Wednesday, October 30, 2002

This is just plain stupid



They wanted to search the woman, so she showed them that she had nothing to hide. Now they want to throw the book at her? The people who tie up the justice system with this type of nonsense should all be thrown in jail themselves!

ABCNEWS.com : Woman Accused of Stripping at Airport



A Frenchwoman accused of undressing during an airport security screening could face up to three years in prison if convicted under a law passed after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
A Modern Tale of Sportsmanship



From the James Walker at The Herald-Dispatch:

The story, which is destined to become legendary in Southern Ohio circles, starts in Waverly.



Northwest football coach Dave Frantz and Tigers’ coach Derek DeWitt shared a conversation the week leading up to the game.



But the two coaches weren’t discussing strategy, instead they were talking about a mentally-handicapped Northwest player by the name of Jake Porter.



Porter, a senior, has a disorder called "Chromosomal Fragile-X," which is the most common cause of inherited mental retardation.



Porter still shows up on time for practice every day and dresses in full gear during games, but he has yet to take an official snap in a football game.



Frantz wanted that streak to end last Friday.



"I told them (Waverly) ahead of time that he can’t take a hit or anything," Frantz said. "If the game’s not at stake on the last play, I wanted him to come in and take a knee."



Yet a week after their conversation, with Waverly leading 42-0 with five seconds remaining, coach DeWitt offered Frantz one better.



"During the timeout, he met me in the middle of the field and said ‘We’ll let him score,’" Frantz explained. "(Initially) I said ‘Nah.’ Then we talked about it with the referees, and they said ‘Hey coach, we understand."



What soon followed will forever go down in Southern Ohio football lore.



At Waverly’s 49-yard line, Porter entered the game at tailback, had his play, "84-iso," called in the huddle, and when the ball was snapped all 21 players parted ways.



Porter was somewhat surprised when he slowly walked through the huge hole. He initially turned back around to the original line of scrimmage, but everyone on the field -- including defensive players from Waverly -- pointed and guided Porter toward the Tigers’ end zone.



"When we practiced it, he was supposed to down it, so I think he was a little confused at first," Northwest tailback Zach Smith said. "But once he figured it out, he took off."



The 49-yard trek to glory took about 10-12 seconds in all, and was culminated by players from both sidelines cheering and running step-for-step with Porter to the end zone.



Tears flowed from the bleachers well into the night, and the life of one young man was changed forever.

Wednesday, October 23, 2002

Did the Oklahoma City Bombing have Middle Eastern ties afterall?



FromThis is London:



But what increasingly drew her attention was another Iraqi living in Oklahoma City, a restaurant worker called Hussain Hashem Al Hussaini, whose photograph was almost a perfect match to the official sketch of "John Doe 2".



Al Hussaini has a tattoo on his upper left arm, indicating he was once a member of Saddam's elite Republican Guard.



Since then, Davis has gathered hundreds of court records and the sworn testimony of two dozen witnesses. Several claimed to have seen a man fitting Al Hussaini's description drinking with McVeigh in a motel bar four days before the bombing.



Others positively identified former Iraqi soldiers in the company of McVeigh and Nichols. Two swore that they had seen Al Hussaini only a block from the Murrah building in the hours before the bombing. With the case against McVeigh and Nichols seemingly watertight, the FBI has until now consistently refused to reopen it. McVeigh went to his death in the execution chamber two years ago, insisting he alone was responsible.

Tuesday, October 22, 2002

The Oldest Witness to Jesus?



The discovery of the ossiary of St. James may not be the oldest testament to the existence of Jesus but rather something that is mentioned in the Gospels themselves---The "Titulus Crucis," literrally the "cross sign or title." The placard that Pilate ordered nailed over Jesus on the cross. It exists as a relic in a church and recent studies seem to point to it's authenticity.

Monday, October 21, 2002

St. Augustine on Prayer



From the Office of Readings



Let us always desire the happy life from the Lord God and always pray for it. But for this very reason we turn our mind to the task of prayer at appointed hours, since that desire grows lukewarm, so to speak, from our involvement in other concerns and occupations. We remind ourselves through the words of prayer to focus our attention on the object of our desire; otherwise, the desire that began to grow lukewarm may grow chill altogether and may be totally extinguished unless it is repeatedly stirred into flame.



Therefore, when the Apostle says: Let your petitions become known before God, this should not be taken in the sense that they are in fact becoming known to God who certainly knew them even before they were made, but that they are becoming known to us before God through submission and not before men through boasting.
A beautiful column on praying the rosary by Peggy Noonan



Here is a sampling:



The third joyful mystery is the birth of Christ in a manger. It's not hard to imagine this. It's hard to control one's imaginings. I imagine the trek to the manger, the disheartened young husband, the sound of the eating area of the inn as they trudge on, hungry and alone. And then a car alarm goes off. And suddenly I'm wondering: Did she have a hard labor? Did God want her to know from the beginning that her joy would be ever accompanied by pain? Did she weep him into the world? Maybe it was an easy birth. God knew she was barely more than a child, with a young husband and no help, just the two of them in the cold in a hut on a hill.



When the child was born, did he cry aloud with a great wail, and did the cry enter the universe? Did it become a sound wave of significant density? Is it still out there, radiating out into the stars, and did the Voyager II bump into it? If, as an astronaut, you traveled through that sound wave in the year 2063, would it jostle your space capsule and disturb your small universe? Would you hear something? What?



Did someone unrecorded by history see a light in the hut on the hill and come to help Mary and Joseph that night? Maybe there was an old woman with moles and wens and a sharp bent nose, a woman almost comically ugly, like a witch in a child's Halloween book. Maybe she lived in isolation, never left her small hovel, but she felt called to assist, tugged by some wonder that pierced her estrangement. She helped with the birth, and hers was the first face he saw. Her outer appearance was an expression of the inner wounds he came to heal. As if she were the physical representation of the state of man's soul. Maybe it was she who wrapped him in rags; maybe she bent down, breathed him in, her face bathed in the warm mist of a brutal birth on a frosty night. Maybe when she returned home she was beautiful. But no one knew, and it all went unrecorded, because she never left the house again. And never knew she had been made lovely.




Sunday, October 20, 2002

Detroit Priests (four of them) defend Pro-choice candidate for Michigan Governor's race pro-choice position



This shows the confusion that reigns among the clergy in this country when it comes to morality.



From the Detroit Free Press:



The context in which Jennifer Granholm is required to operate is an exceptionally complex one. As governor, she would be required to uphold the laws of the state and of the country. The decision to balance conflicting claims in a widely diverse society is not a simple one. "Man's dignity demands that he act according to a knowing and free choice," Vatican II declares. "Such a choice is personally motivated and prompted from within. It does not result from blind internal impulse nor from mere external pressure." When caught in conflicting values one must choose the course of action that will maximize the positive values and minimize the disvalues.




Talk about twisting the meaning of a phrase!



Wednesday, October 16, 2002

The Vatican releases APOSTOLIC LETTER ROSARIUM VIRGINIS MARIAE



The whole document is at the Vatican website:



A proposed addition to the traditional pattern



19. Of the many mysteries of Christ's life, only a few are indicated by the Rosary in the form that has become generally established with the seal of the Church's approval. The selection was determined by the origin of the prayer, which was based on the number 150, the number of the Psalms in the Psalter.



I believe, however, that to bring out fully the Christological depth of the Rosary it would be suitable to make an addition to the traditional pattern which, while left to the freedom of individuals and communities, could broaden it to include the mysteries of Christ's public ministry between his Baptism and his Passion. In the course of those mysteries we contemplate important aspects of the person of Christ as the definitive revelation of God. Declared the beloved Son of the Father at the Baptism in the Jordan, Christ is the one who announces the coming of the Kingdom, bears witness to it in his works and proclaims its demands. It is during the years of his public ministry that the mystery of Christ is most evidently a mystery of light: “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (Jn 9:5).



Consequently, for the Rosary to become more fully a “compendium of the Gospel”, it is fitting to add, following reflection on the Incarnation and the hidden life of Christ (the joyful mysteries) and before focusing on the sufferings of his Passion (the sorrowful mysteries) and the triumph of his Resurrection (the glorious mysteries), a meditation on certain particularly significant moments in his public ministry (the mysteries of light). This addition of these new mysteries, without prejudice to any essential aspect of the prayer's traditional format, is meant to give it fresh life and to enkindle renewed interest in the Rosary's place within Christian spirituality as a true doorway to the depths of the Heart of Christ, ocean of joy and of light, of suffering and of glory.



Tuesday, October 15, 2002

Today is the Feast of St. Teresa of Avila



Some of her writings are available online at St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)

Monday, October 14, 2002

First Prediction for Snow this year--this Friday



From weather.com
From the Blessed George Preca's online page



Spirituality



Another Marian devotion that our Founder treasured was the Holy Rosary. In order to encourage everyone to recite the rosary, he used to say: “Our Lady waits for our Rosary even up till midnight!”. For him, the Rosary was not only a vocal prayer, but also a prayer of a meditative and contemplative nature. This can be seen clearly in his writing called The Mysteries of Light. A rapid glance at these mysteries will clearly show us that they do differ a lot form the ones we are used to. The first mystery is when Our Lord was baptized at the Jordan; the second consists in meditating the events of Christ’s miracles; the third, when Jesus Christ taught the Beatitudes; The fourth about Our Lord’s transfiguration; and the fifth is about the Last Supper.
Here are the "new" meditations for the Rosary



They actually are the work of Blessed George Preca who first published them in the 1950's calling them Mysteries of "light."



They are:



1. Jesus' Baptism.



2. Jesus reveals himself at the Wedding feast of Cana.



3. Jesus' announcement of the Kingdom of God.



4. The Transfiguration.



5. The Last Supper.

Pope changing the rosary?



I doubt this is the case. My guess is that the Pope is going to suggest other meditations, not change anything. But we'll see...



From Reuters:



According to Vatican sources, the Pope Wednesday will issue a document proposing that Catholics meditate on five more events in Christ's life in the new rosary, adding a further layer of spirituality to the age-old prayer.



A wildly popular site these days...



FireRonZook.com
A terrible football weekend...



From the OrlandoSentinel.com and Mike Bianchi:



The day Steve Spurrier resigned at Florida, he called me from his waterfront home on Crescent Beach and said, "It's time to let somebody else captain this big ol' battleship that is Gator football."



Little did he know the Gators would begin playing like Gilligan was at the wheel.



Just sit right back, and you'll hear a tale . . .



What in the name of Gerry Faust has Ron Zook done to Spurrier's program? In eight weeks, the Mona Lisa has been transformed into Dogs Playing Poker. Rex Grossman has turned into Gross Rexman. The revved-up Swamp is a dried-up ditch. And the Florida Gators might as well be Fort Valley State.



There is no excuse for what is going on in Gainesville, no explanation. It's unbelievable and unacceptable. It's an absolute embarrassment what this program has become in half a season. Zook must be held accountable. Athletic Director Jeremy Foley must be held accountable.



Hoops season starts soon, and Foley always said he wanted to turn Florida into a basketball school. Well, he may have done it with two key hires: Billy Donovan . . . and Ron Zook.



It's not good when guys such as me use your name and your school for a punch line, but that's what's beginning to happen with Zook and UF. It's become so ugly in the aftermath of Saturday's 36-7 home loss to LSU that the Web site FireRonZook.com actually shut down from too many hits. The poor Web master must sound like Captain Kirk demanding more power: "Scottie, I need warp speed in three minutes, or we're all dead!"



And speaking of warp speed, that's how fast UF has gone from one of the nation's top five programs to "others receiving votes." That's how fast Grossman has gone from being the best quarterback in the country to being a collegiate Jon Kitna. That's how fast Florida has gone from a program that aspired to playing for a national title to one that now aspires to a winning record and is checking the holiday forecast for Shreveport.



The Gators have done the impossible: They somehow have managed to make Florida State fans feel good about having two losses.



It took Spurrier 12 years to build it, and it's come crumbling down in two months. Spurrier coached 129 games at UF before losing to an unranked team. Zook did it in Game 6. It took Spurrier 10 years to lose two home games in a season. Zook has managed to do it in five weeks by a combined score of 77-23.



The Gators have seven points in the past six quarters. They've been outscored 86-29 in the third quarter this season. So much for halftime adjustments.



And if Tennessee could execute a quarterback-center exchange and Kentucky had managed to score one more special teams touchdown, the Gators might be winless in the Southeastern Conference.



During UF games, the TV camera often pans to Zook, who stands on the sideline, jotting reminders to himself on a little notepad. You wonder what notations he made Saturday night:



1. See whether Ed Zaunbrecher really is in the press box, or is he calling plays from the Purple Porpoise?



2. Tell Jeremy Foley how young he looks for a 50-year-old man.



3. Buy sword and fall on it.



If this ineptitude continues, Zook will go down as the worst personnel move since Shemp replaced Curly in The Three Stooges. When Foley hired Zook, UF fans were willing to believe there was a method to the madness, but so far, all they've seen is the madness -- and the badness.



The scary thing is, it could get worse before it gets better. There are no gimmes left on UF's schedule (not even Vandy), and the Gators are looking at five losses, maybe six. And next year, because of departing talent, it might be even uglier.



Zook desperately needed to have a good first season -- at least a decent season -- to prove to UF fans, UF critics and, most important, UF recruits that he isn't in over his head. There seems to be this misconception that because Zook is a hard worker and a tireless recruiter that he automatically will lure better talent than Spurrier. That's inane. Spurrier didn't have to recruit the top players; they often recruited him. Do you think Grossman would have come knocking at Zook's office door, as he did Spurrier's three years ago when he was looking for a place to play quarterback?



Foley, who has hired and fired many employees over the past few years, has a philosophy when dealing with coaching changes. He often says, "What should be done eventually must be done immediately." In other words, if it becomes obvious things aren't going in the right direction, it's best to fire the coach now rather than wait.



Even though it's apparent things are going in the absolute wrong direction at the moment, it would be unfair to ask Foley to fire Zook after seven games. It's not unfair to ask this: Why did Foley hire Zook in the first place?



There were no glowing credentials, no real reason to believe Zook was ready for one of the top coaching jobs in football. I said it then, and I'll say it now: Foley should have at least put in a phone call to proven coaches such as Jon Gruden or Oregon's Mike Bellotti before making such a crucial hire.



Foley made the miscalculation that so many ADs at big-time universities make: They believe the program can carry the coach. They think money, resources and facilities are the keys to success.



They assume any hard-working Joe put in the position of coach at a program such as UF can be successful.



There was another established SEC powerhouse a few years ago that thought it could replace a legend with some young, hard-working guy who never had been a head coach but had the reputation for being a dogged recruiter. That school was Georgia, and the coach's name was Ray Goff.



Let us not forget that Florida football did not make Steve Spurrier; Steve Spurrier made Florida football. And then Foley handed the wheel of the ol' battleship to Ron Zook.



Unfortunately, it has taken but seven games for Captain Zook to reach this perilous point.


Friday, October 11, 2002

Another Gas Station shooting...



FromMSNBC:



Police on Friday were investigating a fatal shooting at a gas station near Fredericksburg, Va. — a crime that bears similarities to several others attributed to the sniper terrorizing the Washington, D.C., area. Traffic on nearby freeways slowed to a crawl as authorities questioned occupants of white vans and trucks resembling a vehicle that witnesses said was seen leaving the shooting scene.
Homeopathic birth control?



Is it unnatural to use natural means?



Scientist discovers lemon could halt the spread of AIDS
Interesting site



Here they take the October 7th Bush speech to task:Institute for Public Accuracy
Montana Republican quits Senate race



Why, at this point, you ask?



From the billingsgazette.com:



State Sen. Mike Taylor, Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, will withdraw from the race this afternoon, saying a Montana Democratic Party television ad has destroyed his campaign.



Taylor said at a press conference in Helena that the ad, which he said insinuated that he was a gay hairdresser, had pushed his poll numbers through the floor.




I wonder what big name Republican in Montana he will be replaced with on the ballot?

Thursday, October 10, 2002

Is Sponge Bob Square Pants gay?



From the Raiders News:



He lives in a pineapple under the sea, in a town called Bikini Bottom. His best friend is an exuberant pink starfish named Patrick. His name is SpongeBob SquarePants, the absorbent yellow star of the most highly rated kids show on TV.



SpongeBob, which first appeared in July 1999 and currently runs several times daily on Inc.'s Nickelodeon cable TV channel, is also the biggest childrens' phenomenon to capture the imagination of gay men since the purple Teletubby named Tinky Winky started carrying a purse.

Wednesday, October 9, 2002

Leave it to the Japanese...



From the NY Times Japanese Masters Get Closer to the Toilet Nirvana



...engineers from a rival company, Inax, counterattacked in April with a toilet that glows in the dark and whirs up its lid after an infrared sensor detects a human being. When in use, the toilet plays any of six soundtracks, including chirping birds, rushing water, tinkling wind chimes, or the strumming of a traditional Japanese harp.

Tuesday, October 8, 2002

Dreaded Words



Posted on the Drive-Theater marquee are the dreaded words that I will face each day just before arriving at work--Closed for the Season. Temperature this morning is 37 degrees.

Friday, October 4, 2002

World's funniest Joke



From World's funniest joke no laughing matter!



Here it is:



Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn't seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other guy whips out his phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps: "My friend is dead! What can I do?" The operator says: "Calm down, I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead." There is a silence, then a shot is heard. Back on the phone, the guy says: "OK, now what?"
To Visit my Bishop Sheen site click here: Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
The Vatican Approves Opening of Archbishop Sheen Sainthood Cause



From CNS NEWS BRIEFS Oct-3-2002



The Vatican's Congregation for Saints' Causes has approved a petition from the Diocese of Peoria to open the canonization cause of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. The diocesan chancery received a letter Sept. 23 granting approval from Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, prefect of the congregation. It came just two weeks after Peoria Bishop Daniel R. Jenky announced the diocese's promotion of the sainthood cause. The letter was dated Sept. 14, the same week the diocese's petition was presented in Rome by Msgr. Richard Soseman, diocesan judicial vicar and vice postulator of Archbishop Sheen's sainthood cause. The quick response is a "good indication" that the Vatican is favorable to the cause, Msgr. Soseman told The Catholic Post, Peoria's diocesan newspaper. Archbishop Sheen, who gained fame in the 1950s as the host of the popular television program "Life Is Worth Living," died in 1979 in New York.
Today is the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi



From the Office of Readings



The Father willed that his blessed and glorious Son, whom he gave to us and who was born for us, should through his own blood offer himself as a sacrificial victim on the altar of the cross. This was to be done not for himself through whom all things were made, but for our sins. It was intended to leave us an example of how to follow in his footsteps. And he desires all of us to be saved through him, and to receive him with pure heart and chaste body.



O how happy and blessed are those who love the Lord and do as the Lord himself said in the gospel: You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart and your whole soul; and your neighbour as yourself. Therefore, let us love God and adore him with pure heart and mind. This is his particular desire when he says: True worshipers adore the Father in spirit and truth. For all who adore him must do so in the spirit of truth. Let us also direct to him our praises and prayers saying: Our Father, who art in heaven, since we must always pray and never grow slack.

Thursday, October 3, 2002

Happy Birthday to my mother today!



She is a faithful reader of this blog.
"Yipee!" Finally...



This is a continuation of the 73 Steps to Communion with God. The previous postings are found in the archives to the right. This is the 73rd Step:



(73) And never to despair of God's mercy.



We fall, time and again after numerous resolutions that we won't ever sin again. In a matter of seconds we are passing judgment on someone or even worst--once again falling into sin.



The tool that we most overlook in this great toolbox that we have been given to grow in communion with God is trust. Most of our acts of conversion are feeble attempts when we turn to God and ask Him to trust in us, but this is not what the spiritual life is about. Rather it is about knowing that we cannot be trusted but that God can be.



Turning to God is what the spiritual life is all about. It begins and ends with an act of trust in God's love and His mercy. There is nothing more tragic than when someone ceases to believe that God could ever love them or when they feel that they have done something that God could never forgive. Despair and closing ourselves off from God's mercy is the only act that can keep us from receiving it.



The devotion to the Divine Mercy that swept the Catholic world in the late 1900's and continues to thrive today is a great way to keep our focus on God's love and mercy by daily at 3:00 P.M. calling to mind God's mercy. The revelation to St. Faustina by Our Lord was that His death on the cross was for our sins, nothing new here, but He lamented that people were not availing themselves to His mercy and that she would become His Apostle of Mercy. "Jesus, I trust in you" is a powerful antidote to the many other voices that seek to destroy our lives. Focusing on the crucifix and meditating on the Passion of Christ as the supreme sign of God's love and mercy is powerful way to remind ourselves of how much God loves us.



Through the many counsels that we have looked at this is the most important--to remember God's mercy. God is our savior. Jesus we trust in you!

Wednesday, October 2, 2002

Thanks to Spirit Daily for once again featuring my Novena book today!



Spirit Daily - Daily spiritual news from around the world
Today is the Feast of the Guardian Angels



From the Office of Readings (by St. Bernard):



He has given his angels charge over you to guard you in all your ways. Let them thank the Lord for his mercy; his wonderful works are for the children of men. Let them give thanks and say among the nations, the Lord has done great things for them. O Lord, what is man that you have made yourself known to him, or why do you incline your heart to him? And you do incline your heart to him; you show him your care and your concern. Finally, you send your only Son and the grace of your Spirit, and promise him a vision of your countenance. And so, that nothing in heaven should be wanting in your concern for us, you send those blessed spirits to serve us, assigning them as our guardians and our teachers.



He has given his angels charge over you to guard you in all your ways. These words should fill you with respect, inspire devotion and instil confidence; respect for the presence of angels, devotion because of their loving service, and confidence because of their protection. And so the angels are here; they are at your side, they are with you, present on your behalf. They are here to protect you and to serve you. But even if it is God who has given them this charge, we must nonetheless be grateful to them for the great love with which they obey and come to help us in our great need.



So let us be devoted and grateful to such great protectors; let us return their love and honour them as much as we can and should. Yet all our love and honour must go to him, for it is from him that they receive all that makes them worthy of our love and respect.



We should then, my brothers, show our affection for the angels, for one day they will be our co-heirs just as here below they are our guardians and trustees appointed and set over us by the Father. We are God’s children although it does not seem so, because we are still but small children under guardians and trustees, and for the present little better than slaves.



Even though we are children and have a long, a very long and dangerous way to go, with such protectors what have we to fear? They who keep us in all our ways cannot be overpowered or led astray, much less lead us astray. They are loyal, prudent, powerful. Why then are we afraid? We have only to follow them, stay close to them, and we shall dwell under the protection of God’s heaven.