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Monday, August 3, 2015

THIS SEEMS LIKE AN IMPORTANT NATIONAL STORY WHICH I DIDN'T SEE THE CHATTY MORNING NEWS SHOWS COVERING THIS MORNING!

This seems like a horrible story of national significance given what has happened recently in Charleston and Chattanooga.  Did anyone read this anywhere this morning or hear it on the morning national news?????? By the way, the priest says the bomb went off as he was praying the words of consecration. I wonder if he was able to conclude the Mass or not at the time and if he did it later?

Bomb blasts outside two New Mexico churches disrupt Sunday services

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — A pair of small explosions just 20 minutes and a few miles apart shocked congregants Sunday morning at two churches in southern New Mexico.
There were no injuries or deaths from the blasts outside Calvary Baptist and Holy Cross Roman Catholic in Las Cruces, Las Cruces police spokesman Danny Trujillo said. Each building sustained minor damage.

Authorities are working to determine who planted the explosives, what materials were used and whether the blasts were related.

"It doesn't appear to be coincidental because of the timing, but you never know," Trujillo told The Associated Press.

Several agencies including the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and New Mexico State Police are assisting with the investigation.
Gov. Susana Martinez said whoever set off the explosions "will feel the full pressure of the law."
Speaking at an evening news conference, Martinez said that only a "coward" would place an explosive device in a church.

She said that if the intention was to bring fear to those who worship, it was a failed effort.

The first explosive device went off at about 8:20 a.m. in a mailbox on a wall near the administrative entrance to Calvary Baptist. According to police, several worshippers were inside the church at the time, but services hadn't started.

According to churchgoers, the blast shook the building and there was debris around the damaged mailbox. Las Cruces police Sgt. Robert Gutierrez described seeing "just a lot of paper shreds."
The next blast came from a trash can outside Holy Cross Catholic at about 8:40 a.m. as Monsignor John Anderson was helping pass Communion.
"I was right in the middle of saying the words 'take and eat, this is my body,' and there was a pow! I mean, I knew it had to be more than a gunshot," Anderson told the Las Cruces Sun-News newspaper (http://bit.ly/1ME7PEp). "I didn't know if it was a shotgun blast, I didn't know what. But it was very loud, and I just kept on saying the words."

Ann Marie Sullivan, a college student attending Mass, said it "sounded like something had fallen off and shattered the glass in the back."

The trash can was near a glass entryway, which was damaged.

Police arrived and evacuated the church and blocked off surrounding streets. Bomb-sniffing dogs were brought in to search the building.

Services were canceled for the rest of the day at both churches, which are less than 4 miles apart. Trujillo said he didn't know of any recent threats involving either church.

Other churches in the city have contacted police about what, if anything, they should do. Trujillo said police are advising them to look out for anything suspicious, but don't inspect anything themselves.
"Don't go poking around in trash cans or mailboxes," Trujillo said, according to the Sun-News. "If you have any suspicion of anything that's out of the ordinary, please call to police and leave it up to the officers to look it over."
___
Associated Press writer Terry Tang contributed to this report from Phoenix.

30 comments:

Fr. Michael J. Kavanaugh said...

Once again, covered by NPR's "Morning Edition" today..... FM 89.7 WMUM

Fr. Allan J. McDonald said...

NPR is boutique news. Who hears it anymore, especially now that most of us have XM radio in our cars? The only way I knew about it is through my Yahoo homepage, which I think, knows what I look at on the internet and tailors it to my searches, but I could be wrong. Maybe you know, does every Yahoo home page have the same posts and news items. I get a lot of Pope Francis stuff so that makes me wonder if I'm not being catered to by the spies who watch what I surf??????? I'm getting paranoid.

rcg said...

Personally, I think the priest was awesome for finishing the consecration. I bet was cool throughout the event.

Templar said...

Glenn Beck (one of the few very reliable news sources these days) had coverage on the day it happened. http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/08/02/and-there-was-a-pow-explosions-shock-congregants-outside-two-new-mexico-churches/

No doubt some Liberal Darlings embracing Obama's buddy Bill Ayers preferred method of civil disobedience.

If you count on ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, FOX, MSNBC or (for pity's sake) NPR for your news you're already a victim. The news is out there, but you have to go find it.

Fr. Michael J. Kavanaugh said...

If you're concerned about not hearing "important national" stories on your chatty TV news stations, then switching to the "boutique" NPR makes sense.

You are most certainly getting catered to. Websites use algorithms to track what you have selected - radio stations, online purchases, bank websites, favorite foods - to determine what shows up.

Here's a good article on the topic:

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/04/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-data-mining-but-were-afraid-to-ask/255388/

Google tracks your searches and, many say, this data determines what shows up when you do a subsequent search. This article is a little more in depth and, possibly, a lot scarier.

http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2013/05/10/15-ways-google-monitors-you

Fr. Michael J. Kavanaugh said...

Glenn Beck's reliability:

On March 19, 2015, Glenn Beck wrote: "This is just Evil. A few weeks ago Obama took Hamas and Iran OFF the terror list. He is negotiating with Iran WHILE their supreme leader said that they ‘will fly the Islamic flag of jihad over the White House.’ … Christians are being liquidated, beheaded and crucified, their children being sold into slavery, his big bombing plan to stop Isis is SEVEN bombing runs a day. 7!!! How many did we run in Bosnia: 165?!!!"

Beck's claim is false. Hamas was not removed from the terror listings.

Feb. 4, 2011, Glenn Beck wrapped up five days of frightening Egypt forecasts with this blunt assessment: "They've (the Muslim Brotherhood) openly stated they want to declare war on Israel and they would end the peace agreement with Israel and they would work towards instituting something we told you about, a caliphate."

Beck's claim is false.

In a Dec. 3, 2009, broadcast, Beck decried that Andy Stern, head of the Service Employees International Union, appears more times in a White House visitor log release than anyone else. Stern visited the WH 24 times between January 20, 2009 and August 31, 2009. There are MANY other with more visits to the WH: Lewis (Lee) Sachs, counselor to Treasury Secetary Timothy Geithner, with 92 visits; associate attorney general Tom Perrelli, with 49; Federal Communications Commission chairman Julius Genachowski with 47; Spencer Overton, principal deputy assistant attorney general, with 38; and Health and Human Services office of health reform director Jeanne Lambrew, with 27.

Beck's claim is false.

On November 30, 2009, Beck claimed: Less than 10 percent of Obama Cabinet has worked in private sector. However, according to the National Journal, one in four (25%) have considerable private sector experience.

Beck's claim is false.

On October 12, 2009, Beck claimed: "Forty-five percent of doctors "say they'll quit" if health care reform passes." Beck misstated the survey that was conducted by Investor's Business Daily. in their survey 45% of doctors said they will CONSIDER quitting."

Beck's claims are false.

On June 10, 2009, Beck asserted: "Why do we have automatic citizenship upon birth? We're the only country in the world that has it." Countries with birthright citizenship include Antigua and Barbuda, Argentine, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Lesotho, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

Beck's claim is wrong.

Beck is not reliable - at all.

bvs said...

Wow...will keep them in my prayers. What on earth is happening these days?

Lefebvrian said...

What on earth is happening these days?

According to NPR, Buddy Guy is concerned about the future of blues music. His new album Born to Play Guitar came out last Friday.

Templar said...

Kavanaugh, you're such a tool of the left it's not even funny. You post a long quote by Beck after which you claim he's wrong (as if your declaration makes it so). Which part of the quote is wrong? Where is your supporting data (that doesn't come from some MSM news source please) or your own twisted beliefs. The simple fact that you've gotten all worked up over a reference to Glenn Beck (while touting NPR as reliable news) is all the evidence any sane person needs to judge you by.

Templar said...

And another thing Kavanaugh, if you held Obama to the same standards of accuracy as you hold Beck to, you'd be out campaigning for the GOP. You're calling the man a liar because he said 10% of the cabinet had private sector experience and you want to counter with 25%, as if 25% is some sort of great achievement. You call him a liar he said SEIU leader had visited the WH more than anyone else, and you provide a list of high visitor counts, ignoring the fact that 24 visits by a labor leader if ridiculously high whether he's the highest or not. In my business we call this picking the fly shit out of the pepper, and is the type of crap the leftists always engage in. Obfuscate, delay, divert.

Jusadbellum said...

Regardless of our tit for tat, dems vs. repubs tribal squabbling, the fact is some terrorist bombed two Churches. Granted the munitions were small and caused little damage but this sort of thing may spread.

If so, then we ought to reflect on the obvious point of our faith: the God we worship died on a cross after the powers that be persecuted him. Ours is a counter-cultural and politically incorrect religion. Virtually every country with a Catholic population has seen BLOODY persecutions against the faith with the sole exception of the English speaking world in the past 150 years. Our 'peace' is an historic anomaly. That we live and work and go to Mass without fear of violence against our persons merely on account of our faith is historically unique. Since the Protestant revolt in the 15th century, being Catholic has meant taking one's life in one's hands.

If/when open, bloody persecution comes, we will be invited to join in the long train of other Catholics who have had to face the same music.

Whether a Catholic is comfortable with a D or an R behind their name will I think ultimately not matter for much. What will matter is whether we are ashamed of being known as disciples of Jesus, as Catholics in reality not just in name.
http://blog.adw.org/2013/01/on-trial-for-being-a-catholic-a-creative-video/

Fr. MIchael J. Kavanaugh said...

Templar - In three of the five examples, I gave the supporting data. Stern was NOT the most frequent visitor to the WH, 45% of doctors did NOT say they were going to quit, and the USA is NOT the only nation with birthright citizenship.

For the other examples, the supporting data is found at http://www.politifact.com/personalities/glenn-beck/statements/byruling/false/

I do my homework, you should, too.

Only an ardent believer in Glenn Beckk thinks that 10% is greater than 25%, that 27 is greater than 38,47,49, and 93, and that 32 countries with birthright citizenship are invisible.

You are rapidly becoming the Virginia Elissor of this blog. She's the one who, in a videotaped public gathering, told Senator Santorum and the world that, a few weeks earlier, President Obama had tried to detonate a nuclear bomb off the coast of Charleston SC........

rcg said...

It should be easy to figure out who did it based on the targets and the relatively small explosions. I don't think this was terrorism (which is is only "terrorism" if we are afraid instead of pissed off).

gob said...

Templar, if you've been married 22 years and have four children, you have been practicing birth control. Glen Beck is the LEAST reliable news guy of all... I'm sorry...and frightened that there are probably many guys like you in our military....a pawn of the right...who doesn't really even know how to think...

Rood Screen said...

NPR is decidedly on the Left, but the quality of it's reporting far surpasses that of the commercial news sources. Only the BBC World Service is better than NPR, at least among English-language news sources. "Yahoo News" is the USA Today of the Internet.

Rood Screen said...

As a patriot, I find something attractive about Glen Beck's approach to news. But deep down, I think we all know the man's insane.

Rood Screen said...

NPR's "All Songs Considered", admittedly, should be eliminated.

gob said...

What the hell does "as a patriot" mean? You're better than.....who???

Anonymous said...

I saw it on my MSN browser page, and clicked on the photo of the girl holding the "No Mass Today" sign to read the article. I did not see the article displayed prominently on either CNN or the NY Times website.

George said...

Father Kavanaugh-c'mon now.

I'm surprised to read that the head of a union, a person not employed by the Federal government, visited the White House 24 times in less than a year. What was that about? At least all the other people you listed work in the Executive branch.

As far as the following about Mr Obama's cabinet:
"according to the National Journal, one in four (25%) have considerable private sector experience."

What I would be interested to know is, how much of that private sector experience involved working for NGO's? How many worked for a concern where the objective was to make a profit?

As far as Glenn Beck, I don't know enough about him at this point to make a comment. Yes, I do know who he is, but has he written anything worth reading?

I've listened to NPR many, many times. It does slant to the left at times but I have no problem with listening to it.

Fr. Michael J. Kavanaugh said...

George - I imagine the President and Mr. Stern discussed matters of mutual interest. What do you think they discussed? If you are seriously interested, contact the White House.

But, that's not the point, is it?

Your man, Templar, says Glenn Beck is a reliable news source. As the data shows, however, Mr. Beck can't even count. So much for reliability.

Beck has made his millions by making people afraid, because he knows that people who are afraid are easily manipulated. In order to do this, Beck lies, makes up stories about, for example, who visits the White House, and misrepresents facts.
It is a good thing that his falsehoods are so easily exposed.

But there are people like Templar want to be afraid. It gives them a sense of purpose and power within a political system in which they think they are useless and powerless. Even in the face of data which shows their sources to be unreliable, they cling to their fantasies as to their Bibles and their guns, so caught up are they in their unreality.

Data about the private sector experience of Obama's team is at the website I cited at 5:07.

Jusadbellum said...

Why are we discussing Glen Beck? He's an entertainer with an opinion. He's not a journalist. Inaccuracies or incorrect interpretations of data are one thing. 10 is not 25. The interpretation though is the meat and potatoes: he interprets it as sinister while Fr. K assumes it must be on the up and up because....well just because: the good guys are only, always, awesomely awesome while the bad guys (GOP and anyone not democrats) are always, awfully awful who hate the poor, women, minorities, children.....

Meanwhile in the real world... the rest of us must navigate between secular media sources who all have bias. NPR and FOX both have bias. MSNBC is notoriously biased. The major newspapers are biased. It's hard to decipher the truth from the spin and that's just from a secular perspective. Add in the Catholic element and we compound the problem with the divide between EWTN, Lifesite news, zenit on one side and America, Commonweal, and National Catholic Reporter on the other.

Some say sexuality is only valid and licit when used inside a sacramental marriage while others push convoluted theories whereby it's sorta, kinda awesomely authentic to be one's self by using one's sexuality outside sacramental marriage because, "mercy".

Some say human life and dignity and rights begin at the moment of conception. Others insist we can't possibly know, golly it's so mysterious, it's such a impossibly complicated thing that we ought not err on the side of caution and just accept abortion on demand until the 3rd trimester unless of course the woman FEELS bad, in which case it's legitimate to the 40th week. Or they'll say "but the poor!" and ignore the whole issue as much as they can.

So what is a regular Catholic American to do? We have some priests and the USCCB and the encyclicals of St. John Paul II telling us in no uncertain terms that one cannot promote abortion, IVF, embryo-killing research, contraception, and sodomy...while we have other voices - priests, bishops, cardinals, theologians telling us that we actually can choose all of this because of the changing times and "science" (i.e. APA IS INFALLIBLE).

We are in a cacophony of conflicting voices, uncertain trumpets, prophets and false prophets. Some shouting "war, war" while others shouting "peace, peace".

So who shall we trust gentlemen? NPR? EWTN? Any by whose criteria? Our own? As informed by whose tribe?


Fr. Michael J. Kavanaugh said...

We're discussing Glenn Beck because Templar stated, "Glenn Beck (one of the few very reliable news sources these days) had coverage on the day it happened."

The errors in fact by Beck that I noted are not subject to interpretation.

Judadbellum said...

That Beck was factually wrong on numbers is one thing. One would need to know if NPR has every been factually wrong. I know the NYT has been factually wrong as well as wrong on interpretation of data too.

But that gets back to who ought we trust and why? Limbaugh has a trope where he claims to be "almost always right 99.8% of the time". It's a funny schtick. But it does make one wonder...do other pundits and news sources get graded for accuracy? Over the course of 10 years, how many facts have been asserted and how much interpretation of those facts have been made by NPR vs. Beck.

That would make for a fascinating study to compare apples to apples on how accurate they've been and how reliable their interpretation has been.

Fascinating but besides the point.

Why do we accept NPR vs. Beck? I suspect it's not because of accuracy but because of tribal affiliation. Not that being a member of a tribe is per se bad. It's not. Human beings are social and societies tend to be tribal either by blood or by ideology. The key is to KNOW THYSELF and know how to step out of one's tribal box of preconceived notions enough to attempt at objectivity.

It's a terrible thing to believe one's one spin.


Fr. Michael J. Kavanaugh said...

I choose NPR for several reasons, none of which is tribalism.

Accuracy - When they are wrong they say so and they do not intentionally misrepresent the facts as Beck does.

Breadth of Coverage - Next to the BBC, NPR is the best international news source.
They also have regular reports on science and technology, medicine and biomedical research, the arts, the environment, space, etc. Each year they interview two of three of that years' Nobel Prize winners, having them explain their work in terms understandable to the "laity" in NPR's audience.

Depth of Coverage - NPR stories are often 10 times longer than news stories on most, if not all TV news shows.

NPR's goal is to help listeners be informed. It works. "Survey: NPR’s listeners best-informed, Fox viewers worst-informed" (http://www.poynter.org/news/mediawire/174826/survey-nprs-listeners-best-informed-fox-news-viewers-worst-informed/

Beck's goal is to make frightened people more frightened and, therefore, easier to manipulate.


George said...

Fr Kavanaugh

My point is that to me, the number of meetings between Mr Stern (not a government employee) and the President seemed unusually high. As far as what they discussed... well... will any other than a very few ever know? It was a rhetorical question.


Jusadbellum said...

How do you know that Beck intentionally gets factual things wrong? Seriously. You know he intentionally lies?

You listen to him a lot I presume....or just know "about" him without actually spending much time listening.

I once had an opinion about Howard Stern. Then I actually was forced to listen to him because my commute car only picked up that channel. It was right after the FCC fined him for profanity on the air so he was forced to avoid the F word for while. His schtick was still crude and hyper-sexual but he was actually pretty clean at times and it was then that he really was funny and also insightful.

His politics are hyper-liberal....but then on another subject he'd absentmindedly defend private property and even prudery. I learned alot about the Liberal Progressive mindset and blindspots by listening to him over the course of a year.

Now I know pretty well where he stands on a number of topics because I've heard him out at length not just snippets from other "anti-Stern" sources who one presumes would edit sound bites to the most egregious and unfair.

Now, as a pro-lifer I am confident to say that he's full of BS when it comes to the life issue. But in his case I think he sincerely believes the BS. Ditto with Rachel Maddow and others on MSNBC. I think they genuinely believe their rhetoric and spin is true. It's wrong, they're fools and baffoons but I'm not going to accuse them of lying. To lie you need to know the truth.

So...is Glenn Beck a liar or just wrong? Think about it.

Secondly, about 'scaring people'. Who doesn't? Seriously, who on NPR is not terrified about global warming and overpopulation and terrified that a Republican will become President or that the pro-lifers might take away "a woman's right to choose" or we might mount a federal constitutional amendment and eliminate gaymarriage from the landscape. I would in a heartbeat. That terrifies liberal progressives. I believe they're fools for being afraid because without abortion on demand or gaymarriage "the sky won't fall" and their lives won't instantly detonate but then they're terrified...and MSNBC and others stoke the flames of fear and anger at all times.

You think race war is some right-wing concoction? The Marxist-left has been beating that drum for 30 years! They roll out straw men in hoods every 2 years to terrify the majority minorities with images of slave masters and chains should this or that liberal policy be overturned in DC.

But somehow only Glenn Beck is a fearmonger? only he lies. Uh huh.

Do you want to know how I know you don't listen to Glenn Beck?

Fr. Michael J. Kavanaugh said...

Beck has a staff of dozens of writers, editors, producers, etc.

Beck and his large staff look at White House visitor logs and see:

Lewis (Lee) Sachs, 92 visits
Tom Perrelli, 49 visits
Julius Genachowski 47 visits
Spencer Overton, 38 visits
Jeanne Lambrew, 27 visits
Andy Stern, 24 visits

Beck then announces, with horror and shock, that ANDY STERN, a UNION LEADER, has the most visits to the White house.

Yes, this is intentional.

Jusadbellum said...

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/dec/07/glenn-beck/beck-says-labor-leader-most-frequent-white-house-v/

So you know for sure how Beck's team work and that their show prep knew the second batch of visitor logs was published? You know for sure he knew full well other people visited but chose to assert something he knew was incorrect?

Really?

Now think really hard.... do you scrutinize your tribal buddies as much as you scrutinize Beck? Do you hold everyone to this "he/she coulda, shoulda, woulda known better so if they didn't, they're liars" standard?

Because if you do then you must agree that Obama's a liar as is virtually every other democratic politician, pundit, and icon. "coulda, shoulda, woulda" with 20/20 hindsight can trip up pretty much anyone.

Seems to me, Ockham's razor would have Beck's team find the factoid from the first batch of logs, prep a show a week in advance and not go back. At the tempo of his 3 hour radio show and TV show and books and concerts, his staff must be planning out content of any given show weeks in advance.

But you are disposed to dislike him, just as I was disposed to dislike Howard Stern so what would otherwise be ignored as an understandable gaffe must be converted into a damnable mortal sin when the other tribe commits it.

I'm entirely willing to concede that Rachael Maddow sincerely believes her anti-Conservative spin and hence isn't a liar. But you seem vested in pinning Beck as a liar with malice aforethought.

Interesting...

Jusadbellum said...

You know, it would probably do you some good to actually check out Glenn's website.

http://www.glennbeck.com/

It might actually do you good to pay attention to the other talking heads - Rush and Sean.

All 3 have been on an anti-GOP tear for the last 2 years at least. Beck is definitely no longer a Republican. He renounced the party in 2012. He's an Independent and has been doing things on his own that defy easy classification...like going to the border to bring humanitarian relief to immigrants or going to inner cities to organize peace rallies with African americans.