Heh.
The ammo's likely going to cost a lot.
Click here.
Yes, it's a Gatling gun. 7.62's at about 4K rounds/minute.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Marquette U's Perennial Embarassment Spews Again
"Whopper" Dan Maguire, the Cancer of Marquette, issues orders to the US Bishops.
In a letter to the New York Times on Monday, Daniel C. Maguire, a professor of moral theology at Marquette University, stated that bishops should stop harassing Catholic politicians who vote in favor of abortion.
Maguire drew on St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas who both thought that to allow certain moral evils would prevent “greater evils.” He further cited Aquinas, who said that the “wise legislator” imitates God, who “tolerates certain evils lest greater evils ensue.”
Of course, he's not being exactly....ah.....truthful:
Maguire's theology, however, is condemned by the Church. The notion of promoting the "lesser of two evils" is condemned as the error of "proportionalism," while the attempt to draw such a position from the works of Augustine and Aquinas is condemned by orthodox academics as gravely erroneous
Abp. Dolan has already slapped Dan-o in the chops a couple of times. May be time to tar & feather this jackass and find a nearby empty boxcar-in-motion. Maybe one bound for, oh, say, the Arctic tundra.
In a letter to the New York Times on Monday, Daniel C. Maguire, a professor of moral theology at Marquette University, stated that bishops should stop harassing Catholic politicians who vote in favor of abortion.
Maguire drew on St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas who both thought that to allow certain moral evils would prevent “greater evils.” He further cited Aquinas, who said that the “wise legislator” imitates God, who “tolerates certain evils lest greater evils ensue.”
Of course, he's not being exactly....ah.....truthful:
Maguire's theology, however, is condemned by the Church. The notion of promoting the "lesser of two evils" is condemned as the error of "proportionalism," while the attempt to draw such a position from the works of Augustine and Aquinas is condemned by orthodox academics as gravely erroneous
Abp. Dolan has already slapped Dan-o in the chops a couple of times. May be time to tar & feather this jackass and find a nearby empty boxcar-in-motion. Maybe one bound for, oh, say, the Arctic tundra.
What Is NOT Enforced: Sens. Kohl & Feingold Failures in Immigration Laws
This is still the law. It was passed 21 years ago.
Control of Illegal Immigration -
Part A: Employment -
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to make it unlawful for a person or other entity to: (1) hire (including through subcontractors), recruit, or refer for a fee for U.S. employment any alien knowing that such person is unauthorized to work, or any person without verifying his or her work status; or (2) continue to employ an alien knowing of such person's unauthorized work status.
Makes verification compliance (including the use of State employment agency documentation) an affirmative defense to any hiring or referral violation.
Establishes an employment verification system. Requires: (1) the employer to attest, on a form developed by the Attorney General, that the employee's work status has been verified by examination of a passport, birth certificate, social security card, alien documentation papers, or other proof; (2) the worker to similarly attest that he or she is a U.S. citizen or national, or authorized alien; and (3) the employer to keep such records for three years in the case of referral or recruitment, or the later of three years or one year after employment termination in the case of hiring.
...Directs the Attorney General to establish complaint and investigation procedures which shall provide for: (1) individuals and entities to file written, signed complaints regarding potential hiring violations; (2) INS investigations of complaints with substantial probability of validity; (3) Department of Justice-initiated investigations; and (4) designation of a specific INS unit to prosecute such violations.
...Amends the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act to subject farm labor contractors to the requirements of this Act, beginning seven months after enactment
There's also a provision for establishing a telephone-verification of SSANs. We've upgraded to an existing Internet-verification system.
Note how carefully ALL employers utilize that system. Also note that enforcement of the provision, under Bush, Clinton and Bush has simply....sucked.
Now swallow all your coffee before reading this next laugher. Computers don't like coffee in the keyboard/screen/hard-drive.
Part B: Improvement of Enforcement and Services
- States that essential elements of the immigration control and reform program established by this Act are increased enforcement and administrative activities of the Border Patrol, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), and other appropriate Federal agencies
...Authorizes additional appropriations for wage and hour enforcement.
Revises the criminal penalties for the unlawful transportation of unauthorized aliens into the United States.
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the immigration laws of the United States should be vigorously enforced, while taking care to protect the rights and safety of U.S. citizens and aliens.
Prohibits the adjustment of status to permanent resident for violators of (nonimmigrant) visa terms
Title II: Legalization
Prohibits the legalization of persons: (1) convicted of a felony or three or more misdemeanors in the United States;
Directs the Attorney General to adjust the status of temporary resident aliens to permanent resident if the alien:
...(4) either meets the minimum requirements for an understanding of English and a knowledge of American history and government, or demonstrates the satisfactory pursuit of a course of study in these subjects.
Makes legalized aliens (other than Cuban/Haitian entrants) ineligible for Federal financial assistance, Medicaid (with certain exceptions), or food stamps for five years following a grant of temporary resident status and for five years following a grant of permanent resident status (permits aid to the aged, blind, or disabled).
Title VII: Federal Responsibility for Deportable and Excludable Aliens Convicted of Crimes
- Provides for the expeditious deportation of aliens convicted of crimes.
Provides for the identification of Department of Defense facilities that could be made available to incarcerate deportable or excludable aliens.
So next time you hear the Whiner Boys, Kohl and Feinie, yapping about "it was our last chance..." or "national security," ask the Whiner Boys exactly what the Hell they have done about the Simpson-Mazzoli Act's specific requirements.
It will be a very short list of accomplishments, trust me.
Concept-Tip: LawDog
Control of Illegal Immigration -
Part A: Employment -
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to make it unlawful for a person or other entity to: (1) hire (including through subcontractors), recruit, or refer for a fee for U.S. employment any alien knowing that such person is unauthorized to work, or any person without verifying his or her work status; or (2) continue to employ an alien knowing of such person's unauthorized work status.
Makes verification compliance (including the use of State employment agency documentation) an affirmative defense to any hiring or referral violation.
Establishes an employment verification system. Requires: (1) the employer to attest, on a form developed by the Attorney General, that the employee's work status has been verified by examination of a passport, birth certificate, social security card, alien documentation papers, or other proof; (2) the worker to similarly attest that he or she is a U.S. citizen or national, or authorized alien; and (3) the employer to keep such records for three years in the case of referral or recruitment, or the later of three years or one year after employment termination in the case of hiring.
...Directs the Attorney General to establish complaint and investigation procedures which shall provide for: (1) individuals and entities to file written, signed complaints regarding potential hiring violations; (2) INS investigations of complaints with substantial probability of validity; (3) Department of Justice-initiated investigations; and (4) designation of a specific INS unit to prosecute such violations.
...Amends the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act to subject farm labor contractors to the requirements of this Act, beginning seven months after enactment
There's also a provision for establishing a telephone-verification of SSANs. We've upgraded to an existing Internet-verification system.
Note how carefully ALL employers utilize that system. Also note that enforcement of the provision, under Bush, Clinton and Bush has simply....sucked.
Now swallow all your coffee before reading this next laugher. Computers don't like coffee in the keyboard/screen/hard-drive.
Part B: Improvement of Enforcement and Services
- States that essential elements of the immigration control and reform program established by this Act are increased enforcement and administrative activities of the Border Patrol, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), and other appropriate Federal agencies
...Authorizes additional appropriations for wage and hour enforcement.
Revises the criminal penalties for the unlawful transportation of unauthorized aliens into the United States.
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the immigration laws of the United States should be vigorously enforced, while taking care to protect the rights and safety of U.S. citizens and aliens.
Prohibits the adjustment of status to permanent resident for violators of (nonimmigrant) visa terms
Title II: Legalization
Prohibits the legalization of persons: (1) convicted of a felony or three or more misdemeanors in the United States;
Directs the Attorney General to adjust the status of temporary resident aliens to permanent resident if the alien:
...(4) either meets the minimum requirements for an understanding of English and a knowledge of American history and government, or demonstrates the satisfactory pursuit of a course of study in these subjects.
Makes legalized aliens (other than Cuban/Haitian entrants) ineligible for Federal financial assistance, Medicaid (with certain exceptions), or food stamps for five years following a grant of temporary resident status and for five years following a grant of permanent resident status (permits aid to the aged, blind, or disabled).
Title VII: Federal Responsibility for Deportable and Excludable Aliens Convicted of Crimes
- Provides for the expeditious deportation of aliens convicted of crimes.
Provides for the identification of Department of Defense facilities that could be made available to incarcerate deportable or excludable aliens.
So next time you hear the Whiner Boys, Kohl and Feinie, yapping about "it was our last chance..." or "national security," ask the Whiner Boys exactly what the Hell they have done about the Simpson-Mazzoli Act's specific requirements.
It will be a very short list of accomplishments, trust me.
Concept-Tip: LawDog
Obviously, We Deserve the Punishment
DarthDoyle speaks to the Dimowits:
"And at the end of these four years of working together, who knows, maybe we'll need four more."
By which time only trial attorneys, WEAC members, and State employees will remain in the State to pay for DarthDoyle's tax bill.
"And at the end of these four years of working together, who knows, maybe we'll need four more."
By which time only trial attorneys, WEAC members, and State employees will remain in the State to pay for DarthDoyle's tax bill.
On the Wisconsin Right-to-Life Decision
As usual, Planet Moron has the penetrating analysis.
Here's a snitch of it, as the author reflects on the horrors about to be unleashed on the nation.
You, as a concerned citizen, can refuse to take part in the coming melee of opinion mongering by adhering to the spirit of the original regulations and in so doing raise your hand as Lady Liberty has done all these years and ask yourself the questions that once stirred a nation to cast off the yoke of oppression:
1) Is what I am saying the functional equivalent of express advocacy?
2) Will I be party to the corrosive and distorting effects of immense aggregations of wealth?
3) Is the statutory standard I am applying impermissibly vague?
PLENTY more at the link!
And once more, for effect: Screw YOU, Sens. Feingold and McPain!!
Here's a snitch of it, as the author reflects on the horrors about to be unleashed on the nation.
You, as a concerned citizen, can refuse to take part in the coming melee of opinion mongering by adhering to the spirit of the original regulations and in so doing raise your hand as Lady Liberty has done all these years and ask yourself the questions that once stirred a nation to cast off the yoke of oppression:
1) Is what I am saying the functional equivalent of express advocacy?
2) Will I be party to the corrosive and distorting effects of immense aggregations of wealth?
3) Is the statutory standard I am applying impermissibly vague?
PLENTY more at the link!
And once more, for effect: Screw YOU, Sens. Feingold and McPain!!
"Racist" Supremes?
Reacting to the insinuations of the MSM (and the damn-near-overt racialism of Olberman), an attorney writes to NewsBusters.
In 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the case of Plessy v. Ferguson in which the Court made the regrettable decision to maintain segregated public facilities though its “separate but equal” doctrine. In 1954, the Supreme Court reversed its prior ruling in the famous case of Brown v. Board of Education, where the Court found that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.” In the 53 years since Brown v. Board of Education, public school districts across the country have employed various policies in order to guarantee racial integration, which brings us to the Supreme Court case decided this week.
(Side note: You'll hear a lot of sanctimonious blather about stare decisis when the topic is Roe v. Wade--which talk generally supports retaining the Roe decision because, after all, it was A Decision. You will NOT hear so much about reversing Plessy. Draw your own conclusions.)
The public school districts in Louisville, Ky., and Seattle, Wash., employed elaborate integration policies which included the school district’s ability to assign students to schools solely upon the basis of race, when all the other policies failed to achieve the desired integration.
In other words, after all the students were assigned to schools, the school districts could shuffle a few white kids here, and a few “non-white” kids there, in order to achieve optimal integration.
...In the plainest terms possible, the Court found that the spirit of Brown v. Board of Education was that public schools can not make classifications based upon race, and the Louisville and Seattle policies (no matter how well-intentioned) were at their core classifications based solely upon race.
The bottom line: The Supreme Court’s decision was a pure and passionate defense of Brown v. Board of Education, not a rebuke
Whereas some decisions (like the curious application of the 14th Amendment which makes babies born to Illegals into US citizens without regard for whether the alien was "subject to" the US--) are full of legal shilly-shallying and wordplay, THIS decision is straightforward, down-the-pipe common sense.
HT: NewsBusters
In 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the case of Plessy v. Ferguson in which the Court made the regrettable decision to maintain segregated public facilities though its “separate but equal” doctrine. In 1954, the Supreme Court reversed its prior ruling in the famous case of Brown v. Board of Education, where the Court found that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.” In the 53 years since Brown v. Board of Education, public school districts across the country have employed various policies in order to guarantee racial integration, which brings us to the Supreme Court case decided this week.
(Side note: You'll hear a lot of sanctimonious blather about stare decisis when the topic is Roe v. Wade--which talk generally supports retaining the Roe decision because, after all, it was A Decision. You will NOT hear so much about reversing Plessy. Draw your own conclusions.)
The public school districts in Louisville, Ky., and Seattle, Wash., employed elaborate integration policies which included the school district’s ability to assign students to schools solely upon the basis of race, when all the other policies failed to achieve the desired integration.
In other words, after all the students were assigned to schools, the school districts could shuffle a few white kids here, and a few “non-white” kids there, in order to achieve optimal integration.
...In the plainest terms possible, the Court found that the spirit of Brown v. Board of Education was that public schools can not make classifications based upon race, and the Louisville and Seattle policies (no matter how well-intentioned) were at their core classifications based solely upon race.
The bottom line: The Supreme Court’s decision was a pure and passionate defense of Brown v. Board of Education, not a rebuke
Whereas some decisions (like the curious application of the 14th Amendment which makes babies born to Illegals into US citizens without regard for whether the alien was "subject to" the US--) are full of legal shilly-shallying and wordplay, THIS decision is straightforward, down-the-pipe common sense.
HT: NewsBusters
Friday, June 29, 2007
Evven MORE Pork in the State Budget
P-Mac catches some interesting stuff via Mary Lazich.
A few million....
That doesn't even count the stuff found here, although they are from the same documents.
How to reduce taxes? SPEND LESS MONEY!!
A few million....
That doesn't even count the stuff found here, although they are from the same documents.
How to reduce taxes? SPEND LESS MONEY!!
On "Power Ballads" in Liturgy
The Paragraph Farmer has a grip on the history of the genre, and an understanding of its limits. And he has a good sense of humor, much eliminated by my editing. See the link for some good laughs.
If you were raised on radio and are of a certain age, then you probably remember the "power ballad." Much as I like the Beatles' "Hey Jude" and Bruce Springsteen's "Thunder Road," those songs are simply rock anthems that build to a crescendo. In my world, the power ballad was pioneered by Boston's "More Than a Feeling" in 1976 and the virtuoso-piano-overtaken-by-everything-else that Styx wove into "Come Sail Away" a year later. From those near-symphonic beginnings (for which we can thank Tom Scholz and Dennis DeYoung, respectively), the power ballad elbowed its way to prominence in the early Eighties.
...The problem with Christian Rock is it can now be found not just on the radio, but also in the "worship space."
...Catholic parishes were mercifully late to this development by comparison with Reform-minded Christian denominations. Some Protestants first embraced what my kids call "Jesus music" as an outreach tool untainted by the vaguely papist deference to hierarchy implied by the lyrics to such classic hymns as "Holy God We Praise Thy Name." Music directors who'd grown up listening to the Manhattan Transfer ask a telephone operator to "Get Me Jesus on the Line" may not have even been conscious of their own theological assumptions. They simply wanted to "reach people where they're at," and figured that grand old hymns had to go, if for no other reason than that they harkened back to the days of what singer/songwriter John Prine called "stained glass in every window, and hearing aids in every pew." Unfortunately, many Catholic parishes that were late to embrace the praise band phenomenon have been making up for lost time in this area.
(We should add here that the "four-hymn sandwich", a mainstay of Catholic worship since the 1970's, even in the relatively 'conservative-mode' churches, is ...ahh...an inadequate response to the demands of VatII's document on the liturgy. But that's another story.)
...When arena rock arrived to push folk musicians back to Berkeley and Greenwich Village or coffee houses dialed into those mother ships, the praise band subculture saw an opening and sprinted for it with instruments in tow. Musicians who had previously played sweltering summer gigs under revival tents near Igloo-brand coolers filled with sweet tea decided that enclosed sanctuary space was a better place to gig, not least because it had air conditioning.
...In Catholic circles, praise band relocation off the grass and onto the carpet was aided and abetted by liturgists hell-bent on democratizing and de-clericalizing everything about the Mass "in the spirit of Vatican II," and never mind what the actual architects of Vatican II (such as a Polish prelate named Karol Wojtyla who later became Pope John Paul II) had to say. Some of those liturgists worked hand-in-glove with politically correct composers --sons of Salieri, every one of them -- like the irksome Marty Haugen.
[Here he introduces the critic, Esolen]
In brief, Esolen says that sentimentality, although valuable in its place, is neverthless destructive of genuine feeling. And there you have the problem put in yet another way: when power ballads intrude on the liturgy of heaven (which is what the Mass is), then what Esolen calls "the necessary hypocrisy of small talk" is wrongly raised to the status of a liturgical act.
We've seen this sort of stuff at a suburban Parish. It's not pretty.
HT: Fr. Z
If you were raised on radio and are of a certain age, then you probably remember the "power ballad." Much as I like the Beatles' "Hey Jude" and Bruce Springsteen's "Thunder Road," those songs are simply rock anthems that build to a crescendo. In my world, the power ballad was pioneered by Boston's "More Than a Feeling" in 1976 and the virtuoso-piano-overtaken-by-everything-else that Styx wove into "Come Sail Away" a year later. From those near-symphonic beginnings (for which we can thank Tom Scholz and Dennis DeYoung, respectively), the power ballad elbowed its way to prominence in the early Eighties.
...The problem with Christian Rock is it can now be found not just on the radio, but also in the "worship space."
...Catholic parishes were mercifully late to this development by comparison with Reform-minded Christian denominations. Some Protestants first embraced what my kids call "Jesus music" as an outreach tool untainted by the vaguely papist deference to hierarchy implied by the lyrics to such classic hymns as "Holy God We Praise Thy Name." Music directors who'd grown up listening to the Manhattan Transfer ask a telephone operator to "Get Me Jesus on the Line" may not have even been conscious of their own theological assumptions. They simply wanted to "reach people where they're at," and figured that grand old hymns had to go, if for no other reason than that they harkened back to the days of what singer/songwriter John Prine called "stained glass in every window, and hearing aids in every pew." Unfortunately, many Catholic parishes that were late to embrace the praise band phenomenon have been making up for lost time in this area.
(We should add here that the "four-hymn sandwich", a mainstay of Catholic worship since the 1970's, even in the relatively 'conservative-mode' churches, is ...ahh...an inadequate response to the demands of VatII's document on the liturgy. But that's another story.)
...When arena rock arrived to push folk musicians back to Berkeley and Greenwich Village or coffee houses dialed into those mother ships, the praise band subculture saw an opening and sprinted for it with instruments in tow. Musicians who had previously played sweltering summer gigs under revival tents near Igloo-brand coolers filled with sweet tea decided that enclosed sanctuary space was a better place to gig, not least because it had air conditioning.
...In Catholic circles, praise band relocation off the grass and onto the carpet was aided and abetted by liturgists hell-bent on democratizing and de-clericalizing everything about the Mass "in the spirit of Vatican II," and never mind what the actual architects of Vatican II (such as a Polish prelate named Karol Wojtyla who later became Pope John Paul II) had to say. Some of those liturgists worked hand-in-glove with politically correct composers --sons of Salieri, every one of them -- like the irksome Marty Haugen.
[Here he introduces the critic, Esolen]
In brief, Esolen says that sentimentality, although valuable in its place, is neverthless destructive of genuine feeling. And there you have the problem put in yet another way: when power ballads intrude on the liturgy of heaven (which is what the Mass is), then what Esolen calls "the necessary hypocrisy of small talk" is wrongly raised to the status of a liturgical act.
We've seen this sort of stuff at a suburban Parish. It's not pretty.
HT: Fr. Z
Motivation from Knute Rockne
Stolen directly from Tom Roeser, who cannot tell a lie.
It brings to mind Knute Rockne who, as you know, was born in Norway a Protestant, was reared in Logan Square, attended Notre Dame, played football, taught chemistry there, became a football coach and converted to the Catholic faith. And as history records when he took over direction of the team, the then small college racked up impressive wins.
One of the most hotly fought contests was always between Notre Dame and Southern Methodist. “After several years, word reached the president of Notre Dame, Fr. Cavanaugh, that in firing up his team, Rockne was applying religious fervor to the game, telling his young players to defeat those Methodists for the honor and glory of the Catholic church.
“Fr. Cavanaugh was appalled at the lack of ecumenism. He called Rockne in and said that the next time Notre Dame plays Southern Methodist which would be in South Bend, Notre Dame would sponsor a joint ecumenical dinner for players of both teams on the night before the game. The priest ordered Rockne to deliver the keynote which would stress religious unity-and in the keynote this sentence would have to be incorporated: `God doesn’t care who wins the game between Notre Dame and Southern Methodist.’
“Rockne grudgingly agreed. When the schedule for Notre Dame to meet Southern Methodist came round, the two teams and their supporters met for dinner the night before the game in the main dining hall of Notre Dame. Fr. Cavanaugh introduced both coaches and then asked Coach Rockne to give the keynote.
“Rockne meandered a bit saying that the purpose of football is to build good sportsmanship, to use athletics to beat down animosity, to fight hard but also be gentlemen. Then he uttered the words Fr. Cavanaugh gave him: `After all, God doesn’t care who wins the game between Notre Dame and Southern Methodist.’
“There was a murmur of approval and a light scattering of applause.
Then Rockne added: `God doesn’t care who wins, but His Mother does!’
Interested in history and its effects on current events? Read Roeser daily.
It brings to mind Knute Rockne who, as you know, was born in Norway a Protestant, was reared in Logan Square, attended Notre Dame, played football, taught chemistry there, became a football coach and converted to the Catholic faith. And as history records when he took over direction of the team, the then small college racked up impressive wins.
One of the most hotly fought contests was always between Notre Dame and Southern Methodist. “After several years, word reached the president of Notre Dame, Fr. Cavanaugh, that in firing up his team, Rockne was applying religious fervor to the game, telling his young players to defeat those Methodists for the honor and glory of the Catholic church.
“Fr. Cavanaugh was appalled at the lack of ecumenism. He called Rockne in and said that the next time Notre Dame plays Southern Methodist which would be in South Bend, Notre Dame would sponsor a joint ecumenical dinner for players of both teams on the night before the game. The priest ordered Rockne to deliver the keynote which would stress religious unity-and in the keynote this sentence would have to be incorporated: `God doesn’t care who wins the game between Notre Dame and Southern Methodist.’
“Rockne grudgingly agreed. When the schedule for Notre Dame to meet Southern Methodist came round, the two teams and their supporters met for dinner the night before the game in the main dining hall of Notre Dame. Fr. Cavanaugh introduced both coaches and then asked Coach Rockne to give the keynote.
“Rockne meandered a bit saying that the purpose of football is to build good sportsmanship, to use athletics to beat down animosity, to fight hard but also be gentlemen. Then he uttered the words Fr. Cavanaugh gave him: `After all, God doesn’t care who wins the game between Notre Dame and Southern Methodist.’
“There was a murmur of approval and a light scattering of applause.
Then Rockne added: `God doesn’t care who wins, but His Mother does!’
Interested in history and its effects on current events? Read Roeser daily.
Russell Kirk on Ideology--With Benedict XVI
Courtesy of Rod Dreher, a fascinating quotation on 'ideology' from Kirk:
Kirk contended that ideology is a type of religious dogmatism in a political context, and one completely inconsistent with a conservative outlook. It eliminates the nuances and shades of gray that exist in actual political or social life.
“For the ideologue, humankind may be defined into two classes: the comrades of Progress, and the foes attached to reactionary interests,” who are not only incorrect but who must be destroyed.
The proponent of ideology “resorts to the anaesthetic of social utopianism, escaping the tragedy and grandeur of true human existence by giving his adherence to a perfect dream-world of the future. Reality [the ideologue] stretches or chops away to conform to [a] dream-pattern of human nature and society.” Because ideology is a replacement religion, when injected into the public sphere it makes politics, at least as Kirk defines it, impossible.
"Fairness doctrine", anyone? "Diversity, " anyone? "Global Warming"?
You can find a similar train of thought in our post on 'What's Wrong With the World.' Or you can look at our post centering on Ayn Rand--the "other side" of ideology.
And here's the same general idea restated by B-16 in his new book "Jesus of Nazareth":
Earthly kingdoms remain earthly human kingdoms, and anyone who claims to be able to establish the perfect world is the willing dupe of Satan and plays the world right into his hands." -- Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth, 44.
Look, folks--if B-16, GKC, Whittaker Chambers, and Kirk agree on something, maybe it's worth remembering, eh?
Kirk contended that ideology is a type of religious dogmatism in a political context, and one completely inconsistent with a conservative outlook. It eliminates the nuances and shades of gray that exist in actual political or social life.
“For the ideologue, humankind may be defined into two classes: the comrades of Progress, and the foes attached to reactionary interests,” who are not only incorrect but who must be destroyed.
The proponent of ideology “resorts to the anaesthetic of social utopianism, escaping the tragedy and grandeur of true human existence by giving his adherence to a perfect dream-world of the future. Reality [the ideologue] stretches or chops away to conform to [a] dream-pattern of human nature and society.” Because ideology is a replacement religion, when injected into the public sphere it makes politics, at least as Kirk defines it, impossible.
"Fairness doctrine", anyone? "Diversity, " anyone? "Global Warming"?
You can find a similar train of thought in our post on 'What's Wrong With the World.' Or you can look at our post centering on Ayn Rand--the "other side" of ideology.
And here's the same general idea restated by B-16 in his new book "Jesus of Nazareth":
Earthly kingdoms remain earthly human kingdoms, and anyone who claims to be able to establish the perfect world is the willing dupe of Satan and plays the world right into his hands." -- Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth, 44.
Look, folks--if B-16, GKC, Whittaker Chambers, and Kirk agree on something, maybe it's worth remembering, eh?
What James Harris Could Mean
From CourageMan, a synopsis of a lesson given by Fr. Scalia (yah--his dad works in the Federal Court system.) It's what James said, more or less.
He says in his presentation that the title comes from one of the commonest things he tells men -- "grow up" or "be a man, not a boy," something he's said to me individually, with the caveat that "we are raised in a society that makes it difficult." That latter point is the focus of the bulk of his talk.
Father Scalia notes a crisis of manhood, citing the usual statistics -- the education-achievement gap, the overwhelming number of fatherless men in prison. He tells ToT that this is because boys have to be taught to become men (or in Camille Paglia's formulation, "a woman is; a man must become"), and have it done by other men. But our culture doesn't do that, instead keeping males as boys.
Biology rebels though, so males not socialized to be men will try to become through other means, which accounts for the popularity of gangs and the "conquest" culture. In the past, he notes, every culture had some rite of passage,...
Males want to sacrifice and be heroic, even in defeat -- it's what makes you a man. He cites examples from the Titanic to the Birkenhead, where men observed the code of honor -- "women and children first" -- even at the cost of their own lives. This is what men want and need, but the culture breeds it out of them. Even in defeat. The Spartans failed to keep the Persians from advancing through Thermopylae, but the 300 men stood in the face and did their duty in the face of overwhelming numbers. He also cited the Chosin Reservoir and Black Hawk Down battles. Father also cites how in boys' war games, everybody wanted to die the noble death, knowing that no greater love exists than to lay down one's life for others. "When boys play war games, they're usually not in the supply lines," Father jokes. But our culture is so phobic to this that even in the 1997 movie about the Titanic, the film-makers said they didn't show the "women and children first" nobility because "nobody would believe it."
There's more at the link. Good stuff.
He says in his presentation that the title comes from one of the commonest things he tells men -- "grow up" or "be a man, not a boy," something he's said to me individually, with the caveat that "we are raised in a society that makes it difficult." That latter point is the focus of the bulk of his talk.
Father Scalia notes a crisis of manhood, citing the usual statistics -- the education-achievement gap, the overwhelming number of fatherless men in prison. He tells ToT that this is because boys have to be taught to become men (or in Camille Paglia's formulation, "a woman is; a man must become"), and have it done by other men. But our culture doesn't do that, instead keeping males as boys.
Biology rebels though, so males not socialized to be men will try to become through other means, which accounts for the popularity of gangs and the "conquest" culture. In the past, he notes, every culture had some rite of passage,...
Males want to sacrifice and be heroic, even in defeat -- it's what makes you a man. He cites examples from the Titanic to the Birkenhead, where men observed the code of honor -- "women and children first" -- even at the cost of their own lives. This is what men want and need, but the culture breeds it out of them. Even in defeat. The Spartans failed to keep the Persians from advancing through Thermopylae, but the 300 men stood in the face and did their duty in the face of overwhelming numbers. He also cited the Chosin Reservoir and Black Hawk Down battles. Father also cites how in boys' war games, everybody wanted to die the noble death, knowing that no greater love exists than to lay down one's life for others. "When boys play war games, they're usually not in the supply lines," Father jokes. But our culture is so phobic to this that even in the 1997 movie about the Titanic, the film-makers said they didn't show the "women and children first" nobility because "nobody would believe it."
There's more at the link. Good stuff.
How the Church Really Works
Of course, from GKChesterton:
WHEN Christ at a symbolic moment was establishing His great society, He chose for its corner-stone neither the brilliant Paul nor the mystic John, but a shuffler, a snob, a coward -- in a word, a man. And upon this rock He has built His Church, and the gates of Hell have not prevailed against it. All the empires and the kingdoms have failed because of this inherent and continual weakness, that they were founded by strong men and upon strong men. But this one thing -- the historic Christian Church -- was founded upon a weak man, and for that reason it is indestructible. For no chain is stronger than its weakest link.
...and a very good lesson in Paradox, might we add.
WHEN Christ at a symbolic moment was establishing His great society, He chose for its corner-stone neither the brilliant Paul nor the mystic John, but a shuffler, a snob, a coward -- in a word, a man. And upon this rock He has built His Church, and the gates of Hell have not prevailed against it. All the empires and the kingdoms have failed because of this inherent and continual weakness, that they were founded by strong men and upon strong men. But this one thing -- the historic Christian Church -- was founded upon a weak man, and for that reason it is indestructible. For no chain is stronger than its weakest link.
...and a very good lesson in Paradox, might we add.
DA's Who Don't Prosecute
If you think that Mike McCan't ignored problems, you ain't seen nothin' yet. Kevin Fisher picks up an even more egregiously bozo DA.
[I]n Murphy, Texas, ...the local district attorney has dropped all charges against the men nabbed in a Dateline NBC sting, the first time in the history of the stings a prosecutor hasn’t taken glee in putting away the pedophiles.
His rationale?
He doesn’t like the fact that “outsiders,” as he calls the TV crews, were involved. Somehow, he feels that taints the operation.
Certainly, the Predator Population in Murphy can sleep better--with or without the local children.
[I]n Murphy, Texas, ...the local district attorney has dropped all charges against the men nabbed in a Dateline NBC sting, the first time in the history of the stings a prosecutor hasn’t taken glee in putting away the pedophiles.
His rationale?
He doesn’t like the fact that “outsiders,” as he calls the TV crews, were involved. Somehow, he feels that taints the operation.
Certainly, the Predator Population in Murphy can sleep better--with or without the local children.
Even MORE MSM "News" From The Usual Suspects
You've heard about the '20 headless bodies in Iraq' story circulated by the AP?
Well, maybe it's true. Maybe not.
Another version of the Associated Press story provided a bit more detail about the two anonymous Iraqi police officers who were the sources for the story.
One of the police officers is based in Baghdad and the other in Kut, 100 miles southeast of the capital. The Baghdad officer said he learned of the discovery because Iraq's Interior Ministry, where he works, sent troops to the village to investigate. The Kut officer said he first heard the report through residents of the Salman Pak area.
...the Associated Press didn't rely on the local police. Instead, they blatantly presented hearsay as the truth, and as a result, ran a story about a brutal massacre that currently appears to have never taken place
From Multi-National Forces HQ in Iraq:
We've been working on this query here at the Multi-National Forces Iraq Press Desk throughout the day and have been unable to confirm any of these reports of the 20 bodies at Salman Pak. After communicating with the Iraqi police and searching the area with some of our helicopters, we've been unable to find any evidence that proves the initial "report".
You were also very observant and correct to notice that these initial statements were from areas nowhere near the claimed location of the discovery which also leads us to question the validity of this report.
Until we turn up any clear evidence, we've concluded that this is an unsubstantiated claim but we'll let you know if we hear anything otherwise in the next 24 hours.
HT: Confederate Yankee
Well, maybe it's true. Maybe not.
Another version of the Associated Press story provided a bit more detail about the two anonymous Iraqi police officers who were the sources for the story.
One of the police officers is based in Baghdad and the other in Kut, 100 miles southeast of the capital. The Baghdad officer said he learned of the discovery because Iraq's Interior Ministry, where he works, sent troops to the village to investigate. The Kut officer said he first heard the report through residents of the Salman Pak area.
...the Associated Press didn't rely on the local police. Instead, they blatantly presented hearsay as the truth, and as a result, ran a story about a brutal massacre that currently appears to have never taken place
From Multi-National Forces HQ in Iraq:
We've been working on this query here at the Multi-National Forces Iraq Press Desk throughout the day and have been unable to confirm any of these reports of the 20 bodies at Salman Pak. After communicating with the Iraqi police and searching the area with some of our helicopters, we've been unable to find any evidence that proves the initial "report".
You were also very observant and correct to notice that these initial statements were from areas nowhere near the claimed location of the discovery which also leads us to question the validity of this report.
Until we turn up any clear evidence, we've concluded that this is an unsubstantiated claim but we'll let you know if we hear anything otherwise in the next 24 hours.
HT: Confederate Yankee
Dave Obey's Right (!!!)
This may not happen often--but I agree with Dave Obey.
Grandstanding is a vice practiced by both parties. In this case, it's led by the Pubbies.
U.S. Congressman Mike Pence issued the following statement today after the Pence-Hensarling-Flake Amendment passed the House of Representatives. The amendment to the Financial Services Appropriations bill prohibits funds from being used by the Federal Communications Commission to impose the Fairness Doctrine on broadcasters. The amendment passed 309-115.
True, as far as it goes.
But it's the NEXT Administration which will appoint members to the FCC--or whose Attorney General will attempt to change the rules to Impose Fairness.
Not this Administration.
And Dave Obey gets it:
David Obey responds: “This issue is much ado about nothing.”
For the time being, Obey is right.
HT: Malkin
Grandstanding is a vice practiced by both parties. In this case, it's led by the Pubbies.
U.S. Congressman Mike Pence issued the following statement today after the Pence-Hensarling-Flake Amendment passed the House of Representatives. The amendment to the Financial Services Appropriations bill prohibits funds from being used by the Federal Communications Commission to impose the Fairness Doctrine on broadcasters. The amendment passed 309-115.
True, as far as it goes.
But it's the NEXT Administration which will appoint members to the FCC--or whose Attorney General will attempt to change the rules to Impose Fairness.
Not this Administration.
And Dave Obey gets it:
David Obey responds: “This issue is much ado about nothing.”
For the time being, Obey is right.
HT: Malkin
Like Aaaaahhnold? You'll LOVE Ruuudeeee!!!
At least that's what Rudy told a bunch of people in Californicate.
Mayor Giuliani is telling California voters wondering what kind of president he would make that they need to look no further than their popular Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
"I governed very much like your governor does," Mr. Giuliani said as he described his tenure as mayor of New York from 1994 to 2001.
"I got results and I want people to look at that and say that's the way I would govern as president of the United States. I would get results," he said.
In a deft bit of political footwork, Mr. Giuliani managed to declare himself simpatico with the governor without actually specifying any of the issues where the two men hold similar views. Some of those stances, such as support for abortion rights and gay rights, antagonize large swaths of the Republican base in the Golden State and across the country.
HT: Captain's Quarters
Mayor Giuliani is telling California voters wondering what kind of president he would make that they need to look no further than their popular Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
"I governed very much like your governor does," Mr. Giuliani said as he described his tenure as mayor of New York from 1994 to 2001.
"I got results and I want people to look at that and say that's the way I would govern as president of the United States. I would get results," he said.
In a deft bit of political footwork, Mr. Giuliani managed to declare himself simpatico with the governor without actually specifying any of the issues where the two men hold similar views. Some of those stances, such as support for abortion rights and gay rights, antagonize large swaths of the Republican base in the Golden State and across the country.
HT: Captain's Quarters
Charlie Sykes' Problems
From BlameBush, an essay on the Charlie Sykes blindness-problem.
The problem with conservatives is that they exist in a world of order, structure, and moral absolutes. Such primitive ideals preclude their tiny brains from comprehending the intellectual superiority of Liberal Talk Radio: a haven for moral relativism, logical fallacies, and hysterical hissy fits fueled by a thinly-veiled narcissistic loathing of the American people. As a result, the balance of political ideals among the dimwitted sheeple herd has lurched perilously to the right, and society is dangerously close to a return of the era of lynchings, cross burnings, and tax cuts for the wealthiest one percent of Americans.
That's hardly the end of it--
...So while a Woman's Right to Choose is sacred, the right to choose what one listens to on the radio is far too important to be trusted to the American sheeple. To preserve our democracy and insure that Liberal ideas never fall victim to the whims of those that they are inflicted upon, we must reinstate the Doctrine of Fairness our Founding Fathers tacked onto the 1st Amendment.
Fear Not LeftyWackos!! The Shining Armor-clad horsemen are on their way!!
But the tide is turning. Despite being constantly bombarded by right-wing lies, the imbecilic idgets overwhelmingly returned Congress to its rightful owners last year, and the White House is Hillary's for the taking. We approach the dawn of a A New Age of Fairness, my friends, where poisonous conservative opinions in the media are tempered with an equal portion of tasty liberal goodness.
For every minute Chickenhawk Hannity spends blubbering about how we should all "support the Troops", he will be required by the Rules of Fairness to spend an equal amount of time calling them babykillers and rapists....
...and by gum, we have even MORE 'fairness' in mind:
The Fairness Doctrine would not be restricted to the realm of radio and TV media, either. For instance, high school commencement addresses that extolt the benefits of working hard and becoming financially independent must also encourage students to do lots of drugs, have lots of meaningless sex, and get Liberal Arts degrees. It's only fair.
To some, a Fairness Doctrine may seem like a vast government entity regulating the content of political speech is an infringement on our most basic civil liberties, but "Freedom of Speech" can only exist as long as the selfish pinhead masses are forced to listen to what progressives believe they need to hear, rather than what they want to hear.
I, of course, think that "freedom of speech" will continue to exist so long as we have sufficient ammo and long-arms.
Proudly mouth-breathing!
The problem with conservatives is that they exist in a world of order, structure, and moral absolutes. Such primitive ideals preclude their tiny brains from comprehending the intellectual superiority of Liberal Talk Radio: a haven for moral relativism, logical fallacies, and hysterical hissy fits fueled by a thinly-veiled narcissistic loathing of the American people. As a result, the balance of political ideals among the dimwitted sheeple herd has lurched perilously to the right, and society is dangerously close to a return of the era of lynchings, cross burnings, and tax cuts for the wealthiest one percent of Americans.
That's hardly the end of it--
...So while a Woman's Right to Choose is sacred, the right to choose what one listens to on the radio is far too important to be trusted to the American sheeple. To preserve our democracy and insure that Liberal ideas never fall victim to the whims of those that they are inflicted upon, we must reinstate the Doctrine of Fairness our Founding Fathers tacked onto the 1st Amendment.
Fear Not LeftyWackos!! The Shining Armor-clad horsemen are on their way!!
But the tide is turning. Despite being constantly bombarded by right-wing lies, the imbecilic idgets overwhelmingly returned Congress to its rightful owners last year, and the White House is Hillary's for the taking. We approach the dawn of a A New Age of Fairness, my friends, where poisonous conservative opinions in the media are tempered with an equal portion of tasty liberal goodness.
For every minute Chickenhawk Hannity spends blubbering about how we should all "support the Troops", he will be required by the Rules of Fairness to spend an equal amount of time calling them babykillers and rapists....
...and by gum, we have even MORE 'fairness' in mind:
The Fairness Doctrine would not be restricted to the realm of radio and TV media, either. For instance, high school commencement addresses that extolt the benefits of working hard and becoming financially independent must also encourage students to do lots of drugs, have lots of meaningless sex, and get Liberal Arts degrees. It's only fair.
To some, a Fairness Doctrine may seem like a vast government entity regulating the content of political speech is an infringement on our most basic civil liberties, but "Freedom of Speech" can only exist as long as the selfish pinhead masses are forced to listen to what progressives believe they need to hear, rather than what they want to hear.
I, of course, think that "freedom of speech" will continue to exist so long as we have sufficient ammo and long-arms.
Proudly mouth-breathing!
Thomas v. Breyer...The Smackdown
Cadged from AnkleBiting Pundits. This is good stuff:
Regardless of what JUSTICE BREYER’s goals might be, this Court does not sit to “create a society that includes all Americans or to solve the problems of troubled inner city schooling”. Ibid. We are not social engineers. The United States Constitution dictates that local governments cannot make decisions on the basis of race. Consequently, regardless of the perceived negative effects of racial imbalance, I will not defer to legislative majorities where the Constitution forbids it.
It should escape no one that behind JUSTICE BREYER’s veil of judicial modesty hides an inflated role for the Federal Judiciary. The dissent’s approach confers on judges the power to say what sorts of discrimination are benign and which are invidious. Having made that determination (based on no objective measure that I can detect), a judge following the dissents approach will set the level of scrutiny to achieve the desired result. Only then must the judge defer to a democratic majority.
- JUSTICE BREYER’s good intentions, which I do not doubt, have the shelf life of JUSTICE BREYER’s tenure. Unlike the dissenters, I am unwilling to delegate my constitutional responsibilities to local school boards and allow them to experiment with race-based decisionmaking on the assumption that their intentions will forever remain as good as JUSTICE BREYER”s. See The Federalist No. 51, p. 349 (J. Cooke ed. 1961) (”If men were angels, no government would be necessary”). Indeed, the racial theories endorsed by the Seattle school board should cause the dissenters to question whether local school boards should be entrusted with the power to make decisions on the basis of race.
This is overdue, to say the least.
Regardless of what JUSTICE BREYER’s goals might be, this Court does not sit to “create a society that includes all Americans or to solve the problems of troubled inner city schooling”. Ibid. We are not social engineers. The United States Constitution dictates that local governments cannot make decisions on the basis of race. Consequently, regardless of the perceived negative effects of racial imbalance, I will not defer to legislative majorities where the Constitution forbids it.
It should escape no one that behind JUSTICE BREYER’s veil of judicial modesty hides an inflated role for the Federal Judiciary. The dissent’s approach confers on judges the power to say what sorts of discrimination are benign and which are invidious. Having made that determination (based on no objective measure that I can detect), a judge following the dissents approach will set the level of scrutiny to achieve the desired result. Only then must the judge defer to a democratic majority.
- JUSTICE BREYER’s good intentions, which I do not doubt, have the shelf life of JUSTICE BREYER’s tenure. Unlike the dissenters, I am unwilling to delegate my constitutional responsibilities to local school boards and allow them to experiment with race-based decisionmaking on the assumption that their intentions will forever remain as good as JUSTICE BREYER”s. See The Federalist No. 51, p. 349 (J. Cooke ed. 1961) (”If men were angels, no government would be necessary”). Indeed, the racial theories endorsed by the Seattle school board should cause the dissenters to question whether local school boards should be entrusted with the power to make decisions on the basis of race.
This is overdue, to say the least.
MSM "Cut/Paste" on Immigration, Koh. Feinie "Why Not?"
The usual crap from the MSM, but first, the facts:
Thirty-three Democrats, including Wisconsin Sens. Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl; 12 Republicans; and independent Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman voted [for the bill.]
...15 Democrats and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a liberal independent [voted against the bill.]
So one-third of the Democrats who voted voted against the bill.
This is what the MSM calls "a Republican split."
As to The "Nobody's Senator Twins,":
Feingold demonstrates that his political future has little to do with principles:
He said that despite his serious concerns about the bill, it "should go forward...
So 'serious concerns' shouldn't get in the way of legislation. Right. 'Serious 1st Amendment concerns' didn't get in the way of the un-Constitutional Campaign Finance Bill, either.
As to Herbie?
He said "the bill certainly was not perfect" but "was our best opportunity...
Oy, veh, Herbie!! You can't even come up with a line that's better than Feinie's?
So the Democrats split, and the bill went down.
It might have been a lousy bill, but hey!! this is Congress, and we pass lousy bills all day long.
Don't blame US for these lousy bills, hey! We just do as we're told.
This is what passes for Senatorial wisdom from Wisconsin.
Thirty-three Democrats, including Wisconsin Sens. Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl; 12 Republicans; and independent Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman voted [for the bill.]
...15 Democrats and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a liberal independent [voted against the bill.]
So one-third of the Democrats who voted voted against the bill.
This is what the MSM calls "a Republican split."
As to The "Nobody's Senator Twins,":
Feingold demonstrates that his political future has little to do with principles:
He said that despite his serious concerns about the bill, it "should go forward...
So 'serious concerns' shouldn't get in the way of legislation. Right. 'Serious 1st Amendment concerns' didn't get in the way of the un-Constitutional Campaign Finance Bill, either.
As to Herbie?
He said "the bill certainly was not perfect" but "was our best opportunity...
Oy, veh, Herbie!! You can't even come up with a line that's better than Feinie's?
So the Democrats split, and the bill went down.
It might have been a lousy bill, but hey!! this is Congress, and we pass lousy bills all day long.
Don't blame US for these lousy bills, hey! We just do as we're told.
This is what passes for Senatorial wisdom from Wisconsin.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Peter Peterson's Felicitous Timing; China is HIS Friend
While we're quoting Tonelson, he brings to our attention a most curious co-incidence.
Or maybe it's not co-incidence.
No individual today launders more ideas than [Peter] Peterson, who is Chairman of both the Council on Foreign Relations and the recently renamed Peterson Institute for International Economics, and who not-so-incidentally runs the Blackstone group – Cerberus’s biggest peer in the private equity world.
Both organizations employ the typical think tank tactic of using an impressive-looking array of experts to churn out libraries worth of materials lauding the outsourcing-focused U.S. trade policies that fatten the profits of their Fortune 500 and other plutocratic benefactors. Their paeans to a borderless world, where megacorp[oration]s are free to organize a race to the bottom for domestic businesses and workers everywhere, no doubt has made life easier and more lucrative in countless ways for the Blackstones of the world. But the direct contributions of these institutes to the company’s bottom line were surely limited.
No more.
As resentment over China’s predatory trade practices and alarm over China’s growing miliary power reached new heights in Washington this spring, both organizations headed by Peterson released major reports aimed at reassuring policymakers and the media that U.S.-China relations were in fact proceeding just swimmingly, and urging elected politicians to resist public calls to rock the boat – especially on trade. And almost immediately after their release, Beijing made an investment in Blackstone big enough to make even a multimillionaire like Peterson much, much wealthier.
Just co-incidence.
In any event, the China policy status quo endorsements sponsored by Peterson’s institutes seem to have reaped a stunning reward for their boss. Scant days before the Strategic Economic Dialogue began, Blackstone and China announced that Beijing would pay $3 billion to acquire a 9.7 percent non-voting stake in the private equity group – just under the threshold that would trigger regulatory scrutiny in Washington. Blackstone sold the shares to China at a 4.5 percent discount to the planned price of Blackstone’s upcoming initial public offering, and China’s investment enabled the firm to boost the IPO float by 75 percent, to 7 million shares. In return, China agreed to hold the shares for four years, and not to sign similar deals with any of Blackstone’s private equity competitors for the same period unless Blackstone approves
The China deal will enable Peterson himself to gain $1.88 billion from the IPO while still holding a stake in Blackstone worth more than $1.3 billion.
And somehow the intrepid reporters of the Wall Street Journal missed it.
...the indifference to obvious signs of a wildly lucrative Peterson-China connection is more disturbing. It’s undoubtedly the latest sign that idea laundering, far from being exceptional in American politics and policy, is steadily becoming the norm.
MUCH more at the link--including John Snow's Cerberus/Chrysler/Japan situation.
Or maybe it's not co-incidence.
No individual today launders more ideas than [Peter] Peterson, who is Chairman of both the Council on Foreign Relations and the recently renamed Peterson Institute for International Economics, and who not-so-incidentally runs the Blackstone group – Cerberus’s biggest peer in the private equity world.
Both organizations employ the typical think tank tactic of using an impressive-looking array of experts to churn out libraries worth of materials lauding the outsourcing-focused U.S. trade policies that fatten the profits of their Fortune 500 and other plutocratic benefactors. Their paeans to a borderless world, where megacorp[oration]s are free to organize a race to the bottom for domestic businesses and workers everywhere, no doubt has made life easier and more lucrative in countless ways for the Blackstones of the world. But the direct contributions of these institutes to the company’s bottom line were surely limited.
No more.
As resentment over China’s predatory trade practices and alarm over China’s growing miliary power reached new heights in Washington this spring, both organizations headed by Peterson released major reports aimed at reassuring policymakers and the media that U.S.-China relations were in fact proceeding just swimmingly, and urging elected politicians to resist public calls to rock the boat – especially on trade. And almost immediately after their release, Beijing made an investment in Blackstone big enough to make even a multimillionaire like Peterson much, much wealthier.
Just co-incidence.
In any event, the China policy status quo endorsements sponsored by Peterson’s institutes seem to have reaped a stunning reward for their boss. Scant days before the Strategic Economic Dialogue began, Blackstone and China announced that Beijing would pay $3 billion to acquire a 9.7 percent non-voting stake in the private equity group – just under the threshold that would trigger regulatory scrutiny in Washington. Blackstone sold the shares to China at a 4.5 percent discount to the planned price of Blackstone’s upcoming initial public offering, and China’s investment enabled the firm to boost the IPO float by 75 percent, to 7 million shares. In return, China agreed to hold the shares for four years, and not to sign similar deals with any of Blackstone’s private equity competitors for the same period unless Blackstone approves
The China deal will enable Peterson himself to gain $1.88 billion from the IPO while still holding a stake in Blackstone worth more than $1.3 billion.
And somehow the intrepid reporters of the Wall Street Journal missed it.
...the indifference to obvious signs of a wildly lucrative Peterson-China connection is more disturbing. It’s undoubtedly the latest sign that idea laundering, far from being exceptional in American politics and policy, is steadily becoming the norm.
MUCH more at the link--including John Snow's Cerberus/Chrysler/Japan situation.
"Club for Growth" Reads History Backwards
Tonelson observes that Club for Growth has difficulty with 20th-Century history:
But what really had us scratching our heads was the Club’s observation that, “The current protectionist rhetoric is eerily reminiscent of that which led to the Smoot-Hawley Act. That legislation triggered the stock market collapse of 1929, devastated the U.S. economy, and exacerbated the Great Depression.”
The problem is that Smoot-Hawley was enacted in June, 1930 – eight months after the Black Tuesday stock market crash of October 29, 1929. Blaming the crash on the bill is like saying the discovery of America prompted Columbus to set sail, or that our alarm clocks rang this morning because we woke up.
Club for Growth is a standard-fare "Globaloney" bunch, which occasioned Tonelson's observation.
In a June 8 “Key Vote Alert,” the Club announced that it would subtract “heavily weighted” points on its annual Congressional scorecard for “the sponsorship, or co-sponsorship of all bills introduced in the House and Senate that impose, or threaten to impose, protectionist policies towards China.” The Alert specified that the House’s Ryan-Hunter currency manipulation bill and its Senate counterpart, Stabenow-Bunning-Bayh, along with the Davis-English bill that would enable anti-subsidy tariffs to be levied against non-market economies like China’s, would be included.
This is all standard fare for the globalization cheerleaders, many of whom seem to believe that free market practices will be adopted by serial protectionists like China if Americans merely wish for it hard enough.
The Club's members obviously haven't wished hard enough. Maybe a few doses of gin with their wishes will help.
But what really had us scratching our heads was the Club’s observation that, “The current protectionist rhetoric is eerily reminiscent of that which led to the Smoot-Hawley Act. That legislation triggered the stock market collapse of 1929, devastated the U.S. economy, and exacerbated the Great Depression.”
The problem is that Smoot-Hawley was enacted in June, 1930 – eight months after the Black Tuesday stock market crash of October 29, 1929. Blaming the crash on the bill is like saying the discovery of America prompted Columbus to set sail, or that our alarm clocks rang this morning because we woke up.
Club for Growth is a standard-fare "Globaloney" bunch, which occasioned Tonelson's observation.
In a June 8 “Key Vote Alert,” the Club announced that it would subtract “heavily weighted” points on its annual Congressional scorecard for “the sponsorship, or co-sponsorship of all bills introduced in the House and Senate that impose, or threaten to impose, protectionist policies towards China.” The Alert specified that the House’s Ryan-Hunter currency manipulation bill and its Senate counterpart, Stabenow-Bunning-Bayh, along with the Davis-English bill that would enable anti-subsidy tariffs to be levied against non-market economies like China’s, would be included.
This is all standard fare for the globalization cheerleaders, many of whom seem to believe that free market practices will be adopted by serial protectionists like China if Americans merely wish for it hard enough.
The Club's members obviously haven't wished hard enough. Maybe a few doses of gin with their wishes will help.
An Example of the Press' Clueless Writing on Liturgical Music
Noted by New Liturgical Movement, Man With a Black Hat, and others as simply obnoxious, here's the Diocesan newspaper (Arlington, VA) allowing pure drivel.
The blessings of Church music ministry lie in its differences.
For the same Sunday liturgy celebrating the feast of St. John the Baptist last weekend, parishes in three different sections of the Arlington Diocese sang three completely different entrance hymns: in Purcellville, the contemporary classic “Here I Am Lord;” in Fairfax, the solid hymn “All You Saints Still Striving;” and in Arlington, the non-traditional “Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord,” straight out of the 1973 musical “Godspell.”
No choice was more “correct” than the other; rather, each strove in its own way to fulfill the goal of music ministry, which is to lead the congregation to God, according to Diocesan Music Coordinator Rick Gibala. [He's running for Confused Bureaucrat of the Decade, and might win. The manifestation of Beauty in the art of liturgical music is what 'leads one to God.' Other 'manifestations' most likely won't.]
During Mass, church choirs are called “to help the assembly in their sung prayer,” Gibala said. Coupled together, the text and tune help accomplish that goal, while the music serves as the “handmaid to the liturgy,” taking no focus from the eucharistic table. [Actually, the phrase in the authoritative document is "[music]...is an integral part of the Liturgy," which isn't the same as "handmaid." And while we're at it, that's an ALTAR, not a "table."]
Whether feet are pumping organ pedals or thumb and finger are firmly grasping guitar picks, most music ministers agree that their task is to enhance the liturgy and to involve the congregation in song. “Good celebrations foster and nourish faith,” says the USCCB Committee on the Liturgy’s statement on Music in Catholic Worship, a mission statement of sorts for Catholic music ministers. [Wrong. Music for worship should "glorify God, edify the faithful, and raise the minds and hearts of the Faithful to God.] “Styles of music, choices of instruments, forms of celebration — all converge in a single purpose: that men and women of faith may proclaim and share that faith in prayer and Christ may grow among us all.” [N.B.--that "statement", Music in Catholic Worship, has no actual authority, and was written largely by a well-known Rebel.]
Music in the liturgy offers a time for escape, release and prayer, said Sylvia Mulherin, director of music at St. Leo the Great Parish in Fairfax. ["Escape"? "Release"? Ah--it's the Sociology of Music we deal with, right? Hint: liquor is quicker!!]
“Our services without music would not be the same,” she said. Notes and lyrics excite emotion and enable participants to “express things in music that you can’t in any other way.” [True. But as Plato and Aristotle warned, there are 'expressions' which are good--and those which are NOT good. The educated musician knows the difference.]
Music also leads choirs and the congregation more deeply into prayer, said J. Michael McMahon, president of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians and part-time director of music at St. Agnes Parish in Arlington. “We’re not only focusing on the notes but the significance of the text that we’re singing,” he said. [Prioritization: the text happens to be primary...]
McMahon, who previously served as director of music at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Alexandria and St. Mark Parish in Vienna, said he first and foremost considered the “participation of the people” — enabling and encouraging them to sing by choosing familiar songs and Mass settings. This familiarity may be up in the air when the Vatican releases a new English translation of the Missale Romanum, currently in committee in Rome. [How about considering that the 'first and foremost' part of your job is FORMATION of the people in the True, Good, and Beautiful, J. Michael?]
Until then, Catholics remained challenged by the Second Vatican Council to participate fully in sung prayer, said Gibala. “A lot of people come to church and they don’t want to sing,” Gibala said. “But the Faith is to participate fully in sung prayer.” [They were only "challenged" by Vat 2 if they had NOT READ any of Pius X's documents on liturgy--or Pius XII's--or dozens of others which predated VatII. This is the 'hermeneutic of disruption' in play.]
This doesn’t exclude traditional chants or polyphony, which date back to the Middle Ages. [Halfway through this article, they mention Chant--which in the Council's document is required to be given pride of place, and is the very model of good liturgical music. And then the implication is that 'Chant dates to the Middle Ages.' Wrong. Chant is derived from Temple-worship--it's at least partly pre-Christian. Good of them to mention it, anyway.]
“In the Catholic Church we do have to preserve our tradition,” Gibala said. “The organ and the music of our tradition cannot be ignored.”
“There is a need to use all the music that’s part of our tradition,” agreed Mulherin, whose adult choir at St. Leo the Great does just that. “We have 2,000 years of music that had a meaning at some time or another.” [Actually, a great deal of that music has meaning at ALL times. That's what makes it 'good stuff,' as opposed to...oh, the Barbra Streisand stuff, the Mr. Rogers stuff, the Chet Atkins stuff, the bar-tunes vamping stuff...you know, 'of the world' stuff.]
At the Fairfax parish, as in many parishes, different groups provide different styles of music for different Masses. All the groups at St. Leo the Great, however, “know at least a certain common repertoire,” Mulherin said. “You can’t just center on one type because then you eliminate all types of styles and traditions that are valuable.” [Or you could do what the Council recommended--see above.]
According to David Mathers, director of sacred music at St. Mary Church in Fredericksburg, and formerly at All Saints in Manassas, all music ministry should work toward “building up the worship and the liturgy of the Church. “The liturgical documents of the Church are very insistent that the people participate in the Mass,” he said. “Church as liturgy is essentially a corporate action. It’s not a group of individuals praying that just happen to be in the same place at the same time. It’s a body — the body of Christ.”
Monica Perz-Waddington, director of music at the 11:15 a.m. Sunday Mass at Our Lady, Queen of Peace Church and the 6 p.m. Sunday liturgy at St. Charles Church, both in Arlington, said that she tries to foster participation and prayer within the gathered body of Christ by “making the music beautiful and the prayer irresistible.” [Vapidity Award, 2007.]
To do this, she incorporates all different styles of music, whether it’s a song from a 1970s musical, a traditional Creole tune or a re-working of “Amazing Grace.” [Which musical? Cats? Hair? AAaaaaaarerrrrrrrgggghhhhh! By the way, what the Hell does "traditional Creole" have to do with the worship of God?]
“Different things touch different people, so if there’s a variety in the song, then I think there’s a greater probability that you’re going to touch somebody,” Perz-Waddington said. “I like to think that bringing in songs from the other cultures kind of makes us more Catholic and universal.” [Whereas the Church has always thought that evangelization is the ideal, Ms. P-W likes 'reverse evangelization'--improving the Church by importing Broadway, or something.]
With 43 years of music ministry tucked under his belt, Tom Schafer, director of music at St. Bernadette Church in Springfield for the past 15 years, said it’s not the end of the world if everyone in the congregation doesn’t sing along during Mass.
“The real question is: how do we improve their prayer?” he said. “It’s important that they pray.”
According to Schafer, that takes team focus among the celebrant and the liturgical participants to make a worthwhile liturgical celebration where the congregation feels at one with Christ.
“I believe when people arrive in the doors of the church, they should be able to feel the presence of God,” he said. Music is one way to get there — a “form of prayer that goes directly to the heart.” [I wish he had mentioned the 'mind' as well as the 'heart.' Sorta completes the human being, you know...]
All styles of this melodic form of prayer are finding a “happy home” in liturgies, the Committee on the Liturgy wrote. “To chant and polyphony we have effectively added the chorale hymn, restored responsorial singing to some extent, and employed many styles of contemporary composition,” the statement on music says. “Music in folk idiom is finding acceptance in eucharistic celebrations. We must judge value within each style.” [Uh huh. Nothing like a little Woody Guthrie to accompany the Sacrifice for All Time.]
This is especially true in Arlington’s diverse and polyglot-rich diocese.“Music should unite, not divide,” Gibala said. “This is not about the music. It’s about praising God. There’s room for all of it in our Church.”
Note to Abp. Dolan. There are a lot of folks who do not need consideration for Milwaukee's Liturgical Music offices. See all of the above.
I do not think it is a co-incidence that this article was printed during the Church Music Ass'n of America's recent colloquium held in DC--nor that it anticipates the issuance of the Motu Proprio. The Bishop of Arlington knows what he is doing.
The blessings of Church music ministry lie in its differences.
For the same Sunday liturgy celebrating the feast of St. John the Baptist last weekend, parishes in three different sections of the Arlington Diocese sang three completely different entrance hymns: in Purcellville, the contemporary classic “Here I Am Lord;” in Fairfax, the solid hymn “All You Saints Still Striving;” and in Arlington, the non-traditional “Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord,” straight out of the 1973 musical “Godspell.”
No choice was more “correct” than the other; rather, each strove in its own way to fulfill the goal of music ministry, which is to lead the congregation to God, according to Diocesan Music Coordinator Rick Gibala. [He's running for Confused Bureaucrat of the Decade, and might win. The manifestation of Beauty in the art of liturgical music is what 'leads one to God.' Other 'manifestations' most likely won't.]
During Mass, church choirs are called “to help the assembly in their sung prayer,” Gibala said. Coupled together, the text and tune help accomplish that goal, while the music serves as the “handmaid to the liturgy,” taking no focus from the eucharistic table. [Actually, the phrase in the authoritative document is "[music]...is an integral part of the Liturgy," which isn't the same as "handmaid." And while we're at it, that's an ALTAR, not a "table."]
Whether feet are pumping organ pedals or thumb and finger are firmly grasping guitar picks, most music ministers agree that their task is to enhance the liturgy and to involve the congregation in song. “Good celebrations foster and nourish faith,” says the USCCB Committee on the Liturgy’s statement on Music in Catholic Worship, a mission statement of sorts for Catholic music ministers. [Wrong. Music for worship should "glorify God, edify the faithful, and raise the minds and hearts of the Faithful to God.] “Styles of music, choices of instruments, forms of celebration — all converge in a single purpose: that men and women of faith may proclaim and share that faith in prayer and Christ may grow among us all.” [N.B.--that "statement", Music in Catholic Worship, has no actual authority, and was written largely by a well-known Rebel.]
Music in the liturgy offers a time for escape, release and prayer, said Sylvia Mulherin, director of music at St. Leo the Great Parish in Fairfax. ["Escape"? "Release"? Ah--it's the Sociology of Music we deal with, right? Hint: liquor is quicker!!]
“Our services without music would not be the same,” she said. Notes and lyrics excite emotion and enable participants to “express things in music that you can’t in any other way.” [True. But as Plato and Aristotle warned, there are 'expressions' which are good--and those which are NOT good. The educated musician knows the difference.]
Music also leads choirs and the congregation more deeply into prayer, said J. Michael McMahon, president of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians and part-time director of music at St. Agnes Parish in Arlington. “We’re not only focusing on the notes but the significance of the text that we’re singing,” he said. [Prioritization: the text happens to be primary...]
McMahon, who previously served as director of music at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Alexandria and St. Mark Parish in Vienna, said he first and foremost considered the “participation of the people” — enabling and encouraging them to sing by choosing familiar songs and Mass settings. This familiarity may be up in the air when the Vatican releases a new English translation of the Missale Romanum, currently in committee in Rome. [How about considering that the 'first and foremost' part of your job is FORMATION of the people in the True, Good, and Beautiful, J. Michael?]
Until then, Catholics remained challenged by the Second Vatican Council to participate fully in sung prayer, said Gibala. “A lot of people come to church and they don’t want to sing,” Gibala said. “But the Faith is to participate fully in sung prayer.” [They were only "challenged" by Vat 2 if they had NOT READ any of Pius X's documents on liturgy--or Pius XII's--or dozens of others which predated VatII. This is the 'hermeneutic of disruption' in play.]
This doesn’t exclude traditional chants or polyphony, which date back to the Middle Ages. [Halfway through this article, they mention Chant--which in the Council's document is required to be given pride of place, and is the very model of good liturgical music. And then the implication is that 'Chant dates to the Middle Ages.' Wrong. Chant is derived from Temple-worship--it's at least partly pre-Christian. Good of them to mention it, anyway.]
“In the Catholic Church we do have to preserve our tradition,” Gibala said. “The organ and the music of our tradition cannot be ignored.”
“There is a need to use all the music that’s part of our tradition,” agreed Mulherin, whose adult choir at St. Leo the Great does just that. “We have 2,000 years of music that had a meaning at some time or another.” [Actually, a great deal of that music has meaning at ALL times. That's what makes it 'good stuff,' as opposed to...oh, the Barbra Streisand stuff, the Mr. Rogers stuff, the Chet Atkins stuff, the bar-tunes vamping stuff...you know, 'of the world' stuff.]
At the Fairfax parish, as in many parishes, different groups provide different styles of music for different Masses. All the groups at St. Leo the Great, however, “know at least a certain common repertoire,” Mulherin said. “You can’t just center on one type because then you eliminate all types of styles and traditions that are valuable.” [Or you could do what the Council recommended--see above.]
According to David Mathers, director of sacred music at St. Mary Church in Fredericksburg, and formerly at All Saints in Manassas, all music ministry should work toward “building up the worship and the liturgy of the Church. “The liturgical documents of the Church are very insistent that the people participate in the Mass,” he said. “Church as liturgy is essentially a corporate action. It’s not a group of individuals praying that just happen to be in the same place at the same time. It’s a body — the body of Christ.”
Monica Perz-Waddington, director of music at the 11:15 a.m. Sunday Mass at Our Lady, Queen of Peace Church and the 6 p.m. Sunday liturgy at St. Charles Church, both in Arlington, said that she tries to foster participation and prayer within the gathered body of Christ by “making the music beautiful and the prayer irresistible.” [Vapidity Award, 2007.]
To do this, she incorporates all different styles of music, whether it’s a song from a 1970s musical, a traditional Creole tune or a re-working of “Amazing Grace.” [Which musical? Cats? Hair? AAaaaaaarerrrrrrrgggghhhhh! By the way, what the Hell does "traditional Creole" have to do with the worship of God?]
“Different things touch different people, so if there’s a variety in the song, then I think there’s a greater probability that you’re going to touch somebody,” Perz-Waddington said. “I like to think that bringing in songs from the other cultures kind of makes us more Catholic and universal.” [Whereas the Church has always thought that evangelization is the ideal, Ms. P-W likes 'reverse evangelization'--improving the Church by importing Broadway, or something.]
With 43 years of music ministry tucked under his belt, Tom Schafer, director of music at St. Bernadette Church in Springfield for the past 15 years, said it’s not the end of the world if everyone in the congregation doesn’t sing along during Mass.
“The real question is: how do we improve their prayer?” he said. “It’s important that they pray.”
According to Schafer, that takes team focus among the celebrant and the liturgical participants to make a worthwhile liturgical celebration where the congregation feels at one with Christ.
“I believe when people arrive in the doors of the church, they should be able to feel the presence of God,” he said. Music is one way to get there — a “form of prayer that goes directly to the heart.” [I wish he had mentioned the 'mind' as well as the 'heart.' Sorta completes the human being, you know...]
All styles of this melodic form of prayer are finding a “happy home” in liturgies, the Committee on the Liturgy wrote. “To chant and polyphony we have effectively added the chorale hymn, restored responsorial singing to some extent, and employed many styles of contemporary composition,” the statement on music says. “Music in folk idiom is finding acceptance in eucharistic celebrations. We must judge value within each style.” [Uh huh. Nothing like a little Woody Guthrie to accompany the Sacrifice for All Time.]
This is especially true in Arlington’s diverse and polyglot-rich diocese.“Music should unite, not divide,” Gibala said. “This is not about the music. It’s about praising God. There’s room for all of it in our Church.”
Note to Abp. Dolan. There are a lot of folks who do not need consideration for Milwaukee's Liturgical Music offices. See all of the above.
I do not think it is a co-incidence that this article was printed during the Church Music Ass'n of America's recent colloquium held in DC--nor that it anticipates the issuance of the Motu Proprio. The Bishop of Arlington knows what he is doing.
Kohl & Feingold: STILL Losers
Yup.
Predictably, they voted wrong on the latest Shamnesty Bill.
We're up to TWO "Nobody's Senators."
Predictably, they voted wrong on the latest Shamnesty Bill.
We're up to TWO "Nobody's Senators."
Resisting the Motu Proprio, II
A bit more resistance is noted from the SOV2 parish.
Let's hope that this is not the "model" adopted by ....ah....too many.
HEY!
THIS WILL NOT STAND!
THERE IS NO GOING BACK TO THE PAST.
WE CANNOT ALLOW THE GAINS OF THE LAST FORTY YEARS TO BE BRUSHED ASIDE! THE ENGLISH PEOPLE-FACING MASS IS OUR TRADITION!
YOU CANNOT GO CHANGING TRADITION WILLY-NILLY!
IF THE ENGLISH MASS IS GOOD ENOUGH FOR TEDDY KENNEDY, THEN IT'S GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME!
The link has more...
Let's hope that this is not the "model" adopted by ....ah....too many.
HEY!
THIS WILL NOT STAND!
THERE IS NO GOING BACK TO THE PAST.
WE CANNOT ALLOW THE GAINS OF THE LAST FORTY YEARS TO BE BRUSHED ASIDE! THE ENGLISH PEOPLE-FACING MASS IS OUR TRADITION!
YOU CANNOT GO CHANGING TRADITION WILLY-NILLY!
IF THE ENGLISH MASS IS GOOD ENOUGH FOR TEDDY KENNEDY, THEN IT'S GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME!
The link has more...
New Bishop of Superior, WI
The Catholics Up Nort', hey, they're part of the Milwaukee eparchy (or whateveryoucallit)
Bishop Fliss [retiring] will be 77 in October. New Bishop-to-be Peter Christensen is a priest in diocese of St. Paul - who as rector, was very involved in the growth of St. John Vianney Seminary there.
Amy also provided a link to a brief bio of Fr. Christensen. Here's the content: (edited)
...Father Christensen was born in 1952, grew up in Southern California, then moved to the Twin Cities in 1975. After obtaining his undergraduate degree from the University of Saint Thomas, he worked as a commercial artist. Father Christensen was ordained in 1985 from the Saint Paul Seminary and served as Associate Pastor at Saint Olaf's in downtown Minneapolis until 1989, when he was assigned as a spiritual director at Saint John Vianney Seminary. In 1992, Archbishop Roach appointed him Seminary Rector. As Rector, Father Christensen took a moribund Seminary and brought its enrollment from 30 or so seminarians to its current enrollment of more than 100, making it the largest college Seminary in the United States. He revamped the formation program, instituted Eucharistic Adoration, built up a $3 million endowment, and beautified the Seminary Chapel.
And that's the report from the Northern Flank! Wonder if Fr. C. knows he'll have to speak Yupper soon?
Bishop Fliss [retiring] will be 77 in October. New Bishop-to-be Peter Christensen is a priest in diocese of St. Paul - who as rector, was very involved in the growth of St. John Vianney Seminary there.
Amy also provided a link to a brief bio of Fr. Christensen. Here's the content: (edited)
...Father Christensen was born in 1952, grew up in Southern California, then moved to the Twin Cities in 1975. After obtaining his undergraduate degree from the University of Saint Thomas, he worked as a commercial artist. Father Christensen was ordained in 1985 from the Saint Paul Seminary and served as Associate Pastor at Saint Olaf's in downtown Minneapolis until 1989, when he was assigned as a spiritual director at Saint John Vianney Seminary. In 1992, Archbishop Roach appointed him Seminary Rector. As Rector, Father Christensen took a moribund Seminary and brought its enrollment from 30 or so seminarians to its current enrollment of more than 100, making it the largest college Seminary in the United States. He revamped the formation program, instituted Eucharistic Adoration, built up a $3 million endowment, and beautified the Seminary Chapel.
And that's the report from the Northern Flank! Wonder if Fr. C. knows he'll have to speak Yupper soon?
What's Wrong With the World, Today?
As neatly summarized as it can be, in the mind of Benedict XVI, from Cosmos-Liturgy-Sex:
The three issues are some of the primary concerns that we address here at C-L-S . . . aren’t we smart. These three issues revolve around the reduction of the meaning of the human person to solely the animal aspect of human nature, the reduction of rationality to empirical knowledge, and the solution that Christianity can offer to these mistaken views.
Not by coincidence, GKChesterton predicted it.
...seem to suggest a phenomenon that G.K. Chesterton characterized as a symptom of the loss of authentic religion. Namely, when physical health becomes an obsession. In fact, the way that this manifests itself is the same phenomenon as that which underlies scientism as well.
Which, natually, leads to the GlobalWarming fever, and (by the way) to a "health-care" crisis...
The religion of secular humanism, a close cousin of scientism, also flourishes with the faulty thinking rampant in this “crisis of modernity.”
The result?
The irony is that modernity prides itself on reason and dialogue. However, the protectors of the realm’s dogmatic teachings seem to intuitively recognize that they do not have the intellectual tools to engage in a dialogue and so suppression of opposing ideas becomes the only alternative. For most in this unholy magisterium, it would seem that intellectual debate is not welcomed and perhaps not even possible.
Gee--does that ring a bell--like, for example, the "fairness" crusade?
I might quibble that the "post-modernists" have simply decided not to engage the debate suggested by CLS; rather, they have decided that there is no 'truth' except for that which they affirm, personally.
But that IS a consequence of the 'modernist' thought, too.
The three issues are some of the primary concerns that we address here at C-L-S . . . aren’t we smart. These three issues revolve around the reduction of the meaning of the human person to solely the animal aspect of human nature, the reduction of rationality to empirical knowledge, and the solution that Christianity can offer to these mistaken views.
Not by coincidence, GKChesterton predicted it.
...seem to suggest a phenomenon that G.K. Chesterton characterized as a symptom of the loss of authentic religion. Namely, when physical health becomes an obsession. In fact, the way that this manifests itself is the same phenomenon as that which underlies scientism as well.
Which, natually, leads to the GlobalWarming fever, and (by the way) to a "health-care" crisis...
The religion of secular humanism, a close cousin of scientism, also flourishes with the faulty thinking rampant in this “crisis of modernity.”
The result?
The irony is that modernity prides itself on reason and dialogue. However, the protectors of the realm’s dogmatic teachings seem to intuitively recognize that they do not have the intellectual tools to engage in a dialogue and so suppression of opposing ideas becomes the only alternative. For most in this unholy magisterium, it would seem that intellectual debate is not welcomed and perhaps not even possible.
Gee--does that ring a bell--like, for example, the "fairness" crusade?
I might quibble that the "post-modernists" have simply decided not to engage the debate suggested by CLS; rather, they have decided that there is no 'truth' except for that which they affirm, personally.
But that IS a consequence of the 'modernist' thought, too.
A Letter About the Motu Proprio
A priest in Ohio has written the following letter in anticipation of the Motu Proprio's promulgation (now apparently scheduled for July 7th.)
It's a model letter; I've only excerpted it here.
...It appears, from all reports, that he's making it much easier for priests, and the lay faithful, to have Mass according to the old rite -- i.e., the form of the Mass as it existed in 1962. (After that, there were changes that preceded the more substantive changes in the wake of the Second Vatican Council.) Many reports say that a minimum number will have to request it, something like 30, but otherwise exactly how this will work I don't know. We have to wait and see.
What he is almost certainly not doing is directly affecting the celebration of the current, normative rite of the Mass and sacraments.
Why is he doing this?
1. Aiding reconciliation with those "traditionalist" Catholics who are seriously disaffected with the Church over the implementation of Vatican II.
2. Reconciliation with the Orthodox. ...One of the key issues is the liturgy. As important as it is for Catholics, the liturgy is vastly moreso for the Orthodox, who see it as the main bearer of tradition -- a point Catholics would probably agree with, except we fail to emphasize the point.
So the Orthodox were very troubled by the way we Catholics seemed to treat our liturgy in the wake of the Council.
3. The right understanding of the Catholic liturgy per se.
The pope has said many times that we've interpreted the liturgy, and the Council itself, the wrong way -- from a stance of "discontinuity" or "rupture," versus one of continuity. I.e., why did the liturgy change so much? Ought it to have? Did the Council really call for that? Is this a good thing?
The pope (among many others) believes not; so he is aiming for a reconciliation, as it were, between the current rite and the old rite themselves.
A nice recap, although much more fully expressed (and nuanced) in the original.
Now for the practical effects on HIS parishes (he serves two, as Pastor.)
It will mean that it will be far easier to request the celebration of the old rite of the Mass, and perhaps other sacraments. We'll find out soon just what the mechanism is for that; and then we'll find out just what the Archbishop has to say. At some point in the near future, I'll know just what it means for me, as a priest, who may be approached with just such a request.
As your pastor, one of my basic approaches is to say that if you have a legitimate option provided by the Church, then I feel obliged to do what I can to fulfill it.
...I have no idea how to celebrate the old Mass, so long before I could ever grant such a request, I would have to learn how to do it, and I have no idea how quickly I could master it.
But again, if people ask for it, and the pope says they are entitled to it, I will find a way to provide for that.
Again, the issues at stake are both big-picture, and also down-to-earth practical. The big picture, what the pope is thinking about, is the future of the Catholic Faith, keeping our tradition alive (what are we without it?), rooted in our liturgy. He is looking ahead many decades when he hopes, as do I, that our liturgy is no longer a battleground.
The down-to-earth, present-day issues are simply, how will your pastor, your priests and your parish respond to the legitimate requests and needs expressed by parishioners? I don't know because I don't know what folks will ask for, how many, and so forth. All I can tell you is I will do my best, and all of us should try to be patient and cooperative and flexible.
Perhaps the Archdiocese of Milwaukee's priests will react the same way.
It's a model letter; I've only excerpted it here.
...It appears, from all reports, that he's making it much easier for priests, and the lay faithful, to have Mass according to the old rite -- i.e., the form of the Mass as it existed in 1962. (After that, there were changes that preceded the more substantive changes in the wake of the Second Vatican Council.) Many reports say that a minimum number will have to request it, something like 30, but otherwise exactly how this will work I don't know. We have to wait and see.
What he is almost certainly not doing is directly affecting the celebration of the current, normative rite of the Mass and sacraments.
Why is he doing this?
1. Aiding reconciliation with those "traditionalist" Catholics who are seriously disaffected with the Church over the implementation of Vatican II.
2. Reconciliation with the Orthodox. ...One of the key issues is the liturgy. As important as it is for Catholics, the liturgy is vastly moreso for the Orthodox, who see it as the main bearer of tradition -- a point Catholics would probably agree with, except we fail to emphasize the point.
So the Orthodox were very troubled by the way we Catholics seemed to treat our liturgy in the wake of the Council.
3. The right understanding of the Catholic liturgy per se.
The pope has said many times that we've interpreted the liturgy, and the Council itself, the wrong way -- from a stance of "discontinuity" or "rupture," versus one of continuity. I.e., why did the liturgy change so much? Ought it to have? Did the Council really call for that? Is this a good thing?
The pope (among many others) believes not; so he is aiming for a reconciliation, as it were, between the current rite and the old rite themselves.
A nice recap, although much more fully expressed (and nuanced) in the original.
Now for the practical effects on HIS parishes (he serves two, as Pastor.)
It will mean that it will be far easier to request the celebration of the old rite of the Mass, and perhaps other sacraments. We'll find out soon just what the mechanism is for that; and then we'll find out just what the Archbishop has to say. At some point in the near future, I'll know just what it means for me, as a priest, who may be approached with just such a request.
As your pastor, one of my basic approaches is to say that if you have a legitimate option provided by the Church, then I feel obliged to do what I can to fulfill it.
...I have no idea how to celebrate the old Mass, so long before I could ever grant such a request, I would have to learn how to do it, and I have no idea how quickly I could master it.
But again, if people ask for it, and the pope says they are entitled to it, I will find a way to provide for that.
Again, the issues at stake are both big-picture, and also down-to-earth practical. The big picture, what the pope is thinking about, is the future of the Catholic Faith, keeping our tradition alive (what are we without it?), rooted in our liturgy. He is looking ahead many decades when he hopes, as do I, that our liturgy is no longer a battleground.
The down-to-earth, present-day issues are simply, how will your pastor, your priests and your parish respond to the legitimate requests and needs expressed by parishioners? I don't know because I don't know what folks will ask for, how many, and so forth. All I can tell you is I will do my best, and all of us should try to be patient and cooperative and flexible.
Perhaps the Archdiocese of Milwaukee's priests will react the same way.
NWA: The "Wounded Duck" Reappears as the Logo
The Journal-Sentinel provides a couple of chapters--and here's another from a faithful blog-reader (1 of 4).
Let me tell you how my day went as I sit in a hotel room on a night I should be home with my wife, 3-year old son, and 1-year old son BECAUSE THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A DAY TRIP.
Flight this morning from Madison to Detroit that was booked for 10:30 a.m. was cancelled (no reason given). Rescheduled for 6:00 a.m. departure. Waste of 4.5 hours.
Flight back to Madison was scheduled to depart Detroit around 5:00 p.m. I show up at the airport and the flight was cancelled. So I was booked on the 7:30 pm flight. Some agents were claiming weather but weirdly it was nice in Detroit and I have been told numerous times on previous flights we are "flying around a storm." So the 7:30 p.m. flight was delayed to 8:00 p.m. due to weather (perfectly acceptable, lightning present).
Weather clears, we were informed the flight crew was on the way from the other side of the airport "then we can start boarding". 30 minutes later, the gate agent says the flight crew arrived. 10 minutes after that they say the flight crew has reached their "time limit" and they were looking for a new flight crew.
Pilot gets on the speaker and explains time limit of 14 hours, which was nice but no one cared, just wanted to get home.
Another 30 minutes later, the gate agent says "we have good news and bad news, the good news is that they are NOT cancelling the flight, the bad news is that the flight will leave tomorrow at 7:30 a.m."
Great delivery, I am sure everyone felt that was good news. (/sarcasm)
NWA offers a hotel room, "just go to Gate 41". Oh really...gate 41 has a line 2 miles long. I would still be standing there if I would have waited.
So I sit at the Rodeway with a picture of my family. I should be giving my sons a kiss goodnight but somebody on your end really screwed up....big time. Try flying on your own airline once. So adding up the 4.5 wasted hours this morning then taking into account weather delays until 8:00 p.m. with my next flight at 7:30 a.m. equates to 16 hours of wasted time at $100 per hour. I will be invoicing you $1,600 for wasted time. Please issue a purchase order for this amount.
Tell you what, I deal with customers everyday as a sales & marketing executive...if I would treat our customers the way you treat yours, I would be out of business (maybe where you are headed). Forward this to your CEO, I'll take over as CMO, $800,000 salary with a minimum bonus potential of $2MM annually, 3-years guaranteed, and I'll help turn this ship around.
Your customer service needs a revolution.
Only 16 hours? Whassamatta you, complaining??
Let me tell you how my day went as I sit in a hotel room on a night I should be home with my wife, 3-year old son, and 1-year old son BECAUSE THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A DAY TRIP.
Flight this morning from Madison to Detroit that was booked for 10:30 a.m. was cancelled (no reason given). Rescheduled for 6:00 a.m. departure. Waste of 4.5 hours.
Flight back to Madison was scheduled to depart Detroit around 5:00 p.m. I show up at the airport and the flight was cancelled. So I was booked on the 7:30 pm flight. Some agents were claiming weather but weirdly it was nice in Detroit and I have been told numerous times on previous flights we are "flying around a storm." So the 7:30 p.m. flight was delayed to 8:00 p.m. due to weather (perfectly acceptable, lightning present).
Weather clears, we were informed the flight crew was on the way from the other side of the airport "then we can start boarding". 30 minutes later, the gate agent says the flight crew arrived. 10 minutes after that they say the flight crew has reached their "time limit" and they were looking for a new flight crew.
Pilot gets on the speaker and explains time limit of 14 hours, which was nice but no one cared, just wanted to get home.
Another 30 minutes later, the gate agent says "we have good news and bad news, the good news is that they are NOT cancelling the flight, the bad news is that the flight will leave tomorrow at 7:30 a.m."
Great delivery, I am sure everyone felt that was good news. (/sarcasm)
NWA offers a hotel room, "just go to Gate 41". Oh really...gate 41 has a line 2 miles long. I would still be standing there if I would have waited.
So I sit at the Rodeway with a picture of my family. I should be giving my sons a kiss goodnight but somebody on your end really screwed up....big time. Try flying on your own airline once. So adding up the 4.5 wasted hours this morning then taking into account weather delays until 8:00 p.m. with my next flight at 7:30 a.m. equates to 16 hours of wasted time at $100 per hour. I will be invoicing you $1,600 for wasted time. Please issue a purchase order for this amount.
Tell you what, I deal with customers everyday as a sales & marketing executive...if I would treat our customers the way you treat yours, I would be out of business (maybe where you are headed). Forward this to your CEO, I'll take over as CMO, $800,000 salary with a minimum bonus potential of $2MM annually, 3-years guaranteed, and I'll help turn this ship around.
Your customer service needs a revolution.
Only 16 hours? Whassamatta you, complaining??
The WSJ's Agenda
For whatever reason, (or maybe it is irrational) the Wall Street Journal has been opposed to 'borders' for years, as Levin points out here. That position regularly shows, more or less, on its editorial pages.
As a consequence of its "no borders" position, the WSJ is doing its level best to scare Republican Senators (and Representatives) with the Apocalypse: "No more election wins for YOU, Republicans, unless you vote for the Amnesty Bill!!!"
In other words, the Journal would have the Republicans forgo the national interest for race-politics.
They endorse the Jesse Jackson/Al Sharpton methodology. No small irony there, folks.
A local radio pundit spent an hour trying to make the WSJ's position rational. He failed, of course. There's no way to do so.
Levin assesses their position as follows:
Today’s Journal writers aren’t as honest as their predecessors. They deny this bill provides for amnesty. In the past, they would have proudly proclaimed it. Today’s Journal writers take refuge in the anonymity of the editorial page as they assassinate the character of those with whom they disagree. Apparently, those who insist on enforcing the law are racists. Those who insist that the government fulfill its obligation to secure the border and punish businesses that hire illegal aliens are anti-Hispanic.
Moreover, the Journal writers are beset with delusion. They pretend that those opposing the comprehensive amnesty bill are a vocal minority within the Republican party. Well, most reputable polls show that Americans, regardless of party, overwhelmingly oppose amnesty and insist on border security. They don’t favor open borders, as the Journal editorial page does.
The Journal writers are prodding Republicans to play ethnic politics. They argue that if the Republicans are viewed as anti-Hispanic, they will lose elections. Of course, the Journal writers are perpetuating that smear by assigning racist motives to opponents of the bill.
But Republicans do best when they run on principle and act on principle. Unlike the Journal writers, I happen to believe that Hispanic Americans are motivated by the same principles as other Americans, including — liberty, security, the rule of law, capitalism, and faith.
The Journal assigns recent losses in Hispanic support for the Republican party to opposition by the “vocal minority” within the party to amnesty. Where’s the evidence for this? For all we know, a majority in the Hispanic community is opposed to the war, profligate spending, or any of a dozen other issues. In the last election, support for the Republican party declined across the ethnic spectrum, including among whites.
The WSJ's editorials are often rational and persuasive. But on this topic, as well as on "Free Trade" (a myth, as things stand now) they are utterly devoid of foundation in reason and reality.
As a consequence of its "no borders" position, the WSJ is doing its level best to scare Republican Senators (and Representatives) with the Apocalypse: "No more election wins for YOU, Republicans, unless you vote for the Amnesty Bill!!!"
In other words, the Journal would have the Republicans forgo the national interest for race-politics.
They endorse the Jesse Jackson/Al Sharpton methodology. No small irony there, folks.
A local radio pundit spent an hour trying to make the WSJ's position rational. He failed, of course. There's no way to do so.
Levin assesses their position as follows:
Today’s Journal writers aren’t as honest as their predecessors. They deny this bill provides for amnesty. In the past, they would have proudly proclaimed it. Today’s Journal writers take refuge in the anonymity of the editorial page as they assassinate the character of those with whom they disagree. Apparently, those who insist on enforcing the law are racists. Those who insist that the government fulfill its obligation to secure the border and punish businesses that hire illegal aliens are anti-Hispanic.
Moreover, the Journal writers are beset with delusion. They pretend that those opposing the comprehensive amnesty bill are a vocal minority within the Republican party. Well, most reputable polls show that Americans, regardless of party, overwhelmingly oppose amnesty and insist on border security. They don’t favor open borders, as the Journal editorial page does.
The Journal writers are prodding Republicans to play ethnic politics. They argue that if the Republicans are viewed as anti-Hispanic, they will lose elections. Of course, the Journal writers are perpetuating that smear by assigning racist motives to opponents of the bill.
But Republicans do best when they run on principle and act on principle. Unlike the Journal writers, I happen to believe that Hispanic Americans are motivated by the same principles as other Americans, including — liberty, security, the rule of law, capitalism, and faith.
The Journal assigns recent losses in Hispanic support for the Republican party to opposition by the “vocal minority” within the party to amnesty. Where’s the evidence for this? For all we know, a majority in the Hispanic community is opposed to the war, profligate spending, or any of a dozen other issues. In the last election, support for the Republican party declined across the ethnic spectrum, including among whites.
The WSJ's editorials are often rational and persuasive. But on this topic, as well as on "Free Trade" (a myth, as things stand now) they are utterly devoid of foundation in reason and reality.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
The Motu Proprio--On July 7th
Via Gerald,
My Austrian friends just emailed me. Kath.net/Die Welt (Klaus Badde) report (my translation:) that the motu proprio liberating the Tridentine Mass for the entire Catholic Church has been given to about 30 bishops from all over the world in the Sala Bologna of the Apostolic Palace by Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone. The bishops had been invited to Rome for that purpose.
At the end of the meeting, in which the motu proprio was introduced together with a letter of explanation by Pope Benedict XVI., Pope Benedict met with the bishops. The document is about three pages long, the accompanying letter about four. From Germany, Cardinal Lehmann (the head of the German bishops conference) had been invited. The circumstances of the procedure make clear that the Pope was very interested to personally inform the bishops, in collegial manner, of the content rather than have them learn about it from the media.
The publication of both documents will take place on July 7th. It emphasizes the unity of the Roman Rite which will consist of an ordinary and an extraordinary form which are supposed to inspire each other. The ordinary/regular form will continue to be the new rite of 1969. The extraordinary form will be the Missal of Bl. John XXIII. of 1962.
Wonder which US Bishop was present....
My Austrian friends just emailed me. Kath.net/Die Welt (Klaus Badde) report (my translation:) that the motu proprio liberating the Tridentine Mass for the entire Catholic Church has been given to about 30 bishops from all over the world in the Sala Bologna of the Apostolic Palace by Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone. The bishops had been invited to Rome for that purpose.
At the end of the meeting, in which the motu proprio was introduced together with a letter of explanation by Pope Benedict XVI., Pope Benedict met with the bishops. The document is about three pages long, the accompanying letter about four. From Germany, Cardinal Lehmann (the head of the German bishops conference) had been invited. The circumstances of the procedure make clear that the Pope was very interested to personally inform the bishops, in collegial manner, of the content rather than have them learn about it from the media.
The publication of both documents will take place on July 7th. It emphasizes the unity of the Roman Rite which will consist of an ordinary and an extraordinary form which are supposed to inspire each other. The ordinary/regular form will continue to be the new rite of 1969. The extraordinary form will be the Missal of Bl. John XXIII. of 1962.
Wonder which US Bishop was present....
REAL Money: Building Contracts for the State/CORRECTED
Owen noticed the following "earmark" in the Wisconsin budget:
Building Program – UW System Residence Halls
• Restore six UW System residence hall projects to the 2007-09 building program that were deleted from the Building Commission’s recommendations under the Joint Finance Committee version of the budget. Provide $205,614,000 of program revenue supported bonding for these projects, which are shown in the following table.
o Parkside -Suite Style Residence Hall $17,740,000 PR Bonding
(The Parkside building is only one of several.)
You don't have to look too far to find one of the 'Interested Parties' in the game here. This record is for donations in the 2006 campaign cycle:
ABCPAC-WIS
Committee to Elect a Republican Senate $3,000.00
Gasper, Greg $250.00
Green, Mark $10,000.00
Hundertmark, Jean $500.00
Kramer, Bill $250.00
Leibham, Joseph $500.00
Leschke, Julie Pung $250.00
McReynolds, William L $600.00
Murtha, John $250.00
Ott, Jim $250.00
Petersen, Kevin David $250.00
Republican Assembly Campaign Committee $3,000.00
Roth, Roger J Jr $250.00
Stepp, Cathy $100.00
Tauchen, Gary $250.00
Van Hollen, JB $1,000.00
Zipperer, Rich $250.00
Natch, this is only one of the Interested Parties. Here's another:
Associated General Contractors of WI (AGCWI)
Albers, Sheryl $250.00
Committee to Elect a Republican Senate $1,000.00
Doyle, Jim $500.00
Gasper, Greg $250.00
Green, Mark $1,000.00
Hundertmark, Jean $100.00
Kreibich, Robin $250.00
Leschke, Julie Pung $250.00
Maxwell, Mike $100.00
Murtha, John $250.00
Nygren, John $250.00
Reigel, Jim $250.00
Republican Assembly Campaign Committee $2,000.00
Reynolds, Tom $250.00
Van Hollen, JB $750.00
Wieckert, Steve $250.00
You can also look up the donations made by the Building Trades Council, the Carpenters, the IBEW, the Plumbers, general-contractor owners (by their names,) and the contractor-trade groups for the various specific disciplines.
Note, too, that this Earmark was inserted AFTER the Joint Finance Committee deleted it from DarthDoyle's original budget.
Building Program – UW System Residence Halls
• Restore six UW System residence hall projects to the 2007-09 building program that were deleted from the Building Commission’s recommendations under the Joint Finance Committee version of the budget. Provide $205,614,000 of program revenue supported bonding for these projects, which are shown in the following table.
o Parkside -Suite Style Residence Hall $17,740,000 PR Bonding
(The Parkside building is only one of several.)
You don't have to look too far to find one of the 'Interested Parties' in the game here. This record is for donations in the 2006 campaign cycle:
ABCPAC-WIS
Committee to Elect a Republican Senate $3,000.00
Gasper, Greg $250.00
Green, Mark $10,000.00
Hundertmark, Jean $500.00
Kramer, Bill $250.00
Leibham, Joseph $500.00
Leschke, Julie Pung $250.00
McReynolds, William L $600.00
Murtha, John $250.00
Ott, Jim $250.00
Petersen, Kevin David $250.00
Republican Assembly Campaign Committee $3,000.00
Roth, Roger J Jr $250.00
Stepp, Cathy $100.00
Tauchen, Gary $250.00
Van Hollen, JB $1,000.00
Zipperer, Rich $250.00
Natch, this is only one of the Interested Parties. Here's another:
Associated General Contractors of WI (AGCWI)
Albers, Sheryl $250.00
Committee to Elect a Republican Senate $1,000.00
Doyle, Jim $500.00
Gasper, Greg $250.00
Green, Mark $1,000.00
Hundertmark, Jean $100.00
Kreibich, Robin $250.00
Leschke, Julie Pung $250.00
Maxwell, Mike $100.00
Murtha, John $250.00
Nygren, John $250.00
Reigel, Jim $250.00
Republican Assembly Campaign Committee $2,000.00
Reynolds, Tom $250.00
Van Hollen, JB $750.00
Wieckert, Steve $250.00
You can also look up the donations made by the Building Trades Council, the Carpenters, the IBEW, the Plumbers, general-contractor owners (by their names,) and the contractor-trade groups for the various specific disciplines.
Note, too, that this Earmark was inserted AFTER the Joint Finance Committee deleted it from DarthDoyle's original budget.
Strini's Obit for WFMR; Is Radio "Engaging"?
The Journal's music critic, somebody named Strini, weighs in on the death of WFMR's format.
Of course, "weighs in" implies that Strini has weighty comments.
Don't be misled.
They're not.
I wonder how many among that 4,900 listened attentively. I can't imagine a significant number of them settling in for an evening of intense engagement with Mahler via radio. The only place I regularly heard WFMR Classical was at the barbershop I've patronized for 16 years. Did the shearers and the sheared ponder the fine points of sonata form, as the sounds of Stamitz and Mendelssohn mingled with the buzz and snip of trimming? I think not. The music was aural wallpaper in that setting, and I suspect that was WFMR's main role for most listeners.
Interesting that on the one hand, WFMR's offerings are "aural wallpaper" and on the other hand, Rush Limbaugh (and Sykes, Belling, etc.) are "running the country" from the radio. (Although Strini does not make that claim...at least not in print.)
Hmmmmm?
More to the point: very few people leave an MSO concert conversing about the 'fine points of sonata form' they encountered in Uihlein Hall. An encounter with Beauty may lead to analysis, but in most cases, it leads to awe.
But there are those who actually do fully engage the music while listening--both on WFMR and at Uihlein. And there are those who claim that listening to Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms will make baby's brain grow faster, and mathematics learning easier.
"Wallpaper" doesn't make THAT claim.
Of course, "weighs in" implies that Strini has weighty comments.
Don't be misled.
They're not.
I wonder how many among that 4,900 listened attentively. I can't imagine a significant number of them settling in for an evening of intense engagement with Mahler via radio. The only place I regularly heard WFMR Classical was at the barbershop I've patronized for 16 years. Did the shearers and the sheared ponder the fine points of sonata form, as the sounds of Stamitz and Mendelssohn mingled with the buzz and snip of trimming? I think not. The music was aural wallpaper in that setting, and I suspect that was WFMR's main role for most listeners.
Interesting that on the one hand, WFMR's offerings are "aural wallpaper" and on the other hand, Rush Limbaugh (and Sykes, Belling, etc.) are "running the country" from the radio. (Although Strini does not make that claim...at least not in print.)
Hmmmmm?
More to the point: very few people leave an MSO concert conversing about the 'fine points of sonata form' they encountered in Uihlein Hall. An encounter with Beauty may lead to analysis, but in most cases, it leads to awe.
But there are those who actually do fully engage the music while listening--both on WFMR and at Uihlein. And there are those who claim that listening to Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms will make baby's brain grow faster, and mathematics learning easier.
"Wallpaper" doesn't make THAT claim.
State School Aid to Milwaukee: HOW Much?
You've heard it a million times: the State has committed to paying 66% of school costs.
DarthDoyle was excoriated for proposing a budget with less than 66% two years ago.
Now we read this:
[Barrett] said his goal remains to see the state pay 75% of the overall cost of voucher students, roughly the percentage it pays for Milwaukee Public Schools students.
Huh?
DarthDoyle was excoriated for proposing a budget with less than 66% two years ago.
Now we read this:
[Barrett] said his goal remains to see the state pay 75% of the overall cost of voucher students, roughly the percentage it pays for Milwaukee Public Schools students.
Huh?
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Cdl Levada to NYC?
Perhaps Abp. Dolan should not put away the cheese-hat too soon.
Marco Tosatti, one of the most influential religious journalists in Italy, reports today in La Stampa on possible changes in the Roman Curia, confirming rumors that the Pope (and Cardinal Bertone) would want to move Cardinal Levada to New York (prompting the battle for his succession)...
'S alright. In NYC the taxes are even higher than in Milwaukee.
HT: Rorate Coeli
Marco Tosatti, one of the most influential religious journalists in Italy, reports today in La Stampa on possible changes in the Roman Curia, confirming rumors that the Pope (and Cardinal Bertone) would want to move Cardinal Levada to New York (prompting the battle for his succession)...
'S alright. In NYC the taxes are even higher than in Milwaukee.
HT: Rorate Coeli
Not So Fast, Institute for Justice
The overworked Crocodile only managed to assemble 10 cogent grafs before he had to run off and pay taxes make money.
But they demonstrate, once again, that bought-and-paid-for Legislators are far more powerful than Courts who, after all, are stuck with things like "plain language."
Sad, but true.
But they demonstrate, once again, that bought-and-paid-for Legislators are far more powerful than Courts who, after all, are stuck with things like "plain language."
Sad, but true.
The Left's "Fairness"
From Whittaker Chambers' review of Atlas Shrugged, we learn of the "mind" of Al Gore and his allies on the Popular Liberation Front of "fairness":
Something of this implication is fixed in the book's dictatorial tone, which is much its most striking feature. Out of a lifetime of reading, I can recall no other book in which a tone of overriding arrogance was so implacably sustained. Its shrillness is without reprieve. Its dogmatism is without appeal.
In addition, the mind which finds this tone natural to it shares other characteristics of its type. 1) It consistently mistakes raw force for strength, and the rawer the force, the more reverent the posture of the mind before it. 2) It supposes itself to be the bringer of a final revelation. Therefore, resistance to the Message cannot be tolerated because disagreement can never be merely honest, prudent, or just humanly fallible. Dissent from revelation so final (because, the author would say, so reasonable) can only be willfully wicked.
There are ways of dealing with such wickedness, and, in fact, right reason itself enjoins them. From almost any page of Atlas Shrugged, a voice can be heard, from painful necessity, commanding: "To a gas chamber — go!"
The same inflexibly self-righteous stance results, too (in the total absence of any saving humor), in odd extravagances of inflection and gesture-that Dollar Sign, for example. At first, we try to tell ourselves that these are just lapses, that this mind has, somehow, mislaid the discriminating knack that most of us pray will warn us in time of the difference between what is effective and firm, and what is wildly grotesque and excessive. Soon we suspect something worse. We suspect that this mind finds, precisely in extravagance, some exalting merit; feels a surging release of power and passion precisely in smashing up the house.
A tornado might feel this way, or Carrie Nation.
There is a parallel now emerging from the Left in their passionate drive for "fairness." But it is not really 'other opinion' that they wish to compel. Frankly, the Left does not care about the 'other opinion' makers, for at some point in time, those 'other' voices may revolt against their benefactors. (In this regard, see the nut-roots vs. Hilary Clinton.) There is a better way which is a long-term strategy. In reality, "fairness" is just a way-station.
What they wish to compel in the long term is the death of easily-accessible conservative opinion and the associated inconvenient facts. In order to achieve that, they must insert 'other' opinion. They know very well that radio station owners will not sustain unsuccessful programming such as the condescending, insipid, and smug oral farting of the Left. And they don't care.
Oh, yes, some Radio stations will broadcast 'left' opinion--but it will not be commercially successful. And then, Radio will find more prosperous ventures and cease broadcast of 'left' as well as 'right.' Do you think for one instant that Feinstein/Clinton/Gore, et al., will care about the death of "left" opinion on radio?
Nope.
For them, it's all or nothing, and "nothing" is a very acceptable option, given the reality of carefully cut-and-pasted "news" stories, PhotoShopped "events," etc. masquerading as "news" presented by the Acceptable People of the East and West Coasts, tailored to fit The Agenda, whatever it happens to be that week. Recall the words of GKChesterton: "It may or may not be true that man's great use for language is to conceal his thoughts; but I suppose that we should all agree to the somewhat analogous proposition that the one great use of newspapers is to suppress news."
The Left understands the maxim that "A lie is halfway around the world before Truth gets its boots on."
And they understand how Ayn Rand was successful.
Perhaps the MSM understands that they, too, can be eliminated, if they do not co-operate. After all, "disagreement can never be merely honest, prudent, or humanly fallible."
But I doubt that they get that, yet.
HT: McMahon
Something of this implication is fixed in the book's dictatorial tone, which is much its most striking feature. Out of a lifetime of reading, I can recall no other book in which a tone of overriding arrogance was so implacably sustained. Its shrillness is without reprieve. Its dogmatism is without appeal.
In addition, the mind which finds this tone natural to it shares other characteristics of its type. 1) It consistently mistakes raw force for strength, and the rawer the force, the more reverent the posture of the mind before it. 2) It supposes itself to be the bringer of a final revelation. Therefore, resistance to the Message cannot be tolerated because disagreement can never be merely honest, prudent, or just humanly fallible. Dissent from revelation so final (because, the author would say, so reasonable) can only be willfully wicked.
There are ways of dealing with such wickedness, and, in fact, right reason itself enjoins them. From almost any page of Atlas Shrugged, a voice can be heard, from painful necessity, commanding: "To a gas chamber — go!"
The same inflexibly self-righteous stance results, too (in the total absence of any saving humor), in odd extravagances of inflection and gesture-that Dollar Sign, for example. At first, we try to tell ourselves that these are just lapses, that this mind has, somehow, mislaid the discriminating knack that most of us pray will warn us in time of the difference between what is effective and firm, and what is wildly grotesque and excessive. Soon we suspect something worse. We suspect that this mind finds, precisely in extravagance, some exalting merit; feels a surging release of power and passion precisely in smashing up the house.
A tornado might feel this way, or Carrie Nation.
There is a parallel now emerging from the Left in their passionate drive for "fairness." But it is not really 'other opinion' that they wish to compel. Frankly, the Left does not care about the 'other opinion' makers, for at some point in time, those 'other' voices may revolt against their benefactors. (In this regard, see the nut-roots vs. Hilary Clinton.) There is a better way which is a long-term strategy. In reality, "fairness" is just a way-station.
What they wish to compel in the long term is the death of easily-accessible conservative opinion and the associated inconvenient facts. In order to achieve that, they must insert 'other' opinion. They know very well that radio station owners will not sustain unsuccessful programming such as the condescending, insipid, and smug oral farting of the Left. And they don't care.
Oh, yes, some Radio stations will broadcast 'left' opinion--but it will not be commercially successful. And then, Radio will find more prosperous ventures and cease broadcast of 'left' as well as 'right.' Do you think for one instant that Feinstein/Clinton/Gore, et al., will care about the death of "left" opinion on radio?
Nope.
For them, it's all or nothing, and "nothing" is a very acceptable option, given the reality of carefully cut-and-pasted "news" stories, PhotoShopped "events," etc. masquerading as "news" presented by the Acceptable People of the East and West Coasts, tailored to fit The Agenda, whatever it happens to be that week. Recall the words of GKChesterton: "It may or may not be true that man's great use for language is to conceal his thoughts; but I suppose that we should all agree to the somewhat analogous proposition that the one great use of newspapers is to suppress news."
The Left understands the maxim that "A lie is halfway around the world before Truth gets its boots on."
And they understand how Ayn Rand was successful.
Perhaps the MSM understands that they, too, can be eliminated, if they do not co-operate. After all, "disagreement can never be merely honest, prudent, or humanly fallible."
But I doubt that they get that, yet.
HT: McMahon
An Alternative Minimum Tax Fix in the Works!!
Out-STANDING news for Wisconsin residents who are also taxpayers.
Rob Andrews (D-NJ) and Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) have teamed up to introduce H. R 2318. It amends the Internal Revenue Code IRC) so that the state and local tax deduction is not a preference item in the computation of AMT. It is a two sentence amendment to the IRC. It was introduced on May 15, 2007 and referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Now it is up to the rest of us.
If you live in a state (like NJ or NY or CA [or WISCONSIN]) which has high income taxes and high property taxes or both, this legislation gives you relief. It removes the double and triple taxation of the same income without offset.
Call your Representative and ask her/him to co-sponsor the Andrews-LoBiondo bi-partisan bill, H.R. 2318. Tell her/him that you are holding them accountable for fixing the AMT. They created it. They can amend it.
Apparently the Congressmen didn't have the nerve (or interest) to make the child-deduction a "preference-item", however, so raising more than the PC-acceptable 2.5 children will remain a highly-taxed burden.
The AMT has been a significant revenue-gaining device for the Feds over the years, but has been particularly painful for Wisconsin taxpayers.
Do what the quote suggests: call your Congresscritter. Get this amended to include children, and get it passed.
HT: The Big Picture
Rob Andrews (D-NJ) and Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) have teamed up to introduce H. R 2318. It amends the Internal Revenue Code IRC) so that the state and local tax deduction is not a preference item in the computation of AMT. It is a two sentence amendment to the IRC. It was introduced on May 15, 2007 and referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Now it is up to the rest of us.
If you live in a state (like NJ or NY or CA [or WISCONSIN]) which has high income taxes and high property taxes or both, this legislation gives you relief. It removes the double and triple taxation of the same income without offset.
Call your Representative and ask her/him to co-sponsor the Andrews-LoBiondo bi-partisan bill, H.R. 2318. Tell her/him that you are holding them accountable for fixing the AMT. They created it. They can amend it.
Apparently the Congressmen didn't have the nerve (or interest) to make the child-deduction a "preference-item", however, so raising more than the PC-acceptable 2.5 children will remain a highly-taxed burden.
The AMT has been a significant revenue-gaining device for the Feds over the years, but has been particularly painful for Wisconsin taxpayers.
Do what the quote suggests: call your Congresscritter. Get this amended to include children, and get it passed.
HT: The Big Picture
Requiem Aeternam, WFMR
It was in the mid-1950's when Jim Schweitzer, a family friend, got a new job asa Sales Manager with WFMR Radio, a startup all-Classical Music station in Milwaukee. My hazy memory tells me that the Curtis Ambulance people were also involved as financial backers. At that time, WTMJ-AM had a Sunday morning classical show, but that was all there was to compete with. WTMJ eventually got rid of its show, and WFMR stood alone, at least as a 'for-profit' operation.
At that time, the broadcasts were about the same as they are now. Classical music, a little news, some advertising, more classical music. They may or may not have broadcasted 24x7--
No question that later in its life, WFMR broadcast at night--Ron Cuzner, a neighbor of a cousin, ran "The Dark Side," an all-night jazz show. Ron Cuzner was a George Carlin sorta guy, relating baseball results in this fashion: "Milwaukee defeated Chicago......New York defeated Boston....(etc.)" And each phrase was accentuated properly, lovingly delivered, at some length. To Ron, the numbers didn't count--only the results. But the jazz portion of WFMR's broadcast day eventually disappeared, too, and WFMR joined a network of stations which provided 'lights-out' classical music for evenings and overnights.
WFMR had a major financial crisis in the mid-1970's, and John Koss bought the station, moving the HQ to East Capitol Drive. He preserved the format (while likely parting with some of his fortune,) but eventually sold the station.
Somewhere along the line, the broadcast frequency changed, calling for a major project in my life--resetting all the preset-station buttons. Not much of a price to pay, really.
The new owners had a small gang of radio stations, and only WFMR was a classical outlet. For quite some time, WFMR broadcast Milwaukee Symphony concerts which had been recorded and nationally syndicated by Chicago's WFMT. The broadcasts proved that the MSO was, indeed, a major-league band. Recently, they added live interviews of MSO people and guest artists. Not many people get to hear directly from Doc Severinsen about upcoming concerts, but WFMR listeners did.
Then, today, it ended.
The demographics were wrong; the numbers didn't add up.
In reality, they haven't added up for a long time, albeit some years were better and some years were worse. With ownership no longer willing to live on the small part of the pie, and no "demographic trends" to support hope for the future, the format was buried.
There are alternatives, of a sort. Wisconsin Public Radio plays classical music, although during a short trip to town today I found only NPR "news" instead of music, on all of the NPR outlets I scanned and it wasn't the top-of-the-hour. Chicago's WFMT is still going strong (but not on the Internet--they couldn't afford the licensing fees demanded by the record companies.) WFMT is not a "classical music only" format station, however--they provide a number of music-and-arts discussion and commentary shows during their broadcast day. And there is a weaker classical station in Chicago, as well, which used to transmit from two geographically-disparate towers to get better metro coverage. Don't know what they're doing these days.
It's not yet time to discuss 'P&L vs. Culture,' although there's probably a lot to say about that.
It is, however, worth noting the death of WFMR. Both its start and its end were milestones for Milwaukee, and it deserves a finer obituary than this one.
At that time, the broadcasts were about the same as they are now. Classical music, a little news, some advertising, more classical music. They may or may not have broadcasted 24x7--
No question that later in its life, WFMR broadcast at night--Ron Cuzner, a neighbor of a cousin, ran "The Dark Side," an all-night jazz show. Ron Cuzner was a George Carlin sorta guy, relating baseball results in this fashion: "Milwaukee defeated Chicago......New York defeated Boston....(etc.)" And each phrase was accentuated properly, lovingly delivered, at some length. To Ron, the numbers didn't count--only the results. But the jazz portion of WFMR's broadcast day eventually disappeared, too, and WFMR joined a network of stations which provided 'lights-out' classical music for evenings and overnights.
WFMR had a major financial crisis in the mid-1970's, and John Koss bought the station, moving the HQ to East Capitol Drive. He preserved the format (while likely parting with some of his fortune,) but eventually sold the station.
Somewhere along the line, the broadcast frequency changed, calling for a major project in my life--resetting all the preset-station buttons. Not much of a price to pay, really.
The new owners had a small gang of radio stations, and only WFMR was a classical outlet. For quite some time, WFMR broadcast Milwaukee Symphony concerts which had been recorded and nationally syndicated by Chicago's WFMT. The broadcasts proved that the MSO was, indeed, a major-league band. Recently, they added live interviews of MSO people and guest artists. Not many people get to hear directly from Doc Severinsen about upcoming concerts, but WFMR listeners did.
Then, today, it ended.
The demographics were wrong; the numbers didn't add up.
In reality, they haven't added up for a long time, albeit some years were better and some years were worse. With ownership no longer willing to live on the small part of the pie, and no "demographic trends" to support hope for the future, the format was buried.
There are alternatives, of a sort. Wisconsin Public Radio plays classical music, although during a short trip to town today I found only NPR "news" instead of music, on all of the NPR outlets I scanned and it wasn't the top-of-the-hour. Chicago's WFMT is still going strong (but not on the Internet--they couldn't afford the licensing fees demanded by the record companies.) WFMT is not a "classical music only" format station, however--they provide a number of music-and-arts discussion and commentary shows during their broadcast day. And there is a weaker classical station in Chicago, as well, which used to transmit from two geographically-disparate towers to get better metro coverage. Don't know what they're doing these days.
It's not yet time to discuss 'P&L vs. Culture,' although there's probably a lot to say about that.
It is, however, worth noting the death of WFMR. Both its start and its end were milestones for Milwaukee, and it deserves a finer obituary than this one.
Iran Invading Iraq?
Not likely.
Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces have been spotted by British troops crossing the border into southern Iraq, The Sun tabloid reported on Tuesday.
Britain's defence ministry would not confirm or deny the report, with a spokesman declining to comment on "intelligence matters".
Captain Ed comments:
If the Sun has it right, it would probably force Britain to stay in southern Iraq far past their announced withdrawal date. They would almost have to respond, given the criticism over the capture of their 15 sailors and Marines a few months ago, and that would require them not only to stay but to broaden their forces in the region first.
....
In reading the story, the issue becomes clear -- the Sun reported it. For those who don't know the British press, the Sun is a rough equivalent to the National Enquirer here in the US. They get some stories right, but far too often, they blow things out of proportion or just get entire stories completely wrong.
Iran would have to be completely m'shugah to invade Iraq at this time.
Anything's possible, of course. But waiting for confirmation is the better choice.
Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces have been spotted by British troops crossing the border into southern Iraq, The Sun tabloid reported on Tuesday.
Britain's defence ministry would not confirm or deny the report, with a spokesman declining to comment on "intelligence matters".
Captain Ed comments:
If the Sun has it right, it would probably force Britain to stay in southern Iraq far past their announced withdrawal date. They would almost have to respond, given the criticism over the capture of their 15 sailors and Marines a few months ago, and that would require them not only to stay but to broaden their forces in the region first.
....
In reading the story, the issue becomes clear -- the Sun reported it. For those who don't know the British press, the Sun is a rough equivalent to the National Enquirer here in the US. They get some stories right, but far too often, they blow things out of proportion or just get entire stories completely wrong.
Iran would have to be completely m'shugah to invade Iraq at this time.
Anything's possible, of course. But waiting for confirmation is the better choice.
This Bear Tried to Sell the Porridge
It appears that Bear Stearns would like to sell some of its assets to public shareholders.
Or not.
Everquest Financial’s initial public offering statement on May 9 disclosed that substantially all the assets in its $700 million portfolio had been bought from the Bear Stearns High-Grade Structured Credit Enhanced Strategies Fund and the High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Enhanced Leveraged Fund.
The filing did not disclose that those funds had suffered heavy losses in March and April as assets held in them, many backed by subprime mortgages, plummeted in value. Bear Stearns hedge funds also held a $400 million stake in Everquest.
Yesterday afternoon, Everquest withdrew its offering, which was in the earliest stages.
Gee, why was THAT?
An analyst at Portales Partners, Charles Peabody, said in a note to clients last week that Everquest appeared to be an investment vehicle used in part “as a way for Bear Stearns to offload some of its own mortgage exposure.”
If Bear Stearns knew that two of its funds were in trouble by May, why did it allow the Everquest filing to proceed, Mr. Peabody asked.
Bear Stearns declined to comment.
What's the old saying? "When a bear s*&^s in the woods....."
HT: Calculated Risk
Or not.
Everquest Financial’s initial public offering statement on May 9 disclosed that substantially all the assets in its $700 million portfolio had been bought from the Bear Stearns High-Grade Structured Credit Enhanced Strategies Fund and the High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Enhanced Leveraged Fund.
The filing did not disclose that those funds had suffered heavy losses in March and April as assets held in them, many backed by subprime mortgages, plummeted in value. Bear Stearns hedge funds also held a $400 million stake in Everquest.
Yesterday afternoon, Everquest withdrew its offering, which was in the earliest stages.
Gee, why was THAT?
An analyst at Portales Partners, Charles Peabody, said in a note to clients last week that Everquest appeared to be an investment vehicle used in part “as a way for Bear Stearns to offload some of its own mortgage exposure.”
If Bear Stearns knew that two of its funds were in trouble by May, why did it allow the Everquest filing to proceed, Mr. Peabody asked.
Bear Stearns declined to comment.
What's the old saying? "When a bear s*&^s in the woods....."
HT: Calculated Risk
The Ubiquitous "Rage Boy"
Yah, the MSM bunch just "shoots what they see."
Sure.
There's a Blog for That--in this case, Snapped Shot. He's discovered "Rage Boy", the handy-dandy protest-in-a-minute Arab version of Jesse Jackson.
Check it out.
Sure.
There's a Blog for That--in this case, Snapped Shot. He's discovered "Rage Boy", the handy-dandy protest-in-a-minute Arab version of Jesse Jackson.
Check it out.
State Spending---A Little Here, A Little There...UPDATED
"Miscellaneous" spending with the Legislature, tra la, tra la.
$250,000 per year going to the AFL-CIO to:
Train painters!!!
$100,000 to Green Bay and Eau Claire for:
Ice Arenas!!!
$27,000 per year to:
The Wild Rivers Interpretive Center!!
$1.3 million to:
Pay for Bambi's crop damage!
$500K to the Town of Pound to:
extend 19th Road to 16th Road!
$2.1 million to Ashland County to:
Improve Hy. H on Madeline Island!
$400K to Racine for:
"streetscaping" 6th Street!
$50K to Ashland Creek (that's a town, folks) to:
"historically restore" Red Bridge!
$99 million to The Roadbuilders (!!!) to:
rehabilitate State highways. (The increase will be 9.6% plus 7.0% from plan over 2 years)
$36 million dollars to The Roadbuilders (!!!) to:
"major highway development." (The increase will be 5.2% and 6.1% from plan over 2 years)
$2.5 million to The Roadbuilders (!!!) to:
repave Hy. 14 in Rock/Walworth counties.
$6.8 million to The Roadbuilders (!!!) to:
repave I-43 in Rock County.
$249,000 to:
Keep BOTH license plates on your car(s).
$250,000 per year going to the AFL-CIO to:
Train painters!!!
$100,000 to Green Bay and Eau Claire for:
Ice Arenas!!!
$27,000 per year to:
The Wild Rivers Interpretive Center!!
$1.3 million to:
Pay for Bambi's crop damage!
$500K to the Town of Pound to:
extend 19th Road to 16th Road!
$2.1 million to Ashland County to:
Improve Hy. H on Madeline Island!
$400K to Racine for:
"streetscaping" 6th Street!
$50K to Ashland Creek (that's a town, folks) to:
"historically restore" Red Bridge!
$99 million to The Roadbuilders (!!!) to:
rehabilitate State highways. (The increase will be 9.6% plus 7.0% from plan over 2 years)
$36 million dollars to The Roadbuilders (!!!) to:
"major highway development." (The increase will be 5.2% and 6.1% from plan over 2 years)
$2.5 million to The Roadbuilders (!!!) to:
repave Hy. 14 in Rock/Walworth counties.
$6.8 million to The Roadbuilders (!!!) to:
repave I-43 in Rock County.
$249,000 to:
Keep BOTH license plates on your car(s).
Monday, June 25, 2007
Pay Increases for Everybody?
So the Democrats introduce the Path to Nirvana in Healthcare.
I have a question, Mr. Risser.
First, the groundwork:
Mary Middlemom works for Sam's Nuts and Bolts. She earns $42,333./year. Sam pays for her family-care health policy--right now, the premium is $1200.00/month. Sally makes a contribution to Sam which offsets $200.00/month of the premium cost--so Sam's net health-insurance cost for Sally is $1,000.00/month, or $12,000.00/year.
Under the Democrat proposal, for an average Wisconsin income of $42,333, the worker [Sally] would pay an estimated $140 a month and the employer $370 a month. This means that Sally's contribution will be reduced by $60./month--but Sam's contribution will be REALLY reduced, by about $630.00/month, or $7,800.00 per year.
So will Sam give Sally the difference, Mr. Risser?
Where does all that extra money go, Mr. Risser?
I have a question, Mr. Risser.
First, the groundwork:
Mary Middlemom works for Sam's Nuts and Bolts. She earns $42,333./year. Sam pays for her family-care health policy--right now, the premium is $1200.00/month. Sally makes a contribution to Sam which offsets $200.00/month of the premium cost--so Sam's net health-insurance cost for Sally is $1,000.00/month, or $12,000.00/year.
Under the Democrat proposal, for an average Wisconsin income of $42,333, the worker [Sally] would pay an estimated $140 a month and the employer $370 a month. This means that Sally's contribution will be reduced by $60./month--but Sam's contribution will be REALLY reduced, by about $630.00/month, or $7,800.00 per year.
So will Sam give Sally the difference, Mr. Risser?
Where does all that extra money go, Mr. Risser?
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Hinderaker's "War-Line" Raises Its Ugly Head
Those Who Will Resist the Motu Proprio
The Caveman advises that several new organizations have been founded to resist B-16's upcoming Motu Proprio which will allow more celebrations of the Old Rite Mass.
You can choose from any of the following:
The Novus Ordo Society ~ Dedicated to keeping the Mass alive in the various languages that it's celebrated in, such as English, Spanish, Esperanto, Mongolian, Tierra del Fuegan, Fortin, Indian Smoke Signals, Interpretive Dance, Goomba Brooklyn-Italiano Obscene Hand Gestures, Binary, Martian, etc. Originally named "Plures Vox", but changed name to current because someone realized that Plures Vox was in that ridiculous Latin. [In addition, it would be "Plures VocES" if it were Latin.]
The SSML; The Society of St. Martin Luther ~ "Telling The Pope To Go To Hell Since 1517". The SSML is a radical off-shoot of the SSHK, the Society of St. Hans Kung, which was a radical off-shoot of the SSVII, the Society of the Spirit of Vatican II. Membership in all three organizations is dwindling due to all their members are dying of old age.
Free-Thinking Single Catholics ~ A forum for the more liberally minded who are seeking either a guilt-free short term concubine-in-residence, or a long term straight-bi-gay-lesbian-transgendered-polygamous-incestuous-bestial-necrophiliac (or any combination thereof) relationship. Day-Glo condoms, morning after pills, and penicillin booster shots provided free of charge to those who sign up for one year membership.
Latin Mass Watch ~ A Novus Ordo news portal that specializes in featuring various horror stories of overt Traditional Catholicism world-wide.
Lair of the Catholic Eco-Friendly Sissy Ticklefight Pooh Bear Cavepersons of Undetermined Gender ~ A quasi-serious weblog that gaily focuses on the glories of everything Novus Ordo. Special attention paid to true meaning of the Theology of Dandelions and Kitten Whiskers, and what it mean to everyone at Sts. Che and Fidel Catholic Community of Berkeley, California. Peace, out.
If none of these strike your fancy, don't worry. The French Bishops will be sponsoring several front-groups themselves, soon.
HT: The Caveman
You can choose from any of the following:
The Novus Ordo Society ~ Dedicated to keeping the Mass alive in the various languages that it's celebrated in, such as English, Spanish, Esperanto, Mongolian, Tierra del Fuegan, Fortin, Indian Smoke Signals, Interpretive Dance, Goomba Brooklyn-Italiano Obscene Hand Gestures, Binary, Martian, etc. Originally named "Plures Vox", but changed name to current because someone realized that Plures Vox was in that ridiculous Latin. [In addition, it would be "Plures VocES" if it were Latin.]
The SSML; The Society of St. Martin Luther ~ "Telling The Pope To Go To Hell Since 1517". The SSML is a radical off-shoot of the SSHK, the Society of St. Hans Kung, which was a radical off-shoot of the SSVII, the Society of the Spirit of Vatican II. Membership in all three organizations is dwindling due to all their members are dying of old age.
Free-Thinking Single Catholics ~ A forum for the more liberally minded who are seeking either a guilt-free short term concubine-in-residence, or a long term straight-bi-gay-lesbian-transgendered-polygamous-incestuous-bestial-necrophiliac (or any combination thereof) relationship. Day-Glo condoms, morning after pills, and penicillin booster shots provided free of charge to those who sign up for one year membership.
Latin Mass Watch ~ A Novus Ordo news portal that specializes in featuring various horror stories of overt Traditional Catholicism world-wide.
Lair of the Catholic Eco-Friendly Sissy Ticklefight Pooh Bear Cavepersons of Undetermined Gender ~ A quasi-serious weblog that gaily focuses on the glories of everything Novus Ordo. Special attention paid to true meaning of the Theology of Dandelions and Kitten Whiskers, and what it mean to everyone at Sts. Che and Fidel Catholic Community of Berkeley, California. Peace, out.
If none of these strike your fancy, don't worry. The French Bishops will be sponsoring several front-groups themselves, soon.
HT: The Caveman
"Faith Community" Explained
The term "Faith Community" is a bit vague.
Now we have an explanation:
A faith community is like all these people who get together and experience the lifeforce in the god-spirit through corporate meditation and celebrate in an open free-flowing environment not held down by the heavy chains of the past to soar upward being impelled by the dynamics of primacy of self-actuated conscience to reach a higher pinacle of consciousness that grows into a revelation of the inner connection that connects and unifies each of us through our diversity into the one great mystery that is EarthMother.
Clear?
So ask your pastor what HE thinks it means.
HT: Spirit of Vatican 2
Now we have an explanation:
A faith community is like all these people who get together and experience the lifeforce in the god-spirit through corporate meditation and celebrate in an open free-flowing environment not held down by the heavy chains of the past to soar upward being impelled by the dynamics of primacy of self-actuated conscience to reach a higher pinacle of consciousness that grows into a revelation of the inner connection that connects and unifies each of us through our diversity into the one great mystery that is EarthMother.
Clear?
So ask your pastor what HE thinks it means.
HT: Spirit of Vatican 2
China Is Our Friend, Part 51,762
Yup.
While the mantra of the Free Traders goes something like 'If we make them wealthy, they will be free,' the reality is a little different:
A government decree has ruled that the Marian sanctuary, and the pilgrimages that have brought over 40,000 pilgrims there annually, are evidence of "illegal religious activity".
The Henan government plans to raze the sanctuary, bar pilgrimages to the site, and destroy the celebrated statue of Our Lady of Carmel that is revered by Catholics there. To discourage faithful Catholics from organizing sit-ins on the site to protect the shrine, authorities have scheduled military exercises in the area.
Surely that "freedom" doesn't include anything about religion....
HT: Shaking Off Sleep
By the way, the same thing is playing out in Newly-Democratized Baghdad.
For the last month, al-Qaida has mandated all Assyrian families who wish to remain in a neighborhood in Baghdad must now pay an approximate equivalent of one months salary as protection money. If they refuse to pay the tax, they are given a choice to either convert to Islam, leave within 24 hours, or be killed. The jizya, referred to as a “head tax”, was established by the Quran for all non-Muslims as a means of enforcing their submission to Muslim rule.
It's possible, of course, that Gen. Petraeus has other plans for the AlQ's remaining in Baghdad. We'll see.
HT: Cosmos-Liturgy
While the mantra of the Free Traders goes something like 'If we make them wealthy, they will be free,' the reality is a little different:
A government decree has ruled that the Marian sanctuary, and the pilgrimages that have brought over 40,000 pilgrims there annually, are evidence of "illegal religious activity".
The Henan government plans to raze the sanctuary, bar pilgrimages to the site, and destroy the celebrated statue of Our Lady of Carmel that is revered by Catholics there. To discourage faithful Catholics from organizing sit-ins on the site to protect the shrine, authorities have scheduled military exercises in the area.
Surely that "freedom" doesn't include anything about religion....
HT: Shaking Off Sleep
By the way, the same thing is playing out in Newly-Democratized Baghdad.
For the last month, al-Qaida has mandated all Assyrian families who wish to remain in a neighborhood in Baghdad must now pay an approximate equivalent of one months salary as protection money. If they refuse to pay the tax, they are given a choice to either convert to Islam, leave within 24 hours, or be killed. The jizya, referred to as a “head tax”, was established by the Quran for all non-Muslims as a means of enforcing their submission to Muslim rule.
It's possible, of course, that Gen. Petraeus has other plans for the AlQ's remaining in Baghdad. We'll see.
HT: Cosmos-Liturgy
Hegel and Liturgeists
Thanks to a well-read and quick Ignatius editor, we have a few more bits and bytes to add regarding the Liturgeist-led Revolution in the Mass. He visits with Fr. J. Robinson, author of the book The Mass and Modernity. Fr. Robinson's thesis is that there has been significant philosophical impact on the Revolution.
We use the term Revolution for a reason, as you will see; and it is no co-incidence that Benedict XVI uses the concept of 'a hermeneutic of rupture [or dis-continuity]' when discussing the Revolution--which is a creature NOT of the Council, but of its not-too-faithful servants.
An introduction to Fr. Robinson, in his own words:
My own experience as a priest is, I know, not typical, but it did help me to understand what I wanted to write about. I have a doctorate in philosophy from a secular university, and I have taught at the Universities of Edinburgh and McGill, and given seminars at Oxford and Fordham. I also have some training in the civil law of Quebec. Then, when I was first ordained I was Cardinal Leger’s English-speaking secretary in Montreal. After the Cardinal left Montreal I went back to teaching and was for a time Chairman of the Philosophy Department of McGill University. During these years I worked with the Brothers of the Good Shepherd, wrote a book on Hegel and worked towards the founding of an Oratory of St Philip Neri in Canada. For much of this time I lived in an English-speaking parish in Montreal and learned a good deal about parish life.
Then for the last twenty-five years the Oratory has been in charge of two parishes in Toronto, and I have had the over-all direction of the liturgical life in both places. Perhaps this adds up to "jack of all trades and master of none," but it was the matrix for the development of The Mass and Modernity.
...What I have tried to do in my book is to step outside this ecclesiastical framework and examine how the Enlightenment and Enlightenment-era philosophers, especially Kant, Hegel and their successors changed how people in the West understand and perceive God, man, society, religion, community, and much more. Then I trace the effect of those changes, noting how the worship of God is often radically skewed, even to the point where God is barely acknowledged.
Recall that Hegel spoke of 'the Dialectic,' which presumes opposite views...
...theology nowadays, at least the theology that seems most influential at the local level, does not seem to be a very creative discipline. It is in fact heavily dependent on themes marked out by the philosophers; and, moreover, these themes are often treated by using principles of rationality that have little to do with Catholic tradition. Perhaps that is a bit too sweeping, but it does seem to me that a good deal of modern Catholic theological writing is really philosophy of religion.
In the classical view, Philosophy was the servant of Theology--not the converse.
(Question): Your chapter on the Enlightenment contains a quote by Peter Gay that states the Enlightenment can be summed up in two words: criticism and power. How do those two things relate to the Mass and how many Catholics understand worship today?
To put it bluntly: criticism is about the dismantling of tradition, the refusal to accept the past of Catholicism as in anyway normative in either faith or morals. And power is about reorganizing the remnants of Catholic worship in an autocratic way, by means of a rationality that owes precious little to what I call the givens of Catholicism. What do I mean by the givens of Catholicism? I mean those elements in our faith and worship that we don’t make up, that we don’t create, that are not – or should not be – at the mercy of liturgical commissions, or under the influence of seminars on how to make the Mass more relevant.
(Question):
You write that modernity cannot be understood without appreciating the "pervasive influence of Hegel and Marx."
I don’t try to trace a direct connection between what Hegel and Marx wrote and what the liturgists actually read. What I say is that when someone like me is criticized for being "out of touch", or told that "no one believes that stuff anymore", or that we must have to have a "man-centered (or "person-centered") understanding of worship, of the sacraments, of the Christian Community" — we are under the long shadow of the Hegel-Marx syndrome.
The worthwhile nugget is the bit about "man-centered" worship. That is, in fact, a Revolution. Were it not that Hegel and Marx had been around, the Liturgeists would have to invent them.
On the "Modernist/Post-Modernist" split:
I think the thrust of the attitudes and concepts that we associate with postmodernism is towards "liberation" – especially liberation from the necessity of making judgments. Postmodernists are not required to reject or accept anything at all; they are at home with everything from the Nicene Creed to hard pornography, from kitsch to high culture. This, they believe, is their escape from the harsh, scientific, masculine, sort of thinking of Modernism. The postmodernists seem to think that they are living beyond value, beyond right and wrong, beyond truth and falsehood.
Post-Modernism more or less affirms the theory of the Dialectic.
Unfortunately, it affirms the Dialectic without going through the trouble of demonstrating the falsity of the "truth-claims" of Tradition. In that way, Post-Modernism is extraordinarily lazy, at best.
Furthermore, I believe postmodernism is used by the self-anointed inheritors of the Enlightenment as one more tool to destroy the authority of tradition, and to wreck the partnership (of which Edmund Burke spoke) between the dead, the living, and yet unborn, and which is the only real guarantee of a freedom not based on the ukases of Sociology Departments and High Court Judges.
(Question):
What are the most overt ways that a proper understanding of worship been undermined and even attacked in recent decades?
Saying Mass facing the people is the biggest single failing in most places today. I think it is more important even than the questions of language or music — vital as those both are
...This practice has also emphasized the congregation in a deadly way, so that the community and its concerns have begun to take the place of the sober Catholic presentation of the fallen nature of man, of suffering, of death, and of judgment. This focus on the congregation has in its turn prevented the splendor of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of the Lord from shining through the liturgy.
Fr. Robinson is not an optimistic sort of fellow--he thinks that B-16 is in "an impossible situation" given the state of catechetics within the Church today.
Perhaps he's right, but then, Rome's crops grow in fields saturated with the blood of martyrs.
We use the term Revolution for a reason, as you will see; and it is no co-incidence that Benedict XVI uses the concept of 'a hermeneutic of rupture [or dis-continuity]' when discussing the Revolution--which is a creature NOT of the Council, but of its not-too-faithful servants.
An introduction to Fr. Robinson, in his own words:
My own experience as a priest is, I know, not typical, but it did help me to understand what I wanted to write about. I have a doctorate in philosophy from a secular university, and I have taught at the Universities of Edinburgh and McGill, and given seminars at Oxford and Fordham. I also have some training in the civil law of Quebec. Then, when I was first ordained I was Cardinal Leger’s English-speaking secretary in Montreal. After the Cardinal left Montreal I went back to teaching and was for a time Chairman of the Philosophy Department of McGill University. During these years I worked with the Brothers of the Good Shepherd, wrote a book on Hegel and worked towards the founding of an Oratory of St Philip Neri in Canada. For much of this time I lived in an English-speaking parish in Montreal and learned a good deal about parish life.
Then for the last twenty-five years the Oratory has been in charge of two parishes in Toronto, and I have had the over-all direction of the liturgical life in both places. Perhaps this adds up to "jack of all trades and master of none," but it was the matrix for the development of The Mass and Modernity.
...What I have tried to do in my book is to step outside this ecclesiastical framework and examine how the Enlightenment and Enlightenment-era philosophers, especially Kant, Hegel and their successors changed how people in the West understand and perceive God, man, society, religion, community, and much more. Then I trace the effect of those changes, noting how the worship of God is often radically skewed, even to the point where God is barely acknowledged.
Recall that Hegel spoke of 'the Dialectic,' which presumes opposite views...
...theology nowadays, at least the theology that seems most influential at the local level, does not seem to be a very creative discipline. It is in fact heavily dependent on themes marked out by the philosophers; and, moreover, these themes are often treated by using principles of rationality that have little to do with Catholic tradition. Perhaps that is a bit too sweeping, but it does seem to me that a good deal of modern Catholic theological writing is really philosophy of religion.
In the classical view, Philosophy was the servant of Theology--not the converse.
(Question): Your chapter on the Enlightenment contains a quote by Peter Gay that states the Enlightenment can be summed up in two words: criticism and power. How do those two things relate to the Mass and how many Catholics understand worship today?
To put it bluntly: criticism is about the dismantling of tradition, the refusal to accept the past of Catholicism as in anyway normative in either faith or morals. And power is about reorganizing the remnants of Catholic worship in an autocratic way, by means of a rationality that owes precious little to what I call the givens of Catholicism. What do I mean by the givens of Catholicism? I mean those elements in our faith and worship that we don’t make up, that we don’t create, that are not – or should not be – at the mercy of liturgical commissions, or under the influence of seminars on how to make the Mass more relevant.
(Question):
You write that modernity cannot be understood without appreciating the "pervasive influence of Hegel and Marx."
I don’t try to trace a direct connection between what Hegel and Marx wrote and what the liturgists actually read. What I say is that when someone like me is criticized for being "out of touch", or told that "no one believes that stuff anymore", or that we must have to have a "man-centered (or "person-centered") understanding of worship, of the sacraments, of the Christian Community" — we are under the long shadow of the Hegel-Marx syndrome.
The worthwhile nugget is the bit about "man-centered" worship. That is, in fact, a Revolution. Were it not that Hegel and Marx had been around, the Liturgeists would have to invent them.
On the "Modernist/Post-Modernist" split:
I think the thrust of the attitudes and concepts that we associate with postmodernism is towards "liberation" – especially liberation from the necessity of making judgments. Postmodernists are not required to reject or accept anything at all; they are at home with everything from the Nicene Creed to hard pornography, from kitsch to high culture. This, they believe, is their escape from the harsh, scientific, masculine, sort of thinking of Modernism. The postmodernists seem to think that they are living beyond value, beyond right and wrong, beyond truth and falsehood.
Post-Modernism more or less affirms the theory of the Dialectic.
Unfortunately, it affirms the Dialectic without going through the trouble of demonstrating the falsity of the "truth-claims" of Tradition. In that way, Post-Modernism is extraordinarily lazy, at best.
Furthermore, I believe postmodernism is used by the self-anointed inheritors of the Enlightenment as one more tool to destroy the authority of tradition, and to wreck the partnership (of which Edmund Burke spoke) between the dead, the living, and yet unborn, and which is the only real guarantee of a freedom not based on the ukases of Sociology Departments and High Court Judges.
(Question):
What are the most overt ways that a proper understanding of worship been undermined and even attacked in recent decades?
Saying Mass facing the people is the biggest single failing in most places today. I think it is more important even than the questions of language or music — vital as those both are
...This practice has also emphasized the congregation in a deadly way, so that the community and its concerns have begun to take the place of the sober Catholic presentation of the fallen nature of man, of suffering, of death, and of judgment. This focus on the congregation has in its turn prevented the splendor of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of the Lord from shining through the liturgy.
Fr. Robinson is not an optimistic sort of fellow--he thinks that B-16 is in "an impossible situation" given the state of catechetics within the Church today.
Perhaps he's right, but then, Rome's crops grow in fields saturated with the blood of martyrs.
Pro-Life Means Votes: NYT
HT Catholic World News.
The New York Times runs a column in which we find the following:
...a pro-choice Republican nominee would be a gift to the Democrats, because the Republican Party wins over so many swing voters on abortion alone.
Phrased another way, should the (R) nominee be "pro-abortion" (or the sanitized version thereof, 'pro-choice'), the Dems win.
The New York Times runs a column in which we find the following:
...a pro-choice Republican nominee would be a gift to the Democrats, because the Republican Party wins over so many swing voters on abortion alone.
Phrased another way, should the (R) nominee be "pro-abortion" (or the sanitized version thereof, 'pro-choice'), the Dems win.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
The "Mind" of the Left
Read this graf slowly and carefully:
The newspapers tell us every year as deer hunting season approaches that the animals are a suburban nuisance because their former territories in Wisconsin's woodlands keep falling to the bulldozer.
That's quoted with melancholy aplenty by James Rowen.
It is also the rock-damn-stupidest statement I've read in at least a week.
The deer are a suburban nuisance because there are NO DEER-PREDATORS in the suburbs--and there are plenty of Soccer Moms who feed the damn things, continually. Free food, no worries!! Even the deer are smart enough to figure it out.
Note to Rowen: there ARE deer in "Wisconsin woodlands." Deer-hunters kill thousands of them, every year, in the "woodlands." If you don't believe that, then you ought to read the newspapers which report it, every year. Or try this article for a flavor. (Hint: 325,000 deer killed in 2005 AND 2004)
Rowen's utter disgust with 'the people' who have the nerve to get the hell OUT of the City is emblematic and perfectly consistent with the Left's religious belief that 'there IS a perfect global temperature, and we had it just 5 years ago.'
No different here. He forgets that Wisconsin has gained about 1.5 million residents since the mid-'70's and that those people have to live someplace.
Evidently, however, Rowen's thesis is that 'we had a perfect population 30 years ago,' (or 50, or 100--who knows?) and that the boundary-lines of development should be precisely the same as they were then.
Right, Jim.
By the way, Jim: when all of civilization (save a few) were farmers, where the Hell did the deer live?
But that's the "mind" of the Left.
The newspapers tell us every year as deer hunting season approaches that the animals are a suburban nuisance because their former territories in Wisconsin's woodlands keep falling to the bulldozer.
That's quoted with melancholy aplenty by James Rowen.
It is also the rock-damn-stupidest statement I've read in at least a week.
The deer are a suburban nuisance because there are NO DEER-PREDATORS in the suburbs--and there are plenty of Soccer Moms who feed the damn things, continually. Free food, no worries!! Even the deer are smart enough to figure it out.
Note to Rowen: there ARE deer in "Wisconsin woodlands." Deer-hunters kill thousands of them, every year, in the "woodlands." If you don't believe that, then you ought to read the newspapers which report it, every year. Or try this article for a flavor. (Hint: 325,000 deer killed in 2005 AND 2004)
Rowen's utter disgust with 'the people' who have the nerve to get the hell OUT of the City is emblematic and perfectly consistent with the Left's religious belief that 'there IS a perfect global temperature, and we had it just 5 years ago.'
No different here. He forgets that Wisconsin has gained about 1.5 million residents since the mid-'70's and that those people have to live someplace.
Evidently, however, Rowen's thesis is that 'we had a perfect population 30 years ago,' (or 50, or 100--who knows?) and that the boundary-lines of development should be precisely the same as they were then.
Right, Jim.
By the way, Jim: when all of civilization (save a few) were farmers, where the Hell did the deer live?
But that's the "mind" of the Left.
Did You Read THIS in the Paper?
From Roggio:
Operation Phantom Thunder, the corps coordinated operation across three theaters in the Baghdad Belts, has completed it seventh day. Ground forces commander Lieutenant General Raymond Odierno gave a briefing on the operation. To date, Coalition and Iraqi forces have killed 159 al Qaeda fighters and other insurgents, wounded 41, and detained 721 suspects. Coalition and Iraqi forces found and destroyed 304 roadside bombs, seven car bombs and 128 weapons caches.
He continues:
Operation Arrowhead Ripper, the campaign in the Diyala theater, remains the hottest of the three. So far the bulk of the fighting is occurring in Baqubah, the provincial capital. "At least 55 al-Qaida operatives have been killed, 23 have been detained, 16 weapons caches have been discovered, 28 improvised explosive devices have been destroyed and 12 booby-trapped structures have been destroyed," since the start of Arrowhead Ripper, Multinational Forces Iraq reported
...General Odierno visited the city [Baqubah] and stated most of al Qaeda's senior leadership has fled, while lower level-leaders are believed to be trapped.
But the senior-level goblins are NOT home free:
Rear Admiral Mark Fox, a spokesman for Multinational Forces Iraq, stated Iraqi and Coalition forces are laying a trap for al Qaeda fighters fleeing the hot zones in the belts. "If you've got [the regions] properly cordoned then they're going to flee into somebody's arms. It's a trap," he stated. As we've noted since the beginning of the operation, Iraqi and U.S. forces have been placed in blocking positions along the rivers and key choke points.
This is how you talk to the enemy in combat. Surrender, or die.
Operation Phantom Thunder, the corps coordinated operation across three theaters in the Baghdad Belts, has completed it seventh day. Ground forces commander Lieutenant General Raymond Odierno gave a briefing on the operation. To date, Coalition and Iraqi forces have killed 159 al Qaeda fighters and other insurgents, wounded 41, and detained 721 suspects. Coalition and Iraqi forces found and destroyed 304 roadside bombs, seven car bombs and 128 weapons caches.
He continues:
Operation Arrowhead Ripper, the campaign in the Diyala theater, remains the hottest of the three. So far the bulk of the fighting is occurring in Baqubah, the provincial capital. "At least 55 al-Qaida operatives have been killed, 23 have been detained, 16 weapons caches have been discovered, 28 improvised explosive devices have been destroyed and 12 booby-trapped structures have been destroyed," since the start of Arrowhead Ripper, Multinational Forces Iraq reported
...General Odierno visited the city [Baqubah] and stated most of al Qaeda's senior leadership has fled, while lower level-leaders are believed to be trapped.
But the senior-level goblins are NOT home free:
Rear Admiral Mark Fox, a spokesman for Multinational Forces Iraq, stated Iraqi and Coalition forces are laying a trap for al Qaeda fighters fleeing the hot zones in the belts. "If you've got [the regions] properly cordoned then they're going to flee into somebody's arms. It's a trap," he stated. As we've noted since the beginning of the operation, Iraqi and U.S. forces have been placed in blocking positions along the rivers and key choke points.
This is how you talk to the enemy in combat. Surrender, or die.
Leviathan Politicians' Excuse
Found on RedState as a tagline:
"A man's admiration for absolute government is proportionate to the contempt he feels for those around him".
--deTocqueville
Good enough so that it will become part of this blog's header.
"A man's admiration for absolute government is proportionate to the contempt he feels for those around him".
--deTocqueville
Good enough so that it will become part of this blog's header.
PowerLine's Powerful Wakeup
Brings back memories--
Two of the very best, doing their very best, in an outstanding forum, accompanied by the very best.
Turn up the speakers before you start the UTube!!
And thanks to PowerLine for a great morning!!
Two of the very best, doing their very best, in an outstanding forum, accompanied by the very best.
Turn up the speakers before you start the UTube!!
And thanks to PowerLine for a great morning!!
On Reading Hemingway, Correctly
From Planet Moron.
I brought a chair out to the back patio, lit a cigar and opened up “A Farewell to Arms” having gotten on a Hemingway kick after finding a copy of “The Sun Also Rises” on my first trip to the basement a month earlier. I then spent the remaining daylight hours immersed in the tale of an American officer serving in the Italian army during The Great War, my reading interrupted only by occasional gagging fits as I worked my way through the detestable Michelob.
I should point out here that in order to fully appreciate the motivations driving the characters in a Hemingway novel (if not the author himself) it is important that one consumes alcohol in quantities commensurate with the historical context of the work.
So, you see I’m not just sitting on the back patio getting drunk. I’m being literary. (God bless you Ernest Hemingway.)
...telling all of you that reading Belloc will require a quick trip to the local Winery. Take a trailer behind your car.
I brought a chair out to the back patio, lit a cigar and opened up “A Farewell to Arms” having gotten on a Hemingway kick after finding a copy of “The Sun Also Rises” on my first trip to the basement a month earlier. I then spent the remaining daylight hours immersed in the tale of an American officer serving in the Italian army during The Great War, my reading interrupted only by occasional gagging fits as I worked my way through the detestable Michelob.
I should point out here that in order to fully appreciate the motivations driving the characters in a Hemingway novel (if not the author himself) it is important that one consumes alcohol in quantities commensurate with the historical context of the work.
So, you see I’m not just sitting on the back patio getting drunk. I’m being literary. (God bless you Ernest Hemingway.)
...telling all of you that reading Belloc will require a quick trip to the local Winery. Take a trailer behind your car.
Nanette Should Read This Book
....or maybe her successor should.
We pointed out that the MPD's "management" tools seem to come straight from 1950's industrial practices: "Don't worry about what you make--just make MORE of it. We'll throw out the bad product at the end."
There's a reason that that particular philosophy went away: the companies which practiced it are out of business. Survivors are utilizing data-driven tactics to achieve strategic objectives.
Of course, the 'end' of police work is different from the 'end' of manufacturing production; Courts are unkind to sloppy procedure, and, worse, using deadly weapons can have long-lasting results.
Another interesting tidbit which should have a bearing on MPD "management" practices popped up in Kopel's blog today.
Reviewing On Combat, by Lt. Col Dave Grossman, Kopel mentions this:
...Grossman's book covers both military and police operations; I think the latter is where it best fits a void. For police it has practical combat tips, but also things such as (1) how to deal with it if you have to shoot someone; (2) how you should help a buddy deal with that if he has to shoot; (3) suggestions for police departments, such as minimizing overtime (sleepy men make mistakes).
Of course, the Police Union will agree that their lucrative overtime-rules must be changed.
We pointed out that the MPD's "management" tools seem to come straight from 1950's industrial practices: "Don't worry about what you make--just make MORE of it. We'll throw out the bad product at the end."
There's a reason that that particular philosophy went away: the companies which practiced it are out of business. Survivors are utilizing data-driven tactics to achieve strategic objectives.
Of course, the 'end' of police work is different from the 'end' of manufacturing production; Courts are unkind to sloppy procedure, and, worse, using deadly weapons can have long-lasting results.
Another interesting tidbit which should have a bearing on MPD "management" practices popped up in Kopel's blog today.
Reviewing On Combat, by Lt. Col Dave Grossman, Kopel mentions this:
...Grossman's book covers both military and police operations; I think the latter is where it best fits a void. For police it has practical combat tips, but also things such as (1) how to deal with it if you have to shoot someone; (2) how you should help a buddy deal with that if he has to shoot; (3) suggestions for police departments, such as minimizing overtime (sleepy men make mistakes).
Of course, the Police Union will agree that their lucrative overtime-rules must be changed.
Alzheimer's Cured?
In about 6 to 8 years, if I still remember that this stuff is out there, this may be useful.
A revolutionary drug that stops Alzheimer's disease in its tracks could be available within a few years.
It could prevent people from reaching the devastating final stages of the illness, in which sufferers lose the ability to walk, talk and even swallow, and end up totally dependent on others.
The jab, which is now being tested on patients, could be in widespread use in as little as six years.
...Early tests showed the vaccine is highly effective at breaking up the sticky protein that clogs the brain in Alzheimer's, destroying vital connections between brain cells.
...The vaccine uses a tiny section of the amyloid protein attached to an empty virus shell to trick the immune system into attacking and breaking up deposits of protein clogging the brain.
Scientists at Cytos, who have sold the rights to the vaccine to Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis, say the vaccine is likely to be given to those in the early stages of Alzheimer's, to stop the disease from progressing.
......
Now what did I do with the link?
A revolutionary drug that stops Alzheimer's disease in its tracks could be available within a few years.
It could prevent people from reaching the devastating final stages of the illness, in which sufferers lose the ability to walk, talk and even swallow, and end up totally dependent on others.
The jab, which is now being tested on patients, could be in widespread use in as little as six years.
...Early tests showed the vaccine is highly effective at breaking up the sticky protein that clogs the brain in Alzheimer's, destroying vital connections between brain cells.
...The vaccine uses a tiny section of the amyloid protein attached to an empty virus shell to trick the immune system into attacking and breaking up deposits of protein clogging the brain.
Scientists at Cytos, who have sold the rights to the vaccine to Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis, say the vaccine is likely to be given to those in the early stages of Alzheimer's, to stop the disease from progressing.
......
Now what did I do with the link?
Friday, June 22, 2007
Tommy!! Corn-A-Holing
Yah.
Our ex-Governor may be hedging his bets on gaining the Presidency.
Global Renewable L.L.C. said Thursday that it has received the final air and construction permits for its proposed ethanol plant in Sharon near the Wisconsin-Illinois border.
The permits will allow the firm to break ground once it completes financing for the project, the company said. Gobal Renewable announced it has received preliminary approvals for up to $76.6 million in financing for the project, which is expected to cost $193 million.
When completed, Global Renewable L.L.C.'s plant near Janesville will produce 105 million to 120 million gallons of ethanol per year.
Global Renewable, of Whitewater, is a partnership that includes former Wisconsin governor and current presidential candidate Tommy Thompson, who serves as its chairman, and Jeffery Knight, who headed the Governor's Ethanol Coalition under Gov. Thompson's administration. The partnership also includes Wisconsin businessman and professional racing team owner Tom Weickardt.
Meaning that we'll have to lose weight with ethanol, I suppose.
It's certain that this boondoggle will make the Mexicans lose weight.
Our ex-Governor may be hedging his bets on gaining the Presidency.
Global Renewable L.L.C. said Thursday that it has received the final air and construction permits for its proposed ethanol plant in Sharon near the Wisconsin-Illinois border.
The permits will allow the firm to break ground once it completes financing for the project, the company said. Gobal Renewable announced it has received preliminary approvals for up to $76.6 million in financing for the project, which is expected to cost $193 million.
When completed, Global Renewable L.L.C.'s plant near Janesville will produce 105 million to 120 million gallons of ethanol per year.
Global Renewable, of Whitewater, is a partnership that includes former Wisconsin governor and current presidential candidate Tommy Thompson, who serves as its chairman, and Jeffery Knight, who headed the Governor's Ethanol Coalition under Gov. Thompson's administration. The partnership also includes Wisconsin businessman and professional racing team owner Tom Weickardt.
Meaning that we'll have to lose weight with ethanol, I suppose.
It's certain that this boondoggle will make the Mexicans lose weight.
In Baquba
From the front, with pictures on the linked post, written by Michael Yon:
The combat in Baqubah should soon reach a peak. Al Qaeda seems to have been effectively isolated. The initial attack on 19 June achieved enough surprise that al Qaeda was caught off guard and trapped. They have been beaten back mostly into pockets and are surrounded and will be dealt with. Part of this is actually due to the capability of Strykers. We were able to “attack from the march.” In other words, a huge force drove in from places like Baghdad and quickly locked down Baqubah.
...Our guys are winning. Al Qaeda is about to be strangled and pummeled to death in this town, but the local Iraqi leadership is severely wanting.
Good stuff.
The combat in Baqubah should soon reach a peak. Al Qaeda seems to have been effectively isolated. The initial attack on 19 June achieved enough surprise that al Qaeda was caught off guard and trapped. They have been beaten back mostly into pockets and are surrounded and will be dealt with. Part of this is actually due to the capability of Strykers. We were able to “attack from the march.” In other words, a huge force drove in from places like Baghdad and quickly locked down Baqubah.
...Our guys are winning. Al Qaeda is about to be strangled and pummeled to death in this town, but the local Iraqi leadership is severely wanting.
Good stuff.
Who Likes the Shamnesty Bill?
That's easy:
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Restaurant Association, Business Roundtable, National Association of Manufacturers, National Federation Of Independent Business, National Restaurant Association, American Farm Bureau Federation, Associated Builders and Contractors, National Milk Producers Federation, National Pork Producers Council, American Subcontractors Association, American Health Care Association, Poultry Federation, Georgia Farm Bureau, Tyson Foods, U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
All, of course, are concerned for the welfare of US citizens.
Right?
HT: Redstate
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Restaurant Association, Business Roundtable, National Association of Manufacturers, National Federation Of Independent Business, National Restaurant Association, American Farm Bureau Federation, Associated Builders and Contractors, National Milk Producers Federation, National Pork Producers Council, American Subcontractors Association, American Health Care Association, Poultry Federation, Georgia Farm Bureau, Tyson Foods, U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
All, of course, are concerned for the welfare of US citizens.
Right?
HT: Redstate
Congressional Staffers' (Previously Private) Thoughts
Via JunkYard, then Hot Air, we are led to a page entitled "Words of Wisdom from Capitol Hill."
'Words of Wisdom' somehow or other had access to a blogsite which is restricted to Capitol Hill staffers.
I'll give you a taste of what the staffers have to say about you taxpaying suckers:
Is anyone else alarmed by the amount of email comming in on the CAFE standard??? There seems to be a large number of [f**ktards] who actually want the standard kept where it is. What the cock is this [s**t]. How quickly we forget 9/11, Afghanistan, and oh... IRAQ! 35 mpg by 2020!!!! TWENTY F**KING TWENTY. Half of those jacka**es sending emails won't even be alive. And really, how much oil is going to be left by then? Someone plow down Senator Bond with Hummer.
No way for me to verify the links...but it makes interesting reading, no?
'Words of Wisdom' somehow or other had access to a blogsite which is restricted to Capitol Hill staffers.
I'll give you a taste of what the staffers have to say about you taxpaying suckers:
Is anyone else alarmed by the amount of email comming in on the CAFE standard??? There seems to be a large number of [f**ktards] who actually want the standard kept where it is. What the cock is this [s**t]. How quickly we forget 9/11, Afghanistan, and oh... IRAQ! 35 mpg by 2020!!!! TWENTY F**KING TWENTY. Half of those jacka**es sending emails won't even be alive. And really, how much oil is going to be left by then? Someone plow down Senator Bond with Hummer.
No way for me to verify the links...but it makes interesting reading, no?
The Senate's Gift to You: $6.00/Gallon Gasoline
Naturally, the US Senate has a solution to the energy problem.
And, naturally, that solution requires you to purchase some Vaseline and bend over.
With the the concurrence of the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, Charles Grassley of Iowa, and others (Gordon Smith of Oregon, Olympia Snowe of Maine and Pat Roberts of Kansas, all Republican), the committee is proposing $29 billion in new taxes on oil companies. The tax is to subsidize wind and solar power, hybrid vehicles and biofuel. The bill calls for a sharp increase in the use “renewables,” including heavily-subsidized ethanol, up from 8.5 billion gallons next year to 36 billion gallons by 2022. And it requires, too, that utilities would be required to buy at least 15 percent of their energy from wind, solar and other “renewable” sources.
Lemmeesee, heah, Gomer. Grassley and Roberts. Iowa and Kansas.
Do I smell Corn-a-Hole lobby?
Just as a reminder:
Ethanol requires more energy to produce than it generates as fuel, to say nothing of the water required for irrigation in areas like drought-stricken South Georgia. It’s subsidized by taxpayers with a 51-cents per gallon tax credit, and it’s subsidized again at the pump with a 54-cents-a-gallon tariff on imported ethanol.
Not to mention that using corn to push cars around causes Mexicans to...oh...not EAT!
So--what's $29Bn in new tax going to cost you?
The legislation “could result in significantly higher prices for gasoline consumers,” according to Heritage Foundation researchers. “A review of S. 1419, including the just-completed section on tax changes, reveals that the bill could increase the price of regular unleaded gasoline from $3.14 per gallon (the early May national average) to $6.40 in 2016 — a 104 percent increase,” write Heritage Foundation researchers William W. Beach and Shanea Watkins.
“Gas consumers can expect to pay between $3.16 and $3.79 a gallon for gas in 2008 after adding in the estimated impact of the Senate energy bill. By 2016, all states can expect gas prices in excess of $6. As a result of S. 1419, consumers would spend an average of $1445 more per year on gasoline in 2016 than in 2008,” they write
No question about it: there are better uses for pitchforks than just shoveling hay...
HT: AnkleBitingPundits
And, naturally, that solution requires you to purchase some Vaseline and bend over.
With the the concurrence of the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, Charles Grassley of Iowa, and others (Gordon Smith of Oregon, Olympia Snowe of Maine and Pat Roberts of Kansas, all Republican), the committee is proposing $29 billion in new taxes on oil companies. The tax is to subsidize wind and solar power, hybrid vehicles and biofuel. The bill calls for a sharp increase in the use “renewables,” including heavily-subsidized ethanol, up from 8.5 billion gallons next year to 36 billion gallons by 2022. And it requires, too, that utilities would be required to buy at least 15 percent of their energy from wind, solar and other “renewable” sources.
Lemmeesee, heah, Gomer. Grassley and Roberts. Iowa and Kansas.
Do I smell Corn-a-Hole lobby?
Just as a reminder:
Ethanol requires more energy to produce than it generates as fuel, to say nothing of the water required for irrigation in areas like drought-stricken South Georgia. It’s subsidized by taxpayers with a 51-cents per gallon tax credit, and it’s subsidized again at the pump with a 54-cents-a-gallon tariff on imported ethanol.
Not to mention that using corn to push cars around causes Mexicans to...oh...not EAT!
So--what's $29Bn in new tax going to cost you?
The legislation “could result in significantly higher prices for gasoline consumers,” according to Heritage Foundation researchers. “A review of S. 1419, including the just-completed section on tax changes, reveals that the bill could increase the price of regular unleaded gasoline from $3.14 per gallon (the early May national average) to $6.40 in 2016 — a 104 percent increase,” write Heritage Foundation researchers William W. Beach and Shanea Watkins.
“Gas consumers can expect to pay between $3.16 and $3.79 a gallon for gas in 2008 after adding in the estimated impact of the Senate energy bill. By 2016, all states can expect gas prices in excess of $6. As a result of S. 1419, consumers would spend an average of $1445 more per year on gasoline in 2016 than in 2008,” they write
No question about it: there are better uses for pitchforks than just shoveling hay...
HT: AnkleBitingPundits
The 1.5% Solution for Brookfield
If you think that it's smart to have the State of Wisconsin controlling local spending, think again.
Republican leggies, ever-mindful of re-election, put on their cheap perfume and lipstick, hiked up their skirts, and imposed property-tax controls on municipalities a few years back.
The crowds cheered as Leviathan grew, again. Locals now have to perform multivariate regression-analysis calculations to comply with Leviathan's mandates, screwing other State taxpayers AND their own residents in the process.
The upshot:
To be able to increase city spending in 2008 by 4% but not lose $125,000 in state aid from exceeding spending limits, the city's finance director is asking aldermen to revise the 2007 budget to spend to the maximum allowed amount.
Not doing so could mean the city will lose the $125,000 or have to trim spending by nearly $500,000 - more than a third of the total increase the city needs for 2008, according to city Finance Director Robert Scott.
The discussion following makes one's head hurt--with the usual sure-fire "Scary" line from the politically-aware spreadsheet-spitter:
"Five hundred thousand dollars - that's five cops," Scott said.
O my gawd! The cop-shop will be pared to the bone!! Who in Hell will give out the traffic citations?
There is one alderman who apparently still has his head screwed on straight:
Ald. Gerald Mellone said the city should be able to find $500,000 in cuts from a $35 million budget.
Yah, hey. It's one-and-one-half PERCENT of the total.
Republican leggies, ever-mindful of re-election, put on their cheap perfume and lipstick, hiked up their skirts, and imposed property-tax controls on municipalities a few years back.
The crowds cheered as Leviathan grew, again. Locals now have to perform multivariate regression-analysis calculations to comply with Leviathan's mandates, screwing other State taxpayers AND their own residents in the process.
The upshot:
To be able to increase city spending in 2008 by 4% but not lose $125,000 in state aid from exceeding spending limits, the city's finance director is asking aldermen to revise the 2007 budget to spend to the maximum allowed amount.
Not doing so could mean the city will lose the $125,000 or have to trim spending by nearly $500,000 - more than a third of the total increase the city needs for 2008, according to city Finance Director Robert Scott.
The discussion following makes one's head hurt--with the usual sure-fire "Scary" line from the politically-aware spreadsheet-spitter:
"Five hundred thousand dollars - that's five cops," Scott said.
O my gawd! The cop-shop will be pared to the bone!! Who in Hell will give out the traffic citations?
There is one alderman who apparently still has his head screwed on straight:
Ald. Gerald Mellone said the city should be able to find $500,000 in cuts from a $35 million budget.
Yah, hey. It's one-and-one-half PERCENT of the total.
Watermelons: Just Turn Off the Lights, Wisconsin
Wisconsin Energies (WE) announced that they must spend $750 million to install super-scrubbers on their Oak Creek coal burners in order to comply with EPA and Wisconsin "Clean Air" mandates.
Naturally, the watermelons (green outside, Red inside) had a better idea:
"For $750 million you could help people save electricity and avoid all of this pollution in the first place," he said.
Really? How? Turn off ALL the lights? Forget the freezer? Shut off the blower-fan on your furnace?
In a related story, we note that the EPA may "shut off the lights" in ANOTHER 12 Wisconsin counties:
...federal regulators on Thursday proposed even tougher measures that could push more than a dozen new counties out of compliance with pollution laws.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a proposal to reduce ozone levels by as much as 17% because the agency said current regulations don't adequately protect public health.
Business groups said the proposed regulations would cost billions of dollars annually. They also consider the measures premature because many states, including Wisconsin, haven't met the existing standard for ozone, or smog.
What Wisconsin business really needs: another couple of $billion in regulator-imposed costs.
...business interests have chafed under eastern Wisconsin's current out-of-compliance status on ozone because it has forced manufacturers to buy more expensive pollution control equipment than a comparable company outside the region.
Not to mention PRChina and India, which toss more crap into the atmosphere than most of the West combined (which crap migrates with the wind to the rest of the globe, by the way.)
Meanwhile, DarthDoyle's request to take Eastern Wisconsin out of the EPA's sights is heading into the, ah, ...ozone:
...underscoring Wisconsin's difficulty in trying to comply with the existing law, an air monitoring station in Kenosha County last weekend reported high ozone levels that could threaten eastern Wisconsin's more immediate goal of meeting the current standard for smog.
The monitor hit 84 parts per billion on Sunday and 95 parts per billion on Saturday, according to state Department of Natural Resources figures.
How did THAT happen?
The readings soared as warm weather, little wind and long days of sunlight conspired to trap and heat the volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxide that form ozone.
Forgetting that weather, wind, and sunlight are incapable of "conspiracy", what we have here is called NATURE!
Wisconsin would be out of compliance if a volcano erupted in South Milwaukee, too.
Here's the "Zero Tolerance" crowd, hard at work:
The EPA office in Chicago said last week that a single monitor in any of the eight affected counties in eastern Wisconsin would need only one reading of 83 parts per billion or higher to jeopardize the state's request to be declared in compliance.
Considering the regulations cited above, here's the solution:
WE should fuggedabout the scrubbers.
Instead, WE should spend the $750MM on a series of super-duper-giant fans, place them along the western edge of the EPA non-compliant counties, and turn them on. Blow the pollution (such as it is) to Washington DC, and hope that EPA is forced to evacuate to PRChina. I'm sure that the PRChina oligarchs will be very happy to have them, at the usual pay-rate of 60 cents/day.
We note that neither Sen. Feingold nor Sen. Kohl commented for the JS stories. (Surprise!!)
Naturally, the watermelons (green outside, Red inside) had a better idea:
"For $750 million you could help people save electricity and avoid all of this pollution in the first place," he said.
Really? How? Turn off ALL the lights? Forget the freezer? Shut off the blower-fan on your furnace?
In a related story, we note that the EPA may "shut off the lights" in ANOTHER 12 Wisconsin counties:
...federal regulators on Thursday proposed even tougher measures that could push more than a dozen new counties out of compliance with pollution laws.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a proposal to reduce ozone levels by as much as 17% because the agency said current regulations don't adequately protect public health.
Business groups said the proposed regulations would cost billions of dollars annually. They also consider the measures premature because many states, including Wisconsin, haven't met the existing standard for ozone, or smog.
What Wisconsin business really needs: another couple of $billion in regulator-imposed costs.
...business interests have chafed under eastern Wisconsin's current out-of-compliance status on ozone because it has forced manufacturers to buy more expensive pollution control equipment than a comparable company outside the region.
Not to mention PRChina and India, which toss more crap into the atmosphere than most of the West combined (which crap migrates with the wind to the rest of the globe, by the way.)
Meanwhile, DarthDoyle's request to take Eastern Wisconsin out of the EPA's sights is heading into the, ah, ...ozone:
...underscoring Wisconsin's difficulty in trying to comply with the existing law, an air monitoring station in Kenosha County last weekend reported high ozone levels that could threaten eastern Wisconsin's more immediate goal of meeting the current standard for smog.
The monitor hit 84 parts per billion on Sunday and 95 parts per billion on Saturday, according to state Department of Natural Resources figures.
How did THAT happen?
The readings soared as warm weather, little wind and long days of sunlight conspired to trap and heat the volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxide that form ozone.
Forgetting that weather, wind, and sunlight are incapable of "conspiracy", what we have here is called NATURE!
Wisconsin would be out of compliance if a volcano erupted in South Milwaukee, too.
Here's the "Zero Tolerance" crowd, hard at work:
The EPA office in Chicago said last week that a single monitor in any of the eight affected counties in eastern Wisconsin would need only one reading of 83 parts per billion or higher to jeopardize the state's request to be declared in compliance.
Considering the regulations cited above, here's the solution:
WE should fuggedabout the scrubbers.
Instead, WE should spend the $750MM on a series of super-duper-giant fans, place them along the western edge of the EPA non-compliant counties, and turn them on. Blow the pollution (such as it is) to Washington DC, and hope that EPA is forced to evacuate to PRChina. I'm sure that the PRChina oligarchs will be very happy to have them, at the usual pay-rate of 60 cents/day.
We note that neither Sen. Feingold nor Sen. Kohl commented for the JS stories. (Surprise!!)
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Enviro-Wackies Gain in Congress
The valuable blogger, Random10, finds another reason that the Dem Congress is Hugo Chavez' alter ego in DC:
Broadly, the bill fulfills one big ambition of environmental groups in recent years: a rollback of any smarter use of public (or even private) lands for energy use. Gone are previous gains for more drilling, more refineries, more transmission lines.
But the big prize was an unprecedented new power allowing green groups to micromanage U.S. lands. That section creates "a new national policy on wildlife and global warming." It would require the Secretary of the Interior to "assist" species in adapting to global warming, as well as "protect, acquire and restore habitat" that is "vulnerable" to climate change.
This is the Endangered Species Act on steroids. At least under today's (albeit dysfunctional) species act, outside groups must provide evidence a species is dwindling in order for the government to step in.
This law would have no such requirements. Since green groups will argue that every species is vulnerable to climate change, the government will be obliged to manage every acre containing a bird, bee or flower.
It's a green dream come true, carte blanche to promulgate endless regulations barring tree-cutting, house-building, water-damming, snowmobile-riding, waterskiing, garden-planting, or any other human activity. The section is vague ("protect," "assist," "restore") precisely so as to leave the door open to practically anything. In theory, your friendly Fish & Wildlife representative could even command you to start applying sunblock to your resident chipmunks' noses.
This is in the "Energy" Bill advanced by some twit from the South!
I have a better solution to my resident chipmunk's problems with Global Warming--which is simply to put him/her out of their misery immediately.
It's the humane thing to do, right?
Broadly, the bill fulfills one big ambition of environmental groups in recent years: a rollback of any smarter use of public (or even private) lands for energy use. Gone are previous gains for more drilling, more refineries, more transmission lines.
But the big prize was an unprecedented new power allowing green groups to micromanage U.S. lands. That section creates "a new national policy on wildlife and global warming." It would require the Secretary of the Interior to "assist" species in adapting to global warming, as well as "protect, acquire and restore habitat" that is "vulnerable" to climate change.
This is the Endangered Species Act on steroids. At least under today's (albeit dysfunctional) species act, outside groups must provide evidence a species is dwindling in order for the government to step in.
This law would have no such requirements. Since green groups will argue that every species is vulnerable to climate change, the government will be obliged to manage every acre containing a bird, bee or flower.
It's a green dream come true, carte blanche to promulgate endless regulations barring tree-cutting, house-building, water-damming, snowmobile-riding, waterskiing, garden-planting, or any other human activity. The section is vague ("protect," "assist," "restore") precisely so as to leave the door open to practically anything. In theory, your friendly Fish & Wildlife representative could even command you to start applying sunblock to your resident chipmunks' noses.
This is in the "Energy" Bill advanced by some twit from the South!
I have a better solution to my resident chipmunk's problems with Global Warming--which is simply to put him/her out of their misery immediately.
It's the humane thing to do, right?
The Illinois Version of the Madistan Capitol Police
Write a nastygram, get a visit! (Scroll down on the linked page.)
The [Illinois State Rifle Ass'n] is expressing great concern over reports that Illinois State Police (ISP) detectives have been visiting the homes of people who phoned or faxed Sen. Dan Kotowski (D-Park Ridge) to express opposition to gun control legislation sponsored by the senator. The ISRA has recently conducted a thorough investigation into one complaint, and is gathering additional information on as many as several dozen other reported incidents of police questioning citizens who have spoken out against gun control legislation.
In the case investigated thus far, the respondent reports that ISP detectives arrived at his home, unannounced, and informed him that their visit was in response to faxes he sent to Sen. Kotowski. The detectives then went on to ask the citizen questions about his mental health and other personal matters. Although the citizen was not arrested, he reports that he feels that the detectives were there to deliver the message that it's not a good idea to criticize Dan Kotowski or the gun control measures Kotowski supports.
The Madison Capitol Police operate in a similar fashion.
The [Illinois State Rifle Ass'n] is expressing great concern over reports that Illinois State Police (ISP) detectives have been visiting the homes of people who phoned or faxed Sen. Dan Kotowski (D-Park Ridge) to express opposition to gun control legislation sponsored by the senator. The ISRA has recently conducted a thorough investigation into one complaint, and is gathering additional information on as many as several dozen other reported incidents of police questioning citizens who have spoken out against gun control legislation.
In the case investigated thus far, the respondent reports that ISP detectives arrived at his home, unannounced, and informed him that their visit was in response to faxes he sent to Sen. Kotowski. The detectives then went on to ask the citizen questions about his mental health and other personal matters. Although the citizen was not arrested, he reports that he feels that the detectives were there to deliver the message that it's not a good idea to criticize Dan Kotowski or the gun control measures Kotowski supports.
The Madison Capitol Police operate in a similar fashion.
John Lott's "Freedomnomics" and the Gender Wars
This is a fascinating observation:
Perhaps the most startling claim that Lott makes is that women’s suffrage caused a dramatic increase in the size of government, because the “gender gap” reflects a genuine difference in how men and women—-especially single or divorced women—-see the appropriate role of government with respect to income security and education. He points to how state government expenditures changed in states as the percentage of women voting increased—and how the varying years in which different states granted women the vote confirms that this was not a coincidence.
I used to jest that 'after women got the vote, the US suffered through Prohibition, the Great Depression, WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam.' (It was in jest, of course, because my wife and daughters are well-trained in the use of handguns...)
Now I can add The Scourge of Leviathan to the list.
Thanks, Dr. Lott!!!
HT: Clay Cramer
Perhaps the most startling claim that Lott makes is that women’s suffrage caused a dramatic increase in the size of government, because the “gender gap” reflects a genuine difference in how men and women—-especially single or divorced women—-see the appropriate role of government with respect to income security and education. He points to how state government expenditures changed in states as the percentage of women voting increased—and how the varying years in which different states granted women the vote confirms that this was not a coincidence.
I used to jest that 'after women got the vote, the US suffered through Prohibition, the Great Depression, WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam.' (It was in jest, of course, because my wife and daughters are well-trained in the use of handguns...)
Now I can add The Scourge of Leviathan to the list.
Thanks, Dr. Lott!!!
HT: Clay Cramer
The Clinton Plan for Your Radio
"Think Progress" touts a report assembled by the Clintonite Podesta.
Our conclusion is that the gap between conservative and progressive talk radio is the result of multiple structural problems in the U.S. regulatory system, particularly the complete breakdown of the public trustee concept of broadcast, the elimination of clear public interest requirements for broadcasting, and the relaxation of ownership rules including the requirement of local participation in management. […]
Ultimately, these results suggest that increasing ownership diversity, both in terms of the race/ethnicity and gender of owners, as well as the number of independent local owners, will lead to more diverse programming, more choices for listeners, and more owners who are responsive to their local communities and serve the public interest.
No problem. Simply mandate that all those new owners be finance-able!
Along with other ideas, the report recommends that national radio ownership not be allowed to exceed 5 percent of the total number of AM and FM broadcast stations, and local ownership should not exceed more than 10 percent of the total commercial radio stations in a given market.
How this can become reality? Another EEOC bureaucracy, complete with Categories For Every Possible Favored Interest Group.
HT: Mark Levin
Our conclusion is that the gap between conservative and progressive talk radio is the result of multiple structural problems in the U.S. regulatory system, particularly the complete breakdown of the public trustee concept of broadcast, the elimination of clear public interest requirements for broadcasting, and the relaxation of ownership rules including the requirement of local participation in management. […]
Ultimately, these results suggest that increasing ownership diversity, both in terms of the race/ethnicity and gender of owners, as well as the number of independent local owners, will lead to more diverse programming, more choices for listeners, and more owners who are responsive to their local communities and serve the public interest.
No problem. Simply mandate that all those new owners be finance-able!
Along with other ideas, the report recommends that national radio ownership not be allowed to exceed 5 percent of the total number of AM and FM broadcast stations, and local ownership should not exceed more than 10 percent of the total commercial radio stations in a given market.
How this can become reality? Another EEOC bureaucracy, complete with Categories For Every Possible Favored Interest Group.
HT: Mark Levin
Elmbrook: $3 Million for a Ramp?
Seems that "referendum questions" are going to dominate School Board meetings at Elmbrook district for a while.
In addition to contemplating tossing out the Open Enrollment and Chapter 220 students, the Board is considering spending $3 million for accessibility improvements at Brookfield Central HS.
The plan would build a long ramp along a main floor courtyard that would wind to the second floor, where a new elevator would take students in wheelchairs to all three floors. Brookfield Central currently has no elevator, but it has four elevations.
The elevator would eliminate three classrooms. Also in the $2.9 million plan are a three-classroom addition for about $800,000 and renovation of eight restrooms.
However, Brookfield East HS is already accessible, and all District students requiring such accomodations are transported to East.
So how come is it that this is being considered?
Brookfield Central would have become accessible if a $99.3 million referendum to renovate and expand both high schools had passed. When it failed, parents of some disabled students at Wisconsin Hills Middle School began lobbying for a quicker fix so their children can attend Central.
It would be VERY interesting to learn the actual total of "some" ...students.
Fortunately, one member of the School Board gets it:
School Board member Bob Ziegler said he was sympathetic but wanted to see a comprehensive plan to upgrade Central, not just accessibility for the disabled.
HT: The Crocodile, who also does a statistical breakdown to arrive at the cost/student.
In addition to contemplating tossing out the Open Enrollment and Chapter 220 students, the Board is considering spending $3 million for accessibility improvements at Brookfield Central HS.
The plan would build a long ramp along a main floor courtyard that would wind to the second floor, where a new elevator would take students in wheelchairs to all three floors. Brookfield Central currently has no elevator, but it has four elevations.
The elevator would eliminate three classrooms. Also in the $2.9 million plan are a three-classroom addition for about $800,000 and renovation of eight restrooms.
However, Brookfield East HS is already accessible, and all District students requiring such accomodations are transported to East.
So how come is it that this is being considered?
Brookfield Central would have become accessible if a $99.3 million referendum to renovate and expand both high schools had passed. When it failed, parents of some disabled students at Wisconsin Hills Middle School began lobbying for a quicker fix so their children can attend Central.
It would be VERY interesting to learn the actual total of "some" ...students.
Fortunately, one member of the School Board gets it:
School Board member Bob Ziegler said he was sympathetic but wanted to see a comprehensive plan to upgrade Central, not just accessibility for the disabled.
HT: The Crocodile, who also does a statistical breakdown to arrive at the cost/student.
Elmbrook to Dump Open Enrollment and Chapter 220?
Here's an interesting item.
Debate about the impact of open enrollment and Chapter 220 students on the need to revamp Brookfield Central and East high schools dominated a referendum steering team meeting Wednesday, with some members proposing the district stop accepting non-resident students.
Three members of that Committee agree that "OE" and Chapter 220 students are a significant factor in the 'new high-schools' referendum consideration.
In other words, maybe Elmbrook would not have to spend $100++million if those students disappeared from the system.
No surprise--there are 742 OE and Chapter 220 students in the system at this time. However, there is no breakdown of "high school" vs. "grade- or middle-school" numbers provided in the article.
Superintendent Matt Gibson said he had no problem with - and actually recommended - that the steering team develop a referendum that would size the two high schools for resident students only.
"There still may be space on the margins for (non-resident students)," Gibson said, but the district shouldn't construct buildings for open enrollment and Chapter 220 students.
Administrators developed what the impact would be if theoretically the district no longer had any of those 742 students. They said the net impact would be a financial loss of $552,846 to the annual budget.
That figure assumes that the district would raise property taxes by $2.98 million to cover the loss of $2.98 million in state aid for Chapter 220.
Removing all non-resident students would save a total of $2,031,314 that would include cutting as many as 23 teachers districtwide, including up to 10 at the high schools. But the district would lose $2,584,160 in open enrollment revenue, resulting in the $552,846 net loss.
Assistant superintendent for finance Bob Borch said the district would tax to the maximum amount allowed under state revenue caps because annual expenses are higher than the cap, causing budget cuts.
By the figures given above, the District actually makes a profit on OE students. There's no profit-and-loss calculation given for Chapter 220 students, but the District takes in $9,933.00/Chapter 220 student from the State.
No final decision has been made.
Debate about the impact of open enrollment and Chapter 220 students on the need to revamp Brookfield Central and East high schools dominated a referendum steering team meeting Wednesday, with some members proposing the district stop accepting non-resident students.
Three members of that Committee agree that "OE" and Chapter 220 students are a significant factor in the 'new high-schools' referendum consideration.
In other words, maybe Elmbrook would not have to spend $100++million if those students disappeared from the system.
No surprise--there are 742 OE and Chapter 220 students in the system at this time. However, there is no breakdown of "high school" vs. "grade- or middle-school" numbers provided in the article.
Superintendent Matt Gibson said he had no problem with - and actually recommended - that the steering team develop a referendum that would size the two high schools for resident students only.
"There still may be space on the margins for (non-resident students)," Gibson said, but the district shouldn't construct buildings for open enrollment and Chapter 220 students.
Administrators developed what the impact would be if theoretically the district no longer had any of those 742 students. They said the net impact would be a financial loss of $552,846 to the annual budget.
That figure assumes that the district would raise property taxes by $2.98 million to cover the loss of $2.98 million in state aid for Chapter 220.
Removing all non-resident students would save a total of $2,031,314 that would include cutting as many as 23 teachers districtwide, including up to 10 at the high schools. But the district would lose $2,584,160 in open enrollment revenue, resulting in the $552,846 net loss.
Assistant superintendent for finance Bob Borch said the district would tax to the maximum amount allowed under state revenue caps because annual expenses are higher than the cap, causing budget cuts.
By the figures given above, the District actually makes a profit on OE students. There's no profit-and-loss calculation given for Chapter 220 students, but the District takes in $9,933.00/Chapter 220 student from the State.
No final decision has been made.
"Management", Part II
In the preceding post, we linked to a story demonstrating that the Milwaukee Police Department is apparently being "managed" for the benefit of Police Union membership.
Now comes MPS.
There's a commonality between them--specifically, the critical Middle Management group in each organization is sadly lacking in actual management skills (and probably in management training.)
Here's the key line from the JS article on the schools:
The lack of good leadership in a school and a poor environment for a teacher to be effective are frequently at the top of the list.
Andrekopolous says that he understands that:
He said a lot of attention has been focused on putting better principals in schools, and he thought those efforts were showing results.
As for "waste of oxygen" comments, we look to Sam Carmen, union boss:
Sam Carmen, executive director of the Milwaukee Teachers' Education Association, said a "competent, qualified, caring leader" in a school is the factor many teachers would put first on their list of ways to improve retention of teachers.
What's missing from the Union comment? How about "[leader] who has authority.."
MPS' turnover numbers are NOT an issue, based on the 'comparative' numbers from the study as a whole (17.6% vs. 16.8%.)
What IS an issue is that Middle Management bunch--school principals. Let's hope that Andrekopolous figures it out.
Now comes MPS.
There's a commonality between them--specifically, the critical Middle Management group in each organization is sadly lacking in actual management skills (and probably in management training.)
Here's the key line from the JS article on the schools:
The lack of good leadership in a school and a poor environment for a teacher to be effective are frequently at the top of the list.
Andrekopolous says that he understands that:
He said a lot of attention has been focused on putting better principals in schools, and he thought those efforts were showing results.
As for "waste of oxygen" comments, we look to Sam Carmen, union boss:
Sam Carmen, executive director of the Milwaukee Teachers' Education Association, said a "competent, qualified, caring leader" in a school is the factor many teachers would put first on their list of ways to improve retention of teachers.
What's missing from the Union comment? How about "[leader] who has authority.."
MPS' turnover numbers are NOT an issue, based on the 'comparative' numbers from the study as a whole (17.6% vs. 16.8%.)
What IS an issue is that Middle Management bunch--school principals. Let's hope that Andrekopolous figures it out.
Some Call This "Management"
Evidently the Milwaukee Police Department's "management" staff is operating in the 18th Century:
Deputy Comptroller Mike Daun and Ald. Michael Murphy pointed to auditors' findings that police commanders weren't using data to study overtime costs, weren't matching the overtime hours allocated to district stations with the overtime budget approved by the council, and were simply expecting overtime to rise each year instead of justifying overtime hours from the bottom up.
Un-friggin' believable.
But here's the Crock-of-the-Week-Line-of-Hooey nominee:
Hegerty and Eileen Force, spokeswoman for Mayor Tom Barrett, said it wasn't fair to compare cities without considering other social factors such as poverty and teen pregnancy.
What? Nanette forgot about "Lack of Federal Funds, the Iraq War, and Global Warming?"
Deputy Comptroller Mike Daun and Ald. Michael Murphy pointed to auditors' findings that police commanders weren't using data to study overtime costs, weren't matching the overtime hours allocated to district stations with the overtime budget approved by the council, and were simply expecting overtime to rise each year instead of justifying overtime hours from the bottom up.
Un-friggin' believable.
But here's the Crock-of-the-Week-Line-of-Hooey nominee:
Hegerty and Eileen Force, spokeswoman for Mayor Tom Barrett, said it wasn't fair to compare cities without considering other social factors such as poverty and teen pregnancy.
What? Nanette forgot about "Lack of Federal Funds, the Iraq War, and Global Warming?"
Immigration Bill Follies --Still Playing Us for Suckers
Another Bushbot, Carlos Gutierrez (Sec'y/Commerce) is now referring to the Immigration Abomination Bill as a "national security" bill.
Yah, Carlos. Right.
Leaving aside the inability of ICE to thoroughly process its existing visa load in a timely fashion--thus putting into question ICE's capacity to thoroughly process an ADDITIONAL 12++ million applications in one business day...
A fellow named Kris Kobach, former adviser to AG Ashcroft and currently associated with the Heritage Foundation, offers an additional scenario.
First, let's imagine that there are some illegal immigrants in the country who are Muslim terrorists.
The ImmigrationAbomination Bill provides three options for obtaining a "Z" Visa--and the third one is tailor-made for terrorists:
The third option, to invent a clean identity, is possible because the bill contains no requirement that the alien produce a secure foreign passport proving his identity.
"In other words, a terrorist can declare that his name is 'Rumpelstiltskin,' or perhaps 'Mohammed X,' and most likely, walk out the next day with a probationary Z visa, complete with a government-issued ID card backing up his false identity," Kobach writes.
All the terrorist needs to do is provide two easily forged pieces of paper indicating that a person of that name was in the country before Jan. 1, 2007. A pay stub, bank receipt or a remittance receipt is sufficient – or "a declaration from one of the terrorist's friends that he was in the country before January 1, 2007."
The new identity, backed up by an ID card issued by the federal government, would allow the alien terrorist to obtain driver's licenses and just about any other form of identification he desires, Kobach says.
"This is essentially what the 19 9/11 hijackers did: They used their passports and visas as breeder documents to obtain 63 driver's licenses. The documents allowed them to travel openly and board airplanes easily."
Of course, the illegal in question may NOT be a terrorist. He may just be a serial-murderer or rapist who's on the lam from Country X, Y, or Z.
Same method, same results.
The DC Disdain for the electorate is beginning to anger.
Yah, Carlos. Right.
Leaving aside the inability of ICE to thoroughly process its existing visa load in a timely fashion--thus putting into question ICE's capacity to thoroughly process an ADDITIONAL 12++ million applications in one business day...
A fellow named Kris Kobach, former adviser to AG Ashcroft and currently associated with the Heritage Foundation, offers an additional scenario.
First, let's imagine that there are some illegal immigrants in the country who are Muslim terrorists.
The Immigration
The third option, to invent a clean identity, is possible because the bill contains no requirement that the alien produce a secure foreign passport proving his identity.
"In other words, a terrorist can declare that his name is 'Rumpelstiltskin,' or perhaps 'Mohammed X,' and most likely, walk out the next day with a probationary Z visa, complete with a government-issued ID card backing up his false identity," Kobach writes.
All the terrorist needs to do is provide two easily forged pieces of paper indicating that a person of that name was in the country before Jan. 1, 2007. A pay stub, bank receipt or a remittance receipt is sufficient – or "a declaration from one of the terrorist's friends that he was in the country before January 1, 2007."
The new identity, backed up by an ID card issued by the federal government, would allow the alien terrorist to obtain driver's licenses and just about any other form of identification he desires, Kobach says.
"This is essentially what the 19 9/11 hijackers did: They used their passports and visas as breeder documents to obtain 63 driver's licenses. The documents allowed them to travel openly and board airplanes easily."
Of course, the illegal in question may NOT be a terrorist. He may just be a serial-murderer or rapist who's on the lam from Country X, Y, or Z.
Same method, same results.
The DC Disdain for the electorate is beginning to anger.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Horse Race? Sykes Spyke or WSJ Blog-Listing, UPDATED
Wooooahhh, Nellie.
Posted a shortie on Bear, Stearns' mortgage-securities problem this AM, which was picked up by the Wall Street Journal.
The meter's spinning--but STILL (at this time) not like a Sykes Spyke.
Charlie oughta consider buying the WSJ, so long as he has better Blog-Drag numbers, eh?
UPDATE: As of Thursday AM, the Sykes Spyke wins, hands-down.
Perhaps there is a Cosmic Meaning to that.
Posted a shortie on Bear, Stearns' mortgage-securities problem this AM, which was picked up by the Wall Street Journal.
The meter's spinning--but STILL (at this time) not like a Sykes Spyke.
Charlie oughta consider buying the WSJ, so long as he has better Blog-Drag numbers, eh?
UPDATE: As of Thursday AM, the Sykes Spyke wins, hands-down.
Perhaps there is a Cosmic Meaning to that.
Dry Wit vs. Bp Trautman
As many of you know, Bp. Trautman is a tiresome fellow, utterly captivated by the mundane and vulgar, and Proud Of It!!--bleating that he (and his fellow Liturgeists) are really, really, really, benefitting the Common Man with their offerings of sawdust and dried mice.
But a quicker and better way to put it is here:
A witty, post-Vatican II Anglican convert to Catholicism was once asked what he missed most about his former ecclesiastical home.
“The Mass in English,” he immediately replied.
I'll admit that I had to read it twice, and then actually (shudder) think! to get the damn thing.
HT: Christus Vincit
But a quicker and better way to put it is here:
A witty, post-Vatican II Anglican convert to Catholicism was once asked what he missed most about his former ecclesiastical home.
“The Mass in English,” he immediately replied.
I'll admit that I had to read it twice, and then actually (shudder) think! to get the damn thing.
HT: Christus Vincit
GKChesterton On Three-Man Groups
You read this guy, and it's just stunning how dead-on he is:
THERE are two very curious things which the critic of life may observe. The first is the fact that there is one real difference between men and women: that women prefer to talk in two's, while men prefer to talk in three's. The second is that when you find (as you often do) three young cads and idiots going about together and getting drunk together every day, you generally find that one of the three cads and idiots is (for some extraordinary reason) not a cad and not an idiot. In those small groups devoted to a drivelling dissipation there is almost always one man who seems to have condescended to his company: one man who, while he can talk a foul triviality with his fellows, can also talk politics with a Socialist, or philosophy with a Catholic.
G.K. Chesterton in Tremendous Trifles
HT: Chesterton and Friends
THERE are two very curious things which the critic of life may observe. The first is the fact that there is one real difference between men and women: that women prefer to talk in two's, while men prefer to talk in three's. The second is that when you find (as you often do) three young cads and idiots going about together and getting drunk together every day, you generally find that one of the three cads and idiots is (for some extraordinary reason) not a cad and not an idiot. In those small groups devoted to a drivelling dissipation there is almost always one man who seems to have condescended to his company: one man who, while he can talk a foul triviality with his fellows, can also talk politics with a Socialist, or philosophy with a Catholic.
G.K. Chesterton in Tremendous Trifles
HT: Chesterton and Friends
Socialism, The Church, and Utopia
GOP3's Brian is carrying on a very solid discussion of the canard that 'the Catholic church is [the philosophical home] of Socialism'.
That's simply not true--and no less than Fr. Fessio, the Jesuit founder of Ignatius Press, and a well-known student of one Mgr. Jos. Ratzinger (now known as Benedict XVI) is also involved in the correspondence on the post.
Brian goes on to opine:
I would say that particular aspects of the divine nature of interpreted truth within the Catholic Church lend themselves to oppose socialism even moreso than others - especially with regard to individually ascertained, self-appointed truthseekers (zing!) who wish to remake society, change society in one’s own image. Fundamentally, it all goes back to Whittaker Chambers discussion of the great faith of mankind and then the second great faith of mankind. (Ok, I won’t quote Chambers).
Well, maybe.
On the other hand, Ignatius Press just published a book by Lucy Beckett, In the Light of Christ, and we find her quoting St. Augustine (c. 400AD):
That's simply not true--and no less than Fr. Fessio, the Jesuit founder of Ignatius Press, and a well-known student of one Mgr. Jos. Ratzinger (now known as Benedict XVI) is also involved in the correspondence on the post.
Brian goes on to opine:
I would say that particular aspects of the divine nature of interpreted truth within the Catholic Church lend themselves to oppose socialism even moreso than others - especially with regard to individually ascertained, self-appointed truthseekers (zing!) who wish to remake society, change society in one’s own image. Fundamentally, it all goes back to Whittaker Chambers discussion of the great faith of mankind and then the second great faith of mankind. (Ok, I won’t quote Chambers).
Well, maybe.
On the other hand, Ignatius Press just published a book by Lucy Beckett, In the Light of Christ, and we find her quoting St. Augustine (c. 400AD):
As it arises on the foundation of nature, power is primarily self-affirmation, whether it be the affirmation of an individual, a group, or a people; and it involves the overpowering and subjugation of others...Where it prevails by means of oppression, thinking that it alone is right--whether on the basis of the theory that "might is right" or of the ideology that says that a race or class must assert itself with all available means, because it represents some peerless good, some quasi-absolute in the sphere of the relative--it has become demonic.
You Can STILL Buy Sen. Schumer!
...but UpChuck Schumer has to look very clean while he's soiling himself with lobbyist money.
So:
Uncle Chuck has built a bypass to lobbyist money. Instead of coming into direct contact with lobbyists, the Democrats will send their aides instead. Lobbyists will harangue the chiefs of staff and senior aides within the politicians' offices, and this way the politicians themselves have complete deniability. "What's that you say? No, I never met with Lobbyist X. My legislation couldn't possibly have been influenced by him."
This way, the DSCC still gets its money, the lobbyists still retain their influence, and everyone inside the Beltway stays happy. The only people who lose are the fools who thought the Democrats would end lobbyist influence and clean up Washington once they returned to the majority. Instead, Uncle Chuck has come up with even more ways to hide lobbyist influence from the prying eyes of American voters.
And we're too stupid to figure this out, eh?
HT: The Captain
So:
Uncle Chuck has built a bypass to lobbyist money. Instead of coming into direct contact with lobbyists, the Democrats will send their aides instead. Lobbyists will harangue the chiefs of staff and senior aides within the politicians' offices, and this way the politicians themselves have complete deniability. "What's that you say? No, I never met with Lobbyist X. My legislation couldn't possibly have been influenced by him."
This way, the DSCC still gets its money, the lobbyists still retain their influence, and everyone inside the Beltway stays happy. The only people who lose are the fools who thought the Democrats would end lobbyist influence and clean up Washington once they returned to the majority. Instead, Uncle Chuck has come up with even more ways to hide lobbyist influence from the prying eyes of American voters.
And we're too stupid to figure this out, eh?
HT: The Captain
Bear Stearns' P*** Will Hit the Fan
This is not good news:
A day after managers of a troubled internal hedge fund at Bear Stearns Cos. presented lenders with a last-ditch plan to reinvigorate the fund with additional financing, creditor Merrill Lynch & Co. pushed forward with plans to sell hundreds of millions of dollars in collateral assets out of the fund, said traders late Tuesday.
Merrill has indicated plans to sell off at least $850 million worth of collateral assets, mostly mortgage-related securities, Wednesday afternoon, according to documents reviewed by the Wall Street Journal.
In related developments:
Two big hedge funds at Bear Stearns Cos. moved toward the brink of closing down ... as a bailout plan ... fell apart ...
The funds, which once controlled more than $20 billion in a combination of investor and lender money ... had invested heavily in various securities backed by subprime loans ...... the funds had effectively paid down $2.25 billion of their $9 billion in outstanding credit.
The first two lenders to exit their positions, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Bank of America Corp., agreed to unwind complicated transactions with Bear without dumping lots of bonds on the broader market. .
..By unwinding those loans in an orderly manner, rather than through a series of fire-sale auctions, Bear's fund managers ... could help stave off painful ripple effects in the broader market for mortgage-backed securities and related instruments. ...
Of course, "unwinding...without dumping" means that Goldman and BoA hope to maintain SOME value to the asset.
However, the news, in and of itself, will have its effects. Tempting as it may be, don't get into schadenfreude-mode over the hits taken by Bear Stearns.
A day after managers of a troubled internal hedge fund at Bear Stearns Cos. presented lenders with a last-ditch plan to reinvigorate the fund with additional financing, creditor Merrill Lynch & Co. pushed forward with plans to sell hundreds of millions of dollars in collateral assets out of the fund, said traders late Tuesday.
Merrill has indicated plans to sell off at least $850 million worth of collateral assets, mostly mortgage-related securities, Wednesday afternoon, according to documents reviewed by the Wall Street Journal.
In related developments:
Two big hedge funds at Bear Stearns Cos. moved toward the brink of closing down ... as a bailout plan ... fell apart ...
The funds, which once controlled more than $20 billion in a combination of investor and lender money ... had invested heavily in various securities backed by subprime loans ...... the funds had effectively paid down $2.25 billion of their $9 billion in outstanding credit.
The first two lenders to exit their positions, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Bank of America Corp., agreed to unwind complicated transactions with Bear without dumping lots of bonds on the broader market. .
..By unwinding those loans in an orderly manner, rather than through a series of fire-sale auctions, Bear's fund managers ... could help stave off painful ripple effects in the broader market for mortgage-backed securities and related instruments. ...
Of course, "unwinding...without dumping" means that Goldman and BoA hope to maintain SOME value to the asset.
However, the news, in and of itself, will have its effects. Tempting as it may be, don't get into schadenfreude-mode over the hits taken by Bear Stearns.
Madistan: True to Its Convictions
Madistan won't have any honors for those anti-Communist types. No matter how much good those vile anti-Commies did for the US, or for their own people.
In Madistan, we know who the REAL good guys are, and they are NOT the anti-Communists.
Nosirree!!
The Madison, Wisconsin, Metropolitan School Board erased the name of Hmong (mung) General Vang Pao from a new elementary school, after he was charged this month with trying to overthrow the government of Laos.
He was among ten Hmong leaders arrested June fourth and charged in federal court in California with conspiracy to overthrow the communist Laotian government by killing officials and leveling government buildings.
Prosecutors contend Vang Pao masterminded the plot, which involved raising money to recruit a mercenary force and equipping a small army to launch coordinated attacks using anti-tank missiles, grenade launchers and C-4 explosives.
Vang Pao led CIA-backed Hmong forces in Laos against communists in the 1960s and 1970s. The conflict claimed thousands of lives. Many Hmong credit him with freeing them from oppression in southeast Asia and helping them build new lives in the US, where he immigrated in 1975.
Gerry Ford, a gutless twit, threw away South Vietnam (and Laos) to the Commies--ignoring the policy established by JFK only 15+ years beforehand.
As to the "plot," it seems to me that the guy had a damn good idea.
In Madistan, we know who the REAL good guys are, and they are NOT the anti-Communists.
Nosirree!!
The Madison, Wisconsin, Metropolitan School Board erased the name of Hmong (mung) General Vang Pao from a new elementary school, after he was charged this month with trying to overthrow the government of Laos.
He was among ten Hmong leaders arrested June fourth and charged in federal court in California with conspiracy to overthrow the communist Laotian government by killing officials and leveling government buildings.
Prosecutors contend Vang Pao masterminded the plot, which involved raising money to recruit a mercenary force and equipping a small army to launch coordinated attacks using anti-tank missiles, grenade launchers and C-4 explosives.
Vang Pao led CIA-backed Hmong forces in Laos against communists in the 1960s and 1970s. The conflict claimed thousands of lives. Many Hmong credit him with freeing them from oppression in southeast Asia and helping them build new lives in the US, where he immigrated in 1975.
Gerry Ford, a gutless twit, threw away South Vietnam (and Laos) to the Commies--ignoring the policy established by JFK only 15+ years beforehand.
As to the "plot," it seems to me that the guy had a damn good idea.
The "Troubles" in MPS
After the single most effective advertising campaign in Milwaukee history, DarthDoyle allowed an increase in "Choice" school seats. You recall the campaign, which embarrassed Darth (no mean feat,) asking him 'not to stand in the schoolhouse door.'
There's no question WHY parents want their children out of MPS:
The number of students suspended for battery this school year was 562, compared with 399 in 2005-'06 (the data goes through June 4 of each school year).
For gang activity, the figure rose to 291 from 146.
And 8,704 students were suspended for fights this school year, up from 8,159 students last year.
In a few categories of suspensions, the numbers went down. For instance, the number of students suspended for weapons possession was down slightly, from 441 last school year to 429 this school year.
45% of all high school students have been suspended at least once this year; among middle-school-age students, the figure was 25%, and among elementary-school-age students, it was 10%.
And those are just the ones who got caught.
There's no question WHY parents want their children out of MPS:
The number of students suspended for battery this school year was 562, compared with 399 in 2005-'06 (the data goes through June 4 of each school year).
For gang activity, the figure rose to 291 from 146.
And 8,704 students were suspended for fights this school year, up from 8,159 students last year.
In a few categories of suspensions, the numbers went down. For instance, the number of students suspended for weapons possession was down slightly, from 441 last school year to 429 this school year.
45% of all high school students have been suspended at least once this year; among middle-school-age students, the figure was 25%, and among elementary-school-age students, it was 10%.
And those are just the ones who got caught.
Mickey Chertoff's TSA Strikes Again: Mommy Hassled
The mom in question managed to take her trip, after some hassles. Just remember that Mickey Chertoff is also promising to "clean up" the entire mess at the US Border.
TSA spokeswoman Lara Uselding said the policy on carry-on restrictions is pretty clear on the agency's Web site. A woman traveling with a baby may carry more than 3 ounces of breast milk or formula on the plane, but a woman without a baby must comply with the 3-1-1 rule - 3 ounces or less of liquids or gels, packed in a 1-quart clear plastic bag, and one bag per traveler in the screening bin.
Of course, in the case at hand, the Mom did not take her baby, meaning that her accumulation of breast-milk grew while she was out of town.
Looking carefully at the pictures (see the link) it's perfectly obvious that TSA is NOT engaged in "profiling" terrorists--who are usually young, single, Middle-Eastern men.
Can't have Profiling in Mickey's Department. Nope.
TSA spokeswoman Lara Uselding said the policy on carry-on restrictions is pretty clear on the agency's Web site. A woman traveling with a baby may carry more than 3 ounces of breast milk or formula on the plane, but a woman without a baby must comply with the 3-1-1 rule - 3 ounces or less of liquids or gels, packed in a 1-quart clear plastic bag, and one bag per traveler in the screening bin.
Of course, in the case at hand, the Mom did not take her baby, meaning that her accumulation of breast-milk grew while she was out of town.
Looking carefully at the pictures (see the link) it's perfectly obvious that TSA is NOT engaged in "profiling" terrorists--who are usually young, single, Middle-Eastern men.
Can't have Profiling in Mickey's Department. Nope.
Wisconsin Roadbuilders Have Bid Opportunity: the China Solution
No question that Wisconsin's roadbuilding plans are exorbitant; at the same time, the bought-and-paid-for Legislators from both the (R) and (D) parties will have a hard time cutting $100 million from the "pave it ALL" DOT plans.
Well, here's a solution. Next time DarthDoyle traipses over to PRChina on a 'trade mission,' he should take the Payne & Dolan executive committee. There's a little project over there for them!
China plans to build a highway on the side of Mount Everest to ease the Olympic torch's journey to the peak of the world's tallest mountain before the 2008 Beijing Games, state media reported Tuesday.
Construction of the road, budgeted at $19.7 million would turn a 67- mile rough path from the foot of the mountain to a base camp at 17,060 feet "into a blacktop highway fenced by undulating guardrails," the Xinhua News Agency said.
Xinhua said construction, which would start next week, would take about four months. The new highway would become a major route for tourists and mountaineers, it said.
Rumor has it that labor cost is VERY competitive:
Few police are seen at bustling Zhengzhou train station in central China, where people traffickers are believed to have abducted young boys and others for use as slave laborers at brick kilns.
Uneducated and grindingly poor, China's 200 million migrant workers are among the most vulnerable to exploitation by phony job offers, and they are easily picked out by the animal feed or fertilizer bags they carry as improvised luggage.
The throbbing, chaotic Zhengzhou station and others like it in north-central China have emerged as links in the slavery scandal that erupted last week, dominating news reports and prompting President Hu Jintao to personally order an investigation.
Chinese media said the 568 slaves freed in raids last week worked at kilns in Shanxi and Henan provinces that were operating under the protection of corrupt local officials.
(OF COURSE they are "local officials" who are corrupt. The fact that the PRC honchos and their families comprise 350 of the 385 richest people in PRC has nothing, nothing, NOTHING to do with this!)
"This issue is about much more than illegal work practices," the Guangzhou Daily said in an editorial. "We see more bloody crimes through it, like kidnapping, abducting, beating, abusing, or even murdering. Behind all of those crimes, there is the misconduct of local officials."
The freed workers had been sold to kilns for $66 each by gangs that lured them with false promises of well-paid jobs or just abducted them from transport hubs or the street.
Well, here's a solution. Next time DarthDoyle traipses over to PRChina on a 'trade mission,' he should take the Payne & Dolan executive committee. There's a little project over there for them!
China plans to build a highway on the side of Mount Everest to ease the Olympic torch's journey to the peak of the world's tallest mountain before the 2008 Beijing Games, state media reported Tuesday.
Construction of the road, budgeted at $19.7 million would turn a 67- mile rough path from the foot of the mountain to a base camp at 17,060 feet "into a blacktop highway fenced by undulating guardrails," the Xinhua News Agency said.
Xinhua said construction, which would start next week, would take about four months. The new highway would become a major route for tourists and mountaineers, it said.
Rumor has it that labor cost is VERY competitive:
Few police are seen at bustling Zhengzhou train station in central China, where people traffickers are believed to have abducted young boys and others for use as slave laborers at brick kilns.
Uneducated and grindingly poor, China's 200 million migrant workers are among the most vulnerable to exploitation by phony job offers, and they are easily picked out by the animal feed or fertilizer bags they carry as improvised luggage.
The throbbing, chaotic Zhengzhou station and others like it in north-central China have emerged as links in the slavery scandal that erupted last week, dominating news reports and prompting President Hu Jintao to personally order an investigation.
Chinese media said the 568 slaves freed in raids last week worked at kilns in Shanxi and Henan provinces that were operating under the protection of corrupt local officials.
(OF COURSE they are "local officials" who are corrupt. The fact that the PRC honchos and their families comprise 350 of the 385 richest people in PRC has nothing, nothing, NOTHING to do with this!)
"This issue is about much more than illegal work practices," the Guangzhou Daily said in an editorial. "We see more bloody crimes through it, like kidnapping, abducting, beating, abusing, or even murdering. Behind all of those crimes, there is the misconduct of local officials."
The freed workers had been sold to kilns for $66 each by gangs that lured them with false promises of well-paid jobs or just abducted them from transport hubs or the street.
Billion-Dollar Bloomberg Dumps (R) Label
In what could be the best news for the Republican Party since the term "to Lewinsky" became patois, the Mayor of New York City did the right thing, and quit the Party.
This allows him to run as an Indy, and eat away at the 'moderate' wing of the Democrat machine--which is critical to winning national elections.
Heh.
This allows him to run as an Indy, and eat away at the 'moderate' wing of the Democrat machine--which is critical to winning national elections.
Heh.
Rome Reverses Boston: Kennedy Is Still Married
Although Rome has been rumbling about the "American Problem" of easy annulment for years, it is rare to hear of the highest tribunal reversing a judgment of nullity.
And Joe Kennedy, Jr. found out that the Catholic Church is serious about that "death do us part" stuff.
The most controversial "marriage that never was" in recent U.S. political history is back. Sources tell TIME that the Vatican has reversed the annulment of Joseph P. Kennedy II's marriage to Sheila Rauch. The annulment had been granted in secrecy by the Catholic Church after the couple's 1991 no-fault civil divorce. Rauch found out about the de-sanctification of their marriage only in 1996, after Kennedy had been wedded to his former Congressional aide, Beth Kelly, for three years.
The annulment was the subject of Rauch's 1997 book Shattered Faith, which lambasted her ex-husband and was severely critical of the Catholic Church's proceedings, which made the marriage (which had produced twin boys) null and void in the eyes of the church. Rauch argued that Kennedy was able to unilaterally "cancel" nearly 12 years of marriage because of his clan's influence in the church. Kennedy argued at the time that the annulment was the right thing to do in religious terms. Few observers thought the appeal to Rome by Rauch, an Episcopalian, had a chance against the well-connected Kennedy.
...Erroneously dubbed "Catholic divorce," an annulment in fact holds that a failed marriage was never valid in the eyes of the Church.
...Rauch's successful appeal effectively reinstates the Kennedy-Rauch marriage in the eyes of the Vatican. The case once again highlights this unique Catholic Church proceeding. Some 75% of annulments each year are from the United States, where there are an estimated 8 million divorced and remarried Catholics
...At the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI has indicated that he wants to streamline the Roma Rota to respond to the desire of divorced Catholics to stay inside the Church. But there is also concern that some Catholics, particularly in the U.S., abuse the practice. "People think it's their right," says one Rome-based canon lawyer. He adds sternly,"It's not a right."
This is a clear shot across the bows of the US Bishops, who have (through their Diocesan marriage courts) significantly loosened the rules for obtaining annulments; and the high-profile of the Kennedy family in the US will make certain that this 'shot' is heard clearly. The use of psychological mumbo-jumbo to annul marriages has been very controversial even within the US church, with heated exchanges in ordinarily sedate journals such as Homiletic & Pastoral Review going on for years.
That same psychological mumbo-jumbo was a factor in the priest-pedophile scandal.
About 20 years ago (IIRC) a high-profile Milwaukee-area attorney was also involved in a controversial annulment case.
There will be more coverage of this issue in due course.
It's about time.
And Joe Kennedy, Jr. found out that the Catholic Church is serious about that "death do us part" stuff.
The most controversial "marriage that never was" in recent U.S. political history is back. Sources tell TIME that the Vatican has reversed the annulment of Joseph P. Kennedy II's marriage to Sheila Rauch. The annulment had been granted in secrecy by the Catholic Church after the couple's 1991 no-fault civil divorce. Rauch found out about the de-sanctification of their marriage only in 1996, after Kennedy had been wedded to his former Congressional aide, Beth Kelly, for three years.
The annulment was the subject of Rauch's 1997 book Shattered Faith, which lambasted her ex-husband and was severely critical of the Catholic Church's proceedings, which made the marriage (which had produced twin boys) null and void in the eyes of the church. Rauch argued that Kennedy was able to unilaterally "cancel" nearly 12 years of marriage because of his clan's influence in the church. Kennedy argued at the time that the annulment was the right thing to do in religious terms. Few observers thought the appeal to Rome by Rauch, an Episcopalian, had a chance against the well-connected Kennedy.
...Erroneously dubbed "Catholic divorce," an annulment in fact holds that a failed marriage was never valid in the eyes of the Church.
...Rauch's successful appeal effectively reinstates the Kennedy-Rauch marriage in the eyes of the Vatican. The case once again highlights this unique Catholic Church proceeding. Some 75% of annulments each year are from the United States, where there are an estimated 8 million divorced and remarried Catholics
...At the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI has indicated that he wants to streamline the Roma Rota to respond to the desire of divorced Catholics to stay inside the Church. But there is also concern that some Catholics, particularly in the U.S., abuse the practice. "People think it's their right," says one Rome-based canon lawyer. He adds sternly,"It's not a right."
This is a clear shot across the bows of the US Bishops, who have (through their Diocesan marriage courts) significantly loosened the rules for obtaining annulments; and the high-profile of the Kennedy family in the US will make certain that this 'shot' is heard clearly. The use of psychological mumbo-jumbo to annul marriages has been very controversial even within the US church, with heated exchanges in ordinarily sedate journals such as Homiletic & Pastoral Review going on for years.
That same psychological mumbo-jumbo was a factor in the priest-pedophile scandal.
About 20 years ago (IIRC) a high-profile Milwaukee-area attorney was also involved in a controversial annulment case.
There will be more coverage of this issue in due course.
It's about time.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
The Modern Gnostics--Liturgeists
At one time or another Gnosticism has reared its little head and produced difficulties for the Church of Rome. Here's the definition of the heresy from the Catholic Encyclopedia:
A collective name for a large number of greatly-varying and pantheistic-idealistic sects, which flourished from some time before the Christian Era down to the fifth century, and which, while borrowing the phraseology and some of the tenets of the chief religions of the day, and especially of Christianity, held matter to be a deterioration of spirit, and the whole universe a depravation of the Deity, and taught the ultimate end of all being to be the overcoming of the grossness of matter and the return to the Parent-Spirit, which return they held to be inaugurated and facilitated by the appearance of some God-sent Saviour.
There's another sub-group in this bunch which holds that the 'mind is trapped inside the (evil) body'.
We should not be so optimistic as the Encyclopedia's author, who implies that Gnosticism died off in the fifth century--after all, we have Descartes.
The following is the first of four articles on "The Loss of the Sacred" by Bishop Serratelli of Paterson, NJ, who begins at the modern-day beginning--the Gnosticism of Descartes.
In the 17th century, Descartes, the father of modern philosophy, rejected the philosophical traditions of Aristotle and the Scholastics. For Descartes, the very fact that we think is the proof that we exist. Cogito, ergo sum. I think, therefore I am. He rejected the use of his senses as the basis for knowledge. In so doing, he wounded the unity between mind and body found in classical philosophy. Over the course of time, the wound has widened. The spiritual and the material have drifted apart. The sacred and the secular clearly divided.
And from this premise flowed.....Liturgeists!!...the Plague of Locusts transferred from Egypt to today.
Besides modern philosophy, other factors have contributed to the separation of the sacred from the secular...Even within the most sacred precincts of the Church, we witness a loss of the sense of the sacred. With the enthusiasm that followed the Second Vatican Council, there was a well-intentioned effort to make the liturgy modern. It became commonplace to say that the liturgy had to be relevant to the worshipper. Old songs were jettisoned. The guitar replaced the organ. Some priests even began to walk down the road of liturgical innovation, only to discover it was a dead end. And all the while, the awareness of entering into something sacred that has been given to us from above and draws us out of ourselves and into the mystery of God was gone.
What the Bishop describes, of course, is the logical result of discounting 'sensory input' in favor of 'intellectual grasp.' In other words, what your body is telling you is less important (or of NO import) in comparison to what your mind grasps.
It don't work that way--or one would hardly need full-colored advertisments, no?
Walk into any church today before Mass and you will notice that the silence that should embrace those who stand in God’s House is gone. Even the Church is no longer a sacred place. Gathering for Mass sometimes becomes as noisy as gathering for any other social event. We may not have the ability to do much about the loss of the sacredness of life in the songs, videos and movies of our day. But, most assuredly, we can do much about helping one another recover the sacredness of God’s Presence in His Church.
Having attempted (and failed) to 'splain to another blogger that "it's all a piece--the music, the meaning, the texts, the space, the language..." I hope that the good Bishop of Paterson's next three installments make the case better than I did.
A collective name for a large number of greatly-varying and pantheistic-idealistic sects, which flourished from some time before the Christian Era down to the fifth century, and which, while borrowing the phraseology and some of the tenets of the chief religions of the day, and especially of Christianity, held matter to be a deterioration of spirit, and the whole universe a depravation of the Deity, and taught the ultimate end of all being to be the overcoming of the grossness of matter and the return to the Parent-Spirit, which return they held to be inaugurated and facilitated by the appearance of some God-sent Saviour.
There's another sub-group in this bunch which holds that the 'mind is trapped inside the (evil) body'.
We should not be so optimistic as the Encyclopedia's author, who implies that Gnosticism died off in the fifth century--after all, we have Descartes.
The following is the first of four articles on "The Loss of the Sacred" by Bishop Serratelli of Paterson, NJ, who begins at the modern-day beginning--the Gnosticism of Descartes.
In the 17th century, Descartes, the father of modern philosophy, rejected the philosophical traditions of Aristotle and the Scholastics. For Descartes, the very fact that we think is the proof that we exist. Cogito, ergo sum. I think, therefore I am. He rejected the use of his senses as the basis for knowledge. In so doing, he wounded the unity between mind and body found in classical philosophy. Over the course of time, the wound has widened. The spiritual and the material have drifted apart. The sacred and the secular clearly divided.
And from this premise flowed.....Liturgeists!!...the Plague of Locusts transferred from Egypt to today.
Besides modern philosophy, other factors have contributed to the separation of the sacred from the secular...Even within the most sacred precincts of the Church, we witness a loss of the sense of the sacred. With the enthusiasm that followed the Second Vatican Council, there was a well-intentioned effort to make the liturgy modern. It became commonplace to say that the liturgy had to be relevant to the worshipper. Old songs were jettisoned. The guitar replaced the organ. Some priests even began to walk down the road of liturgical innovation, only to discover it was a dead end. And all the while, the awareness of entering into something sacred that has been given to us from above and draws us out of ourselves and into the mystery of God was gone.
What the Bishop describes, of course, is the logical result of discounting 'sensory input' in favor of 'intellectual grasp.' In other words, what your body is telling you is less important (or of NO import) in comparison to what your mind grasps.
It don't work that way--or one would hardly need full-colored advertisments, no?
Walk into any church today before Mass and you will notice that the silence that should embrace those who stand in God’s House is gone. Even the Church is no longer a sacred place. Gathering for Mass sometimes becomes as noisy as gathering for any other social event. We may not have the ability to do much about the loss of the sacredness of life in the songs, videos and movies of our day. But, most assuredly, we can do much about helping one another recover the sacredness of God’s Presence in His Church.
Having attempted (and failed) to 'splain to another blogger that "it's all a piece--the music, the meaning, the texts, the space, the language..." I hope that the good Bishop of Paterson's next three installments make the case better than I did.
More Than ONE Trouble at Medjugorje
Last week, 30+ Wisconsin residents on a pilgrimage to Medjugorje were victims of a horrible motor vehicle accident; the worst-injured was a local man who is known for his positive, charming personality and unfailing charity.
That was a sorrowful event, although it appears that most of the victims will recover well, and the worst-injured man will (at least) live, able to be a good father to his children.
But there's another side to Medjugorje, which caused the Papal Household's preacher to suddenly have a "schedule conflict" instead of attending. The story is told in these letters:
In order to avoid repeating abuses that have occurred in the past, for almost six years now a decision of the Diocesan Chancery of Mostar in the form of a circular letter dated 23 August 2001, has been in force and sent to all the parish rectories and communities of Religious men and women which declares [inter alia]:
“3. - All Parish rectories and Religious institutions are obliged to forward to this Diocesan Chancery in due time, the names of all foreign priests and bishops coming from beyond the areas where the Croatian language is spoken, who have been invited to hold spiritual retreats, seminars and similar spiritual encounters, in which the Word of God is preached and explained. Along with the name(s) and the request, a copy of the celebret of the priest or bishop must be included, who after having received written permission from this Diocesan Chancery, will be allowed to hold such spiritual exercises”
....Despite the above mentioned decision, the news of a spiritual retreat for priests directed by Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa OFM Cap., Preacher of the Papal Household, to be held in Medjugorje at the beginning of July 2007 appeared on the internet many months ago, yet the organizers of this retreat did not inform the Diocesan Chancery in Mostar according to the norm, prior to the event. In this regard, celebrations of the sacrament of reconciliation are being publicized billing, alongside Fr Cantalamessa, Fr. Jozo Zovko; yet the latter since 2004 has been relieved of all priestly faculties in the territory of the dioceses of Herzegovina (Vrhbosna, 3/2004, pp.293-298).
(In other words, Fr. Zovko is in Big Trouble with the Bishop of Herzegovina.)
(...)the Diocesan bishop mentioned the following regarding Medjugorje:
“1 – The pastoral obstinacy of the pastors and other associates of Medjugorje is quite evident on the ‘Medjugorje’ internet site which bears the title ‘Marian Shrine’. ‘Medjugorje’ is neither a diocesan nor national or international shrine. This status must be acknowledged while the events remain as they stand.
2 - The obstinacy of the pastors and other associates of Medjugorje is also evident in the their disregard for the circular letter of the Chancery of 2001, which states that priests coming from beyond the areas where the Croatian language is spoken are not to be invited without the express and written permission of the Diocesan Chancery.
3 - The obstinacy of the pastors and other associates of Medjugorje is evident in that a member of your Province, Fr. Jozo Zovko, who has no priestly faculties and who is forbidden from celebrating any priestly functions in this diocese, has been invited this year to preside at the Way of the Cross in Medjugorje and has been in this regard presented as available for confessions”.
After exchanging various letters between the Diocesan Chancery and the Parish Rectory of Medjugorje, the pastor of Medjugorje Fr. Ivan Sesar notified the bishop in his letter dated 13 June 2007 that: “Upon my insistence due to the shortness of time, I asked P. Cantalamessa to send his acknowledgment of receipt of my letter by fax, which he did in the meantime. He accepts my apology and regrets that due to the newly arisen circumstances he cannot come, since in principle he never does public appearances without the permission of the local Ordinary”.
Bishop Perić and Fr. Cantalamessa exchanged letters on 13 June. Fr. Cantalamessa informed the bishop that he wrote a letter to Fr. Sesar on 8 June. Fr. Cantalamessa wrote in his letter to the bishop on 13 June: “My principle is not to preach, especially not to the clergy, without the permission of the local bishop”.This Diocesan Chancery never received any written request for permission as is the norm, from either of the parties involved with regard to the spiritual retreat and its moderator....
Msgr. Srećko MajićVicar General
We all know that 'God writes straight with crooked lines.' Perhaps that bus accident was meant as a message.
HT: Gerald
That was a sorrowful event, although it appears that most of the victims will recover well, and the worst-injured man will (at least) live, able to be a good father to his children.
But there's another side to Medjugorje, which caused the Papal Household's preacher to suddenly have a "schedule conflict" instead of attending. The story is told in these letters:
In order to avoid repeating abuses that have occurred in the past, for almost six years now a decision of the Diocesan Chancery of Mostar in the form of a circular letter dated 23 August 2001, has been in force and sent to all the parish rectories and communities of Religious men and women which declares [inter alia]:
“3. - All Parish rectories and Religious institutions are obliged to forward to this Diocesan Chancery in due time, the names of all foreign priests and bishops coming from beyond the areas where the Croatian language is spoken, who have been invited to hold spiritual retreats, seminars and similar spiritual encounters, in which the Word of God is preached and explained. Along with the name(s) and the request, a copy of the celebret of the priest or bishop must be included, who after having received written permission from this Diocesan Chancery, will be allowed to hold such spiritual exercises”
....Despite the above mentioned decision, the news of a spiritual retreat for priests directed by Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa OFM Cap., Preacher of the Papal Household, to be held in Medjugorje at the beginning of July 2007 appeared on the internet many months ago, yet the organizers of this retreat did not inform the Diocesan Chancery in Mostar according to the norm, prior to the event. In this regard, celebrations of the sacrament of reconciliation are being publicized billing, alongside Fr Cantalamessa, Fr. Jozo Zovko; yet the latter since 2004 has been relieved of all priestly faculties in the territory of the dioceses of Herzegovina (Vrhbosna, 3/2004, pp.293-298).
(In other words, Fr. Zovko is in Big Trouble with the Bishop of Herzegovina.)
(...)the Diocesan bishop mentioned the following regarding Medjugorje:
“1 – The pastoral obstinacy of the pastors and other associates of Medjugorje is quite evident on the ‘Medjugorje’ internet site which bears the title ‘Marian Shrine’. ‘Medjugorje’ is neither a diocesan nor national or international shrine. This status must be acknowledged while the events remain as they stand.
2 - The obstinacy of the pastors and other associates of Medjugorje is also evident in the their disregard for the circular letter of the Chancery of 2001, which states that priests coming from beyond the areas where the Croatian language is spoken are not to be invited without the express and written permission of the Diocesan Chancery.
3 - The obstinacy of the pastors and other associates of Medjugorje is evident in that a member of your Province, Fr. Jozo Zovko, who has no priestly faculties and who is forbidden from celebrating any priestly functions in this diocese, has been invited this year to preside at the Way of the Cross in Medjugorje and has been in this regard presented as available for confessions”.
After exchanging various letters between the Diocesan Chancery and the Parish Rectory of Medjugorje, the pastor of Medjugorje Fr. Ivan Sesar notified the bishop in his letter dated 13 June 2007 that: “Upon my insistence due to the shortness of time, I asked P. Cantalamessa to send his acknowledgment of receipt of my letter by fax, which he did in the meantime. He accepts my apology and regrets that due to the newly arisen circumstances he cannot come, since in principle he never does public appearances without the permission of the local Ordinary”.
Bishop Perić and Fr. Cantalamessa exchanged letters on 13 June. Fr. Cantalamessa informed the bishop that he wrote a letter to Fr. Sesar on 8 June. Fr. Cantalamessa wrote in his letter to the bishop on 13 June: “My principle is not to preach, especially not to the clergy, without the permission of the local bishop”.This Diocesan Chancery never received any written request for permission as is the norm, from either of the parties involved with regard to the spiritual retreat and its moderator....
Msgr. Srećko MajićVicar General
We all know that 'God writes straight with crooked lines.' Perhaps that bus accident was meant as a message.
HT: Gerald
Another Meritless UN Project
Never mind that the poor oaf now heading the UN has blamed genocide on "globwarm." Perhaps that was a mis-translation, no?
Here's another way that the UN abuses the US taxpayer dollars (remember, we're in there for about 25% of their budget.)
Religious education is a form of child abuse and violates the rights of children, contends a thesis to be considered by secular humanists at the Center for Inquiry's congress in Beijing this October.
The Center for Inquiry, an organisation recently awarded special consultative status as an NGO at the United Nations (UN) will consider the proposals of Innaiah Narisetti, the chairman of the Center for Inquiry's India chapter, that portend the next stage in the assault on the rights of parents to educate their children.
Nasiretti called the influence of religion a "severe shortcoming in the global campaign to protect children" and a contributor to child abuse saying, "In one form or another, all religions violate the rights of children."
We are, as Christians, reminded to be charitable when thinking about this poor wench's commentary. There's little question that her mind's logic-circuit capabilities were abused somewhere along the line.
HT: ProEcclesia
Here's another way that the UN abuses the US taxpayer dollars (remember, we're in there for about 25% of their budget.)
Religious education is a form of child abuse and violates the rights of children, contends a thesis to be considered by secular humanists at the Center for Inquiry's congress in Beijing this October.
The Center for Inquiry, an organisation recently awarded special consultative status as an NGO at the United Nations (UN) will consider the proposals of Innaiah Narisetti, the chairman of the Center for Inquiry's India chapter, that portend the next stage in the assault on the rights of parents to educate their children.
Nasiretti called the influence of religion a "severe shortcoming in the global campaign to protect children" and a contributor to child abuse saying, "In one form or another, all religions violate the rights of children."
We are, as Christians, reminded to be charitable when thinking about this poor wench's commentary. There's little question that her mind's logic-circuit capabilities were abused somewhere along the line.
HT: ProEcclesia
Who Blew Up the School in Gaza?
Here's something you haven't seen in all the usual places:
Father Manuel is reluctant to talk about persecution. Instead, he said that “our relations with the Muslims are not only good, they are excellent. I don’t think what happened came from a direct order from Hamas or Fatah. In the past when the Church had difficulties, they came to our defence—for example, when there were demonstrations against the Muhammad cartoons or after the Pope’s speech in Regensburg.”
As proof he said that “just this morning at least a hundred people, both Christian and Muslim, came to see me. Even Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas phoned me from Ramallah to express friendship and his strong condemnation.”
“The whole Gaza community is close to us. Two Hamas minister came to visit the convent and the school run by the sisters and promised to repair all the damage. Some religious sheikhs also came today. Whoever did it was armed. The doors of the convent were knocked open with mortars. It shows how barbaric they and their attempt to make troubles between Christians and Muslims are.”
So the question is not 'whether Hamas of Fatah did it'--the question is a bit more intriguing, expressed in Latin as "Cui bono?"--"To whom [accrues the] benefit?"
One immediate suspect, of course, is AlQuaeda.
HT: Amy
Father Manuel is reluctant to talk about persecution. Instead, he said that “our relations with the Muslims are not only good, they are excellent. I don’t think what happened came from a direct order from Hamas or Fatah. In the past when the Church had difficulties, they came to our defence—for example, when there were demonstrations against the Muhammad cartoons or after the Pope’s speech in Regensburg.”
As proof he said that “just this morning at least a hundred people, both Christian and Muslim, came to see me. Even Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas phoned me from Ramallah to express friendship and his strong condemnation.”
“The whole Gaza community is close to us. Two Hamas minister came to visit the convent and the school run by the sisters and promised to repair all the damage. Some religious sheikhs also came today. Whoever did it was armed. The doors of the convent were knocked open with mortars. It shows how barbaric they and their attempt to make troubles between Christians and Muslims are.”
So the question is not 'whether Hamas of Fatah did it'--the question is a bit more intriguing, expressed in Latin as "Cui bono?"--"To whom [accrues the] benefit?"
One immediate suspect, of course, is AlQuaeda.
HT: Amy
Gunfight Survival
An interesting article from a knowledgeable source, Dave Spaulding.
Over the last 25 I have made it a point to talk with every gunfight survivor that I could find. Last count, I had spoken with almost 200 individuals. These people include men and women, military (including war veterans), law enforcement and legally armed citizens. These confrontations include battlefield situations, back alley struggles, attempted muggins, attempted rapes (and successful rapes) and the like.
That makes his research different from the better-known FBI stat-research, which concentrated on incidents where the LEO did NOT survive. Although 200 cases is a small group, lending to questions about statisitical precision, some observations are worthwhile knowing about.
...One of the great controversies of gun fighting has long been whether or not people can use their sights during the high stress of a gunfight. First, let me say that some version of point shooting needs to be taught in any defensive handgun course. There are going to be times when pointing the gun at someone close will be a necessity, period.
"Point-shoot" works, by the way.
...When startled, people will respond out of fear and panic, which usually does not result in the desired outcome.
The biggest factor during a startle response is luck. While luck will always be a factor in every confrontation, I am not convinced that we should make it a factor in our training.
Therefore,
Maybe the answer to this problem is not to be worried about whether or not to use sights, but to concentrate on being "switched on" to what is going on around you.
What about the sights, anyway?
Without fail, the people who remember seeing or using their front sight are the ones who were prepared to engage in combat.
Lending more importance to the "awareness" mentioned above is the following:
Along these same lines, the speed of the event is also reported frequently. While it is common knowledge that people report a sense of slow motion during an armed confrontation, there are also people who say, "It happened so fast, I just couldn't get caught up." While some may relate this to being startled, I'm not sure that the speed of the event and startle response is one in the same thing. Being startled is being caught flat footed and not being able to get in the fight quickly enough. The people I have spoken with report that their aggressor was fast, moved quickly and aggressively, moved with purpose, and inhibited rational, controlled thought on their part.
In the following paragraphs, the author ties up a number of the threads from above:
For many years, we have been taught that armed confrontations occur at very close distances (often times at arm's length), that few shots are fired and the person involved usually misses. These statistics were compiled from the FBI's Officer Killed Summary, which are released on an annual basis. Note that the operative word here is killed; these are officers that lost their confrontation. Have you ever wondered what happened with the officers that won? Did they do anything different to help ensure they would prevail?
In 1992, veteran police officer Dick Fairburn, now a trainer for the Illinois State Police, was commissioned by the Police Marksmen Association to answer this very question.
...However, what he did develop were some interesting trends that showed what officers did when they won the confrontation. One of the most interesting was the distances involved. While the FBI statistics show distances as being around ten feet, the PMA study showed the average distance being more like twenty. This makes sense, as distance will favor the person with the most training. This relates directly back to awareness as the sooner you see trouble coming, the more time you have to prepare for war. The PMA study also shows that the hit ratio per encounter was closer to 62 percent instead of the often-reported 18 percent. The history of gun fighting for more than a century has shown that the person that lands the first solid hit will usually win the confrontation. Hitting is hard to do without preparation and relying on luck is an invitation to disaster.
Situational awareness, keep your distance, train, train, train--to use the FRONT SIGHT.
There's more:
While talking with the people that I have interviewed, I could not help but notice that the people who performed the best (and could also remember the best) were the ones who were able to keep control of him or her self. Many remember getting control of their breathing and using this to fuel their inner drive. Those who could get control and overcome the startle response were able to handle the situation. Many of these folks reported that they were not surprised, but were angered by the audacity of the person trying to attack them. It appears that those who became angered were able to channel the chemicals flowing into their system into fight instead of flight or freeze. Many advised that they had taken the time to think about what they would do in the event they were attacked and had even played out scenarios in their head. It is clear that this role-playing or visualization prepared them to take action with little lag time. For years this has been called if/then thinking. For my students, I tell the to think of it as when/then thinking.
So your training should include physical control. There's a difference between "mad" and "angry," which is a key to understanding the difference between "control" and "response."
Here's something which is VERY important. Recall that 'those who used the front-sight' were usually victorious.
The other trend that I have noted in regards to the use of sights is the actual configuration of the sight itself.
...Revolver shooters continuously told me things like, "I remember that big red (or orange, or green) front sight coming right up in front of my eyes and laying right on his chest." For those of us who broke into defensive shooting using revolvers, we can remember how well that red front insert contrasted with the wide black rear sight on our Smith & Wesson Model 66 or Ruger Security-Six. Those of us who did not have such an insert would usually paint our front sight with some high visibility color. Think about what is now available on semi-automatic pistols. We now have to line up three dots or we have to place a dot on top of a bar, all of which I believe is too complicated for our eyes to do quickly. The revolver's simple, but contrasting, sight system was easy for the eyes to use under stress.
Hmmmm. Means that if you're using a semi-auto, situational awareness is even MORE important--or absolute proficiency with "point-shoot," which (unfortunately) is best used at close quarters (3-5 yards.)
His solution is simple, but not exactly House Beautiful:
Objects that are large and of contrasting color are easier to see under stress, which makes the current generation of semi-auto sights on the wrong end of the sight plane. I, for one, have highlighted the front sight of all my pistols with bright orange emergency warning tape. It offers a contrast that is large and bold and I feel is the reason that I can recall my sights during high stress events.
Finally, for you .45 bigots out there (Chris!!! SteveEgg!!)
Like many, I am interested in whether one caliber is better than another or whether hollow point ammo is more effective than full metal jacket. Truly, the most important thing in all this is where you hit your opponent.
...While not trying to place a percentage on how often they will be effective with one or two shots, I have seen certain rounds be effective over and over again. They are the .38 Special 158-grain lead hollow-point; 9mm +P+ jacketed hollow-point; .40 155- and 165-grain jacketed hollow-point; .45 ACP hollow-points; .223 55 grain FMJ and hollow-point; 12 gauge 00 buckshot; and 12 gauge rifled slugs.
Note, please, that all the rounds he specifies are HP or JHP, except the 12-ga rounds. 12-ga is effective no matter what...
Over the last 25 I have made it a point to talk with every gunfight survivor that I could find. Last count, I had spoken with almost 200 individuals. These people include men and women, military (including war veterans), law enforcement and legally armed citizens. These confrontations include battlefield situations, back alley struggles, attempted muggins, attempted rapes (and successful rapes) and the like.
That makes his research different from the better-known FBI stat-research, which concentrated on incidents where the LEO did NOT survive. Although 200 cases is a small group, lending to questions about statisitical precision, some observations are worthwhile knowing about.
...One of the great controversies of gun fighting has long been whether or not people can use their sights during the high stress of a gunfight. First, let me say that some version of point shooting needs to be taught in any defensive handgun course. There are going to be times when pointing the gun at someone close will be a necessity, period.
"Point-shoot" works, by the way.
...When startled, people will respond out of fear and panic, which usually does not result in the desired outcome.
The biggest factor during a startle response is luck. While luck will always be a factor in every confrontation, I am not convinced that we should make it a factor in our training.
Therefore,
Maybe the answer to this problem is not to be worried about whether or not to use sights, but to concentrate on being "switched on" to what is going on around you.
What about the sights, anyway?
Without fail, the people who remember seeing or using their front sight are the ones who were prepared to engage in combat.
Lending more importance to the "awareness" mentioned above is the following:
Along these same lines, the speed of the event is also reported frequently. While it is common knowledge that people report a sense of slow motion during an armed confrontation, there are also people who say, "It happened so fast, I just couldn't get caught up." While some may relate this to being startled, I'm not sure that the speed of the event and startle response is one in the same thing. Being startled is being caught flat footed and not being able to get in the fight quickly enough. The people I have spoken with report that their aggressor was fast, moved quickly and aggressively, moved with purpose, and inhibited rational, controlled thought on their part.
In the following paragraphs, the author ties up a number of the threads from above:
For many years, we have been taught that armed confrontations occur at very close distances (often times at arm's length), that few shots are fired and the person involved usually misses. These statistics were compiled from the FBI's Officer Killed Summary, which are released on an annual basis. Note that the operative word here is killed; these are officers that lost their confrontation. Have you ever wondered what happened with the officers that won? Did they do anything different to help ensure they would prevail?
In 1992, veteran police officer Dick Fairburn, now a trainer for the Illinois State Police, was commissioned by the Police Marksmen Association to answer this very question.
...However, what he did develop were some interesting trends that showed what officers did when they won the confrontation. One of the most interesting was the distances involved. While the FBI statistics show distances as being around ten feet, the PMA study showed the average distance being more like twenty. This makes sense, as distance will favor the person with the most training. This relates directly back to awareness as the sooner you see trouble coming, the more time you have to prepare for war. The PMA study also shows that the hit ratio per encounter was closer to 62 percent instead of the often-reported 18 percent. The history of gun fighting for more than a century has shown that the person that lands the first solid hit will usually win the confrontation. Hitting is hard to do without preparation and relying on luck is an invitation to disaster.
Situational awareness, keep your distance, train, train, train--to use the FRONT SIGHT.
There's more:
While talking with the people that I have interviewed, I could not help but notice that the people who performed the best (and could also remember the best) were the ones who were able to keep control of him or her self. Many remember getting control of their breathing and using this to fuel their inner drive. Those who could get control and overcome the startle response were able to handle the situation. Many of these folks reported that they were not surprised, but were angered by the audacity of the person trying to attack them. It appears that those who became angered were able to channel the chemicals flowing into their system into fight instead of flight or freeze. Many advised that they had taken the time to think about what they would do in the event they were attacked and had even played out scenarios in their head. It is clear that this role-playing or visualization prepared them to take action with little lag time. For years this has been called if/then thinking. For my students, I tell the to think of it as when/then thinking.
So your training should include physical control. There's a difference between "mad" and "angry," which is a key to understanding the difference between "control" and "response."
Here's something which is VERY important. Recall that 'those who used the front-sight' were usually victorious.
The other trend that I have noted in regards to the use of sights is the actual configuration of the sight itself.
...Revolver shooters continuously told me things like, "I remember that big red (or orange, or green) front sight coming right up in front of my eyes and laying right on his chest." For those of us who broke into defensive shooting using revolvers, we can remember how well that red front insert contrasted with the wide black rear sight on our Smith & Wesson Model 66 or Ruger Security-Six. Those of us who did not have such an insert would usually paint our front sight with some high visibility color. Think about what is now available on semi-automatic pistols. We now have to line up three dots or we have to place a dot on top of a bar, all of which I believe is too complicated for our eyes to do quickly. The revolver's simple, but contrasting, sight system was easy for the eyes to use under stress.
Hmmmm. Means that if you're using a semi-auto, situational awareness is even MORE important--or absolute proficiency with "point-shoot," which (unfortunately) is best used at close quarters (3-5 yards.)
His solution is simple, but not exactly House Beautiful:
Objects that are large and of contrasting color are easier to see under stress, which makes the current generation of semi-auto sights on the wrong end of the sight plane. I, for one, have highlighted the front sight of all my pistols with bright orange emergency warning tape. It offers a contrast that is large and bold and I feel is the reason that I can recall my sights during high stress events.
Finally, for you .45 bigots out there (Chris!!! SteveEgg!!)
Like many, I am interested in whether one caliber is better than another or whether hollow point ammo is more effective than full metal jacket. Truly, the most important thing in all this is where you hit your opponent.
...While not trying to place a percentage on how often they will be effective with one or two shots, I have seen certain rounds be effective over and over again. They are the .38 Special 158-grain lead hollow-point; 9mm +P+ jacketed hollow-point; .40 155- and 165-grain jacketed hollow-point; .45 ACP hollow-points; .223 55 grain FMJ and hollow-point; 12 gauge 00 buckshot; and 12 gauge rifled slugs.
Note, please, that all the rounds he specifies are HP or JHP, except the 12-ga rounds. 12-ga is effective no matter what...
Rock'n'Roll Immigration Law
Ted Nugent thought about it, and has an eminently simple proposal.
Must be why he has more fans than all of Congress combined.
It would start with fingerprints and an IIC.
That's an immigrant identification card.
The I.D. would be for foreigners who seek to live in, work in or become citizens of the United States. That's if I were writing the immigration laws.
It would include the reciting and signing of the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States of America and denouncing any and all allegiances to other countries. But first:
If you are not a legal U.S. citizen or documented alien, you would have to complete the following actions:
* Upon passage of this legislation, you would return to your country of origin within six months at your expense. You then would register at the nearest U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service office or designated border station.
* Prior to your re-entry, a security background check would be completed that would require a passport or other legal document positively identifying you. You'd be fingerprinted, photographed and would submit to a DNA sample.
* Within 30 days of entry you would register with the U.S. Immigration authorities or be subject to immediate deportation with no opportunity to return.
* If you have been convicted of one felony or of three or more misdemeanor offenses by any court, forget it. You would be barred from entry, as would individuals who have documented ties to criminal elements or terrorist organizations.
* Employers would have to ensure that persons they hire for any level of pay have a valid IIC.An employer who hired a person without a valid IIC would be fined $100,000 per non-documented worker and would face two years in jail for each undocumented worker he or she employed.
* Developing, manufacturing, procuring or otherwise possessing invalid or fake IICs would be a felony with a fine of $100,000 for each false IIC and two years in prison for each fraudulent IIC.
* Persons wishing to work or otherwise reside in the U.S. would be highly encouraged to become proficient in English. States would offer driving license exams only in English. All persons would comply with states laws pertaining to owning and operating motor vehicles, motorcycles or other conveyances.
* IIC holders who wished to become citizens of the United States could do so. However, their applications would go to the back of the queue from those already in the system. Becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen takes a considerable amount of time.
* To remain as only temporary workers or reside here would have to have a valid IIC. It would have to be renewed every three years. Such persons would pay $25 a month to the U.S. Treasury. Any such person earning pay in the U.S. would be subject to all applicable tax laws.
* Persons who resided in the United States who are not U.S. citizens or did not possess a valid IIC — or other legal document (e.g. student visa) — would be deported to their countries of origin, with costs of incarceration and deportation to be paid by the guilty party. They would forever be banned from entering the United States.
* Though federal law enforcement agencies would be charged with carrying out these requirements, states would be required to fully cooperate in identification, apprehension and temporary incarceration. States failing to comply would be subject to the withholding of federal funds.
* Federal funds would be barred from legal aid and/or legal support to persons who had previously entered without proper authorization.
* Holders of IIC would not be eligible for any Social Security or other federal assistance programs until that person becomes a naturalized U.S. citizen.
The American dream comes with individual responsibilities to be an asset to this unique experiment in self-government. Bloodsuckers need not apply.
Personally, I have only a couple of quibbles--for example, a "guest worker" who has no intention of becoming a US citizen would not have to renounce allegiance to foreign Gummints--and I would look at maximizing the efficiency of the "touch-home" requirement to prevent all kinds of disruptions.
HT: Kevin
Must be why he has more fans than all of Congress combined.
It would start with fingerprints and an IIC.
That's an immigrant identification card.
The I.D. would be for foreigners who seek to live in, work in or become citizens of the United States. That's if I were writing the immigration laws.
It would include the reciting and signing of the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States of America and denouncing any and all allegiances to other countries. But first:
If you are not a legal U.S. citizen or documented alien, you would have to complete the following actions:
* Upon passage of this legislation, you would return to your country of origin within six months at your expense. You then would register at the nearest U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service office or designated border station.
* Prior to your re-entry, a security background check would be completed that would require a passport or other legal document positively identifying you. You'd be fingerprinted, photographed and would submit to a DNA sample.
* Within 30 days of entry you would register with the U.S. Immigration authorities or be subject to immediate deportation with no opportunity to return.
* If you have been convicted of one felony or of three or more misdemeanor offenses by any court, forget it. You would be barred from entry, as would individuals who have documented ties to criminal elements or terrorist organizations.
* Employers would have to ensure that persons they hire for any level of pay have a valid IIC.An employer who hired a person without a valid IIC would be fined $100,000 per non-documented worker and would face two years in jail for each undocumented worker he or she employed.
* Developing, manufacturing, procuring or otherwise possessing invalid or fake IICs would be a felony with a fine of $100,000 for each false IIC and two years in prison for each fraudulent IIC.
* Persons wishing to work or otherwise reside in the U.S. would be highly encouraged to become proficient in English. States would offer driving license exams only in English. All persons would comply with states laws pertaining to owning and operating motor vehicles, motorcycles or other conveyances.
* IIC holders who wished to become citizens of the United States could do so. However, their applications would go to the back of the queue from those already in the system. Becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen takes a considerable amount of time.
* To remain as only temporary workers or reside here would have to have a valid IIC. It would have to be renewed every three years. Such persons would pay $25 a month to the U.S. Treasury. Any such person earning pay in the U.S. would be subject to all applicable tax laws.
* Persons who resided in the United States who are not U.S. citizens or did not possess a valid IIC — or other legal document (e.g. student visa) — would be deported to their countries of origin, with costs of incarceration and deportation to be paid by the guilty party. They would forever be banned from entering the United States.
* Though federal law enforcement agencies would be charged with carrying out these requirements, states would be required to fully cooperate in identification, apprehension and temporary incarceration. States failing to comply would be subject to the withholding of federal funds.
* Federal funds would be barred from legal aid and/or legal support to persons who had previously entered without proper authorization.
* Holders of IIC would not be eligible for any Social Security or other federal assistance programs until that person becomes a naturalized U.S. citizen.
The American dream comes with individual responsibilities to be an asset to this unique experiment in self-government. Bloodsuckers need not apply.
Personally, I have only a couple of quibbles--for example, a "guest worker" who has no intention of becoming a US citizen would not have to renounce allegiance to foreign Gummints--and I would look at maximizing the efficiency of the "touch-home" requirement to prevent all kinds of disruptions.
HT: Kevin
Consider Yourself Warned
Here's an interesting line from Seth:
Fundamental health care reform is going to need to wait until the Dems control the Assembly, the Senate, and the Governor's office.
Supercilious, with just a soupcon of righteousness.
After all, who but the Democrats actually understands Health Care? Who but the Democrats actually understand fundamental?
Fundamental health care reform is going to need to wait until the Dems control the Assembly, the Senate, and the Governor's office.
Supercilious, with just a soupcon of righteousness.
After all, who but the Democrats actually understands Health Care? Who but the Democrats actually understand fundamental?
As You Read This, A Major Iraq Battle Rages
Baquba. According to Mike Yon, an embed-blogger, this will be a name remembered.
Operation Arrowhead Ripper, involving Strykers and Bradley Fighting Vehicles, was aimed at dismantling al Qaeda operations around Baquba, a hotbed of unrest north of Baghdad, a military statement said.
Baquba is the capital of Diyala province, a mixed region located north and east of Baghdad and bordering Iran. Military officials believe some al Qaeda in Iraq elements have recently migrated from Baghdad and Anbar province to Diyala.
The 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division kicked off the operation "with a quick-strike nighttime air assault earlier today," the military said Tuesday.
And with something unusual for AlQueda--actual pitched-battle preparations are in place.
Northeast of Baghdad, innocent civilians are being asked to leave Baquba. More than 1,000 AQI fighters are there, with perhaps another thousand adjuncts. Baquba alone might be as intense as Operation Phantom Fury in Fallujah in late 2004. They are ready for us. Giant bombs are buried in the roads. Snipers—real snipers—have chiseled holes in walls so that they can shoot not from roofs or windows, but from deep inside buildings, where we cannot see the flash or hear the shots. They will shoot for our faces and necks. Car bombs are already assembled. Suicide vests are prepared.
The enemy will try to herd us into their traps, and likely many of us will be killed before it ends. Already, they have been blowing up bridges, apparently to restrict our movements. Entire buildings are rigged with explosives. They have rockets, mortars, and bombs hidden in places they know we are likely to cross, or places we might seek cover. They will use human shields and force people to drive bombs at us. They will use cameras and make it look like we are ravaging the city and that they are defeating us. By the time you read this, we will be inside Baquba, and we will be killing them. No secrets are spilling here.
Good time to say a prayer for the 3rd ID.
HT: Confederate Yankee
Operation Arrowhead Ripper, involving Strykers and Bradley Fighting Vehicles, was aimed at dismantling al Qaeda operations around Baquba, a hotbed of unrest north of Baghdad, a military statement said.
Baquba is the capital of Diyala province, a mixed region located north and east of Baghdad and bordering Iran. Military officials believe some al Qaeda in Iraq elements have recently migrated from Baghdad and Anbar province to Diyala.
The 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division kicked off the operation "with a quick-strike nighttime air assault earlier today," the military said Tuesday.
And with something unusual for AlQueda--actual pitched-battle preparations are in place.
Northeast of Baghdad, innocent civilians are being asked to leave Baquba. More than 1,000 AQI fighters are there, with perhaps another thousand adjuncts. Baquba alone might be as intense as Operation Phantom Fury in Fallujah in late 2004. They are ready for us. Giant bombs are buried in the roads. Snipers—real snipers—have chiseled holes in walls so that they can shoot not from roofs or windows, but from deep inside buildings, where we cannot see the flash or hear the shots. They will shoot for our faces and necks. Car bombs are already assembled. Suicide vests are prepared.
The enemy will try to herd us into their traps, and likely many of us will be killed before it ends. Already, they have been blowing up bridges, apparently to restrict our movements. Entire buildings are rigged with explosives. They have rockets, mortars, and bombs hidden in places they know we are likely to cross, or places we might seek cover. They will use human shields and force people to drive bombs at us. They will use cameras and make it look like we are ravaging the city and that they are defeating us. By the time you read this, we will be inside Baquba, and we will be killing them. No secrets are spilling here.
Good time to say a prayer for the 3rd ID.
HT: Confederate Yankee
MSM Accuracy Count: Still REALLY Bad
Another example of AP's "accuracy" in reporting, here regarding Sen. Sheets Byrd:
Since the war's outset, he has ranked among Bush's harshest critics, a role that endeared him to many liberals and proved again that a skillful politician can remake his image if he stays in office long enough. His political origins were certainly conservative, including a stint in the Ku Klux Klan — membership for which Byrd has repeatedly apologized. His 14-hour filibuster of civil rights legislation in 1964 was among the longest in Senate history.
Umnnnhhh...the KKK was a Southern DEMOCRAT-populated organization which had as its objectives the elimination of Catholics, Jews, and Blacks (not necessarily in that order.)
And Southern DEMOCRATS assisted Byrd in his filibuster against the Civil Rights Act, which was passed largely due to Republican support.
You may now resume reality.
HT: Redstate.
Since the war's outset, he has ranked among Bush's harshest critics, a role that endeared him to many liberals and proved again that a skillful politician can remake his image if he stays in office long enough. His political origins were certainly conservative, including a stint in the Ku Klux Klan — membership for which Byrd has repeatedly apologized. His 14-hour filibuster of civil rights legislation in 1964 was among the longest in Senate history.
Umnnnhhh...the KKK was a Southern DEMOCRAT-populated organization which had as its objectives the elimination of Catholics, Jews, and Blacks (not necessarily in that order.)
And Southern DEMOCRATS assisted Byrd in his filibuster against the Civil Rights Act, which was passed largely due to Republican support.
You may now resume reality.
HT: Redstate.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Immigration Attorneys: Their Moms Must Be Proud--UPDATED
Here's a UTube with a few cuts from 9 other UTubes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCbFEgFajGU
In this, the immigration-law firm (Cohen & Grigsby) tells employers how to AVOID hiring U S citizens.
Money quote (no longer available online at the lawfirm's website--gee, I wonder why...)
[The quote from Part 9 is such a classic let me repeat it:] "Our goal is clearly NOT TO FIND a qualified and interested U.S. worker."
Things have changed since the 1960's, eh?
UPDATED:
Here are a few Cohen & Grigsby clients and their hiring salaries, courtesy of Norm Matloff:
(NB: 1) The right-hand column is the US Govt-determined 'prevailing wage.' the left-hand column shows the "hired at" wage. More on that below. 2) Matloff provides 70+ examples, we've shortened the list to show low- and high-end salaries.)
I looked at all the PERM (green card) applications filed in 2004 by Cohen & Grigsby for Software Engineer positions. (This is from a Dept.of Labor Web site, http://www.flcdatacenter.com/CasePerm.aspx Note that this is NOT the LCA data. The salaries here are guaranteed to be the actual salaries for specific workers.)
45000.00 42390.00 "Algor Inc."
45150.00 44762.00 "Bayer Corporate and Business Services LLC"
49504.00 44762.00 "Bayer Corporate and Business Services LLC"
60980.00 64189.00 "Hexware Technologies
60980.00 64189.00 "Marconi Communications
.....
78100.00 70242.00 "THE PNC FINANCIAL SERVICES GROUP
78111.00 82222.00 "SolutionNET International Inc."
78114.00 54542.00 "SolutionNET International Inc."
78942.00 83096.00 "Global Knowlege Network Inc"
78945.00 83096.00 "PNC Financial Services"
82712.00 70242.00 "PNC Financial Services Group"
85000.00 71032.00 "Sonic Foundry
88000.00 67621.00 "Ansoft Corporation"
110000.00 70242.00 "Ansoft Corporation"
Of the 83 entries, 74 are less than the OES mean for 2004, $77,330, for SoftwareEngineers, Applications, and 79 are less in the case of Software Engineers, Systems Software. Remember, this is perfectly legal, butit certainly shows that these people are hired as cheap labor.
I sorted the data by salary in order to highlight the fact that there are a lot of DUPLICATE ODDBALL SALARIES--for different employers. In other words, you have several employers offering exactly the same salary, in fact, the same non-round-number salary.
How come? Well, prior to the law enacted in December 2004, employers were allowed to pay 5% below prevailing wage. And if you look at the prevailing wages, in the second column above, you will see that that $64,420 figure is exactly 5% below prevailing wage!
(My shortened list doesn't show this "5%" solution as clearly as does Matloff's. We also note that there are differences from Matloff's conclusion shown here. However, in the mid-range (rougly $65K-$75K) there are a multitude of examples where three or four employers (UBICS, People.com, Inc., Marconi, Ansoft, and ASE Edge) have the "5%" difference.)
Matloff observes:
What this data shows is a lack of a competitive market, with two interesting implications:
1. We have a bizarre situation in which "the tail is wagging the dog." The law firm is telling the employers how much to pay their workers! And it's telling them all to pay the same amount.
2. The Americans hired by these companies undoubtedy vary from each other in their salaries, because they can negotiate. In other words, you see that THE FOREIGN NATIONALS ARE IN NO POSITION TO NEGOTIATE. This shows yet another way in which the employers can get away with paying foreign workers less than Americans.
Here's why:
Though the press accounts have focused on the firm's comment in video 9 on how to avoid hiring Americans, video 12 is just as damning, as the law firm talked about how to get a prevailing wage that can be, in the Cohen & Grigsby attorney Jennifer Pack's own words, "$10,000 to $15,000" below the market.
So not only can the lawyers show US firms how NOT to hire US workers--by placing inconspicuous ads, running sham interviews, etc.--but in addition, the lawyers will show US firms how to "game the system" to reduce the DOL-determined "fair wage" for a position.
(Source: Norm Matloff Newsletter)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCbFEgFajGU
In this, the immigration-law firm (Cohen & Grigsby) tells employers how to AVOID hiring U S citizens.
Money quote (no longer available online at the lawfirm's website--gee, I wonder why...)
[The quote from Part 9 is such a classic let me repeat it:] "Our goal is clearly NOT TO FIND a qualified and interested U.S. worker."
Things have changed since the 1960's, eh?
UPDATED:
Here are a few Cohen & Grigsby clients and their hiring salaries, courtesy of Norm Matloff:
(NB: 1) The right-hand column is the US Govt-determined 'prevailing wage.' the left-hand column shows the "hired at" wage. More on that below. 2) Matloff provides 70+ examples, we've shortened the list to show low- and high-end salaries.)
I looked at all the PERM (green card) applications filed in 2004 by Cohen & Grigsby for Software Engineer positions. (This is from a Dept.of Labor Web site, http://www.flcdatacenter.com/CasePerm.aspx Note that this is NOT the LCA data. The salaries here are guaranteed to be the actual salaries for specific workers.)
45000.00 42390.00 "Algor Inc."
45150.00 44762.00 "Bayer Corporate and Business Services LLC"
49504.00 44762.00 "Bayer Corporate and Business Services LLC"
60980.00 64189.00 "Hexware Technologies
60980.00 64189.00 "Marconi Communications
.....
78100.00 70242.00 "THE PNC FINANCIAL SERVICES GROUP
78111.00 82222.00 "SolutionNET International Inc."
78114.00 54542.00 "SolutionNET International Inc."
78942.00 83096.00 "Global Knowlege Network Inc"
78945.00 83096.00 "PNC Financial Services"
82712.00 70242.00 "PNC Financial Services Group"
85000.00 71032.00 "Sonic Foundry
88000.00 67621.00 "Ansoft Corporation"
110000.00 70242.00 "Ansoft Corporation"
Of the 83 entries, 74 are less than the OES mean for 2004, $77,330, for SoftwareEngineers, Applications, and 79 are less in the case of Software Engineers, Systems Software. Remember, this is perfectly legal, butit certainly shows that these people are hired as cheap labor.
I sorted the data by salary in order to highlight the fact that there are a lot of DUPLICATE ODDBALL SALARIES--for different employers. In other words, you have several employers offering exactly the same salary, in fact, the same non-round-number salary.
How come? Well, prior to the law enacted in December 2004, employers were allowed to pay 5% below prevailing wage. And if you look at the prevailing wages, in the second column above, you will see that that $64,420 figure is exactly 5% below prevailing wage!
(My shortened list doesn't show this "5%" solution as clearly as does Matloff's. We also note that there are differences from Matloff's conclusion shown here. However, in the mid-range (rougly $65K-$75K) there are a multitude of examples where three or four employers (UBICS, People.com, Inc., Marconi, Ansoft, and ASE Edge) have the "5%" difference.)
Matloff observes:
What this data shows is a lack of a competitive market, with two interesting implications:
1. We have a bizarre situation in which "the tail is wagging the dog." The law firm is telling the employers how much to pay their workers! And it's telling them all to pay the same amount.
2. The Americans hired by these companies undoubtedy vary from each other in their salaries, because they can negotiate. In other words, you see that THE FOREIGN NATIONALS ARE IN NO POSITION TO NEGOTIATE. This shows yet another way in which the employers can get away with paying foreign workers less than Americans.
Here's why:
Though the press accounts have focused on the firm's comment in video 9 on how to avoid hiring Americans, video 12 is just as damning, as the law firm talked about how to get a prevailing wage that can be, in the Cohen & Grigsby attorney Jennifer Pack's own words, "$10,000 to $15,000" below the market.
So not only can the lawyers show US firms how NOT to hire US workers--by placing inconspicuous ads, running sham interviews, etc.--but in addition, the lawyers will show US firms how to "game the system" to reduce the DOL-determined "fair wage" for a position.
(Source: Norm Matloff Newsletter)
The Return of the "Old Mass"--Part Two of a Long-Term Project
From Gerald's most useful Cafeteria:
Already on November 16, 1982, on request of Pope Wojtyla, a meeting presided by Ratzinger, then-Prefect of the former Holy Office, at which also took part Cardinals Baggio, Baum, Casaroli (then Secretary of State), Oddi, and Archbishop [future Cardinal] Casoria, had confirmed that "the Roman Missal in the form in which it remained in use up to 1969, independently of the 'Lefebvre question', should 'be admitted by the Holy See for all Masses celebrated in the Latin language". With two conditions [in the 1982 decision]: the use of the old liturgical books should presuppose the full reception of the norms issued after Vatican II and should not express the suspicion that the latter "were heretical or invalid"; [2] on the public Masses celebrated in Parish churches on Sundays and Feastdays, "the new liturgical calendar" should be observed.
All Cardinals unanimously answered in the "affirmative", that is, "yes", to the question of whether the Mass in the ancient rite were licit. Moreover, at that meeting, a document against liturgical abuses, identified among the reasons "for the current crisis of the Church", was also suggested, as well as, in a remote future, a synthesis "of both missals". That future is today less remote. The decision of Benedict XVI is thus not a step back, but a stage of the liturgical reform willed by the Council and not yet fully accomplished.
(Quoting Il Giornale, an Italian newspaper.)
In other words, when the Indult was granted, the long-term strategy was put into play, with the next step being the upcoming Motu Proprio.
THAT will be followed by the 'synthesis' mentioned above.
Interesting times ahead.
Already on November 16, 1982, on request of Pope Wojtyla, a meeting presided by Ratzinger, then-Prefect of the former Holy Office, at which also took part Cardinals Baggio, Baum, Casaroli (then Secretary of State), Oddi, and Archbishop [future Cardinal] Casoria, had confirmed that "the Roman Missal in the form in which it remained in use up to 1969, independently of the 'Lefebvre question', should 'be admitted by the Holy See for all Masses celebrated in the Latin language". With two conditions [in the 1982 decision]: the use of the old liturgical books should presuppose the full reception of the norms issued after Vatican II and should not express the suspicion that the latter "were heretical or invalid"; [2] on the public Masses celebrated in Parish churches on Sundays and Feastdays, "the new liturgical calendar" should be observed.
All Cardinals unanimously answered in the "affirmative", that is, "yes", to the question of whether the Mass in the ancient rite were licit. Moreover, at that meeting, a document against liturgical abuses, identified among the reasons "for the current crisis of the Church", was also suggested, as well as, in a remote future, a synthesis "of both missals". That future is today less remote. The decision of Benedict XVI is thus not a step back, but a stage of the liturgical reform willed by the Council and not yet fully accomplished.
(Quoting Il Giornale, an Italian newspaper.)
In other words, when the Indult was granted, the long-term strategy was put into play, with the next step being the upcoming Motu Proprio.
THAT will be followed by the 'synthesis' mentioned above.
Interesting times ahead.
The NewSpeak of a New Parish
Down around Tennessee, we're told, there's a parish named Spirit of Vatican 2.
They hired, we're told, a "Director of Outreach." His comments are so interesting that they deserve a reading, I think.
Outreach is a means of changing others - making them more like us. The Catholic Church has a long and sordid history of Outreach. First the Church Outreached to the pagans, and killed them in great numbers. Then the Chuch outreached to the Jews, and slew them as well. Then the Church outreached to the Moslem Peoples, and drove them from their lands. If this was not enough, the Church even outreached to other Christian Faiths, imprisoning, torturing, and depriving them of life.
No. It is not Outreach we need, but Inreach. For this is what Ecumenism is. This is what your Spirit of Vatican II calls us to do. To reach in. To reach in to ourselves, to our faith community, and to ask: "What is it that makes us repulsive? What is it that causes us to shun others, to close our doors?"
...Yes my friends, we must Inreach. So that is who and what I am. I am the Director of Ecumenical Inreach. If you must shorten this, as you have with the name of your faith community, then you may call me the D.E.I. or DEI.
Somehow or other, it occurs to me that the above may not be entirely a parody...
They hired, we're told, a "Director of Outreach." His comments are so interesting that they deserve a reading, I think.
Outreach is a means of changing others - making them more like us. The Catholic Church has a long and sordid history of Outreach. First the Church Outreached to the pagans, and killed them in great numbers. Then the Chuch outreached to the Jews, and slew them as well. Then the Church outreached to the Moslem Peoples, and drove them from their lands. If this was not enough, the Church even outreached to other Christian Faiths, imprisoning, torturing, and depriving them of life.
No. It is not Outreach we need, but Inreach. For this is what Ecumenism is. This is what your Spirit of Vatican II calls us to do. To reach in. To reach in to ourselves, to our faith community, and to ask: "What is it that makes us repulsive? What is it that causes us to shun others, to close our doors?"
...Yes my friends, we must Inreach. So that is who and what I am. I am the Director of Ecumenical Inreach. If you must shorten this, as you have with the name of your faith community, then you may call me the D.E.I. or DEI.
Somehow or other, it occurs to me that the above may not be entirely a parody...
More on Arthur Burns' "Inflation" Numbers
Most of us who live in the America NOT occupied by John Edwards vaguely understand that the BLS' "inflation" statistics don't seem to comport with reality.
And Big Picture lends more credence to that nagging feeling, this time discussing the BLS' "rents" flaws. BP quotes Bill King of Ramsey Securities about the silliness which passes as "statistics" from BLS.
Bill has been dissecting the BLS data longer than most of us have been trading. One of Bill's biggest complaints about the BLS methodology is how they can make "Up" look like "Down."
Consider what happens when the BLS looks at rent/OER: "They supposedly net out utility payments. So if your rent payment stays constant but utility bills go up, that yields a lower net implied rent. In other words, utility prices going up caused rental prices and CPI to go down.”
The theory has some facial cachet--after all, IF the landlord supplies utilities and IF the utility costs rise AND rent does not, the effect is a reduction in rent.
But the BLS method is magnified by two other problems.
1) The 'OER' statistic counts for 40% of cost; and
2) 75% of American households are NOT 'rented,' they are owner-occupied.
"How can any self-respecting economist proclaim that inflation remains contained because less than 26% of the US (% that rent) experience a minor increases in rent? The scheme originated by Fed CEO Art Burns in the ‘70s to propagandize ‘Ex-food & energy’ as the true inflation measure to divert public attention from escalating inflation, abetted by Street shills and the media, has worked spectacularly."
Whereupon Big Picture comments:
Here's the reality about OER: If we wanted to know what inflation really is, wouldn't we be better off measuring the costs that actual homeowners -- that 75% of Americans who own where they live -- actually encounter? You know, things like repairs, property taxes, utilities, interest rates, building materials, etc.?
Of course, CPI has been massaged (to the political benefit of Washington DC) by a lot of people--for example, Bill Clinton re-arranged the stats specifically to reduce Social Security payment increases during his time.
As we have commented before, if you want to measure inflation, it's useful to look at commodity prices measured in USD as a "reality check" against Gummint numbers.
And Big Picture lends more credence to that nagging feeling, this time discussing the BLS' "rents" flaws. BP quotes Bill King of Ramsey Securities about the silliness which passes as "statistics" from BLS.
Bill has been dissecting the BLS data longer than most of us have been trading. One of Bill's biggest complaints about the BLS methodology is how they can make "Up" look like "Down."
Consider what happens when the BLS looks at rent/OER: "They supposedly net out utility payments. So if your rent payment stays constant but utility bills go up, that yields a lower net implied rent. In other words, utility prices going up caused rental prices and CPI to go down.”
The theory has some facial cachet--after all, IF the landlord supplies utilities and IF the utility costs rise AND rent does not, the effect is a reduction in rent.
But the BLS method is magnified by two other problems.
1) The 'OER' statistic counts for 40% of cost; and
2) 75% of American households are NOT 'rented,' they are owner-occupied.
"How can any self-respecting economist proclaim that inflation remains contained because less than 26% of the US (% that rent) experience a minor increases in rent? The scheme originated by Fed CEO Art Burns in the ‘70s to propagandize ‘Ex-food & energy’ as the true inflation measure to divert public attention from escalating inflation, abetted by Street shills and the media, has worked spectacularly."
Whereupon Big Picture comments:
Here's the reality about OER: If we wanted to know what inflation really is, wouldn't we be better off measuring the costs that actual homeowners -- that 75% of Americans who own where they live -- actually encounter? You know, things like repairs, property taxes, utilities, interest rates, building materials, etc.?
Of course, CPI has been massaged (to the political benefit of Washington DC) by a lot of people--for example, Bill Clinton re-arranged the stats specifically to reduce Social Security payment increases during his time.
As we have commented before, if you want to measure inflation, it's useful to look at commodity prices measured in USD as a "reality check" against Gummint numbers.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
James Harris and Kevin Fisher: Happy Fathers' Day!
Harris made an unpopular point and he won't be on "Oprah" in the future. Ever. See, in Oprah's world, only women are good. Men--well-- not so good. (With a slightly different focus, Jessie Lee Peterson will also be Banned From Oprah.)
Unless you believe the statistics which Kevin supplies:
• Over 60% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes. [Census Bureau]
• Over 80% of all children that exhibit behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes. [Center for Disease Control]
• Over 70% of adolescent murders come from fatherless homes. [William J. Bennett, The Index of Leading Cultural Indicators, p. 61]
• Over 70% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes. [National Principals Association Report on the State of High Schools]
• 70% of long-term prison inmates come from fatherless homes. [William J. Bennett, The Index of Leading Cultural Indicators, p. 61]
• Over 80% of all youths sitting in prisons grew up in a fatherless home. [Fulton County Georgia Jail Populations and Texas Dept. of Corrections]
And that's just the start of Kevin's long paean to fathers...
Unless you believe the statistics which Kevin supplies:
• Over 60% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes. [Census Bureau]
• Over 80% of all children that exhibit behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes. [Center for Disease Control]
• Over 70% of adolescent murders come from fatherless homes. [William J. Bennett, The Index of Leading Cultural Indicators, p. 61]
• Over 70% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes. [National Principals Association Report on the State of High Schools]
• 70% of long-term prison inmates come from fatherless homes. [William J. Bennett, The Index of Leading Cultural Indicators, p. 61]
• Over 80% of all youths sitting in prisons grew up in a fatherless home. [Fulton County Georgia Jail Populations and Texas Dept. of Corrections]
And that's just the start of Kevin's long paean to fathers...
My Sympathy to This Poor Fellow
Here's a guy who obviously does not have a working radio-frequency-control device in his home or car, I guess.
The Brew City Brawler.
Should we take up a collection?
BCB attempts to demonstrate that P-Mac is wrong when P-Mac states that the "fairness doctrine" is, in effect, a mandate for radio stations to lose money (or at least, to significantly reduce profits.)
BCB argues that "the public interest" is the most significant operative clause in the FCC license-granting language. (Which language he finds in WTMJ's 10K, to wit:)
...upon a finding that the grant of a license would serve the public interest, convenience and necessity.
...and goes on to rant that "the public interest" is NOT served by TMJ's broadcasting of such vile creatures as Sykes, Wagner, (et al.)
First off, BCB ignores the obvious: there are THREE listed criteria which must be met for a grant of license--the other two, 'convenience' and 'necessity' are in play here. But the REAL problem with Poor Ol' Brawler is that (evidently) his radio-dial control is inoperative.
See, Brawler, there's WFMR and WOKY (two all-music formats which include news and weather, privately-licensed). Then there's WUWM and WHAD, both State-and Federal-financed offerings which happen to broadcast the Lefty opinion and the Lefty News, too!!--mostly disguised as "news."
Brawler, one could just as easily make the case that WUWM and WHAD are not "operating in the public interest" by virtue of their draining of precious tax dollars AND their Lefty mental-masturbatory fetishes, no?
So before you get too serious about forcing unprofitability based on the concept that only YOU can judge "the public interest," think twice.
Your Unintended Consequences may be painful to your State-teat-sucker pals.
You can apply for a working radio in the combox.
The Brew City Brawler.
Should we take up a collection?
BCB attempts to demonstrate that P-Mac is wrong when P-Mac states that the "fairness doctrine" is, in effect, a mandate for radio stations to lose money (or at least, to significantly reduce profits.)
BCB argues that "the public interest" is the most significant operative clause in the FCC license-granting language. (Which language he finds in WTMJ's 10K, to wit:)
...upon a finding that the grant of a license would serve the public interest, convenience and necessity.
...and goes on to rant that "the public interest" is NOT served by TMJ's broadcasting of such vile creatures as Sykes, Wagner, (et al.)
First off, BCB ignores the obvious: there are THREE listed criteria which must be met for a grant of license--the other two, 'convenience' and 'necessity' are in play here. But the REAL problem with Poor Ol' Brawler is that (evidently) his radio-dial control is inoperative.
See, Brawler, there's WFMR and WOKY (two all-music formats which include news and weather, privately-licensed). Then there's WUWM and WHAD, both State-and Federal-financed offerings which happen to broadcast the Lefty opinion and the Lefty News, too!!--mostly disguised as "news."
Brawler, one could just as easily make the case that WUWM and WHAD are not "operating in the public interest" by virtue of their draining of precious tax dollars AND their Lefty mental-masturbatory fetishes, no?
So before you get too serious about forcing unprofitability based on the concept that only YOU can judge "the public interest," think twice.
Your Unintended Consequences may be painful to your State-teat-sucker pals.
You can apply for a working radio in the combox.
Mayor Tom!! Find the Arms Dealer!!
The 12-year-old girl has serious brain damage.
The shooter, Terry, used a .357.
Terry told police he had bought the .357-caliber revolver used in the shooting for $150 about three months ago for protection because his brother had been imprisoned for a homicide.
Since Terry was already convicted of a weapons charge, he didn't buy it legally.
Who sold it to him?
Is Nanette pursuing the seller?
Is the seller going to be charged?
Sent to jail?
Mayor Tom, perhaps you and Mayor Bloomberg should get your butts in gear.
The shooter, Terry, used a .357.
Terry told police he had bought the .357-caliber revolver used in the shooting for $150 about three months ago for protection because his brother had been imprisoned for a homicide.
Since Terry was already convicted of a weapons charge, he didn't buy it legally.
Who sold it to him?
Is Nanette pursuing the seller?
Is the seller going to be charged?
Sent to jail?
Mayor Tom, perhaps you and Mayor Bloomberg should get your butts in gear.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Labor AND Business Behind Gov't HealthCare; The Logic of Continuous Increases
We've mentioned this before, with specific reference to both Silicon Valley and Detroit's "Big Three." There are a lot of business entities which are perfectly comfy with the idea that taxpayers should pay for ALL healthcare. Natch, the Labor folks are on board.
UPDATE: See Milwaukee JS (6/17/07) article on this issue. Note three plans advanced...
So sayeth David Hogberg, in Human Events:
This time, however, the reform effort is different in one important respect. In 1993-94, many industry groups opposed the attempt to nationalize America’s health care system. In 2007, industry groups are tripping over each other in their rush to endorse plans for more government involvement.
Membership in HCCU, which is the Families USA coalition, is a very select assembly of 16 “signatory organizations.” It includes AARP, the liberal lobby that poses as a seniors’ advocacy group. Insurance giants Blue Cross Blue Shield, Kaiser Permanente, and UnitedHealth Group have also signed on, along with America’s Health Insurance Plans, the trade association for health insurers, and pharmaceutical giant Pfizer.
But guess what? The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also backs HCCU. So does the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association, the American Public Health Association, the Catholic Health Association, the Federation of American Hospitals, the Healthcare Leadership Council and the medical products conglomerate Johnson & Johnson.
One detects a 'marketing ploy' by Pfizer and J&J. Slap me before I get more cynical.
Another group,
BHCT includes the Communications Workers of America and the Center for American Progress, a liberal Washington, D.C. think tank. But BHCT also has its own business supporters, including AT&T, Intel and Kelly Services, Inc., as well as the business-backed Committee for Economic Development. That these corporations would enlist in a union-sponsored lobbying effort is odd enough, but jaws dropped with the announcement that Wal-Mart had joined the SEIU partnership
Uhhhnnn--why did "jaws drop"? WallyWorld would LOVE to avoid benefits-cost.
If you wonder why DarthDoyle stubbornly refuses to make HSA's tax-deductible in Wisconsin, wonder no more. He's drinking the Kool Ade from these guys:
Despite the failure of the Clinton health package, Families USA [HCCU, above] has continued as a high-profile player in the battle over health care reform. Since George W. Bush became President, it has strongly criticized market-oriented reforms such as Health Savings Accounts and proposals to permit consumers to buy health care insurance out of state
You see more evidence based on how Doyle's budget-priorities line up with theirs:
The HCCU goal, announced on the Families USA website, is “to cover as many people as possible, as quickly as possible.” The strategy focuses first on children. HCCU proposes to expand two programs: Medicaid, the state/federal health insurance program for the poor, and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP)
"It's for The Children" (except the ones which Darth would kill by ESCR, "Plan B" chemical abortions, or just abortions in general...)
Next are uninsured adults. The coalition proposes to increase Medicaid funding so that all poor adults have government health insurance, and it gives a tax credit to adults who don’t qualify for Medicaid but earn up to 300% of the poverty level, which is currently about $28,000 for a single adult.
It’s not hard to figure out why some HCCU members favor these proposals: They know that Medicaid and S-CHIP often have the lowest reimbursement rates among health insurance programs, whether public or private. According to the American Hospital Association, Medicaid reimburses only 87 cents for every dollar hospitals spend on Medicaid patients. Funneling more tax dollars into these programs would increase reimbursements to doctors and hospitals and probably encourage more prospective patients to seek medical care.
Both business and labor groups utilize The Big Myth to argue their case:
they all focus on one point of concern: “the uninsured.” The “fact that 47 million of our neighbors lack health insurance is a national disgrace,”
...which happens to be the "Global Warming" of healthcare myths.
These figures are constantly repeated, but they exaggerate the problem. For instance, they don’t distinguish between people, many of them young and healthy, who are between jobs for brief periods from those who are “chronically” uninsured (i.e. for a year or more.) When the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) took that factor into account, it tabulated the uninsured at between 21 and 31 million. In addition, people who make enough money to afford health insurance but don’t buy it are counted as uninsured, and so are those who could be included in their employer-based coverage but for various reasons choose not to do so. Further, the Census Bureau and the CBO fail to take into consideration people who are eligible for Medicaid but have not enrolled in it as well as people who receive Medicaid, but don’t admit it. All these groups are dumped into the “uninsured” category. Health policy analysts who have taken these factors into account conclude that the true number of uninsured is more likely between 8 and 10 million.
What the Hell, it's only a 300% exaggeration. No different from the typical lies about "what I made last year..."
But there's a logical followthrough, too:
there is also reason to doubt the financial costs the uninsured impose on the rest of us. According to the most recently compiled data, the Urban Institute calculated that in 2001 the uninsured used about $34.5 billion in “uncompensated” health care (i.e. costs not paid out of pocket or by an insurer). In inflation-adjusted 2005 dollars, that would be about $40.8 billion. That’s very little in a nation that annually spends almost $2 trillion on health care.
About 2.09%, as a matter of fact.
So why ARE healthcare premiums rising?
1) [T]he U.S. tax code. Our tax laws give employees an unlimited tax break for the cost of health insurance as long as their employers provide it as a benefit. This encourages employees to select the most expensive policies that provide “comprehensive” coverage and often leads to the overuse of health care, which puts upward pressure on prices.
Employers benefit, too. They lower their salary costs by compensating workers with health insurance purchased at lower group rates. [WEAC, AFSCME, State Employees, anyone?] The losers are the self-employed or those who work for employers who don’t offer health insurance: They often pay much higher individual rates with after-tax dollars.
2) Another reason that health care is expensive is that our current health insurance system, in place since World War II, shifts responsibility from the individual to the employers and the insurer. Workers expect their employer to pay for health insurance and they expect the insurer to pay for all their health care expenses, big and small. This system has exacerbated the rise in costs. In 1965, about 48% of what Americans spent of health care was spent out of pocket. By 2006 the amount was down to just more than 12%.
And there is an "economics-logic" problem which Gummint-HealthCare advocates have:
Both Families USA and SEIU say they want to hold down the costs of health care, yet at the same time both are committed to policies that pump up demand for health care. Without recourse to the price mechanisms of the market, these promises can never be met. Increased demand raises the price of health care, which increases the price of private sector health insurance. As the price of health insurance increases, fewer people will be able to afford it, which adds to the ranks of the uninsured.
Pertinent portions of the JS article here:
Wisconsin Health Security Act - Would cover Wisconsin residents with a single, publicly financed health plan. Would create a Department of Health Planning and Finance that would administer the plan under the guidance of a policy board. Would set rates for hospitals, doctors and other providers. Funded by taxes on employers and individuals.
Wisconsin Health Care Partnership Plan - Would cover all private and public employees and their dependents. Self-employed workers, farmers and early retirees could buy insurance at cost. Funded by a payroll tax estimated at $380 a month or $2.21 an hour per worker. Overseen by a labor-management commission that would set reimbursement rates for hospitals, doctors and other providers. An analysis projected $2 billion in savings statewide in the first year. (AFL-CIO backed plan.)
Wisconsin Health Plan - Would cover nearly all Wisconsin residents, excluding those in government health programs. People would receive a "premium credit," or voucher, to buy health insurance from qualifying health plans. Plan would include health savings accounts and high deductibles. Farmers and self-employed workers could buy into the plan. Funded by an 11.55% payroll tax paid by employers, plus a 3.95% assessment on workers wages. Assumes that people will opt for HMOs. An analysis projected $8.9 billion in savings the first 10 years. (See Zlotocha article here.) This is the plan which projects that employers will REDUCE wages to implement the plan--and "projects" that "tax reductions" will make up the difference.
UPDATE: See Milwaukee JS (6/17/07) article on this issue. Note three plans advanced...
So sayeth David Hogberg, in Human Events:
This time, however, the reform effort is different in one important respect. In 1993-94, many industry groups opposed the attempt to nationalize America’s health care system. In 2007, industry groups are tripping over each other in their rush to endorse plans for more government involvement.
Membership in HCCU, which is the Families USA coalition, is a very select assembly of 16 “signatory organizations.” It includes AARP, the liberal lobby that poses as a seniors’ advocacy group. Insurance giants Blue Cross Blue Shield, Kaiser Permanente, and UnitedHealth Group have also signed on, along with America’s Health Insurance Plans, the trade association for health insurers, and pharmaceutical giant Pfizer.
But guess what? The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also backs HCCU. So does the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association, the American Public Health Association, the Catholic Health Association, the Federation of American Hospitals, the Healthcare Leadership Council and the medical products conglomerate Johnson & Johnson.
One detects a 'marketing ploy' by Pfizer and J&J. Slap me before I get more cynical.
Another group,
BHCT includes the Communications Workers of America and the Center for American Progress, a liberal Washington, D.C. think tank. But BHCT also has its own business supporters, including AT&T, Intel and Kelly Services, Inc., as well as the business-backed Committee for Economic Development. That these corporations would enlist in a union-sponsored lobbying effort is odd enough, but jaws dropped with the announcement that Wal-Mart had joined the SEIU partnership
Uhhhnnn--why did "jaws drop"? WallyWorld would LOVE to avoid benefits-cost.
If you wonder why DarthDoyle stubbornly refuses to make HSA's tax-deductible in Wisconsin, wonder no more. He's drinking the Kool Ade from these guys:
Despite the failure of the Clinton health package, Families USA [HCCU, above] has continued as a high-profile player in the battle over health care reform. Since George W. Bush became President, it has strongly criticized market-oriented reforms such as Health Savings Accounts and proposals to permit consumers to buy health care insurance out of state
You see more evidence based on how Doyle's budget-priorities line up with theirs:
The HCCU goal, announced on the Families USA website, is “to cover as many people as possible, as quickly as possible.” The strategy focuses first on children. HCCU proposes to expand two programs: Medicaid, the state/federal health insurance program for the poor, and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP)
"It's for The Children" (except the ones which Darth would kill by ESCR, "Plan B" chemical abortions, or just abortions in general...)
Next are uninsured adults. The coalition proposes to increase Medicaid funding so that all poor adults have government health insurance, and it gives a tax credit to adults who don’t qualify for Medicaid but earn up to 300% of the poverty level, which is currently about $28,000 for a single adult.
It’s not hard to figure out why some HCCU members favor these proposals: They know that Medicaid and S-CHIP often have the lowest reimbursement rates among health insurance programs, whether public or private. According to the American Hospital Association, Medicaid reimburses only 87 cents for every dollar hospitals spend on Medicaid patients. Funneling more tax dollars into these programs would increase reimbursements to doctors and hospitals and probably encourage more prospective patients to seek medical care.
Both business and labor groups utilize The Big Myth to argue their case:
they all focus on one point of concern: “the uninsured.” The “fact that 47 million of our neighbors lack health insurance is a national disgrace,”
...which happens to be the "Global Warming" of healthcare myths.
These figures are constantly repeated, but they exaggerate the problem. For instance, they don’t distinguish between people, many of them young and healthy, who are between jobs for brief periods from those who are “chronically” uninsured (i.e. for a year or more.) When the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) took that factor into account, it tabulated the uninsured at between 21 and 31 million. In addition, people who make enough money to afford health insurance but don’t buy it are counted as uninsured, and so are those who could be included in their employer-based coverage but for various reasons choose not to do so. Further, the Census Bureau and the CBO fail to take into consideration people who are eligible for Medicaid but have not enrolled in it as well as people who receive Medicaid, but don’t admit it. All these groups are dumped into the “uninsured” category. Health policy analysts who have taken these factors into account conclude that the true number of uninsured is more likely between 8 and 10 million.
What the Hell, it's only a 300% exaggeration. No different from the typical lies about "what I made last year..."
But there's a logical followthrough, too:
there is also reason to doubt the financial costs the uninsured impose on the rest of us. According to the most recently compiled data, the Urban Institute calculated that in 2001 the uninsured used about $34.5 billion in “uncompensated” health care (i.e. costs not paid out of pocket or by an insurer). In inflation-adjusted 2005 dollars, that would be about $40.8 billion. That’s very little in a nation that annually spends almost $2 trillion on health care.
About 2.09%, as a matter of fact.
So why ARE healthcare premiums rising?
1) [T]he U.S. tax code. Our tax laws give employees an unlimited tax break for the cost of health insurance as long as their employers provide it as a benefit. This encourages employees to select the most expensive policies that provide “comprehensive” coverage and often leads to the overuse of health care, which puts upward pressure on prices.
Employers benefit, too. They lower their salary costs by compensating workers with health insurance purchased at lower group rates. [WEAC, AFSCME, State Employees, anyone?] The losers are the self-employed or those who work for employers who don’t offer health insurance: They often pay much higher individual rates with after-tax dollars.
2) Another reason that health care is expensive is that our current health insurance system, in place since World War II, shifts responsibility from the individual to the employers and the insurer. Workers expect their employer to pay for health insurance and they expect the insurer to pay for all their health care expenses, big and small. This system has exacerbated the rise in costs. In 1965, about 48% of what Americans spent of health care was spent out of pocket. By 2006 the amount was down to just more than 12%.
And there is an "economics-logic" problem which Gummint-HealthCare advocates have:
Both Families USA and SEIU say they want to hold down the costs of health care, yet at the same time both are committed to policies that pump up demand for health care. Without recourse to the price mechanisms of the market, these promises can never be met. Increased demand raises the price of health care, which increases the price of private sector health insurance. As the price of health insurance increases, fewer people will be able to afford it, which adds to the ranks of the uninsured.
Pertinent portions of the JS article here:
Wisconsin Health Security Act - Would cover Wisconsin residents with a single, publicly financed health plan. Would create a Department of Health Planning and Finance that would administer the plan under the guidance of a policy board. Would set rates for hospitals, doctors and other providers. Funded by taxes on employers and individuals.
Wisconsin Health Care Partnership Plan - Would cover all private and public employees and their dependents. Self-employed workers, farmers and early retirees could buy insurance at cost. Funded by a payroll tax estimated at $380 a month or $2.21 an hour per worker. Overseen by a labor-management commission that would set reimbursement rates for hospitals, doctors and other providers. An analysis projected $2 billion in savings statewide in the first year. (AFL-CIO backed plan.)
Wisconsin Health Plan - Would cover nearly all Wisconsin residents, excluding those in government health programs. People would receive a "premium credit," or voucher, to buy health insurance from qualifying health plans. Plan would include health savings accounts and high deductibles. Farmers and self-employed workers could buy into the plan. Funded by an 11.55% payroll tax paid by employers, plus a 3.95% assessment on workers wages. Assumes that people will opt for HMOs. An analysis projected $8.9 billion in savings the first 10 years. (See Zlotocha article here.) This is the plan which projects that employers will REDUCE wages to implement the plan--and "projects" that "tax reductions" will make up the difference.
James Harris' Neighborhood Narrative
This is unimaginable for 95% of the residents of Wisconsin, (I hope...) Read the whole thing--this is just a snippet:
Two blocks into my walk I ran into a man and his two sons. They were standing near the sidewalk in the front yard of their beautifully manicured lawn. The gentleman said “Labrador Poodle, right?”
Right.
My designer dog is big now, but he is very friendly. Sort of defeats the purpose but, whatever. The gentleman and I chit chat for a minute then I say goodbye. As I am walking away the man stops me and asks, “Can you do me a favor?”
"Sure, how can I help you?"
“Will you pray for me…? That little girl? The one that was shot in the head? That’s my daughter.”
I say nothing.
“She’s in Children’s Hospital right now. Her head is as big this.” He makes his hands in the shape of a small watermelon. “They can’t take the bullet out until the swelling goes down. Pray for her, please, and for my family, too.”
From what James has said about his location in Milwaukee, it's my educated guess that he lives within half-a-mile of the home where my Mom grew up.
Two blocks into my walk I ran into a man and his two sons. They were standing near the sidewalk in the front yard of their beautifully manicured lawn. The gentleman said “Labrador Poodle, right?”
Right.
My designer dog is big now, but he is very friendly. Sort of defeats the purpose but, whatever. The gentleman and I chit chat for a minute then I say goodbye. As I am walking away the man stops me and asks, “Can you do me a favor?”
"Sure, how can I help you?"
“Will you pray for me…? That little girl? The one that was shot in the head? That’s my daughter.”
I say nothing.
“She’s in Children’s Hospital right now. Her head is as big this.” He makes his hands in the shape of a small watermelon. “They can’t take the bullet out until the swelling goes down. Pray for her, please, and for my family, too.”
From what James has said about his location in Milwaukee, it's my educated guess that he lives within half-a-mile of the home where my Mom grew up.
No WONDER There's No Vote-Fraud!
Another fabulous little hit by Jessica:
Of the 26 county district attorneys that received referrals from the state Elections Board of possible illegal voting cases, only five offices have responded to the SEB. The district attorneys’ offices were supposed to give a response by May 25.
And you do NOT win a prize if you guessed which County DA's didn't bother to follow the friggin' LAW on these cases:
SEB spokesman Kyle Richmond said the Elections Board sent out reminders to the non-responding DAs to tell them they are required to respond with the enactment of Act 451 from the 2006 session. The counties receiving the most referrals – Milwaukee (34), Racine County (10) and Dane County (eight) – all did not report to the Elections Board.
No investigation, no prosecution--voila!!! No fraud HERE!!
I see nuthin', Herr Kommandant.
Of the 26 county district attorneys that received referrals from the state Elections Board of possible illegal voting cases, only five offices have responded to the SEB. The district attorneys’ offices were supposed to give a response by May 25.
And you do NOT win a prize if you guessed which County DA's didn't bother to follow the friggin' LAW on these cases:
SEB spokesman Kyle Richmond said the Elections Board sent out reminders to the non-responding DAs to tell them they are required to respond with the enactment of Act 451 from the 2006 session. The counties receiving the most referrals – Milwaukee (34), Racine County (10) and Dane County (eight) – all did not report to the Elections Board.
No investigation, no prosecution--voila!!! No fraud HERE!!
I see nuthin', Herr Kommandant.
Blog Wisdom
Cruising the 'net is educational.
Found as the tagline on Confederate Yankee:
Found as the tagline on Confederate Yankee:
Because liberalism is a persistent vegetative state
Who knew?
Abelson on Heart Attack Lunches
As if by magic, Alan Abelson of Barron's mentions inflation, just before you read our post on lunch-pricing.
THERE'S NO INFLATION -- EXCEPT FOR SUCH NECESSITIES of daily sustenance as food, gasoline and The Wall Street Journal (which, in case you were too busy having a jolly time at the beach to notice when it was disclosed, next month will fetch $1.50 a copy rather than the current buck). But those are obviously exceptions that prove the point, for none constitutes a component of core inflation, so, in the larger economic scheme of things, how significant can any of them be?
Once again last week, confronted by a disquieting indication that inflation is alive and virulent -- namely, that the producer-price index shot up 0.9% in May
[They then] seized on release of the consumer-price index as confirmation that all's well on the inflation front. What better proof, they exulted, than the miserly 0.1% uptick in the CPI -- once you take out pesky items like food and energy. As for the 0.7% rise in the CPI when food and energy are included, "pshaw," they scoffed, that's just the "headline number"!
...And we're also aware that the price of certain commodities has plummeted. DRAM prices, as we noted some weeks back, have suffered a huge markdown. Moreover, the Journal reports that a gram of cocaine, which sold for around $200 barely a decade ago, can be bought these days for as little as $20
(Note to self: cut out lunches, do coke instead...)
HT: The Big Picture
THERE'S NO INFLATION -- EXCEPT FOR SUCH NECESSITIES of daily sustenance as food, gasoline and The Wall Street Journal (which, in case you were too busy having a jolly time at the beach to notice when it was disclosed, next month will fetch $1.50 a copy rather than the current buck). But those are obviously exceptions that prove the point, for none constitutes a component of core inflation, so, in the larger economic scheme of things, how significant can any of them be?
Once again last week, confronted by a disquieting indication that inflation is alive and virulent -- namely, that the producer-price index shot up 0.9% in May
[They then] seized on release of the consumer-price index as confirmation that all's well on the inflation front. What better proof, they exulted, than the miserly 0.1% uptick in the CPI -- once you take out pesky items like food and energy. As for the 0.7% rise in the CPI when food and energy are included, "pshaw," they scoffed, that's just the "headline number"!
...And we're also aware that the price of certain commodities has plummeted. DRAM prices, as we noted some weeks back, have suffered a huge markdown. Moreover, the Journal reports that a gram of cocaine, which sold for around $200 barely a decade ago, can be bought these days for as little as $20
(Note to self: cut out lunches, do coke instead...)
HT: The Big Picture
Heart-Attack Lunch
Met a friend (yes, I have ....at least one...) the other day for lunch. Decided that a handy spot would be Panos', the Greek-and-burgers joint on Bluemound Road.
My pal arrived a bit later than I did, which allowed me some time to look at the menu.
Holy S*&^!!!
LUNCHES were priced at a minimum of $7.95 (one item)--with most of them being $8.95 and up--to the $15.00 area. You also paid for coffee, soda, triple-chocolate dessert, etc., PLUS tax, PLUS gratuity.
(In fairness, Panos uses large china plates and has good-sized tables and plenty of paved parking-lot. Also, it's air-conditioned. You get fries and soup with most of the lunch sandwiches.)
We ate cheap and left $26.00, more or less, on the table.
One advantage: you could pick from a lot of empty tables and booths.
A LOT of empty tables and booths.
My pal arrived a bit later than I did, which allowed me some time to look at the menu.
Holy S*&^!!!
LUNCHES were priced at a minimum of $7.95 (one item)--with most of them being $8.95 and up--to the $15.00 area. You also paid for coffee, soda, triple-chocolate dessert, etc., PLUS tax, PLUS gratuity.
(In fairness, Panos uses large china plates and has good-sized tables and plenty of paved parking-lot. Also, it's air-conditioned. You get fries and soup with most of the lunch sandwiches.)
We ate cheap and left $26.00, more or less, on the table.
One advantage: you could pick from a lot of empty tables and booths.
A LOT of empty tables and booths.
Ethanol Spinners Deliberately Miss the Point
The ethanol-lobby creates a spin-job.
A study released today by an independent research group shows that ethanol’s impact on food prices is negligible, particularly when compared with the impact of energy costs.
The study by John Urbanchuck of LECG, LLC shows that a $1 per gallon increase in the price of gasoline results in an increase in food prices that is twice as high as a $1 increase in the price a bushel of corn.
Unless, of course, you can't afford a $1./bu increase in the price of corn.
Like the peasants in Mexico.
Obviously, the Mexican peasants never thought of eating distillers' grain instead.
A study released today by an independent research group shows that ethanol’s impact on food prices is negligible, particularly when compared with the impact of energy costs.
The study by John Urbanchuck of LECG, LLC shows that a $1 per gallon increase in the price of gasoline results in an increase in food prices that is twice as high as a $1 increase in the price a bushel of corn.
Unless, of course, you can't afford a $1./bu increase in the price of corn.
Like the peasants in Mexico.
Obviously, the Mexican peasants never thought of eating distillers' grain instead.
Wonder About Attorneys? There's Reason
HT Clay Cramer
Here's the press release from the lawfirms involved.
A team of attorneys from Bretz & Coven, LLP, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, and Shearman & Sterling successfully persuaded the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to overturn the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA)'s precedential decision in Matter of Blake, 23 I. & N. Dec. 722.
The Second Circuit's opinion in Blake v. Carbone (2d Cir. 2007), released on June 1, 2007, expands the possibility that aliens convicted of certain aggravated felonies can receive relief from deportation under former § 212(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
The appeal involved four lawful permanent residents who had pleaded guilty to sexual abuse of a minor, federal racketeering, first degree manslaughter, and murder in the second degree, respectively. Each petitioner was charged with deportability under the INA for having been convicted an aggravated felony after admission to the United States. Each petitioner sought relief from deportation under former § 212(c) of the INA. The BIA found each petitioner ineligible for a § 212(c) waiver.
Obviously a resume-building accomplishment if there ever was one.
AND: BONUS!!!!
Here's a UTube of an Immigration Attorney bragging about how his clients can get around all that silly folderol of hiring American citizens (if you really want H1B's instead, who are a Helluvalot cheaper....)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N7l2f_bQ1k
HT: Norm Matloff
Here's the press release from the lawfirms involved.
A team of attorneys from Bretz & Coven, LLP, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, and Shearman & Sterling successfully persuaded the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to overturn the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA)'s precedential decision in Matter of Blake, 23 I. & N. Dec. 722.
The Second Circuit's opinion in Blake v. Carbone (2d Cir. 2007), released on June 1, 2007, expands the possibility that aliens convicted of certain aggravated felonies can receive relief from deportation under former § 212(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
The appeal involved four lawful permanent residents who had pleaded guilty to sexual abuse of a minor, federal racketeering, first degree manslaughter, and murder in the second degree, respectively. Each petitioner was charged with deportability under the INA for having been convicted an aggravated felony after admission to the United States. Each petitioner sought relief from deportation under former § 212(c) of the INA. The BIA found each petitioner ineligible for a § 212(c) waiver.
Obviously a resume-building accomplishment if there ever was one.
AND: BONUS!!!!
Here's a UTube of an Immigration Attorney bragging about how his clients can get around all that silly folderol of hiring American citizens (if you really want H1B's instead, who are a Helluvalot cheaper....)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N7l2f_bQ1k
HT: Norm Matloff
DOT Can Save Money on Maintenance
You've seen the crews cutting grass and removing weeds near the roadways in Wisconsin. They use a fair amount of equipment, not to mention labor, to keep the roadsides clear. And some of the work is performed on steep hillsides, requiring extra modifications to the equipment.
Another "spending" problem.
What about reducing the cost? It CAN be done.
Goats make quick work of weeds
The city of Seattle paid $2,500 for work performed Tuesday by those who ate, slept and lay down on the job.
Tuesday, under contract for "vegetation removal," Craig Madsen's brown-eyed herd denuded part of a steep 1-acre hillside at a City Light substation in the Maple Leaf neighborhood. They ate English ivy and blackberry brambles that the city considers a fire hazard.
"It's a tough site, but they're built for this," said Madsen, owner and operator of Healing Hooves LLC of Spokane, which provides natural weed and plant control using goats and sheep. "It's basically what goats do: They eat, sleep, hang out and eat some more."
Jean Godden, chairwoman of the Seattle City Council's Energy and Technology Committee, said, "It's appropriate that we use goats to control weeds, to help us be environmental stewards."
And, of course, no union contract disputes.
Too bad the damn things don't eat snow.
Another "spending" problem.
What about reducing the cost? It CAN be done.
Goats make quick work of weeds
The city of Seattle paid $2,500 for work performed Tuesday by those who ate, slept and lay down on the job.
Tuesday, under contract for "vegetation removal," Craig Madsen's brown-eyed herd denuded part of a steep 1-acre hillside at a City Light substation in the Maple Leaf neighborhood. They ate English ivy and blackberry brambles that the city considers a fire hazard.
"It's a tough site, but they're built for this," said Madsen, owner and operator of Healing Hooves LLC of Spokane, which provides natural weed and plant control using goats and sheep. "It's basically what goats do: They eat, sleep, hang out and eat some more."
Jean Godden, chairwoman of the Seattle City Council's Energy and Technology Committee, said, "It's appropriate that we use goats to control weeds, to help us be environmental stewards."
And, of course, no union contract disputes.
Too bad the damn things don't eat snow.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Popular Music and the Liturgy, c. 1000 AD-Date
Chironimo offers a short essay on the 'pops plague' in sacred music, which seems to reappear on a regular basis.
"A good question to ask of all music heard at liturgy is this: does it work toward the sacramental end of liturgy to reach outside the bounds of time and strive to enter into eternity?
...The very sacrifice of Christ on the cross is renewed and made present by virtue of words spoken by the celebrant in liturgy. To accomplish such an act in time requires that the bounds of time and space are transcended, a claim that is itself singularly radical in an age of rampant skepticism.
Considering this, it is not much to ask that music at liturgy not overtly draw from external forms that have nothing whatever to do with such transcendent concerns. The chant and the sacred-music tradition, in contrast, grew up around a profoundly secure faith, a faith that in our age is believed to be impossible. To employ this music at Mass, then, expresses a confidence in these timeless claims, and illustrates them in ways that work through the senses to provide evidence of things unseen. There is something inexpressibly calming about the sole employment of the human voice, the absence of meter and sharp edges, that comes with the use of chant; it causes time and space to recede and contemplation of transcendence to displace earthly concerns.
(Quoting an Zinner/Tucker essay from Sacred Music, Fall 2006)
That's the foundation-point of his essay. He then writes:
The fact is that most of what passes as liturgical music today simply doesn’t work as liturgical music, and reform will eventually have to happen
...adherents of Contemporary Liturgical Music (or CCM or Folk-Pop or Life-Teen …) are often blissfully unaware of the numerous attempts throughout history to bring the “music of the people” into the Church.
Chironimo goes on to list the Middle Ages' insertion of texts into the melismas of the Kyrie (memorialized by the 'names' given to the Ordinaries, i.e., De Angelis for Mass VIII), followed by the proliferation of Sequences (begun by Nokter and proliferating like dandelions,) "parody Masses" of the XVIc., and the "opera Masses" of the Classical period (e.g., Mozart's "Coronation" Mass.)
Chironimo also provides for us the various Papal documents which seek to put these deviations to rest.
I am certain that Chironomo's prescription will be controversial--it seems to boil down to "Chant." There are other reputable and knowledgeable students of liturgical music who will defend Mozart Masses (at least the shorter ones), and the Ordinaries of Vittoria and Hassler (I have already begun that on his blog.)
But it is worthwhile to learn the history.
"A good question to ask of all music heard at liturgy is this: does it work toward the sacramental end of liturgy to reach outside the bounds of time and strive to enter into eternity?
...The very sacrifice of Christ on the cross is renewed and made present by virtue of words spoken by the celebrant in liturgy. To accomplish such an act in time requires that the bounds of time and space are transcended, a claim that is itself singularly radical in an age of rampant skepticism.
Considering this, it is not much to ask that music at liturgy not overtly draw from external forms that have nothing whatever to do with such transcendent concerns. The chant and the sacred-music tradition, in contrast, grew up around a profoundly secure faith, a faith that in our age is believed to be impossible. To employ this music at Mass, then, expresses a confidence in these timeless claims, and illustrates them in ways that work through the senses to provide evidence of things unseen. There is something inexpressibly calming about the sole employment of the human voice, the absence of meter and sharp edges, that comes with the use of chant; it causes time and space to recede and contemplation of transcendence to displace earthly concerns.
(Quoting an Zinner/Tucker essay from Sacred Music, Fall 2006)
That's the foundation-point of his essay. He then writes:
The fact is that most of what passes as liturgical music today simply doesn’t work as liturgical music, and reform will eventually have to happen
...adherents of Contemporary Liturgical Music (or CCM or Folk-Pop or Life-Teen …) are often blissfully unaware of the numerous attempts throughout history to bring the “music of the people” into the Church.
Chironimo goes on to list the Middle Ages' insertion of texts into the melismas of the Kyrie (memorialized by the 'names' given to the Ordinaries, i.e., De Angelis for Mass VIII), followed by the proliferation of Sequences (begun by Nokter and proliferating like dandelions,) "parody Masses" of the XVIc., and the "opera Masses" of the Classical period (e.g., Mozart's "Coronation" Mass.)
Chironimo also provides for us the various Papal documents which seek to put these deviations to rest.
I am certain that Chironomo's prescription will be controversial--it seems to boil down to "Chant." There are other reputable and knowledgeable students of liturgical music who will defend Mozart Masses (at least the shorter ones), and the Ordinaries of Vittoria and Hassler (I have already begun that on his blog.)
But it is worthwhile to learn the history.
Fast, Re-Defined
30 minutes from LA to NYC:
An experimental jet engine has been successfully tested at speeds of up to 11,000 km (6,835 miles) per hour, or 10 times the speed of sound, during trials in Australia's outback, defense scientists said on Friday.
The experimental scramjet engine is an air-breathing supersonic combustion engine being developed by Australian and U.S. defense scientists that researchers hope will lead to super-high speed flight.
That's also about three times the speed of a .30-06 bullet.
Superman is now a distinct #2.
HT: Hot Air
An experimental jet engine has been successfully tested at speeds of up to 11,000 km (6,835 miles) per hour, or 10 times the speed of sound, during trials in Australia's outback, defense scientists said on Friday.
The experimental scramjet engine is an air-breathing supersonic combustion engine being developed by Australian and U.S. defense scientists that researchers hope will lead to super-high speed flight.
That's also about three times the speed of a .30-06 bullet.
Superman is now a distinct #2.
HT: Hot Air
China is Our Friend, Part 50,125--And GWB's Helping!
What to do with all those USDollars in the bank?
Hell--spend it on arms to kill US military!!
New intelligence reveals China is covertly supplying large quantities of small arms and weapons to insurgents in Iraq and the Taliban militia in Afghanistan, through Iran.
...Some arms were sent by aircraft directly from Chinese factories to Afghanistan and included large-caliber sniper rifles, millions of rounds of ammunition, rocket-propelled grenades and components for roadside bombs, as well as other small arms.
The Washington Times reported June 5 that Chinese-made HN-5 anti-aircraft missiles were being used by the Taliban.
According to the officials, the Iranians, in buying the arms, asked Chinese state-run suppliers to expedite the transfers and to remove serial numbers to prevent tracing their origin. China, for its part, offered to transport the weapons in order to prevent the weapons from being interdicted.
The weapons were described as "late-model" arms that have not been seen in the field before and were not left over from Saddam Hussein's rule in Iraq.
Stuff you cannot buy at WallyWorld.
Evidently, the Bush "One-World" Gang has less integrity than Congress on the matter:
The Bush administration has been trying to hide or downplay the intelligence reports to protect its pro-business policies toward China, and to continue to claim that China is helping the United States in the war on terrorism. U.S. officials have openly criticized Iran for the arms transfers but so far there has been no mention that China is a main supplier
Yah. After all, what's more important: the Prosperity of Briggs & Stratton, GM, FoMoCo and Chrysler, or a few US troops?
HT: Confederate Yankee
Hell--spend it on arms to kill US military!!
(SSHHHHHH!! The Bushies don't want you to know this!!!)
New intelligence reveals China is covertly supplying large quantities of small arms and weapons to insurgents in Iraq and the Taliban militia in Afghanistan, through Iran.
...Some arms were sent by aircraft directly from Chinese factories to Afghanistan and included large-caliber sniper rifles, millions of rounds of ammunition, rocket-propelled grenades and components for roadside bombs, as well as other small arms.
The Washington Times reported June 5 that Chinese-made HN-5 anti-aircraft missiles were being used by the Taliban.
According to the officials, the Iranians, in buying the arms, asked Chinese state-run suppliers to expedite the transfers and to remove serial numbers to prevent tracing their origin. China, for its part, offered to transport the weapons in order to prevent the weapons from being interdicted.
The weapons were described as "late-model" arms that have not been seen in the field before and were not left over from Saddam Hussein's rule in Iraq.
Stuff you cannot buy at WallyWorld.
Evidently, the Bush "One-World" Gang has less integrity than Congress on the matter:
The Bush administration has been trying to hide or downplay the intelligence reports to protect its pro-business policies toward China, and to continue to claim that China is helping the United States in the war on terrorism. U.S. officials have openly criticized Iran for the arms transfers but so far there has been no mention that China is a main supplier
Yah. After all, what's more important: the Prosperity of Briggs & Stratton, GM, FoMoCo and Chrysler, or a few US troops?
HT: Confederate Yankee
Chester (Trent) Lott (Me Me Me, MS): An Idiot
Maybe Chester Lott has a peabrain (evidence mounts daily.) But his contention:
“Talk radio is running America."
...is ludicrous, at best.
Chester, an ex-cheerleader, doesn't like the facts of his Mike McGee-like coercion of casualty insurers being exposed by talk radio. He also doesn't like the facts of his Pork Problem to be advertised nationally.
Chester pouts.
But as to his whine that Limbaugh, Sykes, Belling, et.al., are "running America,"?
No, Chester. Rush, Sykes, Belling, et.al., actually have philosophical flaws, which are recognizable to the average person.
However, THEIR flaws are mere speed-bumps compared to those of the old and feeble Ruling Class of Jackasses in certain portions of the Government, whose self-dealing, power-mad, "screw-the-country" antics have been exposed.
Chester, your skirt is showing.
“Talk radio is running America."
...is ludicrous, at best.
Chester, an ex-cheerleader, doesn't like the facts of his Mike McGee-like coercion of casualty insurers being exposed by talk radio. He also doesn't like the facts of his Pork Problem to be advertised nationally.
Chester pouts.
But as to his whine that Limbaugh, Sykes, Belling, et.al., are "running America,"?
No, Chester. Rush, Sykes, Belling, et.al., actually have philosophical flaws, which are recognizable to the average person.
However, THEIR flaws are mere speed-bumps compared to those of the old and feeble Ruling Class of Jackasses in certain portions of the Government, whose self-dealing, power-mad, "screw-the-country" antics have been exposed.
Chester, your skirt is showing.
Immigration As Foreign Aid?
Grim's Hall houses a very thoughtful guy, who makes an interesting couple of points here, usually overlooked by those opposing the Immigration Bill.
...I can see why we might want to allow Mexican immigration to continue at roughly the same levels we've seen -- we can't afford a failed Mexican state, and US cash is propping up its economy. Even by the lowest estimates, we're talking billions of dollars.
The problem is that these amnesty bills don't recognize that our real reason for allowing this isn't a desire for immigrants, but a desire not to see Mexico collapse and have to deal with the fallout. As a result, any bill dealing with the issue needs to address that reality:
1) We need strong border controls. This is partially to ensure that we do have control of the border, which is the duty of a sovereign state. It is also a hedge against the possibility that Mexico fails in spite of our efforts to float them; and to deal with the criminal gangs already flourishing because of Mexican government weakness.
2) We need any "Z" type visa to permanently forbid the holder from ever pursuing US citizenship.
His #2 really forces one to think hard about the current (and flawed) interpretation of the 14th Amendment, by which interpretation anyone born in the US is automatically a citizen.
It also forces one to admit the possibility that many of the Illegals are simply NOT interested in US citizenship. This is critical, for the natural assumption is that the Illegals actually WANT citizenship here. And, given sensible (and much larger) quotas plus adequate screening, we're perfectly happy to accept them as fellow-citizens.
At the same time, a "Z" under Grim's terms means that we are (in effect) creating a class of legal untermensch--they may work; they may pay taxes; but they may not vote. Ever.
The reason for this is that we're allowing essentially unrestricted movement, in order to protect Mexico from collapse. In return for allowing them to export their poorest to us, and receive large sums of hard currency in re
...I can see why we might want to allow Mexican immigration to continue at roughly the same levels we've seen -- we can't afford a failed Mexican state, and US cash is propping up its economy. Even by the lowest estimates, we're talking billions of dollars.
The problem is that these amnesty bills don't recognize that our real reason for allowing this isn't a desire for immigrants, but a desire not to see Mexico collapse and have to deal with the fallout. As a result, any bill dealing with the issue needs to address that reality:
1) We need strong border controls. This is partially to ensure that we do have control of the border, which is the duty of a sovereign state. It is also a hedge against the possibility that Mexico fails in spite of our efforts to float them; and to deal with the criminal gangs already flourishing because of Mexican government weakness.
2) We need any "Z" type visa to permanently forbid the holder from ever pursuing US citizenship.
His #2 really forces one to think hard about the current (and flawed) interpretation of the 14th Amendment, by which interpretation anyone born in the US is automatically a citizen.
It also forces one to admit the possibility that many of the Illegals are simply NOT interested in US citizenship. This is critical, for the natural assumption is that the Illegals actually WANT citizenship here. And, given sensible (and much larger) quotas plus adequate screening, we're perfectly happy to accept them as fellow-citizens.
At the same time, a "Z" under Grim's terms means that we are (in effect) creating a class of legal untermensch--they may work; they may pay taxes; but they may not vote. Ever.
The reason for this is that we're allowing essentially unrestricted movement, in order to protect Mexico from collapse. In return for allowing them to export their poorest to us, and receive large sums of hard currency in re