Europe's falling apart

Belgium, the heart of Europe and the logistical center of EU operations, is close to being torn apart by separatist movements. Spain is experiencing a similar problem with separatists, but they are also experiencing the slow destruction of their economy. This is because they cannot repay their debt because they're spending too much of their money on welfare-esque projects.
Greece? They're the worst of all.

abortions in the comfort of your own home?

just a pill away! http://tinyurl.com/yhr6ofr

Best quote?
local doctors who perform surgical abortions are nearing retirement age, and Planned Parenthood wanted to make sure women would have adequate access to the full range of reproductive health care, including terminating a pregnancy.

Okay, this quote is wrong for a bunch of reasons. First off, well, hell yes the abortion doctors are getting too old to perform their operations--its because its a disgusting, degrading, dehumanizing operation. Second off, Parerthood is never going to offer alternatives to abortion, and by offer I mean advertise like how they advertise their most prominent...service.
Finally, notice the objectifying term 'terminating.' Pope JP spent a ton of his papacy trying to convince everyone who would listen that its a PERson who they're stabbing and vacuuming; and who knows what this pill will do, probably mess with the connection between the baby and the mom--Imagine suffocating to death.

so what's happening with our funny friends, the Episcopalians?

Apparently, nothing good: http://themcj.com/?p=9984
Idk why this author thinks the Episcopalian Church would have let its churches that disagreed with it, the most prominent of which are South Carolina and Dallas, just walk away. But then again, this is his perfect situation.
Our funny Episcopalian friends--making us Catholics feel better about our selves every day!



shamelessly ripped off of one of markshea.blogspot.com's memes for writing about the Episcopalians.

I'm back to blogging!

It's gonna be very sparing until after mid-terms because I already am possessed by an internet-addiction.

What can Brown do for you?

Apparently not much!
http://tinyurl.com/yauwmk2
what's my reaction?
http://www.nooooooooooooooo.com/?


btw, I got the idea for the name of this post from commenting on the blog from which I got the tinyurl post.

Avatar doesn't really condemn capitalism

It condemns Capitalism, as in the darwinian, greed-driven/greed-is-good type of thing which often can be found indistinguishable from Communism and socialism.
http://markshea.blogspot.com/2010/01/more-on-avatar-phenom.html

What is the difference between Catholics and Protestants?

Not much, according to this possible-though-not-likely convert.
http://souldevice.wordpress.com/2009/12/21/roman-catholicism-the-true-church-or-a-terrible-cult/

I really feel flabbergasted about someone taking issue between transubstantiation and the Real Presence. They're the same thing! One is just the philosophical explanation for the other. I've heard more exact terms and descriptions of the argument between the two beliefs, and the two I mentioned above are not the right ways of explaining it, they're shortcuts!
And btw, authority is the real issue, though he seems to forget all about Mary. Calvinism & Presbyterianism, I think, get around the 20,000 denomination-argument by saying they see themselves as actual full-blown churches--its involved but there it is. Basically, since they're a church they're allowed to condemn heresies, like the ordination of women and gays, and LGBT marriages.

First, the bad news on the Ecclesial Front

A locus of possible miracles and conversions is slowly becoming more and more devisive to the Church in the area of the former Yugoslavia.
http://catholiclight.stblogs.org/archives/2010/01/from-petrus-car.html

I mean, heck, even Cardinal Schonborn couldn't remember to let the area's bishop know he was coming. As regards Mary telling the seers not to tell their secrets to their bishop, pete's sake, of course the Devil can imitate Mary. The seers aren't declaring themselves religious? Well, young people can let fame go to their heads, making them want to enjoy it more. Although I hate the
idea of a Seer of Mary marrying an American model. There simply is something utterly repulsive about the materialism almost automatically present there.

However, there is also good news. One of the more liberal cardinals who can still vote for a Pope is about to replaced by the most traditional bishop of their country of Belgium, which is in between France and Germany in the north.
http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/2010/01/after-daneels-muscle-for-brussels.html

Wow, contraceptives suck!

Or so says Planned Parenthood Director Laura Wershler.
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/jan/10011207.html

Money quotes:
"What I see in our communities is an absolute failure to move beyond the idea that hormonal birth control is the be-all and end-all," said Laura Wershler. "Women are going to sexual-health clinics and being laughed off by the doctors and clinics for looking for alternatives."

But there is growing evidence that these reasons [basically, different types of cancer] merely scratch the surface of the problems with the pill [according to the WHO, which is much more certain of contraceptives' problems than PP].

Finally,
The growing body of evidence against the pill appears to lend credence to the view of Dr. Sam Epstein, a world leader in cancer causes, who has declared that the pill is “the largest unregulated human trial that’s ever been conducted.”

Taking the high road...

Google's actually doing it.
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/new-approach-to-china.html
They are actually pulling out of China, which must = billion$ and billion$ of lost revenue for them.

Drudge Report's calling it Hell in Haiti

That's a pretty good description of a problem-country in which the capitol city's mayor says 60% of all buildings are ripe and ready for collapsing.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/cb_haiti_earthquake

God bless the victims, probly all 9 million of them, as Haiti goes through what must be a horrific beginning of the year.

24 million chinese men will be single by 2020

all thanks to China's one-child policy.
h/t tp://markshea.blogspot.com/2010/01/chinese-one-child-policy.html

"Chinese one-child policy now entering the 'how were we supposed to know' phase."

Al Gore?

The earth is not getting warmer:http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/01/10/second-snowiest-december-on-record-in-the-northern-hemisphere/

Its getting colder, and may stay cold in fact for decades according, as far as I can tell, to this news report:
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/01/11/ipcc-scientist-global-cooling-headed-our-way-for-the-next-30-years/

The Stimulus Bill's a total dud-Associated Press

No, wait, that can't be right. It must be Fox News!
Um, sorry but, I'm thinking no.
http://minx.cc/?post=296832

Money quote:
Spend a lot or spend nothing at all, it didn't matter, the AP analysis showed: Local unemployment rates rose and fell regardless of how much stimulus money

You remember all those democratic candidates that have been falling like dominoes?

Republicans are picking up the pieces.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/senate/republicans-get-hoeven-in-nort.html?wprss=thefix

No idea how good a candidate he is, but this election atmosphere's putting on certain expectations on candidates, meaning they must advertise and promise certain changes in behavior compared to our Democratic Congress and Administration.

I'm back!

I've been gone bcuz I was moving into my favorite university in the world, Franciscan. I know have access to my laptop, internet and my favorite news & entertainment websites. The first two on the docket are Pope-related.
1st is a typical example of the Pope being the Man! and calling it like it is.

http://themcj.com/?p=9190#comments

my favorite quote? Of course the LGBT lobby immediately started to whine. That is what they do. Remember, it is always about them, even when it is not! I think the Pope had in mind the militant feminists rather than the poor widdle LGBT people. But they got their feelings hurt anyway.

Suck it up and listen, people! It’s not always about you!

Secondly, gaudate! for the Catholic Church has full diplomatic status with Russia now! There was that whole thing called the Iron Curtain which just, kinda, helped chill relations.
http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/2010/01/state-of-world-2010-edition.html
Wait, that happened last month u say? Oh well, the concept is still beautiful.
i did not actually read the Pope's words, but, c'mon! He's the Pope. They can't be that bad.

So how's Candidate Scott Brown doing?

He's actually beating Coakley! http://minx.cc/?post=296795
I have got to figure out how to post photos, starting with those flaming skulls. They're sick!

Curious about how the whole Brown campaign and operation are doing?
well then http://legalinsurrection.blogspot.com/ is the place for u.

Abortion and contraception do in fact help cause breast cancer.

An ex-Episcopalian Anglo-Catholic, though more Anglican than not, 's take on both Science and the Episcopalian Church's approach to the topic: http://themcj.com/?p=9121#respond

money quote:
For now, leave aside the question of whether or not that’s a human being getting its brains sucked out of its head. We have here two aspects of modern sexuality that have been proven to endanger the lives of women.

Sherlock Holmes was awesome!

All actors, including the women and villains, did fanstastically, though Downey Jr steals the show, as he does so very often. Very good action, though one particular strong-man was probably a bit over-used, though adding french to his repertoire was a delightful surprise.
Speaking of surprises, the previews definitely don't mention everything, including humor from unexpected quarters. Actually, now that I think about it, I remember almost zero obscenities. !
And it introduces the next villain in a possible series of Sherlock Holmes movies: Professor Moriarty, our hero's arch-nemesis. Quite possibly more to come. This movie is much better than Avatar, and I totally recommend buying it.

I just saw Avatar!

It has the best graphics. I don't rememer any jokes or one-liners from it, though I'm sure there were a few.? Plot took some turns so that was all okay. And yes, every last man fighting the good-guy aliens are white. Every single one! Not worth buying, but worth seeing at least once, and preferably in theaters.
Though I'd hate to encourage James Cameron in his liberalism any more than I have to with my all-powerful dollar, but still, its good. Though it is stuffed with pro-hippie goodies, especially pantheism and tree-hugging on Ferngully proportions.

Obama wants to try terrorists in civilian courts.

I am not kidding u:http://minx.cc/?post=296763
This either sets a dangerous precedent or will get them off the hook. Its screwing us either way.

Yeah, yeah, I know Obama has wars and terrorism to deal with,

not to mention the planet to heal and all, but, seriously?
http://minx.cc/?post=296746

"Its the economy, stupid!"
h/t Ace of Spades HQ

So how much of the universe have we mapped?

A butterfly's wings is how I like to describe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17jymDn0W6U
And we're right smack in the middle of the whole thing.

Wow, just wow.

Ever wonder what Santa Claus really looks like?

They found Jolly ol' St Nick's skull. Archeology is so cool!
http://markshea.blogspot.com/2009/12/just-in-time-for-christmas.html

I'm gonna be offering up all kinds of stuff giving perspectives to all kinds of things

So I thought I'd start with Washington's Free-for-a!!

http://cantuar.blogspot.com/2010/01/placing-number-one-billion-in.html

What happened last year?

Say, from a comedian's POV? Dave Barry has something to say:
http://www.thesacredpage.com/2009/12/hilarious-review-of-2009.html
h/t The Sacred Page
Highlites:
It was a year of Hope -- at first in the sense of "I feel hopeful!'' and later in the sense of "I hope this year ends soon!''

It was also a year of Change, especially in Washington, where the tired old hacks of yesteryear finally yielded the reins of power to a group of fresh, young, idealistic, new-idea outsiders such as Nancy Pelosi. As a result Washington, rejecting "business as usual,'' finally stopped trying to solve every problem by throwing billions of taxpayer dollars at it and instead started trying to solve every problem by throwing trillions of taxpayer dollars at it.

BAD NEWS: The economy remained critically weak, with rising unemployment, a severely depressed real-estate market, the near-collapse of the domestic automobile industry and the steep decline of the dollar.

GOOD NEWS: Windows 7 sucked less than Vista.

BAD NEWS: The downward spiral of the newspaper industry continued, resulting in the firings of thousands of experienced reporters and an apparently permanent deterioration in the quality of American journalism.

GOOD NEWS: A lot more people were tweeting.

President Obama...delivers an upbeat inaugural address, ushering in a new era of cooperation, civility and bipartisanship in a galaxy far, far away. Here on Earth everything stays much the same. The No. 1 item on the agenda is fixing the economy, so the new administration immediately sets about the daunting task of trying to nominate somebody -- anybody -- to a high-level government post who actually remembered to pay his or her taxes. Among those who forgot this pesky chore is Obama's nominee for Treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, who sheepishly admits that he failed to pay $35,000 in federal self-employment taxes.

Here's a level-headed response to 12/25

actually saying we should have kept up a level-headed response. ?
http://minx.cc/?post=296735

Not a bad idea, actually. The conservative approach, (I do not know where this man's allegiances lie), would have been to almost immediately proclaim to the world how America was not hurt but instead will crack down even harder on terrorism. This commentator is saying that that's what the terrorists want:
"I say that one little mayor is going to die, well then everybody just loses their minds!"
The Joker, 2008's terrorist of the year.

Want to know what happened in the lead-up for the Christmas Day bombing attempt and since then?

A lot of nothing on the part of the Obama Administration uptill now. And just as little from the CIA and FBI.
http://minx.cc/?post=296735

Its true, Obama has had a whole year to right the ship, or whatever metaphor he would want to use to denigrate Bush, of our intelligence gathering community. And Obama has totally dropped the ball on this!

Is Sherlock Holmes the movie any good?

Elemantary, my dear Watson. It most definitely is!
http://www.anwyn.com/2010/01/04/i-detected-some-holmes-under-all-that-sherlock/

One thing, as far as I can tell from the previews, that the movie misses is the common plot thread in the Doyle tails, if I recall correctly, was that Watson would often meet a disguised Holmes who would lead him to a new clue or scene of crime. This movie misses out on that. It seems like it picks up on most everything else about Holmes and then some.
I have heard the female lead actress consistently panned, and the interaction between Holmes and Watson praised, as being central to the story in a good way. Its dialogue, character and plot development have otherwise been declared mediocre at worst, while its action has been praised.

"Deep Red State Filled With Tea Party Going, Inbred Hicks Rejects Same Sex Marriage

Welcome to, um, New Jersey?"
- h/t AoSHQ coblogger Drew M.

http://jammiewearingfool.blogspot.com/2010/01/foiled-again-nj-senate-rejects-gay.html

This is just one in what will be a series of posts carefully explaining just how bad the Health Care overhaul bill is.

The truth is really bad. And its gotten wierd, bcuz they're giving the finger to the labor unions that have been so allied so long with them. Btw, the answer to our unasked question in the last part of the link is that Massachusetts Senatorial Republican candidate Scott Brown is only 9 points behind his opponent.

http://themcj.com/?p=9065

Harry Reid??!

That's right folks, not only Colorado, a swing state, and Massachusetts, a true-blue state if ever there was one, are up for grabs-Harry Reid, (D.) Senator of Nevada,'s seat is getting uncomfortable, along with 4 others, including Ohio! Wahoo!

http://washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jan/06/7-senate-democrats-vulnerable/?feat=home _headlines

I don't just do youtube videos.

I do Hollywood movies:
http://decentfilms.com/reviews/avatar.html

I'll be referencing this writer quite a bit here. He says that the movie is over-the top enviromentalist, anti-american-soldier, and that it has poor dialogue and a simplistic plot.
On the other hand, he says, its comparable to the new Star Wars movies, the Matrix, the LotR and Jurassic Park with just how gorgeous it gets. So its more of a spectacle or an experience than an actual, u know, movie. There's such a big difference, I'm guessing between the theater and the home that its much more worth it to see in theaters rather than renting it at home.

So u think this is just another boring news site?

Nonsense! We host some of the finest, funniest minds in the world.
Exhibit A:http://www.theonion.com/content/node/30716
Exhibit B:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teMlv3ripSM

and finally, "did the quadratic formula explode?"
No, but only bcuz someone, following Hollywood's advice, actually did cut the red wire: http://homestarrunner.com/sbemail118.html

I just remembered to start filing these things under labels.

File this under Epic Fai!:
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Phantom-zip-codes-also-found-in-Virginia-80795072.html

Wait, whoops, that is just in Virginia. And u thought your government was working for u? How cute...
http://yidwithlid.blogspot.com/2010/01/stimulus-money-went-to-zip-codes-that.html

Just how bad is our government getting?

Pretty bad, all things considered:
Obama has lied, 8 times all told, about demanding transparency for the Health Care Bill debate in Congress: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/01/06/eveningnews/main6064298.shtml

8x sounds like a lot? Here are video clips:
http://www.breitbart.tv/the-c-span-lie-did-obama-really-promise-televised-healthcare-negotiations/

Massachusetts?!

Yes sir, that's right. Kennedy's slot may be filled, for the first time in decades, by an (R.)
http://minx.cc/?post=296622 mind the comments, they'll have some bad language.

Historically, Muslims have been some of the hardest people for missionaries to convert

That's why this is such good news. I'm not gonna even try and go into every one of the articles, because the page is a compilation over time, probably years, of articles about the subject.

http://blog.siena.org/2010/01/why-muslims-become-christians.html

Dominoes are beginning to drop for the Democrats for this year's round of elections

A long time senator from North Dakota, a "rising star" who is only in his first stint as governor of Colorado and, finally, Chris Dodd!!!from Connecticut.
1. Dorgan of North Dakota:
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/74425-dorgan-announces-retirement

2. Ritter of Colorado: http://themcj.com/?p=9046

3. Dodd of Connecticut:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/senate/chris-dodd-to-step-aside.html
Okay, so this last one is not such good news. It would have been easier to run against Dodd bcuz he has a much more controversial, attackable voting record than some state attorney general.
And don't go telling me attackable aint a word.

Why am I doing this blog?

Because I want to express my beliefs in a clear and consise fashion. That's why I am gonna be mostly quoting and linking: most of these people have done the thinking for me; I just want to add my own analysis and perspective. Besides, I haven't the foggiest idea how many journals I have been handed, none of which have been really invested with my ideas, thoughts and concerns.

Is Atheism true?

Not necessarily. Here are at least 5 philosophically air-tight proofs for God's existence: http://www.newadvent.org/summa/1002.htm

Here's the background and explanation of these 5 proofs:
http://www.aquinasonline.com/Topics/5ways.html

I don't believe in man-made global warming

Here's why:
Emails from scientists at an all-important British research station were leaked to the internet.
Why is the research station important?

In his November 28, 2009 telegraph.co.uk article "Climate change: This is the Worst Scientific Scandal of Our Generation", Christopher Booker summarized the far-reaching ramifications of what was exposed in those documents:
The reason why even the Guardian's George Monbiot has expressed total shock and dismay at the picture revealed by the documents is that their authors are not just any old bunch of academics. Their importance cannot be overestimated, What we are looking at here is the small group of scientists who have for years been more influential in driving the worldwide alarm over
global warming than any others, not least through the role they play at the heart of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

This Panel is one of the most important policy-making bodies in the world on the issue of climate change. The UN listens to it. The G-8 and other representative organizations of develop(ed)ing nations listen to it.
But what did the scientists write, say and do that was so damnable to the science behind global warming?

As the leaked documents were analysed, three threads emerged that sent a shockwave through informed observers across the world. As Charlie Martin explained in "Global WarmingGate: What Does It Mean" [17], the e-mails suggested:
1. ... the authors co-operated covertly to ensure that only papers favorable to CO2-forced AGW were published, and that editors and journals publishing contrary papers were punished. They also attempted to “discipline” scientists and journalists who published skeptical information.

2. ... the authors manipulated and “massaged” the data to strengthen the case in favor of unprecedented CO2-forced AGW, and to suppress their own data if it called AGW into question.

3. ... the authors co-operated (perhaps the word is ‘conspired’) to prevent data from being made available to other researchers through either data archiving requests or through the Freedom of Information Acts of both the U.S. and the UK.

Bold: My words Normal: A quote Italicized: A quote within a quote Bold and Italicized: My emphasis

h/t http://joannenova.com.au/global-warming/climategate-30-year-timeline/