Liar Liar

A few years ago my mother treated us to a cruise to Alaska! Yes it was awesome, but that's not what I want to talk about. One of the places we stopped at was Skagway, and in Skagway, the place to go is called "Liarsville."

Liarsville got it's name in an interesting way. During the Alaskan gold rush, every news outlet, big or small, wanted to cover the story. So they all sent reporters to Alaska to go cover things first hand. However, it was not very easy to trek all the way out on the trail and try to find the prospectors to get their stories, so the newsmen set up a camp near Skagway and made up stories about the gold rush for their papers to print. Hence the name "Liarsville."

My point is that "fake news' is not a new phenomena. And if you staunchly support the media, realize that you are merely supporting a point of view, not the truth. Choose your sources wisely, and even then don't believe all you read.

Look at things like the coverage of the Mosque attack in Canada, or Trump's immigration freeze, and you will look long and hard before you find any "fact" that is in fact, a fact. We have a thousand news sources, most of which have set up camp at their computer to make up stories.

That's not to say that everyone's a liar, or that there is no truth or that you cannot know the truth. But you are responsible for digging through the dreck if you want to know the truth.

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Who killed Andy Lopez?

I'm sure you've read the story of Andy Lopez, the 13 year old boy who was shot and killed by police for carrying a toy gun. I've been reading a lot of people's reactions and I thought I'd chime in with my own.

First off, people are debating whether the police overreacted. I think the answer is plain and simple. Of course they overreacted to the situation - they were in no danger. On the other hand, they clearly did not overreact to what they thought the situation was - someone about to fire a military-style weapon at them.

So the real problem is, what made them think the situation was deadly when it was in fact not? I have heard some people blame the boy for it. They claim he wanted to commit "suicide by cop." I think this theory can be dismissed immediately. First off, there is no indication that the boy was suicidal. Secondly, even if he was, would a 13 year old engineer something that complex. I mean, the most likely outcome of the situation would have been his arrest, not his death. And if he had wanted to die a spectacular death, why not leave a note, and why not walk down to the police station and charge them, screaming and acting like he was going to shoot them? The theory does not fit the facts.

Others blame the police. But the police were acting appropriately for the situation they thought they were in, or at least the situation they say they thought they were in. I see no reason to assume the police lied. There's also very little reason to think that the officers involved has a grudge against Lopez, or wanted to be involved in a very messy public tragedy.

So what made the police think a child with a toy gun was a berserk killer with a military weapon? First off, let me mention that the toy was supposedly an airsoft rifle, like the one pictured above. For those not familiar, airsoft guns are toy guns which shot small plastic balls using either a spring (which may be cocked by hand or by a battery powered electric motor) or CO2 (provided by a tiny cartridge). Funny thing about these rifles - they all have very visible orange tips, and the only picture released of the toy in question is at such an angle that you can't see if it had the orange tip on it or not. If it did, that was certainly something the police should have seen, but missed. If it did not, the question is - was the toy broken, or was it modified to look more realistic?

But either way, whether it was modified (illegally) or the police missed seeing the tip, I think the killer is the same - the media. On the one hand, nearly every TV show and movie glorifies walking around with a big gun in your hand - not slung over a shoulder, but in your hand, with your finger inside the trigger guard. Because we have become so afraid of guns (due to media coverage), we don't let children know anything about them, so the only instruction they get is from TV and movies. And so they don't handle them correctly. For the record, the four basic rules of handling firearms are:

1. All guns are always loaded.
2. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target.
4. Be sure of your target and what is beyond it.

My kids have airsoft guns, like Andy Lopez did, and before I let them have them I taught them these rules, and to treat any weapon, even an airsoft gun, as if it were a real gun. And when I have seen them not following the four rules above they have been punished. No, I don't think I'm being anal about it - these guns may not be lethal but they can still put out an eye. Poor Andy Lopez didn't have the benefit of such training, only what he learned on TV and movies (to walk around like Arnold in The Terminator).

So we have a kids who thinks guns are to be handled casually, but what about the police? They are highly trained, and know about guns and stuff, right? True, but police are still people, and they watch the media news coverage demonizing so called "assault" weapons. We come to expect that every person who has a scary looking gun is a killer, when in fact that is a very unlikely situation.

We have the case of Army Master Sgt. C.J. Grisham, who was illegally arrested in Texas for legally carrying an AR-15 on a boy scout hike with his son. There is Air Force veteran Mack Worley, who was arrested for legally carrying an AR-15 in Washington state. There's case of Police officer Scott Urkov, who was told he can't drop his daughter off at school because he carries a gun. Really? Our children need to be protected from police officers?

And now we have the most extreme case, young Andy Lopez, shot for legally carrying a toy gun. I think the reason that the officers thought they were in such danger, and missed the signs that they were not, is because, like people all over this country, we are being conditioned to be afraid of guns, no matter who carries them, no matter what the actual situation is.

I ask that you join me in prayer for our nation, for Andy Lopez and his family, and for the officers involved, who will have to live with the memory of this tragedy and the guilt of what happened, however undeserved.

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Superstition

Fr. Dowling (image via CNA)

Stevie Wonder defines superstition as "when you believe in things that you don't understand." Although I enjoy the song, let's face it, we all believe in things that we don't understand. I don't understand nuclear physics or why my wife loves me, but I believe both to be true, and I don't consider either belief to be superstition.

Merriam-Webster has a better definition:

Superstition: a belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation

 Recently the news was all abuzz about the "mystery priest." From USA Today:

Emergency workers and community members in eastern Missouri are not sure what to make of a mystery priest who showed up at a critical accident scene Sunday morning and whose prayer seemed to change life-threatening events for the positive.

Even odder, the black-garbed priest does not appear in any of the nearly 70 photos of the scene of the accident in which a 19-year-old girl almost died. No one knows the priest and he vanished without a word, said Raymond Reed, fire chief of New London, Mo.

"I think it's a miracle," Reed said. "I would say whether it was an angel that was sent to us in the form of a priest or a priest that became our angel, I don't know. Either way, I'm good with it."

Now, immediately, several people began to speculate whether this was a supernatural event. Take Joel and Lisa Schmidt, for instance, who hypothesized that the priest might be Fr. Lukas Etlin.

I became aware of the story from a friend who is a non-believer, who brought it to my attention as the kind of thing I would be interested in. And they were right, I was very interested in the story. My non-believing friends chuckled kindly at my superstitious belief in the supernatural. They dismissed the story as likely a hallucination of people under stress. Clearly the photographic evidence shows it was just wishful thinking, and so they pooh poohed all the hoopla and investigation.

As it turns out, it wasn't a supernatural event at all but an actual living priest with the  (somewhat ironic) name Fr. Dowling, who happened to pass by and prayed with the young girl and anointed her. Mystery solved.

Now although my non-believing friends may point to this incident and say "look at those superstitious Catholics" let's look at the definition of the word and see who fits it better. On the one hand we have Catholics and Christians who said "we don't know what this is, but we'll keep and open mind and investigate." For instance, in the article above Chief Raymond Reed said it could be an angel or a priest, or as the Schmidts said, we should investigate from both a supernatural and natural perspective.

On the other hand we have non-believers who would not bother to investigate because it is clear wat the answer is - it must be a mistake.

Which group is rejecting the unknown, acting in ignorance and trusting in chance?

Now, what do you think of this?




[Update, Michael Fanelli on Facebook pointed me to the following clip o the mystery priest - World Over - 2013-08-15 -- the "Mystery Priest" - not embedding it so I can give the offset where the story startes.]

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Good News

Well, as usual life's so busy I have been neglecting my blog. And what a momentous time in history we're living in! From superstorms to Papal renunciations, there's been a lot to think about, but little time to record it. It's important in these times of unrest to remember to trust in God. There's always a lot of good going on even if the news seems bleak. And so I thought I'd share some good stories.

The first comes from Kansas, which looks like it is recovering from the governance of Kathleen Sebelius and her scandalous destruction of evidence in the Tiller case. LifeNews reports "Kansas Senate Bans 'Wrongful Birth' Lawsuits, OKs Stem Cell Center":

Pro-life legislation is broader than just abortion limitations, as the pro-life Kansas Senate demonstrated by passing two measures this past week: SB 199, establishing an adult stem cell clearinghouse and therapy center, and SB 142, enhancing civil litigation rights for the unborn.

In other action Thursday, the Senate passed SB 142, “Civil Rights for the Unborn” by a vote of 34-5-1. SB 142 will ban any so-called “wrongful birth and wrongful life” lawsuits claiming that the child, in essence, is a ‘damage’. Nine other states statutorily bar wrongful birth suits and ten statutorily bar wrongful life suits.

In other news, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Relics Stolen from Ste. Genevieve MO Church were returned:

The person who took nine relics from a church in Ste. Genevieve returned them Monday. Included with the plastic zip-locked baggie containing the material remains of Catholic saints was a note of apology, and a request for forgiveness.

[Rev. Dennis] Schmidt said he was curious “to know what made them decide to take off with [the relics] in the first place. Was it a devotional thing or did they just want to sell them?” he asked. “I guess that’s a mystery.”

Either way, Schmidt said, the thief — as requested — has been forgiven.

Finally, a very cool story about our beloved Bishop Emeritus of Rome, "The Pope who was Actually a Bear":

Unnoticed by most people, on the coat of arms that he created for his service as bishop Fr. Ratzinger included a puzzling symbol: a bear with a pack on its back.

Just four years later, Pope John Paul II summoned Bishop Ratzinger to Rome. There, for a quarter of a century more—and now as Cardinal Ratzinger—he bore extraordinarily heavy burdens as Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the second most important office in the Church.
 In the final three paragraphs of the fascinating memoir he wrote while still Prefect of the Congregation, Cardinal Ratzinger explained the significance of the bear:

You'll have to click the link for the good parts, I didn't want to give spoilers. Let's just say it's an interesting look into the humility of a humble holy man.

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Time

I have a ton of stuff I'd like to write about, but no time to do it. So here are some stories that I'm thinking about...

NEW YORK--(Business Wire)-- The National Father`s Day Council announced today that it has selected President Bill Clinton, Founder of the William J. Clinton Foundation and 42nd President of the United States, as a 2013 "Father of the Year" Award recipient.

"With the profound generosity, leadership and tireless dedication to both his public office and many philanthropic organizations, President Clinton exemplifies the attributes that we celebrate through the father of the year award."

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli said on a syndicated radio program that going to jail may be an effective way to protest a federal mandate that employers cover contraceptives in insurance plans...
"My local bishop said he told a group, 'Well, you know, I told a group I'm ready to go to jail,' and I told him, 'Bishop, don't take this personally - you need to go to jail," Cuccinelli said, trying to balance levity with seriousness.

JACKSON, Ohio — So many people showed up tonight to take a stand for Jesus that a meeting to discuss whether a painting of Him should hang in a public school had to be moved to a bigger space...

The leader of Jackson City Schools said it would take a higher authority than the Freedom From Religion Foundation to force the painting’s removal after 65 years.
“I’m certainly not going to run down there and take the picture down because some group from Madison, Wis., who knows nothing about the culture of our community or why the picture is even there, wants me to take it down,” Howard told WKKJ.

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As We Know It

I haven't had time to blog in a while. Still busy, but I wanted to let you all know I'm still alive and to pass on a quick message.

The HHS is forcing Catholics and others to violate their consciences. Proposition 8 lost its appeal (no pun intended). My state, NJ, is pushing through a bill to redefine marriage and narrow religious exemptions. The leading Republican candidate is looking more and more like the leading Democratic candidate, leaving little hope for change (pun intended). The US military is censoring Bishops' pastoral letters to their flocks. The NDAA has overturned habeas corpus. Susan G. Komen will continue to fund Planned Parenthood. Religious organizations are barred from renting space in public school buildings in NY.

Sounds like the sky is falling. My message is this. Take heart. the sky is not falling. Relax. Take a deep breath. And pray. As St. Francis said "Sanctify yourself and you will sanctify society."

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I don't like Glenn Beck

...in general. Some of his views I agree with, but some are just nutty. I don't watch Glenn Beck. But this is something we all need to watch. If you want to minimize your Beck exposure, skip to 8:00 in and just watch 15 minutes. I'm including the show in its entirety because I think all of it is valuable.

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Pelted by Gravel

St. Stephen, regarded as the first Christian martyr, was stoned to death for his faith. But he was far from the last. Today more than even people are being persecuted for living their faith.

And now the "abortion wars" are heating up. One unfortunate victim seems to be LifeSiteNews. If you've never heard of them, you have been missing out on important news stories that the mainstream media has missed. They are one of the better news agencies that covers life affecting issues, whether or not you are pro-life.

And now they are being persecuted. They are not the worst victims of persecution in this battle, but I did hear about their predicament yesterday and wanted to write a few words about the absurdity of it. It seems they are being sued by a Catholic priest! From their release:

Even though LifeSiteNews reports have overwhelmingly reported on what Fr. Gravel himself has publicly said, he is suing us for libel. Among other things, he argues that he isn’t pro-abortion, but he has said in the past that he is “pro-choice.”

He’s demanding $500,000 in damages – which, coincidentally, is a full year’s budget for us. That would put LifeSiteNews out of business!

Dictionary.com says, of libel

libel –noun
1. Law . a. defamation by written or printed words, pictures, or in any form other than by spoken words or gestures.

defamation –noun
the act of defaming; false or unjustified injury of the good reputation of another, as by slander or libel; calumny: She sued the magazine for defamation of character.

So Fr. Gravel thinks being called pro-abortion is false, and injures his reputation. Why does he think that? Would someone who advocated legal equality for women consider it libel to be called pro-women? Would someone who advocated for the legal rights of blacks consider it libel to be called pro-black? Why then, would someone who advocates for the legal right to abortion consider it libel to be called "pro-abortion?"

The fact is, he recognizes that abortion is evil, but wants to have his cake and eat it too. Let's hope and pray that justice prevails in this case. And if you can spare it, toss a coin in their legal defense fund.

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The Mercenary Life

Sometimes people send me things. Sometimes they send them expecting a response that is not the response I give. That is apparently what happened today. A friend sent me an article about the heartbreak of making difficult medical decisions. The article, however, was so shocking I doubt I'll sleep at all tonight. If you dare, read "Would you get selective reduction?"

In brief, this is the story of a woman who wanted to have a second child at the age of 43 (she already had a three year old boy). Rather than having children "the old fashioned way", she and her husband skipped that after a few months and underwent fertility treatments. They wanted to try IVF, but the insurance wouldn't pay for it until they tried hormonal fertility treatments. Those treatments resulted in twins.

"But I really don't want twins," I said. "I already have a 3-year-old, and money is tight. One more is all we can handle."

...We took trips and found time for exercise and going to movies; we even had space in our two-bedroom apartment for guests. But at that moment, I didn't want to hear any of that. I'd always wanted two children, and I countered with my best argument: Preserving our lifestyle seemed like a self-centered reason to deprive our son of a sibling.

...I know it sounds selfish, but I wanted to protect the well-being of the people already in my life -- my son, my husband, and, yes, myself.

But of course, in the end depriving her son of a sibling is just what she would do. Although she wanted a second child, she didn't want a third, so she picked which one would be killed so that they wouldn't have to "change their lifestyle" more than they wanted to.

This story is so sad and chilling I don't know where to begin. It places technology, convenience and money above a human life. That's the sad part. The fact that it is presented in a matter-of-fact way as if to say that the choices being decided were of equal importance is chilling. The only bright light in this seems to the the comments, which (mostly) express disgust and dismay.

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Return of the True Cross

About a month ago I posted about a relic of the True Cross that was stolen from the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston, MA. The relic has been found and returned to the church. According to the article, in summary:

Vermont State Police stumbled upon it after receiving a call from Richard Duncan....
Duncan told police he was having an argument over the phone with his partner, 34-year-old Earl Frost. ...Frost said he wanted to return it to a church, the police statement said. But troopers convinced him to bring it into the state police barracks in Royalton.
The Vermont troopers knew nothing of the Boston relic's disappearance, but they did a Google search while Frost and Duncan were on their way to the barracks and found several articles related to the theft.
At the barracks, Frost turned the relic over to the police and said that he had acquired it from an unidentified person in Rhode Island. 

You can read about the history of the True Cross in my earlier post, but the new article outlines the history of the relic in Boston.

The relic arrived in Boston in the late 18th century, a gift to a French missionary priest, the Rev. Jean-Louis Lefebvre de Cheverus, who later became the first bishop of Boston.
The relic was given to Cheverus by Abbe Claude de la Poterie, the first pastor of the cathedral, who was also a French priest, as well as a onetime chaplain in the French Navy.
De la Poterie celebrated the first public Mass in Boston on Nov. 2, 1788.
Boston’s first Catholic church, completed on Franklin Street in 1803, was named the Church of the Holy Cross.
The church was designated a cathedral in 1808, when the Diocese of Boston was established; the current cathedral, on Washington Street in the South End, was completed in 1875.
The north transept window at the cathedral depicts the legendary discovery of the cross by Helena, mother of the emperor Constantine. In the scene, a dead woman is restored to life after the cross is laid upon her.
The south transept window depicts another story associated with the cross: return of the relic to Jerusalem by a Byzantine emperor after it was stolen by the Persian army in the seventh century.

 Deo gratius!

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He doesn't like it...

...when you make Him look foolish. From Yahoo! news:

MONROE, Ohio – A six-story-tall statue of Jesus Christ with his arms raised along a highway was struck by lightning in a thunderstorm Monday night and burned to the ground, police said...

The lightning strike set the statue ablaze around 11:15 p.m., Monroe police dispatchers said.
The sculpture, 62 feet tall and 40 feet wide at the base, showed Jesus from the torso up and was nicknamed Touchdown Jesus because of the way his arms were raised, as though reaching out to catch a football. It was made of plastic foam and fiberglass over a steel frame, which is all that remained early Tuesday.

 I jest of course, but it was too good an opportunity to pass up.

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Round about the Internet

So what to blog about? Well, the health care bill, for one. But so many people are writing such excellent posts about it I have little to add that you can't read more eloquently elsewhere. Plus I have had lots to do this year, and have had little time for composing posts that require a lot of research. So I was thinking...

I follow blogs. Lots of blogs. I don't get to keep up with them all the time, but when I do I often get ideas for posts of my own that I don't have time to write. So I thought I would occasionally post something with just links or a short blurb about articles on the internet that I found interesting. I hope you will find them interesting too. But what about a clever name?

When I was in high school I had a friend who had a shortwave radio. We used to sit up nights and listen to stations from around the world. The two shows we listened to a lot were "The Father Bill Ayers Show" on HCJB (Heralding Christ Jesus' Blessings) in Quito Ecuador, and "Round About the Soviet Union" on Radio Kiev. "Round About..." had a variety of short segments on various topics, usually about similarities between the US and USSR, or the wonderful improvements tat Communism had brought to the Soviet states. So I decided to crib the name, in case you were wondering. Anyway, without further ado, some actual content.

This week I was reading a blog post of Jill Stanek's on using google labs to show the world depopulation crisis. It has some interesting visualizations of the depopulation of the world due to decreased birth rates and ineffectiveness of contraception use in preventing HIV. Sadly, I know many people who will look at all sorts of graphs, scientific papers and peer reviewed research and say "yes, but the world is overpopulated" or "yes, but we need to distribute condoms to fight HIV", and then call me ignorant for not seeing the obvious "facts" that these things are "true".

In a surprise ruling, Catholic Care won a suit against a law in the UK which would have forced them to either give up their faith or their adoption agency. I say surprising, because I would have thought such a ruling less likely in the UK than the US and I can't see it happening in the US. So a big "good for you" to our cousins in the UK!

The "Our Sunday Visitor" blog has a piece about someone in St. Peter's Square calling for the Pope to excommunicate Pelosi and Biden for supporting abortion. While inappropriate, I would like to see some definitive guidance on how the Church should approach these matters. At least from my view our stance seems to be uncoordinated and rules are not being applied consistently. I realize that this is under the authority of different bishops, who have different opinions on these matters, but I like consistency.

The Archidiocese of Washington has a piece on what Jesus might have looked like. For those who don't have time to read it, the answer is the image at right (although the article is filled with caveats about speculation, especially as it pertains to the Shroud of Turin). It also features a cool YouTube video "The many faces and titles of Christ".

From "The Economist" a frightening story on "Gendercide":

XINRAN XUE, a Chinese writer, describes visiting a peasant family in the Yimeng area of Shandong province. The wife was giving birth. “We had scarcely sat down in the kitchen”, she writes (see article), “when we heard a moan of pain from the bedroom next door…The cries from the inner room grew louder—and abruptly stopped. There was a low sob, and then a man’s gruff voice said accusingly: ‘Useless thing!’

“Suddenly, I thought I heard a slight movement in the slops pail behind me,” Miss Xinran remembers. “To my absolute horror, I saw a tiny foot poking out of the pail. The midwife must have dropped that tiny baby alive into the slops pail! I nearly threw myself at it, but the two policemen [who had accompanied me] held my shoulders in a firm grip. ‘Don’t move, you can’t save it, it’s too late.’

“‘But that’s...murder...and you’re the police!’ The little foot was still now. The policemen held on to me for a few more minutes. ‘Doing a baby girl is not a big thing around here,’ [an] older woman said comfortingly. ‘That’s a living child,’ I said in a shaking voice, pointing at the slops pail. ‘It’s not a child,’ she corrected me. ‘It’s a girl baby, and we can’t keep it. Around these parts, you can’t get by without a son. Girl babies don’t count.’”

So many pro-aborts (like Hillary Clinton) insist on a woman's "right" to an abortion, yet condemn women who have abortions for gender selection. If you believe the woman had that right, what a hypocrite to then condemn her for making it!

"Vocal Minority" has this interesting graphic on "Democracy Denied" showing how the Obama administration is getting around the legislative branch of our government. Of course, the Judicial branch has been doing this for years as well.

The Department of Homeland Security has an article, and no, this is not a spoof site, but the real thing, on "Could Airborne, Parachuting Bears Catch Bin Laden?" From the article:

“Overnight, Parachute some bears into areas [bin Laden] might be,” the innovator wrote. “Attempt to train bears to take off parachutes after landing, or use parachutes that self-destruct after landing.”

And that's all I have for now. If people like this I'll try to make it a regular thing. Please let me know what you think.

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More Good News

Since today is Ash Wednesday I fasted from bear meat, but still enjoyed the continuing good news. How long it will last I don't know, but I'm not one to examine the dentition of free equines. So without further adieu:

Forward in Faith Australia, is setting up a working party guided by a Catholic bishop to work out how its followers can "swim the Tiber". It is believed to be the first group within the Anglican church to accept Pope Benedict XVI’s unprecedented offer for disaffected members of the Communion to convert en masse while retaining parts of their spiritual heritage. I can't tell you how exciting it is to be able to see some reunification with out Anglican brothers and sisters

The Kansas state House has approved an amendment that would prohibit insurance companies from automatically covering abortions under their plans except in very rare instances. The language moves in the other direction from the Congressional health care bill that funds abortions. Under the amendment, state residents who don't want their insurance premiums to pay for abortions would be protected and people who want to get abortions would pay for them with their own money by purchasing a rider for such coverage.

In Mississippi yesterday, pro-life advocates submitted more than 130,000 signatures to get a personhood amendment on the state ballot. The amendment would define an unborn child as a human being starting at fertilization, but some legal observers say it will be overturned. Yes, that's 2 in 2 days! The amendment states: "The term 'person' or 'persons' shall include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning, or the functional equivalent thereof."

A woman who faces assault charges after she pulled a knife on two pro-life advocates who encouraged her not to have an abortion has decided against having the planned abortion.

Mike Huckabee, in a post on the blog of his national political action committee, the potential 2012 presidential candidate says he agrees with the scientific fact that human life begins at conception. "There is no doubt in my mind that life does begin at the point of conception. It does not begin when a Judge, or an attorney, or a left wing activist group decides that it does," Huckabee writes. "Science determines that life begins 'when the male sperm and female egg join – a new and unique life form is created.' Scientists don't say life begins at birth or viability. It begins at conception."

Kirstin Holum placed sixth in the 3,000 meter race in the 1998 Winter Olympic. Holum, 29, is now a Catholic nun known as Sister Catherine Mary. Holum says that her conversion was sparked by an experience with the pro-life group Crossroads that she says changed her life. In a letter that Crossroads received in 2005, the former speed skating champ wrote: "Crossroads completely changed my life! I came onto Crossroads as a mediocre confused Christian and finished as a zealous Roman Catholic."

...and if you haven't been following "Creative Minority Report" check out the story of baby Gianna. Warning: you will get a good cry out of it.

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Eating the Bear

"Sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes the bear eats you."

I'm not sure where that saying originated, but I like it. you see, sometimes things seem to go wrong all at once. The news is filled with things that make one think the world is going to hell (or has arrived there). The weight of a million defeats and injustices seem overwhelming. The bear is hungry.

Then there are times when good news arrived in buckets. A good report card, a kind word from a friend, and hopeful news. The bear is tasty. As a Catholic I can't really get too discouraged by the bad news. I've read the ending of the book and it's a happy one. Still, I'm glad when things seem to be looking up.

Despite the bad news about the continuing CCHD scandal and the problems in Ireland and elsewhere, there is a lot of good news today. And so, dear reader, I wanted to share some happy news stories today.

Colorado has gotten enough signatures for a Personhood amendment to be on the ballot. The amendment reads "the term 'person' shall apply to every human being from the beginning of the biological development of that human being." While some pro-lifers decry so called personhood amendments as a waste of time, I see it at worst as a way to get the issue in the public eye. Why can't all human beings be "persons"?

40 Days for Life is back this Lent, bigger than ever! According to the article, the fall 40 days campaign helped prevent at least 2,000 document abortions. I can't wait until Wednesday.

In France, hundreds of Catholics stood up to homosexual activists who were trying to stage a "kiss-in" at Notre Dame. The crowd spontaneously broke out into a chant of "Habemus Papam!" (Latin for "We have a Pope!"



Zenit reports that the young generation of Catholics are more orthodox and more oriented towards marriage and families than us old folks. Nice to see the Church getting back into Her game.

More and more studies are revealing that Abstinence works and contraception doesn't.

It looks like we will have a Mother Teresa stamp this year (although you can sign the petition to help make sure).

...and in a news story that made my day today,  the Virginia legislature strips Planned Parenthood funding from its license plate bill. In what pro-life advocates are hailing as a brilliant legislative move, Virginia lawmakers stripped Planned Parenthood funding from its own bill to sponsor pro-abortion license plates. The plate bill now sends the proceeds from sales of the plate to a state fund that actually helps pregnant women, the Virginia Pregnant Women Support Fund.

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It Aint So Bad...

With Christmas and other holidays approaching, and the days becoming shorter, some people feel depressed. This week it seems there is a lot to be depressed about, especially if you are a person who values human rights and life. The news is full of stories.

Despite the fact that no useful therapies have been developed, or are close or even likely to be developed by embryonic stem cells, the Obama administration announced the approval of human embryonic stem cell lines for use in federally funded experiments. Our tax dollars are supporting this waste of money and lives.

Our senate has voted down the Nelson amendment. That amendment to the health care bill would have preserved the status quo by preventing our tax dollars to directly pay for elective abortions. In this, the senate disregarded precedent, the will of the people and our consciences.

In more local news we have stories like gay marriage being approved by the NJ senate judiciary committee. Then there's the Vermont court that violated the rights of a biological mother and further rejected the rights of families by awarding custody of a woman's only child to her former lesbian lover. We have the story of a New York woman how tried to force another woman to have an abortion, and when the baby was born alive in spite of her, tried to murder it.

Nor are things better internationally, where Ireland's laws that protect the life of unborn children are under attack by the European Union. In Africa we have the sad case of a law that provides the death penalty for gays. In Copenhagen we have more bad science used to justify discarding human rights with the climate conference.

Our country, and indeed the world are suffering from economic crises and moral decay. Yep, there's a lot to be depressed about. And yet, there's also a lot to be hopeful about. This is advent, a season of hope. Yesterday Pope Benedict XVI said in an address for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

Every day, through newspapers, television and radio, evil is recounted, repeated, amplified, making us accustomed to the most terrible things, making us insensitive and, in some way, intoxicating us, because the negative is never fully purged and accumulates day after day. The heart becomes harder and thoughts become darker. For this reason, the city needs Mary who ... brings us hope even in the most difficult situations.

The media, he said, tends "to make us feel like spectators, as if evil regards only others and certain things could never happen to us." Instead, "we are all actors, and for better or worse, our behaviour has an influence on others."

And of course he is right. If we listen to the news of the day, we can get so bogged down with the evil in the world we forget the Truth; that Christ has already conquered sin and death - that Christ died for us, personally. We have been assured "the gates of hades shall not prevail against the Church".

So don't give in. Be hopeful and have a blessed Advent.

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