Pot Poses Real Danger to Society

Recent study shows "scientific data and the actual dangers of marijuana, and the negative stories coming out of Colorado and Washington State since those states legalized marijuana."  The article continued:

"The science is clear and unambiguous – pot is a dangerous substance. It is not like alcohol at all. There is a reason it is classified as a Schedule Icontrolled dangerous substance, right along with heroin, LSD and ecstasy. The American Medical Association, the American Lung Association and other reputable doctors and scientists all reject legalization.  

As Dr. Kevin Sabet, former senior advisor to President Obama’s drug policy office, states in his book “Reefer Sanity ‘Seven Great Myths About Marijuana,” the average strength of today’s marijuana is five to six times what it was in the 1960s and 1970s, and upwards of 10 to 20 times stronger than in the past.

Even the liberal editorial pages of The Washington Post urged voters not to legalize pot in the ballot initiative this past Nov. 4. The Post noted that “the rush to legalize marijuana gives us – and we hope voters – serious pause.”

The data coming out of Colorado is exhibit A on why voters should reject legalization efforts. Even the Democratic governor of Colorado, John Hickenlooper, said that legalizing marijuana in Colorado was “reckless.” As I have written at Heritage, pot-positive traffic fatalities have gone up100 percent since voters legalized pot in Colorado. This is true despite the fact that overall traffic fatalities in Colorado have gone down since 2007.

A report by a federal grant-funded agency in Colorado found seven specific negative side effects that pot legalization has caused in Colorado:

1) the majority of DUI drug arrests involve marijuana;

2) youth consumption of marijuana has increased;

3) drug-related suspensions/expulsions increased 32 percent over a 5-year period and a majority was for marijuana;

4) an increase in college users;

5) almost 50 percent of Denver arrestees tested positive for marijuana;

6) marijuana-related emergency room visits increased 57 percent from 2011-2013; and

7) marijuana-related hospitalizations has increased 82 percent since 2008.

Perhaps people are also aware of new scientific studies pointing to the inherent dangers of marijuana. For example, the British health research journal The Lancet Psychiatry recently concluded that teens who smoke marijuana are “also 60 percent less likely to graduate college and seven times more likely to attempt suicide.”

Others have picked up on the recent findings by the Journal of Addiction from Kings College London that found that marijuana is highly addictive, causes mental health problems and is a gateway drug to other illegal and dangerous drugs. That report found that regular adolescent marijuana users have lower educational attainment than non-using peers, that they were more likely to use other illegal drugs, the use produced intellectual impairment, that use doubled the risk of being diagnosed with schizophrenia, and increased the risk of heart attacks in middle-aged adults."

Calamities Befall Oklahoma After Black Mass

A series of bad events have befallen Oklahoma following its black mass which is not a religious practice, but rather a MOCKERY of the Roman Catholic form of worship - the source and summit of the Christian life.  Their act of provocation shoves a finger into the eye of Christ and to His Church - the Mass is EXCLUSIVELY Catholic.  The stunt, pulled on public property at the Oklahoma City Civic Center, attracted 40 attendees while hundreds gathered outside to protest.  Now that the evil deed was done we will begin to see the calamities that befall Oklahoma, just as we saw in Oregon after its gay marriage ruling HERE, already starting with a beheading from a disgruntled muslim.  More is sure to come.

September 21: Black mass is held in the Oklahoma City Civic Center despite the widespread outcry.

September 25: Moore, OK: Islamist beheads coworker and attacks another.


September 26: Tragedy on Oklahoma freeway.  Prayers and condolences to the families of this terrible accident.  A portion of I-35's southbound direction was closed for several hours following the accident, which Hampton said was one of the most severe he's seen in his career.

UPDATE

September 28: Just 3 hours away from black mass ground zero, Oklahoma City, the deadly disease ebola suddenly appears causing widespread scare around the region.

UPDATE

October 15: Ebola sickens 3, killing one just 3 hours away from the black mass.  Fears of this high mortality disease (>70%) spreading into a pandemic grows. 

On a Lighter Note: Boy Gives Foul Ball to Girl

Love the commentary from the announcers:

Modern Country Music Has Become Country-Sleaze

From sleazy "songs" like "I'm here for the party" to "My Eyes", country music has gone raunchy white trash on us.  Getting tired of the garbage coming out of Nashville of late?  You're not alone.  Country legend Merle Haggard had this to say:

“I've gotta be honest, I don't really listen to the radio at all anymore,” Haggard explained to News Observer. “Once in a while, I'll scan it and I don't understand what they're doing. I can't find the entertainment in it.” 

Haggard furthers that modern country music lacks “substance,” something he’s valued since he got started. “I know these guys, occasionally play shows with them and they're all good people. But I wonder if that record they're making is something they can actually do,” the legend says. “Too much boogie boogie wham-bam and not enough substance.”

Just take the lyrics from the first three lines of the No. 1 country hit right now: "Burnin' It Down":

You slip your finger through the tear in my t-shirtYou stirrin' up dirty in the back of my mindYou keep on flirtin' cause you know that it's workin'

. . . then it only gets worse from there.

Or how about the No. 2 country hit right now: "That's My Kind of Night" with these lyrics:

You got that sun tan skirt and boots,Waiting on you to look my way and scoot,Your little hot self over here,Girl hand me another beer, yeah!

Or No. 3:

Damn pretty girl,You went and done it again.Ya gone and turned your sexy all the way up to 10.I never seen a ride seat,Looking so hot.Baby you rock,Hit the spot,Like a Fireball shot.

No. 4:

Hey girl, you make me wanna drive you home,Get you outta here and get you all alone.

. . . and blah, blah, blah . . . one more mention of 'girl' or 'baby', and, well "I guess I'll just go all country-crazy."  When noble principles of traditional family values get eschewed for the zeitgeist, it can only go downhill.  And since "Friends in Low Places", country music has done exactly that.

Obama: The Grinch Who Stole America

Obama has been likened to an imperialist, an oligarch, or just a communist.  I like to call him the Grinch.  The facial resemblance of Obama to the Grinch is uncanny.  But even more so is Obama's behavior.  Promise after promise, statement after statement, lie after lie, Obama is covering his true colors with a masquerade of words.  He couldn't have possibly won in 2008 revealing his true identity or his agenda. Obama was so vague in his positions, that he appeared to Americans as a blank canvas that Americans painted their own personal portrayal of him, all different, that looked appealing to the beholder with the paintbrush.  Obama knew better than to reveal the true portrait of himself to Americans so he made up the vague persona of the candidate who would be America's fix-all.  Obama needed to masquerade as this because he is part of a repulsive radical left charade to dismantle the final fibers of America that is keeping it united and recognizable - to itself and to the world.  Would America have voted for this repulsiveness?  Absolutely not.  Does America deserve better?  Yes and no.  One thing is for certain: for America's crimes against the moral fabric of our nation, beginning with the family, beginning with the destruction of human life in the womb and ending with gay marriage, in a way America does deserve punishment - and Obama is God's punishment to America.

"The Grinch had been caught by this little Who daughter
Who'd got out of bed for a cup of cold water.  She stared at the Grinch and said, "Santy Claus, why,

"Why are you taking our Christmas tree? WHY?" 

But, you know, that old Grinch was so smart and so slick
He thought up a lie, and he thought it up quick!

"Why, my sweet little tot," the fake Santy Claus lied,
"There's a light on this tree that won't light on one side.
"So I'm taking it home to my workshop, my dear.
"I'll fix it up there. Then I'll bring it back here." 

And his fib fooled the child. Then he patted her head
And he got her a drink and he sent her to bed.
And when Cindy-Lou-Who went to bed with her cup,
HE went to the chimney and stuffed the tree up!

Then the last thing he took
Was the log for their fire.
Then he went up the chimney himself, the old liar.
On their walls he left nothing but hooks, and some wire."

- Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Notre Dame's Delusional Popularity Contest

Today, Tuesday, July 22, 2014, a Rasmussen Poll found

that voters strongly believe the United States is a more divided nation these days.  Most are also ready to do something about it at the ballot box in November.

Sixty-seven percent (67%) of Likely U.S. Voters say America is a more divided nation than it was four years ago. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just seven percent (7%) think the country is less divided now

Notre Dame should take note, since they were the ones most deluded into the "healing" magic of Obama.  It appears that the luck of the Irish is not with Father Jenkins.  Father Jenkins needs to be crawling to the American Catholic Church on hands and knees begging forgiveness for attempting to delude Americans into his twisted way of thinking.

"Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls before the swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and rend you" (Matt. 7:6)

FLASHBACK:

May 2009

Father Jenkins, President of Notre Dame University, believes in the enchanting magic of Obama. We look no further than his recent aggrandizing statements exalting the President with great bows of glowing praise. Entranced by Obama, Father Jenkins made these lofty statements on Obama's lucky "rainbow magic" without citing proof of even one accomplishment as evidence:

"inspiring this nation to heal its divisions of religion, culture, race and politics in the audacious hope for a brighter tomorrow." (1) 

"Mr. Obama has been a healer" (4)

Where is the evidence that earns Obama such words of adulation? This, and Fr. Jenkins' intent to dignify Obama with the tribute of an honorary degree (making Obama only the 9th President in the university's 164 year old history to be elevated with such an honor) you'd think Fr. Jenkins and his staff believe that Obama is "changing the marshmallows into magical shapes and colors" - the resemblance is even there:




Fr. Jenkins stated in a letter to graduates of 2009: "The President’s visit to Notre Dame can help lead to broader engagement on issues". Not if all you're doing is enchanting pro-abortion politicians by handing out rare honorary degrees willy-nilly. And without even once publicly challenging Obama on abortion - not once! Perhaps Obama has converted Father Jenkins into believing that he too can change marshmallow orchards into magical shapes and colors. Studying Obama's 100 day track record, it's going to take more than "rainbow magic" to change Obama's view on abortion.

Hint to Fr. Jenkins: There are no leprechauns with pots of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Calamities Befall Oregon After Gay Marriage Ruling

It's no coincidence that Oregon is feeling the negative effects of Judge Michael McShane's ruling overturning the will of Oregon voters who voted to uphold marriage as between one man and one woman.  The judge is a Catholic and the first openly gay judge to serve on the bench in Oregon.  This timeline of events presents the calamities that have since plagued Oregon:

May 19, 2014:

Catholic and first openly gay Judge Michael McShane strikes down voter referendum defining marriage as between one man and one woman.

May 23, 2014:

The Portland Water Bureau on Friday urged about 670,000 people in its region to boil water they drink, use to prepare food or make ice, or brush their teeth with after three tests came back positive for E. coli bacteria.


June 10, 2014:

A student opens fire at Reynolds High School in Troutdale, Oregon, a city of 16,400 people 12 miles east of Portland killing a student, wounding a teacher before apparently taking his own life.

June 11, 2014: 

A mysterious disease that is turning sea stars to goo has taken off along the Oregon coast, with up to half or more of the creatures being infected in just the last few weeks, scientists say.

Until now, Oregon was the one state along the U.S. West Coast essentially spared from the disease.

American Businesses Can Opt Out of Obamacare's Contraceptive Mandate

Thanks be to God.  A narrow, very narrow victory for freedom:

(CNSNews.com) -
5-4: Americans Don’t Surrender Their Freedom When They Open a Family Business

The 5-4 opinion, written by Justice Samuel Alito, says the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA) prohibits the government from substantially burdening a person’s exercise of
religion.

But President Obama's Health and Human Services Department, in issuing the contraceptive mandate would have required the families who own Hobby Lobby, Conestoga and Mardel to "engage in conduct that seriously violates their sincere religious belief that life begins at conception.

"If they and their companies refuse to provide contraceptive coverage, they face severe economic consequences: about $475 million per year for Hobby Lobby, $33 million per year for Conestoga, and $15 million per year for Mardel. And if they drop coverage altogether, they could face penalties of roughly $26 million for Hobby Lobby,
$1.8 million for Conestoga, and $800,000 for Mardel," the opinion says.

The government failed to show that "it lacks other means of achieving its desired goal without imposing a substantial burden on the exercise of religion."

In a concurring opinion, Justice Anthony Kennedy said the government could choose to pay for contraception coverage itself, if it is so determined for women to have such coverage.

The conservative Family Research Council (FRC) called the ruling "one of the most significant victories for religious freedom in our generation."

The government "went too far by mandating that family businesses owners must violate their consciences under threat of crippling fines," said FRC President Tony Perkins in a statement.

"All Americans can be thankful that the Court reaffirmed that freedom of conscience is a long-held American tradition and that the government cannot impose a law on American men and women that forces them to violate their beliefs in order to hold a job, own a business, or purchase health insurance.

"The unfair HHS mandate gave family businesses two non-choices: either violate your deeply held moral beliefs and comply by paying for drugs and services to which you object, or pay crippling fines of up to $100 per day, per employee, for non-compliance. This mandate threatened the jobs, livelihood and healthcare of millions of Americans and forced those who stood up for their conscience, like Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood, to either comply or be punished.

Sen. David Vitter was among the many Americans hailing the U.S. Supreme Court for reaffirming "the most basic principle upon which our country was founded -- the free exercise of religion."

“This is truly a great day in America," said the Louisiana Republican on Monday, moments after the Supreme Court issued its 5-4 ruling, saying that closely held for-profit companies -- those controlled by a small number of individuals -- do not have to provide contraceptives, sterilization or abortifacients to their employees as required by the Obama administration.

"Obamacare's contraceptive mandate was always unconstitutional, and I'm glad the Supreme Court defended this most fundamental freedom today," said Vitter, who -- along with three other Republican senators -- filed a friend-of-the-court brief challenging the mandate.Perkins expressed the hope that the lower courts will follow the Supreme Court's lead and protect non-profits from the contraception mandate.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) called the ruling "another defeat for an administration that has repeatedly crossed constitutional lines in pursuit of its Big Government objectives." Boehner said the Democrats' health care law "remains an unworkable mess and a drag on our economy," and he once again called for its repeal.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) called Obamacare "the single worst piece of legislation to pass in the last 50 years," and he said he was glad to see the Supreme Court rule that the regulation requiring free birth control violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).”

Pope Says: Church is essential for faith; there are no 'free agents'

Some prominent highlights of his address:

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Christians are not made in a laboratory, but in a community called the church, Pope Francis said.

At his weekly general audience June 25, Pope Francis continued his series of audience talks about the church, telling an estimated 33,000 people that there is no such thing as "do-it-yourself" Christians or "free agents" when it comes to faith.

In the Old Testament, the pope said, God called Abraham and began to form a people that would become a blessing for the world. "With great patience -- and God has a lot of it -- he prepared the people of the ancient covenant and in Jesus Christ constituted them as a sign and instrument of the union of humanity with God and unity with one another."

Pope Francis described as "dangerous" the temptation to believe that one can have "a personal, direct, immediate relationship with Jesus Christ without communion with and the mediation of the church."

Remember: being Christian means belonging to the church. If your first name is Christian, your last name is Member of the Church." (The pope moved the needle on the funny meter with this one)

At the end of his talk, the pope asked people to join him in praying that they would never "give into the temptation of thinking you can do without others, without the church, that you can save yourself, of thinking you can be a laboratory Christian."

Modern Catholic Church Design Dismantling Its Own Religion

Modern Catholic parish councils are designing, approving, funding, and constructing brand new multimillion dollar conference halls for use as temples of worship.  These structures are neither inspiring to the already dwindling masses of Churchgoers nor do they serve as landmarks where Churchgoers can bring potential converts and bring them to the share in our full Catholic heritage and authentic Catholic identity with Christian pride.  Modern parish councils and planners are somehow rationalizing the building of multimillion dollar conference halls even while Catholic Church attendance is in a rapid downspiral with no end in sight.  But what is even more shameful is the waste of our donation dollars to rationalize funding an unnecessary structure that replaces a slightly older, but already perfectly well designed, authentically Catholic, spiritually inspiring, and glorious temple fit for the worship of God, that not only does God the honor, but serves as a rock solid testament to our Faith.  The same people are simultaneously dismantling already constructed beautiful architectural masterpieces to replace them with expensive modern, secular designs that resemble conference halls or banks.  Case in point, the modern idea of Form Follows Function discussed in Randall Smith's article:

The principles of "form follows function" and "functionalism" were, of course, two of the most basic principles of modernist architecture. 

. . . modernist churches tend not to be "functional" in terms of the practical requirements of the liturgy 

. . . Indeed, one of the most characteristic features of modernist architecture is that it obliterated the differences among building "types." Whereas we used to recognize a building from what it "looked like," and we gave it a name because of its form — we called a certain building a "church" because it had the recognizable form of a church, another a "bank" because it had the form of a bank — now if we take the "bank" sign off the bank and put the "church" sign on it, then it becomes a church. In fact, often, if not for the sign, it would be hard to tell the difference.

He then adds:

Far from looking back on the past with scorn and disdain as something passé ("architecture," insisted Le Corbusier, "is stifled by custom"¹¹), medieval and Renaissance architects looked upon the tradition of which they were a part with a sense of both pride and humility as something to be emulated and imitated.

. . . Indeed, the modernists, rather than seeing themselves as part of a tradition, sought to throw off all those "chains" of the past and create architecture anew — from the ground up — much as Descartes had attempted to re-create philosophy by methodically doubting everything that had come before him. 

With modernist "functionalism," however, we are often left with church buildings that make few, if any, references to the iconic heritage or architectural traditions of the Catholic Church. How exactly, then, are the common, working people of the parish supposed to recognize and understand their own building when it is not speaking their own language of form?

And for those elite few who do understand the "meaning" of the building, what can they say to the pious, hardworking churchgoers whose tithes have gone to pay for the building? That it was the goal of modernists to sweep away all the traditions of the past in order to make way for an architecture that would not only "represent," but in fact help to create, the new industrial, technological man of the future? 

How would the non-elite, working-class Catholics for whom most of these churches are built reconcile all this — the elitism, the rejection of tradition and authority, the revision of values — with their faith in a Church based on centuries of tradition and authority? Was the new "technological man" of the modernist architects the sort of human person their Church was trying to inspire them to become? How, in other words, do you function in a building where the philosophy of the designers involves rejecting everything you hold dear?

and he ends with:

What is clear, moreover, is that forcing modernist principles of building design upon unwilling church congregations and passing them off as if they were principles of the Council simply must stop.

And stop it must.  A study by the Institute of Sacred Architecture concluded the following:

the modern design parish's primary emphasis on user-friendly design and communality may have facilitated relationships among church members, but not to a greater extent than the traditional catholic church design.  Moreover, it appears that the modern design did not facilitate a personal or communal relationship with God and the mystical body of the church as much as the design of the traditional church.  The modern church's diffuse placement of sacramental design features throughout the church might encourage congregants to focus on other parishioners and not as much on the character of divine sacrifice and otherworldliness found in the Eucharistic celebration.  Overall, this study seems to indicate that traditional churches designed to house God may well foster communion with God and, in turn, other congregants. 

If future empirical research studies indicate similar findings, then leaders within the Roman Catholic Church could benefit from a reassessment of what they ultimately intend their churches to communicate and what kinds of designs may strengthen or weaken parishioners’ religious place attachment towards their church.  Seemingly harmless alterations like the placement of a tabernacle or removal of iconography to limit “distractions” could influence congregants’ perceptions of the Eucharist, and, therefore, the foundation of Catholic ideology and identity. 

Dinesh D'Souza on Obama's Pledge of "Fundamentally Transforming America"

"President  has ideology that sees America as the bad guys"

Watch video HERE.

Obama: "We are five days away from 'fundamentally transforming' the United States of America."

Those words are ominously being implemented as we see the systematic dismantling of our nation before our eyes.  A "change" from the noble standard of our nation's ideals held by our forefathers and described in the book written by Tom Brokaw as The Greatest Generation, to something so perverse and obscene that we cannot even ascribe words for it.  Obama's Generation is defined by gay marriage, marijuana, a collapsing economy, an idolization of the environment, aggrandizing abortion, the destruction of the family, and a disdain for our core values of freedom, God, and country.

The Greatest Generation is defined in its hardcover as:

"This generation was united not only by a common purpose, but also by common values--duty, honor, economy, courage, service, love of family and country, and, above all, responsibility for oneself."

Catholicism and its Architecture: A Testament of Her Faith

A good article was written by Wayne Laugesen of the National Catholic Register who noted the importance in faith formation when constructing churches.  The following excerpt captures the struggles we face in expressing our Faith thanks to deconstructionist modernist liberal "Catholics".

modern architecture short-sells human beauty and Catholic imagery to indulge the imaginations of self-aggrandizing architects . . . Some feature nondescript altars, stained-glass nature scenes and rounded pews that focus Catholics on one another instead of the altar and the Eucharist.

Catholic modernists dismiss the notion that in Catholicism it has always been a goal to teach the Faith in every way we can express it, including our architecture.  Using not only our architecture, but also our music, our paintings, our sculptures, our dress, our words, our actions, and everything that we have at our disposal to evangelize the world has been a laudable act of charity in telling the world: THIS is our expression of Faith, come join us!

Read the rest of the article HERE.

Oregon Catholic Conference on Marriage

Well articulated statement from the Oregon Catholic Conference on Judge-gone-wild Michael McShane's ruling overturning the will of the voters.  At the same election this vote was taken, Oregon elected Obama as the president.  This shows that the issue of upholding traditional marriage transcends partisan lines and is the express will of the people.  Here is the OCC statement:

 The Oregon Catholic Conference is deeply grieved by Judge Michael McShane's ruling to redefine marriage. It is a travesty of justice that marriage, as the foundation of society, received no defense in the U.S. District Court. Attorney General, Ellen Rosenblum, in an extreme dereliction of her sworn duty to uphold the law, refused to represent the interests and the people of Oregon. It is a sad day for democracy when one federally appointed judge can overturn, without any representation, the express will of the people of Oregon.

Despite the judge's ruling, authentic marriage remains what it has always and only been according to God's design: the loving union between one man and one woman for the mutual benefit of the two who have become one flesh and any children born of their union. Redefining marriage confuses the true purpose and meaning of marriage. An act deliberately ensuring that more children will grow up motherless or fatherless is not an act of love. The Oregon Catholic Conference will continue to uphold the true meaning of marriage and advocate for genuine marriages and families in Oregon, and it urges all people of good will to continue to reject the flawed notion that a pairing of two people of the same gender constitutes a marriage.  

Iraq Catholicism in Shambles

The Price Iraqi Catholics Paid for America's War on Terror

ZENIT reported that Catholicism in Iraq has been "ruined" since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq:

“1,400 years of Islam could not uproot us from our land and our churches, while the policies of the West [have] scattered us and distributed us all around the world,” Patriarch Louis Raphaël I Sako said.

The patriarch, who has governed the Eastern Catholic Church since February 2013 said, “intervention by the West in the region did not solve the problems" but instead "produced more chaos and conflict.” 

“Democracy and change come through upbringing and education rather than through conflict,” he added. 

Before Saddam Hussein’s regime, the patriarch said there had been about 5,000 families and over 240 students preparing for their First Holy Communion in the Church of the Ascension. Yet, late this April, he celebrated the Holy Mass for First Holy Communion with “13 students only.” 

Iraqi authorities are partially responsible for “this migration for failing to restore security and stability,” he said.