Catholic shame

A good post on RedState titled Are You Happy Now? Just a few excerpts:

The relationship of the Catholic Church with conservatives and the Republican party is a very conflicted one. The institutional Church is probably second only to academia in glomming onto every new bit of left wing lunacy that comes bouncing down the pike. The Church has, however, as a whole been stalwart on life and family issues. Unfortunately, the opposition to abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, and gay marriage, indeed one could say based on these issues the defense of Western Civilization, places them at loggerheads with their emotional allies: liberal democrats.

In the 2004 election the Heirarchy was taken aback by demands of conservative Catholics and conservative non-Catholics alike that they adhere to their own rules in regards to support for abortion...

Having been burned in 2004, they became too cute by half. In 2007 a pamphlet was issued called Faithful Citizenship. In this document or bishops managed to make voting for any candidate acceptable while appearing to condemn abortion across the board:

34. Catholics often face difficult choices about how to vote. This is why it is so important to vote according to a well-formed conscience that perceives the proper relationship among moral goods. A Catholic cannot vote for a candidate who takes a position in favor of an intrinsic evil, such as abortion or racism, if the voter’s intent is to support that position. In such cases a Catholic would be guilty of formal cooperation in grave evil. At the same time, a voter should not use a candidate’s opposition to an intrinsic evil to justify indifference or inattentiveness to other important moral issues involving human life and dignity.

35. There may be times when a Catholic who rejects a candidate’s unacceptable position may decide to vote for that candidate for other morally grave reasons.Voting in this way would be permissible only for truly grave moral reasons, not to advance narrow interests or partisan preferences or to ignore a fundamental moral evil.

Essentially, this construction allows you to take any social ill and elevate it above abortion. (emphasis mine)

I never understood the squeemishness of the Catholic heirarchy. Being raised in a Catholic household myself, it was apparent to me pretty early on thta many traditions of the Catholic Church no longer follow anything that the Bible had prescribed. The Church had gone rogue. Happened a few hundred years after JC, then got really bad in the middle ages. They now have no moral authority over anything. Evolution? They bought it. Global warming? Bought that too. Just no bearings whatsover anymore. That being said, they have a few things correct to this day. The trinitarian nature of God. The evil of abortion. But yet, they waiver, and allow for the voting for pro-abort politicians based on other social issues. What exactly could possibly be more grave than killing babies?

In essence, by watering down their standars and not drawing a line in the sand on this one issue, they have allowed politicians to be elected that would like nothing more than to foist FOCA on the 50 states, and have thus become complicit in what is coming down the pike. There is simply no excuse for this. In any case, the article then concludes, similar to my thoughts on the subject:

In a quest to be invited to the right parties and seen with the right people our own bishops stand condemned of being complicit in the abortion of about one million children each year by continuing to allow pro-abort Catholic politicians to receive the Eucharist and by failing to teach the simple truth from the pulpit: that besides the horror of infanticide and euthanasia all other issues pale by comparison.

Calling evil good, and good evil

This last week marked some ominous events in our nation. January 22 marked the 36th anniversary of the Roe v Wade decision by the Supreme Court, an act of judicial fiat that foisted upon us murder on demand of any or all of our unborn children, surely the most vulnerable and innocent of us all. Obama released a press release that, in part, read:

"On the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we are reminded that this decision not only protects women’s health and reproductive freedom, but stands for a broader principle: that government should not intrude on our most private family matters I remain committed to protecting a woman’s right to choose."

Never mind that government already intrudes in family matters, forcing most parents to send their children to public indoctrinations centers (a.k.a. public schools), not of the choosing of the parents, that ultimately miserably fail at their supposed basic function (education). Also, try spanking your child these days and see how fast CPS comes to your door. So much for that non-interference platitude.

Then, the very next day, The One signed an executive order forcing taxpayers to pay for abortions overseas. This at a time when our nation is flat broke. Maybe he should watch this short video I posted the other day:

LaShawn Barber had an excellent op-ed on the RvW anniversary that she originally wrote in 2003. It has the basic theme that I want to touch on today:

Last October, the Metropolitan Washington region was paralyzed with fear, wondering when and where a cold-blooded killer would strike next. Mobilized into action, law enforcement agencies on the federal, state and local levels were on the case of the “D.C. sniper” 24-7. With a mass murderer on the loose, the media covered the story round-the-clock. Righteous indignation pumped through the veins of red-blooded Americans. When the murderous pair was caught, the whole country was relieved.

Yet, when it comes to the slaughter of unborn children, the nation tarries. Thirteen people were killed in the sniper attacks; 43 million people–over a million a year–have been killed since Roe v. Wade. On March 13, 2003, a Republican Senate spoke loudly and clearly against the slaughter by voting to ban partial birth abortion 64-33.

The bill prohibits doctors from committing an “overt act” designed to kill a partially delivered fetus. The bill legally defines a partial birth abortion as any abortion in which a baby is delivered “past the naval…outside the mother’s womb” before being killed. The Senate-passed version of the bill is on its way to the House of Representatives, where it will likely pass. As expected, House Democrats (like the Congressional Black Caucus), protectors of criminals, perverts, animals, trees and rocks, will fight with their very lives against the ban on infanticide. Liberal lunacy notwithstanding, the bill will be signed into law by President Bush.

Meanwhile, day after day, babies in the womb are cut to pieces, torn apart and chemically poisoned to death all for sacred “choice.” Here’s how a group calling itself the Childbirth by Choice Trust describes abortion to teenagers: “To remove the contents of her uterus, the doctor gradually opens the cervix and inserts a small tube. This tube is attached to a machine which gently suctions the inside of the uterus. The doctor then carefully checks the uterus with an instrument, to be sure no tissue (read: human being) remains. The entire procedure takes about 10 minutes.” No sweat.

Partial birth abortions, unlike the inconvenient “gob of tissue” scraped from the womb in early abortions, are gruesome. To avoid being charged under state murder statutes, the abortion “doctors” pull the baby only halfway out of the womb. In Josef Mengele-like fashion, the abortionist jams the tip of surgical scissors into the base of the baby’s skull, suctioning out its brain through a catheter.

Despite such an appalling scene, infanticide supporter Senator Barbara Boxer said that partial birth abortion is a “political” term, not a “medical” one. According to Boxer, the term is “made up” and “very emotional,” implying that supporters of the ban to stop this carnage actually want to evoke sympathy for babies murdered in the womb. Right-wing nuts!

A society that tolerates child killing is a society doomed for judgment. God warned ancient Israel to refrain from worshipping the Ammonite false deity, Molech. First-born children were “passed through the fire” and burned to death as a sacrifice to Molech under the illusion they’d be given prosperity.

Israel disobeyed God’s laws, resulting in generations of moral decline and severe wrath: Famine, plague, cannibalism, invasion and domination by surrounding pagan nations, captivity into slavery, persecution and death.

Molech must be mighty pleased with America. Millions of children are sacrificed every year for similar motives. Approximately 93 percent of all induced abortions are done for elective, non-medical reasons (read: convenience). Although abortion proponents claim the procedure is rare, it’s not rare enough. Partial birth abortions have more than tripled in the past four years to about 2,200 annually.

The U.S. has been facing its own moral decline for some time, but it has yet to suffer the fate of ancient Israel. While abortion proponents continue to euphemistically refer to infanticide as “intrauterine cranial decompression” or “intact dilation and evacuation,” God has promised that the slaying of the innocent will not go unpunished. He says in Jeremiah 19: “Because they have forsaken Me and have made this an alien place and have burned sacrifices in it to other gods…and because they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent…I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies and by the hand of those who seek their life; and I will give over their carcasses as food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth. I will also make this city a desolation.”

In the aftermath of September 11, it became chic even for liberals to haughtily exclaim, “God bless America!” Perhaps the more appropriate petition would be: God have mercy on America.

With all of these things happening this last week, I looked at the big picture. Specifically, what liberals think about all the issues surrounding our culture. Abortion of the innocent? Good! Capital punishment for the guilty? Evil! Forcing kids into failing government-run schools? Good! Vouchers that let parents choose private Christian schools? Evil! Judging people by there skin color (aka - affirmative action)? Good! Judging people only by the content of their character? Evil! I could go on and on with this list. The gay agenda, the elimination of personal responsibility, putting as many people as possible under the thumb of big government, etc., ad infinitum. What the U.S. stands for has been turned on its head, and what used to evil is now considered good, and visa versa. At least in liberal la-la land, which is being increasingly imposed on us through many channels, most prominently these days by judicial activism.

This aspect of moder liberalism brings Isiah 5:20 to mind (NIV version):

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter

Now darkness can never win against the light. The only way to impose darkness is to cover up the light. To keep it hidden. It is no coincidence that Christianity is under unprecedented attack at the same time as these evil policies are being imposed on us all. WE THE PEOPLE appear to have less and less say as time goes on, as we are increasingly coming under the tyranny of the black robe.

As a final note, I was thinking of the "good is evil, evil is good" inversion the other day. i have heard it before. It took me a while sifting through my memory banks to find exactly where it was. Here is where I heard it before:

Ignoring life

(via powerline): Nothing to see here.

My conservative cousin filed this report on the massive right-to-life demonstration in Washington DC that portions of the MSM, including the New York Times, managed to miss.

On Thursday, I went to visit [my sister] at her new house in West Virginia. I changed trains in DC and had about 1/1/2 hours to kill. I walked outside Union Station and found myself in the middle of a massive right-to-life demonstration. The area around the Capitol was jammed with about a half million people. I saw crowds of Catholic clergy and lay people. But, not a TV camera or journalist with a notepad in sight.

I called [my wife] and told her to look in Friday's New York Times and bet her there would be no mention of this event. Sure enough the Times didn't consider this worthy of any coverage whatsoever. (Like your spouse my wife insists on buying the local liberal paper force of habit, she says.) Compare this with the coverage afforded when a comparable number of people descended on Washington to hear Louis Farrakhan's message of hate. Oh well, I was glad to see that none of these demonstrators were buying any of the Obama souvenirs hawked at many of the stands inside the station.

Black Pastor Warns Obama about Abortion

At March, Black Pastor Warns Obama not to Preside over “Genocide” of American Blacks.

The most striking portion of Robinson’s speech came as he begged Obama not to preside over the genocide of African Americans. “We need change Mr. President because every day about 4000 babies die by abortion. Every day Mr. President, people with your ethnic background any my ethnic background die in astounding numbers. Abortion is the number one killer of African Americans in this country.”

“We make up about 12% of the population and about 34% of all abortions are black babies. In the last 36 years over 17 million African American babies have died by abortion alone. We need to change this picture. We need to stop this slaughter of the innocent preborn.

“Please Mr. President, be that agent of change that can commute the sentence of over 1400 African American children and over 3000 children from other ethnic groups sentenced to die every day in this country by abortion.”

“We need change and we need it now.”

Good speech meets deaf ears. The numbers are true. In addition, the arguments for abortion were the same exact arguments used against black slaves. They're not *really* people. not like US. Etc... (HT:CG)

Obama flips Michigan the bird!

No joke. This from the freep today: The One, in his infinite wisdom, has deemed it necessary to sign another executive order. This time, it targets the automotive industry (you know, the one that is currently thriving?) by allowing each of the 50 states in the union to set emission standards. From the article:

The New York Times reported Sunday evening on its Web site that Obama would clear the way for individual states to exceed national fuel economy and emissions standards. Detroit and foreign automakers have waged a lengthy legal fight against California's rules, which set new limits on vehicle emissions to fight global warming. (emphasis mine)

Global warming? That old chestnut? You mean the same global warming that hasn't causes an iota of temperature rise since 1998? The one that has caused the most arctic ice cover since 1979? The same global warming that has caused the oceans to cool since 2003? The global warming of 'hockey stick' fame? The one forced on us by those horrible CO2 emissions? The one setting low temperature records all over the place this winter? THAT global warming? Well that's just great! What does the auto industry have to say?

Such rules would lead to fuel economy targets that automakers and dealers warn would create a patchwork of state laws, drive up costs and limit sales.

Sounds about right to me. So let me get this straight: states should have the right to regulate the naturally-occurring, and vital compound to all surface vegetation known as CO2, but they should have zero say in the murder of countless unborn? FOCA? Hello? Isn't this the same guy that just signed an executive order forcing my hard-earned tax dollars into the bloody hands of the abortion industry abroad? Why yes. Yes he is.

So it appears that Obama's priorities, tracked by his signing of executive orders, is this:

#1: Help the plight of the terrorists over in Gitmo (the ones who, once released, lead efforts of terror once again). Check!
#2: Abortion for everyone. With taxpayer dollars. Just have to be overseas. (But that's OK, FOCA is coming to a death dealer near you) Check!
#3: Screw the auto industry really bad by letting states make up silly fuel standards based on a non-existent ecological crisis of biblical proportion? Check!

I'm just waiting for #4 to come out soon. Take away kids lollipops? Atomic wedgies for all adults over 21?

So I'm just wondering, how are any of his executive orders supposed to help anyone here in Michigan or nationwide? Do any of these things help the economy? No. Just the opposite. Do they make us safer? No. Just the opposite. This is all red meat for the tinfoil hat-wearing, kool-aid drinking loony fringe left. So much for the era of post-partisanship.

Just remember, the UAW wanted this guy. A guy that despises the auto industry. Sure they'll get more bailout money to keep the racket going a bit longer without any fix to the systemic problems facing the auto industry. But that, along with this exectuive order, may well be the final nail in their own coffin. Can anyone say "thank you sir, may I have another?"

Repercussions already???

I'm surprised, but in a good way. I think BHO made a very bad decision to lift the moratorium on taxpayer funding of abortion overseas (that's 2 for 2 counting Gitmo). In any case, the London Telegraph today has a devastating piece on Obama (surprising negativity considering the source). Here's a snippet posted this morning by Michelle Malkin:

This will end in tears. The Obama hysteria is not merely embarrassing to witness, it is itself contributory to the scale of the disaster that is coming. What we are experiencing, in the deepening days of a global depression, is the desperate suspension of disbelief by people of intelligence - la trahison des clercs - in a pathetic effort to hypnotise themselves into the delusion that it will be all right on the night. It will not be all right……

To anyone who kept his head, the string of Christmas cracker mottoes booming through the public address system on Washington’s National Mall can only excite scepticism. It is crucial to recall the reality that lies behind the rhetoric. Denouncing “those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents” comes ill from a man whose flagship legislation, the Freedom of Choice Act, will impose abortion, including partial-birth abortion, on every state in the Union. It seems the era of Hope is to be inaugurated with a slaughter of the innocents.

Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan is like one of those toxic packages traded by bankers: it camouflages many unaffordable gifts to his client state. With a federal deficit already at $1.2 trillion, Obama wants to squander $825 billion (which will undoubtedly mushroom to more than $1 trillion) on creating 600,000 more government jobs and a further 459,000 in “green energy” (useless wind turbines and other Heath-Robinson contraptions favoured by Beltway environmentalists).

It is frightening to think there is a real possibility that the entire world economy could go into complete meltdown and famine kill millions. Yet Western - and British - commentators are cocooned in a warm comfort zone of infatuation with America’s answer to Neil Kinnock. We should be long past applauding politicians of any hue: they got us into this mess. The best deserve a probationary opportunity to prove themselves, the worst should be in jail.

(emphasis mine)

Obama to sign EO authorizing aid money for abortions today

Yesterday might have been a sad day in American history, but looks like the country's Big Toe wants to extend the sadness one more day. HotAir reports:

Yesterday, on the anniversary of Roe v Wade, abortion supporters expected Obama to issue an executive order reversing the Mexico City policy imposed by George Bush prohibiting American aid dollars for international abortions. Obama demurred, perhaps wishing to avoid the media scrutiny that would attend such a move on Roe’s anniversary. Instead, Obama will quietly sign the new EO today, away from the media spotlight.

This will likely be totally ignored by the MSM. So sad... Hope and change??? Maybe BO needs to see the video in my prior post above.

UPDATE: A good essay of a personal experience from a dad here. (HT: The Anchoress)

UPDATE#2: More from The Anchoress: "Some argument about whether or not Barack Obama served the culture of Death on his first day in office. Yes, of course he did, but it got barely a mention. Buried deep in the news reports." Just as I predicted earlier today.

Planned Parenthood: Force doctors to do abortions

This is just sick. To force a doctor (who took, ironically, the Hippocratic Oath) to perform a procedure that the doctor may very clearly see as murder. Are they going to force these doctors to pray to Ba'al also? Might as well. they already have the human sacrifice part down.

This is a sad day in American History

This is the anniversary of a day where our very own Supreme Court took it upon itself to legislate murder-on-demand into law out of whole cloth. Never mind that that in itself is unconstitutional. Now the supremes have made other egregious decisions in the past when a majority of the court is packed with activists. Even so, Roe v Wade has resulted in the death of more than 50 million children (the population of the U.S. would be about 375-400 million right now had it not been for RvW, and we probably would have a better economy and wouldn't be as worried about the imminent collapse of social security and Medicare) In any case, here's a roundup on this topic for today:

Ronald Reagan: Abortion and the Conscience of the Nation (1983). "We cannot diminish the value of one category of human life -- the unborn -- without diminishing the value of all human life."

Roe v Wade Day: What are you doing this afternoon?

And this is about the most powerful video you will see in some time (and very appropriate for today and yesterday)

No link I post today will hit you more than this video will. (HT: HotAir)

Well that didn't take long!

White House Web Site Becomes Pro-Abortion After Obama Takeover. (via CG)

In less than five minutes after Barack Obama took over as the next president, the White House web site changed from pro-life to pro-abortion. The previous site, which touted the pro-life proclamation President Bush signed late last week, now includes Obama's agenda for women, which calls for promoting abortion.

Is this what hope and change was all about?

Unity for me, but not for Thee!

Isn't it funny how fast a tune can change? Take for example the MSM's gushing, fawning over Obama, and their persistent calls to "unify!" "Be a citizen of the United States, not a Democrat or Republican." Funny how that was missing for the last 8 years. It's like a we moved to another planet with sand dunes and big worms and "the sleeper has awakened!" Case in point, Mitch Albom's show yesterday evening:

Driving home from classes yesterday, I was listening to "The Mitch Albom" show (760AM in Detroit). I had lots to say about Mitch, his columns, and his show yesterday morning. As is probably obvious to everyone, there was only one topic of interest (the inauguration) with tangential conversations here and there. A few things that Mitch said struck me about as well as fingernails running along a chalkboard. But let's start out with the congenial:

Mitch called for unity on this day. (and that was about it for congenial) He blasted Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity for not "coming together" on this day. Because Rush and Sean apparently didn't agree with any Obama policy on inauguration day, Mitch excoriated both for being "merchants of hate." (Disclaimer: I'm paraphrasing here as I cannot find an official transcript of the show online) Mitch claimed that Rush and Sean were "just following the money" by "spewing their hate." He accused Sean of switching from being a liberal to being a conservative just so he can make more money. I could hold back no longer. The words left my mouth (I was alone in my car): "Mitch you ignorant liberal!" (Think SNL with Dan Akroyd and Jane Curtin: "Jane you ignorant slut!") At that point in his program, who was spewing hate? I didn't listen to Rush or Sean that day (I had to teach after all), but whenever I do, I do not hear them "spewing hate." I hear policy disagreements. In any case, since Mitch railed against conservatives for not uniting with the Omamamaniacs (legions of glazed-eye people walking around aimlessly chanting oh-ba-ma, oh-ba-ma) and therefore showing disrespect on this inauguration day.

Let me show you an example of disrespect:

I know what you're saying, "Where is the respect? Where is the unity here?" How incredibly disrespectful was it to chant "nananana, nananana, hey, heyyy, good bye"??? Well, in liberal la-la land, unity means you have to do what THEY want (unify with ME!). If they have to unify with US, then, all of a sudden, dissent becomes the highest form of patriotism (as I touched on yesterday).

Further, Mitch stated that he thought that on this day, that the radio station (760 AM) should have only run live inauguration events on inauguration day. No Rush commentary. No Sean commentary. (760 AM also broadcasts Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity before Mitch) This must be Mitch's idea of the fairness doctrine as he thought Rush and Sean ought to be silenced on this day while he got to do HIS commentary. Of course, since HE wasn't showing any disrespect (I disagree because of the above), it's OK. Good grief!

To top it all off, there was a "prayer" (if you can call it that) by Rev. Lowry which Mitch broadcast on his show. All I heard was "and when white will embrace what is right." What the...!!!! What WAS THAT! And Mitch and his sidekick thought it was funny and cute! Mitch said that Lowry was in the middle of the civil rights struggle, so "he should know best." (I'm paraphrasing again) Excuse me, but isn't this the example of "spewing hate" that Mitch accused others of? Is there a better example of having liberal blinders on? How can Mitch simply not see this as anything but offensive? I was shocked that it was said! Is this unity? Hope? Change? Here's the video:

Rick Warren's prayer, by the way, can be heard in full here. Note the lack of racist demagoguery in the latter that was clear in the former. One note on Rick Warren - I was pleased that he invoked the name of Jesus in the prayer. These days, with Christianity under unprecedented attack from liberals and their allies, it seems like public prayers use the generic 'God' rather than invoking the name of Jesus, unlike Muslim prayers that have no problem invoking "Allah."

For my part, I will continue to pray for Obama. My church as a body will continue to pray for him. We are commanded to do so. I will pray that he becomes a wise leader. That God bestows upon him great wisdom to make correct decisions. What I will not pray for is that somehow I unify with the policies that Obama espoused in the run up to the election. Abortion on demand. Card check and union thuggery. Losing the war on terror. Taking the assets of some to be distributed to others. Grow government which necessarily takes away some freedom and liberty from all. These things are anathema to Biblical principles. If that makes me a "spewer of hate" in Mitch's world, so be it.

UPDATE: How's this for respect: "Late Tuesday afternoon, Fox News was the only major national TV outlet that carried a live telecast of former President Bush's homecoming speech to cheering supporters in Midland, Texas." (via drudge)

UPDATE#2: Nick over at Rightmichigan has some thoughts on unity. So does redstate: Welcome to the Patriotic Party, Rest of the Country. We’ve Missed You These Last 8 Years. So does Michelle Malkin: "And they lecture us about showing more respect?" Why yes, yes they do! And About that race-based benediction: “When white will embrace what is right.”

UPDATE#3: Markets Greet Obama With Worst Inauguration Day Selloff In History. Mitch Albom mentioned this in his radio talkshow yesterday only by saying "the market is doing its own thing... no matter who the president is." (I'm paraphrasing)

In local (and national) news from the Freep

Also known to many of us here in MI as the 'Ivory Tower,' where average liberal writers try their darndest to form public opinion rather than just report the news. Evrery. Single. Day. Without further ado, here are headlines from the Freep this morning:

Detroit students might not see history. They would see history if the DPS would teach them how to read, write and do math. Wouldn't THAT be something to witness?!?!

King's struggles, Obama's ascent fill sermons. "You can kill the dreamer, but another one will rise in his place..." And you can kill an unborn child, but... ...oh never mind. When did the party that opposed civil rights and fought to keep segregation in place as well as slavery (democrats) get front-and-center at pulpits? It's also ironic that they mention MLK Jr., who once said "Judge People by Their Character, Not Skin Color." Isn't Barack Obama, and the democrat party in whole, opposed to this since they support affirmative action which judges people based on color and not by their character?

Parents check out cars of their kids' dreams. I hate to break it to the writer, but the cars of kids dreams are not typically VW beetles. They are big. And fast. And if they had their druthers, they would fly to other planets. Instantly!

If the once lowly Cardinals can rise up from despair, why can't the Lions? I wrote about this yesterday, but I've got a 2-word answer for 'em. Kurt. Warner.

How the Lions went 0-16. If a picture is worth 1,000 words, then the freep just said 48,000 of them that we do not need to hear. Do we need any more reminders? Can we just enjoy the SuperBowl? Please?

Do the safe thing and hang up. They really need to change the 'hang up' thing. Does anyone 'hang up' a cellphone? Aren't home phones mostly wireless now anyway? And while we're on the topic of talking on a cellphone while driving, how is talking on a handsfree cell call different than talking to a buddy next to you? Maybe this is Michigan's way to get us out of deficit spending. Heavy fines for everyone (they wouldn't ticket us just to raise revenue, would they?)! Woohoo! And while we're at it, we're going to outright ban talking of any kind while driving. Even to yourself. Mouth moves, you get a ticket. Would this be a "zip-it or ticket" campaign?

Biden’s role straddling foreign policy, domestic issues. I think his real role will be straddling a chair in an undisclosed location with duct tape over his big mouth. For the next 4 years.

Obama Hustlers head to D.C. Hmmm. I didn't think the'd mention ACORN. (hint: they didn't!)

Lawyer deficits taxing courts in Macomb County. The operative sentence: "The underlying cause of the problem is a familiar story: budget woes." Maybe they can learn from their neighbor?

Michigan man to help Iraqis plan local government. How would that convo go? To the Iraquis: "Spend more money than you have. Raise taxes. Rinse. Repeat. Be like us in Michigan."

Hundreds bid Stooges guitarist farewell. Which one played a guitar? Larry, Curly, Moe?

Some good to come from the financial crisis after all!

Planned Parenthood makes staff cuts. (via drudge) "Hit with declines in funding from the economic crisis and the Madoff scandal, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America is laying off around 20% of its staff. " Could not have happened to a more deserving organization. So when do they go to D.C. to ask for a bailout? Planned Parenthood is on the clock!

Related item: Tearful words of man whose baby was born TWO DAYS after wife died. Read this and tell me that that wasn't life. And do it with a straight face while you're at it.