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Hitler "perceived the [Catholic] Church to be a blueprint for the totalitarian state he wished to create." http://catholicexchange.com/wa... so of course he wasn't Catholic because bad guys can't be Catholics.

Stalin was an atheist.

Mao was the leader of the cult of Mao, see also North Korean godkings.

Tojo was a Shintoist.

Mussolini was Catholic.

I think EA needs to check their facts. Sending in letters to let a corporation know you do not approve of their behavior isn't 'harassment', it's freedom of speech, which is precisely why it is enshrined within the founding documents of the United States of America, and simply because letter senders speak from a position many deem 'unacceptable' doesn't violate that groups right to speak on behalf of their beliefs, unless you think everyone is required to accept homosexuality. Seems to me EA also missed the part whereby some thousand or more game-players exercised their right to free speech with respect to Mass Effect 3's ending, which seems odd to me, as it would appear it's quite acceptable to decry a video games ending like children throwing a tempter tantrum, but if you write a company to criticize their choice to popularize life-styles that conflict with your personal and cherished beliefs, your letters are labeled 'political harassment'. But I guess manipulating the masses is one good quality of every successful video game company. For the record, I'm a independent atheist, but everyone has the right in my opinion to say what they want, and if the US continues trending in it's current direction, the following link portends our future: http://catholicexchange.com/canada-orders-pastor-to-renounce-his-faith/ Not really where I want to see civilization trend.

http://catholicexchange.com/2011/06/14/154594/

For those that don't want to read it, this is the argument:
"If we adopt a law holding that a person has the right to kill himself, soon we will also adopt euthanasia; because if the individual has the right to say when his life is no longer worth living, soon society will claim this right as well."

The rest just bashes the media, liberalism, and socialism.

http://catholicexchange.com/2011/06/14/154594/

I am astounded by your reference to a pope's preascendent pontification vituperating moral relativism, whose own youthful history could be construed as an exemplary case study of situationalism past. Do you have a url for this readily at hand? Don't provide it if your conception of the creative is connected to him though. It amuses, may be used in future heterodoxical musing, and I am a proficient searchengine tech user. Does the XVI signify fifteen prior Pope Benedicts?

I was unable to find a primary source- it would probably be in Italian or German anyway, any quote from the homily would have to be translated regardless- but here's a news story on Cardinal Ratzinger's pre-conclave homily from The Catholic Exchange. NO, I don't consider the Pope to be creative- in fact, a creative Pope would be a horrific thing to happen to the Catholic Church, that's not his job. His job is to synthesize the work of others into universal doctrine- a creative Pope would be very dangerous indeed. And yes, there were 15 previous Popes by the name of Benedict- the last one was Pope during WWI and helped broker the Treaty of Versailes. The choice of the name seems to have been very purposeful- linking the mission of the current Papacy to that time, brokering peace between Catholics and the increasing Moslem population of Europe.

Also, is your given email pointer just a spam vacuum?

To some extent yes- it has a very aggressive bayesian spam filter on it. I also use it as my primary address with people I don't know whom I my wish to ignore. A better way to get in contact with me here is through Journal Entries.

however, the Deaf community generally shuns them as their equivalent of "tools of Satan." I'm sorry, but I don't get it... I could understand that maybe a small minority doesn't want these implants for some vague reasons, but calling it a tool of Satan???

There do exist tools of Satan. Pornography, especially child pornography, date rape drugs, and nuclear bombs come to mind, as do vaccines derived from aborted babies. Devices used to correct handicaps are not inherently evil, provided they are produced by good means and for good ends.

There are complex psychological factors at work when attempting to change one's physical abilities, whether its an olympian working out or an amputee trying on a new prosthesis. I'm completely unqualified to discuss, or even know, those complexities.

I'm not an amputee, and can't speak for them. On the other hand, were I to lose my legs tomorrow, I would likey consider an attempt to modify something like these:
http://www.powerskip.de/mainpage.html
or these:
http://www.stiltwerks-inc.com/product/velocity.htm l
(for instance) to suit my use.

What looks like a toy could be a very real augmentation for someone who would already need artificial legs, depending on their individual circumstances. Of course, I would expect it to be more difficult to get insurance authorization... But then I sit one one side of the fence, and My POV is not that of an amputee.

Having seen my grandparents go through hearing loss, I know they had to go through a bothersome hearing selection readjustment when they began to use hearing aides. I don't look forward to the process. I would reconsider, though, if I were offered an earbud to talk to Jade, though, or even a semipermanent link to a multifeatured cell phone or musical device (in fact I did use these for a long while.)

Have people gone completely bonkers?
If you have to ask, you may have gone with them. If you can look at the variety of responses (both lay and governmentally sponsored) to recent natural disasters, international terrorism, prisons (both foreign and domestic), and the political machines hovering over vast nations and honestly say that you think this world is completely fair, just, honest, and sane, you ain't sane.

I'm not sure where you obtained that bit of information from, but the Vatican did nothing of sort:

Bush-Kerry: For the Vatican, the Odds Are Even

Quite the contrary, there is a bit of controversy surrounding an "unofficial" response from Vatican officials to the question of Kerry being guilty of heresy:

About that Kerry Excommunication Thing

- pel

The plague of stinging locusts is allowed to torture those without the seal for "five months." What does this period signify? Many scholars believe this refers to the opening acts of the Jewish rebellion against Rome in 66 AD. Gessius Florus, the procurator of Judea, deliberately slaughtered 3600 innocent citizens of Jerusalem in May 66 in order to incite a revolt by the citizens of Jerusalem whom he despised. And it worked. For the next five months, a vicious war broke out against the Roman power in Judea. On the heels of the outbreak, the Roman army under the command of Cestius invaded Palestine with troops who were garrisoned near the Euphrates. Then, after ravaging the countryside for five months, they moved to attack the city of Jerusalem. However, right around the Feast of Trumpets (in September 66), Cestius suddenly and inexplicably broke off the attack and withdrew his forces. Encouraged by this, the rebelling Jews pursued the fleeing army and inflicted heavy casualties. This victory was taken by the Jews as a sign of divine deliverance and transformed the revolt against Rome into a real war. In its wake, the Jewish populace threw its enthusiasm headlong into the suicidal attempt to defeat the full might of Rome. And this, in turn, brought down upon Judea the legions of Titus and Vespasian who four years later would besiege Jerusalem and destroy the Temple.

Revelation, of course, sees in these events not merely a geopolitical dimension, but most importantly a spiritual one. The attacking army is headed, not by Cestius or Caesar, but by a destroying angel called Abaddon or Apollyon (9:11). Likewise, the "locust" of the invading Roman army are described, not in literal terms, but in terms which mix the imagery of the biblical plagues and the imagery describing the ancient Assyrian and Babylonian invaders. What brings on this destructive onslaught is not, for John, the wrongheaded p