D. Maria



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Monday, October 31, 2005

Twick or Tweat

One Halloween this woman opens her door to find the most adorable little girl, with golden blond curly hair and the biggest blue eyes.

She was dressed as an Angel, and was just delightful.

The woman said, "What are you supposed to say sweetheart?"

The little girl looks up at the woman and says "Twick or Tweat!"

The woman thinks this is just adorable, and she calls her husband to come to the door. The woman say to the child, "Go ahead honey say it just one more time."

Once again the little Angel looks up and says, "Twick or Tweat!"

The husband agrees with his wife, this little Angel is just the cutest thing. The woman picks an apple from the Treat Bowl, shines it up with her apron, and drops it into the little girl's Treat Bag.

The little Angel looks in her bag then looks up at the woman and says, "Thanks a lot lady, you just broke my freaking cookies!"



Prayer for America 10/31/05




Fall has come to America, Lord. Barn parties, fall festivals, hayrides, and, of course, trick-or-treaters--all are traditions of our country's communities, of our nation's neighborhoods.

However we choose to honor or celebrate our harvest, let us not forget to honor and celebrate you. Not a flower blooms nor a plant bears fruit without your touch. you have authored our freedom, blessed our way of life, and increased our harvest. Fall has come because you ordained it.

So thank you, God, for the parties and festivals and hayrides. For the ghosts and goblins. For the pumpkins, real and costumed. For the crisp air, the crunchy leaves, and the bulky sweaters. for all you good works. For your love and care. Amen.


Sunday, October 30, 2005

Philadelphia Police Officer Joseph J. DiDomenico

Lest we forget...






Police Officer Joseph J. DiDomenico
Philadelphia Police Department
Pennsylvania
End of Watch:
Friday, October 30, 1953

Biographical Info
Age: Not available
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available

Incident Details
Cause of Death: Automobile accident
Date of Incident: Friday, October 30, 1953
Weapon Used: Not available
Suspect Info: Not available

Officer DiDomenico was killed when the patrol car he was driving collided with a fire truck at 19th and Dickinson streets. Another officer and a fireman were injured. The police were rushing a stabbing victim to a hospital.


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Prayer for America 10/30/05




God, I want to thank you for the courage and patriotism of the men and women who have served this country in the military. without their skills, without their sacrifices, without their deaths, we might very well have lost the freedoms that make America great. Without these heroes, the United States would be a very different country today.

I praise you, God, for raising up men and women of courage to fight our battles in desperate times and to maintain our defenses in peaceful times. I praise you for working through those people to protect and defend us from enemies of every kind. Help us remember them and honor their sacrifices for us.





Saturday, October 29, 2005

Prayer for America 10/29/05




Lord, we live in spiritual abundance. Help us share a little of our bounty with those who may need some. keep us from harm so we can help our children feel safe. Grants us understanding so we can better help others cope with life's challenges. Send us healing so we can help our friends heal. Bestow upon us the gift of peace so we can carry it out into our world. Fill us with your spiritual gifts, and grants us the pleasure of sharing.

America is a land of wonders, in which everything is in constant motion and every change seems an improvement. Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America





Friday, October 28, 2005

Philadelphia Policeman Edward W. Kunz

Lest we forget...






Policeman Edward W. Kunz
Philadelphia Police Department
Pennsylvania
End of Watch:
Thursday, October 28, 1920

Biographical Info
Age: 31
Tour of Duty: 7 yr
Badge Number: Not available

Incident Details
Cause of Death:
Gunfire
Date of Incident: Thursday, October 28, 1920
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect Info: Not available

Officer Kunz was shot and killed by a man he was arresting for theft at Old York Road and Venango Street. Officer Kunz was a seven-year veteran of the force.

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Philadelphia Policeman John F. Smith

Lest we forget...






Policeman John F. Smith
Philadelphia Police Department
Pennsylvania
End of Watch:
Saturday, October 28, 1916

Biographical Info
Age: 28
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available

Incident Details
Cause of Death: Assault
Date of Incident: Saturday, October 28, 1916
Weapon Used: Blunt object; Baton
Suspect Info: Arrested

Officer Smith was killed when he was struck over the head with his own billy club during a brawl he was trying to break up in a saloon at 2nd and Poplar streets. Before he became unconscious, he shot his assailant in the back. The man was arrested nearby.

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Prayer for America 10/28/05




Heavenly Father, at dawn my heart is quiet beneath your hand, but soon I must step into our broken world. Give me the grace to see what I can mend. Perhaps a few kind words to a weary soul will restore needed energy to someone struggling. Perhaps a kindly act of mine will be passed on to one who feels forgotten. Through you I know each act of love is a sword that tears the fabric of evil. I do not need to know that I have made a difference. But surely I need to know that you are near, reminding me to look, to listen, and to obey. Amen.





Thursday, October 27, 2005

Prayer for America 10/27/05




God, you who created the heavens and earth and all things therein, we turn to you now and ask for your merciful love. Create in us all a new spirit of understanding as we struggle to come to grips with the world we live in. Create in us a will that cannot be broken no matter how deeply our mourning dares to bring us down. Create in us the promise of a happier tomorrow that we will one day rise with the sun and fell joy again. Thank you.

America without God wouldn't be America. We're rooted in him, watered in him, and pruned by him. Without him we can't grow.


Iraq War is Focus for Regent's Clash of the Titans

By Dale Hurd


CBN News Sr. Reporter


CBN.com – (CBN News) - People heard both sides of the debate over Iraq recently, as four leading analysts gave their views during Regent University's annual Clash of the Titans.

With polls showing Americans divided over the Iraq war, the four leading commentators took on the topic.

NBC News Anchor Forrest Sawyer moderated the exchange between liberals Wesley Clark and Paul Begala and conservatives Oliver North and Newt Gingrich.

The issue: Is the Bush strategy working in Iraq Former Supreme Allied Commander in Europe Wesley Clark drew boos when he said the Bush administration should have not gone into Iraq without trying to bring along the United Nations and the French.

After the audience’s negative response, Clark said, “Now hang on. I want to ask you something -- which one of you believes that a single American serviceman should die before every possible other alternative has been exhausted?”

Gingrich replied, “I would also say to them, which of you believes there were any circumstances under which Jacques Chirac was going to undermine his covert alliance with Saddam Hussein and the billions of dollars France was making?”

But the debate also went to the very justifications for the war, with former House Speaker Gingrich saying that the media and the left continue to ignore the facts in the report by UN weapons inspector David Kay, that Saddam was dangerous.

“The Iraqi secret police were running 18 biological laboratories,” Gingrich explained. “That's a fact.”

Sawyer retorted, “Where's the citing of that? Where do you know this?” Gingrich responded, “That's in the part of the Kay report that no one in the media would read. Kay said on the record, in the Senate, that Saddam was more dangerous than we thought. That was Kay's personal summary judgment.”

Retired Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North, who covers Iraq for Fox News, says the media continues to fail to show the successes in Iraq, in part because Western reporters are not leaving the safety of the Green Zone in Baghdad:

“Today in Iraq, my network - that I'm going back out there for the seventh time in a few weeks - my network has nobody in the field, nor does anybody else,” North said. “They're all back in the Green Zone doing balcony shots using tape that they buy from Arab journalists. There's our problem. We don't have enough reporters out in the field.”

Clark ripped the Pentagon and the White House for conduct of the war, and for allegations that the U.S. military has used torture:

Clark said, “Now the American armed forces that I spent 34 years in didn't torture people, it didn't abuse them, it didn't punch prisoners when it captured them. It treated them exactly as the Geneva Convention required us to do, or we held people accountable.”

Both sides said now that the U.S. needs to win in Iraq, but former Clinton advisor Paul Begala said that Bush needs be more upfront with the America people about how the war is going.

“If the President wanted to sustain support for this war,” Begala remarked, “he should speak exactly the way Newt Gingrich was speaking. Instead of the usual ‘happy horseman’ we get from him, which is, all is great all is wonderful, he ought to sound like Newt. He ought to say this is a big, long bloody scary difficult deal, but we'll never flinch.”

And Gingrich drew a standing ovation with his Winston Churchill-like closing comments, that America has no choice but to win.

“We as a free people have to decide that our civilization is worth defending,” Gingrich said, “[that] our freedoms are worth fighting for, and that we'll learn what we have to learn, do what we have to do -- and we will win this war, whatever it takes, and that's the only future I know of. Thank you very much.”



Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Blessing Terri's Grave: Fr. Frank Pavone's Column

Blessing the Grave

I recently had the privilege of blessing the grave of Terri Schindler-Schiavo, who was murdered on March 31, 2005 by dehydration. Her grave is not far from the place where she died, and where people from around the world had gathered to protest and pray.

Those who visit the gravestone, however, will notice something highly unusual. While on most graves there is an inscription of two dates - when the person was born and when he or she died - on Terri's there are three. Here's exactly what the grave says:

Born December 3, 1963

Departed this Earth February 25, 1990

At Peace March 31, 2005

The whole world knows that she died on March 31, 2005. National and global media were present at the scene for days, covering every detail. Media were present again when I preached at her funeral mass. We know when she died.

But her gravestone has become a pulpit for the euthanasia movement. Those who killed her are now using her grave as a platform for their twisted ideology. What they are trying to say is that once her brain was injured in 1990 and she was no longer functioning like most of us, she wasn’t one of us anymore. She "departed this earth."

This is actually a variation on an ancient heresy, which says that we are really spirits inhabiting a body. Terri couldn't communicate normally. So, her "spirit" must have left her. The body was just a shell left behind. Those who believe she really "departed this earth" in 1990 can therefore pretend it was OK to kill her in 2005. After all, it wasn't really her. She was already gone.

This is heresy, because Christianity teaches that we are a unity of body and soul, not simply a soul "using" a body. The body matters. What we do to the body, we do to the person.

Moreover, the gravestone inscription is a deep insult to all who are disabled, and to all those who love and care for them. Should they be considered already dead, too? Are we just wasting our time caring for them? Euthanasia advocates would have us think so.

A recent news story about a disabled unborn child quoted one as saying, "There's no human life there." Isn't that the same idea? They think the baby has already "departed this earth," so they don't hesitate to abort the body.

As I blessed Terri's grave, I also prayed that God's people would be kept safe from this falsehood. And I recalled being in Terri's room the day she died. I remembered her face, dehydrated from not having had a drop of water in two weeks. I recalled seeing the flowers, inches away, on her night table. They were immersed in water. And as I left the grave, I gave a final glance to the vase of flowers that was standing by the stone.


A Grounding Embrace

I really can't see myself doing this, but my sister is forcing me... ;) I'm leaving for upstate Pennsylvania tomorrow(my sister lives on the top of a mountain). She has a beautiful 9 bedroom home(kind of reminds me of the Waltons). My sister says that she does this, but she's more of a nature person than I am...


Hugging A Tree

Hugging A Tree

Trees are among the world's greatest givers. Their slow and gentle life cycles provide the world with clean air, their roots filter water, and their majestically spreading branches provide shade. Full of vibrant, natural energy, trees can also give us the gifts of peace and nurturance. Hugging or sitting with your spine against the trunk of any tree can ground your body and inspire a profound closeness with nature, as the energy of the tree connects to you. Making physical contact with a tree can help you relax, alleviate stress, sleep more deeply, and hold on to more positive energy. Trees can absorb great amounts of energy and have the ability to soak up harmful energy from deep within you. If you are feeling anxious, sad, drained, or tense, then try hugging a tree.


Go to the woods, a garden, or a park, and find a tree that you would like to hug. Stand next to the tree and close your eyes. Relax your senses while breathing in the scent of leaves and bark. Listen to the creaking of the branches. When you feel settled, open your eyes, keeping them unfocused, and walk around its trunk. Feel the unique energy of the tree as your auras meet each other. Ask the tree for permission to touch it. If you feel the tree saying yes to you, begin breathing in its energy. Put your arms around the trunk and press your face to its bark. Embrace the tree for as long as you wish, feeling the roughness of its wood and the strength of its years. Relax into that strength and let the tree support you. You may even be able to physically feel a cyclical flow of energy taking place between your body and the tree.

If you would feel more comfortable doing so, you can sit with your back pressed to the tree for the same effect. Likewise, if you are seeking greater comfort, you may want to wrap your legs and arms around the tree, either at the base or by straddling a branch. Remember to thank the tree because, by hugging your tree, you are drinking from the well of natural copious energy cultivated by the tree's many years on this earth.



Thank you Kate!!

I just want to take a moment to thank Kate from Katey's Kafe!!

I know Kate from an online police forum (although we’ve never met in person). We have similar interests. She was nice enough to send me a PM letting me know that she has a couple of banners (9/11 slide-show memorial & Daniel Faulkner); and thought I’d be interested in putting them on my blog… Well, YES!! THANK YOU!!

She was even nice enough to give me the HTML code. I appreciate her act of kindness more that she’ll ever know. (It's a rarity nowadays.) If you get a chance check her blog out.. It’s VERY nice!!


Thanks to her help I even learned how to make banners myself. I created the ODMP (at the bottom of this blog) They even sent me an e-mail thanking me for my support and adding the banner. How great is that!!


Again, thank you Kate!! Please check her blog out 'Dishin' Dirt Over a Cup O' Coffee'!! (Her layout is one of the best I've ever seen!)




Also, her mother-in-law Jean (whom she adores) is very ill. Please keep Jean in your prayers!!



Philadelphia Police Officer Charles R. Reynolds

Lest we forget...
 
 
 
 
 

Police Officer Charles R. Reynolds
Philadelphia Police Department
Pennsylvania

End of Watch: Sunday, October 26, 1969

 

Biographical Info
Age: 31
Tour of Duty: 4 yr
Badge Number: Not available

 

Incident Details
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: Sunday, October 26, 1969
Weapon Used: Handgun; .22 caliber
Suspect Info: Charged with firearms violations

 

 

Officer Reynolds was shot and killed while making a traffic stop at the intersection of Chelton Avenue and Anderson Street. During the stop he had ordered two men out of the car. Upon searching them he located a .22 caliber handgun. As he retrieved the gun it fell from his hand and struck the ground. The impact caused the gun to discharge the round struck Officer Reynolds in the groin, causing a fatal wound. He was transported to Germantown Hospital where he succumbed to the wound.

Officer Reynolds had served with the agency for 4 years. He was survived by his mother.

 

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Philadelphia Police Officer Joseph Franceschino

Lest we forget...



Police Officer Joseph Franceschino
Philadelphia Police Department
Pennsylvania
End of Watch:
Monday, October 26, 1959

Biographical Info
Age: Not available
Tour of Duty: 8 yr
Badge Number: Not available

Incident Details
Cause of Death: Heart attack

Date of Incident: Monday, October 26, 1959
Weapon Used: Not available
Suspect Info: Not available

Officer Franceschino, a member of the Highway Patrol, died of a heart attack when he fell down a flight of stairs while looking for a burglar in a house on 18th Street near Sansom. Officer Franceschino was an eight-year veteran of the force.

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Prayer for America 10/26/05




The roots of our nation are drawn from all the countries of the globe. Our land was shaped by the best the world could offer. Americans come from everywhere, and every one of us carries within our hearts and souls a memory of some other place, passed on from generation to generation. How can we not feel one with the whole world?

Lord, you understand us when we pray for peace on earth and goodwill among all people. Help all of us, everywhere, make peace with ourselves and each other. Help all of us, everywhere, overcome our struggles, confusion, and misunderstandings. Join us in love and friendship with our brothers and sisters from all continents so that we truly may be one world under one God, united in your name.


Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Answering The Call

Taking Responsibility For Your Destiny


Taking Responsibility For Your Destiny

There are those of us who believe that our lives are predestined and that we should resign ourselves to our lots in life. Yet the truth is that it is up to each one of us to decide what that destiny will be. While each of us is born with a life purpose, it is up to us whether or not we will say yes to fulfilling it. And just like when we choose what to eat, who to keep company with, and whether to turn right or left when we leave our home everyday, choosing to say yes to your destiny is a decision that can only be realized when you take action to make that choice a reality.

Whether you believe it is your destiny to be a parent, an adventurer, an artist, a pioneer, or a spiritual guru, saying yes to your destiny is only the first step. While manifesting your destiny starts with knowing what you want and believing you can attain your goals, there are then the actions that must be taken and the decisions to be made before your destiny can truly happen. When you take responsibility for fulfilling your destiny and begin acting with the intention of doing so, you not only take fate into your own hands, but also you become the hands of your own fate. Doorways inevitably open for you to step through, and every choice you make can be a creative act toward realizing your goals and dreams. You begin to follow your instincts and intuition, recognize opportunities when they are presented to you, and seize those golden moments. You also begin to recognize the decisions that may not serve this greater picture and can more easily push them aside.

Remembering that the decision to fulfill your destiny is always a choice can be empowering. Knowing you are fulfilling your destiny because you want to, rather than because you have to, can make a huge difference. When you are freed from obligation, obstacles in your way become challenges to be overcome, and the journey becomes an adventure rather than the obligatory steps you are being forced to take. Your destiny may be waiting for you, but whether or not you meet your destiny is up to you. Your fate is in your hands.



Checking Your Emotions

Why We Lash Out

Why We Lash Out

Each one of us has experienced situations where we've found ourselves lashing out at someone without meaning to. We later berate ourselves for losing control and feel guilty for treating the other person badly. And while it is human nature that our emotions and moods will get the better of us from time to time, we can learn to navigate our feelings and negotiate difficult situations without losing our center.

Often, when we lash out, it is because we are having a difficult time containing the emotions that are coming up inside of us. We may be feeling overwhelmed, afraid, frustrated, stressed out, or angry. Having these feelings boiling up inside of us can be very uncomfortable, and it is natural to want to release them. But when we release our feelings from our body by directing them outward and toward someone else, they inevitably impact the "innocent bystander" to whom we are directing this energy. They not only get the brunt of our anger, frustration, or stress, but also they can actually experience this energy as a physical force hitting their bodies.

When you find yourself in a situation where you are about to lash out at the person in front of you, try to center yourself by breathing slowly and deeply. A few slow inhales and exhales can help dissipate the intensity of your feelings before they escape you. Later, when you find yourself in a more reflective state, sit down for a moment; recall the feelings in your body just before and during your outburst; note where you feel sensations coming up in your body; and ask yourself if they are connected to any core issue or experience from your life. If nothing comes to mind, then revisit the situation again, exaggerating the details of what happened by indulging in outlandish "what if" fantasies. Exaggerating events after the fact can help expose the unconscious subtext behind your heated response. Understanding the motivation behind your reactions can help you avoid lashing out again when a similar situation comes up. In learning to navigate around your emotions, you are giving yourself the tools to feel better the next time your emotions start to boil. In doing so, you will be taking care of yourself by alleviating your own uncomfortable feelings while respecting and protecting those around you
.



Prayer for America 10/25/05




I dreamt last night that hate was defeated and love ruled the earth.

I dreamt last night that hunger was wiped out and nourishment filled our bellies.

I dreamt last night that homelesness disappeared and shelter covered the land.

I dreamt last night that injustcie was overcome and goodness filled all hearts.

I dreamt last night that the despair was no more and hope shone eternal.

I dreamt last night that war ceased to be and peace settled on the land.

Some people say that dreams are for children.

I say that dreamers keep us alive.


Monday, October 24, 2005

Rosa Parks Dies

Godspeed Mrs. Parks!



Rosa Lee Parks, whose refusal to give up her bus seat to a white man sparked the modern civil rights movement, died Monday. She was 92. Mrs. Parks died at her home of natural causes, said Karen Morgan, a spokeswoman for U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich. Mrs. Parks was 42 when she committed an act of defiance in 1955 that was to change the course of American history and earn her the title ''mother of the civil rights movement.''


Philadelphia Police Officer Albert Steward

Lest we forget...



Police Officer Albert Steward
Philadelphia Police Department
Pennsylvania
End of Watch:
Saturday, October 24, 1925

Biographical Info
Age: Not available
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available

Incident Details
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: Saturday, October 24, 1925
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect Info: Not available


Officer Steward was killed in a gunfight.

Officer Steward was survived by his wife and seven children.

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Prayer for America 10/24/05

United Nations Day

Admittedly I don’t have much faith in the United Nations. Perhaps with Bolton there...things will change. IMO under Kofi Annan the United Nations is corrupt and obstreperous. However, I DO believe in the power of prayer so...

Since you formed us all as your children, O God, and not as separate nationalities, you must have been pleased when we came together as nations united. Help us to see ourselves as one whole, not many parts. Let the United Nations be a living symbol of your unity, of our kinship as human beings, of cooperation for the good of all people. Prevent us from making distinctions between rich and poor, powerful and humble, at war or at peace.

Hold before us the vision of one world, one people; give strength to those in the United Nations who work to bring about that vision. Guide them as they deal with war and rumors of war. Help those leaders hear the many voices of the international community as one voice; help them work as one body for peace with justice in all parts of the world. Amen.



Sunday, October 23, 2005

Philadelphia Police Officer Albert A. Valentino

Lest we forget...



Police Officer Albert A. Valentino
Philadelphia Police Department
Pennsylvania
End of Watch:
Monday, October 23, 1989

Biographical Info
Age: 37
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: 7113

Incident Details
Cause of Death: Gunfire (Accidental)
Date of Incident: Monday, October 23, 1989
Weapon Used: Officer's handgun
Suspect Info: Shot and killed

Officer Valentino was accidentally shot and killed by a fellow officer while involved in a shootout on a city street. The suspect involved in the shootout was also shot and killed.

Officer Valentino was survived by his wife, two sons, and a daughter born a week after her father's death.

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Philadelphia Policeman Joseph V. Campbell Jr.

Lest we forget...



Policeman Joseph V. Campbell Jr.
Philadelphia Police Department
Pennsylvania
End of Watch:
Friday, October 23, 1931

Biographical Info
Age: Not available
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available

Incident Details
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: Friday, October 23, 1931
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect Info: Shot and killed

Policeman Campbell was shot and killed as he and state troopers attempted to arrest four suspects who had escaped from the New Jersey State Penitentiary. The officers located the escapees in a corn field near Oxford Valley, Pennsylvania, and a two-hour shootout ensued.

Policeman Campbell and one of the suspects were shot and killed during the shootout. One of the other suspects committed suicide when he was surrounded. The remaining two suspects were able to break through the police lines and fled towards New York.

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