Behold UBFreethinkers.org, whose credo is “Demanding Evidence. Defending Reason” So where does the Young Bright go in order search for evidence on the Spanish Inquisition and defend reason from what Spaniards 500 years ago are just about to do to the brave college student menaced by medievals? Why, to a cartoon, of course! Nice to see that intellectual rigor hard at work! Read more

Elected representative to Congress goes all Glenn Beck on us by calling Repubs knuckle-dragging Neanderthals and describing lack of government healthcare as a “holocaust”. My hope is that the cool weather will drive all these people indoors where they can have their bouts of dementia and hysteria away from big public rallies and microphones. Read more

This is pretty funny. Some atheist at the Center for Inquiry writes a piece in which he observes a fact knowable to all people who are not rude gits: namely, that things like Blasphemy Day make you look like a rude git. Result: A thundering herd of independent minds screams for the Free Inquirer to rejoin their unthinking chorus of rude gittery. *Is* there anything more intellectually barren than Atheism? Okay. You say no to God. Got it. Any further... Read more

Culture of Death types, eager to get in there and start harvesting before the juices start to congeal are suddenly as puzzled as Torture Apologists about the Definition Game. When O When *is* Death Anyway? Golly! Who can possibly define it or know when it occurs? It’s all so confusing! One does not get the overwhelming sensation that the reason for asking is to make sure that the person is really dead before we open the Chop Shop. As with... Read more

Dear TIA, Thank you for your help in these confusing times. I have a question, on my way to and from work there is a Novus Ordo church that has a separate chapel with 24 hour Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. Am I allowed to stop in to make a visit? And make a holy hour? God Bless J.P. TIA responds: Dear J.P., You may stop in that place to keep Our Lord company as long as you make a... Read more

A reader writes: Thank you so very much for posting the prayer request a few days ago. I’mvery grateful. I had some nice news at the doctor’s this morning-the littlebean has a little heartbeat on ultrasound! While there are no guarantees inlife, seeing the heartbeat means my odds of miscarrying just dropped toabout 5% or so. It is a huge relief. Post the update or not, at your discretion, but I just wanted to say thanksagain. This is a very... Read more

A reader writes: Would you please ask your readers to say an immediate prayer for my marriage? We have (again) reached a rough patch and I fear this might be the last one, unless God softens my husband’s heart. Father, hear our prayer for this marriage and the two people whom you have joined through Christ our Lord. St. Joseph and Mother Mary, pray for them! Read more

Now the offers will come rolling in from Hollywood! Seriously, this is fitting punishment for my stupidity. Only I would ask the reader not to make the same mistake I did and assume too much bad faith. Here’s what actually happened that fateful day I posted it (long ago, on Tuesday, if fading memory serves). I start the day feeling extra harried, due to four different looming deadlines. I plow through my mail from sundry readers. Here’s one saying: have... Read more

From deepest, darkest Wingnuttia, a Newsmax columnist floats the hoping-while-pretending-he’s-not suggestion that what truly true American patriots need to do is mount a military coup against Obama. Cuz that will totally save the Constitution, doncha know. Newsmax takes the column down (to their credit) but then tries to lie and distance themselves from the wingnut by calling him an unpaid blogger, all while forgetting their own boilerplate bio copy proudly stated on the offending column that Perry is “a regular... Read more

One of the many reasons Dominicans are so cool is that one of our itinerant priests who flies out to Seattle from Rome every summer to attend the Ring Cycle at the Seattle Opera is Fr. Albert Paretsky. Fr. Albert has his own personal coolness in that he is one of the finest Scripture scholars in the world, but he gets extra coolness points in that his sister is Sara Paretsky, creator of hard-boiled detective V.I Warshawski, who was played... Read more