My Two Cents' Worth.

In June of this year, the U.S. Supreme Court declared in the case of Boumediene v. Bush that the prisoners held in military detention by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detention camps had a right to habeas corpus under the United States Constitution.
I agreed with the decision and I posted an entry on the subject [What's wrong with habeas corpus?] shortly after. I quoted an article from catholicnews.com that said the decision “is a hopeful sign that upholds American values for anyone accused of even the most heinous offenses.” and quoted Bob Barr, as well, who said, “The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the importance of the ancient writ of habeas corpus, one of the bedrock guarantees of American liberty,”
Over the weekend, that post from June received a few comments from "Anonymous" who didn't care too much for my thoughts on the subject. Anonymous wrote,
"Non- USA citizens are not guaranteed constitutional rights, they have done nothing to deserve those rights and should not have them. They pay no taxes, earn no income , and contribute nothing to the welfare of the USA."
Let's take a look at that.......
"......they have done nothing to deserve those rights and should not have them." US citizens haven't done anything to "deserve" them either. You don't have to "do" anything to deserve a "right". No one should be held without due process anywhere in the world. Obviously, not every country recognizes those rights.
"They pay no taxes, earn no income , and contribute nothing to the welfare of the USA."
If that disqualifies someone from having basic human and civil rights, then many Americans would not have them. The jails and prisons are filled with dead-beats who "pay no taxes, earn no income , and contribute nothing to the welfare of the USA" but they were given fair trials and aren't being held unlawfully.
When I suggested that Osama bin Laden not be put to death without a fair trial.....comparing bin Laden to Timothy McVeigh, Anonymous wrote,
"Timothy McVeigh was a citizen of the United States of America, Osama bin Laden is not".
Why would a citizen be entitled to a human right that you'd deny to a non-citizen? Are we, somehow, genetically or racially superior? Of course, not. Human beings through out the world are equal in the eyes of God. The fact that ones mother gave birth to you in a particular political boundary doesn't make you better or worse that someone born elsewhere.
Anonymous also opined,
"When you order people to fly commercial airliners into the world trade center, it seems to me that you have already voluntarily given up you 'God Given Rights' ......"
Really?
McVeigh killed 168 people, yet he was given a fair trial.
Ted Bundy was a mass murderer, but received his civil rights.
We can't deny someone his basic human rights because we are appalled by the crime he is alleged to have committed.

To further dismiss anything I had to say, Anonymous said,
"You are such a liberal."
I find this comment laughable.
I doubt that anyone who looked at the totality of what I've written in this blog could, seriously, accuse me of that.
As a political Conservative, I believe in limited government....small in size and limited in it's power to tax us. I am a capitalist; there are times when we should help our fellow man, but, socialism doesn't work.
As a conservative Catholic, I have the following views on life: (not a complete list, by any means)
Abortion is evil and never justified.
Capital punishment is unnecessary in today's world. It is cruel and often unjust.
War is evil....however, there can be Just or Unjust Wars.
All human beings are created in God's image and are equal in God's sight.

Having written this, I know that I have no chance of changing anyone's mind on any of these issues. I'm just giving my 2 cents' worth.

St. Francis in the Desert.

Unborn Baby's Heartbeat Prompts Pro-life Vote.

From Zenit.org :

"New Haven, Connecticut, OCT. 2, 2008.

A Knights of Columbus radio spot running in many U.S. markets until the Nov. 4 elections encourages citizens to listen to the heartbeat of a 10-week-old unborn baby and vote pro-life.
The 30-second spot is running in more than a dozen states.

The ad features the sound of a baby's heartbeat at 10 weeks, and the voice of a woman saying, 'Listening to this makes me wonder: Why would anyone question that her life has begun?' It concludes with the words, 'Vote your heart. Vote pro-life.'

Supreme Knight Carl Anderson announced the beginning of the ad campaign. 'The fact that the child whose heartbeat we hear is alive is simply a matter of science,' he said. 'We believe that it is vital that America's pro-life community make it clear that they will reserve their votes for candidates of either party who are committed to protecting life from conception to natural death.'"

To hear the radio ad: http://www.dumaguetecity.net/prolife_ad.mp3

To see images of fetal development: click here.

Wake me when it's over.

With just over a month to go before election day, I have to say that I have had my fill of everything pertaining to both Presidential (and Vice Presidential) candidates.
Part of this may be due to the fact that I have already cast my ballot. I cannot maintain any enthusiasm and find the whole affair boring beyond words.
I no longer see any profit in trying to change anyone's mind on how they vote. If the Obama supporters are willing to overlook his support of infanticide, then I can't see anything I can say as being worth a tinker's damn.
The polls seem to show that there are groups of people who haven't decided between the two...or else admit to the idea that they could change their pick. I don't take that seriously. In this day of strict divisions between the two parties, I can't believe that anyone willing to vote for one would really switch to the other.
The only thing left is to just wait it out and live with whatever results come.

History's Greatest Rosary on October 4.

From h2onews:
"On Saturday, October 4, dioceses, parishes, movements, and associations are invited to break the world record of the greatest number of people praying the rosary simultaneously.
A group of lay people in Mexico have invited Christian communities around the world to organize a mass Rosary on this day, in a stadium or church, or with family or friends, joining the many other rosary prayers that are being organized around the world.
The initiative began in 1996 as a gift to John Paul II on the 50th anniversary of his priesthood. 29 countries joined this event and in Mexico the rosary was prayed in 2,600 locations with more than 3 million people participating.
In 2000 more than 140 countries participated in the World Day of the Rosary, organizing a great amount of mass Rosaries in churches, stadiums, cathedrals, bullfight arenas, civil piazzas, jails, hospitals, schools, etc., many of which were broadcast through radio or television."

To see video, click here.

Update: In March, 2009....six months after the original post was written, someone in India gave this post a rating of one. Evidently, the person wasn't happy with the post.
Perhaps, their disappointment comes from the fact that the Sept., 2008 video is no longer available. Sorry, the link isn't to a site I control and I don't have any say about the videos.