Friday, April 30, 2004

We're making progress in the war on terrorism.
Patterns of Global Terrorism -2003
Released by the Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism
There were 190 acts of international terrorism in 2003, a slight decrease from the 198 attacks that occurred in 2002, and a drop of 45 percent from the level in 2001 of 346 attacks. The figure in 2003 represents the lowest annual total of international terrorist attacks since 1969.

About Thursday's (4/29) "Frontline" feature, "The Jesus Factor."
'The Jesus Factor' and George W. Bush
Bush is not the nation's first born-again Christian president. That was Jimmy Carter. Nor is he unique in using religious references to rally Americans, a tactic favored since our Founding Fathers.

The major distinction, proposes "The Jesus Factor," is the degree to which Bush's mindset was influenced by his 1987 conversion. Faced with a drinking problem, business failure and the potential loss of his family, he rediscovered Christ through the Midland, Texas, branch of a Community Bible Study group.

Have you got a statue of Mary in your yard? Grow some pretty flowers around it.
May Gardening Checklist

Thursday, April 29, 2004

Oil-for-Terror
U.N. Iraq money may have ended up in accounts tied to al Qaeda and the Taliban.
It's looking more and more as if one of the best reasons to get rid of Saddam Hussein was that it was probably the only way to get rid of Oil-for-Food.

Chorus Gets Louder for Gorelick Testimony
WASHINGTON — More lawmakers are joining the chorus calling for a member of the commission probing the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to testify before the panel, saying that as a former high-ranking Justice official in the Clinton administration, she has a conflict of interest.

Yes!
House Repeals Marriage Tax Penalty
(CNSNews.com) - Many -- but not all -- House Democrats joined Republicans Wednesday in voting 323-95 to repeal the marriage tax penalty.

The U.S. tax code places married couples in the tax bracket of the household's highest earner, something that costs couples more money than they would pay if each spouse filed separately.

Michael Medved: Advocates for Traditional Marriage
Salem Radio Commentary
Advocates of same sex relationships regularly invoke the First Amendment—arguing that a definition of marriage deeply rooted in religion shouldn’t influence secular law.
They ignore the fact that even the most secular Americans still express strong opposition to the radical rearrangement of family institutions.

Cardinal Not 'Comfortable' Denying Kerry Communion
Good news for John Kerry and the rest of the "Deadly Dozen" U.S. senators: A U.S. bishop in charge of enforcing church doctrine isn't up to the task.

Methodist 'Openness' Motto Queried -- Open to What?
Acquittal of Lesbian Pastor Source of Distress at UMC's General Conference

Tuesday, April 27, 2004

So there's no connection between terrorists in Iraq and al-Qaida?
Confessions of Al-Qaida Suspects Who Allegedly Planned Attacks Aired
AMMAN, Jordan - Al-Qaida plotted bomb and poison gas attacks against the U.S. Embassy and other targets in Jordan, suspects confessed in a videotape that aired Monday on Jordanian state television. A commentator said the plotters hoped to kill 80,000 people.
One of the alleged conspirators, Azmi al-Jayousi, said he was acting on the orders of Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian wanted by the United States for allegedly organizing terrorists to fight U.S. troops in Iraq on behalf of al-Qaida. U.S. officials have offered a $10 million reward for his capture.

A dirty little secret comes out of the closet.
Gorelick's Memo Impeded Probe of Clinton's China Scandal
Because the memo created a barrier for U.S. intelligence agencies to share information with the FBI, one of its unintended consequences might have been to prevent the FBI from receiving the necessary intelligence to stop the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the worst in American history.
"The Gorelick memo guidelines created a firewall that protected the [Clinton] administration" from the Justice Department's investigation into foreign campaign donations, Leitner said.

Joke for the day.
Politically Correct's cartoon about Bush's releasing military service records

On Bush's campaign ads

Illogical liberals
The Mall Of Shame
David Limbaugh
A pro-abortion marcher in Washington on Sunday said, "I just had to be here to fight for the next generation and the generation after that." I'd like to ask her which generation aborted babies belong to.

Great!
The Passion of the Christ Total as of Apr. 25, 2004: $364,414,581+ Overseas Gross: $206,381,540 = $570,796,121.00

Monday, April 26, 2004

Isn't it funny how the media ignores the March For Life every year, but reports this:
Thousands March for Abortion Rights
Abortion-rights supporters marched in the hundreds of thousands Sunday, galvanized by what they see as an erosion of reproductive freedoms under President Bush and foreign policies that hurt women worldwide.

But you won't find this in the mainstream media...
Pro-life groups sue after abortion march permit revoked

Or this....
Mainline Denominations Endorse Sunday's Pro-Abortion March
What do the American Civil Liberties Union, the Episcopal Church USA, Planned Parenthood of America, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the National Organization for Women, and the United Methodist Board of Church and Society all have in common? Answer: Each is either an organizer or an endorser of Sunday's pro-abortion rights "March for Women's Lives" in Washington, DC.

Or this:
Pro-abortionists Back Kerry While Protesting His Religion
In a companion event staged the day before that didn't recieve nearly as much media attention, Frances Kissling of Catholics for a Free Choice organized a rally in front of D.C.'s Vatican Embassy.

Why the race is looking so good for Bush
From 9/11 panel to Kerry's manner, here are 9 reasons.

He did it again.
Kerry Takes Communion After Vatican Edict

I wish Kerry would listen to his wife.
Teresa Heinz Kerry: Abortion 'Stops Process of Life'
In the current issue of Newsweek, Teresa Heinz Kerry tells Contributing Editor Melinda Henneberger: "I'm more old-fashioned than a lot of women...I don't view abortion as just a nothing. It is stopping the process of life."


This would be due justice.
Massachusetts Activists Target Judicial Tyrants

Concerned citizens in Massachusetts have recently formed a new group called the Article 8 Alliance. The goal is to remove four Mass. Supreme Judicial Court justices who ruled that homosexual marriage be mandated for the state.

Outsourcing Debate Tainted by Myths, Misconceptions
The debate over American companies outsourcing jobs is often tainted by misconceptions and anecdotal evidence, which the media tends to accept at face value. But as outsourcing emerges as a hot-button issue in the presidential election, it is time that some of the most common myths about outsourcing be dispelled.

Surprise revival for iron mines of Minnesota
In a weird twist on the typical globalization story, China is reviving a local economy that's been one of the most stubborn pockets of unemployment in the United States.

States Take a Hard Look at Outsourcing, but No Support for Bans So Far
Kansas lawmakers were outraged when they learned that Kansans' calls about food stamps would be handled in India, and wrote a ban into this year's budget.

Then they learned the state would pay $640,000 more, or a 38 percent increase, for the calling center contract. Budget negotiators scrapped the provision.

Iraq isn't Vietnam
William J. Bennett

Thursday, April 22, 2004

I found out that Miss USA is not Catholic. She's Lutheran according to the church that is in walking distance from my house.
Some good news.
Religious Freedom Defended as Michigan House Passes Conscience Clause Legislation
In recent years, adversarial campaigns, lawsuits and public relations events have been launched to force Catholic health care providers to offer services that conflict with Catholic moral teaching and to prevent affiliations or mergers between them and other-than-Catholic entities. If successful, these efforts would undoubtedly force Catholic hospitals to close -- or substantially reduce their service to the community -- rather than violate their consciences.

Persecution of Christians is real.
Silenced on the Day of Silence
Homosexuals are not silenced, but Christians are. And the problem is, we've chosen to be silenced.

Geoff Metcalf comments on Kerry
Sound and Fury
I have often noted that “some people don’t want to be confused with FACTS which contradict their preconceived opinions or prejudices.’ John Kerry has expanded on that axiom in a fool’s errand that ignores facts in evidence about his.”

Why should Catholics vote for Bush? Read this.
Chairman Ed Gillespie Remarks Prepared for Delivery via Webcast Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio

According to http://www.gop.com/flog/

"OPINION: Kerry Claims 3 Million Jobs Lost Under Bush Administration. A new Kerry ad claims “‘3 million Americans have lost their jobs’ under Bush…” (“New Kerry Ads Hit Bush On Domestic Front,” The Associated Press, 4/19/04)

FACT: Only 1.8 Million Jobs Have Been Lost. “Based on recent government figures, some 1.8 million jobs have been lost since Bush took office.” (“New Kerry Ads Hit Bush On Domestic Front,” The Associated Press, 4/19/04)"


MY OPINION: Most of the jobs outsourced are minimum wage jobs in telemarketing that most Americans refuse to do. The most common skill set for telemarketers are people who have no other marketable skills.

I work in this industry, so I know what I'm talking about.

In my neck of the woods, we have to hire aliens from Mexico to do yard work and roofing because Americans don't want to sweat for low wages.

The other thing to consider is that when America buys things from foreign factories, the prices are lower which helps keep the cost of living lower. Eventually, these foreign countries will have a standard of living where they can afford to buy American products we export. This is already happening in China.

The reason there are fewer "jobs" while unemployment is at a very low level is that self-employed people don't have "jobs" as defined by the government. There is a huge trend toward more people being self-employed, partly due to the ability to sell over the internet.

And remember, Kerry voted for NAFTA, while Bush didn't because he wasn't in Congress when it was passed. Remember Ross Perot's famous line about NAFTA, "They'll be a giant sucking sound.." Perot's company just outsourced a lot of jobs to India! Why? Because there are college grads there who are working for much lower wages than what Americans want to be paid, i.e. about $12,000 v. $60,000 per year.

Can you blame Bush for how American companies run their business? I think the government regulates business too much as it is. I don't think micro-managing the American economy is in the best interests of a free market. It would be more like Communism if they did that.

Protectionism never works. It has always caused problems every time we have tried it. Where was this protectionism before NAFTA was passed by OUR representatives and Senators? Blame them; not Bush!

Tuesday, April 20, 2004

Clinton's to blame.
1996 PDB Detailed al-Qaida Plot
Michael Reagan
Friday, April 16, 2004
The 9/11 Commission is not doing its job.
The commissioners are ignoring a document that shows that President Clinton was alerted in 1996 to the possibility of a 9/11-style attack; instead they focus on the Aug. 6, 2001 Presidential Daily Brief (PDB).

Having harassed the Bush administration into declassifying the Aug. 6 PDB, the Commission must now demand that a PDB from the Clinton administration also be declassified. Unlike the Aug. 6 document, which gave no information about hijacking jets to crash into U.S. targets, the 1996 PDB gave specifics about al-Qaida plans to carry out exactly that kind of attack.


Who wants to step up and apologize

The president was asked at least four times at his press conference whether he wanted to take the opportunity to apologize for the 9-11 attacks. It was the press corps in full baying mode .

Abortion, Perversion, Apathy: Beginning of America's End?
Michael DePrimo
We as a society today do not hate evil. On the contrary, we embrace it. This is seen not only in the acceptance and celebration of homosexuality, but also in the country's acceptance of abortion and pornography. But the current state of our nation is the fault of the Church, not the State. It is the believer, not the unbeliever, who has pushed America to the brink of destruction.

Friday, April 16, 2004

Pro-Abortion Groups Invite Radical Protesters to March, Violence a Worry
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Still having problems finding enough people to attend their pro-abortion march in Washington on April 25, leading pro-abortion groups are inviting radical protest organizations and professional protesters to participate in hopes of swelling their ranks.

Pope's Biographer: Kerry Distorting Catholic Doctrine
Sen. John Kerry is deliberately misrepresenting the doctrine of the Catholic Church, of which he claims to be a faithful member, says author George Weigel.

The elusive apology trap
Consider their audacity and hypocrisy in seeking Bush's head for not doing enough against terrorism prior to 9-11, when they have opposed fighting terrorism aggressively both before and after 9-11.

For starters, we're not fighting in a jungle and we're not fighting communists.
Iraq is Vietnam not on the ground, but in our heads
And they are resisting. But they represent a fraction of a fraction (only a sixth of Iraqis are Sunni Arabs) of the population.

Now the truth comes out. The one nobody has blamed yet now gets skewered. What goes around comes around.
Thank you for choosing United, Mr. bin Laden by Ann Coulter
Last week, 9-11 commissioner John Lehman revealed that "it was the policy (before 9-11) and I believe remains the policy today to fine airlines if they have more than two young Arab males in secondary questioning because that's discriminatory." Hmmm ... Is 19 more than two? Why, yes, I believe it is. So if two Jordanian cab drivers are searched before boarding a flight out of Newark, Osama bin Laden could then board that plane without being questioned. I'm no security expert, but I'm pretty sure this gives terrorists an opening for an attack.

Jamie Gorelick's wall
The disclosure that Jamie Gorelick, a member of the September 11 commission, was personally responsible for instituting a key obstacle to cooperation between law enforcement and intelligence operations before the terrorist attacks raises disturbing questions about the integrity of the commission itself. Ms. Gorelick should not be cross-examining witnesses; instead, she should be required to testify about her own behavior under oath. Specifically, commission members need to ask her about a 1995 directive she wrote that made it more difficult for the FBI to locate two of the September 11 hijackers who had already entered the country by the summer of 2001.

The Archbishop's column
How to tell a duck from a fox
Thinking with the Church as we look toward November

"If it quacks like a duck and looks like a duck and walks like a duck, it's probably a duck. A fox can claim to be a duck all day long. But he's still a fox."
Candidates who claim to be "Catholic" but who publicly ignore Catholic teaching about the sanctity of human life are offering a dishonest public witness. They may try to look Catholic and sound Catholic, but unless they act Catholic in their public service and political choices, they're really a very different kind of creature.

Thursday, April 15, 2004

And another thing about Miss USA. She's Catholic! She went to the Catholic High School that was my daughter's second choice.
Miss USA Behind Troops
April 15, 2004 -- Beauty queen Shandi Finnessey not only wears the Miss USA tiara on her head - she proudly wears her patriotism on her sleeve.

And I'll be next.
Editorials: Canadians Will Lose Religious Freedom Once Homosexual Marriage Is Entrenched
"Washington, DC - Canadian Priest Raymond J. de Souza has recently written "Thinly Disguised Totalitarianism," an essay for First Things that describes a frightening scenario emerging in Canada over the relationship between homosexual marriage and religious oppression....

In 2003, the House of Commons added "sexual orientation" to Canada's "hate speech" code. The Senate has yet to act on this, but if passed, it will create a Thought Police system that will suppress any utterances considered to be critical of homosexual behavior. Once this law is passed, it is entirely possible that priests and pastors could be prosecuted for simply quoting the Bible on sodomy."

Group pushes homosexuality acceptance for toddlers

Redmond, Washington, Apr. 13 (LifesiteNews.com/CWN) - A Redmond, Washington, organization of day care professionals has begun to advocate the normalization of the homosexual lifestyle to pre-school children in day care.

Is Homosexuality in the Genes?

Homosexual advocates have won a massive victory in the court of public opinion, and they won without even having to prove their case. Millions of Americans simply assume that science has "discovered" a genetic basis for homosexual attraction and behavior, and then assume that this would mean that homosexuality is just a predetermined trait.

More on the blame game...
The lack of balance in the panel's aggressiveness toward the witnesses — all of whom served administrations that should have dealt with the terrorist threat better — is sad. What's even more upsetting is how placing blame seems more important than preventing another Sept. 11.

The liberals who cried 'didn't do enough!'

The Bush-bashers who have relentlessly accused the president and his War on Terror team of acting like jack-booted bigots are now imperiously attacking them for acting like light-footed fumblers.

In case you missed it.
Text of Bush's press conference

The next great Catholic scandal?
I don't believe in playing politics with the sacraments, one way or the other.

But if Catholic bishops cannot stand up for the teachings of the church, who can?

Wednesday, April 14, 2004

L. Ron Hubbard has better lobbyists than God
It turns out that liberals are right. For years now, the American government has established state religion. No, it's not evangelical Christianity. It's Scientology.

Because of a 1993 secret deal with the Internal Revenue Service, members of L. Ron Hubbard's Church of Scientology are allowed to write off costly Scientologist "auditing" and "training" services as charitable gift deductions. Anyone who sends their child to religious school, however, is banned from writing off tuition.

Unsilent Scream
The partial-birth abortion ban is proving to be a genuine victory for life.
I was one of the pro-lifers who feared that the partial-birth abortion ban, signed into law by President Bush last November, would be a hollow victory. I worried that putting so much emphasis on partial-birth abortion would be a tactical error. After all, partial birth abortions account only for approximately 7,000 to 9,000 of the 1.3 million or so abortions a year.

Group Calls for IRS Action Against Gay Marriage Tax Filers

Will Same-Sex Marriage Lead to Polygamy?

Will legalization of same-sex marriage lead to the legalization of polygamy? Proponents of same-sex marriage dismiss the question, for if they ever did face it squarely, they would have to admit the truly radical nature of the case for homosexual marriage. The logic of the polygamy question is this--If marriage can now be homosexual as well as heterosexual, why must it be limited to two persons rather than three . . . or several?


Let's play the blame game. Who's first?

Now we know whom to blame. It's all the N.Y. Times' fault.
N.Y. Times: Bush Should Have Used Racial Profiling to Prevent 9/11

Don't look now, but the oh so politically correct New York Times has just endorsed racial profiling as a critical tool in fighting the war on terrorism.

And this....
Paper of Bias Gets It Wrong -- Again

No, let's blame the CIA.
Tenet: U.S. Lacks Tools to Combat al-Qaida
In its report, the commission said the CIA missed the big-picture significance of "tell-tale indicators" of impending terrorist attacks, partly because of its culture of a piecemeal approach to intelligence analysis.

Or was it Freeh's fault?
Author Says Freeh's FBI 'Screwed Up' on al-Qaeda

Bush says it's not the FBI's fault.
Bush: FBI Was Doing Its Job Before 9/11
CRAWFORD, Texas — President Bush said Monday there was no warning in a pre-Sept. 11 intelligence memo that "something is about to happen in America" before the nation's worst terrorism attack. He said U.S. intelligence services may be due for reforms.

Or was it Janet Reno's fault?
Democrat Kerrey: U.S. Was 'Just as Vulnerable' During Clinton-Reno Years

No. Let's blame Ashcroft
Commission: Ashcroft Rejected FBI's Request for Counterterrorism Money on 9/10

Or was it Gorelick's fault?
Gorelick Ignored Terror Warnings, Ex-FBI Chief Says

Or was it Clinton's fault?
Freeh Notes Clinton's Failure on al-Qaida

Clinton to blame for intelligence failures

Yes, there were all sorts of conceivable actions the president could have taken. He could have interned Muslim-Americans like FDR did with the Japanese. He could have grounded the airlines. He could have declared war on Afghanistan. All of these thing were "conceivable." But since when is "conceivable" the standard for governmental conduct, even in hindsight? The fair - or at least fairer - question is, did Bush take every reasonable action to prevent the 9/11 attacks?

Could John Kerry do any better?
THE 9-11 COMMISSION: Clarke's bluster merely aids argument for Bush's re-election
Well, if this administration, brimming with all of these alleged hawks and cowboys - Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Ashcroft, Wolfowitz - needed to get up to speed on the terrorist threat, do we really believe that John Kerry won't need even more on-the-job training?

Tuesday, April 13, 2004

You Wouldn ’t Even Ask. This brochure that explains why it's wrong to vote for pro-abortion candidates.

This makes it worth all we've done in Iraq.
Pakistani Tells of North Korean Nuclear Devices

I got an e-mail today that had pictures of this.
"The Iraqi jet, an advanced Russian MiG-25 Foxbat, was found buried in the sand after an informant tipped off U.S. troops.
The MiG was dug out of a massive sand dune near the Al Taqqadum airfield by U.S. Air Force recovery teams. The MiG was reportedly one of over two dozen Iraqi jets buried in the sand, like hidden treasure, waiting to be recovered at a later date.
Contrary to what some in the major media have reported, not all the jets found were from the Gulf War era.
The Russian-made MiG-25 Foxbat being recovered by U.S. Air Force troops in the photos is an advanced reconnaissance version never before seen in the West and is equipped with sophisticated electronic warfare devices.
U.S. Air Force recovery teams had to use large earth-moving equipment to uncover the MiG, which is over 70 feet long and weighs nearly 25 tons.
The Foxbat is known to be one of Iraq's top jet fighters. The advanced electronic reconnaissance version found by the U.S. Air Force is currently in service with the Russian air force. The MiG is capable of flying at speeds of over 2,000 miles an hour, or three times the speed of sound, and at altitudes of over 75,000 feet.
The recovery of the advanced MiG fighter is considered to be an intelligence coup by the U.S. Air Force.. The Foxbat may also be equipped with advanced Russian- and French-made electronics that were sold to Iraq during the 1990s in violation of a U..N. ban on arms sales to Baghdad.
The buried aircraft at Al Taqqadum were covered in camouflage netting, sealed and, in many cases, had their wings removed before being buried more than 10 feet beneath the Iraqi desert.
The discovery of the buried Iraqi jet fighters illustrates the problem faced by U.S. inspection teams searching Iraq for weapons of mass destruction. Iraq is larger in size than California, and the massive deserts south and west of Baghdad were used by Saddam Hussein to hide weapons during the first Gulf war.
While there are rumors of Iraqi chemical and biological weapons being shipped to nearby Syria, the weapons may very well still remain inside Iraq buried under the vast desert wastelands.
Some critics of the Bush administration have claimed that the inability of U.S.. forces to uncover weapons of mass destruction is proof that the president misled the nation into the war with Iraq.
However, in recent days the critics have fallen silent as word quietly leaked from Iraq that major discoveries have already been made and are now being documented completely."

I'd like to see this happen only if Bush is re-elected.
Senate Holds Hearing On Splitting Up 9th Circuit Court Of Appeals
A subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee held an important hearing on April 7 to discuss splitting up the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. This is the largest and most liberal court system in the U.S. It is responsible for ruling in 2002 that the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional because it contains the words "under God" in it.

I hope the IRS buys a copy. I'm sure some of them will attempt to file a joint return.
San Francisco Selling Its List of Married Gays

From the April 12 Jay Leno show:
"Today John Kerry introduced what he calls "the middle class misery index”. He thinks the middle class is miserable. But then if you’re worth over $700 million being middle class would look pretty miserable life to you."
"President Clinton said he was always concerned about an attack. In fact he can’t count how many times he told women at the white house "just keep your head down!” "
"The Pope delivered his "Easter message” in something like 73 languages. And that was just for people for L.A."

Miss Missouri New Miss USA
Shandi Finnessey is from my city, Florissant.

Monday, April 12, 2004

We added 14 at my parish this weekend.
Catholic Conversion
Recent Church Scandals Haven’t Scared Potential Converts Away
W A S H I N G T O N, April 10 — Some 150,000 Americans will officially become Catholics this Holy Saturday, celebrating a time, in the Christian world, of repentance and renewal. The large number of those converting to Roman Catholicism comes despite the sexual abuse scandal that has rocked the church over the past few years.

I hope this backfires on Kerry.
Kerry Ignores Reproaches of Some Bishops
By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE

BOSTON, April 11 — Rejecting the admonitions of several national Roman Catholic leaders, Senator John Kerry received communion at Easter services today at the Paulist Center here, a kind of New Age church that describes itself as "a worship community of Christians in the Roman Catholic tradition" and that attracts people drawn to its dedication to "family religious education and social justice."

Mr. Kerry's decision to receive communion represented a challenge to several prominent Catholic bishops, who have become increasingly exasperated with politicians who are Catholic but who deviate from Catholic teaching.

We need to educate some Catholics.
Analysts: Faith Less of a Factor for Kerry

WASHINGTON — John Kerry (search) is only the third Catholic candidate this close to getting all the way to the White House, but whether he can win over the Catholic vote in November could depend on his skill in separating his religious and political beliefs.

This site at the New York Post says he was applauded as he left.

Why isn't the news media reporting this?
Everyone got it wrong before 9/11
Which US senator admitted on Sept. 11, 2001, "We have always known this could happen. . . . I regret to say -- I served on the Intelligence Committee up until last year. I can remember after the bombings of the embassies, after TWA 800, we went through this flurry of activity, talking about it -- but not really doing the hard work of responding.''

That was John Kerry on "Larry King Live," ruing his and his colleagues' pre-9/11 failure to give the threat from international terrorism the urgent attention and "hard work of responding" it should have had.

Kerry is making a big mistake.
WE SHOULD HANG TOUGH: POLL
April 12, 2004 -- A new poll says the majority of Americans think the latest spike in Iraq violence means the United States should get tougher militarily - not retreat.
The CNN-Time magazine poll also found that most Americans still believe the Iraq war was right, weren't surprised by the new attacks and are confident that the United States will regain control of areas of unrest like Fallujah.

But the poll taken Thursday found sharp partisan splits on whether the Iraq war was justified and whether to get tougher - with independents generally siding with Republicans.

Some good reading at Nealz Nuze
WHAT ABOUT THAT MEMO?
JOHN KERRY'S MISERY INDEX
9/11 FAMILY MEMBERS
GAS PRICES CLIMB TO RECORD HIGH......NOT
ONCE UPON A TIME THERE WAS A WASHINGTON BUREAUCRAT..


'Passion' Reclaims Top Box-Office Spot

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Many Christians made "The Passion of the Christ" a part of their Easter weekend, lifting the crucifixion saga back to the top box-office spot with $17.1 million.

Mel Gibson's bloody retelling of Christ's final hours raised its domestic total since opening on Ash Wednesday to $354.8 million, passing "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" for the No. 8 spot on the all-time domestic charts, just behind "Jurassic Park."

Reason for hope.
Renewed passion for faith
Michele Mohan was raised Catholic and has always considered herself religious. But in the past few years she stopped going to church.
At first it was personal. She started drifting away after her mother died and painful family disputes ensued. "I couldn't figure out why God would let this happen to me," says Mohan, 41, a homemaker and mother of two teenage sons in Canton, Mich.

Then came the church's child sexual abuse scandal. "That was the turning point, where I said, 'I'm right in not going — I'm done.' "

But seeing Mel Gibson's film The Passion of the Christ changed all that.

Mohan says the movie, which focuses on the last 12 hours of Jesus' life, gave her a sense of forgiveness and patience that she didn't have before. It gave her a view of the bigger picture — and a reason to start attending church again.


Documentary to show lives changed by film
Viewers of Gibson's movie claim it has produced 'miracles'


First, it was the Boy Scouts. Now this:
Planned Parenthood & Girl Scout Relationships
This web site might be interesting to you if there is a Girl Scout in the family.


British Study Finds Link Between Morning-After Pill, STDs

A recently released British research study shows that areas in the United Kingdom where the morning-after pill was made available free of charge now have higher rates of sexually transmitted diseases, but have not seen teen pregnancy rates reduced...


Give it up, already!
NOW presses pro-lifers
despite high court
Feminist group lost case but still could defeat abortion opponents
The National Organization for Women, which has stated an intent to crush groups opposing abortion, could collect $1.2 million in damages and legal fees from pro-life activists despite losing a case before the U.S. Supreme Court one year ago.

As WorldNetDaily reported, the feminist group charged protests organized by Joseph Scheidler's Chicago-based Pro-Life Action League amounted to extortion under RICO, the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.


As an Arkansas Razorback fan, I find this interesting.
Hog wild in Texas
Texas is hogtied. Wild pigs are closing in on other states, too.
The Lone Star State is grappling with the nation's largest population of feral pigs — squealing, rooting hordes of hogs that can destroy farmland and wildlife habitats, sully public parks, attack pets and domestic animals, and spread diseases such as tuberculosis and even anthrax to farm animals.
The dreaded and free-roaming sus scrofa — also known as wild boars, piney-woods rooters, razorbacks, hawgs and a host of other monikers — now are thought to number 2 million in Texas alone.
The dark, furry and tusked creatures, with bristly hair along their backbones giving the appearance of razorlike teeth, have been declared a public nuisance by authorities in 19 other states, including Florida, Arkansas, Oklahoma, California, New Hampshire and Missouri.

Friday, April 09, 2004

After the Holocaust, the world said, "Never again!"
From the Holocaust to Saddam

By Suzanne Fields
With the help of a few of our friends, we rid the world of a psychotic madman who used torture, rape and poison gas to dispatch his enemies, and critics mock us for calling him "evil."We have yet to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq — the weapons that everyone agrees were once there because he used them — and our sunshine friends in Europe can't see the moral purpose in the enterprise. They dismiss Saddam Hussein as just another monster coughed up by nature, a monster that we should have, or could have, ignored. The more these critics learn of his heinous crimes, the less they see how much his crimes mattered.

... and to think that nothing was done to stop the genocide in Rwanda...
Bodies of Evidence
Terry Eastland
What's discovered in the mass graves also will bear--certainly it should bear--on any assessment of President Bush's decision to invade Iraq. That decision was based in large part on Saddam Hussein's pursuit of weapons of mass destruction, and much of the criticism of Bush's decision stems from the fact that none has been found so far.

But Bush also made a moral case for war. And that case emphasized the large-scale atrocities Saddam Hussein committed against his own people and surely would have continued to commit if we had decided not to invade Iraq. The moral case now stands to be vindicated--mass grave by mass grave.

Whose fault was it?
Rice Testifies President Started Sea Change in Terrorism Strategy Before 9/11
Bush's Call: Eliminate al Qaeda
Did our national leadership respond too slowly to the threat of al Qaeda? Absolutely. But given what we now know that President Bush did do before 9/11 (as compared to what President Clinton did in his 8 years in office), it is also true that American voters acted too slowly to elect a President decisive enough to take the steps needed to kill the threat.

Voters should not repeat that mistake this November.

Duh! Isn't this obvious?
Panel's partisan divide exposed
Rice's appearance exposed partisan divisions on the commission, which could undercut the credibility of the conclusions and recommendations it is scheduled to make on July 26.

The goose that lays the golden egg can fly away.
Refugee CEOs

The hot-button issue for the Democratic Party this year is "outsourcing," the latest political euphemism that seeks to stigmatize companies voting with their feet and escaping high taxes and onerous regulations that drive up the cost of labor, increase the cost of capital and drive down rates of return on investment.


Neal Boortz
Kerry isn't as ignorant on economic matters as he sounds....but he certainly thinks that you are.

If welfare-to-work changed the US, why wouldn't it work for the whole world?
How times have changed
Charles Krauthammer
We now know that the secret to curing hunger and poverty is capitalism and free trade. We have seen that demonstrated irrefutably in East Asia, which has experienced the greatest alleviation of poverty in the history of man. In half a century, places like Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea have gone from subsistence to First World status. And now free markets and free trade are lifting tens of millions of people out of poverty in India and China.

Were the tax cuts too much? Not really.
Taxpayer Group Releases Annual Scorecard for Lawmakers
(CNSNews.com) - A taxpayer watchdog group says U.S. senators and representatives didn't do all they could to reduce or control the overall federal tax burden on taxpayers in 2003.

'Passion' Breaks Records on First Night in Italy
ROME (Reuters) - Mel Gibson (news)'s controversial film on Christ's last days broke all box office records for a first night showing in Italy, its distributor said Thursday.
"The Passion of The Christ" took 1.22 million euros ($1.5 million) Wednesday, beating the 1.11 million first-night takings for "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," it said.

Switzerland has a solution to religious fragmentation.
Zurich says no to more religions
Proposed new laws that would have led to the official recognition of non-Christian faiths, including Islam, have been turned down in canton Zurich.

Thursday, April 08, 2004

Thank you, George W., for this:

Tax Freedom Day Arrives April 11 in 2004, Earliest Since 1967; Full Study to Be Found at www.TaxFoundation.org/taxfreedomday.html

WASHINGTON, April 7 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Tax Freedom Day(r) falls on April 11 in 2004, according to the Tax Foundation's annual calculation using the latest government data on income and taxes.

April 11 is the earliest Tax Freedom Day in 37 years. It is three days earlier than 2003's Tax Freedom Day of April 14 and an amazing 21 days earlier than in 2000, when the boom and bubble pushed tax burdens to a record high, and Tax Freedom Day was postponed until May 2.


And this...
Economic Statistics Ad for Bush

Did you know?
The Fifty States Reference God in their Constitutions
America's founders did not intend for there to be a separation of God and state, as shown by the fact that all 50 states acknowledge God in their state constitutions:


Late-Term Abortion Clinic Manager Quits Under Pressure, Says Operation Rescue West; Was Subject of ORW's Year of the Rebuke

One of those outreaches involved ORW's Truth Truck that was routinely parked in Klaege's upscale neighborhood exposing the gruesome truth about the abortions that her work made possible.

Wednesday, April 07, 2004

"The Passion of the Christ" crossed the $100 million milestone outside North America Tuesday after Icon reported its offshore total through last weekend at $99.3 million. The worldwide total is $431 million.

Worker opposed to gays wins suit

An AT&T Broadband employee who was fired after refusing to abide by company rules that he said violated his religious beliefs about homosexuality has won a federal court case.

Blame the Bishops
In early March Kerry stepped into a Protestant church to challenge the Christianity of George Bush. The ironies abounded: a Catholic in a Protestant church was citing James 2:14 (a verse Catholics use to argue against Protestantism) against a Protestant President who has "faith" but no "deeds" even as that Catholic argued in other settings that his own faith shouldn't influence his deeds.

John Sanger Kerry
Few politicians can beat past John Kerry on the radical social left. Often accused of flip-flopping, Kerry never flip-flops on one issue -- abortion.


Job Republicans
In the wake of Friday's employment statistics showing the largest jump in non-farm payroll since April 2000, John Kerry said the job creation was "welcome news for America's workers."

"I hope it continues," said Kerry. Does anyone believe him?...
The conventional wisdom up until now seems to have been that the economy is a political liability for President Bush and congressional Republicans. That can no longer be assumed. With numbers like these, the GOP should not be afraid to go on offense.

According to a Zogby poll.....
Kerry 47, Bush 45; With Nader, It's Still A Tie, New Zogby International Poll Reveals

Massachusetts Senator John Kerry holds a slight lead (47%-45%) over President George W. Bush with 45% among likely voters, according to a new Zogby International poll. The poll of 1035 likely voters was conducted Thursday through Sunday (April 1-4, 2004). Overall results have a margin of sampling error of +/-3.1.
When Independent candidate Ralph Nader is added, Kerry and Bush are statistically tied with 45.5% for Bush, 45.3% for Kerry, and Nader with 3%.

In the Blues States, those that were won by former Vice-President Al Gore in the 2000 presidential election, Kerry receives 47% of support, as compared to Bush with 42%. Bush leads in his Red States with 48% as compared to Kerry with 46%.

Kerry and Bush show equally 'favorable' ratings (Very Favorable -Somewhat Favorable) among voters with 56% each, though Bush's 'unfavorable' ratings (Somewhat Unfavorable- Very Unfavorable) of 42% exceeds Kerry's (36%).

Overall, Bush's job performance remains at a statistical stand still with 47% of voters giving him a positive rating (Excellent-Good), while 53% respond negatively (Fair-Poor).

In the case of a possible major terrorist attack in the United States, exactly 51.6% (52% rounded) of voters prefer to be led by Bush as compared to Kerry with 40%. This is no change from last month.

One half of the voters (50%) feel that the US is headed on the wrong track, while 43% say things are on the right track.

Only 44% of likely voters say that the President "deserves to be re-elected", while the majority (51%) continues to say that it is "time for someone new".

Nearly one in the (32%) identified jobs and the economy as top issues facing the country, following by the war on terrorism (18%), the war in Iraq (14%), health care (7%) and education (5%).

New Info Indicates Corruption in Judicial Confirmation Process
(CNSNews.com) - A government watchdog group says it knows who wrote an incriminating memo to Sen. Ted Kennedy, recommending that he delay the confirmation of one of President Bush's judicial nominees -- apparently to influence the outcome of an important pending case.

He Saw It Coming
"SO SOME PEOPLE DID SEE September 11 coming. They were generally regarded as nuts and fanatics -- and sometimes remain so today."

Tuesday, April 06, 2004

Yes!
Tennessee Senate passes pro-life amendment

Nashville, Apr. 05 (LifesiteNews.com/CWN) - Tennessee's Senate has overwhelmingly passed a measure to amend the state constitution to remove a guarantee for a right to abortion, should Roe v. Wade be overturned. The Senate vote, 23-6, passed the measure which must now be passed by the House of Representatives and go on to the public in the next election.

The wording of the measure says that ''nothing in the Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or the funding thereof."

Can you see the bias in this story?
Missouri House deals two strikes to gay rights

Jack Kelly: U.S. economy is fine
The only thing faltering is media objectivity

About you Taxes....
In short, the poor paid half as much of the federal tax burden in 2001 as they did in 1984, while the rich paid about 50 percent more. Those in the middle paid about a third less.

One would think that those on the left would be happy about this trend. Instead, they constantly demagogue the wealthy as deadbeats unwilling to bear their "fair share" of the tax burden, and berate the Bush tax cuts for having "slashed" taxes for the wealthy while the rest of us pay more. As is so often the case, the truth is exactly the opposite of that portrayed in the liberal worldview.


This is what happened in my neck of the woods yesterday.
Presidential pitch is a hit-but Cards strike out

So there is no link between Al-Quida and Iraq???
Purported Audiotape From Al-Qaida-Linked Figure Claims Responsibility for Dozens of Attacks in Iraq
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - A man claiming to be a senior al-Qaida figure that the United States believes is operating in Iraq has released a tape calling for the country's Sunni Muslims to fight Shiites and claiming responsibility for high-profile attacks there.

Monday, April 05, 2004

Look out!
.... according to other sources inside the Kerry camp, aides are attempting to identify a Catholic diocese, and perhaps even a specific priest and church, where Kerry could attend a Mass with reporters present, and be turned away at the altar attempting to receive communion.

Kerry’s Dirty Deeds
John F. Kerry is a more checkered Catholic than the first JFK. Unlike Kennedy who had some residual sense of respect for the Church, Kerry uses his Catholicism as a campaign prop while sabotaging its teachings.

No Honor Among the Disloyal
[Tim] Russert then asked [Clark]: "But if you were willing to go forward, and, as you say, 'spin' on behalf of the president, then why shouldn't people now think that this book is also spin? Why should people believe you?" ...But Clarke appears to suppose that his limited obligation to "spin" means only that he had to say what he was told to say while on the government's payroll but became free to contradict himself once he returned to private life.

Ann Coulter
How 9-11 happened


Mel has turned Hollywood up-side-down.

The Passion of the Christ is up to $330,131,000.

Thursday, April 01, 2004

New Blog!
Catholics for Bush is a Yahoo! Group for Catholics and Christians who support President George W. Bush.
To join the catholicsforbush group, please visit
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/catholicsforbush
Yes!!!
Gay marriage ban amendment passes
Georgia voters to decide issue in November
Conservatives celebrated and subdued gay rights supporters vowed to continue fighting Wednesday night after the Georgia Legislature gave final approval to a proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.
Pledging Allegiance Without God
“How would Reagan respond to the attempt to remove ‘One Nation Under God’ from America’s pledge of allegiance?”

What are the names of the stars in tonight's sky? Find out at this web site. (Can you guess? My kid's homework is on my agenda for the day.)

Cha-ching! $$$$$
The “Passion of the Christ” has now taken in $317 million and is already the 12th largest-grossing domestic movie of all time and #1 R-Rated movie.

JFK vs JFK
John F. Kennedy did not face pointed and inescapable questions about abortion, same-sex marriage, embryo research, and the like. John F. Kerry must face those issues squarely, and he comes to this presidential campaign with a record of votes in the Senate dealing with the same issues. There can be no question that John Kerry stands in direct violation of the clear teachings of his church on any number of controversial issues.

Without the Consent of the Governed
The theocrats of the gay marriage movement have set their goals above the consent of the governed. ...The Marriage Amendment is a necessary, indeed urgently required antidote to such a radical assault on the bedrock of the American experience. If imposition of new norms can be accomplished without even one law anywhere ever having being passed, then it can happen again and again whenever willful minorities can persuade robed elites to act without conscience against the idea that all law proceeds from the people...Lincoln described the essence of America as "government of the people, by the people, for the people." There is no law that can be legitimate without the consent of the people.

Kerry would be a Disaster!
Consider, for example, the national security and intelligence implications of an amendment (No. 1452) to a supplemental appropriations bill that Mr. Kerry offered in February 1994. The Senate debated Mr. Kerry's amendment less than a year after terrorists first bombed the World Trade Center and just months before American pilots led a NATO air strike against Serbs attacking Bosnian Muslims.
Mr. Kerry's amendment would have chopped an additional $4 billion from 1994 defense spending, which had already been slashed by $18 billion. It would have cut nearly $25 billion from defense over five years. It also would have sliced an additional $1 billion from 1994 intelligence funding, whose inflation-adjusted spending had already been reduced by more than 13 percent since 1989, according to Dennis DeConcini, the Democratic chairman of the Senate's Select Committee on Intelligence. Over the next five years, Mr. DeConcini complained, Mr. Kerry's amendment would have cut an additional $5 billion from intelligence activities. In an unmistakable reference to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, Mr. DeConcini observed, "We no longer seem immune from acts of terrorism in the United States."

What does Hillary have up her sleeve?
Hillary Predicts October Surprise

New York Sen. Hillary Clinton is predicting that this year's presidential election will be very tight and the victor will win because of "something unforeseen."

Nobody Happy; Proposed Mass. Amendment Backs Marriage, Endorses Civil Unions
Massachusetts' Voters 'Blackmailed,' Say Supporters of Traditional Marriage
Advocates on both sides of the issue are upset at the turn of events. Supporters of homosexual marriage say if the amendment is eventually adopted, it would take away the landmark decision by the Supreme Judicial Court last fall making Massachusetts the first state to allow same-sex marriages. They also say the amendment discriminates against homosexual couples by creating "civil unions" instead of "marriages."

Pro-family groups are upset because the legislature has put the electorate in a tough spot. Family Research Council president Tony Perkins has denounced the amendment, saying it is wrong to make voters who oppose homosexual marriage endorse civil unions.