THE CULTURE OF DEATH AND DECLINING EU BIRTH RATES

From the invaluable MICHELE MALKIN:

There's a chilling new study in the medical journal Lancet on euthanasia's impact on babies in Belgium:

Nearly half the newborn babies who died in Flanders over a recent year-long period were helped to die by their doctors, a new study reported yesterday. Paediatricians in the Dutch-speaking region of Belgium either discreetly stopped treating the babies or, in 17 cases, illegally killed them with lethal doses of painkillers. The study, published in The Lancet, examined the deaths of every baby who died within a year of birth in Flanders between August 1999 and July 2000. The results of a survey on the causes of death were stark: paediatricians who responded to the survey admitted they had taken "end of life" decisions in more than half the cases.

RELIAPUNDIT: No wonder the birth rates in the EU are so low. SHEESH: people marry late; have fewer children; live longer; collect more welfare - and want the state to pay for their healthcare and retirement. This is a recipe for demographic and economic DISASTER. And more and more it looks like the EU - or continental Europe, more accurately - is headed for extinction as a culture we recognize, and as a striving world power. Pathetic. Sad.

UPDATE:

FACT: "The birth rate of the indigenous peoples of the European Union countries is now well below the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman."

FACT: "THE number of people of working age in the European Union is falling so fast that a vast inflow of immigrants will be needed to keep the economy running into the new century and prevent the collapse of the pension system. Within 25 years, the EU will need up to 159 million immigrants to keep the current ratio between workers and the increasing number of retired people, according to a study by the United Nations Population Division."

They need a Thatcher and they need her NOW!

**** UPDATE - 4/10/05: Welcome CHRENKOFF readers! Please take a look around. MORE ON THIS SUBJECT - WITH MORE LINKS - FROM THE INCREDIBLE CHRENKOFF HERE.

NINTH CIRCUIT'S LEFT-WING ANTICS CONTINUE:

From LGF (hat tip THE ROTH REPORT):

The 9th Circuit Court has now ruled that threatening to assassinate the President of the United States is protected speech under the First Amendment.

I bet they wouldn't have decided that way if the perp had threatened to ASSASSINATE JUDGES! Heh!

LATEST PICKS AND ODDS FOR NEXT POPE

UPDATE 4/08/05: MY TOP TEN CANDIATES FOR POPE, WITH ODDS; see below...

********UPDATE 4/07/05******* Here's the LINK TO CURRENT ODDS. AND HERE, too.

Here are my LATEST PICKS - IN ORDER - BASED ON MY ANALYSIS, HERE:

(1) Count Christoph v. Schoenborn, (Austria, age 60) - 16-1;

(2) Juan-Luis Cipriani-Thorne (Peru, age 62) - 25-1;

(3) Jean Louis Tauron (France, age 62) - NO ODDS;

(4) Vinco Puljic (Bosnia, age 60) - 100-1;

(5) Josef Bozanic (Croatia age 56) - 100-1;

(6) Crescenzio Seppe (Italy, 62) - 18-1;

(7) Angelo Scola (Italy, 64)-20-1.

ALSO THESE TWO: (IMHO, THESE TWO ARE TOO OLD,

BUT THEY'RE STILL POSSIBLE BECAUSE THEY'RE SO

DOCTRINALLY CLOSE TO THE LATE GREAT PJPII) -

(8) Joseph Ratzinger (Germany age 78) 7-1;

(9) Jean-Marie Lustiger (France, age 79) 12-1;

and rounding out the MY TOP TEN PICKS FOR NEXT POPE-

(10) Wilfred Napier (South Africa, 64) 40-1.

[All links are to official Vatican bio's.]

REMEMBER: Karol Wojtyla wasn't on ANYBODY'S list the last time,

so long-shots and dark horses have a real chance!

"Who you callin' a VIGILANTE?!"

I'm sick and tired of hearing Lefties call the Minutemen vigilantes.

Web definitions for Vigilante :

One who takes the law enforcement into one's own hands. collections.ic.gc.ca/ghost/glossary.html

In modern terms, vigilantes are militias or police which attempt law enforcement, in the usual phrase, "by taking the law into their own hands". Vigilantes often operate in secret. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vigilante

The Minutemen in Arizona are not taking the law onto their own hands; therefore they are NOT vigilantes. Period. So all you Lefties out there: stop calling them that - NOW. What they're doing is no different than what tens of thousands of other citizens do all over the USA all the time when they volunteer for NEIGHBORHOOD WATCHES to act as the eyes and ears for law enforcement. Our borders are INADEQUATELY patrolled, (either due to lack of assets or malfeasance - or both). The Minutemen will ONLY help law enforcement officers do what must lawfully be done. And for this, all Americans should be grateful.

INCITING VIOLENCE: CORNYN VERSUS KERRY

The Left and the MSM they dominate was very quick to criticize - NAY EXPRESS OUTRAGE - in regard to an ill-phrased comment made by GOP Senator Cornyn which they misinterpreted as threatening violence to members of the judiciary.

I do not recall ANY similar outrage - or even mild rebuke - when Senator John Kerry actually brandished a shotgun from the podium, and gleefully announced that he would have liked to take it to the Presidential debates.

The HYPOCRISY of the Left and the MSM they dominate knows no bounds.

(YUP: Kerry was encouraging violence against the president by brandishing a gun, and the MSM said nary a word. Not even BOO. Sheesh! CAN YOU IMAGINE IF BUSH HAD DONE THIS!? OR TOM DELAY!?!? THE LEFT AND THE MSM THEY DOMINATE WOULD'VE NEVER STOPPED BLATHERING ABOUT IT!)

Here's a link to the Cornyn speech in context. More HERE. And POWERLINE, (of course).

Welcome JAWA REPORT readers! Take a look around! And if you don't read JAWA twice a day: YOU SHOULD! JAWA has a few other links on this point.

SMITH: MEDAL OF HONOR. MSM: BADGE OF DISHONOR

Today's MUST SEE video (C-SPAN): Pres. Bush in Medal of Honor Ceremony

From the White House in Washington, DC, President Bush participates in a Medal of Honor Ceremony. 4/4/2005: WASHINGTON, DC: 20 min.

Here's an interesting point from a man much wiser than me:

The New York Times chose to cover the award of a posthumous Medal of Honor to Sergeant Paul Smith with two small photographs of the ceremony at the White House. There was no article. Paul Smith willingly gave his life for his friends. He is credited with saving more than 100 American lives by taking actions of valor and courage, disregarding his own safety. He died in the defense of his country, in defense of a free and democratic Iraq, and in defense of the liberties that we all enjoy.

That the Times - and much of the other major Left-wing dominated MSM news-outlets chose not to report his example of heroism would be bad enough in and of itself. But the fact that the Times - and other MSM news-outlets - have repeatedly chosen in the recent past to devote nearly full-page profiles to deserters and war criminals, makes it a shame and it ought to be a scandal! Especially when one considers this years Pulitzer Award photography scandal.

WHOSE SIDE IS THE LEFT-WING MSM ON?! They're NOT neutral or objective or pacifist: THEY'RE ON THE OTHER SIDE!

(BTW: you should always check C-SPAN for their videos - and then JACKSON JUNCTION.)

MORE PROOF OF LEFT-WING COLLEGE FACULTIES

The MUST READ article for today is this:

Confessions of a Politically Incorrect Professor - By Anonymous.

EXCERPT:

I am European and came to America in 2002, where I teach at an elite Liberal Arts College. My native country is among the most socialized in the world, with strong leftist parties, from democratic socialists to outright communist. All across Europe the left – the far left, somewhere between Dennis Kucinich and Howard Dean – has a very strong political position, as well as a clearly visible presence on university campuses. Despite my European background I found myself deeply surprised by the political bias on college campuses here in America. Left-wing bias is almost undetectable among European college faculty compared to America’s academic institutions. The bias that I have encountered has so many facets that I am still encountering new ones.

One of the first signs of political bias was an unqualified admiration for Europe in general and its welfare systems in particular. Having both personal and scholarly experience of those, I told new colleagues of all the problems that I saw there: unemployment twice as high as in the U.S., heavy welfare dependency, high crime, health care rationing, perpetually rising taxes, etc.. This image of Europe did not accord with what my new-found colleagues – overwhelmingly liberal – had decided that they saw over in the Old World.

In fact, their uncritically positive image of Europe astonished me so much that I began trying to convince them that they were wrong. (In the name of free speech and an educated academic conversation – things that you would expect to find on a college campus.) This turned out to be a bad idea: my colleagues slowly but steadily changed their attitude toward me. I refused to acknowledge that the politics in Europe was as superior as European wine, cars or cuisine. (In fact, I prefer California wine, I drive a Chevrolet and I love pumpkin pie!)

The most feverishly liberal among my colleagues now began looking at me as a traitor. One told me to stop expressing my political views when other faculty was around. Why? Because, he said, “I do not want to have to defend why we have a conservative here” at our department.

RTWT.

MSM JUMPS ALL OVER DELAY SCANDAL

The NYTIMES (and every other Left-wing news-outlet) is making a big deal out of this:

WASHINGTON, April 5 - The wife and daughter of Tom DeLay, the House majority leader, have been paid more than $500,000 since 2001 by Mr. DeLay's political action and campaign committees, according to a detailed review of disclosure statements filed with the Federal Election Commission and separate fund-raising records in Mr. DeLay's home state, Texas.

$500,000 is a lot of money. Divided by two (wife+daughter) it becomes $250,000. Divided by 4 (it state that this money was paid since 2001) it's $65,000 per person per year. And each of DeLays relatives are professional pols: they have been both on his campaign payrolls as key players (his daughter even managed a few of his campaigns).

But the NYTIMES (and the other Left-wing news-outlets in the MSM) did NOT make a big deal out of this similar scandal involving Left-wing black, female Congressperson Maxine Waters (D-L.A.):

LOS ANGELES - Rep. Maxine Waters family members earned more than $1 million in the last eight years doing business with candidates, companies and causes she helped, a newspaper reported Sunday. Waters' daughter and son pocketed fees from campaigns endorsed by the congresswoman while her husband worked for a bond underwriting firm that received government business from her political allies, the Los Angeles Times reported. Waters, an influential Democratic lawmaker since 1990, whose district includes parts of Los Angeles, would not answer detailed questions on the business dealings, insisting her family's fortunes were kept apart from her political activities. . . . The Waters' close financial ties are not expressly prohibited by state laws or congressional ethics rules. The Times reported that Waters and her children are linked through a political organization called L.A. Vote that publishes an election mailer listing campaigns she endorsed. Some candidates are included free of charge, while others pay tens of thousands of dollars, it said. . . Of the $1.7 million that L.A. Vote collected in the last eight years, nearly $450,000 went to Waters' daughter, Karen Waters, and her consulting firm, public disclosure reports show. About $115,000 was paid to the congresswoman's son. Waters' husband, Sidney Williams, was paid nearly $500,000 for consulting work with Siebert, Brandford & Shank, a municipal bond company, and with politicians his wife supports, public records show. The Times reported that Williams helped the company win a $40 million school bond sale approved by school board members that paid Waters' mailer operation to advertise her endorsement.

In the UNDER-REPORTED Waters scandal, there seems to be some actual QUID PRO QUO, which is NOT alleged in the DeLay matter. The dollar amount in the Waters' Scandal comes to about $300,000 per person TOTAL, or $38,000 per peson per year (for TWICE AS LONG as the alleged corruption of the DeLays).

So FROM STRICTLY A DOLLAR POV, the scandals are similar (and I want to be CLEAR: anytime a politician uses his official power to enrich himself or his family and friends it is BAD), but the DeLay case is getting HUGE NEGATIVE play in the MSM - whereas the Waters scandal got no play in the MSM.

Could it be because Delay is a GOP CONSERVATIVE and Waters a Democrat "liberal"!? YES.

UPDATE: MORE FROM FRUM HERE. Capt. Ed of Captain's Quarters AGREES.

WHO MIGHT BE THE NEXT POPE - UPDATED

********UPDATE 4/07/05*******

Here is the LINK TO CURRENT ODDS.

Here are my LATEST PICKS - IN ORDER - BASED ON MY ANALYSIS, BELOW:

Count Christoph von Schoenborn, (Austria, 60); Juan-Luis Cipriani-Thorne Peru, 62); Jean Louis Tauron [you must scroll down with this link] (France, 62); Vinco Puljic (Bosnia, 60); Josef Bozanic (Croatia 56); Crescenzio Seppe (Italy, 62); Angelo Scola (Italy, 64). [Links are for official Vatican bio's.]

Much of this post was originally researched and blogged in February)

THIS POST IS UPDATED FREQUENTLY: LOOK BELOW!

Pope JPII has been a Pope of great historic dimensions - within and without his Church. He helped defeat the USSR, and for this the whole of humanity owes him a great debt. As Michael Ledeen wrote in NRO's The Corner:

For Catholics, John Paul II will obviously be an inspiration for generations, and even those of us who do not share his faith have been ennobled and inspired by much of what he said and did. But for the entire world, he will forever stand as a symbol of the power of individuals standing firm for freedom. "Be Not Afraid" is indeed the phrase we will associate with him, as it was the phrase that inspired millions of people to risk all against tyranny.

On other issues his record has been mixed, especially of late: I think that the Vatican has dropped the ball on their sex scandals, and that a return to a married clergy is needed to save the Church in Europe from disappearing.

This Pope has not acted well on these fronts - in my humble AND NON-CATHOLIC opinion. (I am not Catholic, but have read A LOT about the Church's history - especially about it from the 5th Century to the 20th.) ALL IN ALL HE WAS, THOUGH: TRULY GREAT. GOD BLESS HIS SOUL. (More thoughts of mine on PJPII HERE and HERE.)

Here is a list of the SEVEN Cardinals (and their birth-dates) who I feel might most likely be selected (in order of likelihood. You will not see these names in the MSM - mine is a list based on UNCONVENTIONAL thinking. BUT REMEMBER: NOBODY PREDICTED KAROL WOJTYLA! Links to mainstream picks are below) :

Juan-Luis Cipriani-Thorne (Peru, 12/28/43);
Jean Louis Tauron [you must scroll down with this link] (France, 4/3/43);
Polycarp Pengo (Tanzania 8/5/44);
Vinco Puljic (Bosnia-Herzegovina, 9/8/45);
Josef Bozanic (Croatia 3/20/49);
Crescenzio Seppe (Italy, 6/2/43);
Angelo Scola (Italy, 11/7/41).

(Links take you to official English Bio's/cv's and a photo.)

These are the youngest Cardinals with the best pedigrees/resumes, and they're from countries with special histories and cultures.

A majority of Cardinals in the conservative College of Cardinals may feel that the background and ethnicity of three of these potential popes (the South American, the African, and the two from the Balkans) gives each of them a unique potential to deal with the issues and problems that the Church is likely to confront in the near future: maintaining conservative doctrine while innovating the Church's apparatus in order to continue to grow in the Third World and to begin growing again (instead of shrinking) in the old bastions of Catholicism - like most of Western Europe, (especially France - where the Church is under severe threat of vanishing, and where a "French Pope" might make a HUGE difference). The Italian Cardinals I have listed are, naturally, "hometown favorites."

Other bloggers may have more insight into the current political intrigues of the CoC's. Or gossip. This list merely represents my somewhat educated guess. I think the CoC's will pick a conservative from a country or region that has seriously dealt with all forms of outreach and a Cardinal who has been good at it.

Additionally, the Church has been growing most in Africa and South America - which may give these two Cardinals an edge that they might not have enjoyed a few decades ago. All of these cardinals "look" papal.

******* UPDATE 3/31/05: Here's a link to the current odds on who the next pope might be.

IMHO: Most on this particular oddsmaker's list are TOO OLD! In my opinion, a Cardinal is too old if he is older than 67. In my opinion, the CofC will ONLY pick an old Cardinal to be the next Pope is there is a long deadlock. I do NOT think that is likely - the Church is in great need of an ENERGETIC and young Pope who can be the kind of Pope that JPII was before he was shot (in an assassination attempt that was plotted by the USSR).

*******MORE HERE******* from the UK Independent.

More HERE and HERE at ONE HAND CLAPPING. WELCOME CHRENKOFF READERS!

UPDATE: MAINSTREAM IDEAS WHICH ARE CONTRARY TO MINE CAN BE FOUND HERE.

And WELCOME Dean's World readers, (hat tip to Joe Gandelman of THE MODERATE VOICE). There's more to read there, so click HERE. AND WELCOME ONE-HAND CLAPPING READERS; if you're not one yet YOU SHOULD BE - EVERYDAY!

4/3/05*******UPDATE*******: Here's a link to an extensive list of CofC insiders some consider favorites. I think they are ALL TOO OLD.

THE NEW YORK TIMES WEIGHS IN HERE.

WASHINGTON TIMES PICKS HERE.

UPDATE 4/4/05: CURRENT ODDS (but remember - NO ONE had Karol Wojtyla on their lists the last time):

Dionigi Tettamanzi (Italy) 11-4; Francis Arinze (Nigeria) 11-4; Oscar Maradiaga (Honduras) 9-2; Joseph Ratzinger (Germany) 7-1; Claudio Hummes(Brazil) 9-1; Jaime Lucas Ortega (Cuba) 14-1 ; Count v.Schoenborn (Austria) 14-1 ; Ennio Antonelli (Italy) 14 ; Jose Policarpo (Portugal) 16; Giovanni Battista Re (Italy) 16 ; Dario Hoyos (Colombia) 18; Crescenzio Sepe (Italy) 18 ; Giacomo Biffi (Italy) 18 ; Keith O'Brien (Scotland) 20 ;

Godfried Daneels (Belgium) 20 ; Jorge Bergoglio (Argentina) 20 ; J-Marie Lustiger (France) 20 ; Angelo Scola (Venice) 20; Tarcisio Bertone (Italy) 20 ; Norberto Carrera (Mexico) 25 -1 ; Angelo Sodano (Italy) 25 ; Ivan Dias (India) 25 ; Juan Luis Cipriani (Peru) 25 ; Carlo Martini (Italy) 25 ;

Miloslav Vlk (Czech Republic) 33 ; Sean Patrick O'Malley (Boston) 33 ; Cormac Murphy-O'Connor (UK) 33 ; Marco Ce (Italy) 40 ; Wilfred Napier (South Africa) 40; George Pell (Australia) 50 ; Ruini (Italy) 66 ; Edward Cassidy (Australia) 80 ; Silvano Piovanelli (Italy) 80; Edward Clancy 100-1 ; Diarmuid Martin (Ireland) 100 ; Philippe Barbarin 100 ; Agostino Cacciavillan 125 ; Jose Mara Rouco Varela (Spain) 125-1

MY PERSONAL FAVORITES ARE IN BOLD.

4/4/05 - UPDATE #2 - More analysis of the popular/conventional "middle-of-the-road" picks here - from NPR and the National Catholic Reporter.

*4/4/05 - UPDATE #3: FT weighs in with this: Cardinals are beginning to talk about the next Pope (hat tip DRUDGE).

**4/4/05 - UPDATE # 4: WELCOME CNN viewers! (YUP: this blog was featured on JUDY WOODRUFF'S INSIDE POLITICS today), and welcome JACKSON'S JUNCTION readers who may have seen the CNN segment over at Trey Jackson's INCREDIBLE video-linking blog. If you don't check out Jackson's Junction everyday for the latest must-see video- CHANGE YOUR HABITS! YOU SHOULD!

UPDATE#5***** 4/5/05 ***** UPDATE: Click here to find out why the conventional wisdom is WRONG, and the CofC will pick a YOUNG Cardinal to be the next Pope.

4/5/05 UPDATE #6: Click HERE for an article about how the THIRD WORLD Cardinals might effect the election of the next Pope.

IRAQ GOVERNMENT SET: Iraqis Agree on President and 2 Vice Presidents!

To me: it looks like a pretty good deal was had by all.

And it's really wonderfully and amazingly and incredibly fantastic when you stop to think about it. Iraq now has:

A KURDISH president succeeding Saddam!!!!!!
And they have a SUNNI speaker in their assembly!!!
And the government will be run by a SHIA P.M.!!!!!!

Is democracy wunnerful, or what?!?!

God Bless George W. Bush and all the men and women in the military.

MORE HERE.

WHY THE CONVENTIONAL PAPABILI PICKS ARE WRONG

Newsweek featured an article about the process of picking the next Pope. It ends with a succint regurgitation of the conventional wisdom of "why the Church will pick and older rather than a younger pope":

Most of the candidates figuring in current speculation are in their late 60s or even in their 70s, which is no accident. After more than 26 years of the extraordinary leadership of John Paul II, who was elected at the age of 58, the electors may decide they want someone who will be more of a transitional figure until they can figure out which kind of leadership they want in a post John Paul world. "The greatest show on earth" might just want to slow things down a little.

NOW I ASK YOU:

(1) Is it really logical for anyone in leadership of the Church to want to SLOW THINGS DOWN!? (Especially since the late great PJPII had already been less active for the last few years!?) (2) Is there any benefit to the ONE BIILION Catholics to have an older and less-active Pope, who would of course travel less, and who would probably maintain a daily schedule that would be less busy than a younger Pope could!? (3) Will an older less-active Pope be more likely to fill the empty Churches in Europe with young worshippers, and fill the empty seminaries with young future priests!?

I think the answers to these questions are obvious. And that's why I think the CofC will pick another young Caridnal to become the Pope. Like the late great Karol Wojtyla. One with boundless energy and a vigorous vision. Perhaps, one of the seven young cardinals I picked HERE:

Juan-Luis Cipriani-Thorne (Peru, 62); Jean Louis Tauron (France, 62); Polycarp Pengo (Tanzania, 61); Vinco Puljic (Bosnia-Herzegovina, 60); Josef Bozanic (Croatia, 55); Crescenzio Seppe (Italy, 62); Angelo Scola (Italy,64).

CLICK HERE FOR TODAY'S ODDS.

UPDATE: Hugh Hewitt AGREES! In a post today he argues that the serious moral controversies abounding in the world today mean that the CofC will not choose a place-holder as the next Pope: "If many Cardinals had the idea that a "caretaker" pope might be in order, the [Schiavo] drama in Florida works against that desire for a period of calm transition. Would the allies have selected a caretaker general on the eve of D-Day had Ike suffered a mishap?"

INDEED. FIRST, the world is awash in several serious moral controversies: euthanasia; abortion; embryonic stem cell research; and Gay marriage. SECOND, there're several CHURCH issues that need attention, NOW: Gay clergy; the vanishing Church pews in Western Europe; the virtually non-existent seminary students in the USA and Europe. These hotly contested issues, and dire Church problems, implore the CofC to pick someone as bold and as YOUNG and as energetic as the late GREAT PJPII was when they announced "we have a Pope," and the 58 year old - strong and smiling and young - Karol Wojtyla walked out on to the balcony in his Papal vestments, and waved to the happily astonished crowd. The CofC will - nay MUST - happily astonish the next crowd with an equally bold and young pick.

MORE PROOF (FROM CANADA THIS TIME!) THAT SOCIALZED, NATIONAL HEALTHCARE SUCKS

Need a procedure or operation? Then - if your Canadian - you had better be prepared to WAIT. A long time. Listed below are the RECOMMENDED wait times!

Doctors alliance sets out maximum wait times for 5 key health-care areas: The Wait Time Alliance‘s recommendations are a first step in setting final benchmarks aimed at speeding up patient access to cancer treatment, cardiac care, joint replacement, sight restoration through cataract surgery and diagnostic imaging, the specialty that underpins the other four. The alliance‘s interim report, released Sunday, says patients needing emergency diagnostic imaging and treatment should not have to wait more than 24 hours, whether it‘s for an MRI scan or radiation therapy for cancer. For patients whose conditions are deemed urgent or semi-urgent, X-rays, CT scans, RIs or other diagnostic imaging should be done within seven to 30 days.

No cancer patient should wait beyond 10 working days for radiation, the report recommends, while cataract surgery should be performed within four months. When it comes to hip or knee replacements, urgent and semi-urgent cases should mean surgery within 30 to 90 days, while routine cases should be dealt with by nine months, including consultation with an orthopedic specialist and the subsequent operation, the report says. Waits for patients needing emergency heart bypass should not exceed 48 hours, with benchmarks for urgent and semi-urgent surgery set at three to 56 days and routine at 42 to 180 days.

This is TYPICAL of what socialism creates: a mess that satisifes NO ONE. Not doctors or patients. Both suffer. Why would anyone want to do this to our healthcare system!!?!?

LIBERAL CONTEMPT FOR RELIGION

BOTH Jonah Goldbeg and Instapundit recommended an article in USNEWS & WORLD REPORT by their columnist John Leo; it's his look back on the Schiavo Controversy . So I read it. They're right: it's very good and worth reading. IN FACT: RTWT! Here's what I thought he got MOST right:

"... liberal opinion was guided by smoldering resentment toward President Bush and the rising contempt for religion in general and conservative Christians in particular. We seem headed for much more conflict between religious and secular Americans.

I think this contempt for (and fear of) religion will not be easily undone by the Left. Appearances by Democrat presidential wannabes in churches, and the use of "faith friendly code-words" will not work: it will scare their base, even as it fails to fool anyone in a "Red State" state of mind. It will seem like exactly what it is: PHONY! I think it will seem phony because the anti-religiousness of the Left is very deep - (it's inextricably tied to their post-modern moral relativism, their socialist utopianism, and their animosity to the West and Western traditions; the Left's "counter-culture ethos" cannot tolerate traditional Judeo-Christian religion) - and it will be very tough for them to shake free from it.

I've written about the Left's problem with religion HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE.

MINUTEMAN BORDER VIGIL WORKING!

(UK GUARDIAN/AP)

Phoenix: Volunteers for an effort to patrol the Mexican border reported their first sighting of suspected illegal immigrants, resulting in 18 arrests, authorities said Sunday. Participants in the Minuteman Project spotted the migrants Saturday near Naco as the volunteers were surveying the border to familiarize themselves with area. When agents arrived, they apprehended 18 people, Border Patrol spokesman Andy Adame said. ``You observe them, report them and get out of the way,'' said Mike McGarry, a spokesman for the project, which begins Monday and is to continue for a month. ...

Minuteman volunteers planned to start regular patrols Monday, fanning out across 23 miles of the San Pedro Valley to watch the border and report any illegal activity to federal agents. It's an exercise some law enforcement authorities and others fear could lead to vigilante violence.

Law enforcement officials said the volunteers were keeping the peace, despite concerns they might become confrontational with immigrants. Many of the volunteers were recruited over the Internet and some plan to be armed. ``Everything seems to be going well,'' said Carol Capas, a spokeswoman for the Cochise County Sheriff's Office. The Arizona-Mexico border is considered the most vulnerable stretch of the 2,000-mile southern border. Of the 1.1 million illegal immigrants caught by the Border Patrol last year, 51 percent crossed into the country at the Arizona border.

Well, well, well: Contrary to what the Left argued, it led to arrests, not violent vigilantism. For more info: Minuteman Project:

NOBEL PEACE PRIZE IDIOCY EXPOSED

Yasser Arafat won it. PJPII never did. That says all you need to know about the meaninglessness of the Nobel Peace Prize.

PURE BS: SCHIAVO AND THE "COMING GOP CRACKUP"

Many pundits - from the NYPOST'S Ryan Sager to Andrew Sullivan (who attacked the Schiavo Law as if it was a broadside on federalism led by a powerful minority made up of wacky theocrats) to Glenn Reynolds, argue that the GOP is going to crack up. (As Jonah Goldberg wrote):

... what has prompted the most recent bout of panic is the passionate - and legitimate - differences over the Terri Schiavo case. Just as hard cases make bad law, they also tend to make for bad analysis. Lots of people are pointing to the fact that the polls do not support Congress' decision to intervene on Ms. Schiavo's behalf (even as the nature of that involvement has been often wildly exaggerated). The Republican Party has exposed itself, if these pessimists are to be believed, with a dangerous overreach that will haunt it for years.

INSTAPUNDIT WROTE:

After talking about small government and the rule of law, Republicans overwhelmingly supported a piece of legislation intended to influence a single case, that of Terri Schiavo. As former Solicitor General Charles Fried observes:

In their intervention in the Terri Schiavo matter, Republicans in Congress and President Bush have, in a few brief legislative clauses, embraced the kind of free-floating judicial activism, disregard for orderly procedure and contempt for the integrity of state processes that they quite rightly have denounced and sought to discipline for decades.

I think he's right.

Glenn, Ryan, Andrew, and the rest of the "looming crack up doom'n gloom-sayers" are WRONG. They are wrong partly because they BELIEVED a PUSH POLL which was done on the Schiavo Controversy by the MSM. The most widely broadcast poll - (which PURPORTEDLY showed that about 70% of Americans would have preferred it if the Congress and the president had NOT interfered in the Schiavo Case at all) - was worded in a way which DISTORTED the facts of the Schiavo Case and made it harder for respondents to support what Congress did.

ACTUALLY, AN EXTREMELY BROAD MAJORITY of Americans support the GOP position on the Schiavo Controversy - (perhaps that's why the Schiavo Law passed UNANIMOUSLY in the Senate and passed by 75% in the House!).

Here's proof from FROM WILLISMS:

[POINT: Pollster Zogby asked non-LOADED questions which - UNLIKE THE MSM PUSH-POLLS - accurately reflected the true nature of the Schiavo Case - reliapundit]:

ZOGBY QUESTION - "If a disabled person is not terminally ill, not in a coma, and not being kept alive on life support, and they have no written directive, should or should they not be denied food and water," the poll asked.

A whopping 79 percent said the patient should not have food and water taken away while just 9 percent said yes.

This is why the Schiavo Case WILL NOT lead to a GOP crack up:

The GOP position is the one most Americans agree with 4-out-of5! When a political party takes a moral and it's also VERY POPULAR stand it will not lead to a crack up. The GOP position is one held BROADLY, and not merely by a narrow minority of wacky theocrats.

This is why Reynolds and Sager and Sullivan are WRONG and why MARK STEYN is guffawing. And be sure to MICHELE MALKIN, TOO! More on the Zogby Poll here at THE AMERICAN THINKER, (hat tip POLIPUNDIT).

WELCOME CHRENKOFF READERS. He gave this posting the nod for Wednesday reading! If you haven't checked him out today, the use this link to see everything ELSE you should checkout on the blogs NOW!

SAUDI JUSTICE

FOX/AP: RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi authorities on Friday executed three Saudi militants convicted of assassinating several officials two years ago, Saudi authorities said as this Gulf state continued its campaign to stamp out terrorism.

The three men were beheaded in public in the northern Saudi city of al-Jawf where they carried out their crimes, the Interior Ministry said.

After the executions, authorities displayed the executed militants in a public square outside a mosque, tying their bodies to poles on top of which were placed their heads.

Yipes.

MORE PROOF THAT SOCIALZED HEALTHCARE DOESN'T WORK

According to the BBC:

A survey has suggested the majority of sexual health clinics have turned patients away in the last year. It found that 34% of clinicians reported they had "often" turned people away without being able to offer them any help. Another 30% said they had "occasionally" had to do so.

The charities warn most of these patients would have been unlikely to have been able to access sexual health services elsewhere. They said this meant those who did have a sexually transmitted infection would have continued to experience symptoms themselves, and potentially pass their STI on to new partners.

The survey also revealed long waits for tests. It suggested one in five patients wait a month for an STI test and more than a third wait more than two weeks for an HIV test.

A Department of Health spokeswoman said: "This is a small survey that only looked at 15% of PCTs. "Tackling the rise in STIs is a government priority. And that is why we have just invested an extra £300m for sexual health." She said the aim was for all patients who needed an appointment would be seen within 48 hours.

According to the socialist: "all the government has to do is spend more tax money and come up with another, improved Five Year Plan, COMRADE."

YEAH. RIGHT! 64% of the CLINICS turn people away WHEN THEY MOST NEED CARE, and that's called UNIVERSAL COVERAGE, or NATIONAL HEALTH. And the Left thinks we're supposed to want that!? Sheesh.