More on the Separation of Church and State

The blog below is taken from an e-mail in response to a question about the fictional wall of separation.

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The original concept of federalism was to erect a governmental system that shared power between the national government and the individual states. The Bill of Rights was added to pacify the claims of the anti-Federalists that the new Constitution would trample all over the rights of the states and individuals. Thus, a proper reading of the First Amendment would show that there is no conflict on the issue of school prayer since it was not the national government that created or mandated it.

As Justice Potter Stewart wrote in his dissent in Engel v. Vitale:

"With all respect, I think the Court has misapplied a great constitutional principle. I cannot see how an 'official religion' is established by letting those who want to say a prayer say it. On the contrary, I think that to deny the wish of these school children to join in reciting this prayer is to deny them the opportunity of sharing in the spiritual heritage of our Nation." (Justice Potter Stewart)

We do know that the activist Warren Court established in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, KS et al. the principle that the Constitution is a living and breathing document that needs to be interpreted in context of the present times. This idea has held force in many cases since so long as the outcome is liberal. Thus the liberals would be in an odd situation of arguing that precedent holds if today's court sought to reverse Engel, (or Griswold, or Roe) even though the current court might say that the nation believes otherwise. In reality, a conservative court would go back to the original intent of the Founders and the Congress that brought in the 13th and 14th Amendments.

Liberals today like to argue that the Fourteenth Amendment extended the Bill of Rights and imposed them on the States. This is pure fabrication. The Fourteenth Amendment was designed (intent) solely to protect the recently freed slaves and their basic rights as individuals:

Section. 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Section. 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

The sticky bit is in section 5 as it appears to give Congress sweeping powers in light of today's liberal concept of government. But when compared with the texts of the Ninth and Tenth Amendments and with the fact that the Blaine Amendment of the late 19th century (that specifically would have extended the First Amendment to include all states in that it would deny public fund support of sectarian schools and was thus part of the anti-Catholic bigotry prevalent at the time) was consistently defeated, liberals can only argue the "time and place" interpretation of the Constitution which means that there are no constants. This, of course, fits nicely with the liberal idea of moral and cultural relativism. If Congress and others thought and believed that the Fourteenth Amendment meant that the Bill of Rights now trumped any state laws in the respected areas, the Blaine Amendment would never have been proposed. But the history of the Blaine Amendment shows that Congress did not believe that the Fourteenth Amendment had imposed the Bill of Rights on to all states.

In Griswold, Justice Douglas rambled on essentially making up the right of privacy and rested his argument on his creation of said right by the Ninth Amendment. His argument is flawed since the Tenth Amendment specifically gives the States rights to regulate actions and create laws. If any state should choose to be silent on a given matter, then Douglas' argument would seem to hold, but since the state of CT legislated against contraception as it was entitled to do under the Tenth Amendment (The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people), Douglas made himself a Cafeteria Constitutionalist.

Unfortunately, some states, especially Western ones, added Blaine amendment type language into their charters and constitutions. These may be removed through the political process.

Are anti-Christian Crimes Hate Crimes

Someone stole our nativity scene last night. All that are left are a few small pieces that were broken off of the corner. Despite this act, I doubt that the ACLU and other lefties will want to view this as a hate crime. However, with Christ, we will continue to keep Christ in Christmas.

News Press prints Edited version of Seeley Silliness

Click here if you are curious as to what was kept.

Seeley Silliness

Dick Seeley, a local resident, wrote a letter to the editor of the Glendale News Press this past Sunday attacking someone who had attacked the ACLU and the latter's constant anti-religious bent.

Mr. Seeley wrote, "In essence, religion is a private matter, a matter between an individual, his church and his God. The basic thrust of the ACLU is to support freedom for all religions by prohibiting singular religious displays on public property, property such as city halls, public schools and other public buildings and areas. This objective, and others, lead the author to state in his article that the ACLU 'is the most dangerous organization in America!'"

Mr. Seeley's grasp of U.S History is shoddy, at best. It was not until the bizarre decision of Engel v. Vitale (1962) when the fictional wall of separation between church and state was erected and forced on local and state levels of government. Seeley rests his argument for the separation on the words of James Madison, the primary author of the U.S. Constitution. But until 1962, the courts, states and local governmental bodies correctly interpreted the First Amendment to apply solely to the federal government.

As Professor Thomas E. Woods notes in his book, The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History, the Blaine Amendment of the 1870s attempted to extend First Amendment restrictions to the states, yet it failed to garner enough votes on several occasions. Later, "in the early twentieth century, issues of church-state relations arose in the supreme courts (of six states) and, in each case, when the court mentioned the federal Constitution at all it was to deny that the federal government had any role to play in church-state issues at the state level."

The actions of the ACLU in its attacks against public displays associated with Christmas logically find their roots in the Engel decision of 1962. Those who understand United States history in its totality are correct to argue that the ACLU's actions in question run afoul of the great traditions of the United States of America and the intentions of the Founding Fathers as a whole. Local governments that decide to erect nativity scenes would be acting in a way that the Founders would have deemed to be consistent with the United States Constitution in general and the Ninth and Tenth Amendments in particular. However, challenging the Engel decision is probably cost-prohibitive. So, I hope those who drive by my Glendale home and similar homes appreciate the nativity scenes that are keeping Christ in Christmas.

Whoa! Canada!

The embattled prime minister of Canada, Paul Martin, has recently proposed getting rid of all handguns in Canada. Whether or not this is a politically popular idea is irrelevant so long as Canadians still believe that one of the primary purposes for government is the protection of lives. Countries, such as Australia, that have recently banned different types of guns have seen an overall increase in violent crimes. Why? Crimimanls don't surrender their weapons when law abiding citizens do. What is even more frightening is that I cannot find any stats on Australia through a simple Google search from the Australian government post 2002. The Fraser Institute shows that silly gun laws actually lead to more violent crimes. P.M. Martin should pay attention.

Arnie's Choice

I'll make this brief - no one should be surprised by Arnie's choice for his new CoS. I've said and written it before, but I'll do it again: you cannot trust politicians who have either left the Catholic Church or are pro-choice. They, generally speaking, have traded their eternal values for temporal ones.

Smacking the Pac-10

As a traditionalist, I argue that USC should be playing Penn State (well, actually Ohio State since I would have never let PSU in the Big 10) in the Rose Bowl.

But we are stuck with the BCS that only assures us that it will, by its generally controversial ranking system, match the top two teams in its championship game.

Oregon, by virtue of its position in the BCS final standings, should be in the Fiesta Bowl. I think that in the future, if a team like Oregon is not picked due to its perceived weak travel-fan base, it should still receive the BCS money, and the school that replaces it (Notre Dame) should receive whatever money Oregon gets in its game (this year it is the Holiday Bowl). This rule would apply to all conferences. Thus, the Fiesta still gets its draw, but the better team earns the cash.

And, by the way, anyone who thinks Penn State and "the" Ohio State University are better than Oregon are nuts. Oregon's only loss is to the #1 team in the country. Neither PSU or "the" can argue that!

Captain B's Latest

Click on the link above to read the original and see the VERY funny picture!

Thank you too, Capt. Bourland

I sent some cigars to Captain Bourland, USMC in Iraq for him and his him per his request. Here is his thank you note:

Matthew:

Thank you so much fo the stoags! With Operation Steel Curtain finishing up we have begun to enjoy those cigars you sent. (The enemy) is on the run (and) our last op has dealt the insurgents a severe blow. Because of great Americans like you we can do what we do so well. Thank you for your support.

"Semper Fi"

Gary Bourland
Captain - USMC

Eskimos and Cigars

Congratulations to the Edmonton Eskimos who won the Grey Cup yesterday in a thrilling fashion over the Montreal Alouettes in overtime.

If you are fan of the Esks and an American, then I suggest that you quickly order some RP Vintage Euro cigars from Cigars International. Why? Just because of this write up in their catalog:

"For the most part Europeans are an odd lot aren't they? Those wacko clothes, wormy personalities and anti-America crap they spew forth..." Yes, the rest of the review is about a cigar!

Price Gouging!

I cannot believe it! I just found out that I was gouged when I went to fill-up the other day... at McDonald's! Those jerks make 13.8 cents for every dollar in sales; and those jerks at Coke make 21.2 cents for every dollar in sales.

Sheesh! All this time the likes of Boxer and Feinstein have been worried about the 9.8 cents per every dollar in sales made by the American oil industry. Where are their heads?!?!?!?!?

The Question of Tookie

Stanley "Tookie" Williams faces execution in California on December 13. Many lefties are making a plea to Governor Schwarzenegger to grant him clemency and commute his sentence to life in prison. The common thread in these pleas, including Earl Ofari Hutchinson's piece in Sunday's Los Angeles Daily News, is that Williams is a reformed man. What is also common about these pleas is a complete lack of focus on the murders for which he was convicted. Hutchinson, and others, think that the question that should be asked now is "is Williams worth more to society alive than dead?" Hutchinson is wrong.

The question that needs to be asked is "Does Stanley Williams pose a threat to society?" As the co-founder of the violent Crips gang, society should be concerned as to whether or not Williams intends or has tried to exert influence on the Crips that would harm society. All the evidence is that he has not, nor that he will in the future. His life should be spared, but not for the reasons typically given.

Destroying Glendale

First, there was Councilman Bob Yousefian's salivating endorsement of the Americana at Brand project that will dramatically increase the congestion and pollution in the southern business section of Glendale. Now the man who has no concern for quality of life issues is advocating more building in the transitional residential area of north Central Avenue.

"In this particular area it is pretty much all built out with the exception of two or three lots that are underutilized," stated Yousefian recently. He argues that since there are only a couple of lots that have not been converted to apartments or condos in the small area that they are underutilized. But what does underutilized mean?

Is Brand Park underutilized? Nibley Park? Verdugo Park? Where he lives?

Yousefian's blatant disregard for the quality of life of Glendaleans will continue until he is forced out of office. If you live in Glendale, please urge him to change his mind or resign.

The Next Step

(I apologize for any typos, but I am in a hurry)

So, what went wrong on Tuesday? More precisely, what wrong before Tuesday?

The governor of California made three tactical errors: 1) he allowed some incompetent fool to circulate an initiative on pension reform that contained one section that could be legally construed as denying beneifts to the widows and widowers of dead firemen and policemen. By doing this, he appeared to be insensitive to some of the greatest people in the state; 2) he held a special election that no one wanted. People focused their hatred of the special election on his initiatives; 3) his initiatives were poorly thought through even though some of the issues addressed are critical to the state's future.

So what next? Scharzenegger has decided to play ball with the Democrats in Sacramento. I am not sure that this will really work, nor will it excite the Republican base during his re-election campaign. Although it may seem distasteful to suggest it, I would suggest that he include some popular initiatives to be included on the primary and general election ballots.

First, he should come out with a simple teacher tenure plan that is not an ex post facto law like the one recently proposed. Advocate that "permanent status" be granted after three years which is the common practice in most states. Arnold was unable to prove that a plethora of bad teachers existed and, hence, were the cause of bad schools and test scores. He should leave the firing process alone so that the CTA might actually be enticed to support him the next time around.

Second, and this one is more controversial, he should propose a constitutional amendment that eliminates all mandatory spending in all fields. Thus, future legislators and governors will have to balance the budget every year based on forecasted revenue. This initiative makes legislators do their job. Currently well over 60% of the budget is "locked in" and untouchable. By focusing on Proposition 98 in his attack, the governor looked like he was anti public education, and he came off as a rich Republican who did not care about the masses. If he sells the new initiative as one that makes the legislators and himself accountable every year in a very public way, the voters should be easy to convince.

Now, the CTA will most likely attack my second initiative, but the counter to the CTA is quite obvious. Since the state legislature will be dominated by Democrats for the foreseeable future, and since the Democrats are the allies of the CTA, it is highly unlikely that education will be negatively affected to any substantial degree. The governor should state that education will be the #1 priority in any budget that he is presented, and so long as the legislature presents him with a balanced budget, he cannot be blamed by reasonable people if the education budget doesn't grow at the rate it may have grown under Proposition 98.

I have other ideas, but in the game of politics, you need to play the right cards at the right time. Arnold did not do that this week. I hope he does so in the near future.

Liberty Leading the People

Eugene Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People shows the united masses of France rising against the corrupt government of 1830. Although today's French government may seem corrupt and/or ineffectual, Liberty is not rising against it. Rather it is the "disaffected" youths of the country.

Or is it?

In reality, the problem today is the unassimilated masses of Muslim who the French have been appeasing who are uprising. Coupled with a broken economic engine, the world is seeing the failure of the type of government so admired by John Kerry and his brethren.

What can we learn from all of this? Perhaps reading Patrick Buchanan's latest article will open your eyes.

Real Reform

Dan Walters is exactly right when he writes that Californians really do not know what they want from the government. He is also dead on when he states that we have a real budget problem that needs to be fixed.

Is Governor S.'s plan the right way? It appears that he needs to rethink and reorganize himself first. Walters' has an interesting view on Schwarzenegger:

Schwarzenegger bears some blame for that political disassociation. He made nice during the first months of his governorship - raising spending while cutting taxes - and inferentially proclaimed that he had mastered the Capitol, that everyone was singing from the same hymnal, and that everything was "fantastic." And then, having had an epiphany of some sort, he abruptly shifted gears, proclaimed the Capitol to be dysfunctional and launched his crusade to change its balance of power.

Instead of truly challenging Californians to confront their contradictions and resolve them, Schwarzenegger embraced them, sending as many mixed messages to voters as they were sending to him, setting himself up for demonization by public employee unions and other defenders of the status quo - and perhaps squandering a unique opportunity to transform the recall into a restoration of governance.

Perhaps he will focus and get better information before launching more initiatives. The reason for his initiatives, the budget problem, is real; however, his solutions are muddled at best.

I honestly hope that he comes back with better thought out ideas in the near future that I can whole heartedly back.

The Propositions

Proposition 73 - YES

Proposition 74 - NO

Proposition 75 - NO

Proposition 76 - NO

Proposition 77 - NO

Proposition 78 - NO

Proposition 79 - YES

Proposition 80 - NO

I like you Bob, but don't hold my hand!

Hey, Bob!

The difference is to choose to focus on the horizontal and protestant mentality or the vertical and traditional Roman Catholic position during Mass. I choose the latter.

A return to Latin, should it happen, does not mean a return to the old rite. Every indication is that it would be a return to the language of the church while celebrating the Novus Ordo. Latin is the universal language of the Catholic = universal church. It trumps any gestures of holding hands like at a protestant service. The GIRM is under review again with a target date for release of 2006. Early indication is that it is solely focused on proper translation of prayers from Latin, implying that for the last 30 years or so, we have been getting it wrong. That should be cause for concern that is much greater than imposing unwarranted posture changes.

Our being at Mass as a parish and reciting the Our Father together is an overt action of full participation. Holding hands with the person next to me does little or nothing to enhance the sense of community and quite often is a distraction and irritant (thus divisive) when someone grabs at me or glares at me since I won't hold their hand. As you can see here, the position (hand holding, orans posture, etc.) of the faithful during Mass is not one of the things that the Bishop (or local priest for that matter) is allowed to alter nor promote to be done right now (versus asking Rome for permission to do it or to change the GIRM). Given the track record of the Man on Wilshire it comes as no surprise to me that he continues to thumb his nose at Rome by his actions and through his loyal liberals. In this case, he has no authority to "customize" the service to welcome all (neither does the local priest saying the Mass).

I'll shake your hand as it is allowed (but not all churches do this... this is the type of customization that is permitted) and is part of the local and permitted culture, but I am not going to violate the GIRM or canon law. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops is quite clear on postures at Mass. What you are supporting is not approved:


"The Church sees in these common postures and gestures both a symbol of the unity of those who have come together to worship and a means of fostering that unity. We are not free to change these postures to suit our own individual piety, for the Church makes it clear that our unity of posture and gesture is an expression of our participation in the one Body formed by the baptized with Christ, our head. When we stand, kneel, sit, bow and sign ourselves in common action, we given unambiguous witness that we are indeed the Body of Christ, united in heart, mind and spirit."



Vivat Jesus!

Hey, Miracles Never Cease!

There is actually something interesting in Slate.

And, no I don't want to hold your hand (and you can boot the sign of peace while you at it since it is optional).

St. Martin de Porres

Today's Mass readings maybe found by clicking on the link.

Saint Martin de Porres is the patron saint of barbers... so maybe today is the day you finally go and get your haircut!

But, hopefully, your barber will not treat you as St. Martin did himself:

He made a martyr out of his body, devoting himself to ceaseless and severe penances.

Those scissors can hurt!

Poll Update

The latest from the Field Polls (acrobat reader needed).

All Souls Day

Often lost in the shuffle of modern life, All Souls Day is an important day for Catholics that, unfortunately, has lost its meaning for many. On this All Souls Day of November 2, 2005, Catholics should be reminded of the fact that there are many in purgatory who no longer can help themselves in the way they were able to when they were part of our temporal realm. Thus, it is important for us to pray for them so that the tradition remains solidly in place when we need their prayers when most of us find ourselves in their shoes (so to speak).

It is also important, as an act of Christian charity, to pray for those who have no one else to pray for them. We need not know their names, but God will understand the intentions of our prayers and act accordingly.

We can go beyond just praying for the dead by having Masses offered for specific and general deceased members of our Christian community. There is no better offering for these souls than a Mass. Additionally, the nominal donation (ususally $10) to the priest and parish helps support our underfunded parishes and priests.

Do not forget that the faithfully departed can also pray for you. Freed from the bonds of purgatory, their thanks will be in prayers that will help you here and in the hereafter.

May the souls of all the faithfully departed rest in peace.

Election Information

The San Jose Mercury News showed that the governor's propositions are beginning to fall behind (free acrobat reader needed).

I found this site, Vote Circle, which seems to do a good job of being balanced. It shows who the primary backers are for both sides of the contested issues. It also has adequate summaries of the impact of the propositions should they pass.

Be an Angel

Be an angel!

The Prison Fellowship Ministry is sponsoring its annual Angel Tree. This program delivers Christmas presents to the childrend of prisoners. For most, it may be the only present that they get.

The easiest thing to do is to donate money that will be matched by matching grant this year. So, for example, your donation of $44.80 will be doubled by the grant and will provide for eight children.

If you want to do more, you and/or your church organization can volunteer to help deliver presents as well.

Please do something today as it takes time to plan and organize such a large scale effort.

I thank you and may God bless your.

Mark Twain

"I wrote Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn for adults exclusively, and it always distressed me when I find that boys and girls have been allowed access to them. The mind that becomes soiled in youth can never again be washed clean." - Mark Twain

An interesting thought especially since Huck Finn is taught in our public schools...

Huh, Hugh?

Party Hack Hewitt writes:
I think Ms. Miers has been unfairly treated by many who have for years urged fair treatment of judicial nominees.

She deserves great thanks for her significant service to the country. She and the president deserved much better from his allies.


I happen to think that the conservative base deserved much better from the president.

On the Grassy Knoll

Miers was a set-up all along...Her withdrawal allows Bush to appoint someone the conservatives like so that they will rally around the administration as it takes hits from WaterScooterGate and the inidictments...

How's that for a Machiavellian conspiracy theory?!?!?!?!

Mr. Wilson's Wife

If she told her neighbors she was a CIA agent, how can anyone else have "leaked" her name?

Stomping Out Ignorance

The Christian Educators Association International, an organization that provides union-like benefits for its teacher members and appears to be closely affiliated with the evangelical movement, has recently sent out "information" to its members about the upcoming California Special Election as follows:

FACTS FOR CALIFORNIA CEAI MEMBERS

Following are things you may hear in the California media and at your school sites. We have included some facts to give you the broader picture.

I. WHAT YOU MIGHT HEAR: The governor and big business is trying to silence the voices of teachers.

THE BIGGER PICTURE: CTA leadership is refusing to debate teachers within the CTA who have differing opinions from theirs. They ignore that their own members don't agree with their politics and blame big business and the governor for trying to silence teachers' voices. But they use the funds of all teachers to support leftist politics, thereby silencing a good portion fo their moderate and conservative membership. See the State of Labor, 2005 labor union accountability report here.

II. WHAT YOU MIGHT HEAR: CTA members already have a choice to divert political funds into a charity.

THE BIGGER PICTURE: CTA gives members the choice of whether or not to divert a small amount of Political Action Funds (under $10 monthly of the $90+ fees) to a charity. Yet, they refund $250-$300 per year to non-members which they have defined as non-billable expenses or political funds. CTA's recent dues raise was admittedly for political purposes. CTA has already spent that money and is seeking to borrow $40 million more. See here. Poltical spending is about to make CTA go broke if it hasn't already. This political spending cannot be account for by the mere $10 per month from each member.

III WHAT YOU MIGHT HEAR: The union has its own internal democratic process through which members can participate in influencing union policy.

THE BIGGER PICTURE: CTA members can elect representatives who make all the state-level decisions. But no one reports how those representatives vote so they can be held accountable. Often, members are not informed of the issues being voted on in a timely enough manner to give representatives their viewpoints. State and national leaders are voted into office through the representatives and not by the rank and file members. Less than a quarter of one percent of members make the decisions for CTA membership.


This information piece is signed by Finn Laursen, Exectutive Director with an instruction to contact Forrest Turpen for more information.

Well, Mr. Turpen, here goes! (I have e-mailed the link to this blog to him, and he is welcome to respond in private via e-mail or publicly through the comment section below).

I. Your response is a red herring. Instead of addressing the "what you might hear" portion, you choose to ignore the charge and attack the CTA on another issue.

First, let us look at the information you should have addressed. The website promoting proposition 75 lists several people, most of them union members, as supporters. The reality of the situation is far different than what is presented at the supporters site.

As the old saying goes, the mothers milk of politics is money; and, in this case, there are a select few who are really backing proposition 75. In fact, 97% of the money backing Proposition 75 has come from a handful of very rich people and corporations who are hostile to labor and unions in general.

Second, as for your red herring point, I am reminded of my libertarian friends who scream and yell about the Republican Party, join the libertarian party, and become completely ineffectual. Although I can only go on my own personal experience and that of some of my colleagues in other districts, I have found that the union is quite responsive to my points even though I often disagree with policy and have opted out of contributing to the CTA PAC. Instead of throwing ineffectual spitwads from outside of the system, I have chosen to remain inside and preach to the masses. At the risk of over-hyping my own impact and inflating my ego, I recall that Jesus spent most of his time with sinners (tax collectors, prostitutes, etc.) in his attempt to change them specifically and change lives in general. Perhaps the CTA would be a stronger organization as well as a more moderate one if your members would do the same by joining it and being active. This is not meant to imply that your members do not have a positive impact at our site because they do. I am only arguing that they have little impact on the major power player that is the local, state, and national union (NEA).

II. Relying solely on the National Right to Work group for you information is dangerous. After checking with my site represenative and my local president, I have found that the CTA accountants and lawyers are meticulous in their review of non-billable expenses and where the money goes. In reality the amount that is diverted to the general fund on a yearly basis by opt-out people such as myself is equivalent to the amount refunded to agency fee payers. Your information is flat-out wrong. As for the amount of money being borrowed, I fail to see how this is different than purchasing a home with a loan with the intent to pay it back. Just because a person has a mortgage does not mean that the person is broke. Given that the CTA and other unions are fighting the deep pockets of a handful of welathy people and corporations as shown above, the borrowing makes sense, unless, of course, you are hostile to the idea of promoting liberty and political choice.

III. Do you honestly believe that every union member has the time or desire to review every issue and vote on them? That seems to be what you are implying in section III. The way the upper leaders are selected takes after how we originally elected U.S. Senators in this country and how similar leaders are to be elected in Iraq under our democratic based, and now approved, Iraqi constitution. If the "problem" you see is that much of a concern, join and fight on the inside... and fight with accurate and forthright information.

The packet that was handed to me to review is from a member of yours that I respect. In fact there are a few members of your union on our campus, and I respect all of them.

However, I do not agree that by joining your union one would be more effective as a Christian educator of both Christian and non-Christian students (this would apply solely to a public school setting), nor do I see any information in the packet given that your are effective in protecting my rights and interests in California including protecting STRS, promoting smaller class sizes, increasing necessary funding for new textbooks etc. In fact, the packet I received is more of an anti-NEA/CTA work than a proactive Christian attempt to improve the lot of students and teachers in public education. Although I disagree with many NEA/CTA positions, the only effective way to get any positive change in an unperfect system is to be in that system when no reasonable alternative exists. I see no evidence that your union is a reasonable alternative for public school teachers. Perhaps you have such evidence, and I would welcome a chance to review it; however, it was not in the packet nor was I able to find it on your website.

I wish you all the best; I am sure that by working with the excellent members of your union, the high school at which we all teach will continue to excel. I only hope that in the future your communications with your members are more accurate so that they may indeed make informed decisions.

Vivat Jesus!
Matthew J. McKinley

An E-mail to Fr. X

I just sent this e-mail to the priest referred to in the blogs below (and, yes, I used his real name in the e-mail!)


Dear Reverend Father X:

Although I am not a parishioner, I attended Mass yesterday while on a short visit to Big Bear. I must say that the content and tone of your sermon was remarkable. I am in no position to judge the hearts and minds of the parishoners and people of Big Bear that you so readily labeled as racists, but I am skeptical of your conclusions based on several statements that you made, including the fact that you said "I have never met an illegal alien." It might seem easy to dismiss this statement as a priest focused solely on his ministry of the sacraments to people who come to his church; however, in the context of your society-wide diatribe, I can only come to the conclusion that your sermon was based on radical multiculturalist theory which would negate the ministry-only defense.

Since you claim to have not met any illegal aliens, perhaps you can get in contact with the relatives of the vicitims of illegal aliens found:

http://www.immigrationshumancost.org/text/crimevictims.html

Perhaps they can enlighten you.

Cordially,

Matthew J. McKinley

Out of Many, ONE!

E pluribus unum may be found on much of the currency of the United States of America. Of course, it is found on the Great Seal of the United States of America. Now there are many people who get entrenched in Masonic conspiracy theories about our seal and mottos; if you are such a person, then this blog is not for you.

However, this blog is for people who believe that e pluribus unum is not just our motto, it is our goal. This includes people who support assimiliation of legal immigrants into our culture. The motto is not a racist one although there have been several groups in the history of our great nation who opposed immigration due to racist ideas while still presenting themselves as "good Americans" (the Know nothings, the KKK, etc.).

If one accepts the motto, then one is obligated to help legal immigrants to our country. This is not to say that immigration should not be regulated and controlled. How best to do that is a subject for another day (and past blogs if you want to dig through the archives).

Out of many one can best be lived out if it is broadly applied. It is fairly easy to see how it should be applied to public education, access to politics and government services, etc. However, the process of assimiliation (and I subscribe to Proferssor Huntington's tomato soup concept), if it is to be successful, should focus on cultural interactions as well.

Unfortunately, the multi-culturalists, the uninformed, and the down-right naive people in certain sections of society oppose this idea. The most recent example witnessed by this blogger was at Mass yesterday in a small town that caters to tourists. The pastor, and only priest of the parish, went on a 25 minute diatribe about how town A was the most racist town in which he had ever lived. Specifically, he was critical of the predominantly "white" parishoners (whose own cultural backgrounds were not taken into consideration) who had opposed his introduction of a Spanish Mass. Now since I was not privy to any of these discussions, it may be true that some or all of the parishoners who opposed this new Mass were racists. However, given Fr. X's extrapolation of local problems to the big issue of immigration from south of the border, my educated guess is that Fr. X is pushing a multiculturalist agenda based on liberal politics grounded in the Gramscian-Marxist multicultural movement.

This is not to say that Fr. X is a Gramscian-Marxist. I have found that most ardent multiculturalist have no clue as to where the movement started. The goal of G-M movement is to fracture the hegemonic culture that gave us such ideas as political liberty, democratic republics, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, etc. in an attempt to install, in the long run, a G-M world system. I will give Fr. X the benefit of the doubt and assume that he is an unknowing pawn of the multiculturalists.

How so?

In his unhinged rant against the racist community of town A, he defended the Spanish Mass as being necessary for the Spanish speaking community of A who was and continues to be the victim of racism at the parish and in the community. But is his catering to the Spanish community good for the Spanish community, the community of A, and the greater society of the United States of America.

The answer is a resounding, "No!"

Is his policy fueling the racist fire (which, by the way, I have never seen in town A)?

The answer is, "Yes!"

In the Parish's vision statement (yes, I know, beware of organizations with a vision statement) the idea of community is presented first. But how is a community united if it caters to separtist cultural agendas by having separate masses in different languages as well as separate events? The answer, again, is obvious since it cannot promot unity while promoting divisive multiculturalism. In fact, this parish has a "Coordinator of Hispanic Ministry" who can only be seen as further contributing to the problem of cultural and religious segregation.

What Fr. X should have done was devise an assimilation process for the new immigrant community thus living out the idea of a united community - or, in other words, out of many, one. Perhaps the Spanish Mass could have been a temporary and transitional event, and not the apparent permanent and divisive one it has become. Given that the Church wants its members to be the united body of Christ, perhaps the best solution would be to offer all Masses in the common language of the Church - Latin. The readings could then be in the tongue of the particular group (English or Spanish), but others who do not speak that language could read the readings in the missalette and only "miss out" on the homily. In fact, people of both languages should be encouraged to go to the Masses of the other groups until the immigrant groups learns a sufficient amount of English so that the partial Spanish Masses could be eliminated.

Now, this does not mean that some specific cultural and religious events, such as the Our Lady of Guadalupe celebrations, should be eliminated. Such events are the pieces of food in the tomato soup. All immigrant groups who came to America and assimilated have contributed such things to the assimilation process.

The question now becomes: will the multiculturalists in the Church at large and in Fr. X's parish realize that their policies are more divisive than helpful? Unfortunately, I think not, but I will continue to pray that I am wrong on this point.

More on Fr. X

Fr. X mentioned that he had "never met an illegal alien." He also stated that he didn't know whether or not we should have an open border.

Perhaps he should talk the relatives of the victims of illegal aliens.

Proposition Polling Data Update

Click here to see that Arnie's positions are sliding.

And what about Miers' unacceptable answers? Is the bad nomination finally doomed?

I'll be gone for a few days... hope to post again on Monday or Tuesday next!

Hugh the Party Hack Strikes Again!

Although he links to the original article in the Wall Street Journal penned by Judge Bork this morning, Hugh Hewitt continues to show us that he is in and of the world of politics to the point that he can only be described as a party hack. His latest diatribe against Judge Bork is based on a very selective reading of Judge Bork's analysis of Miers qualifications and an odd interpretation of Bork's analysis of Miers evangelical status that in no way can be considered to be contemptuous of her faith. Rather, Judge Bork is contemptuous of the idea that Miers' faith should be considered to be the constitutional qualification as he should be if that were brought up about any one nominated to the Supreme Court.

In reality, Judge Bork shows that Miers is a poor writer, a muddled thinker, and lacks any credentials that would indicate that she has any serious grasp of weighty constitutional issues. Read Judge Bork's opinion piece and then Hewitt's and you will see that Prof. Hewitt has done an extremely poor job of summarizing Judge Bork's position.

Frankly, it is hard to see how Hewitt keeps his job as a professor of constitutional law at Chapman University Law School when he appears to think that opposition to Roe is the necessary and sufficient qualification in a Supreme Court candidate. The overly simplistic comment by Hewitt in regards to Roe shows that maybe he does not have a true grasp of the severity of the constitutional issues that the court faces every year in areas other than abortion rights. I find that hard to believe given Hewitt's past statements on other issues before the Court, but his party hack position on the Miers nomination seems to have erased other vital issues from his memory bank. His logic is now as muddled as Miers.

Support Our Troops

Click here and here.

Weintraub Misleads on Proposition 76

In today's Sacramento Bee (free subscritption required), Daniel Weintraub states the following:

If you think the people you elect to the Legislature and future governors should be allowed more leeway to set school budgets annually in accordance with the revenue that's coming in from taxes, you should probably vote for Proposition 76. If you prefer the status quo - setting school budgets by a strict formula in the state's constitution - you should probably vote against this measure.


What Weintraub fails to mention in his article is that if there is a fiscal crisis in the future, the governor would have the ultimate say in the budget, thus trashing the idea that the legislature has the power of the purse.

The fact that California would have a different concept of the separation of powers than the one that exists in Washington D.C. is neither new nor wrong. The October 2005 issue of the California Bar Journal shows just that in its coverage of Marine Forests Soceity v. California Coastal Commission (2005) 36 Cal.4th 1 where the appointment powers for commissions has been shown to be constitutional in California when it is shared by the governor and the legislature. The question in Proposition 76 is whether or not the power should be shared except when the legsislature and the governor cannot agree on mid-year budget cuts when revenues do not meet expectations. Proposition 76 would allow the governor to ignore the wishes of the duly elected legislature to cut what he (or she) wants. That is a bad idea on its face as it allows for no check on the governor's power.

Proposition 76 needs to be rewritten if it is going to actually be helpful and keep with the traditions that have been shown to work in our great nation and state. The idea of tossing out constitutional mandates so that our elected officials can actually do their jobs is a good one. Allowing a governor to have unchecked financial power in economic downturns is a posion pill that the voters should not swallow.

It's a Quagmire!

Yes, the constitution was rejected in Iraq and the Marines are burning babies somewhere while Haliburton rapes the Iraqi countryside... blah, blah, blah....

Or, maybe we can start reading posts like this one, and ignore the biased MSM and the blowhards of AirAmerica who blow every negative out of proportion while ignoring the positive in Iraq.

The Anti-education Staw Man?

Much of the right of the blogosphere and talk radio in California seems to be enamored with the recent declaration by the controller of the California Teachers' Association that the funds of the three-year $60.00 assessment has already been spent, and that additional monies need to be borrowed or else the CTA will cease to exist.

Is this the Propositional Straw Man? In other words, will this issue now be used by those supporting the governor's bad ideas found in the special election to bash the CTA and "prove" that the CTA is a deceptive organization that "obviously lies about everything" that it doesn't like? This straw man seems to have been rolled out since the governor and his supporters have provided no evidence that tenure or the current removal process is actually hampering student achievement.

On a side note, the special assessment is not a tax like many of its opponents claim. The power to tax is a governmental power. The special assessment was approved by the duly elected representatives of the CTA membership. If you are a CTA member and do not like it, then vote for new representatives or run yourself!

This is not to say that CTA does not have some explaining to do! The potential financial crisis for the CTA and its members is very real. However, it is a different issue and should not be confused with the debate about what is needed to reform public education in California for the great good of all.

War on Life

My school is proposing that we collect money during the Halloween season for UNICEF. I immediately balked at this upon receiving the information this morning as UNICEF supports abortion.

On a more positive note, Roe of Roe v. Wade recently addressed L.A. Hispanic Catholics.

Leftist Nonsense

Well, the left isn't helping education much either with their theatrics. The goofiest ones are convinced that there is an evil Bush regime in control, and, well, they are going to something about it!

Like, what, you may be asking?

By not working and not going to school on November 2! Yes, students, you can do your Marxist best and resist (OR DIE!)! AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Such silly drama!

What Proposition Will Fix This?

Our district's textbook budget just suffered a $250,000 cut when we need to buy new books in the K-8 cycle.

Our district is not alone.

What, exactly, is the actor doing to fix this mess?

Hugh the Ant

The man has lost his mind. Let's see... Hewitt posts that Rove backs the Miers nomination because she has been so involved with the process of judge selection and knows what the president wants.

The first President Bush was certainly loyal to President Reagan while the former was VP (even after whacking the latter in the primaries with "vodoo economics");however, the first President Bush was certainly notloyal to the Reagan legacy and Reagan's endorsement when Bush broke his campaign pledge and raised taxes.

Many of us voted for the first President Bush since we knew we had no other reasonable choice. That is definitely not the case with the Miers nomination. At least we knew the potential negatives as well as the positives (for the most part) of the first Bush. We know no such things about Miers.

Pehaps Hewitt should change his theme song to "the ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah..." because that is the tune he is marching to "down, down into the ground" to get out of the conservative rain!

Hewitt vs. Neuhaus

We all know that Hugh Hewitt has smugly and firmly planted his feet in the shoes of loyalist hack for the White House. Just the other day, he was predicting not only confirmation for Miers, but conservative conversion for her. He was just as smug and certain about this as he was about finding WMDs in Iraq.

Then there is Fr. Neuhas' take on the issue in First Things:

I'm glad to see the Wall Street Journal weighing in, from an angle more sensible than that of the Interfaith Alliance, on the use of religion in promoting the nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court. A similar ploy was used when Justice Anthony Kennedy was nominated. Senator Jesse Helms said to Kennedy, "I think you know where I stand on abortion." Kennedy responded, "Indeed I do and I admire it. I am a practicing Catholic." We know what that means—or doesn't mean. Once he was on the court, Kennedy helped entrench the unlimited abortion license in the Casey decision of 1992, and has since "grown," as they say in Washington, in sundry other liberal directions. It is very good to know that Ms. Miers is born again, but that doesn't tell us a whole lot about her views on the legal protection of the unborn. As Dr. Timothy George, dean of Beeson Divinity School, a Baptist institution, will remind us when he delivers FIRST THINGS annual Erasmus Lecture next week, the Southern Baptist Convention was still supporting Roe v. Wade as late as 1980, and many evangelicals have still not been converted to the pro-life position. It seems Ms. Miers is definitely pro-life, but that doesn't tell us how she would read the law with respect to abortion. As I said earlier, I expect Ms. Miers will not withdraw (and) her nomination will likely be confirmed by the Senate, and, if she turns out to be a constitutional textualist along the lines of Scalia and Thomas, the present row will soon be forgotten, with only wounded conservative egos to show for it. On the other hand, if...


I will go with the good Father on this one who, as a convert to Catholicism, has a better understanding of what is at stake than the one has turned from the complete Truth.

Learn to Drive

I have a saying that my wife, unfortunately for her, has heard way too many times,"If you don't know how to drive the vehicle, you shouldn't be allowed to drive the car!"

Now, that saying is not directed at my wife; rather she has to suffer hearing it while I scream at people driving by braille in their large SUVs. I am not against large SUVs, just the idiots who buy them but don't know how to drive them. These are the folks who cause accidents but aren't in them as the rest of us react to their poor driving.

The worst drivers appear to be those who own Hummers. Well, here is a place that they can go to get their faux-outdoor experience and to get that bad driving out of their systems... I hope. On second thought, maybe they will have such a good time that they will not come back! Of course, if they just want to learn how to drive that monstrosity, they should take a class offered by the folks who build the beast. PLEASE!

Another Reason to Vote Against the Austrian's Plans

John McCain, the anti-conservative Republican, now supports the governor's plan.

Help Pakistan Earthquake Victims

Islamic Relief Worldide

or

The International Response Fund of the Red Cross

Alexander Hamilton on Harriet Miers

In Federalist Paper #76, Hamilton wrote about the role of the Senate in its advise and consent capacity as follows:

To what purpose then require the co-operation of the Senate? I answer, that the necessity of their concurrence would have a powerful, though, in general, a silent operation. It would be an excellent check upon a spirit of favoritism in the President, and would tend greatly to prevent the appointment of unfit characters from State prejudice, from family connection, from personal attachment, or from a view to popularity. In addition to this, it would be an efficacious source of stability in the administration.

President Bush has appointed someone who appears to fall into the category of "favoritism." Now, one can argue that this may be true in previous picks as well, and the Senate has confirmed them (to the bench or other offices). But two (or two thousand) wrongs don't make a right. For those of us who are strict constructionists, Hamilton speaks to us now"

"Just say,'no' to Harriet Miers."

The Face of God

The last couple of weeks at the house have been rough, especially for my lovely wife. The end came yesterday with the "official" miscarriage at about 11 weeks, although we have known for two weeks that the event was likely to occur.

When a personal tragedy hits, it is quite tempting to ask, "Where is God?" Or, to blame Him outright. I found the face of God in all of the people, family and friends, who have expressed their sympathy and empathy (I had no idea how many women have suffered with the same fate) from people of various religious backgrounds and affiliations. Your prayers have been a comfort to us all.

Yes, we have seen the face of God in all of your kind faces.

One of the teachers with whom I work and who has gone through the same traumatic experience, suggested that we plant a rose bush in memory of our lost child so that we will think of Faith Xavier whenever it blooms. I planted the bush shortly after the event yesterday morning. The variety I chose to plant was Angel Face.

God Bless and thank you all.

Will v. Hewitt

Well, on one side, we have George Will in the Washington Post (free subscription required) who obviously is not gushing out the Bush talking points on the Miers.

Then we have party hack Hugh Hewitt who is marching along with the rest of the mouthpieces of the administration. In one of his posts, he delcared that Miers was a "solid B+ pick."

With very little information on her qualifications, it is obvious that Professor Hewitt is grading on a curve. I hope he is more rigorous at Chapman Law School.

Another nomination!

I think we can all approve of this nomination and advise & consent process.

Separation of Powers - Proposition 76

Does anyone remember Montesquieu? Does anyone remember the Federalist Papers? Does anyone in California remember that our state republican form of government is modeled after the Federal government and its three branches, separation of powers, and checks and balances?

Well, the folks who have brought you the dangerous Proposition 76 seem not to care one whit about the solid legal traditions of our country or our state.

Under the guise of trying to control the budget, Arnold and his troops have crafted a system that wrecks the idea that the power of the purse resides in the legislature. Now, when a Republican governor is in office, and if this proposition were to pass, it might mean that cuts would be made, I and many other Republicans would rejoice. But what happens when a Democrat resides in the governor's chair? Would that Democrat cut areas that are dear to Republicans (like police, prisons, etc.)?

Tampering with the separation of powers goes against the conservative principle of having too much power reside in the hands of one person. If the Republicans wish to sponsor an initiative that rids California of all pre-set spending so that the legislature could do the job it has been elected to do, I will happily sign on the dotted line even if it means gutting the pro-education Proposition 98. Unfortunately, this initiative is short-sighted and could cause more damage than it supposedly will fix.

Fire This Man!

Bad coach, bad, bad coach! Use your last time out and get your FG unit settled!

Okay, maybe not fire, but slap him around some!

Sheesh!

In Search of Problem Teachers

This July article in the SF Chronicle shows that the Prop. 74 folks simply did not do their homework.

What is very interesting to note is that the California School Boards Association opposes 74, and they are the collection of districts that would supposedly benefit from 74. Makes you wonder if Arnold has any integrity at all.

Is Latin Making a Comeback?

Click on the link above!

Belmont Club

I haven't been reading the Belmont Club for awhile, but today's post, linked above, is worth reading. You really have to wonder whose view of Iraq is accurate: Cindy Sheehan and the MSM or the Marines on the ground in places like Falujah.

Dear Laura

Dear Laura and staff:

I listened with great interest this morning to your interview with the proponents of Proposition 75. I think a few comments of clarification should be made (please note that I am a conservative Catholic Republican and a member of the California Teachers Association):

1) "Agency Fee" teachers - these teachers are those who opt not to join the union in their district that is recognized for collective bargaining. These teachers pay a fee for the purposes of supporting the collective bargaining process that results in a contract. They do not receive any liability insurance as they do not pay for it. They also do not contribute to any political funds used by the union. The relatively recent change in the law on this issue came about in response to the "free-rider" problem in that some people enjoyed the benefits of collective bargaining without paying for it. I happen to think that mandatory agency fees should be abolished, but that is not at issue in Proposition 75.

2) I cannot speak for other unions, but the CTA Membership Enrollment Form has a specific and clear section that allows one to opt out of having part of a member's dues go to the political fund. Said money is redirected to the General Fund which can be tapped for other issues related to employment but not politics. Now, one can argue as to whether or not those funds should be refunded to the member who opts out or given to a charity of their choice, but, once again, that is not the primary focus of Proposition 75.

The CTA membership form is quite clear on the issue of political funds. Any CTA member that claims otherwise should not be a teacher. I selected to opt of the CTA/ABC political fund when I joined. Any teacher may do so when he or she joins or may change their position by simply resubmitting the simple form and shading the correct bubble on the form. I do not know if the forms of other unions are as clear, but the issue that is supposedly being corrected by Proposition 75 is a non-issue for the CTA.

Cordially,
Matthew J. McKinley

Hmmmmm.......

Henry Ward Beecher (brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe) once said:

"The federal government is unfit to exercise minor police and local government, and will inevitably blunder when it attempts it... However human the ends sought and the motive, it is, in fact, a course of instruction preparing our government to be despotic and familiarizing the people to a stretch of authority which can never be other that dangerous to liberty."

He was right when speaking about Union troops in the South after the Civil War and his logic is appropriate when considering first and long term response to Katrina and, possibly, Rita.

FDR - The Real Enemy of the Environment

How can the libs pin this fact of history on Bush? Damn that New Deal!

Boycott Everyone?

It is getting increasingly difficult to know where to shop these days given the bad decisions by corporate executives when it comes to donations to politicians and organizations. In reality, there probably aren't many companies that do not contribute funds to organizations or politicians of which loyal Catholics would approve.

However, some organizations are a bit stealth when it comes to their ties to objectionable organizations, and The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation is one of them.

I picked up a brochure for that organization's "Race for the Cure" that is to be held on Sunday, September 25 and recalled seeing a piece at Roman Catholic Blog linking that organization to Planned Parenthood.

The oddest supporter of this race is FM radio channel 95.9, "The Fish," which I thought was a solidly Christian (and anti-abortion) station. The entire list can be found at the Komen website. One has to think that many of these organizations are clueless about Komen's link to Planned Parenthood. I hesitate to advocate a boycott, but I do think that Catholic organizations that sell script should drop any companies found on that list.

Catholic Problem with New Iraqi Constitution?

Click on the banner above for the story.

Che

Maybe some of our more "open-minded" men of the cloth will sport more Che-wear in the near future to celebrate the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Cuba, but those of us who understand the brutality of communism and one of its former (and, thankfully, dead) leaders will continue to support the Church in Cuba with anti-che wear.

For the latest dust-up, click here.

Talk Like a Pirate Day

Arrrr... I took the test!

You are The Cap'n!

Some men are born great, some achieve greatness and some slit the throats of any man that stands between them and the mantle of power. You never met a man you couldn't eviscerate. Not that mindless violence is the only avenue open to you - but why take an avenue when you have complete freeway access? You are the definitive Man of Action. You are James Bond in a blousy shirt and drawstring-fly pants. Your swash was buckled long ago and you have never been so sure of anything in your life as in your ability to bend everyone to your will. You will call anyone out and cut off their head if they show any sign of taking you on or backing down. You cannot be saddled with tedious underlings, but if one of your lieutenants shows an overly developed sense of ambition he may find more suitable accommodations in Davy Jones' locker. That is, of course, IF you notice him. You tend to be self absorbed - a weakness that may keep you from seeing enemies where they are and imagining them where they are not.

What's Yer Inner Pirate?
brought to you by The Official Talk Like A Pirate Web Site. Arrrrr!

Constitution Day

(note: I tried to post this from another computer, but Blogger didn't like the browser I was using!)

September 17 is Constitution Day, and if you didn't know it, well, the Federal government wants to make sure that your kids do if they attend a public school that receives any federal monies. So the powers that be in Congress passed a law mandating that such schools teach about the U. S. Constitution on September 17 (or the Friday before or the Monday after when it falls on a weekend).

So...

I taught about the theory of federalism (power sharing between the national and state governments). Then I taught about Patrick Henry and other anti-Federalists who warned that the national government would continue to grow and steal power from the states. Then I taught about the history of the Second Amendment and the need for a militia to prevent a government from being tyrannical.

Then I reminded the students that the federal government dictating to local public schools was a violation of the principle of federalism.

BTW - three of the first four days of school were dedicated to the Revolution and Constitution two weeks ago. We simply do not need any more mandated days from the feds. It is time to put Congress in its place in addition to abolishing the Department of Education.

Somewhere, Patrick Henry is telling James Madison, "I told you so!"

Right vs. Good?

Sometimes what is right is the enemy of the good, and that appears to be the case in President Bush's acceptance for the failure of the federal government in Katrina disasater. In this case, due to political pressure from people who are hostile to or clueless about federalism, Bush has made a p.r. move for the good of the country, so to speak.

However, as to what is right and proper, and ultimately what is good in the long run will be for all state and city officials to know what their disaster plan actually is and to follow it which appears to not have been the case in New Orleans. The interesting thing is that not much has been reported about federal response in other areas hit (like Mississippi and Alabama). I am not using this to claim that the federal governments response in these areas was right or proper. But I do hope that, good or bad, that the response in these areas is evaluated as well as the response in N.O.

More later if I have time!

WWRD?

(note: this is in response to Mr. Martin's question seen as a comment in the previous post)

Given President Reagan's firm policy of promoting states' rights and his admiration for the Tocquevillean notion of local government, I think he probaly would not have done much differently. On the p.r. side, he may have shipped V.P. Bush off to Baton Rouge on Monday night to "coordinate" things between the Federal and state governments.

FEMA has been a generally succesful entity, and much of that success can be attributed to how well local officials of both parties (Dem. and Rep.) have worked with it in the face of other disasters. It is becoming more and more apparent that the new Confederacy of Dunces (Mayor Nagin and Gov. Blanco) were underprepared and overwhelmed. The mayor doesn't seem too bright as can be seen in this quote found in yesterday's Financial Times: "My biggest mistake was to believe that, in the country of America that can move fleets of aircraft across the globe, the cavalry would come in two to three days, and it did not come." Obviously, the mayor has no clue how long it takes to move military equipment, supplies and manpower.

Bush bashers should check out the timeline of events and other stories at Right Wing Nut House. (note: RWNH is harsher on Bush than I am.)

Bye-bye Ralphs

(The following was sent to the Ralphs/Kroger comment department immediately upon my return from my shopping trip this afternoon.)

To whom it may concern:

I just returned from shopping at your store located at 1200 N. Central Avenue, Glendale, CA where I was verbally attacked by checker "Karen B." who commented on my WWRD (What would Reagan do) in an attempt to lambast President Bush. My attempt to explain federalism and shared powers only elicited an inane, evasive and emotional response from said person.

I suggest that you do not employ people who cannot refrain from verbally abusing customers. As a high school teacher of history and government it is my job to be fair and balanced while, for the most part, keeping my opinions to myself. I would think you would want your employees to do the same unless vebally provoked by a customer (which did not happen in this case).

I will no longer shop at Ralphs. With a Von's and a Whole Foods located nearby, I have convenient alternatives to your store.

Very truly yours,
Matthew J. McKinley

Southern Poverty Law Center

The Southern Poverty Law Center grew out of the Civil Rights movement. It has continued to this day advocating positions that are both good and bad. Unfortunately, it is on the wrong side of the illegal immigration issue as can be seen in the current (September 2005) issue of Intelligence Report which is its publication of record.

Mark Potek, editor, writes in his leading article about "undocumented immigrants." This categorization of those who are breaking the sovereign and reasonable laws of the United States of America indicates that Mr. Potek has little use for the rule of law. Potek focuses on one strange story involving Patrick Haab to condemn all of those who are attempting to protect the borders from the invasion from the south - an invasion that has been documented and shows that illegal drugs, criminals, and, perhaps even terrorists, are crossing our southern border virtually unfettered.

The next time you read about one of these "undocumented immigrants" killing, raping, stealing etc... just remember that Mr. Potok and his ilk really don't care about the rights of the citizens of the United States of America.

Hurricane Katrina Relief

Donate through Catholic Charities.

Politics as Usual?

Tom McClintock is still lying about proposition 74 - politics as usual. Here is the exact quote from his recent e-mail on the initiatives:

"Proposition 74: Teacher Tenure. Do parents have a right to expect a higher level of competence before a teacher is granted life-time tenure? YES. This modest measure simply increases the teacher probation period from two years to five years."

Hey, Tom, try reading the entire initiative since it radically changes the due process that teachers currently have in the firing process as well as retroactively repealing tenure for those who had it granted to them this summer. It also prevents those who are just one year away from getting it next July 1. At a time when experienced teachers are being lured out of state by better paying positions (like in Clark county, Nevada), fools like McClintock are making teaching jobs in the Golden State appear quite tarnished and undesirable.

The good news is that it is not politics as usual with the Club for Growth. Its hard hitting ad on the repeal of the death tax has already caused one senator to switch to the side of the good and is pushing the oddball McCain in the same direction. Check it out at the Club's website.

Values III

Same theme - different thread...

The seminaries of the United States will get their official Vatican visit soon. None too soon if you ask me. Hoepfully, this will prompt the removal of the lefties and allow good men not to be turned away for being too orthodox as has been happening over the last 25 years or so.

Given my prediction of a couple of months ago that the new Pope would allow the Tridentine and Latin Masses of the Novus Ordo to be freely practiced in the next year or so, it should come as no shock that the Pope has agreed to meet with the leaders of the schismatic SSPX by months end.

If the two sides can reach an agreement, perhaps they can celebrate by replacing the atrocious tabernacle in the cathedral of Los Angeles.

Of course, if the silliness of the lefties gets to you, just go here.

Values, Part II

Probably the key difference between the values of Provo and the values of Detroit is that the vast majority of people is that the former understand that they were created by God, that they are His children, and that they owe God fidelity and allegiance and should follow the command to love one another as I (Jesus) have loved you.

On the surface, it is easy to claim that the liberal big government welfare state is following this command as well. But as any student of such governments knows, the government granted entitlement system is long way from inalienable God given rights that government should protect (life, liberty and property or the pursuit of happiness). The shrill anti-Christian statements comeing from the left its spokesman (like Howard Dean), suggest that the ultimate source of morality is the individual in a nihilistic way and not God who has granted us free will to choose to follow Him or not.

The values of the folks in Provo are more in line with the traditional liberal ideas of the Founding Fathers. The values of the establishment and its supporters in Detroit have a bizzare mix of radical individualism and socialism that only makes sense in light of the writings of Antonio Gramsci.

I'm not Mormon, but I'll stick with the general values of Provo, thank you.

Values

While listening to Dennis Prager last week, I was struck by an interesting point. A recent survey shows that Detroit is the most liberal city in America while Provo, UT is the most conservative. The question asked was, "if Detroit adopted the values of Provo and if Provo adopted the values of Detroit, would Detroit be a better place to live in five years while at the same time would Provo have become worse?"

If you think that values matter, as many of the people who voted for Bush last November do, then you will answer the question in the affirmative. If you dont think values matter, if you think that it is all about money, then you would answer in the negative.

But that led me to thinking (yikes!): How much does money impact values? And, does the source of the money impact values.

More later.

No Clue Administrative Association

The geniuses at the NCAA have once again shown that they should all be consulted on how to win the war on terror, in a sensitive Kerry-style fashion, by deciding that:


"Colleges and universities may adopt any mascot that they wish, as that is an institutional matter," said Walter Harrison, chair of the Executive Committee and president at the University of Hartford. "But as a national association, we believe that mascots, nicknames or images deemed hostile or abusive in terms of race, ethnicity or national origin should not be visible at the championship events that we control.

Eighteen colleges and universities continue to use Native American imagery or references and are subject to the new policy:

Alcorn State University (Braves)
Central Michigan University (Chippewas)
Catawba College (Indians)
Florida State University (Seminoles)
Midwestern State University (Indians)
University of Utah (Utes)
Indiana University-Pennsylvania (Indians)
Carthage College (Redmen)
Bradley University (Braves)
Arkansas State University (Indians)
Chowan College (Braves)
University of Illinois-Champaign (Illini)
University of Louisiana-Monroe (Indians)
McMurry University (Indians)
Mississippi College (Choctaws)
Newberry College (Indians)
University of North Dakota (Fighting Sioux)
Southeastern Oklahoma State University (Savages)


I guess Southeastern Oklahoma State has offended Michael Savage the well known radio talk show host. Yes, linking your school to a right-winger is indeed offensive.

Perhaps the University of Illinois can change its name easily from "Illini" to the "Illin'" or "Chillin'" and come up with a new rap song for its fight song. Oops... rap is associated with minority groups and to call something a "fight" song is hostile on its face, so scrap that. Perhaps it can become the "Electioneers" in tribute to the state of Illinois' fine democratic tradition.

I can certainly understand the objection to the Carthage College Redmen. What good redman would want to be associated with a college that takes its name from a city that lost (that would be the Carthaginians). I know that when my fine Irish skin burns and turns red, I am embarassed enough. I certainly don't want to be associated with historical losers.

Missisippi College would have an easy change if the NCAA wasn't so uppity about tobacco. It could just change their name to the Chaws. Perhaps if they have a stick of bubble gum as their mascot it will still work.

And whoever thought that the name "Indian" was acceptable should be ashamed. Afterall, all those Americans who have lost their jobs to Indians due to outsourcing to India must cringe every time they open a sports page. Maybe all of the schools who have that mascot can change their names to the "Cabdrivers" or "7-11's."

The University of North Dakota could cash in on a name change if it chooses to go corporate. How about the "North Dakota Sue Honey Bees?" Toast, anyone?

Unfortunately, the NCAA has failed to address several other schools with insensitive monikers.

Sorry Notre Dame. I'm Irish, and given your recent poor performance on the field you neither deserve nor have earned the right to use "Irish" in your name. Additionally you are a FRENCH school, so stop running away from your roots (oops, sorry, running away is in your roots)... and that whole "fighting" bit is just so hostile. Can't we all just get along?

As a Roman Catholic, I have to let my own alma mater know that the name "trojan" can be seen as a direct slap at my beliefs against artificial contraception, and, therfore the school must change its name. Perhaps we can henceforth be known as "The Rhythm."

UNLV will have to change its mascot to, I guess just "The Runs" since the "Rebel" moniker could be deemed offensive by African-Americans. Perhaps UNLV can work in a sponsorship with Pepto-Bismol. Pink uniforms aren't so bad.

I am sure that the Sierra Club and other like-minded environmentalists will object to the poor way in which Stanford uses its tree mascot. I suggest that Stanford simply be known as the John Leland Stanford Junior Mints.

PETA will likely demand that the Texas Longhorns, the Georgia Bulldogs, the Florida Gators, etc. refrain from using animal mascots as it dehumanizes them (and all this time I thought PETA stood for "People Eating Tasty Animals." Boy, was I wrong!).

The University of Tennessee Volunteers are insulting all good volunteers by wearing a hideous shade of orange and singing Rocky Top that includes these offensive lyrics:


Aint' no smoggy smoke on Rocky Top
Ain't no telephone bills
Once I had a girl on Rocky Top
Half bear, other half cat
Wild as a mink,
but sweet as soda pop...

That's why all the folks on Rocky Top
Get their corn from a jar...

I've had years of cramped-up city life
Trapped like a duck in a pen
All I know is it's a pity life
Can't be simple again"


Surely the NCAA will not allow UT fans to sing this song at NCAA championship events as it is so offensive on many levels: Urbanites who suffer from having to live in a smoggy environment are attacked; there is some weird bestiality going on that will offend PETA (girl/human who was half bear, half cat, with mink like qualities); and, members of Alcoholics Anonymous will certainly rail against the corn from a jar reference.

I am sure that the NCAA will want Holy Cross to lose the Crusaders name since it might upset Osama bin Laden.

Finally, the University of Syracuse will have to lose the name Orangemen as it demeans all (especially sun-sensitive Irish types) who can only get a spray on tan.

If I have missed any inappropriate names, please report them directly to:

Bob Williams
Managing Director of Public and Media Relations
317/917-6117

Thank heavens the NCAA is on the job!

Why is it...?

Imagine two different news stories, one about a series of suicide terrorists and one about someone who either blows up an abortion clinic or kills an abortion doctor. Since these are or have been real events, conjuring up the reports in your mind should be an easy task.

Now, tell me if I'm wrong...

Story number one (terrorists), would probably generate great angst on the left whose representatives would probably (and have) argue that we need to understand the terrorists and help them in some way.

Story number two (abortion clinic explosion) would generate great anst on the left whose representatives would probably (and have) decry the attempt to take away a woman's "right to chose" while at the same time attacking the ideology of the "crazy Christian right."

Why won't the liberals attack the ideology of the crazies in story number one?

Liberal Answer: Christianity is the problem in both stories (i.e. the crusades and anti-abortion thought).

Correct Answer: Both sides have killers who have intrepreted their personal religious doctrines so that they have the "right" to kill. In reality, both sides of the lunatic fringe of Islam and Christinanity are wrong if they are led to kill in such a way.

Big Bad Government

Big Government strikes and strikes and stikes...

Congress gave final approval (short of the president's signature) to a silly energy bill on Friday which includes a four-week expansion of daylight savings time. Under the guise of saving energy, our buffoons in Washington are putting our school-age children at more risk as it will extend the amount of time many children must wait in the dark waiting for school busses. One of the reasons given for the extension is that people will be less likely to turn on lights at night since it will be lighter later. Hmm... what about in the morning when it will be darker later into the day? Additionally, many people use the additional "light hours" to run errands and go places IN THEIR CARS. More pollution, anyone? Finally, what about all those pre-programmed devices that cannot be changed that already have the time change built in like clocks, radios and cell phones (to name just a few)? Thanks for the headache, D.C.

Then there is the continued debate over President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act. Not only does this act come with unfunded mandates, it is another encroachment of big government into local affairs. Bush obviously does not agree with Tocqueville about what the strength of American politics is -i.o. local participation and control of politics and government. The Department of Education was created in 1979, and part of Reagan's 1980 platform was to ABOLISH it.

It's time to do it!

The Ascendance of Orthodoxy

Fr. Neuhas reccomends the article A Hard Faith by Peter Boyer (not a Catholic). I doubt that this article was or ever will be bed time reading for the Bernadin faction of the Church in America.

The Death Tax

I cannot add too much to the Club For Growth's webpage and commercial. Check it out.

Roberts and Schumer (and the Vatican)

Conservatives who are dancing in the streets need to settle down. Judge Roberts had this to say about Roe v. Wade during his last round of confirmation hearings:

"Roe v. Wade is the settled law of the land... Theres is nothing in my personal views that would prevent me from fully and faithfully applying that precedent."

As for Schumer's reaction to the appointment, what is interesting is that finally I have read the truth. In other words, for the first time, a known high ranking liberal Senator has spoken the truth about the intentions of liberals as it comes to the courts:

"Now that he is nominated for a position where he can overturn precedent and make law, it is even more important that he fully answers a very broad range of questions."


MAKE LAW! And I always thought that was in Schumer's job description and not that of any judge at any level.

Oh, by the way, the Vatican has taken another swipe at strict Darwinian evolution (the randomness line).

Fruit of the Mouth

Okay, this is a real rant:

Would you, the cooks in the restaurants of America, stop putting orange slices underneath or next to my eggs and potatoes. I don't like the tast of orange eggs or orange anything else with breakfast!

Also, shut up and drive, and I don't just mean your phone. To the lady who was flossing while driving yesterday, try putting two hands on the wheel and shut your mouth.

To the repairmen who don't come when they say, have the courage to call me and cancel so I can try to find someone else.

That's all for now...

Pope Benedict is anti Harry Potter

It has recently become clear that Pope Benedict is anti Harry Potter. Given this news, it becomes apparent that Catholic parents should keep their children away from the corrupting influences of these works. Those who have questions about the problems should check out the LifeSite site.

Los Angeles' Gay Deacon

Why did Cardinal Mahony allow an openly gay man, who appears to be a gay activist as well, to become a deacon? L.A. Catholic blog asks this question and delves into the thinking of Eric Stolz, including two links to the latter's website which should cause any Catholic loyal to Rome to question whether or not the Cardinal is as well.

Of course, if all of us had been paying attetion, then this event woldn't come as a shock. In case you missed it, here is a list of known gay bishops in the United States.

Heaven help us!

But Was He Tenured?

It turns out that one of the terrorists in the latest attack in London taught disabled children in England according to Sky News. This seems to blow a hole into the good ship "lslam, Religion of Peace" about the size of the hole in the USS Cole. Unfortunately, most people will forget or overlook this little inconvenient fact just as most people probably don't remember the Cole.

Folks, they don't all look and act like fanactics found in the streets of the Sunni triangle or various other "Death to America" locales. They want to kill at least four million U.S citizens, half of which must be children. Bin Laden argues that since we pay taxes, and the government spends those tax dollars to kill Muslims, we are all guilty.

You cannot rationalize with fanatics. Stop trying.

Some Still Don't Get It

The Financial Times lead editorial in yesterday's edition shows a complete lack of understanding of the dangers of multiculturalism. Those who embrace the idea of mutliculturalism also must embrace the idea of moral and cultural relativism since no one culture or value system can be valued above another. Somehow, the twits at the Times don't get this, nor do they bother to understand that multiculturalism is rooted in Gramscian Marxism. The ignorant editorial board sums up their core idea as follows: "At its best London offers a dream to rival the American dream: more genuinely multicutural, more relaxed and capable of humor."

Of course, the same editors go on to contradict themselves by writing that "more must be done to integrate Islameic London with the wider community." Multiculturalism is not about integration; rather, it is about undermining the hegemonic culture in charge. For radical Muslims, it is a temporary tool to destroy the culture of the west. London's Islamic community has a history of harboring such nuts, and even the Washington Post has an article showing as much (free subscription required).

This sort of twaddle is enough to make one's head hurt. But, not to be outdone by the goofballs on the editorial page, the current socialist prime minister of Spain, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, writes in the same edition from another position of silliness: that this whole problem is a) the fault of the West (implying the United States) and, b) it really is a legal problem, "The EU is an area of law, freedom and democracy and must continue as such." The is the same dangerous mind that ran against Spain's involvement in Iraq, and, when the terrorists blew up the trains in Madrid, used that to "prove" that the West's and Spain's policy of fighting state-sponsors of terror was wrong. The Socialists won, Spain pulled out its troops (like the terrorists demanded) and... authorities found another Islamic-terrorist bomb on a train track the next month (and were fortunate enough to disarm it before it went off). So, his policy did not prevent Spain from being the target of another Islamic-terrorist attack.

Of course the prime minister of Spain argues that we have to understand their mind set, and then goes on to blame financial conditions (like a good socialist) among other perceived problems. Well, Mr. Prime Minister, this is all you have to understand - they are trying to kill you. Stop them before they do or die.

Of course, the appeasement of the socialist government of Spain showed weakness, which is exactly what the terrorists thrive on. In reality, the action of this fool last year emboldened the terrorists and probably encouraged them to strike out again, this time in London. But I'm willing to bet he will never look in the mirror and come to that conclusion. Rather, he is more likely to spit on President Bush and hug the corrupt and ineffective United Nations (and he does the latter in his piece).

Then there is David Gardner who leads the charge of the blame-America-first-bandwagon. He sites some recent polling data that shows that Muslim Arabs really like ideas like democracy, and even like our culture. "In other words, they don't hate us for our values, but because of our policies" which is in direct contrast to the position of President Bush.

My response to Mr. Gardner is that he should review the tapes of the people dancing in the streets in various Arab-Muslim locales after 9/11. He should talk to the persecuted minority groups in various Islamic countries (like the Kurds), or to the women of several countries who have no chance at enjoying any type of freedom whatsoever or are treated as second class citizens. Mr. Gardner has no grasp of what the Ikwhan approach to Islam is about, nor does he seem to understand the mullahs of Iran; his ignorance disqualifies him from commenting on the situation, and he should be fired.

To its credit, the FT does print some opposing views. But, given its editorial and some other articles (including the silliness of its own Jeffrey Sachs), it is getting increasingly difficult to give much credence to any political reporting or analysis of politics or business that the paper offers.

(note: I am going on vacation for a few days... see ya later!)

Appeasement?

The Wall Street Journal (free subscription required) lead editorial nails it: it is time to be united and up our attack on terrorists. One of the major liberal blog sites, the the Daily Kos seems to have hardly noticed that anyone died. In fact they are more outraged over a politically incorrect slip of the tongue by a Fox reporter than the deaths and injuries sustained by Londoners and visitors. The New Republic is almost as bad as they fret about the size of the next attack. I am not much of a Christopher Hitchens fan, but at least he got it right this time.

Then there is the Mark Steyn interview on the Hugh Hewitt show yesterday where Steyn also lambasts the idiots of the Radio Left including Franken and his goofy guest, Oliphant.

A bit of an odd homily was given by Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor, who is the leader of the Achdiocese of Westminster which includes London. Generally speaking he was rignt on target with staments such as the following:

The people who carried out these monstrous acts with chilling efficiency and forethought are believed to have acted in the name of religion. If so, it is not a religion recognisable to the religious people of this world. Who is their god? It is not the God who revealed himself to Moses and Jacob; nor the God who, in Jesus Christ, walked this earth and died and rose to save humanity; nor the God worshipped by the Muslim people, who is a God Almighty and Merciful. Who is the god of the men of hate? It is a false god; one projected from the darkest recesses of the human heart.

The odd bit is as follows:

The law of history is not on the side of the terrorists. The past is littered with the burned-out husks of attempts at bringing about political change through violence. Violence, as we know, breeds violence, and violence ultimately destroys itself. If we stand firm, if we believe in peace, then terror will not succeed; it will exhaust itself in time.

Huh? "if we believe in peace" is simply not clear. I doubt that Churchill could be described as man who did not want peace, but faced with Nazi agression in Europe and against England, he acted forcefully to re-establish peace on the continent (with the Allies, of course).

I certainly hope the good Cardinal is not referring to the idiotic position of Pax Christi USA that leads its website today:

"The nonviolence we are talking about is not an acquiescence to aggression, not a passive acceptance of abuse. It is rather a firm standing up for what is true, a witnessing to the dignity of human life, an affirmation of the value of all human existence..." - Gerard Vanderhaar

I think the Pax Christi position can be summed up in this picture. It's time to recognize that appeasement does not work, even if it is hidden in tough words.