Laughs

This is too good not to post :)  Enjoy

The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent terrorist threats

and have therefore raised their security level from "Miffed" to "Peeved."

Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to "Irritated" or
even "A Bit Cross." The English have not been "A Bit Cross" since the
blitz in 1940 when tea supplies nearly ran out. Terrorists have been
re-categorized from "Tiresome" to "A Bloody Nuisance." The last time the
British issued a "Bloody Nuisance" warning level was in 1588, when
threatened by the Spanish Armada.

The Scots have raised their threat level from "Pissed Off" to "Let's get
the Bastards." They don't have any other levels. This is the reason they
have been used on the front line of the British army for the last 300
years.

The French government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror
alert level from "Run" to "Hide." The only two higher levels in France are
"Collaborate" and "Surrender." The rise was precipitated by a recent fire
that destroyed France's white flag factory, effectively paralyzing the
country's military capability.

Italy has increased the alert level from "Shout Loudly and Excitedly" to
"Elaborate Military Posturing." Two more levels remain: "Ineffective
Combat Operations" and "Change Sides."

The Germans have increased their alert state from "Disdainful Arrogance"
to "Dress in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs." They also have two higher
levels: "Invade a Neighbor" and "Lose."

Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual; the only threat
they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels .

The Spanish are all excited to see their new submarines ready to deploy.
These beautifully designed subs have glass bottoms so the new Spanish navy
can get a really good look at the old Spanish navy.

Australia , meanwhile, has raised its security level from "No worries" to
"She'll be alright, Mate." Three more escalation levels remain: "Crikey!",
"I think we'll need to cancel the barbie this weekend", and "The barbie is
cancelled."

Papal Resignation

    Well, Pope Benedict XVI resigned.  Wait, what???  Popes don't just...you know...quit.  Or do they?  Apparently they do...as of a couple days ago.  Actually, that is false. The first pope to resign was Pope St. Pontian, who resigned in 235 after being exiled by Emperor Maximinus Thrax to the salt mines in Sardinia .  In all there have been 10 popes who have stepped down from the Chair of St. Peter, the most recent being Pope Gregory XII in 1415....and now finally Pope Benedict XVI.  So now the Church is in a state of limbo. The "Sede Vacante".  Although Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone is the "acting head of the Church" as the Camerlengo, we don't really have a leader.  This is an historic moment of history.
     The general consensus is that whoever is elected to be the next Pope will have some very large shoes to fill.  See photo à Speculations are rampant on who it will be.  The Cardinals who are numbered among the "favorites" include:  Cardinal Scola of Venice, Cardinal Ouellet of Canada, Cardinal Turkson of Ghana, among others.  My personal preference is, of course, Cardinal Dolan of New York.  I find it quite amusing when I hear all these speculations.  I could almost put money on it that the Cardinals will elect someone whom nobody has hardly even heard of, and who will turn out to be one of the greatest Popes to date.  We need a Pope capable of guiding the Church through the rough waters of today's world.  Someone who is able to stand up to her critics and confirm her teachings.  We need a Pope who has the energy and willpower of Blessed John Paul II, and the holiness, faith, and intellect of Benedict XVI.  The next Holy Father needs to reform the reform of Vatican II (translated: he needs to implement what Vatican II really wanted...not how liberal Catholics misinterperated it).  I trust that the Holy Spirit will do his job well, and inspire the Cardinal Electors to choose a truly saintly man to lead Jesus Christ's One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic, Church.

March for Life - Part 2

     This is the promised second installment of my experiences in Washington D.C. for the March for Life.  If you didn't get a chance to read the first part you can read it here.
     Well, I left off the last post with dinner in the "Vantage Point" restaurant.   A very delicious dinner, by the way.  And yes, I ate too much.  Way too much.  But it was definitely worthwhile.  I was making up for my malnourishment at school (courtesy of the crummy cafeteria food, which would make anyone lose their appetite).  The hotel was relatively near Ronald Reagan National Airport so we had a great view of all the planes coming in.  One would appear on the horizon just about exactly every two minutes.  It was quite interesting.  We all slept soundly that night, partly out of utter exhaustion and partly because we all had full stomachs.
     The next day (Saturday) we had almost the entire day for sightseeing.  My friends Scott, Abby, Eileen, Kathryn, and John, and I started the day off with breakfast at McDonald's (McDonald's has some good pancakes, for the record).  Then we headed off to Arlington National Cemetery where we watched to changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  I had been to the changing of the guard before, and I have to say that it is one of the coolest things I have ever witnessed.  To watch the soldier stand guard at that tomb, pacing slowly back and forth, is quite the sight.  When his relief finally arrived the sergeant addressed the hushed crowd in a harsh, solemn, and commanding tone.  He ordered us to be silent during the proceedings out of respect and everyone instantly fell silent.  I'm pretty sure that everyone would've rolled around on the ground if he had ordered us to do so.  The entire ceremony had a sense of awe and solemnity around it.  After witnessing that awesome spectacle we visited the tombs of Audie Murphy, the most decorated soldier of WWII, and of John F. Kennedy, where I got yelled at for trying to answer my cell phone.  Apparently cell phones are strictly verboten.  After leaving the cemetery we walked to the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial, which happens to be my second favorite site in D.C., the other being the Lincoln Memorial.  We were soon joined by several more of our friends and we all walked to Chipotle for lunch.
       During the afternoon Eileen and I toured the Mall, visiting the Washington Monument, the National Museum of History, the WWII Memorial, the Vietnam wall, the Korean Memorial, and my favorite, the Lincoln Memorial.  I only wish that they would've built all those things in an area of about 4 blocks.  Your feet get sore with all the walking.
       No matter how many times I go back to DC (I've been three times now), it never gets old.  There is just something amazing about being in our nation's capital.  Every time I go there I feel like I am a little bit of a part of all the history that is there.  Standing in front of the statue of Abraham Lincoln, I always feel like I'm almost actually in his presence.  It was especially awesome this time since I had just recently seen Steven Spielberg's masterpiece, "Lincoln".
     We ended the day with Mass, before boarding the buses for the 24 hour ride back to campus.  Looking back, being a part of a 650,000 strong protest for life was an incredible experience.  I am proud to be able to add my voice to the fight for life and I am looking forward to going back next year (hopefully).