John Paul II Poetry Put To Music

ZENIT

Pope John Paul II's poetry is "incredible, profound and complex," according to the well-known tenor who has put the texts to song on a CD that was released in Italy today.

Plácido Domingo joined with Bishop Giampaolo Crepaldi, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, to present his latest recording, "Amore Infinito" (Infinite Love), during a press conference in the Vatican press office today.

The CD includes duets with Andrea Bocelli, Vanessa Williams and Katherine Jenkins and an international version will be released in January.

"This unique initiative brings together two art forms, poetry and music which, brilliantly combined, have produced an album," Bishop Crepaldi said.

"Listening to these songs, so magnificently interpreted by Placido Domingo and the London Symphony Orchestra, brings back the memory of John Paul II and of an entire life, frequently marked by dramatic episodes, lived with a passion for God and for man. What is the secret of this 'Wojtylian' poetic, which he translated into so many poetical texts?" asked the bishop. "For John Paul II everything begins with God's 'yes' to man, everything arises from God's plan of 'infinite love.' God's 'yes' to man means 'yes' to his dignity, to his authentic needs. It means 'yes' to the world [...] and to everything that is beautiful, good and just in life."

The texts of Domingo's songs "cover many subjects: family affections, work, war, homeland, etc, but all of them," the prelate affirmed, "are inspired by God's 'yes' to man, by the infinite love of God."

John Paul II Poetry
more..

"O Come, O Come"

John Pacheco and Mark Bonocore at SoConwrite on the devastating effects the purposes of Communism have had on Western society, particularly the family and marriage:

....Frederic Engels wrote the Principles of Communism which become, arguably, the defining document for the communist movement. In that paper, in answering a question on the influence of communist society on the family, he prophetically wrote:

"It will transform the relations between the sexes into a purely private matter which concerns only the persons involved and into which society has no occasion to intervene. It can do this since it does away with private property and educates children on a communal basis, and in this way removes the two bases of traditional marriage — the dependence rooted in private property, of the women on the man, and of the children on the parents."(21)

Engels’ propaganda sought to separate the marital union from its divine conception in favour of a mere utilitarian ideal, devoid of any moral underpinnings. Indeed, his observation that Communism would reduce marriage into a “purely private matter” between citizens has been tragically accurate. Such a “purely private matter” has found its zenith with the legalization and widespread acceptance of same-sex “marriage”.....

Advent Conspiracy

Advent Conspiracy

Thanks Where Its Due

(LifeSiteNews)

President George Bush's Final Thanksgiving Day Message November 27, 2008

Thanksgiving is a time for families and friends to gather together and express gratitude for all that we have been given, the freedoms we enjoy, and the loved ones who enrich our lives. We recognize that all of these blessings, and life itself, come not from the hand of man but from Almighty God.

Every Thanksgiving, we remember the story of the Pilgrims who came to America in search of religious freedom and a better life. Having arrived in the New World, these early settlers gave thanks to the Author of Life for granting them safe passage to this abundant land and protecting them through a bitter winter. Our Nation's first President, George Washington, stated in the first Thanksgiving proclamation that "It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor." While in the midst of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln revived the tradition of proclaiming a day of thanksgiving, asking God to heal our wounds and restore our country.

Today, as we look back on the beginnings of our democracy, Americans recall that we live in a land of many blessings where every person has the right to live, work, and worship in freedom. Our Nation is especially thankful for the brave men and women of our Armed Forces who protect these rights while setting aside their own comfort and safety. Their courage keeps us free, their sacrifice makes us grateful, and their character makes us proud. Especially during the holidays, our whole country keeps them and their families in our thoughts and prayers.

Americans are also mindful of the need to share our gifts with others, and our Nation is moved to compassionate action. We pay tribute to all caring citizens who reach out a helping hand and serve a cause larger than themselves.

On this day, let us all give thanks to God who blessed our Nation's first days and who blesses us today. May He continue to guide and watch over our families and our country always.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 27, 2008, as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I encourage all Americans to gather together in their homes and places of worship with family, friends, and loved ones to strengthen the ties that bind us and give thanks for the freedoms and many blessings we enjoy.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-first day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.

God Bless George W. Bush

Brave Souls at UofC *UPDATE*

After being warned that the University may arrest them for not making their display invisible, prolife- U of Calgary students persist.






The result.*UPDATE*
Univ.ofCalgary Reconsiders
U of C Profs Speak Out

(see "Students Have Guts; "Double Standard")

Terror Roundup

NP John C. Thompson:

The Mumbai attacks represent a scenario that few Western police and security forces have dared envision. Fewer still have prepared for it.

The basic strategy: use a large number of attackers to overwhelm a target city’s ability to respond, and then suddenly switch focus to high value targets and seize hostages.

NP Tarek Fatah:

As ridiculous as this may sound, chances are that countless Muslims are deluding themselves into believing that it is not their co-religionists who are responsible for the savagery let loose on India, but some hidden U.S.-Zionist conspiracy against Islam.

AP Mumbai,India :

The terror attacks that rocked India's financial capital may depress stocks, dampen tourism and slow new investment, but are unlikely to inflict long-term damage on the nation's economy, analysts and business people said Thursday.

Telegraph UK:

More than 24 hours after Islamic extremists launched a series of devastating gun and grenade attacks on Western targets – with a British tycoon among those killed – soldiers were still battling to free more than 200 people either held hostage or hiding in their rooms.

Telegraph UK -Amir Taheri:

The Army of Muhammad is back. This was the message buzzing in radical Islamist circles yesterday as the world tried to absorb the shock of the terrorist attacks in Bombay, India's economic capital.

While it is not yet clear which group was behind the attacks, it looks as if the perpetrators were trying to imitate the tactic of ghazwa, used by the Prophet against Meccan caravans in his decade-long campaign to seize control of the city.

Telegraph UK The Mumbai Attack in pictures.

The Statesman:

The terrorists who carried out multiple strikes in Mumbai yesterday landed on Indian shores on a boat that had set sail from Karachi before anchoring in one of the many barren islands in the Rann of Kutch along Gujarat's coastline.
The 25-30 terrorists then used smaller boats to reach the Mumbai shores the same day they struck at 12 locations in the country's financial capital.

FT Asia

Indian commandos fought room-to-room battles with terrorists in two Mumbai luxury hotels on Thursday night as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in effect blamed Pakistan for the attacks.

.

God Bless America

Top Ten

from National Catholic Register:



Top 10 reasons to be thankful after the election :

10. Hollywood will make movies that treat America as great again …

9. Schools will show unqualified respect for the presidency, again. (Tell your kids to do their President’s Day report on W., just for fun.)

8. We no longer have to deal with people’s “Bush defense shields” every time we talk about our issues.

7. If thing don’t go well (and, ahem, have you seen the financial news lately?) it won’t be on the pro-life side’s watch.

6. The March for Life is going to be huge. And two days after the inauguration.

5. A man whose race was first brought to American en masse as slaves has risen to the highest office in the land.

4. There’s still a pro-life majority.

3. We can capitalize on our huge pro-marriage wins.

2. Our hope is in the one who created everything, and he’s pro-life, pro-marriage and still in control.

1. A lot more people will be inspired to pray ... and evangelize.

— Tom Hoopes

Fr. Corapi Thanksgiving Message

Every Thanksgiving we are reminded to do for at least one day what should be a constant dimension of our spiritual life: Give Thanks. The prayer of thanksgiving is one of the major forms of prayer, along with adoration, reparation, intercession, and impetration (asking for what we need) to name some of the major categories of prayer.

This year, as always, we should count our blessings whoever we are and wherever we are. In the United States of America we should carefully and clearly think of what makes this country great, the essentials that were there from the beginning and that define what we are. By the same token, we should carefully, clearly, and courageously define what is not part of the true fabric of our nation’s very essence. Things that have become an everyday part of American life threaten to destroy the real country, the one the Founding Fathers founded on Christian principles. Anti-human realities such as abortion, euthanasia, fetal stem cell research, human cloning, pornography, and homosexual sexual relations—all of these are foreign to what this country is about and always was about. We should thank God for this, for if this were not true we would have ceased to exist long ago. God has to be first in our lives, not economic prosperity. If you are right with God, the economic factor will fall into place. If not, then greed, fraud, deceit, and every vice under the sun will rule. No one will trust the government, the corporate world, the professions, etc. The moral unraveling precedes the ultimate unraveling of a nation or a world. Chaos is the inevitable result, and death follows close behind.

Immorality is un-American, and a threat to national security. I said that right after 911, and it is more true than ever. In my lifetime I have experienced the moral erosion of our national consciousness. It’s as if large segments of the population had some portion of their brain removed or their eyes blinded. We should recall that all of the “old ways” are not inferior to some of the “new ways.” We must likewise recall that “God’s ways are not our ways. God’s ways are as far above our ways as the heavens are above the earth.” God can’t indeed write straight with crooked lines. He can bring good out of the worst evil, not that the evil should be accepted or countenanced, but when we’ve done all we can do to fight the evil, know that we haven’t lost. Jesus Christ is the “Lamb of God,” and “Prince of Peace” to be sure, but don’t ever forget that He is also “the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.” The violence and power with which God himself will confront and destroy the evil that threatens us far surpasses anything we could do.

So, this Thanksgiving “thank God for God!” God is in charge! Don’t forget that. God is all-good, all-merciful, all-loving, and all-powerful. He will fight the enemies of what is true and good. “If God is for you, who can be against you!” Thank God for your faith and your family, your health and your wealth—no matter how large or small. The spirit of thanksgiving makes a heavy heart lighter. It’ll clear your head of a thousand worries and concerns. One thing alone is important: your personal relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. If that is right you will be right. If that is right, the entire world can be sinking into hell under the weight of its sins and misery, you will fly above the turmoil, destined for the glory held in store for the sons and daughters of the Lord of the Universe.

Have a blessed and happy Thanksgiving!

Fr. John Corapi

SOLT (Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity) has found several vocations in our parish of St. Ignatius, for whom we pray, and are very grateful.

"Give Thanks Always"

"Among the things it is good for a Catholic to remember today, because they anchor us in a reality outside the quite proper human fellowship we will be celebrating, is the Eucharist, which means, literally in Greek, giving thanks. St. Paul says “give thanks (eucharisteite) always” (1 Thess 5:13) and reports that Jesus Himself even “on the night he was betrayed” gave thanks. (1 Corinthians 11:23). Catholics can bring to the American mix precisely this sense of a gratitude that extends beyond the good things of life as most people understand good, to something much greater, even in the midst of immediate evils, something that exists on an entirely different plane than the greatest regimes, however much we are grateful for them in our human way."

Robert Royal-The Catholic Thing November 27. 2008

(h/t american catholic)

Obama Top Cabinet Post Appointment

SURPRISE!

IOWAHAWK:

...Ending weeks of speculation and rumors, President-Elect Barack Obama today named Bill Clinton to join his incoming administration as President of the United States, where he will head the federal government's executive branch.

"I am pleased that Bill Clinton has agreed to come out of retirement to head up this crucial post in my administration," said Obama. "He brings a lifetime of previous executive experience as Governor of Arkansas and President of the United States, and has worked closely with most of the members of my Cabinet."....

Real Medicine - Spain

Truth Hurts

LifeSiteNews:

Madrid's Carlos III Hospital has provoked a controversy and a government investigation by distributing an informational pamphlet on sexuality that recommends abstinence from sexual intercourse until marriage, mentions that abortion ends a human life, and calls sodomy a "behavioral disturbance" that spreads disease and causes depression.

Although the statements in the pamphlet are conceded by much of the medical establishment and supported by peer-reviewed studies, Madrid's Health Director Juan Jose Guermes expressed outrage at its distribution, and promised a full investigation to determine who was responsible.

"That guide was expressly prohibited," Guermes told the media last week. “We are going to open a reserved informational file to counteract its distribution within the hospital."

Guermes claimed that the guide contained "personal opinions" of "only some" doctors at the Infectious Diseases unit of the hospital. However, he said, their opinions are "not official" and noted that the hospital, which has publicly disassociated itself from the document, had already removed it from circulation.

The pamphlet, a 53-page guide entitled, "Adolescents and AIDS: Questions and Answers," gives medical advice to readers regarding unhealthy sexual practices. It notes that scientific studies indicate that "homosexuality and heterosexuality are not comparable from a health perspective. Homosexuals tend to be more promiscuous, with the physical and emotional problems that (such behavior) supposes."

"Homosexuality is more frequently associated with sexually transmitted diseases and mental disturbances (anxiety, depression) ... it is necessary to be understanding and to help people with homosexual habits: to the extent that it is possible, it is necessary to resolve their behavioral disturbance."

Regarding abortion, the guide states that "although some legal systems, such as that in Spain, allow abortions under certain circumstances, from the biological point of view, abortion is nothing less than the termination of the life of a human being inside the womb of his mother."

The guide also repeats the fact, acknowledged by the United Nations, that condoms have a high failure rate, even when used "properly," stating that contraceptive use has "limited effectiveness" in the face of "the AIDS pandemic, which is growing rapidly." It also condemns the notion that "sex with a condom is safe" which, "besides being false, can be dangerous" because "it conveys messages that trivialize sexuality, encouraging the population to be promiscuous, in an animalistic way."

The pamphlet promotes the "ABC" approach that has been highly effective in Africa, particularly in Uganda. The ABC ("Abstinence, Be faithful, use a Condom") approach prioritizes abstinence and faithfulness due to their effectiveness in preventing the transmission of venereal diseases.

The Spanish newspaper El Mundo opined in its story on the case that the pamphlet "is filled with ideology that contradicts the most basic psychology. And democracy."

The Collective of Lesbians, Gays, Transsexuals, and Bisexuals of Madrid claims that the guide, "does not divulge scientific and objective information."

However, some segments of the commercial media have questioned the furor surrounding a pamphlet that generally conveys medical facts and counsels readers to recognize "true love" rather than cheap pleasure.

"It is necessary to ask if the Public Administration should focus almost exclusively on the most liberal tendencies that support abortion and sexual practices, like masturbation and promiscuity, and even homosexuality on occasion, or if they should also focus on that sector of society that supports a life based on love and faithfulness to one's partner, which in the final analysis is the only certain method for preventing 100% of these diseases?" writes Cristina Arredondo for Gaceta.

"Both the Carlos III (Hospital) and the City of Madrid have wanted to distance themselves from that guide ... why are they looking the other way?" writes El Pais in an editorial. "The fact that more than 75% of AIDS infections are produced by sexual transmission (either because of sick homosexuals or perverted heterosexuals) is a secondary issue. If these careless people knew about the scientific soundness of true love, they would have no doubt: chastity before condoms."

(I live for the day the New York Times prints an editorial like that!)

Tragedie Quebecois

MES AIEUX



This protest song had me in tears.( Well, I'm getting old!) My Grandpere Jules Chabot and my Grandmere Rose Beaudoin had 13 children. They moved from St.Justin to Marie Reine, north of Peace River, Alberta, to homestead when my mother (the eldest) was 10.
I am grateful for their sacrifices, and their strong Catholic faith - passed on to my mother, who bore 10 children. I am grateful for my Dad and his strong pioneer roots. I am grateful for my husband, and his parents, for their generosity and love. I am grateful for my own eight children.I am grateful.

And I cry when I think of all that has been lost in Quebec.


(h/t first things)

Terror In Bombay

UK TIMES:

...At least 80 people were killed, 250 injured and up to 100 taken hostage by suspected Islamic terrorists in a series of attacks in Bombay targeting British and American citizens.

Militants attacked a crowded railway station, two luxury hotels and a backpacker bar with automatic rifles, bombs and grenades. All the sites were in the south of India’s financial capital.

The hostages were seized at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel, where a group of British MEPs were staying, and the Oberoi nearby. Paramilitary forces had gathered around both buildings. A police inspector said: “The terrorists are throwing grenades at us from the rooftop of the Taj and trying to stop us from moving in.”

A taxi was bombed near the international airport. At Leopold Café, a bar popular with tourists and backpackers, witnesses described pools of blood and bullet-scarred walls. Three senior policemen, including the chief of Bombay’s anti-terror squad, were killed in stand-offs with gunmen.

A group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen e-mailed Indian news organisations claiming responsibility.

The co-ordinated attacks, on soft Western targets, showed all the signs of an al-Qaeda strategy. Intelligence “chatter” in recent weeks indicated that al-Qaeda was plotting an attack. The first incidents were reported at about 10pm local time. Early accounts were confused as mobile phone networks jammed and the city’s police control room was flooded with calls from terrified members of the public. At first, the violence was thought to be part of a gang turf war. Then it became clear that it was a terror attack.

Five hours after the attack began, the Taj Majal Palace was set on fire, gutting the upper floors, where the hostages were thought to be held....

(h/t american papist)

Why I Homeschool : Reason # 4001

Parents feuding over whether or not to allow children to wear 'costumes' to school Thanksgiving Feast:
(L.A.Times)

....Among the costume supporters, there is a vein of suspicion that casts Raheja and others opposed to the costumes as agenda-driven elitists. Of the handful of others who spoke with Raheja against the costumes at the board meeting, one teaches at the University of Redlands, one is an instructor at Riverside Community College, and one is a former Pitzer College professor.

Raheja is "using those children as a political platform for herself and her ideas," Constance Garabedian said as her 5-year-old Mountain View kindergartner happily practiced a song about Native Americans in the background. "I'm not a professor and I'm not a historian, but I can put the dots together."

The debate is far from over. Some parents plan to send their children to school in costume Tuesday -- doubting that administrators will force them to take them off. The following day, some plan to keep their children home, costing the district attendance funds to punish them for modifying the event.

"She's not going to tell us what we can and cannot wear," said Dena Murphy, whose 5-year-old son attends Mountain View. "We're tired of [district officials] cowing down to people. It's not right."....

gobble,gobble...

Youth In Action : "Volition"

LifeSiteNews:

... Tim and Matthew Morgan have somehow produced a first-class short film that masterfully deals with the taboo issue of abortion despite working with a budget that would pay for approximately thirty seconds of a Hollywood blockbuster. "Volition," first created for a short film competition, is as yet unknown, but will soon, I predict, become very well known indeed, as it very well should.

Indeed, Volition is an astonishing achievement. The film itself is not made any greater by the fact that Tim Morgan, who directed it, is only 23-years-old, and that his brother, who composed all of the music, is only 20-years-old, but the ages of the brothers does help put the scope of their accomplishment into even greater relief.

Volition places its central character, who goes unnamed, in the historical contexts of what the filmmakers clearly believe to be three of the greatest human rights violations in history: the holocaust, slavery, and abortion. In each of these situations the protagonist is placed in a position of some authority, with the promise of more to come: in the first, he is a Nazi who is being considered for a promotion; in the second, he is a respected American physician who has travelled to Africa and studied the blacks; and in the third, he is a promising medical student on scholarship whose girlfriend is pregnant.

The premise is as clever and well-executed as it is effective. It purpose is clear: by placing the same figure, presumably with the same sort of upbringing, and the same genetic and temperamental predispositions, into the crucible of extreme historical times that demand a response, we may observe his choices, or, in other words, we may try his “volition.”...

Watch The Independent Film "Volition"

How To Raise An Idiot

...send him to university unprepared to do daily battle with 'educated people' for control of his speech and thought!

One of Canada's 'top' universities and home of one of their 'best' medical schools- Queen's University, exemplifies the stifling atmosphere on campuses across the country:(Ben-Ami)

....the “intergroup dialogue program” is part of a broader initiative by the university to “foster diversity and encourage students to think about their beliefs”. What could be more benign?

To accomplish these objectives, however, the school will be deploying “student facilitators” whose job it will be, in part, to monitor private conversations on campus and to jump in when they hear someone using terms that could be interpreted as homophobic, sexist, or otherwise bigoted. These facilitators will also be responsible for initiating “spontaneous” conversations about issues and organizing discussion groups and other activities for the same purpose.

So far, critics have focused their attention almost exclusively on the possibility that the reactive aspect of the program – intervening in private conversations – might impinge upon the freedom of speech or freedom of expression of students, a not unreasonable fear. I’m more worried about the proactive aspects of the project – the so-called “spontaneous” conversations and discussion groups on issues that the program envisions.

Clearly something of this nature must have a set of standards to determine whether or not a conversation is offensive enough to warrant an “intervention” by facilitators. What are those standards, and how will they be applied to the “spontaneous” conversations and discussion groups the facilitators are also mandated to initiate, particularly if these conversations and discussions deal with controversial subject matter? The war in Iraq, abortion, the gay agenda, radical feminism – it’s not hard to imagine a list of topics where feelings run high and where dissent is rarely tolerated these days, let alone respected, especially on university campuses. Will facilitators create an environment where dissent is welcome, or will they use their quasi-authoritative positions to try and convince the dissenters of their sins and persuade them to return to the warm and friendly embrace of neo-orthodox opinion? I for one am not optimistic.

The explanation offered by representatives of Queen’s University that this program encourages diversity and independent thinking simply makes no sense. By challenging and effectively suppressing non-conformist behaviour and opinion, it seeks to induce uniformity of thought and expression, otherwise there would be no purpose in intervening in private conversations in the first place.

Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of examples of stupid and offensive ideas out there, and I’m all for confronting those who express those ideas, but any confrontation ought to be spontaneous and it ought to be limited to truly private individuals rather than agents of the state posing as private individuals...

Catholic Carnival #200!!

"Shearing The Sheep" is now 'up' at Just another day of Catholic pondering...

This week, I'm inviting you to our barn, where we'll be holding a rather unique edition of the Catholic Carnival....

Life Roundup

"U of C Prolifers Have What We Need - Guts"

"Pro-Abortion Med Student Shrinks From 'Disturbingly Brutal' Procedure"

"Tidal Wave Of Death"

"Timeless Family Values Supported By Science"

"Pro-FOCA Supporters Lie About Bill's Reach"

Politically Incorrect

Real Clear Politics has an interesting rant about things no one will agree to in polite company :

...After some 20 years of teaching mostly minority youth Greek, Latin, and ancient history and literature in translation (1984-2004), I came to the unfortunate conclusion that ethnic studies, women studies--indeed, anything "studies"-- were perhaps the fruits of some evil plot dreamed up by illiberal white separatists to ensure that poor minority students in the public schools and universities were offered only a third-rate education....The New York Times and Washington Post are as likely to have op-eds as news stories on the front page. Newsweek and Time became organs for paint-by-numbers Obamism, teased with People Magazine-like gossip pieces.....California is now a valuable touchstone to the country, a warning of what not to do. Rarely has a single generation inherited so much natural wealth and bounty from the investment and hard work of those more noble now resting in our cemeteries--and squandered that gift within a generation....Do not farm. There is only loss. To the degree that anyone makes money farming, it is a question of a vertically-integrated enterprise making more in shipping, marketing, selling, packing, and brokering than it loses on the other end in growing. No exceptions...No longer can any professor expect an incoming college freshman to know what Okinawa, John Quincy Adams, Shiloh, the Parthenon, the Reformation, John Locke, the Second Amendment, or the Pythagorean Theorem is. An entire American culture, the West itself, its ideas and experiences, have simply vanished on the altar of therapy. This upcoming generation knows instead not to judge anyone by absolute standards (but not why so); to remember to say that its own Western culture is no different from, or indeed far worse than, the alternatives; that race, class, and gender are, well, important in some vague sense; that global warming is manmade and very soon will kill us all; that we must have hope and change of some undefined sort; that AIDs is no more a homosexual- than a heterosexual-prone disease; and that the following things and people for some reason must be bad, or at least must in public company be said to be bad (in no particular order): Wal-Mart, cowboys, the Vietnam War, oil companies, coal plants, nuclear power, George Bush, chemicals, leather, guns, states like Utah and Kansas, Sarah Palin, vans and SUVs....

Therapy anyone?

Liberals Are Not Pro-Woman, They Are Pro-Abortion

American Thinker:

....The continuous assault on Sarah Palin is not so difficult to understand. In fact, it can be summed up thusly: she's a woman opposed to abortion. You see, when a man says he's opposed to abortion, women who disagree can accuse him of trying to control a woman's body and/or simply not understanding how a woman feels about dealing with pregnancy, career achievement and defeating the "good ole boy" network. But, how are they going to justify that to a Sarah Palin, who has raised a family, been elected to the highest office in her state and has gained a reputation as a corruption fighter? And a woman decided to keep, raise, and love a Down syndrome child, her son Trig.

Governor Palin represents a stake in the heart of the abortion movement and for that reason alone, she must be sniped at, ridiculed and trashed until her name becomes a scarlet letter on the bosom of every woman who dares to challenge the inner sanctum of liberal orthodoxy....

Its much harder to justify abortion as the panacea of feminist freedom and choice when one woman like Sarah Palin can overcome all their objections to valuing EVERY life - by her own everyday example of feminist freedom. She exemplifies every woman's freedom to choose to be fully active, fully intelligent,fully successful,and fully woman. Its especially the exercise of the freedom to be fully woman and human that irks the abortion lobby, and most threatens it.

"To a great extent the level of any civilization is the level of its womanhood. When a man loves a woman, he has to become worthy of her. The higher her virtue, the more her character, the more devoted she is to truth, justice, goodness, the more a man has to aspire to be worthy of her. The history of civilization could actually be written in terms of the level of its women."~Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

"A mother is the most important person on earth. She cannot claim the honor of having built Notre Dame Cathedral. She need not. She has built something more magnificent than any Cathedral -- a dwelling for an immortal soul, the tiny perfection of her baby's body".( Cardinal Joseph Mindszenty)

"We Fail To Learn From History"

Star Psrker:

...How can you not feel that emptiness in the pit of your stomach as you watch our financial markets spin downward? The broad stock market indices are down well over 40 percent since the beginning of the year. Losses are somewhere in the neighborhood of $9 trillion.

The real economic realities behind these numbers are starting to show up. The only question at this point is how severe the recession we are now entering will be.

Maybe, when everyone is depressed I am supposed to write cheery things to encourage folks. But I can't, because I care about our country and what I see is not encouraging.

We just had a presidential election that in some circles produced a lot of euphoria. But I believe that at some point -- I hope sooner rather than later -- many Americans are going to wake up and realize that this election was not a cure for our problems but a symptom of the disease....

And Now For Something Completely Different...

A fair review of some good things accomplished by President George Bush:

...BLUNTING THE METASTASIS OF ABORTION
Like Dostoyevsky's Raskolnikov, one act of killing requires more acts of killing to legitimize itself. This has been the real agenda behind the enigmatic enthusiasm for stem-cell research and the furious criticism of bans on late-term, or "partial-birth," abortion. It was an act of singular political courage for Mr. Bush to see this agenda for what it was, expose it publicly for what it is, and obstruct it for as long as he has....

(h/t ProWoman ProLife)

Public Service Announcement : HRC Reform

Action needed now.



Richard Moon’s report on the Human Rights Commission, released November 24, cost you more than $1000 per page. But it is worth it IF the government acts upon the number one recommendation. I think most taxpayers will insist that the government do what he recommends : repeal section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Regulation of Hate Speech on the Internet. Mr. Moon’s first and main recommendation is just that. “The first recommendation is that section 13 of the CHRA be repealed, so that the CHRC and the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) no longer deal with hate speech, and in particular hate speech on the Internet.”

Read his report here.



Getting rid of this troublesome and dangerous clause doesn’t fix the bigger problem of zealous and power driven appointees at the CHRC and its provincial counterparts abusing their authority. But lets start. Now.



Here is what we ask you to do:



1) call the Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper and ask him to fulfill recommendation number one of this $50,000 report.

REPEAL Section13.

Ask him to also fulfill the strong wishes of his own party membership, who at the recent convention, strongly passed a resolution on this very matter.



2) call Justice Minister Rob Nicholson and ask him to ensure the law is changed to prevent further abuses by HRC staff against citizens who speak freely on issues that involve ALL of us. Unfortunately Department of Justice lawyers have not supported the notion of this change.



These calls can be made via 1-866-599-4999.

Their emails are:
Harper.S@parl.gc.ca and Nicholson.R@parl.gc.ca .




(Canada Family Action Coalition via Suzanne Fortin)

"If Stephen Harper Doesn't Care, Why Should We?"

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is sucking the west into his vortex of inhumanity by ignoring the call for freedom of expression on the abortion issue IN PARLIAMENT. By vowing to prevent ANY DISCUSSION he has set the tone for others:

LifeSiteNews

....Dr. Harvey Weingarten, president of the U of C, has stated in the past, "The role of universities is to promote, permit and enable the free exchange of ideas, debate and civil discourse. If universities do not support these values, which societal institutions will?" The president's comment reflects the university's own policy laid out in its Academic Calendar showing that the University aims "to promote free inquiry and debate."

However, the university is justifying its censorship of the pro-life display because of anonymous complaints, and claims that the display could provoke violent reactions. However, there have been no such incidents on the previous five occasions the display has been shown on campus.

"Banning an event because of the possibility of someone else being violent towards it, is like telling women they are not allowed to walk on campus at night because of the possibility they may be sexually assaulted," stated Leah Halllman, president of CPL...

"Dedicated To Gordon Brown"

in honour of the great work he has done since becoming Prime Minister.





(Indianapolis Star)


(see previous articles on the HFE Bill)
Two Headed Monsters
Brave New World
Defending Against Unaccountable Power

Truth To Youth

An article in this week's National Cathoilc Register gives a good report of the recent work of Human Life International , spreading educational materials on campuses across the country:

....Maria Gagliano of Vanderbilt University heard about Human Life Alliance (HLA) when she attended a Students for Life of America conference at the University of Tennessee last fall.

“The Human Life Alliance materials were so eye-catching and well-researched,” she said. Gagliano’s pro-life group ordered 2,500 copies of Human Life Alliance’s latest publication, a glossy, colorful 12-page newspaper insert entitled “We Know Better Now,” which they plan to distribute at Vanderbilt.

“It covers all the important pro-life issues, shares hard-hitting stories, and is easy to read,” said Gagliano. “When I first saw it, I thought, ‘This is great; this is something we can use.’”

“We Know Better Now” is the latest in a series of fact-filled pro-life publications that Human Life Alliance, based in Minneapolis, has produced since 1991. Human Life Alliance found its beginning with the efforts of Minnesota pro-life advocates in the late 1960s, “when few people in the pro-life movement thought that the abortion argument would be decided by the courts,” noted Joe Langfeld, HLA’s deputy director. “After Roe passed, the mission became somewhat delineated. Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life became the principal lobbying group, and board members who wanted to focus more on educational ventures incorporated Human Life Alliance.”

While the first HLA insert, “She’s a Child, Not a ‘Choice,’” ran in major city newspapers, a pro-life advocate in California suggested that HLA consider sending it to college newspapers, as well. “She’s a Child, Not a ‘Choice’” subsequently ran in the University of Minnesota campus newspaper, the Minnesota Daily — after considerable resistance from the paper’s student editors — and prompted more than three months of public discussion and debate via letters to the editor...

Is It A New World For Down's Babies?

INDEPENDENT U.K.:

....a survey timed to coincide with the release of figures from the National Down Syndrome Cytogenetic Register finds parents more accepting of the possibility that their child might have Down's. The Down's Syndrome Association, in conjunction with the BBC, questioned 1,000 of its members to find out why parents where increasingly likely to push on with a pregnancy where the child had Down's syndrome.

Previous consensus had attributed the rise to the fact that women are increasingly having babies at a later age, which increases the risk of Down's, but the latest survey suggests there are other reasons at play.

The results of the survey showed that, although a third of respondents said religious or pro-life leanings meant they were against the idea of abortion, many parents also felt that Britain had become a much better place to bring up a child with Down's syndrome.

A quarter of the parents said that they already knew people with Down's syndrome or other disabilities and that had influenced their decision to continue with the pregnancy. Thirty-five per cent said they felt that life and society had improved for people with Down's syndrome, while almost half had not believed they would eventually have a child with Down's syndrome, and so had continued with the pregnancy.

"We are all very surprised by this," said Carol Boys, chief executive of the Down's Syndrome Association. "When I and others had our babies it was a very different world – those with Down's syndrome were treated very differently. Now there is much greater inclusion and acceptance, with mainstream education having a huge role. We think this plays a part in the decisions parents make – there's even been a baby with Down's syndrome on EastEnders.".....

If nothing else good comes of the November election in the US, we can all pray that Sarah Palin's candidacy at least showed the country a 'can do' attitude towards accepting and loving our own families!