Today is the Solemnity of All Saints, one of my favorite days of the liturgical year. I love stepping out of church into the full thrust of Autumn and pondering that while the rest of the world goes about its business, we Catholics have taken some time to consider some of our great ancestors in the faith. Tomorrow, we consider the rest of them, for All Souls day. While tomorrow is not, today is a Holy Day of Obligation and... Read more
That the president and his administration has lied to the American people about what happened at Benghazi on September 11 is undeniable. Today is October 29. It’s been six weeks and our incurious press (apparently intuiting that if the administration first lied about the story and has now clammed up about it, it mustn’t serve Obama’s re-election efforts) is helpfully ignoring the story. The bird-dog press, who like to say the “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comforted” are doing... Read more
As a side note, I love that for monastics, the take on big storms is so very different. A few years ago, the Passionist nuns were blacked out for weeks thanks to an ice storm yet they maintained good humor. Last year the Dominincan Nuns in Summit New Jersey were left without heat and shivering together. This year, having just discovered that another big storm is headed their way, they display typical aplomb: “. . .by unanimous consensus we decided... Read more
Via “Cold front is the long stretch of clouds on the left, Sandy is on the right!!” Brendan Loy is saying today is the day to prepare, and Glenn Reynolds always has an abundance of good emergency prep advice at Instapundit. Here on Long Island we’re pulling in the last of the yard furniture and otherwise doing the same practical, common-sense prep as last year: We’re hard-boiling eggs and taking inventory for the staples: Bread, milk (liquid and powdered), more... Read more
REPOSTED FROM November 2006, captured thanks to Wayback Machine: Okay, instead of working, I wrote up the Thanksgiving menu, and since we’re having Many Appetizers (I married an Italian!) and Tortellini Soup (I talked him out of Lasagna) Turkey, Ham, Granny’s Sausage Stuffing (egad…so good), a gazillion vegetables, sweet potato pie and fruit, I thought maybe dessert should be light. This recipe suits the bill — a lovely light buttery cake with meringue and whipped cream, yum. Some people put... Read more
Les Mis is coming and Katrina is getting excited about it. She writes of powerful memories associated with it, and also posts a video “first look” at the cinema production. All the posters certainly look great. I hadn’t been aware that, in a departure for filmed musicals, the actors sang their parts live, rather than lip-synching to pre-recordings. Interesting to watch, and Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway are trained in musical theater — they can clearly sing these parts. But... Read more
A few days ago I wrote of Benghazi story: Please tell me that when our drones saw our consulate under sustained attack for seven hours, when we watched while our people were being murdered, that their rescue wasn’t inhibited because some Scheisskopf was too distracted by a contest to make a gutsy call. Please tell me that when Stevens and his team were looking for help, they were not being pushed aside by some Scheisskopf saying, “I can’t pay attention... Read more
My First Things column this week takes a look at the madness that is upon us in these final days of a deplorably long and seemingly never-ending electoral season, and then shares what I have been using to lift myself out of the funk and fug when the headlines, opinions and debates are all-too-heavy: Still, there is a restlessness, and in recent weeks, when that feeling comes upon me, I have found an outlet in an unexpected source—Baronius Press’ newly... Read more
Oh, please tell me I am not reading this or that it’s not true. Because if it’s true, then both my sons will have to worry about losing their jobs. One had his hours cut from 40 to 32, because of healthcare. If this happens, he’ll really be screwed. He can’t live on 25 hours a week’s pay. So, let’s read: (CNSNews.com) – A little-known section in the Obamacare health reform law defines “full-time” work as averaging only 30 hours... Read more
CBS News’ Sharyl Attkisson is committing journalism regarding Benghazi, on behalf of a citizenry that is entitled to know what the hell is going on: Some lawmakers are asking why U.S. military help from outside Libya didn’t arrive as terrorists battered more than 30 Americans over the course of more than seven hours. The assault was launched by an armed mob of dozens that torched buildings and used rocket propelled grenades, mortars and AK-47 rifles. CBS News has been told... Read more
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