What Do The Laity And Airline Passengers Have In Common?
More than you may think

Warning! Harsh Language Alert!
Here's some of the article from BishopAccountability.org;
Irish Priests Who Have Worked in the United States and Are Accused of Sexual Misconduct

The Catholic sexual abuse crises in the United States and Ireland are deeply connected. Priests who were trained in the Irish seminary system were crucial to the growth of the U.S. church. Many Irish-born priests, including one bishop, are sadly among the priests accused of abuse in the United States. Some priests who offended in Ireland were transferred to the United States, and priests accused of abuse in the United States have sometimes found shelter in Ireland.And here's my posting of Nov 25, 2005;
Bishop Of Dublin Defies Rome On Sodomites, Still Kicks Seminarians Out.And lastly, from The Dallas Morning News - June 12, 2002;
Roughly two-thirds of top U.S. Catholic leaders have allowed priests accused of sexual abuse to keep working, a systematic practice that spans decades and continues today, a three-month Dallas Morning News review shows. The study - the first of its kind - looked at the records of the top leaders of the nation’s 178 mainstream Roman Catholic dioceses, including acting administrators in cases where the top job is vacant.

Christmas Tree Ornaments That Only The South-Side Stooge Could Love
Other than Communist mass-murderers, transvestites and someone with an ego that bigger than Mt Rushmore

Mao ornaments? Transvestite ornaments? The Zero superimposed on Mt Rushmore ornaments? Only in the Obama White House.


Helmet tip to Amy Proctor.

ObaMessiah Watch -
The gushing continues

You simply can't make this stuff up. Here's some of the article from Politiken.dk (Denmark);

Obama greater than Jesus
He is provocative in insisting on an outstretched hand, where others only see animosity.

His tangible results in the short time that he has been active – are few and far between. His greatest results have been created with words and speeches – words that remain in the consciousness of their audience and have long-term effects.

He comes from humble beginnings and defends the weak and vulnerable, because he can identify himself with their conditions.

And no we are not thinking of Jesus Christ, whose birthday has just been celebrated - - but rather the President of the United States Barack Hussein Obama.

Obama is, of course, greater than Jesus – if we have to play that absurd Christmas game.And then there's this from the NY Times Fashion Page in regards to the Firsy Lady's togs;
That’s why she’s often described in terms reserved for a 1930s screen goddess: “regal” and “dazzling,” a woman not to be contended with so much as worshiped from afar.

INTERPOL Now Superior To The Constitution Of The United States Of America
Says who? Take a wild guess

WARNING! Harsh Language Alert


In it's entirety from The Washington Examiner; (Emphasis mine)
Obama gives Interpol free hand in U.S.
Examiner Editorial
December 30, 2009

No presidential statement or White House press briefing was held on it. In fact, all that can be found about it on the official White House Web site is the Dec. 17 announcement and one-paragraph text of President Obama's Executive Order 12425, with this innocuous headline: "Amending Executive Order 12425 Designating Interpol as a public international organization entitled to enjoy certain privileges, exemptions, and immunities."In fact, this new directive from Obama may be the most destructive blow ever struck against American constitutional civil liberties. No wonder the White House said as little as possible about it.

There are multiple reasons why this Obama decision is so deeply disturbing. First, the Obama order reverses a 1983 Reagan administration decision in order to grant Interpol, the International Criminal Police Organization, two key privileges. First, Obama has granted Interpol the ability to operate within the territorial limits of the United States without being subject to the same constitutional restraints that apply to all domestic law enforcement agencies such as the FBI. Second, Obama has exempted Interpol's domestic facilities -- including its office within the U.S. Department of Justice -- from search and seizure by U.S. authorities and from disclosure of archived documents in response to Freedom of Information Act requests filed by U.S. citizens. Think very carefully about what you just read: Obama has given an international law enforcement organization that is accountable to no other national authority the ability to operate as it pleases within our own borders, and he has freed it from the most basic measure of official transparency and accountability, the FOIA.

The Examiner has asked for but not yet received from the White House press office an explanation of why the president signed this executive order and who among his advisers was involved in the process leading to his doing so. Unless the White House can provide credible reasons to think otherwise, it seems clear that Executive Order 12425's consequences could be far-reaching and disastrous. To cite only the most obvious example, giving Interpol free rein to act within this country could subject U.S. military, diplomatic, and intelligence personnel to the prospect of being taken into custody and hauled before the International Criminal Court as "war criminals."

As National Review Online's Andy McCarthy put it, the White House must answer these questions: Why should we elevate an international police force above American law? Why would we immunize an international police force from the limitations that constrain the FBI and other American law-enforcement agencies? Why is it suddenly necessary to have, within the Justice Department, a repository for stashing government files that will be beyond the scrutiny of Congress, American law enforcement, the media, and the American people?

And the good folks over at SodaHead have given the specifics of exactly what was amended from Reagan's signing of EO 12425;

Through EO 12425, President Reagan extended to INTERPOL recognition as an "International Organization." In short, the privileges and immunities afforded foreign diplomats was extended to INTERPOL. Two sets of important privileges and immunities were withheld: Section 2© and the remaining sections cited (all of which deal with differing taxes).

And then comes December 17, 2009, and President Obama. The exemptions in EO 12425 were removed.

Section 2c of the United States International Organizations Immunities Act is the crucial piece.

Property and assets of international organizations, wherever located and by whomsoever held, shall be immune from search, unless such immunity be expressly waived, and from confiscation. The archives of international organizations shall be inviolable. (Emphasis added.)
Inviolable archives means INTERPOL records are beyond US citizens' Freedom of Information Act requests and from American legal or investigative discovery ("unless such immunity be expressly waived.")

Property and assets being immune from search and confiscation means precisely that. Wherever they may be in the United States. This could conceivably include human assets - Americans arrested on our soil by INTERPOL officers.From WhiteHouse.gov;
The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release December 17, 2009
Executive Order -- Amending Executive Order 12425
EXECUTIVE ORDER
- - - - - - -
AMENDING EXECUTIVE ORDER 12425 DESIGNATING INTERPOL AS A PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION ENTITLED TO ENJOY CERTAIN PRIVILEGES, EXEMPTIONS, AND IMMUNITIES
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 1 of the International Organizations Immunities Act (22 U.S.C. 288), and in order to extend the appropriate privileges, exemptions, and immunities to the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), it is hereby ordered that Executive Order 12425 of June 16, 1983, as amended, is further amended by deleting from the first sentence the words "except those provided by Section 2(c), Section 3, Section 4, Section 5, and Section 6 of that Act" and the semicolon that immediately precedes them.

BARACK OBAMA
THE WHITE HOUSE,
December 16, 2009.

Further Proof That Global Warming Is A Myth
Take THAT, Al Gore!

New Catholic Blog In The Orkneys
Helmet tip to Coffee Catholic

If you get the chance, swing over to Catholic Orkney to see the state of The Church at the FAAAAAR end of Scotland.

Golgatha Monastery Papa Stronsay, Orkney's, Scotland

Hey Playa!
Helmet tip to Former Altar Boy

What was it I just said about this president being more concerned with playing than fighting a Global War on Terrorism?

Interesting factiod from The Wall Street Journal; (Emphasis mine)
But as president, Mr. Obama has neglected the court. He has played only seven known games of basketball since taking office, compared with 25 rounds of golf, a sport he picked up about a decade ago when he was an Illinois state senator. That's more golf than former President George W. Bush played in two terms, according to CBS White House correspondent Mark Knoller, who tracks presidential trivia.

January 1st Is A Holy Day
But it depends where you live

January 1st is, and has been, a holy day of obligation for centuries. For untold ages it was the Feast of the Circumcision (and still is in parishes using the traditional, or Extraordinary, Form). In churches under the New Order, or (plain ol’) Ordinary Form, the holy day is celebrated as the Feast of Mary, Mother of God.

Father Zuhlsdorf over at the What Does the Prayer Really Say blog reminds us:

1 January 2010 is a Holy Day of Obligation in the United States.

It is among the Holy Days of Obligation for the Universal Church.

“Universal” meaning the entire Catholic world, one would suppose. But, you’d suppose wrong. That’s right, the universal church does not include Southern California, because His Eminence Cardinal Roger the Dodger Mahoney has declared it is NOT a holy day of obligation this New Year.

I guess moving Ascension Thursday to the next Sunday wasn’t enough to weaken Catholic identity. No, in the land of fruits (including the ones Mahoney transferred from parish to parish) and nuts, it would be just too Catholic to go to Mass on Friday and then again on Sunday. Perish the thought!

Sheesh, it’s a national holiday, as well. It’s not like people are going to have to take time off of work. But that is of little concern to Mahoney, who continues do leave his Roman Protestant mark on the Left Coast in the few years he has remaining until mandatory retirement.

"Not A Matter Of If, But A Matter Of When..."
Sooner than later, it seems

It's 5 PM Eastern Standard Time as I type this. I'm scheduling this to post a little later this evening. As of this moment, the only news organs in the United States of America that have reported this, is Fox News and the NY Post.

Here's the meat and potatoes of the article from The Times (of London);
'Hundreds of al-Qaeda militants planning attacks from Yemen'
Hundreds of al-Qaeda militants are planning terror attacks from Yemen, the country’s Foreign Minister said today.

Abu Bakr al-Qirbi appealed for more help from the international community to help to train and equip counter-terrorist forces. His plea came after an al-Qaeda group based in Yemen claimed responsibility for the failed Christmas Day airliner bomb plot.

“They may actually plan attacks like the one we have just had in Detroit. There are maybe hundreds of them — 200, 300.”

"Hellooooo...Pot....","Hellooooo... Kettle..."

Dealing with 'Church Fascists'

"Fascist!!!!"... I can't tell you how many times I've had this 'F-bomb' hurled at me during my days as a police officer. My patented reply to the bongwater back-washers who were the usual tossers of such insults, was always, "What exactly is a fascist anyway...???" This question more often than not proved way to challenging for the protester, leaving them tongue-tied and with a face as red as the backdrop of their Che Guevara t-shirt. It also managed to shut them up, leaving me with only their inane environmental/social justice/yada-yada rantings and the stale smell of hemp that was permeating from their pores to deal with. But hey, they'd more often than not give up on trying to push this bull's buttons...Mission accomplished. But really, what does fascism look like?

For the past few months here in my area of Southeastern North Carolina, we have been blessed with a visiting priest traveling from up to 2 hours away, to offer the faithful of our area the Mass in the Extraordinary Form on the last Sunday evening of each month. It has given this area a nice break from the typical modernist fair that is normally offered to us. Hell, I just heard a couple of weeks back from the lips of a convalescing priest at my parish how, John the Baptist, about whom Christ had said, "among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist"~Matthew 11:11, was a bit to heavy handed and probably wasn't so great with kids! Even the subversive teachings of such parochial impostors are easier to deal with, when you know you have something to look forward to at the end of the month.

The only downside to this monthly reprieve is that it has given me a whole new insight as to what fascism truly is. And no, it is not the version being presented to the congregation of the parish hosting the TLM. They have been told that it is the people who attend the TLM who are the fascists. Especially the ones who frequent blogs that demand accountability in regards to illegal immigrants. For whatever reason, they've been told that should not attend this Mass. This is a parish that consistently fails to post this Mass in their parish bulletin announcements, despite their being requested to do so, well in advance. Despite its endorsement from the diocese and the desire for it from the faithful, the TLM in my area has had more hurdles thrown at it then one could imagine. But then again, I guess this should be expected. After all, the adversary hates Latin, doesn't he?

So again, what is fascism? Could it be the hiring of a law enforcement officer to stand watch over a Mass that one does not approve of? This is something I've seen for the past 5 weeks. I'm sure who hired the last one would have really appreciated the officers scowling cross-armed performance. Can it be a pastor who does not approve of the TLM, confronting an Altar Boy about a delay in the Mass he is about to serve? He showed not only pure disgust towards this young man in his demeanor, but he also showed disdain for one of his fellow priests in addressing his concerns. Concerns that the laity should be spared of, regardless of where you stand on matters within the Church (The Mass was running behind schedule and this priest came over and made a scene regarding going over the time that he'd contracted the police officer for). Maybe experiencing fascism is attending a parish where you are afraid of being 'outed' for your traditional views. A parish where if you dare to receive Communion on your tongue, our Lord, handle as He was handled by the Roman soldiers on Calvary, gets jammed into your mouth perpendicularly, delivered with a glare of disapproval for showing what is deemed as an act of excessive piety. A parish where if you dare to fall out of line, you will surely hear about it from your pastors more approving flock. So stay in line if you want to keep those prestigious positions that the lauded laity feel so compelled to hold and are willing to compromise for. Just remember what you are sacrificing in your fear of speaking up.

This is the face of fascism that I've witnessed in the past few months. Like the boy who points out the emperors wardrobe flaws, I'm not bringing up anything but what should be obvious. Why has it taken me so long? Well, I guess I've been struggling lately with the right approach in addressing the problems I've personally witnessed within our beloved Church. I've been hung up on trying to find the right level of charity in delivering my message and end I up remaining silent over it. This is another thing that the adversary seems to prey on in our own nature. We are so caught up in how our acts are to be perceived that we end up doing nothing. Our weaknesses are used by him and becomes his strength. As a retired police officer, I can honestly say that I'd rather look down the barrel of a perps gun, than have to stand up for some of the things that need to be addressed within the Church. But it's what we are called to do, isn't it?

Fascism is alive and well within our Church. It has bullied good people into silence and placed the laity in roles that 40 years ago did not exist and should not exist for them today. It is the placement of this laity which has given fascism its roots within the Church. It is what drives this forcible suppression to what it opposes most:traditional Catholicism. Sure it takes a leader to establish a fascist mentality in a parish, but it doesn't have any legs if it were not for the the sheep who do not want to disrupt the status quo. I know, I know, we are all in fact sheep, but let's make sure we are following the right shepherd and not giving 'legs' to a fascist parish. Time to 'man up', 'woman up', 'cowboy up' and most importantly, 'Catholic up'. Remember, the good Lord has no use for a coward, but the devil sure does.

Saint Michael the Archangel...

Defend Us in Battle!!!

WANTED:
One fat, sloppy, faux-poverty stricken filmmaker who's actually worth millions of dollars

So where exactly is Michael Moore... other than exploding in a massive hydrogen-fueled fireball over Lakehurst, NJ?

First, take a gander at some of the Moore propaganda piece, Fahrenheit 911. Keep in mind that Bush was asked his opinion of a moslem terrorist attack that had just taken place in Israel... no Americans involved.

Now we have some of this article from The Washington Post that reports on a moslem terrorist attack... against hundreds of Americans; (Emphasis mine)

Obama addresses airline security in low-key fashion
By Anne E. Kornblut

KAILUA, HAWAII -- President Obama has performed a difficult but familiar balancing act over the past few days: ordering new security measures in the wake of an attempted airliner attack without excessively alarming the public -- or triggering an outcry from civil liberties advocates.

He has done so almost entirely out of sight. On vacation in Hawaii, tucked away in a lush neighborhood where his family is renting a waterfront home, Obama dispatched surrogates back in Washington -- chiefly Homeland Security Secretary Janet A. Napolitano and press secretary Robert Gibbs, who appeared on the Sunday talk shows -- to reassure the public and explain his approach.

Yet even as the president avoided cameras and played golf and basketball over the weekend, his aides were quick to explain how fully Obama minded the aftermath of the Detroit case. Now my take on this --

WARNING! Harsh Language Alert

PREPARING FOR CONFIRMATION: THE RIGHT WAY

A good friend of mine is preparing his son (age 9) for Confirmation next Spring in the Old Rite under the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX). The text being used for kids 9-12 is the “Baltimore Catechism #2: Explained by Fr. Bennet Kelley, C.P.” (Catholic Book Publishing Corp.). The teenagers and adults in the class are using the “Baltimore Catechism #3: Father Connell’s Confraternity Edition.” (The Seraphim Company, Inc.) An additional book is used, “Preparation for Confirmation According to the Baltimore Catechism” by Angelus Press.

I cannot say enough about the quality of these books. For teenagers and adults, the Baltimore Catechism #3 is hands down the greatest “piece of gear” (a Marine Corps term) ever devised in English for teaching the Faith. It will put to shame anything currently available. Most of the post Vatican II books were and are absolutely horrendous, having watered down the Faith to almost complete irrelevance.

I would urge those of you who do not have these great tools, to buy them for your home and your family, especially those with kids! The best place around to find these are Tan Books, and the Angelus Press (www.angeluspress.org).

Obama - The Ultimate "Participant Award Trophy"
And I don't even yell or cuss!



Here's some of the posting from the Power Line blog; (Emphasis mine)
"Don't Say We're Violent, Or We'll Kill You"

That has been the message of Islamic extremists on a number of occasions, e.g. the Mohammed cartoons. An extreme case occurred recently when the proprietor of the web site Religion of Peace received a death threat from members of the religion of peace:

A recent e-mail to a website launched after the 9/11 terror attacks to document the instances of Islamic violence said simply: "We will kill you. Like this ... "

The message included a photograph of a man who had been beheaded, his body resting chest down on grass and his lifeless head placed in the middle of his own back. Another photograph showed a bloody knife.Then there's this op/ed piece from The Portland Press Herald (Maine); (Emphasis mine)
Boys suffer in a culture without challenges

Two 10-year-old boys show up for their first soccer tryouts. Both feel nervous but excited. The parent of one says, "give it your best shot and have fun." The other parent says, "you don't have to do this if you don't want to. It can feel scary."

Which of these statements is best for the boys?

An increasing number of boys are doing poorly in school and failing to mature in a positive way. More men are losing self-confidence and their passion for competing and achieving.

While the top-performing 10 percent to 20 percent of boys and men are doing just fine, the growing number of underachieving males forces schools, businesses, the military and others to lower their standards and expectations. What happened?

Political correctness and new age wishful thinking have all contributed to the effort in our schools, families, and communities to take away intense competition from boys. Even in sports, only a small number of top athletes ever get to experience challenging competition.

Tens of thousands of years of human development cannot be swept aside to fit the "anti-competition" PC agenda. It's a mushy, idealistic approach to child development and education that seems disconnected from reality. Today boys learn more about fairness and fun than how to compete successfully.

Yes, fairness and fun are important lessons in life, but can be taught very well during intense competition. Plus nearly every aspect of life involves some degree of competition with other people, communities, teams, governments, or businesses and will never go away.

All of the politically correct worries about fairness, over-the-top fears about scuffing up knees or hurting someone's feelings frustrate boys and do them a disservice by lowering standards of achieving. We're taking away the proving grounds for learning how to be strong men. Our global business competitors and terrorist enemies are licking their chops.

Cool Picture Of The Week Award
Helmet tip to Fr. Gonzales over at Overheard in the Sacristy

My Messsage To Protestants
And I don't even raise my voice!

What Did I Just Say About At Least A Few Real Men Left In Holland?
Here's one of them

Here's most of the article from The Telegraph (London); (Emphasis and comments mine)
Hero tackled alleged Northwest plane bomber as flames came from him on flight to Detroit
A Dutch passenger who tackled the man accused of trying to bring down a US plane said that his courageous response "came completely natural" after he saw flames coming from the man. Jasper Schuringa, a 32-year-old film maker from Amsterdam is being hailed as a hero in America. He was applauded by fellow passengers after he and cabin crew subdued Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab as their Northwest flight was about to land at Detroit airport.

Mr Schuringa was sitting one row behind the suspect but on the other side of the plane when he heard what he said sounded like a firecracker going off. "When [it] went off, everybody panicked then somebody screamed, 'Fire! Fire!'," he said.

Looking across the plane, he saw smoke rising from a seat. "I didn't hesitate. I just jumped," he said.

Diving over four intervening passengers, he said his suspicions grew when he found the suspect doing nothing despite having a smoking blanket on his lap and flames "coming from beneath his legs".

Mr Schuringa said he said he frisked the suspect and discovered his trousers were open and that he had a flaming object resembling a small, white shampoo bottle strapped to his left leg near his crotch. "I pulled the object from him and tried to extinguish the fire with my hands and threw it away," he told CNN.

Mr Schuringa said he patted out the fire with his hands and shouted for water. As cabin crew arrived with fire extinguishers, the Dutchman hauled the suspect out of his seat and, restraining him in a choke lock, took him to the first class compartment.

All the while, Mr Abdulmatallab seemed dazed, he said. "He was staring into nothing." (I would imagine so... especially after getting a 1st class Dutch ass whipping.) When he got him into first class, Mr Schuringa pulled off his remaining clothes to check for further explosives and helped a crew member to handcuff him.

Other passengers, who had initially not realised what was going on, applauded him when he returned to his seat, he said.

Mr Schuringa said his hands were "pretty burned" and he was shaken, but was just "happy to be alive".

He added: "I don't feel like a hero. It was something where I had to do something or it was too late." Mr Schuringa, who was reportedly visiting a friend in Miami before flying on to Costa Rica for a holiday, runs a video production company.

Bob and Ingrid Schuringa, his parents, told the Telegraaf newspaper that they were "extremely proud of him but also really shocked because, in one second, it could have ended up very differently".

Yes, I realize that in my last video entry, I made it pretty clear that I believe every young man (in this country, anyways) should serve in the Armed Forces. And to the best of my knowledge, the hero of Flight 253 never served in the Dutch Armed Forces.

I do believe that young Jasper Schuringa just made up for that.

Why We'll Lose This War
WARNING! Harsh Language Alert

The South-Side Stooge Subverts The Constitution
Are you really that suprised?

Do You Have An Extra 2/3s Of A Million Dollars So I Can Go On Vacation?
Neither does Obama, but that doesn't stop him

It's Not A Good Idea To Piss Off The Catholic Elephants
Even the small ones

Helmet tip to JLS

Interesting story from the Archdiocese of Colombo, Sri Lanka.


ELEPHANTS ATTACK IN ORISSA EXACTLY AFTER ONE YEAR OF PERSECUTIONS
[ Fr. Sunil De Silva - 09.12.2009 ]

In July 2008 a severe persecution of Christians broke out in the Indian state of Orissa. A 22 year old nun was burnt to death when angry mobs burnt down an orphanage in Khuntpali village in Barhgarh district, another nun was gang raped in Kandhamal, mobs attacked churches, torched vehicles, houses of Christians destroyed, and Fr. Thomas Chellen, director of the pastoral center that was destroyed with a bomb, had a narrow escape after a Hindu mob nearly set him on fire. The end result saw more than 500 Christians murdered, and thousands of others injured and homeless after their houses were reduced to ashes. Recently a strange and dramatic event took place in Orissa, which has many people talking and wondering.

In recent months, herds of wild elephants have begun to storm villages that are home to some of the worst persecutors of Christians during the troubles. In one village, where in August a year ago the Christians had to run for their lives while their homes were being destroyed by rioters, a herd of elephants emerged from the surrounding jungle exactly one year later, in July 2009, at the same time of the day of the attack.

These elephants first attacked a rock crusher machine owned by a key leader of the persecution movement. They then went on to destroy his house and farms.

Hundreds of villagers have been forced to take shelter in camps in the Indian state of Orissa after repeated attacks by a herd of elephants.

Seven people have been killed and several others injured in attacks by a herd of 12-13 elephants over the past few weeks in Kandhamal district.

Over 2,500 people living in 45 villages have been affected by the attacks, district chief Krishen Kumar said.

It is, however, unclear why this herd of elephants migrated from the Lakheri sanctuary in a neighbouring district. He said the herd had travelled some 300km into Kandhamal, and even entered a town in the district. Wildlife officials were camping at the site of the attacks and trying to find out why the elephants had come out of their sanctuary. The villagers say elephants attack their areas in herds, causing heavy destruction.

Gaining momentum, they rampaged through other non-Christian homes, demolishing gardens and singling out the home of persecutors, leaving Christian homes untouched.

These strange attacks have spread, and according to a report, the elephants have already destroyed more than 700 houses in 30 villages, and killed five people. Nobody in this area has seen or even imagined the unique appearance of a herd of wild elephants such as this. The elephants are not ordinary elephants; they appear to be on a mission.

Typically, smaller elephants enter a village first, appearing to survey the community. They then rejoin the larger herd, and larger elephant soon follow and get the job done.

The ministry partner in India stated “We think that it might have something to do with the avenging the blood of martyrs. In fact the fear of God has fallen on the local people, who have labeled these elephants “Christian elephants.”

With little help coming from the administration, the villagers have taken to road blockades. "The elephants have destroyed crops and selected houses. But officials too express helplessness. "There is no permanent habitat of elephants in Sundargarh. They come from Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand where their habitats have shrunk. But is not clear how and why these elephants reached Orissa.

The 12 Days Of Caveman Christmas
Ho, ho, ho!

Another Example Of Lazy Salvation
Originally posted Dec. 17, 2005

As I've brought up before (click here), there are many that consistently takes the path of least resistance to salvation. With Advent rapidly coming to an end and Christmastide almost upon us, let's take a gander at one of the most often cited passages in Sacred Scripture, The Holy Gospel Of St Luke, Chapter 2: Verse 14.

Now this is a very short verse. Every single version of the bible has it starting off with "Glory to God in the highest..." as it should be. But look at what certain bibles do. They have a very watered down, happy-clappy salutation to everyone on good old planet Earth.

The Catholic version (the original ones) have it right. God isn't sending His blessings to everyone. Only to "men of goodwill". And as common sense tells us, "men of goodwill" are those who have found favor with God. NOT everyone.

King James Version (authorized)
Luke 2:14 - "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

New King James Version -
Luke 2:14 - "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"

Catholic Douay-Rheims Bible
Luke 2:14 - "Glory to God in the highest: and on earth peace to men of good will."

The Latin Vulgate (the first complete Bible) -
Luke 2:14 - "gloria in altissimis Deo et in terra pax in hominibus bonae voluntatis"

The original Greek that the Vulgate is directly translated-

"Glory to God in the Highest, And on earth, peace among men with whom He is pleased ."

"Doca en uyistoiv qew kai epi ghv eirhnh en anqrwpoiv eudokiav."
No more watering-down, if you please.

WHAT DOES 50 YEARS OF BIG GOV'T GET YOU?

If you would like to know what this country will look like after all these big government ideas and control of the economy, healthcare, and climate, just take a look at Detriot today. Here is a link showing the disaster of government control, matched up with Union activity. It is a treasonous bunch we have let loose on our future generations, and they will in the end pay dearly for their crimes, I just wish it were sooner rather than later:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hhJ_49leBw

Bitch See TV
The choice of bitchy moms everywhere -- Keith Olbermann

Here's some of the article from NewsBusters.com;
Olbermann: Must-See TV For Bad Mothers?
By Mark Finkelstein

Keith Olbermann: fave of the bad-mother demographic? The question arises in light of a strange TV ad for something called FloTV that aired this morning.

A mother is giving dinner to her kids when she glances at the clock, notices it's shortly before 6 PM, and proceeds to dump the kids plates and toys, pour a bag of flour on the table and . . . throw a glass of milk in her son's face.

Cut to shocked coming-home-from-work hubby at the door. Mom informs him "I just need an hour." Cut to mother, sitting on park bench, watching . . . Keith Olbermann on her cellphone.Now, I did catch the commercial on MSNBC, and it's possible that the shows featured track the network on which the ad's airing. Even so, interesting that of all the MSNBC personalities, Olbermann was featured as being so important to Mom that she'd mistreat her kids to watch him.I wonder if the kids are beaten before the Chris Matthews show?

Welcome To The USSRA
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics of Ameяika

Remember the other day when I posted that video of that dope in the "Rock The Vote" spot? Remember how he whined that it's soooooo tough on young people who don't have health insurance?

I'd like to point out to this doofus -- what'll you think'll happen to anyone, young or otherwise, who chooses not to have health insurance under the Obama Plan?

I'll tell you what. Arrest - Fines - Jail.

For the first time in the history of this republic, the Congress and the President have made it punishable by law that citizens are required to purchase a product or service.

This is freedom? This is what the Founding Fathers envisioned? This is America? I think not.

But this is the America we ourselves have placed into power. Here's some of the article from CNSNews.com; (Emphasis mine)

Sen. Feinstein 'Assumes' Commerce Clause Gives Congress Unlimited Authority to Mandate Health Insurance
By Fred Lucas, Staff Writer

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) – Senator Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) said that Congress has the authority to mandate that people buy health insurance and that there is no constitutional limit on Congress’ power to enact such mandates, adding that this unlimited authority stemmed from the Commerce clause of the Constitution.
The health care bills in both the House and Senate require that every American purchase a health insurance policy. At the Capitol on Tuesday, CNSNews.com asked Sen. Feinstein: “Where in the Constitution does Congress get the authority for an individual health insurance mandate?”

Feinstein said: “Well, I would assume it would be in the Commerce clause of the Constitution. That’s how Congress legislates all kinds of various programs.”

CNSNews.com followed up by asking Sen. Feinstein whether this broad power had any limits: “If there’s a health insurance mandate, is there a limit to that authority? Is there something that can’t be mandated?”

Feinstein responded: “My own view is that there is not, within health insurance.”

More Proof Of 'Hitler's Pope'
Those are Nazis... right?

Ahhh, how the anti-Catholics love trotting out this picture. And yes, this really is Archbishop Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (the future Ven. Pope Pius XII), then Apostolic Nuncio to Bavaria.


But here's the part the anti-Catholics conveniently leave out. The photo was taken in 1927, six years before Hitler came to power. And the troops in the picture are soldiers of the Weimar Republic, not those of Nazi Germany's Wehrmacht. Nazi Germany didn't even exist when this picture was taken.

Just because certain troops wear a distinctive piece of headgear that's associated with Nazi Germany, doesn't necessarily make them either Nazis or Germans.

Case in point -


And while I'm at it, take a gander at this 1948 photo of a Messerschmitt Bf-109. Because it's an aircraft associated with Nazi Germany, this pilot and crew simply MUST be Germans and Party members, too, huh?

Isn't This Kind Of Like Claiming That Hooking Causes Celibacy?
And is it possible to cheat on your spouse monogamously?

Here's some of the article from NewsBusters.org;
Climate Alarmist Blames This Weekend's Blizzard On Global Warming
By Noel Sheppard

Climate Progress's Joe Romm says this weekend's blizzard that rocked the Eastern seaboard was caused by global warming. That's right, folks: you can add winter storms to the neverending list of things Nobel Laureate Al Gore's bogeyman is now responsible for.

Of course this isn't at all surprising, for Romm blamed the 2007 Minnesota bridge collapse on global warming.

Potentially just as interesting was how Romm initially tried to downplay the severity of this storm in his article published Sunday:

As for the East Coast storm, my home in DC did get 18 inches of snow — although if this had been a true blizzard, I doubt my flight from Copenhagen on Saturday would have been allowed to land in Dulles airport and I wouldn’t of been able to get home 12 hours after I left Denmark. [...]

If having snow around the holidays on the East Coast were strange, I doubt the song “White Christmas” would have been written.

So, this WASN'T an extreme event? Not so fast:

The Capital Weather Gang reports that the DC snowstorm has set multiple records (previous in parentheses):

•National: All-time December daily (11.5″, 12-17-1932) and monthly snowfall (16.2″, 1962)
•Dulles: All-time December daily record (10.6″, 12-12-1982) and second highest December snowfall (24.2″, 1966)
•Baltimore: All-time December daily (11.5″, 12-17-1932) and monthly snowfall (20.4″, 1966)
Interesting, wouldn't you agree? First he said, "Nothing to see here. Move along." Then he showed actual data proving the weather event was historic. Kind of like Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) claiming he voted for war funding before he voted against it!

But Romm wasn't done:

So it is inane for anyone in the media to cite this massive DC snowstorm as somehow counterintuitive or ironic against the backdrop of Obama’s Copenhagen deal.

In fact, this record-breaking snowstorm is pretty much precisely what climate science predicts. And therein lies the rub, for alarmists like Romm and the rest of his ilk have stacked the deck so that no matter what happens with the weather, it's caused by global warming:

•Excessive heat
•Excessive cold
•Droughts
•Floods
•Warm winters
•Cold winters
•Hot summers
•Cold summers
•Autumns with great foliage colors
•Autumns lacking foliage colors
•Lack of snow
•Abundance of snow
You name it, these charlatans blame it on global warming, and they want the media to comply.

It's Go Time
Which path will the Catholic Church in America take?

To paraphrase Yogi Berra - there's a fork in the road. Take it.

As we all know, we can't even glance at any given Catholic new portal without reading blow-by-blow accounts of the nuclear melt-down that is the Catholic Church in Ireland.

With that said, I've just read two different news articles as I sit here sipping my morning Java. Here's the headlines and just a touch of the articles themselves; (Emphasis mine)
LA monsignor called before grand jury
By GILLIAN FLACCUS (AP)

LOS ANGELES — A lawyer says a Roman Catholic monsignor has testified before a federal grand jury investigating how the Archdiocese of Los Angeles handled claims of priest abuse.

Attorney John Manly told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the former vicar for clergy Monsignor Richard Loomis testified before the grand jury on Dec. 16 and was granted immunity._____________________________
Explaining the Catholic Bishops' Influence
By Dan Gilgoff [US News & World Report]

With the Senate poised to pass its healthcare bill Thursday morning, abortion may be the biggest sticking point in the coming attempt to reconcile the House and Senate versions of the legislation.

More than any other religious body, it's the U.S. Roman Catholic bishops that have informed those senators' abortion positions.

What explains the bishops' power? My most recent God & Country column from U.S. News Weekly explains.

Well, Catholicism in this country is at a crossroads. We can go down the path Ireland chose (and may never recover from), or we can honest and forthcoming in exposing the protectors of rapists... even at the cost of a few being granted immunity from prosecution.

Either choice will have consequences that will last for many decades to come.

PIUS XII (CONT'D)


Building on the links that Caveman provided below. One of the greatest and most exhaustive documents I have come accross which completely exonerates Pope Pius XII from the slanderous and libelous accusations which have been cast against Pius XII by communists and their fellow travelers over the course of the last forty years is this piece written by Monsignor Stephen M. DiGiovanni, H.E.D.

See link here: http://www.catholicleague.org/pius/piusnyt/bio.htm

I strongly suggest that everyone read it in full. You will be shocked at just how false the whole notion of "Hitler's Pope" is. Msgr. DiGiovanni documents how of all sources, the New York Times, between '45 and '60 chronicled just what Pope Pius XII did during the war years to combat nazism throughout the world and save as many Jewish lives as he could while at the same time not recklessly endangering the lives of Catholics in occupied territory. Afterall, the Catholic Church alone lost more than 3 million souls during the Holocaust. Pius XII was nothing short of a hero. In short, the idea of "Hitler's Pope" was first maliciously invented by the Soviets during the '50's as a means to deligitimize the Church in the Soviet's attempt to spread its tenacles around the world and solidify its control of Eastern Europe. The more you actually learn about Pius XII the more you realize that Western liberal elites like that smear merchant Cornwell have done nothing more than pick up where the Soviets left off in order to deligitimize Pre-Conciliar Catholicism.

I Guess This Makes Me The First Half-Pacific Islander/Half-Aryan In The History Of Mankind
Can you believe a United States Senator said such stupid things, and from the well of the US Senate?

Here's some of the article from The Washington Times;
Sen. Whitehouse: foes of health care bill are birthers, right-wing militias, aryan groups
By Kerry Picket

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) today took shots at those who are not supporting the health care legislation. During a floor speech, he excoriated Senate GOP members for holding up the pending health care bill and accused their supporters of being birthers and fanatics in right-wing militia and Aryan support groups.

After explaining why absent GOP members who did not vote for the Department of Defense spending bill was tantamount to a "no" vote, he went on to say that Republicans and their supporters just want to "break" the momentum of President Obama.:

"Voting 'no' and hiding from the vote are the same result. Those of us on the floor see it. It was clear the three of them who did not cast their yes votes until all 60 Senate votes had been tallied and it was clear that the result was a foregone conclusion. And why? Why all this discord and discourtesy, all this unprecedented destructive action? All to break the momentum of our new young president.

They are desperate to break this president. They have ardent supporters who are nearly hysterical at the very election of President Barack Obama. The birthers, the fanatics, the people running around in right-wing militia and Aryan support groups, it is unbearable to them that President Barack Obama should exist. That is one powerful reason. It is not the only one."
I approached (AUDIO) Senator Whitehouse following his speech on the floor, and his responses to my questions were puzzling, to say the say the least. Mr. Whitehouse said he stood by his speech, but would not admit that he was accusing anyone who was against the health care bill as racist. He did reiterate that birthers are part of the group that is against the bill and are attacking president However, when I asked the Senator from Rhode Island what he meant by describing those who do not support the bill as "aryan," he responded "No, I didn't say that....again, pay attention to the speech."
According to the transcript above, Mr. Whitehouse did say what he seems to be denying. Perhaps he should pay more attention to what he says on the floor.

Leningrad Cowboys, They Ain't
But still great fun

This version is so funky, it's cool.

Pro-Lifer Lila Rose Assaulted At Abortuary
Tough guy "escort" smacks around a woman... and protects the murder of children

Here's the entire article from LifeSiteNews.com;
Lila Rose Says Escort Assaulted her Outside Abortion Mill

SAN JOSE, California, Dec. 18, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Live Action Films president Lila Rose, the undercover investigator who has gained notoriety for videotaping Planned Parenthood employees, filed a police report yesterday after she says she was struck by a Planned Parenthood escort outside a San Jose abortion mill.

Rose was standing on a public sidewalk outside the Planned Parenthood affiliate at 1691 The Alameda. She was there with a group to pray and provide information to abortion-bound women.

Rose reports that just before noon Thursday she began the exchange with the uniformed escort, who recognized her as the investigator in the Live Action videos. According to Rose's police report filed at the scene, supported by several witnesses, the following interaction took place:

Rose, from the public sidewalk: "Sir, are you familiar with the abortion procedure?"

The Escort approaches Rose rapidly from Planned Parenthood parking lot, saying: "You idiot. You've caused so much trouble. You piece of crap."

Rose offers to show Escort a picture: "Can I show you a picture of what it really does to a baby?"

The Escort strikes Rose's hand, knocking literature and Bible to the ground. Rose steps further back on sidewalk, Escort steps towards Rose.

Escort, visibly shaking, says, "It's a woman's choice!"

Rose says, "What about the baby's choice?"

Escort says, "It's not a baby!" Escort turns around and walks away.

Police were called and interviewed the victim and several witnesses. Rose sustained no injuries from the attack. Charges of assault and battery are pending. There have been no apologies.

In its press release, Live Action Films said they maintained a strong commitment to non-violent public discourse, and expected Planned Parenthood to respond to their escort's attack by publicly disavowing the use of violence.

One Step Closer
And thank God for it all

As Pope John Paul II gets fast tracked in what seems not so much a process of canonization, but more an ecclesiastical popularity contest, we all see that Pope Pius XII's case has been tempered in time.

I can personally see one on more deserving that H.H. Pope Pius XII as being declared Venerable. His example of Faith & Works are truly heroic.

Yet there are still some who are blinded by their own bigotry and blindness. CatholicCulture.org has this article where certain Jewish leaders criticize the declaration.

If you should happen to be engaged in conversation with anyone else decrying The Vatican announcement, here are some posts I've done in the past that may be of assistance -
This article from The Catholic News Agency describes how Nazi Minister of Propaganda, Josef Goebbels denounced Ven. Pope Pius XII due to his anti-Nazi statements.

From Forbes.com in regards to Ven. Pius XII knowing full and well that he was about to be kidnapped and sent to a concentration camp. This posting also speaks of the German "Operation Rabat-Fohn," to be executed in January 1944. The plan called for the 8th SS Cavalry Division, disguised as Italians, to seize St. Peter's and "massacre Pius XII with the entire Vatican” — and specifically names "the papal protest in favor of the Jews" as the cause.

This article from The Telegraph (London) reports that Ven. Pope Pius XII ordered that if and when the Nazis kidnapped him, that his resignation would take effect immediately. The bishops would then be expected to flee to a safe country – probably neutral Portugal – where they would re-establish the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church and appoint a new Pontiff.

Rabbi David G. Dalin states in his book "The Myth of Hitler's Pope" that Ven. Pope Pius XII saved the lives of thousands of Jews.

Random Thoughts...
On a Monday evening

~ Not until the other day did I notice that Free Bird has violins.

~ All this Spendulus and ObaCare money sends my tax dollars to other states. Isn't that called taxation without representation? Didn't we fight a war over that?

~ Fox continues to have the hottest chicks. Even the two pregnant gals are smokin'. Hey, I can appreciate a beautiful woman. So sue me.

Time To Lighten The Mood
Matrix Ping Pong

More Worship Of The Sacred Orgasm
Rocks in Head

WARNING! Harsh Language Alert!

I find little difference between these dumb-asses and a herd of swine eating, sleeping and screwing in their own shit and piss.

As long as these junior hedonists-in-training have their bellies full and know that the next orgasm is but a gamma globulin shot away -- life is good.


And is it just me, but do you also find it somewhat disingenuous that while the dork of a guy on this video bemoans that "Americans between the age of 18 and 29 are the most uninsured age group in the country", all the while, tweeting on his Blackberry. Possibly this dumb-ass should shitcan his Blackberry and ummm... I dunno, BUY some health insurance?

Nahhh... that would denote an iota of maturity and personal responsibility.

And did anyone else notice that women are portrayed as nothing more than glorified sperm receptacles? How progressive.

Here's some of the article from NewsBusters.org;

Rock The Vote Encourages Youth To Use Sex To Pass ObamaCare
By Noel Sheppard

The political advocacy group "Rock the Vote" has a new video out encouraging young people to abstain from having sex with folks opposed to healthcare reform.

Sadly, this isn't your run of the mill call for celibacy, for the video also instructs youth to use sex to get people to change their minds on this issue.

The group's YouTube posting asks: "What would you withhold from someone who opposes health care reform? Cookies, a Christmas gift, sex?"

Pretty racy for an organization whose mission is to "give young people the tools to identify, learn about, and take action on the issues that affect their lives, and leverage their power in the political process" (video embedded below the fold contains excessive vulgarity, h/t Story Balloon).

For those unfamiliar, two of the primary participants in this video are Eva Amurri and Zach Gilford from television's "Californication" and "Friday Night Lights" respectively.

Amurri is Susan Sarandon's daughter that just so happens to play a student who moonlights as a stripper on "Californication." Now THAT's a great role model for young people, isn't it?

Crazy Grayson's At It Again
Uncle Joe would be proud

I've posted on this nut-job in the past. He makes it soooooo easy. Here's the "K Street Whore" post, and here's the "Republicans are the Enemies of America" post.

Alan Grayson... what a charmer. I wonder if he'll be contacting the Attorney General demanding jail time for me for posting this?

Here's some of the article from NewsBusters.org;

Alan 'Republicans Want You To Die' Grayson Wants Critic Jailed

The Florida Congressman that in September said "Republicans want you to die quickly if you get sick" has asked Attorney General Eric Holder to prosecute and convict one of his staunchest critics.

More precisely, he wants her "imprisoned for five years."

The Orlando Sentinel reported Friday:

[Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.)] accuses Republican activist Angie Langley of lying to federal elections. His four-page complaint highlights the fact that the Clermont resident lives outside his district, but that Langley still uses the term “my” in “mycongressmanisnuts.com.”
Here are some of the hysterical highlights from the letter Grayson sent to Holder Tuesday:
As explained below, Ms. Langley and the Committee falsely represented to the Federal Election Commission that the Committee "supports or opposes more than one candidate," In fact, however, the committee name corresponds to a website that attacks me. and only me, while soliciting contributions to be used against only me. Moreover, Ms. Langley has falsely depicted herself as a constituent, in order to further this scheme. Ms. Langley and the Committee thus have, "in a[] matter within the jurisdiction of the executive ... branch of the Government of the United States, knowingly and willfully -

(1) falsifie[d], concealed], or cover[ed] up any trick, scheme, or device a material fact;
(2) ma[de] a[] materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation; [and]
(3) ma[de] or use[d] a[] false writing or document knowing the same to contain a[] materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent entry."
Wait. It gets better:

Ms. Langley has chosen a name for her committee that is utterly tasteless and juvenile. Of the thousands of campaign committees reporting to the FEC, I doubt that any other one sinks this low. But that is not the primary purpose of this complaint.

By choosing the name "My Congressman is Nuts' for her committee, Ms. Langley is indicating that I am her Congressman. I am not her Congressman, and I have never been her Congressman. Ms. Langley resides at 969 W. Lakeshore Drive, Clermont, FL 34711 (Ex. A-2), This is many miles outside my district Ms. Langley lives within FL-5, not FL-8.

Ms. Langley has deliberately masqueraded as a constituent of mine, in order to try to create the false appearance that she speaks for constituents who don't support me. This is fundamentally deceptive and fraudulent.

What a crybaby. In the meantime, enjoy this clip from MyCongressmanIsNuts.com -

The Liberal Master

In the Gospel of John, we are informed that Satan "is . . . a liar, and the father thereof." See John 8:44, Dhouay-Rheims. As any good Catholic knows, Satan is indeed the father of lies. Knowing this, what are we to conclude about prominent and influential liberals today? Be they policial or religious, liberals more and more seem to be the party of lies.

For instance, in the case of this recent federal monstrosity of a health care bill on the political front, Obama, Pelosi, Reid, et al. are on a daily basis openly and knowingly lying. Obama recently stated on camera that the new healthcare bill would not add to the national debt. Obama has time and again insisted that the bill would bring down health care costs and the overall care people received from their hospitals and physicians would improve. These all are such whoppers, Obama and company cannot in a million years think that we don't know we are being lied to. It is evident they don't care. As long as it means one big leap to a communist America, then it is all for the suppossed common good. But can the true common good be accomplished on a bed of lies? And lets not even get into the monumental fraud that is human induced global warming theory.

And on the religous front we now have the Bishop Trautman's of the world coming out against the new liturgical translations. See this article from America magazine which succinctly summarizes the liberals opposition: http://www.eriercd.org/america.asp. For decades, if not centuries, Catholics have been told by the so called "enlightened" that modern man was too intelligent and that the Church needed to modernize and not look at itself as the sole arbiter of the Catholic religion. What was personal interpretation of the bible all about afterall if not the individual being "smart" enough to decipher truth on his own? Isn't one of the largest sticks liberals use to beat the Church the fact that the Church was purportedly so evil during the period of the reformation for keeping the bible from the people and whispering the words of consecration behind an inconostais, or whatever the equivalent was in the Latin Rite? And then you have all these ridiculous bible studies where groups of laypersons get together to discuss passages of the bible without any priest or competent theologian present to advise as to whether those studies are actually resulting in the apprehension of Truth rather than the distortion thereof.

After decades of liberals telling the Church that individual Catholics were too enlightened to need a doctrine defining institution to guide them to heaven, suddenly those same people are too stupid to understand a richer and more dignified translation of the new Mass. Is it just me, or is there a contradiction here? I for one have never accused a liberal of being logical, but this schizophrenic attitude even defies a liberal's logic if we are to take them at their word of truly being concerned about the plebe in the pew. It seems that more and more the religious left is openly revealing who in fact they are. Is the translation such a big issue to these people because they are truly concerned the average person won't understand the Truth revealed in the Mass, or is the real issue currently worrying liberals the fact that the new translation may indeed better reveal the Truth to the average person in the pew?

And the same observation can be made about the manner in which the Novus Ordo was implemented vs. how it is defended today. Marini, for instance, is full out honest now about the intentions of the Conclium. But when the Conclium was operating back in the '60's everything was done in secret and was implemented with lies.

Anyway, what to make of it? What does it all mean? I don't know for certain, but a part of me wonders if the modern liberal is not a tool of Satan. If we are to believe, that all good comes from God, then what are we to think of the suppossed goods being advocated by modern liberals on a bed of lies? To lie is a violation of divine law. It is a mortal sin. To my knowledge, God does not bring about His good through evil. As I understand the Catholic religion, the end does not justify the means. So who are these liberals? Who is their master? Whose work are they doing.

I am just asking . . .

Yeah, I know This Is 10 Years Old
But I still likes it!

This is an excellent article that rightly deserves the handful of minutes it takes to read. From Sports Illustrated, Sept, 1999;
On a Wing and a Prayer

Now this message for America's most famous athletes: Someday you may be invited to fly in the backseat of one of your country's most powerful fighter jets. Many of you already have -- John Elway, John Stockton, Tiger Woods to name a few. If you get this opportunity, let me urge you, with the greatest sincerity....

Move to Guam. Change your name. Fake your own death. Whatever you do, do not go. I know. The U.S. Navy invited me to try it. I was thrilled. I was pumped. I was toast!

I should've known when they told me my pilot would be Chip (Biff) King of Fighter Squadron 213 at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach. Whatever you're thinking a Top Gun named Chip (Biff) King looks like, triple it. He's about six-foot, tan, ice-blue eyes, wavy surfer hair, finger-crippling handshake -- the kind of man who wrestles dyspeptic alligators in his leisure time. If you see this man, run the other way. Fast.

Biff King was born to fly. His father, Jack King, was for years the voice of NASA missions. ("T-minus 15 seconds and counting...." Remember?) Chip would charge neighborhood kids a quarter each to hear his dad. Jack would wake up from naps surrounded by nine-year-olds waiting for him to say, "We have a liftoff."

Biff was to fly me in an F-14D Tomcat, a ridiculously powerful $60 million weapon with nearly as much thrust as weight, not unlike Colin Montgomerie. I was worried about getting airsick, so the night before the flight I asked Biff if there was something I should eat the next morning.

"Bananas," he said.

"For the potassium?" I asked.

"No," Biff said, "because they taste about the same coming up as they do going down."

The next morning, out on the tarmac, I had on my flight suit with my name sewn over the left breast. (No call sign -- like Crash or Sticky or Leadfoot -- but, still, very cool.) I carried my helmet in the crook of my arm, as Biff had instructed. If ever in my life I had a chance to nail Nicole Kidman, that was it.

A fighter pilot named Psycho gave me a safety briefing and then fastened me into my ejection seat, which, when employed, would "egress" me out of the plane at such a velocity that I would be immediately knocked unconscious.


Just as I was thinking about aborting the flight, the canopy closed over me, and Biff gave the ground crew a thumbs-up. In minutes we were firing nose up at 600 mph. We leveled out and then canopy-rolled over another F-14. Those 20 minutes were the rush of my life. Unfortunately, the ride lasted 80.

It was like being on the roller coaster at Six Flags Over Hell. Only without rails. We did barrel rolls, sap rolls, loops, yanks and banks. We dived, rose and dived again, sometimes with a vertical velocity of 10,000 feet per minute. We chased another F-14, and it chased us. We broke the speed of sound. Sea was sky and sky was sea. Flying at 200 feet we did 90-degree turns at 550 mph, creating a G force of 6.5, which is to say I felt as if 6.5 times my body weight was smashing against me, thereby approximating life as Mrs. Colin Montgomerie.

And I egressed the bananas. I egressed the pizza from the night before. And the lunch before that. I egressed a box of Milk Duds from the sixth grade. I made Linda Blair look polite. Because of the G's, I was egressing stuff that did not even want to be egressed. I went through not one airsick bag, but two. Biff said I passed out. Twice.

I was coated in sweat. At one point, as we were coming in upside down in a banked curve on a mock bombing target and the G's were flattening me like a tortilla and I was in and out of consciousness, I realized I was the first person in history to throw down.

I used to know cool. Cool was Elway throwing a touchdown pass, or Norman making a five-iron bite. But now I really know cool. Cool is guys like Biff, men with cast-iron stomachs and Freon nerves. I wouldn't go up there again for Derek Jeter's black book, but I'm glad Biff does every day, and for less a year than a rookie reliever makes in a home stand.

A week later, when the spins finally stopped, Biff called. He said he and the fighters had the perfect call sign for me. Said he'd send it on a patch for my flight suit.

What is it? I asked.

"Two Bags."

Don't you dare tell Nicole.

The New Mass Isn't To Blame...
But the mindset that keeps downward spiral continues

The mistakes made 100 years+ ago with the Germans, the Irish, The Poles, the Italians... the same mistakes continue today.

Here's what I'm getting at - you'll be hard pressed to find a parish, any parish, in this country that doesn't have a Spanish-language Novus Ordo Mass on their Sunday schedule.

Mariachi choirs, Day of the Dead altars, oversized flags of Mexico draped over statues of Our Lady of Guadalupe, etc, etc. You name it. It's all so very Mexerrific.

Needless to say, you aren't going to find many Nikolaus Weithmann's, Daniel O'Sweany's, Stanislaus Zdzitowiecki's or Giuseppe Sgambelluri's at an ¡Ay, Caramba! liturgical celebration. This very much reminds me of the propaganda against the Traditional Latin Mass - "it's so divisive! It will divide the parish!"

Yeah... right.

Anyhoo, As the cultural Catholics began the immigration to America, where was the one place they could go to be with "their own"? Simple... the parish church. Yeah, it was a self-defense mechanism, and to a certain degree, it made sense.

But the fatal flaw was the ethnic emphasis. To this day, there are certain parts of this country where you could hear it said "no, don't go to Immaculate Heart. That's the Dago parish", "stay away from St. Peter's... that's where the Micks go". You get the picture.

In more than a few cases, as it was then as it is now, the emphasis is/was placed on ethnicity and not spirituality. And as the assimilation of the cultural Catholics into the greater American society progressed, the abandonment of Catholicism followed suit. There simply wasn't a need to go to your friendly neighborhood parish for the most part.

The facts speak for themselves. 50 short years ago when a bishop said something, Catholics listened. Not anymore. Grand pronouncements from the Chanceries are hardly given a second thought. But I've posted on that particular topic before.

But I digress... then as now, the emphasis is placed on nationality, ethnicity, skin color. It's going to take a couple of decades, but as soon as the assimilation takes place, the Latinos will abandon the Faith just as quickly as their European brethren have.

Mark my words.