The SEIU is President Obama's favorite union. it has served as his source of foot soldiers on a great many issues, most notably his Health Care Plan.
I was interested to see this union begin to reap what they have sown. SEIU Local 1199 has had to tell it's members that their children will be dropped from the insurance coverage they now have. Their current pan covers their dependent children until age 21. But under the rules of the new Health Care act, insurance plans that cover children must do so until they reach the age of 26.
The union cannot afford the premiums.
So the union is dropping children from their insurance plan. The law they worked so hard to get, to reform health care, has just given them it's first fruits--they now have less health care coverage than they did before the law was passed.
They should have looked at the implications of the law, rather than listened to the rhetoric of the leader.
TRIUMPHALIST--YOU GOT A PROBLEM WITH THAT?
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Bishop Stuff--Two Different and Unrelated Things
US--In Orlando, Archbishop Wenski--the Archbishop of Miami, but at the time of the renovations the Bishop of Orlando--is depicted in his vestments at the foot of the cross in a stained glass Crucifixion Scene. The LA Times (Why is it a LA paper--don't they have enough Church news from California that they have to go to Florida to find something?) is reporting this as controversial. They were even able to get a quote from one parishioner of the Cathedral to say it's a horrible thing.
Talk about a tempest in a tea cup! I fail to see how a Catholic who is well instructed in the Faith, or who has even a rudimentary knowledge of our artistic and iconographic history can object. It has been a part of our artistic heritage that the person responsible for the erection, restoration or renovation of a Church or Cathedral be depicted in the art work of the building in question. Unless that person is in bad standing for misconduct, it's perfectly acceptable. More than that, for many centuries--even into living memory, the costume used in art hasn't been rigidly accurate in the archaeological sense. It has been the practice to show contemporary persons involved in the Passion and Death of our Lord. Finally, to depict a Bishop, in his vestments, at the foot of the cross implicitly reinforces the sacrificial nature of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and the as the person in the Local Church who holds the fullness of the priesthood, it reinforces the Churches Teaching on the nature of Holy Orders.
This looks to me to be an attempt by dissidents in Florida, and the LA Times, to undermine these teachings by misdirection and to try to disrupt the unity of the Church in Orlando by creating a major bru-ha-ha over something that isn't at it's root in any way objectionable. It's just another manifestation of the ongoing spiritual warfare that has occurred through out history ad is occurring now.
Brazil--Bishop Luis Carlos Eccel has resigned under Canon 401 paragraph 2 for "grave cause". Bishop Eccel supported Dilma Rousseff for the office of president in that country. Rousseff was a very pro-abortion candidate, and to support her went against the teaching and practice of the faith, and disregarded the hierarchy of truth. This has some interesting implications for the US, as well.
If a bishop can resign his see after something like this--and I would love to have been a fly on the wall while this was being worked out!--we can hope to see a more proactive stance by the US bishops on the supposedly catholic politicians who constantly undermine church teaching and work for the culture of death. More than that, this could be a shot across the bows for those bishops who still support pro-abortion and pro-homosexualist politicians. It depends, I think, on what went down behind closed doors. Of course, things like this go around the small community of bishops, and everyone knows what went down, eventually.
I hope it presages a reform of the College of Bishops, with his holiness and his successors requiring them to be first and foremost Catholic Teachers of the Church under their care, rather than dissidents motivated by politics.
Talk about a tempest in a tea cup! I fail to see how a Catholic who is well instructed in the Faith, or who has even a rudimentary knowledge of our artistic and iconographic history can object. It has been a part of our artistic heritage that the person responsible for the erection, restoration or renovation of a Church or Cathedral be depicted in the art work of the building in question. Unless that person is in bad standing for misconduct, it's perfectly acceptable. More than that, for many centuries--even into living memory, the costume used in art hasn't been rigidly accurate in the archaeological sense. It has been the practice to show contemporary persons involved in the Passion and Death of our Lord. Finally, to depict a Bishop, in his vestments, at the foot of the cross implicitly reinforces the sacrificial nature of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and the as the person in the Local Church who holds the fullness of the priesthood, it reinforces the Churches Teaching on the nature of Holy Orders.
This looks to me to be an attempt by dissidents in Florida, and the LA Times, to undermine these teachings by misdirection and to try to disrupt the unity of the Church in Orlando by creating a major bru-ha-ha over something that isn't at it's root in any way objectionable. It's just another manifestation of the ongoing spiritual warfare that has occurred through out history ad is occurring now.
Brazil--Bishop Luis Carlos Eccel has resigned under Canon 401 paragraph 2 for "grave cause". Bishop Eccel supported Dilma Rousseff for the office of president in that country. Rousseff was a very pro-abortion candidate, and to support her went against the teaching and practice of the faith, and disregarded the hierarchy of truth. This has some interesting implications for the US, as well.
If a bishop can resign his see after something like this--and I would love to have been a fly on the wall while this was being worked out!--we can hope to see a more proactive stance by the US bishops on the supposedly catholic politicians who constantly undermine church teaching and work for the culture of death. More than that, this could be a shot across the bows for those bishops who still support pro-abortion and pro-homosexualist politicians. It depends, I think, on what went down behind closed doors. Of course, things like this go around the small community of bishops, and everyone knows what went down, eventually.
I hope it presages a reform of the College of Bishops, with his holiness and his successors requiring them to be first and foremost Catholic Teachers of the Church under their care, rather than dissidents motivated by politics.
The Universe is Stranger than We Imagine
In Kentucky two men were sentenced to probation. The sentence stems from an altercation in May of 2009 when two brothers got into it with a third man. One of the brothers said the incident was over a woman, the man they were convicted of assaulting said it was over a riding lawnmower. The two men--brothers--used a sickle blade as a weapon, cut off the victims beard, and forced him to eat it.
Alcohol was involved.
Out on the Left Coast, David Jentsch received a package in the mail. The package contained razor blades contaminated with HIV and a note telling him to stop using animal is his research as a neuroscientist. The package was sent by Animal Liberation Front activists, who said it was sent by the "UCLA Justice Department" to secure justice and liberation for Lab Animals.
Oddly enough, this attempt at terrorism in the name of Animal Rights wasn't widely reported. Even though when someone prays near an abortion clinic it's reported as an act of violence or intimidation, sending contaminated sharps to someone with a note saying they hope he ends up in hell-soon-doesn't get much play. The package was sent to his home address.
Two events, both stranger than snake shoes. One sort of humorous, the other sort of frightening. This country is stranger than I ever thought.
Alcohol was involved.
Out on the Left Coast, David Jentsch received a package in the mail. The package contained razor blades contaminated with HIV and a note telling him to stop using animal is his research as a neuroscientist. The package was sent by Animal Liberation Front activists, who said it was sent by the "UCLA Justice Department" to secure justice and liberation for Lab Animals.
Oddly enough, this attempt at terrorism in the name of Animal Rights wasn't widely reported. Even though when someone prays near an abortion clinic it's reported as an act of violence or intimidation, sending contaminated sharps to someone with a note saying they hope he ends up in hell-soon-doesn't get much play. The package was sent to his home address.
Two events, both stranger than snake shoes. One sort of humorous, the other sort of frightening. This country is stranger than I ever thought.
Friday, November 26, 2010
The Korea Situation
No More Task Force Smiths. And we don't have a Ridgeway on the horizon.
If you don't understand those two statements, then I will flatly say you are not in any way ready to think about the Korean peninsula.
We Americans tend not to remember the War in Korea. We do not remember how devastating it was. We don't remember how difficult it was. And we do not understand, by and large, how much of a legacy of hatred it left in it's wake. Most of us are also unaware that that war never concluded--there was a cease fire, by no peace.
I believe that the current round of artillery attacks and navel engagements--don't forget that a few months ago a Republic of Korea ship was torpedoed by the Peoples Republic of Korea--are more related to the internal political climate of North Korea than any real desire to over run or attack South Korea. But I may be wrong. The North Korean Regime is ruthless enough to start a war of murderous intensity for reasons of internal political considerations.
We have treaty obligations to the Republic of Korea in this case.
Don't forget that the Clinton Administration nearly went to war on the Korean peninsula.
This will probably blow over. But if it the North, the South or the US badly miscalculate, it could be a horrible bloody war that makes the Gulf War, the Iraq War, the Afghanistan War or the Viet Nam war look like a Boy Scout game of capture the flag.
Let's hope no one miscalculates--I'd much rather that this didn't escalate into something like the last war in Korea. Let me put this in a broad brush perspective: The slaughter of WWI trench warfare was the result of field fortifications, machine guns and artillery. The state of all three on the Korean Peninsula make the western front in WWI look amateurish. It is the most heavily fortified area in human history, and the experts think the fortifications, with their thousands of troops, will hold much less than 24 hours. In an area where terrain makes armored warfare difficult, whose weather and terrain makes air support difficult.
We would be in the middle of a third generation infantry war, against a foe proven to be willing to accept horrendous casualties.
So even though I expect this is political theater played out with artillery--I also hope and pray that I am correct.
At one point, last time around General LeMay of the Air force seriously proposed nuking the enemy, simply to even up the odds in the field. It was that bad.
If you don't understand those two statements, then I will flatly say you are not in any way ready to think about the Korean peninsula.
We Americans tend not to remember the War in Korea. We do not remember how devastating it was. We don't remember how difficult it was. And we do not understand, by and large, how much of a legacy of hatred it left in it's wake. Most of us are also unaware that that war never concluded--there was a cease fire, by no peace.
I believe that the current round of artillery attacks and navel engagements--don't forget that a few months ago a Republic of Korea ship was torpedoed by the Peoples Republic of Korea--are more related to the internal political climate of North Korea than any real desire to over run or attack South Korea. But I may be wrong. The North Korean Regime is ruthless enough to start a war of murderous intensity for reasons of internal political considerations.
We have treaty obligations to the Republic of Korea in this case.
Don't forget that the Clinton Administration nearly went to war on the Korean peninsula.
This will probably blow over. But if it the North, the South or the US badly miscalculate, it could be a horrible bloody war that makes the Gulf War, the Iraq War, the Afghanistan War or the Viet Nam war look like a Boy Scout game of capture the flag.
Let's hope no one miscalculates--I'd much rather that this didn't escalate into something like the last war in Korea. Let me put this in a broad brush perspective: The slaughter of WWI trench warfare was the result of field fortifications, machine guns and artillery. The state of all three on the Korean Peninsula make the western front in WWI look amateurish. It is the most heavily fortified area in human history, and the experts think the fortifications, with their thousands of troops, will hold much less than 24 hours. In an area where terrain makes armored warfare difficult, whose weather and terrain makes air support difficult.
We would be in the middle of a third generation infantry war, against a foe proven to be willing to accept horrendous casualties.
So even though I expect this is political theater played out with artillery--I also hope and pray that I am correct.
At one point, last time around General LeMay of the Air force seriously proposed nuking the enemy, simply to even up the odds in the field. It was that bad.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Why the Exodus From the Catholic Chuch?
It's a truism, sometimes recited as humorous, sometimes with sadness, that the Catholic Church is the largest "denomination" in the US, and the second largest is ex-catholics.
Archbishop Dolan is all set to speak about this. And to get the Bishops to address the reasons for it. The vary idea makes me cringe. After all, there will be vocal group who say what is needed isn't just more of the same, but that we should get even further from Tradition.
The Church has always had, and will always have, a high percentage of drop outs, lukewarm Catholics, dissenters, and heretics. It has always had, and will always have, mouth Catholics, who give lip service to the Church and the Lord, but who are in no way even trying to live a Gospel Life. That's nothing new, and it's to be expected. If one reads the Gospels, and the Epistles, we were told as much.
But the defections--to use the churchy phrase--formal defections are disturbing. As is the hostility which many of the defectors bear Holy Mother Church. And it is rightly a matter of concern for bishops. In fact, it should be the primary concern of the bishops. This problem should weigh on them more heavily than immigration. It should weigh on them more than poverty. It should be their main issue.
I know that many will say that abortion and the defense of the family are more important. I will say you are wrong. Both the triumph of Moloch's devotees and of the promoters of homosexual marriage have a huge number of ex-catholics and so called 'thinking' Catholics in their corner. And many of them are elected officials who claim to be faithful and devoted Catholics. Not only that, but we have groups of religious, such as NCAN and Network who are working industriously to undermine the Churches timeless moral teachings and the authority of the Bishops to communicate this.
If we don't do something about the ex-catholics, both within and without the Church, we are not going to make any progress on a single social issue. Instead, we will continue to be the electoral puppets of whoever makes the most appealing noise. Until we take to hear St. Paul's warning about seeking novelty, we will continue to see our liturgical, artistic and spiritual patrimony eroded by New Age and social theory fads. We will continue to lose people.
I converted to the Faith in 1975. My Parents and my sisters followed by 76. I am the only practicing Catholic left. And I left for 15 years. Now, here is why this happened.
My parents left because the clergy in their deanery were too busy fund raising and glad handing to come and anoint a man in grave danger of death. More than that, my Mom began to wonder why she heard no preaching on sin and forgiveness, but only on issues of 'social significance. My Dad was a WWII veteran, a purple heart holder, with campaign ribbons from the North Atlantic, the invasion of North Africa, the South Pacific, and the Island hopping campaign of the Amphibious Forces. he wondered why suddenly he was being told that his efforts were in vain. And why he should support the Communists in Central America.
My sisters ended up in the Assemblies of God for two different reasons. One, the eldest, realized she hadn't heard a sermon about the Lord in three months, but knew lots about the politics of Central America. (This was in the 80s). She wanted the Gospel. She wanted sermons that challenged her to live a holier, more Christian life. She decided that this was completely unavailable in the Catholic Church. That's right, she decided that given what she was seeing and hearing, the Catholic Church in her area was going to be of no help to her living a Christian life in a secular land. She had loved the liturgy, but decided that if she was going to hear 'praise music' it should at least be well performed, and enthusiastically sung, by people who evinced some conviction that worship was holy, and who believed that Jesus was Lord, and expected something from us. Since the Liturgy seemed more of a suggestion by then than a norm, she concluded it would be better to go to a church where improv wasn't a hallowed act of disobedience. And she couldn't find that in the Catholic Church in her vicinity.
My other sister left when she was confronted with the reality of finding that her husband was a homosexual. not only was this difficult for her, she strongly suspected that his infidelity extended to more than Internet porn. When she went to her priest for counsel and consolation, what she got was something rather different. She was told to view her husband with compassion and understanding, and to be accepting and supportive. When her husband left to be with his boyfriend (leaving her with a young son) she got little support from her priest, or her fellow parishioners. The reason became clear when her priest was diagnosed with AIDS.
I left for more complex, and less understandable reasons. First, when I was a catachumen, I had the blessing of a very thorough instruction in the Faith. And I was stunned at the reality of the Eucharist. For the next 12 years, I was subjected to what seemed to be a non stop 'reeducation'. Everything about the Faith I had learned, it seemed, was passe'. I didn't realize that Vatican II had done away with all that. Even the Real Presence was supposedly wrong. I was told that the Testimony of the Apostles was irrelevant. That the Fathers and Doctors were superseded by the current Theologians. That the teaching authority of the Bishops was paralleled by that of the Theologians and the Sense of the Faithful. (This last was confusing! After all, I had herd of the Sensus Fides, so it was easy to confuse me with the idea of the Sensus Fidelium.)
I finally lost my faith, and with it my moral compass, my family and my self respect. not to mention my self restraint. The damage was enormous.
I know others who have left the Church. Some went to the Orthodox Church. More went to the evangelicals. Those who left over the moral teachings--who wanted to contracept, to abort, to have sexual liberties, went elsewhere. Many went to the Neo-Pagan movement. (It's really interesting how many ex-catholics there are there. They hunger for ritual and liturgy, for sacramentals, and so forth. Paganism offers a way to fill that hunger, no matter how illusory. Yet it not only allows, but promotes and enables behaviors that are objectively sinful.) Others drifted into either the Episcopal Church--it seems like the preferred destination for homosexual Catholics who want to be active Church members. Some end up, for some reason, with the Unitarian Universalists. Most just drift into secularity.
I know more Catholics who know almost nothing about the faith, who have been taught that Scripture isn't really a guide, that nothing is says happened happened, and that it never means what it says, who think that the Sacraments are social events, with no idea what the words sanctifying grace mean, than otherwise.
So looking at that , it's no wonder so many leave the Church. With out good teaching, and preaching that challenges and edifies us, and no sense of what actually happens in a sacrament, it doesn't make a lot of sense to stay.
Add in that it's easy, if you are a pew sitter, to feel as if you are mainly a source of funding for people who really have little respect for you, and discouragement can set in. Couple that with the dominance of 'multiculturalism', and an approach that makes a lot of people feel their own culture and heritage is no longer valued, and there is some bitterness. Chip up the kow-towing to political correctness, and men, especially, begin to doubt whether priests and bishops have any fiber at all. It's not a coincidence that there was a web site called Episcopal Spine Alert that simply told of Bishops who stood up for Catholic Teaching or discipline.
If we want stem the hemorrhage, we need to become confidently Catholic. We need to be proud and protective of our patrimony. Our shepherds need to courageously proclaim the truths of our faith and not worry so much at offending people--Christ offended more than he attracted! Most of all, we need to stop being ashamed of the Phrase and Reality "Church Militant". (Why on Earth would the Holy Spirit support a local Church that had turned itself into a social services club with encounter groups?) And we need to reclaim that truth that was made emphatically clear in the Rite for the Sacrament of Confirmation: We need to remind ourselves, each other, and the world that we are Miles Christi-Soldiers of Christ.
Archbishop Dolan is all set to speak about this. And to get the Bishops to address the reasons for it. The vary idea makes me cringe. After all, there will be vocal group who say what is needed isn't just more of the same, but that we should get even further from Tradition.
The Church has always had, and will always have, a high percentage of drop outs, lukewarm Catholics, dissenters, and heretics. It has always had, and will always have, mouth Catholics, who give lip service to the Church and the Lord, but who are in no way even trying to live a Gospel Life. That's nothing new, and it's to be expected. If one reads the Gospels, and the Epistles, we were told as much.
But the defections--to use the churchy phrase--formal defections are disturbing. As is the hostility which many of the defectors bear Holy Mother Church. And it is rightly a matter of concern for bishops. In fact, it should be the primary concern of the bishops. This problem should weigh on them more heavily than immigration. It should weigh on them more than poverty. It should be their main issue.
I know that many will say that abortion and the defense of the family are more important. I will say you are wrong. Both the triumph of Moloch's devotees and of the promoters of homosexual marriage have a huge number of ex-catholics and so called 'thinking' Catholics in their corner. And many of them are elected officials who claim to be faithful and devoted Catholics. Not only that, but we have groups of religious, such as NCAN and Network who are working industriously to undermine the Churches timeless moral teachings and the authority of the Bishops to communicate this.
If we don't do something about the ex-catholics, both within and without the Church, we are not going to make any progress on a single social issue. Instead, we will continue to be the electoral puppets of whoever makes the most appealing noise. Until we take to hear St. Paul's warning about seeking novelty, we will continue to see our liturgical, artistic and spiritual patrimony eroded by New Age and social theory fads. We will continue to lose people.
I converted to the Faith in 1975. My Parents and my sisters followed by 76. I am the only practicing Catholic left. And I left for 15 years. Now, here is why this happened.
My parents left because the clergy in their deanery were too busy fund raising and glad handing to come and anoint a man in grave danger of death. More than that, my Mom began to wonder why she heard no preaching on sin and forgiveness, but only on issues of 'social significance. My Dad was a WWII veteran, a purple heart holder, with campaign ribbons from the North Atlantic, the invasion of North Africa, the South Pacific, and the Island hopping campaign of the Amphibious Forces. he wondered why suddenly he was being told that his efforts were in vain. And why he should support the Communists in Central America.
My sisters ended up in the Assemblies of God for two different reasons. One, the eldest, realized she hadn't heard a sermon about the Lord in three months, but knew lots about the politics of Central America. (This was in the 80s). She wanted the Gospel. She wanted sermons that challenged her to live a holier, more Christian life. She decided that this was completely unavailable in the Catholic Church. That's right, she decided that given what she was seeing and hearing, the Catholic Church in her area was going to be of no help to her living a Christian life in a secular land. She had loved the liturgy, but decided that if she was going to hear 'praise music' it should at least be well performed, and enthusiastically sung, by people who evinced some conviction that worship was holy, and who believed that Jesus was Lord, and expected something from us. Since the Liturgy seemed more of a suggestion by then than a norm, she concluded it would be better to go to a church where improv wasn't a hallowed act of disobedience. And she couldn't find that in the Catholic Church in her vicinity.
My other sister left when she was confronted with the reality of finding that her husband was a homosexual. not only was this difficult for her, she strongly suspected that his infidelity extended to more than Internet porn. When she went to her priest for counsel and consolation, what she got was something rather different. She was told to view her husband with compassion and understanding, and to be accepting and supportive. When her husband left to be with his boyfriend (leaving her with a young son) she got little support from her priest, or her fellow parishioners. The reason became clear when her priest was diagnosed with AIDS.
I left for more complex, and less understandable reasons. First, when I was a catachumen, I had the blessing of a very thorough instruction in the Faith. And I was stunned at the reality of the Eucharist. For the next 12 years, I was subjected to what seemed to be a non stop 'reeducation'. Everything about the Faith I had learned, it seemed, was passe'. I didn't realize that Vatican II had done away with all that. Even the Real Presence was supposedly wrong. I was told that the Testimony of the Apostles was irrelevant. That the Fathers and Doctors were superseded by the current Theologians. That the teaching authority of the Bishops was paralleled by that of the Theologians and the Sense of the Faithful. (This last was confusing! After all, I had herd of the Sensus Fides, so it was easy to confuse me with the idea of the Sensus Fidelium.)
I finally lost my faith, and with it my moral compass, my family and my self respect. not to mention my self restraint. The damage was enormous.
I know others who have left the Church. Some went to the Orthodox Church. More went to the evangelicals. Those who left over the moral teachings--who wanted to contracept, to abort, to have sexual liberties, went elsewhere. Many went to the Neo-Pagan movement. (It's really interesting how many ex-catholics there are there. They hunger for ritual and liturgy, for sacramentals, and so forth. Paganism offers a way to fill that hunger, no matter how illusory. Yet it not only allows, but promotes and enables behaviors that are objectively sinful.) Others drifted into either the Episcopal Church--it seems like the preferred destination for homosexual Catholics who want to be active Church members. Some end up, for some reason, with the Unitarian Universalists. Most just drift into secularity.
I know more Catholics who know almost nothing about the faith, who have been taught that Scripture isn't really a guide, that nothing is says happened happened, and that it never means what it says, who think that the Sacraments are social events, with no idea what the words sanctifying grace mean, than otherwise.
So looking at that , it's no wonder so many leave the Church. With out good teaching, and preaching that challenges and edifies us, and no sense of what actually happens in a sacrament, it doesn't make a lot of sense to stay.
Add in that it's easy, if you are a pew sitter, to feel as if you are mainly a source of funding for people who really have little respect for you, and discouragement can set in. Couple that with the dominance of 'multiculturalism', and an approach that makes a lot of people feel their own culture and heritage is no longer valued, and there is some bitterness. Chip up the kow-towing to political correctness, and men, especially, begin to doubt whether priests and bishops have any fiber at all. It's not a coincidence that there was a web site called Episcopal Spine Alert that simply told of Bishops who stood up for Catholic Teaching or discipline.
If we want stem the hemorrhage, we need to become confidently Catholic. We need to be proud and protective of our patrimony. Our shepherds need to courageously proclaim the truths of our faith and not worry so much at offending people--Christ offended more than he attracted! Most of all, we need to stop being ashamed of the Phrase and Reality "Church Militant". (Why on Earth would the Holy Spirit support a local Church that had turned itself into a social services club with encounter groups?) And we need to reclaim that truth that was made emphatically clear in the Rite for the Sacrament of Confirmation: We need to remind ourselves, each other, and the world that we are Miles Christi-Soldiers of Christ.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
I'm not the brightest crayon in the box...
...so let me see if I have this straight.
You tell me that I should not celebrate Thanksgiving, as it's a profoundly Unchristian holiday, based in a mythologized history. Of course, you also say to me that the existence of Thanksgiving, as a holiday created by presidential decree, represents a violation of the establishment clause of the Constitution, because it presumes there is a Deity to thank.
Moving on from there, you tell me that I should, if I mark this day at all, do so by fasting because it really marks the beginning of the extirpation of the Native Americans, and I should be more sensitive to them, because now there are more Native Americans than ever before and this holiday is an affront to them.
Then you go on to tell me that the Native Americans didn't ask us to come here, that they didn't give us permission to come here. Instead we just showed up, moved in without respect for, or accommodation of, their Laws, Language or Life Ways, which resulted in them losing their land and sovereignty. Next you say that 'seeking a better life' is just code to justify 'greedy for more', and that 'liberty' is code for trying to get out of obeying laws. And then you tell me that for this very reason. we should allow unrestricted, unregistered immigration and grant amnesty all persons who have illegally entered the country.
Either I am really not understanding your reasoning, or your phreakin' stupid.
You tell me that I should not celebrate Thanksgiving, as it's a profoundly Unchristian holiday, based in a mythologized history. Of course, you also say to me that the existence of Thanksgiving, as a holiday created by presidential decree, represents a violation of the establishment clause of the Constitution, because it presumes there is a Deity to thank.
Moving on from there, you tell me that I should, if I mark this day at all, do so by fasting because it really marks the beginning of the extirpation of the Native Americans, and I should be more sensitive to them, because now there are more Native Americans than ever before and this holiday is an affront to them.
Then you go on to tell me that the Native Americans didn't ask us to come here, that they didn't give us permission to come here. Instead we just showed up, moved in without respect for, or accommodation of, their Laws, Language or Life Ways, which resulted in them losing their land and sovereignty. Next you say that 'seeking a better life' is just code to justify 'greedy for more', and that 'liberty' is code for trying to get out of obeying laws. And then you tell me that for this very reason. we should allow unrestricted, unregistered immigration and grant amnesty all persons who have illegally entered the country.
Either I am really not understanding your reasoning, or your phreakin' stupid.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Harry Potter and Catholic Family Life
So as I did my chores today, I eliminated a large pile of brush wood that had been the by product of cutting down an unwanted tree, of an undesirable species. This pile had become covered by the leaves of the huge and ancient Oak Tree that dominates the back yard. In addition to this, there were all the other leaves, etc.
So this evening, one of my three year old granddaughters looks out the back door and stares--all that stuff is gone! She looked positively baffled. So, I told her that the Nargles had taken the pile away.
She solemnly walked out the back door, inspected the ground where the pile had been. She looked around the yard. Then she stood up very straight, put her hands on her hips, and yelled:
NARGLES! I WANT THAT PILE BACK!
Maybe i should be more careful around the Grand kids?
So this evening, one of my three year old granddaughters looks out the back door and stares--all that stuff is gone! She looked positively baffled. So, I told her that the Nargles had taken the pile away.
She solemnly walked out the back door, inspected the ground where the pile had been. She looked around the yard. Then she stood up very straight, put her hands on her hips, and yelled:
NARGLES! I WANT THAT PILE BACK!
Maybe i should be more careful around the Grand kids?
Sunday, November 21, 2010
A Sorrowful Omelet
Sunday breakfast is something i always try to make treat like, in honor of the day. But today's Breakfast is sad.
I made an Herb Omelet with garlic, olives and tomatoes. And that's what made it sad. I will not have another homegrown, vine ripened tomato until next summer. there are no more in our garden. So even though the omelet tastes wonderful, I must also accept that another growing season is spent. The grapes are done, and the vines bare of leaves. No more peppers, of lettuce, or fresh flavourful organic produce just outside the kitchen door. We still have some carrots--we've successfully over wintered them before, and some parsley.
Bu the garden is piratically done. And my taste buds are going into mourning.
I made an Herb Omelet with garlic, olives and tomatoes. And that's what made it sad. I will not have another homegrown, vine ripened tomato until next summer. there are no more in our garden. So even though the omelet tastes wonderful, I must also accept that another growing season is spent. The grapes are done, and the vines bare of leaves. No more peppers, of lettuce, or fresh flavourful organic produce just outside the kitchen door. We still have some carrots--we've successfully over wintered them before, and some parsley.
Bu the garden is piratically done. And my taste buds are going into mourning.
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