Poodle to World: J'excuse!

As a Canadian, I'd like to tell you that I'm sorry about the same-sex marriage thing. It's a real shame that it was made law and is now probably being used in your own country against your own laws. That's another side effect of transnationalism - in Spain, Progenitor A and Progenitor B can now repeal the law you and your parents and your grand parents developed because we lazy Canadians didn't do enough to stop what is now becoming a supranational leviathan.

Perhaps you're lucky and you live in a country with a more impartial and fair democratic system. Perhaps you live in a country with an accountable judiciary system and the fiat of an obscure provincial court is not enough to dramatically alter the legal landscape. Or perhaps you live in a place like Canada. If that's the case, put your hat on, tighten your belt and make a sandwich.

Here's some thoughts, however worthless you may find them:

- Don't get caught out by the 'debate is over' assertion. There wasn't a 'debate' to begin with in Canada, and yet our honourable political leaders kept telling us that there was. If someone uses this tactic against you, you'll know for certain that your position is probably the right one, so keep hammering away.

- Remember what exactly we're dealing with here. It's not about marriage, but about abolishing it all together. Love has nothing to do with same-sex marriage, and that's not to say that love does not exist in same-sex relationships. This is political and social battle which is inherently anti-religious, if not specifically anti-Christian. Canada is already witness to public persecutions (and prosecutions) of Bishops, marriage officials, priest, business people and teachers who have dared act in accordance with their conscience and exercised their right to freely express themselves as private citizens.

- When someone attacks you for being 'old fashioned', 'traditionalist' or, of course bigoted, prejudiced and in favour of discrimination, you can have some fun and help your own cause by pointing out a few things. Sure, marriage is old fashioned - it's an established fact that its been around since the dawn of humanity, so no arguments there. But it's also old fashioned in the same way cooking with fire and sleeping under a roof are; we do it because it works. It's a matter of discrimination when I chose to cook my chicken fingers, since I am making a discriminatory decision against eating uncooked meat. It's also the same for sleeping under a roof - I admit that I do harbour a deepseated prejudice against death by exposure, and I adjust my behaviour accordingly. Since all scientific statistical stuff says that heterosexual marriage is best for society, well, it goes without saying.

Iran to Britain: Take, oh, take me as I am

Why is it that at the relatively young age of 25 I notice that history is already repeating itself? Why does everything seem so gosh-darn similar these days?

I'm thinking specifically about the 'resolved' dispute over the captured British sailors. All credible sources claim that the sailors remained within Iraqi waters during the now infamous operation. The sailors themselves confirm as much, even stating that it was apparent that the Iranians who arrived and began to act aggressively, were clearly following a preconceived plan. And then we have the confirmation that dispite the blatant violations of the Geneva Conventions on the treatment of prisoners of war, ie the televising of the prisoners and the forced public interviews, the Iranians even went so far as to commit pyschological torture, ie telling each individual prisoner that they were the 'last one' and that the others were already executed.

And with this evidence, what is the response of Britain, the UN, and the Western media?

*crickets chirping*

I hate to violate Godwin's Law (the one that states that any internet argument is made forfeit by referencing the Nazis), but doesn't all this seem very, in fact, eeriely similar to the Daladier-Chamberlain policy of appeasement? (oh, maybe I haven't violated Godwin's yet after all, technically) In those days, the West was as war weary and hesitant as we are now, just with more reasonable excuses like ecomonic collapse, crop failures and World War I. The leaders, not wanting to waste any political capital on another unpopular and unwanted conflict, sought the persue 'soft war' via the ivory corridors of international diplomacy. It's good to remember that international diplomacy in the 1930's was about as bogus as it is now: The League of Nations, the precursor to the UN, was just as impotent, corrupt, and ineffectual as its modern day embodiment. Nevertheless, in the face of outright persecution and authentically 'illegal' wars (who makes wars legal by the way?) , the leaders of the West of the 1930s opted to do exactly what the leaders of the West of the 2000s chose. Nothing.

Richard Neuhaus on Pope Benedict on Iraq

Fr. Neuhaus expands upon Pope Benedict's mention of the Iraq War during his Easter Sunday address. You can read it here - but I want to comment on a corollary effect of the Pope's statement. Neuhaus points out: "... it is galling when Catholics and others who are usually blithely indifferent to church teaching seize upon a papal opinion with which they agree and, suddenly becoming hyper-infallibilists, elevate it to dogmatic status." Galling, indeed.

Happy Easter

He is risen.

Terry Jones, You Ain't Funny Anymore

Eric Idle and John Cleese plod on. Terry Gilliam and Michael Palin amuse themselves in filmography. Terry Jones provides commentary on the parts of reality that he doesn't like.

On Saturday, Terry Jones provided another gem in the Distinguished Field of Guardian Journalism, making light of the illegal capture and detainment of British sailors by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Here's a snippet:

I share the outrage expressed in the British press over the treatment of our naval personnel accused by Iran of illegally entering their waters. It is a disgrace. We would never dream of treating captives like this - allowing them to smoke cigarettes, for example, even though it has been proven that smoking kills. And as for compelling poor servicewoman Faye Turney to wear a black headscarf, and then allowing the picture to be posted around the world - have the Iranians no concept of civilised behaviour? For God's sake, what's wrong with putting a bag over her head? That's what we do with the Muslims we capture: we put bags over their heads, so it's hard to breathe. Then it's perfectly acceptable to take photographs of them and circulate them to the press because the captives can't be recognised and humiliated in the way these unfortunate British service people are.

It is also unacceptable that these British captives should be made to talk on television and say things that they may regret later. If the Iranians put duct tape over their mouths, like we do to our captives, they wouldn't be able to talk at all. Of course they'd probably find it even harder to breathe - especially with a bag over their head - but at least they wouldn't be humiliated.

Would you like a mint, Mr. Creosote?

For every reason, Jones is simply wrong, wrong, wrong (especially in his application of sarcasm - the lowest form of humour, right mum?) . One would think that a man who spent the best years of his career specializing in theatre, that he'd be able to spot a staged scene when he saw one. Apparently not.

Youths in Paris Riot, Identities Unclear...

Those darn 'youths' are at it again. Rioting broke out at the Gare du Nord train station in Paris after a man attacked two inspectors after being asked (and failing) to produce a train ticket. The violence quickly spread outside of the train station and into the streets, and the 'youths' took to looting stores and hurling dumpters and plants at the police who were called in to quell the unrest.

Sound similar? It should. These 'youths' bear a great deal of resemblance to the 'youths' who plunged France into civil unrest in 2005 after two 'youths' electrocuted themselves to death while running from the police.

When soccer fans riot, the press does not refrain from pointing out the common denominator. In fact, we're constantly warned about the 'football riots' of Europe and even to be wary of 'footbal fans' while we're in Europe. We don't call these folks 'youths', even though most of them are, nor do we try to protect their common denominator by calling them 'sports fans'. Yet when 'youths' riot in France, we're told that they are simply 'youths'. We're told that commentators think these 'youths' are rioting because of racism and inequality and poverty in France, despite the fact that France has one of the most accessible and rewarding welfare benefits program in the world. It's as if we're supposed to think that these 'youths' feel alienated and prone to violence because it's our fault; whereas when the football fans riot, we waste no time casting blame where blame is due. What is it about these 'youths' that makes our media so anxious to point out their common denominator?

I have a pretty good idea.

Abortion: What you should know

Intrigue in the Dark Corridors of Power...

... could have as much to do with the shuffling of Fr. Fessio at Ave Maria University than anything else. Some people have contended that Fessio's removal as Provost had something to do with the liturgical divide within the faithful - which when you pause to think about it is only a little short of ridiculous. Others have claimed that it was to do with nepotism and patronage-staffing. Finally even others think it was as simple as making the offices of the university as efficient as possible, and that having two offices with equal power, the Provost and the President, was a serious detriment to the development of the university.

Still, it's troubling to read on other sites that there are many Catholics who seem bent on opposing the Ave Maria project. Sure, you may not agree with Tom Monaghan and his decisions, but I'm sure you could agree that the creation and success of a vibrantly orthodox university is in the best interests of the Catholic Church in America, if not the rest of the world. I've even read that 'parents don't like AMU and students are interested in it' - that could be nothing farther from the truth. Even up here in Cold Canada, AMU is a school many of our Catholic youth are interested in visiting and hopefully attending.

I also sense some naivete out there too, embodied in the much expressed shock that a Provost would be removed in such a way at a Catholic university. Well folks, these things happen all the time at universities, secular and religious. Usually it boils down to people of principle wishing to take the school in certain directions, which unfortunately can as often be opposite than similar. In fact at my alma mater, a secular school if ever there was one, several influential figures were forcibly removed in the late 1990's, simply because many at the university felt that new leadership was required. These things happen; get used to it.

Falling Like Domino's...

Fr. Joseph Fessio was fired yesterday from Ave Maria University. Fessio is a well known figure in Catholic circles - he studied under Pope Benedict, founded Ignatius Press, and contributes to First Things on occasion - and as such is well respected amongst other scholars and professors. I've heard it more than once that Fessio was instrumental in keeping some of the faculty after the contentious move from Michigan to Flordia.

It's a shame he's gone. The last thing we Catholics need is another bitter division. Hopefully more details will be revealed over the next few days.

The Federal Budget...

... is here.

No word yet if Jack 'Lend me Your Car' Layton wants to consult the Taliban first.

Global Warming Cooling Down?

By golly! Even the New York Times, the syndicated herald of pulp-hubris, is getting chilly with global warming, at least global warming according to Al 'I got my Oscar now please elect me' Gore. The Times is saying, of course, what most level headed folks of all walks of life have been urging since Global Warming Is Here became the new mantra of the politically correct/progressive liberal establishment - get the facts straight before you make public conclusions, and public denunciations.

Quote of the Week

Corrupters of families will not inherit the kingdom of God. And if they who do these things according to the flesh suffer death, how much more if a man corrupt by evil teaching the faith of God for the sake of which Jesus Christ was crucified? A man become so foul will depart into unquenchable fire: and so will anyone who listens to him" (Letter to the Ephesians 16:1–2 [A.D. 110]).

Communion Denied...

Lifesite reports that a Wyoming lesbian couple who were 'married' in Canada, and have been publicly outspoken in their support of the gay agenda, have been informed that their pastor will no longer offer them the Eucharist. Being faithful Catholics, the couple immediately went to the press and complained.

Rev. Jacobson, the pastor, notified the couple through a private letter. The two women had been vocal opponents of a Wyoming bill that would have legally defined marriage as between one man and one woman, and apparently, weekly recipicents of Corpus Christi. Leah Vader, the aptly named lesbian-scorned, had this to say: “This is the one food we all need, [of] all the sacraments, it’s the one that should be taken frequently.”

Well no, Lord Vader, it isn't. As an adult Catholic Vader should now that the Sacrament of Reconcilliation must precede the Eucharist, else we bring abomination upon our souls. The Eucharist was instituted by Christ and is maintained by Christ through His Church. To think that you could work openly against the Church, and therefore Christ Himself, and still receive the Eucharist, is a prideful, selfish thing.

Take the Cross He sends as it is and not as you imagine it ought to be.

More about Portugal...

'Omnis animal post coitum triste est'

To call the full legalization of abortion a tragedy is to engage in severe understatement. Portugal, whose birth rates are well below replacement level already, has now virtually all but committed itself to the historical waste bucket along with the rest of Western Europe. Men and women of good faith will continue to fight this and live their lives according to the Word, but so many will fall away. I suppose that's just how it usually is.

I read this morning that a massive, 3-story abortion clinic will be built in Lisbon as soon as the abortion bill is passed in full. It goes to show that abortion has never been about improving the 'plight' of women, but of making money off of death.

What it's interesting (or increasingly banal, depending on your level of apathy) is how virulently anti-life laws are made and passed. A small but well-supported group lobby politicians, the media supports, no public discussion occurs (and if it does, it is rushed or simply ignored) and the law is passed through chambers to which any attempt to stop it will surely fail. Portugal, it seems, has borrowed heavily off the Canadian-Spanish model of cultural destruction.

Portugal Falls...

It was announced today that despite the failure of the pro-abortion public referendum in Portugal last month, the parliament has passed a pro-abortion bill which effectively demolishes the previous restrictions. The bill will be pressed into law by the end of a 20 day period, subject to the Prime Minister's, pro-abortion Jose Socrates, signature.

90 or so years ago, Mary appeared and promised that the faith would always live on in Portugal. But Mary didn't specify how large or how vigourous that faith would be.

Another Blog

Another reason for my hiatus is that I and several other people (all much smarter and talented than me) are working on an explicitly Catholic blog - a First Things Lite, if we're allowed to indulge ourselves in delusions of grandeur for just a moment. Seriously, if all goes well, it will be a rich resource for all those 'embattled Catholics and people of good faith' who, like I once did, scavange the wasteland of cyberspace for oases of truth.

Once it is launched, I'll post the here and appeal to other blogs to mention it.

Where does the time go?

Wow. It's been almost a week since I've posted any significant (although everyone I've talked to seems to enjoy the cartoon). It's surprising when time flies by...

My 'hiatus' has everything to do with a major change in my life: I lost my job. Perhaps 'resigned' is more appropriate however, for I was the office manager/finanical officer of a design company that hit a major cash flow crisis. I can't say that it was a surprise though, as my weekly hours(but not my workload) had been cut down over the past six or seven weeks. But things came to a head last week, when I approached my boss to discuss the situation, and there simply wasn't any money to pay me. Sad how things end sometimes.

Now I'm planning on returning to university in the Spring to pursue a Master's in Political Science, which happens to be the very subject I studied for my Bachelor of Arts. I'm going to specialize in public policy and policy implementation - it ties my interest in law together with my much more profound interest in all things political science.

This is how I usually feel...

Yet Another Warmal Globing Post....

Here are three reasons not to buy into Global Warming:

1) The weatherman got the weekend forecast wrong, again.
2) It's been the coldest Winter in Victoria for 3 years.
3) Al Gore buys 'carbon credits' from himself and turns a massive profit.

You think Al Gore's involvement was altruistic, or even merely idealistic? Those folks who have forsaken common sense for popularity and the last remaining chance to join the 'In' crowd, and staked their integrity on the assumption that Al Gore's a bona fide eco-warrior and Global Warming will really mean more, meaner hurricanes, should take notice: Al Gore and his cadre want to make vast amounts of money off of you.

More On The Jesus Tomb

(h/t) to Bettnet.

Contrary to initial reports and what I previously posted, only the names Mary, Joseph, and Judas are the only clearly legible names on the tomb/casket/sarcophagus/ossuary. The fourth name is illegible, but James Cameron and his intrepid band of pseudo-archaeologists have interpreted it to read 'Jesus'.

The ossuary in question was actually discovered some 27 years ago, long before the trend of debunking Christianity became mainstream. Back then it garnered little, if any, press, for it was simply another inconsequential ancient discovery, so to speak.

Also, James Cameron's partner, Simcha Jacobovici (who is an Emmy winning journalist, go figure), claimed in the early nineties to have discovered the ossuary of Jesus' brother, James. Of course even then every single reputable archaeologist, historian and anthropologist dismissed his claims.

edit: Visit Extreme Theology for a comprehensive breakdown/takedown of the fraud.

The Jesus Tomb

I'm never surprised that the latest effort to debunk traditional and historical Christianity comes during Lent. It's almost as if the devil is that stupid (or that smart) that he fills the airways with the most childish, non-sensical anti-Christian propaganda during our forty days of fasting, almsgiving, and prayer.

Last year it was The Da Vinci Code and the Gnostic Gospel of Judas. This year it is the Jesus tomb. James Cameron, director of Alien 2 and Titanic, has made a 'documentary' about the discovery of the real tomb of Jesus Christ. This tomb contains a sarcophagus inscribed with the names Mary, Jesus, Joseph and Judas. It also apparently says that Mary and Jesus were married, and Judas was their son. Within the sarcophagus are the remains of the man and woman.

Now our first instinct is probably to ask: So what makes this tomb so special? Well, it was found in Jerusalem and might date from the time of Christ. So 2+2=1283, and therefore this is tomb of Christ, and therefore Christ didn't resurrect Himself, and therefore he was married to Mary Magdelene, and therefore he had a son, and therefore Christianity is wrong canweallgobacktocommunismplease.

Cameron and those involved seemed to have conveniently missed a few important issues which complicate, if not directly invalidate, their account . First, there is the question of why a Galilean is buried in Jerusalem. Second, there is the question of why a woman would have been buried with Him, since after the Crucifixion, Christ's followers went into hiding and were persecuted for the next several decades. Third, there is the question of names. Mary, Jesus, Joseph, and Judas were at the time the most popular names in Israel amongst the Jews.

Scholars and journalists are already rounding, and Cameron et al. are circling their wagons. Cameron will no doubt contain to claim that this is just his take, albeit his take that he is aggressively selling through the MSM as fact. In the end, the movie will excite the exciteable, while the rest of us finish up our Lent and get down to celebrating the Glorious Resurrection.

Carrying Christ With You

I attended midday Mass today for the first time in ages. Partly because it's Lent and partly because my wife asked me to meet her there and partly because we have a new priest from Nigeria who is turning a lot of heads with his infectious proclaiming of the Gospel.

Midday Masses are usually rather tame. At my parish it is always the vernacular, or low, Mass, which means that most of the responses are spoken rather than sung. But today was much different. Our Nigerian priest, Fr. Clement Nwonkwo, is quite literally on fire for Christ. I wasn't prepared; for Fr. Clement, for Mass, or for Jesus.

Just to cut it short, Fr. Clement made a very simple yet poignant statement during his homily. He said that we must always remember that after the Eucharist is consumed, we carry within us the Resurrected Christ. Are we bringing Christ to other people? Can people discern that we have been to Mass? I have to admit that in 25 years of my life, I have never heard a better explanation for the Mass and its effect on us than that.

God Bless you, Fr. Clement.

When You Have Two Left Eyes...

... it can be difficult to see clearly.

Todd Russell, Liberal MP of Labrador, has this to say: "I have no doubt in my mind that they would try to eradicate everything that has been good by the Liberal party and by great Liberals in this country from the history books if they could. Fortunately right now, they can't, but it just again speaks to the nature of this particular Conservative government."

Ralph Goodale, Liberal House leader contributes to the discussion: "For somebody to think that you've got to put a shroud over it or build a wall to hide it to keep it out of view from American government officials, that is just pathetic and I think those American government officials will think it's pathetic too."

Maria Minna, another Liberal MP: "Such action is a disgrace and an embarrassment. This attempt to hide the past just highlights the Conservative Party's abandonment of Canada's peacekeeping role."

So what's the problem? Did the Conservatives cancel funding to another Liberal PR project?

No. The Liberals are angry because a memorial to Lester B. Pearson was covered during a press conference in the Department of Foreign Affairs building. In their collective anger, the Liberals forgot that the memorial is covered during press conferences, even during the Chretien and Martin governments, because it is expensive to move.

"Radical Christian students hurl their bodies at innocent Muslim's cab"

I stole the headline right of off The People's Cube. You can't improve upon perfection.

Here's the rundown: Two students found themselves in a fierce religious argument with their taxi driver. No big deal, right? No, big deal. The taxi driver happened to be a Muslim and the student-fare-payers Christian.

Read the rest here.

The Pope's Lenten Message

And only a few days late!

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

"They shall look on him whom they have pierced" (Jn 19: 37). This is the biblical theme that this year guides our Lenten reflection. Lent is a favourable time to learn to stay with Mary and John, the beloved disciple, close to him who on the Cross, consummated for all mankind the sacrifice of his life (cf. Jn 19: 25). With a more fervent participation let us direct our gaze, therefore, in this time of penance and prayer, at Christ Crucified who, dying on Calvary, revealed fully for us the love of God. In the Encyclical Deus caritas est, I dwelt upon this theme of love, highlighting its two fundamental forms: agape and eros.

God's love: agape and eros

The term agape, which appears many times in the New Testament, indicates the self-giving love of one who looks exclusively for the good of the other. The word eros, on the other hand, denotes the love of one who desires to possess what he or she lacks and yearns for union with the beloved. The love with which God surrounds us is undoubtedly agape. Indeed, can man give to God some good that he does not already possess? All that the human creature is and has is divine gift. It is the creature, then, who is in need of God in everything. But God's love is also eros. In the Old Testament, the Creator of the universe manifests toward the people whom he has chosen as his own a predilection that transcends every human motivation. The prophet Hosea expresses this divine passion with daring images such as the love of a man for an adulterous woman (cf. 3: 1-3). For his part, Ezekiel, speaking of God's relationship with the people of Israel, is not afraid to use strong and passionate language (cf. 16: 1-22). These biblical texts indicate that eros is part of God's very Heart: the Almighty awaits the "yes" of his creatures as a young bridegroom that of his bride. Unfortunately, from its very origins, mankind, seduced by the lies of the Evil One, rejected God's love in the illusion of a self-sufficiency that is impossible (cf. Gn 3: 1-7). Turning in on himself, Adam withdrew from that source of life who is God himself, and became the first of "those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage" (Heb 2: 15). God, however, did not give up. On the contrary, man's "no" was the decisive impulse that moved him to manifest his love in all of its redeeming strength.

The Cross reveals the fullness of God's love

It is in the mystery of the Cross that the overwhelming power of the Heavenly Father's mercy is revealed in all of its fullness. In order to win back the love of his creature, he accepted to pay a very high price: the Blood of his Only Begotten Son. Death, which for the first Adam was an extreme sign of loneliness and powerlessness, was thus transformed in the supreme act of love and freedom of the new Adam. One could very well assert, therefore, together with St Maximus the Confessor, that Christ "died, if one could say so, divinely, because he died freely" (Ambigua, 91, 1956). On the Cross, God's eros for us is made manifest. Eros is indeed, as Pseudo-Dionysius expresses it, that force which "does not allow the lover to remain in himself but moves him to become one with the beloved" (De Divinis Nominibus, IV, 13: PG 3, 712). Is there more "mad eros" (N. Cabasilas, Vita in Cristo, 648) than that which led the Son of God to make himself one with us even to the point of suffering as his own the consequences of our offences?

"Him whom they have pierced"

Dear brothers and sisters, let us look at Christ pierced on the Cross! He is the unsurpassing revelation of God's love, a love in which eros and agape, far from being opposed, enlighten each other. On the Cross, it is God himself who begs the love of his creature: He is thirsty for the love of every one of us. The Apostle Thomas recognized Jesus as "Lord and God" when he put his hand into the wound of his side. Not surprisingly, many of the saints found in the Heart of Jesus the deepest expression of this mystery of love. One could rightly say that the revelation of God's eros toward man is, in reality, the supreme expression of his agape. In all truth, only the love that unites the free gift of oneself with the impassioned desire for reciprocity instils a joy which eases the heaviest of burdens. Jesus said: "When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself" (Jn 12: 32). The response the Lord ardently desires of us is above all that we welcome his love and allow ourselves to be drawn to him. Accepting his love, however, is not enough. We need to respond to such love and devote ourselves to communicating it to others. Christ "draws me to himself" in order to unite himself to me, so that I learn to love the brothers with his own love.

Blood and water

"They shall look on him whom they have pierced". Let us look with trust at the pierced side of Jesus from which flow "blood and water" (Jn 19: 34)! The Fathers of the Church considered these elements as symbols of the Sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist. Through the water of Baptism, thanks to the action of the Holy Spirit, we are given access to the intimacy of Trinitarian love. In the Lenten journey, memorial of our Baptism, we are exhorted to come out of ourselves in order to open ourselves in trustful abandonment to the merciful embrace of the Father (cf. St John Chrysostom, Catecheses, 3, 14ff.). Blood, symbol of the love of the Good Shepherd, flows into us especially in the Eucharistic mystery: "The Eucharist draws us into Jesus' act of self-oblation... we enter into the very dynamic of his self-giving" (Encyclical Deus caritas est, n. 13). Let us live Lent, then, as a "Eucharistic" time in which, welcoming the love of Jesus, we learn to spread it around us with every word and deed. Contemplating "him whom they have pierced" moves us in this way to open our hearts to others, recognizing the wounds inflicted upon the dignity of the human person; it moves us in particular to fight every form of contempt for life and human exploitation and to alleviate the tragedies of loneliness and abandonment of so many people. May Lent be for every Christian a renewed experience of God's love given to us in Christ, a love that each day we, in turn, must "re-give" to our neighbour, especially to the one who suffers most and is in need. Only in this way will we be able to participate fully in the joy of Easter. May Mary, Mother of Beautiful Love, guide us in this Lenten journey, a journey of authentic conversion to the love of Christ. I wish you, dear brothers and sisters, a fruitful Lenten journey, imparting with affection to all of you a special Apostolic Blessing.

Telus Cancels the Smut...

... after receiving hundreds of complaints and facing the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars in cancelled accounts.

Who said Canadians couldn't get down to business?

Lent

Tersely stated, Lent is about sin. It is a 40 day period in which we as Christians examine our lives and attempt through fasting, alms giving and prayer to separate ourselves from the clutches of sin. We become purified and prepared for the Death and the Resurrection. Christ did it, and 2,000 years later, we do it.

And for 2,000 years Christians have done it, and did it better than we in the West (I'm excluding the Latin South) do it now. Today, we have almost a full litany of excuses not to be serious during Lent, discomfort being the one I hear most oft cited by my friends and family (and by myself). But that's the point, to experience discomfort. Consider a litmus test for what you should be giving up and doing during Lent.

Lent reminds us that Christ is near us always. Lent gives us the opportunity to really say 'I am a serious Christian' through the discomforts and sacrifices. Remember that the next time you're thinking that the mandatory Ash Wednesday fast seems just a little too 'difficile'.

Anglican Resolution...

... either fall into line, or fall out.

The results are in. The race is over. The 'progressive' Episcopalians have won. Archbishop Rowan Williams has stated that the Communion has decided to allow the offending bishops/priests of the Episcopal Church in the US to accept the terms of the Windsor Report, or to face the consequences.

Deja vu? I recall a similar statement being made after Gene Robinson, an openly active homosexual, was ordained to the epicopate in 2003. Back then Williams, via the Windsor Report, demanded that the ECUSA make immediate amends. Nothing happened. Well actually a lot happened, and none of it what the rest of the Communion wanted. Now there are two problem bishops: The aforementioned Robinson and Kathy 'Percentagewise' Schori.

Williams at least had the character to admit that many within the Communion are disappointed by yet another excusance being offered to the ECUSA. I would say that Williams will be the last Archbishop of Canterbury to 'preside' over a united Anglican Communion. When 6 months passes and the ECUSA hasn't done a thing, then I expect disintegration to begin in full effect. It of course didn't have to end this way, but then again, neither did Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine.

Afghanistan Isn't What They Think It Is

It's a strange thing: War protesters in Canada are now calling Afghanistan 'Harper's War'. I must really be out of touch. Last I remember, Afghanistan is a UN sanctioned, NATO operation that was initiated during the Chretien/Martin government of 2001. Unless Harper was dressed in a fat-body suit or posing as a creepy francosomething, he wasn't involved. Maybe 'Chretien's War' or 'Martin's War' just doesn't have the same pananche.

Attempting to cast the Canadian operation in Afghanistan as 'Harper's War', protesters are doing themselves a disservice. Slighting Harper over a war he inherited is dishonest and reflects poorly on the integrity of the anti-war movement. It would be understandable if the war was going poorly, and if it was clear that the Taliban was battering our troops at every turn. But that just isn't the case. 45 casualties in 5, nearly 6, years is a very good rate in any conflict.

Thus when I drive by the protesters, I am immediately alienated. I simply cannot knowingly enter into a life of ignorance simply because it happens to be particularly popular and fashionable these days. That's not to say that I'm somehow above making a similar mistake; it just means I'm trying not to.

The Anglican Divide

The blogosphere is rife with excitement over the Anglican convention in Tanzania. And for good reason. This meeting promises to be a make or break moment for the entire Communion. Conservatives v. Liberals, Modernists v. Evangelicals, just two of the many factions butting heads in Dar-es-Salaam.

The question facing the Anglicans is this: How can the Communion exist with such stark division between provinces and parishes? Many 'conservative' bishops have already made known their intention to break away if the 'liberal' bishops are not reprimanded and brought back into line for their clear flouting of Scripture and Anglican tradition. Liberal bishops, I'm sure, are not altogther fazed by this. Less 'conservatives' means less headaches and more fun.

As a Catholic, I'm really not surprised it has come to this. Anglicanism itself began on a repudiation of Christian tradition. Now it is simply a case of owning up to that repudiation and the hundreds that followed in the 500 years since.

Anglicans to Cut Their Losses....

... and bring their problems to us. Here comes everybody.

An exciting proposal/report/announcement has been leaked to the press by someone (or something) at the Anglican Communion meeting in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. The document, prepared by several Anglican and Catholics bishops, calls for a full reconciliation between the Communion and the Church.

Pardon, me?

I was under the impression that Anglican-Catholic relations were increasingly strained because of recent decisions made by several Anglican bishops. I'm sure you're aware of them too. Personally, I think this development, and the timing of the release, comes down to the work of one person.

edit: It turns out the Times correspondent who first reported the story was a little off in his analysis. The report simply details the progress of the Anglican-Roman Catholic discussions and, rather than calling for unification, urges Anglicans to think more about the ministry of the Papal Office, and for Catholics to pray for them. Well, pretty much anyway.

Telus, Remove the Porn

Telus now sells pornography through their cell phones.

Please contact Telus and make a complaint. You can do it here.

With pornography addiction becoming something of an epidemic (just ask your local police department about the geometric increase in sex crimes as pornography has become more and more mainstream), it is rather troubling that Telus would risk the 'PR' simply to make a few hundred thousand dollars more.

If Telus is just thinking about the money, then we should take ours away.

"Cancel your cell, switch to Rogers/Fido or Bell"

Catholics Taking Over Britain...

A report issued yesterday announces that the Catholic Church is set to become the largest active religious group in England and Wales. Bolstered by massive immigration from poorer Eastern European countries and former colonies, the Catholic population is expected to swell in the coming year.

Not since the Reformation, or as I call it, Hank's Infertility, have Catholics been the largest religious group in England. Maybe this will get all my non-practicing Catholic cousins over there back into pews. Safery in numbers and all that.

Vagina Monologues Banned...

... from Notre Dame and St. Louis University. At both schools, the play failed to receive the facultying sponsoring all theatrical events, even those of dubious quality, require in order to perfrom on campus.

What I can't understand is why something like the V-Monlogs were permitted at those schools anyway. Does anyone really think that a 2-hour expose of sexual abuse, depravity, and gender-based hatred really benefitted anyone?

The February PC Alert...

... is today. I'm introducing a monthly post which will, if I remember, list a few of the more interesting, alarming and ridiculous public manifestations of political correctness.

Without further ado:

- Tim Hardaway, an ex-NBA star, is banned from this year's all star game for his 'homophobic' reaction to the 'coming out' of ex-NBA flop, John Amaechi. Not that I don't think Hardaway's a moron for 'hating' anyone, but heck, what can you say these days?

- PM Harper buckles on global warmi... I mean, climate change and 'commits' to 'working with' Kyoto. No one really knows what he means, but I'm guessing he means to say that he'll do something, which is to say he'll do nothing.

- Algoreincorporated announces he's throwing a series of global warmi... I mean climate change concerts. Styled after the 'Live Aid' and 'Live 8' concerts organized by Bob Geldof, Algore says he'll raise money, awareness, and be tyte wit da youfs too.

Add yours if anyone's out there!

Anglican Discommunion

As I write, Anglican delegates from around the world are meeting in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, to discuss what to do with those pesky Episcopalians.

Or at least that's how the story has been explained to me. I think the real issue is whether or not the Anglican Experiment really has any gas left in its tank. It first pretended to be Catholic, then half-Catholic/half-Protestant, and now, it appears, a third-Catholic/a third Protestant/a third New Age. Cardinal Newman saw this and many other crises developing over a hundred years ago; today, throngs of Anglican priests and parishoners are flocking into the Catholic Church, the situation having become so grim.

A Solution to the Nun Shortage...

In the past 40 years, according to some reports, the number of women in religious orders has dropped by about 60%. Schools have closed, hospitals have become nationalized, cloisteries were uncloistered. Every week we hear about yet another nun-less parish, another monastery-sans-monastics.

Thankfully for the unEnlightened Church, I have the answer: Married and male nuns.

Thomas Yadegary, A Catholic Held Withouth Charge

The facts:

- In 1994, Thomas Yadegary moved to New Zealand from Iran.

- While living in New Zealand, Yadegary converted to Catholicism from Islam.

- In 2004, Yadegary was arrested as an illegal immigrant and had his refugee status application denied.

- Yadegary applied for refugee status because in Iran, it is illegal convert to Christianity. If he returns to Iran, he faces the death penalty.

Since 2004, Yadegary has been held in custody without formal charge or trial. He refuses to sign an Iranian passport application which New Zealand requires to extradite him to Iran. He is not a flight risk or security risk.

(h/t to Bettnet & No Right Turn)

Andre Druin, A Quebecker for All Seasons...

... unless you happen to be Jean Charest.

In a televised exchange, Druin, who a city councillor in Horouxville, asked what Charest was doing to protect Quebec culture and to review how Quebec accomodates non-Christian practices. Charest, a politician not known for his wits, simply replied by saying that the immigrant debate had 'gone too far'. Which is to say, 'I don't really know how to answer your question.'.

It's easy to feel bad for Charest. Usually the Quebec culture debate is framed by the usual francophone v. anglophone designations, or Quebec v. the Rest of Canada. Considering that, it's not hard to understand why Charest wants to quell the debate rather than engage it - he's out of his element. It could be that Charest and other politicians simply didn't realise Canadians felt this way about the spread radical Islam and the watering down of Western culture.

So let's give him a brief head's up.

Canadians do not like:

- Stoning women to death
- Splitting up pregnancy classes between the sexes
- Banning women from swimming with men
- Female genital mutilation
- Mysoginy
- Honour killing
- Societal Regression
- Religious based violence

Muslims Have Their Way...

... and the residents of Horouxville back down, sorta.

For a group of people to be outraged that a town charter prohibits the stoning of women and female circumcision, is strange enough. For the government and media to chose to promote this outrage rather than the outrage many Westerners feel toward radicial Islam, is downright scary.

Anti-Catholic Blogger Resigns...

... but not before getting a few parting shots off at Catholic League president, Bill Donohue.

Dononhue, according to Marcotte, isn't a Christian. In fact anyone who pounced on Marcotte's idiotic diatribes against Catholics isn't a Christian either. In fact anyone who disagrees with Marcotte's attacks on Catholics isn't a real Christian.

Once again we find another non-Christian expert on Christianity. Thank goodness we have them - there would be so little laughter in the world if we didn't.

Muslim Women Visit Horouxville...

... and admit that they have no sense of irony.

Why don't these women protest the babaric living conditions for most female Muslims in the Islamic World? Why have they spent the time and energy to protest what amounts to a declaration that a small group of Quebeckers actually cares about their pyschological and physical well being?

I can tell you why. Because Quebec is in the West, and with our advanced doctrines of human rights and critical inquiry, we don't suppress women or discussion simply because they're women or the discussion makes us uncomfortable. In the Islamic world, these women wouldn't even have the chance to be upset. If they made their complaints public, they would have been (a) stoned to death or (b) beaten to death or (c) stoned, beaten, and raped to death.

Holy Cross Fiasco...

... has forced my parish to cancel its fundraising campaign for a rectory. Why? Because with half of Holy Cross parish busy complaing about anyone with an ounce of common Catholic sense to the media, our pastor didn't think it the best time for gathering donations.

And who can blame him? Thanks to Fr. Mike, a man whom I now truly pity, anything and everything Catholics do in Victoria will be analysed, disected, and lampooned by the media.

Now imagine if these disenfranchised, disaffected, and disillusioned parishoners had spent as much time in prayer and charity as they have taking to the press and feeling grumpy: Do you really think Holy Cross would be in the mess it's in?

Incoming Splitting.

Income splitting, the fine idea that couples could divide their incomes in half and be taxed less, apparently didn't make it through the Commons.

That's a serious blow to all hardworking middle class Canadians who have been overtaxed for the past 40 years.

Hopefully MPs are listening to the blogging world: Give us income splitting, or give up your seat.

The Dixie Chicks....

... just don't get it. To quote one of their five acceptance speeches: 'With these awards people are using their freedom of speech'. That is I think supposed to be a jab at George W. Bush, who they criticized 4 years ago because of the Iraq War. Ironically, if the judges were simply 'using their freedom of speech' when they awarded the Chicks, then those awards were given more to make a political statement rather than for actual musical merit.

What's that? Award shows are always gaudy exercises of lefty self-gratification? Pardon?

Here be Weirdos

Reading UVIC's student paper, the Martlet, is always fun. Especially fun if you're like me, a person who likes to read writing as poor as his own.

But this week's edition carried a special treat: A flagship column 'detailing' the Holy Cross parish scandal.

Scandals bring out the best in Catholics. You can be assured, o ye of other faiths, that whenever a scandal breaks in the Church, it only brings out the best in people. Consider, for example, the following statements:

'It was actually illogical and disrespectful way to be here tonight. He sat there and said he couldn't answer any of our questions? So my question is, why did he come here?' Holy Cross parishoner and ex-UVIC Catholic chaplain Kate Fagan Taylor, in response to the Bishops inability to answer some questions because of confidentiality.

'[The timeline] is the truth as we know it has Fr. Mike has told us.' UVIC Student, Stefan Jonsson, in response to the Bishop's challenge that parishoners did not know all the facts and therefore should not be creating speculative 'timelines of events'.

'Both John Oetter and Fr. Mike were lovely people. The students are sad that they are no longer a part of the parish.' Claire Allen, UVIC Student.

And the best for last:

'This parish knows there's a God because can see his divine goodness shining through Fr. Michael.' John Lucas, a very sentimental man.

'Fr. Mike is just the most - and I've thought about this- I think he's the holiest man I've ever met.' Stefan Jonsson, again.

'They were almost unanimous in their support for Fr. Mike and John.' Jean Forest, Holy Cross parishoner, speaking of his fellow parishoners.

Now consider the facts of the case as reported by the mainstream media. Fr. Mike Favero approached Bishop Gagnon last Spring to resign from Holy Cross, but the Bishop persuaded him to stay on. Sometime around Christmas, a group of parishoners made what appears to be one of several complaints about Fr. Mike and the parish secretary, John Oetter. At the end of December, John Oetter accepted a severance package and resigned from his position at Holy Cross. A week or so after Oetter's resignation, Fr. Mike abruptly leaves without explanation. It is later revealed that he decided tender his resignation after all. After this, all heck breaks lose as several parishoners go immediately to the press with the 'bad Church hates gays' story.

If I were an alien reading this story, I would be amazed that a seemingly large number of people chose to give the man who fled his position and the man who flagrantly lived against Catholic Church teachings the benefit of the doubt. I'm sure they were 'wonderful people'. So wonderful in fact, they singlehandly dragged an entire diocese into division and scandal by their actions.

Thus Spake Poodle

I post anonymously because I blog for fun. Recreational stuff, no more. I do not intend to change minds, win hearts or make or break ideologies. Credibility, thus, is something that just isn't really that important to me right now. Besides, my real name is so generic, that I feel that whatever little charm this blog has would be completely lost if I were drop my pseudonym.

*Boarish Opinion Alert: By the way, from the personal testimonies of several Holy Cross parishoners, it seems that Fr. Mike had made himself a little North Saanich personality cult. That alone justifies his removal.*

What do you give a climatologist for their birthday?

Anything but:

- A collection of Farmer's Almanacs, circa 1770 - 1960
- Ice Shelf records, circa 1904-2006
- Books mentioning the words 'cycle', 'intergalacial', or the phrases 'oil found in the Arctic', 'Viking settlements found under ice in Greenland'
- A fuel efficient car
- A hockey stick
- A podcast of The Unabridged History of the IPCC

Happy Winter, Upstate New York!

Portugal Says No to Expansion of Abortion ...

... by simply staying at home.

Portuguese voter turnout failed to reach the minimum amount necessary to count the vote as valid. Only 30-40% of eligible voters made their way to the polls; over 66% turnout is necessary. Of those who voted, 40% said no the the expansion, and 60% said yes. This is the second time in nine years that an effort to expand the abortion license has failed because of an inadequate number of votes.

Portugal is reported as being over 90% Catholic, and its also the country which was told by an apparition of the Virgin Mary that the faith therewould always remain intact. Nevertheless, prayers are needed for the Portuguese Church. The Western Media Complex, headed by Reuters in this case, has already decided that Portugal's autonomy, the nations ability to formulate its own social laws, is compromised by the influence of the Catholic Church. In the Reuters article on the vote, pro-choice sources are cited liberally, and pro-life sources sparingly.
As the quote which ends the article reads: "What's at stake is women's ability to decide. The current law does not fit with Europe."

That the unborn cannot 'decide', once again, fails to be mentioned.

American Alone, Book Review in Brief

On Friday I picked up a copy of Mark Steyn's America Alone. By Sunday afternoon, I finished it. Being a fan of Steyn's rightish bigotry, I had planned to purchase it months ago when it was first published. But the title threw me off.

America Alone? No thanks. I'm an inclusively minded Canadian, ergo, I don't like to feel excluded.

But after several months of flirting with, for lack of a better term (this is a blog by the way), Leftish explanations/solutions for our societal ills, I came face to face with the blatant paucity of their arguments. So I went back to Steyn.

American Alone is most easily categorized under social commentary. Steyn sees a very specific problem in the West, and America Alone is his comment. There is, first and foremost, a problem of demographics in the West. This is nothing new of course; most of us are at some level becoming increasingly aware of the problem of maintaining our current way of life without having any children. Steyn, and it comes quite naturally to him, sees a greater peril than the bankruptcy of the social welfare state. There are groups within the West who, while refusing to assimilate into the larger culture, have taken a stance in outright opposition to it. And to top it off, it is these groups who are having the kids, which means that in 20 years time, it'll be these groups calling the shots.

Where Steyn undoubtedly loses the more 'progressively' minded reader is when he names the groups. Actually, its just one group: Radical Muslims. Or Islamofascists. Or Jihadists. The terms are relatively interchangeable. For a reader who has forsaken common sense for political correctedness, Steyn's naming of the enemy is simply too much. Another example of the rightwingfringementallyunstablebigotedislamophobicbreeder political forces which are destroying their beloved society.

For everyone else, Steyn's assessment is disturbingly accurate. There is nary a Western country that has not been on the receiving end of Jihadist terrorism in some form since 2001. What is most worrisome, Steyn points out, is that these terrorist acts have been committed by 'Westerners', or at least people who were born, (or) educated in the West. It was young men who were born in Toronto, attended Toronto schools who planned to behead the prime minister. It was affluent British born Muslims who, prior to painting the Tube red with their, and anyone else who by chance was near them, splattered entrails. Whirling dervishes they ain't. Our neighbours they are.

Thus we have quite the problem. With our demographic collapse, our enemy (the Jihadist) just happens to be part of the fast growing demographic and religion in the West. To make matters even worse, our governments, who all seem to be auditioning for the Millenium Appeasement Awards, spend more time telling us that 'Islam is a religion of peace' rather than making sure 'Western' Muslims actually live that mantra.

Along the way, Steyn gives us his solution: Have babies, Be Christian, and Reform Islam. And it is America alone, who is up for the task.

Please excuse all spelling and grammatical errors...

...since my wife hasn't taken up her designated role as blog editor just yet.

Hopefully I'll have her set up soon.

Anti-Catholic Bloggers

What does it take to be an Anti-Catholic? I would think that you would have to exhibit strong, baseless prejudices against Catholics/Catholicism, and show no inclination for moderation. It has to be more than 'I disagree with their beliefs'.

As it happens, the 'head bloggers' for John Edwards (he was the guy who ran with John Kerry. No, I didn't remember him either) are two token leftist anti-Catholics. What makes them anti-Catholics? Well for starters, both have recently published foulmouthed tirades against the Pope and Catholics in general on their respective blogs and refused to apologize for them.

Amid strong protests from the Catholic League and other American groups interested in respect for religions, John Edwards has done the noble thing and fired the pair.

No, wait, he didn't.

Instead, Edwards said he was 'personally offended', but refused to fire either of them.

A blogger for a chance to be president? Or maybe Edwards knows he doesn't have a Jew's chance in Iran to win party nomination and decided, in the words of his bloggers, to f*ck it?

Mass Attendance in Italy Abysmal....

... but not as bad as in Canada.

A new survey shows that around 22% of Catholics in Italy attend weekly Mass. I think the number in Canada is similar, if not slighty lower.

The study revealed some interesting points:

- 1/3 people who went to college/university attended Mass every week, and yet only 1/10 people in Italy have any post-secondary education. This means regular Mass attendees are, generally speaking, more educated than those who do not atttend Mass on a regular basis.

- The attendance rates are higher for people between the ages of 25-40. Generation of 1968 anyone?

- Priests were asked to guess the percentage themselves. Almost all of them chose figures extremely close to what was actually found in the survey.

On a related note, an article I just read discusses that the decline in vocations and Mass attendance always occurs parallel to an overal decline in the practice of the Sacrament of Confession. Gee, I wonder why?

Legalized Prostitution?

Driving home I listened to Liberal MP Keith Martin promote the idea of legalized prostitution. I don't know the subject very well, but I do know that prostitution is considered a 'forgettable' crime by many in the police forces across Canada. And I would say that most Canadians 'forget' prostitution too.

Until 50 or so prostitutes are brutally murdered.

With Pickton's ugly mug pasted over every daily newspaper, prostitution is suddenly back on everyone's minds. Legalized prostitution, it is often argued in the media, would provide the women (little if anything is ever mentioned of gay male prostitutes) with access to 'safer' sex and legal protection. MP Keith Martin, after telling his radio audience that he doesn't moralize, then told us that 'prostitution has always been with us, and that it's time we accepted that'.

Now whatever ivory tower dwellers like Martin may say, legalized prostitution is a zero sum victory, that is, it brings absolutely no positive ends other than the satisfaction for those who wanted it in place. As studies in the Netherlands and Germany have shown, legalized prostitution has little effect on reducing prostitution, which should be the goal of any new legislation. Even more so, legalized prostitution nevertheless posits us with the same problems as illegal prostitution. Women are still 'indentured', pyschologically, emotionaly and physically abused, and often left with nothing once their bodies are regarded as being no longer useful. In Germany, one of the richest countries in the world, young unemployed women are fearful of heading to employment offices because 'sex worker' is given parity with other professions under the law, meaning that they have to consider entering the sex industry in order to qualify for unemployment insurance.

Thus we'll still be faced by the same problems if prostitution is legalized, but for one difference. Legal prostitution is taxable, illegal prostitution is not.

The truth laid bare for all to see.

More Fun Climate Change Facts....

...as reported by your friendly transnational IPCC.

- Tempature is now predicted to increase 3 degrees in the next century, rather than 3.5 degrees as was originally claimed in the previous IPCC report

- Sea levels may rise up to 17 inches, down from 'at least between 20 and 30' from the previous report

- N/A to the infamous hockey stick graph, published as fact in the first IPCC, and then used to club 'cc' deniers into submission, until that is everyone realised it was a bunch of phooey

- Humans actions are probably, maybe, perhaps, quite possibly, approximately, not exactly but pretty close, 90% sure, responsible for climate change

- 100% chance of us never knowing why the full report is not being published until after Winter.

-------------

I should point out that I'm not attacking the idea of studying the global warming trend/issue/crisis (select one), but how awfully ugly and politicized it has become.

-------------

- Zero (0) explanations for past global coolings, warmings, and the GIC.

- 9 'forcings', that is, things that are causing the temperature to rise, as identified in the report. 6 of these 'forcings' are only 'medium to poorly' researched and understood. People are going to be quite upset if global warming does not produce the terrible effects we've been promised to experience in the next few years, especially since 'cc' has utterly demolished the issues of biodiversity, mass deforestation and marine polluting.

Global Warming for Christians

Somewhere in Genesis, God tells Adam and Eve that they would be stewards of the earth. In some circles, it is common to conclude that generally speaking, Christians have forgotten this rule (I think a more compelling argument would be that most humans have forgotten this rule). My climate studying friend reminds me of the Christian duty to the Earth, which is of course to make sure we don't ruin it. She even tells me that a retired member of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) has devoted himself to admonishing Christendom in hope of raising awareness of our collective Christian ecological footprint.

All this is in response to my posting that the Canadian government has spent 6 billion dollars on global warming research in the past decade. Canadians, we're told, are amongst the worst polluters as far as greenhouse gas emissions go. And while the government was spending on 'cc' research, Canadians were polluting more and more. Infamously, the former Liberal government spent hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars during this period; not on research, but on propaganda aimed at convincing Canadians that they were in fact doing something.

So anyway, do I think it was wrong of the government to spend so much money on such a contestable and poorly understood issue as Climate Change? I don't think it was. I am happy to live in a country that is willing to spend billions of dollars on an essentially conservative issue. What I do have trouble with, is that by spending so much money, the Canadian government has in effect created a niche-economy-market-whathaveyou. There is no so much money (and so many professional reputations) tied up with debating climate change, that the basic honest principles of inquiry are being trampled in the name of the dollar. Plus, with the media playing such a massive role in promoting the profiles of 'cc' politicians (Gore) and scientists (Prior), we have in effect a terrifc leviathan which is placing severe limitations on boundaries and depth of the global warming conversation.

And as a post-script, I've long believed that a society which rejects social conservatism will reject environmental conservatism as well.

How Many Climatogolists...

... does it take to cool the planet?

Amoung other interesting facts coming to light in the wake of the 'definitive' IPCC released last week: Canada has spent over 6 billion taxpayer dollars on climate change research since 1997.

One Step Forward; One Step Backward

Our Diocese is finally clear of the Lacey Land dispute.

But some parishoners are angry that our Bishop removing a delinquent priest.

Never a dull moment in the Catholic Church!

Global Warming....

As analyzed by the infamous Mark Steyn:

"Alas, the science isn't so solid. In the '70s, it was predicting a new ice age. Then it switched to global warming. Now it prefers "climate change." If it's hot, that's a sign of "climate change." If it's cold, that's a sign of "climate change." If it's 53 with sunny periods and light showers, you need to grab an overnight bag and get outta there right now because "climate change" is accelerating out of control.

The silliest argument is the anecdotal one: "You only have to look outside your window to see that climate change is happening." Outside my window in northern New England last week, it was minus 20 Fahrenheit. Very cold. Must be the old climate change kicking in, right? After all, December was very mild. Which was itself a sign of climate change. A few years ago, the little old lady who served as my town's historian for many decades combed over the farmers' diaries from two centuries ago that various neighbors had donated to her: From the daily records of 15 Januarys, she concluded that three were what we'd now regard as classic New Hampshire winters, ideal for lumbering or winter sports; eight had January thaws, and four had no snow at all. This was in the pre-industrial 18th century."

The rest is here.

Websites Worth Visiting

An update to the side bar has been made.

Soconblogs.com is a listing of socially conservative blogs worth visiting. I think everyone's Canadian too.

The People's Cube is one of the best and most creative websites I've ever found.

Mark Steyn is an author/commentator/arts critic of some infamy. Always interesting, and he's Canadian.

Island Catholic News and Impartiality

Just this morning I stumbled across a free 'c'atholic newspaper while dropping off some mail. It was the Island Catholic News, a living relic of 20th Century Canadian Catholicism. In all honesty, I cannot say that I approached the newspaper with an impartial lense. I had heard stories of it being one of the few remaning 'Catholic newspapers' that had a parish circulation of zero, similar in a way to the group Catholics for a Free Choice, which also suffers from a subscription deficit in its own way.

Some gems from this issue:

'George Weigel Reviled by Progressive Catholics for Pro-war Imperialist Writings' - The sub-title to the linked article.

'The deeper question is the rise of right wing politics and theology in the Catholic church here in Victoria and worldwide, since the election of Pope Benedict XVI.' - Ah, yes, the seizure of the Church by Ratzinger and his army of neo-cons. I hadn't seen that one in print for a while.

'The very choice of Edith Stein as the patron of the group is polemical. A Jewish convert to Catholicism is hardly a sensitive choice in an era of interfaith possibilities. ' - An Era of Interfaith Possibilities... You can't make this stuff up.

'He [George Weigel] is also not an entirely honest intellectual.' - Oh my! Proof?

'John Paul II may have manifested various sorts of inconsistencies and contradictions in his era as pope but he was consistently if not radically strong in his critique of what George Weigel is more than fond of pushing: War making and American capitalist imperialism.' - Oddly enough, Weigel and JP2 were good friends. Methinks this author hasn't left the island in quite some time.

'Have they been taken advantage of or are they fellow travelers of this Opus Dei style of spirituality?' - I'm not sure what's worse: The sentence or the Dan Brown influence.

'His current program is to ride the coattails of the present pope who is probably more to his liking politically, although Benedict too opposes the American policy in the Middle East. It will be interesting to see how Weigel manipulates all that to his own perspective.' - Yes... because his ulitimate plan is to rule the world.

'As I ponder the barbarity, criminality and foolishness of the execution of Saddam Hussein, I wonder why the notorious American Catholic neo-con dissenter George Weigel was invited by a group headed by the Rector of St. Andrew’s Cathedral to speak in September. ' - ICN reader number 2 of 7 Greg Hartnell 'weighs' in. Apparently Weigel is 'notorious' and Hussein is not?

Watch this space for more in the future.

Priest Disappears; Diocese Confused

Last week, I heard about controversy brewing in a little parish of the Vancouver Island Diocese. Apparently there was some division over the dismissal of a parish employee, and the parish priest had up and left. The diocese was unable to comment, but for a private letter read to the parish after Sunday Mass.

According to the Globe & Mail (who do us the favour of quoting Peter Jamieson, of the unread and undistributed 'Island Catholic News') the parish employee in question had offended the sensibilities of 'conservative' members of the parish, who in turn petitioned the bishop to remove the employee. Seemingly in protest, the parish priest up and left this past Friday.

It's hard to comment based on the rather one-sided account presented in the article, but I can say from what I have learned about the way the priest ran this parish, his departure can bring nothing but good.

Vancouver Island Diocese Finally Gets a Break

Thanks, God. Prayers answered in a serious way. It looks like the ordeal might finally be over. This means the diocese does not have to worry about selling off any more land or closing any churches. Hopefully Mr. Finley accepts the court's ruling and gets on with his life.

Carolyn Heiman, Times ColonistPublished: Thursday, February 01, 2007
The Catholic Diocese of Victoria got some good news yesterday when it
learned an $8.5-million judgment made against it in 2005 has been
overturned. The decision of the Washington State Court of Appeals
possibly signals the near end of a two-decade-long saga that cost the
diocese millions, forced the church to sell off property and borrow money
from parishioners. The events happened after an investment involving an
Arabian horse venture and a land project in Washington soured.

In a unanimous decision, the Washington court reversed a
judgment made against the diocese in June 2005 after Seattle lawyer Joseph
Finley, who brought the diocese into the horse and land deal, sued for breach of
contract. According to a news release issued by the diocese, the higher
Washington court ruled that the diocese did not violate any duty to Finley,
and does not owe him any money, and that the case should have been dismissed
and never should have been presented to a jury.
Bishop Richard Gagnon was unavailable for comment. In a news release, he said: "This issue has diverted our attention for too long. I am hopeful that we, in the Catholic community on the Vancouver Island, can soon put this unfortunate incident behind us."

The court case was triggered when the diocese stopped
interest payments on the property in Lacey, Wash., and the land went into
receivership. At one point the diocese was paying $200,000 monthly interest
on the debt. To eliminate the debt, the diocese launched a fundraising
campaign, issuing bonds at six per cent interest. Last fall, it paid off the
debentures. The diocese also sold off several properties on Vancouver
Island, raising $8 million. Finley could seek a review of the decision by
the Washington State Supreme Court. He could not be reached last night for
comment. It's not known how much the litigation has cost the diocese or
how much it remains in debt. Lawyer Paul Bundon, representing the diocese,
said he expects the bishop will give a full accounting to parishioners.
"Obviously the judgment has very much improved their financial
situation."
© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2007

Welcome to Horouxville

Is Horouxville xenophobic and/or un-Christian?

Most people seem to have decided that yes, those dam Quebeckers are as backwards as can possibly be. Comparisons have been drawn, almost immediately too, to the KKK, the Know-Nothings, and all the other sad examples of race/culture based prejudice. Jean Charest, the premier of Quebec, publically denounced the town and defended the rights of immigrants to express themselves.

The 'edict' or whatever is silly. It is heavy handed and it is offensive. But it is wrong? Canadians seem to forget that integration and inculturation are the most beneficial things most immigrants can hope to achieve. By this I mean following and respecting the norms of the society you find yourself living in. Japanese Canadians, for example, are the most successful non-white ethnic group as whole in Canada, far ahead of Indian, aboriginal, black, and other Asian groups. Why? Because after the Japanese ghettos were broken up post-WW2, Japanese people had to integrate into the larger, non-Japanese society.

Rather than condemn the residents of Horouxville, Canadians should really take this moment to stop and ponder what multi-culturalism really entails.

Kim/Tim, Your Life is Gonna Suck

Is Germany simply prone to artocities? A 12 year old boy, named Kim/Tim no less, according to the news reports, was so deeply convinced that he should be a female human that his 'doctor' had a duty to make sure he never became a man, even though he was/is biologically designed that way. The 'doctor' claims the boy is, and I quote directly, 'trapped in the wrong body'. Trapped in the wrong body.

Perhaps the most frightening part of the report is that doctors diagnosed the boy as a 'transsexual' 2 years ago, or better yet, when he was only 10. 10! Dare I suggest to this boy that he may have a massive future malpractice case on his hands if ever he recovers from the barbarous and inhumane 'treatment' being pushing upon him?

The entire situation reeks of something nastier than simply a confused boy (and ergo confused parents) making some unrealistically poor decisions. It's little more than a hypothesis, but from the surface, it looks as if a group of very zealous and very morally-detached researchers preyed upon this boy and his family. Guinea pig is hardly the term I would want to use, but what else can I say?

Prayers for this boy, his family, and the doctors.

Brian Higgins and The Great Homily Diss

Trouble in little Buffalo. Apparently a local Catholic representative was admonished during Mass by a deacon for having supported the new embryonic funding bill in the House of Congress. This bill provides millions more in funding for the exploitation of embryos, singularly those embryos which are sitting in some sort of stasis at many of America's fertility clinics. Embryonic stem cell research involves the destruction of the embryos, and as a result is against the teachings of the Catholic Church.

So anyway, during the homily, the deacon accused made a comment that parishoners upset with the latest anti-life developments in Washington could take it up with Brian Higgins, the local representative who happened to be present during the Mass. After this, Higgins took his family and left Mass, apparently shocked and disgusted by the deacon's behaviour. The pastor and bishop rushed soon after to apologize to Higgins, and to public announce their intention to remonstrate the deacon.

Until the facts of the event come out in more detail, I won't comment.

Catholics for a Free Choice & The Rest

Call to Action.

DignityUSA.

Catholics for a Free Choice.

The Anglican/Episcopalian Church.

Each of these claim to represent Catholicism, each in differing degrees. Call to Action claims to represent the disaffected, disillusioned, and disenfranchised Catholics turned away by the Church's refusal to amend Her ways. DignityUSA claims to support those with homosexual tendencies who cannot (a) live as a faithful Catholic and (b) leave the Church. Catholics for a Free Choice claims, like Call to Action, to lobby for a 'liberalization' of the Church's eternal teachings, and also claims to represent a large number of people. Finally, the Anglican/Episcopalian Church defines itself as Catholic, sometimes with a capital 'c' and sometimes with a lower case 'c' - clarity not being one of its most noticeable features.

Of all of these groups, the only truly honest one is, !quelle surprise!, the Anglican/Episcopalian Church. Sure, every Catholic is well aware of the history of the Anglican Church, and has a right to disagree with my opinion, but at least the Anglicans formally left Catholicism when its leaders couldn't find the energy to hold fast to the Catholic (notice the large 'c') Church. The other groups, thus, while claiming to belong to the Catholic Church, don't really in reality.

By separating oneself from the Church on certain dogmas (which strangely enough, always seem to have something to do with sex), one begins to enter into the realm of Protestantism. Protestants, you see, are the honest Catholics who once upon again for whatever the reason decided that life was better when you cooked up your own recipe for eternal salvation and realised that such a philosophy was incompatible with Catholicism, and left. Call to Action, DignityUSA and CFFC on the other hand, are sort of Protestants in transition. They believe Protestant things, but don't believe that they're Protestants.

The problem lay Catholics face when approaching people involved or snared by these groups is that there is, or at least there has been, little support from local Church hierarchy. As I'm sure many Catholics will agree, most bishops appear more concerned with stepping on people's toes and PR than working to improve the spiritual health of their diocese. But this is beside the point, for these groups are lay run and in some cases lay funded. It is the role of the laity to make sure these groups are not able to put any more people in jeopardy.

How can we do this? Discussion and prayer.

Photos of the Walk for Life March

Please visit here for eighty or so pictures of the march.

FYI: The Walk for Life is the largest march in Washington, each year, without exception. So why is it that its rarely covered by the national and major media outlets?

Suicide, End of Life, and Sacrifice

Once a week, my wife and I and a friend attend an adult catechetics class offered by my local parish. We're very blessed to have an emeritus professor of history run the course, which means all the lectures are informative and enlightening, and the concluding discussions fruitful. Anyway, last night we discussed the differences between suicide, refusing extraordinary treatments to prolong life, and acceptable sacrifice. And God being a providential God, I read the following this morning at The Cafeteria is Closed Blog:

ROME: The Vatican's rigid opposition to euthanasia has come under fire from within its own ranks after it denied a religious funeral to a paralysed man who had asked to be removed from a life-saving respirator.

The influential former archbishop of Milan, Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, said on Sunday that terminally ill patients should be given the right to refuse treatments and that the doctors who assist them should be protected by law.

Now the case in questions concerns a Italian man suffering from muscular dystrophy who was being kept alive by a respirator. The Church denied him a Catholic funeral, saying that he had frequently publicly expressed a desire to end his life, and thus clearly opposed Catholic doctrine. Since many people, and I'm assuming that also means most Italians, don't know the Church's stance on end of life questions, some clarification is in order. But let's organize the facts first:

(1) A man was suffering from a terminal illness.
(2) The man was being kept alive by a respirator.
(3) The man had frequently requested that his life be ended.
(4) Death was procured by the doctor removing the man from the respirator.

Catholic doctrine, according to the Catechism, clearly states that no person man make an act which results in definite death. Such an act not only endangers our soul, but it also endangers the soul of any person who participates in the death, such as the doctor in this case. The Catechism however also states that a person may refuse 'extraordinary' treatments which prolong death. Can a respirator be considered 'extraordinary' treatment?

The respirator question, I think, is something of a red herring. The key to this problem is, once again, intentionality. It is clear from the news reports and the reaction of the Church that the suffering man had made it clear that he sought to end his life. This is akin to suicide, and thus the Church made the correct, however unpopular, decision to not afford this man a Catholic funeral.

But Christians Aren't Persecuted!

... Some of my high school friends used to say when we'd discuss the problems and plights of the world. My mum had shocked at age 12 when she told me that more Christians had been persecuted and martyred in the 20th Century than in any other, combined! My fellow cradle-Catholic friends, 'educated' by the venerable the World Is Good So Let's All Have Fun philosophy which dominated, and probably still dominates the various Catholic education systems of the West, didn't like to think that it was Christians who were being sh*t on. Animists, Muslims, Buddhists, Taoists - those were the folks who really needed our help.

Well they can now considered themselves shocked. A recently leaked document from the Burmese government calls for the eradication of Christianity, ergo Christians too, from the country. The article I've linked states that this is part of a larger agenda of the Burmese government to make a 'pure' country, which doesn't sound at all unsimilar to those of us with good memories. The VainGlorious Fuhrer wanted to do the same thing, and did, in Germany 70 years ago. Prayers for all those living in Burma.

A Few More Thoughts on Obama

.... Who wins the award for most multicultural and politically correct president candidate.

Seriously, the more I read about Obama, the less and less I think he is suited for the top political position of the Western, Eastern, Northern and Southern World. Going back to what we know about him:

- He's a deep blue Democrat, though not as radical as the current party leaders
- He's from a Muslim background, but is a Christian Congregationalist
- He entered politics back in 1996, but has only had noticeable success since 2002

And that's it. Obama has less than 10 years experience working in the public office, never in a position of any authority, and he's expected to be the Democrat's best hope for retaking the presidency?

My final reaction is this: If Americans elect Obama, it will be because of some sort of reverse racism which is clouding their judgement. American are so eager to prove to the world that they are no longer racist, or better yet, that they as a nation are actually just as progressive as the media, academia and elite cliques wish they were, that they will elect a man with little experience or knowledge of global, or even domestic, politics to the presidency.

GW Bush was/is a bad president. Obama will be worse.

Little Dudko on the Prairie

h/t to Kian on the title of this post.

The last time the CBC spent so much money advertising a show, it had to do with Canadian things, like rubber pucks, gritty tape, thin ice and Swedish millionaires. But this is the latter half of the first decade of the new millenium, and being as cutting edge as CBC naturally is, we have Little Mosque on the Prairie instead. Korans, abrogated verses and polygamy are not Canadian things, however they are destined to grab people's attention until the Islam vs. Everybody war is finally settled.

For that reason alone, Little Mosque on the Prairie isn't a poor choice as a flagship show for an increasingly embattled and irrelevant TV-station. The CBC hasn't drawn serious audiences for any of its programs, other than Hockey Night in Canada, for many years. A solution had to be found, and fresh off the foiled homegrown-Islamist attack of the past summer, and the 249 or so reported Islamist attacks which occurred in December 2006, the 'clever' heads at CBC had the perfect environment to run Little Mosque.

Now a television show depicting the lives of Muslims in an overwhelmingly Christian nation would be fun, since Islam demands so much of its adherents that alienates them from their surrounding culture. Imagine the hilarity of a Muslim boy accidently eating goat or pig at a birthday party! Or the smiles to be had after Upajj, the 2nd wife, finds her husband, Muhamed Mohammad Muhamad, in perverse coitus with Faturash, the 8th wife!

According to cbcwatch, Little Mosque pulled in 2,100,000 viewers for its debut 2 Mondays ago, a good showing for a Canadian program. But then this past week, the CBC decided to rerun the debut show on Monday, rather than the next episode as promised. The rerun still gathered about 600,000, which is pretty good, considered that the much hyped The Hour with George Strombo didn't even top that for its net ratings of 2006.

But anyways, the problems with Little Mosque became readily apparent after the first five minutes. The Muslims you see, are simply portrayed as misunderstood people. Typical Canadians are rascist, xenophobic, hypocritical and bigoted people whose pedantry prevents them from realizes who joyfully wonderful these Muslims really are. The message is, Muslims don't have a problem integrating into Canada, Canadians have a problem integrating Muslims into Canada.

My Buddy Barack

Barack Obama has received a lot of press this past week. He, if you didn't know, announced that he is considering a run for the presidency in 2008, subject to the usual procedures and such. I've not had the chance to really flesh out any thoughts about him yet, since he has been in politics for what seems like only 4 years, and during that time didn't make much of a name for himself. His career, at a glance, is typically Democrat; support for the left, hate rhetoric for the right.

For many Canadians, he seems like the best thing since Bill Clinton (most Canadians are shamefully unaware of Bill's personal involvement and financial profit in the tainted blood scandal of years back, nor are they aware of Clinton & Gore's scuttling of Kyoto). For many Democrats, he is the small 'em' messiah, the one candidate who offers respite and hope from the crustiness of the old guard of Kennedy's and Kerry's and the gilded feminazifuhrer who goes by the name of Hilary Rodham Clinton.

For many conservatives, Obama is something of an enigma. He is charming and he is the first non-white Democrat in a long while to have a shot at leading the party's presidential bid. It is known that he is a born-again Christian, and that he has worked with social conservative heart-throb Sam Brownback on at least one occassion.

But what is Obama really like?

He's pro-choice: NARAL and other pro-abortion groups have consistently found him to be a reliable ally. He voted against a bill which would have offered medical support to surviving babies of botched abortions, and has voted against a ban on partial birth abortions (the ones where the baby is halfway born, then the 'doctor' cuts its spin in half).

He's anti-marriage: He has said that he personally believes that marriage is between only one man and one woman, but then voted against any constitutional entrenchment of marriage. This either makes him forgetful, or the perfect example of a hypocrite. You decide.

He's anti-war: Well who isn't? The problem is Obama hasn't made it clear how he sees the West protecting itself from its enemies. Hoping for reconcilliation is one thing, but believing that it is the Democrats of America who are the ones to foster it is dangerously close to hubris.

So is he a better choice than the other Democrats? Probably not, but he will have much more success selling himself to the public than the others.

Happy New Year!

I'm back.

Back at work. Back at blogging. Back in Victoria.

Some things have changed, and some things haven't. I'm now married and I now spend all of my non-work time (which is a lot) with another person. I now sleep in a bed with someone who gives new meaning to the term 'blanket hog'. It's said that you can never really prepare yourself for the trials and joys of marriage. That's true - you can't prepare yourself for waking up every morning at 5am without any covers. There is no subsitute for experience.

Christmas was unfortunately quite a rush. My family and I are the types who enjoy a prolonged, relaxed Christmas. 12 days usually isn't enough, particularly when there is a wedding right in the middle of it. The wedding however was a success by all accounts. People seemed to have enjoyed themselves, and ate and drank well. I only wish I could remember more of it.