No accent is better than another

June 29, 2007 By voxnovablog

I recently heard on NPR that there are American English accent enhancement programs that help immigrants from Asia, Latin America, and Europe to “make their American English sound more like that of Americans.” These services are primarily targeted to those individuals who wish to succeed in the American business world, especially those involved in Sales and Customer Service departments. When I first heard the news commentary I thought to myself that the program was fair, especially because as a consultant,... Read more

On Inter-Religious Dialogue I: Religious Liberty and Tolerance

June 29, 2007 By Henry Karlson

Ideologues tend to use simplistic-sounding notions as a means to control their audience. For example, they can say something like, “error has no rights.” What would one mean by this? Obviously, it would mean “what you say is wrong, and you have no right to discuss it.” Of course, they obscure many facts, such as the difference between a person who has rights and ideas which do not; error has no rights because error is not a person. While an... Read more

Immigration Video

June 29, 2007 By voxnovablog

Here’s a video on immigration that Katerina made awhile back during the congressional debates over whether or not to construct a fence along the U.S./Mexico border. Given the events in the Senate today, I thought it appropriate to post the video once more. Read more

Contents of the Immigration Bill

June 28, 2007 By Policraticus

As Katerina noted, the immigration bill suffered a crushing defeat today in the U.S. Senate. The sense that I got from the past few weeks of talk radio, politician soundbites, cable news debates, and bloggers is that the contents of this bill were largely unknown to the public, yet there was no shortage of public opinion being dispersed through various media and Internet outlets. I’ve heard such deceptive remarks as “We need to secure the border first!” or “We cannot... Read more

Senate blocks immigration bill

June 28, 2007 By voxnovablog

“But we won’t ignore people in need, and we won’t be quiet about laws that don’t work — or that, in their “working,” create impossible contradictions and suffering. Despite all of the heated public argument over the past year, Americans still find themselves stuck with an immigration system that adequately serves no one. We urgently need the kind of immigration reform that will address our economic and security needs, but also regularize the status of the many decent undocumented immigrants... Read more

Out of Africa

June 28, 2007 By Henry Karlson

Can Catholics in the West learn something from Catholics in Africa? Even though Cardinal Arinze is an important and influential leader in the Church, it seems, on the most part, Africa is ignored by us. Why is it? Are we too focused upon our own immediate surroundings that we don’t take the time to explore what is happening in the wider world? Whatever the reason, monumental events are going on in Africa, and Catholic Bishops are making valiant struggles for... Read more

Double Dose of Motu Proprio

June 27, 2007 By voxnovablog

Pope Benedict XVI is getting some business taken care of before vacation…two motu proprio‘s in less than a month! The Holy Father promulgated De Aliquibus Mutationibus In Normis De Electione Romani Pontificis on June 11, 2007, which overturns John Paul II’s decision in Universi Dominici Gregis to modify the papal elections by permitting a single majority to elect the Roman Pontiff if after three days the conclave has failed to do so by two-thirds majority. Pope Benedict’s motu proprio, which... Read more

On Germany and Iraq

June 27, 2007 By Morning's Minion

A recent Commonweal issue included a review of a book entitled The Fire– The Bombing of Germany, 1940-1945 by Jorg Friedrich. The reviewer was James Sheehan. The book describes the bombing of civilian targets as a key battle tactic by the UK and the US during the second world war. The idea was to break the morale and destroy the productive capacity of the Germans. All in all, about 600,000 Germans were killed, and three and a half million homes... Read more

On the Catholic principle of double effect

June 27, 2007 By voxnovablog

While I certainly appreciate Nate’s passion for recognizing the sanctity of all human life, I am, nevertheless, deeply troubled by the tenor of his post. And although I am far from being an expert in this area, it does seem to me that Julian is quite right in characterizing Nate’s understanding of the principle of double effect as “simplistic.” But more than that (and this goes to the heart of what bothers me most), Nate’s post is striking in its... Read more

Voter’s Guide For Unserious Catholics

June 27, 2007 By voxnovablog

1) Draw devil horns on each of the prospective candidates. Whichever candidate looks least like like devil gets your vote!2) Using any part of a candidate’s full name, vote for the candidate who is named after the most canonized Saints.Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton – Hilarion, Hilary of PoitiersBarack Hussein Obama – noneJohnny Reid “John” Edwards – 18 (15 Johns, 3 Edward)Fred Dalton Thompson – Thomas the Apostle, Becket, More, and AquinasRudolph William Louis Giuliani III – Wilfrid_of_Ripon, Louis XIV,Samuel Dale... Read more