Happy New Year 2006

Tonight, despite my cold I will continue my tradition (of one year), one I intend to uphold as long as possible. This tradition is a Champale toast at the stroke of midnight. Well maybe not a toast, but drinking some champale.

Why? Because I am a class act. I appreciate the finer things in life.


Champale is an excellent product, a flavored malt liquor, offered by our friends at Pabst who bring us such greats as Stroh's, Old Style, PBR, and Carling Black Label.

So a toast to you, Frederick Pabst, the outgoing 2005, and the incoming 2006 with a bubbling glass of Golden Champale.

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There is also this:
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A funny thing happened at the liquor store today. 2 young gentlemen of Hispanic descent were buying a 12 pack of Corona. Once their purchase was complete the man who rang up the sale bid them Adios. He then offered Feliz Cumpleaños to his Hispanic patrons who just kind of quietly laughed. He wished them a Happy Birthday. He of course meant Feliz año nuevo which of course means Happy New Year.

Obligatory Year End Lists

These lists are by no means complete or in any particular order.
The best things that happened in 2005

•Habemus Papam!  Ratzinger was elected the successor of St. Peter.

•Steubenville.  I went there in June with my Godmother’s Youth Group.  There I had one of my closest encounters with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

•I graduated!  BSE in ME!

•Free elections in Iraq.  (You know… that quagmire.)

•Roberts and Alito.  (We may overturn the worst SCOTUS decision ever)

•Free Taters

Worst things of 2005.

•Death of John Paul II  (Santo Subito!)

•Hurricanes  (Katrina, Rita, et al.)

•U of M and Lions football  

•Death of Terri Schiavo by starvation.

•Acts of Terror and Genocide in Jordan, Sudan, Israel, etc.

For what is one of the last times:

IT’S 2005, DUDE!

Bullpucky (now edited for content!)

Excuse my poor language, but that was some of the worst bullpucky I have ever had to endure.   I have never in my human experience seen such bad officiating in a football contest.  That was just utter bullpucky.

Nebraska did not win that game.  Michigan did not lose that game.  The stupid zebras handed over the victory to Nebraska.

Be happy I limited myself to a synonym for excrement.

-Andrew    

Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, non-Christian holidays proximous to Chrismas.

Merry Christmas and/or Happy Hanukkah!

I do not, however, wish anyone a Happy Kwanzaa.  

Here is why.
Kwanzaa was invented in 1966 by Dr. Maulana “Ron” Karenga, a former black militant, Marxist and convicted felon. Claiming to have the unity of black people in mind, Karenga committed most of his crimes against blacks.
Just five years after his invention, he was convicted of torturing two black women by stripping them naked, beating them with electrical cords, placing a hot iron into the mouth of one and mangling the toe of the other in a vice. [sic] During the ordeal, he forced them to drink detergent.
Well I never did to begin with, but I didn’t know the full gruesome history of this “holiday” and its invention.  All I knew was how unfunny the comic strip “Curtis” was during this week.  I guess you can only do so many comic strips about the parents finding the new top secret hip-hop store and burning it down.
In conclusion, don’t wish any black people a happy Kwanzaa.  I wouldn’t suggest telling them it’s all crap; that’s not a good way to make friends.
Happy Hanukkah, however.
Hanukkah is a good holiday.  It is rather minor holiday for Jews, but due to its proximity to Christmas, America blows it out of proportion.  But it commemorates when oil enough for only one day burnt for 8.  It also has to do with Judah Maccabee.  The events of Hanukkah are preserved in the Talmud and in… the Catholic Bible!  That’s why I like Hanukkah.  It grants credence upon the books of 1st and 2nd Maccabees.  Even if they aren’t considered to be divinely inspired, they are historically respectable.  Therefore the actions of the Maccabees, which included offerings for the dead, are historically accurate.  
In other words, there is a purgatory, and we must pray for those who are there.
I’ve already discussed Christmas, but I will mention that IT’S STILL GOING ON.  The Church celebrates Christmas for a while.  You don’t have to keep your tree up, but keep up the spirit of God’s Incarnation in your dealings.  
God Bless you and Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas

North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) does something special around this time of year.  They track Santa.  So if you would like to follow Santa’s trajectory this Christmas Eve you can do so here.

So who is this Santa Claus?

This website has a nice biography of Saint Nicholas.  Here they explain the development into who we now know as Santa Claus.

So it is Christmas Eve Eve.  In two days we will celebrate the coming of Christ into the world.  The eternal Word that was with God and was God became flesh.  This is what we celebrate: the infant in Bethlehem who in only 30+ years would offer his unblemished life on the cross for the life of the world.

This is what we celebrate: Christ Jesus’ coming into the world.  We also keep in mind the parousia or second coming of the Lord.  If you invite Christ into you hearts and homes this Christmas, your Christmas will be Joyous.  There is no greater joy than knowledge and love of the Lord.

Perhaps we should all pray through the intercession of Saint Nicholas and the Virgin Mary that all shall remember the true meaning of Christmas, and that all shall be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

God Bless you, and Merry Christmas.

-Andrew

Some "graduation" day photos

Left to Right: Dad, Jordan, Mom, Me, Auntie Barb


















At the Corner of Engineering and Engineering.
















With parents and Jordan


Program

Some news items for Friday

•Michael Jackson has nothing on this woman.

A New York woman threw her one-month-old son from the third floor of a burning building and the baby was caught by an amateur baseball player standing outside, media reports said on Thursday.

Thankfully everyone is okay.
Neither was seriously injured and they were later released.
Thanks Reuters!
•Some people in the middle east voted recently.  I wonder how things got so democratic over there.
•Also, Iran hates Jews and wants to develop nukes.
•American troops continue to terrorize Iraqi families.

End the Elven Death Penalty

Everone’s favorite failed Elven presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich has introduced a bill in Congress to abolish the Death Penalty.  I say Kudos to him.

I don’t know how well-received this will be by the Republican-controlled Congress, but God Bless him.  Now Kucinish certainly isn’t perfect, he is rabidly pro-abortion and altogether liberal to a ridiculous degree.  Nonetheless I would support the abolition of Capital Punishment.

I never foresaw myself saying something like this.  Maybe I’ll wear my Kucinich button around… Naaaah!

Despite this I still tend to align more with the GOP.

I can’t help but think that this may be politically motivated by the whole Tookie Williams case, but if we can end unnecessary killing that would be nice.

Now let’s pen some anti-abortion legislation, GOP!

-Andrew

Andrew Tackles the House Immigration Bill

What's so wrong with protecting our borders?  We indeed as Christians ought to be charitable to immigrants, but do so in accordance with the law. (Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's)  Most laws in this country are developed for good reasons.  There are legal processes by which these immigrants can become citizens or legal to work in the United States.  If people are in stubborn disobedience of the law, they should be punished.  Most illegals have been given a free pass and are a burden on the law-abiding citizens of their area.  I'm sure most of the supposed 1.6million children you mentioned were actually born in the United States, thus making them citizens and not subject to this bill. 
 
So immigrants are certainly welcome in America.  We are a country of immigrants.  But we must encourage the legal process of becoming a citizen or getting work visas and green cards.  These sorts of issues will be discussed once the bill heads to the Senate.
 
The bill has the safety of immigrants in mind as well
`(E) in the case where any participant in the offense created a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to another person, including--
`(i) transporting a person in an engine compartment, storage compartment, or other confined space;
`(ii) transporting a person at an excessive speed or in excess of the rated capacity of the means of transportation; or
`(iii) transporting or harboring a person in a crowded, dangerous, or inhumane manner,
be imprisoned not less than 5 nor more than 20 years, or fined under title 18, United States Code, or both
This punishment is more severe than doing it for financial gain. Which in turn is more severe for doing it period.  If the smuggler causes bodily harm or death they will be imprisoned no less than 10 or more than 30 years.
 
Going deeper you find that the "mandatory detention" isn't as severe as some make it sound.
(1) ASYLUM AND REMOVAL- Nothing in this section shall be construed as limiting the right of an alien to apply for asylum or for relief or deferral of removal based on a fear of persecution.
(2) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN ALIENS- The mandatory detention requirement in subsection (a) does not apply to any alien who is a native or citizen of a country in the Western Hemisphere with whose government the United States does not have full diplomatic relations.
Meaning that most immigrants will not be affected by this mandatory detention.
 
The bill also launches an investigation into any apparent wrong-doing by those holding aliens in custody.

absurd

I just found this to be absurd, so I had to make a comment.

It's not often that you hear about Amish sex scandals, so I read the article.

A lonely Amish Widower made the error of seeking out companionship from a... errr.. working girl.

He was afraid his community would find out about it.

He was told there were pictures on the internet, and consequently extorted out of a large sum of money by the prostitute and her boyfriend.

Ok...
Amish people as far as I know don't have the internet. So how would they find out about the man's rendezvous?

Poor guy.

Moral of the story: don't have sex with prostitutes.

My Diet.

It sounds like this guy stole my diet:

He packed on 6.5 kg (14 lb) in just under a week by devouring 1.5 kg of pork and six bottles of beer a day and then immediately going to bed, taking sleeping pills to knock himself out when he was not tired, the report said.

Now for something a little more serious:

Here is a photo essay of the protests outside San Quentin. The essayist is pro-death penalty, but I think the photos are very interesting. These protesters are the crazies that I really dislike. They take every chance they get to compare Bush and Hitler. (There really is no comparison... Bush is much worse.)

But you almost get a feeling from these photos that these protesters have an agenda that really isn't to speak out against the death penalty. It's just another opportunity to speak out against the "racist establishment." It's another opportunity to blame yet another thing on Bush. Like this guy with the 9-11 sign. WHY the heck is he there with that sign? These socialist groups may be opposed to capital punishment, but that is not why they are there.

They are there because the media are there. They are there so they can spout out garbage. The media love it. Everybody wins, except of course intelligent discourse.

Anti-Tookie protester: Tookie deserves the death penalty.
Pro-Tookie protesters: Born-again bigots, go away!
ATP: Tookie deserves the death penalty. The wages of Tookie's [sin] are death.
PTP: Racist, sexist, anti-gay! Right-wing bigots, go away!
ATP: Quit being so liberal. You guys are making a murderer an icon!
PTP: Racist, sexist, anti-gay! Right-wing bigots, go away!
ATP: You're making [him] a hero, an icon. Something is wrong with this picture.
PTP: Racist, sexist, anti-gay! Right-wing bigots...

These liberals are supposed to tolerant right?
What does this man supporting the death penalty for a convicted murder have to do with him being sexist or anti-gay? Nothing. He surely said nothing about those things at all. Yet these libs resort to name calling. "Born-again Bigots"? That's terrible. Is there some sort of school where liberals learn how to argue ( I mean besides public universities)
...
Liberalism 101: Winning Arguments
day 1:
"If someone ever disagrees with you, call them a racist. Make sure you yell louder than them too. Compare Bush to Hitler and wear a Che Guevara shirt."
...

It's also not good that Christians are supporting the Death penalty, but that's not my point here.

So, while I still don't support the Death Penalty, I can never ally myself with these crazies.

-Andrew

Give Tookie a Cookie

“Tookie” Williams should be granted clemency.  His sentence should commuted from execution to life in prison.  

Years ago he was convicted for 4 murders.  He started a violent gang.

He claims to have reformed.  He has written children’s books, has been nominated for the Nobel Prize, has had a movie made about him, and has worked to end gang violence.

Despite this reformation, he has never admitted any wrong-doing in his case.  He denies being involved in any murders.  

Frankly I don’t know if I trust him.  I don’t know if “Tookie” is innocent as he claims he is.  Frankly, I don’t really care.  

So why do I think he should be granted clemency?

It’s not because of who he is or what he did or didn’t do.  It has nothing to do with his reformation.  I hope that he has reformed, but in terms of his execution it changes nothing for me.

So why then?

2267 Assuming that the guilty party's identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor.
If, however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people's safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and are more in conformity to the dignity of the human person.
Today, in fact, as a consequence of the possibilities which the state has for effectively preventing crime, by rendering one who has committed an offense incapable of doing harm - without definitely taking away from him the possibility of redeeming himself - the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity "are very rare, if not practically non-existent."
(From the Catechism of the Catholic Church)

So there you have it.

That’s why Tookie should live.
That’s why the death penalty should not be in use in the United States of America.

It's about time...

It's about time that folks within the democratic party tell Howard Dean to shut up.
He's like that uncle you have, that says all those stupid things, and you are like "right Uncle Howie" when you really want to slap him.  I don't actually have an uncle like that, but I can imagine what it would be like.

You can tell me that the reasons for going into Iraq were weak or even worse lies.  Go ahead tell me.  That may or may not be true.

But we CANNOT give up now.  We owe it to the people of Iraq to finish the job.
This antiwar sentiment does not bode well for the US or Iraq.
Remember Vietnam?  The VC used the anti-war activists to their advantage.  They credit folks like John Kerry with their victory.  We pulled out in the name of peace.  Genocide followed.
The same would likely happen in Iraq.  It certainly would not bode well for the Kurds.

Whose side are you on?    

Immaculate Conception.

Today (Dec 8) is the feast of the Immaculate Conception. It is a Holy day of Obligation. (That is church language for "Get your ass in the pew!")

It always seems like people, even Catholics, have no idea what the Immaculate Conception is.
It is NOT the conception of Jesus. The conception of Jesus is of course immaculate and miraculous, but it is not THE Immaculate Conception. We refer to that business as the Virgin Birth.

It is also NOT an amazing catch or a Madonna anthology.

It IS the conception of Mary. What is so Immaculate about her conception though?
God, being totally awesome and smart, devised a way for His Son to be born through Mary. Mary of course had to be special, a pure portal through whom Christ would enter the World. So God used the Grace provided by the salvific action of Christ to prevent Mary from having original sin as she was conceived. That's what immaculate means, "without stain." She was saved in anticipation of her role in Salvation History.

If any of you reading this are involved in Computer Science, you are probably saying that it is an infinite loop, or simply "Does not Compute." No, it does not entirely make sense in the human frame of mind, but we must remember that God is beyond all this "space" and "time" stuff.

This is a tenet of the Catholic Faith. More details on the I.C. and also on the assumption are available here.

So yeah.. Catholics, Go to mass!
Everyone else, Become Catholic, and be obligated by this time next year!

Ok, so I am not that good of an evangelist... but I'm a decent apologist.

-Andrew

Is 40:25-31 (NAB)

"To whom can you liken me as an equal?"
says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high
and see who has created these things:
He leads out their army and numbers them,
calling them all by name.
By his great might and the strength of his power
not one of them is missing!
Why, O Jacob, do you say,
and declare, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?
Do you not know
or have you not heard?
The LORD is the eternal God,
creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint nor grow weary,
and his knowledge is beyond scrutiny.
He gives strength to the fainting;
for the weak he makes vigor abound.
Though young men faint and grow weary,
and youths stagger and fall,
They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength,
they will soar as with eagles’ wings;
They will run and not grow weary,
walk and not grow faint."

I think those verses can help us all through finals, eh?
Trust in God, hope in Him, try your hardest, and things will come out all right in the end.

Reading courtesy of the Roman Catholic Church.
daily readings here.

I just thought it was a good passage, so I posted it.
God is pretty awesome.

-Andrew

Sometimes...

you just need to take a pie and blogging break.

A personal note:

My mom's cousin David passed away the other day. He was not very old. Indeed his mother, wife, and children survive him. I did not know cousin David especially well, but nevertheless he played an integral role in my life. He lent me, for an extended period of time (we had them nearly 10 years), his set of Ludwig Vistalites (file photo) from when he was in a rock band (Crossbow) with his friends in the 70's.

So I basically learned drumset on these Vistalites, and Jordan did for a time until very recently when they were returned to his family (before the recent death.) Jordan is currently borrowing my kit. Who knows what Santa has on the horizon, though.

So if you have ever appreciated my beats at all (or even if you haven't) , please offer a prayer up for the repose of his soul. Offer prayers for the family, which will surely be struggling in this difficult time.

Remember also that even a small thing you do for a friend or family member can mean more than you could ever imagine or they could ever tell you.

The obit:
Age 50, of Brownstown, December 2, 2005. Beloved husband of Patricia.
Loving son of Clara and the late Sylvester Palac. Dearest father of Eric and
Kayla. Dear brother of Christine (David) Kaliszewski, loving uncle of Keith,
Kevin and Karyn (Peter) and great-nephew Coen. Funeral service Wednesday at 11
a.m. at Michigan Memorial Funeral Home, 30895 Huron River Dr., Huron Twp., (734) 783-2646. Visitation Tuesday 1-9 p.m. Interment in St. Hedwig Cemetery.

Now I must get back to work. These pesky lab reports, man...

just a couple more weeks...

To both of my readers.
I'm gonna be busy this week as well.
I will try to pop in and write some pithy comments a few times.
or not.

In the mean time, learn why we get goosebumps.

-Andrew

saturday evening post

No, no Norman Rockwell here, just a blog post.

This is weird.
The Red Wings are to play 60 minutes of hockey January 23rd.
The score at the beginning would be 0-0 right? Wrong. It will start with a 1-0 Predators lead.
The story is here.

So I'm ok. I haven't died. I've just been extremently busy with school. It's almost over, and i will be 1 BSE richer in a short amount of time.

I had an interview friday which I think went pretty well. Some staffing agencies have contacted me as well. I don't know how enthused I should be about that though.

I was first runner up for the Mr. Engineer competition. People loved my Elvis impersonation I guess.

But school is almost out! I've so much to do.

-Andrew