In our neighborhood rich homeowners have huge stashes of candy. They earned those stashes by working hard. Some people want that candy and they want to give it to people who do not work. They think everyone deserves candy. They want control of it so everyone can have some.
Sadly on Oct 31 of every year "the system" coerces that candy from the rich and places it firmly in the hands of those looking for a handout. You are likely thinking to yourself that these wealthy candy owners should simply keep their candy or hide it in tax advantaged IRA's ... but its not that simple. For one thing it is not legal to put candy in tax advantaged IRA's. Who do you think is responsible for that? Worse, this candy is taken by a CIVILIAN POLICE FORCE OF SUPERHEROS, ALIENS AND GHOSTS. And you wonder why immigration is such a big issue? Residents are cornered by this mob and then they are asked questions ... the right KIND of questions. They are helpless in the face of the onslaught. To make matters worse this civilian police force is staffed mostly by children. These children sometimes come alone but they are often led by complicit adult offenders -- These adults may even be our own neighbors.
This egregious exhibition of wealth redistribution occurs mere days before critical national elections. Make no mistake. This scheme is designed with one purpose in mind. Who do you think the beneficiaries of this redistribution scheme will overwhelmingly vote for?
THINK ABOUT IT PEOPLE!!! For the sake of the youth and before its too late FIGHT THE SYSTEM... Next year hide your hard earned candy. They are coming for it and days later they will vote their candy filled pumpkins.
I am so happy its over. Now maybe Catholic blogs will be about Catholicism and not voting.
I am praying for a clear victory by the presidential election winner. No hanging chads and even if there are make it NOT MATTER. I could not stand this election lingering on any longer (like in 2000) ...
I made some changes -- essentially commenting out the resize code and manually sizing the rosary to start off. It now works for IE.
It also works better for the iPhone except for some image caching issues that I need to look into ... For some reason the first mystery image doesn't cache properly while praying the "crucifix" related prayers.
I'll deal with that in the future.
Nevermind ... easy fix. Forgot to include static scale value in one part of the code.
Remember the code is completely contained in the source. You can view it, save it, change it and whatnot ... The scaling for images I do is not necessary so if you retool it to remove that you can use static images.
I am glad to read this. I got frustrated when I read that some Catholics say that those of us who didn't pray the rosary were not good Catholics -- hell bound even. It was so hard to me being a convert to "buy in".
I struggle so much with it I spent two weeks doing something I DO like to do -- coding. I wrote an online rosary designed to be used on the iPhone. (no, its not an app you can get from the app store -- its a web page) ... The goal was to make a teaching tool for me. The interface is weird (perfect for us programmer types) ... It has all the prayer texts. It lists the mysteries. It has bible verses. It even has pictures and it comes up with the right mysteries for the right day ... except for lent. That is what I needed.
It helped me learn it and because I put the effort into it, I actually pray it. Shameful, I know but that's my confession.
If you are interested in looking at it ... there is a link at the top. It does not work in IE. It does work on the iPhone.
I feel a surge of deep satisfaction Much as a king astride his noble steed When I return from daily strife to hearth and wife How pleasant is the life I lead!
I run my home precisely on schedule At 6:01, I march through my door My slippers, sherry, and pipe are due at 6:02 Consistent is the life I lead!
It's grand to be an Englishman in 1910 King Edward's on the throne; It's the age of men I'm the lord of my castle The sov'reign, the liege! I treat my subjects: servants, children, wife With a firm but gentle hand Noblesse oblige!
It's 6:03 and the heirs to my dominion Are scrubbed and tubbed and adequately fed And so I'll pat them on the head And send them off to bed Ah! Lordly is the life I lead!
....
A British nanny must be a gen'ral! The future empire lies within her hands And so the person that we need to mold the breed Is a nanny who can give commands!
A British bank is run with precision A British home requires nothing less! Tradition, discipline, and rules must be the tools Without them - disorder! Catastrophe! Anarchy! - In short, we have a ghastly mess!
People need to remember that, and I stress this a LOT, according to current law parental rights end when you put your kid on the bus. The Ninth circuit went that way on the sex ed survey in school. I know conservatives were outraged but if it goes to the SC it is likely to not only stand, but it could be a 9-0 decision. If the majority of the parents keep electing folks who push that stuff then that is what the "needs of the state" are determined to be. As long as they are not violating some other law the "parenting" of your children at a public school is THEIR right to control. It would be too unwieldy and expensive any other way. They cannot send out surveys to the Protestants, Catholics, Muslims, atheists etc. to account for parenting and education desires for every child. Since the constitution does not enumerate those rights a "strict constitutionalist" interpretation would side with the schools on this stuff. You already know the "living document" folks would. They want control of the kids. I find it interesting that the Ninth Circuit becomes a strict consitutionalist court when it suits their liberal agenda but becomes very activist otherwise. Sooner or later the NEA will start fighting to eliminate parental notification on this type of agenda and, should the 9th circuit ruling hold, there will be NOTHING parents can do about it except pull their kids OUT of the system ... That is why homeschooling is a fundamental right ALL parents should fight for. Sooner or later you may have no choice.
I noted this elsewhere:
If Obama wins I expect the next 4 years to show a sharp increase in homeschooling and private schooling. At this point the system will realize it doesn't have control of a high percentage of the population and they will start to actively fight homeschooling.
I think its next to impossible to make illegal -- constitutionaly speaking -- then again, we have Roe v. Wade. I never underestimate the cleverness of evil.
FWIW Obama in his book Audacity of Hope comes out vaguely in support of homeschooling. I am skeptical of how that will play out with his proposed education policies and his support from the NEA but its there.
A church-state watchdog group has asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate whether the Roman Catholic bishop of Paterson, N.J., violated tax laws by denouncing Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama.
In a letter sent to the IRS on Wednesday (Oct. 22), Americans United for Separation of Church and State accused Paterson Bishop Arthur Serratelli of illegal partisanship for lambasting Obama's support of abortion rights.
In a column posted on the Diocese of Paterson's website and published in its weekly newspaper, Serratelli also compared Obama to King Herod, the biblical monarch who ordered the death of John the Baptist.
The bishop did not refer to Obama by name but only as "the present democratic (sic) candidate."
Archbishop Chaput did mention him by name as well as "the most committed 'abortion-rights' presidential candidate of either major party since the Roe v. Wade abortion decision in 1973." ... facts are facts. He didn't exactly endorse McCain.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. With ~25% of voters in the US being Catholic I have a sneaking suspicion that the Democrats will be cowards and back off this. The Catholic vote they retain is not one they can afford to lose going forward.
FWIW tonight or this weekend you MIGHT get a long winded post on contraception and the responsibility of Catholic pharmacists ... I had a long discussion about this and I would like to summarize the content.
Local parish calls for Catholics to contact legislators regarding FOCA
Friday, October 24, 2008
American citizens concerned for the lives of the unborn have reason to be fearful that all our efforts to protect those lives since the Supreme Court decision Roe v Wade will be summarily vanquished. In January, our Federal Legislature will be considering a bill known at the “Freedom of Choice Act.” Read it for yourself (it is not that long): What our Federal Legislature can do, without our vote of approval, is require any doctor or any hospital facility to provide abortions to any woman requesting it at any time, even after the child is viable (can live outside the womb). The refusal to offer or perform an abortion will become a crime!
Contact your State Representative and State Senators to let them know how you feel about this Pro-Abortion proposal. (source)
AmericanPapist summarized yesterday that 1/4 of our bishops to this date have issued statements stressing the importance of abortion in this election. TWO bishops have apparently made the seamless garment statement to their flock.
IMHO the Faithful Citizenship document leaves itself open to interpretation but it stresses the intrinsic evils, abortion, euthanasia, stem-cell research -- and racism (interesting given the number of "not voting for Obama is racist" arguments out there) ... As of now 3/4 of the bishops have not issued statements.
Of course these bishops are increasingly labeled controversial by the press. Did you ever think you would see the day when 1/4 of our bishops would be labeled controversial? It has even caused a VERY Protestant sports forum I visit to stand up and take notice. They say "I wish our churches would do like the Catholics" ...
I saw a voters guide yesterday ... it was stunningly biased. Anyway, I thought I would give my effort to the voters guide world. I am not a PAC, although I do accept donations -- preferably of the large kind. If its big enough I will eliminate some rows in my guide as it suits your purpose and enter a more flattering picture of your preferred candidate. The guide I saw looked kind of like this ...
For the terrorists
For corporate greed
For the common good
For America
Against family values
Against the environment
Against national security
Against the poor
I figure my effort is worth the mountains of donations that funded the voters guide I saw. Seriously, consider the source and the funding of your "voters guides".
Music milestone: I have over 30,000 listens on Last.fm
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
WOO HOO!!! The rolling charts are the reason I started using Last.fm in the first place. Trust me, if you use anything else, I recommend seeking to log it to Last.fm. Eventually your efforts will pay off.
A few Catholics we know all noticed that people when they notice we have lots of kids close together are real quick to offer us a litany of reasons why they cannot have more kids.
"I cannot handle it" "They are too expensive" "I have a medical condition"
etc. We hear this all the time.
I am just curious. Why? You don't have to justify your choice to me.
My wife and I go back and forth on this. We even used those flushable disposable inserts for a while which were a happy medium. LESS washing, no waste but you add the cost of the inserts. I liked them personally. Still, from having a child that pooped in his pants until he was 6 (they tell us it was medical) I can tell you that you might as well skip the diapers and just buy a lot of underwear. Its not that much more difficult to clean. I learned more about God cleaning underwear than I did changing diapers. It fostered patience and cultured humility.
Still, we are using disposables right now because the convenience is useful in our search for household peace right now ... On the environmental impact -- I'm over it. Some study -- similar to this story -- is going to tell me I am cool eventually and it will likely be paid for by Luvs, Pampers, Huggies etc. The green movement will cry conspiracy. Other parents will sigh knowing that they can use disposable diapers in good conscience. Public sentiment will shift on some other hot topic (especially if this cooling trend continues) ...
Quite frankly, I am tired of having to form every nook and cranny of my life based on the bleeding edge and forefront of statistical wizardry(also this). Its a royal pain to completely rework your life every 2 weeks because of some study gathering lots of weak associations and bold assertions says you MUST. Its even better to see it reversed by a more sophisticated and much more documented study 5 years down the road. It all seems like public sentiment to me and more fad than fact. Cloth diapers are cuter after all ... Good for the economy I say ...
I want my kids to go to heaven. Period. What they poop on during their path is only of mild consideration to me.
William still hates garbage disposal units and has determined that plumbing wil NOT be any sort of future career path for me :(. 10:11pm - 5 Comments
(friend) at 10:23pm October 18 uh oh! What happened!...
William at 3:19am October 19 I installed a new unit at our old house. At the time I felt the exposure to months of,well, ummm toxic waste that gets caught in weird places on garbage disposal units justified copius amounts of money to a trained plumber/waste removal specialist. I have re-positioned and re-installed the unit we have in our new home at least four times. Twice because manufacturers of children s cups conspired with all the evil forces of the dark side to make cups EXACTLY the size to fit INTO the opening but never come out without hours of frustration, power tools, and finally the removal of the unit ... only to have it pop out easily ONLY after destruction of the cup. I only wish I had a lake of fire for the disposal of said cups.
William at 3:23am October 19 Today is the mysterious voluminous leak. I have applied, liberally of course, amounts of plumbers putty in all possible leaking areas and followed all installation instructions with the great care of a Washington lawyer ... yet I fail. One half of our sink remains in a state of discord and we are expecting guests tomorrow. I angrily ripped all the wood out from under the disposal unit because it gave me a good physical object on which to project my frustration. My justification was that it was water soaked and the health hazard needed removing ... trust me, it was the need for anger management. So there .. that is my love affair with garbage disposals. In the famous words of a Severed Heads album cover "may their arms swell and drop off". .... and its little dog too.
William at 3:25am October 19 and its past 3am ... I will continue to upload pastoral scenes from my day and then huddle in the corner with my thumb in my mouth.
William at 3:27am October 19 argh ... and my keyboard is messed up. Its spelled copious.
Obama the more pro-life candidate: a response to family
Monday, October 20, 2008
(family member), thank you for your response. In the end I suspect none of us plan to change our minds before this election. This too will be my last email on the subject but I figure since everyone is airing grievances on the matter I should go ahead and say my piece. For the record I think I enumerated my stance informed by my faith in my previous email regarding the Catholic moral concept of proportionality. I certainly respect a vote for Obama under those circumstances although I find it hard to believe that the proportionality is there. This may also be true for a vote for McCain ... I am in prayer on that matter ... It shouldn't be a matter we gleefully head to the polls and go YEA! I get to vote for "change". There are serious objections to overcome in choosing to vote for Obama.
Obviously I fundamentally disagree that Obama's policies will reduce abortion and all conjecture to support him as the more pro-life candidate holds no sway with me. Here is why ...
1) The poor will always be with us. It is one area Jesus tells us that treating the root cause eventually has diminishing returns. That said, I think an important indication we should get here is that our OBLIGATION to the poor is great, despite their reasons for being poor. They will always be there and we are called to their aid ... period. To that extent, I disagree with many of the actions of the right on HOW to deal with poverty in a realistic way.
2) The economy is heading south and based on the way it has been carefully delayed and avoided by fed policy for years now, it HAS to happen. Economically speaking, I am a realist. I expect poverty to increase under Obama, not because of his policies but because economies have a way of being cruel to cultures that engage in poor fiscal practice. The entire west, socialist nations and all, will suffer for their pursuit of greed at the expense of future generations. This isn't a left or right issue. This is a sin issue.
In light of the first two, I would like to quote the USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops), which refers specifically to the study forwarded to all of us by (family member)
Sometimes election years produce more policy myths than good ideas. This year one myth is about abortion. It goes like this: The Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision is here to stay, and that's fine because laws against abortion don't reduce abortions much anyway. Rather, "support for women and families" will greatly reduce abortions, without changing the law or continuing a "divisive" abortion debate.
Various false claims are used to bolster this myth. It is said that over three-quarters of women having abortions cite expense as the most important factor in their decision. Actually the figure is less than one-fourth, 23%. It is said that abortion rates declined dramatically (30%) during the Clinton years, but the decline stopped under the ostensibly pro-life Bush administration. Actually the abortion rate has dropped 30% from 1981 to 2005; the decline started 12 years before Clinton took office, and has continued fairly steadily to the present day. ... (source)
That decline, I suspect, is related to the Roe Effect and to a relatively high time in American prosperity but that is a more suspicion on my part than anything concrete. I pray I am wrong and the downward trend continues. Our American prosperity was obviously false and based on a credit based system that supported consumption at scandalous levels and encouraged a thorough lack of self control in Americans. The hard realities of it are soon to be upon us if it is not already here for some.
Based on points 1 and 2 ...
a) I strongly question that policies with respect to poverty will have much of an effect on that subset of women citing "expense" as their reason for having an abortion. Rich people cite expense for all kinds of evil as well even if they can afford it. It doesn't require economic poverty to think a child not worth paying for so its extremely optimistic to assume reducing poverty will eliminate those abortions.
b) Even if I am wrong on point A, it would require a reduction in poverty the likes this nation has never seen under any administration. Obama will not "change" poverty in this country that much because of the diminishing returns I mentioned above and the inertia of a real economic downturn.
3) Furthermore the policies of Obama seek to eliminate an avenue of choice for pregnant women by reducing funding for crisis pregnancy centers. Crisis pregnancy centers are the bogey man of the pro-choice crowd. Alternatives to abortion should be encouraged, not discouraged. In this case, Obama is oddly anti-choice. Crisis pregnancy centers would not be considered a problem otherwise. Policies such as this fundamentally undermine the health care argument because care for the mother and child TO TERM with alternate information about abortion should be a priority, not an unavailable choice. I am for better health care options for Americans and not necessarily solely of the privatized kind sold to us by conservatives. This brings me to my 4th point -- a special interests point
4) The abortion industry who overwhelmingly donates and supports Obama for president stands to gain from policies increasing access to abortion. We are foolish to think their corporate interests are any more altruistic than, say, the oil industry. Abortions going down decreases their profits. I do not think they would be supporting Obama if they really thought their bottom line would be effected. His insistence that FOCA is one of his first priorities leads me to believe he, like every other politician out there, is in bed with special interests.
5) His policies also wrongly treat the symptoms and not the cause of abortion. A quick side analogy to develop my point ... The Catholic Church has seen a great decline in belief in the last 40 years. Modern catechesis has aimed to educate the faith from a primary angle of social responsibility. This was all good and well but it came at the expense of doctrines like, you know, Jesus came and died for us, rose again on the third day and sits at the right hand of the Father. It put the cart before the horse and American Catholics have seen the sad results of that fallout. It was a systematic turning from God in favor of "results". I see the same problem with education policies that do not attack the root cause. As (family member) indicated I see every reason to believe that abstinence education doesn't work. Secular sex education in the long run will fail because it doesn't attack the root cause. In fact, I typically think it encourages the problem. The root cause of unwanted pregnancy in this nation stems from a myriad of factors but the obvious elephant in the room is that SEX is the problem AND its division from marriage with its intended purpose by God. State education cannot, especially based on modern interpretation of the establishment clause, cite this as a cause. Abortion will not be solved merely by economic policy. It will be solved by removing it as a legal option and, more importantly, by conversion on a national scale.
The final point I will make is on the duplicitous nature of the modern day green movement in regards to contraceptive methods. Its points out the real idol that fuels abortion in this nation.
Some people have raised concerns regarding the impact of chemical contraceptives on the environment (source). I think that is a noble cause but the silence is deafening. After all, the choice between chemical contraceptives and the environment requires deferring the use of contraceptives to the health of the earth. I don't see people lining up on behalf of the earth here. Why is that? The point of this final rant is simple. "Consequence free" sex with anyone we please under any circumstances is our god and until our idolatry ends, our path to destruction will continue. God has a plan for how man, woman and sexuality function in the natural order of things. We should consider it and consider self control and reliance on God as the truly enlightened alternate path. I like this new focus on the natural. It causes people to think about these things. In the end, McCain's and Obama's policies will stand mute as a solution until our nation gives up this idol returns its worship to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
In an address delivered on October 17, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput stated that ''Prof. Douglas Kmiec has a strong record of service to the Church and the nation in his past. But I think his activism for Senator Barack Obama, and the work of Democratic-friendly groups like Catholics United and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, have done a disservice to the Church, confused the natural priorities of Catholic social teaching, undermined the progress pro-lifers have made, and provided an excuse for some Catholics to abandon the abortion issue instead of fighting within their parties and at the ballot box to protect the unborn.''
I want to point something out, for the benefit of those who want to try and understand the position of those of us who are Catholic in this thread ...
We are bound by conscience not to support candidates who advocate grave evil. Obama advocates grave evil. Now, it is also true that supporting McCain is also problematic for the same reason. McCain is for ESCR and supports a questionably just war and advocates the grave evil of abortion in the "exceptions cases". I say "questionably just" on the war because a Catholic can rationalize Iraq as a just war -- lots of Catholics with many letters after their names have done an admirable job of making that case. Others with similarly long letters after their names have made the opposite case -- nuanced cases I might add. On the surface both of the major party candidates are out.
This is where the nuance of proportionality enters the equation. As Catholics are not single issue voters, considering other policies like the war, creeping socialism (which the Church opposes on the grounds that it interferes with the right to make a living and right to raise a family as you see fit), the sanctity of marriage, and social justice are to be considered. For a full treatment of the whole mess you could read the 40+ page document on Faithful Citizenship issued by the USCCB.
Most Catholics I know who understand this particular nuance of Catholic doctrine realize that the proportionate reason to support Obama would require policies resulting in a DRASTIC reduction in the number of abortions. I think Obama's economic policies even if they were vastly superior are unlikely to reduce abortions by a "proprotional" amount. Now, that said, if Roe were to be overturned that returns the issue to the states and the majority of abortions occur in states that would continue to keep it legal after the overturning of Roe. That, to me, gives cause to reduce the proportionality but not by much. I am sure the Democrats have curiously watched since 1973 as election after election support from Catholics has shifted to the Republicans in 2004. There is a very predicable reason for this. No policy in Obama's platform unless it changes to include full implementation of the ideas suggested by Democrats for Life comes even close to justifying the killing of millions of unborn children a year. Its safe to say that I think the majority of orthodox Catholics will most likely vote for McCain (with a much held nose) or a third party candidate.
This brings me to the third party issue ... Others, to clear their conscience in the matter vote for candidates who do not support grave evil (Ron Paul being a prime example) .. The idea here is that you believe that casting your vote this way does two things: 1) gives notice to Republicans who have been "more talk than action" in their support for life issues and 2) serves to support a rising party, however unlikely, that is more favorable to the entire corpus of Catholic social doctrine. The debates in the Catholic world have been informative and enlightening
Of course orthodoxy and the majority of those in the pew are rarely on the same page. In the end, I suspect Catholics will mirror the nation on this election as I think the Republicans shot themselves in the foot with the McCain selection in terms of the Catholic vote. Huckabee or Ron Paul would have been vastly superior choices on that front. I personally suspect Obama will win. An Obama win requires praying for a marked change of heart for Senator Obama regarding the value and dignity of human life.
William
P.S. (family member), of course further from a Catholic perspective, contraceptive solutions are off the table because they gravely injure the procreative aspect of marriage -- but that is a different discussion than abortion as it applies to this election. The whole is deal is covered in Humanae Vitae if you are really interested in the why behind that case.
The natural order is blithely unconcerned with our happiness; our bodies are built with the family's -- and, hence, the species' -- best interest in mind. So, by nature, we barrel bedward with all the zest of salmon swimming upstream to spawn. With the same results. Have you ever seen the battered state of those fish at the end of their selfless, frantic fight against the current, over rocks, up hills, and over dams -- their tattered skin, broken fins, and glassy stares? They look like parents emerging, drained and dazed, from Chuck E. Cheese.
No wonder modern man, having figured out biological means to skip that whole, exhausting slog, prefers to live in a fish farm. We'd rather subsist like those shiny, bloated salmon that slurp around in corporate hatcheries, chowing down on niblets of corn, staying healthy with regular doses of hormones and antibiotics, and using red dye No. 2 to keep our flesh nice and pink. We may not build up all those healthy Omega nutrients that the authorities say would make us "better fish." Our offspring are fewer, but fatter. We might not turn out as complex, or courageous -- but our "effort to pleasure" ratio is a whole lot better.
In other words, if your whole political economy is based on putting a burden of debt on unborn generations, does not the existence of your political economy rest on the idea that the unborn generation shall and must come to be? If the Big Brother you worship and serve cannot remain solvent, indeed, cannot survive at all, unless the next generation outnumbers the current, is it not treason to Big Brother to remain infertile? ...
To which a commenter responded
Civilization will probably return to the historical norm of having a dozen children as a retirement plan.
I find it interesting that financial advisors have told me that a good mutual fund will grow at 10-12% over time. That said an index fund on a major market supposedly outperforms a mutual fund 90% of the time. If you take the DJIA from 1935-1985 and drag a trend line through it you have about 5.1% growth. If you drag it from 1905-1985 you get about 4%. Sounds like inflation to me. I used Jan 1 FWIW. I hear the arguments against me ... "I am including the depression or markets are more efficient these days". Maybe so but I am not putting my hope in it. Furthermore you have dividends to consider as well so lets consider a dividend reinvestment version ... tack on 2-4%. That still ain't 10-12% folks. It seems that historically markets trend up for 15-20 years and then flatten out for that long. I am getting into the meat of my career and any early retirement money I have is shrinking fast. I don't expect it to grow all that fast for the next 10 years so where does that put me if the markets struggle for that time frame?
Still working ...
Of course, if I raise them right, at least I can depend on my children when they are older, or as the psalmist put it
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children born in one's youth. Blessed are they whose quivers are full. They will never be shamed contending with foes at the gate. (Psalm 127:4-5)
This movie hits a little too close to home every time I see it. I may have gotten the worst case of !!! from it that I ever have.
1) everyone is addicted to TV 2) the government protects us from "terrorists" although you suspect they are the cause as well 3) everything has a form, signatures and receipts of receipts 4) how you look and your status within the organization is very important 5) people cannot do anything without state intervention 5b) nor do they seem to want to 6) Information Retrieval is the "torture for information" arm of the system 7) Consumers for Christ 8) parents do not even know their kids names ... 9) Life and death seem to be an inconvenient diversion for most 10) Everything is bloated and expensive
The art decco mixed with the inefficient hit a little too close to home. Of course I am sure you are thinking of the Bush administration right?
Meanwhile I want to remind you of a few things regarding socialism defined as
A system of social and economic organization that would substitute state monopoly for private ownership of the sources of production and means of distribution, and would concentrate under the control of the secular governing authority the chief activities of human life.
and about which the Church has stated:
"The socialists, therefore, in setting aside the parent and setting up a State supervision, act against natural justice, and destroy the structure of the home." (source)
"Socialists...debase the natural union of man and woman...the [family] bond they...deliver up to lust. Lured...by the greed of present goods...they assail the right of property. While they seem desirous of caring for the needs and satisfying the desires of all men, they strive to seize and hold in common whatever has been acquired either by title, by labor, or by thrift." (source)
"...Socialism...cannot be reconciled with the teachings of the Catholic Church because its concept of society itself is utterly foreign to Christian truth." (source)
I'm just curious ... How is the an Obama presidency which wants to further remove the education of children from parents by creating mandatory preschool, debase the natural union of man and woman by promoting gay marriage and increasingly assign to the state that which is governed by the private sector an improvement on the bleak vision offered to us in Brazil?
I'm just sayin' ... McSame has a nice ring to it but "O the President" is going to prove to be a disappointment for those really looking for change. After all wasn't this bailout -- I'm sorry "rescue package" -- that was opposed by the ignorant masses a bipartisan effort? I mean we have Bush suspending constitutional rights in the time of military crisis. This is a WAR folks! We have bi-partisan work doing it with an unprecedented economic crisis .. Whats next? Seriously, what crisis will justify suspension of the Bill of Rights and what makes anyone think Obama is really going to be any different? Because his promises sound good and his party isn't the same as Bush?
Politicians want power and they are increasingly more and more obvious about their motives. Good guy (your party) vs bad guy (their party) only serves to keep the masses at each others throats and meanwhile we are all frustrated while supporting both sides of evil. Meanwhile nothing changes on the good side of the ledger -- issues of life, treatment of the poor etc. After all they cannot keep Americans focused on the real problems that face us if they actually do something about it.
OK ... I promise, I'll post something less cynical in the future :)
This is a "fresh" blogroll. It tends to list blogs most frequently updated at the top. It will also drop blogs not updated for a few days. Never fear though, if you post, it will show back up. If you are interested in how I did it see this post.
;)
This is a "fresh" blogroll. It tends to list blogs most frequently updated at the top. It will also drop blogs not updated for a few days. Never fear though, if you post, it will show back up. If you are interested in how I did it see 
Calendar
