is the blog of an Orthodox Christian and is published under the spiritual patronage of St. John of San Francisco. Topics likely to be discussed include matters relating to Orthodoxy as well as other religious confessions, politics, economics, social issues, current events or anything else which interests me. © 2006-2024
Saturday, December 31, 2022
Wednesday, December 28, 2022
Former Pope Benedict XVI is seriously ill
Tuesday, December 27, 2022
Is 2022 the Year We All Finally Got Tired of Narcissists?
Monday, December 26, 2022
Sad News
Sunday, December 25, 2022
Saturday, December 24, 2022
Friday, December 23, 2022
Saturday, December 17, 2022
Thursday, December 15, 2022
Wednesday, December 07, 2022
North Carolina Methodist Churches Sue to Disaffiliate from Parent Body
Plaintiff Churches wish to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church ("UMC") to pursue their deeply held religious beliefs. Defendants want to force Plaintiff Churches to stay affiliated with the UMC, and violate those beliefs by holding their church buildings and property hostage. Defendants claim Plaintiffs' Churches property is encumbered by an irrevocable trust for the benefit of the UMC and the only way for Plaintiff Churches to disaffiliate without surrendering the buildings and property that are central to their congregations is by the permission of the UMC and payment of a financial ransom.
Monday, December 05, 2022
Texas: More than 500 Methodist churches have left the UMC
Quote of the day...
The Duke and Duchess of Woke are at it again
Sunday, December 04, 2022
ROSS DOUTHAT: What Euthanasia Has Done to Canada
Women's Ordination & the Creep of Liberal Protestantism
Friday, December 02, 2022
Ukraine moves against Ukrainian Orthodox Church (MP)
Thursday, December 01, 2022
Russian Orthodox Church Spokesperson: “Ukraine Cannot Be Independent”
Wednesday, November 30, 2022
European Central Bank says bitcoin is on the ‘road to irrelevance’
“Bitcoin is also not suitable as an investment. It does not generate cash flow (like real estate) or dividends (like equities), cannot be used productively (like commodities) or provide social benefits (like gold). The market valuation of Bitcoin is therefore based purely on speculation,” they added.
Read the rest here.
Sunday, November 20, 2022
UK: Labour leader vows to abolish House of Lords
Wednesday, November 16, 2022
No.
Tuesday, November 15, 2022
Sunday, November 13, 2022
Peggy Noonan on the recent election's implication for the GOP
Friday, November 11, 2022
One Year Ago, the Crypto-Con Peaked: Since then, $2 trillion has been wiped out.
Thursday, November 10, 2022
Quote of the day...
Monday, November 07, 2022
The Big One is Coming and the US Military Isn't Ready
Sunday, November 06, 2022
Man of God
Friday, November 04, 2022
A Royal Zinger
You Can Thank the Fed for Boosting the Powerball Jackpot
Monday, October 31, 2022
Seasonal entertainment
Tuesday, October 25, 2022
Monday, October 24, 2022
UK: Most children who think they’re transgender are just going through a ‘phase’
Sunday, October 23, 2022
Rishi Sunak Likely to be the Next Prime Minister of the UK
It appears that he has all but locked it up and will be the fifth PM in the last six years (if you're keeping track). On which note; the Conservatives better get their act together. When people are making unfavorable comparisons between your party's track record of governance and Italy, that's not a great look. A general election must be called not later than two years from now. And according to current polls, if that election were being held in the here and now, the Tories would be in for a severe thumping.
Wednesday, October 19, 2022
Trump Signed Sworn Statement After Lawyers Warned It Was False
Monday, October 17, 2022
Supreme Court Leaves Controversial "Insular Cases" Intact
Saturday, October 15, 2022
"It was as if time stood still."
Wednesday, October 12, 2022
Alex Jones Ordered to Pay Near $1 Billion in Damages
The lying demagogue has finally been held to account.
Sunday, October 09, 2022
Orwellian Synodality
Been a while since I've posted anything touching on Rome. The main reason being that the news from that quarter is almost invariably depressing. That said, I think this is worth a read.
HT: Fr. Z
Industrial-scale destruction of Ukrainian culture
Saturday, October 08, 2022
Charles plans drastically slimmed down coronation
For those hoping for a long day of pomp and pageantry, you are likely to be greatly disappointed.
- The service is to be slimmed down from four hours to roughly one.
- The guest list is being reduced from around 8000 to 2000.
- Numerous ancient rituals are being given the axe.
- The dress code is to be greatly relaxed. Gone are the elaborate ermine coronation robes, full court dress with knee britches and knickers for men and tiaras for the ladies. It's not going to be jeans and T shirts. But lounge suits are expected to be the order of the day.
- No specially commissioned furniture for the affair. Simple chairs and benches will do.
- Less Anglican ritual and a more ecumenical and culturally diverse service is in the planning.
- The language of the ceremony is being radically updated into modern English in order to be more accessible to the people. Why does that sound painfully familiar?
- The King will still be anointed and receive the symbols of the throne, i.e., orb and sceptre and Charles will still be crowned along with the Queen Consort.
- Charles will still vow to serve as defender of the faith (not faiths as has been rumored).
- The gold state coach commissioned for the coronation of George II will be brought out for the occasion.
Final Update
Neighbors reported that power came back on late this afternoon. Lots of debris and long lines. But the clean-up is progressing. I am visiting family for a few weeks and won't be returning to Florida before November, circumstances depending.
Friday, September 30, 2022
IAN: Update #3 or 4
Wednesday, September 28, 2022
Direct Hit
The eye of the hurricane just passed over where my house is (was?). Won't know the extent of the damage for a few days at the least.
Tuesday, September 27, 2022
Ian update 2
I am holed up in a hotel in Pensacola awaiting developments. My home is near Ft Myers, so yeah. Hoping for the best but bracing for bad news. Maybe very bad news.
Saturday, September 24, 2022
IAN (Updated)
Wednesday, September 21, 2022
Ukraine: Potential endgame scenarios
Monday, September 19, 2022
Technical Difficulties (updated)
Saturday, September 17, 2022
EU calls for war crimes tribunal for Ukrainian War
Monday, September 12, 2022
Sunday, September 11, 2022
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Schools are lagging in basic subjects
Thursday, September 08, 2022
Queen Elizabeth II: Doctors "Concerned" as Family Gathers
Tuesday, September 06, 2022
Florida in the Roaring Twenties
Home movies likely shot in 1926 right before the Great Hurricane devastated Miami and South Florida ending the land boom and plunging the state into depression three years before the rest of the country. Florida had a reputation in the roaring 20s as a playground and winter paradise for the well off. Some of the great landmarks shown in the film sadly do not survive. Happily however, the famed Venetian pool does.
Sunday, September 04, 2022
Chile Says 'No' to New Leftist Constitution
Saturday, August 27, 2022
Wednesday, August 24, 2022
Memory Eternal: Metropolitan Kallistos (Ware)
Tuesday, August 23, 2022
Friday, August 19, 2022
Sunday, August 14, 2022
Wednesday, August 10, 2022
A Good Presentation on the 5th Amendment
Longtime readers of this blog will know my opinions of Donald Trump. But the one thing you won't read on here is an attack on him for taking the 5th. The 5th amendment exists to protect the innocent. That it ocassionaly also protects the guilty is an unfortunate, but IMO, acceptable trade-off.
Thursday, August 04, 2022
L'Affaire Wikipedia
Recession or no?
Some people will have heard the shocking report that a cabal of lefty activists on Wikipedia changed the definition of a recession in their article to conform to the preferred verion of the Biden Administration and then locked the article to ensure no one would be able to change it back.
Here is what really happened.
Tuesday, August 02, 2022
Rod Dreher: Filicide Of The Catholic Faith
Sunday, July 31, 2022
Pope Francis Hints at Retirement
Friday, July 22, 2022
Wednesday, July 20, 2022
Non-Profits Are Seeking IRS Classification As "Churches"
Europe Moves Towards Fuel Rationing
Saturday, July 16, 2022
The latest on Rome and the Methodists
Friday, July 15, 2022
The latest on the Greek Baptism scandal & etc.
The latest issue for Israel's ultra-orthodox Jews? Smartphones
Inflation is red hot but bonds are doing well. What gives?
What the heck is going on?
The answer is in two parts. First, a lot of traders think the inflation is peaking, and thanks to aggressive rate hikes, will start falling next year. Some of them are placing bets on that scenario.
Secondly, and IMO probably more significantly, as bad as things are here, they are significantly worse elsewhere. Europe is an economic disaster area thanks to severe shortages of just about everything compounded by Russia's war in Ukraine. Add to this are the highly justified fears that Russia might cut off oil and gas exports to Europe and you have something resembling a controlled state of panic over there. There is serious discussion of gas and fuel rationing for the first time since the aftermath of World War II.
Further is the slow reaction of foreign central banks to combat inflation which is worse in much of the rest of the world. Thus far it looks like in Europe the decision has been made that inflation is the lesser of evils and will need to be tolerated until the Ukrainian situation calms down and some normalcy returns to the broader economy. And it is even more pronounced in some less developed economies where inflation is so severe that it is threatening the stability of the country. Think Turkey, Argentina (a country with defaulting on their debt rivaling soccer for the national pastime) and Venezuela which, thanks to decades of socialism, was an economic basket case long before the pandemic.
All of this is making the US dollar highly attractive. A lot of foreign money is pouring into US securities which is driving down bond yields, despite the high inflation, and shoring up stock prices. In short, the dollar is looking like the safest house in a crappy neighborhood right now.
So, is there any upside to all of this for the average American? Not a lot, unless you are planning a trip abroad. In which case you will find your dollar delivering the best return in recent memory with all major currencies at multi-decade lows relative to the USD. If this continues it could prove injurious to the American economy as our goods and services will become more expensive to export and foreign goods and services will become cheaper.
Wednesday, July 13, 2022
Monday, July 11, 2022
India Set to Become World's Most Populous Country
Wednesday, July 06, 2022
UK: Boris Johnson Faces Massive Tory Revolt [It's Over]
Friday, July 01, 2022
New York's New Gun Laws
Thursday, June 30, 2022
Huzzah for Ukraine!
They have retaken Snake Island. Tactically a modest victory, but strategically an important one. This war is likely to be long and bloody with lots ups and downs. No matter the cost or inconvenience of high prices, Russia must not win. Ukraine is the front line of the latest war against fascist dictatorship and military imperialism. If Russia wins, I don't think the credibility of the West or NATO will survive. Every tyrant and would be strongman in the world is watching to see if there is still any real will to defend freedom.
So we must gird ourselves for the long struggle and be prepared to endure whatever comes. When I fill my car with gas at $5.00 a gallon, I remind myself that my home has not been bombed. My church has not been burned. My family has not been abducted and carried into a foreign land to God knows what fate. We, are not on the frontline. But if Ukraine falls, who will be next? Where does it stop?
RUSSIA MUST BE DEFEATED.
Sunday, June 26, 2022
Russian Orthodox Church Revokes Ukranian Church's Independence
So, the Russian Orthodox Church has declared the claimed independence of the canonical Ukranian Orthodox Church (MP) illegal. No surprise there. But they then went on to revoke their status as a self governing church and place them under the direct control of the Moscow Patriarchate. The sound you hear, is the roughly 6 million members of the UOC (MP) laughing hysterically.
Friday, June 24, 2022
Roe v Wade Reversed
Though not unexpected, it is still the most significant SCOTUS decision in a generation. The vote was 5:3 with Justice Roberts concurring in part.
Thursday, June 23, 2022
SCOTUS Strikes Down Restrictive New York Gun Law
Private citizens have a constitutional right to carry firearms outside their home for personal protection and states may not refuse permission to do so without good cause. The ruling was 6-3.
Read the decision here.
Wednesday, June 22, 2022
Debt and Credit
A City journal, advocating the passage of some sort of Loan or Treasury-Note Extension bill, naively remarks that it is "imperative that both parties in Congress should appreciate the importance of maintaining the Public Credit." Trite as this remark may seem, the course which our contemporary recommends does not appear to us to touch the root of the matter. The true way to maintain Public Credit is to evince a constant alacrity in extinguishing Public Debt. The Federal Finances are certainly this day in a worse plight by Forty Millions of Dollars than they were on the day of Mr. Buchannan's inauguration. That is, the Public Debt, on the 4th of March 1857, exceeded the cash in the Treasury by considerably less than Twenty Millions of Dollars; while the Public Debt of all sorts- including claims honestly due and payable- is now at least Seventy Millions, while the cash on hand is less than Ten Millions, and is likely to be nothing at all or thereabout at the close of the current month, or whenever the immediate payments under the new annual Appropriation bills shall have been made. In other words, the Tarriff and Mr. Buchannan's Administration have run the country in Debt at the rate of fully Ten Millions per annum. And the party unhappily in power insist that nothing shall be done, no step taken, toward the reduction of that debt. They give us no reason for believing that we shall do any better in the immediate future than in the immediate past, though they make a vague guess that we may, if the present Tarriff is maintained, begin to pay off our Debt some three or four years hence. That guess is directly in the teeth of all the facts bearing on the case.
We know there are time wherein Public Debt cannot be paid off- times of war, of pestilence, of general disaster by fire, frost, flood, or drouth, & etc. The rule, then, would seem imperative, that a Nation in debt should never allow a year of peace and thrift to pass without paying off some portion of that debt, or at least devising and adopting measures whereby a surplus of revenue to be devoted to such payment shall be speedily secured. And this is the only policy which can give to Public Credit the fullest moral support. Dexterity in manipulating public debt- skill in shifting debt from one shoulder to the other, so that it shall scarcely be felt- readiness to renew debts as they fall due- and all manner of ingenious devices of like nature- pale their ineffectual fires before the simple and solid method of increasing income or reducing outgoes so as to have a liberal surplus of revenue each year to be faithfully applied to paying off successive installments of the Public Debt. And this is the policy which the Republicans now urge and the Democrats persistently defeat.
Source (pg4 columns 3-4)
Sadly, today we no longer have a conservative political party.