Global Warming and Religion Redux.

It was an article I couldn't resist........Global warming is the new religion of First World urban elites from the The Vancouver Sun. It's a story of Australian geologist, Ian Plimer and his arguments against "anthropogenic global warming".
Plimer is the author of six books and 60 academic papers. His latest is entitled "Heaven and Earth -- Global Warming: The Missing Science". In a wikipedia article, Plimer is said to describe man-made global warming as a "fundamentalist religion adopted by urban atheists looking to fill a yawning spiritual gap plaguing the West".

The idea that global warming is more religion than science was something I thought about over two years ago. [Global Warming and Religion]. It's not a new idea. As I mentioned in that earlier post , one can Google the phrase "global warming a religion" (without the quotation marks) and get more than enough information on the subject.

Another thing that interests me about Plimer is that - not only is he a skeptic of anthropogenic global warming - he's a critic of creationism as well.
Plimer isn't afraid to debate creationists; according to the wikipedia article on Plimer, during a debate with creationist Duane Gish, he asked Gish to hold live electrical cables to prove that electromagnetism was 'only a theory'.

I've put Plimer's book on my Amazon.com wish list. Anyone wishing to buy the book for me can send me a note and I'll gladly give you the shipping address.

Popcorn.

I received a link to this video in an email from my friend Mickey.
The video shows groups of people popping popcorn using their cellphones.
I have no idea if this is real or some sort of hoax. I haven't tested this myself, but I will try to duplicate it the next time I am with at least four people with cell phones.
This really creeps me out........

UPDATE:
After receiving a comment from Wayne, I've included a second video as an update.....as well as comments to follow.

The answer?

As I said in the original post, I was not certain if the original video was a hoax. I'd be willing to check that out. But, there is no way in all creation that I will open a microwave and place part of it under a table. The whole idea of doing that is dangerous beyond words.

Face the Truth: Public Education Initiative Videos.

Reading a post yesterday from the blog Is Anybody There? [Then There Is This Attack on Free Speech in Maryland ] I learned of a pro-life group called Defend Life Inc that is suing a number of Maryland State government agencies following the arrest of 18 pro-life demonstrators last year.
As part of the group's so-called Face the Truth Tour, demonstrators stand on the side of the road holding posters showing graphic images of abortions.
On Defend Life's website I found a link to 2 videos [Face the Truth: Public Education Initiative] made during one of their anti-abortion protests.
These videos do not show the arrest of the protesters. The videos will, obviously, show the posters that the Maryland State Patrol did not want shown on the Maryland highways.
The videos are not easy to watch, but I think it is important that they be seen.

Part One



Part Two

Comments on the Execution of Ri Hyon Ok.

Ri Hyon Ok, a 33-year-old mother of three, was publicly executed in the North Korean city of Ryongchon on June 16 of this year.
Her husband, children and parents were sent to a political prison the following day.

Her crime: Distributing the Bible and allegedly spying for South Korea and the United States.

The story can be found on quite a few websites; cathnews.com - hosted.ap.org, to name two....I first came upon her story on catholicnewsagency.com (CNA) [catholicnewsagency.com].

As I write this, 3 comments had been left following the CNA story and it's these comments that I wish to write about.

The first comment was left by one Robert Matzinger who wrote:
Another martyr has perished. Let us pray to Christ and Our Holy Mother that her soul will be received with just rewards from our merciful God.

Mr. Matzinger's is really the only appropriate comment that anyone could make. The other 2 comments were not so well written.

Someone going by the name Jean wrote this piece of garbage:
She was accused of spying.
Anyway, if it was for distributing the bible then this brings infinite joy to my heart. I, like many others, have suffered unspeakable abuses and atrocities, in the name of biblical nonsense.
Justice is being done. :)

I have no idea what sort of "unspeakable abuses and atrocities" Jean may have suffered. I do know, however, only a twisted, horrible person could experience "infinite joy" in her heart at the execution of anyone for practicing their religious beliefs. Whatever "unspeakable abuses and atrocities" Jean may have suffered, those abuses were not committed against her by Ri Hyon Ok.

Finally, we have this comment from Bill of San Jose, Ca.:
That's interesting, I remember when the Church didn't want people reading the Bible either.

The Church, I'm sure, did not publicly execute anyone in Bill's lifetime for distributing the Bible. The fact is, while the Church may not have encouraged Catholics to read the Bible on their own, this was to prevent private, erroneous interpretations of the Bible that were contrary to the true teachings of the Church.

My comment, which I hope will be published within the next 48 hours, was :
"Let us pray for Jean and Bill as well."

People's Tail.

As J.P. and I were feeding the ducks that hang at one of the ponds in the Garden Lakes subdivision, I spotted one duck sporting a strange 'do atop it's head.

It's apparently similar to, but not exactly like, the once popular hair style of the early Rockers known as a Duck's Tail ( aka Duck's Ass or D.A. ) This duck is certainly a nonconformist.

I took this photo with my cellphone. The resolution isn't the greatest. Click on the photo for a better look.

Read it and Weep.

One would think that members of Congress would take the time to read the Bills that come before them before casting a yes or no vote.
Unfortunately, one would be wrong to think that.

As pointed out in the video below, it is unrealistic to expect every Congressman to read every word of every piece of legislation. However, there are some Bills that are just too important to let slide by. Obama's Health Care reform Bill is such a Bill.

An organization going by the name of Let Freedom Ring has come up with a pledge that they have asked all 535 members of Congress to sign regarding the Health Care Bill.

It reads:

Responsible Healthcare Reform Pledge

I, ________________________________, pledge to my constituents and to the American people that I will not vote to enact any healthcare reform package that:

1) I have not read, personally, in its entirety; and,


2) Has not been available, in its entirety, to the American people on the Internet for at least 72 hours, so that they can read it too.

_____________________________________________
Member, United States House of Representatives

At the time of the video, only 62 (or 63) members had signed the pledge. According to the Let Freedom Ring website, as of the time of this writing, the number has risen to 72......all Republicans

That's not encouraging.

One small ray of hope is that my Representative, Phil Gingrey has signed it and has pledged to read the entire Bill.

Sadly,neither Senator from Georgia has signed.

A word of note to family in friends in Dalton; your Congressman, Nathan Deal, has not signed the pledge.

Global Day of Happiness.

Like countless others, my 3 year old son is a fan of Sponge Bob Squarepants.

So, naturally, I was aware that today, July 17th, 2009, Nickelodeon is beginning it's celebration of ten years of Sponge Bob. I am also aware that today is the start of "The Ultimate SpongeBob SpongeBash Weekend."

I just found out - via a link on Drudge - that as part of the celebration, Nick has proclaimed today as the first Global Day of Happiness. The link was to a story of the Mayor of Durham, North Carolina signing a proclamation urging Durham residents to join in.

After a bit of web surfing, I found that Nickelodeon had been asking government officials to get on board and had even written up a sample "proclamation" for the officials' use.
A copy of the proclamation is pasted below:

Sample Proclamation
This language can be used as a sample proclamation for Global Day of Happiness.

Proclaimed to the citizens of ___________________________
(State)

Whereas, on behalf of the citizens of ___________ (Your Sate), I join Nickelodeon in celebrating the first Global Day of Happiness. Due to current affairs a day in honor of happiness is in order, and

Whereas, Nickelodeon kindly requests declaring July 17th a “Day of Happiness” in your city asking citizens to embrace the exuberant behavior of Nickelodeon characters, and their philosophy of optimism, and to dedicate themselves to spending the day soaking up happiness, and

Whereas, a Global Day of Happiness will help recognize simple pleasures, like a smile. The more in tune with one’s happiness, the more one is inspired to commit good deeds, and

Whereas, everyone coming together to honor happiness, will set a positive attitude for the future, and

Whereas, mental health is a worldwide issue, and happiness increases confidence, and self-esteem, which leads to success, and a healthy lifestyle, and

Whereas, this (State) is committed to working to support the welfare, happiness, and success of its citizens,

NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved, that I (Name and title of elected official) do hereby proclaim July, 17th, 2009 to be

Global Day of Happiness in (Your State)

IN OBSERVANCE THEREOF, I call upon the good people of (Your State) to join me in recognizing all those associated with making this endeavor a reality, and wishing them all the very best, and happiness in the future.

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused to be affixed the Great Seal of (Your State) on this _____ day of July 2009.

___________________________________

The First Pitch.

Rush Limbaugh came to President Obama's defense (sort of) recently when commenting on the President's first pitch during the All-Star game.

Rush said that not everyone can be an athlete....and it's clear that Obama isn't....but, Rush said, at least Obama is an athletic supporter. And that's important.

I couldn't agree more.

You can see video of the first pitch at The Lair of the Catholic Cavemen.

The "Pro-Choice" Position is Cowardly and Intellectually Dishonest.

It's been reported that during his visit with Pope Benedict XVI recently, President Obama told the Pontiff that he was committed to reducing the number of abortions.

Many would question Obama's sincerity when he says that; however, for the sake of argument, I'll concede that the President was speaking the truth and he does want to reduce the number of abortions. My question to the President would be...."Why?".

Being pro-life, I understand why someone like myself would want to reduce the number of abortions performed. I know that each fetus is a unique individual - an innocent human being, deserving of the same rights as any other person. We are all created in God's image and it is a sin beyond description to take the life a defenseless, pre-born child.

But why would Obama want to reduce abortions? He,obviously, does not view human life with the same sacredness as those of us with pro-life views. How can he say that abortion is a matter of "choice" if he sees abortion as a tragedy and as something that needs to be done less often?

There is simply no logic in the, so-called "pro-choice" position. I've talked to "pro-choice" women who will argue,
" I could not have an abortion myself, but I can't tell another woman that she can't have one".
If an abortion is a choice that can be left up to an individual (with no restrictions), then how can a "pro-choice" woman say "I could not have an abortion myself...."?

The truth is, the "pro-choice" position is cowardly and intellectually dishonest. Anyone taking the "pro-choice" position is afraid to admit that "right and wrong" are not relative. There are absolute truths and anyone who wants to avoid the issue, by leaving the decision in the hands of the mother, is afraid to face this fact.

T.Boone Blows Wind.

Last year, on August 4, I wrote a post [T.Boone Quixote.] on T. Boone Pickens' plan to help America in our "addiction to foreign oil" using natural gas and windmills.

I guess T.Boone finally got around to reading my criticism of his idea......he just announced [T. Boone Pickens Drops Wind Farm] that even though his plan "made good progress", he's dropping the windmill idea.

It's reported that the ad campaign for T.Boone's plan cost $60 million. Looks like my calling him T.Boone Quixote was right on.

Another Clueless Kennedy Speaks Up.

In an article for Newsweek, former lieutenant governor of Maryland and oldest child of Robert F. Kennedy, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend claims that Barack Insane Hussein Obama represents American Catholics better than Pope Benedict XVI.

Sadly, she may be right. Quite a number of American Catholics Catholics in Name Only may agree with Obama on many issues, however, Ms. Kennedy Townsend doesn't seem to know that the Pope represents the true teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.

She writes;
".....Obama (the community organizer from Chicago) could teach the pope a lot about politics...."
What she fails to realize is that Pope Benedict's role is not the same as the role of a politician. He is obliged to speak the truth.....he is not obliged to agree with the wayward Catholics who have no idea of what it really means to be Catholic.

She claims;
"Pope Benedict, having lived in the safety and security of the Vatican for much of his professional life, is part of this culture that silences dissent."

It is the responsibility of the Vicar of Christ to guide the faithful in understanding Christ's teaching.
Ms. Kennedy Townsend completely misses the point.

ABCNews comes to Obama's Defense.

The photo above is from an article in the New York Post [TAIL TO THE CHIEF]. The article reports that the photo shows President Barack Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy admiring the "pink-satin-draped booty" of 17 year old Mayara Tavares from Rio de Janeiro.

ABCNews was quick to come to Obama's defense with a video of the incident.[video 8049121]

The anchor presenting the video says Obama was....basically.....looking in the girl's general direction and was actually just looking at his feet or checking his footing.

OK, fine, whatever.

Watching the video, you'll see there's no mistaking what's on Sarkozy's mind.

Caritas in Veritate.

Much has already been written about Pope Benedict XVI's new encyclical, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth).
One has to wonder, however, how many of these people commenting on the encyclical, have actually read it in it's entirety?
Washington Post Staff Writer, Jacqueline L. Salmon writes in Pope Criticizes World Economic System, Urges Social Responsibility.
"In the sweeping 144-page document, Benedict sketches a radically different world economy, in which access to food and water is a universal right, wealthy nations share with poorer ones and profit is not the ultimate goal of commerce. He advocates the creation of a "world political authority" to manage the economy."

I'm not sure where the "144-page" figure comes from. I went to the Vatican website (CARITAS IN VERITATE) copied the document onto pdf. and the page total comes to 65.

CBS News calls the document A New Globalization Encyclical.

NYDAILYNEWS says Pope Benedict XVI proposes stunningly radical approach to global economy.

I, for one, will follow the advice of Confiteor at The Lair of the Catholic Cavemen who writes:
"....I would just suggest that everyone take the time to read this text in full before paying any attention to the unsolicitated [sic] analysis of the idiot talking heads, journalists and blog commentators."

The Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, Carl Anderson, has it right when he said,
"Commentators should avoid trying to analyze the pope’s document from their own perspectives or through a political lens. Pope Benedict XVI's comments in this encyclical, like his writing on the economy previously, concern the need for an ethical underpinning in order for any economic system to be sustainable. An ethical underpinning to economic systems must transcend politics."

According to an article on the Catholic News Agency website, Anderson warns against reading the encyclical and then asking how it validates our worldview. Instead, he suggests asking how one's worldview should change in response to the document.

As I mentioned above, I have the encyclical on pdf.. I'll try and read it, though I have a hard time reading long documents such as this one on a computer monitor. Caritas in veritate will be available in book form soon and I may pre-order a copy from Amazon.com.

Either way, I am sure this is something worth reading.

Congratulate Big Al.

I hope you will all join me in congratulating Al Franken on his victory.

The photo above is a screen shot of the message I sent Al. (the email address I used was edited out for obvious reasons). Click on the photo to read the message I sent.

You can do the same by clicking this link.

Sarah's Resignation.

There's not a lot I can say regarding Sarah Palin's resignation as Governor of Alaska. Most of her critics.....which includes the majority of the mainstream Obamaniacal press.... are dissing her for her decision. But, hey; they'd be dissing her no matter what.

Is this going to help her or hurt her in 2012?
I like her, so I fall into the camp that believes it won't hurt. Those that don't like her just don't like her and this really makes no difference in their assessment.

Will I vote for her in the 2012 Republican primary? That depends. I actually still prefer Romney, but we'll just wait and see.

July 4, 2009

Doug Kmiec........

Doug Kmiec........
the Maltese Falcon   Buzzard.

On Again.....Off Again.

Cathy and I are part of a group of families that meet on the first Saturday of each month for a Cenacle and Rosary. There are about ten families involved, although not every family attends every Cenacle. We take turns hosting the Rosary - meeting at a different home each month.

Cathy and I wanted to have the Cenacle in our home this month. This will be the first gathering since we moved into the new house. Generally, we meet at 3:00 PM.....we don't all live in the same city so timing can be inexact.

The hosts of the previous Cenacle will bring the Pilgrim Virgin of Fatima statue and crucifix to our house.

One of the Deacons from St. Mary's church will bless the house at 2:30. The Rosary will follow. After the Rosary, we'll eat and have a house warming party (the non-Catholics will arrive about 4:30 or 5:00).

Cathy and I are both off from work Friday because of the Independence Day holiday. We'll go down to an Asian market in Marietta to get some things that aren't available here in Rome (such as lumpia wrappers ).

Beside, not far from the Asian market we can go to Harry's Market and pick up San Miguel beer.

It doesn't look like I'll be doing any blogging this weekend. At least, this time, it will be by choice. [see: 17 days in the desert.]

Maybe I can manage to post a photo or two Monday.

Slowly, I (re)turn.

After my 17 days in the desert without Internet, I'm finding it difficult getting back into the swing of blogging full tilt.

This is my first morning with Internet....it came back last night when the ATT DSL modem arrived via UPS after I went to work.

I've tried. I've checked my emails, went to Drudge Report, read a post or two at acts of the apostasy.
I've been out of the habit of blogging for so long that I don't know how to begin again.

I actually turned off the PC and went outside to cut the grass. Grass cutting was always a form of therapy (physically and mentally) for me and I've missed not being out doing that these past eleven years.

Has it been that long since I've lived in a house?

After 1 1/2 hours of pushing a lawn mower, it's tempting to write on the Zen of Grass Cutting (or the Yoga of Grass Cutting, if you prefer). I won't bore my readers reader with that epistle just now.

Being sans Internet has had an up side. I haven't been surrounded by Obamamania/Obamaphobia while offline. My D'offus of the Big-Doofus blog might suffer from this exile but I've kept my sanity.