This week: Rallies across America for religious freedom. A groom speaks from his heart about marriage and chastity. A cute 3 year-old discerns the priesthood. Kathleen Sebelius unveils the ObamaCare cost containment plan. Discounting the intelligence of American women. Obama, master of foreign affairs and international diplomacy. Borat, ditto.

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Last Friday more than 60,000 citizens gathered together in over 140 American cities to protest Obama’s unprecedented attack on religious freedom. The Stand-up for Religious Freedom rallies shine light on his HHS mandate to force Catholics and others to act against their conscience. We will not accept this and we will not forget it.

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30 minutes before his wedding, this groom explained why he and his soon-to-be wife waited:

Contrast this story of genuine love and marriage with this one of a North Dakota yoga intructor.

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It is never too early to early for a young man to begin discerning the priesthood. Here, 3 year-old Isaiah practices the Mass:

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ObamaCare was touted as being “budget neutral.” People, ignoring all credible evidence to the contrary, believed that on faith. Most of them know better by now. What hope then is there to pay for this black hole? The HHS Secretary accidentally “let the cat out of the bag”:

(This video is no longer available.)

The plan? Reduce the number of people, starting with fewer children (abortion, contraception). Catholic Lane has the story: Sebelius and Paying for ObamaCare Through Death and Nonexistence.

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Our president must discount the intelligence of American women and believe that they are easily manipulated. There really is no other explanation for a video like his new love letter to Planned Parenthood. Instead of just calling them and telling them of his undying love (which they already know), he waxes poetically of their supposed dedication to women’s health services in order to manipulate you. NEWS FLASH: there are thousands and thousands of clinics who provide women’s health services without the devastation abortion brings to women and their children. Everywhere there is a PP, non-abortion focused providers are readily available (often many). Providing women’s health services is a COVER for PP’s main profit center.

Note that Obama forgot to mention abortion. Conservatively it took him an hour to edit, practice and shoot this 2 minute travesty. In that time, about 100 babies died in the evil hands of Planned Parenthood. Their “services” to pregnant women result in the death of a human being 98% of the time. Tom Peters put together these graphics from Planned Parenthood’s own data which tell the real story:

If you are pregnant and walk through the doors of Planned Parenthood, what do you think the result will be?

Elizabeth Scalia (a/k/a The Anchoress) has a good piece that presents Obama’s commitment to PP: Who loves abortion more than Obama and Sebelius?. Not disgusted enough…   see Obama Admin OKs Using Aborted Babies’ Brains in Lab Tests.

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I have been told that regardless of some domestic issues (HHS mandate, crippling debt spending, abortion promotion, etc.), one of our president’s key strengths is foreign affairs. I don’t see it and I doubt our allies think much of him either (starting with Israel). Here is how he plays on Danish news:

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Oops. Maria Dmitrienko, a member of Kazakhstan’s shooting team, took the podium to receive her gold medal in Kuwait. The Kazakhstan national anthem was proudly played in her honor. Except it wasn’t. What the Kuwaiti officials actually played was the fake Kazakhstan anthem from Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.

In place of “Sky of golden sun, Steppe of golden seed, Legend of courage – Take a look at my country!” the lyrics played extol Kazakhstan’s prostitutes as the cleanest in the region, insults other countries (e.g. calling Israel “Jewtown”), discusses testes and is prideful of an 80% effective waste filtration system.

Some random thoughts or bits of information are worthy of sharing but don’t warrant their own full post. This idea was started by Jennifer Fulwiler at Conversion Diary to address this blogging need. So, some Fridays I too participate when I have accumulated 7 worthy items. Thank you Jen for hosting this project!

This week: October Baby opens today. Ben & Jerry: cheerleaders for “gay marriage.” Some great comments from a panel of women challenging Obama’s HHS mandate. A bishop lists “five wounds” against the liturgy. Another good video overview on religious freedom. Elizabeth Scalia talks about how liberalism has morphed into totalitarianism. Glenn Beck: “we are all Catholics now.”

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October Baby opens in theaters today. From all that I have heard so far, including interviews with the producers and actors, it sounds really good. The movie was inspired by the real life story of Gianna Jessen – a rare abortion survivor. This is a powerful and touching movie at a time when our government is doing everything in its power (and beyond) to coerce or force the abortion agenda upon everyone.

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Ben & Jerry’s continues to throw their enthusiastic support behind unnatural unions and against the family. In honor of the UK’s (unpopular) rush to “gay marriage”, Ben & Jerry’s has renamed their products in support. Marcel has the story.

There are many other fine brands of ice cream, at lower cost, without a corporate determination to promote immorality. Remember Ben & Jerry’s when you shop for ice cream and avoid them.

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Gloria Purvis, offers particularly lucid comments on a panel discussing “Women Challenging the HHS Mandate”:

More excerpts can be found here.

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Kazakhstan Bishop Athanasius Schneider identified in a recent speech “five wounds” against the liturgy. These are all changes to the Mass made “in the spirit” (i.e. not actually called for) of Vatican II. They are:

1. Mass versus populum.
2. Communion in the hand.
3. The Novus Ordo Offertory prayers.
4. Disappearance of Latin in the Ordinary Form.
5. Liturgical services of lector and acolyte by women and ministers in lay clothing.

The need to “reform the reform” continues. I wrote about this general topic last year (see part 1 and part 2). My personal list is a bit longer. This story is via Father Z (many good comments too, as always).

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Yet another good video explaining the problem with the Obama’s HHS mandate:

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Elizabeth Scalia (a/k/a The Anchoress) has a good piece on how the true meaning of liberalism has morphed into a totalitarian mindset. It is a good read for those of you who remain Democrats out of habit. See Ban the Divine Comedy? Really?.

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Glenn Beck recently discussed Obama’s attack on religion. “Call me crazy. Anybody who stands with the Catholic Church – it is imperative you understand what is going on now. Please pray for these leaders all around the world. We are all Catholics…   we are all Jews…   we are all Protestants…   and we must all hang together or as Ben Franklin said we will surely hang separately.”

Some random thoughts or bits of information are worthy of sharing but don’t warrant their own full post. This idea was started by Jennifer Fulwiler at Conversion Diary to address this blogging need. So, some Fridays I too participate when I have accumulated 7 worthy items. Thank you Jen for hosting this project!

This week: Fr. John Hollowell responds to PP’s call for videos. How the birth control pill works (including the less publicized parts). Most efficient: PETA or PP? Untangling the administration’s lies and misdirection. A priest gets setup by a gay activist. A quote of the week. Robot quadrotors.

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Father John Hollowell responds to Planned Parenthood‘s president (Cecile Richards) call for videos.

Fr. Hollowell blogs at I Have A Say Because My Parents Didn’t Abort Me or Use Contraception. This was spotted by Fr. Z.

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How exactly, does the birth control pill work? Women really should know before they begin putting these drugs into their body. If you are pro-life or even personally opposed to abortion, you may be surprised:

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Matt Archbold over at CMR noticed that PETA is less efficient than Planned Parenthood. The “efficiency” he is referring to is in killing things. In PETA’s case, of the animals brought to them for care, 95% are simply killed. Yup, PETA’s “ethical treatment” = “euthanizing them”. Similarly, Planned Parenthood‘s “reproductive services” = “abortion” for pregnant women, 97.6% of the time. I suppose their vast array of other reproductive services comes into play the remaining 2.4% of the time.

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With the Obama administration working overtime to confuse people with distortion and obfuscation, our work to explain the truth to family, friends and neighbors could not be greater. Here are two very good explanations.

First, a video that unmasks “The Con”, from the American Life League:

Second, an explanation that has been making the rounds in the blogosphere from Father Sammie Maletta’s recent homily:

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Barbara Johnson was denied communion. At her mother’s funeral. By some politically oriented priest who suspected she was gay. He snubbed her further by refusing to go to the burial. She demands his removal. The Washington Post reported this story.

It was a setup and the media was all to happy to participate. Sadly, so did the chancery. Father Marcel Guarnizo by all reports is a holy and pious priest who did exactly the right thing, based on what he knew at the time and what has subsequently surfaced. The Washington Post and his Cardinal (Wuerl) owe him an apology.

Don’t miss this one.

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Quote of the week:

Of particular concern are certain attempts being made to limit that most cherished of American freedoms, the freedom of religion. Many of you have pointed out that concerted efforts have been made to deny the right of conscientious objection on the part of Catholic individuals and institutions with regard to cooperation in intrinsically evil practices. Others have spoken to me of a worrying tendency to reduce religious freedom to mere freedom of worship without guarantees of respect for freedom of conscience.

Pope Benedict XVI

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Sitting comfortably, reading this blog you may be wondering: what would it be like for an army of robot quadrotors to play the theme song from the James Bond series? Wonder no more:

Some random thoughts or bits of information are worthy of sharing but don’t warrant their own full post. This idea was started by Jennifer Fulwiler at Conversion Diary to address this blogging need. So, some Fridays I too participate when I have accumulated 7 worthy items. Thank you Jen for hosting this project!

This week: A good video explains Obama’s HHS mandate. How individual mandates destroy centuries of contract law and abolish the notion of limited government. The Becket Fund counters 4 myths about the HHS mandate with the truth. The Knights of Columbus Presidents’ Day video. Greece will soon go down in flames; how are we doing? A logical extension of abortion, ethicists say post-birth abortion OK. The UK’s version of Planned Parenthood.

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OK, you may be confused about the HHS mandate that has the Catholic Church so very mad. This short video can help:

(This video is no longer available.)

The bishops are united. Every one of them, including those who have always leaned Democratic. Thousands of NON-CATHOLICS, while not all agreeing with our theology, agree that this is an unprecedented attack on religious freedom. You will not like the America this creates if it is not stopped.

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Obama’s individual mandates destroy centuries of contract law and abolish the notion of limited government. Constitutional law professor Elizabeth Price Foley explains the amicus brief filed by the Institute for Justice:

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The Becket Fund has but together some videos on Obama’s HHS mandate called The Truth Should Not Be A Secret:

Myth #1: “28 states – more than half – in the country have laws with contraception coverage mandates.”

Myth #2: “If you receive federal funding you have to comply by federal rules. You can’t have your cake and eat it too!”

Myth #3: These drugs don’t cause an abortion! Catholics should learn a little bit about biology.

Myth #4: Employees who do not share the same faith of their religious employer should not be deprived of health care because of their employer’s religious beliefs.

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In honor of Presidents’ Day 2012, we remembered our great presidents, their views of our freedoms and the source of those freedoms. The Knights of Columbus produced this excellent video to encapsulate that:

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Hello, you over there with the rose-colored glasses. Thank God we live in America right now and not Greece (or Spain, Portugal, France, Italy or Ireland). They have borrowed to finance their socialist agendas far beyond their ability to repay. Did you know that their national debt is now a whopping $38,939 per person. Yup, we sure wouldn’t want to be in their shoes! We are not — we are worse off. From the ranking member on the Senate Budget Committee comes (by way of The Weekly Standard) this handy graphic:

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We have reached the point where “ethicists” now find it morally acceptable to endorse after-birth abortion. It makes sense to me. Why should the law allow abortion prior to birth but not immediately after? Not much has changed for the blob of tissue being on one side or the other of the womb. Why should a woman’s right to choose have an inflexible deadline? The answer of course is that it is murder at any time.

Matthew Archbold writes for the National Catholic Register: Ethicists Argue for Post Birth Abortions.

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Secular humanists fight for the laws to uphold their sacrament of abortion. As Planned Parenthood has shown again and again, when those laws fall short of their immoral hopes and dreams, they are ignored. This is not just a US phenomenon either. In the UK it is illegal to kill your unborn child purely based upon his or her gender. (Other reason’s are A-OK such as “the due date would place the child under the wrong astrological sign”.) Regardless of this, doctors are happy to ignore even this weak restriction:

The UK paper The Telegraph has the story. Spotted by Matthew Archbold at CMR.

Some random thoughts or bits of information are worthy of sharing but don’t warrant their own full post. This idea was started by Jennifer Fulwiler at Conversion Diary to address this blogging need. So, some Fridays I too participate when I have accumulated 7 worthy items. Thank you Jen for hosting this project!

This week: The three most deadly words. Larry’s new series – Focus On The Faithless. Elizabeth Scalia, Terence Jeffrey, Jennifer Roback Morse and George Weigel take a sobering look at Obama’s contempt for the constitution. One senator that every pro-lifer should watch. Another prophetic gem from Pope Paul VI. The nanny-state in action – a mini-case study. A sting, guns, forceful pre-dawn takedown – the HHS when they are not busy trampling religious freedoms.

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Mix population control with abortion and what do you get? Three of the deadliest words ever spoken – it’s a girl !

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Larry over at Acts of the Apostasy is beginning a new series of posts called Focus On The Faithless. This is an intriguing idea, chronicling just how far some have fallen in their disobedience and pride. The first post on Matthew Fox, a former Dominican priest, is now available.

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Elizabeth Scalia has been thinking about government, religious freedom and those problematic Catholics. Read the Anchoress’ conclusions in Obama’s HHS: Bring on the Penal Laws!.

Terence Jeffrey wonders if there are any limits to the government ordering you to buy something or ordering someone else to give you something for “free”. If they are consistent, then apparently not. Read his thoughts in Can Obama Order Grocers to Give Away Bread?. He raises a good point.

Jennifer Roback Morse takes a careful look at what has happened, is happening and in the process of happening and concludes Obama Repeals First Amendment. She also makes a good case. Maybe people just don’t care about religious freedom any longer.

George Weigel ties it all together saying: “It is no exaggeration to describe that cast of mind as ‘soft totalitarianism’: an effort to eliminate the vital role in health care, education, and social service played by the institutions of civil society, unless those institutions become extensions of the state.” Is this the freedom so many have fought and died for? See his piece: HHS and Soft Totalitarianism.

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I have long been a fan of Marco Rubio, a young US senator from Florida. He not only claims a pro-life position, but really – REALLY – gets it. On February 1st he gave a keynote to Susan B. Anthony’s Gala for Life. It is in 3 parts, but worth every minute:

Continue with part 2 and part 3.

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Russ Rentler points out that Pope Paul VI predicted the HHS mandate – in 1968. In Humanae Vitae he wrote:

Finally, careful consideration should be given to the danger of this power passing into the hands of those public authorities who care little for the precepts of the moral law. Who will blame a government which in its attempt to resolve the problems affecting an entire country resorts to the same measures as are regarded as lawful by married people in the solution of a particular family difficulty? Who will prevent public authorities from favoring those contraceptive methods which they consider more effective? Should they regard this as necessary, they may even impose their use on everyone.

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Liberal dreams of the nanny-state include not only educating you about good and bad, but intervention when you fall short of their ideals. Such is the case of a 4 year old girl in North Carolina. Imagine the horror of school officials when they discovered the contents of her home packed lunch:

• a turkey and cheese sandwich
• a banana
• chips
• apple juice

An outrage! Fortunately, they were alert and able to intervene – replacing that shoddy excuse for a lunch by an approved cafeteria meal of chicken nuggets. A close call in deed. The Daily Caller has the gory details, spotted by Patrick Archbold at CMR.

One must wonder what lunch atrocities are forced upon innocent children by parents who home school. Steps must be taken.

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Law breakers are the scourge of society. Fortunately, Obama’s HHS is not too busy trampling religious freedom to protect us from criminal desperados.

Recently an undercover sting operation was conducted to gather evidence in a diabolical plot. Under the cover of darkness – armed HHS agents (from their FDA), weapons drawn, swooped in upon the criminal element in their nefarious lair.

The criminal, the location and the offense? Amish farmer Daniel Allgyer, at his Rainbow Acres Farm for selling unpasteurized milk to people who wanted to buy it, across state lines. Fortunately, none of his 7 children were harmed during the raid as no resistance was offered.

The Washington Times has the report: Feds shut down Amish farm for selling fresh milk, spotted by Father Z.

Some random thoughts or bits of information are worthy of sharing but don’t warrant their own full post. This idea was started by Jennifer Fulwiler to address this blogging need, but is guest hosted this week by Hallie Lord at Betty Beguiles. So, some Fridays I too participate when I have accumulated 7 worthy items. Thank you Jen (and Hallie) for hosting this project!