Perseid Meteor Shower Was Awesome!

A couple weeks ago, I read in Astronomy magazine's e-newsletter that the Perseid meteor shower was going to peak on August 12. In all my previous attempts to observe meteor showers, I'd met with bad luck. However, I decided to go out and give the Perseids a try, since I had a mostly clear sky the evening of the predicted peak.

In one hour, I saw six meteors zip across the sky quick as a flash, all radiating from the direction of the constellation Perseus. Five of them left vapor trails in their wake that lingered for up to a second. Four of them were as bright or brighter than the planet Jupiter. In addition to these bright and fast meteors, I observed at least ten of the slower, dimmer kind track across the sky. It was like the sky was crawling with meteors. There were periods in which I couldn't go for more than a minute or two without seeing one. It was great fun!

Praise God for a thrilling celestial fireworks show.

News Flash: Quadruple Solar Flare!

On August 1, 2010, American astronomers observed the sun emit a series of four large coronal mass ejections. A coronal mass ejection, also known as a "solar flare," is a powerful eruption of electromagnetic energy from the surface of the sun into the outermost layer of the sun called the corona. It looks like a series of gigantic fountains of fire issuing from the entire surface of the sun. The largest coronal mass ejection may have a temperature of up to 4 million degrees Fahrenheit and extend more than one billion miles from the solar surface into space.

These eruptions are associated with sunspots, magnetically polarized regions of the sun's surface that are ironically cooler than the surrounding surface area, often having temperatures of only 10,000 degrees F. A coronal mass ejection sends a concentrated stream of electromagnetically charged particles into space that can travel for many millions of miles. When these particles collide with earth, they interact with the planet's magnetic field in the exosphere --the outermost layer of earth's atmosphere -- high above the north and south poles, generating beautiful displays of colored lights in the polar night skies known in the Northern Hemisphere as the aurora borealis, or northern lights. A large solar flare may even cause the northern lights to be seen at temperate mid-northern latitudes, although the display will be significantly dimmer and more subtle here.

Such bursts of solar energy are a regular feature of the sun, but every so often an unusually powerful burst will occur. NASA's Solar Dymanics Observatory, a spacecraft launched to study the sun, recorded four such bursts on August 1. These coronal mass ejections, traveling at speeds of over 1 million miles per hour, reached the earth three days later on the evening of August 4. The result was a spectacular aurora borealis display over earth's northern polar regions. The show extended as far south as the 45th parallel of latitude, and was seen by people in the northern United States.

Because coronal mass ejections occur at irregular intervals, astronomers cannot predict their occurrence. However, a large solar flare is an event typically observed by astronomers once
every one and a half years. Previous such events occurred in 2008, 2005 and 2003.

When you hear about a large solar flare in the news, check the night sky in the days following the event to see if you can see an auroral display. Be sure to observe from a location with a dark sky and an unobstructed northern horizon.

I myself have seen the aurora borealis on two separate occasions from my home in Ohio. The first was in October 2003, when I saw a green glow above the horizon and observed subtle red curtains of light waving high in the northern sky. My second sighting was of an even more subtle event in May 2005, when I merely noticed that the usual yellowish-white glow of distant city lights bore a greenish tinge. Although neither show was spectacular compared to the displays visible in polar regions, I was thrilled to be able to see them because of their rarity at midnorthern latitudes and because they were the first two times I ever witnessed the aurora borealis. I missed out on seeing the most recent extraordinary auroral event because I did not live far enough north to see it, but I will keep my eye open for future such events.

Copyright © 2010 by Justin Soutar. All rights reserved. This article may not be reproduced without the written permission of the author.

I do enjoy coin collecting, but...

...not at the price the Danbury Mint is asking. They want $20.00 for a single roll of twelve uncirculated America the Beautiful state quarters. That's $1.67 apiece or more than six times the face value of the coins. The U.S. Mint is issuing five of these state quarters a year, and the Danbury Mint would like to sell me a roll of twelve quarters for each state, every year as soon as they come out until the whole series is minted. If I accepted this offer and agreed to stick with the program (I could bow out at any time), I would end up spending a total of $1,000.00 plus shipping and handling for the privilege of owning fifty gleaming state quarter rolls, plus a bonus quarter in a resealable capsule for each state and a nice box to keep them in. The question I have to ask is: Would this really be worth it? Not for me. At that price, I don't want thirteen brand-new quarters from each state. I'd rather just get one quarter from each state. The Danbury Mint wants to sell me twelve apiece so they can make a fortune on this series.

Some might say that this is a sought-after coin series and I should get in on the ground floor. All the same, I can't bring myself to pay $100.00 for $15.00 worth of coins. It may also be true that the market value of these limited edition coins will skyrocket twenty or thirty years from now. Nonetheless, even if my collection were to go up ten times in value and I were to sell it for that much, I would not earn much more than the Danbury Mint originally charged me for it. Bottom line: This is a great deal for the Danbury Mint and a ripoff for customers. If I want a roll of these shiny new quarters, I can get it at face value from the bank.

By the way, I haven't even collected all fifty of the recent state quarter series yet, which is my favorite American coin series.

Americans Unhappy with Dems on Economy

With midterm Congress- ional elections just over three months away, American dissatisfaction with the triple-blue Democratic administration they elected to Washington in 2008 persists and continues to grow. On Tuesday, July 27, Reuters-Ipsos released a survey showing significant disapproval of Democrats' efforts to revive the troubled economy. Americans rightly consider the economy an issue of major importance and believe that the administration of President Barack Obama has not adequately addressed it. According to the survey, 67 percent of respondents said that President Obama hasn't done enough to create jobs.

The reason why this administration has not adequately addressed our nation's economic woes is that President Obama and many of the Democrats in Congress are the pawns of special interests. They only pretend to care about the American people. That's why they spent $868 billion dollars to bail out the big banks instead of punishing them for irresponsible lending. That's why we have a war in Afghanistan still going on nine years later. That's why we have a vast new government bureaucracy including abortion "coverage" to help take care of our health, and new taxes for those who don't want to be a part of it. That's also why we don't have real tax cuts for working families and small businesses and major cuts in federal spending--measures that would help the American people to rebuild the economy on a solid foundation. The corruption runs deep. It is also why Americans are unhappy with the Dems on almost every issue, not just the economy.

As Democrats in D.C. continue losing support and momentum, Republicans are gaining it. The Reuters-Ipsos poll indicated that 46 percent of Americans plan to vote Republican this November, compared to 44 percent who intend to vote Democratic. Furthermore, nearly three-fourths of Republicans (72 percent) said they are certain to vote in November, compared to less than half of Democrats.

Republican candidates for U.S. House and Senate seats appear increasingly likely to score major victories this fall. May those who win election go on to win the trust, respect and approval of their constituents through faithful public service for many years to come.

Caritas in Veritate--1st Anniversary

July 7 was the first anniversary of the release of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI's third encyclical, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth). In this landmark document, our Holy Father discusses globalization and its accompanying economic and social issues in the brilliant light of Catholic teaching. At the center of his discussion is the human person, redeemed by Christ. The Pope explains that God calls each man and woman to develop himself or herself fully in every aspect--spiritually, culturally, educationally, socially, economically, and so forth--and that this individual development takes place within the shared context of the family, the Church, the nation and international society. This exchange involves not merely relationships of rights and duties, points out the pontiff, but also relationships of gratuitousness, mercy and communion. In other words, human development is not built simply on justice, on doing your job and fulfilling your religious, social and political obligations, but it is also built on charity, on freely going out of your way to do good things for other people, for the Church, for your country and for your fellowmen in other countries. Moreover, this development must be built on truth, which together with charity unites human beings into a true family of God. Into this discussion the Pope brings the "economy of gift." Human life and all creation are free gifts out of love from God, who is the source of all charity and truth. He calls us to freely answer this love with gifts of love for him and for our neighbor. To the extent that we share God's love with others, we contribute to "integral human development," which is God's Will for the human race. Part of this development is science, in which man discovers more about the good things God has made, and technology, in which he eases life's burdens, making it more worthy of man. Science, technology, economics, politics and all other fields must serve the true good of the human person and of all humanity, not the selfish interests of individuals and small groups, or else they run the risk of causing great damage to human development and interpersonal relations. With jewel-like clarity Pope Benedict shows how this all fits together and makes sense.

I cannot say enough about this outstanding encyclical. It is a priceless gift to the Church and humanity, and I have only given a poor summary of its rich contents here. I am planning to write more articles about it in the near future. In the meantime, if you like you can check out a piece I've already written about it entitled A New Vision of Globalization, which is in the list of published articles in my blog sidebar.

Umm...Where Did June Go?

I had a busy month. Tending my garden, finishing up my second book, and some other projects consumed my time, leaving less important pursuits such as blogging aside. And then in the middle of the month, my computer crashed, and I learned a few things. I'd like to tell this story in detail, in case my experience can be helpful to others.

In 2006 I purchased an HP Pavilion a1510n desktop computer with a 200 gigabyte hard drive for my work, which was mostly writing and a little AutoCAD drafting. It turned out to be a very reliable machine that met my expectations, serving me well for four years. I expected it to last about that length of time before going "kaput" and forcing me to buy a new PC. Well, I'd noticed over the past several months or so that it was taking longer to boot up when I turned it on every day. I knew that this was happening because I was adding more and more programs and files to the hard drive, but somehow it never dawned on me to do anything about it. I figured that with the 200 gigabyte hard drive I still had plenty of storage space. So one day last month, I unplugged my computer to protect it from possible damage by a severe thunderstorm. When I plugged it back in, it wouldn't boot up properly, but kept trying to restart itself over and over. I took it to a repair shop, hoping the motherboard or some lesser component was the culprit and I'd be able to recover my files from the hard drive. It turned out that the computer's hard drive had gone bad and that none of my files were retrievable. I lost more than 700 pictures, but thankfully I had nearly all of my important files backed up on CDs. I asked the technician how much it would be to replace the old hard drive with a new one of 167 to 200 gigabyte capacity and he quoted me $300.00. He recommended buying a new computer. I called HP and asked how much they would charge to put in a new hard drive, and they quoted me $500.00. I priced comparable PCs and found the new HP Pavilion p6550z for only $450.00. Buying a new computer looked like the thing to do, especially considering that I paid $600.00 four years ago for a computer with only half the capabilities of the latest model. But before forking over the cash, I decided to call one other repair shop I knew of further away with an excellent reputation and ask the technician there his price for installing a new 200-gigabyte hard drive. He said he could put a new one in in three hours for $150.00, or for just ten more dollars he could put in a 500-gigabyte hard drive, with a three-year warranty either way. Sold! I took my PC to his shop and he installed a new hard drive with 500 gigabytes. I ended up having to wait five and a half hours, but figured it was worth it to get my PC working again. I didn't want anything fancy, just the basic capabilities I needed for my work. When I returned home and set up the computer, I was quite pleased with the result--I found it not only worked, it ran faster and better than it ever did before. Within a day or so I had all my programs reinstalled and was back in business. The thing runs like a champ now with the new 500 gigabyte hard drive. It feels like having a new computer, and all for the fraction of the cost of a new computer.

I learned one valuable lesson from the technician at the first repair shop. He hinted that putting lots of pictures on a hard drive is a recipe for a crash, even if the drive seems to have a lot of space. I did have an awful lot of pictures on there, so that must have been a precipitating factor in the crash. From now on I will store most of my pictures on CDs rather than on the computer's hard drive. Another lesson I learned is that getting your old computer fixed--especially if it's just one component that's bad--can be preferable to buying a new computer. I'm quite happy with my repaired PC and look forward to using it for many additional years.

ElectionWatch 2010 Unveils Official Logo

Here is the official logo for ElectionWatch 2010, your trustworthy source for news and information about the Congressional election campaign. We will also be bringing you the full, state-by-state results of the U.S. House and Senate elections this coming November. So stay tuned!

Saint Justin

Today is the feast of Saint Justin, my patron saint. Justin was one of the earliest Fathers of the Church known for their writings on Church doctrine. Born around the year 100 in the Roman Empire, he was a Greek philosopher who converted to Christianity. He was arrested and summoned to trial for his faith by the pagan Roman emperor, who ordered him to provide information about the Christian religion. As a gifted intellectual and apologist, Justin explained and defended Church teaching and practice in a public court of law. His description of second-century Christian worship, which appears in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, portrays a ritual remarkably similar to today's Catholic Mass. For his adherence to his faith, Justin was martyred in the year 165. Saint Justin, pray for us!

I'm not sure why he is sometimes referred to as St. Justin Martyr. Perhaps it's to distinguish him from several other saints named Justin who lived around the same time, but were not martyred. In any case, he's one of my favorite saints and a patron of this blog.

Note: The word "apologist" comes from a Greek word apologia, meaning "speech." Justin wrote his speeches and delivered them in front of the emperor much as a defendant's attorney would at a modern trial.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend...

...And don't forget to check out America's Back-Door Enemy!

Quote of the Day

Agape, or selfless altruism, presents a major challenge for the evolutionist. It is quite frankly a scandal to reductionist reasoning. It cannot be accounted for by the drive of individual selfish genes to perpetuate themselves. Quite the contrary: it may lead humans to make sacrifices that lead to great personal suffering, injury, or death, without any evidence of benefit. And yet, if we carefully examine that inner voice we sometimes call conscience, the motivation to practice this kind of love exists within all of us, despite our frequent efforts to ignore it.
--Dr. Francis Collins, The Language of God, p. 27.

Thought for the Day

From the rising to the setting of the sun
is the Name of the Lord to be praised.
--Psalm 113:3

Thought for the Day

Prayer is not the breaking down of the reluctance of God; it is rather the opening of a door. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock." The latch is on our side and not his. Prayer opens that door.
--Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

Specter Out: Paul Up, Others Coming

More good news from ElectionWatch 2010! In Pennsylvania, veteran senator Arlen Specter (a Democrat) loses his party's nomination for another U.S. Senate term. In Kentucky, Republican candidate Rand Paul, the son of Ron Paul, wins his party's nomination for the Senate by a landslide, defeating establish- ment fav- orite Trey Grayson. In Arkan -sas, the re-nomina- tion of Demo- cratic senator Blanche Lincoln hangs in the balance as state voters there await a runoff election.

The results of these Senate primary elections are the latest in a string of disasters for the Obama administration since late 2009, including the election of Republican governors in New Jersey and Virginia, the election of a Republican senator in Massachusetts and the decisions of several incumbent Democratic senators not to seek re-election in 2010.

As Rand Paul said after his nomination, this is democracy at work. The American people are telling Washington in no uncertain terms that they've had it with abortion, big government, high taxes and a dragging economy. A Republican Revolution is underway!

I don't care if they call me a tea-party activist. I'm excited to see these developments! They are paving the way for the kind of changes our country needs.

Mother Teresa and the Empire State Building

This past week I received a series of messages from the Catholic League about an interesting story that is developing concerning the Empire State Building and Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

As you may know, this year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Mother Teresa. She was one of the greatest saints the Catholic Church has ever seen and one of the greatest humanitarian figures the world has ever seen, with a long list of accomplishments. During fifty years of her lifetime in Calcutta, one of the poorest cities in India and in the world at the time, she picked up more than 60,000 homeless orphans, sick people, destitute people, dying people and lepers from the streets in the vast slum district. She established hundreds of hospitals, clinics, shelters, orphanages, soup kitchens, and homes for the destitute-dying in Calcutta alone. She founded a new religious order called the Missionaries of Charity to care for the poorest of the poor, which has now spread to more than 120 countries on five continents. She brought help to the needy, new hope to the abandoned and love to those who were unloved. She became the voice of the most defenseless and forgotten human beings on the planet, especially unborn children in their mother's wombs. Her utterly selfless dedication to serving the least of Christ's brethren drew the admiration of the world, resulting in some 124 awards including the renowned Nobel Peace Prize. Like her famous contemporary Pope John Paul II, she was a very special person not just to Catholics but to everyone because she lived the Gospel message, which is to see Christ in everyone and practice the works of mercy. "I was hungry and you gave me to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, sick and you visited me" (St. Matthew 25:36)

Given all this, it is fitting that in the year marking the 100th anniversary of her birth, Mother Teresa should receive special public honors in countries all over the world, and particularly in countries that cherish the values of human life and dignity which she unstintingly upheld. Now here is how the story begins from Bill Donohue of the Catholic League, May 12, 2010:

On August 26, the U.S. Postal Service is honoring the 100th anniversary of the birth of Mother Teresa. On February 2, I submitted an application to the Empire State Building Lighting Partners requesting that the tower lights feature blue and white, the colors of Mother Teresa's congregation, the Missionaries of Charity, on August 26. On May 5, the request was denied without explanation.

Mother Teresa received 124 awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Medal of Freedom. She built hundreds of orphanages, hospitals, hospices, health clinics, homeless shelters, youth shelters and soup kitchens all over the world, and is revered in India for her work. She created the first hospice in Greenwich Village for AIDS patients. Not surprisingly, she was voted the most admired woman in the world three years in a row in the mid-1990s. But she is not good enough to be honored by the Empire State Building.

Last year the Empire State Building shone in red and yellow lights to honor the 60th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Revolution. Yet under its founder, Mao Zedong, the Communists killed 77 million people. In other words, the greatest mass murderer in history merited the same tribute being denied to Mother Teresa.

We are launching a nationwide petition drive protesting this indefensible decision (TO SIGN THE PETITION, Click here). We are petitioning Anthony Malkin, the owner of the Empire State Building, to reverse this decision.

To protest this decision, contact: lightingpartner@esbnyc.com

On May 13, Donohue reported the following:

Daniel Hernandez, a PR specialist hired by the Empire State Building, has a nice job: he was hired to say he doesn't know anything. When asked by Jeffrey Scott Shapiro, an investigative journalist reporting for Fox News, about the decision to stiff Mother Teresa, he repeatedly said "there is no issue here." Oblivious to the obvious—why would a reporter call about a non-issue—he continued by saying he has been directed not to comment. The reporter then noted, as we did earlier, that it is ironic that the Empire State Building paid tribute to the 60th anniversary of the genocidal Chinese Communist regime last fall, but won't honor the saintly nun. Hernandez parroted, "I'm only telling you what I've been directed to say."

Imagine a spokesman for the Vatican responding to a reporter about an indefensible decision made by a cardinal, and all he offers is, "there is no issue here." Better yet, imagine him saying, "I'm only telling you what I've been directed to say," and expecting the reporters to simply walk away disappointed.

One wonders what world the elites who run the Empire State Building live in. Besides siding with the Communists and dissing Catholics, they are just plain stupid. If they think they can ride this out, they have no idea what they are dealing with.

To sign our petition, click here

Also, contact Melanie Maasch, the PR rep at the Empire State Building who hired Hernandez to say nothing: mmaasch@esbnyc.com

Finally, as stated in a press release on May 14, the Catholic League announced "the start of a worldwide campaign protesting the decision by officials from the Empire State Building to deny Mother Teresa the honor of having her blue and white colors shine from the tower on August 26, the 100th anniversary of her birth." According to the press release, Bill Donohue has written letters to the Missionaries of Charity all over the world asking them to join in a protest-letter drive, "the first of many such campaigns that will run through the summer, if necessary." To sign the petition, click here. To register a protest, e-mail Melanie Maasch at the Empire State Building, mmaasch@esbnyc.com. To contact Anthony Malkin, write to him at Malkin Properties, One Grand Central Place 60, E. 42nd St., NY, NY 10165

It's hard to argue why Mother Teresa shouldn't receive this honor, which is why the lighting staff of the Empire State Building is not even attempting to defend their position. They have no good reason for refusing to do this, which is why God's Irish bulldog is going after them. Believe me, you don't want to mix it up with Bill Donohue!

Thought for the Day

When you look at the inner workings of electrical things, often you see small and big wires, new and old, cheap and expensive line up. Until the current passes through them there will be no light. That wire is you and me. The current is God. We have the power to let the current pass through us, use us, produce the light of the world--Jesus. Or we can refuse to be used and allow darkness to spread. --Mother Teresa

Terrorism is in the News Again

Terrorism is in the news again lately. The US sent a drone plane into Pakistan to kill terrorists suspects responsible for the failed bomb plot in Times Square. It seems that Pakistan is emerging as the central front in the War on Terrorism. The well-researched book America's Back-Door Enemy: Unmasking the Unknown Terrorists offers some clues as to why this is so.

In 2001 the US went into Afghanistan, overthrew the Taliban regime and chased Osama bin Laden out of his cherished hiding place. So far so good. But one problem is that the Taliban never really went away. Its ringleaders regrouped, recruited thousands of new followers from the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region, and returned to the heart of Afghanistan to wage an ongoing guerrilla war against US troops. Now the Taliban movement is a force of many thousand strong with a permanent base in Pakistan. Another problem is that Osama bin Laden has apparently been hiding out in Pakistan for years, aiding and abetting the Taliban with his prodigious financial resources and anti-American speechmaking capabilities. In fact, the Taliban has supplanted al-Qaeda as the world's most notorious terrorist entity. This is really not surprising, since the two organizations are closely related; both are rooted in Islamic extremist doctrine; both originated in Afghanistan and have received steady support from bin Laden; even their insignia are almost identical. Why is bin Laden still at large and continuing to fund and support terrorism after all this time?

You'll find some answers to these perplexing questions in America's Back-Door Enemy. I spent years writing this book. Probing beneath the headlines, I tried to gather all the information I could about terrorism and present it in a single, coherent, readable book so that the average person could gain a better understanding of terrorism and the War on Terrorism. In doing so, I discovered an enemy behind the enemy: Traitors to our country, right here in the United States; agents of a foreign power attempting to subvert and destroy our nation. Their wicked religious extremist movement helped bring international Islamic terrorism into existence, and it is essential for the United States to destroy their movement in order to destroy Islamic terrorism. I published this urgent information about a secret enemy for the good of my country, because I love my country. I hope it will do some good. If you're interested, you can find the book in the right-hand sidebar of this blog by scrolling down just a bit from the top.

Follow-up on Geoengineering

When I read through the article on geoengineering in the current issue of Science Illustrated (see We Are in God's Hands below), I found that some of the ideas scientists and engineers are proposing to help slow down global warming are pretty good. One of these ideas is to line highways with artificial trees, each of which could remove 1,000 times as much carbon dioxide from the air as a natural tree. These contraptions would be no substitute for planting natural trees, but they are much safer and would be a lot more effective than any of the other geoengineering ideas being floated. As even the geoengineers admit, reducing carbon emissions is the best way to counteract artificial global warming.

Quote of the Day

Vanity of vanities, says Ecclesiastes; vanity of vanities, and all is vanity. --Ecclesiastes 1:2

We Are In God's Hands

I recently received the May/June 2010 issue of Science Illustrated, one of my favorite magazines. The lead story introduces a new technological concept some scientists are getting into called "geoengineering." This would involve manipulation of the Earth itself to save humanity from predicted disasters of its own making, such as global warming. One of their ambitious ideas is to encircle the globe with gigantic mirror arrays that would reflect sunlight away from Earth. The payoff could be enormous, these scientists tell us, but the risks are also tremendous. I feel that this particular method of geoengineering is a classic case of attacking the disease by treating the symptoms while ignoring the cause. The problem with global warming is not in the amount of sunlight reaching Earth, but in the man-made greenhouse gases that trap more of its warmth and could potentially lead to a runaway greenhouse effect. It is dealing with these greenhouse gases from artificial sources right here on Earth and in our atmosphere that we will effectively address any problem of artificial warming, not by reengineering the planet from the outside in.

In his encyclical Caritas in Veritate, Pope Benedict XVI has warned us of an error widely prevalent in the modern fields of science and technology, namely, the idea that we human beings must take complete control of Earth and determine our own destiny. Here I'd like to quote Bishop Thomas Wenski, whom the pope recently appointed as archbishop of Miami, Florida and who was himself quoting our Holy Father from Deus Caritas Est: "'We are only instruments in the Lord's hands; and this knowledge frees us from the presumption of thinking that we alone are personally responsible for building a better world.' In all humility we will do what we can, and in all humility we will entrust the rest to the Lord. It is God who governs the world, not we."

While seeking solutions to the great problems facing our twenty-first century world, humanity must trust more than ever in the Lord and in His infinite mercy.

Thought for the Day

I believe that the forces of life and the desires for communion are greater than the forces of death and hatred. At some moment in each of our lives there is an event that calls us to freedom and openness. At that point of epiphany we want to get out of the hole of depression and anger. We realize that we are imprisoned in ourselves or in our group, finding it difficult to relate to others....

To open up to others implies not only an awareness of our own fears, darkness, and brokenness, but also the presence of a light, a love, and an energy that will give the desire to move forwards to openness and not let ourselves be controlled by the darkness.

-- Jean Vanier

Pope Benedict XVI -- Fifth Anniversary of Election

April 19, 2005 -- a day that we will always remember.

"Habemus Papam!" -- "We have a pope!"

A Happy 5th Anniversary, with prayers and best wishes for our beloved Holy Father, Benedict XVI.

Father Corapi to Release an Autobiography!

This past Wednesday evening, Father Corapi was on EWTN's Bookmark with Doug Keck discussing his soon-to-be-published autobiography. This ought to be a fascinating book to read. Although Father has told his life story many times in conjunction with his conversion story, he has never gone publicly into the depth and detail that this autobiography will contain. This will be the complete story--from Father's early childhood in upstate New York through his brief stint in the Army, his days as a multimillionaire accountant in southern California, his drug addiction and subsequent homelessness, re-conversion to the Faith, seminary studies, ordination and years of preaching the Gospel all over the United States and the world. One interesting detail of Father's life previously unknown to me and which he mentioned on the show was that he grew up within half an hour of Stockbridge, Massachusetts--the headquarters of the Divine Mercy devotion in the United States. In this book, Father Corapi will delve into other lesser-known aspects of his life such as his brief experience as a parish priest in his hometown, and his longtime friendship with Mother Angelica, including his firsthand witness of her miraculous healing in January of 1998.

As Father Corapi's amazing life and fruitful ministry have been, his autobiography will surely be a powerful testament to the fact that God's Name is Mercy, and that His infinite mercy is strikingly evident in every twist and turn of our lives. I will be watching for this book, and I can't wait to read it when it comes out--late this year or early next, according to predictions.

Spring Weather, Gardening and Global Warming

When the sun is shining, temperatures are pleasant and everything green is starting to sprout and grow, it makes you want to get outside and do some gardening. Spring has come early this year, but even if the weather is a little premature, it still has the same effect on us. As a result of unusually mild conditions in this area last month, (followed by summerlike conditions in early April,) I started working in my garden unusually early, in March. It seems strange to be outside sweating under a cooking sun when the threat of frost and cold nights is still very real, and it's too early to plant summer vegetables. Climate change is doing some interesting things to our weather.

One of the predictions of climate change scientists is that global warming will not simply produce overall warmer weather for the planet, but more extreme weather. This prediction has been borne out in the last few years all over this country and the world: increased rainfall in some areas, decreased rainfall in others; colder and drier winters in some places, snowier winters in others; bigger hurricanes, hotter summers, etc. Some of these changes have not caused any apparent major negative effects in the regions where they are taking place; other have led to serious problems for millions of people, as for example the severe droughts in parts of Africa causing widespread famine there.

However, we should not become overly alarmed about these changes that are occurring. In his book The Weather Makers, one particular climate change expert--author Tim Flannery-- has mixed a wealth of interesting research and data on the subject of climate change with a number of major scientific, historical and logical errors. For example, Flannery presents incontrovertible evidence that our planet has been warming up over the past fifty years. But when it comes to the cause of this warming trend, Flannery places the blame squarely on increased human population and fossil-fuel activity and rules out all possible natural causes. In a related error, Flannery claims that the current warmup is without precedent in human history. Both of these flimsy myths can be deconstructed rather easily.

It is a well-accepted fact that the burning of fossil fuels produces greenhouse gases, which trap the Sun's heat in Earth's atmosphere and contribute to global warming. However, to place the blame for the current warming entirely on this process is incorrect. Earth's temperature does fluctuate slightly over periods of decades and centuries; these slight variations are natural, and have nothing to do with human activity or the lack thereof on Earth. For instance, in Medieval Europe, an Ice Age was followed by the Medieval Warm Period, during which Greenland was warm enough for Leif Ericson to establish colonies and plant vineyards there. This fact of the historical record, known to legions of schoolchildren, is casually dismissed by Flannery as "bunk." (p. 44)

It is obvious that natural causes must have been responsible for the Medieval Warm Period; the human population and burning of fossil fuels then were a fraction of their values today, and far too insignificant to affect the Earth's climate. And if this is so, then natural causes may be primarily responsible for the warm period we are currently beginning to experience. Flannery downplays the importance of such cause and effect relationships as "an unhelpful way of thinking." (p. 162)

Flannery's book is useful for the scientific research it contains on global warming, changes in Earth's climate, and the effects of both on various ecosystems (notably the Great Barrier Reef) during the last five decades. But its author fundamentally errs in attributing the warming entirely to greenhouse gases produced by modern human civilization, and ignoring natural causes altogether. After all, the greatest and most powerful natural influence on Earth's weather and climate is beyond our planet: the Sun itself. There is a strong correlation between recent changes in solar activity, observed and documented by astronomers, and changes in Earth's climate documented during the same period.

We should do what we can to take care of our planet, including reducing our pollution of Earth's atmosphere with greenhouse gases from fossil fuels, but at the same time we should be aware that Earth is going through a natural warming cycle that must play itself out regardless.

The Meaning of Holy Week

Alleluia -- He Is Risen!

This evening I was watching a talk on DVD by Father Corapi from his classic series "Immortal Combat," in which Father mentioned the importance of always coming as a servant for others in humility. This jogged my memory about something I had intended to post during Holy Week but didn't get around to posting. It was a quote from an obscure abbot who was a friend of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux that I felt was an appropriate meditation for "the Week that changed the world." I am posting it now, because its timeless message is a good reminder for all Christians of the heart of their faith, regardless of the time of year.

What could be more just than that you should serve Him by whom you were created, without whom you cannot exist; and what could be more blessed or more sublime than to serve Him? To serve Him is to reign. "I will not serve," man says to his Creator. "Then I will serve you," his Creator says to man. "You sit down, I will minister, I will wash your feet. You rest; I will bear your weariness, your infirmities. Use Me as you like in all your needs, not only as your slave but also as your beast of burden and as your property. If you are tired or burdened I will carry both you and your burden, so that I may be the first to keep My own law."

"Bear one another's burdens," we read, "and so you will fulfill the law of Christ."

--Blessed Guerric of Igny

Update: America's Back-Door Enemy

It's time for an update on my book about terrorism. Tate Publishing has started the niche marketing phase of promotion for America's Back-Door Enemy. This is a part of book marketing that I have been especially looking forward to. Niche marketing targets the specific audience I had in mind when writing the book--namely, Catholics as well as other Christians and people who are interested in reading about the subjects of terrorism, U.S. foreign policy, and international relations from a well-grounded moral perspective--as opposed to merely informing local media outlets in my area about the book, as was done in an earlier phase of marketing. Thus a niche strategy has the potential to be much more effective in selling my book than general marketing. At a later date, an even more specific phase of marketing will target individual bookstores around the United States.

I have worked with my marketing rep to plan a unique niche strategy for America's Back-Door Enemy, and now he is carrying it out. We'll see what happens, and I'll let you know the results in a future post.