Your Humble Servant is going on vacation, kiddies.

So you are on your own for a few days. Read a good book or two. (Type Book of the Day into the search box for a few suggestions.)

Keep it in your pants.

And don't burn the place to the ground while I'm gone!

Mommy, who was Gorbachev?

The Australian: Double snub for Gorbachev
The nation's two main political leaders have snubbed a top international security, energy and environment summit headed by former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev.

Pravda: Mikhail Gorbachev says USA has 'disease worse than AIDS'
The first and the last president of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev , accused the US administration of outrageous criticism of Russia. Gorbachev urged the White House not to hinder the gradual development of the country...

“You have caught a disease that is worse than AIDS. It is called the complex of the winner,” the ex-president of the USSR said in an interview with ABC television channel.

Saith the loser.

Kerry Washington's talent is wasted...

...in the latest bit of stupidity from the Brothers Wayans, Little Man.

Bonus Daniela Pestova Photos.

For those of you with a golf fetish (You know who you are!) here are the last three of the stunning Daniela.

Rich totalitarian fatcats pool their billions to buy politicians and votes!

A secretive group of left-fascists who fancy themselves the "Democracy Alliance" (Heehee! That's rich. More like the democracy of the grave.) hope to use the money of commie-symp billionaires (Who earned their money by behaving like Repansycans, I might add.) to make the rest of us behave like proper little sheep.

Washington's other newspaper: A New Alliance Of Democrats Spreads Funding
But Some in Party Bristle At Secrecy and Liberal Tilt


An alliance of nearly a hundred of the nation's wealthiest donors is roiling Democratic political circles, directing more than $50 million in the past nine months to liberal think tanks and advocacy groups in what organizers say is the first installment of a long-term campaign to compete more aggressively against conservatives.

A year after its founding, Democracy Alliance has followed up on its pledge to become a major power in the liberal movement. It has lavished millions on groups that have been willing to submit to its extensive screening process and its demands for secrecy.

These include the Center for American Progress, a think tank with an unabashed partisan edge, as well as Media Matters for America, which tracks what it sees as conservative bias in the news media. Several alliance donors are negotiating a major investment in Air America, a liberal talk-radio network.

But the large checks and demanding style wielded by Democracy Alliance organizers in recent months have caused unease among Washington's community of Democratic-linked organizations. The alliance has required organizations that receive its endorsement to sign agreements shielding the identity of donors. Public interest groups said the alliance represents a large source of undisclosed and unaccountable political influence.

You think?

Democracy Alliance also has left some Washington political activists concerned about what they perceive as a distinctly liberal tilt to the group's funding decisions. Some activists said they worry that the alliance's new clout may lead to groups with a more centrist ideology becoming starved for resources.

Democracy Alliance was formed last year with major backing from billionaires such as financier George Soros and Colorado software entrepreneur Tim Gill. The inspiration, according to founders, was a belief that Democrats became the minority party in part because liberals do not have a well-funded network of policy shops, watchdog groups and training centers for activists equivalent to what has existed for years on the right.
But the alliance's early months have been marked by occasional turmoil, according to several people who are now or have recently been affiliated with the group. Made up of billionaires and millionaires who are accustomed to calling the shots, the group at times has gotten bogged down in disputes about its funding priorities and mission, participants said.

We could hope they all just slaughter each other while arguing over who gets to eat the tenderest aborted fetus, but I doubt that will happen. First, these guys aren't the type to dirty their hands. If they want a guy killed, they hire somebody like Fuss Foolsgold or Senatrix Hitlery Schicklgruber (N-NY) to do it. Second, there is more than enough kindfleisch to go around.

Democracy Alliance organizers say early disagreements are first-year growing pains for an organization that has decades-long goals. Judy Wade, managing director of the alliance, said fewer than 10 percent of its initial donors have left, a figure she called lower than would be expected for a new venture. And she said the group's funding priorities are a work in progress, as organizers try to determine what will have the most influence in revitalizing what she called the "center-left" movement.

"Everything we invest in should have not just short-term impact but long-term impact and sustainability," she said. The group requires nondisclosure agreements because many donors prefer anonymity, Wade added. Some donors expressed concern about being attacked on the Web or elsewhere for their political stance; others did not want to be targeted by fundraisers.

"Like a lot of elite groups, we fly beneath the radar," said Guy Saperstein, an Oakland lawyer and alliance donor. But "we are not so stupid though," he said, to think "we can deny our existence."

This article is based on interviews with more than two dozen Democrats who are members of the alliance, recipients of their money or familiar with the group's operations. None would speak on the record about financial details, but all such details were confirmed by multiple sources.
Democracy Alliance works essentially as a cooperative for donors, allowing them to coordinate their giving so that it has more influence.

To become a "partner," as the members are referred to internally, requires a $25,000 entry fee and annual dues of $30,000 to cover alliance operations as well as some of its contributions to start-up liberal groups. Beyond this, partners also agree to spend at least $200,000 annually on organizations that have been endorsed by the alliance. Essentially, the alliance serves as an accreditation agency for political advocacy groups.
This accreditation process is the root of Democracy Alliance's influence. If a group does not receive the alliance's blessing, dozens of the nation's wealthiest political contributors as a practical matter become off-limits for fundraising purposes.

Many of these contributors give away far more than the $200,000 requirement. Soros, Gill and insurance magnate Peter Lewis are among the biggest contributors, but 45 percent of the 95 partners gave $300,000 or better in the initial round of grants last October, according to a source familiar with the organization.

Democracy Alliance organizers say they are trying to bring principles of accountability and capital investment that are common in business to the world of political advocacy, where they believe such principles have often been missing.

Wade declined to discuss the donors or the groups they fund. But, in an interview, she described how the groups were chosen. Alliance officials initially reviewed about 600 liberal and Democratic-leaning organizations. Then, about 40 of those groups were invited to apply for an endorsement -- with a requirement that they submit detailed business plans and internal financial information. Those groups were then screened by a panel of alliance staff members, donors and outside experts, including some with expertise in philanthropy rather than politics. So far, according to people familiar with the alliance, 25 groups have received its blessing.

The goal was to invest in groups that could be influential in building what activists call "political infrastructure" -- institutions that can support Democratic causes not simply in the next election but for years to come.

Those who make the cut have prospered. The Center for American Progress (CAP), which is led by former Clinton White House chief of staff John Podesta, received $5 million in the first round because it was seen as a liberal version of the Heritage Foundation, which blossomed as a conservative idea shop in the Reagan years, said one person closely familiar with alliance operations. CAP officials declined to comment.

Likewise, a Democracy Alliance blessing effectively jump-started Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). It bills itself as a nonpartisan watchdog group committed to targeting "government officials who sacrifice the common good to special interests." Alliance officials see CREW as a possible counterweight to conservative-leaning Judicial Watch, which filed numerous lawsuits against Clinton administration officials in the 1990s. A CREW spokesman declined to comment.

The Center for Progressive Leadership and its president, Peter Murray, are getting funding from the alliance and are seen by some as a potential leader in training young activists on the left. While the center is still dwarfed by conservative groups such as the Leadership Institute, alliance donors have helped increase Murray's budget to $2.3 million, compared with $1 million one year ago, he said.

But Democracy Alliance's decisions not to back some prominent groups have stirred resentment. Among the groups that did not receive backing in early rounds were such well-known centrist groups as the Democratic Leadership Council and the Truman National Security Project.

Funding for these groups was "rejected purely because of their ideologies," said one Democrat familiar with internal Democracy Alliance funding discussions.

Officials with numerous policy and political groups in Washington said they have reservations about the group's influence. Several declined to talk on the record for fear of alienating a funding source.

But Matt Bennett, a vice president at Third Way, a centrist group that did not receive funding in the first wave of endorsements, said he believes that Democracy Alliance has merit. "It will enable progressives, for the first time ever, to build a permanent infrastructure to beat the conservative machine," he said.

Philanthropist David Friedman, an alliance partner and self-described centrist, said that "as our portfolio grows, we will fund a broader range of groups."

But some consider Democracy Alliance's hidden influence troubling, regardless of its ideological orientation. Unlike election campaigns, which must detail contributions and spending, most of the think tanks and not-for-profit groups funded by the alliance are exempt from public disclosure laws.

"It is a huge problem," said Sheila Krumholz, the acting executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. She noted that for decades "all kinds of Democrats and liberals were complaining that corporations and individuals were carrying on these stealth campaigns to fund right-wing think tanks and advocacy groups. Just as it was then, it is a problem today."

The exclusive donor club includes millionaires such as Susie Tompkins Buell and her husband, Mark Buell, major backers of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), and Chris Gabrieli, an investment banker running for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in Massachusetts this September. Mark Buell estimated that about 70 percent of alliance partners built their own wealth, while 30 percent became wealthy through inheritances.

Bernard L. Schwartz, retired chief executive of Loral Space & Communications Inc. and an alliance donor, said the group offers partners "an array of opportunities that have passed their smell test." This is most helpful, he said, for big donors who lack the time to closely examine their political investment options.

Trial lawyer Fred Baron, a member of the alliance and longtime Democratic donor, agreed: "The piece that has always been lacking in our giving is long-term infrastructure investments."

The problem, Fred, is that in the long-term Democrasses don't do anything but masturbate while dreaming of having the strength of will to kill all who dare defy them.

There also are a few "institutional investors" such as the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) that pay a $50,000 annual fee and agree to spend $1 million on alliance-backed efforts.

Hmmm...did anybody ask this unions slaves (Oops, members) about that?

Some Democratic political consultants privately fear that the sums being spent by alliance donors will mean less money spent on winning elections in 2006 and 2008.

Heehee! (Ssshhhhhh!)

But Rob Stein, co-founder of Democracy Alliance, said the party will become ascendant only if it thinks beyond the next election cycle. Stein has closely studied the conservative movement -- often with envy.

Armed with a PowerPoint presentation for potential donors, he argues that Republicans dominate the federal and many state governments because they methodically made investments in groups that could generate new ideas, shape public opinion, train conservative activists and elected officials, and boost voter turnout among conservatives -- aware that there was no near-term payoff. Liberals have done nothing comparable, he said.

That's because the so-called liberals haven't had a new idea since Stalin died. And that idea was "Let's kill Stalin and make ourselves Grand Poobahs".

"It is not possible in the 21st century to promote a coherent belief system and maintain political influence without a robust, enduring local, state and national institutional infrastructure," Stein said. "Currently, the center-left is comparatively less strategic, coordinated and well financed than the conservative-right. These comparative disadvantages are debilitating."

Think of all the hot Russian babes we missed because of lunatic communism: Daniela Pestova. (The Penultimate)

From the pages of The King Abdullah Gazette:





Did I ever mention that orange is my favorite color?



Did I forget to mention somewhere along the way that Daniela is a very beautiful woman?

Think of all the hot Russian babes we missed because of lunatic communism: Daniela Pestova. (Part Eight)

From the pages of The King Abdullah Gazette:

Think of all the hot Russian babes we missed because of lunatic communism: Daniela Pestova. (Part Seven)

From the pages of The King Abdullah Gazette:

Wally is the smartest man alive. I wish he was my mentor.

Must be a Jungian...

...The ficus, not the therapist. Excrement is the domain of the freudiots.

Mmmm...Italian tuna...

...mmmmmm...fighting the power...

The West's dilemma is eloquently illuminated by Mother Goose & Grimm.

Here's a headline you don't see every day.

AFP: Saudi points finger at Hezbollah in Lebanon crisis

Regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia has indirectly accused Hezbollah of provoking Israel's onslaught on Lebanon, distancing itself from the Shiite militant movement amid fears of a wider regional conflict.

While not explicitly naming the Lebanese Shiite militia, a Saudi official source quoted by the official SPA news agency on Thursday accused certain elements of "adventurism" that put all Arab nations at risk.

The Saudi position is aimed at preventing the Middle East from sliding into yet another destructive war and at upholding Arab interests, Mohammad al-Zalfa, a member of the appointed Shura (consultative) Council, said Friday.

"It is necessary to make a distinction between legitimate resistance (to occupation) and irresponsible adventurism adopted by certain elements within the state and taken without its knowledge," and without coordination and consultation with Arab countries, the official source said.

"These elements... risk putting in danger all the Arab countries and their achievements before these countries have said a word," the source added.
The source did not explicitly name Hezbollah, whose capture of two Israeli soldiers on Wednesday with the stated aim of swapping them with Lebanese held by Israel sparked the Israeli offensive.

Riyadh's stand tallied with that of the Lebanese government of Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, which has denied any involvement in the Hezbollah action. Siniora has maintained the close ties with Saudi Arabia forged by his slain mentor, former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri.

"There is no doubt that the sides that will not be pleased by the kingdom's rational position will attribute it to US pressure. But the kingdom's stand on critical issues has been clear for a long time, and it boils down to trying to spare the region more woes," Zalfa told AFP.

Here's a surprise. President Hungadunga is not running Iran.

Contra Costa Times: To most in Iran, president just a puppet for clerics


TEHRAN, Iran - To the West, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is the most visible face of Iran -- the bearded firebrand demanding nuclear rights, the end of Israel and a new accounting of the Holocaust.

"Nuclear rights"? That's just stupid.

To many Iranians, however, the president is a tool of the Islamic Republic's ruling clerics and holds little real power. Foreign policy -- nuclear strategy, Iraq plans, talks with the United States -- is firmly in the hands of the reclusive circle led by Iran's highest-ranking ayatollah, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Now, analysts say, those leaders are moving to curb Ahmadinejad's domestic agenda. They're fearful, many say, that his populist-style social programs will bankrupt Iran's oil-fueled government.

What? Is the Iranian government giving away diamond-encrusted platinum wife-beating poles?

Or is ol' Hungadunga being spun as a big spending Great Society type? Kind of like Senator Murder, only with a personality.

These analysts warn that while the West is preoccupied with Ahmadinejad as enemy No. 1, the issues that really matter -- Iran's proximity to Iraq, its nuclear ambitions and its support of Palestinian and Lebanese guerrillas -- are better addressed through Iran's true power brokers, whose recent comments have been more conciliatory than Ahmadinejad's.

Last week, diplomats from the United States, Europe, Russia and China threatened Iran with U.N. action if it didn't agree soon to suspend its uranium enrichment program.

"It's important that the world understands he's a very small part of this puzzle," said Mohammed Atrianfar, founder of the main opposition newspaper, Shargh, and a leader of the reformist Kargozaran Party.

"He's like the thin, dry branch of a tree supported by the deep roots of the (state-controlled) media, the supreme leader and the radical clerics. For now, none of them will allow this branch to break."

Since his surprise victory at the polls a year ago, Ahmadinejad has fascinated and appalled the West. He's questioned whether the Holocaust happened and called for Israel's end. He's often portrayed as backward, loony or both -- certainly not one to be trusted with the bomb.

But he's also wildly popular among workaday Iranians weary of a cleric-led regime that's often viewed as corrupt and incestuous. The son of a blacksmith and the former mayor of Tehran, Ahmadinejad is the first noncleric to hold Iran's presidency since the early days of the 1979 revolution.

Ahmadinejad's initiatives include government loans for small-business owners, higher salaries for government workers, debt forgiveness for farmers, low-interest loans for first-time homeowners and credit priority to young newlyweds.

He's also earmarked money for community development, bringing new stadiums and schools to far-flung regions of this nation of 70 million.
But economists warn that those actions are possible only because the price of oil is more than $70 a barrel. While the world's current turmoil promises to keep the price high, economists worry that the price could eventually drop.

That would be disastrous in a country where millions -- factory workers, soldiers, paramilitaries and bureaucrats -- rely on the government for their livelihoods.

That reality hasn't gone unnoticed by the powerful clerics who rule Iran from the shadows. One senior Iranian government official said the ayatollahs in Qom, the holy city where they're headquartered, have asked the supreme leader to curb the president's spending.

Chief among their fears, observers say, is the threat of wealthy government-backed apparatchiks losing their monopoly on Iran's banking, insurance and other lucrative state-run institutions.

Lest Ahmadinejad forget who's really in charge, a reminder came last month when he made the surprise move of allowing women into soccer stadiums. He was reversed almost instantly after influential clerics complained to Khamenei, the supreme leader.

Iran's educated, politically moderate class, meanwhile, is deeply embarrassed by Ahmadinejad's lack of statesmanship and cringes over him becoming the most public face of Iran, where citizens take great pride in their thousands of years of civilization.

Some opposition figures grumble that his appearance on the covers of Western news magazines shows that the West doesn't understand his true stature.

Even some of the president's staunchest supporters say his inflammatory comments have helped Iran's enemies justify their efforts to keep the country isolated as a pariah.

"Mr. Ahmadinejad is a person of logic, very intelligent, brave, revolutionary and hardworking, a believer in peace," said Hamid Reza Taraghi, whose hard-line Islamic Coalition Society advises the president.

No topic has gotten Ahmadinejad more attention than Iran's nuclear program, which Iranian officials rejuvenated after he took office.

The president wisely cast the debate surrounding Iran's enrichment of uranium as a populist issue that gets to the very heart of sovereignty and perceptions of Western double standards on nuclear rights -- namely, if Israel can assemble an undeclared nuclear arsenal, why shouldn't other countries in the region pursue atomic development?

Golly, I guess mohammedan history texts omit the parts where the large, powerful countries make the little, weak ones bend to their wills. The natural spread of technology and scientific learning has always made this difficult, but that is no reason to refrain from precision bombing the Persian theocracy back into the 1920's.

The gamble paid off at home, where even many of his opponents support Iran's right to peaceful nuclear development.

Speaking of Jews...

...Do you think they get upset when stereotyped as funny? And it's true, you know. Jews are the funniest ethnic (I know, I know.) or national group by far. (Ok, so they don't have a lot of competition in these benighted times. Scotsmen? Albanians? Don't make me laugh. Seriously, they don't make me laugh. And who's the funniest Australian? Paul Hogan? Yuck!)

And now for the important news ....
By Argus Hamilton of the Jewish World Review

Well, Argus could be a funny goy they found. Or a pen name. At the very least, the editors of the Jewish World Review seem to have a sense of humor...

Ben Roethlisberger showed off his face Wednesday only a month after his near-fatal motorcycle accident. He flew head-first through a windshield. Doctors did a such an amazing job on him, Joan Rivers and Jerry Jones have taken up motorcycling.

Peter Coors must appear in Colorado court Thursday on drunk driving charges after he flunked a roadside breathalyzer test three months ago. Beer experts are really amazed. It's the first time in history anyone ever detected alcohol in Coors.

Valerie Plame addressed the TV cameras Friday about her lawsuit against Dick Cheney. She's a beautiful blonde, she drives a convertible, and she claims that the publicity ruined her life. At last there's a story a Los Angeles jury won't buy.

Iran threatened war Thursday if Syria is attacked, as Israeli air strikes hit to the north in Lebanon and Israeli armor advanced south into Gaza. It wasn't all bad news. Iraq looks so stable by comparison you would think Saddam was still in office.

Syria declared Friday they support Hezbollah against the Israelis. It's hard for Americans to keep track of these groups. Hezbollah supports the destruction of Israel and the Islamic takeover of the United States, and they are the moderates.

Bill Clinton was widely promoted Friday as a possible U.S. peace envoy for the Middle East situation. However, cooler heads prevailed and the idea was tabled. The last thing this situation needs is another U.S. predator drone prowling the area.

The Washington Post said Thursday Hillary Clinton plans to emphasize to voters that she's a Methodist. She's well on her way to every Methodist's goal. With twenty-two million dollars in her campaign account, she is an Episcopalian in all but name.

The Associated Press poll Friday showed Americans plan to vote for Democrats over Republicans this fall by a three-to-one margin. Some people got carried away with the news. It was really bad luck for House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi to purchase a powdered wig and ask her colleagues to address her as Lord Chancellor.

Think of all the hot Russian babes we missed because of lunatic communism: Daniela Pestova. (Part Six)

From the pages of The King Abdullah Gazette:

Michael Ledeen on what appears to be a nascent World War.

Of course, Mr. Ledeen (of National Review Online) is a neo-conservative war-mongering hater and probably a Jew. And why would anyone listen to Jews? Just because people are always trying to kill them?

The Same War
Hezbollah, natch.
By Michael Ledeen

No one should have any lingering doubts about what’s going on in the Middle East. It’s war, and it now runs from Gaza into Israel, through Lebanon and thence to Iraq via Syria. There are different instruments, ranging from Hamas in Gaza to Hezbollah in Syria and Lebanon and on to the multifaceted “insurgency” in Iraq. But there is a common prime mover, and that is the Iranian mullahcracy, the revolutionary Islamic fascist state that declared war on us 27 years ago and has yet to be held accountable.

It is very good news that the White House immediately denounced Iran and Syria, just as Ambassador Khalilzad had yesterday tagged the terrorist Siamese twins as sponsors of terrorism in Iraq. For those who doubt the Iranian hand, remind yourself that Hezbollah is a wholly owned subsidiary of the mullahcracy (with Syria providing some supplies, and free run of the territory), and then read what Iraq the Model had to say yesterday, Wednesday:

Hizbollah is Iran's and Syria's partner in feeding instability in Iraq as there were evidence that this terror group has a role in equipping and training insurgents in Iraq and Hizbollah had more than once openly showed support for the “resistance” in Iraq and sponsored the meetings of Baathist and radical
Islamist militants who are responsible for most of the violence in Iraq.

Notice, please, that he says Iran “sponsored the meetings of Baathist and radical Islamist militants...” He is talking Sunnis here, the same Sunnis who, according to CIA deep thinkers and scads of academic experts, cannot possibly work closely with Shiites like, ahem, the mullahs of Tehran. Iraq the Model isn’t burdened by this wisdom, and so he just reports what he sees on the ground in his own country.

Robert Brooks, Requiescat in pace.

Robert Brooks had a simple reason for why his Hooters chain - known as much for the tight T-shirts of its waitresses as for its cuisine - stayed in business.

"Good food, cold beer and pretty girls never go out of style," he told Fortune magazine in 2003.

Amen to that, Brother.

Brooks, chairman of the restaurant chain, was found dead at his home Sunday. It was unclear how Brooks died, but the Horry County coroner's office told The (Myrtle Beach) Sun News that an autopsy would be performed Monday. He was 69.

Since opening its first store in Clearwater, Fla., in 1983, Hooters of America Inc. has expanded into 46 states and 19 countries. Hooters has about 61 million annual visitors.

Born on a tobacco farm outside Loris near Myrtle Beach, Brooks graduated from Clemson University with a degree in dairy science. According to a Newsweek article in June 2005, Brooks broke into the food industry with a milkshake formula that was used by restaurant chain Burger King.

In 1966, he founded Eastern Foods Inc., which started off selling nondairy creamer to airlines and now makes dressings and sauces as Naturally Fresh Foods. He continued as chairman of the company that has more than $100 million in sales each year.

He also had a few other businesses, including the White Water Country Club in Fayette County, Ga.; the Super Sports Co., which makes merchandise sold in Hooters restaurants; and, the World Business Center, a land development company in Atlanta.

He owned speedways in Lakeland, Fla.; Jefferson, Ga.; and Hudson, N.C.; and was co-owner of a video production company, Hallbrook Productions, which produces commercials for his ventures.

But he's best known for his Hooters restaurants. In 1984, he and a group of Atlanta investors bought expansion and franchise rights for the Hooters chain. He eventually bought majority control and became chairman.

"He was a wonderfully gifted businessman," said Brad Dean, president of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce. "He understood business, a lot more than just how to sell chicken wings."

Brooks tried to parlay the restaurant chain's success into an airline in 2003. At its peak, Hooters Air flew to 15 destinations, but the company racked up debt and stopped commercial flights earlier this year. The company now flies charters.

Brooks shared his wealth with his hometown, giving $2 million to Coastal Carolina University for its first football stadium, which was named Brooks Stadium in 2003. In 1996, he was named Entrepreneur of the Year by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce.

Speaking of Bastille Day...

...Americans can make anything fun and profitable. (See American Civil War re-enactments.)

KYW News Radio: Celebrating Bastille Day in Phila.

It was a celebration of French Independence in Philadelphia at the Eastern State Penitentiary as the storming of Bastille was reenacted.

This was the 12th year of the Fairmount Bastille Day celebration. Complete with a prison, a mob -- not quite as angry as the one back in 1789 -- and Queen Marie Antoinette.

Sean Kelley is the program director for Eastern State Penitentiary:

“Bastille Day is of course the celebration of French Independence and it turns around this historic prison in Paris. We have a historic prison here in Philadelphia so we celebrate Bastille Day up here in Fairmount with a real guillotine, a real prison and lots of great food from local restaurants.”*

I know this guy sounds like a clown, but has has stumbled onto the truth. Bastille Day is about French independence: Independence from Truth, reality, order, sense, justice, and humanity.

As in the French Revolution Queen Marie Antoinette was captured and brought to the guillotine. But Kelley says despite a dozen of these Bastille Day celebrations in Fairmount, the queen has managed to escape losing her head:

“But every year she gets more demanding, so we'll see what happens to her next year.”

* "Let them eat criminally over-priced Nouvelle Cuisine."

An ugly American prude ruins the fun of some euro-pervs.

Expatica: McDonald's removes mouth-shaped urinals
AMSTERDAM — A McDonald's fast-food outlet in the south east of the Netherlands has agreed to remove urinals that are shaped liked wide-open red lips. The decision was taken after a shocked American customer complained to the McDonald's head office in the US.

Let us remember the victims of the very first left-fascist revolution, the French.

The Church has always suffered from man's rebellion against God and His good order, but since the storming of the Bastille, She has also faced the wrath of the modern totalitarian State. (That's right, kiddies. It did not begin or end with Herr Hitler.)

Carmelite Nuns of Compiegne

Sixteen Carmelites caught up in the French Revolution and martyred.

When the revolution started in 1789, a group of twenty-one discalced Carmelites lived in a monastery in Compiegne France, founded in 1641. The monastery was ordered closed in 1790 by the Revolutionary gov­ernment, and the nuns were disbanded.

Sixteen of the nuns were accused of living in a religious community in 1794. They were arrested on June 22 and imprisoned in a Visitation convent in Compiegne There they openly resumed their religious life.

On July 12, 1794, the Carmelites were taken to Paris and five days later were sentenced to death. They went to the guillotine singing the Salve Regina.

They were beatified in 1906 by Pope St. Pius X.

The Carmelites were: Marie Claude Brard; Madeleine Brideau, the subprior; Maire Croissy, grandniece of Colbert Marie Dufour; Marie Hanisset; Marie Meunier, a novice; Rose de Neufville Annette Pebras; Anne Piedcourt: Madeleine Lidoine, the prioress; Angelique Roussel; Catherine Soiron and Therese Soiron, both extern sisters, natives of Compiegne and blood sisters: Anne Mary Thouret; Marie Trezelle; and Elizabeth Verolot.

The martyrdom of the nuns was immortalized by the composer Francois Poulenc in his famous opera Dialogues des Carmelites.

Speaking of Amsterdam...

...Ha! The Dutch are going to return people to reality?

Boston Globe: Amsterdam clinic offers gamers path back to reality
Addiction expert Keith Bakker hopes the serenity of a 16th century townhouse on one of Amsterdam's canals will coax those snared in the fantasy world of online games back to reality.

Saint of the Day and daily Mass readings.

Today is the Feast of the Carmelite Nuns of Compiegne, 16 nuns martyred during the French revolution. Pray for us, all you angels and saints.

Today's reading is Isaias 1:10-17.
Today's Responsorial Psalm is Psalms 50:8-9, 16-17, 21, 23.
Today's Gospel reading is Matthew 10:34; 11:1.


Everyday links:

The Blessed Virgin Mary
The Rosary
Our Mother of Perpetual Help
Prayers from EWTN
National Coalition of Clergy and Laity (dedicated to action for a genuine Catholic Restoration)
The Catholic Calendar Page for Today


Just in case you are wondering what exactly Catholics believe, here is

The Apostles Creed

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son Our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.He descended into Hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into Heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. Amen.


Memorare

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that any one who fled to thy protection, implored thy help or sought thy intercession,was left unaided.Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins my Mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful; O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy clemency hear and answer me. Amen.


St. Joseph, her most chaste spouse, pray for us.


Prayer to St. Anthony, Martyr of Desire

Dear St. Anthony, you became a Franciscan with the hope of shedding your blood for Christ. In God's plan for you, your thirst for martyrdom was never to be satisfied. St. Anthony, Martyr of Desire, pray that I may become less afraid to stand up and be counted as a follower of the Lord Jesus. Intercede also for my other intentions. (Name them.)


Prayer To Saint Michael The Archangel

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil; may God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the divine power, thrust into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.


Prayer to End Abortion

Lord God, I thank You today for the gift of my life, and for the lives of all my brothers and sisters. I know there is nothing that destroys more life than abortion, yet I rejoice that you have conquered death by the resurrection of Your Son. I am ready to do my part to end abortion. Today I commit myself never to be silent, never to be passive, and never to be forgetful of the unborn. I commit myself to be active in the pro-life movement, and never stop defending life until all my brothers and sisters are protected and our nation once again becomes a nation with liberty and justice, not just for some, but for all. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.


Prayer For Vocations

Send forth your Spirit, Lord, into the hearts of your faithful people, that we may be conscious of our vocation to holiness and sevice to others. Grant that many of us may dedicate ourselves to You through the priesthood and the religious life.We pray especially for the needs of our own parish and diocese. Grant that we may always have sufficient good and holy priests, and dedicated Sisters to serve our commumities.We pray, too, for religious orders; that generous men may join them to become zealous missionaries in preaching the Gospel in word and action, especially to the poor and abandoned.We make this prayer through Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Redeemer. Amen.