If you want to understand where America stands, pay attention to the Super Bowl half-time show. I mean this from a purely sociological standpoint. My reasoning: The Super Bowl is the single event that unites the entire country. It transcends race, gender, social class, politics, religion and every other divide. The Super Bowl is considered family viewing. The people who put on the Super Bowl have a vested interest in maintaining this peak spot on the cultural mountain as the one... Read more
. . . consider calling Sean O’Halloran. I rarely blog about it, but a few readers know that I sometimes take on private writing or editing projects. Most recently I got to work with Sean O’Halloran from SO’ Creative on a film project for a small parish group. We were both working pro-bono — he did the filming, I was the primary author on the script. Lesson learned: This is a guy you want on your short list. He doesn’t monkey... Read more
The other week a friend was sharing in a private discussion group about how her child was being bullied over at the local public school. She asked for advice and prayers, then added, “I’m hoping we can get financial aid for Catholic school for next year.” That comment caused another member of the group to say, “You know, it was at Catholic school that I was bullied all those years. I begged my parents to take me out, but they... Read more
Here’s the difference between President Trump and the March for Women: Trump has asserted that a man should freely gratify his lust. If you’re interested, just step on up and get something going. The March for Women takes it one further: If necessary, a woman ought to be free to kill for that same right. Neither of these are going to make America great. Trump’s personal modus operandi — infidelity, serial marriage, promiscuity — is the root causes of American societal... Read more
Monday morning, MLK day, I was loading the car in a hotel parking lot when gunfire erupted in the distance. The shots were irregular – one, and then two, and then a pause and another one . . . perhaps seven shots in total. The hotel was more like a set of small apartment houses clustered around the pool; sound bounces off houses deceptively, so that all I could know is that the shots came from ahead or beside... Read more
I don’t expect that under the incoming administration there will be much momentum for requiring young women to register with the United States Selective Service, but sooner or later sufficient push will come along. This is a different topic than “women in the military” in general, just as the decision to conscript young men is different than the question of the military having male volunteers. When that day comes, the justification for abortion will have just ended. What does it mean... Read more
That moment when your kid gripes, “Why are we even bothering having choral Benediction if we’re not singing the Rossini O Salutaris? I mean, do you want people to catch onto the idea of the Real Presence or not??” I forebore from mounting a defense of Gregorian chant. Let her wallow in youthful self-righteousness for a while. Instead, I told her she needs to get together a choral flashmob and rove about town descending on Adoration hours and unleashing the... Read more
So, about those Santa Wars going on up at the Mall of America . . . I’m pleased to see that someone has been getting the memo and kindly ranked my horrible, no-good, very bad Southern state in the top ten worst places to live in the US. It’s terrible here! Stay away! Meanwhile, newsflash: What the local shopping malls here in backwardsville term “African-American Santa” has a been fixture on the Santa-visiting schedule for as long as I’ve had kids,... Read more
Tip #1: If you wish to protest the provision in the US Constitution that’s designed to prevent mob rule, forming a violent mob is not the most convincing way to make your case. Tip #2: You are of course well aware that the egregious post-election behavior on the part of a few unsavory characters who happened to have supported your candidate is the exception, not the rule. It follows that the same is true of those bad apples on your opponent’s... Read more
Quick update: The piece below is satire (and was tagged as such from the outset), but a few people missed the memo. The Calexit ballot initiative, however, is not. You can read the detailed Q&A on the 2019 referendum initiative here. Dear Friends, I am writing to you in these tumultuous times to ask for your help with a very important work of mercy — a whole collection of works of mercy, in fact. Now before I make my plea,... Read more
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