The Season of Dying | VirtuousPla.net

Posted by Bonnie Engstrom on Friday, September 30, 2011 in Family, Life, Spirituality | 2 comments

The cool season of autumn is warmly greeted in my home.? I am eager to take my kids to a pumpkin patch, have my husband haul our decorations out of the basement, and cheer on the Bears while we eat chips and dip.? I look forward to the holidays that fall brings, a warmer wardrobe, cider, bonfires, and s?mores.

But my favorite part of autumn, I have recently come to learn, is that it surrounds all of us with Death.? The leaves are changing color and dropping off the trees, curling as they dry and crumbling as my children play in them.? The sweet corn harvest is long over and now the farmers are in their fields, gathering the grain.? Where once stood 7 foot high corn, strong and richly green, now there is only acres of golden-brown stalk remnants, waiting to be tilled into the earth.

Autumn, at least in my neck of the woods, is a good, strong reminder that we will die and that it can be beautiful. ?It can be holy. ?Whether we are slowly aging or being crippled much too young we, as Catholics, know that we can look to the Cross and offer to God the gift of our pain, our grieving, our flickering light.? We know that, because He has given us this cross, we can bear its weight and glorify Him in it.

As a mom, I appreciate this.? I am glad for a natural introduction to discuss death to my children.? Of course, my oldest is now 3 and the only things she knows about death is that Jesus died for our sins and when we die we go to Heaven to be with Him.? But as my kids age I can point out to them the changing leaves, and with a little help from my science teacher husband, explain how the leaves stop making food and begin to dry up and die.? The leaves are beautiful ? evidence to many of the glory of our Lord ? and there is great dignity and value in the way they die.? ?As John Paul the Great wrote, ?It is wonderful to be able to give oneself to the very end for the sake of the kingdom of God.?

Autumn will end and eventually our suffering will too.?? Winter is hard ? the feet of snow, the cold, biting wind; one grey day after another; the bleakness. But there is always spring.? We will return from exile.? God willing, we will spend an endless length of days in our true native land.

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P.S. I would like to thank my friend Katie, a catechist and farm girl, for her help on this post.? Also, I really did?have my science teacher husband explain why the leaves die to make sure I was correct.? So thanks for the help, babe!

P.P.S. Next week I plan to write about re-claiming Halloween. I thought we could all list our favorite saint costume, but not just St. Patrick
with a miter and a shamrock or Mother Teresa with white sheets edged in blue sharpie. I?m thinking creative. ?Like St. Bartholomew; paint your self red and carry around your flayed skin. Or St. Lawrence: attach your oven rack to your mid-section and go around telling people, ?Turn me over, I?m done on this side!?

You?ve got a week to think of your favorites!? This should be fun!

Photo credit.

Source: http://virtuouspla.net/2011/09/30/season-of-dyin/

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U.S. issues travel alert after Awlaki death (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? The State Department issued a worldwide travel alert on Saturday warning of the possibility of anti-American attacks in response to the killing of two top al Qaeda members.

The warning came a day after U.S. officials said Anwar al-Awlaki, identified as "chief of external operations" for al Qaeda's Yemen branch, was killed in an attack by missiles fired from multiple CIA drones in Yemen.

"The death of Awlaki, in the near term, could provide motivation for anti-American attacks worldwide from individuals or groups seeking to retaliate against U.S. citizens or interests because of this action," the State Department said.

The drone strike also killed Samir Khan, an American who served as editor of a glossy magazine used as a propaganda and recruitment tool by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

(Reporting by Ayesha Rascoe; Editing by Doina Chiacu)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111001/pl_nm/us_usa_travel_warning

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When Is it Legal to Shoot a Trespasser? : Equine Law Blog

Surprisingly, my 2008 post entitled How to Deal With Trespassers on Your Property has returned more hits than virtually any other single post on the Equine Law Blog.?The search terms that usually land people on that post are some variation of ?when is it legal for me to shoot a trespasser?? or ?shoot + trespasser + [name of state]?.

Looking at the almost daily searches about shooting trespassers that keep landing people on the Equine Law Blog, it would seem that we have a real issue in this country with trespassers.?It would also seem that landowners do not feel that dialing 9-1-1 is going to solve the problem.?

Last weekend's bizarre horse-stabbing case from Pine Grove, California perhaps illustrates the trespassing problem.?According to news reports, a man named Gaylord Neil Story, 59, trespassed onto his neighbor?s property, appeared at her door covered in blood, attempted to force his way into her home, chased her through a pasture, rummaged through her vehicle, and stabbed her 14 year-old Quarter Horse gelding.?

But this victim never shot at Story.?Instead, she fled her residence and called 9-1-1.?Sheriffs? deputies arrived 12 minutes after the call.

At some point after sheriffs? deputies arrived at the scene, Gaylord Story brandished a large butcher knife and advanced towards the officers.?Deputies opened fire on Story in self defense.?Story, who was struck by four rounds (two rounds each from two officers), was dead when medical personnel arrived.?However, an autopsy also revealed several self-inflicted stab wounds, one of which would have been fatal.

Luckily, the victim was not injured.?The horse was severely injured as a result of the stab wounds, but is expected to make a full recovery.

Reports indicate that the deputies who shot Story have been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by the California Department of Justice.?

All of this raises some questions: 1) is the trespassing problem increasing because trespassers are no longer afraid of being shot at by landowners? 2) if even the sheriff?s deputies are being investigated for shooting Story (who would have probably died anyway due to self-inflicted stab wounds), what does this mean for landowners?

This prior post contains a summary when it?s permissible under Texas law to use deadly force against a trespasser.? My dad, a native Texan, always says, "I'd rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6."? Texas law basically says that If you reasonably believe you'll be "carried by 6" (i.e. dead) if you don't shoot, you're probably justified in shooting.

The facts surrounding the Story case seem to fit the bill of a case where the victim landowner could have legally opened fire on a trespasser (at least if the incident had occurred in Texas).?But unfortunately for landowners, they probably subject themselves to an investigation (and possibly even a trial) if they choose to shoot a trespasser (no matter the circumstances).?And would-be trespassers probably know this.

Disclaimer:?I don?t specialize in criminal law?so don?t go shootin? somebody based solely upon something you read on the Equine Law Blog!

Follow me on Twitter @alisonmrowe

Source: http://equinelaw.alisonrowe.com/2011/09/articles/private-property-rights/when-is-it-legal-to-shoot-a-trespasser/

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NASA IDs 90 pct. of largest near-Earth asteroids

In this undated artist's rendition released Thursday Sept. 29,2011 by NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory, showing WISE, (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer), NASA on Thursday Sept. 29,2011 said its sky-mapping spacecraft called WISE has discovered 911 of 981 of the largest asteroids and has found more than 90 percent of the biggest asteroids that might pose a threat to Earth. (AP Photo/NASA/JPL)

In this undated artist's rendition released Thursday Sept. 29,2011 by NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory, showing WISE, (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer), NASA on Thursday Sept. 29,2011 said its sky-mapping spacecraft called WISE has discovered 911 of 981 of the largest asteroids and has found more than 90 percent of the biggest asteroids that might pose a threat to Earth. (AP Photo/NASA/JPL)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? If you're worried about a killer asteroid wiping out Earth, NASA has some good news.

The space agency said Thursday it has identified more than 90 percent of giant near-Earth asteroids, including ones as big as the one thought to have killed the dinosaurs eons ago. None poses a danger to the planet in the next several centuries.

"We know now where most of them are and where most of them are going. That really has reduced our risk" of an impact, said Amy Mainzer of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

NASA researchers also downgraded their estimate of the number of medium-sized asteroids, saying there are 44 percent fewer than previously believed. The downside is that scientists have yet to find many of these mid-sized asteroids, which could destroy a metropolitan city.

"Fewer does not mean none," Mainzer said. "There are still tens of thousands out there that are left to find."

The updated census comes from data from NASA's sky-mapping spacecraft named Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, which launched in 2009 to seek out near-Earth objects, galaxies, stars and other cosmic targets.

Unlike previous sky surveys, WISE has sensitive instruments that can pick out both dark and light objects, allowing it to get the most accurate count yet of near-Earth asteroids. The spacecraft takes a small sample of asteroids of varying sizes and then estimates how large the population would be.

For the largest asteroids ? bigger than 3,300 feet across ? NASA said 911 of the 981 thought to exist have been found. None poses a threat to Earth in the near future, the space agency said.

Previous estimates put the number of medium-sized asteroids at 35,000, but WISE data indicate there are about 19,500 between 330 and 3,300 feet wide. Only about 5,200 have been found and scientists said there is still a lot of work left to identify the potentially hazardous ones.

Results were published in the Astrophysical Journal.

WISE is not equipped to detect the more than a million smallest asteroids that could cause damage if they impact Earth. The spacecraft recently ran out of coolant and is currently in hibernation.

By locating most of the giant asteroids, NASA has fulfilled a goal set by Congress in 1998. More recently, the space agency has been asked to find 90 percent of asteroids that are at least 460 feet in diameter ? slightly smaller than the Superdome in New Orleans ? by 2020.

Don Yeomans, who heads NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office, said that goal is about 35 percent complete.

___

Follow Alicia Chang's coverage at http://www.twitter.com/SciWriAlicia

___

Online:

http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2011-09-29-Sky-Mapping%20Spacecraft/id-9fc3877f393e4969a899b737c92215eb

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AP Interview: Robertson won't endorse candidates (AP)

NORFOLK, Va. ? Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson took a tiny television station in southeast Virginia and turned it into a global network that helped him launch a presidential bid and become one of the nation's most influential conservative Christians. But as the televangelist's network turns 50 on Saturday, he says he's getting out of the political endorsement game.

Robertson's decision marks a significant departure for the founder of the Christian Coalition, who was once a central figure in Republican politics. Robertson, 81, was frequently sought out by GOP candidates hoping to curry favor with religious conservatives. His news-and-talk show on the Christian Broadcasting Network, the "700 Club," is viewed by about 1 million people in the U.S. each day.

"I've personally backed off from direct political involvement," Robertson said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press this week. "I've been there, done that. The truth of the matter is politics is not going to change our world. It's really not going to make that much of a difference."

Robertson's influence has waned in recent years as he gave up control of the Christian Coalition and made a series of comments that many people considered bizarre or offensive.

He once said American agents should assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and suggested the debilitating stroke suffered by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was divine retribution for his decision to withdraw from the Gaza Strip. He was slammed by the White House last year for saying Haiti was cursed a day after a devastating earthquake. Last month, he outraged many by suggesting a man whose wife has Alzheimer's Disease and was seeing another woman should divorce his wife.

He also caused a stir for saying the federal courts, pornography, abortion rights and church-state separation angered God, allowing the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to occur.

The last person Robertson endorsed was former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, a move that surprised many of his followers because of the Republican's support for gay rights and abortion rights.

"His influence has been waning for at least a decade now to the point where even many people in the movement I am sure will be glad to see him sidelined," said Mark Rozell, a professor of public policy at George Mason University. "They just don't see him as reliable anymore on a lot of issues."

As for Robertson, he acknowledged he doesn't have the political influence he once did.

"When I was in charge of the Christian Coalition I was available to mobilize grass roots support for somebody," he said. "I don't have any army right now. It's just an opinion, and that isn't quite as good as it used to be."

Robertson said he would continue to comment on the news of the day and noted he likes Mitt Romney's politics. He said he considers the Mormon candidate "an outstanding Christian," but declined to say if he would be OK with a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the White House. Both Romney and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman are Mormons seeking the GOP nomination, and many evangelicals are skeptical of the Mormon faith's claims to Christianity.

In hindsight, Robertson said, he would have phrased some of his more controversial pronouncements differently. But he also said he's appreciative of his forgiving audience.

Robertson said he still enjoys doing his show and has not decided how much longer he will stay on the air. His son Gordon ? who also says he will not make political endorsements ? already fills in for him on Fridays.

"I'm still strong and it seems like I'm doing all right, but I don't want to overstay my time," he said.

Robertson said looking back on his network's 50 years, which got its start as a tiny UHF station in Portsmouth, Va., and now occupies a sprawling campus in Virginia Beach, that he's most proud of the work it has done reaching people overseas. That will continue to be a focus of the network as it faces heavy competition in the U.S.

"When you talk about Africa, when you talk about Latin America, they're just now getting to the 1980s in their media choices. For us, we view that as tremendous opportunity," Gordon Robertson said.

Today, 90 percent of CBN's viewership is overseas, and some observers question the network's relevance in the U.S.

David Morgan, a professor of religion at Duke University, said CBN has little choice but to look overseas to grow because audiences outside the U.S. are less interested in politics.

"They care about an established institution, a brand that's been around for 50 years," Morgan said. "... Probably the younger Robertson knows this very well and it's a completely different game internationally. They can shed all the negativity, all the kind of kookiness that is associated with the senior Robertson."

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Online: Christian Broadcasting Network http://www.cbn.com

Brock Vergakis can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/BrockVergakis

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111001/ap_on_en_tv/us_pat_robertson_cbn

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Student Loans: Money For The Education

student loans can be utilized to pay for items other than tuition, though according to the terms of the loan, these kinds of additional items have to be education relevant. Books, supplies, computers, and rent are just some of the things that are affected by going to university, and they?re all things you can pay together with your federal loans. It is advisable to be cautious when utilizing your financial aid confers in paying for other things, though.

For federal loans, you should visit the U.S. Department of Education?s web site at http://www.ed.gov On that site, you could test your loan balances, see what agency is servicing your loan, complete a new FAFSA, and examine past student loans info. Your loan servicer can also have info accessible about your account on-line. Check your loan servicer?s website. If you don?t know who your loan servicer is, check the U.S. Department of Education?s website. Several loan servicers accept payments on-line, and some even allow you to set up deferments or payment plans online. For other types of financial aid, including private student loans, you?ll need to contact the lending institution directly.

There are many forms of financial aid accessible for prospective students. By applying through FAFSA, a pupil can prepare for federal loans. An additional type of aid is a private student loan from a bank. The difference between these loans, besides the obvious that one is conferred by the government and the other is by a private business organization, is that federal aid can frequently be paid back at a much lower interest rate.

You cannot use student loan money to for uses other than education. Utilizing your financial aid for credit card debt or other purchases is a violation of the terms of your loan. If you do this, you risk losing all of your federal financial aid. However, student loan money can be used for education-associated expenses for example textbooks, materials, and other fees.

If you pay your student loan off early then you?ll save money on the interest of the loan. Whenever you pay your federal loans, they apply your payments to the interest first then the principal of the loan. Therefore, if you?re paying your loan off early or doubling your payments then you?re decreasing the principal not just paying for the interest on the loan. This will be the responsible way to deal with your financial aid.

FAFSA is a federal assistance application that allows student to apply for numerous forms of financial aid with a single form. Grants and federal loans may be obtained by completing this essential form. A student loan is a superb method to finance university; it allows a student to pay for educational costs with a low interest rate.

When a person makes the choice they would like to enroll in college, all avenues of financial aid should be explored. To apply for a Pell Grant, a pupil needs to complete the FAFSA application. This application procedure could as well figure out eligibility for other types of aid, such as student loans or federal loans.

Source: http://www.ianslive.com/student-loans-money-for-the-education/

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This Video of the New Super-Accurate TAG Heuer Watch Is Nuts [Video]

Pay close attention to this video or you'll miss Tag Heuer's new Mikrotimer Flying 1000 in action. The new concept watch is the most accurate mechanical chronograph ever. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/QYekNZntrQw/this-video-of-the-new-super+accurate-tag-heuer-watch-is-nuts

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