Outside The Asylum

The Secret Teaching of the Catholic Church

2012-02-15T12:57:00.000-08:00

Or not so secret. Evangelium Vitae has been on the Internet for 20 years- one of the first group of Vatican Encyclicals put out on the then-new world wide web. But it seems most American Catholics have never read it, making the Bishops current battle against the Obama Administration over mandated family planning seem out of touch.

For those wondering why all the hoopla about Family Planning now, I quote EV Section 13:

13. In order to facilitate the spread of abortion, enormous sums of money have been invested and continue to be invested in the production of pharmaceutical products which make it possible to kill the fetus in the mother's womb without recourse to medical assistance. On this point, scientific research itself seems to be almost exclusively preoccupied with developing products which are ever more simple and effective in suppressing life and which at the same time are capable of removing abortion from any kind of control or social responsibility.

It is frequently asserted that contraception, if made safe and available to all, is the most effective remedy against abortion. The Catholic Church is then accused of actually promoting abortion, because she obstinately continues to teach the moral unlawfulness of contraception. When looked at carefully, this objection is clearly unfounded. It may be that many people use contraception with a view to excluding the subsequent temptation of abortion. But the negative values inherent in the "contraceptive mentality"-which is very different from responsible parenthood, lived in respect for the full truth of the conjugal act-are such that they in fact strengthen this temptation when an unwanted life is conceived. Indeed, the pro- abortion culture is especially strong precisely where the Church's teaching on contraception is rejected. Certainly, from the moral point of view contraception and abortion arespecifically different evils: the former contradicts the full truth of the sexual act as the proper expression of conjugal love, while the latter destroys the life of a human being; the former is opposed to the virtue of chastity in marriage, the latter is opposed to the virtue of justice and directly violates the divine commandment "You shall not kill".

But despite their differences of nature and moral gravity, contraception and abortion are often closely connected, as fruits of the same tree. It is true that in many cases contraception and even abortion are practised under the pressure of real- life difficulties, which nonetheless can never exonerate from striving to observe God's law fully. Still, in very many other instances such practices are rooted in a hedonistic mentality unwilling to accept responsibility in matters of sexuality, and they imply a self-centered concept of freedom, which regards procreation as an obstacle to personal fulfilment. The life which could result from a sexual encounter thus becomes an enemy to be avoided at all costs, and abortion becomes the only possible decisive response to failed contraception.

The close connection which exists, in mentality, between the practice of contraception and that of abortion is becoming increasingly obvious. It is being demonstrated in an alarming way by the development of chemical products, intrauterine devices and vaccines which, distributed with the same ease as contraceptives, really act as abortifacients in the very early stages of the development of the life of the new human being.

The dear departed Blessed Pope John Paul The Great *does* have a point here. According to the February 2005 issue of Consumer Reports, in typical usage condoms fail 15% of the time. Birth control pills fail 8% of the time. This is contrasted with "perfect" usage in which the error rates fall to 2% and 1% respectively. But when you consider that most birth control failures result in an abortion- would we accept a car that 8 out of 100 trips crashes and kills the children of it's operator? I would also point out that there are several drugs out there that we now know cause MALE contraception, but because these drugs also cause "erectile dysfunction" (what better form of birth control is there than NOT being able to complete standard sexual intercourse?) they are not marketed as such, and Planned Parenthood will never give a prescription for Cymbalta because they don't believe a lower libido can be effective birth control- either that or because it's so effective they wouldn't get any more abortion business.

Time for a new round of You Might Be a Terrorist

2012-02-06T09:53:00.000-08:00

Been a couple of months. I wonder how the federal government is coming on those concentration, uh, FEMA camps.....Still time for another round of required federal reports in several industries that might suggest that you too are a terrorist:

1. Airport Service Providers -- Includes on-craft providers: baggage, cleaners, cargo, catering, mechanics, ground crew, food service, cleaners, security, taxi, limos, and shuttles.

2. Beauty/Drug Suppliers -- People who have burn marks, missing limbs, travel a long distance, nervous, who are picked up, make illogical requests (even of consumer-grade products).

3. Bulk Fuel Distributors -- New customers not from the area, those using cash for large transactions, nervous, large purchases, having a rental vehicle.

4. Construction Sites -- People with environmental slogans and/or anti-government slogans, banners or signs that threaten or imply violence.

5. Dive/Boat Shops -- New customers reluctant to provide complete personal information, customer who does not have certification, using cash for expensive transactions, extended rentals, appearing uninterested in safety rules, experiencing guarded behavior.

6. Electronics Stores -- Person who alters appearance from visit to visit (changing hair color, shaving, etc.), fills a "shopping list" of components while lacking knowledge about their use. Pays cash for large purchases.

7. Farm Supply Stores -- New customers not from the area, nervous or impatient, suspicious inquiries regarding equipment specifications, failing to state legitimate use for supplies, rental vehicle, cash for large transactions.

8. Financial Institutions -- No evidence for legitimate business activity, those with multiple accounts, banks, parties, and jurisdictions (layering). Mixed deposits (money orders, third-party checks, and/or payroll into a business account). Large volume of wire transfers, or repetitive patterns, shell entities, "pass through" points by foreign jurisdictions.

9. General Aviation -- Taking flying lessons but appear uninterested, renting under vague reasons for doing so, requests to fly over specific locations without substantiated reason, taking pictures or videos of potentially sensitive locations, actions outside the norm, parking near the perimeter of airport, asking questions without substantiation.

10. General Public -- Basically everything exhibited by those with an inquisitive nature: questions, note taking, drawing, annotating maps, inappropriate photos or videos, people in places where they do not belong.

11. Hobby Shops -- Interest in remote-controlled aircraft, interest that does not seem genuine, possessing little knowledge of purchase, exhibiting unusual interest, exhibiting no interest, using cash for large transactions.

12. Home Improvement and Large Retail Stores -- Large quantity of ammunition, firearms and ammunition out of season, combination of unusual items, interest in night vision and camouflage apparel, purchases of pipe fittings and supplies, rental vehicle, refusal to complete firearms paperwork, using cash for large transactions.

13. Hotels/Motels -- "Request specific room assignments or locations.","Use cash for large transactions or a credit card in someone else’s name.","Arrive with unusual amounts of luggage.","Make unusual inquiries about local sites, including government, military, police, communications, and power facilities.","Refuse cleaning service over an extended time.","Use entrances and exits that avoid the lobby.","Abandon a room and leave behind clothing and toiletry items.","Do not leave their room.","Change their appearance."

14. Internet Cafes -- Travel far to get to one, "Are overly concerned about privacy, attempts to shield the screen from view of others", "Always pay cash or use credit card(s) in different name(s)", "Act nervous or suspicious behavior inconsistent with activities", "Are observed switching SIM cards in cell phone or use of multiple cell phones"

15. Shopping Malls -- Wearing backpacks, discreet use of cameras, note-taking, or video over an extended period, several men arriving together then splitting up, continuing to communicate (dry run?), speaking to security guards, comments regarding radical theology, vague or cryptic warnings, or anti-U.S. sentiments that appear out of place and provocative.

16. Martial Arts/Paintball -- Insist on paying with cash, travels long distance to participate, interest in learning offensive moves in a confined space, learning the use of hidden weapons, learning kill and restraint techniques with no occupational need, group training, uttering racist, religious, unusual, anti-US, or vague and cryptic warnings, close combat training, paintball tactics of ambush or kidnapping scenarios, operating a private facility, converting large plots of rural land to conduct these activities.

17. Mass Transportation -- Altering one's appearance, exhibiting burns, bleached body hair, concealed wires, nervous, actions suggesting use of a hidden camera, unusual comments, questioning security/facility personnel via normal means of communication, groups arriving together then splitting up and communicating via cell phone.

18. Military Surplus -- Demanding identity privacy, insisting on paying with cash, suspicious comments, bulk purchases.

19. Peroxide Explosives -- Unknown customer, individual requesting more information.

20. Recognizing Sleepers -- Arrival from countries where violent militant Islamic groups are known to operate, long unexplained absences, fury at the West for reasons ranging from personal problems to global policies of the U.S., conspiracy theories about Westerners (e.g. the CIA arranged for 9/11 to legitimize the invasion of foreign lands), accusing the West of trying to destroy Islam.

21. Rental Cars -- Reluctance to provide complete personal information, using cash, unusual questions.

22. Rental Properties -- Using cash for large transactions, inquiries about local sites, refusing maintenance or service over extended time, not using property for intended purpose, unusual number of package deliveries, unusual amounts of traffic, discovery of unusual items.

23. Rental Trucks -- Reluctance to provide personal information, cash for large transactions, inquiries about renting a truck with a wooden floor, questions about vehicle specifications.

24. Storage Facilities -- Failing to provide complete personal information, using cash to pay fees in advance, placing unusual items in storage, disposing of tools, gloves, masks, or clothing, discarding clothes or shoes in new condition, avoiding contact with rental facility personnel, accessing facility an unusual number of times, storing items that emit unusual odors or leak liquids.

25. Tattoo Shops -- Demanding identity "privacy," paying cash, altering appearance (beard, hair style, hair color, style of dress, etc.), making racist or extreme statements, suspicious comments that suggest or appear to endorse violence in support of a cause, repeated returns with multiple individuals requesting identical tattoos, inquiries about unusual methods of tattooing or placement which could allow the concealment of extremist symbols.

So remember folks, under the new National Defense of America Act, you too can win an all expense paid trip to an undisclosed FEMA camp for these activities.

What is wrong with Marriage in America today

2012-02-06T04:51:00.000-08:00

I was just watching this weekend's rerun of Fulton Sheen's Life is Worth Living on EWTN- and he said something that struck me a being inspired- the dear Archbishop of New York often was, which is what got him a TV show that ran for 40 years. He said that technology in America is beginning, in the 1960s, to affect our love lives. Love, you see, isn't mechanical, it's emotional. Sex is mechanical. And when you separate sex from procreation- you separate sex from love.
Sex is replaceable. But Love is not replaceable. Love is mutual needing- Love is mutual listening. Sex can be a part of it sure- but Love is much more than just sex. It's romance. Too many people take love for granted- love takes work, it is fragile, it needs constant care. To a woman love is a drama, to a man it's an intermission- but to survive it must become a drama. It requires commitment and work.
And that's why I say that marriage must be based not on love, but on commitment. Love is the shifting sand. Commitment is the bedrock. You can't build a house on the shifting sand- but you can build it on the bedrock of commitment.

An idea for a new pro-life movement

2012-01-25T15:14:00.000-08:00

Buy 5th graders chickens.

Not just any chickens- fertilized eggs and an incubator.

It has become painfully apparent to me that most urban pro-choice Americans can't tell the difference between a unfertilized egg and a fertilized egg. That's ok, lots of experts can't either. But to compare the human embryo to an unfertilized egg just shows an incredible ignorance of how sex works.

Thus the lesson. Don't make it to overt- but do call it "The Miracle of Life, a Scientific Experiment". In the brochures and reading material, explain fertilization on a 5th grade level. Include a description of what the mother hen does naturally after the eggs have been fertilized. Watch the robot incubator do the same.

This $200 incubator could help 30 students learn enough science to resist the lies of the pro-choice movement

And here's an even cheaper one, that comes with three eggs.

Rule of Law is impossible without Enforcers

2012-01-03T11:00:00.000-08:00

Libertarians drive me crazy. I guess because at my heart, I'm anti-liberty. Or at least their form of liberty, which always seems to me to be "The government has no right to tell me when I'm wrong". They claim rule of law is a major portion of how to construct a free market, then they deny the government the right to enforce the law. They abhor the use of force- so they say- but in reality it always comes down to they abhor the government using force- your neighbor owning enough weapons to take away your food stash in a SHTF level emergency is *just fine* with most libertarians, in fact, they often argue for the right to own whatever weapons you wish. So when I recently read in an opinion article on Margaret Thatcher that she believed both in Rule of Law and Hayek's _The Constitution of Liberty_, I had to cry foul- for _The Constitution of Liberty_, despite the claim that it supports the Rule of Law, only really supports the Rule of Liberty, which is let the scoundrels get away with whatever fraud they want. His postscript to the work, "Why I am not a conservative" says it all- he rejects the role of government in helping to define one universal morality, one Catholic morality.

The problem with Skepticism

2011-12-28T07:06:00.000-08:00

There are only 5 types of evidence in this world. From the least reliable to the most reliable, they are:
-Eyewitness evidence
-Replicated eyewitness evidence
-Personally Replicated eyewitness evidence
-Mechanically Replicated eyewitness evidence
-Personal Experience

If you eliminate all eyewitness evidence from your equation, you are left with only 1/5th what the world has to offer.

If you allow some types of eyewitness evidence but not others- you only have to go up two levels to reach the realm of theology rather than science.

A great Year In Review Article

2011-12-21T08:56:00.000-08:00

This article in OSV is why I like reading Mark Shea's stuff. He, like Blessed Pope John Paul The Great was is an equal opportunity offender to those who would put Mammon or Caesar above Christ.

Read this article for such grand nuggets as:

. Let us grant that the poor man who understands little about finance (which is why he is poor) bears responsibility for taking out the too-good-to-be-true loan because the bank gave him a free toaster, urged him to do it, and promised his dream of home ownership was within reach.

What both movements do is illustrate G.K. Chesterton’s observation that the revolutionary generally has a pretty good idea of what is wrong but not what is right.

And with those two quotes, Mark Shea proves himself to be a worthy American successor to Chesterton.

You Might Be A Terrorist If Part III

2011-12-15T11:22:00.001-08:00

A very interesting story on the technology that the US Government is gearing up to use against it's own citizens. Oh, and on the plus side, in the new revision of paragraphs 1031 & 1032 of the NDAA2012, the military will at least need to convince a judge and serve you a warrant before they kidnap you in the middle of the night to make you disappear. Of course, once they have that warrant labeling you as a terrorist, you will have no rights at all.

Rerum Novarum 120th Anniversary

2011-12-15T11:03:00.000-08:00

120 years ago, Pope Leo XIII was battling both communists and capitalists for the souls of workers. Pope Benedict XVI spent his weekend still fighting that same battle, especially hitting on the subjects of solidarity and charity, which in our 21st century world are often derided as socialism and discarded. But more than that- he called upon Catholic Institutions to be an evangelical voice for Christ's gospel of unity and sharing in a world that all too often pits class against class, worker against owner, individual against society.

You Might Be A Terrorist If, Part II

2011-12-13T10:36:00.000-08:00

From Before It's News, so I ask you to check Sources on this article. But You Might Be a Terrorist if:

You Are A Tea Partier

You Are A Occupier

You have more than 7 days of food stored in your garage

You are missing a finger or a toe

You own a flashlight

You pay cash at hotels

You text in public

You have a Ron Paul bumper sticker

You believe conspiracy theories

You own silver or gold, in any form

You own guns and ammo

You served in a foreign war

The violence of the peacemakers

2011-12-11T20:05:00.001-08:00

To be pro-choice- is to be pro-violence. Violence against the unborn, is obvious, but also violence against women. The natural order of women is the exalted vocation of motherhood- the greatest thing any human being can be is a mother. Pro-choice feminism attacks motherhood directly- calling the housewife unfulfilled, somehow subservient to the man who has to work 2000 hours a year outside the home to pay for food, clothing and shelter.

The philosophy of Margaret Sanger, more children for the fit, fewer children for the unfit, is the core of Eugenics- but is based on the false idea that mankind has any way to know who is fit and who is unfit. It is a peace based on the ultimate in violence- the violence against the weak, the violence of the bully.

So this is how a Republic Ends

2011-12-07T08:19:00.001-08:00

Fact mirrors fiction in the Senate Vote on HR1540/S1867- much like in the vote in Star Wars Episode III to change Chancellor Palpatine to Emperor Palapatine and grant him emergency war powers, this seemingly innocent budget allotment for the military allows the military to name anybody as a terrorist, conduct operations within the United States, hold people in military installations and judge them by military tribunals without the right of jury, in direct violation of the Bill of Rights.

I never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad Obama is President and is likely to veto this.

Just to channel Jeff Foxworthy to finish this off, You Might Be A Terrorist If:
- You own an unregistered firearm
- You participated in an Occupy Protest
- You participated in a Tea Party Protest
- You have ever criticized an American Corporation, the US Chamber of Commerce, or the World Trade Organization
- You are pro-life and believe that human life is sacred between conception and natural death
- You have farmed, raised, or consumed marijuana
- You believe there is only one reality and only one morality that fits that reality
- You are homosexual
- You bash homosexuals
- You have any mental illness as described in the DSM-V, including Oppositional Defiant Disorder when you were between the ages of 2-4 or 12-18.
- You adhere to the belief structure of any given religion to the exclusion of other religions
- You are against War or the Death Penalty (giving aid and comfort to terrorists)
- You are not John McCain

Good luck everybody, if Obama fails to veto this, and for this post, I have no doubt that by 2018, after they get done arresting everybody else in the country, I'll be joining you all in the internment camps for writing a blog posting opposing the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012. Happy new military dictatorship, everybody. --------------UPDATE And if you think the above paragraph is cynical and satire- then read this Before It Is News Report on KBR putting out request for proposals for building MORE FEMA camps.

Why I can't trust a man who can't keep his vows II

2011-12-05T14:10:00.001-08:00

This article at CatholicVote mirrored many of my initial wondering about the progress, or lack thereof, of Newt Gingrich's conversion to Catholicism. Most telling in this blog posting is a quote from an Esquire article with his 2nd wife, where she casts grave doubt on his conversion from the man she knew and married, to an affair with a Catholic intern, to his 3rd marriage and conversion. Note this might be the pot calling the kettle black, a bit- after all, his 2nd wife was once the intern having the affair that broke up Newt's first marriage.

How Not To Do It

2011-11-29T18:38:00.001-08:00

GK Chesterton, on May 16, 1935, explained to the world why arguing for capitalism just creates more communists- and the solution. Which of these three methods do you prefer, and why?

How Not to Do It
G.K.'s Weekly
May 16, 1935

G.K.C.

There are two recognised ways of arguing with a Communist; and they are both wrong. There is also a third way which is right but which is not recognised. Now I have a notion that, for one reason or another, a considerable part of our time will be taken up soon by arguing with Communists. And I should like to sketch very roughly this notion of mine about the right way to do it.
Curiously enough, the two commonest ways of contradicting Communism also contradict each other. The first consists of convicting the Bolshevist of all vices. The second, curiously enough, consists of convicting him of all the virtues. It actually consists of pitting all our vices against his virtues; or his supposed virtues.

This is very much the more dangerous and even suicidal trick of the two; but its nature needs a little explanation. The first common or conventional method is at least simple enough. The Capitalist says to the Communist, “You shall not enter my house, for I know you would burt it down; you shall not speak to my family, for I know you would blow them up; you are a common thief and murderer and I am a highly respectable and moral person; and not as this Russian.” Now I do not like talking like that to a Bolshevist; because I should not like talking like that to a burglar. It is Pharisaical; and the Pharisee is a more ancient enemy of the Christian than the Marxian.

But I rather prefer it to the other method, which I find extremely common, among those who profess to defend property or individualism against the Marxian heresy. It really consists of telling the Communist that he is an idealist, or, in other words, that he must be wrong because he has ideals. In this second case, the Capitalist says to the Communist, “You believe in a lot of nonsense about the brotherhood of men; but I tell you, as a practical man, that every man wants to get as much as he can for himself, and will beat his own brother in business if he can. Every man must obey his acquisitive instinct." (I read these very words recently in an attack on the Bolshevist theory.) "You cannot keep things humming and hustling without private enterprise; and you cannot produce private enterprise unless you bribe or reward it with the glittering prizes of private property." People use these arguments against Communism, as if they were the only arguments against Communism; and then they are surprised that a number of more generous and spirited young people become Communists.

They do not seem to see that, to such young people, the Capitalist in question only seems to be saying, "I am a greedy old scoundrel, and I forbid you to be anything else."

Now the true, full and final argument against Communism is that private property is much more important than private enterprise. A pickpocket represents private enterprise, but we should hardly say that he supports private property. Private property is not a bribe that exists for the sake of private enterprise. On the contrary, private enterprise is only a tool or weapon, that may sometimes be useful to preserve private property. And it is necessary to preserve private property; simply because the other name of it is liberty. On the one hand, it is not merely a conventional respectability; on the contrary, it is only the man with some property and privacy who can live his own life freely. On the other hand, it is not a mere licence to trade, still less a mere licence to cheat; on the contrary, the whole point of property is that in that alone can be naturally nourished the sentiment of honour. It would need some space to expound it here and might take some time to expound it to the Communist. But the Communist would listen at least longer than he would to a man merely boasting of self-righteousness or a man merely boasting of avarice.

Sometimes the left wing DOES have a point

2011-11-23T14:43:00.001-08:00

And when they do, it's a good one. Here's some economic and Occupy myths that are common right now, and while their answers have a definite left wing bent, I think the truth is somewhere between the two. But a challenge. If you are a fiscal conservative, I challenge you to read the ENTIRE bibliography of this article:
MYTH #1: The congressional Super Committee failed because both sides refuse to compromise.
REALITY: The Super Committee failed because Republicans' number one, non-negotiable priority is to protect millionaires and billionaires from paying even one more penny in taxes.1 Democrats repeatedly offered to make deep spending cuts—far deeper than most progressives would like—in exchange for raising taxes on the wealthy and closing corporate loopholes, only to be refused again and again.2 So even though the vast majority of Americans say they want to protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefits, and raise taxes on the rich and corporations,3 that won't happen until Republicans put aside their extremist stance.
MYTH #2: Nobody knows what Occupy Wall Street is about.
REALITY: Occupy Wall Street may not have a formal list of demands, but anyone who's been paying attention understands the core problems that occupiers are protesting—that corporations have far too much power in our political system, that Wall Street banks crashed our economy but were never held accountable, and that the richest 400 Americans have more wealth than half of all Americans—156 million people—combined.4
MYTH #3: Occupiers should stop protesting and just get a job.
REALITY: As anybody who's looked for a job in the last few years knows, there just aren't jobs out there. That's a big part of why occupiers are protesting. In September, there were four times as many unemployed people as job openings.5 And for those who are lucky enough to find a job, median wages today are lower than they were a decade ago.6
MYTH #4: Occupy Wall Street is intent on provoking violence, especially against banks and the police.
REALITY: Occupations across the country have committed themselves to nonviolent protest, in the greatest traditions of protest movements. Some of their protests have been met with acts of police violence—tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets7—but in many cases, protesters have reminded police that the police officers are part of the 99%, too.8 And in the few cases when people have shown up at Occupy demonstrations and committed acts of vandalism, other protesters have even repaired their acts of vandalism.9
MYTH #5: The biggest crisis facing our country is out of control government spending.
REALITY: The two biggest drivers of our deficit—by far—are the economic crash and the Bush tax cuts.10 We have millions of people out of work, corporations hoarding cash, and factories sitting idle. If we put all those people back to work—rebuilding infrastructure, educating our children, and researching new technologies—it'll shrink the deficit and make our economy stronger for the long haul. And we can easily afford it if we make sure the rich—who are taking home a larger percentage of income than any time since 191711—pay their fair share.
Sources:
1. "No, 'both sides' aren't equally to blame for supercommittee failure," The Washington Post, November 21, 2011 Washington Post Moveon Link
2. "Wonkbook: In supercommittee, Dems moved right and Republicans moved righter," The Washington Post, November 22, 2011 < Washington Post Moveon Link
3. "CNN Poll: What The Super Committee Produced Is...Exactly What We Don't Want," Talking Points Memo, November 21, 2011 CNN Poll Moveon Link
"Medicare, Social Security & The Deficit," National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare, September 2011 Leftwing thinktank moveon link.
4. "Michael Moore says 400 Americans have more wealth than half of all Americans combined," Politifact Wisconsin, March 10, 2011 Michael More on Politifact as quoted by moveon
5. "Fact: 4 job seekers per opening in U.S.," CNN, September 12, 2011 CNN Moveon Link
6. "Median household income," Wikipedia, Accessed November 22, 2011 Wikipedia Moveon Link
7. "Occupy movement: police reaction in pictures," The Guardian, November 21, 2011 The Guardian (uk) Moveon Link
8. "Occupy Demonstrators Mark Two Months of Protests," NPR, November 17, 2011 National Public Radio Moveon Link
9. "Occupy Oakland protesters assist in cleanup efforts," News 10 ABC, November 3, 2011 Oakland News 10 ABC Moveon Link
10. "Economic Downturn and Bush Policies Continue to Drive Large Projected Deficits," Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, May 10, 2011 'nother leftwing think tank
11. "Income Inequality Is At An All-Time High: STUDY," The Huffington Post, September 14, 2009 Huffington Post

Why should I trust a man who can't keep marriage vows?

2011-11-21T16:24:00.001-08:00

Sorry ladies, I'm leaving you entirely out of this post. Spurred by Newt Gingrich's campaign: I understand the concept of forgiveness. Of second chances. And third chances. And thirteenth chances. *But*- each chance makes trust harder. Each attempt, needs more effort. And when it comes to important stuff like my mortgage or who I vote for- I have to ask why I should trust a man who is paying alimony because he can't stay within his marriage vows. Such a man is simply not worthy of my trust. At all. And he needs to do something truly extraordinary to reverse it. Sorry Newt- you've done nothing making you worthy of being President. Obama hasn't either- but at least he could stay married to one woman.

This is a test

2011-11-14T16:28:00.001-08:00

This is a test of various ways to connect Facebook to Blogspot. This is only a test. Anything else you may have heard is entirely false. But apparently, the connection between RSS feeds and notes in Facebook is going away. I'm using the RSS Grafiti app instead. It's what I use to import blogs for Our Peaceful Place, and I just found out I can set it up to import to my wall as well. With any luck, in the next 24-48 hours I'll see this post on my facebook page twice- once as a note, once as a summary.

Can we replace the government with church?

2011-11-11T12:31:00.001-08:00

Among small-government conservatives, a dream exists. A dream in which instead of paying taxes to Washington DC, we give to our local churches, who in turn take care of the poor, the sick, the troubled. It's an interesting dream. But is it feasible? Mark Grey of CARA, that is the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate crunches the numbers- and finds that we'd have to *significantly* increase collections to even come close. The average registered Catholic Family only gives $10/week through the Church. Maybe $10 billion nationwide. The US Government spends nearly a trillion on social welfare- the Church would be $990 billion short. Only if Charity is a Duty instead of a Choice could this stand any chance of working.

Happy Hallowmas

2011-11-01T10:39:00.000-07:00

I wasn't going to write this until next year- but finding several excellent articles on Hallowmas, which eventually became Halloween, All Saint's Day, and All Soul's day; I just had to write a blog posting on it. Since today is November 1st, it is appropriate to lead off with this excellent article from UCatholic on the history of the Solemnity of All Saints- how, during the persecution of the Emperor Diocletian. the number of martyrs exceeded the number of days in the calendar- and so diocese began to celebrate common days to remember their local martyrs. In the Fourth Century, as Christians began to clash with Northern European Druids, a bright evangelist recognized the similarity between the Druid Feast of Summer's End- Samhain- and the Communion of Saints, and so Hallowmas was born. It was another 600 years before the feast of All Saints finally removed the Druid death feasts, a remnant being trick-or-treating, which started with the Hallowmas tradition of groups of mourners going around begging soul cakes. The modern world has a peculiar problem with Catholicism. Few acknowledge that such a thing as “sin” exists. But an occult delight surges in many souls over the frequent aberrations of believers. The denial of sin is what the Communion of Saints is designed to combat- Hallowmas teaches us not only that sin exists- but that forgiveness for sin exists, and that we too (even kids!) can be inspired to lead holy lives regardless of our past sins. The Saints are torches sent by God to illuminate our dark world. How fitting that we celebrate Hallowmas at this time of the year, as the darkness grows and the days grow shorter! We must indeed pray that the Saints should Teach us what they know. Eventually, for some Catholics, even the history got lost and it began to appear that the pagans were co-opting OUR holiday. Even the liturgies of this time, whether the traditional Dies Irae Gregorian Chant or the later "Legimus in ecclesiasticis historiis" sermon are meant to make us one with the Saints- one with the dead- reminding us Tempus Fugit Memento Mori- Time Flies, Remember Death- that this life is short. It is for this reason that Pope Benedict XVI reminds us that the real meaning behind Hallowmas is the mission of the Church- the salvation of souls. Not quite the blog posting I meant to write- and next year, I'll write a better one on my understanding of the Christianization of Pagan rituals. But quite a bit of information none the less.

Usury causes abortion

2011-10-26T06:44:00.000-07:00

Usury leads to poverty of the spirit, both for borrower and lender. For the borrower, it also leads to poverty of the pocketbook. In both cases though, it puts the lie "she who dies with the most toys, wins" into the mainstream. Abortion, now that rape, incest, and medical conditions have been thoroughly discredited, is largely about poverty of the spirit: Being unwilling to share your toys with a child you are the biological parent of. This goes both for the socialite rich teenager whose father doesn't want the scandal of a pregnant teenager in the family, and the poor single mom who has to choose between birth for another child or feeding the ones she has. Likewise, quite often the original sexual union that produces an "unwanted" child is using another person as a toy- for recreational sexual gratification- and this too is poverty of the spirit. Thus Usury, and all of it's attendant ripples in society, is one of the major causes of abortion.

Liars, Damn Liars, and Statistics

2011-10-24T20:52:00.000-07:00

Yes, this is from a liberal-leaning newspaper with a decidedly anti-Catholic bias especially on the child sex scandals, where they're perfectly willing to say, hold the Pope responsible for some priest hired by the Jesuits working in a native Eskimo village in Northern Alaska; but not willing to do the same with the President of the United States and a schoolteacher in Montana. But having said that- this article on things everybody thinks they know, is extremely interesting.

Flat Earth Thinking on a Sphere

2011-10-23T12:59:00.000-07:00

Flat Earth Friedman is back this time claiming that it's a good thing that the US Senate is putting a scare into China- "But, Lord in heaven, do not let the House pass this bill. That would trigger a trade war in the middle of our Great Recession." What good ole Thomas- who fails to be as skeptical as his namesake- has failed to notice is that we've BEEN in a full fledged trade war for 40 years- a war of the elite globalists like himself against the average American worker. And for 40 years, we've been losing- and that debt, that massive, massive trade debt built out of 40 years of trade deficits, is the primary cause of the Great Recession. China has it right. We decry their protectionism- but that's exactly what we *should* be doing ourselves. We don't need to get China to stop revaluing their currency to their interests, as much as we would like to. We need to revalue OUR currency to OUR interests in defense. We don't need China to open their market- we need to close our market. Because China has the right idea. And we don't need any more flat earthers here.

Don't just do something- Stand There!

2011-10-14T12:47:00.000-07:00

It appears that the GOP has adopted this as their new economic slogan. But they're not the only ones- remember all those $600 Trillion in Derivatives that brought Lehman Brothers down and started the Great Recession? Turns out that instead of unraveling these CDOs and other exotic banking products, all that has been done is to concentrate them into five large American banks. And those are the same banks that the Occupy Protest is now targeting for massive deposit withdrawals. Can you say "double dip depression"?

Free Trade Again

2011-10-10T10:06:00.000-07:00

And they're back. Four rich people making an argument about how they should be allowed to grow richer off of free trade, on the same page as the ultimate example of why workers will NEVER profit from increased business. Free trade is the tool psychopaths have used to drain the wealth of America for 40 years. Stop believing the lie.

The real systemic seeds of depression

2011-10-07T10:24:00.000-07:00

I see the government and corporations as one and the same, since every politician I can name, got elected on corporate campaign contributions. I don't see the corporations as private businesses. A private business is one guy on his own property with no employees (or only occasional contracted help, who themselves are self-employed) turning out a product which he then sells directly to consumers (the web has brought back many such businesses, and in 1776, such businesses compromised over 90% of the American economy). As soon as the business has employees, it becomes a government- the business is governing over private decisions- which is why the state and federal governments require corporate charters and corporate governance regulations. The current depression was caused by relaxing those regulations for political purposes, both on the left (Democrats wanting more home and property ownership for minorities and the poor) and on the right (Republican destruction of banking regulations and lowering taxes on unreasonable income). The principle of subsidiarity covers this. "To preserve the dignity of man, all economic and law making decisions should be made by the smallest number of people possible, in jurisdiction over the smallest population of people possible" says one USCCB article on the subject. Too bad Article I Section 8 of the US Constitution puts "interstate commerce" under the jurisdiction of the federal congress, and Article I Section 10 keeps the states from doing the normal protectionist measures that a state, county, or city previous to the American revolution would use take to prevent class warfare. Without the principle of subsidiarity, we lose the natural right of association; which usually inspires an overgrowth of people expressing the right of solidarity. The Tea Party on the Right and the Occupy Protests on the Left, are merely examples of people using solidarity to attack the lack of subsidiarity. The problem goes far deeper than any one politician, or any one ideology- it is built into the Constitution itself, and how that Constitution has been interpreted over the last 175 years or so by the Supreme Court.