The editor-in-chief of the French Catholic daily, La Croix, wrote a blog post on Tuesday announcing the “end of the Tridentine Church.”
Isabelle de Gaulmyn presents what she considers to be the outcome of the Amazon Synod, calling it a “real revolution” that will close the door on Catholicism as it has existed for five centuries.
Interestingly, she remarked that Pope Francis will probably not contradict the Synod’s conclusions insofar as he “quite largely encouraged the process.”
La Croix is owned by the French religious congregation of the Augustinians of the Assumption and is widely read by the French episcopate, so much so that it is considered the unofficial daily of the bishops. It runs a number of blogs, in particular for its own journalists and invited editorialists. In de Gaulmyn's capacity of editor-in-chief of the print version of La Croix, her blog gives a true reflection of the paper’s orientation, which is generally progressive.
La Croix is rarely if ever contradicted by the French episcopate, even when it takes up positions that are favorable to abortion or unfavorable to resistance against same-sex “marriage.”
De Gaulmyn’s take on the Amazon Synod as a break from “Tridentine” Catholicism is perfectly in line with La Croix’s enthusiastic reporting on the event. The paper’s permanent correspondent in Rome, Nicolas Senèze, recently published a book about opposition to Pope Francis under the title: How America wants to change Popes, accusing rich American Catholics and pressure groups of maneuvering to obtain Francis’ eviction.
De Gaulmyn argues that the Church as we know it is a product of the Council of Trent, which organized the response to the Protestant Reformation through the Counter-Reformation. If she is to be believed, the “structuring” of the Church around the central figure of the priest dates back to that 16th century time: hence the clericalism that is regularly decried by Pope Francis as the root of the sex-abuse crisis and other problems in the present-day Church. The Council of Trent condemned the laity to the role of a “flock of docile sheep,” she wrote. She called this a sort of new vision of priests, changing their status in the people’s imagination.
Presenting the Amazon Synod as the natural outcome of Vatican II and its renewed approach to the priesthood, de Gaulmyn jubilantly remarked – on an ecclesio-ecological note – that the Church is moving toward increased “biodiversity,” which is how she interprets married priests and women ministers.
It is interesting to note that de Gaulmyn would be prepared and happy to see the Church throw away and even contradict the rich inheritance of the Council of Trent, which in particular deepened the teaching of the Church on the Sacrifice of the Mass and the sacraments and codified the Latin Rite – not by revolutionizing it but by largely unifying its use by the will of Pope Pius V. The extraordinary form of the Latin Mass is also known as the Mass of Pius V or the “Tridentine” Mass (from Trent).
Read the rest here.
Sunday, November 03, 2019
California Shows The Limits Of Progressivism
More than 2 million Californians recently were left without power after
the state’s largest utility, Pacific Gas and Electric—which filed for
bankruptcy earlier this year—preemptively shut down transmission lines
in fear that they might spark fires during periods of high autumn winds.
Consumers blame the state for not cleaning up dead trees and brush, along with the utility companies for not updating their ossified equipment. The power companies in turn fault the state for so overregulating utilities that they had no resources to modernize their grids.
Californians know that having tens of thousands of homeless in their major cities is untenable. In some places, municipal sidewalks have become open sewers of garbage, used needles, rodents, and infectious diseases.
Yet no one dares question progressive orthodoxy by enforcing drug and vagrancy laws, moving the homeless out of cities to suburban or rural facilities, or increasing the number of mental hospitals.
The demand for socialism is on the rise from young Americans today. But is socialism even morally sound?
Taxpayers in California, whose basket of sales, gasoline, and income taxes is the highest in the nation, quietly seethe while immobile on antiquated freeways that are crowded, dangerous, and under nonstop makeshift repair.
Gas prices of $4 to $5 a gallon—the result of high taxes, hyper-regulation, and green mandates—add insult to the injury of stalled commuters. Gas tax increases ostensibly intended to fund freeway expansion and repair continue to be diverted to the state’s failing high-speed rail project.
Read the rest here.
Consumers blame the state for not cleaning up dead trees and brush, along with the utility companies for not updating their ossified equipment. The power companies in turn fault the state for so overregulating utilities that they had no resources to modernize their grids.
Californians know that having tens of thousands of homeless in their major cities is untenable. In some places, municipal sidewalks have become open sewers of garbage, used needles, rodents, and infectious diseases.
Yet no one dares question progressive orthodoxy by enforcing drug and vagrancy laws, moving the homeless out of cities to suburban or rural facilities, or increasing the number of mental hospitals.
The demand for socialism is on the rise from young Americans today. But is socialism even morally sound?
Taxpayers in California, whose basket of sales, gasoline, and income taxes is the highest in the nation, quietly seethe while immobile on antiquated freeways that are crowded, dangerous, and under nonstop makeshift repair.
Gas prices of $4 to $5 a gallon—the result of high taxes, hyper-regulation, and green mandates—add insult to the injury of stalled commuters. Gas tax increases ostensibly intended to fund freeway expansion and repair continue to be diverted to the state’s failing high-speed rail project.
Read the rest here.
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Greek Church Recognizes Ukrainian Schismatics
While the stance
of the Archbishop Ieronymos, the primate of the Greek Orthodox
Church, towards the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” remained unclear after the Bishops’ Council of the Greek Church on October 12, it has now been clarified.
As Romfea and its English edition Orthodox Times
both report, Abp. Ieronymos sent an “irenic letter” to
“Metropolitan” Epiphany Dumenko, the primate of the schismatic OCU
on October 21.
According to established tradition, every new primate of a Local
Church sends “irenic letters” to the primates of the other Local
Churches of the Orthodox Church, officially announcing his elevation.
Response letters from the other primates constitute an official
recognition of the new primate.
Read the rest here.
This, at last, appears definitive.
Sunday, October 27, 2019
The Washington Post is getting torched on Twitter
Maximilien Robespierre, pamphleteer and cutlery connoisseur, dies at 36. #WaPoDeathNotices
Saddam Hussein, successful politician, oil baron and noted tough boss, dead at 69. #WaPoDeathNotices
Charles Manson, devout family man and Beach Boys super fan, passes away at 83.
#WaPoDeathNotices
Robert Mugabe, founder of Modern Monetary Theory, dies at 95. #WaPoDeathNotices
Read the rest here.
Saturday, October 26, 2019
Baseball
Memo to the Nationals: If your gonna run a restaurant, it doesn't matter how well you set the table if you can't get the food out of the kitchen.
Hillary Clinton Accidentally Posts Condolences For Tulsi Gabbard's Suicide a Day Early
U.S.—Oops! A social media scheduling error apparently caused Hillary Clinton to post her condolences for Tulsi Gabbard's suicide one day early.
This morning, Clinton posted that she felt "great sadness" at hearing that Gabbard had killed herself. In subsequent tweets, she detailed how "tragic" it was that Gabbard had broken her own kneecaps, stuck her feet in concrete, then tossed herself off the docks near a seedy warehouse.
"It's just terrible what happened, and though we disagreed, I hope we can all take a few minutes to send thoughts and prayers to the family," Clinton concluded.
Read the rest here.
People are fleeing San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO – Social media influencer Sarah Tripp and her husband, Robbie Tripp, moved to San Francisco in 2016 brimming with optimism.
“We thought, here’s a city full of opportunities and connections where you go to work hard and succeed,” says Tripp, 27, founder of the lifestyle blog Sassy Red Lipstick.
But after a year-long hunt for suitable housing in San Francisco only turned up “places for $1 million that looked like rundown shacks and needed a remodel,” the couple packed up and moved to Phoenix.
They went from paying San Francisco rents of $2,500 for a one-bedroom, one-bath apartment that was far from shopping and other amenities, to purchasing a newly constructed 3,000-square-foot, four-bedroom, four-bathroom home where they’ll raise their newly arrived baby boy.
“It was cool to be living near all those high-tech startups,” Tripp says of her time in the Bay Area. “But you quickly saw that if you weren’t part of that, you’d be pushed out. It’s just sad.”
For the better part of two decades, the Bay Area has been a magnet for newcomers lured by a modern-day technology Gold Rush. But increasingly only those who have struck it rich can afford to stay.
Once a bohemian mecca that welcomed the Beat poets and '60s hippies, San Francisco now lays claim to the most expensive housing in the West, with a median home price of $1.4 million. There's also $5 a gallon gas, private schools priced like universities and chic restaurants that cost nearly double the national average.
Earlier this year, the San Francisco Bay Area was second only to New York – and ahead of Los Angeles, Washington and Chicago – when it came to people leaving major U.S. cities. More than 28,190 departed in the second quarter of 2019, almost double 2017's rate, according to a regular Migration Report from real estate brokerage Redfin.
Read the rest here.
“We thought, here’s a city full of opportunities and connections where you go to work hard and succeed,” says Tripp, 27, founder of the lifestyle blog Sassy Red Lipstick.
But after a year-long hunt for suitable housing in San Francisco only turned up “places for $1 million that looked like rundown shacks and needed a remodel,” the couple packed up and moved to Phoenix.
They went from paying San Francisco rents of $2,500 for a one-bedroom, one-bath apartment that was far from shopping and other amenities, to purchasing a newly constructed 3,000-square-foot, four-bedroom, four-bathroom home where they’ll raise their newly arrived baby boy.
“It was cool to be living near all those high-tech startups,” Tripp says of her time in the Bay Area. “But you quickly saw that if you weren’t part of that, you’d be pushed out. It’s just sad.”
For the better part of two decades, the Bay Area has been a magnet for newcomers lured by a modern-day technology Gold Rush. But increasingly only those who have struck it rich can afford to stay.
Once a bohemian mecca that welcomed the Beat poets and '60s hippies, San Francisco now lays claim to the most expensive housing in the West, with a median home price of $1.4 million. There's also $5 a gallon gas, private schools priced like universities and chic restaurants that cost nearly double the national average.
Earlier this year, the San Francisco Bay Area was second only to New York – and ahead of Los Angeles, Washington and Chicago – when it came to people leaving major U.S. cities. More than 28,190 departed in the second quarter of 2019, almost double 2017's rate, according to a regular Migration Report from real estate brokerage Redfin.
Read the rest here.
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Sunday, October 20, 2019
Former Bank of England chief warns of looming financial crisis
The world is sleepwalking towards a fresh economic and financial crisis that will have devastating consequences for the democratic market system, according to the former Bank of England governor Mervyn King.
Lord King, who was in charge at Threadneedle Street during the near-death of the global banking system and deep economic slump a decade ago, said the resistance to new thinking meant a repeat of the chaos of the 2008-09 period was looming.
Giving a lecture in Washington at the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund, King said there had been no fundamental questioning of the ideas that led to the crisis of a decade ago.
“Another economic and financial crisis would be devastating to the legitimacy of a democratic market system,” he said. “By sticking to the new orthodoxy of monetary policy and pretending that we have made the banking system safe, we are sleepwalking towards that crisis.”
He added that the US would suffer a “financial armageddon” if its central bank – the Federal Reserve – lacked the necessary firepower to combat another episode similar to the sub-prime mortgage sell-off.
Read the rest here.
Decades of overt government manipulation of financial markets via interest rates and money supply may finally be reaching the point of being ineffective.
Lord King, who was in charge at Threadneedle Street during the near-death of the global banking system and deep economic slump a decade ago, said the resistance to new thinking meant a repeat of the chaos of the 2008-09 period was looming.
Giving a lecture in Washington at the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund, King said there had been no fundamental questioning of the ideas that led to the crisis of a decade ago.
“Another economic and financial crisis would be devastating to the legitimacy of a democratic market system,” he said. “By sticking to the new orthodoxy of monetary policy and pretending that we have made the banking system safe, we are sleepwalking towards that crisis.”
He added that the US would suffer a “financial armageddon” if its central bank – the Federal Reserve – lacked the necessary firepower to combat another episode similar to the sub-prime mortgage sell-off.
Read the rest here.
Decades of overt government manipulation of financial markets via interest rates and money supply may finally be reaching the point of being ineffective.
George Will: ‘Texodus’ bodes badly for Republicans
...Hurd is one of six Texas Republican congressman who have decided not to seek reelection next year. Until this year, none of them had, since 2011, experienced the purgatory of being in the House minority. In the 2018 “Texodus,” five Texas Republican representatives retired (a sixth resigned) and two were defeated. Of the 241 Republicans in the House when President Trump was inaugurated, almost 40 percent are gone or going. See a trend?
...In the 2016 House of Representatives elections, no Republican incumbent from Texas lost, and only one was elected with less than 55 percent of the vote. In 2018, two lost and 10 received less than 55 percent. In 2016, four incumbent Republicans in Texas’s House were defeated, and only four won with majorities under 55 percent. In 2018, there were eight losses, and 16 won with less than 55 percent. John Cornyn, who recently stepped down as the second-highest-ranking Republican leader (majority whip) in the U.S. Senate, has won three terms with majorities of 55.3 percent, 54.8 percent and 61.6 percent but seems headed for a more competitive race next year. No wonder Rep. Cheri Bustos of Illinois, chairwoman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, says Texas is “ground zero” for Democrats’ attempts to strengthen their hold on the House.
...In 2008, with the Great Recession underway, John McCain carried Texas by 12 points. In 2012, Mitt Romney carried it by 16. In 2016, Trump (whom Hurd did not endorse) won by nine points. In Texas’s most important 2018 contest for a federal office, incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Cruz won by just three. See a trend?
If the Democratic Party can collect Texas’s electoral votes — 38 today, perhaps 41 after the 2020 Census — as well as California’s 55, it will reap 35.5 percent of a winning 270 from just two states. Then the GOP will have almost no plausible path to 270, and Democrats who are currently hot to abolish the electoral college will suddenly say: Oh, never mind.
Read the rest here.
...In the 2016 House of Representatives elections, no Republican incumbent from Texas lost, and only one was elected with less than 55 percent of the vote. In 2018, two lost and 10 received less than 55 percent. In 2016, four incumbent Republicans in Texas’s House were defeated, and only four won with majorities under 55 percent. In 2018, there were eight losses, and 16 won with less than 55 percent. John Cornyn, who recently stepped down as the second-highest-ranking Republican leader (majority whip) in the U.S. Senate, has won three terms with majorities of 55.3 percent, 54.8 percent and 61.6 percent but seems headed for a more competitive race next year. No wonder Rep. Cheri Bustos of Illinois, chairwoman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, says Texas is “ground zero” for Democrats’ attempts to strengthen their hold on the House.
...In 2008, with the Great Recession underway, John McCain carried Texas by 12 points. In 2012, Mitt Romney carried it by 16. In 2016, Trump (whom Hurd did not endorse) won by nine points. In Texas’s most important 2018 contest for a federal office, incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Cruz won by just three. See a trend?
If the Democratic Party can collect Texas’s electoral votes — 38 today, perhaps 41 after the 2020 Census — as well as California’s 55, it will reap 35.5 percent of a winning 270 from just two states. Then the GOP will have almost no plausible path to 270, and Democrats who are currently hot to abolish the electoral college will suddenly say: Oh, never mind.
Read the rest here.
Saturday, October 19, 2019
For the record
And getting back to the troubles in our own house; the primate of the Church of Greece has concelebrated with the Ecumenical Patriarch where they commemorated the head of the schismatic Ukrainian sect. Moscow having issued a clear warning against this last Thursday; it can be assumed that a formal breach in communion is now imminent.
Lord have mercy.
Lord have mercy.
Roman Catholic Amazonian Synod Openly Flirting With Paganism and Female Ordination
There have been widespread reports of shocking and scandalous rituals performed in the Vatican. Now there is open discussion of conferring the order of the diaconate on women by ordination. The long simmering crisis in the Western Church is reaching a breaking point. How long will (small 'o') orthodox Catholic bishops tolerate this apostasy? Most of us who have followed the recent events in the mainline Protestant sects can say with confidence that we have seen this movie and know how it's going to end.
Once women are "ordained" as deacons the next step will only be a matter if time. My prediction is that within ten years, possibly much less, some bishop will just go ahead and "ordain" priestesses. And my further prediction is that there will be much huffing and puffing, and not much more.
The question is, whether the Roman Church wishes to retain a credible claim to apostolicity and being the Church spoken of in the creed, or whether it is content to become just another liberal Protestant denomination.
The point has been reached where a line must be drawn and a firm warning given that the pretended ordination of women will not be recognized. Whatever may have been the case to now, schism is by no means the worst case scenario.
Yes, things have gotten that bad.
Once women are "ordained" as deacons the next step will only be a matter if time. My prediction is that within ten years, possibly much less, some bishop will just go ahead and "ordain" priestesses. And my further prediction is that there will be much huffing and puffing, and not much more.
The question is, whether the Roman Church wishes to retain a credible claim to apostolicity and being the Church spoken of in the creed, or whether it is content to become just another liberal Protestant denomination.
The point has been reached where a line must be drawn and a firm warning given that the pretended ordination of women will not be recognized. Whatever may have been the case to now, schism is by no means the worst case scenario.
Yes, things have gotten that bad.
Friday, October 18, 2019
More on the state of academia
A world-renowned expert in animal bone identification has lost her
position at the University of Victoria (UVic), she believes for telling
school kids politically incorrect facts about polar bears.
Zoologist Dr. Susan Crockford is routinely hired by biologists and archeologists in Canada and abroad to identify the remains of mammals, birds and fish. She has helped catalog museum collections, and assisted police with forensic analyses. But UVic students will no longer benefit from her expertise, and her ability to apply for research grants has come to a screeching halt. In May, the Anthropology Department withdrew her Adjunct Professor status, depriving her of a university affiliation.
Crockford describes her expulsion as “an academic hanging without a trial, conducted behind closed doors.” After being renewed unanimously in 2016 for a three-year term, her adjunct status was not renewed the next time around.
Crockford is the author of a popular blog, polarbearscience.com, as well as five books about these animals. Polar Bear Facts and Myths has been translated into four languages. She says that, contrary to the claims of environmental activists, polar bears are currently thriving and are at no risk of extinction from climate change.
Informing the public of these plain facts now appears to be unacceptable to UVic. After 15 years, Crockford was advised in May that an internal Appointment Reappointment Promotion and Tenure (ARPT) committee had “voted not to renew your Adjunct Status.” No reasons were provided. Having undergone hip surgery in the interim, Crockford is only now going public.
When contacted by the National Post recently, UVic spokesman Paul Marck refused to say how many people were on the ARPT committee, how many voted against Crockford, or how many were zoologists in a position to make an informed decision about her abilities.
The position of Adjunct Professor is unpaid. In exchange for mentoring students, sitting on thesis committees, and delivering occasional lectures, adjuncts gain official academic standing and full access to library research services. When asked what safeguards ensure that adjuncts can’t be excommunicated merely for expressing unpopular ideas, spokesman Marck declined to respond, citing provincial privacy legislation. In his words, the university doesn’t disclose “information about internal processes. We must respect the privacy rights of all members of our campus community.”
In this case, the university is not protecting Crockford’s right to privacy. Instead, it is using a privacy smokescreen to protect members of a committee who have decided to purge an adjunct professor without reason or explanation.
Read the rest here.
Zoologist Dr. Susan Crockford is routinely hired by biologists and archeologists in Canada and abroad to identify the remains of mammals, birds and fish. She has helped catalog museum collections, and assisted police with forensic analyses. But UVic students will no longer benefit from her expertise, and her ability to apply for research grants has come to a screeching halt. In May, the Anthropology Department withdrew her Adjunct Professor status, depriving her of a university affiliation.
Crockford describes her expulsion as “an academic hanging without a trial, conducted behind closed doors.” After being renewed unanimously in 2016 for a three-year term, her adjunct status was not renewed the next time around.
Crockford is the author of a popular blog, polarbearscience.com, as well as five books about these animals. Polar Bear Facts and Myths has been translated into four languages. She says that, contrary to the claims of environmental activists, polar bears are currently thriving and are at no risk of extinction from climate change.
Informing the public of these plain facts now appears to be unacceptable to UVic. After 15 years, Crockford was advised in May that an internal Appointment Reappointment Promotion and Tenure (ARPT) committee had “voted not to renew your Adjunct Status.” No reasons were provided. Having undergone hip surgery in the interim, Crockford is only now going public.
When contacted by the National Post recently, UVic spokesman Paul Marck refused to say how many people were on the ARPT committee, how many voted against Crockford, or how many were zoologists in a position to make an informed decision about her abilities.
The position of Adjunct Professor is unpaid. In exchange for mentoring students, sitting on thesis committees, and delivering occasional lectures, adjuncts gain official academic standing and full access to library research services. When asked what safeguards ensure that adjuncts can’t be excommunicated merely for expressing unpopular ideas, spokesman Marck declined to respond, citing provincial privacy legislation. In his words, the university doesn’t disclose “information about internal processes. We must respect the privacy rights of all members of our campus community.”
In this case, the university is not protecting Crockford’s right to privacy. Instead, it is using a privacy smokescreen to protect members of a committee who have decided to purge an adjunct professor without reason or explanation.
Read the rest here.
Greek Archdiocese requesting Constantinople to consider second marriages for several priests
The Holy Synod
of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America met in New York on
October 15-16 under the presidency of Archbishop Elpidophoros of
America, dealing with a number of issues, including the organization
of Synodal Committees, clerical discipline, the possibility of
electing a new vicar bishop, the ongoing construction of the St.
Nicholas shrine at Ground Zero, and much more.
In particular, according to the official communiqué published by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America,
the Synod “Examined the petitions of three clergymen who have
requested to enter into holy matrimony in the second instance and
decided to formally extend a request to the Ecumenical
Patriarchate.”
The Patriarchate of Constantinople, to which the Greek Archdiocese belongs, made serious waves last year when it decided to allow second marriages for priests
in the event they are widowed or abandoned by their wives, given
that the decision contradicts the long-standing canonical tradition
of the Church.
The decision even contradicts the resolution on marriage approved
by the Council of Crete in 2016 that was presided over by Patriarch
Bartholomew himself.
Each case is to be judged individually by the Holy Synod of the
Patriarchate of Constantinople, and the service of the second marriage
is to be a low-key event for a close family circle.
There are several ecumenically-received canons of the holy Orthodox Church deal with clerical marriage:
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Monday, October 14, 2019
Greek recognition of the OCU... maybe not?
While media
reports have stated that the Bishops’ Council of the Greek Church
resolved to recognize the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” on
Saturday, drawing on Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos’ statements to
the press, two prominent hierarchs of the Greek Church say this is not
true.
Both Metropolitans Seraphim of Piraeus and Seraphim of Kythira,
both of whom have addressed the Ukrainian issue several times
before, have issued statements in the wake of Saturday’s session,
stating that the issue of recognizing the OCU was not put to a vote
and that the hierarchs simply reaffirmed the Holy Synod’s
earlier decision.
Read the rest here.
If you are getting a sense of ecclesial whiplash, join the club.
Saturday, October 12, 2019
Important: Greek Orthodox Church Recognizes Ukrainian Schismatics
Multiple sources are reporting that the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Greece (distinct from the Ecumenical Patriarchate) has voted to formally recognize the schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine. This is likely to have the effect of throwing gasoline on a fire. Moscow is all but certain to break communion with Athens and I would not be surprised if the Serbs also break communion with both Athens and the EP.
Friday, October 11, 2019
Tuesday, October 08, 2019
New York gun case to move forward
This morning [yesterday] the Supreme Court issued more orders
from last week’s private conference – the first regularly scheduled
conference since the end of June. As expected, the justices did not add
any more cases to their merits docket for the term, but they did deny
review in over 1,000 cases.
One of the most closely watched orders today was the justices’ denial of New York City’s bid to dismiss the challenge to a now-repealed restriction on transporting guns outside city limits. The justices agreed to review the case in January, setting the stage for the Supreme Court’s first ruling on the scope of the Second Amendment in nearly a decade. But in July the city urged the justices to remove the case from their docket, arguing that changes to the city’s rule and to state law rendered the case moot – that is, no longer a live controversy. However, the court went ahead and scheduled the case for oral argument in December, deferring consideration of the city’s motion until last week. Today the justices made clear that the case will move forward: They rejected the city’s request to dismiss the case as moot immediately, instead announcing that the “question of mootness will be subject to further consideration, and the parties should be prepared to discuss it.”
Source.
One of the most closely watched orders today was the justices’ denial of New York City’s bid to dismiss the challenge to a now-repealed restriction on transporting guns outside city limits. The justices agreed to review the case in January, setting the stage for the Supreme Court’s first ruling on the scope of the Second Amendment in nearly a decade. But in July the city urged the justices to remove the case from their docket, arguing that changes to the city’s rule and to state law rendered the case moot – that is, no longer a live controversy. However, the court went ahead and scheduled the case for oral argument in December, deferring consideration of the city’s motion until last week. Today the justices made clear that the case will move forward: They rejected the city’s request to dismiss the case as moot immediately, instead announcing that the “question of mootness will be subject to further consideration, and the parties should be prepared to discuss it.”
Source.
Trump is in trouble
I noted in an earlier post regarding the rising level of support for impeachment that the president would be in trouble if his support from within the GOP began to erode. That now appears to be happening.
According to a new poll, support for the impeachment inquiry has jumped to 58% with 49% supporting his removal from office. Translated into plain English; a solid majority of Americans believe there is legitimate reason to at least discuss removing the President of the United States from office on the basis of corruption and abuse of power. Near half believe he should in fact be removed.
But the bombshell in these numbers is that a statistically significant number within his own party appear to have finally had enough. A quarter or more of Republicans support the inquiry and almost one in five want him removed. Let's set aside for now the actual prospects of his removal from office, which I continue to think are very low. Unless these numbers change, drastically, Trump's chances of re-election now appear to be going from poor to somewhere near 'I'm not seeing how he can pull it off.'
The bottom line is that Trump's can't win reelection with these numbers. He has to claw back support from within his own party or he will get buried in the general election. I won't say it's impossible. He's pulled off some crazy political upsets before. But when you have a large chunk of your own party supporting your impeachment...
Source
According to a new poll, support for the impeachment inquiry has jumped to 58% with 49% supporting his removal from office. Translated into plain English; a solid majority of Americans believe there is legitimate reason to at least discuss removing the President of the United States from office on the basis of corruption and abuse of power. Near half believe he should in fact be removed.
But the bombshell in these numbers is that a statistically significant number within his own party appear to have finally had enough. A quarter or more of Republicans support the inquiry and almost one in five want him removed. Let's set aside for now the actual prospects of his removal from office, which I continue to think are very low. Unless these numbers change, drastically, Trump's chances of re-election now appear to be going from poor to somewhere near 'I'm not seeing how he can pull it off.'
The bottom line is that Trump's can't win reelection with these numbers. He has to claw back support from within his own party or he will get buried in the general election. I won't say it's impossible. He's pulled off some crazy political upsets before. But when you have a large chunk of your own party supporting your impeachment...
Source
Monday, October 07, 2019
Saturday, October 05, 2019
Friday, October 04, 2019
Eric Zemmour’s Blockbuster Speech
...Progressivism: the religion of progress, a form of millenarianism that makes a god of the individual and a sacred and divine right of even his most capricious desires.
Progressivism is a form of deified materialism that sees men as undifferentiated and interchangeable beings without sex or origin, beings that, like so many Legos, have been entirely constructed and may thus be deconstructed at will.
Progressivism is a form of secularized messianism, as were Jacobinism, communism, fascism, Nazism, neoliberalism and the ideology of human rights.
Progressivism is a revolution. Indeed, you may recall that our dear President titled his campaign book, Révolution. A revolution that can tolerate no obstacle, no delay, no qualms. Robespierre taught us that the wicked must be killed. For Lenin and Stalin. the good were to be killed, too.
The progressive society that values freedom is deadly to freedom. There is no freedom for the enemies of freedom. Saint-Just’s cry is still on the agenda. Since the Enlightenment, since the French Revolution, since the October Revolution and all the way up to the Third Republic and its radical freemasons, all the way till today, it’s always been the same progressivism: freedom is for them, not for the others. They alone can appreciate and exercise freedom. They alone are worthy of freedom.
...To serve this tyrannical power and impose its diversitarian ideology upon us, as my friend BockCôté aptly calls it, a system of propaganda has been created that brings together television, radio, film and advertising, to say nothing of the watchdogs of the internet. It has proven so effective that it makes Goebbels look like a humble artisan and Stalin a timid novice.
Read the rest here.
HT: Dr Tighe
Progressivism is a form of deified materialism that sees men as undifferentiated and interchangeable beings without sex or origin, beings that, like so many Legos, have been entirely constructed and may thus be deconstructed at will.
Progressivism is a form of secularized messianism, as were Jacobinism, communism, fascism, Nazism, neoliberalism and the ideology of human rights.
Progressivism is a revolution. Indeed, you may recall that our dear President titled his campaign book, Révolution. A revolution that can tolerate no obstacle, no delay, no qualms. Robespierre taught us that the wicked must be killed. For Lenin and Stalin. the good were to be killed, too.
The progressive society that values freedom is deadly to freedom. There is no freedom for the enemies of freedom. Saint-Just’s cry is still on the agenda. Since the Enlightenment, since the French Revolution, since the October Revolution and all the way up to the Third Republic and its radical freemasons, all the way till today, it’s always been the same progressivism: freedom is for them, not for the others. They alone can appreciate and exercise freedom. They alone are worthy of freedom.
...To serve this tyrannical power and impose its diversitarian ideology upon us, as my friend BockCôté aptly calls it, a system of propaganda has been created that brings together television, radio, film and advertising, to say nothing of the watchdogs of the internet. It has proven so effective that it makes Goebbels look like a humble artisan and Stalin a timid novice.
Read the rest here.
HT: Dr Tighe
More than 100 priests sign letter critical of the Kremlin
The article sounds mildly sensational. But sadly they are right about one thing. This is not a common occurrence and the ROC is far too cozy with a thoroughly corrupt government. There is a great deal to admire in the Russian Church. But let's not be blind to their shortcomings.
The Mets Fire Mickey Callaway
Details.
I am getting tired of this never ending history of failure. It's time to get serious about job performance, and the lack thereof.
I am getting tired of this never ending history of failure. It's time to get serious about job performance, and the lack thereof.
pour encourager les autres
Tuesday, October 01, 2019
Eat Less Red Meat, Scientists Said. Now Some Believe That Was Bad Advice.
The evidence is too weak to justify telling individuals to eat less beef and pork, according to new research. The findings “erode public trust,” critics said.
Details.
My take... a hundred years from now we are all going to be fertilizing a well manicured lawn somewhere. Obsessing about this sort of thing is pointless. All things in moderation and enjoy life.
Details.
My take... a hundred years from now we are all going to be fertilizing a well manicured lawn somewhere. Obsessing about this sort of thing is pointless. All things in moderation and enjoy life.
Polls suggest public support for impeachment growing
They are not yet at 50%, but in the space of roughly a week, support for impeachment has jumped from the high 30% range into the 45%+ range with some variation depending on who was doing the polling and how the questions were worded. But in every case support for the president is dropping and the number favoring impeachment has risen. In particular the president should be worried about erosion of support from within his own party. If he loses more than 10% of self identifying Republicans he will be in deep trouble going into the general election. Unlike in 2016 when Democrats were not very enthusiastic about their candidate and many stayed home, every indication suggests they will be highly motivated in 2020. Trump can't afford to lose many of his supporters.
Details.
Details.
Monday, September 30, 2019
Fearing a resurgent and aggressive Russia, Sweden is rearming
...Like most European nations, Sweden cut its military spending sharply after the cold war ended, from about 2.5% of GDP in 1990 to barely 1% by 2010; equipment was scrapped and bases were closed down. The shipyard on Muskö was sold off to German engineering company Thyssen Krupp.
But the occupation and annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014 “changed things completely”, Granholm said. “It showed that this is what Russia does to its smaller neighbours. Now it is proving a difficult and long-term task to rebuild the armed forces.”
Swedish defence company Saab bought out Thyssen Krupp in June 2014, after some arm-twisting that involved mass recruitment of Krupp’s staff and a dawn raid by the defence ministry on Krupp’s shipyards in Malmö, ostensibly to rescue military secrets.
A few months later, Stockholm was gripped with panic after an alleged Russian mini-submarine was spotted in its waters, reviving memories of a Soviet nuclear sub that ran aground in Karlskrona in 1981, sparking a decade of high-profile submarine scares.
The submarine hunt of 2014, details of which still remain unresolved, saw opinion polls swing towards Nato membership for Sweden and presaged the first of several boosts to defence spending. For the first time in more than two decades, the Swedish government embarked on a sustained expansion of the defence budget, pledging to increase spending from 43bn Swedish crowns (£3.5bn) in 2016 to 50bn in 2020.
Other recent moves to strengthen Sweden’s military preparedness include bringing back conscription, and a leaflet delivered to every household explaining what to do in case of a nuclear attack.
Read the rest here.
Sunday, September 29, 2019
In Search of the Effective Lower Bound
Read it here.
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Irish Bishop Backs Female Priests as Diocese Votes to Ordain Women
KILLALA, Ireland (ChurchMilitant.com)
- An Irish bishop has committed himself to a specially devised
delegation process for ordaining female priests after 69% of Catholics
in his diocese voted in favor of the ordination of women.
The vote was part of a "listening process" initiated by Bp. John Fleming of the Killala diocese in north Mayo and west Sligo, after an analysis of clergy numbers indicated that the 22 parishes of the diocese would be served by three to six priests by 2037.
One thousand and five hundred people across the diocese were surveyed on a range of questions as part of Bp. Fleming's "Placing Hope in Faith" project. The feedback was processed by the Institute for Action Research and turned into proposals that were voted on by a representative diocesan assembly.
The 300-strong diocesan assembly, which included delegates from the 22 parishes, voted on a range of issues, while 120 people participated in 10 focus groups, in the second phase.
Eighty percent voted in favor of women deacons, 69% supported women priests, 85% supported married priests and 81% cast their ballot supporting married priests returning to active ministry.
The assembly also voted 86% in favor of changing the Church's teaching on homosexuality to reflect the inclusion of all people regardless of sexual orientation, marital status or family status.
Read the rest here.
The vote was part of a "listening process" initiated by Bp. John Fleming of the Killala diocese in north Mayo and west Sligo, after an analysis of clergy numbers indicated that the 22 parishes of the diocese would be served by three to six priests by 2037.
One thousand and five hundred people across the diocese were surveyed on a range of questions as part of Bp. Fleming's "Placing Hope in Faith" project. The feedback was processed by the Institute for Action Research and turned into proposals that were voted on by a representative diocesan assembly.
The 300-strong diocesan assembly, which included delegates from the 22 parishes, voted on a range of issues, while 120 people participated in 10 focus groups, in the second phase.
Eighty percent voted in favor of women deacons, 69% supported women priests, 85% supported married priests and 81% cast their ballot supporting married priests returning to active ministry.
The assembly also voted 86% in favor of changing the Church's teaching on homosexuality to reflect the inclusion of all people regardless of sexual orientation, marital status or family status.
Read the rest here.
Monday, September 23, 2019
Vatican City Under Pius XII
A somewhat rare film documentary from 1941 (before the US entry into the war) made by the same people who did the Time Marches On newsreels. Oh how times have changed.
Saturday, September 21, 2019
UK: The radical proposals that Labour will debate
- Green New Deal (Zero carbon by 2030)- Show me the money
- Abolish Private Schools- In the finest tradition of class warfare
- Four Day Work Week- With no loss of pay
- Abolition of Immigrant Detention Centers- Because Britain needs millions of illegal immigrants from cultures highly resistant to assimilation
- Compulsory purchase of empty houses with rents linked to local incomes- Private property? Whats that?
- Give workers 1% of company stock every year for an as yet undefined period- Is it still red baiting if your favorite color really is red?
Friday, September 20, 2019
Church Planting in the 21st Century
It's been all over the internet but for those who may have missed it, the pagan moonbats playing at religion have struck again.
Union Theological Seminary has students confessing to plants
Union Theological Seminary has students confessing to plants
Friday, September 13, 2019
Tuesday, September 10, 2019
What the Hapsburg Empire Got Right
...While few people were willing to stand up for the old empire after four
years of world war, a century later scholars are rethinking its legacy,
eager to assert its multifaceted attributes and surprisingly progressive
institutions. Stretching from today’s western Ukraine to Switzerland
and from the Czech Republic’s northern border with Germany down
Croatia’s Adriatic coast, the Austro-Hungarian monarchy had no internal
borders, one currency, two parliaments (in Vienna and Budapest), 11
officially recognized peoples/languages and almost as many religions,
including Yiddish-speaking Jews, Bosnian Muslims and a variety of
Orthodox Christians and Protestants to complement its Catholic majority.
Formed and reformed through six centuries of feudal alliances, dynastic
marriages, wars and Great Power bargains, the Hapsburg Empire was on
its way to becoming a modern multinational state by the late 19th
century. The army accommodated linguistic diversity in its regiments,
schooling was available in different languages, and the bureaucracy was
multilingual.
Although institutional changes for more
political inclusivity and democracy moved slowly in the conservative
monarchy, by 1907 the Austrian Parliament was elected by universal male
suffrage, and a participatory public sphere was thriving. Hapsburg
citizens were hardly living and working in isolated ethno-national
enclaves. To this day, the turn-of-the-century architecture of train
stations and other public buildings attests both to the population’s
mobility and to the vast empire’s economic vitality. The similar layout
of Central European cities is another visual reminder of a shared past.
The
“outdated” old monarchy also produced a remarkably rich and innovative
cultural life. In 1900, its multiethnic capital, Vienna, the world’s
sixth-largest city, was home to such international luminaries as the
founder of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud, the composer Gustav Mahler, the
philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, the painter Gustav Klimt, the Nobel
Prize-winning peace activist Bertha von Suttner, the Zionist leader
Theodor Herzl, the architect Otto Wagner, the feminist/freethinker Rosa
Mayreder and the writers Stefan Zweig and Arthur Schnitzler.
Read the rest here.
Monday, September 09, 2019
Dr. A.B. Mohler: Can Christians Use Birth Control?
The effective separation of sex from procreation may be one of the most important defining marks of our age–and one of the most ominous. This awareness is spreading among American evangelicals, and it threatens to set loose a firestorm.
Most evangelical Protestants greeted the advent of modern birth control technologies with applause and relief. Lacking any substantial theology of marriage, sex, or the family, evangelicals welcomed the development of “The Pill” much as the world celebrated the discovery of penicillin — as one more milestone in the inevitable march of human progress, and the conquest of nature.
At the same time, evangelicals overcame their traditional reticence in matters of sexuality, and produced a growth industry in books, seminars, and even sermon series celebrating sexual ecstasy as one of God’s blessings to married Christians. Once reluctant to admit the very existence of sexuality, evangelicals emerged from the 1960s ready to dish out the latest sexual advice without blushing. As one of the best-selling evangelical sex manuals proclaims, marital sex is Intended for Pleasure. Many evangelicals seem to have forgotten that it was intended for something else as well.
For many evangelical Christians, birth control has been an issue of concern only for Catholics. When Pope Paul VI released his famous encyclical outlawing artificial birth control, Humanae Vitae, most evangelicals responded with disregard — perhaps thankful that evangelicals had no pope who could hand down a similar edict. Evangelical couples became devoted users of birth control technologies ranging from the Pill to barrier methods and Intrauterine Devices [IUDs]. That is all changing, and a new generation of evangelical couples is asking new questions.
A growing number of evangelicals are rethinking the issue of birth control–and facing the hard questions posed by reproductive technologies. Several developments contributed to this reconsideration, but the most important of these is the abortion revolution. The early evangelical response to legalized abortion was woefully inadequate. Some of the largest evangelical denominations at first accepted at least some version of abortion on demand.
Read the rest here.
[Dr. Mohler is an ordained minister and President of the Southern Baptist Convention.]
The traditional teaching of the Orthodox Church on ABC is... no. In fact the Church generally will not marry those who do not want, or who are not ready for a family. In recent years there has been some movement towards a very limited tolerance based on economy (oikonomia) for specific situations such as when a family already has as many children as they can support and/or take care of or where serious health risks may attend pregnancy. Though even then the Church teaches that the ideal response is sexual abstinence. But acknowledging the reality that not all couples can live a life of complete continence this concession is sometimes made. Usually it must be discussed with your spiritual father in confession. When ABC is used it must never be abortificiant or involve self mutilation. This generally places the burden on the husband.
Unfortunately, and especially in the West, some of the Orthodox jurisdictions have in practice become quite lax on this point. And it must be admitted that among the laity, respect for the traditional moral teaching of the Church is generally no better than among other Christian denominations including Roman Catholicism which is even stricter and admits no exception at all. Which is to say that it is widely ignored.
Most evangelical Protestants greeted the advent of modern birth control technologies with applause and relief. Lacking any substantial theology of marriage, sex, or the family, evangelicals welcomed the development of “The Pill” much as the world celebrated the discovery of penicillin — as one more milestone in the inevitable march of human progress, and the conquest of nature.
At the same time, evangelicals overcame their traditional reticence in matters of sexuality, and produced a growth industry in books, seminars, and even sermon series celebrating sexual ecstasy as one of God’s blessings to married Christians. Once reluctant to admit the very existence of sexuality, evangelicals emerged from the 1960s ready to dish out the latest sexual advice without blushing. As one of the best-selling evangelical sex manuals proclaims, marital sex is Intended for Pleasure. Many evangelicals seem to have forgotten that it was intended for something else as well.
For many evangelical Christians, birth control has been an issue of concern only for Catholics. When Pope Paul VI released his famous encyclical outlawing artificial birth control, Humanae Vitae, most evangelicals responded with disregard — perhaps thankful that evangelicals had no pope who could hand down a similar edict. Evangelical couples became devoted users of birth control technologies ranging from the Pill to barrier methods and Intrauterine Devices [IUDs]. That is all changing, and a new generation of evangelical couples is asking new questions.
A growing number of evangelicals are rethinking the issue of birth control–and facing the hard questions posed by reproductive technologies. Several developments contributed to this reconsideration, but the most important of these is the abortion revolution. The early evangelical response to legalized abortion was woefully inadequate. Some of the largest evangelical denominations at first accepted at least some version of abortion on demand.
Read the rest here.
[Dr. Mohler is an ordained minister and President of the Southern Baptist Convention.]
The traditional teaching of the Orthodox Church on ABC is... no. In fact the Church generally will not marry those who do not want, or who are not ready for a family. In recent years there has been some movement towards a very limited tolerance based on economy (oikonomia) for specific situations such as when a family already has as many children as they can support and/or take care of or where serious health risks may attend pregnancy. Though even then the Church teaches that the ideal response is sexual abstinence. But acknowledging the reality that not all couples can live a life of complete continence this concession is sometimes made. Usually it must be discussed with your spiritual father in confession. When ABC is used it must never be abortificiant or involve self mutilation. This generally places the burden on the husband.
Unfortunately, and especially in the West, some of the Orthodox jurisdictions have in practice become quite lax on this point. And it must be admitted that among the laity, respect for the traditional moral teaching of the Church is generally no better than among other Christian denominations including Roman Catholicism which is even stricter and admits no exception at all. Which is to say that it is widely ignored.
Real US debt levels could be a shocking 2,000% of GDP
- Total US debt including all forms of government, state, local, financial and entitlement liabilities comes close to 2,000% of GDP, according to AB Bernstein.
- The biggest potential load comes from entitlements, but is being pressured from rising levels of federal government debt as well.
- The warnings about potential debt hazards come as the total federal debt outstanding has surged to $22.5 trillion.
- A debt reform advocate says now is the time for the U.S. to tackle the issue, before recession hits.
Saturday, September 07, 2019
Brexit and Boris Johnson
For those not keeping up on the news from the UK, here is the latest. Three years after the British people voted to leave the EU, Brexit is on life support. After Theresa May finally resigned and Boris Johnson won the Conservative leadership contest it looked like Britain was at along last going to exit the EU at the end of October. But the opponents of Brexit who have been plotting to obstruct, and ultimately kill it, have finally won what looks like the decisive battle. With the aid of about twenty Tory MP's who defied a three line whip, the remainers were able to strip the government of power over Brexit and then passed a law over the government's objection ordering it to seek yet another delay in Brexit. At this point that may require revoking article 50.
In response, Johnson quite rightly stripped the rebel MPs of the whip, effectively expelling them from the party. But he now finds himself the head of a minority government, humiliated by the Commons and deprived of all authority to carry out the mandate of the British people. Indeed, the government stands compelled by law to act in a manner completely contrary to its stated policy and the democratically expressed will of the nation.
This, it must not do.
The only honorable course is for the government to resign. He should announce his refusal to accede and lead the Conservative party into opposition. On Monday morning he should go to the Queen and surrender his seals office advising Her Majesty to invite Mr. Corbyn to form a government.
Those individuals and political parties who have orchestrated this premeditated and calculated attack on British democracy should be required to bear full responsibility for it. And in the next general election this should be the sole issue placed before the people.
Friday, September 06, 2019
Tuesday, September 03, 2019
An Orthodox Monk on the Modern Catholic Church: “Busy Dissolving All Memory of the Past”
Read it here.
HT: Dr. Tighe
This is not intended as a polemical post and I would encourage readers to approach it as a reflection on how the Orthodox East views the current crisis in the Western Church. Some of what is written may cause some discomfort, but setting aside the very real doctrinal differences between the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, I suspect that many Catholics will find themselves in agreement (perhaps reluctantly) with some of the observations made.
I think the comments at the linked website are worth reading. A few are unfortunate, but many make good points.
HT: Dr. Tighe
This is not intended as a polemical post and I would encourage readers to approach it as a reflection on how the Orthodox East views the current crisis in the Western Church. Some of what is written may cause some discomfort, but setting aside the very real doctrinal differences between the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, I suspect that many Catholics will find themselves in agreement (perhaps reluctantly) with some of the observations made.
I think the comments at the linked website are worth reading. A few are unfortunate, but many make good points.
Saturday, August 31, 2019
GAS!
It's a little past 2AM and I made some phone calls and found a Shell station that just got an emergency shipment in. I now have enough to get me to the Georgia state line or very close.
Dorian... boo hiss.
(Update) Well that looks like a waste of a good night's sleep. Prayers for those up north now in the cross hairs.
Dorian... boo hiss.
(Update) Well that looks like a waste of a good night's sleep. Prayers for those up north now in the cross hairs.
Friday, August 30, 2019
Ray Dalio: The Three Big Issues and the 1930s Analogue
Not going to try and excerpt this one. For those with an interest in economics, it is an interesting read.
Read it here.
Read it here.
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Sunday, August 25, 2019
Julia Yost: Catholic-haters have just convicted an innocent man
By a 2-to-1 vote, an Australian appellate court this week dismissed George Cardinal Pell’s appeal of his conviction on five counts of “historic” child sexual abuse. For Pell’s supporters, the decision can hardly be surprising. Given the way things had gone, a just outcome would have come as a shock.
Prosecutors accused Pell of surprising two choirboys who were guzzling communion wine in the sacristy of the Melbourne cathedral immediately after Mass one Sunday in 1996. The cardinal was charged with forcing the boys to fellate him while he was still vested in archbishop’s robes.
The allegations were utterly implausible — for several reasons well-established by the defense at trial.
The cathedral’s communion wine was kept locked in a safe, for starters, and Pell couldn’t have left the post-Mass proceedings without his absence being noticed; witnesses attested this never happened. Likewise, the choirboys couldn’t have left the post-Mass proceedings without their absence being noticed; witnesses attested this never happened, either.
Plus, the sacristy would have been bustling with activity. As witnesses testified, Pell was never alone in the cathedral while vested for Mass but always accompanied by at least one assistant. The security arrangements and layout of the cathedral, and the respective locations of the cardinal and the choir, would have made it impossible for the abuse to occur as alleged. Nor is it physically possible to expose one’s genitals while vested in an archbishop’s robes.
Before he died in 2014, one of the two boys denied that he had “ever been interfered with or touched up” — by anyone. All this led 10 out of 12 jurors at Pell’s first trial to vote to acquit. Yet at the retrial, the jurors ignored the enormous weight of exculpatory evidence and voted in December to convict him amid a climate of media-driven anti-Catholic hysteria.
As the dissenting appellate judge was to conclude, the sole accuser’s wholly uncorroborated testimony “contained discrepancies, displayed inadequacies and otherwise lacked probative value.” Oh, well.
Read the rest here.
As I stated in my earlier post on this subject, I'm not sufficiently familiar with all of the evidence to express an informed opinion. But an awful lot of people whose judgement I respect have come down hard on this case.
Prosecutors accused Pell of surprising two choirboys who were guzzling communion wine in the sacristy of the Melbourne cathedral immediately after Mass one Sunday in 1996. The cardinal was charged with forcing the boys to fellate him while he was still vested in archbishop’s robes.
The allegations were utterly implausible — for several reasons well-established by the defense at trial.
The cathedral’s communion wine was kept locked in a safe, for starters, and Pell couldn’t have left the post-Mass proceedings without his absence being noticed; witnesses attested this never happened. Likewise, the choirboys couldn’t have left the post-Mass proceedings without their absence being noticed; witnesses attested this never happened, either.
Plus, the sacristy would have been bustling with activity. As witnesses testified, Pell was never alone in the cathedral while vested for Mass but always accompanied by at least one assistant. The security arrangements and layout of the cathedral, and the respective locations of the cardinal and the choir, would have made it impossible for the abuse to occur as alleged. Nor is it physically possible to expose one’s genitals while vested in an archbishop’s robes.
Before he died in 2014, one of the two boys denied that he had “ever been interfered with or touched up” — by anyone. All this led 10 out of 12 jurors at Pell’s first trial to vote to acquit. Yet at the retrial, the jurors ignored the enormous weight of exculpatory evidence and voted in December to convict him amid a climate of media-driven anti-Catholic hysteria.
As the dissenting appellate judge was to conclude, the sole accuser’s wholly uncorroborated testimony “contained discrepancies, displayed inadequacies and otherwise lacked probative value.” Oh, well.
Read the rest here.
As I stated in my earlier post on this subject, I'm not sufficiently familiar with all of the evidence to express an informed opinion. But an awful lot of people whose judgement I respect have come down hard on this case.
Saturday, August 24, 2019
Comment moderation is on
Sorry for any inconvenience, but while I am truly sympathetic to the unique trials of his existence, the wave of comments from Jerome the Vampire were not germane to the topics of the various threads he posted on. Hopefully this will just be a temporary speed bump. However, if you should notice that I am suddenly only posting at night...
Friday, August 23, 2019
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
For the record...
Cardinal Pell's conviction has been upheld on appeal. I am not sufficiently familiar with the details of the case to express an informed opinion. However, a number of people that I respect have grave misgivings about the matter.
Brexit Secretary signs order to scrap 1972 Brussels Act - ending all EU law in the UK
The 1972 Act is the vehicle that sees regulations flow into UK law directly from the EU’s lawmaking bodies in Brussels.
The announcement of the Act’s repeal marks a historic step in returning lawmaking powers from Brussels to the UK. We are taking back control of our laws, as the public voted for in 2016.
The repeal of the European Communities Act 1972 will take effect when Britain formally leaves the EU on October 31.
Speaking after signing the legislation that will crystallise in law the upcoming repeal of the ECA, the Secretary of State for Exiting the EU Steve Barclay said:
The announcement of the Act’s repeal marks a historic step in returning lawmaking powers from Brussels to the UK. We are taking back control of our laws, as the public voted for in 2016.
The repeal of the European Communities Act 1972 will take effect when Britain formally leaves the EU on October 31.
Speaking after signing the legislation that will crystallise in law the upcoming repeal of the ECA, the Secretary of State for Exiting the EU Steve Barclay said:
This is a clear signal to the people of this country that there is no turning back - we are leaving the EU as promised on October 31, whatever the circumstances - delivering on the instructions given to us in 2016.
The votes of 17.4 million people deciding to leave the EU is the greatest democratic mandate ever given to any UK Government. Politicians cannot choose which public votes they wish to respect. Parliament has already voted to leave on 31 October. The signing of this legislation ensures that the EU Withdrawal Act will repeal the European Communities Act 1972 on exit day.
The ECA saw countless EU regulations flowing directly into UK law for decades, and any government serious about leaving on October 31 should show their commitment to repealing it.
Source.That is what we are doing by setting in motion that repeal. This is a landmark moment in taking back control of our laws from Brussels."
Monday, August 19, 2019
Kamala Harris Promises To 'Disarm Violent Hate' by Seizing Guns From Bigots
Sen. Kamala Harris (D–Calif.), who is seeking the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, says
that if elected she will push legislation that would authorize federal
courts to issue gun confiscation orders against people who express
opinions that may indicate an intent to commit a hate crime. These
"domestic terrorism prevention orders" would "temporarily restrict a
person's access to guns if they exhibit clear evidence of
dangerousness," including "violent racist threats or anti-immigrant
manifestos."
Harris' plan to "disarm violent hate" is pretty vague, so it's hard to say whether it would be consistent with the First Amendment. If the bill she imagines would merely create a federal "red flag" law focused on a subset of people deemed a threat to others, that would be bad enough, since these laws generally give short shrift to due process. But her description of the problem she is trying to address suggests that constitutionally protected speech might by itself be enough to suspend someone's Second Amendment rights.
"From El Paso to the Tree of Life Synagogue, and from Poway to Mother Emanuel Church," her campaign website says, "one thing is clear: Guns are the weapon of choice for domestic terrorists and perpetrators of hate crimes….Whether it's violent racist threats or anti-immigrant manifestos, signs of impending violence are often evident before tragedy strikes." While that may be true in retrospect, it does not mean that all racists, nativists, white supremacists, or anti-Semites who express their views online, or even a significant percentage of them, are bent on mass murder.
Read the rest here.
Harris' plan to "disarm violent hate" is pretty vague, so it's hard to say whether it would be consistent with the First Amendment. If the bill she imagines would merely create a federal "red flag" law focused on a subset of people deemed a threat to others, that would be bad enough, since these laws generally give short shrift to due process. But her description of the problem she is trying to address suggests that constitutionally protected speech might by itself be enough to suspend someone's Second Amendment rights.
"From El Paso to the Tree of Life Synagogue, and from Poway to Mother Emanuel Church," her campaign website says, "one thing is clear: Guns are the weapon of choice for domestic terrorists and perpetrators of hate crimes….Whether it's violent racist threats or anti-immigrant manifestos, signs of impending violence are often evident before tragedy strikes." While that may be true in retrospect, it does not mean that all racists, nativists, white supremacists, or anti-Semites who express their views online, or even a significant percentage of them, are bent on mass murder.
Read the rest here.
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