Archive for February, 2010

Leaving Reality in the Dust

Posted in Art, Culture, Video with tags , , , , , , on February 25, 2010 by Joanna

Who or what can we trust?  Certainly not what we see as the Anchoress laments here:

Leave It to Limbaugh to Say It

Posted in American, Politics, United States with tags , , , , , , , on February 25, 2010 by Joanna

H/T Frugal Cafe

Transcript portions of El Rushbo’s analysis:

Rush Limbaugh Show: Obama Unveils Health Care Plan: A Defiant “Screw You” to Nation
EIB Broadcast February 22, 2010

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: It’s a suicide pact. I mean, that’s all you can say this thing is. They don’t care. They know Harry Reid is going to go down in flames, they know Obama is going to go down in flames in 2012 — they don’t care. His approval number is down to 45% in Rasmussen. It’s minus -19 on the strongly approve, strongly disapprove Rasmussen graph. The American people don’t want any part of this. They’re still going to ram this thing down our throats. They do not care.

[...]

I’ve been trying to gather as much information on this stupid thing as I can. And, by the way, ladies and gentlemen, I somewhat feel responsible for what’s happening today because it was I and I alone, who, for a year said, “Where the hell is his plan? He doesn’t have a plan!” He’s letting Reid go down with the ship and he’s letting Pelosi go down with the ship over in the House and the Senate, but he hasn’t put his name to any plan — where’s his plan? Well, he’s got a plan now, and it’s still not a piece of legislation. It’s just a bunch of outline and overview things.

[...]

Folks, this is a monster. The first seven pages are a summary, and it’s all Robin Hood, it’s all Robin Hood, then it gets ugly.

It’s the fourth quarter. We got two minutes, he’s down 13 and Peyton Manning is hurt. This thing is going to get uglier and uglier. Do you realize, this line’s actually in it: “The president’s proposal provides that it –” … This proposal is actually in this president’s outline. “The president’s proposal provides that, if necessary, funds will be transferred to the Social Security trust fund to ensure that they are held harmless by the proposal.” That’s an admission it’s going to fail, so they’re trying to create another revenue stream here. So what that means is if Social Security goes broke, revenue from health care taxes will be transferred.

Oh, by the way, do you realize Obama didn’t wait for the CBO. This is a $1 trillion plan, and, you know what? It’s going to insure everybody that’s uninsured, 31 million people now, and it’s not going to add to the deficit. Do you believe that? Yeah, it’s magical. It’s pure magic. It’s going to cover everybody that’s not covered.

He’s going to really choke those insurance companies, too. The federal government is going to take over setting their rates and make sure everybody gets covered, spend a trillion dollars — didn’t he just have these two clowns come out, deficit commission last week, reduce spending commission? And he comes up the following week, hey, here’s my $1 trillion plan, doesn’t add to the deficit, insures everybody. We’ve got a panacea here…

[...]

Do you know how many times the word “tax” is mentioned in Obama’s health care bill? Thirty-five times “tax” is mentioned in the Obama health care bill. So, yeah, Ben Nelson is hung out to dry here. “Eliminating the Nebraska FMAP provision and providing significant additional Federal financing to all States for the expansion of Medicaid.” The public option’s not in it, but what I just read essentially says that it is. If you believe that there’s not a public option in this, you’re too gullible, and besides, this is just phase one.

Now, it also will increase “the threshold for the excise tax on the most expensive health plans from $23,000 for a family plan to $27,500 and start it in 2018 for all plans.” It’s 2010, right? 2018. Nobody’s fingerprints on this thing are going to be around for you to punish. They’re all going to be gone. Louisiana Purchase stands, at least the way I read it. There’s more, ladies and gentlemen. Obama’s plan would set a national eligibility threshold for Medicaid, the federal state insurance program for low-income Americans at 133% of poverty, the Senate preference, rather than 150% of the federal poverty level as proposed by the House. So under the White House proposal states would get 100% federal funding for any newly eligible Medicaid participants for four years, from 2014 to 2017. So the states are being incentivized to go higher and go sign up wards of the state.

Now, there’s no public option, right? They’re big-time touting no public option. But listen to this provision: “Under the White House proposal, states would get 100% federal funding –” and remember, now, this isn’t going to add to the deficit. We get 100% federal funding for any newly eligible Medicaid participants for four years, from 2014 to 2017, with 95% reimbursement the following two years and 90% after that. Folks, I mean we’re talking dead on bankruptcy here, national bankruptcy.

We’re talking about bankrupting the country. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, are broke, there is no Social Security trust fund anymore anyway. That’s why he’s talking about “refunding” it, none of this is sustainable. Expanding any of this is sheer madness. Promising to fund Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, is a lie. We don’t have the money. And as I asked mere moments ago in a very brilliant way, how can President Obama say that he’s setting up a blue ribbon committee to fix the deficit and then make these irresponsible new spending promises? They don’t care. They literally don’t care.

The bipartisan commission is a lie. Obamacare is a lie. The country’s broke, and this just accelerates our already certain bankruptcy. The State-Controlled Media are saying: “Obama’s bill helps cover 31 million Americans.” Sorry, it mandates coverage with the threat of a fine or a tax. It coerces coverage. This is raw, bare-knuckled, government power, fines for not buying Obamacare, unconstitutionality throughout this thing. Thank you, Professor Obama.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: By the way, from the Los Angeles Times, this is from yesterday, headline really says it all: “White House adjusts strategy on Republicans — The Obama administration aims to put members of the GOP on the spot, forcing them to compromise on issues or be portrayed as obstructionists.” That’s the health care summit Thursday at Blair House. Is there any reason now to go to this thing? Somebody help me out here. Is there any reason for the Republicans to trudge up there and appear at this thing?

Obama’s plan, he put it out there. And, look, everybody knew from the get-go this is designed to make the Republicans look like the obstructionists. The Democrats cannot get anything passed in the House and the Senate, and they have all the Democrats they need in the House to do it, and they had all the Democrats in the Senate, they couldn’t get it done, so now they want to shift blame to the Republicans, and the Republicans are being advised by people, “You can’t reject the invitation to the president, you really gotta go to the White House.”

Boehner, I think, there’s a letter he released this morning questioning why they should go now. I don’t know what the status of it is, but here it is: “As voters lose patience with political gridlock –” They are not losing patience. That’s another story that’s being spun. Folks, the American voter loves the gridlock right now. The gridlock is what is saving this country. Gridlock is what is preventing the Obama administration succeeding at their destructive agenda. Voters are not losing patience with political gridlock. Democrats are. “– the Obama administration is embarking on a strategy aimed at putting Republicans on the spot: Either participate in bipartisan exchanges initiated by the president, or be portrayed as the party of obstruction.” You may as well be portrayed as the party of obstruction because you can’t stop ‘em anyway. I mean you can, I guess, now with Scott Brown over in the Senate. I’ll tell you what, this is no slam-dunk. They just made it by three votes in the House on the Pelosi version of this.

We’re getting closer and closer to November and these Blue Dogs over there, the Democrat Party, people are dropping like flies, and I’m not sure they’re going to get this passed out of the House this time. You would think they’ll do it, but where’s Pelosi? You talk about going underground, you talk about low profile, where’s Pelosi? We haven’t seen her, and we haven’t seen Dingy Harry except when he was trying to act like he wasn’t at the Obama town hall.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Now, I want to look at the Democrats here as a couple of parents, in a way. You people know that having children will not save dysfunctional marriages. It just doesn’t work. And to the Democrats, passing Obamacare will not save you. It is going to destroy you! It is a suicide pact.

Troubled marriages become more troubled when new responsibilities are added to couples who are already prone to anger and disagreement — and, frankly, hate each other. Obamacare is not being conceived by a bunch of happy people who are likely to stay together, folks. This health care plan has been prepared in anger…

The purpose of this health care plan is for them to show you who the hell is boss and you think that they think that you are respected. No! They think you are stupid and they’re going to ram this down your throat regardless. There’s not happiness, there is no joy. There is nothing that is positive about the conception of this health care plan. This November, the American people are going to impose a divorce decree on the very Democrats plotting to conceive a bill that will destroy private health insurance, a bill that will grow up to become a doomed single-payer, government-owned and operated, rationed health care system.

The Democrats are giving birth to every movie monster you have ever seen, from Freddy Krueger to… Hell, I can’t remember them all. Every movie monster ever, the Democrats are conceiving it. They are not happy with themselves. They’re in a series of rapid divorces. They’re angry. They’re throwing the kitchen sink at each other — and to try to help themselves out, they are now conceiving a health care plan.

Obamacare is an act of anger, it is an act of desperation, it is a law that soon-to-be-fired Democrats will abandon and leave on the doorstep of the rest of the country. It’s a bill with no visible means of support. We’re getting a total deadbeat offspring of the Democrats here. It has no visible means of support or love. Nobody’s going to love this bill. Nobody’s going to have any support for it. It’s going to be an unwanted, unloved bill, dependent on the expanding bankrupt government. What could possibly go wrong here? What could possibly go wrong?

This bill, while it is right now just an unviable tissue mass which has zero humanity in it, needs to be aborted. I’ve always been pro-choice. I’ve always chosen life, except in this case. This bill needs to die.

This bill’s being conceived by the most unhappy bunch of parents. It’s a bill conceived in grievance and anger and desperation and defiance and an attitude of “Screw you!” to us.

More at Frugal Cafe


Obama Blithely Oblivious or Dishonest?

Posted in Politics, United States with tags , , , , , , , on February 25, 2010 by Joanna

H/T Instapundit and the Anchoress for the recap.

Republicans: “Our health-care alternative — the full text of the legislation — has been available at healthcare.gop.gov for months, which President Obama knows, since he discussed it with us in Baltimore a few weeks ago.”

Lucifer, Who is He?

Posted in Catholic, Christian, Culture, Religion, Spiritual with tags , , , , , , , , , on February 25, 2010 by Joanna

“Souls fall into Hell like snowflakes fall from the sky.” (Our Lady to the children at Fatima)

“Lucifer, the Stalker” – Dr. Rick Varier

Posted in Catholic, Christian, Faith, Spiritual, Video with tags , , , , , , , on February 24, 2010 by Joanna

Get to know about the Enemy!

Evangelical to Catholic 5

Posted in Catholic, Christian, Church, Lent, Video with tags , , , , , , , on February 24, 2010 by Joanna

Hang in there; it’s worth it!

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Evangelical to Catholic 4/5

Posted in Catholic, Christian, Church, Just Thinking Out Loud, Lent, Video with tags , , , , , , , , on February 24, 2010 by Joanna

Sent from my iPod

Evangelical to Catholic 3/5

Posted in Catholic, Christian, Church, Culture, Faith, Just Thinking Out Loud, Lent, Video with tags , , , , , , , , , , on February 24, 2010 by Joanna

Sent from my iPod

Evangelical to Catholic 2/5

Posted in Catholic, Christian, Church, Culture, Just Thinking Out Loud, Video with tags , , , , , , , , on February 24, 2010 by Joanna

Deepen your faith!

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Evangelical to Catholic 1/5

Posted in Catholic, Christian, Church, Culture, Faith, Religion, Video with tags , , , , , , , , , on February 24, 2010 by Joanna

Worth every minute of your time.

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Sanctify (Come Holy Spirit)

Posted in Art, Catholic, Christian, devotion, Lent with tags , , , , , , , , , on February 24, 2010 by Joanna

Happy Lent! Come Holy Spirit!

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Divine Mercy Chaplet – 3 O’clock Prayer

Posted in Catholic, Christian, Religion, Spiritual with tags , , , , , , on February 23, 2010 by Joanna

3 pm The Hour of Mercy

Actually, it’s the middle of the night for me; a great time to pray!

Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary

Posted in Art, Catholic, Christ, Christian, Culture, Religion, Spiritual with tags , , , , , , , , , , , on February 23, 2010 by Joanna

Beautifully prayed!

Feast of the Chair of Peter

Posted in Catholic, Christian, Church, Church Fathers, Faith, Holy Spirit with tags , , , , , , , , , , on February 22, 2010 by Joanna

Christ provided authority as a gift to His Church. The Church recognized the authority of Peter as remaining with the Church from age to age.

From a sermon by Saint Leo the Great, pope
(Sermo 4 de natali ipsius, 2-3: PL 54, 149-151)
The Church of Christ rises on the firm foundation of Peter€™s faith

Out of the whole world one man, Peter, is chosen to preside at the calling of all nations, and to be set over all the apostles and all the fathers of the Church. Though there are in God€™s people many shepherds, Peter is thus appointed to rule in his own person those whom Christ also rules as the original ruler. Beloved, how great and wonderful is this sharing of his power that God in his goodness has given to this man. Whatever Christ has willed to be shared in common by Peter and the other leaders of the Church, it is only through Peter that he has given to others what he has not refused to bestow on them.

The Lord now asks the apostles as a whole what men think of him. As long as they are recounting the uncertainty born of human ignorance, their reply is always the same.

But when he presses the disciples to say what they think themselves, the first to confess his faith in the Lord is the one who is first in rank among the apostles.

Peter says: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus replies: Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona, for flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but my Father who is in heaven. You are blessed, he means, because my Father has taught you. You have not been deceived by earthly opinion, but have been enlightened by inspiration from heaven. It was not flesh and blood that pointed me out to you, but the one whose only-begotten Son I am.

He continues: And I say to you. In other words, as my Father has revealed to you my godhead, so I in my turn make known to you your pre-eminence. You are Peter: though I am the inviolable rock, the cornerstone that makes both one, the foundation apart from which no one can lay any other, yet you also are a rock, for you are given solidity by my strength, so that which is my very own because of my power is common between us through your participation. And upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. On this strong foundation, he says, I will build an everlasting temple. The great height of my Church, which is to penetrate the heavens, shall rise on the firm foundation of this faith.

The gates of hell shall not silence this confession of faith; the chains of death shall not bind it. Its words are the words of life. As they lift up to heaven those who profess them, so they send down to hell those who contradict them.

Blessed Peter is therefore told: To you I will give the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever youi bind on earth is also bound in heaven. Whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed also in heaven.

The authority vested in this power passed also to the other apostles, and the institution established by this decree has been continued in all the leaders of the Church. But it is not without good reason that what is bestowed on all is entrusted to one. For Peter received it separately in trust because he is the prototype set before all the rulers of the Church.

When You Can’t Blame Bush – Blame America & the Constitution

Posted in Charles Krauthammer, Opinions, Politics, United States with tags , , , , , , , on February 21, 2010 by Joanna

Charles Krauthammer makes it plain:

“In the latter days of the Carter presidency, it became fashionable to say that the office had become unmanageable and was simply too big for one man. Some suggested a single, six-year presidential term. The president’s own White House counsel suggested abolishing the separation of powers and going to a more parliamentary system of unitary executive control. America had become ungovernable.”

“Then came Ronald Reagan, and all that chatter disappeared.”

“Desperate to explain away this scandalous state of affairs, liberal apologists haul out the old reliable from the Carter years: “America the Ungovernable.” So declared Newsweek. “Is America Ungovernable?” coyly asked The New Republic. Guess the answer.”

Krauthammer sides with the American people and the Constitution:

“The people said no, expressing themselves first in spontaneous demonstrations, then in public opinion polls, then in elections — Virginia, New Jersey and, most emphatically, Massachusetts.

“That’s not a structural defect. That’s a textbook demonstration of popular will expressing itself — despite the special interests — through the existing structures. In other words, the system worked.”

In the Days Following Ash Wednesday

Posted in Catholic, Christian, Culture, Religion, Spiritual with tags , , , , , , , , , , on February 21, 2010 by Joanna

Catholics, practicing and non-practicing, love Ash Wednesday.  People you won’t see again till Midnight Mass show up and happily wear the ashes.  Will ashes alone suffice for conversion of heart?  When the ashes are washed away, will  sin be, too?  Hopefully,  the graced action of the sacramental ashes will act on the heart as a foot in the door.

Lenten Alert: Don’t waste the moment and movement of grace; open the door of your Catholic heart to God, especially if you have been away.

Choose a hidden place for yourself and delight to retire there alone, where you need not talk with anyone, but instead pour out your heart to god in prayer.  In this way you will have a clear conscience and a contrite heart.  Look upon the whole world as nothing, preferring to give your time to God before all external things.” Thomas A’Kempis: Imitation of Christ

St Bridget 12 year prayer-7 wounds of Jesus

Posted in Catholic, Christian, Culture, Just Thinking Out Loud, Religion with tags , , , , , , , , on February 20, 2010 by Joanna

A  wonderful prayer for Lent and a prayer with promises,,,Say everyday!

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Saturday after Ash Wednesday

Posted in Just Thinking Out Loud with tags on February 20, 2010 by Joanna

Saturday after Ash Wednesday

Isaiah 1:16-18

Wash yourselves clean!
Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes;
cease doing evil; learn to do good.
Make justice your aim; redress the wronged,
hear the orphans plea, defend the widow.
Come now, let us set things right,
says the Lord:
Though your sins be like scarlet,
they may become white as snow;
Though they be crimson red,
they may become white as wool.i

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Prophecy and Promise to Israel

Posted in Catholic, Christian, Culture, Religion, Spiritual with tags , , , , , , , , , , , on February 19, 2010 by Joanna

Isaiah 53:11b-12

Through his suffering, my servant shall justify many,
and their guilt he shall bear.
Therefore I will give him his portion among the great,
and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty,
Because he surrendered himself to death
and was counted among the wicked:
And he shall take away the sins of many,
and win pardon for their offenses.

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Lenten Reading

Posted in Christian, Culture, Lent, Religion, Spiritual with tags , , , , , , , , on February 19, 2010 by Joanna

Lenten Reading

From a homily by Saint John Chrysostom, bishop
(Supp., Hom. 6 De precatione: PG 64, 462-466)
Prayer is the light of the spirit

Prayer and converse with God is a supreme good: it is a partnership and union with God. As the eyes of the body are enlightened when they see light, so our spirit, when it is intent on God, is illumined by his infinite light. I do not mean the prayer of outward observance but prayer from the heart, not confined to fixed times or periods but continuous throughout the day and night.

Our spirit should be quick to reach out toward God, not only when it is engaged in meditation; at other times also, when it is carrying out its duties, caring for the needy, performing works of charity, giving generously in the service of others, our spirit should long for God and call him to mind, so that these works may be seasoned with the salt of Gods love, and so make a palatable offering to the Lord of the universe. Throughout the whole of our lives we may enjoy the benefit that comes from prayer if we devote a great deal of time to it.

Prayer is the light of the spirit, true knowledge of God, mediating between God and man. The spirit, raised up to heaven by prayer, clings to God with the utmost tenderness; like a child crying tearfully for its mother, it craves the milk that God provides. It seeks the satisfaction of its own desires, and receives gifts outweighing the whole world of nature.

Prayer stands before God as an honored ambassador. It gives joy to the spirit, peace to the heart. I speak of prayer, not words. It is the longing for God, love too deep for words, a gift not given by man but by Gods grace. The apostle Paul says: We do not know how we are to pray but the Spirit himself pleads for us with inexpressible longings.

When the Lord gives this kind of prayer to a man, he gives him riches that cannot be taken away, heavenly food that satisfies the spirit. One who tastes this food is set on fire with an eternal longing for the Lord: his spirit burns as in a fire of utmost intensity.

Practice prayer from the beginning. Paint your house with the colors of modesty and humility. Make it radiant with the light of justice. Decorate it with the finest gold leaf of good deeds. Adorn it with the walls and stones of faith and generosity. Crown it with the pinnacle of prayer. In this way you will make it a perfect dwelling place for the Lord. You will be able to receive him as in a splendid palace, and through his grace you will already possess him, his image enthroned in the temple of your spirit.

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