Today on Kresta - August 19, 2010

Talking about the "things that matter most" on Aug. 19

Live From the Iowa State Fair with KWKY - Catholic Radio for DesMoines, IA

4:00 – Revelations: Stories of Redemption and Hope
Have you ever considered how really insulting it is to say to someone, "I think your mother should have been able to abort you."? It's like saying, "If I had my way, you'd be dead right now." And that is the reality with which Rebecca Kiessling lives with every time someone says they are pro-choice or pro-life "except in cases of rape" because she was conceived in rape and absolutely would have been aborted if it had been legal in Michigan when she was an unborn child. She is here to tell her story.

4:30 – What Can We Learn From the Fiasco That Was the Blago Trial?
A jury this week found ousted Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich guilty on one count of making false statements to federal officials, but was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on 23 other counts. Blagojevich faced 24 counts in the wide-ranging corruption case including racketeering, conspiracy, mail fraud and attempted extortion. U.S. District Judge James Zagel said he intends to declare a mistrial on the undecided counts. Prosecutors have until Sept 7 to seek a retrial of the case. U.S. attorney Patrick Fitzgerald told reporters he will seek to retry the case. The allegations against Blagojevich included an attempt to sell or barter the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama. We talk to Mark Bonner about what we can learn from the Blago fiasco.

4:40 - Iran, Nukes, Israel and Preemption
Israel has "eight days" to launch a military strike against Iran's Bushehr nuclear facility and stop Tehran from acquiring a functioning atomic plant, a former US envoy to the UN has said. Iran is to bring online its first nuclear power reactor, built with Russia's help, on August 21, when a shipment of nuclear fuel will be loaded into the plant's core. At that point, John Bolton warned Monday, it will be too late for Israel to launch a military strike against the facility because any attack would spread radiation and affect Iranian civilians. Absent an Israeli strike, Bolton said, "Iran will achieve something that no other opponent of Israel, no other enemy of the United States in the Middle East really has and that is a functioning nuclear reactor.” Gary Bauer is here to discuss Iran, Israel and nuclear war.

5:00 – August 15, 2010: Ex Corde Ecclesia Turns 20
On August 15, 1990, Pope John Paul II responded to the decades-long crisis in Catholic higher education by issuing the apostolic constitution Ex corde Ecclesiae. The document, which has the binding effect of Church law, was the first official Catholic Church document defining the essential relationship between Catholic institutions of higher education and the Church. Inspired by the message of Ex corde Ecclesiae, Patrick J. Reilly and other recent Catholic college graduates founded The Cardinal Newman Society in 1993 to seek the faithful implementation of the apostolic constitution in the United States. Patrick and David House, Executive Director of the Center for the Advancement of Higher Education are here to discuss the 20th anniversary of Ex Corde Ecclesia.

5:40 – Ave Maria University Football Program off the Ground
In February, Ave Maria University announced that it would become the first college in Southwest Florida to field a football team, with an ambitious launch date of fall 2011 for the team’s first game. AMU also hired Barry Fagan, a former Penn State football player and NCAA Division II head coach, will become the school’s first head football coach. “In many respects, football helps to build character,” Ave Maria chancellor Thomas S. Monaghan said in a press release. “As a team sport, the players must learn to work together and trust each other — both on and off the field — in order to succeed. Football also teaches discipline and the importance of hard work in the pursuit of a common goal.” Coach Fagan joins us to discuss the progress of the AMU football program.