A New Home for SFL

A Secular Franciscan Life has a new home.

I have had this domain name registered for a while and I didn't know what to do with it. After I started blogging I finally figured out what to do with this account.
So if you would add my new home for my blog on your blogroll I would appreciate it.
I'll see you in the new digs.

You Might Be a Redneck if...

If you're pumpin' gas and your hair catches on fire, you might be a redneck.

Mock "reality" Presidential Race Planned

Will we be able to tell the difference?

Wal-Mart Trampling Update

It seems that the woman who was trampled trying to get a DVD player at a Florida Wal-Mart store has a history of filing liability and worker's compensation claims against several businesses, Wal-Mart in particular.
Maybe I was too quick to chastise the shoppers in the store. Who knows, maybe they were used by this woman and her sister to create another opportunity for a quick buck.

Why Didn't She Just Dump Coffee in Her Lap?

A Texas woman was sentenced to 10 years in prison for running over a McDonald's manager when an employee told her she couldn't get mayonnaise on her cheeseburger.
I still haven't figured why some folks get so violent when they don't get their way. Behaving like a spoiled child is one thing but taking it to this level is quite another.
I don't believe this women was suffering a breakdown similar to the Michael Douglas movie "Falling Down" but committed an amoral act of utter selfishness. I would think that a lifetime ban from operating a motor vehicle is appropriate also.

Babes Against Bush!

If you happen to be either a traditional male or non-traditional female reader you may find the tactic that these non-supporters of our only president are taking to be a little titillating.
Babes Against Bush! wants "to put the pleasure back into liberal politics!" and be "educational, entertaining, and socially responsible without being politically correct."
They are selling a calendar that features 13 "wholesome and resilient lasses our men have fought for" with a portion of the profits being donated to anti-Bush causes.
The site also gives "99 Reasons Why Bush Sucks" but I think that some of the reasons are based on some pretty thin reasoning and the usual sour grapes complaints.
With all of the ugliness that has entered the political arena of late a little humor is something that is sorely needed.

You're Only Doing This Because You Hate Me

It seems that the Florida investigators are finding more evidence of Rush Limbaugh's possible wrongdoing. He is now being investigated for "doctor-shopping" which is looking for a doctor willing to prescribe drugs illegally, a third-degree felony under Florida law, punishable by up to five years in prison.
He is proclaiming his innocence which anyone would do but it seems that he will do it in his usual disingenuous manner. Reading a statement drafted by his attorney Limbaugh said "unfortunately, because of Mr. Limbaugh's prominence and well-known political opinions, he is being subjected to an invasion of privacy no citizen of this republic should endure."
Of course the only reason investigators are looking into this affair is because they hate conservative radio personalities and not because they have evidence of a possible felony.
Knowing how Rush operates he will continuously beat this drum and his ditto-heads will be spouting off about how he is being persecuted.

Internet Pranksters Hit Google

It seems that Internet pranksters have been playing with Google again.
If you go to Google, plug in any of the following phrases and click "I'm Feeling Lucky" you may be amused.

Todays phrases to play with are:
"miserable failure"
"french military victories"
"weapons of mass destruction"

Rumsfeld Wins 'foot in mouth' prize

"Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns, there are things we know we know," Rumsfeld said.
"We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns - the ones we don't know we don't know."

I don't think this will ever be topped.

Billings Utility Fee Ruled Illegal

The Montana Supreme Court has ruled that the franchise fees the City of Billings was charging utilities and cable providers were illegal. The next question that comes to my mind is this, will I be rebated the illegal taxes I had to pay?
The companies who were charged and paid the fees might get a rebate but I am doubtful that any rebate will trickle back to their customers.
I can always hope I am wrong.

A Case of Skewed Priorities

Everyone in Montana is well aware of the comeback that wolves are making.
In Minnesota it seems that not only are wolves moving into farming areas and killing livestock, they are also encroaching onto suburbs and coming into contact with humans more and more each day.
Despite the obvious danger to humans, animal rights activists in Minnesota are advocating that wolves should be allowed to continue to expand their range.
I love nature and I think that the wolf is a beautiful and noble animal but must we sacrifice a child before these activists accept reality?
Sadly, I feel that a hard core minority of these activists really don't know what reality is.

Help the Poor, Buy Lingerie

When world coffee prices tanked and the Colombian government began to crack down on the growing of illegal drugs, the Colombian government decided to try a program to help rural Colombians make the transition financially.

I did find one statement in the article interesting:
"Colombia produces 70 percent of the world's cocaine and most of the heroine sold in the United States."
Didn't the 13th Amendment take care of this problem?

From One Drunken Sailor...

Sen. John McCain, a former Navy pilot, is denouncing President Bush and Congress for their profligate spending habits.
If a loyal Republican such as McCain is beginning to question the wisdom of the current federal fiscal policy there may be trouble brewing leading up to next years elections.

From the "How Stupid Do They Think We Are?" File

The Texas populist, Jim Hightower notes the current trend with companies to shrink the size of their packaging to give the consumer less for the same price. He gives several examples, but the best would have to be the swimming pool supply company that offers this hot deal: "Buy 1st Item at Double Normal Price... Get 2nd Identical Item Absolutely FREE!"

Jingle All the Way

Have you ever seen the movie "Jingle All the Way" starring Sinbad and the Governator? It's about the insanity of holiday shopping. After having seen this I can imagine the chaos in this story.
I only have one question for the folks who were shopping at this Wal-Mart.
What the hell is wrong with you people?

From THE Windy City

Is there no justice in Great Falls anymore?

Are You Ready for Christmas?

For many, Thanksgiving kicks off another season of "here we go again" - fending off the annual bombardment from advertisers and the temptation to measure Christmas in terms of presents. It's a month-long struggle to get all of our holiday work done and somehow keep Christ in Christmas, also. You know the routine: the Friday after Thanksgiving, the secular Christmas season officially begins. Of course, Christmas decorations have been up for a week or so, Christmas displays in stores have been twinkling for a month by now, and some ornaments and other decorations have been sitting on the shelves since before Labor Day. Forget the Twelve Days of Christmas; today it's the Twenty (or so) Days of Christmas, beginning with the Friday after Thanksgiving.
That's how the commercial Christmas season goes. Frankly, it poses a problem for those who want to observe the seasons of Advent and Christmas in a spiritual manner. How do we truly prepare in a spiritual rather than a material sense for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ? By observing the Advent season and keeping our preparations for the coming of Christ in balance: between the sacred and secular, modern culture and Christ.

So what is Advent?

Advent is the season four weeks before Christmas in which we prepare for the coming of Christ. The name comes from the Latin word adventus, which means "coming." The season proclaims Christ's anticipated coming again in the fullness of time, as well as the coming of Christ as the infant Savior whose birth we celebrate at Christmas. Because the season emphasizes Christ's comings and not merely his birth, it is not enough to use the season merely as a preparation for Christmas. Instead, the time is appropriate for preparation for the Second Coming of Christ and the inward soul searching that should mark that preparation.
This is traditionally the time of year for reflection, a time to look back at another year of life-experience and how we dealt with it; a time to measure our progress and a time of resolve. In the life of the Church it is also a time of "new beginnings." The Season of Advent ushers in the new liturgical year and our affirmation of God made flesh. We now begin the cycle anew. The Sundays in Advent focus on the Second Coming of Christ, John the Baptist's message of Christ's coming, and the events just before Jesus' birth.
Advent is really a lot like Lent. Both are roughly month-long seasons of preparation for a joyful holiday. But there is one crucial difference between Lent and Advent: Christmas doesn’t have Passion Week preceding it. The penitential observances of Advent have always had a festive character to them. The idea is to contain your excitement before Christmas and to use that energy in preparing for Christ's coming. So people took on these penances joyfully, something that only a Christian could do. Taking time to pause in the holiday celebrations to acknowledge their sins and to clean house spiritually, overjoyed that Christ came to us, but aware of our unworthiness to receive him.
We can still capture this uniquely Christian attitude of joyful penance. During these Advent weeks bring out our Lenten alms boxes and add coins to them before a meatless Friday meal. Put the poor on your gift list: books and toys for children while the entire family could save up for something bigger, an overcoat perhaps, to give to a member of the community less fortunate than ourselves.

Schilling: Bring on the Yanks

It is finally official.
The Red Sox have signed Curt Schilling to a three year deal.
Now the BoSox have a formidable pitching staff with Pedro Martinez, Curt Schilling & Derek Lowe as their possible 1 - 2 - 3 pitchers.
Not only do the Red Sox gain an outstanding pitcher they also have one who has beaten the d@&$ Yankees in the playoffs.
With a strong pitching staff and if the rest of the team can repeat their performances from last year with their bats 2004 might actually be "The Year."
Now if Theo will work on the middle relievers things will really start to look good.
Go Sox!

Montana Bloggers Bash 2003

In those days a decree went out from Craig at mtpolitics.net that the whole of the Montana blogging world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Judy was governor of Montana. So all went to be enrolled, each from his or her own town. To where the rabble has yet to decide.

Craig has proposed a Montana Bloggers Bash. This gathering of YAMB will be an ideal time to get together and finally place names to faces.

So far the cities that have been proposed are:
Billings
Bozeman
Great Falls
Lewistown

It seems that the majority so far are leaning towards attending in Billings.

Gubernatorial candidate Brian Schweitzer has made an offer to be the keynote speaker.

This is starting to look like one heck of a shebang. So let's get this kite flying!

Be Careful When Asking for a Refund

If you aren't happy with the service you have received please feel free to speak to our Complaints Department.

Are You Bow Lingual?

The Japanese knack for inventing useless and/or unwanted innovations has created a new toy. The Bow Lingual is "a 'dog emotion translator' which can reveal what canines are thinking."
Having owned a few dogs in my time I never found that I needed an emotion translator to live with them.
I consider myself to be a rather average pet owner and it seems to me that the way to read their emotions is to just let them run the house and they will be happy.