Only Our Government has Forgotten

From Daily Kos diarist HRH:

We hear a lot about beautiful dead girls in the US media. Here are some that we haven't heard about much. Their smiles haven't been plastered over the supermarket tabloid press, and they're not likely to be. One of the reasons is that they don't fit the popular stereotype of beautiful-woman-as-helpless-victim. Another reason is that many people still haven't focused on the reality of women in the military. Even here on DKos, I see comments about "sons and fathers" who have been killed and maimed. Almost NO MENTION of women in the military.

There's a war going on somewhere...

Pinches Mexicanos Terroristas!

Forgive my Spanish. I'm taking a language course this fall in hopes of not sounding like a dumb Texican. The Washington Post has a story up about the new Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee ad that features footage of two people (presumably Mexican) scaling a fence along the border along with images of Osama bin laden and North Korean dictator, Kim Jong Il. Naturally, the head of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly is outraged. Granted, there are plenty of Hispanic Democrats in a tizzy about this as well, but come on... Of course Republican Hispanics are going to raise a stink about this. Nevermind that a man from Afghanistan was caught this past Monday, illegaly crosing the Rio Grande River from Hidalgo. Nevermind Farid Ahmed, the woman apprehended in McAllen (2004) after her name was found on a terrorist watchlist. Nevermind that back in 2004, Congressman Solomon Ortiz (D-TX), together with Congressman Henry Bonilla (R-TX) sent a letter to President Bush protesting the government's policy of releasing illegal immigrants who are “Other than Mexican,” or “OTMs” into the general population of the United States. It just seems like a lot of hot air from Republicans who need something to bitch about since they can't really stand on any of their failed policies that have made our country less safe since 9-11.

Oy, the Vatican...

Deliver us from evil... ...and Madonna's road show. Prosecutors in Dusseldorf are ready to monitor Madonna's show this weekend, making sure she doesn't repeat the mock crucifixion scene the Vatican denounced a few weeks ago. Apparently, it could be construed as insulting religious beliefs. The Vatican claimed it was "an act of hostility toward the Roman Catholic church." Bishop Velasio De Paolis, in an article from the Telegraph UK, said: "How this woman can take the name of the mother of Christ, I don't know. Her show represents the rotten fruit of secularism and the absurdity of evil." I think Pope Ratzo, or whatever his non-NaziYouth name is now, should worry about more pressing issues in the Roman Catholic church these days.

One of the headlines read: Vatican Scandalized By Madonna Crucifixion.

When will all of this anger be directed toward the declining rate of Catholicism in the United States, or perhaps toward the recent onslaught of pedophilic priests?

From: Patrick J. Buchanan's website:

--Priests. While the number of priests in the United States more than doubled to 58,000, between 1930 and 1965, since then that number has fallen to 45,000. By 2020, there will be only 31,000 priests left, and more than half of these priests will be over 70.

--Ordinations. In 1965, 1,575 new priests were ordained in the United States. In 2002, the number was 450. In 1965, only 1 percent of U.S. parishes were without a priest. Today, there are 3,000 priestless parishes, 15 percent of all U.S. parishes.

Seminarians. Between 1965 and 2002, the number of seminarians dropped from 49,000 to 4,700, a decline of over 90 percent. Two-thirds of the 600 seminaries that were operating in 1965 have now closed.

--Sisters. In 1965, there were 180,000 Catholic nuns. By 2002, that had fallen to 75,000 and the average age of a Catholic nun is today 68. In 1965, there were 104,000 teaching nuns. Today, there are 8,200, a decline of 94 percent since the end of Vatican II.

--Religious Orders. For religious orders in America, the end is in sight. In 1965, 3,559 young men were studying to become Jesuit priests. In 2000, the figure was 389. With the Christian Brothers, the situation is even more dire. Their number has shrunk by two-thirds, with the number of seminarians falling 99 percent. In 1965, there were 912 seminarians in the Christian Brothers. In 2000, there were only seven. The number of young men studying to become Franciscan and Redemptorist priests fell from 3,379 in 1965 to 84 in 2000.

--Catholic schools. Almost half of all Catholic high schools in the United States have closed since 1965. The student population has fallen from 700,000 to 386,000. Parochial schools suffered an even greater decline. Some 4,000 have disappeared, and the number of pupils attending has fallen below 2 million – from 4.5 million.

Fix your church first, dudes. When all that is said and done, then maybe you'll have time to publicly denounce pop icons that offend you.

Sweet Chariot

As of 9:30pm, Central Time--- Connecticut U.S. Senate - - Dem Primary 625 of 748 Precincts Reporting 83.56% Reporting Ned Lamont 120,616 votes 51.88% Lieberman, Joe (i) 111,887 votes 48.12% I'm not feeling the Joementum.

My fucking trash can isn't empty!

I'm T H I S close to stabbing the cleaning lady in the eye this morning. For my birthday, I want her to stop emptying my trash can every 10 minutes. Happy 27th...keep your trash! All I want for this glorious 27th is a Ned Lamont victory in the Connecticut primary today. Nothing more, nothing less. I just saw Chris Matthews, live from CT, saying that Lieberman had a chance if regular Democrats, not the hotheads, show up to vote. Then he spoke of the blogger pajamahadeen and how they needed to actually show up and vote, instead of just hacking away at their keyboards. Yawn. What an idiot. The whole in-the-basement-in-their-pajamas thing is so 2002. Chris Matthews is as dated as Friendster. He needs new hair, a better show, and a wipe-down.

Will he wear the poncho?

Today's the big day and much to my dismay, I wont be able to attend President Bush's latest immigration pitch at Anzalduas Park in Mission. According to The Monitor, POTUS will be introduced by Governor Goodhair before speaking to a "limited audience." Limited, as in, sycophantic Latinos in the Alberto Gonzalez kinda way, and wealthy, white donors from the RGV: Mr. Joe La Mantia, Jr. Partner L. & F. Distributors, Ltd. RNC $25,000 Mr. Greg La Mantia Partner L. & F. Distributors, Ltd. RNC $25,000 Mr. Nicholas T Serafy, Jr. Bioanalyst Proficiency Testing RNC $25,000 Mr. Nicholas T. Serafy Bioanalyst Proficiency Testing RNC $7,500 Mr. Fausto Yturria Investor Self-Employed RNC $25,000 Mr. James D Zellerbach, Jr. Retired RNC $5,500 Needless to say, I'm disappointed. It was my chance to see the man in action, the leader of the free world, the oratory genius with degrees from Yale and Harvard. Alas, no Boosh for Denise. There were rumors he was going to visit the new detention center in Raymondville. If that's the case, I hope the motorcade passes Chorizoland. Maybe he'll stop by for a taco.