Archbishop Chaput analyzes election, challenges pro-Obama Catholics

Feb. 25, 2009 (CWNews.com) -

In an address delivered Monday evening in Toronto, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver analyzed the implications of the election for Catholics in the United States. The lecture was cosponsored by the Archdiocese of Toronto, the Salt and Light Catholic Television Network, the Toronto Legatus Chapter, and the University of St. Michael’s College.

After discussing themes of his bestselling book Render Unto Caesar: Serving the Nation by Living Our Catholic Beliefs in Political Life, Archbishop Chaput turned to the November election. “As Catholics, we at least need to be honest with ourselves and each other about the political facts we start with. Unfortunately when it comes to the current administration that will be very hard for Catholics in the United States, and here’s why. A spirit of adulation bordering on servility already exists among some of the same Democratic-friendly Catholic writers, scholars, editors and activists who once accused prolifers of being too cozy with Republicans. It turns out that Caesar is an equal opportunity employer.”  (Full story at Catholic Culture)

'Taking Chance' -- A Look at the Real Price of Freedom

I saw this movie and was throughly awe struck. With all the negative we have been hearing about Americans, this reminded me WE ARE AMERICANS AND WE ARE GOOD.

Posted by Bobby Eberle

President Obama unveils his proposed budget for FY 2010 on Thursday. Several news outlets already have summaries, and the bullet items paint a grim picture of massive government spending and the return of higher taxes. Obama will be pushing his plan for universal health care. That means the taxpayers will now be in the business of providing health care for all.

It's just too much for me to take today, so I'm going to take a different turn. We hear about these plans and the tremendous amount of money that Obama is planning to spend. But what about the real cost of freedom? I'm talking about the men and women who have given their lives to keep this country free. They have paid the ultimate price so that you and I can live in this great country. In the new HBO film, "Taking Chance," we are reminded of that sacrifice and how a fallen Marine still touches the lives of those around him, even after he has passed from this world. (Full story at GOPUSA)

Am I A Fireman Yet? & The REAL story of Bopsy!

Apparently this is one version of a TRUE story. Read the 'newest' version of the story and then follow the link at the bottom for the REAL story. Both stories are touching and it's even better to have the REAL story.

In Phoenix, Arizona, a 26-year-old mother stared down

at her 6 year old son who was dying of terminal leukemia.

Although her heart was filled with sadness,
     she also had a strong feeling of determination.

Like any loving parent, she wanted her son to grow up and
fulfill his dreams. That was no longer possible. 

The leukemia would see to that.

But she still hoped.

She took her son' s hand and asked,
"Billy, did you ever dream about what you wanted
to be when you grow up?
Do you have dream for your life?"

"Mommy, I want to be a fireman."

    Mom said, "Billy that's a wonderful dream!"

Later that day she went to her local Fire Department
in Phoenix, Arizona. There she met
Fireman Bob, who had a heart as big as Phoenix.

She explained her son's dream and asked Bob
if it might be possible to give Billy
a ride around the block on a fire engine.

Fireman Bob said, "Look, we can do
better than that. If you'll have your son ready at
seven o'clock Wednesday morning, we'll make
him an honorary Fireman for the whole day.
He can come down to the fire station, eat with us,
go out on all the fire calls, the whole nine yards!?

And if you'll give us his sizes, we'll get a real fireman's uniform for him,
with a real firehat , not a toy, one with the emblem of the

Phoenix Fire Department on it,

a yellow slicker like we wear and rubber boots.
They're all manufactured right here in Phoenix
so we can get them fast."

                                           Three days later Fireman Bob picked Billy up,
                                   dressed him in his uniform and escorted him from his hospital bed

to the waiting hook and ladder truck.

Billy got to sit on the back of the truck
and help steer it back to the fire station.
He was in heaven.

There were three fire calls in Phoenix that day
and Billy got to go out on all three calls.

He rode in the different fire engines,
the Paramedic's' van,
and even the fire chief's car.

He was videotaped for the
local news programs.

Having his dream come true, with?all the love and attention that was lavished upon him,

so deeply touched Billy, that he lived three months longer than any doctor thought possible.

One night all of his vital signs began to
drop dramatically and the head nurse, who believed
that no one should die alone, called the family members to the hospital.

Then she remembered the day Billy had spent
as a Fireman, so she called the Fire Chief and
asked if he could send a fireman
in uniform to the hospital to be with Billy as he made his final transition.

The chief said, "We can do better than that.
We'll be there in five minutes. Please do me a favor.
When you hear the sirens screaming and see the
lights flashing, will you announce over the
PA system that there is not a fire. Say, 'It's the department
coming to see one of its finest members one more time.' And be sure
you open the window to Billy's room."

About five minutes later a hook and ladder truck,  lights flashing and sirens blaring,  arrived at the hospital, extended its ladders up to Billy's third floor open window

and sixteen fire-fighters stormed up the ladder into Billy's room.

With his mother's permission, they hugged him, held him

and told him they were proud of him, and loved him.

In his last moments,
 Billy looked at the fire chief and said,
"Chief, am I really a fireman now?"

"You are Billy, and The Head Chief,

is holding your hand."


With those words, Billy smiled and said,
'I know, He's been holding my hand all day,

and The angels have been
Singing.'

He closed his eyes and died.

The REAL Story of Bopsy!

Barney Frank: Republicans Didn’t Applaud Obama for Fear of Limbaugh and Hannity

What a piece of work this guy is. He's partly responsible for the housing problems.  And I suppose there was no Democratic 'iron hand' that kept democrats from applauding George W. Bush? Somehow, i don't remember a lot of Democrats standin up and applauding GW.


from CNSNews.com

By Josiah Ryan, Staff Writer

(CNSNews.com) - Mindless Republicans are heeding the iron discipline of conservative talk radio hosts Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh, Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) told reporters after President Barack Obama’s address to the nation on Tuesday.


“I don’t think we found any Republican minds today,” Frank told a reporter minutes after the president had finished his speech. “They shut their minds down. They are so afraid of being yelled at by Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity they won’t even clap for him [Obama] even when they agree with him.”

“They are literally afraid to deal with him,” said Frank. “Outside of Arlen Specter and the Maine senators, and a handful of others, they are all terrified of the iron discipline of the radio talk show hosts.”

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), Sen. Susan Collins (D-Maine), and Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) were the only three Republicans to support the Democrats’ $787-billion stimulus package.

“I think they are frustrated by how effective he [Obama] is that they are not open to him,” said Frank.

'Wrong Way' Obama

Otis A. Glazebrook IV
Last night, with his faux State of the Union Address to a joint session of Congress, President Barack Obama lifted off on a flight of dramatic rhetoric that will attempt to take America in exactly the wrong direction. His speech was reminiscent of an experimental flight made by Douglas Corrigan on the foggy night of July 18th, 1938.

Douglas Corrigan became a legendary aviator, not because of his accomplishments as a pilot but rather because of a supposed navigational error. In 1938, Corrigan "mistakenly" flew from New York to Ireland -- when he was supposed to be flying from New York to California -- because he seemingly misread his compass.[i]

Like wise, President Obama is misreading his compass and charts as he stakes his Presidency and Americas future on three fundamentally flawed economic concepts: (1) a government run “green energy - cap and trade” system, (2) a government run “single payer” universal healthcare and (3) a government run National Bank will, when all three are up and running, pull us out of our government induced economic malaise. (Full story at American Thinker)

Influential Chicago priest: Benedict’s theology contributes to Holocaust controversy

 Please, don't take the word 'Influential' seriously.

Father John Pawlikowski, director of the Catholic-Jewish Studies Program at the Catholic Theological Union, says that Pope Benedict’s “ahistorical ecclesiology” has contributed to the controversy surrounding the lifting of the excommunication of Bishop Richard Williamson.

“Pawlikowski isn’t so sure Benedict fully comprehends the concerns of Jews who suspect Pius XII ignored their plight,” writes Chicago Tribune religion reporter Manya Brachear. Father Pawlikowski adds that the pontiff “views the Holocaust as a pagan, anti-human phenomenon but doesn’t really want to deal very clearly and explicitly with the Christian complicity that was also there … His vision of the church is very ahistorical. Really, the essence of the church is not within history. It’s transcendental and is not really impacted as such by the realities of human history ... He sees the church primarily as a victim of the Nazis and not in any way a collaborator.” (Full story at Catholic Culture)

Homeland Security Chief Avoids Mention of 9/11, Terrorism in Remarks to Congress

No mention of terrorism from a Homeland Security briefing?  For some reason I don't feel any safer, do you?

By Eileen Sullivan and Matt Apuzzo, Associated Press

Washington (AP) - As Janet Napolitano heads to Capitol Hill for the first time as homeland security secretary, she is leaving behind the tough terrorism talk of her predecessors.

She is the first security chief to leave out the words "terror" and "vulnerability" from remarks prepared for delivery to the House Homeland Security Committee, according to a copy obtained by The Associated Press.

Tom Ridge, who headed the agency when it was launched in 2003, mentioned terrorism 11 times in his prepared statement at his debut before the oversight committee. And in 2005 Michael Chertoff, the second secretary, mentioned terrorism seven times, according to an AP analysis of the prepared testimonies.

Brisbane's archbishop feels the squeeze

by Phil Lawler

Feb. 24, 2009 (CWNews.com) -

There's a fascinating undercurrent running through the story from Brisbane, Australia, in which a pastor is defying his archbishop's authority. On the surface the conflict appears to be a struggle between the pastor, Father Peter Kennedy, and Archbishop John Bathersby. But Kennedy and his supporters are sending a slightly different message.

When the archbishop engaged a mediator to resolve the dispute, Father Kennedy rejected the idea as another "bullying tactic." The defiant pastor went on to say, "you see bullies never get enough of bullying and Rome bullies the bishops and the bishops bully us."

So now the distant, faceless power of "Rome" has been brought into the discussion. Father Kennedy is hinting broadly that Archbishop Bathersby would not have taken disciplinary action if the archbishop himself hadn't been under pressure from the Vatican. (Full story at Catholic Culture)

Media Credibility, Not Ice Caps, In Meltdown

By Peter C Glover

Eco-warriors and media hype aside, the fact is, as we head into 2009, that the world's ice mass has been expanding not contracting. Which will surprise evening news junkies fed a diet of polar bears floating about on ice floes and snow shelves falling into the oceans. But if a whole series of reports on ice growth in the Arctic, the Antarctic and among glaciers are right, then it is truth in the mainstream media (MSM) that's in meltdown not the polar ice caps.

The problem for the MSM is that it long ago nailed its colors to the climate alarmist mast. No ice cap meltdown, no rising waters. No disappearing islands, no reason for alarm. No alarm, no story. Worst of all having called yet another global apocalypse wrong: No credibility. So the MSM has a significant stake in running highly selective warm-mongering headlines. Not to mention disparaging those scientists who have the temerity to disagree as 'holocaust deniers' and 'pseudo-scientists'.

There's nothing more the climate alarmist media loves than a 'melting Arctic' ice cap story. So why not stories from the far larger expanse of ice that is the 'melting' Antarctic? Well it might have something to do with the fact that the Antarctic ice grew to record levels in 2007 - and continues to grow. (Full story at American Thinker)

Congress Should Cut Military Spending, Says Democrat Barney Frank

CNSNews.com) – Congress should cut U.S. military spending by $160 billion, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, proposed at a press conference Tuesday.

That same day, however, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), who controls the House floor schedule, distanced himself and the majority leadership from Frank’s proposal -- and both the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services declined to endorse Frank’s plan. (Full story at CNSNews.com)

Gitmo in Conformity with Geneva Convention, Obama-Ordered Report Confirms

CNSNews.com) – The Guantanamo Bay prison where terror suspects are held was examined by a special task force ordered by President Barack Obama. In its 81-page report, released Monday, the task force concluded: “After considerable deliberation and a comprehensive review, it is our judgment that the conditions of confinement in Guantanamo are in conformity with Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention.”

The report also noted that the prison, popularly referred to as Gitmo, keeps its thermostat set between 75 and 80 degrees, provides art classes to the prisoners, and holds a library of 13,000 books, 900 magazines, 300 DVDs and regular TV programs. Also, there is a “detainee newsletter.”  (Full story at CNSNewws.com)

Coloring History

By Rita Kramer

This is Black History Month, perhaps an appropriate time to call attention to an aspect of black history that has been papered over and all but forgotten in the official accounts and in what is taught in schools.

How many people today, black or white, know that the National Association for Colored People was founded by three white folks, two WASPS and a Jew, and that it was led and funded until well into the last century by whites, many of them Jews?  It is understandable that after a hundred years some degree of historical Alzheimers may appear in the memory of the organization-as it does on its web-site-but perhaps it is time to remember the truth about how it all happened.

Exactly one hundred years ago, on the centenary of Abraham Lincoln's birth and just one hundred years before a man of color would be elected to the Presidency of the United States, the situation in the Southern states was dreadful for dark-skinned Americans.  Most eked out a living as tenant farmers, exploited by the owners of the land they worked.  They were prevented from voting and their children, if they attended school at all, went barefoot to ramshackle buildings with few books or other supplies.  Negroes (the polite term then, which we will adopt for this article) were subject to arson, rape, and mob murder by lynching, with little or no interference by the elected authorities.  In many places it was a crime for black and white to frequent the same place at the same time.  The South was a society of complete and brutally enforced segregation.

 

(Full story at Americsan Thinker) 

“Cool it!”

Another priest who 'gets it' !

San Diego bishop asks outspoken priest to exercise restraint in Obama criticism

San Diego Bishop Robert Brom has asked an outspoken Escondido priest to tone down his fierce criticism of the Obama Administration, prompting supporters of the priest to launch a letter-writing campaign to the bishop on his behalf.

On Feb. 11, California Catholic Daily reprinted an article – “100 Days or End of Days?” -- from the parish bulletin of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Escondido written by Pastor Richard Perozich. In the article, Fr. Perozich warned that “evil has acceded to power” in the Obama Administration. (To see the article behind the controversy, Click Here.)

 Sources at St. Mary’s told California Catholic Daily that a family from the parish-administered St. Mary’s School had complained to the chancery about the article. An intermediary, acting on behalf of Bishop Brom, then contacted Fr. Perozich by telephone, sources said, and told him to “cool it.” Aside from that single complaint, sources said, “the overwhelming opinion of parishioners has been favorable.”

Upon learning that Fr. Perozich had been asked to tone down his future remarks, supporters decided to begin a letter-writing campaign to Bishop Brom. The bishop, said Allyson Smith of El Cajon, “needs to hear from Catholics who appreciate Father Perozich's essay and his bold defense of the truth. Please write to Bishop Brom to express your appreciation of Father Perozich and his essay.” (Full story at California Catholic)

Pelosi Primer

To understand why and how the Church is intervening with Nancy Pelosi because of her abortion position, we have to first look at the context of the modern abortion mentality.

The widespread “pro-choice” attitude toward abortion today is especially horrific precisely because it has made abortion so commonplace.

The two messages we give young women are destined to collide: Your life’s worth is your career; your boyfriend has a right to intimacy with you without preconditions. Are we surprised that so many young women to choose abortion?

However, the burden we’ve placed on women doesn’t change the bare fact of what abortion is, and women know it.

Abortion is the killing of a child by her own mother, and as the Supreme Court pointed out in Gonzales v. Carhart, it is evident that women who give in to the pressure to abort suffer from Post-Abortion Syndrome for a lifetime. The pain and regret of abortion leads to decades of depression, broken relationships, and high suicide rates.  (Full story at NCRegister.com)

Denver archbishop warns against ‘spirit of adulation’ surrounding Obama

"The fourth and final thing to remember, and there’s no easy way to say it, is that the Church in the United States has done a poor job of forming the faith and conscience of Catholics for more than 40 years." ...Archbishop Chaput

(AMEN! Your Excellency !!)

Toronto, Canada, Feb 23, 2009 / 09:03 pm (CNA).- Canadians packed St. Basil’s Church in Toronto on Monday evening to hear Archbishop Charles Chaput speak about how Catholics should live out their faith in the public square. He warned that in the U.S., Catholics need to act on their faith and be on guard against "a spirit of adulation bordering on servility" that exists towards the Obama administration.

The public lecture by Archbishop Chaput took place on the campus of the University of Toronto at St. Basil’s Church and was attended by an overflow crowd of more than 700 people.

After giving a sketch of the basic principles in his New York Times Bestseller "Render Unto Caesar," the archbishop offered his insights on the need for an honest assessment of the situation of the Church in the public square.

"I like clarity, and there’s a reason why," began the archbishop. "I think modern life, including life in the Church, suffers from a phony unwillingness to offend that poses as prudence and good manners, but too often turns out to be cowardice. Human beings owe each other respect and appropriate courtesy. But we also owe each other the truth -- which means candor."

The Denver prelate then provided his critique of President Obama. (Full story at CNA)

Freedom is found through service to others, teaches Holy Father

Vatican City, Feb 23, 2009 / 07:09 pm (CNA).- During a visit to the Major Roman Seminary to celebrate the feast of its patroness, Our Lady of Trust, Pope Benedict XVI discussed the concept of freedom explaining that it is only achieved in service to others.

The Pope’s visit, which took place Friday, began at a “lectio divina” for the seminarians on the Letter of St. Paul to the Galatians.  The Holy Father commented on the words of the Apostle of the Gentiles in his Letter to the Galatians - "you were called to freedom." 

Benedict XVI asked: "What is freedom? How can we be free? St. Paul helps us to understand this complex question of freedom" when he says "do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another."

He continued by exposing the differences in the true definition of freedom and the world’s view of the concept: "The absolute self who depends on nothing and no-one seems truly and definitively to possess freedom. I am free if I depend on no- one, if I can do anything I want. Yet this absolute exaltation of self is 'flesh,' in other words degradation of man. It is not the conquest of freedom. Libertinism is not freedom, rather it is the failure of freedom."

"Paradoxically, freedom is achieved through service," he explained. (Full story at CNA)

Vatican liturgical official makes new plea for 'reform of the reform'

Feb. 23, 2009 (CWNews.com) -

A key Vatican official has called for "bold and courageous" decisions to address liturgical abuses that have arisen since the reforms of Vatican II.


Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith, the secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship, cites a flawed understanding of Vatican II teachings and the influence of secular ideologies are reasons to conclude that-- as then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger said in 1985-- "the true time of Vatican II has not yet come." Particularly in the realm of the liturgy, Archbishop Ranjith says, "The reform has to go on." (Full story at Catholic Culture)

Fifteen Reasons I'm Already Tired of the Obama Era

by John Hawkins

15) The stimulus bill is the single largest spending bill in the history of humankind and yet, Obama is running around telling everyone how he's going to cut the deficit in a few years. Obama claiming to be a deficit hawk -- that's like getting a lecture on honesty from Bill Clinton. 

14) ACORN, which engaged in large scale voter fraud during the 2008 election that won't be seriously investigated because Obama is in the White House, is now unapologetically breaking into houses across the country and encouraging squatters. Apparently, if you're a liberal group, you are above the law as long as the Obama administration is in the White House. 

13) Despite the fact that America just conclusively proved it's not a racist nation by electing the first black President, race hustling bottom feeders like Al Sharpton and Julian Bond are making ridiculous charges of racism over an obviously non-racial cartoon. I thought the implicit promise of the Left was that electing Obama would put the race hustlers out of business? Sorry, you'll have to go here for the other 12!)

How to Win the Culture War

by Peter Kreeft

To win any war, the three most necessary things to know are (1) that you are at war, (2) who your enemy is, and (3) what weapons or strategies can defeat him. You cannot win a war (1) if you simply sew peace banners on a battlefield, (2) if you fight civil wars against your allies, or (3) if you use the wrong weapons.

 

Here is a three point checklist for the culture wars. If you don't know that our entire civilization is in crisis, I hope you had a nice vacation on the moon.

 

Many minds do seem moonstruck, however, blissfully unaware of the crisis -- especially the "intellectuals," who are supposed to be the most on top of current events. I was dumbfounded to read a cover article in Time devoted to the question: Why is everything getting better? Why is life so good today? Why does everybody feel so satisfied about the quality of life? Time never questioned the assumption, it just wondered why the music on the Titanic sounded so nice.

 

It turned out, on reading the article, that every single aspect of life that was mentioned, every single reason for life getting better, was economic. People are richer. End of discussion. (Full story at InsideCatholic.com)

Obama eclipses Jesus as Americans' hero, poll find

Rochester, N.Y., Feb 22, 2009 / 01:11 am (CNA).- Respondents to an online poll which asked them to name their heroes were more likely to name President Barack Obama than Jesus Christ.

The Harris Poll, conducted online among 2,634 U.S. adults between Jan. 12 and Jan. 19, asked respondents to name three people they admire enough to call a hero. Those surveyed gave spontaneous answers and were not shown or read a list of people to choose from.

Respondents most often named Barack Obama, followed by Jesus Christ, Martin Luther King, Jr., Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.

Mother Teresa was the tenth most often named, while God was the eleventh most.

“The fact that President Obama is mentioned more often than Jesus Christ should not be misinterpreted. No list was used and nobody was asked to choose between them,” Harris Interactive said in a statement.

In a similar poll in July 2001, respondents most often named Jesus Christ as their hero, followed by Martin Luther King, Jr., Colin Powell, John F. Kennedy, and Mother Teresa.

Asked to identify what they believe makes someone a hero, respondents named doing what’s right regardless of personal consequences, not giving up until the goal is accomplished, doing more than what other people expect of them, overcoming adversity and staying level-headed in a crisis.

Archbishop Chaput on Speaker Pelosi, Life and Communion

LifeSiteNews (www.lifesitenews.com)

This is a human rights issue from the point of view of the Church, and not a theological or religious perspective.

DENVER, Colorado (LifeSiteNews.com) - Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver expressed his support - in an interview with Fox News - for Pope Benedict XVI's message last week to pro-abortion "Catholic" House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in which the Pope enjoined the Speaker to protect human life from conception.

"Every Catholic, whether you're famous or anonymous ... has a responsibility to be faithful to what our Church believes about human life, and we believe human life is sacred and precious from the moment of conception," said Chaput during the interview. Chaput also said he was happy that the Pope "took the occasion to remind her of something very important." 

(Full story at Catholic Online) 

 

Court Will Rule in Dispute Over 8-Foot Cross

From CNSNEWS.com


Monday, February 23, 2009
By Staff, Associated Press

Washington (AP) - The Supreme Court agreed Monday to step into a long-running legal fight over an 8-foot cross that stands as a war memorial in the vast Mojave National Preserve in California.

The justices said that in court arguments set for this fall, they will consider throwing out an appeals court ruling that ordered the cross be torn down.

The American Civil Liberties Union and a former National Park Service employee have been challenging the cross' continued presence on national parkland for nearly eight years.

A cross has stood on the site since 1934, when a local chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars erected it atop an outcropping known as Sunrise Rock.

Congress has transferred ownership of the land on which it sits to a private party.

The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals twice said the cross must come down. It invalidated the 2004 congressionally approved land transfer, saying that "carving out a tiny parcel of property in the midst of this vast preserve -- like a donut hole with the cross atop it -- will do nothing to minimize the impermissible governmental endorsement" of the religious symbol.

The case is Salazar v. Buono, 08-472.

Pelosi Is Not the Only One

By Judie Brown

When your head is swimming from all the commentary ebbing and flowing from Wednesday's Nancy Pelosi encounter with the Holy Father, the essence of what actually occurred is lost. The fundamental question of our day, what is truth, evaporates in headlines and public pronouncements. One is left asking, is that all there is?

Was this just another media circus? Are the acrobats still swinging?

Why didn't the Pope just excommunicate Pelosi, one person asked me! Well, maybe he did, though she clearly has done a pretty good job of excommunicating herself. At least that is my opinion. The fact is nobody knows precisely what was said in that private meeting, and the only person who will not "spin" to his advantage is the person who doesn't need to … Pope Benedict XVI. (Full story at CNSNews.com)

Inmate Sues Jail for Not Being Allowed to Worship Satan

Billings, Mont. (AP) - A 35-year-old man imprisoned for drug possession has filed a $10 million federal lawsuit against Yellowstone County, alleging jailers interfered with his satanic religious practices while he was in jail. The lawsuit filed by Jason P. Indreland claims county jail staff took from him a religious medallion, denied him access to a "Satanic Bible or Book of Satanic Rituals" and ridiculed and punished him for his religious beliefs.

The suit alleges that Yellowstone County jail staff placed "Christian natured greeting cards under (his) cell door," that said "Jesus was ready to save and accept him."

Indreland is serving a three-year sentence at the Montana State Prison for felony drug possession. He was convicted after police found him with 15 grams of methamphetamine in March 2007.

County officials said they have not seen the lawsuit and could not comment.  (Full story at CNSNEWS.com)

FOCA: You should be embarrassed to be a Catholic

On Sunday, February 24, 2008, Amy Sullivan wrote: "I'm an Evangelical and a Liberal. Really. As an evangelical who worked in Democratic politics before entering journalism, I'm used to getting looks from liberals who are embarrassed for me when I use the E-word to describe myself."

Almost a year later, Sullivan, now a Time Magazine senior editor and the author of a book that attempts to make the case that Democrats are "Closing the God Gap," should certainly not be getting any surprised looks from her friends.

"Why," you ask?

On February 19, Sullivan penned an article titled The Catholic Crusade Against a Mythical Abortion Bill, in which she applies her evangelical and liberal analysis to the Catholic Church - meaning, she just doesn't get it. (Full story at CNA)

Bishop of Scranton bars pro-abortion officials from St. Patrick’s Day Masses

Scranton, Pa., Feb 20, 2009 / 05:53 pm (CNA).- Explaining that he is determined to “prevent scandal,” Bishop of Scranton Joseph Martino has said that he will cancel Masses for St. Patrick’s Day or for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade if any pro-abortion officials are honored at the holiday events.

The bishop said that scandal could arise if the Catholic Church is seen to be involved in honoring such officials.
John M. Dougherty, the Auxiliary Bishop of Scranton, explained Bishop Martino’s views in a Feb. 6 letter to John Keeler, President of the Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick of Lackawanna County.

Saying that St. Peter’s Cathedral plays “no small role” in the local observance of St. Patrick’s Day, Bishop Dougherty noted that local celebrations often honor elected public officials. This honoring takes place when they are given parade positions or dais opportunities.

“While some of the officials have merited the pride our local people take in them, others have positions and voting records that have contributed to the daily killing of the unborn by abortion,” Bishop Dougherty wrote.  (Full story at CNA)

Pro-Life Pastor Hoye Gets 30 Days in Jail for Helping Women at Abortion Center

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor

Oakland, CA (LifeNews.com) -- A pro-life African-American pastor has been sentenced to 30 days in jail for sharing a pr-life message outside local abortion centers. Walter Hoye was previously found guilty of violating what pro-life attorneys call an unconstitutional city law designed specifically to target him.
 
Oakland officials had enacted the law, which has been heavily criticized as an unconstitutional limit on free speech.
The ordinance prohibits contact within eight feet of women entering abortion businesses without their consent.
Today, Hoye was sentenced by Judge Hing of the Alameda Superior Court to serve 30 days in county jail . The court will allow Hoye to serve his time by an alternative method such as community service.

However, Hoye will be forced to pay a $1,130 fine and has been ordered to stay away from the abortion business and no longer help women find abortion alternatives.  (Full story at Lifenews.com)

Hope and Change Marched on Washington

This article includes an interesting insight to madam speaker's "Catholic" beliefs.

BY Kathryn Jean Lopez 

February 22-28, 2009 Issue | Posted 2/13/09 at 12:43 PM

The new era of “hope” and “change” in Washington, D.C., wasn’t a week old before Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the House of Representatives, was defending a contraceptive-funding measure in a proposed economic stimulus bill the president had been pushing before Congress.

On one of the Sunday morning political shows, Pelosi defended the plan, arguing: “ The family-planning services reduce cost. They reduce cost. The states are in terrible fiscal budget crises now and part of what we do for children’s health, education and some of those elements are to help the states meet their financial needs. One of those — one of the initiatives you mentioned, the contraception, will reduce costs to the states and to the federal government.”

Nancy Pelosi, boldly marching the Beltway deeper into a Brave New World, is, by the way, a Roman Catholic.

(Full story at NCRegister.com)l

A Nation of Cowards?

By Matthew May

Of course, Eric Holder is correct.

When it comes to race we Americans are, for the most part, a nation of cowards. This cowardice was on full display during the most recent presidential election and continues today.

As they are in so many other areas of life, chief among our American cowards are the representatives of the national political media. During the presidential campaign, there was a maniacal effort on the part of the national media to find whites who would not vote for Barack Obama, never mind the reasoning for choosing so. Whites who were not for Mr. Obama were automatically racist in outlook and action, you see. (Full story at American Thinker)

Men’s Abortion Wounds

Pro-lifers have become familiar with the image of sad women displaying “I Regret My Abortion” signs. At the March for Life, they are given a privileged place at the pre-march rally on the Mall and a special station on the steps of the Supreme Court building, from which they tell their stories.

They are living witnesses to an important truth: The pro-life position is the pro-woman position.
At the 2009 March for Life, there was a new sign in evidence: “I Regret Lost Fatherhood.” The pro-life movement is increasingly reminding the world that men, too, suffer from abortion.

As Carl Anderson, supreme knight of the Knights of Columbus, put it, there are “three victims of every abortion, the child and both of his or her parents.”

The Knights recently held two conferences to promote forgiveness and healing for men after abortion. There, therapists and other experts outlined the damage abortion does to men’s spirituality, mental health and confidence as future fathers. They also spoke on the reasons post-abortive men come for help — and explained why many who should don’t.

(Full story at NCRegister.com)

Team Nancy and the Vicar of Christ

from First Things by Amanda Shaw

 

Earlier this week at NRO, George Weigel offered some commonsense commentary on Nancy Pelosi’s Wednesday meeting with Pope Benedict XVI. Commonsense commentary about what should be commonsense morality:

[Pelosi's] office’s statement on today’s meeting makes it clear something else was afoot: that Pelosi, who shamelessly trumpets her “ardent” Catholicism while leading congressional Democrats in a continuing assault on what the Catholic Church regards as the inalienable human rights of the unborn, was trying to recruit Benedict XVI (“Joseph Ratzinger, D., Bavaria”?) to Team Nancy.

His Holiness wasn’t buying it.

He told Pelosi, politely but unmistakably, that her relentlessly pro-abortion politics put her in serious difficulties as a Catholic, which was his obligation as a pastor. He also underscored—for Pelosi, Joe Biden, Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, Barbara Mikulski, Rose DeLauro, Kathleen Sebelius, and everyone else—that the Church’s opposition to the taking of innocent human life, at any stage of the human journey, is not some weird Catholic hocus-pocus; it’s a first principle of justice than can be known by reason. It is a “requirement of the natural moral law”—that is, the moral truths we can know by thinking about what is right and what is wrong—to defend the inviolability of innocent human life. You don’t have to believe in papal primacy to know that; you don’t have do believe in seven sacraments, or the episcopal structure of the Church, or the divinity of Christ, to know that. You don’t even have to believe in God to know that. You only have to be a morally serious human being, willing to work through a moral argument—which, of course, means being the kind of person who understands that moral truth cannot be reduced to questions of feminist political correctness or partisan political advantage.

. . . Whatever the source of her confusion, Pelosi has now been informed, and by a world-class intellectual who happens to be the universal pastor of the Catholic Church, that she is, in fact, confused, and that both her spiritual life and her public service are in jeopardy because of that.

Catholic League: Sebelius - Enemy of the Unborn - to HHS?

Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights (www.catholicleague.org/)

Sebelius’ support for abortion is so far off-the-charts that she has been publicly criticized by the last three archbishops of Kansas City.

 

NEW YORK, N.Y. (Catholic League) - Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on a front-page story in today’s New York Times that says Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is the president’s top choice as secretary of health and human services:

“Almost all of those working in the Obama administration are pro-abortion, and the expectation is that almost all future appointees will be champions of abortion rights, as well. Fortunately, most are not in a position to affect abortion policy. One glaring exception is the secretary of health and human services. Unfortunately, Gov. Sebelius, a Catholic, may get the job.

“Sebelius’ support for abortion is so far off-the-charts that she has been publicly criticized by the last three archbishops of Kansas City. In 1992, when Sebelius was a state legislator, Archbishop Ignatius Strecker rebuked her for leading what he dubbed a ‘death-march of the unborn.’  (Full story at Catholic Online)

Archbishop Chaput responds to Pelosi-Pope meeting

Denver, Colo., Feb 19, 2009 / 07:31 pm (CNA).- Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver is in complete agreement with the message that Pope Benedict XVI delivered to Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday. The archbishop also went so far as to say that since she disagrees with the Church on the "black and white issue" of abortion, she should not present herself for Communion.


The comments by Archbishop Chaput were made following Nancy Pelosi’s meeting with Pope Benedict, at which the Pope reminded the Speaker of the House that all legislators, but especially Catholics, are bound to protect human life from conception to natural death.

FOX News’ Neil Cavuto invited Archbishop Chaput to give his reaction to the Pope-Pelosi meeting on Wednesday afternoon.
Cavuto began by pointing out the disparity between Pelosi’s statement about the meeting and the Pope’s.

(Full story at CNA)

Attorney General Says Americans Are ‘Cowards’ on Racial Matters

Unfortunately, the 'tolerance' only goes one way....


Thursday, February 19, 2009
By Susan Jones, Senior Editor

(CNSNews.com) – Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday told an audience at the Justice Department that despite the nation’s progress on racial relations, “we have always been and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards.”

Holder, the nation’s first black attorney general, was speaking at an African-American History Month program.

“One cannot truly understand America without understanding the historical experience of black people in this nation,” Holder said. “Simply put, to get to the heart of this country, one must examine its racial soul.

“Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards. Though race-related issues continue to occupy a significant portion of our political discussion, and though there remain many unresolved racial issues in this nation, we, average Americans, simply do not talk enough with each other about race.”


(Full story at CNSNews.com)

Pro-Choice Sebelius Emerging as Top Choice for HHS

Is the only quakification for this job that you be a dissenting 'Pro Abortion' Catholic?

From First Things 

Posted by Ryan Sayre Patrico on February 19, 2009, 11:01 AM

Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius is reportedly emerging as the Obama administration’s top pick for the head of the Department of Health and Human Services. She would replace former senator Tom Daschle, who withdrew his nomination after it was revealed he owed more than 128,000 dollars in unpaid taxes.
Sebelius, a Catholic, has received heavy criticism for her long pro-abortion record. In May, 2008, Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City penned an open letter to the governor deploring her veto of a bill that would have placed restrictions on abortions:

What makes the governor’s actions and advocacy for legalized abortion, throughout her public career, even more painful for me is that she is Catholic. Sadly, Governor Sebelius is not unique in being a Catholic politician supporting legalized abortion.
Since becoming archbishop, I have met with Governor Sebelius several times over many months to discuss with her the grave spiritual and moral consequences of her public actions by which she has cooperated in the procurement of abortions performed in Kansas. My concern has been, as a pastor, both for the spiritual well-being of the governor but also for those who have been misled (scandalized) by her very public support for legalized abortion.

 

What Obama Is Doing With Your Medical Records

Wednesday, February 18, 2009
By Terence P. Jeffrey

 The so-called “stimulus” President Obama signed Tuesday is so unwieldy it had to be posted in two PDFs on the House Appropriations Committee’s Website along with another two containing an “explanatory statement.” The law totaled 1,071 pages; the explanation, 421.

Yet, 216 of the law’s 1,071 pages deal with a project not directly aimed at short-term economic stimulus, and these 216 pages were themselves divided into two distinct parts (139 pages in “Division A” of the law and 77 pages in “Division B”).

Together, these 216 pages provide the legal framework for collecting every American’s personal medical records into a federally coordinated electronic system. (Full story at CNSNews.com)

'Are we post-racial yet?'

Rick Moran
Listen up, now. This is important. We brain dead white people are really cowards when it comes to the issue of race, did you know?

This is the man President Obama put in charge of assuring that all the laws of the land be administered equally, regardless of race. Jennifer Rubin writes:

Eric Holder, our first African American Attorney General serving under out first African American President, has these words about his fellow citizens:
"Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial, we have always been, and we, I believe, continue to be, in too many ways, a nation of cowards,” Holder said in remarks to his staff in honor of Black History Month. His comments appear on a transcript provided by the Justice Department.
"Even as we fight a war against terrorism; deal with the reality of electing an African-American, for the first time, as the president of the United States; and deal with other significant issues of the day, the need to confront our racial past and to understand our racial present, and to understand the history of African people in this country — that all endures,” the attorney general added.

Are Americans really "cowards" for not "confronting" the past oppression of African Americans?

(Full story at American Thinker) 

Benedict and the Abortion Holocaust-Deniers

By George Neumayr on 2.19.09 @ 6:09AM

Pope Benedict XVI met with a holocaust-denier yesterday. Bishop Richard Williamson? No, Nancy Pelosi.
A Pelosi-led delegation of Catholic Democrats who dismiss the moral significance of millions upon millions of abortions turned up at the Vatican yesterday.
 
Last month these same abortion-holocaust deniers had lectured Benedict for mishandling the flap over Richard Williamson's lifted excommunication.
 
Seizing on a chance to embarrass the Pope, fifty Catholic Democrats, Rosa DeLauro and George Miller among them, wrote a letter to him demanding a "clarification" in the Williamson matter. (He had already done so, but they felt it just wasn't emphatic enough.)  (Full story at American Spectator)

Obama's Enemies List

By Mark Hyman on 2.18.09 @ 6:07AM

After the Democratic convention, Obama campaign lawyer Robert Bauer warned TV stations against airing a TV ad that was embarrassing to Barack Obama. The commercial focused on the longtime relationship between Obama and Weather Underground terrorist Bill Ayers. Bauer sent letters to the Justice Department imploring the agency to pursue criminal action against those behind the ads. It was not lost on anyone at that time that Bauer was considered a candidate to be the next U.S. Attorney-General.

A team of Obama campaign operatives, joined by major news outlets, descended on Wasilla, Alaska immediately after Governor Sarah Palin was introduced as Senator John McCain's running mate. This was immediately followed by patently false reports claiming Palin imposed book bans, joined a fringe political party, charged rape victims for emergency room treatment and cut funding for special needs children.  (Full story at American Spectattor)

SSPX could oust Bishop Williamson, priest says

From Catholic Culture


The Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) may expel Bishop Richard Williamson if the outspoken prelate does not renounce his views on the Holocaust, according to a SSPX priest. Father Matthias Gaudron, appearing in a German television interview, said that Williamson had been given until the end of this month to distance himself from Holocaust denial. The bishop's statements, he said, had damaged the SSPX by giving the inaccurate impression that the traditionalist group encourages such views.

Bishop Bernard Fellay, the superior of the SSPX, has issued a public call for Bishop Williamson to retract his public statements. But he did not mention the possibility of ousting his fellow bishop from the society.


Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

• Droht Williamson der Rauswurf?

Rebel priest vows to continue ministry at Brisbane parish despite bishop's order

From Catholic Culture

February 19, 2009

Father Peter Kennedy, who has been removed from his post as pastor of St. Mary's parish in South Brisbane, Australia, has announced that he plans to defy the order from Archbishop John Bathersby and celebrate Mass there this Sunday. Referring to the priest who had been named by the archbishop to take his place, Father Kennedy said: "The people are not going to receive Father Howell." He had earlier described his replacement as "a religious scab," and although he retracted that description, Kennedy continued to say that the people of the rebellious parish community would refuse to accept a new pastor.

Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

• Sacked priest Father Peter Kennedy vows to celebrate mass (The Australian)
• St Mary's Father Peter Kennedy brands replacement 'religious scab' (Courier-Mail)

Nationwide Petition Launched To Withhold Communion from Pelosi, Biden and Other Prominent Dissenting Catholics

(To complete the petition go to http://www.pewsitter.com/petition/)

February 17, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In the lead-up to Speaker Pelosi's meeting with Pope Benedict XVI, a nationwide petition project was launched requesting the Catholic Bishops of the United States to withhold Communion from her and other prominent Catholics in public life that obstinately persist in their dissent from Catholic teaching on serious moral issues.
This nationwide Withholding Communion petition was launched by Pewsitter.com, a Catholic News Portal. The goal of the petition drive is to gather a least 1 million petitions for presentation to the U.S. Bishops and the Vatican.

The basis for withholding communion is Canon 915, which stipulates that those "obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion." Archbishop Burke, the head of the Church's highest court, reiterated his view on this subject in a recent interview with LifeSiteNews dated January 30, 2009, in which he stated, "The person who persists publicly in grave sin is to be denied Holy Communion, and it [Canon Law] doesn't say that the bishop shall decide this. It's an absolute." (Full story at LifeSiteNews)

Pope Urges U.S. Catholic Legislators to Defend Life

Zenit News Agency (www.zenit.org)

In a meeting with Speaker of the House Pelosi he took the opportunity to speak of the requirements of the natural moral law and the Church's consistent teaching on the dignity of all human life. 

VATICAN CITY (Zenit) - Benedict XVI is urging legislators to uphold the sanctity of human life according to Church teaching, he affirmed in an meeting with U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives.

The Pope received Nancy Pelosi and her entourage briefly today after the general audience, reported a Vatican communiqué.

He "took the opportunity to speak of the requirements of the natural moral law and the Church's consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death," the Vatican reported afterward.

The Pontiff added that these teachings "enjoin all Catholics, and especially legislators, jurists and those responsible for the common good of society, to work in cooperation with all men and women of good will in creating a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development.  (Full story at Catholic Online)
 

Following Meeting with Pope, News of Secret Meeting between Pelosi and her Bishop on Abortion

"Catholic" Pelosi still refuses to submit to Church teaching on abortion: report

By Kathleen Gilbert

SAN FRANCISCO, February 18, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In the wake of House Speaker Pelosi's closed-door meeting with Pope Benedict XVI this week, news has erupted that earlier this month Pelosi secretly met with her own bishop, Archbishop George Niederauer of San Francisco, to discuss her stance on abortion.  Pelosi had publicly accepted an invitation to meet with Niederauer after the Speaker attempted to justify abortion in light of Catholic teaching last year during an interview on NBC's Meet the Press.

Michael Voris of Real Catholic TV broke the news today that the promised meeting took place Sunday, February 8 in a third-party home in San Francisco.  Voris reports that Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly said that the Speaker described the meeting as "cordial and pleasant ... a fair exchange and good."

When asked whether Pelosi had changed her position on abortion to agree with Catholic teaching, Daly stated, "You won't see that happening.  She is not changing her position on abortion." (Full story at LifeSiteNews.com)

 

Obama Will Likely Pick Pro-Abortion Gov. Kathleen Sebelius as Health Secretary

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- While House officials say President Barack Obama will name pro-abortion Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who has been criticized for refusing to limit late-term abortions, as the Secretary of the Health and Human Services Department.

Once official, her selection would add to Obama's growing pro-abortion record as president.

Obama advisors notified the media late Wednesday that the president has settled on Sebelius as his top choice for the position, though her has not made his decision official.

The New York Times indicates the White House has not finished vetting Sebelius for the post and officials were unsure whether the process would be complete in time for her to be nominated next week.

The newspaper indicated the advisors described Sebelius as the "leading candidate" and said no other potential candidates have been mention, although they insisted the decision is not final.

The president was forced to select someone else for the top post, which could have a significant impact on abortion issues, because his previous selection, pro-abortion former Sen. Tom Daschle, removed his name from consideration after a scandal over his not paying taxes properly. (Full story at Lifenews.com)

Unborn Child Saved by 12-Year-Old's Popular Pro-Life Presentation

God does indeed work through those who allow Him.

TORONTO, February 18, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Though 12-year-old Lia's popular pro-life presentation did not win a regional speech competition last night, she and her family are celebrating what they call the "best trophy ever" - the saving of an unborn life, after Lia's words convinced a stranger not to abort her child.
A video of Lia's 5-minute speech, in which the sprightly and articulate 7th-grader gives a point-by-point argument against abortion, has attracted over 200,000 views on Youtube and a flurry of comments, in addition to increasing news media coverage.

Despite warnings that her pro-life message would disqualify her from the school competition, Lia's speech impressed both her pro-choice teacher and the school so deeply that she won the contest, despite a controversy that erupted in the judge's panel, which had at first disqualified her. Winning the school wide contest meant she would go on to compete at the regional level.

Lia's mother told Matt Lockett of the Moral Outcry blog that Lia presented the speech at the regional contest flawlessly, and though many testified to hers being the strongest speech, the family believed she likely lost because she spoke on the topic of abortion.

After learning she had lost the competition, Lia's mother wrote: "Lia wasn't really that upset though, especially when she considered that the only difference between winning the competition and not winning was having a couple extra pictures taken and being given a small trophy.

"Lia has a much bigger trophy - somebody commented to us on our YouTube account that her aunt watched Lia's video and decided to NOT have an abortion because of it. Yay God! Others have commented that they either never thought of the issue before or were pro-choice - but now they have changed their opinions. So, having a life saved is the best trophy ever!" wrote Lia's mother.

North Dakota State House Approves Personhood-Abortion Ban Legislation

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor

Bismarck, ND (LifeNews.com) -- The North Dakota state House on Tuesday approved a bill that declares unborn children as persons beginning at the point of fertilization, or conception. The bill could be used to challenge the Supreme's Court's infamous Roe v. Wade ruling and ban abortions.
 
Because the bill defines an unborn baby as a person, an abortion of an unborn child would be considered murder under state law.

The legislative chamber approved House Bill 1572 on a 51-41 vote and now the measure heads to the state Senate for consideration.

Republican Rep. Dan Ruby, who has also sponsored other pro-life bills this legislative session, is the main sponsor of the personhood bill. He says the measure fits in with what the Supreme Court said in Roe, namely that abortion would be illegal if the personhood of the unborn child could be asserted.

"This is the exact language that's required by Roe vs. Wade. It stipulated that before a challenge can be made, we have to identify when life begins, and that's what this does," he said.

Still, he said that the measure doesn't go as far as banning abortions in the same way a previous bill had or the two ballot measures neighboring South Dakota considered. (Full story at Lifenews.com)

Pope Urges Catholic US Legislators to Defend Life

VATICAN CITY, FEB. 18, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is urging legislators to uphold the sanctity of human life according to Church teaching, he affirmed in an meeting with U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives.

The Pope received Nancy Pelosi and her entourage briefly today after the general audience, reported a Vatican communiqué.

He "took the opportunity to speak of the requirements of the natural moral law and the Church's consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death," the Vatican reported afterward.

The Pontiff added that these teachings "enjoin all Catholics, and especially legislators, jurists and those responsible for the common good of society, to work in cooperation with all men and women of good will in creating a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development."  (Full story at ZENIT.org)

North Dakota Personhood Bill Passes State House 51-41

Brought to my attention with the comment: 

In case you hadn't seen this news - see below.

Passed North Dakota House, now to Senate.

Maybe this will be challenge to Roe v. Wade!

Washington, D.C. (17 February 2009) -The civil rights movement gained a significant victory today as the North Dakota House of Representatives voted Feb. 17 to recognize the personhood of all human beings.

Led by American Life League Associate group North Dakota Life League, the personhood movement celebrated the passage of The Personhood of Children Act (House Resolution 1572), introduced by State Rep. Dan Ruby, in a 51-41 vote.

"We are very excited about the personhood movement in North Dakota - which has the chance to become the first state to protect the rights of all its citizens from their biological beginning," said Jim Sedlak, vice president of American Life League.
The Senate vote is expected in the next two to three weeks.

Fifteen other states are currently pursuing personhood legislation.

American Life League was co-founded in 1979 by Judie Brown. It is the largest grassroots Catholic pro-life organization in the United States and is committed to the protection of all innocent human beings from the moment of creation to natural death. For more information or press inquiries, please contact Katie Walker at 540.659.4171.

MORE INFORMATION:

Personhood North Dakota:
http://personhoodnorthdakota.com/

North Dakota Life League:
http://members.tripod.com/NDLL/

Examiner: ND Pro-Lifers Hang Hopes on Personhood Refrendum (9 February 2009)

http://www.examiner.com/x-2359-Evangelical-Examiner~y2009m2d9-North-Dakota-prolifers-hang-hopes-on-Personhood-Referendum

Talk Radio's Savage, Law Center Vow 'Fairness' Suit

Conservative talk-radio host Michael Savage and the Thomas More Law Center promise to fight any possible restoration of the so-called “Fairness Doctrine,” with the center promising to sue on Savage’s behalf if it is reinstated.

Several liberal senators and former President Bill Clinton been threatening to muzzle talk radio by reinstituting the doctrine, according to a joint news release from Savage and the national public-interest law firm based Center in Ann Arbor, Mich.

“Michael Savage is the personification of what the liberals hate about conservative talk radio, and we’re proud to represent him in this crucial battle to preserve the grand purpose of political speech protected by the First Amendment,” said Richard Thompson, president and chief counsel of the law center. (Full story at Newsmax.com)

Axelrod Says Obama to Discuss Fairness Doctrine

By: Dave Eberhart

Article Font Size

An Obama senior adviser has indicated that the administration is mulling whether the controversial Fairness Doctrine will get a new lease on life, according to a report in Broadcasting and Cable.


The now defunct Fairness Doctrine, if revived, could be used by a liberal administration to silence Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and other radio talk show hosts, as well as much of the new alternative media. The doctrine required broadcasters to report both sides of controversial issues. The Federal Communications Commission dropped it in 1987.

(Full story at Newsmax.com)

Electrician Quits Repairs on Nebraska Abortion Facility in Response To Calls

Consider this man's response to Catholic teaching and compare to madam speaker's......

From LifeSiteNews.com 

BELLEVUE, NE, February 17, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - An electrician made the decision yesterday to cancel his contract for work on a fire-damaged abortion centre after pro-life advocates called and explained to the vendor that his work was enabling abortions.

At first, the electrician told callers that he was not working in the abortion facility, but was working only in the basement. However, once he learned that the basement was part of the abortion centre where records and supplies were kept, he halted work.

"He said he considered himself a good Catholic and didn't want to be an accessory to an abortion clinic," said Larry Donlan of Rescue the Heartland, and Truth Truck driver for Operation Rescue.

The facility, which was damanged in a fire last month, is one that belongs to the infamous partial-birth abortionist LeRoy Carhart.

"This just shows the effectiveness of Abortion Collaborator campaign," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman, who first coined the term "abortion collaborator" and pioneered the project. "Once people understand that their work is helping the abortion industry, they often want nothing more to do with it."

Abortion collaborator campaigns help vendors recognize that providing services for abortion facilities contributes to abortions and makes them culpable for the continued shedding of innocent blood.

"It's a legal principle as well as a bibilical one. Those who aid and abet share in the guilt," said Newman.

"We congratulate Rescue the Heartland and appreciate the willingness of this electrician to do the right thing and stop work on the abortion mill. We pray that Carhart's clinic will never reopen."
 

Pro-Life Pastor Faces 2 Years Jail and Fine for Peaceful Sidewalk Counseling

Guilty verdict came despite proof prosecution witnesses gave false testimony

By Kathleen Gilbert

OAKLAND, California, February 17, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - An Oakland pastor arrested last May for peacefully counseling and picketing at a local abortion clinic has been found guilty of violating a new city ordinance that his lawyers are claiming is unconstitutional, and now faces up to two years in jail and a $4,000 fine.

Rev. Walter Hoye was convicted on January 15 of two counts of unlawfully approaching women entering an abortion facility, a misdemeanor enshrined in city law last spring, which holds a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $2,000 fine.  Hoye is scheduled to receive his sentence on Thursday, February 19. 

The African-American pastor is the founder of the Issues4Life Foundation and an outspoken opponent of the genocide of unborn African Americans. He had been accustomed since early 2007 to picket alone or with two other women on the public sidewalk in front of Oakland's abortion clinic and counsel incoming patients.  Pro-abortion escorts testified to regularly obstructing Hoye's message by blocking the pastor's sign (reading "Jesus loves you and your baby, let us help you") with a sheet of blank poster board and shouting loudly to prevent dialogue with patients. (Full story at LifeSiteNews)

 

 

The crucial test for the pontificate of Benedict XVI

by Phil Lawler, February 17, 2009 

Years from now, I feel certain, Church historians will look back upon the early months of 2009 as the crucial test of this pontificate. Four years after he assumed the throne of St. Peter, Pope Benedict has run into a solid wall of resistance to his pastoral plans. That resistance is evident not only in the secular world but also within the Church (especially in Europe) and even inside the Vatican. The Holy Father's response to this challenge will define the remainder of his papacy.

The late Pope John Paul II defined his mission-- first as Archbishop Krakow, then as Bishop of Rome-- to lead the Church to the full implementation of the teachings of Vatican II. When he was elected to succeed the beloved Polish Pontiff, the former Cardinal Ratzinger embraced the same mission, while adding his own distinct perspective. The message of Vatican II, Pope Benedict insisted, must be interpreted using a "hermeneutic of continuity," recognizing that the Council was not a radical break from enduring Catholic tradition.

(Full story at Catholic Culture)

 

Ramos, Compean Released from Jail

From CNSNews.com


Ex-Border Agents Who Shot Smuggler Out of Prison

Dallas (AP) - Attorneys say two former Border Patrol agents convicted of shooting a drug smuggler and covering it up have been released from prison.

Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean each had their sentences of more than 10 years commuted earlier this year by former President George W. Bush. Their commutation becomes effective March 20, and both will serve out the remainder of their sentences in home confinement.

The men were convicted in 2006 of shooting Osvaldo Aldrete Davila near El Paso and trying to conceal it.

Ramos left a federal prison in Phoenix on Tuesday morning on furlough, his attorney said in a statement. Compean was released Tuesday from an Elkton, Ohio, facility, his attorney's office said.







 

Pope Benedict strongly rebukes Pelosi over abortion

Vatican City, Feb 18, 2009 / 10:18 am (CNA).- House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s photo-op with Pope Benedict XVI turned sour when the Pontiff used the 15-minute meeting to reaffirm the teachings of the Catholic Church on the right to life and the duty to protect the unborn.

No photo of Nancy Pelosi and the Pope will be forthcoming, since the meeting was closed to reporters and photographers. The two met in a small room in the Vatican just after the Pope's weekly public audience.

Immediately after the meeting, the Holy See’s press office released a statement saying, "following the general audience the Holy Father briefly greeted Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, together with her entourage."

"His Holiness took the opportunity to speak of the requirements of the natural moral law and the Church's consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death which enjoin all Catholics, and especially legislators, jurists and those responsible for the common good of society, to work in co-operation with all men and women of good will in creating a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development." (Full story at CNA)


RELATED ARTICLES:

Pope gently rebukes Pelosi (Catholic Culture) 

Pope to Pelosi: Protect Life at All Stages of Development (InsideCatholic)

The Pope and Pelosi (Ignatius Insight)

Updated: Pope Reminds Speaker Pelosi of Her Obligation to Protect and Defend all Human Life (Catholic Online)

Hillary Clinton Warns North Korea on Nuclear Programs

This is only note worthy because you have the Secretary of the United States jetting abroad with 'climate change' as one of the main issues. Guess the safety of the U.S. doesn't rate as important as 'climate change'

Tokyo (AP) - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, in Tokyo to begin her first trip abroad as President Barack Obama's chief diplomat, said Washington's alliance with Japan is a cornerstone for the U.S. and warned North Korea to live up to its commitments to dismantle its nuclear programs.

She arrived Monday in Tokyo to a large group of dignitaries, including two Japanese astronauts who flew on the U.S. space shuttle.


(Full story at CNSNews.com)

Twelve year-old becomes YouTube hit by explaining the tragedy of abortion

CNA STAFF, Feb 16, 2009 / 04:20 pm (CNA).- An un-named 12 year-old girl  has become a hit on YouTube because of the simplicity and eloquence with which she explains the tragedy of abortion.
“Every day, 115,000 are dying through abortion… a hundred and fifteen thousand! That means that  5,000 children will die every hour. That means all those lives,  gone! All that potential,  gone!  And all that hope in the future gone!” says the young girl, reading from a script and very naturally addressing the camera.
In her presentation, the young girl summarizes the pro-life counter arguments to most of the pro-abortion objections, including the usually ignored fact of Post Abortion Syndrome.
"My daughter prepared and delivered this speech for her grade 7 class. Even those who didn't agree with her loved it,” writes the anonymous poster of the video.
But after 403 comments, she had to turn off the comment function for the video.
“This was not to stop genuine discussion or debate on the issue but was, rather, a response to the cowardly who used it as an opportunity to throw insults and threats at a young girl that they hated without reason."
The video can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOR1wUqvJS4&e