Obama Doesn't Do Conscience UPDATED!

I don't have a lot of time to write right now but Obama did what we all knew he would do. He's seeking to rescind the conscience clause which respects the conscience of pharmacists, nurses and doctors not to be forced to act against their own conscience, especially regarding contraception and abortion.

Hey, remember all those "conservatives" like Kathleen Parker and Christopher Buckley who told us that Obama was so smart and worldly that he would almost certainly govern from the middle. When Obama said abortion was "above his pay grade," they described it as a great theological moment of humility, not a cheap dodge.

But, of course, it was a cheap dodge. They were all wrong. It doesn't look like the abortion issue is above Obama's pay grade anymore.

The Anchoress has more on this.

Update:: The First Amendment of the Bill of Rights states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

What part of that does Obama not understand? To not undersand this is to take a very narrow view of the place of religion in life. I think the liberal view of this is that as long as they don't interfere with Sunday services they're not infringing on the free exercise of religion. That is an extremely narrow view as the practice of religion is a 24/7 thing.

What the federal government is essentially saying is that you can't be a Catholic and a pharmacist, nurse, or doctor full time. You must leave your religion at home, according to Obama.

I suspect things are going to get a lot worse before they get better.

Is BSG Back? My Thoughts and Guesses.

We haven't really discussed it here but many other bloggers have including some Catholic bloggers have. I will keep it spoiler free and vague. I think BSG is back!

I must admit, even thought the content is sometimes inappropriate and there have been other troubling aspects of the show, I have been a big BSG fan. Over the last several years I have been preaching to the unconverted, mostly in my family. It was through my petitions and intercession that my brother Matthew and my sister began watching the show. As I watched the first several episodes of this final season of the show, I feared that I had led my family into a cult that might have seemed to have the answers but was destined to fall short.

Undoubtedly, the writers and producers of the show have many chess pieces to move into place in order to deliver the finale. Even with that said, this season has been disappointing to say the least. The story lines and character arcs wandered to places they didn't belong. Felix Gaeta as the organizer of revolution (even if a a tool of Tom Zarek) seemed forced. But as I said, I tried to be patient. I knew that they had many pieces to move into place, but I admit that I have been losing faith. I began to wonder if the writers and producers themselves knew what they wanted to do with the show. But my hope, at least temporarily, has been restored.

Tonight's episode reminded me of all that I have appreciated about the show. Back on plot. Characters who betray - betraying. Gullible characters getting sucked in. Hendrix. It was all back. There are three episodes left and my hopes are growing.

I cannot speak of my hopes, however, without speaking of my fears. What is my greatest fear? Moral equivalency. I worry that, as Dirk Benedict does, that ultimately there is no good or evil. He said "You can’t do a show about good and evil. Because then somebody has to be responsible." My greatest worry about the show is that humans, with all their flaws, are no better than the Cylons. That the Cylons (at least five of them) have learned the lessons that humanity has yet to learn. I also fear that when we learn of the reasons for the Cylons attempt to annihilate mankind, we will find that we had it coming.

I sincerely hope they don't go there. Tonight when we saw Boomer being bad., I had hope. Boomer is bad. She has betrayed the fleet, she has betrayed her fellow Cylons, she has betrayed all her fellow eights. Sharon betrays, that is what she does. Evil destroys, that is what it does. At least for tonight, bad guys were bad guys and all was right with the world.

I really hope BSG finishes the right way. Redemption, even for Cylons, is good. Saying that we are all bad to begin with, not so much.

(My prognostications follow)
Oh, and by the way. Adama is the dying leader that lead them to Earth, not the President and Starbuck is the daughter of a cylon that was an artist and was boxed. Starbuck is the hope for the future because she is the original offspring (hybrid?) of the Cylons. Dean Stockwell knew this and that is why he boxed Daniel.
(End Prognostications)

Charity is the New Smoking?

What manner of insanity has crept into our President's mind? What sense outside of a Machiavellian power grab does President Obama's consideration of cutting tax deductions for charitable donations make in a time of economic difficulty?

In effect, Obama is saying that people need help...but not from you! Those in need must depend on Obama.

I understand that Obama has never had much use for charities in his personal life as he and his wife gave only $10,772 of the $1.2 million they earned from 2000 through 2004 to charities. That's less than 1 percent of his income.

But it's one thing to be stingy with your own money but to actually penalize others for doing so borders on Scrooge-ish.

And of course, the sane people who rationally describe that this move will curtail charitable giving are mocked. Marc Ambinder of the Atlantic rhetorically asked, "If tax reform down the line were to gut all deductions, would charitable contributions totally dry up?"

And then you get the dry humor. "If wealthy people want to give money, then they should give, regardless of tax benefits."

So they're in effect saying that the wealthy should give. But should and will are very different considerations. And since when is it ok for the government to moralize about what people shoulddo?

The utter hypocrisy is priceless in that these liberals are the same people who demonize the wealthy for not caring about the "working class" but are now saying that the wealthy shouldact like an army of Mother Teresas and continue giving despite getting punished for it by the same people who are moralizing to them.

Lowering the charitable deduction essentially acts as a government tax on charitable giving. And when you tax something you get less of it. When the federal government attempted to stop people from smoking they taxed it. It's how the government incentivizes and de-incentivizes things. So the question arises - Why does Barack Obama want to punish charitable giving?

I fear we all know the answer. It is being done as a tool to redefine the political playing field, move the political center radically to the left and make the federal government not only the center of people's lives but the wellspring of all munificence.

All roads, like Rome of old, must lead to Obama. Or they won't get paved.

CMR's 8 Signs of Apocalypse (Vol II)

══ 1 ══

Things have gotten so bad that there is a guy who is eating bacon, and only bacon, for the entire month of February. At least I know that when the apocalypse comes, this is an option on the list right before eating my neighbors. Just in case I have no bacon, I hope I live next to bacon man. Yummy.

══ 2 ══

So how much will President Barack Obama's budget cost us taxpayers? Toby Harden does the math.

I'm an American taxpayer and the starkest figure is what this could cost me. The latest figure I could find for the number of US taxpayers is 138,893,908 returns in 2007 here. By my reckoning, that's $25, 573.48 each.

We are so doomed. We will all still be paying this off in purgatory. If Obama makes it to purgatory, I guess he will suggest we get the top 2% in heaven to pay it off.

══ 3 ══

You want apocalypse? Do giant monsters scream "bad moon rising" or what?

This is a newly taken pic of the Borneo Monster. Yeah, that's right. That's a 100 foot of pure "I'll squeeze you like a lemon and swallow you whole" snake. You want to know why there's no legend of Bigfoot in Borneo; it's because this things ate the Borneo Bigfoot and was hungry for some Chupacabra by brunch. As a Christian, I'm not scared of dying. Yeah, I'm frightened of getting chased and caught and squeezed until my eyes pop out like Marty Feldman's.

══ 4 ══

As I wrote about this week, if we continue to use grain and grain fields to produce ethanol, we will all starve to death. But there is hope. As an alternative to this horrible scenario scientists have managed to harness the almost unlimited supply of hamster energy.

Dr Zhong Lin Wang of Georgia University's Nano Research Group developed the flexible jackets, which are fitted with wires plugged into a nanogenerator that produces energy when they are bent and stretched.

In tests one hamster named Campbell's Dwarf produced small amounts of AC power – around one twentieth of the output of an AA battery.

I feel much better.

══ 5 ══

According to Fox News

"Autonomous military robots that will fight future wars must be programmed to live by a strict warrior code, or the world risks untold atrocities at their steely hands.

The stark warning — which includes discussion of a "Terminator"-style scenario in which robots turn on their human masters — is part of a hefty report funded by and prepared for the U.S. Navy's high-tech and secretive Office of Naval Research."

So next time you see this.
Think of this.

══ 6 ══

Back in December I wrote this in my (eerily prescient) 2009 prediction post:

More Riots in Europe. What will be hitting us economically will also hit Europe and maybe just as hard. The riots these past weeks in Greece are just the beginning. Ostensibly related to a police shooting, the real cause was economic. Greece is an economic basket case with massive crushing debt. The fact that this rioting has spread to other European cities shows that this frustration is widespread especially among youth. All this is just the beginning of the woes. As the economy dramatically worsens in the second half of 2009, rioting will be more widespread. Italy, France, England, and Germany will not be spared.

Yesterday this appeared on, of all places, Salon.com:

Feb. 26, 2009 | The global economic meltdown has already caused bank failures, bankruptcies, plant closings and foreclosures and will, in the coming year, leave many tens of millions unemployed across the planet. But another perilous consequence of the crash of 2008 has only recently made its appearance: increased civil unrest and ethnic strife. Someday, perhaps, war may follow.

If even the folks at Salon see the writing on the wall, apocalypse cannot be far off.

══ 7 ══

This Guy.

══ 8 ══

And finally, when you know that apocalypse is nearly upon us, the stress can sometimes get to you. So imagine, since you are all stressed out, so you decide to forget all your troubles and take a nice little jaunt to the aquarium. Lobster tank (boring), Stingray tank (better), Shark tank. Very exciting, you have almost forgotten your troubles when BAM! You notice the disembodied head in the Shark tank!

Folks at the aquarium are baffled about where the head came from. Umm, folks, it is a SHARK tank. Duh! We are so doomed.


5 ... 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... 1 ..................................

If you'd like to add any signs of the apocalypse you are encouraged to write them in the combox. Eventually, one of you will be right.

Posted by Patrick & Matthew Archbold

Bishop Puts Senator on Notice?

Bob Casey of Pennsylvania ran for Senator as a pro-life candidate; a fact which clearly made his defeat of pro-life Senator Rick Santorum more likely.

But recently, many believe Senator Bob Casey has not lived up to the rhetoric of candidate Casey when it comes to being pro-life. Casey failed to vote against President Obama's change of the Mexico City policy which allowed the United States to fund groups that perform abortions overseas. Casey, in fact, went so far as to argue that giving the groups money was somewhat pro-life in that it could reduce the number of abortions by promoting contraception.

Bishop Martino obviously did not agree, according to the diocesan website. In a letter earlier this month Bishop Martino condemned Sen. Casey’s vote and urged him to reverse it.

“Your vote against the Mexico City Policy will mean the deaths of thousands of unborn children. This is an offense against life and a denial of our Catholic teaching on the dignity of every human being. This action is worthy of condemnation by all moral men and women...Your failure to reverse this vote will regrettably mean that you persist formally in cooperating with the evil brought about by this hideous and unnecessary policy,” says the Bishop.

And now Bishop Martino has sent a second letter to Senator Casey urging him to reverse his vote; this time with even stronger language:

Dear Senator Casey,

It is a matter of deep concern that your recent vote against the Mexico City Policy is continually misrepresented by your staff as a pro-life vote intended to promote “contraception and other family planning that avoid unintended pregnancies” (Times-Tribune, February 6, 2009).

The Mexico City Policy is, first and foremost, about abortion, not about family planning. First put in place in 1984, the policy required all non-governmental organizations that receive federal funding to refrain from performing or promoting abortion services abroad. The policy required such organizations to agree as a condition for receiving U.S. foreign aid dollars that they would “neither perform nor actively promote abortion as a method of family planning in other nations.” The policy included exceptions for abortions done in cases of rape, incest or life-threatening conditions.

Furthermore, the Mexico City Policy did not take funds away from family planning; its effect is quite the opposite. Tom McCluskey of the Family Research Council reported the following: “. . .The Mexico City policy halts U.S. family planning funds from going to foreign . . . [NGOs] that perform abortions or ‘actively promote’ abortion as a method of family planning in other countries. . . The effect of President Obama rescinding the Mexico City Policy is that now millions ($461 million in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008) of dollars are taken away from family planning groups that do not promote abortions, and delivered into the hands of organizations that are the most militant in promoting abortion as a population-control method—especially in countries that find abortion objectionable on moral grounds” (my emphasis). Contrary to the claims of your staff, the absence of “Mexico City” regulations insures (1) that money is taken away from family planning, (2) that abortion is promoted as a method of family planning, and (3) that countries that have moral and cultural objections to abortion are encouraged to abandon their policies against it.

Finally, it is never permissible to use immoral means such as artificial contraception to achieve a good end, namely, the reduction of unplanned pregnancies. In fact, the mistaken view that artificial contraception may be used to regulate population growth and the size of families has led to countless evils in America and abroad, including the attitude that having and raising children is a burden to be avoided. This attitude has contributed mightily to the acceptability of abortion as a means of contraception both at home and abroad.

My letter of January 30 urging you to rescind your vote on the Mexico City Policy was in no way mistaken regarding the nature and the effect of President Obama’s order to rescind America’s long-standing policy to avoid using U.S. tax dollars to support organizations that promote abortion abroad. It is imperative that this fact be made known to the public.

It is also imperative that there be utter clarity when it comes to the teaching of the Church on matters that pertain to the taking of innocent life and the special responsibilities that fall to you, Senator, as a lawmaker to oppose abortion and other clear evils.

In closing, I refer you to the words of Cardinal Francis George, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, to President Obama urging him to retain the Mexico City Policy.

The Mexico City Policy . . . has wrongly been attacked as a restriction on foreign aid for family planning. In fact, it has not reduced such aid at all, but has ensured that family planning funds are not diverted to organizations dedicated to performing and promoting abortions instead of reducing them. Once the clear line between family planning and abortion is erased, the idea of using family planning to reduce abortions becomes meaningless, and abortion tends to replace contraception as the means for reducing family size. A shift toward promoting abortion in developing nations would also increase distrust of the United States in these nations, whose values and culture often reject abortion, at a time when we need their trust and respect (January 23, 2009).

Sincerely,

Most Reverend Joseph F. Martino, D.D., Hist. E.D.
Bishop of Scranton

Now, curiously, on the same day the letter appeared on the diocesan website the diocese also put a document up on their site called "OFFICIAL NOTICE Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion" which states

In 2004, the then Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) instructed the Bishops of the United States as follows:

Regarding the grave sin of abortion or euthanasia, when a person’s formal cooperation becomes manifest (understood, in the case of a Catholic politician, as his consistently campaigning and voting for permissive abortion and euthanasia laws), his Pastor should meet with him, instructing him about the Church’s teaching, informing him that he is not to present himself for Holy Communion until he brings to an end the objective situation of sin, and warning him that he will otherwise be denied the Eucharist.

This denial, the Cardinal noted in the same instruction, “is not a sanction or a penalty. Nor is the minister of Holy of Communion passing judgment on the person’s subjective guilt, but rather is reacting to the person’s public unworthiness to receive Holy Communion due to an objective situation of sin.”[3]

Therefore, His Excellency, the Most Reverend Joseph F. Martino, Bishop of Scranton, reminds all ministers of Holy Communion, ordinary and extraordinary, that:

To administer the Sacred Body and Blood of the Lord is a serious duty which they have received from the Church, and no one having accepted this responsibility has the right to ignore the Church’s law in this regard;

Those whose unworthiness to receive Holy Communion is known publicly to the Church must be refused Holy Communion in order to prevent sacrilege and to prevent the Catholic in question from committing further grave sin through unworthy reception.

One would have to almost be intentionally obtuse to fail to see the connection between these two documents appearing on the diocesan website on the same day. This story seems to be moving fast. Stay tuned.

Te Deum laudamus tipped me on to this story and you may want to check out that excellent site for updates.

Today on CMR - February 26, 2009

Won't Work For Food- Want Stimulus
—A CMR Political Cartoon

Go to Hell...For Just $39.99
—New video game allows players to visit Hell and there'll be a Pope there to greet them.

Traditional Anglican Communion Clarifies
—Leader of the TAC tries to clarify and qualify his previous statements.

Caption Contest
—Give this Joe Biden photo your best one liner!

Most Difficult Job To Fill Is a Tie
—Commerce Secretary and Al Qaeda #2 man.

Fr. Barron on A-Rod
—Steriods, baseball and the "invasion of grace"

Obama's State Of The Union: My Thoughts
—Let me be the first to recognize the historic nature of the lies he told.

Bomb Threat Over Priest Removal
—Maverick Priest: "We are a Vatican II community."

Creative Minority Reader

Scariest Quote from the White House
—Human rights are on hold due to the crisis.

Curious Case of Lenten Blogger
—CMR will not be giving up blogging for Lent no matter how much you want us to.

Holocausts and holocausts
—There's lunacy and then there's blindness.

Where Have You Gone Atticus Finch?
—Hollywood no longer celebrates the American man.

Won't Work For Food - Want Stimulus

A CMR Political Cartoon

Go to Hell...For Just $39.99

In about one year slackers all over America aren't going to hell in a handbasket. They'll do it right from their beanbag chair in their mother's basement. According to Wired:

Electronic Arts' upcoming game Dante's Inferno is a riff on God of War that stars a beefed-up warrior based on the author of The Divine Comedy. Seriously.

For those of us who spent our formative years sleeping through Classics lectures, Dante Alighieri's 14th-century epic poem The Divine Comedy is largely a mystery — 14,000 lines of allegory chronicling the author's philosophical journey through hell, Purgatory and beyond. Electronic Arts hopes to jog our collective memories a bit with Dante's Inferno, an action game adapted from the first section of the Comedy.

This contemporary take on the author's trip through the nine circles of hell follows the general framework of the original piece, with artistic liberties taken to convert demure prose into a fast-paced action-adventure title for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

OK. "Artistic liberties" include some minor changes like - while Dante was a sensitive poet now he's a jacked up warrior from the Crusades with a bad attitude who scythes his way through demonic hordes on a quest to find his murdered love Beatrice, whose soul was kidnapped by Lucifer.

Yeah, so like I said, pretty much right out of the text.

And the dear hearts producing the video game put a Pope into Hell for good measure. Pope Celestine V makes a cameo (to be fair it is believed that Dante referenced him in Hell because of his resigning the Papacy). However, I'd love to see if any figures from other world religions hold a prominent place in the game's Hell.

In fact, if I remember my Dante correctly, Dante put Mohamed in Hell -and not just any Hell but a particularly garish Hell.

A cask by losing centre-piece or cant
Was never shattered so, as I saw one
Rent from the chin to where one breaketh wind.

Between his legs were hanging down his entrails;
His heart was visible, and the dismal sack
That maketh excrement of what is eaten.

While I was all absorbed in seeing him,
He looked at me, and opened with his hands
His bosom, saying: "See now how I rend me;

How mutilated, see, is Mahomet;
In front of me doth Ali weeping go,
Cleft in the face from forelock unto chin;

And all the others whom thou here beholdest,
Disseminators of scandal and of schism
While living were, and therefore are cleft thus.

A devil is behind here, who doth cleave us
Thus cruelly, unto the falchion's edge
Putting again each one of all this ream,

When we have gone around the doleful road;
By reason that our wounds are closed again
Ere any one in front of him repass.

So I'm interested to see since they so bravely put a Pope prominently in Hell, let's see if they've got the guts to put Mohamed there. Something tells me they're going to skip those cantos.

Pontius Pilate joins in. Not sure how Dante dispatches him but I'll bet Dante has some cool line right after like "What is truth? My Magma Blaster is all the truth I need."

But hey, there's a couple of benefits, I guess, in that since the makers are the same people who made the "God of War" series, the game will likely be one of the only places young people will ever hear some fine examples of Gregorian chant. And it's just about the only place young people will ever hear Hell mentioned.

Today on CMR - February 25, 2009

Traditional Anglican Communion Clarifies
—Leader of the TAC tries to clarify and qualify his previous statements.

Caption Contest
—Give this Joe Biden photo your best one liner!

Most Difficult Job To Fill Is a Tie
—Commerce Secretary and Al Qaeda #2 man.

Fr. Barron on A-Rod
—Steriods, baseball and the "invasion of grace"

Obama's State Of The Union: My Thoughts
—Let me be the first to recognize the historic nature of the lies he told.

Bomb Threat Over Priest Removal
—Maverick Priest: "We are a Vatican II community."

Scariest Quote from the White House
—Human rights are on hold due to the crisis.

Curious Case of Lenten Blogger
—CMR will not be giving up blogging for Lent no matter how much you want us to.

Creative Minority Reader

Holocausts and holocausts
—There's lunacy and then there's blindness.

Where Have You Gone Atticus Finch?
—Hollywood no longer celebrates the American man.

A Real Global Crisis of Our Own Making
—A real crisis in which millions could die. Haven't heard about it? You are not alone.

Death by Mixed Signals
—Pro-Obama priest made Monsignor. Mixed signals are killing us.

Traditional Anglican Communion Clarifies

The following is from an interview of Archbishop Hepworth leader of the Traditional Anglican Communion responding to rumors generated by a previous interview in the Catholic Record [as reported here] several weeks ago.

[Messenger Journal] “It is possible for a church to come into union with the Bishop of Rome, in which case it is known usually as "a ritual church sui iuris - that is a church with its own rite and canonical regulation. There are some twenty-eight of these churches, and they appoint their own bishops by synodical processes, and seek confirmation of the election from the Bishop of Rome.

Much of the Concordat of the Traditional Anglican Communion was designed to mirror the processes of a ritual church, a point noted by some Vatican officials. We have not anticipated that our present application would lead to this sort of structure - most of these rites are descended from ancient churches that have never been part of the Roman or Western rite. Of modern origin, however, are the Personal Prelatures and Apostolic Administrations that are essentially vehicles for specific groups to coalesce around their own episcopate for a particular pastoral reason.

We have taken the advise of those with whom we have been meeting, and not sought any particular structure. We understand that no existing canonical structure might prove appropriate. Since the idea of a Personal Prelature is itself a modern creation, dating only to the late Pope, from a structural point of view the Holy See is open to new forms of community within the Church.

We have simply asked, in the words of our letter, to "seek a communal and ecclesial way of being Anglican Catholics in communion with the Holy See, at once treasuring the full expression of catholic faith and treasuring our tradition within which we have come to this moment."

We have not sought to design something for ourselves. We have asked for the guidance of the Holy See, given the reality of our position and the mind of our episcopate.

We remain in quiet prayer, while growing our Communion in key parts of the world. We agreed, rightly, to allow the Holy See the opportunity to respond to the difficult problems that our letter undoubtedly caused. When there is a reply, I am committed to presenting it to a full meeting of our College of Bishops, and to formal meetings of each of the general synods of our churches that voted to support this initiative."

It seems that Archbishop Hepworth, having violated his own promise to stay quiet until Rome speaks, wants to be clear that he is not lobbying or trying to influence the response of the Holy See. Whether his previous statements about a personal prelature were well founded rumor or lobbying by the TAC is unclear. What is clear is that Archbishop Hepworth doesn not want to jinx the situation.

We will keep watching.

Caption Contest

"No, no, no. It's not what you think. I just wanted to make the guy at 7-Eleven feel comfortable."

Most Difficult Job To Fill Is a Tie

A study performed by the prestigious CMR Institute of the most difficult jobs to fill - even in these difficult economic times ended in a statistical tie for first place between Al Qaeda's #2 man and Barack Obama's Commerce Secretary.

Certainly, the two jobs are very different in that one of them has sworn to destroy America while the other would only destroy the country as a side effect of the administration's business policies.

President Obama reportedly had the smoothest transition in history but hit a few hiccups when Governor Bill Richardson withdrew because of a pay-for-play scandal investigation and then Senator Judd Gregg withdrew because while he was appointed to Commerce all the actual responsibilities of the job were removed by Obama so he removed himself from consideration.

And now Gary Locke, who is up for the job, will surely come under scrutiny as some news sources have indicated a sordid past of tax breaks to relatives, tax breaks to donors, and fundraising scandals. So Obama might be forced to once again look elsewhere for a Commerce Secretary.

So while the Al Qaedas #2 man typically ends up in pieces on a remote mountainside, at least one former Obama's Commerce Secretary appointee believes he may have it worse.

"At least it happens fast for the Al Qaeda guy. I mean...boom...and it's done," said one former Commerce Secretary appointee who wished to remain anonymous. "Me, I was dragged through the mud. Now, there are investigations and I went from Governor to Presidential candidate to Commerce Secretary to national joke in a few months," he said. "My career is ruined. I'm mentioned in the same breath as Zoe Baird now. And has anyone see Zoe Baird on the lecture circuit?"

But as bad as things are for Obama, Osama may have it just as bad. One Al Qaeda operative who is rumored to be in line for the #2 job which opened up immediately after the former #2 guy was turned into Chum by a smart bomb in Iraq, said he doesn't want the vacant job. "I just joined Al Qaeda two months ago for the benefits but everyone above me keeps disappearing or dying so now I'm rumored to be up for the job," he said. "The only thing I can think to do is bomb the interview. I mean, not literally bomb it. I mean like...pretend like I can't find America on a map, fail the bomb making part of the interview, and maybe say nice things about former President Bush. I'm desperate."

Jobs that The CMR Institute found easier to fill than Commerce Secretary and Al Qaeda #2 were:
1) Greeter at the Proctologist's Office
2) Bible Salesman in Iran
3) Port-a-Potty Maintenance at the annual homemade Chili Cook-off
4) Chicken Sexer
5) A Junior member of a Star Trek away mission wearing a red shirt.

Fr. Barron on A-Rod

Steriods, baseball and the "invasion of grace":

Obama's State Of The Union: My Thoughts

A few quick thoughts on Obama's state of Obama speech.

The whole time I am listening to it, I know he is lying and I suspect that he does too. Back in the Clinton days when I listened to Bill delivering this type of speech, I knew he was lying also. Somehow, though, I always got the impression that Bill had managed to convince himself of the lie. In his belief in his own virtue, he seemed convinced and convincing even when he was as far from the truth as could be, even to the point of the wagging of the finger. Watch that denial again sometime, that man really believes he is the victim. Somehow, for me, it made it easier to get past such things with Clinton because underneath you could always see the weakness that allowed him to really believe his own lies.

For all that, it occurred to me that Barack Obama is far scarier. He lies, he knows he is lying, and he doesn't care. "I don't believe in bigger gov't" - "Tax cuts for 95%" - "No earmarks" Lies all. His lies seem to be pre-meditated fabrications to give him what he wants, more power. With Clinton, the truth always seemed distorted. Cloudy. With Obama, truth is simply irrelevant.

VARIA

When I read the story about the bank exec who gave the money to all the employees, I was impressed. Seeing him in the gallery being used by Obama as a prop meant to bash all the greedy CEO's who have only managed to keep hundreds of thousands employed for years, I was not impressed.

When Obama relayed the story of the girl and finished with "We are not quitters!" I cringed. This is one time he might actually be telling the truth. So much the worse for us.

Michelle Obama continues to look ...

Bobby Jindal. Said all the right things and absolutely no one will remember tomorrow. Oh, by the way, it may not be PC, but for the next four years, does every Republican who offers a response to Obama have to follow McCain's lead by recognizing the historic nature of Obama? Please, please give it a rest.

When he got the nomination "I would like to recognize the historic nature of the first black nominee of a major party". When he won, "I would like to recognize the historic nature of the first black president-elect" and tonight "I would like to recognize the historic nature of the first black president to have a pretend Sate of the Union" How about recognizing the historic nature of the first president - period - to spend a gazillion dollars in his first four weeks in office. Enough with the "historic nature" crap. He won, its over, no one cares.

And if you think that anyone who thinks that Republicans are all racists will suddenly say to themselves, "Oh look Weezie, they recognized the historic nature of the first black president to spend our great great-great-great grandkids money, maybe the Republicans aren't so bad," you have another thing coming. Repeat after me. No One Cares! So stop it already.

Anyway, that's all for tonight. But if I can leave you with one thought. One thought only, it is this. Remember, nobody messes with Joe. Well, except Joe of course.

Bomb Threat Over Priest Removal

You might remember Father Peter Kennedy who was pulled from his Australian parish but refused to leave because he's too busy blessing homosexual couples, allowing women to preach, and selling books that questioned the divinity of Jesus.

You might also remember that the UFO cult, the Raelians, rallied to his aid. And you likely remember that he compared himself to Jesus Christ because He too did unorthodox things and was persecuted.

Well, you'll definitely remember this. The new priest who was supposed to take over and say Mass Sunday had to cancel. Why? Because a bomb threat was called into the Archbishop so the new priest stayed away for fear that his presence would incite violence.

Well, now CathNews is reporting:

Sacked St Mary's South Brisbane administrator, Fr Peter Kennedy says his lawyers will this week challenge his dismissal in the civil courts unless Brisbane Archbishop John Bathersby, who had earlier received a bomb threat, reverses his decision.

The Australian reports Fr Kennedy will this week continue his fight against the Brisbane diocese in the civil courts unless he is reinstated, after he rejected mediation talks and conducted Sunday Mass for more than 1,500 parishioners at St Mary's church...

Yesterday's hour long service was a celebration in defiance, with Fr Kennedy leading the Mass in prayer and hymns, including the protest song We Shall Not be Moved, before imploring Archbishop Bathersby to visit the church.

"It is sad he is not here today because if he was here, he couldn't possibly move against this community," Father Kennedy told the service. "We are a Vatican II community - at least, we try to be."

I personally missed the part about bombs in Humanae Vitae but I guess I didn't read it as carefully as Fr. Kennedy.

Archbishop Bathersby had incredibly already agreed to an independent mediator which strikes me as more than a little odd but incredibly charitable.

But Fr Kennedy would have none of it, saying any mediation must include the church community -you know, the ones that called in a bomb threat. He said, "If the archbishop wants to mediate, he has to mediate with the community...He has unjustly sacked me and in sacking me he has sacked the community."

I fear this thing might get uglier before it gets better. Pray for a peaceful resolution.

Today on CMR - February 24, 2009

► Vote For CMR - Bloggers Choice Awards --Best Religion Blog--Best Humor Blog ◄

Scariest Quote from the White House
—Human rights are on hold due to the crisis.

Curious Case of Lenten Blogger
—CMR will not be giving up blogging for Lent no matter how much you want us to.

Holocausts and holocausts
—There's lunacy and then there's blindness.

Where Have You Gone Atticus Finch?
—Hollywood no longer celebrates the American man.

It's Official: Dolan for NYC
—Archbishop Dolan replaces Cardinal Egan in NYC.

A Real Global Crisis of Our Own Making
—A real crisis in which millions could die. Haven't heard about it? You are not alone.

Death by Mixed Signals
—Pro-Obama priest made Monsignor. Mixed signals are killing us.

The Million Snowman March
—Some weekend silliness.

Creative Minority Reader

Awesome Virtual Tour of Beautiful Church
—360 degrees of holy.

Priest Compares Self to Jesus, UFO Cult Rallies To his Cause
—You know you're not having a good day when the UFO cult is on your side.

Repent-a-Palooza
—24 hour confession in the Big Apple. A good start.

Killing? Rape? Fine. But No Smoking!
—Hollywood is mad.

Scariest Quote from the White House

On her first trip to Asia as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had the following to say concerning human rights:

"our pressing on those issues can't interfere with the global economic crisis, the global climate change crisis and the security crisis."

This comment should send chills down your spine; make you fear for the future of freedom. The subjugation of freedom and human rights to security is the first building block of tyranny. Allowing government to place human rights as secondary to other needs should be resisted.

Look at the verbiage of the Obama administration which is crisis, crisis, crisis. Think the administration officials are all reading from the same playbook? If history teaches us anything it is that fear, more than any other emotion, leads to tyranny. And crises stoke fear.

What's even scarier is the list of issues which, according to the Secretary of State, take precedence over human rights including the economy, security, and global warming. That puts freedom as fourth on the agenda; a worrisome placement to say the least.

A number of human rights activists in China were put under house arrest for Clinton's visit. Imagine their hearing her formulation of priorities. Hillary Clinton has effectively announced the state's victory over human rights.

Xin Qiang, deputy director of the Centre for American Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, said "Beijing will be much relieved and happy that human rights and issues on Tibet and Taiwan have not been raised by Secretary Clinton," he said. "Beijing will take it as a good and friendly gesture extended by Washington."

When the Bush administration dealt with China they did it with the expressed purpose that economic trade would inspire capitalism and freedom in China. The two ideals of economic security and freedom, were linked. Hillary Clinton has separated them.

Ronald Reagan infamously told Mr. Gorbachev to "tear down this wall." Hillary Clinton announced yesterday that walls don't bother the United States so much as long as money can pass over it.

Curious Case of Lenten Blogger

CMR fave Erin Manning has a bee in her bonnet. Erin takes issue with the annual festival of Catholic bloggers who give up blogging (reading and/or writing) for lent.

She says she understands why some people may do this but this is not, in her mind, a panacea for the distracted Catholic. She probably has a point. She spends a few paragraphs talking about ugly chicks wearing no makeup (I am not really sure what that is about?), but sums up her point.

Spending too much time reading novels can distract us from God. Surrounding ourselves with people who admire us can foster pride. Being the first person to sign up for every parish ministry opportunity can feed a disordered desire for attention. Spending hours on the phone each day can get in the way of our attentive living of our proper vocations. Any kind of human contact can create situations which involve hurt feelings. And almost any sort of hobby can have the sense of being removed from the real world (e.g., what good is stamp collecting, etc.?) but that doesn't make them worthless.

Since it is now clear to me that Matthew and I can be bad and distracted Catholics whether we are blogging or not, so a blogging we will go. Besides, we have some work to do. An anonymous commenter left this encouraging little note for us today on a post about the Oscars of all things.

I can no longer follow this blog. You are all a little too extreme. Hollywood does not celebrate, for instance, the cannibal hannibal lecter. It celebrates the tremendous performance in acting that Anthony Hopkins gave us in that role.

Thank you for all the good insights that you used to provide. Unfortunately, the tone of this blog has turned for the worse.

As another commenter pointed out, we routinely write absolutely nonsensical and absurd things on this site, but is was Matthew's lamentation that there aren't good and noble characters like Atticus Finch winning the actors the statue but typically characters of dubious character and a great deal of dysfunction that is the last straw for this person. Go figure. So Matthew and I cannot give up blogging now, we have many many more readers to drive away before our job is done.

So what will we give up for Lent? Erin Manning mentioned that the wonderful Francis Beckwith is giving up blogging for lent. Therefore, Matthew and I have decided to give up reading Francis Beckwith for Lent. That way we can join all the other cool bloggers giving up blogging this Lenten season.

Anyway, back to blogging now. We have a lot more readers to drive away and if we do our job right hopefully by next Lent no one will notice when we give up blogging.

Holocausts and holocausts

Just a quick note - As a Catholic, I am offended and embarrassed by Bishop Williamson's much publicized denial of the Holocaust. But you know what irks me even more? It's when bishops and priests today ignore the holocaust going on right now in the form of abortion. And while thankfully there seems to be only one Bishop Williamson, there are way too many of the latter variety.

Today on CMR - February 23, 2009

► Vote For CMR - Bloggers Choice Awards --Best Religion Blog--Best Humor Blog ◄

Where Have You Gone Atticus Finch?
—Hollywood no longer celebrates the American man.

It's Official: Dolan for NYC
—Archbishop Dolan replaces Cardinal Egan in NYC.

A Real Global Crisis of Our Own Making
—A real crisis in which millions could die. Haven't heard about it? You are not alone.

Death by Mixed Signals
—Pro-Obama priest made Monsignor. Mixed signals are killing us.

The Million Snowman March
—Some weekend silliness.

Awesome Virtual Tour of Beautiful Church
—360 degrees of holy.

Priest Compares Self to Jesus, UFO Cult Rallies To his Cause
—You know you're not having a good day when the UFO cult is on your side.

Creative Minority Reader

Repent-a-Palooza
—24 hour confession in the Big Apple. A good start.

Killing? Rape? Fine. But No Smoking!
—Hollywood is mad.

Laura Ingraham: Life Is Sacred Duty
—Say's the Pope made clear the cafeteria is closed!

CMR's 8 Weekly Signs of the Apocalypse
—A brand new feature very unlike any other feature.

Where Have You Gone Atticus Finch?

In 1962 Gregory Peck won the Best Actor Award for "To Kill a Mockingbird" for his portrayal of Atticus Finch. Peck, in that role, embodied for many all that is noble and great in the American man. The roles celebrated by the Academy nowadays seem to be a little different.

1990 - Jeremy Irons - Claus Von Bulow who murdered his wife
1991 - Anthony Hopkins - Cannibalistic Hannibal Lecter
1993 - Tom Hanks - Gay lawyer with AIDS
1994 - Tom Hanks - Mentally challenged optimist Forrest Gump
1995 - Nicolas Cage - Drinks himself to death with hooker
1997 - Jack Nicholson - OCD racist
1999 - Kevin Spacey - Unemployed pedophile wanna-be
2001 - Denzel Washington - Crooked murderous cop
2005 - Philip Seymour Hoffman - Played Truman Capote.
2006 - Forest Whitaker - Murderous tyrant Idi Amin.
2007 - Daniel Day-Lewis - Murderous Amoral Capitalist
2008 - Sean Penn - Gay Activist Harvey Milk

I think this list says a lot more about how Hollywood sees America than it does America as a whole.

Everyone remembers the scene, when Scout, Atticus Finch's daughter, was goaded by an African-American in the balcony to stand up in respect because her father was passing.

Out of those recent Oscar winning roles, which would make you stand up?

It's Official: Dolan for NYC

The Vatican Press Office has issued the following:

The Holy Father, Benedict XVI, has accepted the resignation from pastoral oversight of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of New York (U.S.A.), presented by His Eminence Card. Edward M. EGAN, in conformity with canon 401 § 1 of the Code of Canon Law.

The Pope has named Metropolitan Archbishop of New York (U.S.A.) H. E. Abp. Timothy M. DOLAN, up to now Archbishop of Milwaukee. [Holy See Press Office] translation Rorate Caeli

He is anticipated to make an appearance along side Cardinal Egan at mass this morning with a press conference to be held later.

John Allen has this take on the pattern developing in Pope Benedict's Episcopal appointments.

While Pope Benedict XVI’s appointment of Archbishop Timothy Dolan to New York hardly marks a dramatic break with key picks under recent popes, it may confirm an intriguing pattern-within-a-pattern under Benedict when it comes to the most important jobs in the United States.

In a sound-bite, one might call it a choice for “the center-right with a human face.”

In essence, that means leaders who are basically conservative in both their politics and their theology, but also upbeat, pastoral figures given to dialogue. It’s a pattern with across-the-board consequences for both the substance and the style of American Catholicism, and one that could carry particularly interesting implications for relations between church and state in the Age of Obama.

Smile broadly and carry a big stick.

A Real Global Crisis of Our Own Making

The word crisis is much abused in our society with any small inconvenience routinely elevated to crisis status. We dub the absurd notion that people who purchased a home with no money down at a price 8 times their annual income and cannot afford the payments, a mortgage crisis. There is the credit crisis (even with record refinancing going on), the oil shortage crisis, the Global Warming crisis, and many many other pseudo-crises that occupy our attention these days. We are told that we must act now or we may never recover.

But what if a real crisis was brewing and nobody seemed to notice or care? What if there was a problem that could lead to nations failing, economic meltdown, death by the millions, and war? What if their existed a potentially real and immediate crisis such as this, and no one seemed to notice? And what if, what if this real crisis was in large part spawned by reactionary measures meant to cure one of the above pseudo crises?

This is exactly what is happening. Worldwide grain production has failed to meet consumption for six of the last eight years and our reserve stocks have grain have fallen to a mere 60 days worth of consumption, a near record low. This puts much of the world more than one bad harvest away from massive starvation.

In the Bible, Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's dream inducing Pharaoh to store grain during the years of plenty to be ready for the coming famine. We have had no Joseph read the signs and to warn us off our course of folly.

There are several factors that contribute to this grain deficit, but among them is the rise of grain use for ethanol creation.

[Spiegel Online] The current surge in world grain prices is trend-driven; some of these trends expand demand and others restrict growth in supply. On the demand side, these trends include world population growth of 70 million people a year, a growing number of people consuming more grain-intensive products, and the massive diversion of US grain to ethanol-fuel distilleries. During the last few years, the United States's use of grain for ethanol has nearly doubled the annual growth in world grain consumption from 19 million metric tons to more than 36 million metric tons.

But this trend is just one factor leading to the shortfall but it is potentially the most alarming

This potential growth in demand for grain [consumption] is huge but it pales next to that for automotive fuel production. The automotive demand for crop-based fuels is insatiable. If the food value of grain is less than its fuel value, the market will move the grain into the energy economy. Thus as the price of oil rises, the price of grain follows it upward. The United States, in a misguided effort to reduce its dependence on foreign oil by substituting grain-based fuels, is generating global food insecurity on a scale not seen before.

With the demand for ethanol crop based fuel increasing rapidly, grain as food is becoming a more scarce and importantly, a more pricey commodity. This is not some future nightmare scenario. The effects of this dramatic change in demand coupled with supply problems adversely impacted by falling water tables, eroding soils, and drought is already having an effect on price and availability.

Signs of food stress are everywhere. After declining for several decades, the number of chronically hungry and malnourished people in developing countries bottomed out in 1996 at 800 million and has been climbing since. In 2006 it exceeded 850 million and in 2007 it climbed to over 980 million. The US Department of Agriculture projects the number will reach 1.2 billion by 2017. For the first time in several decades this basic social indicator is moving in the wrong direction, and it is doing so at a record rate and with disturbing social consequences.

For all the worrying that we do about fictional crises over which which we have little or no control, this is a real looming crisis about which nobody seems concerned. There are concrete things that we can do to avoid this crisis. Better water table management, technology, and other things can be addressed, not easily, but practically. More pernicious is the demand for ethanol as competitive fuel alternative. The more crops are used for fuel or if farmers choose to grow fuel crops rather than food crops, this problem will continue to worsen. This is the real problem because the the powers that be do not have the political foresight or political will to do what needs to be done. What we need is cheap oil. We need to find it and pump it. If we don't, millions may eventually starve. Not us of course, we are one of the biggest suppliers of grain to the world, but millions of our brothers in other counties will. The Spiegel article says:

The question -- at least for now -- is not will the world grain harvest continue to expand, but will it expand fast enough to keep pace with rapidly growing demand. If we continue down the current path it is not likely to do so, which means that food supplies will tighten further. There is a real risk that we could soon face civilization-threatening food shortages.

So there is the dilemma. Do what we can to provide stable and inexpensive fuel through oil, or face civilization threatening food shortages, the collapse of countries, starvation, and war.

Radical environmentalists want high oil prices to spur research into alternative fuels. However, this policy is not without consequences. Research must continue into alternative cost-effective fuels, of course, but it cannot be driven by artificially high oil prices. High taxation and ignoring ready sources of oil in the name of environmentalism distorts the market for fuel making ethanol an attractive substitute for those who can afford it. But is the starvation and death of millions worth it just to have a less expensive alternative to artificially expensive oil? The answer is no.

We must pump the oil we have to keep fuel prices stable and moderate. We must also incentivize research into alternatives that do not compete with the food supply. This can be done by direct funding of research and through large prize money for innovation. There are different ways to accomplish this and I am sure that people much smarter than I can figure out the best way to do it. What I do know is that when food competes against fuel, we all lose.

Death by Mixed Signals

In the same week that Pope Benedict XVI urged Nancy Pelosi to recognize the "dignity of human life," a California priest who publicly donated to Barack Obama's presidential campaign has been elevated to the rank of monsignor.

You think the Church is sending mixed messages to the faithful? Is it any surprise that over 50% of Catholics voted for the most pro-abortion presidential candidate in history.

According to California Catholic Daily

Fr. Arthur Holquin, pastor of Mission Basilica San Juan Capistrano, gave $250 to the Obama campaign on July 7, 2008, according to Federal Election Commission records. Fr. Holquin has been pastor of the San Juan Capistrano Mission for six years and, in May, will celebrate his 35th anniversary as a priest.

Now, this priest might be a great pastor to his flock in many ways but doesn't this send a seriously mixed message if a congresswoman from California is chided for her pro-choice stances while this California priest is made Monsignor?

There are many many reasons that people couldn't wrap their minds around voting for either McCain or Obama and just sat it out. But this priest not only supported Barack "I don't want her punished with a baby" Obama but donated money to him knowing the information would be made public. He wrote "Roman Catholic Priest" for the FEC disclosure.

So many Catholics are unclear on their responsibility when it comes to life. Promotions like this only serve to further muddy the water.

Fr. Holquin, in a public letter, explained his support for Obama at the time by saying:

"While I vigorously oppose Mr. Obama's pro-choice voting record, his clear opposition to the War in Iraq which is indeed a life issue, his strong and vocal stance against the use of torture, which is a life issue, his commitment to a responsible universal Health Care system in our land particularly for those who are on the margins, which is a life issue, as well as his very reasoned approach to addressing the present economic crisis that we face have brought me to this personal decision of support...Our Lord Jesus spent much of his ministry trying to heal the sick and thus I support candidates who seek to ensure that everyone's health needs in this country are met, especially those of our young children.

You've just got to love that he could write without irony "the health needs...especially those of our young children."

And we must always remember - free health care trumps the right to life. This is a difficult thing to bear, especially now, after President Obama signed off on changing the Mexico City policy almost immediately upon getting into office and has promised to sign the Freedom of Choice Act if Congress should pass it.

This promotion is harmful to all those pro-life Catholics who daily promote the culture of life, pray the Rosary outside of abortion clinics, and volunteer time at women's pregnancy centers.

Weekend on CMR, February 21-22, 2009

The Million Snowman March
—Some weekend silliness.

Awesome Virtual Tour of Beautiful Church
—360 degrees of holy.

Priest Compares Self to Jesus, UFO Cult Rallies To his Cause
—You know you're not having a good day when the UFO cult is on your side.

Repent-a-Palooza
—24 hour confession in the Big Apple. A good start.

Killing? Rape? Fine. But No Smoking!
—Hollywood is mad.

Laura Ingraham: Life Is Sacred Duty
—Say's the Pope made clear the cafeteria is closed!

CMR's 8 Weekly Signs of the Apocalypse
—A brand new feature very unlike any other feature.

Creative Minority Reader

Williamson Gets The Boot - From Argentina
—The Al Sharpton of the SSPX gets kicked out of Argentina.

Old School Funny
—I definitely had a drug problem.

Time Mag Mocks Church's FOCA Stand
—Silly Church actually believed what Obama said about abortion? That's just silly talk.

The Million Snowman March

I think these are the only people who actually fear global warming anymore.

HT Planet Gore

Awesome Virtual Tour of Beautiful Church

You think this is a great looking church from the outside. Go on in. Tell 'em CMR sent ya'.

The Parish Church of Marie Treu, in Vienna, Austria, was consecrated in 1719, completed in 1753 and had its first mass in 1796, as per Wikipedia. This gigapixel photo is fantastic!

Click here.

Priest Compares Self to Jesus, UFO Cult Rallies To his Cause

OK. There are two ways that Father Peter Kennedy should've known that he was on the wrong side of his argument with the Catholic Church.

1) He resorted to comparing himself to Jesus.

2)A UFO cult came to his aid.

Catholic priest Father Peter Kennedy, you might remember, has long been in a dustup with the Church as he's focused almost exclusively on social justice while eschewing spirituality. Fr. Kennedy has allowed women to preach at St Mary's Church and he often blesses homosexual couples.

But other than that he's probably really great!

Well, recently, according to Perth News, Fr. Kennedy told a packed church that it's O.K. for him to be criticized because you know who was also criticized. That's right your savior and mine Jesus Christ.

Yeah. He went there.

Archbishop John Bathersby terminated Fr Kennedy's appointment starting tomorrow so in an attempt to save his job, Fr. Kennedy tried to rally people to his cause during Sunday Mass because that's what Sunday mass is for. Around 600 people loudly applauded the priest after his sermon.

"People who are not part of our community will make judgments about us because of our so-called unorthodox behaviour," Fr Kennedy said. "But we can take heart from the words of Jesus himself, who was judged harshly for his unorthodox behaviour - 'By their fruits you will know them'."

Fr Kennedy said St Mary's was under attack because some felt the congregation puts too much emphasis on social justice and not enough emphasis on spirituality. And because of the dustup, poor Fr. Kennedy's plan to establish an aboriginal tent embassy on the site has been postponed which must have disappointed the small party of Raelians, who worship alien beings who have allegedly intervened in earthly affairs, who were outside St Mary's with signs supporting Fr Kennedy.

Kennedy defended himself with the rallying cry that Vatican II confirmed that the battle for justice was at the centre of the Gospels. If you don't remember that part of Vatican II that dealt with UFO cults and embassy tents, you should probably read "Lumen Gentium" again.

HT Matt Swaim of Apoloblogology

Repent-a-Palooza

Save confession, save the world.

I have oft complained about the lack of availability of confession. I think that in every diocese the should be at least one place or places, within driving distance of anywhere in the diocese, where confessions are always available. No appointments. No Saturday between 4:30-4:45. No, at least 7am until 10pm there should be a priest sitting in a confessional. I know this is tough these days with priests as stretched as they are, but I think the spiritual fruits would be impressive. Decisive.

In the diocese of New York they are going it one better, if only for a day, there will be 24hrs of confession at 20 Manhattan parishes March 6-7.

[Catholic Culture] Round-the-clock confessions will be heard at parishes in New York on March 6 and 7, in a campaign designed to bring lay Catholics back to the sacrament at the beginning of Lent. The "24 Hours of Confession" initiative will begin on Friday morning and conclude on Saturday morning, with priests available during most times at more than 20 Manhattan parishes. Mario Bruschi, who helped organize the event through the young-adults ministry at St. Patrick's Cathedral, said: “Thousands upon thousands of Catholics line-up to receive ashes on Ash Wednesday each year…imagine if these same thousands of Catholics line-up for confession?"

I have thought for many years, if we would just push confession with everything we had, talk about, advertise it, and promote repent-a-palooza such as this it would go a long way toward the restoration. Confession is the key.

So, if you are in New York on March 6-7, get thee to a confessional and pray for long lines.

Today on CMR - Friday, February 20, 2009

Killing? Rape? Fine. But No Smoking!
—Hollywood is mad.

Laura Ingraham: Life Is Sacred Duty
—Say's the Pope made clear the cafeteria is closed!

CMR's 8 Weekly Signs of the Apocalypse
—A brand new feature very unlike any other feature.

Williamson Gets The Boot - From Argentina
—The Al Sharpton of the SSPX gets kicked out of Argentina.

Old School Funny
—I definitely had a drug problem.

Time Mag Mocks Church's FOCA Stand
—Silly Church actually believed what Obama said about abortion? That's just silly talk.

CMR: Vote Like Dems
—The blogosphere is encountering a crisis unequaled in history so CMR has been forced to take this vote to the streets. Oh yeah, it's gonna' get ugly. NO JUSTICE! NO PEACE!

Creative Minority Reader

N.D. House Outlaws Abortion
—"Personhood" may be the legal backdoor to ending abortion in many states.

I Wish The Cowards Would Shut Up
—For a people who are too chicken to talk about race, we sure do talk about race ... alot.

This is What Gay Marriage Leads To!
—We Warned you about that slippery slope!

Be It Resolved - Take A Hike
—Texas Legislators put the debate where it should be telling the Feds to take a hike.

Killing? Rape? Fine. But No Smoking!

So, are you all geeked up about the upcoming "Watchmen" movie? Well this will warm your heart. You can feel safe that if you decide to bring your kids to the epic comic book movie they won't learn to smoke.

According to Director Zack Snyder, Warner Brothers outlawed a female character Laurie Juspeczyk from smoking in the movie as she did in the comic book.

According to Io9

Q: Where were Laurie's smokes, Zack?

A: "Yeah, Alan hates smoking. Alan Horn - the head of the studio - that's his biggest, biggest thing. The Comedian can smoke, because he might be a bad guy, he's the bad guy, but that's it. That was the line that he drew...I was sad, but it was either that or...the movie wouldn't have been made, literally.""

So there's no smoking in the movie because Warner Bros. has a conscience. How nice. Now, just to be clear - what Warner Bros. is cool with allowing in a comic book movie obviously geared towards a younger audience is a reportedly "brutal" rape scene, shapely girls running around in spandex without any real motivation other than running around in spandex, the graphic death of thousands, and liberal doses of violence, gore, and mayhem.

Can the world go anymore mad than it is? But rest assured that there's no smoking!