Pro Ecclesia * Pro Familia * Pro Civitate

CatholicVote Asks “Catholics for Sebelius” to Disown HHS Secretary Whom They Supported With Letter Campaign

2012-01-25T14:40:00.009-05:00

Although the Soros-sponsored Democrat front group calling itself "Catholics United" has now scrubbed the incriminating evidence from its website, Matt Bowman at CatholicVote.org reminds us of the letter that several members of the Catholic left wrote in 2009 demanding that Kathleen Sebelius be confirmed as HHS Secretary:

Nearly 3 years ago, 26 liberal Catholics still crowing over their successful campaign to elect Obama actually felt the urgent need to form a group “Catholics for Sebelius” to support the nomination of that rabidly pro-abortion woman for HHS Secretary. They not only supported her, they called her a model pro-lifer who “lived and acted according to” her agreement with Church teaching against abortion.

It was a false claim even then. Now that Sebelius has finalized her rule forcing religious organizations to fund abortifacient drugs, contraception and sterilization, including drugs that kill embryos, it is a shameless lie. And their letter openly advocated that Sebelius pass and implement Obamacare, which is the instrument of her attack on religious freedom...

Matt continues by demanding that each of the signatories to that infamous letter recant their support and denounce Secretary Sebelius for her actions in mandating that religious organizations, including the Catholic Church, provide funding for contraceptives:

This is not political anymore. It never really was. Show some integrity to clean up this anti-religious, anti-life mess you have created.

Ambassador Elizabeth Frawley Bagley
Professor Lisa Sowle Cahill
Nicholas Cafardi
William D’Antonio
Professor Miguel H. Diaz
Michael Duffy
Julia Dowd
Professor Joseph Fahey
Professor Richard Gaillardetz
Fr. David Hollenbach
James P. Joseph
Christopher Korzen
Steven Krueger
Professor Douglas Kmiec
Delores Leckey
Eric LeCompte
Kari J. Lundgren
Professor Jerome Maryon
Fr. Thomas Massaro
Professor Vincent Miller
Professor David O’Brien
Fr. Thomas Reese
Maria Riley
Professor Stephen Schneck
Margaret O’Brien Steinfels
Dr. Patrick Whelan

P.S. I am not just suggesting they merely whitewash the existence of the letter. Just taking it down with no explanation would be a cop out. You’ve been telling the world for three years you specifically are “Catholics for Sebelius.” So make it known that this has changed...

Meanwhile, in related posts at CatholicVote, Tom Peters argues that the HHS Ruling will prove to be a litmus test for pro-Obama Catholics, and that some of the usual suspects on the Catholic left are already beginning to show where their allegiances really lie.

Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Obama Culture of Death Update™: Obama's HHS Makes Persecution of Church Official Administration Policy [UPDATED]

RINO Establisment Hack Chris Christie is an Embarassment

2012-01-23T02:50:00.002-05:00

Here's New Jersey's RINO governor, Chris Christie, favorably comparing his boy Dullard Flip Rino to Newt Gingrich:

"I think Newt Gingrich has embarrassed the party over time," Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) said on NBC's "Meet the Press" this morning. "Whether he'll do again in the future, I don't know. But Gov. Romney never has."

(emphasis added)

For what it's worth, here's Romney NOT embarassing the GOP:

Nope, nothing embarassing about that. From repudiating Ronald Reagan and the GOP (claiming to have been "an independent during the time of Reagan-Bush"), to criticizing the Contract With America, to rejecting the endorsement of a pro-life organization, Mitt Romney has NEVER done anything to embarass the GOP.

Obama Culture of Death Update™: Obama's HHS Makes Persecution of Church Official Administration Policy [UPDATED]

2012-01-20T14:11:00.007-05:00

At Creative Minority Report, Patrick Archbold reports on HHS Secretary and dissident Catholic Kathleen Sebelius' full-frontal assault on religious liberty:

This is outrageous. HHS has issued its final ruling on exemptions from contraceptive coverage for health plans even in the face of religious obejctions. Too bad.

And in what passes for compromise for the lunatic secular left currently running the country, they will give religious groups an extra year to comply if you can PROVE you are really a religious group (which is difficult to impossible with these people), but comply you will...

[More]

The result of this is that religious persecution is now the official policy of the Obama Administration because many Catholic organizations simply will not comply and will therefore be subject to legal repercussion.

UPDATE
At National Catholic Distorter, Democrat and Obama shill Mikey Sean Winters expresses his "disappointment" that he and so many other left-leaning Catholics like Sr. Carol and President Jenkins just got played by the Obama Administration.

I'm pretty sure a whole lot of us have been saying for years that they were being played by Obama, but they were hearing none of it, willingly allowing themselves to be utilized by the Obama as an "alternative liberal magisterium" to the Bishops.

Besides, Mikey Sean seems far more concerned with the potential political fallout from Obama's declaration of war on the Church for Democrats who now might not fare so well among Catholic swing voters than he does with the fact that religious liberty has been placed in jeopardy.

UPDATE #2
The U.S. Bishops have vowed to fight the HHS edict, again, putting them and the Church on a head-on collision course with religious persecution:

WASHINGTON—The Catholic bishops of the United States called “literally unconscionable” a decision by the Obama Administration to continue to demand that sterilization, abortifacients and contraception be included in virtually all health plans. Today's announcement means that this mandate and its very narrow exemption will not change at all; instead there will only be a delay in enforcement against some employers.

“In effect, the president is saying we have a year to figure out how to violate our consciences,” said Cardinal-designate Timothy M. Dolan, archbishop of New York and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The cardinal-designate continued, “To force American citizens to choose between violating their consciences and forgoing their healthcare is literally unconscionable.It is as much an attack on access to health care as on religious freedom. Historically this represents a challenge and a compromise of our religious liberty."

[...]

“The Obama administration has now drawn an unprecedented line in the sand,” he said. “The Catholic bishops are committed to working with our fellow Americans to reform the law and change this unjust regulation. We will continue to study all the implications of this troubling decision.”

Sr. Carol Keehan, who used her role as head of the Catholic Health Association to provide an "alternative magisterium" in defying the Bishops on Obamacare and undermining their teaching with respect to public funding of abortion, was, unsurprisingly, understated in expressing her "disappointment" (just like Mikey Sean) in the Obama Administration's decision to reveal her as being nothing more than a useful idiot:

Daughter of Charity Sister Carol Keehan, president and chief executive officer of the Catholic Health Association of the United States, voiced disappointment with the decision. Catholic hospitals serve one out of six people who seek hospital care annually.

“This was a missed opportunity to be clear on appropriate conscience protection,” Sister Keehan said.

Why I Believe the Texas Rangers Should Sign Prince Fielder

2012-01-19T15:25:00.009-05:00

Yesterday, the Texas Rangers signed Japanese pitching sensation Yu Darvish to a 6-year, $60 million dollar contract (that actually cost them closer to $120 million because of the fee they had to pay to Yu's Japanese team for the rights to negotiate). Because of those big bucks, the speculation is that now the Rangers cannot afford to sign left-handed hitting sensation Prince Fielder to be their new 1st Baseman / Designated Hitter. Especially if the money they would spend on Fielder means they have less money to re-sign current players that are near free agent eligibility in the coming years.

But I believe the Rangers should throw caution to the wind and sign Fielder anyway, and here is why:

Basically, it's because I believe the Rangers are running out of time to get a World Series championship. If anything, last year was THE YEAR to get it done, but they blew it TWICE in Game 6. They are on borrowed time at this point. I believe they are where the Dallas Cowboys were in 1995: a solid core of players who had only one shot left to win another Super Bowl. The previous year was THE YEAR to get it done, but the Cowboys blew it with an awful start in the NFC Championship. In 1995, they got it done, but only because they brought in a free-agent ringer in Deion Sanders, and even then they only barely scraped out a victory over the Steelers in the Super Bowl. They were criticized for "mortgaging their future" on that one year. But, seriously, would ANY Cowboys fan REALLY trade that 3rd Super Bowl ring in 4 years for a few more playoff appearances (but likely no more Super Bowl appearances) in the late 90s and early 2000s?

I'd gladly "mortgage the future" on one more World Series run - a 3rd appearance in 3 years, especially if it increased the likelihood of their actually winning the thing this time around. In this case, Prince plays the role of Deion, helping the Rangers get over that last hurdle. The Angels are like the 49ers, or the Packers, or the Rams, or the Steelers or the Patriots of the late 1990s/ early 2000s- waiting to be the next team to make multiple runs to the championship. They're getting better with each passing year. And the AL East teams and the Tigers aren't going to just roll over either. NOW is the time for the Rangers to make a big move to get the championship THIS YEAR. Worrying about the future just gives those other teams time to keep reloading and keep getting better. Yes, the Rangers will still have a core of excellent players, just like the Cowboys still had Aikman, Emmit, Irvin, and Darren Woodson. But even then the window was closing on the Cowboys in 1995. And it's probably closing on the Rangers in 2012. Sign Fielder, like the Cowboys signed Deion, and try to make that last run THIS YEAR.

Victory for Free Exercise Clause - Supreme Court Unanimously Upholds "Ministerial Exception" to Employment Discrimination Laws [UPDATED]

2012-01-11T11:22:00.013-05:00

From the blog of The Federalist Society:

The Supreme Court just published its decision in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC, a case regarding the "ministerial exception" in employment discrimination law. As FedSocBlog previously noted, for 40 years, lower courts have held that the First Amendment forbids the government from deciding who may be a religious minister--despite the fact that federal statutes outlawing employment discrimination based on race, sex, age, and disability contain no express exception.

In its decision, the Court unanimously upheld the ministerial exception in the case at hand. SCOTUS thus ruled against the position of the Obama Justice Department, which had asked the court to disavow the ministerial exception altogether.

[More]

UPDATE
Justices Thomas and Alito each wrote concurring opinions. Although I generally find myself in agreement with the constitutional philosophy espoused by Justice Thomas, in this instance I find that I am most in agreement with the concurrence authored by Justice Alito, in which he was joined by ... Justice Kagan of all people:

I join the Court’s opinion, but I write separately to clarify my understanding of the significance of formal ordination and designation as a “minister” in determining whether an “employee” of a religious group falls within the so-called “ministerial” exception. The term “minister” is commonly used by many Protestant denominations to refer to members of their clergy, but the term is rarely if ever used in this way by Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, or Buddhists. In addition, the concept of ordination as understood by most Christian churches and by Judaism has no clear counterpart in some Christian denominations and some other religions. Because virtually every religion in the world is represented in the population of the United States, it would be a mistake if the term “minister” or the concept of ordination were viewed as central to the important issue of religious autonomy that is presented in cases like this one. Instead, courts should focus on the function performed by persons who work for religious bodies.

The First Amendment protects the freedom of religious groups to engage in certain key religious activities, including the conducting of worship services and other religious ceremonies and rituals, as well as the critical process of communicating the faith. Accordingly, religious groups must be free to choose the personnel who are essential tothe performance of these functions.

The “ministerial” exception should be tailored to this purpose. It should apply to any “employee” who leads a religious organization, conducts worship services or important religious ceremonies or rituals, or serves as a messenger or teacher of its faith. If a religious group believes that the ability of such an employee to perform these key functions has been compromised, then the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom protects the group’s right to remove the employee from his or her position.

[...]

Religious autonomy means that religious authorities must be free to determine who is qualified to serve in positions of substantial religious importance. Different religions will have different views on exactly what qualifies as an important religious position, but it is nonetheless possible to identify a general category of “employees” whose functions are essential to the independence of practically all religious groups. These include those who serve in positions of leadership, those who perform important functions in worship services and in the performance of religious ceremonies and rituals, and those who are entrusted with teaching and conveying the tenets of the faith to the next generation.

Applying the protection of the First Amendment to roles of religious leadership, worship, ritual, and expression focuses on the objective functions that are important for the autonomy of any religious group, regardless of its beliefs. As we have recognized in a similar context,“[f]orcing a group to accept certain members may impair [its ability] to express those views, and only those views, that it intends to express.” Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, 530 U. S. 640, 648 (2000). That principle applies with special force with respect to religious groups, whose very existence is dedicated to the collective expression and propagation of shared religious ideals. See Employment Div., Dept. of Human Resources of Ore. v. Smith, 494 U. S. 872, 882 (1990) (noting that the constitutional interest in freedom of association may be “reinforced by Free Exercise Clause concerns”). As the Court notes, the First Amendment “gives special solicitude to the rights of religious organizations,” ante, at 14, but our expressive-association cases are nevertheless useful in pointing out what those essential rights are. Religious groups are the archetype of associations formed for expressive purposes, and their fundamental rights surely include the freedom to choose who is qualified to serve as a voice for their faith.

When it comes to the expression and inculcation of religious doctrine, there can be no doubt that the messenger matters. Religious teachings cover the gamut from moral conduct to metaphysical truth, and both the content and credibility of a religion’s message depend vitally on the character and conduct of its teachers. A religion cannot depend on someone to be an effective advocate for its religious vision if that person’s conduct fails to live up to the religious precepts that he or she espouses. For this reason, a religious body’s right to self-governance must include the ability to select, and to be selective about, those who will serve as the very “embodiment of its message” and “its voice to the faithful.” Petruska v. Gannon Univ., 462 F. 3d 294, 306 (CA3 2006). A religious body’s control over such “employees” is an essential component of its freedom to speak in its own voice, both to its own members and to the outside world...

There's more to Justice Alito's excellent concurrence (again, which Obama appointee Justice Kagan joined), which you definitely should read in full, along with the majority opinion authored by Chief Justice Roberts.

UPDATE #2
At National Review, Notre Dame law professor Rick Garnett offers his take on the ruling:

... In today’s opinion, the Supreme Court affirmed what the overwhelming majority of lower federal courts and state courts in the United States have already ruled, and rejected the well-outside-the-mainstream view advanced by the Obama administration’s lawyers. This last point is worth emphasizing: The administration’s lawyers had pressed an extreme view — one that no other court, and few scholars and experts, had embraced — and they convinced no one.

I co-authored an amicus curiae brief in support of the religious school, on behalf of a diverse array of religious organizations and my friend, First Amendment expert Prof. Eugene Volokh. I was delighted by the extent to which the chief justice’s opinion is consistent with the positions advanced in that brief. He and his colleagues answered several key questions clearly and correctly: First, they affirmed that the “ministerial exception” — which limits the government’s role in selecting religious communities’ ministers, leaders, and teachers — is required by the First Amendment. Next, they rejected a crabbed approach to that exception, which would limit its reach only to ordained clergy or to ministers who spend a majority of their time on “religious” activities. And they noted that the ministerial exception constrains the reach of government with respect to religious communities’ decisions about ministers whether or not the employment decision in question was motivated or required by theological reasons.

This case matters for many reasons, but especially because it reminds us all that the separation of church and state — when it is properly understood — is an important mechanism for protecting the religious liberty of all — believers and nonbelievers alike. Church-state separation is often misunderstood and seen as an anti-religious program, or as requiring that “religion” stay out of politics or public life. But this is not the point of church-state separation at all. The idea is to constrain government regulation, not religious expression and practice. Separation is an arrangement that protects religious authorities, institutions, and communities from unjustified interference by governments...

Make no mistake: the Obama Administration's war on faith, which began almost immediately from the moment he took office 3 years ago, was dealt a HUGE blow today. A blow from which we can hope the secularists will not recover.

UPDATE #3
The Catholic League: "HUGE DEFEAT FOR OBAMA".

UPDATE #4 (12 January)
From the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty:

Today the Supreme Court decided its most important religious liberty case in twenty years, Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The government lost 9-nothing as the Court unanimously rejected its narrow view of religious liberty as “extreme,” “untenable” and “remarkable.”

The unanimous decision adopted the Becket Fund’s arguments, saying that religious groups should be free from government interference when they choose their leaders. The church, Hosanna-Tabor, was represented by The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and Professor Douglas Laycock, University of Virginia Law School. For years, churches have relied on a “ministerial exception” which protects them from employment discrimination lawsuits by their ministers.

“The message of today’s opinion is clear: The government can’t tell a church who should be teaching its religious message,” said Luke Goodrich, Deputy National Litigation Director at The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. “This is a huge victory for religious freedom and a rebuke to the government, which was trying to regulate how churches select their ministers.”

The Court rejected the government’s extremely narrow understanding of the constitutional protection for religious liberty, stating: “We cannot accept the remarkable view that the Religion Clauses have nothing to say about a religious organization’s freedom to select its own ministers.”

“This is a huge win for religious liberty,” said Professor Doug Laycock. “The Court has unanimously confirmed the right of churches to select their own ministers and religious leaders.”

“It is amazing when a church from Redford, Michigan stands up for its rights and ends up going all the way to the Supreme Court,” said Reverend Paul Undlin of Hosanna Tabor. “Praise God for giving the Justices the wisdom to uphold the religious freedom enshrined in our Constitution!”

The Court found that the ministerial exception is rooted in both Religion Clauses—the Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses. Justice Thomas filed a concurring opinion. Justice Alito joined by Justice Kagan also filed a concurring opinion.

“For six years I fought the government, sacrificing my practice and livelihood because I believed the government had no right to choose teachers for our small school,” says Deano Ware, local attorney for the church. “In the end, we showed up at the steps of the Supreme Court with our sling and stone, in the company of the Becket Fund and the greater community of faith, fought the government and won. This is a great day for all Americans of every of faith and all freedom-loving citizens.”

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty is a non-profit, public-interest law firm dedicated to protecting the free expression of all religious traditions. The Becket Fund has a 17-year history of defending religious liberty for people of all faiths. Its attorneys are recognized as experts in the field of church-state law.

UPDATE #5 (12 January)

Thanks to Catholic Cartoon Blog.

The Powerful Political Insights of the Paris Hilton of Pundits

2012-01-10T15:34:00.005-05:00

Just ... wow.

LOL! Seriously? Yes, conservatives, if only you could be as open minded as Meghan McCain ... so open-minded that your brain actually falls out.

The response to yet another of Ms. McCain's verbal lapses has not been without an "emoticon" of brutal ridicule:

McCain, known for her, shall we say, “creative” use of language more than her ability to, you know, like, think, immediately took to Twitter to explain herself ...

[...]

Twitter lit up with ridicule. Here are the highlights:

Slate’s Dave Weigel added, “Meghan McCain reporting that Jack Lew will take over as White House chef.”

Mike Flynn, Editor-In-Chief of BigGovernment, harkened back to another MSNBCer’s greatest his with, “Resist We Much the ‘Emoticon of Privacy’ #MeghanMcCainFail”

Townhall,com columnist Derek Hunter gave props to McCain’s ability to continually top herself by tweeting, “Every time I think @McCainBlogette has found her floor of stupid, she opens her mouth and out comes a shovel.”

Pajamas Media’s Stephen Green (VodkaPundit), added, “I have now watched @McCainBlogette‘s ‘emoticon’ video more times than I’ve watched Godfather I & II combined.”

From the woman who declared Rick Santorum to be a "moron". And just in case anyone has forgotten this gem from Ms. McCain:

“Joe the Plumber — you can quote me — is a dumbass."

Yeah, right back at ya, toots. And you can quote ME on that.

Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Who Cares ...

"The Completely Unedited Ramblings of an Idiot"

Pot ... Kettle

Digest of Today's Posts (6 January 2012)

2012-01-06T23:59:00.001-05:00

Coulter's Anti-Catholic Screed Against Santorum Revisited ... "Don't Vote for Santorum Because He's 'Too Catholic' "

David Brooks, Self-Anointed Member of "Educated Class", Admits Unwashed Red-State Conservatives Smarter Than He Is

(Digest of Yesterday's Posts (5 January 2012))

Wise Men Still Seek Him

Coulter's Anti-Catholic Screed Against Santorum Revisited ... "Don't Vote for Santorum Because He's 'Too Catholic' "

2012-01-06T10:19:00.011-05:00

I am revisiting my post from yesterday titled "Ann Coulter ... Anti-Catholic Bigot" because I believe an important point needs to be re-emphasized.

Since publishing my piece yesterday, I have received mostly agreement from other quarters of the blogosphere, but there have been a few who have accused me of "misconstruing" Coulter's commentary. These accusations have been along the lines of "Coulter's late father was Catholic" (yeah, so was Henry VIII's) or "All she's saying is that Catholicism and conservatism aren't the same thing" (Really? Is that ALL she was saying?).

One commenter at my original post made essentially these arguments in multiple comments here, here, and here. Because I believe this commenter and others are the ones who are TRULY trying to misconstrue and obfuscate the real meaning behind Coulter's commentary, I believe a response is necessary.

These folks seem to be trying to make someone sound reasonable who isn't particularly known for her reasonableness. Coulter is a bomb thrower and an iconoclast. She's not trying to make a reasoned argument here for why Santorum is less preferable to Romney. It's not her style. Never has been. She's throwing bombs at Santorum using one of the best weapons available to do so - bigotry.

All the pro-Coulter spin can't cover that basic fact. The basic fact that, in its essence, Coulter's screed comes down to this: "Don't vote for Santorum because he's 'too Catholic'."

I wonder why Coulter invoked Ted Kennedy, who has almost nothing in common with Santorum other than the fact that they were baptized into the Catholic Church as infants? Could it be because to many evangelicals (and I know because I was a Southern Baptist for the first 36 years of my life), the Kennedys in general, and Ted Kennedy in particular, represents everything that is allegedly "wrong" with the Catholic faith? I cannot tell you how many times during my years as an evangelical that I heard the Kennedy name invoked as a warning about the dangers of Catholicism. It rather seems to me that what Coulter has done with her comparison to Kennedy is to try to tar Santorum with guilt by association in the minds of evangelical voters who might be tempted to support Santorum over Romney.

Honestly, is there REALLY any other way to interpret this piece by Coulter? If so, then she certainly left open the possibility of the reading I (and others, I might add) have given to it. But the one thing you can say about Coulter is that she has NEVER had a problem making herself perfectly clear. And she's perfectly clear in stating here that Santorum is unacceptable because he is "too Catholic".

David Brooks, Self-Anointed Member of "Educated Class", Admits Unwashed Red-State Conservatives Smarter Than He Is

2012-01-06T08:44:00.006-05:00

David Brooks: Obama is ‘certainly more liberal than I thought he was’. Ya think?

... Brooks’ apparent impression after that party was that Obama was “a Burkean” — and not a strict ideologue — who understood the “organic nature of change.” Aside from perhaps admiring the crease in Obama’s pants, nearly three years to the date after that party at Will’s house, Brooks admits he had the president completely wrong.

On Thursday’s “The Laura Ingraham Show,” Brooks said he still admired Obama, but conceded the president was more liberal than he originally thought.

“Yeah, I still like him — admire him personally,” Brooks said. “He’s certainly more liberal than I thought he was. And he’s more liberal than he thinks he is. He thinks he is just slightly center-left. But when you got down to his instincts, they’re pretty left...

And yet the simplest of red state rubes (upon whom Brooks showers so much disdain) might not know who Edmund Burke is but could've told you that Barack Obama had absolutely no conservative underpinnings and was as left-wing a candidate as this country has ever seen. The unwashed don't get caught up in such high-falluting nonsense as crisp pant creases, wonky philosophical conversations about Reinhold Niebuhr, and Harvard credentials in determining who is the best fit to lead our nation. But, then, it doesn't take a genius to figure out when someone is a frickin' socialist.

And so, with the advantage of hindsight, our intellectual betters in the establishment "smart set" can finally see what so many of us yokels and hicks and rednecks and bitter clingers could see so clearly 4 years ago. Turns out a plumber's assistant from Toledo really does have better political insights and is a better judge of political character than the house conservative at "the newspaper of record".

Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Comeuppance for "Conservative" Critics of Conservatism (Who STILL Won't Admit That They Were Wrong)

Self-Critical Navel Gazing for Thee, But Not for Me

Another Elitist "Conservative" Realizes Too Late That "This Obama Fellow Is Unequal to the Task"

David Brooks Wonders What Went Wrong [UPDATED]

"Educated Class" Waking Up to Fact That Us "Yokels" Were Right All Along

Noemie Emery on David Brooks and the "Educated Class"

Michael Barone on David Brooks and the "Educated Class"

The "Elizabeth Bennett Conservatives"

Brooksback Mountain

Today's Must-Read: "Palinphobes and the Audacity of Type"

A Conservative Manifesto

Another Elitist "Conservative" Likes the Cut of Obama's Jib

The Liberal Media's Elitist Conservative Rats Leave the Sinking Ship

Victor Davis Hanson: "What is Wisdom?"

Let's Get One Thing Straight ...

Digest of Today's Posts (5 January 2012)

2012-01-05T23:59:00.001-05:00

Ann Coulter ... Anti-Catholic Bigot [UPDATED]

A Poem for Twelfth Night - "How the Puritans Stole Christmas"

Ann Coulter ... Anti-Catholic Bigot [UPDATED]

2012-01-05T13:47:00.013-05:00

Coulter's attempt to tar the surging Rick Santorum in order to prop up a REAL big government liberal, Dullard Flip Rino, provides a near-perfect insight into why I have always despised the faux-conservative shrew and what it is I have always admired about Rick Santorum:

... Santorum is not as conservative as his social-issues credentials suggest. He is more of a Catholic than a conservative [ED: Apparently, being "more of a Catholic" - i.e. taking one's faith seriously - is supposed to be a bad thing.], which means he's good on 60 percent of the issues [ED.: Got that? Being Catholic automatically means being "wrong" on 40% of the issues in the mind of Coulter. At least she's honest about her bigotry.], but bad on others, such as big government social programs. He'd be Ted Kennedy if he didn't believe in God. [ED.: Yeah, that Santorum is JUST LIKE Ted Kennedy. Wait. What could the conservative Santorum POSSIBLY have in common with the uber-liberal late Ted Kennedy? Oh yeah. That whole Catholicism thingy - being beholden to the Pope, or something like that. Any doubts about how Coulter feels about Catholics now?]

Santorum may not be a big spender as far as professional politicians go [ED.: Or, for that matter, as far as your big-government, health-care mandating RINO boy, Dullard Flip Rino, goes.], but he is still a professional politician. In 2005, one of his former aides described him as "a Catholic missionary who happens to be in the Senate." [ED.: I, for one, think the Senate could use a few more such statesmen who are committed to renewing our culture, promoting virtue and traditional family values, and prizing service to others in the common good. Apparently, these things have no place in the selfishly individualistic, objectivist AynRandland that Coulter envisions for our society.]

The Catholic missionary was fantastic on issues like partial-birth abortion, but more like a Catholic bishop [ED.: Ah, there we go. What anti-Catholic screed would be complete without a few shots at the hierarchy in the form of Bishop-bashing?] in his support for No Child Left Behind, the Medicare drug entitlement program (now costing taxpayers more than $60 billion a year), and a highway bill with a Christmas tree of earmarks, including the famous "bridge to nowhere." [ED.: I was unaware that the Bishops had taken a formal position in support of any of these measures. Not sure they've really taken much of an interest in Alaska road projects, for example. But why let that get in the way of slapping the Bishops around?]

Santorum cites his father's admonition to put any extra money in the poor box at church to explain his wanting to use the federal government to help the poor. [ED.: Coulter apparently forgets that it was Santorum's desire to help the poor that led him to the position of Senate floor manager for the Welfare Reform bill that passed in the mid-90s. He recognized the perverse incentives that actually HURT the poor rather than help them that the previous welfare regime represented. Who else in the Senate was more instrumental than Santorum in shepherding welfare reform into law? No one. So, what's Coulter's problem, then, with Santorum's record on helping the poor? It's probably just that the poor can just "eat cake" to objectivists like Antoinette Coulter.]

You get only one or two big issues in a presidential campaign. But in the middle of the second Great Depression [ED.: A little hyperbolic, don't you think?], Santorum is on the campaign trail saying, "The reason I ran is 'cause I think people know there is more than just a little narrow issue called 'jobs.'"

Actually, this year, it's pretty much just jobs... [ED.: Yes, please stop bothering us about such things as icky dead babies, protection of the family as the basic societal unit, and just plain old human decency.]

(emphasis and editorial commentary added)

My Comments:
I'd tell Coulter to go to hell, but it looks like she's doing a fine enough job paving her road to the nether regions without my having to offer the suggestion.

UPDATE
Looks like Coulter has just breathed new life into the Rosie Award®

UPDATE #2
Given the prominence of Coulter as one of the more vocal commentators advocating on their behalf, I'd say that both Romney (not a stranger to religious bigotry aimed his way) and Chris Christie (himself a Catholic) have some obligation to slap Coulter down for this B.S.

UPDATE #3
Fr. Z's take on Coulter's column.

A Poem for Twelfth Night - "How the Puritans Stole Christmas"

2012-01-05T00:00:00.003-05:00

Yes, it's that time of year again. Christmastide is approaching it's festive conclusion, punctuated by the Twelfth Night revelry. And, of course, that means that it's time, once again, for my traditional Twelfth Night post* : a poem titled "How the Puritans Stole Christmas" ...

... with apologies to Dr. Seuss:

How the Puritans Stole Christmas

Every High-Church Anglican and Catholic
Living in Jolly Olde England
Liked Christmas a lot...

But the Puritans,
Who were infected with Calvinism,
Did NOT!
Puritans
The Puritans hated Christmas!
The whole Christmas season!
Now, please don't ask why. No one quite knows the reason.
It could be that their round heads weren't screwed on just right.
It could be, perhaps, their predestinarian arses were too tight.
But I think that the most likely reason of all
Was a distaste for mince pies - shaped like a manger-bed in a stall.

But,
Whatever the reason,
Mince pies or their arses,
The Puritans saw the yuletide celebrations as farces,
Staring down on the festivities with sour, dour frowns
At the merriment and good will of those in the towns.
For they knew all the revelers were engaged in such vices
As eating tarts made of suet and spices.

"And they're eating plum pudding!" they snarled with a sneer.
"Tomorrow is Christmas! It's practically here!"
Then they growled, with their greedy fingers nervously drumming,
"We MUST find a way to keep Christmas from coming!"
For, tomorrow, they knew...

...That the Christmas events
Would involve the consumption of pies made of mince!
And then! Oh, the noise! Oh, the noise! Noise! Noise! Noise!
That's one thing they hated! The NOISE! NOISE! NOISE! NOISE!

Then the revelers, young and old, would sit down to a feast.
And they'd feast! And they'd feast!
And they'd FEAST! FEAST! FEAST! FEAST!
They would start on plum pudding, and rare roast-beef
Foods again giving Puritans nothing but grief!

And THEN
They'd do something Puritans liked least of all!
Every merry-maker in town, the tall and the small,
Would stand close together, with Christmas bells ringing.
They'd stand hand-in-hand. And they all would start singing!

They'd sing! And they'd sing!
AND they'd SING! SING! SING! SING!
And the more the Puritans thought of the whole Christmas-Sing
The more the Puritans thought, "We must stop this whole thing!
"Why for over sixteen hundred years we've put up with it now!
We MUST stop Christmas from coming!
...But HOW?"

Then they got an idea!
An awful idea!
THE PURITANS
GOT A WONDERFUL, AWFUL IDEA!

"We know just what to do!" The Puritans began plot-ting.
And they made civil war against England's King.
And they built up an army, and the Puritans said,
"When we've won this war, we'll remove the King's head!"

"All we need is a ploy..."
To get the job done.
But since kings are kings,
It was difficult to come up with one.
Did that stop the Puritans...?
No! The Puritans said,
"Charges of treason and Romish sympathies will cost him his head!"
So they called a rump court; charges the King refused to refute.
And the court issued the sentence to execute.

THEN
They loaded poor Charles
Dressed in clothes resembling sacks
On a ramshakle scaffold
And severed his head with an ax.

Then the Puritans said, "Huzzah!"
For they had brought the King down
And they began to march
On all the churches in town.

All their stain-glassed windows were dark. Quiet filled the air.
All the vestrymen were all dreaming sweet dreams without care
When the Puritans came to the first church in the square.
"This is stop number one," The Puritans hissed
And each Puritan approached shaking his fist.

Then they broke all the stain-glass.
And smashed statues galore.
Their horses dishonored the graves in the floor.
Then they burned all the vestments,
And prayer books, too.
Then they said "Let's move on, we have much to do!"

Father Christmas on Trial
Then they slithered and slunk, with dour looks most unpleasant,
Around the whole town, to despoil places where Christ was once present!
Stained glass! Statuary! Painted images! Candles!
All manner of popish influences that for years had caused scandals!
And they smashed them to pieces and threw them on piles
And set them ablaze, smiling devilish smiles!

Then they turned to the larders. They banned the Yule feast,
The plum pudding, the boar's head, and all toasts to that beast!
They forbade all the foods that had given offense.
And they succeeded in banning the pies made of mince!

The Puritan Ban on Christmas
Then the last thing they took
Was the yule log for the fire.
On the walls they left nothing but hooks, and some wire.

And the one little speck
Left in the church house
Was a crumb that was even too small for a mouse.

Then
They did the same thing
To the other church houses

Leaving crumbs
Much too small
For the other church mouses!

And what happened then...?
Well...in England they say
That the Lord Protector's round head
Grew three sizes that day!
And the minute that "defender of liberty" felt safe from the strife,
He became the Commonwealth's dictator for life!
And he enforced the outlawing of Christmas! And all the foods for that feast!
And he...

...HE HIMSELF...!
The Lord Protector ruled the realm like a tyrannical beast!

Mince Pie Still Life

NB: Christmas was not only outlawed in the British Isles but in parts of colonial America, as well. In 1659, a law was passed by the General Court of Massachusetts Bay Colony requiring a five-shilling fine from anyone caught "observing any such day as Christmas or the like, either by forbearing of labor, feasting, or any other way."

* Originally posted as "A Poem for the Twelve Days of Christmas - 'How the Puritans Stole Christmas' ..." on 3 January 2007, and again on 5 January 2007 under the title "A Poem for Twelfth Night - 'How the Puritans Stole Christmas' ..."

Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
How the Puritans Stole Our Lady

A Song for the End of Christmas

A Song (and a Poem) for the End of Christmas

Pro Ecclesia, Pro Familia ... Pro Santorum [UPDATED]

2012-01-04T09:31:00.005-05:00

Okay, the field has been winnowed. It's time to make a choice. There are at this point, as Patrick Archbold points out, only two choices for voters in deciding who will get the GOP nomination: Rick Santorum or Dullard Flip Rino ... errrrr ... Willard Mitt Romney.

Make no mistake - these guys are BOTH establishment candidates, as I have previously pointed out. And I come to my Santorum endorsement fairly reluctantly, after all the other conservative alternatives to Romney have fallen by the wayside one right after the other. It's not that I dislike Santorum, because I don't dislike him at all. In fact, he was, at one time, among my "favorite" politicians, not the least of which because he is a devout Catholic who shares my vision regarding the important role of the traditional family in shaping our culture and public policy. But Santorum's most-favored-statesman status came before his joining the GOP Senate leadership and his ensuing ill-fated decision to endorse the pro-abort Arlen Specter over the pro-life Pat Toomey. And we know how all that worked out, including Santorum's subsequent 20-point loss to Casey Jr. (calling into question Santorum's overall electability), and Specter's switching parties to become the 60th vote in favor of Obamacare.

Santorum's political activities since his loss have also given me pause. He is among the most hawkish at pushing the Wilsonian foreign-policy adventurism that got the last GOP administration into so much trouble. Quite frankly, although Santorum is very good on Catholic social teaching in most of his policy positions, I believe his Wilsonian foreign policy views, and what seems to be a disposition in favor of so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques" (even going so far as to claim that torture opponent John McCain, himself a victim of brutal torture in Vietnam's POW camps, "doesn't understand" the topic), to be clearly at odds with the teachings of the Church. That gives me great pause.

Still, the alternative is much worse. No conservative should back Mitt Romney. I find the notion unthinkable. For reasons I have exhaustively laid out on this blog and won't bother to list again here, Mitt Romney is simply an unacceptable choice for conservatives, especially social conservatives, and they should refuse to vote for him even if he wins the Republican nomination. If we'll vote for Romney, we'll have proven to the establishment that we'll just suck it up and vote for whatever RINO stiff they shove down our throats. That scenario - that the GOP powers-that-be will take social conservatives even more for granted than they already do because we'll have proven that we'll do their bidding no matter what - is an even worse-case scenario than, yes, even another 4 years of Barack Obama.

Rick Santorum, on the other hand, is someone that conservatives - and especially social conservatives - can and should vote for. His lapse of judgment in supporting Specter and his troublesome Wilsonian foreign-policy and "enhanced interrogation" views are outweighed in my mind by both his steadfast and zealous advocacy of the pro-life/pro-marriage/pro-family viewpoint and the fact that he is the only acceptable conservative alternative to being stuck with Romney.

And believe me, the Romneybots are not going to take that lying down. The Romney-swooning K-Lo and the girly boys over at National Review have already started to question Santorum's conservative and small-government bona fides. [Heh. They probably never imagined when they touted Santorum as a bone to conservatives in their "Winnowing the Field" editorial that he'd actually pose a challenge to their boy.] Think about that for a moment. Sycophants of the big-government Massachusetts liberal that provided the framework for Obamacare want us to believe that Rick Santorum is the REAL big-government liberal. They won't stop there. This crowd knows how to play dirty, and they won't rest until they've torn down Santorum just like they've been working since 2008 to tear down every other conservative alternative to Romney (see, e.g., Fred Thompson, Sarah Palin, Rick Perry, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, etc.)

So, please, conservatives, please let's all coalesce around the only conservative left standing at this point - Rick Santorum. Please, Gov. Perry and Speaker Gingrich, please drop out of the race and endorse the only conservative alternative to Mitt Romney - Rick Santorum - and put your considerable campaign warchests behind him and into scorched-earth Super-PAC ads that will make voting for Romney simply untenable for conservative and Republican voters. Because voting for Romney simply IS untenable.

Go Rick Santorum !!!

UPDATE
If you needed additional motivation to support Santorum over the establishment-backed RINO stiff, look no further. What could be a better incentive than having the intellecutally-challenged and incredibly shallow offspring of the last establishment-backed RINO stiff (who, incidentally, today endorsed the current establishment-backed RINO stiff) predicting "bedlam and hysteria like you've never seen" if Santorum wins the nomination.

LOL. What a dumbass.

National Review "Anti-Endorsements" - Only Establishment Types Need Apply [UPDATED]

2011-12-15T12:04:00.006-05:00

We all know that National Review is in the tank for Mitt Romney, and has been for at least the last 5 years. But, as Paul Zummo notes, the editors don't even have the courage of their convictions to come out and actually endorse the RINO no one outside the DC establishment seems to want, but instead pen an "anti-endorsement" of the only 3 candidates who could possibly pose a challenge to their boy:

... National Review hasn’t officially endorsed Romney. What they have chosen to do instead is cast aside any candidate that might actually have a chance at winning the nomination other than Romney.

After spending the better part of its op-ed trashing Newt Gingrich, and doing so in the exaggerated fashion that has become the hallmark of the establishment set, (For a more measured and fair assessment of Newt’s ideology, see Dan McLaughlin’s post at Red State.) National Review sets its eyes on the rest of the field.
Gingrich is not the only candidate whom we believe conservatives should, regretfully, exclude from consideration for the presidency. Governor Perry has done an exemplary job in Texas but has seemed curiously and persistently unable to bring gravity to the national stage. Republican presidential candidates have not been known for their off-the-cuff eloquence in recent decades, but conservatism should not choose a standard-bearer who would have to spend much of his time untying his own tongue. Representative Bachmann’s rise early in the primary season reflected the public’s hunger for sincere conviction; her later descent, following among other things her casual repetition of false anti-vaccine rumors, its desire that conviction be married to judgment. Representative Paul’s recent re-dabbling in vile conspiracy theories about September 11 are a reminder that the excesses of the movement he leads are actually its essence.
In other words, conservatives should ignore the four most popular candidates after Romney...

Paul then turns his attention to the 3 candidates left standing after National Review's self-appointed "winnowing":

... So who does National Review think conservatives should pay attention to:
Three other candidates deserve serious consideration. Governor Huntsman has a solid record, notwithstanding his sometimes glib foreign-policy pronouncements; his main weakness is his apparent inability, so far, to forge a connection with conservative voters outside Utah. Governor Romney won our endorsement last time, in part because some of the other leading candidates were openly hostile to important elements of conservatism. He is highly intelligent and disciplined, and he takes conservative positions on all the key issues. We still think he would make a fine president, but time and ceaseless effort have not yet overcome conservative voters’ skepticism about the liberal aspects of his record and his managerial disposition. Senator Santorum was an effective legislator. He deserves credit for highlighting, more than any other candidate, the need for public policies that topple barriers to middle-class aspirations. Weighing against him is a lack of executive experience.
I have nothing but the highest regard for Rick Santorum, but this is a joke. National Review winnows the field to two moderate squishes, one of whom has no chance at winning the nomination, and its third “viable” candidate is a solid conservative who, let’s face reality, also has little chance at knocking off Romney. In fact including Santorum in this litany is almost insulting. It’s a sop to the conservatives reading this editorial, but that’s all it is...

Although I agree with Paul that Santorum's inclusion is little more than an insulting bone thrown to conservatives, I do think there is a little more to it than Paul gives National Review credit for.

If National Review has proven itself to be anything over the better part of the last decade, it has shown itself to be little more than a big-government-advocating organ of the inside-the-Beltway GOP establishment. And look at the 3 candidates that NR would have us choose from - all of them GOP establishment-type candidates. And, yes, that includes Santorum.

Of all the “true conservatives” in the race, Santorum is the one who is most firmly planted in the DC establishment wing. He’s certainly the most “Wilsonian” of the conservatives (in the sense of advocating foreign policy adventurism in the name of making the world "safe" for democracy), which appears to be the most important criterion these days to the inside-the-Beltway types. He was also a key figure in the GOP Senate leadership prior to losing his re-election bid. Most telling, Santorum has proven street creds among the establishment set by showing that he will do the party’s bidding even at the expense of his pro-life credentials. It was "for the good of the party" that Santorum actively campaigned and cut TV and radio ads for pro-abortion liberal Sen. Arlen Specter, leading to Specter's GOP primary victory over the conservative pro-lifer Pat Toomey. Specter later defected to the Democrats after being re-elected with Santorum's help. (It is supremely ironic that Santorum's support for Specter over Toomey was partly based on the notion that Toomey was "unelectable", in that Toomey now occupies the U.S. Senate seat that Specter once held and that Santorum can't even pull 5% support in a GOP primary field.)

At any rate, that Santorum is the only conservative to whom National Review bothers to tip its hat, in my mind, only further confirms my assessment that NR has become nothing more than a mouthpiece for the inside-the-Beltway GOP establishment.

UPDATE
In contrast to Paul's piece (as well as mine), Creative Minority Report seems to find National Review's non-endorsement endorsement of Mitt "fair, balanced, and reasonable". A disappointing assessment of NR's blatantly intellectually dishonest blather from the usually spot-on Archbold boys (for whom I have the highest regard, even when they're dead wrong).

National Review's piece is nothing short of bought-and-paid-for-by-Beltway-insiders political hackery. And, as bad as Newt Gingrich is and would be as the GOP nominee, Mitt Romney remains the ONLY candidate in the GOP field for whom I will NEVER vote UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.

Annual Christmas Music Recommendations - 2011: "Downe in Yon Forrest" and "Lighten the Dark"

2011-12-06T13:30:00.009-05:00

The Feast of St. Nicholas seems as good a time as any to make my annual Christmas music recommendations for 2011. You can view recommendations from previous years at these links:

New Music Recommendations for the Season (2010)

Music Review: Sting's If On a Winter's Night (2009)

Tip of the Day: Buy Tydings Trew ... Cheap! (2008)

MUST BUY: A Christmas Recording to Celebrate All 12 Days of Christmas (2007)

Favorite Christmas Music (2007)

Tydings Trew (2007)

Favorite Christmas Recordings (2006)

First up for this year is a 2009 release that I recently purchased titled Downe In Yon Forrest (Christmas From The Middle Ages) by Kemper Crabb.

This musical offering contains live CD and DVD recordings of Crabb's 2008 PBS Christmas special. Here's the track list:

1. What Child Is This
2. Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent
3. The Song Of The Ship
4. Divinum Mysterium (Of The Father's Love Begotten)
5. Downe In Yon Forrest
6. The Coventry Carol
7. The Sussex Carol
8. Personent Hodie
9. Taladh Chrisosda (The Christ Child Lullabye)
10. I Saw Three Ships
11. Veni, Veni Emmanuel (O Come, O Come Emmanuel)
12. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

The best description I can provide of this recording comes from my wife, Sarah, who, upon hearing this for the first time, responded: "This sounds like 'Dead Can Dance Christmas'." But don't take her word for it, here's a sampling from Youtube:

Good stuff. Very Highly Recommended (must buy).

The next recording I wish to recommend is a 2009 release by the apparently now-defunct English folk group Kerfuffle, titled Lighten The Dark - A Midwinter Album.

The track list is as follows:

1. Three Ships
2. Cherry Tree Carol
3. The Truth From Above
4. Bransles
5. Lullay My Liking
6. Gallery Carol
7. Sussex Carol
8. Nowell, Nowell
9. The Holly & The Ivy
10. Gower Wassail
11. The Bitter Withy

I purchased this CD recently primarily because of the group's outstanding version of Sarah's favorite Christmas carol, "The Sussex Carol" (also known as "On Christmas Night"), but the rest of the recording is outstanding as well. Once again, here is a Youtube sampling of Kerfuffle's very English folk take on Christmas music:

Highly Recommended (you really should buy).

"Rather Than Get All Searching About It ..."

2011-11-11T17:38:00.004-05:00

I must agree with another commenter at The American Catholic who dubbed the following comment by my friend Darwin Catholic as the "money quote of the week":

... I’m all the more annoyed in that I bothered to read the thing ["Towards Reforming the International Financial & Monetary Systems in the Context of Global Public Authority"] and admit where I clearly didn’t see eye to eye with it. I suppose, if nothing else, it’s a good lesson that if something seems too silly or trivial to be “Church teaching” rather than getting all searching about it, one should assume that it in fact is.

(emphasis added)

In Honor of Those Who Served: "In Flanders Fields"

2011-11-11T11:00:00.000-05:00

In Flanders Fields
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blowBetween the crosses row on row,That mark our place; and in the skyThe larks, still bravely singing, flyScarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead.Short days agoWe lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lieIn Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:To you from failing hands we throwThe torch; be yours to hold it high.If ye break faith with us who dieWe shall not sleep, though poppies growIn Flanders fields.

Nolan Ryan is My President

2011-10-18T15:13:00.002-05:00

Fearless Leader of the Ranger Nation

Our Lady of the Rosary

2011-10-07T15:03:00.001-05:00

O GOD, whose only begotten Son, by His life, death, and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life, grant, we beseech Thee, that meditating upon these mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Cathedral of Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, Toledo, OH

Mitt Romney: Phony. Elitist. Pro-Abort. RINO. Liberal. Not Getting My Vote.

2011-10-07T13:37:00.005-05:00

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Seriously? Dullard Flip Rino is the GOP frontrunner? If so, in what way is the Republican Party remotely "conservative"?

Go ahead, GOP. Nominate this health-care regulating, pro-abortion, flip-flopping, liberal, phony, RINO stiff. But believe me when I say that I will NEVER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, EVER vote for him.

A Poem on St. Francis for His Feast Day

2011-10-04T07:34:00.003-05:00

The following poem was emailed to me on Sunday by a reader of this blog:

King Francis
King Francis stood his ground at length,
With shield and sword and steadfast will,
While Satan’s legions, world and flesh
Cascading came in vain to kill.

Amidst the clash of arms and shout
The foe at last did crumble,
For all of evil’s menacing power
Is naught before the humble.

A costly sight did cloud his mind,
The pomp, the glimmer, the airy show,
But poverty’s glory shone the brighter
A woolen cross for God to sew.

From within a voice was heard
That sought to have its way,
But a call from higher realms
Crowned him as in death he lay.

Obama Culture of Death Update™: The Obama Administration's Anti-Life Attack on Franciscan University

2011-10-03T11:20:00.006-05:00

Ken Blackwell, former Ohio Secretary of State and 2007 GOP gubernatorial nominee, asks "Will Obama Destroy Franciscan University of Steubenville?":

... [The Obama Administration] is attempting to crush The Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio. Mr. Obama’s HHS Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, is trying to force Steubenville to dispense abortion-producing drugs and pay for sterilizations. This is a Roman Catholic institution. Such things are strictly proscribed by the Catholic faith.

Sec. Sebelius may be aware that Catholic institutions are required by faith and fidelity to their mission to uphold these principles. It is an indispensable part of their mission and their reason for being. To force a Catholic institution to violate the consciences of its faculty, students and alumni in this fashion is like forcing a Yeshiva to serve pork to Orthodox Jewish students.

This attempt to crush The Franciscan University of Steubenville is, tragically, not an isolated example. From the first days of the Obama administration, there has been a kulturkampf (culture clash) against Catholic institutions not seen since the days of the Iron Chancellor of Germany, Otto von Bismarck. It was Bismarck who attempted to put all churches and universities in Prussia under his hobnailed boot.

Writer Charlotte Allen wrote of the “Persecution of Belmont Abbey” by the Obama administration in 2009. There, too, liberal zealots were demanding that the Catholic school, founded in 1876, provide contraception, abortifacients, and sterilizations or face federal sanctions. This, according to the institution’s president, could lead to closing down the historic little college.

Chai Feldblum is a tenured professor at Georgetown University Law School. This is the oldest Catholic university in the country. Ironically, Feldblum, is also a homosexual legal activist. She was Barack Obama’s choice for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She told a panel at Family Research Council that if it came to a clash between what she calls gay rights and religious liberty, religious liberty must give way...

[Read the whole thing]

My Comments:
What the Democrat Party can't control, they will attempt to destroy. Whether it's violating the conscience rights of Catholic organizations by forcing them to cooperate in the Democrats' worship of Moloch or the coming persecution of the Church over recognition of so-called same-sex "marriage", expect more of this ... MUCH more of this ... in the future.

And, just as with Sebelius, it will be the dissident Catholics and other left-wing "Christians" who voted for this anti-life administration that will provide them cover and help to usher in a new era in persecution of those who hold fast to traditional Christian faith.

(Hat tip: Creative Minority Report)

This Obama Culture of Death Update™ has been brought to you by Douglas Kmiec, all the fine folks at Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good / Catholics United / Catholic Democrats, and countless other Catholics for whom "Hope" and "Change" trumped LIFE.

Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Obama Culture of Death Update™: A Compilation of President Obama’s Pro-Abortion Record

Michaelmas - Feast of St. Michael and All Angels, 29 September

2011-09-29T10:14:00.000-05:00

Saint Michael the Archangel,
Defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the
Wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him,
We humbly pray.
And do thou,
O Prince of the Heavenly Host,
By the Power of God,
Cast into Hell
Satan and all the evil spirits
which prowl about the world,
Seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.

From the Medieval Saints Yahoo Group:

The Dedication of Saint Michael the Archangel, Michaelmas Day
Hebrew "Mikha El," (Who is like unto God?), Venerated by Jews, Christians and Muslims

Commemorated September 29: the dedication of the sanctuary which was built on Monte Gargano in honor of the apparition of Saint Michael the Archangel. This feast is very ancient.

Also commemorated on May 8th a lesser feast is observed to commemorate the appearance of St. Michael on the summit of Mount Gargano in Apulia during the time of Pope Gelasius (492-6).

Devotion to Michael was common in the East during the fourth century and the Western Church began to observe the feast sometime in the fifth century. In the offertory anthem of the mass for the dead, St. Michael is charged with the care of all departed souls, "holy standard bearer, introduce them to the holy light, which thou didst promise of old to Abraham and to his seed."

St. Michael's Day, or Michaelmas is one of the Medieval Quarter days. The celebration was marked by harvest festivals, hospitality, costumes, music and dancing. Many popular traditions grew up around the day, which coincided with the end of harvest and the end of the fiscal year.

Patronage: champion of the Jewish people, against temptations, ambulance drivers, artists, bakers, bankers, banking, battle, boatmen, coopers, danger at sea, dying people, emergency medical technicians, EMTs, England, fencing, Germany, greengrocers, grocers, haberdashers, hatmakers, hatters, holy death, knights, mariners, milleners, paramedics, paratroopers, police officers, radiologists, radiotherapists, sailors, security forces, security guards, sick people, soldiers, Spanish police officers, storms at sea, swordsmiths, watermen, protector of the Nile

In art, he is shown as an angel with a sword raised, standing over the devil or a dragon; holding a balance, a pair of scales, which he uses to weigh the souls; "Quis ut Deus" is often inscribed on Saint Michael's shield.

St. Michael the Archangel
http://www.stthomasirondequoit.com/SaintsAlive/id183.htm

The Church has never canonized angels. If we pay liturgical honors to the archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, we give them the title saint because they have always been in heaven.

All three archangels are now venerated in a common feast on September 29, which used to be St. Michael's feast alone. Because the new common feast seems to diminish his importance, let us consider him a little more at length in connection with his other feastday, the Apparition of St. Michael, formerly observed on May 8.

The name Michael means, of course, "Who is like God?" He is represented as perhaps the chief angel in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Several early apocryphal writings do the same. While these writings are not accepted as scriptures by the Church, they nevertheless testify to popular devotion to the "generalissimo" of the heavenly hosts.

Michael was regarded as the protector of the Israelites, especially in the days of their captivity in Babylon. "Michael, the great prince," the Old Testament prophet Daniel calls him, "guardian of your people." (Dn,12:1). In the New Testament Book of Revelation, St. John speaks prophetically of the ultimate victory of Michael and his regiments against the army of the great dragon, Satan. After a mighty struggle, Michael casts the enemy down to earth. (Rev.,12:7-9). Thus St. Michael, protector of Israel, was also hailed as the protector of the New Testament's People of God.

Churches dedicated to St. Michael in the Mideast date from as early as the fourth century. In the West, the cult of Michael became widespread, particularly after his alleged apparition around AD 500 in a cave in Mount Gargano, southeast Italy. The archangel revealed to the local bishop, St. Lawrence of Siponto, that he should erect a shrine there in honor of the archangel himself and all other angels. This St. Lawrence did, and the "Mount Santangelo" soon became a noted place of pilgrimage.

St. Michael also figures in the annals of Pope St. Gregory the Great. During the pestilence that struck Rome in the year 590, Gregory organized a great penitential procession about the streets of the Eternal City to beg God to withdraw the plague. Tradition says that when the march passed by the massive tomb of Emperor Hadrian, St. Michael appeared on its summit sheathing his sword, and the epidemic ceased. Today Hadrian's fortified tomb is called the Castel SantAngelo - Castle of the Holy Angel - and for centuries it has been topped by a statue of St. Michael, dressed in the armor of a Roman soldier, returning sword to scabbard. In Rome, therefore, St. Michael is considered both healer and defender.

The other major Western shrine of the Archangel is the famous Mont St. Michel, a rocky outcropping off the coast of Normandy, France, where the bishop of Avranches established a Benedictine monastery in AD 708; again, we are told, on the advice of the Archangel Michael. In Cornwall, too, near the city of Penzance, there is a little offshore island resembling Mont St. Michel, which in medieval times was likewise the site of a Benedictine monastery that became an English place of pilgrimage.

Pope Leo XIII had the soldier-angel in mind when he ordered that a prayer to St. Michael and several other prayers be recited by priest and faithful at the end of every low Mass. The date of this order was 1884 - an era in which Germany was engaged in a stern persecution of the Catholic Church. Vatican II cancelled the rule, but the invocation to the Archangel is still appropriate - indeed, necessary in our troubled times:

"St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the malice and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do you, O prince of the heavenly host, by the divine power, thrust into hell Satan and the other evil spirits who roam through the world seeking the ruin of souls."

--Father Robert F. McNamara

-----------------------

Michaelmas(se)
http://www.camlann.org/michelmas.htm

In the middle ages, Michaelmas(se) celebrated the end of the harvest. It marked the official end of the farming and accounting year. This was an important time, when manor books were closed out, rents paid, a new reeve (the chief officer of the village) was chosen, and storehouses stocked for the winter ahead. Celebration of this holiday traditionally was symbolized with "glofe, gees, and gyngeuer." The glove represented the open-handedness and generosity of the lord of the village, goose eaten for good luck in the coming year ("If you eat goose on Michelmasse day, you will never want money all year"), and ginger, believed to provide protection against infection. The harvest feast paid the laborers for their boon work with meat, fish, ale and good bread.

------------------------

More on St. Michael at:
http://www.traditioninaction.org/SOD/j093sdMichael_9-29.htm

Links:
Patron Saints Index - St. Michael

Women for Faith & Family - St. Michael and All Angels

Variations of St. Michael Prayer

Pictures of St. Michael

Recipe - Michaelmas Goose with Traditional Potato & Apple Stuffing

St. Michael's Mount, Cornwall

Mont-Saint-Michel, Normandy

Skellig Michael, Ireland

Perry Stays on Message: Attacks President Zero on Jobs, Economy; Romney Detracts from Message by Attacking Perry and Texas on Jobs

2011-09-21T12:59:00.005-05:00

Just another reason why I will NEVER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, EVER vote for that effete, liberal, establishmentarian, pro-abort, government-health-care-mandating piece of RINO $h!+, Mitt Romney.

Jimmy Carter Would Be “Very Pleased” to See Romney as GOP Nominee

2011-09-16T08:41:00.002-05:00

Well, at least somebody other than Al Gore is excited at the prospect of Dullard Flipp Rhyno becoming the GOP nominee.

"Sweet Thing"

2011-09-15T08:00:00.003-05:00

And I will stroll the merry way
And jump the hedges first
And I will drink the clear
Clean water for to quench my thirst
And I shall watch the ferry-boats
And they'll get high
On a bluer ocean
Against tomorrow's sky
And I will never grow so old again
And I will walk and talk
In gardens all wet with rain

Oh sweet thing, sweet thing
My, my, my, my, my sweet thing

And I shall drive my chariot
Down your streets and cry
'Hey, it's me, I'm dynamite
And I don't know why'
And you shall take me strongly
In your arms again
And I will not remember
That I even felt the pain.
We shall walk and talk
In gardens all misty and wet with rain
And I will never, never, never
Grow so old again.

Oh sweet thing, sweet thing
My, my, my, my, my sweet thing

And I will raise my hand up
Into the night time sky
And count the stars
That's shining in your eye
Just to dig it all an' not to wonder
That's just fine
And I'll be satisfied
Not to read in between the lines
And I will walk and talk
In gardens all wet with rain
And I will never, ever, ever, ever
Grow so old again.

Oh sweet thing, sweet thing
Sugar-baby with your champagne eyes
And your saint-like smile....

Thank you, Sarah, my "Sweet Thing", for the 10 happiest years of my life. Happy 10th Anniversary.

I love you!

Hey, Santorum, Call Your Bishop ...

2011-09-12T22:34:00.002-05:00

... and ask him what he thinks about a border fence.

I have to laugh at all these candidates with ABSOLUTELY NO EXPERIENCE on actual immigration issues scoffing at the governor of a border state who knows how idiotic is the concept of a 2000-mile wall along the Mexican border from Brownsville to Tijuana. The two guys from Texas (Perry & Paul) know how unworkable it is, while a couple of Yankees from Pennsylvania and Massachusetts act like "experts" on the matter.

Pawlenty Reveals True Establishment RINO Colors; Gets Upstaged by Jindal

2011-09-12T15:50:00.003-05:00

Heh. Loser.

Also, Romney's Social Security scare-mongering gambit fails to pay off, as Perry continues to poll ahead by double digits (faring even more strongly among seniors). Double heh.

Digest of Today's Posts (8 September 2011)

2011-09-08T23:59:00.000-05:00

Mark Steyn: Perry Right, Romney Wrong on Social Security

I Genuinely Despise Mitt Romney

Mark Steyn: Perry Right, Romney Wrong on Social Security

2011-09-08T20:44:00.003-05:00

[SERIOUS CONTENT WARNING - I am in one of those moods UPDATE: Okay, mood has passed, so I've edited for content]

It's bad enough for a Republican (albeit a flip-flopping, pandering, pro-abort, health-care-mandating, Rockefeller RINO fraud) to resort to the demogogic Social Security scare tactics of the left in attacking another Repubican primary opponent, but I honestly NEVER thought I'd see the day when National Review would actually defend such nonsense. [REDACTED]

Fortunately, not every contributor at National Review has been coopted into pro-Romney hackery. Apparently, it takes a politically correct socialist "paradise" like Canada to produce a conservative intellectual with the clarity of thinking and ability to concisely cut through all the crap to get to the heart of the obvious truth of the sort that was once the hallmark of National Review, before it became a polical organ of the eastern establishment GOP:

... The fact that Rick Perry’s statement of the obvious is even “controversial” is testament to how diseased our public discourse is. Nevertheless, Maggie concludes by saying we should cut everything else until we’ve “fully funded Social Security for the next 50 years”:
A pension plan with an army. From a libertarian perspective, is that so bad?
Assuming that’s a serious question, I’ll rise to the bait. Taxing young people ever more onerously to prop up entitlements for older generations who enjoyed all the benefits of a prosperous America their grandchildren will never know is a great way to sever what little is left of the social compact...

... Whether or not, as Maggie says, 25-year-olds vote for Social Security, more and more Americans understand that we have looted the future to bribe the present, and that Social Security is Exhibit A in that indictment.

Exactly. Romney would rob your children to satiate his desperate yearning to be in the White House. I expect that from Democrats and leftists. Not people claiming to be "conservative". That makes him worse than Obama in my book.

I Genuinely Despise Mitt Romney

2011-09-08T20:40:00.003-05:00

I've long detested Romney, and didn't think he could fall any lower in my estimation. I was wrong.

Let me make myself perfectly clear (in case I haven't been up until now): I will NEVER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, EVER vote for this flip-flopping, pandering, pro-abortion (YES, HE IS), health-care mandating, Rockefeller RINO fraud. If I knew with absolute certainty that my vote would be the difference in his beating Obama, I STILL wouldn't vote for that fraud Romney.

Another Reminder, Just In Case I Haven't Been Abundantly Clear on This Before ...

2011-09-07T22:22:00.005-05:00

... I will NEVER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, EVER vote for that fraudulent, flip-flopping piece of RINO shit, Mitt Romney.

If I knew for a fact that my vote would make the difference in Romney defeating Obama, I STILL wouldn't vote for that fraud. I'm not sure I can adequately express just how much I truly despise Mitt Romney, but the fact that I'd be willing to countenance the possible re-election of Obama than to sully myself by casting a vote for Romney comes pretty close to revealing the low esteem in which I hold him.

Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Romney to Criticize "Career Politicians" in Shot at Perry [UPDATED]

Romney's "Winning" Message to Voters? "I Worked With Ted Kennedy to Pass RomneyCare"

"Pro-Life" Fraud Romney Refuses to Sign Pro-Life Pledge

Romney: ‘‘I’m Also Unemployed’’

Paperback Romney vs. Hardback Romney

Just Another One of My Occasional Reminders ...

Mitt Romney: Pro-Choice? Who, Me?

Time for Yet Another Periodic Reminder to the GOP Power Brokers and Pundits ...

Is Mitt Romney the REAL WINNER of the Massachusetts Special Election?

Have I Mentioned Lately ...

Regarding Mitt Romney, My Sentiments Exactly

A Theory [UPDATED]

Why Does Kmiec Criticize McCain for Positions on Which He Gave Romney a Pass?

You Stay Classy, Mitt

The Anchoress: "Convince Me of the Merits of Mitt"

Romney's Free Ride On Abortion

Romney and the Florida GOP Debate

InsideCatholic: "Why Mitt Romney Is the Best Choice for Catholic Conservatives"

Sam Brownback Says Mitt Romney Needs to Address Abortion Change

Massachusetts Conservatives Back Brownback Over Romney

Digest of Today's Posts (1 September 2011)

2011-09-01T23:59:00.000-05:00

So, Let Me See If I Have This Right ...

Why Some Portions of the Old Testament Are Binding on Christians and Others Are Not

So, Let Me See If I Have This Right ...

2011-09-01T12:32:00.004-05:00

... so-called GOP "insiders" believe that, in this center-right country (that is actually more "right" than these GOP "insiders" would care to admit), an inexperienced hard-core leftist with an Arabic name can be elected President a mere 7 years after 9/11, but the experienced, longest-serving Governor of the 2nd-largest state with a record of economic growth and job creation can't get elected against a weak, hard-left President responsible for the worst economy since the Great Depression and the biggest deficits in history?

Yeah, right. Methinks the GOP "insiders" are full-of-shit Romneybots.

Why Some Portions of the Old Testament Are Binding on Christians and Others Are Not

2011-09-01T08:30:00.003-05:00

A MUST READ post at The American Catholic from my friend, Don McClarey regarding the Council of Jerusalem and why some Old Testament proscriptions are still binding on Christians while others are not:

... It is a good question and sometimes confuses Catholics and non-Catholics. The answer to the question is in the very earliest history of the Church. After the ascension of Jesus, the apostles went about the great task of making “apostles of all the nations”, and Christianity began to spread among Jew and Gentile alike. The question quickly arose as to whether Gentile converts would have to be circumcised (the males only of course!) and follow all of the Jewish laws regarding ritual purity...

[...]

Tensions over the issue of whether Gentile Christians should be required to follow all of the Jewish ritual purity laws, were settled doctrinally once and for all at the Council of Jerusalem in 49 AD which issued these decrees:

20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.

21 For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.

The Gentiles were therefore not to be required to live like Jews. They were required to follow the ten commandments and the major teachings of the Old Testament, but the laws of ritual impurity were not to apply to Christians...

[Read the whole thing]

My Comments:
I don’t believe I have ever seen this issue explained more clearly and concisely. This should be a “must read” and a “must link” throughout St. Blog’s.

Save this one away in your favorites, folks. Keep it handy to access for whenever the topic inevitably rears its head. As Don says in the comments, "The Old Testament laws and their applicability to Christians is an issue that keeps coming up in current debates and Catholics need to know that the answer is a pretty simple one."

Digest of Today's Posts (30 August 2011)

2011-08-30T23:59:00.000-05:00

Romney to Criticize "Career Politicians" in Shot at Perry [UPDATED]

FLASH: Sun Makes Things Hot !!!

Highlights from Yesterday (29 August 2011):

Liberal Legal Scholars Reassess Clarence Thomas and Finally Acknowledge His Jurisprudential Brilliance [UPDATED]

Romney to Criticize "Career Politicians" in Shot at Perry [UPDATED]

2011-08-30T12:32:00.006-05:00

That's Mitt Romney ... the ultimate political outsider and down-to-earth populist.

It's not like he's the privileged son of a former Michigan governor who later served as U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. It's not as if his mother was herself a candidate for the U.S. Senate. And it's not like Mitt was Governor of Massachusetts and has spent practically the last 20 years running for one office or another. Right?

Allow me to reiterate: Mitt has been running for office for the last 20 years, although his efforts have only resulted in one stint as Governor of Massachusetts. Does spending 20 years running for office, regardless of electoral success, at least sort of qualify one as a "career politician"?

In effect, Romney's criticism amounts to little more than "Perry has been more successful at getting elected than I have been", which doesn't strike me as an altogether compelling case in an electoral climate in which "electability" and "experience" (or lack thereof) are constant buzzwords.

UPDATE
And, besides, Perry hasn't spent his entire career in politics:

Perry did a stint as an Air Force pilot (a military record that is conspicuously absent from Romney's resume - as well as the resumes of every male member of the Romney family, although Romney's sons apparently "served their country", according to their dad, by working on Romney's last presidential campaign); and

Perry was a farmer and a rancher before running for his first political office.

UPDATE #2
Jonathan Last makes a familiar-sounding observation:

Ross Douthat [ED.: Gosh, I'm really starting to hate that guy!] seems in danger of jumping on the Romney meat-wagon. He writes that despite Rick Perry’s position, Romney should not panic because “Romney doesn’t have to worry about any of the rival candidates making a play for his core supporters.”

We’re going to hear this argument a lot in the coming months from Romney partisans as they try to argue that something they would like to happen is, in fact, likely to happen. It’s worth taking this pundit fallacy apart now because it gets to the nub of why I’ve been insisting for four years that Romney is a non-starter as a political commodity—it’s precisely because he has no core supporters. Which is why he is not very good at winning elections.

Let’s revisit Romney’s campaigns:

[...]

1) Romney made his political career out of his “close” 17-point loss to Ted Kennedy. But keep in mind that to only lose by 17, he spent $7M of his own money. But more importantly, this was the 1994 midterm election—so he got blown out during the biggest Republican wave in half a century.

(2) The high-point of his electoral career was the 2002 MA governor’s race, where he took 49.77%. Even in the biggest win of his life, he couldn’t capture more than 50% of the vote.

(3) It’s funny that Romney’s line of attack on Perry seems to be that Perry is a “career politician” because he’s been in elective office since 1984. Well, Mitt Romney would have been a career politician too, if only voters would have let him. He’s been running since 1994. His real gripe about Perry is actually, “Hey, that guy wins all the time! No fair!”

[...]

Douthat says that “The greatest danger to Romney’s candidacy — the thing that could destroy him long before the voting even started — has always been that a more appealing establishment candidate would enter the race.” But that’s not right at all. The greatest danger to Romney’s candidacy is that he has no constituency because he’s not very good at campaigning and, as the electoral results of the last 17 years have shown, voters don’t like him very much. The danger to the Romney candidacy is the candidate...

[More]

(emphasis and editorial commentary added]

FLASH: Sun Makes Things Hot !!!

2011-08-30T10:16:00.002-05:00

Some European scientists obviously haven't gotten the memo from Algore that they're to be treated as the equivalent of racists:

If Michael Crichton had lived to write a follow-up to State of Fear, the plotline might well have gone like this: at a top secret, state of the art laboratory in Switzerland, scientists finally discover the true cause of “global warming”. It’s the sun, stupid. More specifically – as the Danish physicist Henrik Svensmark has long postulated – it’s the result of cosmic rays which act as a seed for cloud formation. The scientists working on the project are naturally euphoric: this is a major breakthrough which will not only overturn decades of misguided conjecture on so-called Man Made Global Warming but will spare the global economy trillions of dollars which might otherwise have been squandered on utterly pointless efforts to reduce anthropogenic CO2 emissions. However, these scientists have failed to realise just how many people – alarmist scientists, huckster politicians, rent-seeking landowners like (the late Michael Crichton’s brilliant and, of course, entirely fictional creation) the absurd, pompous Sir Reginald Leeds Bt, green activists, eco-fund managers, EU technocrats, MSM environmental correspondents – stand to gain from the Man Made “Climate Change” industry. Their discovery must be suppressed at all costs. So, one by one, the scientists on the cosmic ray project find themselves being bumped off, until only one man remains and must race against time to prove, etc, etc…

Except of course in the real world the second part wouldn’t happen. No one would need to go to the trouble of bumping off those pesky scientists with their awkward, annoying facts and their proper actual research. That’s because the MSM and the scientific “community” would find it perfectly easy to suppress the story anyway, without recourse to severed brake cables or ricin-impregnated hand-washes or staged “suicides”.

This is exactly what has happened with the latest revelations from CERN over its landmark CLOUD experiment...

[Read the whole thing]

My Comments:
Whenever "science" is described as "settled", leaving no room for scholarly disagreement and completely dispensing with the scientific method; whenever "science" comes packaged with a one-world authoritarian collectivist policy agenda that allows central planners to to do the same thing for environmental reasons under the guise of "Green" what they failed to do for socio-political-economic reasons under the guise of "Red"; whenever "science" comes complete with its own set of talking points that demonizes dissent and skepticism to the point of treating opponents as the equivalent of "racists" and bullying respected scientists into silent submission and/or unemployment: then that "science" is a complete load of bullshit of which we should not only be skeptical, but outraged at the fraud being perpetrated upon us.

Liberal Legal Scholars Reassess Clarence Thomas and Finally Acknowledge His Jurisprudential Brilliance [UPDATED]

2011-08-29T21:07:00.005-05:00

My favorite Supreme Court Justice, and one of the greatest men I have ever had the honor of meeting, is finally receiving his proper due and grudging respect from the liberals that make up the bulk of constitutional legal scholars:

Lord of the Rings aficionados know that the evil lord Sauron paid little attention to the danger posed by two hobbits slowly struggling across the mountains and deserts of Mordor until he suddenly realized that the ring on which all his power depended was about to be hurled into the pits of Mount Doom. All at once the enemy plan became clear; what looked like stupidity was revealed as genius, and Sauron understood everything just when it was too late to act.

Jeffrey Toobin’s gripping, must-read profile of Clarence and Virginia Thomas in the New Yorker gives readers new insight into what Sauron must have felt: Toobin argues that the only Black man in public life that liberals could safely mock and despise may be on the point of bringing the Blue Empire down.

In fact, Toobin suggests, Clarence Thomas may be the Frodo Baggins of the right; his lonely and obscure struggle has led him to the point from which he may be able to overthrow the entire edifice of the modern progressive state.

[...]

At most liberals have long seen Thomas as the Sancho Panza to Justice Antonin Scalia’s Don Quixote, Tonto to his Lone Ranger. No, says Toobin: the intellectual influence runs the other way. Thomas is the consistently clear and purposeful theorist that history will remember as an intellectual pioneer; Scalia the less clear-minded colleague who is gradually following in Thomas’ tracks.

If Toobin’s [revisionist] take is correct, (and I defer to his knowledge of the direction of modern constitutional thought) it means that liberal America has spent a generation mocking a Black man as an ignorant fool, even as constitutional scholars stand in growing amazement at the intellectual audacity, philosophical coherence and historical reflection embedded in his judicial work... (emphasis added)

[Definitely read the whole thing, as well as Toobin's piece]

My Comments:
High time that the community of legal and constitutional scholars began to recognize and openly acknowledge what I have long known about this brilliant man.

UPDATE
And let's be clear about one thing: Justice Thomas' chief crime in the eyes of his left-wing critics has never been that he couldn't think for himself, as they have so often accused him, but rather that he DARED to think for himself rather than subscribing to the groupthink orthodoxy that supposedly condemns all African-Americans to having to think and act a certain way in order to be "authentically black".

Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on the subject:
Pay No Attention to the Caricature Painted by His Mean-Spirited Detractors ...

Kmiec's "Bridge Too Far"? Obama's Attacks on Justice Thomas

Sen. Obama Demeans Justice Thomas' Intellect [UPDATED]

National Review on Justice Clarence Thomas' New Memoir

Justice Clarence Thomas Tells 60 Minutes That Abortion Was Real Issue at His Confirmation Hearings

The Supreme Court’s Most Interesting Catholic

Defending Justice Thomas

Reading the Constitution Right: The Jurisprudence of Justice Clarence Thomas

Ed Morrissey on Forced Abortions

2011-08-24T07:57:00.002-05:00

Biden’s professed “pro-choice” sensibilities have been exposed as pro-abortion with this shameful suck-up to Beijing on a policy that no US envoy should profess to “fully understand.”

Congressman Chris Smith on Forced Abortions

2011-08-24T06:17:00.003-05:00

"Let's not forget that at the Nuremburg War Crimes Tribunal, forced abortion was properly construed to be a crime against humanity. It is no less a crime against humanity today and there is our Vice President saying that he fully understands the one child per couple policy that has made brothers and sisters illegal in China."

(Hat tip: Creative Minority Report)

The Debate Answer I Long to Hear

2011-08-21T18:52:00.008-05:00

[Laughs good-naturedly in response to question] Well, I may not have served in the Obama Administration or appeared in the pages of Vogue magazine, but I don't think those are necessarily valid measures of "sophistication" or "intelligence", either. [Looks gravely into the camera] Look, it's not a matter of "believes" or "doesn't believe" in a scientific theory that, quite honestly, a whole lot of people are skeptical about, and rightly so, given the fact that the earth has heated and cooled all on its own - without any help from humans - for millenia. What this is about is that, in one of the worst economies in our nation's history, with millions of folks unemployed and struggling to make ends meet, it just doesn't make sense to implement the sort of policy schemes supported by Ambassador Huntsman and President Obama that will devastate our already fragile economy, throw even more people out of work, and raise the costs of heating and cooling our homes and driving our cars beyond what people can afford.

So, the question is not whether I quote/unquote "believe" in science the way some folks around here seem to treat it like some sort of religion, but rather why Ambassador Huntsman and President Obama and those like them, who seek to impose their catastrophic tax and cap regulatory schemes that will only further devastate our economy, seem so unconcerned about the working families of this country on whom their policies will most heavily fall. I'm for putting America BACK to work, not breaking our backs economically to futher some environmentalist dogma.

Jay to Rick Perry: Ignore the People With a 13% Approval Rating

2011-08-19T13:35:00.001-05:00

"Hill Republicans to Rick Perry: Tone it down"

Tell 'em to pound sand and to stop telling someone who has NEVER lost a race how to run for President, and instead to worry about doing their own damned jobs. Establishment hacks.

New Rasmussen Poll Shows Perry With Double-Digit Lead Over GOP Field

2011-08-16T12:35:00.003-05:00

You know who this DOESN'T help?

Texas Governor Rick Perry, the new face in the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, has jumped to a double-digit lead over Mitt Romney and Michele Bachmann with the other announced candidates trailing even further behind.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely Republican Primary voters, taken Monday night, finds Perry with 29% support. Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who ran unsuccessfully for the GOP presidential nomination in 2008, earns 18% of the vote, while Bachmann, the Minnesota congresswoman who won the high-profile Ames Straw Poll in Iowa on Saturday, picks up 13%.

Texas Congressman Ron Paul, who was a close second to Bachmann on Saturday, has the support of nine percent (9%) of Likely Primary Voters, followed by Georgia businessman Herman Cain at six percent (6%) and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich with five percent (5%). Rick Santorum, former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, and ex-Utah Governor Jon Huntsman each get one percent (1%) support, while Michigan Congressman Thaddeus McCotter comes in statistically at zero.

Sixteen percent (16%) of primary voters remain undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Still, this marks a significant jump in support for Perry, who officially entered the race on Saturday although his candidacy had been rumored for weeks. Just over two weeks ago, a survey of likely primary voters found Romney with 22% support, closely followed by Perry at 18% and Bachman with 16% of the vote.

“Governor Perry is enjoying a bounce from entering the race at precisely the right time”, said Scott Rasmussen. “Now the difficult part begins for the new frontrunner. It’s much easier winning support when people are hoping you will get in the race, than retaining support when you are the frontrunner.”

Ross Douthat Cements His Position as Second-Douchiest "Conservative" Pundit in America

2011-08-15T19:38:00.003-05:00

Of course the douchiest just so happens to be the other house "conservative" at the left-wing "newspaper of record". But Douthat is determined to give Brooks a run for his money:

... Rick Perry has many of the qualities that Romney seems to lack: backbone, core convictions, a killer instinct and a primal understanding of the right-wing electorate. He also has the better story. Where Romney has to run away from his Massachusetts health care bill and downplay his years as a downsizing artist at Bain Capital, Perry can spend the campaign reminding voters that almost half of the new jobs in Obama’s presidency were created on his watch in Texas.

What Perry doesn’t have, though, is the kind of moderate facade that Americans look for in their presidents. He’s the conservative id made flesh, with none of the postpartisan/uniter-not-a-divider spirit that successful national politicians usually cultivate.

Imagine if the Democratic Party nominated a combination of Al Franken and Nancy Pelosi for the presidency, and you have a sense of the kind of gamble Republicans would be taking with Perry. And even if that gamble worked, little in his record suggests that he’s prepared to preside over a polarized country, or negotiate his way through a divided Washington.

[...]

So whose door should Republicans be knocking on instead? Unless Mitch Daniels changes his mind or Jeb Bush changes his last name, the only compelling possibility remaining is Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey.

Give it a rest, Ross. The guy who's been governor of New Jersey for all of 5 minutes (less time on the job, actually, than your favorite whipping girl, Sarah Palin, had as Governor of Alaska) has no intention of stepping in to save you elitists from having to suffer through yet another "red-state rube" from Texas as the GOP nominee.

Assumpta Est Maria

2011-08-15T11:09:00.005-05:00

Motet, "Assumpta Est Maria", by Palestrina

Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Feast of the Assumption - 15 August

THIS is Why No One Likes Greenies

2011-08-15T08:38:00.005-05:00

Just when you thought the environuts couldn't get any more insufferable:

[...]

Hybrids Trump Handicapped At Liquor Store

In order to receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification, Nashua’s new 20,000-square foot liquor store, which is owned and operated by the state, was “built with solar panels, geo-thermal heating and cooling systems, local building materials and recycled products.”

The problem? It was also designed with reserved parking spaces right in front of the door. Not for the handicapped, though—they had those, too, but they were further down. Who got the primo spots? Low emission and hybrid cars, of course!

[...]

See, I frequently get accused of hating the environment in a most un-christian way, but this is not fair. I actually love the natural world, and my family’s lifestyle is amazingly green. No, really all I hate is professional environmentalists, because of the way they are jerks.

The sheer moronitude of the environmental planning board’s decision boggles the mind. First, how did they not realize how much outrage it would generate? It’s a policy just begging for inflammatory headlines. I’m imagining the environmentalists putting their heads together, realizing that ideas like forced sterilizations make them kind of unpopular. “I know!” says one stringy fellow in hemp biking shorts. “We need a new message, to make our ideas more palatable. How does this strike you:’Nyah, nyah, cripples—we got here first!’ ”

[Read the whole thing]

Bishop Says Unrepentant Pro-Abort Politicians Should be Treated "as a Tax Collector or Gentile" and be Expelled

2011-08-12T12:47:00.006-05:00

LifeSiteNews reports:

FARGO, North Dakota, August 11, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Church should seek the conversion of pro-abortion politicians, but if they remain obstinate they should be expelled from the Church, says Bishop Samuel Aquila of Fargo.

The Bishop proposed in an interview with Catholic World Report this week that Bishops should take their cue from the Gospel of Matthew in handling pro-abortion politicians.

“Our Lord tells us to speak to the person, and then take two or three others with us if he does not change,” he said. “If he still does not change, the Church can speak to him, which is done through the bishop. [The bishop] exercises the authority of Christ. Christ then says that if that person is still obstinate and will not change, treat them as a tax collector or Gentile. Expel him.’”

The Bishop continued: “Catholics are called to defend human life, particularly that of the unborn. The Church’s teaching is clear. If we don’t challenge public officials who reject this teaching, we leave them in their sins and confuse the faithful.”

Aquila, who has been the spiritual head of the diocese of Fargo in North Dakota for ten years, is well known for his support for the pro-life cause.

[More]

Rick Perry's "Army of God"

2011-08-11T08:42:00.003-05:00

Patrick Archbold notes the collective conniption the left and their media cohorts are having over Rick Perry and the very notion that he might ... gasp! ... take his religious faith seriously:

... Obama has often mentioned Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (including at Georgetown University) to make the case for his economic policies. In fact, the Politico ran a piece entitled "Barack Obama invokes Jesus more than George W. Bush."

So why is there no worry about Obama infusing religion into his politics? Ah, that's easy. Because the media believes that Obama's Christianity is only used to advance his politics while they fear that Perry's politics are actually informed by his Christianity. In short, he means it. And that scares the heck out of them.

[More]

The American Catholic: "Tribute to a RINO"

2011-08-11T08:27:00.004-05:00

My friend, Don McClarey, has posted a very nice tribute to the recently deceased liberal Republican and former Senator from Oregon, Mark Hatfield:

... Ronald Reagan, who was a friend of Hatfield, once noted in his diary while he was President that with Republicans like Hatfield, who needed Democrats. He was a RINO’s RINO. Of course you know there is a but coming.

He was a Baptist and an ardent Christian. Perhaps partially because of that he was also an ardent foe of abortion and always voted pro-life. In a liberal state like Oregon that was a hard stance to take, but Hatfield never wavered from it. He introduced the first proposed constitutional amendment to ban abortion and he was a key ally of the late, and great, Congressman Henry Hyde in passing legislation banning federal funds for abortion...

[Read the whole thing]

Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Aquinas: An Imagined Encounter

2011-08-08T15:40:00.003-05:00

An interesting piece over at First Things by Archbishiop Augustine Di Noia, O.P., that is of particular significance to me as a graduate of the University of Virginia who was received into the Church at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish (a Dominican parish adjacent to the UVA grounds).

Feast of St. Dominic - 8 August

2011-08-08T01:15:00.001-05:00

(Originally posted 8 August 2006)

St. Dominic in Prayer, by El Greco
From the Patron Saints Index:

Dominic de Guzman

Memorial
8 August

Profile
Born of wealthy Spanish nobility. Son of Blessed Joan of Aza. When she was pregnant, his mother had a vision that her unborn child was a dog who would set the world on fire with a torch it carried in its mouth; a dog with a torch in its mouth became a symbol for the order which he founded, the Dominicans. At Dominic's baptism, Blessed Joan saw a star shining from his chest, which became another of his symbols in art, and led to his patronage of astronomy.

Studied philosophy and theology at the University of Palencia. Priest. Canon of the cathedral of Osma. Augustinian. Worked for clerical reform. Lifelong apostolate among heretics, especially Albigensians, and especially in France. Worked with Blessed Peter of Castelnau. Founded the Order of Friars Preachers (Dominicans) in 1215, a group who live a simple, austere life, and an order of nuns dedicated to the care of young girls. Friend of Saint Amata of Assisi.

At one point Dominic became discouraged at the progress of his mission; no matter how much he worked, the heresies remained. But he received a vision from Our Lady who showed him a wreath of roses, representing the rosary. She told him to say the rosary daily, teach it to all who would listen, and eventually the true faith would win out. Dominic is often credited with the invention of the rosary; it actually pre-dates him, but he certainly spread devotion to it, and used it to strengthen his own spiritual life.

Reported miracle worker who brought four people back from the dead. Legend says that Dominic received a vision of a beggar who, like Dominic, would do great things for the Faith. Dominic met the beggar the next day. He embraced him and said, "You are my companion and must walk with me. If we hold together, no earthly power can withstand us." The beggar was Saint Francis of Assisi.

Born
1170 at Calaruega, Burgos, Old Castile

Died
4 August 1221 at Bologna

Canonized
13 July 1234 by Pope Gregory IX at Rieti, Italy

Name Meaning
belonging to God

Patronage
astronomers; astronomy; prelature of Batanes-Babuyanes, Philippines; diocese of Bayombong, Philippines; Dominican Republic; falsely accused people; Santo Domingo Indian Pueblo; scientists

Prayers
Prayer I to...
Prayer II to...

Representation
chaplet, Dominican carrying a rosary and a tall cross; Dominican holding a lily; Dominican with dog and globe; Dominican with fire; Dominican with star shining above his head; rosary; star

Images
Gallery of images of Saint Dominic [50 images, 713 kb]

Storefront
Commercial Links related to Saint Dominic

Additional Information
Google Directory
New Catholic Dictionary
Fausto Appetente Die: On Saint Dominic, by Pope Benedict XV

Readings
A man who governs his passions is master of his world. We must either command them or be enslaved by them. It is better to be a hammer than an anvil.
- Saint Dominic
-------------------
Dominic possessed such great integrity and was so strongly motivated by divine love, that without a doubt he proved to be a bearer of honor and grace. And since a joyful heart animates the face, he displayed the peaceful composure of a spiritual man in the kindness he manifested outwardly and by the cheerfulness of his countenance.

Wherever he went he showed himself in word and deed to be a man of the Gospel. During the day no one was more community-minded or pleasant toward his brothers and associates. During the night hours no one was more persistent in every kind of vigil and supplication. He seldom spoke unless it was with God, that is, in prayer, or about God; and in this matter he instructed his brothers.

Frequently he made a special personal petition that God would deign to grant him genuine charity in caring for and obtaining the salvation of men. For he believed that only then would he be truly a member of Christ, when he had given himself totally for the salvation of men, just as the Lord Jesus, the Savior of all, had offered himself completely for our salvation. So, for this work, after a lengthy period of careful and provident planning, he founded the Orders of Friars Preachers.

In his conversations and letters he often urged the brothers of the Order to study constantly the Old and New Testaments. He always carried with him the gospel according to Matthew and the epistles of Paul, and so well did he study them that he almost knew them from memory.

Two or three times he was chosen bishop, but he always refused, preferring to live with his brothers in poverty. Of him Pope Gregory IX declared: "I knew him as a steadfast follower of the apostolic way of life. There is no doubt that he is in heaven, sharing in the glory of the apostles themselves."

- from various writings on the history of the Order of Preachers

St. Dominic Receiving the Rosary from Our Blessed Lady
Also, St. Dominic Web Links from www.op.org:

Pierre Mandonnet, O.P.: St. Dominic and His Work
http://www.op.org/domcentral/trad/domwork/default.htm

New "St. Dominic Page" on the St. Joseph Province website
http://www.op-stjoseph.org/hist-dom1.html

The Life of St. Dominic by fr. Gregory Anderson, OP
http://www.op.org/domcentral/trad/dominic1.htm

St. Dominic: Biographical Documents, ed. by Francis C. Lehner, O.P.
http://www.op.org/domcentral/trad/domdocs/default.htm

The First Disciples of St. Dominic, Adapted and Enlarged From Father Anthony Touron's Histoire Abrégée des Premiers Disciples de saint Dominique By The Very Rev. Victor F. O'Daniel, O.P., S.T.M., Litt.D.
http://www.op.org/domcentral/trad/disciples/default.htm

St. Dominic Clip-Art
http://www.op.org/domcentral/album/dominic/default.htm

St. Dominic and His Symbols
http://www.dominicos.org/hrosary/english/history/domsymbols.htm

Litany of St. Dominic
http://www.opthird.com/litany.htm

Father Paul A. Duffner, O.P. IN DEFENSE OF A TRADITION: St. Dominic and the Rosary
The Rosary Light & Life - Vol 49, No 5, Sep-Oct 1996
http://www.rosary-center.org/ll49n5.htm

Who's Who in Medieval History: St. Dominic
http://historymedren.about.com/library/who/blwwdominic.htm

Catholic Encyclopedia: ST. DOMINIC
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05106a.htm

St. Dominic from The Penguin Dictionary of the Saints
http://www.op.org/domcentral/trad/stdom.htm

St. Dominic and the Rosary by Robert Feeney
http://www.catholic.net/RCC/Periodicals/Faith/0910-96/articl11.html

The Nine Ways of Prayer of St. Dominic
http://www.op.org/DomCentral/places/stjude/NineWays.html
http://www.users.csbsju.edu/~eknuth/nineways/nwintro.html

Biography & Readings for St. Dominic, August 8, according to the Episcopal Church
http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/Dominic.htm

Patron Saints Index: Dominic de Guzman
http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintd02.htm

ST. DOMINIC Founder of the Order of Friars Preachers
http://www.op.org/DomCentral/people/vocations/s-dom.htm

Saint Dominic Adoring the Crucifixion
http://gallery.euroweb.hu/html/a/angelico/sanmarco/corridor/domenico.html

FRA ANGELICO, Fra (b. cca. 1400, Vicchio nell Mugello, d. 1455) Roma)
Manuscript painting of St. Dominic by Taddeo Crivelli Italian, Ferrara, about 1469
http://www.getty.edu/art/collections/objects/o4119.html

Fra Angelico Mocking of Christ with the Virgin and Saint Dominic
1439-1443 Fresco 73 5/8 x 59 1/2 in (187 x 151 cm) Cell 7, Convent of San Marco, Florence
http://www.artchive.com/artchive/F/fra_angelico/angelico_convent7.jpg.html

Saint Dominic Founder of the Friars Preachers, Confessor
Taken from "Lives of Saints", Published by John J. Crawley & Co., Inc.
http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/DOMINIC.HTM

Fra Angelico: The Glorification of Saint Dominic
http://sunsite.icm.edu.pl/cjackson/angelico/p-angelic2.htm

Saint Dominic Reviving Napoleone Orsini, Nephew of the Cardinal of Fossanova,
1516 oil on panel Accademia Carrara di Belle Arti, Bergamo
http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/lotto/realsp/73f.htm

Santo Domingo de Guzman, by Blessed Fra. Angelico
The Nine Ways of Prayer of St. Dominic from the Fish Eaters website.

UPDATE
From the Medieval Saints Yahoo Group:

St. Dominic de Guzman, confessor, founder of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans)
Also Domingo de Guzman
Died August 4,1221 at Bologna
Canonized July 1234 by Pope Gregory IX
Commemorated August 8 (also August 3 or 4)

Patronage: astronomers, astronomy, Dominican Republic, falsely accused people, scientists

In art: Portrayed as a Dominican carrying a rosary and a tall cross; Dominican holding a lily; Dominican with dog and globe; Dominican with dog carrying a torch in its mouth; Dominican with fire; Dominican with star shining above his head; rosary; star

SAINT DOMINIC, Founder (1170-1221)
http://magnificat.ca/cal/engl/08-04.htm

Saint Dominic de Guzman was born in Spain in 1170. As a student, he sold his books to feed the poor during a famine, and offered himself to ransom a slave. At the age of twenty-five, after taking the religious habit he became acting Superior of the Canons Regular of Saint Augustine in Osma, and was soon offered an episcopal chair at Compostella. He answered as afterward he also answered many times: "God has not sent me to be a bishop, but to preach." He accompanied his prelate to southern France on a commission for the king of Castille. There his heart was well-nigh broken by the ravages of the Albigensian heresy, a variant of ancient Manicheanism, and the source of devastating wars in southern France. His life from that time on was devoted to the conversion of heretics and the defense of the Faith.

In the year 1199, while he was still a Canon Regular of Saint Augustine and was preaching near the Spanish coasts, he was taken captive, with all his audience and a Brother in religion, by a band of pirates. They placed the prisoners in their galleys at the oars. When a furious storm broke, the young Saint exhorted the disciples of Mohammed to think seriously of their souls, to open their eyes to the truth of Christianity, and above all, to invoke the Mother of God. They did not listen until his third exhortation, at a moment when it was clear the ship and passengers could not be saved. They swore to him then that if the God of Christians preserved them by the intercession of His Holy Mother, they would dedicate themselves to their service. Immediately the storm ceased, and the pirates kept their word.

When in his 46th year, and with six companions, he began the great Order of preaching Friars, this Order with that of the Friars Minor, founded by his contemporary friend Saint Francis of Assisi, was the chief means God employed to renew Christian fervor during the Middle Ages. In addition, Saint Dominic founded his Second Order for nuns for the education of Catholic girls, and his Third Order, or Tertiaries, for persons of both sexes living in the world. God abundantly blessed the new Order, and France, Italy, Spain, and England welcomed the Preaching Friars. Our Lady took them under Her special protection. During a debate with the heretics, a book by the Saint, defending Her Immaculate Conception, was thrown into the flames along with one by the heretics, to see whether one might be spared. Saint Dominic's was not injured, and many heretics were converted.

It was in 1208, while Saint Dominic knelt in the little chapel of Notre Dame de La Prouille, and implored the great Mother of God to save the Church, that Our Lady appeared to him and gave him the Rosary, bidding him to go forth and preach it. During the famous battles in southern France against the Albigensians, with his rosary in hand he revived the courage of the Catholic armies, led them to victory against overwhelming numbers, and finally subdued the heresy. His nights were spent in prayer; and, though all beheld him as an Angel of purity, before morning broke he would scourge himself to blood. His words rescued countless souls, and three times raised the dead to life. At length, on August 6, 1221, at the age of fifty-one, he gave up his soul to God.

------------------

A man who governs his passions is master of his world. We must either command them or be enslaved by them. It is better to be a hammer than an anvil.
- Saint Dominic

------------------

More on St. Dominic at:
http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/DOMINIC.HTM
http://www.op-stjoseph.org/dominic/
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05106a.htm
http://www.op.org/DomCentral/trad/ixtrad.htm#dominic
http://www.dominicans.org/~kniehoff/stdominic.htm
http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=178
http://www.stthomasirondequoit.com/SaintsAlive/id287.htm

When President Obama Rated His First Term Thus Far as a "Solid B+" ...

2011-08-05T20:29:00.003-05:00

... he was apparently referring to America's bond rating under his leadership.

"Mittness Protection Program"

2011-08-03T09:51:00.004-05:00

Ben Smith writes at Politico:

Call it the Mittness Protection Program.

Through the hot summer of 2011, the front-runner for the Republican nomination has been in hiding.

Romney was hit repeatedly by his opponents and the Democrats for refusing to offer an opinion on the debt deal until twelve hours after Congressional leaders accepted it – but that’s just been the most obvious example of a campaign that’s keeping the candidate far from the front lines and the headlines.

[...]

“His strategy is clearly to play a lower profile so that he will draw less fire because he’s got a number of issues that he would rather not address,” said Mark Penn, who steered Hillary Clinton in similar waters in 2007.

[...]

“When voters worry that a candidate may be all things to everyone, every day that candidate fails to cement his identity, he risks validating their concerns. Silence can be assent,” said Alex Castellanos, a 2008 Romney adviser who no longer supports the former Massachusetts governor. “More importantly, once the fight starts, Governor Romney will be forced to establish his identity in a more competitive climate. It’s a lot harder to keep your candle lit in a windstorm.”

[...]

His rivals and critics, meanwhile, are beginning to hone in on his calculated refusal to take risky political positions, driven by apparent concern for the general election and by a second-time candidate’s understanding of the rhythm of political cycles.

“There’s a difference between not chasing every ball, and not getting in the arena,” said a spokesman for one rival, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. “In the ongoing battle of ideas for the future of America, Mitt Romney is a spectator with a record of cheering for both sides.”

[More]

My Comments:
"Mitness Protection Program" to describe Romney's penchant for remaining outside the fray until the outcome is certain before finally taking a position on an issue is frickin' brilliant! That's going to stick and, if the GOP is smarter than I give them credit for, will help keep Romney from winning the Republican nomination.

San Fran Nan the Theologian Strikes Again: Obama Has More Patience Than Biblical Job

2011-07-15T08:15:00.003-05:00

Idiotic:

(CNSNews.com) – House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said that President Barack Obama has shown a “level of patience” in debt limit negotiations with congressional leaders that does not compare to the biblical figure Job, known as the “Man of Patience.”

“I want to commend the president – I have never seen – Job is no place compared to this president in terms of patience,” said Pelosi at a press briefing on Thursday. “He [Job] doesn’t even begin because this president has demonstrated a level of patience, not only during the meetings but as respect, respectful of the suggestions that are made by all parties at the meeting, in his preparation for the meeting, and his coming back to address concerns that are expressed by others.”

[More]

No, Job had absolutely nothing on the long-suffering Barry Obama. What a joke.

These loons just can't help themselves when it comes to describing Obama in biblical terms. And it's those of us who point out this nonsense who are allegedly being "blasphemous" when we poke fun at the "Obamessiah"?

Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Pelosi Says No "Common Ground" on Abortion: Calls for Scorched-Earth War Against Catholic Church, Pro-Lifers, GOP, et al

San Fran Nan the Theologian Won't Say at What Point Word Became Flesh

Pro-Abortion "Ardent, Practicing Catholic Grandmother" Just Doing What Jesus Would Do [UPDATED]

Bishop Morlino: “Speaker Pelosi is Not Called by Jesus Christ to Lead the Catholic Faithful”

Nancy Pelosi ... Dumb@$$

U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference Contradicts Pelosi's Claim That Senate Health Bill Doesn't Fund Abortion

San Fran Nan Gets Taken to the Woodshed: Speaker Pelosi’s Bishop Corrects Her Once Again

Boston-Area Priest: Pastoral/Teaching Approach Has Failed Miserably in Persuading "Pro-Choice" Catholics of Their Error

"Ardent Practicing" Conservative Catholic Grandmother™ Calls Opponents of ObamaCare Nazis

Pelosi Accused of Muzzling Opposition to Taxpayer-Funded D.C. Abortions

Wuerl: Why I Won't Deny Pelosi Communion

Pope to Speaker Pelosi: Reject Abortion Support [UPDATED]

"Conservative Catholic Grandmother"™ Pelosi Backs Down: Contraception Removed from "Stimulus Package"

"Conservative Catholic Grandmother"™ Pelosi Says Birth Control a Boon for the Economy [UPDATED]

More U.S. Bishops Issue Statements on Abortion

LA Times Columnist Lies to Cover for Pelosi

Obama Camp to Speaker Pelosi: "Shut Up, Already!"

The Follow-Up Question Brokaw Should've Asked

Pelosi: St. Augustine Agrees With Me - That's My Story and I'm Sticking to It [UPDATED]

Archbishop Chaput on Speaker Pelosi: "On the Separation of Sense and State" [UPDATED]

Biblical Scholars Challenge Pelosi's "Scripture" Quote

Pro-Abort Catholic Politicians to Receive Communion at Papal Mass [UPDATED]

"Conservative Catholic Grandmother" Pelosi Defends Removal of "God" from Flag Certificates

President Bush to Veto Stem Cell Bill

Never Mind Church Teaching, Catholic Nancy Pelosi Says ESCR "a Gift of God"

"Anti-Catholic" Pelosi Accused of Promoting "Culture of Death"

Pelosi Sings Praises of Embryo Destruction

Bishop Vasa on Nancy Pelosi: It's "Categorically Impossible" to be Catholic and Hold Abortion is "Just a Choice"

Worth a Thousand Words

Nancy Pelosi: "My Family is Very Pro-Life"

Catholicism, Pelosi style

Archbishop Wuerl's Stand on Lawmakers Who Back Abortion Angers Some Conservative Catholics

NARAL Pro-Choice America Salutes Nancy Pelosi on Her Inauguration as Speaker of the House

More on Speaker Pelosi at Open Book

A Catholic Speaker in the House

American Life League's Judie Brown: Pro-Abortion Pelosi Insults Catholic Faith

"Hoarders"? "Real Housewives"? "Pawn Stars"? "The Kardashians"? "Jersey Shore"? "Swamp People"?

2011-07-05T09:05:00.002-05:00

Really? Watching dumbasses doing dumbassed things is REALLY how people want to spend their time? Read a book or play a boardgame, dammit!

I weep for our culture.

It's Fourth of July Weekend

2011-07-01T00:01:00.001-05:00

Some modern songs about the 4th of July to help you enjoy the weekend:

Music Recommendations: Some Revolutionary Sounds for the 4th of July

2011-06-30T09:27:00.007-05:00

(Originally posted July 2, 2008, and updated June 30, 2011)

If you're tired of hearing the same old Sousa/Copeland/Berlin-as-performed-by-the-Boston Pops/National Symphony fare that is generally offered up on the 4th of July (and I won't even mention the more cheezy patriotic offerings that have come out within the last 30 years), I have some CD recommendations that will go a long way toward curing what musically ails you.

First up is Liberty Tree by The Boston Camerata.

The Boston Camerata are favorites of mine whenever it comes to early music. And this selection of early American music is no exception. From the program notes:

Our view of the American past is shaped by many things -- dimly remembered history lessons from our earliest school days; the posturings of present-day public people; and, perhaps most importantly, by the popular media -- radio, television, and the movies. Talk about static! Can we ever, then, experience our collective past as it "really" was? Hardly -- those days are gone forever. But, on the other hand, can we get closer to our roots than heretofore? Can we eliminate some of the distortion and noise? At least as far as music goes, I am convinced that a cleaner, truer approach is possible.

The partsongs, marches, anthems, jigs, and ballads we perform for you here were all part of American life during the early decades of the country's existence: between the founding of the Republic and the Civil War. This, the everyday music of villages and towns, represents a hybrid tradition. Notated and harmonised in a rough, pragmatic way by musicians of the time, these pieces are not learned or complex enough to be taken seriously as "high" art by most music historians. Yet, since they managed nonetheless to make their way onto paper and into "polite" society, they are surely a bit more refined and worldy-wise than the folk song of the truly rural settlers. It is in this neglected, between-two-worlds repertoire, I maintain, that we can find much of the soul of early America.

A few of our works have retained popularity since those earlest times; some tunes, once secular "hits", now survive, spiritualised, in the still-vital shapenote hymn tradition. But many of these pieces, once beloved in their day, have not been heard in generations, and have been transcribed and edited specially for this recording from original sources.

You will hear in our performances the kinds of musical instruments that were played a century and a half ago; softer and more rounded in tone than their modern counterparts. Though we don't know with any certainty how "art" music may have been sung in nineteenth-century America, the timbres of the musical instruments provide important parallel clues as to how the human voice may have sounded before the age of roaring tenors and the Boeing 747.

The result? You will experience a lighter, less aggresive tonal pallette than the one we tend to associate with patriotic fervour, or with history with a capital H. Yankee Doodle can be heard as the perky, disrespectful teenage piece it originally was. On the Road to Boston makes one visualise the road, perhaps the old one from Quincy and Dorchester; much narrower than the commuter-clogged Southeast Expressway, unpaved, with horse and foot traffic only -- and no billboards. And the untutored harmonies in a piece like Clovergreen give a truer, sharper sense of life on the (cultural) frontier than the sugary sweetness of the same tune played b y saxophones (as Auld Lang Syne) on New Year's Eve from coast to coast. True it is that we can't go back to those places, but fragments of what they once were do illumine and enrich our contemporary imagination.

[More]

Program includes:

I. Liberty Tree
1 Yankee Doodle 2'56
2 Chester 2'11
3 Liberty Tree 2'34
4 The Boston March 1'11
5 David's Lamentation 1'45
6 Jefferson and Liberty 2'39
7 Rights of Woman 1'12
8 The Appletree 1'12

II. Dormant
9 Dormant 2'29
10 Hero and Leander 2'13
11 Mary's dream 3'59

III. Jolly Soldier
12 On the Road to Boston 0'49
13 Jolly Soldier 3'23
14 Jefferson and Liberty 1'03
15 Abraham's Daughter 2'19
16 Brave Wolfe 4'49
17 Irish air 1'22
18 The Blue Bells of Scotland 2'00

IV. The Working Boy
19 The Working boy 2'03
20 Poor old Maids 0'57
21 Bob in the Bed 0'32
22 Old Tare River 1'53
23 The Rose Tree (The Knoxville Harmony) 2'06

V. Parting Friends
24 Clovergreen 3'41
25 Parting Friends 3'46
26 Ode to Science

Other outstanding offerings by The Boston Camerata in this genre (although focusing more on Early American folk hymnody), and well-deserving of a listen, include:

Trav'ling Home - American Spirituals 1770-1870

Program includes:

1. Hatfield
2. Invocation
3. The Pilgrims
4. Ballon
5. Richmond
6. Harvest Hymn
7. Calvary
8. Pennsylvania
9. While Angels Strike
10. Cusseta
11. Confidence
12. Something New
13. The Young Convert
14. Scots, Wha Ha'e
15. Bruce's Address
16. Saw You My Hero
17. Crucifixion
18. Fare Well Ye Green Fields
19. Greenfields
20. Prince William's March
21. The Paralytic
22. The Three Gypsies
23. Christian Race
24. Liberty
25. Ontario
26. Scotland
27. Warren
28. Weeping Pilgrim

(Program Notes and reviews can be read here)

The American Vocalist - Spirituals and Folk Hymns, 1850-1870

Program includes:

I. The Warning
1. Warning, spiritual
2. Windham, folk song
3. Judgement Day, spiritual
4. Greenwich, folk hymn
II. Great Comforter, descend
5. Wrestle, spiritual
6. Canterbury New Spiritual
7. Edom Spiritual
8. I Shall Be Satisfied, spiritual
III. The Star of Bethlehem
9. Milford, folk song
10. Star in the East (Council of Southern Mountain Workers' Songs of All Times, 1945)
11. Bonnie Doon, folk hymn
IV. The Gospel Feast:
12. O Come, Come Away, spiritual
13. School Hymn, folk hymn
14. Gospel Feast, folk hymn
15. Go Worship At Emmanuel's Feet, folk hymn
16. John Anderson, My Jo
17. Go When the Morning Shineth, spiritual
18. Captain Robert Kidd, folk song
19. How Precious Is the Name?, folk hymn
20. Roll Call, folk hymn
21. Glad Tidings, folk hymn
V. At the River
22. Deal Gently with Thy Servants, spiritual
23. Shall We Gather At the River?, folk hymn
24. Happy Land, folk hymn
25. Burst Ye Emerald Gates, folk hymn

(Program Notes and reviews can be read here)

New Britain - The Roots of American Folksong

Program includes:

I. Prélude
Anonymous (Southern Europe, 10th c.) -- Judicii Signum; The Sacred Harp (Philadelphia,1860) -- The Great Day; Provence, ca. 1200 -- Kalenda Maya; New Mexico, 1953 -- Cuando por el oriente
II. Old and New France/Vielle France et Nouvelle France
Québec, 1914 -- Rossignolet du bois joli; Borlet, ca. 1400 -- Rossignolet del bos jolin; Québec, 1914 -- Dans Paris y-a-t-un'barbière; Loyset Compère, ca. 1500 -- Allons nous faire faire la barbe; Québec, 1914 -- Mon père m'a mariée; Anonymous, ca. 1500 -- Mon père m'a mariée; Canada, ca. 1900 -- Gabriel Nazareth (sung in Huron); Jean Planson, 1587-- Unenymphe jolie; Québec, 1914-- C'est en passant par Varennes; Jacob Arcadelt, ca. 1568-- Margot labourés les vignes; Jean Baptiste Besard, 1603-- Bransles de village; Québec, 1914 -- Il était une cendrillon; Québec,1914-- C'est dans la ville de Bytown;
III. Wandering songs and Ballads/Chansons et ballades errantes
France, ca. 1475 -- Il est venu le petit oysillon; Germany, 1619 -- An jenem Tag, nach Davids sag; England, 1859 -- Barbara Allen; Tennessee, 1937 -- Barbara Allen; Georgia, 1855 -- Heavenly Dove ; Virginia, 1931 -- Chevy Chase ; England, ca. 1550-- The Kinges hunt is upp ; England, ca. 1590-- The English hunt's up ; Scotland, ca. 1650 -- My love gave me a cherry ; Nova Scotia, 1950 -- I gave my love a cherry ; Thomas Ravenscroft, 1611-- Hey ho, nobody at home ; Texas, 1950 -- There were three crows ; Thomas Ravenscroft, 1611 -- There were three ravens ; Scotland, ca. 1620-- Lady Cassilles Lilt ; Ohio, 1925 -- Gipsy Davy ; Scotland, 1790 -- The Jolly Beggar ; Taunton, Massachusetts, 1934-- Billy Boy ; Northern England, ca. 1920 -- Billy Boy ; Diego Ortiz, 1654 -- Ricercada premera ; North Carolina, 1916 - Betty Anne
IV. Singing School Folk Polyphony in the US/Polyphonie populaire aux Etats-Unis
The Social Harp (Georgia, 1855) -- Singing School ; William Billings (Boston, 1794) -- Thomas-Town ; The Sacred Harp (Philadelphia, 1860) -- New Britain (Amazing Grace) ; The Social Harp -- Parting Friends The Social Harp -- Hallelujah

(Program Notes and reviews can be read here)

_______________

Next up is Liberty! by fiddler Mark O'Connor (with Yo-Yo Ma, Wynton Marsalis, and James Taylor).

This is the soundtrack from the excellent PBS series Liberty! The American Revolution. Here's a description of the recording from the PBS website:

The music for LIBERTY! The American Revolution features arrangements of traditional Revolutionary-era folk melodies by Mark O'Connor, as well as original compositions by Richard Einhorn and O'Connor. O'Connor, a Grammy Award-winning violinist, performs, along with: Grammy Award-winning cellist Yo-Yo Ma; Pulitizer Prize-winning composer and trumpet player Wynton Marsalis; David and Ginger Hildebrand; and the Nashville Symphony. O'Connor's "Song of the Liberty Bell" is the series' main theme. James Taylor and O'Connor perform the traditional song, "Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier," over the closing credits... American music of the revolutionary era drew upon the cultural influences of the people of the new nation - English, Scottish, Irish, German and African - and blended into a sound of its own. Through the interest and involvement of a remarkable collection of artists, that music has been recreated for LIBERTY! in a memorable soundtrack and score, from Sony Classical.

Program includes:

1. Song Of The Liberty Bell
2. Johnny Has Gone For A Soldier
3. Surrender The Sword
4. Soldier's Joy
5. When Bidden To The Wake Or Fair
6. The World Turned Upside Down
7. Bunker Hill
8. Freedom
9. The Flowers Of Edinburgh
10. Brave Wolfe
11. Devil's Dream
12. Song Of The Liberty Bell

_______________

My third recommendation is a CD that I purchased a few years ago (and have practically worn out listening to in the intervening years) called Davy Crockett's Fiddle by Colonial Williamsburg musician Dean Shostak. It is definitely my favorite of the bunch and a MUST OWN for anyone interested in early American music.
This recording features the fiddle that purportedly belonged to Davy Crockett. All the instruments and music on this CD are from the time of Davy Crockett (1786-1836). From the program notes:

I first learned about Davy Crockett's fiddle when I saw its picture in the April 2001 issue of USAToday; an old well-worn violin. That was the beginning of a wonderful musical adventure. I contacted the good folks at the Witte Museum, who owned the fiddle, and proposed that we have it restored. I wanted to make a recording of music of Davy Crockett's time on his very own fiddle accompanied by period instruments.

They enthusiastically agreed, and we embarked on an remarkable historical journey; restoring the violin, researching and learning the music Davy Crockett would have played, and recording it right in San Antonio where he spent his final, heroic days.

When I returned to Williamsburg, VA, I assembled some of my favorite early American musicians together to create musical scenes from Davy's life using his own fiddle...

Program includes:

1. Perry's Victory
2. Yankee Doodle
3. Amazing Grace
4. Speed The Plow
5. Hunters of Kentucky
6. Shenandoah
7. Turkey In The Straw
8. Haste To The Wedding
9. German Waltz
10. The President's March (Hail Columbia)
11. Home Sweet Home
12. Durang's Hornpipe / College Hornpipe
13. Jefferson And Liberty
14. Soldier's Joy / Bonaparte's Retreat
15. Duke of Kent Waltz
16. Cindy
17. The Girl I Left Behind Me / Leather Breeches
18. Rock of Ages
19. Drink To Me Only With Thine Eyes
20. Star Spangled Banner
21. The Legend Of Davy Crockett

_______________

My final reccomendation is The World Turned Upside Down by Barry Phillips and Friends.

Of my recommendations, I've owned this recording the longest - I bought it on cassette tape many years ago (while I was still in law school), and purchased it again on CD a few years ago. The title of the recording refers to the tune that tradition says the surrendering British troops played as they paraded by the victorious Continental and French Armies at Yorktown during the American Revolution - the tune is also known as the Cavalier (and later, Jacobite) ballad "When the King Enjoys His Own Again". (It's also the tune to which Sarah marched down the aisle at our wedding.)

Here's more about the recording:

Barry Phillips and Friends explore the colorful variety of music popular in late 18th and early 19th century America, from elegant Colonial drawing rooms to homely frontier hearths to rollicking waterside taverns. The title tune, according to legend, was played by Cornwallis' surrendering troops at Yorktown; the album also includes dances and folk songs (All The Pretty Little Horses, Rights of Man, Fisher's Hornpipe, Love in a Village) along with a suite of early American classical music by the Boston master William Billings. As always, liner notes provide colorful background history of the music and the times.

Go here for the complete liner notes. Program includes:

1. The World Turned Upside Down 2:42
2. Love in a Village / Love Forever 3:05
3. The Rights of Man 3:20
4. When Jesus Wept 3:46 (by William Billings)
5. Billings Suite 3:48 (by William Billings)
6. Dutchess of Brunswick 2:21 (Traditional)
7. Young Widow/Black Joke 2:22
8. New German Spa 3:59
9. All The Pretty Little Horses 3:13 (Traditional)
10. Sweet Richard 4:07
11. Fisher's Hornpipe / Patterson's Hornpipe 4:55 (by James A. Fisher)
12. Rights of Conscience 4:19 (by Issachar Bates)

_______________

Whether you're a history buff, a fan of early American music, or just want something different to listen to on Independence Day, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND ALL of these recordings.

And, finally, there are two more recordings that I'd like to mention, which I do not own, but which look promising. The first is titled Music of the American Revolution: The Birth of Liberty. This recording appears to cover some of the same ground as the recordings I've listed above, but is limited only to music of the American Revolution. Could be worth checking out. And the second one is 4th of July Concert by the Fifes and Drums of Colonnial Williamsburg. Although I do not own this recording, I was actually in attendance at this particular 4th of July concert in Colonial Williamsburg, and can recommend it on that basis alone.

4th of July Film Recommendations

2011-06-29T08:18:00.005-05:00

There are several fine documentary miniseries that I recommend for the 4th of July. In fact, I recommend skipping the Hollywood versions of history altogether and watching these documentaries instead:

The American Revolution (A&E / History Channel)
http://www.amazon.com/American-Revolution-History-Channel/dp/B0007TKNOC/ref=cm_lmf_tit_16_rdssss0
(this is my personal favorite)

Liberty – The American Revolution (PBS)
http://www.amazon.com/Liberty-The-American-Revolution/dp/B000BITU3E/ref=cm_lmf_tit_14_rdssss0

The History Channel Presents The Revolution
http://www.amazon.com/History-Channel-Presents-Revolution/dp/B000IB0DD0/ref=cm_lmf_tit_1_rdssss0

Rebels & Redcoats – How Britain Lost America (PBS)
http://www.amazon.com/Rebels-Redcoats-Britain-Lost-America/dp/B0001ZWLVA/ref=cm_lmf_tit_17_rdssss0

Founding Fathers (History Channel)
http://www.amazon.com/Founding-Fathers-Keith-Arbour/dp/B00004ZETI/ref=cm_lmf_tit_19_rdssss0

Founding Brothers
http://www.amazon.com/Founding-Brothers-Peter-Coyote/dp/B0000687BM/ref=pd_bxgy_d_img_b

The History Channel Presents Washington the Warrior
http://www.amazon.com/History-Channel-Presents-Washington-Warrior/dp/B000G1R402/ref=cm_lmf_tit_20_rdssss0

To save yourself some money, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you purchase the History Channel's "The Founding of America" Megaset, which includes many of the offerings I mention above and several other outstanding movies and documentaries.

Contents Include:

Founding Fathers (mini-series)

Founding Brothers (mini-series)

The Conflict Ignites

1776

Washington & Arnold

The World at War

England's Last Chance

Birth of the Republic

The Revolution (series)

Washington the Warrior

Ben Franklin

Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor

The Crossing

Bonus Features:

"History in the Making: The Revolution"

Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes; Behind-the-Scenes

"Declaration of Independence" (Episode of SAVE OUR HISTORY)

"The Many Faces of Ben Franklin" Making-of Featurette

Timeline

Anecdotes

Quotes

List of Innovations and Inventions

"Benedict Arnold: Triumph and Treason" (50-minute Biography episode); Cast

Biographies/Filmographies

Historical Quotes

At $44.98, which is what Amazon.com is offering it for, this Megaset is an absolute STEAL! It can be purchased even cheaper - as low as $29.98 - from the Amazon Marketplace. I was fortunate enough to buy this set last year for $19.98! It is money well spent for the content you're getting.

If you simply MUST watch a movie about the Revolutionary War, then HBO's "John Adams" is the best thing out there on the subject. A sentimental favorite of mine in this genre is the 1972 musical, "1776". I also recommend the A&E movie "The Crossing", which depicts the dramatic events surrounding Washington's late-1776 crossing of the Delaware and subsequent victories at Trenton and Princeton - this movie is included in the "The Founding of America" Megaset. Of course, there's also the old Disney favorite, "Johnny Tremain".

Finally, you may want to consult the list of Rev War movies for the 4th that my friend Don McClarey put together a couple of years ago.

Coming tomorrow: My annual music recommendations for the 4th of July.

Romney's "Winning" Message to Voters? "I Worked With Ted Kennedy to Pass RomneyCare"

2011-06-28T07:08:00.002-05:00

Good grief:

Reporting from Concord, N.H.— As Democratic and Republican leaders in Washington struggled to find agreement on spending cuts and extending the debt limit, Mitt Romney struck a conciliatory note in New Hampshire on Monday by lamenting partisan feuding while touting his record of working with Democrats -- even the Senate's onetime liberal lion Edward M. Kennedy.

[...]

One issue that Kennedy and Romney worked closely on was legislation expanding healthcare coverage in Massachusetts. He recalled, to laughter, that at the ceremonial signing of the Massachusetts healthcare law, the Democrat had joked that when he and Romney agreed on a piece of legislation "it proves only one thing – one of us didn't read it."

"The truth was we had both read it and we'd found some common ground," Romney said, "and I think that has to happen in Washington."

Someone please save the GOP from themselves before they actually nominate this stiff.

Digest of Today's Posts (22 June 2011)

2011-06-22T23:59:00.002-05:00

"... we surely would have more Thomas Mores ...

A Man For All Seasons: Feast Day of St. Thomas More, 22 June

"... we surely would have more Thomas Mores ...

2011-06-22T08:08:00.003-05:00

... if we had more Bishop John Fishers."

~ William McGurn

A Man For All Seasons: Feast Day of St. Thomas More, 22 June

2011-06-22T06:24:00.000-05:00

___________________________________

“…it would be hard to find anyone who was more truly a man for all seasons and all men…”

~ Erasmus, 1521

___________________________________

The Execution of St. Thomas More - "A Man For All Seasons"

The Execution of St. Thomas More - "The Tudors"

Today, 22 June, is the feast day of St. Thomas More, martyr and patron of lawyers, civil servants, politicians, statesmen, "difficult marriages", and this blog.

As he went to his death, ordered beheaded by Henry VIII for refusing to swear the Oath of Supremacy declaring the King head of the Church in England, More humbly stated that he would die "the King's good servant, and God's first."

From the Patron Saints Index:

Memorial: 22 June

Profile: Studied at London and Oxford. Page for the Archbishop of Canterbury. Lawyer. Twice married, father of one son and three daughters, and a devoted family man. Writer. Friend of King Henry VIII. Lord Chancellor of England, a position of power second only to the king. Opposed the king on the matter of royal divorce, and refused to swear the Oath of Supremacy which declared the king the head of the Church in England. Resigned the Chancellorship, and was imprisoned in the Tower of London. Martyred for his refusal to bend his religious beliefs to the king's political needs.

Born: 1478 at London, England

Died: beheaded in 1535; head kept in the Roper Vault, Saint Dunstan's church, Canterbury, England; body at Saint Peter ad Vincula, Tower of London, England

Canonized: 1935 by Pope Pius XI

Patronage: adopted children, diocese of Arlington Virginia, civil servants, court clerks, difficult marriages, large families, lawyers, diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee Florida, politicians, politicos, statesmen, step-parents, widowers

A Prayer to St. Thomas More:

Thomas More, counselor of law and patron of statesmen, merry martyr and most human of saints:

Pray that, for the glory of God and in the pursuit of His justice, I may be able in argument, accurate in analysis, keen in study, correct in conclusion, loyal to clients, honest with all, courteous to adversaries, trustworthy with confidences, courageous in court. Sit with me at my desk and listen with me to my clients' tales. Read with me in my library and stand always beside me so that today I shall not, to win a point, lose my soul.

Pray that my family may find in me what yours found in you: friendship and courage, cheerfulness and charity, diligence in duties, counsel in adversity, patience in pain -- their good servant, and God's first.

Amen.

Quotes:

"The ordinary acts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest."

"What does it avail to know that there is a God, which you not only believe by Faith, but also know by reason: what does it avail that you know Him if you think little of Him?"

"The things that we pray for, good Lord, give us grace to labour for."

~ Saint Thomas More

From the Medieval Saints Yahoo Group:

Thomas More, Knight, Lord Chancellor of England, author and martyr, Lay Franciscan

Beheaded in 1535; head kept in the Roper Vault, Saint Dunstan's church, Canterbury, England; body at Saint Peter ad Vincula, Tower of London, England Beatified in 1886;

Canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1935 as the "Martyr of the Papacy"

Commemorated June 22, feast day formerly on July 6 (with fellow martyr, St. John Fisher)

Patronage: adopted children, civil servants, court clerks, difficult marriages, large families, lawyers, politicians, statesmen, step-parents, widowers

In art: English Lord Chancellor carrying a book; English Lord Chancellor carrying an axe

SAINT THOMAS MORE, Martyr (1480-1535)
http://magnificat.ca/cal/engl/07-06.htm

Saint Thomas More, born in 1480, was the precocious and amiable son of an English magistrate. Very well educated and brilliant, when he was placed at the age of fifteen in the household of the Archbishop of Canterbury, he soon attracted the Archbishop's attention, and was sent by him to study at Oxford. He debated interiorly for a long time as to whether he should become a priest, but decided otherwise with the approbation of his director.

The practice of civil law was not enough to absorb all his time or energy. The author of the famous satire "Utopia," wrote poetry while still young, in both English and Latin. He had completely mastered Latin, as he had also the Greek tongue, "by an instinct of genius," as one of his preceptors said. Saint Thomas in 1505 married a virtuous and beloved wife who, after bearing four children, three daughters and a son, died six years later. His second wife, older than himself, took excellent care of the household and of the children; but it was said she could not grasp the sense of her husband's subtle humor, which was a characteristic trait of his cheerful disposition.

Saint Thomas came under suspicion by King Henry VII when he strove in the Parliament to reduce the burden of excessive taxes which the people bore, though he never spoke against the king. But his capacities were appreciated, and when Henry VII died, his 18-year-old son, who was to become Henry VIII in 1509, showed him great favor during the first twenty years of his reign. Saint Thomas was knighted in 1521, and was made Speaker of the House of Commons in 1523, High Steward of Cambridge University in 1525, and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in the same year. Nonetheless, the king's protege foresaw what could easily happen to anyone who did not agree with his sovereign; he said to his son-in-law in 1525, "If my head could win him a castle in France, it would not fail to go." In effect, when in 1530 the order was issued to the clergy to acknowledge Henry as "Supreme Head of the Church, insofar as the law of God would permit," Saint Thomas immediately resigned as Lord Chancellor.

His resignation was not accepted. Two years later, in May 1532, after he had lost the royal favor on several counts — his reticence concerning the king's divorce, his non-attendance at the king's illegal marriage, and his formal non-recognition of any future children of Henry and Anne Bolyn as rightful heirs to the throne — he was permitted to retire. The king, the apostate Archbishop Cranmer, and Anne Bolyn were all excommunicated in that year.

Saint Thomas lived in retirement from the age of 52, his revenues considerably diminished, and his health somewhat uncertain. When the king decided to require of the laity, as well as of the clergy, the oath supporting his alleged "supremacy," he wanted to obtain first of all the signature of Thomas More, to make of him an example. The Saint declined to sign the oath and thereby brought upon himself a sentence of incarceration in the Tower of London, and a short time afterwards, of death. He was beheaded in 1535, after having said, with his ordinary humor, that "he did not consider the severing of his head from his body as a circumstance that should produce any change in the disposition of his mind."

Saint Thomas while in retirement continued to write a number of religious treatises of great value, including an unfinished one on the Passion. He was beatified by Pope Leo XIII and canonized by Pius XI in 1935, with Cardinal John Fisher, who was martyred like himself in the same year and for the same reasons. That year was the 400th anniversary of their death.

"These things, good Lord, that we pray for, give us Thy grace to labor for." --Saint Thomas More.

--------------------------------
More on St. Thomas More at:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14689c.htm
http://www.cin.org/farmor.html

Links:
Apostolic Letter of Pope John Paul II, naming St. Thomas More the patron of politicians and statesmen

Saint Thomas More - Open Directory Project (links to practically everything you'd want to know about St. Thomas More)
Center for Thomas More Studies
Sir Thomas More (1478-1535) - Luminarium
St. Thomas More on The Franciscan Archive
St. Thomas More on the Patron Saints Index
The St. Thomas More Web Site
Thomas More Online
Sir Thomas More - Oregon State University Philosophy Dept.
Thomas More Law Center
Thomas More Society
The St. Thomas More Society
Amici Thomae Mori
The Life of St. Thomas More by William Roper
Saint Thomas More - The King's good servant but God's first! (The Angelus)
"Thomas More For Our Season" by Judge Robert Bork (First Things archives - subscription required)
Saint Thomas More: A Father for All Seasons - Essay on Thomas More as a model Christian father
A Man For All Seasons (DVD available from Amazon.com)
A Man For All Seasons Study Site
Thomas More's England: A Guide Book (pdf file)
Chelsea Old Church - Sir Thomas More

Recommended Reading:
The Life of St. Thomas More by his son-in-law William Roper
Thomas More: A Portrait of Courage by Gerard B. Wegemer
The Life of Thomas More by Peter Ackroyd
A Thomas More Source Book ed. by Gerard B. Wegemer and Stephen W. Smith
Thomas More on Statesmanship by Gerard B. Wegemer
A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt
Sir Thomas More: A Play, Now First Printed by William Shakespeare, et al
Utopia by Thomas More
A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation by Thomas More
The Sadness of Christ by Thomas More

Prayers:
Prayer to St. Thomas More for Conversion of Pro-Abortion Politicians
Litany of St. Thomas More, Martyr and Patron Saint of Statesmen, Politicians and Lawyers (pdf version here)
Prayers of St. Thomas More (Psalm on Detachment; A Devout Prayer Before Dying)
Novena to St. Thomas More

Prayer to St. Thomas More for Lawyers and Judges
Dear Scholar and Martyr,
it was not the King of England
but you who were the true Defender of the Faith.
Like Christ unjustly condemned,
neither promises nor threats
could make you accept a civil ruler
as head of the Christian Church.

Perfect in your honesty and love of truth,
grant that lawyers and judges
may imitate you and achieve true justice for all people.
AMEN.

*****

Lawyer's Prayer
"Give me the Grace Good Lord,
to set the world at naught;
to set my mind fast upon Thee
and not to hang upon the blast of men's mouths.
To be content to be solitary.
Not to long for worldly company
but utterly to cast off the world
and rid my mind of the business thereof."

*****

Litany of St. Thomas More, Martyr and Patron Saint of Statesmen, Politicians and Lawyers
V. Lord, have mercy
R. Lord have mercy
V. Christ, have mercy
R. Christ have mercy
V. Lord, have mercy
R. Lord have mercy
V. Christ hear us
R. Christ, graciously hear us

V. St. Thomas More, Saint and Martyr,
R. Pray for us (Repeat after each invocation)
St. Thomas More, Patron of Statesmen, Politicians and Lawyers
St. Thomas More, Patron of Justices, Judges and Magistrates
St. Thomas More, Model of Integrity and Virtue in Public and Private Life
St. Thomas More, Servant of the Word of God and the Body and Blood of Christ
St. Thomas More, Model of Holiness in the Sacrament of Marriage
St. Thomas More, Teacher of his Children in the Catholic Faith
St. Thomas More, Defender of the Weak and the Poor
St. Thomas More, Promoter of Human Life and Dignity

V.Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world
R.Spare us O Lord
V.Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world
R.Graciously hear us O Lord
V.Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world
R.Have mercy on us

Let us pray:

O Glorious St. Thomas More, Patron of Statesmen, Politicians, Judges and Lawyers, your life of prayer and penance and your zeal for justice, integrity and firm principle in public and family life led you to the path of martyrdom and sainthood. Intercede for our Statesmen, Politicians, Judges and Lawyers, that they may be courageous and effective in their defense and promotion of the sanctity of human life - the foundation of all other human rights. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

R. Amen.

Spot. On.

2011-06-21T15:06:00.004-05:00

Yeah, what Bill Simmons said about the season finale of "The Killing":

... I will leave you with four thoughts. First, Sunday night shows have a built-in competitive advantage because the best HBO shows (Sopranos, The Wire, Six Feet Under, etc.) got us into the groove of watching the best possible television every Sunday night, then AMC kept the momentum going with Mad Men and Breaking Bad, and somewhere along the line, that became our Smart Television Night and it doesn't really matter what's on anymore, as long as it feels like a good show. We never cared if Walking Dead or The Killing were great, just that they were good enough to keep us interested on Sunday nights, because that's the night we like to watch well-acted shows with well-developed characters that creep along from week to week and keep us guessing. So really, we're to blame for letting The Killing happen — we always knew it sucked, but we didn't care. We allowed this catastrophe to happen.

Second, The Killing is destined to become the first example anyone brings up when the subject is, "What show did something that made its fans hate it the most?" It's not like other shows haven't antagonized their fans before: The Sopranos cutting to black on its final episode, Seinfeld and his buddies getting arrested, and Dallas executing a retroactive "everything you just watched never happened" season-long dream sequence are the three most famous examples. But has a TV show ever willfully misled its viewers like this, to the point that it made you hate yourself for ever watching the show? No. Never. We made history here.

Third, I always judge television shows by the dueling metrics, "If I could travel back in time and tell myself to either watch or NOT watch this show, what would I say?" and "If I could have done the MJ's Final Shot in 1998 with a TV show and gotten out at the perfect time, then never watched another episode, when would that time be?" A good example: Lost. I would absolutely watch that show again, only I would tell myself to stop watching right before the final season started. Or Seinfeld. I'd keep watching right until George's fiancée dies from licking the envelopes, then I'd be done.

With The Killing? I would beg March 2011 Me to not watch a single second of the show. So there's that.

Fourth and most important, I can't remember a single show damaging a network's brand this severely, to the point that AMC either needs to apologize, offer the entire Breaking Bad series on DVD for 85 percent off, or even publicly distance itself from the show the same way a sports team distances itself from a star player who does something horrible. That's how bad this was. AMC had won our trust over the past few years; because of that trust, we endured The Killing because we trusted AMC enough that we assumed they wouldn't screw us. It's unfathomable that none of the people running such a seemingly intelligent network said, "We better leak to Tim Goodman or Alan Sepinwall that they're not wrapping things up in one season, we don't want people to be pissed off." Nope. The ratings mattered more than the viewers.

And yeah, that's happened before in television … but not like this. The Killing turned out to be aptly named: AMC just killed any "most creative network" momentum it had. People will not forget what happened. I know I won't. And in case you were wondering, hell will freeze over before I watch Season 2.

[Read the whole thing]

My Comments:
About 45 minutes into the season finale, I said to myself "These bastards are going to leave us hanging, aren't they?"

Yep. Bastards.

NB: By the way, I was perfectly fine with the leftist, holier-than-thou, do-gooder, hypocrite of a city councilman being the murderer. But they couldn't just leave well enough alone. Bastards.

"Pro-Life" Fraud Romney Refuses to Sign Pro-Life Pledge

2011-06-17T23:10:00.004-05:00

Mitt Romney is NOT pro-life. Despite his claims of a late-in-life conversion to the pro-life side (which just so happened to conveniently coincide with his decision in 2008 to seek the GOP presidential nomination), Romney has ALWAYS been a pro-abort.

LifeNews reports:

Five of the Republican presidential candidates seeking the GOP nomination to take on pro-abortion President Barack Obama in 2012 have signed onto a pro-life pledge the Susan B. Anthony List has sponsored, but Mitt Romney and Herman Cain have declined.

The Susan B. Anthony List today announced its Pro-Life Leadership Presidential Pledge and said it asked all of the candidates who have officially announced a presidential campaign or exploratory committee to sign the pledge certifying they will not just check off the pro-life box but show true pro-life leadership if elected president.

[...]

The SBA List confirmed to LifeNews that the Romney and Cain campaigns were contacted about the candidates signing the pledge and the two candidates chose not to do so. LifeNews.com contacted both campaigns for explanations about why they did not join the other presidential candidates and the Cain camp has not yet issued a response.

Responding for Romney, spokeswoman Andrea Saul told LifeNews, “Governor Romney pledged in the last campaign that he would be a pro-life president and of course he pledges it today.”

“However, this well intentioned effort has some potentially unforeseen consequences and he does not feel he could in good conscience sign it. Gov. Romney has been a strong supporter of the SBA List in the past and he looks forward to continue working with them to promote a culture of life,” she said.

UPDATE: Asked to explain the “unforseen consequences” that would prevent Romney from signing the pledge, Saul told LifeNews, “The pledge calls for legislation to strip taxpayer funding from hospitals around the country, and strictly limits the choices a President would have to appoint cabinet members.”

Marilyn Musgrave, former Congresswoman and the director of the pledge project for SBA List, said, “We applaud those candidates who did sign the pledge for vowing to support and advance the protection of life at all stages if elected to the White House. Their signatures demonstrate that mere lip-service to protecting women and the unborn is not enough—it must be backed up by concrete action.”

[More]

Mitt Romney is a FRAUD !!! If you vote for him, you WILL end up regretting it.

G.T.T.

2011-06-17T09:12:00.003-05:00

We wish our old friend the Regular Guy the best as he leaves his home state of Illinois today to embark upon the next segment of his and his family's life down in Texas. Paul has taken a job in my old stomping grounds in the DFW Metroplex, and is driving down there as I type this.

He's picked the wrong time of year to move down there, however. I wouldn't want to be unloading and unpacking moving boxes in the summer heat and humidity of Northeast Texas. In fact, I wouldn't want to be in the summer heat and humidity of Northeast Texas at all (still trying to figure out how we made it through 2-a-day football practices in that stuff back in high school).

At any rate, the Midwest will miss you, Paul. Give my best to all the good folks deep in the heart of the Lone Star State. Take in a Rangers game or two for me. Good luck and Godspeed.

Romney: ‘‘I’m Also Unemployed’’

2011-06-16T14:28:00.002-05:00

Mitt Romney is "unemployed" and his sons "served their country", not by joining the military, but by working on his 2008 campaign.

Good grief. Someone needs to save the Republicans from themselves before they actually nominate this out-of-touch, politically tone deaf maroon.

Food for Thought

2011-06-16T13:09:00.006-05:00

Two years ago, if I had asked you to name the two most popular athletes in the world, the answer would probably have been Tiger Woods and LeBron James.

At Long Last, A Championship and Vindication

2011-06-13T16:38:00.002-05:00

Congratulations to my Dallas Mavericks for winning the 2011 NBA Championship:

World Champions? Dallas Mavericks?

Yes - They - Did.

Surely, to fully understand how far-fetched that concept was before last night, you had to sit through some sad nights at Reunion Arena before Mark Cuban bought the franchise. You had to hang in there over the course of 10 consecutive playoff endings that included disappointment and the wonder of whether next year would ever really be the year.

[...]

And across the arena, a large part of the entire narrative involved their opponent. And the Mavericks feeding off of it. Whether it was Miami being the winner in 2006 or Miami putting a giant and unnecessary target on their chests back in July. The Heat were the perfect opponent for Dallas in the NBA Finals for all sorts of reasons of symmetry. This is the team that Nowitzki and Terry wanted another shot at. It took 5 long years of quietly hearing everything that was said and allowing it to fuel them through long training sessions all year long. There was no guarantee that they would ever get another shot at Dwyane Wade and the Heat. Wade had called out Dirk's ability to close back then. So, when they did get a chance to settle it on the court, you could see that Dirk and Jet were not going to let that chance get away if they could help it.

And they could.

To make matters more theatrical, the principles in Miami thought they would mock Dirk back in Dallas by questioning whether he was really sick in Game 4. At certain points, you actually wondered if Miami wanted to be the villain. Until you saw on their faces - one in particular - how they certainly were not cut out to be villains. The weight of the world was crushing. And when the smoke cleared, James and Wade looked like they really didn't understand why the neutral observer was cheering for their defeat. They just didn't get it. But, something tells me that this experience might demonstrate to them that championship rallies should never precede a championship.

But, back to the 2011 NBA Champions, they completed their mission. They woke up this morning (assuming they slept) with no further opponents to vanquish. It is just the players and their trophy. They had done something that took these athletes their entire career and this franchise 31 years. Dallas is a city that had sports failures in Miami so many times - Super Bowl V, Super Bowl X, Super Bowl XIII, and the '06 NBA Finals - but, this time, they fly back to Dallas with that coveted title, a shiny gold basketball, and a spot in the annals of basketball history that can not be erased.

Only on this day will the last of their doubters finally concede. And for those of you who suffered for years following a franchise that never looked like they would get to the top of the mountain, well, this is your year. Congratulations to you.

[...]

This is your day. Enjoy it for all it is worth. LeBron James reminds you that your life will still contain many of the same circumstances and he will still have his. Well, good for him. He is arrogant to the end.

But, the Mavericks have the Championship. And, the loyalty to your home team pays off.

Enjoy it. And finally, plan your parade. It is well earned.

As a Texan and long-suffering fan of the Mavs, I am thrilled with this victory, and that it came against the team that denied them this opportunity 5 years ago. As a current resident of the Cleveland area, I am especially happy to see this victory also deprive a certain someone of a championship ring for which he attempted to take a shortcut to get.

Textbook Definition of Politically Tone Deaf

2011-06-10T10:29:00.002-05:00

Good grief, Gingrich, just go away:

... While he was away on a cruise to Rhodes, Mykonos and other Greek islands, Mr. Gingrich said that he wrote two policy speeches.

“I don’t know how other people work,” [ED.: While you're off galavanting around the Greek Isles. .. errrr ... I mean ... "working", there are a LOT of people who aren't working at all. And the vast majority of the rest don't have the luxury of "working" the way you define it. So, no, the one thing you said that is quite accurate is that you "don't know how other people work."] Mr. Gingrich said in an interview on Wednesday. “To have a major breakthrough in policy [ED.: Yay, Newt, what would we do with out your superior intellect and oversized ego when it comes to top-down thinking about how to achieve "major breakthroughs in policy" implemented by our betters in Washington to make our lives oh so much more livable?], you have to be able to stop and think.” [ED.: Yes, because you're just so overwhelmed with responsibilities right now. And from the way things are going, thinking on your feet isn't your strong suit. But the remedy for that isn't for you to "stop and think". The remedy is for you to just stop.]

(emphasis and editorial commentary added]

Digest of Today's Posts (9 June 2011)

2011-06-09T23:59:00.000-05:00

More on St. Columba of Iona (a.k.a. Columcille)

Feast of St. Columba of Iona - 9 June

(Digest of Yesterday's Posts (8 June 2011))

More on St. Columba of Iona (a.k.a. Columcille)

2011-06-09T00:01:00.005-05:00

See also my previous post: "Feast of St. Columba of Iona - 9 June"

Videos about St. Columba:

An icon of St. Columba:

(Hat tip for the icon: Sisters of the Gospel of Life)

The prayer of the feast day:

O God, you called your servant Columba
from among the princes of Ireland
to be a herald and evangelist of your kingdom to the Scottish people:
Grant that your Church,
remembering his faith and courage,
may so proclaim the gospel,
that all men will come to know your Son as their Saviour,
and serve him as their King;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

(Hat tip for the prayer: Deacon Peter Simpson of St Columba's Roman Catholic Church in Culloden, Inverness)

Go here (see also this past issue of Dappled Things) for an absolutely beautiful piece of artwork by Daniel Mitsui, which depicts St. Columba in the mediaeval Irish style, using "a decorative vocabulary taken from the great Celtic illuminated manuscripts - especially the Lindisfarne Gospels, the Book of Kells and the Book of Durrow":

St. Columba is pictured as an abbot, and holds the Cathach of St. Columba, an illuminated psalter attributed to the saint's own hand.

At the bottom of the drawing are depicted three events from his life, as retold by Adamnan of Iona ...

Definitely check it out. The artwork is available for purchase (NOTE TO SELF: add to Father's Day/Birthday/Christmas wish list).

Finally, finding a patron saint medal for St. Columba is danged nigh impossible. I've been looking for years, but have never been able to locate one. (If I have any readers in Ireland or Scotland who know how to obtain a patron saint medal depicting St. Columba - at a relatively affordable price, please contact me.)

In the meantime, for those who are interested, the Ulster Heritage Magazine blog has information regarding a Saint Columba Medal designed by American-born Celtic metal worker and artist, Garth Duncan, who now lives on the Isle of Skye:

For more information on the Saint Columba Medal, try Duncan's website.

Feast of St. Columba of Iona - 9 June

2011-06-09T00:00:00.010-05:00

My Druid is Christ, the son of God,
Christ, Son of Mary, the Great Abbot,
The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.

~ St. Columba of Iona
O Columba spes Scotorum
nos tuorum meritorum
interventu beatorum
fac consortes angelorum. Alleluia.

O Columba, hope of Scots,
By your merits' mediation.
Make us companions
of the blessed angels. Halleluia.

~ The Inchcolm Antiphoner, C13th

St. Ephrem may get all the glory in the Roman Calendar, but in the Anderson household, the saint of the day on June 9 is St. Columba of Iona, also known as Columcille.

Columba is my patron saint. Studying the life of this great saint (as well as honeymooning in Scotland, where we visited many sites associated with him) piqued my interest in the early Church and the spread of Christianity in the British Isles, and thus eventually led to my coming home to the Church. When Sarah and I entered the Church 7 years ago this month, I chose "Columba" as my Confirmation name.

Among St. Columba's claims to fame - in addition to evangelizing the Picts in the land that eventually became Scotland, and creating on his monastic island of Iona a base of operation whereby Britain was re-evangelized after the native Celts were conquered by the pagan Anglo-Saxons - is that he is credited with the first recorded sighting of the Loch Ness Monster.

The following history of St. Columba provides more insight into his colorful life (online source no longer available):

Columba was born into Irish royalty on or around 521A.D.. It is told there was a dispute over the name he was to be given. His mother choosing to name him Columcille (dove), and his father, Crimthan (wolf). Columcille, or Columba as his name was latinized, went at a very young age to study in the monastery at Moville. There he was brought up in the traditional monastic life of the celts. While studying in the monastery, he gained an appreciation for the arts, music (psalters), poetry, and writing. He was said to have been one of the best scribes of his time, writing many Psalters and poems. In 546 Columba founded the monastery in Derry, and later the one in Durrow (556). Columba came into a dispute with his former master Finian in 561, over a dispute of ownership of a copy of the Gospel. Apparently Columba had made his own copy of Finian's original, and when he would no release ownership, the case was taken before king Diarmot. Diarmot was a local King, from a rival clan of Columba's. When the case went before him, Diarmot made the now famous quote "To every cow it's calf, and to every copy it's original". Shamed and insulted by this, Columba called upon his father to rally his clan for possession of the book. What followed was one of the most bloody battles in Irish history "the battle of the books". Three thousand died in Culdrevne, and Columba won the book, but it cost him dearly. As a result, he was exiled by the church from Ireland as a penance for a monk taking up arms.

***
Columba leaving Ireland in 563, with twelve fellow monks, landed on the isle of IONA. It was there, out of sight of beloved Ireland that he established his monastery in which he based his evangelical missions. Having established his monastery and removing the druid priests that were on the Island, by performing a miracle of healing on a crippled girl, he purposed to begin evangelizing what is now known as Scotland. Leaving in 564 and travelling up through the great Scottish Loches towards Inverness, he spread the gospel to all that would hear. Working his way to Inverness to witness to the pictish King Brude, he was once again confronted by druadic priests. The priests demanding that Columba take his God and his twelve fellow monks back to Ireland, declared that theirs was the true religion, and that Christ conflicts with the nature cycle. Claiming that the druid was said to have drawn the life circle in the sand. Columba in response took his staff and drew an intersecting cross within the circle promptly stating that God does not conflict with nature, but being the creator of it, compliments it. Stumped by this and frustrated because they could not shake Columba's faith they departed.

Saint Columba then proceeded through Loch Ness, where his successor St. Adoman wrote of him : “At another time, when the saint stayed for several days among the Picts, he came to the shores of the River Ness. Reaching the shore, he saw some locals in the midst of burying some unfortunate man. They told him that they had seen a water beast snatch the man and maul him as he was swimming. Some of the men had set out in a small boat to try to rescue the man, but they were too late. They used hooks to retrieve his corpse from the waters. Columba, after being told this story, amazed the crowd by telling his companion Luigne to swim across the water and bring back a boat that was on the far shore. Luigne obeyed the saint without hesitation, removed his clothes except for a tunic, and dove into the water. The beast was at the bottom of the water, its appetite merely whetted by its first victim. Sensing the water stirring above by Luigne’s swimming, it suddenly rushed towards the swimmer with a great roar, its wide mouth open to its prey. The crowd on the shore, both Columba’s men and the locals, watched in terror. The blessed Columba raised his hand and made the sign of the cross, and calling on the name of God, spoke to the monster: ‘Halt! Do not harm the man! Retreat at once!’ The sound of the saint’s voice caused terror in the beast, and it fled so swiftly that it appeared dragged under with ropes. It had been but the length of a pole away from Luigne. Columba’s companions were amazed when Luigne returned to them in the boat, unharmed and safe." This incidentally is the first report of Nessie.

Columba eventually reached Inverness, and gained audience with the king, and while it was not recorded that king Brude was converted, he did institute Christianity over druidism. Columba gained a measure of favor with Brude, and involved himself to some extent in the politics of Scotland. Although exiled, Columba returned to Ireland many times to involve himself with the politics of home. Once returning to quench a suppressing of the bards by the Irish nobles. Columba died on his Island of IONA in [597]. Below is a prayer attributed to him.

***

A traditional prayer for God's light

O Lord, grant us that love which can never die, which will enkindle our lamps but not extinguish them, so that they may shine in us and bring light to others. Most dear Savior, enkindle our lamps that they may shine forever in your temple. May we receive unquenchable light from you so that our darkness will be illuminated and the darkness of the world will be made less. Amen.

The Cathach of St. Columba

Shrine of the Cathach
Additional information from the Patron Saints Index:

COLUMBA
Also known as:
Apostle of the Picts; Colmcille; Colum; Columbkille; Columbus; Columcille; Columkill; Combs

Memorial:
9 June

Profile:
Irish royalty, the son of Fedhlimidh and Eithne of the Ui Neill clan. Bard. Miracle worker. Monk at Moville. Spiritual student of Saint Finnian. Priest. Itinerant preacher and teacher throughout Ireland and Scotland. Spiritual teacher of Saint Corbmac, Saint Phelim, Saint Drostan, and Saint Fergna the White. Travelled to Scotland in 563. Exiled to Iona, he founded a monastic community there and served as its abbot for twelve years. He and the monks of Iona, including Saint Baithen of Iona and Saint Eochod, then evangelized the Picts, converting many, including King Brude. Attended the Council of Drumceat, 575. Legend says he wrote 300 books.

Born:
7 December 521 at Donegal, Ireland

Died:
9 June 597 at Iona, Scotland, and is buried there

Canonized:
Pre-Congregation

Patronage:
against floods; bookbinders; diocese of Derry, Ireland; diocese of Dunkeld, Scotland; floods; Ireland; Pembroke, Ontario; diocese of Raphoe, Ireland; poets; Scotland

See also the quite extensive entry on the life of St. Columba of Iona at http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0609.shtml (scroll down to get to the entry):

Ireland has many saints and three great ones: Patrick, Brigid, and Columba. Columba outshines the others for his pure Irishness. He loved Ireland with all his might and hated to leave it for Scotland. But he did leave it and laid the groundwork for the conversion of Britain. He had a quick temper but was very kind, especially to animals and children. He was a poet and an artist who did illumination, perhaps some of those in the Book of Kells itself. His skill as a scribe can be seen in the Cathach of Columba at the Irish Academy, which is the oldest surviving example of Irish majuscule writing. It was latter enshrined in silver and bronze and venerated in churches.

About the time that Patrick was taken to Ireland as a slave, Columba was born. He came from a race of kings who had ruled in Ireland for six centuries, directly descended from Niall of the Nine Hostages, and was himself in close succession to the throne. From an early age he was destined for the priesthood; he was given in fosterage to a priest. After studying at Moville under Saint Finnian and then at Clonard with another Saint Finnian, he surrendered his princely claims, he became a monk at Glasnevin under Mobhi and was ordained.

He spent the next 15 years preaching and teaching in Ireland. As was the custom in those days, he combined study and prayer with manual labor. By his own natural gifts as well as by the good fortune of his birth, he soon gained ascendancy as a monk of unusual distinction. By the time he was 25, he had founded no less than 27 Irish monasteries, including those at Derry (546), Durrow (c. 556), and probably Kells, as well as some 40 churches.

Columba was a poet, who had learned Irish history and poetry from a bard named Gemman. He is believed to have penned the Latin poem Altus Prosator and two other extant poems. He also loved fine books and manuscripts. One of the famous books associated with Columbia is the Psaltair, which was traditionally the Battle Book of the O'Donnells, his kinsmen, who carried it into battle. The Psaltair is the basis for one of the most famous legends of Saint Columba.

It is said that on one occasion, so anxious was Columba to have a copy of the Psalter that he shut himself up for a whole night in the church that contained it, transcribing it laboriously by hand. He was discovered by a monk who watched him through the keyhole and reported it to his superior, Finnian of Moville. The Scriptures were so scarce in those days that the abbot claimed the copy, refusing to allow it to leave the monastery. Columba refused to surrender it, until he was obliged to do so, under protest, on the abbot's appeal to the High King Diarmaid, who said: "Le gach buin a laogh" or "To every cow her own calf," meaning to every book its copy.

An unfortunate period followed, during which, owing to Columba's protection of a refugee and his impassioned denunciation of an injustice by King Diarmaid, war broke out between the clans of Ireland, and Columba became an exile of his own accord. Filled with remorse on account of those who had been slain in the battle of Cooldrevne, and condemned by many of his own friends, he experienced a profound conversion and an irresistible call to preach to the heathen. Although there are questions regarding Columba's real motivation, in 563, at the age of 42, he crossed the Irish Sea with 12 companions in a coracle and landed on a desert island now known as Iona (Holy Island) on Whitsun Eve. Here on this desolate rock, only three miles long and two miles wide, in the grey northern sea off the southwest corner of Mull, he began his work; and, like Lindisfarne, Iona became a center of Christian enterprise. It was the heart of Celtic Christianity and the most potent factor in the conversion of the Picts, Scots, and Northern English.

[More]

Iona Abbey, Isle of Iona, Argyllshire, Scotland
And finally, here is more on St. Columba from the Medieval Saints Yahoo Group:

St. Columba of Iona, Abbot, missionary

Also known as Colum, Columbus, Combs, Columkill, Columcille, Colmcille

Died 597 at Iona, and is buried there

Commemorated June 9ST. COLUMBA or COLUMCILLE 521-597

St Columba is a saint who still, after fourteen hundred years, exerts an appeal upon our imaginations. Born in Ireland, in Donegal in the year 521, he was of the blood royal, and might indeed have become High King of Ireland had he not chosen to be a priest. His vital, vigorous personality has given rise to many legends, and it is a little hard to sift fact from what is more probably fiction. We do know that he was a man of tremendous energy, probably somewhat headstrong in his youth, but with his tendency to violence curbed by a gentle magnanimity.

It seems certain that he left Ireland as an act of penance, although it is less certain how far this was connected with his quarrelling over a copy of the Gospels he had made, a dispute that led to a bloody battle. He came from Ireland to Scotland, to the colony of Dalriada founded on the west coast by his fellow Irish Scots who were at that time somewhat oppressed by the dominant Picts. With twelve companions he founded his monastery on Iona in the year 563. These Celtic monks lived in communities of separate cells, but Columba and his companions combined their contemplative life with extraordinary missionary activity. Amongst his many accomplishments, Columba was a splendid sailor. He sailed far amongst the islands and travelled deep inland, making converts and founding little churches. In Ireland he had already, it is said, founded a hundred churches.

Of all the Celtic saints in Scotland, Columba's life is much the best documented, because manuscripts of his Life, written by St Adamnan, one of his early successors as abbot of Iona, have survived. Iona itself remains a place of the greatest beauty, a serene island set in seas that take on brilliant colors in the sunshine, recalling the life and background of this remarkable man whose mission led to the conversion of Scotland and of the north of England, and indeed carried its influence far further afield. It later became the site of a Benedictine Abbey and of a little cathedral. These were dismantled by the Scottish reformers in 1561, and part of Columba's prophecy was fulfilled:

In Iona of my heart, Iona of my love,
Instead of monks' voices shall be lowing of cattle,
But ere the world come to an end
Iona shall be as it was.

When Dr Samuel Johnson visited the island in 1773 he observed, 'That man is little to be envied, whose patriotism would not gain force upon the plain of Marathon, or whose piety would not grow warmer among the ruins of Iona!'

Columba was a poet as well as a man of action. Some of his poems in both Latin and Gaelic have come down to us, and they reveal him as a man very sensitive to the beauty of his surroundings, as well as always, in St Adamnan's phrase, 'gladdened in his inmost heart by the joy of the Holy Spirit.' He died in the year 597.----------------

More on St. Columba at:

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04136a.htm

http://islesproject.com/2009/01/13/563-597-saint-columba-the-loch-ness-monster-and-the-picts-the-written-word-and-celtic-christianity-spread-to-the-highlands/

http://www.allsaintsbrookline.org/celtic_saints/columba.html

Adomnan's Life of Columba is available elsewhere

in English

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/columba-e.html

and Latin

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/columba-l.html

Columba's famous rule is also online

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/columba-rule.html

And an article on the history of the island of Iona

http://www.knight.org/advent/cathen/08090a.htm

Iona Abbey

The Iona Community

Historic Scotland - Iona Abbey

Historic Scotland - Iona, St. Columba Centre

Saint Columba Novena and Litany

______________________

The Monymusk Reliquary, or "Brecbennoch" as it was called, dates from c. 750, and purportedly enclosed the bones of St. Columba, the most popular saint in medieval Scotland. It was carried by the Scots into the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.

______________________

Recommended Reading:
Life of Columba by Adamnan of Iona
The Life of Colum Cille by Manus O'Donnell
Colum Cille and the Columban Tradition by Brian Lacey
The World of Colmcille, also known as Columba by Mairead Ashe FitzGerald
The Illustrated Life of Columba by John Marsden
Iona, Kells, and Derry: The History and Hagiography of the Monastic Familia of Columba by Maire Herbert
The Legend of St. Columba by Padraic Colum
Columba by Nigel Tranter
The Magnificent Gael by Reginald B. Hale
The Cathach of Colum Cille (available on CD-Rom)
Patron Saints Index Entry for St. Columba

How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill
Wisdom of the Celtic Saints by Edward C. Sellner
Sun Dancing by Geoffrey Moorhouse

Children's Books About St. Columba:
The Man Who Loved Books by Jean Fritz
Across a Dark and Wild Sea by Don Brown
Saint Colum and the Crane by Eva K. Betz

Music:
"Columba, Most Holy of Saints - Medieval Scottish Plainchant"
~ Performed by Capella Nova, Alan Tavener
"The Pilgrim - A Celtic Suite for Orchestra, Soloists, Pipe Band and Choir"
~ Composed by Shaun Davey

Digest of Today's Posts (8 June 2011)

2011-06-08T23:59:00.000-05:00

Wisconsin Unions Acting in Furtherance of Catholic Social Teaching

Malthusian Nonsense Alert: "The Earth Is Full"

Wisconsin Unions Acting in Furtherance of Catholic Social Teaching

2011-06-08T22:19:00.001-05:00

Unions deprive Special Olympians of their moment to shine in order to make a political point:

But it was about "income equality", so it's all good. No doubt sanctioned by the Pope himself, not to mention the Wisconsin Bishops, since EVERYTHING unions do is, apparently, the very essence of Catholic Social Teaching.

/s

Scumbags.

Malthusian Nonsense Alert: "The Earth Is Full"

2011-06-08T11:57:00.002-05:00

How long before China's chief cheerleader in the West, the New York Times' Thomas Friedman, calls for a U.N.-mandated 1-child policy for the entire world?

... “In China’s thousands of years of civilization, the conflict between humankind and nature has never been as serious as it is today,” China’s environment minister, Zhou Shengxian, said recently. “The depletion, deterioration and exhaustion of resources and the worsening ecological environment have become bottlenecks and grave impediments to the nation’s economic and social development.” What China’s minister is telling us, says Gilding, is that “the Earth is full. We are now using so many resources and putting out so much waste into the Earth that we have reached some kind of limit, given current technologies. The economy is going to have to get smaller in terms of physical impact.”

We will not change systems, though, without a crisis. But don’t worry, we’re getting there.

We’re currently caught in two loops: One is that more population growth and more global warming together are pushing up food prices; rising food prices cause political instability in the Middle East, which leads to higher oil prices, which leads to higher food prices, which leads to more instability. At the same time, improved productivity means fewer people are needed in every factory to produce more stuff. So if we want to have more jobs, we need more factories. More factories making more stuff make more global warming, and that is where the two loops meet...

[More]

Heck, for all I know, given Friedman's crush on all things ChiCom, he's probably already suggested a U.N.-mandated 1-child policy.

Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Hypocritical Malthusian Nonsense: Father of 5, Ted Turner, Wants U.N. to Institute World-Wide 1-Child Policy

Man vs. Nature: the Inhuman Agenda Behind the Fight Against “Climate Change”

What the One-Child Policy Has Wrought

Baby-Hating Malthusian Nonsense Goes Mainstream at Copenhagen

China Begins to "Figure it Out" on Demographics

Obama Culture of Death Update™: President's "Science Czar" Supports Forced Population Control Measures [UPDATED]

UK Government Official Says Having More Than 2 Children "Irresponsible"; Catholics Respond

Rich Leonardi on the "Obnoxiousness" of the Concept of "Carbon Footprints"

Malthusian Nonsense Alert: "Save the Planet — Have Fewer Kids"

Deacon Fournier Reviews Population Controllers

Malthusian Nonsense Alert: Babies a Drag on the Economy, Report Says

Darwin Catholic: "Want Sustainable? Try a Family"

Malthusian Nonsense in the Extreme: "When Should You Die?"

Population Control Movement is "Number One Violator of Human Rights," Author Claims

USAToday Columnist: Religion is Killing the Planet

The Pitter-Patter of Carbon Footprints ...

Cardinal Pell Criticizes Australian Medical Ass'n for Publishing Letter Advocating Carbon Tax on Children

Professor Solves Global Warming: Let’s Tax Reproduction

Global Alarming Update: Focus on So-Called "Carbon Footprint" Anti-Family

Malthusian Nonsense from "Global Warming" Alarmists

Cardinal Pell on Global Warming Alarmists: "Scaremongers" and "Zealots"

Is Virgil Goode Running for President?

2011-06-07T10:49:00.000-05:00

My hope for the 2012 presidential election is that Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell decides to save the GOP from itself (and Mitt Romney) and enters the field to seek the Republican nomination. He could beat the bunch of stiffs that currently make up the GOP primary field without even trying.

Barring that, however, I STILL may be able to vote for a Virginian for President - there is speculation that my friend, Virgil Goode, may run for President on the Constitution Party ticket:

... The Constitution Party is gearing up for the presidential election year, and its 2012 ballot access campaign. Former Virginia Congressman, Virgil Goode, has expressed a strong interest in seeking the Constitution Party Presidential nomination in 2012 and at its meeting this past weekend, the Constitution Party National Committee unanimously passed a resolution inviting him to do just that...

I'm going to lay it out for you. Virgil is the sort of person I'd be inclined to vote for anyway. I voted for him several times when he was my Congressman, including voting for him back when he was still a Democrat (one of only two Democrats - the other being Congressman Ralph Hall of Texas before he became a Republican - for whom I've ever voted for national office). But if the GOP nominates Mitt Romney, I will happily vote for Virgil Goode in a Goode vs. Romney vs. Obama match-up.

Run, Virgil, run!!!

(Hat tip: Shaun Kenney via his Facebook page)

Obama Culture of Death Update™: Kill Babies or I'll Hurt the Poor

2011-06-06T07:23:00.006-05:00

So, what does the Planned-Parenthood-loving Obama Administration do when cornered over the issue of public funding of the world's largest abortion provider? They hold the poor hostage, that's what. Go over to National Catholic Register to read Matt Archbold's masterful analogy:

It happens all the time in movies. The snarling bad guy is cornered by the good guys so he grabs some poor hapless victim, puts a gun to their head, and tells everyone to back off or he’ll hurt the poor hapless victim.

Well, believe it or not that’s what’s happening right now between President Obama and pro-lifers. And sorry, but Obama’s the snarling bad guy.

[...]

The Obama administration’s Department of Health and Human Services sent a letter to Indiana threatening to withhold billions in federal Medicaid funding for low income people if the state doesn’t agree to fund Planned Parenthood.

Just think about that for a second. Let the horror sink in. Sometimes it takes a few seconds for it to really wash over you.

Got it? Yeah, the Obama administration is saying the federal government will hurt the poor unless Indiana agrees to fund the killing of babies.

[Read the whole thing]

Later on, Matt notes that the Democrat Party isn't really in the business of helping poor people, as its Catholic defenders so often claim in order to justify their incomprehensible support for that organization. No, the Democrat Party is in the business of making sure abortion-on-demand is legal throughout all 9 months of pregnancy, including up to the very moment, during, (and, in the case of our President) after birth. It's their raison d'etre. It's the one issue the Democrats will go to the mat over EVERY TIME.

When Bill Clinton was President, he sold out just about every traditional Democrat constituency possible (from his support for and expansion of the death penalty, to his doctrine of forceful military intervention in world affairs, to his cozying up to Wall Street, to his signing of the Defense of Marriage Act, to his signing of welfare reform, to his signing onto the Republican tax cuts, to you name it). He sold out every traditional Democrat constituency, that is, EXCEPT for the abortion crowd. NOT ONCE did Clinton ever let his abortion allies down, which was especially and extremely evident in his twice vetoing very popular bills to outlaw partial-birth abortion. And, because of that, the feminists were, of course, all to willing to repay him by "getting on their knees" and saving his presidency during the Lewinsky scandal.

As for the most abortion-friendly Administration in history, not only are the Obama Democrats willing to hold the poor hostage to protect Planned Parenthood's public funding, they were also willing to (1) let health care reform die in Congress rather than agree to the Stupak language and (2) shut down the federal government rather than to allow the Pence Amendment defunding Planned Parenthood to be included in the final budget.

For the Democrats, the poor are nothing more than human shields behind whom they (and their Catholic apologists) hide whenever the topic of abortion is brought up.

(Hat tip: Creative Minority Report)

Addendum: By the way, DO NOT come on here and comment with some tu quoque about the Republicans. I am not a member of, and could not give a rat's @$$ about, the Republican Party. They have their own set of problems (including NOT being as willing to go to the mat against abortion as the Democrats are willing to in favor of abortion). This is a post about the Democrats. Defend them, if you can, on the merits, not by deflecting attention away from their egregious support for abortion by pointing out the other side's faults).

This Obama Culture of Death Update™ has been brought to you by Douglas Kmiec, all the fine folks at Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good / Catholics United / Catholic Democrats, and countless other Catholics for whom "Hope" and "Change" trumped LIFE.

Digest of Today's Posts (2 June 2011)

2011-06-02T23:59:00.000-05:00

Quote of the Day from Bill McGurn

Is Fr. Jenkins a Liar?

An Open Letter to Dodge

Quote of the Day from Bill McGurn

2011-06-02T13:37:00.002-05:00

I wish I had written this:

"... we surely would have more Thomas Mores if we had more Bishop John Fishers."

[Source]