Told you Massachusetts was Hell :)

That was the opening line to an email sent from a friend who lives just outside of Boston. She sent me the following link:

The Manifestation of the Demonic in Massachusetts

We too are beginning to encounter clear signs of the demonic. Here in Somerville, how many Catholic schools are closed. One parish and three schools at last count. Yet, we just opened up here a Planned Parenthood Office. If you have read the Somerville newspapers then you saw the picture of the politicians including graduates of Catholic schools attending a ribbon cutting ceremony for a place that roots itself in destroying human life.

That which imparts God’s wisdom is closing and that which imparts the Devil’s destruction is opening. Good is Bad and Bad is Good. True is false and false is true. Man is woman and woman is man. The Devil is alive and living in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

sigh

I like the Father's suggestion that we give to the poor - not just money but time as well. "Study, know and live the corporal and spiritual works of mercy". It wouldn't hurt to ponder that one.

I am left wondering what part of Peter we're supposed to be reading:

3:1 Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; 3:2 While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear.

:)

For what it's worth, she's a rather devout Catholic Mom of four with a great sense of humor.

~ ~ ~

They Came for the Chicken Farmer

A case of mistaken identity's turning an innocent person into a prisoner-for-life was supposed to be impossible. President Bush told Americans to trust in his judgment after he arrogated the right to arrest anyone, anywhere in the world, and toss people into indefinite detention. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld infamously proclaimed that the men at Guantánamo Bay were "the worst of the worst."

At Conservative Forum on Bush, Everybody's a Critic

Instead, Sullivan was on hand to second the critique. "This is a big-government agenda," he said. "It is fueled by a new ideology, the ideology of Christian fundamentalism." The bearded pundit offered his own indictment of Bush: "complete contempt" for democratic processes, torture of detainees, ignoring habeas corpus and a "vast expansion of the federal government." The notion, he said, that the "Thatcher-Reagan legacy that many of us grew up to love and support would end this way is an astonishing paradox and a great tragedy."

Ouch.

Iran threatens reprisals, if punished

Iran is not helping itself - or anyone else. Mohamed ElBaradei is urging calm, from all sides. I hope they listen.

"What we need now, at this stage, is a cool-headed approach. The Middle East is a very volatile area," he said as a three-day meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency drew to a close in Vienna.

Mr ElBaradei insisted that the decision to refer his classified report on Iran's nuclear programme to the powerful Security Council - which is expected to meet next week to discuss possible punitive measures - marked a "new phase in diplomacy" and not a fast-track to sanctions.

The call for calm was directed at both Iran and the United States, who have traded threats from the sidelines throughout the course of the week's negotiations. It came shortly after a senior official from Tehran told Reuters: "The United States may have the power to cause harm and pain but it is also susceptible to harm and pain. So if the United States wishes to choose that path, let the ball roll."

The official was apparently responding to comments from Dick Cheney, the Vice President, who said Iran would face "meaningful consequences" if it failed to fall into line.

It's obvious to many the Bush Administration is most likely planning for war in Iran. If this keeps up, Iran might give Bush and company a legitimate reason.

DeLay Wins Four-Way Battle for Nomination

Annan Says Coalition May Be Violating Law

May be

Diplomatic speak, and useless.

The UN and Arab countries need to come together and take over from the United States and the United Kingdom.

Oh, and speaking of the UK:

God: I've lost faith in Blair

A high-level leak has revealed that God is "furious" at Tony Blair's attempts to implicate him in the bombing of Iraq. Sources close to the archangel Gabriel report him as describing the Almighty as "hopping mad ... with sanctimonious yet unscrupulous politicians claiming He would condone their bestial activities when He has no way of going public Himself, owing to the MMW agreement" (a reference to the long-established Moving in Mysterious Ways concordat).

...

"If Tony Blair thinks his friendship with George W Bush is worth rubbing out a couple of hundred thousand Iraqi men, women and children, then that's something he can talk over with me later," said God. "But when he starts publicly claiming that's the way I do the arithmetic too, it's time I put my foot down!" It is well known that God has a very big foot.