ELECTION 2010: Tea Party candidates are...?

Let’s talk about some of the stranger Tea Party candidates in these elections.

It is obvious that there is big money behind the Tea Party movement otherwise how could some of these idiots be even considered for office. It is sad to say that big money can sway us whichever way it wants us. Are we that stupid or are we just extremely gullible or does big money buy such sophisticated mind control techniques that we just cannot fight against them with weak tools such as “reason” and “common sense”.

Anyway, these PALIN people, since I now lump them all into the PALIN CAMP of absurdity, are really works of art.

Christine O’Donnell running for the Senate from Delaware is a case in point. A former self proclaimed “witch” who now says she has given up her witching ways, has, on many occasions, demonstrated her lack of shall we say smarts, knowledge, you pick a word.

In one debate, she attacked her opponent for not allowing alternative teachings on evolution (Christian) to be taught in our public schools. When he answered that in our country we have a Constitutional separation of Church and State law, she answered that we do not.

I have found that many Americans are ignorant of that fact so I don’t blame her for not knowing her Constitution BUT she is running for a SENATE seat so we would hope that a senator would know something about our Constitution and our government.

She later claimed that those exact words are not found in our Constitution. She is correct and the words “Wall of Separation between Church and State” were used by Thomas Jefferson to explain what was meant in the First Amendment to the Constitution; he should know since he helped write it.

On the TV show 60-Minutes, they had the genius marketing guy, responsible for getting Tea Party candidates elected. I will admit, he is one smart and rich fellow.

The next Tea Party candidate of note is Joe Miller running for the Senate from Alaska. He beat out long term Republican Murkowski who is running as a write in candidate (will be interesting).

He was asked about illegal immigration and why our border fence with Mexico was not keeping more illegals out. He mentioned that we should learn from the former East Berlin guards manning the Berlin Wall. They obviously shot countless East Germans from trying to escape to the West by climbing the Berlin Wall. I guess he is suggesting we do the same.

I think many Americans would agree with Joe Miller but you would think a senator would be more circumspect about his comments.

Anyway, these are just two of the Tea Party candidates for the Senate of the United States of America.

Related articles

• "If East Germany could do it . . ." --Joe Miller (seattlepi.com)
• Christine O'Donnell's church and state gaffe makes voters laugh (guardian.co.uk)
• Joe Miller's String Of Missteps Prove Costly In Alaska (huffingtonpost.com)
• "Breaking news from "Sarah Palin's Alaska": Alaska Dispatch editor Tony Hopfinger arrested for trying to ask questions of Joe Miller - UPDATE: Video" and related posts (palingates.blogspot.com)
• Delaware Tea-Party senate candidate, Christine O'Donnell, completely flubs the First Amendment (chicagonow.com)
• The Tea Party: Full of Insignificant Sound and Fury (nowpublic.com)
• Christine O'Donnell: I Regret 'I Am Not a Witch' Ad (politics.usnews.com)

ELECTION 2010: Republican win better for Obama?

Here is something that I read in this morning’s New York Times.

It would be better for the Republicans to win over the House of Representatives because that is the only way Obama can win in 2012.

It happened to Clinton when the Gingrich boys took over the House; he won the presidency.

It makes a lot of sense because, to my mind, the Democrats were really a hindrance to Obama since they were so divided and screwed up. Even now, Democratic candidates are abandoning Obama and talking like they were all Tea Party members and that is what I like about politicians; they are all such ass-holes.

When the Republicans (Tea Partiers) take control of the House, the whole nation will see that they are basically all talk and no action since all they have been doing is opposing legislation and never proposing legislation or plans of their own.

In that case, Obama will stand out as our only hope for a better future.

For the record, I am an independent and deplore both parties equally. I would prefer that the LIBERTARIAN PARTY be taken more seriously but I guess the country is not ready for a third party; the TEA PARTY is nominally a branch of the Republican Party – the idiot branch and I will tell you what I mean by that in my next blog.

Related articles

• Witches and tea baggers: The weirdest US election (independent.co.uk)
• In Losing the Midterms, There May Be Winning (nytimes.com)
• Midterm elections 2010: Tea Party poised to storm Washington (telegraph.co.uk)
• "Fish Wrap: GOP Winning The House May Be Good For Obama" and related posts (thepiratescove.us)

ELECTION 2010: Why is BUSH not an issue?

Now let’s get to the coming election and explore some issues.

My first big observation about the 2010 mid-term elections is why GEORGE W. BUSH has not been a factor in these elections – at all?

BUSH is the one that started the totally unnecessary and stupid IRAQ WAR that put us BILLIONS if not TRILLIONS of dollars in debt and killed over 4,000 of our soldiers for nothing!

BUSH is the one that IGNORED Afghanistan and allowed al-Qaeda and the Taliban to grow much stronger and that is making it harder and more expensive for us to leave.

BUSH is the one that blew BILLIONS bailing Wall Street out with our money.

HAVE WE ALL FORGOTTEN THAT?  And how about the REPUBLICANS that supported everything BUSH did?

It is interesting how OBAMA is now somehow responsible for our troubles when it was that ass-hole BUSH that caused them to begin with.

There are a number of ways to look at why BUSH is not a factor in these coming elections.

The Tea Party movement, based on nothing but anger at our economic malaise, has shifted the nation’s frustration onto Obama and the Democrats as the cause of the malaise. Republicans, who were obviously to blame for the malaise, quietly let the Tea Party twits do all the talking because if everyone was listening to the Tea Party, no one was blaming the Republicans for screwing things up for eight long years.

The Democrats are to blame also for not going on the offence and blaming the Republicans for the mess we are in but trying to defend themselves against Tea Party attacks. Obama is to blame also for not getting the facts out as to what was really happening…

Our taxes are the lowest they have ever been and government is smaller than it has been in the past, which is absolutely opposite what the Tea Party is claiming.

I will vent on specifics in the coming days…

Related articles

• Bush camp unruffled by Democrats' attacks (windsorstar.com)
• Where are Bush, Cheney as election nears? (cnn.com)
• Peggy Noonan Heads Home (redstate.com)
• "The emergin Republican majority" and related posts (prairiepundit.blogspot.com)

VATICAN: Celibacy issue has come up again...

For the first time ever, the pope spoke about celibacy and the sex-abuse scandal in a letter to seminarians (students studying for the priesthood).

This is a huge step for a pope because in the past, the subject was verboten!

Some background on the issue of celibacy is needed to be able to discuss the subject adequately. First, celibacy is not a doctrine or dogma; it is a tradition that has become a law / regulation of the church but it can be changed as the church sees fit.

In the history of the Catholic Church there has been a lot of back and forth on the subject with early priests and bishops being married with children. There were popes that had children who later became popes themselves. Hell, even St. Peter was married since the Bible talks about his mother-in-law. No one knows if Jesus was married but at that time in history, most Jewish men were married by a certain age.

Since most men were married in the early stages of the church, some bishops were calling on them to abstain from having sex with their wives to show their commitment to the church. I appears that “sex”, even with your wife was somehow “unclean” and therefore diminished the “purity” required to be close to God. For this reason, the Catholic Church makes a big deal out of the “virginity” of Jesus’ mother even though she had multiple children as stated in the Bible.

Haggling over the issue went on for hundreds of years until the Second Lateran Council (1139) said enough is enough, priests cannot marry and have to remain celibate their entire life. Much of that had to do with church property being left to the children of priests, bishops, etc.

The issue today is, did celibacy contribute to the priestly sex-abuse scandal? Specifically, did the requirement of celibacy draw a certain type of male to the priesthood, specifically, not a normal, heterosexual male but more homosexuals and obviously, pedophiles?

I remember that growing up Catholic, many young boys wanted to become priests. I always felt it was because the priest was in charge, listened to and adored by everyone; I don’t think we thought much of service to God at that early age. As time went on, we were consumed by girls and our hormones and that put an end to any thoughts of priesthood. That is not to say that some of us grew to believe that we had a genuine “calling” to minister to God’s flocks and that has got to be the idealized view of why men become priests.

Not to make this longer than it should be but I remember some men that had a calling but could not accept celibacy and married but joined the priesthood after their wives died; now that is a calling and I think an example of the dual and opposing strengths of both sexuality and a spiritual calling.

The pope, talking to the seminarians, asked whether they question the choice of celibacy as making sense in a truly human way of life. I would have to say that it makes absolutely no sense if one is to live a truly human life.

Pope Benedict described the celibacy requirement as a “gift” from God which makes no sense whatsoever and may be a result of Benedict’s own deprivation of a truly normal life.

The fact that nearly all other “main” religions allow their priests, ministers, etc. to marry has to tell you something and the fact that the Vatican stubbornly sticks to their celibacy tradition even though it is not dogma, has to tell you something also.

The Vatican needs to be populated by normal people and not people that pretend to be normal and who defend their way of life even when faced with the fact that their way of life has led to perverted behavior that has harmed countless thousands of children throughout the ages.

The celibacy requirement will eventually die a natural death as the supply of priests dwindles to nothing.

The Vatican currently is courting married Anglican priests to come over to the Catholic side. Also, as I mentioned, widowers are being accepted into the priesthood and maybe there is a lesson here. Maybe men should go into the priesthood AFTER they have lived a normal life for awhile.

Those men would bring a wisdom with them that could be a true benefit when ministering to God’s children. Maybe bringing young men into the priesthood at an age where they have not truly matured as men or citizens of the world is the problem.

Now how do you convince a bunch of old men in the Vatican that they are wrong and have been wrong for centuries?

Related articles

• Pope defends priestly celibacy (foxnews.com)
• Pope, in Letter, Takes On Celibacy Debate (online.wsj.com)
• 2 Belgian bishops want debate on priest celibacy (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Belgian Bishops Question Mandatory Celibacy for Catholic Priests (online.wsj.com)

NOBEL PRIZE: For In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF)...good or bad?

Another topic I wanted to touch on concerned the NOBEL PRIZE being awarded to biologist Robert Edwards, who perfected in-vitro fertilization (IVF) in the 1980s which resulted in over 4 million children being born through IVF worldwide.

I have known a few (actually many) couples who could not conceive for one reason or another, and turned to IVF; it worked for some and others finally turned to adoption.

Originally, I thought Mother Nature either allowed couples to conceive or not and if not, adoption was the only option left and I thought one should not tamper with what Mother Nature has decided.

As I learned more about the causes of infertility and why some men’s egos would never allow for adoption, I began to see where Mother Nature may need a helping hand from medical science.

At the outset, I questioned the use of IVF of embryos not from the biological parents, i.e. the egg and sperm of others. I can see where either an egg or the sperm of a biological parent is used but to not use either seems a little strange to me; why not adopt – it would be the same. I guess some women want to go through the birth experience even if it is not her egg or her husband’s sperm. Lesbians use their own eggs with sperm from a donor as do women that want a child but do not want to get married. Things are changing in our society, I guess…

Anyway, my main point is that as soon as the Nobel Prize for biology was awarded to Dr. Edwards, the Vatican came out against it as “completely out of order”. This was expected even though the Vatican must be aware that many Catholic couples have borne children using this method.

The objection is again the “embryos”; the ones not used and discarded and the ones left over and used for stem cell research and the fact that “man” is playing God.

I have studied a variety of opinions on this issue mainly from Catholics like “Catholics for Free Choice” and others and I also have stuck to my own reasoning on the subject.

I still maintain that sperm and ova are products of humans as part of our method of procreation. A husband and wife produce embryos and those embryos are their property to do with as they choose. The same goes for sperm donors as well as egg donors.

As for embryos, yes they are potential human beings but are very far from being a human being. To treat embryos as human beings is just absurd.

As far as playing God, there are a number of ways to look at that question. Since no one, including the Vatican, knows what God wants, doesn’t want or is thinking, the question is rendered moot.

Religion, being a human construct, can pretend to know what God wants and make rules accordingly; this is what the Vatican does. The reality of this position is that they as humans make the rules and not some deity but common sense tells us that humans that actually create families and raise children are better suited to make the rules than some old, celibate guys that have absolutely no experience in the real world of procreation.

I will agree with the Vatican and other concerned groups that there should be limits placed on IVF. Currently, physicians implant many embryos in the female with the hope that one or more will actually take and result in a viable child. In some cases, all the implanted embryos take and if the mother does not want to abort some of them, all are born and with that many children born at the same time, some if not all will be damaged in some way.

I still remember that idiot in California and her idiot doctor that allowed eight babies to be born knowing full well there was no husband and no means of supporting those eight children. For a doctor to be complicit in such an act, calls for an immediate license suspension.

Just recently, scientists have discovered how to choose the embryo that has the best chance of surviving to term in the womb. They discovered that the embryo that divides the earliest is the most viable and all you have to do is take pictures of the embryos to show which divides earliest. In this way, doctors will not have to implant many embryos but hopefully just one.

As for biologist Dr. Robert Edwards, shown in pictures with the first so called test-tube baby, the world owes him many thanks for not only did he enable many infertile couples to experience parenthood but his work enabled stem cell research which will, I firmly believe, eradicate devastating disease states that afflict many of us and prohibit us from living fulfilling lives to ripe old ages.

Related articles

• Is the Catholic Church's Argument Against IVF a Bit Holey? (healthland.time.com)
• Vatican: Nobel to IVF pioneer raises questions (sfgate.com)
• IVF: Technology evangelicals don't oppose (boston.com)
• "IVF Pioneer Earns Nobel Prize - and what does that mean for us?" and related posts (feministmormonhousewives.org)
• IVF discovery opened Pandora's box of ethical issues (reuters.com)
• British in vitro pioneer wins the Nobel Prize in medicine (philly.com)

AMERICAN CATHOLIC COUNCIL: Detroit convention in 2011...be there!

One of the subjects I have on my list to comment on is a national convention of liberal Catholics to be held in Detroit on June 10-12, 2011. The national group is called THE AMERICAN CATHOLIC COUNCIL.

What attracted me to this story was a statement released by Detroit Archbishop Allen Vigneron warning Catholics in metro Detroit to stay (the hell [my insertion]) away from this convention.

The archbishop said some of the scheduled speakers espouse positions which are clearly contrary to Catholic faith.

Organizers of the convention are saying that Catholic leaders are using scare tactics to silence people and I may add, keep people from listening to Catholics other than Church leaders.

The archbishop asks us all to pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit (read Vatican) so we may embrace authentic (Vatican) development of faith and morals, and shun efforts which threaten unity.

The American Catholic Council responded by saying that many Catholics are dismayed at the lack of responsible pastoral leadership within the church, the lack of accountability for the sinfully criminal behaviors of predator priests and their clerical enablers and the lack of fiscal transparency present in reporting how hard earned donations are being spent and/or stolen.

Well now, let us break that down a little.

The Vatican (Vigneron) is trying to silence Catholic critics of the Vatican because the Vatican is the only body Catholics should listen to because:

They allowed hundreds if not thousands of innocent children to be molested by predatory priests. Yes, allowed because evidence shows that molestation continued with the knowledge of higher up clergy.

The pope (even the previous pope and who knows how many before them) did not show any acknowledgment of the molestations or took up any public campaigns to stamp out the abhorrent behavior by representatives of Jesus on earth. Benedict did not take action until he was forced to by lay Catholics so his mea culpa means nothing now.

They allowed fiscal shenanigans in Rome by clergy handling money donated by Catholics from around the world. As much as the Vatican has tried to hide them, many financial abuses have come out in the press.

How dare Archbishop Vigneron ask faithful Catholics to not listen to criticism of the Vatican in light of their abysmal, incompetent and criminal administration of the Catholic Church? In fact, it is the duty of priests, deacons, lay ministers and concerned Catholics everywhere, to listen to what “other” Catholics have to say about the Vatican and its failures.

The American Catholic Council is calling for church reforms and greater openness (transparency); no more hiding things in the closet which the church has been doing for hundreds of years. Let us talk about married priests and female priests and more acceptance of gays and lesbians.

I can’t wait to see who the scheduled speakers will be. I do know that one of the speakers will be HANS KUNG, a Swiss priest that has written many books that I have read.

You can check on what the council stands for and is up to:       Americancatholiccouncil.org.

Who knows; you may learn something you did not know before.

Related articles

• Detroit's Archbishop Vigneron lowers the boom on meeting of dissidents (te-deum.blogspot.com)

CHARLEVOIX CONDO: Leggs Inn was packed...

In the fall, we like to travel in Emmet County (the most northwest county of the Lower Peninsula) because it has rolling hills and gorgeous fall colors. While driving around, we like to stop at the LEGGS INN in Cross Village for a drink and some good Polish cooking.

If you look on your map of Michigan, you can tell that Cross Village is basically in no man’s land. You can take 31 north to 66 west and end in Cross Village or you can take 119 along Lake Michigan – if you dare.

Traveling 119 is like travelling in a tunnel of trees. The problem is that the road is very narrow and you have to be alert to on-coming traffic. The road is popular with bikers who consider 119 a thrill ride.

Being this late in October, we thought the Leggs Inn would be closing soon so there would not be a crowd of people there – wrong. The place was packed with bikers and other visitors out to see the colors. There was a 60 minute wait for a table and the seating was inside and on the terrace overlooking Lake Michigan; we settled for a drink.

For you who do not know about this place, it was founded by an immigrant from Poland that arrived in this country in 1912 and built the Inn ~ 1920 with the help of the local Indians.

If you can see how far off the beaten path the Inn is in 2010; what do you thing the area looked like in 1920?

Several family members have been running the Inn since the founder died. They also bring in young people from Poland to serve the guests during the summer season and maybe brush up on their English.

Next summer, make this your destination when up north.

CHARLEVOIX CONDO: Para-surfing?

After viewing the salmon running, we headed for the beach on Lake Michigan to see what we could see. In October, the wind is pretty stiff and Lake Michigan is all white caps crashing to shore.

We saw a couple that appeared to be flying kites, even though I thought they looked more like parachutes. As we moved closer, we could see that the man and woman were using these “parachutes” to actually surf the lake.

They were on “bogie” boards or similar to what snow boarders use with attached foot holders. The way the wind was blowing; these people really moved fast over the waves.

The water must have been cold but they seemed prepared with wet suits and other protective clothing.

It was a sight to behold…

CHARLEVOIX CONDO: Salmon are running...

We just got back from a long weekend at our condo in Charlevoix. The weather was great even though the leaves were a little past their peak color but still beautiful to see.

One of the things that happen in October is that salmon return to the place where they were originally came from which is usually a fast flowing stream. I don’t know how they remember where they came from but they do.

The salmon gather in Lake Michigan at the mouth of the stream they will swim up. Yes, up which means against the current; this is fascinating to watch.

You can actually see them gathering at the mouth (in photo you can see spray). They do this in spurts of energy and then rest behind a rock or spots with weaker water flow. In some cases, they actually jump up over the steps in the river and some of these fish are huge.

When they get to their destination, they spawn (lay eggs) which are fertilized and develop into salmon. The spawning fish then dies and deteriorates very quickly and become food for the young who once strong enough, swim down the stream into Lake Michigan and enjoy life until Mother Nature calls them back to their origins to start the cycle over again.

In Charlevoix, the DNR actually diverts these fish into a holding tank where the fish are gathered and transported to a different spawning area. A DNR official once explained it to me that they are just making sure that the spawning occurs in areas that are more hospitable to the spawning salmon and the young, once hatched, will remember the new place as their home to return to and spawn.

LAKE ERIE METROPARK: Migrating swans?

These fall weekends have been just gorgeous so we made the most of the weather and headed towards Downriver to Lake Erie Metropark.

We have been here a number of times in the past, specifically to visit the Marshland Museum and Nature Center area. It happens that in the fall, migrating birds stop here and especially birds of prey like hawks, falcons, etc.

We were a little late to view migrating birds of prey but we did get to see migrating swans? I have only seen swans alone or in pairs but never hundreds of them together.

I don’t really know what they were doing but they maybe resting and feeding to store up energy for a long migration? 

Since we drove all that way Downriver, we stopped at the Hungarian Rhapsody restaurant. I had the Hungarian Goulash and my wife had the Hungarian Platter. This restaurant has been around forever and has that old world charm to it.

YOGA: and Christianity?

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Albert Mohler has criticized the practice of YOGA calling on Christians to avoid the practice of YOGA and its spiritual attachments; he called it not a Christian pathway to God. Many Christians reacted to his words by telling him he did not know what he was talking about.

My only knowledge of yoga is that my daughter does BIKRAM YOGA which is practiced in a room heated to a temperature of 105°F – wow! I also have a friend that swears by it to lose weight; which he did big time.

Anyway, it appears that yoga has a spiritual or religious component to it but that most Americans use it as an exercise method and as a stress reliever so Mohler really did not know what he was talking about.

Yoga is part of Hinduism and dates back to 500 B.C. or there about. The way I understand it, the original premise was to learn control over your body (postures, breathing, senses, etc.) and through this control to unite the spiritual light within you with that of the eternal light of the universe and I suppose some may confuse the eternal light with some type of God figure and maybe it is that which Mohler was concerned about?

The reality in America is that yoga helps many people (millions) both physically and mentally and if Christian leaders are concerned that some Christian yoga practitioners are getting to be a little too spiritual, too bad, people need to get a little more spiritual. By spiritual, I mean connecting oneself with the earth around us (Mother Nature) which we know exists because we live in it every day as opposed to a religion that was invented by man for man.

Mohler is concerned about the very few Christians that may take yoga seriously enough to take it to the next level where you master concentration to the point which allows deep contemplation which could result in a state of enlightenment, at which point all religions become superfluous.

I don’t think Mohler has anything to worry about; I don't think many people, Christians or non-Christians, pursue or attain the final state of enlightenment but I could be wrong.

Related articles

• Christian leader: Avoid yoga! (boingboing.net)
• Southern Baptist Leader: Yoga Is UnChristian (alan.com)
• Albert Mohler, Southern Baptist Leader, On Yoga: Not Christianity (huffingtonpost.com)
• Religious Right Leader Says Yoga Is a Sin Against Christianity (gayrights.change.org)

SUPREME COURT: Right to free speech vs. right to privacy?

I will be watching the Supreme Court closely this term. The Court has three (3) females now although the newest one, Kagan, will have to “recues” herself in many cases since she was involved in them when she worked for the White House.

The one case that caught my interest was the one concerning crazy, religious anti-gay people protesting at the funerals of soldiers recently killed in action. This is a pretty emotional issue and it would be interesting to see whether the judges give into their emotions or stand firmly behind the Constitution and the First Amendment right to free speech.

You have seen this group on the news. They are members of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas (basically an extended family of ~70 members) led by their pastor Fred Phelps (80) who is all about being anti-gay.

Why protest at soldier’s funerals? Well, Phelps sees the soldier’s deaths as God’s punishment of America for tolerating gays and lesbians or homosexuality in general, I guess. Remember, most if not all of the soldiers being buried were not gay.

This group of (shall I call them fanatics?) travels all over the nation protesting at soldier’s funerals. They are not dumb; Phelps is a lawyer and his lawyer daughter is arguing their case before the Supreme Court.

The issue pits the right to privacy against the right to free speech. The protestors do not disrupt the funeral, they usually protest along the funeral route which is a little different than barging in on a church service or even a gravesite service.

The original case was brought by a grieving father who felt his privacy to bury his son was violated by this group and a lower court found in his favor and awarded him $5 million for damages. Phelps appealed to the Supreme Court where it now sits.

On the surface, without emotion, the church seems to be within its rights to free speech. They did not invade the privacy of the funeral by somehow obstructing it or impeding the family from proceeding with the funeral service. No, they were just an annoying group of protestors that unnerved family members attending the funeral.

I cannot see any legal or Constitutional basis for denying them their right of free speech no matter how it affected the emotions of the soldier’s family.

Related articles

• Free Speech Vs. Freedom to Mourn in Peace: How Will the Supreme Court Rule? (dailyfinance.com)
• SCOTUS Hears WestboroGang vs. Gold Star Father Case (waronterrornews.typepad.com)
• Is the Westboro Baptist Church Protected by the First Amendment? [Video] (gawker.com)
• Jim Lichtman: Only About the Law? (huffingtonpost.com)
• Snyder v. Phelps: Inside the Supreme Court's Free Speech Showdown (time.com)
• Letters: Pickets at a Funeral: Testing the Limits of Freedom (nytimes.com)