In the tank?

Here's Colleen at STLtoday.

Critics in media conveniently ignore the angry left
BY COLLEEN CARROLL CAMPBELL
Thursday, Oct. 16 2008

After eight years of treating the radical left's foaming-at-the-mouth fury against President George W. Bush as a respectable political posture, America's media establishment has awakened to the dangers of partisan outrage — on the right.

Recent media reports have bemoaned the "angry" tone of rallies for Republicans Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin at which "rowdy crowds" have staged "surreal scenes" featuring what one Washington Post report described as an "outpouring of raw emotion rare in a presidential race." Apparently, the author of that last phrase never attended a rally for Sen. Barack Obama, where supporters have been known to faint and weep upon glimpsing The One.

Attuned as these reporters are to the wrath of the right, they seem to have overlooked the rageaholic tendencies of the left. In the past week alone, groups of Obama supporters spray-painted "Republican means slavery" on the door of a South Carolina GOP office, used a Molotov cocktail to torch a McCain yard sign in Portland, Ore., and arrived at a Palin rally in Pennsylvania sporting T-shirts that described the governor as a four-letter word unprintable in a  family newspaper.

Such nastiness is dispiriting but unsurprising at the end of a hard-fought race. When it gets this close to Election Day, fringe characters inevitably emerge on both ends of the political spectrum.

Yet only one end of that spectrum is drawing the collective ire of mainstream media reporters and commentators. Obama, who recently exhorted supporters to confront Independents and Republicans and "argue with them and get in their face," gets a pass for the strong-arm tactics of his allies on the angry left.

Meanwhile, McCain is blasted for fomenting partisan wrath, even though he has corrected supporters at his rallies when they made comments that he considered over the top.

Mainstream media outlets have given prominent coverage to comments such as those of Democratic Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, who accused McCain of "sowing the seeds of hatred and division" and compared him to segregationist Alabama governor George Wallace. CNN pundit James Carville has clucked that he fears the McCain crowds "could literally cause physical harm." New York Times op-ed columnist Frank Rich has declared that McCain and Palin are playing "the race card." His evidence: People at McCain-Palin rallies — although not the candidates themselves — sometimes use Obama's middle name or shout out angry retorts to speeches.

Ironically, the same critics seeking to concoct a scandal from a few stray hecklers at McCain-Palin rallies howl in protest whenever McCain supporters raise questions about Obama's much more intimate associations with dubious characters. Whether the topic is Obama's 20-year friendship with racist, anti-American pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright, his political start in the living room of unrepentant domestic terrorist William Ayers, his business dealings with convicted felon Tony Rezko or his ties to ACORN, the advocacy group that has been implicated in a nationwide voter-fraud scandal, the answer from Obama's journalistic allies is always the same: That's a distraction.

When it comes to media elites in the grip of Obama-mania, it seems, every criticism of their anointed candidate is a distraction. That bias is not lost on voters. Much of the anger journalists bemoan among McCain supporters is directed at them. As one man told the Washington Post, "You are treating [Obama] like he's Britney Spears and covering him like he's Paris Hilton, instead of the next president of the United States, potentially." Instead of
dismissing such criticism as partisan hysteria, media elites would do well to listen and learn. If they truly want voters to take a more detached, clear-eyed view of the candidates, they can begin by modeling that objectivity in themselves and their own work.

Colleen Carroll Campbell is an author, television and radio host and St. Louis-based fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Her website is www.colleen-campbell.com.

Delegating Discipline

I quote in full Dr. Ray at the National Catholic Register.
H/T:  Danielle Bean

Delegating Discipline
BY Dr. Ray Guarendi
October 19-25, 2008 Issue | Posted 10/14/08 at 12:54 PM

I know some parents who give kids a say in what consequences they should pay for their misbehaviors. What is your opinion on this approach?

Some parents believe there’s a time and place for kids to set their own discipline consequences: when they’re 27, and the place is their own apartment, maybe somewhere in Europe. I disagree. In fact, I’m certain that allowing youngsters input into at least some of their discipline is fraught with advantages.

First of all, sometimes kids confront us with such bizarre stunts that we’re too shell-shocked to think clearly. We can’t discern any possible rationale for their behavior, much less decide what to do about it. One source of ideas is the source of the trouble: “Iris, I’m not quite sure what to do about this. I’ve never had someone step on every petunia in my flower box looking for a Nerf ball. You tell me what I should do.” The first response you’re likely to hear is “I don’t know.”

You can help Iris gain some insight by following with “Well, if you don’t decide, I’ll have to. Give me something reasonable, and maybe I’ll go with it.” Iris may take a shot at being reasonable, especially if she thinks it will help her escape your “unreasonable” discipline.

A second advantage to concocting one’s own consequences is that the child may be more cooperative in seeing them through. Armstrong may more quietly shovel the snow by himself next time as the price for hitting his brother in the head with an ice ball this time. After all, he publicly picked that outcome. You have it on record with a copy at your attorney’s office.

Third, delegating discipline gives Buford a chance to ponder. In thinking about fair consequences, he is also thinking about the nature of his act. If he needs time to reflect, he can retreat to his room or a similarly quiet, cluttered place and return later with an answer or two. A few youngsters will actually provide several options. These are the ones destined to be counselor types.

Finally, you have the last word on all joint-venture discipline. Leave the matter completely up to Spike, and you could easily hear the likes of “Okay, I’ll write, ‘I’m sorry’ twice … you got any carbon paper?” If given enough time — anywhere between a minute and six years — most kids will conjure up a legitimate outcome: “I think I should pay for all new petunias with my allowance and not have any TV until I do.”

Then, too, kids can be harder on themselves than we would ever be: “I think I should write, ‘I am very, very, very, very sorry for making our home the ugliest house in the neighborhood.’ I think I should write that a million times. And I think I should pay for the broken petunias by mowing the lawn at a penny an acre with a manual lawn mower.”

You may have to temper Chastity’s self-discipline while adding a little meat to Spike’s. In the end, asking kids for discipline help can spur thoughtful answers, teach a good lesson — and keep you from getting an ulcer from struggling to think up something appropriate.

The doctor is always in
at DrRay.com.

A Conspiracy of Silence (EI News)

A Conspiracy of Silence
Melinda Tankard Reist

In two previous excerpts from her book Giving Sorrow Words: The Unspoken Pain of Abortion, journalist and women's rights advocate Melinda Tankard Reist discussed how inadequate and deceptive pre-abortion counseling contributes to the lack of authentic and fair choice, and many women's experiences of coercion, mistreatment, and the psychological and physical effects of abortion.


In this excerpt, she describes the silence and absence of help that many women face after abortion -- a further injustice that deepens their pain and isolation and can lead to prolonged suffering.

E. Joanne Angelo, Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine in the U.S., has written about the importance of the mourning process:

Grief following a death in the family is a universally accepted experience. A period of mourning following the loss of a loved one is a normal expectation in every culture. It is also generally understood that if this mourning process is blocked or impacted, there will be negative consequences.1
 
But there is no period of mourning for a woman suffering grief after an abortion. There are no grief teams, no body for her to cuddle and dress, no footprints or photographs to keep in an album, no ceremony, no grave on which to lay flowers; in short, nothing to acknowledge that this baby ever existed.

Peta makes this point in an extract from her story, writing, "The pain and grief continues because there is no acknowledgment of death, except in my heart ... The shadow of my lost little girl or boy will always follow me."

Beatrice, who underwent a second trimester abortion, describes what this lack of acknowledgement feels like:

My grief will be unresolved because you cannot grieve the normal way, you can’t repeat and repeat yourself. My husband and I never talk about the inner feelings ... although I’m sure he must think of it too. It’s just taboo and you put it to the back of your mind ...
 

Katarina, a psychologist, wrote of feeling cheated because she is not free to grieve:
 
My sister has since had two stillbirths—as a family we have grieved and empathized with her and her husband’s dreadful pain. Inside of me I felt cheated as no one had grieved with me for my two lost children—not even me. When my mum says no one in the family has experienced pain like my sister my heart cries out silently, "But I have."

Women are told they’ll get over it, that time heals, but find this is not true. Elizabeth had an abortion in 1973:
 
The aftermath was a numbness I hadn’t anticipated. I was numb, hollow, dead, and so very heavy with sorrow. The feelings didn’t “go with time” as my delighted mother assured me they would. I grew morose, bitter, very sad; so heavy with sadness, I can’t describe it . . .
 
I cried every day, I stayed as drunk as I could for as long as I could, and I hated myself and everyone else. I used to dream about the child I’d lost ... I wanted my child. I loved it, cherished it, yearned for its birth, missed it when it was taken from me, and to this day, 26 years later, feel the tragic heaviness of loss. My only consolation is that one day when I die our souls may reunite.
 
A grieving post-aborted woman faces a conspiracy of silence. She is expected to be full of gratitude and praise that she could access the “right to choose;” to speak badly of her experience makes her seem ungrateful.
 

The Absence of Help
 
Women often spoke of being unable to get satisfactory help for their grief from clinics or organizations connected with abortion. Karleen said that when she sought help at a women’s counseling clinic, she was told it was wrong of her to speak badly of her abortion experience. Kara told of posting her personal abortion story on an Internet discussion of abortion. She was told to “get lost”—her story wasn’t welcome.


Sue also went to a women’s center and tried to share the grief she had carried for 24 years:
 

I took a risk last year at the local women’s center and was very surprised to be confronted by the hostility of one woman present—she had every right to her opinion but I made the mistake of assuming that the women’s center would be a safe place to discuss it without judgment.
 
There are few “safe places” for women to share their grief. Women are made to suppress their pain and invent other reasons to explain what they are going through. A woman who shared her abortion pain in a story in The Age in 1992 described trying to get help from a pro-choice organization:
 
They said the reason (that you are hurting) is that you’ve got stuff in your background that you need to resolve. But I don’t think I’ve got unfinished business.2
 
If a woman is depressed after an abortion, she is made to feel it’s her own inability to deal with sadness which is the problem. The onus is all on the woman. But, as Isabelle wrote, "[P]ost-abortion grief is a very real experience. It goes on and on. Every time abortion is debated it sounds ten times as loud and it hurts ten times as much."
 

The Need for Resolution

Contributors to this book described many ways of trying to understand what happened to them, searching for a place of “healing” or “resolution” or “peace.” They had in common a need to find a way through crushing grief and to give expression to their mourning and sense of bereavement. A few were able to find a pathway to resolution; others still look for it.
 
But many more have not been permitted expression of their pain, nor been allowed to seek a way through it. They remain locked in, shut up, shut out of the discussion. Surely the time is long due that they too be encouraged to speak, to give their sorrow words and so help resolve their grief.

~~~

Excerpted from the book Giving Sorrow Words: Women's Stories of Grief After Abortion, by Melinda Tankard Reist. This book is available from the Elliot Institute under our Acorn Books publishing imprint. For more information, visit www.theunchoice.com or call 1-888-412-2676.

Double bladed

Dawn Eden's post entitled "I saw some things I can’t get out of my head: Med student 'incredibly freaked out' after a day at Planned Parenthood" made Sam to comment:

The most disturbing was the one with the head severed from the body. I guess that some people who look down upon an Islamic fascist who would sever the head of an infidel never considered that in the United States of God Bless America we do that every day of the week to thousands of unborn humans.

Definitely true. How much outrage have events like this, or this, or this, or this angered us, and get MSM to put in much coverage?

Will they?

Will Media Report ACORN Voter Registration Fraud and Obama Ties?

Of why most US main stream media have not and will not put more emphasis.
H/T Newsbusters.

To be sure, complaining about media's absurd double standard this election cycle seems almost like beating a dead horse.

However, as press members have focused great attention on voting fraud since the Florida recount debacle in 2000, it seems impossible to believe they're ignoring the glaring abuses ACORN is alleged to be committing this year, and the fact that despite his protestations to the contrary, Obama has been involved with this organization for decades.

Well...maybe not.

Marketing the Novus Ordo

From the Creative Minority Report.

Who is really pro-life . . .

I am quoting from Jill's blog the Johnstown, PA speech by Sarah Palin. I could not find the text of the speech in the link that Jill put in her post.

In this same spirit, as defenders of the culture of life, John McCain and I believe in the goodness and potential of every innocent life. I believe the truest measure of any society is how it treats those who are least able to defend and speak for themselves. And who is more vulnerable, or more innocent, than a child?

When I learned that my son Trig would have special needs, I had to prepare my heart for the challenges to come. At first I was scared, and Todd and I had to ask for strength and understanding. But I can tell you a few things I've learned already.

Yes, every innocent life matters. Everyone belongs in the circle of protection. Every child has something to contribute to the world, if we give them that chance. There are the world's standards of perfection... and then there are God's, and these are the final measure. Every child is beautiful before God, and dear to Him for their own sake....

As for our beautiful baby boy, for Todd and me, he is only more precious because he is vulnerable. In some ways, I think we stand to learn more from him than he does from us. When we hold Trig and care for him, we don't feel scared anymore. We feel blessed.

It's hard to think of many issues that could possibly be more important than who is protected in law and who isn't - who is granted life and who is denied it. So when our opponent, Senator Obama, speaks about questions of life, I listen very carefully.

I listened when he defended his unconditional support for unlimited abortions. He said that a woman shouldn't have to be - quote - "punished with a baby." He said that right here in Johnstown - "punished with a baby" - and it's about time we called him on it. The more I hear from Senator Obama, the more I understand why he is so vague and evasive on the subject. Americans need to see his record for what it is. It's not negative or mean-spirited to talk to about his record. Whatever party you belong to, there are facts you need to know.

Senator Obama has voted against bills to end partial-birth abortion. In the IL Senate, a bipartisan majority passed legislation against that practice. Senator Obama opposed that bill. He voted against it in committee, and voted "present" on the Senate floor. In that legislature, "present" is how you vote when you're against something, but don't want to be held to account.

Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a Democrat, described partial-birth abortion as "too close to infanticide." Barack Obama thinks it's a constitutional right, but he is wrong.

Most troubling, as a state senator, Barack Obama wouldn't even stand up for the rights of infants born alive during an abortion. These infants - often babies with special needs - are simply left to die.

In 2002, Congress unanimously passed a federal law to require medical care for those babies who survive an abortion. They're living, breathing babies, but Senator Obama describes them as "pre-viable." This merciful law was called the Born Alive Infants Protection Act. IL had a version of the same law. Obama voted against it.

Asked about this vote, Senator Obama assured a reporter that he'd have voted "yes" on that bill if it had contained language similar to the federal version of the Born Alive Act. There's just one little problem with that story: the language of both the state and federal bills was identical.

In short, Senator Obama is a politician who has long since left behind even the middle ground on the issue of life. He has sided with those who won't even protect a child born alive. And this exposes the emptiness of his promises to move beyond the "old politics."

In both parties, Americans have many concerns to be weighed in the votes they cast on November fourth. In times like these, with wars and a financial crisis, it's easy to forget even as deep and abiding a concern as the right to life. And it seems our opponent hopes that you will forget. Like so much else in his agenda, he hopes you won't notice how radical his ideas and record are until it's too late.

But let there be no misunderstanding about the stakes.

A vote for Barack Obama is a vote for activist courts that will continue to smother the open and democratic debate we need on this issue, at both the state and federal level. A vote for Barack Obama would give the ultimate power over the issue of life to a politician who has never once done anything to protect the unborn. As Senator Obama told Pastor Rick Warren, it's above his pay grade.

For a candidate who talks so often about "hope," he offers no hope at all in meeting this great challenge to the conscience of America. There is a growing consensus in our country that we can overcome narrow partisanship on this issue, and bring all the resources of a generous country to the aid of both women in need and the child waiting to be born. We need more of the compassion and idealism that our opponent's own party, at its best, once stood for. We need the clarity and conviction of leaders like the late Governor Bob Casey.

He represented a humanity that speaks to all of us - no matter what our party, our background, our faith, or our gender. And no matter your position on this sensitive subject, I hope that spirit will guide you on Election Day. I ask you to vote for McCain-Palin on the November 4th, and help us to bring this country together in the rational discussion of compassion and life.

Spread the wealth around

We know to where this "spreading the wealth around" usually leads. Here. Or here.

"It's not that I want to punish your success. I just want to make sure that everybody who is behind you, that they've got a chance for success too. My attitude is that if the economy's good for folks from the bottom up, it's gonna be good for everybody ... I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody."

You guessed right who said it. Read MM and ST.

Eight Bailout Questions from Laura

Laura's E-Blast
http://www.LauraIngraham.com
October 1, 2008

Eight Bailout Questions

How many times over the last few days have we heard politicians, talking heads and other self-proclaimed "experts" tell us the reason the $700 billion bailout is so wildly unpopular is that we just don't understand it. The economy is complicated. Just trust Congress, President Bush and his royal highness, Hank Paulson. They'll fix it. Don't worry about that $700 billion number. It only sounds high.

Well. If that's the case - if we're really too dumb to understand what's happening - perhaps Congress can show us how much they know. To start, here are some questions I'd like answered.

1) Since the White House introduced the bailout last week, a number of alternative ideas have been proposed. For one, Michigan Republican Thaddeus McCotter wrote a 10-point plan that carries no cost to taxpayers. Others, like George Soros', are significantly less expensive and, in his estimation, likelier to be effective. Can you explain why this bill is the best option, despite being the most expensive?

2) We're told the bailout could actually turn a profit for taxpayers. Assuming that's true, how can we be sure the money actually ends up back in taxpayers' hands? For years the Social Security system took in more money than it paid out, yet instead of putting the surplus revenue toward future benefits, Congress snatched that extra cash for general expenditures. Likewise, Fannie and Freddie's "profits," were used for congressional pet projects. With this track record, how can we trust that this program will be any different?

3) The McCain campaign yesterday pointed out that the most recent housing bill gave the government nearly $1 trillion to purchase mortgages. If this is true, why exactly does Congress need to pass this monstrous legislation?

4) Does the latest version of this bill still "allow the government to purchase troubled assets from pension plans, local governments, and small banks that serve low- and middle-income families"? Americans are having a hard enough time swallowing the idea of a bailout for irresponsible home, car, and student lending. The notion that we'll be on the hook for insolvent pension plans administered by awful, union-controlled lawmakers in cities like Detroit and New York is simply insane.

5) Does the bill's preamble still proclaim that the law "provides authority to the treasury secretary to ... ensure the economic well-being of Americans?" Does anyone know if there are limitations to this seemingly unbridled authority? Otherwise, what prevents the Treasury secretary from becoming a de-facto dictator? This strikes me as especially worth discussion.

6) Are there still no meaningful curtailments of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? Does the bill contain anything even hinting at accountability?

7) What concrete assurances do taxpayers have that the turmoil's provenance - Carter and Clinton-era social-engineering dictums that upended safe-lending practices in favor of higher minority home ownership - will forever be outlawed? How do we know taxpayers won't be asked to finance another $700 billion bailout in 10 years? What has Congress learned from its past mistakes?

8) After Enron's collapse, former CEO Jeffrey Skilling, then-CEO Ken Lay, and then-CFO Andrew Fastow, were called to testify before Congress. According to the Business and Media Institute, Fannie's and Freddie's overstated earnings were 19 times larger than Enron's fake numbers. So when can we expect Congress to call Jim Johnson, Franklin Raines, Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, and the rest of Fannie's and Freddie's enablers to testify before Congress?

At the end of the day, we're not being asked to bailout Wall St. so much as we are the Democratic Party. For $700 billion, answers to the questions above are the least Congress can do in return.

Dura Realidad

Here's a link to a video made by "Popular and Influential Latino actor Eduardo Verastegui" on the evils of abortion, why the Hispanics are being targetted, and what he believes is O's stand.

This video was posted in YouTube but it was edited so as not to show the graphic abortion video.

Caution: Very graphic.

Thomas Vander Woude

This is the story of Mr. Thomas Vander Woude.

But those who know him say they always knew Thomas Vander Woude was special. Whether it was installing a gymnasium floor, training altar boys or coaching sports, when the daily communicant father of seven saw a need, he stepped in.

That trait led to the ultimate sacrifice on Sept. 8, when he dove into a septic tank to save the life of his son.

Not only in the Philippines?

Voter fraud.  Yep, even in the great US of A.  The complaints against ACORN or the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now concerning their voter engagement programs are mounting.  See here and here for samples.

And it seems that ACORN is positioning to get a share of profits expected from the Mother of All Bailouts in the US (yep, the USD700B government bailout surrounding the home mortgage mess). Thanks to their backers.

H/T:  Michelle.

Who's not taking the 3am call?

It’s shocking that someone who believes himself ready to lead the free world would so brazenly try to dodge any participation in what could be a defining moment in our history. That’s not leadership — it’s cowardice. It’s attempting to stay out of the way of any of the tough choices so that one is free to criticize them after others have stepped up. You can fault John McCain for a lot of things, but lack of leadership and shrinking from the hard choices isn’t one of them.

Guess who Carol Platt Liebau talks about.

H/T: GayPatriotWest. And while you're at it, see what he also says about MSM's missing stories.

Newsbusters also talks of MSM's "lack of interest" in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's in the past years even as many people have expressed the risk to this present day's US financial markets. Of course now they are all over the issue. Because now it is convenient?

May not have been greed nor lack of regulation after all

It seems that the US financial crisis involving Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman, AIG, and many others may not have been caused by greed. At least not by financial greed, that is. They were just trying to cover for losses they already knew would come if they did not resort to the innovative derivatives in the mortgage market.

Political greed perhaps? It now seems that the push for that almost "inalienable right" to have a house, even if people cannot afford to pay for the house is the culprit. Heck it even looks like it was a conspiracy that took 15 years.

Let Drew Zahn or Ace of Spades tell you about it. H/T: ST

Catholic and Pro-choice

H/T: Jill Stanek and Joseph Bottum.

It's news like this that makes me ask again, "What's happening, SJ?"

Catholic University to Honor Justice Breyer Who Wrote Majority Opinion Supporting Partial-Birth Abortion

NEW YORK, September 15, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In a brash move defying the U.S Bishops' speakers policy, Fordham University's Stein Center for Law and Ethics announced that pro-abortion Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer is the 2008 recipient of the Fordham-Stein Ethics Prize. Breyer infamously wrote the majority opinion in Stenberg v. Carhart, which struck down state laws banning the practice of partial-birth abortion.

Read the rest here.

I really want to ask again, "What's happening, SJ?". Perplexing.

Meet Gianna Jessen

Get to know Gianna Jessen, through a story by Ted Harvey, Assistant Minority Leader in the Colorado House of Representatives.

Here is how it ends (but read from the top of Ted's story):

Ironically, Alice Madden, the majority leader and sponsor of the Planned Parenthood resolution, walked over to Gianna and congratulated her.

As the applause began to die down, I raised my hand to be recognized one more time.

"Mr. Speaker, members, if you would allow me just a few more moments I would appreciate your time.

"My name is Ted Harvey, not Paul Harvey, but, please, let me tell you the rest of the story.

"The cause of Gianna's cerebral palsy is not because of some biological freak of nature, but rather the choice of her mother.

"You see when her biological mother was 17-years-old and 7-and-a-half months pregnant, she went to a Planned Parenthood clinic to seek a late-term abortion. The abortionist performed a saline abortion on this 17-year-old girl. This procedure requires the injection of a high concentration of saline into the mother's womb, which the fetus is then bathed in and swallows, which results in the fetus being burned to death, inside and out. Within 24 hours the results are normally an induced, still-born abortion.

"As Gianna can testify, the procedure is not always 100 percent effective. Gianna is an aborted late-term fetus who was born alive. The high concentration of saline in the womb for 24 hours resulted in a lack of oxygen to her brain and is the cause of her cerebral palsy.

"Members, today, we are going to recognize the 90th anniversary of Rocky Mountain Planned Parenthood…"

BANG! The gavel came down.

Just as I was finishing the last sentence of my speech — the climax of the morning — the speaker of the House gaveled me down and said, "Representative Harvey, I will allow you to continue your introduction, but not for the purposes of debating a measure now pending before the House."

At which point I said,

"Mr. Speaker, I understand. I just wanted to put a face to what we are celebrating today."

Silence.

Deafening silence.

I then walked back to my chair shaking like a leaf. The Democrats wouldn't look at me. They were fuming. It was beautiful. I have been in the Legislature for five tough years, and this made it all worthwhile.

The House majority leader wouldn't talk to me the rest of the day.

Was it because I introduced an abortion survivor, or was it because we touched her soul? She could congratulate an inspirational cerebral palsy victim and advocate, but was outraged when she discovered that the person she congratulated was also an abortion survivor.

The headline in The Denver Post the next day read "Abortion Jab Earns Rebuke." The majority leader is quoted as saying, "I think it was amazingly rude to use a human being as an example of his personal politics."

Yes, Representative Madden, Gianna Jessen is a human being. She was when she was in her mother's womb, and she was when she sang the national anthem on the floor of the Colorado House of Representatives.

The paper went on to quote Gianna, stating she was glad I told her story.

"We need to discuss the humanity of it. I'm glad to be able to speak up for children in the womb," she said. "If abortion is about women's rights, where were my rights?"

All I can say is, "Glory to God!" He orchestrated it all, every minute of it, and I was so honored to have been chosen to play a part. May we all continue to be filled with and to fight for the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Here are her words at Born Alive Truth:

Can you imagine not giving babies their basic human rights, no matter how they entered our world? My name is Gianna Jessen, born 31 years ago after a failed abortion. I’m a survivor, as are many others…but if Barack Obama had his way, I wouldn’t be here.

Unfortunately, Barack Obama voted four times against affording these babies their most basic human right. I have serious concerns about Senator Obama’s record and views on this issue, given he voted against these protections four times as a state Senator. Just as abuse victims share their stories to educate the public, fight for the common good and hope that as a result politicians do what’s right, I felt it was important to come forward and give these new born babies a voice.

I am living proof these babies have a right to live, and I invite you to learn more about Senator Obama’s record on this important issue.

-Abortion Survivor Gianna Jessen

Magnificent Cat

This from Bettnett: parody of the Magnificat. Be sure to read the blog post for the context.

“Magnificent Cat”:

Mass media proclaim the greatness of the Obama
Your spirit rejoices in Barry, your savior
For he has looked with earmarks upon his base.

From Election Day, all demographics will call themselves blessed
The BO Man has passed great entitlements for us
And, Hey!, Hussein is NOT his name.

He is the one we’ve been waiting for.
He is the change that we seek.

He has mercy on those who fear him
In every Republican.

He has shown the strength of his polling
He has scattered the journalists in their fawning dispatches

He has cast down the middle class from their suburbs
And has given tingles to Chris Matthews.

He has filled the power-hungry liberals with promises of change
And the rich (Republicans) he has sent away with empty pockets.

He has come to the help of his servant Pelosi
For has remembered his promises of incumbency
The promise he made to the lobbyists
To Biden and his lobbyist son forever.

Blue vs Green

or Green vs Blue, depending on what team you're cheering for. Yep, it is another dream match-up in the UAAP basketball championships.

The dream showdown just got sealed.

Ateneo de Manila University and De La Salle University ousted their final Four opponents in contrasting fashions to arrange the much anticipated title duel between the country’s fiercest collegiate rivals.

The Green Archers earned a shot at defending the UAAP crown by ousting Far Eastern University with a dramatic 67-62 escape in the 71st men’s basketball semifinals yesterday at the jampacked Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

And it seemed that the Blue Eagles couldn’t wait to lock up the blockbuster finale as this season’s top seed trampled on the University of the East Warriors, 70-50, in the other Final Four duel.

It will be the fourth overall Finals confrontation between the two elite teams, whose rivalry extends beyond the hardcourt.

Ateneo won in 1988 and 2002, while La Salle prevailed in 2001.

If color is any indication what team I am betting on (no bets, please, cheering for, is better), then you know now.

Palin Comparison

My pro-life blogs have all lit up with McCain's choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Good move Mr. McCain. Now, Biden pales in comparison. Obama blinked on this one for sure. Any "toldjaso" from Hillary?

Palin, who belongs to Feminists for Life, also came out in the news early this year when she gave birth to a son who was diagnosed early in her pregnancy to have Down Syndrome. She's also known to have sued the Bush Administration for declaring the polar bear in Alaska as endangered species.

From: Dawn

Obama, face Down

Jill Stanek, who will certainly have something to say about McCain veep pick, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, on her blog, wrote earlier today in an e-mail (links are my addition):

Palin chose life for her baby with Down syndrome.

Obama relegated these babies to death despite testimony that at least one aborted-alive Down's baby had been abandoned to die in a hospital soiled-utility room.

As a friend of mine says, the choice between good and evil could not be more obvious this election. May the best man and woman win.

From: MM

James Pethokoukis sends the 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Sarah Palin:

. Sarah Louise Palin (nee Heath) was born Feb., 1964, in Sandpoint, Idaho. Her family moved to Alaska when Sarah was an infant. Her father, Chuck, is a retired schoolteacher.

2. She attended Wasilla High School where she played point guard on the state champion basketball team. Her nickname was “Sarah Barracuda.”

3. Palin graduated in 1987 from the University of Idaho with a degree in journalism. She worked briefly as a sports reporter in Anchorage.

4. She refers to her husband, Todd, as the “First Dude.” He’s worked as a commercial fisherman and as a production operator on the North Slope for BP. He enjoys snowmobiling and has won the Tesoro Iron Dog, billed as the world’s longest snowmobile race, four times.

5. Palin and her husband have five children, Bristol, Piper, Track, Willow, and Trig. Trig, born in 2008, has been diagnosed with Down syndrome. Her son Track joined the army in 2007.

6. Her favorite meal is moose stew.

7. She comes from a family of outdoor enthusiasts. Her parents, Chuck and Sally Heath, enjoy hunting and fishing, and have both completed marathons.

8. Palin was named Miss Wasilla in 1984 and was a runner-up for Miss Alaska. In 1996 she was elected mayor of Wasilla.

9. She’s a lifetime NRA member and enjoys hunting, fishing, and snowmobiling.

10. Elected in 2006, she’s Alaska’s first female governor and the youngest governor elected in the state.

Read also the lifesitenews.com article about Gov. Palin as McCain's running mate.

They come in 3's

Have you ever heard of the belief that plane crashes come in 3's? I have. The other day, I heard the comment again, after hearing that a plane crashed in Kyrgyzstan. This comes about a week after a plane crashed in Madrid. He asked: what will be the third crash of the "series"?

I believe this is the answer: a Philippine Air Force C-130 plane crashed into the Davao Gulf near Davao City. It is said that this plane was one of at least two C-130's in operation with the PAF.

Keep them in your prayers.

Early in August, I took some photos from my seat after I boarded the PAL Express flight that I took from Cagayan de Oro to Cebu. I took photos of a couple of Hueys, a Bronco OV-10 bomber, and the left wing of a C-130 that was being boarded by probably military types and their dependents or sick people -- nothing unusual really.

Would it have been this C-130? Here's one photo: airman checking the plane's fuel?

Sir Sid!

A friend and classmate from high school, Sean, shot three video-messages of our former mentor-teacher at Dole Philippines School.

This first video is in YouTube.

I will upload the video later on this post.

L.I.E.S.

As I stopped by my must-read pro-life blog Jill Stanek, I saw this (excerpts below) by one of the readers of Jill's blog (HisMan):

In analyzing and meditating on Jill's post today, I have invented a new acronym for the MSM. My goal was to capture and express what they do and who they are in as few lettes as possible. I've got to confess, it wasn't difficult, however, it is so right on the money, so easy to remember, so market friendly, I must claim ownership of it amd copyright it. Here it is:

L.I.E.S

It stands for Left In Extreme Spin. It is representative of what a liberal media is willing to do at every level when they realize that their annointed one is in danger of being exposed as one who lies and therefore, be disqualified, i.e., not elected, as one ready and fit to lead the Free World.

So, the LIES lies to expose their LIAR or Leftist In Altered Reality, aka, Barack Obama (another acronym or should I say acrimony I now copyright). Ah, the LIES of a LIAR, aka the Chigago Tribune, Washigton Post, Time, Newsday, Huffington Post, MSNBC, CNN, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

So, the LIES conspires not by exposing the LIAR, as is their sacred duty confirmed by the shedding of blood in wars past, the LIES add to the pile of lies by attacking the revealer of truth, necessitating more LIES. The downward spiral of LIES begins, while we reminisce the tale of one Dan Rather, the poster boy for the LIES.

The context of this is that mainstream media (over in the US) have not picked-up on one of the more important issues that hound Obamessiah (here, here, here, here, and here, among many who have reported or commented).

Or even if they did, they care very little, or give their own theories as to why O did what he did and continues to believe (as if they are protecting him?).

Despite what some might say that I shouldn't really care about what is happening in the US, I do care; what with the Pinoy's penchant of imitating what the Americans think and do.

Deal a Card

I link to the July 24 article of Orson Scott Card, by way of Bettnet.com, where he writes about "the travesty of courts redefining marriage as well as giving free rein to abortion."

Here's the irony: There is no branch of government with the authority to redefine marriage. Marriage is older than government. Its meaning is universal: It is the permanent or semipermanent bond between a man and a woman, establishing responsibilities between the couple and any children that ensue.

The laws concerning marriage did not create marriage, they merely attempted to solve problems in such areas as inheritance, property, paternity, divorce, adoption and so on.

If the government passed a law declaring that grey was now green, and asphalt was specifically designated as a botanical organism, would that make all our streets into "greenery" and all our parking lots into "parks"?

If a court declared that from now on, "blind" and "sighted" would be synonyms, would that mean that it would be safe for blind people to drive cars?

No matter how sexually attracted a man might be toward other men, or a woman toward other women, and no matter how close the bonds of affection and friendship might be within same-sex couples, there is no act of court or Congress that can make these relationships the same as the coupling between a man and a woman.

This is a permanent fact of nature.

Card says more in the article, a sort of kick-to-the-butt of government pandering to those on the left of the marriage debate. He talks of the American society and government, but what he says could very well play out in the Philippines if we leave these sinistrine advocates and their pundits to wreak havoc.

If America becomes a place where our children are taken from us by law and forced to attend schools where they are taught that cohabitation is as good as marriage, that motherhood doesn't require a husband or father, and that homosexuality is as valid a choice as heterosexuality for their future lives, then why in the world should married people continue to accept the authority of such a government?

What these dictator-judges do not seem to understand is that their authority extends only as far as people choose to obey them.

How long before married people answer the dictators thus: Regardless of law, marriage has only one definition, and any government that attempts to change it is my mortal enemy. I will act to destroy that government and bring it down, so it can be replaced with a government that will respect and support marriage, and help me raise my children in a society where they will expect to marry in their turn.

Biological imperatives trump laws. American government cannot fight against marriage and hope to endure. If the Constitution is defined in such a way as to destroy the privileged position of marriage, it is that insane Constitution, not marriage, that will die.

TESDA Kabalikat Award 2008

Here's the award (institution category) ...

Kabalikat Award

Update: My colleague from CITE, Roy, who was at the awarding ceremony in Manila, says that we got the National Kabalikat Award 2008 for the Institution Category.

Today, the Philippines's Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) will hand out the 2008 Kabalikat Award. According to the TESDA website:

The Kabalikat Award is an annual institutional award hosted by TESDA. This Award aims to recognize and honor outstanding partners in the promotion and enhancement of technical education and skills development.

The Award is conferred to outstanding local government units, institutions and industry for their contributions in the promotion and development of the country’s middle level manpower. Said contribution maybe in the form of technology/competency sharing, donation of training machines and trainees, on the job training and social support services to manpower development.

My school, CITE, is one of the nominees. We will know soon if we get the National Kabalikat Award. If we do, CITE will have won it twice in ten years (the first time we got it was in 1998).

Over my pay grade

What? Thought this was supposed to be about Mark Spitz?
Ooops, sorry . . .

Imagine if he weren't born at all.

I thought he would be silent after Michael's good showing at Beijing.

Mark Spitz, winner of 7 swimming golds in one Olympics (1972 Munich Olympics), a record only very recently broken by Michael Phelps, told the New York Daily News that he could have matched fellow swimmer Michael Phelps stride for stride if the two legends swam against each other in their primes.

I believe him. Heck, he may even beat Michael. Of course, in all humility, Mark also says that Michael could even win some more in 2012.

Mark Spitz is still the best -- he who "was a true amateur in a tiny Speedo bikini with a hirsute body to slow him down" against Michael who "is a well-paid, vitamin/electrolyte/magic protein-engorged professional encased in a second-skin cheater's uniform." (from Debbie Schlussel)

He was my idol. So much that I even usurped his name, partly -- when I'd sign up for anything, I'd use Pitz.

That is, until some friends combined my first name and nickname, and started calling me Armpitz.

They can't beat me at swimming so they call me names -- stick and stones ... Just kidding guys!

WYDSYD redux

"Our world has grown weary of greed, exploitation and division, of the tedium of false idols and piecemeal responses, and the pain of false promises. Our hearts and minds are yearning for a vision of life where love endures, where gifts are shared, where unity is built, where freedom finds meaning in truth, and where identity is found in respectful communion."

Pope Benedict XVI, Sydney Harbour, July 17

H/T: Zenit

Prodigal Son

Touching story of conversion. It's a start.
H/T: Dawn

Not seeing the sun

While in my last semester at university, I lived in Lauan Study Center, which had a residence hall for about 16. One of the residents was a teacher in one of the private schools in Metro Manila. For five days in a week, he would not see the sun from the residence hall. He would leave the center before sunrise to catch the school bus, and he would arrive back at the center after night fall. It wasn't surprising as back then traffic in Metro Manila was bad, as is now. Present day: Probably there are those who also do not see the sunrise, say, from Mactan on weekdays, as they have to bring their sons to school in the "mainland."

On the last day of July, the feast of St. Ignatius -- no connection to this blog really, but just to say that that day would have been, if I were still in university, a school holiday for me and the rest of my schoolmates -- I did not see the sun in and from Cebu.

But instead of the need to take the bus somewhere, I had to take the plane to Manila on the 4am flight and back to Cebu on the last flight out at 1915.

I had to catch the Holy Mass celebrated by the Prelate of Opus Dei at the University of Asia and the Pacific at 630am. I was with four others from Cebu and we made it there, with time to spare. Later in the morning, I also attended a get-together with the Prelate at one of the auditoriums of the University. After lunch with the guys from Cebu, we also had the opportunity to be in a short get-together with the Prelate in the place where he stayed in Quezon City.

The Prelate was in the Philippines on a pastoral visit of about 5 days. Here's a recap of his get-together on July 29.

Bishop Javier Echevarría, the Prelate of Opus Dei, spoke to more than 10,000 members of Opus Dei, their families and friends at an hour-long get-together at the SMX Convention Center on July 29. He had arrived from Sydney on July 27 for a five-day pastoral visit to the Philippines.

Carbon footprint .. err... crater

He has a house like this that "since taking steps to make his home more environmentally-friendly last June, (he) devours an average of 17,768 kWh per month –-1,638 kWh more energy per month than before the renovations – at a cost of $16,533. By comparison, the average American household consumes 11,040 kWh in an entire year, according to the Energy Information Administration."

He has a fleet of cars (SUV's and Town Cars included) when he goes to and from his speaking engagements about the inconvenient truths.

He also has a houseboat called Bio-Solar One (BS1, go figure!).

Massive carbon crater. Do as I say, not as I do.

Prisoner Shipment

I was watching the news about the problem of "overstaying" prisoners at the Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center. The report and also quoting the warden said that this was caused by the suspension of the operations of the passenger ships of Sulpicio Lines. Without the boat operations of Sulpicio (which the warden says offers the cheapest rates and the least strict in policies, whatever that means), BBRC cannot make the SHIPMENT of prisoners to the National Penitentiary.

Yep, SHIPMENT.

He should have used a better term. It is as if prisoners are like commodities (including animals) that need to be shipped. Even for all the wrong that they have done, prisoners are still human, and thus have rights.

Using "transfer" would have been more acceptable.

Or was it all a matter of the English language.

"Social Nitwitting"

Since I am in the academe, with special interest in using e-learning as a teaching and learning mode in technical education, it is of concern for me to read in the news and blogs (thus, through the internet, mostly) about how technology affects in a negative way our children (and us) -- this is not saying that there aren't any good that can be derived from it.

In a post I received today through email from Laura Ingraham, she says this:

THE DUMBEST GENERATION? Emory University English professor Mark Bauerlein (author of "The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future") appeared on today's show (365ers, click here to listen) to confirm what many of us have already started to notice: The Digital Age is wreaking havoc on young Americans' ready and writing abilities. Of course, the Internet offers countless opportunities for learning, but Mark's research found that kids are using for vanity rather than intellectual enrichment. Spending endless hours texting, chatting, and posting every intimate detail of their lives online, kids today suffer a new kind of peer pressure -- one that keeps them locked in a state of immaturity. Far from using the 'net for mental enrichment, Bauerleins discovered that average high school students spend an hour per week studying for their classes online and nine hours on social networking sites. No wonder kids' standardized test scores for reading comprehension have been falling since the birth of the 'net.

I checked out Mark Bauerline (yes, online) and saw a link to a site of his book. As a way of summary, here is what the homepage says:

The Dumbest Generation
50 Million Minds Diverted, Distracted, Devoured

For decades, concern has been brewing about the dumbed-down popular culture of young people and the impact it has on their futures.

Social Nitwitting
The dawn of the digital age once aroused our hopes: the Internet, e-mail, blogs, and interactive and ultra-realistic video games promised to yield a generation of sharper, more aware, and intellectually sophisticated children. The terms “information superhighway” and “knowledge economy” entered the lexicon, and we assumed that teens would use their know-how and understanding of technology to form the vanguard of this new, hyper-informed era.

That was the promise. But the enlightenment didn’t happen.

Mind(less) Games
The technology that was supposed to make young adults more astute, diversify their tastes, and improve their minds had the opposite effect.

According to recent reports from government agencies, foundations, survey firms, and scholarly institutions, most young people in the United States neither read literature (or fully know how), work reliably (just ask employers), visit cultural institutions (of any sort), nor vote (most can’t even understand a simple ballot). They cannot explain basic scientific methods, recount foundations of American history, or name any of their local political representatives. What do they happen to excel at is – each other. They spend unbelievable amounts of time electronically passing stories, pictures, tunes, and texts back and forth, savoring the thrill of peer attention and dwelling in a world of puerile banter and coarse images.

The Not So Greatest Generation
Anyone who thinks this is mere intergenerational grousing, the time-worn tradition of an older generation wagging its finger at a younger one, should think again.

Drawing upon exhaustive research, detailed portraits, and historical and social analysis, The Dumbest Generation presents an uncompromisingly realistic study of the young American mind at this critical juncture. The book also lays out a compelling vision of how we might address its deficiencies.


To fail to do so may well mean sacrificing our future to the least curious and intellectual generation in national history.

Laura has this to say:

Worried about your kids? Here's an easy solution: Get the computer and television out of their rooms and set limits! Trade online time for time spent reading and writing. The study and work habits your kids learn during their teenage years will stick with them for years. They'll thank you for it later.

Food for thought.

Do we want a childless Philippines?

I direct you to Dr. William E. May who writes "'Childless Europe,' Humanae Vitae, and Familiaris Consortio". He begins:

The Sunday, June 29, 2008 edition of The New York Times Magazine featured a very interesting and provocative essay by Richard Sharto entitled “Childless Europe: What happens to a continent when it stops making babies?” I believe that its publication, coming a few days before the beginning of July, 2008, a month marking the 40th anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s encyclical Humanae Vitae was providential.

It is not only Sharto who talks of this basic problem in Europe. In 1990, I was in Rome preparing for the eventual start of my school in Cebu. I was then in Centro ELIS, the NGO-partner of CITE. In one conversation with a pediatrician who was living with his family in the quartiere Tiburtina, he commented that he was not getting as much patients. I told him that he should be thankful that children are more healthy now. He looks at me (with the "where is this guy from?" look) and almost rebukes me: If only that were the case, caro amico. Not only sick children go and see their pediatricians; even healthy ones go regularly also. The real reason is that there simply are less children. I wonder, but I shouldn't, considering that so many do the baby-making act, if you understand what I mean."

Many have written about similar declines and the ill-effects happening in many other countries. I remember that during a break in one technical education workshop I attended in Tokyo, a workshop staff and I were looking out the window towards a 6-story building across the street. He told me that the building used to be an elementary and high school and that about 3 years before, the school closed down. Before I could ask him for the reason, he added that it was due to the fact that there were very few students because simply this part of Tokyo did not have families with children anymore -- true in many other parts. I told him that if only we could transfer the building to Cebu for the use of schoolchildren in my city, I'd be the first to ask for it. He countered that if only he had the authority and the technology to do it, he'd have given it to me as we spoke.

I am happy that many of our students are now abroad with very good jobs. Most of our graduates outside the country are in Singapore. And Singapore is in need of workers because local talent is just not enough. Mostly testament to past advocacies on contraception, no less. This story is repeated many times in many countries.

And yet here we are in RP wanting to experience situations that these countries are dying to get out from. Reminds me, perhaps not a very good analogy, of something that a former teacher at graduate school told me. He said that the Philippines was fond of following the US. It is not really bad in itself, but it seems we follow most of the evil and less of the good. He says one of the good that we did not follow: the railway system. And how about the evil? Too many to mention, but one is artificial contraception.

Here we are, simply fulfilling the prophecy that is Humanae Vitae:

Consequences of Artificial Methods

17. Responsible men can become more deeply convinced of the truth of the doctrine laid down by the Church on this issue if they reflect on the consequences of methods and plans for artificial birth control. Let them first consider how easily this course of action could open wide the way for marital infidelity and a general lowering of moral standards. Not much experience is needed to be fully aware of human weakness and to understand that human beings—and especially the young, who are so exposed to temptation—need incentives to keep the moral law, and it is an evil thing to make it easy for them to break that law. Another effect that gives cause for alarm is that a man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman, and, disregarding her physical and emotional equilibrium, reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires, no longer considering her as his partner whom he should surround with care and affection.

Finally, careful consideration should be given to the danger of this power passing into the hands of those public authorities who care little for the precepts of the moral law. Who will blame a government which in its attempt to resolve the problems affecting an entire country resorts to the same measures as are regarded as lawful by married people in the solution of a particular family difficulty? Who will prevent public authorities from favoring those contraceptive methods which they consider more effective? Should they regard this as necessary, they may even impose their use on everyone. It could well happen, therefore, that when people, either individually or in family or social life, experience the inherent difficulties of the divine law and are determined to avoid them, they may give into the hands of public authorities the power to intervene in the most personal and intimate responsibility of husband and wife.

Limits to Man's Power

Consequently, unless we are willing that the responsibility of procreating life should be left to the arbitrary decision of men, we must accept that there are certain limits, beyond which it is wrong to go, to the power of man over his own body and its natural functions—limits, let it be said, which no one, whether as a private individual or as a public authority, can lawfully exceed. These limits are expressly imposed because of the reverence due to the whole human organism and its natural functions, in the light of the principles We stated earlier, and in accordance with a correct understanding of the "principle of totality" enunciated by Our predecessor Pope Pius XII. (21)

Concern of the Church

18. It is to be anticipated that perhaps not everyone will easily accept this particular teaching. There is too much clamorous outcry against the voice of the Church, and this is intensified by modern means of communication. But it comes as no surprise to the Church that she, no less than her divine Founder, is destined to be a "sign of contradiction." (22) She does not, because of this, evade the duty imposed on her of proclaiming humbly but firmly the entire moral law, both natural and evangelical.

Since the Church did not make either of these laws, she cannot be their arbiter—only their guardian and interpreter. It could never be right for her to declare lawful what is in fact unlawful, since that, by its very nature, is always opposed to the true good of man.

In preserving intact the whole moral law of marriage, the Church is convinced that she is contributing to the creation of a truly human civilization. She urges man not to betray his personal responsibilities by putting all his faith in technical expedients. In this way she defends the dignity of husband and wife. This course of action shows that the Church, loyal to the example and teaching of the divine Savior, is sincere and unselfish in her regard for men whom she strives to help even now during this earthly pilgrimage "to share God's life as sons of the living God, the Father of all men." (23)

I hope we become the exception.

Packard and leave?

A PDI story entitled "US donor hits Arroyo policy on population" begins:

"A top United States-based benefactor of population management programs worldwide has criticized President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for backing the Catholic Church’s hard-line position on reproductive health (RH) issues."

The report on the Philippines can be seen here, where it says among other things:

"Large families are one reason why 40 percent of the 85 million Filipinos live in extreme poverty. Many women and couples are highly motivated to plan their family size but have difficulty accessing contraceptives and quality services. Even though abortion is illegal and postabortion care scarce, hundreds of thousands of women make the difficult decision to abort their pregnancies, often in unsafe conditions.

"The Philippines was one of Southeast Asia’s first countries to develop a national population policy. Yet the fervent opposition of the Catholic Church to contraception continues to hamper service delivery and policy implementation. Under the current administration of President Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo, the federal government has refused to buy contraceptives, worsening the shortage.

"The program’s top priorities in the Philippines included expanding rural families’ contraceptive options through innovative models of service delivery and outreach, improving postabortion care, and increasing access to information and services for youth. Foundation grantees achieved significant gains in all three areas and made important inroads toward improving the policy environment, despite the fact that support from other donors for local NGOs was on the decline."

The report continues by naming the foundations and government agencies that the Foundation helped (the funding amounts can be found in other portions of the main report). Now despite the US$23 million worth of grants to 29 organizations, it would seem that the desired result has not been achieved.

US$23 MILLION! Do you think the foundation has been had?

PS. The report says the Philippines has a federal government. Do they know something we don't. A sitting Senator of the Philippines is pushing for federalism. Will he get funding from the foundation to campaign for this change in form of government? Or will the foundation allow themselves to be had? again?

Should they now pack up and leave? Maybe not yet, for they believe:

"... even modest investments in innovative approaches can achieve meaningful results."

Beyond the numbers

World Youth Day 2008 ended last Sunday. Here are words from the Holy Father in a get-together with WYD volunteers before he left for Rome on Monday.

"In the crowds that have assembled here in Sydney we have seen a vivid expression of the unity-in-diversity of the universal Church, a vision in microcosm of the united human family that we long to see.

"Those experiences of prayer, and our joyful celebration of the Eucharist, were an eloquent testimony to the life-giving work of the Holy Spirit, present and active in the hearts of our young people. World Youth Day has shown us that the Church can rejoice in the young people of today and be filled with hope for the world of tomorrow."

Even as we should look beyond the numbers, here are some from National Catholic Registrar WYD blog:

WYD Numbers

For a breakdown on the WYD numbers, here are a few:

223,000 total pilgrims

110,000 overseas pilgrims from 170 nations

3.5 million meals served in 400 venues

8,000 volunteers

2,000 accredited media

4,000 priests and deacons

420 bishops and 26 cardinals

Pilgrims consumed 215,000 meat pies, 360,000 lamingtons, and 100,000 litres of milk.

1.1 million communion hosts were produced for WYD Masses and 1,000 priests heard confessions

SambaMilan

AC Milan have acquired Ronaldinho!

A.C.MILAN OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
7/15/2008

AC Milan and FC Barcelona have reached an agreement for the transfer of Ronaldinho to the Rossoneri's club. Tomorrow the player will be in Milan for the medical and to sign the contract which will tie him to Milan until June 30th 2011.

The Pope in retreat

Pope Benedict is in retreat prior to World Youth Day festivities in Sydney. He is staying at Kenthurst Center in the outskirts of Sydney.

Here is a picture of the Mass he celebrated on the day he arrived at Kenthurst.

H/T: Australia Incognita

They don't know love

In a 1957, Mike Wallace interviewed Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger who talked "about why she became an advocate for birth control, over-population, the Catholic Church, and morality." If one reads the transcript, one can agree on what Dawn Eden says in her blog of MS, "There's no eugenicist like an old eugenicist."

There is one stinging rebuke that she makes of the Church, and I should say that it is MS who doesn't know how to love.

Here I quote from that interview:

WALLACE: Well let's look at the official Catholic position...opposition to Birth-Control. I read now from a church publication called "The Question Box" in forbidding Birth Control it says the following: It says the immediate purpose and primary end of marriage is the begetting of children, when the marital relation is so used as to render the fulfillment of its purposes impossible--that is by Birth Control--it is used unethically and unnaturally. Now what's wrong with that position?

SANGER: Well, it's very wrong, it's not normal it's -- it has the wrong attitude towards marriage, toward love, toward the relationships between men and women.

WALLACE: Well the natural law they say is that first of all the primary function of sex in marriage is to beget children. Do you disagree with that?

SANGER: I disagree with that a hundred percent.

WALLACE: Your feeling is what then?

SANGER: My feeling is that love and attraction between men and women, in many cases the very finest relationship has nothing to do with bearing a child. It's secondary. Many, many times and we know that --you see your birth rates and you can talk to people who have very happy marriages and they're not having babies every year. Yes, I think that's a celibate attitude...

WALLACE: Surely, a celibate attitude but you agree that Catholicism according to the tenets of Catholicism they rule that birth control violates not only the church's position --it isn't the church's position but they say it violates a natural law as I have just explained, therefore birth control is a sin no matter who practices it. Now the violation of the natural law--you certainly can take no issue with the natural law as the hierarchy of the Catholic Church regards it...

SANGER: Oh, I certainly do take issue with it and I think it's untrue and I think it's unnatural.

WALLACE: Well let me ask you

SANGER: ... It's an unnatural attitude to take --how do they know? I mean, after all, they're celibates.They don't know love, they don't know marriage, they know nothing about bringing up children nor any of the marriage problems of life, and yet they speak to people as if they were God.

Unfair and most untrue. Even then, the Church hierarchy has asked the laity in consultation in many of her decrees and pronouncements. As she does today. And I do not believe that she speaks as if she were God.

No Good Organizations

One of the most tracked stories of last week was the Colombian Army's daring rescue of Ingrid Betancourt, 3 American defense contractors, and 11 other Colombians held hostage by the FARC for years. Definitely feel-good story.

The Colombian Army fooled the FARC into thinking that they were handing over the hostages to a FARC bigwig through an NGO.

Leaves a bad taste in the mouth since I work for an NGO. Now, why would FARC trust an NGO? Is it because FARC has dealt with NGO's before? NGO's that favored them? NGO's are non-government, yes, but should they be anti-government, working with rebels, helping them transfer hostages?

It is no wonder that governments are wary of NGO's sometimes.

Read here.

How the Hostages Were Rescued - Operation Jaque

In an operation codenamed "Jaque" members of the Colombian armed forces over time were able to infiltrate the ranks of the FARC and persuade a guerrilla known only as "Cesar" to move the high profile hostages to a pre-agreed spot for a helicopter rendezvous with an NGO. This NGO would then supposedly move the hostages to a secure place to meet potentially with the new leader of the FARC Alfonso Cano or possibly with FARC Secretariat member Mono Jojoy. The NGO in question was of course fictitious and as soon as the helicopter was airborne the Colombian military let it be known that the captives were on their way to freedom, first to San Jose del Guaviare and then later on to Bogota.

Or here.

Undercover Colombian commandoes flew to the jungle camp in a civilian helicopter, claiming to be from a fictitious non-government organisation.

There's been a buzz that "rebels" in the whole world will no longer deal with people who wear Che Guevara shirts or use anything with Che Guevara. Attention to "negotiators". You might be regarded as double crossers?

BTW, do your children like spicy food or foreign food? If they have aversion to these food, chances are they'll turn out to be declared as RACISTS! At least if they are in the UK. You cannot make this up. Read here.

Thanks to my Momma who fed me well. Thanks Ma.

Proud to be Cebuano? again?

This is another one of those.
Confusing indeed..
Why the frown?
What's this for?>>>

Proud to be Cebuano?

In a recent trip to my hometown in Mindanao, some friends and acquaintances commented especially when I talk that I have become Bisaya. Even as my Bisaya accent and vocabulary have improved through the more than half of my lifetime spent in Cebu, I tell them that I do not consider myself Bisaya.

I am still a Mindanaoan. True, I was born in Manila but my parents, both from Mindanao, came back to the Land of Promise soon after I was born and they have lived there ever since. I went to university in Manila, staying there a little over five years, and has since lived in Cebu City for almost twenty.

For about ten years now, however, I have made fortnightly trips to Mindanao for an average of 6 days a month. I still consider me, Mindanaoan.

There are just many instances when "being Cebuano" is not something to be proud of (sounding like Michelle Obama in her "hasn’t had a real moment of pride in her country" spiel some months back). One is the Cebuanos's penchant for throwing stuff into the playing field (and to the people and players in the sporting field or stage) when a decision is not favorable. Of course, hey, this happens in many places. But then why be like those in other places?

Then recently Elai narrates of a trip she makes to Cebu, an otherwise enjoyable trip to a Cebu tourist spot, with a little hitch -- she says, "ripped off".

Okay. okay, this happens in many places too. But why do we need to do as others do when we can always do better?

My hunch was that it was because of the company I was with. Like aliens carry millions of cash in their backpacks. And this company of mine told me that its unbelievable, that I get ripped off in my own country. So if you plan to go there too...i recommend you go there and get away from the noisy city. And just enjoy nature. But by all means, be smarter than me, and beware of the bad guys.

Makes me almost think, as my evil twin: GABA. GABA. GABA.

The links forzamillan made in this blog do not in any way suggest that the authors of those blogs and articles linked to support my thinking. Only that these appeared as the first ones in a google search -- evil twin.