What Filter Did She Have On?

1. George Weigel wonders, based on the post-meeting public statements, if Madame Speaker was at the same meeting -- or even in the same city -- as the Holy Father. You have to ask yourself what kind of filter was on her hearing so that what the self-absorbed Speaker found most remarkable about the meeting was not the specific and strong personal admonition from the Vicar of Christ, but what she said to him, and particularly that she got to show him pictures of her grandkids. Probably the "sin hardens your heart and makes you deaf to the Word of God" filter.

2. And then there's the imaginary and hilarious "fly on the wall" account of Madame Speaker's meeting with the Holy Father.

3. Correction to yesterday's comment about Madame Speaker not meeting with her Archbishop. Apparently, the meeting has already taken place and the result is… well, her spokesman said "She is not changing her position on abortion". Okay, now might be the time to review then-Cardinal Ratzinger's document "Worthiness to Receive Communion" and Canon 915. But boy, if the Speaker converted, what an impact it would have! That's something to pray for.

4. North Dakota's House of Representatives has passed a bill defining that a legal "person" begins at conception. You may recall that in Roe v. Wade, the Court expressed agnosticism about when life begins, and held that the Constitution did not include the unborn in the definition of "person" (they consulted the super-secret glossary, visible only to those with rose-colored glasses), but kind of left the door open a crack to legislative action in that area. This bill isn't law yet, and it won't overrule abortion rights (the Court has gone far past the Roe rationale), but legislative statements like these are a useful step towards restoring rationality and sanity in the law.

5. More from the forces of tolerance -- a pastor in Oakland was prosecuted under a city clinic access bill for handing out leaflets and holding a sign in front of a clinic. Yes, handing out leaflets and holding a sign is now criminal in California, and maybe in New York City too, if the City Council passes their egregious clinic access bill. "First Amendment? We don't need no stinking First Amendment!" UPDATE: The pastor has been sentenced to 30 days in jail, a $1130 fine, and three years probation. For handing our flyers and holding a sign. In America.

6. Another warning sign for scientists who are pushing the pace of research into embryonic stem cells -- an experimental injection of ESC's into the brain of a boy causes dangerous tumors.

7. I missed this in the pre-Valentine's Day crush, but our always-useful scientists have discovered the secret to effective kissing. No, it's not true love, it's… well... I'm sorry to say it, but it has to do with quantities of saliva. Now, I'm not going to try to confirm it. You're on your own on this one.