both the good kind and the bad, is under discussion by Yr Obdt Svt here. I must confess, it amused me to be able to start the article with this little gag: It’s almost that time of year again. Soon, terrifying figures will be roaming our neighborhoods from door to door and the air will be filled with the sound of voices begging that we “treat” them to a gift they badly need and warning of “tricks” that could befall... Read more

Like peas and carrots. A reader writes: When it comes to abortion and ObamaCare, there are apparently two schools of thought. One view is that the bill allows for taxpayer funding for abortion. The other is that anyone who advocates the first view should be thrown in jail. Read more

At least Bush was a true believer. What’s Obama’s excuse? Read more

No. Really. Of course, this is the same editorial department that weirdly decided to include Oasis(?!) on its list of the ten best rock and pop albums of all time, proving once again that the charism of infallibility is extremely limited. Carl Olson, America’s tallest Catholic apologist, responds with a puckish analysis of other deeply Catholic landmarks on the American television scene. With sufficient applications of imagination, you can declare pretty much anything to be Catholic. Read more

A reader writes: My brother and sister-in-law are expecting their first child (a boy), and they recently found out that there could be a few very serious problems with him. Tomorrow they have another appointment to get test results regarding the likelihood of some of these problems. It’s a very serious situation. At first they didn’t want people to know, but now we’re sort of “storming heaven”, as the saying goes. So, we would really appreciate some prayers! Father, hear... Read more

eccentric third party guys with karate skilz: The guy just screams “Folk Hero”. Read more

…is worried that nobody, Left or Right, is serious about our massive debt. He’s right, of course. Which is one of the growing list of reasons I have so little respect for either party. I like former Republican John’s description of his predicament: The growing realization that neither political party is truly capable of dealing with the U.S.’s fiscal cancer has been the major impetus in my drift from the “Republican” to “None of the above” category (when I grudgingly... Read more

…by forcing them to row home and then blowing up their ship. I like even better the idea of jailing pirates. While less cinematic, it makes it less likely that they will, you know, steal another ship and go on being pirates. Read more

From her sis: “Looks like her OR is getting cleaned, so she may go in really soon.” If not, she’ll be going in around noon. Either way, it’s happening soon, it’s just hard to get a straight answer about time. Understandably, though. ICUs never go as expected. Let me just say that I love the nurses and doctors of HUP. They are my new best friends, probably because I spend 90% of my life with them, but also because they... Read more

It’s the Catholic Family Conference NW at Holy Family in Kirkland! Read more