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Friday, October 10, 2003

Rush's Addiction

Liberals are anything by unpredictable. Consider, for example, the following feeble attempt at "gotcha logic" in this article I found via Lex Communis (link on the right side of this page). As you'll see, the focus of the article/commentary is on Rush Limbaugh's admitted addiction to prescription pain killers, and the fact that he might have obtained some of it through unlawful means. The commentator, whose name is unimportant, provides several past quotes from Rush regarding users of illegal drugs, and how he believes such persons should be prosecuted and jailed. In a rhetorically whimsical manner, the commentator wonders if Rush would apply the same standard to himself. Obviously, like so many other knee-jerk Liberals, this typical political hack has taken the tone of trying to paint Rush as some sort of moral hypocrite who ought never to be taken seriously again by anyone. Nevermind the fact that the drugs Rush became addicted to and might have obtained illegally are in and of themselves not illegal, or that he has never said that he should be exempt from any illegal act he might have committed. This hack has also conveniently overlooked the fact that Rush has never once encouraged anyone to view him as some kind of role model (he affirmed that today). At most, Rush has merely used himself as a living example that even after multiple failures (which he has always owned up to and taken responsibility for) a person can still succeed through sheer perseverence and a commitment to hard work. Rush has not deviated from this message in his latest life challenge, and it is a shame that people who disagree with him are frothing at the mouth and using this occasion to try and discredit him. Liberals just don't seem to understand that you aren't claiming to be a perfect person by consistently standing up for what is right or moral.
Houses of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act

Nice piece on why it should be enacted and signed into law, even though it annoyingly uses the words "the church" in an obvious and decidedly Protestant manner (i.e., the church is not visible and it bascially includes anyone who is "born again" and accepts Christ as their personal blah, blah, blah...).
Straight Outta Left Field

As an attorney and Lakers fan, I gotta report this shocker. Defense attorneys in the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case suggest that the alleged victim's injuries might have resulted from having sex with three different men in three days. Man, I don't think even the best public defender would have ever thought of asking that question. It'll be real interesting to see how this plays out.
They're Gonna Do It Anyway

That's the mantra one usually hears whenever an opposing argument is raised about the prudence of teaching minors about "safe sex" and condoms (which, as recently confirmed by the Vatican, is an oxymoron). Of course, if there was any merit to the "they're gonna do it anyway" rationale, one has to wonder why in the world states like California continue to spend millions of dollars on making and showing teen-based anti-tobacco/cigarette ads. Just this week alone, I've seen two kids in their early teens, one of whom actually looked like he was 11 or 12, walking along the street and openly puffing away on their death sticks.

Thursday, October 09, 2003

Final Tabulations

Here are the final vote counts for some notable candidates in California's recall election.

Gallagher -- 4,864
Edward T. Kennedy -- 2,584
Richard Simmons -- 1,225
Michael Jackson -- 661
Robert Dole -- 236

I don't care what anyone says, it was fun while it lasted.
It's Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve

An Arizona appeals court upholds the state's "ban" on same-sex marriages.

"This is a huge victory because it repudiates the first homosexual assault after the Lawrence v. Texas decision," said Benjamin W. Bull, chief counsel with the Phoenix-based Alliance Defense Fund. "The Arizona Court of Appeals rejected any notion that Lawrence v. Texas legitimized same-sex marriage."

"That notion has now gone into the dumpster of history with all other hare-brained notions," he added.

Wednesday, October 08, 2003

The Name You Know

That was the campaign slogan of an Eddie Murphy movie character who cons people into thinking he was somebody that they had once before elected to office. Although he probably didn't intend to do the same thing, I'm sure a lot of people voted for George Schwartzman (he received over 10,000 votes) on the mistaken belief that they were voting for Ahnuld.
Flashback to 2000

Remember how in the last presidential election, most of the states that went for Gore were located on the two coasts (the blue states) while everyone in the middle pretty much went for Bush (the red states)? As a reflection of that phenomena, the results of this past recall election confirms that there is a definite political devide between California's coastal region and her own version of America's "flyover country."
The Muslim Barbie Doll

Razanne has the body of a preteen. The doll comes in three types: fair-skinned blonde, olive-skinned with black hair, or black skin and black hair.

Her aspirations are those of a modern Muslim woman. On the drawing board for future dolls are Dr. Razanne and possibly even Astronaut Razanne. There's also Muslim Girl Scout Razanne, complete with a cassette recording of the Muslim Scout's oath.


The idea light bulbs are furiously flashing in my head. I need investors to help me start a line of Buddha Barbies, Catholic Catherines, Fundamentalist Francines or Evangelical Emmas, Mormon Melissas...

Tuesday, October 07, 2003

Andrew Sullivan Must be Seething Over This

Dubya proclaims Oct. 12 through Oct. 18 as Marriage Protection Week.

Marriage is a union between a man and a woman, and my Administration is working to support the institution of marriage by helping couples build successful marriages and be good parents.
Not Sexy, but Significant

SCOTUS will hear an 11th Amendment case (which deals with sovereign immunity) that could potentially affect the enforceability of civil rights laws against government officials.

Texas Solicitor General Rafael E. Cruz argues to the high court that federal courts cannot enforce provisions of a state-signed consent decree that go beyond the requirements of the federal law involved.

Federalism and separation of powers, he said, "ensure that federal courts cannot do what the district court has attempted, to use a consent decree to take over a state program and dictate its daily operation, freed in equity from the constraints of federal law."


It's a little confusing, but it basically seems what Texas is trying to argue is that the 11th Amendment prevents the courts from enforcing an agreement that the state has freely entered into.
In the End...

I voted yes on the recall and effectively wasted my vote on a pro-life and family candidate who absolutely had no chance to win -- and it wasn't Tom "I've been letting the Dems play me like a drumb" McClintock.

On a related note, Sacramento County has got to get rid of its current use of numbers only punch-card ballots (you have to match the numbers to the candidates and questions that appear in a pamphlet that the county provides). Although I tried to be careful, it's driving me crazy that I can't remember if I punched the right numbers on the ballot initiatives that were presented.

Monday, October 06, 2003

What the Hell?!

Various dioceses, including Boston, adopt a sex ed program designed by a prostitution advocate group that lists employment opportunities in homosexual publications.

The "Talking About Touching" program is taught in over 5,000 public schools nationwide, and over 20,000 schools globally, according to Joan Duffell, director of community education for Seattle-based Committee for Children which produces the program. Average cost to a diocese for the program is $20,000 to $50,000 for the initial year.

The problem, complain some Catholic parents in the Archdiocese of Boston and elsewhere, is that the Committee for Children is actually the cleaned-up name of COYOTE – "Call Off Your Tired Old Ethics" – an advocacy organization for prostitution. (...)

"The forerunner of COYOTE was WHO, "Whores, Housewives and Others," said St. James. "Others meant lesbian, but it wasn’t being said out loud yet." (...)

The Seattle branch of COYOTE is affiliated with COYOTE chapters in the U.S., as well as the National Task Force on Prostitution in New York. Additional liaisons that help defend "sex workers rights" are: International Committee for Prostitutes Rights in the Netherlands, Hooking Is Real Employment, or HIRE, in Atlanta, and Prostitutes of New York, or PONY.
Proposition 54

Because of the recall, this important ballot initiative, which would prohibit all government agencies in the state from collecting information on peoples' ethnicity or race, has kind of been lost in the shuffle. ("MEChA"mante has run a couple of thinly veiled opposition ads that are really commercials for his gubanatorial election campaign). I'm supporting Prop. 54, and so should every Californian, especially those of Chinese descent in San Francisco who are familiar with all the controversies that have occurred at Lowell High School.

Update: In case anyone is curious, here's a 1999 article by Michelle Malkin that provides a brief summary of what happened at Lowell.
Brokaw Sucks

But if you're like me, you already knew that. Anyway, here's a nice example of how biased Tom B. is against just about anyone with an (R) by their name.
Their Actions Betray Their Words

I was listening to a replay of last Friday's Catholic Answers, and a real interesting observation was made regarding the common Protestant (i.e., Evangelical/Fundamentalist) belief that the Bible is the sole and final authority of the Christian faith: If Protestants really believed this, then there wouldn't be 30,000+ non-Catholic Christian denominations. (Yes, a "non-denominational church" is a denomination).

Sunday, October 05, 2003

Typical PC Blather

Before going to Mass this morning, I caught the pre-game show on Fox, and as expected, everyone was slamming Rush Limbaugh for his assertions about Donovan McNabb and the media's general coddling of black NFL quarterbacks. Former Los Angeles Raider, current Radio Shack ad-man, and part-time B-movie thespian Howie Long called Rush's remarks "at best ignorant, and at worst racist." He didn't bother to elaborate on either point.

Even more perplexing and nonsensical statements were made by Ha-vahd grad James "JB" Brown, who said that given the one time dearth of black QBs in the NFL because of preconceived and unfounded notions about their intelligence, something which Brown concedes the sports media used to focus a lot on and question, maybe a little media coddling is a good thing. At the same time, Brown expressed rhetorical confusion as to why Limbaugh would want to aggrevate "old wounds" that have seemingly been healed. Talk about wanting to have it both ways.

As to Rush's assertion that Donovan McNabb is overrated, consider McNabb's career pass completion percentage and quarterback rating to that of Seattle backup QB Trent Dilfer, who as I previously noted, is white, has actually won a Super Bowl ring, but is nowhere near as famous as McNabb.

Career Pass Completion %

McNabb: 56.4
Dilfer: 55.6

Career Quarterback Rating

McNabb: 77.5
Dilfer: 71.3

Source: CNN/SI
Evangelical Megachurchism

Entertain them and they will come. Although in some fairness to the megachurch discussed in this article, it does engage in a lot of charity work for the poor.

At worship services today, [Adventure Christian Church Pastor Rick] Stedman and other church leaders will officially open their $12.3 million state-of-the-art sanctuary that holds more people than the Sacramento Community Center Theater. Churchgoers will be able to watch services from theater-style chairs in the main auditorium or on flat-screen plasma TVs in the coffee shop or bookstore.

The church -- or campus as members call it -- has a library, a prayer room, a K-3 school and an area that will be turned into a maternity boutique where low-income women can shop for free once a month.

"It will be as nice as a Nordstrom and will have everything from free day care to personal shoppers," said Executive Pastor Don Brewster.

A baseball diamond and a soccer field are in the works.

Nearly 6,000 people are expected to attend one of the three services in the new facility every week.