Cali Judge Rules Against the Voice of the People

Just a few moments ago, a California judge ruled against Prop 8, which passed by a rather large margin in November 2008. Prop 8 banned same-sex marriage in the state of California, upholding the traditional value of marriage between one man and one woman. Californians demonstrated an enormous amount of guts and bravery when they voted their conscience. But, like in Iowa and Massachusetts, a judge decided that the democratic vote held by the people of their state was irrelevent. The judge overturned the vote after two gay couples (in San Francisco, of all places!) brought suit against the proposition, calling it a discriminatory law which denied civil rights.

I guess voting really is important...unless some judge disagrees with you.

Ellis Island Revisited

Anyone else getting a massive migraine from the immigration fiasco in Arizona yet? I can honestly see both sides of this argument. On one hand, these are indeed real, flesh and blood souls with families risking their lives to come to this country. But, on the other hand (and there's always another hand) they are knowingly breaking the laws of the United States, laws which are meant to protect this country.

Is Arizona being as "evil" as a lot of the media of claiming? I'm not convinced. If you look at the law of the land, they're trying to do a job that the federal government has failed at, miserably. If anything, this should be a huge wake up call to those in Washington who have been putting this issue on the back burner for decades. Both sides of the political isle have benefited, in some manner, by ignoring this issue. So don't let either of them act like their hands are clean on this one. One plays a hypocritical economy card, and the other plays the hypocritical race card.

Why have we as a nation strayed so far from the ideals presented by Ellis Island in the 19th and early 20th century? No one has been able to answer that question. The ideals of Ellis Island welcomed those to our shores who were willing to risk their very lives to realize the fullness of human potential in a land where merit was prized over blood. This was the very thing that supplied the life blood for the American nation from its earliest inception. Not only are we as Americans being convinced to forget our Christian heritage (both Catholic and Protestant), but we're also being told to forget our immigrant heritage.

I suppose I'm promoting a type of "Ellis Island Immigration Reform." It needs to be easier for families to become legal citizens, but there also needs to be a specific path for them to follow to realize that dream with the support system in place to aid them in this endeavour, with the end result being their integration into American life. If anyone has a valid reason for why this can't be done, I'd be glad to hear it.

Pax

Pro-Life Oklahoma

There's been a marked increase in pro-life legislation working its way through the state legislature down in Oklahoma City over the past year or so. This is a great sign, because changes will occur on the state level before it ever goes before the Supreme Court. It also shows that people are waking up to the reality of what's really happening. The euphemism/double speak of "family planning" can't hide the truth anymore.

I'm going to try and compile a list of pending legislation and throw it on here within the next week or so. If you're a non-Okie, try to find out what your state legislature is doing (or not doing) to further the Culture of Life and let me know what's going on in your backyard.

I hope everyone had a fruitful Lent and Easter! Anyone planning on continuing Fish Fridays year round? I'm going to try...we'll see what happens.

Health Care teams up with Law and Order?

Maybe it is just me...perhaps I'm just being hypersensitive. But, did anyone one else watch tv the night the Obama-care bill was passed? During my lunch break from work, I was flippin' through the channels with my wife and stopped at "Law and Order." What I saw was a full episode of anti-Catholic propaganda, and the last few minutes of another show that seemed like it was on the same path. You probably know the routine: Catholics hate gay people, we're super intolerant, priests are all deviants, we hate women, so on and so forth...

I think if I hadn't been watching coverage of the health care reform debates all day, I might not even have noticed it. But, the second it started to soak in, it made me a little sick to my stomach. It just seemed a little too convenient and well timed. Its old school politics to demonize the primary opposition with lies and bigotry, but, its usually not quite so obvious.

Like I said...maybe its just me. But I doubt it.

Planned Parenthood Covering Up Child Rape/Abuse

Its incredibly sad that as much of our tax money goes to this organization already, under the deceitful guise of "public health." That amount is scheduled to increase dramatically if the president's idea of "health care reform" passes. I have a hard time expressing how bad Planned Parenthood is for the future of any society. The St. Michael Society has this story on their site (see link below). If one Planned Parenthood clinic has this much disregard for our children, what's to make anyone think that any other clinic is any better. Its the dark legacy of Margaret Sanger at work.

For the 10th Time on Tape: Planned Parenthood Covering Up Child Rape/Abuse:

Discontent or Division?

Over the last couple of weeks, I've noticed a marked increase in bloggers talking about the stances of the USCCB in relation to the lay Catholic people they're suppose to shepherd. Deal Hudson went so far as to ask if a Catholic "tea party movement" is called for, based on the discontent seen across the nation in response to Obama policies and "health care" reform beginning in 2009.

A lot of questions have come up concerning issues of social teaching/Catholic identity and who benefits when it becomes a concrete political matter. If the United States had a uniquely "Catholic" political party, this wouldn't even be an issue, to a certain degree. But, since such a party doesn't exist in today's America (whether or not it even should is another question), the influence and power that millions of American Catholics produce gets funnelled into more than one camp. Each camp with its own political and philosophical agendas which may or may not be in line with the Catholic Church.

Hudson points out the liberal leanings of the USCCB in terms of social justice, aligning it more with the policies of the Democratic Party. In contrast, the lay and religious faithful tend to interpret Catholic teaching from a more conservative position, aligning them more with Republican Party policy. An example of the conservative leaning is manifested by the Manhattan Declaration of late 2009. These are two contrasting views that, some how, mesh together into a uniquely Catholic view, separate from both Democrats and Republicans. Despite the presence of this third Catholic stance, both parties have made attempts to harness the forces that Catholics, and Christians in general, bring to the table as their own.

Hudson, among others, seem to believe that lay cooperation with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has run its course due to these diverging political and philosophical rifts. The question comes down to whether the everyday, blue collar Catholic (who tends to be more conservative) should continue to identify the USCCB (tending to be more liberal) as the leadership of the Catholic Church in the United States of America. Is this legitimate discontent along moral lines? Or, is this political gerrymandering designed to divide?

As a blue collar Catholic myself, I defer directly to the Holy Father when teaching and morals are the concern. Political parties and policy have little to do with actual belief, unless policy crosses into the realm of faith (as in tax payer funding of abortion). But, this Catholic identity also plays a major role in political life. Those who desire a distinct separation between the spiritual life and the public life are severally short sighted and have a minimal understanding of what Christianity requires. The Catholic faith is both private and public by its very nature.

I haven't done any hard research as of yet, but, I wouldn't be surprised if the people calling for dissent against the USCCB are the very people who cried for the bishops to speak up only a decade or two ago. It has to be realized that we are neither solidly Democrats,nor solidly Republicans. If any group claiming to represent the Catholic population in the U.S. is trying to pull the Church into one established political party, perhaps seeing Catholic "tea parties" aren't too far off. The same can be said if a political party is guilty of the same.

It probably sounds like I'm sitting on the fence a bit on this topic. Well, I guess you could say I am. Good thing my voter card says "independent."

American Abortion and Historical Context

January 22, 2010 marked the 37th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 ruling on Roe v. Wade, the case which has allowed for the LEGAL murder of over an estimated 50,000,000 children through abortion.

For a little historical context, an estimated 6,000,000 Jews, gypsies, and others were murdered during the Holocaust. An estimated 10,000,000 (probably a lot more) died in the Ukraine alone under Stalin, known in the Ukraine as the Holodomor, literally meaning "murder by hunger."

Is the situation in our country since 1973 really so much different, just because a court ruled it legal? Is it somehow cleaner because it happens in clinics and not concentration camps? Should it make us feel better that the victims are disposed of in medical waste bags instead of gas chambers? It gives hope to see the thousands of people marching in Washington, and across the nation, every year to say, "No, there is no difference."

This is another reason why good history teachers are vital to the survival of a free society.

Another Anti-Catholic Obama Nominee

News came down today that the Obama administation has reintroduced extremely pro-abortion
law professor/lawyer Dawn Johnsen for the top position at the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel.

In the 1980s, Johnsen was part of the legal gang who sought to strip the Catholic Church of it's tax exempt status due to it's public pro-life stance. Johnsen, along with the abortion big dogs, NARAL, filed a suit which eventually failed. Despite that failure, I think a disturbing history is rather evident.

Wait a second...wasn't she already nominated for something last year?

Is it just me, or is this administration using "Are you Anti-Catholic?" as a question on its nominee application?

Quick Look at 2009

Happy New Year everyone! 2009 was an interesting year in a lot of ways. Politics was a big player. A new president, contraversial legislation, Iran, terrorism, a sorry economy...and that's just to name a few. All of these and more I definitely see as continuing on into the new year.

In my world, I made the University Honor Roll, and started this fun lil' blog.

In the Church, two popes made steps towards official sainthood, John Paul II and Pius XII. Our current Holy Father was jumped prior to Mass on Christmas Eve, and still held Mass! Us Bavarians are a stubborn bunch.

I pray everyone had a great New Year's Eve and solute everyone who made it to Mass this morning. I wonder what mysterious mysteries 2010 will hold for us?

God Bless!

Christmas Eve Senate Vote

The Senate has the final round of voting to pass the Reid health care bill, on this, the eve of our Lord's birth. So far, this has been an incredibly interesting and insightful look into the workings of our government.

Being a future social studies teacher, I shudder to think how I'm going to explain this process to my future students. All of the lessons and diagrams of government I've had to go over seem a little lacking, even misleading to a great degree.

How do I start with this one?

I suppose it would be important to let them know that the "right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," as written in our Declaration of Independence, are really only suggestions. Whether or not you possess the right to life depends on who is in power at the time. And if you happen to fall under the category of those not possessing that right, others will be forced to pay for your execution, even if the majority of Americans don't think that should be the case.

What else? Oh yes, elected officials are not in Washington to represent the people who elected them. What is really important is how they further the agendas of those who finance their re-election. It's perfectly fine for them to sell out any "values" or "morals" that they might have used to get elected, as long as they get a good deal. Plus, it's okay for them to distort and misrepresent the faith community they claim to belong to, because "values" and "morals" are goods for sale, not to be protected and proclaimed. That sort of stuff needs to stay at home.

I know all this sounds really pessimistic. That's the point. But, the hope is that this won't be a lesson plan I'll have to make. I still have faith in our system, but I have infinitely more faith in God.

Merry Christmas!

Obama Admin. Threatens Base Closure

It was reported yesterday in The Weekly Standard that Nebraska Democrat, Senator Ben Nelson, received a phone call from someone within in the Obama administration. Now remember, Senator Nelson is the same senator who proposed the amendment which would have stopped funding of abortion in the senate health care bill. He has mentioned that he would stand in opposition to the bill if abortion funding was included. He represents an important vote for Democrats if this bill is to move forward.

Now, back to the phone call. It is reported from sources in the Senate that a member of the administration called the senator and threatened to add Offutt Air force Base to the infamous BRAC list, which is the list of military bases up for closure. Spokes people within both senator Nelson's office and the Obama admin. are denying these charges. But, that's not really all that surprising, its Democrats protecting Democrats. This is simply another example of the trend this current government put into place of so-called "Chicago Style" politics.

So far in the health care marathon, there have been a couple examples. The senator from the great state of Louisiana, Mary Landrieu, was bought off in exchange for a yes vote, reportedly with $300 million of our tax money. Senator Nelson is, apparently, being strong armed with threats to get a yes vote, using our national defense as a poker chip. The president's administration is in bed with unions (SEIU), so these baseball bat tactics don't come as surprising. "Czars" of extremely questionable backgrounds are being appointed to high posts without congressional review, and definitely without public review.

This is what it looks like when a democracy becomes undemocratic and begins the journey to the state of being "something else." What that something else might be, I'm not sure yet. I can't help but look back to the Manhattan Declaration and its call to Christian conscience. I honestly don't know what the situation might be in a year. American history has very few precedents for us to look back on and take wisdom from in regards to the possible complete erosion of the American system. Not only is the political system being severely compromised, but the philosophy which that system is based.

Catholics Should NOT Support Senate HC Bill

The Nelson Amendment, which would have prevented the tax payer funding of abortion in the Senate bill, has been voted down in the Senate. This means that any future vote is either a vote for life or for abortion. From what I've heard, these votes could happen as early as Christmas.

Other issues, such as the lack of any protection of conscience, also looms large within the bill.

Please contact your elected officials and remind them who they work for. Also, give your support to your local bishop and let them know that they don't stand alone on this critical issue.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has an excellent news release that was published on Dec. 9 on the bishops website. Cardinal George made a striking remark near the end of the release that needs to be a rallying cry.

Go to www.usccb.org to find out more regarding the healthcare debate. It's vital that everyone is educated and knows the ramifications of what might be on the horizon.

Senate Votes Down Life

The weekend held a lot of promise. For college students like me, finals week was right around the corner. For Catholics like me, the celebration of the Immaculate Conception was right around the bend. And for those looking in on politics and the struggle for life (in more ways than one) in the Senate health care debate, a huge vote was around the corner.

It almost seemed like all these things were coming together at an oddly conspicuous point. The outcome couldn't have been anymore contrasting. Just as Catholics across the globe were remembering the birth of the Mother of God, men and women in the Senate of the United States voted down a bill that would have prevented tax payer funding of abortion in the Senate health care bill.

Could there be a more striking cry out to the faithful?

Nevermind college finals. I'm doing fine in that department. The question is whether or not the people we chose to represent us are passing that test.

Manhattan Declaration

Finally, we're seeing some cooperation among Christians towards a moral good this country needs more than even a morbidly expensive health care reform bill. Over the last 3 months, leaders in the Orthodox, Catholic, and Evangelical communities came together and formulated the Manhattan Declaration, a well written statement concerning the dire need for Christians to stand up to the culture of death that has engulfed the country. It outlines the grievances concerning abortion, the attack on traditional marriage and the erosion of religious liberties.

This is a declaration that's has been needed for the past 30 years, but, better late than never. Its a good thing, a very good thing. I bet there's at least a few people in the White House and the Capital building frowning after this came out.

Check it out and sign it, if you're a serious Christian: The Manhattan Declaration

Senate healthcare bill and Rep. Stupak

I have to admit, I haven't been watching the coverage of the Senate version of the health care bill nearly as closely as I did the House coverage. I think that says a lot on its own. The coverage by pretty much every media outlet has been much more subdued and seemingly less interested in this round. 60 votes for the bill is all that's needed for passage in the Senate. The limited coverage I have seen makes it seem like passage is a 50/50 possibility. The Senate's version of Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, talks confidently about getting the 60 needed, but he admits that they're currently a handful of votes short.

What I've been trying to find out is the status of any pro-life amendments that could make their way into the Senate bill. Luckily, rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich) is putting the Obama adms. feet to the fire regarding the House's passage of abortion funding restrictions. White House advisor David Axelrod said the president would intercede and remove any abortion restrictions from the House bill. Rep. Stupak then brought up a great point...the bill already passed the House!

Is Planned Parenthood a little ticked about the situation so far? Maybe...could that be getting the Obama admin. a little nervous? I sense a little bird in Mr. Axelrod's ear.

Italian ruling: Is it far reaching?

A couple of days ago, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that it was illegal for Italian public schools to have crucifixes in classrooms. The ECHR, a body of the European Union, is an outside body "apart" from the individual nations of the EU. While it can't enforce the removal of crucifixes from Italian schools, it can force the Italian gov't to put together a report on how they plan to address this perceived "problem." Which, in this case, would mean the removal of Christian symbols from the public sphere.

I think its the Lisbon Treaty that makes the decisions of this court binding on all members of the EU. Is the crucifix situation in Italy the only target with this type of decision? Ireland and Poland have both become targets of legislative (if you can call what the EU does legislative) and judicial (see prior statement) bullying by big money groups trying to force abortion on every member of the European Union. These two nations alone have defended their sovereignty by refusing to accepted that abortion is a universal "right," preserving restrictions on this barbaric practice.

The EU has done a successful job at spreading a philosophy of moral relativism across lands that once were the bastions of Christendom. This has created a vacuum of sorts. If you have basic knowledge of biology, you're aware that nature abhors a vacuum. A moral vacuum has been created in Europe, and there's two groups vying to fill it. The newest group filling this void is Islam, fueled by north African and Middle Eastern immigration. The older kid on the block filling this void is the Catholic Church. I'm pretty sure that our current Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, is greatly aware of this situation. His controversial address several years ago at Regensburg, a criticism of modern Islam, proves it. Islam, namely the militant type, has demonstrated its readiness to fill this void in Europe.

Now, the thing I'm trying to get at is the question of whether or not this EU mindset will, or already has made its way across the pond and infiltrated the American mindset. 27 nations gave up their basic national sovereignty when they joined the EU, with more knocking on the door, seemingly oblivious to what they're sacrificing. In many ways, I think the EU philosophy of state enforced amoralism disguised as political correctness has been at work here for a few decades. I try not to be partisan, but lets face it, I am. When bigtime liberals gain influence in American government, they look to one of their favorite overseas examples, post-WWII Europe. Europe was bled white by WWI and WWII, challenging their belief in what they were. The powers that be in Europe ever since have failed to live up to that challenge and have pretty much forgotten what made Europe...European.

Will America face this challenge head on with conviction, or fold like our neighbors across the pond?

Pelosicare AND Stupak Passes the House

Big weekend in politics. Democrats actually managed to get a vote started on Saturday for the Pelosicare bill. The surprising thing isn't that it passed. With the Democratic majority, it would have been a demostration of pure incompetence if it hadn't. The event that struck me as important (as a Catholic and a tax payer) was the passage of the Stupak amendment, which prevents the tax payer funding of abortion. Dems and their supporters were fighting tooth and nail trying to keep the Stupak Amendment out of the equation. The argument was that the bill didn't concern abortion, so an amendment preventing the funding of abortion was unnecessary. Kind of a funny thing to get so worked up about, don't you think? If its not in the bill, why the worry about an amendment that would make sure funding couldn't get slipped in? Perhaps thats what the plan was all along? Kudos to Mr. Stupak for following through. Time to see what the Senate has to offer!