2016...Commentary

We went and saw the 2016 movie last night and we were not alone!  Theater was packed. In fact, people were already lining up for the next showing as I was busy at the "fake butter" machine, slathering it all over my feast-o-popped goodness which, I am convinced, will stop my heart someday.

So here is my commentary which will also suffice as reason enough for you to get tickets and tell your friends.

Dinesh D'Souza, director and producer of the documentary is an immigrant. He has a different perspective on America and the way he tells his story dramatically makes this point.  Being from India, he described what it was like to live in a caste system where marriages are arranged and your future is not up to you. When he came to this country on the wings of a golden opportunity, he was grateful and struck by the unlimited possibilities of achieving one's dreams that can be afforded by merely being a citizen here.  Dinesh was wise to bring this out and to contrast it to the plight of the American citizen who has lived here all his or her life and is, perhaps, not so grateful. Yes, he even mentioned the dreaded "entitlement" word, too :-)

I recognized this same concept when I converted to the Catholic Faith.  Coming from a "different faith country" I was an immigrant of sorts into Catholicism; recognizing its towering beauty, its commitment to truth and its binding unity which, to me seemed noble and good. I wanted to saturate myself in its culture and learn as much as I could about it because it drew me and I knew that it was where I was supposed to be. As I looked around to my brother and sister Catholics, I noticed a different appreciation for the faith and not all of it was good. You will often here many cradle Catholics remark that the converts know more about their faith than they do.  And I believe that's because immigrants seek from a place of need. As a starving man seeks food, so does an immigrant seek a new world and when he seizes upon it, he is grateful.

Back to the future (2016)
I believe the film makes 3 important points about BHO
1.  We don't know the man that was elected almost 4 years ago.
2.  We need to know who this man is because he's not who you think he is
3.  We will no longer be America - land of free, home of brave - if he wins a 2nd term.

Dinesh makes the case that Obama's vision of America is one that has to be corrected and balanced with the rest of the world.  That America and her exceptionalism is wrong and has bad outcomes for the underprivileged classes; that somehow, we have taken capitalism to its tyrannical worst conclusion and everything about big business, big church, big family is reminiscent of the colonialism that ruined the cultures that he and his family were part of: Kenya, Hawaii, Indonesia.

This collectivism mindset of Obama's was cultivated by mentors such as Bill Ayers, Communist Frank Davis Marshall, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, his "ghost-father" Barack Obama, Sr., among others. Fastidious care was taken in the film to completely reveal the masterminds behind the 'real' BHO. This part is scary and left me scratching my head at how anyone with this circle of friends could have been vetted by the DNC??!

And that's not all.  The film reaches its climax by bringing on the numbers (with lots and lots of zeros) that will represent the tipping point of the demise of our nation's economy because of taxes and job loss. And we have not mentioned the draw down of our military, another objective that is slowly but surely being met by this administration.  While our neighbors stockpile nuclear armaments, we are busy about the work of reducing our "military footprint" to 0.  You read that right -  0/goose egg.  My jaw was on the sticky floor at this point with all of the stray milk duds.

I appreciated the fact that Dinesh did not bother to go into the HHS debacle or BHO's attack on religious freedom.  Can't you just hear the deafening whining that would have ensued had this important piece been included? "Just a bunch of religious freaks and zealots that want to take away women's rights"....and then...glazed over look. Frankly, that is another documentary that'll save for another day; it will have its own special place in history. This film was strictly an expose about the man, not the myth, Barack Hussein Obama and where this country is headed if we keep our head's buried in popcorn.

I'm going to go back in a 2nd time...with my yellow pad.
Hope?  Change?  There are 73 days left until the election.
Now go!

10 Hard Truths I don't Want to Tell My Kids

I love the brothers from the Creative Minority Report blog. (Their link is on "My Little Linkdom" over on the right margin.) 

Here's one of them who boldly goes where few parents have gone before...

10 Hard Truths I Don't Want to Tell My Children But Have to Anyway

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by Matthew Archbold Sunday, August 19, 2012 4:07 PM Comments (5)

10) Some people will treat you indifferently. And that'll hurt you more than if they went out of their way to hurt you. It doesn't mean you're not special. It just means that they've forgotten how to see how special people are.

9) As special as you are, you're not more special than others. God loves you. I love you. But that doesn't mean the world revolves around you. It doesn't. The world was full of heartache and smiles before you got here and smiles and hearts will go on breaking long after.

8) People who work in drive-thrus get the order wrong. I don't know why but it's about as consistent a rule as rock stars and overdoses.

7) Oh, your favorite bands break up. And it seems the more awesome the band is the quicker they break up. The terrible ones linger on forever or reunite often. Spandau Ballet is currently touring. You don't know who they are and if I do my job as a parent you never will.

6) Suffering is part of this life. As much as I'd like to protect you from this, I can't. I may even be the cause of it sometimes. But it's part of life and good can come out of it. I'll hate watching you go through it but I'll be proud of how you get through it.

5) Loving someone doesn't mean they'll love you back. Just try not to make too much of a fool of yourself over it.

4) You're going to die. You will. But trust in Christ's promise that you will live forever.

3) Rooting for sports teams is simply another avenue to invite heartbreak into your life. I've been incredibly lucky in that I've seen my NY Rangers win the Stanley Cup, Notre Dame win a national championships, the Mets win the World Series and the Giants have won three since I really started paying attention to sports. That's actually really lucky but that's about 120 sports seasons and 6 championships. That means 114 times I'm left screaming at the television, admonishing coaches, and yelling about biased referees. That's not a good rate of return. But you'll probably do it anyway. The good news is that some of the happiest people I know are Cubs fans and some of the most miserable are Yankees fans. It doesn't make sense but it's true.

2) The SAT's matter a lot as to which college you'll get into. But which college you got into stops mattering two years after you start working.

1) The easy way usually isn't the right way. I wish it were different but taking the hard way really does build character. It's a funny thing about character. It usually builds when you're not focused on yourself. And a strong character makes the hard way a lot easier to bear.

There's a lot more I don't want to tell you but you'll learn soon enough. Life has a way of teaching you whether you want it to or not.

Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/blog/matthew-archbold/10-hard-truths-i-dont-want-to-tell-my-children-but-have-to-anyway#ixzz245RqF8Yb

In America, we have a hard time keeping our clothes on at the beach

Not so in China.  Say hello to the "face-kini"; the newest sun-blocking sensation hitting Chinese beaches.

Think it has a chance here?      Nyet.  I didn't think so either.

No Drag Queens Allowed!

I never thought it would come to this. 

But there is now a new "No Drag Queen" policy at a San Francisco parish. Yep. It's true. Guess it's time to let the sado-masochists know that they will not be permitted to sexually assault their partners on church property. 

Way to go Abp Cordileone!!!

http://www.creativeminorityreport.com/2012/08/archbishop-no-drag-queens-allowed.html

Ryan gets it (And why he oughta get your vote)

Okay, I'll admit it, this is long, even for my standards, but well worth your time.  Ryan succinctly articulates the case against Obamacare like NO ONE I have ever heard.  Why....could it be....someone has actually read this monstrosity of a document??

Ryan is refreshingly, resonantly, relevant. There is great hope.

After 4 years of hell, what we really need is a little "R & R" 

(needs to be a bumper sticker)

Hey Catholics, listen up...

9 simple words that should assist you in the voting booth this November....
Drumroll please.
Eh-hem.

"CATHOLICS SHOULDN'T VOTE FOR A CANDIDATE WHO SUPPORTS INTRINSIC EVIL."

Make bumper stickers and yard signs out of them. Emblazon them in your Facebook and Twitter pages. Sky-write them. Teach them to your children. Record them as your new iPhone greeting. Tattoo them onto your bodies (if you're into that sort of thing). Sear them into your mind.
Act on them November 6, if not sooner.
May the Force be with you.
(And with your Spirit!)

Read more here: Archbishop Lori's Statement

Tim Hawkins on Chik-Fil-A

Why Homosexual "Marriage" is Harmful

10 Reasons Why Homosexual “Marriage” is Harmful and Must be Opposed

By TFP Student Action

1. It Is Not Marriage

Calling something marriage does not make it marriage. Marriage has always been a covenant between a man and a woman which is by its nature ordered toward the procreation and education of children and the unity and wellbeing of the spouses.

The promoters of same-sex “marriage” propose something entirely different. They propose the union between two men or two women. This denies the self-evident biological, physiological, and psychological differences between men and women which find their complementarity in marriage. It also denies the specific primary purpose of marriage: the perpetuation of the human race and the raising of children.

Two entirely different things cannot be considered the same thing.

2. It Violates Natural Law

Marriage is not just any relationship between human beings. It is a relationship rooted in human nature and thus governed by natural law.

Natural law’s most elementary precept is that “good is to be done and pursued, and evil is to be avoided.” By his natural reason, man can perceive what is morally good or bad for him. Thus, he can know the end or purpose of each of his acts and how it is morally wrong to transform the means that help him accomplish an act into the act’s purpose.

Any situation which institutionalizes the circumvention of the purpose of the sexual act violates natural law and the objective norm of morality.

Being rooted in human nature, natural law is universal and immutable. It applies to the entire human race, equally. It commands and forbids consistently, everywhere and always. Saint Paul taught in the Epistle to the Romans that the natural law is inscribed on the heart of every man. (Rom. 2:14-15)

3. It Always Denies a Child Either a Father or a Mother

It is in the child’s best interests that he be raised under the influence of his natural father and mother. This rule is confirmed by the evident difficulties faced by the many children who are orphans or are raised by a single parent, a relative, or a foster parent.

The unfortunate situation of these children will be the norm for all children of a same-sex “marriage.” A child of a same-sex “marriage” will always be deprived of either his natural mother or father. He will necessarily be raised by one party who has no blood relationship with him. He will always be deprived of either a mother or a father role model.

Same-sex “marriage” ignores a child’s best interests.

4. It Validates and Promotes the Homosexual Lifestyle

In the name of the “family,” same-sex “marriage” serves to validate not only such unions but the whole homosexual lifestyle in all its bisexual and transgender variants.

Civil laws are structuring principles of man's life in society. As such, they play a very important and sometimes decisive role in influencing patterns of thought and behavior. They externally shape the life of society, but also profoundly modify everyone’s perception and evaluation of forms of behavior.

Legal recognition of same-sex “marriage” would necessarily obscure certain basic moral values, devalue traditional marriage, and weaken public morality.

5. It Turns a Moral Wrong into a Civil Right

Homosexual activists argue that same-sex “marriage” is a civil rights issue similar to the struggle for racial equality in the 1960s.

This is false.

First of all, sexual behavior and race are essentially different realities. A man and a woman wanting to marry may be different in their characteristics: one may be black, the other white; one rich, the other poor; or one tall, the other short. None of these differences are insurmountable obstacles to marriage. The two individuals are still man and woman, and thus the requirements of nature are respected.

Same-sex “marriage” opposes nature. Two individuals of the same sex, regardless of their race, wealth, stature, erudition or fame, will never be able to marry because of an insurmountable biological impossibility.

Secondly, inherited and unchangeable racial traits cannot be compared with non-genetic and changeable behavior. There is simply no analogy between the interracial marriage of a man and a woman and the “marriage” between two individuals of the same sex.

6. It Does Not Create a Family but a Naturally Sterile Union

Traditional marriage is usually so fecund that those who would frustrate its end must do violence to nature to prevent the birth of children by using contraception. It naturally tends to create families.

On the contrary, same-sex “marriage” is intrinsically sterile. If the “spouses” want a child, they must circumvent nature by costly and artificial means or employ surrogates. The natural tendency of such a union is not to create families.

Therefore, we cannot call a same-sex union marriage and give it the benefits of true marriage.

7. It Defeats the State’s Purpose of Benefiting Marriage

One of the main reasons why the State bestows numerous benefits on marriage is that by its very nature and design, marriage provides the normal conditions for a stable, affectionate, and moral atmosphere that is beneficial to the upbringing of children—all fruit of the mutual affection of the parents. This aids in perpetuating the nation and strengthening society, an evident interest of the State.

Homosexual “marriage” does not provide such conditions. Its primary purpose, objectively speaking, is the personal gratification of two individuals whose union is sterile by nature. It is not entitled, therefore, to the protection the State extends to true marriage.

8. It Imposes Its Acceptance on All Society

By legalizing same-sex “marriage,” the State becomes its official and active promoter. The State calls on public officials to officiate at the new civil ceremony, orders public schools to teach its acceptability to children, and punishes any state employee who expresses disapproval.

In the private sphere, objecting parents will see their children exposed more than ever to this new “morality,” businesses offering wedding services will be forced to provide them for same-sex unions, and rental property owners will have to agree to accept same-sex couples as tenants.

In every situation where marriage affects society, the State will expect Christians and all people of good will to betray their consciences by condoning, through silence or act, an attack on the natural order and Christian morality.

9. It Is the Cutting Edge of the Sexual Revolution

In the 1960s, society was pressured to accept all kinds of immoral sexual relationships between men and women. Today we are seeing a new sexual revolution where society is being asked to accept sodomy and same-sex “marriage.”

If homosexual “marriage” is universally accepted as the present step in sexual “freedom,” what logical arguments can be used to stop the next steps of incest, pedophilia, bestiality, and other forms of unnatural behavior? Indeed, radical elements of certain “avant garde” subcultures are already advocating such aberrations.

The railroading of same-sex “marriage” on the American people makes increasingly clear what homosexual activist Paul Varnell wrote in the Chicago Free Press:

"The gay movement, whether we acknowledge it or not, is not a civil rights movement, not even a sexual liberation movement, but a moral revolution aimed at changing people's view of homosexuality."

10. It Offends God

This is the most important reason. Whenever one violates the natural moral order established by God, one sins and offends God. Same-sex “marriage” does just this. Accordingly, anyone who professes to love God must be opposed to it.

Marriage is not the creature of any State. Rather, it was established by God in Paradise for our first parents, Adam and Eve. As we read in the Book of Genesis: “God created man in His image; in the Divine image he created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them, saying: ‘Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.’” (Gen. 1:28-29)

The same was taught by Our Savior Jesus Christ: “From the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female. For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother; and shall cleave to his wife.” (Mark 10:6-7).

Genesis also teaches how God punished Sodom and Gomorrah for the sin of homosexuality: “The Lord rained down sulphurous fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah. He overthrew those cities and the whole Plain, together with the inhabitants of the cities and the produce of the soil.” (Gen. 19:24-25)

What our daughters (and sons) need to know

Ahhhh there are no Chik-Fil-As on Maui Ahhhh

I leave the valley for 5 minutes and the news cycle goes steroidal...

Huge victory for ADF with the Newland family business winning a major conscience protection lawsuit; Huge victory for BDF in winning the appealed HB 2036 bill making the 20-week abortion restriction solid.

Chik-Fil-A is setting sales records in the valley....frustration factor has set in as I am with family on paradisiacal Maui and there are no Chik-fil-As here.  (I know, boo too, Karen, right?)  So I get this amazing footage today compliments of Agent Casey:  "Restaurant full, line out the door, nice manners by those waiting in line".

Hey Chicago: Stick to Pizza.

Back on the island, this is as close as I could get to participation in the Chik frenzy...

Chik fillet?  

Chik....hey?! 

So I've looked in every nook and cranny.  No Chik-Fil-As here. But I'm pretty sure there are unicorns. 

Aloha.