I don't even know why people are worried

It's not like a bunch of students discovered secret tunnels filled with nuclear warheads in *gasp!* America.  Then that would be something to worry about.  After all, we all know our government, our military, our corporations, and generally we Americans can't be trusted but to do the wrong thing.  It's just China that could have tunnels filled with nuclear warheads.  No doubt the same as Iran and the former Soviet Union.  Nothing to see here.  Just a bunch of countries wanting to give peace a chance, and wishing America would finally come down off her perch and join the chorus of tranquility.

When considering President Obama

Apparently the press feels it's best to remember the past.  I'm sure he's a nice guy.  He seems to be a wonderful father and husband.  Good family men aren't easy to come by nowadays.  But he's clearly a lousy president.  He has accomplished little.  The world seems to be burning and nobody can even come close to explaining Obama's approach to problem solving.  He is not inspiring, and his first round of attack ads make it clear that all the hooey about 'hope and change' is in the trash.

He can't speak well.  Take away the prompters, and he fumbles and stumbles every bit as much as Bush on a good day.  And it's clear to anyone with a brain that he can't lead.  He's just not leadership material.  He avoids conflict and seems to resent anyone who doesn't bow and do as he says.  He wants congress to do it all, and yet keep the credit for himself.  On the whole, a poor president.

Add to that a struggling economy.  Jobless rates still unacceptable.  Housing still in the tanks.  Non-existent inflation still on the rise.  And growing political and economic pressure from rising nations like China, India, and Russia overseas.  So what's the pro-Obama media to do?  Keep coming out with stories like this one, that's what. Try to recapture the flame, the magic, the spirit of the messianic campaign of 08.  Remind us that despite all evidence to the contrary, Obama still inspires, still brings hope, and is still the candidate of change.

Will Americans buy it?  Hard to say.  As the GOP labors intensively to nominate a person nobody wants, the press may not need to worry.  But as of now, not knowing what the future holds, I notice a growing number of these stories from an advocacy media that is clearly scared.

Dog bites man is not news

Man bites dog is news.  But dog shoots man in butt with shotgun is priceless!  I wouldn't joke about it, but according to the story, the fellow is OK, owing to a well placed pair of waders. 

God bless you Billy Graham

Each time a story like this breaks, we are mindful of the fact that the days are growing older, and the sun is setting on your remarkable life.  Soon, you will be leaving us and going on to the Lord you have faithfully served.  The selfish side of us hopes that will still be a while yet.  Nonetheless, I pray to our Lord Jesus Christ that you be given the peace and comfort that you deserve, and enjoy the time with your family as you prepare for your final journey home.  God bless.  And thanks.

Who should care about the Herman Cain affair?

I guess it depends. If it was 1999, then nobody should care.  Of course that was the absolute eternal truth of the universe in 1999.  This is 2011.  And by sheer coincidence, Cain is a Republican and - again no doubt through sheer coincidence - it suddenly matters.  I mean, this isn't Edwards with the MSM being dragged kicking and screaming into covering the story.  Since the first anonymous accusation regarding sexual harassment broke, the MSM has been on this 24/7.

Now, one of the biggest mysteries to me is why people in the 21st century even pay attention to the news media.  This is the media that, during the Clarence Thomas hearings (Thomas, a conservative nominated by a Republican president), assured us that there was no crime as heinous as sexual harassment, and it was a black mark of justice that Thomas was ever nominated to the bench. 

Then, of course, came the multiple accusations against Bill Clinton, and we were suddenly told that it didn't matter.  Those were just political whores working for the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy (TM).  The affair?  Sorry, it was consensual, and that's that.  Sex doesn't matter.  Morals and character don't matter.  Only the president's ability to give us the greatest economy in the history of the universe matters.  Of course we were also told things like how sexist it was when conservatives picked on Hillary Clinton (or even walked close to her in a debate), and that politicians' kids are always - ALWAYS! - off limits (as in Chelsea Clinton).

Now that was then.  Sarah Palin helped dispel the whole 'don't be sexist' mantra as she was routinely called every gender based derogatory name under the sun.  As she was told to stay home and be a mom where she belonged, and was labeled everything from bitch to milf, the MSM shuffled their feet nervously, admitted sometimes folks might get out of hand, but generally agreed the real story was Palin's lack of foreign policy skills. 

That Palin's children were also dragged through the dirt was explained away by various MSM faces, such as Anderson Cooper, who informed us that the MSM always goes after politicians' kids (except, apparently, in the late 90s).  Plus, Palin did what no other politician had ever done, and that was have her kids with her  during the campaign.  Well, OK, every politician does it once in a while, but that's irrelevant.  So said the talking heads.

Naturally there have been cases where anti-Semitism and racist insults have been lobbed at political figures like Condoleezza Rice and Joe Lieberman.  And to varying extents, the MSM has shuffled its feet and explained that those cases are unfortunate.  Yes, a movie was made about then President George W. Bush getting his brains blown out by an assassin, but that was art.  Sure he was called Hitler, a Nazi, a murderer, an idiot, a dolt, a racist, and any one of a thousand things that could make your blood chill.  But that was then.  That was when dissent was the true form of patriotism and freedom of expression should always be accepted.  That was yesterday's absolute eternal values of the universe.

This is today.  And today, the absolute truth du jour is how important it is that we focus on the sex life of Herman Cain.  Like the other instances, it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he is a Republican.  None whatsoever.  It's always been that way, and will always be that way, until it is no longer convenient to be that way.  Then we will be told what the eternal truth has always been.  And I suppose they assume we are either dishonest or stupid enough (or both) to believe it.  Which brings me back to my question: why people in the 21st century even pay attention to the news media.  The world may never know.

It's like living in the Twilight Zone

Without the insights and wisdom.  So let me get this straight.  Three bisexual men sued a gay softball association for being discriminated against because of their perceived heterosexuality?  Apparently.  But it looks like they all settled, the men were welcomed back, and all is right with the world.  The alliance has even revised its language to include bisexual and transgender men as well!  Heterosexuals are, of course, banned, and that's a beautiful thing.  Remember kids, bigotry, discrimination, and prejudice are the lifeblood of any civilization.  The only trick is, when you are in a free civilization to begin with, you have to rely on the stupidity of the soon to be discriminated against in order to pull it off.  Thank goodness heterosexuals are more than willing to rise up to the challenge. As the great Rod Serling would say, no other comment required.    

Why I love football

An 80 yard punt?  You've got to be kidding me.  And not a 40 or 50 yard punt that bounces for three dozen yards.  An actual, bona fide 80 yard punt from foot to ground.  Read the article, including the reaction by punt returner extraordinaire Devin Hester.  Then watch the video and wonder.  Shane Lechler is not the all time NFL leader in punting average for nothing.

An MTV Christmas Video?

That's like a Harvard Divinity School tent meeting.  So I was just stumbling along the Internet, minding my own business, when I came across this little blast from the past.



What amazes me is just how far we've come in the last couple decades.  Naturally there was no Silent Night or Away in the Manger in the medley (those were replaced by St. Lennon's Happy Xmas (War is Over)).  This was MTV, and it was still 1986.  But can you imagine anything close to this today? 

Just the general wholesomeness of it all. This is MTV?  The network dedicated to luring our teens into adopting a life of the lowest animal denominator?  MTV?  This could pass for the Disney Channel.  No, strike that.  The Disney Channel is more controversial.  Ah back in the day.  Then MTV seemed cutting edge, daring, bold, in your face to the older generation - our little cultural icons were just soooooo cool!  Now it looks like my grandma's tea cosy would have been more shocking. 

So in decades to come will the things of today that we yell and fuss about look as tame, as safe as this video does now?  Or will we pull up from the dive in time?  Personally I hope we pull out of the dive.  It sends chills down my spine to imagine what the world would have to be like in 20 years in order for things today to look tame.

BTW, that's Mike Nesmith popping off the beard and hat at the end.  That was the punchline, since he had famously dodged joining the rest of the Monkees for their 1986 reunion tour.

Kansas teen is everything I've come to expect from the post-modern left

Yep.  Looks like this young prodigy has used the wonder of modern communications to expand her vocabulary.  Well, not really.  A young girl who boasted, via Twitter, that she told Republican Governor Sam Brownback that he sucked, has refused to apologize.  Well duh.  If she opposes Brownback then I'll bet she wouldn't apologize.  In fact, most who oppose Brownback won't care, so there won't be any pressure for her to do so.  Yep, it's everything that makes us proud to be 21st century Americans.  The eloquence.  The beauty.  The depth.  The sophistication. The boring predictability and conformity to post-respectful group  think.

I wonder if Kurt Warner knows that bell bottoms are out of style

Don't get me wrong, I respect Kurt Warner, the overtly religious NFL player who stood against anti-religious PC goodthink and openly gave praise to Jesus following his 2000 Superbowl victory.  But now he's coming out and standing hand in hand with our Big Politically Correct Brother and suggesting Tim Tebow embrace the Glorious Censorship.  F-Bombs and bathroom humor are what the Founding Fathers meant, after all.  They certainly didn't expect a country where folks thought they could openly express their religious beliefs.

But the part that got me was this line:

"I know what he's going through," Warner told the Republic, "and I know what he wants to accomplish, but I don't want anybody to become calloused toward Tim because they don't understand him, or are not fully aware of who he is. And you're starting to see that a little bit."

Starting to see it?  A little bit? What planet has he been living on for the last year?  For those who don't know, Tim Tebow was the darling of College Sports while he played his way to the Heisman Trophy.  All you heard was one giant chorus of praise and adoration from sports fans and the generally hedonism-friendly sports media.  That is, of course, until his infamous decision to blaspheme the Dogmas of Liberal Diversity by appearing with his mom in a Pro-Life Superbowl Commercial.

From that point, it got ugly.  Tebow became an outcast, the sports media began emphasizing the criticisms that had been brushed away by so many.  Suddenly, Tebow was an overrated no-talent religious hack who would get what he had coming to him when he went pro and showed the world just how lousy he was.  That was then.  Now that he has led the Broncos to a 5-1, critics are having a hard time trashing his talents.  Grumbling and pissed, they can only grasp for straws and hope that Tebow implodes sometime in the near future.

And it's into this that Warner, who now works for the NFL Network it should be noted, comes out and suggests Tebow put some tape over his mouth when it comes to bearing witness to his faith?  Hmmmm.  Call me skeptical, and maybe Warner is doing it for the best reasons, but I can't see why now is the time to step up to the pulpit of modern intolerance and pitch one for the arm of the media most concerned with bust lines and beer bellies.  After all, no matter why he did it, the reason for such outcry is still the result of an anti-religious and anti-Christian popular culture where Moloch and Mammon are worshipped and glorified, and they will suffer no challengers.  If I were Tebow, I would thank the excellent Warner for his advice, and then continue being the rebel and the counter-cultural icon that he has become.

Read it and weep

I know I did.  An elitist school pushes exploiting our kids teaching our kids about sex to new lows.  Naturally, the New York Times cheers it on.  Of course, we know the misery, destruction, and death that has resulted from the grand sexual revolution.  But hey, this is the adults speaking.  The last thing we want is a bunch of kids rising up and being more mature, responsible, and productive than we were.  We are, of course, the most useless, worthless, and embarrassingly lousy and inept generation in human history.  How embarrassing to see our kids grow up better people than us.  So playing their hormones like a concert pianist, we lead them along, promising them a glorious, sexually fulfilled future. We know, of course, that most of them will end up emotionally shattered, psychologically drained, and that if they're lucky enough not to be the statistics that make up the tens of millions of AIDS, HIV, and other STD victims.  But hey, it's a small price to pay for us adults to hide our worthlessness as a generation.

In fifty years, I can imagine this being accepted

Really.  A German man is accused of fathering three sons through his own daughter.  Yep, you read that right.  The strange thing?  Everyone is shocked, outraged, aghast.  And yet, why?  He says it was consensual.  We let a president go on the same grounds for a girl who was only slightly older at the time.  Heck, we said as long as the S-word is used, it's nobody's business.

I know, I know.  I'm appalled.  I think he should have the library thrown at him.  But I'm also appalled at the rest of our society's sexual debaucheries.  I don't find this or that extreme case and use it as some umbrella of self-righteousness under which to strut.  I'm content saying that once we got off the traditional Christian Western tradition of sexual morality, we were on a collision course with, well, this sort of thing.

I'm also aware that if we were to get into the Wayback Machine, and go to around 1948, things would be different than they are today.  If I were to tell people that we would be on the brink of allowing homosexuals to marry, and anyone publicly speaking out against it would be called bigots, evil, and in danger of losing their jobs and being socially ostracized, I'll bet the good citizen c. 1948 would think I had been smoking the loco-weed. 

Times change.  And right now, the very moral subjectiveness and disregard for the Judeo-Christian heritage that said such things were wrong in the first place, that has been the foundation for allowing cohabitation and gay rights, is the platform upon which future incest and other 'lifestyles' will be built.  After all, many of these things (sex with underage kids) were quite acceptable in other cultures, the same cultures that were open to such things as homosexuality.  If we threw everything out the window to allow for some, there is no objective reason not to allow for all.  We'll just have to wait and see.

Oh no! The Mass has changed!

Not really.  They have tweaked a few things in the liturgy to make it closer to the biblical versus in the Latin text.  But it's all the buzz across the Catholic and religious blogs.  Went off without a hitch for us (I scored about a 650 in getting it right).  And it was a day that not only did my boys get to serve (how cool, first day of new liturgy *and* first Sunday of Advent!), plus I got roped into doing the readings.  All together a fun day, a grey day, a Lord's day!  Hope it went well for everyone else. 

Lighting a candle for the new liturgy.  Bonus points for them catching the change from 'cup' to 'chalice'!  File under 'It's cool being Catholic'

A quirky Thanksgiving Day

Just a quick howdy after the feeding frenzy.  I'm not sure if I could face another day if so much as a turkey sandwich was in my future.  Still, it went well.  Dad was certainly missed, though in my family's usual way, we didn't dwell on it too much.  Had the usual, with a well placed nap in the middle of the day to help things settle.  Last night we watched The Godfather on AMC with the kids.  I thought they were old enough, and my 11 year old wasn't interested enough, to see it on television. 

But one strange tradition made its way to us once again.  We have several that we try to keep, or have adjusted to now that ours is the house everyone comes to.  My sister and I used to always break the wishbone, but since Dad was the official referee, I noticed last night we let that pass.  After the nap, the family came back over and we watched A Charlie Brown Christmas, the watching of which became part of this holiday when my wife and I lived in Louisville and Mom wanted to watch it with us before we went back (since we always spent Christmas to ourselves except once on my oldest's first Christmas, which just happened to fall that way). But we also kept alive another weird tradition I think is unique to our household.

When he was only about four or five, one Thanksgiving our oldest asked for a pie crust.  That's all he wanted.  Not a pie, a pie crust.  So my parents bought him a graham cracker pie crust.  Since then, it's been a tradition for the boys to get one after the meal.  They actually look forward to it, and can come to near blows if one of them tries to take too much!   Strange.  Anyway, that was that, and I'll be gone until Monday.  Have a happy and blessed season of thanks.

Traditions have to start somewhere.  Even the youngest wants to get into the act.

Fair enough

Over at Catholic Online, there's a pretty good unpacking of Thanksgiving.  OK, we know the pilgrims didn't invent giving thanks go God.  You know, it's strange, but I don't remember ever thinking that they did.  I just thought it was all part of the whole being religious package.  I may not have known the roots of historical harvest and thanksgiving celebrations, but it didn't matter.  The Pilgrims gave thanks for surviving.  And they shared their meal with the American Indians who helped them survive.  Fine.

In our usual way, we spend much time telling people what they don't know about the past.  That's fair enough, since there's enough in the past that most people probably don't know.  It's worth pointing out that Catholics were out and about, giving thanks, long before the Pilgrims came.  It's worth noting that harvest celebrations of thanks are rooted in Jewish and Christian traditions, as well as other cultic traditions.  I'm fine with remembering how the holiday came to be an official national holiday.

But the thing that always made the Pilgrims stand out is what they did and how they did it.  They came here against all odds, not in service to king and crown, not to make money, but to have the freedom to worship.  They broke the bonds, and railed against convention, and risked their lives (and many lost their lives) to have that freedom of worship.  I know, I know.  But they were intolerant and drove non-conformers out of town on a rail.  And?  When we say freedom do we mean anyone should be able to do or believe anything?  If someone is hot on Hitler, do we say 'no problem, come and let's celebrate'?  Do we tell people who are opposed to homosexuality that all is well, we can respect that, so let us sit and celebrate together?  Do Catholics say anyone should be able to do anything they want, including advocating abortion, and all is well? 

Was a time in the 70s and 80s, when liberalism promised a Utopian paradise of absolute freedom, openness, tolerance, and respect.  Didn't matter what you wanted to believe, stand for, advocate, or think, a truly enlightened society would open its arms to all comers.  So it's easy to see why, in those days, we tended to look down on the Pilgrims and their intolerant ways and see a dose of serious hypocrisy.  But today, I think the hypocrisy is on us, especially if we want to get on the Pilgrims for doing what we so gladly do ourselves.  They did, after all, what any society does. They simply established a community of values they expected folks to live by.  And they wanted the freedom to do it.  In so doing, they should be the poster-children of our 21st century society, where endless advocacy groups make it clear that this country isn't big enough for those who don't conform.

So while the article is good, and gives a nice take down on the history of the holiday without the digs and dismissals I've seen too often in some Catholic writings, and certainly without the scorn and contempt heaped upon it by our post-Christian society, it's worth remembering why the Pilgrims.  Why the honor given them?  Because they didn't just give thanks.  They gave thanks doing what Americans always valued, and that's laying it all on the line for freedom and the right to live as we would, based upon the calling we felt God placed upon our lives.  They were what Americans always aspired to, and what it wouldn't hurt more, including American Catholics, to aspire to as well.

Daffy Duck on Daffey Thoughts!

Heh.  Twas the season after all.  And with that, a blessed and happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Fr. Robert Barron does apologetics

So we don't have to.  He's that good.  Here he explains that what we believe does matter.  So at this season, when we are told to just give thanks in some vague, who cares about it way, it's nice to remember that the God the pilgrims thanked may well have been different than the spirits the American Indians thanked.  And for that reason alone, it's worth celebrating since who we give thanks to says much about what we believe.  And what we believe, turns out, does matter after all.  Happy Thanksgiving Fr. Barron!

Fr. Dwight Longenecker gets it right

As usual, Fr. Longenecker offers a great perspective on this feast of Thanksgiving.  How can I, a Catholic, celebrate the pilgrims the way I do?  Easy.  One, because I reject the post-modern rewriting of history that says all evil is the result of white, European heterosexual Christians.  Second, because I realize that the pilgrims were my brothers and sisters in Christ, who were reaching back through a tradition of thanksgiving that is rooted in the Judeo-Christian heritage, even if it was based on many things they had rejected in their move away from their Catholic roots.  Eucharist, after all, means 'thanksgiving.'  We needn't be bludgeoned by the revision of history that says we got thanksgiving from the pagan, the non-Christian, the eco-green earth worshipper.  The feast as we have it is rooted in that most wonderful and civilizing traditions, the Judeo-Christian Western tradition.  Great read. 

Linus Van Pelt and a blast from the past

I was made aware that this was on Youtube.  Amazing what you find there.  This was an actual TV special back in the early 1970s.  Nothing like the Citizen Kane of Christmas specials, it still brings back some memories of Thanksgivings long ago.  The thing I notice here?  He mentions the American Indians and the Pilgrims in a positive light.  And then, and then, he actually recounts the religious focus of the first Thanksgiving and he recites a real prayer to God.   It's like some alternate fantasy world today.  Shows how things have changed.  But since our country is so much better than we ever were with all that pilgrims and God stuff, who am I to question progress?  See you next week!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Less of a myth than we've been taught, and something worth thinking on this holiday season.

I'll be out of here until Monday.  Since bringing things back, I've been pleased with the number of visits.  Things have definitely picked up in the last few weeks.  Nice to have folks stopping by.  Please feel free to comment.  I have thick skin, and don't mind hearing from folks.  I learn best when I read thoughtful comments from guests who point out this or that flaw in my posts.  In the meantime, enjoy this holiday of thanksgiving.  It really is a time to remember how much we have to be thankful for. A time that brings back memories of making pumpkin pie and hand turkeys in kindergarten.  Of band concerts before being let out early from school on Wednesday. Of rabbit hunting with my Dad.  Of snow outside and steamed up windows from the cooking on the inside. Of family over and traveling to Mom and Dad's when my own family was still so young.

I have to admit, it'll seem tough.  After all, my Dad died earlier this year.  My mother just lost the next to last member of her family.  My sister's life has all but unraveled.  And things have been hard for my boys in school.  They're good kids, and do well in school.  They do very well.  But they are, well, different.  We raise them to be different.  We try to impress upon them the need to put their faith first.  Plus, call me cynical, but I also try to let them see the shallowness of our pop culture and our society as a whole.  As a result, our boys are sort of a Casablanca bunch in an Avatar world.  And in our society, where texting, IPads, and CGI saturated movies are all the rage, sometimes they walk a bit off kilter. 

Nonetheless, despite it all, we still keep to the path.  Inspired by those who helped give us this holiday - the Pilgrims - we walk the course.  We seek to live free in a country founded on freedom, and seek ways to follow God that will be pleasing to Him, and aid us in our own spiritual journeys.  Who knows, in fifty years freedom may no longer exist in this nation.  There's certainly good cause for concern.  But as of now, we are still free, and that's worth being thankful for.  We are free to raise our kids as we choose, set them along the paths we choose, and enjoy the bountiful blessings of a nation graced with so many.  What tomorrow holds may well be in our children's hands.  But for now, we have the freedom to be what we choose to be, and that's not bad.  

So thank you Pilgrims, thank you Indians, thank you all who fought and gave the last measure of devotion for the freedoms I enjoy.  Thank you Mom and especially you Dad, for giving me a wonderful childhood of memories.  We'll miss you this year. Thank you Dee and boys for giving me a family to rest upon when the world gets me down.  And thank you God, for giving me life, abundance, and blessings beyond those I could ever deserve.  I'll be back on Monday.  May the God of blessings shower you and your loved ones with a double measure of all you need.