Culture Ghost wonders about this decision regarding Limbo by the Catholic Church, and most people just missed it. If you have never discussed the abortion issue in a group that included pro-Choice Catholics, you might not understand the importance of this: the Church leaders are plugging a major vulnerability in their justification for their stance on abortion.

Limbo has been a very hurtful thing for centuries for the parents of children who died before baptism. The Church held they were not going to Heaven because they had not been cleansed of their “original sin,” therefore they could not be buried in consecrated ground nor have the last rites performed. Such children were consigned to Limbo.

Many convents got around this policy by creating a “garden of innocents” on their grounds, which lead to major misunderstandings when convents were sold and the remains of multiple newborns were found buried on the premises during construction work. Sympathetic priests often “overlooked the technicalities” and baptisms were given to “unusually well behaved newborns.”

The fact remained that the Church was saying you were not a member until you had been baptized, but you were a human being at conception. The question was simple, if the unborn were valued, why weren’t they eligible for the Sacraments until after they were born and had been baptized. If they were children of G-d, why did G-d’s Church reject them?

Couples have left the Church over this issue, so it isn’t as insignificant as it seems to outsiders. The Church needed to “fix” this gap in its argument, and they are doing it. I hope they will forgive those of us who believe this has more to do with politics than theology.

The problems are apparently: guns, Asian immigrants, loners.

Okay, explain Ted Bundy:

• Admitted to 30 murders, but is suspected of many others, and strangled or beat his victims to death
• Good looking, well educated, native born white American
• Very personable, well-liked, out-going

Ted Bundy is the poster boy for the FBI’s profile of serial killers.

As Chris Regan notes April 19^th was the anniversary of Waco and Oklahoma City, two all American disasters.

It’s a rare incident indeed when you can go from the specific to the general.

There should be a requirement that before being eligible for any Federal appointment the applicant must show proof that they have successfully managed a nationally franchised fast-food restaurant for three consecutive months, and the owners are still willing to hire them as managers.

No exceptions should be granted, as being the CEO of a succession of failed corporations is not the same as being the manager of one successful business.

This requirement must be met before any specialized requirements for education and other training or experience are even looked at.

Via Scorpio at Eccentricity I located Teresa Nielsen Hayden’s Moderation Certificate Program at Making Light.

Doesn’t mean no one’s out to get you.

Back on April 11^th I wrote:

I read on a site during my search that the melamine may have been added to increase the protein level in the gluten when it was tested and priced. The site is a bit strange and “tin foil,” but amines are proteins, so there is some logic and science in the guess.

Today: LitBrit at Shakesville is reporting in the post, Pet Food Poisoning: Now In Three Protein Ingredients, that the FDA is looking into the possibility that the introduction of melamine is intentional “to increase the protein level in the gluten when it was tested and priced.”

The site where I read this is associated with the Schiavo controversy to an extreme degree, but they seem to have been correct on this point. I really hate that we have a government that makes what would normally be “wild conspiracy theories” not only rational, but true.

Because they do not have to rely on advertising, the BBC has the ability to do things differently than the American media. Among the differences is having Peter Horrocks, Head of TV News at the BBC explain the process and thinking behind: Why we showed gunman.

In this case, my immediate reaction would have been to have a panel of experts in law enforcement, mental health, and the media review the material and report on it. Then I would have scheduled the materials to be broadcast at a later date, cynically, the Fall sweeps, to give the families and friends time to grieve. I wouldn’t have done it on the anniversary, as grief counselors would tell you that is another hurdle for those who are grieving. Six months would give professionals time to study the materials and come to reasoned conclusions. I would also make a significant contribution to a victims’ fund, knowing that whatever I did, some people would hate it, and I would need PR cover. It’s called reality, and it is brutal, but you ignore it at your own risk.

When Mom’s Away?

ZZZZ. ZZzz. Zzzz.

[Editor: The only time off Ringo gets is when they are asleep. Property is not going to be a “blue”, but a gray tabby. ]

Friday Ark