I think I saw this on the X-Files Once…….

For yo Sci-Fi geeks who remember Eugene Tooms from the X-Files episodes Squeeze and Tooms, I don’t need to explain anything further, but for everyone else here it goes.  Tooms could contort his body to squeeze into tight places that most people couldn’t go (chimney,air conditioning vent)and murder people because he needed to eat their liver.  Now this guy was being held for entering the Country illegally, but if their ends up being a killing spree where livers are missing remember you heard it here first.

Chris

“Snake man” slithers out of prison cell

VIENNA (Reuters) - A man has escaped from his Austrian jail cell by squeezing through a food hatch in the door, police said on Wednesday.

The 19-year old Kosovan, who weighed less than 121 pounds, was being held at the prison in Linz for entering the country illegally, police spokesman Alexander Niederwimmer told APA news agency.

How he got through two further doors or possibly over the prison wall is being investigated, said Niederwimmer, calling the escapee “a snake man.”……(reuters)…….

(Reporting by Paul Bolding; editing by Keith Weir)

Amen, Amen I say to thee………

For those of you that don’t know who Doug Kmeic is…He is the Caruso Family Chair and Professor of Constitutional Law at Pepperdine University’s School of Law. He served as head of the Office of Legal Counsel (U.S. Assistant Attorney General) for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, a position previously held by U.S. Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Justice Antonin Scalia in the Nixon and Ford administrations.  

The reason that he seems so pertinent to me is not only is he a well thought out Republican whom I can respect but he’s also Catholic.  As a matter of fact he was is the former Dean and St. Thomas More Professor of the law school at The Catholic University of America (2000-2003).  No one is going to call Doug a liberal and what I am hoping is that his endorsement of Obama will signal a break for the American Catholic intelligentsia away from neo-political politics.  I know that there are plenty of deep catholic thinkers out there who aren’t neo-cons, (David Schindler at the John Paull II Institute comes to mind) but unfortunately several famious Catholics have seemed to endorse the neo-con/Bush doctrine (George Weigal for one.)

Maybe even more importantly this is a story of a man that seems to see abortion as part of a larger issue one that the GOP doesn’t completly control.

Doug Kmiec Reaffirms Endorsing Sen. Barack Obama

By Douglas W. Kmiec
5/3/2008

Catholic Online

“To some of my fellow Catholics, Senator Obama’s answers on abortion make him categorically unacceptable. I understand that view, respect it, but find it prudentially the second-best answer in 2008.”

MALIBU, CA (Catholic Online) - In the last few weeks, I have been repeatedly asked if my endorsement of Senator Obama stands. 

To some of my fellow Catholics, Senator Obama’s answers on abortion make him categorically unacceptable.I understand that view, respect it, but find it prudentially the second-best answer in 2008. 

Not because Senator Obama’s position on abortion is mine; it is not. Not because I don’t believe Senator Obama could improve the articulation of his position; he could, but because I believe that my faith calls upon me at this time to focus on new efforts and untried paths to reduce abortion practice in America. ….(more)….

Well I don’t know about you but I feel better!!!

I know that this seems a little tongue and cheek, but whether or not aliens should be seen as brethern would become deadly series if/when they ever showed themselves. I do wonder how long they thought about this though. 

 

Vatican: It’s OK to believe in aliens

By ARIEL DAVID – 23 hours ago

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Believing that the universe may contain alien life does not contradict a faith in God, the Vatican’s chief astronomer said in an interview published Tuesday.

The Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, the Jesuit director of the Vatican Observatory, was quoted as saying the vastness of the universe means it is possible there could be other forms of life outside Earth, even intelligent ones.

“How can we rule out that life may have developed elsewhere?” Funes said. “Just as we consider earthly creatures as ‘a brother,’ and ’sister,’ why should we not talk about an ‘extraterrestrial brother’? It would still be part of creation.”

In the interview by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Funes said that such a notion “doesn’t contradict our faith” because aliens would still be God’s creatures. Ruling out the existence of aliens would be like “putting limits” on God’s creative freedom, he said.

The interview, headlined “The extraterrestrial is my brother,” covered a variety of topics including the relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and science, and the theological implications of the existence of alien life.

Funes said science, especially astronomy, does not contradict religion, touching on a theme of Pope Benedict XVI, who has made exploring the relationship between faith and reason a key aspect of his papacy.

The Bible “is not a science book,” Funes said, adding that he believes the Big Bang theory is the most “reasonable” explanation for the creation of the universe. The theory says the universe began billions of years ago in the explosion of a single, super-dense point that contained all matter.

But he said he continues to believe that “God is the creator of the universe and that we are not the result of chance.”

Funes urged the church and the scientific community to leave behind divisions caused by Galileo’s persecution 400 years ago, saying the incident has “caused wounds.”

In 1633 the astronomer was tried as a heretic and forced to recant his theory that the Earth revolved around the sun. Church teaching at the time placed Earth at the center of the universe.

“The church has somehow recognized its mistakes,” he said. “Maybe it could have done it better, but now it’s time to heal those wounds and this can be done through calm dialogue and collaboration.”

Pope John Paul declared in 1992 that the ruling against Galileo was an error resulting from “tragic mutual incomprehension.”

The Vatican Observatory has been at the forefront of efforts to bridge the gap between religion and science. Its scientist-clerics have generated top-notch research and its meteorite collection is considered one of the world’s best.

The observatory, founded by Pope Leo XIII in 1891, is based in Castel Gandolfo, a lakeside town in the hills outside Rome where the pope has a summer residence. It also conducts research at an observatory at the University of Arizona, in Tucson…..(Google News)…….

 

 

The most excitment we’ve had with the Nationals all Season.

Yes I confess I’m a Nationals fan.  Maybe it has to do with my political science background. All I know is that I saw this article form our friends at the onion and thought if it we’re only true.  My favorite part is where Zimmerman says, “we’re dead”.
 

 

Nationals Book It After Foul Ball Accidentally Smashes Capitol Rotunda

WASHINGTON, DC—An 8,976-foot foul ball off the bat of Washington third baseman Ryan Zimmerman crashed through the U.S. Capitol Building rotunda Sunday afternoon, prompting both the Nationals and the opposing Pittsburgh Pirates to gasp, turn…

Chris gets pummeled by the world…

Well it’s my third week back in South Carolina and I have sent out 30 applications and resumes and I have exactly zero, zilch to show for it.  Who knew a Religious Studies degree was largely useless outside of the field of i don’t know religion.  So much for the well roundedness of the liberal arts degree.  Anyway I just wanted to vent because yes my ego is so big I feel i Should complain to the world.

 

 

Chris Johnson

Ireland is at peace!!!!!

One of the gentlemen I used to work with is Irish.  We talked some about the unrest in Ireland as he grew up and even some about his own run ins as a priest with groups that fighting each other.  Patrick my friend I hope this stay true.

 

Ahern delivers historic message on highest stage

By Senan Molony Deputy Political Editor in Washington

Thursday May 01 2008

IRELAND is at peace. With those four words, Bertie Ahernended his political career on the highest stage and signalled the hour of his country’s coming of age.

Yesterday he followed in the footsteps of three former taoisigh, Garret FitzGerald, John Bruton and Liam Cosgrave, along with two former presidents, Eamon de Valera and Sean T O Ceallaigh, in addressing the US Joint Houses of Congress.

The Taoiseach received a standing ovation as he delivered a message that had eluded them all……(more)…….

Thank God this was said…….

I am sick and tired of the liturgy being used as a weapon to separate Catholics into camps.  I felt that when Pope Benedict allowed for a liberalizing of the extraordinary form of the Latin Mass last year in the motu proprio that he was in some ways allowing Catholics to reclaim their heritage but he was in no way condemning the Ordinary form of the liturgy (as even some clerics where assuming).  The pope has time and again stressed the Vatican II reforms and has always said his concern was not that they were wrong but that they needed to be applied properly.  I’d like to express thanks to Archbishop Marini for attempting to put this to rest.

 

Vatican II liturgical changes “irreversible,” Archbishop Marini says

Rome, Apr. 28, 2008 (CWNews.com) - Archbishop Piero Marini, the former chief liturgist for the Vatican, told L’Osservatore Romano that the liturgical changes following Vatican II are “irreversible.”

Archbishop Marini, who is now the president of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses, told the Vatican newspaper: “Liturgical reform was necessary because it was based on profound theological principles.” He added that the changes following the Council were “of perennial validity.”

Commenting on the motu proprio that allowed for broader use of the traditional Latin liturgy, Archbishop Marini pointed out that the document from Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news) did not involve any change in the Roman Missal as it is used for the “ordinary form” of the Mass. Moreover, he said, in allowing for the “extraordinary form” the Pope did not intend in any way “to judge negatively the liturgical reforms desired by the Council.”

The motu proprio, the archbishop said, was intended primarily to appeal to those Catholics who have a special connection with the pre-conciliar liturgy. He said that the document was “only a a gesture to serve unity.”

Tariq Aziz on trial….

I had always wondered what happened to Tariq Aziz, I knew that he was a Christian and had always assumed he was a Chaldean Catholic but was never sure.  What I do know is that argument that somehow Christians had some sort of privileged status under Hussein because of him can’t possibly be true.  Christian schools got nationalized and Quran made mandatory while he was working with Hussein, so if anything he was a Baathist first and a Christian second.

Tariq Aziz on trial, bishop of Kirkuk: “justice, but in respect of man”
After five years of detention, Saddam’s former deputy prime minister goes before the judge, charged with the execution of dozens of merchants in 1992. The only Christian in the entourage of the rais is wrongly cited as proof of the favour “enjoyed” by this community under the dictatorship. Aziz now risks the death penalty.

Baghdad (AsiaNews) - “Justice, but in respect for human rights and of the dignity of the person, against any capital sentence”, is the appeal that the Chaldean archbishop of Kirkuk, Louis Sako, issued today at the opening of the trial, with risk of the death penalty, against former Iraqi deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz, the only Christian among the leadership of the regime of Saddam Hussein.

The international public face of the dictatorship of the rais, Aziz is accused of executing 42 merchants in 1992, guilty of having speculated on food prices in violation of state controls.  The former foreign minister, a Chaldean Christian, is often cited as proof of the favour that Christians enjoyed under Saddam.  “Nothing could be more false”, say some Chaldean Iraqi refugees in Italy.  Born to a Chaldean family near Mosul in 1936, Tariq Aziz always put his religious affiliation in second place, presenting himself first of all as an Iraqi Arab and a member of the Baath party.  He changed his original name, Michael Yohanna, for less compromising one.  He “did not bat an eye” at the nationalisation of the Christian schools, nor at the provision for the obligatory teaching of the Qur’an……..(more)……….

The false voice of a new crusade…….

I am always amazed by the fact that people who convert to a religion other than Christianity are found to be interesting folks who are discovering themselves.  This Easter when the Pope Baptized the journalist Magdi Allam, he is instigating a freaking crusade, I mean come on that’s ridiculous.  Anyway this is a pretty good article written by Samir Khalil Samir of the Society of Jesus.

 

Magdi Christian Allam, a contested conversion
by Samir Khalil Samir, sj
The Catholic baptism of the well known journalist, Magdi Allam, Egyptian and non practising Muslim, has been criticised and despised by the Islamic world. Added to this, is the embarrassment in Christian quarters, of those fearful of seeing a new crusade being launched by Benedict XVI and the Church. Instead, just as with the Regensburg address, this baptism is a message in defence of religious freedom, of evangelisation and of co-existence between religions.Beirut (AsiaNews) – Every year, during the Easter Vigil in St Peter’s basilica, the pope baptises a group of adults drawn from the various continents.  On the feast of the baptism of Jesus, meanwhile, the pope traditionally baptises small children.

This year’s vigil saw 7 people baptised.  One of them was a Muslim, well known in Italy and abroad:  Magdi Allam, deputy editor ad personam of the leading Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera. ………(more)……

A new sign the apocalypse is upon us…….

A new sign the apocalypse is upon us…….

 

CNN in their media omnipotence have decided that you can have a t-shirt made of certain news headlines.  Just go to there website and if you see a t-shirt icon next to headline just click it and there you have it your own personalized CNN.com t-shirt.

 

 

This is the one I thought was the most hysterical………“Boy charged with Sharing Nude Cell Pics”

 Hysterical or sad you decide.

 

Chris