Regular readers know I have made some predictions in the past that have panned out (“…when Mrs. Clinton, in her ongoing effort to turn herself into whatever the polls says she must be, cries in public. It’s going to be genuinely ghastly.”) and some that have panned out and then flamed out. I’m lousy at making formal predictions, but on the fly I can sometimes -in the process of reasoning– come up with something halfway credible. Others are better at... Read more
One of the good things about a Catholic church is that it isn’t respectable; you can find anyone in it, from duchesses to whores, from tramps to kings. — Rumer Godden, In This House of Brede Over at Inside Catholic, Zoe Romanowsky links to a piece by the newly-conservative psychotherapist known as Robin of Berkeley, who has chronicled her recent experiences at a Catholic Christmas Mass. To my amazement, the painfully shy child sitting next to me came out of... Read more
In the comments section, Dry Valleys (a lovable resident lefty who admits he doesn’t know how he has ended up hanging out here so often and actually enjoying it) mentioned New Year’s Resolutions, and I thought – what a good idea, why didn’t I think of that? I’d love to hear what everyone is resolving to do this year. As usual, I am resolving to do better on my diet (I have made a good start in December, actually) and... Read more
Noted at The Corner: To see the danger we face because of Obama’s return to a law-enforcement approach to terrorist interrogation, read today’s front-page story in the Washington Post. At the very end of the article, the Post notes: Abdulmutallab remains in a Detroit area prison and, after initial debriefings by the FBI, has restricted his cooperation since securing a defense attorney, according to federal officials. Authorities are holding out hope that he will change his mind and cooperate with... Read more
Neo-neocon is wondering what has happened to Obama’s vaunted fluency? Obama was always a fluid if vapid speechmaker, although his off-the-cuff statements featured a lot of hemming and hawing. But I’ve noticed something that seems new: hesitancy even when he speaks from a prepared text. Obama now seems to go off-teleprompter more often—perhaps because he’s been critiqued so much for its use—and when reading from notes on a lectern he stops and starts, as well as using a tennis-match-like repetitive... Read more
You know what is really sad? You read the names of the 10 most corrupt politicians in the United States (none will surprise you) and realize how easy it would be to create a list of 25 -or 50- corrupt politicos, and still know you haven’t begun to scratch the surface. And as with the Clinton administration, members of the Obama administration are beginning to marry into the media. So, we’ll certainly continue to get the very best investigative journalism... Read more
A bit discombobulated around here. My work schedules and habits have been completely thrown off by family and events, and unplanned sojourns, and my dear, beloved husband’s using up his vacation time during these last two weeks of the year. I would love to be able to get back to my routine, but…that ain’t happening, I don’t think, until next week. I had no idea how attached to my routine I had become, until it all got blown to bits.... Read more
I am awestruck over these two lives profiled in the NY Times Magazine; their stories included in the magazine’s look at notable deaths in 2009: Martha Mason and Maurizio Montalbini: They Lived Apart In 1948, polio came for the children of Willard and Euphra Mason of Lattimore, N.C. First it took 13-year-old Gaston, killing him in days. His sister, Martha, grief-stricken, terrified, knew on the day of her brother’s funeral that her aching muscles meant she was sick, too. She... Read more
My podcast reading the Nativity Narrative of the Gospel of St. Luke UPDATE: “Teach them to watch the star that leads to the baby. A must-read. One to save to re-read in mid-year, when both Christmas and Easter are have passed, and we’ve begun to forget. (H/T) More giving…and…Even more A very generous little kid who must have good parenting. Fr. James Martin: Hail Mary Read more
Who did you forget on your Christmas gift list? I know I forgot someone. There is always the Amazon Gift Certificate! You can print one up as you’re running out the door (and this site gets a wee kickback, too) Come one, get that shopping done! Get all those ribbons tied up! Read more
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