Truth or Fiction?

Okay, here's a tip for President Obama.

When you want to sell snake oil to the American public, and someone in the crowd, whose vocation is to give witness to the truth, points out that it's snake oil, don't accuse him of lying, especially when that person is citing the documents that proves he's right.

Did I mention that I've always liked Cardinal Rigali?

A great cause to get off the ground

Ave Maria Home is an independent, non-profit, Catholic lay organization that is dedicated to providing residential care for pregnant women in Southeastern Connecticut. We emphasize a respect for life, recognizing the unique dignity and potential of each individual. We are affiliated with Good Counsel Homes of New York. Our goal is to maintain the highest level of assistance to pregnant women. We uphold the same principles of Good Counsel Homes and operate in the same manner.

I know the people involved and they are trying to start this much-needed project with great faith in God and love for the unborn and their mothers. Their site is still under construction, so please visit often and offer any help you can!

One more post for tonight

...to say Congratulations to the proud grandpa Mr. Shea and the new obsession in his life, Lucy.

Stop by his place and offer those congrats to him, too.

In other 11th hour conversion news

President Obama has become increasingly cozy with (using) religious groups who can help him sell the health care reform bill. One project he's now working with is 40 Days for Health Reform. This amalgamation of religious groups includes Catholics United and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, both groups focused on social justice, while their websites have very little, if anything, to say about the abortion holocaust in the U.S. (Noticeably absent: USCCB). From their website:

40 Minutes for Health Reform: National Faith Community Call to Action with special guest President Obama Wednesday, August 19, an estimated 140,000 people of faith gathered on a historic national conference call with President Barack Obama and the American faith community.

COMMIT TO DO YOUR PART DURING 40 DAYS FOR HEALTH REFORM

Over the next 40 days, people of faith are leading a national campaign for health care reform. While members of Congress are in their home districts, we’ll be holding hundreds of prayer vigils and in-district events. We’ll sign petitions, write our representatives, organize a nationwide conference call for people of faith, and air a national TV ad –all to say the faith community supports health care reform.

What I noticed was absent was any discussion on why the particular kind of health care reform that the White House and Democratic members of Congress are proposing is the right plan. There are no citations as to why the health care plan doesn't actually cover abortion, doesn't actually lead to more rationing of care, doesn't actually lead to more government control. No explanations necessary, I s'pose. God is Obama's partner in this, folks. Are you going to go against God?

And what of the 40 Days? Prayer vigils, letter writing campaigns, petitions... I wonder where they got that idea from? It doesn't explain the significance on their site, but I suspect I know the source.

AmP points out another place where the White House has no problems emulating the work of others for his own purposes while being deceptively silent on the issue of abortion.

Speaking of fishy emails

...like mine or anyone else's, some questions still remain.

Who was receiving the emails?
How many staff had access to them?
What was the protocol for sifting which emails should be addressed?
Was personal information expunged? (Correspondence with the White House is to be retained in the Archives unaltered)
What was the plan for addressing "misconceptions"?
Would the authors of such "misconceptions" be contacted directly or would the issues be referred to by administration staff on weekend talk shows, for instance?
Some people got letters from David Axelrod to clear up misconceptions. I outed myself and have received diddly squat for a response. What gives?

Maybe Mr. Gibbs will clarify all that for us. Here's to holding my breath.

I hate to be the killjoy...

but all you civil libertarians dancing in the streets about the White House taking down the citizen spy email address "flag@whitehouse.gov" should be aware that it's not gone, it's just hiding in the bushes.

From the White House Press Briefing, August 18th:

Q Was “Flag” at whitehouse.gov a good idea?
MR. GIBBS: Yes, still is.

Q Why remove it?
MR. GIBBS: It was consolidated on “Reality Check.” If people see or hear misinformation or have questions or concerns about some rumor that they’re hearing on health care reform, there’s a mechanism to get the truth.

QSo it’s just been put together, it’s not really gone?
MR. GIBBS: Consolidated from two platforms into one.

That's right! If you'd like to point out the persistent myths your neighbors are continuing to pass along, just visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/contact. Oh, the White House kindly asks you to refrain from including other people's personal information without their permission. (Sounds to me like the AG or White House counsel took someone out to the woodshed for the heap of trouble the White House can get in for collecting and retaining information regarding their political adversaries' use of their First Amendment rights.)

Planned Parenthood caught lying...

The White House and its political allies are on a heated campaign to dispel “myths.” One such myth cited is that the current health care legislation would not cover abortion. An August 14th letter in the Day by Vice President of Public Affairs and Communication for Planned Parenthood of Connecticut, Susan Yolen, reiterates such a clarification by stating, “It is a myth that abortion care coverage will be mandated in health care reform.” The problem is, however, that she is dead wrong. While the text of the bill (which I have read) did not state definitively either way, Senator Barbara Mikulski admitted to other Senate committee members that it would, in fact cover abortions and refused to consider including text which would forbid the coverage of abortions under the new plan.

If that seem inconclusive, then consider the Capps Amendment to the bill, passed in The Committee on Energy and Commerce on July 30th, two weeks before Ms. Yolen’s letter. It not only states that private plans in the Health Exchange must have at least one plan that covers abortion but that the public option shall provide coverage for abortions. This amendment can be read here: http://energycommerce.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1721:energy-and-commerce-markup-on-hr-3200-the-americas-affordable-health-choices-act-of-2009&catid=141:full-committee&Itemid=85

If this health care legislation were to pass in its current form, it would mean that taxpayer dollars would be used to kill babies in the womb. This is not a myth, it is a fact, and no amount of repetition by the White House and Planned Parenthood can change that.

I nominate myself for the...

"Hey, Didn't You Used to Have a Blog?" Award.

No, I have not been in some sort of accident and am now in traction and must type with my chin, but it has been an incredibly busy summer: two trips out of state (one of them out of the country) lots of overtime at work, packing, repairing and moving junk out to put our home on the market, birthdays, phantom car repairs, reading training manuals, and of course, goofing with my boys and baby girl.

So if anybody out there was thinking, "Hey that Mike guy just up and disappeared! The re-education squad must have picked him up already," be at peace. (Besides, they haven't finished constructing all the camps yet.)

I'll try to post pictures and some of my thoughts about my own travels this summer as well as some angry comments and amateurish analysis of the health care reform over the next few posts. Same bat-time, same bat-channel.

Catholic Dads have a new crib!

And I, for one, am still reading the instruction manual on how to navigate the new site, so bear with us all as we settle in to our new digs.

Check it out! (And thanks to RobK and Jason for putting it all together! But why are there two screws left over?)

A letter from a fishy American (sent to flag@whitehouse.gov)

Dear Mr. President (and the multitude of staff screening the correspondence on this email),

I am writing to let you know that I am a fishy American. I do not accept the party line that you expect Americans to believe on the issues of health care reform. I am deeply concerned about a socialist future, as well as end-of-life health care rationing and taxpayer-funded abortions. I reject this plan and will continue to voice my concerns to you, my senators and representative in Congress, and my family and friends.

To make it easier for you to track the use of my First Amendment right, please feel free to read on my blog:
www.exultetmeansrejoice.blogspot.com

Thank you.

A concerned citizen.

an offer we can't refuse

Maybe I'm being a little paranoid here, but lately I've been thinking an awful lot about Michael Corleone.

In the Godfather II, Michael Corleone, the head of the Corleone crime family, was about to be brought before a Senate committee investigating the allegations of his powerful organization. One of the members of that committee was Senator Pat Geary, the Nevada senator who was strongly opposed to Michael Corleone's presence in the powerful gambling industry.

The Corleones knew that Senator Geary was powerful and his opposition would be detrimental to their operations; his support was crucial.

The problem that Senator Geary had, though, was that he cheated on his wife. Frequently. With a hooker. Bad idea jeans, Senator, because in one such encounter with the particular hooker he frequented, she mysteriously and suddenly died while he was passed out on the bed. And the cardinal rule of politics is that you should never get caught with a dead girl or a live boy. The senator had a problem on his hands, and he knew it. But then comes a knock at the door. Tom Hagen, Michael Corleone's consigliere, walks in and assures the Senator that the Corleone family owns the hotel at which they are staying and no one will find out what happened. Consider it a favor, eh?

The audience knows full well that the entire episode was a setup. One of Corleone's men drugged the senator to knock him out and killed the girl. But it really doesn't matter if Senator Geary was setup. He can't exactly go running to the police to say that someone killed the hooker in his bed.

Bought. Paid. Owned. Senator Geary was given an offer he couldn't refuse and was now in the pocket of Michael Corleone.

I am reminded of this scene with all the crises that have befallen this country lately. Housing crisis, banking crisis, automotive crisis, insurance crisis, health care crisis, and on and on. All of these crises arguably created by the mismanagement and over-regulation of the government who then steps in to save the day by offering its help. But, oh yeah, you'll have to take our direction if you want our assistance. We'll make the rules from now on. Move over, that's my seat, Mr. Chairman.

Ronald Reagan once said that the scariest nine words in the English language are, "I'm from the government and I'm here to help."

Update on prayer request

Last week I asked you to pray for some friends of mine who were experiencing complications during pregnancy. We found out this morning that they lost the baby. Of course, they are devastated, so please offer up another prayer for their family.

God bless.

Obama and the war in Iraq

So as Patrick at CMR is reviewing his predictions, I'd like to review one of my own. Last year on CV my wife and I battled constantly with Catholics who were willing to trade off their vote on pro-life issues for other "proportionate" reasons. They cited numerous things: Obama would fix the economy, he would make it easier for pregnant women to keep their babies, he would help the poor, and he would end the war in Iraq. They claimed all of these things outweighed the 1.7 million babies aborted every year in the U.S. They ignored Obama's intention to overturn the Mexico City policy, they ignored his voting four times against the Born Alive Infant Protection Act in Illinois. They said ending the war in Iraq outweighed it.

I tread lightly in this post because I take no pleasure in the facts at hand. But I have to say that I was right. I argued more than once that Obama's plan to remove troops from Iraq at the pace of a brigade a month was unreasonable, dangerous, and deceptive. I argued repeatedly that unless stability was firmly reached in Iraq, reducing the number of troops there prematurely would place the remaining troops in greater danger and might also undermine the gains that have been achieved. I argued that Obama would end up doing almost exactly as McCain promised he would do, and that was to leave troops in Iraq until the job was finished.

But they wouldn't listen. Obama was the enlightened one. He wanted to end the war in Iraq, unlike the war-monger John McCain. He wanted to bring peace and happiness, unlike the ex-military man John McCain. Obama would do it all.

Except he didn't and he won't. He'll just tell you he will.

Tom Ricks, a senior fellow at the Center for A New American Security, in this NPR interview explains how the Obama administration is doing in Iraq what I predicted it would do, despite his campaign promises to the contrary.

The Culture of Death spares no one.

As we see here in the sixth video from the Mona Lisa Project exposing Planned Parenthood employees not reporting alleged cases of statutory rape.

And this hideous article from Askmen.com showing all you selfless, caring, responsible men how to convince your girlfriend to have someone butcher your child.

h/t CMR

jib jab obama

OK,

this is just too funny not to post.

I'll bet LarryD's HADAR is buzzing right now...

Where are the womynpreests when you need them?

All humor is funny because it at least has a semblance of truth...

...but I wouldn't worry about it if government takes over health care.

CT enacts "keepsake ultrasound" ban

Josh Mercer at CatholicVote.com has this post about the new CT law banning the use of prenatal ultrasounds except for medical reasons and under the care of a licensed physician. The bill was touted as addressing the "keepsake ultrasound boutiques" that allow women to have high quality ultrasound imaging of their unborn child for early bonding, souvenirs, and other purposes. I read the text of the bill here, which was signed into law by Governor Rell two weeks ago. (Yes, I only heard about it after it was made law-- big surprise.)

Considering the apparent vagueness of the wording of the bill, I was concerned that this might affect the operations of crisis pregnancy centers in the state. I contacted the director of a local CareNet branch, who forwarded me this article from Lifenews.com:

National Pregnancy Center Group: Connecticut Ultrasound Bill Doesn't Affect Us

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
June 30, 2009

Hartford, CT (LifeNews.com) -- Now that Connecticut Gov. Jodi Rell has signed a bill into law that would ban ultrasounds not done for medical reasons, some pro-life advocates are concerned about the effect it will have on pregnancy centers, which rely on ultrasounds to help women consider abortion alternatives.
Kristin Hansen, the vice president for communications at Care Net, a national organization with more than 1,100 affiliated centers, says the bill doesn't adversely affect its affiliates.
Hansen says abortion advocates sometimes wrongly believe that pregnancy centers perform ultrasound for non-medical reasons.
"Care Net pregnancy centers follow all FDA guidelines related to ultrasounds and all ultrasounds are performed by trained medical professionals under the direction of a licensed physician," she told LifeNews.com late Monday.
Hansen added, "We are not concerned about the Connecticut bill having a negative impact on Care Net pregnancy centers."
Unlike the "ultrasound boutiques" the bill is targeting, Care Net pregnancy centers are required to only perform ultrasounds for a medical reason.
"We require this of our centers because we insist that they uphold the best medical practices," she explained. "Not only has the FDA said that entertainment or keepsake ultrasounds may be dangerous to the unborn child, but a number of medical professional associations have done the same."
Hansen says most pregnancy centers perform a “limited ultrasound” to confirm a viable pregnancy and determine gestational age.
There are three types of ultrasounds as defined by the professional groups that meet the medical requirements: Targeted (intended to find a fetal problem when there is reason to believe there is a problem); Basic (no reason to suspect a problem, but performed to find any problems) and Limited (to determine viability or search for specific information -- i.e. gestational age, etc).
Hansen says Care Net has greater issues with legislation in New Jersey and New Mexico "which would potentially prevent centers from purchasing ultrasound equipment and from using trained nurses to perform ultrasounds."

I was also in contact with Linda Cochrane, executive director of Hopeline, who informed me that their organization, which currently has 3 locations in CT (with a fourth soon opening in Bridgeport) that offer pregancy resources, including ultrasounds for pregnancy diagnosis and checkup, is connected with CareNet and operates under the same guidelines.

I said to Ms. Cochrane that my concern is that, even though this law doesn't affect CPC's in the state immediately, this may be the first step in an ongoing strategy. She shared that concern and said that we must continue to fight, though, she said, "we do our fighting on our knees, and with our voices."

As the Lifenews.com article pointed out, other states already make it difficult to purchase or operate ultrasound equipment. What's to say that the next step in CT isn't to change the state guidelines of proper medical use of ultrasound equipment, as in, only medical facilities that will offer or refer for abortion services can be considered as adequate facilities?

While we can still breathe for now in CT, I do share Josh Mercer's concern that CPC's performing ultrasounds constitutes a target that pro-abortion advocates will seek to limit however possible to continue to undermine the truth that the child in the womb is a child, living and breathing, and responding to its environment.

In the meantime, check out Josh's post and drop him a line congratulating him on the baby in the pictured ultrasound--it's his!

Please visit CareNet's and Hopeline's websites to learn more about their services and offer your assistance if you can!

A full list of CPC's in CT that offer a range of services and referrals for women in crisis pregnancy can be found here.

Gather 'round children and I'll tell you a story.

Once upon a time, New England was beseiged by forty days and forty nights of rain. (OK, only 30, but June was a complete washout--pun completely intended!) Children, cooped up inside, their faces bleached from lack of Vitamin D, began to drive their mother crazy. There was much wailing and nashing of teeth. And lo, the heavens opened. The clouds parted and mother threw the children out the door to seek out an olive branch. (They're rare in New England, so they'd be busy for a while.) But along the way, the scout team was distracted- easily done- by the most common of pastimes. The garden hose lay, tempting all passers by.

Let's play a game! (You and I know this won't end well.)


We'll work together.


Ooops, I slipped.


Got you, too!


Curses! I will get him back for his treachery!

Psst, we can gang up on him! You fill my bucket carefully and I'll dump it on him.


Hey! That's not what I asked you to do!

Meanwhile, the angry older brother turns off the water, befuddling the smallest combatant.


The middle child decides to hide and wait this battle out.

Fiend! I repay you the injustice you served upon me! Ground water, a dish served best really, really cold!


Oh, the humanity!

Prayer Request

Hey Everyone,
Please pray for a family I know? They’re 11 weeks pregnant and the baby just went through its first ultrasound. The prognosis is not good, and the family is asking for prayers, as their first born was diagnosed with the same thing and was miraculously healed, details follow. Here’s an email excerpt, I changed names for privacy:

The prognosis is bad, as it was for Jerry. It’s called cystic hygroma which basically means that the the lymphatic system isn’t working right so fluid is collecting inside the baby, if it doesn’t resolve the baby’s heart will fail. We don’t know yet if the fact that Jerry had this and it resolved (through a lot of prayer) changes the outlook, it is such a rare, rare thing to happen that it is hard for us to imagine that they aren’t related but the yale doctors (we will have an appointment probably this week or next up at Yale) maybe can tell us that. The causes of this are either genetic (various disorders) or just something went wrong in development. As best we can tell Jerry’s wasn’t genetic (unless extreme stuborness is a genetic disorder). There isn’t very much known about this because something like 90% of people that find out they have this abort (which obviously we would never even consider), except that most babies die. We would just be very thankful to all of you if you could include us in your prayers.
Everyone is doing okay here, Jerry is really concerned but we are trying to help him through this, there aren’t alot of answers, not really a whole lot the doctors can tell us either (especially since I won’t do invasive testing). I am assuming they will put us on the same regimen as with Jerry which is ultrasounds every two weeks to check on the baby until I can feel movement and then just once a month to see if anything is getting better, and then an echocardiogram to check the baby’s heart at 25 weeks (this one is at Yale as well) since heart problems can be associated with the genetic disorders we are talking about (Turner’s syndrome if it is a girl, Newnann’s syndrome if it is a boy, or trisomy 18, which is fatal, and occassionally Downs syndrome).

Cap and Trade means...

* that I should start making candles
* that we should bring ice down from Canada this winter and pack it in sawdust for the summer
* that I should move the whole fam-damily into the back room at work so I can afford to travel to my job
* that welfare will be expanded to include utility bills for many more Americans, which will then mean also...
* that the government will not only tell utility companies how much tax they have to pay to operate, but how much they can charge for services, which will mean profit margins untenable for private companies, which means also...
* that it's only a matter of time until the government takes over utilities as well
* that the current number of people in this country cannot be sustained if our utility infrastructure and economy is turned back to 1800's levels, so expect child quotas


You think I'm crazy, don't you?
But I'm right.

Amidst Jackson, Fawcett, McMahon and Billy Mays..

this county lost someone whose influence was far richer.

H/T Subvet

Ministry of Truth not necessary

George Orwell had his hands tied. He imagined the Ministry of Truth would have to daily check all history books and newspaper articles for consistency with the current Party policy. He didn't realize that their job would be much easier than that.

The constant 24-hour news bombardment and the eternal present of the Internet numbs us to all sense of history and makes us susceptible to the snake charmer's song, ready to believe whatever we are told. The way I say it is today, it always was that way. What I say today is exactly consistent with what I said yesterday. And the view I take tomorrow is not contrary, as it would seem, but actually the fulfillment of what I say today, don't you see?

Don't bother with what they tell you is truth; you believe those radicals?

Catching up

Well, Exultet has been collecting dust for some time, as Big Brother may or may not have noticed. Work has been busy, I've been finishing getting the house ready to put on the market, looking for a nighttime job, preparing for my friend's bachelor party and wedding, in which I was an usher, my son was ring bearer, and my lovely (and very talented wife) was vocalist and music director. I'm just now catching my breath before the Canada family reunion coming up and hopefully moving! Whew!Check out Fric (founding member of Fric, Frac and Fred) showing off the bling for the bride and groom. Catch phrase of the day while wearing tuxes: "Totally wicked!"

Because of all this, I don't have a lot of time to research all the details, but I wanted to quick blog some things that have caught my attention over the last few weeks.

This is a bit old, but here's a bit of news that got little coverage and no notice, around here, anyway. CT joins other states in awarding its electoral votes, not to the winner of the state, but to the winner of the national popular vote. Message to all: only New York, California, Texas, Florida, Massachusetts and Ohio are important.

Nancy Pelosi's flailing changing gasping story regarding the CIA briefings about waterboarding are as disingenuous as Hilary Clinton's implication that General Petraus lied to the Senate regarding conditions in Iraq. Here's the hint: if you are in a position of authority and you think a subordinate is lying to you, you fire them (or make a big stink for the President to do so). Otherwise, no one believes you.

And don't forget all those of you who swore to me that Obama really was pro-life and that he would work to reduce abortions. Oh, wait, that's not right. Looks like he lied to you, too.

Homeschooling Diplomacy

I write this post both to ask the question and also in the hopes that in writing it, I'll be more sure of my own grasp on the big picture.

To get to it, for those of you who are homeschooling your kids, how do you discuss it with family and friends? And the corollary to that is, how do you explain it to your kids?

The reason I am asking is because up till now, our boys didn't even realize that we were doing something different. But they're now at the age to make the distinction and have latched on to the idea that fascinates them most: riding the big yellow bus, like their cousins do, and going to a school building with other kids taught by a teacher that's not Mom.

My wife and I have to deal delicately with this because we know why we're homeschooling: it's more efficient, better for the kids in terms of focus and attention, individual pace, family schedule, plus the ability for my wife and I to act as the filters for our children that we are called to be. But how do we explain this to a five year old without a.) giving him the impression that he's missing out on something fantastic, b.) running the risk that he looks down his nose at other kids who do go to school or c.)getting the impression that schools and everything associated with them are to be avoided?

How did any of you handle this discussion?