"I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate."
--Romans 7:15 (RSV)
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ETonline.com: Reese and Ryan Split
Does this mean we won't see her in town anymore? If so, this hurts me as my chance of ever meeting her has declined a great deal.
Hat Tip: The Corner
Chile's Pinochet placed under house arrest - CNN.com
Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet was put under house arrest on Monday for crimes including torture, murder and kidnapping in the years that followed his 1973 coup, a judge said. ... "Augusto Pinochet ... has been arrested as a danger to society given the grave charges against him. But due to his age, he is 90, he has been granted house arrest," said Judge Alejandro Solis, who ordered the detention.
I've never taken the time to study the details of the charges against Pinochet, but this is a mistake. First, there's the obvious point of how much of a danger can this powerless 90 year possibly be?
But more importantly, as I understand it one of the terms in the agreement that was reached for Pinochet to step down was that he would not face prosecution. If other dictators see us violating promises like this, it makes it that much harder for us to obtain their resignations in the future.
I have little doubt that Pinochet deserves jail and more, but for the sake of those who currently do or will live under dictatorial rule, we should leave him alone and let justice be served after his death. The world's an imperfect place and sometimes justice can't be served in this world in order to protect others. This is one of those times.
“The time has come that Christians must vote for honest men, and take consistent ground in politics or the Lord will curse them... Christians have been exceedingly guilty in this matter. But the time has come when they must act differently... God will bless or curse this nation, according to the course Christians take.” —Charles Finney
“Part of the devolution of marriage to minority status is the fault of the media. Look at who they feature on magazine covers, tabloid TV and awards shows: the cohabiting without benefit of clergy, same-sex ‘couples,’ fornicating couples who flaunt their ‘lifestyles’ and dare anyone to tell them to stop. The STDs that come from these ‘lifestyles’ are not the fault of those who engage in the sort of behavior that puts them at risk. Rather, Republicans are to blame for spending too little on ‘cures’ so the promiscuous can continue practicing their ‘lifestyles’ without fear of disease. TV commercials for drugs that treat genital herpes now run close to erectile dysfunction ads without irony.” —Cal Thomas
“No one seriously thinks 400 or 500 million Americans will lead to mass starvation. By ‘unsustainable,’ they mean that we might encroach ever so slightly onto the West Nile mosquito’s traditional breeding grounds in northern Maine. Which is sad if you think this or that insect is more important than the developed world’s most critically endangered species: people. If you have a more scrupulous care for language, you’ll note that population-wise it’s low birth rates that are ‘unsustainable’: Spain, Germany, Italy and most other European peoples literally cannot sustain themselves—which is why, in one of the fastest demographic transformations in human history, their continent is becoming Muslim. As a matter of fact, you don’t have to cross the Atlantic to see the consequences of a loss of human capital: The Burlington Free Press would be better occupied worrying less about the 300 millionth American and more about the ever emptier schoolhouses up and down the Green Mountain State. I used to joke that Vermont was America’s leading Canadian province, but in fact it’s worse than that: demographically, it’s an honorary member of the European Union. The reality is that in a Western world ever more wizened and barren the 300 millionth American is the most basic example of American exceptionalism. Happy birthday, kid, and here’s to many more.” —Mark Steyn
“As of this writing 2,802 young Americans have been killed during three and a half years of war in Iraq. That’s roughly the same number killed at Iwo Jima during the first three and a half days of fighting against the Japanese. Every life lost was precious and every loss grievous to those who loved them. Unfortunately, our media intends to use every one of those killed to make their point. It’s a lesson they learned in Vietnam. On Feb. 27, 1968, after a month of brutal fighting and daily images of U.S. casualties on American television, Walter Cronkite, then the host of the CBS Evening News, proclaimed that the Tet Offensive had proven to him that the Vietnam War was no longer winnable... It didn’t matter that Tet had been a decisive victory for the United States and South Vietnam. Today’s potentates of the press are trying to deliver the same message: that Iraq, like Vietnam, is un-winnable. One television network has gone so far as to broadcast images of U.S. troops being killed by terrorists—making Iraq the first war where Americans get their news from the enemy. The war in Vietnam wasn’t lost during ‘Tet 68’ no matter what Cronkite said. Rather, it was lost in the pages of America’s newspapers, on our televisions, our college campuses—and eventually in the corridors of power in Washington. We need to pray that this war isn’t lost the same way.” —Oliver North
“Sometimes it seems [the news media] are less interested in legitimate news than they are in proving their knowledge and wisdom is superior to ours. The most frustrating thing is when I have the facts to prove them wrong but cannot reveal those facts without endangering security or wrecking some plan we’re engaged in.” —Ronald Reagan
“According to the new ‘ABC News’ poll on health care, Americans are eager to have the government force employers to provide heath insurance: ‘Nearly eight in 10 favor a federal requirement that all employers offer insurance to their full-time workers.’ Why?! Do our employers pay for our food, clothing, or shelter? If they did, why would that be good? Having my health care tied to my boss invites him to snoop into my private health issues, and if I change jobs, I lose coverage. Employer-paid health insurance isn’t free. It just means we get insurance instead of higher salaries. I’d rather have the cash and buy my own insurance... But people think it’s something for nothing... Insurance invites waste. That’s a reason health care costs so much, and is often so consumer-unfriendly. In the few areas where there are free markets in health care—such as cosmetic medicine and LASIK eye surgery—customer service is great, and prices continue to drop... But many people still want a free lunch: ‘consumer-driven care looks less popular if it’s accompanied by the risk of higher out-of-pocket expenses.’ Somehow people seem to believe ‘insured’ means free.” —John Stossel
“How did the Republicans manage to bring themselves to this dire condition, just two years after winning both Houses of Congress, the White House, and most of the state governorships? It wasn’t easy—and it wasn’t new. It was the same thing that caused the first President Bush to lose his bid for re-election in 1992, after having had sky-high approval ratings in 1991. It was betraying the trust of supporters. Back then it was the betrayal of the ‘No new taxes’ pledge. More recently, it was the even worse betrayal of trying to legislate amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants, combined with insulting our intelligence by saying that it was not amnesty. Add to this the Republicans’ runaway spending and the fact that the war in Iraq has been going badly, and you have all the ingredients of a political debacle.” —Thomas Sowell
Congratulations to the Cardinals on winning thw World Series. I was rooting for the Tigers, however, but at least the Mets and Yankees didn't even make the Series.
Now, life has no meaning until February 14th when pitchers and catchers start reporting to spring training. How shall I fill the time?
Even the holiest men and women were not always thus.
Interesting article on the push to canonize Jacques Fesch, a Frechman who was executed for murdering a policeman during an armed robbery where he also pistolwhipped a shopkeeper. In addition, he had previously been a serial adulterer who fathered and abandoned a child outside marriage and divorced his wife.
On death row though, he experienced a deep and sincere conversion to Catholicism and repented for his sins. Cardinal Jean Marie Lustiger, retired archbishop of France is pushing for his canonization.
The article linked above provides details of other saints who weren't always so saintly:
Consider St. Callixtus of Rome, who died in 222: He was an embezzler, a brawler, a twice convicted felon. Yet Callixtus was touched by grace, repented, became a priest, was elected pope and died a martyr.Indeed, the Catholic calendar is full of notorious men and women who turned their lives around and became saints. St. Camillus de Lellis (1550-1614) was an Italian mercenary soldier, a cardsharp and con man. For six years St. Margaret of Cortona (1247-1297) lived as a Tuscan nobleman's mistress. St. Moses the Ethiopian (c. 330-405) led a gang of cutthroats in the Egyptian desert. In 217 in Rome, St. Hippolytus set himself up as the first antipope. And St. Pelagia was the porn queen of fifth-century Antioch; her contemporary, St. John Chrysostom, recalled that "nothing was more vile than she was, when she was on the stage."
Ths doesn't include Satin Augustine, one of the greatest saints of theologians, who also fathered a child outside marriage.
This is an example of how we understand and live the doctrine of forgiveness. With God, all is forgivable. There is no sin God can't forgive; we're never beyond hope. The fact that some of those people listed above not only returned to the faith, but made it to Heaven and are close enough to God that they were acknowledged as saints is a great example of that.
No matter what you've done, it's never too late to return to God and get His forgiveness. He wants to give it to you; ask Him for it.
“People unfit for freedom—who cannot do much with it—are hungry for power.” —Eric Hoffer
“The public welfare demands that constitutional cases must be decided according to the terms of the Constitution itself, and not according to judges’ views of fairness, reasonableness, or justice.” —Justice Hugo Black
“The chief cause of problems is solutions.” —Eric Sevareid
“Iraq is the excuse du jour for jihadists. But the important factor is that these are young men looking for an excuse. If you live your life calculating that it’s a mistake to do anything that might prompt murderers and savages to act like murderers and savages, you’ve basically decided to live under their thumb and surrender your civilization in the process.” —Jonah Goldberg
“If the State Department has a religion, it’s Palestinian statehood. On its altar, diplomats are eager to sacrifice the security of America’s only reliable Middle East ally and, ultimately, our own security as well.” —Don Feder
“Voters are still used to having the final word in an election. But that could change if the election next month degenerates into the decisions in voting booths quickly being fought over by often unelected judges and trial lawyers practicing scorched-earth tactics.” —John Fund
“Now it appears that voters are willing to turn over Congress to a party most of whose representatives voted against allowing the National Security Agency to surveil without a court order al-Qaida suspects when they place calls to persons in the United States and against allowing terrorist interrogations under rules supported by John McCain. We are weary, it seems, and ready to go back on holiday.” —Michael Barone “People in the good state of Missouri need photo identification to cash a check, board a plane or apply for food stamps. But the state Supreme Court has ruled that a photo ID requirement to vote is too great a burden on the elderly and the poor. Go figure. Public polls consistently show that an overwhelming majority of Americans—regardless of age, race, ethnicity or socioeconomic status—favor voter ID laws. And nearly half of the nation’s states have passed them. Yet a string of recent court decisions has blocked their implementation in some places, thus siding with Democrats and liberal special interest groups who would rather turn a blind eye to voter fraud... Showing ID is an incidental cost of voting, like having to buy a postage stamp for an absentee ballot, or feed the parking meter when you go to the polling booth. Poll taxes, by contrast, required a person to pay a fee every time he voted and were adopted for racially discriminatory purposes.” —The Wall Street Journal
“It so happens that everything that is stupid is not unconstitutional.” —Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia
As some of you are aware, I've been in Germany for the last few weeks. A friend of mine got married on the 14th and with her being such a good friend, I had no choice but to go over.
Those of you who know me well know that I dislike travel, preferring to stay in familiar surroundings and read books for relaxation, so this was a bit of a break from my normal routine. I can even say I enjoyed the trip. I'll have some pictures posted at my personal website (http://www.paulsmithjr.com) when I get the chance. I'll also, as time permits, go through and review my trip day by day to let you know what's worth visiting and what's not. Posts on this topic will be available in my Germany 2006 category.
As a quick overview: I started out flying into Frankfort and took the train to Karlsruhe where my friend lives on Friday. Saturday was the wedding, with a tour of the castle in Karlsruhe that morning. Sunday, I went with my friend's family to Heidelberg and Monday we went to Freiberg. From there, I traveled by myself to Munich where I spent Tuesday afternoon to Friday morning. Friday I traveled to Vienna where I spent the weekend before traveling back to Karlsruhe Monday to catch the plane back to the USA on Tuesday.
In all, I had a great time, although by the end of it I really missed English. (My German is not so good. Very rusty.) I could definitely go back at some point.
UPDATE: A picture of my friend, her parents, her sisters and her new husband:
My friend's the one in the wedding gown.
UPDATE 2: Fixed link to image. Blogger must be blocking things so that images can't be used by outside sites, so I copied the image over to my site and relinked it.
“The greatest good we can do our country is to heal its party divisions and make them one people.” —Thomas Jefferson
“The people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave, and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities... If the next centennial does not find us a great nation... it will be because those who represent the enterprise, the culture, and the morality of the nation do not aid in controlling the political forces.” —James A. Garfield
“There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.” —1 Corinthians 12:4-7
“If you think political spin and political gamesmanship are the answers to this country’s problems, then vote for the Democrats. Some leading Democrats have already announced that they plan to impeach President Bush if they get control of the House of Representatives. In other words, in the middle of a war, they are prepared to bog down the administration in domestic political and legal hassles, putting the winning of the White House in 2008 ahead of winning the war on terrorism. There was a time when we all understood that, whatever we might think of a President, we still had only one President at a time and that wholesale obstruction and undermining of him was obstruction and undermining of the United States in the face of its enemies.” —Thomas Sowell
“Evil still stalks the planet. Its ideology may be nothing more than blood lust; no program more complex than economic plunder or military aggrandizement. But it is evil all the same. And wherever there are forces that would destroy the human spirit and diminish human potential, they must be recognized and they must be countered.” —Ronald Reagan
“You talk about independence [of the judiciary] as though it is unquestionably and unqualifiably a good thing. It may not be. It depends on what your courts are doing. The more your courts become policy-makers, the less sense it makes to have them entirely independent... Take the abortion issue: Whichever side wins, in the courts, the other side feels cheated. I mean, you know, there’s something to be said for both sides. The court could have said, ‘No, thank you.’ The court have said, ‘You know, there is nothing in the Constitution on the abortion issue for either side.’ It could have said the same thing about suicide, it could have said the same thing about... all the social issues the courts are now taking... It is part of the new philosophy of the Constitution, and when you push the courts into that, and when they leap into it, they make themselves politically controversial. And that’s what places their independence at risk.” —Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia
I caught part of a History Channel documentary on the Anti-Christ the other night. In it, historians speculated on past historical figures who had been identified, however incredibly, as the Anti-Christ. Names suggested included Hitler, Mussolini, and Ronald Reagan (!). (The identification of Reagan as an anti-Christ is fairly ridiculous. Can anyone seriously deny that Communism was a great evil and therefore a tool of the Devil and Reagan played a large role in defeating it?)
Upon reflection, Hitler and Mussolini don't strike me as valid candidates for the anti-Christ either. There's one simple reason: they're too evil. You see, it's innate in humans to recoil from a great evil. It's the way God made us. So, the Devil works on us by persuading us that an evil is actually a good. He sugarcoats it and make it seems that our actions are really for the best. Even Hitler believed that killing the Jews would be a good, positive step. It was obvious to the rest of us, though, that it was an act of unmititgated evil.
So, when trying to identify the anti-Christ we need to look for someone who does and promotes evil, but makes it look like a good thing.
Here's an example: Hugh Hefner. Please note, I am not calling Hefner the anti-Christ, nor am I seriously suggesting that he is. I tend to think the anti-Christ will not take a public profile, but Hefner fits the description for reasons I will explain.
Look at what Hefner was responsible for: increasing promiscuity and commitment-free sex; a devaluation of women who are now commonly perceived as sex objects; pervasive pornography; breakdown in traditional amrriage. And he's made all of these seem like good thigns! That's the way the anti-Christ will operate. Smoothly, making evil seem good. Drawing people into sin willingly and happily.
A diplomat has been described as someone who can tell someone to go to Hell in such a way that they'll look forward to the trip. That's what the anti-Christ will do as well.
Catholic Diocese of Wilmington - Litany of St Thomas More
October being Respect Life Month, the Catholic Bishop of Wilmington (covering all of Delaware and the Eastern Shore of Maryland) has issued a litany of Saint Thomas More, asking the patron saint of Statesmen, Politicians and Lawyers to pray that our governmental leaders might recognize and defend ever more strongly the right of all people to life from conception to matural death. Here's the Litany:
Litany of St. Thomas More,
Martyr and Patron Saint of Statesmen, Politicians and Lawyers
V. Lord, have mercy
R. Lord have mercy
V. Christ, have mercy
R. Christ have mercy
V. Lord, have mercy
R. Lord have mercy
V. Christ hear us
R. Christ, graciously hear us
V. St. Thomas More, Saint and Martyr,
R. Pray for us (Repeat after each invocation)
St. Thomas More, Patron of Statesmen, Politicians and Lawyers
St. Thomas More, Patron of Justices, Judges and Magistrates
St. Thomas More, Model of Integrity and Virtue in Public and Private Life
St. Thomas More, Servant of the Word of God and the Body and Blood of Christ
St. Thomas More, Model of Holiness in the Sacrament of Marriage
St. Thomas More, Teacher of his Children in the Catholic Faith
St. Thomas More, Defender of the Weak and the Poor
St. Thomas More, Promoter of Human Life and Dignity
V.Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world
R.Spare us O Lord
V.Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world
R.Graciously hear us O Lord
V.Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world
R.Have mercy on us
Let us pray:
O Glorious St. Thomas More, Patron of Statesmen, Politicians, Judges and Lawyers, your life of prayer and penance and your zeal for justice, integrity and firm principle in public and family life led you to the path of martyrdom and sainthood. Intercede for our Statesmen, Politicians, Judges and Lawyers, that they may be courageous and effective in their defense and promotion of the sanctity of human life - the foundation of all other human rights. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
R. Amen.
"Worst economy since Herbert Hoover," John Kerry said in 2004, while that year's growth (3.9 percent) was adding to America's gross domestic product the equivalent of the GDP of Taiwan (the 19th-largest economy). Nancy Pelosi vows that if Democrats capture Congress they will "jump-start our economy." A "jump-start " is administered to a stalled vehicle. But since the Bush tax cuts went into effect in 2003, the economy's growth rate (3.5 percent) has been better than the average for the 1980s (3.1) and 1990s (3.3). Today's unemployment rate (4.6 percent) is lower than the average for the 1990s (5.8) -- lower, in fact, than the average for the past 40 years (6.0). Some stall. ... President Bush's tax cuts were supposed to cause a cataract of red ink. In fiscal 2006, however, federal revenue as a share of GDP was 18.4 percent, slightly above the post-1962 average of 18.2. And the federal budget deficit was $247.7 billion, just 1.9 percent of the $13.1 trillion GDP. That is below the average for the 1970s (2.1), 1980s (3.0) and 1990s (2.2).It is said that employee compensation has been stagnant. But to tickle that bad news from the statistics you must treat "compensation" as a synonym for wages and then ignore the effect of taxation on individuals' well-being.
Kevin Hassett and Aparna Mathur of the American Enterprise Institute, writing in National Review, say annual wage growth since 2000 has been 0.6 percent, but the annual increase in real hourly compensation, including benefits -- and if you do not include them, why are they called benefits ? -- has been 1.3 percent. And taxes -- particularly those paid by middle-class families with children -- have declined substantially.
Furthermore, as Hassett and Mathur write, consumers, by modifying their behavior, protect or enhance their well-being in ways not captured in economic statistics. For example, an American who, prompted by higher energy prices, traded in a Hummer for a Prius has served his or her standard of living. "If I ate 80 apples last year, and the price of apples increased this year to a million dollars, my welfare would not go way down; I would just switch to oranges," the authors write.
Sometimes I think America's greatest need (after a return to traditional morality) is an economically literate opposition party.
“The civilized man has a moral obligation to be skeptical, to demand the credentials of all statements that claim to be facts.” —Bergan Evans
“I love a dog. He does nothing for political reasons.” —Will Rogers
“If voters are unhappy with Republicans, it’s because the party hasn’t lived up to its own principles... A few Supreme Court appointments and tax cuts aside, Republicans have largely abandoned the reform agenda that swept them to power in 1994. Their zeal has instead been directed at retaining power, which explains the earmarking epidemic and the Abramoff corruption that followed. Reform of Medicare and Social Security, the death tax, immigration, health care—all fell off the map.” —Kim Strassel
“The problem for Republicans is that they seem to have run out of ideas. They now ask for votes on two levels, neither of which is appealing. The first is that the Democrats would do a worse job than Republicans, which is like choosing which of two ugly sisters to take on a date. The second is they crave power for its own sake. Republicans have failed to give voters sufficient reason to vote for them, except for one that trumps all the rest—they can better defend the country.” —Cal Thomas
“Being seen not to run... should be the indispensable objective of U.S. foreign policy. Were these colors to run from Iraq, it would be the end of the American era—for why would Russia, China, or even Belgium ever again take seriously a superpower that runs screaming for home at the first pinprick.” —Mark Steyn
“The liberal media’s 10-year allergic reaction to Fox News is triggered by any remotely positive exposure to American values on American airwaves. Well, here’s to the next ten years of giving establishment journalism the hives. Keep Old Glory flying high. It’s driving Ted Turner mad.” —Michelle Malkin
“The Democrats love taxes, and want to share that love with taxpayers.” —Wesley Pruden
Jay Leno: As of [yesterday], the population of the United States has reached 300 million people. This is either attributed to a strong democracy or really weak border control. ... Mexico said today it plans to take the dispute about building a fence along its border with the United States to the United Nations. The United Nations traditionally has been against building fences between countries because, as you know, the UN believes fences are for sitting on. ... All around the world people were reacting to North Korea’s nuclear testing. The U.S. condemned it. China said it was wrong. France surrendered. ... According to Kim Jong-Il’s biography, they say he has been constantly accused of dishonesty, drunkenness and sexual excess. So if he lived here, he could be in Congress. ... The Army has changed their slogan to “Army Strong”. Other countries are following with their military. Ireland’s slogan, “Bar Fight!” China is “One Billion”. France of course is “Helping invading armies feel at home for over 100 years.” ... Saddam Hussein has now been on trial for over one year. One year? If this trial was in L.A., he’d be out golfing by now. ... Bill Clinton came out in support of the estate tax last week. Clinton said that some people think he should leave all his money to his daughter when he’s gone, but he doesn’t think he should. He said he should spend it now on other people’s daughters when he’s still alive.
Daniel Pipes writes an article supporting an intriguing idea: having defeated Communism, NATO should be retooled to be a united defense alliance against the spread of radical violent Islamism.
One indication of what NATO's new focus should be came a day after September 11, when NATO for the first time ever in its 52-year history invoked Article V of its founding treaty, with its provision proclaiming that an attack on one is an attack on all. Thus did NATO, after a decade of "war as social work," abruptly awake to the threat of radical Islam. ... NATO's mission, therefore, must be "to combat Islamic jihadism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction mainly, but not exclusively, among Islamic groups and governments." This means "placing the war against Islamic jihadism at the center of the Allied strategy" and that defeating Islamic jihadism will remain the organization's "key mission" for many years.A second key recommendation in NATO: An Alliance for Freedom: that NATO invite for full membership countries that are both liberal democracies and able and willing to contribute to the war against Islamic jihadism. The study emphasizes bringing Israel into the Alliance as "an extremely important step," and it endorses Japan and Australia for full membership. I might propose, in addition, Taiwan, South Korea, and Chile. To encourage other, struggling, states, the study suggests an associate membership for countries like Columbia and India. To which I suggest that Mexico and Sri Lanka could join their ranks.
One topic that FAES does not explicitly take up but hints at: that NATO could replace the United Nations as the key world body. As the UN sinks from one low spot to ever-slimier depths, it becomes increasingly obvious that for an international organization to behave in an adult manner requires limiting its membership to democratic states. A new organization could be created from scratch, to be sure, but it is easier, cheaper, and quicker to build on an existing structure, especially one with proven capabilities. NATO offers itself as the obvious candidate...
“If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory is sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.” —Winston Churchill
“What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! For He says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.’ So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.” —Romans 9:14-18
“We Americans are blessed in so many ways. We’re a nation under God, a living and loving God. But Thomas Jefferson warned us, ‘I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just.’ We cannot expect Him to protect us in crisis if we turn away from Him in our everyday living. But you know, He told us what to do in II Chronicles. Let us reach out to Him. He said, ‘If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land’.” —Ronald Reagan
“I very much doubt, despite the expertise with which the sheep have been rounded up and set baa-ing, that Showtime at the Foley Bergere will pay off in November. There are many legitimate reasons for electors to toss out the Republican Congress, but the notion that they’re a hotbed of gay pedophile enablers is not one of them. Had Foley dug in and attempted to cling on, his GOP colleagues would have been all over TV deploring his behavior, calling on him to step down, expressing outrage, etc. After two or three days, a few lefties might even have piped up to assail the Republican theocrat sexual McCarthyites tormenting the poor chap. Had he actually had sex with congressional pages, affronted gay groups would have pointed out this was perfectly legal in the relevant jurisdictions and would have complained ferociously about the stigmatizing of gay relationships and Democrats would have declared there should be places for all at the American table, especially had Foley done a Jim McGreevey and announced that ‘my truth is I am a gay American.’... In the sense that there’s any ‘child abuse’ going on here, the American people are being treated like children and abused by the politico-media class.” —Mark Steyn
“Nothing relieves our own throbbing consciences like the exposure of hypocrisy in high places, but this doesn’t reflect well on us. Indignation over hypocrisy is an adolescent emotion. It supposes no one should honor a higher ideal in words unless one follows it in every deed; it holds out hypocrisy as a sin greater than the actual transgression. Many on the Left, for example, grind their teeth at the mention of ‘family values’ because they think it really means Promise Keepers in feed-store caps beating their pregnant wives with Bibles, or happy, shiny people who always keep a sack of rocks handy in case it becomes legal to stone gays. ‘Family values’ is a rather indistinct concept, and even the people who use the phrase don’t quite know what it means, but let one Republican be caught in a motel getting paddled by a bored call girl dressed up like a UN peacekeeper, and the cawing begins: So much for family values! Just because some people fail to live up to particular ideas doesn’t mean those ideas aren’t important. Getting caught doing something you said was wrong doesn’t mean it’s really right. We’re all fallible mortals down here, but that doesn’t mean no one can offer opinions about how we best might live. There are higher ideals that transcend the clay-footed stumblings of the people who speak in their name. A qualified hurrah for hypocrisy, then.” —James Lileks
ESPN.com - MLB - Barry Bonds - San Francisco Giants - Player Card
If you look at the above page, you'll see that in the second half of the season, Barry Bonds, was virtually unstoppable. (Stats listed below are batting average. on-base percentage, and slugging percentage.)
First half: .249/.474/.497
Second half: .292/.430/.596
After the All-Star game, Bonds hit almost .300 and slugged almost .600. (His onbase percentage fell as pitchers stopped working around him so much, but it was still excellent.) The Giants are apparently talking about not bringing him back next year. Any team that signs him would have a powerful force in the middle fo their lineup. Even turning 43 in the middle of next season, Bonds will be one of the best hitters in the league. His season-ending numbers were (OBP/SLG/OPS, or on-base plus slugging a good, quick measure of offensive output):
.454/.545/.999
Compare that to a few other great seasons:
.425/.659/1.084 (Ryan Howard)
.431/.671/1.102 (Albert Pujols)
.430/.596/1.026 (Bond's 2nd half)
And keep in mind that Bonds plays half of his games in San Francisco, a pitcher's park, and he was almost as valuable as Howard or Pujols, while playing a more important defensive position. (Left field is considered more difficult han 1st where both Howard and Pujols play.)
BaseBallReference.com provides leader boards for the 2006 season. OPS+ is on-base percentage plus slugging, adjusted for park effects to balance out the fact that some players play in good offensive parks while toher play in parks more favorable to pitchers. Pujols led the league in OPS+ with a rating of 170. (100 being average, so Pujols was 70% better than the average player.) Howard was 2nd with a rating of 160. Bonds had too few plate appearances to qualify for the leaderboard, due to age and recovering from his knee injury, but on his player page, we see that he rolled up a 156 rating.
Baseball Prospectus' Equivalent Average Rankings rates Bonds as the third most effective National League player on a rate basis. (He would rank lower on a cumulative ranking due to his missed time.)
The long and short of it: if you have a decent backup for the time he'll ahve to miss due to his bad knee and his age, your team con only be made better by signing Bonds. The Phillies might be wise to explore a Bonds-Burrell platoon since Pat can still murder lefties.
I still expect Bonds to remain in San Francisco, though. The Giants will be bad with or without him next year, so they might as well bring him back to sell tickets as he chases Hank Aaron.
Mrs. "The Cafeteria is Closed" has a great idea:
send the ACLU a Christmas card ! Mail it to:ACLU
125 Broad Street
18th Floor
New York, NY 10004Surely they'll appreciate it ;)
“I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm’s way.” —John Paul Jones
“A society that does not recognize that each individual has values of his own which he is entitled to follow can have no respect for the dignity of the individual and cannot really know freedom.” —Fredrich August von Hayek
“It is safe to say that the U.S. Congress is now run by paid staffers, not by people elected to do the job.” —Barry Goldwater
“To me, conservative means believing in a minimum amount of government and a maximum amount of freedom—and keeping government out of people’s lives and business—and leaving people alone.” —Lyn Nofziger
“Bodily vigor is good, and vigor of intellect is even better, but far above is character.” —Theodore Roosevelt
“There ought to be a law against anybody going to Europe till they had seen the things we have in this country.” —Will Rogers
“Small-government conservatives are ready to conclude that their attempt to curb Washington’s appetite through a majority that was supposed to be ideologically congenial—that is, entirely Republican—has failed... Who knows? A time in the wilderness may give the GOP a chance to come up with an agenda other than self-preservation.” —W. James Antle III
“Weak-kneed members of both parties have been calling for a timetable to be announced for withdrawal from Iraq. No other war in thousands of years of history has ever had such a timetable announced to their enemies. Even if we intended to get out by a given date, there is not the slightest reason to tell the terrorists that. It is frivolous politics at its worst.” —Thomas Sowell
“For all of their promises to do a better job of fighting this war, Democrats have no plan, other than retreat. That is the plan the terrorists have for us.” —Cal Thomas
Jay Leno: Florida Congressman Mark Foley has resigned over allegations he sent explicit e-mails to underage boys. What is it with congressmen? If they’re not grabbing your wallet, they’re grabbing your a**. ... People are now wondering what to do with Foley’s seat in congress. How about they start with Lysol? Then some Bactene. After that cover it with plastic. ... Mark Foley has now checked into rehab for alcoholism. Oh, shut up. Like that’s the big problem. Who cares if he’s addicted to Jack Daniels? He’s addicted to little Jack and little Daniel. That’s the problem. ... I don’t know how long Foley will be in rehab, but I’m pretty sure they don’t want him home answering the door on Halloween. ... Congress is now already taking measures to reduce incidents between congressmen and pages. For instance, congressmen are no longer allowed to hand-pick their pages from MySpace.com.
Ryan at Jokers to the Right celebrates his Polish heritage by recognizing Pulaski Day, which honors the anniversary of the death of Polish Count Casimir Pulaski at the Siege of Savannah during the Revolutionary War.
There's also a school in the Hedgeville neighborhood of Wilmington named after Count Pulaski and there's an annual parade held in his honor in Wilmington as well.
So, Anna, Ryan and I are all of Polish descent. Any other proud Polacks in the DCBA?
Sunday's Readings at Mass dealt with marriage and how God's plan for it was to be a permanent and unbreakable bond.
The reading from Genesis concludes: "That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one flesh." (Gen 2:24) In the Gospel, Jesus tells us,
Because of the hardness of your hearts he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate. ... Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery. (Mark 10:5-9, 11-12)
In his homily, our associate pastor pointed out that the Mosaic Law of divorce required that the divorce be issued in writing (Deut 24:1) unlike most cultures at that time, and some Islamic areas in our time, which allowed the divorce to be decreed orally. He pointed out that this was actually progressive for the time and worked to reduce the instance of divorce since most people of the time could not read, this would require them to go to the Levites (the priests) for the decree to be written. This gave the person's family time to attempt to talk the man out of his desire for divorce, as well as an opportunity for the priests to attempt to save the marriage. It also points to the sacred nature of marriage as no one could unilaterally end a marriage without the involvement of the religious leaders of the community.
Jesus subtly (to our eyes, at least) does something similarly progressive in his talk above. He speaks of a woman divorcing her husband. That was unheard of at the time and is a reminder that in God's plan, the woman is equal to the man in the marriage. We are meant to be partners, not with the man lording it over the wife as her boss.
So, in God's plan, our marriages are permanent bonds between complimentary and equal partners. It's Man that messes it by deviating from that ideal.
I have to close with this joke:
God, noticing Adam is unhappy realizes he needs a companion. So God says, "I can make you the perfect partner. She will fulfill all your needs and bring you true and unending happiness."Adam says, "That sounds great. What will it cost me?"
"An arm and a leg."
"Gee, that sounds expensive. What can I get for a rib?"
Football, cross country top 10 rankings released
Whoo hoo! We're Number One! We're Number One!
“[T]he line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either, but right through every human heart, and through all human hearts. This line shifts. Inside us, it oscillates with the years. Even within hearts overwhelmed by evil, one small bridgehead of good is retained; and even in the best of all hearts, there remains a small corner of evil.” —Alexander Solzhenitsyn
“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, And prudent in their own sight! Woe to men mighty at drinking wine, Woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink, Who justify the wicked for a bribe, And take away justice from the righteous man!” —Isaiah 5:20-23
“This shooting [in Pennsylvania], and the ones last week in Colorado and Wisconsin, and every school shooting in the past 10 years all had one thing in common: They all happened in so-called ‘gun-free school zones,’ where students and adult staff are essentially helpless. Gun control extremism has disarmed the wrong people and created risk-free environments for those who would commit murder and mayhem. It is time to re-consider gun-free school zone laws and the zero-tolerance mentality such laws foster. We can no longer afford the empty-headed Utopian illusion that gun control and gun-free zones will keep children safe. Like all other gun control laws, this one has been a monumental failure, and it is literally killing our children. If it saves the life of just one child, abolishing such laws will be worth the effort.” —Alan Gottlieb
“The dustbin of history is littered with remains of those countries that relied on diplomacy to secure their freedom. We must never forget... in the final analysis... that it is our military, industrial and economic strength that offers the best guarantee of peace for America in times of danger.”—Ronald Reagan
“In rejecting Social Security discussions [recently], the Democrats painted the conservatives’ petition as a Trojan horse designed to get personal accounts back onto the table. Even if that were true, since when was all mention of personal accounts taboo for Democrats? A decade ago, a majority of the appointees to Bill Clinton’s Social Security commission came out in favor of personal accounts. If today’s Democratic leaders were even a little bit awake, they would realize that the case for Social Security reform has grown stronger since the Clinton era. A new body of research shows how the lack of reform threatens core Democratic constituencies. Social Security benefits were designed in the 1930s to protect traditional couples. But married couples make up a declining fraction of the adult population, particularly among minorities... But instead [Democrats] get a childish gratification out of stamping their feet and refusing to discuss the subject.”—Sebastian Mallaby
1962 Harry Levin of Wilmington founded Discount Center on Marsh Road. Three years later he renamed the store Happy Harry's.
A Delaware institution that, sadly, now exists in name only.
"After the 1936 election, in which President Franklin Roosevelt shellacked the Republican nominee in all but two states, a humorist wrote: 'If the outcome of this election hasn't taught you Republicans not to meddle in politics, I don't know what will.' If after the Foley episode -- a maraschino cherry atop the Democrats' delectable sundae of Republican miseries -- the Democrats cannot gain 13 seats, they should go into another line of work" -- Washington Post columnist George Will
The Cafeteria Is Closed: Conservative Catholic pickup lines
10. May I offer you a light for that votive candle?
9. Hi there. My buddy and I were wondering if you would settle a dispute we're having. Do you think the word should be pronounced HOMEschooling, or homeSCHOOLing?
8. Sorry, but I couldn't help but noticing how cute you look in that ankle-length, shapeless, plaid jumper.
7. What's a nice girl like you doing at a First Saturday Rosary Cenacle like this?
6. You don't like the culture of death either? Wow! We have so much in common!
5. Let's get out of here. I know a much cozier little Catholic bookstore downtown.
4. I bet I can guess your confirmation name.
3. You've got stunning scapular-brown eyes.
2. Did you feel what I felt when we reached into the holy water font at the same time?
1. Confess here often?
1814 For the first time and only time in history, Delaware was entitled to two Congressmen for the next decade: Thomas Clayton and Thomas Cooper.
According to speculation, we may be about to get an additional Congressman soon, possibly even the next reapportionment.
“But if we are to be told by a foreign Power... what we shall do, and what we shall not do, we have Independence yet to seek, and have contended hitherto for very little.” —George Washington
“The real freedom of any individual can always be measured by the amount of responsibility which he must assume for his own welfare and security.” —Robert Welch
“It is proof of a base and low mind for one to wish to think with the masses or majority, merely because the majority is the majority. Truth does not change because it is, or is not, believed by a majority of the people.” —Giordano Bruno
"Truth is not determined by majority vote." - Pope Benedict XVI
“There is in all of us a strong disposition to believe that anything lawful is also legitimate. This belief is so widespread that many persons have erroneously held that things are ‘just’ because the law makes them so.” —Frederic Bastiat
“I just wonder if it ain’t just cowardice instead of generosity that makes us give most of our tips.” —Will Rogers
“Bottom line: This war will be won or lost on the battlefront at home—and right now the Democratic Party is a big part of the problem.” —David Horowitz
“There is already evidence from Guantanamo that the prisoners there are abusing the guards far worse than any guards have abused these prisoners. Yet our media have no interest in that and have been willing to believe every allegation by these professional terrorists, including the physical absurdity of trying to flush the Koran—or any other book—down a toilet.” —Thomas Sowell
“We’re in a war. Something always goes wrong in a war, and our military leaders have made mistakes in Iraq. But quitting and leaving would amount to defeat for the U.S. in the global war on terrorism and create chaos. Quitters never win. Here’s the problem: America needs two strong, sound political parties. As far as domestic policy is concerned, it really doesn’t make much difference if Democrats or Republicans are in power. Ours is a free, entrepreneurial society where anyone can do anything he or she wants if they have a positive attitude and the desire to work, learn and achieve. Ambitious people come from all over the world to take advantage of this tremendous opportunity. This is one reason our economy is so resilient, continually bouncing back from periodic setbacks, driven by new inventions and achievements. However, when it comes to which party has proved more capable in acting to defend and protect Americans from foreign enemies, there is only one choice. From Johnson to Carter to Clinton, virtually all the defense policies and decisions made by Democratic administrations have been unsuccessful. And in many cases, they have unintentionally but materially increased the danger to our national security and the safety of all Americans.” —Investor’s Business Daily
“As for being emaciated, [Gitmo is] the only death camp in history where the soi-disant torture victims put on weight... The average gain at Gitmo is 18 pounds. The Afghan detainees were the chunkiest Afghans I’ve ever seen. If they ever make it home, their old comrades—the lean wiry warriors of the Hindu Kush—will wonder why a party of Florida retirees has suddenly shown up.” —Mark Steyn
Jay Leno: U.S. World News & Report cover story this week is about the fact in just a month the U.S. population will hit 300 million people. The Census Bureau says it will happen October 27th depending on whether they are caught by the border patrol. ... Al Gore says that smoking is a major factor in global warming. Cigarettes are a major factor. Unfortunately when Al G
