Shout your abortion!

Hurrah for abortion!  This gives the lie to those former conservative Christians who now align more and more with the political Left.  Many who are proudly 'post conservative Christian' base their move on the wretchedness of all to the Right, with belief in the profound purity and goodness of all to the left of center.

As if to demand more blind obedience to the lie, you have an entire movement growing in popularity that calls on women to celebrate and rejoice in as many abortions as possible.  Love abortion, celebrate abortion, wear every abortion as badge of honor and a finger in the eye of those wretched men.

The only choice post-conservative Christian types have is to dig hole, insert head, and hope God isn't paying attention.  Otherwise they will be forced to admit that those who embrace the sins of the Left may not do it because they are compelled to by conservatives.  They might do it because they love doing it.

Focus on the victims

Not the police brutality.   Not the racism.  Not America's past.  Not religion as a whole.  Not Christianity.  Try those on for size. 

After all, one of the common retorts to 9/11 memorials is that we should focus on the victims, not the terrorists or not Islam.  I'm fine with that.  As always, however, let's keep it consistent, or your hypocrisy and prejudices might show.

I thought of this as I read this explanation for a controversy buzzing around internet media.  I have no idea what's going on, since all the article does is say right wing media is wrong, but doesn't really explain what actually happened or what as actually said.  In the story, we're told that someone, possibly a Muslim given the name, put up counter-posters to last year's memorial, including one saying 'Focus on the Terrorists, not Islam.' 

Fine, as I say, let's do that always, or never.  I'm done with the hypocrisy and double standards that have disguised themselves as principles over the years. 

Adios Pathoes

I am done with Patheos.  I will no longer go there - and that includes that train wreck of barking mad leftist tribalism built on calumny and character assassination and judgementalism, CAEI.   I stopped going to CAEI on my own some time ago, but would visit when someone sent me a  link, or emailed about it, or posted on FB.  Given Mark's penchant for banning anyone and everyone who doesn't join in his political hatred of conservatism or stand within his circle of awesome buddies, I guess many saw me as a chance to speak to his blog when Mark had isolated himself from too much overt criticism.

In any event, Patheos is a den of evil and sin and hate.  There are, no doubt, some fine people with fine blogs.  I think of Dave Armstrong, or Father Longenecker.  And I'm sure some of those fine blogs are from people outside of the Christian fold, conservative or otherwise.

But it's too much chaff to sort through to get to the wheat.  On the whole, Patheos is a left leaning, secular site that, like most on the Left, favors radical anything over the Christian Faith.  Much of the action in the comboxes wavers between the adolescent ravings of a spoiled brat, to outright advocacy of heresies, blasphemies, intrinsic evils and sins that cry out to heaven for vengeance.  If all of that didn't align with the basic designs of Patheos in general, I could stomach it.  Knowing that the most anti-Christian and pro-radical Leftist comments are in line with Patheos's basic ideals made it all the worse.

I say all this after Mark Shea wrote a grand, Spirit led (his words) post calling for healing, compassion and love, he was still spewing his tribalist bilge on another post.  It's like the fundamentalist railing against the evils of alcohol between swigs of Jack Daniel's.  And yet, his is far more par for the course at Patheos than a glaring exception, as this fine piece demonstrates.   Note the comments, those are important, too.  The entire post is based on 'we all know their wretched and evil hearts.'

We're called to avoid the near occasion of sin.  Patheos is, in many ways, the worst of the Internet.  I'm already becoming convinced that my boys are right, that social media is mostly bad with a few shards of goodness.  Like some of the blogs, not all of the commenters who frequent Patheos are bad either.  Some, Christian, Conservative, or otherwise, are quite good, mature, thoughtful, and charitable.  Even if they have strong opinions contrary to my own beliefs.

Many, however, are the worst of what social media stands produces.  So why bother?  At best, it does no good.  At worst you can find yourself being sucked in.  Thanks to Mark, who threw my name out on his blogs to be hashed and trashed by his faithful, I've already taken a beating there.  It's easy to want a pound of flesh, or even begin to fall into the sin of judgementalism or arrogance when you scan the many bad examples that define most of the sites and their visitors.

So from now on, if someone sends an email or posts a FB post noting the crazy, the evil, the sin, the blaspheme, the heresy, or whatever else one sees across Patheos on a regular basis (including, but not limited to, what one often sees on CAEI or other similar blogs), I'll respond.  But I will no longer follow the link.  If I could ban Patheos entirely from my internet, I'd do it.  For now, I'm done going there.  Life is just too short.

What the world needs now

Is more cornstalk bundles

This is a neighbor, selling the stalks from their garden.  We've long given up on our garden, owing to the growing trees overhead.  As we head into the season of the year (September 1st through Easter and all the joys it brings), I can already feel the little burst of excitement, even though the dog days are still reminding us it's summer.

Amish cornstalks, similar to the ones I remember

I'm old enough to remember when some small, family farms would still have cornstalks out in their fields following harvest.  That was when we lived out in the country, as I've written about before.  I was about four years old.  We had our own garden with a pretty impressive pumpkin patch.  We grew quite a bit of corn, and Dad made sure we got the corn stalks out for decorations. We even had a bat that flew around some trees that separated the driveway from the garden.  Talk about classic harvest vibes.

Sigh.  Fall can't get here soon enough.  And by fall, I mean the day after Labor Day.  Then it's cider and apple pie and pumpkin donuts and getting ready for the fun.  Even if it is a staggering heat wave with temperatures in the 80s. 

Sitcom actress schools Villanova professor

In an embarrassing attempt to put the established order over the concerns of the Gospel witness and the least of these, a Villanova University professor waves the 'Alt-Right' banner in the direction of those wanting more information about Pope Francis.  Of course Alt-Right means Nazi, racist, racism (the unforgivable sin), irredeemable deplorable, and all that.  A desperate attempt to smear and threaten anyone who dares raise a finger to point in the direction of Pope Francis or the always precious LGBT movement within the Church.

Patricia Heaton, of Everybody Loves Raymond and The Middle fame, and nowhere close to being a radical right winger, steps in and smacks him down.  Rod Dreher, who has been doing serious heavy lifting on this latest scandal outbreak, unpacks that and the growing calls for at least someone to do something in light of these charges.

How not to leave the Catholic Church

Or any Christian tradition.  Damon Linker demonstrates.  For my money, you don't lob hand grenades and nuclear missiles back at the Church, no matter what.  You might as well say 'step aside Satan, I've got this.'  As one who is still racked to my core over leaving the Church (prayerfully only for a season), I can't fathom why someone would do it this way, especially when the have the public ear. 

I do think the Church is going to be shaken to the ground, as will much of Christianity, during this present darkness.  But once the dust settles, I believe we'll have recaptured a truly Christian model of Creation, rather than the Christianized secular model we've been trying to compromise with for too many generations. I can't help but believe that will make all the difference in the world, and the world to come. 

The press is beginning to choose

There's an old story about  Lyndon Johnson.  Upon hearing Walter Cronkite's infamous 'mired in stalemate' report regarding the Tet Offensive, Johnson quipped 'I've lost Cronkite, I've lost middle America.'  Or something like it.

Well, Pope Francis is beginning to lose his base in the media.  He already raised their ire this year by reaffirming what everyone with a brain knows: he won't - in fact he can't - change Church teaching where sacred leftist cows like abortion and gay sex are concerned.  It's noteworthy that he made a couple clear statements this year to that effect, and it's this year that the abuse scandal has once again become round the clock, headline news.

Not that there isn't reason it should be news.  But the press has done little about following up on scandal stories over the last few years, preferring to focus on the eternal awesomeness of Pope Francis.  So when the story broke that Pope Francis himself might have been part of the big CYA part of the Catholic scandal, it was obvious that the press wasn't sure what to do.

It is worth taking a moment to note that this time the scandal is different.  When it first broke almost 20 years ago, secularism already had spent generations weaning Europeans and Americans away from Christianity and the Christian West.  Nonetheless, the Faith in general, and Catholicism in particular, still held a certain 'cultural' place of respect for your average Joe and Jane.  But over the last decade or more, the secular moved to the radical Left, and more and more have been taught to despise Christianity, along with whites, the European tradition and America itself, above all things.

So as the scandal re-erupts, this time it is in the context of open hostility toward the Faith and its Gospel.  When news came that Pope Francis could have been nothing less than a major player in the worst elements of the scandal, the press wavered.  He's been their guy to trash traditional Catholicism, Christianity and the Christian West.  Do we throw him under the bus?  Do we circle the wagons?

Progressive and left leaning Catholics immediately dropped focus on the victims and declared jihad against any accusers of Francis, resorting to baseless accusations, name calling (homophobes being my favorite), character assassination, and all the tricks of the modernist trade.  Nonetheless, Archbishop Vigano has patiently, and methodically, answered the worst charges against him in a way that appears to be gaining traction.  He's done this while Pope Francis has refused to respond, and his supporters have tried to play the 'but Global Warming liberal policies are what matters!' card.  Meanwhile, more and more people are remembering that even according to his most ardent supporters, Pope Francis has made questionable decisions relating to the scandal over the years. 

And now you hear Archbishop Vigano being referred to as 'whistleblower' (a label of endearment in our modern times), and CNN has penned an editorial suggesting its time for Pope Francis to resign.  What this means, I don't know.  After several days of fanatical defense of Pope Francis and double barrel attacks aimed at whipping up hatred against the accusers, Mark Shea has backed off with an 'I'm hurting, let's just love' post.

What does it all mean?  Is there handwriting on the wall they are beginning to see?  What will it portend? Has the press decided it hates Christianity more than it loves Pope Francis, and is willing to throw him under the bus if it means a victory over its great enemy?   Are 'let's just love' posts simply being led by the Spirit or are they due to other signs of the times?  I don't know.  I just know the Catholic Church has taken a beating, and it's a beating that has hurt the entire Gospel witness at a time when the Faith is under direct attack.  Those who have tried to insist all Christians are as bad as the worst of the Catholic scandal have only hurt, not helped.  When the world is using a scandal to justify hatred of the Faith, jumping up and saying all Christians are as just as bad takes a special level of dumb, or certainly a special level of something.

Again, the original scandal broke when Christianity was being pushed out of the public forum, but still held a place in the West's heart.  The last decades have seen open antagonism and attacks and hatred aimed exclusively at the Christian Faith and its traditions beyond any other belief system in the world. Entire generations have been raised to think Christianity and the civilization it built are alone the only forces of evil in the world.  This latest scandal, no doubt, merely affirms what they have been taught all along.

So we'll see.  It's as ugly as you get right now.  I can't help but think part of it is how many Christians have been willing to bow before the great heresy of the age and attempt to compromise with something wholly antithetical and hostile to the Faith.  But that's just me.

UPDATE: Apparently Mark has deleted a comment on his call for healing.  The comment was from one of his regulars, someone he often agrees with.  Yet the individual is foaming at the mouth radical partisan left, declaring any and all to the right of center (including evangelical converts) to  be all the leftist movement says they are.  The last couple days have seen her post multiple 'Francis or no  church, it's the vile non-liberals like ETWN that must be eradicated!'.  Her first comment on Mark's call for healing was a similar 'evil all conservatives' screed.  And it's been deleted.  As have all of her comments from the previous post about the accusations against Pope Francis.  In the spirit of judging the best possible motives, I'll go with Mark being serious about healing.  If he so quickly deletes a person who has long been on his side of the debate for obviously bringing partisanship to a call for unity, then we must assume the best of intentions.  And offer prayers for healing ourselves.

UPDATE II: Alas.  It looks like the removed posts are due to a larger issue, like the individual canceled her disqus account or something like that.  It certainly wouldn't be because disqus banned her, given what disqus allows in other quarters.  But it wasn't Mark trying to keep it unified. In fact, it's the usual 'thank you for your wonderful blog (what do we care about any personal attacks or false accusations), and of course  'thank you for going after those conservative types who are the real threat to the pure Church'.  Sigh. I don't know if I'll go back there, or to any blog on Pathoes.  Why bother?

White people can't say monkey

Add one more to the 902,388,934,812,376,612,389 things you can't say or do in America, based exclusively on your skin color, gender, sexual preferences, national origin or religion.  Thank goodness we're a free country, or I'd be worried. 

Definition of monkey with

informal

: to handle or play with (something) in a careless way : to monkey around with (something) 

• I told you not to monkey with the lawn mower.

An athlete dares to not be liberal

And the sports media and Leftist rage organs explode.  In this case, the perpetrator is a wrong-thinking Red Soxer who posted a familiar meme about gun control, featuring everyone's favorite go-to bad guy - Hitler.

Of course the problem isn't that using Hitler in an argument is bad (see almost daily Leftist comparisons to Trump and Hitler), or that it's wrong for an athlete to say offensive things (see Kaepernick's celebrated appraisal of racist America and its racist cops).  The problem is he dares to defy the Marxist movement's attempt to eradicate liberties and freedoms, including the freedom to speak against the Left.

Good news?  He hasn't buckled and renounced his views. Keep it up!  Hit a homer for freedom.

More news about the hip 21st century racism

Mary Beth Maxwell has been forced to resign.  She used the N-Word.  She did not call anyone the word, but used it to demonstrate its harmful and hateful impact. She has white skin.  Enough said.  When you have racism in a society, it does these things, and gets defended by the same type of people who defended the racism of old.

The only difference?  People who believed blacks or Jewish people were inferior or should be held to different standards or got what they deserved were sitting on centuries of such bilge becoming ingrained in the social teaching.  The new racism that says whites should be treated the way Jews or blacks were treated is almost overnight.  Those embracing it have absolutely no excuse, and are far worse than all those they so roundly condemn who came before.

The beheading of John the Baptist

Here, and here.  In contrast to here, where Mark Shea and some of his regulars make it clear that if anything happens to Pope Francis, it will be over the broken, bloody reputation of his accusers.   On the day in which we remember the slaughter of the messenger of God's Incarnate Word, Mark's ministry is a stark reminder of how easily a Christian ministry can become everything the Christian Faith warns against.

More on the sex abuse scandal latest

Rod Dreher takes a more mature and balanced look.  At the end of the day, it's looking ugly.  Pope Francis is still innocent.  But there is certainly reason for a full investigation.  Not an investigation that promises to drag anyone and everyone over ten miles of broken glass if they dare point to Pope Francis.  But one that seeks the Truth.  Most I hear are in two camps: they want the truth, or they're desperately trying to protect homosexuality, Pope Francis, and the status quo when convenient.  I'm going with the first camp.

The single best thing about Archbishop Viganò's accusations?

Many of the same individuals who spent the last year throwing due process, presumption of innocence and burden of proof out the window are all of a sudden worried about the same.  I've not seen so many people appeal to the importance of due process, actual evidence and presumption of innocence for some time.  Nice to see those old fads making a comeback.

From Mark during the Roy Moore kerfuffle:

Mark now, during the Pope Francis kerfuffle

He's not alone of course.  Many who are now ringing the 'but evidence!' bell even a month or two ago were happy with 'accuse, then destroy'.  Ah, where is Roy Moore when we need him?

Bonus points for Mark adopting CNN's headline framing the questions surrounding Pope Francis as a 'coup.'  That would be right up with the always fair and balanced National Catholic Reporter not too subtly calling it a putsch. That term should invoke memories of the infamous Beer Hall Putsch, which was the Nazis' premature coup attempt.  In other words, accusers of Pope Francis?  Think Nazi.  If you're not liberal, you're Nazi.  It works for the secular Left, why not use it in the Catholic Left just the same?

Again, I have a sneaky feeling that we're going to be seeing the same scandal erupt in another 20 years or so, since the emphasis seems more and more on protecting ideologies and personalities than, you know, protecting the innocent.

UPDATE: award for dumbest statement in the scandal may deserve to be taken away from Cardinal Chaput.  It could now belong to this clever advocate of post-modern ignorance, who seems to suggest the whole scandal is not due to rampant homosexuality or compromise with modernist approaches to sexuality, but rather due to that 'prissy' old talk about how sex was between a man and woman in marriage and not to be flaunted (you know, modesty and all).  Freud would be proud.  Some day Catholics are going to have to learn that a puritanical approach to sex is not - repeat NOT - the biggest problem the Church has.

UPDATE II: The sin and evil continue, as Archbishop Viano is called a liar, accused of being in bed with the Koch brothers (my favorite), and it's all a vast right wing conspiracy.  With childish attempts to deflect from any potential damaging accusations against Pope Francis.  The madness and insanity is enough to make a sane person think there must be something there.  If one of the commenters is correct, kudos to the president of Ave Maria University for saying, in a nutshell, we don't give a damn what Pope Francis is accused of, he's our guy, how dare anyone say anything.  Remember a week ago when thousands of assault and rape victims mattered?  Yeah.  Seems like ancient history now.

It's almost like the Catholic Church isn't in the middle of a horrible crisis

The San Jose Diocese buys a retirement home for its Bishop.  Price tag?  A whopping 2.3 million dollars.  Yep.  I believe the term is 'Bad Optics.'  Seldom in my life have I met an institution where so many in it go out of their way to live up to as many negative stereotypes as possible. 

Prayers for the Church, and the broader Christian Faith, are in order.

The important things

So the boys were all back before the coming school year.  They actually had Friday off, so my wife took a half day and we cooked up our seasonal 'harvest fest'.  We do that this early in order to gobble up all of the needed fried veggies, in addition to fried potatoes, corn on the cob, fresh cut green beans, and all the fixins.

My youngest, seeing the opportunity of all the boys actually in the same room together, seized the moment and asked for a game of Dark Tower, a blast from my past that I wrote about here and here.  Again, they adore the brutally random unfairness of it all.  Our second oldest won the day.

All is right with the world

The night was spent with more family time, games, and a chance for the brothers to hang out together.  The next morning was actually a rare event in which nobody had to wake up.  It's the first time in a long, long time.  Our successful Dark Tower besieger had to work a 1-9 shift, so once everyone up we fixed a nice breakfast of pancakes, sausage and bacon and fresh maple syrup.  Fun times.

Yum

That night he came home early, not feeling well.  That's unusual for him.  One thing about my boys - they all have excellent work ethics at their jobs.  When shopping at the store where my middle two boys work, I spoke to one of them as he walked by.  A minute later, one of the store managers came up to me.  He asked if they were my sons.  I told them they were.  He shook my hand and said they are wonderful assets to the store, hard working and a pleasure to have on board at the company.  That's the sort of thing that makes a father proud.

A teenager no more

In any event, the weekend continued apace.  Our birthday boy came home Saturday night under the weather, and several ended up missing church due to early onset illness.  It looks like we caught in time, so everyone was up and somewhat ready to go by early dinner time.  It was courtesy of our resident former-soon-to-be-chef (he's had to change his major owing to the appearance of a near fatal allergy to fish).  T-bone steak and all the sides.  He has this knack for grilling steak so that it is almost as tender as a slice of bologna.  And the sauce he makes to marinade is to die for.  It was more medium well than my taste for well done, but it was delicious nonetheless,

Yum, Part II

The extra rest helped, and by evening they were at least up to the usual gift giving and cake and ice cream.  Then more games with the family, taking advantage of the fact that on Monday everything changed.  Our third oldest started a full time job.  He will be doing what his brothers did, living at home for a year and accumulating the money to go through college.  For him it's an associates degree to begin training in the police force.  He will likely go to college for an undergrad degree down the road.

L -R: Our oldest, my Mom, our Third son, our Birthday Boy, and our youngest

The older two are going to college, and our youngest is now the lone homeschooled child.  Given that last year he actually asked me what 'reality television' meant, I assume the homeschool is working.  All said and done, a fine weekend.  At this stage in life, those family get together times are few and far between.  When they happen, I'm reminded how fortunate and blessed I am.  A good family.  Four boys who are hard working, trying to do well in life, going to church even when others in the family can't, good hearted and attempting to be good citizens in the world.  Not bad.

So happy birthday to our second oldest.  Blessings on him and all the boys, my mom and my long suffering wife.  All said and done, not much to complain to God about.  That's the sort of thing that makes life go around.

A birthday hug from my Father's Day gift - happy times

To depart and return with changes

School is around the corner.  We still homeschool, but there is only one little'un left to teach.  My extra time is spent being a caregiver for my Mom, who now has a moderate level of dementia.  My Dad also had Alzheimer's.  I suppose there's little hope for me.  I will say that being a caregiver for someone with dementia is everything it's cracked up to be.

I finally saw the movie Raging Bull last night.  I'd seen bits and pieces but never the whole thing.  I will say I have no clue what the rave reviews are about.  I found it a sub-par movie.  Yes, De Niro gave his usual stellar performance.  Pesci was his typical F-bomb laden hot head.  But the story seemed chopped up, there was no real sense of time passing until the later part of the movie.  And I often felt there was an entire story arc going on that I was not privy to.  Perhaps if I knew the life and times of the real Jake Lamotta it would have made sense.  I understand that in 1980, the level of expletives and graphic fight scenes would have elicited oohs and ahs.  But on the whole, it was one of the more disappointing movies I've seen in a while.  Perhaps because it's suddenly found itself thrust into the top 5 spot of greatest movie of all time, I just had impossible expectations.  Or I'm so used to  the De Niro/Pesci schtick that this one just didn't deliver.  I don't know.

Anyhoo, school is upon us.  I'm also looking for some type of at work from home income, though it isn't easy.  I'm not tech savvy, and many valid at-home jobs lean on some form of technical know-how. So that will be a challenge.  With two boys now in school, we need to have a little more moola than we do.

Finally, when I return I'm going to shake things up a bit for the blog.  Times have changed, life moves on, and I find myself going in different directions than when this all began.  I started this blog in 2010 (wow, my oldest would have been around 12 years old), for very distinct purposes, none of which panned out.  So I will be explaining the new direction when I get back. 

In addition to school, our second oldest's 20th birthday is this weekend.  So we'll have plenty to do celebration-wise.  Owing to the varied and hectic schedules of everyone, the family get together time isn't what it used to be.  But everyone will be here tonight, so we're having our customary seasonal all veggie harvest meal.  Don't let it full you, it isn't as healthy as it sounds.  We don't have a garden anymore, so we go to a local farm and orchard to pick up the fresh veggies.  It's probably cheaper in the long run.  But in addition to the healthier items, we will feature several helpings of fried veggies - green tomatoes, squash, peppers.  Nothing takes away the health value of produce than dunking it in flour and boiling oil.

So that's the plan.  I'll be back at some point next week.  I'll lay out the plans for the blog going forward at that time.  Thanks to everyone for the visits, the comments, the outreach and the insights.  It was always the insights of others that were the best part of blogging.  Prayers will be appreciated, and returned in kind.  Will be back then.  God bless and TTFN.

When the media lies

Yes, sometimes it misrepresents things on purpose.  Take for instance the headlines that flew around the other day: Truth isn't truth!   Supposedly stated by Rudy Giuliani during an interview with Chuck Todd.  It was supposed to be one of those 'Gotcha!' moments that fits the narrative 'Ain't them conservative Trump types a bunch of lying dummies?'

Unfortunately, it wasn't really, which is why the story seems to have fizzled.  Here is that ethics site again, pointing out that the real culprit was Todd's non-interview/ambush in devotion to tripping up Giuliani, and the subsequent damage such tactics are doing to the press's reputation.

The Pope's letter to the Faithful

Is looked at here, and here, and here.

Bottom line: It was big on fluff and emotions, low on accountability, solutions and wanting to look at the hard questions.  Even the press - which has been a pretty big part of the Francis Fan Club - noted a particular vacancy in the hard solutions department.

Some Catholics are trying to circle the wagons, blaming anyone and everyone else under the sun.  Others are busy defending homosexuality or other liberal influences in the Church.  Some clergy appear desperate to keep things as close to the way they've been, despite the disastrous results.

On the whole, however, it seems Catholics - and their brothers and sisters in other Christian traditions - are willing to look beyond the agendas or job security and are willing to ask the hard questions, seek the hard answers, and do what it takes for the sake of the actual Gospel.

No, they don't want to purge all bishops, guilty or innocent.  That sort of thing smacks of nothing more than a sensational scorched earth reaction for the cameras, while not really addressing the deeper issues.  Many who are advocating that are also the ones desperately trying to keep our eyes off of the homosexual elephant in the sacristy.

Nonetheless, I'm somewhat optimistic.  Seeing such a catastrophic train wreck, and seeing the obvious lack of desire for the world to say 'Ah shucks, who are we to judge', it might be time to realize the problems didn't start with Pope Francis, or Vatican II, or even the 20th century.   It might be that the Church, like so much of the Christian Faith, has been off the rails for some time.

BTW, I should add that, like most sane people, I don't think homosexuality is the only cause of the problems.  Like others, however, I am aghast at how many in our world and in the press simply will not look at that issue.  As I said here, it's strange that there is no end to the suffering and death we're willing to tolerate rather than walk back the modern ideals of the sexual revolution.

Robespierre is walked to the guillotine

So Asia Argento, one of the most vocal and visible women in the always vague #MeToo movement, is being accused of sexual assault and cover up.  Oops.   In her case, this could amount to actual criminal charges due to the age of the victim in question.

Now, it's important to remember that she is innocent until proven guilty.  We need evidence that she actually committed a crime or did anything wrong.  She has a right to be heard, and we should withhold judgement until due process has taken place.  You know, all of the things that the #MeToo movement has helped throw under the bus.

The #MeToo movement could have been many good things, but increasingly became none of them.  It became a tool for feminists to browbeat men, for Leftists to throw out a thousand years of English and American legal principles, and for those who would topple the country, a chance to set up a society where more and more Americans are scared to burp in public lest someone dig it up twenty years from now and use it against them.

Rather than jump forward and attempt to get a pound of flesh out of this, I propose taking the high road.  Allow Ms. Argento the same courtesy that the #MeToo movement so deftly discarded.  Allow her to be heard, to be assumed innocent, and wait for actual evidence before making any judgement calls.

Who knows, perhaps this will help get the #MeToo movement back on a track that can do some good, rather than be a chance for ramrodding agendas and advancing vendettas.

Defending liberalism in the wake of the abuse scandal

Mark Shea does the important work here.  His first flaw is the notion that those who are wanting to look at the question of homosexuality are somehow using it to deflect from the Bishops. I'm sure there are some who are.  But I have heard plenty of people wanting both to hold the Bishops accountable and look at such things as the modernist/progressive trends within the last few generations of Catholicism. 

Just yesterday, many decidedly conservative Catholics made a great deal about the daily readings, with the emphasis on holding the shepherds of Israel's flock accountable.  Mark, on the other hand, does what he says not to do.  He portrays it as an either/or.  You must either go after the Bishops or you can try to investigate the role of homosexuality or feminism or other liberal influences in this longstanding affront to the Gospel.

Fact is, you can - and should - do both.  Mark's dogged defense of Catholicism's recent moves toward liberalism is no different than any who would try to deflect to something like homosexuality to avoid going after the Bishops.  His willingness to defend even the rather unChristian notion that a person should be labeled according to his sexuality because it's what the world nowadays says to do shows how far he will go in circling the wagon.

Right now the Church is at a crossroads.  Will Catholics go beyond the divisions to find the solution?  Or are they so entrenched that they will erect barbed wire fences around this or that pet priority?  Only by looking at all - and I mean all - of the factors behind this terrible scandal can the Church hope to recover and move forward.

It should be noted that by looking at all of the problems, perhaps the Church will lose its place among the privileged and the beautiful people who get invited to all the best parties.  I hope that's a price that Catholics are willing to pay.  The good news is that most, contrary to what Mark suggests, are looking at all of the parts that have played out in this sad tragedy.  And least so far.

Unfortunately, as Mark demonstrates all too well, there is a concerted effort by not a few Catholics to insist that no matter how egregious the sins of this horrific scandal, and no matter how many are hurt, there are some questions they simply will not allow to be asked.

BTW, I won't discuss the comments section on Mark's post, which is made up of folks cheering the usual pro-gay, or anti-JPII or similar ideals that are a staple on his blog.  There comes a time when I might as well go back to the Friendly Atheist for all it's worth. 

Mob rule and anarchy at the University of North Carolina

Modern racism embraced by our elites, and not a few Christians

The group identity politics of the Marxist/Leninist Left continues to bear fruit.  Not happy with the law, a group of students took it upon themselves to destroy a Confederate statue at the University of North Carolina.  It was not a statue dedicated to a particular racist slave owner.  It was dedicated to remembering the Nazi Confederate soldiers who fought and died in the Civil War.

This American Iconoclasm is one of the fruits of the post-modern Left.  The 'identity politics' that it promotes encourages such vigilantism.  It also discourages such outdated notions as forgiveness, mercy, reconciliation, humility or unity.  It assures an ever younger group of adherents that they are beyond reproach, the universe should cater to them, and that their judgement is infallible.  Therefore they judge, they destroy.

It's odd, but I can remember studying American history in school.  It was the 70s and 80s.  Two big themes were in historical studies in those days.  One them was that all of those other cultures were not only bad, no matter what they did.  The Persians, Huns, Mongols, Hittites, Assyrians - you name it.  They may have had their rough spots, but they were better than bad, and we should understand and celebrate their good side.

Parallel to that was a growing emphasis on the sins of the West.  Both Europe, Christianity and America were put under the microscope.   The victories and exclusive blessings of the West and America weren't ignored, but we were often reminded of the bad, the sins, the failings - how we were often no better than all of the other cultures and civilizations in the world.

One of the examples I remember?  In a lesson on the Revolution in high school, I remember a picture of Colonists pulling down a statue of King George.  The point of it?  That, alone with stories of tarring and feathering and other such acts, just showed that the Colonists could be bad, too.  They could engage in mob violence, property destruction and other forms of violence just like we see in other parts of the world.  We are no better because we were no better.  Funny that now that same type of violence is finding fruit in the same liberal movement that used such examples to show the sins of our past.

Of course we see that this mentality is hardly confined to old statues, since the same Left is engendering a whole new generation of vigilantes willing to take their ideals straight to people.  This is a fine example of an anti-radical-right progressive being assaulted and beat up because he dared to bring an American flag to the protest.  Antifa, like much of the emergent Left, hates America like the KKK hates blacks.

Destruction, violence, physical assault, bigotry, vigilantism, mob rule, witch hunts - such are the defining characteristics of millennial and Facebook generation leftism.  The press isn't running with the statue story yet, likely because most Americans oppose removing the statues in general, much less by breaking the law and destroying property because their righteousness declares it the right thing to do.  Likewise the press, by ignoring the multiple stories of Antifa violence and destruction, allows many good-hearted liberals the ability to deny there is such a thing as a radical Left. 

The good news is that most Americans are still sane and good and virtuous enough to despise such movements - whether on the right or left; those who hate blacks or those who hate whites.  The bad news is that people in very influential positions in our nation are for the racism, destruction, anti-Americanism and promises of lynch mob justice and anarchic violence, as long as it serves the needs of the Political Left.  We'll see who comes out ahead in the end.

Rod Dreher continues to look at that elephant in the Catholic abuse scandal

Gender of victims from the report on Catholic sexual abuse

Here.  As the initial shock of the PA Grand Jury release settles among Catholics, it's not surprising bona fide pedophilia, or it involved consensual sexual relations between adult priests or seminarians, the overwhelming majority has involved activity of a homosexual appearance.
that moderate, progressive, left wing, New Prolife, and of course pro-homosexuality Catholics are circling the wagons around one of the more inconvenient truths to reemerge: that most of the abuse scandal of the Church has been decidedly male on male.

That we are willing to say we care about the victims beyond all consideration - except for looking into the ties to homosexuality - says much. It's not surprising of course.  When the AIDS epidemic exploded onto the world stage, the initial reports centered it largely in the gay community.  When suggestions were made that SOP be followed where new, unheard of diseases were concerned - like quarantine or mandatory questioning - the world said no.  That could turn people against the homosexual community and somehow scapegoat them.

One of my cousins was in the medical field in those days.  He had never seen anything like it.  For the longest time, they couldn't even question a patient about the possibility of being infected, let alone do any other exploratory procedures to discover any infection.  Even when we didn't know the extent of how it was transmitted, the emphasis was on not violating the concerns of the gay community, not on finding out how to stop the disease.  If those working with them were harmed as a result?  Eh.  So the thought that we're suddenly concerned about the victims but only if it means not looking in the direction of homosexuality shouldn't be surprising.

Am I saying the decision to avoid the usual protocol where new, unknown diseases are typically concerned caused the deaths of tens of millions?  No.  I'm saying whatever the result was of not following the usual procedures had no bearing on the decision to do it.  The decision to forgo business as usual was for the sole purpose of protecting homosexuals and their sensitivities.  If it would or wouldn't lead to a global pandemic was not accounted for, or it was accounted for and it was found a risk worth taking.

The same is happening now.  There is something strange about an era that will bury everything - our understanding of biology, the central concept of sexual procreation, the importance of family, God, the nature of humanity, the potential for a global pandemic, the possibility of endless millions dead, and now the chance that innocents in the thousands could continue to be assaulted - all at the foot of the altar to homosexual normality.  That's quite a bill we're willing to pay.  And yet we seem quite willing to continue paying it.  From Church leaders, and Christian ministers, to almost the entire society outside of the Church walls, we've said we will stand on our libidos, or at least the sexual desires of non-heterosexuals; we can do no other, so help us whoever.

Where it will go, we'll have to see.  I've learned our modern age's ability to ignore all the warning signs and more is one of our most significant distinctiveness.

Speaking of the new racism that is all the rage in America

An interesting piece on what looks like an interesting site.  This is the same one that noticed the obvious with Dan Rather's vacant defense for the right kind of racism that will get you invited to all the best parties.

He points out that much of the current dumb being peddled by modernity is able to be done due to a gross lack of historical knowledge:

“Failure to educate young Americans about the whole story of Atlantic slave trade threatens to divide our nation and undermine our civic unity and belief in the historical legitimacy of our democratic institutions. Education in a democracy cannot promote half-truths about history without undermining the ideal of e pluribus unum—one from many—and substituting a divisive emphasis on many from one. The history of the slave trade proves that virtually everyone participated and profited—whites and blacks; Christians, Muslims, and Jews; Europeans, Africans, Americans, and Latin Americans. Once we recognize the shared historical responsibility for the Atlantic slave trade, we can turn our attention to “transforming the future” by eradicating its corrosive legacy.”

Yep.  I would throw Native Americans into the mix as well.  One of the sad ironies of the infamous Trail of Tears is that it was aimed at one of the Indian Nations most bent on assimilating into the new American culture including, but not limited to, the owning of African Slaves.

The limp and ignorant attempts to let other civilizations and cultures and ethnicities off the hook by suggesting evil is purely based on skin color or national origin just goes to show the depths to which some will sink when their aim is to defend grave and mortal sins.  And that includes the current sins which we labor to ignore by keeping our eyes on the sins of the past.

Fact is, the slave trade is still alive and well and living in the world today.  Part of it exists to satisfy our lust for consumerism, as people in sweatshops and worse around the world barely get by on sub-livable wages so that we can all rush out and grab that latest smartphone.  The rest is mostly centered around the multi-billion dollar international sex industry.  Primarily filling the need for prostitution and the ever increasingly mainstream pornography industries, the sex slave alone puts to shame what most slavers in the 18th century ever could have dreamed of.

And that's just slavery.  Even now, with the transhumanism movement, the growth of selective abortion (aborting babies that won't be as awesome as we want), assisted suicide and of course euthanasia, it's not hard to link these to the slave trade, which is euphemistically known as human trafficking, and wonder, "Why in the hell do we think we have the moral high ground to condemn past generations?".

Part of it is a gross lack of education at our fine institutions of learning.  Another is constant indoctrination by popular culture and the press, hellbent on keeping us from knowing the past and being ignorant of the inconvenient present.  Along with that is the desire of the revolutionary movements to keep everyone at each others' throats, by encouraging a post-individual, post-human group identity movement where we hate and condemn entire demographics at a time.

BTW, another handy source of inconvenient history is the always delightful Mike Flynn.  Time and again he brings out those pesky parts of the historical record that don't jive with the latest, hippest PC/MC (that's Politically Correct, Multi-Cultural) narrative.  There is nothing wrong with this of course.  They are not advocating slavery or racism, or excusing the racism, slavery or other sins of our forebears.  They are merely pointing out that the rather selective historical narratives that are being used to advocate the new racism and bigotry are no better than the type that once insisted blond hair, blue eyed Aryans are all that and a bag of chips. And it was just as popular then as the new racism and bigotry is today.  And just as defended, even by religious types.

Dan Rather insists some racism is more justified than others

From the reporter who lost his job when it was revealed he had colluded with the Democrats in order to hamstring George W. Bush, who then defended a forged document by insisting evidence wasn't needed when we know someone is guilty, we have this gem.

This is stupid, and it's racism.  To hate or condemn or dismiss the suffering of or to stereotype based on race or skin color or ethnicity is racism.  It's evil. 

This shows the ease with which such evil can be embraced by a society when we see it happening before our very eyes.  Ever wonder how such evils could be embraced by the people of the past?  You needn't wonder anymore.  Just read a newspaper, a tweet, or turn on the television.

For the Christian, of course, there should be only one answer to any racism ever: It is of the devil.  Period.  The minute - the second - a Christian tries to justify hatred of an ethnicity or race or skin color (even if it's his own) he becomes a case study as to how such racism throughout the ages was possible in the first place.

Governor Andrew Cuomo expounds on the Leftist gospel

America was never that great. 

Compared to what I wonder.

He doesn't say.  As is usual with the modern Left, he's long on empty rhetoric, short on actual details.  He sets up an impossible standard for greatness: when each and every American is 'fully engaged', then we'll be great.  Whatever he means by full engaged it beyond me.

Whatever it means, it can never happen.  Where two or more are gathered, you will never have 'everyone fully anything.'   That's not a Christian theological standard.  That's a common sense standard.

Nonetheless, by setting up such standards Gov. Cuomo has essentially told us that the Leftist revolution will continue forever and ever and ever.  Remember a few months ago when I wrote about a S. American historian who told me to always be wary of the revolution that won't admit victory? In this case, Gov. Cuomo is setting it up so there is no need to discuss victory.  It will never happen, so those who benefit from the revolution will have eternal job security.

The other disturbing  thing about this, beyond the stupid dumb of his statement and the clear contempt that the Left has for our country and heritage, is the cheers that arose when he made the statement.  The Left has bred generations of Americans who are sure the most evil country in history is this America that needs burned to the ground.

Hence the white racist nationalist march that didn't happen last weekend.  What did happen was a bunch of Leftist anarchists who had nothing better to do than assail police, threaten journalists and chant their desire for an end to the United States. 

Which is why you haven't heard much about the march.  We're told white racism is like a tsunami, with tens of millions jumping on board and millions of minorities in terror of pain and death on a daily basis.  And yet more people belong to the pottery class at the local art museum than showed up for the nationwide white supremacy march.  On the other hand, you had thousands with their hatred of police, media establishments and America taking to the streets.

This is all tied together.  Where it will go, I don't know.  Many Christians play the 'seek God's kingdom first' card to excuse not caring about what happens to America.  The same, of course, could be said about Global Warming and caring about what happens to the planet.  The point is, I fear they are playing that card because they're tired of the fight or they don't want to jeopardize continuing to suffer for Jesus on six figures a year. 

Given that they would be the best hope for standing up to this movement dedicated to the eradication of the United States, and all of the blessings it brought the world, it doesn't look promising. 

BTW, and I've heard he came out and modified his statements.  Fine enough.  But let's face it, which set of statements do you believe? 

Dark night of the Catholic soul

What can be said?  I didn't leave the Church because of this.  I left the Church because my family was losing faith in the Gospel that all too many within the Church no longer seemed to think was anything other than our personal opinion.  Given what we lost to become Catholic, that was a tough pill to swallow.  It was made tougher as we had a pope who increasingly acted as if the only unforgivable sin was not keeping up with the times.  We could have stayed in Protestantism with our 529s and our retirement funds and believed that.

As a Protestant, I noticed most of my clergy colleagues didn't jump on the pop culture and media bandwagon and beat up on the Church.  That's because we all knew that such things weren't unique to Catholicism.  There might not have been the feeling of widespread, systemic cover up that we saw in the Catholic scandal.  But we did have scandals.  The Orthodox Church is no different.
Fact is, we became Catholic in the early 00s, when the priest abuse scandal was being used to bludgeon the Church on a daily basis.

But nothing - nothing in my life, in my years as a vocational clergy, in my years looking deep into the heart of the Faith traditions our lives have gone through so much to follow - have I seen anything like this.  I'm at a loss.  I just don't know of any other institution or organization that has seen this much horrific, systemic, purposeful hellish sin.  Even Hollywood in the post-Weinstein era, with the casting coach on full display, pales in comparison. 

There is something truly demonic in all of this.  Some say it isn't Vatican II.  After all, the charges go back 70 years.  But who were the ones pushing the Church into the Second Vatican Council?  Perhaps it's the Church's belief that the Faith must follow the world that is at the root cause.  Perhaps there is this constant desire to rework the Faith to keep up with the Joneses.  Others are saying it's just clericalism.  It's nothing new, just another problem needing fixed.  I don't know.

I just know it is sickening.  It's so bad that the entire Faith of Jesus Christ gets a black eye or two with this one.  It's not enough for other traditions to point and say 'it's them!'  It drags the entire Gospel down into the pits.  

There is a way toward consolation of course.  Prayer and fasting are what is in order.  Also it's time for Catholics to ask if they are more interested in keeping up with the world, or actually saving the world.  How much more has to happen before we conclude the usual stuff isn't working?  How many have to turn their backs on the Faith, or walk away, or dismiss its importance for Christians to admit the obvious?  This might be the most egregious result of the modern way, but it's hardly the only result. 

I have no intention of skipping into the Orthodox church next Sunday as if all is right since this is not our problem.  It is our problem.  Because the Catholic Church is merely the most visible example of a religion that has long since lost its ability to bring the Gospel into the darkness of the world.  Rather, the world is increasingly bringing its darkness into the Good News of the Church.  We might think we're converting the world (assuming we don't consider this a breach of ethics), but I think the world has done a bang-up job converting us.

To paraphrase Warren Hollister's assessment of the Franciscan order, Christianity may continue to serve the world, minister to the world and even pray for the world, but I fear we've altogether ceased to inspire our own members, much less the world. 

The NFL is not being hypocritical

As true as this video is, the problem isn't the NFL being hypocritical.  It merely is being obedient to the Left.  To that end it does what is common among the Left: declare all morality to be based on obedience to the Left.  So censorship, we learned growing up, is one of the most vile and wicked of all human actions.  Unless it services the Left. The same with bigotry.  The same with violence.  The same with intolerance.

And on and on we could go for hours.  So the fact that the NFL has long punished expressing viewpoints or promoting agendas on the NFL's dime is not a problem.  It's not a surprise.  It's not even a problem.  A company has a right to demand conformity to a set of principles, or so I've been told when it comes to firing people who speak out against things like abortion or gay marriage.

That the NFL turns on a dime and lets players (and anyone else) openly buck the rules in order to advance a liberal narrative merely demonstrates the choke-hold the Left has on a growing portion of our society.  Just ask Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, who was beaten down and forced to recant for committing the unforgivable sin of ordering a chicken sandwich at an ethically unclean restaurant.

This is the new morality.  I hope it's what Americans want, because it's what Americans will get.  I watched a CBS news documentary on racism in Portland.  One young black man summed it up pretty well.  The racist evil that is endemic to America's institutions isn't because the system is broken. The evil racism is because the system is working fine and doing what it was designed to do.  This was always an irredeemably evil nation, and the only solution is to see its various institutions burned to the ground and rebuilt.  So said he.

As we look at things like the clear double standards applied to conformers and non-conformers; as we see a nation almost proud to abandon notions of due process, presumption of innocence and burden of proof; as we see people dragged before the media court over statements made decades ago; as we watch lives destroyed because the wrong skin color used the wrong words; as we see careers threatened because someone is married to someone who heard about accusations that have yet to be proven; I'd say we should know what this new version of America will look like.

After all, these developments are being accomplished by the Left without any actual power.  Imagine what it will be someday when it finally obtains the power it so clearly desires.  The NFL, for all its manifold problems during the Goodell era, is merely falling into lockstep along with a growing number of institutions and corporations because that's where the compass is pointing.  It wouldn't be the first time such blind obedience to a rising power occurred.  It won't be the last.

Watch and see

In light of the United the Right rally falling on its behind and not leading to riots and death, let's see what the press does with this.  It hearkens back to the Zimmerman trial.  A white man guns down an unarmed black man during a dispute.  There is no reason it should have escalated, and the shooter invoked Stand Your Ground to get himself out of it.  The Sheriff, apparently, let the shooter go based on that defense.

This has all the makings of a Media Perfect Storm.  This is serious Ferguson stuff.  We're talking riots and demonstrations and protests.  History lessons about America's fundamentally racist nature.  The racism of all white Americans.  And as an added bonus, it could be used to attack the Stand Your Ground law that the media hope the Zimmerman case would be about when that story first broke.

The sad part is that a human being has been killed.  That should be a case for mourning and prayers for the loved ones left behind.  Naturally we should want justice done.  If the shooter charged in donning his Dirty Harry drag, then the punishment should fit the crime.  That's what we should want.

Will the press leave it at that, and report it as a case where justice should happen in this isolated case?  Or will we have riots and protests and cops killed and calls to overthrow the Washington Monument and all the hysterics and contention the press loves.

Hating on American in the Catholic Left

Just like most Leftists do.  Remember that the American Left typically hates their fellow Americans the way they accuse the Right of hating everyone else.  It's a defining characteristics of the modern Left that they see hating their own demographics as a virtue.  Non-American Leftists are more than happy to join in.

Of course Catholics have had a love/hate relation with America from the beginning.  Some have tried to assimilate, but it's not been easy.  From periods of open antagonism toward Catholics on one hand, to open antagonism from Catholics on the other, that's what's made being an American Catholic a tough sell.

Now in fairness, Mark's actual post praising Pope Francis as a Kairos moment in the flesh isn't so anti-American.  But as usual, people use Mark's blog as a chance to spew all manner of hate, sin, wickedness, bigotry, and evil in his comboxes. Usually with impunity.  Note the hatred, the contempt, the loathing.  Note the 'Of course Americans are scum idiots, no wonder the world is justified to despise us and laugh at us.'   Since hating stereotypes of people is apparently such a modern, progressive Catholic thing.  I'll assume those Americans saying such things, like most demographic masochism, assume it's all the other Americans that deserve to be hated.

As bad as America can be, and goodness knows the Left has ironically gotten us to be many of the things it now condemns (see the #MeToo movement for an example), I'll still take it here before almost anywhere else.  Dying, euthanizing and suicidal Europe?  The Islamic world?  Communist China?  The Canadian Soviet? I don't think so.  I might like to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.

Jordan Peterson as canary in the Left's coal mine

There is no coherent reason for the left’s obliterating and irrational hatred of Jordan Peterson. What, then, accounts for it? It is because the left, while it currently seems ascendant in our houses of culture and art, has in fact entered its decadent late phase, and it is deeply vulnerable.

An interesting piece.  And I love the possibility that the above observation is correct.

The Left has responded to Peterson as it does most non-conformists: with hatred and contempt.   Most criticisms of Peterson are variations on 'He's so dumb man, and like so dumb and dumb man, and so not as smart as me man.'  Anyone who's commented on liberal blogs will recognized the worn out tactics that are always the same:

1. Declare your infinite intellectual and moral (and if religious, spiritual) superiority to the non-conformist
2. If this doesn't work, wade into the discussion with name calling and variations on 'Your mamma wears army boots and she dresses you funny.'  It's childish, but can be effective for rallying like-thinking Leftists  
3. If this still doesn't work, then go for the throat; make damaging and potentially harmful accusations, engage in character assassination, or even call upon others to destroy the life and livelihood of the non-liberal heretic in question

It's as old as modern liberalism.  This has been going on for some decades, and today is almost etched in stone.  Just ask Rush Limbaugh.  Next time you see a debate between a progressive and anyone, or see a progressive take on a challenger - like Peterson - think of the above steps.  They'll fit how the progressive is approaching the debate almost every time.

This might be because most of the grand promises of the Left have died, or have led to unbelievable suffering, misery, carnage, death, suffering, and the potential disintegration of the civilization that actually brought concepts of equality, human rights, freedom, and democracy to the world.

In light of this, the usual tactics will be used against anyone who challenges the narrative.  Whether it's someone who fails to conform to the Left's dogmas, or a former believer who is in danger of leaving the plantation, the attack is the same and is predictable.  And it's often worked to beat down those non-believing conservative types far more worried about staying in the best liberal parties than standing on principle.

Enter Jordan Peterson.  Peterson isn't right about everything.  Peterson isn't God.  A powerful Leftist trick has been to convince people that anyone who disagrees with the Left must be smarter than God and perfect in every way.  Even the slightest deviation from perfection is grounds to reject the whole package.  Hence why most progressives probably think you've done nothing less than wish their death and destruction if you dare disagree with them.  Thieves who think everyone else is a crook after all.

Anyhoo, Petersen continues to be a bee in the Left's bonnet. Caitlin Flanagan at The Atlantic wades into the question about why Peterson is so hated.  Obviously because he's not liberal, and he's a threat.  Most of what Peterson says that is the most hated is, naturally, the most obviously common sense observations, like the fact that boys and girls exist, and that teenagers who can't make their bed probably aren't smarter than corporate moguls in charge of multi-billion dollar international corporations.

It's interesting that as we see the Left consolidate power and teach more Americans to embrace a Soviet styled terror state mentality, where you can arbitrarily be destroyed for sins committed when you were a child, Ms. Flanagan insists the Left is actually on its dying leg.  Hence the panic, the hysterics, the growing willingness to show its hand and declare its desire to destroy America, religious liberty, Christianity, and teach hatred and extermination of people based on the right skin color, national origin and creed.  Always promising, of course, that this oppressive regime will only punish everyone else.   It's nice to see her believe that many are beginning to see through the lies and the evil:

These are people who aren’t looking for an ideology; they are looking for ideas. And many of them are getting much better at discerning the good from the bad. The Democratic Party reviles them at its peril; the Republican Party takes them for granted in folly. (emphasis mine)

Bonus points for Ms. Flanagan noticing what I noticed: Not a single major morning "News" outlet has had Peterson on to promote his book.  That's called the press deliberately censoring unacceptable thinking, which it has done for many years.  It's just that with the Internet, it's not nearly as effective as it used to be.  Thank goodness for the Internet I guess:

It’s hard to think of a best-selling self-help book whose author has not appeared on the classic morning shows; these programs—Today and Good Morning America and CBS This Morning—are almost entirely devoted to the subject of self-help. But the producers did their part, and Peterson did not go to their studios to sit among the lifestyle celebrities and talk for a few minutes about the psychological benefits of simple interventions in one’s daily life. 

The growing push within the Left to eliminate the Constitution

Here celebrated and supported at the New York Times.  Karl Keating sees the obvious:

Yep.  This isn't new.  Ages ago while I was still a pastor, I was watching CSPAN one evening, and it showed a contributor from Salon.com speaking at a Unitarian Universalist church.   I can't remember the topic.  What I remember is during the Q&A session, someone asked the speaker about eliminating the US Senate.  After all, it was unacceptable that some state like Montana or Wyoming with virtually nobody of note would have equal say alongside the obviously superior coastal liberal states with all the big populations.  The speaker merely chuckled and said that issue was for down the road.

Well, we're getting close to down the road.  The Trump election, and the recent push-back against a post-national, global Marxist, atheistic world order has kicked the Marxist Left into hyper-panic mode.  As such, they're pulling out all the stops.  Because the forces that might resist this are busy being divided and trying to make sure that they come out looking better than those other conservatives, this panic is beginning to yield fruit.

I mean, we've already abandoned the notion that we need due process, presumption of innocence or burden of proof before someone's life is destroyed.  We might even destroy their life because their wife spoke to someone who was accusing someone of doing something wrong.  Serious KGB world living.  Who says we're still free?  And we seem fine with that.

We're certainly OK with saying you can hate on people because of their skin color, national origin or religion.  Whether or not laws even apply to you might well be based on those factors.  The Iconoclasm against the Confederacy is already spreading to the rest of our nation, as increasingly we learn that there is not a single thing, not one, from the Christian West or historical America that isn't irredeemably wicked and evil.

Bernie Sanders and Dianne Feinstein openly declared their disdain for traditional Christians holding high office.  CAIR, one of our country's top Islamic organizations, proudly declared its support for keeping traditional Christians in the same place they are in most Islamic lands.  All notions of reality are being thrown out by 'scientists' looking for the next handout from agencies and movements passing out the money on the condition that science proves reality needs thrown out.

Now we're seeing the end of that long road mentioned on CSPAN all those years ago, where those Marxist inspired Lefitsts are coming clean and admitting what we all know.  They're simply carrying on the dream of the 20th century Communists; a dream that involves destroying the United States, burning its documents to the ground, and eradicating the moral and legal traditions from the Christian West, along with the Christian faith that undergirded them all.

And the most amazing thing?  Increasingly they're boldly admitting it, with full knowledge that the institutions that should be protecting us and our heritage are part of the movement to destroy both.  I guess we can say at least they're admitting it.  At least they're saying they want America as we understand it to be eliminated and rebuilt.  And given the love that Marx was shown on the anniversary of his birthday this year, I think we can put the pieces together and figure where they want it to go.

Oh, one more thing.  If your answer is 'But Dave, it's just one opinion piece.  In one of our flagship news outlets.  By one of many organizations that seek the same thing.  That echoes what was said almost 20 years ago', consider this.  I can still remember the first time major news outlets gave a platform for those fringe radicals who were saying they wanted a day when two homosexuals could be legally married.  Sounded crazy, right?  Of course many said that such a thing could create a crisis for liberty where religious rights are concerned.  Naturally they were laughed at for being the paranoid homophobes that they were.  But think on that.  How fringe and crazy it seemed when the first news outlets gave that idea a platform.

I'm not saying America is heaven or the Gospel or God.  But it's been a right fine country on this fallen planet, and many today - including those who seem to hate it and want it dead - have benefited from it like no others.  Have we done the best with our freedoms?  No.  Have we had our sinful movements?  Like everyone else.  Could we Christians have been more zealous while being free?  Sure.

But before we go and flush it down the pipes of history, we better think real hard about how unique it was, and what the odds are that another movement like the American experiment will rise any time in the next couple thousand years.  It won't be like getting a bad haircut.  If we don't like the world without America in it, it won't grow back.  We owe it to our posterity to ponder that fact.  To those who have been given much after all.

Yearning for violence and gulags in Soviet America

Do we really, really, really think that the sudden spate of stories about this 'tell all' book by Omarosa Manigault accusing Trump of racism on the eve of the one year anniversary of Charlottesville is a coincidence?  Do we really think this was just blind luck that the racially charged accusations by a black woman coming to light just as we're being primed for potential riots over racist tensions was just dumb luck?

No.  Only an idiot would think that.  The press - propaganda ministry for the emergent Left - wants divisions.  It wants there to be riots and violent clashes.  Americans, who are pawns in this grand chess game being played by opposing forces, will hopefully continue to divide against each other.  Doing things like this, making sure that racially charged stories emerge at just the moment we're supposedly worried about racially charged tensions, is one way the propaganda ministry does it.

A person is smart, people are dumb.  And releasing stories like this at this moment play off of that fact.  We'll get people mad.  They'll become enraged.  More divisions.  And if the press is lucky, higher ratings, too.

Meanwhile, in another glimpse of what Soviet America will look like, we're learning that Americans can be accused of any wrongdoing at any time in your life.  And in the Roy Moore era, we no longer need to sweat proof, due process or presumption of innocence.  Especially if it's based on skin color.

So an African American has come out and charged Sean Spicer of being A Racist (meaning 100% evil, unforgivable, and worthy of being destroyed).  Why? Because he says Sean Spicer used the N-Word ... in prep school!  According to the accusation.  Already  the stories are starting to pour in.  This is Soviet America remember.

I know.  You'd think this was a joke.  Some SNL skit.  Maybe a Twilight Zone episode.  A cautionary tale about what America could become if we continue down some strange, stupid path.  Except we're there.

I hope you've never done anything in your life.  Ever.  Including grammar school.  Especially if it's one of the latest unforgivable sins as dictated by the Emergent Left.  If that's not the kind of country we want, we had best do something about it before it's too late.  Or children and their children will thank us.

Oprah and the kind of memorial the Left craves

So there is a new memorial to lynching victims.  I suppose that means blacks lynched by whites.  not whites lynched for fighting racism, or those lynched by black vigilantism.  I could be wrong, but I'm guessing.  The important thing is to keep it negative.  Always make sure that every day we are reminded of America's evil and wicked past.

The Left likes it clean and simple.  America was a vile and racist nation and needs burned down and rebuilt in the image of a secular, Marxist, socialist country.  How did it get so evil?  That would be the bourgeoisie.  That's the group that is always the irredeemable bad guys.  All of history is always explained by an easy formula - in this case racism.  And the bourgeoisie is always the villain that needs destroyed by the uprising of the proletariat.

In this case, for the moment, the bourgeoisie is Americans with white skin.  Christian is a bonus point.  That's to the modern Marxism what Jews were to Nazis or, ironically, Blacks were to the Jim Crow South.  They're the bogeyman, the bad guy, the villain, that demographic who has to go somehow or another.   And so far, it's the bigotry that has the stamp of approval from the very institutions that should protect us from the same.  Including, but not limited to, a growing number of Christian institutions and leaders.

I think I have an answer for Newsweek

So there is much being made about the fact that Fox News sees America's demographic changes as not necessarily a good thing.  In other words, Fox doesn't share the Pelosi doctrine that once white skin has been eliminated from the human gene pool, the world will be a happier place.  As a result - and this might come as a shock - there are a growing number of white people tuning to Fox.

A sane person might think it could have something to do with this.  It's not that there is serious Goebbels talk about white people in America.  It's that it is being echoed across our various institutions of power and influence.  While white nationalists are confined to the back hills of Montana or some back alley in Atlanta, those pulling the same attitude against white people enjoy the highest positions of prestige and privilege in our society.

Say white people are genetic racists, that white civilization alone is a pox on humanity, or that whatever happens to white people is deserved, and chances are you'll be getting raises, honorary degrees and all manner of praise and adoration from the power players of modern America.

The worst part of it all?  Traditional white supremacy and white nationalism are still a problem, and one can easily begin to slip the other way and ignore or even defend such sin and evil.  The challenge is to keep neo-Nazi styled racism away while seeing the clear sin and evil that is demonstrated in taking a Goebbels speech about Jews and changing Jew to White.   It's sin.  It's evil.  But like antisemitism in Nazi Germany, or racism in the Jim Crow era, it's the kind of sin and evil that's at best socially acceptable.  At worst, it will soon become mandated by law.