Hasan's Punishment.

From Catholic News Service via catholicphilly.com, Archbishop Timothy M. Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services said he opposes capital punishment for Army Maj. Nidal Hasan. Hasan was sentenced to death Aug. 28 following his conviction of the shootings in the 2009 massacre at Fort Hood, Texas.

I happen to agree with  Archbishop Broglio though I know I'm not going to make any friends by writing a post likely to offend so many of my fellow Conservatives.

Be that as it may, from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

2266 The State's effort to contain the spread of behaviors injurious to human rights and the fundamental rules of civil coexistence corresponds to the requirement of watching over the common good. Legitimate public authority has the right and duty to inflict penalties commensurate with the gravity of the crime. the primary scope of the penalty is to redress the disorder caused by the offense. When his punishment is voluntarily accepted by the offender, it takes on the value of expiation. Moreover, punishment, in addition to preserving public order and the safety of persons, has a medicinal scope: as far as possible it should contribute to the correction of the offender.

 2267 The traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude, presupposing full ascertainment of the identity and responsibility of the offender, recourse to the death penalty, when this is the only practicable way to defend the lives of human beings effectively against the aggressor.
"If, instead, bloodless means are sufficient to defend against the aggressor and to protect the safety of persons, public authority should limit itself to such means, because they better correspond to the concrete conditions of the common good and are more in conformity to the dignity of the human person.
"Today, in fact, given the means at the State's disposal to effectively repress crime by rendering inoffensive the one who has committed it, without depriving him definitively of the possibility of redeeming himself, cases of absolute necessity for suppression of the offender 'today ... are very rare, if not practically non-existent.'

One can hardly argue that, in Hasan's case, "absolute necessity for suppression of the offender" would demand the death penalty. Hasan is paralyzed from waist down.

The decision as to whether or not capital punishment is appropriate shouldn't come from a desire to seek revenge. Executing Hasan will not assuage the grief felt by the family and friends of his victims.

I'm not trying to excuse or justify Hasan's actions. He should be punished for his having massacred more than a dozen human beings.  According to Catholic teaching, in this particular situation, Jesus asks that we not execute this killer. Who am I to go against that?

The Obama Flag.

When I first came upon the photo showing Democrats carrying a U.S. flag with Obama's face on it, (thanks to LarryD) the idea came to me that perhaps I could locate one of these flags and burn it.

An online search lead me to ultimateflags.com where you can by the thing for just $24.95.

The description of the flag from the website is as follows:

" This is a US style Flag with President Barack Obama's face on it celebrating his re-election and showing suport for his leadership."

I copied & pasted the description ......yeah, "support" is misspelled.

Before one gets the idea that Ultimate Flags is some crazy Liberal organization, they also sell a Rebel Obama flag.

Not quite sure who'd buy that.

Naturally, the company has a Facebook page where they welcome comments on their handiwork.

Oddly enough, on their Facebook page, I found the following video.




 Anything for money, I suppose.

The Dumbest Thing I've Ever Read on the Internet.

And that's saying a lot.

From The Guardian:  Imagine: Canadian dentist hopes to clone John Lennon using tooth DNA.

"A Canadian dentist is hoping to clone John Lennon using DNA from one of the singer's rotten teeth. Michael Zuk, who bought Lennon's molar at a 2011 auction, has begun sequencing the former Beatle's DNA."

Doesn't Zuk know that John Lennon has reincarnated?

Gov. Christie's Misunderstanding of Catholic Teaching.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie may very well be a Catholic - he says he is and I'll take his word for that. But, one thing is certain. Gov. Christie does not have a thorough understanding of Catholic teaching, particularly when it comes to homosexuality.

From an article in Bloomberg ,
"Christie told CNN’s Piers Morgan in 2011 that while he is Catholic and his church believes homosexuality is a sin, he doesn’t share the view. 'If someone is born that way, it’s very difficult to say then that that’s a sin,' he said, a quotation reproduced in today’s statement".

The inclination to homosexuality - if someone is born that way, to use Christie's words - is not a sin, according to the Catholic Church. It is the acting out of that inclination that is sinful. Just as being born heterosexual in itself isn't sinful, there are a whole lot of heterosexual acts that are.

It is telling, however that Christie calls himself Catholic but has no problem disagreeing with what he believes the Church teaches. He has all the makings of a cafeteria Catholic if ever there was one.

Of course, the writers of the Bloomberg article don't understand Catholicism any better. Referring to a now famous quote of Pope Francis (taken out of context) they write:

"In July, the faith’s leader, Pope Francis, opposed a stance by his predecessor, Benedict XVI, who had written that gays shouldn’t be priests."

Sorry, Elise Young & Stacie Sherman, Pope Francis hasn't "opposed a stance by his predecessor". This has been discussed and explained often, yet those who don't want to understand won't understand.

The Fox News article on Christie signing a bill banning gay conversion therapy didn't get the facts exactly right either.

"In signing the ban, Christie reiterated his belief that people are born gay and homosexuality is not a sin, a position he first stated in a 2011 interview with CNN's Piers Morgan. That view is inconsistent with his Catholic faith, which teaches that homosexual acts are sins".

The Church does teach that homosexual acts are sinful, but the Church also teaches that being born "gay" is not. Is this point too subtle for journalists?

I guess it would be too much to expect reporters to read the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Then again, I guess that would be asking too much since we can't even get Catholics to read it. 

'Third Gender' Official in Germany.

From Spiegel Online:

The option of selecting "blank", in addition to the standard choices of "male" or female" on birth certificates will become available in Germany from November 1. 

The legislative change allows parents to opt out of determining their baby's gender, thereby allowing those born with characteristics of both sexes to choose whether to become male or female in later life. 

Under the new law, individuals can also opt to remain outside the gender binary altogether.

Let's see how that works out once the Muslims finally take over Germany.

NC Voter Law Has Progressives in a Tizzy.

North Carolina's new voter ID law has caused the panties of Progressives to bunch up uncomfortably.

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory said in a statement concerning the new law,  
“Common practices like boarding an airplane and purchasing Sudafed require photo ID, and we should expect nothing less for the protection of our right to vote”
and  “This new law brings our state in line with a healthy majority of states throughout the country”.

As one might expect, the Washington Post imagines that the real reason behind this law, and others like it, is to suppress the votes of the young, the old, the poor, blacks and Hispanics and everyone who isn't a white, middle class Republican.

In a column by Ari Berman for the Nation - North Carolina Passes the Country's Worst Voter Suppression Law - the editors felt the need to include a photo of a police officer watching over demonstrators near the NC state legislature; an obvious appeal to Progressives' emotional association of police officers to Fascism.

With this law, North Carolina becomes one of 35 states that require ID in order to vote. Like that bastion of Southern racism, Rhode Island :

"Despite the pleas of national Democrats who realized their cover was being blown, the state senate's only black member, Democrat Harold Metts, sponsored a voted ID bill. He said he'd heard complaints about voter fraud for years, telling the story of one poll worker who encountered a voter who couldn't spell his own last name. "

As we all know, ID laws are already in place to prevent senior citizens from purchasing cigarettes, and and minorities from purchasing beer.

Oh, yeah......I wonder which group those Amtrak racists are targeting with  their  photo ID policy?

August, 2013

The coolest, mildest August in Georgia that I can remember.

Division in the Catholic Blogosphere.

Division in the Catholic Blogosphere over Vladimir Putin.

Putin and the (Dis?)Continuity of Catholic Identity.

The Enemy of My Enemy Is Still My Enemy.

The Mayor of Stupidelphia.

It's that time, at last. The time has come for us to cast our ballots for the number one candidate in the race for Mayor of Stupidelphia.

To qualify as Mayor of Stupidelphia, a person should, obviously, through his or her actions, thoughts or words, personify stupidity like no one else.The candidate must be someone who is breathtakingly stupid.......mind numbingly stupid.....stupidité par excellence.

Below, I've listed four people who I feel are most qualified to fill that position.It should go without saying that the Mayor of Stupidelphia would have to be someone who voted for Barack Obama - twice. Although I can't be certain, each of the four nominees appear to fall in line in that area. But, as stupid as voting twice for Obama may be, it takes more than that to become Mayor of Stupidelphia. After all, millions of stupid people did that and they can't all be Mayor.

No, the Mayor of Stupidelphia should be a person so mind-bogglingly stupid that neither Patrick Star nor Otto West would stand a fair chance.

Candidate #1)
Nancy Pelosi.

Ms. Pelosi is an obvious choice. She has said so many incredibly stupid things that the difficulty for me lies in picking just one example. One idea of hers, however, is particularly stupid. According to the Huffington Post, Pelosi believes "Hillary Clinton Would Be 'Best Qualified' To Run In 2016". I kid you not. Nancy Pelosi is that  stupid.

Candidate #2)
Public Policy Polling director Tom Jensen.

In a poll asking voters in Alaska who they would favor as a GOP presidential candidate, Jensen included George Zimmerman among the likely choices. George Zimmerman might be the only living American citizen who would lose  to Hillary Clinton in a Presidential race. He couldn't win if  Robert Zimmerman wrote his campaign song.

Candidate #3)
Paul Rampell

In an opinion piece for the Washington Post, Rampell, a lawyer from Palm Beach, opined that the state of marriage - being what it is today - shows we should have "wedleases" rather than "wedlock". Since marriage is going to be temporary anyway, he believes, two people should "commit themselves to marriage for a period of years — one year, five years, 10 years, whatever term suits them. The marital lease could be renewed at the end of the term however many times a couple likes."
I'm not quite sure why Rampell limited the wedlease idea to couples.

Candidate #4)
Lauren Rankin.

In an article for Truthout, Rankin says "Not Everyone Who Has an Abortion Is a Woman". As she sees it, we have "Designated Females at Birth" - that is men born with female bodies, getting pregnant and having abortions. These folks may have the equipment that permits them to become pregnant, but Rankin and her fellow travelers say that these folks aren't women.

Honorable Mention.

If this were an election for the city council members of Stupidelphia, where we could have multiple winners, then I'd probably nominate that relatively small group of people who believe in their heart of hearts that Pope Francis will one day soon allow women priests in the Catholic Church, along with the Church's celebration of same-sex "marriage".

But this vote is for Mayor of Stupidelphia and only one person can have the job.

(Inspired by CMR).

Minnesota Protestant churches Prepare for Same-sex Weddings.

In Minnesota, a a number of Protestant "churches" are preparing to preform same sex "marriages" ceremonies now that the state has legalized, so called, same sex "marriage".

Of course, what can you expect from a protest movement which broke away from Christ's one true Church five hundred years ago?

The Protestants have already eliminated seven books from their version of the Old Testament. Will they be making additional edits to take out references to homosexuality being a sin? As far as I know, there hasn't been any formal call for that among the Protestants, but it wouldn't surprise me to see some changes in this regard in the not too distant future.

To my Protestant friends - perhaps it's time to reevaluate your Protestant notions and take a serious look at the Catholic Church.

From Lumen Fidei...........

From ENCYCLICAL LETTER LUMEN FIDEI OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF FRANCIS TO THE BISHOPS PRIESTS AND DEACONS CONSECRATED PERSONS AND THE LAY FAITHFUL ON FAITH:

"There is an urgent need, then, to see once again that faith is a light, for once the flame of faith dies out, all other lights begin to dim. The light of faith is unique, since it is capable of illu­minating every aspect of human existence. A light this powerful cannot come from ourselves but from a more primordial source: in a word, it must come from God."