by Ian Punnett

(AP) The Pope canonized five new saints today.

Among the five is French nun Jeanne Jugan, who helped the elderly, including some abandoned by their families. Jugan, also known as Marie de la Croix, was "an authentic Mother Teresa ahead of her time," Vatican Radio said. Her Little Sisters of the Poor order of nuns today runs homes for impoverished old people worldwide. She died in 1879.

Also, a 19th-century priest whose courageous work with leprosy patients in Hawaii has been likened to the efforts of those battling the stigma of AIDS was elevated to sainthood Sunday by Pope Benedict XVI.

And congratulations to President Barack Obama who was named a saint despite neither being Catholic nor dead.

President Obama is also linked to another miracle of life:

(www.bvblackspin.com) Getting your special loved one a Chia Pet Obama for the upcoming holiday season just got a lot harder, because a second national retailer has pulled the item off of its shelves, AOL Black Voices has learned.

Rhode Island-based CVS is following in the footsteps of Walgreens, which pulled the Chia Obama, a little bust of Obama that grows a green-plant Afro when properly maintained, earlier this year after it expressed concern that people would be offended or "interpret it through a political viewpoint or other viewpoints."

CVS spokesperson Michael J. DeAngelis declined to say why the company pulled the product from stores.

"We did sell them for a short time in a few markets, but they are no longer available in our stores," DeAngelis said in response to questions from AOL Black Voices. "It was a test, and we decided not to move forward with the product. Beyond that, we have no additional comment."

Bummer.  I’ve never wanted a Chia Pet before I heard about Chia Obama.  Up to this point, I think the whole Chia Head line was stupid but not only do I want a Chia Obama Head, I want both of them!  That’s right, both of them.  Chia Obama comes in “determined pose” and “happy pose”!  I’m not making that up either.  There’s only one Chia Statue of Liberty but there are two President Obama Chia Heads. Here’s the link:

www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OA89I6

That way, I can have a Chia Obama for all occasions.  On a typical day, while the president is getting slammed by his critics for everything in the world, real or imagined, I can have the Chia Obama with the “determined pose” on my desk and if the president ever has a good day, I can be ready with the “happy pose” Chia Obama head.

I hope they don’t just stop selling them because I would like to have all the presidents done in Chia Heads.  Especially after last night’s conversation about Cold War mishaps, I want a Chia Reagan Head to put in between to my Chia Roosevelts (Teddy and FDR) set and right behind Chia Eisenhower.  Wouldn’t that rock?

But you’d better get them fast in case more stores stop carrying them out of some kind of misguided political correctness.

Or in case President Obama buys up all of them to get hand them out as presents--that’s definitely what I would do if they ever made me into a Chia Head.

I mean, anybody can will the Nobel Peace Prize, apparently.

Chia Heads.  That puts you up there with Chia Bugs Bunny or Chia Bart Simpson.

Who needs Mount Rushmore?  

Speaking of heads, last night I included a link on my blog for the coolest Jack-O-Lantern carving that I’d ever seen.

That title lasted 24 hours.

www.buzzfeed.com/cakehead69evil/the-ulti...

Even more amazing is that just like in the Shining, the artist did that with an axe.

Amazing--and we're still weeks away from Halloween!