Running Off At The Keyboard

I don't know what's with the comments tonight. None of them seem to be working, and whatever comments were posted have all disappeared. I haven't done anything to cause this, so maybe it's a glitch at Squwak Box. Let's hope that tomorrow morning they are back to normal. CarrieTomko@aol.com

HUMANAE VITAE - THE TRUE STORY? or so the writer claims. I would expect Sandro Magister to have the story straight. But even assuming he does, it still doesn't tell us whether Albino Luciani was a member of this commission, and it doesn't tell us what the other commissions decided. Considering the controversy this encyclical has generated, I would think that the only reasonable solution would be to bring everything about it out in the open. Hopefully doing that will produce some information that will resolve the issue and create a persuasive argument that the majority of Catholics can accept. It might be a step toward resolving not only our current crisis but also provide some salve for the division in the Church between liberal and conservative. The article concludes with this statement: Colombo highlights the importance of a speech made by John Paul II on November 22, 1992, at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, �in which, for the first time, a pontiff spoke explicitly about the limitation of births.� The pope affirmed: �The public authorities should promulgate norms aimed toward reconciling the limitation of births with respect for free, personal responsibility.� The regulation of births and freedom � these two terms synthesize the line of the Church. The regulation of births, Colombo writes, is �an inevitable consequence of the dominion that man has acquired, and will presumably be extended over illness and death. Any other course would bring intolerable results, bordering on the absurd, within a few centuries. [...] In essence, man must unfortunately renounce to a great extent his capacity for procreation.� As for freedom, �the Holy Father also spoke about �the exercise of responsible motherhood and fatherhood.� [...] But for there to be responsibility, there must be freedom of action. [...] In particular, it is extremely important that the state protect the reasonable exercise of this right for all.� "Freedom of action." I suspect there is more than one interpretation of this phrase. CarrieTomko@aol.com

THE CATHOLIC TELEGRAPH theofficial newspaper of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, asks whether Catholics can make a place for a psychic who talks to dead people in their understanding of the communion of saints. John Edwards psychic performance that is drawing Catholics to the show ($50 per ticket!) and who is a practicing Catholic himself sparked the article. The article quotes the Catechism which clearly prohibits such contact, then goes on to cite Edwards justification for what he is doing at great length, telling us that Msgr. Tom Hartman invited Edwards to appear on his television show "Telicare, the television ministry of the Rockville Centre diocese." It seems that Edwards is not being discouraged by those who should be giving him the Catholic truth: Over the years, his clergy acquaintances have never suggested that he stop his work, Edward told The Catholic Telegraph. "They've told me to honor what I'm doing, do it with passion, help as many paople as I can, but in certain circles keep it quiet so that I'm not persecuted." And further along in the article: Father S., who asks that his identity not be revealed in this story, told The Catholic Telegraph that "Many white witches practice natural spells and believe a curse brings bad luck three times. However, too much involvement and a weak personality push one over the line into black witchcraft hungry for power and blood. Playing games like "Dungeons & Dragons," seances, spells, etc. can be harmless, but too much or a snapping of something inside the person causes them to cross the line. I believe people who dabble are opening themselves up to something they may not want," he warns. "I have seen harmless dabbling in the occult lead to murder and suicide." This local priest believes that "people do have special paranormal abilities. Clairvoyants are used by police departments to crack cases. However, who has the gift and who doesn't is a real case of discernment. The church will probably never approve or disapprove of it but many saints have been seen to have such gifts. Padre Pio had the gift of bilocation. How do people explain the stigmata of St. Francis of Assisi?" He notes that there are numerous paranormal elements in the lives of the saints. Jesuit Father Gino Concetti, chief theological commentator for L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, wrote in that publication a few years ago that "communication is possible between those who live on this earth and those who live in a state of eternal repose, in heaven or purgatory. It may even be that God lets our loved ones send us messages to guide us at certain moments in our life." Other priests quoted in the story give the official Church position on this topic.Conclusion of the article seems to be that every Catholic has to make up his own mind. YIKES! Let me say it again...YIKES!! CarrieTomko@aol.com

STATEMENTS BY THE POPE in this message are similar to statements in John Fonte's Transnational Progressivism. The Pope is a globalist. And I think that his eye is on the wealth in America. I have never seen it spelled out what he proposes in order to accomplish his goal which he expresses in this report: "It would be more convenient to effect a genuine cooperation on the basis of relations of parity and reciprocity, which recognize the right of each and all to be masters of their own future," John Paul II explained. But what if the "more convenient" plan fails? What does he propose when it fails? He isn't telling us. Does he want all of us to live in a one-room shack? Or does he think there is some way that a moderate standard of living can be accomplished for all people on earth by taking away the extras of the rich countries? And how would this be accomplished? He seems to be advocating a voluntary donation. But once the wealthy countries adopt his mentality, the wealth will not be distributed so much as it will simply vanish, as it vanished in Russia under communism. The only possibility for the poor countries to have a better standard of living is for them to adopt the mindset and methods of the nations which have bettered their situation. Charitable giving is not going to solve the problem of the poor, as Jesus pointed out. ("The poor you will always have with you.") An alternative is legislated sacrifice. But someone needs to tell me again how this and communism are different. CarrieTomko@aol.com

WITCHES BEHEADED in the Philippines by a neighbor who blamed them for the death of his daughter from illness, as reported at NEWS.com.au. As you read the story keep in mind the points made in the article on Transnational Progressivism about leveling all of society to one common denominator. Think about the results of the fears of others' spirituality that are at the bottom of the crime in this article. Then remember that Catholics have no place in the world religion of the future. That those who believe in fundamental truth rather than pluriform truth are considered to be the cause of war and bloodshed. CarrieTomko@aol.com

SR. NIRMALA SEEKS TO COPYRIGHT MOTHER TERESA Too many people are using the name of Mother Teresa for commercial purposes, so her order is attempting to obtain a copyright on her name. CarrieTomko@aol.com

SPIRITUALISM DRESSED IN HOLLYWOOD COSTUMING The stars are seeing ghosts. If the experience of "American housewife Teri Bonfield" gets around (last item in the story), a lot more people are going to be talking to the dead! CarrieTomko@aol.com

THE BRITISH COLUMBIA COURT OF APPEALS has joined Ontario in validating same sex marriage. CarrieTomko@aol.com

LIBERAL DEMOCRACY vs.TRANSNATIONAL PROGRESSIVISM: THE FUTURE OF THE IDEOLOGICAL CIVIL WAR WITHIN THE WEST A reader sent an article written by John Fonte of the Hudson Institute. I'm not familiar with the political bias of the Hudson Institute, and a look at their website didn't help much since their members are unfamiliar names to me. The article discusses the concept of "Transnational Progressivism,"� defining it in the terms spelled out in the following nine points. It will oppose freedoms we take for granted and challenge democracy if it becomes widespread, redefining how we see ourselves at present, as individuals, to a group concept of who we are and what we have a right to. The target points listed in the article are: 1.� The ascribed group over the individual citizen. 2.� A dichotomy of groups:� Oppressor vs. victim groups, with immigrant groups designated as victims. 3.� Group proportionalism as the goal of "fairness." 4.� The values of all dominant institutions to be changed to reflect the perspectives of the victim groups. 5.� The Demographic Imperative. This one will directly impact law and order as we recognize it in America.� For that reason I'll include the details of this concept. The demographic imperative tells us that major demographic changes are occurring in the United States as millions of new immigrants from non-Western cultures and their children enter American life in record numbers.� At the same time, the global interdependence of the world's peoples and the transnational connections among them will increase.� All of these changes render the traditional paradigm of American nationhood obsolete.� That traditional paradigm based on individual rights, majority rule, national sovereignty, citizenship, and the assimilation of immigrants into an existing American civic culture is too narrow and must be changed into a system that promotes "diversity," defined, in the end, as group proportionalism. 6.� The redefinition of democracy and "democratic ideals." 7.� Deconstruction of national narratives and national symbols. 8.� Promotion of the concept of postnational citizenship. 9.� The idea of transnationalism as a major conceptual tool. If such a concept of humanity is put into place, will anyone who thinks like a Westerner from a democratic nation be able to continue to believe there is such a thing as freedom?� A system such as this article proposes is about to overwhelm us would bind us so completely into a legal structure that would encompass our every act that we would be afraid to act at all.� When laws become overwhelming, when every justice is meted out by courts and lawyers, there will be no standard by which we can make decisions. But perhaps I'm reading too much into it. We have many laws now yet we still believe we are a free people. At times, though, the human rights/equality laws have caused us problems. Think about the Cleveland busing laws. Think about the times when the head of a family is not hired because a minority who is less qualified must be hired to fill a quota. God will not fit into this concept, believing as He does that man is free to sin, and thus free to fail.� Choice will be legislated away from us, and I suspect that we will all be reduced to the lowest common denominator.� There will no longer be a place made for excellence. This is one of the main complaints about our progressive educational system which is an early experimenter with these concepts. These concepts celebrate mediocrity.� They demand that we see all of humanity in equal terms.� But God tells us that all of humanity is not equal.� Some are more sinful than others.� God tells us there are things permitted and things abhorred.� This great equalization will treat the things abhorred as equal to the things permitted and even to the things desired. It is often said that "our freedom permits us to do what is right."� As this system describes human existence, there would be no right.� And no wrong.� And thus no freedom. If all cultures are to be equal, the witchdoctors in the African jungle are the equal of the AMA where medical procedures are concerned.� Sure, that's an exaggerated interpretation, but it can be justified using these concepts.� Taken to the extreme, it would make medical procedures either impossible, or risky, since the individual going in for brain surgery might be scheduled during the witchdoctor's shift. In short, the concepts will promote not order, but chaos.� We would clamor for meaningful laws and rules, as opposed to the laws and rules which don't match reality.� We would clamor for order.� And we would heed whatever voice sounded prophetic.� A new Hitler?� And all brought about by exploiting our moral sense of right and justice--our Christian sense of these concepts--by taking them to the extreme.� This is the essence of chaos magick. One idea expressed stood out for me because it is so timely: A good part of the energy for transnational progressivism is provided by human rights activists, who consistently evoke "evolving norms of international law" in pursuing their goals.� The main legal conflict between traditional American liberal democrats and transnational progressives is ultimately the question of whether the U.S. Constitution trumps international law or vice versa.� "International law" here refers to what experts including John Bolton, Jeremy Rabkin, Jack Goldsmith, Lee Casey, and David Rivkin have called the "new international law," which differs from traditional concepts of the "Law of Nations." ������ Before the mid-twentieth century, traditional international law usually referred to relations among nation-states:� it was "international" in the real sense of the term.� Since that time the "new international law" has increasingly penetrated the sovereignty of democratic nation-states.� It is, therefore, in reality, "transnational law."� Human rights activists work to establish norms for this "new international (i.e. transnational) law," and then attempt to bring the United States into conformity with a legal regime whose reach often extends beyond democratic politics and the guarantees of the U.S. Constitution. Think about that in the context of the Lawrence decision which turned to EU law for precedent. And there is this passage about the desire of some to hobble American influence: Interestingly, both conservative realists and neoconservative pro-democracy advocates have argued that some EU, UN, and NGO thinking threatens to limit both American democracy at home and American power overseas.� As Jeanne Kirkpatrick puts it, "foreign governments and their leaders, and more than a few activists here at home, seek to constrain and control American power by means of elaborate multilateral processes, global arrangements, and UN treaties that limit both our capacity to govern ourselves and act abroad. We are being painted as the big international terror that must be confined.� And also isolated?� The Pope's position on the war with Iraq is doubly disturbing in the light of this essay. CarrieTomko@aol.com

BAD NEWS FOR CANADA ANNOUNCED AT THE LIFESITE WEBSITE Maurice Strong will be the new advisor to Paul Martin, the man set to become Canada's next Prime Minister. Strong promotes the Earth Charter and Gaia worship intended to supplant the world's religions. He supports limitations on family size in his campaign against overpopulation. The Vatican has warned against the "global ethics" at the core of the Earth Charter. Read the details at the Lifesite website. CarrieTomko@aol.com

FIND A WAY TO BUILD A BETTER MOUS...AH...NUCLEAR BOMB and go to the head of the class. Signed Your Teacher, George Bush Lord save us from the evil one and from foolish politicians who unknowingly do his bidding! This article is news to make the grand destroyer rejoice. CarrieTomko@aol.com

NORTHEAST OHIO IS NOT A GOOD PLACE TO BE RIGHT NOW, especially if you don't like storms. They started here around 3 p.m. yesterday and have been going on all night, continuing this morning, and are predicted for the next several days. Naturally the storms bring tornado warnings, and the sirens go off. So we cower in our basements unless our basement is flooded, which some folks basement is, in which case we have to cower somewhere upstairs. I admit it. I'm a coward. I don't like them. Plus, the computer has to be turned off so it won't get fried. My mother didn't like them either. She kept a blessed candle to light whenever there was a storm. I just settle for a rosary. Somehow praying it makes the storm seem less terrible. CarrieTomko@aol.com

MICHAEL PAULSON OF THE BOSTON GLOBE ANALYZES BISHOP O'MALLEY presenting a picture of the newly elected bishop that is fresh and appealing. Boston will be a diocese to watch. Sean O'Malley just may be the Capuchin who can follow in St. Francis' footsteps and repair a broken Boston church. Maybe in the process he will teach all of the rest of American Catholics how to repair their own respective churches. I want it to be true, anyway, and am placing a lot of hope in Bishop O'Malley. CarrieTomko@aol.com

FR. JOSE COMBLIN ANALYZES THE LATIN AMERICAN CHURCH UNDER JPII for National Catholic Reporter, finding in the process a Pope who has acted firmly and decisively to change what he found objectionable. Fr. Comblin's description of John Paul II's decisiveness contrasts sharply with the North American experience of this pontificate in regard to the clergy abuse scandal. I often hear it said that the Pope may be unable to act and therefore was and is forced to tolerate that of which he disapproves. Yet here is a description of a Pope who is completely in control. Reading this article left me wondering if Fr. Comblin and I live under the same pontificate, and even perhaps if Fr. Comblin and I live on the same planet. CarrieTomko@aol.com

CHECK OUT DIOGENES' BLOG AT CWN which is titled "Outrage and Adventitious Amnesia in Erie" which was posted July 4, and documents the recent decisions of Bishop Donald Trautman, Diocese of Erie, regarding the status of whistleblower Father John Trigilio, and what Diogenes sees as the bishop's inadequacies in the area of memory and reasoning ability. CarrieTomko@aol.com

JUST SAY 'NO' or so the saying goes. With that little word I'm supposed to be able to banish the drug dealers and the drug pushers who want to get rich illegally by getting me hooked. That little word "no" is going to stand tall in the face of profits to fulfill someone's wildest dreams. Another place where my "no" is going to be equally effective against the profit motive is when I sign up on the "do not call list." All of those infuriating telemarketing calls will immediately evaporate into thin air in exchange for my "no." Sounds good, doesn't it? If only it were possible... CNNmoney has burst the bubble of hope: But the companies won't drop their phone banks altogether. They believe that those who do not sign up for the do-not-call list will be more open to telephone pitches and that could help their phone solicitation efforts. "We'll be giving the dog what the dog wants to eat," James F. Lyons, president of direct-marketing consultancy Optima Direct told the paper. The paper said that in addition to seeing more e-mail or junk mail, consumers who call companies on other business may now have to listen to sales pitches while negotiating voice mail messages. Great. Instead of wasting my time answering phone calls I don't want, I can waste my time sorting through and disposing of junk mail I don't want either. Or even better, when I must call a company on business, I'll be forced to endure commercials along with the annoying voice mail. I think I'd be better off not signing up on the do not call list, letting the phone ring or even killing the ring, and continuing not to answer it. The telemarketing message on the answering machine is easily deleted. Saying "no" doesn't seem to be very effective in America. Others who are determined to impose their will on me will stop at nothing to make it happen. I am being denied my right to pursue happiness, as the Constitution puts it, all in the name of profit. My human dignity, my right to have control of my life, my freedom of self-determination, will be taken away from me whether I like it or not. Harrassment is legal and considered to be culturally moral so long as profits for the offender are attached. I guess this is what we get when we abandon God's standards, since He told us we can't serve both Mammon and Him. CarrieTomko@aol.com