Archive for February, 2008
Friday, February 29th, 2008
Planned Parenthood’s Racist Origins Remain And Are Exposed
I could hardly watch this video containing audio conversations of Planned Parenthood employees, including a director of development, talking to people saying they wanted to fund abortions only for Black people to diminish the Black population, and the Planned Parenthood director agreeing happily! It is unconscionable. It is as bad as the videos [...]
4 Comments » - Posted in Faith and Reason, Politics by Devman
Wednesday, February 27th, 2008
Obama Wished He Had More Firmly Supported Terri Schiavo’s Euthanization
The AmericanPapist has the story.
Euthanasia, gay marriage, abortion through all 9 months of pregnancy, creation and destruction of human embryos: These are important pillars of the Democratic party.
3 Comments » - Posted in Faith and Reason, Politics by Devman
Wednesday, February 27th, 2008
Huckabee Challenges McCain to Texas Debate
You can support this debate and encourage McCain to answer the challenge by commenting on Huckabee’s blog post.
Early voting in Texas ends this Friday, so find a polling place and cast your primary vote, whether for Democrat or for Republican.
No Comments » - Posted in Politics by Devman
Tuesday, February 26th, 2008
From the Inside Looking Out
I wrote a blog page a while back explaining why I became Catholic.
However, one aspect I didn’t touch on in that article was the numerous pieces of evidence that confirmed my decision to enter full communion with the Catholic Church that I only found once inside of it.
The Saints
As a Protestant, I once called them [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Faith and Reason by Devman
Tuesday, February 26th, 2008
Catholics Come Home
Rock. On.
Check out these short but powerful videos from a group in Phoenix called Catholics Come Home inviting people to discover the beauty of the Catholic Church and the splendor of truth:
The Church’s impact on the world over the centuries in education, science, charity, and faith
People watching their life’s movie, the good and the bad, [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Catholic Life, Faith and Reason by Devman
Tuesday, February 26th, 2008
More Global Warming Needed
This winter has been brutal in many places of the world, colder and harsher than normal.
We have seen it in the U.S., and you probably saw the freezing weather in China that brought their trains to a standstill and had people trapped in stations for days on end. The arctic ice, which was supposedly [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Grapevines and Nature by Devman
Tuesday, February 26th, 2008
Friends New Blog
Meet David and Frances, a fellow Ave Maria Singles Catholic couple, at their new blog!
Frances has read and commented on our blog for some time, and I have been enjoying reading their posts since I discovered that they had a blog recently.
1 Comment » - Posted in Catholic Life by Devman
Monday, February 25th, 2008
Authenticity
Survey says: Americans are leaving or changing their religion more than ever, and more Americans are leaving the Catholic faith than any other.
My response: This is a good thing!
If you’re an atheist, be an atheist. If you’re a Christian, be a Christian. If you’re a Muslim, be a Muslim. Be hot or [...]
4 Comments » - Posted in Faith and Reason by Devman
Sunday, February 24th, 2008
White People Blog
This blog is really hilarious and unfortunately true for many white people.
I am half-Honduran so, of course, none of it applies to me.
White people voting Green Party!
Any religion except your parents’ (Christianity) is cool to believe in!
No Comments » - Posted in Entertainment by Devman
Sunday, February 24th, 2008
Abortion Hurts Women
You have probably heard about this horribly sad story: A woman, Emma Beck, committed suicide shortly after aborting her twin babies, leaving a note explaining her actions.
She wrote:
I should never have had an abortion. I see now I would have been a good mum. I told everyone I didn’t want to do it, even at [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Faith and Reason, Love and War, Masculine Spirituality by Devman
Sunday, February 24th, 2008
Ralph Nader Comes Out Swinging!
Don’t call it a (green) comeback, Nader’s been here for years!
Ralph Nader has announced his presidential candidacy and has a website where you can learn about what he stands for.
Both Senators Clinton and Obama were publicly dismayed by this news and wished Nader would not join the race, saying he would take votes away from [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Politics by Devman
Sunday, February 24th, 2008
Wax Moths and Small Hive Beetles
I inspected our bee hive today and found good things and not-so-good things:
The Good:
The bees are bringing in pollen and, surprisingly, nectar!
They have plenty of honey stores and pollen left from last year on which to feed the hive
I spotted the queen, who is still laying eggs
The Not-So-Good:
Six small hive beetles were hiding in empty [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Grapevines and Nature by Devman
Sunday, February 24th, 2008
Spring Is Coming
Here in Austin, we’ve had 70 degree weather for a few weeks now, off and on, and it sure has been nice!
Our Ambrose bee hive is still alive; I am going to do an inspection today and see if the brood nest has expanded, indicating that the queen is still healthy and is now laying [...]
2 Comments » - Posted in Grapevines and Nature by Devman
Friday, February 22nd, 2008
Clinton-Obama Debate
I watched some excerpts of the debate last night between Clinton and Obama and had a few thoughts.
Senator Clinton spoke about “ending Bush’s tax cuts for the rich” and instead alleviating taxes on the middle class. How many times over the past 20 years have we heard this line, usually from ultra-rich candidates?
What tax [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Politics by Devman
Thursday, February 21st, 2008
Far From Home
Four straight days of fast-food breakfasts, four days in a hotel, and four days sitting in a training room all day have contributed to my already-strong desire to return home to Austin and my wife!
The Pacific Northwest is very beautiful country, and I can understand why people love it here. It is an expensive [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Love and War by Devman
Tuesday, February 19th, 2008
Post Number 1,000
That’s right, this is post number 1,000 on the Vanguard and Our Lady’s Train!
Katie and I wanted to make it a special post, but we are separated by thousands of miles, so suffice it to say that Katie and I hope for every good thing for you and appreciate your encouragement and kindness.
I started the [...]
2 Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life by Devman
Tuesday, February 19th, 2008
A Texan in Washington
Hello friends and family!
I am blogging from the (luxurious) Days Inn in Bellevue, awaiting the start of my training class in an hour or two. I managed to find St. Monica’s parish through the dense fog that seems to roll in each morning up here, and the parish is great!
Daily Mass has been celebrated [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life by Devman
Sunday, February 17th, 2008
Hanging out in the Denver Airport
with my coworker Jonathan!
We are en route to Washington state for our training; on this leg of the trip I sat next to a very interesting man, and we talked the whole way from Austin about the source of human consciousness and Mormon and Catholic theology.
I’ll have my computer with me during the trip so [...]
4 Comments » - Posted in Faith and Reason by Devman
Friday, February 15th, 2008
St. Monica Catholic Church
I am traveling up to Washington state all next week for work training, and I just found the parish I want to go to: St. Monica’s.
They have daily Mass at 6:05 am, which will allow me to go to Mass and then be back in time to the hotel to pick up my colleague for [...]
2 Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life by Devman
Sunday, February 10th, 2008
Mom’s Bees Are Clever
Katie and I went over to mom’s house today to see if we could find the bees in the attic.
First, mom showed us on the outside of the house where the bees are:
I had to zoom way in on the camera so the pictures are fuzzy, but you can see the bee coming out of [...]
2 Comments » - Posted in Grapevines and Nature by Devman
Saturday, February 9th, 2008
Serendipitous Bees
As I mentioned last week, our bees are on the ropes. Well, the good news is, they ain’t dead yet, but there’s even better news.
Today my mom called me and told me that her neighbor had made an interesting discovery while trying to trim his tree branches away from the chimney on my mom’s [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Grapevines and Nature by Devman
Thursday, February 7th, 2008
The War Against Jihadism
George Weigel has written an excellent article for Newsweek that is a must read.
What is Jihadism?
That is what we are fighting: jihadism, the religiously inspired ideology which teaches that it is every Muslim’s duty to use any means necessary to compel the world’s submission to Islam. That most of the world’s Muslims do not accept [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Faith and Reason, Love and War, Politics by Devman
Thursday, February 7th, 2008
Now It Really Is A Two-Person Republican Race
The media got it wrong again, calling the Republican race a two-person contest back when they tried to shuffle Huckabee to the sidelines. Well, Romney has now dropped out of the race, and I believe that each state gets to decide who Romney’s delegates will go to, so now it is a two-person race, but [...]
2 Comments » - Posted in Politics by Devman
Thursday, February 7th, 2008
Archbishop Burke Answers Questions About St. Louis University Coach’s Comments
My friend Allen sent me the link to this Q&A where Archbishop Burke so clearly and charitably answers questions regarding a coach at a Catholic university in his diocese who publicly spoke about his support of abortion.
From the article:
What if a Catholic were to say, “Archbishop Burke, I’m not struggling with it. I think [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Faith and Reason by Devman
Tuesday, February 5th, 2008
Timeline of the Charges Against Fr. Maciel And His Defenses
I finally finished the document, which I have made into a blog page, that chronicles in an orderly way the important events in the life of the Legion of Christ and of Fr. Maciel with regard to the accusations made against him.
I spent a lot of time compiling this account from public sources, since pieces [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Faith and Reason, Love and War by Devman
Tuesday, February 5th, 2008
Huckabee More Than Just a Spoiler
The media has gotten it wrong again in the early results of Super Tuesday with Huckabee, supposedly only a spoiler for Romney, winning several states.
Vote your conscience and don’t count a candidate out until he or she says they are out, even if the media wants you to think that.
No Comments » - Posted in Politics by Devman
Monday, February 4th, 2008
Super Tuesday Prayers
I invite you to say a short prayer that the person God wants to be the next President of the United States of America win the primary nomination for their party and then the general election.
Super Tuesday is tomorrow and will probably decide the Republican candidate; the Democratic candidate being chosen definitively is less certain [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Politics by Devman
Monday, February 4th, 2008
DC Photos
Laura and Jorge, our gracious hosts in Washington, D.C., kindly snapped some photos of me and Katie:
At dinner at a neat Italian restaurant (”Well I like coffee and I like tea…”):
This dessert had a fancy Italian name, but translated it was something like “Huge Chocolate Fudge Brownie Sundae”:
I (grudgingly) let Katie and Jorge eat a [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life by Devman
Monday, February 4th, 2008
The Doctor Is In
I’m going to be very discrete about this, but I’d like our readers to know that Devin and I had our first visit today with our pro-life, Napro Technology fertility doctor. His name cracks Devin and me up. Doctor Love. Can you believe it? What better name for an OB/GYN? Dr. Love listed a few [...]
4 Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life by Katie
Sunday, February 3rd, 2008
Bee Answers
I received several helpful answers on the beekeeper forum, and it looks like the most probable reason the bees are dwindling is due to Varroa mites overcoming them.
The Varroa mites are small critters that get into the cells where the queen lays eggs, where they latch onto the new bee in larva form, reproducing and [...]