The Tragic Phenomenon of Children Dying After Being Left in Cars

With the arrival of summer, we will again hear horror stories about children being left in cars in sweltering heat. Many die. Last week alone there were at least two reported cases of this type, and each time we are shocked by the stories.

It is not a new phenomenon by any means. But the furor in the wake of reports of such tragedies seems to be growing.

Someone put together this powerful short film to illustrate one scenario of how this could happen and how people who pass by SHOULD react.

Post by Megan Farthing Love.

The man in this next video is just an ordinary father trying to understand this phenomenon.He decided to see what a child feels when accidentally closed up in a car when the temperature is 80-90 degrees outside. He posted this video on Facebook, and it is spreading. You can disagree with some of what he says, but he does make some insightful remarks that probably are widely shared by others.

Post by Terry Williams.

This eleven year old boy in Nashville, TN became aware of the infant-car-death phenomenon, and he also decided to take action.What an amazing young boy he is. He invented the EZ Baby Saver.

WKRN News 2

Here is an interview with a father who left his child in the car twelve years ago. The child died.

Todd Costello of Medina, Ohio, lost his son, Tyler, in 2002 after forgetting the 9-month-old in the back of his car in his office parking lot. He's had to find a way to live with the guilt.

My heart goes out to all those whose lives have been affected by someone's careless, deadly mistake.

Another Even Holier Version of "Hallelujah" by Kelley Mooney

Last week I posted a video of the Catholic priest who surprised a bride and groom and sang a specially tailored version of Leonard Cohen's song "Hallelujah." The video went viral and has millions of hits, and deservedly. But I think I have found an even more profound version of the song, and just at the right time. It's Holy Thursday when I post this, and tomorrow is Good Friday. I will watch this again myself tomorrow -- over and over.

 

 Thank you, Lord Jesus, for dying for my sins...

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Laughing Adults Force Infant to Inhale Marijuana Smoke

In my last post I wrote about the beautiful brotherly love of two siblings whose parents have modeled for them what love is all about. Sadly, a disturbing video has gone viral, and it epitomizes the evil of a culture that has so turned away from God that it's doubtful that love will ever come to some children.  Here is the disturbing video (a Vine) showing adults encouraging and facilitating an infant in taking a drag from a marijuana joint. Worse yet, they laugh about the child inhaling the smoke.
Such behavior is unfathomable, and the crime they perpetrated against this child is unforgivable. I pray that these scoundrels are caught and put in jail for the rest of this child's life. He should never have to be subjected to their barbarian actions again.

Japanese Dancers of Pleiades Celebrate God's Light

And God said, "Let there be light. And there was light."

And Jesus said, "I am the light of the world."

This video of Japanese dancers of the "Pleiades" is mesmerizing.

 

The Pleiades, or Seven Sisters, is a cluster of stars in the constellation Taurus. Although its name hails from Greek mythology, the light that it emanates is from the one and only Creator God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. His name be praised!

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Catholic Priest Sings Hallelujah at Wedding

Father Ray Kelly gets my vote for the best Presider at a Catholic wedding! Enjoy!
[The video was pulled from You Tube, so I will try to find its original post. I fund it on UK Daily mail so if this video is yanked, maybe you can find it here.]

Students and Teachers Both Have Secrets, Learn from Each Other

We have probably all run into people in our lives who surprise us by doing something that seems out of character. That's what the students in Jim O'Connor's math class encountered earlier this year. They thought they knew their stern math teacher, until they learned he had a softer side. This video actually came out on Valentine's Day, but I just came across it. And I am glad I did.

 

Before learning Mr. O'Connor's secret, these students would probably have voted for him as the grumpiest teacher. Now, they have a better understanding of what makes him tick. It's amazing what can happen when you take the time to get to know someone.

In contrast, another group of students who DO know their teacher decided to play a prank on him last week for April Fool's Day. The teacher had a policy that if your phone rang in class you had to answer it on speaker so everyone could hear who was calling. Another student made a video as the prank played out.

Now, the students in the second video had high regard for their teacher. And he did not disappoint with his reaction. To his credit, he did not get mad or punish the students for the prank. This time it was the teacher who learned a secret about a student -- albeit a false secret. But he changed his policy after this joke, and he no longer requires them to answer aloud for all to hear. That is probably a wise thing. I can imagine the lawsuit if that had been real rather than a rank!

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Bill Maher Says There Is a Gay Mafia

I just got up and looked outside. Why? To see if the sky is falling. A week ago I posted a video that I thought I would never post -- because it came from liberal Bill Maher and it exposed (however briefly) the hypocrisy of a couple of liberals on his show. Now, I thought that show was just a fluke, a fleeting moment of sanity in Maher's otherwise insane liberal world. But now Maher has made another comment that is likely to inflame liberals. Here's the video to prove it.

Either Maher is losing his way or he is channeling Steven Colbert. If it happens a third time, I'll eat my ... dinner in front of the TV.

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Parents Find Comfort In What Photographers Provide In Time of Loss

Most of us probably know someone who lost a full-term or nearly full-term infant at the time of birth. It is a devastating loss to both parents, no matter how prepared they think they are for the loss. When I watched this story I had mixed feelings. Admittedly, the word "morbid" came to mind. Bit apparently there are some couples who have found this to be a comfort. What are your thoughts? Would you vote yay or nay, or can you even fathom having to make the decision to engage?

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How Facebook and Other Social Media Exposes You to Identity Theft

We all like to think that we are private people and that we protect ourselves from would-be identity thieves. Victory Girls blogger Kit Lange posted a piece earlier this week on how easy it is to find out information through social media. Then this morning I saw this video that really unsettles me even more.

I avoided Facebook for years, until last month, in fact. I thought I was making an informed decision when I launched my page last month. I may have changed my mind if I had seen this video before going on Facebook. Now I am among the ranks of the vulnerable.

What's more, even if adults do not use Facebook and the likes, our kids do. And they can lead thieves and other unsavory characters to us. I don't have a solution -- other than shuttin' it down completely.

What about you? Are you safe online? Is this the price we pay to live in a "free" society?

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Pay It Forward: A Heart Warming Prank for a Deserving Young Woman

I love this video. Chelsea obviously has gotten the thumbs-up vote from all who encounter her. I hope that things turn our brilliantly for her. She seems very deserving.

"Paying it forward" doesn't have to be at extravagant as what these folks were able to do for Chelsea. I've seen people pay for the toll of the person behind them and pay for the meal of the car behind them at a drive through. Something that surprises another person as a random act of kindness can go a long way, and maybe have a dramatic effect on someone just by letting them know that good things DO happen to ordinary people.

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FAIL: Boy Gymnast Has Serious Mishap While Performing Floor Routine

I knew I should not have watched this video. I sat staring at the screen for a whole minute before I decided the answer to How bad can it be? was Not THAT bad. So I clicked play, and about 50 seconds into the video, I wished I had listened to the voice of reason. But since I didn't, I am going to share it with those of you who are not squeamish. If you ARE squeamish, do NOT watch this video.

(Here's a tip to figure out if you should watch or not. Remember last year in the NCAA tournament when Louisville Cardinals basketball player Kevin Ware broke his leg and it was nauseating to people who saw it? Same thing here. I still have never watched the video replay of that terrible moment. If you saw it and almost hurled, do not watch this one!)

This video gets my informed vote for the most disgusting sports injury I have seen since Joe Theisman's career-ending break. [CAUTION: Another video to avoid if you are squeamish!]

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Joe Theisman Autographed Washington Redskins Size XL Jersey

The Holy Grail of Holy Grails?

Monty Python's Holy Grail depiction

Dan Brown's theory of the
Holy Grail depicted

From the classic 1970s British comedy Monty Python and the Holy Grail to Dan Brown's controversial thriller The Da Vinci Code, the subject of the cup that Jesus used at the Last Supper on Holy Thursday has captured the imagination of Christians and non-Christians for 2000 years. Now a new take on the existence and location of this mysterious object has taken the Spanish city of Leon--and the world--by storm.

Basilica of San Isidro in Leon, Spain

The Basilica of San Isidro in Leon, Spain, has been overrun with tourists and faithful in recent weeks as they flood the church to get a glimpse of what is being touted as the Holy Grail -- the real Holy Grail. This means it is being held up as the actual chalice from which Jesus himself drank and which he shared with his Apostles on the night before he died.

The Urraca goblet

The drinking vessel that is being elevated to Holy Grail status is not a newly discovered holy object. Rather, its existence has been known for centuries, as far back as the 12th century even. Until now it has been known as the goblet of the Infanta Dona Urraca. Queen Urraca was Queen of Leon until she died in 1126 A.D.

Route of travel of the chalice

What changed with regard to the goblet's identity is that two writers--a medieval history lecturer and an art historian-- spent three years researching the history of the goblet. Their research led them to conclude that the vessel is indeed the Holy Grail, and that over the centuries it traveled from Jerusalem to Egypt to Spain, where it was given to the King and Queen as a token of appeasement by Muslims.

The authors document their own research journey in their new book, The Kings of the Grail. According to The Blaze:

Unveiling their findings last Wednesday, the two explained that they found documents referencing the chalice at Cairo’s University of al-Azhar while researching the history if Islamic remains at the Basilica of San Isidoro, the Irish Times reported.

The documents, written in Arabic, reportedly say that Muslims stole the chalice from Jerusalem and that it was given to Christians in Egypt. Then, they claim it was somehow sent to King Fernando I of Castile as a gift, disguised with jewels and other adornments.

The historians admit that they cannot prove the chalice touched Christ’s lips, nor can they pinpoint the first 400 years of its history. That said, they claim to have used a scientific dating method to determine that the chalice was likely made between 200 B.C. and A.D. 100.

Although I maintain healthy skepticism, this is a book that I am likely to read. If nothing else, it could make quick hay of Dan Brown's version of history. But then again, nothing will assuage those who want to tear down the holiness and influence of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

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Shocking Video: Bill Maher Exposes Liberal Hypocrisy

I wouldn't have believed that liberal talk show host Bill Maher could actually have a segment that is worth circulating, but here it is the video as evidence. I do not know who the two liberal panelists are, but it really doesn't matter: you could take the heads off any liberals and switch them around and it wouldn't matter because they are all parrots for the Obama agenda.

Kudos to Bill Maher for actually doing a neutral piece, and for exposing the hypocrisy of his own kind.

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Go See the Movie God Is Not Dead

The new movie  God Is Not Dead will never get the votes from the movie academy to win an Oscar or any other prestigious award, but it gets my vote for the movie I most want to see. This trailer is so captivating that I a  pumped to pay to see the first movie since I saw Les Miserables last year. Please, go see this movie. Kevin Sorbo, who plays the professor, was blacklisted from Hollywood because of his Christian beliefs. You may recognize Sorbo from various TV and movie roles in past decades, particularly his Hercules role.

Google images of Kevin Sorbo

We need to promote movies like this so that more can be made. It is a rare treasure.

 

 Find a link to search movie theaters in your area, such as this one, and vote with your feet!

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And read Sorbo's book: ...My Journey from Hercules to Mere Mortal...

Twelve-Year-Old Girl Delivers Compelling Pro-Life Speech

Social media has revolutionized the world. The twelve-year-old girl in the video below has used the cyber world to spread a message of life as she argues eloquently and convincingly for the right to life of the unborn child to be given precedence over the so-called rights of the woman who carries the child in her womb. I vote for Lia to be the spokesperson for unborn children everywhere if their mothers are considering abortion.

God bless Lia, and God bless all unborn babies whose mothers do not love them more than herself.

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Road Raged Truck Driver Runs off Road after Flipping off Another Driver

Road rage has really gotten out of hand in some instances. This video captures the quintessential ending for a tailgating hothead.

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Viral Time Lapse Video of Pregnant Woman and Singing Husband

If you have not seen this viral video, you have been hiding under a rock. It is pretty awesome, and is a testament to the life of unborn children. The baby was just born on March 13, 2014, so s/he is only about 2 weeks old.

 

Babies are a blessing. Choose life!

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Hearing for the First Time and Counting My Blessings

I often complain about things in life that annoy me or that seemingly get in my way. Then, every so often, I see or hear something that reminds me that God has richly blessed me, and that makes me thankful for His many blessings.

Earlier this week I had an eye appointment with my ophthalmologist for a routine annual checkup. Last year a different doctor (an optometrist) examined my eyes and told me that she thought she saw the early stages of macular degeneration on my retinas. Since my maternal grandmother had macular degeneration for a number of years prior to her death, that concerned my. A followup referral led to a finding that the optometrist was probably just being overly cautious and that what she saw was probably not macular degeneration. That's why this week I was quite relieved when I visited the ophthalmologist again and the doctor confirmed that my eyes are quite healthy for my age. He said that the so-called signs of macular degeneration were no more than ordinary "druins" (a new word for me). As I drove home with dilated eyes into the blinding afternoon sun, I gave thanks to God for my sense of sight and my overall good health.

This morning when I saw the video below, I renewed my thanks to our Heavenly Father for allowing me to be able to hear his creation outside my window right now. I am even grateful to hear the rain that is falling steadily right now, and I'm grateful even more so that the rain is not snow!

[Note: I wish I could delete he commercial at the start, but it's part of the embed, unfortunately.]

My husband has a hearing impairment, so I know from talking to him how frustrating it is to miss out on certain sounds. He can hold a smoke detector in his hand and not hear the shrill, piercing scream when it is set off. We have all learned to live with the closed captioning on TV -- except when basketball games are on. We just turn it up a little louder at those times. That means tonight it will be really loud as we watch the NCAA Sweet Sixteen game between the UK Wildcats and the U of L Cardinals!

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Little Girl's Energetic Motivational Speech

Most adults could learn something from this adorable little girl. I know I can!

Post by Unstoppable Mother.

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Post by Unstoppable Mother.

My Vote Goes to This Guy for Having the Biggest... B.A.S.E. Jump

Although this B.A.S.E. jump from the NYC Freedom Tower took place last September, the video taken by one jumper's helmet camera was just posted this past Monday. It already has over 2.75 million views in less than 4 days. If you can, enlarge this to fill your screen to get the full effect.

That was awesome! I thought I was not going to be able to watch it, especially when he was still at the top and looked over the side. My stomach actually lurched momentarily. But once he jumped, it was an awesome ride down. The landing was perfect, except I thought he would land in the opposite lane since he could see the oncoming traffic. The jump took place at 3:00 a.m., so there was not much traffic out in that part of the city that never sleeps.

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You can record your own daredevil stunts with
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Can You Name ONE U.S. Senator?

Before reading another sentence of this blog, stop and ask yourself: Can I name one United States Senator?  Hopefully the response is, "What? One? I can name at least 50 Senators." And hopefully you can do just that.

So at what age should Americans be able to name one U.S. Senator? Whatever age you name, I suspect it is unanimous that by the time you graduate from high school you should be able to name at least one. Preferably, students should know all their state's Senators and the Representative from their own area of the state. After all, graduates are generally 18 years old by that time, or soon will be. Along with the right to vote comes a responsibility to learn who you are voting for and what issues are at stake. The things that kids learn today, and the means by which they learn it, certainly have changed significantly even in the last 30 years.

Still, going off to college is meant to continue to prepare young people to be good citizens and to exercise some modicum of intelligence when they exercise the sacred right to vote. Although this video below should scare the dickens out of older viewers, it sadly has become the norm on college campuses. MRC TV's Dan Joseph visited the campus of American University in northwest Washington D.C., recently to ask students the $64,000 Question: Can you name one U.S. Senator? The responses are mind-boggling.

Okay, stop laughing and listen up. The mind-boggling thing about this is that these students are attending a university that this academic year costs $20,066 per semester, and next year will cost $20,658 per semester to attend (2014-15). That's tight, you did not read that wrong, and it is not a misprint. It is $20,066 per semester for the 2013-14 academic year. And if you are chosen to attend law school at this elite university next year, it will cost you $24,331 per semester. By the end of three years of law school students will be invested to the tune of over a quarter million dollars easily. And that isn't including undergrad costs.

Now, I'm sure these young people at American U are getting a first class education at their illustrious university. But if I was a parent sending my kid to that university and paying that kind of money, and if I learned that s/he could not name even ONE U.S. Senator while on camera for the world to see, I can tell you where my kid would be spending at least part of the summer: reviewing flashcards and learning the names of all 100 Senators, AND the state that s/he is from.

Oh, and by the way, it's no surprise that the one Senator anyone could name is Rand Paul. This Catholic voter is taking a good long look at the junior Senator from Kentucky. You should, too.

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Kids can learn a lot using a Kindle Fire HD. Adults can, too!

Jimmy Carter Blames Pope for Rape and Trafficking of Women

As a Catholic voter, I can tell you it's a good thing that this former fruitcake President is not running for ANYTHING today because this voter would be out there campaigning against him at every turn. In fact I thought he was dead! He looks like he is. He must be 150 years old already.

I was only a teenager when this moron served one term as President, but the effects of his mismanagement and ineptitude are still being felt today. (Don't get me started on the bills he signed into law that required financial institutions to relax their criteria for screening home-ownership applicants. He's the reason the market crashed in 2008 -- because of the bubble created by his relaxation of lending laws, allowing unqualified people to get mortgages they could never hope to pay back.)

Now Carter is out there shooting his mouth off about Catholics, trying to sell his pitiful book. Carter basically opines that because the Pope says that women cannot be priests, women are now being raped, beaten, and enslaved by men all over this country. That's no joke. He actually says as much.

If I seem like I am coming down hard on the 89-year-old (I just Googled him to see if he was born born in the 20th century), then I admit that I am. Serving one-and-done as President does not entitle him or anyone else to start lobbing his distorted religious views on the rest of us, belittling my faith and making accusations that are a fiction of his own convoluted, self-aggrandizing thinking. Sure it's a free country, and even warped old men can speak their minds. But women who disagree with him can also tell him to get out of the limelight and stop trying to speak for us. I don't need a peanut farmer from Georgia to fight my battles. That's because my battle is with liberals like this hate-spewing, bigoted old man.

And here's a warning for old man Carter. You keep running your mouth about the Muslims and how they treat women and you won't have to promote your book. It will sell posthumously, after they come over and behead your peanut brain.

I feel better for speaking my piece.

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Jimmy Carter's theme song

Soylent Green, British Incinerators, and Kermit the Abortionist

Those of us who were alive during the Kennedy Administration are old enough to remember the 1973 Sci-Fi flick called Soylent Green. It starred Charlton Heston, who played a detective who stumbles upon the origin of a new foodstuff that the government has developed to solve the world's food shortage. To this day the end scene of Heston being carried off on a stretcher sends shivers through me. If you think you might watch the movie, don't watch this clip. In fact, don't read this post until you have seen the movie. Here is a clip of the famous scene.

That movie came to my mind this morning when I read a headline from the British news agency The Telegraph. The expository story reads in part:

 The bodies of thousands of aborted and miscarried babies were incinerated as clinical waste, with some even used to heat hospitals, an investigation has found.

Ten NHS trusts have admitted burning foetal remains alongside other rubbish while two others used the bodies in ‘waste-to-energy’ plants which generate power for heat.

Last night the Department of Health issued an instant ban on the practice which health minister Dr Dan Poulter branded ‘totally unacceptable.’

At least 15,500 foetal remains were incinerated by 27 NHS trusts over the last two years alone, Channel 4’s Dispatches discovered.

The programme, which will air tonight [March 24], found that parents who lose children in early pregnancy were often treated without compassion and were not consulted about what they wanted to happen to the remains.

Such disregard for human life is incomprehensible to normal-minded people. Only savages or animals could so callously toss the remains of a murdered child into the trash bin. It takes a monster then to light the fire that consumes these precious lifeless bodies. I cannot even think of a name fitting for those who justify it as "waste-to-energy." Satan comes to mind, though.

Sadly, the incineration of babies is not happening only in the UK. It is happening here in the good old U.S. of A. In fact, infamous criminal abortionist Kermit Gosnell, who was convicted last year of killing three babies born alive, was also accused of illegally burning the bodies of the babies he had aborted. He used a company called Stericycle to do the dirty work. That company is now under investigation also for its tactics in disposing of the human remains that never got a chance to enjoy a precious breath of air in their lungs or the warmth of their mother's touch.

Charlton Heston reaches out a bloody hand as he
pleads for people to listen to the truth.

"Soylent Green is People," cried Charlton Heston as he was carted away, his arm outstretched as if grasping for a lifeline, beckoning those around to listen to the truth and to understand what the horrible truth of Soylent Green meant for mankind.

In the end, understanding the truth about abortion will only come if people have an unfettered respect for life. Consider this blog post my outstretched, grasping hand.

Italian Nun Wows Audience and Judges on Italy's "The Voice"

Suor Cristina Scuccia

This story has a twist on the "Informed Catholic Voter" moniker. It's about informed voters voting for a Catholic. And not just any Catholic, but a Catholic nun. An Italian Catholic nun. A singing Italian Catholic nun. (No, not Sally Fields as "the Singing Nun" from my childhood, nor Whoopie Goldberg in "Sister Act" from my middle years.) A beautiful, young, happy, singing Italian Catholic nun.

The setting is the Italian version of the TV singing competition show "The Voice." The video of the 25-year-old singing nun is fun to watch, even though it is in Italian and there are no subtitles. You don't really need subtitles, however, to get the gist of what is transpiring between the judges, the nun, and the adoring audience.

Judge J-Ax

Keep an eye on the younger male judge with the hat and the tattoo on his throat that says I will triumph and which features a bat with a skull head. I swear he has tears in his eyes that look like they will come spilling out at any second.

The Atlantic has a full article on the performance and the judges' reactions. But I think watching the video in full will convey the full range of emotion and the gist if what is said.

So here is the video of Sister Cristina Scuccia as seen on You Tube.

Suor Cristina canta "No one" di Alicia Keys.
Si girano tutti e 4 i Coach, in ordine: J-Ax, Noemi, Piero Pelù e Raffaella Carrà.
Sceglie di entrare nel #TEAMJ-AX.

Translation:

Sister Cristina sings "No one" by Alicia Keys.

All 4 Coaches turn, in order: J-Ax, Noemi, Pelù and Raffaella Carra.
She chooses to enter the # TEAMJ-AX.

So, Sister Cristina herself votes to go on J-Ax's team. And it seems she has a lot of voters in the audience who support her already after one performance.

I could end the story here, but that would mean I am leaving out the most beautiful pat of this story. At least it is beautiful to me. Maybe that's because when I was younger I had similar thoughts as I think Sister Cristina was feeling and conveying. She wasn't just singing a popular song for the fun of it. The emotion with which she sang was real. And I think that the reason that there were tears in the eyes of Judge J-Ax was that he realized that Sister Cristina was singing to her Love, Jesus Christ. Here are the lyrics to the Alicia Keys song "No One."

"No One"

I just want you close
Where you can stay forever
You can be sure
That it will only get better

You and me together
Through the days and nights
I don't worry 'cause
Everything's going to be alright
People keep talking they can say what they like
But all I know is everything's going to be alright

No one, no one, no one
Can get in the way of what I'm feeling
No one, no one, no one
Can get in the way of what I feel for you, you, you
Can get in the way of what I feel for you

When the rain is pouring down
And my heart is hurting
You will always be around
This I know for certain

You and me together
Through the days and nights
I don't worry 'cause
Everything's going to be alright
People keep talking they can say what they like
But all I know is everything's going to be alright

No one, no one, no one
Can get in the way of what I'm feeling
No one, no one, no one
Can get in the way of what I feel for you, you, you
Can get in the way of what I feel

I know some people search the world
To find something like what we have
I know people will try, try to divide, something so real
So till the end of time I'm telling you there ain't no one

No one, no one
Can get in the way of what I'm feeling
No one, no one, no one
Can get in the way of what I feel for you

Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh [x2]

Amen! Good luck, Sister Cristina!

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Respect for Our Nation's True Heroes

This video is about a year old, but it is still a powerful and moving image to see. It made me cry, in part for the families who have lost loved ones in their defense of our country, but also because of the direction our country has gone since 2008.


We are likely to see fewer and fewer young people willing to risk their lives in defense of a country that (collectively) no longer appreciates their sacrifice and, worse, no longer treasures the freedoms and rights that made this country great. Sadly, "What is there to fight for?" is what we will be hearing more and more as we sink further into the abyss into which liberalism has driven us.

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Kentucky: The Best Places to Live

Hey, hey, all you voters in Kentucky! This is a different kind of vote. More of a ranking if you will. Rank the following Kentucky cities from 1 to 15 in the order you think that they provide the best place to live. When you finish, check out the pictures below for the answer compiled by Movoto blog. (Note: Okay, the first screen you can see below gives away the number 1 city, but try to guess the other 14 rankings.)

City of Jeffersontown
City of Fort Knox
City of Owensboro
City of Lyndon
City of Henderson
City of St. Matthews
City of Murray
City of Glasgow
City of Madisonville
City of Fort Thomas
Lexington-Fayette
City of Louisville


These Are The 10 Best Places In Kentucky By Movoto Real Estate

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Leather Bible Cover to Protect Your Bible

During Lent I have been trying to read my Bible more often than I normally do. Because the Bible contains the Word of God (Jesus) in print form, we should take special care of the Book. Here is a special offer to help you do just that.

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This handsome black leather bible book cover is large enough for most any standard book or Bible. It features a carrying strap, one large front pocket with a zipper measuring 8" x 16," and a zippered main compartment measuring 16" x 10" when fully opened. This bible book cover also includes one small front pocket with Velcro measuring 8" x 4". Total measurements are 10" X 3" X 7."

Lenten Observance with a Humorous Twist

Post by Diocese of Madison.

American Anchor for Russian Station Quits on Air in Dramatic Fashion

News reporters in this country once had enormous clout. That was back when they were objective and could be trusted to at least provide both sides of the issues. From the muckrakers to the tabloid that first exposed the John Edwards cheating scandal, some journalists have not been afraid to go against the grain. Sadly, that is not the case in this country any longer.

Since 2008, when Barack Obama managed to gain a choke hold on the mainstream media, the American public has been lied to time and time again by once trusted major news sources. Throughout the years of this regime we've seen overt bullying tactics from the Obama and his minions against news organizations that seek to report the truth. The Administration wants to control the stories and the angles that are reported to the People.  And when they cannot, they ridicule whole news organizations, they try to shame or embarrass individual reporters, or they ignore or banish individual reporters and news agencies in their entirety.

This morning I saw the report on an American newscaster who worked in the Washington, D.C., office of a Russian news agency. I have never heard of Liz Wahl or the station, Russia Today, but I have to give kudos to Miss Wahl. Here is the broadcast that probably has the Russian station and Vladimir Putin grinding their teeth.

 

This journalist stood up for her beliefs and put her own self-respect ahead of her career and well-being. Whether or not one agrees with her opinions about the actions of Putin in the Ukraine, it takes guts to disavow an employer with whom you have fundamental disagreements. Moreover, Wahl did not just bow out quietly and begin job hunting on the down low. Instead, she publicly expressed her disdain for the egregious breach of trust that the Russian-state-owned news agency has perpetrated on people all over the world. Was it unprofessional? Perhaps. But those few seconds of telling the truth in the heat of the moment spoke louder than anything she cold have ever written or spoken after the fact.  

Bravo, Ms. Wahl. Maybe MSNBC or CNN could use your services. But wait, they also whitewash the truth and tow the Obama line. What does the Fox say?

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There are some really creative videos that conservative news organizations put out from time to time that show just how ignorant is the vast majority of the population in this country who vote Democrat. From time to time I have posted some of the better ones here on my blog. The one that I am posting below is so typical that it just makes me shake my head.

We are still more than 2 1/2 years away from the next presidential election. The counter in my right blog's hand margin shows that we have still over a thousand days left in this current fascist regime. There is still time for America to wake up and see the destruction that has taken place since January 20, 2009. There is still time to show clearly that the shambles of the economy that we are currently suffering is all due to Obama and his minions. And that includes his girl Hillary.

When the woman in the video above says that there is a reason Obama put Hillary in the office of Secretary of State, I wish that someone could point out to her that there is a very good reason for that appointment: Obama believes in the old adage, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer." With Hillary under his thumb, he could send her on all those junkets around the world and keep her (and he hoped, Bill) out of his hair. It worked. For four years. Until Benghazi. But that got glossed over, too.

Because Hillary was looking to pad her resume, she swallowed her pride and took the bait from Obama. Since then she has bided her time relatively quietly and minded her p's and q's. She refrained from criticism of Obama because he was not only her bread and butter but her path to 2016. It will not be long before we see Hillary Unleashed. Still, she knows if she moves too soon, she will saturate the voting world with her nauseating presence. So she is waiting for the opportune time to pounce.

At least there is some good news. Recent reports say that Hillary's health will not hold out for another 10 years. (If she is elected in 2016 and re-elected in 2020, she'd finish two-terms in 2024, at the age of 77, which is how old my mom is now. Not that Mom couldn't be a darn good president, having raised eleven fine children.) Hillary reportedly took a tumble in 2012 and hit her head, an incident that took her off the radar for several months. Some speculate that it was actually much worse than was being told. Was it a brain tumor? A year and a half later reports that she has a brain tumor are resurfacing, with more gravitas this time around. Apparently  the tumor was discovered during a colonoscopy. (I know, bad joke. But give credit to the National Report.)

So perhaps Hillary will come to her senses and opt out of 2016. Maybe she needs a grandchild or two to play with in her spare time. Bill might be able to arrange something there for Chelsea. Or, instead Hillary could just spend the rest of her life basking in the glory that being the wife of a pervert former President affords you. Talk about a brain tumor. She certainly has nothing memorable from her years as Secretary of State on which to rest her laurels. Her own supporters have attested to that.

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Part Two: Secrets of the Vatican and Pope Francis

I just finished watching the PBS program Frontline: Secrets of the Vatican that I wrote about in my earlier posting today. I honestly do not think I can stand up at this very moment. My legs are weak, my stomach is churning, and I feel a tightness in my chest. I cried, literally, on two occasions as I watched this expose.

This is such an important video that have embed it here for those who are not inclined to go through the process of searching the PBS website for it. Please, watch it. It is 84 minutes long, so block out the time, hopefully uninterrupted, to absorb the magnitude of what is being presented here. (I cannot tell if the entire video is included here, but the link is below the screen so you should be able to access the rest in case it does not all embed here.)

When you have finished, I urge you to comment below. Did you have a similar reaction? Are you angry? Saddened? Confused? It presents topics for discussion that Catholics all over the world need to have.

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PBS' Secrets of the Vatican: Exposing the Dark Underbelly

[CORRECTION: This program actually aired last night (2/25/14), so I missed the broadcast. My apologies for the error. But, I discovered that the recorded program is available on PBS' Frontline website. I accessed it at http://video.pbs.org/video/2365187642/, although I am not sure this link is accessible in all viewing areas. I had to choose a PBS affiliate station based upon my location. Hopefully you can access it also. You may have to sign in to watch it.]

I have concluded that my blog title of "Informed Catholic Voter" encompasses more than merely the political realm of voting for candidates or issue in the civil arena. In reality, Catholics also vote with their feet: either we go to Mass on Sundays and Holy Days or we choose not to go. The reason for either choice is personal and private. No one can make us reveal why we do or do not go to Mass. Perhaps we do not even fully know the answer to that question ourselves. For some of us, going to Mass is simply a pattern of behavior, while not going can be blamed on what the media identifies as hypocrisy among the Church's leadership.

A new documentary being aired tonight (February 26, 2014) on PBS promises to bring more controversy for the Catholic Church. The following video is a snippet from the broadcast, and it sets the stage for what the program "Inside the Vatican: Don't Ask, Don't Tell" will focus on.

I am not a big fan of PBS. They do indeed tend to lean toward the liberal side of politics and affairs. But I am anxious to see this documentary and how it will address the issues facing Pope Francis. I know better than most that this program will not be popular with many devout and/or lifelong Catholics. None of us wants to imagine that there is an ugly underbelly to the Church's central authority -- the Vatican. But I can attest to the fact that it exists. Before I went to study canon law over a dozen years ago, I saw the Church through rose-colored glasses. I knew that there were a few bad apples out there, but all in all I thought that were the exception. Sadly, however, over the last twelve years, I have come to believe that bad apples are the norm in the hierarchy.

Lest my conservative Catholic friends and family think I am being overly dramatic or unfaithful to the hierarchy, let me just say this. There is a reason that Pope Benedict resigned. I honestly think that the weight of what he was trying to do -- clean up the corruption inside the Vatican and other reaches of the Church -- was too burdensome for him. We may never know what his reasons were -- at least not in our lifetimes. But I don't buy for a second that he was just tired or wanted to get back to intellectual pondering. I think the evil was too great. And I think that Francis has begun to feel  the weight of this culture of corruption already.

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St. Patrick's Day is right around the corner. You can find some great products on Amazon's website to help you celebrate!

NPR Story on Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles

I found this story this morning and wanted to share it with you. I have embedded the audio player below, but if it does not work, go to the story using the link at the beginning of the first sentence of this posting.

Prioress of the Abbey, Mother Cecilia, makes a comment at the start of the interview that I am sure Jesus is asking again today: "My people, what have you done to me? Why have you abandoned me?"

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The album at left is from the Benedictine Sisters of Mary, Queen of Apostles.
The other two are from other groups of nuns.

Senator Elbert Guillory and Abortion

Today one of the top stories in the news was the startling fact that in New York City in 2012 the number of abortions of black babies surpassed the number of live births of black babies. What a tragedy. Why can the black community not see the horrific culture of death they have fallen for in recent years.

So tonight when I watched the video below that was sent to me by a friend, it really drove the point home for me. If you have not heard Senator Elbert Guillory from Louisiana explain why he switched from the Democrat party to the Republican party a few years ago, this video should rock you.

Senator Guillory hits the nail on the head. Our liberal society has made abortion mainstream by constantly screaming that conservatives want to take the "right to choose" away from you. It reminds me of the way you trick a child into doing something they don't want to do. Remember how Tom Sawyer tricked others into whitewashing his fence for him? If you tell someone they cannot do something or that someone is trying to take away their right to do it, then they are in defense mode and will fight to be able to do that thing, even if it kills them. So using this tactic--fear of deprivation--liberals have tricked their own supporters into killing their own babies by telling them its their right and that conservatives want to deprive them of it.

It is only with God's help that we will ever recover from the depravity that the liberal leaders have led us into over the last 5 decades. We have to pray, and pray hard, for more Senators like Elbert Guillory to be elected this Fall in the midterm elections. Men and women who can fluently and passionately articulate the conservative platforms and convince the poor and minorities of this country that their path to prosperity is through conservatism and not "me-centered" liberalism.

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