This is a long post. Just shy of 6k words. It began in a Facebook note, subsequently posted at Cosmos the in Lost, where I talked aloud about the week off I took this past week. I wrote: I may also try to pen a retrospective of sorts, recalling my own political journey to wherever it is that I am now politically. I especially want to disclose my process of rejecting the right-wing politics that slowly evolved out of the... Read more
Well folks, I’m back. More soon, but be alerted that I’m resurrecting my blog. A bit of housekeeping will take place and a very long opening post. Cheers, SR Read more
The digital problem of problems multiplies itself in multiples of seventy-seven daily diminishing returns. Every tweet, like, share, and short-term superlative comment feed a smoky back room appetite for page views, digested by algorithmic marketing muscle acids, and gasoline controversy fumes erupt into a few dollars — a small price for hurt feelings and cheap thrill therapy. In my case, most of this is self-inflicted. I started blogging in the summer of 2005 and have been through a half dozen experiments, the last... Read more
The blog is presently stowed away for technical reasons. In the meantime, I wish you all a very merry Christmas holiday season. SR Read more
There are three options: (1) participate, (2) participate critically, (3) refuse. This post aspires to be a refusal, but will inevitably become a critical participation. There is an analogy to be made between the large scale cycle of popular news and the tiny scale Catholic blogosphere and various websites and social media. The relationship between the two is twofold: in one case directly, in the other indirect. For one, the news cycle drives a large portion of Catholic commentary, especially... Read more
Since the release of my album, just over a month ago, I’ve faced a number of related questions about the identity of this music I’ve made and, more intimately, my own identity as its maker. Many have wondered how my work as a musician can be reconciled to my work as an academic and a father. Others have wondered about the religious identity of my work, across its various mediums, and have been generous in allowing me to offer a series... Read more
This is a guest post from my dear friend JD Flynn. It is the conclusion of our dialogue about the honorary doctorate conferred by our alma mater, Franciscan University of Steubenville, upon Michael Hayden, former head of the CIA. You can read my initial post here, JD’s first post here, and my response here. I promised JD that if he wrote his response here, I’d point out that he’s smarter and better looking than me. He is. Sam Rocha is... Read more
One of the more vexing problems with public discourse today is that the keywords being used do not carry the same meanings or usages form one person to the next. The madness that ensues is in many ways to be expected when everyone not only uses terms differently, but also implies and suspects that those they disagree operate on bad faith, ignorance, or both. When words become barriers and dams, they are counterproductive. At the same time, when words are used... Read more
On May 12, 2012, Fr. Terence Henry, TOR, president of Franciscan University of Steubenville (FUS), conferred an honorary degree to General Michael Hayden with these words: General Hayden has devoted his life to keeping America safe, strong and free. In that work he has drawn time and again on his Catholic faith working to integrate a Catholic understanding of liberty, justice, and human dignity into the day to day operations of America’s military and intelligence operations. Because he has spend... Read more
Today the Committee on Race and Ethnicity of the Philosophy of Education Society released the following bilingual joint statement with the Latin American Philosophy of Education Society on the 43 missing student-teachers from a rural normal school (the equivalent of a teachers college) in Ayotzinapa, Guerrero, Mexico: PDF VERSION: CORE LAPES AYOTZINAPA STATEMENT For more information on the ongoing situation, VICE News has a very informative video: Read more
Sam Rocha
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In