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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The senior adviser to Iraq's Interior Ministry blamed U.S. forces Tuesday for not securing facilities where the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency says equipment that could be used to make nuclear weapons has vanished. [read more]

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Religion vs. Anti-Religion

Make no mistake, folks who want to see the Ten Commandments taken out of every civil building in the country are not non-religious ; they are anti-religious . And, there's a big difference between the two. Non-religious people do not believe in God. God doesn't exist, He/She/It didn't create the world, nor do they, or have they, ever interceded in history. Obviously not, if they don't exist. But, if people really believe this, then they can be said to have a belief system. We call these belief systems Religion. So, really, they are religious, just not in the way that I am. That's great. Then there are the anti-religious people. These are folks who think that religion is bad and should be destroyed; wiped away from history once and for all. These people, I believe, are, in fact, very religious. We might call them fundamentalist. They believe so strongly in their system that all other systems need to be done away with. Like a Crusade or a Jihad you might say. Well I...
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Palm Sunday and a day at the Palm House

So my step-brother Pete, who I introduced to the wonderful world of restaurants almost ten years ago, is now sous-chef for Butler's Pantry Catering here in St. Louis. He works with a couple of people that I worked with at the 9th Street Abbey. He calls up Emily last week and asks her if she would like to work "this Sunday and next Sunday at 9:00 am?" She says OK not realizing that it's Palm Sunday and Easter! Not only would she miss Church both days, but confirmation class which follows. I was not happy. I could have solved the whole problem for her, but instead I asked her if she would like me to solve the whole problem for her. She said no. So, I just told her that I wasn't happy and let it go at that. She worked busing tables at the Palm House in Tower Grove Park (they do a brunch there). I picked her up about 2:30; she was bushed. She was on her feet the whole time. Her confirmation teacher was very understanding. He told us that he'd have no problem wi...
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It was 40 years ago today

I remember watching the Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder when I was young. I was still at home, so I'm thinking this was around 1975. I don't remember the guest on this occassion but he was a pop/rock recording artist of some kind. (It might have been Harry Nilsson - if anybody remembers, let me know .) Tom asked this guy what he thought of the Beatles and he responded, "I hate them." He went on say something to the effect of "they ruined pop/rock music." At the time I'm thinking the guy is just crazy or jealous or both. Later in my life though, I developed a theory concerning pop music that sounds a lot like the guy's rant. It goes something like this: Before the Beatles, pop stars were people who looked good and sounded good. One of the reasons they sounded so good was that the songs they chose (or that were chosen for them) were good songs. By that I mean they were constructed well. For my generation these are songs of Goffin and King, Boyce and Hart...
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