From a colleague, on a friend of hers who just walked in front of a train. -
Thanks, [Zorak]. We are all grieving--for the people on the train, the crew, his family. He played trumpet at my son's wedding, taught mobility with my students (he was an instructor for the blind), played in the same marching band with me, and it goes on and on. Larry knew the Lord. This depression demon he fought was bigger than I realized. Hug [Old Oligarch]. Hug [Baby V]. Everyone needs to feel real love.
'Nuf preaching.
Blessings! Marie
'Nuf preaching.
Blessings! Marie
LILEKS (James) :: The Bleat: " I understand why glasses are so expensive, since they're made out of those rarest of substances, wire and glass."
Headline of the Day -
Wayward Manatee Entertains Texans
Doesn't it sound like a spam e-mail subject line?
Doesn't it sound like a spam e-mail subject line?
FOXNews.com - Views - Tongue Tied - License to Pray, Yanked Yearbook: "American Indians in Florida are suggesting that the NCAA and other groups trying to force Florida State University to change its team name, the Seminoles, should mind their own beeswax, the Palm Beach Post reports.
The real Seminoles gave the university permission to use the 'Seminoles' nickname and tribal symbols in 1997, but activist groups such as the American Indian Movement and the NCAA are pressuring the university to stop using the 'racist' imagery. Real Seminoles, however, say they are proud of the association and would be somewhat dismayed if out-of-state busybodies had their way.
'I have a problem with other native groups from around the country telling the Seminoles of Florida what is right or wrong for us,' said Louise Gopher, education director for the Seminole Tribe of Florida."
The real Seminoles gave the university permission to use the 'Seminoles' nickname and tribal symbols in 1997, but activist groups such as the American Indian Movement and the NCAA are pressuring the university to stop using the 'racist' imagery. Real Seminoles, however, say they are proud of the association and would be somewhat dismayed if out-of-state busybodies had their way.
'I have a problem with other native groups from around the country telling the Seminoles of Florida what is right or wrong for us,' said Louise Gopher, education director for the Seminole Tribe of Florida."
STLtoday - News - St. Louis City / County: "Ten years ago, 15 percent of the faculty at the nation's 6,600 Catholic elementary and middle schools were priests, brothers or sisters. Today, 5 percent are. "
AP Wire | 05/21/2005 | Napa teen's castle mural triggers high school controversy over "religious" art: "NAPA, Calif. - A religious teen's mural of a castle in the clouds at a Napa high school triggered a battle to stop the painting by students who said it was too religious.
'It's not a religious thing. It's more of a spiritual thing,' insisted painter Kylie Trudelle, a Napa High School senior who totes a bible to school every day and is known as 'Pastor K.'
Students started a petition to stop Trudelle from completing his mural outside the high school art room. They argued that the mural's brick steps leading to a castle in the sky looked like heaven.
Trudelle insisted that the stairway could be leading to any pleasant place, even to Neverland.
The petition was dropped once Trudelle agreed to change the mural. Now, the stairs will lead to a sunspot in the sky, and the castle will be moored to the ground.
'I don't want to cause anyone to get upset,' Trudelle said.
Some students and school officials are asking why no one complained about an adjacent mural that includes an image of the Lady of Guadalupe, an important figure for many Catholic Latino students. The petitioners said that the image was one of many in a mural about Hispanic heritage, not a single ideal, as in Trudelle's painting.
The artist's mother, Laurie Trudelle, said she was surprised by the controversy.
'It's nothing more than a pathway to a nice, beautiful, glorious place that could be anything,' she said."
'It's not a religious thing. It's more of a spiritual thing,' insisted painter Kylie Trudelle, a Napa High School senior who totes a bible to school every day and is known as 'Pastor K.'
Students started a petition to stop Trudelle from completing his mural outside the high school art room. They argued that the mural's brick steps leading to a castle in the sky looked like heaven.
Trudelle insisted that the stairway could be leading to any pleasant place, even to Neverland.
The petition was dropped once Trudelle agreed to change the mural. Now, the stairs will lead to a sunspot in the sky, and the castle will be moored to the ground.
'I don't want to cause anyone to get upset,' Trudelle said.
Some students and school officials are asking why no one complained about an adjacent mural that includes an image of the Lady of Guadalupe, an important figure for many Catholic Latino students. The petitioners said that the image was one of many in a mural about Hispanic heritage, not a single ideal, as in Trudelle's painting.
The artist's mother, Laurie Trudelle, said she was surprised by the controversy.
'It's nothing more than a pathway to a nice, beautiful, glorious place that could be anything,' she said."
I had a good Mother's day, with my wacky mother-in-law. We actually had a really nice visit. We took the baby to Mount Vernon where she saw Baby's First Goat, Baby's First Horse, Baby's First River, etc. Then we went to see George Washington's tomb, and I said to my husband, "Oh look! Baby's First Grave!" We got some funny looks...
THANK YOU JESUS!
The special intention some of you have been praying for is that I would be approved for health insurance. Due to my medical history and some confusion on their part, I was initially rejected and had to file an appeal. Thank GOD, I have been approved. Had I not been approved, many of my various ailments would have been considered pre-existing conditions in the future, plus I would have faced another mountain of paperwork, AND no insurance.
I AM SO RELIEVED. Thank you for your prayers. And thank you for them even if I had not been approved.
I AM SO RELIEVED. Thank you for your prayers. And thank you for them even if I had not been approved.
Lake disappears, baffling villagers "May 19, 1:15 PM (ET)
MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian village was left baffled Thursday after its lake disappeared overnight.
NTV television showed pictures of a giant muddy hole bathed in summer sun, while fishermen from the village of Bolotnikovo looked on disconsolately.
'It is very dangerous. If a person had been in this disaster, he would have had almost no chance of survival. The trees flew downwards, under the ground,' said Dmitry Zaitsev, a local Emergencies Ministry official interviewed by the channel.
Officials in Nizhegorodskaya region, on the Volga river east of Moscow, said water in the lake might have been sucked down into an underground water-course or cave system, but some villagers had more sinister explanations.
'I am thinking, well, America has finally got to us,' said one old woman, as she sat on the ground outside her house. "
MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian village was left baffled Thursday after its lake disappeared overnight.
NTV television showed pictures of a giant muddy hole bathed in summer sun, while fishermen from the village of Bolotnikovo looked on disconsolately.
'It is very dangerous. If a person had been in this disaster, he would have had almost no chance of survival. The trees flew downwards, under the ground,' said Dmitry Zaitsev, a local Emergencies Ministry official interviewed by the channel.
Officials in Nizhegorodskaya region, on the Volga river east of Moscow, said water in the lake might have been sucked down into an underground water-course or cave system, but some villagers had more sinister explanations.
'I am thinking, well, America has finally got to us,' said one old woman, as she sat on the ground outside her house. "
Boston.com / News / Local / For Harvard humanists, end of an era: "''The most religious person at Harvard -- I don't even know if they believe in hell,' says Matt Cutler, a humanist student at Harvard Divinity School."
PLEASE PRAY -
Remember that special intention I mentioned earlier. I could really, really use those prayers now, if you would. The decision will be made in the next 48 hours.
THANK YOU.
THANK YOU.
| You scored as Divine Command. Your life is directed by Divine Command: Your god and religion give you meaning and direction.
“Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations.” --King James Version of the Bible “Even as a tree has a single trunk but many branches and leaves, there is one religion--human religion--but any number of faiths.” --Mahatma Gandhi More info at Arocoun's Wikipedia User Page...
What philosophy do you follow? (v1.03) created with QuizFarm.com |
Chuck Colson: Omaha stakes: "In November 2000, Nebraska voters, by a 70-30 margin, approved the amendment that stated that 'only marriage between a man and a woman shall be valid or recognized in Nebraska.' It further prohibited the recognition of the 'uniting of two persons of the same sex in a civil union, domestic partnership or other similar same-sex relationship.'
The amendment was approved in the wake of a decision by the Vermont Supreme Court. Nebraska's concern, as elsewhere, was that same-sex couples would marry in Vermont, come to Nebraska, and demand legal recognition.
Given the way state and federal judges find previously undiscovered or even unimagined 'rights,' supporters of this and similar amendments wanted to lock this prohibition into their constitution. But even this turned out not to be enough.
Federal judge Joseph Bataillon threw out the amendment, saying it imposed 'significant burdens on both the expressive and intimate associational rights' of gay men and lesbians.
Instead of deferring to the voters' judgment on the nature of marriage, Bataillon chose to insult them. He wrote that the amendment 'goes so far beyond defining marriage that the court can only conclude that the intent and purpose of the amendment is based on animus against this class.'
Ah, yes, if that language sounds familiar to 'BreakPoint' listeners and readers, that’s because it’s straight out of Romer v. Evans. In that case, the Supreme Court overturned a Colorado amendment that prohibited extending anti-discrimination laws to cover sexual orientation. The majority, led by Justice Kennedy, concluded that the only possible reason people would approve such a measure was hatred of homosexuals."
The amendment was approved in the wake of a decision by the Vermont Supreme Court. Nebraska's concern, as elsewhere, was that same-sex couples would marry in Vermont, come to Nebraska, and demand legal recognition.
Given the way state and federal judges find previously undiscovered or even unimagined 'rights,' supporters of this and similar amendments wanted to lock this prohibition into their constitution. But even this turned out not to be enough.
Federal judge Joseph Bataillon threw out the amendment, saying it imposed 'significant burdens on both the expressive and intimate associational rights' of gay men and lesbians.
Instead of deferring to the voters' judgment on the nature of marriage, Bataillon chose to insult them. He wrote that the amendment 'goes so far beyond defining marriage that the court can only conclude that the intent and purpose of the amendment is based on animus against this class.'
Ah, yes, if that language sounds familiar to 'BreakPoint' listeners and readers, that’s because it’s straight out of Romer v. Evans. In that case, the Supreme Court overturned a Colorado amendment that prohibited extending anti-discrimination laws to cover sexual orientation. The majority, led by Justice Kennedy, concluded that the only possible reason people would approve such a measure was hatred of homosexuals."
Happy Birthday to ME!
I am 29 years old today, therefore, today is the last birthday I will ever celebrate. My husband got me an ice cream cake!
Airlines Accepting Donations: Operation Hero Miles: "Use Your Frequent Flyer Miles to Support Our Troops"
Or, it could be founded by Christ.
"The stained glass, the Latin, the menacing cathedrals, the ultra-secret conclaves of cardinals, the monasteries and convents, the intricate hierarchy, the Devil's Advocate, the cult of the Grail, the finding of the silhouette of Jesus and Mary in water stains at the base of public toilets--it's so bizarre, in fact, that you have to ask yourself: If a coalition of flamboyantly gay men, graphic designers, conspiracy theorists and ecstasy addicts got together in a room, lit up, plugged in the lava lamp and played a marathon session of Sim Church, would the end result look too different from the Catholic Church?"
Medication - 43FoldersWiki: "Most health insurance prescription plans have rules regarding how soon a prescription can be refilled. The term 'refill' also applies to any drugs that require a new prescription each month (certain narcotics, ADD-ADHD meds, some psychiatric meds, for example). A common rule is that a refill may be obtained when 75% of the previous prescription has been used following the physician's dosing instructions. This means that a 30-day prescription can actually be refilled after 23 days (rounded up from 22.5). If you get your prescriptions filled at a retail pharmacy on a monthly basis, this means you can refill your script every 24 days. Adhering strictly to this method makes good financial sense whether you pay a percentage of the meds' total cost or a flat fee because you can obtain approximately 15 refills a year as opposed to 12 (365/24=15.21). By far the most important reason for using this method is building up a supply of the essential medications for yourself and your family. If there is a major disruption at any step along the way from manufacture to delivery of life-sustaining medications (widespread power outages, satellite failures, natural disasters) you could potentially have months of vital medications on hand. As always, laws may vary from state to state, and all prescription medications must be stored properly to retain quality and preferably locked away to keep them out of the wrong hands. "
Up From the Underground: "Despite Official Scrutiny, China's Catholics Have Made Gains"
All but nine of the 70 bishops in the government's official church have secretly declared their loyalty to Rome and are now recognized by the Vatican, according to Ren Yanli, China's leading scholar of the church. And almost all of the new bishops approved by the government in the past five years were secretly named in advance by John Paul, said one of the bishops, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"The government knows we only ask them to approve a bishop after the pope has signed off first," he said. "They aren't happy about it, but they don't have a choice. They know the people won't accept a bishop that hasn't been named by the pope." In effect, Ren said, "the government has lost control of the patriotic church."
All but nine of the 70 bishops in the government's official church have secretly declared their loyalty to Rome and are now recognized by the Vatican, according to Ren Yanli, China's leading scholar of the church. And almost all of the new bishops approved by the government in the past five years were secretly named in advance by John Paul, said one of the bishops, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"The government knows we only ask them to approve a bishop after the pope has signed off first," he said. "They aren't happy about it, but they don't have a choice. They know the people won't accept a bishop that hasn't been named by the pope." In effect, Ren said, "the government has lost control of the patriotic church."
First Mother's Day -
It's not the first Mother's Day I have been a mother (Baby V was in utero this time last year) but it is the first one on which I have known I am a mother. We have been multiply blessed.
But in my experience, these 3.5 months of motherhood have been awesome. For the first time in many years, I feel really alive. I love interacting with my baby.
(Probably) to keep expecting mothers from setting their expectations too high, books and friends caution that in the first few months "you'll be getting up every two hours to feed the baby, you won't get any sleep." This is mostly true. But what they don't say is "Every two hours, you'll be cuddling with a tiny, adorable, gentle baby whose only desire is to eat while looking up sweetly into your eyes." So it's not so bad.
Two final thoughts. If you're a curmudgeon, have a baby. It seems counterintuitive - how can someone who is annoyed by people enjoy making another one? It's because everything that is annoying in other people - lying, cheating, blasphemy, disingenousness, malice, willful ignorance, irresponsibility - isn't present in a baby. A baby is always completely honest and straightforward. And even more amazing, he trusts you completely. I was amazed the first time I gave the baby a bottle with some water in it - I thought she would reject it because it didn't taste like milk. But no, she just drank it right down. I could be feeding her Jagermeister for all she cares - if we give it to her, she eats it. I told the Old Oligarch that if I had designed babies, they would be much more skeptical. But ours has an insuperable confidence that we are capable parents, and happily receives whatever we have to give her.
Lastly. When Bill Cosby's son Ennis was murdered in a carjacking a few years ago, he told the press that his son was his "hero." I wondered what he meant by that at time (he's said more about it here), because I couldn't imagine being my mother's hero. But my baby is definitely my hero. I root for her. I want her to win. I want to help her, but I want her, not me, to be the definitive champion over the challenges in her life. If there were Baby V merchandise, I would wear it.
So now that I have experienced motherhood, as blessed as I have been, I am amazed at resentful mothers. The kind who say to their children, "I bore you in my womb for 9 months, and this is the thanks I get?" I can only feel great gratitude for the opportunity to be a mother. Thank you, Baby V, for the best Mother's day ever. Card, schmard.
Blessing 1: Superfast labor. First time mothers are supposed to have long labors, so I was prepared for 18-24 hours of labor. My mother, for example, was in labor for 26 hours with me. I first felt a teeny contraction about 10:45 at night, and Baby V was born only 9 hours later. Our labor class (which was a Bradley method aka "no drugs", which is NOT my philosophy, but we couldn't find anything else by the time we started looking for classes in the seventh month) had prepared us for innumerable potential exceptions to the normal birth process, but not this one! I kept thinking I was timing my contractions wrong, because at 3 am they seemed like they were coming 4 minutes apart, and one is supposed to mosey along to the hospital when they are coming 5 minutes apart. But the doctor said that I should come on in, and they were checking me in when my water broke around 4:45. Experiencing labor is like wedding planning in one regard - there's no way to make it better except to make it shorter.So I have been very lucky. I wanted to list all these blessings to qualify what I am going to say next, because my experience of motherhood has been comparatively gentle compared to that of single mothers, parents of colicky babies, parents of babies with serious medical problems, mothers who are taking care of an infant and recovering from a caesarian section at the same time, etc.
Blessing 2: This is a major one. Despite being a first time mom, I needed none of the surgical interventions that can make recovery from labor significantly more difficult. O.O. and I were hanging out in my recovery room after I delivered, and one of the hospital employees kept coming in, looking around, smiling, and leaving. After a few times, we asked her, "Is there something we can help you with?" She said, "No, I am trying to clean the bathroom, but the patient is in there." I said, "No, I'm the patient!" She had assumed I was not the patient - I looked too good!
Blessing 3: Because it was the middle of the night, we encountered no traffic getting to the hospital. Those of you who live in Northern Virginia know that that can be a major issue around here. Baby also decided to come before the blizzard, rather than during.
Blessing 4: My baby is 100% healthy. Progressing right along the 50% line on the growth chart and hitting her developmental goals more or less on time.
Blessing 5: I work at home, so I can take care of her myself. This is a LOT harder than I thought it would be, but it's better than daycare.
Blessing 6: The baby is super happy. She loves to smile and "talk" with us. She's a real charmer.
But in my experience, these 3.5 months of motherhood have been awesome. For the first time in many years, I feel really alive. I love interacting with my baby.
(Probably) to keep expecting mothers from setting their expectations too high, books and friends caution that in the first few months "you'll be getting up every two hours to feed the baby, you won't get any sleep." This is mostly true. But what they don't say is "Every two hours, you'll be cuddling with a tiny, adorable, gentle baby whose only desire is to eat while looking up sweetly into your eyes." So it's not so bad.
Two final thoughts. If you're a curmudgeon, have a baby. It seems counterintuitive - how can someone who is annoyed by people enjoy making another one? It's because everything that is annoying in other people - lying, cheating, blasphemy, disingenousness, malice, willful ignorance, irresponsibility - isn't present in a baby. A baby is always completely honest and straightforward. And even more amazing, he trusts you completely. I was amazed the first time I gave the baby a bottle with some water in it - I thought she would reject it because it didn't taste like milk. But no, she just drank it right down. I could be feeding her Jagermeister for all she cares - if we give it to her, she eats it. I told the Old Oligarch that if I had designed babies, they would be much more skeptical. But ours has an insuperable confidence that we are capable parents, and happily receives whatever we have to give her.
Lastly. When Bill Cosby's son Ennis was murdered in a carjacking a few years ago, he told the press that his son was his "hero." I wondered what he meant by that at time (he's said more about it here), because I couldn't imagine being my mother's hero. But my baby is definitely my hero. I root for her. I want her to win. I want to help her, but I want her, not me, to be the definitive champion over the challenges in her life. If there were Baby V merchandise, I would wear it.
So now that I have experienced motherhood, as blessed as I have been, I am amazed at resentful mothers. The kind who say to their children, "I bore you in my womb for 9 months, and this is the thanks I get?" I can only feel great gratitude for the opportunity to be a mother. Thank you, Baby V, for the best Mother's day ever. Card, schmard.
U.S. to Spend Billions More to Alter Security Systems - New York Times: "'After 9/11, we had to show how committed we were by spending hugely greater amounts of money than ever before, as rapidly as possible,' said Representative Christopher Cox, a California Republican who is the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee. 'That brought us what we might expect, which is some expensive mistakes. This has been the difficult learning curve of the new discipline known as homeland security.'"
Editor of Jesuit Magazine Leaving : "The editor of the Jesuit weekly America is leaving the magazine after the Vatican received complaints about articles he published on touchy issues such as same-sex marriages and stem cell research, Jesuit officials said Friday."
The Bible as Music: Brahms: "'I know several young composers who are atheists. I have read their scores, and I assure you Joseph [Joachim], that they are doomed to speedy oblivion, because they are utterly lacking in inspiration. Their works are purely cerebral. The great Nazarene knew that law also, and He proclaimed in John 15:4, 'The branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine.' No atheist has ever been or ever will be a great composer.'
-- Brahms, as quoted by Arthur M. Abell in his book, Talks with Great Composers"
-- Brahms, as quoted by Arthur M. Abell in his book, Talks with Great Composers"
DateDex - The Calendar Directory of days, dates & events worldwide - This is a cool site that lets you download all sorts of events, famous people's birthdays, etc., right into your Outlook calendar.
I know I am posting all CWN stuff, but wow. The writing is superb.Bolding done by me.
Catholic World News (CWN): playing it safe
Loyola University (CHICAGO's JESUIT UNIVERSITY, the promotional slicks remind us) has an on-line Student Self-Care page titled Playing It Safe. It begins with a curtsey dropped in the general direction of Mediterranean value-systems and within the space of a paragraph ends up flat on the floor:
Catholic faith maintains that sexual intercourse is to be simultaneously an act of the deepest intimacy and an act open to the conception of new life. Because of this twofold purpose, intercourse is to be engaged in only by marriage partners. Muslims and Jews share similar moral positions. The following information should be used within the context of one's own religious, moral, and ethical values about human sexuality. If you choose to be sexually active, consider your health and peace of mind by playing it safe.
How's that for a specimen of bracing moral guidance for a hormone-soaked 19-year-old?
"Playing it safe" means picking up Loyola's unsubtle if-you-can't-be-good-be-careful hint so as to avoid sexually transmitted diseases. In addition to "low risk" practices -- among which wholesome acts of courtship and mortal sins are listed indiscriminately -- we get a roster of miscellaneous lab supplies conducive to "peace of mind," including jellies, creams, foams, and dental dams.
And dental dams.
Here, at long last, we find the unsurpassably perfect emblem of the liberal Catholic project in general and contemporary Jesuit pedagogy in particular. Note that we're speaking of symbolism. I'd wager that never in the history of human endeavor has a man tempted to the act for which a dental dam is protective ever paused to protect himself thereby. Perhaps I'm deluded -- perhaps Chicago pharmacists will write to boast of their dam sales, insisting that "Jesuits are our best customers"; perhaps the campus ministry chaplains never leave home without a dam in their wallets ("just in case"). But I doubt it. The importance of the dental dam is its symbolic value as a white flag, a concession of moral surrender.
The point of any education is that you come to know something at the end of it that you didn't know at the beginning, and university education is intended to pass on wisdom: a comprehensive view of human nobility together with the knowledge that attends it. Loyola obviously despairs of the possibility of knowing that sodomy is bad -- i.e, of knowing it with the same confidence that it knows latex barriers lower risk of disease. The latter it presents as evident truth, the former as an arbitrary option. We don't even find a link to a site in which the Catholic teaching is defended.
So what invitation does Chicago's Jesuit University extend to the world? What human good does it offer? "Don't fall off into the mindless labor pool. Come to us. Work weekends and summer jobs and dent your parents' savings. Sit at our feet, and study and write and argue for four years, six years, eight years. Throw yourself into history, logic, theology, ethics, metaphysics. Make the Spiritual Exercises. Earn a doctorate in theology or philosophy so as to learn how to order the human life, and at the conclusion of this ascent to the acme of earthly wisdom we can offer you ... a dental dam."
I spoke of the dam as a token of defeat, and it is. But it's no accident that Loyola's masters put it on the same page as what they call "dry kissing." The game is to level all amorous activities to a single plane of moral neutrality, thereby soiling innocent acts by making them blank counters in the same exercise of moral defeatism ("just another form of safe sex"). The dental dam is a white flag of surrender -- but in a war they want to lose.
I don't believe that a doctor, seeing his son on the way out the door of an evening, ever tossed him a dental dam, with an injunction to "play it safe." Were he to do so, it would not be a gesture of fatherly concern but an act of hostility. For the same reason, I believe the Loyola latex lovers -- like those folks begging the Church to give condoms to Africans -- are moral nihilists moved by hatred of moral integrity. Having given in to sexual anarchy, they detest those who haven't. The vandal attacks the unbroken window, the un-splattered wall.
Loyola University (CHICAGO's JESUIT UNIVERSITY, the promotional slicks remind us) has an on-line Student Self-Care page titled Playing It Safe. It begins with a curtsey dropped in the general direction of Mediterranean value-systems and within the space of a paragraph ends up flat on the floor:
Catholic faith maintains that sexual intercourse is to be simultaneously an act of the deepest intimacy and an act open to the conception of new life. Because of this twofold purpose, intercourse is to be engaged in only by marriage partners. Muslims and Jews share similar moral positions. The following information should be used within the context of one's own religious, moral, and ethical values about human sexuality. If you choose to be sexually active, consider your health and peace of mind by playing it safe.
How's that for a specimen of bracing moral guidance for a hormone-soaked 19-year-old?
"Playing it safe" means picking up Loyola's unsubtle if-you-can't-be-good-be-careful hint so as to avoid sexually transmitted diseases. In addition to "low risk" practices -- among which wholesome acts of courtship and mortal sins are listed indiscriminately -- we get a roster of miscellaneous lab supplies conducive to "peace of mind," including jellies, creams, foams, and dental dams.
And dental dams.
Here, at long last, we find the unsurpassably perfect emblem of the liberal Catholic project in general and contemporary Jesuit pedagogy in particular. Note that we're speaking of symbolism. I'd wager that never in the history of human endeavor has a man tempted to the act for which a dental dam is protective ever paused to protect himself thereby. Perhaps I'm deluded -- perhaps Chicago pharmacists will write to boast of their dam sales, insisting that "Jesuits are our best customers"; perhaps the campus ministry chaplains never leave home without a dam in their wallets ("just in case"). But I doubt it. The importance of the dental dam is its symbolic value as a white flag, a concession of moral surrender.
The point of any education is that you come to know something at the end of it that you didn't know at the beginning, and university education is intended to pass on wisdom: a comprehensive view of human nobility together with the knowledge that attends it. Loyola obviously despairs of the possibility of knowing that sodomy is bad -- i.e, of knowing it with the same confidence that it knows latex barriers lower risk of disease. The latter it presents as evident truth, the former as an arbitrary option. We don't even find a link to a site in which the Catholic teaching is defended.
So what invitation does Chicago's Jesuit University extend to the world? What human good does it offer? "Don't fall off into the mindless labor pool. Come to us. Work weekends and summer jobs and dent your parents' savings. Sit at our feet, and study and write and argue for four years, six years, eight years. Throw yourself into history, logic, theology, ethics, metaphysics. Make the Spiritual Exercises. Earn a doctorate in theology or philosophy so as to learn how to order the human life, and at the conclusion of this ascent to the acme of earthly wisdom we can offer you ... a dental dam."
I spoke of the dam as a token of defeat, and it is. But it's no accident that Loyola's masters put it on the same page as what they call "dry kissing." The game is to level all amorous activities to a single plane of moral neutrality, thereby soiling innocent acts by making them blank counters in the same exercise of moral defeatism ("just another form of safe sex"). The dental dam is a white flag of surrender -- but in a war they want to lose.
I don't believe that a doctor, seeing his son on the way out the door of an evening, ever tossed him a dental dam, with an injunction to "play it safe." Were he to do so, it would not be a gesture of fatherly concern but an act of hostility. For the same reason, I believe the Loyola latex lovers -- like those folks begging the Church to give condoms to Africans -- are moral nihilists moved by hatred of moral integrity. Having given in to sexual anarchy, they detest those who haven't. The vandal attacks the unbroken window, the un-splattered wall.
So, she's REALLY desperate -
Defense: England Oxygen-Deprived at Birth - not to have a leash around HER neck.
Remember how lucky you are!
No explanation for firefighter's recovery: "The latest case involves firefighter Donald Herbert, 43, who has lived at a nursing home in suburban Buffalo, for more than seven years.
In December 1995, the roof of a burning home collapsed on him. He went without oxygen for several minutes before he was rescued, and he ended up blind with little, if any, memory. He was largely mute and showed little awareness of his surroundings.
But last Saturday, he suddenly asked for his wife, Linda. And over the next 14 hours, until he fell asleep early Sunday morning, he chatted with her, his four sons and other family and friends, catching up on what he'd missed.
'How long have I been away?' Herbert had asked.
'We told him almost 10 years,' said his uncle, Simon Manka. 'He thought it was only three months.'
...
And Tennessee police officer Gary Dockery, left paralyzed and mute after a 1988 shooting, began speaking to his family one day in 1996, telling jokes and recounting annual winter camping trips. But after 18 hours, he never repeated the unbridled conversation of that day, though he remained more alert than he had been. He died the following year of a blood clot on his lung."
In December 1995, the roof of a burning home collapsed on him. He went without oxygen for several minutes before he was rescued, and he ended up blind with little, if any, memory. He was largely mute and showed little awareness of his surroundings.
But last Saturday, he suddenly asked for his wife, Linda. And over the next 14 hours, until he fell asleep early Sunday morning, he chatted with her, his four sons and other family and friends, catching up on what he'd missed.
'How long have I been away?' Herbert had asked.
'We told him almost 10 years,' said his uncle, Simon Manka. 'He thought it was only three months.'
...
And Tennessee police officer Gary Dockery, left paralyzed and mute after a 1988 shooting, began speaking to his family one day in 1996, telling jokes and recounting annual winter camping trips. But after 18 hours, he never repeated the unbridled conversation of that day, though he remained more alert than he had been. He died the following year of a blood clot on his lung."
eBay Relents on Eucharist Policy in Response to Massive Protests - more than 33,000 petitioners according to another story.
You didn't know that Isaac Asimov died of AIDS -
contracted through a blood transfusion. See description of the epilogue of his autobiography at the Isaac Asimov Home Page
Catholic World News (CWN) - war against the working male:
Suppose your crusade demanded lowering blue collar male attendance from, say, 4% to less than 1%. How would you go about it?
You'd go in for full court stripe-to-stripe buzzer-to-buzzer gender bending. You'd choose your presiders from among swish counter-tenors. You'd coach them in theatrical prancing and homiletics. You'd pack the sanctuary with testy, power-suited women reading inclusive language in scolding voices. You'd choose the most sugary musical dreck you could find, and make sure it was performed in an unsingable register. You'd eliminate private space, forcing everyone into lots of touching and interpersonal contact. In short, you'd do exactly what our betters have done over the past 40 years to 'renew' the liturgy, for which they ceaselessly congratulate themselves on their pastoral sensibility.
...
Progressives would have us think they're being egalitarian in crying up an indisputably elitist agenda. Like the Cambridge matron who strikes a blow for world peace by putting an 'Abolish Apartheid' bumper sticker on her Volvo, the rhetoric of inclusiveness allows one to mask self-indulgence as an imperative of justice. In fact, it's a dishonest yet socially acceptable way of excluding undesirables. It's not in doubt what the preferences of hourly wage-earners are. We know pentecostals have made huge inroads among blue collar Catholics; we know miners and steamfitters aren't flocking into the liberal churches; we know these churches have made zero accommodations in response. Let's call a spade a spade: the project of 'Pastoral Inclusiveness' is designed to repulse all but the enlightened elite.
One prefers, after all, to celebrate diversity among one's own."
Suppose your crusade demanded lowering blue collar male attendance from, say, 4% to less than 1%. How would you go about it?
You'd go in for full court stripe-to-stripe buzzer-to-buzzer gender bending. You'd choose your presiders from among swish counter-tenors. You'd coach them in theatrical prancing and homiletics. You'd pack the sanctuary with testy, power-suited women reading inclusive language in scolding voices. You'd choose the most sugary musical dreck you could find, and make sure it was performed in an unsingable register. You'd eliminate private space, forcing everyone into lots of touching and interpersonal contact. In short, you'd do exactly what our betters have done over the past 40 years to 'renew' the liturgy, for which they ceaselessly congratulate themselves on their pastoral sensibility.
...
Progressives would have us think they're being egalitarian in crying up an indisputably elitist agenda. Like the Cambridge matron who strikes a blow for world peace by putting an 'Abolish Apartheid' bumper sticker on her Volvo, the rhetoric of inclusiveness allows one to mask self-indulgence as an imperative of justice. In fact, it's a dishonest yet socially acceptable way of excluding undesirables. It's not in doubt what the preferences of hourly wage-earners are. We know pentecostals have made huge inroads among blue collar Catholics; we know miners and steamfitters aren't flocking into the liberal churches; we know these churches have made zero accommodations in response. Let's call a spade a spade: the project of 'Pastoral Inclusiveness' is designed to repulse all but the enlightened elite.
One prefers, after all, to celebrate diversity among one's own."
Some decry retirement despite priest shortage (HamptonRoads.com/Pilot Online): " After receiving a complaint from a visitor to Holy Family about the priest's unorthodoxy, Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo wrote to 'strongly suggest' that Quinlan retire.
'I had a visit with him and told him I wanted another year and he said, 'No, I'm retiring you,' Quinlan said last week after talking with the bishop. "
'I had a visit with him and told him I wanted another year and he said, 'No, I'm retiring you,' Quinlan said last week after talking with the bishop. "
A Heart for Healing the Homosexual: Former Homosexual Reaches Out to Hurting Homosexual Community: "Now, there's no doubt about the fact that the Bible calls homosexuality an abomination. But God also calls lying an abomination. We are all fallen sinners. We have all fallen short of the glory of God, and the key is not to try to change someone from 'gay' to straight. It's to give them the gospel of Christ. If they bring up the homosexual issue, sometimes I'll say, 'Let's not even discuss that right now. Let's talk about eternity and Jesus Christ.'"
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