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Wednesday, November 26, 2003
When you behave contrary to the will of God ...you have to do violence to language in order to justify that. Linguistic violence has a tendency to lead to real violence. Hence the prevalence of gay brownshirts. Here's a little sample of linguistic violence directed at one person who spoke the obvious: Andrew Sullivan finds me "vile," "ugly," and full of "bile." To my old friend W. Scott Thompson, I am driven by "fear, blinding anger, and hatred." To Franklin E. Kameny, I am a "two-bit little homophobic bigot." To Matthew Rubenstein, I am a "Neanderthal in drag" who cannot tell "the difference between an argument and a cross-burning." To Yaakov Levado, I "play the game of anti-Semites," while George Jochnowitz reminds me that Jews repent on Yom Kippur of "the sin of causeless hatred." Then, having put on this little demonstration of what lies in wait for anyone who opposes the gay-rights movement, its proponents go on to claim that it won because it has better arguments. An assignment for my readers (since I gotta get to work) Help this guy! I am the Cubmaster for my son's Cub Scout Pack. We are gathering the boys this Saturday at the Naval base movie theater to watch a movie this Saturday. The theater permits private parties to rent the facility for $25, choose from their vast movie archives, and eat all the theater junk food they care to pay for (the renters are free to provide their own food and not pay for any theater food, too). We're making the "admission price" one gift for the Toys for Tots program, and are having a couple of Marines come in the collect the toys from the boys in their dress uniforms and combat fatigues. Very briefly: Movie: Why not an old classic like "Fantastic Voyage" or "The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad"? Anybody else got any ideas? Office mate's claims: Your response should be, "Documentation please?" Your resource for stuff on Masonry: New Advent or Catholic Answers. Christmas vs. Advent A reader asks: One thing I would love to see discussed on your Blog is whether I'm the only one out there who battles not only cultural Catholics, but even orthodox Catholics about the true meaning of Advent and the true meaning of Christmas and the fact that they are NOT the same! I refuse to play Christmas carols until Christmas Eve. In my neighborhood, Christmas trees are out for trash pickup on December 26th! I continue playing carols until the Christmas season is over. Am I all alone in this? I'm not a stickler about Christmas carols, but I try to keep Advent in a Adventish spirit, which is typically pretty fun at Chez Shea since I don't necessarily think penance and preparation for the birth are the opposite of fun. And I'm a big one for celebrating the Twelve Days. More people in need of Insensitivity Training And another thing! How come we call jacks "male" and "female"? Why don't we call them "jacks" and "jills"? And what about the rape imagery inherent in the term "plug n' play"? O the humanity! The more comfortable a culture becomes, the more it is has to concoct imaginary struggles in order to compensate for the fact that it has no real ones. Basically, Steve's right, of course. However, remember that the Church's moral theology specifies three things necessary for grave sin: grave matter, sufficient knowledge, and freedom. Merely supporting abortion does not necessarily put you out of the Church, because you may do so because you are an uneducated idiot, or because something in your background might be so traumatizing ("I watched my mother be raped by the KGB. She aborted that baby. Are you telling me she's in hell?") that a person doesn't have the interior freedom to consider the Church's teaching clearly. In our culture, I think there's a huge amount of ignorance and also a great lack of freedom (think of every young girl ever pressured by boyfriends and parents to abort). So while support for abortion is certainly contrary to Catholic teaching, there are probably lots of cases where Catholics are, at best, material heretics, not formal ones. This, among other things, is why we are commanded not to judge. Non-Catholic *ideas* should be rejected with great force. The people who hold them should be presumed Catholic if they call themselves Catholic. It's the bishop's task to excommunicate, not ours. "Never attribute to malice what can be sufficiently explained by stupidity." - Mark Twain Unleash the Power of the Blog! Encourage bishops as they begin to do the right thing about pro-abort politicians Contact information of members of the USCCB new task force that will address (?) pro-abort Catholics. = = = 1) Most Rev. John H. Ricard, SSJ, DD, PhD Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee, FL PO Drawer 17329 Pensacola, FL 32522 Phone: 850-432-1515 Fax: 850-436-6424 Web: www.ptdiocese.org Email: chancellor@ptdiocese.org 2) His Eminence Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, PhD, DD Diocese of Washington, DC 5001 Eastern Ave. PO Box 29260 Washington, DC 20017-0260 Phone: 301-853-4500 Fax: 301-853-5346 Email: chancery@adw.org 3) Most Rev. Joseph A. Galante, DD, JCD Diocese of Dallas, TX 3725 Blackburn PO Box 190507 Dallas, TX 75219 Phone: 214-528-2240 Fax: 214-526-1743 Web: www.cathdal.org Email: ccfcdal@cathdal.org 4) Most Rev. Thomas Wenski Diocese of Orlando, FL PO Box 1800 Orlando, FL 32802 Phone: 407-246-4800 Fax: 407-246-4942 Web: www.orlandodiocese.org 5) Most Rev. Donald W. Trautman, STD, SSL Diocese of Erie, PA St. Mark Catholic Center PO Box 10397 Erie, PA 16514 Phone: 814-824-1111 Fax: 814-824-1128 Web: www.eriecd.org 6) Most Rev. Bernard J. Harrington, DD Diocese of Wiona, MN 55 W. Sanborn St. PO Box 588 Winona, MN 55987 Phone: 507-454-4643 Fax: 507-454-8106 Web: www.dow.org Email: diocese@dow.org Powerful Toxins at Work in Palestinian Culture and reminders that not all Palestinians are Muslim fanatics, nor has Israel somehow acquired the Church's charism of infallibility, much less impeccability. Obviously John Gibson has not seen "American Beauty" Any red-blooded American male must meet middle age by imploding in selfish Baby Boomer narcissism and an orgy of adolescent self-destruction. Domestic happiness is so bourgeois. Doesn't he realize the point of life is to have as many failed marriages as the average New York Times writer or Hollywood suit? Gibson probably doesn't even know any repressed psycho military types or utterly stable gay couples who are the model of joy and life. What a sheltered life! The Left Demonstrates Shea's Law Sin makes you stupid. In this case, really really stupid. Normal people begin to look on the Left with horror, even as it look on itself with swelling pride. The Media Blitz Continues Current estimates place the gay population in the United States at over 200 million. That's why the media talk about nothing else. In Kristof's world, it's "reactionary"... to say the body is made for committed monogamous love and committed monogamous love is made for the body. to say that the best way to avoid AIDS is to avoid promiscuous sex. to say that no epidemiologist in his or her five wits would *ever* engage in "safe" sex with an HIV+ partner, unless he or she had a death wish. to say that Russian Roulette tends to kill people. The New York Times: arbiter of cultural wisdom for people who only have time to read the newspapers. Tuesday, November 25, 2003
Maybe the Stupid Party isn't so Stupid One enterprising blogger has put up what looks to me like a spoof of the most over-the-top idiot leftist blog you could imagine: BlameBush. It's almost credible as an effusion of leftist hysteria, full of all the normal "conservatives are nazis/destroy Rush Limbaugh blah blah--until it starts blaming Bush for solar flares. Then you start sensing that you've been had. A fun read if you enjoy parodies of looney leftist rhetoric. However, the problem is that it often so hard to tell these days since lefties are frequently parodies of themselves. To whoever writing it: please fulfill a dream of mine and write a hysterical screed indicting Bush for doing nothing to stop continental drift. A reader writes: I spent my childhood on the receiving end of very serious physical, emotional, and, yes, sexual abuse. I often puzzle over the mystery of why some of us who have lived through this are able to experience considerable (never total - our hope is resurrection, not returning to some kind of pre-abuse innocence)healing and that our nightmare childhoods no longer dominate our life. It is rather like a fading memory that wakes when I confront events like this. "My Kingdom is not of this world" This passage has been much on my mind since Mass this weekend (it was the gospel reading, for you non-liturgical folk). One of the hazards of spending too much time reading the news and following the day by day power struggles in the Church and the world is that you can start believing the lie that the power struggles are Where It's At. That is a lie. Ask most people where the headquarters of the Church is and they will tell you "Rome". That's false too. The headquarters of the Church is Heaven, because the Church, in the Ascended Christ, is already there, far above all dominion, authority and power. Mark that, Christ *is* the Church. He is the soul of the Church by his Holy Spirit. Because he is fully human, humanity has *already* ascended to heaven. That is why Paul can tell us in Ephesians that we are seated with him in the heavenlies. Are. Not "will be". One consequence of this fact is that the Church exists before it has any members. We get to participate in the Church by grace, we don't tag along after the Resurrection and "start" the Church in "response" to Jesus as a sort of "Resurrection Memorial Society". Jesus, the head of the Church, starts the Church and then graciously adds us to it. That means that the new covenant, unlike all previous covenants between man and God (in Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David) is incapable of failure because the man making the covenant is not fallen but is the Incarnate God himself, who cannot sin. The failures of the Church's members can be forgiven and the Church can remain spotless precisely because the Church is not its members, but is Christ. It depends on the Head for its life, not on us. And the Head is not *going* to Heaven. He's already there. So the victory of the Church is not so much assured as it is already accomplished. For this reason, Paul tells us sagely to set our minds on heavenly things, not on earthly things. If we allow *any* earthly thing to cause us to despair, it is a certain sign that we have taken our eyes off the heavenly truth of Christ ascended that we should be contemplating. And the remedy for that is to put our eyes back on that Truth and to remind ourselves of the fact that he is the Truth. The sliminess of bishops, the sins of priests, the machinations of politicians, the meanness of men, our own pathetic sinfulness: these are not the Ultimate Reality. Christ crucified, risen and ascended is. And he is still able to save. His kingdom is not of this world. It is more, not less, real than that. Don't lose sight of that. Am I the only one who wonders... how this guy, having endured what he endured, could then decide to spend several years defending the diocese and opposing other victims? Something about this guy doesn't add up to me. But then, I'm not an abuse victim and don't know the strains and cross currents it puts on the psyche. It is frustrating to see his diocese admit he's a victim (at least, it looks that way to me) and then say, "Sorry Charlie. Statute of limitations is past." In the words of Kathy Shaidle, "Someday they'll all be dead." In the meantime, I keep in mind the very hopeful assessment my friend Sherry Weddell of the Siena Institute gives of the priests who are in the pipeline right now but will not be seeing episcopal ordination for a few years. She's seen a *lot* of the Church in the US and is very optimistic that serious reform will come. And I trust her judgment. So hope remains, even in the American Church's "November". The Vanishing Case for War At least, for the war in Iraq (though that's water under the bridge now). Interesting piece on the Kennedy Funeral One of the blessings of belonging to a cold dead stiff formal Church of rote prayers and rituals is that when times of trauma strike, you don't have to extemporaneously compose prayers and whomp up an entire psycho-emotional coping mechanism ex nihilo. The rites and prayers already exist and you can step into them. They hold you erect when everything has gone numb. My mother-in-law, God bless her, has forgotten her own children. But she still knows how to pray to her Father in heaven because the Our Father is written on her heart. Likewise, the Hail Mary and the Glory Be. There's something to be said for "dead" religion. It seems to outlast what many take for living religion and which often turns out to be a mere effusion of feelings, as ephemeral as the flowers. Monday, November 24, 2003
I just want to affirm Mark of Minute Particulars in his wrongness I thought I was wrong once, but I was mistaken. It wasn't me! Even though Barb's dead wrong about the LOTR films, I think the world of her. I am, however, praying for fervently both for her and Amy. It's finally happened... My computer is officially Old. When I got this thing (back in October 1998, when Pangaea was breaking up), it was top o' the line. 450 Mhz processor. A total rocket. Since then, of course, I've been aware of the decay of age and the rapid succession of younger spritelier upstart systems. But my good old Pentium has remained serviceablea and still done everything I needed it to. I even felt competent when I installed a CD burner. But now, the latest edition in the Myst saga--Uru--is out. It requires an 800 Mhz processor! O the humanity! I am Burgess Meredith, the Obsolete Man! Gay Brownshirts on the March! WE'VE been hacked! Little old CaNN! The site was apparently renamed-- blush-- [F***you.com]. The honours and accolades just keep piling up. First the DDOS-attack, and now this! They love us-- they really love us! Our Tech Dep't has things under control. Word to the Cowardly Custards-- what are you afraid of? Rest of the story might get out? Then you'll just have to hack every single like-minded website planetwide, because the story keeps getting out, and more websites keep springing up, and new Blogs and e-mail lists keep passing things on. Blow us up, and ten more would come to replace us. God bless you, then-- and yes, we forgive you! ...(FYI) A point of clarification for the hypersensitive. Contrary to agitprop, I do not call all gays "brownshirts". I call gay brownshirts "brownshirts". One achieves brownshirthood not by being gay, but by engaging in brownshirt tactics such as the one mentioned above, or by otherwise muzzling or attempting to stifle free speech, or by threatening or inflicting physical violence or other forms of intimidation (including judicial intimidation). Sooner or later, even the hypersensitive will perhaps figure out this elementary point. Another satisfied Cat in the Hat viewer A reader writes: I made the mistake of taking Clarissa and Emma (and my dear mother-in-law) to the Cat in the Hat movie this past weekend. I presumed that since the book is for 3-8 year olds that the movie would be perfect for the girls who are 5 and 3 but I was very sadly mistaken. Toldja it was loathsome. Okay. Now I'm really gone. From the "Don't Stand So Close to Me" Dept. The creature who drew this: 
gives a big wet sloppy Kiss of Endorsement to Howard Dean. To the amazement of all, Dean does not scream for Security and beg aides to bring him a disinfectant. Instead, he seems to be happy with the endorsement as are many of his loopy supporters. One more illustration of how utterly clueless the Left is. Bush is going to win in a walk. Brilliant! I don't know who Marianne Thompson of Fuller Theological Seminary is, but I'd love to shake her hand. (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader). A reader asks: Mark, this article really hit the nail on the head in regards to the persecution of Christians that I fear is coming. I realize that we are already being persecuted, but I fear the time is coming when this persecution will be much more direct for those of us who will strive to remain faithful. Maybe even concentration camps. My thoughts: "“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day." - Matthew 6:34 Not very original, but still quite serviceable. Another whiner complains about Rome's "authoritarian violence" The guy fails to explain how he can get articles like this published if Rome is so all-fired authoritarian and violent. "But do they dare to talk about you like that?" said Lucy. "They seemed to be so afraid of you yesterday. Don't they know you might be listening?" SAFE FROM HARM Suppose that in the sacristy the devil puts on priestly robes So what? The devil too believes in God, but hates Him (The missionary atheist is worse than hell that holds him Therefor condemnation and the millstone) If Satan abhors God still the flesh and blood appear Though the devil may consume it to destroy Intending to destroy - but God is indestructible - Everything veers toward Him, even hell is drawn Puts on the robe, holds the chalice and the paten Says the consecrating words intending to defile Plugs the universe inside the swollen belly But not God - only fire falls there, burning block Robes hang on the hook, the meal of consecration Flesh and blood before the Fall when all was sacred Now in noble yet debased, debasing form lies there Innocent material indifference lets the garments down in folds Toward the passive ground, toward the center of the world In wordless bland repose, things, vessels, means of work But even there the flexing energy of God And what is done has come to mind from ages old, Blessing, blessing purifying what was godless and defiled With holy grace, twice blessed: creation, sacrifice So that the bread can speak and wine can sing in hymns And those who can consume do both, they are anointed Safe from harm - Pavel Chichikov Wouldn't that be a refreshing act of revolt? The legislature and Gov. Mitt Romney should ignore the court, defy the order and submit to Massachusetts voters a constitutional amendment declaring that marriage is between a man and woman, as God and nature intended. Consumerist Americans Hope to Consume their Young for the Crime of being the Wrong Sex Fortunately, God is on the side of the West, so we don't have to expect any big judgments for things like this. Evil Party Representative to the Family: "Ve will bury you!" Stupid Party Representative to the Family: "We're kind of with you. Sort of. But probably not for too long." Meanwhile, LifeSiteNews analyzes the Willing Executioners of the Family who are at work in the current media campaign to normalize the permanently abnormal Media unleashes Pro Gay Marriage Campaign I particularly like the article that compares the Gay Marriage Onslaught to the Underground Railroad that rescued slaves and sent them to Canada. Nothing like ham-fisted agitprop for a Monday morning. Another attempt to attack the Church via judicial fiat This boils down to an attempt to say that adherence to the Church's moral teaching is punishable by US law. Like most attempts my liberalism to destroy the Church or ordinary human morality, it is not being pursued by democratic means, but by judicial tyranny. A reader asks: I have been wondering a little about this today and I was wondering if you had the answer. Is it a bad thing that natives on some Pacific Islands don't wear much or any clothes? Now I know that it is not for "sexy" reasons that they do it. They live in an entirely different world than we live in. But once they become Catholics, should they be required to were more clothes? And if so, why? Our first parents didn't wear clothes in the Garden of Eden before they sinned, therefore nudity can't be intrinsicly evil. But we live after the Fall. What conclusion can be drawn from that with regard to indigenous peoples? I think one of the more dangerous pieces of mischief to infect Christian missionary efforts has been the temptation to equate "Christian" with "European" or "American". The ridiculous attempt to impose starched collars on "the natives" in the Congo a hundred years ago was, I think, simply wrong and I think similar attempts today in some tropical climate are simply wrong as well. Revelation calls us to be "modest". It does not prescribe any micromanaging theory of clothing for that. All such things must be measured according to the culture. In Victorian England, the sight of an ankle was immodest. A few centuries earlier, a busty serving wench in a low cut dress was not immodest. Similarly, the practically naked bush people of the Kalihari have standards of modesty, but they are not Euro standards. It is important that these standards of modesty be respected and affirmed. But it is not important that they start wearing levis just so some American or European Christian with a confusion between his faith and his culture will feel that they are doing their Christianity the "right" way. IMO, of course. Apes with overdeveloped cerebral cortex get loose in God's laboratory, screw around with things they barely understand, think they are way clever A spokesman for the Amok Apes Association said, "Hey! What could it hurt?" Here's a hopeful sign: The Boston Catholic Philosophical Forum The BCPF is an emerging platform of discussion tangent to issues both philosophic and theological relative to the Roman Catholic Church. It is a tribunal of reason, as well as common sense, before which latent elements in current issues concerning the laity and Religious alike are openly and critically examined through the canons of reason and in light of the authentic Magisterium of the Church. A polite request which will be followed by swift action if not heeded Please refrain from all "The Jews are tunnelling under the foundations of our culture!" suggestions on my blog. If you wish to discuss apostate Jews or secular liberals (that is, Jews who are as Jewish as Madonna is Catholic), you should just forget the category "Jewish" altogether (as I forget the category "Catholic" altogether in discussing Madonna's baleful effect on our culture). But to suggest that the mere ethnicity of some religion-hating Hollywood type is germane to the discussion is to invite kooks and anti-semites on to my blog and I will not have it. Serious Jews such as Michael Medved and Rabbi Daniel Lapin will be the first to acknowledge that for a great many American Jews, the real religion is liberalism (as it is for a great many American Catholics), and that such folk are as hostile to serious Judaism as they are to Christianity. Since that is so, please do not clutter up the discussion by referring to such acolytes of secularism as "the Jews" since they are, in no real or living sense, Jews but merely devotees of the same ruinous secular messianic and hedonistic project that occupies so many liberal Protestants and Catholics as well. For every Weinstein, there's a Scorcese and a Dan Brown as well. A reader asks: There has been a lot of discussion recently on your blog about the Jesuits. . . what do people think of Loyola University in Chicago? Is it somewhere where an orthodox, devout Catholic could feel comfortable? Dunno any specifics, but my "wise as serpents" instinct is to be wary of any Jesuit institution. Anybody know anything about Loyola? A reader asks: We all know it's not an overwhelmingly popular choice for married people to abstain from sex before marriage and not to cohabitate, although it has been the norm in Western Civilization for most of history. But it still happens, probably more commonly that we'd know watching prime time TV. Even among those who don't succeed at one or both of those things, many recognize it as a goal, and ideal they SHOULD live up to. I highly doubt gays want to marry in order to abstain from sex in preparation. Even most straights don't bother with that formality. I think the push has much more to do with economic benefits (a small issue) and (the main issue), the insistence that fallen human nature has on trying to dominate. The demand at the back of this is not for "tolerance" (which gays already have). It is for approval and for the stamping out of any voice that says, "I think homosexual behavior is sinful and contrary to nature." In short, it is part of a larger cultural campaign (captained, as we are assured by Ephesians 6:12) to stamp out the voice of the Holy Spirit. The simple fact is that the flesh and the spirit are as much at war now as they were when Paul said they were at war in Galatians. We are assured of the final victory, but there can be real setbacks along the way. We are in the midst of one now. Saturday, November 22, 2003
Today is also the Feast Day of St. Jack Lewis As a Catholic, I often invoke his intercession when I write. I hope to meet him someday, but I fear that, if I make it to heaven at all, I shall be too far up in the nosebleeds and he too close to the Throne for us to ever shake hands through the press of angel, archangels, virgins, martyrs and all the company of heaven. But if we do, I intend to thank him for all that his work has meant to me. Problem is, there will be several million people ahead of me in line! No wonder God's given us eternal life. It'll take that long just to give adequate thanks to all the creatures whom he used to bring us to Him. May all who have died on this day find the happiness of heaven through the intercession of St. Cecilia, whose feast day this is. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Question for people over 45 Where were you at this moment 40 years ago? I was with my mom at the commissary at Paine Field AFB near Everett, Washington. Mom bustled home to watch the news after the radio in the back room said the president had been shot. Being five, I did not much notice the news of the assassination. What I remember was the pervasive gloom of the weekend (odd how children can have "feeling memories" that are more pungent than "event memories") and I remember being very angry the next day that all the cartoons were cancelled and it was nothing but news, news, news. Like I say, I was five. You? Mending Fences Longtime readers of my blog will know that there has been bad blood in the past between myself and Joe D'Hippolito both here and on other blogs. However, to his great credit, after a recent flareup of hostilities on another blog, Joe mustered the moxie to say "I was wrong" and to apologize. This seemed like a good opportunity to try to do some reconciliation on my part as well. So let me take this space to say "I was wrong" as well for needlessly fighting with Joe, for attacking him personally, and particularly for cluttering up other people's blogs with that animosity. As we both agree, we have certain disagreements about both ecclesial and political matters which are simply irreconcilable. However, it was wrong of me to allow those disagreements to descend into a personal feud. So I ask his forgiveness (and the forgiveness of the various innocent bystanders in the blogosphere who have had to put up with it) and I extend my forgiveness to him for whatever wrongs he has done me. I hope we can move on from here as better disciples of Christ. Friday, November 21, 2003
I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! The same cretins who decided to destroy The Grinch(TM) Who Stole Christmas have gotten their stupid filthy mitts on the Cat in the Hat(TM) and turned it into a bloody bloated montrosity pointlessly sprinkled with adolescent sex jokes. I hated the Grinch with all the passion my soul could muster. An outrageous defacement of childhood goofiness by soulless Hollywood suits. Now they've compounded the crime. The Seuss Estate should figure out a way to get out of their contract with these grubby little slimes who care nothing for childish whimsy and who only know how to laugh at their own coarse high schools sophomore gags. And now, back to work Argue amongst yourselves about gay rights, Israeli Walls, toxic Palestinian culture (also a reality), feeding pigs to sheep, and, just for spice, the merits of the vastly superior DVD edition of the Two Towers over the badly edited theatrical version. If you aren't sure who's right and who's wrong just ask yourselves a simple question, "What Would Mark Say?" and the Light of Truth and Goodness will dawn. Toodles! Meanwhile, the tragedy of the Evil Party is nowhere more clearly expressed than in the fact that... ...the highest act of moral courage a Dem can muster is to not criticize somebody for intervening to prevent a cold-blooded act of judicial murder. The Stupid Party, Accomplishing the Absolute Bare Minimum and Treating it Like a Huge Moral Victory The majority of Americans polled agreed with the ban. Yet it took nearly the entire Bush first term to end the madness. That’s clear evidence that the Conservative Movement has lost its punch, and maybe its passion as well. The Stupid Party is trying to figure out a way to insure a secure future by not alienating all those tasty voters out there in the Death Party. Easy: be a fiscal conservative and social liberal and tell people that the goal of life is to be rich as Midas and as laissez faire about your sex life as your TV says you should be. Throw in a dollop of Big Government "compassion" and "homeland security" with large, ill-defined goals and means (such as shutting down strip clubs in the interest of "national security" or searching lactating mothers from Lake Wobegon for terrorist weapons at the airport) and you have a winning formula for all sorts of mischief. With luck, we'll avoid too much silliness. But luck doesn't always hold. Interesting Look at Bush's Peculiar Appeals to England's Protestant Heritage as the Basis of our Common Bond with the Brits I think Bush is drawing on some reality here. There is a peculiar cultural and religious affinity between the US and the UK. But I also can't help but wonder how the rapidly apostatizing UK looked at this rhetoric. I highly doubt there is much flutter in the English breast over Tyndale, Wesley and Booth these days. These are names that create much more excitement in Colorado Springs than in London. Derbyshire can turn a nice phrase Does it not occur to you...that by purging all sacred images, references, and words from our public life, you are leaving us with nothing but a cold temple presided over by the Goddess of Reason -- that counterfeit deity who, as history has proved time and time and time again, inspires no affection, retains no loyalties, soothes no grief, justifies no sacrifice, gives no comfort, extends no charity, displays no pity, and offers no hope, except to the tiny cliques of fanatical ideologues who tend her cold blue flame? Now, let me ask you: would you ever expect to walk into *any* Norwegian Church and hear a "fiery sermon" about anything? Scandinavia continues to make the gospel taste like lutefisk. A reader writes: Please consider plugging this website on the blog. This is an American Christian couple, Marthame and Elizabeth Sanders, have traveled the Holy Land extensively over the last couple of years, visiting the various Christian communities. Though they are Presbyterian, they are very ecumenical, especially towards Catholics. (Actually, I think the Palestinian Catholics have had quite an impact on them.) Their website is great and gives much insight to what its like for Christians living under the Israeli occupation. The Sanders in Zababdeh. Why not take all the money given to CCHD and give it to a Catholic Charity? ...or a charity that supports Catholic values such as Human Life or Mercy Corps? Spent the Day at Grandpa's 80th Birthday Yesterday A bittersweet affair since Grandma is struggling with Alzheimer's. Strange moment of lucidity and then long fugues of confusion and word salad. Prayers for them would be appreciated. Now I'm really behind the eight ball workwise, but it was important to be there. Prayer for that would be good too. Blogging will be terse. Thursday, November 20, 2003
Why I Don't Get it When People Arguing for the Iraq War Appeal to UN 1441 Either international law matters or it doesn't. Make up your mind. Religion of Peace Burns Nigerian Churches Authorities are still not sure whether this was done by Muslims or simply by American Episcopalian members of the Gay Sturmabtielung aiming to bring African churches to heel. Exquisite Sometime CAEI reader and well-meaning guy jcecil3 goes to bat against the formidable author of Disputations on the question of "inclusive language". Much hilarity ensues as jcecil pursues his big-hearted but wrong-headed notions based on the popular leftist thesis that "It's all about power" (read the comments boxes attached to the blog entry). My favorite moment is when the wise and witty Peony Moss exults: "So since I'm a woman who feels excluded by so-called "inclusive" language, I'm therefore a sexist and didn't even know it! I feel so empowered!" Memo to jcecil: It's not all about power. Lose the Marxist paradigm and you'll take a step closer to reality. Another Nominee for Parent of the Year Award Thomas knew Ridgway was a suspect in the Green River case, but she says she let her son play with his child because the killer wasn't targeting young children. The winner gets a free sleepover at Michael Jackson's ranch. Bishop Grahmann Wonders What the Point of Background Checks on Michael Jackson Would Be Actually, the most mystifying thing about this pathetic man is why any parent in their right mind would allow him within a hundred feet of their kid. Secret Agent Man Has Returned from His Top Secret Mission in Asia Special Encrypted Message for Agent Hannah: Take, Eat: this is my book. The Left Continues to Impress You know, we have our disagreements on this blog. But they generally strike me as disagreements between reasonable people trying to operate within a civilized and humane tradition of thought. I become all the more appreciative of youse guys when I read the foamings and rantings of those who have rejected that humane tradition of thought in favor of the Deep Thought of the typical leftist cerebrum. To wit, this story (on the possibility of letting Reagan assassin wannabe John Hinckley out of jail). The story (amazing enough) is nothing compared to these warm sentiments from our deep-thinking and humane representatives of The Better Way Than Christ: Futomara69 says, "If he had taken out Reagan then, Saddam Hussein would never have gotten those chemical weapons from the Reagan admin, Al Qaeda would never have been formed by CIA blowblack from Reagan admin's meddling in Afghanistan, The whole nightmare of neocon / Bushkrieg wars in the Middle East would never have happened, Reagan would not now be soiling his diapers and drooling on himself, Crappy actors could not be elected governor of California again." Fortunately, these people do not have sinful hearts full of murder and hate and they are in no need of a savior. They're beyond all that. They live in a Higher Paradigm. The Episcopalian Tolerance Regime Consolidates Power, Stifles Free Speech, Smashes Wrongthink Crushes Dissent Where orthodoxy is optional, orthodoxy will sooner or later be proscribed. Welcome to the New World. It's a good thing God is on our side because under other circumstances, our culture is rapidly declaring "good" things that the Catholic tradition calls "sins that cry out out to heaven." Wednesday, November 19, 2003
If Eisenhower Had Given the Gettyburg Address I haven't checked these figures but 87 years ago, I think it was, a number of individuals organized a governmental setup here in this country, I believe it covered certain Eastern areas, with this idea they were following up based on a sort of national independence arrangement and the program that every individual is just as good as every other individual. Well, now, of course, we are dealing with this big difference of opinion, you might almost call it a civil disturbance, although I don't like to appear to take sides or name any individuals, and the point is naturally to check up, by actual experience in the field, to see whether any governmental setup with a basis like the one I was mentioning has any validity and find out whether that dedication by those early individuals will pay off in lasting values and things of that kind. Nope. I didn't write it. Some genius wro |
