Merry Christmas to whomever reads this blog!

Wow! It's been a long time since I added anything to this blog! I guess I've been focusing on Christmas fun a lot lately. I get two days off, so I get a four day holiday. Yes!

My husband and I are starting to study how we can pay for college for our kids. How can it be that they are getting old enough to go to college in a couple years? We went to a company that helps parents do this. We got some shocking news last night. The feds expect us to pay for the first $12,000 each year before we would get any help! Yikes! It looks likely they will have to live at home and commute to a local public university to cut costs, especially if they don't earn academic scholarships. So much for saving for retirement!

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/041220/misc/20poll.htmHow we talk to god People pray for everything from the divine to the selfish and profane

Slippery Slope is real - Netherlands Hospital Euthanizes Babies
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20041130/D86MC5NO0.html
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - Raising the stakes in an excruciating ethical debate, a hospital in the Netherlands - the first nation to permit euthanasia - recently proposed guidelines for mercy killings of terminally ill newborns, and then made a startling revelation: It has already begun carrying out such procedures in a handful of cases and reporting them to the government.

Theology of the Body
I'm reading a book called Theology of the Body for Beginners by Christopher West. It discusses how God intended us to be like Adam and Eve - perfectly able to love each other as God loves us. Original sin made that harder to do, but God's grace can redeem us and make it possible. Original sin makes us like driving on flat tires. Everyone else is driving around that way, so it seems normal. God's grace can inflate the tires, but we need to keep getting filled up because we have a slow leak. We have a hard time being patient, unselfish, and forgiving.
I find this to be a very inspiring book. I got it from Catholic.com. You can some articles by Christopher West at:
http://www.theologyofthebody.com/works.htm

Post-abortion psychological problems frequent
http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=41496
More than 1/3 of U.S. women surveyed had 'suicidal thoughts' after procedure
Women who undergo abortions suffer serious psychological problems more frequently than was previously thought, according to a new study.

Potentially Stunning News
http://www.jimmyakin.org/2004/11/house_democrats.html
Senate Democrats elect pro-life leader!
According to this CNN.com story, the shrunken Democrat minority, having lost its leader Tom Daschle, has done something that would have seemed unthinkable only a few weeks ago: They've elected a pro-life Democrat to be their leader.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/11/16/senate.democrats.ap/index.html


Government Issues New RU-486 Warnings
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,138756,00.html
FDA Bars Over Counter Morning-After Pill
The FDA has strengthened warning labels for the controversial abortion pill Mifeprex, better known as RU-486 (search), following an August report of a 22-year-old woman who died after taking the drug.

If we need to justify getting rid of Saddam, here is one more reason:
Saddam Hussein funded suicide bombers
http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/middleeastreports/s_273762.html
Oil funds paid for bombers
NEW YORK -- Saddam Hussein diverted money from the U.N. oil-for-food program to pay millions of dollars to families of Palestinian suicide bombers who carried out attacks on Israel, say congressional investigators who uncovered evidence of the money trail.

Politically Correct Cartoons - On Depressed Democrats
http://www.conservativecartoons.com/cartoon.php?toon=mother.gif&year=2004
I'm a Republican who is depressed because my mom probably voted for Kerry!

The moral of the story
David Limbaugh
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/davidlimbaugh/dl20041112.shtml
"Democrats will never be able to gain the moral high ground if they fail to take positions congruent with the 'weightier matters of the law' (Matt. 23:23). What could be weightier than protecting innocent life? The right to life is the right to all other rights. Yet it's the Democrats who think social programs are weightier moral matters than the right to life. Again, they have it backwards. … Until the Democrats correct their inverted moral hierarchy and put the right to life at the top, all their other pleas for social justice will ring hollow."

Massachusetts Supreme Court gives Bush victory [in Ohio]
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/joelmowbray/jm20041111.shtml
Joel Mowbray
In a state where only 29% believe their family’s finances have improved in the past four years and nearly 60% rate the local economy as “not so good” or “poor,” the obvious question is: how did Bush manage to win Ohio, the Democrats’ top red state target?

What About Kerry and the Atheist Vote?
Dr. Paul Kengor
http://www.crosswalk.com/news/1295651.html
While liberals complain about the religious vote that went for George W. Bush, they refuse to discuss—and perhaps happily accept—the non-religious vote that went for John F. Kerry. Which ought to be considered a greater liability for an American president: to receive the overwhelming support of devout Protestants and Catholics or to be backed by atheists? Which speaks worse? Don’t we have this backward?

Why we're a divided nation
Walter E. Williams
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/walterwilliams/ww20041110.shtml
"The prime feature of political decision-making is that it's a zero-sum game. One person or group's gain is of necessity another person or group's loss. As such, political allocation of resources is conflict enhancing while market allocation is conflict reducing. The greater the number of decisions made in the political arena, the greater is the potential for conflict. ...
The best thing the president and Congress can do to heal our country is to reduce the impact of government on our lives. Doing so will not only produce a less divided country and greater economic efficiency but bear greater faith and allegiance to the vision of America held by our founders -- a country of limited government."

Catholic vote proves vital to Bush victory
http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=33346

Mad Liberal Disease Erupts
http://www.saint-mike.org/bloggers/bubba/default.asp
Christian bashing is running rampant.

The left has lost. The '60's are over.
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/thomas.html
Cal Thomas
Liberal lamentations
Reaction by the losing side in last week's presidential election would be startling if it weren't predictable.

Blue states buzz over secession
http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20041109-122753-5113r.htm
"Secession, which didn't work very well when it was tried once before, is suddenly red hot in the blue states. In certain precincts, anyway."

Good discussion on "Jesusland" from a liberal perspective can be found at:
http://www.bopnews.com/archives/002277.html
"When people threaten to go live elsewhere when they don't get the president of their choosing, it reminds me of the brat on the block who pouted and took his ball home if he did not win the kick ball game. I realize the stakes are much greater than a kick ball game, but before you try to secede from the union take a look at another political map that shows just how the country voted, county by county. Notice that the only truly blue states are Massachusetts, Vermont and Connecticut. It should also be noted that most of the business owners in your blue state are red voters. And if you think you might be contemplating take your whole state by force, remember it is much more likely that the red voters are gun the owners in your county."

Red, Blue, and Purple county map
http://www.princeton.edu/~rvdb/JAVA/election2004/
Secession is illogical because there are a lot of purple counties.

States lining up to outlaw same-sex 'marriage'
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20041109-120703-4973r.htm
The next round of proposals to amend state constitutions to define marriage will begin in a few weeks as lawmakers in as many as nine states promise to get such measures before voters.

Ark. Governor Pushes Covenant Marriages
http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,137995,00.html
Covenant marriages, which also are an option in Louisiana and Arizona, usually require pre-wedding counseling and allow divorce only in cases of adultery, imprisonment, abandonment, abuse and after a substantial waiting period.

Leno

Friday Night November 5
http://www.newsmax.com/liners.shtml
"Down in Arkansas, workmen are putting the finishing touches on the Bill Clinton Presidential Library. Presidential Library? It's really just a Hooters with a magazine rack."

Democrats, get a clue!
I wrote a Missouri pro-life lobbyist today. I'd like to share what I wrote.
Hi Sam,
I don't think Democrats "get it". If they ever nominated a pro-life, pro-family, economic conservative, they might start winning elections again. Heck, I might even vote for them again. (In fact, I voted for one pro-life Democrat and one Independent.) They do exist, I hear. John Kennedy was one. Why aren't the conservative Democrats allowed to run?
I was an economic conservative before I was a pro-life voter. I don't want to be categorized as a single issue voter. Democrats need to change more than just their value positions. Expensive government programs require higher taxes. I think voters now realize there is no such thing as a free lunch. Dems have become almost Socialists. We can see that tax cuts make the economy better and expensive programs don't. Why can't Democrats?
Democrats need to stop catering to the radical feminists, ecology wackos, gays, socialists, anti-gun, peacenik liberals because the majority of Americans aren't believing in that any more. The pendulum swing that began in the 60's is swinging back as baby boomers age and become wiser. They aren't seen as progressive, "this is where America should go" promoters any more. They are seen as radicals intent on destroying the moral fabric of America. Abandon all the radicals to a third party and let voters have two good candidates to pick from again. Voters become Republican because the alternative stinks.
Tell them to get a clue, Sam.

Catholics Put Bush Over the Top in Key States
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/11/3/121400.shtml
NewsMax.com's Fr. Michael Reilly details the critical role played by Catholics in President Bush's election victory.
Exit polls are showing that President Bush has won the Catholic vote 51-48 percent, which was decisive in states that were the key to Bush's victory, especially Ohio and Florida.

Like a broken record
http://www.washingtontimes.com/commentary/20041107-100757-6451r.htm
By Mark Steyn
A postelection analysis column for 2002, 2004, 2006, & 2012. "In this election, the plebs were more mature than the elites: They understood war is never cost-free and that you don't run away because of a couple of setbacks; they did not accept that one jailhouse scandal should determine America's national security interest; they rejected the childish caricature of their president and paranoid ravings about Halliburton; they declined to have their vote rocked by Bruce Springsteen or any other pop culture poser. "

Why Liberals STILL Don't Get It
http://www.conservativepetitions.com/petitions.php?action=full_story&news_id=131172
Ron Marr
In the chic salons of Manhattan and the trendy bistros of Los Angeles they are saying they same thing. "How could Bush have won?" ponder the elitist vanguard of the left-wing status quo. "I don't know a single person who voted for him."

Reaction To Bush's Victory
http://www.rightwingnews.com/archives/week_2004_10_31.PHP#003110
Here are a few quotes from lefties at home and abroad reacting to Bush's win. I think you'll find it to be enlightening...or at least amusing

America's shifting reality
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/will.html
George Will

Political Cartoons
http://www.gop.com/news/cartoonGallery.aspx
Click on them to enlarge the small ones.

Who would I consider an ideal candidate for 2008?
I'd like a pro-life, pro-family, devout Catholic/Christian who understands how to manage the economy, ala Reagan and Bush, that is tough on defense and terrorism, conservative with taxes and spending, and uses market force solutions for health care, jobs and social security. I'd like someone who is personable, if not charismatic, who comes from a middle-class background. I'd like someone to continue bringing freedom to the Middle East and wherever possible and will appoint pro-life/conservative judges. A Hispanic would be a big plus also.

Bush Wins! Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am especially happy that my efforts were not in vain. I worked 10 hours on phone banks and about that doing door-to-door canvassing. I was so anxious that I took the afternoon off to work some more for Bush. I couldn't sit still and take a chance the Dems were working harder than we were.
I stayed up till 1 am till the EV count was 269. I wanted to stay up till Iowa or New Mexico went for Bush, but I'm glad I went to bed because they are still outstanding.

My sentiments exactly:
Moral Issues, More Than War on Terrorism, Motivate Ohio Voters to Support Re-Election of President Bush
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=39340

The only way Democrats will win national elections is to abandon the pro-choice, pro-gay agendas. Americans would have two parties again if that happened. The Dems will continue to lose due to those issues. Get a clue, will ya?
The Evangelical vote went 3-to-1 for Bush and Catholics increased Republican votes by 4%.

Offical Election Day Weather Map
http://hurricane.accuweather.com/adcbin/public/headlines.asp?iws=5

The 2000 Election Map
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1258222/posts
The weather forecast for election day is favorable to Republicans, who tend to go to vote no matter what the weather is doing. Democrats and apathetic voters tend to stay home. Rain is predicted to hit the battleground states. Say some prayers for the weather, folks.

Kerry's policies? I'm still waiting
Bill O'Reilly
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/oreilly.html

Employment Growth Accelerated in October: U.S. Economy Preview
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=71000001&refer=home&sid=avn64.gOLNdI Oct. 31 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. employers probably added 175,000 workers to payrolls in October, the most in five months, while the unemployment rate held at a three-year low of 5.4 percent, the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of economists shows.

Kerry Off the Leash By DAVID BROOKS
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/19/opinion/19brooks.html?oref=login&oref=login

Orson Scott Card October 10, 2004
Hypocrisy and Cynicism in America
http://www.ornery.org/essays/warwatch/2004-10-10-2.html
"Here's the greatest irony of all. The things that radical Muslims hate about the United States, apart from their simple jealousy of our wealth and power, are the aspects of American culture that are absolutely the product of the influence of the extremist Left.
Abortion. Sexual promiscuity. Pornography. Open support of homosexuality. Hostility to religion. Denigration of the male sex.
These are the things that radical Islam hates most about America, the reasons they use when they warn fellow Muslims against allowing Western culture to influence them.
Yet, in Al Qaeda's effort to install Osama Bin Laden (or, if he dies, some like-minded successor) as Caliph of all Islam, they find it useful to promote extreme Leftist governments in Western nations. "

Behind the Times
http://www.nationalreview.com/mccarthy/mccarthy200410180840.asp
The “paper of record” doesn’t understand the terrorist threat.

Iraq playing card checklist
http://www.patiopundit.com/archives/002834.html#002834
Story about the top 50+ Iraqis of Saddam's regime on playing cards. Only 10 out of 52 are still on the loose.

368 Economists Against Kerrynomics
http://www.freedomworks.org/informed/issues_template.php?issue_id=2108
The piece originally appeared on National Review Online.
Leading economists have a message for America: “John Kerry favors economic policies that, if implemented, would lead to bigger and more intrusive government and a lower standard of living for the American people.”

Bush pitches for Catholic vote
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20041021-113313-8881r.htm
HERSHEY, Pa. — President Bush yesterday met with Cardinal Justin Rigali, the archbishop of Philadelphia, as he continued his election pitch to the nation's 65 million Catholic voters.

Worried about the the federal budget deficit?
Deficit declines $100 billion
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/jackkemp/jk20041018.shtml
Jack Kemp
"The media and all too many political elites, it seems, never learn. For at least 20 of the past 25 years, there has been constant hand-wringing over the federal budget deficit. Well, they're at it again."
"When the federal budget deficit is measured properly as a share of the economy - 3.5 percent - at this stage of the business cycle it is absolutely nothing to worry about."
Zarqawi Is Using Hostages to Ransom Old Friends, Drs Germ and Anthrax
http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=908
"The two remaining hostages, the American Jack Hensley and British Kenneth Bigley, now face the same dread fate as Armstrong within 24 hours unless Iraqi women prisoners are released from Baghdad jails.
In the White House and 10 Downing Street, president George W. Bush nor prime minister Tony Blair are holding firm against surrendering to the demands of al Qaeda’s operations chief in Iraq. But they are quietly questioning why Zarqawi attaches so much importance to securing the release of the only five Iraqi women left in American hands.
DEBKAfile’s Washington sources say the answer comes in two interrelated parts:
1. Zarqawi is smart enough not to pose wild ransom demands, such as the release of Saddam Hussein or top-flight Iraqi ex-generals like Chemical Ali Majid to buy the lives of hostages, because then, Bush and Blair’s refusal would be fully backed by Western opinion. He is therefore setting the seeming inconsequential price of five Iraqi women. He reckons that if he keeps on snatching hostages and meting out the same barbaric treatment as he did to Eugene Armstrong on a series of videotapes, public pressure will build up and force the two Western leaders to put a stop to the savage slaughter by abandoning their dogged resistance to the hostage-takers’ demands and setting the women free. Such surrender would then be hailed as a major triumph for the al Qaeda terrorist chief and augur a rising scale of increasingly steep demands.
2. The only five Iraqi women held by the Americans are a long way from being inconsequential. They include two senior scientists attached to Saddam Hussein’s biological weapons program: Dr. Rihab Taha, a microbiologist known as Dr. Germ, and Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash, head of his anthrax project and member of the Baath ruling command council.
"Scott Taylor's most startling experience was being handed over by members of the US-funded, newly constituted Iraqi Police Service to his captors. A police officer at the Tal Afar checkpoint instructed him to climb into a car full of masked gunmen. Only too late, he realized they were not a special police unit but terrorists who later claimed that many of the police in Mosul donate part of their US salaries to anti-US forces."


Catholics here get controversial voters guide
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/election2004/story/EB06578E4F81449B86256F3400105DC6?OpenDocument&Headline=Catholics+here+get+controversial+voters+guide
My reply to the author was this:
Dear Mr. Townsend:
Since when does a bishop not have the right to guide his flock in moral choices? This election is a crossroads in the moral character of our nation and state. Archbishop Burke not only has the right to guide his flock, it is his duty. I've been disappointed in previous years by the silence of the shepherds, so I am one Catholic who is thrilled that Burke is finally doing the right thing. I don't think I am alone.
You imply that the pocketbook issues like workers rights, environmental issues, housing and education are more important than abortion, euthanasia, cloning, embryonic stem-cell research and same-sex marriage. This ignores what is at stake. Over 1.3 million babies are killed by abortion every year. How can workers rights, environmental issues, housing and education be more important than saving 1.3 million lives a year for the past 31 years and who knows how many more years to come?
The Post-Dispatch gloated over the immorality of the clergy last year. Now you blast the bishop who is acting in a moral way and encouraging Catholics to act morally? How hypocritical of you!

Canon Lawyer seeking to have Senator John Kerry excommunicated
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/19/politics/campaign/19catholic.html?ei=5006&en=b622b6e310a31251&ex=1098849600&adxnnl=1&partner=ALTAVISTA1&adxnnlx=1098191168-rikNpRJ/mVca520364Dutw&pagewanted=print&position=
Letter Supports Anti-Kerry Bid Over AbortionBy PAM BELLUCK BOSTON, Oct. 18 - A canon lawyer seeking to have Senator John Kerry excommunicated by the Roman Catholic Church because of his support for abortion rights said on Monday that he had ammunition in the form of a letter issued at the request of a senior Vatican official.
"For a guy who's been known derisively to the Bush crowd as the Breck girl," observes Shearer, vice presidential candidate John Edwards seems "way too interested in his hair." Watch this video.http://slate.msn.com/id/2108216/slideshow/2108085/entry/2108087/speed/100

How Catholicism Can Renew Democracy
http://www.zenit.org/english/

Vote!
This was written in the Daily Record (Ellensburg's paper) on Wed. Oct. 6, 2004. It was written by Mathew (only one t) Manweller who is a Central Washington University political science professor.
The title of the article was "Election determines fate of nation."
"In that this will be my last column before the presidential election there will be no sarcasm, no attempts at witty repartee. The topic is too serious, and the stakes are too high.
This November we will vote in the only election during our lifetime that will truly matter. Because America is at a once-in-a-generation crossroads, more than an election hangs in the balance. Down one path lies retreat, abdication and a reign of ambivalence.
Down the other lies a nation that is aware of its past and accepts the daunting obligation its future demands. If we choose poorly, the consequences will echo through the next 50 years of history.
If we, in a spasm of frustration, turn out the current occupant of the White House, the message to the world and ourselves will be twofold. First, we will reject the notion that America can do big things. Once a nation that tamed a frontier, stood down the Nazis and stood upon the moon, we will announce to the world that bringing democracy to the Middle East is too big of a task for us. But more significantly, we will signal to future presidents that as voters, we are unwilling to tackle difficult challenges, preferring caution to boldness, embracing the mediocrity that has characterized other civilizations.
The defeat of President Bush will send a chilling message to future presidents who may need to make difficult, yet unpopular decisions. America has always been a nation that rises to the demands of history regardless of the costs or appeal. If we turn away from that legacy, we turn away from who we are.
Second, we inform every terrorist organization on the globe that the lesson of Somalia was well learned. In Somalia we showed terrorists that you don't need to defeat America on the battlefield when you can defeat them in the newsroom. They learned that a wounded America can become a defeated America. Twenty-four-hour news stations and daily tracing polls will do the heavy lifting, turning a cut into a fatal blow. Except that Iraq is Somalia times 10. The election of John Kerry will serve notice to every terrorist in every cave that the soft underbelly of American power is the timidity of American voters. Terrorists will know that a steady stream of grizzly photos for CNN is all you need to break the will of the American people. Our own self-doubt will take it from there. Bin Laden will recognize that he can topple any American administration without setting foot on the homeland.
It is said that America's W.W.II generation is its 'greatest generation.' But my greatest fear is that it will become known as America's 'last generation.' Born in the bleakness of the Great Depression and hardened in the fire of WW II, they may be the last American generation that understands the meaning of duty, honor and sacrifice. It is difficult to admit, but I know these terms are spoken with only hollow detachment by many (but not all) in my generation. Too many citizens today mistake 'living in America' as 'being an American.' But America has always been more of an idea than a place. When you sign on, you do more than buy real estate. You accept a set of values and responsibilities.
This November, my generation, which has been absent too long, must grasp the obligation that comes with being an American, or fade into the oblivion they may deserve. I believe that 100 years from now historians will look back at the election of 2004 and see it as the decisive election of our century. Depending on the outcome, they will describe it as the moment America joined the ranks of ordinary nations; or they will describe it as the moment the prodigal sons and daughters of the greatest generation accepted their burden as caretakers of the City on the Hill."
Pro-life Campaigning Idea
I have an idea to help Bush improve his standing among church-going Christians.
How about encouraging Bush supporters to wear a "Bush/Cheny is pro-life. Volunteer to help get out the vote" T-shirt to church on Sunday or to church events? The one who wears it would have the goal of recruiting volunteers. You might be able to recruit more volunteers because there will be someone visible they can talk to about opportunities over coffee and donuts. It would avoid the church vs. state issue because individual church members have a right to free speech and I doubt there is any rule against wearing political T-shirts to church. The Democrat candidates preach in churches, so why not witness your pro-life views on a T-shirt at church?
It might need to be long-sleeve this time of year. It's getting chilly here, so I'd have to wear a coat to stay warm if it were short-sleeved. That would cover up the message.
I wore Bush/Cheny T-shirt to church this Sunday. I had a few people ask me about pro-life candidates. I sent them info by e-mail. It was very easy to do.

Who's Ahead in the Polls?
RealClearPolitics Electoral CountMonday, October 18: Bush 254 - Kerry 220
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/Presidential_04/RCP_EC.html
Our earlier analysis suggesting that the race basically boils down to Florida and Ohio stands. However, it looks as if the aftermath of the hurricanes may have given President Bush a decisive edge there, so in reality it is now all about Ohio. If Kerry doesn't win Ohio he will not be President.

http://www.debka.com/
"Day after final US public debate, Bush opens 4-point lead over Democratic challenger Kerry, gaining most among undecideds - according to Reuter-Zogby poll. Bush leads in 42 out of 65 polls conducted in last 24 hours, Kerry in 15. Eight polls record a tie. Pew Research predicts a 16 % win for Bush in Nov. 2 election, Time Magazine – 11%. "

Hit the Streets
I went out Saturday canvassing for Bush/Cheney. I found some undecided voters to talk to, which I enjoyed very much. I just ask them, "What issue is most important for you?" It surprises me how much people want to talk about it with a complete stranger. It's awesome to see them turn toward the Bush camp by the time I'm done. I think I've won a dozen votes, probably. I've become a Republican apologist. I usually hate to talk to strangers, but not about pro-life. Oh, the things my zeal for the pro-life cause will make me do!

Planned Parenthood Unveils TV Ads Backing John Kerry on Abortion
http://www.lifenews.com/nat876.html
Minneapolis, MN (LifeNews.com) -- The political arm of Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion business, today unveiled its initial television advertising campaign on behalf of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.

For the Undecided
http://www.presidentialguidester.com/Default.aspx
Zogby International & Decidia Inc. Announce The Launch Of Online Decision Tool: Presidential GuidesterTM(Utica, NY)- Undecided voters now have a tool to help them choose a candidate for president. Polling firm Zogby International and Decidia Inc., the leading producer of web-based decision systems, announced today the launch of the free online tool, Presidential Guidester.

Voters, do your homework!
http://www.time.com/time/question/20041014.html
Viewers of the debates won't get a good idea of the issues from the debates alone. You have to know Kerry's ultra-liberal record to know how much he is a fake and how much it conflicts with what he said in the debates. He will promise anything to get elected even if we have to pay for it (whether we want it or not), not him. He lies with statistics that sound good, but totally distort. He says he never flip-flops, but did it repeatedly during the debate. You have to know the other things he has said to know how waffly this guy is. I don't think Americans are so foolish to fall for the bunk he dished out or the polished airs he put on. I can't believe anybody believing the spin about the debates either. Voters, do your homework! Vote for substance, not spin and false impressions.

Pro-life Witness at Kerry post-debate rally in St. Louis by Kendrick Seminarians
Read about it at:
The Meandering Mind of a Seminarian
http://priesthood.motime.com/
I really admire those guys.

Bush post-debate rally
My husband and I went to the Bush post-debate rally at Queeny Park. I was excited to see the President. There were no such protests there, though it was a tickets-only event and the location was not disclosed in the media or on the tickets. Only the invited knew where to go, but we were not told that Bush would be there until after we were inside. We knew a special guest was coming. My first clue was all the metal detectors outside.

The place was packed. There were thousands (5000?) of us there all cheering for Bush during the debate. This was a really fired up crowd. The respect for the President was palpable. I don't think a lot of Kerry's supporters are that fired up. I think they are motivated by hatred for Bush, but not love for their candidate as the Bush folks are. I hope that translates into apathy for Kerry voters at the polls Nov. 2. I would crawl over broken glass to vote for Bush.

Why Democrats fear Bush's domestic agenda
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/georgewill/gw20041007.shtml
George Will If Sept. 11 had never happened -- if debate about domestic policy had not been drowned out by the roar of war -- the potential domestic ramifications of this election would give it unusual nation-shaping power. To understand why is to understand some of the Democratic rage about the specter of a second term for George W. Bush.

Faith and politics
http://www.washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20041006-101940-4653r.htm
ByGeorge J. Marlin
Catholic voters have always voted in record numbers for Catholic presidential candidates. From Alfred E. Smith to John F. Kennedy, Catholics have cast their ballots according to cultural standards determined by their faith.

Here Comes the Judge...There Go the People
http://www.crosswalk.com/news/1288905.html
Jody Brown and Rusty Pugh
Four out of almost every five voters who cast a ballot in Louisiana's September 18 referendum on a constitutional amendment protecting traditional marriage voted in favor of the amendment. But one judge in the Bayou State has now overruled the 619,908 Louisiana residents who believe marriage should be the union of one man and one woman.

Letter to the Editor of the St. Louis Post-DispatchRE: St. Louisans help uncover Iraqi massacres
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/world/story/BF28D9614FE19D4186256F23001B6BD1?OpenDocument&Headline=St.+Louisans+help+uncover+Iraqi+massacres&highlight=2%2CSt.%2CLouisans%2Chelp%2Cuncover%2CIraqi%2Cmassacres 10/03/2004
Dear Editor:
I wonder why your article, "St. Louisans help uncover Iraqi massacres" had to include the comment, "Some critics question whether the U.S. administration's zeal to prosecute Saddam for the mass killings is an election-year effort to divert attention from the failure to find weapons of mass destruction, the justification that President George W. Bush used most often in making his case for the war."
While you accuse the U.S. administration of being political, your accusation is just as political. Isn't this a case of the kettle calling the skillet black?
If you want to know why we needed to stop the genocide in Iraq, look at http://massgraves.info/. There are 60 web pages of photos of those graves and the people who are grieving their dead. On page 51 is a map of the mass graves they have found so far. The atrocity is as heart breaking as Hitler's use of gas chambers.
Are Americans so heartless that we have the power to stop genocide, but will not lift a finger to help? Remember that 19,000 Americans died in 40 days during the Battle of the Bulge. Did that stop us from defeating Hitler? What if Saddam Hussein had had nuclear weapons and we sat on our hands and didn't prevent him from blowing up a few million people? How would history judge us? That's a chance I would not want to take.


Electoral College Projections Based Upon Most Recent Rasmussen Reports Survey Data and Election 2000 Results
September 30, 2004--The latest Rasmussen Reports Electoral College projection shows George W. Bush with 213 Electoral Votes and John Kerry with 169. There are now twelve states with 156 Electoral Votes in the Toss-Up category.
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/Electoral%20College%20Projection.htm

Iraqi Documents Show Saddam Possessed WMD, Had Extensive Terror Ties
Scott Wheeler, CNSNews.com Monday, Oct. 4, 2004
Iraqi intelligence documents, confiscated by U.S. forces and obtained by CNSNews.com, show numerous efforts by Saddam Hussein's regime to work with some of the world's most notorious terror organizations, including al-Qaida, to target Americans.
The documents demonstrate that Saddam's government possessed mustard gas and anthrax, both considered weapons of mass destruction, in the summer of 2000, during the period in which United Nations weapons inspectors were not present in Iraq. And the papers show that Iraq trained dozens of terrorists inside its borders.
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/10/4/141421.shtml

Compare the candidates in selected U.S. Senate Races
http://www.nrlc.org/EandP/compareindex.html

Look how the St. Louis Post-Dispatch distorts what is in Archbishop Burke's pastoral letter on voting:
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/newswatch/story/B344155F9A1B422786256F2100703DC0?OpenDocument&Headline=When+does+a+vote+become+a+sin+?+http://the-news.net/cgi-local/story.pl?title=Rome%20to%20control%20Fátima?&edition=774

Archbishop Burke's pastoral letter on voting
http://www.stlouisreview.com/article.php?id=7051 October 1, 2004 To Christ’s Faithful of the Archdiocese of St. Louis: ‘On Our Civic Responsibility for the Common Good’ by Archbishop Raymond L. Burke

Debate Facts:
http://www.georgewbush.com/News/Read.aspx?ID=3696
The Real Record

President Elect 2004 Electoral College Analysis
http://www.presidentelect.org/e2004.html
The next president could tip high court
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-09-29-election-court-cover_x.htm
By Joan Biskupic, USA TODAYWASHINGTON — It was a common theme during the 2000 campaign for president: The winner of the election could get to fill as many as three seats on the Supreme Court, and potentially reshape the law for decades.

Just My Opinion...
Kerry is saying that if he knew then what he knows now, he wouldn't have gone to war in Iraq. That's like a guy saying that if he knew his marriage would end in divorce, he wouldn't have dated the woman. 20/20 hindsight is a luxury that doesn't happen in real life.

House Holds Hearing On Post-Abortion Stress
http://www.traditionalvalues.org/modules.php?sid=1933
September 30, 2004 – The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health examined the impact of depression on women following pregnancy and abortion on September 29. This hearing was attended by Dr. Martin Waugh, a psychiatrist who is tracking this issue for Traditional Values Coalition and the Christian Seniors Association.
Dr. Shadigian testified: “… self-harm and psychiatric hospital admission because of suicide attempt is more common in women who terminate their pregnancies, while rates of suicide and suicide attempt are half or less for women with full term pregnancies compared to the general population.”
She noted that a woman who aborts a child is twice as likely as other women to die from a homicide a year after the abortion and three to five times as likely to die from suicide.

Kerry Sets a Record: 14 Flip-Flops in One Speech
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/9/20/153604.shtml
Sen. John Kerry set some kind of record today in a speech to his fellow leftists at New York University. The Republican National Committee counted 14 flip-flops on Iraq.

A man without a plan
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/brucebartlett/bb20040921.shtmlBruce Bartlett Quick question: What is John Kerry's economic plan? Can anyone reading this column name even one key element of it?

David Limbaugh blasts Kerry
Just A Few More Questions, Sen. Kerry http://www.townhall.com/columnists/davidlimbaugh/dl20040921.shtml
I am gratified that John Kerry has finally decided to bring his campaign into the present millennium and focus on Iraq. Now, let's have a genuine discussion about that issue.

Iraqi women try to help Americans see the country through their eyes
http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/10821339p-11739307c.html By Diana Griego Erwin -- Bee ColumnistPublished 2:15 am PDT Tuesday, September 21,
Before Iraq's liberation, Ahood al-Fadhal spent her days preoccupied with how she and her husband would feed their three children.The rice and flour they could get was buggy. Three brothers were killed by the regime of Saddam Hussein, and her husband was imprisoned for three years. In her lifetime, she never expected to see a free Iraq.
Since Saddam's overthrow, al-Fadhal finds life moving in directions previously unimaginable. She teaches literacy classes and writes a biweekly newsletter for women; she was elected to a district council seat in Basra as an advocate for women's rights.

The left thinks legally, the right thinks morally
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/dennisprager/dp20040921.shtml
To understand the worldwide ideological battle -- especially the one between America and Western Europe and within America itself -- one must understand the vast differences between leftist and rightist worldviews and between secular and religious (specifically Judeo-Christian) values.

Cord Blood Emerges as Source of Life Saving Stem Cells in National Debate
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=36556

78%!!!!!!!!!!!!
Louisiana Voters Approve Gay-Marriage Ban

http://www.heraldnews.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1710&dept_id=374722&newsid=12958821&PAG=461&rfi=9

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Louisiana voters overwhelmingly approved a state constitutional amendment Saturday banning same-sex marriages and civil unions, one of up to 12 such measures on the ballot around the country this year.
With 99 percent of precincts reporting, the amendment was winning approval with 78 percent of the vote, and support for it was evident statewide. Only in New Orleans, home to a politically strong gay community, was the race relatively close, and even there the amendment was winning passage. Turnout statewide appeared to be about 27 percent of Louisiana's 2.8 million voters, somewhat low for a state election.

Kerry's Position On Iraq Continues To Confuse
http://www.kerryoniraq.com/
Over 7 million people have watched the Kerry On Iraq documentary at KerryOnIraq.com and according to the results of a new online poll, many are still confused after Senator Kerry’s major policy speech on Iraq.
Watch the online video to decide for yourself.

Just Suppose ....
Suppose you were an Iraqi that wanted to get rid of Saddam. What would you tell foreign intelligence to get them to do your bidding? Wouldn't you tell them Saddam had a nuclear weapon pointing at a NATO country or Israel? That would do the job.

Catholics Support Bush in Battleground States

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/9/16/210534.shtml
NewsMax.com's Fr. Michael Reilly says Catholic support for President Bush is strong and getting stronger.

Remember that performer that was nearly killed by a tiger?
Roy Horn had Life After Death Experience
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=583&e=3&u=/nm/20040916/od_nm/people_roy_tiger_dc
Horn was clinically dead for about a minute and told RTL about the experience: "I saw flashing bright lights and my mother. My beloved animals were lying at her feet."
He had a simple explanation for his brush with death on his 59th birthday: "I was not allowed to die just yet, because my wings for being an angel were not quite ready."

Reflections on Politics
I'm pretty passionate about the moral direction of the country. I'm worried that God will remove his blessing on our country if we allow the moral climate to get any worse than it is. Remember Sodom and Gomorrah? Perhaps I feel this way because I regret the mistakes my generation made about morality and I want to return to the way things were when I grew up. My family taught me to love God and to obey Him. I am trying to live that out the best I can.

But religion is not just a personal matter. The sins of each of us have an effect on all of us. The laws of our country are based on Christianity and the 10 commandments. Unlike when I was younger, I now see the wisdom of this, because we can only be free from crime if everyone obeys the commandments. Our freedom depends on obeying moral principles.

There are some key issues at stake that are being debated in the political arena these days: Abortion, Euthanasia (mercy killing), Embryonic Stem Cell Research, Human Cloning, and Homosexual "Marriage". I think it is sinful to support any of these evils. So I think it is sinful to vote for elected representatives that will enact laws that allow these evils. I have to vote according to my conscience. As I see it, these issues are so important that they out weigh all the other issues like jobs.

Also, I became a Republican when I studied for my MBA, which was years before I became convinced of the moral issues. My professors predicted the national debt increasing due to welfare and what the effect would be if we adopted what became known as "Reaganomics". These professors were dead right. Welfare led to a decline in the work ethic and high national debt while "Reaganomics" led to the great economy of the 1990s. I started to see that I had to vote for what was good for the country in the long run, not for the benefit of my own pocketbook. My knowledge of economics made it seem selfish to do anything else. That seems to be a moral issue to me.

I now base my vote on the things I learned, not on my feelings or what the TV says. I became curious about what makes this country's economy tick and I still am curious 30 years later. I still study about these subjects.

What this adds up to is that only the Republican party represents my views on morality and economics. I don't agree with everything the party supports; for example, I don't like the death penalty or unlimited gun rights. Those two issues seem minor in comparison with the others. With some exceptions, the Democrats do not represent my moral views.

More on the Bush Guard Documents
You don't need experts to know that the Bush Guard documents were forged. I remember what documents looked like in 1972-1973. I graduated from college that year. I used a manual typewriter with Courier font to type term papers. I didn't see proportional fonts until the late '70s. I started working as a technical writer in 1979. The docs I wrote then were typed on an IBM Selectric, which was a very expensive machine at the time. It is highly unlikely that the Air National Guard would use that kind of machine to type routine memos. Our department was the only one in the company to have a Selectric. I had never heard of justification, kerning, proportional fonts or Times New Roman until after I started using a word processor in the late '80s. I had to learn about them because I am in the publishing business. I'm not surprised that the blogosphere went balistic over the forgeries. This isn't ancient history. There are still plenty folks who remember what publishing was like back then.

The Forum: Fraud:
http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=32073
What Ratzinger didn't say by Phil Lawler Sep. 11 (CWNews.com) - If you live anywhere in the United States, you probably saw news stories this past week, reporting that Cardinal Ratzinger had issued a new statement, saying that Catholics can vote for a candidate who promotes legal abortion-- as long as they're casting that vote for other reasons.

Cardinal Ratzinger said no such thing.

Bush Guard Documents: Forged According to a post in the Little Green Football blog on 9/9/04:
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=12526_Bush_Guard_Documents-_Forged
I opened Microsoft Word, set the font to Microsoft’s Times New Roman, tabbed over to the default tab stop to enter the date “18 August 1973,” then typed the rest of the document purportedly from the personal records of the late Lieutenant Colonel Jerry B. Killian.
And my Microsoft Word version, typed in 2004, is an exact match for the documents trumpeted by CBS News as “authentic.”

Mass graves in IraqThis is why Saddam Hussein had to go.
http://massgraves.info/
I think we need to remember these people.

I don't remember the press making much ado about this article from 03/09/2004. It seems more relevant now that Kerry claims the swift boat vets are connected to the Bush campaign's personnel.MoveOn.org is funded by Teresa Heinz KerryMoveOn.org, as a 527, should have no connection with the candidate because that is illegal.
http://www.washtimes.com/commentary/20040309-083259-7560r.htm
MoveOn.org and International ANSWER, two of the prime-movers behind opposition to President Bush's War on Terror is funded by substantial largess from foundations controlled by the would-be first lady, [Teresa Heinz Kerry]: The San Francisco-based Tides Foundation and a spinoff called the Tides Center. These entities in turn help distribute funds to and operate as clearinghouses for policy-networking and coordination between a veritable Who's Who of radical leftist organizations....Rabid antiwar demonstrators, antitrade demonstrators, domestic Islamist organizations, pro-terrorists legal groups, environmentalists, abortion partisans, extremist homosexual activists and open-borders advocates."

2004 Presidential Election Voter Guide
http://www.votinginfo.net/
http://www.thehill.com/york/090904.aspx
Bush’s National Guard yearsBefore you fall for Dems’ spin, here are the facts
What do you really know about George W. Bush’s time in the Air National Guard?That he didn’t show up for duty in Alabama? That he missed a physical? That his daddy got him in?
News coverage of the president’s years in the Guard has tended to focus on one brief portion of that time — to the exclusion of virtually everything else. So just for the record, here, in full, is what Bush did...

Daschle's Bishop: Don't Vote for Pro-Abortion Politicians
http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=4682
Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle is a pro-abortion, Catholic Democrat and up for reelection this year. Of late, the matter of Catholic politicians who do not subscribe to the Church's pro-life stance and teachings on abortion has become a hot political topic. With the November elections quickly approaching, candidates like Daschle and John Kerry (also a pro-abortion Catholic) are finding themselves in a sticky situation.

Kerry Anti-War Ally Recants 1971 Claims of War Crimes
http://www.gopusa.com/news/2004/september/0908_kerry_ally_recants.shtml
WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- A former soldier who accused American troops of committing war crimes in Vietnam has recently come forward to recant those charges. Steven J. Pitkin appeared at the "Winter Soldier Investigation" conducted in Detroit in 1971 by former Navy Lieutenant John Kerry and his group, Vietnam Veterans Against the War, but now says that his statements were coerced.

September 11 and the economy
http://www.washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20040907-095337-3894r.htmWhere Democrats see only Hoovervilles, voters apparently realize that Mr. Bush inherited a sinking economy, which was made much worse by September 11.

Jobs and snow jobs
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/thomassowell/ts20040909.shtml ... those who are making the most noise about outsourcing seldom say a word about the in-sourcing of jobs from other countries. But it is the net balance that matters.Official statistics published last March in the Survey of Current Business showed an increase of 2.8 million jobs outsourced by American-owned multinational corporations during a quarter of a century ending in 2001. Over that same span of time, there was an increase of 4.7 million jobs outsourced to Americans by foreign-owned multinational corporations.

Because I'm a girl by Mary Katharine Ham http://www.townhall.com/columnists/GuestColumns/Ham20040907.shtml
I want to earn what I get, deserve what I earn, and decide exactly what I do with my earnings instead of handing that responsibility off to a political party. I am capable of that and much more, because I’m a girl.

Hispanic and Churchgoing Catholics Cite Abortion as Top Election Priority
http://www.lifenews.com/nat790.html
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A new poll conducted by the Pew Forum reveals that, among Catholic voters, supporters of President George W. Bush are more motivated by the abortion issue than backers of Senator John Kerry.

Vatican mentioned in GOP Platform
Under the "International Institutions" section of the 2004 GOP Platform (pg.25) we read:
"Republicans continue to oppose the ideological campaign against participation by the Vatican in United Nations conferences and other activities. The United Nations was created to benefit all peoples and nations, not to promote a radical agenda of social engineering. Any effort to address global social problems must be firmly placed within a context of respect for the fundamental social institutions of marriage and family. We reject any treaty or convention that would contradict these values. For that reason, we support protecting the rights of families in international programs and oppose funding organizations involved in abortion."
The platform document can be viewed here: http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/S...004platform.pdf

First-Time Voters for Life
http://www.crosswalk.com/news/weeklystandard/1280491.html
According to a recent poll, new voters are trending pro-life on abortion.
Zogby also revealed that more Americans consider themselves pro-life (49 percent) than pro-choice (45 percent). And according to a Gallup Youth Survey released last November, 72 percent of U.S. teenagers think abortion is morally wrong, 32 percent of teens would outlaw it entirely, and only 19 percent support abortion on demand.

'The Passion' Sells 2.4 Million DVDs
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040901/D84QJ38O0.html
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The DVD of Mel Gibson's biblical epic "The Passion of the Christ" went on sale Tuesday and sold 2.4 million copies by midday.

Pope, Vatican unruffled by new terror threats
http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=31799
Rome, Aug. 30 (CWNews.com) - Amid new reports of a possible terrorist threat on Italy, one Islamic extremist group has promised not to attack the Vatican, and a top official at the Holy See has reported that Pope John Paul II (bio - news) has shown "great interior serenity" in the face of terrorist threats.

Supreme Court Considers Texas Sodomy Law http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,131056,00.html
TOPEKA, Kan. — The state can punish illegal underage sex more harshly when it involves homosexual acts, even if the only goal is promoting traditional sexual roles, an official told the Kansas Supreme Court (search) on Tuesday.

Vietnam's New Religious Ordinance Under Fire
http://www.crosswalk.com/news/1282396.html
Vietnam's communist government is introducing a new ordinance that claims to uphold citizens' rights to religious freedom, but critics -- including church leaders inside Vietnam -- say the authorities are, on the contrary, trying to restrict the freedom to worship.
The move comes at a time when advocacy groups are pressing for U.S. Senate passage of legislation passed last month in the House of Representatives, which ties increases in U.S. aid to improvements in Vietnam's human rights record.
Previous efforts to get the Vietnam Human Rights Act enacted were stymied by Sen. John Kerry, the Democratic presidential candidate. Arguing that the move would hinder rather than help reforms, Kerry used his position as chairman of the foreign relations committee's East Asian and Pacific Affairs subcommittee to block further progress.

Godless Americans Group Announces Endorsement Of Kerry-Edwards
http://www.godlessamericans.org/pacnews.php
A newly formed group encouraging political action on behalf of “Godless Americans” has announced that it is endorsing the Sen. John Kerry for president and Sen. John Edwards for vice president in the 2004 national elections.

Catholics Against Kerry Launch New Radio Ads http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/8/30/214630.shtml
While the efforts of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth have captured the attention of the media, Catholics Against Kerry is also planning a major ad campaign highlighting Kerry's problems with the Catholic Church.

When the big hand says Thirteen Moon Calendar
http://www.raidersnewsupdate.com/lead-story24.htm
by Judi McLeod, Canada Free Press
The United Nations, which has a finger in every global pie, and ambitions to take over the World Internet, is inching its way towards calendar reform.
Why is the UN itching to change the method by which the world tells time?
It’s the Gregorian Calendar. Having replaced the Julian Calendar, the Gregorian was instituted by papal decree in the year AD 1582 and adopted by virtually all nations as the common world standard.
Accepted by virtually all nations notwithstanding, the Gregorian Calendar is irksome to New Agers because the whole world marks time based on the Birth of Jesus Christ. And as far as the occultist UN is concerned, that will never do.

Smallest Surviving Baby Enters High School
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=1778&e=1&u=/040818/480/bx10108182349
Madeline Mann is seen shortly after her birth in June 1989. Born at 27 weeks into her mother's pregnancy, she weighed just 9.9 ounces, less than any surviving baby in medical history. Next week, she enters high school as something even more extraordinary: an honors student who plays violin and likes to rollerblade.

Aborted baby's head left inside woman
Couple horrified to find face of child after returning home
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=40024
A British hospital is now investigating the case of a woman who had an abortion, but then was shocked to find out the head of her unborn baby had been left inside her.

Catholic Answers has a political forum. I am responding to some posts.
http://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?p=159004#post159004
[QUOTE=melv9]"Bush is also in favor of abortion in cases of incest, rape, and when the life of the mother is in danger. He also lead us into an pre-emptive war which does not meet the "just war" requirements. Add to this that is he is a liar and favors the rich. It is a sin to vote for Bush.[/QUOTE]
The practical reality is that there is no consensus to abolish abortion from the moment of conception. The best we could possibly hope for is the additional exception for "incest, rape, and when the life of the mother is in danger." I wish it weren't this way, but I have to take the option that is closest to the Catholic point of view and the one who has done the most for the pro-life cause.
Part of the just war theory says it is OK to prevent harm. Saddam was a mass murderer that needed to go. If that was unjust, then it was also wrong to take Hitler out because Germany did not attack us first. The world has got to stop genocide.
As for saying Bush is a liar, that isn't true. [B]Everyone[/B], including Clinton and Kerry and foreign leaders, thought Iraq had WMD. Twenty/Twenty hindsight tells us different now. Have you ever thought you were right, but later found out you were wrong? Should you be called a liar for that?
Favoring the rich? You do you think hires people? Poor people? The best welfare program is a paying job. Class warfare - rich v. poor - does not let people keep what they have legally earned or promote the equality of persons. If we are truly equal, why should one person pay a higher percent than another? It promotes a "why work? the government will take care of me!" attitude for the poor and a "why work? the government will take away everything I earn" attitude for the hard-working. Welfare is not compassionate - it is for buying votes. If you want to be compassionate, donate to the Salvation Army, Red Cross, Catholic Charities, Catholic Relief, etc. That way the government won't take their slice of administrative costs out of your donation. There are much better ways to fight poverty than robbing from the hard-working Americans through higher taxes. Like one-on-one volunteering to help those in need. Give people a hand, not just a hand out.

[QUOTE=YinYangMom]Nope. Never claimed that Kerry is influenced by the Holy Spirit. I am saying that because he is baptized into the Catholic faith he is a step closer to knowing the Truth than GW and therefore we have a better chance to get him to see the light than GW.QUOTE]
The Catechism says, Para. 1861: "Mortal sin is a radical possibility of human freedom, as is love itself. It results in the loss of charity and the privation of sanctifying grace, that is, of the state of grace. If it is not redeemed by repentance and God's forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ's kingdom and the eternal death of hell, for our freedom has the power to make choices for ever, with no turning back. However, although we can judge that an act is in itself a grave offense, we must entrust judgment of persons to the justice and mercy of God."
Being baptized Catholic is not an automatic ticket to heaven. You can lose salvation through mortal sin. I'm not judging Kerry's soul, but it seems to me that it is a mortal sin to be in the position to abolish abortion and not do anything to bring it about. It is not just a sin of omission. Kerry has a 100% voting record for pro-abortion. He knows it is wrong, but he votes this way anyway. When he tries to pass himself off as a devote Catholic when he is a counterfeit Catholic gives scandal. Also, 1 Cor 11 says that those who eat the body and blood unworthily bring condemnation upon themselves.

Taste Test: Busch beer v. Rainier Beer
Bear Passes Out After Only 36 Beers
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040819/od_nm/odd_bear_dc&e=4&ncid=
SEATTLE (Reuters) - A black bear was found passed out at a campground in Washington state recently after guzzling down three dozen cans of a local beer, a campground worker said on Wednesday.

First San Francisco, now Massachusetts ...

Calif. Top Court Annuls San Francisco Gay Marriages
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=578&e=1&u=/nm/20040812/ts_nm/rights_gays_marriage_dc
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California's Supreme Court annulled more than 4,000 gay marriages in San Francisco on Thursday after finding the city acted improperly in granting marriage licenses earlier this year in defiance of state law.

Canadian tax authority warns churches to be silent http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=31431
Janet Buckingham, legal counsel for the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC), and Jennifer Leddy, legal counsel for the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, were warned by revenue officials that should they become involved in "partisan" political activity during the then-upcoming 2004 federal election they would risk losing their tax-exempt status.
According to the federal agency, to avoid being "partisan" means not addressing issues on which the competing political parties have opposing views. Dawna Lynn Labonte, a media relations officer for the federal Minister of National Revenue, said that not only would churches be penalized for telling congregants to vote for a certain party or candidate, they would also be penalized for coming out strongly on an issue on which the parties were opposed, such as abortion or same-sex "marriage".

Massachusetts Will Nullify Out-of-State Gay Marriages
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,118962,00.html
BARNSTABLE, Mass. — Gov. Mitt Romney's top legal adviser said Tuesday that if local clerks issue marriage licenses to out-of-state gay couples, that will make the marriages void and could result in legal repercussions for the clerks themselves.

Mass. AG: Gay Marriage for Residents Only
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,125460,00.html
BOSTON — The state's landmark gay marriage case applies only to Massachusetts residents and explicitly protects other states' rights to define marriage in their own way, according to a brief filed Monday by the attorney general.

Mass. Judge Upholds Law Limiting Marriage
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,129346,00.html
BOSTON — A Superior Court judge on Wednesday declined to halt enforcement of a 1913 state law barring out-of-state couples from marrying in Massachusetts.

Kerry thinks he is a miracle worker.
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/terencejeffrey/tj20040811.shtml
Cloning by any other name still smells
Terence Jeffrey
If John Kerry fulfills the campaign promise he made in last Saturday's Democratic radio address, he is truly a miracle worker. He pledged to undo what was never done.
"Three years ago, the president enacted a far-reaching ban on stem-cell research, shutting down some of the most promising work to prevent, treat and cure Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, diabetes, AIDS and so many other life-threatening diseases," said Kerry, opening his address. He concluded: "(W)e're going to lift the ban on stem-cell research."....
The president's policy stopped government from forcing taxpayers to fund the cloning and killing of human beings. It also aimed at stopping America from becoming a nation that tolerated -- perhaps even profited from -- the wholesale abuse of innocent life....
Just as Kerry says he wants to lift a ban on stem-cell research that Bush never imposed, he also wants to legalize the cloning and killing of human beings while pretending to prohibit cloning and serve human life.

Let's review the basics.
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/walterwilliams/ww20040811.shtml
Economics 101
Walter E. Williams
Economic ignorance allows us to fall easy prey to political charlatans and demagogues, so how about a little Economics 101?...when politicians come to us pretending they're Santa Clauses or tooth fairies delivering benefits only, we should ask what's the cost, who's going to pay and why.

The Rise and Fall of Christianity
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/printout/0,8816,1101040816-678633,00.html
Roll Over, Martin LutherLong the dominant faith affiliation in the U.S., Protestantism may no longer boast a majorityBy DAVID VAN BIEMAThe University of Chicago's respected National Opinion Research Center (NORC) has reported that the proportion of adult Americans calling themselves Protestants, a steady 63% for decades, fell suddenly to 52% from 1993 to 2002. Not only that, the study's authors projected that "perhaps as early as this year the country will for the first time no longer have a Protestant majority." The heads-up provoked some spirited discussion about how important the eclipse might be, to whom, and why.

Could this happen in the USA if Democrats get their way?
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/brucebartlett/bb20040810.shtml
The grass is not greenerBruce Bartlett Europeans are frustrated. They have been behind the United States economically for years and thought this was due to lack of economic integration. So they created the European Union, with a common currency and virtually free mobility of goods, capital and labor throughout the continent. Yet Europe continues to lag.
....In short, Europeans don't work because it just doesn't pay to work after the government takes its cut. And because welfare benefits are so high, the cost of not working is low. Thus, when workers compare what they make after-tax with what they can make by doing nothing, the gap is very small.

More about the Missouri primary election...

http://www.crosswalk.com/news/weeklystandard/1277776.html

"In Missouri on Tuesday, voters overwhelmingly chose to amend the state's constitution to ban same-sex marriage, by a margin of 72 percent to 28 percent. Even more remarkable about that election was that turnout was much higher on the Democratic side, where a closely contested Democratic primary for governor brought more than 800,000 Democrats to the polls, while only 533,000 Republicans showed up to vote for their nominee, Matt Blunt, who was a prohibitive favorite. In this battleground state in an election where turn-out was dominated by Democrats, traditional marriage scored a huge win. Elite media sniffs at this issue, but it drives people to the polls, and it resonates even in otherwise solid Democratic constituencies such as African-American church goers.
...all evidence points to a decisive advantage among church-goers in support of George W. Bush....Don't be surprised if this constituency--unnoticed by pollsters or hostile to their advances--turns some state races thought to be too-close-to-call into walk-aways for Bush. And in races like the Daschle-Thune contest in South Dakota, the issue of marriage may spark stunning rejections of those senators like Daschle (and Murray in Washington state and Boxer in California) who have obstructed judges and denied the states a chance to debate the marriage protection amendment."
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/kathleenparker/kp20040807.shtml

Missouri voters vow ' I don't ' to same-sex marriageKathleen Parker "In Missouri, an unprecedented number of people turned out to vote for a state constitutional amendment clarifying the definition of marriage. The amendment passed by a 71 percent vote, which is considered not just a landslide but an avalanche. Voter turnout was 42.8 percent for a primary election that usually only draws between 15 percent and 25 percent.
Who knew?
Certainly not those leading opposition to the amendment, some of whom expressed not only disappointment, but hurt, according to The New York Times, which buried the story of the amendment's success on page A-16. Editorial comment noted.
Activists for same-sex marriage say they will study Missouri to try to figure out why their strategy failed in hopes of preventing similar outcomes elsewhere. After all, they spent $450,000 to no avail, compared to just $19,000 the amendment's supporters doled out. What, good money can't buy deeply held values?"
http://www.gopconvention.com/contents/goplive/platform/

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, M.D. (R-TN), Chairman of the 2004 Platform Committee, today announced the creation of an online Platform Portal and invited Americans to participate in the development of ideas for the 2004 Republican Platform. The web-based tool, which goes live today at 12 p.m. and can be accessed at www.gopconvention.com/platform, allows Republicans across the nation to contribute to the creation of the party’s platform.
http://swift1.he.net/~swiftvet/index.php?topic=FAQ

Swift Boat Veterans for Truth John Kerry has been able to convince about 13 men who served on Swift boats in the Mekong Delta to support him, 7 or 8 of whom were at various times crew members on his own 6-man boat. Those are the men the Kerry campaign so prominently featured at the Democratic Convention. The photograph we have posted at SwiftVets.com shows Kerry with 19 of his fellow Swift boat OICs (Officers In Charge) in Coastal Division 11. Four OICs were not present for the photograph. Only one of his 23 fellow OICs from Coastal Division 11 supports John Kerry.
Overall, more than 250 Swift boat veterans are on the record questioning Kerry's fitness to serve as Commander-in-Chief. That list includes his entire chain of command -- every single officer Kerry served under in Vietnam. The Kerry game plan is to ignore all this and pretend that the 13 veterans his campaign jets around the country and puts up in 5-star hotels really represent the truth about his short, controversial combat tour.

This is one reason I like Alan Keyes.http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=34270On the establishment of religion: What the Constitution really says

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/News/Election+2004/65A113EBAB33534486256EE60011FE6D?OpenDocument&Headline=Gay+marriage+ban+gets+voter+OKMo.
Voters Approve Ban on Gay Marriage JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment Tuesday to ban gay marriage, the first such vote since the historic ruling in Massachusetts last year that legalized same-sex weddings there.
http://www.ksdk.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=64738
Vote On Amendment 2 Could Affect Race For White House
(KSDK) -- Voters in Missouri confronted an important ballot question on Tuesday. They casted vote for or against a constitutional amendment that effectively bans same sex marriage.
The outcome of the referendum may give us a hint of how important this controversial issue will be in the presidential election.
http://www.spiritdaily.com/atlanta2.htm
Bishops of Archdiocese of Atlanta, the Dioceses of Charleston and Charlotte say, "Because of the influence that Catholics in public life have on the conduct of our daily lives and on the formation of our nation's future, we declare that Catholics serving in public life espousing positions contrary to the teaching of the Church on the sanctity and inviolability of human life, especially those running for or elected to public office are not to be admitted to Holy Communion in any Catholic church within our jurisdictions....We undertake this action to safeguard the sacred dignity of the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar, to reassure the faithful, and to save sinners. "
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/david/limbaugh.html
Kerry's campaign theme: Judge me by my words alone This is the first of two columns — one won't be enough — addressing the audacious statements in John Kerry's convention speech.

I'm back from vacation! I had a great time. We left 7/10. We went to Pike's Peak, Florissant Fossil Beds, rafted on the Arkansas river, went to Black Canyon of the Gunnison Nat'l Park, mine tour in Ouray, CO, Mesa Verde Nat'l Park, north rim of Grand Canyon Nat'l Park, Zion Nat'l Park, Bryce Nat'l Park, Capitol Reef Nat'l Mnt, hubby & son climbed Mt. Elbert in Leadville, CO, kids went to Six Flags - Denver and we visited relatives in Denver. We camped except for 2 nights. It rained the last 2 nights, so we headed home a little early. I took 9 rolls of film, lots of digital ones, and 2 video tapes.
I'm caught up at work, so I have time to blog a bit.

http://www.washtimes.com/national/20040802-111047-5616r.htm
Missouri vote first battle in marriage war
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri votes today on a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex "marriage," marking the first such vote in the nation since Massachusetts legalized homosexual "marriage" last year.
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/calthomas/ct20040803.shtml
The truth gapCal Thomas
In his nomination acceptance speech Thursday night (July 29), today's JFK claimed there is a huge economic gap. Really? Not according to Business Week magazine in an article that says the economy is creating more high-paying jobs than low-paying jobs.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,127374,00.html
A Few Questions for the Presidential Candidates
http://www.catholicexchange.com/vm/index.asp?art_id=24553
by Deal W. Hudson On Sunday July 4th, John Kerry told Iowa's Telegraph Herald that he personally opposes abortion and believes that life begins at conception. The exact quote is as follows: "I oppose abortion, personally. I don't like abortion. I believe life does begin at conception."
Amazing.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,126516,00.html
New Ultrasound Rekindles Abortion Debate LONDON — Some in Great Britain are calling for the government to rein in the abortion-at-anytime laws that have been on the books since the late 1960s.
http://www.nationalreview.com/york/york200407230835.asp
Boogie to BaghdadWhat the 9/11 Commission says about Iraq and al Qaeda.
The publication of the September 11 Commission report may force a reassessment of the now-conventional wisdom about the links — or, as critics of the Bush administration contend, the absence of links — between Iraq and al Qaeda.
http://www.conservativecartoons.com/cartoon.php?toon=berger.gif&year=2004
Politically Correct Cartoons - on Sandy Berger stealing secret documents

Iraq Confirms U.S. Has Removed Nuclear Material
U.S. and U.N. officials said Wednesday Washington had transported 1.8 tons of enriched uranium out of Iraq for safekeeping more than a year after looters stole it from a U.N.-sealed facility left unguarded by U.S. troops.

I like Thomas Sowell's writing, especially his book, Applied Economics. Here is his comments on Kerry/Edwards.

Political malpractice
Thomas Sowell
Now that Senator John Kerry has named Senator John Edwards as his vice-presidential running mate, we need to examine the reality behind the images that both men have projected.

I'm out of here for the next two weeks! Have fun till then.

Kerry and Edwards: Enemies Just Months Ago
Sens. John Kerry and John Edwards don’t make for a diverse presidential ticket. Both are filthy-rich middle-aged white males – words of horror to the liberal establishment, though offset by their left-wing voting records. Both have flip-flopped on many issues, the latest of which is their opinions of each other.

So much for separation of church and state...
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/07/06/national/main627724.shtml
Portland Church Files Bankruptcy

It's not a civil rights issue.
Black pastors join gay-marriage debate

The War Dividend
Kerry seems intent on ignoring the Libyan dividend which the Iraq War has paid.

I'm taking two weeks of vacation next week. We had to promise to take the kids to Florida next year to get them to go along with the "boring" trip to Colorado, Arizona and Utah. So I won't be blogging much till late July. C'mon back and see me then!

Iraq was trying to get uranium from Niger.
A scam and a sham
"As reported Monday in the Financial Times, however, senior European intelligence officials now say, "Illicit sales of uranium from Niger were being negotiated with five states including Iraq at least three years before the U.S.-led invasion" in 2003. This isn't exactly news. A 2002 British dossier on Iraq's weapons programs asserted the same thing, while providing evidence that an inquiring Iraqi official had visited Niger in 1999. In a follow-up story, the Financial Times reports, "three European intelligence services were aware of possible illicit trade in uranium from Niger between 1999 and 2001. Human intelligence gathered in Italy and Africa more than three years before the Iraq war had shown Niger officials referring to possible illicit uranium deals with at least five countries, including Iraq." The other countries were North Korea, Iran, Libya and China."

Kerry cited in Catholic heresy case
A Catholic lawyer has filed heresy charges against Sen. John Kerry with the Archdiocese of Boston, accusing the Democratic presidential candidate of bringing "most serious scandal to the American public" by receiving Holy Communion as a pro-choice Catholic.

Same-Sex ‘Marriage’ Goes to School
Out of the Closet and Into the Classroom
Chuck Colson
If you’re looking at the same-sex “marriage” debate and thinking it won’t affect you, allow me to bring the truth home to you—before your own children bring it home themselves.

Don't you just love our new archbishop?
St. Louis prelate says voting for candidate who backs abortion a sin
ST. LOUIS (CNS) -- St. Louis Archbishop Raymond L. Burke will issue a pastoral letter following his comments in a radio interview that Catholics commit a mortal sin by knowingly voting for a candidate who advocates abortion.
Archbishop Burke publicly stated that Catholics sin by voting for candidates who favor abortion during an interview June 24 with St. Louis radio station KMOX-AM. It was in response to one of many questions he was asked about a variety of subjects.

Bill 'Subsidizes Promiscuity,' Pro-Life Group Says
(CNSNews.com) - A pro-life group is blasting Democrat John F. Kerry and Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) for co-sponsoring a bill that the group says "subsidizes promiscuity, perpetrates immorality and promotes abortion."

The $1.2 billion measure, called the "Putting Prevention First Act" (S.2336), was introduced in the Senate on Planned Parenthood's 2004 Congressional Day of Action. The Senate version has seven other sponsors. The House companion bill (H.R. 4192) has 112 sponsors.

Sex and Politics
Are pornographic campaign ads the way around McCain-Feingold?
Does it strike anyone else as odd that the Supreme Court seems to be providing more First Amendment protection to pornography than to political speech?

Scans uncover secrets of the womb
Baby 'walking' in the womb
A new type of ultrasound scan has produced vivid pictures of a 12 week-old foetus "walking" in the womb.

Ala. Morning-After Pill Policy Stirs Debate
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama recently began requiring all of its state-funded public health clinics to hand out "morning-after pills" (search) to women who are worried they may be pregnant and inform patients of their availability.

Not surprisingly, the decision has been met with controversy in the state, with some Department of Public Health nurses quitting their jobs rather than participating in an effort that goes against their religious beliefs.

Sex Abuse by Teachers Worse Than by Priests
WASHINGTON – More than 4.5 million children are forced to endure sexual misconduct by school employees, from inappropriate comments to physical abuse, according to an exhaustive review of research that reads like a parent's worst nightmare.

The best estimate is that almost one in 10 children, sometime between kindergarten and 12th grade, are targets of behavior ranging from unprofessional to criminal, says the report for Congress by Charol Shakeshaft, a professor at Hofstra University's School of Education.

U.S. Finds Truckers, Pilots With Terrorist Links
WASHINGTON - Government background checks of foreign airline crew members and truckers licensed to haul hazardous materials in the United States turned up 38 with possible terrorist connections, Homeland Security Department officials said Tuesday.

Asa Hutchinson, undersecretary for border and transportation security, said the agency reviewed the backgrounds of all 450,000 foreign crew members that flew into the country since March and identified nine pilots with potential ties to terrorists.

Politically Correct Cartoons:
on Clinton's memoirs

on Father's Day

Court has "strong evidence" to uphold abortion ban

So people think divorce is harmless?
National Survey Of Men Attempts To Identify The Marriage-Prone And Marriage-Averse
NEW YORK (AP) -- While most single young men aspire to marriage, about one-fifth are deeply skeptical of the institution and their prospects of making it work, according to a new national survey which closely links men's marital outlook to their upbringing.

The survey, released Wednesday by the National Marriage Project at Rutgers University, found that the men with negative attitudes were far more likely than the rest to have been raised by a divorced parent in a non-churchgoing family.

"Most young men are still 'the marrying kind,"' said a report accompanying the survey. "Moreover, the men who are the best 'marriage bets' are those who are more traditional in their family and religious background."

Religion 'very important' to most Americans

America's faith is alive and well, according to a new Gallup poll that also found that President Bush is favored by the faithful over Democratic candidate Sen. John Kerry.

The Holy Spirit is guiding me
I took my children to Raging Rivers yesterday. One of those eerie moments when I think the Holy Spirit is guiding me happened on the parking lot.
I saw a young boy carrying an inflatable alligator to his car. He was only six feet from it. I was returning from eating lunch, even though the kids were not finished yet. I had this sudden urge to go back, which is how I caught that kid stealing my daughter's alligator. I confronted him gently, "That's not your alligator. It belongs to my daughter" I said. So he gave it back.
What made me want to return sooner than the others? If I hadn't I wouldn't have got the alligator.
To me, I don't think it was an accident. I think the Holy Spirit is prompting me to do things. This happens to me so frequently, it is spooky. (Pardon the pun, Holy Spirit, spooky)
Things like this make me agree with this article:

The More We Use The Gifts God Has Given Us, The More Miraculous They Become

Finally, the silence of the shepards has ended.
Bishops: Kerry, Pro Choicers 'Cooperating with Evil'
Politicians who support abortion "are cooperating with evil" and should not receive Communion U.S. Catholic bishops said in a statement, approved in vote of 183 to six, and issued Friday at their meeting in Denver.

American Life League Response to USCCB Statement on 'Catholics in Political Life:' The American Bishops Have Failed