Does Charlie Daniels play a mean fiddle?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aZLw_KBdqc
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
These are the men making policy decision for billions of people...
Gordon Brown leads Al Gore into the closet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDSnyz1Wytw
...we're in deeper trouble than I thought...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDSnyz1Wytw
...we're in deeper trouble than I thought...
Public Service Announcement
Dear Citizens of Missouri,
Due to recent run ins with incompetence, I must relay the following information. Your state seems to not have gotten the memo about the left lane on the highway which is designated for driving fast, and the right most lane which is designated for driving slow as dump. Please immediately cease and desist driving very slowly in BOTH lanes simultaneously, forming an idiot shield where none can pass. No wonder your state Dept. of Transportation has those 55 mph speed limits on your highways. To put this in terms you can understand: left lane is for "git git gittttttt vrrooooommmmm, git git git." and right lane is for "slowwww woahhhhh woahhhhh."
Merry Christmas,
Samwise Gamgee
Due to recent run ins with incompetence, I must relay the following information. Your state seems to not have gotten the memo about the left lane on the highway which is designated for driving fast, and the right most lane which is designated for driving slow as dump. Please immediately cease and desist driving very slowly in BOTH lanes simultaneously, forming an idiot shield where none can pass. No wonder your state Dept. of Transportation has those 55 mph speed limits on your highways. To put this in terms you can understand: left lane is for "git git gittttttt vrrooooommmmm, git git git." and right lane is for "slowwww woahhhhh woahhhhh."
Merry Christmas,
Samwise Gamgee
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Cohabitation
One of the major issues of our modern age, especially for those of us who were born in the 70's and 80's is cohabitation. Cohabitation is when a couple lives together outside of marriage. Everybody's doin' it, as the kids say and it is a disastrous and rarely pondered choice to make. I hope that readers of this post will see it not as a condemnation or a judgement from me personally about them personally, but as a honest look at the facts which point to the conclusion that cohabitation is bad for individuals, for couples, bad for children, and bad for our society.
Let me go ahead and make the best arguments for the pro-habitation side, they amount to this: "Well, me and my girlfriend have been dating for a while now, like two years, and we're ready and mature enough in our relationship to make the move in together. Plus, we're just starting out and we could really stand to save 600 dollars a month we pay for another place when she is probably just over here all the time anyway. Plus, we love each other, right, and this will be like a training for marriage, you know to make sure we're ready for it." 1. save money, 2. it will help marriage 3. it's convenient 4. it's a result of the commitments we've made.
Point 2: Helping the Eventual Marriage. The easiest error to address is that cohabitation is good for marriage. The divorce rate for couples who cohabitated and eventually get married is DOUBLE that of couples who marry and do not cohabitate before marriage. Double. And no one likes divorce. At best, a person may say divorce is a necessary evil in the most extreme case. While the Catholic church contends that it is not possible for man to tear apart what the Lord has joined together (as Jesus Himself proclaimed). But certainly no one would assert with sincerity that divorce is pleasant, beneficial for society or a good. For with the country's divorce rate near half, everyone reading will either know someone who has been divorced or are themselves a product of a divorced household. Cohabitation has increased 11 fold since the 50's and divorce has more than doubled in that time, going from less than 1/4 marriages to 1/2. This relationship is not necessarily causal, but the relationship is hard to deny. Today, men who are cohabitating are four times as likely to be unfaithful than married men. And, as for the stability of cohabitating relationships, only one in ten last beyond five years. So, whether the cohabitating intend to be married or not, their relationships are far more unstable and short lived than the married couple.
Point 3. Convenience. It may true on a very small scale that it would be more convenient for you to live together. It would save you a ton of 10 minute car drives and having to leave later in the evening when it's cold outside. Really though, these minor inconveniences would be better for the individual in the long run. They may not be easier, but they would be better far and away. It comes down to a sacrifice you make for the health of the person you love. Your life is slightly more difficult and more is demanded of you, but if you offer these difficulties up for the other, your love of them will grow and flourish. Because, as I can attest to from my very limited time married; sacrifice is central to marriage - essential. This is a time to say, I love you and I will do these things because I love you. This will also make you a better person and more suited for marriage. You will have to sacrifice for your wife or husband, so engagement is the perfect training period for this. This leads us into point 4 - a reflection of commitment. Today, unfortunately, living together has become a public indicator that a couple is 'serious' or committed to each other. In reality though, engagement serves this end. Engagement is the time of serious commitment, when a couple goes beyond dating into a more formal period when they decide if they are truly made for each other in marriage. So while it may be a reasonable thought that cohabitation would one day help the married couple for the completely ignorant, the evidence is stacked to the contrary. What's more, for a world where cohabitation is the norm, living apart while engaged and seriously committed would be not only be more of a trial in terms of practicality and a lesson in sacrifice, but also a public display of commitment and love.
In terms of point 1. saving money, statistics are staggering as well. Those who cohabitate and do not marry have 78% less wealth than those who marry and stay married. That's refutation enough I believe.
Children also suffer when parents cohabitate. According to Patrick Schneider II, "Cohabitation breeds abuse, violence, and murder: Abuse of children: Rates of serious abuse are lowest in intact families; six times higher in stepfamilies; 14 times higher in always-single-mother families; 20 times higher in cohabiting biological-parent families; and 33 times higher when the mother is cohabiting with a boyfriend who is not the biological father (Crouse, op. cit.)." Children who are the product of cohabitating families are also wildly more likely to commit crimes and spend time in jail as well. Three quarters children who engage in criminal activity are products of homes where the parents cohabitated. And 70 percent of prison residents are from fatherless homes. That is profound.
Personally I can pass on some wisdom from my limited experience as a fool in these times of ours. Living by oneself can serve many good ends. First, living alone can afford one the chance to learn a great deal about oneself. Not only that one is cranky when one gets up or never takes the time when they're tired to brush their teeth at night, or that they will stretch that underwear into the third day with reckless disregard (information that might be useful when married). But also things about your person, your inner workings (and for the Christian, one's relationship with God; His wishes for you and your dreams in relation to those wishes). In an age of instant information and knowledge on demand, maybe the most important and valuable knowledge might be about oneself. "Know Thyself" the Greeks said - how ironic that it may be the most difficult to do just that in the age with the most information available.
Or, one can live with one's family. This was the very popular and necessary choice in ages past, and had many many benefits. Most college graduates would much rather live in a cardboard box than face the shame and humiliation of the dreaded basement in your parents' house like Greg Brady, complete with the lava lamp and the beads over the door. But, you can notice a lot more when you're all grown up and graduated. You can learn a great deal about your family, your parents and how you might want your marriage and your family to work one day.
One last point - once a couple starts cohabitating, it can be very difficult to stop. You already have all of these things together and its quite likely you've been playing house for a while. You probably even have a dog or at least a cat, as some kind of strange, insufficient way of trying to substitute for children. You've been both working and making decent money so you probably have some nice things plus a lease that is very hard to break so you just keep doing it. Then, your parents and your boyfriend/girlfriend's parents who have been more influenced by more traditional (and sane) generations start asking when you're getting married at the exact same time your friends start getting married. So you figure, sure, why not get married, you get along well enough and you're living together and don't hate each other, how much different could marriage be? Right? You apply the same utilitarian principles that guided you to live together in the first place to marriage. If it works, do it - sounds reasonable. But. But. This is not a good reason to get married. Utilitarianism doesn't work applied to everything. This is what we call sliding into marriage, and I suspect it is the reason so many marriages of those who cohabitate do not work out. You don't think about children or morals or finances, or if you will send the kids to daycare or what happens when your parents get old or when your kids want to see R rated movies. You don't think about these things because in cohabitation you don't have to - it's easy, it's comfortable. So, long story short, cohabitation can keep you in bad situations, or it can cause you to think that moderately functional relationships should result in marriage simply for their functionality. It's not good for you ok, that's all.
Hey look at that, I just put together a solid argument for why you should;'t cohabitate without saying the words contraception or pre-marital sex. Both of which are profoundly detrimental to individual souls and society as a whole - profoundly and tragically detrimental. Both of which also are almost certain results of cohabitation.
For sources and stats provided see Patrick Schneider II, M.D., M.P.H.'s article. He got his MPH from Harvard, if titles impress you...
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/oct/07100902.html
Let me go ahead and make the best arguments for the pro-habitation side, they amount to this: "Well, me and my girlfriend have been dating for a while now, like two years, and we're ready and mature enough in our relationship to make the move in together. Plus, we're just starting out and we could really stand to save 600 dollars a month we pay for another place when she is probably just over here all the time anyway. Plus, we love each other, right, and this will be like a training for marriage, you know to make sure we're ready for it." 1. save money, 2. it will help marriage 3. it's convenient 4. it's a result of the commitments we've made.
Point 2: Helping the Eventual Marriage. The easiest error to address is that cohabitation is good for marriage. The divorce rate for couples who cohabitated and eventually get married is DOUBLE that of couples who marry and do not cohabitate before marriage. Double. And no one likes divorce. At best, a person may say divorce is a necessary evil in the most extreme case. While the Catholic church contends that it is not possible for man to tear apart what the Lord has joined together (as Jesus Himself proclaimed). But certainly no one would assert with sincerity that divorce is pleasant, beneficial for society or a good. For with the country's divorce rate near half, everyone reading will either know someone who has been divorced or are themselves a product of a divorced household. Cohabitation has increased 11 fold since the 50's and divorce has more than doubled in that time, going from less than 1/4 marriages to 1/2. This relationship is not necessarily causal, but the relationship is hard to deny. Today, men who are cohabitating are four times as likely to be unfaithful than married men. And, as for the stability of cohabitating relationships, only one in ten last beyond five years. So, whether the cohabitating intend to be married or not, their relationships are far more unstable and short lived than the married couple.
Point 3. Convenience. It may true on a very small scale that it would be more convenient for you to live together. It would save you a ton of 10 minute car drives and having to leave later in the evening when it's cold outside. Really though, these minor inconveniences would be better for the individual in the long run. They may not be easier, but they would be better far and away. It comes down to a sacrifice you make for the health of the person you love. Your life is slightly more difficult and more is demanded of you, but if you offer these difficulties up for the other, your love of them will grow and flourish. Because, as I can attest to from my very limited time married; sacrifice is central to marriage - essential. This is a time to say, I love you and I will do these things because I love you. This will also make you a better person and more suited for marriage. You will have to sacrifice for your wife or husband, so engagement is the perfect training period for this. This leads us into point 4 - a reflection of commitment. Today, unfortunately, living together has become a public indicator that a couple is 'serious' or committed to each other. In reality though, engagement serves this end. Engagement is the time of serious commitment, when a couple goes beyond dating into a more formal period when they decide if they are truly made for each other in marriage. So while it may be a reasonable thought that cohabitation would one day help the married couple for the completely ignorant, the evidence is stacked to the contrary. What's more, for a world where cohabitation is the norm, living apart while engaged and seriously committed would be not only be more of a trial in terms of practicality and a lesson in sacrifice, but also a public display of commitment and love.
In terms of point 1. saving money, statistics are staggering as well. Those who cohabitate and do not marry have 78% less wealth than those who marry and stay married. That's refutation enough I believe.
Children also suffer when parents cohabitate. According to Patrick Schneider II, "Cohabitation breeds abuse, violence, and murder: Abuse of children: Rates of serious abuse are lowest in intact families; six times higher in stepfamilies; 14 times higher in always-single-mother families; 20 times higher in cohabiting biological-parent families; and 33 times higher when the mother is cohabiting with a boyfriend who is not the biological father (Crouse, op. cit.)." Children who are the product of cohabitating families are also wildly more likely to commit crimes and spend time in jail as well. Three quarters children who engage in criminal activity are products of homes where the parents cohabitated. And 70 percent of prison residents are from fatherless homes. That is profound.
Personally I can pass on some wisdom from my limited experience as a fool in these times of ours. Living by oneself can serve many good ends. First, living alone can afford one the chance to learn a great deal about oneself. Not only that one is cranky when one gets up or never takes the time when they're tired to brush their teeth at night, or that they will stretch that underwear into the third day with reckless disregard (information that might be useful when married). But also things about your person, your inner workings (and for the Christian, one's relationship with God; His wishes for you and your dreams in relation to those wishes). In an age of instant information and knowledge on demand, maybe the most important and valuable knowledge might be about oneself. "Know Thyself" the Greeks said - how ironic that it may be the most difficult to do just that in the age with the most information available.
Or, one can live with one's family. This was the very popular and necessary choice in ages past, and had many many benefits. Most college graduates would much rather live in a cardboard box than face the shame and humiliation of the dreaded basement in your parents' house like Greg Brady, complete with the lava lamp and the beads over the door. But, you can notice a lot more when you're all grown up and graduated. You can learn a great deal about your family, your parents and how you might want your marriage and your family to work one day.
One last point - once a couple starts cohabitating, it can be very difficult to stop. You already have all of these things together and its quite likely you've been playing house for a while. You probably even have a dog or at least a cat, as some kind of strange, insufficient way of trying to substitute for children. You've been both working and making decent money so you probably have some nice things plus a lease that is very hard to break so you just keep doing it. Then, your parents and your boyfriend/girlfriend's parents who have been more influenced by more traditional (and sane) generations start asking when you're getting married at the exact same time your friends start getting married. So you figure, sure, why not get married, you get along well enough and you're living together and don't hate each other, how much different could marriage be? Right? You apply the same utilitarian principles that guided you to live together in the first place to marriage. If it works, do it - sounds reasonable. But. But. This is not a good reason to get married. Utilitarianism doesn't work applied to everything. This is what we call sliding into marriage, and I suspect it is the reason so many marriages of those who cohabitate do not work out. You don't think about children or morals or finances, or if you will send the kids to daycare or what happens when your parents get old or when your kids want to see R rated movies. You don't think about these things because in cohabitation you don't have to - it's easy, it's comfortable. So, long story short, cohabitation can keep you in bad situations, or it can cause you to think that moderately functional relationships should result in marriage simply for their functionality. It's not good for you ok, that's all.
Hey look at that, I just put together a solid argument for why you should;'t cohabitate without saying the words contraception or pre-marital sex. Both of which are profoundly detrimental to individual souls and society as a whole - profoundly and tragically detrimental. Both of which also are almost certain results of cohabitation.
For sources and stats provided see Patrick Schneider II, M.D., M.P.H.'s article. He got his MPH from Harvard, if titles impress you...
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/oct/07100902.html
Sunday, December 6, 2009
The Most Exciting News
I am pleased to announce to you all, the HTNL nation.... that my wife and I are expecting our first child this May 1st! This is by far the most exciting and wonderful news of our lives to date as well as our greatest joy. From our engagement we had been asking God to bless our marriage with many children, who are the greatest blessing.
We've already had 2 doctor's appointments and our OB is an awesome, strictly pro-life doctor in St. Louis. My wife relayed that it is incredibly refreshing to have a doctors visit where the doctor doesn't try to force birth control on you or say something to the extent of, "Pregnant already? That was fast." We were even able to show him our NFP charts and he was very familiar with them and could provide insight as well! Their office has a crucifix in every room and even a relic from a saint in the lobby. Not your average OB office that has a jar of condoms in the lobby and hands out birth control like its candy. Ask yourself which of these two promote true health. "Do no harm?"
But everything looks good and healthy and we could clearly see baby on the ultra sounds, moving around like crazy! My wife is just now able to feel baby moving around and I even felt baby move as well. The whole process is the most amazing miraculous thing I have ever witnessed. As an aside, if you ever see an ultrasound, even in the first, very early months of pregnancy, you will find it impossible to be pro abortion. So if you have been reading this blog and find the pro-life arguments hard to believe, just go see a live ultrasound in the early stages of pregnancy. If you do this, you will not be pro abortion. Just try it, you'll see...
We're now embarking on the many faceted journey of doulas, breast feeding, wooden toys, formula, natural birth, and cloth diapers. Several debates and decisions lie ahead, but we welcome them with joy and with the necessary... humor.
The front-running names now are --
For a girl: Lilly, Lucy, Bernadette, Anna Lee, and Katherine
For a boy: Athanasius Contra Mundum Jackson (Jack), Maximilian Kolbe, Gabriel, Winston Owen, and John Henry
Please pray for us as we will for you.
Cheers.
We've already had 2 doctor's appointments and our OB is an awesome, strictly pro-life doctor in St. Louis. My wife relayed that it is incredibly refreshing to have a doctors visit where the doctor doesn't try to force birth control on you or say something to the extent of, "Pregnant already? That was fast." We were even able to show him our NFP charts and he was very familiar with them and could provide insight as well! Their office has a crucifix in every room and even a relic from a saint in the lobby. Not your average OB office that has a jar of condoms in the lobby and hands out birth control like its candy. Ask yourself which of these two promote true health. "Do no harm?"
But everything looks good and healthy and we could clearly see baby on the ultra sounds, moving around like crazy! My wife is just now able to feel baby moving around and I even felt baby move as well. The whole process is the most amazing miraculous thing I have ever witnessed. As an aside, if you ever see an ultrasound, even in the first, very early months of pregnancy, you will find it impossible to be pro abortion. So if you have been reading this blog and find the pro-life arguments hard to believe, just go see a live ultrasound in the early stages of pregnancy. If you do this, you will not be pro abortion. Just try it, you'll see...
We're now embarking on the many faceted journey of doulas, breast feeding, wooden toys, formula, natural birth, and cloth diapers. Several debates and decisions lie ahead, but we welcome them with joy and with the necessary... humor.
The front-running names now are --
For a girl: Lilly, Lucy, Bernadette, Anna Lee, and Katherine
For a boy: Athanasius Contra Mundum Jackson (Jack), Maximilian Kolbe, Gabriel, Winston Owen, and John Henry
Please pray for us as we will for you.
Cheers.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
The Grand old Duke of York
The grand old Duke of York,
He had ten thousand men;
He marched them up to the top of the hill,
And he marched them down again.
And when they were up, they were up,
And when they were down, they were down,
And when they were only half-way up,
They were neither up nor down.
He had ten thousand men;
He marched them up to the top of the hill,
And he marched them down again.
And when they were up, they were up,
And when they were down, they were down,
And when they were only half-way up,
They were neither up nor down.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Christmas season
The Advent season (leading up to Christmas) is most people's favorite time of the year. It is also the time of the year when people give the most. You would think people would put these two things together...
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Climate change cover-up
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jamesdelingpole/100017393/climategate-the-final-nail-in-the-coffin-of-anthropogenic-global-warming/
For years, I have been trying to tell people how "global warming (or climate change as it is more popularly called now because the earth is in fact cooling)" is less scientifically based and more a means of controlling production and socializing citizens.
This article chronicles great evidence to this claim. Apparently many prominent "scientists" have been covering up data and changing their data to confirm their hyped up false theories. They tried to delete their corrupt emails but a hacker found them and published them. This is what happens when governments and private funds need certain theories to be true. They give these "scientists" money and say, "here is millions of dollars, prove this theory or we won't give you any more money." And if you think this is an exaggeration, ask any climate scientist or soil scientist, or anyone who gets government funds regarding climate (or many other fields that can be remotely linked to global climate change). Ask them where their money comes from. Then you'll see where their motivation lies. Or, ask yourself how much money Al Gore has made off of his lies. Hundreds of millions is the answer, and that does not even include the hundreds of millions in investments he has in "green" companies that will soon become leviathan cash cows because of government mandated climate laws.
There is a river of dirty money running through this place, as Red would say in Shawshank Redemption. Watch the money, and you'll see why this is not a legitimate science.
For years, I have been trying to tell people how "global warming (or climate change as it is more popularly called now because the earth is in fact cooling)" is less scientifically based and more a means of controlling production and socializing citizens.
This article chronicles great evidence to this claim. Apparently many prominent "scientists" have been covering up data and changing their data to confirm their hyped up false theories. They tried to delete their corrupt emails but a hacker found them and published them. This is what happens when governments and private funds need certain theories to be true. They give these "scientists" money and say, "here is millions of dollars, prove this theory or we won't give you any more money." And if you think this is an exaggeration, ask any climate scientist or soil scientist, or anyone who gets government funds regarding climate (or many other fields that can be remotely linked to global climate change). Ask them where their money comes from. Then you'll see where their motivation lies. Or, ask yourself how much money Al Gore has made off of his lies. Hundreds of millions is the answer, and that does not even include the hundreds of millions in investments he has in "green" companies that will soon become leviathan cash cows because of government mandated climate laws.
There is a river of dirty money running through this place, as Red would say in Shawshank Redemption. Watch the money, and you'll see why this is not a legitimate science.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Beers by HTNL: part 5 Fresh hop ales.
For as much as craft brewers drone on and on about the quality of their products in relation to the gruesome twosome (Bud/Inbev and Miller) their products largely draw from the same ingredients and utilize relatively the same methods. Same hops, same grains with some exceptions, and the same methods. Craft brewers brew smaller lots though with more attention and more concentrated ingredients.
One rare exception to this generality is the fresh hop ale/wet hope ale/harvest hop ale. The fresh hop ale takes the hops directly from the fields and goes into tank immediately. Normally, hops are mechanically pelletized which greatly compromises their taste and their dignity, like pantsing a portly slow kid and running his drawers up the flag pole outside Mrs. Baker's math class. It just isn't right. But fresh hop ales are beer the way beer should be done, old school. No machines and dies, no fraud.
Last year out in the People's Republic of Oregon, I experienced the full fury of the fresh hop ale season. My favorite was Bridgeport's fresh hop ale. Sold in a larger 2 pint bottle with a golden and green foil colsure, this beer is the shining jewel of the year, in my view. Typically fresh hop ales are strictly a season ale because they do not keep for as long as other beers (which I do not fully understand and am skeptical about). Sierra Nevada (of California) though, brews a southern hemisphere fresh hop ale after the harvest in New Zealand in what is our spring. Rogue also does an excellent fresh hop ale.
I wish breweries in the midwest would get serious about growing their own hop plots like many of the best quality beers in the West. And I wish breweries in the midwest would get serious about brewing in general, like those in the West. But that is for another day.
Today, I got a gilmpse of how this might happen. The "Fresh hop harvest ale" from Founders brewery in Grand Rapids, MI (Grand Crapids). This reminded me, in a way, of the glory of Oregon and Washington hop season. 70 IBUs leaks out of the top of the bottle upon opening. After pouring, you might as well have cut a grapefruit in half, because they will smell about the same. Bitter, sharp and crisp, the foretaste on the pallate is a sharp lemon flopping down like a shirtless portly man into a flannel lazyboy stained with cheeto dust into an orangy caramel flavour. I'm not sure where they got their hops from or how they were able to do a fresh hop ale. So I can only hope it was genuine and not pelletized rabbit turd hops. But the resins were powerful and the pallate satisfied.
HTNL rating of 8.3/10
Cheers.
One rare exception to this generality is the fresh hop ale/wet hope ale/harvest hop ale. The fresh hop ale takes the hops directly from the fields and goes into tank immediately. Normally, hops are mechanically pelletized which greatly compromises their taste and their dignity, like pantsing a portly slow kid and running his drawers up the flag pole outside Mrs. Baker's math class. It just isn't right. But fresh hop ales are beer the way beer should be done, old school. No machines and dies, no fraud.
Last year out in the People's Republic of Oregon, I experienced the full fury of the fresh hop ale season. My favorite was Bridgeport's fresh hop ale. Sold in a larger 2 pint bottle with a golden and green foil colsure, this beer is the shining jewel of the year, in my view. Typically fresh hop ales are strictly a season ale because they do not keep for as long as other beers (which I do not fully understand and am skeptical about). Sierra Nevada (of California) though, brews a southern hemisphere fresh hop ale after the harvest in New Zealand in what is our spring. Rogue also does an excellent fresh hop ale.
I wish breweries in the midwest would get serious about growing their own hop plots like many of the best quality beers in the West. And I wish breweries in the midwest would get serious about brewing in general, like those in the West. But that is for another day.
Today, I got a gilmpse of how this might happen. The "Fresh hop harvest ale" from Founders brewery in Grand Rapids, MI (Grand Crapids). This reminded me, in a way, of the glory of Oregon and Washington hop season. 70 IBUs leaks out of the top of the bottle upon opening. After pouring, you might as well have cut a grapefruit in half, because they will smell about the same. Bitter, sharp and crisp, the foretaste on the pallate is a sharp lemon flopping down like a shirtless portly man into a flannel lazyboy stained with cheeto dust into an orangy caramel flavour. I'm not sure where they got their hops from or how they were able to do a fresh hop ale. So I can only hope it was genuine and not pelletized rabbit turd hops. But the resins were powerful and the pallate satisfied.
HTNL rating of 8.3/10
Cheers.
Craftsman automatic hammer.
Possible catch phrases for this new invention:
"The Autohammer. Just in time, I've lost the ability to use my arms due to laziness."
"The Autohammer. Might work for longer than a day."
"The Autohammer. The best China made product for automatically driving nails. Until it breaks."
"The Autohammer. You might get about a half hour out of it."
"The Autohammer. You'll be surprised how efficient 34,000 light taps can partially drive in a nail."
"The Autohammer. Hope you kept your real hammer because this piece probably won't work at all. Sorry."
"The Autohammer. Why aren't I just using a screw gun?"
Saturday, November 7, 2009
The future of ambulance chasers in America
I first heard this point made by Dr. Janet Smith in a lecture she gave about 10 years ago. The argument can be summed up like this: birth control is the new tobacco. In the same way tobacco companies have been sued countless times due to the harmful effects of their products, we are now beginning to see this trend with the birth control industry.
This afternoon I saw a commercial, a lawyer commercial like you see with asbestos or water pollution. It was advertising the bevy of law suits being brought against Yaz due to the rapid increase of damages caused by Yaz being brought to the public attention. Yaz is the most popular and widely used form of contraceptive birth control. Yaz is a product of Bayer, the German pharmaceutical company. Bayer innovated Aspirin as it now exists today. You may also remember them from such atrocities as being a financial core of the Nazi drive to power, or as the producer of the gas that killed the Jews at Auschwitz, or as the perpetrator of a variety of other crimes against humanity, including killing of the unborn. I suppose patterns of killing the innocent are hard to shake off for this company. Unfortunately there are no Allies coming to military aide for the innocent unborn. What a difference half a century makes. But, back to the point at hand.
Recently, it has come to wide public attention that Yaz, used by millions of women across the U.S., causes among other things; blood clots, pulmonary embolism, heart attacks, kidney issues, stroke, and death. During my time of unemployment, I got a chance to watch a lot of daytime T.V. TBS, TNT, and other stations would run Yaz advertisements 2-3 times every hour. It's no wonder Yaz stirred up over half a billion dollars for Bayer last year. Much like the "industry" the company engaged in during World War two, they have managed to make money in the most atrocious ways imaginable.
This should really not come as a surprise to anyone familiar to the history of the oral contraceptive. All of these side effects, now surprisingly sprung upon our society, have been side effects of the oral contraceptive since its creation. In fact, during the development of the pill, several women died, and many others suffered side effects such as these. But, undeterred companies like Bayer have continued to pioneer in the killing of the innocent while manipulating and poisoning our mothers.
This is my point: the pill, the oral contraceptive, is poison. It does freakishly unnatural things to a woman's body, wreaks havoc on marriages, contributes to the attitude that propagates abortion, leads to abuse of women including objectification of women, and contributes to general societal chaos. I find it increasingly ironic and tragic that in an age that is so concerned with going green, organic this and Prius that, we continue to ignore the unnatural chemical abuse of women's bodies as a result of taking birth control.
And, what's more ironic, the greatest argument I hear from feminists is that birth control is liberating for women, giving them freedoms do do as they please as they have never seen before. But at what cost? Is the goal of this freedom to be more respected, more valued, have safer and stabler families or be treated as a fully dignified human person. Because, if you look at the general moral trend of our country and dominant culture, women are markedly less respected and less valued as is evident by many movies, popular music (particularly rap, but also rock), style and fashion, etc. For true freedom is not to do simply as you please, but to be free is to live in a natural order or for the Christian, in the order as ordained by Christ, to be in the light of Christ.
I would bet a shiny new dime that this trend is only just beginning. Because physically, psychologically, and especially spiritually, the pill is bad for women. And, we've known that for a very long time.
This afternoon I saw a commercial, a lawyer commercial like you see with asbestos or water pollution. It was advertising the bevy of law suits being brought against Yaz due to the rapid increase of damages caused by Yaz being brought to the public attention. Yaz is the most popular and widely used form of contraceptive birth control. Yaz is a product of Bayer, the German pharmaceutical company. Bayer innovated Aspirin as it now exists today. You may also remember them from such atrocities as being a financial core of the Nazi drive to power, or as the producer of the gas that killed the Jews at Auschwitz, or as the perpetrator of a variety of other crimes against humanity, including killing of the unborn. I suppose patterns of killing the innocent are hard to shake off for this company. Unfortunately there are no Allies coming to military aide for the innocent unborn. What a difference half a century makes. But, back to the point at hand.
Recently, it has come to wide public attention that Yaz, used by millions of women across the U.S., causes among other things; blood clots, pulmonary embolism, heart attacks, kidney issues, stroke, and death. During my time of unemployment, I got a chance to watch a lot of daytime T.V. TBS, TNT, and other stations would run Yaz advertisements 2-3 times every hour. It's no wonder Yaz stirred up over half a billion dollars for Bayer last year. Much like the "industry" the company engaged in during World War two, they have managed to make money in the most atrocious ways imaginable.
This should really not come as a surprise to anyone familiar to the history of the oral contraceptive. All of these side effects, now surprisingly sprung upon our society, have been side effects of the oral contraceptive since its creation. In fact, during the development of the pill, several women died, and many others suffered side effects such as these. But, undeterred companies like Bayer have continued to pioneer in the killing of the innocent while manipulating and poisoning our mothers.
This is my point: the pill, the oral contraceptive, is poison. It does freakishly unnatural things to a woman's body, wreaks havoc on marriages, contributes to the attitude that propagates abortion, leads to abuse of women including objectification of women, and contributes to general societal chaos. I find it increasingly ironic and tragic that in an age that is so concerned with going green, organic this and Prius that, we continue to ignore the unnatural chemical abuse of women's bodies as a result of taking birth control.
And, what's more ironic, the greatest argument I hear from feminists is that birth control is liberating for women, giving them freedoms do do as they please as they have never seen before. But at what cost? Is the goal of this freedom to be more respected, more valued, have safer and stabler families or be treated as a fully dignified human person. Because, if you look at the general moral trend of our country and dominant culture, women are markedly less respected and less valued as is evident by many movies, popular music (particularly rap, but also rock), style and fashion, etc. For true freedom is not to do simply as you please, but to be free is to live in a natural order or for the Christian, in the order as ordained by Christ, to be in the light of Christ.
I would bet a shiny new dime that this trend is only just beginning. Because physically, psychologically, and especially spiritually, the pill is bad for women. And, we've known that for a very long time.
V for Victory, great post to check out.
Great post on V for Victory blog today. Made me laugh in a very very sad kind of way.
Check it out: here
Check it out: here
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Witty name about my trip to Wisconsin
At the request of my rebel friend, I must admit that I have been remiss in my blog writing and now need to update ya'll.
Last weekend, I traveled up to the north land of Wisconsin to attend a hop growing convention. There is a group there trying to bring hop growing back to the Midwest. Currently 95 % of the hops grown in this country for beer making are grown in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. With 77% of the total hops grown in the Yakima valley, WA. But, currently about .0001% of this country's hops are grown in Wisconsin. Why so little you ask? Well, in the late 1800s, most of the hops in this country were grown in Wisconsin and New York. In fact Saulk county, where modern day Wisconsin Dells is, used to be corner to corner hops. Every year, 30,000 workers from Rockford, Chicago, and even into Indiana would flock to Wisconsin for the hop harvest earning 1-2 dollars a day, a month's wages in some places. But, around 1890, much like the potato famine in Ireland, the single variety was wiped out by a mold strain. So, the hops moved to the northwest, with their arid climates and consistent products.
I've been tossing around the idea of farming hops in Illinois on a smaller farm scale and in conjunction with other niche crops. This conference gave me a good idea of exactly what would go in to this endeavor. Approximately 15,000 dollars to start... per acre. So, it isn't exactly a cheap hobby... nor is it a short term investment. But it was a fruitful weekend in that I learned a lot about soil and hop variety. Plus the brew master of Capital brewery in Madison WI, Kirby Nelson, had us to the brewery for a private tour and lecture on hop quality's effect on beer quality. He also let us taste several beers off the tank. The tanks themselves are actually old dairy tanks, which was pretty neat. His signature beer now is an ice bock which is like a double bock but 25% of the water gets frozen off, producing a beer with a very high Alcohol by volume (ABV). And it was quite tasty, complex, almost syrupy.
On a side note, did you know that people from Wisconsin hate people from Illinois. I think it has to do with the Chicago folks who buy up all the lakefront property in Wisconsin so the locals can't buy property on their own lakes. Or, maybe it has something to do with the ultra-liberalized, snobby jerks from Chicago and the northern suburbs who mostly act as our ambassadors to the cheese land. Either way, I always catch a lot of flack from Wisconsinites who are ... less than charitable to Illinoisans. They even ave a term for us, "FIBS"... the I stands for Illinois. To combat this, I usually tell people I'm from Kentucky ... which is true in a manner of speaking.
The ironic thing is that few people in Illinois even know about this hatred. Kind of like a rivalry that only one side cares (or knows) about. I'm not saying it's unwarranted hatred. Most of the people in downstate Illinois hate Chicagoans as well, for many of the same reasons. But, to have such a widespread hatred that 90 percent of Illinoisans don't even know about... it's a little funny...
Cheers
Thursday, October 15, 2009
From Wall St. Journal
What happened here, and is happening elsewhere in American life, is that Mr. Limbaugh's outspoken political conservatism is being deemed sufficient reason to ostracize him from polite society. By contrast, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann, who fires off his own brand of high-velocity, left-wing political commentary but lacks Mr. Limbaugh's sense of humor, appears weekly as co-host of NBC's "Football Night in America." We haven't heard anyone on the right say Mr. Olbermann's nightly ad-hominem rants should disqualify him from hanging around the NFL. Al Franken made it all the way to the U.S. Senate on a river of political vitriol.
click here to read in full
click here to read in full
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Images from the Farm: Harvest 2009
For those of you not fortunate enough to be on a farm, here are some images of the beauty of the Fall.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
BBC changing their tune....?
Interesting article from the BBC questioning the 'global warming' juggernaut.
The funnies thing to me is that, even though various climate prediction models were proven hilariously wrong, those who create the models are using more models to predict the cooling trend of the past 11 years to reverse immediately following their previous models being incorrect....
Maybe we should stop trusting climate models all together, as they are so frequently proven useless (especially when it comes to enacting policy and law).
Cheers.
The funnies thing to me is that, even though various climate prediction models were proven hilariously wrong, those who create the models are using more models to predict the cooling trend of the past 11 years to reverse immediately following their previous models being incorrect....
Maybe we should stop trusting climate models all together, as they are so frequently proven useless (especially when it comes to enacting policy and law).
Cheers.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Uncle Walt, again.
If you don't read Walter Williams' regular column, I highly suggest it. Here's an important, VERY IMPORTANT excerpt from his article two days ago:
"The most authoritative tally of history's most murderous regimes is in a book by University of Hawaii's Professor Rudolph J. Rummel, "Death by Government." Statistics are provided at his website: (http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/welcome.html). The Nazis murdered 20 million of their own people and those in nations they captured. Between 1917 and 1987, Stalin and his successors murdered, or were otherwise responsible for the deaths of, 62 million of their own people. Between 1949 and 1987, Mao Tsetung and his successors were responsible for the deaths of 76 million Chinese.
Today's leftists, socialists and progressives would bristle at the suggestion that their agenda differs little from Nazism. However, there's little or no distinction between Nazism and socialism. Even the word Nazi is short for National Socialist German Workers Party. The origins of the unspeakable horrors of Nazism, Stalinism and Maoism did not begin in the '20s, '30s and '40s. Those horrors were simply the end result of long evolution of ideas leading to consolidation of power in central government in the quest for "social justice." It was decent but misguided earlier generations of Germans, like many of today's Americans, who would have cringed at the thought of genocide, who built the Trojan horse for Hitler to take over. "
-Walter Williams
Steyn and me
This from an interview of Mark Steyn yesterday performed by Hugh Hewitt.
Hugh Hewitt: The second paragraph reads, and this is very scary, Mr. Obama appears to have been swayed in recent days by arguments from some advisers, led by Vice President Joe Biden, that the Taliban do not pose a direct threat to the U.S., and that there should be a greater focus on tackling al Qaeda inside of Pakistan.
Mark Steyn....Well you know, in Afghanistan, it was illegal, it was under the Taliban, illegal by law, by law, for a woman to feel sunlight on her face, illegal by law. And leftist feminists, the left wing feminist organizations in the Western world had absolutely nothing to say about that. And George W. Bush liberated those Afghan women. He got them out of their burkas. He allowed them to feel sunlight on their face. A year after the Afghan invasion, there were a higher proportion of women elected to the Afghan parliament than to the Canadian parliament. And the idea that you can simply allow this disgusting party of the Taliban effectively to return large parts of Afghanistan to a prison state, is, speaks very poorly for us. But in a sense, you know, in hard national interest terms, if you want to get out, the thing to do would be to figure out a way to get out without making it look like a defeat. The minute you re-burkaize parts of Afghanistan, what you’re telling the world is that you have been defeated, that the patrons of Osama bin Laden are now back in charge. You couldn’t stick it. You couldn’t stick it. You’re as, as the historian Niall Ferguson says, this is the superpower with ADHD. It hasn’t got the staying power, can’t concentrate long enough.
HTNL thoughts: I think this shows an increasing trend of comparing President Bush's success in Iraq, and B.O.'s looming disaster in Afghanistan. After the residue of resentment surrounding President Bush subsides, everyone outside of our communist universities and the media will realize Iraq as a resounding success. (And the liberation of Iraq and Afghanistan as an achievement truly worthy of peace prize).
Cheers.
quote of the day: Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must realise that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events.
-Winston Churchill
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Sorry B.O.
I'm not sad that Chicago lost the Olympics. In fact, it fills me with glee and giddiness that the IOC, possibly the most corrupt institution outside of Cook County, IL, snubbed B.O, Mrs. B.O, Oprah and our old friend Michael Jordan. Apparently, though 'widely popular' abroad, B.O.'s popularity could not get Chicago out of the first round of city selection.
This decision did not come as a total surprise to me. What was the dominant story of the summer domestically other than B.O.'s attempt to make America into Canada Jr.? It was the violence of Chicago; multiple murders every week, gang violence and the like. Even leading up to the Olympic decision, the violence in Chicago was on a national and international stage as two other young men were horribly and tragically beaten this very week.
Then, we have the widespread opposition of Chicagoonians themselves. Various polls, one even by the Chicago Tribune had near half of Chicago residents being opposed to having the games. And why shouldn't they be? The financial strains would be staggering. Atlanta is still paying off their Olympic bill from '96 and Montreal hadn't stopped taxing their citizens for their Olympics until 2007. Throwing billions of dollars into the most politically corrupt state in the country and the most politically corrupt city in the Western world would certainly result in disaster.
Finally we have the message of B.O. regarding America's world identity. From his travels to the Mideast, to his drippy, sappy domestic speeches (of which there have been hundreds since his Inauguration) to his recent escapade of shame at the U.N; the message of B.O. is that America is not special, America is not exceptional, and that Americans should be ashamed of their country's history (especially the last 8 years of it). This shows a major disparity of his rhetoric and reality. If America is not exceptional, why should we have the Olympics here? Seems hard to hold both positions simultaneously.
A major implication of Chicago's international humiliation (1st round elimination, even behind Tokyo who made a ridiculous pitch of having a "green Olympics") is the consequence for our fearless leader B.O. The anointed one has received widespread doubt and disapproval of his speedy attempt to "remake America" (translation: make American a Euro-Socialist nation). The failure of B.O. to bring an Olympics to his home town now draws international doubt from...
Canada -- "With an incredible rapidity, America's status as the world's pre-eminent superpower is now passing away. This is a function both of the nearly systematic abandonment of U.S. interests and allies overseas, with metastasizing debt and bureaucracy on the home front.And while I think the U.S. has the structural fortitude to survive the Obama presidency, it will be a much-diminished country that emerges from the 'new physics' of hope and change."
and England as well --"There has been a growing narrative taking hold about Barack Obama’s presidency in recent weeks: that he is loved by many, but feared by none; that he is full of lofty vision, but is actually achieving nothing with his grandiloquence."
But, ultimately, this is a good thing for Chicago. Having B.O. embarrassed on the international stage is just a bonus. But, I'm afraid, B.O's embarrassment will be a much more common theme in the months and years to come, as nations realize we are being led by a man who has accomplished nothing and has no experience at all.
Cheers.
This decision did not come as a total surprise to me. What was the dominant story of the summer domestically other than B.O.'s attempt to make America into Canada Jr.? It was the violence of Chicago; multiple murders every week, gang violence and the like. Even leading up to the Olympic decision, the violence in Chicago was on a national and international stage as two other young men were horribly and tragically beaten this very week.
Then, we have the widespread opposition of Chicagoonians themselves. Various polls, one even by the Chicago Tribune had near half of Chicago residents being opposed to having the games. And why shouldn't they be? The financial strains would be staggering. Atlanta is still paying off their Olympic bill from '96 and Montreal hadn't stopped taxing their citizens for their Olympics until 2007. Throwing billions of dollars into the most politically corrupt state in the country and the most politically corrupt city in the Western world would certainly result in disaster.
Finally we have the message of B.O. regarding America's world identity. From his travels to the Mideast, to his drippy, sappy domestic speeches (of which there have been hundreds since his Inauguration) to his recent escapade of shame at the U.N; the message of B.O. is that America is not special, America is not exceptional, and that Americans should be ashamed of their country's history (especially the last 8 years of it). This shows a major disparity of his rhetoric and reality. If America is not exceptional, why should we have the Olympics here? Seems hard to hold both positions simultaneously.
A major implication of Chicago's international humiliation (1st round elimination, even behind Tokyo who made a ridiculous pitch of having a "green Olympics") is the consequence for our fearless leader B.O. The anointed one has received widespread doubt and disapproval of his speedy attempt to "remake America" (translation: make American a Euro-Socialist nation). The failure of B.O. to bring an Olympics to his home town now draws international doubt from...
Canada -- "With an incredible rapidity, America's status as the world's pre-eminent superpower is now passing away. This is a function both of the nearly systematic abandonment of U.S. interests and allies overseas, with metastasizing debt and bureaucracy on the home front.And while I think the U.S. has the structural fortitude to survive the Obama presidency, it will be a much-diminished country that emerges from the 'new physics' of hope and change."
and England as well --"There has been a growing narrative taking hold about Barack Obama’s presidency in recent weeks: that he is loved by many, but feared by none; that he is full of lofty vision, but is actually achieving nothing with his grandiloquence."
But, ultimately, this is a good thing for Chicago. Having B.O. embarrassed on the international stage is just a bonus. But, I'm afraid, B.O's embarrassment will be a much more common theme in the months and years to come, as nations realize we are being led by a man who has accomplished nothing and has no experience at all.
Cheers.
Monday, September 28, 2009
2 websites sure to make you laugh
With all of the heavy dealings of the modern age, here are two websites guaranteed to make you laugh, or cry, or both.
www.peopleofwalmart.com
www.thisiswhyyourefat.com
Cheers?
www.peopleofwalmart.com
www.thisiswhyyourefat.com
Cheers?
Saturday, September 26, 2009
beers by HTLN: part 4
I realized that I failed to post the beer list from our wedding. Since we were using the caterer I worked for throughout college, they allowed us to bring in our own beers, wines, and Ale 8... Witness the greatest beer selection in wedding history.
Stag –
Pabst Blue Ribbon –
Robert the Bruce Scottish Style Ale – Three Floyds Brewery in
Thursday, September 24, 2009
The future of HTNL
Lately I've been pondering the future of this blog.
Initially, I started writing as a volunteer blog with CAP, then as a winemaker/vagabond blog. Throughout the entirety of this experiment I've tried to defend and show the glorious beauty of a devout Catholic life.
I'm wondering if I should continue writing it as I have many other things pulling me away. I'm wondering if this project is relevant or beneficial for anyone. I will take your comments into consideration.
Holler back.
Cheers.
Initially, I started writing as a volunteer blog with CAP, then as a winemaker/vagabond blog. Throughout the entirety of this experiment I've tried to defend and show the glorious beauty of a devout Catholic life.
I'm wondering if I should continue writing it as I have many other things pulling me away. I'm wondering if this project is relevant or beneficial for anyone. I will take your comments into consideration.
Holler back.
Cheers.
Put it on the Board... yes.
“The State which would provide everything, absorbing everything into itself, would ultimately become a mere bureaucracy incapable of guaranteeing the very thing which the suffering person — every person — needs: namely, loving personal concern. We do not need a State which regulates and controls everything, but a State which, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, generously acknowledges and supports initiatives arising from the different social forces and combines spontaneity with closeness to those in need . . . . In the end, the claim that just social structures would make works of charity superfluous masks a materialist conception of man: the mistaken notion that man can live ‘by bread alone’ (Mt 4:4; cf. Dt 8:3) — a conviction that demeans man and ultimately disregards all that is specifically human”
Pope Benedict XVI, “Deus Caritas Est,” No. 28
Pope Benedict XVI, “Deus Caritas Est,” No. 28
Sunday, September 20, 2009
An observation from this morning's Mass
This morning, the kids in Mass seemed particularly unruly. Maybe it's a full moon, who knows. I try to think of this as an exercise in focus and concentration. There is a passage from C.S. Lewis' "Screwtape Letters" that speaks to this point, how the devil can achieve a victory by distracting you during Mass, especially during the most important parts of Mass; the Consecration and reverent reception of the Eucharist.
Well, one particular youngster was literally bouncing around two pews in front of us and his mother seemed to be ... a bit lax in keeping him from crawling under the pew, making noise, etc. But, whatever, it wasn't a big deal and as adults we should be able to ignore this. Actually, if you have to concentrate more, it should in theory draw you deeper into the Mass.
Anyway, the one point during the Mass when the mother really snapped the kid into shape and 'made' him concentrate was during the Our Father. She forced him to stand up straight and hold hands (incorrectly extending the hands they weren't holding to mimic the priest). Now every part of the Mass is significant and important. But there are far more important moments than the Our Father to snap one's children into line and really listen and be attentive ... such as the Consecration for example. And then, to emphasize a liturgically distracting practice such as holding hands and raising your hands like you're participating in a sappy, fluffy praise and worship "song"? Seems odd to me.
But, we always make a point to pray for parents in Mass and to make sure that we really do not care if their children cry from time to time or if they have to reel their kids in who are acting up. It's certainly nothing to be embarrassed about. And it's more important that they are actually there. I'm just pointing out that its a bit odd to emphasize the importance of an incorrect Liturgical practice, that is, if you were to pick one point during Mass to emphasize.
Any stories of hand holding or hand waving we can laugh at?
Well, one particular youngster was literally bouncing around two pews in front of us and his mother seemed to be ... a bit lax in keeping him from crawling under the pew, making noise, etc. But, whatever, it wasn't a big deal and as adults we should be able to ignore this. Actually, if you have to concentrate more, it should in theory draw you deeper into the Mass.
Anyway, the one point during the Mass when the mother really snapped the kid into shape and 'made' him concentrate was during the Our Father. She forced him to stand up straight and hold hands (incorrectly extending the hands they weren't holding to mimic the priest). Now every part of the Mass is significant and important. But there are far more important moments than the Our Father to snap one's children into line and really listen and be attentive ... such as the Consecration for example. And then, to emphasize a liturgically distracting practice such as holding hands and raising your hands like you're participating in a sappy, fluffy praise and worship "song"? Seems odd to me.
But, we always make a point to pray for parents in Mass and to make sure that we really do not care if their children cry from time to time or if they have to reel their kids in who are acting up. It's certainly nothing to be embarrassed about. And it's more important that they are actually there. I'm just pointing out that its a bit odd to emphasize the importance of an incorrect Liturgical practice, that is, if you were to pick one point during Mass to emphasize.
Any stories of hand holding or hand waving we can laugh at?
My name is Juan Pablo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die
In the wild world of NASCAR, the "chase" has begun. This means, over the course of the next 10 races, 12 drivers will compete for the coveted Sprint cup. It is the most exciting time in motor sports. This year is a bit different because Juan Pablo Montoya is trying to become the first foreign born driver to win the Sprint cup.
But hey, I figure that if we have a foreign born president, why not a foreign born NASCAR champion?
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Life and Death in America
I've noticed, as of late, that when someone dies in our country, the standard method of procedure is to immediately beatify them in a secular way. The best examples I can think of are Michael Jackson and Ted Kennedy. Far from desecrating the memory of the dead, our culture seems to be systematically highlighting the supposed wonderful and influential lives these people lived. Only the thing is, in many ways, they led deplorable lives. The secular media makes them seem like saints but they are not, seemingly far from it. I mean Kennedy was responsible for the death of a woman for gosh sakes and Jackson's exploits were equally as despicable.
I wonder why our culture insists of making saints out of the dead, simply because of the fact that they are deceased? My guess is that this is largely due to the fact that our culture, as a whole, has no idea how to deal with death. The media fears death because they are incapable of making a decision on the matter. If there is no heaven and no hell, as John Lennon tells us, then what does it matter what kind of life the person lived? In reality though, this theory is so far fetched that no one can really believe it, especially not when the chips are down. So they frantically try to make a secular saint out of Ted Kennedy, trying to convince themselves that, "hey, he was a pretty good guy." Which is incredibly false. Because, just maybe, there really is something after death and maybe, if we say it enough or convincingly enough, this guy could be a really good guy. I suppose that in a morally relativistic society, where the predominant culture preaches that there is no right and wrong, every one is a "pretty good guy."
In reality Christ makes saints out of sinners. But, in a culture proud of rejecting Christianity, the secular media seems to have taken the task of sanctification upon itself.
Your thoughts?
I wonder why our culture insists of making saints out of the dead, simply because of the fact that they are deceased? My guess is that this is largely due to the fact that our culture, as a whole, has no idea how to deal with death. The media fears death because they are incapable of making a decision on the matter. If there is no heaven and no hell, as John Lennon tells us, then what does it matter what kind of life the person lived? In reality though, this theory is so far fetched that no one can really believe it, especially not when the chips are down. So they frantically try to make a secular saint out of Ted Kennedy, trying to convince themselves that, "hey, he was a pretty good guy." Which is incredibly false. Because, just maybe, there really is something after death and maybe, if we say it enough or convincingly enough, this guy could be a really good guy. I suppose that in a morally relativistic society, where the predominant culture preaches that there is no right and wrong, every one is a "pretty good guy."
In reality Christ makes saints out of sinners. But, in a culture proud of rejecting Christianity, the secular media seems to have taken the task of sanctification upon itself.
Your thoughts?
Sunday, September 13, 2009
John Stockton
This past week was the induction ceremony of Michael Jordan to the NBA hall of fame. Growing up in the Chicago-land area during the Jordan dynasty, its impossible not to think of Jordan as a larger-than-life superhero type. All of us who had the Bulls short shorts, 3- peat white t-shirts, and "Steve Kerr: The Kerrminator" t-shirts remember the last second shots, the heroics, the championships. And yet, this is not the entire story. We were not really exposed to the gambling Jordan, the mean spirited Jordan, the public and messy divorce he experienced, and the competitive nature of Jordan that was so intense to scar his legacy and seemingly his person.
The speech of Jordan, I'm afraid, highlighted the latter portion of Jordan's legacy, the bitterness, the mean spirited competitiveness, the pettiness. Frankly, he came off not as a champion but as kind of a jerk. He even went so far as to point out how 'huge' of a mistake his highschool basketball coach made in not picking him for the team. Does the greatest player of all time really need to point that out to prove he is the greatest ever?
On the other side of the aisle, was John Stockton with his wife and 6 kids. Stockton had the misfortune to have his career in the shadow of Jordan's. Stockton's Utah Jazz were always just behind Jordan, always second best. Stockton was the Yan Ullrich to Jordan's Lance Armstrong. But, never-the-less, Stockton is one of the game's greatest point guards.
I watched Stockton's speech, which was genuine, self depreciating at times, and always correctly proportioned and in proper in context. He told of how he was never the best player on his team, and even not the best player in his own house (he only beat his brother once in all their years of playground games). He thanked all of the 'small' people in his life; his trainer, the team's owner, the people in the Jazz office (whom he mentioned by name), even the family's priest. As in his career, his behavior radiated with class and dignity. He showed how his priorities were always to his family, invoking stories of their dinner table and speaking to each of his children separately. All Jordan could say to his children was "I'm glad I'm not you guys." Stockton also spoke to his wife (herself one of 15 children) and thanked her for keeping their home truly a home while he was away on road trips with the team.
I suppose it was unfair for Stockton to have always been in Jordan's shadow during his career, accomplished though it was. But I suppose it was equally unfair to put Jordan up on the stage with possibly the most classy and dignified figures the NBA has ever known; John Stockton, Jerry Sloan, and David Robinson. These three athletes depicted all that is right with the NBA, and how with their generation's passing so also went the passing of the dignity of the NBA itself. Jordan, on the other hand, showed the passing of the torch from a team to an individual game, dominated by individual achievements, publicity, corporate sponsors.
The best example of this point, the passing of the NBA into a game dominated by individual achievement, is that while Jordan's Youtube video of his speech had a little over 97,000 views, Stockton's had only 307. I suppose a short white kid from Gonzaga with a big family just can't pack the same punch as the face of Gator aid, Hanes, Nike, and a generation of NBA stars.
No doubt, Jordan was the best ever, the best basketball player to play the game. This is uncontested. But, if I had to choose which line to take in terms of character and personal life even balanced with career achievements and accolades ... it would be no contest.
Cheers!
P.S. Stockton is also a Catholic so holler at yo boy!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
3 stories you wont read in the NYT...
The following is from Mark Steyn. If you are wondering why I am always harping on about Mark Steyn, Walter Williams and Thomas Sowell, it's because I believe them to be the most vibrant, sane political thinkers of our time.
...
Three stories bubbled up in the past week, although if you read The New York Times and the administration's other airbrushers you'll be blissfully unaware of them: The resignation of Van Jones, former (?) communist and current 9/11 "truther," from his post as Obama's "Green Jobs Czar." The "reassignment" of Yosi Sergant at the National Endowment for the Arts after he was found to be urging government-funded arts groups to produce "art" in support of Obama policy positions. And, finally, the extraordinary undercover tape from Andrew Breitbart's Big Government Web site in which officials from ACORN (the Obama chums who'll be "helping" with the next census) offer advice on how pimps can get government housing loans for brothels employing underage girls from El Salvador.
....Likewise, Obama didn't "join" himself to the liberal leadership; he is the liberal leadership. The administration didn't fall in with the wrong crowd; they are the wrong crowd. Van Jones, Yosi Sergant and ACORN are where Barack Obama's chosen to live all his adult life. Even if he wanted to be the bipartisan centrist of David Brooks' fantasies, look at his Rolodex and then figure out just where such a man would estimate the "center" to be.
-Mark Steyn: see the whole article here
...
Three stories bubbled up in the past week, although if you read The New York Times and the administration's other airbrushers you'll be blissfully unaware of them: The resignation of Van Jones, former (?) communist and current 9/11 "truther," from his post as Obama's "Green Jobs Czar." The "reassignment" of Yosi Sergant at the National Endowment for the Arts after he was found to be urging government-funded arts groups to produce "art" in support of Obama policy positions. And, finally, the extraordinary undercover tape from Andrew Breitbart's Big Government Web site in which officials from ACORN (the Obama chums who'll be "helping" with the next census) offer advice on how pimps can get government housing loans for brothels employing underage girls from El Salvador.
....Likewise, Obama didn't "join" himself to the liberal leadership; he is the liberal leadership. The administration didn't fall in with the wrong crowd; they are the wrong crowd. Van Jones, Yosi Sergant and ACORN are where Barack Obama's chosen to live all his adult life. Even if he wanted to be the bipartisan centrist of David Brooks' fantasies, look at his Rolodex and then figure out just where such a man would estimate the "center" to be.
-Mark Steyn: see the whole article here
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Sanity part III
Here is a great video of Thomas Howard, prominent theologian and thinker, speaking of his conversion from evangelical Protestantism to Catholicism.
There are 5 parts which you can find after watching the first one linked above.
Cheers.
There are 5 parts which you can find after watching the first one linked above.
Cheers.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Sanity Amidst the Screaming
Shortly after my victory over unemployment, I discovered that I did not win the battle over being poor and without a car (yet). As a result, I have to take the train into my lab every day. The train ride is ... spirited to put it charitably. There are many enthusiastic individuals who love to raise their voices and emit all sorts of boisterous proclamations and turns of phrase to the delight of all. Amidst the cacophony of the modern world, I have found a slight bit of sanity in saying my rosary walking to the train and riding on the train. Its such an awkward place to be, the train. I always thought the fields were lonely places to work, but in the city, you are surrounded by millions of people and hardly ever utter a word. Where else can you be so close to humans and so far from humanity than packed on a the B.O. soaked gypsy boxcar known as the St. Louis Metrolink?
As I was boarding the train yesterday I randomly sat next to a man for the morning ride. After a while I noticed the man make the sign of the cross as he had clearly finished saying his rosary. I thought it uplifting, like seeing a comrade on the field and noticing that you are both carrying the same powerful sword that proved essential to legions of your ancestors.
Today, I sat next to the same man. After he finished his prayers and made the sign of the cross, I noticed he had a rosary in his hand that he carefully placed away in a rosary pouch. I took my rosary out of my pocket and showed it to him saying, "I thought that's what you were doing yesterday." Sort of a, "hey, check it out, we both roll in the same way son" as some other train riders may say. He chuckled and went back to looking out the window.
He didn't say anything for a while after that and I thought I may have freaked him out a bit. After 15 minutes or so he turned and introduced himself. "Sorry, I have a lot of other prayers to say after my rosary. I would've said something sooner." We chatted for a little while on where are good places to go to daily mass, where we both worked, etc. Then we parted ways.
It reminded me of the one passage from Lord of the Rings where Gimli laments he does not have his kinsmen present during one of the major battles. Another character reminds him that he need not worry, because where ever his kinsmen are, battle surely marches on them as well. So although they would not be in battle together, the would certainly both be in battle. Such is the way of the devout Catholic. So often we are in battles on our own, when the Church, the family or traditional values come under attack during the course of our lives. Every once in a while though its good to see another joyful warrior carrying his cross in his own way.
As I was boarding the train yesterday I randomly sat next to a man for the morning ride. After a while I noticed the man make the sign of the cross as he had clearly finished saying his rosary. I thought it uplifting, like seeing a comrade on the field and noticing that you are both carrying the same powerful sword that proved essential to legions of your ancestors.
Today, I sat next to the same man. After he finished his prayers and made the sign of the cross, I noticed he had a rosary in his hand that he carefully placed away in a rosary pouch. I took my rosary out of my pocket and showed it to him saying, "I thought that's what you were doing yesterday." Sort of a, "hey, check it out, we both roll in the same way son" as some other train riders may say. He chuckled and went back to looking out the window.
He didn't say anything for a while after that and I thought I may have freaked him out a bit. After 15 minutes or so he turned and introduced himself. "Sorry, I have a lot of other prayers to say after my rosary. I would've said something sooner." We chatted for a little while on where are good places to go to daily mass, where we both worked, etc. Then we parted ways.
It reminded me of the one passage from Lord of the Rings where Gimli laments he does not have his kinsmen present during one of the major battles. Another character reminds him that he need not worry, because where ever his kinsmen are, battle surely marches on them as well. So although they would not be in battle together, the would certainly both be in battle. Such is the way of the devout Catholic. So often we are in battles on our own, when the Church, the family or traditional values come under attack during the course of our lives. Every once in a while though its good to see another joyful warrior carrying his cross in his own way.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Mark Steyn
Up next: Birth panels! From the Daily Mail:
Bed Shortage Forces 4,000 Mothers To Give Birth In Lifts, Offices And Hospital Toilets
C'mon, America, let's make it happen! Let's do it for Teddy!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Funemployment: Over!
I'm happy report to you, my HTNL readers, that my summer of funemployment has officially come to an end. I have accepted a position at Washington University's school of medicine in St. Louis. I am working for several doctors who study Parkinson's disease.
The job has come with several new challenges. First, until we move, I have an hour and 20 minute commute every day. I have a cubicle, and a computer of my own where I sit and nerd it up all day long. While working in the hills or at the winery, I never envisioned myself sitting in a cubicle, organizing huge data sets. But, it is a stable, rewarding job in my field (above my field actually) where I can contribute to valuable research.
I've been thinking a lot of Gramps and of John Paul 2, and ask them for their prayers with my new job. I thought explicitly of these two when applying for the job and I'm fairly certain they had something to do with my hiring. I am the only one in the lab without a masters degree ... but I can fake it pretty well. I am in charge of organizing 2 studies, entering their data, and maintaining the data sets for the doctors.
Part of our job is conducting tests on various workers and people from rural areas. Apparently, anyone who has more exposure to heavy metals, through their job, has a heightened risk of Parkinson's, according to some studies. Interestingly enough, I also learned that if an individual smokes, they have a 50% LESS chance of getting Parkinson's. You'd think the tobacco companies would play that one up...
There are two other parts of my job that are a little more... gross. First, I am a key player in all of the 'dirty lab' work. That means I work with the blood. We take blood samples from some people to study, and I have to pipette it and organize it in our deep freeze. And, soon my time will come when I need to learn to draw blood.... (The scientific word for passing out is syncope which is caused by a sudden drop in blood pressure and a lack of oxygen to the brain). So far though, I have not passed out or vomited. Although I did warn my boss that I would pass out and then vomit while passed out. They didn't laugh, and I think they thought I was serious ... maybe I am.
Secondly, I will have to help image brains, human brains ... (right now they're being stored in buckets somewhere on the premises) I am not too sure what to think of this but I desperately need experience in neuroimaging for my grad school applications.
One fun thing now is that all of the med students are coming back to school and are running around with their big backpacks. Apparently, the length of the lab coat signals how advanced someone is in their medical education. The med students have really short lab coats, big backpacks filled with huge books, and often look disheveled. I discovered, while looking through my drawers while organizing, that there were some lab coats from the doctor who used to use my office. I think I might wear them around and try to con med students and techs into buying me coffee. The key to pulling off a good doctor con is not to make eye contact and constantly think you're better than everyone. That's the key.
Cheers!
The job has come with several new challenges. First, until we move, I have an hour and 20 minute commute every day. I have a cubicle, and a computer of my own where I sit and nerd it up all day long. While working in the hills or at the winery, I never envisioned myself sitting in a cubicle, organizing huge data sets. But, it is a stable, rewarding job in my field (above my field actually) where I can contribute to valuable research.
I've been thinking a lot of Gramps and of John Paul 2, and ask them for their prayers with my new job. I thought explicitly of these two when applying for the job and I'm fairly certain they had something to do with my hiring. I am the only one in the lab without a masters degree ... but I can fake it pretty well. I am in charge of organizing 2 studies, entering their data, and maintaining the data sets for the doctors.
Part of our job is conducting tests on various workers and people from rural areas. Apparently, anyone who has more exposure to heavy metals, through their job, has a heightened risk of Parkinson's, according to some studies. Interestingly enough, I also learned that if an individual smokes, they have a 50% LESS chance of getting Parkinson's. You'd think the tobacco companies would play that one up...
There are two other parts of my job that are a little more... gross. First, I am a key player in all of the 'dirty lab' work. That means I work with the blood. We take blood samples from some people to study, and I have to pipette it and organize it in our deep freeze. And, soon my time will come when I need to learn to draw blood.... (The scientific word for passing out is syncope which is caused by a sudden drop in blood pressure and a lack of oxygen to the brain). So far though, I have not passed out or vomited. Although I did warn my boss that I would pass out and then vomit while passed out. They didn't laugh, and I think they thought I was serious ... maybe I am.
Secondly, I will have to help image brains, human brains ... (right now they're being stored in buckets somewhere on the premises) I am not too sure what to think of this but I desperately need experience in neuroimaging for my grad school applications.
One fun thing now is that all of the med students are coming back to school and are running around with their big backpacks. Apparently, the length of the lab coat signals how advanced someone is in their medical education. The med students have really short lab coats, big backpacks filled with huge books, and often look disheveled. I discovered, while looking through my drawers while organizing, that there were some lab coats from the doctor who used to use my office. I think I might wear them around and try to con med students and techs into buying me coffee. The key to pulling off a good doctor con is not to make eye contact and constantly think you're better than everyone. That's the key.
Cheers!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Hilarious Steyn Post from NRO
Doctor O's enforcers decide it's time to get heavy with the insurance companies:
Letters sent to 52 insurance companies by Democratic leaders demand extensive documents for an examination of ‘extensive compensation and other business practices in the health insurance industry...”
By Sept. 4, the firms are supposed to supply detailed compensation data for board members and top executives, as well as a “table listing all conferences, retreats, or other events held outside company facilities from January 1, 2007, to the present that were paid for, reimbursed, or subsidized in whole or in part by your company.”
You first. How come the compensations and perks of a vice-president in a private company are to be subject to greater public forensic examination than those of Dodd or Rangel?
They're supposed to be representatives not rulers. George III couldn't have got away with a letter like that.
--Mark Steyn
Friday, August 14, 2009
Great Articles Today
One by the CEO of Whole Foods (organic, green, yuppie headquarters of every yuppie area of any city) who actually is AGAINST Obamacare, which will without doubt ruin this nation.
Another, the hilarious response of the liberal yuppies to this great article.
One by the American Papist.
Another, a transcript with Columnist to the World, Mark Steyn.
Lastly, one by the Washington Times, on the Obama health care double talk.
Another, the hilarious response of the liberal yuppies to this great article.
One by the American Papist.
Another, a transcript with Columnist to the World, Mark Steyn.
Lastly, one by the Washington Times, on the Obama health care double talk.
Monday, August 10, 2009
The politics that drive the greatest lie of our time
Here is a wonderful video on the hoax of global warming for anyone who has ever thought Al Gore was a good guy and maybe even right.
click here for my favorite installment and you can find links to the whole documentary on youtube from this link...
click here for my favorite installment and you can find links to the whole documentary on youtube from this link...
Welcome to Big D
This past weekend saw the glorious end to my and my wife's "funemployment tour" of 2009 as we traveled down to Dallas to visit dear friends Chris and Stephanie. Previously, my wife and I traveled to Kentucky to volunteer for 2 days repairing homes, then to Wisconsin with college friends to camp and eat cheese. The first two trips were exciting and fulfilling in many ways, but this trip was relaxing and calming to say the very least.
Things have been a bit stressful as of late what with the job search going... not as productively as we might like. So a retreat to Big D was a special mercy. Most especially moving and calming was the large, orthodox, and faithful Catholic presence surrounding our good friends and including our good friends. Multiple dinners with these young scholars, PhD hopefuls and "right wing radicals"of hearty food and ample amounts of Austin home brew made for wonderful conversation about matters both troubling and merry. We were also privileged to attend Mass both at the University of Dallas' beautiful chapel and also a nearby monastery which is so special a place I would rather not talk of it here but can only describe it as timeless and transcendent.
The main purpose of our trip, to visit our great friends, was calming and reassuring. Many great conversations and merry making culminated in a 96 degree game of ultimate frisbee Sunday night (in which a Gaffer team could not be stopped). And though I have added to the massive data set that I am not made to run, it was fun none-the-less.
We were blessed to have this trip. And it left us rejuvenated and strengthened to face our coming challenges (most specifically finding a job)....
I wish I could share with you more, more specifics of the conversations regarding faith, politics, the future, our aspirations, our adrift culture, and the like, but alas those details are reserved for the special times of human experience beyond the reach of a blog post or a twitter post or text abreevs.
Cheers!
The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.
-Lord of the Rings
Things have been a bit stressful as of late what with the job search going... not as productively as we might like. So a retreat to Big D was a special mercy. Most especially moving and calming was the large, orthodox, and faithful Catholic presence surrounding our good friends and including our good friends. Multiple dinners with these young scholars, PhD hopefuls and "right wing radicals"of hearty food and ample amounts of Austin home brew made for wonderful conversation about matters both troubling and merry. We were also privileged to attend Mass both at the University of Dallas' beautiful chapel and also a nearby monastery which is so special a place I would rather not talk of it here but can only describe it as timeless and transcendent.
The main purpose of our trip, to visit our great friends, was calming and reassuring. Many great conversations and merry making culminated in a 96 degree game of ultimate frisbee Sunday night (in which a Gaffer team could not be stopped). And though I have added to the massive data set that I am not made to run, it was fun none-the-less.
We were blessed to have this trip. And it left us rejuvenated and strengthened to face our coming challenges (most specifically finding a job)....
I wish I could share with you more, more specifics of the conversations regarding faith, politics, the future, our aspirations, our adrift culture, and the like, but alas those details are reserved for the special times of human experience beyond the reach of a blog post or a twitter post or text abreevs.
Cheers!
The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.
-Lord of the Rings
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
TSowell
During a recent TV interview, when President Obama was asked about the prospects of victory in Afghanistan, he replied that it would not be victory like in World War II, with "Hirohito coming down and signing a surrender to MacArthur." In reality, it was not Emperor Hirohito who surrendered on the battleship Missouri. American troops were already occupying Japan before Hirohito met General Douglas MacArthur for the first time.
This is not the first betrayal of his ignorance by Obama, nor the first overlooked by the media. Moreover, ignorance by itself is not nearly as bad as charging full steam ahead, pretending to know. Barack Obama is doing that on a lot of issues, not just history or a local police incident in Massachusetts.
-Thomas Sowell
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Buehrle's Perfect Game and the Stench of B.O.
Today Mark Buehrle threw a perfect game! Just the 18th perfect game in the entire history of baseball and only the 2nd by a White Sox pitcher! It was amazing, pure, and impressive.
Just after the game, the pureness of it all was taken away by the disgusting presence of B.O. Mark was taken away from the media interviews to take a call from B.O. the White Sox "greatest fan" according to ESPN. King Hussein said in jest (or perhaps in seriousness) that his White Sox jacket worn at the all star game was the reason for the perfect game.
IS THERE NOTHING THIS TYRANT CAN NOT RUIN! economy....health care....American image.....American industry....White Sox....all ruined! I FEEL LIKE I'M TAKING CRAZY PILLS!
Monday, July 20, 2009
Quote of the Day
The salient point of that 1,200-page cap-and-trade monstrosity was that, in its final form, it was so huge that at the time the House voted it into law there was no written version of the bill, because Congressional typists were unable to type as fast as Congress can spend: They're legislating on such a scale that the poor bleeding typing fingers of the House stenographers can't keep up. Which means you can't keep up the payments on it all.
-Mark Steyn
-Mark Steyn
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Mind that Tyranny
Articles
One by Walter Williams
The other on American Papist. You should actually just read all the articles from today on American Papist. All quite scary and indicative of B.O.'s tyrannical approach to governing. One main method being to appoint dissenting, non-practicing nominal "Catholics" to drive a liberal wedge between nominal Catholics and the teachings of the Church.
One by Walter Williams
The other on American Papist. You should actually just read all the articles from today on American Papist. All quite scary and indicative of B.O.'s tyrannical approach to governing. One main method being to appoint dissenting, non-practicing nominal "Catholics" to drive a liberal wedge between nominal Catholics and the teachings of the Church.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Piece of Mind
"When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic."
-- Benjamin Franklin
"I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents."
-- James Madison
"The greatest [calamity] which could befall [us would be] submission to a government of unlimited powers."
-- Thomas Jefferson
-- Benjamin Franklin
"I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents."
-- James Madison
"The greatest [calamity] which could befall [us would be] submission to a government of unlimited powers."
-- Thomas Jefferson
Friday, July 10, 2009
Like Minds
I read a disturbing interview with Ruth Bader Ginsburg earlier this week. Here is a quote from it regarding her view of Roe v. Wade and it's implications:
Frankly I had thought that at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don’t want to have too many of. So that Roe was going to be then set up for Medicaid funding for abortion.
-Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg from this past Tuesday's article found here.
I wonder which parts of the population she believes we don't want too many of. I wonder if there are any other persons who held the philosophy, that "we don't want to have too many of" a certain population. Let's investigate.
"More children from the fit, less from the unfit -- that is the chief aim of birth control."
and
“The most merciful thing that a family does to one of its infant members is to kill it.”
-Margaret Sanger, racist and founder of Planned Parenthood - leading provider of abortions in our country.
"Under the guidance of the Reich, Europe would speedily have become unified. Once the Jewish poison had been eradicated, unification would have been an easy matter."
-Adolf Hitler, leader of the National Socialist Party (Nazi party) of Germany
"The ultimate aim for those 11 years during which I have been the Reichsfuehrer SS has been invariably the same: to create an order of good blood which is able to serve Germany"
-Heinrich Luitpold Himmler - Leader of Hilter's SS.
"Of the five identifiable steps by which the Nazis carried out the principle of "life unworthy of life," coercive sterilization was the first. There followed the killing of “impaired” children in hospitals; and then the killing of “impaired” adults, mostly collected from mental hospitals, in centers especially equipped with carbon monoxide gas. This project was extended (in the same killing centers) to “impaired” inmates of concentration and extermination camps and, finally, to mass killings in the extermination camps themselves."
-Robert Jay Lifton, historian and psychiatrist
Frankly I had thought that at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don’t want to have too many of. So that Roe was going to be then set up for Medicaid funding for abortion.
-Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg from this past Tuesday's article found here.
I wonder which parts of the population she believes we don't want too many of. I wonder if there are any other persons who held the philosophy, that "we don't want to have too many of" a certain population. Let's investigate.
"More children from the fit, less from the unfit -- that is the chief aim of birth control."
and
“The most merciful thing that a family does to one of its infant members is to kill it.”
-Margaret Sanger, racist and founder of Planned Parenthood - leading provider of abortions in our country.
"Under the guidance of the Reich, Europe would speedily have become unified. Once the Jewish poison had been eradicated, unification would have been an easy matter."
-Adolf Hitler, leader of the National Socialist Party (Nazi party) of Germany
"The ultimate aim for those 11 years during which I have been the Reichsfuehrer SS has been invariably the same: to create an order of good blood which is able to serve Germany"
-Heinrich Luitpold Himmler - Leader of Hilter's SS.
"Of the five identifiable steps by which the Nazis carried out the principle of "life unworthy of life," coercive sterilization was the first. There followed the killing of “impaired” children in hospitals; and then the killing of “impaired” adults, mostly collected from mental hospitals, in centers especially equipped with carbon monoxide gas. This project was extended (in the same killing centers) to “impaired” inmates of concentration and extermination camps and, finally, to mass killings in the extermination camps themselves."
-Robert Jay Lifton, historian and psychiatrist
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
So hard to pick from all these wonderful jobs
Help Delivering Fun --- Part-Time position delivering, picking up and setting up fun inflatables for parties, charitable events etc. Prefer you have your own vehicle. Call ###-###-#### or Cell ###-###-####. Must be physically fit, lifting can be heavy. Ask for Spacewalk
Sign Holder for Great Clips --- Sign holder needed for Washington great clips
please call to set up interview
Bartender --- We are currently accepting applications for a part time bartender. NO Drama queens with three stalker ex boyfiends or husbands in their lives. Must have your own dependable transportation
Ice Cream Truck Driver ---Seek person to drive my ice cream truck in ###### area, 1 hr 15 mins from St. Louis. This is 2 days a week position.
Bike Taxi --- St Louis 3Wheel Taxi is looking for drivers. We need drivers to operate our Bike Taxis during Cardinals home games, major events, and M L B All-Star Game downtown St Louis.
Trailer Park Overlord --- small trailer park and campground on the lake of the ozarks is looking for help in exchange for room and board. ...requirements: applicants should be open minded and accepting of alternative lifestyles. someone with strength and agility and not too big to occasionally crawl under a trailer to make a repair.
The recession appears to be over.
Sign Holder for Great Clips --- Sign holder needed for Washington great clips
please call to set up interview
Bartender --- We are currently accepting applications for a part time bartender. NO Drama queens with three stalker ex boyfiends or husbands in their lives. Must have your own dependable transportation
Ice Cream Truck Driver ---Seek person to drive my ice cream truck in ###### area, 1 hr 15 mins from St. Louis. This is 2 days a week position.
Bike Taxi --- St Louis 3Wheel Taxi is looking for drivers. We need drivers to operate our Bike Taxis during Cardinals home games, major events, and M L B All-Star Game downtown St Louis.
Trailer Park Overlord --- small trailer park and campground on the lake of the ozarks is looking for help in exchange for room and board. ...requirements: applicants should be open minded and accepting of alternative lifestyles. someone with strength and agility and not too big to occasionally crawl under a trailer to make a repair.
The recession appears to be over.
New Encyclical by Pope Benedict XVI !!!!
Pope Benedict XVI released his third encyclical Caritas inVeritate.
Here is an excerpt of the document I found particularly poignant to our times and the greatest evil of our time, abortion.
28. One of the most striking aspects of development in the present day is the important question of respect for life, which cannot in any way be detached from questions concerning the development of peoples. It is an aspect which has acquired increasing prominence in recent times, obliging us to broaden our concept of poverty[66] and underdevelopment to include questions connected with the acceptance of life, especially in cases where it is impeded in a variety of ways.
Not only does the situation of poverty still provoke high rates of infant mortality in many regions, but some parts of the world still experience practices of demographic control, on the part of governments that often promote contraception and even go so far as to impose abortion. In economically developed countries, legislation contrary to life is very widespread, and it has already shaped moral attitudes and praxis, contributing to the spread of an anti-birth mentality; frequent attempts are made to export this mentality to other States as if it were a form of cultural progress.
Some non-governmental Organizations work actively to spread abortion, at times promoting the practice of sterilization in poor countries, in some cases not even informing the women concerned. Moreover, there is reason to suspect that development aid is sometimes linked to specific health-care policies which de facto involve the imposition of strong birth control measures. Further grounds for concern are laws permitting euthanasia as well as pressure from lobby groups, nationally and internationally, in favour of its juridical recognition.
Openness to life is at the centre of true development. When a society moves towards the denial or suppression of life, it ends up no longer finding the necessary motivation and energy to strive for man's true good. If personal and social sensitivity towards the acceptance of a new life is lost, then other forms of acceptance that are valuable for society also wither away[67]. The acceptance of life strengthens moral fibre and makes people capable of mutual help. By cultivating openness to life, wealthy peoples can better understand the needs of poor ones, they can avoid employing huge economic and intellectual resources to satisfy the selfish desires of their own citizens, and instead, they can promote virtuous action within the perspective of production that is morally sound and marked by solidarity, respecting the fundamental right to life of every people and every individual.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
Pope Benedict, throwing it down.
Here is a preview from Pope Benedict XVI's new Encyclical to be released very soon.
"Paul wants the Christian faith to have a 'responsible', an 'adult faith. The word 'adult faith' has in recent decades become a popular slogan. It is often used to refer to the attitude of those who no longer adhere to the Church and her pastors, but choose for themselves what they want to believe and not believe - a kind of do-it-yourself faith."
"Speaking against the Magisterium of the Church is presented as courageous. In reality, however, it does not take courage for this, since you can always be sure of audience applause."
"Rather it takes courage to adhere to the faith of the Church, even if it contradicts the 'scheme' of the contemporary world. It is this non-conformism of the faith that Paul calls an 'adult faith.'"
The Holy Father gave two examples of an 'adult faith'. First, "to commit to the inviolability of human life from the very beginning, thus radically opposing the principle of violence, in defense of the most defenseless humans." And second, "to recognize marriage between a man and a woman for life as a law of the Creator, restored again by Christ."
"For Paul, following the prevailing winds and currents of the day is childish."
"Paul wants the Christian faith to have a 'responsible', an 'adult faith. The word 'adult faith' has in recent decades become a popular slogan. It is often used to refer to the attitude of those who no longer adhere to the Church and her pastors, but choose for themselves what they want to believe and not believe - a kind of do-it-yourself faith."
"Speaking against the Magisterium of the Church is presented as courageous. In reality, however, it does not take courage for this, since you can always be sure of audience applause."
"Rather it takes courage to adhere to the faith of the Church, even if it contradicts the 'scheme' of the contemporary world. It is this non-conformism of the faith that Paul calls an 'adult faith.'"
The Holy Father gave two examples of an 'adult faith'. First, "to commit to the inviolability of human life from the very beginning, thus radically opposing the principle of violence, in defense of the most defenseless humans." And second, "to recognize marriage between a man and a woman for life as a law of the Creator, restored again by Christ."
"For Paul, following the prevailing winds and currents of the day is childish."
Things in the Shire are Made to Endure
Today, in my usual unemployment visit to daily Mass, I saw one of the most encouraging scenes I have seen in some time. There are usually two older gentlemen, in their 70s and 80s respectively that serve for Father every morning. Today however, they were training a new alter server, age 9. It was the perfect example of how parents nurture the faith in their children and grandchildren. Grandfathers passing on traditions to grandsons as their grandfathers did for them. It was so funny to see the two older gentlemen pointing to where the boy should kneel, where he should put the Chalice, how to genuflect or bow, etc. And the boy was so concerned about doing everything just right.
I'm not quite sure why, but it comforted me in a way. The best I can describe is by saying it makes me feel better knowing that there are places in the world where grandfathers still teach their grandsons what is true, what is good, how to live. For these are the most worthy of lessons, I believe.
Cheers!
Quote of the Day:
“I am not bound for any public place, but for ground of my own where I have planted vines and orchard trees, and in the heat of the day climbed up into the healing shadow of the woods.”
-Wendell Berry
I'm not quite sure why, but it comforted me in a way. The best I can describe is by saying it makes me feel better knowing that there are places in the world where grandfathers still teach their grandsons what is true, what is good, how to live. For these are the most worthy of lessons, I believe.
Cheers!
Quote of the Day:
“I am not bound for any public place, but for ground of my own where I have planted vines and orchard trees, and in the heat of the day climbed up into the healing shadow of the woods.”
-Wendell Berry
Monday, June 29, 2009
Language Police
One of the many consequences of our era of mass communication is massive crimes against language. Some people (Stephen) get even more carried away by this than I do but I wanted to point out 2 to you today.
The first was on ESPN where the commentator said that the race could have been won and/or lost by any racer in the final 10 laps. Unfortunately for him, it is impossible to win AND lose a race (at least the same race).
The second was in an article where the author described a desert in Arizona as "literally going on and on forever." This is also impossible, unless I suppose, the desert is heaven... but I think that unlikely.
I feel like I'm taking crazy pills.
The first was on ESPN where the commentator said that the race could have been won and/or lost by any racer in the final 10 laps. Unfortunately for him, it is impossible to win AND lose a race (at least the same race).
The second was in an article where the author described a desert in Arizona as "literally going on and on forever." This is also impossible, unless I suppose, the desert is heaven... but I think that unlikely.
I feel like I'm taking crazy pills.
SteynOnline.com
Friday, June 26, 2009
Beers by HTNL part 3: Schlafly's Pale Ale
The third beer under review by HTNL is Schlafly's Pale Ale brewed in St. Louis.
This amber colored ale is, by this author's estimation, the staple of the Schlafly arsenal of beers. The hops shine through the caramel malts like rays of sunlight through a cloudy sunset. The Ale is by no means over powering. But, this may be one of its greatest strengths. This non overpowering quality makes it a great summer ale. It is a little hop heavy, as is customary of pale ales and doesn't sit heavily on the palate or in your stomach. It reminds me of New Belgium's Fat Tire in this respect. I declare it enjoyable, not outstanding, but quality none the less.
Its the kind of beer you can drink a couple of and still not be afraid to run around afterwards or sit outside in the blisteringly hot Southern Illinois humidity riddled weather.
Cheers.
HTNL rating of 7.95/10
This amber colored ale is, by this author's estimation, the staple of the Schlafly arsenal of beers. The hops shine through the caramel malts like rays of sunlight through a cloudy sunset. The Ale is by no means over powering. But, this may be one of its greatest strengths. This non overpowering quality makes it a great summer ale. It is a little hop heavy, as is customary of pale ales and doesn't sit heavily on the palate or in your stomach. It reminds me of New Belgium's Fat Tire in this respect. I declare it enjoyable, not outstanding, but quality none the less.
Its the kind of beer you can drink a couple of and still not be afraid to run around afterwards or sit outside in the blisteringly hot Southern Illinois humidity riddled weather.
Cheers.
HTNL rating of 7.95/10
Thursday, June 25, 2009
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