protect themselves. I have a feeling the famed Deacons for Defense and Justice that was active in my area would agree.

There is nothing "cynical" about Justice Thomas views. It comes from a solid knowledge of history and I bet some personal experience.

That opinion was also noteworthy because Justice Thomas gave a great overview of the 14th amendment. In fact his opinion was widely lauded across the legal spectrum. In that case Thomas basically said what most students of the law know. That the Supreme Court really messed up in the latter 1800's in the famed Slaughterhouse cases.

See The Slaughterhouse Cases: Getting the 14th Amendment Wrong for 137 Years . See also this good piece Thomas’s Principled Jurisprudence in Arms Case .

Further from wilkipedia:

Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe writes that “the Slaughter-House Cases incorrectly gutted the Privileges or Immunities Clause.” Similarly, Yale law professor Akhil Amar has written “Virtually no serious modern scholar—left, right, and center—thinks that Slaughter-House is a plausible reading of the Fourteenth Amendment.”^[13]

Because of that mistake and the gutting of the 14th amendment various protections of the Bill of Rights and the US Constitution have had to be be lodged in various other areas of the Constitution under some rather dubious legal arguments. Thomas made the bold proposal of lets correct this mess. The majority disagreed thinking perhaps well there has been too much Judicial opinion water under the bridge to do that.

Still it was a rather bold opinion by Thomas. The sort of bold opinion that might in some form in the future become part of majority opinions. Mr Love might suspect that and it no doubt drives him crazy.

Earlier in his article he states:

An originalist, Justice Thomas believes in the original intent of the framers of the Constitution. That is bad news for black folks, and presumably for Thomas as well, given that under that judicial philosophy, he and all other blacks should be in chains on someone’s plantation.

BALDERDASH!! Please note that Mr Love gives no hint of the 14th amendment discussion that I just I did. That is because that originalist viewpoint that Thomas has made him look at what the 14th amendment was suppose to mean and do. In this specific case it was to help ensure in part that blacks could not be disarmed.

This post is getting rather long so I can't go into all his slander. He for whatever reason thinks there is one correct black way to look at the Citizens United case. Mr Love fails again to clue his readers in on some very interesting strong First Amendment views that Thomas has. Well he can't let his progressive readers know about that.

Thankfully for progressives their advocates that argue in front of the Court do not take his simplistic view of the world. They know on various cause they can tailor their arguments to get Justice Thomas attention.

In the end Mr Love is right. An apology to African American needs to be given. However it needs to come from him

So We Lost!! In Two Weeks Alabama

Sucks but Cam Newton is just awesome. You already have the idiots on message boards going FIRE LES MILES. Please!! We lost to one of the best teams in the country and that was by one touchdown. If not for a Special teams break down and a few dropped passes we might have won that thing.

This team is on track to being 10 and 2 and yes might just might be 11 and 1. It needs to be recalled that LSU played Alabama very very close in the last two years.

What a Way To Go- Florida Catholic Priest Dies Saying Morning Mass

Nice story on him here.

From Texas To the UK Things Are Moving Fast As To the Anglo Catholic Ordinariate

Looks like a pretty impressive gathering is going to occur in Texas next month. See Schedule for the San Antonio Gathering

Anglo Catholic has a overview of what has been happening the last few weeks. See Another Week of Grace

Get Religion Takes Press To the Woodshed on Juan Williams NPR Story

Get Religion has NPR: Williams “dangerous to a democracy”

Mickey Mouse Got His New Bishop Today - Bishop Noonan To Orlando

Pope Benedict appoints Bishop John Noonan to the See of Orlando Florida.

The Dicoese has issued a nice press release.

Missing the Catholic Big City- Eucharistic Adoration

And in the Catholic Bible Belt South Big City is like SHREVEPORT :)

I saw this vid at Fr. Barron on Eucharistic Adoration

I live in a rural area where the Priest just shows up for Weekly Mass. He has 4 Churches plus the jails, nursing homes etc in like 3 Civil Parishes. So full fledged Benediction is a rarity. I would be blessed to have more time just in front of the Tabernacle

I miss at times being in a city large enough to where I could spend a hour or so before the Blessed Sacrament when I needed it. I always enjoyed those afternoon visits.

We are a small town but we have crime and the days of leaving Churches unlocked without anyone present has long passed even here.

The Associated Press Looks at Conservative Catholic Bloggers!

See Catholic loyalists take to their blogs to defend teachings.

Thomas Peters who was interviewed has a somewhat negative take on it. See Associated Press claim: “Catholic loyalists take to their blogs to defend teachings”

I think Peters makes some good points. I think the article perhaps focused on the politics (secular) too much. In reality the "Orthodox" Catholic blog sphere is quite diverse in that department. While it trends toward the conservative side there are a lot of factions. Also I think it is the combined effect of regular "mom and pop blogs that are significant.

Further the ANGLO SPHERE worldwide interaction aspect of Orthodox Catholic blogs is important and maybe will be looked at more in the future. This becoming more and more significant. We saw this in the Pope's Australia trip and then big time when he went to the UK.

Great Article What Makes Les Miles Tick

One of the better ones I have seen.

Dear St John The Baptist Parish School Board- GROW A PAIR -East St John's Coach Resigns

Please St John The Baptist School board members go to the LSU Football operation office at and ask to borrow part of Les Miles's anatomy for a few days.

I touched on this earlier today at Louisiana White Football Coach Racist or Honest? . See the link there Is coach racist or just honest?.

Well now it appears he "resigned".

One could make an argument he should have been more slightly diplomatic. However what he said is not different than what countless Coaches white and black in High school and in college have said. Often in those same blunt terms. Really do I need to get the quotes?

However the coach committed a cardinal sin. That is exposing the communities dirty laundry in public. Though the effects of what is he is talking about is on the front page everyday.

However because he was honest he gets fired (ok he "resigns") . SAD!!

It appears this man had a vocation in life that did not include Coaching at the well to do Schools of Jesuit and Episcopal and public High Schools like Byrd.

Who loses? His players. But at least no one shall be upset.

I love this quote from the above link:
Well, now that Dauterive has resigned, the greater Reserve area can rest easy, knowing that a racist is gone. Come on! The man brought respect, pride, and glory to a pretty impovershed area! Those young men he helped get into college will be better people because of him! The sad part is, now East St. John H.S. will now become just a dot on the map. Unless they have the next Jim Brown or Drew Brees, the colleges won't be stopping there, like they did when Dauterive was coach. He knew talent and worked to get those kids a chance.

Sorry kids. The failure of adults in the communty both Govt, Civic and Church must be covered up. That is a higher priority.

Louisiana White Football Coach Racist or Honest?

I vote honest. We all know this is the sad reality in many places. WWL has Is coach racist or just honest?

Good for him!! Why is not read as a Coach providing an example for other , whether white or black, in the coaching profession to get out of their comfort zone and realize their obligations are bigger than the game?

Wow. See my update at Dear St John The Baptist Parish School Board- GROW A PAIR -East St John's Coach Resigns

WOW In Missouri House Race Democrat Tries to Link Republican Ed Martin To Catholic Clergy Sex Abuse Woes

How horrible. See A New Low in Politics– Carnahan Tries to Tie Opponent to Catholic Church Priest Scandal.

Tip of the hat to Creative Minority Report.

Video of Cardinal Designate Wuerl's Lecture on Faith's Role In Building Society

The vid link is here to the lecture that was given in Houston earlier this week. I hope to watch it later today. Hopefully a link to the ext will be available soon also.

American Spectator- Republicans Need To Wake Up On Cao Race In New Orleans

As I noted earlier Congressman Cao father died yesterday. See link at Father of Republican Congressman Joseph Cao of New Orleans Has Died.

If tradition is a guide, hopefully both sides will pull the ads so Cao can bury his father. Or so I hope.

For that reason I am going to be careful about posting things that are overly negative to his opponent Cedric Richmond.

American Spectator has a good article on this race I ask you to spread. See Cao Is No Goner. The author is from New Orleans and knows what he is talking about. I agree with a large part of what is saying. The article while touching on Richmond some is mostly about CAO which is why is why I am posting it.

By the way that endorsement would be HUGE that is mentioned if it comes to be.

Not Just Bobby Jindal- Democrat Jim Brown Holds LSU's Feet to the Fire in Budget Mess

Well these questions have to be answered. You just can't scream and kick your feet and complain about mean ole Bobby Jindal.

These problems have been apparent for decades. The Higher ED crisis is much like the crisis of coastal erosion. You know it is happening but till Houma washes away no sees the need to move fast.

See via the Hayride Jim Brown’s Hit-And-Miss LSU Column

Father of Republican Congressman Joseph Cao of New Orleans Has Died

An interesting and needless to say hard life he had.

I bet he was proud to see his son become a Congressman.

Early American Catholics Passed On The Faith Without Seeing Priests For Years!!

TI swear what a bunch of spoiled Catholics we are in the 21 st Century.

I love this post at McNamara's Blog. See “They Went a Long Time without Seeing a Priest”

It talks about one community in New Jersey but it is a story that could be repeated in many other places in the history of the United States.

I like this part:
Then they went for more than thirty years without any priest. By the 1820’s, some traveling Irish priests were celebrating Mass in local homes on a regular basis. It was the people who kept the faith alive in the interim. Father Joseph Flynn, who wrote a history of New Jersey Catholicism in the late 1800’s, interviewed some of these early Catholics. Among them was a Mrs. Littlel, who recalled that her father’s job was to check the credentials of visiting priests “so as to secure the faithful few from impostors.” She remembered “Old Mrs. Seehulster,” who was

A remarkable woman—a regular missionary; every Sunday she would gather the Catholics in Dominick Merrion’s house, say the rosary, distribute holy water, and teach the children catechism.

She also recalled the first she saw Mass celebrated in Macopin:

Many of the young Catholics who had never seen mass celebrated, and Protestants who viewed the whole thing as witchcraft, crowded and hustled the old folks who were kneeling around the priest. The altar was a chest—we had no bureaus in those days.

A Great Web Site- Supremacy and Survival: The English Reformation

This is a pretty good resource and interesting site for people interested in the history of the English Reformation and the Catholic role in it . See

Supremacy and Survival: The English Reformation

Good Write Up On The Three Historic Churches of the Irish Channel In New Orleans

If you have read Ann Rice books these Churches play some prominent roles. See NOLA History: The Three Churches of the Irish Channel

Michael Winters Goes On Crying Emotional Jag On the Soon To Be Cardinal Burke

Good grief how embarrassing.

Tip of the Hat to Pro Ecclesia

From Cut Off Louisiana The Nation's Best Obit For Today

See Loulan Joseph Pitre

Even Andrew Sullivan Thinks Baylor Rand Paul Aqua Buddha Controversy Is Stupid

In fact he calls out Paul's opponent.

Get Religion has a good piece on this again at Rockin’ with the Aqua Buddha

Blunt and Helpful Catholic Talk On "Youthful Pasions"

Jimmy Akins has a good piece on something that strangely came up in the Delaware Senate race of all places.

Breaking- History Channel Spent Millions Getting It Wrong- Mayan Calendar

Oh dear guess our time is not up quite yet perhaps. The Deacon Bench has Apocalypse when: did we miss it?

New Orleans Congressional Race Gets Nasty - Vietnamese Catholics and Priest Attacked!!

Good grief I think Cedric Richmond just stepped into it big this time I think. See Mary Queen of Viet Nam CDC demands apology from state Rep. Cedric Richmond

THIS PART is going to get the Archdiocese of New Orleans UPSET!!

Richmond during the televised forum asked Cao to respond to "the money going to Mary Queen of Vietnam being missing and Father Vien (Nguyen) being removed?"
In his response, Cao ignored Richmond's charge of missing money. But Tuan Nguyen, the agency's deputy director, flatly denied the claims a prepared statement issued late Monday.
"Mr. Richmond alleges that Rev. Nguyen embezzled funds that Rep. Cao appropriated to MQVN CDC to develop a community health clinic. These allegations are not only unsubstantiated, but simply not true," said Nguyen, who is not related to the former pastor of the Roman Catholic parish that shares its name with the development corporation.
"Since Mr. Richmond made his point in public, it would only be fair for him to publicly provide substantiated evidence to his allegations," he said. "This is a serious matter and so is our community, which should not be compromised for the benefit of any one's political interest."
Officials of the development agency will hold a news conference this afternoon to demand an apology and a written retraction from Richmond...

Meanwhile, an e-mail message sent Thursday to a Cao aide by an official in the federal Health Resources and Services Administration indicates that none of the federal money allocated for the community development corporation had yet been drawn down.
A spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of New Orleans said that Vien Nguyen was removed this year after seven years as pastor of Mary Queen of Vietman Catholic Church because his expertise was needed in the Tribunal Office and because the archbishop prefers not to keep priests in the same assignment for extended periods of time. .........

John Finnis on the Moral Status of the Unborn Child

It is always a treat to read Finnis. American Catholic has his latest here

Awesome New Stadium Video On the Holy Jerusalem of Football- LSU's Death Valley

This video debuted at the McNeese State game on October 16, 2010

St Louis (sort of) and Washington D.C Get Their Cardinals (LINKS)

The sort of let down of the day was that Archbishop Collins north of the border in Toronto was not on the list of Archbishops to be Cardinals. As I posted earlier as early this morning it was being reported in Italy as almost a assumed fact.

However I am pretty sure this time next year he will be on the Pope's list which should be the most American heavy list in some time. Perhaps history.

Two Americans got the Cardinal RED.That is Donald Wuerl of Washington D.C. and Burke of St Louis. Archbishop Burke is residing in Rome as head of the Vatican "Supreme Court" but he still has the title Archbishop-emeritus of St. Louis, so technically he's still is a St Louis boy which seems proper.

Whispers has a post up at Red Alert, Red Alert that has several links. Will try to update with some other links later.

Confirmed- Archbishop Wuerl , &s Burke To Made Cardinals (Updated)

The Italian Press is breaking the news. This is a google translate of all the article with all the names.

Update- Had to Update Title !! It appears the Italians were wrong about Collins. The official list is out. See Red Alert, Red Alert

Wow -Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl Announces New Seminary

Great news!!

President of American Atheists Believes In Bad Civics

SEE Q&A with President of American Atheists where the President of the American Atheists is interviewed. This last Q & A caught by eye.

Q. “Hard-liner” Atheists (or aggressive Atheists as some might say) like Richard Dawkins often don’t just lack a belief in God. They also tend to take issue with/aim at organized religion. In light of that, are Atheists open to learning about religions? Is there something positive to be gained by understanding what religious folk believe?

A. There is no more value in learning about Christianity [for example] than there is in learning about any other Greek mythology, and Greek Mythology is better literature. Once religion is understood, there is nothing more to gain, and no great lessons to learn. Really.

RT Response: I’d first like to thank David for answering these questions so openly and honestly. I think I gasped and chuckled at the same time. In response to this last point, I’d like to add a little rebuttal…I would argue that there is a major difference between learning about Greek mythology in 2010 and learning about contemporary expressions of religious belief. This is a generalization, but today’s religious folk are approaching their religions in a much different way than a contemporary student approaches Kronos or Zeus in a written text (here I’m talking in terms of expressions of belief). To be blunt, I haven’t heard of anyone recently blowing themselves up over Aphrodite. As active members of a volatile society in which people’s religions or non-religions affect the way they relate to one another, learning about religion allows us to understand our neighbor and perhaps be more compassionate toward them (even when we disagree with their beliefs). Readers, I welcome your response.

Oh so much to say.

Lets do a thought experiment. Let us say that a group of American atheists are able to go to the moon and set up a society free of all these religious folks. No doubt in no short time people would be talking about their "rights" and "Injustice" etc etc.

Their views of "rights" and "justice" are tied into a Western Civilization view of those terms. Western Civilization is very tied into Christianity. There is no way around it. Now you might think the whole Deity stuff is nonsense but if you enjoy Western views of these terms then you must know something about Christianity and Judaism to boot and it's history to maintain it.

Back on Earth though this is rather bad civics when we live in a pluralistic society like our own. Even the leading Agnostics and atheists of Europe see the folly that the President of American atheists is talking about.

See this post Jurgen Habermas: A Secular Atheist Changes His Mind on Religion in the Public Sphere. His work should be must reads by both non believers and believers in the USA public square.

He states:

The liberal state must not transform the requisite institutional separation of the religion and politics into an undue mental and psychological burden for those of its citizens who follow a faith. . . . [Citizens should not have to] split their identity into a public and private part the moment they participate in public discourses. They should therefore be allowed to express and justify their convictions in a religious language if they cannot find secular ‘translations’ for them

This requirement of translation must be conceived as a cooperative task in which the non-religious citizens must likewise participate, if their religious fellow citizens are not to be encumbered with an asymmetrical burden. . . . Secular citizens must open their minds to the possible truth content of those presentations and enter dialogues from which religious reasons then might well emerge in the transformed guise of generally accessible arguments...

In the absence of the uniting body of a civic solidarity . . . citizens do not perceive themselves as free and equal participants in the shared practices of democratic opinion and will formation wherein they owe one another reasons [emphasis Habermas’] for their political statements and attitudes. This reciprocity of expectations among citizens is what distinguishes a community integrated by constitutional values from a community segmented along the dividing lines of competing world views....

As long as secular citizens are convinced that religious traditions and religious communities are . . . archaic relics of pre-modern societies that continue to exist in the present, they will understand freedom of religion as the cultural version of the conservation of a species in danger of becoming extinct. From their viewpoint, religion no longer has any intrinsic justification to exist. . . . [Secular citizens] can obviously [not] be expected to take religious contributions to contentious political issues seriously and even to help to assess them for a substance that can possibly be expressed in a secular language and justified by secular arguments.

. . . The admission of religious statements to the political public sphere only makes sense if all citizens can be expected not to deny from the outset any possible cognitive substance to these contributions. . . . [Yet] such an attitude presupposes a mentality that is anything but a matter of course in the secularized societies of the West.....

The polarization of the world views in a community that splits into fundamentalist and secular camps [shows] that an insufficient number of citizens matches up to the yardstick of the public use of reason and thereby endanger political integration..

Read all his thoughts at above link

I have A Name For The Drew Brees Baby

Good grief how long has this woman been in labor!! Anyway it should happen soon. That being said I think we need to think of our historic heritage in this HELP Drew name his baby thing. I put into nomination into the Drew Brees Baby contest -Alejandro O'Reilly Brees. That Spanish Colonial Governor took no lip .

Or we we could get more modern and call him MOON Brees.

As Usual Both Sides Talking Past Each Other- O' Donnell Comments on Religion and The First Amendment

I think Ramesh Ponnuru hit the problem here whenever this issue comes up See Christine O’Donnell and the First Amendment

Archbishop of New Orleans Meets With David Vitter On Illegal Immigration Ad

TPM has Religious And Ethnic Coalition Presses Vitter To Take Down And Apologize For Insensitive Ad

I am supporting Vitter but I truly hate this ad. I am not sure why he ran it when he should win the race fairly easy. Further in this ad and age this ad goes national and it is going to hurt other Republicans among Hispanics. Further this is not exactly helping Cao in New Orleans either. Just not smart. Also it makes fun and belittles a very complex and emotional issue which is not helpful.

That being said I would not expect to see that AD much more. It is not some much because the Archbishop talked to him that will cause that ad to stop. A reliable source has told me last week the campaign has decided to go all positive and this ad should be pulled.

On the flip side it is nice to see that at least the Senator met with his Archbishop on this issue. Maybe that will occur more in the future on this issue as well as others.

Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans Gets Some Well Earned Kudos For the Archdiocese

Through one of the most widely read English Catholic blogs in the world. That is Whispers in the Loggia. See On Respect Life Month. He give ssome kudos to some of the things happening down South. I really think Aymond is going to turn things around.

Why Can't the Media Call Christine O’Donnell A Catholic?

Get Religion highlights a series of article I saw also regarding Christine O' Donnell in Delaware. I found the article so frustrating I did not even want to comment on them. Thankfully Get Religion has at Christine O’Donnell, Catholic?

Let me tell what I think is going on. The press is trying to do a divide in the Christian community. Oh no she can't be a urban well educated Catholic and believe all these things. She is one of those "Fundamentalists" or "Evangelicals" from Venus.

Now to be clear I am not all that not invested in Christine O' Donnell the GOP person running for Senate. I find her kind of goofy, still have reservations about here on some matters, and really don't think she stands of chance of winning. However I am very interested in Christine O' Donnell the Catholic that appears to hold beliefs that in accordance with the Catechism or are acceptable as to Catholic teaching. She does have a right to have her own faith portrayed correctly.

Further I find this apparent attempt by many to drive a wedge between the Catholic Church and certain faith communities alarming.

Good article so you decide what is going on.

Great Series of Posts On Catholics And Evolution!!

I have to say that the Archdiocese of Washington D.C. website and their blog is one the best for a Diocese in the country. Always great articles. They are doing a good series on Catholic and evolution

When the average Catholic opens their mouth on the topic of evolution in front of others , I wish I could turn back time and turn the conversation in a other direction. Often what comes out is very wrong and very simplistic.

As I said this is a very good series of post shaping up. See Can a Catholic Accept Evolutionary Theory Uncritically? and The Problem of Polygenism in Accepting the Theory of Evolution.

A Now Some Rather Cool Pictures From the LSU / McNeese Game

See here.

Pope Benedict's Wonderful Personal and Pastoral Letter To Seminarians

Well this is a nice monday morning present.

I was not aware this was coming out today on the Feast of St Luke. I love this letter and it teaches something to the lay person as well. Whispers has the full text at Writing to Sems, Pope Opens Up... Again

How Every Catholic Can Celebrate Anglo-Catholic Reunification Day! -It Involves Beer

Just recall the INVITING part is important. See This Wednesday: Celebrate the 2nd Annual Anglo-Catholic Reunification Day! via American Papist.

The Majority of Born Again Protestants Believe in The Catholic Teaching of the Real Presence In The Eucharist? Another Look At Pew Survey

I have to say this came out of left field and hit me on the head when I was not looking.

See Christian belief in and knowledge of Transubstantiation

Insecurity About Economics Causing More Booing At SEC Football Stadiums?

The hero of the Kentucky game over South Carolina had a few words to say to the fans after the game via TWITTER!!

@rcobb18: To all the fans: loved seein Yall come late, love hearing Yall tell us we suck during the game love we have to play against our

@rcobb18: own fans too! Love that we can't pack the house when we play #10 team in the nation. It means that much more to me. I love my..

@rcobb18: .....my team! Brotherhood they got my back n I got they back. The rest of Yall can get ready for bball season!

More here at Randall Cobb leads landmark Kentucky win, unloads on Kentucky fans

Now to add to that article what is missing is how many fans had left at halftime.

Now truth be known I expect if a LSU Football player was allowed to tell his true feelings out he would be doing the same thing. Urban Myer is going to learn a lesson soon enough that Les Miles did. He needs to get his team the hell out of all the State and on the road. It appears The LSU Tigers perform better at times on the road in front of a "less hostile mob" than at Tiger Stadium. The same might apply to Florida soon.

There have always been boo birds but this year it is different. It is a lot more wide spread and vicious. For the record I think booing does nothing. It is counterproductive. Further under no circumstances can a Coach give a impression he is turning over Coaching decisions to the fickle mod of 90,000 in the stadium. In fact I am convinced that Coaches in order not to give that impression have to stick with a choices that are bad.

Why is this year different. I really think political and very much ECONOMIC anxiety is at play. The fans already insecure in these realities in real life are unleashing their frustrations at the games on the players and the Coaches. I think we are starting to see a pattern of this all over the SEC like we have not seen before.

In a sense this is no different than Imperial Rome and the Colosseum except for one crucial difference. The purpose of the Colosseum was to provide entertainment to the people of Rome so they would not start thinking about other things. Like why does the water and sanitation suck. However unlike 100 A.D. , Governor Bobby Jindal cannot come of his game box at Tiger Stadiun do his thumb down and have Jordan Jefferson and Les Miles killed on the spot to appease the mob. Therefore we have more booing and calls of FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE every five minutes.

In Louisiana this is even more at play because we had the BP oil spill and all the devastating related economic effects. Add to that the State Budget and the effects on LSU and well it get nasty real fast.

All I got to say is that I am glad we are playing Auburn on the road this week.

Bad News Reporting ? Aussie Mary MacKillop Cannot Be New Whistle Blower Saint

It is really amazing how one little piece of bad reporting because of today's Mass Communications can take on a life of it's OWN. MUST READ - See Saint of Whistle Blowers? via Curt Jester.

In The UK Young Catholics Rediscovers Silence and Adoration

This is a pretty good article here The First Fruits: The UK One Month After Benedict

I was struck by this last part which truly has a universal message.

A friend told me an enlightening story last week. She was attending 40 hours devotion at an inner city church, where she heard the priest confess of his lukewarm initial response to the pope's scheduled evening vigil for youth at London's Hyde Park. But Fr. X explained that as he encountered the incredible silence of a Pontiff and his outdoor flock of 80,000, praying in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament something moved him, profoundly. In fact, he based the last hour of the 40-hour devotion on the pope's programme for that night.

Everyone who attended that vigil has spoken of the silence at that event, which seemed to many to recall the half-hour silence mentioned in Revelation 8:1. One man, I know, a fully paid up member of "the church liberal," has repeatedly spoken with awe about how that silence, that vigil, affected him.

Of course the Lord's parable of the sower and the seed is a reality check; some who embraced the pope's visit may be like the seed that did not bear fruit. However you can't help thinking that Peter came among us obeying the Lord's admonition to strengthen the brethren (Luke 22:32), and that his obedience was efficacious.

We feel truly strengthened by those truly amazing four days in September.