Conspiracy Theories Put To The Test

Urban Legends on the About.com website dissects all of the conspiracy theories on the ‘Royal Family’s intentions to rid their castle of the beloved Princess Diana.’ Do they hold up to scrutiny based on the facts?

Michigan Says "We’re Going To Be First"

How dare state caucuses think for themselves! Despite the Democrat Party’s threat to deny Florida it’s rights, Michigan voters, wanting to ensure that the 2008 Presidential candidates take their state seriously, are voting to move their primary up to January 15th.

Assuming Granholm approves the measure as expected, Michigan — for now — would have the first primary and third nominating contest, behind caucuses for Wyoming Republicans on Jan. 5 and for both parties Jan. 14 in Iowa.

Lawmakers supporting the move said it was crucial that Michigan concerns be placed on the national agenda and before the presidential candidates as soon as possible.

“When they’re making promises … we want to make sure they’re not just making promises to Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina,” said state Senate Minority Leader Mark Schauer, D-Battle Creek.

State Elections Director Chris Thomas predicted that a Jan. 15 primary would attract more voters than previous presidential primaries. The previous record came in 1972, when Alabama Gov. George Wallace bested George McGovern and Hubert Humphrey on the Democratic side of a contest that drew 1.9 million voters.

But Thomas said wide-open races on both sides — accompanied by massive media and advertising campaigns — could result in a turnout approaching 3 million in January.

Doubts over that prospect lingered Thursday, even after the early-primary legislation swept through the Legislature en route to Granholm, who promised to sign it as soon as it reached her desk.

Despite the support of most of the state’s top Democratic leadership — Granholm, U.S. Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, and U.S. Reps. John Dingell, John Conyers and Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, among others — state party Chairman Mark Brewer issued a statement after Thursday’s vote saying: “The Michigan Democratic Party has made no decision as to whether to participate in a primary.”

The party’s official plan, submitted last week to the Democratic National Committee, calls for Michigan Democrats to select their presidential nominee at a party-run caucus election Feb. 9. If the caucus isn’t canceled, voters on the Democratic side of the Jan. 15 primary could be faced with the possibility that their votes won’t count.

More power to Michigan!

10th Anniversary Of The Loss Of the Queen Of Hearts

The tenth anniversary of the devastating shock of Britain’s Princess Diana’s death is upon us today. The night of her death and the following sad days are so indeliably etched on our hearts that even a decade later, my blog gets more hits from Internet search keywords: Diana, autopsy, funeral, than any other topic.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, upon the request of her two sons, wrote two prayers with which the Church of England has issued special commeration on this celebration of Diana’s life.

God our Father, we remember before you DIANA, Princess of Wales, and offer you our gratitude for all the memories of her that we treasure still. Her vulnerability and her willingness to reach out to the excluded and forgotten touched us all; her generosity gave hope and joy to many.

May she rest in peace where sorrow and pain are banished, and may the everlasting light of your merciful love shine upon her; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Father eternal, unfailing source of peace to all who seek you, we entrust to your love and protection all for whom this anniversary of the tragic and untimely death of Diana, Princess of Wales reawakens the pains of grief and loss. Comfort all who mourn, that casting all their cares upon you, they may be filled with your gifts – of new life, of courage and of hope; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The world was aghast over the Royal Family’s actions of “duty” over “decency” in mourning Diana’s death. Her sons, William and Harry, boys at the time of their mother’s death are now grown men, able to speak on their own memories and thoughts of those days. Their behaviour ranges from gentle, kind forgiveness (of their father’s adulterous scandal of marrying the woman who was a curse to their mother) and love that quietly note their mother’s counsel, to the rowdy night life of normal young adults, a side of Diana that the Crown despised, to solemn seriousness of taking on global issues, enlisting in the military, war, and disease and poverty that affect the weak and innocent.

The following links will help provide more insight to the massive publicity and global interest surrounding the child-like bride who stepped into a ‘fairytale descent into hell’ limelight as the world came to love Diana as the People’s Princess.

• Diana’s Legacy: Curiosity Seekers and Die-Hard Fans
• Candle In The Wind Sung For Diana Again
• UK’s Channel 4’s Macabre Desire For Ratings
• New Diana Book Shocking
• Italy Bans Princess Diana’s Autopsy Photographs

MSM’s covering Princess Diana’s life:

Newsweek

Harry’s proclaims his mother “the best in the world”

10th Anniversary of Diana’s Death Marked

Diana, The People’s Princess

May Diana Rest In Peace.

Amen.

What’s Good For The Gonz…

OK, so Alberto Gonzales is gone, what’s next? If it’s business as usual, Bush will serve up some crony for the Donkey Party to batter from pillar to post, chew him/her up and spit her/him out and move on to the next masochist that is willing to be fed to the jackals.

No politician of worth is going to endure this process in order to serve out the term during a lame duck Presidency. Given the realities of politics, it would be a lose/lose situation for any candidate.

Here’s the plan George, throw the ball into the Dems court. Let THEM nominate a new Attorney General and then start vivisecting THEIR candidate. Let them show Mr. and Ms. America a preview of what life will be like if they vote the Libs into office in 2008. Think of what a dynamic distraction this will make. While the Pit Bulls of the impotent majority are busy posturing for air time and wrangling over who gets the best bite on their new chew toy, you will be freed up to concentrate on other things such as making Pres. Mailiki understand that he was never written a blank check and our support will indeed end some day.

Come on George, toss em the ball. I double dog dare you.

Michigan Anti-Tax Activists Want Recall

Recalling the tax increasing governor Gray Davis worked in California and now more angry voters in Michigan are organizing and targeting politicians who said they would not vote for tax increases to get elected but once in office are voting (or intending to vote) for more taxes. Both Democrats and Republicans are on the hit list.

The targeted legislators include six representative and four senators, and another 20 lawmakers could be added to the list within two weeks, said Leon Drolet, a former Republican state representative and leader of the Michigan Taxpayers Alliance.

The House members are Speaker Andy Dillon, D-Redford; Marc Corriveau, D-Northville; Mary Valentine, D-Muskegon; Gino Polidori, D-Dearborn; Ed Gaffney, R-Grosse Pointe Farms and Richard Ball, R-Laingsburg.

The Senate members are Glenn Anderson, D-Westland; Dennis Olshove, D-Warren; Gerald Van Woerkom, R-Norton Shores and Valde Garcia, R-Howell.

Drolet said anti-tax organizers on Monday filed or intended to file with local clerks nine statements of organization setting up potential recall efforts, with another one against Garcia to come later this week. The moves will take care of paperwork so recall language can be proposed quickly if lawmakers vote to raise taxes, Drolet said.

State government is facing a potential $1.6 billion shortfall in the budget year that starts Oct. 1.

Scientists Find The Key To Perfect Pitch And Chocoholics

Scientists have uncovered the gene that gives 1 in a 1000 perfect pitch, the ability to know what a note is without sliding all over the scale.

One guy said, ‘I can name the pitch of anything — even farts,'” said Dr. Jane Gitschier of the University of California, San Francisco, whose study appears in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

She and colleagues analyzed the results of a three-year, Web-based survey and musical test that required participants to identify notes without the help of a reference tone. More than 2,200 people completed the 20-minute test.

“We noticed that pitch-naming ability was roughly an all-or-nothing phenomenon,” she said.

That lead researchers to conclude that one gene, or perhaps a few, may be behind this talent.

Gitschier said those with perfect pitch were able to correctly identify both piano tones and pure computer-generated tones that were devoid of the distinctive sounds of any musical instrument.

She said people with perfect pitch were able to pick out the pure tones with ease. And they also tended to have had early musical training — before the age of 7.

I wonder if years from now, musical families will be able to have perfect pitch implanted in their future babies? Amazing.

On another note, it seems that scientists in another part of the world have found the part of the brain that makes a person a chocoholic.

Chocoholics really do have chocolate on the brain. Their grey matter reacts differently when they see or taste chocolate than people who do not crave the food.

British researchers used brain scans to investigate subconscious reactions to the confection and found that the pleasure centres of chocolate lovers’ brains lit up more strongly in response to the food than those who are less partial.

There may also be some truth in calling the love of chocolate an addiction in some people. When cravers viewed pictures of chocolate this activated regions of the brain known to be involved in habit-forming behaviours and drug addiction.

Okay, so to stop being addicted to chocolate, don’t use any of your senses around chocolate in any form. How are the people in Hershey, PA able to survive?

Almost Heaven Non-Stop

Forgive me if I’m wrong, but with a large portion of Catholic parishes in the United States consolidating or closing altogether, does the Vatican really have the financial wherewithal or need it’s own airline, complete with stewardesses, Vatican logos, and religious films on board?

Complete with Vatican logos on headrests and air hostesses’ uniforms, the inaugural flight traveled from Rome’s Fiumicino airport for the shrine of Lourdes in France.
The charter flight’s slogan spoke volumes about what its clients are doing above the clouds: “I’m Searching for Your Face, Lord”.

“It is a spiritual journey,” explained Francesco Gherra, one of the pilgrims who boarded Monday’s inaugural flight hosted by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the former head of Italy’s bishops.

The Vatican aims to serve 150,000 pilgrims a year on its chartered Boeing 737, run by Italy’s Mistral Air.

Destinations range from the shrine of Fatima in Portugal to Mount Sinai in Egypt, where Moses is said to have received the 10 Commandments from God.
In-flight entertainment on the way to the world’s holy sites will, somewhat predictably, be religious in nature, the Vatican said.

Can you see the Hooters stewardess in the devil outfit on one shoulder of the passenger and the Vatican stewardess with the halo on the other shoulder trying to get them to buy a ticket on their airline?

The jokes now flying around the Internet among pilots already are:

• I’m Pontius Pilot, and I’ll be in command but Jesus is my co-pilot. (okay, that one I partially edited)
  
• I suppose the in-flight menu will consist of 5 loaves and 3 fishes or crackers and wine, with the on board shop selling foam rubber popes, rosary beads and genuine Turin shroud pens. The in-flight magazine would definitely be a hoot though!
• September’s in flight magazine beckons – “Holy Trails”: This month:

• The Road to Damascus – We reveal how pilgrims of the past coped without air travel with a special exclusive interview with Saul of Tarsus as he recalls the hardships he endured before VAT AIR’s new service.

  Pioneer Fr Jeremy Horan regales us of the story behind his massive success in
  establishing Knock (West of Ireland) International airport. “My battle with
  authority, the juicy details.”

  Lourdes – We uncover the hotspots and must sees in this paradise of shrines. What you can expect to pay for Holy Water.

  Fashion – What the well dressed Monsignour is wearing out this winter.

  Please note:-The only on board beverage we serve is water, however, should patrons and pilgrims prefer wine with their bread, please feel free to call the in-flight messiah.

  Burning of incense is not permitted on this airline, please refrain from lighting up until you are well inside the chapel.

Am I alone here thinking the Church has better things to do with its money than to have a profit making venture? The Church is too much of this world and this another reason the Church needs to lose it’s non-tax status.

And if the airline business doesn’t prove lucrative, why are they wasting the money?

What’s Good For The Dogs…

Michael Vick deserves a taste of his own medicine. I’m all in favor of redemption, but after a long prison sentence on the dog lovers prison ward.

Another Bush Compadre Bites The Dust

I could go through and cite all the facts on the Alberto Gonzalez resignation but Michelle Malkin’s been working non-stop on it all day long and she has all that you need to know on her site.

I’m glad Gonzalez is gone. He, along with a long list of Bush failed appointed friends, shows that Bush’s compassionate, national policy-making leaves a lot to be desired. Conservative Republicans consistantly having to explain their boss’s actions and the administration’s inept decisions does not win elections, especially state elections. We need a conservative President.

The person spreading the rumor that Chertoff is going to be the next Attorney General just needs to have their fingers cut off. God forbid George W. Bush makes illegal-alien-loving, incompetant advisor to the President, the next Attorney General. Michael Chertoff needs to be the next one to go.

And for the love of God, George W. Bush – PLEASE pardon Ramos and Compean. Even Democratic liberal Senator Diane Feinstein thinks they should be released. What is Bush thinking?

Confession Isn’t Always Good For Spouse’s Soul

How spiritually fulfilling would your confession experience be if you went together as a couple into the confessional? The concept is getting some support from Catholic columnists. Edward Peters, one of the foremost Catholic canon lawyers in the United States, gives his thoughts on sharing the sacrament of penance with your spouse.

Myself? I’m still having trouble not being able to have face to face confession, nevermind having my spouse sitting there next to me while I bare my soul. I don’t believe a thorough confession of sins and personal issues is good for one’s marriage. You shouldn’t know everything, especially sins, of the husband or wife.