Restoring the Sacred

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Clean Energy: Is it Clean & Does it Work?


John Hinderaker over at Powerlineblog.Com posted some very interesting stuff (especially for would-be investors) today from the Science and Environmental Policy Project:
Someone experienced in analyzing potential investments in innovative industries may be surprised by the lack of hard data on the performance of solar and wind in generating electricity. Certainly, it is understandable that solar and wind companies may wish to keep certain trade secrets from the public, such as manufacturing design and techniques. But if the results are as solid as the promoters claim, than one would expect the promoters would give the hard data on performance. Yet these are being withheld on the claims that such data is proprietary – confidential.
Slowly, information is leaking from nations that have spent heavily on wind and solar, such as Germany. This information should give pause to those touting solar and wind, including politicians. England is pulling back from wind, Germany has announced drastic cut-backs on its subsidies to solar, and Spain has announced the elimination of subsidies for renewable power. These actions are not the result of success. The erratic nature of these sources is well established. Further, electricity is rather unique among energy types – it cannot be stored on an affordable, commercial scale. 
Those proclaiming the virtues of wind and solar should be compelled to reveal actual output data from these sources, the required back-up, and data on the actual reduction of carbon dioxide and other emissions when alternative sources are used. 
Unfortunately, as long as solar and wind companies are getting lots of our tax money to  fund their businesses, they have all the investors (albeit, for the most part, unwitting investors) they need.

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Monday, January 30, 2012

Fr. Barron on the HHS Contraception Mandate




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Valentine's Day is 14 Days Away



According to holidayinsights.com:

"While 75% of chocolate purchases are made by women all year long, during the days and minutes  before Valentine's Day, 75% of the chocolate purchases are made by men.  Over $1billion of chocolate is purchased for Valentine's Day."

If you want to spend your money on the best dark Belgian chocolate you can buy, click on this Nana Bee's Logo, or on the logo on the right side of this Blog, to place your order now.  If you do, it will be there for Valentine's Day.


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Lt/Col Allen West Message to Obama, Reid & Pelosi




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Sunday, January 29, 2012

Sundays are for Beauty: "America" the Band #4



"America," the Band, has been featured in Sundays are for Beauty three times before this.  You can visit their previous appearances Here, Here, and Here.

Have a Beautiful Sunday.

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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Obama's Record Succinctly Put

(click to enlarge)

This was posted by Aaron Miller at Ricochet.Com this week.  Missing from the chart, unfortunately, are any numbers to show the dismantling of our military and the concomitant erosion of our superpower status.

Please share this with anyone you know who voted for Obama in 2008, and who might have bought in to the meme that he has accomplished a great deal in the last three years.

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Friday, January 27, 2012

No Murtha Ship - Please!


Thomas Lifson at The American Thinker Blog informs us today that Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus, is breaking the Navy's tradition of naming its San Antonio-class amphibious transport ships after American cities so he can honor a man who was not only one of the most corrupt members of Congress of all time, but who also called our our Marines "murderers who killed women and children in cold blood."


A retired Navy Captain (SEAL) has organized a group called nomurthaship.com and is circulating a petition you can sign to register your objection to this travesty (if you don't object to it, please get off this Blog). 


The below link is to the Lifson article on American Thinker.  You can sign the petition by clicking on the link on the right side of this blog.  

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2012/01/should_a_navy_ship_be_named_after_murtha.html

H/T: jpa1948
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Firewall: The Vote Pump




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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

CATO Fact-Checks SOTU



The staff of the Cato Institute fact-checked last night's State of the Union address by President Obama, and he did not come out well.

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Babe Ruth's Conversion (or Reversion)


Today, we celebrate the Conversion of St. Paul of Tarsus, the Apostle to the Gentiles.

Fr. Joseph Mary, who celebrated Mass on EWTN this morning, spoke of St. Paul's Conversion, and mentioned the Conversion (actually, Reversion) of Babe Ruth.  He read parts of a Testimonial written by Ruth when he was close to death in a French hospital, in 1946.

Some excerpts from the testimonial:

Looking back to my youth, I honestly don't think I knew the difference between right and wrong. I spent much of my early boyhood living over my father's saloon, in Baltimore- and when I wasn't living over it, I was soaking up the atmosphere. I hardly knew my parents.

St. Mary's Industrial School in Baltimore, where I was finally taken, has been called an orphanage, and a reform school. It was, in fact, a training school for orphans, incorrigibles (sic), delinquents and runaways picked up on the streets of the city. I was listed as an incorrigible. I guess I was. Perhaps I would have been but for Brother Matthias, the greatest man I have ever known, and for the religious training I received there which has since been so important to me.
I doubt if any appeal could have straightened me out except a power over and above man- the appeal of God. Iron-rod discipline couldn't have done it. Nor all the punishment and reward systems that could have been devised. God has an eye out for me, just as He has for you, and He was pulling for me to make the grade.
As I look back now, I realize that knowledge of God was a big crossroads with me. I got one thing straight (and I wish all kids did) – that God was the Boss. He was only my Boss but Boss of all my bosses. Up till then, like all bad kids, I hated most of the people who had control over me and could punish me. I began to see that I had a higher Person to reckon with who never changed, whereas my earthly authorities changed from year to year. Those who bossed me had the same self-battles – they, like me, had to account to God. I also realized that God was not only just but merciful. He knew we were weak and that we all found it easier to be stinkers than sons of God, not only as kids but also all through our lives.
In December 1946 I was in French Hospital, facing a serious operation. Paul Carey, one of my closest friends was by my bed one night. "They're going to operate in the morning Babe," Paul said. "Don't you think you ought to put your home in order?"

I didn't dodge the long, challenging look in his eyes. I knew what he meant. For the first time I realized that death might strike me out. I nodded, and Paul got up, called in a chaplin, and I made a full confession.

"I'll return in the morning and give you Holy Communion," the chaplin said, "but you don't have to fast."

"I'll fast," I said. I didn't even have a drop of water."



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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

On Valentine's Day Give Her the Best Chocolate: Nana Bee's



It's time to order some of the best chocolate you or your special loved one will ever taste. There are lots of choices to make from the Nana Bee's website, which you can search by clicking on the Nana Bee's logo on the right side of this blog, and your candy will be delivered in plenty of time for Valentine's Day.



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Starving Cancer by Diet: TED Talk by William Li



William Li "co-founded the Angiogenesis Foundation in 1994. The foundation’s Project ENABLE -- a global system that integrates patients, medical experts and healthcare professionals -- democratizes the spread and implementation of knowledge about angiogenesis-based medicines, diet and lifestyle. Some 40,000 physicians have been educated on new treatments, ranging from cancer care to wound care, by the foundation’s faculty of medical experts, and they are bringing new, lifesaving and disease-preventing techniques to people around the world."

"Imagine that one medical advancement held the promise to conquer cancer, perhaps within your lifetime … the potential to also end more than 70 of life's most threatening conditions, affecting one billion people worldwide. This is the promise of angiogenesis, the first medical revolution of the 21st century."
William Li

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Monday, January 23, 2012

The Gimme Generation Doesn't Get It.



Economics Professor Jack Chambless of Valencia College in Florida had his students write an essay on the American Dream: what they thought it was, and how much government should provide its citizens to ensure their achieving it.  The results were depressing: 80 percent of the students manifested their belief in Marxism, but the good news is they probably had no idea what that meant.  Apparently, indoctrination is alive and well in our higher education system.

One solution to this problem is clear: parents, rather than encouraging their "children" to attend 13th grade, either at a university or through distance learning programs, should give those "children" a choice between Parris Island, Great Lakes, or Ft. Jackson.

H/T: jpa1948


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March for Life: The 39th Annual


(click to enlarge)

Today, the 39th March for Life is being held in Washington D. C. to protest the Roe v. Wade ruling by the U. S. Supreme Court in 1973.  The first march was held, on January 22, 1974, and drew 20,000 marchers.  Participation has grown every year, and, since 2003, 200,000 participants have marched.  You can read more about the March for Life, by clicking on the link below.

http://www.marchforlife.org/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/

Christendom College led the way:




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Sunday, January 22, 2012

Sundays are for Beauty: Sissel (2)



Sissel, the famous Norwegian soprano, was featured here a couple weeks ago.  Here, she sings the aria "O Mio Babbino Caro" from the Giacomo Puccini opera "Gianni Schicchi." This if from her DVD concert "All Good Things."


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Saturday, January 21, 2012

"Courageous:" A Movie for Fathers Everywhere



"Courageous,"  a must see movie for fathers everywhere, is now available on DVD.

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Friday, January 20, 2012

Kathleen Sebelius is a Catholic in Name Only


From The Cardinal Neumann Society Blog today:

"Kathleen Sebelius, U.S. Secretary for Health and Human Services (HHS), today issued an announcement indicating that HHS would ignore the concerns of religious employers regarding HHS rules mandating health insurance coverage for sterilizations and contraception, including some that cause abortion, except to allow religious groups a year to comply with the law."
“It is the greatest irony, that by worshipping the cult of ‘choice’ the Obama Administration has determined that religious organizations lack the freedom to act in fidelity to their beliefs,’” said Patrick J. Reilly, President of The Cardinal Newman Society.  “The White House has sold the First Amendment for a few pennies of political support from the ACLU and the abortion lobby.”
Here's a link to a video of what Archbishop of New York Timothy Dolan (soon to be a Cardinal) had to say about today's proclamation by Sebelius:

http://bcove.me/ob5itz9v


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CNN and John King Slap Down Totally Deserved



Say what you want about Newt Gingrich, but he will never grovel before the likes of John King (or any other liberal democrat member of the main stream media - or the Obama administration), nor will he allow himself to be put on the defensive by apologists for the current president.

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Thursday, January 19, 2012

Occupy PGA Tour!!


This was received in an E-Mail from a friend today:

I am a member of golf's 99%.

I play golf, but have not yet made it to the professional level!! I have played the game for over 40 years, but have not really put in the practice time and study to be the best. I also probably do not have the skills to really get there either. However, I now feel that I should be paid by the successful professionals for trying.
 It isn't fair that those players who have worked harder, have studied the game, have better equipment and are stronger and more skilled should make all that money. Oh sure, they have their charities that they give millions of dollars to, but I am sure that they write all that off on their tax returns to reduce paying their fair share. Is that fair?
They should pay for my golf, buy me new equipment and share their winnings. The whole system should be changed to accommodate people like me!!

Let's occupy a golf course and demand that those who are better at what they do pay for us who aren't as good. Whining should get us something, like media attention and sympathy from network news reporters!
Occupy PGA Tour!!


Note: The above should not in any way be construed as a criticism of those members of the "Occupy Movement" who are simply demanding their "right" to be rich.
H/T: jpa1948
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"The Great One" Talks About "Ameritopia"



Mark Levin, "The Great One" spoke with Glenn Reynolds on PJTV today about his just released book: "Ameritopia."  Here's a link to the video:

http://www.pjtv.com/?cmd=mpg&mpid=86&load=6518

You'll want to buy a copy for yourself, and you can do so by clicking HERE.


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Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Fr. Barron: On Hating Religion But Loving Jesus




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Walter Williams: "Presidential Nonsense"


Dr. Walter Williams, renowned Economist (and close friend of Thomas Sowell), writing at Townhall.Com today:
"Last week, President Barack Obama, at a Capital Hilton fundraising event, told the crowd, "We can't go back to this brand of you're-on-your-own economics." Throughout my professional career as an economist, I've never come across the theory of "you're-on-your-own economics." I'm guessing what the president means by -- and finds offensive in -- "you're-on-your-own economics" is that it's a system in which people are held responsible for their actions, that they take risks and must live with the results, that people can't force others to pay for their mistakes, and that they can't live at the expense of other people."
"Let's try a few survival of the fittest questions. Which companies do you think should survive and expand, those that can meet the changing wants of their customers in a least-cost fashion or those that cannot do so? If the means of communication become cheaper through fax machines, the Internet and telephones, should subsidies be expended to help the U.S. Postal Service survive? Years ago, typing was done on a mechanical typewriter; milk was delivered to doorsteps via horse and wagon; slide rules were used to make calculations. Should any of these products and practices have survived, or was it OK for natural selection to consign them to the dustbin of history?"
 H/T: rutusmc
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Henry Payne on Scapegoating

(click to enlarge)


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Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Rick Santorum's Latest AD




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Death Panels: Time to Believe


If you just can't bring yourself to believe in "Death Panels," you have to read this post on the Catholic Fire Blog today.

Be sure to watch the video of Amelia, who, after a groundswell of support, might now be reconsidered by Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) for a transplant.


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Newt Gingrich Won on Domestic Policy






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Rick Perry Won on Foreign Policy




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Monday, January 16, 2012

Tim Tebow Inspired Focus on the Family Commercial



Focus on the Family ran this commercial during the Denver / Pittsburg game on Saturday obviously in honor of Denver Quarterback Tim Tebow, who directed an overtime win by completing 10 of 21 passes for 316 yards (that's 31.6 yards per completion).  One more thing: the time of possession by Pittsburg in the overtime game was 31 minutes and 06 seconds.

Fr. Jonathan Morris told Fox News this morning that the commercial caused 100 million hits on Google searching "John 3:16." 


John 3:16
New International Version (NIV)
 "16 For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."



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Rick Perry as a Young MAN?

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Sunday, January 15, 2012

Sundays are for Beauty: Tine Thing Helseth - Storyteller



Tine Thing Helseth, the Norwegian trumpet soloist has been featured here on several Sundays.

Tine has performed in the United States on three occasions: The National Gallery of Art in WDC, in 2009, Carnegie Hall in NYC, in 2011, and the Struthers Library Theatre in Warren, Pennsylvania, in 2011.

Have a Beautiful Sunday.

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