Patriarch of Constantinople visits New Orleans

The visit was scheduled before Hurricane Katrina, but HH Patriarch Bartholomew I said the hurricane added urgency to the trip. Unlike the mayor, he had no divine word on whether God is angry with America or if the city would remain "chocolate." Instead, he imparted words of hope and spiritual uplift:

"Damage will be restored. Life will blossom," the pontiff said. "Let us build
our personal lives according to the will of God; then, we will find happiness
and be truly at peace."

His All-Holiness made his remarks at Holy Trinity Cathedral, the oldest Greek Orthodox parish in North or South America and spiritual home of 500 families.

Mel Gibson? Non...

The only thing worse than bad satire is someone who doesn't get it. A reporter for the Canada Free Press got punk'd by a faux blog purportedly maintained by Mel Gibson. For those naifs who couldn't tell immediately, the star of "Braveheart" is not operating a personal, daily blog, much less one where he publicly berates "judeo-secularists."

As everyone knows, only complete losers with lots of time on their hands have blogs....

The Real "End Times" Fanatic

While the media and much of the religious blogosphere is obsessed with Pat Robertson's latest inanity, they're turning a blind eye to a far more dangerous end-times fanatic: the president of Iran. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has repeatedly petitioned for the coming of the "Mahdi" in his public speeches. According to Shi'ite theology, the Mahdi is the Twelfth Imam, the eschatalogical figure who will return to earth (with Jesus) to usher in the end of time. Pres. Ahmadinejad is the man currently trying to acquire nuclear weapons capable of decimating "infidels" throughout Europe (perhaps including the Vatican), as well as targets within the Mideast.

I am not defending Robertson. He is increasingly inconsequential as a political figure and has made so many public gaffes I positively have lost count of them all. But he does not have access to the nuclear football. That the "mainstream" media consider him and his (coincidentally rather conservative) followers the threat -- and Ahmadinejad's "last days" nuclear fanaticism unworthy of mention -- speaks volumes about their perception and their real enemies.