At least Dan Rather never used a can of spray paint...

From Drudge:

CNN FLASHES 'X' OVER VP'S FACE DURING LIVE SPEECH... SENIOR MANAGEMENT LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION...

CNN: 'IT IS NOT SOMETHING WE CAN RE-CREATE TO SHOW YOU HOW IT HAPPENED'... 'IT WAS A COMPUTER BUG'

Is this the best these clowns can do? Why didn't they make it look like he was wearing "blackface"?

From The More Money Than Brains Department:

Thanks to MSNBC for the heads up. To hear a sample follow the MSNBC link below. It's worth the trip for all you aging A-Team fans.

Is driving easier when Mr. T’s riding shotgun?
To cash in on in-car GPS market, media firm to offer celebrity directions

Centuries ago, navigators looked to the stars to work out their location on Earth and plot their courses. Today, stars are again set to guide lost travelers to their destinations, but they won’t be the celestial bodies seen in the heavens each night.

Instead, think Mr. T, Burt Reynolds and Dennis Hopper — they’ve all signed up to deliver celebrity voice content for turn-by-turn driving directions in the Navtones car navigation system produced by Los Angeles-based Wanderlust Media and digital map and location content provider Tele Atlas.

If you already have an expensive navigation system in your car, you’re already familiar with the generic woman’s voice telling you to turn left at the next light. The idea behind Wanderlust’s new offering is to give drivers something a little different, explains CEO Will Andre. Mr. T not only guides, he also threatens: “Pay attention to what I’m saying,” he bawls. “Mr. T gonna get you there in one piece … you gonna be there safely, or else!”

But if they somehow can manage to offer Homer Simpson's voice to guide me...

From The Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Department:

GARY GLITTER MAY FACE FIRING SOUAD

SHAMED pop star Gary Glitter could face death by firing squad in Vietnam for having sex with a girl of 12. Police who stopped the 1970s glam rocker trying to flee the country claimed yesterday that the girl had confessed to having sex with him three times at his beachfront villa.

Wow. Talk about SEX IS DEATH.

From The Yeah, Rap Really Is Art (Yes, I'm serious.) Department:

Today Bianca Jagger, Council of Europe Goodwill Ambassador Visits Bay Area to Meet Stanley Tookie Williams

In the interests of fairness, here's the other side:

Victim's Family: Let 'Tookie' Die

And then, from somewhere in the middle (I think) comes this:

Pair of brothers shot returning home from "Tookie" rally

Now, if the right-wing nazis who rule KKKalifornica were going to execute this dude for the crummy children's books he has written, that would look bad. Luckily for the forces of reaction, Tookie is also a mass murderer.

May God have mercy on his soul.

This just in...

...from the side of my Pringles can:

"Flavored Potato Crisps" in Spanish is "Papitas Crujientes".

SEX IS DEATH. (Distaff death)

The latest in an occasional series. Unsurprisingly, St. Augustine sums it up nicely.

I came to Carthage, where I found myself in the midst of a hissing cauldron of lusts. I had not yet fallen in love, but I was in love with the idea of it, and this feeling that something was missing made me despise myself for not being more anxious to satisfy the need. I began to look around for some object for my love, since I badly wanted to love something.
—St. Augustine, Confessions



The saga of Kara Beth "Books Are Gay" Borden's hissing cauldron now begins. It is only a matter of time before she appears on Oprah and breathlessly offers up details of her forbidden love for the housewives of America.

Girl Went Willingly With Boyfriend After Parents Slain

David Ludwig told detectives that after he fatally shot his 14-year-old girlfriend's parents and started to drive away, he noticed the girl running down the road toward him, prosecutors said in court documents.

Kara Borden then got into his car and said she wanted to "get as far away as possible, get married, and start a new life," Ludwig, 18, told investigators, according to the documents filed Monday.

Ludwig's statement - bolstered by Borden's own story, that she left with him of her own free will - means prosecutors will drop abduction charges against him. He still faces murder charges in the Nov. 13 killings.

Ludwig said he shot the parents after the father told him to stop seeing his daughter, according to the filing. He said he shot Michael Borden in the back as he was going down the hallway to the front door and then headed toward Cathryn Borden.

"I shot mom as she was sitting in the chair," Ludwig was quoted as saying.

He called her "mom". How cute. (Or sick, depending on how you look at it.) I just hope that's not a typo.

"It was an intentional murder, I intended to shoot them, and I did."

He must watch a lot of tv. L&O SVU and CI.

Ludwig told detectives that after the killings, he couldn't find Kara Borden. He said he was driving away when he saw her running toward him.

District Attorney Donald Totaro said the kidnapping charge against Ludwig, of Lititz, will be dropped at his preliminary hearing next month.

Excerpts from court filing in murder case against David Ludwig


Yes, this is supposed to be about the boys, but often the stories become entangled and you can't tell whose cauldron is hissing the loudest.

After ol' Mom & Dad got gunned by little Kara Beth's sex partner, she ran off with him to get married and start a new life. How quaint. Those home schooled girls sure are the salt of the earth, eh, kiddies?

Don't get me wrong. Nobody screams "Get Your Kids Out of the Government Schools" more than Your Humble Servant. But here's a news flash for the politically friendly forces who like to call themselves conservative evangelical Christians: Home schooling does not make your kids immune from the zeitgeist.

The people on the other side know what they're doing. And make no mistake, they are marketing to kids. TV, movies, video games, magazines, the internet, school, civic organizations, foundations, charities, government, and yes, even some "churches" are indoctrinating your children with the Orgasm Uber Alles message.

Combine the sex is just fun & games gospel with the discovery of just how good orgasms feel, (Thanks in part to James "Dr. Masturbation" Dobson and other similarly clueless moral relativists of the so-called religious right.) add a heaping stable full of "I get to define what religion means to me" and it's no surprise you get fornicating children who want it bad enough to kill for it.

The Catholic Church is much too cool to taunt you with an I-told-you-so, but I'm not. You should not be surprised your teenager has a warped view of sexual relations if your view of the relationship between God and man is similarly warped.

There, I said it. You are wrong and we are right.

Obviously, this does not make Catholics immune either. But you are guilty of underestimating the effect the Sacraments, two thousand years of tradition, and two thousand years of philosophy, theology, and Saints' lives can have on saving your free, unique, immortal, and vulnerable soul. (See Malcolm Muggeridge or any story of coming home to Rome.)

Personally, I do not see anything wrong with two teenagers falling in love and getting married. That is the way it has often worked throughout history (And still does in much of the world today. BTW, one of these days, I'm going to try and find out who invented adolescence.). If Kara Beth and David had merely eloped, struggled for years to make ends meet, reared a fine group of children, and lived reasonably happily-ever-after without the approval of their parents or society, you would never have heard of them. It would have been a great story, but nobody would ever have told it.

Sadly, the story is one of death, not of love.

And death sells, kiddies. Big time.

The bottom line, kiddies? Sex matters. It is infinitely more than fun & games. Deep down, everyone knows this. When it is misused (Mortal sin. Hello? I said mortal sin.), your conscience knows.

And if you refuse to believe your conscience exists and therefore spend every waking moment trying to stifle it, what then? It doesn't just go away, kiddies. Your conscience strikes back with depression, anger, rage, and sometimes, even gunfire.

Golly, I guess this was about the boy after all.

*************************************************************************

Part 1: SEX IS DEATH. (Stories for Boys) is here.

Saint of the Day and daily Mass readings.

Today is the Feast of St. Cecilia, virgin, martyr, and patroness of music. Pray for us, all you angels and saints.

Today's reading for the Feast of St. Cecilia is Hosea 2:16-17, 21-22.
Today's Gospel reading is Matthew 25:1-13.

[Links to the readings will be from the NAB until I can find another chapter and verse searchable Douay-Rheims Bible on-line.]


Everyday links:

The Blessed Virgin Mary
The Rosary
Our Mother of Perpetual Help
Prayers from EWTNNational 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 Saint 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.

Russian warhead alters course midflight in test

Here's a big uh-oh from The Washington Times:

Russia recently conducted a flight test of a new warhead that can change course in midflight, which U.S. and Russian officials are calling part of Moscow's efforts to defeat U.S. missile defenses.

The warhead was tested Nov. 1 and tracked by U.S. intelligence technical monitors, including satellites, the officials said.

An analysis of the flight test by U.S. intelligence agencies revealed that it was a further test of a maneuverable warhead that Moscow has been developing for several years in response to U.S. missile defenses.

The warhead was flight tested on a Russian Topol-M missile, designated by the Pentagon the SS-27, that flew from the Kapustin Yar launch complex in southern Russia near Volgograd.

The missile booster fired for a shorter-than-usual duration in placing the dummy warhead and re-entry vehicle into space. The warhead then dropped down to a lower trajectory and was able to maneuver.

Kremlin officials were quoted in Russian press reports as saying the new warhead was designed to thwart the new U.S. missile-defense system of interceptors deployed in Alaska and California.

The Israeli crackup continues apace.

Sharon leaves Likud to form new political party, goes for early election

PM Ariel Sharon has decided to leave his Likud Party and form a new political movement, a top adviser said Monday, hours before the Israeli leader was to ask the president to dissolve parliament. Further withdrawals would be almost impossible within the framework of the hard-line Likud. Party rebels spent months bickering with Sharon over his Gaza pullout, and even came close at times to bringing down the government. [more] (Thanks to Israelinsider for the heads up.)

Too bad the genius didn't think of this a couple of years ago. Here's more:


Complete Betrayal
By Yehuda Poch

Sharon again betrays the nation by calling for elections before the 2006 state budget is approved, likely forcing a needless additional Knesset election.

God Bless Georgie Best...

...And please, Lord, don't let them murder him in the name of mercy.

LONDON (AP) -- Soccer great George Best is desperately ill and must improve quickly to have a chance to live.

"He can't survive day after day after day without some improvement occurring," Dr. Roger Williams said Monday. "He's keeping himself alive."
Best, who needed a liver transplant three years ago after years of alcohol abuse, was on life support in stable but critical condition at Cromwell Hospital.

"His brain is active, his pupils are reactive," Williams said. "We are not keeping people alive that aren't alive and we certainly wouldn't do that."
Best's family has been at his bedside for several days.

"He is doing a bit better," said son Calum. "He is comfortable."

The 59-year-old former Manchester United star has been hospitalized with various infections since Oct. 1. His condition deteriorated Thursday when he was diagnosed with a lung infection and was put on dialysis and a ventilator.

Williams, who performed the liver transplant three years ago and now is in charge of the medical team treating Best, said the next step was to bring the former soccer star out of sedation and see how he responds.

Regarded as one of the most talented players of all-time until his retirement, Best was renowned for his standout dribbling skills and memorable goals. He helped Manchester United win the European Cup in 1968.

I'll bet his mamma used to spank him silly.

Iraq checking reports Zarqawi may be dead

Spanking children fuels aggression, anxiety

SEX IS DEATH. (Stories for Boys)

I thought that might get your attention. This is the first in an occasional series.

We begin with the latest (more or less) on David Ludwig, the lovestruck lothario who specialized in underage girls and who soon may be worth as much as two cartons of Camels.

Lancaster Online.com: News : 54 guns, ammo seized from Ludwig home

Lancaster Online.com: News : Ludwig sent to prison without bail

Lancaster Online.com: News : Film reveals Ludwig 'night patrols'

Baltimore Sun:
Teens' relationship was secret

Lancaster Online:
Murder weapon in Ludwig car

Don't feel like wading through the cesspool that is Lancaster's brush with fame? Here's the skinny:

1) The suspect is alleged to have taken another underage girl to a family vacation cabin for a weekend earlier this year.
2) The suspect and a buddy videotaped themselves cruising around town looking for a home to attack and a family to kill. They end up talking about killing the Bordens and having sex with Kara Beth and her thirteen year old sister.
3) The suspect's attorney is trying to make the girl an accomplice. The girl's attorney is trying to make her look like a victim.

Now, back to the title: SEX IS DEATH. Of course, properly understood, sex is a glorious gift of God, just like everything else. There's the rub, kiddies, that nasty little phrase "properly understood". If there is one thing that is definitely not properly understood these days it is sex.

All things come from God and are, therefore, good. It is the defective wills of individual men misusing the good gifts of God that cause evil to happen. The only proper place for sexual intercourse is in a lifelong marriage between a man and a woman (Oh, for the good old days when that sentence would have ended at "marriage".)

What does that mean, practically speaking? No premarital or extramarital sex is allowed. Those are both mortal sins and will send you to hell. Divorce and "remarriage" are forbidden since marriage lasts as long as the two spouses live. More mortal sin, kiddies.

Oh, and don't forget sodomy, a word that encompasses a veritable truckload of mortal sins.

Those are the rules, kiddies, like 'em or not. It would be bad enough if a man's sins just cost him his immortal soul, but it never stops there. Mr. and Mrs. Borden had their heads blown off because Mr. Ludwig liked copulating with Kara Beth and the Bordens said no.

That is the one "sin" the world cannot tolerate: No-saying. (See Nietzsche, the Champion of Yes-Saying.) How dare they deny David the pleasure he had (apparently) found in their 14 year old daughter's body? David and Kara Beth are both Americans, after all. I guess those evil Sex Nazis, the Bordens, had never heard of the pursuit of happiness. If only they had agreed with the zeitgeist that Kara Beth could be David's sexual device if she wanted to be*, they would be alive today.


* Obviously, kiddies, it takes two to tango. But then again, somebody has to lead. The law says Kara Beth is too young to consent to sex. Period. Personally, I don't want to live in a world where Hitlery Clinton abolishes the age of consent laws. (BTW, she's a moderate now. That means she is busy burning all her previous references to the age of consent laws.)
But most importantly, these SEX IS DEATH posts are about boys and boys struggling to become men. In case you had not noticed, one of the most effective tactics in the war against the family is the emasculation of boys, which, in practice, simply means preventing them from learning how to become gentlemen. Man's fallen nature does the rest. The Foolish One has had a lot of practice in this area, kiddies.

Memo To The Iraqis:

When the Repansycans capitulate to the poll numbers (they have and will), head for the roof of the US Embassy and look for the choppers with the white stars or run for Kuwait.

Ask the children of Vietnamese refugees who survived their alliance with us how great a place this is. Let's see...There's that linebacker for the Cowboys...

Oh, yeah. If your daughters are hot, they can always try the "actress/model" route to the American dream.

And speaking of the forces of the antichrist...

...I found a flyer stuck in my door the other day. It was produced by the Seventh Day Adventists (who?) and claimed the Pope (Well, all Popes, I guess. It was copyrighted last century.) was the antichrist.

I know the proper thing to do is to pray for these poor benighted souls, but if I ever catch one of these moral cretins leaving their filth on my property, I'm gonna lay my hands upon them.

On a lighter note, I sometimes receive invitations to a local Baptist church addressed to "Resident". May I suggest you folks get some marketing help?
I think Carville's available.

The Pope Wants Drivers To Be Prudent.

I believe "elitist", "nazi", and "woman-hater" were the words of choice used by the forces of antichrist.

Pope Benedict XVI has decried highway deaths and urged motorists to be more "prudent and responsible" to reduce the number of victims.

Benedict spoke out on the issue Sunday of the European Day for Road Victims. He made his first appeal in June, urging motorists to take care as they embarked on their summer holidays.

Speaking in French during his traditional blessing, Benedict said he was praying for all those killed or injured in traffic accidents and their families.
He said, "I invite all motorists to undertake prudent and responsible conduct ... to reduce the number of victims."

If you don't think Benedict XVI was elevated to the Throne of Peter by the Hand of God, you haven't been paying attention.

Pope cites Universe's "Intelligent Project"

Pope Benedict XVI has waded into the evolution debate in the United States, (Read that again, kiddies. See the creeping editorial? - F.G.) saying the universe was made by an "intelligent project" and criticizing those who in the name of science say its creation was without direction or order.

Obviously.

He quoted St. Basil the Great, a fourth century saint, as saying some people, "fooled by the atheism that they carry inside of them, imagine a universe free of direction and order, as if at the mercy of chance."

"How many of these people are there today? These people, fooled by atheism, believe and try to demonstrate that it's scientific to think that everything is free of direction and order," he said.

"With the sacred Scripture, the Lord awakens the reason that sleeps and tells us: In the beginning, there was the creative word. In the beginning, the creative word this word that created everything and created this intelligent project that is the cosmos is also love."

And that is, as they say, that.

A Very Small God, or, How the Death-dealing Ignorance of Creeping protestanism Infects The Church.

To be honest, kiddies, the Catholic Church has plenty of ignorant people with creeping (and creepy) ideas of their own.

A Very Small God by Brian Saint-Paul

It began in 1994 with The Openness of God: A Biblical Challenge to the Traditional Understanding of God—a collection of essays by five Evangelical theologians. Now, eleven years later, Open Theism is a full-blown and highly controversial movement in Protestantism. Churches have split over the issue and professors of theology condemned for promoting it.

Why the uproar? Because Open Theism redefines the traditional conception of God, making Him something much less than Christians have historically understood Him to be.

The motivations of the movement—if not its conclusions—are noble. Most believers are at some point faced with apparent contradictions in traditional Christian theology. How, for example, are we to accept the notion that God is both all-good and all-knowing and yet allows horrific evil to enter His creation? Or another: If God is truly sovereign and omniscient, what’s the point of petitionary prayer? Assuming that God has full and perfect knowledge, He already knows what will come to be before we pray.

While theologians throughout the ages have developed their own solutions to these problems, Open Theism’s contribution is unique. Why does an all-knowing, all-powerful, and wholly good Deity allow evil? Perhaps it’s because He isn’t all-knowing after all. Or, to be more fair to their position, it may be that in His loving desire to give us complete freedom, He has intentionally created a future that is yet undecided and unknown even to Him. Certainly, God knows all that already is. The future, on the other hand, is left open—a mass of clay to be eventually molded by the decisions and actions of free creatures. If those beings use their free will for evil, it’s hardly God’s fault.

Similarly, Open Theists argue, prayer is efficacious precisely because God is not so immutable as we thought. Plead hard enough and He just might change His mind.

Proponents of this view are not without their scriptural proof texts. Throughout the biblical narrative, God appears surprised by earthly events, grieved by unforeseen actions, and influenced by the supplications of men. How to understand this except that God actually is surprised and grieved and influenced?

The fatal flaw of Open Theism, of course, is the interpretive literalism that its arguments require. Gone is any concept of reading Scripture through the eyes of the ancients who produced it—writers who typically used anthropomorphic language to describe the transcendent. After all, God reveals Himself to us in categories that we understand. Why does the Deity of Exodus seem more like a tribal warlord than the Triune God of John’s Gospel? Because the people of that era were tribal and warlike and would have understood nothing else.

Early peoples spoke of the Divine in anthropomorphic terms, for that was what their language allowed them. If we fail to understand this fundamental rule of scriptural interpretation, well, we’ll end up with the small God of Open Theism.

One useful function of Protestantism for Catholics is that it often provides a preview of the theological fads and movements that will eventually work their way into the Church. I’ll make a prediction: In the next five to ten years, Catholics will see Open Theism emerge within our own ranks. Theological liberals—happy to leap onto anything that helps undercut the inviolable nature of dogma—will embrace it wholeheartedly. Some charismatics may also move in that direction, attracted by the notion of a pliable God, tilted here and there through the sheer power of prayer.

And so, our theological battles may well move from the nature of the priesthood or moral law to the very nature of God Himself. The stakes could not be higher.

Homosexuality, Evolution, and Maureen Dowd

Here's the latest update on the things that matter from Brian Saint-Paul and the good folks at CRISIS Magazine.


Homosexuality, Evolution, and Maureen Dowd

Crisis Magazine e-Letter
November 18, 2005

Dear Friend,
I've got a bunch of items I need to bring to your attention, so this letter is going to be a bit of a potpourri. As a masculine man of the manly persuasion, I don't really like using terms like "potpourri"... that's only a little bit better than describing this email as a lively bouquet of brightly colored stories.

Which I'm not going to do.

So potpourri it is.

First up, it looks like the Vatican's statement on homosexuals and seminary admission will be released on November 29. According to those who have seen it -- including Italian newspaper, Il Giornale -- the document will prohibit those who are actively homosexual, participate in the homosexual culture, or demonstrate strong homosexual tendencies from admission. It will, it is reported, leave open the possibility of ordination for those who have same-sex tendencies, but have overcome them for three years.

Predictably, dissenting Catholics and gay rights advocates have gone nuts over this. And some in the media have jumped on board. Take Rachel Zoll of Associated Press, for example. In her story, "On eve of new Vatican rules, gay priests struggle with serving a church that considers them 'disordered,'" she manages to get through an entire article without ever quoting an orthodox Catholic. Indeed, it doesn't look like she even spoke with anyone who supports the Church's position.

But she does take the opportunity to get in a few editorial shots of her own:

"Researchers have estimated that thousands of homosexual clergy across the United States have dedicated their lives to a church that considers them 'intrinsically disordered' and prone to 'evil tendencies.'"

I'm sorry, but is that reporting?

Happily, other journalists have taken the time to get both sides of the story, and I've seen some balanced coverage of the issue in other outlets. A faithful Catholic, after all, doesn't demand media favoritism... just media fairness.

As for the policy itself, it would actually represent a liberalization of the official stance. In 1961, John XXIII clearly barred men with same-sex tendencies from the seminary. This new policy, on the other hand, would open the door for those who support the Church's teachings and have succeeded in living chastely. The key difference, of course, is that Benedict XVI will expect his guidelines to be followed.

Exactly!


* * *The next time you hear people say that the government of China is softening its stance on Catholicism, feel free to roll your eyes.

According to the Vatican, Chinese authorities arrested the Rev. Yang Jianwei and 10 seminarians last Saturday. The priest and four of the young men remain in custody.

This follows the arrest of 70-year old Bishop Jia Zhigou (his eighth arrest in the last year and a half) and Fathers Li Suchuan and Yang Ermeng.

The Chinese government, like so many others throughout history, has failed to learn that when you persecute the Catholic Church, it grows. In the second century, Tertullian noted that, "The blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church.

"Let us pray for our brothers and sisters in China. They are bearing a terrible burden.

And be on the lookout for the December issue of Crisis. We have an inside look at the persecution of the Chinese Church through the eyes of one priest who experienced it.


* * *George Coyne, S.J., the director of the Vatican Observatory, has lobbed another cannonball in the direction of the Intelligent Design movement. For my part, I've stayed out of this debate, since I don't frankly know enough about the specific issues to comment comfortably. However, it appears that Rev. Coyne has veered away from the historic Catholic understanding of God.

Take a look at this, from his June article in The Tablet, entitled, "God's Chance Creation":

"The universe is not God and it cannot exist independently of God. Neither pantheism nor naturalism is true. But, if we confront what we know of our origins scientifically with religious faith in God the Creator - if, that is, we take the results of modern science seriously - it is difficult to believe that God is omnipotent and omniscient in the sense of many of the scholastic philosophers." (Emphasis mine. - F.G.)

See how the neo-darwinist theology has infiltrated The Church. This pathetic pinhead of a priest dares to insult the Scholastics? Shame on you, Father.

You can find the entire piece here:
http://www.thetablet.co.uk/cgi-bin/register.cgi/tablet-01063

After reading through it, I can't help but be reminded of Open Theism. I wrote about that (and predicted its eventual entry into the Church) in my July Crisis column:
http://www.crisismagazine.com/julaug2005/editorsview.htm

It looks like this devastating error has come even sooner than I expected.


* * *Maureen Dowd, the New York Times columnist, has released another book, "Are Men Necessary? When Sexes Collide." In it, she covers several vital issues, like the fact that she can't find a man willing to date her. (Seriously.)

Heehee. See my take here.

Chances are, you've been successfully ignoring Miss Dowd for some years now.

Carry on.


* * *A final note...

The Apostolic Visitation of the Seminaries is continuing, and I've had the opportunity to speak to a few people involved. Their impression is that this is the real thing. No song and dance this time around.

Amen to that, Brother.

Consider last Friday's sudden resignation of Monsignor Francis Schneider, the rector of the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, New York. Interestingly enough, the Apostolic Visitation conducted their inspection just a few weeks before his unexpected departure. A spokesman for the bishop told Newsday that, "The inspection did occur a few weeks ago. But Msgr. Schneider's resignation has nothing to do with that."

Right.

From what I've been told, the inspectors seem to have a pretty good idea of which seminaries are in need of closer scrutiny. One seminary with a strong reputation was visited recently, and things went quite smoothly. But another less impressive institution was subjected to a much more rigorous examination.

Very good news, if you ask me.

Amen to all that, Brother.

On that note, have a great weekend,

Brian



**** WHY WON'T THE SELF-HELP GURUS TELL YOU THE TRUTH? ****

What if everything you've been told about happiness is wrong? The self-help movement has turned the subject into a billion-dollar industry.

And yet, those who follow the advice of the feel-good gurus will actually be farther from real happiness than they were before.

Get the facts here:http://www.crisismagazine.com/truth.htm

Bucky, the philosophical carnivore.

Man, I miss Henny Youngman.

Click to enlarge.