Ship of Fools!

Pope Benedict Restates Opposition To Abortion, Artificial Reproduction, Support for Natural Family Planning;

Pope Benedict XVI in a speech at Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Italy on Friday reiterated the Roman Catholic Church's support for natural family planning.

In his speech, the pope discussed the university's Paul VI's International Scientific Institute Of Research On Human Fertility And Infertility and its research on "responsible reproduction." He said the institute is working "to give a sound scientific basis to the natural control of human fertility and to attempt to overcome infertility by natural means". He also commended Pope Paul VI's 1968 papal letter, Humanae Vitae -- which outlawed all forms of contraception -- for discussing the "natural regulation of human fertility," and he repeated the Catholic Church's stance on overcoming infertility "in a natural way,".

Under Catholic doctrine, birth control and condoms are prohibited and natural family planning practices, such as the rhythm method, in which couples abstain from sex during a woman's fertile period, are allowed. The Roman Catholic Church in June of last year was successful in helping to block a referendum that would have dismantled Italy's law on artificial reproduction.(Reuters, 11/25)

AND.......

After many weeks of leaks and speculation, the Vatican on Tuesday published its instruction on gays in the clergy. The document has angered LGBT rights advocates and prompted one U.S. priest to resign in protest.Men with "deep-seated" homosexual tendencies should not be ordained, according to the nine-page document, but those with a "transitory problem" can be ordained if they have overcome their feelings for three years.Pope Benedict XVI approved the instruction Aug. 31, making it one of the first major documents he has approved for publication since being elected pope April 19.While the document has been in development for years, its existence was discovered in 2002 during the clergy sex abuse scandal.

"That shows the Vatican has no understanding of sexuality or homosexuality," said Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, a Washington, D.C. outreach to gay Catholics.The Vatican's distinction between "deep-seated" and "transitory" homosexual tendencies "ignores the past 40 years of scientific development in the area of sex research," DeBernardo charged.The American Psychological Association supports DeBernardo's assessment. According to its Web site, psychologists do not consider sexual orientation to be a conscious choice that can be voluntarily changed.

The Vatican continues to erroneously focus on gay men as the cause of the church sexual abuse crisis while neither addressing the root causes of the crisis nor disciplining in any fashion the bishops who share responsibility for it. Fr. Kelly, a priest in my childhood parish church is a perfect example of priests abusing young girls also..... The Making of a Monster discusses this in length and how the Worcester, Mass. diocese covered up his tracks.

WHICH ALL BRINGS ME TO:

As a Supreme Court justice, Samuel Alito would join the ranks of fellow Catholics John Roberts, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Anthony Kennedy, bringing the total count to five Catholics, or fifty five percent of the justices.
With only twenty four percent of US citizens identifying as Roman Catholic, this is clearly over representative of the general public and it's difficult to believe that the influence of the Catholic church would not be a consideration in the decisions they make.

Or is it?

On my way to work yesterday "Black Friday", and approaching my place of employment, I passed by Kmart and Walmart directly across the street from each other. Both parking lots were flooded with cars, lines of people stretched a block long.....

According to the evening news, people were trampled trying to get into the stores once the door were opened. Fights broke out, an elderly lady in a wheelchair was injured during the stampede. Is it all worth it? I'm not certain.

No one I know partakes in this American version of the running of the bulls. No one I know actually shops in either Kmart or Walmart. Well, some probably do, they just won't admit it.

I read the sales sections of the paper and it was tempting. Laptops for $399.00, 27 inch televisions for $149.00; and then I noticed it. Lord of the Rings, Return of the King and The Fellowship of the Ring..... DVD's on sale for $5.88 each. Dammit, dammit, dammit, I wanted to watch those three movies during my Christmas vacation.

I went to work, thinking about those three movies all day. I had to have them and yes, I was going to get them at $5.88 each.

Both KMart and Walmart had them on sale at the price, as did Target. I find Target somewhat bearable so the goal.... stop by after work, pick up the DVD's and get on my merry way.

Five o'clock and on my way home. Target number one, SOLD OUT! Target number 2, SOLD OUT! Target number 3, SOLD OUT.

By this time, I am NOT leaving this store empty handed. I purchased Meet the Fockers, $5.88 and with a free lovely neon pink plastic digital watch.

GOING THRU THE MOTIONS....

How I envy those who believe ..............

I'm going thru the motions today. I've had my first cup of pumpkin spice coffee and preparing for the second cup. The oven is being warmed up to start the cooking process. First, the pies which will be followed by the lil' butterball. Just big enough for the PUGLETS and I and two friends who will be arriving later today.

My sister and her family have as usual invited me to dinner, but I would never consider leaving the dogs alone on a holiday.

This is the first major holiday since the automobile accident that took my foster son eight months ago last Monday. There will be no "Happy Thanksgiving" telephone call ending with "love you". My body is shaking as badly as it did the moment I received that dreaded telephone call.

My anger at him for dying and at the world in general was so overwhelming, I was unable to grieve properly. I went thru the motions of existence but my spirit was gone.

I had just started blogging at that time and needing to express myself; this journal provided the outlet. Thru writing and reading other blogs, I discovered a new world. A world filled with an eclectic mix of interesting, entertaining and caring individuals.

I created a list of my favorite bloggers... My BLOGMASTERS

It is you my BLOGMASTERS that I am thankful for today. Thru sharing a part of your lives with me and allowing me into yours, it appears that I've somehow survived. Happy Thanksgiving!

Today, I'm no longer angry; the grieving process began with the first snow in Boston.
I didn't want him to be cold; I didn't want his body covered in snow. I wept uncontrollably until I could weep no more.
Today, I'm confident that although I will never forget, I will heal...... one day at a time!

Those who believe in a "going home", those who believe in an after life are blessed; the fact that I don't makes it more difficult.

Today is not a good day.

Tomorrow will be better.

Holiday Cooking Nightmares...

I'll never forget the first time I cooked Thanksgiving dinner. An eighteen pound Turkey would be perfect for 4 with leftovers for the weekend!
I pre heated the oven to 325 degrees, took that bird out of the refrigerator rinsed and patted it dry, and into a roasting pan and finally the oven it went......
I spent the next two and one-half hours cooking up a storm of potatoes, vegetables, and stuffing.
Friends were due to arrive in about 20 minutes when I decided to check the bird. The oven was hot, I tested the bird and it suddenly became apparent that a telephone call was in order.
I called my mother in Canada.


ME: "Mother, I've had the turkey in the oven at 325 degrees for approximately two hours now, and it's still partially frozen (skin a golden brown, inside frozen solid) !"

MOM: (laughing) "Jerry (my father) YOUR son is cooking a frozen turkey."

DAD: (laughing) "Tell YOUR son to leave it alone, he can have it for breakfast tomorrow morning."

The turkey ended up in the dumpster, I entertained my friends at a nearby restaurant............ A SAD BUT TRUE STORY!

How is your life rated?

SATURDAY AFTERNOON BOREDOM RELIEF!

I visited RUBEN's blog tonite and he has a new test...... It's a simple but very honest test which will tell you, and of course your readers exactly how exciting your life really is!
Check it out.....

THANKS, RUBEN!




My life is rated NC-17.
CLICK HERE: What is your life rated?

-- Record low support for U.S. President George Bush among Florida voters has dragged down support for his brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush as a future president.

By a 24-point margin -- 61 percent to 37 percent -- Florida voters disapprove of the president's performance, which is the lowest recorded in a similar poll by Connecticut's Quinnipiac University poll.

With those poll numbers, a third addition to the Bush White House dynasty looks unlikely soon from Thursday's poll, as 33 percent of Florida voters said they "definitely" or "probably" would vote for Jeb Bush, while 58 percent say they "probably" or "definitely" would not vote for him if he were to run for president in 2008.

Jeb Bush has consistently said he was not planning to run for president in 2008.

Let's hope he means it!

HAMDEN, Conn., Nov. 17 (UPI)

Caught Again

-- Presidential adviser Karl Rove and Kenneth Tomlinson, then chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, discussed creating a ``conservative'' talk show and adding it to the public television lineup, the organization's top investigator said.

Kenneth Konz, inspector general of the nonprofit company that oversees government funding of public TV, said in an interview yesterday that Tomlinson and Rove exchanged e-mails on programming and that Tomlinson also wrote to Rove about ``shaking up'' the agency and recruiting Republican staff.

In a report two days ago, Konz said Tomlinson broke federal laws and internal rules by hiring corporation President Patricia Harrison, a former Republican National Committee co-chairwoman, based on her Republican ties.

Tomlinson also improperly helped develop ``The Journal Editorial Report,'' a conservative talk show, for public TV, the six-month probe found.

The issue was ``the use of political tests that were seeking people from one party or from a conservative viewpoint,'' Konz said yesterday.

Konz said he tried to interview Rove and two other White House officials who engaged in e-mail exchanges with Tomlinson about Harrison's hiring and other matters.

Interviews Refused

Rove, 54, the principal architect of President George W. Bush's political campaigns, has been questioned by a federal grand jury investigating who disclosed the identity of a Central Intelligence Agency operative to reporters.

Tomlinson, 61, resigned from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting earlier this month after a draft of the report was given to the agency's board.

The Theory of Dumb Design

THEORY OF DUMB DESIGN MAY EXPLAIN PAT ROBERTSON
Televangelist's Brain, Mouth Elude Other Theories, Experts Say

Out of the controversial debate pitting the theory of evolution against the theory of intelligent design has emerged a new theory, dumb design, which some experts believe may explain the televangelist Pat Robertson.

The theory of dumb design holds that human beings were designed by a superior being, but one who mysteriously designed certain humans in a particularly dumb way.

Enter Rev. Robertson, whom many experts in the theory of dumb design are calling "Exhibit A" in their effort to prove that the theory holds water.

"If you take a look at Pat Robertson's brain and mouth, and how they work or do not work in concert, you have a fairly persuasive argument that the theory of dumb design is valid," said Dr. Davis Logsdon of the University of Minnesota, one of the leading advocates of the dumb design theory.

The theory of dumb design began to gain traction in August, when Rev. Robertson called upon the U.S. to assassinate Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez.

And last week, when Rev. Robertson warned the people of Dover, Pennsylvania, that God would strike them with natural disasters after they removed school board members who favored teaching creationism, the theory of dumb design seemed to achieve critical mass.

But even an adherent of dumb design like Dr. Logsdon warns against putting too much stock in the theory, adding, "No one theory could possible explain all the things Pat Robertson says."
From an e-mail......Author Unknown.....

PATIENCE

Patience is a virtue, but persistence to the point of success is a blessing.

My goal in life is to be as good of a person as my dog already thinks I am.
- Unknown

SINGING THE BLUES PART 3

I still have no keyboard since the wine spilling accident of last Sunday. Hopefully, this will be corrected this evening.

In the meantime... direct from my desk at work... (when I should be working)...

It's not easy being a Christian today...

You have to believe that any natural disaster is caused by God's anger at something you, your family, your community, your state or country has done to offend the Creator of Intelligent Design.

It didn't take long for Pat Robertson to jump into the fray caused by the citizens of Dover, Pa. who ousted eight of the nine member school board who wanted to include the teaching of Intelligent Design as part of the school curriculum and replacing them with a bipartisan slate of "pro-evolution" candidates who say intelligent design, with its biblical leanings, has no place in the high school biology curriculum.

"I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover: If there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God. You just rejected him from your city." God is tolerant and loving, but we can't keep sticking our fingers in his eye forever," Robertson said. "If they have future problems in Dover, I recommend they call on Charles Darwin. Maybe he can help them."

The problem is, some people are actually going to believe this idiot!

Advice to self....... go back to bed, pull the covers over your head and pretend none of this shit is actually happening!

SINGING THE BLUES PART 2

We are saved!

According to one of the members of the Christian Coalition who attended the Hillsborough County school board meeting this week "we no longer need to worry about hurricanes or other wrath from on high now that the board has reinstated the religious holidays that were previously taken off the school calender.

Here's the story:

Local Muslims asked to have Eid-al-Fitr included as a school holiday. The key word is included; no one was asking to cancel Christian and Jewish holidays...... The school board removed Yom Kippur, Good Friday and the Monday after Easter (no one seems to know what religious holiday that is) instead of allowing Eid-al-Fitr as a holiday.... This , of course caused the Christian evangelicals and all the other nutsoidz in Hillsborough County to go ballistic.

Soooooo... fearing the wrath of God and His representatives here in Hillsborough County, the school board this week re-instated the holidays originally removed from the school calender, minus of course, Eid-al-Fitr. I think terror struck their mini brains after one speaker at the meeting intimated that a hurricane could very well hit Tampa Bay next year should the school board not see the light.

Here are some examples of the e-mails the School Board received from those "Christians" who were quick to point out that America is a CHRISTIAN country and should have christian holidays.

"I am sick of this. Either adopt my country's founding principles and Christian heritage or leave."

"Please do not bow to Muslim pressure. If they want special religious holidays, let them go back to their country of origin!...Who is next? Wickens [sp], Scientologists, Voodoo?"

This is the best one!

"If you - as a Board - take this stance, then be assured that the Christian majority will do everything in its power to ensure that you are voted out of leadership. And the moral decline in our schools will rest solely and squarely on your shoulders."

BE AFRAID...... BE VERY AFRAID!

SINGING THE BLUES

Sunday afternoon, as I was commenting on a post by one of my BOLGMASTERS, Crackerlilo, I spilled an entire glass of wine on my keyboard and onto the floor.

The PUGLETS, curious as always ran to the growing puddle and started licking the wine off the floor. Faced with the decision to either clean the keyboard or have a pair of drunk dogs staggering around the house, I chose (to the dismay of the PUG) to run for paper towels to wipe the floor.
By the time I got to the keyboard, it was now colored a dark burgundy and saturated with a fine California Shiraz.
I managed to shake the wine off of the keyboard, wipe it down and allow it to dry......

By Sunday evening, the keyboard was dry but still somewhat intoxicated. I could only type with the letters on the left hand side of the keyboard. By Monday evening, the keyboard was relatively sober and I could type will all the keys except the G and H..... which have never fully recovered. Sorry Blogzie.... I did want to comment to a post but without the "G" BLOZIE just didn't look right on that comment.

It's time to part ways with my first keyboard..... A very sad situation (I love my "things" and become very possessive)!
Hopefully, by the weekend, I will be back on track and happily tapping the keys of a new keyboard!
In the meantime, I will be spending time looking out my office windows to make certain none of my staff are watching me reading and responding to your blogs!

WELCOME HOME POBBLE!

Arrogance

ARROGANCE

At a breakfast sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor, Former President Jimmy Carter said Thursday that "fundamentalism" under George W. Bush has resulted in a "dramatic and profound and unprecedented change" in American policy that threatens the United States at home and abroad.

Carter was critical of the Bush administration for "an unprecedented and overt ... merger of the church and state, of religion and politics."

He said Bush has made significant changes to U.S. foreign policy and human rights doctrine, resulting in precipitous declines in the country's standing abroad.

Carter was especially critical at the breakfast meeting of Bush's decision to invade Iraq and cut taxes and of what Carter said is the administration's dismissal of international arms and human rights agreements.

He said the natural "arrogance" of second-term presidents is exacerbated by a fundamentalism under Bush that causes many of his supporters and those who work in his administration to believe that "I am right because I am close to God (and) anybody who disagrees with me is inherently wrong, and therefore inferior."

Carter acknowledged that both he and Bush proclaim their Christian faith as part of their governing philosophy, but the similarity ends there.

"I don't have any doubt that he is very sincere about his Christian faith," Carter said of Bush. "There are some differences in interpretation. ... I have a commitment to worship the Prince of Peace, not the prince of pre-emptive war. I believe that Christ taught us to give special attention to the plight of the poor."

Bush, he said, "has committed himself to extol the advantages of the rich."

By Chuck Raasch, Gannett News Service for USA Today

Being a Republican in 2005

BEING A REPUBLICAN IN 2005 HAS GOT TO BE DIFFICULT
Somehow, you're expected to believe that . . . . .

1. Jesus loves you and shares your hatred of homosexuals and Hillary Clinton.

2. The United States should get out of the United Nations, but our highest national priority is enforcing U. N. resolutions against Iraq.

3. "Standing Tall for America" means firing your workers and moving their jobs to India, the Far East or Central America.

4. A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body, but multi-national corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind without regulation.

5. Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a conservative radio host. Then it's an illness, and you need our prayers for your recovery.(Does Rush come to mind?)

6. The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches, while slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay.

7. Group sex and drug use are degenerate sins, unless you some day run for governor of California as a Republican.(Wonder who they are talking about?)

8. If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex.

9. A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our long-time allies, then demand their cooperation and money.

10. HMOs and insurance companies have the interest of the public at heart.

11. Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy. Providing health care to all Americans is socialism.

12. Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools.

13. It is okay that the Bush family has done $millions of business with the Bin Laden family.

14. Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush's daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him, and a bad guy when Bush needed a "We can't find Bin Laden" diversion.

15. A president lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachable offense. A president lying to enlist support for a war in which thousands die is solid defense policy.