How libertarian will Republicans be in 2016?

Two things happened last week that revealed the basic dynamic of the fight for control of the Republican Party in 2016.

The first was a vote on the House floor that would have significantly curtailed the NSA’s phone-surveillance program as outlined in the Patriot Act. A vote that was widely regarded by congressional sharps as an opportunity for civil libertarians to “blow off steam” nearly passed the House. In total, 94 House Republicans (41 percent of the GOP conference) voted for it.

The second were comments made by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at a panel at the Aspen Institute on Thursday. “As a former prosecutor who was appointed by President George W. Bush on Sept. 10, 2001, I just want us to be really cautious, because this strain of libertarianism that’s going through both parties right now and making big headlines, I think, is a very dangerous thought,” Christie said.

Taken together, it’s quite clear that the choice in 2016 will be heavily defined by just how much libertarianism Republicans want in their party. The answer isn’t clear yet. But it is telling that more than 40 percent of the Republican conference voted for legislation that would significantly curtail the reach of a government agency designed, at least in part, to prevent future terrorist attacks. So, too, is the fact that Christie, widely expected to run in 2016, picked a fight with libertarians — and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, in particular — in the summer of 2013.

Read the rest here.

3 Million Greet Pope Francis on Brazilian Beach

RIO DE JANIERO — Pope Francis celebrated the last Mass of his trip to Brazil on Sunday before an estimated three million people gathered on the beach in this city, the national flags of Catholics from around the world hoisted in the air as a chorus of Brazilian priests belted out songs before the multitude. It was a vibrant display of the Vatican’s ambition of halting the losses of worshipers to evangelical churches and the rising appeal of secularism.

By various measures, Francis’s first international trip since he was named pope this year was a success. The 76-year-old Argentine, a Jesuit who is the first pope from the Americas, was greeted like a rock star by attendees to a conference of Catholic youth. He urged people to combat corruption, a top grievance in the protests shaking Brazil, and called on bishops to focus on the pragmatic needs of congregants, shifting emphasis from the abuse scandals which have plagued the Vatican for years.

“If this trip is any indication, he’s off to a strong start at revitalizing the church,” said Andrew Chesnut, an expert on Latin American religions at Virginia Commonwealth University who came here to see the pope’s visit up close. “He’s been very astute on focusing on the everyday afflictions of the poor, taking a page from the evangelicals themselves.”

Read the rest here.

Central Bankers Likely to Keep Rates Low

(Reuters) - Three of the world's leading central banks are likely to reaffirm their determination this week to keep a lid on interest rates for a long time to come, despite signs that their economies are slowly on the mend.

The Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England are all expected to repeat or refine their "forward guidance" that borrowing costs will remain extraordinarily low as long as growth is sub-par and inflation is not a threat.

Read the rest here.

For Lovers of History

I am very happy to report that one of my favorite blogs has come back to life after having gone silent for a long period. Georgian London is a treasure trove of great articles dealing with life in 18th and early 19th century London. And for those partial to military history someone has kindly uploaded the entire series "Soviet Storm" onto YouTube. This 18 part TV series was produced in modern Russia and deals with the Eastern Front of the Second World War. This theater of the war has often been given short shrift by American historians especially during the Cold War period.

The series is extremely detailed, well narrated (in English though the maps are mostly in Cyrillic) and remarkably frank in its discussion of the shortcomings and failures of the Soviet Army especially early in the war. It also does not shrink from noting Stalin's ruthlessness and his habit of shooting underperforming generals. Though it does gloss over some of the more embarrassing details like Stalin's near breakdown in the first days of the war and the fact that on at least two occasions he sent feelers to Germany suggesting peace on terms that would have been very advantageous to the Nazis had  Hitler possessed more sense than a houseplant. Likewise Soviet war crimes are barely mentioned. But moving beyond these details the series has so far (I am about half way through it) really impressed me.

Those with a decent command of history will of course know that unlike in the Pacific, in the European theater of the war the principal actors were Germany and the USSR. The United States and Britain were mainly supporting actors in that part of the great drama. Considering the losses suffered by the Red Army one would be more than justified in asking if we could have won the war had Hitler not made the fatal mistake of invading Russia, and brutalizing its population as he rolled towards Moscow.

My own view is that it's exceedingly unlikely we could have dislodged the German Army from Europe on our own. The Soviets suffered no less than 20 million killed in their Great Patriotic War, and the actual number is likely closer to 25 million. Would America have been willing to suffer such losses on behalf of people on another continent, fighting against an enemy who had not actually invaded us? I seriously doubt it.

Of course based on what we know of Hitler's character and his megalomania it seems likely that even had we stayed out and let Britain go down, we would have ended up fighting Hitler at some point. He just wasn't the sort of guy who handled the stress of peace well.

A Note From Diane Kamer (and my response)

Re: This post

Shut down comments...and then post a screed from a disgruntled trad in the process of doxing.

Don't you guys ever play fair? Apparently not...because that would put you at a disadvantage.

Diane,
I shut down the comments because I have a low tolerance for the kind of internet bomb throwers and professional polemicists who had hijacked the discussion. If you think Ex Trad Cath's comment was a "screed" you really need to go back and take a look at your own commentary history of at least five years. And I note that you didn't refer to Owen White's blistering attack on American Orthodoxy as a screed. Of course not. It is not possible in your world view to post an anti-Orthodox screed. John B (whom I like and respect, current differences notwithstanding) and Modestinus are IMO both suffering from an unfortunate case of convertitus. It happens. Hopefully they will get over it. And yes I have seen it on our side of the fence too, and I find it just as distasteful.

But what's your excuse? From what I can gather you are just an Orthophobe who loathes us because... well we exist and we aren't Catholic. I have never once seen you show up in a Ortho-Cath discussion where you did not do your utmost to turn it into an inter-confessional food fight. It seems to me that you need a nasty religious argument the way most people need oxygen. And I'm sorry, but I just don't have the time or patience for that kind of crap.

Honestly, I think you are an anti-Orthodox bigot and a thoroughly obnoxious internet troll of the worst description. Further, to the best of my knowledge that view is shared by every Orthodox blogger who I can recall mentioning your name. So go peddle your "woes me!" always the martyr in defense of the True Faith BS elsewhere. Because sister, what you're selling, I'm not buying.

To my readers, I apologize for the extreme lack of charity in this post.

Comments are closed.

Note: I accidentally misspelled Diane's last name in the post title. I regret the error and have corrected it.

A Must Read....

Fr. Stephen Freeman's excellent blog post on the theology of Orthodox Marriage. Among the many excellent points made is that marriage is NOT a contract and therefor claims by certain groups to equal rights under contract law do not apply.

Time Spent Discussing Congressman King's Racist Remarks

 

From here.

Chris Christie takes a shot at Libertarians

ASPEN, Colo. — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) on Thursday offered a clear broadside against Republicans drifting toward a more libertarian view of foreign policy, lumping Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) in with them and suggesting they explain their position to victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

The House earlier this week narrowly voted against a reduction in funding for the National Security Agency’s program collecting Americans’ phone records, as libertarian-leaning members from both sides joined together to vote for the amendment.

“As a former prosecutor who was appointed by President George W. Bush on Sept. 10, 2001, I just want us to be really cautious, because this strain of libertarianism that’s going through both parties right now and making big headlines, I think, is a very dangerous thought,” Christie said.

Read the rest here.

Antiwar.com Under Surveillance

The FBI doesn't suspect any crime but monitors the site anyway—and this fits a pattern of targeting journalists who probe state secrets.

Irreverent and unyielding in its opposition to U.S. foreign policy, Antiwar.com has been called many things. But that Washington might consider the 17-year-old news and opinion website a threat to national security should be cause for alarm—especially today.

The Obama administration has come under scrutiny this summer following revelations that it’s been snooping on journalists in connection with the unprecedented number of federal leak prosecutions in recent years. Meanwhile, thanks to revelations by Edward Snowden, the American public now knows the government has more access than ever to our Internet browsing habits, e-mails, Facebook accounts, and phone and Skype records.

The all-seeing eye may be putting the chill not only on privacy and free speech but also on investigative national-security journalism and the public’s right to know. And this is not limited to the high-profile cases affecting big mainstream players like Fox News, the Associated Press or the New York Times, which have received most of the attention.

In May, with considerably less fanfare, Antiwar.com announced it was suing the FBI, demanding the release of records the editors believe the agency has been keeping on founder and managing editor Eric Garris and editorial editor Justin Raimondo. The suit stems from a 2004 memo a reader found through an unconnected FOIA request and passed along to Antiwar.com in 2011. The heavily redacted 94-page document clearly states the FBI had secretly investigated and monitored the website and declared—despite acknowledging there was no evidence of any crime—that further surveillance of Antiwar.com was necessary to determine if “[redaction] are engaging in, or have engaged in, activities which constitute a threat to national security on behalf of a foreign power.”

When contacted by this writer—who is also a regular contributor to Antiwar.com—the FBI press office declined comment, citing pending litigation.

Read the rest here.

Halliburton to plead guilty to destroying evidence in BP spill

The oil services giant Halliburton agreed Thursday to plead guilty to destroying evidence during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster in 2010, admitting to one count of criminal conduct and agreeing to pay the $200,000 maximum statutory fine, according to the Justice Department.

In a startling turn in the three-year-old criminal investigation, Halliburton said that on two occasions during the oil spill, it directed employees to destroy or “get rid of” simulations that would have helped clarify how to assign blame for the blowout — and possibly focused more attention on Halliburton’s role.

Read the rest here.

Too big to fail and too big to jail.

Concelebrated Liturgy Celebrating the 1025th Anniversary of the Baptism of Kiev & Russia

A concelebrated liturgy with the primates and or representative bishops of all the Orthodox Churches in Christ the Savior Cathedral. The relics of the Cross of St. Andrew are prominent in the Cathedral.

Dear New York

I know I have said and written unkind things about you. Sometimes, they were downright mean. I may have left you and shaken the dust from my sandals while making snarky comments about the suckers still living in your borders, but alas you are still my native state. So I implore you not to make yourself the laughingstock of the country. PLEASE PLEASE don't elect either of those men.

Poll: Most Americans Want Abortion Limited After 20 Weeks

By a margin of 56 to 27 percent, more Americans say they’d prefer to impose limits on abortions after the first 20 weeks of pregnancy rather than the 24-week mark established under current law, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Another 10 percent surveyed in the poll volunteered they would prefer to outlaw abortion in the United States altogether or limit it earlier than 20 weeks after fertilization. At the same time, however, 54 percent say they oppose state laws that make it more difficult for abortion clinics to operate; compared to 45 percent who support such legislation. (See graphic below for a breakdown of results, and here for interactive polling data).

The findings come as lawmakers on Capitol Hill and in states across the country are pushing to ban abortions earlier and impose new requirements that make it harder for abortion clinics to operate. Under the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, abortions can be performed until the point when an individual doctor determines a fetus’s viability, which is generally defined as up to 24 weeks of gestation. After that point, the government can prohibit the procedure so long as it provides safeguards for the mother’s health and well-being.

The poll suggests that significant support exists for banning abortions earlier in a woman’s pregnancy, but far less for instituting onerous restrictions for abortion providers.

Read the rest here.

Progress is often measured not in leaps, but steps. This is progress, if painfully slow.

A Quick Note on Anonymous Comments

I have in the past allowed anonymous comments, though I really don't care for them. But lately they have become problematic. On longer discussion threads they create confusion and at least one blog troll has been abusing anonymity for some time. For these reasons I have decided to no longer allow anonymous comments on Ad Orientem. You don't have to sign up with Blogger but you do have to at a minimum enter a name using open ID when posting comments. This change is effective immediately.

Thank you for your understanding.

Congress Repeals the 4th Amendment

A controversial proposal to restrict how the National Security Agency collects Americans’ telephone records failed to advance in the House by a narrow margin Wednesday, a victory for the Obama administration, which has spent weeks defending the program.

Lawmakers voted 217 to 205 to defeat the proposal from an unlikely coalition of liberal and conservative members. Those lawmakers had joined forces in response to revelations by Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor, that the agency has collected the phone records of millions of Americans — a practice that critics say goes beyond the kind of collection that has been authorized by Congress.

Read the rest here.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

A Class Act

Former President George H.W. Bush (41) shaved his head as a sign of support for the son of one of his Secret Service guards who has been stricken with cancer.

Read the story here.

Prayers for the boys recovery.

OK, maybe it's just me....

Maybe I am being overly sensitive or just visiting the wrong blogs. But am I the only one noticing an uptick in anti-Orthodox snark or outright attacks on the Church in the blogosphere of late? A lot of it seems to be coming from the Catholic corner.

Granted there have always been bomb throwers in both churches. But it just seems like it's spreading to what are, or were, more mainstream blogs lately. What gives?

Comments are now closed. If you have a comment you think adds to the discussion please email me. Thanks to everyone for your input.

Snowden likely to be granted asylum in Russia

They gave him a ton a paperwork to fill out and some new clothes (he's been wearing the same clothes for about a month). Once the approval is given he will be given temporary papers permitting him to leave the airport and live in Russia. At least initially he will be obliged to remain in areas designated by the Russian police. If and when permanent residency or citizenship is granted he would presumably have the freedom of the country. It is unlikely that Snowden will ever be able to leave Russia given his fugitive status.

Oh, and they gave him something else, a book... Dostoyevsky's "Crime and Punishment." Who said Vlady doesn't have a sense of humor?

US Judge halts lawsuits challenging Detroit bankruptcy

Detroit can proceed with its bankruptcy filing unencumbered by lawsuits that sought to block the largest municipal Chapter 9 in U.S. history, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

The decision by U.S. bankruptcy court judge Steven Rhodes halts lawsuits by pension funds and creditors, who argue that the bankruptcy violates provisions in Michigan’s constitution that protect public pensions. The judge also ruled that the federal court will decide if Detroit is eligible for Chapter 9 bankruptcy.

The Chapter 9 filing, which is expected to be a long, drawn-out process, will be closely watched by other cities and public pension funds around the country that are also tight on funding amid a weak recovery and a growing number of retiring baby boomers.

Read the rest here.

Prince George

Many years to the future King George VII!

Washington approval ratings slip to record lows

The American public's dissatisfaction with Washington has reached new heights, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, as the political world continues to fight the same intractable battles over the budget, health care and immigration.

A whopping 83 percent of Americans disapprove of Congress' job, which is an all-time high in the survey. What's more, President Barack Obama has seen his job-approval rating dip to its lowest level since August 2011, when the debt-ceiling showdown wounded almost every Washington politician.

And nearly six-in-10 voters say they would vote to defeat and replace every single member of Congress if they had such an option on their ballot ­ another all-time high.

Read the rest here.

Yankees Superstar A-Rod May Face Severe Sanctions For Doping

(CBS News) Milwaukee Brewers' outfielder Ryan Braun was one of at least 15 Major League Baseball players under investigation for taking performance-enhancing drugs. He was suspended Monday for the rest of the season, and an even bigger name could be next.

The game's highest-paid player, New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez is also under investigation. A Major League Baseball team executive told CBS News Braun's 65-game suspension could be nothing compared to what Rodriguez faces.

The executive said it's not a matter of "if" Rodriguez will be suspended for using performance enhancing drugs, but "when."

"They have an overwhelming amount of evidence on this guy showing multiple years of usage," the executive said. "He's met with Major League Baseball. He's seen the evidence. He is staring down a penalty much, much harsher than Braun's. It could be years... or even a lifetime suspension."

Read the rest here.

It's a boy!

Britain has a new heir. The Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to a baby boy (8lbs 6 oz.) who will likely be the first monarch of the 22nd century. Many years to the happy couple and the as yet unnamed Prince!

Delegations of Orthodox Churches arriving in Moscow for 1,025 years since baptizing of Kievan Rus

Delegations of the Eastern Orthodox Churches of Jerusalem, Antioch, Romania, and Cyprus arrive in Moscow later Monday to take part in the festivities marking the 1,025 years since the adoption of Eastern Orthodox Christian faith by Kievan Rus.

The Jerusalem and Cyprian delegations are led by the supreme hierarchs of these Churches - Patriarch Theophilos III and Archbishop Chrysostom, Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations said.

According to the department spokesman, the Reverend Igor Yakimchuk, the top-rank clerics and the accompanying delegations will take part in the festivities that will be held from July 24 through to July 29 in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus at the level of both governments of the three countries and the Church.

The delegations of the Romanian Orthodox Church and the supreme hierarch of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church in America, Metropolitan Tikhon, who arrived in Moscow Sunday, are expected to have meetings with the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Kirill I Monday.

Delegations of all the fifteen national Orthodox Churches will take part in the jubilee festivities and eight delegations will be led by the ruling hierarchs of the respective Churches.

Read the rest here.

Pariarch Kirill Condemns Rise of Gay Marriage in the West

MOSCOW, July 21 (RIA Novosti) – Head of the Russian Orthodox Church warned Western governments on Sunday against legalization of same-sex marriages what he called a sign of approaching end of the world.

Patriarch Kirill said during a service at Moscow’s major cathedral that the recent initiatives in a range of countries to legalize same-sex marriages “is a dangerous and apocalyptic symptom” that should not spread over to Russia, according to Russian media reports.

While those who “fight the laws imposed by the minority are subject to repressions,” Kirill, who leads the Church known for its conservative views, was quoted as saying during his speech at Kazan Cathedral near Red Square on Sunday.

Russian authorities have been repeatedly criticized by human rights groups and Western officials over a recently passed law introducing punishment for “the promotion of nontraditional sexual relationships” among minors.

Source.

Security on alert as Pope Francis heads to Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – When Pope Francis greets his flock on Rio’s white-sand Copacabana beach this week during his first international trip, he’ll do so in the same open-topped jeep “popemobile” he uses at the Vatican, breaking down the bulletproof barrier between the pontiff and the people.

But while he'll be traveling with only two Swiss Guards dressed in discreet civilian clothes, the "people's pope" may still have a hard time connecting with the 2 million people expected to greet him. More than 10,000 army, air force and navy officers, as well as 12,000 regular police and 1,700 elite security forces, will guard him during his 18 public appearances during his weeklong visit, starting Monday, to Brazil for World Youth Day. 

Read the rest here.

Feast of the Icon of The Virgin Mary of Kazan

From the Cathedral of Kazan in Red Square

ROCOR Continues It's House Cleaning

It appears that the Holy Synod of the Russian Church Abroad is continuing its program of corrective measures in response to some serious disciplinary problems. The Synod has condemned the actions of  a "Brother" Nathanael Kapner. My knowledge of this man is limited but John Sanidopoulos has a more detailed post up on him. He sounds like a nut job who may at one time have been under ROCOR. The last word I had heard on this sorry individual was that he had entered into schism and had been barred from the chalice. John S. seems to confirm this.

HT: Blog reader Michael M.

Mormons on the Web Grapple With Doubt

In the small but cohesive Mormon community where he grew up, Hans Mattsson was a solid believer and a pillar of the church. He followed his father and grandfather into church leadership and finally became an “area authority” overseeing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout Europe.

When fellow believers in Sweden first began coming to him with information from the Internet that contradicted the church’s history and teachings, he dismissed it as “anti-Mormon propaganda,” the whisperings of Lucifer. He asked his superiors for help in responding to the members’ doubts, and when they seemed to only sidestep the questions, Mr. Mattsson began his own investigation.

But when he discovered credible evidence that the church’s founder, Joseph Smith, was a polygamist and that the Book of Mormon and other scriptures were rife with historical anomalies, Mr. Mattsson said he felt that the foundation on which he had built his life began to crumble.

Read the rest here.

Pope Francis to Focus on Social Justice in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO — A month ago, hundreds of thousands of young people took to the streets of Brazil to protest corruption, wasteful government spending, bad schools and hospitals, police brutality, and other abuses of power. On Monday, Pope Francis, in his first venture abroad, will dive into the middle of that ferment when he begins a weeklong visit to the world’s largest Roman Catholic country.

“This is a crucial moment for the church, the nation, society and the people, heightened by the fact this is Francis’ first trip,” said Fernando Altemeyer Jr., a theologian and philosopher at the Pontifical Catholic University in São Paulo. “Brazil has changed and things are bubbling, but there is no clarity. Everything is new and unknown, in the country and the church, even for the bishops.”

Francis has endorsed the protests in general terms, and, according to European news reports, will do so again more emphatically and specifically this week. Church officials here declined to confirm those reports, but they said that two Brazilian cardinals, Cláudio Hummes and Raymundo Damasceno Assis, have been working closely with the Vatican to assure that Francis’ declarations on social justice here will convey sympathy both for the protest demands and those involved in the movement.

Read the rest here.

There is a great deal that I admire about this Pope including his very real modesty and concern for the poor. I also like (no surprise) his deemphasizing of the imperial papacy in favor of his role as Bishop of Rome. That said, he does seem to be rather narrowly focused on the social justice issue and some of his views put him way to the left in political and economic terms. Also there has been scant emphasis on church doctrine, discipline and morals since his accession to the papal throne. Has he even addressed the issue of abortion once since then? One also notes the Vatican seems to have gone largely silent on the subject of gay marriage. And while his personal lifestyle is commendable, his extremely "low church" approach to liturgy is disquieting. It seems to hint at the end of the liturgical counterrevolution that followed decades of horrific abuses in the name of Vatican II.

Still, it's early days. I suspect we will have a clearer picture of things next summer.

Honor and Money or When a Deal Isn't Necessarily a Deal

It’s a deal. Or is it?

After apartment-hunting in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, for months this spring, Dr. Ronald Nath finally lucked out with a two-bedroom duplex at the top of a condominium, listed at $800,000.

A day after a crowded open house, Dr. Nath, a Massachusetts surgeon, offered $803,000 for the unit, which was to be a home for his son David, a television news producer. But because of its location and the outdoor spaces on both floors, the unit attracted more than a dozen offers, which prompted the seller to request higher bids.

For his “best and final” offer, which usually signals the end of the haggling process, Dr. Nath promised $912,000, which seemed to do the trick. The seller congratulated Dr. Nath and told him the unit was his; a contract was drawn up.

Not so fast. A few days later, like a kite in a gust of wind, the price soared again, to $995,000. Insulted by what he described as being “played,” Dr. Nath refused to raise his offer and ultimately lost the unit to a buyer who plunked down $1.1 million. “I was absolutely outraged,” he said. “When you give your word that a deal is done, you’re supposed to fulfill your agreement.”

A real estate deal, like any other business transaction, isn’t ironclad until signatures wind up on a contract, said Tom Le of the Corcoran Group, the seller’s broker, who defended his clients’ right to get the highest possible price for their unit, even if it left some raw feelings.

Read the rest here.

Unfortunately I have had some experiences of a similar nature. It's a long story but the executive summary is that back when I was on the parish council of the church that I was received into Orthodoxy through, money was tight. We were experiencing some real financial hardships and the decision was taken, albeit reluctantly to part with some land we had hoped to build a permanent church on.

Twice we entered negotiations with a certain individual, and twice that individual stiffed us and reneged on his word trying to drive the price down Of course he knew our backs were against the wall. In the latter case he did so after contracts had actually been signed. Because of the way real estate law works in California, and the fact that he had "accidentally forgot" to deposit the security deposit check into escrow we were left with no practical recourse other than to just accept the fact that we had been cheated.

It happens. Sadly not everyone in the world is on the up and up and some people are highly unethical.

FWIW here is my take on the ethics (which is not the law) on real estate and business negotiations in general.

An asking price is just that. Nothing is firm. Offers and asking prices can go up or down UNTIL everyone says "we have a deal" and shakes hands. After that, it is grossly unethical and dishonorable for either the buyer or seller to withdraw from that deal for anything other than the most extraordinary reasons. And in the case where one or another party does break their word without good cause, the other party should immediately withdraw their offer or consent to any deal and have no further dealings with them. By continuing to deal with someone who has demonstrated an  unscrupulous character you are enabling this sort of knavery.

I may be the last man on Earth who still holds to the view that a man's word is his bond, but that's my take on things. If I can't trust your word and a handshake then your signature isn't worth the paper it's written on. How can you trust anything they say about anything? A man who negotiates in bad faith is a liar. He can, and will, lie about any number of other things.

Such persons should be shunned both personally and professionally.

Churches grapple with appropriate dress as summer heats up

As Ann Cabiness stood in the Communion line at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church on Sunday morning, two things were on her mind: connecting with God and getting out of the humid sanctuary before someone mentioned her skimpy tank top and tight, knee-length running pants.

“I know I’m inappropriate, but I’m trying to save time. I know I’m in the wrong. My mother would not approve,” the 30-year-old said sheepishly as she made a beeline from Mass at the Bethesda church to the gym. “But would it be better that I not come?”

Read the rest here.

Vigil for St. Sergius, of Radonezh

British Court: OK for Roman Catholic Child to be Forcibly Converted to Islam

In SS (Malaysia) v. Secretary of State, (EWCA, July 18, 2013), Britain's Court of Appeal, upheld the denial of asylum to a Roman Catholic woman from Malaysia visiting England and to her 6 year old son. The woman, whose husband (still in Malaysia) had recently converted to Islam, objected to the fact that if she returned her husband would insist their son be raised as a Muslim and circumcised. The court concluded that returning the mother and her son to Malaysia would not violate their rights under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Read the rest here.

P.S. Fixed the link.

Stolen Art Masterpieces Likely Destroyed

PARIS — To Olga Dogaru, a lifelong resident of the tiny Romanian village of Carcaliu, the strangely beautiful artworks her son had brought home in a suitcase four months earlier had become a curse.

No matter, she said, that the works — seven in all — were signed by Picasso, Matisse, Monet, Gauguin, Lucian Freud and Meyer de Haan. Her son had just been arrested on suspicion of orchestrating the art robbery of the century: stealing masterpieces in a brazen October-night theft from the Kunsthal museum in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

But if the paintings and drawings no longer existed, Radu Dogaru, her son, could be free from prosecution, she reasoned. So Mrs. Dogaru told the police that on a freezing night in February, she placed all seven works — which included Monet’s 1901 “Waterloo Bridge, London”; Gauguin’s 1898 “Girl in Front of Open Window”; and Picasso’s 1971 “Harlequin Head” — in a wood-burning stove used to heat saunas and incinerated them.

Read the rest here.

Detroit Files Bankruptcy

Well they did it. Not surprising, but sad. There are going to be serious ramifications even for people who don't own municipal bonds.

Feds Reviewing Dozens of Death Sentences for FBI Errors

An unprecedented federal review of old criminal cases has uncovered as many as 27 death penalty convictions in which FBI forensic experts may have mistakenly linked defendants to crimes with exaggerated scientific testimony, U.S. officials said.

The review led to an 11th-hour stay of execution in Mississippi in May.

It is not known how many of the cases involve errors, how many led to wrongful convictions or how many mistakes may now jeopardize valid convictions. Those questions will be explored as the review continues.

Read the rest here.

Words fail me.

Russian Investigative Committee doesn't doubt authenticity of Romanov remains

Moscow, July 17, Interfax - The Russian Investigative Committee does not doubt the authenticity of the royal family remains found near Yekaterinburg and it is ready to answer every question of the Russian Orthodox Church.

"No new data, which might have called our research into question, has been uncovered," senior investigator of the Russian Investigative Committee's Main Forensic Department Vladimir Solovyov, who investigated the murder of the royal family, told Interfax on Wednesday.

The family of the last Russian emperor, Nicholas II, was executed in the Urals 95 years ago, in the early morning hours of July 17, 1918.

"Numerous conferences have been held since 2008 when our report was published but no one has ever questioned the scientific integrity of our inquiry," Solovyov said.

"It is our opinion, based on scientific methods, that the remains actually belong to members of the royal family," the Investigative Committee representative said.

He added that the royal family murder case would not be completely closed until the burial of the remains of Prince Alexey and his sister Maria.

Read the rest here.

More on the ROCOR Western Rite

For the record H.B. Metropolitan Hilarion has issued a brief memo to the Western Rite community regarding the Holy Synod's recent and somewhat controversial decree. The memo offers little in the form of details but does seem to suggest that ROCOR is not abandoning the idea of the W/R.

It may be read here.

Update: Fr. John Whiteford has a post up on one of the major problems with ROCOR's W/R. This is not a blanket endorsement of his post. Frankly, some of it has the unfortunate tone of that knee jerk anti-Westernism which exists in certain quarters of the Church. Having said that, he raises some really important points.

Setting aside for the moment the arguments about whether or not the W/R is a good idea, I think it is now pretty clear that ROCOR's W/R had some very serious disciplinary problems, some of which were causing scandal, even rising to the point of calling into question the validity of sacraments. When you have that kind of situation, decisive action becomes imperative. We are not Episcopalians.

Based on what I've heard so far, I believe the Holy Synod needed to move quickly, and they did. Beyond that I am content to wait and see what develops before forming any definitive opinions on the matter.

Attention All Preppers

On a cool September night in 1859, campers out in Colorado were roused from sleep by a “light so bright that one could easily read common print,” as one newspaper described it. Some of them, confused, got up and began making breakfast.

Farther east, thousands of New Yorkers ran out onto their sidewalks to watch the sky glow, ribboned in yellow, white and crimson. Few people had ever seen an aurora that far south — and this one lit up the whole city.

At the time, it was a dazzling display of nature. Yet if the same thing happened today, it would be an utter catastrophe.

The auroras of 1859, known as the “Carrington Event,” came after the sun unleashed a large coronal mass ejection, a burst of charged plasma aimed directly at the Earth. When the particles hit our magnetosphere, they triggered an especially fierce geomagnetic storm that lit up the sky and frazzled communication wires around the world. Telegraphs in Philadelphia were spitting out “fantastical and unreadable messages,” one paper reported, with some systems unusable for hours.

Today, electric utilities and the insurance industry are grappling with a scary possibility. A solar storm on the scale of that in 1859 would wreak havoc on power grids, pipelines and satellites. In the worst case, it could leave 20 million to 40 million people in the Northeast without power — possibly for years — as utilities struggled to replace thousands of fried transformers stretching from Washington to Boston. Chaos and riots might ensue.

That’s not a lurid sci-fi fantasy. It’s a sober new assessment by Lloyd’s of London, the world’s oldest insurance market. The report notes that even a much smaller solar-induced geomagnetic storm in 1989 left 6 million people in Quebec without power for nine hours.

Read the rest here.

New York Claims Sharp Drop in Health Insurance Costs

Individuals buying health insurance on their own will see their premiums tumble next year in New York State as changes under the federal health care law take effect, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced on Wednesday.

State insurance regulators say they have approved rates for 2014 that are at least 50 percent lower on average than those currently available in New York. Beginning in October, individuals in New York City who now pay $1,000 a month or more for coverage will be able to shop for health insurance for as little as $308 monthly. With federal subsidies, the cost will be even lower.

Supporters of the new health care law, the Affordable Care Act, credited the drop in rates to the online purchasing exchanges the law created, which they say are spurring competition among insurers that are anticipating an influx of new customers. The law requires that an exchange be started in every state. 

Read the rest here.

95 Years Ago

Communists butchered Czar Nicholas II, the Empress, and their five children along with the handful of loyal retainers and servants who had remained with them.

Orthodoxy and Gay Marriage

An interesting article with a lot of supporting links can be read here. Please leave your comments there.

Senate Braces for Filibuster Showdown

The Senate inched closer to an eleventh-hour deal late Monday night in a bid to avert an unprecedented maneuver to change the chamber’s rules governing presidential appointees, with nearly all 100 senators spending more than three hours huddled in a rare bipartisan, closed-door caucus.

Rank-and-file senators came out of the meeting reporting progress on the confirmation prospects of President Obama’s selections to head low-profile but influential agencies. Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) echoed that sentiment but said no resolution had been reached, leaving in place a critical 10 a.m. Tuesday vote that would set up the historic clash over changing the Senate rules on a raw party-line vote so that Cabinet- and agency-level nominees could be confirmed without having to overcome a filibuster.

Read the rest here.

Places I don't see myself moving to...

Thailand has just been removed from my list of possible expatriation destinations. I couldn't even watch the whole thing. I stopped after they got to the bed.

Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Resigns in Spy Scandal

BRUSSELS — The longest-serving government leader in the European Union, Jean-Claude Juncker of Luxembourg, resigned as prime minister on Thursday amid a ballooning intelligence service scandal that began with revelations that the duchy’s former spy chief taped official meetings with a recorder disguised as a wristwatch. 

Read the rest here.

OK. I normally don't regard minor political news from the EU's smallest member state as blog worthy. (No offense to any readers from the Grand Duchy.) But... Luxembourg has a secret spy service? Really? This sounds like the plot of a Peter Sellers comedy.

Maybe we need to keep a closer eye on Rhode Island.

Egypt: Why Political Islam is Incompatible With Democracy

Painful as it was to see the democratic process interrupted so soon after the revolution that overthrew the longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011, the military’s action was necessary. At its most blatant level, there was no way that Mr. Morsi and his affiliates in the Muslim Brotherhood were going to leave power willingly, no matter the severity of the civil discontent over the president’s efforts to consolidate his power while mismanaging major problems from fuel shortages to rising inflation.

When has an Islamist government, however democratically elected, ever ceded power to non-Islamists through a functional political process? Is democracy about periodically displacing absolute power by force or about laying the foundations for its peaceful rotation, including mechanisms not only for transparency in governance but also for the protection of women and religious minorities?

Read the rest here.

Fred Reed on the Zimmerman Trial

Caution: For those afflicted with politically correct sensibilities, this is likely to be offensive.

Has there ever been such focused inattention as the case has produced? Nothing of importance is noticed, and everything lacking it is. The crucial fact to come out of the whole adventure—crucial, and therefore utterly overlooked--was that  Rachel Jeantel, a prosecution witness and black girl aged nineteen years, can´t read. The grim implication of this fact is confirmed by the illiteracy of tweets from blacks regarding the case. “Ima kill dat dumass cracker be racis.” Here we see as neatly displayed as if in a jewelry box why so many young blacks will go nowhere in the remaining fifty years of their lives. They can´t read, or barely can. In a fading techno-industrial civilization—I use the latter word frivolously—this consigns them to a life on charity. Is this not of more note than who started what?

Read the rest here.

Liturgy for the Feast of the Holy Apostles and 400th Anniversary of the Imperial Dynasty

Full Patriarchal Liturgy from the Fortress of Sts. Peter and Paul (St. Petersburg) that also commemorated 400 years of service from the Romanov family. H.I.H. the Grand Duchess Maria was present at the invitation of His Holiness as the head of the Family and heir presumptive to the Imperial Throne. Regrettably there is almost nonstop chatter from commentators.

Part I

Part II

N. Ireland: Dozens Injured in Anti-Catholic Riots

BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) — Protestant hardliners attacked lines of Belfast riot police Friday as Northern Ireland's annual mass marches by the Orange Order brotherhood reached a furious, chaotic end with running street battles at several conflict zones.

In north Belfast, police in flame-retardant suits and helmets deployed a half-dozen armored cars to block a road so that Protestant Orangemen could not march past the edge of Ardoyne, a militant Catholic district that has become the most bitterly contested spot on the city map.

Men jumped on top of the armored barricade and, as hundreds of marchers and supporters formed a sea of often alcohol-fueled fury behind them, wielded pipes, golf clubs, wood planks and even ceremonial swords to vandalize the police vans.

Emboldened, some threw bottles and bricks point-blank into police lines. Many in the mob cheered as one policeman, struck and knocked semiconscious, was dragged to safety by colleagues.

Read the rest here.

ROCOR Closes Down its Western Rite; Bishop Jerome Retired

NEW YORK: July 12, 2013
An Extraordinary Session of the Synod of Bishops is Held

On Wednesday, July 10, 2013, an extraordinary session of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia was held, presided over by its First Hierarch, His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America and New York. Participating in the meeting were permanent members of the Synod of Bishops: His Eminence Archbishop Mark of Berlin and Germany; His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill of San Francisco and Western America; His Eminence Archbishop Gabriel of Montreal and Canada, and His Grace Bishop Peter of Cleveland, Administrator of the Diocese of Chicago and Mid-America. 

Deliberating on the matter of Bishop Jerome of Manhattan, the Synod of Bishops made a decision as follows:

“During a meeting of the Synod of Bishops on Wednesday, July 10, 2013, presided over by the First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, A DECISION WAS MADE: on the activities of Bishop Jerome of Manhattan, Vicar of the President for the Administration of Western Rite Parishes. 

After exhaustive deliberation, IT WAS DECREED: 

1) To halt the ordination of new clergymen for parishes adhering to the Western Rite. 

2) To censure Bishop Jerome for his willfulness in administering the parishes adhering to the Western Rite, and in performing various ecclesial services not approved by the Synod of Bishops, and for criticizing his brethren in letters to clergy and laity. 

3) To deny recognition of the ordination of a group of individuals by Bishop Jerome during a single divine service, and to regularize them following a thorough examination of the candidates.

4) To release Bishop Jerome from all duties, including those of Vicar of the President in administering Western Rite parishes, designating him as retired without the right to serve in the Synodal Cathedral “of the Sign” in New York, or to perform ordinations or award clergymen, and designating his place of residence at St Vladimir Memorial Church of the 1000th Anniversary of the Baptism of Russia in Jackson, NJ.

5) To bless Bishop Jerome to perform divine services within the confines of the Eastern American Diocese with the consent of its Ruling Bishop. 

6) To release Monk Anthony (Bondi) from all of his administrative duties and from the spiritual ministry to the Vicariate of Western Rite Parishes. 

7) To establish a commission to examine the means of integrating clergymen and communities of the Western Rite into the liturgical life of the Russian Orthodox Church, consisting of: Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America and New York, President; Bishop George of Mayfield, Vicar of the Eastern American Diocese; Protopriest David Straut of the Eastern American Diocese, and Protopriest Anthony Nelson of the Mid-American Diocese. 

8) To address an epistle to the clergymen and communities of the Western Rite regarding the need for them to adopt the order of divine services of the Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church, while preserving, when necessary, certain particularities of the Western Rite. 

9) To emphasize our adherence to the rules and traditions of the Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church in general and of the Russian Orthodox Church in particular. 

10) To deem this decree immediately valid and to submit it to the members of the Council of Bishops in the form of a questionnaire for confirmation.” 

The meeting concluded with the singing of “It is Truly Meet.”

Source
HT: Dr. Tighe

Christians Targeted for Retribution in Egypt

CAIRO — The military’s ouster of President Mohamed Morsi has unleashed a new wave of violence by extremist Muslims against Christians whom they blame for having supported the calls to overthrow Mr. Morsi, Egypt’s first Islamist elected leader, according to rights activists.

Since Mr. Morsi’s ouster on July 3, the activists say, a priest has been shot dead in the street, Islamists have painted black X’s on Christian shops to mark them for arson and angry mobs have attacked churches and besieged Christians in their homes. Four Christians were reported slaughtered with knives and machetes in one village last week. 

Read the rest here.

Quote of the day

"It's a racket. Those guys are all crooked."
-Al Capone explaining why he stayed away from Wall Street and the stock market

Making Satire Redundant

Responding to...
Could someone please explain why our [Episcopal] church is openly promoting, supporting and celebrating sin?

Bruce responds...
Yes, I will explain it to you. Sin is in the eye of the beholder. What you view as sin, others view as beauty. I am not a homosexual, but I believe that the same God that made me and others heterosexual made other people homosexual. I think it is counter-intuitive to think that ideas of 3,500 years ago should still be followed today. The fact that a tribe of Hebrews wrote a book 3,500 years ago encapsulating their history and philosophy does not compel us to follow all their ideas as though they were cast in concret for all time. Hopefully we have learned something in the passage of time. We have learned that slavery is ignoble. We have learned that women need not be subservient to men. We have learned that black people are equal to and indeed no different from white people. At leat many of us have learned this. Now we have learned that certain people, about 5%, are born with same-sex orientation. It is not a life style they choose, any more than a person chooses to be born black or hispanic or asian. If Jesus stands for anything, he stands for the proposition that we should love one another, and “by this all men shall know that you are my disciples, by the love you have for one another.” So I suggest that you quit casting stones unless you are that rara avis the person without sin. Homosexuals are not committing sin. They are doing what is natural for them to do by reason of the way God made them. Okay?

From here.
Via MCJ

“Why did you shoot me? I was reading a book”: The new warrior cop is out of control

Sal Culosi is dead because he bet on a football game — but it wasn’t a bookie or a loan shark who killed him. His local government killed him, ostensibly to protect him from his gambling habit.

Several months earlier at a local bar, Fairfax County, Virginia, detective David Baucum overheard the thirty-eight-year-old optometrist and some friends wagering on a college football game. “To Sal, betting a few bills on the Redskins was a stress reliever, done among friends,” a friend of Culosi’s told me shortly after his death. “None of us single, successful professionals ever thought that betting fifty bucks or so on the Virginia–Virginia Tech football game was a crime worthy of investigation.” Baucum apparently did. After overhearing the men wagering, Baucum befriended Culosi as a cover to begin investigating him. During the next several months, he talked Culosi into raising the stakes of what Culosi thought were just more fun wagers between friends to make watching sports more interesting. Eventually Culosi and Baucum bet more than $2,000 in a single day. Under Virginia law, that was enough for police to charge Culosi with running a gambling operation. And that’s when they brought in the SWAT team.

On the night of January 24, 2006, Baucum called Culosi and arranged a time to drop by to collect his winnings. When Culosi, barefoot and clad in a T-shirt and jeans, stepped out of his house to meet the man he thought was a friend, the SWAT team began to move in. Seconds later, Det. Deval Bullock, who had been on duty since 4:00 AM and hadn’t slept in seventeen hours, fired a bullet that pierced Culosi’s heart.

Sal Culosi’s last words were to Baucum, the cop he thought was a friend: “Dude, what are you doing?”

In March 2006, just two months after its ridiculous gambling investigation resulted in the death of an unarmed man, the Fairfax County Police Department issued a press release warning residents not to participate in office betting pools tied to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. The title: “Illegal Gambling Not Worth the Risk.” Given the proximity to Culosi’s death, residents could be forgiven for thinking the police department believed wagering on sports was a crime punishable by execution.

In January 2011, the Culosi family accepted a $2 million settlement offer from Fairfax County. That same year, Virginia’s government spent $20 million promoting the state lottery.

Read the rest here.
HT: Pointedstick

Rand Paul staffer has disturbing record

An aide to Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has a history of  inflammatory comments about race and the Civil War.

As first reported by the Washington Free Beacon, a conservative online publication, Paul new media staffer Jack Hunter has for years been a provocative talk radio host who called himself the “Southern Avenger.” Before that, he was a member of the League of the South, a group that advocates Southern secession.

“Sen. Paul holds his staff to a standard that includes treating every individual with equal protection and respect, without exception,” spokeswoman Moira Bagley said in a statement.

Read the rest here.

'Blasphemy' teen flees Pakistan amid persecution of Christians

A Pakistani teen who provoked an international outcry when she was falsely accused of burning Islam’s holy book is finally out of danger and settling into a new life in Canada.

But while Rimsha Masih and her family have been granted asylum and were quietly relocated to southern Ontario, life for much of the Christian community they left behind in Islamabad remains bleak.

Fearing vigilante justice in the wake of her case, many fled their homes in the city’s Mehrabadi district, according to lawyer Joseph Francis from the Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS).

Read the rest here.

RIP: Ike Godsey

Joe Conley who earned fame for his portrayal of Ike Godsey, the genial proprietor of a country store on the 1970's TV show The Waltons, has reposed at 85. I did not know he was still alive.

Memory eternal.

The dangers of one party government; or how Detroit became America's municipal train wreck

Liberal economists have a ready response to conservatives who fret that U.S. debt might spiral out of control, a la Southern Europe: “America is not Greece.”

It’s true. Greece has much more public debt than does the United States, relative to economic output. Unlike Greece’s euro-denominated obligations, U.S. debt is in U.S. dollars. The U.S. economy is far more competitive than Greece’s tourism-and-tomatoes operation.

Certain parts of the United States, however, are like Greece. Just read emergency manager Kevyn Orr’s134-page report on Detroit, which has $20 billion in unpayable debt.

Couched in the workmanlike prose of a bankruptcy lawyer — which is what Orr is — the document nevertheless tells a harrowing story of institutional rot and social collapse, brought on by decades of government of, by and for special-interest groups. 

Read the rest here.

Andy Murray Becomes First British Wimbledon Champion in 77 Years

WIMBLEDON, England — The final game felt as long as the three-hour slugfest that preceded it.

With history on his racket, Andy Murray let three chances to clinch the match slip away. His mind, which had been so clear despite the sweltering heat, turned hazy. His girlfriend, looking on from a guest box at Centre Court of the All England club, couldn’t clasp her hands, they trembled so much.

But in the context of British sporting history, the interminable final game of Sunday’s Wimbledon tennis championship was an eye-blink.

After fending off three break points, Murray cracked a huge serve that yanked world No. 1 Novak Djokovic wide, then followed with a forehand blast that the Serb plowed into the net. With it, Murray’s lifelong ambition was realized. And Britain’s 77-year wait for a homegrown men’s Wimbledon champion was over.

Camera shutters snapped, tears flowed, and Union Jack and Scottish saltire flags were raised in jubilation upon Murray’s 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 victory.

Read the rest here.

Not a big tennis fan here, but that was something to see. I'm going to guess that this young man will have a hard time tonight finding a pub anywhere in the UK where he can buy a beer with his own money.

Wife of Secretary of State Kerry Seriously Ill

Multiple sources are reporting that Teresa Heinz (Kerry), wife of U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry, has been hospitalized in critical condition. No details as to the nature of the illness were immediately reported.

Ouch!

And finally, here is the best way to discourage ballot abuse: If someone can prove you voted 1,000 times for David Wright or any other player, then the NSA will hunt you down and make you take free tickets to TWO Mets games.

From my former friend Brian.

What a surprise!

Soon after Congress approved the largest overhaul of financial regulation in generations, the Securities and Exchange Commission moved to enforce what it considered one of the simpler parts of a mammoth and complicated law.

The provision required companies to disclose how much more their chief executives made than other employees. All the agency had to do was write a rule telling firms how to comply.

Nearly three years later, the rule remains unfinished, with no sign of when it will be done.

Read the rest here.

Air Disaster in San Francisco

At least two killed and 100 injured or missing. Prayers for all concerned.

Missouri may bring back gas chamber due to dwindling lethal injection supplies

ST. LOUIS — With drugs needed for lethal injection in short supply and courts wrangling over how to execute prisoners without them, Missouri's attorney general is floating one possible solution: Bring back the gas chamber.

In court filings and interviews this week, Attorney General Chris Koster noted that Missouri statutes allow two options for executions: lethal injection and death by gas. Koster's comments come amid his growing frustration over the Missouri Supreme Court's refusal to set execution dates until lethal injection issues are resolved.

"The Missouri death penalty statute has been, in my opinion, unnecessarily entangled in the courts for over a decade," Koster said Wednesday in an email exchange with The Associated Press.

Asked about concerns by some who say using lethal gas could violate condemned inmates' constitutional guarantee against cruel and unusual punishment, Koster responded: "The premeditated murder of an innocent Missourian is cruel and unusual punishment. The lawful implementation of the death penalty, following a fair and reasoned jury trial, is not."

Read the rest here.

Friends are nice...

But having a battleship's 16 inch guns (or the modern equivalent) on our side helps me sleep.

A Sea of Hats

A milliner's dream at the 1933 World Series (Senators vs Giants), when even at the ballgame men dressed with class.

Archbishop of Canterbury calls for Church of England to join sexual revolution

The Archbishop of Canterbury has warned the Church of England that it had to face up to a “revolution” in attitudes to homosexuality.

n his most widely anticipated address since taking over the leadership of the Church, the Most Rev Justin Welby insisted that it was now “absurd and impossible” to ignore an “overwhelming” change in social attitudes.

In a deliberate echo of Harold MacMillan’s 1950 speech which attacked apartheid in South Africa, the Archbishop warned church leaders that they needed to reassess their own attitudes to gay people – even if they do not “like it”.

Read the rest here.

The latest from the church of "What's happening now?"

Obama’s global-warming folly

The economy stagnates. Syria burns . Scandals lap at his feet. China and Russia mock him , even as a “29-year-old hacker” revealed his nation’s spy secrets to the world. How does President Obama respond? With a grandiloquent speech on climate change .

Climate change? It lies at the very bottom of a list of Americans’ concerns (last of 21 — Pew poll). Which means that Obama’s declaration of unilateral American war on global warming, whatever the cost — and it will be heavy — is either highly visionary or hopelessly solipsistic. You decide:

Read the rest here.

Quote of the day...

Which is better – to be ruled by one tyrant three thousand miles away or by three thousand tyrants one mile away?

-Rev. Mather Byles (1706-1788)
HT: Wilson Unplugged

150 years ago

The Confederate garrison of Vicksburg Mississippi surrendered to United States troops commanded by General Ulysses S. Grant. Vicksburg was the last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River and its fall effectively gave control of the river to Federal forces, splitting the Confederacy in two. When word of the surrender was telegraphed to Washington only a day after Lee's defeat at Gettysburg there was much rejoicing. President Lincoln is said to have observed ""The Father of Waters again goes unvexed to the sea."

In the aftermath of the surrender Gen. Grant decided to grant parole to most of the 30,000 surrendered Confederates on humanitarian grounds. It would have been a logistical nightmare trying to feed and transport that many prisoners to POW camps. Later a number of Union POWs were released by the Confederates as part of an official prisoner exchange, however in 1864 the Confederate Government declared the parole of the surrendered soldiers from Vicksburg null and conscripted all those not already exchanged back into the army. This act effectively ended the immemorial practice of parole and prisoner exchanges for the duration of the war.

In Vicksburg the 4th of July would not be formally observed as a holiday until the Second World War.

Feast of the Holy Royal Martyrs of Russia

Holy Royal Martyrs of Russia pray for us!

The Revolution Was A Failure

The easiest way of assessing whether the United States would have been better off without its revolution is to look at those English-speaking countries that rejected the American Revolution and retained the monarchy, particularly Canada, which experienced an influx of American refugees after the British defeat. The U.S. performance should also be assessed against the ideals the new country set for itself — namely, advancing life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

The new republic started advancing life and liberty by keeping a substantial part of its population enslaved. (This, at least, proves the frequent British put-down that Americans don’t have a sense of irony.) By contrast, in British-controlled Canada, the abolition of slavery began almost 20 years before the War of 1812, sometimes called America’s “Second Revolution.” A good number of free blacks fought with the British against the United States in that conflict, even participating in the burning of Washington. And if, as some scholars argue, the Civil War was the unfinished business of the American Revolution, then Americans — like the Russians — paid a very high human cost for their revolutions.

Read the rest here.

Happy Birthday Mr. President

Happy 4th of July

And God Save The King

Iran: President-elect urges end to meddling in private lives

(Reuters) - President-elect Hassan Rouhani called on Wednesday for the government and powerful clergy to end interference in the private lives of the Iranian people, free up Internet access and allow state media to be more open about Iran's problems.

Rouhani's comments began to flesh out his message of moderation at home and better relations abroad that contributed to his surprise election victory last month.

His election prompted a huge outpouring of support from Iranians hungry for change after eight years of domestic security crackdowns and international confrontation under hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Read the rest here.

I don't think this guy is Ron Paul in a turban, but any movement towards respect for civil liberties would be a huge plus for this oppressed people.

U.S. Postal Service Logging All Mail for Law Enforcement

WASHINGTON — Leslie James Pickering noticed something odd in his mail last September: A handwritten card, apparently delivered by mistake, with instructions for postal workers to pay special attention to the letters and packages sent to his home.

“Show all mail to supv” — supervisor — “for copying prior to going out on the street,” read the card. It included Mr. Pickering’s name, address and the type of mail that needed to be monitored. The word “confidential” was highlighted in green.

Read the rest here.

This country is just so screwed.

Bolivian president’s plane forced to land in Austria in hunt for Snowden

MOSCOW — Bolivian President Evo Morales’s plane, forced to land in Austria because of suspicions that American fugitive Edward Snowden was on board, was permitted to fly home Wednesday, Bolivian and European authorities said.

The search for Snowden turned into a major diplomatic fiasco, with Bolivia, Venezuela and several other Latin American countries lashing out at the United States and accusing it of having strong-armed European countries into redirecting the official Bolivian presidential plane.

Read the rest here.

I wonder how the US would react if this were done to Air Force One.

Egypt: Military Overthrows Islamist Government

CAIRO — The Egyptian military removed President Mohamed Morsi from power Wednesday and suspended the constitution in moves it said were aimed at resolving the country’s debilitating political crisis.

In a televised address to the nation after a meeting with a group of civilian political and religious leaders, the head of the powerful armed forces, Gen. Abdel Fatah al-Sissi, said the chief of Egypt’s constitutional court “will assume the presidency” on an interim basis until a new presidential election is held. Sissi said the interim president — Adly Mansour, Egypt’s top judicial authority — will have the right to declare laws during the transitional period.

Read the rest here.

150 Years Ago

(The defense of Little Round Top by the 20th Maine on the 2nd day of the battle.)

On July 3 1863 the three day long Battle of Gettysburg ended with an heroic but futile mass infantry assault on the Federal Army's center commanded by General George Picket (CSA). The assault was easily repelled by the well positioned Union troops who decimated the 15,000 Confederate's as they advanced over open ground in a classic Napoleonic style bayonet attack. Following the failed charge Confederate General Robert E. Lee conceded the battle and withdrew his army back into Virginia. Most historians consider the Gettysburg campaign to have been the South's last real chance to win the Civil War.

Combined casualties from the three days of battle exceeded 50,000 killed, rivaling the number of US losses over the entire Vietnam War.

King Albert II of Belgium to Abdicate

The King of the Belgians, Albert II, has announced his abdication.

In a national televised address, the 79-year-old monarch said he would step down in favour of his son Crown Prince Philippe, 53, on 21 July, Belgium's national day.

He said his health was no longer good enough to fulfil his duties, and it was time to "pass on the torch to the next generation".

He said Philippe was "well prepared" to be his successor.

During Belgium's political deadlock in 2010-11, the king - who was set to mark 20 years on the throne next month - took on the role of mediator.

Read the rest here.

John Paul II to be Canonized

The late Pope John Paul II has had a second miracle attributed to his intercession by authorities in the Roman Catholic Church. This appears to be the final hurdle for his canonization. All that remains now is for the paperwork to be bottom-lined by Pope Francis and a date set for the ceremony. Sources report that the ceremony could occur late this year.

Reuters: Egypt army plan would scrap constitution, parliament

(Reuters) - Egypt's armed forces would suspend the constitution and dissolve an Islamist-dominated parliament under a draft political roadmap to be pursued if Islamist President Mohamed Mursi and his opponents fail to reach a power-sharing agreement by Wednesday, military sources said.

The sources told Reuters the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) was still discussing details of the plan, intended to resolve a political crisis that has brought millions of protesters into the streets. The roadmap could be changed based on political developments and consultations.

Chief-of-staff General Abdel Fattah El-Sisi called in a statement on Monday for Mursi to agree within 48 hours on power-sharing with other political forces, saying the military would otherwise set out its own roadmap for the country's future.

Read the rest here.

The Dangerous State of Race Relations in the US

Watching the Zimmerman trial, I wonder whether we may not be in for big trouble. Racial hostility is much higher in the United States than it is allowed to appear. In the Twittersphere there is much traffic from blacks, saying that if Zimmerman walks, they will kill him themselves, riot, or kill random whites. On many sites around the web, whites of a sort not found on NPR are saying, “Bring it on.” This is not your granny’s recipe for domestic tranquility.

Let’s not kid ourselves. Race underlies almost everything in this country that spends half its time denouncing racism. This is true of trials, and particularly true of show trials. When the police who beat Rodney King, were acquitted by a white jury, the cops being clearly guilty, blacks burned Los Angeles. When OJ Simpson, clearly guilty, was acquitted by a black jury, whites didn’t burn anything, but were angry and perfectly aware that the verdict was political.

The prosecution’s case against Zimmerman is so weak that unless the fix is in, he will walk. Katie, bar the door.

How did we get here? It’s a long story.

Read the rest here.

The Feast of St. John Maximovitch

Patron of this blog and my namesake.

From the you can't make this up file...

Like most churches, St. Mark's Church in the Bowery holds Christian services in its sanctuary every Sunday morning at 11 a.m. Unlike most churches, on the last Sunday in June, the Episcopal church hangs the disco ball, turns up the music and invites a disco diva to lead their music ministry for the annual Gay Pride Disco Mass.

Known for its commitment to the arts, poetry theatre and dance space, St. Mark's in the Bowery is a fixture in New York City's East Village. It is also one of New York's most historic churches -- its cornerstone was put down in 1795.

Read the rest here.
HT: MCJ

To my Episcopalian readers, I know I've said it before. And yes, I can be annoying in my habit of repeating important points. To wit... GET OUT! NOW!

Roman Catholic Bishops Denounce Obama Diplomatic Appointment

Church leaders in culturally conservative Dominican Republic are outraged that President Obama nominated an openly homosexual activist to serve as ambassador to the Caribbean nation.

Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez, the Roman Catholic archbishop of the Dominican capital of Santo Domingo, Bishop Pablo Cedano and the Rev. Cristobal Cardozo, leader of the Dominican Evangelical Fraternity, are urging President Danilo Medino to reject the nominee, Chicago lawyer James Brewster.

“It’s an insult to good Dominican customs,” Father Cardozo said last week.

Bishop Cedano denounced the nomination for showing “a lack of respect,” and added cryptically: “If he arrives, he’ll suffer and will be forced to leave.”

Archbishop Lopez sounded exasperated. “You can expect anything from the U.S.,” he told reporters in Santo Domingo.

Read the rest here.

By the Millions Egyptians Demand End to Islamist Rule

CAIRO — Millions of protesters filled streets across Egypt on Sunday, loudly calling for Mohamed Morsy to resign on the one-year anniversary of his presidency.

The turnout in the capital far exceeded the large demonstrations of the 2011 revolution that ousted Morsy's predecessor, Hosni Mubarak.

People filled Tahrir Square, epicenter of the 2011 uprising, and jammed Nile River bridges leading into it. They converged from all areas of Cairo — from poor to upper-class — chanting and waving Egyptian flags.

Column after column of marchers passed the presidential palace with a deafening roar of “Leave!”

Many waved red cards, symbolizing those used by soccer referees to eject players from a game. They blew horns, banged drums and honked car horns to chants of “The people want the downfall of the regime!”

It was the largest display of public anger against Morsy and his ruling Muslim Brotherhood, which seized parliamentary control after Mubarak's fall.

Read the rest here.

19 Firefighters Killed in Arizona Wildfire

YARNELL, Ariz. — A fast-moving wildfire killed 19 firefighters Sunday afternoon after the blaze raced through an Arizona community, a state forestry official told The Associated Press.

Forestry spokesman Art Morrison said the firefighters were caught by the fire near the central Arizona town of Yarnell about 85 miles northwest of Phoenix. He said the firefighters were forced to deploy their fire shelters, tent-like structures meant to shield firefighters from flames and heat.

Read the rest here.

What a disaster! Memory eternal!

More Evidence That We Are Being Lied To By The Government

Amid the cascading disclosures about National Security Agency surveillance programs, the top lawyer in the U.S. intelligence community opened his remarks at a rare public appearance last week with a lament about how much of the information being spilled was wrong.

“A lie can get halfway around the world before the truth gets its boots on,” said Robert Litt, citing a line often attributed to Mark Twain. “Unfortunately, there’s been a lot of misinformation that’s come out about these programs.”

The remark by Litt, general counsel for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, was aimed at news organizations. But details that have emerged from the exposure of hundreds of pages of previously classified NSA documents indicate that public assertions about these programs by senior U.S. officials have also often been misleading, erroneous or simply false.

Read the rest here.

Europe Furious Over Alleged US Spying

BERLIN — European leaders reacted with fury Sunday to allegations in a German newsmagazine that the United States had conducted a wide-ranging effort to monitor European Union diplomatic offices and computer networks, with some saying that they expected such surveillance from enemies, not their closest economic partner.

It was the latest fallout from National Security Agency information apparently leaked by Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor whose detailing of classified information on the agency’s programs has shined a rare light on U.S. surveillance efforts that range far wider than previously understood.

Read the rest here.