Question for Catholics

Can anyone explain to me that "Fat Tuesday" is the big party then from Ash Wednesday to Easter is lent and you all are supposed to abstain during, but in between is St. Patty's day which is nothing but a big drinking day?

Exodus 20:3-17

3Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

4Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

5Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

6And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

7Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

8Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

9Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

10But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

11For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

12Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

13Thou shalt not kill.

14Thou shalt not commit adultery.

15Thou shalt not steal.

16Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

17Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.

New Town

I saw this headline on The Milwaukee Channel's web site: New Florida Town Plans Abortion, Porn, Birth Contol Bans. I thought cool; someone is taking a stand on their morals and decided to include others. This town is called Ave Maria and is being bankrolled by Thomas Monaghan of Domino’s fame and Barron Collier Co.

The detractors claim this plan is unconstitutional and they promise lawsuits. This is country club Christianity," said Frances Kissling, president of the liberal Washington, D.C.-based Catholics for a Free Choice, which opposes the church's bans on abortion and birth control. She likened the town's concept to Islamic fundamentalism and teaching intolerance. "This is un-American," Kissling said. "I don't think in a democratic society you can have a legally organized township that will seek to have any kind of public service whatsoever and try to restrict the constitutional rights of citizens."

From what I read on Ave Maria's website this town is being built with private funds ONLY. The only services that will be contracted out to a governmental agency are police and fire. So what is the real problem? I know the left loves porn, abortion, birth control, and other family unfriendly ideas. To link these people to Islamic fundamentalism and intolerance, shows that Kissling is intolerant and is religiously devoid.

Salt Lake City was founded by a religion, and is still dominated by it. Do we declare that city un-American and unconstitutional, then bulldoze the city over and rebuild and repopulate it with a population reflecting the overall U.S. demographics? Do we stop any “planned” communities that have restrictions over property rights? NO, and these places are thriving despite the fact that the have rules that might be unconstitutional.

States, cities and towns all around the U.S. are placing restrictions on constitutional rights of citizens all the time (smoking bans, firearms). So why not start a community with a set of morals and rules that the people who will move there agree upon from the start?

Technorati Tags : Religion, Towns, Government, Laws

False Gods

If evolution and overall science and not divine intervention is the truth to life then:

• Where are the examples today of evolution? Man has not changed in body structure for thousands of years, nor has any animals. Man’s evolution has only been in how and where living. The animals have had to adapt to live with man where man has not been before. Do not bring up that flying fish or mudpuppies are the signs of evolution, they have been around in the same form since discovered
• Why don’t we have a deep canyon where the Mississippi or the Nile flow? Those rivers have been around as long as the Colorado which ‘formed’ the Grand Canyon and they don’t have the large channel
• Where are the craters like on other planets and moons? Sure, there are a few but our planet should have a lot more. They can’t say that the moon protected us, look at what happened to Jupiter a few years ago and that planet has larger moons
• Why did some scientists discover human footprints along side some dinosaur tracks? Both were ‘frozen’ at the same time

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Freedom OF Religion

Taken directly from the transcript of the United States Bill of Rights:

Article the third... Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Taken from the Wisconsin Constitution:

Freedom of worship; liberty of conscience; state religion; public funds. SECTION 18. [As amended Nov. 1982]

The right of every person to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of conscience shall never be infringed; nor shall any person be compelled to attend, erect or support any place of worship, or to maintain any ministry, without consent; nor shall any control of, or interference with, the rights of conscience be permitted, or any preference be given by law to any religious establishments or modes of worship; nor shall any money be drawn from the treasury for the benefit of religious societies, or religious or theological seminaries. [1979 J.R. 36, 1981 J.R. 29, vote Nov. 1982]

Article I, §18 - ANNOT.A nativity scene displayed by a city did not violate the establishment clause. Lynch v. Donnelly, 465 U.S. 668 (1984).What I see (I am not a lawyer) is that Congress or the state can not make a religion or restrict any practice of a persons religion, Including a Christmas display at a public facility.Has anyone noticed that Christian AND Jewish holidays are NOT on the MPS calander yet Kwanzaa is? I think this might be a violation of the third ammendment and section 18 of the State costitution.

Technorati Tags : Freedom, Religion

Christmas Music

I found a fun channel on DirecTV called Special X-Mas, this channel plays off beat Christmas music. I have heard some wild and funny songs in the last few days, I know it cheapens the spirit of this time of year, but it is an alternative to what the other stations are playing. It is channel 860 on the DirecTV network (it is run by X-FM satellite radio).

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Christmas Light Display

During my surfing I came across this story at snopes.com: http://www.snopes.com/photos/arts/xmaslights.asp Open the links to see a master artist at work.

Technorati Tags : Christmas, Light, Display