NRC Chairman Jackzo's Testimony to the Senate Subcommittee on Energy and Water

Folks,

The written testimony of NRC Chairman Jackzo to the Subcommittee on Energy and Water within the Appropriation Committee of the US Senate may be found at the following URL address. Please copy and paste this into the address field of your web browser to view the Adobe Acrobat Portable Document File.

http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization/commission/comm-gregory-jaczko/jaczko-statement-3-30-11.pdf

The bottom line is this: the nuclear reactors in the United States are safe, and the new passive safety designs of Westinghouse's AP1000 PWR proposal and GEH's ESBWR proposal are even better. I do not, however, feel as comfortable with the reliance on active safety system measures in Mitshubishi's APWR proposal or Areva's EPR proposal. But both of these are still superior to the existing fleet the light water reactors currently in use within the United States. I will add that I have never liked the idea of elevated spent fuel pools that is part and parcel of the current GE BWR design. Fortunately ESBWR obviates concern over this, but I am not sure that ABWR does (I can't recall right now).

One last thing: we should never ever get arrogant in our technological prowess. The magnitude 9 earthquake that shook Japan is minuscule compared to the eruptions from beneath the Earth's crust that formed the Siberian Traps some 500 million years ago. And the 35 foot tsunami that flooded Japan's eastern costal region is not even a ripple on the pond's surface when considering the 63.8 million square miles of area that the Pacific Ocean covers. No matter how tall man builds his Tower of Babel, God can knock it down quicker than snake snot (I know, I know - how quick is snake snot?). Glorifying in our technology (which is nothing other than the work of our hands) is the same kind of idolatry as what the ancient Israelites indulged themselves in when they made for themselves a Golden Calf because Moses took too long on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments.

Liberal Catholics

Folks,

The term "liberal Catholic" is almost oxymoronic, for one cannot possibly be liberal (supporting the things that the progressive movement supports) and be authentically Catholic. Yet over 50% of clergy and laity in these United States are Democratic Party puppeteers for whom the sanctity of life and of marriage, and the primacy of the Gospel of conversion and repentance take a back seat to the false gospel of social justice, the common good and peace at any price. While I have been remiss in posting Michael Voris' videos from Real Catholic TV in the wake of the Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami, and its effects on the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility, his latest videos speak directly to the heart of this matter of godless liberalism. Indeed, two Wilmington area priests in particular need to learn from his videos and remedy their liberal ways before sending even more souls to hell. One is downtown and the other on the beachfront. I won't identify them by name, but I will follow the example of St. Catherine of Siena that Michael Voris cited and speak out against deviancy from the Gospel of conversion and repentance. They know who they are and their little minions often monitor this blogsite, so like "good" little minions, they'll report back what they see and read. Please do then report this back to your progressive clerics:

Taliban Catholic (YES, do call me a Taliban Catholic; those words from a liberal pseudo-Catholic nit-wit are ever so welcome; and by the way, the priest in downtown Wilmington used the term "rantaholic" - well, I rant for Jesus so get prepared!)

Being Faithful (to be liberal is to be faithful to what SELF wants; to be authentically Catholic is to be faithful to what Jesus wants)

Keep Calm and Carry on with Nuclear Energy

Folks,

The following was written by a former US NRC Commissioner during the Presidency of George Bush and is reprinted The Hill's Congress Blog. While I have every faith that anti-nuclear NRC Chairman Jackzo will do anything in his power to emasculate US nuclear power, I don't think he can necessarily sway the other four Commissioners into any rash actions. Besides, the election of 2012 is a year and a half away, and hopefully the country will have awaken from its Obamania stupor to vote in a non-Democrat. That would be the replacement of Jackzo as Chairman, and event that every pro-nuclear person should applaud.

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/technology/152395-keep-calm-and-carry-on-with-nuclear-energy

Keep calm and carry on with nuclear energy
By Jeffrey Merrifield


While many are taking measured responses to the recent events in Japan, there has been one predictable exception. 
 


Members of the anti-nuclear community and their supporters in Congress have taken to the media to demand that some or all of our nation’s 104 nuclear power plants be shut down and construction of new nuclear power plants be stopped.   
  


As I listened to some of their arguments, I had a déjà vu moment, remembering several of these same arguments from many of the same individuals immediately after the 9/11 attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center.

I was serving as a commissioner of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) at that time and remember vividly testifying before House and Senate committees on security issues. Members of Congress spoke of shutting down the essential nuclear energy facilities, arming them with mobile missile systems or surrounding them with large steel monoliths to protect against commercial airliners. 
 


What we did then, and what we need to do right now while events still unfold at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear site, is avoid a rush to judgment. We should allow the NRC time to conduct an in-depth review of the events that occurred and make common sense recommendations for assuring safe operation of U.S. reactors. 
  
After the 9/11 attacks, the NRC, in concert with the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, undertook a comprehensive review of the nation’s nuclear power plants. The agencies sought to determine if there were steps that would enhance the ability of utilities to respond to terrorist attacks, as well as mitigate the effects of large fires and explosions that could result from these activities. 
 


In addition to these site-specific comprehensive reviews, the NRC required electric utilities to undertake an assessment of measures to protect the reactor and spent fuel storage pools in the event of large fires and explosions that could potentially disable emergency cooling and emergency power functions at the site. 
  


The NRC then required the companies to implement these mitigation measures, some of which are classified, that significantly enhanced the ability to pump cooling water into the reactor and restore power from external sources. These same steps taken by U.S. utilities would protect reactors against severe natural events, such as those we’ve seen in the past two weeks. In short, they have made safety and security at America’s nuclear power plants even more robust.

Congress would be well-advised to heed the counsel of President Obama and Energy Secretary Steven Chu, who support a comprehensive NRC review of existing reactors, and who also recognize we must continue along the path of building new nuclear power plants, as U.S. electricity demand will increase by 28 percent by 2035. 
 


Based in part on these recommendations, the NRC is conducting a two-pronged review of U.S. nuclear power plant safety. The NRC task force conducting this review will consist of NRC senior managers, as well as retired NRC experts, who have relevant experience in this area. They will report their findings to the Commission on 30-, 60- and 90-day intervals.
 
As Congress returns to Washington from a brief recess, House and Senate committees will conduct hearings and briefings to review the events that have taken place in Japan. There will be members on both sides of this issue who will stake out positions on what has happened and what we are to make of it all. 
 


Some members of Congress will be tempted to use these forums as opportunity to demand the NRC take more immediate action at U.S. reactors. 

It would be wise for them to consider the British World War II slogan: “Keep calm and carry on.”
 
Now is not the time for rash judgments about America’s nuclear power stations, which produce one-fifth of all electricity. Give the NRC time to study the still unfolding events, inspect capabilities at U.S. plants and develop common sense, yet protective measures that will maintain U.S. leadership in safe nuclear energy technology and operation. 
  


Jeffrey Merrifield was a commissioner of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission from 1998-2007 and currently is a senior vice president with The Shaw Group Inc.

Cuomo Supporting, Heroin Needle Dispensing Bishop Hubbard: War in Libya Just

Folks,

To view the web pages for any referenced hyperlinks below, please copy and paste the specified URL address into the address field of your web browser. I am still unaccustomed to using an iPad to make posts to a blogsite.

My friend Catawissa Gazetteer has a commentary on the war in Libya and a recent pronouncement by Albany Bishop Hubbard. Please read it:

US Bishops Declare Libyan Way Just
http://catawissagazetteer.blogspot.com/2011/03/us-bishops-declare-libyan-war-just.html

Bishop Hubbard is the head of the USCCB Committee on International Justice and Peace, and his letter to National Security Advisor Thomas E. Donilon may be read at:

http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/international/callafrica/2011-03-24BishopHubbardtoNationalSecurityAdvisor.pdf

Now this same Bishop Hubbard is the very person who authorized the Diocese of Albany, NY to distribute injection needles to heroin addicts back in January, 2010:

Bishop Hubbard Approves Free Distribution of Needles to Drug Abusers
http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=5290

This is the same Bishop Hubbard who officiated at the Mass for the Gubernatorial inauguration of Andy Cuomo, an abortionist, a supporter of the filth of homosexual sodomy, and an open adulterer with a live-in girl friend. He even gave him Holy Communion contrary to 1st Corinthians 11:27-32 and called him the new evangelizer of NY State:

Cuomo's Concubinage and Holy Communion
http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=5290

So here we have a Bishop utterly devoted to the false gospel of social justice, the common good and peace at any price, who ignores the power of God to heal drug addicts, and who defies the injunction of Sacred Scripture and Canon Law with regard to renegade pseudo-Catholic politicians, making a declaration on whether or not the war in Libya is just. Do you, the reader, chose to believe him? As St. Athanasius declared at the Church Council of Nicea in 325 AD, "The floor of hell is paved with the skulls of bishops." Of course he was referring to those bishops who followed after the heresy of Arius. But truly, what difference is there between them and the social justice types whom Bishop Hubbard personifies.

Lest anyone forget: Jesus preached the Gospel of Repentance and Conversion, NOT the gospel of social justice, the common good and peace at any price. He had twelve disciples, NOT a Committee on International Justice and Peace. May the Lord have mercy on His priests and bishops before the axe falls at the root to cut down the tree of apostasy and heresy that is the USCCB.

God Doesn't Come to Give Social Justice to Everybody

Folks,

Contrary to the pronouncements of the liberal leftists, God doesn't send His prophet to give social justice to everybody. That's exactly what Jesus says in today's Gospel reading from Luke 4:24-30, and just as the people at Nazareth couldn't take the truth back then 2000 years ago, so today their spiritual descendents in the Democratic Party cannot stand the truth.

Jesus said to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth:
“Amen, I say to you,
no prophet is accepted in his own native place.
Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel
in the days of Elijah
when the sky was closed for three and a half years
and a severe famine spread over the entire land.
It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,
but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.
Again, there were many lepers in Israel
during the time of Elisha the prophet;
yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
When the people in the synagogue heard this,
they were all filled with fury.
They rose up, drove him out of the town,
and led him to the brow of the hill
on which their town had been built,
to hurl him down headlong.
But he passed through the midst of them and went away.

Some Thoughts on the Father Corapi Situation

Folks,

As regular readers of this blogsite will recall, Father Corapi has been accused of wrongdoing by a dismissed disgruntled female worker whose identity remains shielded behind the cloak of anonymity. Let us look at what Father Corapi is accused of: sexual activity and drug use. These are the very things that the liberal left wants complete license to engage in with perfect immunity and impunity. But when there is even the possibility of a priest having done these things, then the liberal left comes all out in full demonic force to defame that priest, regardless of the truth of the accusations. So a priest is accused of doing what the liberal left glorifies and sanctifies, and somehow the priest is wrong. Equally wrong, they maintain, is when anyone points out the inherent and intrinsic immorality in the sexual perversion of the liberal left.

This whole scandal isn't about preventing wrongdoing. This is about removing a holy priest from being able to practice the Sacraments. No priest, no Eucharist as Father Corapi has so often pointed out. The devil hates the truth that Father Corapi has consistent preached from the pulpit. So the devil has attacked him in the venue that Father Corapi has specifically decried as evil: sexual immorality. The devil's agents are the members of liberal left. He knows that his time grows short, and this attack against Father Corapi is simply a part of his last gasp before he is thrown into the Lake of Fire to burn for ever and ever.

Nevertheless, it never ceases to amaze me that the liberal left is so quick to condemn someone in the Church for doing what it has always declared to be good to do anyways. To be a liberal leftist is by definition to be a Godlessly wicked pervert.

GE Is Monitoring This Blogsite

Folks,

Thanks to Google Analytics, I note with interest that General Electric has monitored this blogsite at least five times in the past week from the following web link (the web site to which the reader cannot access since it is internal to GE itself):

http://geip.home.ge.com/portal/site/insidege/template.ige_search_results/home/

It is amazing that a great big world-wide corporation beholden to none, answerable to none, and whose CEO is the President's right hand man, would have any interest in what is discussed here: the truth. I would have thought that with what some might describe as an act of God, GE would have more to worry about, given that five of its reactors were destroyed by an earthquake and a tsunami.

"Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye when men shall reproach you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets that were before you." Matthew 5:10-12

Another Thought for the Day

"I want a new car, I want a new wife, I want a new job, I want a new teacher, I want a new school, I want a new coat, I want....I want....I want...." - the imprisonment of want.

"The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall NOT want..." - that's true freedom.

Thought for the Morning

God is interested in your character, NOT your comfort.

Jesus comforts the comfortless and discomforts the comfortable.

Commentary on Libya at Unqualified Reservations

Folks,

I encourage only the strong of stomach to read "Libya, the Nadir Achieved" over at the Unqualified Reservations blog site. As usual, the monograph is long winded; however, a photograph in the middle of Mencius Moldbug's essay just about summarizes everything currently going on in the Middle East and North Africa, but do be prepared to visit the porcelain vomitorium after viewing said photograph.

I do NOT agree with everything this blogger writes, but we Americans have much blood on our hands, whether it be from brains sucked out of living unborn babies during partial birth abortions, or brains of an adult man blown out across the roadway by a .50 caliber ammunition round. If your digestive system can handle it, then do have a view to see that for which God will hold us accountable. What you will look upon in revulsion was done to a grown man; imagine that being done it to an unborn baby. It happens every day in America.

Judgment Day will be a time of reckoning, and some of us might not be far behind Obama. Don't say what King Agrippa told St. Paul in Acts 26:28: "You almost convinced me."

The Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Folks,

Today is (obviously) March 25th and in nine months hence we will be celebrating Christmas. So that makes today the Feast of the Annunication of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Luke 1:26-38:
 
In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”  The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.” “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.

Statement by Santa Cruz Media on Father John Corapi

Folks,

As I suspect, a disgruntled dismissed worker is the one who has anonymously leveled accusations of misconduct against Father John Corapi.

Statement of Santa Cruz Media, Inc. Relative to Fr. Corapi’s Suspension

Santa Cruz Media, Inc. is the owner of all of Fr. John Corapi’s intellectual property and the DVDs, CDs, and books that flow from it. We are a secular corporation and not affiliated with the Catholic Church in any way. As such, we are not under the jurisdiction of any bishop or other official in the Catholic Church, although we have the utmost respect for Church authority.

We fully support Rev. John Corapi in this terrible trial, not surprisingly having begun on Ash Wednesday. Through the sacrifice and struggle of the desert and all of the dark moments that this entails, we are confident that the glory of the risen Lord will shine forth from the power of the Resurrection and Easter.

We have consulted with a number of canon lawyers. They have assured us that the actions of the Bishop of Corpus Christi, Texas are, on several points of canon law, illicit. It is our fervent hope that The Dallas Charter will be changed because of false accusations like this. There is no evidence at this time that Fr. Corapi did anything wrong, only the unsubstantiated rant of a former employee, who, after losing her job with this office, physically assaulted me and another employee and promised to "destroy" Father Corapi. We all continue to pray for this person, and we ask you to do the same.

We sincerely believe that the work Fr. Corapi has done is of greatest value to the Church, hence hated by the devil. We fully intend to make Fr. Corapi’s material available as a service to the Church and the world for as long as we possibly can.

The Church provides no financial support to Fr. Corapi. He has to pay for his own legal representation, medical costs, food, housing, etc. We have never accepted donations or charitable contributions of any kind. We are supporting Father’s efforts to defend himself. Your purchase of products from Santa Cruz Media helps provide the funding for Father's continued work as well as the legal expenses he continues to incur as a result of these malicious allegations.

Father Corapi and all of us here at Santa Cruz Media, Inc. greatly appreciate your kindness, support, and prayers. Please continue to pray for Father Corapi and his accuser, as well as all priests who find themselves in this unfortunate situation.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Bobbi Ruffatto
Vice President of Operations
Santa Cruz Media, Inc.

Another Piece of Humor

Folks,

I heard the following from a friend at work today.

Early in the morning Jesus came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” Suddenly a stone whistled through the air, landing next to the woman. Jesus then said, "Darn it, Mom, you can be so irritating!"

Today's Humor - Illegal Aliens

Folks,

I have seen the following bit of humor before, but it does bear repeating. 

The year is 1947. 

Some of you will recall that on July 8, 1947, a little over 60 years ago, witnesses claim that an unidentified flying object (UFO) with five aliens aboard crashed onto a sheep and mule ranch just outside  Roswell, New Mexico.

This is a well known incident that many say has long been covered up by the U.S. Air Force and other federal agencies and organizations.
 
However, what you may NOT know is that in the month of April 1948, nine months after that historic day, the following people were born:
 
  Albert A. Gore, Jr.
  Hillary Rodham
  John F. Kerry
  William J. Clinton
  Howard Dean
  Nancy Pelosi
  Dianne Feinstein
  Charles E. Schumer
  Barbara Boxer
 
See what happens when aliens breed with sheep and jackasses? I certainly hope this bit of information clears up a lot of things for you. It did for me. No wonder they support the bill to help illegal aliens!

Catholic Prophecy

Folks,

My friend Jim McCrea sent me a link to the following article over at The Catholic Knight blogsite:

Catholic Prophecy

This essay cites excerpts from the writings of the early Church Fathers, including St. Nilus in 430 AD, St. Cyril of Jerusalem in 386 AD (one of the 33 Doctors in the 2000 year history of the Church), St. Hippolytus of 236 AD, and others. These people lived in the first four centuries after the Apostles. No one other than they would better understand or be qualified to interpret the prophetic Scriptures in Daniel and Revelation. I recommend that we all read and heed their warnings.

I also commend to the reader's attention the following seven and half minute video.

Muslim Demographics

Our culture of contraception and abortion has inexorably led to the ascendency of radical Islamic fundamentalism. Indeed, the two greatest threats currently facing Christendom is godless atheist liberalism and demonic Islam. Yet we know the end of the story: Jesus Christ wins and Satan, the Beast and the False Prophet lose. What therefore we are currently seeing is Satan expending every bit of his energies to take as many fools with him into the depths of hell that he can because he knows that his time grows short.

House Speaker Boehner's Letter to POTUS on Libya

Folks,

The following is the text of House Speaker Boehner’s letter to the Obamanation of Desolation on his initiation of force in Libya based solely on UN concurrence and without consultation with the US Congress as required by the Constitution of these United States. We now descend further into the morass of a godless secular humanist atheist dictatorship where a President acts above the law of the land, authorizing the murder of the unborn by the millions and sanctifying homosexual filth, while ignoring Congress and authorizing military action against another country on the say-so of a group of international cut-throats and gangsters that calls itself the “United Nations.” Not even George W. Bush, whom the Marxist Left reviles, ridicules, condemns and castigates with all manner of vile invective, was so brazen as this little anti-christ who resides in the Oval Office.

There is, however, one silver lining in this black cloud of doom: the pacifist liberal progressive nit-wits are now up in arms (pun intended) against their multi-racial hero of iniquity, idolatry and sexual perversion. (As an aside, my objection is NOT that Obama is multi-racial, BUT that people voted for him specifically because he is considered either black or multi-racial and that in turn makes such voters racists themselves.) Maybe action will be taken to remove his Nobel Peace Prize, and maybe pseudo-Catholic Representative Dennis Kucinich will have success in the initiation of impeachment proceedings. Hope springs eternal, and despair is a sin.

http://www.politico.com/static/PPM191_potusletter.html

March 23. 2011

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

Thank you for your letter dated March 21. 20 I I, outlining your Administration's actions regarding Libya and Operation Odyssey Dawn. The United States has long stood with those who seek freedom from oppression through self-government and an underlying structure of basic human rights. The news yesterday that a U.S. fighter jet involved in this operation crashed is a reminder of the high stakes of any military action abroad and the high price Our Nation has paid in blood and treasure to advance the cause of freedom through our history.

I respect your authority as Commander-in-Chief and support our troops as they carry out their mission. But and many other members of the House of Representatives are troubled that U.S. military resources were committed to war without clearly defining for the American people, the Congress, and our troops what the miss ion in Libya is and what America’s role is in achieving that mission. In fact , the limited, sometimes contradictory, case made to the American people by members of your Administration has left some fundamental questions about our engagement unanswered. At the same time, by contrast, it appears your Administration has consul ted extensively on these same matters with foreign entities such as the United Nations and the Arab League.

It is my hope that you will provide the American people and Congress a clear and robust assessment of the scope, objective, and purpose of our mission in Libya and how it will be achieved. Here are some of the questions I believe must be answered:

• A United Nations Security Council resolution does not substitute for a U.S. political and military strategy. You have stated that Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi must go, consistent with U.S. policy goals. But the U.N. resolution the U.S. helped develop and signed onto makes clear that regime change is not part of this mission. In light of this contradiction, is it an acceptable outcome for Qadhafi to remain in power after the military effort concludes in Libya? If not. how will he be removed from power? Why would the U.S. commit American resources to enforcing a U.N. resolution that is inconsistent with our stated policy goals and national interests?

• In announcing that our Armed Forces would lead the preliminary strikes in Libya, you said it was necessary to ··enable the enforcement of a no fly zone that will be led by our international partners:' Do we know which partners will be taking the lead? Are there clear lines of authority and responsibility and a chain of command? Operationally, does enforcement o fa no-fly zone require U.S. forces to attack non-air or command and control operations for land-based battlefield activities, such as armored vehicles, tanks, and combatants?

• You have said that the support of the international community was critical to your decision to strike Libya. But, like many Americans, it appears many of our coalition partners are themselves unclear on the policy goals of this mission. I the coalition dissolves or partners continue to disengage, will the American military take on an increased role? Will we disengage?

• Since the stated U.S. policy goal is removing Qadhafi from power, do you have an engagement strategy for the opposition forces? If the strife in Libya becomes a protracted conflict, what are your Administration's objectives for engaging with opposition forces, and what standards must a new regime meet to be recognized by our government?

• Your Administration has repeatedly said our engagement in this military act ion will be a
matter of "days, not  weeks:· After four days of U.S. military action, how soon do you expect to hand control to these other nations? After the transition to coalition forces is completed, how long will American military forces remain engaged in this action? If Qadhafi remains in power, how long will a no-fly zone will be enforced?

• We are currently in the process of setting priorities for the coming year in the budget. Has the Department of Defense estimated the total cost, direct and indirect, associated with this mission? While you said yesterday that the cost of this mission could be paid for out of already-appropriated funds, do you anticipate requesting any supplemental funds from Congress to pay for ongoing operations in Libya?

• Because of the conflicting messages from the Administration and our coalition partners, there is a lack of clarity over the objectives of this mission, what our national security interests are, and how it fits into our overarching policy ror the Middle East. The American people deserve answers to these questions. And all or these concerns point to a fundamental question: what is your benchmark for success in Libya?

The American people take the use of military action seriously. as does the House of Representatives. It is regrettable that no opportunity was afforded to consult with Congressional leaders, as was the custom of your predecessors, before your decision as Commander-in-Chief to deploy into combat the men and women of our Armed Forces. Understanding some information required to respond may be classified, I look forward to a complete response.

Sincerely,

John Boehner

Jeremiah 17:5-10

Folks,

The following is the Old Testament excerpt from today's daily Scripture reading:

http://www.usccb.org/nab/032411.shtml

Jeremiah 17:5-10

Thus says the LORD:
Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings,
who seeks his strength in flesh,
whose heart turns away from the LORD.
He is like a barren bush in the desert
that enjoys no change of season,
But stands in a lava waste,
a salt and empty earth.
Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose hope is the LORD.
He is like a tree planted beside the waters
that stretches out its roots to the stream:
It fears not the heat when it comes,
its leaves stay green;
In the year of drought it shows no distress,
but still bears fruit.
More tortuous than all else is the human heart,
beyond remedy; who can understand it?
I, the LORD, alone probe the mind
and test the heart,
To reward everyone according to his ways,
according to the merit of his deeds.

Opponents to Homosexual Sodomy Have Human Rights

Folks,

One would have thought that Archbishop Tomasi's statement would forever be unnecessary. Then we wonder why God allows such terrible things as the Japanese earthquake and tsunami to occur (not necessarily because of THEIR wickedness, but as a warning against OURS - it's that old lesson from Luke 13:1-5 which again applies).

Vatican Addresses UN Debate on Sexual Orientation

Below we publish the statement by Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi, Permanent Representative of the Holy See to the United Nations in Geneva at the 16th Session of the Human Rights Council – General Debate Geneva, 22 March 2011, on sexual orientation:

Mr. President, the Holy See takes this opportunity to affirm the inherent dignity and worth of all human beings, and to condemn all violence that is targeted against people because of their sexual feelings and thoughts, or sexual behaviours.

We would also like to make several observations about the debates regarding “sexual orientation”.

First, there has been some unnecessary confusion about the meaning of the term “sexual orientation,” as found in resolutions and other texts adopted within the UN human rights system. The confusion is unnecessary because, in international law, a term must be interpreted in accordance with its ordinary meaning, unless the document has given it a different meaning. The ordinary meaning of “sexual orientation” refers to feelings and thoughts, not to behaviour.

Second, for the purposes of human rights law, there is a critical difference between feelings and thoughts, on the one hand, and behaviour, on the other. A state should never punish a person, or deprive a person of the enjoyment of any human right, based just on the person’s feelings and thoughts, including sexual thoughts and feelings. But states can, and must, regulate behaviours, including various sexual behaviours. Throughout the world, there is a consensus between societies that certain kinds of sexual behaviours must be forbidden by law. Paedophilia and incest are two examples.

Third, the Holy See wishes to affirm its deeply held belief that human sexuality is a gift that is genuinely expressed in the complete and lifelong mutual devotion of a man and a woman in marriage. Human sexuality, like any voluntary activity, possesses a moral dimension : it is an activity which puts the individual will at the service of a finality; it is not an “identity”. In other words, it comes from the action and not from the being, even though some tendencies or “sexual orientations” may have deep roots in the personality. Denying the moral dimension of sexuality leads to denying the freedom of the person in this matter, and undermines ultimately his/her ontological dignity. This belief about human nature is also shared by many other faith communities, and by other persons of conscience.

And finally, Mr. President, we wish to call attention to a disturbing trend in some of these social debates: People are being attacked for taking positions that do not support sexual behaviour between people of the same sex. When they express their moral beliefs or beliefs about human nature, which may also be expressions of religious convictions, or state opinions about scientific claims, they are stigmatised, and worse -- they are vilified, and prosecuted. These attacks contradict the fundamental principles announced in three of the Council’s resolutions of this session. The truth is, these attacks are violations of fundamental human rights, and cannot be justified under any circumstances.

Thank you, Mr. President.

The Prophet Isaiah's Message to Obama's America

Isaiah 1:10, 16-20

Hear the word of the LORD,
princes of Sodom!
Listen to the instruction of our God,
people of Gomorrah!

Wash yourselves clean!
Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes;
cease doing evil; learn to do good.
Make justice your aim: redress the wronged,
hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow.

Come now, let us set things right,
says the LORD:
Though your sins be like scarlet,
they may become white as snow;
Though they be crimson red,
they may become white as wool.
If you are willing, and obey,
you shall eat the good things of the land;
But if you refuse and resist,
the sword shall consume you:
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken!

My Letter to SOLT on Fr. John Corapi and Its Response

Folks,

The following is my letter to the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity concerning the recent allegations against Father John Corapi, and its response.

LETTER

Dear Sirs,

I have learned from Father John Corapi's web site that he has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation into allegations of impropriety. I saw that he is a member of "SOLT" which I assume means "The Society of Our Lady of the Trinity," hence this letter.

I do not know if it is an authority within this society which has placed Father Corapi on leave, or some other authority. Nevertheless, there is a long tradition in these United States of considering a person innocent until proven guilty. Placing Father Corapi on administrative leave is actually tantamount to a declaration of guilt. This is especially heinous and destructive when the accusation is done behind the concealing cloak of anonymity. Father Corapi's good name is now dragged through the dirt while his accuser can say anything she wants with perfect impunity and immunity. This person's accusations never have to be proven true; in fact, though they may eventually be proven untrue, the damage that she has caused will forever taint Father Corapi's good name. If she is indeed a disgruntled worker, then perhaps that is her final aim.

Therefore, I request that someone somewhere in authority do the humane and just thing, and declare a man is innocent till proven guilty, and launch a simultaneous and public investigation into the credibility of the accuser. Our priests have suffered enough at the hands of Satan. It is high time that the Church defend her servants.

If, however, guilt is proven during the course of the investigation, then the guilty party should suffer all the punishment that the law and justice demand. This includes an accuser who has falsely accused said priest of any crime. No one should ever be able to hide behind the cloak of anonymity while destroying a man's reputation and honor. That simply isn't right.

Thank you for your consideration in this matter.

Regards,

XXX

RESPONSE

Dear Mr. XXX,

God's Blessings! Thank you for your email in support of our priests. Following our bishops counsel we placed Fr. John on Adminsitrative leave until we can investigate the serious allegations made against him. Administrative leave does not presume guilt. I promise that we will make every effort to find the truth as quickly as possible. Please pray for all priests.

Sincerely Yours, In Jesus and Mary,

Fr. YYY

Pray for our priests, especially Fr. Corapi:

Avē Marīa, grātiā plēna, Dominus tēcum.
Benedicta tū in mulieribus,
et benedictus frūctus ventris tuī, Iēsus.
Sāncta Marīa, Māter Deī,
ōrā prō nōbīs peccātōribus,
nunc et in hōrā mortis nostrae.
Āmēn.

Can a Catholic Support Pro-Nuclear Activists?

Folks,

Yesterday during my lunch time internet browsing I came across a rather well written explanation about the relative hazards of non-nuclear facilities (e.g., hydro-electric dams, oil refineries, natural gas tankers, chemical plants, etc.) vs nuclear power generating stations. Indeed, even when considering the disaster at Fukushima Daiichi, there is no comparison for nuclear is always safer. So far, only 5 lives have been lost at the Japan nuclear complex compared to 1800 lives lost from a dam break, and the 17000+ lives lost to other tsunami-related events. Thus, I was going to post that person's essay at this blogsite until I came to the very end where the individual disparaged the efficacy of prayer and belief in God. Needless to say, I was very disappointed, so I did not post that person's essay.

The bottom line is this: none of us will go to hell for rejecting nuclear energy; but any of us who reject Jesus Christ will go to hell.

Now in general I do agree with most of what the pro-nuclear energy activists say. But when they ally themselves with atheism, then I withdraw my support for their cause. They become in that condition no better than the nature-worshipping eco-wacko anti-nukes whom they oppose. Both are equally godless. One worships the works of man's hands while the other worships the creature rather than the Creator who is blessed forever and ever, Amen!

So while I remain committed to nuclear energy as the safest and least polluting source of energy, I cannot join in the idolatrous chorus from the pro-nukes that seek to build another Tower of Babel, nor would I join in the chorus of the racially-suicidal eco-nuts that seek to force everyone to worship goddess Gaia.

Can a Catholic be pro-nuclear energy? Well, what is really important here: to be authentically Catholic or to support something that we know will one day pass away with the elements as described in 2nd Peter 3:10-13?

3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
3:11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
3:12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
3:13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

What Should Be Our Prayer in the Aftermath of the Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami

Folks,

Today's Scripture Readings includes Daniel 9:4-10. Having murdered 60 million unborn babies since Roe v wade in 1973, having sanctified and glorified the filth of homosexual sodomy, having committed all manner of idolatry and wickedness, this should be America's prayer in the aftermath of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

“Lord, great and awesome God,
you who keep your merciful covenant toward those who love you
and observe your commandments!
We have sinned, been wicked and done evil;
we have rebelled and departed from your commandments and your laws.
We have not obeyed your servants the prophets,
who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes,
our fathers, and all the people of the land.
Justice, O Lord, is on your side;
we are shamefaced even to this day:
we, the men of Judah, the residents of Jerusalem,
and all Israel, near and far,
in all the countries to which you have scattered them
because of their treachery toward you.
O LORD, we are shamefaced, like our kings, our princes, and our fathers,
for having sinned against you.
But yours, O Lord, our God, are compassion and forgiveness!
Yet we rebelled against you
and paid no heed to your command, O LORD, our God,
to live by the law you gave us through your servants the prophets.” (NAB)

Sadly, however, Revelation 9:20-21 will again be proven true:

The rest of the human race, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, to give up the worship of demons and idols made from gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic potions, their unchastity, or their robberies. (NAB)

At this point I shall be reminded that today's Gospel reading from Luke 6:36-38 instructs not to judge lest we be judged. Those, however, who take pleasure in pointing that out deliberately confuse judgement and observation, love and condoning. In Acts 5:1-11, did St. Peter judge when he confronted Ananias and Sapphira with their lying? In 1st Timothy 1:19-20, did St. Paul judge when he handed over Hymenaeus and Alexander to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme? In Revelation 2:20-23, did St. John judge when he warned that Jezebel would be placed on a sick bed and her children would die for her unrepetent adulteries?

It is NOT judgment to state the obvious and given the warning: the wages of sin are death. To do otherwise is to fail to be the watchman that God calls us to be in Ezekiel 33. Indeed, it is NOT love to condone idolatry and wickedness under the false guise of tolerance and diversity. 1st Corinthians 6:9-10 is quite clear:

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. (KJV)

Thus, the next disaster might not strike an innocent people; we have been forewarned - Luke 13:1-5:

At that time some people who were present there told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. He said to them in reply, "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were greater sinners than all other Galileans? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did! Or those eighteen people who were killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them -- do you think they were more guilty than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!" (NAB)

The One Purpose of Creation by Jim McCrea

The One Purpose of Creation
By Jim J. McCrea

It is believed by many that humanity constantly evolves to higher and higher levels.

There is, however, one type of progress that humanity makes: its progress in understanding the accidents and relations of physical reality. That makes continuous progress in the physical sciences and technology possible.

But, as opposed to the thinking of Teilhard de Chardin and his followers, there is no law causing mankind to steadily progress in wisdom and in the spiritual or moral order. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church says: "The kingdom will be fulfilled, then, not by a historic triumph of the Church through a progressive ascendancy, but only by God's victory over the final unleashing of evil, which will cause his Bride to come down from heaven." (par. 677)

Each individual and each society in every age must choose anew whether to follow the law of Jesus Christ or the law of sin.

Human history does not exist for the purpose of progress.

There is one purpose and one purpose only for human history - that is to make saints.

In a sense, the only work of Jesus Christ in the universe is that of making saints. The beauty of nature and of art, the goodness of culture, philosophy and science, all exist for the sole purpose of making people, who inhabit this world, perfect in grace and perfectly happy with God in the next life.

As the Catholic writer Leon Bloy said: "There is one tragedy in life: not to be a saint."

NRC Chairman's Prepared Remarks for Commission Meeting - 03/21/2011

Folks,

Today's remarks of the NRC Chairman to the Commission on the tragic events in Japan and its implications for US nuclear energy facilities may be found at the following URL (just copy and paste the address into the address field of your web browser; unfortunately, posting from an Apple iPad does not allow hyperlinks to appear correctly):

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/news/2011/11-054.pdf

The transcript of the NRC Chairman's testimony on 03/17/2011 before the Energy and Commerce Committee in the US House of Representatives may be found at the following URL:

http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization/commission/comm-gregory-jaczko/0317nrc-transcript-jaczko.pdf

MIT NSE Nuclear Information Hub

Folks,

The Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has an excellent blogsite worthy of the reader's interest:

MIT NSE Nuclear Information Hub

It provides both information on the nuclear related situation in Japan as well as primers on the basic principles of nuclear science and engineering in terms understandable to the layman. Its posts seem level headed and without the prejudices and fear-mongering of the anti-nuclear crowd, and without the triumphalism and arrogance of the Atomic Insights blogsite (though the blogmeister there is certainly very knowledgeable; however, knowledge doesn't necessarily engender humility). I therefore commend the MIT NSE blogsite to your attention.

One other thing: the anti-nuclear crowd WANTS the disaster in Japan to be as bad as possible. The anti-nuclear crowd wants people to die from radiation. The anti-nuclear crowd WANTS radioactive debris strewed across every island in the Pacific. So know your enemy - its aims are no different than Satan's aims.

Paradoxically, triumphal pro-nuclear activists full of braggadocio and over-confidence in man's knowledge and ability, convinced of the invincibility of engineering and technology, want nothing but a purely technocratic solution to this disaster so that they may say, "We need no God; we did it on our own." Thus do we have a repeat of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11. This called the Pride of Life, Jesus' Second Temptation in Matthew 4:1-11. It is the desire for a self-serving spectacle and is nothing more than idolatry, that is to say, the worship of the works of one's own hands. This, too, is an aim no different than Satan's aims.

Father Federico Lombardi on Resource and Risk of Nuclear Power

Folks,

While I firmly support nuclear energy as perhaps among the safest and least polluting methods of generating electricity, we should remember Pope Benedict XVI's words in his book, "Jesus of Nazareth":

Are not the oases of creation that sprang up, say, around the Benedictine monastaries in the West forshadowings of [the] reconciliation of creation brought about by the children of God - just as, conversely, something like Chernobyl is a shocking expression of creation's enslavement in the darkness of God's absence?

Glorifying in the work of man's hands is nothing but idolatry. A ripple upon the ocean called "Pacific" should be an end to such hubris, but I suspect it won't be. Revelation 9:20-21 again comes to mind:

The rest of the human race, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, to give up the worship of demons and idols made from gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic potions, their unchastity, or their robberies.

Thus we have Father Lombardi's words. Let us read and heed them.

Aide Reflects on Resource, Risk of Nuclear Power

Lauds Rescue Workers in Japan

VATICAN CITY, MARCH 20, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Nuclear energy is an immense resource for man but the questions about its risks must not be neglected, says a Vatican spokesman.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, made this reflection on the latest episode of "Octava Dies."

He spoke about the March 11 earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan, noting that the images "which have been transmitted for days, continue to disturb us and make us raise questions."

The priest continued, "At first they evoked dramatic memories of the tsunami in the Indian Ocean six years ago that left in its wake a frightening number of victims, but even more: a sea of suffering and sorrow that calls on our compassion, our solidarity, our prayer."

Japanese authorities are currently reporting 8,450 deaths, 2,701 people injured, and 12,931 people missing after the disaster.

"But after a few days," Father Lombardi stated, "the world's attention turned from the destructive wave to the disaster of the nuclear plants."

On Friday, International Atomic Energy Agency Chief Yukiya Amano stated that the crisis at the nuclear plants is "extremely serious."

There have been explosions and radiation leakage at the power plants due to the destruction caused by the earthquake and tsunami. Some 200,000 people have been evacuated from their homes near the plants.

"The Japanese," Father Lombardi acknowledged, "have shown that they have learned how to anticipate with foresight the dangers of earthquakes in an admirable way, constructing buildings capable of resisting the strongest quakes."

He added, "And nevertheless on this occasion Japan's technological progress has manifested a weak point, that was, in a certain sense, unexpected."

Wave of fear

The priest explained, "It only took one of the more than 50 Japanese nuclear plants to be seriously damaged by the quake for a new wave [...] of fear over another insidious cause of death -- besides that of the seaquake -- which is spreading through the entire world."

He affirmed, "Nuclear energy is an immense natural resource that man tries to use in his service, but if it gets out of control it rebels against him."

The Jesuit noted, "And no one knows better than the Japanese what the effects are of energy unleashed from the heart of man rebelling against him."

He continued: "The security of the plants and the safeguarding of radioactive material can never be absolute.

"It is right and obligatory to return to reflect on the correct use of technological power, on its risks, on its human price. The Pope recommends this often."

Father Lombardi acknowledged, "Today in the plant that has gone haywire a handful of heroes are generously offering their lives for the safety of many people-- like the firefighters of 9/11."

As at that time, he concluded, solidarity and "love for others, even at the price of one's life, is the true light in the darkness of tragedy."

The priest stated: "It indicates the direction to seek. It is the same direction as Jesus' path to Easter."

Reactors at Fukushima are General Electric

Folks,

One of the things that isn't published too much is that the reactors at Fukushima Daiichi and Daini were manufactured (or at least designed and developed) by General Electric, the same company that donates money to "social service" organizations that provide abortion services.

This is the same company that has entered into a contact with a British firm - Geron Corporation - to perform fatal experimentation on unborn babies:

General Electric to Use Embryonic Stem Cells for Testing, Phase Out Lab Rats

This is the same company that has support groups for the legitimatization of homosexual sodomy among its employees, calling that tolerance and diversity.

Then a tsunami wipes out five of General Electric's finest in technological construction. Is that a coincidence?

Please remember these things the next time you see a GE ecomagination commercial on the television.

Japan Battles to Cool Nuclear Reactors

US NRC Posts Updated FAQs on the 03/11/2011 Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami

Folks,

Please see:

NRC Frequently Asked Questions Related to the March 11, 2011 Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami

Also please see:

NRC Actions on Japan's Emergency

As far as I know, only one person has died as a direct result of the earthquake and tsunami induced accidents at Fukushima Daiichi, and he died from a crane mishap. In the meantime, the death tool from the non-nuclear related accidents that resulted from the earthquake and tsunami exceed 10,000 and may top 20,000:

Japan's tsunami death toll expected to reach 20,000

Please donate:

Catholic Relief Services - Help the Survivors of the Japan Tsunami
Catholic Online - Your Catholic Voice Foundation

Father Corapi Accused

Folks,

The following is from Father John Corapi's web site.

Pray For Fr. John Corapi

A Call for Prayer

On Ash Wednesday I learned that a former employee sent a three-page letter to several bishops accusing me of everything from drug addiction to multiple sexual exploits with her and several other adult women. There seems to no longer be the need for a complaint to be deemed “credible” in order for Church authorities to pull the trigger on the Church’s procedure, which was in recent years crafted to respond to cases of the sexual abuse of minors. I am not accused of that, but it seems, once again, that they now don’t have to deem the complaint to be credible or not, and it is being applied broadly to respond to all complaints. I have been placed on "administrative leave" as the result of this.

I’ll certainly cooperate with the process, but personally believe that it is seriously flawed, and is tantamount to treating the priest as guilty “just in case”, then through the process determining if he is innocent. The resultant damage to the accused is immediate, irreparable, and serious, especially for someone like myself, since I am so well known. I am not alone in this assessment, as multiple canon lawyers and civil and criminal attorneys have stated publicly that the procedure does grave damage to the accused from the outset, regardless of rhetoric denying this, and has little regard for any form of meaningful due process.

All of the allegations in the complaint are false, and I ask you to pray for all concerned.

Commentary at Atomic Insights

Folks,

The blogmeister at Atomic Insights posted comments by former NRC Commissioner Jeffrey Merrifield on the events in Japan:

Former NRC Commissioner Jeffery Merrifield Discusses Fukushima Lessons learned and Those Already Implemented

He remarks at the end of his blog entry, "I wish that the current Chairman was as calm and methodical as people like Jeffery Merrifield and Dale Klein."

Gregory Jackzo (who is the subject of the complaint above) is the current chairman of the NRC. He was appointed to the NRC under Bush in a deal with Harry Reid to get John Roberts confirmed as Chief Justice on the Supreme Court back in 2007 (if memory serves me rightly). Jackzo had worked for anti-nuke Representative Ed Markey from Massachusetts against the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station and for Harry Reid against the Yucca Mountain spent fuel repository. Jackzo is a professional anti-nuke. Harry Reid would not allow Roberts' confirmation to SCOTUS to go to the Senate floor without Jackzo getting into the Commission. NEI protested and so Senator Pete Domenici's pro-nuclear science advisor - Peter Lyons - was put into the NRC at the same time as a balance.

Then the godless Obamination of Desolation got elected because the country went crazy. Obama demoted pronuclear Dale Klein from Chairman to Commissioner and replaced him with anti-nuclear Jackzo. Then Obama let the terms of Klein and Lyons expire. So we end up (thanks to the culture of death Democrats) with an anti-nuke Chairman in the NRC.

Now the blogmeister at Atomic Insights whines and complains about this. Well, this is the SAME man who (on his blogsite in the past - just do a little research unless he's deleted those posts) bragged at the election of Obama that the country is liberal, who has repeatedly described himself as liberal, who has denigrated the Tea Party and anything remotely resembling conservativism or Constitutionalism, and who has said that if the French are socialist, then so is he (because their country is 70% nuclear). So this man is willing to compromise the principles of freedom, responsibility and the free market for his pet causes. Thus, this man has gotten precisely and exactly what he has voted for:

"I wish that the current Chairman was as calm and methodical as people like Jeffery Merrifield and Dale Klein."

Let's be perfectly clear about this: Liberal progressive Democrats think that slow murder of an unborn baby by dismemberment is a woman's right to chose. Choice comes BEFORE sexual intercourse, NOT afterwards; God gave us brains, and He expects us to use them and not give in to the passions of the moment for some instant gratification, thinking that we can avoid the consequences of our decisions. And that is what a Democrat is all about: avoiding consequences.

Let's go on: Liberal progressive Democrats think that a man sticking his reproductive organ into the mouth or anus of another man can and should be sanctified as marriage. Perhaps that is behavior that bonoboo chimpanzees or African baboons engage in; but it's animalistic and we are NOT animals. We are human beings created in the image and likeness of God, and God expects us to behave that way. When we don't, then we can expect diseases like AIDS as the consequence of our filth (again, we go back to that old "consequences" thing that Democrats simply can't stand).

So what does this have to do with nuclear power? EVERYTHING! Do NOT expect truth or rationality or level headedness out of a godless liberal progressive Democrat (especially in the government) because they MURDER and SODOMIZE. Of course Jackzo isn't level headed. Few liberals would be because they KNOW what sin deserves and they are afraid that they are going to get exactly that - what they deserve.

60 million unborn babies have been murdered since the Roe v Wade decision in 1973. That's more than two babies per minute dead on the altar of sexual expediency. God is NOT a disinterested spector in this heinous genocide that even Adolf Hilter did not and could not equal. But that is what Democrats do. Let us therefore take the lesson of 1st Corinthians 10:1-12 seriously when considering the earthquake and tsunami in Japan:

I want you to know, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same supernatural food and all drank the same supernatural drink. For they drank from the supernatural Rock which followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless with most of them God was not pleased; for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things are warnings for us, not to desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to dance." We must not indulge in immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put the Lord to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents; nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as a warning, but they were written down for our instruction, upon whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let any one who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.

I don't like Republicans. I am NOT a neo-con. But I am a Catholic and I know that a vote for a Democrat is a vote for a murderer, and by so doing one becomes an accomplice to murder and hence a murderer himself. The issue of a panic stricken NRC Chairman is incidental and entirely understandable. I'd be panic stricken too if an act of God happened (like the Japanese earthquake and tsunami) and I was an unrepentent supporter of murder and murderers. But some people's egos (e.g., Atomic Insights) results in hearts so hardened that not even the worst natural disaster can strike the fear of God and a sense of humility into the soul and mind.

Saint Patrick

Folks,

Here is something I wanted to share with the reader. I got it from 'iMissal: Saint A Day', an application that I have downloaded onto my iPad. This is proving to be a great Catholic resource!

St. Patrick

It is believed that St. Patrick was born in fifth century Britain to Roman parents. When he was sixteen, he was captured by pirates and taken to Ireland. There he was sold as a slave. His owner sent him to tend his flocks of sheep on the mountains. Patrick had very little food and clothing. Yet he took good care of the animals in rain, snow and ice. Patrick was so lonely on the hillside that he turned often in prayer to Jesus and his mother Mary. His life was hard and unfair. But Patrick’s trust in God grew stronger all the time.

Six years later, when he escaped from Ireland, Patrick decided to become a priest. After years of study and preparation, he was ordained. After some time he was made a bishop. Now what Patrick wanted more than anything else was to return to Ireland and bring the light of faith in Jesus to the Irish people. It was while St. Celestine I was pope that Patrick went back to Ireland. How happy he was to bring the Good News of the true God to the people who once had held him a slave!

Right from the start, Patrick suffered much. His relatives and friends wanted him to quit before the people of Ireland killed him. Yet Patrick kept on preaching about Jesus. He traveled from one village to another. He seldom rested, and he performed great penances for those people whom he loved so much. Before he died, the whole nation of Ireland was Christian. In spite of his great success, St. Patrick never grew proud. He called himself a poor sinner and gave all the praises to God. In his Confessio, Patrick wrote about his work of spreading the faith among the Irish. Most of what we know about his life comes from this writing. Patrick died in 461.

Many missionaries are working today to bring the Good News to our world just as St. Patrick did. We can pray and make sacrifices so that their hard work will lead many people to know and love Jesus.

The Metaphysics of Chance by Jim McCrea

The Metaphysics of Chance
By Jim J. McCrea

Within the rational order of reality, things or events have their own proper ability to cause other things or events. The universe has innumerable causal chains, in which within a given chain one thing causes another which causes another and so on. This understanding of causality makes human reason and science possible. It may be argued by materialists that if this is so, it would leave no room for the action of God in the universe since everything in the universe acts according to natural causality. However, if we look at the nature of *chance,* this is not so.

Consider three causal chains: A, B, and C; in which A1 causes A2 which causes A3 etc.; in which B1 causes B2 which causes B3 etc.; and in which C1 causes C2 which causes C3 etc.

However, the causal chains may *intersect.* The intersection of causal chains happens all the time in the universe. Although each term in a causal series is caused by the one preceding, the intersection of different causal chains themselves do not come under natural causality. It is not a natural cause that determines their meeting. It is a purely fortuitous event. As this does not come under natural causality, it leaves an opening for the First Cause of All, God, to determine their meeting. As a result it is possible for God to be continually intervening in the natural world while leaving natural causality intact and not continually resorting to miracles.

The 20th century Catholic philosopher, Jacques Maritain, gives an example here of the intersection of three causal chains and the fact that their intersection is not the result of a cause in this universe and which has no ontological unity.

Maritain says:

"Chance, a fortuitous event, presupposes the mutual interference of independent lines of causation. Chance, and this is the basis of the ancients' notion of it, is the result of an irreducible pluralism, the plurality of the causal series which meet at a given moment. It is not the fact that it cannot be foreseen that constitutes chance. A fortuitous event can be foreseen, if its constituent factors are sufficiently simple. But it is a fortuitous event notwithstanding, since it is a mere encounter.

You may remember Aristotle's example. Is it true to say that a man is killed by brigands because he has eaten too salt viands? What is the link here between cause and effect? He has eaten too salt viands, becomes thirsty, and goes out to a spring. Behind the spring brigands are in hiding who profit by the opportunity to murder him. There is a chain of causes and effects. Is the entire chain necessary? To understand the conception of chance which is far more difficult than is often supposed, we shall examine this instance of it. There are here three series of causes. One extends from the salt food to the thirst. It is normal and in the natural order of things that salt food should cause thirst, the thirst excite the desire to drink, and the desire lead to the action. In another series there is a preliminary condition that there should be no water in the house. Moreover, there must be a spring near. And its existence in the vicinity must itself have a cause, namely the presence in a particular locality of underground water which in turn depends upon an entire series of geological facts. There is a third series of causes which accounts for the presence of the brigands at that particular place. Their presence there depends, for example, on their having hidden in the woods from the pursuit of the police, and this is itself the result of previous crimes they have committed. Thus three independent causal chains meet, and the man's death is the result of their meeting. Each of the causes here operative continues or would have continued to act in its own line. The brigands would have continued their career of robbery, the spring its causal action, erosion of the earth's surface, evaporation, and had the victim not met his death, the drink he had taken would have produced a particular physiological effect upon his organism.

Every event in each series of causes has therefore its cause within the series. But the encounter between an event of one series, for example, the presence of the brigands and events of the other two, the existence of the spring and the desire to drink has not as such any cause in the entire universe. That is to say there is no nature, no natural agent predetermined by its structure to this encounter of the three events, nor any created intelligence that designed it.

The illustrative diagram makes clear the irreducible multiplicity in which chance consists. Each of three causal lines diverges from the rest as we trace the series backwards, so that the farther back we go in each series, the more remote are we from the possibility of finding a cause pre-determined to the meeting of the three series and accounting for it.

That is to say the encounter of the three causal lines at a given moment is indeed a contingent fact but not a contingent being. This is the difficult and important point to grasp in the theory of chance. The encounter has no being, save in thought. Certainly it exists. But it is not an essence. It is a pure coincidence, and possesses no ontological unity requiring to render its existence intelligible an active structure preordained to it. It is neither a genuine being, nor a genuine unity and therefore does not possess a genuine cause, in the ontological sense which I have explained."

From "A Preface to Metaphysics: Seventh Lecture"

Jacques Maritain was one of the foremost Catholic philosophers of the 20th century.

Status of Fukushima Daiichi

Folks,

NHK World reports that radiation levels at Fukushima Daiichi have dropped to 289 microsieverts (which is 28.9 millirem or 0.0289 rem).

Radiation levels lowered after water injection

Normal annual background exposure for human beings is 2400 microsieverts and a chest radiograph is 60000 microsieverts. In some areas of the world people are exposed to even higher levels in a yearly basis. One of those is Ramsar, Iran where annual dose can reach 260000 microsieverts. Dissolved radon-226 in the water of hot springs as well as local deposits of thorium and uranium are the cause.

Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency reports that some electrical power has been restored at Fukushima Daiichi (apparently by means of local diesel generators):

Seismic Damage Information (the 28th Release) (As of 17:30 March 17th, 2011)

Additionally, Kyoto News reports that efforts to pour water in the spent fuel pool at Unit 3 appear successful:

Operation to pour water at Fukushima nuke plant said effective

TEPCO provides the following status with time measured locally to Japan; I have not yet seen any fatalities as a direct result of these events, but perhaps I have missed something. In the meantime, tens if not hundreds of thousands of fatalies due as a direct result of the earthquake and tsunami, with subsequence explosions of natural gas and oil tanks, dam ruptures that flood away towns and villages wholesale, and continuing anguish and suffering due to non-nuclear related concerns such as lack of food, water, shelter, etc., continue to go under-reported if not unreported.

Press Release (Mar 17,2011)
Plant Status of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (as of 11:00 PM Mar 17th)

*new items are underlined

All 6 units of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station have been shut down.

Unit 1(Shut down)
- Reactor has been shut down. However, the explosive sound and white smoke were confirmed after the big quake occurred at 3:36PM Mar 12th. It was assumed to be hydrogen explosion.
- We have been injecting sea water into the reactor pressure vessel.

Unit 2(Shut down)
- Reactor has been shut down and Reactor Core Isolation Cooling System has been injecting water to the reactor. However, the level of reactor coolant had dropped and the reactor pressure had increased because
the system stopped. The national government instructed that measures are taken to lower the pressure within the Reactor Containment Vessel and to inject sea water into the Reactor while carefully confirming safety.
The level of reactor coolant and the pressure of the Reactor had resumed.
- At approximately 6:00AM on March 15, 2011, an abnormal noise began emanating from nearby Pressure Suppression Chamber and the pressure within this chamber decreased.
- While we continue sea water injection operations, we temporarily moved TEPCO employees and workers from other companies not directly involved in this work to safe places.

Unit 3(Shut down)
- Reactor has been shut down. However, the explosive sound and white smoke were confirmed at 11:01AM Mar 14th. It was assumed to be hydrogen explosion.
- Fog like steam was confirmed from the reactor building at 8:30AM on March 16th,
- We continue monitoring as it was reported that the pressure of the Suppression Chamber has been temporarily increasing since approximately 6:15AM on March 17th.
- We have been injecting sea water into the reactor pressure vessel.

Unit 4 (outage due to regular inspection)
- Reactor has been shut down. However, at approximately 6AM on March 15th. We have confirmed the explosive sound and the sustained damage around the 5th floor rooftop area of the Nuclear Reactor Building.
- On March 15th and 16th, we respectively confirmed the outbreak of fire at the 4th floor of the northwestern part of the Nuclear Reactor Building. We immediately reported this matter to the fire department and the related authorities. TEPCO employees confirmed that each fire had already died down by itself. We will continue to carefully monitor situations.
- Currently, we do not consider any reactor coolant leakage inside the reactor containment vessel.

Unit 5 (outage due to regular inspection)
- Reactor has been shut down and the sufficient level of reactor coolant to ensure safety is maintained.
- Currently, we do not consider any reactor coolant leakage inside the reactor containment vessel.

Unit 6 (outage due to regular inspection)
- Reactor has been shut down and the sufficient level of reactor coolant to ensure safety is maintained.
- Currently, we do not consider any reactor coolant leakage inside the reactor containment vessel.

Cooling spent fuel pools
•On Unit 3, water discharge by Self-Defense Force's helicopters had been conducted since 9:48 AM in the morning on March 17th.
•On Unit 3, water discharge by the riot police's high-pressure water cannon trucks and Self-Defense Force's fire engines had been conducted since approximately past 7PM on March 17th and they had finished water
discharge at 8:09PM.
•We are considering further water discharge at Unit 3 and others subject to the conditions of spent fuel pools when we get ready.

Casualty
- 2 workers of cooperative firm were injured at the occurrence of the earthquake, and were transported to the hospital.
- 1 TEPCO employee who was not able to stand by his own holding left chest with his hand, was transported to the hospital by an ambulance.
- 1 subcontract worker at the key earthquake-proof building was unconscious and transported to the hospital by an ambulance.
- The radiation exposure of 1 TEPCO employee, who was working inside the reactor building, exceeded 100mSv and he was transported to the hospital.
- 2 TEPCO employees felt bad during their operation in the central control rooms of Unit 1 and 2 while wearing full masks, and were transferred to Fukushima Daini Power Station for consultation with a medical advisor.
- 4 workers were injured and transported to the hospital after explosive sound and white smoke were confirmed around the Unit 1.
- 11 workers were injured and transported to Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Station etc. after explosive sound and white smoke were confirmed around the Unit 3. One of the workers was transported to the FUKUSHIMA Medical University Hospital at 10:56AM
- Presence of 2 TEPCO employees at the site is not confirmed.

Others
- We measured radioactive materials (iodine etc.) inside of the nuclear power station area (outdoor) by monitoring car and confirmed that radioactive materials level is getting higher than ordinary level. As listed below, we have determined that specific incidents stipulated in article 15, clause 1 of Act on Special Measures Concerning Nuclear Emergency Preparedness (Abnormal increase in radiation dose measured at site boundary) have occurred.

•Determined at 4:17 PM Mar 12th (Around Monitoring Post 4 )
•Determined at 8:56 AM Mar 13th (Around Monitoring Post 4 )
•Determined at 2:15 PM Mar 13th (Around Monitoring Post 4 )
•Determined at 3:50 AM Mar 14th (Around Monitoring Post 6 )
•Determined at 4:15 AM Mar 14th (Around Monitoring Post 2 )
•Determined at 9:27 AM Mar 14th (Around Monitoring Post 3 )
•Determined at 9:37 PM Mar 14th (Around main entrance )
•Determined at 6:51 AM Mar 15th (Around main entrance )
•Determined at 8:11 AM Mar 15th (Around main entrance )
•Determined at 4:17 PM Mar 15th (Around main entrance )
•Determined at 11:05 PM Mar 15th (Around main entrance )

- The national government has instructed evacuation for those local residents within 20km radius of the periphery and evacuation to inside for those residents from 20km to 30km radius of the periphery, because it's possible that radioactive materials are discharged.
- At approximately 10AM on March 15, we observed 400mSv/h at the inland side of the Unit 3 reactor building and 100mSv/h at the inland side of the Unit 4 reactor building.
- We will continue to take all measures to ensure the safety and to continue monitoring the surrounding environment aroud the Power Station.

Transcript of Chairman Jackzo's March 14th Meeting at the White House

Folks,

I have not had time to read this yet, but here is the Transcript of Chairman Jackzo's March 14th Meeting at the White House.

My advice remains the same as always: trust nothing coming from the liberal progressive Democrat regime in the White House, including that from the US NRC. Liberal progressive Democrats murder unborn babies and sanctify homosexual sodomy. They will therefore feel NO obligation to tell the truth in anything. You must know to whom you are listening and what kind of creatures these are before you begin to accept anything they have to say as a reflection of truth.

This Morning's Update

Folks,

This morning's update on the status of Fukushima Daiichi from TEPCO may be found here.

NEI Nuclear Notes is posting several good You-Tube videos:

NEI Offers Support to Japan
Nuclear Industry Response To Japan Events
Some Resources on Radiation

Commentary at Atomic Insights on US NRC Chairman Jackzo's idiocy may be found here.

I hope that all the pro-nuclear people (at NEI Nuclear Notes and Atomic Insights) who voted for the Obamination of Desolation in 2008 will now see the results of what their vote has done - over-reaction, over-conservativism, and the formenting of hysteria and panic based on the false precautionary principle. We don't need an anti-nuclear zealot in the Commission - let alone as Chairman - when a cooler head in the face of a crisis is required. Hopefully that will be corrected in 2012 (assuming that the American people awake from their slumber).

What I Live For

Folks,

This picture speaks for itself.

Maranatha, Domine Iesu, veni celeriter!

Today's Old and New Testament Readings - The Sign of Jonah

Folks,

With everything going on in the world over the past five days, a call to repentance and conversion is ALWAYS in order. Lord have mercy on me a sinner!

Today's Readings

Jonah 3:1-10

The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time:
“Set out for the great city of Nineveh,
and announce to it the message that I will tell you.”
So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh,
according to the LORD’s bidding.
Now Nineveh was an enormously large city;
it took three days to go through it.
Jonah began his journey through the city,
and had gone but a single day’s walk announcing,
“Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,”
when the people of Nineveh believed God;
they proclaimed a fast
and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.

When the news reached the king of Nineveh,
he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe,
covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the ashes.
Then he had this proclaimed throughout Nineveh,
by decree of the king and his nobles:
“Neither man nor beast, neither cattle nor sheep,
shall taste anything;
they shall not eat, nor shall they drink water.
Man and beast shall be covered with sackcloth and call loudly to God;
every man shall turn from his evil way
and from the violence he has in hand.
Who knows, God may relent and forgive, and withhold his blazing wrath,
so that we shall not perish.”
When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way,
he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them;
he did not carry it out.

Luke 11:29-32

While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them,
“This generation is an evil generation;
it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it,
except the sign of Jonah.
Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites,
so will the Son of Man be to this generation.
At the judgment
the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation
and she will condemn them,
because she came from the ends of the earth
to hear the wisdom of Solomon,
and there is something greater than Solomon here.
At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation
and condemn it,
because at the preaching of Jonah they repented,
and there is something greater than Jonah here.”

Updates on Fukushima Daiichi

Folks,

Gregory Jackzo, US NRC Chairman who worked for anti-nuclear Representative Ed Markey against the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts and for Senator Harry Reid against the spent fuel geological repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada before being appointed to the US NRC, has issued a warning to Americans in Japan to evacuate a 50 square mile area around the Fukushiam Daiichi nuclear power complex:

NRC Provides Protective Action Recommendations Based on U.S. Guidelines

The computer calculations used by the US NRC are based on hypothetical (i.e., NOT real) scenarios and appear overly conservative.

Yahoo news (never a bastion of accuracy) reports that Chairman Jackzo reported to a Committee in the US House of Representatives that the spent fuel pool for Fukushima Daiichi Unit 4 is dry:

Nuclear crisis a tangle of ominous, hopeful signs

The web site for the Energy and Commerce Committee in the US House of Representatives confirms that Chairman Jackzo did testify earlier today on the situation in Japan. Chairman Jackzo's testimony may be found here. I found no reference to Fukushima or Japan by word searching the 12 page written testimony, but the actual transcript of the question and answer period afterwards is not available right now.

The report from the Atomic Insights blog site disagrees with what the news media reports as Chairman Jackzo's testimony:

FEPC Information Sheet for Fukushima Daiichi on March 6, 2011

The NEI Nuclear Notes blogsite likewise disagrees:

Jackzo and Tokyo Electric on Unit 4

The news media report from which all this disinformation starts is none other that that infamous NY Times, another bastion of journalistic excellence in confusing the public with pronouncements of hysteria and panic:

U.S. Calls Radiation ‘Extremely High’ and Urges Deeper Caution in Japan

So we have credible reports (which neither liberal Democrat Jackzo nor the NY Times qualify as) that indicate that the water in the spent fuel pool of Fukushima Daiichi Unit 4 is 84 degrees Centigrade (183.2 degrees Fahrenheit) for the past 12 hours since Obama's spokesperson (i.e., Jackzo) began to pronounce doom and gloom. That's 16 degrees Centigrade (or 28.8 degrees Fahrenheit) below the boiling point of water.

I should NOT tell the reader what to believe, but I would never ever trust anything coming out of the Administration of the Obamination of Desolation nor his newspaper flagship, the NY Times. It's time now for me to put all this aside, read my Bible and say my evening prayers for the people of Japan. Hopefully the people of this country will awaken from their stupor and vote Obama and his demonic legions of confusion and darkness out in November of 2012 (which is next year).

Continuing Updates on the Japanese Nuclear Power Plants

Folks,

It's simply not possible to continue frequent updates on the Japanese nuclear power plants affected by the recent earthquake and tsunami, so go to:

Nuclear Energy Institute: Information on the Japanese Earthquake and Reactors in That Region

International Atomic Energy Agency: Earthquake & Tsunami in Japan: Nuclear News and Updates

American Nuclear Society: ANS Nuclear Cafe

The popular news media isn't capable of reporting events dispassionately. Anti-nuclear activists are among the worst. But pro-nuclear activists, with an almost religious awe and worship of man's engineering prowess, are sometimes just as bad. I agree that this disaster has a worse impact on renewable energy (e.g., dam breaks and subsequent flooding of downstream villages and towns) and fossil energy (explosion and burning of oil and gas tanks with uncontrolled release of chemical carcinogens into the environment). But the fact of the matter is that the GE Mark 1 containment design at the Fukushima Daiichi has fared very badly. True, the circumstances are extraordinary. But even man's greatest engineering masterpiece - a Western light water reactor - cannot stand in the face of what nature can do.

That being said, I still favor nuclear energy over all others because it is the least risky and most safe (compared with fossil fuel and dams). I don't include wind mills and solar cells because they only work 30% of the time and would be completely wiped out after a natural disaster like this. Yet terrible things are happening at the affected Japanese nuclear power plants and gloating on how powerful containment is, is unseemly. Videos show the sheet metal roofs of secondary containment at two (or perhaps three) of the reactors now blown apart (the bottom concrete parts still intact), and primary containment has been breached at least one reactor. On-site, localized radiation fields are very significant. True, it is likely off-site fields will continue to remain very low and well below levels that can impact human health, but we shouldn't be lulled into a sense of arrogance. The workers at the Japanese plants are doing heroic jobs in the face of unheard of circumstances.

So.....instead of wailing at how terrible and risky nuclear energy is (and that's a false accusation) or gloating in man's technological prowess (that's unmitigated arrogance by certain industry shrills), let's pray for the workers who are desparately trying to prevent a horrific situation from getting worse, and for the general populace who are far more affected by the loss of infrastructure, food, water, shelter and so on than by anything happening at Fukushima Daiichi or Daini. And for those of us who have money, a donation to Catholic Relief Services wouldn't help. This is Lent - a time of pray, fasting and alms giving, and a time of repentance and conversion. Heeding the warnings of Our Lady of Akita wouldn't be a bad idea, either.

One last thought, and this won't be popular with some readers: if we do not repent and get our hearts right with God, then we can expect even worse than what God allowed (NOT caused) to happen to Japan. The lesson that our Blessed Lord gave in Luke 13:1-5 comes to mind. One may argue that the Japanese are innocent. In a real sense, they are; no one deserves this happening to them. However, having once been a Christian Constitutional Republic (NOT a liberal atheist Democracy where two wolves and one sheep votes on what's for dinner), we Americans are NOT so innocent, especially when we consider our abortion, our sanctification of homosexual filth, our lethal experimentation on unborn human babies, and so on. God is NOT a disinterested spectator in the events of human affairs.

Pray for the Japanese. Give to the charity of your choice. And realize that the problem is NOT the risks of nuclear energy, but the consequences of sin (in the context that I have just described). God didn't cause this earthquake and tsunami, but when we reject Him by worshipping the work of our own hands, murdering our unborn and wallowing in sexual deviancy and filth, then He releases His protective hands even from the fault lines in the crust of the Earth and the inevitable happens. Unfortunately the Japanese are the innocent victims - this go-around.