This
This
This
This
And now this
To hell with you Barack Obama, you and your Communist fellow travelers!
Enough is enough!
Thursday, September 29, 2016
Enough already!
This
This
This
This
And now this
To hell with you Barack Obama, you and your Communist fellow travelers!
Enough is enough!
Georgian Church reassures believers—Pope's visit not to cross into ecumenism
In response to some strong reactions among the clergy and faithful to the Pope's upcoming visit to the country of Georgia, Sept. 30-Oct. 2, which will include meeting with His Holiness Patriarch Ilia II, the Patriarchate has released a statement aimed at reassuring those concerned.
"We note that prayerful-sacramental communion between us and the Catholic church of Rome has been severed since medieval times and as long as there are dogmatic differences between us, according to Church law, Orthodox believers do not take part in their services," the statement reads.
The release notes that Pope Francis' visit to Georgia is by invitation of President Margvelashvili and Patriarcha Ilia and aimed at strengthening multilateral relations towards peacekeeping in the region.
Referring to some excited public statements of clergy and laity, the statement calls upon all to remain calm, stating that "It is obvious that the Pope will serve Mass only for Catholics, which means it can’t be considered proselytism, as some people claim."
It should be noted that Pope John Paul II also visited Georgia in November 1999, meeting with Patriarcha Ilia, although no ecumenical prayers took place. The Georgian Church has taken a strict stance on matters of ecumenism, ceasing activity in the World Council of Churches in 1983 and abstaining from the recent pan-Orthodox gathering on Crete, offering critiques of its documents as well as the joint statement stemming from the recent Orthodox-Catholic meeting in Chieti, Italy.
Source.
"We note that prayerful-sacramental communion between us and the Catholic church of Rome has been severed since medieval times and as long as there are dogmatic differences between us, according to Church law, Orthodox believers do not take part in their services," the statement reads.
The release notes that Pope Francis' visit to Georgia is by invitation of President Margvelashvili and Patriarcha Ilia and aimed at strengthening multilateral relations towards peacekeeping in the region.
Referring to some excited public statements of clergy and laity, the statement calls upon all to remain calm, stating that "It is obvious that the Pope will serve Mass only for Catholics, which means it can’t be considered proselytism, as some people claim."
It should be noted that Pope John Paul II also visited Georgia in November 1999, meeting with Patriarcha Ilia, although no ecumenical prayers took place. The Georgian Church has taken a strict stance on matters of ecumenism, ceasing activity in the World Council of Churches in 1983 and abstaining from the recent pan-Orthodox gathering on Crete, offering critiques of its documents as well as the joint statement stemming from the recent Orthodox-Catholic meeting in Chieti, Italy.
Source.
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
Rod Dreher's Latest on Boundaries and the Limits of Acceptable Diversity of Opinion
This is a really excellent piece. Not going to excerpt it. Just go here and read it all.
HT: Dr. Tighe
HT: Dr. Tighe
Monday, September 26, 2016
The Debate
No dog in this fight, I’m not voting for either one. But
I actually watched the whole thing. My impression; with a few
exceptions where he did get in some zingers, I think the wicked witch
was clearly dominant and in control through most of it. This was not a
good night for the Donald.
Welcome to the NFL Mr. Trump. Practice is not optional at this level of competition. Your lack of debate prep showed, badly.
Welcome to the NFL Mr. Trump. Practice is not optional at this level of competition. Your lack of debate prep showed, badly.
Besieged Globalists Ponder What Went Wrong
Until recently, you didn’t hear people being referred to as “globalist” very often. But in a time of rising nationalism, those who see the upside of globalism have become a distinct — and often embattled — tribe.
Last week, the globalists had a big family reunion in New York. The gathering was focused on the United Nations General Assembly, but a growing array of side conferences and summits and dinners also attracted concerned internationalists of every stripe: humanitarians, leaders of nongovernmental organizations, donors, investors, app peddlers, celebrities.
But an absence haunted the week. Almost by definition, nationalists and localists are underrepresented at these global gatherings. Their paucity was especially notable this time, because the rising signs of nationalism — whether in the form of Donald J. Trump’s winning the Republican nomination, the British vote to leave the European Union, or the German backlash against Angela Merkel’s welcome to refugees — hovered like a specter over many of the discussions.
The globalists have lofty aims, of course, like working toward a climate-change agreement, finding a solution for the refugee crisis, and deepening cross-border trade. But there seemed to be a growing realization that solving the problems of the world’s commons becomes harder when the globalists neglect their own backyards.
Again and again, in private conversations and in public forums, the globalists spoke of feeling besieged. Take the valedictory address of former President Bill Clinton, the paterfamilias of the globalist reunion. The Clinton Global Initiative is one of the major factors in helping to transform what had been a week centered on United Nations diplomacy into a broader Davos-on-the-Hudson for international aspirations...
Read the rest here.
Last week, the globalists had a big family reunion in New York. The gathering was focused on the United Nations General Assembly, but a growing array of side conferences and summits and dinners also attracted concerned internationalists of every stripe: humanitarians, leaders of nongovernmental organizations, donors, investors, app peddlers, celebrities.
But an absence haunted the week. Almost by definition, nationalists and localists are underrepresented at these global gatherings. Their paucity was especially notable this time, because the rising signs of nationalism — whether in the form of Donald J. Trump’s winning the Republican nomination, the British vote to leave the European Union, or the German backlash against Angela Merkel’s welcome to refugees — hovered like a specter over many of the discussions.
The globalists have lofty aims, of course, like working toward a climate-change agreement, finding a solution for the refugee crisis, and deepening cross-border trade. But there seemed to be a growing realization that solving the problems of the world’s commons becomes harder when the globalists neglect their own backyards.
Again and again, in private conversations and in public forums, the globalists spoke of feeling besieged. Take the valedictory address of former President Bill Clinton, the paterfamilias of the globalist reunion. The Clinton Global Initiative is one of the major factors in helping to transform what had been a week centered on United Nations diplomacy into a broader Davos-on-the-Hudson for international aspirations...
Read the rest here.
Sunday, September 25, 2016
A Sad Day in the Sports World
First this morning there was the shocking news that Jose Fernandez, a 24 year old Cuban immigrant with an arm like greased lightning, who pitched for the Florida Marlins was killed in what looks like a tragic boating accident. And now just breaking, the news that golf legend (and a true gentleman) Arnold Palmer has reposed at the more respectable age of 87. We should also remember that two other young men whose names are not yet known were killed in the same accident with Jose.
May their memory be eternal.
A Whiff of Schism
At a Catholic parish in Athy, Ireland, a lesbian couple who resigned from parish ministry after entering a legal marriage has returned to active participation—and to loud applause. So now everyone is welcome in St. Michael’s parish, right?
Wrong.
Anthony Murphy, the editor of Catholic Voice—the man who objected to the lesbian couple’s prominent role in parish life—has received so many threats that he is, on the advice of the local police, staying away from the parish. But then again, if you know the whole story, you may wonder why Murphy would ever want to attend Mass at St. Michael’s.
The bitter dispute in this Irish parish is an extreme example of a sort of conflict that has become sadly familiar within Catholic communities. These conflicts erupted in the 1960s, peaked in the 1970s and 1980s, then subsided for a few decades. They have escalated again during the past three years, since the election of Pope Francis. They involve fundamental disagreements about what it means to be Catholic: debates between people with irreconcilable views, who sometimes suggest (and sometimes forthrightly proclaim) that their adversaries must be excluded from the Church. These conflicts pose a clear and present danger to the unity of the Catholic faith, and they will continue until the fundamental questions that are now in dispute have been resolved.
Many good Catholics, motivated by the best of intentions, have sought to downplay these tensions, to avert a showdown. But the conciliatory approach cannot succeed when two sides are irreconcilable. A healthy Church cannot long accept a situation in which some members anathematize what other members endorse. (The worldwide Anglican communion, desperately fighting to avoid formal recognition of a schism that is already apparent to the world, illustrates my point.) Fundamental questions cannot be ignored and finessed and explained away indefinitely. Eventually the failure to answer a question is itself a sort of answer: a judgment that truth and integrity are less important than temporary peace and comfort. Such an answer is unworthy of Christians.
Since the shocking case of St. Michael’s in Athy is the starting point for this essay, let me recount the story:
Read the rest here.
Wrong.
Anthony Murphy, the editor of Catholic Voice—the man who objected to the lesbian couple’s prominent role in parish life—has received so many threats that he is, on the advice of the local police, staying away from the parish. But then again, if you know the whole story, you may wonder why Murphy would ever want to attend Mass at St. Michael’s.
The bitter dispute in this Irish parish is an extreme example of a sort of conflict that has become sadly familiar within Catholic communities. These conflicts erupted in the 1960s, peaked in the 1970s and 1980s, then subsided for a few decades. They have escalated again during the past three years, since the election of Pope Francis. They involve fundamental disagreements about what it means to be Catholic: debates between people with irreconcilable views, who sometimes suggest (and sometimes forthrightly proclaim) that their adversaries must be excluded from the Church. These conflicts pose a clear and present danger to the unity of the Catholic faith, and they will continue until the fundamental questions that are now in dispute have been resolved.
Many good Catholics, motivated by the best of intentions, have sought to downplay these tensions, to avert a showdown. But the conciliatory approach cannot succeed when two sides are irreconcilable. A healthy Church cannot long accept a situation in which some members anathematize what other members endorse. (The worldwide Anglican communion, desperately fighting to avoid formal recognition of a schism that is already apparent to the world, illustrates my point.) Fundamental questions cannot be ignored and finessed and explained away indefinitely. Eventually the failure to answer a question is itself a sort of answer: a judgment that truth and integrity are less important than temporary peace and comfort. Such an answer is unworthy of Christians.
Since the shocking case of St. Michael’s in Athy is the starting point for this essay, let me recount the story:
Read the rest here.
Thursday, September 22, 2016
The New German Catholic Bible is... problematic
GERMANY, September 21, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) — The German Bishops have presented a new “Unified Translation” of the Bible that follows a significant modernization of the language and will be binding for all German-speaking areas starting in 2017.
On Tuesday, the German Bishops Conference (DBK) presented in Fulda the fruit of many years of scientific work: a new edition of the so-called “Unified Translation” (Einheitsübersetzung) of the Bible into German. It’s called “unified” because, from the original published from 1962 onward, these editions are supposed to be used ecumenically, unifying Catholics and Protestants in Germany. The original aim, however, was thwarted in 2005 when Protestants reverted to the Luther translation.
The leader of the research project was the bishop (now emeritus) of Erfurt, Joachim Wanke, who explained that the new edition is a “moderate revision” of the older text. Wanke added that a translation is always also an interpretation. The new edition shows more “braveness” to present “biblical jargon,” he said, reported by kath.net.
According to Jewish tradition, the personal names of God cannot be pronounced, so “Yahweh” is substituted by “Lord” in the new edition. In fact, every paragraph has a change, explained Michael Theobald, president of the German Bible Association.
When the apostle Paul calls two new followers, they are not two men anymore, Andronicus and Junias; rather, a new discovery showed that apparently it was one man and one woman, hence Andronicus and Junia. This led to the discussion that the word “apostle” must be applied to women as well as men (Author’s note: In German, different genders of the word exist and usually gender-ideologists insist on using male and female forms).
Other changes are more ideological.
Most frightening is the change to the iconic Isaiah passage (7:14): “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son” (NIV) will now read: “The virgin has conceived and gives birth to a son.” The change seems to suggest that the virgin is not at all a virgin anymore (after having conceived) and at the same time removes the prophetic impetus by putting the words from the future into the past. This trend continues and a note from the translators explains that the Hebrew word “almáh” means “young woman” instead of “virgin,” as it has been reported. This change goes back to an old — and refuted — disputation of Hebrew apologists:
Read the rest here.
On Tuesday, the German Bishops Conference (DBK) presented in Fulda the fruit of many years of scientific work: a new edition of the so-called “Unified Translation” (Einheitsübersetzung) of the Bible into German. It’s called “unified” because, from the original published from 1962 onward, these editions are supposed to be used ecumenically, unifying Catholics and Protestants in Germany. The original aim, however, was thwarted in 2005 when Protestants reverted to the Luther translation.
The leader of the research project was the bishop (now emeritus) of Erfurt, Joachim Wanke, who explained that the new edition is a “moderate revision” of the older text. Wanke added that a translation is always also an interpretation. The new edition shows more “braveness” to present “biblical jargon,” he said, reported by kath.net.
According to Jewish tradition, the personal names of God cannot be pronounced, so “Yahweh” is substituted by “Lord” in the new edition. In fact, every paragraph has a change, explained Michael Theobald, president of the German Bible Association.
When the apostle Paul calls two new followers, they are not two men anymore, Andronicus and Junias; rather, a new discovery showed that apparently it was one man and one woman, hence Andronicus and Junia. This led to the discussion that the word “apostle” must be applied to women as well as men (Author’s note: In German, different genders of the word exist and usually gender-ideologists insist on using male and female forms).
Other changes are more ideological.
Most frightening is the change to the iconic Isaiah passage (7:14): “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son” (NIV) will now read: “The virgin has conceived and gives birth to a son.” The change seems to suggest that the virgin is not at all a virgin anymore (after having conceived) and at the same time removes the prophetic impetus by putting the words from the future into the past. This trend continues and a note from the translators explains that the Hebrew word “almáh” means “young woman” instead of “virgin,” as it has been reported. This change goes back to an old — and refuted — disputation of Hebrew apologists:
Read the rest here.
Ireland in 1902
A fascinating glimpse of life in Ireland around the turn of the previous century. Most of the video was shot in Cork with the last few minutes in Wexford. It's as close to a time machine as we are likely to find.
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
Former Archbishop Peter Leo Gerety, world's oldest Catholic bishop, dead at 104
From here.
I remember this guy from the early 80’s when I was still a (very young) trad Catholic. His name was a pejorative. He was solid on abortion but in every other respect he was a moonbat hippie Vatican II says we can do whatever we want guy, right down to the tie dye vestments and Mass for bongo drums in G minor. In politics, foreign policy and economics he was only slightly to the left of Gus Hall. His favorite color was definitely red and this predates our modern, very weird, inversion of the normal political color associations. Any hint of conservative (forget Traditionalist) Catholicism was ruthlessly suppressed.
I am surprised that John Paul II and Benedict XVI did not send him to an early grave. But he hung on, long enough to see his ideological soul mate sitting on the throne of Peter.
I remember this guy from the early 80’s when I was still a (very young) trad Catholic. His name was a pejorative. He was solid on abortion but in every other respect he was a moonbat hippie Vatican II says we can do whatever we want guy, right down to the tie dye vestments and Mass for bongo drums in G minor. In politics, foreign policy and economics he was only slightly to the left of Gus Hall. His favorite color was definitely red and this predates our modern, very weird, inversion of the normal political color associations. Any hint of conservative (forget Traditionalist) Catholicism was ruthlessly suppressed.
I am surprised that John Paul II and Benedict XVI did not send him to an early grave. But he hung on, long enough to see his ideological soul mate sitting on the throne of Peter.
UN Sounds Alarm Over Global Debt
The third leg of the world's
intractable depression is yet to come. If trade economists at the United
Nations are right, the next traumatic episode may entail the greatest
debt jubilee in history.
It may also prove to be the definitive crisis of globalized capitalism, the demise of the liberal free-market orthodoxies promoted for almost forty years by the Bretton Woods institutions, the OECD, and the Davos fraternity.
"Alarm bells have been ringing over the explosion of corporate debt levels in emerging economies, which now exceed $25 trillion. Damaging deflationary spirals cannot be ruled out," said the annual report of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Read the rest here.
It may also prove to be the definitive crisis of globalized capitalism, the demise of the liberal free-market orthodoxies promoted for almost forty years by the Bretton Woods institutions, the OECD, and the Davos fraternity.
"Alarm bells have been ringing over the explosion of corporate debt levels in emerging economies, which now exceed $25 trillion. Damaging deflationary spirals cannot be ruled out," said the annual report of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Read the rest here.
Why the U.S. Can’t and Shouldn’t Try to ‘Police’ the World
Anders Fogh Rasmussen essentially wants the U.S. to govern the planet:
The costs of such a role are not only exorbitant, but there is an inherent danger in justifying U.S. actions in these terms. Setting the U.S. up as the enforcer of order around the world effectively puts the U.S. above the rules that all states are supposed to follow, and it gives it an excuse to trample on the sovereignty of other states when the enforcer deems it appropriate. Even if our leaders had consistently good judgment, that would create many opportunities for abuse. Since we know our leaders often make poor choices about how and where to intervene, it opens the door to one disaster after another. We also know our government’s “enforcement” is arbitrary and selective, and when its allies and clients break the rules the U.S. is usually helping them or covering for them. Most of the world doesn’t need and presumably doesn’t want a “policeman” that can do what it likes, shield its clients from punishment, and never has to answer to them, and most Americans don’t want their government to act as one.
Read the rest here.
In this world of interconnections, it has become a cliché to talk about the “global village.“ But right now, the village is burning, and the neighbors are fighting in the light of the flames. Just as we need a policeman to restore order; we need a firefighter to put out the flames of conflict, and a kind of mayor, smart and sensible, to lead the rebuilding.Rasmussen’s op-ed makes many familiar mistakes here. For one thing, the entire “village” isn’t burning, and the vast majority of the world is at peace. The need for both “policeman” and “firefighter” is exaggerated to make it seem as if the world will fall into chaos unless the U.S. acts as the author wants, but that isn’t the case. For another, it can’t possibly be the responsibility of any one government to do all of the things mentioned here. No government has the right or authority to do these things, and there is no single government with either the resources or the competence to police the world. Besides, there simply isn’t enough political support for such a role here in the U.S. Even if the U.S. could competently fill the role Rasmussen describes, it would be a mistake to do it.
Only America can play all these roles, because of all world powers, America alone has the credibility to shape sustainable solutions to these challenges.
The costs of such a role are not only exorbitant, but there is an inherent danger in justifying U.S. actions in these terms. Setting the U.S. up as the enforcer of order around the world effectively puts the U.S. above the rules that all states are supposed to follow, and it gives it an excuse to trample on the sovereignty of other states when the enforcer deems it appropriate. Even if our leaders had consistently good judgment, that would create many opportunities for abuse. Since we know our leaders often make poor choices about how and where to intervene, it opens the door to one disaster after another. We also know our government’s “enforcement” is arbitrary and selective, and when its allies and clients break the rules the U.S. is usually helping them or covering for them. Most of the world doesn’t need and presumably doesn’t want a “policeman” that can do what it likes, shield its clients from punishment, and never has to answer to them, and most Americans don’t want their government to act as one.
Read the rest here.
Saturday, September 17, 2016
Swedish church leaders oppose support for persecuted Christians
Liberal Church leaders in Sweden have opposed an initiative aimed at showing support for persecuted Christians. After the murder of French priest Father Jacques Hamel by jihadists in July three Swedish priests started an initiative called Mitt kors (“My cross”) in which Swedish Christians took “selfies” with a cross to show solidarity with persecuted Christians. However, the initiative has been attacked by liberal church leaders apparently concerned that it might offend Muslims! The head of communications for the Church of Sweden even called it “seditious and un-Christian”. The Church of Sweden's attacks on the "My cross" initiative continued until one of the priests who had started it publicly left the Church of Sweden. In a newspaper article, Johanna Andersson, the priest who has resigned wrote:
"Church leadership has for several weeks been running a campaign against us who started the group 'My cross.' In this campaign, I have been discredited, called 'questionable', 'unclean', 'agitator', 'un-Christian' and attributed xenophobic hidden agendas."
Read the rest here.
HT: Dr. Tighe
You just can't make this up.
"Church leadership has for several weeks been running a campaign against us who started the group 'My cross.' In this campaign, I have been discredited, called 'questionable', 'unclean', 'agitator', 'un-Christian' and attributed xenophobic hidden agendas."
Read the rest here.
HT: Dr. Tighe
You just can't make this up.
Nigel Farage: Going out with a bang
He got loaded and went for a midnight dip, au naturale according to at least one source, off the Bournemouth pier.
Anyways, best wishes wherever life takes you Nigel. And if by some fluke we should ever meet, the first round is on me.
UK armed forces 'could not withstand attack by major power like Russia'
The UK’s armed forces would not be able to protect the country from a full-scale attack by Russia or another major military power, the recently retired commander of joint forces command has said.
Gen Sir Richard Barrons, who stepped down in April, delivered a scathing assessment of the UK military in a 10-page private memorandum to the defence secretary, Sir Michael Fallon.
It comes despite the government’s decision to increase defence spending by nearly £5bn by 2020/21 and to meet Nato’s target of 2% of GDP for the rest of the decade.
In his memo, Barrons said: “Capability that is foundational to all major armed forces has been withered by design.
“There is a sense that modern conflict is ordained to be only as small and as short term as we want to afford, and that is absurd.
“The failure to come to terms with this will not matter at all if we are lucky in the way the world happens to turn out, but it could matter a very great deal if even a few of the risks now at large conspire against the UK.”
Read the rest here.
I have posted on this before, but it's worth repeating. Britain has effectively joined most of the rest of Western Europe in becoming a military protectorate of the United States.
Gen Sir Richard Barrons, who stepped down in April, delivered a scathing assessment of the UK military in a 10-page private memorandum to the defence secretary, Sir Michael Fallon.
It comes despite the government’s decision to increase defence spending by nearly £5bn by 2020/21 and to meet Nato’s target of 2% of GDP for the rest of the decade.
In his memo, Barrons said: “Capability that is foundational to all major armed forces has been withered by design.
“There is a sense that modern conflict is ordained to be only as small and as short term as we want to afford, and that is absurd.
“The failure to come to terms with this will not matter at all if we are lucky in the way the world happens to turn out, but it could matter a very great deal if even a few of the risks now at large conspire against the UK.”
Read the rest here.
I have posted on this before, but it's worth repeating. Britain has effectively joined most of the rest of Western Europe in becoming a military protectorate of the United States.
Thursday, September 15, 2016
Pandas aren't cute, they're death-loving oxygen-thieves. Let's just eat the idiot-bears
Let me get straight to the point. Pandas are pointless, wasteful and silly. They should die.
Let’s look at the facts here. A lot of conservationists argue that pandas are the victims of man’s actions, that urbanisation and industrialisation is killing the precious bamboo they need to live.
Eh? Bamboo? They are bears, but they eat leaves. Hello, excuse me? Panda bear. Bear. You know, large, aggressive carnivore. Big teeth, claws. Grrrr. You’re supposed to eat meat.
What on earth is with the bamboo thing? A panda’s digestive system is still set up to digest meat. The reason they can only eat only one of the hundreds of different types of bamboo the world has to offer is that their guts aren’t supposed to break down bamboo. It’s elevating fussiness to the level of suicide. It’s like me eating only car tyres and gravel and then asking for sympathy when I starve to death. Idiots.
Read the rest here.
Let’s look at the facts here. A lot of conservationists argue that pandas are the victims of man’s actions, that urbanisation and industrialisation is killing the precious bamboo they need to live.
Eh? Bamboo? They are bears, but they eat leaves. Hello, excuse me? Panda bear. Bear. You know, large, aggressive carnivore. Big teeth, claws. Grrrr. You’re supposed to eat meat.
What on earth is with the bamboo thing? A panda’s digestive system is still set up to digest meat. The reason they can only eat only one of the hundreds of different types of bamboo the world has to offer is that their guts aren’t supposed to break down bamboo. It’s elevating fussiness to the level of suicide. It’s like me eating only car tyres and gravel and then asking for sympathy when I starve to death. Idiots.
Read the rest here.
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Happy New Year!
For those who hew to really really traditional church calendars, today is the first day of the year 7525 since the creation of the world.
NY Times Posts anti-Russian Orthodox Hit Piece
There really is no other way to describe it. The lack of balance and naked journalistic bias is breathtaking, even for the Times. How dare a church that doesn't support the pan-sexual dogma of the enlightened West build churches and preach conservative values in... FRANCE! Reading the article one can almost feel the editorial board on the verge of a collective stroke.
Monday, September 12, 2016
Anti-Semitism and the British Left
LONDON — Opponents of Jeremy Corbyn, the left-wing leader of Britain’s Labour Party, usually claim one of two things about him: that his politics are extreme and will lead the party to electoral oblivion, or that his values are admirable but he is too incompetent to put them into effect.
These two arguments seem contradictory, but in Mr. Corbyn’s handling of an anti-Semitism scandal that has hung over the Labour Party, they have converged. In April, after months of accusations of anti-Semitism among party members, particularly on social media, Mr. Corbyn ordered an inquiry and asked Shami Chakrabarti, who had just stepped down as the director of Britain’s leading civil liberties organization, Liberty, to head it. So far, so good.
The aftermath of her report, however, has aggravated the very wounds it was supposed to heal. It was inauspicious that, at the news conference in June for its publication, Mr. Corbyn looked on in silence as one of his supporters accused Ruth Smeeth, a Jewish member of Parliament, of conspiring against the party leader. Ms. Smeeth left the room in tears.
Worse followed when, a few weeks later, Mr. Corbyn broke his vow not to create any new members of the House of Lords by nominating Ms. Chakrabarti for a peerage. Whatever justification there might be for this award, it gave the impression of a quid pro quo: that Mr. Corbyn was willing to compromise his lifelong hostility to Britain’s system of unelected privilege in return for an inquiry that pulled its punches.
Read the rest here.
The problem is not confined to the left in Britain. It is widespread in Europe and among progressives here. Indeed it is rampant in the lefty circles that dominate our college campuses.
These two arguments seem contradictory, but in Mr. Corbyn’s handling of an anti-Semitism scandal that has hung over the Labour Party, they have converged. In April, after months of accusations of anti-Semitism among party members, particularly on social media, Mr. Corbyn ordered an inquiry and asked Shami Chakrabarti, who had just stepped down as the director of Britain’s leading civil liberties organization, Liberty, to head it. So far, so good.
The aftermath of her report, however, has aggravated the very wounds it was supposed to heal. It was inauspicious that, at the news conference in June for its publication, Mr. Corbyn looked on in silence as one of his supporters accused Ruth Smeeth, a Jewish member of Parliament, of conspiring against the party leader. Ms. Smeeth left the room in tears.
Worse followed when, a few weeks later, Mr. Corbyn broke his vow not to create any new members of the House of Lords by nominating Ms. Chakrabarti for a peerage. Whatever justification there might be for this award, it gave the impression of a quid pro quo: that Mr. Corbyn was willing to compromise his lifelong hostility to Britain’s system of unelected privilege in return for an inquiry that pulled its punches.
Read the rest here.
The problem is not confined to the left in Britain. It is widespread in Europe and among progressives here. Indeed it is rampant in the lefty circles that dominate our college campuses.
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Woman Sexually Assaulted by Sailor in 1945 Dies
Her son, Joshua Friedman, said she died on Thursday in Virginia after suffering a series of ailments, including pneumonia, NBC News reported.
CBS News said she would be laid to rest with her late husband, Mischa Elliot Friedman, at Arlington national cemetery in Virginia.
Read the rest here.
Memory eternal.
Saturday, September 10, 2016
Kaine Predicts Catholic Church Will Change its Teaching on Gay Marriage
Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Kaine, a practicing Catholic, on Saturday described his evolution on same-sex marriage and predicted that his church would change its views as well.
“My full, complete, unconditional support for marriage equality is at odds with the current doctrine of the church that I still attend,” Kaine said at a dinner celebrating gay rights. “But I think that’s going to change, too.”
Kaine, a senator from Virginia, spoke to a crowd of about 3,700 attending the 20th Annual Human Rights Campaign National Dinner in Washington, at which he also touted reasons why his running mate, presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, was far better on equality issues than Republican Donald Trump.
“Donald Trump is no friend to this community, and he’s no friend to the value of equality.”
Kaine said he wanted to be honest about his own struggles with reconciling his advocacy of equal rights with the teachings of a church that restricts marriage to a man and woman.
Read the rest here.
This man is a heretic.
“My full, complete, unconditional support for marriage equality is at odds with the current doctrine of the church that I still attend,” Kaine said at a dinner celebrating gay rights. “But I think that’s going to change, too.”
Kaine, a senator from Virginia, spoke to a crowd of about 3,700 attending the 20th Annual Human Rights Campaign National Dinner in Washington, at which he also touted reasons why his running mate, presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, was far better on equality issues than Republican Donald Trump.
“Donald Trump is no friend to this community, and he’s no friend to the value of equality.”
Kaine said he wanted to be honest about his own struggles with reconciling his advocacy of equal rights with the teachings of a church that restricts marriage to a man and woman.
Read the rest here.
This man is a heretic.
Friday, September 09, 2016
Civil Rights Commission: ‘Religious Liberty,’ ‘Religious Freedom’ Code Words for Bigotry
A new report by the United States Commission on Civil Rights supports
the majority on the federal commission, who say that efforts to protect
religious liberty and freedom are really a way for individuals and
entities to discriminate against people who don’t share their beliefs.
“The phrases ‘religious liberty’ and ‘religious freedom’ will stand for nothing except hypocrisy so long as they remain code words for discrimination, intolerance, racism, sexism, homophobia, Islamophobia, Christian supremacy or any form of intolerance,” Martin Castro, chairman of the commission, said in a statement included in the 296-page report.
“Religious liberty was never intended to give one religion dominion over other religions, or a veto power over the civil rights and civil liberties of others,” Castro said. “However, today, as in the past, religion is being used as both a weapon and a shield by those seeking to deny others equality.
“In our nation’s past religion has been used to justify slavery and later, Jim Crow laws,” Castro said. “We now see ‘religious liberty’ arguments sneaking their way back into our political and constitutional discourse (just like the concept of ‘state rights’) in an effort to undermine the rights of some Americans.
“This generation of Americans must stand up and speak out to ensure that religion never again be twisted to deny others the full promise of America,” Castro said.
Read the rest here.
“The phrases ‘religious liberty’ and ‘religious freedom’ will stand for nothing except hypocrisy so long as they remain code words for discrimination, intolerance, racism, sexism, homophobia, Islamophobia, Christian supremacy or any form of intolerance,” Martin Castro, chairman of the commission, said in a statement included in the 296-page report.
“Religious liberty was never intended to give one religion dominion over other religions, or a veto power over the civil rights and civil liberties of others,” Castro said. “However, today, as in the past, religion is being used as both a weapon and a shield by those seeking to deny others equality.
“In our nation’s past religion has been used to justify slavery and later, Jim Crow laws,” Castro said. “We now see ‘religious liberty’ arguments sneaking their way back into our political and constitutional discourse (just like the concept of ‘state rights’) in an effort to undermine the rights of some Americans.
“This generation of Americans must stand up and speak out to ensure that religion never again be twisted to deny others the full promise of America,” Castro said.
Read the rest here.
The Kremlin Really Believes That Hillary Wants to Start a War With Russia
If Hillary Clinton is elected president, the world will remember Aug. 25 as the day she began the Second Cold War.
In a speech last month nominally about Donald Trump, Clinton called Russian President Vladimir Putin the godfather of right-wing, extreme nationalism. To Kremlin-watchers, those were not random epithets. Two years earlier, in the most famous address of his career, Putin accused the West of backing an armed seizure of power in Ukraine by “extremists, nationalists, and right-wingers.” Clinton had not merely insulted Russia’s president: She had done so in his own words. Worse, they were words originally directed at neo-Nazis. In Moscow, this was seen as a reprise of Clinton’s comments comparing Putin to Hitler. It injected an element of personal animus into an already strained relationship — but, more importantly, it set up Putin as the representative of an ideology that is fundamentally opposed to the United States.
Even as relations between Russia and the West have sunk to new lows in the wake of 2014’s revolution in Ukraine, the Kremlin has long contended that a Cold War II is impossible. That’s because, while there may be differences over, say, the fate of Donetsk, there is no longer a fundamental ideological struggle dividing East and West. To Russian ears, Clinton seemed determined in her speech to provide this missing ingredient for bipolar enmity, painting Moscow as the vanguard for racism, intolerance, and misogyny around the globe.
The nation Clinton described was unrecognizable to its citizens. Anti-woman? Putin’s government provides working mothers with three years of subsidized family leave. Intolerant? The president personally attended the opening of Moscow’s great mosque. Racist? Putin often touts Russia’s ethnic diversity. To Russians, it appeared that Clinton was straining to fabricate a rationale for hostilities.
Read the rest here.
In a speech last month nominally about Donald Trump, Clinton called Russian President Vladimir Putin the godfather of right-wing, extreme nationalism. To Kremlin-watchers, those were not random epithets. Two years earlier, in the most famous address of his career, Putin accused the West of backing an armed seizure of power in Ukraine by “extremists, nationalists, and right-wingers.” Clinton had not merely insulted Russia’s president: She had done so in his own words. Worse, they were words originally directed at neo-Nazis. In Moscow, this was seen as a reprise of Clinton’s comments comparing Putin to Hitler. It injected an element of personal animus into an already strained relationship — but, more importantly, it set up Putin as the representative of an ideology that is fundamentally opposed to the United States.
Even as relations between Russia and the West have sunk to new lows in the wake of 2014’s revolution in Ukraine, the Kremlin has long contended that a Cold War II is impossible. That’s because, while there may be differences over, say, the fate of Donetsk, there is no longer a fundamental ideological struggle dividing East and West. To Russian ears, Clinton seemed determined in her speech to provide this missing ingredient for bipolar enmity, painting Moscow as the vanguard for racism, intolerance, and misogyny around the globe.
The nation Clinton described was unrecognizable to its citizens. Anti-woman? Putin’s government provides working mothers with three years of subsidized family leave. Intolerant? The president personally attended the opening of Moscow’s great mosque. Racist? Putin often touts Russia’s ethnic diversity. To Russians, it appeared that Clinton was straining to fabricate a rationale for hostilities.
Read the rest here.
Wednesday, September 07, 2016
70 Year Old Man Robs Bank- Preferring Jail to His Wife
A 70-year-old man charged with robbing a Kansas City, Kan., bank said he did it because he preferred a jail cell over living with his wife.
Lawrence John Ripple is charged in federal court with the Friday afternoon robbery of the Bank of Labor at 756 Minnesota Ave.
According to court documents, Ripple handed a teller a note that read, “I have a gun, give me money.”
The teller complied.
But instead of fleeing, Ripple took the money and then took a seat in the bank lobby, according to the documents.
When a bank security guard approached him, Ripple told the guard, “I’m the guy you’re looking for.”
The guard took the money from Ripple and held him until police arrived, which wasn’t long, because Kansas City, Kan., police headquarters is on the same block.
When he was questioned later by investigators, Ripple told him that he and his wife had argued and he “no longer wanted to be in that situation,” according to the documents.
“Ripple wrote out his demand note in front of his wife … and told her he’d rather be in jail than at home,” an FBI agent wrote in the affidavit filed in support of the robbery charge.
Read the rest here.
The judge should sentence him to house arrest.
Lawrence John Ripple is charged in federal court with the Friday afternoon robbery of the Bank of Labor at 756 Minnesota Ave.
According to court documents, Ripple handed a teller a note that read, “I have a gun, give me money.”
The teller complied.
But instead of fleeing, Ripple took the money and then took a seat in the bank lobby, according to the documents.
When a bank security guard approached him, Ripple told the guard, “I’m the guy you’re looking for.”
The guard took the money from Ripple and held him until police arrived, which wasn’t long, because Kansas City, Kan., police headquarters is on the same block.
When he was questioned later by investigators, Ripple told him that he and his wife had argued and he “no longer wanted to be in that situation,” according to the documents.
“Ripple wrote out his demand note in front of his wife … and told her he’d rather be in jail than at home,” an FBI agent wrote in the affidavit filed in support of the robbery charge.
Read the rest here.
The judge should sentence him to house arrest.
Tuesday, September 06, 2016
Monday, September 05, 2016
Sunday, September 04, 2016
350 Years Ago: The Great Fire of London As it Happened
It is now 350 years since the Great Fire of London razed the city's medieval heart to the ground. But at such a distance it is easy to forget the human drama which played out as thousands of people lost their homes, their livelihoods, and in some cases their lives.
This is the story of a city on knife's edge, riven by religious and political tensions, made vulnerable to disaster by its own neglect and avarice. It is a story of official blunders which turned a minor, commonplace accident into an all-consuming conflagration. It's a story of chaos, mass hysteria, profiteering and racist violence – but it is also a story of some heroism and charity, from royal and commoner alike. It unfolds over 72 hours, beginning at midnight on September 2, 1666, and ending at the climax of the fire's worse day. Of course, in an era without reliable watches, all timings are approximate.
For this account I am indebted to the Museum of London, as well as the following sources:
- The Diaries of Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn
- Thomas Vincent – God's Terrible Voice In The City
- Walter George Bell – The Great Fire of London In 1666
- Adrian Tinniswood – The Great Fire of London: The Essential Guide.
Read the rest here.
Saturday, September 03, 2016
Catholic priest suspended for homosexual advocacy
A New Jersey priest has been suspended from public ministry because of his persistent homosexual advocacy.
Father Warren Hall revealed on Twitter that he had been suspended by Archbishop John Myers of Newark, because his public statements and actions are “confusing the faithful.” Last year Father Hall had been removed from his post as chaplain at Seton Hall University because of his outspoken support for homosexual causes.
Father Hall indicated that he thought his suspension showed that Archbishop Myers was out of step with Catholic thinking. He wrote on Twitter that “@Pontifex’s Reform are taking too long.”
From here.
Father Warren Hall revealed on Twitter that he had been suspended by Archbishop John Myers of Newark, because his public statements and actions are “confusing the faithful.” Last year Father Hall had been removed from his post as chaplain at Seton Hall University because of his outspoken support for homosexual causes.
Father Hall indicated that he thought his suspension showed that Archbishop Myers was out of step with Catholic thinking. He wrote on Twitter that “@Pontifex’s Reform are taking too long.”
From here.
Rod Dreher: Would you encourage faithful orthodox Christians to serve in the US military?
Dreher's post on the military and the mess it has become.
My answer...
No. There is a difference between tolerance and compulsion. It is one thing to say we might tolerate homosexuals in the ranks provided they keep their personal affairs to themselves. Some might well argue against even that. (And for the record I never cared for the barracks room talk/boasting by my heterosexual shipmates either.) But it is altogether another thing to demand not just tolerance of someone's private life, but actual affirmation of it. The last straw for me was the decision to permit, and demand affirmation of transgenderism in the military. The armed forces are not the place for people with personality disorders to sort out their issues. And the demand that people affirm lifestyle choices that are flatly incompatible with Christian morality and faith is unacceptable. If I were still in and only one more hitch from retirement I'm not sure what I'd do. But I can't in good conscience encourage anyone to enlist under the current conditions.
I suggest that they do their recruiting in the Castro district of San Francisco.
My answer...
No. There is a difference between tolerance and compulsion. It is one thing to say we might tolerate homosexuals in the ranks provided they keep their personal affairs to themselves. Some might well argue against even that. (And for the record I never cared for the barracks room talk/boasting by my heterosexual shipmates either.) But it is altogether another thing to demand not just tolerance of someone's private life, but actual affirmation of it. The last straw for me was the decision to permit, and demand affirmation of transgenderism in the military. The armed forces are not the place for people with personality disorders to sort out their issues. And the demand that people affirm lifestyle choices that are flatly incompatible with Christian morality and faith is unacceptable. If I were still in and only one more hitch from retirement I'm not sure what I'd do. But I can't in good conscience encourage anyone to enlist under the current conditions.
I suggest that they do their recruiting in the Castro district of San Francisco.
Thursday, September 01, 2016
Deaconesses: This is Not That
...Orthodox feminists often collapse the office of deacon and deaconess
into a single office, referring sometimes to “male and female deacons”,
as if the office were identical for both. It is true that Chrysostom
referred to “woman deacons”, but he also knew that the two offices were
utterly different in kind and function. The feminists pushing hard for
the creation of an order of female deacons often emphasize that the rite
wherein the candidate was made a deaconess was a true ordination (as
opposed to a simple blessing), a true cheirotonia, not a mere cheirothesia,
and that it took place at the altar. That is true, but the
anachronistic distinction between ordination and blessing hides the
profound distinction between the two ordinations, and therefore the
office to which the candidate was ordained. That is, both male deacons
and female deaconesses were given the ceremonial orar (which was rapidly becoming customary among subdeacons also, indicating that the bestowal of the orar
did not indicate sacramental parity between deacon and deaconess), but
the deaconess wore it differently than did the deacon. The deacon was
given the chalice during his ordination, so that he could help
administer it during the Eucharist that followed, while the deaconess
immediately returned the chalice, expressing her exclusion from
Eucharistic administration. Also, the deacon was ordained while kneeling
on his knee, resting his head on the altar, while the deaconess stood
and merely inclined her head. Most significantly of all, the prayers of
ordination for the two orders were entirely different. These liturgical
differences were not merely stylistic; they reveal that the two orders
are different in kind.
Read the rest here.
Read the rest here.
Spain Threatens Four Catholic Bishops With Criminal Prosecution
MADRID, Spain August 31, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) – Only weeks after a failed attempt to secure the prosecution of the Archbishop of Valencia for denouncing the gay political agenda, homosexual groups are calling for the prosecution of four other Spanish bishops for criticizing a new homosexual “protection” law recently passed by the Province of Madrid.
Three of the bishops are being threatened with a criminal complaint for having written and published a condemnation of Madrid’s new “Law of Integral Protection against LGTBIphobia and Discrimination for Reasons of Orientation and Sexual Identity,” which prohibits all “degrading” and “discriminatory” statements regarding homosexuals and transsexuals. The fourth bishop is being criminally investigated for expressing support for the statement of the first three.
The Madrid LGBTI “protection” law “seeks to prohibit the public teaching of the Bible” and to “prohibit, even, public prayer for those people who ask for prayer for a change of orientation in their lives,” according to the bishops of the dioceses of Alcalá de Henares and Getafe, Juan Antonio Reig Pla and Joaquín María López, as well as an auxiliary bishop of Getafe, José Rico Pavés.
The law constitutes “an attack against religious liberty and liberty of conscience,” an “attack and censure against the right of parents to educate their children in accordance with their own beliefs and convictions,” and “an attack against freedom of expression, freedom of teaching, the freedom of scientists and professionals in search of the truth, and the freedom of people to orient their lives or to ask for help, including religious help, for that which they need,” the bishops write.
The bishops are referring to provisions in the law prohibiting any speech that constitutes “degrading expressions” regarding homosexuals or transsexuals, and outlaws “acts that imply isolation, rejection, or public and notorious disrespect for people because of their sexual orientation and their gender identity or gender expression.” The law also prohibits any form of therapy, even for religious reasons, for those who suffer from same-sex attraction.
Those who violate the statutes of the law can be fined up to 45,000 Euros ($50,382 USD) and may be deprived of all government benefits for up to three years.
Read the rest here.
I am beginning to think that the Communists won the Civil War.
Three of the bishops are being threatened with a criminal complaint for having written and published a condemnation of Madrid’s new “Law of Integral Protection against LGTBIphobia and Discrimination for Reasons of Orientation and Sexual Identity,” which prohibits all “degrading” and “discriminatory” statements regarding homosexuals and transsexuals. The fourth bishop is being criminally investigated for expressing support for the statement of the first three.
The Madrid LGBTI “protection” law “seeks to prohibit the public teaching of the Bible” and to “prohibit, even, public prayer for those people who ask for prayer for a change of orientation in their lives,” according to the bishops of the dioceses of Alcalá de Henares and Getafe, Juan Antonio Reig Pla and Joaquín María López, as well as an auxiliary bishop of Getafe, José Rico Pavés.
The law constitutes “an attack against religious liberty and liberty of conscience,” an “attack and censure against the right of parents to educate their children in accordance with their own beliefs and convictions,” and “an attack against freedom of expression, freedom of teaching, the freedom of scientists and professionals in search of the truth, and the freedom of people to orient their lives or to ask for help, including religious help, for that which they need,” the bishops write.
The bishops are referring to provisions in the law prohibiting any speech that constitutes “degrading expressions” regarding homosexuals or transsexuals, and outlaws “acts that imply isolation, rejection, or public and notorious disrespect for people because of their sexual orientation and their gender identity or gender expression.” The law also prohibits any form of therapy, even for religious reasons, for those who suffer from same-sex attraction.
Those who violate the statutes of the law can be fined up to 45,000 Euros ($50,382 USD) and may be deprived of all government benefits for up to three years.
Read the rest here.
I am beginning to think that the Communists won the Civil War.
Monday, August 29, 2016
Congrats to the World Champs!
Saturday, August 27, 2016
Good Luck to Maine Endwell Little League
The ME boys Little League team plays Tennessee at 3:30 PM (EST) for the US National Championship today. To say this is the biggest thing to hit my home town in... well forever, would be a gross understatement. If they win, they would become the first Little League US Champion team from New York since 1964. They would also go on to play for the LL World Series championship title.
Thursday, August 25, 2016
Msgr Charles Pope: Comfort Catholicism Has to Go; It is Time to Prepare for Persecution
There is a growing consternation among some Catholics that the Church, at least in her leadership, is living in the past. It seems there is no awareness that we are at war and that Catholics need to be summoned to sobriety, increasing separation from the wider culture, courageous witness and increasing martyrdom.
It is long past dark in our culture, but in most parishes and dioceses it is business as usual and there is anything but the sober alarm that is really necessary in times like these.
Scripture says, Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle (Psalm 144:1). Preparing people for war — a moral and spiritual war, not a shooting war — should include a clear setting forth of the errors of our time, and a clear and loving application of the truth to error and light to darkness.
But there is little such training evident in Catholic circles today where, in the average parish, there exists a sort of shy and quiet atmosphere — a fear of addressing “controversial” issues lest someone be offended, or the parish be perceived as “unwelcoming.”
But, if there ever was a time to wear soft garments, it is not now.
The Church of the 1970s-1990s was surely well described as the era of “beige Catholicism” (a term coined by Bishop Robert Barron, and not by way of flattery either). Those of us who lived through that era, especially in the 1970s, remember it as a time when many parish signs beckoned people to “come and experience our welcoming and warm Catholic community.” Our most evident desire was to fit in and be thought of as “normal.” Yes, Catholics were just like everyone else; and we had been working very hard to do that, at least since the early 1960s when John F. Kennedy was elected. Catholics had finally “made it” into the mainstream; we had been accepted by the culture.
Church architecture and interiors became minimalist and non-descript. Music and language in the liturgy became folksy. Marian processions, Corpus Christi processions, many things of distinctive and colorful Catholicism all but disappeared. Even our crucifixes disappeared, to be replaced by floating “resurrection Jesus” images. The emphasis was on blending in, speaking to things that made people feel comfortable, and affirming rather than challenging. If there was to be any challenge at all it would be on “safe” exhortations such as not abusing the environment or polluting, not judging or being intolerant, and so forth.
Again, if there ever was a time to wear soft garments, it is not now. It is zero-dark-thirty in our post-Christian culture. And while we may wish to blame any number of factors for the collapse, we cannot exclude ourselves. We who are supposed to be the light of the world, with Christ shining in us, have preferred to hide our light under a basket and lay low. The ruins of our families and culture are testimony to the triumph of error and the suppression of the truth.
Read the rest here.
I think this is an excellent article with many points that can be applied by non-Catholics.
It is long past dark in our culture, but in most parishes and dioceses it is business as usual and there is anything but the sober alarm that is really necessary in times like these.
Scripture says, Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle (Psalm 144:1). Preparing people for war — a moral and spiritual war, not a shooting war — should include a clear setting forth of the errors of our time, and a clear and loving application of the truth to error and light to darkness.
But there is little such training evident in Catholic circles today where, in the average parish, there exists a sort of shy and quiet atmosphere — a fear of addressing “controversial” issues lest someone be offended, or the parish be perceived as “unwelcoming.”
But, if there ever was a time to wear soft garments, it is not now.
The Church of the 1970s-1990s was surely well described as the era of “beige Catholicism” (a term coined by Bishop Robert Barron, and not by way of flattery either). Those of us who lived through that era, especially in the 1970s, remember it as a time when many parish signs beckoned people to “come and experience our welcoming and warm Catholic community.” Our most evident desire was to fit in and be thought of as “normal.” Yes, Catholics were just like everyone else; and we had been working very hard to do that, at least since the early 1960s when John F. Kennedy was elected. Catholics had finally “made it” into the mainstream; we had been accepted by the culture.
Church architecture and interiors became minimalist and non-descript. Music and language in the liturgy became folksy. Marian processions, Corpus Christi processions, many things of distinctive and colorful Catholicism all but disappeared. Even our crucifixes disappeared, to be replaced by floating “resurrection Jesus” images. The emphasis was on blending in, speaking to things that made people feel comfortable, and affirming rather than challenging. If there was to be any challenge at all it would be on “safe” exhortations such as not abusing the environment or polluting, not judging or being intolerant, and so forth.
Again, if there ever was a time to wear soft garments, it is not now. It is zero-dark-thirty in our post-Christian culture. And while we may wish to blame any number of factors for the collapse, we cannot exclude ourselves. We who are supposed to be the light of the world, with Christ shining in us, have preferred to hide our light under a basket and lay low. The ruins of our families and culture are testimony to the triumph of error and the suppression of the truth.
Read the rest here.
I think this is an excellent article with many points that can be applied by non-Catholics.
French support for the EU crumbles on the Left and Right
The drama of Brexit may soon be
matched or eclipsed by crystallizing events in France, where the Long
Slump is at last taking its political toll.
A democracy can endure deflation policies for only so long. The attrition has wasted the French centre-right and the centre-left by turns, and now threatens the Fifth Republic itself.
The maturing crisis has echoes of 1936, when the French people tired of 'deflation decrees' and turned to the once unthinkable Front Populaire, smashing what remained of the Gold Standard.
Former Gaulliste president Nicolas Sarkozy has caught the headlines this week, launching a come-back bid with a package of hard-Right policies unseen in a western European democracy in modern times.
But the uproar on the Left is just as revealing. Arnaud Montebourg, the enfant terrible of the Socialist movement, has launched his own bid for the Socialist Party with a critique of such ferocity that it bears examination.
Read the rest here.
A democracy can endure deflation policies for only so long. The attrition has wasted the French centre-right and the centre-left by turns, and now threatens the Fifth Republic itself.
The maturing crisis has echoes of 1936, when the French people tired of 'deflation decrees' and turned to the once unthinkable Front Populaire, smashing what remained of the Gold Standard.
Former Gaulliste president Nicolas Sarkozy has caught the headlines this week, launching a come-back bid with a package of hard-Right policies unseen in a western European democracy in modern times.
But the uproar on the Left is just as revealing. Arnaud Montebourg, the enfant terrible of the Socialist movement, has launched his own bid for the Socialist Party with a critique of such ferocity that it bears examination.
Read the rest here.
University of Chicago Affirms Freedom of Speech and Thought
Incoming first-years received a letter
from the College today making clear that the University of Chicago does
not condone safe spaces or trigger warnings.
“Our commitment to academic freedom means that we do not support so-called ‘trigger warnings,’ we do not cancel invited speakers because their topics might prove controversial, and we do not condone the creation of intellectual ‘safe spaces’ where individuals can retreat from ideas and perspectives at odds with their own,” reads the letter from Dean of Students Jay Ellison.
In May, Student Government (SG) passed on an opportunity to reaffirm the University’s commitment to free speech when members voted to indefinitely table a resolution that would have condemned any student who “obstructs or disrupts” free speech.
The resolution, which was presented to SG by the president of the College Republicans club, second-year Matthew Foldi, came in the wake of three high-profile incidents in which speakers invited to campus were shut down or interrupted by protesters.
Read the rest here.
A breath of fresh air from the ivory tower which has become little more than a network of left-wing re-education camps in recent years.
“Our commitment to academic freedom means that we do not support so-called ‘trigger warnings,’ we do not cancel invited speakers because their topics might prove controversial, and we do not condone the creation of intellectual ‘safe spaces’ where individuals can retreat from ideas and perspectives at odds with their own,” reads the letter from Dean of Students Jay Ellison.
In May, Student Government (SG) passed on an opportunity to reaffirm the University’s commitment to free speech when members voted to indefinitely table a resolution that would have condemned any student who “obstructs or disrupts” free speech.
The resolution, which was presented to SG by the president of the College Republicans club, second-year Matthew Foldi, came in the wake of three high-profile incidents in which speakers invited to campus were shut down or interrupted by protesters.
Read the rest here.
A breath of fresh air from the ivory tower which has become little more than a network of left-wing re-education camps in recent years.
Monday, August 22, 2016
Gay Anglican clergy to defy church's official stance on same-sex marriage
A group of gay Church of England clergy are set to reveal that they
have married their partners, defying the official line taken by church
leaders on same-sex marriage.
A dozen gay ministers are to sign an open letter that also urges the church to allow clergy to carry out blessings for parishioners entering into same-sex marriages.
Half the signatories have already declared themselves to be in a gay marriage, including Andrew Foreshew-Cain, who was one of the first priests to openly defy the ruling.
The letter is likely to reignite the heated debate on the issue, which has divided the church since same-sex marriages were legalised in England and Wales in March 2014.
Following the change in the law, church leaders, headed by the archbishops of Canterbury and York, Justin Welby and John Sentamu respectively, decided that clergy must not enter into a same-sex marriage and that those in a gay marriage would not be ordained.
While canon Jeremy Pemberton had his permission to officiate revoked after marrying his partner in April 2014, Foreshew-Cain was not removed from his post as vicar of two churches in north London after openly marrying his partner, Stephen Foreshew in June 2014.
Read the rest here.
A dozen gay ministers are to sign an open letter that also urges the church to allow clergy to carry out blessings for parishioners entering into same-sex marriages.
Half the signatories have already declared themselves to be in a gay marriage, including Andrew Foreshew-Cain, who was one of the first priests to openly defy the ruling.
The letter is likely to reignite the heated debate on the issue, which has divided the church since same-sex marriages were legalised in England and Wales in March 2014.
Following the change in the law, church leaders, headed by the archbishops of Canterbury and York, Justin Welby and John Sentamu respectively, decided that clergy must not enter into a same-sex marriage and that those in a gay marriage would not be ordained.
While canon Jeremy Pemberton had his permission to officiate revoked after marrying his partner in April 2014, Foreshew-Cain was not removed from his post as vicar of two churches in north London after openly marrying his partner, Stephen Foreshew in June 2014.
Read the rest here.
Sunday, August 21, 2016
Germany to Revive Civil Defense
The plan, which makes civilian backing of troops a priority while boosting the resilience of buildings and increasing capacity in the healthcare system, is due to be adopted by the government Wednesday, according to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) daily.
Contacted by AFP, an interior ministry spokesman confirmed that the cabinet was due to adopt a civil defence strategy but declined details about the concept or comment on the newspaper report.
The strategy noted that "an attack on German territory requiring conventional defence is unlikely," but said the country should be "sufficiently prepared in case of an existence-threatening development in the future that cannot be ruled out," according to the 69-page strategy quoted by the FAZ ..
"The population will be encouraged to stockpile food for ten days," it said, adding that five days' worth of water -- at an estimated two litres per person per day -- should also be set aside.
Read the rest here.
When is the last time this country paid even lip service to the idea of civil defense? The risk today is less global thermonuclear war, where civil defense would probably not help the vast majority of our population, but rather attack by terrorists or a rogue state that decides to set off a dirty bomb or figures out how to lob one or two missiles with an atom bomb onto our soil. The loss of life from fallout could easily equal or exceed that from the bomb(s). They used to designate certain buildings as emergency shelters and require food and water to be stockpiled in them. I am not sure that has been done since the 1980's. We are woefully unprepared for this kind of disaster.
Friday, August 19, 2016
Update
I am still traveling so blog posts will continue to be sparse for another week or so. In the meantime I invite the reader to peruse the sidebar where you will find many blogs and websites that might be of interest.
Monday, August 15, 2016
ELCA approves Lutheran-Catholic ecumenical document
NEW ORLEANS (Aug.10, 2016) – The 2016 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Churchwide Assembly took several significant steps Wednesday moving forward the mission of this church as a church for the sake of the world.
By a vote of 931 to 9, the assembly overwhelmingly accepted the "Declaration on the Way," a unique ecumenical document that marks a path toward greater unity between Catholics and Lutherans. Following the vote, an emotional assembly stood to applaud the momentous decision.
At the heart of the document are 32 "Statements of Agreement" that state where Lutherans and Catholics do not have church-dividing differences on topics about church, ministry and the Eucharist. More tentatively, the document also explores differences that remain.
Read the rest here.
By a vote of 931 to 9, the assembly overwhelmingly accepted the "Declaration on the Way," a unique ecumenical document that marks a path toward greater unity between Catholics and Lutherans. Following the vote, an emotional assembly stood to applaud the momentous decision.
At the heart of the document are 32 "Statements of Agreement" that state where Lutherans and Catholics do not have church-dividing differences on topics about church, ministry and the Eucharist. More tentatively, the document also explores differences that remain.
Read the rest here.
Wednesday, August 10, 2016
Michael Phelps Wins (another) Gold Medal
OK, excepting the great American pastime, I'm not the world's biggest sports fan. And to my mind swimming pools are for lounging around on a hot day with while sipping your favorite liquid refreshment. But come on! Twenty one gold medals? That's insane. This guy is to swimming what Babe Ruth was to baseball. Like Ruth, many of his records may fall over time, but not all at once and not to one swimmer. He is quite simply the best in his field.
Friday, August 05, 2016
On the road again
Wednesday, August 03, 2016
Donald Trump asks foreign policy expert 'Why can't we use nukes?'
Details.
Obama is right. (That is the first and probably the last time you will see that sentence on this blog.) Donald Trump is both intellectually and temperamentally disqualified from the Presidency of the United States. I am starting to consider a a course of action that six months ago I would have dismissed as evidence of mental illness or moral bankruptcy.
Obama is right. (That is the first and probably the last time you will see that sentence on this blog.) Donald Trump is both intellectually and temperamentally disqualified from the Presidency of the United States. I am starting to consider a a course of action that six months ago I would have dismissed as evidence of mental illness or moral bankruptcy.
Tuesday, August 02, 2016
First Mass in the Krak des Chevaliers in 745 Years
Fr. Z has the story and some video. A truly remarkable event and it was gratifying to see that the Mass was celebrated using the Traditional Roman Rite.
The Scale of Turkey’s Purge Is Nearly Unprecedented
Only rarely in modern history has a leader detained and fired as many perceived adversaries as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey has since a failed coup attempt last month. Here is how Mr. Erdogan’s vast purge would look if Americans were targeted at a similar scale.
Almost 9,000 police officers fired
Like firing every police officer
in Philadelphia, Dallas,
Detroit, Boston and Baltimore.
in Philadelphia, Dallas,
Detroit, Boston and Baltimore.
The Interior Ministry fired the police officers,
some of whom government officials said had supported the coup attempt.
Turkish officials have acknowledged that the number of people targeted
in the purge is probably much greater than the number of conspirators.
21,000 private school teachers suspended
Like revoking the licenses of every
third teacher in private elementary and
high schools across the United States.
third teacher in private elementary and
high schools across the United States.
In addition to the teachers suspended, the
government intends to close more than 1,000 private schools it linked to
Fethullah Gulen, a cleric who the government said was the mastermind of
the coup attempt. (Mr. Gulen has denied this, and his level of
involvement remains unclear.) Followers of Mr. Gulen have sought to gain
power within Turkey by infiltrating state institutions, often
successfully.
Education officials said they planned to convert the schools into public schools and hire 40,000 new teachers.
10,012 soldiers detained
Like taking nearly every fourth
officer in the U.S. Army into custody.
officer in the U.S. Army into custody.
The military, which has long been a unifying force for the country, is now deeply divided, diminished and discredited. A rebel faction of the military initiated the coup attempt.
Since then, nearly half of the top generals and
admirals have been jailed or dismissed and more than 5,000 army
officials have been sent to pretrial detention.
Read the rest here.
Monday, August 01, 2016
The Habsburgs, a Reconsideration
Historical perspective and a wealth of detailed scholarship, along with intervening events over a brutal twentieth century, force a reassessment. The Habsburg Monarchy was more effective and popular than critics allowed. If doomed by internal contradictions, what made it last so long? How could a backward, repressive order have fostered the flourishing and diverse culture of Mitteleuropa? Why did it inspire such loyalty until the very end? Empire provided a unifying force as eighteenth-century Habsburgs sought to consolidate their disparate territories into a coherent state. Those top-down efforts created loyalties and institutions—including a conception of citizenship and state power limited by law—that made space for bottom-up responses within an emergent civil society. The world those interactions created requires a new approach to be understood on its own terms.
Read the rest here.
Memory Eternal
Please remember in your prayers the servant of God William, my Godfather, who reposed two years ago today. He is deeply missed.
May his memory be eternal.
May his memory be eternal.
Saturday, July 30, 2016
On Anglican Orders
Fr. Hunwicke has written something important on the subject of Anglican Holy Orders. I have made a few, though far less erudite, noises of a similar nature in the past. Read his post here.
P.S. It goes without saying that the Orthodox Church does not recognize Anglican Orders, though for different and somewhat less complicated reasons.
P.S. It goes without saying that the Orthodox Church does not recognize Anglican Orders, though for different and somewhat less complicated reasons.
Thursday, July 28, 2016
The Democratic Conventions Odd inter-Faith Religious Service
Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s resignation and being booed down at a breakfast of her state’s delegation was not an official event at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia this week, although given the coverage of the latest Hillary-related e-mail scandal, you could be forgiven for thinking it was.
What was one of the Dem confab’s first official events got little or no coverage. And it symbolized all that is bewildering about the Party’s approach to religion vis-à-vis the public square.
The event in question was the “Interfaith Service of Prayer for the Nation” held at Philly’s cathedral, the Basilica of Ss. Peter and Paul. Planning for the event began in February by the Philadelphia Liturgical Institute, at the request and on behalf of the DNC.
The prayer service was … odd.
This was not because of anything that happened at it. The service itself was fine and actually quite lovely. It featured beautiful music. The service of readings was fitting and even inspiring.
Cathedral rector Father G. Dennis Gill gave an inspiring sermon in which he said our nation’s foundational documents are very clear about how the country is founded on the power and presence of God. Then he looked at our national situation today, which reminds us, he asserted, of a need for us to once again rely on that power and presence so that God’s ways are our ways. One of the ways we can do that is to pray, he noted, and also support each other in whatever works we can do.
All well and good.
What was odd was this.
The DNC specifically requested that a prayer service be held on the convention’s first day. It was to take place at the cathedral because of its proximity to the delegates’ hotels and the Convention Center, where many of the day’s official events took place (the televised evening events took place at the Wells Fargo Center, home to the 76ers and Flyers sports teams).
And yet on the convention website listing the day’s official events, it wasn’t listed. The meeting of the DNC’s Faith Council was listed and at a time conflicting with the interfaith prayer service.
And so it should not surprise that the event drew such a small crowd. (See picture.) It was hard to tell who were delegates (I’ll assume the woman with the stylish American flag scarf was one) and who attended just because. Several DNC volunteers were evident by their bright blue T-shirts proclaiming, “ASK ME.”
But there was not one Democrat bigwig. No Nancy “I’m a devout, practicing Catholic” Pelosi. No Donna Brazile (a fellow Catholic whom I love, despite our differences).
Read the rest here.
What was one of the Dem confab’s first official events got little or no coverage. And it symbolized all that is bewildering about the Party’s approach to religion vis-à-vis the public square.
The event in question was the “Interfaith Service of Prayer for the Nation” held at Philly’s cathedral, the Basilica of Ss. Peter and Paul. Planning for the event began in February by the Philadelphia Liturgical Institute, at the request and on behalf of the DNC.
The prayer service was … odd.
This was not because of anything that happened at it. The service itself was fine and actually quite lovely. It featured beautiful music. The service of readings was fitting and even inspiring.
Cathedral rector Father G. Dennis Gill gave an inspiring sermon in which he said our nation’s foundational documents are very clear about how the country is founded on the power and presence of God. Then he looked at our national situation today, which reminds us, he asserted, of a need for us to once again rely on that power and presence so that God’s ways are our ways. One of the ways we can do that is to pray, he noted, and also support each other in whatever works we can do.
All well and good.
What was odd was this.
The DNC specifically requested that a prayer service be held on the convention’s first day. It was to take place at the cathedral because of its proximity to the delegates’ hotels and the Convention Center, where many of the day’s official events took place (the televised evening events took place at the Wells Fargo Center, home to the 76ers and Flyers sports teams).
And yet on the convention website listing the day’s official events, it wasn’t listed. The meeting of the DNC’s Faith Council was listed and at a time conflicting with the interfaith prayer service.
And so it should not surprise that the event drew such a small crowd. (See picture.) It was hard to tell who were delegates (I’ll assume the woman with the stylish American flag scarf was one) and who attended just because. Several DNC volunteers were evident by their bright blue T-shirts proclaiming, “ASK ME.”
But there was not one Democrat bigwig. No Nancy “I’m a devout, practicing Catholic” Pelosi. No Donna Brazile (a fellow Catholic whom I love, despite our differences).
Read the rest here.
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
Quote of the day...
"We denounce arbitrary interference by Federal authorities in local
affairs as a violation of the Constitution of the United States and a
crime against free institutions, and we especially object to government
by injunction as a new and highly dangerous form of oppression by which
Federal judges in contempt of the laws of the states and rights of
citizens, become at once legislators, judges and executioners..."
-A plank from the platform of the Democratic Party Convention (1896).
-A plank from the platform of the Democratic Party Convention (1896).
Tuesday, July 26, 2016
Political Agreement in an Election Year?
It's pretty astonishing, but the two parties actually agree on something, and IMO it's actually a very good idea. Both the Democratic and GOP platforms call for the reintroduction of the Glass Steagall Act as a sign of a strong (and rare) bi-partisan consensus that Wall Street's big banks are out of control.
Details.
It's been a while since I've said it, but do remember that banks are the enemy.
Details.
It's been a while since I've said it, but do remember that banks are the enemy.
Monday, July 25, 2016
Report: Beatings Torture Sexual Abuse and Lynchings in Post Coup Turkish Purges
Following the attempted coup in July
15, upon the calls of mosques all across Turkey and of Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan and PM Binali Yildirim to the Turkish people “to
take to the streets and airports,” pro-government Islamists started
hunting Turkish soldiers – their own soldiers – in the streets, beating, torturing, lynching them.
Torture and beatings of surrendering soldiers continued at police stations, too.
In a disturbing video published on social media and some Turkish newspapers, a police officer threatens a soldier with raping his 10-months-old baby.
The police officer asks a beaten and handcuffed soldier: “Do you have a child?” The soldier responds: “Yes, 10-months-old.”
The police says: “Do you want me to fuck her? I will bring her here. You can’t handle the police. Traitor!”
In another video shared on social media, soldiers are seen brutally tortured and beaten by police who continually insult and swear at them.
More videos and picture can be seen of a lynched soldier surrounded by a mob; another lynching attempt, soldiers allegedly tortured in a mosque , Islamist crowds beating soldiers with their belts and trying to throw them off a bridge in Istanbul and a mob screaming “Allahu akbar” on the tanks.
Read the rest here.
Caution: Some of the content at the linked sites is graphic.
Torture and beatings of surrendering soldiers continued at police stations, too.
In a disturbing video published on social media and some Turkish newspapers, a police officer threatens a soldier with raping his 10-months-old baby.
The police officer asks a beaten and handcuffed soldier: “Do you have a child?” The soldier responds: “Yes, 10-months-old.”
The police says: “Do you want me to fuck her? I will bring her here. You can’t handle the police. Traitor!”
In another video shared on social media, soldiers are seen brutally tortured and beaten by police who continually insult and swear at them.
More videos and picture can be seen of a lynched soldier surrounded by a mob; another lynching attempt, soldiers allegedly tortured in a mosque , Islamist crowds beating soldiers with their belts and trying to throw them off a bridge in Istanbul and a mob screaming “Allahu akbar” on the tanks.
Read the rest here.
Caution: Some of the content at the linked sites is graphic.
Sunday, July 24, 2016
Debbie Wasserman Schultz Sued for Rigging Primaries - Update: DWS Resigns amid growing scandal
On June 28, the Miami-based law firm Beck & Lee filed a class action lawsuit against the Democratic National Committee and DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
“There are essentially six legal claims we are asserting in this lawsuit on behalf of the composed class members,” said attorney Jared Beck in a YouTube video announcing the lawsuit. “The first is a claim for fraud—against the DNC and Debbie Wasserman Schultz—based on the revelations from the recent Guccifer 2.0 documents purportedly taken from the DNC’s own computer network.” The Guccifer 2.0 documents include internal memos in which the DNC broke legally binding neutrality agreements in the Democratic primaries by strategizing to make Hillary Clinton the nominee before a single vote was cast.
The second claim filed is for negligent misrepresentation, a legal theory based on the first claim of fraud. The third claim alleges the DNC and Wasserman Schultz participated in deceptive conduct in claiming the DNC was neutral during the Democratic primaries, when there is overwhelming evidence suggesting favoritism of Clinton from the beginning. The fourth claim of the lawsuit seeks retribution of any monetary donations the DNC to Bernie Sanders‘ campaign. The fifth claim alleges the DNC broke its fiduciary duties during the Democratic primaries to members of the Democratic Party by not holding a fair election process. The sixth claim is for negligence on behalf of the DNC—for not protecting donor information—as hackers broke into the DNC networks, potentially compromising their personal information.
Read the rest here.
Please note that this legal action occurred weeks before the release of DNC's emails.
Update: DWS quits over growing email scandal
“There are essentially six legal claims we are asserting in this lawsuit on behalf of the composed class members,” said attorney Jared Beck in a YouTube video announcing the lawsuit. “The first is a claim for fraud—against the DNC and Debbie Wasserman Schultz—based on the revelations from the recent Guccifer 2.0 documents purportedly taken from the DNC’s own computer network.” The Guccifer 2.0 documents include internal memos in which the DNC broke legally binding neutrality agreements in the Democratic primaries by strategizing to make Hillary Clinton the nominee before a single vote was cast.
The second claim filed is for negligent misrepresentation, a legal theory based on the first claim of fraud. The third claim alleges the DNC and Wasserman Schultz participated in deceptive conduct in claiming the DNC was neutral during the Democratic primaries, when there is overwhelming evidence suggesting favoritism of Clinton from the beginning. The fourth claim of the lawsuit seeks retribution of any monetary donations the DNC to Bernie Sanders‘ campaign. The fifth claim alleges the DNC broke its fiduciary duties during the Democratic primaries to members of the Democratic Party by not holding a fair election process. The sixth claim is for negligence on behalf of the DNC—for not protecting donor information—as hackers broke into the DNC networks, potentially compromising their personal information.
Read the rest here.
Please note that this legal action occurred weeks before the release of DNC's emails.
Update: DWS quits over growing email scandal
Saturday, July 23, 2016
And now for some really good news...
The Episcopal Divinity School of Massachusetts is going out of business. If this isn't the most heretical "seminary" in the United States (and it may be), it's damned close. Rod Dreher is practically doing a victory dance, and I don't blame him. Good news in the religion department has been a bit thin on the ground of late.
Friday, July 22, 2016
Scandal: Wikileaks Publishes Near 20,000 DNC Emails
A few highlights uncovered so far (it's early yet)...
Plotting to expose Bernie as an atheist.
Constructing an anti-Bernie narrative.
Vetting BLM activist as official surrogates.
I think the Democrats may have just lost control of the narrative during their convention.
Search the emails here.
Plotting to expose Bernie as an atheist.
Constructing an anti-Bernie narrative.
Vetting BLM activist as official surrogates.
I think the Democrats may have just lost control of the narrative during their convention.
Search the emails here.
Trump's Speech: My first impressions
It was vintage Trump with lots of red meat for the party base. He excoriated Hillary Clinton while painting a picture of the state of the country that at times seemed unrealistically grim. Yeah we have problems, but there were moments when I felt like I was just discovering I live in a third world country. The speech was long on the dark vision of a lawless society with Clinton as the co-author of American decline both at home and abroad. It also presented Trump in a very personal way as the man who is going to fix things.
It has been suggested that inspiration was drawn from the angry acceptance speeches of Richard Nixon in 1968 and Ronald Reagan in 1980. Further it's worth noting that both of those men won. The lesson here is that the party out of power needs to explain why the party in power has made a hash out of things and therefore needs to be shown the door.
The highlights to my mind were the emotional moments when he spoke with what I thought was genuine feeling for families who had been the victims of violent crimes (committed of course by illegal immigrants), and his brutal dig at Clinton ('I've met with these people, you can bet Hillary won't.'). I particularly liked his shout out to the victims of the horrific night club massacre in Orlando. I don't think that would have happened in any earlier GOP conventions. Reasonable people can disagree on the morality of certain lifestyle choices, but no one has a right to hurt and or kill other people over such differences. His remarks on that topic really came across as just right, i.e. he raised the subject without belaboring it, and again, heartfelt.
Beyond that the speech was light on details, i.e. exactly how was he gong to deliver on all of these promises. Again that's OK. This was not a policy address at Harvard. A convention speech is an exercise in the art of political theater. Emphasis on vision is normal on such occasions.
On to the mechanics. It was a speech delivered with the aid of teleprompters, and therefor a more formal address than what Trump is used to. They definitely helped to keep him from straying all over the place as he is want to do in his more customary off the cuff stump speeches. And he seemed more sober and on message than usual. But clearly this is not a form of address he is used to or comfortable with. At times he seemed to be struggling with the flow and the result was that he sounded like he was shouting during much of the speech.
There were also a number of pauses that really dragged on which in turn contributed to the one really serious failure, it was too long. A good public speaker knows that you have about 45 minutes in any formal address where you can reasonably expect the undivided attention of your audience. Once you start moving past that people are going to start to drift. Once you move past an hour, people are going to start wondering if you are ever going to shut up. This speech clocked in at just under an hour and fifteen minutes, the longest such address in forty or more years according to the talking heads.
So what do I think overall?
As an acceptance speech by a presidential candidate and the one address likely to be watched by millions of otherwise politically uninterested people I thought it was good to very good. Trump pushed pretty much all the buttons he needed to and at times he came across as quite sincere and empathetic in his desire to help the struggling people of our third world country.
On a scale of five, I give it four stars. The fifth was lost due primarily to the length. It started off strong and mostly stayed there. But once he went over the one hour mark, all I wanted was for him to wrap it up already.
P.S. Did it change my mind? Am I going to vote for him? No. The presidency is not an entry level position and I still think he lacks the temperament as well as the grasp of policy for the job. But it was still a good speech. One of the better ones I've heard.
Thursday, July 21, 2016
Ted Cruz pours gasoline on himself and strikes a match
Wow! I don't think I have ever seen a major political figure fall so far, so fast, and then turn around and commit political suicide on prime time national television.
Long time blog readers will know that I am no fan of the Donald for a variety of reasons. So given what passed between the two during an exceptionally rough campaign season I can absolutely forgive Ted for not endorsing Trump. There are more than a few stars in the GOP orbit who are maintaining a discreet silence and staying away from the convention.
But you don't accept an invitation to deliver a prime time address at the national convention, and then use it to directly undercut your party's nominee. This was not just bad form. It was dishonorable. There are a lot of political sins that can be forgiven with the passage of time and other factors. Gross disloyalty, some are calling it calculated treachery, is not generally one of them.
Cruz has two years left in his term as a US Senator. No, I don't think it's too early to begin updating his resume.
Long time blog readers will know that I am no fan of the Donald for a variety of reasons. So given what passed between the two during an exceptionally rough campaign season I can absolutely forgive Ted for not endorsing Trump. There are more than a few stars in the GOP orbit who are maintaining a discreet silence and staying away from the convention.
But you don't accept an invitation to deliver a prime time address at the national convention, and then use it to directly undercut your party's nominee. This was not just bad form. It was dishonorable. There are a lot of political sins that can be forgiven with the passage of time and other factors. Gross disloyalty, some are calling it calculated treachery, is not generally one of them.
Cruz has two years left in his term as a US Senator. No, I don't think it's too early to begin updating his resume.
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
Turkey
Whatever it was before the farce that has been described as an attempted coup, today it is clearly a dictatorship in all but name. The United States needs to start rethinking our relationship with that country. I am assuming EU membership no longer rates serious discussion. But Turkey is still part of NATO. Is this a country that Americans should be prepared to die for?
FREE SILVER AND CHEAP WHISKEY
A front page headline from the New York Tribune July 20, 1896. How I hate the modern world.
Monday, July 18, 2016
Scary Rumors from the Vatican (or not?)
Müller has been widely viewed as moderately conservative during his tenure at the CDF. But contrasted with the tenor of the current Pontificate he might as well have been the reincarnation of Torquemada. I assume that if the rumors are true that Schönborn is only getting the post because Hans Küng is unavailable.
Update on 07-20-2016: I haven't come across anything furthering these particular rumors, so perhaps there is nothing to them. Hoping...
Sunday, July 17, 2016
Saturday, July 16, 2016
Friday, July 15, 2016
Athonite Fathers Slam Council of Crete - Demand Break With Constantinople
An "Open Letter" from Athonite Fathers to the Holy Community of
the Holy Mountain of Athos is calling for an immediate convocation of
the governing body of Mt. Athos in order to condemn the "false council"
of Crete and cease the comemoration of the Patriarch of Constantinople
on Mt. Athos.
OVER 60 Hieromonk and monks, with a disciple of Saint Paisios, Elder Gabriel of the Kelli of St. Christodoulos (Holy Monastery of Koutloumosiou) at their head, have written an open letter to the Holy Community of Mt. Athos calling upon the Abbots to reject the Council in Crete and stating their intention to cease commemoration of the Patriarch of Constantinople on account of his leadership in the "false council" at which the pan-heresy of ecumenism was given a green light and bolstered in word and deed.
Read the rest here.
I would not get overly excited about this... yet. There are a lot more than 60 monks on the Holy Mountain. Still the more conservative wing in the Church is certainly not thrilled with the Council. We will have to wait and see where this goes.
OVER 60 Hieromonk and monks, with a disciple of Saint Paisios, Elder Gabriel of the Kelli of St. Christodoulos (Holy Monastery of Koutloumosiou) at their head, have written an open letter to the Holy Community of Mt. Athos calling upon the Abbots to reject the Council in Crete and stating their intention to cease commemoration of the Patriarch of Constantinople on account of his leadership in the "false council" at which the pan-heresy of ecumenism was given a green light and bolstered in word and deed.
Read the rest here.
I would not get overly excited about this... yet. There are a lot more than 60 monks on the Holy Mountain. Still the more conservative wing in the Church is certainly not thrilled with the Council. We will have to wait and see where this goes.
Breaking News: Military Coup Reported Underway in Turkey
What took them so long? And while we are on the subject, why do I suddenly feel like the smartest guy in the room? (OK, so I am alone at the moment.) For at least two years I have believed that Erdogan has been playing with fire with his openly Islamist agenda and gradual suspension of basic civil liberties. Anyone who knows anything of Turkish history knows that the military is, and has been the source of final authority when the subject is Turkish government. And they have a history of acting as the guardians of a semi-progressive and thoroughly (at times almost militantly) secular state. All of the talking heads on TV are acting like this is a huge surprise. Maybe I should work for the CIA because, no joke, I've been waiting for this for a while.
“Islam - that theology of an immoral illiterate Arab bedouin is a decaying corpse that is poisoning all of our life”
- Ghazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha / Ataturk
“Islam - that theology of an immoral illiterate Arab bedouin is a decaying corpse that is poisoning all of our life”
- Ghazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha / Ataturk
Thursday, July 14, 2016
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Church of Canada Votes Down Gay Marriage then Reveres Vote
TORONTO
(AP) -- A day after the Anglican Church of Canada narrowly voted not
to authorize gay unions, questions about the integrity of the voting
process emerged Tuesday, leading to a reversal of the result with the
church approving the measure.
More than 200
delegates attending the six-day General Synod 2016 narrowly rejected the
resolution Monday night after hearing from more than 60 speakers, most
of them in favor of gay marriage.
However, on
Tuesday - the last day of the triennial conference - some members stood
up to say their ballot had not been recorded during voting late Monday,
when the resolution failed to pass by a single vote.
Read the rest here.
Monday, July 11, 2016
Great Britain: David Camerom to resign Wednesday - Theresa May to be next Prime Minister
The Tory leadership contest is over and Theresa May is the last man... er woman, standing. Mr. Cameron will go to the Palace on Wednesday to resign. Immediately after which the Queen will ask Mrs. May to form the next government.
Sunday, July 10, 2016
Church of England Synod Faces Conservative Boycott Over Gay Marriage Talks
The Church of England's governing body may face a conservative rebellion over its discussions on gay marriage.
Despite pleas from senior bishops, a number of conservative Anglicans are considering boycotting the Church's private conversations over sexuality, designed to prevent a fracture over gay marriage. A deep fissure exists within the Church over whether or not to accomodate gay relationships in some way.
A memo sent round to some members of the Church's governing synod listed "reasons not to participate" in conversations, which aim to reconcile opposing factions. The note, seen by Christian Today, offers a damning assessment of the secret talks, known as "shared conversations".
Read the rest here.
Friday, July 08, 2016
Thursday, July 07, 2016
Pope Francis Names Archbishop Cupich to Congregation of Bishops
The Pope has named one of the most liberal American Catholic hierarchs to the body that helps choose future bishops.
Wednesday, July 06, 2016
Important: Rome's Top Liturgist Urges All Catholic Priests to Return to Ad Orientem Mass by Advent
Cardinal Robert Sarah, the Vatican’s liturgy chief, has asked priests
to begin celebrating Mass ad orientem, that is, facing east rather than
towards the congregation.
The proposed reform is arguably the biggest liturgical announcement since Benedict XVI’s 2007 motu proprio Summorum Pontificum gave greater freedom for priests to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass.
Speaking at the Sacra Liturgia conference in London on Tuesday, the Guinean cardinal, who is Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, addressed priests who were present, saying: “It is very important that we return as soon as possible to a common orientation, of priests and the faithful turned together in the same direction – eastwards or at least towards the apse – to the Lord who comes”.
The cardinal continued: “I ask you to implement this practice wherever possible.”
He said that “prudence” and catechesis would be necessary, but told pastors to have “confidence that this is something good for the Church, something good for our people”.
Read the rest here.
If this report is accurate, and the Cardinal is acting with the blessing of Pope Francis, then this is the best news to come out of Rome in a very long time.
The proposed reform is arguably the biggest liturgical announcement since Benedict XVI’s 2007 motu proprio Summorum Pontificum gave greater freedom for priests to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass.
Speaking at the Sacra Liturgia conference in London on Tuesday, the Guinean cardinal, who is Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, addressed priests who were present, saying: “It is very important that we return as soon as possible to a common orientation, of priests and the faithful turned together in the same direction – eastwards or at least towards the apse – to the Lord who comes”.
The cardinal continued: “I ask you to implement this practice wherever possible.”
He said that “prudence” and catechesis would be necessary, but told pastors to have “confidence that this is something good for the Church, something good for our people”.
Read the rest here.
If this report is accurate, and the Cardinal is acting with the blessing of Pope Francis, then this is the best news to come out of Rome in a very long time.
Tuesday, July 05, 2016
Saturday, July 02, 2016
Is the Catholic Church Inching Towards "Open Communion?"
Possibly, according to Sandro Magister...
ROME, July 1, 2016 – In his way, after encouraging communion for the divorced and remarried, in that it “is not a prize for the perfect, but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak,” Pope Francis is now also encouraging Protestants and Catholics to receive communion together at their respective Masses.
He is doing so, as always, in a discursive, allusive way, not definitional, leaving the ultimate decision to the individual conscience.
Still emblematic is the answer he gave on November 15, 2015, on a visit to the Christuskirche, the church of the Lutherans in Rome (see photo), to a Protestant who asked him if she could receive communion together with her Catholic husband.
The answer from Francis was a stupefying pinwheel of yes, no, I don’t know, you figure it out. Which it is indispensable to reread in its entirety, in the official transcription:
Read the rest here.
This Pope is a one man theological train-wreck.
ROME, July 1, 2016 – In his way, after encouraging communion for the divorced and remarried, in that it “is not a prize for the perfect, but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak,” Pope Francis is now also encouraging Protestants and Catholics to receive communion together at their respective Masses.
He is doing so, as always, in a discursive, allusive way, not definitional, leaving the ultimate decision to the individual conscience.
Still emblematic is the answer he gave on November 15, 2015, on a visit to the Christuskirche, the church of the Lutherans in Rome (see photo), to a Protestant who asked him if she could receive communion together with her Catholic husband.
The answer from Francis was a stupefying pinwheel of yes, no, I don’t know, you figure it out. Which it is indispensable to reread in its entirety, in the official transcription:
Read the rest here.
This Pope is a one man theological train-wreck.
Friday, July 01, 2016
Why the Mets Pay Bobby Bonilla $1.19 Million Every July 1st. (and will until 2035)
It's Friday, July 1, and we should be thinking about our Fourth of
July weekend plans. But as baseball fans, we can't. Why? Because today
is all about Bobby Bonilla.
A man who last played 5,381 days ago owns this day. Not just this July 1, but every July 1 through 2035. It's the day when the New York Mets pay him $1,193,248.20.
So with the water cooler and Twitter buzzing about the Bonilla deal, here's your primer.
Bonilla's agent, Dennis Gilbert, was an insurance agent at the same time he developed into a superagent (Gilbert's clients included Bonilla, Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco and Danny Tartabull), so he was more uniquely prepared to understand annuity-type payouts than other agents.
Read the rest here.
A man who last played 5,381 days ago owns this day. Not just this July 1, but every July 1 through 2035. It's the day when the New York Mets pay him $1,193,248.20.
So with the water cooler and Twitter buzzing about the Bonilla deal, here's your primer.
How did the deal present itself?
Deferred-money deals have been going on for a long time, but the Mets did more of them than most. The first deferred-money deal we know about is Darryl Strawberry's 1985 contract, in which the Mets deferred 40 percent of his 1990 $1.8 million team option ($700,000) at a 5.1 percent interest rate. The deal, which pays out $1.64 million from 2004 to 2033, was obtained through a life insurance company.Bonilla's agent, Dennis Gilbert, was an insurance agent at the same time he developed into a superagent (Gilbert's clients included Bonilla, Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco and Danny Tartabull), so he was more uniquely prepared to understand annuity-type payouts than other agents.
How does the deal actually work?
The Mets owed Bonilla $5.9 million for the 2000 season and no longer wanted him. So the club negotiated with Gilbert to attach an 8 percent annual interest rate to that money. With the clock starting in 2000, that adds up to $29.8 million. The first installment of the payout came on July 1, 2011, and the Mets will pay their sixth installment on Friday.Read the rest here.
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