Salazar - I take it back!

U.S. Senator Ken Salazar says he regrets calling Focus on the Family "the Anti-christs of the world." He really meant they were just "unchristian".

OK.

He then tried to reason away the reason for the dispute. Focus on the Family points out that during his run for office Salazar said that President Bush's judicial nominees deserve an up or down vote.

Salazar now says that he changed his position because Republicans have proposed changing senate rules so Democrats can't filibuster the nominees.

Look at that again, Salazar was for an up or down vote until Republicans were going to change the rules to get an up or down vote. Because Republicans were going to do what Salazar agreed should happen anyway, he changed his position.

No, it doesn't make sense. But apparently, its the Democrat way.

Global warming check

It is April 29th and it is snowing in Denver. This global warming has got to stop. Or is it cooling? Whatever.

Salazar - religious leader

This past Sunday, U.S. Senator Ken Salazar called James Dobson and Focus on the Family the anti-christs of the world. That was not long after he complained about combining religion and politics by the way.

Is the rhetoric approriate for a U.S. Senator?

Stupid headline O' the day

From the AP:

Mavs See Room for Improvement Vs. Rockets

Let's see, the Mavericks lost 98-86 in their last game against the Rockets. Isn't it true that any time a team loses, they have room for improvement?

Habemus Papum!

Benedict XVI 

Today Cardinal Joseph Ratziner was elected Pope Benedict XVI. For the past 23 years, he served in the Vatican as guardian of the church doctrine. Liberal theologists will surely be disappointed that Pope Benedict is not the kind of man who will change the church's teaching to approve of abortion, gay marriage, or female priests.

It's a great day for Catholics though. As Honeybun and I were just confirmed in the Catholic Church at Easter, this is an exciting time for us.

A new pope! How cool is that?

Stop the insanity

Last night was the annual ritual of "springing forward" - the beginning of daylight savings time. It's days like this that I wish I still lived in Arizona, a state that is smart enough to realize that no matter what you do with your clock, there will still be the same number of hours of daylight in a day.

According to standardtime.com there is an increase in the number of traffic accidents on the Monday after the time change. So why do we keep doing this. I want my hour of sleep back.

The passing of Pope John Paul II

I was at work when I heard the news. Obviously, the news wasn't surprising.
The world watched him deteriorate over that last few years. As I was watching the news coverage, I realized I had forgotten what a strong presence he was. Old news clips really show a vibrant man of faith.

May God bless John Paul II

Ski day

Honeybun and I went skiing today. Great weather, good snow. The important thing to remember though is that only a man who is really secure in his masculinity will let his wife see him fall on the slopes....repeatedly.

Yes, I am that man.

Rest in peace Terri Schiavo

Terri Schiavo died this morning. I haven't commented on this before because I could never understand how a court could allow her welfare be decided by her estranged husband - a man who is living with another woman and had children by her.

Even so, I have to admit I would not want to live in the condition Terri was in.

But for the record...I don't want to die by starvation either.

If the truth isn't on your side....lie

What is it with liberals and fraud? First there was Rathergate where a known Bush hater supplied CBS news with memos he claimed were from a former commanding officer of George W. Bush. My favorite justification of that fiasco was that the memos were "fake but true".

Last week, ABC News reported that a memo circulated by Repulicans was trying to exploit the Terri Schiavo case for political gain. Powerline again blows up another liberal lie by demonstrating that memo is also clearly a fraud. It wasn't written by Senate Republicans.

Since those frauds were so successful, the liberal group People for the American Way apparently thought they would follow those examples. They don't want U.S. Senate Republicans to be able to confirm President Bush's appellate court judge nominees. For four years Senate Democrats have been using filibusters to prevent the nominees from coming to a vote. This means that effectively there must be 60 votes to confirm a judge instead of the simple majority (51) required by the constitution. Senate Republicans want to prevent the filibusters by changing procedural rules.

In response, the PFWA group has produced an advertisement to convince the public that what the Republicans want to do is wrong and dangerous for our country. The spokesman in the ad claims:

I'm a Republican. A common sense Republican. I like that my party controls the White House and the Congress. But I also know that our democracy works best when both parties are speaking out and being heard.

Here's where it gets funny. Radio Blogger did a little research into finding out who this "common sense" Republican is. It turns out he doesn't hold any elected public office. He isn't a prominent businessman either.

His name is Ted Nonini and he is the treasurer of the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City. Yep, he is an officer in a union. That is, he is an officer in a union that endorsed John Kerry in last year's election.

Do you really think an officer of an organization that supported John Kerry is really glad that Republicans hold the presidency and majorities in congress? Please.

Addition to blog roll

I updated my blog roll to the right. Way over due to add Melissa to my list.

Obviously there isn't a lot on TV tonight since I'm sitting here watching the Colorado Mammoth lacrosse game.

The more I watch, the more I believe lacrosse is the game for guys who like hockey but don't know how to ice skate.

Understanding women

A friend sent this to me. Honeybun confirmed its accuracy:

Words Women Use

Fine
This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.

Five Minutes
If she is getting dressed, this is half an hour.
Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given 5 more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.

Nothing
This is the calm before the storm. This means "something" and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with "nothing" usually end in "fine".

Go Ahead
This is a dare, not permission, DON'T DO IT!

Loud Sigh
Although not actually a word, the loud sigh is often misunderstood by men. A "Loud Sigh" means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you over "Nothing".

That's Okay
This is one of the most dangerous statements that a woman can make to a man. "That's Okay" means that she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

Thanks
This is the least used of all words in the female vocabulary. If a woman is thanking you. Do not question it, just say you're welcome and back out of the room slowly.

Blogfest

Picture012.jpg, originally uploaded by semperjase.

Last night Hugh Hewitt was in Denver for a book signing. Of course I had to go to get my copy of Blog signed and shake hands. Honeybun snapped this pick.

Hugh even remembered linking to my blog on a couple of his symposiums (or perhaps he was just trying to make me feel like he did). At any rate, Hugh turned out to be personable. It wasn't just a scribble and "move it on."
I'm never washing my hand again.

Politically correct causes collide again

A legislator in Maine has introduced a bill to prohibit the aborting of fetuses that would grow up to be homosexual. Even though it is impossible to tell right now which lifestyle the fetus would choose in life, this is a pre-emptive measure for the day when science may be able to predict such behavior in the womb.

So-called women's groups want no restrictions on abortion while homosexual activists want societal promotion of their lifestyle. Who wins here? If the bill were to pass, Maine is saying that homosexuality is superior to heterosexuality since on heterosexual babies could be aborted. Presumed heterosexual babies would not have the same protection as homosexual babies. Putting aside morality, it is difficult to understand the legality of such a move.

Then again, maybe this legislator is smart. If the law were to stand up against legal challenges from abortionists, it would necessarily outlaw all abortion since the heterosexual babies obviously deserve the same protections as homosexual babies.

Where have I been?

It's been over a week since I last posted. Hey, I've been busy. No, really.

I've been working a project for school. This semester is web design so I've been, well designing. My web site is devoted to science-fiction and fantasy books. You can see the results so far at www.sffnexus.com.

It's a miracle

Honeybun stopped at the grocery store this afternoon to pick up some things. Before she went in she put some lotion on her hands. It wasn't until she got home that she realized her wedding ring was missing. She had taken off her ring when she put on some lotion. A call on her phone distracted her and she forgot the ring was in her lap when she got out of the car.

I left work and met her at the store to hope we could find it. Found the parking space, no ring. We went inside to see if someone might have turned it in. No such luck. We gave our number to the manager in case someone might turn it in later then posted a note on the store's bulletin board.

Now this was a pretty nice ring if I do say so myself. I thought "its gone, no way someone is coming back with it now." I went back to work to finish my shift planning to call the insurance company in the morning.

But whaddya know, Honeybun got a phone call a few hours later, "This is the manager from King Soopers (the manager has the same first name, with same spelling as Honeybun) and I have a note from a man with the same last name as you that found a ring. I thought at first you were his wife but apparently it is just coincindence." She gave Honeybun the number to contact Rich.

Unbelievable. What incredibly generous people. Rich and Tammy didn't want a reward, in fact they refused when we offered. Honeybun was in tears when she first spoke to Rich and believes that God does answer prayers and miracles happen.

I stopped by their house on the way home from work and they gave me the ring. It isn't perfect, clearly it got run over, but the diamond (the really expensive part) doesn't seem to be damaged. Hopefully our jeweler can repair it, but if not, we'll get a new setting.

Thanks Rich and Tammy. There still are good people in this world.

My first editorial cartoon

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Falling behind

Jeff Gordon won his third Daytona 500 race today at the age of 33.

Here I am at 35 and I haven't even won my first one yet...

Constantine Movie Review

The first must-see summer blockbuster of the year is being released in February. I saw an advanced screening of Constantine this past Tuesday. Keanu Reeves stars as John Constantine. Constantine is a super-natural detective and exorcist. Born with the gift (or curse) of being able to see half-breed demons and angels in the world, Constantine was driven to commit suicide. However, Constantine was resuscitated. Now, condemned for committing the mortal sin of suicide, Constantine is trying to earn his salvation by fighting against the devil’s minions.

Rachel Weisz stars as Angela Dodson and her twin sister Isabel. Police detective Angela is on a mission to prove her sister’s death was murder and not suicide. Angela seeks Constantine’s help on her journey where both hope to find peace.

Keanu Reeves gives his best acting performance yet in Constantine. His convincingly portrays a cynical man who hopes to find salvation but is held back by his own selfish motivations.

Weisz give a good performance as Angela and does as well as she can as the person who the audience most identifies with. Angela is the person who does not understand the struggle between heaven and hell. It is through her we discover what is really in the world. However, Weisz’s best moments are in her eerie portrayal of the twin sister Isabel.

Any movie dealing with heaven, hell, and salvation is a magnet for controversy. This movie will undoubtedly draw that controversy but the producers did an admirable job of balancing the spiritual with the secular. Some Christians may disagree with the details of the movie, yet the messages do not disagree with their worldview. At the same time, non-Christians should not feel uncomfortable with the themes of the battle of angels and demons.

This balance also extends to the way the movie spreads comic relief among the parts that will make you jump. Special effects are excellent especially in the scenes in hell and the depiction of the demons. Stop motion is especially effective throughout the movie.

Although there is no nudity or sexual situations, the movie is accurately rated R for depictions of demons, violence and language (the "f" bomb is dropped a few times although not excessively).

A great summer movie has come early to the theaters.

3 ½ stars