extreme Catholic 

 

David Limbaugh: The "Offensiveness of Jesus" It amazes me that people can still, with a straight face, deny that Christians are the subjects of systematic discrimination in this country. Every time I turn around there's more evidence. Since my book "Persecution" was released I've seen enough additional examples to give me a good start on a sequel – not that I've decided to write one at this point. But I continue to encounter liberals who pooh-pooh the idea that it is even possible to discriminate against a majority group.

Excellent article and excellent book.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 7:00 PM   Permalink  

 

I want to give a tribute here to Monk. Now on the USA Network. Tony Shalhoub is a great character actor in everything (think Galaxy Quest, Men In Black I & II, The Siege). But I especially like the intensity of the minor characters. They appear on the screen for a minute or so but always are impressive.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 11:27 PM   Permalink  

 
Newsday: 64 Die in Congo From Anti-Sorcery Potion

KINSHASA, Congo -- Congo health officials on Thursday were investigating the poison deaths of 64 people, allegedly from a potion used to ward off evil spirits.

The Roman Catholic priest who allegedly administered the drink fled the village of Bosobe early last week after people started falling ill, Health Minister Yagi Sitolo told The Associated Press.

This is a serious story and we pray for the souls of these people.

But I suspect this will just be more grist for the anti-Catholic mill.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 2:21 PM   Permalink  

 
Ann Coulter: Supreme Court Opinions Not Private Enough

THE FIRST killing of an abortion doctor by an anti-abortion activist happened in 1993. Since then, six more people have been killed in attacks on abortion clinics, which is fewer people who ended up dead by being in the vicinity of recently released Weatherman Kathy Boudin. Most of the abortionists were shot or, depending upon your point of view, had a procedure performed on them with a rifle. This brings the total to: seven abortion providers to 30 million fetuses dead, which is also a pretty good estimate of how the political battle is going.

I told Santa that I want a talking Ann Coulter doll for Christmas.
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 12:37 AM   Permalink  

 
Fox News: Mom Sues School to Allow Nativity Scene

If a Christmas tree can stand in a school's halls during the holidays, then a model of baby Jesus and his manger should also be welcomed, contends a Queens, N.Y., mother who is going to court to prove her point.

No action Thursday -- just a procedural meeting.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 12:27 AM   Permalink  

 
Commercialization of Christmas

Buzz on talk radio today (ABC) against the naked plugging that NBC did for their shows during the ceremony to light the Christmas Tree. One caller said that with all the music they played for 3 hours -- zero traditional Christmas hymns.

At least they have kept the name Christmas while they are at some pains to avoid mentioning the word itself.

The lighting used to be a strictly local deal with only the local WNBC talent and production staff participating. Now's its a big deal for NBC Network, MSNBC, CNBC, Bravo, and Telemundo all owned by GE.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 12:07 AM   Permalink  

 
BBC: Scotland bans the videotaping of Nativity plays.

Edinburgh's director of education has defended a ban on photographic or video recordings of nativity plays and concerts without the unanimous agreement of all parents.

The measure has been introduced to stop still pictures and films falling into the hands of paedophiles.

It's absurd and paranoid. What evidence is there that (a) such videos are being sold on the internet and (b) that paedophiles have any interest in them?

It's a chain of crazy suppositions -- starting with the idea the parents would do anything with the videos except to preserve them for memory.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 7:19 PM   Permalink  

 
What are they putting in the water over there?

BBC: Abuse fears over school photos

A head teacher has warned that newspaper pictures of school children could lead to threats from paedophiles.

These schools have refused to give permission to publish names with pictures of pupils, even when parents involved given their consent, said [managing editor of the Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph] Mr Penman.

Kids around here get their pictures in the papers for sports, academic achievement, community service, and heroism. It's absurd and paranoid to take the honor and recognition from them and their parents for this [apparently bogus] fear.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 7:08 PM   Permalink  

 
Newsday: Arab Population on the Rise in the U.S.

DEARBORN, Mich. -- Raghdaa Ali, who immigrated from Iraq three years ago, has found it easy to adjust to life in this heavily Arab Detroit suburb.

"Everybody wants to live in a place they can work, make money, live safely," said Ali, 23, who works at Middle East Financial Services, a small business flanked by Arab-owned grocery stores, restaurants and hair salons.

The Arab population in the United States has nearly doubled in the past two decades, according to the Census Bureau's first report on the group.

Muslims are my neighbors in New York. And, contrary to the sterotype, many of them have college degrees and professional occupations.

In political debates, it's often asked "Where are the moderate Muslims?" The ones that can, immigrate to the United States.

This is a bit of a contradiction -- unlike Christians, where only access to a Christian Church is a priority, Muslims are obligated to live in a land where there is Muslim religion, culture, law, and state rather than side by side with non-Muslims. Ask a Muslim about that.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 3:01 PM   Permalink  

 
Al-Ahram: Palestinian Christians after Nazareth

"The textbooks basically equate the history of Palestine with the history of the Islamic conquest of Palestine," he says. "The Christian history of Palestine -- as occurred, say, during the Byzantine period -- is not celebrated in the same way. The result is that many Palestinians taking the curriculum will grow up believing that Palestine is historically Muslim with the only 'Christian' references being the Crusades and Napoleon. "I really don't see how this equips Palestinian Muslims to view their Christian compatriots as equals."

Since this was written in 1999 the Christian population of Nazareth has largely fled.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 2:55 PM   Permalink  

 
Modesto Bee: "he began to turn on her and assault her. It was a brutal beating."

This is the case of a police officer who didn't use sufficient force to subdue a suspect. The officer is lucky to be alive.

I wonder if this story will get the national attention that the other story did.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 1:19 AM   Permalink  

 
AP: Guardian: Schiavo Not Likely to Improve

An independent guardian concluded there is "no reasonable medical hope" that a severely brain-damaged woman at the center of a right-to-die legal battle will improve, according to a report released Tuesday.

But as long as there is controversy in the case of Terri Schiavo, guardian Jay Wolfson is asking to remain on the case in hopes of settling the fight among her husband, her parents and Gov. Jeb Bush, according to the report, which was delivered to Bush.

Wolfson also recommended that swallowing tests be conducted to see if Terri would be able to eat on her own.

Let's pray for all connected with this case.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 1:14 AM   Permalink  

 
Turning the Other Cheek... again

From the time that the Church had Constantine's sword, the Biblical command to "turn the other cheek" has not applied to the obligation to defend others. CCC 2262 puts "turn the other cheek" in the context of anger, hatred, and vengeance. The very next paragraph CCC 2263 denies a sort of suicide-by-not-resisting your murderer with the legitimization of self-defense: personal and national.

While Jesus told the woman caught in adultery not to commit this sin, he praised the faith of a Roman centurion. If Jesus had a point to make about imperial power and military service, that was his opportunity to do so.

The heart of this discussion ought to be proportionality (ie nuking Hiroshsima or "Operation Downfall") not the idea that our Catholic faith requires us "turn the other cheek" -- presumably that would be to offer Al Qaeda Rockefeller Center ("the other cheek") after destroying the World Trade Center ("the cheek"). I find that idea both silly and repugnant.

Let me restate the point that others are alluding to: Catholics are obligated to fight and win this war in a proportional way before there is another successful terrorist attack which will drive the war hawks to a total war on Islam (ie "Crusades 2.0")

There is a danger in doing too little or too much.

I posted this into Mark Shea's comment boxes where it is likely not be archived.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 12:53 AM   Permalink  

 
The Immigration Debate

As the child of two immigrants from Ireland, I know there is a hypocritical position that some first- second- and third- generation immigrants have to deny all immigration into the United States. I still see a need for immigration for the good of the US. However, I do not favor open borders with a no questions asked instant citizenship as my bishop apparently does.

I have a problem with one of the open borders arguments: people born here have hit the Lotto or there's no reason to show any favoritism towards the native born -- it was an accident of birth.

My answer to that is what's stopping Mexico City from becoming more like New York?

Why can't any area or any culture adopt what makes New York offer opportunity to millions and apply it to themselves -- and not switch from soccer to baseball?

I lived in Africa in the 70's and traveled outside the US in the 80's and it seemed that when a person decided that they could try harder and move up the ladder there was always someone or something that stood in the way.

It might have been a lack of family (or tribal) connections, a lack of money to payoff a corrupt official, or protected competitor. The United States presents such people with not a democracy but a meritocracy: effort and performance are rewarded here like no where else in the world.

Of course, it always matters who you know as much as what you know -- but connections only open doors -- you have to make your own reputation.

There's prejudice in the United States, but people who are reading about this in India, Peru, or Nigeria are not changing their plans to immigrate to the United States. Not perfect, but better (and maybe the best on earth).

There are two effects: one is that the United States gets a lot of people searching for meritocracy but there's a talent drain from the countries of origin.

This isn't the whole story or even my whole opinion but it's a start.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 12:07 PM   Permalink  

 

TREE TIME Barely clad models slumber around the Christmas tree in the latest Abercrombie & Fitch catalog, which has prompted protests from Christian groups. A&F QUARTERLY (I have deliberately reduced the size of the photo which accompanies the article)

New York Sun: Fitch’s Steamy Winter Catalog Fetches Many Complaints By PIA CATTON Staff Reporter of the Sun Soft-core photos of hairless, beefy boys and lounging, half-dressed girls are standard stuff in Abercrombie & Fitch’s quarterly catalog. But this winter’s installment — the “Christmas Field Guide,” which is billed as “280 pages of moose, ice hockey,chivalry, group sex & more” — is extra hot. So steamy, in fact, that this racy fullcolor brochure is no longer on the shelves of Abercrombie & Fitch in Manhattan or anywhere else. And the reason why is a matter of some debate. “We had to move it aside to make way for our new fragrance,” said spokesman Hampton Carney of Paul Wilmot Communications. “In many of the stores it sold out. If you go into the stores, you’ll see that everything changes pretty quickly. If you bought a v-neck sweater and went back a few weeks later it wouldn’t be there.” But conservative groups, which in early November launched a boycott of the retailer and its saucy printed material, say their pressure — not the girl wearing only “Unwrap Me” panties and not the interview with Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie — caused the book to fly off the shelves. “The angry voices of hundreds of thousands of Americans have made a difference,” said Paul Hetrick, spokesman of Focus on the Family, the Colorado-based conservative group lead by Dr. James Dobson. “I think it’s ironic that they chose to pull it right before their big buying season,” said Maryam Kubasek, director of communications at the National Coalition for Protection of Children & Families in Cincinnati, Ohio. Though the coalition was pleased that the quarterly is no longer available, Ms. Kubasek says the battle is still on. “The real problem is that their ideology has not changed.” For its part, Abercrombie & Fitch says its demographic is college students, aged 18 to 22 — a group that is not known for its reticence.The catalog is directed to that market and in order to purchase it, customers must be 18 or older. “It’s a sexy, irreverent image. It’s a chronicle of the college experience, the voice of the youth of America,” Mr. Carney said. Judging from the “Christmas Field Guide,” the youth of America is busy engaging in naked frolics along rivers where moose safely wade and orgies that led everyone to pass out, with or without clothing, ’round the old tannenbaum. Several NYU students, though, found the catalog mainly just a source of comedy. “I like the clothes, and pictures of naked men,” said Colby Fuller, 20. “My friends and I laugh at it,but we still buy the clothes.” Yasmeen Mekawy, 18, walked by as her friends were inspecting the catalog, took one look, and just laughed. “It’s a clothing company. The women aren’t wearing any clothes.” And that’s pretty much the way things are going. In January, the Spring Break version of the quarterly will debut. And if winter was indecent, just wait for more. “It’s going to be spectacular, just as exciting as ever,” Mr. Carney said. “The editorial direction has not changed.” Which means the family activists will also be having their say. “We’re going to continue to advocate a boycott of a pornographer masquerading as a clothier,” Mr. Hetrick said. And others will continue to seek it out. Charlie Richard, who bought cargo pants, a T-shirt, and underwear at the shop in South Street Seaport, tried desperately to take The New York Sun’s copy of the quarterly. “I tried to get one in Florida two years ago, but they were all sold out,” he said. “I want it because it’s sexy. It’s not pornographic at all. Just pictures of beautiful people having a good time.”

One observation that I have to make is that when it comes to smut, Catholics have generally let the evangelical protestants carry the water. It is another sign that the bishops have lost moral authority. I blog the bishops of other nations who use their moral authority effectively. The Catholic communtity of bloggers has "episcopal spine alerts" which are so infrequent that each one is blog-worthy.

In fact, I'm afraid to do the math: have there been more criticisms of pornography from the Catholic Church or more disclosures of the posession of pornography by the Catholic clergy?

To the issue itself, the reaction that "It's no big deal" demonstrates how effective the idea of pushing the envelope is with respect to changing (or destroying) the idea of modesty as a virtue. It just gets harder to shock people.

To get some laughter from teens, try telling them that one of the early goals of feminism was to refine men: to make them not see women as sex objects.

As we all know, the exact opposite ocurred. The culture tide washed women with testosterone and corsened them.

One hopeful sign is that the Victoria's Secret show on CBS had poor ratings. On the other hand, it was suggested that it only had poor ratings because it was tame compared to the raw porn available on the internet. The internet as Dennis Miller remarked has as its greatest contribution to culture was to present free porn to teenagers.

Another reason for my bringing up the subject is that Rush Limbaugh mentioned that in his treatment center more people were being treated for sexual addiction than for drug abuse.

I found this Catholic website pornnomore which is an apostolate for pornography addiction.

Porn is a gateway to worse evils: patronizing strip clubs, promiscuity, adultery, prostitution, etc.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 8:34 AM   Permalink  

 
Update: Fire Department Story

Agents are already going after the women for the book and film rights to this story.

The fire fighters union has a good point to make: prior to 9/11 the union would decide how to offer assistance and assign counselors or firefighters to the task of working with the widows and children. The city took this function over and firefighters were paid for this as assignment initially. Later, when told to go back home and stay away from the widow and her kids by their supervisors, there was no consequence for disobeying this order.

There probably be a law passed forbidding this policy in the future.

In Catholic moral teaching and common sense, you should avoid temptation.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 4:16 PM   Permalink  

 
In time for St. Juan Diego (Tuesday December 9) and Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Friday December 12)

Taipei Times: After hip hop, Cholo New York University undergraduates swagger down lower Broadway affecting diluted variations: neatly folded bandannas, T-shirts emblazoned with the Virgin of Guadalupe and "Mi Vida Loca" slogans printed in ornate gothic letters, pants cropped at calf length or shorts worn with white socks pulled up to the knees.
	Order a Casa Mexico Virgin of Guadalupe t-shirt so you can imitate the New York University undergraduates who swagger down lower Broadway and promote devotion to the Virgin of Guadalupe at the same time.
Goddess of the Americas: Writings on the Virgin of Guadalupe
	About the book: The writers, almost all distinguished Latinos, suggest that the Virgin of Guadalupe is a direct descendant of the ancient gods and goddesses of central America, and that furthermore, she is a primary feminine face of the Divine.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 12:16 AM   Permalink  

 
(1) New York Post: Why Flames of Passion are Stoked

December 1, 2003 -- No one should be surprised that married firemen assigned to console 9/11 widows are actually falling in love with them, too - it's all part of their "rescue fantasies," top shrinks say.

"That's what firemen do - they rescue people," Dr. Barry Richman, a Manhattan psychiatrist, said yesterday. "They see these vulnerable women and see that they've lost their spouses, and they step into that role. It activates all of their own rescue fantasies."

(2) New York Post: FDNY Wives Get Burned

December 1, 2003 -- EXCLUSIVE It's the FDNY's "dirty little secret." At least a dozen of New York's Bravest - some of them assigned to look after Sept. 11 widows - have left their wives for the spouses of their comrades killed in the terror attacks, sources told The Post.

(3) New York Post: Hero Hubby 'Killed' His Marriage

December 1, 2003 -- On Sept. 12, 2001, firefighter Gerry Koenig and his wife, Mary, were slated to start a new life: They were to sign papers to buy a 14-acre spread upstate, and planned to build their dream home there.

But the day before, the unthinkable happened.

"My husband rushed to Ground Zero, and he basically never came home," Mary said. "He was a 9/11 survivor, but our family died.

(4) New York Post: Kids lost Firefighter Dad

December 1, 2003 -- On a recent afternoon, Kristin Zazulka, 18, and her 8-year-old sister watched from the window as their father walked hand-in-hand with another young girl to their grandmother's house next door.

"My dad was taking his girlfriend's little girl to my grandmother's, and I thought it would break my little sister's heart, watching them," said Kristin. "She still believes Daddy is coming home to us."

He's not. Firefighter John Zazulka "walked out" on his wife and own four kids to be with 9/11 widow Debbie Amato and her four children, his wife and children say.

Comment: All these stories do not use the word adultery. Since when did it become politically incorrect to do so? I had to blog this because it contains this wonderful 21st century capsule of the secular concept of marriage:

I didn't leave my family. I left my wife.

Another facet of these stories, written by two female reporters of the New York Post, is there's no judgment on the widows -- it looked to me almost as if it was an entitlement of losing a firefighter husband, you get a new one.

The firefighters mentioned in the story: Gerry Koenig and John Zazulka declined to give their side of the story.

I didn't want to blog this as I think it was a cliche and hyped. I was surprised. This story dominated the television news and Mayor Bloomberg discussed it before the press: "This doesn't belong on the front page".

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 10:49 PM   Permalink  

 
Your CRS contribution pushing the invisible hand

USA Today: Faith organizations throw weight behind 'fair trade' coffee movement

By In-Sung Yoo, USA TODAY

A Catholic charitable organization has become the latest outfit to join religious groups backing the "fair-trade coffee" movement, an effort to help coffee farmers worldwide who are hurt by falling prices.

Sharp price drops in the past three years have created a crisis for 25 million families that grow coffee in 50 developing countries, experts say. Some U.S. corporations, including Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts and Procter & Gamble, have responded by agreeing to sell brands of fair-trade coffee, which helps ensure that the coffee growers make a decent living.

Now, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has announced an initiative aimed at boosting sales of fair-trade coffee among the nation's 65 million Catholics. The CRS Coffee Project partners with the Interfaith Coffee Program of Equal Exchange Inc., a fair-trade company based in Canton, Mass.

If you are interested in buying this stuff go to Equal Exchange Fairly Traded Gourmet Coffee

I know first hand how free trade prices can impoverish third world farmers -- but I don't know how to improve conditions without becoming an efficient producer. Fair trade can only go against the flow of the market so far.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 10:23 PM   Permalink  

 
UPDATE: Medical Examiner: Newborn Found Dead at Brooklyn Church was Delivered Alive

By Lauren Glassberg

(Marine Park-WABC, November 30, 2003) — There was a gruesome discovery in Brooklyn on Sunday. Someone left a newborn baby's body at the entrance to a church in Marine Park. Now the medical examiner says the child was born alive.

An autopsy on the baby girl's body was not conclusive, though. It'll take more tests to determine if the newborn was murdered, and if homicide charges could be involved.

The hours old infant was found dead in a bag left at the front door of the Resurrection Church in Gerritsen Beach Sunday morning. The usher of the Resurrection Roman Catholic church made the discovery and called police.

Police say the newborn weighed several pounds, and that the umbilical cord was still attached. Police were calling it a fetus until the medical examiner's reporter determined it had been born alive.

The congregation is pained and saddened by the incident. Parishioners say that they wish the mother would have sought out help if the fetus was viable. Prayers were said at Sunday mass for the fetus and its mother.

Ann Soto, Parishioner: "We are praying for the mother to come forward...please...please come forward. Let us help you! Maybe you had a problem...we'll help...come to one of us."

Police say they have no leads about who the child's mother might be.

A state law passed in 2000 shields parents from prosecution if they leave unwanted babies at safe havens like hospitals, fire houses and police stations.

Anyone with information should call (800) 577-TIPS.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 9:41 PM   Permalink  

 
Newsday: Baby's Body Found in Brooklyn Church

The body of a lifeless newborn wrapped in a holiday shopping bag was found outside a Brooklyn church yesterday morning by an usher who was getting the parish ready for Mass.

Police were called to the Resurrection Roman Catholic Church in Marine Park at 6:55 a.m. by the man who made the grim discovery, usher Jerry Demario, 71. Police declared the baby dead at the scene.

Demario said medical personnel told him the baby was a female. Authorities are not sure when the infant was born.

Demario said he was getting the parish ready for 8 a.m. Mass, when he saw a shopping bag next to a bush, near a side entrance of the church.

He thought that the bag contained a clothing or food donation for the needy and looked inside. Instead, Demario said he saw five plastic bags covering a sheet, which was rolled around an object.

"I unrolled the sheet and there was a baby," he said. "I saw the umbilical chord still attached."

Demario, a Marine Park resident who has one grown child and three grandchildren, said he was stunned by the gruesome find.

"I had a sick feeling and sorrow for the baby and the mother," he said.

Demario brought the baby inside the church and called police.

One police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that whoever dropped off the baby would likely face criminal charges.

It's not clear when the bag was dropped off. Demario said he passed by the side entrance at around 5:30 a.m. and did not see a parcel next to the bush. An hour later, at 6:30 a.m., Demario noted the shopping bag and peered inside.

Resurrection parishioners were aghast yesterday when they heard what happened.

"I hope the mother comes forward to say why she did it," said Josette Brandow, 41, of Gerritsen Beach, the mother of two pre-teens. "It would have been easier to bring the baby to the hospital or the rectory but she was probably afraid."

Ann Soto, 48, also of Gerritsen Beach and mother of three children, shook her head at the news.

"I hope they find out who the mother is," she said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crimestoppers at 800-577-TIPS or the 61st Precinct Detective Squad at 718-627-6620.

Some earlier AP reports used the term "fetus", it's clear that this was a newborn or stillborn baby from the follow-up stories.l

Gerritsen Beach is one of the wealthiest, if not the wealthiest areas of Brooklyn.

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 8:44 PM   Permalink  

 

AP Photo: Actress Joey Lauren Adams (news) is seen in this Aug. 15, 2001 file photo in the Westwood area of Los Angeles. Adams, who appeared in films like 'Chasing Amy' and 'Big Daddy,' was arrested Friday, Nov. 28, 2003 in La Jolla, Calif. on suspicion of drunken driving, police said. (AP Photo/Kim D. Johnson, File)

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 12:15 PM   Permalink  

 
You might be safer in Baghdad than in a Wal-Mart

AP: Florida Woman Trampled at Wal-Mart Stampede

A mob of shoppers rushing for a sale on DVD players trampled the first woman in line and knocked her unconscious as they scrambled for the shelves at a Wal-Mart Supercenter.

Patricia VanLester had her eye on a $29 DVD player, but when the siren blared at 6 a.m. Friday announcing the start to the post-Thanksgiving sale, the 41-year-old was knocked to the ground by the frenzy of shoppers behind her.

"She got pushed down, and they walked over her like a herd of elephants," said VanLester's sister, Linda Ellzey. "I told them, `Stop stepping on my sister! She's on the ground!'"

Ellzey said some shoppers tried to help VanLester, and one employee helped Ellzey reach her sister, but most people just continued their rush for deals.

"All they cared about was a stupid DVD player," she said Saturday.

Paramedics called to the store found VanLester unconscious on top of a DVD player, surrounded by shoppers seemingly oblivious to her, said Mark O'Keefe, a spokesman for EVAC Ambulance.

She was flown to Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach, where doctors told the family VanLester had a seizure after she was knocked down and would likely remain hospitalized through the weekend, Ellzey said. Hospital officials said Saturday they did not have any information on her condition.

"She's all black and blue," Ellzey said. "Patty doesn't remember anything. She still can't believe it all happened."

Ellzey said Wal-Mart officials called later Friday to ask about her sister, and the store apologized and offered to put a DVD player on hold for her.

Wal-Mart Stores spokeswoman Karen Burk said she had never heard of a such a melee during a sale.

"We are very disappointed this happened," Burk said. "We want her to come back as a shopper."

Also: Fox News: Frantic Shopping Kicks Off Holiday Buying Season

posted by Patrick Sweeney at 11:54 AM   Permalink