Being the product of K-10 in public schools, and 11-12 Catholic school, parts of my education are uneven, and perhaps missing, from all those yeasrs warehoused in Vigo County Public Schools that were Fated-To-Be-West-Of-The-River.
Like, I'm weak in math.
And worse, I can't spell for beans.
And now, here on blogger, I can't get to the spell checker.
That makes me sound stupider than I actually am. Please have mercy.
TRIUMPHALIST--YOU GOT A PROBLEM WITH THAT?
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Too Much, and Too Little!
I've been reading and watching large ammounts of news this week, yet cannot find a way to express what I've read, which leaves me with little to blog about.
It doesn't help that I've had the worst bout of allergies I've had since Junior High. Like, an 8 day sinus headache, no sense of smell, burning eyes, etc. It finally rained so It's better today.
As I watch things unfolding in the news, serveral thoughts have occurred to me. One is that watching the BBC World News makes one have little patience of stomach for the shallow, biased and unprofessional crap that one gets from American Network News.
The other is the sense that things will continue to go hard, with the increasing secularization of society, and our collective descent into a modern form of barbarous paganism.
I did watch an interesting documentary on PBS about the food production and distribution system in the US, and it's inhehent dangers and injustices. The thing that hit me was how much of our economy violates Catholic Social Teaching. That lead to the thought that very much of Catholic Social Activism is a kind of cafateria activism.
I've never been in a parish that wasn't in some way engaged in trying to do some sort of social outreach or activism. But I've also never been in a parish where the people were engaged with the whole of Catholic Social Teaching. I've seen progressive parishes that did lots. I've seen traditional parishes that did lots.
But I've never seen a parish that stood up for the whole of Catholic Social Teaching--from the right to property, to a preferential option for the poor, to just wages, to environmental teaching. by and large we pick and choose and just ignore the rest of it.
Pick up Rerum Novarum, and go on from there. I think that you'll find we are byond "conservative" and "liberal". If we actually quite subjecting Catholic teaching to the test of our own politics, and subjected out politics to the test of Catholic Social and Moral Teaching, you would find we were in a catagory of our own, that defied both the left and the right, and was breathtakingly radical.
It doesn't help that I've had the worst bout of allergies I've had since Junior High. Like, an 8 day sinus headache, no sense of smell, burning eyes, etc. It finally rained so It's better today.
As I watch things unfolding in the news, serveral thoughts have occurred to me. One is that watching the BBC World News makes one have little patience of stomach for the shallow, biased and unprofessional crap that one gets from American Network News.
The other is the sense that things will continue to go hard, with the increasing secularization of society, and our collective descent into a modern form of barbarous paganism.
I did watch an interesting documentary on PBS about the food production and distribution system in the US, and it's inhehent dangers and injustices. The thing that hit me was how much of our economy violates Catholic Social Teaching. That lead to the thought that very much of Catholic Social Activism is a kind of cafateria activism.
I've never been in a parish that wasn't in some way engaged in trying to do some sort of social outreach or activism. But I've also never been in a parish where the people were engaged with the whole of Catholic Social Teaching. I've seen progressive parishes that did lots. I've seen traditional parishes that did lots.
But I've never seen a parish that stood up for the whole of Catholic Social Teaching--from the right to property, to a preferential option for the poor, to just wages, to environmental teaching. by and large we pick and choose and just ignore the rest of it.
Pick up Rerum Novarum, and go on from there. I think that you'll find we are byond "conservative" and "liberal". If we actually quite subjecting Catholic teaching to the test of our own politics, and subjected out politics to the test of Catholic Social and Moral Teaching, you would find we were in a catagory of our own, that defied both the left and the right, and was breathtakingly radical.
Friday, April 23, 2010
EMW--Louisville
The local abortion clinic--EMW--has been added to the list of Abortion Clinics that cover up for statutory rape. I hope that the KY Attorney General will file charges.
Caught on tape again.
God Bless Lila Rose.
Caught on tape again.
God Bless Lila Rose.
Monday, April 19, 2010
The Elephant in the Room
The elephant in the room of the sexual abuse scandal isn't the hierarchy covering up--we've talked and talked about that. It isn't the blatant and pervasive misrepresentation of Pope Benedict's role either--that's been well shown, though under reported. No, it's the nature of the abuse itself. this is still being concealed by the hierarchy, and those who describe it accurately are swiftly hushed even by those who should be confronting the issue.
The problem is not pedophilia, it's homosexuality.
Look at the statistics: according to the John Jay School of Law's analysis of all complaints, 51% of the complaints were offenses of boys between 11 and 14 years of age. not prepubescent. 27% were boys aged 15-17--again, not prepubescent.
This is not pedophilia, it's homosexual men predating on adolescent males.
And, it's a problem with homosexuals.
Nobody said that when Polanski drugged and raped a 13 year old girl he wasn't heterosexual. No one said jerry Lee Lewis wasn't heterosexual when he married his 13 year old cousin. No one says of men who are charged with unlawful carnal knowelege of 14, 15, 16,17 year old girls they are not heterosexual. When female teachers get nailed for having sexual relations with boys in the 12-17 year old age bracket no one says they are not heterosexual.
But, let a homosexual priest have sex with a teenage boy, and suddenly it's not homosexuality--it's pedophilia.
The cover up problem isn't a problem of covering up pedophilia, it's a problem of covering up for homosexuality in the priesthood, a problem that continues by condemning homosexual priests who have sexual relations with adolescent boys as pedophiles, instead of homosexual predators.
This problem was first addressed by the Vatican in 1960, when it bluntly stated that homosexual men are not suitable for the priesthood and may not be ordained. A prohibition widely ignored in the industrialized world, as a "Lavender Mafia" furthered the existence and the careers of homosexual priests.
The reason that the hierarchy isn't admitting the truth is that if they do, a good many of them who owe their positions to the Lavender Mafia will be exposed, along with many of the functionaries and priests in the ranks.
And until this ugly and unpleasant truth is confronted, the problem will remain.
And, I imagine, and must say in the interests of balance, that there are many homosexual priests who are chaste, and serve well. And, I doubt we will ever know who they are, simply because they do live properly, according to their codition in life. We don't need a witch hunt, we need a house cleaning.
The problem is not pedophilia, it's homosexuality.
Look at the statistics: according to the John Jay School of Law's analysis of all complaints, 51% of the complaints were offenses of boys between 11 and 14 years of age. not prepubescent. 27% were boys aged 15-17--again, not prepubescent.
This is not pedophilia, it's homosexual men predating on adolescent males.
And, it's a problem with homosexuals.
Nobody said that when Polanski drugged and raped a 13 year old girl he wasn't heterosexual. No one said jerry Lee Lewis wasn't heterosexual when he married his 13 year old cousin. No one says of men who are charged with unlawful carnal knowelege of 14, 15, 16,17 year old girls they are not heterosexual. When female teachers get nailed for having sexual relations with boys in the 12-17 year old age bracket no one says they are not heterosexual.
But, let a homosexual priest have sex with a teenage boy, and suddenly it's not homosexuality--it's pedophilia.
The cover up problem isn't a problem of covering up pedophilia, it's a problem of covering up for homosexuality in the priesthood, a problem that continues by condemning homosexual priests who have sexual relations with adolescent boys as pedophiles, instead of homosexual predators.
This problem was first addressed by the Vatican in 1960, when it bluntly stated that homosexual men are not suitable for the priesthood and may not be ordained. A prohibition widely ignored in the industrialized world, as a "Lavender Mafia" furthered the existence and the careers of homosexual priests.
The reason that the hierarchy isn't admitting the truth is that if they do, a good many of them who owe their positions to the Lavender Mafia will be exposed, along with many of the functionaries and priests in the ranks.
And until this ugly and unpleasant truth is confronted, the problem will remain.
And, I imagine, and must say in the interests of balance, that there are many homosexual priests who are chaste, and serve well. And, I doubt we will ever know who they are, simply because they do live properly, according to their codition in life. We don't need a witch hunt, we need a house cleaning.
Dear Political Leaders Working on Becomming Political Masters:
I'm getting just a little fed up with the warnings that conservative speech, the Tea Party Movement and peoples distrust of the government could lead to "Right Wing Violence" and excess. It's simply time to examine the record.
1--This nation was founded in a revolution stemming from peoples belief that they were improperly represented in government (look at Congresses approval rating!), were over taxed, and that government interference in their lives had reached an intolerable level. When you begin to fear that the people might turn against the government, then perhaps the government should look at itself, and decide if it's becoming intolerable. Especially since 78% of us--that's damned near four out of five--don't trust you and don't think you can solve the problems facing our nation.
2-- Let's look at recent history and current events. the last widespread political riots were in 2004 and 2008. they followed elections in which the Democrats lost, or "progressive" agendas were defeated. In 2004, the Dems were unable to accept that they had lost an election, and thought that maybe a few riots would change that. In 2008 an amendment to the California State constitution was proposed and accepted by direct popular vote. The resulting protest turned ugly, spread to other states, ended up with violence and the vandalizing of churches and businesses, and the estorion of money from businesses whose employees contributed to the proposition 8 campaign. Obviously, now it's the left that turns to violence and disorder when they don't get what they want.
Like in New Orleans. That's where Allee Bautsch was beaten, along wit her friend, for wearing Palin buttons. They were leaving a Republican Party rally when they were set upon by a gang of "protesters" who were hanging outside the rally venue. They were both hospitalized. New Orleans Police confirmed that the gang shouted political epithets, and between the two of them they sustained multiple fractures (one reputed to be compound) a concussion, a broken jaw, a broken nose and assorted bruises and contusions. It is not yet known if the injuries will be permanantly disfiguring or disabling.
3--The constant disrespect which the "progressive" press and media treat conservative causes and persons. The Women of The View can bash the Catholic Church repeatedly over distortions of the truth about the abuse scandal, yet give Roman Polanski a pass because "It wasn't rape rape". The editor of a local news weekly can rip someone for calling Nancy Pelosi a "bitch", but frequently runs cartoons in her paper depicting Sarah Palin as among other things, a stripper who engages in cat fights to entertain "republican" men, a religious lunatic who babbles in tongues while giving birth, and a retarded person blazing away with guns. Iwould remind the left that the biggest grievance of the jaquerie was "the contempt with which we are held".
So--we see the violence is mostly on the other side (Did you know there is a website tracking violence against pro lifers? They have documented around 2000 incidents.) And we are getting mad. Damned mad. Especially as we know we are getting set up for a propaganda machine (notice that the violence, sexism, racism and hate speech of the left goes un reported, or under reported by the MSM) that will be used, along with the Patriot Act (passed with Democratic support, and extended by the Dems, and in some way strengthened by the Dems) the FCC (as seen in recent attempts to limit free political speech or to compel political speech on talk radio). Yes, the FCC--remember that very recently they were told by the Federal Courts that they did not have the authority to regulate band width on the Internet (which is privately owned) and responded by proposing new regulations on a system they had just been told that they didn't have the authority to regulate. And remember that one of Obamas Czars (an office that sidesteps constitutional limits and divisions of power) wanted to have the power to tell individuals that they had to remove web pages the government didn't like. We are at risk of losing even more of our liberties, and the Administration is trying to plant the idea that we are the threat.
1--This nation was founded in a revolution stemming from peoples belief that they were improperly represented in government (look at Congresses approval rating!), were over taxed, and that government interference in their lives had reached an intolerable level. When you begin to fear that the people might turn against the government, then perhaps the government should look at itself, and decide if it's becoming intolerable. Especially since 78% of us--that's damned near four out of five--don't trust you and don't think you can solve the problems facing our nation.
2-- Let's look at recent history and current events. the last widespread political riots were in 2004 and 2008. they followed elections in which the Democrats lost, or "progressive" agendas were defeated. In 2004, the Dems were unable to accept that they had lost an election, and thought that maybe a few riots would change that. In 2008 an amendment to the California State constitution was proposed and accepted by direct popular vote. The resulting protest turned ugly, spread to other states, ended up with violence and the vandalizing of churches and businesses, and the estorion of money from businesses whose employees contributed to the proposition 8 campaign. Obviously, now it's the left that turns to violence and disorder when they don't get what they want.
Like in New Orleans. That's where Allee Bautsch was beaten, along wit her friend, for wearing Palin buttons. They were leaving a Republican Party rally when they were set upon by a gang of "protesters" who were hanging outside the rally venue. They were both hospitalized. New Orleans Police confirmed that the gang shouted political epithets, and between the two of them they sustained multiple fractures (one reputed to be compound) a concussion, a broken jaw, a broken nose and assorted bruises and contusions. It is not yet known if the injuries will be permanantly disfiguring or disabling.
3--The constant disrespect which the "progressive" press and media treat conservative causes and persons. The Women of The View can bash the Catholic Church repeatedly over distortions of the truth about the abuse scandal, yet give Roman Polanski a pass because "It wasn't rape rape". The editor of a local news weekly can rip someone for calling Nancy Pelosi a "bitch", but frequently runs cartoons in her paper depicting Sarah Palin as among other things, a stripper who engages in cat fights to entertain "republican" men, a religious lunatic who babbles in tongues while giving birth, and a retarded person blazing away with guns. Iwould remind the left that the biggest grievance of the jaquerie was "the contempt with which we are held".
So--we see the violence is mostly on the other side (Did you know there is a website tracking violence against pro lifers? They have documented around 2000 incidents.) And we are getting mad. Damned mad. Especially as we know we are getting set up for a propaganda machine (notice that the violence, sexism, racism and hate speech of the left goes un reported, or under reported by the MSM) that will be used, along with the Patriot Act (passed with Democratic support, and extended by the Dems, and in some way strengthened by the Dems) the FCC (as seen in recent attempts to limit free political speech or to compel political speech on talk radio). Yes, the FCC--remember that very recently they were told by the Federal Courts that they did not have the authority to regulate band width on the Internet (which is privately owned) and responded by proposing new regulations on a system they had just been told that they didn't have the authority to regulate. And remember that one of Obamas Czars (an office that sidesteps constitutional limits and divisions of power) wanted to have the power to tell individuals that they had to remove web pages the government didn't like. We are at risk of losing even more of our liberties, and the Administration is trying to plant the idea that we are the threat.
Hitler"s Pope?
One of the things that gets to me is the unfounded accusation that the Pope was somehow complicit in the Holocaust. This is especially off to me considering how may Jews were saved by the actions of the Vatican and inidvidual bishops in Italy.
It also gets a little odd to me when one considers that Pius XII fully expected to be arrested by the Nazis and taken God knows where. He even made plans for the continuance of Church government.
But now it has become clear that from 1930 to 1933 the church was excommunicating Catholics who joined the Nazi party. The Vatican Archives clearly show this, with documentary proof. So why isn't this better known? Well for one thing, there's money to be made from anti-Catholicism, and publishing something anti-Catholic automatically gives one a cachet--you get called "courageous". For another thing, the Vatican Archives dealing with the interaction of the Vatican and the Third Reich before the outbreak of the war are examined by about 1 in every 3.5 scholars studying the role of the Vatican in the war. In other words--they just don't look.
It also gets a little odd to me when one considers that Pius XII fully expected to be arrested by the Nazis and taken God knows where. He even made plans for the continuance of Church government.
But now it has become clear that from 1930 to 1933 the church was excommunicating Catholics who joined the Nazi party. The Vatican Archives clearly show this, with documentary proof. So why isn't this better known? Well for one thing, there's money to be made from anti-Catholicism, and publishing something anti-Catholic automatically gives one a cachet--you get called "courageous". For another thing, the Vatican Archives dealing with the interaction of the Vatican and the Third Reich before the outbreak of the war are examined by about 1 in every 3.5 scholars studying the role of the Vatican in the war. In other words--they just don't look.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
1--Woke up this morning after a terrible nights sleep. With a headache from the pollen, for the third day in a row. Really, if I'm going to have a hangover, I at least want the fun of earning it!
2--I am a "devout" Catholic, I believe in the Magisterial teachings of the Church, try very,very hard to obey the precepts, accept the Pope, the whole nine yards, But I am a very bad fit in the Church, and in my parish. I don't think I will ever be entirely comfortable. But, I believe that there is no other Church to which I could in good faith belong.
3--I'm a sucker for babies.
2--I am a "devout" Catholic, I believe in the Magisterial teachings of the Church, try very,very hard to obey the precepts, accept the Pope, the whole nine yards, But I am a very bad fit in the Church, and in my parish. I don't think I will ever be entirely comfortable. But, I believe that there is no other Church to which I could in good faith belong.
3--I'm a sucker for babies.
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