Archive for March, 2012

G77 Derailing the "Green Agenda" at the UN
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G77 Derailing the “Green Agenda” at the UN

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Are you wondering how many businesses have to become “green” before the dream of the “green economy” becomes a reality? It seems like everything has to be green nowadays, whether its green jobs, green energy, or green skills. Now there is even green dry cleaning. Duh! If you feel like this is going to far, […]

Obama, the Russians, and Missile Defense: Historical Parallels
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Obama, the Russians, and Missile Defense: Historical Parallels

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President Obama has caused quite a stir with a private comment made to Russian President Dimitri Medvedev. In discussing missile defense, Obama suggested he would be prepared to yield to Russian demands after the November election. “This is my last election,” said Obama, not knowing his words were being picked up by an open microphone. […]

Here I Come to Save the World Bank
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Here I Come to Save the World Bank

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Recently, Professor Jeffrey Sachs made a public application to be the next president of the World Bank with an op-ed in the Washington Post titled “How I would lead the World Bank.” I was not aware they were taking applications, but since they are, I thought I’d throw my name in the ring. I must […]

Federal Judge: Grants to Catholic Anti-Trafficking Programs "Unconstitutional"
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Federal Judge: Grants to Catholic Anti-Trafficking Programs “Unconstitutional”

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A federal judge has ruled that allowing government grants to Catholic-run programs against human trafficking amounts to an unconstitutional endorsement of the Catholic religion because the Church does not facilitate abortions for trafficking victims. U.S. District Court Judge Richard Stearns sided with the American Civil Liberties Union in its case accusing the U.S. Health and […]

National Catholic Reporter Vs. Catholic Church
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National Catholic Reporter Vs. Catholic Church

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It’s been obvious for a long time, but now it is official: the National Catholic Reporter rejects the teachings of the Catholic Church on sexuality. In an editorial titled, “NCR Endorses Call for a New Sexual Ethic,” it supports retired Australian Bishop Geoffrey Robinson’s plea for the Church to change its teachings on sexuality. Bishop […]

St. Augustine on Women - Worth a Second Look
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St. Augustine on Women – Worth a Second Look

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Let it not be said that St. Augustine was a misogynist. He thought very seriously about the place in creation of human reproduction–of the male and the female and their particular beauty. Contrary to some contemporaries–mostly Manichees–he saw the female form as a cause of rejoicing. Now, you may read the following excerpt to your […]

Etch-a-Sketch or Mr. Flexible?
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Etch-a-Sketch or Mr. Flexible?

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It was a fitting blunder for a candidate with authenticity issues. Asked last week on CNN if the protracted Republican primary season had eroded former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s ability to appeal to independents in the fall, Romney advisor Eric Fehrnstrom foolishly acknowledged a universal truth in presidential politics: the fact that candidates spend the […]

Human Nature: The Question behind the Culture Wars
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Human Nature: The Question behind the Culture Wars

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Culture wars can produce nasty rhetoric. Political discourse quickly becomes emotionally charged and divisive. We are tempted to view those with whom we disagree as not only irrational but evil. The culture of demonization of our political opponents is what moral psychologist Dr. Jonathan Haidt seeks to dismantle with his new book, The Righteous Mind: […]

Practical Distributism: The Home Mortgage
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Practical Distributism: The Home Mortgage

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We have had several articles and comments regarding usury, mainly focusing on what usury is and why distributists oppose it. Considering the prevalence of usurious practices in our current economy, can we even envision how our banking and credit system would work without it? We must candidly admit that loans (and I use the term […]

Poem: "Thrice Holy"
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Poem: “Thrice Holy”

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Thrice Holy In the name of God ever-living . Father of swirling atoms, Quasars and supernovae . in the cool loam, creeping worms, Crabs a-scuttle in the surf . high trees with branches in low clouds, Man and the flesh of his flesh . woman with suckling babe. In the name of God ever-fertile . […]

How Hedonism Became America’s Official Religion
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How Hedonism Became America’s Official Religion

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No, I’m not exaggerating. The American experiment in religious liberty is officially over. The First Amendment provided institutional structures that allow different religions to peacefully coexist. All groups agree to not try to capture governmental structures for the benefit of their own particular denomination. But the Obama administration has ended that truce. The administration made […]

Who Gives a Hoot About the 1%?
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Who Gives a Hoot About the 1%?

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Before they decamped for winter, the Occupy Wall Street folks were promoting the idea of redistributing wealth from the rich to the poor. Although the income of super-rich in America has soared in the last two decades, such a blueprint would achieve neither justice nor economic growth. America has always been a land where creative […]

Canada's Seething Prejudice Against the Disabled
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Canada’s Seething Prejudice Against the Disabled

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Earlier this month, Global Television Network in Canada featured a documentary about the so-called “mercy killing” of children with severe disabilities. The very fact that such a topic is even entertained on national television reveals something about the moral state of my country. The documentary featured two parents: the first was Annette Corriveau who wants […]

Open Your Heart and Family to Love!
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Open Your Heart and Family to Love!

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When our first son was born, my oldest daughter was 7.  She had been an only child for so long, we believed she might have some concerns and insecurities over this new addition.  I remember talking to her the night our son was born.  Mom was still in the hospital. I explained that the addition […]

Distorting History
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Distorting History

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Last year, the state of California passed a law mandating LGBT history be taught in the public schools. The law also forbids materials that “contain any matter reflecting adversely” upon LGBT persons. While pushing the LGBT agenda, California law forbids “any sectarian or denominational doctrine or propaganda.” The new law also warns private schools that […]

Of Art and Trousered Apes
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Of Art and Trousered Apes

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Life without God is madness. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the absurd world of modern “art.”  In 1985, Jeff Koons assembled a work that consisted of three basketballs submerged in a fish tank. It symbolized, he proclaimed during one interview, “pre-birth”, “equilibrium,” “the eternal,” and “life after death,” among other things. It eventually […]

Glimpses of our Memories, Pieces of our Hearts
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Glimpses of our Memories, Pieces of our Hearts

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Gently making its way toward the front of the room, is this beautiful parade of humanity. The timelines of their lives, their histories… overlap, envelope, criss-cross, consume. At times, one who hasn’t been seen in Too Long is reached for. Hushed promises to Get Together Soon are whispered. Not empty promises. Life does get in […]

Infanticide On Demand?
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Infanticide On Demand?

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In Virginia, Gov. Bob McDonnell signs a bill requiring that abortion-minded women be given the opportunity to see an ultrasound of their unborn children — which causes many of them to change their mind. In Oklahoma, women considering abortion must now listen to the beating heart of their babies in utero — which likewise leads […]

Western Survival Depends on Western Pride
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Western Survival Depends on Western Pride

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Claude Guéant, the French interior minister, sparked a firestorm last month when he praised Western values as “superior” to the oppressive ones found elsewhere, namely the Islamic world. Yet the controversy did more to spotlight an area in which the West clearly trails its rivals: self-confidence. If a government official cannot extol the unique virtues […]

99¢ Can Buy You a Practical Answer to Our Nation's Woes
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99¢ Can Buy You a Practical Answer to Our Nation’s Woes

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Archbishop Charles Chaput has written one of the most insightful pieces of our time on modern journalism and the role, or should I say, “non-role” of religion in today’s public square. His searing piece, A Heart on Fire: Catholic Witness and the Next America, is a must read for all those who seek to live […]

Stop What You Are Doing!
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Stop What You Are Doing!

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Run to your local theater and see OCTOBER BABY as soon as you are able! Bring as many of your family and friends with you as possible! This film completes the incomplete public discussion of abortion and the dignity of all human life. The frank beauty and power of its message will anger some but […]

With Jesus, It's Personal!
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With Jesus, It’s Personal!

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We Catholics tend to shy away from spiritual vulnerability, a kind of real intimacy and relationship. We suspect emotionalism — a kind of fluctuating faith anchored in ever-changing emotions. That’s for “those evangelicals” whom we perceive to go from church to church, high to high, we think. For many of us, faith is about being a good solider. […]

What Can We Learn from the Trayvon Martin Story?
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What Can We Learn from the Trayvon Martin Story?

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Was the Trayvon Martin story about race? I can’t sit in judgment on what was in Zimmerman’s heart and mind, but objectively, from what the media has passed on to us, it does look to me like an issue involving prejudice. As a white girl growing up in the fifties and sixties in Washington State, […]

Poem: "Light of Day"
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Poem: “Light of Day”

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Light of Day Sweet robin, rise, and sing a morning song. Your joyful noise invites the coming dawn to shine with you. Lift up your voice! The unknown day springs forth with hope! Carry on — carry on And sing your song at dawn. Carry on — carry on     your cheery whistles     your […]