USB Humping Dog

Moderately funny in itself, but the blurring of the USB made me laugh.

This KILLS me...

A commenter named "Lord Locksley" over at RedState agonizes over his vote:

Hmmmmm... who to vote for this fall... Well on one side, you have a bitch who is a lawyer, married to a lawyer, and a lawyer who is married to a bitch who is a lawyer... On the other side, you have a war hero married to a total babe who owns a beer distributorship... Where I come from that is known as a 'no brainer'.

Sabrina M. Weiner

Sabrina M. Weiner was a USN Lieutenant who refused individual assignment to Iraq, not because she 's opposed to the war, but because she opposes the individual augmentee program which assigns Naval and Air Force officers to administrative, medical and legal posts in Iraq and Afghanistan so that Army and Marine Corps officers can concentrate on combat operations.
"It is not an against-the-war argument but a people-accountability argument, I was proud to say I was a Navy officer. My problem is the way they are using us as IAs. It minimizes the job and training we do for the Navy."
Well LT, that's why the call it the service. Do you think the anyone relishes these assignments?

Hillary Wins Pennsylvania

All joking and schadenfreude aside, the Democrats have a tough decision in front of them. If Clinton wins Pennsylvania as big as it seems she about to, she will lead Obama in the popular vote, depending on who's votes you count - the Democrats aren't all that great at running elections or anything else for that matter. Perhaps more importantly, she will have won 7 of the 8 most populous states. This on top of some recently revealed chinks in Obama's armor put the Dems in some interesting territory. Now, no one can reasonably ask her to step aside, or Obama for that matter. Perhaps this will make them join forces in some unholy amalgam of contextualization, bitchiness and identity politics. If this were to happen it wouldn't surprise me, but I wouldn't hold my breath for it either.
It would have been better for the Democrats to have some winner take all states to end this thing one way or another.

Shoes Bad

Morosoph declares that shoes are bad for your feet. I've always suspected as much. Just last winter as I shovelled the 18 inches of snow and freezing rain that encrusted my truck and driveway, I thought that what really made things miserable where those damn insulated, breathable, waterproof snow boots I was wearing. If only our shoe-centric society would allow me to go barefoot.
Next: Fire over rated.

Charles Durning: Army Ranger, Dancer, Actor

You may remember Charles Durning from such pictures as Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?, The Hudsucker Proxy, True Confessions and The Sting, but did you know that he was a boxer and as a 17 year old stormed Omaha Beach as a U.S. Army Ranger? I didn't. Read a blurb about his service here, all I can say is, wow. If a person can live what he lived through and go on to shake his ample ass so gleefully in such films as The Best Little Whore House in Texas, there is hope for us all.

Hat Tip: The Corner

HOMILY OF POPE BENEDICT XVI, SAINT PATRICK'S CATHEDRAL, 19.04.2008

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

With great affection in the Lord, I greet all of you, who represent the Bishops, priests and deacons, the men and women in consecrated life, and the seminarians of the United States. I thank Cardinal Egan for his warm welcome and the good wishes which he has expressed in your name as I begin the fourth year of my papal ministry. I am happy to celebrate this Mass with you, who have been chosen by the Lord, who have answered his call, and who devote your lives to the pursuit of holiness, the spread of the Gospel and the building up of the Church in faith, hope and love.

Gathered as we are in this historic cathedral, how can we not think of the countless men and women who have gone before us, who labored for the growth of the Church in the United States, and left us a lasting legacy of faith and good works? In today’s first reading we saw how, in the power of the Holy Spirit, the Apostles went forth from the Upper Room to proclaim God’s mighty works to people of every nation and tongue. In this country, the Church’s mission has always involved drawing people “from every nation under heaven” (cf. Acts 2:5) into spiritual unity, and enriching the Body of Christ by the variety of their gifts. As we give thanks for past blessings, and look to the challenges of the future, let us implore from God the grace of a new Pentecost for the Church in America. May tongues of fire, combining burning love of God and neighbor with zeal for the spread of Christ’s Kingdom, descend on all present!

In this morning’s second reading, Saint Paul reminds us that spiritual unity – the unity which reconciles and enriches diversity – has its origin and supreme model in the life of the triune God. As a communion of pure love and infinite freedom, the Blessed Trinity constantly brings forth new life in the work of creation and redemption. The Church, as “a people made one by the unity of the Father, the Son and the Spirit” (cf. Lumen Gentium, 4), is called to proclaim the gift of life, to serve life, and to promote a culture of life. Here in this cathedral, our thoughts turn naturally to the heroic witness to the Gospel of life borne by the late Cardinals Cooke and O’Connor. The proclamation of life, life in abundance, must be the heart of the new evangelization. For true life – our salvation – can only be found in the reconciliation, freedom and love which are God’s gracious gift.

This is the message of hope we are called to proclaim and embody in a world where self-centeredness, greed, violence, and cynicism so often seem to choke the fragile growth of grace in people’s hearts. Saint Irenaeus, with great insight, understood that the command which Moses enjoined upon the people of Israel: “Choose life!” (Dt 30:19) was the ultimate reason for our obedience to all God’s commandments (cf. Adv. Haer. IV, 16, 2-5). Perhaps we have lost sight of this: in a society where the Church seems legalistic and “institutional” to many people, our most urgent challenge is to communicate the joy born of faith and the experience of God’s love.

I am particularly happy that we have gathered in Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. Perhaps more than any other church in the United States, this place is known and loved as “a house of prayer for all peoples” (cf. Is 56:7; Mk 11:17). Each day thousands of men, women and children enter its doors and find peace within its walls. Archbishop John Hughes, who – as Cardinal Egan has reminded us – was responsible for building this venerable edifice, wished it to rise in pure Gothic style. He wanted this cathedral to remind the young Church in America of the great spiritual tradition to which it was heir, and to inspire it to bring the best of that heritage to the building up of Christ’s body in this land. I would like to draw your attention to a few aspects of this beautiful structure which I think can serve as a starting point for a reflection on our particular vocations within the unity of the Mystical Body.

The first has to do with the stained glass windows, which flood the interior with mystic light. From the outside, those windows are dark, heavy, even dreary. But once one enters the church, they suddenly come alive; reflecting the light passing through them, they reveal all their splendor. Many writers – here in America we can think of Nathaniel Hawthorne – have used the image of stained glass to illustrate the mystery of the Church herself. It is only from the inside, from the experience of faith and ecclesial life, that we see the Church as she truly is: flooded with grace, resplendent in beauty, adorned by the manifold gifts of the Spirit. It follows that we, who live the life of grace within the Church’s communion, are called to draw all people into this mystery of light.

This is no easy task in a world which can tend to look at the Church, like those stained glass windows, “from the outside”: a world which deeply senses a need for spirituality, yet finds it difficult to “enter into” the mystery of the Church. Even for those of us within, the light of faith can be dimmed by routine, and the splendor of the Church obscured by the sins and weaknesses of her members. It can be dimmed too, by the obstacles encountered in a society which sometimes seems to have forgotten God and to resent even the most elementary demands of Christian morality. You, who have devoted your lives to bearing witness to the love of Christ and the building up of his Body, know from your daily contact with the world around us how tempting it is at times to give way to frustration, disappointment and even pessimism about the future. In a word, it is not always easy to see the light of the Spirit all about us, the splendor of the Risen Lord illuminating our lives and instilling renewed hope in his victory over the world (cf. Jn 16:33).

Yet the word of God reminds us that, in faith, we see the heavens opened, and the grace of the Holy Spirit lighting up the Church and bringing sure hope to our world. “O Lord, my God,” the Psalmist sings, “when you send forth your spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth” (Ps 104:30). These words evoke the first creation, when the Spirit of God hovered over the deep (cf. Gen 1:2). And they look forward to the new creation, at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles and established the Church as the first fruits of a redeemed humanity (cf. Jn 20:22-23). These words summon us to ever deeper faith in God’s infinite power to transform every human situation, to create life from death, and to light up even the darkest night. And they make us think of another magnificent phrase of Saint Irenaeus: “where the Church is, there is the Spirit of God; where the Spirit of God is, there is the Church and all grace” (Adv. Haer. III, 24, 1).

This leads me to a further reflection about the architecture of this church. Like all Gothic cathedrals, it is a highly complex structure, whose exact and harmonious proportions symbolize the unity of God’s creation. Medieval artists often portrayed Christ, the creative Word of God, as a heavenly “geometer”, compass in hand, who orders the cosmos with infinite wisdom and purpose. Does this not bring to mind our need to see all things with the eyes of faith, and thus to grasp them in their truest perspective, in the unity of God’s eternal plan? This requires, as we know, constant conversion, and a commitment to acquiring “a fresh, spiritual way of thinking” (cf. Eph 4:23). It also calls for the cultivation of those virtues which enable each of us to grow in holiness and to bear spiritual fruit within our particular state of life. Is not this ongoing “intellectual” conversion as necessary as “moral” conversion for our own growth in faith, our discernment of the signs of the times, and our personal contribution to the Church’s life and mission?

For all of us, I think, one of the great disappointments which followed the Second Vatican Council, with its call for a greater engagement in the Church’s mission to the world, has been the experience of division between different groups, different generations, different members of the same religious family. We can only move forward if we turn our gaze together to Christ! In the light of faith, we will then discover the wisdom and strength needed to open ourselves to points of view which may not necessarily conform to our own ideas or assumptions. Thus we can value the perspectives of others, be they younger or older than ourselves, and ultimately hear “what the Spirit is saying” to us and to the Church (cf. Rev 2:7). In this way, we will move together towards that true spiritual renewal desired by the Council, a renewal which can only strengthen the Church in that holiness and unity indispensable for the effective proclamation of the Gospel in today’s world.

Was not this unity of vision and purpose – rooted in faith and a spirit of constant conversion and self-sacrifice – the secret of the impressive growth of the Church in this country? We need but think of the remarkable accomplishment of that exemplary American priest, the Venerable Michael McGivney, whose vision and zeal led to the establishment of the Knights of Columbus, or of the legacy of the generations of religious and priests who quietly devoted their lives to serving the People of God in countless schools, hospitals and parishes.

Here, within the context of our need for the perspective given by faith, and for unity and cooperation in the work of building up the Church, I would like say a word about the sexual abuse that has caused so much suffering. I have already had occasion to speak of this, and of the resulting damage to the community of the faithful. Here I simply wish to assure you, dear priests and religious, of my spiritual closeness as you strive to respond with Christian hope to the continuing challenges that this situation presents. I join you in praying that this will be a time of purification for each and every particular Church and religious community, and a time for healing. I also encourage you to cooperate with your bishops who continue to work effectively to resolve this issue. May our Lord Jesus Christ grant the Church in America a renewed sense of unity and purpose, as all – Bishops, clergy, religious and laity – move forward in hope, in love for the truth and for one another.

Dear friends, these considerations lead me to a final observation about this great cathedral in which we find ourselves. The unity of a Gothic cathedral, we know, is not the static unity of a classical temple, but a unity born of the dynamic tension of diverse forces which impel the architecture upward, pointing it to heaven. Here too, we can see a symbol of the Church’s unity, which is the unity – as Saint Paul has told us – of a living body composed of many different members, each with its own role and purpose. Here too we see our need to acknowledge and reverence the gifts of each and every member of the body as “manifestations of the Spirit given for the good of all” (1 Cor 12:7). Certainly within the Church’s divinely-willed structure there is a distinction to be made between hierarchical and charismatic gifts (cf. Lumen Gentium, 4). Yet the very variety and richness of the graces bestowed by the Spirit invite us constantly to discern how these gifts are to be rightly ordered in the service of the Church’s mission. You, dear priests, by sacramental ordination have been configured to Christ, the Head of the Body. You, dear deacons, have been ordained for the service of that Body. You, dear men and women religious, both contemplative and apostolic, have devoted your lives to following the divine Master in generous love and complete devotion to his Gospel. All of you, who fill this cathedral today, as wells as your retired, elderly and infirm brothers and sisters, who unite their prayers and sacrifices to your labors, are called to be forces of unity within Christ’s Body. By your personal witness, and your fidelity to the ministry or apostolate entrusted to you, you prepare a path for the Spirit. For the Spirit never ceases to pour out his abundant gifts, to awaken new vocations and missions, and to guide the Church, as our Lord promised in this morning’s Gospel, into the fullness of truth (cf. Jn 16:13).

So let us lift our gaze upward! And with great humility and confidence, let us ask the Spirit to enable us each day to grow in the holiness that will make us living stones in the temple which he is even now raising up in the midst of our world. If we are to be true forces of unity, let us be the first to seek inner reconciliation through penance. Let us forgive the wrongs we have suffered and put aside all anger and contention. Let us be the first to demonstrate the humility and purity of heart which are required to approach the splendor of God’s truth. In fidelity to the deposit of faith entrusted to the Apostles (cf. 1 Tim 6:20), let us be joyful witnesses of the transforming power of the Gospel!

Dear brothers and sisters, in the finest traditions of the Church in this country, may you also be the first friend of the poor, the homeless, the stranger, the sick and all who suffer. Act as beacons of hope, casting the light of Christ upon the world, and encouraging young people to discover the beauty of a life given completely to the Lord and his Church. I make this plea in a particular way to the many seminarians and young religious present. All of you have a special place in my heart. Never forget that you are called to carry on, with all the enthusiasm and joy that the Spirit has given you, a work that others have begun, a legacy that one day you too will have to pass on to a new generation. Work generously and joyfully, for he whom you serve is the Lord!

The spires of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral are dwarfed by the skyscrapers of the Manhattan skyline, yet in the heart of this busy metropolis, they are a vivid reminder of the constant yearning of the human spirit to rise to God. As we celebrate this Eucharist, let us thank the Lord for allowing us to know him in the communion of the Church, to cooperate in building up his Mystical Body, and in bringing his saving word as good news to the men and women of our time. And when we leave this great church, let us go forth as heralds of hope in the midst of this city, and all those places where God’s grace has placed us. In this way, the Church in America will know a new springtime in the Spirit, and point the way to that other, greater city, the new Jerusalem, whose light is the Lamb (Rev 21:23). For there God is even now preparing for all people a banquet of unending joy and life. Amen.

(image via American Digest; text via Whispers in the Loggia)

AA Ball Game: New Britain Rock Cats

We took the whole family to see a New Britain Rock Cats minor league ballgame today, and what a perfect day to do it. After a fairly cold spring, today was in the high seventies, sunny and not a cloud in the sky. Perfect weather for sitting around in the sun and drinking an ice cold Sam Adams, and watch some baseball. It was a sublime experience.

Movie Review: The Painted Veil

I loved The Painted Veil starring Edward Norton and Naomi Watts, co-starring Tobey Jones and Liev Schreiber in W. Somerset Maugham's story of betrayal, growth and forgiveness set in 1920s China. This film is one of those rare attempts, mostly successful, to show how people fail each other and how they can mature and learn to forgive.

All the acting in this film is first rate. The only bone I have to pick, is that I found Edward Norton's English accent unconvincing . I'm no Henry Higgins, but it drives me up the wall that even fine American actors can't develop a believable British Accent, while Aussies, Kiwis and Brits sound like they're from Flatbush or Savannah at will.

Naomi Watts is outstanding, in a role that any serious actress would tumble for. Tobey Green, fresh from impressing the hell out of me in Infamous, shines brilliantly again. Is there no end to fine actors from the British Empire?

By all means see it if you've grown weary of Blades of Glory genre of film making.

A Conservative Is A Liberal Who Has Been Mugged

Unfortunately not all of them survive the experience...

An Italian woman artist who was hitch-hiking to the Middle East dressed as a bride to promote world peace has been found murdered in Turkey.

Pat Condell Gets A Case Of The Ass Over Islamofascism

Hat Tip The Corner

Don't Go There: Honah Lee

I knew Honah Lee was not a place I ever wanted to go...

Obama's Kinseleyan Gaffe

So, Harvard Law Review is out in San Francisco winning the hearts and minds of his fellow travelers and he says this about the rubes in flyover country:

"You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, a lot of them — like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them. And they’ve gone through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. So it’s not surprising then that they get bitter, and they cling to guns, or religion, or antipathy toward people who aren’t like them, or anti-immigrant sentiment, or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations." Click here to hear it.

Translation: None needed, this is exactly what he thinks about the squirrel eatin, tobacco chawin, cousin humpin rednecks who have the temerity to exercise the first two amendments to the Constitution on a regular basis. Fair enough, but does he really think this will prompt the folks in dog patch to vote for him? This, in brief, is why HRC is staying in the race.

Christopher Hitchens Lesbian Gaffe

This is pretty funny, Hitch and Andrew Sullivan were bantering on Tim Russert's show when Sullivan lost his train of thought, Hitchens tells him "don't be such a lesbian, get on with it", presumably because Sullivan was tongue tied. Needless to say, this has ruffled some feathers.
Hitch responded to the controversy via an email to The Independent, "Don't know what came over me: the dear boy did suddenly seem extremely sapphic, yet I think my intuitions must have been scrambled all the same, since what I was actually thinking was: 'Andrew really wants to have Barack Obama's fucking child'. Clearly some confusion of categories on my part." As I said, pretty funny.

Muse: Starlight (Live)

Or So He Was Told...

Legally blind golfer gets hole in one.

No Wonder Why The Democrats Still Like Him

JFK was on drugs.

More Film Reviews: Serenity, Infamous, Crusaders

• I'm not huge scifi fan, but I was pleasantly surprised by Serenity, the feature length movie based on the culty Firefly T.V. series. You won't be impressed by the budget or the effects which are minimal, but sufficient. You may be surprised by the quality of the dialogue, writing and the libertarian themes of the story line, I sure was. I love it when my meager expectations are exceeded.
• You my astute reader will remember that I enjoyed Truman Capote's In Cold Blood very much, so I was glad to see that a quality movie was made about the writing of Capote's most in/famous novel. Infamous stars Toby Jones, who is just perfect as Truman Capote. Sandra Bullock is Harper Lee, yes that Harper Lee, who accompanied Capote to Kansas to assist in his writing. Well worth your time, with fine performances and an outstanding cast.
• Crusaders is a European mini series that somehow made it on to DVD and into my home. Would that it had stayed in Europe. Despite the presence of the aways fine Armin Mueller-Stahl, this film is everything one should avoid; schlocky dialogue, improbable character development, shitty audio track, poor editing, etc. Man this movie sucked, perhaps the best parts were lost in translation.

Five Pounds A Year?

See if you can find me. Answer in the comments.

U2 Pride

Another Home Invasion In Connecticut

Two elderly ladies sharing Sunday coffee were assaulted at home by a convicted child molester paroled by the Connecticut Department of Corrections. One was shot in the head and left for dead and is recovering at a local hospital, the other was murdered and dumped in gravel pit.

At the risk of stating the bleeding obvious, why do we need a Department Of Corrections if they continue to release rapists and murderers who continue to rape and murder? Any group of six people picked at random couldn't make worse decisions than the alleged experts at the DOC. Somebody needs to do some explaining, better yet, find out who is responsible and shit can the lot of them.

At the very, very least keep those who have demonstrated their malicious intent behind bars. If this means building new prisons, so be it. I'd rather have an effective new prison than dozens of ineffectual parole officers and murdered families.

Christopher Hitchens On Hillary Clinton's Bosnian Lies

I think Hitch expected more of Clinton than I did, he's certainly takes Hillary to task for her latest mendacity:

Yet instead of preserving a polite reticence about this, or at least an appropriate reserve, Sen. Clinton now has the obscene urge to claim the raped and slaughtered people of Bosnia as if their misery and death were somehow to be credited to her account! Words begin to fail one at this point. Is there no such thing as shame? Is there no decency at last? Let the memory of the truth, and the exposure of the lie, at least make us resolve that no Clinton ever sees the inside of the White House again.

Read the whole thing.