Tired of the bull-crap...

Tired of the bull-crap
Tired of the pain
Tired of the agony
It makes me insane

Frustrated at the stupidity
Frustrated at the anger
Frustrated at the idiot
Heading to danger

What am I to do
What am I to see
What am I to wonder
Others want to disagree

In circles I loop
In circles I group
In circles of dispute
I feel like a dupe

Ready to fight
Ready to gripe
Ready to give up
Not into the hype

Drowning in angst
Drowning in silence
Drowning in despair
Feeling a bit of malevolence

It is a travesty
It is a flabbergast
It is a stupefy
Just like an ass

Tired of the bull-crap
Tired of the pain
Tired of the agony
I just want to be sane.

Freedom

©Copyright 2003 Ace-Clipart.com

Freedom

Comes at a cost

A sacrifice

With lives lost

Grateful

To the service

In memory

Of sacrifice

Remember

Never to forget

In honor

What they beget

Freedom

Given easily not

Rather earned

Hard fought.

The Pressure's High!

The pressure's high
Hot smoking steam
Clamored in confusion
I just want to scream

Whether I turn left
Or even in the right way
My missteps
Hinder the day

The walls cave in
Thinking on the whim
Impatience clutters
A level of dire grim

A need for change
Crying out in the desert
Can I be heard
Ineptitude to assert

I need to break loose
Widen the field
Think more clearly
For a foundation's build

The pressure's high
Enclosed in the burrows
My sorrows entrenches
Fallen into a furrow.

Success is Reaching Your Personal Best

In a tribute to one of the most influential teachers in my life, John Wooden, who passed away yesterday. I have been blessed to first learn about this great man early in my life in college with a quote that I shall never forget:

"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are."

The Infallible Pope

It is time now to review this principle (as good as any), the thought that the pope is infallible. I'm not a theologian or an authority of the Catholic Church, but rather follower of the faith. As you may know, the Church is going through a rough period right now with the scandal that affects the priests and those in power within the Church, and how they have been maliciously robbing the youth (to say it in a understated manner). I predict that the Church will get through this as they always have throughout history, but changes will and should be in store.

One of those changes I think need revision is the principle of infallibility of the pope. It has been obvious in my own opinion that popes have in the past strayed from the path of holiness, yet their authority and power is considered infallible as it is dictated by the teachings of the Church. We as citizens and servants of God must obey the pope for it is his duty given by God to shepherd us. We are led to believe that we are human and that is why we make mistakes to which I agree wholeheartedly. We need the guidance of a holy person to shepherd us toward the light.

I'm not saying the pope cannot guide us to the path toward heaven however. Rather, I would follow a holy pope if he was truthful, enlightened and saw God in everything he did (a core principle of the Catholic faith). Theoretically, that person would act in a righteous manner when given the opportunity to promote justice. It now seems that Pope Benedict in the past may have knowingly or inadvertently caused more harm in his leadership as Bishop and Cardinal Ratzinger, who in high positions of the Church acted in ways perceived as corrupt.

Even if he inadvertently caused harm to others, you would think that as Pope Benedict, he would be remorseful of those decisions. I would still follow him if he were humble and owned up to those mistakes. However, the principle of infallibility will not allow him to do so. In fact, he writes a scathing but justified letter to the Irish congregation about the abuses of the Church in Ireland, without mentioning the problems affecting the German Church which is odd considering his German origin and the abuses there. I assume that would put the pope too close to breaking the infallibility principle.

There are cries out there now in the world for the resignation of the pope. Still others are taking matters to their own hands by with lawsuits (which probably will fail due to the mere fact that heads of state are immune to prosecution). Others have given up and left the faith. What am I to do? Oddly has it may seem, I am still the keeper of the faith. I know we will ride out this storm, but the aftermath of this pain will bring new revisions to Church policy just like Luther and the Reformation did for the Church.

This time, I believe one of those revisions or issues should be the infallibility of the pope. I hope that Pope Benedict will be courageous enough to proclaim that he, like me, is not infallible and that we are all human. According to Catholic teaching, his decrees are like new policies and rules within the Church. The only difference is that he has the calling of God to which I hold in high regard. He can still lead, but current issues obviously affect his leadership. What is a shepherd to do when he abuses his sheep, leaving them out for the wolves to prey?

The Church will be saved. I have no doubt about it as it is an institution run by God, but those within this institution shall have their day of justice if abuses are not corrected. I pray that these changes come soon and swiftly.

____________________________________

I've been thinking about this issue for over several years now and I wanted to just bring them out into public view. I am a follower of the faith, but I believe the current situation in Church is dire and despicable. If these abuses continue to arise, a change shall surely happen and they should already be happening. The only issue then is, will the change be for the good or will this drastically affect the Church in a negative light? To that, I have no clear answer or opinion. It is at a breaking point and I wonder where the cards will fall.

May God help us all.

Disclaimer: This is an opinion of mine and has no bearing or authority on the teachings of the Church (even though I would like it to be taken into consideration). I have not the power to dictate policy or teachings within the Catholic Church.

Lean, Mean, Green

This is the time
There is none other
Small is our confine
We should fight together

We should be lean
Reduce the trash
Keep it clean
And recycle that ash

We should be mean
Think aggressively
Keep our senses keen
For Earth's serenity

We should be green
Real is our strife
Change our scene
To better our life.

In Dedication to Earth Day

Quip of the Day

"The truth shall set you free"

Without a doubt, the truth will always find a way to present itself to others. It is in our best interests to express what is morally correct at first knowledge. Otherwise, you shall face the consequences later on when you are discovered in a lie, a farce and cheat. It is better to discuss the truth on your terms rather then another's when they can mold much greater adversity to your respectability and character. Pure and simple, it is much better to tell the truth right off the back.

Dedicated to and inspired by illegal users of performance-enhancing drugs.

Bioscience Ethics

With the explosion of knowledge in science and medicine today, it seems that many theoretical questions are now being answered in a practical manner. The inferred is now a reality. These discoveries can be used to better a person's quality of life. It can also be a detriment. Obviously, with the increase in knowledge there comes a responsibility to use this information ethically.

A show I recently watched on the Science Channel caught my attention. The topic of that show was called Superhumans and, one discovery worthy of note was the formation of a chimera between a hippopotamus and a mouse. The scientist heading this project was a man named Bruce Lahn (if I remember correctly) and he foresaw that this would be a great moment in the history of genetics. Truly, it is unique to see that you can cross two totally different type of species to form a "hippomouse." The significance of this scientific discovery and how it could translate into medicine is the ability to one day have "animal farms" growing human organs to supply transplantation. It is widely known that there is a long list of patients that are in dire need for transplants of the heart, liver and other various organs, but only the severely ill receive the transplants first. One could be on that list and possibly die never getting a needed transplant. Even after receiving a transplant, rejection of the organ is a major issue due to a host of factors including receiving an organ from the wrong blood type. With an "animal farm" as claimed by the scientist, one can produce the organ of need of the right blood type and exact genetics of the host for transplantation.

Though this may seem to be a great idea on the periphery, at a deeper level it actually opens up a "pandora's box" of sorts in terms of scientific and medical ethics. With this landmark discovery in genetics, one could theorize the possibility of cloning humans, merging species of animals and/or humans as well as debating what is life. This is only a partial list of ethical points of discussion as I am quite sure there are others. One can analogize this issue to global warming as we humans have used and abused the surrounding environment to a point that changes have occurred to the Earth beyond natural processes. Likewise, by mixing species of animals from different parts of the evolutionary tree, it is possibility that a weakened animal could result leading to species die out similar to us endangering the human race with pollution. All I am doing here is to raise questions and awareness about possible repercussions down the line that may affect us greatly. The consequences can be beneficial or detrimental. I would like to ideally see us debate the ethical ramifications before the widespread use of a novel idea or discovery. As all of us know, the pace of new ideas, inventions and discoveries is exponentially rapid. The question I would like to see discussed is it ethically correct to deliberately crossbreed vastly different animal species and what could result for the species over different generations.

What do you think?