....based on my long set of book lists posted ages ago when I was, as one reader suggested, "really bored" one day! 

There have been a number of heavier posts on the blog lately....  I hope you don't mind a lighter topic.  I finally had the opportunity to read a couple of Nero Wolfe books.  I can't remember if you said that you have read some or just that you'd like to read some.  

 

We only had two in the local library: one from 1946 and one from 1964. 

I thoroughly enjoyed them both.  And, yes, I heard Timothy Hutton's voice the whole time narrating the stories.  The other funny thing was that I read the first book while on vacation.  Flying back, I found myself picking up on all sorts of little observations.  For example, while waiting at the baggage claim there was an announcement that some guy should go to the American baggage office to get his luggage. I turned to my wife, "You know, they called his name as a standby passenger.  He must have been bumped off the last flight and they just sent his bags on ahead."  

Of course, none of that will do me a lick of good, but it's fun to observe everything as if it might really be important.  Now I need to try to figure out how to get a hold of more of the books.  Only 71 to go.

 

Let's all take some time tonight and tomorrow (and afterwards) to pray for our country.

A reader emails:

Send me some raisins after the election!

Maybe.

By Notre Dame's Gerry Bradley: "The Other Life Issue: Looking into the Obama abyss."

McCain isn't good on embryo-destructive research. If this is leading you to think that he isn't worth voting for over Obama, read Prof. Bradley's article.

Interview with Maggie Gallagher: "Married to Democracy: Marriage on the ballot."

Brief but good NRO piece by Robbie George.

Two WP pieces:

• "Study First to Link TV Sex To Real Teen Pregnancies"


• "Study Links Violent Video Games, Hostility: Research in U.S., Japan Shows Aggression Increased for Months After Play"

"Researchers Find 'Transsexual Gene'"

Is it possible that such a gene at least increases the likelihood of gender identity disorder? Sure. Does this mean that the disorder is any less a disorder? No. Does it mean that mutilation is the cure for these men? No.

J-Ro-Mo offers some more reflections.

And this is certainly apropos: "School Clams Up on 'Gay' Pledge Cards Given to Kindergartners"

"As the urbanism of the nineties showed, cities can forge their own futures."

Read it. Think about it. Especially in light of the Church's teaching on subsidiarity, and the Constitution's limits on the powers of the Federal government.

While we're at it: Check out this WS piece from a month and a half back: "Tax Cuts, Real and Imaginary: Obama's spending programs in disguise." Also check out my posts last summer on socialized medicine. Even if you like Obama on these matters, you should vote for McCain. Abortion and closely related issues are far more important. But it's also worth pointing out that there are reasons to criticize Obama's positions on taxes and health care and the like.

From the AP: "3 Signs Your Child Is Suffering Extreme Anxiety"

"... Many families learn to adjust their lifestyles to accommodate children with anxiety disorders. However, if untreated, the problems can morph into depression or substance abuse during the teen years, said Dr. John Walkup of Johns Hopkins Hospital. He's lead author of a study showing kids can improve substantially with the antidepressant sertraline, also sold as Zoloft, plus psychotherapy, or either treatment alone."

From the WSJ: "Nestled in the Lap of Luxury"

A friend emailed me the text of this Victor Davis Hanson NRO article. I hadn't read it when it appeared on the site last week - I'm not a big VDH fan, and I don't need to be told that the media have drunk the Obama Kool-Aid. But now that I have browsed through it, I think this part is especially worth quoting:

We know now almost all the details of Sarah Palin’s pregnancies, whether the trooper who tasered her nephew went to stun or half stun, the cost of her clothes, and her personal expenses — indeed, almost everything except how a mother of so many children gets elected councilwoman, mayor, and governor, routs an entrenched old-boy cadre, while maintaining near record levels of public support.

Yet the American public knows almost nothing of what it should about the extraordinary career of Joe Biden, the 36-year veteran of the Senate. In unprecedented fashion, Biden has simply avoided the press for most of the last two months, confident that the media instead would deconstruct almost every word of “good looking” Sarah Palin’s numerous interviews with mostly hostile interrogators.

By accepted standards of behavior, Biden has sadly proven wanting. He has committed almost every classical sin of character — plagiarism, false biography, racial insensitivity, and serial fabrication. And because of media silence, we don’t know whether he was kidding when he said America would not need to burn coal, or that Hezbollah was out of Lebanon, or that FDR addressed the nation on television as president in 1929 (surely a record for historical fictions in a single thought), or that the public would turn sour on Obama once he was challenged by our enemies abroad. In response, the media reported that the very public Sarah Palin was avoiding the press while the very private Joe Biden shunned interviews and was chained to the teleprompter.

For two months now, the media reaction to Biden’s inanity has been simply “that’s just ol’ Joe, now let’s turn to Palin,” who, in the space of two months, has been reduced from a popular successful governor to a backwoods creationist, who will ban books and champion white secessionist causes. The respective coverage of the two candidates is ironic in a variety of ways, but in one especially — almost every charge against Palin (that she is under wraps, untruthful, and inept) was applicable only to Biden.

So we are about to elect a vice president about whom we know only that he has been around a long time, but little else — and nothing at all why exactly Joe Biden says the most astounding and often lunatic things.

Imagine the reaction of Newsweek or Time had moose-hunting mom Sarah Palin claimed FDR went on television to address the nation as President in 1929, or warned America that our enemies abroad would test John McCain and that his response would result in a radical loss of his popularity at home.

And here are the very latest Bidenisms.

I'm not saying, by the way, that Palin is ideal. I haven't watched (or read transcripts of) the interviews she's done, but I've heard enough second-hand to think that a vp candidate should come off somewhat better. Still, I don't get the sense that people think that Biden ran circles around her in their debate - which I also didn't watch, but which I've also heard a bit about from others - nor, more generally, that she crashed and burned. And VDH makes good points about her successes, which need to be explained by those who think she'd be a disaster. In fact, I think that a case could be made that we have more reason to think that Biden would be an executive disaster - as well as, of course, a moral disaster.

Bishop Lennon of Cleveland had a letter read at all Masses in the diocese this weekend: "While All Faithful Citizenship Issues Important, Not All Are Equal"

I heard that letter at Kim's parish. Then, when I got back to Steubenville and read the Pittsburgh paper, I saw an article alerting me to a letter by Bishop Zubik, which sounds similar to Bishop Lennon's, but which I can't find on the web sites of the Pittsburgh diocese or its newspaper. I can only find this letter from the bishop, which is from earlier last month and which doesn't make the point nearly as strongly.

And, for vice president, Sam the Eagle.

...in terms of life experience, sort of like Yoda, eh?  That's it!  Yoda for President. 

Better than the Others he would be.

I just became aware of this.  I know that flaxseed oil is often recommended, especially to help cycle irregularities among NFP users (which is why this post caught my eye in particular).

I'm not sure this means DON'T use flaxseed oil, because the essential fatty acids are very important in pregnancy, but it does seem to be a heads up for more investigation.

A reader emails:

Sorry, Kermit does not have the temperament to be president.

President: Scooter
Vice President: Guy Smiley (a consumate politician)
Defense: Sam the Eagle
Education: The Count von Count
State: Animal (I want an aggressive foreign policy)
Interior: Kermit the Frog (he knows that while conservation is good, it is not easy being green)
Treasury: The Amazing Mumford (he could work magic with the economy)
Agriculture: Miss Piggy
Commerce: Cookie Monster (he knows about consumption)
Energy: Dr. Bunson Honeydew
Housing and Urban Development: Oscar the Grouch
Press Secretaries: Statler and Waldorf
Surgeon General: Dr. Bob

I'm still trying to find positions for Fozzie and Rowlf, and I don't have a Transportation secretary.

I think I could get on board with that - but I'm not sure why Kermit wouldn't have the temperament to be president - and I think that Rowlf is Dr. Bob.

I nominate Slimey the Worm.  He was an astronaut.

I can't help but be reminded of a quip from a decade and a half ago now. After Bill Clinton had said that he wanted a Cabinet that would look like America, one wit - I wish I could remember who, but I can't - commented that it looked more like the bar scene from Star Wars.

Sorry, Kevin, I've gotta disagree with you here.  I just googled Elmo's origins, and he WAS actually "lying around" the Sesame Street studios back when you (and I) were watching - in the "early 70s."  So even though he didn't really get going until 1984 ( a "second career" muppet, if you will), he WAS around getting experience. 

I think that means he has more experience than either Obama or (duck!) Palin. 

In a contest like the one we are in this year, I could probably vote for Elmo - I mean, he respects babies - on his segment, he always has a part called "Let's Ask a Baby!" He must be pro-life. 

Sadly, I already cast my absentee ballot last Saturday.  If only I had known Elmo would be joining the race as a late-comer...I feel so out of the political loop....;)

It's not who most people think...

WATCHING the presidential candidates speak about their views on abortion at the final debate, I wondered how many Americans understand who the typical woman getting an abortion is.

I had long assumed it was someone like Juno — the title character of the recent popular movie — a teenager in high school who finds herself pregnant and is not ready to raise a child.

This is wrong. The typical American woman having an abortion is a parent of one or more children (60 percent); in her 20s (57 percent); has never married (67 percent); is economically disadvantaged (57 percent); lives in a metropolitan area (88 percent); considers herself a Christian (70 percent); and has graduated from high school (87 percent) and attended at least some college (57 percent).

...

While the media have recently shown us teenagers who decide to keep their babies or put them up for adoption — like Juno, Sarah Palin’s daughter Bristol, and Jamie Lynn Spears — I don’t think we know the parent in her 20s having the abortion.  More...

Thanks to a reader (and her Star-Wars-lovin' GIRLS - I have some little BOYS who might like to meet your obviously very cool girls...;)) for this:

I'd like to put my "2 cents" in.  My girls love Yoda and star wars.  We were trying to think what Darth Vader's slogan be if he were president.  They came up with one.  "I AM your president". (In the typical Darth Vader tone and inflection!!)  Thanks for bringing a little humor on this tense day.

Thank YOU for bringing a little humor into my day too!!

He wasn't on yet back when I watched the show. I think that means he's too young and inexperienced to be president.

Here are some details/reactions.

A reader writes:

Obama is good for the poor....unless they are in the womb.

Obama will be good for the disabled...unless they are in the womb.

Obama is good on war...except for the war on the unborn intended to create some kind of social utopia.

Via FOX: "Light Drinking During Pregnancy May Benefit Baby"

In this morning's WP: "No Hot Dogs? No Sushi? It's Gonna Be a Long Nine Months. Pregnancy Food Rules Are No Fun at All, And Some Are as Squishy as Cheese"

Here is a link to a very powerful video by Catholic actor Eduardo Verastuegi who produced and starred in "Bella".  This video has been recommended by Fr. Groeschel.  It is a message by Eduardo that has some graphic scenes in the middle of his presentation.  However, the images can be skipped by clicking on the "Click Here to skip video to Eduardo's talk" once the graphic images are about to be shown if you prefer not to see them.  Here is the link: 

http://www.durarealidad.com/

We'll have a host of guests bringing you returns and analysis, plus San Diego Aux Bishop Cordileone on Proposition 8, John Allen on "Can't we do better?", and The Catholic Channel's own Bob Dunning on election returns.  Tune in!

I just heard Senator John McCain's concession speech, which I thought WAS very gracious.  Though I believe President-Elect Obama has much good to offer in some important ways, clearly, mothers, babies and families, and especially the unborn, need our prayer, and our action more than ever before.

I'm a fairly new Catholic, not so well versed in the more traditional or involved Catholic devotions, but I feel a need to participate in some kind of massive collective prayer effort for the protection of the unborn, who just a short time ago became even more vulnerable than (ever?) before in our country.

Is anyone leading such a formal effort that we can join, or can someone suggest a good, I don't know, Novena we could share as a blog?   Being a convert, I am always terrified of trying to lead even a few decades of the Rosary out loud (though I pray it privately, not as much as I'd like to) in a group of women.  Help me out here. 

My heart is definitely heavy - though some lives may certainly be improved through some of Obama's policies, we have to pick ourselves up and get to pro-life work with a vengeance not yet witnessed in our country.

God have mercy on us all, and protect the unborn, the disabled, the vulnerable elderly, the mothers, the babies, the people of faith, each and every one of us and our whole country.

Oddly I'm not too depressed about the election... I believe 2 and 4 years of total Democrat leadership (with little ability to play the victim and blame others) might just be the wake up call American conservatives and American Christians need (let alone the many Democrats who don't see clearly what their party has become).  The Republican party could use a wake up as well. 

More importantly, persecution tends to refine, strengthen and grow the Church and it sure looks like legislated persecution is going to start coming our way soon.  Regardless, God promise in His Word through St. Paul to bring good in all things for those who love Him, so God can, will and does bless America - in consolations and desolations.

Zenit has the word. I don't remember knowing that the AZ and FL votes were even taking place.

I have a couple of quibbles with Greg's response to his reader's response to "Now what?" First, I'm afraid that, to a lot of the pro-Obama Catholics, signing the FOCA and the like is not at all inconsistent with promoting a culture of life. Second, the RNC didn't pick McCain anymore than the DNC picked Obama. Lots and lots of GOP and Dem primary voters picked the nominees. More generally, I don't think that the GOP - either the RNC, or the nominee, or the voters - exactly kicked socons under the bus - though I do fully agree that the GOP - on all levels - needs to be a lot more pro-life - both in terms of what it opposes, and in terms of the degree to which it exercises proactive leadership.

Also, to Ian, while I'm not depressed about the election, neither do I think that it'll be especially good for America for the pro-life movement to spend at least a couple of years entirely in the political wilderness (at least as far as Federal politics is concerned). Obama will do a lot to ensure that more babies are killed - accepting persecution won't stop that. He'll do a lot to ensure that we have to pay for that killing - how many pro-lifers are going to give away all their property and then go to jail rather than paying taxes? Etc.

Regarding the conference call - I wonder why the NRLC isn't listed as involved.

Finally, a reader emails:

Since St. John Vianney is becoming quite the friend of mine after reading his thoughts daily, I'll mention what he suggests. He states "TO PRAY WELL WE NEED NOT SPEAK MUCH." (On the Joys of the Interior Life) So let us remember this in our busy days with our busy minds - continual, heartfelt, and sincere. We know Who loves us!

Yes, very good point about prayer.

A friend let me know about this initiative this morning!

A few days ago, Fr. Frank Pavone and I were talking on

the phone about how critical it is for the pro-life

movement to immediately join together following the

elections as a united front and map out an aggressive

strategy -- to be proactive, rather than reactive.

As a result, you are invited to join many top national

pro-life leaders for an urgent teleconference tomorrow

night, Wednesday, November 5, at 9:00 PM Eastern (6 PM

Pacific) where we will assess the election results

together and plan "next steps" for the movement in

light of those results.

Sign up now !

On the call, we will encourage and equip one another

for the next phase of our movement. You will hear from

some of the top leaders representing the various facets

of the pro-life movement:

* FR. FRANK PAVONE, Priests for Life

* PEGGY HARTSHORN, Heartbeat International

* JOE SCHEIDLER, Pro-Life Action League

* KRISTAN HAWKINS, Students For Life of America

* BRAD MATTES, Life Issues Institute

* JANET MORANA, Silent No More Awareness Campaign

* DAN MCCONCHIE, Americans United for Life

* BRYAN KEMPER, Stand True

* MICHAEL SCHWARTZ, Chief of Staff, Senator Tom Coburn

* MATT LOCKETT, Bound4Life

* And me, DAVID BEREIT, 40 Days for Life

You won't want to miss this history-making event!

Sign up for the conference call

You will be able to join the teleconference discussion

by phone or listen over the Internet. You can also

submit questions on the event web page, either in

advance or during the call. At the end of the hour, a

number of our panelists will answer the questions that

have been submitted for up to an additional hour.

There has never been a more important time for the

pro-life movement to be united in focus and direction,

and this Wednesday, November 5, you can help chart the

course for our nation's future.

Message: Greg,

Your words sound good, but after months of praying, fasting, prayer vigils, & talking/begging people to listen, I/we are tired.  There is a tremendous feeling of deflation, defeat.

I have been working with women in crisis pregnancies for years.  After coming so close, I feel like the rug is going to be pulled out from underneath us and we are going to have to go back to square one.  It's hard to pick ourselves up.  It's hard not to just give up.  I am angry, frustrated, disappointed & feel abandoned.

Greg, I am not alone, there are many, many of us.  Can you further expand upon your advice, on how to help us not succumb to this desolation?

My response is that it is time to stop being so damn nice. Constructive engagement can only work so far. We must agitate and irritate especially our fellow Catholics.  We must insist that our bishops do a better job of leading on this issue.  Call your chancery and tell your bishop how frustrated you are with the lack of leadership coming out of the USCCB and insist that more be done to educate the faithful on the primacy of life issues and our responsibility as catholic citizens so that when they meet next week their ears are ringing from all the calls.  Call your bishop and insist that they require all Catholic pro-abort pols to publicly repudiate their abortion advocacy immediately or be banned from communion--starting with Vice-President elect Joe Biden.  

Additionally, we must irritate the stuffing out of all the pro-Obama Catholics and hound them until they tell us how they are going to convince their candidate to respect the Culture of Life. What are they going to do to convince him to NOT sign FOCA or make straight the path for gay marriage?   We cannot let them rest.  We must argue with them in every avenue--their magazines, their websites, their organizations, and our parishes.  We must insist that they either make good on their promise that this adminsitration will actually be better for life or we must make sure that they don't get a moment's rest.  Whenever they meet to congratulate themselves, we have to be there to insist on action. And when they drag their feet, we need to be ready to denounce them, publicly and loudy as hypocrites and traitors to life.

We must also confront the Republican National Committee.  Call them today. Kick them while they are down and tell them that if they ever hope to win an election again, they'd better stop throwing SoCons under the bus (Jindal in '12!). Remind them that while repubs got trounced, social conservative propositions to restrict gay marriage, gay adoption and other issues that are dear to SoCon hearts did quite well across the country. While California and Florida went blue for Obama, they went Red in a big way for marriage.

Office of the Chairman
Mike Duncan, RNC Chairman
Phone: 202-863-8700
Fax: 202-863-8820
Email: Chairman@gop.com

Agitate, agitate, agitate.  It is time we stopped being apologetic and letting the left set the agenda for us by insisting we restrict our actions to social welfare activities. We have to take the fight to them and demand action louder than ever.  ESPECIALLY FROM OUR CATHOLIC LEADERSHIP.

Your thoughts?

A reader emails:

Bobby Jindal 2012!

Governor of Louisiana.

Pro-life Catholic with a 100 percent record!

Jindal believes in marriage as one man-one woman.

Jindal ran the massive sucessful evacuation effort during hurricane Gustav and saved lives.

Republican Governor; previously Representative (LA-1):
Bobby Jindal on the Issues

Bobby Jindal on Abortion

I'm pro-life. (Jun 2008)
Voted NO on expanding research to more embryonic stem cell lines. (Jan 2007)
Voted NO on allowing human embryonic stem cell research. (May 2005)
Voted YES on restricting interstate transport of minors to get abortions. (Apr 2005)
Rated 100% by the NRLC, indicating a pro-life stance (190 members). (Dec 2006)
Prohibit transporting minors across state lines for abortion. (Jan 2008)

Bobby Jindal on Civil Rights

Supports constitutional amendment to define marriage. (Jun 2008)
Voted YES on Constitutionally defining marriage as one-man-one-woman. (Jul 2006)
Voted YES on making the PATRIOT Act permanent. (Dec 2005)
Rated 0% by the HRC, indicating an anti-gay-rights stance. (Dec 2006)

John McCain said it best:  "We don't quit! We MUST fight for America!"
Let's begin now. National Republican leaders are already discussing strategy for a possible Jindal campaign. We must fight for what is right!
We are Americans, we never quit. Tell your friends about Bobby Jindal.

I like almost all of what I've heard about him - here and elsewhere (going back at least a couple of years). My one reservation: In responding to the Supreme Court's recent decision striking down LA's law allowing the death penalty for child-rapists, he seemed awfully enthusiastic about capital punishment - in ways that, I think, pretty clearly go beyond what's allowable for a Catholic. So I hope he'll come around on that issue. Still, as I said, I mostly like him, and I'd say that I hope he'll run and do well.

I recommend prayer and fasting.

Michael - doesn't Crazy Harry already run DHS?

Also, a reader emailed late yesterday evening:

What about Rizzo the rat! That's my girl's favorite. This is much more exciting than following the election.

Why not? After all, we've now elected a rat.

Thanks to a reader for this!

I am feeling the same way--I am saddened and frightened, but I am also feeling an urgent call to pray, fast, and act.  Do you know about the 40 days for life
campaign which just ended?  It was a cross-country effort, in many cities, 24-hour vigils in front of clinics, priests coming with the host exposed, Masses
being offered, and in that forty days, at least 441 babies were saved, and several workers at the clinics quit.  The people who participated in that effort want to do it again soon, perhaps in Lent--it has been energizing and
encouraging, and it's the sort of thing that needs to be happening, needed to be happening a long time ago.  I am a busy homeschooling mom of four, but I am going to make the effort now to pray a daily Rosary, and I'm going to make the effort to either be there praying at our local Planned Parenthood every Thursday during abortion hours, or babysit someone else's children so they can go.  And, I'm going to figure out how I can help in the political process.  Enough sitting around for me. 

What is up with Minnesota?  Seriously.  They almost elected Al Franken to Congress and it is the home of P.Z. Myers, the professor who is making quite a name for himself on-line (and otherwise) descrating hosts.

Are there any readers from there who might be able to shed some light on what it is like to live in that state??

My prayers go out to them and the eleven bishops called to shepherd this people.

You've elected a racist, Marxist, baby-killer.

What are you going to do to celebrate?

The words at the end of the final psalm in Morning Prayer today struck me as important:

Shout ... for joy, before the LORD who comes, who comes to govern the earth, to govern the world with justice and the peoples with fairness.

These words remain applicable no matter who our president is. We've maybe had a few presidents who were really good. Bush did some important things wrong. Obama is a thoroughly evil and loathsome man - a real moral catastrophe for our country. But the Lord - infinitely bigger than any president or than our whole nation - still comes to govern us with justice and fairness, and we are still to shout for joy at this.

The news is mostly bad - i.e., except for the CA vote.

Thanks to a colleague for bringing this to my attention: "Should We Legalize Voluntary Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide? A Review of the Ethical Arguments and of the Empirical Evidence from the Netherlands and Oregon"

Give it a read.

Following the election, I think the important thing to remember is that our mission hasn't changed--and woudn't be any different if McCain had been elected.  Specifically, we are still called to build a culture of life, to agitate for the sanctity of life, and to be generous in the service of life. 

We have a lot of work ahead of us.  Too much to do to waste time being depressed or maudlin.  We must hit the ground running so that the Obama administration has to react to us, and not the other way around.

What are you going to do to fight for life...TODAY?

Today is really no different than yesterday in my world - I still have 11 kids to try to get to heaven along w/ Matt and I, I still have 8 at home to clothe, feed and teach.  I still have a marriage to work on and a faith life to nourish.  Life goes on in my house.

Am I surprised by the election?  Not really.  Am I worried about the next four years?  Not really.  Concerned - yes, but not worried.  As God remains God and Jesus is still the King (good thing that is not an electable position).

And I am also proud that we have an African-American president - I really, really wish it was a different man but all the same it is historic.

So, I will do what most of us will do - continue my day, take a wait and see approach to what the President-Elect will do and then fight again if I have to. 

And I will keep on praying - for our president and our country, myself and my family. 

Yeah, good luck with that.

Robert alerts me to Barb Nicolosi's "Open Letter About Being A 'One-Issue Voter'" (posted last Monday):

Dear _____________

I have received your heartfelt appeal for me to consider voting for Barack Obama. As a Christian, I find your message way beyond galling, and into the realm of the surreal. ...

This pretty much agrees with my thoughts before (and after) the election.

Rahm Emanuel has been offered and accepted the job of White House chief of staff by Obama.  Not suprisingly, he has a 100% abortion rights voting record (ugghhh!):

• Voted YES on expanding research to more embryonic stem cell lines. (Jan 2007)
  
• Voted YES on allowing human embryonic stem cell research. (May 2005)
  
• Voted NO on restricting interstate transport of minors to get abortions. (Apr 2005)
  
• Voted NO on making it a crime to harm a fetus during another crime. (Feb 2004)
  
• Voted NO on banning partial-birth abortion except to save mother’s life. (Oct 2003)
  
• Voted NO on forbidding human cloning for reproduction & medical research. (Feb 2003)
  
• Rated 100% by NARAL, indicating a pro-choice voting record. (Dec 2003)
  
• Rated 0% by the NRLC, indicating a pro-choice stance. (Dec 2006)
  
• Ensure access to and funding for contraception. (Feb 2007)

Pray without ceasing!  It is no time to lay down our powerful, spiritual weapons.

Our Lay Dominican chapter here in Steubenville now has a blog. I'll be posting there occasionally (probably usually by cross-posting some items blogged here - e.g., commentaries on Mass readings).

I wonder about some of the stances reported. I'm not saying that the arguments in favor of social spending (and taxes) lack all merit. But I think that a lot of Catholics need to be a lot more mindful of this important component of the Church's social doctrine:

In recent years the range of [State] intervention [in socioeconomic matters] has vastly expanded, to the point of creating a new type of State, the so-called "Welfare State". This has happened in some countries in order to respond better to many needs and demands, by remedying forms of poverty and deprivation unworthy of the human person. However, excesses and abuses, especially in recent years, have provoked very harsh criticisms of the Welfare State, dubbed the "Social Assistance State". Malfunctions and defects in the Social Assistance State are the result of an inadequate understanding of the tasks proper to the State. Here again the principle of subsidiarity must be respected: a community of a higher order should not interfere in the internal life of a community of a lower order, depriving the latter of its functions, but rather should support it in case of need and help to coordinate its activity with the activities of the rest of society, always with a view to the common good.

By intervening directly and depriving society of its responsibility, the Social Assistance State leads to a loss of human energies and an inordinate increase of public agencies, which are dominated more by bureaucratic ways of thinking than by concern for serving their clients, and which are accompanied by an enormous increase in spending. In fact, it would appear that needs are best understood and satisfied by people who are closest to them and who act as neighbours to those in need. It should be added that certain kinds of demands often call for a response which is not simply material but which is capable of perceiving the deeper human need. One thinks of the condition of refugees, immigrants, the elderly, the sick, and all those in circumstances which call for assistance, such as drug abusers: all these people can be helped effectively only by those who offer them genuine fraternal support, in addition to the necessary care.

After this week's election, we should all be even more aware than ever that the world is very, very far from being the place that God intended it to be. To take but the most important example, millions of human beings in our country lack legal protection from intentional killing. This has been the case for more than three and a half long decades now, and there is no realistic chance that it will change until still more years have passed. And this is about as far as can be from the way that the world is meant to be. More than ever, we should not feel at home in this world.

And yet, first, this is nothing entirely new. In countless ways, large and small, the world has been a mess since the fall of our first parents.

Second, God is still at work in the world for our salvation. I was reflecting on this in light of the Mass readings for this Sunday, the Feast of the Dedication of the pope's cathedral church as Bishop of Rome, the Lateran Basilica - originally dedicated, in fact, to the Most Holy Savior, though later dedicated also to Sts. John the Baptist and John the Evangelist, and hence commonly called St. John Lateran. Our second reading and Gospel remind us that Jesus Christ, God and Man, is the Church. We are members of the Church insofar as we are, together, united to him. Our church buildings - from St. John Lateran to the humblest little churches in the poorest and least Catholic places - are called churches because Christ dwells and acts in them.

Furthermore, as we hear in the account of the Prophet Ezekiel's vision in our first reading, the Church is meant to provide refreshing water, and food, and medicine to our world that is so thirsty and hungry and sick and wounded, so far from God's loving plan, so far from the sort of place in which we Christians could really be at home.

It is for us, as faithful members of the Church, to participate in this work of bringing salvation and love and peace to the world.

As I noted, the Lateran Basilica is the pope's cathedral church. It is especially important for us to remain always in full communion with our Holy Father. This is indeed essential for our participation in God's saving plan for the whole world. There is no other saving plan than that which God is carrying out in and through the one Church of Jesus Christ, sanctified and taught and governed in this world by the Vicar of Christ, the Successor of St. Peter. We must worship, and believe and teach, and act, always in full communion with the pope.

It is perhaps worth mentioning especially the importance of worshipping faithfully in accordance with the Church's wise and authoritative regulations for the Sacred Liturgy. It is worth mentioning also at this time the importance of full fidelity, in thought and word and deed, to some of the moral teachings of recent popes, and especially those of the Servant of God Pope John Paul the Great, and of our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, on abortion - abortion in itself and in relation to the political sphere.

That brings us back to my starting point. We are now very far from a situation in which the political sphere conforms itself to God's plan, as interpreted and proclaimed by the Church, for the protection of the most vulnerable among us from intentional killing. And yet, in faith, hope, and love, and in communion with the pope, we, the Church of Christ, must continue to conform ourselves to God's saving plan. Following the Incarnate Son, and with the pope, we must love the world enough not to conform ourselves to it - not to make ourselves at home in it as it is - but rather, to pray for its salvation, and to speak to it of God's will, and to make every effort to bring that saving will closer to fulfillment.

By God's grace, may we persevere faithfully and untiringly in this effort to bring the world the saving refreshment that God wills for it and that it needs so desperately. In this way, whatever happens in the world, we will be opening ourselves to the perfect refreshment and happiness that God offers us in heaven, and even to an anticipation in our souls now of that heavenly peace.

I report the following without comment:

Last night my little three year old boy asked my wife, "Why is there darkness?"

Kathy said, "Because God created light and darkness.  He separated the light and the dark and created the sun and moon and stars."

He responded, "No; people made it dark.  They climbed a ladder, grabbed the sky and put it in their stomach, asked for some of God's power, and then it was dark."

Although I had mentioned it in a couple of earlier posts (1, 2), by this week I had forgotten about the Michigan vote, until Pam emailed me last night to ask if I'd heard anything about the outcome. I just did a bit of poking around. The news (1, 2) isn't good.

From Spero News:

In a November 4 letter, the Catholic bishops of the US congratulated President-elect Barack Obama, the first African-American elected President of the United States, calling the event “historic”, while praying that he will use the office to “defend the most vulnerable among us and heal the divisions in our country and our world. We stand ready to work with you in defense and support of the life and dignity of every human person.”

Addressed by Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, the city of broad shoulders that gave birth to Senator Obama’s political career, the letter said that the US is facing “uncertainties” while it offer prayers for the son of a Nigerian father and an American mother. Cardinal George is president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.  More...

You gotta see this!

It puts pretty much everyone's struggles into perspective, I think.  It certainly puts mine into perspective.

From the LA Times:

More than a thousand gay-rights activists gathered Thursday afternoon outside the Mormon temple in Westwood to protest the role Mormons played in passing Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in California.

It was the latest in an escalating campaign directed against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for its role in marshaling millions of dollars in contributions from its members for the successful campaign to take away same-sex marriage rights.

Members of the Mormon church, who were strongly urged by church leaders to contribute to the Proposition 8 campaign, had an undeniable role in the measure's victory. Opponents of Proposition 8 have accused the church of discriminating against homosexuals, but the backlash against the denomination has also sparked accusations of discrimination.

During the campaign, a website established by Proposition 8 opponents used campaign finance data and other public records to track Mormon political contributions to the Yes-on-8 campaign. Opponents estimated that members of the church had given more than $20 million, but the amount is difficult to confirm since the state does not track the religious affiliation of donors.

Critics of the website noted that the religious affiliations of other political donors are not generally researched.

A commercial opposing Proposition 8 also drew criticism. In it, two actors portraying Mormon missionaries forced their way into the well-kept home of a married lesbian couple.

"Hi, we're here from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," one says.

"We're here to take away your rights," says his partner.

The missionaries then rip the wedding rings from the women's fingers and ransack their house until they find the women's marriage license, which they destroy.

"Hey, we have rights," one of the women says.

"Not if we can help it," answers the missionary.

The ad was produced by an independent group not affiliated with the official No-on-8 campaign and was shown on MSNBC and Comedy Central, according to Rick Jacobs of the Courage Campaign, a progressive political group.

Jeff Flint, strategist for Yes on 8, called the ad "despicable" and said it "crossed every line of decency."

"I am appalled at the level of Mormon-bashing that went on during the Proposition 8 campaign and continues to this day," he said. "If this activity were directed against any other church, if someone put up a website that targeted Jews or Catholics in a similar fashion for the mere act of participating in a political campaign, it would be widely and rightfully condemned."

Members and leaders of the Catholic Church and other Christian churches were also heavily involved in the campaign to pass Proposition 8. The Knights of Columbus, which is tied to the Catholic Church, gave $1 million, and several evangelical groups gave millions more. But they have not come under the same kind of attack.

Leaders of the No-on-8 campaign said they did not believe they were engaged in Mormon-bashing. "This is not about religion," said Jacobs. "This is about a church that put itself in the middle of politics."  More...

The California Catholic Conference condemned the ad:

Of course, this deplorable ad is ultimately a strike against churches having any say in these vital social issues, and the last line is absolutely chilling for all religious people, no matter who they are.   This is not just about the Latter-day Saints, but about any religious group who seeks to have a voice. 

In their statement, the California Catholic Conference called the ad "bigoted and intolerant."  Bishop Stephen Blaire, the President of the California Catholic Conference decried the new advertisement from opponents of Proposition 8 as "a blatant display of religious bigotry and intolerance." He expressed dismay that any public media outlet would give it an airing. "The YES on 8 campaign is not about discrimination and intolerance; it is about restoring the traditional definition of marriage for the good of society and children," said Bishop Blaire.

 "All individuals and groups, whether religious or not, have both a right and a responsibility to participate in a civil debate about this important issue. From the beginning of this campaign the Catholic Conference has stressed the importance of mutual respect and denounces this type of religious bigotry."

I sent my blog post on flax oil during pregnancy to Marilyn Shannon, author of Fertility, Cycles and Nutrition, for comment, and she was good enough to write me back with this helpful perspective:

I wanted to comment on the attached report of a recent abstract relating flax intake to an increased risk of preterm birth.  I got the abstract, but am not able to locate the actual article, which perhaps is yet to be printed. This research was based on a questionaire of 8,000+ women in Canada, a large number.  However, it asked only about intake of  any "herbal products," flax, and chamomile tea.  A total of 39% of the women questioned returned their questionnaire--3,000+.

 

The research did not address a prime factor in premature birth--inadequate overall caloric intake as well as inadequate overall protein intake.  What was the overall diet like?  Were many of the women who chose to take flax vegetarians?  Unless carefully handled, a strict vegetarian (vegan) diet can adversely affect overall protein quality and caloric quantity.  How much flax did the women consume?  In many cases, adverse effects are dose-related; for example, caffeine consumption relates to miscarriage in a dose-related way, according to new research. Was the flax taken with a vitamin E source?  Flax is very prone to oxidation. There is no indication that any of these questions were part of the investigation.

 

The study began with the second trimester of pregnancy, more or less (at 15 weeks).  It concluded that "Flax use...should be avoided during gestation."  This is a very broad conclusion to a limited study. A better conclusion is that more study is warranted on this topic.

 

Based on this research, I am not willing to recommend that women eliminate flax oil throughout pregnancy.  To the contrary, it is a source of the hard-to-get, essential alpha-linolenic acid, and provides the raw material to make the brain-healthy DHA.  Certainly some moderation is prudent, and in fact that moderation is suggested by Drs. Raffelock (D.C.) and Roundtree (M.D.) in their 2002 book, A Natural Guide to Pregnancy and Postpartum Health.  For good information on flax during pregnancy and breastfeeding, I recommend their book.

 

It may be that the actual article contains further information, and I will be looking for it.