DEA to traveler: Thanks, I’ll take that cash

Maybe he should have taken traveler’s checks.

But it’s too late for that now. All the money – $16,000 in cash – that Joseph Rivers said he had saved and relatives had given him to launch his dream in Hollywood is gone, seized during his trip out West not by thieves but by Drug Enforcement Administration agents during a stop at the Amtrak train station in Albuquerque.

An incident some might argue is still theft, just with the government’s blessing.

Rivers, 22, wasn’t detained and has not been charged with any crime since his money was taken last month.

That doesn’t matter. Under a federal law enforcement tool called civil asset forfeiture, he need never be arrested or convicted of a crime for the government to take away his cash, cars or property – and keep it.

Agencies like the DEA can confiscate money or property if they have a hunch, a suspicion, a notion that maybe, possibly, perhaps the items are connected with narcotics. Or something else illegal.

Or maybe the fact that the person holding a bunch of cash is a young black man is good enough.

Read the rest here.

Bulgarian Orthodox Church Restores Liturgical Commemoration of Czar Simeon II

The Bulgarian Orthodox Church’s governing body, the Holy Synod, has decided to include a blessing for Simeon Saxe-Coburg as “His Majesty Simeon II, Tsar of the Bulgarians” in public and private worship.

The proposal was made to the Holy Synod by Nikolai, Metropolitan of Plovdiv.

Born in 1937, Saxe-Coburg became king of Bulgaria in 1943 after the sudden death of his father, Boris III.

Because he was a minor, there was a regency of three. On the communist takeover in Bulgaria at the end of World War 2, a “People’s Court” process was initiated which led to thousands of deaths, including the execution of the regents.

Saxe-Coburg and his family went into exile. A referendum in 1946, under communist rule and with Soviet troops still present in Bulgaria, was said officially to have produced a result of 97 per cent in favour of the abolition of the monarchy.

Read the rest here.
See also the announcement on the website of the BOC, which contrary to the English news story is still up.

Axios!

Westminster Abbey acknowledges Mohammed in succession of prophets

“Peace be upon all auspicious prophets of God, from Adam, Noah and Abraham to Moses, Jesus and Mohammed Mustafa..”

From here.
HT: T-19  

Anathema!

100 Years Ago: The Armenian Genocide

Christ is risen!

A blessed feast to everyone!

Thank You

Many thanks to everyone for your kind words and prayers. It's been pretty tough but we are coping, mostly I think because we have been so busy. I had no idea that dying was so complicated. Its after the funeral that I am dreading most. Coming back to this empty house, and having to live here for a while until the affairs are all settled is going to be brutal. Im not sure there is enough whiskey to get me through that first night.

Memory Eternal: Dad is gone

He went into a very sudden system failure and passed a short while before 5 PM EST. I was not able to get back in time but my sisters and his closest friend were were with him. He received the last rites of the Catholic Church earlier today and had taken communion several times during the last week. The pain is very raw right now. Your prayers for the repose of the servant of God John are deeply appreciated.

I will be in mourning for the next forty days and little or no posting should be expected during that time frame.

Did the Enlightenment cause a global decline in violence? (No.)

...2. If there is a decline in violence, it is due to Christianity.

By now, mainstream historians are slowly waking up to the realization that almost everything we like about the Enlightenment, from the rule of law to the scientific method to capitalism, had its roots in the extraordinary civilization of the Middle Ages.

Why is it that we modern persons are so much more squeamish, so much more likely to be stirred by the idea of harm?

One answer might be that our civilization had, for a millennium, at the center of its moral imagination, the battered and broken figure of a slave hanging from a gibbet, condemned to die by all rightful authorities and abandoned by his friends.

And it is worth noting that the increase in squeamishness in the West dates back from the takeover of the Roman Empire by Christianity.

A key indicator of cultural squeamishness is how a society treats children. As the historian O.M. Bakke shows in the tellingly-named book How Children Became People: The Birth of Childhood in Early Christianity, Pagan society considered children as little more than objects, with consequences of — to us post-Christians — astonishing cruelty. The practice of abandoning newborns was widespread and not frowned upon. While most abandoned infants died, those who did not were typically "rescued" into child sex slavery, which was a legal and thriving industry. The sources report that sex with castrated boys, in particular, was considered very titillating, and there are reports of babies castrated to serve that purpose. These were all practices that Christians famously condemned, and Bakke nicely traces how phrases by Jesus holding children up as examples and insisting on care for the "least of these" caused emerging civilization, for the first time in the history of the West, to regard children as full human beings endowed with rights.

Another good indicator of squeamishness is the treatment of slaves. While only by the High Middle Ages was slavery over in the West — the first time in all of human history that a culture had abolished slavery — as soon as Christianity became the state religion of the Roman Empire rafts of unprecedented laws were passed to reform the institution of slavery, typically "squeamish" laws such as banning sexual relations between slaves and masters, making it illegal to break up slave families, banning the branding of slaves (first on the face, and later anywhere). The first condemnation of slavery as an institution in all of recorded history was made by the Catholic bishop and Church Father Gregory of Nyssa, in strikingly "squeamish" terms, exhorting his congregation to see in their slaves the same image of God that dwells in them, and to free them.

Because human hearts are so hard and crooked, this rise in squeamishness was infuriatingly slow and incomplete (and still is), but if there is one starting point one could name, it would be the rise of Christianity. If the Enlightenment did anything, it was only to accelerate a process that had been ongoing for centuries.

3. The modern age doesn't look so hot when you count abortion.

Abortion is a typical "squeamish" issue, where mere squeamishness leads us astray. It's harder to get squeamish about a "clump of cells" than a live baby, even though there is no conceptual difference between the two. When it comes to disabled children in the womb, we all too often get squeamish in exactly the wrong way: we get squeamish about the pain they will endure, instead of getting squeamish about the idea of snuffing out innocent life. "Care/harm" makes us empathize more with those we recognize as our alter egos, but make us empathize less about those we do not include in our circle of fellowship.

According to the U.S. Abortion Clock there have been 55 million abortions in the United States since abortion was legalized in the U.S., and more than one billion abortions worldwide since 1980. One billion. If abortions are counted as homicides then the modern age sure doesn't look so hot...

I don't agree with his concluding enthusiasm for the Enlightenment, but otherwise this is a truly outstanding piece. Read it all here.

See also this longer and very powerful rebuttal of the new article of Whig orthodoxy.

Carnegie Council: Russia's Orthodox Soft Power (must read)

Abstract

For many analysts the term Russky mir, or Russian World, epitomizes an expansionist and messianic Russian foreign policy, the perverse intersection of the interests of the Russian state and the Russian Orthodox Church.

Little noted is that the term actually means something quite different for each party. For the state it is a tool for expanding Russia's cultural and political influence, while for the Russian Orthodox Church it is a spiritual concept, a reminder that through the baptism of Rus, God consecrated these people to the task of building a Holy Rus.

The close symphonic relationship between the Orthodox Church and state in Russia thus provides Russian foreign policy with a definable moral framework, one that, given its popularity, is likely to continue to shape the country's policies well into the future.

Read the rest here.

All in all this is an unusually sober and nuanced examination of the role, and history, of the Orthodox Church in Russian society and its somewhat complex relationship with the state. In some spots it seems to gloss over some of Russia's decidedly "Real Politik" approach to foreign affairs and the very fair criticism of the gross corruption in the Russian government. But this is definitely not the usual drive by "Putin is Hitler" op-ed and it deserves some careful reading.

Deadly Flu Outbreak in India Kills 2000+

AHMEDABAD, India — Dr. Dinesh Joshi puts on an N95 medical mask and opens the door to the swine-flu ward at Civil Hospital in India’s western state of Gujarat. With 5,000 beds, it is one of the largest hospitals in Asia. The swine-flu ward is at the end of a long corridor, its walls lined with drawings made by schoolchildren on the importance of washing one’s hands after using the toilet, of eating a diet rich in protein and of avoiding public gatherings — all actions that Joshi believes will prevent a worse outbreak of the virus that is currently sweeping the country.

Inside the ward for swine flu ward, labeled by its official medical name, H1N1, 6-year-old Purvi sits on a bed with an IV tube in her nose. Her chances of survival, like those of the 15 or so other patients in the room, are uncertain. In the corner, medical assistants enter details of swine-flu cases into the state and central government database. Across the hall is another room, with the word “Suspect” written on the door in Gujarati, reserved for those who may have the virus.

Read the rest here.

Ransomware: Pay or fight?

Ask security experts what to do when hit with ransomware – the sophisticated malware that infects a device or network, uses military-grade encryption to restrict access, and demands payment for the decryption key – and you'll typically get the same answer: "never pay the ransom."

But for many, that's simply not an option. For example, last November an employee in the Sheriff's Department in Dickinson County, Tenn., accidentally clicked on a malicious ad and exposed the office network to the infamous CryptoWall ransomware. Detective Jeff McCliss told local News Channel 5 that CryptoWall had encrypted "every sort of document you could develop in an investigation," such as witness statements and evidence photos. Even after consulting with the FBI and U.S. military, McCliss told the news station that the only solution was to pay the $500 to the cybercriminals to get their files back.

Read the rest here.

Where God Loves Abortion and Hates Israel

The Presbyterian Church (USA) is the Radio Shack of church denominations. It’s been in free fall for so long that it’s sometimes difficult to believe the church is still around. It makes news only when it makes bad news. This is a church that has long embraced a culture of death by accepting abortion on demand. Indeed, church materials have declared that abortion can even be “an act of faithfulness before God,” and church policy states: “The considered decision of a woman to terminate a pregnancy can be a morally acceptable, though certainly not the only or required, decision.”

This is a church that has long embraced a culture of death by accepting abortion on demand. Indeed, church materials have declared that abortion can even be “an act of faithfulness before God,” and church policy states: “The considered decision of a woman to terminate a pregnancy can be a morally acceptable, though certainly not the only or required, decision.”

Read the rest here.

Not a big fan of Israel's neo-colonialism here, but in all other respects I'd say this article pretty much nails it.

Judge questions whether Obama administration misled him on immigration policy

BROWNSVILLE - - A federal judge here on Thursday raised the specter of sanctions against the U.S. government on Thursday as he gave a tongue-lashing to lawyers for the Obama administration for misleading him about a new immigration program at the center of a national lawsuit.

"You said it's not happening," U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen said, referring to the program. "And like an idiot I believed that."

In January, Justice Department lawyers had assured Hanen that President Barack Obama's directive to shield up to 5 million undocumented immigrants from deportation was not being put into effect while a lawsuit filed by 26 states against the administration moved through the courts.

But this month, the U.S. government admitted it granted 108,000 immigrants, who already were protected from deportation, three-year renewals of their deferred status, instead of two years. The three-year deferrals are one aspect of the new program that's under dispute.

In February, Hanen granted the 26 states a preliminary injunction halting the new immigration program, which Obama had put in place through executive action Nov. 20.

Read the rest here.

Fr. Thomas Hopko: The One True Church

 Orthodox Christians claim that the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Chalcedonian Orthodox Church, is the one true Church of Christ. That’s the confession of faith that we make. Of course, we have to say right away that there are members of the Orthodox Church who are relativistic, especially in America, there would be those who could say, “Well, all churches are the same,” and, “no one can claim the truth,” and, “different churches have different things,” so we really shouldn’t be so proud and so arrogant as to say that our church is the only church or the only true church, that we really should not do that. However, that is the teaching.

I mean, it really is the teaching of the Holy Scripture and certainly of the Councils and certainly of the Holy Fathers and the saints. There would be no doubt at all, absolutely no doubt, that it is really a dogma. I would say that, a kind of a formal, official conviction and teaching in the Eastern Orthodox Church, that the Eastern Orthodox Church and only the Eastern Orthodox Church is really, truly, fully the one Church of Christ.

It is the Church of the Messiah. It is the qahal Israel. It is the assembly of Israel in the Messiah, in Jesus, to which Gentiles like myself may now be included by faith and grace. And that indeed this church is the Church. Certainly it would be a dogma, an absolutely official teaching of the Eastern Orthodox Church, that at baptisms and at the Holy Eucharist, at the Divine Liturgy—and we also do this at the compline service at the daily services in church—we say the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed. And we say it in the singular: not “we” as the Council said it, but “I,” meaning “I accept it, I believe this.”

Read the rest here.

Memory Eternal! Fr. Thomas Hopko

Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko, Dean Emeritus of Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, Crestwood, NY, and noted Orthodox Christian priest, theologian, preacher, and speaker, fell asleep in the Lord on the afternoon of March 18, 2015.

From here.

Amidst Russian Provocations a Nervous Poland Encourages Its Children to Play Soldier

KALISZ, Poland — For evidence of how much President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has jangled nerves and provoked anxiety across Eastern Europe, look no farther than the drill held the other day by the Shooters Association.

The paramilitary group, like more than 100 others in Poland, has experienced a sharp spike in membership since Mr. Putin’s forces began meddling in neighboring Ukraine last year.

Thirty students took an oath to defend Poland at all costs, joining nearly 200 other regional members of the association — young men and women, boys and girls — marching in formation around the perimeter of the dusty high school courtyard here. They crossed Polish Army Boulevard and marched into the center of town, sprawling in four long lines along the edge of St. Joseph’s Square.

Read the rest here.

Russia has legitimate national interests in Ukraine. That cannot be said of Poland, the Baltic States, Sweden and any number of other countries that have reported a disturbing rise in subtle, and sometimes not so subtle provocations by Russia. At least the Poles are being realistic about their national defenses, unlike so many of the older NATO members who seem to be tripping over one another in a mad rush to disarm.

Prayers Please

Dad has taken a turn. I may have to travel on short notice, so blogging might be erratic. Your prayers are deeply appreciated.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

The Democratic Party is facing a Catholic apocalypse

It’s one of the central contradictions of American politics: that there’s no such thing as the “Catholic vote,” yet the Catholics vote still matters.

There’s no “Catholic vote” in terms of Catholics representing an electoral bloc that votes according to what their bishops tell them, or in lockstep with the tenets of their religion. Yet winning Catholic voters has been essential to almost every presidential victory in modern times. And the defection of Catholics voters has played a role in some of the most consequential congressional turnovers in recent history — from 1994 to 2014 — making Catholics the ultimate swing voters. And for Democrats, that could be bad news.

While Catholics have been swing voters since Richard Nixon’s second term, white Catholics are now identifying as Republican by historic margins. According to the most recent polling from the Pew Research Center, 53 percent of white Catholics now favor the GOP, versus 39 percent who favor the Democrats—the largest point spread in the history of the Pew poll. And for the first time, white Catholics are more Republican than the voting group usually considered the ultimate Republicans: white Protestants (a designation that includes both mainline and evangelical Protestants).

These are ominous signs for the Democrats, evincing a new and growing allegiance with the Republican Party that has long-term implications.

Read the rest here.

Former SSPX Bishop Williamson to Consecrate Bishop(s)

Details at Rorate.

Honestly, is there anyone at all who didn't see this coming?