O’Reilly: Trump Right About Border Wall, San Francisco Officials ‘Directly Responsible’ for Steinle Murder

By Jeff Poor

(Breitbart) On Monday’s broadcast of “The O’Reilly Factor,” host Bill O’Reilly took real estate mogul and GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump’s side in the immigration.

O’Reilly said Trump was correct on two calls – the wall on the southern border he had proposed and who was responsible for the death of Kate Steinle, which was the result of murder by an illegal immigrant that had been deported five times.

“So Trump is correct in saying that only a massive wall will stop the chaos and even then drugs and people will get through although not to the extent they do now,” O’Reilly said.

“Apparently Sanchez has seven felony convictions,” he later added. “[He] has been deported five times. Yet, he’s still walking around the streets of San Francisco, this guy. That’s because Mayor Ed Lee and the 11 members of the San Francisco City Supervisors refuse to cooperate with the federal government on criminal aliens.”

“The feds asked the city of San Francisco to keep Sanchez in custody,” O’Reilly continued. “The city refused. Ms. Steinle paid for that irresponsible and unconstitutional decision with her life. San Francisco is a sanctuary city and proud of it. And violent crimes committed by criminal aliens have happened there before. City authorities refuse to say how many because they know it’s a huge scandal, a black mark on the history of San Francisco, the most tolerant of cities. The family of Kate Steinle asking for calm, not vengeance, but ‘Talking Points’ is not as charitable.”

Link:

• O’Reilly: Trump Right About Border Wall, San Francisco Officials ‘Directly Responsible’ for Steinle Murder

Catholic Biship [sic] Creating All Inclusive Church

"FOX 5 reached out to the San Diego Catholic Diocese about Bishop Rodgers’ plans.
'Bishop Dermot Rodgers and the group associated with him is not affiliated with the Catholic Diocese of San Diego and therefore we have no comment,' the diocese said."

Links:

• Catholic Biship Creating All Inclusive Church
• Local priest forms all-inclusive Roman Catholic Church in San Diego

The reverse "Grapes of Wrath"

By The Digital Hairshirt

Suffering in its third year of drought, more than 58 percent of the state is currently in "exceptional drought" stage, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor map. That marks a huge jump from just seven days ago, when about 36 percent of the state was categorized that way. 

If the state continues on this path, there may have to be thoughts about moving people out, said Lynn Wilson, academic chair at Kaplan University and who serves on the climate change delegation in the United Nations. 

"Civilizations in the past have had to migrate out of areas of drought," Wilson said. "We may have to migrate people out of California."

There is a startling contrast to this notion, given that many Californians trace the arrival of their families to the "Okies," those people from Oklahoma and the Plains state who migrated to California to escape the great drought that reduced their homes to a virtual dust bowl in the 1930's.  Few people won't recognize an iconic photograph from that time, the image of a migrant mother caught by Dorothea Lange:

So will we now have "Calis" moving east?  And who would be selected to move?... 

Read More at The Digital Hairshirt

Link:

• The reverse "Grapes of Wrath"

16,000 births, 18,000 abortions in San Francisco

(California Catholic Daily) On Friday, March 21, 350 admirers filled the Patrons Hall of San Francisco’s St. Mary’s Cathedral in support of one of only two crisis pregnancy centers in the City. The event was a fundraiser for Alpha Pregnancy Center, located in Mission Terrace. For those unfamiliar with San Francisco, that is not one of the neighborhoods President Obama visits during his frequent fundraising trips. Attendees included Father John Jimenez, who recently celebrated Mass in front of San Francisco’s Planned Parenthood to kick off this year’s 40 Days for Life; a number of 40 Days volunteers; and many veterans of the pro-life cause, including the beloved and elderly Bea Smalley, one of San Francisco’s first pro-life activists...

The final speaker was Alpha’s executive director Chastidy Ronan, the story of whose personal trials, overcome by trust in Jesus, cannot be summarized here. She eventually found and married a good man, and in 2006 they decided to move to San Francisco, where a job was waiting for both of them—or so they thought. In 2006 Chastidy found herself out of work and facing an unplanned pregnancy. She was gripped with fear, and thought every day how much easier it would be to abort the child. She recalled going through the aisles of baby supplies at Target and crying because everything was so expensive. She went to Alpha for help—and she received it. In 2008 she began working as a counselor at Alpha, and within a year become the executive director. She said:

“I feel I was set in this place and in this time and in this season to do what God wants me to do. Like in Nehemiah we must restore our city to a place where God’s people understand the value of life. In this city there are 7 abortion clinics and only two pro-life clinics. Every year in San Francisco there are 16,000 births, but there are 18,000 abortions. When my mother was beaten to death, I learned that the neighbors had heard screams but had not wanted to get involved. I vowed then that I will never ignore the cries of those who need help. We are called to seek the welfare of this city, of our wonderful city. We will not ignore the cry of the 18,000 killed every year and we invite you to join us!”

Link:

• 16,000 births, 18,000 abortions in San Francisco

Related:

• Jim Jones’ sinister grip on San Francisco

Federal Court Says ‘Good Cause’ Requirement for Conceal-Carry Permits Violates the Second Amendment

By Damon Root

(Reason) The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit handed gun rights advocates a major victory today by invalidating San Diego, California’s requirement that conceal-carry permits only be issued to those gun owners who have a “good cause” to carry a concealed gun in public. According to local officials, “one’s personal safety is not considered good cause.” In his opinion for a divided three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit, Judge Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain rejected the local government’s approach as an unconstitutional infringement on the Second Amendment.

“In California,” the ruling observes, “the only way that the typical responsible, law-abiding citizen can carry a weapon in public for the lawful purpose of self-defense is with a concealed-carry permit. And, in San Diego County, that option has been taken off the table.”

As Brian Doherty noted on Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court is currently considering whether it will take up two other cases that also center on the Second Amendment’s reach outside of the home. This new ruling from the 9th Circuit makes it all the more likely that the question of gun rights in public will soon be addressed by the Supreme Court.

Today's ruling by the 9th Circuit in Peruta v. County of San Diego is available here.

Link:

• Federal Court Says ‘Good Cause’ Requirement for Conceal-Carry Permits Violates the Second Amendment

Notorious Church-Suing Lawyer Obtained Clients by Phoning Parishioners and ‘Fishing for Victims’

Unethical conduct for financial gain? Southern California contingency lawyer John C. Manly

From The Media Report:

Southern California contingency lawyer John Manly, who has pocketed millions of dollars by suing the Catholic Church, has now admitted that his office has obtained clients for abuse lawsuits by making unsolicited phone calls to Catholic Church parishioners.

This startling new revelation in the Catholic Church abuse narrative was exclusively reported by Sue Nowicki at The Modesto Bee newspaper.

According to Nowicki's piece, numerous individuals in the Diocese of Stockton (Calif.) have said that they received unsolicited phone calls to their homes from a woman hired by Manly. These calls, they claim, left them to conclude that Manly was "fishing" for victims in the case of an accused Catholic priest, Fr. Michael E. Kelly.

Manly has admitted that he hired the woman, but only to "investigate" Kelly.

Busted?

The obvious question for Manly is this: For what other reason would a Church-suing contingency lawyer "investigate" a Catholic priest except to garner clients?

Confronted with the charge that he was "fishing for victims," Manly, of course, denied the claim.

"We don't call people and ask if they want to be in lawsuits," Manly said in part to Nowicki. "That's not happening; it's not what we do. What we are doing is investigation. 'Did you ever see anything that was odd with Father Kelly?' That's how we got our first client."

So Manly has pretty much admitted that he found his first client against Fr. Kelly by "investigating" areas where the cleric worked. Wow.

The phone calls revealed

Some recipients of the phone calls from Manly's employee say the calls left them "infuriated and disgusted."

Nowicki reports:

"[One recipient said] she was given the 'strong impression' that if she said her son, now 32, was interested in filing a lawsuit, 'they would have jumped all over that. They were going to find something (against Kelly), regardless if there was any cause for action.'"

And another:

"[Another woman] tried to tell [the caller] that she has known Kelly for three decades and described his positive influence on her sons. 'She told me she has found 10 more victims … She was going on and on and tried to convince me that I was stupid and didn't realize this was going on. I finally had to hang up on her.'"

Are these calls legal?

In her article, Nowicki reveals, "According to the state Bar Association, it is unethical for attorneys to make calls soliciting clients for financial gain." Indeed, it will be interesting to see if the California bar says anything about Manly's actions. (In 2006, by the way, Manly was sanctioned by a judge for "unacceptable" conduct.)..

Read More at The Media Report

Non-Physicians Allowed to Perform Abortions in California

Life Legal Defense Foundation Says Bill Morphed from Boat Paint to Humans

>Contact: Tom Ciesielka, 312-422-1333, tc@tcpr.net
 
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Sept. 4, 2012 /Christian Newswire/ -- The California Senate voted last week to pass a bill allowing non-physicians to perform aspiration abortions. Senate Bill 623, introduced by Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego), extends a program run by the University of California, San Francisco, in which nurse practitioners, midwives and physicians assistants are trained to perform abortions.

"This bill was originally created to regulate boat paint," said Dana Cody, Executive Director of the Life Legal Defense Foundation. "Now it's regulating and destroying human lives."

Ms. Kehoe claimed that the bill was necessary to fill gaps in the availability of abortion caused by the shortage of doctors in parts of the state. The bill went through three attempts before passage. Ms. Kehoe "gutted and amended" the bill after its introduction, which raised some protest from other members of the Senate. This spring, a Senate committee rejected an attempt to pass a broader bill allowing non-physicians to perform abortions. In the end, a narrower version of the bill was passed. Rather than opening abortion to non-physicians generally, the bill focuses on extending a U.C. San Francisco program training physicians assistants and others to perform first trimester abortions.

For months, the Life Legal Defense Foundation has been tracking down information on the U.C. San Francisco program. Earlier this year, they filed a Writ of Mandate to compel disclosure with a public records request for complete information. "There have been numerous attempts to resist records requests, leaving us wondering what they have to hide," said Katie Short, Legal Director of the Life Legal Defense Foundation. "It is important for Californians to find out what is being done in this training program -- who are the abortionists conducting the training? How many women are being injured by these non-physician abortionists?"

The Life Legal Defense Foundation also created a fact sheet about non-physician abortions.

Link:

• Non-Physicians Allowed to Perform Abortions in California

A Tale of Two Cathedrals: Why “Traditional versus Modernist” Tells Only Part of the Story

by Nikos Salingaros

(Crisis Magazine) Here we have two recent Cathedrals of similarly grand scale and with contrasting architectures. The juxtaposition of the two styles makes an interesting case study for the “traditional versus modernist” debate over which architectural style is most appropriate for worship. Debates of this kind usually begin over obvious characteristics of style. But following a close examination of these two buildings, the less obvious elements turn out to reverse first impressions. The issue then becomes very complicated, and, in my opinion, far more revealing than a superficial debate based upon style. This discussion brings up issues on today’s approach to church planning. First a disclaimer: I have visited neither building in person, yet that is the only sure way of experiencing a structure. For this reason, my review is bound to be incomplete and partial.

The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Houston, by Ziegler-Cooper Architects, is in obviously traditional style. This is an accepted tendency in many post-war churches, with a high, open, vertical entrance. It is an excellent idea to use, or rather, re-use traditional typologies for the ancient act of worship. Those who support tradition over innovation in Church architecture (and in the Church itself) see no need for any further justification. The human being is tied to God through ritual over millennia, and the best architectural solutions are those developed over time. An intelligent and sensitive architect can use them in a contemporary context with great success, and that is what has been achieved here. Tried-and-true methods are used to design a building that is solid on tradition, reassuring in presenting the Church of tradition to the faithful.

The Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland, by Skidmore Owings & Merrill Architects, is a postmodernist innovation, expressing new forms and typologies. It presents one of many possible answers to the question of “how can we extend the traditional ecclesiastical typology using new methods?” At first glance, it is a very successful innovation indeed, creating space, light, and a feeling of openness, as an attractive alternative to neo-traditional designs. The materials are certainly innovative and play a major role in the impression the worshiper experiences inside the Cathedral. The Church is pressured both by its members and by its administration to appear innovative and not retrograde, so such a commission is seen as an advance in the sponsorship of contemporary forms for Church architecture.

There the matter would stand in a limited but superficial comparison: a traditional building versus an innovative building. Both would appear to work well, and if they were not separated by such a great distance, they could offer a choice to churchgoers who had the corresponding philosophy of their own, namely traditional versus contemporary. But things are not so simple. Let us look at the details and interior spaces.

The Houston Cathedral has an unexpectedly non-traditional aspect when examined more closely. It feels like a building from the Vienna Secession: rich materials, yes, but also planes that are not filled in, and abstraction in its volumes. This is not a traditional building by far. It is not a Cathedral that any of my friends who design traditional churches would have built. They would have stuck to more of a traditional style in all the details (with magnificent results by the way). Here, instead the architects have achieved a harmonious result by pushing traditional typologies and ornamentation as far toward modernism as is possible to go without losing everything. We are reminded of the Vienna Secession and Art Deco, that glorious flowering of innovative architecture just before architects eliminated every vestige of tradition (and most of the architectural rules that touch us in a healing manner). I am forced to revise my initial hasty opinion and declare this building highly innovative. The innovation is employed to give a very positive impression: this is the reason the building looks comfortable; it looks traditional even when it is actually not. I am impressed by the result and warn other observers not to be taken in by a superficial judgment.

This building is “modern” in every positive meaning of the word. I caution, however, that it comes close to being “cold” in those places where its approach to abstraction is the strongest. What could have been done to improve the Houston Cathedral? The answer is obvious, although not implemented. My friends would have put in those smaller details that come from traditional ornamentation at the smallest scales, even if very restrained. Or its architects could have devised their own form language on those small ornamental scales. The eye needs ordered structure just a little larger than the rich granularity in the natural materials, and that is missing here in some places. By imposing restrictions in its form language on the smaller scales, the hierarchy is lost going down to details.

Harmonious ornamentation achieved through multiple symmetries nourishes our senses and creates in us a healing state. As human beings, we always anthropomorphize our gods, and expect that they share our own higher pleasures. For this reason, our love of God moves us to ornament the place where we worship, and to do so in a totally selfless manner. We wish to create an environment of maximal transcendent pleasure using an understanding that arises from our own physical experience... (continued)

Read More at Crisis Magazine

Link:

• A Tale of Two Cathedrals: Why “Traditional versus Modernist” Tells Only Part of the Story

Bishop Salvatore Cordileone Named Archbishop of San Francisco

By Will Kane

(San Francisco Chronicle) (07-27) 09:35 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- The Vatican on Friday named one of the driving forces behind California's 2008 initiative banning same-sex marriage as archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco.

Salvatore Cordileone, 56, who is now bishop of the Oakland diocese, was named archbishop by Pope Benedict XVI and was expected to be introduced later Friday at a news conference at St. Mary's Cathedral in San Francisco.

Cordileone was an avid supporter of Proposition 8, the November 2008 California ballot initiative that banned same-sex marriage. In an interview with the Catholic Radio Network at the time, Cordileone called same-sex marriage a plot by "the evil one" to destroy morality in the modern world.

He will preside over an archdiocese that encompasses more than a half million Catholics in San Francisco and Marin County and on the Peninsula. He will also oversee the dioceses of Oakland, San Jose, Santa Rosa, Stockton, Sacramento, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Reno and Salt Lake City.

"I am pleased to welcome Archbishop-elect Cordileone and to assure him of our prayers, loyalty, support and cooperation, as well as our friendship and affection," said Archbishop George Niederauer, who will retire after serving in San Francisco since 2005.

Cordileone has been bishop of the Oakland diocese since March 2009. Before that he was an auxiliary bishop in San Diego, where he was born. Cordileone also spent time four years as a parish priest in Calexico.

He will be formally installed at an October mass, said George Wesolek, a church spokesman.

His time in Oakland "has given him a deep understanding of the radically diverse cultural composition of the Bay Area and a dedication to multi-cultural ministry," Wesolek said in a statement.

Cordileone is chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage.

"Only one idea of marriage can stand," he told the Chronicle in 2009. "If that's going to be considered bigoted, we're going to see our rights being taken away - as is already happening."

Gay leaders in San Francisco questioned how Cordileone would fit in with the city.

"This isn't a marriage made in heaven," said Tom Ammiano, a gay state assemblyman who represents San Francisco.

Ammiano said he would be willing to talk with Cordileone about gay marriage.

"If there is ever a change in attitude there, I am willing to talk turkey - if he ever wanted to change his position," he said.

Cordileone speaks fluent Spanish, the archdiocese says. His hobbies include playing the saxophone and listening to jazz music as well as swimming and watching football and baseball.

Link:

• New S.F. archbishop appointed by pope

Related:

• Jim Jones’ sinister grip on San Francisco
• Pelosi: Catholic Faith "Compels" Me To Support Same-Sex Marriage
• Archbishop Chaput responds to Pelosi-Pope meeting
  
• Pope lectures Pelosi on abortion stance
• Pope gives Pelosi pre-excommunication warning
• "More anti-baby talk from Speaker Pelosi (D-CA)"
• It’s official: Archbishop Niederauer has resigned

Politically Correct Sissies Freak Over Australian Olympic Swimmers Posing With Guns

By Molly Gray

(CNN) -- Two Australian Olympic swimmers who posted pictures on Facebook of themselves brandishing [perfectly legal] weapons have been ordered to take them down by the country's swimming authorities.

The image, taken in a gun shop in Santa Clara, California, showed Nick D'Arcy with two pistols standing next to Kenrick Monk who is holding two shotguns across his chest, according to a Friday report in Australia's Herald Sun. The swimmers were training in the U.S. ahead of the Olympic Games in London later this year.

Swimming Australia said in a statement that it does not condone "the posting of inappropriate content on Facebook, Twitter or any social media platform."

As of Friday morning, neither of the swimmers' Facebook pages or Twitter accounts contained the photo.

"It was all just meant to be a bit of fun, the photos were just a bit of fun," D'Arcy told local media after returning to Australia. "If anyone's been offended I deeply apologize. It was never the intent; it was never supposed to be offensive."

Dozens of fans have posted on Monk's public Facebook page saying they support the athletes and that Swimming Australia had blown the photo out of proportion.

Swimming Australia said they will be speaking with both athletes regarding the incident.

While the pair faces possible Olympic sanctions, D'Arcy has been embroiled in controversy in the past.

In 2008, he was dropped from the Beijing Olympic team following an assault charge for hitting teammate Simon Cowley and breaking his jaw, the Australian Daily Telegraph reported at the time.

Both swimmers were named in Australia's team in March.

Link:

• Australian Olympic swimmers in hot water after gun photo

Pacquiao Banned from L.A. Mall for Same-Sex Marriage Opposition

From Ben Shapiro at Breitbart's Big Government:

The “tolerant” same-sex marriage left has struck again – this time, at the popular hangout The Grove, in Los Angeles. The owner of The Grove, Rick Caruso, tweeted that iconic boxing great and Philippines Congressman Manny Pacquiao would not be allowed “on the premises” thanks to Pacquiao’s outspoken opposition to same-sex marriage. “Boxer Manny Pacquiao is not welcome @TheGroveLA,” he tweeted. “@TheGroveLA is a gathering place for all Angelenos, not a place for intolerance.” Pacquiao was supposed to do an interview today with “Extra” at The Grove.

What did heretofore-Obama-supporter Pacquiao do to earn the ban? He did an interview with the National Conservative Examiner in which he said, “God’s words first … obey God’s law first before considering the laws of man. God only expects man and woman to be together and to be legally married. It should not be of the same sex, so as to adulterate the altar of matrimony, like in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah.” In other words, like the vast majority of religious people of all persuasions around the world, Pacquiao is against same-sex marriage.

That now earns him a ban from a public area in Los Angeles. And make no mistake – while Caruso is the owner of the complex, he relies heavily on public funding in his projects.

The left wants to claim intolerance here, but it is surely the highest form of intolerance not to allow a religious person who openly expresses him or herself onto the premises of an outdoor shopping mall. In fact, The Grove features a kosher hot dog stand frequented by Orthodox Jews, virtually all of whom oppose same-sex marriage. Will Caruso ban them? Are all of those who believe in traditional scriptural 
interpretation, and who oppose same-sex marriage, no longer welcome at Caruso’s myriad establishments?

Caruso is an emissary of the leftist thought police who say that you don’t deserve the privileges of decent treatment if you "haven't evolved." Pacquiao has done nothing to harm or mistreat gays or lesbians; he actually says he has a gay relative, and that gays and lesbians can’t do anything about their orientation because they were born that way. But that’s not enough – he has to bow to the politically correct same-sex marriage crowd or be barred from the premises.

There is a question as to whether Caruso legally can bar Pacquiao from the premises based on statements Pacquiao has made outside The Grove. In fact, even were Pacquiao to “reasonably exercise” his right to free speech at The Grove, it is likely that the California Supreme Court would uphold his right to do so without being kicked off the premises.

Caruso is in the wrong both morally and legally here. But don’t expect the leftist press to call him out on it. When it comes to bullying, the true bullies are the leftists who maintain that in order to be treated as a normal human being, you must agree with them. And even the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet can’t avoid their heavy fist.

Ben Shapiro is Editor-At-Large of Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @benshapiro.

Link:

• Pacquiao Banned from L.A. Mall for Same-Sex Marriage Opposition

Cardinal Mahony dodges again

By Phil Lawler

(Catholic Culture) It’s a coincidence, no doubt, that the Stockton diocese settled a sex-abuse case just before Cardinal Roger Mahony, the former Bishop of Stockton, was scheduled to testify.

Actually Cardinal Mahony wasn’t ready to take questions. He had left for Rome, ignoring his date with the court, and the plaintiff’s lawyer was threatening to have the cardinal held in contempt. That threat went by the boards when the case was settled.

Stockton’s Bishop Stephen Blaire says that it was “in the best interest of everybody” to reach the mutually agreeable deal, in which the diocese paid $3.75 million to a single plaintiff. The bishop hopes that no one will think the settlement is an indication that the diocese admits culpability. And certainly we can all understand that sometimes it’s better to avoid a protracted legal dispute. But $3.75 million—payable to one alleged victim—is an awfully steep price to pay for avoiding the aggravation of a trial, especially when you consider that the trial was already underway.

The diocese was in an awkward position, of course, because another key witness in the case—beside Cardinal Mahony, I mean—had gone missing. Father Michael Kelly, the priest whose alleged misconduct had triggered the lawsuit, had also skipped town, flying home to his native Ireland just before he was supposed to testify. Bishop Blaire said that he was shocked by the priest’s flight.

What might Cardinal Mahony have said, if he had testified in this case? We’ll never know. But it doesn’t take much imagination to guess what sort of questions the plaintiff’s lawyers would have asked. They would surely have questioned the cardinal closely about something that came out in a previous abuse case, back in 2004:

Two decades go when he was bishop of Stockton, Cardinal Roger M. Mahony ordered two priests accused of child molestation to leave the country, according to a transcript of a deposition he gave last month. [emphasis added]

Link:

• Cardinal Mahony dodges again

Related:

• And don't forget: bad record-keeping, too!
• Priest returns to Ireland
• After priest flees country, California diocese settles sex-abuse case
• Stockton Diocese settles; victim comes forward
• Priest flees country on eve of testimony in California sex-abuse case

Oakland developer Phil Tagami keeps protesters at bay -- with a shotgun

By Matthias Gafni
Contra Costa Times 

About eight men and women dressed in black, faces covered in bandannas and armed with hammers, sticks and poles had just barged down the doors of Oakland's landmark Rotunda Building -- with another dozen behind them -- when they were turned back by a tenant with a shotgun and an attitude.

This wasn't your average building employee, this was Oakland developer and building owner Phil Tagami who provided a one-man sentry for the Frank H. Ogawa Plaza building that he oversaw a $50 million renovation on in years past.

"They took a few steps forward and I racked the shotgun and they left," Tagami said Thursday, still calming from the events of the previous night. "It's sort of the universal 'Don't come any farther' sign."

And the group didn't. They high-tailed back out through the front doors and joined the raucous crowd outside.
The Oakland native and longtime mover and shaker surveyed extensive damage to the building Thursday, estimating hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage, from broken windows to vandalism to destroyed property.

"It's not hyperbole to say we were under siege last night," he said...

Read More Here

Turkeys for Thanksgiving - as friends, not feast

"At Karen Dawn's Thanksgiving feast, there will be yams and stuffing with cranberries and a dessert of pumpkin-pecan pie, all set out on a table for eight.

And there will be turkeys, two of them actually -- Emily and Bruce (or possibly Brucilla -- it's a little unclear). The two 20-pounders will have most of the privileges of Dawn's other sentient guests -- a Pacific Palisades patio, a view of the ocean and vegetarian nibbles.

At Dawn's vegan holiday dinner, guests will ooh and aah over live birds. The only turkey plunked down on her table will be Wild Turkey bourbon..."

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-vegan.....

Calif. gov.: 'We will maybe undo' Prop 8

SACRAMENTO, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Sunday said "we will ... maybe undo" a measure passed by voters Tuesday stripping same-sex couples of the right to marry.

Proposition 8 amends the state constitution to declare that "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." It came in reaction to a state Supreme Court ruling that laws prohibiting same-sex marriage violated the state constitution.

In an appearance Sunday on CNN, Schwarzenegger said the state Supreme Court might overturn Proposition 8, the Los Angeles Times reported. He also said it is likely Proposition 8 will have no effect on the estimated 18,000 same-sex marriages already recorded in California.

"It's unfortunate, obviously, but it's not the end," Schwarzenegger told CNN. "I think that we will again maybe undo that, if the court is willing to do that, and then move forward from there and again lead in that area..."

More

Parents have the right to home school, state court says

(08-08) 10:49 PDT LOS ANGELES - -- A state appeals court reversed itself today and ruled that parents in California have the right to home school their children even if they lack a teaching credential...

• Link

Pope reaffirms Church’s stance against homosexual marriage

Vatican City, May 16, 2008 / 02:12 pm (CNA).- One day after California overturned a ban on same-sex marriage, the Holy Father has firmly stated that only marriage between a man and a woman is moral.

Yesterday, California’s Supreme Court came to a 4-3 decision overturning the state’s law preventing homosexuals from being recognized as married.

While the Pope did not directly mention the ruling in California in his address to the Forum of Family Associations and the European Federation of Catholic Family Associations, Benedict XVI stressed the importance of the traditional family for the good of society.

"The union of love, based on matrimony between a man and a woman, which makes up the family, represents a good for all society that can not be substituted by, confused with, or compared to other types of unions," he said.

He continued by speaking of the rights of the traditional family, "founded on matrimony between a man and a woman, the natural cradle of human life." Mention of the need to defend the family is not uncharacteristic for Pope Benedict, but his statement takes on particular relevance following the California ruling.

In the same address, the Pope emphasized the family’s importance by citing John Paul II, "the Pope of the family," who said that "the future of humanity passes by way of the family.”

• Link

_________________________________________________

Pope restates gay marriage ban after California vote

Fri May 16, 2008 1:24pm EDT

By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict, speaking a day after a California court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage, firmly restated on Friday the Roman Catholic Church's position that only unions between a man and a woman are moral.

Benedict made no mention of the California decision in his speech to family groups from throughout Europe, but stressed the Church's position several times.

"The union of love, based on matrimony between a man and a woman, which makes up the family, represents a good for all society that can not be substituted by, confused with, or compared to other types of unions," he said.

The pope also spoke of the inalienable rights of the traditional family, "founded on matrimony between a man and a woman, to be the natural cradle of human life".

On Thursday, the California Supreme Court overturned a ban on same-sex marriages in a major victory for gay rights advocates that will allow homosexual couples to marry in the most populous U.S. state.

Last year, Italy's powerful Catholic Church successfully campaigned against a law proposed by the previous centre-left government that would have given more rights to gay and unmarried couples.

The Roman Catholic Church teaches that homosexuality is not sinful but homosexual acts are, and is opposed to gays being allowed to adopt children.

The California court found laws limiting marriage to heterosexual couples are at odds with rights guaranteed by the state's constitution.

U.S. President George W. Bush, who is opposed to gay marriage, prayed "for the family" with the pope at the White House last month during the pontiff's visit there.

Last year, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, the head of the Italian Bishops Conference, made headlines with comments that critics said equated homosexuality with incest and pedophilia.

After he made the comments -- which Bagnasco said were misunderstood -- graffiti reading "Shame" and "Watch Out Bagnasco" appeared on the door of the cathedral in northern Genoa, where Bagnasco is archbishop.

The pope, who backed Bagnasco, will visit Genoa his weekend.

Opponents of gay marriage in the United States vowed to contest the ruling with a state-wide ballot measure for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriages.

• Link