Elizabeth Smart Recounts the Grim Details of Her 2002 Abduction

Like everyone else (other than the two psychos who kidnapped and brutalized this innocent child), I was elated to hear the news, several years back, that Elizabeth Smart had been rescued from the nightmarish captivity imposed on her. Few people imagined that her situation would have a happy ending — at least as happy as an ending can be in a case like this. I thank God for her deliverance. Now, at 21, she is speaking publicly about what happened.

Elizabeth Smart said Thursday that the man accused of snatching her from her Utah bedroom seven years ago, when she was a 14-year-old girl, raped her repeatedly — three or four times a day — during the nine months he held her captive as one of his wives.

Smart, now 21, was testifying for the first time against suspect Brian David Mitchell, though the two never came face-to-face in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City. Mitchell was removed before Smart arrived and taken to a holding cell where he could listen to the proceedings.

Smart said Mitchell, 55, raped her for the first time right after her June 2002 abduction — which occurred in the dead of night in her Salt Lake City home.

She told the court that the rapes continued three to four times a day for nine months, and that Mitchell told her she would be killed if she yelled or tried to escape.

She described Mitchell as "evil, wicked, manipulative, stinky, slimy, selfish, not spiritual, not religious, not close to God."

It marked the first time Smart has testified against Mitchell, who is accused of abducting Smart and making her his "wife" to fulfill a religious prophecy.

The court is currently conducting a competency hearing for Mitchell, who has twice before been deemed mentally unfit for trial. A judge ruled earlier this week that Smart's testimony is relevant to determining Mitchell's mental competency.

Smart was poised and composed while testifying for just under two hours.

She said Mitchell abducted her in her bedroom at knifepoint in the middle of the night, took her to a mountain camp and performed a ceremony she said was intended to "marry" the two. . . . (continue)

How an earthquake might create a tsunami off California coast

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Video of first Tsunami Waves Hitting Samoa

As a public service announcement, let's review Tidal Wave Rule #1 : When you see a tsunami, or even something that looks like it might be a tsunami, rolling in from the ocean, do not stop to take pictures of it with your tricked-out camera. Bad things will happen.

These waves and the earthquakes that are causing them (Samoa, Indonesia) are killing hundreds of people, maybe more. Let's not forget to pray for these folks who are suffering through these terrible ordeals. There's no reason to imagine that we in the U.S. won't get hit with something similar at some point.

Below is an interview with an eyewitness to the waves:

If you'd like to help honor Archbishop Chaput, please act now

With just a week left to go, I don't want anyone to miss the opportunity to get a seat (or table, if you'd like) at our Envoy Institute event next week in Charlotte (October 8th), to honor Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver for his courageous public leadership on Catholic moral issues (among other issues). If you’d like to reserve a seat or table for yourself (or your group), please click here or click the blue banner above.

Also, if I may ask a favor of you, we have many priests, religious, seminarians and college students on a waiting list to attend this event. They very much want to be present to hear Archbishop Chaput, George Wiegel, Joseph Bottum (First Things Magazine), Fr. John Corapi, Supreme Knight Carl Anderson, and others who will speak that evening.

If you can, please sponsor a table so that we can seat these priests, students, etc. The Hilton charges us for everyone who attends, so we do need to have every seat paid for!

Any donation you can make to help us with these expenses would be a great help. You can do so securely by clicking here.

Please think about what this means today, in the culture we live in. Many Catholics stood up to honor the late Ted Kennedy for his life's work, invoking his “Catholicism,” even though so much of what he did in his public life was directly contrary to what the Catholic Church teaches.

The University of Notre Dame — once widely considered the flagship Catholic university in the U.S. — dished out major accolades and honors to the president, a man who has made it his life’s work to promote and protect the hideous evil of abortion. You can see the problem.

I believe we need to be just as willing to stand up, speak out, and publicly support this man — Archbishop Charles Chaput — for his untiring, courageous public defense of Catholic teaching. He really puts his Catholic beliefs into action in the public square. And I want to stand up and publicly honor and encourage him for that.

Will you help me?

I hope to see you in Charlotte on October 8th!