Chicago lost the 2016 Summer Olympic Games to Rio de Janeiro.  Unless they are going to adjust the dates, the Summer games will occur during Winter in Brazil.  Wikipedia (yeah, I know, not the most authoritative source) says the 2016 games will occur from August 5 through 21.  August in the Southern hemisphere (that’s where Brazil is for you recent public school graduates) is like February in the Northern hemisphere.  This isn’t an EPIC fail, it’s an OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL fail.

OK, I checked a little further and it turns out that Rio is fairly tropical.  The lowest recorded temperature is around 40 F with an average for August between 64 F on the low side and 81 F on the high side.  Still, the Summer games will, for the first time ever, be held in South America**, a place where it is officially Winter.  Maybe not a gold medal fail but still a fail.

** I am reminded (thanks c_t!) of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.  Also, there were the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne (which I don’t remember because they were 2 years before I was born).  So, I have revised my post and I now stand corrected (orthopedic shoes).

I’ve read many of the posts and comments about the Gates incident but I don’t think I’ve seen any analyzing one aspect of what The One said:

“But I think it’s fair to say, No. 1, any of us would be pretty angry”

Just who are the “us” he is talking about?  Is he referring to free citizens in the United States of America?  If so, it’s sort of an odd construct.  Wouldn’t it be more natural to say “anyone would be pretty angry”?  I must conclude that The One is referring to some subset of free citizens in the United States of America.  Since The One is clearly not a white Cambridge police officer, you get three guesses about what subset ”us” refers to, and the first two don’t count. 

I seriously doubt that the answer to the question about the Gates incident came from TOTUS.  Therefore, I believe The One has shown us his true “colors”, so to speak; there is nothing about this person or his agenda that is “post-racial.”

Article here:

http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/stories/2009/07/06/daily1.html

So, years of bankruptcy precedent is again turned on its head but that’s not what this post is about.  I’m wondering if anybody else has noticed something about who one of the new owner’s of GM will be:

Besides the U.S. government, the Canadian government and health care trust for the United Auto Workers

What strikes me is this:  If we’re going to have universal health care coverage, why does the UAW need a health care trust?  I mean, the government is going to give us our health care, right?  What sort of health care is the trust going to pay for?  Further, once universal health coverage is established (God forbid), where will all the money that I am assuming is held in the UAW health care trust going to go?  Let’s just say I doubt it will go back to the rank and file assembly line workers.  

Apologies in advance for this being short.  I have a couple of briefs due and I had to get this out of my head so I could concentrate on search and seizure issues.   I’m sure y’all will let me know if you think I’m barking at the moon or seeing black helicopters.

In a syndicated column appearing in my local fishwrap today, Amy Goodman laments “The price of lax enforcement”:

George Tiller did not have to die. He was assassinated at his church Sunday in Wichita, Kan., targeted for legally performing abortions.  His death may have been prevented simply through enforcement of existing laws.

His alleged killer was seen vandalizing a Kansas City clinic, Aid for Women, both the week before and the day before the killing, putting glue into the door locks.  The manager of that clinic, who calls himself “Jeff Pederson” to protect his identity, told me he called the FBI and local police both times, but the vandal, Scott Roeder, was not arrested.  Pederson had his first name and his license-plate number.  He had him recorded on the security video. He recognized him from previous protests.

SNIP

Pederson called Colburn, reporting the second vandalism and letting him know he had better video.  Pederson said Colburn told him, “The Johnson County prosecutor won’t do anything until the grand jury convenes.”  The next day, Tiller was killed, allegedly by Roeder.

SNIP

But Dr. Susan Robinson was adamant.  She flies to Wichita every month to perform abortions in Tiller’s clinic.  She said, “It is generally regarded amongst those who do clinic security, if local authorities are not responsive, if they don’t show up or they don’t vigilantly enforce the law, that it encourages the anti-abortion people to push it further and further.”

She said:  “In Wichita, Dr. Tiller was constantly dealing with the same lack of enforcement. Wichita prohibits placing signs on city property.  But they allow the anti-abortion protesters to set up dozens of crosses and leave them all day.  Dr. Tiller went to the city attorney over the crosses, and complained that people block the clinic driveway.  He told me that the city attorney said, ‘I ”would rather be sued by George Tiller than the anti-abortion folks.’

The 1994 federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act makes it a crime to block or damage a reproductive health service facility.

Enforcing the act saves lives.  George Tiller will be buried on Saturday.

Link:  http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/jun/05/the-price-of-lax-enforcement/

So, actions of this so called doctor and those who advocate for no restrictions of any sort on abortion had absolutely nothing to do with his death?  Don’t get me wrong - - Tiller’s killing was an act of murder; it was not a justifiable homicide.  The fact remains that Tiller pushed the legality of abortion to its extreme limits (and probably beyond).  Those who supported him rose up at every turn against even the most logical and reasonable restriction on the practice of abortion.  Given their extremism, a collision with an extremist in opposition to them was inevitable.  Tiller’s killer has blood on his hands.  So do those who support wholesale access to abortion without any restriction.

I’m listening to Erick on Hannity with Curtis Sliwa guest hosting right now (Noon:40 pm PDT).  Now when I read his work I will hear his voice!

The following YouTube video (link below) from the Cardinal Newman Society features Fr. John Corapi of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT).  Fr. Corapi is one of the most dynamic speakers the Catholic Church has ever known and you’ll never get anything watered-down or sugar coated from him.  He’s seen it all from growing up in upstate New York to military service, from the Nevada Gambling Commission to millionaire real estate mogul, from homeless cocaine addict in a mental hospital to ordination by Pope John Paul II in St. Peter’s Square.  Fr. Corapi offers a clear message on the Notre Dame Scandal and advice for how Catholic colleges and universities can reclaim their Catholic identity (at the 3:59 mark).  Interestingly, he calls for a return to core values and commitment to moral leadership.

Why do I put this up here?  Aside from continuing to call attention to the Notre Dame Scandal, I believe Fr. Corapi’s words for the Church apply to the current state of the GOP.  He challenges the Church to choose principle over prestige and morality over popularity.  This is exactly what is wrong inside the Beltway.  We would all do well to heed the advice of a man who has truly “been there and done that.”

Link to video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X89_XLYbpxU

Date:  Tax Day, April 15, 2009

Time:  4:30 p.m.

Location:  Currently slated for Riverfront Park near the Opera House, may be moved to private property due to potential for sponsorship.  Will update if it changes.

Web Site:  http://www.meetup.com/The-Spokane-Tax-Day-Tea-Party/

The University of Notre Dame has invited the former junior senator from the State of Illinois to be its 2009 commencement speaker.  The invitation has provoked and angered faithful Catholics all over the country.  As of Noon today, over 122,000 people have signed an online petition sponsored by the Cardinal Newman Society*.  The petition can be found at http://notredamescandal.com/.  Lest there be any doubt that this invitation is scandalous to faithful Catholics, I refer you to the response of Bishop D’Arcy, ordinary for the diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, where Notre Dame is located.  The Bishop said:

President Obama has recently reaffirmed, and has now placed in public policy, his long-stated unwillingness to hold human life as sacred.  While claiming to separate politics from science, he has in fact separated science from ethics and has brought the American government, for the first time in history, into supporting direct destruction of innocent human life.

This will be the 25th Notre Dame graduation during my time as bishop.  After much prayer, I have decided not to attend the graduation. I wish no disrespect to our president, I pray for him and wish him well.  I have always revered the Office of the Presidency. But a bishop must teach the Catholic faith “in season and out of season,” and he teaches not only by his words — but by his actions.

Bishop D’Arcy’s full statement can be found here:  http://www.diocesefwsb.org/COMMUNICATIONS/statements.htm.

This invitation is in direct violation of “Catholics In Political Life,” the 2004 statement of the US Bishop’s Conference (http://www.usccb.org/bishops/catholicsinpoliticallife.shtml), which clearly states “The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles.  They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.”

In response to the outrage, Notre Dame President, Fr. John Jenkins, stated:

“The invitation of President Obama to be our Commencement speaker should in no way be taken as condoning or endorsing his positions on specific issues regarding the protection of life, such as abortion and embryonic stem cell research,” Jenkins said.

These “crucial differences” in positions on the protection of life are not being ignored in extending the invitation to the president, Jenkins said, but rather can be used as a catalyst for dialogue.

“We are not ignoring the critical issue of the protection of life.  On the contrary, we invited him because we care so much about those issues, and we hope … for this to be the basis of an engagement with him,” Jenkins said.

“You cannot change the world if you shun the people you want to persuade, and if you cannot persuade them … show respect for them and listen to them,” he said.

Source:  http://www.ndsmcobserver.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticlePrinterFriendly&uStory_id=4ea95c8c-3aa3-4102-8cb3-80c9652d48b0

Fr. Jenkins thinks he can have dialogue with, engage and persuade the president on “critical issues” we “care so much about”.  Well, Father, I can tell you what the One’s answer will be:  I won.

In a symposium at National Review Online, Fr. George Rutler says it best:

This is a highly cynical act, contemptuous of the Church’s prophetic voice in civil society and wagering that there will be no retribution.  If a midwestern school seeks attention by granting Mr. Obama an honorary doctorate in law, the next logical step would be to grant Judas Iscariot posthumously an honorary doctorate in business administration.

http://article.nationalreview.com/print/?q=OTBlNmY2NzM4ODdkNDY0NzRjMzA3OTZlYjg5YzcwYjU  

Let’s leave aside the moral issues for a moment.  Aren’t honorary degrees supposed to be given to people who have actually done something with their lives, made some significant contribution to society and/or generally made the world a better place?  How on Earth can Notre Dame justify rewarding the former junior senator from the State of Illinois in this fashion?  If I were a past recipient of an honorary degree from Notre Dame, I would return it, probably folded into a paper airplane.  Oh, yeah, I’d do the same thing based on the moral issues as well.

Last night Hannity reported that a Notre Dame spokesman said the protest response was “nothing beyond what we anticipated.”  That is perhaps the saddest thing of all:  they knew how faithful Catholics would react and they went ahead and did it any way.

Notre Dame has long given indications that it is no longer a Catholic university.  It has now put the final nail in the coffin, or, rather, the Cross.

* The Cardinal Newman Society is “dedicated to renewing and strengthening Catholic identity at America’s 224 Catholic colleges and universities” (http://www.cardinalnewmansociety.org/AboutUs/tabid/53/Default.aspx).  

Saw a bumper sticker yesterday.  White lettering on a blue background.  It said, “RED SUCKS”.  Made me feel so Hopey Changey.  Pay attention 48.  52 really has absolutely no use for your friendship, good will, charity, compassion, kindness, patriotism, civic spirit, pride in America, any good, old-fashioned Red quality you want to name.  “RED SUCKS” is what they truly think.  God help us.

On Tuesday or Wednesday of this past week I heard something on the radio that was so amazing that I almost couldn’t believe my ears.   During an ABC radio news break the female personality (Cheri Preston, I think) identified the college basketball tournament that started this weekend as the “NAACP tournament”.  Sigmund Freud would have been proud.  I can just imagine if Rush or Hannity had said it - - you would not be able to hear yourself think over the cries of “raaaaaaaaacism!!!!!”

It was either between 9:00 am and Noon, Pacific time, during Dennis Miller or, more likely, between Noon and 3:00 pm, Pacific time, during Sean Hannity.  I would love to be able to have a recording of that.  I have no idea what I would do with it if I could find it; mostly I want to make sure I don’t need to have my hearing checked.

P.S. - - Look out North Carolina.  GO ZAGS ! ! !

So, Obama disses Gordon Brown last week and this week brings renewed IRA violence in Northern Ireland:  http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,507964,00.html

The key point from the article: “The attacks were the first killings of British security forces in Northern Ireland since 1998.”

Now, I know that correlation doesn’t always prove causation but isn’t this timing just a little too coincidental?  Just saying . . .

P. S. - - I’m more of an observer and commenter and rarely start my own posts.  I looked for an open thread for this but couldn’t find one.  My apologies if this is too short to really qualify as a diary.  It was rattling around in my head and I had to let it out.

If Speaker Pelosi had any real honest belief that she was able to call herself an ardent practicing Catholic while supporting abortion rights, that belief must now go where all other delusions go to die.  She may be able to ignore the numerous documents and statements of the Church on the evils of abortion throughout the centuries; she cannot ignore Pope Benedict’s statement today (02-18-09), nor can she try to spin it away.

The Church has always taught that every procured abortion is intrinsically evil.  If you want to be in full communion with the Church, you must accept this teaching as true.  Further, you must not act in any way that facilitates abortion.  If you do, you, by your own actions, put yourself outside of the Church.

There is, however, nothing that requires anyone to be a Catholic.   Don’t argue infant baptism, in which the baby has no choice; continued participation as an adult is up to each individual.  The Church is a voluntary association and, as such, has the right to make and enforce the rules for full participation.

I know analogies aren’t perfect (if they were, would they be digital?) but I think I have come up with one that works, at least for me.

I am a lawyer.  I chose to go to law school, earn my degree and to take and pass the bar exam.  In order to practice law in my state, I had to agree to abide by the Rules of Professional Conduct.  Now, as a government lawyer, I am exempt from some of the rules.  I don’t maintain a client trust account - the police evidence facility takes care of “client” property for me.  However, I cannot decide that I don’t agree with that pesky conflict of interest rule or run around talking to represented defendants without their lawyer’s permission.  If I violate any of the rules I will not be an ardent practicing lawyer for very long.  The bar association and the State Supreme Court will see to it that I am no longer allowed to call myself a lawyer, especially if I flout those rules in a very public fashion.   Substitute the Catechism of the Catholic Church for the Rules of Professional Conduct, the local bishop for the bar association and the Vatican for the Supreme Court and, well,  you all can do the math.

So, although I think she is absolutely wrong to support abortion, clearly today in America Speaker Pelosi can choose to do so.  What she cannot do is choose to support abortion and continue to hold herself out as a faithful Catholic.  I hope and pray that she will at least have the integrity to find another ecclesial community.  Sadly there are plenty out there that will allow her to support the evil of abortion to her heart’s content.

I’m not sure exactly how or even if this would work but it’s rattling around in my brain so I have to share it.

The House Republicans need to band together and introduce legislation to repeal the Mother Of All Pork section by section and line item by line item.  Further, this needs to be done on a regular schedule.  My first thought was to do it weekly but then I had a better idea.  They need to take the number of items to be repealed and divide it into 623, which is the number of days from next Tuesday until Election Day in 2010.  For example, if there are 50 items, a new repeal bill would be introduced approximately every 12 days.  Along with this, they need to introduce bills that will actually do something to fix the economy and/or reduce the size of government, e. g., tax cuts and/or eliminating wasteful programs.  This should be done on an alternating schedule.  Using my example of 50 items from above, the first repealer would drop on 02-17-09 (no sense letting the ink dry) and the first fixer would drop on 02-23-09.  The next repealer would be 6 days after that (adjusting to Friday for Saturday and Monday for Sunday) and the next fixer would be 6 days after that.  I suggest starting with Senator Reid’s pet high speed train followed by reducing the Capital Gains Tax rate, followed by Speaker Pelosi’s pet mouse followed by repealing the Death Tax.

I don’t think there is any way she can prevent members from introducing bills but the first obvious problem is that Princess Pelosi will never allow any of this to be heard in committee much less get to the floor.  I also would not expect MSDNC, Clinton News Network or the New York Times to provide much in the way of coverage.  It seems though that it would not take too long being shut out before that fact becomes part of the story.  Press release videos would need to be shot on the Capitol steps and posted at a new website dedicated to the project.  These could be promoted through talk radio, e-mail and the blogoshpere, which should help bring attention to the effort.  Once the election cycle starts the MSM will have to take notice plus every House Republican will be able to honestly say A) “I tried to stop it” and B) “I tried to fix it” when they are out on the campaign trail.

I know this would be a lot of work at first but once it got rolling it should actually be fun.  Besides, isn’t proposing bills what we pay these folks for?

I have read various comments that Holder is not qualified to be the AG.  He clearly has the education, training and experience so I would not maintain that he isn’t qualified.  It’s what he has done with that education, training and experience that renders him unfit to be Attorney General.

Andrew McCarthy at NRO appears to have unearthed the smoking gun, shown by the piece you will find here:

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=N2NmOGNhMDk5NTk3M2ZhZjA1NDhjNWQ5ZmU2YjhkZWQ=

Seems the choice of the former junior senator from Illinois to be the top law enforcement official in the land has committed perjury two different times, and in a far more egregious fashion than Scooter Libby.  The alternative explanation is that he really isn’t qualified and is just as much an empty suit as his would be boss.  Either way, he should not be confirmed by the Senate but, rather, referred for investigation and prosecution Fitzmas-style.

how about for the next act we start sending Secretary of the Treasury Designate Tim Geithner referrrals from Tax Masters: http://www.txmstr.com/ (or some other similar type of business).  I just heard their ad on Dennis Miller and was inspired by Erick’s Silly Putty ™ bit to suggest this along the same lines.  So, does anyone have an address, preferrably e-mail, for Mr. Geithner?

Of course, if doing this would violate any anti-harassment or anti-spam laws then it wasn’t my idea.

From Catholic Dads.

Subject: Universal Declaration of Human Rights petition needs signing

On December 10th*, pro-abortion groups will present petitions asking the United Nation’s General Assembly to make abortion a universally recognized human right.The Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute created an alternate petition drive that calls for government to interpret the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as protecting the unborn child from abortion. They need at least 100,000 signatures by December 10th, the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

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