The wonderful sounds of baseball

The sights and sounds of a live baseball game are absolutely relieving joyous for those of us who have cabin fever and long for the summer and America's favorite pastime. Yesterday, the Phillies played their first "official" spring training game, defeating the Yankees 5-4 in Grapefruit League play, with Cole Hamels giving us two good innings. I know these games mean absolutely nothing, but it's just good to see the Phils back in action!

"Mass" hysteria

It's one thing to disagree with the Catholic Church on it's teaching in regards to the defense of marriage. But when you disturb worshipers, it's something that needs to be dealt with. Such was the case at the Cathedral of the Holy Name in Chicago where anti-marriage agitators came to protest the Church and Francis Cardinal George for opposing Illinois' new civil unions law, accusing the Church of being bigots.

Here's the video:



Quite honestly, I think you people need to stop protesting the Catholic Church like we're the one's who are crazy, start start rallying for cures for AIDS and other STDs, and turn away from the immoral homosexual lifestyle. Either that or start asking your doctor if Paxil is right for you.

The Minor Fast

As we traditional Catholics observe Sexagesima tomorrow (being in the season of Septuagesima), perhaps we need to think of why we need this time, especially in the current state of our society.

Indeed, this is a time of celebration, as well as somber preparation. In many countries, especially in Latin America, Septuagesima Sunday begins the celebration of carnival which will continue until Mardi Gras. Because of the great fast of Lent, this is a perfect time for fun-loving Catholics (like myself) to get their party on (so party on, fellow Catholics!).

In the midst of the celebration and revelry, we are also called to recall the reasons why we have to prepare for Lent to begin with, why we even have a season of Lent. The readings and psalms in the traditional Mass and Office for the pre-Lenten weeks recall certain events from the Old Testament, such as the Fall of Man, the history of Cain and Abel, the deluge, the origins of our Faith through lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the exodus from Egypt led by Moses.

Throughout these ordeals, we look to the New Testament where Our Lord, in the Gospels, teaches us how, despite the loss of paradise through the original sin of our first parents, may build up the Kingdom of God on earth through His parables, thus inheriting it. Furthermore, we see that through St. Paul, that despite the hardships that we may face trying to build the Kingdom, we must continue to fight the good fight.

So have fun, enjoy yourself, but remember with a faithful mind, the mystery of God's infinite mercy on our poor souls.

Marriage and the Role of the Federal and State Governments

Yesterday, as I'm sure many of you hear, President Obama has instructed Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department of Justice to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), effectively making this law passed by Congress unconstitutional. This law which was signed by former President Bill Clinton in 1996

While I believe that the ultimate decision on the issue of defending marriage should ultimately belong to the citizens (note I said the citizens) of each of the 50 sovereign states, when the issue comes before the federal level, it must be defended since it is a cornerstone intitution in our society. That being said, in addition to being a blatant attack on the institution of marriage, what the President did was a breach of his executive powers. Going back to Government 101, we know that it is the Congress who makes up the LEGISLATIVE BRANCH that makes the laws, the President and his cabinet who make up the EXECUTIVE BRANCH that executes the law, and the Supreme Court and the court system that makes up the JUDICIAL BRANCH that interprets the laws.

In reviewing this, can anyone explain to me how President Obama can tell his attorney general to NOT enforce a law made by Congress and signed by his predecessor? And while we're one the subject of breach of powers, how is it that a judge can determine that a law that was passed by the will of the people is unconstitutional? Is it not that the people decided on initiatives that are not enumerated by the federal or state governments? Why is the judiciary legislating?

The people know what is best for their society. The vast majority of Americans know that marriage is between one man and one woman, and that is why liberal legislatures fear the will of the people. When posed with the issue, we must always be ready to defend the institution of marriage if we hope to preserve our society.

DO YOU BELEIVE IN MIRACLES!?

The "Miracle on Ice"...31 years later, do you still believe?

Walk from the Egyptians

For weeks, we've seen all hell break loose across the northern part of the European continent. From Egypt, to Bahrain, to Libya, and certainly rooted from the Iranian protests, the uprising of the people in these predominantly Muslim countries has generated public reaction to the shock of women and children being put in harm's way during the protests, leaders fleeing their lands (not including Wisconsin, that's a different story), and even western reporters coming under attack (the beating and sexual assult of CBS foreign affairs correspondent Lara Logan come to mind).

One of the world leaders who have remained mum on the African uprisings has been President Obama. He's been criticized by people on all sides of the political spectrum for his silence on the turmoil. I say to President Obama: "keep doing what you're doing" (and I mean that sincerely, not sarcastically).

For too long, the U.S. has been sticking their noses into foreign conflicts that we have nothing to do with us. In fact, we should not be saying anything about Egypt the way we have been siding with and funding the dictator. Our obsession with playing the international do-gooder has actually made us more of a target of foreign anger, something we most certainly do not need.

Don't get involved lest you arouse the anger of a strong anti-American sentiment that resides in the senses of an already furious chorus of heretical Muslims. Let the people of their country decide for themselves what they desire without infulence of the United States. That's the true spirit of international Americanism.

Dr. Bernard N. Nathanson (1926-2011)

After a huge week for the pro-life community, we are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of pro-life champion Dr. Bernard Nathanson at the age of 84.

Dr. Nathanson was one of the founders of the NARAL Pro-Choice America and was a close collaborator with feminist Betty Friedman in leading the fight for legalized abortion, resulting in the Roe v. Wade decision of 1973. While he was the director of New York's Center for Reproductive and Sexual Health, Nathanson claimed that he was responsible for over 75,000 abortions. He also admitted to killing his preborn child in his younger days.

However, the development of the ultrasound in the 1970s led to Dr. Nathanson to denounce his pro-abortion stance and practices and made him into one of the most prominent pro-life figures in the ongoing fight for human life. In 1996, the previously "Jewish Atheist" was received into the Catholic Church by the late pro-life champion, John Cardinal O'Connor, in a private ceremony at St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Dr. Nathanson authored two books and made two pro-life documentaries, the eye-opening The Silent Scream and Eclipse of Reason with actor Charlton Heston. He is survived by his wife, Christine, and a son.

Requiem aeternam ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in Pace. Amen.

UPDATE: The funeral for Dr. Bernard N. Nathanson will be held this Monday at 10:00am at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City where Dr. Nathanson was received into the Catholic Church 14 years ago. The celebrant of the Mass will be Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, archbishop of New York and president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Just don't come running to me!

You gotta love what's going on in the State of Wisconsin. Right out of the starting line after sending Russ Feingold home, now newly elected Gov. Scott Walker (R) is following in the footsteps of his colleague from New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie (R), in putting a check on the power of the unions in his state.

The response from union workers was so strong that thousands of union protesters converged on the State House in Madison to protest Gov. Walker's proposal to Wisconsin's budget to end collective bargaining rights for state employees. The unions had strong support expressed by such figures as Teamsters president James P. Hoffa as well as the state's beloved Super Bowl champions, the Green Bay Packers (of whom the players belong to the NFL Players Association which is the answer to why today's pro athletes can't hold a candle to their predecessors. But I digress.)

And surely, despite expected support for the Governor's proposal from the Assembly Republicans, surely the unions could rely on the Democrats to help their cause, right? Unfortunately for the unions, the Assembly Democrats fled the state in droves to avoid the vote for greater fear of the voters and have not returned to Wisconsin as of late. (TDB - Typical Democrat Behavior).

My take on the whole thing regarding the unions is quite simple: JUST DON'T COME RUNNING TO ME! At a time when the federal government is taking countless amounts of taxpayer dollars to fund such atrocities like Obamacare, the states need to take a look at their budgets to see who is deserving and entitled to taxpayer dollars. In my opinion, the unions are not just on the bottom of the list, but don't even make the footnotes. Many of these workers get paid better than most in most states and don't pay for their own benefits. They wait every fiscal year for Congress and their state legislatures to pay for their pensions and benefits while our hard earned dollars get transfered. That's not right, that's a direct attack on our pursuit of happiness.

The bottom line is the government doesn't have money. The American people are struggling just to make ends meet. And for the union bosses demanding more money and power should make us ask ourselves "what makes them so special?". I'm not saying that the unions don't deserve their pensions or benefits. What I am saying is that the unions need to pay for it themselves. There's no such thing as a free lunch, and it's time that the unions learn that now.

Your next American Idol (according to me)

It's been a while since I watched American Idol, especially since Simon Cowell left, the prospect of not seeing anyone get drilled at the auditions turned me off. It wasn't until recently that I began to find it watchable again. And it couldn't have come at a better time.

I watched the Milwaukee adutitions few weeks back, and that's when I caught my first glimpse of 17-year old Scott McCreery, a pitcher for his high school baseball team, and when I heard he did country, I had to stop and listen. When he started singing Josh Turner's Your Man, that Southern twang just caught you. Then he did Travis Tritt's Put Some Drive in Your Country, and that's when I knew this kid was special. Seventeen, and he sounds like Josh Turner, imagine him 10 years from now.

He's been easing his way through the competition, and needless to say, I have my candidate for the next American Idol. (And if it doesn't work out, the Phillies could use another arm down on the farm!)

The Pro-Life Congress

In its first month, the 112th Congress, under the leadership of Speaker of the House John Boehner, the Right to Life is proving to be a key priority with Congressional Republicans in their crusade to oppose the radical Obama agenda.

Their first point of business was to repeal the pro-abortion health care bill, Obamacare. Despite that meaningless Executive Order that the chief priests gave to the Judases like Tom Periello, Paul Kanjorski, Kathy Dahlkemper, Joe Donnelly, Baron Hill, and the king of the Benedict Arnolds, Bart Stupak, Obamacare still had a provision for federal funding for abortion in spite of the Hyde Amendment. And the votes later provided the rope which hung Judas in shame, with the ballot boxes acting as the tree limbs.

Shortly after, Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ4) and Dan Lipinski (D-IL3) introduced the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act" (H.R. 3) which would end taxpayer funding for abortion once and for all. And most recently, Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN6), who has waged a one-man crusade against Planned Parenthood, has now introduced an amendment to remove federal funding for the abortion provider, which has been under fire lately due to an undercover investigations made by Lila Rose and Live Action as part of their Mona Lisa Project. The amendment, which has generated a heated debate on the House Floor, as it has all the other times it was debated, is expected to come up for a vote later today.

The trend is only part of a pro-life tidal wave which is spreading across the country. Here in beautiful New Jersey, we had the privilege of having our governor, Chris Christie (R), become the first NJ Governor to address our pro-life rally on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade (Gov. Christie is New Jersey's first pro-life governor). And just this week, right across the Delaware, pro-life Gov. Tom Corbett (R-PA) has fired a number of state workers for their involvement in West Philadelphia abortion scandal.

Only time will determine whether or not this is the beginning of the victory of the Culture of Life, but all our work fighting for the rights of our society's most precious and most vulnerable members is beginning to come into fruition. Now more than ever, we must keep fighting the good fight.

UPDATE: The Pence Amendment passed the House by a vote of 240-185 with one member voting "present". It now goes to the Senate for consideration.

Reunited

I've been a way for a while. Since I was away, the Republicans have retaken the House (including my district with Rep. Jon Runyan, many Anglicans have finally crossed the Thames and over the Tiber, we found out that Ven. John Paul II will be beatified in May, and Cliff Lee is back! But I'm back and it feels so good!