Maybe, if we can all boo at the same time, he'll go away. And stay there.

Sen. McCain gets booed on immigration
Republican threatens to cut short speech to union leaders --Associated Press

From The Get Your Kids Out Of The Government Schools Department:

In the wake of last week's immigration-reform protests, one school district is taking drastic measures, banning all symbols of patriotism, both U.S. and Mexican.

Only one problemo, amigo. You're not in Mexico anymore.

Beginning Monday, the Oceanside Unified School District is banning all flags and patriotic clothing. According to school officials, some students are using the garments and flags to taunt classmates.

Some critics of the move are calling it a violation of free speech protections guaranteed by the Constitution.

Somehow I am not reassured there are some critics of this.

Oy vey!

Hamas leader: Jews controlling U.S. Christianity
Top terror official claims his study proves 'Zionists' infiltrated churches --WND

The Theology of the Body: 78. Marriage and Continence Complement Each Other

In his General Audience of 14 April 1982, the Holy Father continued his instruction on the relationship between marriage and continence. Those called to either state fulfill their calling in a spiritual paternity or maternity toward those in their care. And the nature of both is conjugal, being expressed in the total gift of oneself.


Marriage and Continence Complement Each Other

At the general audience in St Peter's Square on 14 April, the Holy Father delivered the following address.


No reference to inferiority of marriage

1. Let us now continue our reflections of the previous weeks on the words about continence for the sake of the kingdom of heaven which Christ addressed to his disciples, according to the Gospel of Matthew (cf. 19:10-12).

Let us say once more that these words, as concise as they are, are admirably rich and precise. They are rich with a number of implications both of a doctrinal and pastoral nature. At the same time they establish a proper limit on the subject. Therefore, any kind of Manichaean interpretation decidedly goes beyond that limit, so that, according to what Christ said in the Sermon on the Mount, there is lustful desire "in the heart" (Mt 5:27-28).

In Christ's words on continence for the kingdom of heaven there is no reference to the inferiority of marriage with regard to the body, or in other words with regard to the essence of marriage, consisting in the fact that man and woman join together in marriage, thus becoming one flesh. "The two will become one flesh" (Gn 2:24). Christ's words recorded in Matthew 19:11-12 (as also the words of Paul in 1 Cor 7) give no reason to assert the inferiority of marriage, nor the superiority of virginity or celibacy inasmuch as by their nature virginity and celibacy consist in abstinence from the conjugal union in the body. Christ's words on this point are quite clear. He proposes to his disciples the ideal of continence and the call to it, not by reason of inferiority, nor with prejudice against conjugal union of the body, but only for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.

Relationship between marriage and continence

2. In this light a deeper clarification of the expression "for the sake of the kingdom. of heaven" is especially useful. This is what we shall try to do in the following, at least briefly. However, with regard to the correct understanding of the relationship between marriage and continence that Christ speaks about, and the understanding of that relationship as all Tradition has understood it, it is worthwhile to add that superiority and inferiority fall within the limits of the same complementarity of marriage and continence for the kingdom of God.

Marriage and continence are neither opposed to each other, nor do they divide the human (and Christian) community into two camps (let us say, those who are "perfect" because of continence and those who are "imperfect" or "less perfect" because of the reality of married life). But as it is often said, these two basic situations, these two "states," in a certain sense explain and complete each other as regards the existence and Christian life of this community. In its entirety and in each of its members this is fulfilled in the dimension of the kingdom of God and has an eschatological orientation, which is precisely of that kingdom. So, with regard to this dimension and this orientation—in which the entire community, that is, all of those who belong to it, must share in the faith—continence for the kingdom of heaven has a particular importance and a special eloquence for those who live a married life. Besides, these constitute the majority.

3. It therefore seems that a complementarity understood in this way finds its foundation in the words of Christ according to Matthew 19:11-12 (and also 1 Cor 7). On the other hand there is no basis for a presumed counterposition according to which celibates (or unmarried persons), only by reason of their continence, would make up the class of those who are "perfect," and, to the contrary, married persons would make up a class of those who are "imperfect" (or "less perfect"). If, according to a certain theological tradition, one speaks of a state of perfection (status perfectionis), it is done not by reason of continence in itself. But it is in regard to the entirety of a life based on the evangelical counsels (poverty, chastity and obedience), since this life corresponds to Christ's call to perfection: "If you would be perfect..." (Mt 19:21). Perfection of the Christian life, instead, is measured with the rule of charity. It follows that a person who does not live in the state of perfection (that is, in an institute that bases its life plan on vows of poverty, chastity and obedience), or in other words, who does not live in a religious institute but in the "world," can de facto reach a superior degree of perfection—whose measure is charity—in comparison to the person who lives in the state of perfection with a lesser degree of charity. In any case, the evangelical counsels undoubtedly help us to achieve a fuller charity. Therefore, whoever achieves it, even if he does not live in an institutionalized state of perfection, reaches that perfection which flows from charity, through fidelity to the spirit of those counsels. Such perfection is possible and accessible to every person, both in a religious institute and in the "world."

Complementarity

4. It seems then that the complementarity of marriage and continence for the kingdom of heaven, in their significance and manifold importance, adequately corresponds to Christ's words recorded in Matthew (19:11-12). In the life of an authentically Christian community the attitudes and values proper to the one and the other state—that is, to one or the other essential and conscious choice as a vocation for one's entire earthly life and in the perspective of the "heavenly Church"—complete and in a certain sense interpenetrate each other. Perfect conjugal love must be marked by that fidelity and that donation to the only Spouse (and also of the fidelity and donation of the Spouse to the only Bride), on which religious profession and priestly celibacy are founded. Finally, the nature of one and the other love is "conjugal," that is, expressed through the total gift of oneself. Both types of love tend to express that conjugal meaning of the body which from the beginning has been inscribed in the personal makeup of man and woman. We shall return to this point at a later date.

Each his special gift

5. On the other hand, conjugal love which finds its expression in continence for the kingdom of heaven must lead in its normal development to paternity or maternity in a spiritual sense (in other words, precisely to that fruitfulness of the Holy Spirit that we have already spoken about), in a way analogous to conjugal love, which matures in physical paternity and maternity, and in this way confirms itself as conjugal love. For its part, physical procreation also fully responds to its meaning only if it is completed by paternity and maternity in the spirit, whose expression and fruit is all the educative work of the parents in regard to the children born of their conjugal corporeal union.

As can be seen, there are many aspects and spheres of the complementarity between the vocation, in an evangelical sense, of those who "marry and are given in marriage" (Lk 20:34), and of those who knowingly and voluntarily choose continence "for the kingdom of heaven" (Mt 19:12).

In First Corinthians (which we will analyze later in our considerations), St. Paul will write on this subject: "Each has his special gift from God, one of one kind and one of another" (1 Cor 7:7).

Mr. Hassan Abbasi obviously was not educated in American schools. He actually seems to have some knowledge of history.

What are the odds one of Iran's top goat rapists has correctly pegged us as a "sunset power"? Sadly, it's even money.

Get your wagers in soon, kiddies, because when CowardlyCuriousGeorge FlyingBushMonkey is gone all bets are off.

'The Last Helicopter'
By AMIR TAHERI in the Wall Street Journal

Hassan Abbasi has a dream -- a helicopter doing an arabesque in cloudy skies to avoid being shot at from the ground. On board are the last of the "fleeing Americans," forced out of the Dar al-Islam (The Abode of Islam) by "the Army of Muhammad." Presented by his friends as "The Dr. Kissinger of Islam," Mr. Abbasi is "professor of strategy" at the Islamic Republic's Revolutionary Guard Corps University and, according to Tehran sources, the principal foreign policy voice in President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's new radical administration.

For the past several weeks Mr. Abbasi has been addressing crowds of Guard and Baseej Mustadafin (Mobilization of the Dispossessed) officers in Tehran with a simple theme: The U.S. does not have the stomach for a long conflict and will soon revert to its traditional policy of "running away," leaving Afghanistan and Iraq, indeed the whole of the Middle East, to be reshaped by Iran and its regional allies.

That's a pretty safe bet, Hassan.

To hear Mr. Abbasi tell it the entire recent history of the U.S. could be narrated with the help of the image of "the last helicopter." It was that image in Saigon that concluded the Vietnam War under Gerald Ford. Jimmy Carter had five helicopters fleeing from the Iranian desert, leaving behind the charred corpses of eight American soldiers. Under Ronald Reagan the helicopters carried the bodies of 241 Marines murdered in their sleep in a Hezbollah suicide attack. Under the first President Bush, the helicopter flew from Safwan, in southern Iraq, with Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf aboard, leaving behind Saddam Hussein's generals, who could not believe why they had been allowed live to fight their domestic foes, and America, another day. Bill Clinton's helicopter was a Black Hawk, downed in Mogadishu and delivering 16 American soldiers into the hands of a murderous crowd.

According to this theory, President George W. Bush is an "aberration," a leader out of sync with his nation's character and no more than a brief nightmare for those who oppose the creation of an "American Middle East." Messrs. Abbasi and Ahmadinejad have concluded that there will be no helicopter as long as George W. Bush is in the White House. But they believe that whoever succeeds him, Democrat or Republican, will revive the helicopter image to extricate the U.S. from a complex situation that few Americans appear to understand.

Senator War Hero? He talks tough now, but he's playing to the Repansycan primary voters. Hitlery? Don't make me laugh.

Mr. Ahmadinejad's defiant rhetoric is based on a strategy known in Middle Eastern capitals as "waiting Bush out." "We are sure the U.S. will return to saner policies," says Manuchehr Motakki, Iran's new Foreign Minister.
Mr. Ahmadinejad believes that the world is heading for a clash of civilizations with the Middle East as the main battlefield. In that clash Iran will lead the Muslim world against the "Crusader-Zionist camp" led by America. Mr. Bush might have led the U.S. into "a brief moment of triumph." But the U.S. is a "sunset" (ofuli) power while Iran is a sunrise (tolu'ee) one and, once Mr. Bush is gone, a future president would admit defeat and order a retreat as all of Mr. Bush's predecessors have done since Jimmy Carter.

It seems almost everyone here (on both sides) have "misunderestimated" the perfidious Persians and the rest of those backward moslems.

Mr. Ahmadinejad also notes that Iran has just "reached the Mediterranean" thanks to its strong presence in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. He used that message to convince Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to adopt a defiant position vis-à-vis the U.N. investigation of the murder of Rafiq Hariri, a former prime minister of Lebanon. His argument was that once Mr. Bush is gone, the U.N., too, will revert to its traditional lethargy. "They can pass resolutions until they are blue in the face," Mr. Ahmadinejad told a gathering of Hezbollah, Hamas and other radical Arab leaders in Tehran last month.

According to sources in Tehran and Damascus, Mr. Assad had pondered the option of "doing a Gadhafi" by toning down his regime's anti-American posture. Since last February, however, he has revived Syria's militant rhetoric and dismissed those who advocated a rapprochement with Washington. Iran has rewarded him with a set of cut-price oil, soft loans and grants totaling $1.2 billion. In response Syria has increased its support for terrorists going to fight in Iraq and revived its network of agents in Lebanon, in a bid to frustrate that country's democratic ambitions.

It is not only in Tehran and Damascus that the game of "waiting Bush out" is played with determination. In recent visits to several regional capitals, this writer was struck by the popularity of this new game from Islamabad to Rabat. The general assumption is that Mr. Bush's plan to help democratize the heartland of Islam is fading under an avalanche of partisan attacks inside the U.S. The effect of this assumption can be witnessed everywhere.

Funny how well the goat rapists know us, isn't it, kiddies?

In Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf has shelved his plan, forged under pressure from Washington, to foster a popular front to fight terrorism by lifting restrictions against the country's major political parties and allowing their exiled leaders to return. There is every indication that next year's elections will be choreographed to prevent the emergence of an effective opposition. In Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, arguably the most pro-American leader in the region, is cautiously shaping his post-Bush strategy by courting Tehran and playing the Pushtun ethnic card against his rivals.

In Turkey, the "moderate" Islamist government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan is slowly but surely putting the democratization process into reverse gear. With the post-Bush era in mind, Mr. Erdogan has started a purge of the judiciary and a transfer of religious endowments to sections of the private sector controlled by his party's supporters. There are fears that next year's general election would not take place on a level playing field.

Even in Iraq the sentiment that the U.S. will not remain as committed as it has been under Mr. Bush is producing strange results. While Shiite politicians are rushing to Tehran to seek a reinsurance policy, some Sunni leaders are having second thoughts about their decision to join the democratization process. "What happens after Bush?" demands Salih al-Mutlak, a rising star of Iraqi Sunni leaders. The Iraqi Kurds have clearly decided to slow down all measures that would bind them closer to the Iraqi state. Again, they claim that they have to "take precautions in case the Americans run away."

There are more signs that the initial excitement created by Mr. Bush's democratization project may be on the wane. Saudi Arabia has put its national dialogue program on hold and has decided to focus on economic rather than political reform. In Bahrain, too, the political reform machine has been put into rear-gear, while in Qatar all talk of a new democratic constitution to set up a constitutional monarchy has subsided. In Jordan the security services are making a spectacular comeback, putting an end to a brief moment of hopes for reform. As for Egypt, Hosni Mubarak has decided to indefinitely postpone local elections, a clear sign that the Bush-inspired scenario is in trouble. Tunisia and Morocco, too, have joined the game by stopping much-advertised reform projects while Islamist radicals are regrouping and testing the waters at all levels.

But how valid is the assumption that Mr. Bush is an aberration and that his successor will "run away"? It was to find answers that this writer spent several days in the U.S., especially Washington and New York, meeting ordinary Americans and senior leaders, including potential presidential candidates from both parties. While Mr. Bush's approval ratings, now in free fall, and the increasingly bitter American debate on Iraq may lend some credence to the "helicopter" theory, I found no evidence that anyone in the American leadership elite supported a cut-and-run strategy.

Wow. Talk about naive. Mr. Taheri should have interviewed Poles, East Germans, Romanians, everyone in the former Soviet Union, everyone in the Balkans, everyone in the Baltic nations, Slave Chinese, Tibetans, North Koreans, Hungarians, Cubans, Czechs, Slovaks, South Vietnamese, Laotians, Cambodians, Taiwanese, Catholics of the northern part of Ireland, unborn children, and members of The Party of Blasphemy, Buggery, and 'Bortion to discover the depths of our commitment to the freedom of others.

The reason was that almost all realized that the 9/11 attacks have changed the way most Americans see the world and their own place in it. Running away from Saigon, the Iranian desert, Beirut, Safwan and Mogadishu was not hard to sell to the average American, because he was sure that the story would end there; the enemies left behind would not pursue their campaign within the U.S. itself. The enemies that America is now facing in the jihadist archipelago, however, are dedicated to the destruction of the U.S. as the world knows it today.

I would like to think my fellow countrymen have realized our two oceans no longer guarantee safety. I would like to think Americans know they are in a real war against real enemies, some of whom are stateless, some state sponsored, and some are indeed good old fashioned nation states.

I would also like to think I am going to win the Powerball jackpot tonight.

Those who have based their strategy on waiting Mr. Bush out may find to their cost that they have, once again, misread not only American politics but the realities of a world far more complex than it was even a decade ago. Mr. Bush may be a uniquely decisive, some might say reckless, leader. But a visitor to the U.S. soon finds out that he represents the American mood much more than the polls suggest.

Mood? Mr. Taheri seems to be under the impression our leaders care about what we think and want.

Silly Taheri.

Washington's other newspaper intrudes upon Totalitarian Pennsylvania's race for governor.

In typical WaPo fashion, it is a steaming pile of nonsense by Mark Leibovich.

It starts out trying to smear Lynn Swann by mentioning his record of ballet classes. And we all know what that implies, don't we? Swann is at one point described as "prancing" into a room. This sort of "journalism" is evident throughout the piece.

Want some more evidence of WaPo homophobia? (I know. It is not really a word. But if you want to communicate with them, sometimes you must lower your standards.) Hint: Microphones (and almost everything else) are phallic symbols to those sensitive to such things.

As Swann concludes his speech in Manheim, Zimmer breaks in and leads the 100 or so people in the room in a surprise rendition of "Happy Birthday to You" for Swann, who turned 54 a few days earlier.

"Happy birthdayyyy, Mr. Governor ," Zimmer croons, pressing his mouth against the microphone in something of a low-rent version of Marilyn Monroe singing "Happy Birthday" to President Kennedy.

Here's my favorite part:

"People tend to hold people to much higher standards if they are running for president or governor," says G. Terry Madonna, a director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster. "If someone gets elected to Congress, and he turns out to be a whack job, so what? There's 435 people there."

Ah, yes...G. "Whiz" Terry Madonna, another embarrassment for old Mama Italia. This clown started out at a third rate school and since he was the only PoliSci professor in Pennsylvania who would return their calls, the antique media made him a star. Now he works at a second rate school.

Note how he equates Mr. Swann with mental illness in the paragraph above. Yo, G.! What's up with that? Talk about whack!

Memo To G. Terry: Sit down, shut up, and teach a class once in a while, you lamebrain.

Oh, yeah. The article is also racist. Everyone must be reminded that Swann is a black man in the white man's party and therefore a traitor to his people.

Perhaps the most important early test for a candidate is whether he is serious about winning. This is the first thing Swann addresses, and without prompting. With every person and group he meets, Swann says, "I want them to understand that I'm in this to win. People need to understand that. I'm not out there to put a good face for the Republican Party."

The subtext is unmistakable: Most Republican candidates don't have faces like Swann's.

If you want to wade through the whole thing, look here.

Black polygamous "Jewish" vegans from Chicago, call your office.

Israeli pop singer Eddie Butler (left), who was chosen to represent Israel in this year's Eurovision song contest, is seen with members of the Black Hebrews community as he visits his hometown of Dimona in southern Israel. (AP)


Israelinsider brings us the story of the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem, who claim to be the Lost Tribe of Judah.

Israel has denied him citizenship since birth, dismissing his group as a bizarre cult, but all the same, Eddie Butler will represent the Jewish state this year in Europe's biggest song contest.

Butler belongs to the Black Hebrews, a community of polygamous vegans originally from Chicago, who believe they are a lost tribe of Israel.

"I love the state of Israel," Butler said, "and I want to show every black and white person, here and abroad, what we can do."

For that he will have an international TV audience when he sings "Ze Hazman" - This is the Time - Israel's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest, a 37-nation pop jamboree being held in Athens from May 18-20.

The Black Hebrews began arriving in Israel in 1969, following Ben Carter, a Chicago steelworker who renamed himself Ben Ammi Ben Israel (son of my people, son of Israel) and claimed to be God's representative on earth. The government, unsure where they fit into Israel's Law of Return that grants every Jew automatic citizenship, moved them into remote desert towns and left them on temporary visas without permission to work.

Now, after being marginalized for nearly four decades, things are finally changing for the community, thanks in large part to the music of people like Butler.

"A small community that had its origins in not being at all accepted as part of Israel, and now we're representing Israel!" exclaimed its spokeswoman, Yaffa Bat Gavriel. "And that's where we want to be. We want to show that we're here to do our part for this country."

Butler was born in a taxi that broke down on the road to a hospital in the Negev Desert 34 years ago. His parents had immigrated here three years earlier to help found the Kingdom of Yah. The African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem, as they call themselves, believe they are the lost tribe of Judah, exiled from the Holy Land by the Romans nearly 2,000 years ago.

No scholar gives the idea any credence, "but to any group that does not have a history, this is a very attractive claim," says Rivka Gonen, former senior curator of ethnography at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

The first 39 arrivals were followed by nearly 600 more in the next two decades. Arriving on tourist visas, "the Black Hebrews had a very bumpy arrival here," said Yossi Klein Halevi, an Israeli who has written extensively on the group.

They refused to convert to Judaism, even though it would have entitled them to citizenship and the right to work. They considered themselves the true Jews of ancient Israel, and they followed a lifestyle they said was based on the Torah and Ben Israel's teachings, but without traditional Judaism's rabbinical interpretations.

Now a community of 2,500 people in Dimona and two other Negev towns, the Black Hebrews live a communal life, dress African-style and refuse birth control. Most of the men have more than one wife, and more than 1,000 babies have been born in the Black Hebrews' House of Life birthing center.

Butler's mother, Karaliah, a registered nurse back in the U.S., helped set up the center and is one of its midwives.

The newcomers started out living in plywood shacks, and some have since moved into permanent housing. Over time, they climbed out of poverty by producing textiles and developing a thriving health food industry. And meanwhile, music was earning them acceptance, says Butler's older brother, Avraham, who runs a tofu factory near Dimona.

It began with their choir, in which Butler sang as a youngster. They also formed two bands which entertained front-line Israeli soldiers in the 1970s.

Their albums and concerts also helped the community survive financially. "Back then, all the money that we made from our music, we put into a central fund for the community, because no one was getting work, and it was hard for us to earn money at that time," Avraham Butler said.

In 2003 they finally won permanent residency, and in two years they can apply for citizenship, but say they will only do so as a community, not as individuals.

Their young people can now enlist in the army, a rite of passage in Israeli society. More than 70 have already done so.

Eddie Butler has a Hebrew first name, Etan, lives in Tel Aviv and is studying to convert to traditional Judaism.

"Ze Hazman," the song that is taking him to Athens, is a pop ballad influenced by R&B, part English, part Hebrew.

This will be his second Eurovision appearance; he and a brother were part of a larger Israeli group at the 1999 contest. "But this is really what I've been waiting for," he says.

"This time, I'll be singing solo, and the stage is mine. This is my chance to do something for my country."

I don't know about you, but I find this stuff fascinating.

Israeli Crackup Update.

Cynicism and apathy are good things?


Israelinsider: Israelis Just Wanna Have Fun
by Roberta Fahn Schoffman

Observers are quick to point out that the "revolution" did not happen in these 2006 Israeli elections. Kadima's performance turned out to be weak, Labor's revival not strong enough. Likud may be reduced to a fraction of its prior strength, but much of the right-wing energy was diverted to Avigdor Lieberman. The various religious and Arab parties did not stray far from their traditional numbers. No one, of course, predicted the Pensioners' amazing showing, but we've grown accustomed to such one-shot, out-of-nowhere parties - even ones whose MKs are not elderly -- that don't last more than one term.

It would seem that Israelis are becoming apathetic and cynical. How else to explain why hordes of young Tel Avivis voted for Pensioners whose names they did not know? But it can also be argued that Israelis are growing "normal", increasingly resembling their western counterparts. Voters are turning out in smaller numbers, and are tired of heavy existential issues. They seek economic security, and, as the anticipated next prime minister framed it precisely, they want a "country that is fun to live in." And this, in spite of the unappealing coalition negotiations that are already dredging up old vendettas and bringing out the best in no one, is good news.

We can argue whether or not these elections were in fact a national referendum on future disengagements, as Netanyahu claimed early last month. But we cannot discount the clarity with which Ehud Olmert articulated his intentions for a "convergence plan" that would involve a substantial withdrawal from the West Bank and evacuation of settlements. There was no blurring of goals when he stated that his government would "set the final borders of the State of Israel." The cumulative support received by Kadima with 29 seats, and parties to its left, including Labor (19 seats), Meretz (5), and the Arabs (10), gives an unmistakable majority to those who reject Greater Israel and endorse a negotiated or unilateral return of territory. There could be no better testimony than the large newspaper ad that the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza felt compelled to publish this past weekend, pleading, "Olmert has no mandate for retreating in Judea and Samaria."

The Neologism Fomerly Known as Hate Crime takes another beating. (sorry)

It seems authorities retreat to the traditional "a crime is a crime" formula when the victim is not a member of a group on the approved list.

(CNSNews.com) - At least 150 students rallied outside Chicago's Kennedy High School on Tuesday, demanding better security, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. The protest follows last week's beating of a white honor student by four black youths. Police said it does not appear to be a "hate crime."

Hey, Sun-Times, where did that skin tone tainted head count go?

Chicago Sun-Times:‘Brutal Crime’ Has Students Demanding Cops in Classrooms

At least 150 students played hooky from Kennedy High School on Tuesday to demand extra security in their Southwest Side school, saying they'd even welcome cops in the classroom to stem rising violence.

Toting signs reading "Does Someone Have to Die?'' and "We're Scared of School,'' kids rallied across the street from Kennedy in the wake of a brutal beating last week that stunned the school.

Even Jesse Ruiz, State Board of Education chairman, called the assault "disturbing'' and asked the board staff to examine the state's spin on a federal law meant to help students who are crime victims.

SOME BLAME TRANSFER STUDENTS

Q. Some students are blaming rising violence at Kennedy High on 190 kids who entered the school since Oct. 1. Where did these kids come from?

A. About a fifth came from foreign countries or other states, including Poland, Mexico, Yugoslavia, Wisconsin, Texas and Hawaii, CPS spokesman Michael Vaughn said. Others came from Catholic or suburban schools
or other Chicago public schools, with no more than 10 students arriving from any one school, Vaughn said. A third are special education students, meaning they have learning, behavioral or physical disabilities.

Q. Why did students arrive after the start of the school year?

A. Some came directly from other countries. Some apparently moved into Kennedy's attendance area after school started, CPS officials said. Some also may have moved into the attendance area of an overcrowded school but were assigned to Kennedy because it's not overcrowded. "We have a high mobility rate, and the Southwest Side is the most overcrowded part of the city," Vaughn said. At neighboring Gage Park High, which
is overcrowded, Principal Wilfredo Ortiz said three new students showed up Tuesday, and he has received about 200 new kids since Oct 1. He estimated not more than 10 of them were transferred to Kennedy, which had spaces available in a bilingual Spanish program, which many of them needed.

Q. Why were the kids who beat the Kennedy honor student and broke his nose charged with misdemeanor battery?

A. Generally, a felony aggravated battery charge requires use of a
deadly weapon or "great bodily harm" to the victim, according to authorities. Police decided the case was a misdemeanor and did not refer it to the Cook County state's attorney's office for possible felony charges, Chicago Police spokeswoman Monique Bond said. She said prosecutors can upgrade the charges if that's warranted.

Q. Was this a hate crime?

A. Although the victim was white and the alleged attackers were black, "there doesn't appear to be any indication that this would be a hate crime," Bond said.

Beating prompts walkout

Four Kennedy students have been charged with misdemeanor battery for pummeling a senior honor student and breaking his nose during a March 29 meeting of all seniors in the school auditorium. Witnesses said the attackers threw feces at the victim. (That sounds pretty hateful to me. Perhaps the feces were the wrong color. - F. G.) The motive was uncertain.

They don't call the city of San Francisco "New Sodom" for nothing.

Pray for them, St. Francis.

If you are not a rebel who defines himself by what he does with his gonads, or a left-facsist enabler of the worst in people, this story should horrify and frighten you.

If that is not the case, may I suggest prayer?

(CNSNews.com) - A conservative public interest law firm is suing the city of San Francisco for its "startling attack" on the Catholic Church.

The lawsuit stems from an "anti-Catholic" resolution passed unanimously last month by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

The resolution, according to the Thomas More Law Center, condemned the Catholic Church's moral teachings on homosexuality and urged Catholic leaders to defy Vatican directives telling Catholic agencies not to place children with same-sex couples.

The lawsuit, brought on behalf of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights and two San Francisco Catholic citizens, said the nonbinding resolution violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.

San Francisco supervisors passed the resolution on March 21 after the Vatican's Cardinal-elect William Levada -- the former San Francisco archbishop -- said Catholic agencies "should not place children for adoption in homosexual households."

The resolution reads, "It is an insult to all San Franciscans when a foreign country, like the Vatican, meddles with and attempts to negatively influence this great city's existing and established customs and traditions, such as the right of same-sex couples to adopt and care for children in need."

Ha! I was a child once, and believe me, no child needs that.

The resolution called Vatican directives against homosexual adoptions "hateful and discriminatory rhetoric [that] is both insulting and callous, and shows a level of insensitivity and ignorance which has seldom been encountered by this Board of Supervisors."

The resolution also called Levada "a decidedly unqualified representative of his former home city and of the people of San Francisco and the values they hold dear."

I only feel sorry for the decent people there who cannot afford to move to a city grounded in reality and those who minister to them in the name Almighty God. Everyone else there deserves to rot in their disease-ridden filth.

Anti-Catholic bigotry

Richard Thompson, president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, said the resolution's "demagoguery and virulent words...are reminiscent of the anti-Catholic bigotry of the Ku Klux Klan and the Know Nothings, which marred our nation's earlier history. San Francisco may as well have put up signs at the city limits: 'Faithful Catholics Not Welcomed," he added.

A 2003 Vatican statement said that "allowing children to be adopted by [same-sex couples] would actually mean doing violence to these children." According to the Law Center, the Vatican was trying to say that homosexual adoptions are not conducive to a child's full human development.

Amen to that.

The lawsuit claims that the March 21 resolution "sends a clear message" to faithful Catholics "that they are outsiders, not full members of the political community," and it sends a second message -- "that those who oppose Catholic religious beliefs, particularly with regard to homosexual unions and adoptions by homosexual partners, are insiders, favored members of the political community."

Robert Muise, the Law Center attorney handling the case, noted that the U.S. Constitution forbids hostility toward any religion. He said in San Francisco, "homosexual activists... are abusing their authority as government officials and misusing the instruments of government to attack the Catholic Church.

"This egregious abuse of power is an outrage and a clear violation of the First Amendment," Muise said.

The Thomas More Law Center describes its mission as the defense and promotion of the religious freedom of Christians, time-honored family values, and the sanctity of human life.

Bless and protect them in their good work, Lord.

It Takes A Village To Staff A Gestapo Unit Update.

WFB has been in decline since he advocated the legalization of drugs. (Don't get me started on that soulless libertarian crap. BTW, Mr. Buckley has never made a secret of his Catholicism, which isn't exactly what one would call a libertarian religion.)

William F. Buckley Jr., the longtime conservative writer and leader, said that while a strong Republican candidate for the 2008 presidential race has yet to emerge, the Democrats have in Senator Hillary Clinton a true contender to become the first woman elected U.S. president.

``I don't find a commanding presence sort of knocking on the door'' for the next presidential campaign, Buckley said in an interview broadcast today on Bloomberg Television.

Clinton, of New York, is ``a very consequential woman with an extraordinary background,'' he said. ``Her thought is kind of woozy left, not in my judgment threatening.''

Mr. Buckley must figure he'll be dead by the time Queen Hitlery is crowned. There are plenty of helpless innocents who won't be so lucky.

She is ``a phenomenon, a woman candidate who might easily be president,'' Buckley said.

Arizona Senator John McCain, the most widely known of the potential Republican candidates, is ``a remarkable human being,'' Buckley said. ``I don't think that his name comes to mind automatically as somebody who over a period of years has addressed problems with fruitful thinking, let alone with consistent thinking.''

Ouch! Talk about damning with faint praise...Senator War Hero, call your office.

On the other hand, he is a politician. Thinking is a hindrance in that line of work.

Neither senator has announced plans to seek their party nominations, though both have been raising money, making campaign appearances on behalf of other candidates and taking other steps to build a network of national support.

The 80-year-old Buckley, often called the father of contemporary conservatism in America, founded the National Review in 1955. His philosophy, articulated in the magazine, calls for small government, low taxes and a strong defense. (Hold on just a minute there, Sparky. Neither of these senators know what these words mean. They sound very dangerous to me. - F.G.) Both Ronald Reagan and Barry Goldwater said they were influenced by his writing and that of others in the magazine.

Buckley also said he found the business community's contribution to society during most of the period from the 1950s to 1970s ``disappointing'' because of ``their refusal to encourage an intellectual light. Now, that has changed.''

Bonus Nugget of Knowledge: Here we have one of the most destructive preconceived notions of the self-proclaimed rightists: Business is conservative.

There are few institutions that are by nature truly conservative. The Catholic Church and the family come to mind. Businesses merely reflect the attitudes and opinions of those people who happen to be in charge of them.

``There are a number of foundations and colleges that take seriously the teaching of liberalism and libertarian life'' with the assistance of business leaders, he said. ``But I don't think a historian looking back on the last 50 years of the 20th century will have any reason to speak with convincing pride about the role of the American businessmen in public policy.''
(Thanks to Bloomberg and Drudge for the heads up.)

It's nice to know The Clash can still touch people after all these years.

This story reminds me of my misspent youth.

Without the terrorism arrest, of course.

From the Daily Mail:

A mobile phone salesman was hauled off a plane and questioned for three hours as a terror suspect - because he listened to songs by The Clash and Led Zeppelin.

Harraj Mann, 24, played the punk anthem London Calling and classic rock track Immigrant Song in a taxi before a flight to London.

If only he had played Julie's Been Workin' for the Drug Squad.

The lyrics to both tracks made the driver fear his passenger was a terrorist.

The words of the Clash track begin: "London calling to the faraway towns, now war is declared and battle come down." And Led Zep's Immigrant Song goes: "The hammer of the gods will drive our ships to new lands, to fight the horde, singing and crying: Valhalla, I am coming!"

Then there was Daddy Was A Bank Robber. That could get somebody arrested.

Mr. Mann, of Hartlepool, Teesside, had boarded the plane at Durham Tees Valley Airport when the flight to Heathrow was stopped and he was arrested by police.

He said he was told he was being questioned under the Terrorism Act and his choice of music had aroused suspicions.

Mr Mann said yesterday: 'The taxi had one of those tape deck things that plugs into your digital music player.

"I played Procol Harum's Whiter Shade Of Pale first, which the taxi man liked. I figured he liked the classics so put on a bit of Led Zeppelin - Immigrant Song - which he didn't like. Then, since I was going to London, I played the song by The Clash and finished up with Nowhere Man by The Beatles."

Who are The Beatles?

Mr Mann said he was 'frog-marched off the plane in front of everyone, had my bags searched and was asked 'every question you can think of'.

He added: "It turned out the taxi driver alerted someone when I arrived at the airport and had spoken about my music. He didn't like Led Zep or The Clash but there was no need to tell the police."

Rock The Casbah would have been perfect!

Durham Police said the action was taken 'as a result of information received' and the flight was stopped before take-off. (Thanks to Drudge for the heads up.)

As a matter of fact, we have NOT exacted enough revenge for September 11, 2001.

Perfidious Persians Update.

One of Persia's top kitties threatens the good old US of A with waves of goat rapists while presuming to instruct us on what our national interests are.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards commander said on Wednesday the United States should accept Iran's position as a regional power, adding that sanctions or military threats would not be in U.S. or European interests.

Yahya Rahim Safavi, commander-in-chief of the Guards, was speaking to state television during a week of naval war games in which Iranian forces have announced the successful testing of new weapons, including missiles and torpedoes.

Iran says the war games in the Gulf, which began on Friday, are a show of defensive strength, but analysts say the timing during a nuclear standoff with the West offers a reminder that Iran could threaten a vital world oil shipping route.

"The Americans should accept Iran as a great regional power and they should know that sanctions and military threats are not going to be benefit them, but are going to be against their interests and against the interests of some European countries," Safavi told state television.
(Thanks to Roto-Reuters for the heads up.)

Paralyzed Veterans of America Awareness Week is April 9-15.

You can show your support for our paralyzed veterans and help the PVA help them by buying some star-spangled wristbands here.

From April 9 to 15, all across the country PVA will be hosting events to heighten public awareness of the mission of PVA and the many ways we are making a difference in the lives of America’s paralyzed veterans and all Americans with disabilities.

In the areas of health care, civil rights advocacy, architectural accessibility, veterans’ benefits law and research and recreation, PVA’s programs are designed to make a positive difference in the full spectrum of a person’s life.

Events, such as open houses and outreach in the community, will be held at the national office in Washington, DC, our 60 services offices and 34 chapters across the country and in Puerto Rico.

Join us as we celebrate our mission which truly creates a better tomorrow for America’s paralyzed veterans.

Visit http://www.pva.org/ for more information.

Whatever happened to...

...Martha Burk, the battleaxe who tried to force Augusta National to admit women as members a couple of years ago?

Who cares?

Steve Czaban reminisces:

On the eve of this year’s Masters golf “toonamint” let’s take a moment to celebrate the 3rd anniversary of Martha Burk’s failed attempt to put red tees in at Augusta National.

It remains to this day, the greatest single smackdown of political correctness in sports history. A 9&8 drubbing by Hootie Johnson himself, that remains deliciously satisfying every time I think of it.

My fondest memory of this particular bit of left-fascist man-hate was a photo of one of La Burk's press conferences outside of Augusta. I guy was holding up a sign reading "Martha, iron my shirt."

And you have to force yourself to think about it, because the media sure as hell won’t bring up the topic anymore. They lost their appetite for this pet liberal cause as soon as it became apparent they would not win.

Amen to that, Brother.

You have to go back and remember the incredible – no, insane! – amount of TV time, column inches, and talk show blather that was devoted to Martha’s great “cause.” The New York Times alone, practically staked its reputation on making this happen, and getting the first woman into the hallowed gates of Magnolia Lane.

Story after story, day after day, that paper along with devoted liberal sportswriters like Leonard Shapiro of the Washington Post, banged away with their agenda. So sure of their ultimate victory, they thought they smelled blood when Hootie fired back with his now infamous “at the point of a bayonet” letter.

How wrong they were. How beaten and disgraced they remain. How sweet it is.

“Fort Hootie” stands strong, and it stands for the basic American principle of freedom of association with others. Let’s never forget his courageous stand, and let’s hope there are more such victories in the near future.

The bottom line, ladies? Contrary to your feverish imaginations, men are not always plotting to oppress you when we get together. Some times we just want to play golf and have a couple of beers with the guys.

It really is that simple.

Wow. And I thought our schools were in bad shape.

Roto-Reuters: "Loyal" donkeys better than wives, says India book
A textbook used at schools in the Indian state of Rajasthan compares housewives to donkeys, and suggests the animals make better companions as they complain less and are more loyal to their "masters", The Times of India reported on Tuesday.

Eeeeewwwwwww! Exactly how desperate for publicity is this Sharon Stone cow?

ContactMusic: Stone Advocates Oral Sex
Actress SHARON STONE is adamant teenagers should be prepared to engage in oral sex, if it saves from them the dangers of unprotected penetrative sex.

Ummm...Sharon? I don't know how to say this...but you really should buy a dictionary (sorry) and try to look up the definition of "penetrate"...

Cynthia McKinney should wear a mouth grill to help people identify her.

It is now official, kiddies. We are no longer allowed to laugh at the pictures of savages with bones in their noses or plates in their lips.

The hip-hop culture is sinking its teeth into a new fashion trend. Individual gold-capped teeth have given way to grills and fronts — removable mouthpieces made of gold, platinum or silver and sometimes studded with jewels.

The trend has been boosted by hip-hop icons such as Nelly and rappers like Paul Wall.

After Nelly's 2005 hit "Grillz," which glorifies the trend, young people all over scrambled to wrap their chops around a shiny grill.

Jacob Owens, a 17-year-old South High School student, snagged a diamond-studded silver grill a couple of months ago for $200.

"Everybody is getting grills," Owens said while hanging out at the food court at Tower City. He chose silver to set himself apart.

Owens sheds his grill to eat and at bedtime, but wears it for hours at a time to match his earrings.

The mouthpieces are made from dental imprints and many are purchased online. But they are sold at local outlets too, like Wired Up at Tower City.
Jeremy McGrew, manager at the Wired Up kiosk, said business has been booming since the release of "Grillz."

Generally, tooth imprints are made and sent to a jeweler who fashions the fronts and returns them to the client or retailer where the items were purchased.

The flashy mouth jewelry has caught the attention and concern of the American Dental Association.

Matthew Messina, a Fairview Park dentist and ADA spokesman, said improper use and care of fronts can result in serious gum disease or cavities.

Messina has no problem with the aesthetic aspect of a grill, but he warns of problems down the road if they are not kept clean or if they are bonded to natural teeth.

Snap-on grills do not fit particularly well in and around the teeth, he said, allowing food and bacteria to get trapped underneath, which can cause cavities or other problems like gum disease or gum recession.

Other dangers include allergic reactions to cheap metals and adverse reactions to jewelry cleaners, which can burn gums, Messina said.

"The really wealthy who have them made of high-quality precious metals, you will have less allergic reaction," Messina said. "Someone going more of a cut-rate route, where they are using lesser metals, we see a lot more metal-allergic reaction to more-base metals."

Messina said some vendors may be unaware that in some states — Ohio included — taking an impression of someone's mouth is considered dentistry, which requires a license.

Saint of the Day and daily Mass readings.

Today is the Feast of St. Vincent Ferrer, a priest, teacher, missionary, and the patron of builders. He also worked to end the great schism of the 14th century. Pray for us, all you angels and saints.


Today's reading for the Feast of St. Vincent Ferrer is 2 Timothy 4:1-5.
Today's Responsorial Psalm is Psalms 40:2, 4, 7-9, 10-11.
Today's Gospel reading is Luke 12:35-40.


[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 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.