Where No Pope Has Gone Before

Kris sent me Jay's letter who in turn sent me Jeff Miller's Curt Jester's Splendor of Truth's blog. Jeff Miller is an atheist turned theist and since 2002 blogged on punditry, prayer, parody, polemics, and puns from a Papist perspective. Jeff's post on Pope Kirk 1 on the altar design for Pope Benedict XVI's USA tour is funny.

The chair immediately reminds me of what I think would be the perfect chair if Captain James T. Kirk was elected Pope cracked me up.

Surely he would feel right at home in such a chair. I have commented on Kirk chairs used as celebrants chairs in the past, though this is the first Papal Kirk chair I have noticed. Maybe IKEA is now designing liturgical furniture?

Now the design is not exactly ugly, but beauty does not come to my mind when I look at this rather cold and stark set. The designs on the pulpit and lectern are kind of interesting, but incongruent and they bring nothing to mind of the Church. They could easily be used in any non-liturgical setting without looking out of place in for example an auditorium. It does make me wonder about Captain Kirk as Pope on the U.S.S. Vatican. Currently though we do have theologians who have gone where no theologians have gone before In fact I think many bishops have a Prime Directive towards theologians in their diocese - that is a non-interference policy - I guess in hope that one day they might develop intelligent life.

I would like to see a Star Trek movie developed along Kirk as Pope lines - surely if the Enterprise could visit one planet with Cowboys and another with Gangsters, and so surely there is a parallel world that is explicitly Catholic.

How about "The Wrath of Küng"?

Pope Kirk: Küng is denying my Papal authority again! We must return to Switzerland. Scotty give me warp factor nine and your opinion on Küng's latest treatise.

Cardinal Scotty: Captain, I am engineer not a theologian!

Really funny, but the comments on the post are even funnier! Go to Curt's blogsite and add your own Trekkie insights. Curt's site has had good reviews:

• The Curt Jester: Disturbingly Funny --Mark Shea
• EX-cellent blog --Jimmy Akin
• One wag has even posted a list of the Top Ten signs that someone is in the grip of "motu-mania," -- John Allen Jr.
• Brilliance abounds --Victor Lams
• The Curt Jester is a blog of wise-ass musings on the media, politics, and things "Papist." The Revealer
• Not all the Jester’s lines hit their target. --Commonweal

Okay, so not all the reviews are great, Commonweal's probably an atheist who thinks Picard should be in charge of the altar design.

Check out the American Papist's article on the altar furniture.

Now reviewing the design on the altar? Could it be more sterile and lackluster? But then again, it does embody the spirit of the early Church without the pompousness and vulgar opulence of the Middle Ages. Maybe with some beautiful flowers it will be more regal. Or does Pope Benedict XVI even want that?

It reminds me of the Bread and Circuses (episode 225, 1968) of Star Trek, the original series:

"What are we looking at, a 20th century Rome?" -- Kirk

Live long and prosper, Catholic Church.

Thanks Kris, Jayfor passing it on!

UPDATE: McCain Has Promises To Keep?

John Edwards quit. Who's he going to endorse? Speaking from New Orleans, will John Edwards be Obama's or Clinton's head of FEMA's choice?

McCain won. Giuliani quit the race and endorsed McCain. Is he the new Homeland Security Chief? Beware politicians in emperor's clothing who endorse the leftover candidates. They have jobs in the wings waiting for them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

McCain is leading at 8:45pm with 41% precincts in leading by 22,000 votes. He secured his lead by appealing to the Hispanics with endorsements by Senator Mel Martinez and by Governor Crist, a very moderate Republican.

Are these endorsements in anticipation of Department posts if McCain wins? With McCain's liberal immigration shamnesty policies, and his feeble acknowledgement to "secure the border" (Does anybody believe that?), these two unconservative politicians stand to benefit the most from a McCain win.

Combine Mel Martinez who wanted to make all the illegal aliens citizens with Juan "Mexico Numero Uno" Hernandez, McCain's Hispanic outreach representative and you have a North American Union and the loss of sovereignity of the United States squarely in the hands of liberal Republican.

Super Tuesday May Produce Super Deadlock

It ain't going to be over even after Super Tuesday next week. Last night's Florida GOP votes was a boost for Juan McCain but the results were hardly a crowning victory. With both parties emotionally splintered, next week's votes in more than 20 states could produce 2700 winning, or at least, equalizing delegates for any of the five top presidential candidates.

• McCain (R-AZ) 93
• Romney (R) 57
• Huckabee (R) 40
• Obama (D-IL) 63
• Clinton (D-NY) 48
• John Edwards (D-NC) 26

More than 70 million registered voters in more than 20 states will choose more than 2,700 Democratic and Republican convention delegates on Super Tuesday, almost 10 times more than in all the primaries and caucuses so far.

Virtually all states voting on Super Tuesday have adopted detailed -- and different -- rules for awarding delegates. The rules are so dense, in fact, that few observers agree on how many convention delegates will be picked that day. The best estimate: 1,029 GOP delegates pledged to specific candidates, and 1,678 pledged Democratic delegates.That's just more than 40 percent of all the delegates in each party.

With the anti-Juan McCain conservative Republicans, Romney could easily garner the nomination but even Huckabee isn't out of the race with fundamentalists, moderates and independants. On the Democrat side, anti-Billary voters going for Obama, there will be moderate Democrats and independents purposely voting to keep the Clinton dynasty out of the White House. Southern states could go either way for Obama, with supposed racism turning votes away or minorities voting for Obama because of race.

How many delegates do the candidates need to win their party's nomination?

• McCain (R-AZ) 1088
• Romney (R) 1122
• Huckabee (R) 1141
• Obama (D-IL) 2052
• Clinton (D-NY) 2067
• John Edwards (D-NC) 2089

Buckle up, folks - it's going to be a bumpy ride.

Shamnesty's Voice McCain Aide Puts Mexico First

Clinton Taps Into Left's Racism

Bill and Hillary Cinton are playing the race card in the Democratic primary race, and the left is all in a twitter. Sometimes life is just so good. But why are the Dems so exorcised about Bill injecting race into the campaign? Isn't the left the home of egalitarianism, protective of diversity at all costs? What has them so worried?

Mickey Kaus referred to Bill Clinton's statements in South Carolina (comparing Obama's win to Jesse Jackson's earlier win in the same primary for instance), the "attempted ghettoization" of Obama's campaign. Mother Jones complains that Bill "injects race into the conversation." Over at the Huffington Post, they (tongue firmly in cheek) "can't understand why anyone would think the Clintons are running a race-baiting campaign to paint Obama as 'the black candidate.'" Teddy Kennedy decries the "old politics of race against race."And Al Sharpton simply tells Bill to "Shut up."

There is no doubt that Bill was injecting race into the campaign. South Carolina was already lost. So why make such a blatant appeal to race? And more interestingly, why are so many Dems upset about it? They think it will work to drive white voters to Hillary in the later primaries. But why?

For years the Dems have attacked Republicans as racists. Sure the Republican party was formed to fight slavery. Sure a higher percentage of Republican congressmen voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 than Democrats. Yes, J. William Fulbright, Al Gore Sr., and Robert Byrd, voted against the Act. And yes, the most famous segregationists, like George Wallace, Orville Faubus, Bull Connor were all Democrats. But the Republican Party is the party 0f racists we are told.

The fable goes that, once the Civil Rights Acts were passed, all those racist Democrats left the Democratic Party, and went to the Republicans. Why, when an even larger percentage of Republicans voted for those acts is never explained. It is just an element of their faith. But think for a second, how many of those listed above left the Democratic Party? When did Bull Connor register as a Republican? Ever seen a list of the racist Democrats who left that party and became Republicans?

The truth is, the racists never left the Democratic Party. And the leaders of that party have known it all along. The left still decries Richard Nixon's advisers using a Southern strategy when he was running for president, designed to attract white voters in the South. The architect of that strategy was quoted as saying:

"The more Negroes who register as Democrats in the South, the sooner the Negrophobe whites will quit the Democrats and become Republicans. That's where the votes are. Without that prodding from the blacks, the whites will backslide into their old comfortable arrangement with the local Democrats."

That is exactly what Clinton is accused (accurately) of doing in South Carolina. The Clintons were going to lose South Carolina anyway. By race baiting black voters, Bill ensured an even more massive loss, that they hoped would scare the white bigots that still populate their party. And don't think the only racists in the Democratic Party are Southern whites. Let's face it, a party whose elite claims that affirmative action must be kept around forever, does not see blacks as even potentially equal to whites.

Clinton enaged in race baiting because he knows it will work in the Democratic party. All those Dems lining up to rail against him for it, know the same thing. They just object to the tactic being used against one of their own.

Two Man Campaign Now

McCain wins the Florida GOP race and wins all 57 of Florida's delegates for a total of 93 delegates. Romney is second with 59 delegates from Wyoming and Michigan. Former Governor and my former favored candidate, Mike Huckabee is still claiming to be in the race, which is doubtful since he has even less money than McCain, and Giuliani.

First Class Saint Relics On Sale At Ebay

St. Bartholomew, flayed alive as a martyr for the Church has his first class relics on sale on Ebay. Human remains are forbidden to be sold on Ebay, and the Catholic Church bans the sale of relics to the highest bidder but this hasn't hampered the owner.

On eBay on Jan. 3, a would-be seller posted a wheat-colored envelope, fastened with a red wax seal, said to contain remains of the Apostle Bartholomew.

Another posting showed a beveled glass reliquary inset with pieces of five saints' earthly matter.

The sale of what the Catholic Church terms first-class relics -- bits of bone, hair and flesh -- outrages Tom Serafin, a Catholic activist and the president of the International Crusade for Holy Relics, a Los Angeles-based organization that maintains a traveling exhibit of venerated articles.

It's not the prices that get Serafin hopping mad. It's the fact that pitches appear on the site for the remains of saints and objects of worship, such as Eucharist wafers used in holy communion.

Church law forbids the buying and selling of the items.

"Just as you would not go around selling portions of one of your beloved deceased for money, for the church, these (saints) are our family members," said Father Mark Weisner, spokesman for the Oakland Diocese.

On Tuesday, Weisner, stunned to learn of the online sales, ran an eBay search for "holy relics." Up popped a posting for an authenticated piece of the papal collar of Pope Leo XIII (a second-class relic).

If someone were to ask for my blessing, I wouldn't say, 'OK, that will be $10,'" said Father Michael Sweeney, president of the Dominican School for Philosophy and Theology. "It's not to be treated as having profane value."

How Big A Sip Are They Taking?

Hungary wants Catholic priests to be exempt from new DUI law.

Due to a shortage of priests, many hold masses in several villages in a day. They also drive to funerals, to Sunday school and when visiting the sick, church authorities wrote in a letter to the minister [prime].

The church plans to issue special cards for its priests to show that they consume alcohol in the fulfilment of official duties.

Seventy Bursts of Applause in Fifty-three Minutes

What a great speech President George Bush gave in his final State of the Union Address! His sentiment behind his words were inspiring and as one attendee said to him as he shook hands and left Congress's hallowed halls: "You make me proud to be an American."

He tackled many of the goals that he wants to accomplish before he leaves next January, but he also cited many of the successes that the United States saw and will see this year: the Iraqi Surge, 20,000 American troops will be coming, 4th and 8th grade students have record high grades in math, and the confirmation of two conservative judges, with the future possibility of another.

He mentioned a $300M proposal to save Catholic schools in Washington, D.C. to allow impoverished students to attend parochial schools. It would be nice to have bipartisan support and pass it. He assured Congress that he would veto any pork barrel spending that came to his desk.

President Bush is certainly beloved among his constituency.

He invoked laughs from his audience when he suggested that those who have said they don't mind paying more taxes, that the US IRS Department takes checks and money orders.

The ones who didn't laugh or smile during the speech: Obama, Kennedy, Clinton, Kerry.

The part that I didn't like: His immigration remarks. Let's send the illegal aliens home first, then we can discuss immigration reform. But then he knows that.

Code of Canon Law Turns 25 Years Old

One of the reasons I like to read "In The Light Of The Law", is that Roman Catholic canon lawyer Edward N. Peters discusses current canonical issues which are interesting and informational to Catholics. He explains Catholic Law in ways which laymen can understand.

Last week, Peters points out that twenty-five years ago, during the tumultuous 1970's, the beloved Pope John Paul II released Sacrae disciplinae leges and a revised Code of Canon Law for the Roman Catholic Church. Peters enlightens Catholics as to why this was a critical turning point in the Church.

Reading Peters blog, I always learn something new, whether it's a word, phrase, or theological viewpoint that I didn't understand. This week it was the word antinomianism. I had never heard it before but it offers an answer to a much asked question in Catholic chatrooms by anti-Catholic bashers and pharisical fundamentalists absorbed by the law: What is more important faith or actions for salvation? (Believe me, fundamentalists are obsessive about this question)

Antinomianism is a great response to those confused by Catholicism. Merriam-Webster's definition states:

Main Entry: an·ti·no·mi·an

Function: noun

Pronunciation: "an-ti-'nO-me-&n

Etymology: Medieval Latin antinomus, from Latin anti- + Greek nomos law

1 : one who holds that under the gospel dispensation of grace the moral law is of no use or obligation because faith alone is necessary to salvation

2 : one who rejects a socially established morality

It is a belief that I think most modern Catholics struggle with.

In the same blog, Peter's also offers up 10 canon law issues that need to be addressed by Church officials.

1. Is canon law essentially a juridic or theological discipline? SDL 18.
2. Can laity hold office in the Church? c. 129, 145.
3. How is defection from the Church distinct from schism? cc. 751, 1117.
4. Can deacons perform anointing of the sick? c. 1003.
5. Is every marriage of two baptized persons necessarily a sacrament? c. 1055.
6. Should canonical form be required for the validity of Catholic marriage? c. 1108.
7. Should latae sententiae penalties be eliminated from canon law? c. 1314.

Read the rest of Peter's concerns in In The Light Of The Law often, you'll learn something about your faith everytime. He also sincerely reminded me to remember canon lawyers (and I would include all lawyers) in my prayers.

"The next time you pray the Fifth Joyful Mystery of the Rosary, where Mary & Joseph find the boy Jesus teaching the scholars what Law really means (Luke II:46-47), please remember us canon lawyers in your prayers. Thanks!"

Edward Peters really touches your heart.

Other posts:

Catholic Church Expects Catholics To Obey Their Laws
Confession Isn't Always Good For Spouses
Think You Know All About Excommunication?

Condoleezza Albright

We now have the worst of both worlds. A liberal Republican president with a Democratic foreign policy. Of course, we should have seen it coming. In an August 2005 article in Time Magazine, Rice described her foreign policy by quoting General George Marshall speaking of the Marshall Plan: "Our policy is directed not against any country or doctrine," Marshall said, "but against hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos."

Missing from Rice's thoughts are any indication that Marshall made this statement, and planned for the rebuilding of Europe, after we won the war. Can anyone imagine Marshall, or any other adult, saying anything like that in 1943? It seems to me our policy pre-1945 was pretty clearly against Germany, Japan and fascism. As for today, Iran and Korea are seeking nuclear weapons; Palestinians are sending rockets into Israel; Islamic fascists the world over are using children as guided missles; Russia is descending into despotism once again; and China is the looming 500 pound gorilla on the planet. But we have a Secretary of State who thinks poverty is the "root cause" of what ails the globe.

In that same Time article, Rice is quoted as saying "We must provide greater prosperity to people all over the world..." Newsflash for Secetary Rice and the other statists in the State Department, capitalism and democracy have brought propserity to people the worldover, not government bureaucrats.

And how have we come to this pass? The New York Times reports:

"Now Ms. Rice is working hard to reshape her legacy in her remaining 16 months in office. She is cooperating with a range of authors who have lined up to write books about her: “The Confidante: Condoleezza Rice and the Creation of the Bush Legacy,” by The Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler, comes out next week, while “Condoleezza Rice: An American Life,” by The New York Times’s Elisabeth Bumiller is due out in December. “Twice as Good: Condoleezza Rice and Her Path to Power,” by Marcus Mabry, now an editor at The Times, came out in May. "

Our Secretary of State is shaping our foreign policy to please the solons of the Washington Post and New York Times. What was the point of electing Bush if we were going to get stuck with Bill Clinton's foreign policy?

Root Bear Float and Clouds

This is a great "Photo of the Day" in my Sunday Parade insert in the Orlando Sentinel. Gwen McCarthy of Palm Coast, Florida was able to get this unique perspective on an Alaskan cruise.

Doesn't the black bear look like he's floating on a cloud? What a great shot!

Here's another cloud photograph that is breath-taking.

Jorn Olsen, the photographer works for the Dutton-Lainson Co. in Hastings, NE, and lives by Heartwell Park next to Hastings College The stadium lights are at the Hastings College stadium just east of his home. The clouds are called mammatus clouds! They do not precede a tornado, or foretell a storm, but are formed when the air is already saturated with rain droplets and/or ice crystals and begins to sink. The worst of the Storm is usually over when these kind of clouds are seen. They are quite rare, but really beautiful. You can see more of the Olsen's mammatus photographs here.

Speaking of mammatus clouds, I was able to snap this awesome sunset in Orlando on December 18th. Although I didn't have my camera with me, I finally remembered I had my cell phone. But you can see how awe-inspiring these sunset clouds were. They were billowy and curled like pillows. If only I had remembered my cell phone camera five minutes earlier - they would have been similar to the Jorn's cloud pillows only in pink,purple and blue!

Thanks Ana for the mammatus clouds!

Here's a winter view from Wisconsin. Photographer unknown. But I know that cat is wondering how kick-resistant is that glass pane?

"Shamnesty's Voice" McCain Aide Puts Mexico First

Watching McCain discuss policy issues with Ted Russert on Meet the Press is disheartening. McCain's liberal domestic policies have clearly failed and not resonated with his Republican constituency. Policies such as McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform, voting against pro-life bills, and his horrible support of the shamnesty illegal immigration bill. Russert quoted former conservative Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa):

"The bottom line is that I served 12 years with [McCain], 6 years in the United States Senate as...one of the leaders of the Senate...who had the responsibility of trying to put together the conservative agenda, and almost at every turn on domestic policy, John McCain was not only against us, but leading the charge on the other side."

That's a harsh but accurate assessment of John McCain's political career. McCain did not have a good reply for Russert but to cite support by several supposedly objective groups and Rumsfeld criticism. He will not unite the party but he is assured the Republican vote if he wins the Republican nomination. He had the gall to suggest that the reason Congress's approval numbers are so low is because Republicans and Democrats won't sit down together and compromise their principles. He went on to say that he was proud of his relationship with his liberal-values Lieberman and other Democrats were instrumental in creating a partnership in getting things done the way Ronald Reagan did. Can he cite any of those things accomplished? The 9-11 commission recommendations have not been implemented completely. He did it by compromising his fundamental conservative principles to the Democrats.

How can any conservative voter place his trust in a presidential candidate who names a dual American-Mexican citizen known for his "Mexico first" declarations to immigrants in the U.S.?

McCain campaign spokesman Brian Rogers emphasized to WND that Hernandez is "a non-paid volunteer to the campaign, and he does not play a policy role."

"Juan works with us to reach out to the Hispanic community to meet with the folks in the various states," Rogers said.

Asked if the McCain campaign has repudiated Hernandez's "Mexico first" declarations, Rogers did not give a direct answer. Twice he referred WND to McCain's immigration position on the campaign presidential website arguing for border security.

In an appearance on ABC's Nightline in 2001, Hernandez said, referring to Mexican immigrants in the U.S., "I want the third generation, the seventh generation, I want them all to think 'Mexico first.'" Hernandez told the Associated Press the same year, "I never knew the border as a limitation. I'd be delighted if all of us could come and go between these two marvelous countries."

Last August, Hernandez published a book entitled "The New American Pioneers: Why Are We Afraid of Mexican Immigrants?" in which he argued Mexican immigrants, both legal and illegal, were at the forefront of establishing a new North American market combining the U.S. with Mexico.

Mark Krikorian, director for the Center for Immigration Studies, asked last night on a National Review Online blog, "Has McCain offered Hernandez, a former high-level foreign government official who presumably swore an oath to uphold the Mexican constitution, a place on a future McCain Administration? That's not a rhetorical question."

When Russert asked McCain if the Senate passed his McCain-Kennedy (D-Ma) co-sponsored bill, S-1433 immigration bill, would McCain as president sign it? McCain's answer was a back-tracking affirmative wobble:

"Yeah, but we, look the lesson is, it isn't won, it isn't going to come, it isn't going to come. The lesson is they want the borders secured first. That's the lesson. I come from a border state. I know how to fix those borders with walls, with UAV's, with sensors, with cameras, with vehicle barriers. They want the borders secured first. And I will do that. And as president, I will have the board of state governors secure, certify those borders are secure..."

How can he say that when his Hispanic advisor, Juan Hernandez, former member of Mexican President Vincente Fox's cabinet, and a proponent of a future Amerimexicanada, is totally against securing the borders? The Michelle Malkin's newest update on this issue is a must read.

UPDATE: Let's see how John McCain's Arizona's immigration and border policies have worked in the last decade.

• 2004 - Illegal Immigration is ravaging Arizona "The Costs of Illegal Immigration to Arizonans" shows a nearly nine-fold increase in costs during the past decade. The burden on the state's taxpayers continues to grow rapidly.
• 2005 - Arizona Lashes Out At Illegal Immigration According to the Pew Hispanic Center, which like Stateline.org is funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, the number of illegal immigrants in Arizona has more than quadrupled since 1996 -- from 115,000 then to about 500,000 now. By comparison, the number of illegal immigrants in the United States roughly doubled, jumping from about 5 million in 1996 to about 11 million today.
  
  The upsurge of illegal immigrants in Arizona -- on top of an economic boom that caused the state’s population to increase more than 12 percent to almost 6 million since 2000 -- is severely straining prisons, schools, hospitals and law enforcement.
  
  Some experts believe the conflict offers a glimpse into the future of American politics. Politicians in at least 11 states are pushing ballot initiative proposals similar to Arizona's ban on state services, and anti-illegal immigration measures increasingly are dividing statehouses from North Carolina to California.
• 2006 - Illegal Mexican Immigrant Invasion Perhaps as high as 80% of the violent crime in Phoenix area involves illegal aliens (according to Chief Hurt and Mesa police violent crimes response team).
• Illegal Aliens cost taxpayers $68 Billion annually in federal programs in 2002. Studies estimate that amnesty would increase that three fold.
• $311 Billion in uncollected taxes (Barron's study). $200 Billion annually in lost American wages. Native-born American men lost an average of $1700 in wages in 2000 due to US immigration policy (Harvard University).
  Maricopa County Hospital loses over $2 million weekly on uncompensated care (largely do to illegal aliens) (2003, 77 border hospitals filed for bankruptcy).Feds owe $25 million in uncompensated SCAAP costs just in Maricopa County, (1/3 of our federal prisons are illegal aliens).
• Arizona spends over $800 million (K –12) annually to educate illegals.Over half of AHCCCS births are from illegal mothers 1/3 of children in Arizona have immigrant parents."
• 2007 - FAIR: Arizona: Illegal Aliens In 2006 we estimated that Arizonan taxpayers are currently burdened with annual costs of about $1.3 billion because of illegal aliens residing in the state. That estimate was based on only expenditures for education, emergency medical care and incarceration. We projected that those costs will rise unless we gain control over our borders and our worksites. If a new amnesty and increases in immigrants and guest workers were enacted, as proposed by business and ethnic advocacy groups, we project that the cost to the state’s taxpayers for those same programs would rise to $2.25 billion per year in 2010 and to $3.9 billion per year in 2020.

So, Senator McCain, how is your immigration/border control that you bragged about this morning working for you? Apparently it's not working at all.

United Nations Is Looking At Kenya's Massacre

God help the people of Kenya. Former Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan is trying to negotiate settlement in the midst of the slaughter of children, women, and men in this supposedly stable African country.

Bodies piled up in Nakuru mortuary yesterday. The dead, including children, were scarred by machete blows, spear thrusts and arrow shots.

All had been burned, their limbs and digits curled up and faces rigid, frozen in horror.

At least 27 people have been killed in the past two days in clashes between rival ethnic gangs in Nakuru, a lakeside town in a breathtaking stretch of Kenya's Rift Valley that was once a popular tourist destination.

Until Friday, it had escaped the weeks of violence that have seen at least 700 people killed in the east African country and 250,000 forced from their homes since a disputed December 27 election returned President Mwai Kibaki to power.

The chaos which erupted after the results were announced centred on the capital Nairobi and several other major cities.

Now the violence has spread. Rural areas initially untouched by the inter-ethnic disputes are caught up in the cycle of tit-for-tat killings, maimings and rapes.

Former UN leader Kofi Annan spent last week visiting affected areas and trying to negotiate a settlement. Yesterday he described the abuses he witnessed as "gross and systematic".

Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga, whose election defeat last month plunged the country into the current crisis, met last week for the first time since the violence started.

Their hour-long talk had been arranged by Annan and he described it as "a very encouraging development".

But despite this move, observers said any potential settlement was still some way off, with some fearing the trouble could escalate further.

Kibaki has said he is "determined to get to the underlying causes of these unprecedented events".

However, it would seem he is not in any mood to stand down, despite criticism.

It seems Annan is as impotent as ever.

Tanzania's former president, Benjamin Mkapa, has been travelling with Annan. He said: "The political crisis in the country has caused a state of agony and despair. We console the people."

That's comforting to know that Annan and Mkapa are able to "console" them. I would like to hear if the family members still alive who watched their children and wives being raped and bludgeoned to death agree with them.

Like many victims of the bloodshed in his country, long seen as one of Africa's most stable, Nicodemus Adede knew his attackers – they were friends.

"They're people who have lived with us doing this. Can you imagine?" the 29-year-old motorcycle taxi driver asked, nursing two machete wounds on his head as he waited at a Nakuru hospital where 165 victims have been treated.

"We were friends, but this is like tribalistic madness. I still don't know why they did it."

As he spoke, a man with an arrow sticking out of the side of his skull walked past – dazed but somehow still conscious. Workers from the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontiers treated the wounded and took X-rays.

Those who escaped the machetes or poisoned arrows lost their homes to gangs who looted and torched them. Refugees sheltered in fields and churchyards.

Where is the socialist British, European, Russian, and global outrage of this massacre? Who really cares if Africa slaughters themselves into extinction? If they don't, why should the United States?

United Nations Scandalous Corruption

And John Edwards Wonders Why He's Losing?

In his concession speech in South Carolina, John Edwards starts off with:

"To give voice to people like the woman I met in Kansas City a few years ago, who told me the story of working full time, and of not being able to pay both her heating bill and her rent. And having to come home every night in the winter, and dress her children in all of their clothes, in their coats, put them under blankets, and put them to bed together so that they could stay warm. And she told me the story of getting them up every morning, out of the bed, fully clothed, with their coats on, feeding them, and sending them off to school, and praying, praying, that no one would find out what was happening in her home, because they would come and take her children away from her. Noone should live like that in America. We are better than that..."

Ummm John, you're in South Carolina? I wonder how much John Edwards helped that woman? Can he even relate to people living in extreme conditions in his own McMansion financed by the millions he earned as an ambulance chaser?

Obama Wins South Carolina

UPDATE: Obama is winning 51% to 29% Hillary.

Barack Obama wins the South Carolina Democratic primary election by almost 3 to 1 (63% to 24%) at this time. Although racism is supposed to be dead, it's alive and well in South Carolina. There won't be happy campers in the Hillary campaign with these results.

Hillary is going to see this continue as she and her huband try to push their way back to the White House where they think they belong.

Sadly, Caroline Shively, Fox News reporting that more Democrats voted in the primary today than did South Carolina Republicans last Saturday. Florida's election on Tuesday and its looking like Romney will take the Republican race.

UPDATE: Florida Governor Charlie Crist (R) is endorsing John McCain. Crist definitely hasn't been the most Republican governor and truly a disappointment to me.

McCain is not a conservative. McCainhas sided with the Democrats so many times, on illegal immigration with Ted Kennedy, on the McCain-Feingold campaign reform that took away the 2nd amendment rights, that I definitely won't be voting for him. I'm sorry for Huckabee, I liked Mike and wanted a chance to vote for him but Huckabee ruined his own campaign by being too quip-witted, light-hearted, and his record on illegal immigration was not conservative. But then if Governor Crist is any indication and former Governor Huckabee's record is any indication, I guess I'm glad that I learned this early before the main election in November.

This is what primaries are all about - learning about the candidates and seeing them in the heat of the political action. It's truly telling about their integrity, their character, and their moral values. It's also a learning process for the voter. It is for me.

UPDATE: Blue Barrel Washes Ashore

UPDATE: Decomposed body found near blue barrel has been ruled out of two murder/disappearances in the area. The body is not that of Stacy Peterson. Amazingly coincidental. How many murderers use those blue barrels and throw in bodies of water? You just have to wonder.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A blue barrel with a body inside has found in field alongside of the Chicago river.

An environmental inspector found the remains and called Chicago police. Police in west suburban Lyons say a village of Lyons environmental inspector was performing duties near the Chicago River when he discovered what he believes is a human foot and leg.

"It was fairly intact, and it was covered with snow. He didn't want to disturb it of course, so thats when he called 911," said Roy Witherow, Lyons Village Manager. "He stated about 25 feet from the body there was a blue plastic container of some sort that was mostly covered in snow."

Is it Stacy Peterson, wife of arrogant "Date Me If You're Not Dead Yet" Drew Peterson. Drew's latest comedic behaviour is walking off an interview with Fox's "Over The Top" Shepard Smith, because Smith asked him about his missing wife and the blue barrel. Drew only wanted to talk about the dating game he wanted to play.

He's still telling the children their mom is on vacation.

Watch the video - chilling.

Bailey The Unknown Reindeer

Christmas has passed but this delightful scene with the winter snow will still tickle you. His owner says:

I shot this video on VHS-C in my backyard, near Ward, Colorado (8,700' elevation) during a blizzard in the late 1990's; a local weatherman said it was the most measureable snow (if memory serves, it was 54" in 48 hours) from the least amount of moisture ever. The only secret is that Bailey was chasing snowballs I'd thrown (she never found any, but obviously didn't care!). Sadly, Bailey died FAR too young in a house fire on December 26, 1998 so this is all I have left but, truly, she was unique--she was also a self-taught skier, ice skater, and first-class snuggler. Anyway, I'm glad she is now bringing as much pleasure to you as she continues to bring to me. Cheers to dogs, and to all those that love them! Please be well and Happy Holidays!!!

God bless all the Baileys in our life. I know his owner must miss him.

Thanks Jean!

Waiter, There's A Frog In My Salad.

Surviving all the way from Florida to New York, a woman had a frog jump out of her organic lettuce salad.

The Prospect Heights mom, who doubles as a stage actress, described the tiny visitor no bigger than the tip of her pinky finger as "one tough frog."

She said first the frog survived a journey from South Florida to the Park Slope Food Coop, then another three days in her refrigerator.

UPDATE- the woman bought her lettuce at a coop.

Exit The Haggis

Enter The Haggis is a great Canadian Celtic rock n' roll band but some of us are worried about the future of piping haggis into our dining rooms.

Burns Night is the celebrated night to honor Robert Burns and his haggis eating diet. But this oft ignored holiday may be lacking its meat if Scotland doesn't have a way to get the haggis to the table. That's right... Scotland is running out of butchers. The next generation of young people doesn't want to address the haggis. No butchers means no haggis. Ah, more's the pity.

The skirl o' the bagpipes, even more dramatic by virtue of being played indoors, accompanies the "great chieftain o' the puddin-race" born aloft to the table by a chef. Then, a wild-eyed Scotsman recites Robert Burns' poem Address To a Haggis, and upon reaching the line, "An' cut ye up wi' ready sleight," he plunges a dagger into the taut sheep's stomach amid cheers from the diners. In a ritual repeated by Scots across the globe on Burns Night, January 25, the birthday in 1759 of their most cherished poet, the attack on the main course continues:

"Trenching your gushing entrails bright,

Like onie ditch;

And then, O what a glorious sight,

Warm-reekin, rich!

Further slashing releases a gray speckled mixture of lungs, heart, liver and oatmeal, prompting more cheering and more whisky before everyone tucks into the contents of the haggis, along with tatties and neeps (potatoes and turnips).

For your reading enjoyment: Robert Burn's famous poem "Address To The Haggis"

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,

Great chieftain o the puddin'-race!

Aboon them a' ye tak your place,

Painch, tripe, or thairm:

Weel are ye wordy of a grace As lang's my arm.

The groaning trencher there ye fill,

Your hurdies like a distant hill,

Your pin wad help to mend a mill

In time o need,

While thro your pores the dews distil

Like amber bead.

His knife see rustic Labour dight,

An cut you up wi ready slight,

Trenching your gushing entrails bright,

Like onie ditch;

And then, O what a glorious sight,

Warm-reekin, rich!

Then, horn for horn, they stretch an strive:

Deil tak the hindmost, on they drive,

Till a' their weel-swall'd kytes belyve

Are bent like drums;

The auld Guidman, maist like to rive,

'Bethankit' hums.

Is there that owre his French ragout,

Or olio that wad staw a sow,

Or fricassee wad mak her spew

Wi perfect sconner,

Looks down wi sneering, scornfu view

On sic a dinner?

Poor devil! see him owre his trash,

As feckless as a wither'd rash,

His spindle shank a guid whip-lash,

His nieve a nit:

Thro bloody flood or field to dash,

O how unfit!

But mark the Rustic, haggis-fed,

The trembling earth resounds his tread,

Clap in his walie nieve a blade,

He'll make it whissle;

An legs an arms, an heads will sned,

Like taps o thrissle.

Ye Pow'rs, wha mak mankind your care,

And dish them out their bill o fare,

Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware

That jaups in luggies:

But, if ye wish her gratefu prayer, Gie her a Haggis!

If you had difficulty in understanding the Scottish bard's thick brogue, here's the translation.

Do your part - on January 25th, have a Burns Night, pipe in some Haggis, slash it, enjoy while drinking whiskey, and send a future butcher to school!

Why Fred Never Had A Chance

Fred Thompson's withdrawal from the Republican primaries seemed inevitable. Thompson was the truest conservative (even allowing for glitches like supporting McCain-Feingold). Why then did so few other real conservatives come out to support him? Why did even true believers like the editors at National Review refuse to endorse him?

The truth is that real conservatives, true believers, are not by nature politicians. Politics is in fact antithetical to conservative ideology. A conservative believes in democratic governance and a capitalist economy. The hallmark of both systems is trial and error. Let the hundreds of millions in this country try their solutions, the ones that work will catch on, and those that fail will...well... fail.

A statist (ie. modern "third way" liberal) on the other hand, believes in central planning. If there is a problem in society, the "liberal" in convinced of his/her ability to find a solution that, once found, should be imposed on the entire country by the government. Schools are failing? Federalize education. People are dying of smoking? Use the government to bankrupt and ostracize smokers. Highly regulated healthcare is becoming a disaster? Give the federal government complete control of healthcare.

Liberals make good politicians because all they have to do when they see a problem is come up with some solution, create a good public relations campaign and sell it to a naive public. My health care system will solve society's ills this way. My plan for education will work thus an so....and on and on. Whether it will work or not is irrelevant to getting elected. Makes for a great stump speech and pithy 30 second commercials.

But try selling: "We are not smart enough to plan this economy." Try explaining the law of unintended consequences in 30 seconds. Try explaining "creative destruction" in a stump speech, without being castigated for hating any worker who ever loses his job.

What conservative in his right mind would want to lead the leviathan that our federal government has become? Let alone run the gauntlet of a primary campaign with every media outlet in the country attacking your character, your very soul. Only one who sees a real disaster coming and is therefore willing to do something completely contrary to his nature....lead an enormous, malfunctioning bureaucracy for the sole purpose of scaling it back, while trying to rescue those functions that properly belong to the federal government from the lifetime bureaucrats who populate our federal agencies. No wonder there are few true conservatives who ever run for national office.

Fred Thompson simply did not have the drive necessary to swallow the bitter pill that a full fledged presidential campaign would have been. At his best, he is an excellent orator, logical and convincing. Not unlike Ronald Reagan, the only true conservative in my lifetime to run for and attain the highest office in the land. (Winning 49 of 50 states with true conservative rhetoric.) The difference between Reagan and Thompson was not so much ideology as plain old guts. Reagan knew he had to dive into the muck, long before his successful run, to have a chance to be taken seriously. Reagan fought for the hearts and minds of his own party for years before he finally succeeded in getting the nomination.

Thompson apparently just did not have the stomach for it. Thompson has never before even tried to take the mantle as a leader of the party. He waited as long as he could (longer than prudent to all appearances) to even get in this race. And once he was in, Thompson just was not wiling to engage until the very end, until it was simply too late.

I can't say I blame him. But I sure do hope some other true believer is out there who will be willing to put in the time, take the grief, and slog through the mud long enough to show that conservatism, all the current post mortems to the contrary notwithstanding, is simply not dead. Maybe just like Reagan needed a Jimmy Carter to get elected, some true believer we don't even yet know about, may benefit from the Clinton, Obama, McCain or Giuliani to come.

Conservatives do not need a candidate with the thirst for power shared by every liberal candidate on the horizon. But they do need a conservative so concerned with the dangers facing this country that he/she is willing to "suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous" attacks from the left, for as long as it takes o win.

Fred Thompson just was not that man.

Mercutio Enters Stage Right...

T has given me the opportunity to contribute to her blog. I appreciate the chance to join a forum where I can air my views.

We are living in exciting and dangerous times, watching history as it happens. As a conservative, and a Catholic, I see changes everywhere that affect the things I believe in most. I believe that we need to be honest with ourselves about the dangers and challenges we are facing in this era, without succumbing to the pessimism and urge to surrender that seem to be taking such a hold on our culture. I hope what I add to this blog will be of interest to some, and perhaps at times add a new perspective to some of these issues.

Thanks again T.

"Any Man That Can Write May Post On A Blog."

In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, good Mercutio actually said "Any man that can write may answer a letter."

This is my introduction to a good man, Mercutio is his name, who promises to add enormous value and insight to Sma' Talk Wi' T.

Mercutio, an entertainer of women and a lover of wit. He's been passionately waiting in the wings to be center stage.

Right as in conservative values, actions, and policies.

You'll find it hard to argue against his dynamic points of view, especially when he calls for 'a plague on both houses' of Congress.

The Grrand Wazoo and I welcome Mercutio to the stage.

The Second Most Powerful Person In Scientology

That's what the world-famous Princess Diana biographer, Andrew Morton calls Tom Cruise.

Looking like Pierce Brosnan's baby brother, the infamous Hollywood movie star opens up about his secretive cult on the video at The Gawker's website.

Tom Cruise Second in Command

Mister Can You Spare Some CHANGE?

What's up with all this "Change" baloney that the current batch of Presidential wannabees are spouting? Change is nothing new to America, in fact, we do it faster and more often than any country in history. Every one of the candidates bring an automatic change with them. A female, an African-American, a Baptist Minister, an ex POW, a Mormon, an Italian-American, and a Metrosexual would all be something new in the White House.

What doesn't seem to change though is the lack of specificity exhibited by any of them as to what will change and how they will give birth to any changes. That is one change I would like to see.

Mein Koff Part 4

It's been a few days since I, your humble servant, have given you all the skinny on my crusade to quit smoking. My last reported strategy was to cut down from 2 packs a day to one. I'm sorry to report that that plan has been revised. Finding that scheme somewhat tedious to follow, I have settled for now to 1 1/2 packs per day. So far, this is working so I will stick with it until I am used to it and then pare down this once socially acceptable form of self abuse to 25 ciggie butts a day.

By no means am I offering my reports as any paradigm for smoking cessation, they more merely a personal catharsis but hey, if it can help someone else, so be it. If any of you are trying to quit, I wish you well and remember, you can't lose until you stop fighting.

Debates Showcase Mudslinging

I missed the first twenty minutes of the Republican portion of the debate but debate isn't the word that should be used for these events. These were chatty Cathy talking points. The debate didn't do much for me but show that candidates on both sides can eat members of their own party.

On the Republican side, I think Huckabee and Fred Thompson made the best showing, but then everybody ganged up on Romney. McCain took the harshest comments about his amnesty bill. Thompson was more alive and conversational than I've ever seen him (except in script on his tv show) and he made very good points. I can see someone watching the candidates for the first time saying Thompson would make a good president.

On the Democrat side, the two who held their own were Obama and Richardson. The candidates took turns taking each other to task. Hillary was embarrassing as she played the "hurt little girl" after being told she wasn't likeable. This is news to her? She is not presidential material. She kept talking about accomplishments yet didn't seem to recall that she hasn't accomplished anything. She had the nerve to bring up Obama's lobbyist.

Asked to name something they have said that they wished they could take back, Richardson mentioned his favorite Supreme Court Judge that President John F. Kennedy nominated, Whizzer White. Richardson didn't realize that White was against civil rights, Roe vs Wade, and discrimination laws, partisan mainstays of the Democratic party.

Glenn Beck To Reveal Hospital Malpractice

After an exhaustive national tour promoting his new best seller, An Inconvenient Book, Glenn Beck ends up in a life-threatening nightmare of a surgery. I knew he had gotten sick earlier this week, but that's Glenn, over the top. I'm so sorry that I didn't know how sick he truly was.

Glenn Beck's video is shocking, scary, and an example of what is to come if we allow universal medical treatment in our country without solving the problems. Listening to and watching Glenn, a celebrity superstar talk about his hospital treatment, his suicidal emotions, with tears in his eyes, is nerve-wracking.

As a mother, who experienced her own son's horrible medical treatment at a Florida hospital, I believe Glenn. My son was being treated for an infected ruptured appendicitis that was nearly fatal because the ER made him wait for 12 hours before seeing him, and the complications of cellulitis, a bacterial skin infection at a Florida hospital that could have also killed him. The ER staff, the nurses could have cared less about my son's symptoms and excruciating pain while the cleaning crew cared more about noisily emptying empty waste baskets while my son tried to sleep. I finally had to put the empty garbage pail outside in the hallway just so my son could rest.

I still don't know the reason for Glenn's hospitalization and eventual surgery, but I will be listening to Glenn's show on Monday morning and will hopefully see him on Monday night. He doesn't look like he should be doing either, but that's Glenn. He feels compelled to inform the public about the wrongs in our society. Even if it kills him. Keep him in your prayers.

Hillary's No Distance Runner

Hillary is her own worst enemy. Reality is setting in as more and more politicos are realizing that Iowan voters didn't come out necessarily for Obama, they voted against Hillary. With too many political scandals in her closet and a repugnating Clinton dynasty reputation, Clinton's third place finish is gearing up to repeat in New Hampshire. At the largest Democratic 100 Club dinner in New Hampshire's history, Hillary got booed twice and watched Obama brings up the rear with raves.

The first time was when she said she has always and will continue to work for "change for you. The audience, particularly from Obama supporters (they were waving Obama signs) let out a noise that sounded like a thousand people collectively groaning. The second time came a few minutes later when Clinton said: "The there are two big questions for voters in New Hampshire. One is: who will be ready to lead from day one? The second," and here Clinton was forced to pause as boos from the crowd mixed with cheers from her own supporters. "Is who can we nominate who will go the distance against the Republicans?”

The distance will not matter if Hillary wins the nomination, people will vote for any Republican to see that she doesn'tget into the White House.

Mein Koff Part 3

As many of my faithful readers know, in my effort to quit smoking, I had an adverse reaction to a prescription Nicotine patch. For the time being I have decided to take a different approach and that is to simply cut down to one pack a day. I usually go through two packs a day but many of those cigarettes simply burn away as I work at my computer. After one month, I plan to cut back to 18 coffin nails per day for a two week period and then cut down to 16 per day for two weeks and to continue trimming my smoking at that same pace until I have kicked the habit altogether.

One of the foreseeable problems will be what to do with the inevitable nervous energy that cessation will cause. Perhaps I will be writing more or even catch up on my reading. For Xmas I received a copy of Stephen Colbert's latest book "I am America (and so can you!)" I think I'll have to give that some attention.

At any rate, I am still determined to beat the butts and I'll be sure to give you all an update every day or so. As long as I keep fighting, I have not lost.

Huckabee Wins - Clinton Loses!

FOX news has 65% of the Iowa caucuses in with Republican candidate Huckabee and Democrat Obama checkmarked to win.

Percentage of votes right now with 65% of the precincts in, the top four Republicans are:

• Mike Huckabee 34%
• Mitt Romney 25%
• Fred Thompson 14%
• John McCain 13%

Percentage of votes right now with 84% of the precincts in, the top four Republicans are:

• Barack Obama 37%
• John Edwards 30%
• Hillary Clinton 30%
• Fred Richardson 2%

Hillary Clinton has lost! One down, 49 more states to go.

Huge Turnout In Iowa

Pastors Get IRS Warning Letters

Iowan pastors get warning letters supposedly from the Internal Revenue Service saying that they are risking their tax-exempt status as churches if they preach about who to vote for. It doesn't matter that only pastors supporting Mike Huckabee are getting these letters though, does it?

Huckabee's Tonight Show Appearance

Jay Leno on the Tonight Show started off with a weak monologue but the JIBJAB cartoon was good. He seemed lost though when he was asking for questions from the audience. The Leno Show is not as good as it was fifteen years ago.

Leno introduces the GOP presidential candidate with a joke about Huckabee's name. Huckabee made a great joke about Clinton inspiring people with his town called Hope. Mike said Clinton couldn't say that he loved being from a town called Hot Springs.

Huckabee is down to earth, he doesn't put on airs. Leno showed the "triple-wide" home they lived in during the Arkansas state mansion renovations.

I just like Mike. I like the way he explains his issues and solutions, like he did with the Fair Tax. He did a great job getting his point across.

Vote for Huckabee. He'll be a leader in the White House.

Feminist Groups Ignore True Misogyny For Their Own Immoral Values

What worldwide events are worth noting on the N.O.W.'s website? What do you think would be the most important issue with feminists? A woman's right to live, have a career, to be in the political process?

Here's a list of the article titles on N.O.W's webpage today January 2, 2008:

• Below the Belt: NOW's Naughty List - Stereotyping Toys
• FCC Votes To Make Big Media Bigger - Congress Should Slow Consolidation
• NOW, Hundreds of Groups Demand Health Care For Immigrant Children
• NOW Mourns Loss of Feminist Leader, Julia Mueli (Who? Oh, yeah... she edited the NOW newsletter and created a line of feminist jewelry that funds NOW and the ERA campaign)
• University Women Wins Safety Reforms in Title IX Settlement
• NOW Lobbies House on Hate Crimes
• Restore Affordable Birth Control to Low Income and College Women
• Put Volunteer Attorneys to Work for Domestic Violence Survivors
• Demand Emergency Contraception (EC) at Wal-Mart
• Tell Congress to Promote Network Neutrality - The free and open nature of the Internet and telecommunications are under attack. Individuals can access a range of information and services previously unthinkable. But all this could come to an end without network neutrality.
• No Reward for Imus
• Are Women Human?
• High Speed Internet is a Feminist Issue
• Repeal the Global Gag Rule
• Demand Accountability for Women's Health at the FDA
• Lift the Ban: Repeal "Don't Ask Don't Tell!" More...

Nothing on Benazir Bhutto's assassination. In fact if you do a search on NOW's website for the words Benazir Bhutto, this is what you will read:

National Organization for Women Search for : -->
Did you mean bankruptcy both?
Search for Benazir Bhutto. Search results: benazir : 0, bhutto : 0
Sorry, your search for Benazir Bhutto did not find any results.
Suggestions:
Make sure all words are spelled correctly.
Try different or more general keywords.
Use our extended search mode to have more search options

Benazir Bhutto's murder should be on the lips of every member of N.O.W., every feminazi, every woman who faces abuse in the world today. Bhutto was not killed because of politics or religion.

The Australian columnist Pamela Bone's article on the real reason behind the assassination of Pakistan's first female Prime Minister should strike fear in all women, no matter their religious views.

The time is NOW to recognize that women in nearly every country in the world are still considered second class in religion, politics, and employment.

Massive and Systematic Abuse of Women Worldwide

The UN and Women's Rights

UN Criticizes Austria on Women's Rights

Chinese Human Rights Reports

Women's Human Rights

Protesters Barely A Blight On Rose Parade

Viewed as more of a pest and irritant than a newsworthy post, Cindy Sheehan and 150 anti-war protesters (yawn) walked at the end of the 2008 Tournament of Roses New Years Parade in Pasadena, CA.

Twenty-three people were arrested by Tuesday afternoon, including one protester, Pasadena Police Department Lt. Keith Jones said. Jones said the protester was "arrested for holding up a sign that blocked other patrons view of the parade."

Dozens of anti-war protesters led by "Peace Mom" Cindy Sheehan staked out spots across from television cameras, hoisting signs reading "Impeachment is Patriotic."

After the procession's last float inched out to start along the parade's 5 1/2-mile route, a group of more than 100 anti-war protesters marched behind it, including Sheehan. Parade watchers sitting in the grandstand booed and yelled at the protesters.

"This is not the occasion for this," Mary Feichtel, 63, of Florida, said of the protests.
Sheehan spoke later to a gathering of protesters at Pasadena City Hall.

"We are all here for accountability," Sheehan said. "You didn't ruin anybody's parade, they got to see the truth."

The truth is Cindy Sheehan's son is a hero and all of Sheehan's embarrassing actions won't change that.

Dozens Of Radical Islamic Groups Found In Glasgow

Counter-terrorism reports provide insight to how terrorists have infiltrated Britain.

Last Summer's failed Islamic suicide bombing of a British airport, gave counter-terror officials some hot leads. That resulted in a "good news-bad news" situation. Good news was that investigators found dozens more Islamic radicals in Scotland and northern England. The bad news was that investigators found dozens more Islamic radicals in Scotland and northern England. One group that was publicly outed was a gang of fifty British born criminals of Pakistani origin, who were running various scams and passing on about $100,000 a month to a major Pakistani Islamic terrorist organization (Jaish-e-Mohammed, or JEM). This outfit was founded in 2001 by a radical cleric (Maulana Masood Azhar), who had just gotten out of an Indian jail. That was arranged by his followers, who hijacked an Indian airliner, and threatened to kill 155 passengers and crew if their guy was not released.

Eight Muslim Doctors Linked To UK Terror Plot

Muslim Doctors Hypocratic Oath

Muslim Doctors Targeted Jacksonville Naval Base

Radical Jihadism - Why In Britain and Not United States

Bumpersticker Examples of Weekend Terrorism

Glasgow Terrorists Were Not British Citizens

Glasgow Airport Bombed By Terrorists

Colon Cancer Linked To Mormon Ancestor

Amazing genealogy studies combined with genetic research has detected the reason why thousands of people in the United States have colon cancer.

A married couple who sailed to America from England around 1630 are the reason why thousands of people in the United States are at higher risk of a hereditary form of colon cancer, researchers said on Wednesday.

Using a genetic fingerprint, a U.S. team traced back a so-called founder genetic mutation to the couple found among two large families currently living in Utah and New York.

Cancer researchers at the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Utah did not name the families but said thousands of people across the country may have the mutation that spread widely as the couple's descendants branched apart over many generations.
"The fact that this mutation can be traced so far back in time suggests it could be carried by many more families in the United States than is currently known," said Deb Neklason, who led the study. "In fact, this founder mutation might be related to many colon cancer cases in the United States."

Colorectal cancer is the third-leading cause of cancer death in the United States. It will affect 153,000 Americans in 2008, according to the American Cancer Society, and will kill 52,000.

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

The U.S. team first focused on the Utah branch of the family -- numbering about 5,000 people today -- 14 years ago because its members had an unusually high risk of colon cancer.

Because the family was Mormon, the researchers were able to mine a wealth of genealogical information taken from detailed church records over the years that is now part of a large genetics database in Utah, Neklason said.

While most of the records in the study related to the Utah part of the family, the researchers eventually identified the New York branch as well.

Central Florida Braces For Snow

Let it snow! Let it snow! Daytona Beach, oh no!

We have Blizzard Beach in Florida but do we have a change of seasons?

Yes, we do! Snow predictions are being forecasted for Central Florida tomorrow night with the likelihood of precipitation. Last time we had snow was November 2006.

So much for Gore's dire global warming with snow two years in a row in Florida.

We'll let you know how much we get or if we are lucky, we'll post a picture!

Most Americans Satisfied With Their Personal Lives

Gallup poll has an interesting national poll that shows 84% of Americans are personally satisfied with their lives. Who's the happiest?

Most Americans say they are generally happy, with a slim majority saying they are "very happy." More than 8 in 10 Americans say they are satisfied with their personal lives at this time, including a solid majority who say they are "very satisfied." This personal satisfaction level contrasts sharply with the low level of satisfaction Americans express with the way things are going "in the United States at this time." Republicans, married adults, those residing in higher income households, parents of young children, those attending church weekly, and whites are most likely to say they are satisfied and happy at this time.

Who typically votes Democratic tickets? Ethnic groups like blacks and Jews, idealistic young adults, uneducated, secular, divorced, alternative lifestyles.

You can understand why they buy into the idea that America is in ruins and aren't happy with the way the liberal MSM's are depicting the news in America.

My Living Doll

Julie Newmar, aka Robot AF 709, created for Bob Cummings as the perfect woman, was thought to be futuristic impossibility in the 1960's.

Not anymore.

In the future, experts are predicting sex with robots for the next generation.

If you're younger than 35, you'll probably live long enough to put David Levy's prediction to the test. Levy says that by 2050 we'll be creating robots so lifelike, so imbued with human-seeming intelligence and emotions, as to be nearly indistinguishable from real people. And we'll have sex with these robots. Some of us will even marry them. And it will all be good.

Levy lays out his vision of a Brave New Carnal World in Love and Sex With Robots: The Evolution of Human-Robot Relationships, which, despite its extended riffs on sex toys through the ages, is a snigger-free book. Levy's no Al Goldstein. Rather he's a 62-year-old British chess master turned artificial-intelligence expert persuaded that robot sex can brighten the lives of many, many unhappy people. "Great sex on tap for everyone, 24/7,'' he writes on the final page of the book. What's not to like?

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

So who will avail themselves of 21st-century sexbots?

Sad cases, for one, people so physically unattractive or anti-social or isolated or emotionally crippled that they have trouble finding human romance. People who love their computers more than their fellows. Hey, they're out there already.

"They're lonely; they're miserable," Levy said. "I think society will be a much better place when they have an alternative that satisfies them without doing any harm to other people."

Add in those who have a satisfying sexual relationship but are simply curious and somewhere between 20 percent and 50 percent of the population will experience man-machine mating at least occasionally, Levy predicts.

He respects the fact that plenty of people, out of moral or religious conviction, will contemplate this with horror.

"But by and large," he said, "it will be very good for society, very beneficial, and I think that will be the majority view within a relatively short space of time."

Sexbots may put prostitutes out of business, he notes.

The exponential consequences of creating this brave new bedroom partner is mind-boggling. Can you see the anti-Luddite unions being set up to protect the rights of sexbots?

Can you see the millions of women being displaced due to men not wanting to deal with emotional females?

What will happen to the blow-up doll industry?

Can you see China mass-producing their own sexbots to handle the billions of men without access to female companionship due to the country's misogynistic feticide?

Oh for the good ol' days.

Back To Square One

Disappointment is the word for today. I awoke early this morning, earlier than normal. While listening to my old coffee maker groaning away as it brewed my morning libation I found myself in my usual Pavlovian state of anticipation of that first cigarette of the morning when I spotted the box of nicotine patches on the table and thought to myself "Here goes".

After fumbling with the packet that the patch came in I managed to apply it on my forearm. I poured myself a cuppa joe and turned the kitchen TV on to catch the local news. As I sipped my coffee and absorbed the banality that local news usually is, I began to realize that I was getting somewhat light headed. I wondered if it wasn't just a bit of morning fogginess and thought that once my coffee hit bottom it would dissipate, but it didn't. I quickly removed the patch and did a bit of self monitoring as my acuity began to slowly return. As the light headedness abated, it was being replaced with a glimmer of a headache which steadily grew.

I'm fairly certain that this episode can be attributed to the nicotine patch which of course, takes my quest to stop smoking back to square one. Perhaps the dosage is too high or maybe I chose a bad spot to apply the patch and there is also the thought that the patch may not be the mechanism by which I can succeed in my quest. I will have to consult with my Doctor and perhaps a smoking cessation clinic but in some form or another, the fight will go on.

Belletrists Blasphemy

What are some of the words and phrases that wordsmith purists think should be banned from use in 2008? Not in any particular order:

• surge
• perfect storm
• post-9/11
• Webinar
• "x is the new y" as in "(age) 70 is the new 50" or "chocolate is the new sex." "Fallacy is the new truth"
• organic
• pop
• "give back" as applied to charitable gestures, usually by celebrities
• "Back in the day"
• And finally, any self-respecting writer would groan at being labeled a "wordsmith" who engages in "wordsmithing."

My choices for words and phrases in 2007 that were overused and worthless?

• Green (If everything is green without standards, then how good is it?)
• Global warming (Unproven quackery given legitimacy by the media)
• Nobel Peace Prize (It's never for real peaceful actions - it should called Nobel Political Statement Award)
• Debate (It's never a debate - it's 20 second sound bites)
• "Don't tase me, bro" (it's 15 seconds of fame is over)
• "I Support the troops." (What all liberals say despite not understanding the meaning of support.
• House Intelligence Committee (oxymoron)
• EVOO (What's wrong with saying the word Virgin?)
• Firestorm (hyperbole)
• MySpace, MyFacebook, etc. (Teenage Angst - Who Cares?)
• Waterboarding (Games played at the beach - not torture)
• Partisan (If we weren't partisan, there would be no political parties)

What words and phrases would you like never to hear or read again?

How Will They Ever Become A Superpower?

China has now banned the production of all XXX rated movies, pornography, and vulgar language and song lyrics.

The Beijing News quoted the ordinance as saying "The heaviest punishment for such violation would lead to a five-year ban of perpetrators from the movie industry," the state-run news agency reported.

The censors warned all major studios and local regulators to "bear their own responsibility in correcting the wrong deeds of producing erotic movies. Violating studios might face the harshest punishment of revoking permits for shooting films."

I think is a smart move on China's part considering that they are going to have to deal with sex-starved testosteroned males without an outlet for their pent up energies. Can we say angry young men? Okay, then try saying war?

Females Disappearing From Asia.

2008: The Year A New Superpower Is Born.

The Class Of 2007: Priesthood

The Survey of Ordinands to the Priesthood report by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. It was published in March of 2007 but I think it's relevant now. The report states that hopefully 475 seminarians will graduate from training with 30% from foreign countries.

Rasmussen Poll Shows 4-Way Tie

Fox is reporting that Rasmussen polls show a 4 way tie with McCain leading at 17%, Huckabee and Romney at 16%, and Giuliani at 15%. The poll was conducted with 600 likely GOP voters particiapating. +/- 4% margin error.

Police Going Round In Circles

Okay this is just fun to watch... although the use of tax dollars training police officers is questionable.

Ocean Cruise Tans Pale Faces

The Great Reporter is highlighting a new trend among Goths: ocean cruises.

The mind boggles at the thought of traditional Goths being awake during daytime hours, walking around in bikinis, suntanning, playing shuffleboard, skeet shooting, and dining ten times a day.

Reactions to their appearance range from the oft-repeated question “Are you in a band?” to terrified stares, to one older woman who asked Lobster whether he and his friends worshipped the devil (no). Mostly, GothCruise-goers say, the reactions are positive. The
ship’s crew and staff snap pictures of them. The goth sightseers become sights themselves.

How Old Were You When You Found Out About Sex?

The story about the birds and the bees is a popular way of telling children all about the ins and outs of sex without having to be too graphic. It works for those not ready to comprehend the complexities of human behaviour. I was thirteen when it finally hit me after reading a physical education book for women what truly happened during sex. It was not a comforting thought. My first reaction was that thankfully my parents only did "it" six times. I quickly pushed all thoughts of sex out of my head and refused to think about "it" for another five years.

Why are people so adamant the way to get children to stop thinking about sex is to tell them about it? Why can't innocence be preserved until the need to know time of adolescence?

Scotland has decided that the way to combat their pre-teenagers having high pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease rates is to tell children at an earlier age all about sex. The Scottish government is now mandating that children as young as five years old be taught about how to prevent getting pregnant and sexually transmitted diseases.

We believe that all children and young people are entitled to receive Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) as part of the statutory provision of Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHE Education) in schools. No school should be able to opt out of delivering good Sex and Relationships Education to their pupils (including primary schools, faith schools and academies), which should be taught throughout a pupil’s time in education.

How is that going to close the barn door? Isn't telling children exactly why they want to play doctor going to give them an excuse to play doctor? Isn't going to open the minds of genetically born sexual perverts to take advantage of even more victims at an earlier age?

In a country where the Page Three of most newspapers is a naked breasted female and that nudity on television during prime time is not even blinked at - is it no wonder that sexuality permeates children's lives?

Teenage pregnancies are higher in the UK than anywhere else in Europe, and though the figures are declining, Scotland has more than 9,000 every year. Health Minister Malcolm Chisholm made a statement to the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday and launched a wide-ranging consultation on the 100-plus recommendations produced in the panel’s 92-page report.

Among them is a “sex czar” to oversee the implementation of the strategy. This person would be given the job of reducing the pregnancy rate among 13 to 15-year-olds by 20% by 2010.

Birth Control Implanted in 13 year olds.

Pope Laments Trivialization of Sex Among Youth

Vatican Bedeviled By Exorcism Spill

The Vatican quickly responded to reports that exorcism teams had been expanded due to an increase in Satanic possessions.

The Vatican is denying reports it plans to install more exorcists around the world so possessed people can get help quickly." Pope Benedict XVI has no intention of ordering local bishops to bring in garrisons of exorcists to fight demonic possession,'' Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told reporters in Rome Friday.

The announcement to the online Catholic News Service that the Vatican was going to fight the Devil head on was made by 82-year-old Father Gabriele Amorth, the Vatican "exorcist-in-chief," who excused himself by saying the Devil made him do it.

Ron Paul Appalled At Being Left Out

Fox News is hosting a Republican debate in New Hampshire and they haven't invited Ron Paul. Wah, wah, wah. Ron Paul is reaping what he has sown in the past. In all honesty, Ron Paul isn't a Republican and shouldn't be included in the debate.

He's a Libertarian through and through. In fact, Ron Paul is the National Libertarian Party's choice for President.

The Libertarian National Committee just voted to urge Texas congressman Ron Paul to run for president as a Libertarian, again.

Dr. Paul, R-Lake Jackson, ran as the party’s standard bearer in 1988. His Ron Paul Revolution, made famous lately on a blimp and for most of the last year by fanatical legions of supporters, has “ignited a renewed passion for liberty across America” with his bid for the Republican nomination, according to an LNC resolution authored by former Georgia congressman Bob Barr and approved by the committee Sunday in Charleston, S.C.

Besides, the resolution noted, he’s still a “member of the Libertarian Party in good standing.”

The offer is open just in case GOP voters pass on Dr. Paul in the next few months. He could secure the Libertarian nomination at that party’s convention in Denver next Memorial Day weekend.

Paul's Not The Only One Left Out.

Politicians Can't Be Nice Guys

Huckabee's damned if he does, damned if he doesn't. Politicians on both sides can spend millions on attack ads and when the underdog attackee responds back with just their viewpoints, they are condemned.

During his stop in Osceola, after defending his own record, Mr. Huckabee laid out a string of attacks on Mr. Romney’s past statements about his views on abortion rights, gun control, the Reagan administration, and his past as a hunter.

“You are not going to find moments on YouTube of me saying something different about the sanctity of life today than I said ten years ago, ten minutes ago, or fifty years ago,” Mr. Huckabee said, referring to footage of Mr. Romney declaring his support for abortion rights—a position he later changed. “You are not going to find something in YouTube where I said something completely different about gun ownership and the second amendment than I did last week, ten weeks ago, ten years go.”

“You are not going to hear me making up stuff about my biography. I don’t go around saying I was lifelong golfer because I once rode in a golf cart when I was eight years old,” Mr. Huckabee said.

Take a minute and look at the ads. Mike Huckabee isn't the perfect candidate. I'm concerned about his illegal immigrant policies, but he espouses my viewpoints on Christian ecumenicism, he's pro-life and will appoint conservative judges to the Supreme Court. Doing what's right isn't the road to popularity, just ask President Bush and Governor Huckabee.

Mein Koff

Well faithful readers, after 40+ years of enriching the economy of North Carolina I, your humble servant, have decided to quit smoking. I am starting on "The Patch" tomorrow Jan. 2, 2008 . This is not a New Years Resolution, those are too easy to break. I have been steeling myself for this life style change for two weeks now and am quite cognizant of the struggle that will ensue. The battle will take place on two fronts. The first arena of battle will be against the powerful addiction that is nicotine and the second will be against my personal frailties and the cunning deceptions we humans devise to protect those same weaknesses.

This decision to is not due to any immediate health concerns, it's just that I am frankly tired of being an addict. Sure, when I was 14 and had a pack of Luckies rolled up under the sleeve of my shirt, I felt ultra cool and oh so adult but it doesn't feel so cool anymore unless waking up with a cough and running out of breath at times is the new "Cool".

So tomorrow the fight begins. I know already how much I will miss that first smoke of the day and how my morning coffee will never be the same. I realize that I will miss each and every after meal cigarette and I am totally ready to deal with it.

Starting tomorrow and each day there after, I will try to chronicle my feelings and thoughts as I stumble through this long over due adventure and I hope a few of you will tune in and share it all with me. In the words of Gene Kranz of Apollo 13, "Failure is not an option" See you tomorrow.

Harry Potter Numero 8?

"The best of us must sometimes eat our words."

~ Spoken by Albus Dumbledore in "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ."

Never say never. J. K. Rowling is hinting at a new sequel to the Harry Potter series.

Rowling, 42, admits she has 'weak moments' when she feels she will pen another novel about the boy wizard.

One of her biggest fans – her 14-year-old daughter Jessica – has already put pressure on her to revisit the character.

And her younger children – David, four, and Mackenzie, two – are likely to join the clamour for another novel as they discover the Potter books.

However, if an eighth novel were to be written, Rowling concedes it is unlikely that Harry would be the central character.

She finished the seventh book in the series – Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – last January.

At the time she thought she was ending a 17-year association with the boy wizard.

But in an interview with Time magazine, which put Rowling at No 3 in its Person Of The Year list, she said: "There have been times since finishing, weak moments, when I've said 'Yeah, all right' to the eighth novel.

I, for one, am pleased that the series could continue. Reading of books has been infused by children and adults who would have never picked up a book before the Harry Potter series. That a woman is one of the most read authors in the world and in history is also noteworthy. Kudos to J. K. Rowlings.

Hogmanay ~ The Only Place To Celebrate New Year's

Scotland is the greatest place in the world to celebrate Hogmanay or New Year's Eve!

Chris Darlington, 24, and Tim Twyford, 25, from Jindabyne, Australia, were not disappointed. "We've been travelling, so the world was pretty much our oyster as far as where we spent the New Year," Mr Darlington said. "But we'd heard that Edinburgh was the place to be, so we decided to come here. We've spoken to some of the locals, who said it's not quite as popular as it used to be, but it's been great – a really good atmosphere."

Mr Twyford added: "It's been really fun. Not as busy as I expected, but people are really friendly and we're not bothered by the rain."

Alexa Van Sickle, 25, from Austria, said she makes a point of visiting the "Home of Hogmanay" for the Bells every year.She added: "Celebrating New Year anywhere else wouldn't be the same – this is the best in the world. Edinburgh really knows how to throw a party and this year is no exception." Phil Russell, 23, didn't have far to come from his home in Bathgate, West Lothian, and brought 12 of his friends. He said: "Everyone kept telling us about the party and we decided just to do it this year. None of us have ever been before and we can't believe how many people are here. It's been a brilliant night."

American tourists John Willis and Megan McQuinn were also among the Princes Street revellers. Mr Willis, 29, said: "A friend of mine came to the Edinburgh party a few years ago and said it was amazing so we had to come and see it for ourselves." Ms McQuinn, 27, said: "I can't believe how friendly Edinburgh is, and what a really great atmosphere there is in the city."

Crowds gathered as far away as North Queensferry in Fife to watch the breathtaking pyro-technic display scattered on seven hills around the capital.

Ten fireworks were set off every second – 6,000 in total.However, organisers confirmed that £20 "party packs", offering access to the event as well as merchandise, were on sale until 10pm. In previous years, tickets sold out well in advance and the event drew 180,000 revellers to celebrate the millennium. Pete Irvine, of Unique Events – the firm behind the capital's celebrations, attacked claims that revellers were abandoning Edinburgh for rival cities such as Liverpool or Newcastle. He said: "Edinburgh's Hogmanay is still an incredibly strong event and delivers what it says on the tin."

Yesterday's festivities kicked off at 11am as about 400 New Zealanders packed Jongleurs comedy club in Edinburgh – and celebrated as the clock struck midnight in their homeland.In Glasgow, about 15,000 people gathered at George Square. Indie band The View headlined the event, with Scottish singer-songwriter Amy MacDonald also performing.

Neil Gullaghan, 21, from London, described the atmosphere as "outstanding".Max Johnstone, 11, of Greenock, went to George Square with mother Alice and his aunt and cousin from South Africa. He said: "It was brilliant. I have never experienced anything like this before. It was as good as Christmas."

In Oban, about 5,000 people were expected at Hogmanay celebrations marking the end of the Highland Year of Culture. Scotland's largest free Hogmanay event was at Aberdeen's Castlegate, where 20,000 people watched headline act Travis and support act Sandi Thom.

Stonehaven hosted one of the last remaining midwinter fire festivals, with a procession of locals swinging fireballs to ward off the darkness and welcome 2008.

Moscow