Tom Faranda's Folly

Krauthammer on why leftist whackos are so angry.

Well, they're always angry - that's nothing new. But Charles Krauthammer has some good comments here -

Why Is Far Left So Angry?

John Paul II beatification tomorrow.

Yesterday I posted this - Peggy Noonan on the Sainthood of "John Paul the Great"

Here's a picture of him in Denver, August 12, 1993. Brigid and I had gone out to Denver for the Papal visit (but it's not my picture!).

 

 

Now here's a letter published in the most recent issue of Columbia, the Journal of the Knights of Columbus. It's from Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz, Archbishop of Krakow. 

Passage to Sainthood

 

Beatification is an act of law and liturgy through which the Church acknowledges that a candidate for sainthood enjoys the glory of heaven. In the first centuries of Christianity, until the Middle Ages, beatification was spontaneously performed by the bishop of a given location where God's people venerated a candidate for sainthood. Later in Christian history, consent of a synod of bishops and the Holy See was needed. Since 1634, beatification and canonization have been approved by the pope.

Peggy Noonan on the Sainthood of "John Paul the Great"

Noonan, one of my favorite authors and columnists, wrote a book entitled John Paul the Great, which I reviewed almost five years ago. Latest read - "John Paul the Great"

Today her weekly Wall Street Journal column is about the Pope and his beatification on Sunday.

A beautiful column.

In a mass in the Old City, John Paul gave a great sermon. Why, he asked, had God lifted a Pole to the papacy? Why had Poland suffered for centuries under political oppression? Perhaps because Poland is "the land of a particularly responsible witness." The Poles had been chosen to give witness, with humility, to the cross and the Resurrection. He asked the crowd if they accepted such an obligation.

"We want God," they roared. "We want God!" This from a nation occupied by an atheist state.

John Paul said the great work of God is man, and the great redeemer of man is Christ. Therefore, "Christ cannot be kept out of the history of man in any part of the globe, at any longitude or latitude. . . . The exclusion of Christ from the history of man is an act against man!"

It was brilliant. He wasn't asking for a revolution or an uprising, he wasn't directly challenging the government. He just pointed out that God himself sees one unity in Europe, not an East and a West divided but one continent. And so must we all.

But it was what happened a week later, at the Blonie field outside Krakow, that led directly to 1989, and the fall of the Berlin Wall. That was the event that made political history.

Great! Hit the link for her whole column.

Amazing! Drudge Report publishes Brigid's picture before her wedding!!

We were married in Mandeville, Jamaica in 1979. How did they come up with this picture?

 

Here's Brigid this past January, with her two bodyguards. Still looking good!

 

Chicago Archdiocese suspends Fr. Pfleger

the Democrat Party activist first, Catholic priest second, Michael Pfleger.

Catholic Church suspends rogue Chicago Rev. Michael Pfleger

If you have a doggie door, beware of alligator invasion

On ABC.

Prosecutors ask for longest sentence for Vincent Leibell, my former State Senator.

Leibell pleaded guilty in December to tax evasion and obstruction of justice, and federal prosecutors recommended Leibell serve the maximum sentence in the April 14 Government's Sentencing Memorandum.

"The government respectfully requests that the court sentence the defendant to the top of the stipulated 18 to 24 month range, i.e., a sentence of 24 months imprisonment," according to the memorandum. "We ask that the court impose such a sentence to send the unmistakable message that those who are elected to make the law must first obey it themselves."

The memorandum revealed Leibell knew while running for Putnam County Executive that he was being investigated by federal officials.

Kimmel on Trump's birth certificate

And other commentary.

 

Obama Recovery (?) moving forward

So predictable.

Economic growth slows as inflation surges

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Economic growth braked sharply in the first quarter as higher food and gasoline prices dampened consumer spending and sent inflation rising at its fastest pace in 2-1/2 years.

More people applied for unemployment benefits

Applications for unemployment benefits jumped 25,000 to a seasonally adjusted 429,000 for the week ending April 23, the Labor Department said Thursday. That's the highest total since late January.

Wal-Mart: Our shoppers are 'running out of money'

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Wal-Mart's core shoppers are running out of money much faster than a year ago due to rising gasoline prices, and the retail giant is worried, CEO Mike Duke said Wednesday.

Way to go. Of course it's all Bush's Reagan's fault.

Birth certificate: dueling idiots

Lawrence O'Donnell (MSNBC; replaced Olbermann) vs. a birther lady.

Who is the bigger idiot? 

Lawrence O'Donnell And Birther Orly Taitz Have Wild Shoutfest About Obama (VIDEO)

Today is feast day of St. Gianna Beretta Molla

 Italian pediatrician and mother. Died on this day 49 years ago.

 

St. Gianna 

 

Heading towards $7 a gallon gas

UPDATE: For an alternate view, Bernanke downplays inflation

From Business Insider. This comes with a wonkiness warning, but even if you only look at the charts it's scary.

Excerpt below the link, but check out the charts.

Charting The Course To $7 Gas

So here's a recap:

1. The Fed has tripled the money supply and reduced interest rates to zero.

2. A stronger economy is trying to get off the ground but can't because all the newly created money is being retained by the banks in reserve.

3. Eventually the banks will start lending again, and the velocity of money will increase.

4. When that occurs, inflation will begin to show signs that even Bernanke can't ignore, and he will respond by raising rates.

5. Eventually, increased velocity, inflation, high oil prices, and interest rates will conspire to crash the market again. And we start the whole thing over again — if we can.

With the tripling of the money supply, cold mathematics would imply that eventually prices will likewise triple — once the new money has made it out into the economy. Thus, $3.50 gas becomes $10.50 gas. Clearly the math is not as easy as that, because really no one (especially Bernanke) can predict what will happen; but if history is any guide, then all of a sudden, $7 gas seems like a deal.

Yup. Scary. What will this do to small businesses?

Kimmel: New game; "Can you keep a straight face while interviewing Donald Trump"

HA!

 

Ann Coulter: "Democrats don't resent 'the rich' on behalf of the poor. They resent the rich on behalf of the government."

Obama's Budget: More Waste, Fraud, and Self-Abuse

Obama vs. Trump - clever quote from my friend Judy

"If Obama can be manipulated by Trump, what are the leaders of the world thinking?"

Funny: Buddy Hackett on Carson - how you tell a joke

Sent to me by my friend Ellen.

An old punch line with several story variations - but still very funny.

Poll: Most people comfortable seeing Nurse Practitioners for routine care

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 67% of Likely U.S. Voters favor training and licensing of nurse practitioners to expand the level of routine medical care they provide. Only 20% oppose such training and licensing, with another 12% not sure about it. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Seventy-seven percent (77%) say they would be at least somewhat comfortable visiting a trained and licensed nurse practitioner for routine medical care, with 45% saying they would be Very Comfortable. Eighteen percent (18%) would not be comfortable visiting a nurse practitioner, but that includes just five percent (5%) who would be Not At All Comfortable.

Most voters (52%) also think the quality of health care would improve if routine medical care was handled by nurse practitioners and doctors were able to focus more on challenging health care issues. Just 20% think the quality of health care would be reduced under that scenario, and 10% say it would have no impact. Eighteen percent (18%) are undecided.

Wall Street hedge funds switching sides; donations now flowing more to Republicans

It's no secret that lots more Wall Street money in 2008 went to Obama rather then McCain.

HOWEVER, that's starting to change. Here's the Wall Street Journal front page above-the-fold article from yesterday. You may not be able to access it through the link (may only be available to subscribers) but the excerpt below gives the full flavor.

Hedge-fund managers made a big bet on Barack Obama and other Democrats in 2008. Now, with the 2012 contest gearing up, some prominent fund managers have turned their backs on the party and are actively supporting Republicans. 

Mr. Obama blew away the field in presidential fund-raising in 2008, setting a record by collecting $750 million in contributions, with most of the donations small ones. Some political strategists speculate he could top $1 billion for his re-election bid.

The defection by some hedge-fund managers is among forces that could make that lofty figure hard to attain. Mr. Obama has also disheartened some labor unions, environmentalists and liberal activists by not moving as aggressively as they would like on their priorities. For the 2012 presidential race, it is too early to gauge with any precision how he or potential GOP candidates are doing in fund-raising.

Overall in the 2008 congressional and presidential elections, Democrats outdrew Republicans, $1.9 billion to $1.3 billion, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Democrats received the biggest share of donations from hedge-fund managers for most of the past two decades. From 1990 through 2008, according to data from the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, fund managers and their employees contributed about $40 million to candidates for Congress and the presidency. About two-thirds went to Democrats.

******

With the 2012 money race under way, Democrats are reaching out to mend fences. Mr. Schumer has held a series of dinners and chats with hedge-fund managers. Mr. Obama traveled to New York in late March for an event with fund-raisers from Wall Street and the fund industry.

Still, about 6,600 donations to the Democratic National Committee in March appear to include only a handful from hedge-fund people—fewer than from veterinarians or librarians.

Interview with Gabrielle Giffords husband: "her personality is intact"

On CBS. Sorry for the commercial. CBS does not allow embedded videos; you have to use the link.

http://youtu.be/rfd_Q2ipNVM

The Obama 2012 Campaign Briefing

From the 2012 campaign manager, and just posted and emailed around from the Obama campaign website. Fair and Balanced, that's me.

 

Jim Rogers investment plans

Rogers - a financial guru with a fine track record.

From Business Insider. Scary.

Short Treasuries And Buy Commodities, Especially Silver

Jim Rogers reiterated his plan to short U.S. Treasuries in an interview with The Economic Times:

I plan to sell short US government bonds sometime in the next few weeks, months. Interest rates all over the world are going to go higher. We have inflation, staggering debt problems and currency problems facing us. So interest rates are going to go higher.

35 years ago Rick Monday makes a great play in center field

It's April 25, 1976 and the Chicago Cubs outfielder snatches the flag away -

Yankee catcher Russell Martin - off to a great start

A good feature in the Washington Post this morning.

Russell was supposed to be a one year stopgap player for the Yanks, but he's back to his All-Star level and he's only 28.

Russell Martin catching on with first-place Yanks

Baltimore — It isn’t much that the New York Yankees are asking of newcomer Russell Martin. Just man the position of Yogi Berra, Elston Howard, Thurman Munson and Jorge Posada. Just steer a piecemeal pitching staff, full of all-stars, reclamation projects and talented underachievers, through a murderous early-season schedule in which all but three games so far have been against teams that finished .500 or better in 2010.

Oh, and we’re also going to need you to hit like Johnny Bench, to compensate for all the slumping regulars fighting to stay above the Mendoza Line in the cool, damp slog of April.

Thanks largely to Martin’s ability to answer those calls from on high, the Yankees find themselves in a familiar spot — holding down first place in the American League East — but having taken a strange route to get there.

Kimmel: Dead alien found in Russia

A scary situation.

 

Government cash handouts now exceed tax revenues

This can't go on for long.

U.S. households are now getting more in cash handouts from the government than they are paying in taxes for the first time since the Great Depression.

Households received $2.3 trillion in some kind of government support in 2010. That includes expanded unemployment benefits, as well as payments for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and stimulus spending, among other things.

But that’s more than the $2.2 trillion households paid in taxes, an amount that has slumped largely due to the recession, according to an analysis by the Fiscal Times.

An short Easter Sermon from around 400 AD.

Fr. George Rutler of the Church of Our Saviour in NY City posted the following on the Church website:

---

In place of our weekly message, it is customary in this joyful season to reproduce a well-known Easter sermon by St. John Chrysostom (c. 347-407), Archbishop of Constantinople and a Doctor of the Church. Because of his inspired eloquence, he was given the nickname ὁ Χρυσόστομος - "chrysostomos" - meaning "golden mouthed."  As patron saint of preachers, his icon hangs directly above the pulpit in our church.

--
Fr. George W. Rutler

---

The Easter Sermon of
St. John Chrysostom
Bishop of Constantinople (c. A.D. 400)

Is there anyone who is a devout lover of God? Let them enjoy this beautiful bright festival! Is there anyone who is a grateful servant? Let them rejoice and enter into the joy of their Lord!

Are there any weary with fasting? Let them now receive their wages! If any have toiled from the first hour, let them receive their due reward; if any have come after the third hour, let him with gratitude join in the Feast! And he that arrived after the sixth hour, let him not doubt; for he too shall sustain no loss. And if any delayed until the ninth hour, let him not hesitate; but let him come too. And he who arrived only at the eleventh hour, let him not be afraid by reason of his delay.

For the Lord is gracious and receives the last even as the first. He gives rest to him that comes at the eleventh hour, as well as to him that toiled from the first. To this one He gives, and upon another He bestows. He accepts the works as He greets the endeavor. The deed He honors and the intention He commends.

Let us all enter into the joy of the Lord! First and last alike receive your reward; rich and poor, rejoice together! Sober and slothful, celebrate the day!

You that have kept the fast, and you that have not, rejoice today for the Table is richly laden! Feast royally on it, the calf is a fatted one. Let no one go away hungry. Partake, all, of the cup of faith. Enjoy all the riches of His goodness!

Let no one grieve at his poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed. Let no one mourn that he has fallen again and again; for forgiveness has risen from the grave. Let no one fear death, for the Death of Our Saviour has set us free. He has destroyed it by enduring it. He destroyed Hades when He descended into it. He put it into an uproar even as it tasted of His flesh. Isaiah foretold this when he said, “You, O Hell, have been troubled by encountering Him below.”

Hell was in an uproar because it was done away with. It was in an uproar because it is mocked. It was in an uproar, for it is destroyed. It is in an uproar, for it is annihilated. It is in an uproar, for it is now made captive. Hell took a body, and discovered God. It took earth, and encountered Heaven. It took what it saw, and was overcome by what it did not see.

O death, where is thy sting? O Hades, where is thy victory?

Christ is Risen, and you, O death, are annihilated! Christ is Risen, and the evil ones are cast down! Christ is Risen, and the angels rejoice! Christ is Risen, and life is liberated! Christ is Risen, and the tomb is emptied of its dead; for Christ having risen from the dead, is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

To Him be Glory and Power forever and ever. Amen!

Video of the tornado hit on the St. Louis airport

Raw video off the surveillance camera.

On CBS

http://youtu.be/LJv8tJoF8-c

The Resurrection - four artists

First posted two years ago, and I can't improve on it - medieval and contemporary art. This 2009 posting is one of the most visited on my weblog.

the Resurrection: Four Artists

HOWEVER - can't improve but this isn't bad, by Piero Della Francesca, finished around 1460. For the story of this particular painting go here.

 
 
 
 

Holy Saturday

"He descended into Hell"

 

The Pope has a televised townhall type Q & A on Good Friday

UPDATE: Evidently this program "is expected to be rebroadcast by television networks around the world."  From the Telegraph (UK) Pope Benedict admits there isn't a full answer to suffering in rare TV interview

Pope does Q&A on suffering for Good Friday

Dressed in white robes during the Q&A, he sat at a desk and, speaking softly in Italian, answered questions that mainly grappled with suffering. The first came from Elena, a 7-year-old Japanese girl who told the pope many children her age were killed and asked why children have to be so sad.

"I also have the same questions: Why is it this way? Why do you have to suffer so much while others live in ease?" Benedict said. "And we do not have the answers but we know that Jesus suffered as you do, an innocent."

Trying for words of comfort, the pope told her that "even if we are still sad, God is by your side."

******

Still another question came from a woman whose middle-aged son has been in a vegetative state since Easter 2009, and who wanted to know if his soul had left his body.

Benedict assured the mother that his soul is "still present in his body," comparing the situation to a guitar with broken strings. "The instrument of the body is fragile like that, it is vulnerable, and the soul cannot play, so to speak, but remains present," the pope told her, adding: "I am also sure that his hidden soul feels your love deep down."

The Vatican's campaign against euthanasia is an important part of Benedict's papacy, and has condemned those who would remove breathing devices or feeding tubes from those in a vegetative state, although Catholic teaching holds that faithful do not have to use extraordinary means to keep people alive

Good Friday

My Lent was OK. Read the Pope's book - a full length interview I reviewed here Light of the World , as well as my friend Maggie Barbieri's fifth book in her Murder 101 series, Third Degree. Review to follow after Easter. Why read a mystery over Lent? Good question.

Currently reading the second volume of the Pope's book, Jesus of Nazareth, focusing on the Passion, Death and Resurrection.  It's excellent but a slow read; more difficult then the first volume, the review of which is here. I may not get this finished until after Easter.

Tomorrow I'm either going to the Pax Christi Stations of the Cross, across Manhattan, or a prayer vigil at the Yonkers Planned Parenthood. I like the Pax Christi Stations - ANY public display of prayer and penance throught a big city is a good thing - and I've done it pretty much every year for close to 20 years. The exception being after I was getting over my chemotherapy five years ago. But I'm actually leaning towards going to Yonkers now.

Will post about whichever I do.

Good Friday - the somberest day on the Christian calendar.

El Greco, Jesus Carrying the Cross. 1580.

 

 

Rugby: Munster (Ireland) vs. Brive (France)

Some defensive lapses, but exciting as both teams let it rip in great weather.

 

New York Times: the collapse continues; earnings down 50%

The weakness in print advertising, coupled with an unexpected drop in revenue at About.com, led to earnings of 4 cents a share before special items are excluded, compared with 8 cents a share in the period a year ago.

The company has picked up about 100,000 digital subscribers, now that they've limited free access to their website.

“While the challenges for our company and for the larger economy are not yet behind us, the recent launch of the Times digital subscription packages on NYTimes.com and across other digital platforms brings our plan for a new revenue stream to life, offering us another reason for optimism about the future,” the chief executive, Janet L. Robinson, said.

The New Civility: the Wonkette website attacks Palin's son Trig (the boy with Down Syndrome)

UPDATE: Wonkette noted the removal of the post with the headline, “Rude Post Deleted By Editor; Author Apologizes.”

A post on this page satirizing Sarah Palin using her baby as a political prop was very badly done and sounded like the author was mocking the child and not just Sarah Palin/Sarah Palin’s followers.

The writer, Jack Stuef, has apologized for it. And we have decided to remove the post as requested by some people who have nothing to do with Sarah Palin, but who do have an interest in the cause of special needs children. We apologize for the poor comedic judgment.

According to wikipedia Wonkette  "is a left-leaning American online magazine of topical satire and political gossip, ..."

Greatest Living American: A Children’s Treasury of Trig Crap On His Birthday

Among other nasty things, the post has the following:

"What’s he dreaming about? Nothing. He’s retarded. His mom went to a lot of trouble to leak amniotic fluid over 8 states to make sure that he arrived in this world somewhat alive. Enjoy yourself today, Trig. Have fun! Get drunk (on purpose this time)! We can hardly wait for 15 years from now, when you will finally be able to vote and will be sent off by your mother’s junta to fight the Union in the Great Alaska War. It’ll be quite a loss. You’re the smartest one in that family."

Pretty classy.. the author of the post later put this up -

UPDATE: I regret this post and using the word “retarded” in a reference to Sarah Palin’s child. It’s not nice, and is not necessary, but I take responsibility for writing it. For those who came and are offended by this post: I’m sorry, of course. But I stand by my criticism of Sarah Palin using her child as a political prop.

–Jack Stuef

Don't ALL politicians bring their children out as "political prop..."?

A medical miracle attributed to Catholic Worker founder Dorothy Day

This is from the Houston Catholic Worker - Casa Juan Diego - publication.

The article is a copy of a letter sent to The Guild for Dorothy Day, in the Archdiocese of New York. it is nine paragraphs long. hit the link for the whole letter.

Medical Miracle in Oklahoma After Seeking Dorothy Day's Intercession

I am writing to tell you that Sarah Maple has had a miraculous healing of her brain tumor. She had received good MRIs through the autumn of 2010, but in December she went for her regular visit to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, and the doctors told her that her brain tumor had disappeared. One member of Sarah's medical team, who is Catholic, told Sarah that she had never seen anything like this and that she believed Sarah's remarkable recovery is a miracle.

******

Sarah Maple is not Catholic, but she definitely believes that her recovery is a gift from God and is miraculous.

Obama speech on budget = S & P downgrade & "negative" outlook

The Wall Street Journal connects the dots after Monday's S & P comments.

There is only one reason the rating agency could suddenly have turned this dark on politics in Washington: President Obama's speech at George Washington University last Wednesday. Mr. Obama's "fiscal policy" speech may have sent progressive pundits cart-wheeling, but its political effect was to poison the prospect for budget negotiations.

The harshness of Mr. Obama's anti-Republican rhetoric and the universal conclusion that this was a Presidential campaign speech make it very difficult for GOP Congressional leaders to believe they can enter into a budget negotiation in which the White House will deal in good faith.

The hyper-politicized Obama White House calculated that the release of a GOP proposal by House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan was the moment to unveil its re-election counter-attack. This week Mr. Obama is taking that speech on what looks like the campaign trail, first at a Virginia community college and then in front of the millionaires and billionaires at Facebook's headquarters in Silicon Valley.

S&P, as did many others, said it saw the Obama and Ryan budget proposals "as the starting point of a process," but "That said, we see the path to agreement as challenging because the gap between the parties remains wide." And: "We believe there is a significant risk that Congressional negotiations could result in no agreement." And this stalemate will continue "over the next two years."

S&P is simply connecting the political dots after last week's un-Presidential tirade against the GOP.

To live a long life, hike the eastern U.S. woodlands

Never heard of this guy, but I think it's a cool little tribute.

Pioneering Climbing Guide Jim Goodwin Dead at 101

And here's a more comprehensive and interesting - to me - article from the Adirondack Daily Enterprise

KEENE VALLEY - Legendary Adirondack guide Jim Goodwin, who led his first trip up Mount Marcy at age 12 and was an honored guest at a guides' convention in Lake Placid just two weeks ago, died Thursday from complications of pneumonia. He was 101.

The President and VP tax returns: Biden continues his record of tiny charitable contributions

Here's the article - Obama and Biden tax reporting

That Joe Biden would lecture anyone on fairness, blah, blah, blah, and do it with a straight face - it's pathetic.

With a joint gross income of $379,178, the Bidens gave all of $5,360 in charitable contributions.

That's 1.4% of their gross income.   

A pro-abortion, skinflint Catholic. Great example.

Here he is at one of his recent publicized moments.

 

Gallup poll on what people think about their own tax rate

50% think they pay too much. 43% say taxes are "about right."

The 43% "about right" number?

Worth remembering that about 45% of people pay no federal income tax. My tax rate would be "about right" if I wasn't paying any!

The 50% now calling their taxes "too high" is within the 46% to 53% range found each year since 2003. It is significantly lower than the 65% recorded in 2001, prior to implementation of former President George W. Bush's first round of federal tax cuts.

 

Income Tax: The super-rich are paying less, while 45% of households pay none

Which means - people in the middle getting it in the neck. No wonder there's a TEA Party.

Tax rates and tax breaks

The "chair-based lifestyle” is bad for you

Here's a really fascinating, and not too long - 15 paragraphs - feature from the NY Times magazine section yesterday.

Is Sitting a Lethal Activity?

A weakness of traditional activity and obesity research is that it relies on self-reporting — people’s flawed recollections of how much they ate or exercised. But the participants in a series of studies that Dr. Levine did beginning in 2005 were assessed and wired up the way I was; they consumed all of their food in the lab for two months and were told not to exercise. With nary a snack nor workout left to chance, Dr. Levine was able to plumb the mysteries of a closed metabolic universe in which every calorie, consumed as food or expended for energy, could be accounted for.

******

Another study, published last year in the journal Circulation, looked at nearly 9,000 Australians and found that for each additional hour of television a person sat and watched per day, the risk of dying rose by 11 percent. The study author David Dunstan wanted to analyze whether the people who sat watching television had other unhealthful habits that caused them to die sooner. But after crunching the numbers, he reported that “age, sex, education, smoking, hypertension, waist circumference, body-mass index, glucose tolerance status and leisure-time exercise did not significantly modify the associations between television viewing and all-cause . . . mortality.”

******

The good news is that inactivity’s peril can be countered. Working late one night at 3 a.m., Dr. Levine coined a name for the concept of reaping major benefits through thousands of minor movements each day: NEAT, which stands for Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. In the world of NEAT, even the littlest stuff matters. ...

Democratic Senator Mark Warner on getting a bipartisan solution to the debt crisis

Eight minutes long. CBS doesn't allow for embedding their videos, so you have to hit the link.

Sen. Warner's bipartisan debt crisis solution  

May 1st: the Beatification of Pope John Paul II

Doesn't seem that long ago that Brigid stayed up through the night, to see the funeral of the Pope live from Rome. We think he's one of the great men of the 20th century, for all sorts of reasons.

Anyway, here is a letter explaining Beatification and published in Columbia, the monthly magazine of the Knights of Columbus. It's written by Cardinal StanisŁaw Dziwisz, the archbishop of Kraków since 2005, who served as John Paul II's personal secretary for nearly 40 years.

Passage to Sainthood

Beatification is an act of law and liturgy through which the Church acknowledges that a candidate for sainthood enjoys the glory of heaven.

 

 

Rugby: A score, and then ultimate end zone celebration

Check this out - sure beats spiking the ball. The Red team is Queensland, in Australia.

Is this the longest soccer goal kick ever!?

Well, I'm impressed. Over 90 yards. Watch the video - the ref gave him a yellow card for pulling off his shirt after scoring!

Quinonez Wilson, Colombian Goalkeeper, Scores on 83-Meter Free Kick

 

Pope's birthday is today

He's 84. I am reading the second volume of his book Jesus of Nazareth, which came out about six weeks ago.

 

Why has Yankee pitcher Phil Hughes been so ineffective?

He's now on the disabled list. Here's an interesting column from this AM's Daily News -

For Phil Hughes, development of cut fastball may be to blame for lost velocity, not 'dead arm'

 

Is Madonna considering joining Opus Dei?

Here's the story/rumor - which also gives a brief summary of the Catholic group -

It is reported that Madonna spent last Friday with Opus Dei priests at the group's London headquarters.

And here's a refutation on the OSV blog -

Fantastic yarn. Unfortunately, it appears lacking in factual basis. Brian Finnerty, the U.S. communications director for Opus Dei, told me this afternoon that the story is not true.

The male-female salary gap - is it real?

Maybe not. Here's a woman presenting the no pay gap case.

There is No Male-Female Wage Gap

 

The Daily Beast with more commentary on the Obama Budget speech

The mostly - but not exclusively - liberal online publication, which now owns Newsweek.

 Eight different opinions -

Obama's Budget Speech: Daily Beast Contributors Weigh In