LSU Baseball Going To California For the Regional (Plus Other Louisiana Teams) (Updated)

Jeez this is worse for fans than Miami to say the least. YOU BETTER GET ON THE ROAD NOW LSU FANS

At least the LSU West Coast fan base can represent!!! We will need you. OH and we are playing Irvine !!! Recall that Super Regional. The Hidden Ball Trick Game. Gosh they were tough and I bet they are thrilled to get us on the West Coast

I think the last time we played on the West Coast was when we play Pepperdine eons ago.

It will be
1. UCLA
4. Kent St.

3. UC Irvine
2. LSU

This is one of the toughest brackets!! Maybe LSU should have lost to Bama yesterday. Bama loses and does the short Bus ride to ATLANTA!!! Good grief.

Well it does give a chance to wave the LSU flag on the WEST COAST so that is good. Goodness what time will those games start for us viewers in the Central Time ZONE. Sounds like a few late nights.

Congrats to University of Louisiana - LAFAYETTE. They are going to Austin where they will play Texas. Good luck with that!!

The third Louisiana Team that will be going is Grambling that won the SWAC yesterday. They will be going to Arkansas and play Arky right out of the bat.

I was a tad surprised that Kentucky did that not make it. Looks like ULL might have taken their spot.

It does seem the Conference Tournaments played a much larger role this year.

Updates!!
The Advocate has an article up on where and who the Louisiana teams are playing

More updates on this thread plus I will start working on a post with links to the other schools and things of interest.

Cardinal Pell on the Importance of Liturgical Language (It is Not A Barbecue)

Great piece on the upcoming Mass changes. Father Z has it at Card. Pell: In praying to the Omnipotent God we mustn’t “talk in the same way we do at a barbecue”

LSU Baseball Wins SEC Tournament Beats Bama (LINKS LINKS LINKS)

What a GLORIOUS SEC Baseball Tournament and not just because LSU won. The whole thing was glorious to start to finish!!

This Alabama writer sums up the last thrilling game well between LSU and Bama at SEC Baseball Tournament 2010: Only winners here as LSU outlasts Alabama . I also agree with this writer. DON'T move the Tournament form the Hoover!! See Scarbinsky: Nobody does SEC baseball better than Hoover

The good thing about this tournament is that LSU is a "streaky team" at times. A good time to go on a winning streak. We shall know later this morning where we travel to for a regional.

I am slightly nervous because some projections shows us going to Miami. LSU fans travel the best in the nation but that is a long long long way to get up and go on short notice. It would make so so so much more sense to send to someplace like Fort Worth!! Well I suppose part of the LSU Coaching staff both past and presence might like it since it would be like going back home for a visit.

Carl Dubois via Tiger Rag has his great post but audio of the LSU and Bama's post game press conferences at GAME BLOG: LSU 4, Alabama 3 (final, 11 innings)

The Advocate has Thrice as nice LSU captures third straight SEC tourney championship , Bradshaw's start continues LSU run‎, and Nola tabbed tourney MVP‎

The Louisiana Gannett papers have Tigers should welcome NCAA road trip‎

LSU Sports Net has their photo gallery here and their piece and more links at SEC CHAMPS! Tigers Beat Bama for Third-Straight Title

There They Go Again-The Pope, Defrocking, and A Diocese of Springfield Child Abusing Priest

The Press really has not excuse now since this situation was very much explored and talked about as to the Oakland Priest situation .

The article make no effort to clear this up leaving the reader with a massive misunderstanding.

FOR ALL PRACTICAL PURPOSES he had been defrocked (removed from public ministry). The rule was that because so many people were leaving the Priesthood at the time that no one ( with the exception if they had kids) could be officially removed to the LAY state as to Canon Law till they reached the age of 40!!!. The only practical consequence is this is that the Priest in question would have had a right to marry!!!

Nuns Open Up Massage Business (Not the Onion)

Headlines I thought I would never see.

The Plot To Kill the Pope Not A Big Story?

I have to admit strange. See Got news? That plot to kill pope

Christian Ballet Group Thrives Despite It Being in God Forsaken Mississippi

Get Religion has a great piece looking at a Washington Post article here at Down South, God’s ballet company

As they point out the article is good though one just has to take a deep breath as we see stereotypes about Christians and Southerners mentioned.

Do the writers at the Washington Post realize we have the internet down here and can read this stuff.

Before discovering her Pulitzer prowess, my first reaction to Kaufman’s Christian ballet piece was threefold: 1. The writer definitely knows ballet. 2. The writer could use a bit more seasoning on religion. 3. The writer satisfied the unwritten rule that elite writers who go down South must include a paragraph somewhere in the piece like this one or risk alienation at Beltway cocktail parties when they return home:

Football, church and country music may dominate Mississippi’s off-hours, but despite the odds, this curious ballet company has thrived in the shadow of Jackson’s gun shows and powerlifting contests.

Whew! Glad we got that out of the way.

Amazing!! I heard through the grapevine they might even have plays in Jackson Mississippi and even National Public Radio!! (SARC)

Then we have this:
One of my problems with the piece is that it paints the ballet company as “evangelical,” and even “fundamentalist” at one point, but never provides any details on the specific denominational bent of the founders’ faith. For example, early in the story, the writer references the challenges faced when the company started 25 years ago:

Fellow dancers warned the former Jackson Ballet dancer that it’s hard enough to keep a mainstream troupe afloat, let alone one with such a specialized focus. Her church friends told her that dance and Christian ministry don’t mix — ballet is immodest, too flashy, too sensual.
In the company’s early years, the dancers would get letters telling them that what they were doing was wrong, that the Devil uses dancing to provoke licentiousness and immorality.
They would console themselves with Psalms 149 and 150, which urge the faithful to praise the Lord with dancing. This, they felt, was a scriptural commission.

Now, I grew up in a tradition that frowned on “mixed bathing” (read: boys and girls swimming together with lots of skin showing), not to mention the high school prom. So it doesn’t surprise me that there would be a church where folks might frown on ballet. But, and correct me if I’m wrong, I don’t believe the mainstream of evangelical Christianity has a problem with ballet, now or 25 years ago. Given that, more explanation of this group’s specific faith and beliefs is needed.
To me, a vague reference to critical church friends without a meatier exploration of the theology — and denomination — involved qualifies as incomplete, even lazy, reporting.

Yeah I would agree with that. I am in the middle of Baptist land and I have never heard anti Ballet talk.

Then this:

Of course, the fact that they are pushing their beliefs through ballet makes them a lot more charming than those evangelical preachers and fundamentalist public figures whose sermonizing can have a more divisive and judgmental sting. Ballet Magnificat’s members combine the born-again’s resolute earnestness with the demure vulnerability and warmth of dancers, and it’s a package with considerable appeal.
Whew! Now, we’ve stereotyped the South and evangelical preachers. Me thinks we are getting real close to mission accomplished.

Yep hitting all the bases.

Now this part if interesting. (Catholics Need not apply)


Fundamentalism poses some personnel challenges. No Catholics, no agnostics, no gays — no wonder the company has a hard time finding male dancers, saved straight men who can dance and put up with the touring and the code of conduct. Which means they can’t frequent bars or casinos. Members of the opposite sex can’t be alone behind closed doors, even for a rehearsal. No swearing, no smoking. Only two men are in the Alpha company, and none are in Omega. Tough circumstances for the choreographer: Laments Voborsky, “One hundred percent of the biblical material has a guy in it somewhere.”

Jackson is the home of Belhaven University, which has what may be the top dance department among member institutions of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. How did the Post reporter miss out on that potential feeder program for the ballet company? The Belhaven program certainly has lots of males, although they wear more traditional garb. Does the university have the same philosophy as the Christian ballet company or a different one? That would have been an interesting question to explore.

Now of course I don't have problems with the NO Catholics thing because they are doing altar calls and such and a Catholic would run into problems with the Once Saved Always Saved business.

There is much more at the link. Overall a good article but boy we could have done without some of the baggage in that article. Sometimes I think some folks regard Southerners as some exotic zoo exhibit.

Does Obama Understand the Symbolic Nature of the Office (Memorial Day Stuff)

Here is just one person of many examining the whole non appearance at Arlington Cemetery issue. See Why is President Obama skipping the traditional Memorial Day visit to Arlington National Cemetery? Via Althouse.

Now I am not too upset about this because the president is attending a Memorial day event in Chicago. Still Arlington is very very important and of a lot of symbolism so I find it odd they decided to do this.

This is not exactly the first time I get a sense that Obama or his staff gets it at times.

Social Justice Activist Jim Wallis Worried About All Those White People In the Tea Party

Sometime Wallis is in his own worse enemy. See There He Goes Again.

First it is not clear how actually Libertarian the Tea party movement or movements really is. I think there are several factions that have different viewpoints.

Now it is true the Tea party needs to expand into other demographics if it wants to be successful. However as to the black community we see the problem. The Democrats pretty much have that as a block vote. So yes it is a uphill battle.

However what about all those white people!!

It is funny but there seems to be a lot of movements that are very WHITE but because they are liberal no one cares

Umm like the Episcopal Church
The Green [arty strikes me as pretty white.
The Anti Iraq War Movement struck me as being very white
Heck the Environmental movement is still largely white
In fact in my neck of the woods the Christian Social Justice Lobby is often very white.
The Pro Palestine Anti Israel brigade seems very white.
The Pro-Choice movement and Feminist movement seems very white.

Now I know they are of course minorities in all the above. However one does get a sense that the black community as a whole ever really engages or is involved in huge numbers in many of the above causes. For instance we have issues of Environemental racism on occasion. They might make a appearance sometimes but on the whole it seems to me that is all very white led and supported.

Senator Vitter Says Fed Effort On Oil Spill Is "a complete failure"

He tells why here.

Can One Be A Libertarian and Christian?

Rick Garnett interacts with a Michael Sean Winters piece here at Christianity and Libertarianism. Good stuff.

The Media Does Not Get Excommunication (Why Don't We Excommunicate Child Abusing Priests) (Updated)

NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF is giving us his wisdom again!! He weighs into the Nun abortion story this week. Mirrors of Justice has it here.

However the main story is not what caught my eye. What caught my eye is again the media not understanding excommunication and its purpose.

“In this tragic case, the treatment necessary to save the mother’s life required the termination of an 11-week pregnancy,” the hospital said in a statement. “This decision was made after consultation with the patient, her family, her physicians, and in consultation with the Ethics Committee.”
Sister Margaret was a member of that committee. She declined to discuss the episode with me, but the bishop of Phoenix, Thomas Olmsted, ruled that Sister Margaret was “automatically excommunicated” because she assented to an abortion.
“The mother’s life cannot be preferred over the child’s,” the bishop’s communication office elaborated in a statement.
Let us just note that the Roman Catholic hierarchy suspended priests who abused children and in some cases defrocked them but did not normally excommunicate them, so they remained able to take the sacrament.

It might shock Kristoff but the Catholic Church does not excommunicate serial killers, rapists, and other assorted fiends on a regular basis. As to abortion the sanction though is automatic.

What Kristoff is not aware of no doubt is that this excommunication can often be lifted in most cases by just going to Confession!!

That is the point he seems to be missing. That is that excommunication is not a punishment so much but something to try to get the person to recognize their error and come back into the Church.

While child abuse is heinous the Church treats no sinner as out of the reach of GOD. A child abusing Priest very well might have gone to confession years and years ago and even this horrific sin would be forgiven. So excommunication is not the proper remedy here. It is apple and oranges.

Update- American Papist owns him- An Open Letter to Nicholas Kristof

Archbishop José Gomez Talks About Hispanics and the Immigration Debate

Archbishop José Gomez who I suppose is posed to be the most influential Archbishop (soon Cardinal no doubt) in the United States did a wonderful interview.Whispers had the link and a massive excerpt here at "You Are Catholics. And 'Catholic' Means Universal": Gomez on Hispanics... and Migration

Already I think we can see a much more positive tone. Long time readers know I largely viewed Cardinal Mahony's reign as one long unmitigated disaster. SO I am hopeful.

He wades into the emeotional immigration question. I think his tone is very reasoned and while blunt does not resemble Mahony's tone on the issue that seemed to often to be just controversal.

Here are two parts that caught my eye:
CNA: What is the most serious problem Hispanic Catholics face in the U.S.?

Gomez: The dominant culture in the United States, which is aggressively, even militantly secularized. This is a subject that unfortunately doesn’t get much attention at all in discussions about the future of Hispanic ministry. But it’s time that we change that.

“Practical atheism” has become the de facto state religion in America. The price of participation in our economic, political, and social life is that we essentially have to agree to conduct ourselves as if God does not exist. Religion in the U.S. is something we do on Sundays or in our families, but is not allowed to have any influence on what we do the rest of the week.

This is all very strange for a country that was founded by Christians—in fact by Hispanic Catholics. Indeed, in San Antonio, the Gospel was being preached in Spanish and Holy Mass was being celebrated by Hispanics before George Washington was born.

CNA: You have said these secularizing forces put even more pressure on Hispanics and other immigrant groups. Why?

Gomez: Because immigrants already face severe demands to “fit in,” to downplay what is culturally and religiously distinct about them; to prove that they are “real” Americans, too. We might feel subtle pressures to blend in, to assimilate, to downplay our heritage and our distinctive identities as Catholics and Hispanics.

I believe that in God’s plan, the new Hispanic presence is to advance our country’s spiritual renewal. To restore the promise of America’s youth. In this renewed encounter with Hispanic faith and culture, I believe God wants America to rediscover values it has lost sight of—the importance of religion, family, friendship, community, and the culture of life....................


CNA: What do you tell Latino leaders?

Gomez: Don’t be intimidated by the truths of our faith. They are a gift from God. Let these truths touch your heart and change your life.You should own copies of the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. If you spend a few minutes each day reading these books and also reading from the Gospel, you will notice a change. You will look at the world and your own lives with new eyes.“Be proud of your heritage! Deepen your sense of your Hispanic identity, the traditions and customs of our ancestors!” I tell them. “But you are Catholics. And ‘catholic’ means universal. That means you can’t define yourself —nor can you let society define you—solely by your ethnic identity. You are called to be leaders—not only in the Hispanic community, but in every area of our culture and society.”

As to immigration

CNA: What is the role of the Church in the political debate over immigration?

Gomez: The Church is not a political party or interest group. It is not the Church’s primary task to fight political battles or to be engaged in debates over specific policies. This task belongs to the laity.The Church’s interest in immigration is not a recent development.

It doesn’t grow out of any political or partisan agenda. No. It is a part of our original religious identity as Catholics, as Christians. We must defend the immigrant if we are to be worthy of the name Catholic.

For bishops and priests, our job as pastors is to help form our peoples’ consciences, especially those who work in the business community and in government. We need to instill in our people a greater sense of their civic duty to work for reforms in a system that denies human dignity to so many.While we forcefully defend the rights of immigrants, we must also remind them of their duties under Catholic social teaching. Chief among these duties is the obligation to respect the laws of their new country.

We need to help ensure that these newcomers become true Americans while preserving their own distinctive identity and culture, in which religion, family, friendship, community, and the culture of life are important values.

I’m not a politician. I’m a pastor of souls. And as a pastor I believe the situation that’s developed today is bad for the souls of Americans. There is too much anger. Too much resentment. Too much fear. Too much hate. It’s eating people up.

In this volatile debate, the Church must be a voice of compassion, reason, and moral principle.The Church has an important role to play in promoting forgiveness and reconciliation on this issue. We must work so that justice and mercy, not anger and resentment, are the motives behind our response to illegal immigration.

CNA: How should Catholics respond to immigration?

Gomez: Unfortunately anti-immigrant sentiment and anti-Hispanic bias is a problem today, even among our fellow Catholics. I don’t want to over-dramatize the situation. But we do need to be honest and recognize that racial prejudice is a driving factor behind a lot of our political conversation about immigration.

In the bitter debates of recent years, I have been alarmed by the indifference of so many of our people to Catholic teaching and to the concrete demands of Christian charity.It is not only the racism, xenophobia, and scapegoating.

These are signs of a more troubling reality. Many of our Catholic people no longer see the foreigners sojourning among them as brothers and sisters. To listen to the rhetoric in the U.S. and elsewhere it is as if the immigrant is not a person, but only a thief or a terrorist or a simple work-animal.We can never forget that Jesus himself and his family were migrants.

They were forced into Egypt by the bad policies of a bad government. This was to show us Christ’s solidarity with refugees, displaced persons, and immigrants—in every time and in every place.We all know these words of Jesus: “For I was a stranger and you welcomed me . . . As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me” (Matt. 25:35, 40). We need to restore the truth that the love of God and the love of neighbor have been forever joined in the teaching—and in the person—of Jesus Christ.

Many of these new laws on immigration are harsh and punitive. The law should not be used to scare people, to invade their homes and work-sites, to break up families.I would like to see a moratorium on new state and local legislation. And, as the U.S. bishops recently called for, I would like to see an end to federal work-site enforcement raids.

The bottom line is that as long as workers can earn more in one hour in the U.S. than they can earn in a day or a week in Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America, they will continue to migrate to this country. Immigration has to do with peoples’ rights to share in the goods they need to secure their livelihoods.

We need to come together and find a solution to the complicated economic, national security, and legal issues raised by immigration

.CNA: But how would you respond to those angered by illegal immigration? Shouldn’t those in the country illegally face punishment?

Gomez: As we stress the Church’s moral principles, we need to be more sensitive to people’s fears. The opponents of immigration are also people of faith.They are afraid. And their fears are legitimate.The fact is that millions of immigrants are here in blatant violation of U.S. law.

This makes law-abiding Americans angry. And it should.We have to make sure that our laws are fair and understandable. At the same time, we have to insist that our laws be respected and enforced. Those who violate our laws have to be punished.The question is how?

What punishments are proper and just? I think, from a moral standpoint, we’re forced to conclude that deporting immigrants who break our laws is too severe a penalty.Now, this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t enforce the laws. It means we need to find more suitable penalties. I would suggest that intensive, long-term community service would be a far more constructive solution than deportation. This would build communities rather than tear them apart. And it would serve to better integrate the immigrants into the social and moral fabric of America.

Did Obama Consult With Gulf Coast Governors On the Halt to Drilling in the Gulf

THIS IS VERY BAD NEWS. I want to know if the Governors were consulted and allowed input into this. This is the last thing Louisiana needs.

Newsweek's Article On the Mean Ole Vatican Attack On American Nuns

Goodness is Lisa Miller the worst religious reporter in the nation? I think she is in the running. See

Female Troubles
At a time when the Catholic Church most needs women, it has launched a frontal attack on its nuns.

Oh boy you can see by the title we are getting off to a bad start here. As usual Newsweek does a bad job of informing. Oh and please note the picture they are using . I highly suspect those tupe of NUNS are not under attack and in fact welcome this.

I think many Catholics know why this is happening. Some of the theology that these folks have been doing and giving to our children is WAY WAY WAY out there. It is heretical.

She also leaves out a huge fact. Many of these orders are DYING. While the more orthodox orders are going gangbusters. The Vatican in a sense is having to do a emergency intervention to save these orders from themselves.

As a Catholic I have certain rights. One of those rights is to have the faith presented in a truthful matter. This is what this is about.

In the SEC College Baseball Coaches Salaries have Gone From Rags To Riches

One other sports related post. I thought this was a interesting article at SEC Baseball Tournament 2010: League's coaches have gone from average paycheck to a 'great living'.

The down side as the article mentions is of course you can lose you job a lot more easier if you don't produce. I expect this is another sign of things to come on a national level as we see College Baseball not only become popular and College ADs see this as a revenue producing sport.

LSU Baseball Beats Jorts Wearing Florida Gators at the Hoover (Links)

Are We BACK!!!! Well perhaps we can confirm it when we play Vandy at 8 pm tonight.

At the very least we are now sure to go into a regional.

Carl Dubois has a recap of the game plus a link to where you can listen to the post game news conferences at GAME BLOG: LSU 10, Florida 6 (final). Also see his entry on tonights game against Vandy at Pitching matchup set for tonight

LSUsports has their write up plus a link at Baseball Better Than No. 4 Florida; Vandy Next

And the Valley Shook says lets not jump the gun on those type of comments yet.
The Picayune has LSU baseball: Tigers beef up NCAA resume with SEC Tournament win
From the Florida side Gator Sports has their viewpoint at UF baseball falls to LSU in SEC tournament opener
In the Louisiana Gannett papers this is their piece. See Look who's back: LSU dominates Florida‎
The Advocate has 'Like old times' and Katz makes most of his chance

Obama Has Success With Education and Fighting Teacher Unions

Hmm an interesting article here from the American Spectator. See Race to the Top -- Of What?

Tip of the Hat to Althouse.

Have You Said Your Rosary For LSU Baseball Victory Against Florida At Hoover (SEC tournament)

Because gosh knows we need all the help we can get. THERE IS STILL TIME!!! :)

Game at 4:30 today.

Carl has the roundup on the games today at Four games on tap today at SEC tournament

Also see from the papers
LSU baseball: Roles reversed for Tigers entering SEC Tournament‎
Gibbs snares SEC honor‎
LSU back in comfort zone of 'Little Omaha'‎
How good is SEC baseball this season?‎
Baseball: Tigers open SEC tournament against No. 1 Gators‎
A fresh start?

Claims of The Death of The Catholic Church Seems Premature ( A look at Milwaukee)

The whole sex abuse scandal in the USA got it's public start right here in Louisiana in the Diocese of Lafayette. I have commented how that Diocese has now recovered.

Needless to say the Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee had it MAJOR SIMILAR woes plus a lot of other issues.. It appears though they are very much on the mend. Soldiering On has a report here at Vibrant Church

The Names Of Catholics Killed On Missions In 2009

First Thoughts has the Links at Catholics Killed While on Mission in 2009

Great Resources For the Sainthood Cause of Louisiana's Military Priest Saint!!! (Father Joseph Verbis Lafleur)

Wow this is so interesting. A great web site plus prayer cards and a ton of information.

St Landry Church blog has the links and more details at New Father Lafleur website CHECK IT OUT.

Don't Assume The GOP Will Lose Their Newly Acquired Hawaii House Seat

See why here.

I think if you are GOP this attitude of well it is lost anyway needs to be fought. Just like the attitude toward the CAO seat.

White House Upset That Press Is Asking So Many BP Oil Spill Question!!

INCREDIBLE!!!

Archdiocese of New Orleans To Have Special Collection For Oil Spill Victims (Where the money is going)

I saw this in item in the New Orleans Catholic paper. The Archbishop talks on this and other related matters. Linked via pdf here.

The BP Oil Well Spill And LSU Football Tickets!!

This is not a funny situation at all with this crisis we had but this made me chuckle. From Everyday Should Be Saturday

WHERE THERE IS CORRUPTION, THERE IS A TENTACLE HOLDING LSU TICKETS. Do not be shocked that among MMS inspectors' numerous foibles and possible derelictions of duty, therehappens to be a trip to the 2005 Peach Bowl lumped in there. Of all the things we could ever feel guilty about as a hypothetical corrupt official, a trip to a football game would be the one thing we would never, ever apologize for no matter how much public money was involved. I WENT AND IT WAS GLORIOUS AND YOU NEED ME ON THAT WALL AND THAT WALL IS MUCH MORE TOLERABLE WHEN I'M SITTING ON SWAG FROM A BOWL GAME, YOU BASTARDS.

The Worldwide Catholic Sex Abuse Crisis- Blame It On the Irish?

Whispers in the Loggia has an excellent post with the text of a letter that Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Canberra and Goulburn in Aussie land did on the topic of the abuse scandal.

I recommend all read it. As he says his thoughts on this matter are a work in progress. See "The Culture of Discretion"

What is of interest here is the Irish connection he makes. Like in the United States the Irish ruled. Even in areas of the Country where there was no significant Irish presence the Irish Catholic way ruled. Mainly because they controlled the teaching at seminaries, held positions of power in the academy, and well dioceses that had large amounts of Irish were the most powerful.

Morning Minion keys in on a interesting part at Vox Nova and quotes where he talks about the Irish rigorist attitude to the body and sexuality and the heresy of Jansenism came into play.

See Quote of the Day for that very interesting quote.

In some ways I want to believe this because then we can ID the problem and fix it. However I found it the weakest of his argument.

First the data is incomplete. I think we are going to have to see how this plays world wide where the Irish were not so much a factor.

However after being around pedophiles in the past I have a hard time thinking they got this condition because of not a healthy attitude about sex and Jansenism mixed with Calvinism. This is a very very dark place. If it were that simple then should we not be seeing sex offenders cured at a much higher higher rate.

Now PERHAPS the Archbishop is making a connection to just ephebophilia which refers to the sexual attraction to post-pubescent adolescents and not paedophilia. Though he is not clear if that is his intent as to part Morning quotes.

Also how does this explain similar rates of Clergy abuse in certain Protestant communities that would have not have been affected by this?

Still a good piece and one of the better ones I have seen by a Catholic Bishop.

Georgia Teacher has Her Students Dress Up Dress Up As The Ku Klux Klan- What Could Go Wrong

I feel really sorry for this teacher I really do. All of us have had an idea that we think is just brilliant and don't realize that 99.9 percent of the world would think it's nuts!!

I think this fits in this category
Southern State- Cceck
Emotional topic-check
Interaction by White kids in Sheets with black students- Check

What could go wrong?

Civil War Memory has the story at Yeah, But Why Do They Have To Wear the Sheets?

Blood Atonement , Utah Firing Squads, and A Pending Execution

I posted on this some weeks backs. Yes it does appear there is a religious angle to why Utah has a firing Squad (though not for long) to execute inmates.

Get Religion has the link at Firing squad as ‘blood atonement?’

I am Sad Erin Andrews Did Not Make The Top 2 of Dancing With the Stars

:(

Evil Westboro Baptist Church To Protest Louisiana Soldier's Funeral

Ugh!!!! My Bossier has Westboro Baptist Church plans to picket Tomlinson Funeral

They should remove the word Baptist and just put SATAN. That would be truth in advertising.

Update- Andys Place has a rather blunt but very true post on this at The A*#holes are coming!!! The A*#holes are coming!!!

I think this is the first time they have hit our area.

Important New Book On Charles Carroll (The Only Catholic Signer of the Declaration of Independence)

This looks great A nice description can be found at the Amazon link that is provided at the link.

Update See this great review that has an excerpt

Here We Go Again- Was Cardinal Newman Gay?

Expert a lot more of this in the the coming months. See Newman's biographer on his subject's orthodoxy and sexuality via the London Times.

Also see Liberals and conservatives war over Cardinal Newman’s legacy

I Am Getting Tired of Certain People in Lafayette (University of Louisiana LAFAYETTE Garbage Again)

What is going through these people's minds!!! I mean I think they have convinced themselves they have a RIGHT too do this. See this BS at Louisiana ( 1 2 3 4 5 6 )

It is time the other schools in the University Of Louisiana system start playing hardball. Also If the Lafayette media continues to go along with this nonsense and even promote it they should be banned from covering sporting events at any other University of Louisiana school. PERIOD.

ATTENTION there is no UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA. You don't have the right to that name. You are the University of Louisiana Lafayette. DEAL WITH IT!!!

Further ULM (University of Louisiana Monroe) needs to take action within the sunbelt conference too to stop all this.

Update- Corrected for grammar Nazi in the comments.

Let me add one other thing. For all ULL people stopping by. If you can answer this question to me to my satisfaction I will cahnge my viewpoint. What give ULL to be called the "Louisiana" or the "University of Louisiana" and not ULM. What is the difference? Why does ULL have the right to do that and not ULM?

Mississippi State Football Recruits BOdyslamming Teachers!! (VID)

In this case with apparent consent!! :)

See Mississippi State's Recruiting Really Is Improving

I Still Don't Get State Owned Liquor Stores

And neither does Rod Dreher. See Fun with Pennsylvania Soviet wine shopping

Yes The LAW Is A Teacher and Can Change Attitudes (The Civil Rights Act)

The Volokh Conspiracy has a post Public Opinion, Anti-Discrimination Law, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

He says at the start:
The truth is almost the reverse of Will’s statement. The Civil Rights Act was enacted in 1964 because “the thinking of the white portion of the country” had already changed over the previous 20–30 years. As Howard Schuman and his coauthors document in their comprehensive book Racial Attitudes in America, there was an enormous liberalization in white opinion on race from the 1940s to the 1960s. By 1963, one year before the enactment of the Civil Rights Act, 85% of whites polled in a National Opinion Research Center survey endorsed the view that “Negroes should have as good a chance to get any kind of job” and rejected the position that “white people should have the first chance at any kind of job” (endorsed by only 15%). This contrasts with 55% who said that “white people should have the first chance” on the same question in 1942 and 51% who said so in 1944.

Similarly, 73% of whites questioned in a 1963 NORC poll embraced the view that “Negroes should have the right to use the same parks, restaurants, and hotels, as white people.” The same 1963 study also showed that 79% of whites rejected the idea that transportation in streetcars and buses should be segregated, compared to 54% who had endorsed it in 1942 (both the 1942 and 1963 questions used the same wording). The 1963 figures probably overstate the actual degree of white support for integration and equal opportunity. But it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that white opinion had moved strongly in an integrationist direction relative to previous years, and that discrimination against blacks in employment and public accommodations was opposed by a majority of white voters by 1964.

Ok but WHERE were these white folks located. Later on he admits
None of this means that the Civil Rights Act was insignificant. Although national white opinion was generally favorable to integration by 1964, southern whites were still much more hostile. Moreover, southern businesses that wanted to employ black workers on an equal basis with whites and/or serve black customers in an integrated setting were often prevented from doing so by state law and government and private violence. On these fronts, the Act really did make a major positive difference. The South probably would not have desegregated anywhere near as fast without it.

EXACTLY. You often hear you can;t teach morality but here the law was very much teaching a moral lesson. I think it helped that the South was a religious place and yes there was unease I think in a lot of people's hearts of hearts on these issues.

Still the law teaches a moral lesson.

The Economic Impact of the Haynesville Shale

Fact- Hardly none of the Haynesville Shale is around Haynesville or Claiborne Parish which is pretty annoying to a lot of folks around here :)

The Dead Pelican has The Economic Impact of the Haynesville Shale

Footprints By Hans Kung (Hilarious)

Tip of the hat to CMR

Is A Nuclear Weapon An Option To Stop the Louisiana Gulf Oil Spill?

I have actually thought it might a viable solution be for some time but everyone thinks I am crazy when I mention it.

(SEE very bottom of article) I mean it is way way down there and a small one should be fine. I would think

A Russiana Orthodox Bishop Catholics Need To Get To Know

The Anchoress has a very interesting post here on him. See Hilarion: “No longer a competitor but an ally…”

A Story About Archbishop Hannan , Edwin Edwards and John Paul the II

The Picayune have a great write up on Archbishop Hannan that is now nearinbg 100 but still very very active. See Archbishop Hannan has seen it all with the New Orleans Saints

At the end of the piece is a story aout Edwin Edwards.
And then there was Edwin Edwards, someone the archbishop described as gifted, intelligent, flawed, with a great sense of humor. This was a governor elected to his fourth term with the bumper-sticker message, "Vote for the Crook, It's Important," in his campaign against Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke.

"We would have meetings with Edwards at the governor's mansion and he would bring up some question about Scripture to prove he knew something about it," Hannan said. "Usually, it was a complete misuse of Scripture.''

The archbishop tells a story suggesting it's a shame the pope never got to meet the governor.In preparing for the historic visit by John Paul II, security concerns were vital, the total budget for the trip estimated at close to $2 million that included pay for state police and city police.

"This was in the midst of the oil collapse and the state's massive fiscal woes," Hannan said. "But, ever the showman, Edwards insisted he wasn't worried in the least.
"If we have to," the governor promised, "we'll just rob Peter to pay for John Paul."

Is It Bad That College Conference Expansion Is Just About the Money

I sent this email to my local sports radio Station ESPN 97.7. Listen to them online Fox and Company is one of the best sports shows in the State. (From 3pm to 6 pm). It really is better than the "drama" I think of even some shows in Baton Rouge.

Anyway like other folks in the sports biz on this topic they often have the similar mantra we hear.

Here is the email I sent them

Regarding "It Is Sad But It is Just About the Money" and College Expansion

Hey guys

Been meaning to call in on this but when I get a chance yall are not on the topic.

Over the past few weeks you have been doing excellent stuff on Conference expansion. However a pet peeve. It seems whenever this topic is introduced we have to have the boilerplate "It is sad but this mostly about money but that is how it is!!"

My question is what is so sad about it?

When you go to a football game and see all those police officers and other providing you a safe place to enjoy a game that overtime is being paid by the Athletic department. Who do people thinks pays the light bill.

Now you are not the only ones "sad" about this of course. Tim Brando it appears is sad also that this is just about the money which is strange since he gets a good bit of income because of our existence.

It is basic economics and there is only so much of the pie to go around. I can recall when the oil bust hit us in the 80's. LSU athletics got hammered. Programs were cut.

LSU had to go to the State and ask for money which created ill will among other in state schools and LSU. A topic they still talk about to no end on the Louisiana Tech Sports boards at times. Not fun show topics I can tell you that.

Today because of the TV deals and assorted business opportunities LSU gives direct contributions to the University general fund. In fact if I am correct every SEC Athletic department is in the black and giving similar direct contributions which helps saves teachers jobs and other services.

It is much better than the alternative we had in the "It is not about money" bad ole days where one would have to justify the baseball budget over lets say meals on wheels to old folks. A topic I am sure you don't wish to have to go into.

We also have the issue of federal gender laws on College sports. As you are aware this had the adverse effect of actually cutting programs. Many of these programs are in the red but these Olympic Sports are vital in attracting a a diverse student body from across the nation and indeed the world. In the North where there is a whole slew of winter sports they must fund the issue is even more vital.

These TV deals and opportunities that come with Conference expansion allows these to continue without have to beg and plead with State legislatures that are facing facing even tighter budgets and a voting public that is getting upset.

One final thought. A couple of weeks ago you had a guy from Tech on talking about where TECH will be in all this. He of course started out by going "Well it is indeed sad it is just about the money" He mentioned academics was important. That we need to be a good academic fit.

What does that have to do with anything.

When I was at LSU I got no added benefit academic wise from being the SEC. There were no visiting VANDY profs, there were no online academics classes with Georgia, no student and academic exchanges with Ole Miss. I did not get special consideration for admission to post Grad programs at various SEC schools because I was their SEC brother.

Besides that 30 second commercial we see during big games (SEC SEC WE ARE SMART ETC ETC) what real benefit does it bring.

What do Tech students and the academic programs at Louisiana Tech get in real terms by being associated with Fresno, Nevada, or Boise State. Are we involved in joint research projects? I have not heard of it.

If Tech enter Conference USA they will get no added academic benefit by being associated with TULANE in Conference USA.

People do not go to Stanford because the academics is good in the PAC 10. They go to Stanford because the academics is great at Stanford. They are not concerned what they are doing in Oregon.

Now I realize we need to be of similar quality. For instance Tech should not be placed in the same conference as lets say Arkansas State perhaps but still this seems overblown

Anyway there is nothing sad about this being about money. It allows sports excellence to continue while not assaulting the every increasing mad taxpayer's wallet or by having to make crucial cuts in the University's essential mission of education and research. This is about putting athletic budgets on a solid footing so we will not see future programs decimated because of the up and downs of the economy.

Further it allows a colleges best pr machine to the nation to continue and to improve.

If you want to see sadness look at UNO and Centenary.

James H

The NFL Loses In the Supreme Court

Pro Ecclesia has the link and some comments at Unanimous Supreme Court Rules NFL Not a Single Entity, But 32 Separate, Competing Businesses . There should be some considerable commentary on the legal blogs about this later today I suspect.

I hope to comment more once I read the case.

Former Baptist Ministers and the Catholic Pastoral Provision

In my Diocese we had a Methodist Minster that came in under the pastoral provision. This is the first time I have heard of a married Baptist minister coming in under this , but that does not mean it has not happened before I suppose. Anglo Catholic has Pastoral Provision for Baptists?

Is Rand Paul A Good Thing For All Political Sides

I agree with most of what Ross Douthat says here in the NYT Op Ed , with a few exceptions, about Rand Paul. See The Principles of Rand Paul.

I also agree with the folks at Contentions that it is wrong to blame his current woe on the media. See Palin and the Media

Now no doubt if I was a Kentucky resident I would not have voted for him. Especially since it appears he has a thing for certain conspiracy theories. (See Doutat's link).

Still he is from the Libertarian faction of the party and they got their guy for once nominated. Now I know he is far from a perfect Libertarian in their eyes. Still it does seem that he is advocating some core principles here.

So now it is time to fish or cut bait. I keep hearing from this segment if only yall would listen to us and those messy social conservatives went away things would be grand. Now no doubt Paul is a social conservative. BUT THOSE ARE NOT THE ISSUES that will be in dispute.

For the Libertarian faction his entry will be good because we might see some battle lines drawn. I sometimes think that some Libertarian viewpoints that are professed by some are in reality a EXTREME State right's position. A position that seems to have not have a healthy balanced view of Federalism. Maybe Paul's race will help clarify the fault lines here.

Also from a Libertarian standpoint we can see how some of their core ideas sell. Do Conservatives or the average person really want to get rid of the Americans with Disability Act?

I think for the Tea party this is good too. Is the Tea Party really Libertarian? How many are Club for Growth folks and Huckabee like populist? Also if he flounders it si a good lesson to the Tea Party folks that yes you have a reponsibility to vet your folks too.

For the media it will be a good education on what is really libertarian and what is mainstream conservatism. For instance Bobby Jindal is not some AYN Rand follower even though he is a conservative.

So lets have the debate and not run away from it. There seems to have been a lot of talk on the internet forums and blogs about these ideas. Where now we can see if they are winners.

Lots of Texas A@M Aggies to Be Ordained to the Priesthood This year

Aggie Catholic has the list. See Aggie Ordinations

Book That Mark Twain Ordered Not Published Till 100 Years After His Death About to Go On Sale

Wow this seems huge!!! See After keeping us waiting for a century, Mark Twain will finally reveal all

The Problem With the Vatican Apostolic Visitation of Women Religious Orders News Stories

Is that nine times out of ten they are leaving out a lot of information of why this is happening. Get Religion examines this at And now for the rest of the story

Pope Benedict In Rare Saturday Appointment Gives the United States Armed Forces Another Bishop

Wow busy weekend. Seems a good bit happened when I was out of town. Some catching up ot do!! Whispers has this interesting story at A Bishop for the Forces

Rand Paul Is Starting To Divide Conservatives

After watching this guy for a few days I am going to do another post on him later and give my observations. To say the least he is different.

Over at Contentions we see a part of the conservative movement that has concerns. See Is Silence Enough?

The Absurd Results of the Sexting Law

From Instapundit:

Five Virginia teens are facing felony pornography charges for “sexting.”

This is happening far too often. I don’t quite comprehend the logic that says in order to protect minors from the dangerous consequences of sexting, we need to ruin their lives. Quote from the prosecutor:

It’s not clear what the consequences of the felony pornography charges might be but the chances of the students being convicted on the charges are as likely “as the moon coming crashing down tomorrow,” Commonwealth Attorney Cliff Hapgood said.

So why charge them in the first place?
I don’t think anyone would argue that it’s a good thing that minors are sending one another nude photos via cell phone. But the criminal justice system is a too clumsy a tool for this problem. In a lot of these cases, the most harmful part of sexting lies in what adult authorities do to these kids when they discover it.
Posted by Radley Balko at 8:16 am

Exactly. I suspect the same absurd results if this Online Bullying bill becomes law in Louisiana.

The First Jew For The Supreme Court Could Have Occured in 1853

And he would have been from Louisiana!! Of course I guess his tenure would have been short lived since 7 years later he would be going back down South :)

Still an interesting post about a very interesting man. See Justice Judah P. Benjamin?

Impressed That the News Site The Dead Pelican Is Linking More Catholic Stuff

I have not noticed him doing this before but there has been more of these Louisiana related Catholic links on his news web site the last few weeks!!! See this one Relics can help to reaffirm faith... via of course THE DEAD PELICAN

THANKS KEEP IT UP!!! He is sort of the major Louisiana version fo the Drudge Report so good stuff.

Bishop In Rhode Island Does EXCELLENT Article On The New Mass Translations!!

Father Z has it plus his comments. See Bp. Tobin (D. Providence) on the new translation of the Roman Missal

I Don't Get The Rainbow Sash Movement

These seems all so counterproductive.

Archbishop of Canterbury Says Henry VIII Might Be In Hell Unless....(Updated)

... the Tudor king had achieved salvation it would have been because of the prayers of the loyal Catholic monks he murdered. ....

Wow. Read the whole thing here at King Henry VIII could be in hell, says Archbishop of Canterbury

Update- A funny take on this here at The Vicar on Henry VIII via Standing On My Head

Louisiana Webster Parish Soldier Killed In Afghanistan

RIP!!

My Bossier has More on Joshua Tomlinson

Thank The Saints!! LSU Baseball Beats Mississippi State in Game 1

Boy I was hanging on to the end!!! It was a close one. Carl Dubois has GAME BLOG: LSU 14, Mississippi State 13 (final).



Oh and to see what has to happen for us to get to the SEC Tournament see What do the Tigers have to do?

The American Catholic Saint That Was A Hairdresser

I also find him so interesting. American Catholic has Venerable Pierre Toussaint

Jon Kyl Has Best Take On Rand Paul's Comments On the Civil Rights Act (Plus My Take)

Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl — the No. 2 Republican in the Senate — said he watched Paul’s exchange with Maddow on Wednesday night and suggested that Paul should have avoided “engaging in a theoretical debate with her.” “I think the two of them were having a bit of good time having a debate like you had at 2 a.m. in the morning when you’re going to college, but it doesn’t have a lot to do with anything,” Kyl said.

I agree with that. I did seem sort of the thing you like to do in LAW SCHOOL class. Needless to say there are reason politicos give short answers.

I think this is the best take on this I have seen so far. See For the Record, I Would Have Voted for the Magna Carta (Also see the other links)

THE PROBLEM is the general public does not get the whole background Commerce Clause question involved. They don't get the endless discusssion certain folks like to have of what grant of Federal power could or should have been used to dismantle Jim Crow.

They don't get the history and the controversal interpretation of the Civil Right Amendments.


They don't get that by using the Commerce Clause that created all sort of later problems. Like the Commerce Clause basically being used now as the ability for Congress to do anything.

Now a good many of the people that are saying racist realize what the issues are and the whole background to this. Yet they are playing off people's ignorance of whats at play.

Rand in a sense fell into this. Everyone says they want interesting debates but in the end the soundbite kills. That is just the reality. Paul just needs to stay away from the 2 A.M. Late Night like discussions.

Obama Says He Needs Republican Help To Pass Immigration Reform

Wow well I can name quite a few Republicans that needed his help in 2007 on the issue till he stabbed them and yes all those that needed immigration reform in the back.

I suspect people have long memories!!!

Contentions has Obama’s Immigration-Reform Gambit Unmasked

Thibodaux Louisiana Man Walks Nude So To Get To Heaven

From the Louisiana Land of the Strange


Man says he strolls nude at God's commandAssociated Press Reporting
A man who told police that God told him to walk the streets naked to save his soul has been arrested.Thibodaux police responded to an obscenity complaint around 2:00 a.m. Thursday and found Shafiq Mohamed walking nude down the street.When approached; Mohamed reportedly told officers that "America raped him" and added God told him to walk the streets naked to save his soul.Mohamed was taken into custody and charged with obscenity. He was booked into the Lafourche Parish Detention Center where he awaited bail.

A Young Missouri Priest Finds Solace and Renewal In the Old Rite of Mass

Catholic Knight has a nice story here at Young Priest Discovers Renewal In Old Rite

Meet Supreme Court Justice Clarence X - Clarence Thomas The Black Nationalist!!!

Michael Perry at Mirrors of Justice links a very good and readable Law Review article from Notre Dame on Clarence Thomas.

See Clarence Thomas, Black Nationalist! The download is a very small pdf file.

Louisiana's Proposed Online Abuse Law is A Bad Idea

I mean very bad!! See Proposed Louisiana Law Would Ban Any Online Speech Intended to “Embarrass, or Cause Emotional Distress” to an Under-17-Year-Old.

Jim Geraghty Misses the Point . YES RAND HAS A PROBLEM

Oh dear well I knew this was coming. Rand is having to deal with how he would have voted on The Civil Rights Act of 1964. No I don't think he is a racist and yes I know Federalism and Interstate Commerce questions are at the root of it. Still this show the limits of a real practical Libertarian poltical viewpoint fuctioning in reality.

You can see his piece here. See Welcome to the General Election, Rand.

Ann Althouse I think better than I shows the problem here.

Also there is point being missed here in what I call the Libertatian never never land as to this issue. As one of the comments at Ann place pointed out:
Rand Paul is a staunch libertarian. Of course he holds those views.Me, I'm more of a squish. The state forcibly resegregated private enterprises in the 1880s and 1890s, which set into stone those practices. State action (on the federal level) was reasonable or even necessary to break that logjam-- hence the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

That is often missed. I some ways the Jim Crow Laws put some blacks in a WORSE position than before the Civil War. We saw this in Louisiana as to the population of Free blacks Civil War.

Update- I have another post on this at Jon Kyl Has Best Take On Rand Paul's Comments On the Civil Rights Act (Plus My Take)

An Example of Bad Reporting When A Social Conservative "Fall Into Sin"

I am pretty realistic on sins of the flesh. It happens. When it happens to politicians I don't get bent out of shape.

However I think what drives Christians up the wall at times is how these stories are portrayed and how they are written up. Get Religion has a good post on this looking at a recent Washington Post story at Sexual sin vs. “misplaced” words.

The More Immigrants The Less Crime

It would appear. Instapundit has the links as well as to the safest places in America. Like he said you might be shocked.

Black Democrat Women Oppressing the Gay White Democrat Man (NASTY RACE IN ARKANSAS)

WOW that sounded like a nasty campaign

She won last night. GO hear for the details and to listen to the ad that for good measure throws race in too boot!!!

And John Kerry Was Almost Elected President? (Why China Is Doing Oil Stuff In Iraq)

This is maddening!!!

From the Anchoress

Speaking of asking questions, what the deuce is this and who does our Senate work for?

…three US Senators killed an Iraqi deal with US oil firms to develop part of their industry. And in so doing, the door was opened for China to seize the contracts instead. It’s maddening, and on par with the logic of watching Chinese oil companies drill for oil and gas resources just off the Florida coast and not us.

The Iraqi government was poised to sign no-bid contracts with those firms this summer to help make immediate and needed improvements in Iraq’s oil infrastructure. The result would have been significant foreign investment in Iraq, an expansion of Iraqi government revenues, and an increase in the global supply of oil. One would have thought that leading Democratic senators who claim to be interested in finding other sources of funding to replace American dollars in Iraq, in helping Iraq spend its own money on its own people, and in lowering the price of gasoline for American citizens, would have been all for it. Instead, Senators Chuck Schumer, John Kerry, and Claire McCaskill wrote a letter to Secretary of State Rice asking her “to persuade the GOI [Government of Iraq] to refrain from signing contracts with multinational oil companies until a hydrocarbon law is in effect in Iraq.” The Bush administration wisely refused to do so, but the resulting media hooraw in Iraq led to the cancellation of the contracts, and helps to explain why Iraq is doing oil deals instead with China.

Really, who do they work for? I am confused.

I agree I am confused too.

So All That Far Left Money Was Wasted On Trying To Defeat Blanche Lincoln?

Yes she does indeed have a runnoff with her main contender but from what I am reading and seeing where she got her votes it is hard to tell how her opponent will find more votes. Especially since the Dem that got 13 percent ran to the right of her and by implication much further to the right than Halder.

I think this sums it up:
........At the very same time, Politico asserts, on the strength of three Senate races, including the Democratic primary in Arkansas, that "activists have seized control" of elections. It's a thin thesis. Teabaggers indeed won the Republican Senate primary in Kentucy. Common sense ruled in Pennsylvania, where Democrats rejected a turncoat, Arlen Specter, who'd often been a thorn in their side. And what of Arkansas?

The notion that "liberal activists" seized control of the Arkansas Democratic primary is laughable. (Oh, why not. It was the Arkansas Times endorsement that almost pushed Bill Halter to victory.)

More seriously: there's no doubt liberal money beat up on Blanche Lincoln to Bill Halter's benefit. But she ended where she started before MoveOn, the SEIU or anybody else had figured out where Arkansas was. She was in the low 40s when she was for card check and before the election season had begun. She ended in the low 40s after she came out against card check and voted for and against health care. Again: Those weren't liberals voting for D.C. Morrison last night.

Many liberals voted for Halter. So did some Republicans in West Little Rock and Grant County and the Delta and elsewhere who thought beating Lincoln now was the best ticket to a Republican victory in the fall. Oh, and please: The most liberal county in Arkansas -- Pulaski -- went strongly for Blanche Lincoln. The big Hillcrest box, reliably the most liberal in the state, went 725-498 for Lincoln.

It would not surprise me to see Blanche Lincoln win the runoff. But I"ve been wrong before -- a number of times last night.

So basically the GOP guy wins in stunning fashion while the two democrats will beat each up for a few more weeks and spends lots of cash they need for the general. GREAT PLAN it appears.

I never exactly understood why the far left of the democrat party was focusing on Lincoln anyway. Over Card Check?

I Did Not Realize Fayetteville Arkansas Was So Liberal

I was trying to get a bead on the results of the Democrat race for Senate in Arkansas found this interesting article.

Leding Defeats Ramsey
PROGRESSIVE NEWCOMER PULLS 61 PERCENT OF VOTE

Political newcomer Greg Leding cruised past former state legislator J.W. “Bill” Ramsey on Tuesday to earn the Democratic nomination for District 92 in the Arkansas House of Representatives.
With all precincts reporting, Leding received 1,156 votes (61 percent) and Ramsey got 730 votes (39 percent). Results are unofficial until certified by the Washington County Election Commission.
Leding is likely to take office in January because no Republican candidate filed to run in the district. Write-in candidates can file as late as August, but a win by a write-in candidate is extremely rare.
The Fayetteville district includes the University of Arkansas and most of Fayetteville. It is widely considered one of the region’s most liberal districts. Incumbent State ...

Here is a interview with him

Again it is a University Town but it is a SEC University town and Fayetteville never struck me as a Liberal Bastion when I was there. Maybe it is. Anyway I just thought it was interesting. Especially sicne North West Arkansas tends to be very GOP.

Well he is for immigration reform which he did not back away from so I like that. For Gay marriage it appears don't like that. I am afraid to think what his position on abortion is.

Still I thought that was a interesting local race that shows a demographic of that area.

(Update) I mentioned in the comments that when I am up there I am perhaps confusing a lot of towns that run into each other as being all one town.

This Person Not A Fan of Music For Pope's Visit to the UK

Damion Thompson not a fan :)

See Revealed: the tired, trendy, dated music planned for the Papal Mass in Coventry

A Louisiana Adoration Chapel and it Secret Garden

This is a rather nice article that ran in a Louisiana paper. See St. Theresa Church has secret garden

Tip of the Hat to the Dead Pelican

Ted Turner Ponders If God Sent the Gulf Spill (Where is the Outrage)

CMR has Noted Atheist Says God's an Environmentalist

Former LSU Law Prof Jay S. Bybee 's Memos Causing Havoc Again (This time Immigration)

See The Bybee Immigration Memo

The Important Work OF Catholic Charities and The Gulf Oil Spill

Abita Deacon has a good post here on this at Archdiocese of New Orleans working hard for those affected by oil spill

The Catholic Sex Abuse Scandal No One Is Talking About

Stop Baptist Predators has a article up at Sexual abuse of children crosses faith lines . However I don't want to talk about Protestant sexual abuse. I want to talk about the Catholic sex abuse problem no one is talking about. The main question I have is why not?

............It is difficult to come up with precise numbers regarding the sexual abuse of children by religious workers. Despite the media attention focused on one religious group, however, available evidence suggests the rates of abuse, from 2 percent to 5 percent – are similar across religious boundaries.

What we do know from hundreds of studies is that the dangers are the same.Abusive clergy and youth workers are drawn to working with children. In their own minds, many see the extra attention they devote to the children they abuse as a sign of caring. Religious institutions have long offered such workers not only access to young people, but lift them up as trusted representatives of God.........

Hmmm

I find it interesting in the Post Vatican II LAY INVOLVED Church no one seems concerned that clerics are the only ones being talked about. We have long long long been past the days where we had so many nuns, priests, and brothers to attend to our every need.

A lot of the Catholic voices that are most critical and yell about EMPOWER THE LAITY YES WE CAN don't seem too concerned that we are not seeing lack of reports of abuse that are decades old regarding CYO folks, CCD Teachers, Catholic Coaches and Teachers, etc etc etc.

Do Catholic Laity have some magic immunity to this evil that Protestant "Lay Folks" don't.

If a Priest is accused ,based one allegation decades ago, and has his named publicized why not Catholic teachers, CYO workers, Church volunteers, and various other folks?

How come we are not seeing this? Do we the Catholic Laity want two standards. One for you know those celibates and one for us?

Why is this not being discussed? So the only "sex abuse" that was covered up by Bishops just involved Clerics? DOUBTFUL.

Why the double standard. I am hearing a lot of talk about Clericalism but what about the laity? Where do we fit into this.

Where is the Vietnamese Community As to Congressman Cao?

Speaking of Cao (If 2010 Is All About Being Anti Incumbant Why Is Cao The Only GOP House Person In Major Trouble ) i am perplexed why he would be having fundraising problems. Perhaps there is a perception this race cannot be won. I disagree with that.

Cao has had several lucky breaks in the past as to timing. It appears to me that the Democrat running against Vitter is not really exciting the base and really not exciting the black community. That possible lack of turnout in New Orleans is a real possibility and provide CAO that narrow narrow window to win.

CAO should be getting a lot of support from a lot of folks. PRO-LIFERS at the top of the list. Devout Catholics should be up there too.

However what about the huge Vietnamese community. I mean in this race no one in his district is going to care if like 80 percent of his money comes out of State. It seems to me that we should be seeing MAJOR bucks coming from places like Orange County California. CAO is the first Vietnamese congressman ever!!! He has a great story!! HE IS HOLDING VIETNAM's FEET TO THE FIRE.

Perhaps we shall see more of a jump in these money numbers later but an effort needs to be made. He can win this race and it is not a lost cause yet. I am fearing the perception that this race is lost is what is hurting him. That needs to be corrected.

If 2010 Is All About Being Anti Incumbant Why Is Cao The Only GOP House Person In Major Trouble

Jay Cost yesterday pointed out a truth after examining the latest spin from the White House and the media:

Ok. So, the idea is that the public mood is anti-incumbent in general, which means we should expect lots of "hand-to-hand" combat between Democrat and Republican candidates as they try to position themselves as being the most anti-Washington.
No. This is totally wrong.

It is a false equivalency being pushed because Arlen Specter is probably going to lose today. If that happens, Snarlin' Arlen will make the fourth high-profile pol that Barack Obama embraced in friendship who was later rebuked by the voters of a blue or purple state. Deeds, Corzine, Coakley, Specter. The White House doesn't want this "narrative" to get out - so they're pushing this alternative instead.

This isn't about dissatisfaction with the performance of the 44th President. Oh no. This is about demanding change in Washington - the very same change, by gum, that Barack Obama has been working so hard to bring about!

"Change that you can believe in" has gone from an over-worked campaign slogan to an unfalsifiable hypothesis. Vote for a Dem, you support the President's agenda for change. Vote for a GOPer, you support the President's agenda for change.
But how many Republican incumbents are in severe jeopardy of losing their seat in Congress to a Democratic challenger?

I count one: Joseph Cao of New Orleans.

Meanwhile, I count more than 20 Democrats in the House and Senate who are in severe jeopardy. Lower the threshold from "severe" to "serious" jeopardy, and I count maybe four Republicans and more than 50 Democrats.

Read it all!!!

Recall just one year ago all those snarky comments about the GOP being the party of the ole Confederacy only. Not hearing much of that anymore.

BY THE WAY DON"T GIVE UP ON CAO!!! (Related-Where is the Vietnamese Community As to Congressman Cao? )

So Arlen Specter Got Defeated

NRO has a article up on this here.

I was never a Specter hater. I saw that he served his purpose. Needless to say he was essential in getting Thomas on the Court and was helpful on other matters. We (the GOP) got use out of his bulldog habits at times. That at times is forgotten. Specter has been there a long time.

Plus I thought it was cool he was one of head Lawyers on the Warren Commission( THE MAGIC BULLET!!!! theory I think was his baby).

However he got what he deserved. There is my view a big difference between what Joe Lieberman did and what Specter did here. Lieberman actions were against the greater backdrop of the IRAQ war and a position that was heartfelt. To him I credit intentions of National Security.

Specter? He just wanted to get reelected. He made a misjudgment to say the least. I think that is why he got defeated last night. People could not handle such a cynical move.

Does the New York Times Read The New York Times (Catholic Clergy Sex Abuse Related)

I mentioned this OP ED a couple of days in passing. However the Anchoress fill in the details for those that following this everyday.

Speaking of confused, the NY Times is having trouble distinguishing the Catholic Church from the City of New York, the NY Public Schools and the teacher’s unions:

The Catholic Church is working against the interests of child abuse victims in state legislatures around the country. In recent weeks, lobbying by the church has blocked measures in Wisconsin, Arizona and Connecticut intended to widen the legal window for victims to file lawsuits against hidden predators.

We urge the New York State Legislature to rise above intense lobbying by the New York State Catholic Conference and Orthodox Jewish officials and pass the overdue Child Victims Act. Like a similar measure enacted in 2003 by California, it would create a one-time, one-year suspension of the statute of limitations for bringing civil lawsuits over the sexual abuse of children.…An earlier version of the bill passed the Assembly in 2006, 2007 and 2008, but the Senate, then under Republican control, refused to consider it [. . .] The Catholic Church fears a wave of costly settlements and damage awards like those that followed California’s temporary lifting of the statute of limitations several years ago. Those concerns, and the difficulty of trying to judge decades-old accusations, are outweighed by the need to afford victims a measure of justice, the demands of public safety, and the injustice of rewarding any group for covering up sexual abuse of children.

Ummm. No. Let’s now run by some reality taken right from the pages of…the New York Times:

What began as an effort by legislators to expand judicial accountability for sexual abuse by Catholic clergy has grown to cover people in every walk of life. One bill would temporarily suspend the statute of limitations, and allow people who say they were abused as children to file lawsuits up to age 58 — that is, 40 years after they turned 18. [. . .]
Until last year, proposals to change the statute of limitations would not have affected public bodies and fallen largely on the church. After much debate, the bill, sponsored by Assemblywoman Margaret Markey, a Queens Democrat, was amended to include governments and their employees.
Suddenly, lobbyists and advocates for school boards, counties and small towns spoke out.
“Statutes of limitation exist for a reason,” said Bob Lowry, the deputy director of the New York State Council of School Superintendents. “How can anyone go back 40 years and ascertain what happened? Witnesses, responsible authorities, even the perpetrator himself or herself, may have passed away.”
The State Association of Counties weighed in, saying in a memo of opposition that “a fact-finder would have to make a determination based upon significantly aged and clouded” evidence.
And the New York State School Boards Association said the costs of old misdeeds would be borne by people who had nothing to do with them, and “provide no corresponding protection” to children.

As I wrote two weeks ago:

Should the Markey bill pass, forcing secular and civic institutions (and taxpayers) to beat out the lumps under their own rugs, these institutions may find themselves turning to the Catholic Church in America for advice, to see how they may adapt her successful policies drawn under this pope and the current bishops, to their own organizations. That would be both profoundly ironic, and further evidence that sometimes excruciating episodes and injustices end up working for a broader good.

Which is one message of the Crucifixion and the Resurrection.

The Markey Bill will likely fail to pass, once more, and its failure will be blamed on the resistance of the Catholic Church, who apparently represent the interests of civic institutions of New York, as well.

The fact that the New York Times could have run that major Op-Ed and no one seems to have called them out on some potential problems shows where we are at with the Times that for some reason is on some jihad against the Catholic Church. As I have noted (as well as others) the reporting we have seen comes nothing close to the reporting that Boston Globe did on this issue.

Now I am against getting rid of statute of limitations for various reasons.

Here is the rub. U suspect the minds at the New York Times would agree with those reasons. In fact one reason they can run this Op-Ed (that just talks about the Catholic Church) is they know this bill has no shot in passing.

Can you imagine the Times endorsing a bill that would make people from teachers to people that were in the juvenile prison system to people involved in City youth programs to have to respond and defend themselves from decades old allegations? They would never cross the teacher unions anyway. Can you imagine the Times actually supporting a bill that would cost so much to New York Government on a state , city , and county level?

Of course not. This is a mirage and a cynical one at that. THey know this bill has no chance of passing in its current form with the added amendment and if they thought it would they would be against it. As the Anchoress said :

The Markey Bill will likely fail to pass, once more, and its failure will be blamed on the resistance of the Catholic Church, who apparently represent the interests of civic institutions of New York, as well.