BIRD FLU ALERT

Fox news is carrying a story that the World Health Organization is reporting the possible person to person transmission of the Avian Flu virus (H5N1 virus). Up until now, it has been the belief that all human cases were contracted from infected birds. What does this mean for us? If you haven't started preparing yourself and your family for a flu pandemic you should really get serious about doing so. Here is the government plan for a possible pandemic. What can you do?

Make sure you have a disaster prep kit at your home.
1) Have a quality first aid kit, focus on trauma, environmental emergencies, and whatever special needs medications & equipment that are specific to your family
2) Water. the average person needs at least 1 gal of water per day for consumption, food prep, and hygiene. Most disaster prep books recommend a 3 day supply. As we all saw in New Orleans it would be more prudent to have at least a two week supply.
3) Food: the simpler the better. I'd pack canned/ready to eat meat, vegetables, and fruit. Stay away from things that need to be cooked or heated. Energy bars and a supply of multi-vitamins should also be included.
4) Medication: as we saw in New Orleans, this could be a matter of life or death. Diabetics were dying simply because their 3 day supply of insulin was exhausted.
5) store other tools, clothing, and supplies as appropriate. (click here for examples)
6) firearm: the sad fact is that when things went poorly in the New Orleans disaster, it didn't take long for a major American city to become a dog eat dog third world slum. In many instances the lawless and ill prepared took advantage of the situation and stole other people life sustaining food, water, and shelter. Don't let that happen to you, we have a second amendment for a reason. If they want to steal your food and water, give em some lead instead.

New Ship testing

So if you were the United States Navy where would you go to test new ship designs? If your answer was Lake Pend Oreille in North Idaho you would be right! The lake, which is the fourth deepest in the U.S. at 1100+ feet, has been used for decades by the Navy to test submarine technology. Now, for the first time, it is being used to evaluate some new skimmer (surface ship) technology. The test platform is a 1/4 size model based on the next generation Destroyer DD(X). The model was built by Dakota Creek Industries of Anacortes, home of the fighting Seahawks!!

The model is testing some new water jet propulsion system (catapiller drive?) along with alternative power systems that are supposed to make her much quieter when underway. The hull design is also new, incorporating much stealth technology borrowed from the Air Force.

I think the concept is very interesting and will improve our Navy's ability to fulfill it's primary mission, maintain sea dominance. The only drawback as far as I'm concerned is that ships have a certain beauty and grace, this new ship doesn't maintain that traditional shape. But, I'll never be one to choose appearance over substance.

In the end DD(X) is just another target for submarines like all the other surface ships.

p.s. notice how much the DD(X) looks like a surfaced submarine?

Pyro

Some new links

Here are a couple of new links. One is to the Pope Benedict XVI fan site, pretty much self explanatory.

The other is to the American Chesterton Society website. If you've never heard of Chesterton, it's a must see. Unless you don't like to read things that intelligent people wrote, (and that's entirely possible since your reading my blog right now). Here is an example of something Chesterton wrote.

"Without authority there is no liberty. Freedom is doomed to destruction at every turn, unless there is a recognized right to freedom. And if there are rights, there is an authority to which we appeal for them." (G.K.'s Weekly, April 28, 1928)

Armed Forces Day

Yesterday I had the great pleasure of attending the Bremerton Armed Forces Day parade. What a great parade. For nearly two and half hours there was non stop action as one entry after another passed in front of the kids and I. They say that the Bremerton parade is the largest in the country. The parade was led off by a joint services color guard followed by the "I" corps band from Ft. Lewis. The military grand marshall was COMSUBPAC (the two star admiral in charge of all the Pacific Ocean submarines). The civilian grand marshall was Sgt. John D. (Bud) Hawk, a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient from WW II. Bud is a longtime Bremerton resident and is a fixture in the annual parade. There were many other bands, military groups, general entrants, very cool. One of the highlights was a flyover from a C-17 from the Air Force base at McChord. About the only thing in the parade that I didn't like was the Shriner/Freemason entries. They must have been going by for 10-15 minutes. They wear their pseudo arabian outfits and play kazoos, bang cymbols and drums, and generally produce a sound that is as silly and annoying as seeing a bunch of 65+ year old men wearing Fred Flintstone poohbah hats riding on mopeds doing tricks. Whatever...
My favorite thing from the parade would have to be what my daughter said to me after it was over. She told me how proud she was to be an American and how when the jet flew over when all the soldiers were marching by it made her cry for love of her country. God Bless America.

I'd just like to say thank you to all those people I know in the Armed Forces and to the veterans. And I especially honor those Americans that have fallen in the service of our country. Now, be a good American and go read the Gettysburg Address.

American Idol

What is it about American Idol? I feel like such a slave to pop culture and I'm loathe to admit it but, I love American Idol. I've watched the current season form the beginning. I was a big Paris fan and a big Taylor Hicks fan from the get go. I liked Paris because her speaking voice was small and squeeky, then she would sing in a big Motown type voice and just blow you away. She is one 17 year old who has a big future in the industry. Then Taylor was just like some type of throwback to 60's soul or 30's, 40's, and 50's standards, he even moves like Joe Cocker. I like them because they aren't like the pop cookie cutter stars who all sound the same. Maybe the Spears and Aguilera type stars are going away. My friends all make fun of me for being a fan of the show. Maybe I've been duped by the TV industry. I don't know, but oh well...

New Archbiship of Washington DC

Pope Benedict XVI has named Pittsburgh Bishop Donald Wuerl as Cardinal McCarrick's replacement. Often, the Pope will allow a Bishop to remain in place well after the mandatory retirement age of 75. This will not be the case with Cardinal McCarrick. There could be several ways of looking at this. One way is that Cardinal McCarrick is wanting to fade away from the public spotlight and relax in retirement. Another way to look at it is that the Pope wants to help alter the course of the American episcopate. Again, the Pope could just be showing that he intends to adhere closely to the rules which are in place as opposed to making exceptions the rule.

Cardinal McCarrick in my memory was unremarkable in his highly visible role as Cardinal Archbishop of Washington D.C. He had many opportunities to staunchly defend life and to stop the scandal of pro-abortion politicians visibly and publicly participating in the Sacramental life of the Church at Mass through the reception of Holy Communion. Bishop Wuerl had much the same stance however, so perhaps there will be no change. Maybe Bishop Wuerl, in his new role, will feel less compelled to adhere to the principle of collegiallity and more compelled to adhere to orthopraxic principles.

One thing for certain though, Bishop Wuerl is an accomplished teacher of the faith.

Happy Mother's Day

To all mothers out there, a big Happy Mother's Day!!

More Da Vinci Code

As with my other post on The DVC, I am not going to list a bunch of arguements and positions here. I will link to places where that has already been done by other people.

Here is a link to Fox News contributer Fr. Jon Morris it also contains an archive of several post regarding the DVC. This will be of use to you if you're curious about the claims in the DVC regarding; the development of Scripture, the divinity of Jesus, hidden messages in art, marriage of Jesus, Jesus the father... it is not an in depth article, just a surface example of how poorly the DVC stacks up against truth.

Pyro

Political Waltz

It seems that the three step is alive and well at the top of the Democratic National Committee. In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network, Howard Dean "misstated" the party's platform on marriage. Now I understand that an illegal alien is really an "undocumented worker", and being in favor of murdering innocent babies inside their mothers wombs is called being "pro-choice", so I guess I understand why purposely lying through your teeth is called "misstating". It sounds so much nicer. You see, misstating can be an accident. A person can be confused and unintentionally give false facts. But, lying involves a premeditated desire to fool someone. That's what Howard Dean was doing when he backpedaled from his interview statements, he lied. He not only lied during the interview when he told the interviewer that the Dems platform was that marriage was between a man and a woman, he lied when he said he misstated. Besides, look at the way he worded it, "...between a man and a woman..." there's wiggle room built in to his words where he could say, "we believe that getting married is up to whatever the man or woman wants". Whatever, It brings to mind the only thing I specifically recall John Kerry saying during his presidential run. He was in Tacoma Washington at a Kerry rally surrounded by Union people and espescially firefighters. He says, "values stated without actions taken are just empty slogans!" There was a roar from the crowd. I was thinking of the irony of his statement. Just the day prior he made a big deal out of stating his values regarding abortion. He stated that he was personally opposed to abortion but that he supported the law as it was on the books because that was his job as a Senator". What a bunch of $%^&

Every Catholic Democrat who uses that "While I'm personnaly opposed..." is a liar. And when they lie they are speaking their native tongue.

Pyro

Submarine news

Because I know everyone is interested in submarine stuff I am posting this link to a site that reports news for Pacific Fleet submarines.

For those of you who have never been on a submarine, (hereafter referred to as "non-quals") go to this page and watch or download some of the media files. If any of you non-quals want to experience what it's like to be on a submarine; lock yourself in the house, board up all the windows so you can't see outside, and don't leave for 3-6 months. You will need to store lots of food in your house, the best way to do this is to buy canned food and just put it on the floors so that you have to walk on it to get around. You will eventually eat your way down to the floor so that you won't hit your head on the overhead anymore. Also, you will need to eat lots of browning lettuce and other produce that is past it's shelf life. Periodically you will need to pretend like your house is on fire, or that there is some other type of dire emergency. This is best done when everyone is asleep. Watch no television but do watch the same 10 movies over and over again. When you shower turn the water on for 10-15 seconds then soap up, then rinse off for another 15 or so seconds. Start keeping a log of the temperature in each of the rooms of your house, this will need to be done every hour on the hour 24 hours per day. These records must be kept forever but will only be looked at once per year with the purpose of ensuring that the records are being kept.

That will be good for a start, once you've completed this routine I'll sign off your qual card.

Pyro

God's answered prayer

True Story

After Mass last Sunday a family and went to the community hall in the basement of their church for a lumpia and pancit lunch. While eating, a lady(who had done the readings at Mass earlier), came to a man and asked, "is that your son?" and she points out his son walking around. He was in the process of playing some sort of hide-n-seek game or keep away with a 2-3 year old. The Dad replied in the affirmitive expecting to be told that his son was disturbing her or had bumped her or something. She then says that she will call his son Levi because he listens to God. Now the man was intrigued. She then proceeded to tell him this story.
"I have been lectoring for years. As long as I have been lectoring, I would go to my husband after Mass and ask him how well I had read (she had a slight eastern European accent). This has always been very important to me because I don't want to read if I'm not doing a good job and people aren't understanding me. But, now my husband is nearly deaf and he can't hear me so I don't have anyone to ask how I'm reading. I was sitting here thinking to myself and talking with God, that I will just have to trust God that I am doing a good enough job. If I'm not, He would just have to let me know somehow. A few minutes later the your son walked up to me and said, (the son) "aren't you the lady who did the readings today at church?"
"Yes I am" said the lady
"I thought so, you did a really good job" says the son.

Needless to say, the lady was very touched by the sons kindness. She was also very fortified in her faith because God answered her prayer in such a beautiful and personal way. The Mom and Dad were also very pleased and proud. How humbling to be reminded that their son is God's son first.

Amen

my idioms

Nothing gained, nothing ventured.

People who throw stones shouldn't live in glass houses.

Where there's a way, there's a will.

Biting dogs seldom bark.

A thousand words obscures the paintings.

Two birds in the bush are worth the same as one in the hand, and requires no effort.

Suffering

Have you ever been affected by suffering? I think we all are affected at some time in our lives by either our own suffering or other peoples suffering. The meaning of suffering or how a good and loving God can allow apparently terrible suffering can be something that challenges a persons faith. Sometimes even to the degree of being angry at God or even critically reviewing our system of belief. The late great John Paul II wrote an open letter to all the faithful regarding suffering. The name of the letter is SALVIFICI DOLORIS: On The Christian Meaning Of Human Suffering. It will take a good half hour to read the whole thing, but it is very enlightening and fortifying to ones faith. One of the main scripture passages from this teaching is COLL 1: 24. Here we are given a glimpse of the value suffering can have when approched in the proper way.

[22] he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him, [23] provided that you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which has been preached to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. [24]
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, [25] of which I became a minister according to the divine office which was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, [26] the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now made manifest to his saints. [27] To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. [28] Him we proclaim, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man mature in Christ. [29] For this I toil, striving with all the energy which he mightily inspires within me.

My understanding is that we can offer our suffering as a sacrafice (from the Latin: sacra- meaning holy and facio- to make) to cooperate with God in making us holy. In St. Augustine's City of God he says “A true sacrifice is any work that unites us to God in holy fellowship.” (10.6). This is where the old Catholic mothers saying "offer it up" has it's theological basis. Our holy suffering offered as a sacrafice, helps to build and strengthen the Body of Christ, which is His Church.

Pyro

New Links

I have posted several new links in the "Links" section over to the right. The new links are;

United States Submarine Veterans Incorporated this is a resource site for Navy vets who are qualified in submarines.

United States Navy not really a need for an explanation

Submarine Group Nine this is the official site for Submarine Group Nine. A submarine group is a fairly large collection of submarines in a geographic region with certain missions. Group Nine is the most powerful force of warships in the world!!

The Vatican The official site of the Vatican. From this page you can choose between English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, and Portuguese. There is months worth of information at your disposal from writings of the Popes since Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903) to virtual tours through the Vatican museum.

The Coming Home Network This is the website for Marcus Grodi's ministry. He was formerly a Presbyterian pastor who now operates a ministry which helps current and former Protestant ministers in their investigation and or conversion to the Catholic Church. One of my favorite parts of his site is the conversion story section. In in there are literally hundreds of conversion strories from former Protestant pastors, theologians, seminary professors... the backgrounds of these people range from Anglican to Lutheran to Calvary Chapel to you name it, just look in the yellow pages under Church: Christian.

Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free

Keep Immigration

Safe & Legal

explanation of my poem

I promised to explain my poem that I posted earlier.

the first line refers to the the moral tree of human rights. The root of these rights being the right to life. If the root is killed while attempting to nourish/cultivate other contingent rights such as the workers right to justice, then soon the right you are cultivating will die.

the second line line refers to those who attempt to reap the benefits of the fruits of others labors without nurturing, promoting, or otherwise preserving those who laid the groundwork for their advances.

The last line refers to those who hold hostage the public forum and manipulate the masses. These are the politictians, the media, the intelligencia, the amoralists, and the labor organizations.

Immigration, war, gas prices

There are several great debates going on in our country right now; illegal immigration, the war on terror, price of petroleum fuels, The Da Vinci Code...

Ha ha... for those of you who thought I was going to get political, I'm not. That will come later in my life as a blogger. Those of you who know me understand that I have some rather strong views on certain issues. Issues which are championed by different political parties. That makes for some interesting decision making for me at election time. But, here I will address the industry that is "The Da Vinci Code" henceforward referred to as "DVCI".

I have not read the book, seen the movie, or read any of the books written to counter "The Da Vinci Code", I have only read reviews, (both pro and con). In reviews I have learned that some things are promoted by the book such as Jesus never died by crucifixion, he married and had children, there was a big cover up of these truths. I constantly hear in defense of DVCI that it is only intended to be a work of fiction. I don't believe it. It is intended to make some people rich. It is intended to discredit the Church. It is intended to lead people away from Christianity.

Imagine if you will that someone wrote a book about _______________ (insert the name of an actual historical leader that you love and follow such as; your father, a former president, religious leader) purporting that they never did something that is key to their history. Then imagine that the story attests to the fact that they led a life 180 degrees opposite of their actual history. That is the DVCI.

As I stated earlier, I have never read the book but... in all works of fiction I have ever read there is a disclaimer. The disclaimer states that any resemblence to actual persons or events is simply coincidence. I doubt that this book has that disclaimer. If it does the writer should be sued. If it doesn't he should be sued.

If you are interested in reading some books or viewing some media which point out the errors of DVCI here is a list.

The Da Vinci Hoax
The Da Vinci Deception
Cracking the Da Vinci Code
De-coding Da Vinci: The facts behind the fiction of The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Hoax: Exposing the Errors in The DaVinci Code
Fact and Fiction in the Da Vinci Code

Deus Caritas Est

The mens fellowship group that I am part of just wrapped up a Bible study on the Gospel of Mark. The next several months will be spent doing a discussion/study of the Papal Encyclical, Deus Caritas Est which was published on December 12, 2005 by Pope Benedict XVI. As an overview, the encyclical reflects on the different types of love and the different ways to love as revealed by God. It also expresses "The Practice of Love by the Church as a Community of Love".

As a group we have been unable to find a good study guide or commentary to use as an assistance to our group discussion. The one guide I was able to find came from a website that has significant bandwidth dedicated to Joyce Rupp and her writings. I choose to follow the guilt by association judgement model and have automatically disregarded it as a reliable resource for use in our study.

Do any of you know of a good study companion for a small group to use in reading this encyclical? We want something that is faithful to the Magisterium.

Todays Gospel

I heard an interesting sermon, (part of one at least) commenting on todays Gospel reading John 20: 19-31. It was the first day (Sunday) and all the Apostles were gathered together except for Thomas. So in a sense, it was Sunday and Thomas wasn't at church (it obviously wasn't Easter or Christmas). Maybe he was cleaning his house or watching a donkey race. He could have just been sleeping in because he was tired... who knows. Not being at church caused him to miss Jesus! He missed out on something wonderful. Imagine missing church and when you talk to someone who had been at church you hear this fantastic tale of Jesus appearing and doing some incredible things!! Thomas didn't believe what he was told, but he did go to church the next Sunday. You all know the rest of the story.

Don't wait to be told that something remarkable and out of the ordinary happened at church when you weren't there before you decide to go "check it out". Don't miss Jesus.

If you light yourself on fire... you might be a redneck!

This story really drives home the reason I don't ever need to worry about job security. I can honestly tell you I have been on more bizarre calls than this. The ability of people to not use their ability to think is sometimes unbelievable. Maybe we are all selling this kid short though. He could be a buddhist protester practicing immolation.