The Anchoress
Okay, it’s a hodge-podge, but I have a lot to cover.
First up, if you are inclined to prayer, please pray for a boy in critical condition: Ben had a heart attack a few days ago on the soccer field. His heart attack it turns out, was from a huge blood clot in his leg, which has since been amputated below the knee. He is stabilizing but still in need of much prayer.
Also, some may recall praying for blogger Greg Cotharn’s sister-in-law Lisa as she underwent some adult-stem-cell therapies. Sadly, Lisa died a few days ago, of a heart attack, as Greg writes here
Okay, now for the housekeeping:
My RSS Feed; Apparently there was a blip and many people lost it. here it is
Ann Althouse does not touch public doorknobs. And neither do I.
If you haven’t taken a trip over to First Things’ blog, First Thoughts, you might want to. Just keep scrolling; it’s all good.
Added to my blogroll: A terrific blog written from a very faithful but center-mildlyleft position, Why I am Catholic, and Bill Whittle’s Afterburner Page, which will keep you current with all of his terrific PJTV videos. If you have not seen his latest on American Exceptionalism, take the 15 minutes to watch it while you’re eating lunch, or something. I am absolutely allergic to long internet videos, but Bill’s work is always worth the time; it’s “exceptional,” in fact.
Meanwhile, the SCOTUS Justices who hung on to survive Bush’s presidency are wasting no time giving Obama the control he wants and needs over the Supreme Court. Maybe we’ll get another judge as “exceptional” as Sonia “they keep reversing me” Sotomayor.
Well, if Obama does get complete control of the SCOTUS that will make it easier to re-interpret our constitutional protections, anyway, or are those our increasing rights?
Obama is said to be dropping the public option. Difficult to believe when I’ve completely lost trust in him, and when we know that anything can happen “in committee,” but we’ll see. Will he shoot for the Healthcare Sister Souljah Moment? Obama clearly wants to have something he can call a “healthcare reform victory” by the end of the year. I posted something below that looks at the value of love over efficiency
Evolution: Sometimes it is allowed in a politician, and sometimes it is not. Evolution is a tricky theory, apparently.
How stupid is the Mainstream Media: The guy they destroyed their credibility for and carried into the White House and incessantly carry water for, demonizes them for profit, and they say “thank you sir, may I have another.”
The Church and the Gay Marriage Debate: Washington’s Archbishop Donald Wuerl, jumps into the fray. (Via) Over at America Magazine, Michael Sean Winters (who is perhaps less than pleased with yer girl, just now) writes a thoughtful commentary:
The Church does not owe anyone an apology for stating our belief in the importance of traditional marriage, nor for the argument that our society should continue to privilege this unique, life-giving form of human friendship and loving that is marriage. But, we must also be clear that our opposition to anything that would detract from the centrality of marriage is not rooted in any bigotry against gay and lesbian people. Nothing in the Church’s teaching insults the human dignity of anyone else, but even a cursory reading of the Book of Genesis leads to the conclusion that the equality between the sexes is an equality of difference, and that marriage is founded on that equality of difference as something that is integral to our sense of what it means to be human. The Church should resist any attempt to paint us as bigots but it also must make sure that no one speaking in Her name betrays any bigotry.
…
One of the ways to show that the Church’s position on traditional marriage has nothing to do with anti-gay bigotry is to adopt what could be called “the Levada solution.” In 1996, when San Francisco decided that agencies contracting with the city had to extend health benefits to same-sex partners, then-Archbishop Levada negotiated with the city to achieve a solution that worked for both the city and church. The city mandated that the employees of agencies working with the government could designate anyone who was legally domiciled with an employee to receive the benefits. It could be a same-sex partner, an unemployed cousin, a retired aunt. The Church was only blessing the extension of benefits and did not need to inquire further. Gay and lesbian couples were able to enjoy the societal benefits that are not intrinsic to marriage but which have for a variety of complex reasons become associated with marriage.
I agree with this, and have for a while now been arguing that ultimately it would be in the church’s best interest, (and perhaps society’s) if we separate the legal function from the sacramental when it comes to marriage.
Let me help you with this naming problem: The National Endowment for the Arts needs to call itself the National Endowment for the Arts in Service to Obama. There. Fixed it.
Astroturfing Churches: It’s sort of like a virus, isn’t it?
A closer look at A Rep. Shea-Porter ejectee. What a terrorist!
Socialist Propaganda: Against the Church
Lessons about Bullies: And why they need to be learned and ummm bullies must always be doubted
Global Warming: Oh, look! Sunspots make the earth warmer! G’wan, yer kidding!
Spengler: Why should America Support Israel?
Interesting: Building Blocks of Social Media for Business h/t a tweet from Melissa Clouthier, who is very sharp on Social Media.
A golden Oldie: from Fr. Neuhaus, on Anti-Semitism
The Idle Young: In the UK
For your Netflix list: 50 great Catholic films
Soap in my Sidebar: the Dominican Nuns need to sell a lot of soap to raise the last $10,000 they need for their construction. The soap is fantastic. The Oatmeal Hand Creme is even better.
Rather endearing: Posing as a leftist in a healthcare crowd
The Fires of LA: Great pics
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