New Democrat Party Logo

The new Democrat Party logo is pretty weak.


"Change that matters", right. I guess the assertion that something matters is supposed to be more convincing than just stating that you can believe in it. Here are my red-letter editions:


What's with the letter D? The abbreviation seems to be at best a reduction of the brand, and is possibly an attempt to run away from the label. Doesn't it look like the (D) which you see next to a candidates name? So a Democrat going door to door will now say "If you believe in change that matters, look for the 'D'! Vote fo the 'D' People! Remember, D equals change that matters!"


The circle is dumb as well. I'd like to know the reasoning behind the logo. If the Dems still lose big and complain to the logo designer he/she can always quote Obama on the failed stimulus and say "Well, without the new logo you would have lost even more seats."

"Team B" Study on Shari'a

This is a must-read on the topic of the Shari'a threat written by people who really know what they are talking about. Here's the intro:

This study is the result of months of analysis, discussion and drafting by a group of top security policy experts concerned with the preeminent totalitarian threat of our time: the legal-political-military doctrine known within Islam as "shariah." It is designed to provide a comprehensive and articulate "second opinion" on the official characterizations and assessments of this threat as put forth by the United States government.

The authors, under the sponsorship of the Center for Security Policy, have modeled this work on an earlier "exercise in competitive analysis" which came to be known as the "Team B" Report. That 1976 document challenged the then-prevailing official U.S. government intelligence estimates of the intentions and offensive capabilities of the Soviet Union and the policy known as "détente" that such estimates ostensibly justified.

As with the original Team B analysis, however, this study challenges the assumptions underpinning the official line in the conflict with today's totalitarian threat, which is currently euphemistically described as "violent extremism," and the policies of co-existence, accommodation and submission that are rooted in those assumptions.

Click here for the PDF. I'm in the process of reading this currently.

Islumic

It turns out that Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the Ground Zero Mosque guy, is a slum lord. Excerpt:

A lawsuit filed by Union City charges that the landlord of two apartment buildings has repeatedly failed to address complaints by tenants and orders by the city on issues ranging from moldy bathrooms to fire hazards.

Landlord-tenant disputes are nothing new, even those with municipalities entering the fray. Except in this case, city officials say the landlord is Feisal Abdul Rauf, the imam behind the controversial proposal to develop an Islamic cultural center and mosque near Ground Zero.

The suit, filed today in state Superior Court in Jersey City, identifies Rauf as the sole officer of Sage Development LLC, a company based at his home address in North Bergen and listed as the owner of the two buildings. The suit also alleges that Sage’s corporate status was revoked by the state in March 2005, for its failure to file annual reports.

The buildings occupy the same lot at 2206 Central Ave., one containing 32 apartments and the other 16. The larger building has been vacant since Feb. 8, 2008, when a fire broke out there, one year after the city says it issued 12 separate fire code violations that Rauf ignored.

I think he is probably in full compliance with Shari'a Law with regard to his slum apartments though, as long as none of the tenants affected by his neglect are Muslims. In fact, it doesn't seem like they are.

Update: WHOA! This is way cool. Go ahead and Google the address: 2206 Central Ave. Jersey City, NJ. The first link after the Google map is an entry for the Bed Bug Registry. Gotta love it!

British bigots and advocates of child rape protest the Pope's visit

Bill Donohue reports. Excerpt:

Philip Pullman, of "The Golden Compass" fame (our boycott of his atheism-for-kids film worked beautifully), signed the letter. A few months ago, he said, "I hope the wretched Catholic Church will vanish entirely." Atheist fanatic Richard Dawkins, known for charging that the Catholic Church is "the greatest force for evil in the world," signed it as well. Gay activist Peter Tatchell, an organizer of "Protest the Pope," has said, "Several of my friends—gay and straight, male and female—had sex with adults from the ages of nine to 13. None feel they were abused. All say it was their conscious choice and gave them great joy."

There you have it. The pope's leading critics are imbued with hate and even associate with advocates of child rape. And they have the nerve to point fingers at the pontiff.

Stay classy, Brits!

"Democracy go to Hell! Freedom go to Hell"

Source. A few comments:

Note the Imam: "We don't accept the few words that come from the likes of Barack Obama and others when they are occupying our land." So much for our President and his "reaching out" approach. The mentality of this Imam and those who think like him can be summed up as "us versus them". If the US military kills a Muslim terrorist what matters to them is that he is a Muslim, not that he is a murderer and a criminal. It would be like me protesting the jailing of a priest who committed a crime because he's Catholic. "Stop demonizing the Catholics!" Or a Jew claiming that Bernie Madoff's conviction demonstrates the depth of Antisemitism in the United States.

The next man in the video mentions how the United States attacked Iraq and Afghanistan with "nuclear bombs". I must have been in Canada when that happened. Did we drop nukes on those countries? Or is it just one of those things one might say that kind of feels good although inaccurate? Sometimes Accuracy has to take a back seat along with Objectivity and Reason. Truth and Decency are, at this point, locked in the trunk with ample amounts of duct tape on their skulls. I'm not sure they're still breathing.

How about the sign "Jesus will destroy the cross and follow the Qu'ran"? Somehow I think the reactions of Christians to this sign are different than would be that of these militants to a similar sign reading "Muhammad will renounce Jihad and follow the Bible."

Succisa Virescit

Good news from Anthony Esolen regarding the Catholic Church in Sweden. Excerpt:

First, there is a growing interest in Catholic theology, evidenced by the increased demand for individual courses as well as for a degree program in Catholic theology. The Swedish Government deemed it appropriate to fund the Institute for a total of 100 full time students, which it is expected to achieve within 2-3 years.

The Newman Institute has also witnessed the growth of the Catholic church in Sweden by the increased material support given by Catholic benefactors to the Institute during the past 10 years. This support has helped the Institute realize many of its goals, although the Institute continues to rely heavily on financial donations from abroad, including from the US.

Another sign of the rejuvenation of the Church in Sweden is the Diocesan seminary program, which now has a new seminary building, and has seen an increase in the number of seminarians in formation. (Seminarians receive most of their philosophy and theology training at the Newman Institute).

Further evidence of a rebirth is seen in the local Catholic parish in Uppsala, which is staffed by the same Jesuits who started the Newman Institute. In the past 50 years, the parish has moved from a small chapel in the Jesuit residence to its own church building in central Uppsala, and the number of registered families has increased dramatically, due in large part to Catholic immigration, but also to conversions among native Swedes. St. Lars is a vibrant congregation, with active prayer and social ministry groups, several youth groups, and a comprehensive religious education program.

Abort, Retry, Fail... Ignore?

Bill Gates, don't be surprised if Democrats running for re-election slowly back away from you for awhile.



Yeah, when he's on his deathbed he'll have an "oh, snap" moment and suddenly realize that a million dollars pays for doctors and nurses also. They get paid money to do their job, Bill, just like teachers. Are there other basic facts of life you've forgotten? Fire hot, sky blue, here's how you tie your shoe.

Happy Birthday to Emi!

Emi is the drummer for Shonen Knife.



It's funny; I woke up jonesing for some Knife. Then I noticed on this fan page that it's Emi's birthday. Far out, huh. This tune is a good showcase of her style. Perfect snare, IMAO.

You thought that was Pauli's slogan

Heh. Should this be the slogan of Est Quod Est?

"You have much more hair in your nose than my dad."

Uncle Buck = classic.

Humorous Twitter site: Angry Paul Rand

Here it is. Not to be confused with senatorial candidate Rand Paul. If you have a twisted sense of humor like me, and/or if you enjoy SMDS, then you should probably enjoy the rants of the person channeling the famous designer.

I didn't know much about Rand whose birth name was Peretz Rosenbaum, but I brushed up at this site dedicated to his life and work. Seemingly Rand had an incredible impact on the way corporations presented themselves symbolically through their logos. The inspiration for the AngryPaulRand Twitter site can probably be explained by the section of the linked bio entitled "Criticism":

Despite the prestige graphic designers place on his first book, subsequent works, notably From Lascaux to Brooklyn (1996), earned Rand accusations of being “reactionary and hostile to new ideas about design.” Heller defends Rand’s later ideas, calling the designer “an enemy of mediocrity, a radical modernist” while Mark Favermann considers the period one of “a reactionary, angry old man.” Regardless of this dispute, Rand’s contribution to modern graphic design theory in total is widely considered intrinsic to the profession’s development.

Coincidentally (?), Ayn Rand's birth name was also Rosenbaum. I'll let someone else do the research on possible connections and similarities.

Thanks for reading my blog. For current commentary and what-not, visit the Est Quod Est homepage

The Blue Mass on 9/11

This is a good article about the Blue Mass which was celebrated at my parish on Saturday, 9/11. The priest gave a great homily about 9/11 which was straightforward, patriotic and of course very Catholic. The article points out that it is becoming common to celebrate the Blue Mass on 9/11 for obvious aptness.

Here's an excerpt from the article.

A Blue Mass is traditionally held to honor law enforcement officers, particularly those who have died in the line of duty or otherwise demonstrated a heroic commitment to their work for the community. Fr. Thomas Dade, a Washington, D.C. priest who founded the Catholic Police and Firemen's Society, began the tradition in 1934 of celebrating an annual Mass for emergency workers, who always attend in uniform.

Fr. Dade's tradition has since spread throughout the nation. Because hundreds of police and rescue workers were killed at the World Trade Center on September 11, the date is becoming an increasingly common one on which to celebrate the Blue Mass.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester in New York will hold a Mass to “pray in a special way for all firefighters and first responders, and for all those who lost their lives at the World Trade Center tragedy nine years ago,” on September 11, 2010 at 4 p.m., with Bishop Matthew Clark as the celebrant.

In other news, an ultra-traditional Catholic friend-of-a-friend who somehow got my email address sent me a 1500-word email (I counted the words using MS-Word statistics, so I'm not exaggerating) about how the 9/11 attacks were the actions of an "out of control criminal government" and the official narrative about Islamic terrorism was merely a fable "spun by the cabal of American CORPORATE Media." I almost sent him this link, but decide to use my time better. My encounters with Trutherism have let me conclude that the best Gospel reference under which to file it is Mark 9:29, "This kind can go out by nothing, but by prayer and fasting."