Gazizza.Net

Victor Davis Hanson makes an excellent point:

I never quite understood some of the conventional invective against the candidates. Huckabee apparently still takes speaking fees? But the man is neither on any payroll nor independently wealthy — so how is he supposed to support his family while campaigning? Lecturing for money via a speakers’ bureau seems no more or less unethical than elected officials who are not present in session even though they are still drawing a paycheck.

Thompson is slurred as “lazy”; but, in fact, anyone in his mid-sixties, who has survived non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and is campaigning daily under media scrutiny could hardly be lazy; courageous might be a better characterization.

The attraction of McCain is not just his past, but surely his present as well. Almost forgotten is the notion how anyone 71, wounded and disabled after being tortured for 51/2 years, and a survivor of malignant melanoma, is likewise 24/7 out on the stump.

The media recently seemed concerned about Giuliani’s “headache,” but he too is a cancer survivor, and in his sixties.

I am duly impressed that the latter three can stay out there day after day after what they’ve gone through — with obstacles that the other younger, healthier candidates of both parties don’t contend with.

All serious presidential candidates are keeping a schedule that would wear out most Americans, even those who haven't had health problems. For that effort, if nothing, the can be admired.

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Message for the celebration of the World Day of Peace 2008 - THE HUMAN FAMILY, A COMMUNITY OF PEACE

The natural family, as an intimate communion of life and love, based on marriage between a man and a woman(2), constitutes “the primary place of ‘humanization' for the person and society”(3), and a “cradle of life and love”(4). The family is therefore rightly defined as the first natural society, “a divine institution that stands at the foundation of life of the human person as the prototype of every social order”

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So, I won my fantasy football league this year for the second time in the five years I've been in it. I actually missed the draft this year because I noted the date change but not the time change, so my team was auto-drafted. I looked at many of the players I ended up with and said, "Who's that?" But, I had the most points of any team during the regular season (despite finishing in seventh place) and could have had even more points except there were a few weeks I forgot to change my roster and started a few players on bye weeks. But, my team came up with three straight upsets and won the league in the playoffs.

Then in the Delaware Bloggers Pick 'Em league started by Ryan of Jokers to the Right, I won that too. My success there really took off once I stopped actually thinking about who would win and just going with the favorites every week, with only the occasional upset selected.

I just hope this hasn't used up all my luck.

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Read the whole article.

The more I read about this guy, the more I like him.

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Why God is Father and Not Mother (Part 1) | Mark Brumley | IgnatiusInsight.com

Whatever this is, it is not Christianity, which affirms that God has spoken to us in Jesus Christ. C.S. Lewis, in an essay on women’s ordination in Anglicanism, put the matter thus:

But Christians think that God himself has taught us how to speak of him. To say that it does not matter is to say either that all the masculine imagery is not inspired, is merely human in origin, or else that, though inspired, it is quite arbitrary and unessential. And this is surely intolerable: or, if tolerable, it is an argument not in favor of Christian priestesses but against Christianity.

Cardinal Ratzinger made a similar point in The Ratzinger Report: "Christianity is not a philosophical speculation; it is not a construction of our mind. Christianity is not ‘our’ work; it is a Revelation; it is a message that has been consigned to us, and we have no right to reconstruct it as we like or choose. Consequently, we are not authorized to change the Our Father into an Our Mother: the symbolism employed by Jesus is irreversible; it is based on the same Man-God relationship he came to reveal to us."

Now people are certainly free to reject Christianity. But they should be honest enough to admit that this is what they are doing, instead of surreptitiously replacing Christianity with the milk of the Goddess, in the name of putting new wine into old wineskins.

Those who insist on substituting their own language for the supposed "sexism" of the Gospel (and therefore of God, since Scripture was inspired by Him) are really just displaying their own arrogance and faith in themselves, rather than faith in God. After all, if the "sexism" of God needs to be corrected, what other teachings of His can be tossed?

Read the whole thing (both parts) to see why it makes no sense given the nature of masculinity and femininity (and from the nature of creation) to consider God as Mother.

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Dave Barry's year in review - 12/30/2007 - MiamiHerald.com

Read the whole thing, too much to quote.

Hat Tip: New Advent World Watch

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Turtles all the way down

A well-known scientist (some say it was Bertrand Russell) once gave a public lecture on astronomy. He described how the earth orbits around the sun and how the sun, in turn, orbits around the center of a vast collection of stars called our galaxy. At the end of the lecture, a little old lady at the back of the room got up and said: "What you have told us is rubbish. The world is really a flat plate supported on the back of a giant tortoise." The scientist gave a superior smile before replying, "What is the tortoise standing on?" "You're very clever, young man, very clever," said the old lady. "But it's turtles all the way down!"

This story is often used to mock religious believers who argue for the existence of God, but it also makes the same point about purely scientific beliefs.

Atheists use this to mock the religious belief in an eternal God who was never created. "How can something come from nothing?," they ask. But the same problem lies with a purely material explanation for our existence.

Some scientists originally argued against the big Bang theory because the notion that there was a moment of creation implied that there was a Creator. (Even Einstein favored a "steady-state" universe that has always existed.) Now that the Big Bang (originally a pejorative name) looks more likely to be true, it's sometimes used against the notion of a Creator. But the problem noted above with the existence of God also applies to a completely natural creation of the Universe. Where'd everything come from? How could something come from nothing?

It's occasionally posited that perhaps our universe was created from the remnants of another universe, that is, our Big Bang was the followup to another, preceding universe's "Big Crunch," so to speak. Others have suggested that perhaps we're merely one of any number of universes that exist all at once, and our Big Bang was the creation of a white hole related to a black hole in another universe. Both of these theories evade the question of the ultimate source of all creation. While each new universe coming as a result of a prior universe in some way may meet the inductive step of a traditional proof by induction, this fails to prove the base case required for a proper proof by induction.

The fact is that just as no one claims to know how God came into being, we also don't know how the universe came into being. Before mocking religious believers for believing in God, who we don't know how He came to be, they need to remember the exact same mockery can be directed at them for their belief in the natural creation of our universe.

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Roman Catholics have overtaken Anglicans as the country's dominant religious group. More people attend Mass every Sunday than worship with the Church of England, figures seen by The Sunday Telegraph show.

While it's nice to hear that another country is becoming more Catholic, it's not necessarily all good news:

The rise of Catholicism has been bolstered by an influx of immigrants from eastern Europe and Africa, who have packed the pews of Catholic parishes that had previously been dwindling. ... The Catholic Church has also suffered a serious fall in the size of its congregations, but the expansion of the European Union in 2004 resulted in its numbers being bolstered by the arrival of hundreds of thousands of Poles and Lithuanians.

Attendance at Mass in 1991 was recorded as 1.3 million, a drop of 40 per cent since 1963. But over the past six years it has fallen by only 13 per cent, with the rate of decline slowed by immigrants from Catholic countries.

Even though much of the increase in Catholic attendance was due to immigration from Poland and Lithuania, native British Catholics are still more likely to attend Mass than native British Anglicans:

Churchgoing in Anglican and Catholic parishes had stood at about a million each for the past 10 years, though the relative equality in their numbers over recent years is surprising considering that there are 25 million people who regard themselves as Anglicans, and only 4.2 million Catholics.

This really doesn't tell us anything we didn't already know:

1) British people aren't all that religious any more.
2) Poles (and Lithuanians) rock!!

(BTW: I'm of both Lithuanian and Polish descent.)

Hat Tip:The Cafeteria is Closed

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YouTube - Fred Thompson TV Ad: "Substance"

This is the ad the blogburst helped put on the air in Iowa. Click the image to the right to donate to Thompson's campaign.

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RightWing Nut House has propsed a blogburst for Senator Fred Thompson this Thursday. It won't make much of a difference (especially my part of it), but it's still worthwhile to support the only true conservative in the race.

Campaign Ad showing Thompson is authentically conservative:

Fred on what he'd do first as President:

I've given him money; he's the first Presidential I've ever given money to. He's the only candidate in this race who I believe can both win and govern as a conservative. Please donate to him today.

More facts you should know about Fred Thompson.

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"The circumstances that endanger the safety of nations are infinite, and for this reason no constitutional shackles can wisely be imposed on the power to which the care of it is committed. "

-- Alexander Hamilton (Federalist No. 23, 17 December 1787)

Reference: Hamilton, Federalist No. 23 (153)

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...I present to you Joyce Arthur of Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada who is "Cranky That Jamie Lynn Spears Didn't Choose Abortion":

"It certainly shows any young women watching these movies or following these celebrities that the best option is to have the baby and it glorifies that choice," said Joyce Arthur of the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada in CP report.

"But it (abortion) is just sort of being totally ignored, as though no one would ever even think of doing that. But abortion is a very commonly resorted-to option for women, especially unmarried teenaged girls," opined Arthur.

Imagine that: glorifying giving of yourself so that someone else might live. Arthur, and those like her, are just sick. Abortion is commonly supported with the argument that the woman can't afford to take care of a child especially when the child's father has abandoned the mother. Well, the obviously doesn't apply in this case, since in addition to her sister's wealth, the younger Ms. Spears has had a successful career herself. But any reason is a good reason to have an abortion for some; they're just usually more circumspect about voicing that opinion than Arthur was.

Most support the notion of "No Child Left Behind" (regardless of their feelings on the law that bears that name); some, it seems prefer "No Child Left Unaborted."

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Amazon.com: Warner Cartoons Classics: Bugs Bunny: Unbox Video

Hat Tip: Instapundit.com

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One of the things that amazes me about Scrubs is how rewatchable the show is. I'm on my third trip through the series on DVD, plus all the times I've watched the show on Comedy Central or other TV channels. I'm saying lines along with the actors and still cracking up at them. It's just amazing how good this show is. If you're not watching it, you're missing one of the best TV shows ever made.

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One of my Christmas gifts this years was the book "Kennedy & Johnson" by JFK's long-time secretary Evelyn Lincoln, which was allegedly suppressed at the behest of LBJ due to the unflattering portrayal of him. (I couldn't find any reference to that on the Internet, though, so take that rumor for what it's worth which may be very little.)

While I haven't gotten to anything really negative about Johnson yet, other than comments about the tension between JFK and LBJ. I have found some historically interesting facts in the book. For example, both Kennedy and Johnson felt that 1960 was their opportunity to run for President and waiting would not only ruin their chances, but the chances of others from their various "groups". A Kennedy loss would harm other Catholics' chances, as a Johnson loss would harm future Southerners. This, too, heightened the tension between them as did the different styles of their campaigns: JFK running a populist campaign, competing in many primaries to show Catholic candidates could win votes among the people, while Johnson ran an insider's campaign.

The differences in styles also was displayed by their announcements as candidates for President. Given that we're about embark on the primary schedule of the 2008 campaign, I found their announcement dates particularly interesting. This coming year, Iowa will be holding their caucuses on January 3rd. In 1960, JFK didn't announce until January 2nd. LBJ didn't announce his candidacy until July 5th. 48 years ago, candidates weren't announcing until almost Independence Day, this year, we'll likely have known our nominees for about 4 months by then.

I can't say this particular development is an improvement. Not all progress is positive.

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"How many observe Christ's birth-day! How few, his precepts! O! 'tis easier to keep Holidays than Commandments."

-- Benjamin Franklin (Poor Richards Almanack, 1743)

Reference: Poor Richard: The Almanacks, for the Years, 1733-1758, Intro by Van Wyck Brooks (111)

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YouTube - Scrubs - Cox rants...again

Why Dr Cox hates Hugh Jackman:

AJ: Why does Dr. Cox hate Hugh Jackman?

McGINLEY: I think it's because the creator of the show just can't stand how talented he is. Hugh Jackman is just too talented. For him to have won a Tony, he's Wolverine, and he's deadly good-looking. He's a great athlete, he can sing and he can dance. That's too much for Billy (Lawrence) to process.

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Mathematics, rightly viewed, possesses not only truth, but supreme beauty - a beauty cold and austere, like that of sculpture.
- Bertrand Russell

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Hopefully, you've gotten your Christmas shopping done and aren't one of those people scrambling around at the last minute to get gifts for people either due to procrastination or forgetting someone.

If you're like most people, you have forgotten someone, though. And it's easy to do with all the hassle of hub-bub surrounding this season with parties, gift-shopping, and other extra events that fill up or take away from our regular activities. Unfortunately, this person many of us forget is the person whose birthday we celebrate: Jesus.

Unfortunately, this forgetfulness doesn't just apply to the more secular minded among us. In 2005, some mega-churches cancelled services because Christmas fell on a Sunday. Sadly this was done deliberately. What surprised me is that, according to the article, apparently it is common in some Protestant churches not to celebrate Christmas in their local church. It's one thing, as they note, when persons of a Puritan leaning don't honor Christmas due to their faith rejecting celebrations of that sort, but to not celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior as a Christian community is just baffling to me. Since Jesus truly is the reason for the season, shouldn't we show that as a community? (Thinking about the number of Protestant churches that are closed on Christmas makes me wonder if part of the reason Catholic parish attendance swells on Christmas is that Protestants have nowhere else to go. I wonder if the more liturgically oriented Protestants do have services on Christmas day while the more evangelical oriented do not.)

I can't remember what we did when I was younger, but a tradition I would like to develop when I have children of my own would be to attend Mass as a family Christmas morning and only after returning (and possibly breakfast, depending on what my kids let me get away with) would we open presents. That's to remind the kids that Christmas is about Jesus and further remind them that Jesus comes first. It's His birthday and we should celebrate with Him. We should give Him first priority at all times, but most especially on His birthday.

And since it His birthday, we should get Him something. But what can we get for the "Man who [truly] has everything"? The only thing He wants: us. Christmas is a very appropriate time to recommit ourselves to Him, to examine our lives and see where we fall short of what we should be and give Him what should be His: us. As Isaac Watts wrote 300 years ago (this year!):

When I survey the wonderous cross On which the Prince of Glory died, My richest gain I count but loss, And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God,
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down,
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

His dying crimson, like a robe,
Spreads o'er His body on the tree;
Then I am dead to all the globe,
And all the globe is dead to me.

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

When you think about all that He did for us, giving ourselves to Him really is a small price to pay. This Christmas, give Him that small a gift. He'll appreciate it.

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O Emmanuel, king and lawgiver, desire of the nations, Savior of all people, come and set us free, Lord our God.

More on the O Antiphons

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BBC NEWS | UK | Tony Blair joins Catholic faith

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair has converted to the Catholic faith.

His wife Cherie is a Catholic and there had been speculation that he would convert to Catholicism from his Anglican faith after leaving office.

Mr Blair's official spokesman confirmed he had converted on Friday night and said it was a private matter.

As has been rumored for years, (I discussed almost exactly six months ago), Mr. Blair has become a Catholic. While certainly glad to have him (and anyone reading this who's not Catholic; talk to a priest today!), given some of his stances on issues (see my link in this paragraph), hopefully he'll spend some time recognizing the wisdom of Church teaching in these areas and work to undo some of the damage his past support for policies in opposition to Church teaching has caused.

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O King of all the nations, the only joy of every human heart; O Keystone of the mighty arch of man, come and save the creature you fashioned from the dust.

More on the O Antiphons

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Sites like this is why the Internet was invented

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You know you're dying to know.

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Read more about it

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O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice: come, shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

More on the O Antiphons

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IMAO: You Might Be a Fredhead If...

My favorites:

...you blame America last.

...you kinda like it when terrorists are made uncomfortable.

...you think that today's serious foreign policy issues will take more than hillbilly charm and naiveté to handle.

...you suspect the Iran might actually be up to something.

...you prefer movies where American troops are the good guys.

...you think a Senate majority leader who constantly tells us how things are doomed while a war is still ongoing needs a good bitch-slapping.

...you think it's great if a murderer finds God, but that doesn't mean he should be let out of prison.

...you think America's sovereignty is kinda important.

...you think anyone who talks about how the rich aren't "paying their fair share" is a whiny little Communist.

..."great hair" is low on your list of presidential requirements.

...you think someone didn't draw those border lines on a map just for fun.

...call you crazy, but you'd prefer a presidential candidate who actually shares your conservative views.

...you'd like Osama bin Laden's next video to be him pleading, "Someone please help me!" before he's pummeled on screen by the U.S. president.

.... You would prefer America to have a smokin hot first lady....

..or at the very least not have the first lady be a man.

...you think non-binding resolutions are for sissies.

.... you give reasoned responses to your preference in presidential candidate that does not include the words "cool" "Bill" or "Oprah"

..... you don't wear sunscreen, comfortable in the knowledge that with Fred as your ally... the sun would never dare.

. . . you'd rather visit Chicago or Nashville than San Francisco.

. . . you think that the fact the Europeans do something is a good argument for doing something else.

. . . you'd rather have a burger or a sausage pizza than steamed tofu.

* You think that getting accurate news from the NYT is about as likely as getting it from the National Enquirer.

* You believe that socialized medicine might prove about as effective as public school.

* You feel genuine grief every 9/11.

* It didn't take you eight years to realize that sweeping tax cuts actually boost the economy.

...you believe that Christmas celebrates Christ's birthday, not a sale at Macy's.

...you think low taxes and dead terrorists are kind of sexy.

... You can't wait to see August 9 proclaimed as "National Punch a Hippie day"

... You are more interested in electing a President who wants to change America for the better, than electing a personality who wants to be President

And I finally broke down and got the shirt:

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John J. Miller points out on The Corner:

Today, Queen Elizabeth II becomes England's oldest monarch, passing Victoria. She is currently its fourth-longest-reigning monarch. To become tops in that category, she'll have to remain queen to 2012, passing George III.

Every day that E2 is queen is a day that Prince Charles isn't king. May she be the Energizer Bunny of royalty.

I think that's a sentiment we can all echo.

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An argument you frequently hear against government deficit spending is that it's not proper to pass our debt on to the next generation. As a general principle, this is certainly true. Unfortunately, those making this argument are often expressing disagreement with what the money is being spent on, rather than on the total amount of spending. As a contemporary example, witness the Democrats who argued so fervently against deficit spending when they were out of power, but are now quite eager to expand the deficit to cover their pet projects.

However, there are circumstances when deficit spending is not only proper, but necessary. For one example, think of a new government building. If that building will be used for the next 50 years, it's completely appropriate to pay for that building over a 50 year span. Even though we're passing that debt on to the next generation, the debt is attached to a building they will still be using. An even more extreme example is war debt. It was less than a year that the United Kingdom finished paying off its World War II debt. Had they not passed the burden of paying for World War II on to their children and grandchildren, those generations might not have their own nation to support. Those generations clearly enjoy the benefits of the debt their parents and grandparents ran up, so it's not inappropriate for them to bear some of the responsibility for it.

As a final point, why are so many of those who are quick to argue that it's wrong to pass a burden on to the next generation so eager to support the supposed right of a woman to make sure a member of that generation doesn't exist? If it's wrong to make the next generation bear our burdens through a financial debt, why is it acceptable to make them bear our financial or psychological burdens by paying with their lives through abortion? Speaking for myself, and most would no doubt agree, I'd rather be in debt than dead.

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"Government is instituted to protect property of every sort; as well that which lies in the various rights of individuals, as that which the term particularly expresses. This being the end of government, that alone is a just government which impartially secures to every man whatever is his own."

-- James Madison (Essay on Property, 29 March 1792)

Reference: Madison: Writings, Rakove, ed., Library of America (515)

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O Key of David, O royal Power of Israel controlling at your will the gate of Heaven: Come, break down the prison walls of death for those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death; and lead your captive people into freedom.

More on the O Antiphons

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YouTube - I'm From Delaware

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"Religion and good morals are the only solid foundation of public liberty and happiness." - Samuel Adams

"Christmas casts its glow upon us, as it does every year. And it reminds us that we need not feel lonely because we are loved, loved with the greatest love there has ever been or ever will be." - Ronald Reagan

"He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree." - Roy L. Smith

"Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas." - Calvin Coolidge

"Christmas in Bethlehem. The ancient dream... the incarnation of perfect love." - Lucinda Franks

"I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year." - Charles Dickens

"At the summit of national power, politicians and bureaucrats are terrified at the idea of endorsing the religious views of the majority of Americans. Our First Amendment forbids the establishment of a state religion, but many of our governing elites are taking it a step further, outlawing its very existence from the public conversation." - L. Brent Bozell

"It's two centuries since the passage of the First Amendment, and our presidential candidates still cannot distinguish establishment from free exercise." - Charles Krauthammer

"The leftist argument against religious Americans' 'injection of religion into politics' is merely its way of trying to keep only the secular and religious left in the political arena- and the religious right, primarily evangelical Christians, out." - Dennis Prager

"The true spirit of Christmas is 'gratitude.' No matter how much we have, or how little, or how much we have lost or been taken advantage of, gratitude is the answer... Let everyone now spend a few minutes writing down a list titled 'I am grateful for...' The gift of Christmas will come for you, even if you think you have nothing to give." - David Usher

"It's common, around this time of year, to hear people grumble about Christmas being 'too commercial.' They have a point, of course. It's easy to get so caught up in the buying frenzy that we forget why we celebrate Christmas in the first place. But let's not sell ourselves short. The observance of Jesus' birth also inspires countless acts of kindness and generosity." - Rebecca Hagelin

"This is the time of year, as Hillary Clinton once put it, when Christians celebrate 'the birth of a homeless child' - or, in Al Gore's words, 'a homeless woman gave birth to a homeless child.' Just for the record, Jesus wasn't 'homeless.' He had a perfectly nice home back in Nazareth. But he happened to be born in Bethlehem. It was census time and Joseph was obliged to schlep halfway across the country to register in the town of his birth. Which is such an absurdly bureaucratic over-regulatory cockamamie Big Government nightmare it's surely only a matter of time before Massachusetts or California reintroduce it." - Mark Steyn

"The Christmas season is upon us, which means it's that special time of year for the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State to make sure no wayward city council will allow a whiff of frankincense on government property. They must send out direct-mail fundraising letters asking 'Help Us Crush a Crèche at Christmas!"' - L. Brent Bozell

"[D]o your civic duty this Christmas season and annoy a liberal...[C]onsider Christmasboarding a liberal while you still can. What is Christmasboarding? It's quite simple really. Anytime a liberal approaches you in the coming days and wants to deny reality this Christmas, you simply hit them over the head with the truth... When a liberal steeped in political correctness approaches you and wishes you 'Happy Holidays' you simply respond by saying, 'And a Merry Christmas to you'." - J.J. Jackson

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