DELORES HART – FROM MOVIE STARLET TO CATHOLIC NUN

DELORES HART – FROM MOVIE STARLET TO CATHOLIC NUN

One of the guests at next Sunday's Academy Awards will be a Benedictine nun. Fifty years ago she left a Hollywood movie career to join a cloistered convent. Dolores Hart, 73, is featured in an HBO documentary, God is the Bigger Elvis, which has been nominated for best documentary short category. It is scheduled to be shown on HBO in April 20 12th. The documentary covers her background involving being the star in dozens of Hollywood films and ending up…

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PUBLIC RADIO TO OFFER PROGRAM ABOUT THE PAUL SATKO STORY

PUBLIC RADIO TO OFFER PROGRAM ABOUT THE PAUL SATKO STORY

In may of this year I wrote about the fascinating story of Paul Satko and his family going to Alaska on a home built boat during the depression. See https://paulluverajournalonline.com/weblog/2011/05/university-of-washington-tacoma-history-professor-michael-sullivan-called-me-about-something-that-happened-in-anacortes-bac.html  Professor Michael  Sullivan has been researching the story and publishing it for some time. He has just notified me that there will be a broadcast on public radio which I recommend you listen to. Professor Sullivan said: Hello Mr. Luvera. I hope those with an interest in the story of…

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CATHOLICS & THE RIGHT OF FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE

CATHOLICS & THE RIGHT OF FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE

The issue of president Obama and the health and human services ruling on mandatory coverage for contraceptives has been in the news. My own view is that his position was a poor political one as evidenced by his decision to back off and compromise. It was also a flawed one because any government action which is perceived by many people as an infringement on their religiousliberty is a constitutional mistake.That is aside from the fact that survey’s show ninety five percent…

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AMERICA TODAY & THE DECLINE OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE

AMERICA TODAY & THE DECLINE OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE

As we Americans view with concern the path our country seems to be taking and the resulting fallout on employment, jobs and the homeless, perhaps we might be able to learn from history. While not a perfectly accurate comparison, it is hard to ignore the history of the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. An empire which was such a glorious, wealthy and powerful one for many hundreds of years but, which ended with a whimper. How could that…

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AMERICA, THE LAND OF THE VERY RICH, THE NOT RICH AND THE POOR

AMERICA, THE LAND OF THE VERY RICH, THE NOT RICH AND THE POOR

David Carroll Cochran has written a very proactive article, Plutocracy or Democracy? In the February 10th issue of Commonweal magazine http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/. What is plutocracy? Cochran says it is a system in which political influence is used to maximize the interests of the wealthy and powerful at the expense of the rest of society. It is a political corruption of the Golden rule – a society in which those with the Gold, rule. In the plutocratic scenario all costs and risks…

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FIFTY FOUR FORTY OR FIGHT!

FIFTY FOUR FORTY OR FIGHT!

So, how's your Washington state history knowledge? Do you remember learning about "Fifty Four Forty or Fight" in school? The slogan comes from a boundary dispute in the 1840's between the U.S. and Great Britain involving an area including the modern states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and parts of Montana, Wyoming and even British Columbia- generally known as the Oregon territory. It referred to the latitude line of fifty four degrees and forty minutes North which the U.S. wanted as…

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WILLIAM TAYLOR 1922 -2002 COACH AND MENTOR

WILLIAM TAYLOR 1922 -2002 COACH AND MENTOR

Today, January 24th, is the annversary of the death of a great coach and mentor to me, William Taylor. Many of us can point to one person or perhaps several people who played significant roles in our life. People who made the difference at a tipping point in our lives. Someone whose words or actions changed our attitude and the direction of our life for the better. For me, after my parents, it is a short list of those who…

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THE STRANGE TRUCE OF CHRISTMAS 1914

THE STRANGE TRUCE OF CHRISTMAS 1914

I've written about this event before, but a recent book on the trench warfare of the first World War made me think about this again. World War I began in July of 1914 involving primarily Germany, Russia, France & the United Kingdom. It wasn’t until April of 1917 that America entered the war against Germany. President Wilson had tried to keep America out of the war, but German submarine attacks sinking American ships caused America to join the allies. The…

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I’M FED UP WITH POLITICS

I’M FED UP WITH POLITICS

I wasn't going to comment on politics because it is such a waste of time, however I don’t know about you but I am totally fed up with the Republican candidate’s political efforts and their debates as well as a worthless Congress locked in a total stalemate while people suffer economic pain. Who cares about the army of Republican want-to-be-presidents as they continue to debate while the public knows they will say anything to get elected…well with the exception of…

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LOVE OF NEIGHBOR IN ACTION

LOVE OF NEIGHBOR IN ACTION

According to a report in a Christian blog  http://www.cgg.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Library.sr/CT/RA/k/274/No-Greater-Love.htmthe February 13, 1987, issue of The Missileer, a newspaper of the 45th Space Wing, U.S. Air Force, ran this brief and apparently true story by Colonel John W. Mansur: The mortar rounds landed in an orphanage run by a missionary group in the small Vietnamese village. The missionaries and one or two children were killed outright and several more children were wounded, including one girl about eight years old. People from…

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