I want to comment on the video circulating now about the Black pastor who was arrested for being “suspicious” by watering flowers. I don’t know the details of this particular incident, but I have a story that I’ll tell in a second, and which relates to this one. Moral of that story: SWPs (Suspicious White People) are a disaster for American civil society. Okay so here’s my story, and for those who don’t know, I’m white, which is actually relevant... Read more
Been awhile, huh? Sheesh, Jen. Okay, here’s what’s been going on since I last updated here: I drove up to Ohio to tape my conversion story with The Journey Home. Reminder that most (but not all, see below) of my Jesus-blogging has moved over to the substack. I don’t link backward from there to here, because the ‘stack is there to create a no-politics zone for those who don’t love debates. But if you’re a longtime reader here, definitely subscribe (it’s free)... Read more
My daughter’s college housing application (small red-state public college) had some great questions on it for roommate-matching. Let’s try to line up preferences for smoking, cleaning schedules, study hours — lots of good stuff. And then there was this one: “Would you like to stand in solidarity with LGBQT+ students by rooming with a student of any gender identity?” There was no further explanation as to what this question might mean. She has no problem whatsoever with sharing a room... Read more
I’m back to the land of Wi-Fi for a bit (my few notes from the road can be found over at the Substack), and I’m going to go ahead and apologize to those of you who have been waiting at the edge of your seats for me to tell you what to think about the various highly-charged topics of the past month or so. We’re changing formats and using this space for me to regurgitate thoughts about my #1 household... Read more
If you haven’t seen it already, Gloria Purvis has an excellent interview with Archbishop Cordileone about the situation with Nancy Pelosi and Holy Communion: If you are interested in understanding the situation, I recommend watching the whole thing. Here are the related podcast link and text of the interview. I have not heard and read those, but I found the quality of the YouTube interview sufficient that I’m comfortable pointing you to the alternate media. It’s important to know what definition... Read more
There’s this guy I love, who shall therefore remain nameless, who’s spent a large portion of the COVID pandemic dropping little comments about people who are “afraid” of infection. In fairness, he errs on the fearless side in life, so I guess people who are bothered by potentially-deadly situations do seem odd to him. He probably doesn’t wear a helmet when he rides his bike, either, for all I know. Still. It irks me. It irks me because I’m one... Read more
At First Things, Wesley J. Smith summarizes the research on assisted suicide and suicide contagion: Earlier this year, the original authors responded to this criticism in the JEMH. This time, they compared suicide rates in European countries that had legalized euthanasia with demographically similar countries that had not. Again, the authors found a “concerning pattern” where EAS (euthanasia/assisted suicide) is legal. They found, much to my expectation, that in the four jurisdictions they studied in which euthanasia and assisted suicide (EAS)... Read more
Text from the 20-year-old today, and I paraphrase with added subtext to assist the reader: Mom, what if I minored in _________ subject, which is utterly unrelated to my professional goals, but it’s one I’ve had a lifelong interest in and talent for, and which is apparently a fairly strong program at my school? Okay? How is that even a question? I texted her back and told her to try a class and see what she thinks. She doesn’t have... Read more
Two links for highlights on Bishop Fabre-Jeune’s ordination this past Friday the 13th: Nate Tinner-Williams live-tweeted the event, and he catches all the serious moments, with great photos. Good straight-up summary of the play-by-play, regular journalism edition. Meanwhile, view from the back rows, here’s my time-stamped guide to some of the fun stuff going on in the liturgy, which was jam-packed with reverence, devotion, and pure unfettered Jesus-lovin’ joy. –> I’m going to caution some of my readers not to... Read more
The most compelling question in favor of abortion is, “What about to save the life of the mother?” The answer is straightforward, and fundamentally agrees with the pro-choice position, only minus the intentional-killing-of-the-baby part: If the mother’s life is truly in danger, then delivering the baby early (even before viability), followed by palliative and/or life-saving care for the baby, is a possible moral option. Abortion is not necessary. The reality of caring for the baby after delivery, rather than discarding... Read more
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