No inflation here. Nothing to see. Stop milling around and go home...
The topline All Farm Products Index of Prices for April increased 0.7% from March, resulting from a 2.4% increase in livestock prices that more than offset a 0.7% decrease in crop prices. Higher prices were received for onions, milk, cattle and tomatoes, whereas lettuce, corn, strawberries and eggs fetched lower prices. The topline index is up 22% from April 2006. The food commodities index is on the rise, gaining 1.5% on the month and 22% on the year. The Index of Prices Paid for Commodities and Services, Interest, Taxes, and Farm Wage Rates rose 1.3% from March and now stands 6.1% higher than a year ago. (The Dismal Scientist, 4/30/07)
So long as you don't eat, or purchase gasoline, things are just fine!
Monday, April 30, 2007
Live in Waukesha? Pay Attention!
A friend relates the following.
Over the weekend, a resident of Waukesha (near the WallyWorld on Hy. 164) heard something "clunk" in his kitchen. He got out of bed, figuring it was one of his chilluns getting in really, really late...
But it was not. He found someone rummaging through his refrigerator--someone whom he did not know.
So he asked "What are you doing in there?" and got the response "I'm hungry."
He escorted the fellow out of his home. Two minutes later, he noticed that the fellow was now rummaging through the contents of his daughter's car in the driveway.
Another confrontation. The fellow left the premises.
Naturally, the homeowner called the police, who pursued the fellow (in a stolen vehicle) to the near north side of Milwaukee. He was apprehended.
By the way, the guy was actually hungry, sort of...it was his SECOND trip into this guy's kitchen; on the first one, he nabbed two bananas and left to steal the truck. He left the banana skins at the dealership (trade-in?) before he and a pal attempted to break into WallyWorld.
Non-violent. Hungry.
Hmmmmm.....
UPDATE: JSOnline published this story 5/1
Over the weekend, a resident of Waukesha (near the WallyWorld on Hy. 164) heard something "clunk" in his kitchen. He got out of bed, figuring it was one of his chilluns getting in really, really late...
But it was not. He found someone rummaging through his refrigerator--someone whom he did not know.
So he asked "What are you doing in there?" and got the response "I'm hungry."
He escorted the fellow out of his home. Two minutes later, he noticed that the fellow was now rummaging through the contents of his daughter's car in the driveway.
Another confrontation. The fellow left the premises.
Naturally, the homeowner called the police, who pursued the fellow (in a stolen vehicle) to the near north side of Milwaukee. He was apprehended.
By the way, the guy was actually hungry, sort of...it was his SECOND trip into this guy's kitchen; on the first one, he nabbed two bananas and left to steal the truck. He left the banana skins at the dealership (trade-in?) before he and a pal attempted to break into WallyWorld.
Non-violent. Hungry.
Hmmmmm.....
UPDATE: JSOnline published this story 5/1
Packer Draft Picks and Dick Cheney
Seems that there are roughly 2,564,908 Certified Football Player Experts in Wisconsin (counting the 10 or so in the offices on Lombardi Avenue.)
The videos of booing fans and sarcastic/incredulous SportsGuys matched the recent videos of the Democrats in Washington discussing the origins of the Iraq adventure--except that the Wisconsin people were slightly more civilized and restrained.
The observer with the Atomic Trousers sums it up:
As a group, we're a little tired of Thompson drafting like he knows something that nobody else does.
Obviously, it is simply impossible that Thompson and his people could possibly know something about football players, especially compared to the distilled wisdom and intel-sources of the other 2,564,890 people.
We await the admission that Dick Cheney dictated the picks to Thompson (in like manner as he dictated the initiation and completion of the War to GWB.)
At least Thompson didn't have to drag himself around the country campaigning for his job, thus being in close contact with Karl Rove.
Because THAT would mean that it was all a plot by the NeoCon Cowboy Fans.
The videos of booing fans and sarcastic/incredulous SportsGuys matched the recent videos of the Democrats in Washington discussing the origins of the Iraq adventure--except that the Wisconsin people were slightly more civilized and restrained.
The observer with the Atomic Trousers sums it up:
As a group, we're a little tired of Thompson drafting like he knows something that nobody else does.
Obviously, it is simply impossible that Thompson and his people could possibly know something about football players, especially compared to the distilled wisdom and intel-sources of the other 2,564,890 people.
We await the admission that Dick Cheney dictated the picks to Thompson (in like manner as he dictated the initiation and completion of the War to GWB.)
At least Thompson didn't have to drag himself around the country campaigning for his job, thus being in close contact with Karl Rove.
Because THAT would mean that it was all a plot by the NeoCon Cowboy Fans.
"Dead Conservatism"? Nay--Dead Liberalism!!
So saith the sooth at Marquette--and he has the goods to back up the claim.
[Following the Pubbie loss of November] It is now the Democrats who are accumulating the baggage. Consider the pitfalls that have afflicted that party in Congress.
House Speaker Pelosi supported John Murtha for the position of House Majority Leader, and was beaten on this issue by her own caucus.
Pelosi seriously (and quite visibly) considered appointing the ethically challenged Alcee Hastings to be chair of the House Intelligence Committee, creating a considerable amount of negative publicity before she backed off.
Democrats passed a “non-binding resolution” in the House opposing Bush’s “troop surge.” This, of course, was the sort of feckless measure that was guaranteed to alienate both the hard Left (because it did nothing to actually stop the war) and conservatives (because it send a message of encouragement to the enemy).
The Democrats failed to pass that resolution in the Senate. Politically, it was the worst of both worlds: a very bad idea, which the party lacked the competence to actually enact.
In other words, certain stuff stinks, no matter who excreted it...(and we see the same effect, mutatis mutandis, at the State level.)
We could quibble with the Professor's statement here:
The now-decreasing government deficit and (by the standards of the past few decades) historically low unemployment should dampen the zeal of a fair number of moderates for tax increases
Well, it's decreasing if you don't bother with GAAP standards for Social Security and Medicare obligations which are NOT counted as part of the 'deficit.' But yes, the 'operating' side is getting better, and yes, that should mitigate the noise about increasing taxes.
Altogether, a different 'look' at the question, and one which gives rise to optimism.
Read the whole thing. It's worth it.
[Following the Pubbie loss of November] It is now the Democrats who are accumulating the baggage. Consider the pitfalls that have afflicted that party in Congress.
House Speaker Pelosi supported John Murtha for the position of House Majority Leader, and was beaten on this issue by her own caucus.
Pelosi seriously (and quite visibly) considered appointing the ethically challenged Alcee Hastings to be chair of the House Intelligence Committee, creating a considerable amount of negative publicity before she backed off.
Democrats passed a “non-binding resolution” in the House opposing Bush’s “troop surge.” This, of course, was the sort of feckless measure that was guaranteed to alienate both the hard Left (because it did nothing to actually stop the war) and conservatives (because it send a message of encouragement to the enemy).
The Democrats failed to pass that resolution in the Senate. Politically, it was the worst of both worlds: a very bad idea, which the party lacked the competence to actually enact.
In other words, certain stuff stinks, no matter who excreted it...(and we see the same effect, mutatis mutandis, at the State level.)
We could quibble with the Professor's statement here:
The now-decreasing government deficit and (by the standards of the past few decades) historically low unemployment should dampen the zeal of a fair number of moderates for tax increases
Well, it's decreasing if you don't bother with GAAP standards for Social Security and Medicare obligations which are NOT counted as part of the 'deficit.' But yes, the 'operating' side is getting better, and yes, that should mitigate the noise about increasing taxes.
Altogether, a different 'look' at the question, and one which gives rise to optimism.
Read the whole thing. It's worth it.
JS Report on Deportations Misleading
The local lamestream strikes again.
Let's set the table. Paul Bucher applied for authority to pursue deportation remedies against illegal aliens (in effect, deputizing the local authorities.)
This calls for the "jackbooted thugs" line:
Critics complain that such initiatives not only improperly shift enforcement of federal law to local police, they also believe it sets the stage for mass deportations, which some Americans have opposed in the ongoing debate about immigration.
Yah. Imagine Brad Schimel wearing an impressively-tailored brown uniform, complete with cigarette-holder and a riding crop, next to a freight train consisting of 100 empty boxcars...
Right.
More subtle is the twist on the history of the application. Yes, Paul Bucher applied for the authority. But as the JS article states:
...federal officials notified Waukesha County officials in August that a joint county-city application was unacceptable and that each police agency would have to seek immigration authority on its own. Gilhooly said there has been no response from Waukesha County since then.
So, in fact, Waukesha County has NOT pursued this authority since August. That would be about 8 months ago, right?
When other locals use the authority, it is specifically directed against illegals who have committed a CRIMINAL offense. In other words, one has to draw attention to oneself through inappropriate behavior...
And, by the way, it works better than ICE does.
In Nashville, the sheriff's office sought federal authority after two people were killed in a head-on car accident with a drunken driver who turned out to be a Mexican citizen living in the United States illegally. With more than 80 other suspects in custody after the first week, local police started deportation proceedings against every one of them.
Karla Crocker, spokeswoman for the sheriff's office, said that is half the number of deportation cases started locally by federal authorities in all of last year.
We stumble across the concept of subsidiarity and notice that it has value.
Schimel should re-file in cooperation with the locals, immediately.
Just in case you don't understand why this might be important, try this:
Dacus Lamont Sims died at age 32, after trying to cross a Charlotte street with Luciano Melendres on the loose. Melendres is an illegal alien from Mexico who was arrested last year for drunk driving; instead of being sent home or put in jail, he received 12 months probation. Now, having run over Sims, he's charged with DWI, hit-and-run, driving with a revoked license, driving without insurance, and a registration violation. Apparently murder is not among the charges, so it's likely he'll be behind the wheel again soon.
Melendres joins a long list of illegal aliens who have taken lives while driving drunk on our roads...Most of them had been arrested repeatedly before they killed. Some had even been deported repeatedly ...These drunken maniacs' victims have included police officers, Marines, women, and small children, whose blood stains the hands of the irresponsible moonbats from Bush on down who refuse to defend our sovereign territory from invasion.
Polemics about Bush aside (although not in the least irrelevant,) criminals who are illegals should be deported--unless they are also killers (like the above) in which case they should serve their term and THEN be deported.
HT Moonbattery
Let's set the table. Paul Bucher applied for authority to pursue deportation remedies against illegal aliens (in effect, deputizing the local authorities.)
This calls for the "jackbooted thugs" line:
Critics complain that such initiatives not only improperly shift enforcement of federal law to local police, they also believe it sets the stage for mass deportations, which some Americans have opposed in the ongoing debate about immigration.
Yah. Imagine Brad Schimel wearing an impressively-tailored brown uniform, complete with cigarette-holder and a riding crop, next to a freight train consisting of 100 empty boxcars...
Right.
More subtle is the twist on the history of the application. Yes, Paul Bucher applied for the authority. But as the JS article states:
...federal officials notified Waukesha County officials in August that a joint county-city application was unacceptable and that each police agency would have to seek immigration authority on its own. Gilhooly said there has been no response from Waukesha County since then.
So, in fact, Waukesha County has NOT pursued this authority since August. That would be about 8 months ago, right?
When other locals use the authority, it is specifically directed against illegals who have committed a CRIMINAL offense. In other words, one has to draw attention to oneself through inappropriate behavior...
And, by the way, it works better than ICE does.
In Nashville, the sheriff's office sought federal authority after two people were killed in a head-on car accident with a drunken driver who turned out to be a Mexican citizen living in the United States illegally. With more than 80 other suspects in custody after the first week, local police started deportation proceedings against every one of them.
Karla Crocker, spokeswoman for the sheriff's office, said that is half the number of deportation cases started locally by federal authorities in all of last year.
We stumble across the concept of subsidiarity and notice that it has value.
Schimel should re-file in cooperation with the locals, immediately.
Just in case you don't understand why this might be important, try this:
Dacus Lamont Sims died at age 32, after trying to cross a Charlotte street with Luciano Melendres on the loose. Melendres is an illegal alien from Mexico who was arrested last year for drunk driving; instead of being sent home or put in jail, he received 12 months probation. Now, having run over Sims, he's charged with DWI, hit-and-run, driving with a revoked license, driving without insurance, and a registration violation. Apparently murder is not among the charges, so it's likely he'll be behind the wheel again soon.
Melendres joins a long list of illegal aliens who have taken lives while driving drunk on our roads...Most of them had been arrested repeatedly before they killed. Some had even been deported repeatedly ...These drunken maniacs' victims have included police officers, Marines, women, and small children, whose blood stains the hands of the irresponsible moonbats from Bush on down who refuse to defend our sovereign territory from invasion.
Polemics about Bush aside (although not in the least irrelevant,) criminals who are illegals should be deported--unless they are also killers (like the above) in which case they should serve their term and THEN be deported.
HT Moonbattery
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Steyn Nails It Again--Limbaugh to Counterpunch Tuesday
Steyn is a bright fellow, and good with words. (That's why your humble servant- bloglodyte quotes him quite a bit here...)
The Defeaticrats are being opportunist: They think they can calibrate the precise degree of U.S. defeat in Mesopotamia that will bring victory for them in Ohio and Florida. Contemptible as this is, it wouldn't be possible had the administration not lost the support of many of the American people over this war. The losses are devastating for the individuals' families but they are historically among the lowest in any conflict this nation or any other has fought. So I don't believe the nightly plume of smoke over Baghdad on the evening news explains the national disenchantment. Rather, the mission as framed by the president -- help the Iraqi people build a free and stable Iraq -- is simply not accepted by the American people. On the right, between the unrealpolitik "realists" and the "rubble doesn't cause trouble" isolationists and the hit-'em-harder-faster crowd, the president has fewer and fewer takers for a hunkered-down, defensive, thankless semi-colonial policing operation. Regardless of how it works on the ground, it has limited appeal at home. Meanwhile, the leftists don't accept it because, while they're fond of "causes," they dislike those that require meaningful action: Ask Tibetans about how effective half a century of America's "Free Tibet" campaign has been; or ask Darfuris, assuming you can find one still breathing, how the left's latest fetishization is going...
As we mentioned below, there actually are some Muslims who think that 'governance' should be separated from 'Koran-ernance.' The trouble is that they are a minority in most Muslim countries (they're a sub-set of the Shi'ites.)
Limbaugh has already come up with the new NeoCon Meme: that this Iraq thing is really a matter of National Security for the US. He has yet to pound that home with actual real-live reasons for that statement, although a few come to mind immediately, such as:
1) We need the oil.
2) A democratic republic with lotsa Free Trade opportunities will offset....ah.....well.....something-or-another.
3) Iraq, democratized, can attack Iran.
4) (Fill in the blank here. Be creative.)
5) Al-Quaeda will launch its naval forces to attack the US from Iraq unless we emplace CableTV there to numb their minds.
The Defeaticrats are being opportunist: They think they can calibrate the precise degree of U.S. defeat in Mesopotamia that will bring victory for them in Ohio and Florida. Contemptible as this is, it wouldn't be possible had the administration not lost the support of many of the American people over this war. The losses are devastating for the individuals' families but they are historically among the lowest in any conflict this nation or any other has fought. So I don't believe the nightly plume of smoke over Baghdad on the evening news explains the national disenchantment. Rather, the mission as framed by the president -- help the Iraqi people build a free and stable Iraq -- is simply not accepted by the American people. On the right, between the unrealpolitik "realists" and the "rubble doesn't cause trouble" isolationists and the hit-'em-harder-faster crowd, the president has fewer and fewer takers for a hunkered-down, defensive, thankless semi-colonial policing operation. Regardless of how it works on the ground, it has limited appeal at home. Meanwhile, the leftists don't accept it because, while they're fond of "causes," they dislike those that require meaningful action: Ask Tibetans about how effective half a century of America's "Free Tibet" campaign has been; or ask Darfuris, assuming you can find one still breathing, how the left's latest fetishization is going...
As we mentioned below, there actually are some Muslims who think that 'governance' should be separated from 'Koran-ernance.' The trouble is that they are a minority in most Muslim countries (they're a sub-set of the Shi'ites.)
Limbaugh has already come up with the new NeoCon Meme: that this Iraq thing is really a matter of National Security for the US. He has yet to pound that home with actual real-live reasons for that statement, although a few come to mind immediately, such as:
1) We need the oil.
2) A democratic republic with lotsa Free Trade opportunities will offset....ah.....well.....something-or-another.
3) Iraq, democratized, can attack Iran.
4) (Fill in the blank here. Be creative.)
5) Al-Quaeda will launch its naval forces to attack the US from Iraq unless we emplace CableTV there to numb their minds.
The Dems' Debate Analyzed
Stolen from Planet Moron and put into "test" format. Most times, you have to figure out who the candidate is from the description given in the one-line excerpt.
(I left a couple of names in so that the Lefties who read this blog will get 2 right. Or not...)
...The Senator from Illinois believes the country wants change and he’s just the guy to bring that change...
...The New York Senator continues to display the warmth and sincerity for which both she and granite countertops are well known...
...Mike Gravel, a former politician of some sort....
...the New Mexico Governor appeared to have accidentally wondered into the wrong debate....
...The former Vice Presidential candidate and self-described common man explained his recent $400 haircut by noting that when he was a kid his father had to make the family leave a restaurant because he couldn't afford the prices on the menu ...
...The biggest surprise from the Delaware Senator was what did not come out of his mouth...
...The Ohio Congressman continues to battle the perception that he is part Dennis Kucinich and part Dennis Kucinich.
(I left a couple of names in so that the Lefties who read this blog will get 2 right. Or not...)
...The Senator from Illinois believes the country wants change and he’s just the guy to bring that change...
...The New York Senator continues to display the warmth and sincerity for which both she and granite countertops are well known...
...Mike Gravel, a former politician of some sort....
...the New Mexico Governor appeared to have accidentally wondered into the wrong debate....
...The former Vice Presidential candidate and self-described common man explained his recent $400 haircut by noting that when he was a kid his father had to make the family leave a restaurant because he couldn't afford the prices on the menu ...
...The biggest surprise from the Delaware Senator was what did not come out of his mouth...
...The Ohio Congressman continues to battle the perception that he is part Dennis Kucinich and part Dennis Kucinich.
Short Dow (Chemical)
If you really think that the terrorists will hit a chemical plant, it's time to short Dow Chemical holdings:
Strassel claims that there is such an earmark created at the behest of ATLA, subtly providing an implied cause of action against chemical manufacturers in H.R. 1591, the soon-to-be-vetoed Iraq War supplemental funding bill. Indeed, the provision is difficult to find amidst the provisions for the milk income loss contract program and renewal grants for women's business centers. I suspect Strassel is referring to the anti-preemption provision in Section 1501(a) of the bill, effectively permitting lawsuits against chemical facilities that comply with Department of Homeland Security regulations without once mentioning the word "lawsuit." If there is a terrorist attack on a chemical facility, trial lawyers will have a deep pocket to blame.
You read it right; even if the plant COMPLIES with DHS regs, they're open to lawsuits brought by the Democrats' Best Friends, thebarracudas litigators.
HT: Overlawyered
Strassel claims that there is such an earmark created at the behest of ATLA, subtly providing an implied cause of action against chemical manufacturers in H.R. 1591, the soon-to-be-vetoed Iraq War supplemental funding bill. Indeed, the provision is difficult to find amidst the provisions for the milk income loss contract program and renewal grants for women's business centers. I suspect Strassel is referring to the anti-preemption provision in Section 1501(a) of the bill, effectively permitting lawsuits against chemical facilities that comply with Department of Homeland Security regulations without once mentioning the word "lawsuit." If there is a terrorist attack on a chemical facility, trial lawyers will have a deep pocket to blame.
You read it right; even if the plant COMPLIES with DHS regs, they're open to lawsuits brought by the Democrats' Best Friends, the
HT: Overlawyered
Illinois Gun Grab
In the State of Illinois, there are a lot of Gummint-imposed requirements for legal gun-ownership. A cynic might argue that the number of rules is directly proportional to the hopes of the rule-makers that someone will break a rule.
After all, if you don't follow the rules, you're automatically "illegal." Then the rule-makers have you by the proverbial short hairs.
So we are not surprised to read this:
Illinois State Police troopers have been going door to door, confiscating legally registered guns because owners forgot to jump through deliberately onerous re-regulation hoops. A taskforce called the Chicago Anti Gun Enforcement (CAGE) unit has been working with other police agencies to disarm the Chicago populace. Its target is not criminal gunrunners, but law-abiding citizens who can be disarmed using loopholes and technicalities. Those who have allowed their Nazi-esque Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) cards to expire will be tracked down by bureaucrats and have their guns confiscated by the State.
Moonbattery's Van Helsing (our source here) headlines it "First Registration, Then Confiscation."
Which makes it crystal clear why so many folks go to such great lengths to purchase guns from other law-abiding citizens, not gun shops.
No registration.
After all, if you don't follow the rules, you're automatically "illegal." Then the rule-makers have you by the proverbial short hairs.
So we are not surprised to read this:
Illinois State Police troopers have been going door to door, confiscating legally registered guns because owners forgot to jump through deliberately onerous re-regulation hoops. A taskforce called the Chicago Anti Gun Enforcement (CAGE) unit has been working with other police agencies to disarm the Chicago populace. Its target is not criminal gunrunners, but law-abiding citizens who can be disarmed using loopholes and technicalities. Those who have allowed their Nazi-esque Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) cards to expire will be tracked down by bureaucrats and have their guns confiscated by the State.
Moonbattery's Van Helsing (our source here) headlines it "First Registration, Then Confiscation."
Which makes it crystal clear why so many folks go to such great lengths to purchase guns from other law-abiding citizens, not gun shops.
No registration.
Cleveland NAACP Breaks the Mold
From Clay Cramer's blog:
The Cleveland NAACP responded Friday to criticism surrounding the shooting death of a teenage boy during a robbery.
NAACP President George Forbes and Cleveland Councilman Zach Reed said the black community failed 15-year-old Arthur Buford, NewsChannel5 reported.
They said Buford was wrong for allegedly trying to rob Damon Wells at gunpoint on Saturday.
Wells opened fire and killed Buford at East 134th Street and Kinsman. Police said Wells had a valid weapons permit and used the gun in self-defense.
"Then you have a 26-year-old young man who had every right to protect his life, protect his fiance and protect his property. But he has to life with the fact that for the rest of his lie he shot a 15-year-old boy," said Reed.
"That man had a right to do what he did. If he didn't do it, we'd be sitting here today mourning him rather than the 15-year-old," said Forbes.
It's never good to read about a fatal shooting. But these folks seem to understand the reality.
The Cleveland NAACP responded Friday to criticism surrounding the shooting death of a teenage boy during a robbery.
NAACP President George Forbes and Cleveland Councilman Zach Reed said the black community failed 15-year-old Arthur Buford, NewsChannel5 reported.
They said Buford was wrong for allegedly trying to rob Damon Wells at gunpoint on Saturday.
Wells opened fire and killed Buford at East 134th Street and Kinsman. Police said Wells had a valid weapons permit and used the gun in self-defense.
"Then you have a 26-year-old young man who had every right to protect his life, protect his fiance and protect his property. But he has to life with the fact that for the rest of his lie he shot a 15-year-old boy," said Reed.
"That man had a right to do what he did. If he didn't do it, we'd be sitting here today mourning him rather than the 15-year-old," said Forbes.
It's never good to read about a fatal shooting. But these folks seem to understand the reality.
Eugene Kane: Ironist
Here's what he says in print:
My late father owned several guns during my childhood, including a heavy .357 Magnum pistol and a sawed-off shotgun he kept in the basement. A construction worker, my father had no real use for the guns other than the protection of his home and family in an inner city Philadelphia neighborhood that was tougher than some but nowhere as violent 40 years ago as some of Milwaukee's worst neighborhoods are today.
EK goes on to state that his father never fired the weapon at any people--which is exactly the hope and dream of any law-abiding citizen who owns a weapon, by the way...
The best reason for his father's gun-ownership emerges a bit later on:
The gun never represented real danger to me until my teenage years, when I often found myself fearful whenever trying to sneak back into the house after curfew. I knew the slightest sound would arouse my light-sleeping father to set off on patrol to find out the source of the noise.
The idea that he might shoot me by accident became more than enough motivation to get home at a reasonable hour.
After all that, EK manages to turn on a dime (at his age!!):
There are many solid reasons why Americans own guns, but those who grow up with guns in the household understand it often represented more risk than safety.
But let's not deal with EK's own personal testimony, nor any actual statistical stuff.
Because there isn't any.
My late father owned several guns during my childhood, including a heavy .357 Magnum pistol and a sawed-off shotgun he kept in the basement. A construction worker, my father had no real use for the guns other than the protection of his home and family in an inner city Philadelphia neighborhood that was tougher than some but nowhere as violent 40 years ago as some of Milwaukee's worst neighborhoods are today.
EK goes on to state that his father never fired the weapon at any people--which is exactly the hope and dream of any law-abiding citizen who owns a weapon, by the way...
The best reason for his father's gun-ownership emerges a bit later on:
The gun never represented real danger to me until my teenage years, when I often found myself fearful whenever trying to sneak back into the house after curfew. I knew the slightest sound would arouse my light-sleeping father to set off on patrol to find out the source of the noise.
The idea that he might shoot me by accident became more than enough motivation to get home at a reasonable hour.
After all that, EK manages to turn on a dime (at his age!!):
There are many solid reasons why Americans own guns, but those who grow up with guns in the household understand it often represented more risk than safety.
But let's not deal with EK's own personal testimony, nor any actual statistical stuff.
Because there isn't any.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Paul Ryan's "Conservatism" Essay
If you read the below post on Pawlenty, and followed the internal link to Bob Dohnal's article, then what Paul Ryan mentions here is not only 'thematically consistent' but compelling:
Among these principles is the notion that individuals and families should be the focal point of our society, not the government. Confidence in the unlimited potential of free individuals has always been part of the American dream, and this outlook tracks closely with conservatives’ belief that government is meant to serve the individual—not the other way around. This predisposes us to seek solutions that allow American innovation to flourish and avoid burdening our children with
high taxes and spiraling government debts.
It is a matter of elevating the debate, and demonstrating that the people's interests are consonant with the interests of the State (or nation)--and that the Conservatives' positions are in harmony with these interests.
It remains to be seen whether any of the remaining essayists bring up 'the National (State) Interest.'
Among these principles is the notion that individuals and families should be the focal point of our society, not the government. Confidence in the unlimited potential of free individuals has always been part of the American dream, and this outlook tracks closely with conservatives’ belief that government is meant to serve the individual—not the other way around. This predisposes us to seek solutions that allow American innovation to flourish and avoid burdening our children with
high taxes and spiraling government debts.
It is a matter of elevating the debate, and demonstrating that the people's interests are consonant with the interests of the State (or nation)--and that the Conservatives' positions are in harmony with these interests.
It remains to be seen whether any of the remaining essayists bring up 'the National (State) Interest.'
Another Good Hit in Afghanistan
Stuff worth noticing:
An unidentified explosion in the border village of Danda Saidgai in North Waziristan killed three Pakistanis and wounded four on Friday morning. While the incident seems relatively small on the scale of events in the region, the location of the strike and those involved makes the case more than interesting. The explosion certainly took place at a Taliban or al Qaeda camp. Pakistani authorities claim the explosion was cause by a 'work accident' - an explosion of a terrorist bomb factory, while locals claim either a missile strike from Afghanistan or an air strike firing upwards of 5 missiles struck a home and two nearby religious schools, which were empty at the time.
Another (several) bite the dust...
HT: The Fourth Rail
An unidentified explosion in the border village of Danda Saidgai in North Waziristan killed three Pakistanis and wounded four on Friday morning. While the incident seems relatively small on the scale of events in the region, the location of the strike and those involved makes the case more than interesting. The explosion certainly took place at a Taliban or al Qaeda camp. Pakistani authorities claim the explosion was cause by a 'work accident' - an explosion of a terrorist bomb factory, while locals claim either a missile strike from Afghanistan or an air strike firing upwards of 5 missiles struck a home and two nearby religious schools, which were empty at the time.
Another (several) bite the dust...
HT: The Fourth Rail
Hair-Trigger on Iran?
The ultra-Right folks at Taki's blogsite found something of interest:
“A second US navy aircraft carrier strike group led by the USS John C Stennis arrived in the Gulf last week, doubling the US presence there. Vice Admiral Patrick Walsh, the commander of the US Fifth Fleet, warned: ‘The US will take military action if ships are attacked or if countries in the region are targeted or US troops come under direct attack.’” Read that again.
Methinks that the Iranians should re-holster their slingshots, no?
“A second US navy aircraft carrier strike group led by the USS John C Stennis arrived in the Gulf last week, doubling the US presence there. Vice Admiral Patrick Walsh, the commander of the US Fifth Fleet, warned: ‘The US will take military action if ships are attacked or if countries in the region are targeted or US troops come under direct attack.’” Read that again.
Methinks that the Iranians should re-holster their slingshots, no?
Spec4 Teaches the "Elders"
Redstate has a couple of folks in Iraq, who are blogging their journeys.
And learning a few things--notably from an Army Spec4, whose sagacity is beyond his years:
The way I see it, there are two ways to rule people. There’s ruling by inspiration, and there’s ruling by fear. It’s harder to achieve inspiration, but if you can get there in the long run it’s easier because you inspire people to take initiative to do things for themselves. Ruling by fear is easier until that day that people stand up to you, and all your power goes away.
We’re trying to help the Iraqis find their inspiration. The insurgents are trying to rule by fear. They want to terrify people into thinking that their children are not safe, so that they stay at home and don’t get used to this new life under democracy. They want to attack the things we build, like schools, so that the people see them as temporary. We can give them, but they want people to believe that they’ll come along and take them away.
I’d rather be on the side of inspiration.
The RedState blogger admits that there was little left to say.
And learning a few things--notably from an Army Spec4, whose sagacity is beyond his years:
The way I see it, there are two ways to rule people. There’s ruling by inspiration, and there’s ruling by fear. It’s harder to achieve inspiration, but if you can get there in the long run it’s easier because you inspire people to take initiative to do things for themselves. Ruling by fear is easier until that day that people stand up to you, and all your power goes away.
We’re trying to help the Iraqis find their inspiration. The insurgents are trying to rule by fear. They want to terrify people into thinking that their children are not safe, so that they stay at home and don’t get used to this new life under democracy. They want to attack the things we build, like schools, so that the people see them as temporary. We can give them, but they want people to believe that they’ll come along and take them away.
I’d rather be on the side of inspiration.
The RedState blogger admits that there was little left to say.
Tim Pawlenty: Icon or Iconoclast?
Via PowerLine, we're led to this article. The excerpt begins with a Pawlenty-ism which was first seen here coming from a leading Wisconsin conservative.
It was back in 2002 that Pawlenty first said the GOP needed "to be the party of Sam's Club, not just the country club." Back then his embrace of his state and regional populist tradition was a curiosity, a political epiphenomenon lost in a national sea of regnant Bush Republicanism. Today Bush Republicanism is on its way out. The most successful GOP governors--Arnold Schwarzenegger in California, Rick Perry in Texas, Charlie Crist in Florida, and former governor Mitt Romney in Massachusetts--like their conservatism à la carte. They emphasize certain conservative policies--low taxes most of all--but dismiss others. Meanwhile, in Washington policy circles, wonks and flacks are busy sketching out an alternative Republican agenda that combines social conservatism with an active government tailoring economic policies to help working families. Pawlenty's slogan--"The party of Sam's Club"--is the working title on a forthcoming book from Doubleday by WEEKLY STANDARD contributors Ross Douthat and Reihan Salam.
PowerLine credits Pawlenty's populism for his election victories in Minnesota (he's Republican, Minnesota is quite Democrat,) and that's the context which is important.
While Aaaaaahhhhhhnold's endorsement of ESCR (and Romney's de-facto ordering of Gay Marriage) are not exactly populist-driven stances, I suspect they may be outliers.
Hmmmmm.
It was back in 2002 that Pawlenty first said the GOP needed "to be the party of Sam's Club, not just the country club." Back then his embrace of his state and regional populist tradition was a curiosity, a political epiphenomenon lost in a national sea of regnant Bush Republicanism. Today Bush Republicanism is on its way out. The most successful GOP governors--Arnold Schwarzenegger in California, Rick Perry in Texas, Charlie Crist in Florida, and former governor Mitt Romney in Massachusetts--like their conservatism à la carte. They emphasize certain conservative policies--low taxes most of all--but dismiss others. Meanwhile, in Washington policy circles, wonks and flacks are busy sketching out an alternative Republican agenda that combines social conservatism with an active government tailoring economic policies to help working families. Pawlenty's slogan--"The party of Sam's Club"--is the working title on a forthcoming book from Doubleday by WEEKLY STANDARD contributors Ross Douthat and Reihan Salam.
PowerLine credits Pawlenty's populism for his election victories in Minnesota (he's Republican, Minnesota is quite Democrat,) and that's the context which is important.
While Aaaaaahhhhhhnold's endorsement of ESCR (and Romney's de-facto ordering of Gay Marriage) are not exactly populist-driven stances, I suspect they may be outliers.
Hmmmmm.
"Credentialism"
The story of an MIT dean who resigned because she had over-billed her degree(s) has made the rounds, but the trenchant commentary comes from Clay Cramer:
On the other hand, I find myself wondering: if having a degree--and one presumes, a graduate degree, if she ended up with the title of "dean"--is so fundamentally necessary to her job, how is that no one ever noticed her inability until now?
Cramer mentions that there are people who have 'made it' without the benefit of a degree, and I've known quite a few, too.
There's a large difference between "capable" and "credentialed." Keep it in mind.
On the other hand, I find myself wondering: if having a degree--and one presumes, a graduate degree, if she ended up with the title of "dean"--is so fundamentally necessary to her job, how is that no one ever noticed her inability until now?
Cramer mentions that there are people who have 'made it' without the benefit of a degree, and I've known quite a few, too.
There's a large difference between "capable" and "credentialed." Keep it in mind.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Biblical Authority for Eating Meat
In a lighthearted (but authoritative) response to some (Catholic, sorry to say) nutso-vegitarian, Fr. George Rutler demolishes the "Bible-based scholarship" which allegedly leads to vegetarianism:
Someone asked that I reply to a recent comment on your blog that questioned the logic of my letter on vegetarianism. Let me say that I am not a meat fanatic, and in fact I often have meatless dinners. One should never cite Genesis to promote strict vegetarianism, as it was written by meat-eaters inspired by God who created all the animals as a menu for Adam and Eve. Their “dominion” over every beast gave them authority to choose how they wanted to serve them up, it seems to me.
It is silly to suppose that the creation of seed-bearing plants and fruit trees means that we should not eat meat. It only means that we should eat vegetables and fruits just as the provision of animals means we should eat them, as we are biologically designed to do. To think that incisor teeth for biting meat evolved only as an indulgence to beefeaters later on, would be like saying that legs evolved as a consequence of wanderlust.
Vegetarianism is not like celibacy. Vegetarians disdain meat; celibates do not disdain marriage. I am a celibate, but would not exist if Adam and Eve had not married, albeit without the benefit of a clergyman. Their only dietary restriction was against a certain fruit; experts think it was a pomegranate. I suspect they did not eat the first animals because there would not have been second animals, but once animals got going, there you had dinner.
We need not wait for Exodus to find carnivorous action permitted. Abel ate meat and Cain seems to have been a vegan. The Lord had respect unto Abel’s roasted lamb and rejected Cain’s vegetables and so Cain waxed exceeding wroth and slew Abel. The first murderer was a vegetarian. Vegetarians tend to be more violent toward meat eaters than the other way around, probably because of a lack of protein. Also in Genesis, Jacob made his father a lamb stew from what was evidently an old family recipe. It probably went back to Eden.
The citation of Deuteronomy only supports meat eating. The prohibition of blood and strangled animals renders licit bloodless meat slaughtered some other way. Rare is the man who can strangle a cow to death anyway. It is also unwise to cite the saga of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar became a vegetarian only when he went mad. He was driven from men and ate grass like an ox (Daniel 4:33).
As for health, meat is now being promoted for its vitamins and other sorts of stuff our bodies need, although preferred meats include hard to get elk and impalas. I had a great aunt who was a vegetarian and her body started to make funny sounds and then she died. We hardly mention her, although we pray that our merciful Lord has welcomed her to the eternal Supper of the Lamb where there is no alternative menu.
Meat eating is better for the economy, too. It gave us Chicago for starters. It also gives us waterproof rainwear and sensible shoes. In a vegetarian society we’d be clad in watermelon rinds and shod with potato skins.
Vegetarians do not address my point about vegetable abuse. The vegan sentimentalist has no tears to shed for the mashed potato. Ask the olive: How cold is it at the bottom of a martini?
The New Adam is certainly an improvement on the Old Adam. But even in resurrected glory, He had a barbecue on the shore of Galilee. One more evidence of the Divine Mercy is that Jesus never hectored the early Christians about the health benefits of spinach.
No more need be said.
Stolen, in whole, from DomBet
Someone asked that I reply to a recent comment on your blog that questioned the logic of my letter on vegetarianism. Let me say that I am not a meat fanatic, and in fact I often have meatless dinners. One should never cite Genesis to promote strict vegetarianism, as it was written by meat-eaters inspired by God who created all the animals as a menu for Adam and Eve. Their “dominion” over every beast gave them authority to choose how they wanted to serve them up, it seems to me.
It is silly to suppose that the creation of seed-bearing plants and fruit trees means that we should not eat meat. It only means that we should eat vegetables and fruits just as the provision of animals means we should eat them, as we are biologically designed to do. To think that incisor teeth for biting meat evolved only as an indulgence to beefeaters later on, would be like saying that legs evolved as a consequence of wanderlust.
Vegetarianism is not like celibacy. Vegetarians disdain meat; celibates do not disdain marriage. I am a celibate, but would not exist if Adam and Eve had not married, albeit without the benefit of a clergyman. Their only dietary restriction was against a certain fruit; experts think it was a pomegranate. I suspect they did not eat the first animals because there would not have been second animals, but once animals got going, there you had dinner.
We need not wait for Exodus to find carnivorous action permitted. Abel ate meat and Cain seems to have been a vegan. The Lord had respect unto Abel’s roasted lamb and rejected Cain’s vegetables and so Cain waxed exceeding wroth and slew Abel. The first murderer was a vegetarian. Vegetarians tend to be more violent toward meat eaters than the other way around, probably because of a lack of protein. Also in Genesis, Jacob made his father a lamb stew from what was evidently an old family recipe. It probably went back to Eden.
The citation of Deuteronomy only supports meat eating. The prohibition of blood and strangled animals renders licit bloodless meat slaughtered some other way. Rare is the man who can strangle a cow to death anyway. It is also unwise to cite the saga of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar became a vegetarian only when he went mad. He was driven from men and ate grass like an ox (Daniel 4:33).
As for health, meat is now being promoted for its vitamins and other sorts of stuff our bodies need, although preferred meats include hard to get elk and impalas. I had a great aunt who was a vegetarian and her body started to make funny sounds and then she died. We hardly mention her, although we pray that our merciful Lord has welcomed her to the eternal Supper of the Lamb where there is no alternative menu.
Meat eating is better for the economy, too. It gave us Chicago for starters. It also gives us waterproof rainwear and sensible shoes. In a vegetarian society we’d be clad in watermelon rinds and shod with potato skins.
Vegetarians do not address my point about vegetable abuse. The vegan sentimentalist has no tears to shed for the mashed potato. Ask the olive: How cold is it at the bottom of a martini?
The New Adam is certainly an improvement on the Old Adam. But even in resurrected glory, He had a barbecue on the shore of Galilee. One more evidence of the Divine Mercy is that Jesus never hectored the early Christians about the health benefits of spinach.
No more need be said.
Stolen, in whole, from DomBet
Outstanding News from Madison!
The best news I heard all week was announced by Kevin Fisher (the guy with the wacky ties) who was guest-hosting for Belling yesterday.
Here's what he said:
"The State Budget [process] is a Trainwreck."
This is due to the split in the Legislature, with the Pubbies running one part and the Dimowits running the other.
Wunderbar!!!
That means that Wisconsin will use the CURRENT budget. No new taxes. No new spending.
I like trainwrecks...
Here's what he said:
"The State Budget [process] is a Trainwreck."
This is due to the split in the Legislature, with the Pubbies running one part and the Dimowits running the other.
Wunderbar!!!
That means that Wisconsin will use the CURRENT budget. No new taxes. No new spending.
I like trainwrecks...
First Amendment Lives in Washington State
HT: The Warrior
We hold that RCW 42.17.090 did not require NNGT to disclose the value of KVI's radio broadcasts supporting the initiative campaign as an in-kind contribution. The statutory media exemption, RCW 42.17.020(15)(b)(iv), excludes from the definition of "contribution" political advocacy for or against a political campaign by the hosts of a regularly scheduled talk show, broadcast by a radio station that is not controlled by a candidate or political committee. We reverse the order dismissing NNGT's counterclaims and remand to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
ALL of the radio-pundits I know of would double up in laughter at the term 'controlled by a candidate...' It seem that by nature, these folks are un-controllable.
Nice to know that (for the time being) the First Amendment survives, at least in radio-land.
We hold that RCW 42.17.090 did not require NNGT to disclose the value of KVI's radio broadcasts supporting the initiative campaign as an in-kind contribution. The statutory media exemption, RCW 42.17.020(15)(b)(iv), excludes from the definition of "contribution" political advocacy for or against a political campaign by the hosts of a regularly scheduled talk show, broadcast by a radio station that is not controlled by a candidate or political committee. We reverse the order dismissing NNGT's counterclaims and remand to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
ALL of the radio-pundits I know of would double up in laughter at the term 'controlled by a candidate...' It seem that by nature, these folks are un-controllable.
Nice to know that (for the time being) the First Amendment survives, at least in radio-land.
"Diplomatic" Resolution of the Gun Question
This twit bills himself as a "retired diplomat." Evidently service in the US State Department does not require knowledge of the US Constitution (surprise!) However, this essay does reflect "European laws" favored by such intellectualoids as Justice Breyer.
LAST week's tragedy at Virginia Tech in which a mentally disturbed person gunned down 32 of America's finest - intelligent young people with futures ahead of them - once again puts the phenomenon of an armed society into focus for Americans.
...When people talk about doing something about guns in America, it often comes down to this: "How could America disarm even if it wanted to? There are so many guns out there."
...I don't have any problem with hunting, although blowing away animals with high-powered weapons seems a pointless, no-contest affair to me. I suppose I would enjoy the fellowship of the experience with other friends who are hunters.
(Umnnnhhh...they're 'high-powered' to help ensure that the animal dies with one shot. There's nothing more cruel than half-killing an animal.)
Now, how would one disarm the American population? First of all, federal or state laws would need to make it a crime punishable by a $1,000 fine and one year in prison per weapon to possess a firearm. The population would then be given three months to turn in their guns, without penalty.
One would also need a brain-dead majority on SCOTUS...
Hunters would be able to deposit their hunting weapons in a centrally located arsenal, heavily guarded, from which they would be able to withdraw them each hunting season upon presentation of a valid hunting license. The weapons would be required to be redeposited at the end of the season on pain of arrest. When hunters submit a request for their weapons, federal, state, and local checks would be made to establish that they had not been convicted of a violent crime since the last time they withdrew their weapons. In the process, arsenal staff would take at least a quick look at each hunter to try to affirm that he was not obviously unhinged.
"Arsenal staff" would be qualified pshrinks, eh?
The disarmament process would begin after the initial three-month amnesty. Special squads of police would be formed and trained to carry out the work. Then, on a random basis to permit no advance warning, city blocks and stretches of suburban and rural areas would be cordoned off and searches carried out in every business, dwelling, and empty building. All firearms would be seized. The owners of weapons found in the searches would be prosecuted: $1,000 and one year in prison for each firearm.
I suppose that the brain-dead SCOTUS (above) could erase the 4th Amendment, too, while they're at it...
Dan Simpson, a retired diplomat, is a member of the editorial boards of The Blade and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
It's probably unfair to ridicule this poor fellow. His writings serve the purpose.
HT: Captain's Quarters
LAST week's tragedy at Virginia Tech in which a mentally disturbed person gunned down 32 of America's finest - intelligent young people with futures ahead of them - once again puts the phenomenon of an armed society into focus for Americans.
...When people talk about doing something about guns in America, it often comes down to this: "How could America disarm even if it wanted to? There are so many guns out there."
...I don't have any problem with hunting, although blowing away animals with high-powered weapons seems a pointless, no-contest affair to me. I suppose I would enjoy the fellowship of the experience with other friends who are hunters.
(Umnnnhhh...they're 'high-powered' to help ensure that the animal dies with one shot. There's nothing more cruel than half-killing an animal.)
Now, how would one disarm the American population? First of all, federal or state laws would need to make it a crime punishable by a $1,000 fine and one year in prison per weapon to possess a firearm. The population would then be given three months to turn in their guns, without penalty.
One would also need a brain-dead majority on SCOTUS...
Hunters would be able to deposit their hunting weapons in a centrally located arsenal, heavily guarded, from which they would be able to withdraw them each hunting season upon presentation of a valid hunting license. The weapons would be required to be redeposited at the end of the season on pain of arrest. When hunters submit a request for their weapons, federal, state, and local checks would be made to establish that they had not been convicted of a violent crime since the last time they withdrew their weapons. In the process, arsenal staff would take at least a quick look at each hunter to try to affirm that he was not obviously unhinged.
"Arsenal staff" would be qualified pshrinks, eh?
The disarmament process would begin after the initial three-month amnesty. Special squads of police would be formed and trained to carry out the work. Then, on a random basis to permit no advance warning, city blocks and stretches of suburban and rural areas would be cordoned off and searches carried out in every business, dwelling, and empty building. All firearms would be seized. The owners of weapons found in the searches would be prosecuted: $1,000 and one year in prison for each firearm.
I suppose that the brain-dead SCOTUS (above) could erase the 4th Amendment, too, while they're at it...
Dan Simpson, a retired diplomat, is a member of the editorial boards of The Blade and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
It's probably unfair to ridicule this poor fellow. His writings serve the purpose.
HT: Captain's Quarters
Don't Count on Fox6
Sure enough, the Fox6 PC Police were hard at work obscuring the facts in their 9PM edition.
The UW-M/East Side armed robbers have hit 23 times in the last month. THAT much Channel 6 managed to tell you last night.
But you have to read the Milwaukee JS to know exactly what the goblins look like:
• A black male, 17 to 19 years old, about 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 7 inches tall, about 130 pounds and with a goatee. He wore a black hooded sweat shirt and black pants and carried a chrome handgun.
• A black male, about 18, about 5 feet 4 inches to 5 feet 5 inches tall and 120 pounds. He wore dark clothing.
• A black male, about 17 to 19, about 160 pounds. He wore all black clothes
Channel 6' "reporting" didn't bother with any of the above info except to mention that the goblins were 'male.'
The UW-M/East Side armed robbers have hit 23 times in the last month. THAT much Channel 6 managed to tell you last night.
But you have to read the Milwaukee JS to know exactly what the goblins look like:
• A black male, 17 to 19 years old, about 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 7 inches tall, about 130 pounds and with a goatee. He wore a black hooded sweat shirt and black pants and carried a chrome handgun.
• A black male, about 18, about 5 feet 4 inches to 5 feet 5 inches tall and 120 pounds. He wore dark clothing.
• A black male, about 17 to 19, about 160 pounds. He wore all black clothes
Channel 6' "reporting" didn't bother with any of the above info except to mention that the goblins were 'male.'
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Cdl. Ranjith (Cong. for Worship) on the Mass
While Cdl. Ranjith comes from Asia to head the Congregation, and in this interview addresses the "Asian" implementation of the "reforms" of the Liturgy, there are some striking commonalities with the American problems.
The use of the vernacular has at times helped in generating a theological vocabulary in the local idiom that eventually could be helpful to evangelization and the presentation of the message of the Gospel to those of non-Christian religious traditions, which constitute the overwhelming majority of the people of Asia.
Some negative aspects have been the quasi total abandonment of the Latin language, tradition and chant; a far too facile interpretation of what could be absorbed from local cultures into the Liturgy; a sense of misunderstanding of the true nature, content and meaning of the Roman rite and its norms and rubrics, which led to an attitude of free experimentation; a certain anti-Roman "feeling," and an uncritical acceptance of all kinds of "novelties" resulting from a secularizing and humanistic theological and liturgical mindset overtaking the West.
...The abandonment of the spheres of the Sacred, the Mystical and the Spiritual, and their replacement by a kind of empiricist horizontalism was most harmful to the spirit of what truly constituted Liturgy.
...As I mentioned, Asia is deeply mystical and conscious of the value of the Sacred in human life, moving a human being to look for the deeper mysteries of religion and spirituality. The tendency to banalise the celebration of the Eucharist through a somewhat horizontal orientation, often visible in modern times. is not consonant with that search.
The Cardinal mentioned that many of these problems were "imported" from the West by native-born priests who studied here, or by Western missionaries who are horrifically ignorant of Asian customs.
I once was listening to a radio talk given by a Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka who ridiculed Christians for allowing local drum beating in their churches without knowing that those beats in fact were chants of praise for the Buddha.
In the US, we transmogrified music by imitating Woody Guthrie...or Frank Sinatra...or Mr. Rogers.
Inculturation means deciding on liturgical attire that is dignified and full of respect for the Sacred realities celebrated, not abandoning them.
...So too in Liturgy, instead of concentrating on just a few exterior gestures of cosmetic value, we should focus on the accentuation of the mystical and the spiritual riches conveyed to us, and highlight these more and more even in our dress and behavior. The Universal Church would gain from a Church in Asia that becomes a tangible expression of Christian mysticism in an Asian way.
But by no means is 'mysticism' confined to Asia--
...the love of silence, a contemplative atmosphere, chant and singing reflective of the divine mystery celebrated on the altar, sober and decorous attire, and art and architecture reflective of the nobility of the Sacred places and objects, are all Asian values often reflected in places of worship of other religions and more expressive of a truly Asian outlook on Liturgy.
But this, too, is not "Asian" per se--the concepts of "sacred time, sacred space, sacred language, sacred music" are also pertinent in the West (or at least they used to be so...)
Here's an interesting note (in discussion of whether Latin should be used):
Besides, in Asia some other religions have preserved an official "liturgical" language, like Sanskrit for Hinduism and Pali for Buddhism.
...or like Hebrew for the Jews, Koine Greek for the Greek Orthodox, and Aramaic for the Syriac Rite?
HT: Fr. Z
The use of the vernacular has at times helped in generating a theological vocabulary in the local idiom that eventually could be helpful to evangelization and the presentation of the message of the Gospel to those of non-Christian religious traditions, which constitute the overwhelming majority of the people of Asia.
Some negative aspects have been the quasi total abandonment of the Latin language, tradition and chant; a far too facile interpretation of what could be absorbed from local cultures into the Liturgy; a sense of misunderstanding of the true nature, content and meaning of the Roman rite and its norms and rubrics, which led to an attitude of free experimentation; a certain anti-Roman "feeling," and an uncritical acceptance of all kinds of "novelties" resulting from a secularizing and humanistic theological and liturgical mindset overtaking the West.
...The abandonment of the spheres of the Sacred, the Mystical and the Spiritual, and their replacement by a kind of empiricist horizontalism was most harmful to the spirit of what truly constituted Liturgy.
...As I mentioned, Asia is deeply mystical and conscious of the value of the Sacred in human life, moving a human being to look for the deeper mysteries of religion and spirituality. The tendency to banalise the celebration of the Eucharist through a somewhat horizontal orientation, often visible in modern times. is not consonant with that search.
The Cardinal mentioned that many of these problems were "imported" from the West by native-born priests who studied here, or by Western missionaries who are horrifically ignorant of Asian customs.
I once was listening to a radio talk given by a Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka who ridiculed Christians for allowing local drum beating in their churches without knowing that those beats in fact were chants of praise for the Buddha.
In the US, we transmogrified music by imitating Woody Guthrie...or Frank Sinatra...or Mr. Rogers.
Inculturation means deciding on liturgical attire that is dignified and full of respect for the Sacred realities celebrated, not abandoning them.
...So too in Liturgy, instead of concentrating on just a few exterior gestures of cosmetic value, we should focus on the accentuation of the mystical and the spiritual riches conveyed to us, and highlight these more and more even in our dress and behavior. The Universal Church would gain from a Church in Asia that becomes a tangible expression of Christian mysticism in an Asian way.
But by no means is 'mysticism' confined to Asia--
...the love of silence, a contemplative atmosphere, chant and singing reflective of the divine mystery celebrated on the altar, sober and decorous attire, and art and architecture reflective of the nobility of the Sacred places and objects, are all Asian values often reflected in places of worship of other religions and more expressive of a truly Asian outlook on Liturgy.
But this, too, is not "Asian" per se--the concepts of "sacred time, sacred space, sacred language, sacred music" are also pertinent in the West (or at least they used to be so...)
Here's an interesting note (in discussion of whether Latin should be used):
Besides, in Asia some other religions have preserved an official "liturgical" language, like Sanskrit for Hinduism and Pali for Buddhism.
...or like Hebrew for the Jews, Koine Greek for the Greek Orthodox, and Aramaic for the Syriac Rite?
HT: Fr. Z
Abp. Burke: Being a Catholic Bishop
Seems that in St. Louis there's a Catholic children's hospital.
Bob Costas is sponsoring a fund-raiser for that hospital this year--and one of the attractions is Sheryl Crow, whose "humorous" jestings about toilet paper have caused waves of nervous disorders at the Charmin plant in Green Bay.
But Ms. Crow has other problems--she's a big-time supporter of abortion and embryonic stem-cell research.
So the Archbishop of St. Louis did what actually-Catholic Bishops do:
Archbishop Raymond Burke denounced a Catholic charity Wednesday for scheduling a benefit-concert appearance by Sheryl Crow, who supports abortion rights.
Burke submitted his resignation as chairman of the board for the Cardinal Glennon Children's Foundation, saying the decision to let Crow sing on Saturday left him no other choice.
"It's very painful for me," Burke said during a news conference Wednesday. "But I have to answer to God for the responsibility I have as archbishop.
"A Catholic institution featuring a performer who promotes moral evil gives the impression that the church is somehow inconsistent in its teaching," Burke said.
Thank you, Your Grace!
Bob Costas is sponsoring a fund-raiser for that hospital this year--and one of the attractions is Sheryl Crow, whose "humorous" jestings about toilet paper have caused waves of nervous disorders at the Charmin plant in Green Bay.
But Ms. Crow has other problems--she's a big-time supporter of abortion and embryonic stem-cell research.
So the Archbishop of St. Louis did what actually-Catholic Bishops do:
Archbishop Raymond Burke denounced a Catholic charity Wednesday for scheduling a benefit-concert appearance by Sheryl Crow, who supports abortion rights.
Burke submitted his resignation as chairman of the board for the Cardinal Glennon Children's Foundation, saying the decision to let Crow sing on Saturday left him no other choice.
"It's very painful for me," Burke said during a news conference Wednesday. "But I have to answer to God for the responsibility I have as archbishop.
"A Catholic institution featuring a performer who promotes moral evil gives the impression that the church is somehow inconsistent in its teaching," Burke said.
Thank you, Your Grace!
Screechin'Shirley Screwed Green. Does She Deserve the Title "Justice"?
HT Jessica on this one.
Justice Prosser lambasts Screechin'Shirley for her shilly-shallying on the Green election funds question. (See P. 8 in the link)
In the midst and aftermath of an important gubernatorial election, this court did nothing to ascertain and enforce rights, or to assure the integrity of the electoral process. Instead, it used every imaginable pretext to avoid making a decision.
...From the outset, Green contended that he and his committee had complied in every respect with existing state and federal law. The Elections Board now stipulates that:
[W]hen Green for Wisconsin . . . converted the disputed funds from Petitioner Mark Green's federal campaign committee to his state campaign committee on January 25, 2005, it complied with: (1) previous Board determinations with respect to similar matters; (2) ElBd 1.39, as written and interpreted at the time; and (3) instructions provided by the Board's staff.
¶19 What more is there to say?
Allow me to suggest that Shirley Abrahamson did her level best to stretch out an injustice, if Justice Prosser's statement above is accurate (and I am sure that it is.)
In other words, she's better titled: "Chief IN-Justice Abrahamson."
Not that we didn't already know that...
Justice Prosser lambasts Screechin'Shirley for her shilly-shallying on the Green election funds question. (See P. 8 in the link)
In the midst and aftermath of an important gubernatorial election, this court did nothing to ascertain and enforce rights, or to assure the integrity of the electoral process. Instead, it used every imaginable pretext to avoid making a decision.
...From the outset, Green contended that he and his committee had complied in every respect with existing state and federal law. The Elections Board now stipulates that:
[W]hen Green for Wisconsin . . . converted the disputed funds from Petitioner Mark Green's federal campaign committee to his state campaign committee on January 25, 2005, it complied with: (1) previous Board determinations with respect to similar matters; (2) ElBd 1.39, as written and interpreted at the time; and (3) instructions provided by the Board's staff.
¶19 What more is there to say?
Allow me to suggest that Shirley Abrahamson did her level best to stretch out an injustice, if Justice Prosser's statement above is accurate (and I am sure that it is.)
In other words, she's better titled: "Chief IN-Justice Abrahamson."
Not that we didn't already know that...
The Conservative Re-Revolution
Owen makes it clear that conservatism is not dead; in fact, there are several agenda-points which still resonate and could be bulwarks of a re-revolution within the Republican Party.
Small Government, Health Care, and Education are on his plate.
Small Government, Health Care, and Education are on his plate.
Virginia Erred: Cho Should Have Been NCIS Listed
This is interesting:
Federal law, BATF regulations, and federal judicial precedent all hold that if someone is found by a magistrate to be a danger to others or to himself (as the state magistrate in Virginia determined that Cho was), he is barred from owning a gun. The fact that the magistrate that evaluated Cho's case recommended outpatient treatmant rather than commitment shouldn't have mattered. The problem is that state magistrates and mental health professionals aren't always aware that a situation like Cho's calls for an update to the instant background check database.
All previous commentary held that the 'outpatient' treatment allowed Cho to purchase handguns--that only commitment would have placed him on the "no sale" part of the NCIS list.
HT: American Spectator blog
Federal law, BATF regulations, and federal judicial precedent all hold that if someone is found by a magistrate to be a danger to others or to himself (as the state magistrate in Virginia determined that Cho was), he is barred from owning a gun. The fact that the magistrate that evaluated Cho's case recommended outpatient treatmant rather than commitment shouldn't have mattered. The problem is that state magistrates and mental health professionals aren't always aware that a situation like Cho's calls for an update to the instant background check database.
All previous commentary held that the 'outpatient' treatment allowed Cho to purchase handguns--that only commitment would have placed him on the "no sale" part of the NCIS list.
HT: American Spectator blog
Iran's Internal Troubles--Condi Rice No Help
There's a lot going on in Iran.
Too bad Condi Rice doesn't have control of the State Department; otherwise, this could turn out well for the US.
News coming from Iran these days runs the gamut from the specter of the terrorist/rogue state poised to acquire nuclear weapons to the hopeful defection and disappearance of one of its top military men, Gen. Ashgari. The media seem to be overwhelmed by this 1938-like moment and not up to the task of reporting a story so multifaceted and so frightening. Perhaps this is because the events assume a fiction-like aura. Missing is one positive aspect of the crisis: Iran is fighting, on numerous fronts, its own revolutionaries.
...Over the past few years, Iranian Kurds in the Northwest have launched more attacks, but in the lawless Southeast province of Baluchistan, the attacks are the most lethal and dramatic. In December 2005, a Baluchi group called Jundallah (God brigade) attacked Iranian President Ahmadinejad’s motorcade, killing one bodyguard. On Feb. 14, 2007, the same group killed 11 elite Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces and wounded 31 others in a bus bombing using weapons similar to those the Iranian regime is smuggling into Iraq. Two days later, Jundallah forces waged an all-out gun battle with Iranian security forces right in the Baluchi capital city of Zahedan.
...I also asked Roya [an Iranian expat living in California] if she had any information regarding the mysterious defection of Gen. Ashgari. She told me that her sources have told her that there would be many high-level defections coming soon. In fact, the mullahs have been alerted and are conducting Stalinist-like purges of suspected traitors and have just imprisoned another high-level intelligence officer, Mashallah Abas Zadeh.
...Finally, there is the case of Kazemeini Boroorjerdi. He is a mullah also in prison in Tehran. His crime is advocating separation of mosque and state and peace with the West. He and several of his family members are in prison in Tehran. While he awaits his inevitable execution, his own mother has died under torture.
I spoke to Ken Timmerman, author of Countdown to Crisis, The Coming Nuclear Showdown with Iran, and asked him to comment on the revolutionary movements inside Iran. He said: “Groups such as Jundallah exist because there is a broad base of resentment against this regime. In fact, the overwhelming majority of Iranians reject the regime. ... But what we need to be doing is finding a way to get all of these groups to work together rather than supporting separate wars. What’s needed is a coordinated nationwide movement. A violent revolution will only open a Pandora’s box for a future dictator.”
Asked if the U.S. is making strides in that direction, Timmerman said: “No. My greatest regret is that we continue to miss real opportunities to assist the pro-democracy forces [inside Iran]. I can’t emphasize too strongly that the entrenched bureaucracy at the State Department has hijacked the pro-democracy funding put in place by the White House and steered it towards so-called reformers such as the former president, Rafsanjani. We’re funding groups in Iran who only seek to reform the attitudes of the West toward the Islamic Republic.”
Notice that there are Shi'ites who believe in 'separation of church and state' as Vatican sources have stated clearly (see earlier post).
The US State Department has a track record (going back to FDR's days, at least) of independence from US interests, or of serving interests directly in conflict with the US' interests--or serving as an employer of subversives.
Other commentators have remarked that Secretary Rice is 'in way over her head' at State; this is merely another straw in the wind.
Too bad Condi Rice doesn't have control of the State Department; otherwise, this could turn out well for the US.
News coming from Iran these days runs the gamut from the specter of the terrorist/rogue state poised to acquire nuclear weapons to the hopeful defection and disappearance of one of its top military men, Gen. Ashgari. The media seem to be overwhelmed by this 1938-like moment and not up to the task of reporting a story so multifaceted and so frightening. Perhaps this is because the events assume a fiction-like aura. Missing is one positive aspect of the crisis: Iran is fighting, on numerous fronts, its own revolutionaries.
...Over the past few years, Iranian Kurds in the Northwest have launched more attacks, but in the lawless Southeast province of Baluchistan, the attacks are the most lethal and dramatic. In December 2005, a Baluchi group called Jundallah (God brigade) attacked Iranian President Ahmadinejad’s motorcade, killing one bodyguard. On Feb. 14, 2007, the same group killed 11 elite Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces and wounded 31 others in a bus bombing using weapons similar to those the Iranian regime is smuggling into Iraq. Two days later, Jundallah forces waged an all-out gun battle with Iranian security forces right in the Baluchi capital city of Zahedan.
...I also asked Roya [an Iranian expat living in California] if she had any information regarding the mysterious defection of Gen. Ashgari. She told me that her sources have told her that there would be many high-level defections coming soon. In fact, the mullahs have been alerted and are conducting Stalinist-like purges of suspected traitors and have just imprisoned another high-level intelligence officer, Mashallah Abas Zadeh.
...Finally, there is the case of Kazemeini Boroorjerdi. He is a mullah also in prison in Tehran. His crime is advocating separation of mosque and state and peace with the West. He and several of his family members are in prison in Tehran. While he awaits his inevitable execution, his own mother has died under torture.
I spoke to Ken Timmerman, author of Countdown to Crisis, The Coming Nuclear Showdown with Iran, and asked him to comment on the revolutionary movements inside Iran. He said: “Groups such as Jundallah exist because there is a broad base of resentment against this regime. In fact, the overwhelming majority of Iranians reject the regime. ... But what we need to be doing is finding a way to get all of these groups to work together rather than supporting separate wars. What’s needed is a coordinated nationwide movement. A violent revolution will only open a Pandora’s box for a future dictator.”
Asked if the U.S. is making strides in that direction, Timmerman said: “No. My greatest regret is that we continue to miss real opportunities to assist the pro-democracy forces [inside Iran]. I can’t emphasize too strongly that the entrenched bureaucracy at the State Department has hijacked the pro-democracy funding put in place by the White House and steered it towards so-called reformers such as the former president, Rafsanjani. We’re funding groups in Iran who only seek to reform the attitudes of the West toward the Islamic Republic.”
Notice that there are Shi'ites who believe in 'separation of church and state' as Vatican sources have stated clearly (see earlier post).
The US State Department has a track record (going back to FDR's days, at least) of independence from US interests, or of serving interests directly in conflict with the US' interests--or serving as an employer of subversives.
Other commentators have remarked that Secretary Rice is 'in way over her head' at State; this is merely another straw in the wind.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
The New Bishop of the Twin Cities
Bp. Nienstedt has been appointed co-adjutor in the Twin Cities, meaning that in a year (or less) he will succeed Apb. Flynn.
Some interesting notes:
Soon after being named bishop in New Ulm, he condemned some of the theological views of the man who had held the post before him for 25 years, Bishop Raymond Lucker, a noted progressive clergyman who died in 2001. Denouncing his predecessor's views was an "extraordinary step," the National Catholic Reporter noted in an article on the incident.
To say that Bp. Lucker's views were "progressive" is an understatement, and denunciation would be expected from a Catholic. After all, the Bishop's role includes teaching.
As bishop in New Ulm, Nienstedt prohibited cohabitating couples from being married in Catholic churches. He barred female pastoral administrators from leading prayers at a semiannualAdvertisement leadership event. He once disciplined a priest for holding joint ecumenical services with a Lutheran congregation after the Catholic church had been destroyed by a tornado.
Looks to me as though St Joan of Arc/Minneapolis may have an 'awakening' in the future...
HT: The Cafeteria Is Closed
Some interesting notes:
Soon after being named bishop in New Ulm, he condemned some of the theological views of the man who had held the post before him for 25 years, Bishop Raymond Lucker, a noted progressive clergyman who died in 2001. Denouncing his predecessor's views was an "extraordinary step," the National Catholic Reporter noted in an article on the incident.
To say that Bp. Lucker's views were "progressive" is an understatement, and denunciation would be expected from a Catholic. After all, the Bishop's role includes teaching.
As bishop in New Ulm, Nienstedt prohibited cohabitating couples from being married in Catholic churches. He barred female pastoral administrators from leading prayers at a semiannualAdvertisement leadership event. He once disciplined a priest for holding joint ecumenical services with a Lutheran congregation after the Catholic church had been destroyed by a tornado.
Looks to me as though St Joan of Arc/Minneapolis may have an 'awakening' in the future...
HT: The Cafeteria Is Closed
"Relativism" Explained, and Chesterton, Too!
Pope Benedict mentioned "relativism" in his Regensburg address, and was criticized by an author at First Things. Now comes the rebuttal, from Cosmos-Liturgy, who traced it back to Scotus through Ockham, then summarized:
However, if in God, freedom comes before His nature it must also be so with men. If it does, then now freedom becomes not the freedom for excellence but the freedom to choose arbitrarily. In fact, now man is placed in opposition to God. If freedom has nothing to do with perfecting oneself then it has nothing to do with happiness. God’s freedom and man’s are arbitrary. God is free to will however He chooses and so man’s has freedom only where God has not restricted it by His arbitrary will. Thus, now God’s will comes at the expense of man’s freedom. Freedom becomes not a means to happiness but an end in itself. Is it any wonder then that the rabid atheists, such as Nietzsche, thought that they had to “kill” God. They fancied themselves as the rescuers of man’s freedom. Chesterton observed this when he said that modern freedom then is not anything more than fear:
“Most modern freedom is at root fear. It is not so much that we are too bold to endure rules; it is rather that we are too timid to endure responsibilities.” - What’s Wrong With the World
That's the short course. The rest of the post is worthwhile, too!
However, if in God, freedom comes before His nature it must also be so with men. If it does, then now freedom becomes not the freedom for excellence but the freedom to choose arbitrarily. In fact, now man is placed in opposition to God. If freedom has nothing to do with perfecting oneself then it has nothing to do with happiness. God’s freedom and man’s are arbitrary. God is free to will however He chooses and so man’s has freedom only where God has not restricted it by His arbitrary will. Thus, now God’s will comes at the expense of man’s freedom. Freedom becomes not a means to happiness but an end in itself. Is it any wonder then that the rabid atheists, such as Nietzsche, thought that they had to “kill” God. They fancied themselves as the rescuers of man’s freedom. Chesterton observed this when he said that modern freedom then is not anything more than fear:
“Most modern freedom is at root fear. It is not so much that we are too bold to endure rules; it is rather that we are too timid to endure responsibilities.” - What’s Wrong With the World
That's the short course. The rest of the post is worthwhile, too!
Pithy Definitions from McIlheran
Quick, memorable, to-the-point:
The city is not a social director.
In discussion of the City's "obligations" to disaffected, drunk, and wheeled yout'.
The city is not a social director.
In discussion of the City's "obligations" to disaffected, drunk, and wheeled yout'.
Conservatism's Future--the Series
The Wisconsin Interest has gathered essays from a variety of Conservatives who comment on the Condition Which the Conservative Condition is In.
A couple of excerpts, first from Charlie Sykes:
Domestically, the next decade will see initiatives to expand the reach and intrusiveness of the nanny state and perhaps to attempts to tighten regulation and control of new media. All of them will provide opportunities for conservatives to rally opposition on principled free-market grounds.
Liberals will also raise taxes. A lot. A House resolution passed earlier this year would raise taxes by a staggering $400 billion, hitting most middle-class voters. While those increases are likely to be scaled back, they represent an impulse that will be the centerpiece of domestic politics for much of the next decade.
Tax cuts, are and will remain at the heart of any conservative agenda, because they represent the fundamental faith of conservatives in the ability of individuals to spend their own money more rationally than government. Low taxes also are the engine of opportunity and economic growth.
Next from Jim Sensenbrenner:
...Republicans simply forgot about being the Party of fiscal restraint and didn’t remember what brought them to power. Republicans forgot to say government is too big and too intrusive. Many of my fellow Republicans got a little taste of pork and couldn’t help themselves as they participated in the spending frenzy. I watched as earmarks and pork barrel projects were approved, but I did not watch in silence. I was lonesome, and unpopular with the local media when I voted against Hurricane Katrina emergency funding and the Highway Bill—packages laced with fraud and fat. I waved my hands wildly in protest as my fellow Republicans signed off on projects such as the “bridge to nowhere.” Whatever happened to living within our means?
Leadership became part of the problem, not the solution. We were plagued with allegations of leadership corruption as our leaders stopped listening and became much more interested in receiving support for their own power rather than worrying about the money that was flying out of the pockets of taxpayers.
It is important to recall that spending precedes taxation. And that in general, more Government precedes more spending.
In addition, more Government and more spending result in the migration of capital to friendlier climates--see, e.g., the flight of manufacturing to PRChina, and the flight of technology to India.
These are the big things.
A couple of excerpts, first from Charlie Sykes:
Domestically, the next decade will see initiatives to expand the reach and intrusiveness of the nanny state and perhaps to attempts to tighten regulation and control of new media. All of them will provide opportunities for conservatives to rally opposition on principled free-market grounds.
Liberals will also raise taxes. A lot. A House resolution passed earlier this year would raise taxes by a staggering $400 billion, hitting most middle-class voters. While those increases are likely to be scaled back, they represent an impulse that will be the centerpiece of domestic politics for much of the next decade.
Tax cuts, are and will remain at the heart of any conservative agenda, because they represent the fundamental faith of conservatives in the ability of individuals to spend their own money more rationally than government. Low taxes also are the engine of opportunity and economic growth.
Next from Jim Sensenbrenner:
...Republicans simply forgot about being the Party of fiscal restraint and didn’t remember what brought them to power. Republicans forgot to say government is too big and too intrusive. Many of my fellow Republicans got a little taste of pork and couldn’t help themselves as they participated in the spending frenzy. I watched as earmarks and pork barrel projects were approved, but I did not watch in silence. I was lonesome, and unpopular with the local media when I voted against Hurricane Katrina emergency funding and the Highway Bill—packages laced with fraud and fat. I waved my hands wildly in protest as my fellow Republicans signed off on projects such as the “bridge to nowhere.” Whatever happened to living within our means?
Leadership became part of the problem, not the solution. We were plagued with allegations of leadership corruption as our leaders stopped listening and became much more interested in receiving support for their own power rather than worrying about the money that was flying out of the pockets of taxpayers.
It is important to recall that spending precedes taxation. And that in general, more Government precedes more spending.
In addition, more Government and more spending result in the migration of capital to friendlier climates--see, e.g., the flight of manufacturing to PRChina, and the flight of technology to India.
These are the big things.
The Mortgage Tango: Who's the Second Dancer?
You'll see articles which bemoan the "fraud" perpetrated on Wall Street types by people who took out large "no-documentation" mortgage loans and then failed to pay them off.
There is another view, folks.
OK. Stated income loans "were made possible by relaxed underwriting guidelines." Who made up those relaxed underwriting guidelines? At what point, exactly, did Bear Stearns notice this? Is Bear saying that its own underwriting guidelines were mere exercises in counting rosary beads, or that someone else's were? Does that mean Bear manages risk by delegating the formulation of credit policy for billions and billions of securitized loans to some pissant mortgage broker? Does it tell the SEC that? And what's with this "were" business, anyway? Nobody's doing stated income any longer? That is news.
Ladies and gentlemen of the press: we have, actually, established the culpability of borrowers and brokers on the bottom and foreign central banks and other nefarious sources of liquidity on the top. Could we, maybe, spend a minute looking at the middle of the chain? Unless I am sorely mistaken, the Street has been accepting a lot of fees lately for "underwriting" mortgage-backed securities. Perhaps we could ask them about their own "Hail Mary" problem for a change?
Yes, there are crooks at the bottom. But Bear, Stearns (the initials could be portentious, eh?) should not try to claim that they were babes-in-the-woods.
There is another view, folks.
OK. Stated income loans "were made possible by relaxed underwriting guidelines." Who made up those relaxed underwriting guidelines? At what point, exactly, did Bear Stearns notice this? Is Bear saying that its own underwriting guidelines were mere exercises in counting rosary beads, or that someone else's were? Does that mean Bear manages risk by delegating the formulation of credit policy for billions and billions of securitized loans to some pissant mortgage broker? Does it tell the SEC that? And what's with this "were" business, anyway? Nobody's doing stated income any longer? That is news.
Ladies and gentlemen of the press: we have, actually, established the culpability of borrowers and brokers on the bottom and foreign central banks and other nefarious sources of liquidity on the top. Could we, maybe, spend a minute looking at the middle of the chain? Unless I am sorely mistaken, the Street has been accepting a lot of fees lately for "underwriting" mortgage-backed securities. Perhaps we could ask them about their own "Hail Mary" problem for a change?
Yes, there are crooks at the bottom. But Bear, Stearns (the initials could be portentious, eh?) should not try to claim that they were babes-in-the-woods.
How Many DOT Employees? Who's Doing the Work?
Waaayyyyy down at the end of an article which tells us that DOT's goal of 30-day service is not being met for issuance of license plates, there's an interesting statistic:
In 2004, the last year before the new system was in place, the DMV issued 12 million "products" - driver's licenses, license plates, vehicle titles or other documents - with 1.38 million hours worked, or 8.7 products an hour. In 2006, the number of products dropped to 11.75 million and the number of hours worked dropped to 1.3 million, for a rate of nine products an hour.
That tells us that the Department used 80K less hours--or, at 2,080 hours/workyear, the Department had 38 less FTE people on its staff. That's worth checking on...
But the REAL irony is that DOT actually had the nerve to make its "goal" even worse than it was before spending a $zillion or so on new systems. Where plate-issuance used to be about 21 days, the department now has a goal of 30 days.
AND the goal is being met in part because other entities (drivers and dealers) are actually doing the work through on-line access methods.
Great. The taxpayers paid too much for a system that delivers later than ever before even though the taxpayers are doing more of the work.
In 2004, the last year before the new system was in place, the DMV issued 12 million "products" - driver's licenses, license plates, vehicle titles or other documents - with 1.38 million hours worked, or 8.7 products an hour. In 2006, the number of products dropped to 11.75 million and the number of hours worked dropped to 1.3 million, for a rate of nine products an hour.
That tells us that the Department used 80K less hours--or, at 2,080 hours/workyear, the Department had 38 less FTE people on its staff. That's worth checking on...
But the REAL irony is that DOT actually had the nerve to make its "goal" even worse than it was before spending a $zillion or so on new systems. Where plate-issuance used to be about 21 days, the department now has a goal of 30 days.
AND the goal is being met in part because other entities (drivers and dealers) are actually doing the work through on-line access methods.
Great. The taxpayers paid too much for a system that delivers later than ever before even though the taxpayers are doing more of the work.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
"Patients First" Health Care Plan, Part Two
Earlier we mentioned the Wisconsin Republican health-care plan. The synopsis linked on that post, however, did not mention these features:
Health Premium Accounts. "Patients First" would establish in law tax-free "Health Premium Accounts" which could be utilized by employees who work more than one part-time job. These accounts would allow the employee to pool dollars from various employers to purchase health insurance.
A very interesting concept. This would allow employers of part-time people to contribute a proportionate amount towards healthcare, which could then be utilized by the employee to purchase insurance--all tax-free. (One hopes that Rep. Ryan sees this; Federalizing this concept could be very helpful.)
Health Courts. "Patients First" also would create a pilot program for Health Courts which would streamline the medical malpractice system by giving injured patients quicker access to justice while at the same time building a strong body of precedent that will help medical providers focus on delivering high quality medical care instead of practicing costly "defensive medicine" due to constant fears of lawsuits.
Likely to be somewhat controversial, but if "defensive medicine" can be minimized, the cost of care will drop, period. And even if it's only 10%, that's over $1400/year for a family plan.
Let's hope that the Democrats are willing to debate the proposals.
Health Premium Accounts. "Patients First" would establish in law tax-free "Health Premium Accounts" which could be utilized by employees who work more than one part-time job. These accounts would allow the employee to pool dollars from various employers to purchase health insurance.
A very interesting concept. This would allow employers of part-time people to contribute a proportionate amount towards healthcare, which could then be utilized by the employee to purchase insurance--all tax-free. (One hopes that Rep. Ryan sees this; Federalizing this concept could be very helpful.)
Health Courts. "Patients First" also would create a pilot program for Health Courts which would streamline the medical malpractice system by giving injured patients quicker access to justice while at the same time building a strong body of precedent that will help medical providers focus on delivering high quality medical care instead of practicing costly "defensive medicine" due to constant fears of lawsuits.
Likely to be somewhat controversial, but if "defensive medicine" can be minimized, the cost of care will drop, period. And even if it's only 10%, that's over $1400/year for a family plan.
Let's hope that the Democrats are willing to debate the proposals.
Gregorian Chant Origins Tour
One of this country's leading musicologists will lead a tour to some of the most notable locations for Gregorian Chant aficiandos this summer.
Einsiedeln, Reichenau, St. Gall, St. Johann/Mustair, and Munich will be included.
Music, some meals, three/four-star accomodations, and all transportation (depart/arrive Chicago) will be included in the price.
This blog is specifically 'unfriendly' for email correspondence. However, if you wish further details, please leave an email address in the combox. It will be forwarded to the musicologist as soon as it arrives here.
Bon Voyage!!
Einsiedeln, Reichenau, St. Gall, St. Johann/Mustair, and Munich will be included.
Music, some meals, three/four-star accomodations, and all transportation (depart/arrive Chicago) will be included in the price.
This blog is specifically 'unfriendly' for email correspondence. However, if you wish further details, please leave an email address in the combox. It will be forwarded to the musicologist as soon as it arrives here.
Bon Voyage!!
Dave Obey: Screw the Public's Right to Know!
Noted via RedState:
House Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-Cheese) blocked the cameras at Monday afternoon's hearings on the supplemental Iraq and Afghanistan military funding. What are Nancy and Dave hiding?
Well, one hint might be found by yesterday's Strangest Alliance of The Century--the Ryan/Feingold line-item veto announcement...
House Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-Cheese) blocked the cameras at Monday afternoon's hearings on the supplemental Iraq and Afghanistan military funding. What are Nancy and Dave hiding?
Well, one hint might be found by yesterday's Strangest Alliance of The Century--the Ryan/Feingold line-item veto announcement...
Federalism's Champion: Fred Thompson
Should he actually declare and run, the campaign will be very interesting, indeed.
In fact, it may be the best Civics 101 class ever conducted in a national forum.
Here, Fred dismantles some criticism that he's "friendly" to trial lawyers:
The first case involves the issue of “preemption.” Congress routinely passes laws and resulting regulations which are in conflict with state laws and regulations. These federal laws do not state whether or not they are intended to preempt the state regulations. Clearly, members of Congress don’t want their constituents back home asking why their state authority has been stripped. But Congress can have it both ways. They leave the legislation ambiguous, knowing that the federal courts will more often than not interpret the statute as preempting state law, allowing elected officials in Washington “the federal court did it, I didn’t” excuse. This allows for no debate on the issue in Congress, just a decision by that source of so much conservative affection: the federal judiciary.
[The guy has a sense of humor, too...]
Mr. Ponnuru begins with the assumption that federal preemption of state regulations is inherently a good thing (how Federalist does this sound so far?), because then companies won’t have to keep up with all the state laws. I recognize that changes in transportation and communication have created legitimate federal interests where none previously existed. My votes reflect that. But the idea that the commerce clause allows the Feds to regulate anything effecting commerce, no matter how remote, hopefully, is something we can all agree is not acceptable. But I digress. Actually my alleged offense had nothing to do with that. Rather it was the fact that I introduced a bill that essentially said, “Congress must state whether or not the federal legislation is intended to preempt the state regulation.” Period.
Mr. Ponnuru not only seems to favor federal preemption in general but thinks that Congress should not be required to acknowledge the fact that it is preempting. Ponnuru says that if my proposal had passed, “the practical result would have been a gold mine for trial lawyers…” (although he doesn’t say how).
I disagree. The practical result would have been an open debate as to whether, in any given instance, preemption is a good idea then we would have had a discussion about Federalism. I wonder if Jefferson and Madison thought that we should pick the result we want based upon who we perceive to be the good guys and the bad guys, then get there any way we can?
He also discusses Ponnuru's complaint about his vote on the tobacco legislation and (summarily) stuffs Ponnuru's complaint into the trash can.
I hope he gets in...
HT: American Spectator Blog
In fact, it may be the best Civics 101 class ever conducted in a national forum.
Here, Fred dismantles some criticism that he's "friendly" to trial lawyers:
The first case involves the issue of “preemption.” Congress routinely passes laws and resulting regulations which are in conflict with state laws and regulations. These federal laws do not state whether or not they are intended to preempt the state regulations. Clearly, members of Congress don’t want their constituents back home asking why their state authority has been stripped. But Congress can have it both ways. They leave the legislation ambiguous, knowing that the federal courts will more often than not interpret the statute as preempting state law, allowing elected officials in Washington “the federal court did it, I didn’t” excuse. This allows for no debate on the issue in Congress, just a decision by that source of so much conservative affection: the federal judiciary.
[The guy has a sense of humor, too...]
Mr. Ponnuru begins with the assumption that federal preemption of state regulations is inherently a good thing (how Federalist does this sound so far?), because then companies won’t have to keep up with all the state laws. I recognize that changes in transportation and communication have created legitimate federal interests where none previously existed. My votes reflect that. But the idea that the commerce clause allows the Feds to regulate anything effecting commerce, no matter how remote, hopefully, is something we can all agree is not acceptable. But I digress. Actually my alleged offense had nothing to do with that. Rather it was the fact that I introduced a bill that essentially said, “Congress must state whether or not the federal legislation is intended to preempt the state regulation.” Period.
Mr. Ponnuru not only seems to favor federal preemption in general but thinks that Congress should not be required to acknowledge the fact that it is preempting. Ponnuru says that if my proposal had passed, “the practical result would have been a gold mine for trial lawyers…” (although he doesn’t say how).
I disagree. The practical result would have been an open debate as to whether, in any given instance, preemption is a good idea then we would have had a discussion about Federalism. I wonder if Jefferson and Madison thought that we should pick the result we want based upon who we perceive to be the good guys and the bad guys, then get there any way we can?
He also discusses Ponnuru's complaint about his vote on the tobacco legislation and (summarily) stuffs Ponnuru's complaint into the trash can.
I hope he gets in...
HT: American Spectator Blog
Monday, April 23, 2007
Marxist Mythology: The Liturgeist's Manifesto?
It's an interesting thesis.
Discussing the Mythology of Liturgical Reform (propagated from roughly 1955 through the conclusion of John Paul II's reign) TNLM first essays the Myth:
The argument (very slickly made so that it is far from being this overt) is that the early Church consisted of happy, sharing, caring Christians who lived in a kind of utopian togetherness, sharing all things in common and caring for the poor. Yes, echoes of Rousseau. Then Constantine institutionalized everything and hence began the decline, which is aided by a theological error that emphasized Christ's divinity more than his humanity. The decline continued until the abyss of Trent, which ruled with an iron hand until 1969, when the people finally rose up and took back their liturgy, leading to the current happy days.
He then asks the question:
...What is the source of this apodictic certainty that the relationship between the people and the ruling Church elites can be characterized by unrelenting conflict? Why must every bit of history point in this direction and this direction only? What kind of ideology can reduce something as glorious and transforming as the Mass into a simple-minded struggle of this sort?
And answers it:
The answer, I think, is Marxism. Now before you dismiss this idea as fanciful or conspiratorial, consider that Marxism has had more influence on a century of social science and literary criticism than perhaps any other mode of thought. Marxism is far more than a policy program; that is the least of it. Its most important contribution has been to provide a theme by which to understand the broad patterns of the evolution of civilization. Its theory of history and analytics of the underlying structure of the stuff that makes history: this is its true legacy. Marxism represented the popularization of the Hegelian dialectic that gave intellectuals a lens through which to understand the full sweep of world events, and sports-like drama with good guys and bad guys, and this theory has stuck. It animates the subconscious of vast swaths of the intellectual world, long after the Marxian program for political revolution has been discredited.
Interesting--but, in my humble opinion, insufficient.
The real origin was in the Garden. When one speaks of 'class envy,' and the 'victory of the proletariat,' one merely refashions language around the "You shall be like unto God" spoken to Eve, many centuries before Marx elaborated for the benefit of the simple-minded Liturgeists (and other iconoclasts.)
But hey! TNLM had to endure Liturgy Training Programs' filmstrip to cook down their "history" for us. Kudos, and thanks!
Discussing the Mythology of Liturgical Reform (propagated from roughly 1955 through the conclusion of John Paul II's reign) TNLM first essays the Myth:
The argument (very slickly made so that it is far from being this overt) is that the early Church consisted of happy, sharing, caring Christians who lived in a kind of utopian togetherness, sharing all things in common and caring for the poor. Yes, echoes of Rousseau. Then Constantine institutionalized everything and hence began the decline, which is aided by a theological error that emphasized Christ's divinity more than his humanity. The decline continued until the abyss of Trent, which ruled with an iron hand until 1969, when the people finally rose up and took back their liturgy, leading to the current happy days.
He then asks the question:
...What is the source of this apodictic certainty that the relationship between the people and the ruling Church elites can be characterized by unrelenting conflict? Why must every bit of history point in this direction and this direction only? What kind of ideology can reduce something as glorious and transforming as the Mass into a simple-minded struggle of this sort?
And answers it:
The answer, I think, is Marxism. Now before you dismiss this idea as fanciful or conspiratorial, consider that Marxism has had more influence on a century of social science and literary criticism than perhaps any other mode of thought. Marxism is far more than a policy program; that is the least of it. Its most important contribution has been to provide a theme by which to understand the broad patterns of the evolution of civilization. Its theory of history and analytics of the underlying structure of the stuff that makes history: this is its true legacy. Marxism represented the popularization of the Hegelian dialectic that gave intellectuals a lens through which to understand the full sweep of world events, and sports-like drama with good guys and bad guys, and this theory has stuck. It animates the subconscious of vast swaths of the intellectual world, long after the Marxian program for political revolution has been discredited.
Interesting--but, in my humble opinion, insufficient.
The real origin was in the Garden. When one speaks of 'class envy,' and the 'victory of the proletariat,' one merely refashions language around the "You shall be like unto God" spoken to Eve, many centuries before Marx elaborated for the benefit of the simple-minded Liturgeists (and other iconoclasts.)
But hey! TNLM had to endure Liturgy Training Programs' filmstrip to cook down their "history" for us. Kudos, and thanks!
Fr Richard McBrien vs. the Catechism of the Church
Apparently Fr. Richard McBrien, notorious columnist has stepped into it again, as reported by The Commonplace Book of Zadok the Roman.
Fr McBrien comments on the recent Vatican document regarding Limbo:
"If there's no limbo and we're not going to revert to St. Augustine's teaching that unbaptized infants go to hell, we're left with only one option, namely, that everyone is born in the state of grace," said the Rev. Richard McBrien, professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame
That does not follow. Note the fact that this document gives various theological theories which give a motive for prayerful hope:
The document outlined several ways by which unbaptized babies might be united to Christ:
-- A "saving conformity to Christ in his own death" by infants who themselves suffer and die.
-- A solidarity with Christ among infant victims of violence, born and unborn, who like the holy innocents killed by King Herod are endangered by the "fear or selfishness of others."
-- God may simply give the gift of salvation to unbaptized infants, corresponding to his sacramental gift of salvation to the baptized.
McBrien allegedly adds:
"Baptism does not exist to wipe away the "stain" of original sin, but to initiate one into the Church," he said in an e-mailed response.
Obviously, the key word in the above is "allegedly."
Again, that is at best misleading, and at worst outright Pelagianism.
Quoting the CCC, Zadok shows us:
1262 The different effects of Baptism are signified by the perceptible elements of the sacramental rite. Immersion in water symbolizes not only death and purification, but also regeneration and renewal. Thus the two principal effects are purification from sins and new birth in the Holy Spirit.64
1263 By Baptism all sins are forgiven, original sin and all personal sins, as well as all punishment for sin.65 In those who have been reborn nothing remains that would impede their entry into the Kingdom of God, neither Adam's sin, nor personal sin, nor the consequences of sin, the gravest of which is separation from God.
One hopes that Fr. McBrien was mis-quoted.
Fr McBrien comments on the recent Vatican document regarding Limbo:
"If there's no limbo and we're not going to revert to St. Augustine's teaching that unbaptized infants go to hell, we're left with only one option, namely, that everyone is born in the state of grace," said the Rev. Richard McBrien, professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame
That does not follow. Note the fact that this document gives various theological theories which give a motive for prayerful hope:
The document outlined several ways by which unbaptized babies might be united to Christ:
-- A "saving conformity to Christ in his own death" by infants who themselves suffer and die.
-- A solidarity with Christ among infant victims of violence, born and unborn, who like the holy innocents killed by King Herod are endangered by the "fear or selfishness of others."
-- God may simply give the gift of salvation to unbaptized infants, corresponding to his sacramental gift of salvation to the baptized.
McBrien allegedly adds:
"Baptism does not exist to wipe away the "stain" of original sin, but to initiate one into the Church," he said in an e-mailed response.
Obviously, the key word in the above is "allegedly."
Again, that is at best misleading, and at worst outright Pelagianism.
Quoting the CCC, Zadok shows us:
1262 The different effects of Baptism are signified by the perceptible elements of the sacramental rite. Immersion in water symbolizes not only death and purification, but also regeneration and renewal. Thus the two principal effects are purification from sins and new birth in the Holy Spirit.64
1263 By Baptism all sins are forgiven, original sin and all personal sins, as well as all punishment for sin.65 In those who have been reborn nothing remains that would impede their entry into the Kingdom of God, neither Adam's sin, nor personal sin, nor the consequences of sin, the gravest of which is separation from God.
One hopes that Fr. McBrien was mis-quoted.
Green Bay and Pope Benedict
Really--there are a number of interesting connections.
Spent some time in St. Francis Xavier church, which is the Cathedral for the Diocese of Green Bay. They have a museum downstairs which contains a number of interesting curios from the history of the Diocese, all the way back to the late 1800's when it was created.
But to my eye, the most interesting stuff was on the main floor.
The main entrance to the building is still from the street, but another entryway was created from the side, off the parking lot. Inside that entry is a cabinet with a few statues, which we'll get back to shortly.
As you move from the vestibule into the Cathedral proper, you walk over a gravestone set into the floor. The stone memorializes the first Bishop of Green Bay.
He was ordained a priest in Regensburg, Bavaria. Hmmmm....
Until only a few years ago, the choirmaster at the Regensburg cathedral church was Mgr. Georg Ratzinger, who is the older brother of Pope Benedict XVI. Regensburg was also the home of the 'church music reform' movement which began in the mid-1800's and was sidetracked (really, aborted) by the Liturgeist-led perverse implementation of Sacrosanctam Consilium, the Vatican II document encouraging reform of the Liturgy.
But the Regensburg connection is not the only one Green Bay has with the Pope.
Because many of Green Bay's bishops and clergy came from the area surrounding Munich, the Bishop of Munich was invited to participate in the Green Bay Diocese' 100-year anniversary celebrations. He was all set to come over and visit, but a call from Rome changed his plans.
The call came from John Paul II, asking the Bishop, Josef Ratzinger, to come to Rome and take over the Congregation for Doctrine.
So the Cardinal-Archbishop of Munich sent his regrets--and also sent a statue as a gift.
That statue, a strikingly beautiful one, sits in that display case inside the vestibule.
Miscellany: Milwaukee's Bishop Messmer was the Bishop of Green Bay before returning to Milwaukee as the Archbishop!
Spent some time in St. Francis Xavier church, which is the Cathedral for the Diocese of Green Bay. They have a museum downstairs which contains a number of interesting curios from the history of the Diocese, all the way back to the late 1800's when it was created.
But to my eye, the most interesting stuff was on the main floor.
The main entrance to the building is still from the street, but another entryway was created from the side, off the parking lot. Inside that entry is a cabinet with a few statues, which we'll get back to shortly.
As you move from the vestibule into the Cathedral proper, you walk over a gravestone set into the floor. The stone memorializes the first Bishop of Green Bay.
He was ordained a priest in Regensburg, Bavaria. Hmmmm....
Until only a few years ago, the choirmaster at the Regensburg cathedral church was Mgr. Georg Ratzinger, who is the older brother of Pope Benedict XVI. Regensburg was also the home of the 'church music reform' movement which began in the mid-1800's and was sidetracked (really, aborted) by the Liturgeist-led perverse implementation of Sacrosanctam Consilium, the Vatican II document encouraging reform of the Liturgy.
But the Regensburg connection is not the only one Green Bay has with the Pope.
Because many of Green Bay's bishops and clergy came from the area surrounding Munich, the Bishop of Munich was invited to participate in the Green Bay Diocese' 100-year anniversary celebrations. He was all set to come over and visit, but a call from Rome changed his plans.
The call came from John Paul II, asking the Bishop, Josef Ratzinger, to come to Rome and take over the Congregation for Doctrine.
So the Cardinal-Archbishop of Munich sent his regrets--and also sent a statue as a gift.
That statue, a strikingly beautiful one, sits in that display case inside the vestibule.
Miscellany: Milwaukee's Bishop Messmer was the Bishop of Green Bay before returning to Milwaukee as the Archbishop!
Missing the Point on Gun Crimes
Folkbum (Bert) disses McIlheran.
Not exactly news...but Folkbum misses the point.
I'm not saying my stats prove anything in the gun control debate.
Well, no--actually they do prove something, and it's the important thing:
Handgun crimes are "up" in Great Britain, which has practically banned handguns.
Hello!!
Bert/Folkie, the friggin' ban DOES NOT WORK!
Doooohhhhhh.
Here's another way to look at it, from LawDog:
You want to ban guns.
In 1919, the Volstead Act and the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution were passed banning alcohol -- much like you want to ban guns now, they banned booze then.
Hmpf.
How'd that work out?
Would you call Prohibition a success?
What makes you think the banning of guns would be any different?
Of course, the Kennedy family found the Volstead Act to be a boon. So did Al Capone, and hundreds of others just like him.
Not exactly news...but Folkbum misses the point.
I'm not saying my stats prove anything in the gun control debate.
Well, no--actually they do prove something, and it's the important thing:
Handgun crimes are "up" in Great Britain, which has practically banned handguns.
Hello!!
Bert/Folkie, the friggin' ban DOES NOT WORK!
Doooohhhhhh.
Here's another way to look at it, from LawDog:
You want to ban guns.
In 1919, the Volstead Act and the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution were passed banning alcohol -- much like you want to ban guns now, they banned booze then.
Hmpf.
How'd that work out?
Would you call Prohibition a success?
What makes you think the banning of guns would be any different?
Of course, the Kennedy family found the Volstead Act to be a boon. So did Al Capone, and hundreds of others just like him.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Living Forever: the Statist's Promise
Charlie comments on the "soda tax" and all the other "health taxes" which may well be proposed by the Statist Collective:
A tax to save our teeth? Can a fat tax be far behind? A tax on candy? Sugary cereals? Ding dongs? Twinkies? How about a tax to save our kidneys? Our bones? Our hearts?
Perhaps Charlie (Homer) nodded and forgot the cigarette tax and the liquor and beer taxation, already in place.
Without going far afield, he could have mentioned the trans-fat/saturated fat idiocy, the "save the planet" ethanol inanity, and other Statist-driven devices and methods by which the Collective promises to prevent decay and death.
All of which, of course, contradicts Newton's Laws and the Natural Law.
But the Collective knows all about Newton and Natural law. That's not the point.
They promise eternal life (and health, too!!) as the payoff for a few pennies here, a few more there...
But the Man Behind the Curtain is really saying "Give Me The MONEY!!!"
It's as simple as that. Give us the money, say the Statists, and we'll give you (and your teeth) life, eternal and unspoiled.
The ultimate hubris.
A tax to save our teeth? Can a fat tax be far behind? A tax on candy? Sugary cereals? Ding dongs? Twinkies? How about a tax to save our kidneys? Our bones? Our hearts?
Perhaps Charlie (Homer) nodded and forgot the cigarette tax and the liquor and beer taxation, already in place.
Without going far afield, he could have mentioned the trans-fat/saturated fat idiocy, the "save the planet" ethanol inanity, and other Statist-driven devices and methods by which the Collective promises to prevent decay and death.
All of which, of course, contradicts Newton's Laws and the Natural Law.
But the Collective knows all about Newton and Natural law. That's not the point.
They promise eternal life (and health, too!!) as the payoff for a few pennies here, a few more there...
But the Man Behind the Curtain is really saying "Give Me The MONEY!!!"
It's as simple as that. Give us the money, say the Statists, and we'll give you (and your teeth) life, eternal and unspoiled.
The ultimate hubris.
Jeff Immelt: Do Your Job
Jeff, you're the Chairman of GE, and the head of NBC reports to you.
Can him, and the head of MSNBC, as well.
Can them for having offensive instincts.
Can him, and the head of MSNBC, as well.
Can them for having offensive instincts.
Ted Perry at Fox6 Doesn't Get It
While Perry's a likeable guy (and responds to emails,) he sometimes shows Lefty tendencies which are simply astounding.
Last night, Channel 6 replayed a very funny bit from a campaign stop of John McCain. McCain was asked about his thoughts on Iran.
The Senator responded by mis-quoting the Beach Boys, chanting "Bomb Bomb Bomb, Bomb Bomb Iran" (thank God he didn't try to sing...) At that point, the tape was cut off, so other remarks McCain may have made about Iran were not shown to the audience.
Perry went into a cluck-fit, taking on the MSM's favorite position: "Mommy Knows Best", and remarked that 'the campaign is long, and every candidate will say things they will regret.'
What was so "regrettable" about that, Ted? It was HUMOR, Ted, and not nearly as imbecilic as Tommy!!!'s remark about the Jewish religion.
Lighten up, Ted. And by the way, play the whole tape. We're adults; we can handle it.
Last night, Channel 6 replayed a very funny bit from a campaign stop of John McCain. McCain was asked about his thoughts on Iran.
The Senator responded by mis-quoting the Beach Boys, chanting "Bomb Bomb Bomb, Bomb Bomb Iran" (thank God he didn't try to sing...) At that point, the tape was cut off, so other remarks McCain may have made about Iran were not shown to the audience.
Perry went into a cluck-fit, taking on the MSM's favorite position: "Mommy Knows Best", and remarked that 'the campaign is long, and every candidate will say things they will regret.'
What was so "regrettable" about that, Ted? It was HUMOR, Ted, and not nearly as imbecilic as Tommy!!!'s remark about the Jewish religion.
Lighten up, Ted. And by the way, play the whole tape. We're adults; we can handle it.
Fred!!
Some poll results, w/interp by the American Spectator blogger Phil Klein:
Washington Post/ABC News is out with a new poll (story here, full results here). The headline is that it shows Giuliani's lead shrinking, and Clinton maintaining her lead. Another finding that has been noted is that a surprisingly high 54 percent of voters, and a third of Republicans, said they "wouldn't consider voting for" Mitt Romney. (Seperately, his support jumped from 4 percent to 9 percent since the last poll, so he's back to where he was in January). But I'd like to focus on the effect that Fred Thompson's entrance would potentially have on the race, and this poll is particularly useful for that purpose.
Pollsters asked Thompson supporters who they would vote for if Thompson didn't run. The results show that 37 percent would vote for Rudy, 22 percent would vote for McCain, 10 percent would vote for Romney, 7 percent for Gingrich, with the rest of the field fighting for crumbs. This is consistent with other polls showing Thompson eating into Giuliani's margin.
Partly, the Thompson effect can be attributed to the fact that Giuliani has the highest poll numbers, so there's statistically more votes to steal--it's no coincidence that the preference order of the second choices of Thompson supporters tracks closely with the first choices of the general Republican electorate. But there's more to it. When speculating about this, it's helpful to think of attributes Giuliani has which overlap with Thompson's attributes. As I have written before, I think that a certain amount of Giuliani's support comes from conservatives who view him as the most electable, and who want a strong on defense alternative to McCain. Thompson, because of his charisma, acting background, and general likability, is seen as electable, he has taken strong stands on national security, and social conservatives don't have to hold their noses when voting for him.
It is interesting that McCain, whose campaign is flagging, is once again 'getting edgy'--staking out an aggressive pro-2A position following VTech, and singing about Iran. (See above)
Washington Post/ABC News is out with a new poll (story here, full results here). The headline is that it shows Giuliani's lead shrinking, and Clinton maintaining her lead. Another finding that has been noted is that a surprisingly high 54 percent of voters, and a third of Republicans, said they "wouldn't consider voting for" Mitt Romney. (Seperately, his support jumped from 4 percent to 9 percent since the last poll, so he's back to where he was in January). But I'd like to focus on the effect that Fred Thompson's entrance would potentially have on the race, and this poll is particularly useful for that purpose.
Pollsters asked Thompson supporters who they would vote for if Thompson didn't run. The results show that 37 percent would vote for Rudy, 22 percent would vote for McCain, 10 percent would vote for Romney, 7 percent for Gingrich, with the rest of the field fighting for crumbs. This is consistent with other polls showing Thompson eating into Giuliani's margin.
Partly, the Thompson effect can be attributed to the fact that Giuliani has the highest poll numbers, so there's statistically more votes to steal--it's no coincidence that the preference order of the second choices of Thompson supporters tracks closely with the first choices of the general Republican electorate. But there's more to it. When speculating about this, it's helpful to think of attributes Giuliani has which overlap with Thompson's attributes. As I have written before, I think that a certain amount of Giuliani's support comes from conservatives who view him as the most electable, and who want a strong on defense alternative to McCain. Thompson, because of his charisma, acting background, and general likability, is seen as electable, he has taken strong stands on national security, and social conservatives don't have to hold their noses when voting for him.
It is interesting that McCain, whose campaign is flagging, is once again 'getting edgy'--staking out an aggressive pro-2A position following VTech, and singing about Iran. (See above)
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Patriot's Day in Pictures
Here's where to go to see the battle scenes as the Brits returned to Boston, taking "Battle Road" through "Bloody Curves," etc.
Good pix, good narrative.
Good pix, good narrative.
ABC's Hater-in-Chief
Of course, she has an armed bodyguard--probably to keep the Catholics away from her.
This is O’Donnell’s eighth attack on Catholics since September. She has said there is no difference between radical Christians and radical Muslims (9-12-06); she has ridiculed the Eucharist (9-28-06); she has falsely claimed that the pope was in charge of policing miscreant priests since the 1980s and did nothing about them (10-2-06); she repeated the lie about the pope again (10-27-06); she has mocked priestly celibacy (2-7-07); she ridiculed the Eucharist again (2-27-07); she mocked Catholic teaching on the Bible and the Virgin Birth (3-26-07); and now she is complaining about too many Catholics on the high court.
Personally, I wouldn't walk across the street to slap her upside the head; in charity, I suppose that I'd do something to assist her if she were on fire.
Exactly what I'd do--I'll leave to your nasty little imaginations...
This is O’Donnell’s eighth attack on Catholics since September. She has said there is no difference between radical Christians and radical Muslims (9-12-06); she has ridiculed the Eucharist (9-28-06); she has falsely claimed that the pope was in charge of policing miscreant priests since the 1980s and did nothing about them (10-2-06); she repeated the lie about the pope again (10-27-06); she has mocked priestly celibacy (2-7-07); she ridiculed the Eucharist again (2-27-07); she mocked Catholic teaching on the Bible and the Virgin Birth (3-26-07); and now she is complaining about too many Catholics on the high court.
Personally, I wouldn't walk across the street to slap her upside the head; in charity, I suppose that I'd do something to assist her if she were on fire.
Exactly what I'd do--I'll leave to your nasty little imaginations...
Scorecard of Muslims
If it seems rather confusing in the Middle East, it is.
Magister helps a bit.
On Benedict XVI’s calandar for May 4 is an audience with Mohammad Khatami, president of Iran from 1997 to 2005. Khatami is generally classified among the “moderate” proponents of Shiite Islam.
He will take part in in a conference in Rome, which will be held at the Pontifical Gregorian University on the theme: “Intercultural dialogue, a challenge for peace.” The political model to which he adheres is, however, the one established by the religious revolution of Khomeini, who is certainly not a “moderate.”
In Shiite Islam, the revolutionary currents of the Khomeini stamp – in Iran, in Iraq, and in Lebanon with Hezbollah – are mainly opposed by the “quietist” tendency that takes its inspiration from the highest authority over the Iraqi holy places in Najaf and Kerbala, the grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, according to whom political power should be exercised, not by religious leaders, but by democratically elected laypeople.
So Ali Sistani, the Iraqi Shiite ayatollah, is a fellow who favors democracy. But that's not the case in Iran, nor is it the case with ALL of the Shiites in Iraq.
Not to worry. It's more complicated:
In Iraq, the conflict between the two tendencies is not only theoretical, but also political and military. And it culminates in the deepest, most incurable conflict that for centuries has divided the entire Muslim world between Shiites and Sunnis.
Moreover, there is war even in the Sunni camp. Almost all of the latest suicide attacks undertaken by Al Qaeda and by related terrorist groups have struck Muslim countries, and made Muslim victims.
So the Shiites aren't copacetic with the Sunnis, and aren't all that copacetic with all the other Shiites, but there are 2 factions of Sunni, too.
Clear?
In the Islamic world, the family name (nisba) is generally formed beginning with the place of origin of the tribe or religious group to which the family belongs. In the case of Nashqbandi, the origin is in Nashqbandiya, one of the most important religious confraternities of central Asia, founded by Mohammed Barahuddin Nashqbandi (1318-1389), which has its spiritual center in the city of Bukhara, but is spread all over Asia, all the way to the Caucasus.
Its followers profess a Sufi, and therefore mystical, form of Islam, sometimes referred to as esoteric or parallel, a peaceful and tolerant Islam, in complete antithesis to the Islam professed and imposed by the Taliban. The Taliban has produced a subversive form of Wahhabism, which in my view does not fall within the definition of “Islamic fascism,” but rather embodies a third generation form of totalitarianism.
...The Taliban is the product of the contemporary fracture between an absolutist Islam and an open Islam. They have found in Arab Wahhabism of the Qur’anic school of Deoband, founded in New Delhi at the end of the 1800’s, their ideological point of departure. They then made this the ideology of the Pashtun, over 12 million persons divided between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Why were the Pashtun, and not another tribe, made the bearers of Wahhabism in that area? Because they are the only tribe in that place that boasts an Arab genealogy: Wazir, one of their ancestors who gives the name to the Pakistani province of Waziristan, was from the Arabian peninsula.
One more thing: the real battle is NOT in Iraq:
The battle taking place in Afghanistan is, therefore, a battle of meaning, and the fate of much of the Muslim world depends on its outcome.
So we don't really like the Pashtun/Waziris.
Magister helps a bit.
On Benedict XVI’s calandar for May 4 is an audience with Mohammad Khatami, president of Iran from 1997 to 2005. Khatami is generally classified among the “moderate” proponents of Shiite Islam.
He will take part in in a conference in Rome, which will be held at the Pontifical Gregorian University on the theme: “Intercultural dialogue, a challenge for peace.” The political model to which he adheres is, however, the one established by the religious revolution of Khomeini, who is certainly not a “moderate.”
In Shiite Islam, the revolutionary currents of the Khomeini stamp – in Iran, in Iraq, and in Lebanon with Hezbollah – are mainly opposed by the “quietist” tendency that takes its inspiration from the highest authority over the Iraqi holy places in Najaf and Kerbala, the grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, according to whom political power should be exercised, not by religious leaders, but by democratically elected laypeople.
So Ali Sistani, the Iraqi Shiite ayatollah, is a fellow who favors democracy. But that's not the case in Iran, nor is it the case with ALL of the Shiites in Iraq.
Not to worry. It's more complicated:
In Iraq, the conflict between the two tendencies is not only theoretical, but also political and military. And it culminates in the deepest, most incurable conflict that for centuries has divided the entire Muslim world between Shiites and Sunnis.
Moreover, there is war even in the Sunni camp. Almost all of the latest suicide attacks undertaken by Al Qaeda and by related terrorist groups have struck Muslim countries, and made Muslim victims.
So the Shiites aren't copacetic with the Sunnis, and aren't all that copacetic with all the other Shiites, but there are 2 factions of Sunni, too.
Clear?
In the Islamic world, the family name (nisba) is generally formed beginning with the place of origin of the tribe or religious group to which the family belongs. In the case of Nashqbandi, the origin is in Nashqbandiya, one of the most important religious confraternities of central Asia, founded by Mohammed Barahuddin Nashqbandi (1318-1389), which has its spiritual center in the city of Bukhara, but is spread all over Asia, all the way to the Caucasus.
Its followers profess a Sufi, and therefore mystical, form of Islam, sometimes referred to as esoteric or parallel, a peaceful and tolerant Islam, in complete antithesis to the Islam professed and imposed by the Taliban. The Taliban has produced a subversive form of Wahhabism, which in my view does not fall within the definition of “Islamic fascism,” but rather embodies a third generation form of totalitarianism.
...The Taliban is the product of the contemporary fracture between an absolutist Islam and an open Islam. They have found in Arab Wahhabism of the Qur’anic school of Deoband, founded in New Delhi at the end of the 1800’s, their ideological point of departure. They then made this the ideology of the Pashtun, over 12 million persons divided between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Why were the Pashtun, and not another tribe, made the bearers of Wahhabism in that area? Because they are the only tribe in that place that boasts an Arab genealogy: Wazir, one of their ancestors who gives the name to the Pakistani province of Waziristan, was from the Arabian peninsula.
One more thing: the real battle is NOT in Iraq:
The battle taking place in Afghanistan is, therefore, a battle of meaning, and the fate of much of the Muslim world depends on its outcome.
So we don't really like the Pashtun/Waziris.
Republicans' State Healthcare Proposals
All are modest, all make sense:
Removing the state tax on HSA contributions so Wisconsin residents can have greater control of their health care dollars and decisions. Wisconsin is one of only four states that still taxes these contributions
Only DarthDoyle is preventing this. His objections are specious and, frankly, are class-envy politics at their zenith.
Making health insurance premiums tax-deductible has a direct impact on the affordability of health care. When fully implemented, this reform will save Wisconsin families $147 million per year.
One hopes that the plan includes health-premium-CONTRIBUTIONS paid by employees, which is very common these days. Many employees are contributing $100-$400/month toward premiums. In other words, this should not be restricted to self-employed people.
Health Care costs go down when you live a healthier life. Private companies are finding real savings for investing in the health and wellness of their employees; we should encourage these programs with tax breaks.
There are significant industrial-engineering-based health and safety gains which can be found and should be utilized. Unions can assist here without being confrontational, too.
Electronic medical records save hospitals money, and Internet-based price comparisons prevent cost inflation. The “Patients First” agenda provides incentives and assistance for both.
There are some questions as to whether consumers will actually "price-shop" for treatments, but on the whole, availability of the information should be emphasized. Of course, insurers and employers can also help by making the info available.
Removing the state tax on HSA contributions so Wisconsin residents can have greater control of their health care dollars and decisions. Wisconsin is one of only four states that still taxes these contributions
Only DarthDoyle is preventing this. His objections are specious and, frankly, are class-envy politics at their zenith.
Making health insurance premiums tax-deductible has a direct impact on the affordability of health care. When fully implemented, this reform will save Wisconsin families $147 million per year.
One hopes that the plan includes health-premium-CONTRIBUTIONS paid by employees, which is very common these days. Many employees are contributing $100-$400/month toward premiums. In other words, this should not be restricted to self-employed people.
Health Care costs go down when you live a healthier life. Private companies are finding real savings for investing in the health and wellness of their employees; we should encourage these programs with tax breaks.
There are significant industrial-engineering-based health and safety gains which can be found and should be utilized. Unions can assist here without being confrontational, too.
Electronic medical records save hospitals money, and Internet-based price comparisons prevent cost inflation. The “Patients First” agenda provides incentives and assistance for both.
There are some questions as to whether consumers will actually "price-shop" for treatments, but on the whole, availability of the information should be emphasized. Of course, insurers and employers can also help by making the info available.
VTech Wargames
Grim solicited thoughts on 'how to counter' the VTech situation, if you were a licensed concealed-carry student (and allowed to carry on the campus.)
It produced an outstanding group of responses.
Scenario I has prompted two basic theoretical responses, one defensive and one offensive. The defensive response seems rather more popular: that, at minimum, an armed student with proper training and a defensive firearm could secure his own classroom, deny it to an aggressor, and (if an evacuation route were available, as they were at VA Tech) cover the escape of the unarmed.
[In contrast,] ...the offensive response notes that, the sooner the assassin is taken out, the fewer people will die. This mode suggests seeking out and destroying the assassin at once. This position is controversial among respondents
You should read the rest, generally submitted by well-trained and highly qualified individuals.
It produced an outstanding group of responses.
Scenario I has prompted two basic theoretical responses, one defensive and one offensive. The defensive response seems rather more popular: that, at minimum, an armed student with proper training and a defensive firearm could secure his own classroom, deny it to an aggressor, and (if an evacuation route were available, as they were at VA Tech) cover the escape of the unarmed.
[In contrast,] ...the offensive response notes that, the sooner the assassin is taken out, the fewer people will die. This mode suggests seeking out and destroying the assassin at once. This position is controversial among respondents
You should read the rest, generally submitted by well-trained and highly qualified individuals.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Psychobabble and VTech; Clay Cramer's Prophesy
So the shooter was diagnosed as "imminent danger to self," but was 'voluntarily' committed, and then released by a pshrink who evidently thought he was "all better now."
Savage calls for the re-creation of mental hospitals.
Clay Cramer, much less bellicose, makes the case in a couple of spots--PRIOR to the shootings. (Scroll through the link, titled "Deinstitutionalization" for some perceptive comments on the mentally ill/homeless crowd. See particularly March 21, March 3, and October 11, which is particularly pertinent.)
Maybe these guys are right and the ACLU was wrong?
Nah. Couldn't be.
More very useful history on "involuntary committment" and the run-up to this non-treatment is available here, from Dr. Kellerman, a USC prof of psychology. (HT: McMahon.)
Excerpt:
Accepting the arguments of the liberationists and the libertarians [psychology practitioners] at face value led to the assertion that no matter how bizarre, disabling or life-threatening a person's hallucinations and delusions, involuntary treatment was never called for.
...Diagnosis from afar is the purview of talk-shows hosts and other charlatans, and I will not attempt to detail the psyche of the Virginia Tech slaughterer. But I will hazard that much of what has been reported about his pre-massacre behavior--prolonged periods of asocial mutism and withdrawal, irrational anger and hatred, bizarre writing and speech--is not at odds with the picture of a fulminating, serious mental disease. And his age falls squarely within the most common period when psychosis blossoms.
If there's going to be an adjustment in gun-purchase laws, I don't have a problem with including "voluntary" committment as a bar to purchase for 5 years following release (which is the law for "Involuntary committment" now.)
But the larger point of Cramer and Kellerman should be examined as well.
Savage calls for the re-creation of mental hospitals.
Clay Cramer, much less bellicose, makes the case in a couple of spots--PRIOR to the shootings. (Scroll through the link, titled "Deinstitutionalization" for some perceptive comments on the mentally ill/homeless crowd. See particularly March 21, March 3, and October 11, which is particularly pertinent.)
Maybe these guys are right and the ACLU was wrong?
Nah. Couldn't be.
More very useful history on "involuntary committment" and the run-up to this non-treatment is available here, from Dr. Kellerman, a USC prof of psychology. (HT: McMahon.)
Excerpt:
Accepting the arguments of the liberationists and the libertarians [psychology practitioners] at face value led to the assertion that no matter how bizarre, disabling or life-threatening a person's hallucinations and delusions, involuntary treatment was never called for.
...Diagnosis from afar is the purview of talk-shows hosts and other charlatans, and I will not attempt to detail the psyche of the Virginia Tech slaughterer. But I will hazard that much of what has been reported about his pre-massacre behavior--prolonged periods of asocial mutism and withdrawal, irrational anger and hatred, bizarre writing and speech--is not at odds with the picture of a fulminating, serious mental disease. And his age falls squarely within the most common period when psychosis blossoms.
If there's going to be an adjustment in gun-purchase laws, I don't have a problem with including "voluntary" committment as a bar to purchase for 5 years following release (which is the law for "Involuntary committment" now.)
But the larger point of Cramer and Kellerman should be examined as well.
MSM?
The Cafeteria's Gerald proposes that this description is apropos the MSM:
The Borg are an amalgam of humanoids of many different species that are enhanced with implanted cybernetics, giving them improved mental and physical abilities. The Borg function as automata; the minds of all Borg drones are connected via implants and networks to a hive mind, the Borg Collective, personified by the Borg Queen and controlled from a central hub, Unimatrix One. The Borg claim to only seek to "improve the quality of life for all species" by integrating organic and synthetic components in their quest for perfection. To this end, they travel the galaxy, increasing their numbers and advancing by "assimilating" other species and their technologies, and subjugating captured individuals by injecting them with nanoprobes and surgically implanting prostheses, quickly changing their biological anatomy and biochemistry to the Borg standard.
Perhaps we'd not agree with the 'improved mental & physical abilities' part...
The Borg are an amalgam of humanoids of many different species that are enhanced with implanted cybernetics, giving them improved mental and physical abilities. The Borg function as automata; the minds of all Borg drones are connected via implants and networks to a hive mind, the Borg Collective, personified by the Borg Queen and controlled from a central hub, Unimatrix One. The Borg claim to only seek to "improve the quality of life for all species" by integrating organic and synthetic components in their quest for perfection. To this end, they travel the galaxy, increasing their numbers and advancing by "assimilating" other species and their technologies, and subjugating captured individuals by injecting them with nanoprobes and surgically implanting prostheses, quickly changing their biological anatomy and biochemistry to the Borg standard.
Perhaps we'd not agree with the 'improved mental & physical abilities' part...
Supremes Get It Right
And Gonzales, perhaps not long for the world of DC, gets his name immortalized.
The decision essentially says that the Act is NOT "vague"--in fact, it is quite specific. Therefore, the Act is not un-Constitutional on its face.
Gratias ad Deo!!
The decision essentially says that the Act is NOT "vague"--in fact, it is quite specific. Therefore, the Act is not un-Constitutional on its face.
Gratias ad Deo!!
Tomorrow's Anniversary
Yup.
Lexington.
“What a glorious morning this is!” —Samuel Adams to John Hancock at the Battle of Lexington, Massachusetts, 19 April 1775
And--lest we forget--the Brits were coming for the arms-cache of the Colonials.
HT: Patriot Post
Lexington.
“What a glorious morning this is!” —Samuel Adams to John Hancock at the Battle of Lexington, Massachusetts, 19 April 1775
And--lest we forget--the Brits were coming for the arms-cache of the Colonials.
HT: Patriot Post
Elmbrook's Murphy: Right Again, and the SBC Connection
As usual, Pat Murphy, a member of the Elmbrook School Board, is making the Right point:
Board member Patrick Murphy said the district should lobby the Legislature to allow school districts to exceed revenue limits to fund capital improvements.
This is Federalism--or more plainly, "local control." When the Republicans managed to force State-mandated spending caps on locals, it was an emotional, not a rational, decision. WEAC had managed to obtain a monopoly status, largely because of the ennui of many local school boards and cooperative lefty-influenced courts and administrative laws; and WEAC was driving horrific cost-increases.
But removing local control is not a solution; change-of-control in the State's legislative and executive branches will quickly lead to State-mandated increases in school budgets.
A similar situation exists with AB207. The bill, pushed by SBC/ATT, would allow ATT to offer U-Verse, its alternative to cable TV. That's fine--competition is a good thing.
But AB 207 also removes "local control." In effect, once a franchise is granted (and they WILL be granted,) the municipality has zero, zip, nada to say about the operation of the franchise. Of course, the municipalities had another thing in mind--they wanted a cut of the money, just like they got from the cable providers. On the other hand, consumers who are unhappy will have to deal with someone in Madistan for redress, rather than a neighboring alderman. (Think that is not a problem? Ask Charter Cable subscribers in the Madison area.)
Only the State will have authority--either the PSC or the Consumer Protection function in the AG's office.
This is not necessarily a benefit to "consumers."
And just like the school-spending cap, it's subject to abuse downtrack.
"Federalism" is another word for 'subsidiarity,' which is a time-tested method of governance. In these days of showboating Congress and Legislative figures, (not to mention showboating Governors and Presidents) it's hard to imagine that some things are best resolved at a low level.
But it should not be forgotten, except at great risk.
Board member Patrick Murphy said the district should lobby the Legislature to allow school districts to exceed revenue limits to fund capital improvements.
This is Federalism--or more plainly, "local control." When the Republicans managed to force State-mandated spending caps on locals, it was an emotional, not a rational, decision. WEAC had managed to obtain a monopoly status, largely because of the ennui of many local school boards and cooperative lefty-influenced courts and administrative laws; and WEAC was driving horrific cost-increases.
But removing local control is not a solution; change-of-control in the State's legislative and executive branches will quickly lead to State-mandated increases in school budgets.
A similar situation exists with AB207. The bill, pushed by SBC/ATT, would allow ATT to offer U-Verse, its alternative to cable TV. That's fine--competition is a good thing.
But AB 207 also removes "local control." In effect, once a franchise is granted (and they WILL be granted,) the municipality has zero, zip, nada to say about the operation of the franchise. Of course, the municipalities had another thing in mind--they wanted a cut of the money, just like they got from the cable providers. On the other hand, consumers who are unhappy will have to deal with someone in Madistan for redress, rather than a neighboring alderman. (Think that is not a problem? Ask Charter Cable subscribers in the Madison area.)
Only the State will have authority--either the PSC or the Consumer Protection function in the AG's office.
This is not necessarily a benefit to "consumers."
And just like the school-spending cap, it's subject to abuse downtrack.
"Federalism" is another word for 'subsidiarity,' which is a time-tested method of governance. In these days of showboating Congress and Legislative figures, (not to mention showboating Governors and Presidents) it's hard to imagine that some things are best resolved at a low level.
But it should not be forgotten, except at great risk.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Requiring "Plan B" From State Hospitals
At this time, the Legislature is considering the possibility of requiring all Wisconsin hospitals to administer "Plan B" to victims of rape.
Perhaps our Legislators would like to review the following information:
FDA Sued Over Unlawful Approval of Morning-After Pill
Coalition of medical professionals and family groups ask court to reverse FDA's decision
WASHINGTON, April 16, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) -
A lawsuit was filed April 12 in Federal Court seeking to overturn the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) unprecedented approval of the morning-after pill, Plan B, as both non-prescription and prescription based on the age of the buyer.
The lawsuit was brought by the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), Concerned Women for America (CWA), Family Research Council (FRC) and Safe Drugs for Women. The suit argues that the FDA committed numerous violations to approve the drug due to extreme political pressure exerted specifically by Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Patty Murray (D-WA).
CWA President Wendy Wright said, "The FDA buckled to pressure to do something it has never done before - make a high dose of a drug available without a prescription when a low dose of the same drug requires a prescription. The agency skirted laws and regulations put in place to ensure drugs are safe and effective, relenting under undue pressure from political operatives."
The lawsuit makes the case that:
- The data submitted by Plan B's owner did not establish that it is safe or effective. The owner did not test the effects of taking a high dose of hormones during puberty. The FDA did not consider the safety effects on women of all ages, missing medical checkups and counseling that is necessary for the conditions in which Plan B is used. It misleads consumers regarding Plan B's efficacy, leading to unintended pregnancies.
- The trials to test how well consumers understood the label directions showed that consumers do not understand it well enough to self-medicate with Plan B. Fully one-third of women of all ages did not understand that Plan B cannot be used as a regular form of birth control. The label is misleading and does not provide the legally required disclaimers to delineate what it can and cannot do. This makes Plan B particularly unsafe for young women and girls because they do not understand that Plan B does not replace traditional and more effective birth control, and they may take it too often.
- The FDA lacks authority to approve the same drug for both over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription-only distribution.
- The FDA lacks authority to approve distribution based on the buyer's age.
- The FDA lacks authority to approve "behind-the- counter" - a drug that is neither fully OTC nor prescription only.
- The FDA approved Plan B for non-prescription use without conducting the necessary rulemaking required by the Administrative Procedure Act and the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
- The sudden reversal by FDA and Commissioner von Eschenbach had the distinct appearance of resulting from improper political pressure exerted by Senators Clinton and Murray who made clear that they put "holds" on von Eschenbach's confirmation until he acted on Plan B.
- The FDA's approval ensures that girls will have unsupervised access to Plan B even though FDA has found that Plan B is unsafe for girls without medical supervision, as denoted by the fact it is prescription- only for those under 18.
- The FDA failed to require Plan B's owner to comply with the Pediatric Research Equity Act which protects children and adolescents.
This lawsuit seeks to reverse the FDA's decision, placing Plan B back where it belongs: as prescription- only. Barring that, the suit seeks to require a rulemaking procedure to address the legal questions raised.
Seems to me that the State's most prudent action would be to wait until this lawsuit is adjudicated before the State requires any "Plan B" dispensations.
HT: CosmosLiturgySex
Perhaps our Legislators would like to review the following information:
FDA Sued Over Unlawful Approval of Morning-After Pill
Coalition of medical professionals and family groups ask court to reverse FDA's decision
WASHINGTON, April 16, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) -
A lawsuit was filed April 12 in Federal Court seeking to overturn the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) unprecedented approval of the morning-after pill, Plan B, as both non-prescription and prescription based on the age of the buyer.
The lawsuit was brought by the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), Concerned Women for America (CWA), Family Research Council (FRC) and Safe Drugs for Women. The suit argues that the FDA committed numerous violations to approve the drug due to extreme political pressure exerted specifically by Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Patty Murray (D-WA).
CWA President Wendy Wright said, "The FDA buckled to pressure to do something it has never done before - make a high dose of a drug available without a prescription when a low dose of the same drug requires a prescription. The agency skirted laws and regulations put in place to ensure drugs are safe and effective, relenting under undue pressure from political operatives."
The lawsuit makes the case that:
- The data submitted by Plan B's owner did not establish that it is safe or effective. The owner did not test the effects of taking a high dose of hormones during puberty. The FDA did not consider the safety effects on women of all ages, missing medical checkups and counseling that is necessary for the conditions in which Plan B is used. It misleads consumers regarding Plan B's efficacy, leading to unintended pregnancies.
- The trials to test how well consumers understood the label directions showed that consumers do not understand it well enough to self-medicate with Plan B. Fully one-third of women of all ages did not understand that Plan B cannot be used as a regular form of birth control. The label is misleading and does not provide the legally required disclaimers to delineate what it can and cannot do. This makes Plan B particularly unsafe for young women and girls because they do not understand that Plan B does not replace traditional and more effective birth control, and they may take it too often.
- The FDA lacks authority to approve the same drug for both over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription-only distribution.
- The FDA lacks authority to approve distribution based on the buyer's age.
- The FDA lacks authority to approve "behind-the- counter" - a drug that is neither fully OTC nor prescription only.
- The FDA approved Plan B for non-prescription use without conducting the necessary rulemaking required by the Administrative Procedure Act and the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
- The sudden reversal by FDA and Commissioner von Eschenbach had the distinct appearance of resulting from improper political pressure exerted by Senators Clinton and Murray who made clear that they put "holds" on von Eschenbach's confirmation until he acted on Plan B.
- The FDA's approval ensures that girls will have unsupervised access to Plan B even though FDA has found that Plan B is unsafe for girls without medical supervision, as denoted by the fact it is prescription- only for those under 18.
- The FDA failed to require Plan B's owner to comply with the Pediatric Research Equity Act which protects children and adolescents.
This lawsuit seeks to reverse the FDA's decision, placing Plan B back where it belongs: as prescription- only. Barring that, the suit seeks to require a rulemaking procedure to address the legal questions raised.
Seems to me that the State's most prudent action would be to wait until this lawsuit is adjudicated before the State requires any "Plan B" dispensations.
HT: CosmosLiturgySex
The Constitution and Virginia Tech
From CWN, a very astute commentary:
The clearest statement I have ever read of the American theory of government came from Ronald Reagan, speaking on Soviet television before his 1988 summit meeting with Gorbachev. I presume the formulation originated from his speechwriters or prep crew. At any rate, it came out in response to an interviewer's objection that Reagan seemed to have forgotten that the Soviet Union had a constitution too.
"You have a constitution; we have a constitution. The difference between our two constitutions is very simple. Your constitution says these are the privileges, rights, that the government provides for the people. Our constitution says: we the people will allow the government to do the following things."
...In this vein, I was struck by an argument made some years ago by a constitutional scholar named Robert Cottrell (then at Yale, I think), who gave the following justification for the Second Amendment (a very rough paraphrase):
In pre-Enlightenment Europe, the notions of nobility and the right to own weapons were interchangeable. To be noble was to be "armigerous" -- a word that means not only to have a coat-of-arms, but more generally to bear weapons. Government was aristocratic, which in theory and in practice meant the government of the commons by the nobles, i.e., the un-armed by the armigerous.
Then two kinds of revolutions shook up the old regime. One was that of the French Revolution and its statist imitations, which obliterated the nobility: all persons were to be citoyens. Rule was by a cadre of political managers, in whom resided all powers of violent coercion. This produced the modern European state.
The other kind of revolution was the American. In this revolution (if I have Cottrell right) hereditary classes were abolished by declaring all men intrinsically noble. Thus all men were rightfully armigerous. Thus the right to bear arms was not to be infringed -- any more than the right to a trial or the right to free speech was to be infringed.
The result was a distinctively American refusal to regard one's governors as one's superiors. An associate at a Washington law firm once told me that a Chinese intern at the same firm confessed her perplexity that many Americans criticized President Clinton so harshly and vocally. When told this was common she replied, "But why does the government let them?" Now that's the voice of the statist.
We see the divide very clearly in the way the decisions made by the European Union are enforced in the member countries. When the state has determined that a personal liberty is to be curtailed, the presumption is that the citizen who resists is in the wrong. Even if a reprieve is granted -- think of the two years given the Catholic Church in the U.K. to come to terms with gay adoption -- that reprieve is viewed not as a right but as a favor bestowed by the state, and at the state's pleasure. In the U.S., though it's becoming yearly less true, government initiatives to curtail freedoms are viewed as wrong until proven otherwise. We the people, to the extent that we still have a say in matter, are less inclined than statists simply to roll over and take it from the government.
Many people will scoff at the "nobility" of an armigerous Nebraskan farm hand with his gun rack hanging in his pick-up. They prefer their nobles more -- dare we say it? -- European. Like the Europeans, they'll be shaking their heads at the Virginia Tech massacre and sniffing, "if the proper laws and proper enforcement were in place, this never would have happened." In the final analysis there's no reply to this, because it declares a difference of first principles. Sure, we can point to the backpack bombing in gun-free Madrid, and we can ask why a maniac with a match and a coffee can filled with gasoline can't out-Columbine Columbine, but it in the end it's a question of -- when civil amity breaks down to the point that coercive force is necessary -- which armiger we want on the business end of the arms. I'll take the Nebraskan in the Dodge Ram.
As with all lessons from history, let us NEVER forget the philosophy underlying the Constitution--that ALL men are created equal--put another way, that our elected (and judicial) branches are filled with other 'equal' folks.
Not people who grant US rights. Rather, people to whom WE have (temporarily) granted OUR authority to legislate and interpret.
And, in case they forget, it was Thomas Jefferson who said that "Now and then a little revolution is a GOOD thing." (or words to that effect.)
The clearest statement I have ever read of the American theory of government came from Ronald Reagan, speaking on Soviet television before his 1988 summit meeting with Gorbachev. I presume the formulation originated from his speechwriters or prep crew. At any rate, it came out in response to an interviewer's objection that Reagan seemed to have forgotten that the Soviet Union had a constitution too.
"You have a constitution; we have a constitution. The difference between our two constitutions is very simple. Your constitution says these are the privileges, rights, that the government provides for the people. Our constitution says: we the people will allow the government to do the following things."
...In this vein, I was struck by an argument made some years ago by a constitutional scholar named Robert Cottrell (then at Yale, I think), who gave the following justification for the Second Amendment (a very rough paraphrase):
In pre-Enlightenment Europe, the notions of nobility and the right to own weapons were interchangeable. To be noble was to be "armigerous" -- a word that means not only to have a coat-of-arms, but more generally to bear weapons. Government was aristocratic, which in theory and in practice meant the government of the commons by the nobles, i.e., the un-armed by the armigerous.
Then two kinds of revolutions shook up the old regime. One was that of the French Revolution and its statist imitations, which obliterated the nobility: all persons were to be citoyens. Rule was by a cadre of political managers, in whom resided all powers of violent coercion. This produced the modern European state.
The other kind of revolution was the American. In this revolution (if I have Cottrell right) hereditary classes were abolished by declaring all men intrinsically noble. Thus all men were rightfully armigerous. Thus the right to bear arms was not to be infringed -- any more than the right to a trial or the right to free speech was to be infringed.
The result was a distinctively American refusal to regard one's governors as one's superiors. An associate at a Washington law firm once told me that a Chinese intern at the same firm confessed her perplexity that many Americans criticized President Clinton so harshly and vocally. When told this was common she replied, "But why does the government let them?" Now that's the voice of the statist.
We see the divide very clearly in the way the decisions made by the European Union are enforced in the member countries. When the state has determined that a personal liberty is to be curtailed, the presumption is that the citizen who resists is in the wrong. Even if a reprieve is granted -- think of the two years given the Catholic Church in the U.K. to come to terms with gay adoption -- that reprieve is viewed not as a right but as a favor bestowed by the state, and at the state's pleasure. In the U.S., though it's becoming yearly less true, government initiatives to curtail freedoms are viewed as wrong until proven otherwise. We the people, to the extent that we still have a say in matter, are less inclined than statists simply to roll over and take it from the government.
Many people will scoff at the "nobility" of an armigerous Nebraskan farm hand with his gun rack hanging in his pick-up. They prefer their nobles more -- dare we say it? -- European. Like the Europeans, they'll be shaking their heads at the Virginia Tech massacre and sniffing, "if the proper laws and proper enforcement were in place, this never would have happened." In the final analysis there's no reply to this, because it declares a difference of first principles. Sure, we can point to the backpack bombing in gun-free Madrid, and we can ask why a maniac with a match and a coffee can filled with gasoline can't out-Columbine Columbine, but it in the end it's a question of -- when civil amity breaks down to the point that coercive force is necessary -- which armiger we want on the business end of the arms. I'll take the Nebraskan in the Dodge Ram.
As with all lessons from history, let us NEVER forget the philosophy underlying the Constitution--that ALL men are created equal--put another way, that our elected (and judicial) branches are filled with other 'equal' folks.
Not people who grant US rights. Rather, people to whom WE have (temporarily) granted OUR authority to legislate and interpret.
And, in case they forget, it was Thomas Jefferson who said that "Now and then a little revolution is a GOOD thing." (or words to that effect.)
We're Here from Madistan to Help You!
Comforting:
The 17th's the deadline for filing taxes and state revenue officials say they have a new way of finding those who fail to pay.
[Wisconsin] Revenue Secretary Roger Ervin says his department will now have an in-house revenue collection system. Ten agents will contact taxpayers as soon as they become delinquent.
Ervin says the collection system involves writing letters, making phone calls and in some cases, dealing with attorneys or the taxpayers' representatives to collect outstanding amounts.
The tender ministrations of Gumminters, should you be short a few bucks...
(Source: WISN News1130)
The 17th's the deadline for filing taxes and state revenue officials say they have a new way of finding those who fail to pay.
[Wisconsin] Revenue Secretary Roger Ervin says his department will now have an in-house revenue collection system. Ten agents will contact taxpayers as soon as they become delinquent.
Ervin says the collection system involves writing letters, making phone calls and in some cases, dealing with attorneys or the taxpayers' representatives to collect outstanding amounts.
The tender ministrations of Gumminters, should you be short a few bucks...
(Source: WISN News1130)
Federal Spending and Your Taxes
Thanks to Kevin for this:
Washington will spend $24,106 per household in 2007, the highest total since World War II, and an inflation-adjusted $4,000 more than in 2001. The federal government will collect $21,992 per household in taxes. The remaining $2,114 represents this year's budget deficit per household, which, along with all prior government debt, will be dumped in the laps of our children.
Social Security/Medicare: $8,301
Defense: $4,951
Anti-poverty programs: $3,550
Interest on the federal debt: $2,071
Federal employee retirement benefits: $907
Health research/regulation: $664
Veterans' benefits: $627
Education: $584
Highways/mass transit: $418
Justice administration: $392
Natural resources/environment: $305
International affairs: $304
Unemployment benefits: $299
Community and regional development: $282
The remaining $451 is allocated to all other federal programs, including farm subsidies, social services, space exploration, air transportation and energy
Every single expense is, without a doubt, absolutely necessary for the Common Good.
Washington will spend $24,106 per household in 2007, the highest total since World War II, and an inflation-adjusted $4,000 more than in 2001. The federal government will collect $21,992 per household in taxes. The remaining $2,114 represents this year's budget deficit per household, which, along with all prior government debt, will be dumped in the laps of our children.
Social Security/Medicare: $8,301
Defense: $4,951
Anti-poverty programs: $3,550
Interest on the federal debt: $2,071
Federal employee retirement benefits: $907
Health research/regulation: $664
Veterans' benefits: $627
Education: $584
Highways/mass transit: $418
Justice administration: $392
Natural resources/environment: $305
International affairs: $304
Unemployment benefits: $299
Community and regional development: $282
The remaining $451 is allocated to all other federal programs, including farm subsidies, social services, space exploration, air transportation and energy
Every single expense is, without a doubt, absolutely necessary for the Common Good.
Fox6's "Brad the Anchor" Works on The Agenda
While covering the VTech story, 6's 9PM anchor was in conversation with an on-scene Fox network reporter.
Brad kinda didn't really believe that the shooter used 'just pistols,' so he half-asked/half-commented to the network figure that 'one would think that he used an Assault Weapon' [to shoot so many people.]
Huh?
Why the question? By 9PM Central time, everybody who knew anything about this was in agreement that the guy used two pistols. Period.
Moving an agenda, Brad?
Brad kinda didn't really believe that the shooter used 'just pistols,' so he half-asked/half-commented to the network figure that 'one would think that he used an Assault Weapon' [to shoot so many people.]
Huh?
Why the question? By 9PM Central time, everybody who knew anything about this was in agreement that the guy used two pistols. Period.
Moving an agenda, Brad?
The Agenda, Following Va. Tech
Horrific--a crazy implements his vision.
Now the aftermath, which will be a "gun control" feeding frenzy--(already begun by one of the locals, above.)
But here's a perspective:
A reminder: if someone commits mass murder with a weapon other than a gun, the national news media usually ignore it. For example, Hector Escudero started a fire at a casino in Puerto Rico in December 1987 as part of labor union activism, and killed 96 people. Julio Gonzalez threw $1 worth of gasoline into an illegal night club in New York City in April 1990 to get back at his girlfriend, and killed 87 people. These stories received almost no national news coverage at the time--while mass murders that were substantially smaller received vastly more coverage. Why? Gonzalez and Escudero's crimes didn't advance the cause of gun control.
That and more at Clay Cramer's blog.
Now the aftermath, which will be a "gun control" feeding frenzy--(already begun by one of the locals, above.)
But here's a perspective:
A reminder: if someone commits mass murder with a weapon other than a gun, the national news media usually ignore it. For example, Hector Escudero started a fire at a casino in Puerto Rico in December 1987 as part of labor union activism, and killed 96 people. Julio Gonzalez threw $1 worth of gasoline into an illegal night club in New York City in April 1990 to get back at his girlfriend, and killed 87 people. These stories received almost no national news coverage at the time--while mass murders that were substantially smaller received vastly more coverage. Why? Gonzalez and Escudero's crimes didn't advance the cause of gun control.
That and more at Clay Cramer's blog.
McCain Humor
I'll give him an "attaboy" for this line:
After complaining that Congress had spent money on an indoor rain forest and studying the DNA of bears in Montana (“without knowing whether we needed to solve a criminal case or a paternity suit”), Mr. McCain restated his support for giving the president a line-item veto.
That's a good one.
HT: Captain's Quarters
After complaining that Congress had spent money on an indoor rain forest and studying the DNA of bears in Montana (“without knowing whether we needed to solve a criminal case or a paternity suit”), Mr. McCain restated his support for giving the president a line-item veto.
That's a good one.
HT: Captain's Quarters
Monday, April 16, 2007
The 1973 Missal's Translation Defects
An interesting take from a couple of members of ICEL who are working on the Reform of the Reform:
Vatican II’s approach to the liturgy was colored by WWI and WWII, especially the horror of the Holocaust and Hiroshima. The question of the Church’s mission led to a realization that liturgical renewal was necessary to give a renewed energy to mission in this desolate historical context.
The 1973 English missal was hastily produced and a tactical failure in implementation. The result is that today we have a missal which has deep structural flaws and which is out of step with vernacular translations in other languages.
As we talk about a New Evangelization, it simply will not happen without a liturgical reform - “A New Missal for a New Mission.” Again the point is to energize the church for a new evangelization, by fixing the serious problems of the 1973 missal. So this is not just “Playing with words as Rome burns” or “shifting chairs on the Titanic as it goes down”, this is crucial if there is a hope for a restoration.So what were the problems?
Overall there is a new understanding that FORM and CONTENT can not be severed in the missal. The form of a prayer in Latin is just as important as the meaning. E.g. some of the prayers follow ancient pagan prayer formulas which have been baptized by the church.
The 1973 missal would take one of these long single sentence prayer forms and break it up in to smaller sentences which change the meaning. An example of a direct translation into English of a prayer of this type is the familiar: “Let us pray, 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 by meditating on these mysteries of the most holy Rosary, of the blessed Virgin Mary, we may both imitate what they contain, and obtain what they promise, through Christ our Lord. AMEN.”
These prayer forms move from here to the future, and from heaven to earth to heaven. They in miniature model the journey of Faith.There are many of these kinds of prayers in the Latin missal which have lost their power and meaning by severing form from content. The new translation seeks to change that.
With the new translation, we are at the “Next Great Threshold of the Liturgical Renewal.”Some examples:
Latin ending to the collect:
Per Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omina saecula saeculorum. Amen.
Current translation: (Grant this / We ask this) through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.
Notice the “one” is not in the Latin at all. Also, the theology of prayer asked of the Father, through Jesus in the unity of the Holy spirit is obscured. Now check out the ICEL proposed and read it out loud and sense how Jesus’s presence becomes more powerfully present in the prayer:
ICEL translation: Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who is God, living and reigning, with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.
When the new missal is completed it will arrive with Catechetical material to accompany it to help in the process of understanding the changes and why they are so vital and necessary.
We shall see.
HT: TNLM
Vatican II’s approach to the liturgy was colored by WWI and WWII, especially the horror of the Holocaust and Hiroshima. The question of the Church’s mission led to a realization that liturgical renewal was necessary to give a renewed energy to mission in this desolate historical context.
The 1973 English missal was hastily produced and a tactical failure in implementation. The result is that today we have a missal which has deep structural flaws and which is out of step with vernacular translations in other languages.
As we talk about a New Evangelization, it simply will not happen without a liturgical reform - “A New Missal for a New Mission.” Again the point is to energize the church for a new evangelization, by fixing the serious problems of the 1973 missal. So this is not just “Playing with words as Rome burns” or “shifting chairs on the Titanic as it goes down”, this is crucial if there is a hope for a restoration.So what were the problems?
The language of the 1973 missal opted for abstract meaning over concrete biblical metaphors which resound and echo in Scripture. E.g. “the arm of God” vs. “the power of God.” The language in the 1973 missal lacks an incarnational dimension, which leads to a denial of The Incarnation. The proposed correction seeks to subvert this broad cultural tendency and return incarnational language to the missal. The Latin missal is dripping with scripture, with the church fathers and councils and itself one of the greatest cultural achievements of mankind. The English translation is seeking to regain this in the missal.
The theology of grace in the 1973 missal leads to a semi-pelagianism (salvation by merit, rather than by grace). The voice of Augustine is found in the Latin missal, but is muffled in the current English missal. The idea that God’s grace sustains us at every moment, vs. the idea that God gives us grace and then off you go to become a saint is what is at issue. The former is what the new missal is trying to amplify.
The theology of the Church in the 1973 missal emphasizes the action of the gathered congregation and eschews the church universal across space and time. E.g. “blessed are WE who are called to this supper . . .” vs. “blessed are THEY who are called to this banquet” – the new missal emphasizes much richer and deeper ecclesiology.
Overall there is a new understanding that FORM and CONTENT can not be severed in the missal. The form of a prayer in Latin is just as important as the meaning. E.g. some of the prayers follow ancient pagan prayer formulas which have been baptized by the church.
The 1973 missal would take one of these long single sentence prayer forms and break it up in to smaller sentences which change the meaning. An example of a direct translation into English of a prayer of this type is the familiar: “Let us pray, 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 by meditating on these mysteries of the most holy Rosary, of the blessed Virgin Mary, we may both imitate what they contain, and obtain what they promise, through Christ our Lord. AMEN.”
These prayer forms move from here to the future, and from heaven to earth to heaven. They in miniature model the journey of Faith.There are many of these kinds of prayers in the Latin missal which have lost their power and meaning by severing form from content. The new translation seeks to change that.
With the new translation, we are at the “Next Great Threshold of the Liturgical Renewal.”Some examples:
Latin ending to the collect:
Per Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omina saecula saeculorum. Amen.
Current translation: (Grant this / We ask this) through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.
Notice the “one” is not in the Latin at all. Also, the theology of prayer asked of the Father, through Jesus in the unity of the Holy spirit is obscured. Now check out the ICEL proposed and read it out loud and sense how Jesus’s presence becomes more powerfully present in the prayer:
ICEL translation: Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who is God, living and reigning, with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.
When the new missal is completed it will arrive with Catechetical material to accompany it to help in the process of understanding the changes and why they are so vital and necessary.
We shall see.
HT: TNLM
SWAT Teams, BATF, USARNG Take on Poker Games
Think I'm kidding?
More paramilitary raids on poker games, in Georgia this month, and in North Carolina last month.
The latter included a small army of police officers from several police agencies, including the federal BATF and the National Guard. They even brought a damned helicopter. They issued 41 citations, all of them misdemeanors.
Police in Cary, North Carolina gave the same excuse for the show of force that the cops in Dallas gave when they sent out the SWAT teams to raid poker games in that city: While not prone to violence themselves, poker rooms are often robbed. Therefore, they have sometimes have armed guards. Therefore, police have to use overwhelming force.
One hesitates to post about this, of course, because Chief Hegarty may determine that her strategy for armed crime-reduction encompasses this.
But I have friends and relatives who play poker, sometimes for more than $5.00 pots.
They oughta know about the possibilities...
More paramilitary raids on poker games, in Georgia this month, and in North Carolina last month.
The latter included a small army of police officers from several police agencies, including the federal BATF and the National Guard. They even brought a damned helicopter. They issued 41 citations, all of them misdemeanors.
Police in Cary, North Carolina gave the same excuse for the show of force that the cops in Dallas gave when they sent out the SWAT teams to raid poker games in that city: While not prone to violence themselves, poker rooms are often robbed. Therefore, they have sometimes have armed guards. Therefore, police have to use overwhelming force.
One hesitates to post about this, of course, because Chief Hegarty may determine that her strategy for armed crime-reduction encompasses this.
But I have friends and relatives who play poker, sometimes for more than $5.00 pots.
They oughta know about the possibilities...
Taxing Thoughts
From The Federalist:
“To take from one, because it is thought his own industry... has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who... have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, the guarantee to everyone the free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it.” —Thomas Jefferson
“The collection of taxes which are not absolutely required, which do not beyond reasonable doubt contribute to the public welfare, is only a species of legalized larceny.--Calvin Coolidge
And just in case you think living in DarthDoyle's State is horrific enough, this will depress you:
“Liberals are at it again. Just three months into their majority, Democrats are once again proposing the biggest tax increase in history... If it is passed, [the Democrats’ 2008 proposed] budget will impose the largest tax increase in history on American taxpayers—totaling nearly $400 billion over five years. Families with children, low-income families, and small businesses all would be hit with hundreds if not thousands of dollars in increased taxes.
Just what taxes will be raised?
Here are some of the specifics of the liberal proposal:
The 10% Tax Bracket Will Become 15%: More than five million families and individuals who previously owed no taxes will become subject to taxation.
Marriage Penalty Relief Will Be Eliminated: 23 million Americans will owe an average of $466 in additional taxes in 2011.
The Child Tax Credit Will Be Cut in Half: 31 million Americans will pay an average of $859 more in taxes in 2011...
You’re a family of four earning $60,000 a year: Your income-tax bill will rise 61% in 2011, from $3,030 to $4,893...
You’re an elderly couple earning $40,000 a year: Your taxes will go up by 156% in 2011, from $583 to $1,489...
You’re a woman: You could be one of the 83 million American women who could see their taxes rise by an average of $2,068...
You’re married: You could be one of the 48 million married couples who will pay an average of $2,899 more under the liberal tax increase...
You have kids: 42 million families with children will pay an average of $2,181 more in taxes.”
—Newt Gingrich
I don't think you need much more good news today...
“To take from one, because it is thought his own industry... has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who... have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, the guarantee to everyone the free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it.” —Thomas Jefferson
“The collection of taxes which are not absolutely required, which do not beyond reasonable doubt contribute to the public welfare, is only a species of legalized larceny.--Calvin Coolidge
And just in case you think living in DarthDoyle's State is horrific enough, this will depress you:
“Liberals are at it again. Just three months into their majority, Democrats are once again proposing the biggest tax increase in history... If it is passed, [the Democrats’ 2008 proposed] budget will impose the largest tax increase in history on American taxpayers—totaling nearly $400 billion over five years. Families with children, low-income families, and small businesses all would be hit with hundreds if not thousands of dollars in increased taxes.
Just what taxes will be raised?
Here are some of the specifics of the liberal proposal:
The 10% Tax Bracket Will Become 15%: More than five million families and individuals who previously owed no taxes will become subject to taxation.
Marriage Penalty Relief Will Be Eliminated: 23 million Americans will owe an average of $466 in additional taxes in 2011.
The Child Tax Credit Will Be Cut in Half: 31 million Americans will pay an average of $859 more in taxes in 2011...
You’re a family of four earning $60,000 a year: Your income-tax bill will rise 61% in 2011, from $3,030 to $4,893...
You’re an elderly couple earning $40,000 a year: Your taxes will go up by 156% in 2011, from $583 to $1,489...
You’re a woman: You could be one of the 83 million American women who could see their taxes rise by an average of $2,068...
You’re married: You could be one of the 48 million married couples who will pay an average of $2,899 more under the liberal tax increase...
You have kids: 42 million families with children will pay an average of $2,181 more in taxes.”
—Newt Gingrich
I don't think you need much more good news today...
Al Quaeda in Iraq--the Coalition is Breaking Up
Some good news, not found in the MSM:
The Sunni civil war in Iraq continues to gather steam. The Islamic Army in Iraq, the largest Sunni insurgent group which has previously operated closely with al Qaeda in Iraq, has severed ties with the terror group after several months of infighting, Al Jazeera reported today. Ibrahim al-Shammari, an Islamic Army in Iraq spokesman, "told Al Jazeera on Thursday that the Islamic Army in Iraq had decided to disunite from al-Qaeda in Iraq after its members were threatened."
Not unalloyed joy for the US, however:
It should be clear the Islamic Army in Iraq and the council of Sunni scholars are by no means friends of the United States. Both groups view 'resistance against the occupier' as legitimate.
Ain'a wunnerful? Choices.
The Sunni civil war in Iraq continues to gather steam. The Islamic Army in Iraq, the largest Sunni insurgent group which has previously operated closely with al Qaeda in Iraq, has severed ties with the terror group after several months of infighting, Al Jazeera reported today. Ibrahim al-Shammari, an Islamic Army in Iraq spokesman, "told Al Jazeera on Thursday that the Islamic Army in Iraq had decided to disunite from al-Qaeda in Iraq after its members were threatened."
Not unalloyed joy for the US, however:
It should be clear the Islamic Army in Iraq and the council of Sunni scholars are by no means friends of the United States. Both groups view 'resistance against the occupier' as legitimate.
Ain'a wunnerful? Choices.
Gwen Moore: International Finance Expert
Gwen, not advising her son on political, ah, tactics any more, decides to learn something new:
[Barney] Frank’s trip to Belgium and London was related to his work as chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, according to his office. The trip, which also included Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wis., was designed “to further understand the interrelationship between various issues related to the financial services regulatory structures” of the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union, according to Frank’s office.
Which has nothing to do with tires on vans.
HT: Powerline
[Barney] Frank’s trip to Belgium and London was related to his work as chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, according to his office. The trip, which also included Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wis., was designed “to further understand the interrelationship between various issues related to the financial services regulatory structures” of the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union, according to Frank’s office.
Which has nothing to do with tires on vans.
HT: Powerline
Taxes or This?
OK. Which is worse: paying more taxes than you already did tomorrow, or waking up to this?
Now don't you feel better about sending money to Uncle and Darth?
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Middle Eastern Democracy? Probably Not
Yah, well, I knew this would come out eventually:
Larry Diamond, co-editor of the Journal of Democracy, and Leonardo Morlino, a specialist in comparative politics at the University of Florence, ascribe seven features to any democracy: individual freedoms and civil liberties; rule of the law; sovereignty resting upon the people; equality of all citizens before the law; vertical and horizontal accountability for government officials; transparency of the ruling systems to the demands of the citizens; and equality of opportunity for citizens. This approach is important, since it emphasizes civil liberties, human rights and freedoms, instead of over-reliance on elections and the formal institutions of the state.
Random10 phrases it more succinctly, and provides the link to the original discussion.
...democracy requires the voting process to loan the sovereignty of the people to those individuals responsible to shape and administer the laws.
Ain'a gonna happen in Mullah-land:
Mawdudi argues that any Islamic polity has to accept the supremacy of Islamic law over all aspects of political and religious life -- hardly a democratic concept, given that Islamic law does not provide for equality of all citizens under the law regardless of religion and gender. Such a formulation also denies citizens a basic right to decide their laws, a fundamental concept of democracy. Although he uses the phrase theo-democracy to suggest that Islam encompassed some democratic principles, Mawdudi himself asserted Islamic democracy to be a self-contradiction: the sovereignty of God and sovereignty of the people are mutually exclusive. An Islamic democracy would be the antithesis of secular Western democracy.
Not exactly a shock to anyone who's acquainted with culture (the word is, after all, derived from cult).
That's why B-16 is arguing the case on human (natural) rights. Even that will require a fair amount of theo-jiggling by the Mullahs--but it's more a possibility than changing the foundation of the structure, which is theocratic.
Sadly, the Beltway Boyzzz (all of them) fail to understand the importance of culture (cult) in the Middle East. ALL of the Middle East, including our friend, Israel.
Larry Diamond, co-editor of the Journal of Democracy, and Leonardo Morlino, a specialist in comparative politics at the University of Florence, ascribe seven features to any democracy: individual freedoms and civil liberties; rule of the law; sovereignty resting upon the people; equality of all citizens before the law; vertical and horizontal accountability for government officials; transparency of the ruling systems to the demands of the citizens; and equality of opportunity for citizens. This approach is important, since it emphasizes civil liberties, human rights and freedoms, instead of over-reliance on elections and the formal institutions of the state.
Random10 phrases it more succinctly, and provides the link to the original discussion.
...democracy requires the voting process to loan the sovereignty of the people to those individuals responsible to shape and administer the laws.
Ain'a gonna happen in Mullah-land:
Mawdudi argues that any Islamic polity has to accept the supremacy of Islamic law over all aspects of political and religious life -- hardly a democratic concept, given that Islamic law does not provide for equality of all citizens under the law regardless of religion and gender. Such a formulation also denies citizens a basic right to decide their laws, a fundamental concept of democracy. Although he uses the phrase theo-democracy to suggest that Islam encompassed some democratic principles, Mawdudi himself asserted Islamic democracy to be a self-contradiction: the sovereignty of God and sovereignty of the people are mutually exclusive. An Islamic democracy would be the antithesis of secular Western democracy.
Not exactly a shock to anyone who's acquainted with culture (the word is, after all, derived from cult).
That's why B-16 is arguing the case on human (natural) rights. Even that will require a fair amount of theo-jiggling by the Mullahs--but it's more a possibility than changing the foundation of the structure, which is theocratic.
Sadly, the Beltway Boyzzz (all of them) fail to understand the importance of culture (cult) in the Middle East. ALL of the Middle East, including our friend, Israel.
Imus. Two Views
Personally, I don't care that this schlub has been canned. He was a schlub when he was on WISN/1130, he remains a schlub today--but he HAS donated time, money, and effort to a couple of good causes. So he's a decent sort of guy--but a schlub.
Why do I say that? Because he did not elevate the 'culture' with his gig. He may not have seriously degraded the culture--but he certainly didn't elevate it.
It's not a "freedom of speech" issue, as Jib noted. He said what came to his mind, and the networks' owners did what came to their minds.
Should he have been canned? I don't think so. CBS and MS/NBC would have done just fine with or without him. A two-week suspension (and salary adjustment) would have been sufficient, in my mind. But then, I never listened--after a few weeks I turned him off at WISN, too.
But here's an interesting take from a columnist in the KC Star:
By JASON WHITLOCK - Columnist
Thank you, Don Imus. You’ve given us (black people) an excuse to avoid our real problem.
...Thank you, Don Imus. You extended Black History Month to April, and we can once again wallow in victimhood, protest like it’s 1965 and delude ourselves into believing that fixing your hatred is more necessary than eradicating our self-hatred.
The bigots win again.
...[Jesse, Al]... don’t have the heart to mount a legitimate campaign against the real black-folk killas.
It is us. At this time, we are our own worst enemies. We have allowed our youths to buy into a culture (hip hop) that has been perverted, corrupted and overtaken by prison culture. The music, attitude and behavior expressed in this culture is anti-black, anti-education, demeaning, self-destructive, pro-drug dealing and violent.
Rather than confront this heinous enemy from within, we sit back and wait for someone like Imus to have a slip of the tongue and make the mistake of repeating the things we say about ourselves.
...In the grand scheme, Don Imus is no threat to us in general and no threat to black women in particular. If his words are so powerful and so destructive and must be rebuked so forcefully, then what should we do about the idiot rappers on BET, MTV and every black-owned radio station in the country who use words much more powerful and much more destructive?
I don’t listen or watch Imus’ show regularly. Has he at any point glorified selling crack cocaine to black women? Has he celebrated black men shooting each other randomly? Has he suggested in any way that it’s cool to be a baby-daddy rather than a husband and a parent? Does he tell his listeners that they’re suckers for pursuing education and that they’re selling out their race if they do?
When Imus does any of that, call me and I’ll get upset. Until then, he is what he is — a washed-up shock jock who is very easy to ignore when you’re not looking to be made a victim.
No. We all know where the real battleground is. We know that the gangsta rappers and their followers in the athletic world have far bigger platforms to negatively define us than some old white man with a bad radio show. There’s no money and lots of danger in that battle, so Jesse and Al are going to sit it out.
The tragedy continues.
HT: Betsy's Page
Why do I say that? Because he did not elevate the 'culture' with his gig. He may not have seriously degraded the culture--but he certainly didn't elevate it.
It's not a "freedom of speech" issue, as Jib noted. He said what came to his mind, and the networks' owners did what came to their minds.
Should he have been canned? I don't think so. CBS and MS/NBC would have done just fine with or without him. A two-week suspension (and salary adjustment) would have been sufficient, in my mind. But then, I never listened--after a few weeks I turned him off at WISN, too.
But here's an interesting take from a columnist in the KC Star:
By JASON WHITLOCK - Columnist
Thank you, Don Imus. You’ve given us (black people) an excuse to avoid our real problem.
...Thank you, Don Imus. You extended Black History Month to April, and we can once again wallow in victimhood, protest like it’s 1965 and delude ourselves into believing that fixing your hatred is more necessary than eradicating our self-hatred.
The bigots win again.
...[Jesse, Al]... don’t have the heart to mount a legitimate campaign against the real black-folk killas.
It is us. At this time, we are our own worst enemies. We have allowed our youths to buy into a culture (hip hop) that has been perverted, corrupted and overtaken by prison culture. The music, attitude and behavior expressed in this culture is anti-black, anti-education, demeaning, self-destructive, pro-drug dealing and violent.
Rather than confront this heinous enemy from within, we sit back and wait for someone like Imus to have a slip of the tongue and make the mistake of repeating the things we say about ourselves.
...In the grand scheme, Don Imus is no threat to us in general and no threat to black women in particular. If his words are so powerful and so destructive and must be rebuked so forcefully, then what should we do about the idiot rappers on BET, MTV and every black-owned radio station in the country who use words much more powerful and much more destructive?
I don’t listen or watch Imus’ show regularly. Has he at any point glorified selling crack cocaine to black women? Has he celebrated black men shooting each other randomly? Has he suggested in any way that it’s cool to be a baby-daddy rather than a husband and a parent? Does he tell his listeners that they’re suckers for pursuing education and that they’re selling out their race if they do?
When Imus does any of that, call me and I’ll get upset. Until then, he is what he is — a washed-up shock jock who is very easy to ignore when you’re not looking to be made a victim.
No. We all know where the real battleground is. We know that the gangsta rappers and their followers in the athletic world have far bigger platforms to negatively define us than some old white man with a bad radio show. There’s no money and lots of danger in that battle, so Jesse and Al are going to sit it out.
The tragedy continues.
HT: Betsy's Page
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Rich & Famous Airlines Paid for by YOU!
No surprises here:
The federal government has taken billions of dollars from the taxes and fees paid by airline passengers every time they fly and awarded it to small airports used mainly by private pilots and globe-trotting corporate executives.
...Passengers pay as many as six separate taxes and fees on a single airline ticket, adding up to more than $104 billion since 1997, the AP found.
...Hundreds of smaller airports also are among the beneficiaries. These run the gamut from remote rural airstrips serving crop-dusters and hobbyists, to "executive" airports serving corporate jets and exclusive resort destinations:
(Real "destination spots" for your basic air-traveler will NOT follow:)
J.T. Wilson Field in Somerset, Ky. got more than $12 million since 2001, much of it through the influence of local Rep. Hal Rogers
California's Napa Valley Airport collected $6.3 million in taxpayer dollars over the past two years
Sardy Field, in the ultra-rich mountain playground of Aspen, Colo., has received $27.2 million in funding since 2005
Austin Municipal Airport, [home of Spam] about 90 miles south of Minneapolis, is home base for 25 small planes and three jets, at least two of which are owned by Hormel Foods, a Fortune 500 company with headquarters nearby. Since 2000, the airport received nearly $16 million
Greenville Municipal Airport, on Maine's Moosehead Lake, received $4.1 million over two years despite being the home airport to eight small planes and seeing fewer than 6,000 takeoffs and landings per year
Well, you know, that's "globalization" at work.
The federal government has taken billions of dollars from the taxes and fees paid by airline passengers every time they fly and awarded it to small airports used mainly by private pilots and globe-trotting corporate executives.
...Passengers pay as many as six separate taxes and fees on a single airline ticket, adding up to more than $104 billion since 1997, the AP found.
...Hundreds of smaller airports also are among the beneficiaries. These run the gamut from remote rural airstrips serving crop-dusters and hobbyists, to "executive" airports serving corporate jets and exclusive resort destinations:
(Real "destination spots" for your basic air-traveler will NOT follow:)
J.T. Wilson Field in Somerset, Ky. got more than $12 million since 2001, much of it through the influence of local Rep. Hal Rogers
California's Napa Valley Airport collected $6.3 million in taxpayer dollars over the past two years
Sardy Field, in the ultra-rich mountain playground of Aspen, Colo., has received $27.2 million in funding since 2005
Austin Municipal Airport, [home of Spam] about 90 miles south of Minneapolis, is home base for 25 small planes and three jets, at least two of which are owned by Hormel Foods, a Fortune 500 company with headquarters nearby. Since 2000, the airport received nearly $16 million
Greenville Municipal Airport, on Maine's Moosehead Lake, received $4.1 million over two years despite being the home airport to eight small planes and seeing fewer than 6,000 takeoffs and landings per year
Well, you know, that's "globalization" at work.
Abstinence-Only Programs: Did They Fail?
A report released yesterday states that abstinence-only programs are (basically) ineffective--that children who go through those programs are just as likely to engage in non-marital sexual activity as those who do NOT go through the programs.
One of the abstinence programs was a Milwaukee effort: Families United to Prevent Teen
Pregnancy.
There will be lotsa stuff written about the study. But there are two interesting items which deserve some consideration in measuring 'effectiveness.'
In the Study's Executive Summary, we find:
An analysis of teen sexual activity, presented in Chapter VI of the report, finds that friends' support for abstinence is a significant predictor of future sexual abstinence.
and:
...most Title V, Section 510 programs are completed before youth enter high school, when rates of sexual activity increase and many teens are either contemplating or having sex.
Finally, we find that three of the four programs studied have THIS in common about the students--they all come from:
Poor, single-parent, African American and Hispanic families.
Somehow, I'm not all that convinced that this study is necessarily representative...
One of the abstinence programs was a Milwaukee effort: Families United to Prevent Teen
Pregnancy.
There will be lotsa stuff written about the study. But there are two interesting items which deserve some consideration in measuring 'effectiveness.'
In the Study's Executive Summary, we find:
An analysis of teen sexual activity, presented in Chapter VI of the report, finds that friends' support for abstinence is a significant predictor of future sexual abstinence.
and:
...most Title V, Section 510 programs are completed before youth enter high school, when rates of sexual activity increase and many teens are either contemplating or having sex.
Finally, we find that three of the four programs studied have THIS in common about the students--they all come from:
Poor, single-parent, African American and Hispanic families.
Somehow, I'm not all that convinced that this study is necessarily representative...
DarthDoyle: Dirty Suits, Too!
Ted Kanavas provides us with another of Darth's gems:
Governor Doyle’s Democratic budget creates $1.78 billion dollars in tax and fee increases and revenue enhancements. The dry cleaning tax, imposed on gross receipts from all dry cleaning facilities, will increase from 1.8% to 2.8% in the 2007-2009 budget.
Trust me, YOU will pay this tax, not the drycleaners.
Take-It-NOW! example.
Owen also demonstrates that increasing the cost of an item generally reduces demand for that item--and sure enough, cigarette-tax revenues fell when the tax was increased.
What you have here is a spending problem. It's likely some sort of compulsive-disorder, as Savage has often said: Liberalism is a Mental Disease...
HT: Jessica
Governor Doyle’s Democratic budget creates $1.78 billion dollars in tax and fee increases and revenue enhancements. The dry cleaning tax, imposed on gross receipts from all dry cleaning facilities, will increase from 1.8% to 2.8% in the 2007-2009 budget.
Trust me, YOU will pay this tax, not the drycleaners.
Take-It-NOW! example.
Owen also demonstrates that increasing the cost of an item generally reduces demand for that item--and sure enough, cigarette-tax revenues fell when the tax was increased.
What you have here is a spending problem. It's likely some sort of compulsive-disorder, as Savage has often said: Liberalism is a Mental Disease...
HT: Jessica
A Reminder: We TOLD You to Fire Gonzales
The guy is not only "shifty-eyed;" he's apparently less competent than "Brownie" of Katrina fame...and so are his underlings.
The Department of Justice executed another Friday-afternoon document dump -- that time-honored method for politicians to avoid press coverage of their peccadilloes -- and uncovered yet another refutation of earlier statements by its senior officials.
...Enough already. If President Bush doesn't act to fire everyone involved from Gonzales on down for the sheer incompetence and deception, then he deserves every moment of televised committee hearings he gets from this molehill that Gonzales & Co built into Mount McKinley.
The quotes above are from Captain's Quarters (Ed Morrissey) who is not a leftywacko Dem.
But hey! Buy popcorn. The hearings should be fun to watch.
The Department of Justice executed another Friday-afternoon document dump -- that time-honored method for politicians to avoid press coverage of their peccadilloes -- and uncovered yet another refutation of earlier statements by its senior officials.
...Enough already. If President Bush doesn't act to fire everyone involved from Gonzales on down for the sheer incompetence and deception, then he deserves every moment of televised committee hearings he gets from this molehill that Gonzales & Co built into Mount McKinley.
The quotes above are from Captain's Quarters (Ed Morrissey) who is not a leftywacko Dem.
But hey! Buy popcorn. The hearings should be fun to watch.
Waukesha's NEXT Water Problem
Well, if you thought Waukesha water was 'hot' before, wait for this one:
In an effort to pin down the elusive nature and qualities of one of nature's most intriguing subatomic particles - the neutrino - scientists at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, or Fermilab, in Illinois will soon send a beam of the ghostlike particles coursing through subterranean Wisconsin to a detector deep in a mine in northern Minnesota.
Yup. Right through the northern part of the Waukesha water supply!!
The beam generated at Fermilab will bisect Wisconsin from the southeast corner of the state to the very northwest corner, before traveling through Lake Superior toward a steel target set deep in an old iron mine in Soudan, Minn.
"Excuse me, sir. Is that your basement which glows in the dark, or is it your Atomic Tomato plant's root-system?"
"These Lannon Stones are truly unique; they have a soft neutrino glow which will complement your home's brick exterior AND--if used as a sidewalk--will never require lighting!!"
"Neutrinos are harmless," says Erwin, the UW-Madison scientist most closely involved with the experiment, which is known as MINOS - for Main Injector Neutrino Oscillation Search.
Sure. Everybody knows that Minos was the home of the Minotaur, who looked like that precisely because of the nuclear-powered rays he was subjected to by Odysseus, or some other old dead white guy.
There must be a LeftyWacko group out there someplace that will picket...
HT: BadgerBlogger
In an effort to pin down the elusive nature and qualities of one of nature's most intriguing subatomic particles - the neutrino - scientists at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, or Fermilab, in Illinois will soon send a beam of the ghostlike particles coursing through subterranean Wisconsin to a detector deep in a mine in northern Minnesota.
Yup. Right through the northern part of the Waukesha water supply!!
The beam generated at Fermilab will bisect Wisconsin from the southeast corner of the state to the very northwest corner, before traveling through Lake Superior toward a steel target set deep in an old iron mine in Soudan, Minn.
"Excuse me, sir. Is that your basement which glows in the dark, or is it your Atomic Tomato plant's root-system?"
"These Lannon Stones are truly unique; they have a soft neutrino glow which will complement your home's brick exterior AND--if used as a sidewalk--will never require lighting!!"
"Neutrinos are harmless," says Erwin, the UW-Madison scientist most closely involved with the experiment, which is known as MINOS - for Main Injector Neutrino Oscillation Search.
Sure. Everybody knows that Minos was the home of the Minotaur, who looked like that precisely because of the nuclear-powered rays he was subjected to by Odysseus, or some other old dead white guy.
There must be a LeftyWacko group out there someplace that will picket...
HT: BadgerBlogger
Who Reads Blogs? Defendants Do!
Now we're up to 5 readers--one of them a party to a WI Supreme Court case.
See the combox...
By the way, Mr. Hambly: my blogpost quoted the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. If you have problems with the language, take it up with them. I'm sure they'll be happy to see you.
See the combox...
By the way, Mr. Hambly: my blogpost quoted the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. If you have problems with the language, take it up with them. I'm sure they'll be happy to see you.
"After You, My Dear Herman....."
Seems like the City of Milwaukee screwed up and as a result owes the Milwaukee Public Schools $9+ million.
Here's the fun part of the JS' article:
Patrick Curley, Mayor Tom Barrett's chief of staff, said Barrett and aldermen were waiting for Morics, who serves as the city's independent fiscal officer, to offer a set of options to them.
Morics declined to discuss details of the options available, saying he needed guidance from Barrett and aldermen.
Maybe Mayor Tom will be unseen for another 6 months or so, eh?
Here's the fun part of the JS' article:
Patrick Curley, Mayor Tom Barrett's chief of staff, said Barrett and aldermen were waiting for Morics, who serves as the city's independent fiscal officer, to offer a set of options to them.
Morics declined to discuss details of the options available, saying he needed guidance from Barrett and aldermen.
Maybe Mayor Tom will be unseen for another 6 months or so, eh?
Israel Insults Pope
This is not helpful.
Relations between the Holy See and Israel have hit a new low after the Vatican's ambassador to Israel, Monsignor Antonio Franco, said he was boycotting the Holocaust Day ceremony at Jerusalem's Holocaust Museum tomorrow night.
The row broke out over the caption on a large photograph of Pope Pius XII in the Yad Vashem museum which castigates his recognition of the Nazi regime, his failure to protest when the Vatican learnt that Jews were being massacred, and his failure to react to the deportation of Jews from Rome to the death camps.
The caption concludes: "His silence, and the absence of guidelines obliged Churchmen throughout Europe to decide on their own how to react."
In a letter to Yad Vashem, Monsignor Franco wrote, "I respect the memory of the martyrs but also the memory of the pope. The right of the one does not infringe upon the right of the other."
No point in quoting (again) all the Jewish leaders who praised Pius XII for his work rescuing Jews from the Nazis during WWII.
One could ask what the Israeli government is thinking......
Relations between the Holy See and Israel have hit a new low after the Vatican's ambassador to Israel, Monsignor Antonio Franco, said he was boycotting the Holocaust Day ceremony at Jerusalem's Holocaust Museum tomorrow night.
The row broke out over the caption on a large photograph of Pope Pius XII in the Yad Vashem museum which castigates his recognition of the Nazi regime, his failure to protest when the Vatican learnt that Jews were being massacred, and his failure to react to the deportation of Jews from Rome to the death camps.
The caption concludes: "His silence, and the absence of guidelines obliged Churchmen throughout Europe to decide on their own how to react."
In a letter to Yad Vashem, Monsignor Franco wrote, "I respect the memory of the martyrs but also the memory of the pope. The right of the one does not infringe upon the right of the other."
No point in quoting (again) all the Jewish leaders who praised Pius XII for his work rescuing Jews from the Nazis during WWII.
One could ask what the Israeli government is thinking......
Friday, April 13, 2007
About Mass Attendance
Recently, Abp. Dolan has asked parish priests to increase Mass attendance by 20% in the Archdiocese of Milwaukeee. This has spurred a few thoughts.
Terry Berres read the article in the Catholic Herald newspaper and extracted the following:
"Across the board, 37 percent of members show up on a regular basis to weekly Mass," according to an Archdiocesan planner.
That's interesting. Another source, CARA, offers the following statistics:
The Gallup Poll tells us that weekly-Mass attendance in the USA was 67% in 1965, 54% in 1975, 53% in 1985, 47% in 1995, 52% in 2000, and 45% in 2004. However, CARA's own data paints a VERY different picture.
According to CARA (a Georgetown U.-based organization,) weekly Mass attendance in 2000 was 33%, rising to 35% in 2005, and 36% in 2006.
Hmmm. Was it 52% or 33% in 2000? 35% (2005) or 45% (2004)? (There is a slight methodological difference which can be noted when reading the left-column stat-gathering basis.)
And then there's another voice--that of Fr. Reesman, a newly-ordained priest now assigned to St. Mary's/Elm Grove WI.
Fr. Reesman (who gets exceptionally favorable comments from Catholics whom I know) observes that the Archdiocesan list of 'suggestions' for increasing attendance may have a lacuna or two:
It is unsettling to see that praying and fasting for increased parish participation and Mass
attendance does not appear anywhere on the list now circulating. Which seems to suggest that we are ignoring the most fundamental piece of the problem: a lack of faith, not just on the part of
those who don’t show up for Mass, but also on the part of those of us who do.
and
Like the Evangelicals, we should be asking ourselves if we really think it makes a difference to
be Catholic or not...Young people do desire service and justice work, but when that is uncoupled from the cultic and the identifiably symbolic elements of faith and worship, it is merely social work. Anyone can do that- why be Catholic if you can join the Peace Corps instead?
and
Hospitality, hymns, and name tags are interesting ideas. But they strike me as falling into the
trap of those Evangelical congregations that tap into emotional or even fad centered trends to
hold onto members
and
If anything has replaced the ethnic parishes of the past, it is the new “niche-market” parish that
caters to the hospitality folks, the conservative folks, the social justice folks, the rich folks, or the
poor folks, etc, etc. The more Mass is tinkered with, the more we balkanize the diocese. Perhaps
the simplest remedy to all of the above is to follow the liturgical rituals as they are written and
published. If we do not, we create a generation of “church-shopping” Catholics looking for a
parish that meets their preferences and ideas, which is, at base, a formula for producing worship
of ourselves rather than God
So long as Fr. Reesman brought up all that 'cultic' liturgical stuff in combination with lingo-differences, he might have suggested LATIN Masses (in the Pauline Rite, of course)--but I quibble.
Fr R asks another question:
Initiatives to invite fallen away Catholics to return to church and to walk with new families are
always a good idea. But when we get people to church, do they have a reason to stay? Or are we
convincing them that being Catholic is just as good as being Congregationalist, Buddhist, or
nothing (because God loves them anyway).
Tolerance? or Anomie?? Indifferentism, with certainty.
And the trenchant close:
John the Baptist did not tell the crowds to gather into focus groups and put on name tags to upbeat music. He told them to repent. He told them to pray. Perhaps we should try doing the same.
Which leads me to an observation which Fr. Reesman's youth may (or may not) have allowed him to make:
Well over 50% of the people who leave the Catholic Church leave over issues 'beneath the belt.' Like it or not, forbidding divorce/remarriage without annulment and forbidding artificial contraception are Church teachings which fly directly in the face of the "sex, drugs, rock'n'roll" society of the 1960's. They are "hard teachings" of the first water.
And people who don't like them simply leave. I'll give them credit for being honest.
Terry Berres read the article in the Catholic Herald newspaper and extracted the following:
"Across the board, 37 percent of members show up on a regular basis to weekly Mass," according to an Archdiocesan planner.
That's interesting. Another source, CARA, offers the following statistics:
The Gallup Poll tells us that weekly-Mass attendance in the USA was 67% in 1965, 54% in 1975, 53% in 1985, 47% in 1995, 52% in 2000, and 45% in 2004. However, CARA's own data paints a VERY different picture.
According to CARA (a Georgetown U.-based organization,) weekly Mass attendance in 2000 was 33%, rising to 35% in 2005, and 36% in 2006.
Hmmm. Was it 52% or 33% in 2000? 35% (2005) or 45% (2004)? (There is a slight methodological difference which can be noted when reading the left-column stat-gathering basis.)
And then there's another voice--that of Fr. Reesman, a newly-ordained priest now assigned to St. Mary's/Elm Grove WI.
Fr. Reesman (who gets exceptionally favorable comments from Catholics whom I know) observes that the Archdiocesan list of 'suggestions' for increasing attendance may have a lacuna or two:
It is unsettling to see that praying and fasting for increased parish participation and Mass
attendance does not appear anywhere on the list now circulating. Which seems to suggest that we are ignoring the most fundamental piece of the problem: a lack of faith, not just on the part of
those who don’t show up for Mass, but also on the part of those of us who do.
and
Like the Evangelicals, we should be asking ourselves if we really think it makes a difference to
be Catholic or not...Young people do desire service and justice work, but when that is uncoupled from the cultic and the identifiably symbolic elements of faith and worship, it is merely social work. Anyone can do that- why be Catholic if you can join the Peace Corps instead?
and
Hospitality, hymns, and name tags are interesting ideas. But they strike me as falling into the
trap of those Evangelical congregations that tap into emotional or even fad centered trends to
hold onto members
and
If anything has replaced the ethnic parishes of the past, it is the new “niche-market” parish that
caters to the hospitality folks, the conservative folks, the social justice folks, the rich folks, or the
poor folks, etc, etc. The more Mass is tinkered with, the more we balkanize the diocese. Perhaps
the simplest remedy to all of the above is to follow the liturgical rituals as they are written and
published. If we do not, we create a generation of “church-shopping” Catholics looking for a
parish that meets their preferences and ideas, which is, at base, a formula for producing worship
of ourselves rather than God
So long as Fr. Reesman brought up all that 'cultic' liturgical stuff in combination with lingo-differences, he might have suggested LATIN Masses (in the Pauline Rite, of course)--but I quibble.
Fr R asks another question:
Initiatives to invite fallen away Catholics to return to church and to walk with new families are
always a good idea. But when we get people to church, do they have a reason to stay? Or are we
convincing them that being Catholic is just as good as being Congregationalist, Buddhist, or
nothing (because God loves them anyway).
Tolerance? or Anomie?? Indifferentism, with certainty.
And the trenchant close:
John the Baptist did not tell the crowds to gather into focus groups and put on name tags to upbeat music. He told them to repent. He told them to pray. Perhaps we should try doing the same.
Which leads me to an observation which Fr. Reesman's youth may (or may not) have allowed him to make:
Well over 50% of the people who leave the Catholic Church leave over issues 'beneath the belt.' Like it or not, forbidding divorce/remarriage without annulment and forbidding artificial contraception are Church teachings which fly directly in the face of the "sex, drugs, rock'n'roll" society of the 1960's. They are "hard teachings" of the first water.
And people who don't like them simply leave. I'll give them credit for being honest.
ANOTHER Tridentine Rite Update--Milwaukee
This is becoming a series...
Different from the initial thought and plan:
The Tridentine (Old Rite) Mass will be celebrated at
Different from the initial thought and plan:
The Tridentine (Old Rite) Mass will be celebrated at
9:00 AM
every Sunday through April 29th 2007
10:00 AM
Sundays beginning May 6th, 2007
at St. Stanislaus' Church, 5th/Mitchell Street.
Confessions precede the Mass, usually by 1/2 hour.
DarthDoyle: Take-It-NOW Plus!! Take-It-LATER!!
Ol' DarthDoyle (promoter of babykilling) will not limit his 'screw-the-taxpayer' moves to merely increasing taxes astronomically (The Take-It-NOW part). That's hardly sufficient for his plan to transform Wisconsin into a State whose residents will have zero after-tax disposable income.
He'll also BOND the taxpayer ("Take-It-LATER"):
Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch (R-West Salem) issued the following statement in response to the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau report summarizing the $3 billion in new authorized bonding included in the budget proposed by Governor Jim Doyle and the Democrats:
“The Democrats budget puts an additional $3 billion on the taxpayer’s credit cards. To put that in perspective, if Wisconsin had a 20 year loan at 4.41% to pay that it off, the Democrats’ spending spree would cost taxpayers an extra $19.8 million a month. A child born today will leave the hospital with a $861.43 credit card bill thanks to the Democrats’ borrowing.
And lest we forget the gory details of the "Take-It-NOW" part of Darth's plan:
The credit card bill is in addition to the Democrats’ plan to raise taxes by $536 for every man, woman and child in Wisconsin, hitting the average family of four to the tune of $2,144. Our children will pay for their spending spree for the rest of their lives.
Hey, Jimbo!! The money's not there no mo'!!
And if you have your way, the money's not there no mo', forever and ever, and ever, and ever!
He'll also BOND the taxpayer ("Take-It-LATER"):
Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch (R-West Salem) issued the following statement in response to the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau report summarizing the $3 billion in new authorized bonding included in the budget proposed by Governor Jim Doyle and the Democrats:
“The Democrats budget puts an additional $3 billion on the taxpayer’s credit cards. To put that in perspective, if Wisconsin had a 20 year loan at 4.41% to pay that it off, the Democrats’ spending spree would cost taxpayers an extra $19.8 million a month. A child born today will leave the hospital with a $861.43 credit card bill thanks to the Democrats’ borrowing.
And lest we forget the gory details of the "Take-It-NOW" part of Darth's plan:
The credit card bill is in addition to the Democrats’ plan to raise taxes by $536 for every man, woman and child in Wisconsin, hitting the average family of four to the tune of $2,144. Our children will pay for their spending spree for the rest of their lives.
Hey, Jimbo!! The money's not there no mo'!!
And if you have your way, the money's not there no mo', forever and ever, and ever, and ever!
State Health Care STILL Doesn't Work
Romney's MassCare takes another hit:
To remove the threat of a public backlash, the state plans to exempt nearly 20 percent of uninsured adults from the state's new requirement that everyone have health insurance.
The proposal, expected to be approved by a state board today, is based on calculations that even the lowest-cost insurance would not be affordable for an estimated 60,000 people with low and moderate incomes who do not qualify for state subsidies. Forcing them to buy insurance or pay a penalty could jeopardize the rest of the state's initiative, officials said. Instead, the state board appears prepared to settle for near universal coverage, all but 1 percent of the state's population.
Just the fact that 60,000 low/moderate income folks couldn't afford MassCare premiums sends a warning (we would hope) to the Statists drawing up the Wisconsin plan.
There is a solution: simply increase the tax burden on employers to make up the difference.
See the post immediately following for the likely reaction to THAT move.
To remove the threat of a public backlash, the state plans to exempt nearly 20 percent of uninsured adults from the state's new requirement that everyone have health insurance.
The proposal, expected to be approved by a state board today, is based on calculations that even the lowest-cost insurance would not be affordable for an estimated 60,000 people with low and moderate incomes who do not qualify for state subsidies. Forcing them to buy insurance or pay a penalty could jeopardize the rest of the state's initiative, officials said. Instead, the state board appears prepared to settle for near universal coverage, all but 1 percent of the state's population.
Just the fact that 60,000 low/moderate income folks couldn't afford MassCare premiums sends a warning (we would hope) to the Statists drawing up the Wisconsin plan.
There is a solution: simply increase the tax burden on employers to make up the difference.
See the post immediately following for the likely reaction to THAT move.
China Is Our Friend!! Part 6837
Well, it had to happen some day:
China surpassed the United States as the world's second-largest exporter last year and now makes more cars than Detroit, among the latest signs that the Asian giant is rapidly ascending to what many analysts expect will be the world's largest and most influential economy as soon as a decade from now.
Currency manipulation, slave/near-slave labor, export incentives, import restrictions, zero ecological restrictions, patent and copyright thefts...
A recent study published by the International Studies Review predicts that China will leverage its size with superior education and technology to surpass the U.S. and become the world's predominant economic power by midcentury.
Maybe that "education" will be superior. Norm Matloff has reported that it ain't necessarily "education;" in fact, it's superior forgeries of 'college degrees' which creates the impression...
"China today is much more capitalist than the U.S.," said John Rutledge, a former Reagan economic adviser who now advises China. Competition in China is robust to the point of cut-throat, and surveys show that nearly three-quarters of Chinese think that the free market is the best economic system -- a higher percentage than in the U.S
Kinda depends on how you define "free market," no?
If "free market" includes the short-list (above) of abuse and frauds--or, more accurately, if money is the highest and best object of life--then any country which applies constraints to its "free traders", by definition, is not "best."
Here, we have such things as Fair Labor Standards, safety concerns, pensions, health benefits, ecological controls, and zero "export assistance," not to mention a less-manipulable currency.
We also have an Administration which can't seem to understand that wars don't have to be fought with M-16's and AK-47's--and that a country can lose a war without a shot being fired.
China surpassed the United States as the world's second-largest exporter last year and now makes more cars than Detroit, among the latest signs that the Asian giant is rapidly ascending to what many analysts expect will be the world's largest and most influential economy as soon as a decade from now.
Currency manipulation, slave/near-slave labor, export incentives, import restrictions, zero ecological restrictions, patent and copyright thefts...
A recent study published by the International Studies Review predicts that China will leverage its size with superior education and technology to surpass the U.S. and become the world's predominant economic power by midcentury.
Maybe that "education" will be superior. Norm Matloff has reported that it ain't necessarily "education;" in fact, it's superior forgeries of 'college degrees' which creates the impression...
"China today is much more capitalist than the U.S.," said John Rutledge, a former Reagan economic adviser who now advises China. Competition in China is robust to the point of cut-throat, and surveys show that nearly three-quarters of Chinese think that the free market is the best economic system -- a higher percentage than in the U.S
Kinda depends on how you define "free market," no?
If "free market" includes the short-list (above) of abuse and frauds--or, more accurately, if money is the highest and best object of life--then any country which applies constraints to its "free traders", by definition, is not "best."
Here, we have such things as Fair Labor Standards, safety concerns, pensions, health benefits, ecological controls, and zero "export assistance," not to mention a less-manipulable currency.
We also have an Administration which can't seem to understand that wars don't have to be fought with M-16's and AK-47's--and that a country can lose a war without a shot being fired.
Made in China--To Kill; China Is Our Friend, Part 6458
It ain't just your pupsy-wupsy's food:
The list of Chinese food exports rejected at American ports reads like a chef's nightmare: pesticide-laden pea pods, drug-laced catfish, filthy plums and crawfish contaminated with salmonella.
Of course, that list is only what inspectors found--
Small farms ship to market with little documentation. Testing of the safety and purity of farm products such as milk is often haphazard, hampered by fuzzy lines of authority among regulators. Only about 6 percent of agricultural products were considered pollution-free in 2005, while safer, better quality food officially stamped as "green" accounts for 1 percent of the total, according to figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Wanna bite? Try some of these:
Over the past 25 years, Chinese agricultural exports to the U.S. surged nearly 20 times to $2.26 billion last year, led by poultry products, sausage casings, shellfish, spices and apple juice.
Inspectors from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are able to inspect only a tiny percentage of the millions of shipments that enter the U.S. each year.
Even so, shipments from China were rejected at the rate of about 200 per month this year, the largest from any country, compared with about 18 for Thailand, and 35 for Italy, also big exporters to the U.S., according to data posted on the FDA's Web site.
There might be an opportunity for restaurants and groceries who can accurately claim that all their food is "100% American-Made or Processed."
But then--it might be a bit more expensive, unless you take into account the cost of a few days' hospitalization.
The list of Chinese food exports rejected at American ports reads like a chef's nightmare: pesticide-laden pea pods, drug-laced catfish, filthy plums and crawfish contaminated with salmonella.
Of course, that list is only what inspectors found--
Small farms ship to market with little documentation. Testing of the safety and purity of farm products such as milk is often haphazard, hampered by fuzzy lines of authority among regulators. Only about 6 percent of agricultural products were considered pollution-free in 2005, while safer, better quality food officially stamped as "green" accounts for 1 percent of the total, according to figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Wanna bite? Try some of these:
Over the past 25 years, Chinese agricultural exports to the U.S. surged nearly 20 times to $2.26 billion last year, led by poultry products, sausage casings, shellfish, spices and apple juice.
Inspectors from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are able to inspect only a tiny percentage of the millions of shipments that enter the U.S. each year.
Even so, shipments from China were rejected at the rate of about 200 per month this year, the largest from any country, compared with about 18 for Thailand, and 35 for Italy, also big exporters to the U.S., according to data posted on the FDA's Web site.
There might be an opportunity for restaurants and groceries who can accurately claim that all their food is "100% American-Made or Processed."
But then--it might be a bit more expensive, unless you take into account the cost of a few days' hospitalization.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
After You've Been Told to Stop Breathing, the Facts...
As usual, Random 10 provides the actualities:
"Carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere has exactly one important spectral line in the infrared part of the spectrum. This line is clearly saturated. If you increase the number of CO2 molecules in the atmosphere, not much will happen. The amount of infrared radiation, that is, heat, that will be absorbed changes only by a minimal and insignificant amount."
"Since CO2 absorbs all radiation in this band it absorbs and reradiates 8.4% of the total energy within 200 meters of the surface. Adding more CO2 does not increase this effect because it is at its maximum. Using the absorptivity function (Beer's Law) for a gas, CO2 would only begin to lose this impact if CO2 concentration dropped below a few parts per million. It has been above 200 ppm for over a million years according to geophysicists. Thus I claim the heat retention as a percentage of Earth's total radiation by CO2 is constant". (Quoting Lars Kamél, of the Department of Astronomy and Space Physics at the University of Uppsala)
Thank God he provided the simplification:
When you do the math the numbers show there is very little carbon dioxide in the air in the first place, but even increasing CO2 to say 400 parts per million will have no effect because the wavelength of infrared that can be absorbed will have already been absorbed. In other words, you can warm things up by adding more energy but only the sun can do that. Once you mop up the energy the sun spills on the planet each day, having extra paper towels around doesn’t do anything.
This won't stop EPA from regulating CO2, of course, because it's a damn good jobs-program for EPA and it's not likely to prevent AlGore and George Soros from using their private G-5s, anyway.
"Carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere has exactly one important spectral line in the infrared part of the spectrum. This line is clearly saturated. If you increase the number of CO2 molecules in the atmosphere, not much will happen. The amount of infrared radiation, that is, heat, that will be absorbed changes only by a minimal and insignificant amount."
"Since CO2 absorbs all radiation in this band it absorbs and reradiates 8.4% of the total energy within 200 meters of the surface. Adding more CO2 does not increase this effect because it is at its maximum. Using the absorptivity function (Beer's Law) for a gas, CO2 would only begin to lose this impact if CO2 concentration dropped below a few parts per million. It has been above 200 ppm for over a million years according to geophysicists. Thus I claim the heat retention as a percentage of Earth's total radiation by CO2 is constant". (Quoting Lars Kamél, of the Department of Astronomy and Space Physics at the University of Uppsala)
Thank God he provided the simplification:
When you do the math the numbers show there is very little carbon dioxide in the air in the first place, but even increasing CO2 to say 400 parts per million will have no effect because the wavelength of infrared that can be absorbed will have already been absorbed. In other words, you can warm things up by adding more energy but only the sun can do that. Once you mop up the energy the sun spills on the planet each day, having extra paper towels around doesn’t do anything.
This won't stop EPA from regulating CO2, of course, because it's a damn good jobs-program for EPA and it's not likely to prevent AlGore and George Soros from using their private G-5s, anyway.
Pat McI: Follow the MONEY!
P-Mac indirectly asks a question:
How odd, then, that those who would permit no ethical worries about using embryos as ingredients find themselves insisting, against plain reality, that nothing can come from adult stem cells, that federal funding for embryo-killing research is the sole hope of medicine. In their eagerness to bolster their political case, they've painted themselves into a corner.
Allow an indirect answer:
When the only tool you have is a hammer, the solution to all problems is a.....HAMMER!!
When you've patented ESCR, the money only arrives with ESCR work.
Follow the money. It's a lot easier than puzzling over moral philosophy--because the "moral" here is to Get Rich.
How odd, then, that those who would permit no ethical worries about using embryos as ingredients find themselves insisting, against plain reality, that nothing can come from adult stem cells, that federal funding for embryo-killing research is the sole hope of medicine. In their eagerness to bolster their political case, they've painted themselves into a corner.
Allow an indirect answer:
When the only tool you have is a hammer, the solution to all problems is a.....HAMMER!!
When you've patented ESCR, the money only arrives with ESCR work.
Follow the money. It's a lot easier than puzzling over moral philosophy--because the "moral" here is to Get Rich.
Another Cop Who'll Get Fired
The Chief of Detectives in Philly will soon be looking for a new job--just like Glenn F. here.
Yes, there is a need to work on the social ills at the core of much of the unrest, but that does not mean we should accept those ills as a reason to excuse the behavior. Those engaged in this violent lifestyle know exactly what they're doing. They also know it is wrong. And they also know there are no serious consequences for their actions. It's not a matter of not knowing right from wrong, it's a matter of weighing the risk. And today they face very little risk.
Time after time these budding killers are arrested with guns, only to be returned to the streets with a slap on the wrist. Is it any wonder we have trouble getting witnesses to speak up? Instead of holding vigils at murder scenes, groups like Men United for a Better Philadelphia and Mothers in Charge should throw a ring around the Criminal In-Justice Center and demand that our judges hold the criminals accountable.
More than 80 percent of Philadelphia's cold-blooded killers have criminal records. Most of those records are lengthy, many for violent crimes. Every one of those arrests represents an opportunity to send a clear message, before they take another life.
Meanwhile, Mayor Tom blames it all on BushRove, and Nancy is still seeking a strategy.
Yes, there is a need to work on the social ills at the core of much of the unrest, but that does not mean we should accept those ills as a reason to excuse the behavior. Those engaged in this violent lifestyle know exactly what they're doing. They also know it is wrong. And they also know there are no serious consequences for their actions. It's not a matter of not knowing right from wrong, it's a matter of weighing the risk. And today they face very little risk.
Time after time these budding killers are arrested with guns, only to be returned to the streets with a slap on the wrist. Is it any wonder we have trouble getting witnesses to speak up? Instead of holding vigils at murder scenes, groups like Men United for a Better Philadelphia and Mothers in Charge should throw a ring around the Criminal In-Justice Center and demand that our judges hold the criminals accountable.
More than 80 percent of Philadelphia's cold-blooded killers have criminal records. Most of those records are lengthy, many for violent crimes. Every one of those arrests represents an opportunity to send a clear message, before they take another life.
Meanwhile, Mayor Tom blames it all on BushRove, and Nancy is still seeking a strategy.
Bloggers "Be Nice"?
There's been some chat about the "bloggers be nice" admonition; that perhaps the general tone of some bloggers is a bit too....direct. Apparently the concept was raised by a writer at the NYSlimes. No surprise there; the NYT has not employed real men for about 40 years, and at the rate it's going, it may not employ anyone at all 10 years hence. The closest thing to "manliness" on the NYT staff is Maureen Dowd.
Whatever. As Wiggy says, blog-readers eventually gravitate away from some, towards others, in an unending undirectional undulation. You can see a picture of undulation in the sine curve. (Hint: you are looking in the wrong place if you seek 'undulation' in still photos, but you may catch some undulation in Paris Hilton videos.)
At any rate, Coulter has a few things to say about nasty stuff in writing (or speech):
This is what Winston Churchill said about the Labor Party's Ramsay MacDonald:
"I remember when I was a child, being taken to the celebrated Barnum's Circus, which contained an exhibition of freaks and monstrosities, but the exhibit on the program which I most desired to see was the one described as 'The Boneless Wonder.' My parents judged that the spectacle would be too demoralizing and revolting for my youthful eye, and I have waited 50 years to see The Boneless Wonder sitting on the Treasury Bench."
Oh, no--that's not all:
And guess what public figure was constantly accused of making "outrageous" remarks, trading in "insults, trashings and character assassinations"? Of what public figure was it asked: "Who can examine this record of insults and say that here is a man of class?"
That's right: Ronald Reagan. Those particular quotes are from Washington Post columnists Richard Cohen and Colman McCarthy...One more item for the delusional Miss Grundys still obtusely citing Reagan as their model of "niceness": As governor of California, Reagan gave student protesters at Berkeley the finger. Remember that next time you ask yourself: "What would Reagan do?"
There's the answer to the question "How shall we respond to the NYSlimes' suggestions?"
Whatever. As Wiggy says, blog-readers eventually gravitate away from some, towards others, in an unending undirectional undulation. You can see a picture of undulation in the sine curve. (Hint: you are looking in the wrong place if you seek 'undulation' in still photos, but you may catch some undulation in Paris Hilton videos.)
At any rate, Coulter has a few things to say about nasty stuff in writing (or speech):
This is what Winston Churchill said about the Labor Party's Ramsay MacDonald:
"I remember when I was a child, being taken to the celebrated Barnum's Circus, which contained an exhibition of freaks and monstrosities, but the exhibit on the program which I most desired to see was the one described as 'The Boneless Wonder.' My parents judged that the spectacle would be too demoralizing and revolting for my youthful eye, and I have waited 50 years to see The Boneless Wonder sitting on the Treasury Bench."
Oh, no--that's not all:
And guess what public figure was constantly accused of making "outrageous" remarks, trading in "insults, trashings and character assassinations"? Of what public figure was it asked: "Who can examine this record of insults and say that here is a man of class?"
That's right: Ronald Reagan. Those particular quotes are from Washington Post columnists Richard Cohen and Colman McCarthy...One more item for the delusional Miss Grundys still obtusely citing Reagan as their model of "niceness": As governor of California, Reagan gave student protesters at Berkeley the finger. Remember that next time you ask yourself: "What would Reagan do?"
There's the answer to the question "How shall we respond to the NYSlimes' suggestions?"
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
The Pill, "Social Activism", and the Deterioration of Religious Life
Whatever this guy writes is good stuff, and Fr. Mankowski does it again.
Here he discusses the contraceptive mentality's long-term effects on the Church, particularly on religious, priests, (and Bishops and Cardinals, for that matter.)
Dissenters, [from Humanae Vitae] on the other hand, pounced on this opportunity, and placed enormous rhetorical stress on the primacy of charity in the Church's moral tradition. No one could deny the centrality of charity in this tradition, but on the level of popular controversy it resulted in the illegitimate derivation of two erroneous propositions: first, that an act that is not a sin against charity is no sin at all; second, that any act done with a charitable intention is for that reason justified. The application to married life virtually wrote itself: contraception involves no obvious sin against charity (for neither husband nor wife is wounded) and therefore involved no sin at all. Or again, if contraception be employed with a charitable intention (making life easier for one's spouse; ensuring more advantages for one's children) it is morally praiseworthy.
The theological justification for these arguments, however, necessitated a reformulation of the Christian imperative of charity and of traditional Catholic moral reasoning. In this new scheme, the morally preferable option is not one that conforms to a relevant principle of conduct but the one that results in more good (i.e., more "pre-moral good") than its rivals. It takes little imagination to devise scenarios in which contraception will result in more pre-moral bounty than other options, and therefore contraception was handily offered to Catholic couples as a licit moral choice.
...The chasm that separates those dissenters from Humanae vitae that employ this new scheme from orthodox Catholics has been described with felicity and precision by John Finnis (4), who argues that, while it was the traditional belief of Christians that they were to serve the good, the dissenters hold that our duty is to effect the good.
The effects:
Consider once again all that is consequent upon the change from serving the good to effecting the good. Call to mind the direction of change in religious communities in their apostolic involvement over the past 25 years, the de-emphasis on adoration, catechesis, spiritual works of mercy (even the term has become comically antiquated); the new stress on consciousness raising, political action, community organizing, world peace, environmental awareness.
And, we should add, "liturgical feel-good-ism" as opposed to rightly-ordered liturgy and music therefor.
It's also the foundation for the "proportionalism" debate which JPII settled (albeit to little effect in many places.)
But that's hardly all. Here Mankowski acknowledges that there may not be a perfect cause/effect relationship--but urges us to consider whether it's just co-incidence:
Was it merely coincidence that the massive dissent from Humanae vitae marched with a near total abandonment of the asceticism of renunciation in religious life? ...once human sexuality became assimilated to the number of satisfactions whose exercise belonged to the prerogative of the self-constituting individual, and was consequently emancipated from any larger system of meaning and responsibility, the denial to the self of any and all satisfactions, pleasures, and consolations seemed precariously close to irrational. The notion of rigorous training (the askesis from which the classical idea of asceticism is derived) vanished in favor of a number of developmental schemes of monitored growth in which the underlying anthropological assumptions were contrary to those undergirding the older via perfectionis. In the new scheme, all men are born good, naturally holy, and their chief requirement is opportunities for education, self-expression, and enrichment of experience in order to become godlike, that is to say fully human. The banisters and railings and fences and other "boundary safeguards" of religious life were discarded, inasmuch as their existence implied notions of trespass and constraint and an innate human tendency to sin. Gone is the rule of tactus (8), the stricture that sent nuns out of the house in pairs, the early curfews, mandatory and distinctive religious garb, the manifold impediments of cloister. Gone are the multitudes of requisite permissions; gone is all but minimum responsibility for the use of time and money — both of which used to be viewed as the common property of the community, not perquisites doled out to the individual for his discretionary employment. (9)
We might add that there's plenty of money out there in priests' salaries...
HT: Some Have Hats
Here he discusses the contraceptive mentality's long-term effects on the Church, particularly on religious, priests, (and Bishops and Cardinals, for that matter.)
Dissenters, [from Humanae Vitae] on the other hand, pounced on this opportunity, and placed enormous rhetorical stress on the primacy of charity in the Church's moral tradition. No one could deny the centrality of charity in this tradition, but on the level of popular controversy it resulted in the illegitimate derivation of two erroneous propositions: first, that an act that is not a sin against charity is no sin at all; second, that any act done with a charitable intention is for that reason justified. The application to married life virtually wrote itself: contraception involves no obvious sin against charity (for neither husband nor wife is wounded) and therefore involved no sin at all. Or again, if contraception be employed with a charitable intention (making life easier for one's spouse; ensuring more advantages for one's children) it is morally praiseworthy.
The theological justification for these arguments, however, necessitated a reformulation of the Christian imperative of charity and of traditional Catholic moral reasoning. In this new scheme, the morally preferable option is not one that conforms to a relevant principle of conduct but the one that results in more good (i.e., more "pre-moral good") than its rivals. It takes little imagination to devise scenarios in which contraception will result in more pre-moral bounty than other options, and therefore contraception was handily offered to Catholic couples as a licit moral choice.
...The chasm that separates those dissenters from Humanae vitae that employ this new scheme from orthodox Catholics has been described with felicity and precision by John Finnis (4), who argues that, while it was the traditional belief of Christians that they were to serve the good, the dissenters hold that our duty is to effect the good.
The effects:
Consider once again all that is consequent upon the change from serving the good to effecting the good. Call to mind the direction of change in religious communities in their apostolic involvement over the past 25 years, the de-emphasis on adoration, catechesis, spiritual works of mercy (even the term has become comically antiquated); the new stress on consciousness raising, political action, community organizing, world peace, environmental awareness.
And, we should add, "liturgical feel-good-ism" as opposed to rightly-ordered liturgy and music therefor.
It's also the foundation for the "proportionalism" debate which JPII settled (albeit to little effect in many places.)
But that's hardly all. Here Mankowski acknowledges that there may not be a perfect cause/effect relationship--but urges us to consider whether it's just co-incidence:
Was it merely coincidence that the massive dissent from Humanae vitae marched with a near total abandonment of the asceticism of renunciation in religious life? ...once human sexuality became assimilated to the number of satisfactions whose exercise belonged to the prerogative of the self-constituting individual, and was consequently emancipated from any larger system of meaning and responsibility, the denial to the self of any and all satisfactions, pleasures, and consolations seemed precariously close to irrational. The notion of rigorous training (the askesis from which the classical idea of asceticism is derived) vanished in favor of a number of developmental schemes of monitored growth in which the underlying anthropological assumptions were contrary to those undergirding the older via perfectionis. In the new scheme, all men are born good, naturally holy, and their chief requirement is opportunities for education, self-expression, and enrichment of experience in order to become godlike, that is to say fully human. The banisters and railings and fences and other "boundary safeguards" of religious life were discarded, inasmuch as their existence implied notions of trespass and constraint and an innate human tendency to sin. Gone is the rule of tactus (8), the stricture that sent nuns out of the house in pairs, the early curfews, mandatory and distinctive religious garb, the manifold impediments of cloister. Gone are the multitudes of requisite permissions; gone is all but minimum responsibility for the use of time and money — both of which used to be viewed as the common property of the community, not perquisites doled out to the individual for his discretionary employment. (9)
We might add that there's plenty of money out there in priests' salaries...
HT: Some Have Hats
Abortion, Speech, and the 8th Circuit
It all goes back to South Dakota, really:
A federal appeals court will hear arguments Wednesday in a potentially groundbreaking case that -- for the first time, according to attorneys -- addresses the question of whether an abortion terminates a human being's life.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit in St. Louis will consider a 2005 South Dakota law that requires abortionists to tell women that their abortion will terminate the life of a living human being.
...The 2005 modification to the informed consent law holds that an abortion ends "the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being," and that a mother-child relationship, which exists "during the entire period of gestation," is terminated by an abortion.
The legislation requires doctors to inform women of this, in writing and in person two hours before an abortion, and also to disclose the medical risks of the procedure, including the possibility that it could lead to depression and an increased risk of suicidal thoughts.
Worth watching.
HT: ProEcclesia
A federal appeals court will hear arguments Wednesday in a potentially groundbreaking case that -- for the first time, according to attorneys -- addresses the question of whether an abortion terminates a human being's life.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit in St. Louis will consider a 2005 South Dakota law that requires abortionists to tell women that their abortion will terminate the life of a living human being.
...The 2005 modification to the informed consent law holds that an abortion ends "the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being," and that a mother-child relationship, which exists "during the entire period of gestation," is terminated by an abortion.
The legislation requires doctors to inform women of this, in writing and in person two hours before an abortion, and also to disclose the medical risks of the procedure, including the possibility that it could lead to depression and an increased risk of suicidal thoughts.
Worth watching.
HT: ProEcclesia
Buy or Rent?
There's an interactive device in this post which will tell you whether renting is smarter than buying at this time.
Realtors may try to disable it. (On the other hand, it's a NYSlimes interactive. Background calculations are invisible...)
In brief, if you're looking for a modest home and pay Wisconsin-level real-estate taxes, and you're not renting the Taj Mahal at this time...
You may be better off continuing to rent.
Hmmmmm.
Realtors may try to disable it. (On the other hand, it's a NYSlimes interactive. Background calculations are invisible...)
In brief, if you're looking for a modest home and pay Wisconsin-level real-estate taxes, and you're not renting the Taj Mahal at this time...
You may be better off continuing to rent.
Hmmmmm.
Gingrich Goes Green and Commissar
Newt Gingrich may well be an "ideas" guy. But then, if you don't like his ideas, you'll have to just suck it up and comply:
Rather than debate Kerry on the science of global warming, Gingrich put that issue to the side, acknowledging that the threat is urgent enough to warrant a serious discussion about solutions to the carbon emissions problem. He suggested that the government offer tax credits for the market to develop new technologies, and prizes for the invention of new technologies such as a hydrogen car.
And if you ever wondered why the 'consumption tax' or 'flat tax' never seemed to get off the ground, think of the implications in this 'graf:
...For instance, he said his proposals wouldn't really be as voluntary as Kerry portrayed them. Gingrich suggested that the government go to GE and utility companies and ask them how much they would need in tax credits to make use of new technologies. After the discussion, I asked Gingrich whether basing a system on tax credits would create lobbying and bureaucracy, just as a system based on regulation. "It will. I just think it's better for the economy to have tax credits than regulation. If you're trying to shape behavior, I'm a Hamiltonian in that I think economic shaping works better than bureaucratic shaping. But it’s clear that it's an interventionist model. It's not a neutral model."
Right-o, folks.
Now Newtie portrays this complexification scheme as "Hamiltonian/Rooseveltian"-free-market. In other words, he's trying to put lipstick on a pig.
And here's another indication that Newt's not necessarily on the same planet as most folks:
Furthermore, it would be impossible to make India and China comply with such standards, whereas if American industry could develop new environmentally-friendly technologies to export, convincing those nations that there is such a thing as "green prosperity," they would hop onboard.
Sure.
Rather than debate Kerry on the science of global warming, Gingrich put that issue to the side, acknowledging that the threat is urgent enough to warrant a serious discussion about solutions to the carbon emissions problem. He suggested that the government offer tax credits for the market to develop new technologies, and prizes for the invention of new technologies such as a hydrogen car.
And if you ever wondered why the 'consumption tax' or 'flat tax' never seemed to get off the ground, think of the implications in this 'graf:
...For instance, he said his proposals wouldn't really be as voluntary as Kerry portrayed them. Gingrich suggested that the government go to GE and utility companies and ask them how much they would need in tax credits to make use of new technologies. After the discussion, I asked Gingrich whether basing a system on tax credits would create lobbying and bureaucracy, just as a system based on regulation. "It will. I just think it's better for the economy to have tax credits than regulation. If you're trying to shape behavior, I'm a Hamiltonian in that I think economic shaping works better than bureaucratic shaping. But it’s clear that it's an interventionist model. It's not a neutral model."
Right-o, folks.
Now Newtie portrays this complexification scheme as "Hamiltonian/Rooseveltian"-free-market. In other words, he's trying to put lipstick on a pig.
And here's another indication that Newt's not necessarily on the same planet as most folks:
Furthermore, it would be impossible to make India and China comply with such standards, whereas if American industry could develop new environmentally-friendly technologies to export, convincing those nations that there is such a thing as "green prosperity," they would hop onboard.
Sure.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Barrett Doesn't Understand the Second Amendment
Ol' Milk-Carton went to the Windy City and helped the wind. (Couldn't resist.)
"Let me be clear - if you are a hunter or a sportsman, I don't want your gun," Barrett said. "This is not about the Second Amendment. This is about saving young lives and futures in cities like Milwaukee."
Actually, Tom, the Second Amendment says NOTHING about "hunters and sportsmen." The Second Amendment was written for two purposes: 1) to enable self-defense and the defense of the country; and 2) to keep the Government in its place.
Wanna read the damn thing and try again?
What Tommy wants:
Tom Barrett said today that it was time for the federal government to revive its role in "hometown security" by helping crack down on the flow of illegal guns to the streets of the nation's cities.
That's a great example of the "blame game." It doesn't take a genius to figure out that if the Feds (BATFE) knew that a box of guns was "illegal," they'd intercept it. Frankly, Tommy, this is not Bush's fault, nor Rove's fault.
By the way, Tom: what's an "illegal" gun? Does it have Day-Glo red paint?
The ONLY way to slow down gun traffic is to arrest the goblins that HAVE the unregistered or illegally-carried weapons. That means that the ONLY way to do it is on the streets.
By the way, did Nan pick up a strategy while she was down there with you?
"Let me be clear - if you are a hunter or a sportsman, I don't want your gun," Barrett said. "This is not about the Second Amendment. This is about saving young lives and futures in cities like Milwaukee."
Actually, Tom, the Second Amendment says NOTHING about "hunters and sportsmen." The Second Amendment was written for two purposes: 1) to enable self-defense and the defense of the country; and 2) to keep the Government in its place.
Wanna read the damn thing and try again?
What Tommy wants:
Tom Barrett said today that it was time for the federal government to revive its role in "hometown security" by helping crack down on the flow of illegal guns to the streets of the nation's cities.
That's a great example of the "blame game." It doesn't take a genius to figure out that if the Feds (BATFE) knew that a box of guns was "illegal," they'd intercept it. Frankly, Tommy, this is not Bush's fault, nor Rove's fault.
By the way, Tom: what's an "illegal" gun? Does it have Day-Glo red paint?
The ONLY way to slow down gun traffic is to arrest the goblins that HAVE the unregistered or illegally-carried weapons. That means that the ONLY way to do it is on the streets.
By the way, did Nan pick up a strategy while she was down there with you?
Catholics: Kill Those Babies! Dems Enable Rapists
In a State Capitol near here:
This bill requires a hospital to do all of the following if it provides emergency
services to a victim, as defined in the bill, of sexual assault: 1) provide her with
medically and factually accurate and unbiased written and oral information about
emergency contraception and its use and efficacy; 2) orally inform her of her option
to receive emergency contraception, her option to report the sexual assault to a law
enforcement agency, and any available options for her to receive an examination to
gather evidence regarding the sexual assault; and 3) immediately provide
emergency contraception to her upon her request.
Here's the weasel-wording:
“Emergency contraception” is defined in the bill to be a
drug, medicine, oral hormonal compound, mixture, preparation, instrument, article,
or device that is approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration and that
prevents a pregnancy after sexual intercourse. The definition of “emergency
contraception” specifically excludes a drug, medicine, oral hormonal compound,
mixture, preparation, instrument, article, or device of any nature that is prescribed
to terminate the pregnancy of a woman.
Depends on the meaning of "is." (To quote an Unusually Good Liar)
This terminology neatly goes around the core of the issue; that is, if there is a fertilization of the egg resulting from the attack, the language allows for a 'drug, medicine...' (etc.) to prevent the implantation of the fertilized ovum on the uterine wall.
That's one definition of a "spontaneous abortion."
But the bill will allow a caused "spontaneous abortion." Many ethicists maintain that there's no difference between the effects of this treatment and a post-implantation abortion, except (of course) that there's no implantation. This is a "conscience clause" item if there ever was one, as many Catholic (and other religious) MD's and RN's will not be able (with a clear conscience) to administer or prescribe the treatment.
Nothing in the Bill would allow a "conscientious objector" to opt out.
Furthermore, the bill does NOT require that the rape/incest victim actually report the crime to law enforcement:
(c) “Victim” means a female who alleges or for whom it is alleged that she
suffered sexual assault and who, as a result of the sexual assault, presents as a
patient at a hospital that provides emergency services.
2. Her option to report the sexual assault to a law enforcement agency.
Under the proposal as worded, anyone can simply arrive at a hospital and state that they were raped--and obtain the treatment.
What about the criminal? The perp? The rapist?
In effect, the Democrat bill will enable the critter to continue on his merry way, assuming that the victim is telling the truth in the first place.
Our Legislature should not be writing laws which violate the conscience of State citizens (cf Par 18 of the State Constitution) nor should our Legislature be enabling rapists to find new victims.
Best that SB 129 be put to rest immediately.
This bill requires a hospital to do all of the following if it provides emergency
services to a victim, as defined in the bill, of sexual assault: 1) provide her with
medically and factually accurate and unbiased written and oral information about
emergency contraception and its use and efficacy; 2) orally inform her of her option
to receive emergency contraception, her option to report the sexual assault to a law
enforcement agency, and any available options for her to receive an examination to
gather evidence regarding the sexual assault; and 3) immediately provide
emergency contraception to her upon her request.
Here's the weasel-wording:
“Emergency contraception” is defined in the bill to be a
drug, medicine, oral hormonal compound, mixture, preparation, instrument, article,
or device that is approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration and that
prevents a pregnancy after sexual intercourse. The definition of “emergency
contraception” specifically excludes a drug, medicine, oral hormonal compound,
mixture, preparation, instrument, article, or device of any nature that is prescribed
to terminate the pregnancy of a woman.
Depends on the meaning of "is." (To quote an Unusually Good Liar)
This terminology neatly goes around the core of the issue; that is, if there is a fertilization of the egg resulting from the attack, the language allows for a 'drug, medicine...' (etc.) to prevent the implantation of the fertilized ovum on the uterine wall.
That's one definition of a "spontaneous abortion."
But the bill will allow a caused "spontaneous abortion." Many ethicists maintain that there's no difference between the effects of this treatment and a post-implantation abortion, except (of course) that there's no implantation. This is a "conscience clause" item if there ever was one, as many Catholic (and other religious) MD's and RN's will not be able (with a clear conscience) to administer or prescribe the treatment.
Nothing in the Bill would allow a "conscientious objector" to opt out.
Furthermore, the bill does NOT require that the rape/incest victim actually report the crime to law enforcement:
(c) “Victim” means a female who alleges or for whom it is alleged that she
suffered sexual assault and who, as a result of the sexual assault, presents as a
patient at a hospital that provides emergency services.
2. Her option to report the sexual assault to a law enforcement agency.
Under the proposal as worded, anyone can simply arrive at a hospital and state that they were raped--and obtain the treatment.
What about the criminal? The perp? The rapist?
In effect, the Democrat bill will enable the critter to continue on his merry way, assuming that the victim is telling the truth in the first place.
Our Legislature should not be writing laws which violate the conscience of State citizens (cf Par 18 of the State Constitution) nor should our Legislature be enabling rapists to find new victims.
Best that SB 129 be put to rest immediately.
Harold Bloom and Liturgy
Arguably the juxtaposition is (at the very least) incongruous, right?
Hold on. Blosser explains it all for us, posting an article by Fr. B. Green, from the New Oxford Review 9/04.
Harold Bloom, in his recent book The American Religion, suggests that there is a form of Gnostic religion that is intrinsic to American culture. It emphasizes the priority of information for salvation, the innate divinity of the individual self, and emotional experiences of transcendence. He sees this "religion" as pervading every Christian denomination in the country, including Catholicism. If he is right, then we are witnessing a battle in the Catholic Church between authentic Catholicism and this pervasive religious attitude, which, if not uniquely American, is something that American culture most clearly exemplifies.
...Gnosticism is also bound up with a "technology" of salvation. It is concerned with the "effective mechanics" for releasing humans from constraints. We as a culture are obsessed with gaining such effective knowledge. We believe that through correct information and effective techniques we can escape any evil. Witness the enormous faith we place in education to defeat all our current social evils, from drug addiction to teen pregnancy. Witness the faith we place in psychology to give the necessary information about ourselves and others that will enable us to relate "effectively" to them.
...Central to American Gnostic religion, according to Bloom, is the experience of emotional union with God. Ritual is one way in which this transcendent emotional condition can be created and sustained. And ritual is only "good" to the extent that it is effective in doing so. Through "sacramental" experiences one should be able to enter into an emotional experience of the "resurrected life." One is transported out of this world.
Catholicism is a sacramental religion. Liturgy and ritual are central to its life. It proclaims that in the Sacraments the Risen Christ is actually present and operative for our salvation and sanctification. But under pressure from American Gnostic religion, liturgies are being turned into vehicles of emotional experience. So we judge a "good" liturgy by its emotional effects. We orchestrate liturgies as theater in order to produce maximum emotional impact.
This is an essentially pagan understanding of ritual. It is the human attempt to establish oneness with an alien God.
...This is really the reduction of the sacramental system to magic. Understandably, witchcraft is undergoing a revival among us. Steichen has documented the extent to which witchcraft has permeated certain Catholic feminist organizations that are predominantly patronized by religious sisters.
As to the Protestants/Gnostics:
From the Gnostic point of view, however, the [Catholic] Church as an organized body is not so much the source of saving truth as a hindrance to it. The source of religious truth lies within the individual, not outside it in tradition and community. The Church may be useful in that it provides opportunities for emotionally uplifting ritual, but it is not necessary. What community emerges is ad hoc communities of like-minded individuals who offer one another companionship and mutual affirmation as individuals, expressed in "meaningful" liturgical experiences.
How different this is from the Pauline notion of the Church as a body in which sharing on the basis of a common faith and life is essential!
Interesting. From Harold Bloom, no less!
Hold on. Blosser explains it all for us, posting an article by Fr. B. Green, from the New Oxford Review 9/04.
Harold Bloom, in his recent book The American Religion, suggests that there is a form of Gnostic religion that is intrinsic to American culture. It emphasizes the priority of information for salvation, the innate divinity of the individual self, and emotional experiences of transcendence. He sees this "religion" as pervading every Christian denomination in the country, including Catholicism. If he is right, then we are witnessing a battle in the Catholic Church between authentic Catholicism and this pervasive religious attitude, which, if not uniquely American, is something that American culture most clearly exemplifies.
...Gnosticism is also bound up with a "technology" of salvation. It is concerned with the "effective mechanics" for releasing humans from constraints. We as a culture are obsessed with gaining such effective knowledge. We believe that through correct information and effective techniques we can escape any evil. Witness the enormous faith we place in education to defeat all our current social evils, from drug addiction to teen pregnancy. Witness the faith we place in psychology to give the necessary information about ourselves and others that will enable us to relate "effectively" to them.
...Central to American Gnostic religion, according to Bloom, is the experience of emotional union with God. Ritual is one way in which this transcendent emotional condition can be created and sustained. And ritual is only "good" to the extent that it is effective in doing so. Through "sacramental" experiences one should be able to enter into an emotional experience of the "resurrected life." One is transported out of this world.
Catholicism is a sacramental religion. Liturgy and ritual are central to its life. It proclaims that in the Sacraments the Risen Christ is actually present and operative for our salvation and sanctification. But under pressure from American Gnostic religion, liturgies are being turned into vehicles of emotional experience. So we judge a "good" liturgy by its emotional effects. We orchestrate liturgies as theater in order to produce maximum emotional impact.
This is an essentially pagan understanding of ritual. It is the human attempt to establish oneness with an alien God.
...This is really the reduction of the sacramental system to magic. Understandably, witchcraft is undergoing a revival among us. Steichen has documented the extent to which witchcraft has permeated certain Catholic feminist organizations that are predominantly patronized by religious sisters.
As to the Protestants/Gnostics:
From the Gnostic point of view, however, the [Catholic] Church as an organized body is not so much the source of saving truth as a hindrance to it. The source of religious truth lies within the individual, not outside it in tradition and community. The Church may be useful in that it provides opportunities for emotionally uplifting ritual, but it is not necessary. What community emerges is ad hoc communities of like-minded individuals who offer one another companionship and mutual affirmation as individuals, expressed in "meaningful" liturgical experiences.
How different this is from the Pauline notion of the Church as a body in which sharing on the basis of a common faith and life is essential!
Interesting. From Harold Bloom, no less!
PowerLine and Bulldog: Willfully Ignorant? Or Just Plain Ignorant?
For all its merits, PowerLine has some serious blind-spots, and they show clearly here: and is joined by someone called "bulldog pundit" in this place, who has the temerity to bash the Pope for pointing out that the Iraq situation ain't exactly coming up roses.
Conservative columnist Robert Novak probably dislikes Israel as much as Jimmy Carter did before Carter started hating Israel. In this column, Novak does Carter one better by suggesting that the current situation on the West Bank is worse than apartheid.
And the author manages to rattle on while ignoring Novak's point, which is prominent in the column:
Jimmy Carter raised hackles by titling his book about the Palestinian question "Peace Not Apartheid." But Palestinians allege this is worse than the former South African racial separation. Nearing the 40th anniversary of the Israeli military occupation of the West Bank, the territory has been so fragmented that a genuine Palestinian state and a "two-state solution" seem increasingly difficult
"Worse" is a matter of opinion. But Novak's opinion, 'that the "two-state solution" seem[s] increasingly difficult' is substantiated by others:
...Since at least the Six-Day War, the presence of Christians in the Middle East has been a sign of contradiction that has stood in the way of American and Israeli attempts to reduce the broad conflict there to the dualism of Judaism/Israel versus Islam/Arabs. The inconvenient reality of Middle Eastern Christianity has been a stumbling block to remaking the Middle East in a particular ideological image.
I started to write the “irreducible” (instead of “inconvenient") “reality of Middle Eastern Christianity,” but, unfortunately, it is not so. By acting as if they were dealing only with Muslims, both the United States and Israel have helped to change the demographic reality in the Middle East. Palestinian Christians have left in droves. Much of the Maronite population is now in the United States (and there was another massive influx after the bombing last summer). The Chaldean and Assyrian Christians in Iraq have, as Wayne Allensworth predicted in Chronicles before the war, largely fled the country.
These Christians, who used to act as leaven, politically and spiritually, in a troubled region can no longer do so. And so the ideological description of the conflict as the dualism of Judaism/Israel versus Islam/Arabs has gone from an inaccurate reduction of reality to something more than a half-truth today.
The Chrisians are also fleeing Lebanon.
If someone actually wanted to create a war-zone in the Middle East, this scenario couldn't be bettered. Removing Christians (read: Catholics) from the area will make it a two-party system, without the moderating/brokerage influence of the third.
Catholics in the Middle East are roughly analagous to the "moderates" who are sought by both Republicans and Democrats in elections--the 'non-aligned,' as it were.
Pretending that there are only Jews and Arabs in the Middle East is like pretending that there are only two parties in the United States. Useful as a caricature, but hardly a demonstration of intelligence.
And bashing the Pope demonstrates an arrogance which is profound. Most people know that the Pope's views are fed by significant on-the-ground intelligence sources (the people, priests, and Bishops of the area.) It is often dangerous to presume that one has more knowledge than the Pope--or that the Pope has less knowledge than, say, the CIA.
(For another view, see also First Things today.)
Conservative columnist Robert Novak probably dislikes Israel as much as Jimmy Carter did before Carter started hating Israel. In this column, Novak does Carter one better by suggesting that the current situation on the West Bank is worse than apartheid.
And the author manages to rattle on while ignoring Novak's point, which is prominent in the column:
Jimmy Carter raised hackles by titling his book about the Palestinian question "Peace Not Apartheid." But Palestinians allege this is worse than the former South African racial separation. Nearing the 40th anniversary of the Israeli military occupation of the West Bank, the territory has been so fragmented that a genuine Palestinian state and a "two-state solution" seem increasingly difficult
"Worse" is a matter of opinion. But Novak's opinion, 'that the "two-state solution" seem[s] increasingly difficult' is substantiated by others:
...Since at least the Six-Day War, the presence of Christians in the Middle East has been a sign of contradiction that has stood in the way of American and Israeli attempts to reduce the broad conflict there to the dualism of Judaism/Israel versus Islam/Arabs. The inconvenient reality of Middle Eastern Christianity has been a stumbling block to remaking the Middle East in a particular ideological image.
I started to write the “irreducible” (instead of “inconvenient") “reality of Middle Eastern Christianity,” but, unfortunately, it is not so. By acting as if they were dealing only with Muslims, both the United States and Israel have helped to change the demographic reality in the Middle East. Palestinian Christians have left in droves. Much of the Maronite population is now in the United States (and there was another massive influx after the bombing last summer). The Chaldean and Assyrian Christians in Iraq have, as Wayne Allensworth predicted in Chronicles before the war, largely fled the country.
These Christians, who used to act as leaven, politically and spiritually, in a troubled region can no longer do so. And so the ideological description of the conflict as the dualism of Judaism/Israel versus Islam/Arabs has gone from an inaccurate reduction of reality to something more than a half-truth today.
The Chrisians are also fleeing Lebanon.
If someone actually wanted to create a war-zone in the Middle East, this scenario couldn't be bettered. Removing Christians (read: Catholics) from the area will make it a two-party system, without the moderating/brokerage influence of the third.
Catholics in the Middle East are roughly analagous to the "moderates" who are sought by both Republicans and Democrats in elections--the 'non-aligned,' as it were.
Pretending that there are only Jews and Arabs in the Middle East is like pretending that there are only two parties in the United States. Useful as a caricature, but hardly a demonstration of intelligence.
And bashing the Pope demonstrates an arrogance which is profound. Most people know that the Pope's views are fed by significant on-the-ground intelligence sources (the people, priests, and Bishops of the area.) It is often dangerous to presume that one has more knowledge than the Pope--or that the Pope has less knowledge than, say, the CIA.
(For another view, see also First Things today.)
Birds of a Feather?
If the old saying is true, John "Tough Guy" Chisholm may be a bit disappointing to folks.
Today, Tommy the Milk-Carton Kid will be in Chicago, addressing the gun-control crowd (sorry--I meant the Int'l Ass'n of Police Chiefs) meeting sponsored in part by the Joyce Foundation.
You recall Gun Control. It worked so well in England that armed home-invasions over there are now the leading crime.
Who else is hanging around there?
Jeri Bonavia, Executive Director WAVE Educational Fund (Ms Bonavia is a Milwaukee-area resident and gun-control activist.)
John Chisholm, District Attorney Milwaukee District Attorney’s Office
Tom Diaz, Senior Policy Analyst Violence Policy Center (The old "Brady Bunch")
Fred Gebauer New York City Mayor’s Office (The Straw-Buyer Fraud Bunch)
Nannette Hegerty, Police Chief Milwaukee Police Department (Obviously here to create a strategy, right?)
Leslie Sharrock, Police Chief Waukesha Police Department
This is not an auspicious start for the newly-elected Milwaukee County DA, unless he's down there to deliver the counter-point lecture.
Today, Tommy the Milk-Carton Kid will be in Chicago, addressing the gun-control crowd (sorry--I meant the Int'l Ass'n of Police Chiefs) meeting sponsored in part by the Joyce Foundation.
You recall Gun Control. It worked so well in England that armed home-invasions over there are now the leading crime.
Who else is hanging around there?
Jeri Bonavia, Executive Director WAVE Educational Fund (Ms Bonavia is a Milwaukee-area resident and gun-control activist.)
John Chisholm, District Attorney Milwaukee District Attorney’s Office
Tom Diaz, Senior Policy Analyst Violence Policy Center (The old "Brady Bunch")
Fred Gebauer New York City Mayor’s Office (The Straw-Buyer Fraud Bunch)
Nannette Hegerty, Police Chief Milwaukee Police Department (Obviously here to create a strategy, right?)
Leslie Sharrock, Police Chief Waukesha Police Department
This is not an auspicious start for the newly-elected Milwaukee County DA, unless he's down there to deliver the counter-point lecture.
Monday, April 09, 2007
JS Goes Over the Line on Christofferson
In a report on check-forging by a local political consultant, the JS managed to step over the line with its "background."
Christofferson's attorney, Craig Mastantuono, said today that he expects the case will result in a plea agreement with prosecutors, rather than a trial, and that he hopes Christofferson will be able to avoid prison time. She has no previous criminal convictions and only one blemish on her court record - a $1,284 default judgment against her over an unpaid credit card bill.
The story is difficult enough for the woman without the above, entirely gratuitous addition. Nobody needed to know this, and who really CARES about it? It occurs to me that the JS editors should have stepped in and emphatically hit the 'delete' button on the credit-card info.
Let's hope she gets past this and resumes a productive career.
Christofferson's attorney, Craig Mastantuono, said today that he expects the case will result in a plea agreement with prosecutors, rather than a trial, and that he hopes Christofferson will be able to avoid prison time. She has no previous criminal convictions and only one blemish on her court record - a $1,284 default judgment against her over an unpaid credit card bill.
The story is difficult enough for the woman without the above, entirely gratuitous addition. Nobody needed to know this, and who really CARES about it? It occurs to me that the JS editors should have stepped in and emphatically hit the 'delete' button on the credit-card info.
Let's hope she gets past this and resumes a productive career.
Spencer Black: A Stopped Clock, but THIS Is Good
Thank God this guy came up with this:
State Rep. Spencer Black (D-Madison) said today he would introduce legislation banning "robocalls" - the automated, computerized phone calls used to deliver pre-recorded messages to large numbers of households during recent election campaigns.
This is a good thing. Trust me, I'll be watching the voting on this one.
Wisconsin's "No-Call List" exempts political calls (surprise!!)--and this legislation will remedy the largest Pain In The A&^ part of that problem.
State Rep. Spencer Black (D-Madison) said today he would introduce legislation banning "robocalls" - the automated, computerized phone calls used to deliver pre-recorded messages to large numbers of households during recent election campaigns.
This is a good thing. Trust me, I'll be watching the voting on this one.
Wisconsin's "No-Call List" exempts political calls (surprise!!)--and this legislation will remedy the largest Pain In The A&^ part of that problem.
More "Fiddling" With Papal Documents
We noted earlier that Fr. Z had found a major error in the translation of the Pope's document Sacramentum caritatis and that a correction had been made.
Well, there's another one--similarly significant.
Here's the Latin:
Quod peculiari modo in humilitate exprimitur quacum sacerdos actionem ducit liturgicam, in oboedientia erga ritum, cui corde et mente respondet, omnia vitans quae speciem praebere possunt alicuius propriae importunae actionis.
Here's the English 'translation' which was published:
This is seen particularly in his humility in leading the liturgical assembly, in obedience to the rite, uniting himself to it in mind and heart, and avoiding anything that might give the impression of an inordinate emphasis on his own personality.
Your basic first-year Latin student knows that "actionem ducit liturgicam" does NOT translate to "leading the liturgical assembly," and someone with ZERO knowledge of Latin can discern the difference in roots between "actio" and "assembly."
Methinks there may be a sudden change coming upon the Translations Department...
Well, there's another one--similarly significant.
Here's the Latin:
Quod peculiari modo in humilitate exprimitur quacum sacerdos actionem ducit liturgicam, in oboedientia erga ritum, cui corde et mente respondet, omnia vitans quae speciem praebere possunt alicuius propriae importunae actionis.
Here's the English 'translation' which was published:
This is seen particularly in his humility in leading the liturgical assembly, in obedience to the rite, uniting himself to it in mind and heart, and avoiding anything that might give the impression of an inordinate emphasis on his own personality.
Your basic first-year Latin student knows that "actionem ducit liturgicam" does NOT translate to "leading the liturgical assembly," and someone with ZERO knowledge of Latin can discern the difference in roots between "actio" and "assembly."
Methinks there may be a sudden change coming upon the Translations Department...
Sure Enough--It Was the Jesuits!
Here's a bit of history (telling us that when you fail to learn from history, you are damned to repeat it...)
In the seventeenth century came the crushing blow which destroyed the beauty of all Breviary hymns. Pope Urban VIII (Maffeo Barbarini, 1623-1644) was a Humanist. In a fatal moment he saw that the hymns do not all conform to the rules of classical prosody. Attempts to reform them had been made before, but so far they had been spared. Urban VIII was destined to succeed in destroying them. He appointed four Jesuits to reform the hymns, so that they should no longer offend Renaissance ears. The four Jesuits were Famiano Strada, Tarquinio Galluzzi, Mathias Sarbiewski, Girolamo Petrucci. These four, in that faithful obedience to the Holy See which is the glory of their Society, with a patient care that one cannot help admiring, set to work to destroy every hymn in the office.
(And in 350 years, they 'resurrected' hymns?)
They had no concept of the fact that many of these hymns were written in meter by accent; their lack of understanding those venerable types of Christian poetry is astounding. They could conceive no ideal but that of a school grammar of Augustan Latin. Wherever a line was not as Horace would have written it, it had to go. The period was hopelessly bad for any poetry; these pious Jesuits were true children of their time. So they embarked on that fatal reform whose effect was the ruin of our hymns. They slashed and tinkered, they re-wrote lines and altered words, they changed the sense and finally produced the poor imitations that we still have, in the place of the hymns our fathers sang for over a thousand years. Indeed their confidence in themselves is amazing. They were not ashamed to lay their hands on Sedulius, on Prudentius, on St. Ambrose himself.
Ah! Zeal!!
... It was as foolish a mistake to judge poetry of the fourth and following centuries by the rules of the Augustan age, as it would be to try to tinker prose written in one language, to make it conform with the grammar of another. There are cases where these seventeenth-century Jesuits did not even know the rules of their own grammar books.
I recall a classic 9-round fight between a 'reformer' and a 'classicist' over the question "Whether We Should Use English in Gregorian Chants?"
Why not set the lyrics of "Oklahoma!!" to the score of "West Side Story"?
HT: The New Liturgical Movement
In the seventeenth century came the crushing blow which destroyed the beauty of all Breviary hymns. Pope Urban VIII (Maffeo Barbarini, 1623-1644) was a Humanist. In a fatal moment he saw that the hymns do not all conform to the rules of classical prosody. Attempts to reform them had been made before, but so far they had been spared. Urban VIII was destined to succeed in destroying them. He appointed four Jesuits to reform the hymns, so that they should no longer offend Renaissance ears. The four Jesuits were Famiano Strada, Tarquinio Galluzzi, Mathias Sarbiewski, Girolamo Petrucci. These four, in that faithful obedience to the Holy See which is the glory of their Society, with a patient care that one cannot help admiring, set to work to destroy every hymn in the office.
(And in 350 years, they 'resurrected' hymns?)
They had no concept of the fact that many of these hymns were written in meter by accent; their lack of understanding those venerable types of Christian poetry is astounding. They could conceive no ideal but that of a school grammar of Augustan Latin. Wherever a line was not as Horace would have written it, it had to go. The period was hopelessly bad for any poetry; these pious Jesuits were true children of their time. So they embarked on that fatal reform whose effect was the ruin of our hymns. They slashed and tinkered, they re-wrote lines and altered words, they changed the sense and finally produced the poor imitations that we still have, in the place of the hymns our fathers sang for over a thousand years. Indeed their confidence in themselves is amazing. They were not ashamed to lay their hands on Sedulius, on Prudentius, on St. Ambrose himself.
Ah! Zeal!!
... It was as foolish a mistake to judge poetry of the fourth and following centuries by the rules of the Augustan age, as it would be to try to tinker prose written in one language, to make it conform with the grammar of another. There are cases where these seventeenth-century Jesuits did not even know the rules of their own grammar books.
I recall a classic 9-round fight between a 'reformer' and a 'classicist' over the question "Whether We Should Use English in Gregorian Chants?"
Why not set the lyrics of "Oklahoma!!" to the score of "West Side Story"?
HT: The New Liturgical Movement
How to Pacify the Natives
Here's an interesting little passage from Herodotus: (1:55.4)
As for the Lydians, forgive them -- but all the same, if you want to keep them loyal and to prevent any danger from them in future, I suggest that you put a veto upon their possession of arms. Make them wear tunics under their cloaks, and high boots, and tell them to teach their sons to play the zither and harp, and to start shopkeeping. If you do that, my lord, you will soon see them turn into women instead of men, and there will not be any more danger of them rebelling against you.
Wasn't England referred to as "a nation of shopkeepers"?
HT: Laudator Temporis Acti
As for the Lydians, forgive them -- but all the same, if you want to keep them loyal and to prevent any danger from them in future, I suggest that you put a veto upon their possession of arms. Make them wear tunics under their cloaks, and high boots, and tell them to teach their sons to play the zither and harp, and to start shopkeeping. If you do that, my lord, you will soon see them turn into women instead of men, and there will not be any more danger of them rebelling against you.
Wasn't England referred to as "a nation of shopkeepers"?
HT: Laudator Temporis Acti
Sunday, April 08, 2007
"Shocking Mis-Steps" ???
Well, the MSM has a new talk-show guest who'll make the rounds (and a few bucks, too.)
In a rueful reflection on what might have been, an Iraqi government insider details in 500 pages the U.S. occupation's "shocking" mismanagement of his country — a performance so bad, he writes, that by 2007 Iraqis had "turned their backs on their would-be liberators."
"The corroded and corrupt state of Saddam was replaced by the corroded, inefficient, incompetent and corrupt state of the new order," Ali A. Allawi concludes in "The Occupation of Iraq," newly published by Yale University Press.
Allawi writes with authority as a member of that "new order," having served as Iraq's trade, defense and finance minister at various times since 2003. As a former academic, at Oxford University before the U.S.-British invasion of Iraq, he also writes with unusual detachment.
Detachment?
Although Allawi, a cousin of Ayad Allawi, Iraq's prime minister in 2004, is a member of a secularist Shiite Muslim political grouping, his well-researched book betrays little partisanship.
Mnnnh...
It's clear that the Bush Boyzzz were not well-prepared for the eventualities in Iraq; on the other hand, I think we're still waiting for the Iraqis to send $200 billion or so in fees and expenses for the toppling of Saddam, the restoration of electric service, rebuilding of schools, and training of their army--not to mention the value of time the voluntary US Armed Forces spent over there.
This ungrateful asshole can go back and remain in Iraq. Perhaps he can even join the Iraqi Army and put things right.
In a rueful reflection on what might have been, an Iraqi government insider details in 500 pages the U.S. occupation's "shocking" mismanagement of his country — a performance so bad, he writes, that by 2007 Iraqis had "turned their backs on their would-be liberators."
"The corroded and corrupt state of Saddam was replaced by the corroded, inefficient, incompetent and corrupt state of the new order," Ali A. Allawi concludes in "The Occupation of Iraq," newly published by Yale University Press.
Allawi writes with authority as a member of that "new order," having served as Iraq's trade, defense and finance minister at various times since 2003. As a former academic, at Oxford University before the U.S.-British invasion of Iraq, he also writes with unusual detachment.
Detachment?
Although Allawi, a cousin of Ayad Allawi, Iraq's prime minister in 2004, is a member of a secularist Shiite Muslim political grouping, his well-researched book betrays little partisanship.
Mnnnh...
It's clear that the Bush Boyzzz were not well-prepared for the eventualities in Iraq; on the other hand, I think we're still waiting for the Iraqis to send $200 billion or so in fees and expenses for the toppling of Saddam, the restoration of electric service, rebuilding of schools, and training of their army--not to mention the value of time the voluntary US Armed Forces spent over there.
This ungrateful asshole can go back and remain in Iraq. Perhaps he can even join the Iraqi Army and put things right.
Happy Easter!
VICTIMAE Paschali laudes immolent Christiani.
Agnus redemit oves:
Christus innocens Patri reconciliavit peccatores.
Mors et vita duello
conflixere mirando:dux vitae mortuus,
regnat vivus.
Dic nobis Maria,
Quid vidisti in via?
Sepulcrum Christi viventis,
Sepulcrum Christi viventis,
et gloriam vidi resurgentis:
Angelicos testes,
sudarium et vestes.
Surrexit Christus spes mea:
Surrexit Christus spes mea:
praecedet suos in Galilaeam.
Scimus Christum surrexisse
Scimus Christum surrexisse
a mortuis vere:
Tu nobis, victor Rex miserere.
Amen. Alleluia.
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Trouble in Italy for Benedict XVI
This poster was recently spotted in Genoa. The caption reads "Thank God I'm an Atheist" and the target(s) are the Pope and a bunch of Muslims.
The observer in Rome (a Twin Cities-area native) gives us some insight:
In Italy, Pope Benedict is making a huge splash. Since he was elected, the left-wing has gone nearly insane with confusion and rage. The main-stream press is waging a bitter campaign against him and the Church. The problem is that he is hugely popular especially among young people who are beginning to ask questions of their teachers and others about things they are not supposed to question (the left-wing agenda). Since the education system in Italy has been run by Communists for decades, this question asking trend is a very bad development. And… it is the Pope’s fault! If John Paul captured the imagination of young people and drew them in, they are now listening to Benedict with rapt attention. He is the only great public figure saying anything new or that makes sense. While the secularists are all shrieking about "thinking outside the box", the Pope is the only one really doing it.
We tend to pay attention to US affairs, naturally. But the West is larger than just the USA...
The Education of Men
A very telling riff from Dreher:
In his biography of Kirk, James Person quotes from a letter the literature teacher Tom Howard wrote to Kirk late in Kirk's life. Person relates how Howard would give his college English lit students an "exercise in the permanent things" at the beginning of each semester. He would give the class a list of words: majesty, magnanimity, valor, courtesy, grace, chastity, virginity, nobility, splendor, ceremony, taboo, mystery and purity. Howard told Kirk that the young adults consistently reacted thus: "either a total blank, embarrassed snickers, or incredulity."
So, folks: what have YOUR high schools (or colleges) said about these things? Anything?
"Bueller........Bueller??"
Or are things no longer 'permanent'?
The Pope speaks often about the Reign of Relativism now abroad in the West. This short list should give you an idea about the breadth and depth (so to speak) of that Relativism.
In his biography of Kirk, James Person quotes from a letter the literature teacher Tom Howard wrote to Kirk late in Kirk's life. Person relates how Howard would give his college English lit students an "exercise in the permanent things" at the beginning of each semester. He would give the class a list of words: majesty, magnanimity, valor, courtesy, grace, chastity, virginity, nobility, splendor, ceremony, taboo, mystery and purity. Howard told Kirk that the young adults consistently reacted thus: "either a total blank, embarrassed snickers, or incredulity."
So, folks: what have YOUR high schools (or colleges) said about these things? Anything?
"Bueller........Bueller??"
Or are things no longer 'permanent'?
The Pope speaks often about the Reign of Relativism now abroad in the West. This short list should give you an idea about the breadth and depth (so to speak) of that Relativism.
GWB is NOT the Emperor
Courtesy of Billiam, we note the following article.
President Bush has scolded House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for visiting Syria. In the president’s opinion, shared by others, the U.S. government should speak with just one voice overseas. Yet that view flies in the face of both the text and the spirit of the Constitution.
...suspicious of European monarchs’ propensity to wage war with the blood and treasure of their citizens, the Constitution’s framers actually gave more powers in foreign affairs to the Congress than the president. The Congress was given the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, declare war, raise and support armies, provide and maintain a navy, regulate the armed forces, organize, arm, and discipline the militia, and call them forth to resist invasions.
In contrast, the Constitution gave the president only two unilateral powers in foreign affairs: the chief executive was designated the commander–in–chief of the armed forces and militia (narrowly construed so as not to imply that the chief executive was commander–in–chief of the nation), and was allowed to receive foreign ambassadors and ministers. The president was allowed to make treaties with foreign nations and nominate U.S. ambassadors and high foreign policy officials, but these actions were both subject to congressional approval with an overwhelmingly large two–thirds majority vote. Clearly, the framers wanted the Congress to be the dominant branch in foreign policy, as with most other aspects of governance.
The author points to some SCOTUS claptrap (US v Curtiss-Wright, 1936) as the source of claims to 'the Imperial Presidency,' and we add that such "imperialism" was exercised happily by FDR in his pursuit of glory (for himself), not to mention the Bosnia mis-adventure of BillyBoy Clinton...there are lots of other examples (another of which is cited in the following graf.)
Curiously, although the expansion of executive power in foreign policy has not served the nation well, it often has the counterintuitive effect of serving the interests of Congress. If the president is always in charge of U.S. foreign policy, members of Congress can duck responsibility for tough issues that might pose risks to their paramount goal—getting re–elected. For example, by allowing presidents to fight even major conflicts without constitutionally required declarations of war—a phenomenon that began when Harry Truman neglected, with a congressional wink and nod, to get approval for the Korean War—the Congress conveniently throws responsibility for the war into the president’s lap. The founders would be horrified at the erosion of a major pillar of their system of checks and balances.
GWB has been a staunch defender of the "imperial Presidency," having defended "consultations" as sacrosanct private conversations (following the example of BillyBoy and others) and choosing to allow Clinton malfeasances to be swept under the rug.
Congress, of course, cooperates--but in its own interest, as the author indicates.
President Bush has scolded House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for visiting Syria. In the president’s opinion, shared by others, the U.S. government should speak with just one voice overseas. Yet that view flies in the face of both the text and the spirit of the Constitution.
...suspicious of European monarchs’ propensity to wage war with the blood and treasure of their citizens, the Constitution’s framers actually gave more powers in foreign affairs to the Congress than the president. The Congress was given the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, declare war, raise and support armies, provide and maintain a navy, regulate the armed forces, organize, arm, and discipline the militia, and call them forth to resist invasions.
In contrast, the Constitution gave the president only two unilateral powers in foreign affairs: the chief executive was designated the commander–in–chief of the armed forces and militia (narrowly construed so as not to imply that the chief executive was commander–in–chief of the nation), and was allowed to receive foreign ambassadors and ministers. The president was allowed to make treaties with foreign nations and nominate U.S. ambassadors and high foreign policy officials, but these actions were both subject to congressional approval with an overwhelmingly large two–thirds majority vote. Clearly, the framers wanted the Congress to be the dominant branch in foreign policy, as with most other aspects of governance.
The author points to some SCOTUS claptrap (US v Curtiss-Wright, 1936) as the source of claims to 'the Imperial Presidency,' and we add that such "imperialism" was exercised happily by FDR in his pursuit of glory (for himself), not to mention the Bosnia mis-adventure of BillyBoy Clinton...there are lots of other examples (another of which is cited in the following graf.)
Curiously, although the expansion of executive power in foreign policy has not served the nation well, it often has the counterintuitive effect of serving the interests of Congress. If the president is always in charge of U.S. foreign policy, members of Congress can duck responsibility for tough issues that might pose risks to their paramount goal—getting re–elected. For example, by allowing presidents to fight even major conflicts without constitutionally required declarations of war—a phenomenon that began when Harry Truman neglected, with a congressional wink and nod, to get approval for the Korean War—the Congress conveniently throws responsibility for the war into the president’s lap. The founders would be horrified at the erosion of a major pillar of their system of checks and balances.
GWB has been a staunch defender of the "imperial Presidency," having defended "consultations" as sacrosanct private conversations (following the example of BillyBoy and others) and choosing to allow Clinton malfeasances to be swept under the rug.
Congress, of course, cooperates--but in its own interest, as the author indicates.
Who Convicted Georgia Thompson?
Hint: it was NOT Steve Biskupic. It was NOT the Federal judge.
It was a JURY OF PEERS who convicted Ms. Thompson.
Not everyone believes this. Witness Xoff:
What the Thompson verdict means is that the Journal Sentinel, WKOW-TV, and Steve Biskupic railroaded an innocent woman into prison and ruined her life.
And, of course, Xoff goes on to intimate that State taxpayers should ignore the pattern found in DarthDoyle's conduct--the pattern favoring certain well-heeled and VERY generous interests.
Ignoring patterns of bad behavior ordinarily enables and empowers the bad guys.
Steve Biskupic decided not to ignore the pattern.
The Shark has (as usual) some perceptive comments and questions on the event. To wit:
There is a sense in which the decision seems like it may have turned on the notion of "no harm, no foul." (Given that the competing offers were within a smidgin of being exactly equal in value.)
[Without having seen the decision] ...Did higher-ups in the Doyle administration intervene on behalf of Adelman? Is that a regular occurrence? How did Thompson come to believe (as the jury apparently felt she did) that her "bosses" wanted Adelman (particularly because, as the panel noted, there was no evidence that she was aware of the contribution)? None of this may have been pertinent to the court's decision.
We don't know a LOT of things, yet. But there is an ongoing FBI investigation...
It was a JURY OF PEERS who convicted Ms. Thompson.
Not everyone believes this. Witness Xoff:
What the Thompson verdict means is that the Journal Sentinel, WKOW-TV, and Steve Biskupic railroaded an innocent woman into prison and ruined her life.
And, of course, Xoff goes on to intimate that State taxpayers should ignore the pattern found in DarthDoyle's conduct--the pattern favoring certain well-heeled and VERY generous interests.
Ignoring patterns of bad behavior ordinarily enables and empowers the bad guys.
Steve Biskupic decided not to ignore the pattern.
The Shark has (as usual) some perceptive comments and questions on the event. To wit:
There is a sense in which the decision seems like it may have turned on the notion of "no harm, no foul." (Given that the competing offers were within a smidgin of being exactly equal in value.)
[Without having seen the decision] ...Did higher-ups in the Doyle administration intervene on behalf of Adelman? Is that a regular occurrence? How did Thompson come to believe (as the jury apparently felt she did) that her "bosses" wanted Adelman (particularly because, as the panel noted, there was no evidence that she was aware of the contribution)? None of this may have been pertinent to the court's decision.
We don't know a LOT of things, yet. But there is an ongoing FBI investigation...
Abp. Dolan Goes on Offense
Abp. Timothy Dolan has begun big-time proselytizing--perfectly fitting for his office, which carries three duties: to teach, to sanctify, and to govern.
For the first several years of Abp. Dolan's reign in Milwaukee, a number of people (myself included,) wondered whether the Archbishop was ever going to counteract the serious case of Catholic ennui and doubt engendered by his immediate predecessor and that predecessor's enablers/fellow-travelers/sycophants.
Whatever. The Archbishop has girded his loins, put on the armor of Christ, and has charged--right into the studios of WISN-1130 radio, WTMJ-620 radio (twice!!) and, (in a flanking action), into the affairs of Marquette University, directly and indirectly pointing out that Dan (the Cancer) Maguire is simply a heretic.
The Archbishop has made several highly-visible trips to the Shrine/Basilica at Holy Hill and to the Schoenstatt Center--both places virtually ignored (to one degree or another) by his predecessor; and obtained television coverage of his public Stations of the Cross leadership at Holy Hill.
He has also decided to engage some of those unhappy Catholic parents who put their money (not to mention sweat, tears, and blood) into alternative schools (here, here, here,) to escape the uneven (I'm being kind) "Catholic" education offered by the parochial schools. These alternative schools offer such things as the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Fr. Fessio's Faith and Life series, regular confessions and Masses, and regular Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, not to mention Latin coursework (!!!)
(It is interesting to note that most of these 'alternative' schools have two, three, or four priests who regularly visit them, serving as chaplains and spiritual guides. There are very few parochial schools with more than one priest who shows up regularly.)
The Archbishop has also seen to it that the Tridentine Community, those 400+ souls who attend the authorized Old Rite Mass, will have a new and very prestigious home within easy Interstate access of the entire Archdiocese, St. Stanislaus Church. This community will be served by a priest of the Priestly Society of St. Peter. This order of priests' US seminary is located in Denton, NE., and was invited there by none other than Bp. Fabian Bruskewitz, who has made it a point to participate in the Ordination of Society priests.
(Mentioning Bp. Bruskewitz' name has a wonderful effect on many of the above-mentioned 'fellow travelers;' they go into involuntary convulsions; their heart-rate increases, and their blood-pressure hits the Red Zone. Try it sometime!!)
Some of this activity is connected with his "Come Home" outreach to fallen-away Catholics, we're sure. But not all of it. He's looking for a 20% (TWENTY PERCENT!!) increase in Mass attendance in this Archdiocese.
What is most pleasing is the fact that he's decided it's time to re-form the Archdiocese, and is following the time-honored method: preach and teach Christ to all.
God be with him. Oremus.
For the first several years of Abp. Dolan's reign in Milwaukee, a number of people (myself included,) wondered whether the Archbishop was ever going to counteract the serious case of Catholic ennui and doubt engendered by his immediate predecessor and that predecessor's enablers/fellow-travelers/sycophants.
Whatever. The Archbishop has girded his loins, put on the armor of Christ, and has charged--right into the studios of WISN-1130 radio, WTMJ-620 radio (twice!!) and, (in a flanking action), into the affairs of Marquette University, directly and indirectly pointing out that Dan (the Cancer) Maguire is simply a heretic.
The Archbishop has made several highly-visible trips to the Shrine/Basilica at Holy Hill and to the Schoenstatt Center--both places virtually ignored (to one degree or another) by his predecessor; and obtained television coverage of his public Stations of the Cross leadership at Holy Hill.
He has also decided to engage some of those unhappy Catholic parents who put their money (not to mention sweat, tears, and blood) into alternative schools (here, here, here,) to escape the uneven (I'm being kind) "Catholic" education offered by the parochial schools. These alternative schools offer such things as the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Fr. Fessio's Faith and Life series, regular confessions and Masses, and regular Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, not to mention Latin coursework (!!!)
(It is interesting to note that most of these 'alternative' schools have two, three, or four priests who regularly visit them, serving as chaplains and spiritual guides. There are very few parochial schools with more than one priest who shows up regularly.)
The Archbishop has also seen to it that the Tridentine Community, those 400+ souls who attend the authorized Old Rite Mass, will have a new and very prestigious home within easy Interstate access of the entire Archdiocese, St. Stanislaus Church. This community will be served by a priest of the Priestly Society of St. Peter. This order of priests' US seminary is located in Denton, NE., and was invited there by none other than Bp. Fabian Bruskewitz, who has made it a point to participate in the Ordination of Society priests.
(Mentioning Bp. Bruskewitz' name has a wonderful effect on many of the above-mentioned 'fellow travelers;' they go into involuntary convulsions; their heart-rate increases, and their blood-pressure hits the Red Zone. Try it sometime!!)
Some of this activity is connected with his "Come Home" outreach to fallen-away Catholics, we're sure. But not all of it. He's looking for a 20% (TWENTY PERCENT!!) increase in Mass attendance in this Archdiocese.
What is most pleasing is the fact that he's decided it's time to re-form the Archdiocese, and is following the time-honored method: preach and teach Christ to all.
God be with him. Oremus.
Somewhere in the Wierd With the Knights of Columbus
The Knights of Columbus hall of Brookfield will be hosting an event. The nature of the event, in juxtaposition with the KofC is what has me wondering a bit.
Here's the notice: (scroll down a bit)
The Milwaukee chapter of the Association for Research and Enlightenment is sponsoring "Journey to Discover Your Sacred Contract," a presentation by Sister Susan Ann Adrians, a licensed counselor and archetype consultant trained by Caroline Myss, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 14 in the Brookfield Knights of Columbus Hall, 4700 N. 145th St., Brookfield. The $35 fee includes lunch.
Here's what we find about Ass'n for Research and Enlightenment:
The Association for Research and Enlightenment, Inc. (A.R.E.) is the international headquarters for the work of Edgar Cayce (1877-1945), who is considered the best-documented psychic of the Twentieth Century. Founded in 1931, the A.R.E. consists of people from all walks of life and spiritual traditions.
The mentor of Sr. Adrians can be found in Wikipedia:
Caroline Myss (pronounced mace) is an American medical intuitive and mystic as well as the author of numerous books and audio tapes, including national bestsellers.[citation needed] Myss holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in Indiana, and a master's degree in theology from Mundelein College. She also claims to hold a Ph.D in "intuition and energy medicine", but the degree was granted by Greenwich University, a now-defunct correspondence school that was never accredited to deliver higher education awards by any recognized government accreditation authority. She has collaborated extensively with Dr. Norman Shealy, an M.D. schooled at Harvard.[1] She tours internationally as a speaker on spirituality and lives in Chicago.
And, of course, we have "Dr." Cayce, the originator of this stuff:
Cayce's methods involved lying down and entering into what appeared to be a trance or sleep state, usually at the request of a subject who was seeking help with health or other personal problems (subjects were not usually present). The subject's questions would then be given to Cayce, and Cayce would proceed with a reading. At first these readings dealt primarily with the physical health of the individual (physical readings); later readings on past lives, business advice, dream interpretation, and mental or spiritual health were also given.
Seems to me that the KofC have ventured into some interesting territory. I don't know how Sr. Adrians reconciles "Dr." Cayce, "Dr." Myss, and Roman Catholic teachings on Original Sin or human nature (fallen.)
But I'm sure that it's interesting. Maybe even wierd.
Here's the notice: (scroll down a bit)
The Milwaukee chapter of the Association for Research and Enlightenment is sponsoring "Journey to Discover Your Sacred Contract," a presentation by Sister Susan Ann Adrians, a licensed counselor and archetype consultant trained by Caroline Myss, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 14 in the Brookfield Knights of Columbus Hall, 4700 N. 145th St., Brookfield. The $35 fee includes lunch.
Here's what we find about Ass'n for Research and Enlightenment:
The Association for Research and Enlightenment, Inc. (A.R.E.) is the international headquarters for the work of Edgar Cayce (1877-1945), who is considered the best-documented psychic of the Twentieth Century. Founded in 1931, the A.R.E. consists of people from all walks of life and spiritual traditions.
The mentor of Sr. Adrians can be found in Wikipedia:
Caroline Myss (pronounced mace) is an American medical intuitive and mystic as well as the author of numerous books and audio tapes, including national bestsellers.[citation needed] Myss holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in Indiana, and a master's degree in theology from Mundelein College. She also claims to hold a Ph.D in "intuition and energy medicine", but the degree was granted by Greenwich University, a now-defunct correspondence school that was never accredited to deliver higher education awards by any recognized government accreditation authority. She has collaborated extensively with Dr. Norman Shealy, an M.D. schooled at Harvard.[1] She tours internationally as a speaker on spirituality and lives in Chicago.
And, of course, we have "Dr." Cayce, the originator of this stuff:
Cayce's methods involved lying down and entering into what appeared to be a trance or sleep state, usually at the request of a subject who was seeking help with health or other personal problems (subjects were not usually present). The subject's questions would then be given to Cayce, and Cayce would proceed with a reading. At first these readings dealt primarily with the physical health of the individual (physical readings); later readings on past lives, business advice, dream interpretation, and mental or spiritual health were also given.
Seems to me that the KofC have ventured into some interesting territory. I don't know how Sr. Adrians reconciles "Dr." Cayce, "Dr." Myss, and Roman Catholic teachings on Original Sin or human nature (fallen.)
But I'm sure that it's interesting. Maybe even wierd.
Illinois State Cops: How to Defend Yourself from Rape
Helpful? You be the judge.
"Use of a firearm to protect yourself or property is not recommended."
So what do you do?
"Since many attacks on women are not sexually motivated, and are designed to degrade and humiliate, talking your way out of it may be easier."
"There is documentation of assailants that left a would-be-victim alone after she told him that she was pregnant and it would kill her baby. "
"Telling an attacker that you have VD or AIDS can discourage him."
"It may sound disgusting, but putting your fingers into you (sic) throat and making yourself vomit usually gets results."
(I swear I am not making this up).
And if you do go for a weapon, by all means don't make it a 1911! Instead:
"nail file
rat tail comb
teasing brush
pens and pencils
keys"
I can see it: "Stay away, I have this comb and am prepared to use it."
"Freeze or I'll let you have it with this pencil."
Of course, the ultimate proof of the Illinois State Police's advice is whether a female ISP officer follows these prescriptions.
Any bets?
HT: Of Arms and the Law
"Use of a firearm to protect yourself or property is not recommended."
So what do you do?
"Since many attacks on women are not sexually motivated, and are designed to degrade and humiliate, talking your way out of it may be easier."
"There is documentation of assailants that left a would-be-victim alone after she told him that she was pregnant and it would kill her baby. "
"Telling an attacker that you have VD or AIDS can discourage him."
"It may sound disgusting, but putting your fingers into you (sic) throat and making yourself vomit usually gets results."
(I swear I am not making this up).
And if you do go for a weapon, by all means don't make it a 1911! Instead:
"nail file
rat tail comb
teasing brush
pens and pencils
keys"
I can see it: "Stay away, I have this comb and am prepared to use it."
"Freeze or I'll let you have it with this pencil."
Of course, the ultimate proof of the Illinois State Police's advice is whether a female ISP officer follows these prescriptions.
Any bets?
HT: Of Arms and the Law
Friday, April 06, 2007
Good Friday
Ego propter te flagellavi Aegyptum cum primogenitis suis:
et to me flagellatum tradidisti.
Ego te eduxi de Aegypto, demerso Pharaone in mare Rubrum:
et tu me tradidisti principibus sacerdotum.
Ego ante te aperui mare:
et tu aperuisti lancea latus meum.
Ego ante te praeivi in columna nubis:
et tu me duxisti ad praetorium Pilati.
Ego te pavi manna per desertum:
et tu me cecidisti alapis et flagellis.
Ego te potavi aqua salutis de petra:
et to me potasti felle et aceto.
Ego propter te Chananaeorum reges percussi:
et to percussisti arundine caput meum.
Ego dedi tibi sceptrum regale:
et tu dedisti capiti meo spineam coronam.
Ego to exaltavi magna virtutu:
et tu me suspendisti in patibulo crucis.
Popule meus, quid fecisti tibi?
Aut in quo contristavi te? Responde mihi!
Crux Fidelis inter omnes
Arbor una nobilis:
Nulla talem silva profert,
Fronde, flore, germine.
Dulce lignum, dulces clavos,
Dulce pondus sustinens.
Safety By the Numbers
NRA advises that accidental deaths-by-gun are low on a list:
The National Safety Council's new data on accidental firearm fatalities shows that the number of accidents continues to decline. In fact, over the past ten years the number of accidental fatalities has dropped by almost 70 percent!
To put things in perspective, here are the accidental fatality rates per 100,000 for certain categories:
Accidental Poisoning: 7.1
Falls: 6.0
Choking: 1.6
Drowning: 1.2
Firearms: 0.2
In other words, it's 30 times more risky to clean your gutters than to clean your gun.
(Corrected by a math-enabled commenter!!)
The National Safety Council's new data on accidental firearm fatalities shows that the number of accidents continues to decline. In fact, over the past ten years the number of accidental fatalities has dropped by almost 70 percent!
To put things in perspective, here are the accidental fatality rates per 100,000 for certain categories:
Accidental Poisoning: 7.1
Falls: 6.0
Choking: 1.6
Drowning: 1.2
Firearms: 0.2
In other words, it's 30 times more risky to clean your gutters than to clean your gun.
(Corrected by a math-enabled commenter!!)
The Enviro-Wackies vs. Working Americans
Here's a guy who should be heard more often:
The New York Coal Trade Association, headquartered in New York City, recently held its 94th annual banquet and meeting at the New York Hilton. One of the guest speakers was Bob Murray, founder and CEO of Murray Energy Corporation...
"Some wealthy elitists in our country," he told the audience, "who cannot tell fact from fiction, can afford an Olympian detachment from the impacts of draconian climate change policy. For them, the jobs and dreams destroyed as a result will be nothing more than statistics and the cares of other people. These consequences are abstractions to them, but they are not to me, as I can name many of the thousands of the American citizens whose lives will be destroyed by these elitists' ill-conceived ‘global goofiness' campaigns."
Mr. Murray was a coal miner in Ohio who survived two mining accidents and built funds from a mortgaged house into a private coal mining company with more than 3,000 employees. He expresses concern about the proposals in Congress that will ration the use of coal, warning of much worse adverse consequences to Americans than those experienced after the 1990 amendment of the Clean Air Act.
Mr. Murray told me that he had seen the effect of the drastic reductions in coal production, and the wrenching impact on hundreds of communities, as a result of that legislation. In Ohio alone, from 1990 to 2005, about 118 mines were shut down, costing more than 36,000 primary and secondary jobs. These impacted areas have spent years recovering, and some never will. He spoke of the families that broke up, many lost homes, and some were impoverished, because of legislation that the environmentalists call a "success."
In his testimony, Mr. Murray explained: " America is dependent on our coal because it is abundant, with some of our best deposits located on public lands; it is affordable; and it is critical to our energy security to protect all Americans from the hostile and unstable governments from which much of our country's energy is currently imported."
Right now about 52% of the country's electricity is generated by coal. In the coastal cities we tend to forget about that because we get most of our electricity from oil, natural gas, and nuclear power plants. But the farms that grow our food and many other industries around the country can't afford these more expensive sources of energy. Manufacturers will outsource jobs to foreign countries that will not subscribe to emission caps and controls. China is building 50 new coal-fired power plants, and Beijing has stated it will not agree to mandatory emission constraints in the post-2012 Kyoto treaty. Why are we being so stupid about this issue?
Personally, I'm tilted towards nukes--but then, uranium is mined right here in the USA, too, and there are such things as 'clean coal' technologies which can be put to work.
Murray's speech highlights the 'back-story': the inane elitism of those who manufacture a crisis without concern for the unintended consequences. In this case there are at least two "unintended" consequences: the destruction of jobs (and families) in coal-mining; and the larger destruction of jobs (and families) brought about by the anti-competitive economics being forced on US manufacturers.
We don't refer to "Globaloney" without reason, folks.
The New York Coal Trade Association, headquartered in New York City, recently held its 94th annual banquet and meeting at the New York Hilton. One of the guest speakers was Bob Murray, founder and CEO of Murray Energy Corporation...
"Some wealthy elitists in our country," he told the audience, "who cannot tell fact from fiction, can afford an Olympian detachment from the impacts of draconian climate change policy. For them, the jobs and dreams destroyed as a result will be nothing more than statistics and the cares of other people. These consequences are abstractions to them, but they are not to me, as I can name many of the thousands of the American citizens whose lives will be destroyed by these elitists' ill-conceived ‘global goofiness' campaigns."
Mr. Murray was a coal miner in Ohio who survived two mining accidents and built funds from a mortgaged house into a private coal mining company with more than 3,000 employees. He expresses concern about the proposals in Congress that will ration the use of coal, warning of much worse adverse consequences to Americans than those experienced after the 1990 amendment of the Clean Air Act.
Mr. Murray told me that he had seen the effect of the drastic reductions in coal production, and the wrenching impact on hundreds of communities, as a result of that legislation. In Ohio alone, from 1990 to 2005, about 118 mines were shut down, costing more than 36,000 primary and secondary jobs. These impacted areas have spent years recovering, and some never will. He spoke of the families that broke up, many lost homes, and some were impoverished, because of legislation that the environmentalists call a "success."
In his testimony, Mr. Murray explained: " America is dependent on our coal because it is abundant, with some of our best deposits located on public lands; it is affordable; and it is critical to our energy security to protect all Americans from the hostile and unstable governments from which much of our country's energy is currently imported."
Right now about 52% of the country's electricity is generated by coal. In the coastal cities we tend to forget about that because we get most of our electricity from oil, natural gas, and nuclear power plants. But the farms that grow our food and many other industries around the country can't afford these more expensive sources of energy. Manufacturers will outsource jobs to foreign countries that will not subscribe to emission caps and controls. China is building 50 new coal-fired power plants, and Beijing has stated it will not agree to mandatory emission constraints in the post-2012 Kyoto treaty. Why are we being so stupid about this issue?
Personally, I'm tilted towards nukes--but then, uranium is mined right here in the USA, too, and there are such things as 'clean coal' technologies which can be put to work.
Murray's speech highlights the 'back-story': the inane elitism of those who manufacture a crisis without concern for the unintended consequences. In this case there are at least two "unintended" consequences: the destruction of jobs (and families) in coal-mining; and the larger destruction of jobs (and families) brought about by the anti-competitive economics being forced on US manufacturers.
We don't refer to "Globaloney" without reason, folks.
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Paid Enough? UPDATED! It's Worse Than You Think!
For last year (2005's returns, 2006 filings), Wisconsin's numbers look like this:
• the average Wisconsin adjusted gross income was $43,972;
• on returns with taxes paid, the average tax was $2,716;
Which means that the average Wisconsin income tax-payer paid about 6% of his Wisconsin Gross Adjusted income.
Not to mention the Country's #2 highest gasoline tax, cigarette taxes, increased auto- and truck-registration fees, school taxes, municipal taxes, tech-school taxes, county taxes, the Sales Tax, ....
My head hurts.
And to make this an Extra-Strength headache, Mary Lazich advises:
Wisconsin citizens have to work until May 2 to pay the taxes they owe before they start earning money for themselves, Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin) states in a press release issued earlier this week. Last year's Tax Freedom Day for Wisconsin fell on April 28.
The Tax Foundation in Washington D.C. releases a Tax Freedom Day study each year. "This study illustrates that Wisconsinites have one of the heaviest tax burdens in the nation," said Lazich. "...Under Governor Doyle's tax and spend budget, Wisconsin taxpayers will bear an even greater workload, working longer days just to pay off their tax obligations."
Based on Darth's requests for More Of YOUR Money, it'll be July 4th or so in 2008/9.
Pitchforks, anyone?
• the average Wisconsin adjusted gross income was $43,972;
• on returns with taxes paid, the average tax was $2,716;
Which means that the average Wisconsin income tax-payer paid about 6% of his Wisconsin Gross Adjusted income.
Not to mention the Country's #2 highest gasoline tax, cigarette taxes, increased auto- and truck-registration fees, school taxes, municipal taxes, tech-school taxes, county taxes, the Sales Tax, ....
My head hurts.
And to make this an Extra-Strength headache, Mary Lazich advises:
Wisconsin citizens have to work until May 2 to pay the taxes they owe before they start earning money for themselves, Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin) states in a press release issued earlier this week. Last year's Tax Freedom Day for Wisconsin fell on April 28.
The Tax Foundation in Washington D.C. releases a Tax Freedom Day study each year. "This study illustrates that Wisconsinites have one of the heaviest tax burdens in the nation," said Lazich. "...Under Governor Doyle's tax and spend budget, Wisconsin taxpayers will bear an even greater workload, working longer days just to pay off their tax obligations."
Based on Darth's requests for More Of YOUR Money, it'll be July 4th or so in 2008/9.
Pitchforks, anyone?
MSM's Denigration of Fred Thompson Begins
Since they're now beginning to dismiss Fred as "just an actor," it means that there is more than a little concern about this guy.
Damn straight there's concern!
I have been waiting for the MSM to start the drumbeat against Fred Thompson that they so often and so boringly used (and still do) against Ronald Reagan; the refrain of "He's just an actor." Now, Rebecca Sinderbrand of the New York Observer has used the general theme for her latest piece, The Mysterious Appeal of Fred Thompson. Subtitled "Actor, Senator, presidential candidate... but what G.O.P. gap is he filling?", Sinderbrand makes liberal use of Thompson's "roles" as a foil for his seriousness as a candidate and seems to be saying that the only reason anyone is considering him is because he looks the part as a result of his "camera presence."
Yup. It's all in the "camera presence," Rebecca.
Sinderbrand undermines Thompson as much as she can with several well turned phrases. He is "a man whose screen presence is ubiquitous", his "acting roles have played like slickly produced Presidential auditions", but is a man who has "ideological squishiness". All geared to make him seem a facade, unreal, and unbelievable. Sinderbrand feels that his appeal "certainly, is cosmetic".
"Cosmetics." "...slick....Presidential auditions."
Please, please!! Dismiss this guy as "just an actor."
HT: Newsbusters
Damn straight there's concern!
I have been waiting for the MSM to start the drumbeat against Fred Thompson that they so often and so boringly used (and still do) against Ronald Reagan; the refrain of "He's just an actor." Now, Rebecca Sinderbrand of the New York Observer has used the general theme for her latest piece, The Mysterious Appeal of Fred Thompson. Subtitled "Actor, Senator, presidential candidate... but what G.O.P. gap is he filling?", Sinderbrand makes liberal use of Thompson's "roles" as a foil for his seriousness as a candidate and seems to be saying that the only reason anyone is considering him is because he looks the part as a result of his "camera presence."
Yup. It's all in the "camera presence," Rebecca.
Sinderbrand undermines Thompson as much as she can with several well turned phrases. He is "a man whose screen presence is ubiquitous", his "acting roles have played like slickly produced Presidential auditions", but is a man who has "ideological squishiness". All geared to make him seem a facade, unreal, and unbelievable. Sinderbrand feels that his appeal "certainly, is cosmetic".
"Cosmetics." "...slick....Presidential auditions."
Please, please!! Dismiss this guy as "just an actor."
HT: Newsbusters
Brennan to Take on "Loophole Louie"?
That's not my idea. It's Daniel's.
And it's a damn good idea, too!
In 2005, the circuit court judge with the best record when reviewed in the Wisconsin Court of Appeals was Milwaukee County Judge Michael B. Brennan.
On review in the appeals court, Brennan was perfect, with 24 affirmances, and no reversals. Since Wisconsin Law Journal began collecting this data, Brennan has been affirmed a total of 31 times, and has been reversed only twice (only full published and unpublished opinions are included, not summary dispositions).
Brennan remarked, “It is an affirmation of applying the law as it is written, rather than inserting any personal opinions. I’ve always thought if you are faithful to the text and logic of the law, the correct answer to a problem will present itself, although sometimes it takes more work than others.”
How about skipping all the expensive preliminaries and just going 'by acclamation'?
And it's a damn good idea, too!
In 2005, the circuit court judge with the best record when reviewed in the Wisconsin Court of Appeals was Milwaukee County Judge Michael B. Brennan.
On review in the appeals court, Brennan was perfect, with 24 affirmances, and no reversals. Since Wisconsin Law Journal began collecting this data, Brennan has been affirmed a total of 31 times, and has been reversed only twice (only full published and unpublished opinions are included, not summary dispositions).
Brennan remarked, “It is an affirmation of applying the law as it is written, rather than inserting any personal opinions. I’ve always thought if you are faithful to the text and logic of the law, the correct answer to a problem will present itself, although sometimes it takes more work than others.”
How about skipping all the expensive preliminaries and just going 'by acclamation'?
Tommy Shows His Hand: Spend YOUR Money
The American Mind covered the announcement and provides a few, ah, interesting details:
Sure, he chastised Washington Republicans for losing their way trying to “spend like Democrats.” But a President Thompson wouldn’t be a Coolidge. State Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen encapsulated Tommy’s political philosophy by telling the audience, “You can’t sit idle and expect great things to happen.” Tommy said he wanted to use government to help bring the American Dream to all people. That talk didn’t remain vague. Thompson called for requiring all people to buy health insurance, strengthening No Child Left Behind, praised the Medicare drug benefit as “a remarkable success,” and wants more investment in ethanol and renewable energy.
Ethanol, eh? Well, he's campaigning in Iowa.
That's our Tommy "Buy-a-Vote" in action.
Sure, he chastised Washington Republicans for losing their way trying to “spend like Democrats.” But a President Thompson wouldn’t be a Coolidge. State Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen encapsulated Tommy’s political philosophy by telling the audience, “You can’t sit idle and expect great things to happen.” Tommy said he wanted to use government to help bring the American Dream to all people. That talk didn’t remain vague. Thompson called for requiring all people to buy health insurance, strengthening No Child Left Behind, praised the Medicare drug benefit as “a remarkable success,” and wants more investment in ethanol and renewable energy.
Ethanol, eh? Well, he's campaigning in Iowa.
That's our Tommy "Buy-a-Vote" in action.
Queen Nancy: Dim Bulb, Indeed
When the Washington Post slams a Democrat for utter stupidity, it is noteworthy:
HOUSE SPEAKER Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) offered an excellent demonstration yesterday of why members of Congress should not attempt to supplant the secretary of state when traveling abroad. After a meeting with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in Damascus, Ms. Pelosi announced that she had delivered a message from Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that "Israel was ready to engage in peace talks" with Syria. What's more, she added, Mr. Assad was ready to "resume the peace process" as well. Having announced this seeming diplomatic breakthrough, Ms. Pelosi suggested that her Kissingerian shuttle diplomacy was just getting started. "We expressed our interest in using our good offices in promoting peace between Israel and Syria," she said.
Only one problem: The Israeli prime minister entrusted Ms. Pelosi with no such message. "What was communicated to the U.S. House Speaker does not contain any change in the policies of Israel," said a statement quickly issued by the prime minister's office.
...Two weeks ago Ms. Pelosi rammed legislation through the House of Representatives that would strip Mr. Bush of his authority as commander in chief to manage troop movements in Iraq. Now she is attempting to introduce a new Middle East policy that directly conflicts with that of the president.
We have found much to criticize in Mr. Bush's military strategy and regional diplomacy. But Ms. Pelosi's attempt to establish a shadow presidency is not only counterproductive, it is foolish.
Pelosi has managed to go from 'first woman Speaker' to laughingstock buffoon in only about 16 weeks, meaning that she has another 1.75 years to impress on the American public that she and her fellow Democrats are best kept in a minority position.
Heh.
HOUSE SPEAKER Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) offered an excellent demonstration yesterday of why members of Congress should not attempt to supplant the secretary of state when traveling abroad. After a meeting with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in Damascus, Ms. Pelosi announced that she had delivered a message from Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that "Israel was ready to engage in peace talks" with Syria. What's more, she added, Mr. Assad was ready to "resume the peace process" as well. Having announced this seeming diplomatic breakthrough, Ms. Pelosi suggested that her Kissingerian shuttle diplomacy was just getting started. "We expressed our interest in using our good offices in promoting peace between Israel and Syria," she said.
Only one problem: The Israeli prime minister entrusted Ms. Pelosi with no such message. "What was communicated to the U.S. House Speaker does not contain any change in the policies of Israel," said a statement quickly issued by the prime minister's office.
...Two weeks ago Ms. Pelosi rammed legislation through the House of Representatives that would strip Mr. Bush of his authority as commander in chief to manage troop movements in Iraq. Now she is attempting to introduce a new Middle East policy that directly conflicts with that of the president.
We have found much to criticize in Mr. Bush's military strategy and regional diplomacy. But Ms. Pelosi's attempt to establish a shadow presidency is not only counterproductive, it is foolish.
Pelosi has managed to go from 'first woman Speaker' to laughingstock buffoon in only about 16 weeks, meaning that she has another 1.75 years to impress on the American public that she and her fellow Democrats are best kept in a minority position.
Heh.
WSJ Editorials vs. Reality
The Wall Street Journal grabbed a study and ran off to a conclusion; unfortunately, the conclusion doesn't follow the results of the study.
While politicians haggle over immigration reform, the U.S. economy's demand for workers foreign and domestic continues to grow. On Monday U.S. officials began accepting applications for the 85,000 available H-1b visas -- the kind that go to foreign professionals -- for the fiscal year starting in October. By Tuesday, the quota had been filled, making this the third straight year that the cap was reached before the fiscal year had even begun.
It's another example of the disconnect between immigration policy and labor market realities. A common assumption of immigration critics is that alien workers are either stealing American jobs or reducing home-grown wages. But both notions are flawed, according to a new and illuminating study by economist Giovanni Peri for the Public Policy Institute of California.
...thus spake the WSJ.
And here speaks the informed observer, a faculty member at the very same U of Cal campus as Prof. Peri:
Peri's thesis is that immigrants and natives play complementary roles with respect to each other, rather than competing with each other. He makes this conclusion by observing certain patterns in the data, but actually the conclusion is invalid.
Let me explain why, using something the WSJ cites from the study, which is that larger percentages of immigrants have PhDs than do natives. Peri's point is that the data patterns show that a higher percentage of immigrants want to study for a PhD while a lesser percentage of natives do, so that they are complementing each other.
But as readers of this e-newsletter know, the governmental National Science Foundation brought in foreign students and foreign professionals for the express purpose of keeping PhD wages down. And most significantly, the NSF projected, quite correctly, that this suppression of wages would drive away Americans from pursuing doctoral study. So the immigrants and natives aren't playing complementary roles at all. --Norm Matloff, Ph.D., UC/San Diego
The WSJ doesn't mention that starting salaries for PhD (and MS) Electronics/Electrical engineers have not risen for the last several years. Surely, the Blatt das Kapital knows that prices rise in a shortage, no?
While politicians haggle over immigration reform, the U.S. economy's demand for workers foreign and domestic continues to grow. On Monday U.S. officials began accepting applications for the 85,000 available H-1b visas -- the kind that go to foreign professionals -- for the fiscal year starting in October. By Tuesday, the quota had been filled, making this the third straight year that the cap was reached before the fiscal year had even begun.
It's another example of the disconnect between immigration policy and labor market realities. A common assumption of immigration critics is that alien workers are either stealing American jobs or reducing home-grown wages. But both notions are flawed, according to a new and illuminating study by economist Giovanni Peri for the Public Policy Institute of California.
...thus spake the WSJ.
And here speaks the informed observer, a faculty member at the very same U of Cal campus as Prof. Peri:
Peri's thesis is that immigrants and natives play complementary roles with respect to each other, rather than competing with each other. He makes this conclusion by observing certain patterns in the data, but actually the conclusion is invalid.
Let me explain why, using something the WSJ cites from the study, which is that larger percentages of immigrants have PhDs than do natives. Peri's point is that the data patterns show that a higher percentage of immigrants want to study for a PhD while a lesser percentage of natives do, so that they are complementing each other.
But as readers of this e-newsletter know, the governmental National Science Foundation brought in foreign students and foreign professionals for the express purpose of keeping PhD wages down. And most significantly, the NSF projected, quite correctly, that this suppression of wages would drive away Americans from pursuing doctoral study. So the immigrants and natives aren't playing complementary roles at all. --Norm Matloff, Ph.D., UC/San Diego
The WSJ doesn't mention that starting salaries for PhD (and MS) Electronics/Electrical engineers have not risen for the last several years. Surely, the Blatt das Kapital knows that prices rise in a shortage, no?
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
A Funny Story--and A MUST Read
Roeser has more fun in one week than most of us do in a year or so.
Because his blogspot won't point to a single entry, I've copied/pasted the specific entry of interest for you, dear readers. Long, but concise, and at the end, an absolute gut-splitter, particularly if you've ever dreamt about hosing one of the Chairmen of the Big Three.
Background: Roeser was a manager in Nixon's Department of Commerce, at the time headed by Maurice Stans. Roeser's assignment was to promote black capitalism, and one place to start was with automobile dealerships; at the time, there were only 7 (!!) black-owned dealerships in the entire country. Roeser, lacking support from Nixon, worked a little magic to contact the Chairmen of the Big 4 (at that time, AMC was still in business) and the story picks up from there.
About a month before the fateful White House telephone calls to CEOs of the Big 4 automobile companies, I hired a black Chicagoan, Johnny Johnson (he went by the name Johnny), a sophisticated graduate of the University of Chicago divinity school who was re-thinking ordination. His knowledge of black churches and black history as tied into the churches was such that I couldn’t resist-despite the fact that from On High the secretary had warned, unbelievably, that we were not to hire many minorities, the theory being that we were to concentrate on whites who were to teach minorities (and if you don’t think that would be a tough sell, think again).
Johnny Johnson was then a man of his 30s, married (no children) who wanted some time to think before he embarked on a lifelong career in the ministry. He was gregarious and fun to be with, not at all consumed by the preoccupation that hobbled so many blacks in the `60s-that whitey should provide for them out of a sense of entitlement which continues to be the sole rationale for Rev. Jesse Jackson’s forays to this day. Yet Johnson knew the patter and line very well and could even ridicule it by a brilliant imitation of a black preacher rabble-rouser. He put on a demonstration for me one afternoon when I was interviewing him. We were talking about the phenomenon of white guilt. He was saying that liberal and elitist whites are easily swayed by any rabble-rouser who shouts that they today must pay recompense for what they or their immediate predecessors had done but what had been done from the 16th to the 19th centuries. He told me, “it is relatively easy for any carny hustler black preacher to make a sale that way! Easy as pie!” I said that certainly the times had passed when that appeal could be used.
How wrong I was.
And to show how wrong I was he volunteered to put on a demonstration.
His hair was naturally short and well-trimmed but first he would ruffle it up so what there was of it would stand on end. He would then bring his wrists together as if they were manacled. Then he would contort his 6 foot 7-inch 270 lb. body and with the most fearsome outcry I had, up to that time, ever heard, he would scream:
“Four hundr-ed ye-ars ago! My ancestors came to this country ag-ainst th-eir will! Rolling to and fro, I say to and fro! In a slave ship!” He went on at such a excited pace that a group of startled blacks as well as whites on our staff ran in to my office to catch the act. As he continued, aware of his audience, he brought down the house. The peroration went like this: During all that time from the slave ship…through the hardship…through working for the white master on the plantation…through sweating in the fields…through sharecroppin’…we sometimes saw the hope of Jes-us…I say JES-US…but always we were dashed on the rocks of refusal…I say rocks of refu-sal! Always the white man wins! Al-ways! Now that you have turned me down, white man…now that you have turned me down…you have won again! Yes, you’ve won! Now beat me…beat me…white man!
With that he slammed his massive head down on my desk with a force that sent it rocking, and said, his soulful eyes looking upward…
Beat me! Beat me white man! For you have won again!
It was such a dramatic performance that he received not just laughter from the sophisticated and admiration from those less so but hardy applause from all.
...On the basis of that performance alone, I hired Johnny Johnson...
The day before our small group was to leave for Detroit and the meetings, one of our number fell ill and I decided to recruit Johnson as his first official act. We flew out (coach, of course) together and stayed at a low-cost dump (somewhat for effect) on the outskirts of Detroit. We had a long day beginning at 8 a.m. with a sumptuous breakfast buffet in the office of Henry Ford II where he had agreed to sign a contract with us to deliver twenty-five dealership opportunities. When we arrived he was very gracious, even jovial. The media was on hand as was his own public relations people. We left his office exhilarated. After all this time when we had only seven dealerships out of 28,000, we now had twenty five.
The next port of call was General Motors where we met with James Roche, the CEO, some reporters, photographers and his local public relations dignitaries. There Abe Venable delivered a speech that was so good it eventuated in his ultimately…after his Commerce service was completed…being hired as a full-time, top level manager of minority affairs including the dealerships from which he retired with well-deserved huge corporate acclaim, (receiving, I am sure, far more recompense than I at Quaker Oats). We left there with another twenty five-a total of fifty.
For lunch we went to a luncheon
Because his blogspot won't point to a single entry, I've copied/pasted the specific entry of interest for you, dear readers. Long, but concise, and at the end, an absolute gut-splitter, particularly if you've ever dreamt about hosing one of the Chairmen of the Big Three.
Background: Roeser was a manager in Nixon's Department of Commerce, at the time headed by Maurice Stans. Roeser's assignment was to promote black capitalism, and one place to start was with automobile dealerships; at the time, there were only 7 (!!) black-owned dealerships in the entire country. Roeser, lacking support from Nixon, worked a little magic to contact the Chairmen of the Big 4 (at that time, AMC was still in business) and the story picks up from there.
About a month before the fateful White House telephone calls to CEOs of the Big 4 automobile companies, I hired a black Chicagoan, Johnny Johnson (he went by the name Johnny), a sophisticated graduate of the University of Chicago divinity school who was re-thinking ordination. His knowledge of black churches and black history as tied into the churches was such that I couldn’t resist-despite the fact that from On High the secretary had warned, unbelievably, that we were not to hire many minorities, the theory being that we were to concentrate on whites who were to teach minorities (and if you don’t think that would be a tough sell, think again).
Johnny Johnson was then a man of his 30s, married (no children) who wanted some time to think before he embarked on a lifelong career in the ministry. He was gregarious and fun to be with, not at all consumed by the preoccupation that hobbled so many blacks in the `60s-that whitey should provide for them out of a sense of entitlement which continues to be the sole rationale for Rev. Jesse Jackson’s forays to this day. Yet Johnson knew the patter and line very well and could even ridicule it by a brilliant imitation of a black preacher rabble-rouser. He put on a demonstration for me one afternoon when I was interviewing him. We were talking about the phenomenon of white guilt. He was saying that liberal and elitist whites are easily swayed by any rabble-rouser who shouts that they today must pay recompense for what they or their immediate predecessors had done but what had been done from the 16th to the 19th centuries. He told me, “it is relatively easy for any carny hustler black preacher to make a sale that way! Easy as pie!” I said that certainly the times had passed when that appeal could be used.
How wrong I was.
And to show how wrong I was he volunteered to put on a demonstration.
His hair was naturally short and well-trimmed but first he would ruffle it up so what there was of it would stand on end. He would then bring his wrists together as if they were manacled. Then he would contort his 6 foot 7-inch 270 lb. body and with the most fearsome outcry I had, up to that time, ever heard, he would scream:
“Four hundr-ed ye-ars ago! My ancestors came to this country ag-ainst th-eir will! Rolling to and fro, I say to and fro! In a slave ship!” He went on at such a excited pace that a group of startled blacks as well as whites on our staff ran in to my office to catch the act. As he continued, aware of his audience, he brought down the house. The peroration went like this: During all that time from the slave ship…through the hardship…through working for the white master on the plantation…through sweating in the fields…through sharecroppin’…we sometimes saw the hope of Jes-us…I say JES-US…but always we were dashed on the rocks of refusal…I say rocks of refu-sal! Always the white man wins! Al-ways! Now that you have turned me down, white man…now that you have turned me down…you have won again! Yes, you’ve won! Now beat me…beat me…white man!
With that he slammed his massive head down on my desk with a force that sent it rocking, and said, his soulful eyes looking upward…
Beat me! Beat me white man! For you have won again!
It was such a dramatic performance that he received not just laughter from the sophisticated and admiration from those less so but hardy applause from all.
...On the basis of that performance alone, I hired Johnny Johnson...
The day before our small group was to leave for Detroit and the meetings, one of our number fell ill and I decided to recruit Johnson as his first official act. We flew out (coach, of course) together and stayed at a low-cost dump (somewhat for effect) on the outskirts of Detroit. We had a long day beginning at 8 a.m. with a sumptuous breakfast buffet in the office of Henry Ford II where he had agreed to sign a contract with us to deliver twenty-five dealership opportunities. When we arrived he was very gracious, even jovial. The media was on hand as was his own public relations people. We left his office exhilarated. After all this time when we had only seven dealerships out of 28,000, we now had twenty five.
The next port of call was General Motors where we met with James Roche, the CEO, some reporters, photographers and his local public relations dignitaries. There Abe Venable delivered a speech that was so good it eventuated in his ultimately…after his Commerce service was completed…being hired as a full-time, top level manager of minority affairs including the dealerships from which he retired with well-deserved huge corporate acclaim, (receiving, I am sure, far more recompense than I at Quaker Oats). We left there with another twenty five-a total of fifty.
For lunch we went to a luncheon