Thursday, May 29, 2008

Defining Marriage in California...

The Granola State just got fruitier, nuttier and flakier.

Last week I linked to a commentary by Dennis Prager on the recent California Supreme Court's 4-3 decision to allow same-sex "marriage" in the state (thus overturning the will of 61% of Californians who voted for Proposition 22 in 2000). His commentary summarizes, in part:

"[H]eterosexism," [will be considered] a bigoted preference for man-woman erotic love, and therefore to be extirpated from society.

Any advocacy of man-woman marriage alone will be regarded morally as hate speech, and shortly thereafter it will be deemed so in law.

Companies that advertise engagement rings will have to show a man putting a ring on a man's finger -- if they show only women fingers, they will be boycotted just as a company having racist ads would be now.

Films that only show man-woman married couples will be regarded as antisocial and as morally irresponsible as films that show people smoking have become.

Traditional Jews and Christians -- i.e. those who believe in a divine scripture -- will be marginalized. Already Catholic groups in Massachusetts have abandoned adoption work since they will only allow a child to be adopted by a married couple as the Bible defines it -- a man and a woman.

Anyone who advocates marriage between a man and a woman will be morally regarded the same as racist. And soon it will be a hate crime.

Indeed -- and this is the ultimate goal of many of the same-sex marriage activists -- the terms "male" and "female," "man" and "woman" will gradually lose their significance. They already are. On the intellectual and cultural left, "male" and "female" are deemed social constructs that have little meaning. That is why same-sex marriage advocates argue that children have no need for both a mother and a father -- the sexes are interchangeable. Whatever a father can do a second mother can do. Whatever a mother can do, a second father can do. Genitalia are the only real differences between the sexes, and even they can be switched at will.

Yesterday, Frank Pastore had a commentary of his own, which is also worth reading. Frank summaries, in part:

Same-sex marriage will inevitably lead to polygamy and perhaps “consensual” incest. The collective wisdom of Western civilization, and the Judeo-Christian value system beneath it, have always restricted marriage to two people, not closely related, one man and one woman, of legal age. For over 2,000 years, there have been laws against bigamy, polygamy, incest and minor marriage. No society in history has ever granted same-sex marriage while maintaining prolonged prohibition of polygamous and incestuous relationships...

If the 2,000 years of Western tradition was insufficient to maintain this court’s prohibition against same-sex marriage, how can this court appeal to that same tradition to prohibit incest and polygamy? If past generations have found incest, polygamy and same-sex marriage “inimical to mutually supportive and healthy family relationships” because of their “potentially detrimental effect on a sound family environment,” how can this court accept the traditional prohibitions against incest and polygamy, while rejecting the traditional prohibition against same sex marriage? If this court can overturn tradition and find a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, what will prevent future courts from similarly overturning tradition to find a constitutional right to incest and polygamy?

UPDATE: Per a recent California poll (after the court decision), 54%-35% (with 10% undecided) are for an Amendment to the State Constitution to define marriage as being between a man and a woman. This follows the Prop 22 numbers of 2000 which were 61%-39%.

As Frank says in his last sentence:
We must turn around while our course is still reversible.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Currently reading "The Everlasting Man"...

I stumbled upon G.K. Chesterton first via his fiction. His novel "The Man Who Was Thursday" was on some list somewhere, and the subject matter intrigued me - so I bought the book and read it. Needless to say, I was baffled after turning the last page of the tome. Chesterton tends to do that to people. I then read his novel "Man Alive" and chuckled as the storyline progressed.

That was the extent of my Chesterton experience until my cable TV service started airing EWTN about five or six years ago (I now get EWTN via DishTV satellite). EWTN would begin airing this 1/2-hour series entitled "G.K. Chesterton: The Apostle of Common Sense", hosted by Dale Ahlquist. This broadened my world to the even broader world of G.K. Chesterton. I bought Dale's introductory book of the same name, which then lead me to reading "Orthodoxy", "St. Francis of Assisi", "The Flying Inn", Dale's second book "Common Sense 101", and then joining the American Chesterton Society (with it's offering of "Gilbert!" magazine).

When I started this blog some four years ago I chose the title "Arbiter of Common Sense" as a hat-tip to Chesterton. I even met Dale Ahlquist once about a year and a half ago when he came to my town to give a talk on all things Chesterton; had the chance to chat with him over breakfast at that morning's event, and bought his second book (which he graciously signed).

I've given a copy of "The Complete Father Brown Stories" as well as "Common Sense 101" to my Dad, and "The Everlasting Man" to one of my brother's, as gifts. Finally, I got around to buying that last book for myself - having just started reading it this past week (only a couple chapters in) - and have been struck by the powerful precision with which Chesterton presents his arguments.

Sitting on my bookshelves are several more G.K. tomes waiting patiently for my fingers to split open and turn their pages, including: "The Ball and The Cross", "St. Thomas Aquinas", "Heretics", and the "Collected Works" Volumes 4 and 5. Eventually I'll get his to his "Collected Works" Volumes 3, 20 and 21, "Tremendous Trifles", "A Miscellany of Men", and "The Well and The Shallows", but I think it might be awhile before I get to them.

If you haven't read any G.K. Chesterton, START! For fiction, start with "Man Alive" or the "Father Brown" stories. For non-fiction, delve into "The Everlasting Man". For a great overview, read Dale's two books. Watch the TV series on EWTN, or buy the DVDs. Join the American Chesterton Society and not only get "Gilbert!" magazine, but also member discounts on all the books!

You can thank me later.

~Trubador: The Arbiter of Common Sense

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Back in the saddle again...

I have returned from a brief trip back east to attend my brother's wedding (third go-round for him... long story). Good times were had by all, though I am exhausted. One day to fly. One day to recover from jet-lag. One day for the wedding. One day to fly back. Back to work the following day. Ugh!

Anyways... while that event was going on, another momentous event occurred back here in the good ole California courts regarding the re-definition of marriage.

Rather than expressing my own thoughts on the subject, I refer you to Dennis Prager's excellent commentary.

Heterosexism. Wow! Now that's exacting precision.

Monday, May 12, 2008

EC:WC FCA - Three DVD Recommendations...

I’ve got three film recommendations for you that are out on DVD. All three are powerful films, with the first two having subtle/distant connections to 9/11.

“The Kite Runner” is based on the best selling book of the same title, set pre-9/11 (mostly in Afghanistan). It follows the long friendship and struggles of two childhood friends. It’s a foreign language film with English subtitles. It’s dark and powerful, yet finds its way towards hope and redemption.

Next is “Reign Over Me” starring Adam Sandler (yes, that Adam Sandler) and Don Cheadle. This is NOT your typical Sandler flick. It’s a drama with many moments of subtle and poignant humor. The premise is of two old classmates meeting for the first time in many years; Cheadle is a successful orthodontist, while Sandler has been “lost” after the national tragedy of 9/11 has crumbled his world.

The last film is “Bella” - a small, independent flick about a famous soccer player who retreats from his career and the world after being affected by a tragic incident. While working at his brother’s restaurant he observes one of the waitresses as she loses her job after arriving late one-too-many times. He suddenly feels the need to lend a helping hand, and the film explores their burgeoning relationship.

Enjoy all three! They're all better than most of the crap that's shoveled at you on both the big and small screen.

Saturday, May 03, 2008

The Mary Jane March - 2008...

You just can't make this stuff up.

Dateline: Palm Springs, CA:

About 10 people gathered today in Palm Springs to take part in the Global Marijuana March, a police watch commander said.

"They walked a couple blocks and that was about it,'' said Palm Springs police Lt. Don Fallon. ``No problems. They were very cooperative.''

According to a website for the 2008 Global Marijuana March, people in 239 cities in Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas signed up to take part in the event today.

Organizers billed the global effort as the 10th annual march to legalize medical marijuana. Marchers in Palm Springs gathered about 11 a.m. near Indian Canyon Drive and Baristo Road.

Ten people showed up... 10! Uhh, I gather all the others were so stoned they forgot about the march.

I guess the reason why it ended after only a couple blocks was because they all suddenly got the munchies and headed into the local Wienerschnitzel for corn dogs.

Classic! Just classic!

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

An Inconvenient Penguin...

Tonight I am going to the premiere of my friend & colleague's, Todd Lampe, new short film "An Inconvenient Penguin" in West Hollywood.


Todd creates these hilarious short flicks, and this is his biggest project yet. In this one he spoofs two sets of films at once - the plethora of penguin movies like "March of the Penguins" with Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth". I've seen a rough cut already and was laughing my a** off. Two showings tonight @ Lammle's on Sunset Blvd.

You can catch the trailer here. The official website is here. And you can check out Todd's previous short flicks at his Precipice Productions website. He's planning on submitting it to many of the film festivals throughout the country.

Good luck, Todd!!!

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Lame attempts at being artistic #5...

Jen's post about art (which I referenced in the previous post) made me realize that it's been awhile since I've posted some art pix of my own. They're simple shots; nothing fancy. Hope you enjoy 'em.

CROSS BEAM


SAND FINGERS


LADYBUG SERIES 2 (purple)


LADYBUG SERIES 5 (yellow w/ bee)


LIQUID GROOVES 1


LIQUID GROOVES 2

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

The Definition of Art...

(Hat-tip to Paragraph Farmer):

Jennifer of Et Tu? (a former atheist who is now a Catholic, and has been chronicling her journey on her blog), has an interesting post about poetry and art:
"At some point after my conversion, I heard about the concept that true art is beautiful, in some form or another, and that in order to be beautiful it must convey truth. I didn't get it. How can art be true?..."

She goes on to discover:

"Art is the secret handshake of the children of God, the inside joke among those with souls. The spark that is ignited within us when we are touched by a work of art is a spark of recognition: the artist has brought us a souvenir from our homeland beyond the material world, the place that none of us should know about, but all of us do. To connect with a piece of art is to connect with the artist as a fellow traveler, to realize that you are both walking the same rocky road, and that he is homesick too. And it matters because true art, art that seeks a connection of souls, makes it harder to devalue and dehumanize one another. It reminds us what it means to be human."

Read the entire post here.

On a related note, it's time again for the Ventura ArtWalk - what was originally a tri-annual event on Saturdays in downtown Ventura has now become a bi-annual event that covers the entire weekend. This weekend is the Spring event, and the Autumn event will be in mid-October. For more information, click here.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Oil prices have NOTHING to do with supply & demand...

... nor do they have much to do with the "weak" U.S. dollar. Read between the lines from the comments of the OPEC chief:

OPEC Secretary-General Abdullah el al-Badri said Sunday oil prices would likely go higher and that the group was ready to raise production if the price pressure was due to a shortage of supply — something he doubted.

"Oil prices, there is a common understanding that has nothing to do with supply and demand," al-Badri said on the sidelines of an energy conference in Rome.

Oil prices reached a new high Friday at $117 a barrel.

A host of supply and demand concerns in the U.S. and abroad, along with the dollar's weakness, have served to support prices, even as record retail gasoline prices in the U.S. appear to be dampening demand. Crude prices have risen as much as 4 percent last week.

The OPEC chief said the Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries "will not hesitate" to increase production if the group thought the higher prices were due to shortages. But he said more oil will not solve the high prices.

OPEC's production levels were just one of many factors, he said.

"But how much higher it will go, of course it depends on a number of things: the political situation, whether there is a natural catastrophe, whether there are speculations in the market, whether there are strikes in certain producing countries. So there are many other factors other than OPEC production," al-Badri said.

As I have always suspected, the increase in prices have less to do with supply/demand or the status of the dollar, but more to do with the OPEC nations (most of which are in the Middle East) who are doing this to spite the Western World by using it as another "front" on the war with radical Islam.

How to deal with this problem? Easy!

Drill in ANWAR (upper Alaska, only two square miles of land out of 500,000 in that state), drill in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida, extract oil from shale - extracting in place, not via excavation - in the four-state region of Colorado/Utah/Wyoming/Montana. These three things alone would supply us with 1/3 of the total amount of oil we annually export from overseas.

In addition, build new refineries (something which hasn't been done in over 25 years).

Build new nuclear fission power plants (one thing that France has done right. Notice that no accidents have occurred anywhere in the world since Chernobyl and 3 Mile Island? The industry has learned from these incidents and have become much safer).

Dump the stupid, corn-based ethanol fiasco (which is inefficient in that it takes too much energy to extract and convert ethanol from that source, plus it raises the cost of all other corn-base products as well as corn itself - for food and also for animal feed, which raises beef and chicken prices). Instead, import the more efficient sugar cane-base ethanol from Brazil and other South American allies.

Invest more in fuel-cell technology, nuclear fusion technology, and other alternative energy technologies (provided that they are promising, efficient, and cost-effective).

And, finally, break up OPEC and make individual producers do their bidding in a true, free open market system. This will foster competition while also letting the world know which oil-producing countries are doing suspect dealings (i.e., making known which questionable regimes they support by analyzing the pricing deals they make to sell their oil).

Links for Coverage of the Papal Visit to the U.S.A.

For those of you who are looking for extensive and quality coverage of the recent visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the U.S., I point you towards the following on-line resources:

* EWTN's dedicated site for full texts of all of the speeches, addresses and homilies, plus audio, video, photos, and commentary.

* Christopher (of Against The Grain) who opened a new website called "Benedict in America" specifically for the Papal visit.

* Rocco at Whispers In The Loggia for wonderful commentary.

* Fr. Zuhlsdorf for comprehensive liturgical and papal analysis.

* Paul at Alive and Young for some personal experience, reflection and humor.

You can't go wrong with these resources. Of course, you can also read Pope Benedict's works such as his book "Jesus of Nazareth" and "The Essential Pope Benedict XVI" (a compendium of his writings over the years), as well as all of his individual books and writings via Ignatius Press.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Cult of Personality & Oprah...

/queue the Terrence Trent Darby music/

Oprah Winfrey may have gone too far in exploiting and distributing the teachings of a questionable New Age writer.

On Monday night, Winfrey conducted her weekly Web "event" seminar with New Age writer Eckhart Tolle. His message: "Life is the dancer and you are the dance."

Got that?

The seminar was No. 7 in a series of 10. On the first 90-minute Webcast with Tolle, Oprah extolled the author’s virtues, calling his best-selling "New Earth" book "one of the most important books of our time," the seminars one of "the most exciting things I’ve ever done."

Read the full story here.

So is this what happens when you're regularly exposed to the rants and ravings of "Rev." Jeremiah Wright? You either run away from him (resulting in your rejecting the Truth of revelation in Jesus Christ - something Wright was supposed to be preaching, but wasn't - and thus making yourself vulnerable to false messiahs and false religions) as did Oprah, or you have him be your spiritual mentor for 20 years (and thus manufacture/transform yourself into your own false messiah) as did The Obamessiah?

There's really only one thing to do for these lost souls... PRAY FOR THEM! They obviously need it.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Speaking of dopes...

Jimmy Carter, the undisputed WORST president of the 20th century, has chosen to visit with the Hamas leaders.

Via Fox News, what say one of these so-called leaders of Hamas?

A sermon last Friday by a prominent Muslim cleric and Hamas member of the Palestinian parliament openly declared that "the capital of the Catholics, or the Crusader capital," would soon be conquered by Islam.

The fiery sermon, delivered by Yunis al-Astal and aired on Hamas' Al-Aqsa TV, predicted that Rome would become "an advanced post for the Islamic conquests, which will spread though Europe in its entirety, and then will turn to the two Americas, even Eastern Europe."

"Allah has chosen you for Himself and for His religion," al-Astal preached, "so that you will serve as the engine pulling this nation to the phase of succession, security and consolidation of power, and even to conquests through da'wa and military conquests of the capitals of the entire world.

"Very soon, Allah willing, Rome will be conquered, just like Constantinople was, as was prophesized by our prophet Muhammad," he added.

Al-Astal last June preached how it was the duty of Palestinian women to martyr themselves by becoming homicide bombers.

"The most exalted form of jihad is fighting for the sake of Allah, which means sacrificing one's soul by fighting the enemies head-on, even if it leads to martyrdom," he said in a June 23, 2007 interview.

"When jihad becomes an individual duty, it applies to women too, because women do not differ from men when it comes to individual duties," he said, calling Jews "the brothers of apes and pigs" who should "taste the bitterness of death."

Friday's rant repeated that theme: "Today, Rome is the capital of the Catholics, or the Crusader capital, which has declared its hostility to Islam, and has planted the brothers of apes and pigs in Palestine in order to prevent the reawakening of Islam.

"I believe that our children, or our grandchildren, will inherit our jihad and our sacrifices, and, Allah willing, the commanders of the conquest will come from among them.

"Today, we instill these good tidings in their souls – and by means of the mosques and the Koran books, and the history of our Prophets, his companions, and the great leaders, we prepare them for the mission of saving humanity from the hellfire at whose brink they stand."

Nice to see that Mr. Carter has maintained that impeccable and pristine integrity of his.

The gift that keeps on giving...

New things emerge from the Tony Rezko trial in Chicago (via RedState), with more intriguing links to The Obamessiah:

The Chicago Sun Times Rezko blog is reporting that Barack Obama attended a reception organized by his mentor, Tony Rezko, for Iraqi zillionaire Nadhmi Auchi:

When Tony Rezko held a reception at his home for Iraqi-born billionaire Nadhmi Auchi on April 3, 2004, White House hopeful Barack Obama and his wife were also there, Stuart Levine testified just now at Rezko's trial.


Who is this Mr. Auchi?

He was charged in the 1950s with being an accomplice of Saddam Hussein, when the future tyrant was acquiring his taste for blood. He was investigated in the 1980s for his part in alleged bribes to the fabulously corrupt leaders of post-war Italy. In the 1990s, the Belgium Ambassador to Luxembourg claimed that Auchi's bank held money Saddam and Colonel Gadaffi had stolen from their luckless peoples. In 2002, officers from the Serious Fraud Squad raided the offices of one of Auchi's drug companies as part of an investigation of what is alleged to be the biggest swindle ever of the NHS. With allegations, albeit unproven, like these hanging over him, wouldn't you think that British MPs would have the sense to stay away?


Yah know... earlier this year artist Shepard Fairey designed a limited edition poster for The Obamessiah. It harkened back to the old-style communist posters from the first half of the 20th century. The design was meant as a compliment, and the left wingnuts loved 'em:



I like this one better:


Or, how about this one?:

Saturday, April 12, 2008

What kinda of nut am I?

(hat-tip to the Happy Catholic for this one)

Given the old saw about California - it's the Granola State: one-third fruits, one-third nuts, and one-third flakes - and that I've been a resident here for almost 14 years, I always considered myself one of the "nuts"......... but, which nut?




You Are a Hazelnut



You are very unique and distinct. You may even freak some people out.

Most people don't really know how to interact with you.

You get along best with anyone who is super sweet.

But you really do get along with almost anyone. You just need a chance to wow them.

An Inconvenient Penguin...

My friend and colleague, Todd Lampe, is putting his finishing touches on his short film, "An Inconvenient Penguin".

First screening is set for April 30. Submissions to all the film festivals to follow. Lots of tongue-in-cheek humor. I saw a rough cut of the film last week, and was laughing uncontrollably the entire 20 minutes.

You can watch the trailer here.

Obamessiah the Elitist Snob...

Why, it just gets better and better.

"You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest... they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

The Obamessiah steps in it BIG TIME, and both the Hillary and McCain camps are already starting to pound him hard on it.

Add to that his recent comment about pregnancy as "punishment":

“Look, I got two daughters — 9 years old and 6 years old," Obama said. "I am going to teach them first about values and morals, but if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby. I don't want them punished with an STD at age 16, so it doesn't make sense to not give them information."

Allahpundit and Captain Ed both comment here.

Santorum on upcoming Pope B16 visit...

(Hat-tip to Creative Minority Report)

Great article/commentary from former PA U.S. Senator Rick Santorum on the upcoming visit by Pope Benedict XVI: (from the Philadelphia Inquirer):

Is Pope Benedict XVI coming to America to drop the hammer on the president for the Iraq war? You might think so if your gospel comes courtesy of the mainstream media. It's more likely that the pope will speak about the war at the United Nations as he has in the past - as a church leader addressing the challenges of finding a pathway for dialogue between two faiths in conflict.

The pope's only official church meeting is with all 213 presidents of Catholic undergraduate colleges and universities. Given the traditional and orthodox educational philosophy of this former university professor, as well as the sad recent history of Catholic higher education in America, one might well expect fireworks.

Since Vatican II, most Catholic colleges have sought to reduce their relationship with Catholicism and the church to a one-word marketing pitch - Catholic. On most Catholic campuses across the country, you might be surprised to learn that most professors are not Catholic and that the Catholics are often nonpracticing. These Catholic colleges routinely host speakers and artistic productions that oppose core Catholic teaching when they're not blatantly anti-Catholic, and I'm not just talking about Barack Obama's appearance at Mercyhurst or Hillary Clinton's at King's College. Even the gold standard of Catholic colleges, the University of Notre Dame, will soon drop below 50 percent Catholics on its faculty and have on-campus performances of The Vagina Monologues.

Most core curricula, if that exists, provide little exposure to the Catholic intellectual tradition. Even in the theology departments, which are supposed to be certified as authentically Catholic by the local diocese, students have to search long and hard to find a professor who will provide faithful Catholic teaching.

As for campus life, most Catholic colleges have abandoned their mission and duty to help shape the moral and spiritual formation of its students. In loco parentis has been reduced to facilitating loco behavior. It is nearly impossible to distinguish a list of authorized student organizations at Georgetown from those at Penn.

Read the entire commentary here.

Comparing the economy from 12 years ago...

From the NRO. Link here.

WMDs in Syria???

News may be coming out soon about the possibility that some of those missing WMDs from Iraq found their way into Syria. Two links are here and here. Keep an eye on the Jerusalem Post in the near future for the developing story.

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Just a little political observation...

(Refraining from mentioning what prompted this post.) When your liberal friends (out of nowhere) suddenly start quoting Ronald Reagan and the Declaration of Independence in order to try and convince you (a conservative) to vote for The Obamessiah, that just tells me that they must be very worried.