MAYBE WE SHOULD SPELL IT "M-O-R-O-N"
Northern Virginia's Resident Dolt Places Foot in Mouth Once More

In a Q&A session with a group of local anti-war protesters this week, liberal U.S. Congressman James Moran (D-VA) has raised the ired of the Jewish community with his looney "observation" that were it not for "Jewish influence," the Bush administration would not be set upon waging war against Iraq in the near future. His comments came as part of a response to a protester who identified himself as a Jew and asked Moran what could be done to stop the march to a second Persian Gulf war.

This is just another in a long, long line of dumb and dumber things popped off over the years by the Rep. Moran, who reminds us of something Dorothy Parker once said way back in the 1930s to a particularly air-headed New York City socialite who seemed unable to resist the temptation of making a public jackass out of herself in a similar manner:

"Madam, is there any thought in your head you've left unsaid?"

GOOD NEWS FROM UTAH:
Abducted Kid Found Alive and Well!

Back in June of this past year, 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped at gunpoint from her home in Salt Lake, Utah. The authorities search for weeks, but weeks turned into months as clues became scarcer and the abductor's trail grew colder.

Eventually everyone gave up --except her friends and family, who kept the pressure on the police and Elizabeth's name and face in the media. Their patience and persistence paid off when Elizabeth and her abductor were spotted this week by two alert citizens, who alerted the police. Now Elizabeth is back with her family.

As most of us know, most kids taken by strangers almost never turn up, much less turn up alive. Happily, this was a joyful exception. Praise God!

For more info on the heartbreaking issue of child abduction and missing children as well as the campaign to pass a national Amber Alert law, go to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children web site.

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

"At the center of the universe is a loving heart that continues to beat and that wants the best for every person. Anything we can do to help foster the intellect and spirit and emotional growth of our fellow human beings, that is our job. Those of us who have this particular vision must continue against all odds. Life is for service." --Fred Rogers

GOOD-BYE, GOOD NEIGHBOR:
It's a Sad Day in the Neighborhood

"When I think about heaven, it is a state in which we are so greatly loved that there is no fear and doubt and disillusionment and anxiety. It is where people really do look at you with those eyes of Jesus." --Fred Rogers

Fred McFeely Rogers, the host of public t.v.'s children's progam "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," who for 30 years practically turned kind-and-gentle into an art form, passed away today after a bout with stomach cancer. He was 74.

In 1968, Rogers, an openly avid Christian and an ordained Presbyterian minister who was greatly influenced by Catholic contemplative theologian and psychologist Fr. Henri Nouwen while studying early child development at the University of Pittsburgh, wanted to use television to encourage pre-school children to love themselves and others. His goal was to inspire in them the virtues of selflessness, tolerance, and respect for everyone around them in order to help them grow into happy and well-adjusted community-and-family-oriented adults. To that end, he composed and sang simple songs and created colorful puppet characters for the often funny scripts he wrote, stories and dialogues which usually included lessons about sharing, or honesty, or patience, or dealing with fear or anger.

During the Persian Gulf War, Rogers assured his young audience that "all children shall be well taken care of" and asked their parents to repeatedly tell them that they would always be safe. After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Rogers recorded public service announcements telling parents how to help their children deal with the attacks. He also advised parents against letting young children watch replays of the attacks because, he noted, "they might think it's happening at that moment."

Throughout his career, Rogers, by all accounts a naturally soft-spoken and gentle man, made a point of being himself both on screen and off. His soothing voice and kindly demeanor made him such a hit with the youngsters who watched him that most remained fans as adults with young children of their own.

Fred Rogers had a very positive influence on millions of children since 1968, many of whom are now loving and committed parents. Few have left better legacies than that.

Thanks, Mister Rogers. You were special just the way you were.

NOTES:

To read more about Fred Rogers' life and career, go to this page at his Family Communications web site.

In its March 6, 2002 issue, Christianity Today published its cover story on Fred Rogers and how he communicated his faith and Christian values through his t.v. show.

See also Focus on the Family's tribute to Fred Rogers.

THE ULTIMATE C.Y.A. MANUEVER?
Missouri Prosecutors Favor Executing the [Potentially] Innocent

From today's New York Times and Kansas City Star comes a story on what can only be called "The Ultimate Cover-Your-Ass[ets] Maneuver" proposed by some in the legal system.

According to the Times and the Star, the following exchange took place in the Missouri Supreme Court between the judges and a prosecutor attempting to block an appeal by a death row inmate to have his case re-opened based on new evidence which had surfaced long after his conviction:

Judge Laura Denvir Stith: "Are you suggesting [that] even if we find Mr. Amrine is actually innocent, he should be executed?"

Assistant State Attorney General Frank A. Jung: "That's correct, your honor."

Judge Ronnie White: "So you would put an innocent man to death as long as he got a fair trial."

According to the Star, Jung replied that

...[T]he remedy in such a case is the governor, who has the power to pardon. The Supreme Court, however, has adopted the proposition that innocence should be considered only if a constitutional violation has occurred, [Jung] said.

Judge Michael Wolff, however, questioned how the courts could allow a wrong decision to stand. He mused that such a policy would require the courts to depend for a just outcome on a political decision by the governor, who is not obligated to issue such a pardon.

The Times article goes on to say that state prosecutors and attorneys general are becoming increasingly resistant to allowing those facing execution to try to vindicate themselves based on DNA testing and other newly discovered evidence or potential evidence once the standard appeals deadlines have passed:

While death row inmates have always peppered the courts with legal filings, the recent wave of death row exonerations, based on DNA and other evidence, has inspired more defense lawyers and academics to seek to reopen death penalty cases in a sustained and vigorous way.

Courts are beginning to express concern that they may be parties to the occasional miscarriage of justice. Gov. George Ryan's commutations of the death sentences of all 164 prisoners on death row in Illinois focused public attention on the issues of wrongful convictions and flaws in the capital justice system.

Jeremiah W. Nixon, Missouri's attorney general, said Mr. Jung's response to Judge Stith was a legally correct answer to an inflammatory hypothetical question. The point Mr. Jung was trying to make, he said, is that there must come a time when cases can be closed.

"Is the state required to prove every day that someone committed an offense beyond a reasonable doubt?" Mr. Nixon asked.

Well, yes --if new reasonable doubt arises as the result of covering grounds which had not been covered before. Damned right! After all, the last time we looked the proper role of American jurisprudence is to protect the innocent and punish the guilty, not the other way around. (Unless, of course, one is an ACLU lawyer; but we digress...)

Nevertheless, Messr.s Nixon and Jung "argue" that the legal system should not be so terribly inconvenienced by such petty matters as life and death. After all, they seem to say, isn't it more important to stay on schedule? As well as save the courts all that extra time and work? But we suspect that there's another more "important" reason for such adamant quasi-bureaucratic insistence upon adhering to deadlines and procedures:

As we all know, state prosecutors make their careers and reputations on the quality of their track records in court: The more conviction notches you can put on your belt, the better are your chances for becoming Mayor, or Governor, or Senator. Or being named United States Attorney General by the next President. Or being recruited by a high-profile New York City law firm.

On the other hand, the more of those whom you've prosecuted manage to get their convictions overturned, the more likely you'll end up becoming a law clerk in Moose Knee, Montana.

SAD NEWS FROM NORTH CAROLINA
17-Year-Old Jesica Santillon Dies; Victim of Botched Transplant Operation

For those of us who have been following this story, this is a sad day indeed. (Lord Jesus, bring this dear child into your Kingdom and send your comforting love and peace to the grieving family she left behind. Amen.)

One of the most astonishing aspects of this story is the reaction of some to the fact that young Jesica was the child of illegal aliens, who came to this country specifically for the purpose of helping their daughter, who had been born with a defective heart. These cold-hearted naysayers "argue" that Jesica had no "right" to the surgeries she received in the US because she and her parents weren't American citizens. Never mind that her medical treatment was funded by private donations, NOT taxpayers' money.

Pathetic.

OF PROTESTING THAT OTHER WAR:
"Peace In Middle Earth In Our Time"

An especially witty piece of satire written by blogger and Lord of the Rings fan Domenico Bettinelli opens thusly:

MINAS TIRITH (Gondor News Network) - Thousands of peace activists took to the streets of Minas Tirith and other cities of Middle Earth today to protest what they termed a rush to war with Mordor.

“We need more time for diplomacy,” said a key member of the Middle-Earth Security Council, Saruman the White. “I am not convinced by the evidence presented by my esteemed colleague, Gandalf the Grey, or that the Dark Lord Sauron presents an imminent danger to the peoples of the West.”....

Go HERE to read the rest of this fine piece.

OF IMMATERIAL "PEACE" PROTESTING:
Madonna Expresses Herself On Iraq and War

Long before President Bush made clear his determination to oust Saddam Hussein, the Hollywood glitterati --who tend to be liberal Democrats-- have been on the anti-Bush bandwagon. Their long-held antipathy for Dubya is now dressed up as "concern" for "peace" and "the Iraqi people."

Never mind that the Iraqi people have known no peace under Saddam during his entire 25-year regime. He started the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980's, which dragged on for years at the cost of millions of Iraqi lives. Never mind that he has imprisoned, tortured, and murdered tens of thousands of Iraqis who've expressed the least degree of disagreement with him, and has waged war on minority ethnic groups such as the Kurds. And never mind that he has used his own people, by the hundreds and thousands, as guinea pigs for his chemical and biological weapons.

Not to be left out of the Hollywood "peace" chorus is none other than the Material Girl herself, Madonna. It seems Madonna has been working on a controversial music video based on her new anti-war song "American Life." The video opens at a fashion show but "escalates into a mad frenzy depicting the catastrophic repercussions and horror of war," says Madonna spokesperson Liz Rosenberg.

However, numerous early reports claim it also includes alarming film clips of dead Iraqi soldiers and body parts --reports Madonna categorically denies. Moreover, Madonna asserts, "I feel lucky to be an American citizen for many reasons, one of which is the right to express myself freely." She added, "I am not anti-Bush. I am not pro-Iraq. I am pro-peace. I have written a song and created a video which expresses my feelings about our culture and values and illusions of what many people believe is the American dream -- the perfect life."

Of course, it's as much Madonna's right as anyone else's to express her views about Iraq or any other issue. No one would gainsay that. (In fact, we hope she'll add a blog to her web site for that very purpose.) Her liberalism aside, Madonna is one of the more insightful and intelligent (and, surprisingly enough, more intellectual) folks in show biz, as her 1994 Esquire interview by Norman Mailer demonstrated. Despite some monumental imbecilities --that silly Sex book, for example-- Madonna's no dummy. Too bad she tends to squander her keen intellect on cultural shallowness and inane causes.

The same question which applies to most celebrities-turned-political-pundits, who seem to live under the delusion that their fame and expertise in show business somehow makes them foreign policy experts, applies to Madonna as well (your humble servant is an Equal Opportunity Curmudgeon, after all): Namely, who cares what she thinks about Iraq or Sadam or any issue other than the sorry state of entertainment, the music industry, and popular culture in general? Like most big-name entertainers making a big to-do about Iraq these days, what Madonna knows about foreign affairs most likely wouldn't fill a thimble; except, perhaps, what she knows about the ones she's had herself.

What Madonna and other Hollywood naysayers need to remember and to keep in mind is that what has been required of Saddam today by both the US and the UN --namely, the dismantling of and cessation of development of WMDs-- was required of him 12 years ago as part of the terms for ending the Persian Gulf War without taking Baghdad and ousting him. Thus the proposed use of force against Saddam in response to 12 years of proven defiance and deception is more an act of finishing the last war than starting a new one. Therefore, if military action is taken against Saddam the responsibility for any and all innocent civilian casualties among the Iraqis falls squarely on Saddam's shoulders and no one else's.

SNOWBOUND IN BABYLON-ON-THE-POTOMAC
"It Ain't a Fit Day Out for Man or Beast" --W. C. Fields

The big news here in the DC area since Friday the 14th has been Saturday, Sunday, and Monday the 15th, 16th, and 17th. To be more precise, the nearly two feet of snow dumped on us since Saturday nite, a storm which didn't end until this afternoon.

Just about everything is closed here, including the Fed, until Wednesday at the earliest. Meanwhile both private citizen and public servant strive to dig us out of this. (One can hear laughter regaling from the upper Midwest and the snow belt around the Great Lakes. To those blizzard veterans, we poor benighted DC area folk are snow wimps: This is but a "flurry" to them.) But we're slowly digging out, and things'll be back to normal in a jiffy.

Or at least what passes for normal in Washington.

QUOTES OF THE WEEK
On France & Germany's Reaction to the USA vs Saddam

"Luckily, France and Germany still say they are still our allies. You know, the same way Bill and Hillary are husband and wife." --Jay Leno

"Did you all see Colin Powell speaking with the U.N.? He was very persuasive, but still some folks want more evidence. France wants to see more evidence. Well, hell, I was thinking the last time France wanted to see more evidence it rolled into Paris with a German flag." --David Letterman

"Going to war without France is like going deer-hunting without an accordian." --Jed Babbin, former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense

WHAT A SLOW NEWS DAY!....
...We Think We'll Go Squirrel-Fishing

Um, wait a minute. That's what our Bullies 'N' Bozos BLOG is for. Never mind.

HIGH NOON AT THE U.N.:
Colin Powell's Iron-Clad Case Against Saddam

Yesterday, before the United Nations Security Council, Secretary of State Colin Powell gave a 90-minute presentation of recently declassified US intelligence data which apparently confirm beyond a shadow of a doubt that Iraq possesses chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction, as well as continues to develop more of them in massive quantities. For example, Powell noted, the Iraqis have manufactured and still possess over 4 tons of the lethal agent VX, a poison so deadly that only "[a] single drop" on a person's skin "will kill in minutes."

Moreover, said Powell, the data proves that Saddam Hussein was not only refusing to comply with all U.N. resolutions passed against Iraq, the Iraqis been systematically and deliberately deceiving the U.N.'s inspectors for the past 12 years.

The case Powell made was so compelling and convincing that life-long liberal Democrats Joe Biden and Ted Kennedy finally agreed with President Bush about the danger Iraq presents to the US and the rest of the world. Even The Washington Post's resident Clintonista, columnist Mary McGrory, wrote that she was "pursuaded."

Yet, we are told today, three key members of the Security Council --France, China, and Russia-- continue to resist using force to make Saddam disarm. Instead, they want to "respond" by sending more inspectors to Iraq. Perhaps they want to drag this on for another 12 years, by which time Saddam could very well be up to his eyeballs in nuclear weapons.

"LOVE TO ALL, LAUREL":
A Columbia Astronaut's Last E-Mail to Earth

Today the Associated Press released the text of an e-mail sent by astronaut Laurel Clark to her friends and family the day before her death. She happily tells them in some detail about her experiences in orbit. For example, she described the views from space of "our magnificent planet Earth" as "truly awe-inspiring," but adds that she and the rest of the crew were so "busy doing science round the clock" that "getting a moment to type e-mail is precious."

Clark vividly describes her seeing "lightning spreading over the Pacific, the Aurora Australis lighting up the entire visible horizon with the cityglow of Australia below, the crescent moon setting over the limb of the Earth, the vast plains of Africa and the dunes on Cape Horn, rivers breaking through tall mountain passes, the scars of humanity, the continuous line of life extending from North America, through Central America and into South America." While over Japan, she says, "Mount Fuji looks life a small bump from up here, but it does stand out as a very distinct landmark."

She also describes clearly seeing her native Lake Michigan area, especially the area of Wisconsin she came from. She didn't get a lot of chances for sight-seeing over Planet Earth, she said, because "much of the time I'm working back in Spacehab and don't see any of it." But "[w]henever I do get to look out, it is glorious. Even the stars have a special brightness." She noted that she took as many photos as she could, and felt she got some especially beautiful shots though expressing concern over their sharpness since zero-gravity can affect one's focusing. On that note, it would a nice turn in this tragedy if her camera is eventually recovered.

She writes, "I feel blessed to be here representing our country and carrying out the research of scientists around the world" and adds that "[t]he food is great and I am feeling very comfortable in this new, totally different environment." But eating and drinking in zero gravity has its challenges: "It still takes a while to eat as gravity doesn't help pull food down your esophagus. It is also a constant challenge to stay adequately hydrated. Since our body fluids are shifted toward our heads our sense of thirst is almost non-existent."

Clark closes her e-mail thanking her family and friends for "hav[ing] supported me and my adventures throughout the years. This was definitely one to beat all. I hope you could feel the positive energy that beamed to the whole planet as we glided over our shared planet."

"FLYING FOR ME"
John Denver's Tribute to the Space Shuttle Astronauts

According to a story published in 1997 in Florida Today, back in the 1980s the late singer-songwriter John Denver --an outspoken supporter of the space program as well as an avid amatuer pilot-- was seriously considered by NASA to be the first civilian non-astronaut to ride into space aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger in its ill-fated January 1986 flight. As we now know, school teacher Christa McAuliffe was chosen instead, apparently per President Reagan's wishes.

This is the song Denver wrote in honor of McAullife and the entire Challenger crew. It seems equally fitting for the Columbia crew as well:

FLYING FOR ME
by John Denver

Well, I guess that you probably know by now
I was one who wanted to fly
I wanted to ride on that arrow of fire right up into heaven
And I wanted to go for every man, every child, every mother of children
I wanted to carry the dreams of all people right up to the stars

And I prayed that I'd find an answer there
Or maybe I would find the song
Giving a voice to all of the hearts that can not be heard
And for all of the ones who live in fear
And all of those who stand apart
My being there would bring us a little step closer together

They were flying for me, they were flying for everyone
They were trying to see, a brighter day for each and everyone
They gave us their light, they gave us their spirit, and all they could be
They were flying for me

And I wanted to wish on the Milky Way and dance upon the falling star
I wanted to give myself, and free myself, enjoin myself with it all!
Given the chance to dream, it can be done
The promise of tomorrow is real
Children of spaceship Earth, the future belongs to us all

She was flying for me, she was flying for everyone
She was trying to see, a brighter day for each and everyone
She gave us her light, she gave us her spirit, and all she could be
She was flying for me

They were flying for me, they were flying for everyone
They were trying to see, a brighter day for each and everyone
They gave us their light, they gave us their spirit, and all they could be
They were flying for me

According to reports published soon after the song was released in 1987, Denver gave any money he earned from it to the families of the Challenger crew. In October 1997, Denver too died in a flight accident when he lost control of his experimental ultra-light aircraft, which plunged into the Pacific off the coast of California.

SADDAM'S SMOKING GUN:
Key Defector Reveals Secret WMD Sites

According to a piece in yesterday's edition of the Australian news daily Herald Sun,

SADDAM Hussein's senior bodyguard has fled with details of Iraq's secret arsenal. His revelations have supported US President George W. Bush's claim there is enough evidence from UN inspectors to justify going to war. Abu Hamdi Mahmoud has provided Israeli intelligence with a list of sites that the inspectors have not visited.

They include:

AN underground chemical weapons facility at the southern end of the Jadray Peninsula in Baghdad;

A SCUD assembly area near Ramadi. The missiles come from North Korea;

TWO underground bunkers in Iraq's Western Desert. These contain biological weapons.

William Tierney, a former UN weapons inspector who has continued to gather information on Saddam's arsenal, said Mahmoud's information is "the smoking gun".

Mahmoud, according to this article, paints a picture of an increasingly paranoid Hussein who "is a walking arsenal" with "concealed guns all over his body," especially after a 1996 assassination attempt on the life of his eldest son.

DAVE BARRY REMEMBERS COLUMBIA:
The Popular Humorist's Personal Tribute

In this light-hearted yet touching story on his weblog today, writer Dave Barry reminisces about the time an astronaut took one of his books into space aboard the Columbia

Thanks, Dave, for reminding us how human and down-to-earth our fallen heroes really were, and for giving us something to smile about in the midst of this sad time.

TRAGEDY IN SPACE:
The Space Shuttle Columbia Is Gone

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds --and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of --wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence, hov'ring there
I've chased the shouting wind along,
And flung my eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew
And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space
Put out my hand and touched the face of God.

--"High Flight" by WW2 pilot John Gillespie Magee Jr.

Our prayers go out for the families, friends, and colleagues of the seven heroic astronauts who lost their lives yesterday in the NASA space program's worst accident since the 1986 Challenger tragedy.

May God bless and comfort them all.

PS: Especially noteworthy are the comments by syndicated columnist Peggy Noonan (from whom the above-quoted poem was taken), as well as the words of Junk Yard Blog's Bryan Preston, a NASA employee who once watched the Columbia take off.

A LIVELY NEW BOG:
Is It Really Dave Barry?

Fellow St. Blogger Kathryn Lively has happened upon a promising new blog, begun just last week, which seems to be the work of popular humor columnist Dave Barry. At least his official website includes a link to it.

Hmmmm. Maybe Dave, a Secular Humorist, will convert and join St. Blog's Parish.

MORE SMOKE BUT NOT MUCH GUN:
President Bush Makes His Case, Almost

Last night in his State of the Union address, President Bush repeated his intention to disarm Saddam Hussein, including unilaterally by force. Fewer folks than yours truly would like to see Hussein become another page in history, and lickety-split. He's clearly a major source of instability in the Middle East, and seems to have learned nothing from his defeat in Desert Storm 12 years ago. Except, perhaps, that the UN will drag its heels about living up to its warnings and resolutions. But the public was promised a "smoking gun" in the form of new evidence linking Hussein to Al Queda. It didn't happen. What we got instead was a better argument for taking military action against the Butcher of Bagdad, but an argument based on speculation about what Hussein might do if he had X, Y, and X, not an argument based on heretofore unrevealed hard facts.

We need more, Mr. President.

ABORTING GOOD TASTE:
St. Blog's Parish Responds to Planned Parenthood's Poster Contest

Back in October, in the epitome of bad taste, Planned Parenthood announced a poster contest to "celebrate" the then-upcoming 30th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, which anniversary occurs today.

In their own inimitable style, some of the more artistically inclined members of St. Blog's Parish have come up with their own --ahem-- inspired entries.

No doubt PP will be most appreciative.

40 MILLION DEAD AND COUNTING:
The Fruits of Roe v. Wade

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the Supreme Court caving in to the Culture of Death by declaring as "unconstitutional" every state law banning the crime of abortion. So far, thanks to those Justices, approximately 40,000,000 innocent preborn human beings have had their lives snuffed out by abortionists.

But the legalization of abortion was only the beginning: As Francis A. Schaeffer and other Christian leaders and teachers predicted at the time, the de-humanizing of the unborn has resulted in the de-humanizing of the born as well: Since Roe v. Wade more and more Western nations have been going down the slippery slope of legalizing infanticide (aka "partial birth abortion"), suicide, and euthanasia.

God help us all!