"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys." – P.J. O’Rourke

"We want no progress, no prosperity. Nothing but the sword will decide the fate of this country."

[In a letter to the Axis powers during WWII, seeking recognition of the "right"] "... to settle the question of Jewish elements in Palestine and other Arab countries in accordance with the national and racial interests of the Arabs and along the lines similar to those used to solve the Jewish question in Germany and Italy."

Both of these quotes were from the Palestinian Grand Mufti of Jerusalem.  He was the leader of a Palestinian uprising during World War II, and was closely aligned with the Nazis, even spending much of the war in Berlin.  After his death, his nephew took up his cause, continuing the effort to slaughter any "zionists."  His nephew's name?  Yasser Arafat. 

Whenever we hear about the plight of the Palestinians, it helps put things into perspective to recall how closely aligned Palesinian Nationalism was to Nazism.  For that matter, how that wave of fascism took hold in many Islamic countries.  The arab Fascist political movement took the name of Ba'athism.  Another group promoting pan-Arab fascism is what we now call Hezbollah, which is funded by the totalitarian Iranian regime. 

Hitler's legacy lives on in the middle east. 

First, read this- our Archbishop here in Baltimore, the former bishop of the Military Archdioces, has urged priests to get themselves in shape.  Here's a key quote from one priest, who is cited as a great example to other priests:

"I looked in the mirror and asked myself, 'Do you want to be a fat old man before your time?'" he said. "So I looked at my lifestyle, began to study nutrition, began to run ... and then diversified my workout program. It's been a big part of my priesthood. You're more aware of yourself, and the gift of life. When we let our bodies go, we really in a sense misuse or abuse the gift that God gave us."

Take the orthodox priest in the picture, for example.  His story is over at the Functional Hand Strength site, but the mere fact that he is pressing a freakishly huge kettlebell should be an inspiration to other priests.  It is possible, nay helpful, to be into hardcore fitness as a priest. 

In Catholic theology, masculinity is innate to the priesthood (though not the other way around).  Having said that, priests should not let themselves go just because they have forgone marriage.  After all, fitness wasn't ever about being attractive in the first place.  What was it about then, you ask? 

"The Glory of God is man full alive," St. Irenaus said.  God wants us to live fully; to use all of our faculties and skills for the glory of God.  This, however, might bring up another quesiton- God is God.  His glory comes from Him being the eternal, all powerful being and cause of all existence.  How can we, almost nothing in the vast expanse of the cosmos, add to His glory?  Well, in one sense we can't- God is indeed that amazing and unfathomable Being, no matter how well or badly we live.  He doesn't need us.  We are, however, made by Him because He loves us and has made us in His own image.  We are meant to reflect His glory.  By living up to to human vocation - the holiness and fullness that God calls all of us to - we can reflect his glory better; alternately, by living apart from him, wasting our lives in laziness, gluttony and other sins, we choose to not reflect his glory well. 

Therefore, by living up to what God calls us to be as men: strong (spiritually, mentally and physically), full of self control in every sense, continuously striving for virtue and to walk with Him, we glorify God.  In short, one way we can glorify God is through fitness.  Fitness, moreover, helps us in seeking holiness.  It combats laziness, teaches self-denial and self-control, which in turn combats lustfulness and gluttony.    Pope John Paul II once spoke of sports as a "school of virtue," precisely because of the way sports/fitness can form your character for the better.

We cannot, of course, note that fitness helps us on the path of holiness, without noting how important holiness is to fitness.  Of course, you could be strong as superman and be a terrible person- that is granted.  So how could holiness be important to fitness?  Because it places it in a meaningful context.  It gives more reason than simply looking better or simply being able to lift large amounts of weight.  Someday our good looks will fade; our strength will weaken when we get old.  We will all die someday.  If all you are seeking is something temporary, then what is the point? 

Some see this as a reason for hopelessness, and a reason to forgo any such vain effort as exercise.  This is the cynic's camp: "eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die...."  But that is not the mind of the Christian man.  Christ came that we "may have life, and have it to the fullest!"  That does not just apply to the obvious eternal life that we seek and hope for; it also applies to the here and now!  "Be perfect," Christ said, "as your Father in Heaven is perfect."  We are called to perfect ourselves continuously, in large ways and small.  Fitness in and of itself is a tiny form of perfection next to holiness.  But as a way to seek virtue, to learn humility by confronting your weakness face to face, to glorify God both in our souls and in our bodies, fitness fits perfectly within the wider realm of holiness. 

In this way of thinking, the perfection of our bodies and that of our souls become bound together, and that is as it should be!  God made us body and soul.  Not a body with a soul, or a soul with a body.  We are our bodies and our souls.  With this in mind, dive on in- glorify God in your body and soul! 

The point of DailyStrong is to help people to challenge themselves and help themselves become stronger in mind, soul and body, every single day.  

We are partnered with Fatal Fitness, Inc. toward the physical end.

But for a long time the "Physical Strength" section was down and out.  The new FF site and the code DS is based on just wasn't making life easy.  

That's all changed now- from now on, when you click on the "Physical Strength" tab, you will have the Fatal Fitness workout of the day (called a "Death Certificate" or "DC"), as well as the workout from their endurance component, Fatal Fluid.

Dive in, enjoy the workouts, enjoy the adversity!

Global warming is ingrained in many people's minds as a fact, on par with the existence of germs or the world being round.  Anyone who doesn't accept it is a hillbilly and a stubborn fool.  

Here at DailyStrong, we're not afraid to say that global warming is a hoax.   Here's yet another tidbit: they say the north polar ice is retreating, opening up new shipping lanes.  BUT, glaciers elsewhere in the world are growing, and they cannot explain why.  Perito Moreno glacier in Argentina defies global warming scientists, continuing to advance when they say it should be retreating.  

Click the picture for the rest of the story.   When I was a child they would gather us fourth graders up into a room and show us videos telling about how by the year 2001, we would all be living underground, because our atmosphere would be so depleted by pollution that spending any time on the "surface" would be a death sentence.  Here we are in 2009, and they were wrong.

Back in the 70's, they warned about the coming ice age.  Just a couple decades later, global warming is the trend of doom-speak.  Scientists debate with eachother about whether the Earth is in a warming trend or a cooling trend.  The debate has intensified with more proof that "global warming" is a hoax, including lawsuits against Al Gore alledging fraud.  The media terminology has changed to reflect this- now it isn't "global warming," it's "climate change."  Why?  They have no idea what the Earth is doing, and they don't want to be proven wrong.

Radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh once challenged Al Gore and any Global Warming prophet to a bet- a gambling website would be set up to handle the funds, and people could bet their savings on either side- either that global warming is real or a hoax.  The decision would be based on how many of the global warming predictions came true after a period of 10 or 15 years.  Nobody would put their money where their mouth was, of course, but apparently they expect us to put our money where their mouth is, via taxes, new fees, regulations, etc.  

Long story made short? We do not understand the planet well enough to declare that there is "global warming," "global cooling," a coming ice age, or whatever. All that we can do is look back on history and identify that warming and cooling periods do, in fact, come and go, but they have done so since the Earth was created, and they do so without our help.  There was no "carbon output" to cause the Ice Age 10,000 years ago.  Other "mini" ice ages since then have all happened before the industrial revolution.  The point?  Man does not cause warming or cooling.  We are too puny to affect sunspots, solar flares, the amount of ash output from volcanoes, and many other factors of climatology that are simply too huge for us to even dream we control or affect.  All proof is that this happens with or without us.  We cannot cause it, and cannot stop it.  

Another point, as history will tell us, is that if the earth were warming, it would not really be a bad thing- some of the most shining periods in human history have been during warming periods.  Take, for example, the 13th Century.  An absolutely glowing moment between the dark ages and the equally dark years of the 100 years war, the black plague, the Reformation, etc.  The 13th Century happened in what climatologists can tell was a warming period.  The bad things ahead were during a time of extreme cooling.  So even if we were in a period of warming, so what?  Maybe it would be a good thing for humanity, apologies to Bill Gates and his doomsday "green" business.  

Recommended books:

"Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist's Guide to Global Warming"

"We are in danger of being overwhelmed with irredeemable paper, mere paper, representing not gold nor silver; no sir, representing nothing but broken promises, bad faith, bankrupt corporations, cheated creditors and a ruined people." -- Daniel Webster, US Senate, 1833

Apologies for the gap in postings- specifically in the "Mental Strength" department. I had tried to line up postings for everything, but apparently it didn't work in that part of the site. I was off climbing. Long story made short, I looked at the glory of God, and he burned me. Vision's returning to normal now, and I'm back home and able to post again.

Find more videos like this on The Shady Characters Club

People may recall the contest held in the past few years for private, no-government-funding teams to launch a man into space.  The contest was a success, and with less time and money, a private team was able to get a man into space - and back - safe and sound.  

One innovation that we have been striving for for a long time is a cost-effective method of producing nuclear fusion for energy plants.  It has much less radioactive waste, much more energy, and requires less fuel.  It would drastically reduce energy costs and reduce our reliance on other methods.  

One group in California claims they have the method now- a chamber where elements are bombarded with tremendous bursts of energy via lasers.  They say it produces a "miniature star."  If it works, that is incredible.  However, critics say they have not found a way for it to be cost-effective at all, having spend billions to get where they are.  All they've produced is a hole in our pockets, some say.  

Click the picture for the full article.  The article is certainly interesting.  My assertion, however, is that if another contest were to be sponsored, for a private firm to develop a safe, cost-effective method of Fusion, it would happen sooner and cheaper.  You'd need supervision by the Dept. of Energy, of course, because this can be dangerous stuff to play with, but nonetheless, that's my prediction.  Private groups tend to get things done with a much higher rate of efficiency than any government ever has.