Roe V Wade Is Overturned. Let's Keep Moving

Roe v Wade was decided when I was 17 years old.  Frankly, the way things were going, I didn't think I'd live to see this day, but here we are.  The ruling is not only an unambiguous smack-down of Roe but also of Casey v Planned Parenthood, picking apart their constitutional flaws.

By God's grace we have finally cleared a major hurdle, but there are many more to be surmounted.  We give thanks to God while not only maintaining but increasing our stride.  The little pro-abort darlings who chided us for years to "respect the court decisions" announced that tonight they intend to engage in temper tantrums that they call the "summer of rage".  They have already vandalized a number of Catholic churches and pro-life pregnancy centers.  Hmm... I wonder why they only target Catholic churches.  Might it be that they are acknowledging a truth that some of our protestant friends won't?  But I digress.

While I lived to see the day, many of my pro-life colleagues passed on.  I will now give them a shout-out, in no particular order.  To keep this list at a reasonable length, I'll only list those with whom I worked in one degree or another.  Some are nationally-known, but many were local folks.  They are: Nellie Gray, Joe Scheidler, Norma McCorvey, Marilyn Szewczyk, John Marcus, John Jay Daly, Anthony Sheehan, George Offerman, Cookie Harris, Kristin Kazyak, Jim Sharbaugh, Jim Sedlak, Mike Fritz, Bill Ferris, Bill Simpson, Bill Luksic, Dick Retta, Francis Popper, Francois Quinson, Robert Kling.  I'm sure their prayers were joined with ours in overturning that Roe beast and those prayers will continue to be with us.

This is no time for slacking off, for "resting on our laurels", as it were.  We must redouble our prayers and efforts.  We must continue to offer our daily Masses, pray our daily rosaries.  We must continue with our pro-life apostolates and work to elect good pro-life people to public office.

Let me draw special attention to that last sentence.  In 2016, a fair number of misguided and perhaps "mis-motivated" pro-life people thumbed their noses at Donald Trump, claiming that he wasn't pro-life enough for their overly-dainty tastes.  I've chided them quite a bit during that time; see here and here. 

When I wrote those posts six years ago, I didn't know how true those words would ring.  Donald Trump won the White House and kept his promise to appoint judges and justices who would interpret the Constitution as originally written.  Thus, Kavanaugh, Gorsuch and Barrett were appointed Supreme Court justices.  Today's Supreme Court ruling on Dobbs involved several written opinions.  The vote to uphold the Mississippi law was 6-3.  Of those 6, Chief Justice Roberts voted to uphold the Mississippi law, but not to overturn Roe and Casey.  That vote was really 5-4.  Three of the five were the justices that Trump appointed (Alito and Thomas being the other two).  Had the "nevertrumpers" in pro-life circles had their way, this victory for the babies would never have occurred.  Trump is owed much credit for keeping his word.

Frankly, I believe this ruling to have particular spiritual significance.  For nearly 50 years, with the de facto legalization of baby-slaughter, the United States as a nation has incurred the blood-guilt of over 60 million babies murdered since January 1973.  Now that ruling has ended and some purification has begun.  Today both Texas and Missouri have declared their states abortion-free.  Mississippi's law stands.  Other state bans, in limbo till now, can be enforced.  

We have another presidential election in two years.  For now, let us focus on our local elections, especially since the overtuning of Roe puts the fight for the babies back to local governments.

Fallacies Of The Isolationist Catholics

I've often wondered how Catholics who love their Faith and traditions could be caracatured as reactionary curmudgeons.  I'm beginning to understand why, thanks to some facebook discussions in which I have recently participated.

On one thread, one man stated his belief that the apostle St Paul mandated that women pray only with covered heads - both in and outside Church.  Of course we all wore head coverings when we went to Church.  However, this is the first time I ever heard it suggested, let alone mandated, that women and girls should cover their heads when they pray outside of Church, be it in the classroom, at home, anywhere.  Mind you, the first five years of my Catholic education were free from the contagions of Vatican II.  We started the school days with prayers while standing by our desks.  Of course we were all wearing the school uniform.  At no time did any teacher ever dream of telling us girls to get our beanies from our desks and put them on before praying.  Of course when we went to Church (and we went to confession and Mass every First Friday) all the girls wore their beanies.  So now where on earth did this facebook Catholic ever come up with that notion??

Another thread pertains to another discussion that has come up in various trad circles from time to time.  Here's how it started.

Catholic conservatives are a sad lot. (How's that for an opening line?) They constantly bemoan the liberal progressive forces that undermine the influence of the one true Faith, yet they themselves promote the very dogmas of modernity, such as academic and religious freedom, that are the causes of the corrosion of the Church's authority. They are like cartoon sailors on a sinking ship who furiously bail water from one part of the ship while they unwittingly pour the water into another part, fully convinced they are the ship's saviors. When you point out the futility and self-defeating nature of their well-intentioned actions, they either ignore you or bail with greater intensity. That is, they hunker down and defend the false principles that have created the leaks in the first place.

When I pointed out that the First Amendment only set limitations on what federal government may or may not do to regulate religion and speech,   Someone made the point that secular judges, without reference to the Church would set limits, etc.  Well, yes.  I didn't have the time to go into basic history, that the framers of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were largely Anglicans and/or deists.  I repeatedly asked them what practical alternative they'd suggest and they refused to say.  The originator of the thread had this to say:

You miss the point entirely. Any practical solution requires that one first have the correct theoretical position. Embracing a theory of practice is the problem.

Rather than rehash the dialog, I'll just post a screen shot.

As I see it, the common definition of "religious freedom" is the ability to practice one's faith without fear of governmental reprisal.  Had that "evil" of religious freedom not been in place in our country's founding documents, then Catholics at that time would have been at great disadvantage, since Anglicanism was the creed of most of the people then.  While I agree that a Catholic confessional state would be ideal, I also acknowledge that Catholics were always a minority in this country.  I also acknowledge that a Catholic confessional state could easily devolve into a tyranical nightmare if proper checks and balances are not in place.  Catholic confessional states did exist in the past. If they were so wonderful, why did they fail and disappear?

By the way, my last question was never answered.  I don't think they have a decent answer.  It seems all they can do is sit in their little cliques and b!tch about how terrible our system of government is.

Let's look at some encyclicals that deal with the social kingship of Jesus Christ.  We can start with Quas Primas, issued by Pope Pius XI on Dec 11, 1925.  Take a look at section 14 and notice "the threefold power which is essential to lordship": law-giver, judicial, and executive.  Do they sound familiar?  They should, for they are the three branches of federal (and most states') government.  In this encyclical, I read of no disapproval of either academic nor religious freedom.

Many trads rail against the heresy of Americanism, but do they really understand it?  As I see it, Americanism was the faulty way of thinking by prelates, most notably Cardinal Gibbons, that Catholic values should have no impact on political and social life and thus were striking compromises with civil leaders regarding the same.  Pope Leo XIII never meant to condemn the civil liberties enjoyed by Catholcis; rather he condemned the squandering of these liberties by American Catholics, who used those liberties for their own gain rather than as means to further the teachings of Jesus Christ in the social realm and to save souls.

After the jump break, I'll post snapshots of another facebook debate in which I am engaging.  You can see the logical fallacies espoused by these people for yourselves.  One lady says she won't participate in the US electoral system until changes are made.  As I asked her, who does she think will be doing the changes and what changes will be done if she doesn't lend her voice to the process?  That question is never answered.  Here goes..

Another Supreme Court Improvement On The Horizon

This improvement is occasioned by the upcoming retirement of Anthony Kennedy.  Long known to be a "swing vote", his vote swung the wrong way to affirm Roe V Wade and to foist upon us gay #mowwidge.  If the nomination and seating of Neil Gorsuch is any indication, we might have some real improvement on that court very soon.

Ladies and gentlemen, this proves once again that ELECTIONS MATTER!  To my #nevertrump friends (if you still are in that camp), if you had your way, Kennedy's announcement would have been a harbinger of disaster.  Aren't you glad now that Hillary is not in the White House?

House Votes To Scrap Obama Hell Bill, Defund Planned Parenthood

Today the House voted, by a 217-213 margin, to repeal the Obama Hell-Scare Bill and to strip Planned Parenthood of 86% of its federal funding.  The American Healthcare Act now goes to the Senate, where the struggle to pass it will be more rigorous.  I refer you to the link for more details on it.  The House had passed other repeal measures in prior years, but that was when the Messiah Most Miserable was befouling the White House; he would never have signed it and Congress simply did not have the votes to override a presidential veto.  Should this measure pass the Senate, it will move to the President's desk and be signed.

Elections have consequences.  Had Hillary been elected (and that would have been a consequence if the #nevertrump bunch prevailed), Obamacare would have remained the law and most likely its tentacles would have been strengthened.  I also remind us of elections because you might have noticed that the House margin was very thin.  That's because 20 Republicans "crossed the aisle" and opposed this repeal.  They need to be replaced (Chris Smith disappoints me).

In other related news today, President Trump signed an order today to provide some protections for those opposing gay marriage.  It also cripples the Johnson Amendment that had prevented non-profits from speaking on political matters (An aside - clergy no longer have any excuses for not speaking on moral matters).  Some argue that it doesn't go far enough.  Be that as it very well may, it still is a step in the right direction.  Many more steps need to be taken.  And of course, we must keep praying, especially with Rosaries in hand.

Deo Gratias!

Last night God granted the United States - and western civilization - a significant reprieve.  We know that along with massive effort, many prayers and fastings were undertaken so that the disaster known as a Hillary presidency would not occur.  I suggest that these continue and that there be no relaxation of our prayers and efforts in bringing about a culture of life.

I'll have more to say on this later as time permits.

Voting For Trump Morally Right, Not Voting For Him Morally Wrong

If it seems I'm spending an inordinate amount of time on the upcoming elections, it's because the stakes are so high.  Not only is direction of the United States at stake here, but perhaps the fate of western civilization in general hangs in the balance.  Oddly enough, the vote in November isn't so much threatened by rigging as it is by otherwise intelligent Christians who plan to either cast no vote for president or to "write in" a third candidate.

I've stated before why I believe that Christian morality mandates a vote for Donald Trump.  See here and here.   As you can see, I made attempts to bring the principles of Catholic moral theology to bear on the situation.  In several instances, my attempts to do so were met with contemptuous disregard (particularly on facebook).  In none of these instances did anyone offer any counterargument based on moral theology.  I suspect it was because they couldn't.

A friend of mine called my attention to this article found in TownHall.com, entitled "Why Voting For Trump Is A Morally Good Choice".  I suggest that it be read.  Mr. Gruden points out that we as Christians have a positive moral duty to seek the good of the nation in which we find ourselves, citing Jeremiah 29:7.  This runs counter to the rather insipid notion that we as Christians have no responsibility for the outcome of the vote if we choose not to vote ourselves.  Gruden suggests that we all ask ourselves this question: "Can I in good conscience act in a way that helps a liberal like Hillary Clinton win the presidency?"  Of course the answer is no.

I wished that Mr. Gruden's article would have overtly stated the converse of the statement that is his title.  If voting for Trump is a morally good choice, then the denial of our vote for Trump is morally wrong.  There is no dancing around that fact.

I'll now post below a video on the topic featuring Michael Matt and Christopher Ferrera as they discuss "Trumping Hillary" from their Catholic perspective.

Today's Abortion Ruling - A Smack On The Head For Some GOP Crybabies

By now most people have heard the Supreme Court's decision on Whole Women's Health Versus Hellerstedt, that essentially gutted Texas' HB 2.  It is a disaster for women as it essentially crippled common-sense regulations for abortuaries.  The ruling was 5-3, with Kennedy joining the usual pro-abort contingent.

If there is a "take-away" for the pro-life community (and all decent people), this underscores the absolute importance of this upcoming presidential election and the need for every one of us to work to defeat the Democratic nominee.  Both Clinton and Sanders have made plain their intentions to further ensconce baby-murder within the fabric of American society.  I fear that whoever the Democrat nominee is, he/she just might win the White House.  Moreover, I believe that if they do so, one leading cause will be the utter stupidity of some who are Christians and pro-life.

It now appears that the GOP nominee might well be Donald Trump.  In the primaries I voted for Ted Cruz because I believe that Cruz' pro-life credentials are far superior to that of Trump's.  Trump's are shaky at best.  There are those in the pro-life community who hold to the stupidly simplistic notion, though, that Trump is no less pro-abortion than the Democrats and thus they intend not to vote for him.  I will now address them directly in the "first-person".

You erroneously hold Trump and Hillary (presumptive Democrat nominee) to be equal in holding malevolent political views.  In doing so, you simply demonstrate that you have no sense of perspective whatsoever.  While there may be uncertainty regarding Trump's stances on abortion, there is absolute certainty regarding Hillary's positions; she has made no secret that she intends to pave the way for further bloodshed in this country.  Is that the certainty that you want to unleash on this country?

You state that your "principles" won't allow you to vote for the "lesser of two evils".  I've dealt so much with the principle of double effect, but will do so again.  A vote for Trump (or the GOP nominee) is not so much voting for "the lesser of two evils" as much as it is acting positively to reduce the harm to be done and to preserve as much good as possible.

Some of you have gone so far as to say that "if Trump is the GOP nominee we deserve Hillary" and you're just fine with Hillary waltzing into the White House; you've said so outright.  I think it's quite telling that from this crowd I see many "#nevertrump" hashtags but hardly ever see these (#neverhillary) tags.  You do so citing their "principles".  May I suggest that if their "principles" impel you to stand by and offer no opposition to Hillary, that your "principles" are not worth a pile of cow-poop?

Some of you have gone through ridiculous logical contortions to justify not voting this November.  Here's one gem I've seen rather frequently: "You say my non-vote for Trump is in Hillary's favor?  Well then my non-vote for Hillary is in Trump's favor".  That's not how it works.  Any reduction in the vote for the GOP nominee means that the Democrat will have fewer opposing votes to overcome to win the election - that's the simple math.

Thus far I've been addressing comments to the #nevertrump crowd, but another demographic group needs to cease their snit-fits as well.  The GOP convention has not yet occurred.  I've no idea of the various machinations that can occur in the conventions, but there is an outside chance that Trump will not be the nominee.  Similar to what I've been hearing from the #nevertrump crowd, I've been hearing from Trump fans that if the nomination is "stolen" from Trump, then it will be they who sit out the election.  Do you see how both camps are carrying on like they're still stuck in kindergarten?

You who are in either camp must get over your petty rivalries (and that is what they are, sanctimonious prattle about "principles" notwithstanding).  Hillary must be stopped and we must act positively to stop her.  Any who dare not vote or "vote third-party" may well find yourselves with the blood of innocent babies on your hands - oh, not to the extent of abortionist to be sure.  But if you refuse to act proactively to prevent the damage that Hillary will do if she's given the chance, you will bear some of the moral responsibility for that.

No matter who wins the GOP nomination, let's put on our big-people pants and vote for that GOP nominee so as to prevent a truly evil Democrat from taking the White House.

The Suicidal Whining Of The #nevertrump Crowd

Some seriously individuals, deluded by their own frustrations, have decided to jump on a bandwagon with the hashtag #nevertrump.  I and others have commented on this mental disconnect.

With some variations, what we hear from them is this: "My favorite guy didn't win!  Therefore I will not vote or write my favorite in or otherwise waste my vote.  Who cares about the consequences?"  This is quite similar to the pouts we hear from small children: "I don't like things here so I'm going to take my toys and go home!  So there!"   In one Facebook discussion I asked why I'm not seeing any of the #nevertrump folks sport hashtags that say #neverhillary.  The response is rather telling:

Clearly we have a "cut off the nose to spite the face" mentality.  Not only are they refusing to bring logic and reason to bear on the matter, but they actually seem to hold logic and reason in disdain.

One individual on Facebook who is associated with a leading Catholic site, posted, "You know, I think I'm ok with Hillary for four years, if that means that the GOP gets its shit together."  Perhaps we can cut him some slack for he is Canadian, but a reasonable person will not be ok with Hillary in light of what I found on another Facebook post.  Here is a list of associates of the Clintons who, over the years, met with "untimely" deaths.  To wit:

1- James McDougal – Clintons convicted Whitewater partner died of an apparent heart attack, while in solitary confinement. He was a key witness in Ken Starr’s investigation.
2 – Mary Mahoney – A former White House intern was murdered July 1997 at a Starbucks Coffee Shop in Georgetown .. The murder happened just after she was to go public with her story of sexual harassment in the White House.
3 – Vince Foster – Former White House councilor, and colleague of Hillary Clinton at Little Rock’s Rose Law firm. Died of a gunshot wound to the head, ruled a suicide.
4 – Ron Brown – Secretary of Commerce and former DNC Chairman. Reported to have died by impact in a plane crash. A pathologist close to the investigation reported that there was a hole in the top of Brown’s skull resembling a gunshot wound. At the time of his death Brown was being investigated, and spoke publicly of his willingness to cut a deal with prosecutors. The rest of the people on the plane also died. A few days later the air Traffic controller committed suicide.
5 – C. Victor Raiser, II – Raiser, a major player in the Clinton fund raising organization died in a private plane crash in July 1992.
6 – Paul Tulley – Democratic National Committee Political Director found dead in a hotelroom in Little Rock , September 1992. Described by Clinton as a “dear friend and trusted advisor”.
7 – Ed Willey – Clinton fundraiser, found dead November 1993 deep in the woods in VA of a gunshot wound to the head. Ruled a suicide. Ed Willey died on the same day his wife Kathleen Willey claimed Bill Clinton groped her in the oval office in the White House. Ed Willey was involved in several Clinton fund raising events.
8 – Jerry Parks – Head of Clinton’s gubernatorial security team in Little Rock .. Gunned down in his car at a deserted intersection outside Little Rock Park’s son said his father was building a dossier on Clinton He allegedly threatened to reveal this information. After he died the files were mysteriously removed from his house.
9 – James Bunch – Died from a gunshot suicide. It was reported that he had a “Black Book” of people which contained names of influential people who visited prostitutes in Texas and Arkansas
10 – James Wilson – Was found dead in May 1993 from an apparent hanging suicide. He was reported to have ties to Whitewater..
11 – Kathy Ferguson – Ex-wife of Arkansas Trooper Danny Ferguson, was found dead in May 1994, in her living room with a gunshot to her head. It was ruled a suicide even though there were several packed suitcases, as if she were going somewhere. Danny Ferguson was a co-defendant along with Bill Clinton in the Paula Jones lawsuit Kathy Ferguson was a possible corroborating witness for Paula Jones.
12 – Bill Shelton – Arkansas State Trooper and fiancee of Kathy Ferguson. Critical of the suicide ruling of his fiancee, he was found dead in June, 1994 of a gunshot wound also ruled a suicide at the grave site of his fiancee.
13 – Gandy Baugh – Attorney for Clinton’s friend Dan Lassater, died by jumping out a window of a tall building January, 1994. His client was a convicted drug distributor.
14 – Florence Martin – Accountant & sub-contractor for the CIA, was related to the Barry Seal, Mena, Arkansas, airport drug smuggling case. He died of three gunshot wounds.
15 – Suzanne Coleman – Reportedly had an affair with Clinton when he was Arkansas Attorney General. Died of a gunshot wound to the back of the head, ruled a suicide. Was pregnant at the time of her death.
16 – Paula Grober – Clinton’s speech interpreter for the deaf from 1978 until her death December 9, 1992. She died in a one car accident.
17 – Danny Casolaro - Investigative reporter. Investigating MenaAirport and Arkansas Development Finance Authority. He slit his wrists, apparently, in the middle of his investigation.
18 – Paul Wilcher - Attorney investigating corruption at MenaAirport with Casolaro and the 1980 “October Surprise” was found dead on a toilet June 22, 1993, in his WashingtonDC apartment. Had delivered a report to Janet Reno 3 weeks before his death.
19 – Jon Parnell Walker – Whitewater investigator for Resolution Trust Corp. Jumped to his death from his Arlington , Virginia apartment balcony August 15, 1993. He was investigating the Morgan Guaranty scandal.
20 – Barbara Wise – Commerce Department staffer. Worked closely with Ron Brown and John Huang. Cause of death unknown. Died November 29, 1996. Her bruised, nude body was found locked in her office at the Department of Commerce.
21 – Charles Meissner – Assistant Secretary of Commerce who gave John Huang special security clearance, died shortly thereafter in a small plane crash.
22 – Dr. Stanley Heard – Chairman of the National Chiropractic Health Care Advisory Committee died with his attorney Steve Dickson in a small plane crash. Dr. Heard, in addition to serving on Clinton ‘s advisory council personally treated Clinton’s mother, stepfather and brother.
23 – Barry Seal – Drug running TWA pilot out of Mena Arkansas, death was no accident.
24 – Johnny Lawhorn, Jr. – Mechanic, found a check made out to Bill Clinton in the trunk of a car left at his repair shop. He was found dead after his car had hit a utility pole.
25 – Stanley Huggins – Investigated Madison Guaranty. His death was a purported suicide and his report was never released.
26 – Hershell Friday – Attorney and Clinton fundraiser died March 1, 1994, when his plane exploded.
27 – Kevin Ives & Don Henry – Known as “The boys on the track” case. Reports say the boys may have stumbled upon the Mena Arkansas airport drug operation. A controversial case, the initial report of death said, due to falling asleep on railroad tracks. Later reports claim the 2 boys had been slain before being placed on the tracks. Many linked to the case died before their testimony could come before a Grand Jury.

THE FOLLOWING PERSONS HAD INFORMATION ON THE IVES/HENRY CASE:
28 – Keith Coney – Died when his motorcycle slammed into the back of a truck, 7/88.
29 – Keith McMaskle – Died, stabbed 113 times, Nov, 1988
30 – Gregory Collins – Died from a gunshot wound January 1989.
31 – Jeff Rhodes – He was shot, mutilated and found burned in a trash dump in April 1989.
32 – James Milan – Found decapitated. However, the Coroner ruled his death was due to natural causes”.
33 – Jordan Kettleson – Was found shot to death in the front seat of his pickup truck in June 1990.
34 – Richard Winters – A suspect in the Ives/Henry deaths. He was killed in a set-up robbery July 1989.

THE FOLLOWING CLINTON BODYGUARDS ARE DEAD
35 – Major William S. Barkley, Jr.
36 – Captain Scott J . Reynolds
37 – Sgt. Brian Hanley
38 – Sgt. Tim Sabel
39 – Major General William Robertson
40 – Col. William Densberger
41 – Col. Robert Kelly
42 – Spec. Gary Rhodes
43 – Steve Willis
44 – Robert Williams
45 – Conway LeBleu
46 – Todd McKeehan

That of course doesn't include the Benghazi Four, or the millions of dead babies whose murders were facilitated by both the Freedom of Choice Act and Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act that Bill Clinton signed.  Here's some more food for thought to illustrate why her presidency would be an unmitigated horror for the United States.

Trump, for all his admitted faults, has no dead people to his charge as do the Clintons.  In many ways he is a wild card, true.  But we know what Hillary would do, should she win.  To my #nevertrump friends: please cease immediately your petulant whining.  Ted Cruz (for whom I voted) is not the candidate.  Please put on the big boy/girl pants and work to deny Hillary the White House.

Immorality Of Boycotting Election Day

Today is called "Super Tuesday", when many key states are holding their presidential primaries.  I heard from one commentator that this evening's election might well determine the composition of 25% of convention delegates.  I believe he was speaking of Republican delegates.  My focus in this post is on the GOP side.  As far as I'm concerned, the Democratic primary is essentially a choice between Lucifer and Beelzebub.

Already I'm hearing from some good Catholics who say "if my favored candidate does not win the nomination, I'm not voting in the general election".  To be frank, much of the sterling veneer is falling off Donald Trump but he still continues to poll favorably.  The next closest two are Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, and they too have their flaws.  In short, we don't have a perfect candidate.  That's the situation.

Both Sanders and Clinton pose clear threats to our nation.  What might help the Democratic nominee ascend to the White House are those faithful Catholics who will be inclined to stay away from the polls in November.  I believe that is a key factor as to why Obama won in 2012.  We knew Romney wasn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination.  However, four years after that election, can anyone really doubt that Romney would have been worlds better?  If nothing else, he most likely would not have proactively engaged in the disasters that occurred these past four years.

Shortly before the 2012 election, we heard the snortings from faithful but disgruntled Catholics who said they'd stay home (and many did).  I'll be frank again; in many if not most cases, these Catholics sounded like petulant two-year-olds who were mad because they didn't get their way during the primaries.  Their rancorous declarations of their intent to boycott the election really did resemble temper tantrums.  The same foot-stomping is beginning to happen, and the primaries aren't even over yet.

At that time, I made efforts to examine the "not going to vote" question by applying to it the Principle of Double Effect.  It is something that many mistake for the "lesser of two evils" mindset, but these two ideas are considerably different.  Here is one post.  This is a follow-up post.  Those were from August 2012.  These next two are from the following October - here and here.  Please read the comments in these posts; they can be quite telling.

This time I'm not hearing so much "third-party" talk as much as I'm hearing talk about not voting at all.  Let's look at that, shall we?  Again we're going to examine this question rigorously, attempting to apply traditional Catholic moral principles to it.  And yes, we really do have to take the time and effort to methodically work through these questions, as opposed to making these decisions on the basis of impulsive, "seat of the pants" emotions.

Again, applying the Principle of Double Effect, we have to first address the nature of the act of abstaining from voting.  We, as American citizens have a civic duty to make our voices heard via the electoral process.  How else will Catholic values be brought into the political arena if we don't vote?  Some might say, "the system is so corrupt that our votes most likely won't matter".  Be that as it may, if we don't vote, then we guarantee that our input won't even be registered, let alone matter.

Some erroneously hold that they abstain from voting then they won't commit sin by voting under less than ideal circumstances.  I believe, however, that given what I stated in the previous paragraph, that such abstention would constitute its own sin.  We can sin by omission as well as by commission.  I quote from Baltimore Catechism question 64: "What is actual sin?  Actual sin is any willful thought, desire, word, action, or omission forbidden by the law of God".

Obviously someone sitting out the November election is omitting to vote.  Is such omission sinful?  That's a key question; I think the answer is "yes" (barring illness or some other emergency).  How can deliberate refusal to mitigate probable harm to the moral character of our nation and indeed all civilization not be sinful?  For the sake of our nation and yes, your own souls, I beg disgruntled Catholics to man up (or woman up, as the case may be) and fulfill your duty this November.

I welcome comments from my readers and issue to them a challenge.  Please base your comments on faith and reason as opposed to emotion and "gut reaction".  Thank you.

When The Messiah Most Miserable Learned Of The Election Results

Election Results Are Coming In..

While those of us who seek to honor God are grateful that we've been granted (in a general sense) some breathing room to make real changes, it seems not all are pleased!

Oh, well!

Now THIS Is A Campaign Ad!

Joni Ernst is running for US Senate from Iowa.  She's straight-shootin'!  In more ways than one!

(By the way lawyer lap-dogs!  Faithful Catholics of MD/DC Inc is NOT an IRS section 501c organization.  That means we can say what we dang well please in terms of politics!)

On Christianity, Socialism And Communism

On February 5, Father Marcel Guarnizo's article, On Christianity, Socialism and Communism was published by Hot Air.  If you haven't read it yet, please do so asap.  He refutes the errors of socialism and communism, with detailed and rigorous use of Christian teachings on human nature, inherent rights of man and economics.  He echoes what all the modern popes, from Pius IX onwards, have said in their various encyclicals regarding these evils.

Since then, Father has done two internet-radio interviews:

1. The Ed Morrissey Show on Feb 7
2. Forward Boldly with Christine Le Niles on February 8

I strongly suggest that you listen to them both.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have mid-term elections coming up this November.  In Maryland, we will be electing every office from the governor on down.  The matters broached by Father Guarnizo must be considered and understood by us all, and by all those whom we know.  We know our chanceries won't touch on these matters; certainly the DC chancery will do all it can to ignore this - if not oppose it outright.  Please share this post, blog it yourselves, use Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, websites, email, etc.  Whatever the means, please spread this far and wide.

New Year's Resolutions?

It's that time of year, when we're taking stock of the year just past and contemplating some improvements and/or embellishments to our lives.  Those who've read this blog for some time may have gleaned my pro-life sentiments, so what I suggest should be no surprise.  Our civilization is going to hell in a hand basket.  We need more Catholics and people of good will to step up to the plate.

That said, here are some pro-life-oriented suggestions:

• Get out to your local abortion mill on a regular, committed basis to pray.  How about a minimum of once a month for an hour or so?  Please join with a pro-life presence already there, or bring a friend; never go alone.  Consider participating in 40 Days for Life nearby.
• Write a "letter to the editor" when abortion and/or gay-related issues arise in your community.  Be a voice for truth.
• If you have a solid candidate running for elected office, support him/her with your time: lit drops, phone banks, parade-walking, etc.
• Join or start a pro-life group at your church.

Of course this list is by no means exhaustive.  You probably have a few of your own.  Feel free to share them via the comment box. 

Texas Abortion Laws Stand, Thanks Be To God!

LifeSiteNews reports today that the US Supreme Court, by a 5-4 vote (and we know the roll-call, don't we?) refused to block Texas' abortion restrictions.  That means, ladies and gentlemen, that lives will be saved.  In fact, they are being saved and murder-camps are folding.

Ladies and gentlemen, two "take-aways":

1. The Texas law is by no means perfect.  But it's progress.  Contrary to popular opinion, Roe v Wade did not happen overnight.  The pro-death march towards that ruling was long in the making.  Our return to sanity will likewise not be a miraculous cake-walk.  It will be accomplished step by step.
2. Elections matter, even if the candidates put forth are not the knights in shining armor that we think we deserve.  Those five votes were cast by people appointed by Republican presidents, no exception.  No Democrat appointed them.  Needless to say that had some Republicans not stayed home in 2008 and 2012 in temper-tantrum snits, we might be looking at a much different political landscape.  We might have seen a microcosm of the national scenario a few weeks ago in Virginia; had not that libertarian run (supported by Soros money, by the way) Ken Cuccinelli might be governor-elect.