October 2008 Archives

IT AIN'T OVER TILL IT'S OVER

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From Hillbuzz (that's Hill as in Hillary supporters who are now backing McCain): the Obamedia will tell you all weekend that Obama is winning Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Florida, Iowa, Virginia, West Virginia, and other states we do not believe Obama will win (except for Iowa, which we still think goes to Obama, but our best sources claim McCain now leads in internals by 1 point). They are already starting to say truly crazy things like “Obama will win Louisiana and Arkansas!”, and that’s just nuts....

This is like in Little League when the opposing team would chant, “Hey batta hey batta hey batta hey batta hey batta sa-weeeeeeeeeng batta” when you were at the plate, to make you swing too soon or too late. Just to psych you out. And that nonsense actually worked on Team Hillary, because we lost a lot of volunteers who Eeyored off the face of the Earth just before Super Tuesday, so convinced of unprecedented blow-out doom.

So, when you see the Obamedia doing all of this to McCain, please know they are crying wolf again. Don’t let that demoralize you!....

Ha! Zmirak on that word...

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...the one that makes my skin crawl:

These folks are called Foodies, so named because the rest of us would gladly feed them to alligators....

I Am Not Big on The Death Penalty

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but things like this can make me reconsider. This makes my blood boil and my heart break.

Report: Body of Boy Found in SUV 'Likely' That of Hudson's Missing Nephew

According to The Superficial Jennifer Hudson is identifying the body now.

This shouldn't happen to children. I don't know what is worse, how scared this little guy must have been, or how he suffered before or after he was shot. If children are made to suffer through an ordeal like this, there should be a triumph in the end. They should be rescued and comforted, not this.

Condolences and prayers to the King/Hudson families. RIP Little Guy.

Blessed are the poor in spirit

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This touching story comes from the combox of Dawn Patrol's entry 'I saw some things I can’t get out of my head' Med student 'incredibly freaked out' after a day at Planned Parenthood:

Before Pope Benedict came to America to celebrate Mass in New York and Washington, it was revealed that as a young boy in Germany he had had a cousin with Down Syndrome. One day a Nazi doctor came and claimed his cousin for the Third Reich. Taken to be “cared for” at the “hospital” young Karl Ratzinger never saw his cousin again: one of the host of “useless eaters” marked for extermination by that brutal regime.


My wife and I operate St. Joseph’s House, a daycare and respite care home for handicapped children. As it happened one of the children we care for, a wheelchair bound young lady, was chosen along with three other handicapped folks to carry the gifts up to the altar before the consecration at the Mass at Nationals Stadium in Washington D.C. on April 17, 2008. One of these was James, a 30ish man who works in the Officer’s Club at Andrews AFB. James has Down Syndrome. He was chosen to carry the large host which would become the Body of Christ lifted up before the assembled. As James with great ceremony advanced toward the Pope, his native enthusi­asm overcame his reserve and he started to run. Simultaneously the Holy Father leapt from his chair and walked towards James with his arms out­stretched. We have a picture of this moment which I cannot look at without tearing up. What did he see as he gazed so lovingly at James? I believe he saw his cousin. I believe he saw the face of Jesus. And I believe that his great prayer as he elevated that host on that impossibly beautiful day was “As long as you did to these the least of my brethren, you did it to Me.”


The next day April 18th, a boy was born to of all people, the Gover­nor of Alaska. They named him Trig.
Dan LaHood | 10.23.08 - 6:38 am |

Somethings I Can't Do

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I can do 4 loads of laundry a day. I can spend much energy fretting over how to pay the next bill, how to pay for Christmas or school books, or worrying about filling our increasingly larger vehicles with gas. I can deal with multiple fund raisers from school. I can be burnt out at the end of some days because lots of littles have a way of making the place constantly looking like a nuclear bomb went off despite my best efforts. I can deal with gestational diabetes, colic, mastitis, post partum depression. Tag team diaper changes, yep I do that. Sewing hand-me-downs to get more use out of clothes, sewing Halloween costumes, snow suits and coats, check. Three meals a day cooking mostly from scratch to stretch a budget as far as it can go while keeping meals appetizing, nutritious and made with whole foods. Let's not forget sleepless nights with babies, and getting up at 5.30 AM to start the chores and see the kids off to school. A house filled with every available spot of wall space covered with book shelves for kid's books, school books and "worthwhile reading", and an extra dresser in each bedroom. Yep. Such a pain, but I do that. Getting over the hump of first handwriting lessons, times tables and phonics. Teenagers, teenage music (Tokio Hotel anyone?) and teenage fashion. Yeah, kind of like purgatory.

All that stuff it passes, and at the end of the day, it's so worth it. There is no comparison between the work and stresses of having a large family brings and simply having my large family. Everyday I thank God for sending them to me. We don't have a lot, but we have each other and sometimes I think it can't get any better than my husband and children.

All that stuff above is hard work, but it is fulfilling meaningful work and I take it on gladly (well, not all the time). But I do take it on and I know better than anyone what it is to do all that in my home. I think God gives me the strength, although I'd be lying if I said without complaint. I love to complain. But I still do it. Everyday.

That stuff is incredibly easy to deal with, but I can't take take the remarks. I am at the end of my rope with the remarks. I can spread my laundry out throughout the day to make it more manageable. I don't know how to spread the nasty remarks out in my heart to make them more manageable. I don't know how to deal with either the lack of words, no congratulations, just admonishing looks used to teach me lesson in case I accidentally find joy at the arrival of another child. Am I supposed to think "well, at least they are not gossiping about me?" I don't know how to deal with overhearing another round of gossip about how I can't possibly understand or handle all the above life's difficulties with a family my size. I am tired of people who spend no time around my kids dismissing them all as "bad" and undisciplined, not because they are, but because they are simply there. Complete strangers who are around my children in not so fun situations like Mass, doctor's office waiting rooms, restaurants compliment us all the time. We must be doing something right once in awhile.

I don't know how to deal anymore. Each remark weighs on me heavier and heavier. Every lack of defense those close to me do not make while others go on rampages about my stupid choices to have my family hurts as well. If people close to me cannot see all the work I do, then what do they see about me? I don't want to know and when I get a small glimpse, it hurts. This life I have, it's not just what I do, it's who I am. This choice to not just simply take the stupid Pill already is not because I am too stupid nor because i am too holier-than-thou (depending on which family member you talk to), it's simply because I couldn't live with myself.

Jesus said:

Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake: Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets that were before you. You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt lose its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is good for nothing any more but to be cast out, and to be trodden on by men. You are the light of the world. A city seated on a mountain cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but upon a candlestick, that it may shine to all that are in the house. Matt. 5:11-15

This brings me comfort, yet I wonder if I dare be so arrogant to think He meant me too. I don't know, but it's all I got right now standing between sanity and deep, deep sadness.

This Should Be Passed On

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Curt Jester posts this letter by Bishop Hermann:

Save our children! More than anything else, this election is about saving our children or killing our children. This life issue is the overriding issue facing each of us in this coming election. All other issues, including the economy, have to take second place to the issue of life.

Save our children! Many people in Germany supported Hitler for economic reasons even though, as his programs advanced, he put to death millions of Jewish people. He ended up wrecking the economy together with the country of Germany.

How are we different if we vote for proabortion candidates for office? How can we help change our political and legal situation to protect innocent children and support a culture of life?

Save our children! When I speak to some socalled good Catholics, I am shocked that they are quite ready to vote for a pro-abortion candidate under almost any circumstance. I find this hard to understand. We have heard the word "abortion" so often that perhaps we no longer associate procured abortion with the killing of children, yet that is what it is. The term itself can be misleading. The dictionary tells us that it comes from a Latin word that means "to disappear or to miscarry." Sometimes abortions simply happen because of natural causes. That is why this word abortion, for many people, apparently does not really connote the destruction of children. When a human agent induces an abortion, that human agent is taking the life of one of our children.

Save our children! How can a so-called good Catholic vote for a candidate that supports laws that take the life of innocent children, when there is an alternative? If there were two candidates who supported abortion, but not equally, we would have the obligation to mitigate the evil by voting for the less-permissive candidate.

Save our children! How can a so-called good Catholic vote for a candidate that supports laws that justify the killing of a child that survived a botched abortion? How can such a so-called good Catholic receive the Holy Eucharist?

In Chapter 10 of St. Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, he states: "The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the Blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? ... You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and also the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and of the table of demons."

Save our children! Have some of our so-called good Catholics become so hardened against the Gospel of Life that they believe that other issues outweigh the Gospel of Life? Have some of our so-called good Catholics put politics ahead of the Fifth Commandment, in which God states: "Thou shalt not kill"? Do some of our so-called good Catholics, who may go to Mass every Sunday and receive the Holy Eucharist, really believe that voting for a pro-abortion candidate, when there is a clear alternative and therefore no justifiable reason for so doing, is really not voting to have children killed? This election is all about saving our children!

Save our children! I have no doubt that there may be some so-called good Catholics who are reading this column and who may be really angry about now. I ask the question "Why would such a person be angry?" If we do good deeds, then our conscience is at peace. If we do evil deeds, then our conscience bothers us. It is my hope that this column will lead some of our so-called good Catholics to study the Catholic Catechism.

Save our children! Some of our so-called good Catholics may have hardened their hearts against the real understanding of induced abortions, that they can no longer see that this involves the destruction of our children. "If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts!"

Save our children! Supporting induced abortions is not the greatest sin in the world. A greater sin is the refusal to repent of such a serious crime or the denial that this involves the killing of innocent children.

Save our children! I have used this terminology again and again penetrate the defenses of anyone who in the past may have put personal, economic or political interests above the issue of saving our children. The right to life is our most fundamental right, and to defend this right on behalf of the most vulnerable is a great privilege and is worth giving one's life for. Policemen and firemen always risk their lives to save human life. Why should we not risk our own reputation to save our children?

Save our children!You can see by now that I do not believe that this column by itself will change hearts. The issue of abortion involves serious sin, and to overcome serious patterns of sin requires grace. If you are still with me, may I suggest that you join me and many others in praying the daily Rosary from now until election day for the sake of life. Why not pray the family Rosary every night between now and the general election. The Rosary brought down the Iron Curtain. It can also help us turn around the culture of death to a culture of life.

Save our so-called good Catholics who ignore Catholic moral principles when applied to our political life. Pray the family Rosary daily. Pray the family Rosary for our so-called good Catholics who could use your love and your charity. Pray for our so-called good Catholics who ignore serious Catholic moral teachings and still receive Holy Communion. Love them by praying the family Rosary for them. Don't debate with them. Intercede for them. Praying for them is more fun than fighting with them.

Save our children and save our so-called good Catholics who have abandoned Church teachings in favor of personal gain. Pray the Rosary. Pray it every day. Get the whole family to pray the Rosary daily. Prayer is more powerful than contentious arguments. Spread the word to other families. In praying the Rosary, children's votes count as much as adult votes. Sometimes they pray with purer hearts than we do. If you are disgusted with the TV news, then turn it off and turn on the prayer Internet. What we hear in prayer leaves us in peace. When we pray for our country and for our fellow citizens, we are filled with peace. St. Paul tells us that our warfare is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities and powers and the spirits of darkness.

Prayer is our protection. Let it also be a protection for our country. If you want to make Satan angry, pray the Rosary for the sake of Life. Pray that as a nation we will choose leaders that will say 'no' to the culture of death and say 'yes' to the culture of life. Save our children! Pray the Rosary!

Please, somebody stop me....

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...before I GET MYSELF ON THE ELEVEN O'CLOCK NEWS.

My cube is close to the kitchen, and two women whose voices carry all-too-well are discussing the debate (they think Obama won). One of them is mentioning that the only president she can remember who balanced the budget was Bill Clinton.... "remember? He shut the government down, twice I think, in order to do it!"

and I SWEAR I am going to have to CHEW OFF MY OWN LIMB to keep myself from storming in there and shrieking NEWT GINGRICH CONTRACT WITH AMERICA !!!1!ELEVENTY-ONE!!!!!

Saint Gerard Majella-Pray for Us

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Today is the Feast of St. Gerard, Patron of Expectant Mothers.

Here I am, expecting mother at 23 weeks (well, 22 weeks and 4 days in this picture).

More dancing with Fifi

Because A Mind Is A Terrible Thing

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Harlem Voters

HT:Catholic and Enjoying It

Sex and Social Justice

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Very good articleby Bruce Wydick that comes our way via The Dawn Patrol.

Here's a sneak peek:

But the data show that many people today feel that consensual sex between two people who care for each other is a valid and harmless choice, regardless of whether the participants are married.

Two significant flaws are present in this view. First, sex is
qualitatively different from other activities. It is not like working
alongside someone on a project. It is not like enjoying a
beer and a burger with someone. It is not like playing tennis.
Sex is a total physical giving of ourselves to another human
being. It is humans’ most vulnerable, private act.

Second, sex is how life itself is created. There is no other
act in which we engage with another person that can create
life. And this life reproduces the genes of the two people
involved. The two literally become one in the form of a third
person. Sex is like no other human activity.

By emphasizing sex as recreation—something enjoyable
that does not require any deeper commitment—our culture
has moved sex from the level of sacred act (which God
intended it to be) down to the level of tennis. Moreover,
by emphasizing mutual consent as a basis for legitimizing
premarital sex, our culture overlooks essential differences
between men and women, important asymmetries that bring
this “if it’s consensual it’s okay” view sharply into question.

...the risk is to cease being the Church Militant and to become instead the "Church Belligerent." This term describes not so much a specific group of people as a certain attitude, mindset, or approach. It indicates the necessary fighting spirit of the Church Militant severed from the principle of charity. And it constitutes a hazard—not for those who think that the past forty years have been a catechetical and liturgical success, not for those who see no need to evangelize, not for those waiting for the Church to be updated. Rather, it poses a threat precisely to those—to us—who take the demands of the Church Militant seriously, who see the crisis in society and within the Church, who recognize the catechetical and liturgical fallout of almost four decades, and who desire to enter into the battle for souls.

Since we must do battle, we must also be on our guard, lest our fighting sense become the only sense we have. Perhaps by considering certain characteristics of the Church Belligerent, we can better guard ourselves against it....

Heterodox Really is a Great Word

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Catholic Minority Report lists the Top Ten Ways You Know You're On a Catholic Blog

Number 8 had me cracking up:

8) The word “heterodox” is used. A lot.

So I did a TSM search, and yep, it's been used. A lot.

I actually stopped using it because I was having a conversation with someone recently where I said something was heterodox and they said "what?"

"Heterodox"

"What's that?"

"It's the opposite of orthodox...you know, against Church teaching...if you're Catholic..."

Nevermind.

I called my doctor's office because I was experiencing many symptoms that may or may not be associated with pre-term labor. They were noticeable enough to stop me throughout the day, so after conferring with fellow Momfolk, I figured a call to the doctor was in order. I hate calling the doctor and this is exactly why:

"Is this your first baby?

"No, number 7."

"Oh, well that's what your problem is! Everything down there is shot."

"Um, oh"

"Yeah, Hon', it's done, you have no muscle tone left. You're all used up.

"Oh, well, um..."

"There's nothing. Nothing to hold anything up."

"OK, then. I got it. Glad there's no cause for concern."

I kind of had a feeling that what i was experiencing was heightened sensitivity due to being a grand multipara, and I was relieved that is all it was, but dang. There has to be a more politically or medically correct way of stating things. Goodness.

Oh, for the love of...!

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Archbishop of New Orleans criticizes ‘blatantly anti-life’ sterilization proposal

Louisiana’s Rep. John LaBruzzo, a Republican from Metairie, last week said he is studying a plan to pay poor women $1,000 to have their Fallopian tubes tied.

His proposal would also cover other forms of birth control, such as vasectomies for men, and could also encourage tax incentives for college-educated, higher-income people to have more children, the Times-Picayune reports.

Speaking of demographic trends, LaBruzzo said: “We're on a train headed to the future and there's a bridge out… And nobody wants to talk about it.”

LaBruzzo said he is concerned that people receiving government aid such as food stamps and subsidized housing are reproducing at a faster rate than the more affluent, better-educated people who presumably pay more taxes to the government.

I don't even want to comment. This acceptable disdain for the poor that is starting to enter everyday language is scary.

HT:Curt Jester


Di Fattura Caslinga: Pansy's Etsy Shop
The Sleepy Mommy Shoppe: Stuff we Like
(Disclaimer: We aren't being compensated to like this stuff.
Any loose change in referral fees goes to the Feed Pansy's Ravenous Teens Fund.)


Pansy and Peony: The Two Sleepy Mommies



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