Marijuana and History

"Take away God, all respect for civil laws, all regard for even the most necessary institutions disappears; justice is scouted; the very liberty that belongs to the law of nature is trodden underfoot; and men go so far as to destroy the very structure of the family, which is the first and firmest foundation of the social structure."

- St. Pius X, Jucunda Sane, March 12, 1904



“Marijuana use reduces learning ability. Research has been piling up of late demonstrating clearly that marijuana limits the capacity to absorb and retain information.”– American Council for Drug Education’s Basic Facts About Drugs: Marijuana

One does not have to do an exhaustive study to see that the use of marijuana over a period of many years brings on antipathy and indifference in a person. As well, I observe from those who I know to smoke marijuana that the inhibition that holds back anger is greatly lowered. Perhaps this is because marijuana diminishes a person’s ability to cope with the emotions within themselves by enabling them to hide behind a smoky, bittersweet cloud of “mellow” confusion and denial enhanced by the absence of short-term memory. But, what is most disturbing is the antipathy and indifference marijuana smokers have toward history and religion. What makes this even more dangerous is the fact that these people most likely are hard-core liberals who have been brainwashed into to hating anything and everything about Christianity, America, and European history. When I say brainwashed, I mean that marijuana mixed with liberalism, like meth, is the Pinesol of brain scrubbing!



The two events in history most hated by the pot-smoking southpaws (my term for leftists) are the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition. Tonight, I will focus on the Crusades.

In a recent university lecture, we students were told that Muhammad was an illiterate who received his revelations from an angel, that he went to Mecca to establish his religion there, was persecuted by the authorities ruling Mecca, went to Jerusalem, was caught up to Heaven and delivered back to Earth, moved his religion to Medina and received a whole lot of conversions to his religion. From there on, Islam spread to various parts of the Middle East: Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Palestine, Iraq, Turkey, and (of course) Arabia. But, there is something not being said in this lecture.

Given Islam’s general geographic location as the Middle East, most people ignorant of history assume that the Middle East was always Muslim. I grant that the Bedouins had roamed the region for centuries, but these people were largely indistinguishable (as far as I know) from the Jewish people, which they had branched off from


as being the children of Ishmael, the bastard son of Abraham and Agar. As interesting and heartwarming Ishmael’s story is, that is
a subject for another article. It wasn’t until Muhammad was visited by an “angel” that the relatively peaceful Bedouins were transformed into a warring people. From Muhammad –himself a warlord- to Arslan (Turk) to Saladin, the Muslims conquered the lands of the Middle East by force, especially by forced conversion, for these lands were Christian. One disturbing factor of the time period is that al-Farabi, a very literate philosopher who wrote on the origins of creation and the design of the universe, was banished from Islam, having been publicly admonished by ibn-Kalduhn who wrote that it was best to follow the illiterate Muhammad’s teachings and that reason and rationale had no place in the world of Islam. Hence, Islam continued to fall into the hands of warlords.

One of these warlords, as mentioned, was Saladin. Now, the great thing about military history is that one can admire the enemy leaders that one’s ancestors fought against. Though, Saladin was fighting for the other guys, his diplomatic and tactical genius is highly regarded among most, if not all, military historians. He was, in fact, the Muslim equivalent of the Confederate General “Stonewall” Jackson. Like Jackson during the Shenandoah Campaign, Saladin started out with a relatively small force and fought whenever advantageous. He then gained new recruits wherever he conquered by uniting his forces under on religion. That he could use enculturation as a diplomatic tool to gain recruits was a masterstroke. But, unlike "Stonewall," Saladin's men, feeling the effects of long seiges and the fatigue of war, asked to return home and leave the fight.

The Europeans:
The disparagement leveled at the European Crusaders -some, for good reason- I believe comes largely from the notion that somehow the Europeans were expected to have knowledge of the cultures of the Middle East in a time when there was no mass communication. This comes from the fallacy of seeing history through modern eyes. This is where I have a problem with marijuana use and the antipathy towards religion and history it creates.

Think for a moment on how the brain becomes susceptiple to coersion from the effects of marijuana. A user's state of mind becomes so feeble that it cannot comprehend reason. Rather, it relies on emotion. Therefore, a user cannot look at conflict and analyze it properly, but looks either away or past the conflict and focuses on some existential idea about peace. Don't get me wrong: I love peace and I hate war. But, how will we have peace if we cannot arguably guard against war, that is war thrust upon us? Indeed, when the Muslims invaded Christian countries, Chrisitianity had war thrust upon it. Therefore, the Crusaders from Europe saw this as an attack against them as well as an attack against countries like Lebanon and Syria.

Great Catholic Stuff

I have not written on this blog for quite some time, so I am probably not that popular. But, if you are reading this now, know that I will be posting quite a bit on St. Thomas Aquinas and his Summa Theologica.

Last week, I gave a presentation on the Five Ways of St. Thomas Aquinas at Malaspina University in Nanaimo, British Columbia. I am glad to say it was a great success for someone who was doing this kind of thing for the first time. All told, there were about twenty students and three professors.

Also, I have put a website on Mac called The Hafford Family Rosary. I will only be doing that site for sixty days, since it is a free trial. If I don't have to pay too much, then I might continue that one. Who knows!

The heroes of America's academic halls
Posted: April 23, 20071:00 a.m. Eastern
''Those who say that we're in a time when there are no heroes, just don't know where to look.''
– Ronald Reagan
On April 16, 1789, a hero left Virginia. His name was George Washington – a retired general who led the Continental Army in victory during the Revolutionary War. At 57, he left Mount Vernon for New York for his inauguration as the first American president.
On April 16, 2007, more heroes left Virginia. This time they were students and professors at Virginia Tech University – 32 to be exact. And like those on 9/11, they were martyrs in a war they weren't fighting – unintentional patriots caught in a head-on clash with our culture's values, denials and degradation.
What the families of the victims need most
Like the rest of the nation, my wife, Gena, and I sat stunned as we watched the television reports on what Virginia Tech University President Charles W. Steger called ''a tragedy of monumental proportions.''
We too join with the world community in praying for all the victims and their families. We also pray for the family of 23-year-old killer Cho Seung-Hui, who will bear a particularly haunting burden and unwanted brand for the rest of their lives. As the president of the National Clergy Council, Rev. Rob Schenck, recommended:
The best and only thing most of us can do for these victims is to offer our prayers for them and their families, mindful of St. Paul's prayer to ''the father of mercies and the God of all comfort.'' Prayer is not only a powerful healing agent in itself, but it sends a strong message of solidarity with these families.
Heroes from the holocaust to Norris hall
Most have heard by now of the heroic measures of people like 76-year-old Virginia Tech professor and Holocaust survivor, Liviu Librescu, who shielded his students when the shooter tried to enter a classroom. The Jerusalem Post cited his son Joe: "My father blocked the doorway with his body and asked the students to flee. Students started opening windows and jumping out." Librescu was killed by the gunman, and last Thursday he was given an honorable burial in Israel – one fit for a hero.
As one blog notes, there were several valiant students too.
During Monday's tragic shootings at Virginia Tech, college senior Kevin Sterne grabbed an electrical cord and fashioned a tourniquet to stem the bleeding from the bullet wounds to his thigh. Twenty-year-old Derek O'Dell, who had been shot in the arm, shut the classroom door and along with some other students, pushed himself against it so the gunman, who had briefly left the classroom, couldn't reenter. Twenty-year-old Trey Perkins used his clothing to staunch the wounds of bleeding classmates.
As time goes by, I'm sure that we will hear more heroic deeds. Truly, every victim of this reprehensible executioner is in some way heroic, for they were injured or died in the midst of a cultural war in which our schools increasingly have become a battleground. As Dr. Marisa Randazzo, a psychologist who contributed to an extensive study of school shootings for the Secret Service, concurred, ''... the intensity and frequency of the attacks have increased since the events at Columbine.''
Are we partially to blame?
Though one can point to Cho's own psychotic behavior and our graphic slasher media as potential contributors to his deplorable murder spree, we must also hesitate to consider how we as a society are possibly contributing to the growth of these academic killing fields. I believe those who wield the baton of the secular progressive agenda bear significant responsibility for the escalation of school shootings. Even conservatives who refuse to speak when evil flourishes must acknowledge some culpability.
(Column continues below)
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We teach our children they are nothing more than glorified apes, yet we don't expect them to act like monkeys. We place our value in things, yet expect our children to value people. We disrespect one another, but expect our children to respect others. We terminate children in the womb, but are surprised when children outside the womb terminate other children. We push God to the side, but expect our children to be godly. We've abandoned moral absolutes, yet expect our children to obey the universal commandment, ''Thou shalt not murder.''
Though I respect the Buddhist, Muslim and Jew who shared at the VTU convocation, our country needs to return and call out to the God of our founders, Jesus Christ. As Reverend Schenck concludes:
When kids kill kids, there's something desperately wrong in the culture. No amount of laws, police officers, courts or prisons can stop a murder from happening. Only a conscience built on the fear of God can do that. Whether it's teaching the sanctity of life or God's commandment against murder, Christian leaders must tell young people that accountability for doing wrong doesn't stop with death. We will ultimately face God as a righteous judge. People who contemplate committing this kind of act need to know that.
If we are ever to restore civility in our land and our schools, we must turn back the clocks to a time when such shocking crimes didn't even exist – when we valued life and respected one another much more then we do today. We must use the Bible (humanity's blueprint for life and ''bluebook'' for value) to retrain our youth about theirs and others' value as children of God, made in His image. We must each contribute to rebuild the infrastructure of our homes, schools, and society upon respect. Instilling strong moral character is at the heart of why I started Kickstart in schools across Texas and hope eventually to fill the schools across this land.
Heroes and models of hope
While psychologists and prognosticators will continue for months to use investigative probes to understand the whys of this mass slaughter, I'm very concerned we don't give another domestic act of terror an opportunity to intensify and even warrant our fears, hatred and bitterness.
I hope and pray, in due time, we personally can win the battle for our minds and hearts, like the Amish did when shooters came into their schools months ago and took their own. Rod Dreher, from the Dallas Morning News, wrote about how their faith brought them freedom, "But sometimes, faith helps ordinary men and women do the humanly impossible: to forgive, to love, to heal, and to redeem. It makes no sense. It is the most sensible thing in the world. The Amish have turned this occasion of spectacular evil into a bright witness to hope. Despite everything, a light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.''
Other great models of mercy and forgiveness are Darrell and Craig Scott, the father and brother of the first victim of the Columbine High School massacre, Rachel Scott. Shortly before her death, she wrote in a school essay, ''I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion then it will start a chain reaction of the same.''
I agree with Rachel, and so does her family, who carries on her compassion and benevolent dare through Rachel's Challenge, a nationwide school outreach program for the prevention of teen violence. I was so moved by her life and faith that I dedicated my autobiography, "Against All Odds," to her.
Like I'm sure some heroes at Virginia Tech, Rachel refused to compromise her faith in God, even in the face of death. This poem, written by her father, Darrell Scott, aptly describes the problems we face, and provides the answer, for those courageous enough to believe:
Your laws ignore our deepest needsYour words are empty airYou've stripped our heritage,You've outlawed simple prayerNow gunshots fill our classrooms,And precious children die.You seek for answers everywhere,And ask the question, ''Why?''You regulate restrictive laws,Through legislative creed,And you fail to understandThat God is what we need!
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Today's WND Highlights

News
Feds eye control of vitamins, supplements – even water!
American Airlines blocks WND as 'hate speech'
Police targeting urban marauders
Teamsters sue to halt Mexican truckers
Senores, start your engines!
Ethanol causes more smog?
Students punished for opposing 'gay' advocacy
Bible supporters refuse to surrender
Study: Religion good for children
Hamas: Cease-fire officially over
Olmert minimizing 'major Hamas attack'?
Tougher than Chuck Norris?
Commentary
Don't be judgmental - By Joseph Farah
Our God-given right of self-defense - By Judge Roy Moore
Bad day at Blacksburg - By Burt Prelutsky
Secret postal rate hike: Democracy at stake? - By Maralyn Lois Polak
Cho's massacre: University to blame - By Walter E. Williams
Aborted alive in the UK vs. U.S. - By Jill Stanek
Killings were 'evil,' not 'tragedy' - By Ben Shapiro

About Catholic movies tastes

Gibson's 'Passion' tops readers' list of 'pro-Catholic' filmsBy Catholic News ServiceNORTH HAVEN, Conn. (CNS) --

Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion of the Christ" topped a list of "pro-Catholic" films submitted by readers of Faith & Family magazine and the National Catholic Register newspaper.Readers of the two publications, both published by Circle Media in North Haven, sponsored an online poll, which garnered responses from more than 1,000 people, according to Father Owen Kearns, a priest of the Legionaries of Christ who is publisher of the two periodicals.An eight-member panel of critics was also asked to nominate what it felt were the most "anti-Catholic" movies.

The panel's top choice was last year's "The Order," a thriller about intrigue at the Vatican over an arcane medieval ritual known as "sin eating," a heretical rite by which a person takes on the sins of another.For readers to nominate a film for the pro-Catholic list, the poll guidelines stipulated that the film had to "explicitly show Catholic customs and beliefs and had to be unambiguously positive," according to a National Catholic Register editorial in the Aug. 8 issue. The editorial also pointed out that the poll was "unscientific."

"The Passion of the Christ" received more votes from readers than the next three films on the list combined: 1965's "The Sound of Music," 1966's "A Man for All Seasons" and 1943's "The Song of Bernadette."Rounding out the 10 most pro-Catholic movies were 1946's "It's a Wonderful Life," 1956's "The Ten Commandments," the 1983 made-for-TV movie "The Scarlet and the Black," the 1977 TV miniseries "Jesus of Nazareth," 1993's "Schindler's List," and 1945's "The Bells of St. Mary's."On the anti-Catholic list, with one exception, the worst films were the most recent.Following 2003's "The Order" were 2002's "The Magdalene Sisters" (released last year in the United States); the 2001 cable television production "Sister Mary Explains It All"; 2000's "Chocolat"; 1999's "Stigmata" and "Dogma"; 1998's "Elizabeth"; 1988's "The Last Temptation of Christ"; 1994's "Priest"; and 1985's "Agnes of God.""Look at the list of pro-Catholic movies, and you'll see some of the top-grossing movies of all times," the National Catholic Register editorial said.

"Look at the list of anti-Catholic movies, and you'll see films moviegoers largely rejected."Among the panelists choosing the anti-Catholic films were David DiCerto, a staff critic in the U.S. bishops' Office for Film & Broadcasting in New York, and Gerri Pare, who retired as the office's director this year after 14 years in the office.

Other panelists included Michael Medved, author of "Hollywood vs. America"; Father Mark Massa, author of "Anti-Catholicism in America"; Philip Jenkins, author of "The New Anti-Catholicism: The Last Acceptable Prejudice"; and Steven Greydanus, movie reviewer for the National Catholic Register and decentfilms.com.Also on the panel were William Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, and Robert Lockwood, general manager of the Pittsburgh Catholic diocesan newspaper and author of "Anti-Catholicism in American Culture."Of the anti-Catholic films on the panelists' list, six were classified O for morally objectionable by the U.S. bishops' Office for Film & Broadcasting. The office had given "Agnes of God," "Priest" and "Elizabeth" A-IV classifications, for adults, with reservations -- indicating films that, while not morally offensive in themselves, are not for casual viewing because they require some analysis and explanation to avoid false impressions and interpretations.

Because "Sister Mary Explains It All" was made for cable TV, it was not classified for its moral suitability.Five of the pro-Catholic films were given A-I classifications, for general patronage, by the film office: "The Sound of Music," "A Man for All Seasons," "The Song of Bernadette," "The Ten Commandments" and "The Bells of St. Mary's.""It's a Wonderful Life" was classified A-II, for adults and adolescents. "The Passion of the Christ" and "Schindler's List" were classified A-III, for adults. The TV productions "Jesus of Nazareth" and "The Scarlet and the Black" were not classified."A Man for All Seasons," "It's a Wonderful Life" and "Schindler's List" also made the Pontifical Council for Social Communications' list of the top 45 films of the century deemed to have special artistic and religious merit. The list was issued in 1995 to mark the 100th anniversary of cinema.END

Copyright (c) 2004 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service.

Cleaning Out My Computer

I am cleaning out my computer this month. I will be posting some interesting stuff I found on the internet over the past years or so. I tend to be a packrat when it comes to internet articles. But, I will be posting them on The Handsome American, The Handsome American 2, and Blogging With Buzzay.

Bye.

Last Night...

Carissa and I got together with people from our new neighborhood at a place in downtwn Courtenay called "Billy D's." Billy D's is a great sports pub. I highly recomend it.

Most of our neighbors have kids about the same age as our daughter (I have a problem giving her name out on a blog). Our neighbors are awesome. I think Carissa and I will have many new friends. Life should always be this good.

By the way, we are considering going to Arizona for Christmas, which would mean postponing a family reunion we are planning. the reunion we are planning is for my nephews and nieces. But, we are going to wait and see if my brother and his family go ahead with a plan to build a ranch in Texas next year. If that be thecase, then I think we woulsd ask to have the reunion there. As for a possible Christmas in AZ, Carissa would love it. She has said she wants to see Arizona in the Winter...and NOT the Summer, ever again! Okay time to eat. Bye!

Check out "Blogging With Buzzay."

History

Over the course of the past month I sold a ton of old books to a used book store here in Courtenay. The store only gives credit so I decided to get other books with that. The ones I got are:

1) Treason -Ann Coulter
2) Inside Al Qaeda -Mohamed Sifaoui
3) The Great War at Sea -A. A. Hoehling
(WW1)
4) Queen of the Flat-Tops -Stanley Johnston
(WW2, USS Lexington)
5) Lightning Strike -Donald A. Davis (different store)
(WW2, the plan to kill Admiral Yamamoto and avenge Pearl harbor)
6) The Ghosts of Medak Pocket -Carol Off
(Balkans, Canadian Army)
7) In Harm's Way -Doug Stanton
(WW2, USS Indianapolis, cruiser)
8) The Great Battles of World War One -Wren
(given by a friend)
9) A Military History of Canada -Desmond Morton

Green titles in italics are books I am currently reading or have already read. I just needed to blog and update real quick. Have a fun weekend. Mr. Heiner, enjoy the Mass on USS Carolina.

My comment on an old video of Limbaugh

Rush Limbaugh is brilliant. The man puts himself out there, knowing he is going to get a verbal scourging, to prove to the rest of us that liberals cannot communicate without letting their emotions getting the best of them. Analogy: In Star Trek, who is always right: Spock or McCoy? Spock, of course. He uses cold hard facts and logic. Spock would be against abortion because it is not logical to kill off one's own species. McCoy, on the other hand, lets his emotions get the best of him. Now, Kirk listens to Spock, but he almost never listens to McCoy except when he needs the Doctors professional help...not his opinion which, by the way, Dr. McCoy was always spouting. When faced with Klingons and Romulans vowing to destroy or enslave Earth, who is Kirk going to listen to: the coolest, calmest head in the room or the guy figuratively frothing at the mouth with his eyes bulging out? This is Limbaughs point: liberals are illogical and their arguments have no logic. You see, liberalism is inheritantly selfish because it rejects God and his Ten Commandments and the Great Commandment. Are these Divine Laws mere works of art for our musing, suggestions for mediocre consideration? No, they are for our survival.

In an old video of Limbaugh I found on YouTube.com, Limbaugh sits in for Pat Sajack back in the early nineties during Sajack's brush with late-night talk. In so doing, Limbaugh comes face-to-face with some really mad and sly liberals who worship the ground Satan walks on who get in his face and proceed to lose all sense of dignity and decorum. Mr. Limbaugh, to his credit, calmly and genuinely engages these people in the audience, all the whil remaining dignified and keeping his cool. To see it for yourself, go to YouTube.com and look for Limbaughs spot on Sajack. You know, it kind of rreminds of when the Devil rebelled against God: Lucifer must have looked like a real fool while the Holy Trinity kept His composure. The only difference between the two events is that, while the audience was made to leave before the end of Limbaugh's apperance, two thirds of Heaven remained and have been steadfast with Our Lord since time immemorial. While Limbaugh may not be God, he certainly acted as Our Lored did...calmly and with authority.

A Shout Out for "Ecclesia Romana"

ECCLESIA ROMANA

ECCLESIA ROMANA is the best new Catholic site on Blogger.

Undercurrent Pt. 1

When Americans look back on the Fifties and Sixties, we view those two decades in different shades of rose tinted glasses: white roses for the Fifties; blood red roses for the Sixties and Seventies.

In the Fifties, Dwight Eisenhower was President and everybody said, "I Like Ike!" Rock and Roll was young and catchy. The cars had fins: some big, some small. We rightly feared the Russians, but went about our business and enjoyed the most healthy economy we had ever witnessed. Oh, and we just won WWII. Also, the Roman Catholic Church in America was still celebratring the Tridentine Mass and honoring the Holy Father, Pope Pius XII. But, underneath this sweet and idyllic venere flowed a river of treason and moral corruption. That river is called The Beatnik.

The Beatnik has a few estuaries, most notably The Hippy which branches off and flows right through the Sixties and Seventies. Humor aside, we view the Sixties and Seventies through the blood-red shades of Vietnam and the Counter-Culture. Michael J. Matt's "Gods of Wasteland" briefly addresses the Soviet program of menticide-"the lethal psychological process that leads to 'suicide of the mind." In it, Matt quotes Dr. David A. Noebel:

"...the Communist Conspiracy conducts a scientifically planned attack on the human mind on many levels with techniques adapted to the circumstances. It is true that methods vary in this field, but the object is the same-to create a sick mind." -(The Marxist Minstrels, American Christian College Press, 1974)

I do not need to contrast the decades of Rock with the decades of Jazz or the centuries of Classical as it is already very clear to the general public. But, the understanding of such a contrast differs between the older and younger generations: the older generations readily recognize the sickness of Rock while the younger generations dismiss such notions as manifestations of fear, ignorance, and intolerance. The younger generations are actually conned into believing that Rock is a sort of social vaccination against the visible evils of the world: maybe if I go to a Marilyn Manson concert and watch "MM" slice himself with a razor, maybe I won't have a problem watching a slasher movie anymore or; if I watch enough of 80's MTV, maybe watching some American Indian guy dressed like "Billy Jack" jumping off a cliff and flying like a bird in a Pink Floyd video will cure me of vertigo, then I could stand on my tippy-toes at the edge of Grand Canyon, paying no mind to the loose gravel there. I am not saying that this is what people think, but it is eventually what happens: people find themselves doing or saying things that they would not otherwise entertain. Ideas get distorted and egos become inflated. An excellent depiction of this can be found in the movie, "The Emperor's Club."

The Emperor's Club is about a prep-school teacher whose life becomes complicated when a new and disruptive pupil is introduced to his class. This student is the proto-typical revolutionary. When the teacher tries to instill morality and critical thinking in his students, this one pupil challenges him at every turn. One example is when the teacher has his students reading Julius Caesar aloud. The revolutionary reads the part of Brutus with complete disregard to the characters remorse of his killing of the Emperor, then proclaims that Brutus was a weakling and that Cassius -having no remorse- should have proclaimed himself Emperor. The teacher is totally taken aback by this student's complete willingness to embrace amoral absolutes.

The parts of this movie that explain the students ruthelessness -and his dishonesty during an academic contest- are his strained and distant realtionship with his father and the cache of porn magazines under his bed: true marks of the Cultural Revolution; the disconnected father who made his career in the Fifties and the son's anti-morality rebellion of the early Sixties.

Rock has always addressed and promoted these symptoms with mantra's like Don't trust anyone over thirty...especially since the one's over thirty are the ones who are responsible for the education of those under thirty. Ironically, those socialists who told youngin's back in the late Fifties and Sixties to not trust anyone over thirty are now themselves ancient...and way over thirty. So, given their Communist ideals and their standing orders, I am obliged to obey -in the spirit of our new Counter-Revolution- and not trust bearers of grey pony-tails on the fast track to retirement and dementia.

***

Fast forward to the Twenty-first Century where such social conservative icons as Rush Limbaugh use Rock music in their program intros. This past month, I ran across an article in National Review Online by John J. Miller titled, Rockin' the Right: The 50 greatest conservative rock songs. I almost fell out of my chair as read this unbelievable article. Here, I will address Mr. Miller's article and disect it. My comments will be italicized and marked THA2.

(Disclaimer: I like some of these songs, so you will see me agreeing with some of their premises.

However, keep in mind what the Rock lifestyle has done to these people.

That is my angle.)

***

Rockin' the Right: The 50 greatest conservative rock songs.

By John J. Miller

EDITOR’S NOTE: This week on NRO, we’ve been rolling out the first five and now all 50 songs from a list John J. Miller compiled that appears in the June 5 issue of National Review . Here’s a look at #1 and get the whole list—complete with purchasing links—here.

On first glance, rock ’n’ roll music isn’t very conservative. It doesn’t fare much better on second or third glance (or listen), either. Neil Young has a new song called “Let’s Impeach the President.” Last year, the Rolling Stones made news with “Sweet Neo Con,” another anti-Bush ditty. For conservatives who enjoy rock, it isn’t hard to agree with the opinion Johnny Cash expressed in “The One on the Right Is on the Left”: “Don’t go mixin’ politics with the folk songs of our land / Just work on harmony and diction / Play your banjo well / And if you have political convictions, keep them to yourself.” In other words: Shut up and sing.

But some rock songs really are conservative — and there are more of them than you might think. Last year, I asked readers of National Review Online to nominate conservative rock songs. Hundreds of suggestions poured in. I’ve sifted through them all, downloaded scores of mp3s, and puzzled over a lot of lyrics. What follows is a list of the 50 greatest conservative rock songs of all time, as determined by me and a few others. The result is of course arbitrary, though we did apply a handful of criteria.What makes a great conservative rock song? The lyrics must convey a conservative idea or sentiment, such as skepticism of government or support for traditional values. And, to be sure, it must be a great rock song. We’re biased in favor of songs that are already popular, but have tossed in a few little-known gems. In several cases, the musicians are outspoken liberals. Others are notorious libertines. For the purposes of this list, however, we don’t hold any of this against them. Finally, it would have been easy to include half a dozen songs by both the Kinks and Rush, but we’ve made an effort to cast a wide net. Who ever said diversity isn’t a conservative principle?

So here are NRO’s top 50 conservative rock songs of all time. Go ahead and quibble with the rankings, complain about what we put on, and send us outraged letters and e-mails about what we left off. In the end, though, we hope you’ll admit that it’s a pretty cool playlist for your iPod.

1. “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” by The Who. ; The conservative movement is full of disillusioned revolutionaries; this could be their theme song, an oath that swears off naïve idealism once and for all. “There’s nothing in the streets / Looks any different to me / And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye. . . . Meet the new boss / Same as the old boss.” The instantly recognizable synthesizer intro, Pete Townshend’s ringing guitar, Keith Moon’s pounding drums, and Roger Daltrey’s wailing vocals make this one of the most explosive rock anthems ever recorded — the best number by a big band, and a classic for conservatives.

THA2: Read these lyrics carefully! The Who are basically saying that there are no real differences between those in power. Example: Bill Clinton pushed for acceptance of homosexuality in the armed forces. The current Bush administration recently OK'd funding for NGO's supporting homo rights at theUN. As for Roger Daltry, this is the man who, many years ago on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, jumped up on Lenos desk, stomped on it, and smashed it to pieces...with Leno still sitting behind it. Sorry Roger, you are not going to be my children's role model!

2. “Taxman,” by The Beatles. A George Harrison masterpiece with a famous guitar riff (which was actually played by Paul McCartney): “If you drive a car, I’ll tax the street / If you try to sit, I’ll tax your seat / If you get too cold, I’ll tax the heat / If you take a walk, I’ll tax your feet.” The song closes with a humorous jab at death taxes: “Now my advice for those who die / Declare the pennies on your eyes."

THA2: I have the Stevie Ray Vaughan version of this song. Admittedly, the lyrics strike a cord with me, as I assume it would with most Americans. Let us not forget, however, that George Harrison and Paul McCartney were members of The Beatles...the band John Lennon claimed was bigger than God, talked about a revolution, and told us to imagine a world without God.

3. “Sympathy for the Devil,” by The Rolling Stones. ; Don’t be misled by the title; this song is The Screwtape Letters of rock. The devil is a tempter who leans hard on moral relativism — he will try to make you think that “every cop is a criminal / And all the sinners saints.” What’s more, he is the sinister inspiration for the cruelties of Bolshevism: “I stuck around St. Petersburg / When I saw it was a time for a change / Killed the czar and his ministers / Anastasia screamed in vain."

THA2: I have only heard this song in passing and the notion of it being another Screwtape Letters is interesting, but given The Rolling Stones reported fascination with Allister Crowley and the image of Mick Jagger wearing a pentagram (which I have seen), I don't think The Rolling Candidates for the Geriatric Ward had the Christian intentions C.S. Lewis did when he wrote the real book, The Screwtape Letters.

4. “Sweet Home Alabama,” by Lynyrd Skynyrd. ; A tribute to the region of America that liberals love to loathe, taking a shot at Neil Young’s Canadian arrogance along the way: “A Southern man don’t need him around anyhow."

THA2: It is true that America definitely does not need a liberal Canadian socialist telling us what to do. Canada is the last place on Earth that should dictate to anyone on morality and civil freedoms. However, America does not need to be told by Lynyrd Skynyrd that Watergate is no less a crime than venial sins or petty theft. Watergate was a tremendous crime that rocked a nation to it's core because of the ensuing scandal and the breech of trust by the President. This is known as a mortal sin which saw little or no repentence from the parties involved. Still, I like the down-home feeling of Sweet Home Alabama.

5. “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” by The Beach Boys. ; Pro-abstinence and pro-marriage: “Maybe if we think and wish and hope and pray it might come true / Baby then there wouldn’t be a single thing we couldn’t do / We could be married / And then we’d be happy."

THA2: I don't know a whole lot about The Beach Boys. They seem pretty harmless. But, then I guess that's what the Soviets wanted: introduce a cotton-candy kind of music that puts unrealistic expectations of marriage in the minds of young people so when those expectations are not met, there's always divorce. In comparison, Jazz -not without it's own sins- often tells a more honest tale of love and marriage. If you want to hear a great song about what a real family is like, listen to Nat King Cole's, "That Sunday, That Summer."

6. “Gloria,” by U2. ; Just because a rock song is about faith doesn’t mean that it’s conservative. But what about a rock song that’s about faith and whose chorus is in Latin? That’s beautifully reactionary: “Gloria / In te domine / Gloria / Exultate."

THA2: I have never heard this song, but I have a few reasons to avoid U2. Again, I love their music, but what I like does not matter compared to what is expected of me as Christian. Remember that U2 went through their cross-dressing period during "Achtung Baby." Also, in a recent interview, Bono spoke of a song called "Wild Irish Rose" which he wrote/re-wrote and how he was able to "wonderfully subvert" the Irish folk-style. For him, I am sure that it was an artistic expression. The trouble with U2 is that they borrow pretty directly from the Beatniks with Bono's very poetic bent. Then again, poetry has always been a huge part of Irish tradition. In their attitude towards society and the Papacy, I think there is more hope for U2 and it's members than any other Rock band out there. But, then again, we are most likely talking about a band of Pied Pipers. U2 may very well be menticide at it's deadliest.

LifeSite.com Interview with Cardinal George Pell of Australia Pt.1

This is part 1 of 3 in an interview with Australian Cardinal George Pell when he gave a commencemnet speech at Christendom College. This is from LifeSite.com.

Cardinal Pell on Sexual Abuse Scandal: "Obviously Connected with Problem of Homosexuality"
Homosexuality: "We've got to see that this is not tolerated amongst clergy and religious orders"


By John Jalsevac

FRONT ROYAL, VA, May 18, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Australia's Cardinal George Pell, was in Front Royal, Virginia over the weekend celebrating Mass and giving the Commencement address at Christendom College. LifeSiteNews.com interviewed the Australian Church leader at the college last Friday. LifeSiteNews.com will publish in three parts, the content of that interview beginning with today's instalment.

LifeSiteNews: Recently the church has seen corruption enter into its own walls in the form of the sex abuse scandals. What do you think the root of that problem has been, and how does it relate to the culture at large? Do you think that the culture at large has played a big factor in that, or is it just a separate problem in and of itself?

Cardinal Pell: "Human nature is always weak, but I do believe that the problem has been worsened considerably because of the moral confusion in society: the weakening of the faith, the absence of clear moral lines.

"As you know most of the abuse, at least in the English speaking world, that is most of the clerical abuse, is not in the strictest terms pedophilia, but what's called ephebophilia, and that is with young fellows as adolescents after puberty. And what is significantly different, which you would also probably be aware, is that 80% of the abuse is with young boys. So I mean it's obviously connected with the problem of homosexuality.

"I also think it's connected remotely with false views of conscience, where people come to think that all truth is relative, and that you can choose for yourself, especially when the pressure is on. It's not too difficult to deceive yourself morally. That's especially true in matters of sexuality. Of course now there's a very organized push to entice people into the world of active homosexuality.
"All these factors have impinged on the Church life, and made it more difficult. I think we've made very, very considerable strides in addressing the problem of pedophilia. But we've also got to be aware that we don't allow problems to develop with homosexuality just between adults within the church. We've got to see that this is not tolerated amongst clergy and religious orders."







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Traditio in Radice: Traditio in Radice: One Year Old Today

Traditio in Radice: Traditio in Radice: One Year Old Today
A friend of Stephen Heiner's is friend of mine. Check it out.

You Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Angry!

By Bart Hafford


Is it just me or is the media really trying to spin the supposed insigificance of protests against the Da Vinci Code? Is it just me or does nobody really give a damn about Our Lord anymore?The Liberal media would have us believe such a sad thing. But, rest assured, those of us who do believe in Our Lord and Our Lady strongly believe that the money made fromThe Da Vinci Code over the weekend is but glittering dust. On Judgment Day, Almighty God is not going to be concerned with how much money Ron Howard made, but that Catholics gave him money for blaspheming Our Lord. Has not anyone heard Pope Benefdict XVI, Cardinal Arinze, and Cardinal Amato all say to boycott, protest, and sue everything and everyone who has their hand in the making of The Da Vinci Code?

The Catholic organization known as TFP (Tradition, Family, Property) got the ball rolling when word got out that Sony was producing a film version of the Dan Brown novel, The Da Vinci Code. TFP's influence in the fight against the blasphemy has been the most influential. As of the other night, 1156 protests have been held all across America and Canada with many others held across the world.

Today, I went on the Free Republic and was astounded at what I found. An article was posted on Mel Gibson's condemnation of The Da Vinci Code. Now, keep in mind that Mel Gibson, as a Traditional Roman Catholic, voiced his disapproval of President Bush in another article, that Gibson saw an analogy between Bush and the story line of his new film, Apocalypto. The reaction to that article in people's responses left me wondering something: who do they think is going to be sitting on the Throne of Judgment, God or "W?" As a Catholic who happens to be American, I am not afraid to stand up for the President when he deserves it, nor am I afraid to condemn his policies that need condemning.

In retrospect, I wonder if some of the people posting on Free Republic were in fact liberals and satanists bent on turning Christians against eachother. That is, after all, the devil's MO. If that be the case, then Free Republic needs a few moderators. And, YES, I am angry...VERY ANGRY!!!

TrueRestoration.com

TrueRestoration.com

This is a very well written and intelligent blog for Traditional Roman Catholics!

TOMORROW, WE FIGHT!

Tomorrow, I lead a protest against the The Da Vinci Code movie. I have heard the news that this blasphemous film has already tanked at Cannes. I have read that Ron Howard is not too happy about this. This shows me that not only are God's Children protesting, but HEAVEN ITSELF IS PROTESTING!!! And to think that I was amazed, disappointed, and angry the the Bishop Gagnon of Victoria, Fr. Derek of St. Peters in Nanaimo, and the mall manager of Rutherford Mall in Nanaimo all said that they would not support or ALLOW the protest to take place. When Christ asks them why they did not defend His Divinity against Ron Howard, Dan Brown, Tom Hanks and their gang, I HOPE THEY HAVE A REALLY GOOD ANSWER!!! I am not passing judgment on their eternity, just on their Catholicism...and their turpitude...and their cowardice...and their hostility to Our Lord and Our Lady.

Okay, okay! Let me back up a bit. Bishop Gagnon's secretary said the Bishop did not want to incur anymore litigation by the United States (he's being sued by the Diocese of Seattle.) Fr. Derek of Nanaimo said he supports his bishop. Now, I don't fault Fr. Derek for his loyalty. Loyalty is a great quality. But, Fr. Derek, as a pastor, does NOT need permission from his bishop to lead a prayerful protest against a movie from Hollyweird. As for the nameless Rutherford Mall Manager, he claims that the The Passion of the Christ depicted, or referred to, Our Lord as a homosexual. Not true. I think the guy was confused and meant The Last Temptation of Christ. He ranted raved that nobody protested that film nor Fahrenheit 9/11. Well, perhaps they did not protest those films in Canada (where I live), but these most filthy, lie-filled pieces of trash were absolutely protested all over the United States of America.

I am glad and proud to say that many Canadians now are waking up and defending Our Catholic Faith tomorrow. Heaven is on our side. Our Lady of Victory and her angels will be protesting as well. Just think of St. Michael protesting...with his sword!:)

God Bless All the Protestors against The Da Vinci Code world wide.
John B. Hafford

Whose God May We Mock?

By Patrick J. Buchanan


If "such lies and errors had been directed at the Quran or the Holocaust," said Archbishop Angelo Amato, the Vatican's secretary for the congregation for the doctrine of the faith, "they would have justly provoked a world uprising."

The archbishop was speaking of "The Da Vinci Code," the Ron Howard film that debuts at Cannes and opens worldwide this week, and is expected to gross $500 million by summer's end.

The archbishop's point is undeniable. Blasphemous cartoons of the Prophet with a bomb in his turban, published a few months ago in a Danish newspaper and reprinted on the front pages of Europe's major papers, ignited demonstrations in Muslim communities across Europe and violent and deadly riots across the Islamic world.

Leaders friendly to the West, from Egypt to Afghanistan, felt compelled to denounce the cartoons, as did many in the West, as a provocation and insult to the faith of a billion people.

In the 1990s, the British novelist Salman Rushdie spent years in hiding after Ayatollah Khomeini issued a "fatwa" calling for his killing for publishing the blasphemous "Satanic Verses."

In the 1970s, the film "Muhammad," starring Anthony Quinn, was pulled from many U.S. theaters after bomb threats. The film had offended Muslim faithful by showing the face of Muhammad.

Last February, British historian David Irving, whose books on World War II have sold in the millions, was convicted in an Austrian court of Holocaust denial and sentenced to three years in prison. His crime: In two speeches in Austria in 1989, Irving asserted there were no gas chambers at Auschwitz. Though he recanted in court, it did not save him. Prosecutors felt his sentence was too light.

Karen Pollock of Great Britain's Holocaust Education Trust applauded the verdict: "Holocaust denial is anti-Semitism dressed up as intellectual debate. It should be regarded as such and treated as such." In nine countries of Europe, Holocaust denial is a crime. In the United States, to deny the Holocaust happened or suggest that it has been exaggerated is not a crime, but marks one down as a social leper.

If you would know who wields cultural power, ask yourself: Whom is it impermissible to offend? Thus the hoopla attending the release of "The Da Vinci Code," based on the Dan Brown novel that has sold 7 million copies in the United States, tells us something about whose God it is permissible to mock and whose faith one is allowed to assault. For what "The Da Vinci Code" says is that Roman Catholicism is a gigantic fraud, that the church has for centuries been perpetrating a monstrous hoax, duping hundreds of millions into believing something it knows is a bald-faced lie. At the novel's heart lies the contention that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married, that they had a daughter, that the Vatican has known this and been hiding the descendants of Jesus, that Opus Dei is a secret order whose agents will engage in murder to protect the secret. Leonardo da Vinci's painting "The Last Supper" is said to hold the secret, as Jesus is portrayed touching the hand of the youngest apostle, John, who holds the place of honor at his side - and who is, on close inspection, Mary Magdalene. In Catholic teaching and tradition, the Holy Grail is the chalice that contained the blood of Jesus. In the book, the Holy Grail is Mary Magdalene, carrying the flesh and blood of Jesus in her womb.

If "The Da Vinci Code" is based upon facts, no other conclusion follows than that to be a Catholic is either to be in on this fraud or to be the dupe of those perpetuating it. But if it is fiction, why would Hollywood put out so viciously anti-Catholic a film that can only have the effect of undermining the faith of millions of Christians? Putting "The Da Vinci Code" on film, with what it alleges about the Catholic Church, is the moral equivalent of making a movie based on the "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" and implying this is the truth about the Jewish plot to control the world. One imagines Ron Howard and Tom Hanks would take a pass on that script.

Like the "Hitler's Pope" smear of Pius XII, a man who did more than any other to save the Jews in World War II, "The Da Vinci Code" is a Big Lie that, though readily refuted by the facts, will be believed. But that it will be a box-office smash, that it is the subject of lavish praise in the press, that it is the best-selling novel of the 21st century, tells us we live not just in a post-Christian era, but in an anti-Catholic culture not worth defending or saving, for it is truly satanic.



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Pat Buchanan's newest book, "Where the Right Went Wrong," reveals why America is being led to disaster ... and how to save our country. "Death of the West" warns of cataclysmic shifts in world power. If you'd rather order by phone, call WND's toll-free customer service line at 1-800-4WND-COM (1-800-496-3266).


Pat Buchanan was twice a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination and the Reform Party's candidate in 2000. He is also a founder and editor of The American Conservative. Now a political analyst for MSNBC and a syndicated columnist, he served three presidents in the White House, was a founding panelist of three national TV shows, and is the author of seven books.