Bishop a “Pedophile Pimp”

Last updated on: April 7, 2011 at 7:42 am By pentimento

It’s telling that some self-described practicing Catholic conservative legislators in New Hampshire began trashing their bishop with gutter language only after he made public statements about how their proposed budget would harm the poor. When Bishop John McCormack suggested that the proposed New Hampshire budget “[neglected] the poor and vulnerable,” Rep. D.J. Bettencourt, the House majority leader, immediately deflected his Bishop’s statement by making ad hominem attacks against McCormack for his prior service as an aide to Cardinal Law. It... Read more

Just Say No to McWork!

Last updated on: April 6, 2011 at 7:31 am By Henry Karlson

On facebook, the local Fox affiliate asked the question, if you were jobless and looking for a job, would you take a job at McDonald’s. This was asked because McDonald’s promised 50,000 new jobs by the end of the month. So many people said yes. They were saying it is better to have honest work and a paycheck than being without a job. The response should be no. People should rather be unemployed and thumb their nose at McDonald’s than... Read more

As Holy Week approaches, the poor are being nailed to a cross of austerity

Last updated on: April 5, 2011 at 5:58 pm By Morning's Minion

Yes, the United States has a public debt problem. No, it was not caused by runaway spending, or by stimulus, or by bailouts. It was caused by the recession, which led tax revenues to plummet (a lot)and automatic spending like unemployment benefits to increase (a bit). The secondary cause was the poor starting point, from three major unfunded deficit expansions in the Bush years – war, Medicare part D, and upper-income tax cuts. All across the world, stimulus and bailout... Read more

“The best interests of the children of the nation should always come first”

Last updated on: April 5, 2011 at 10:58 am By pentimento

“The support and status that marriage entails is not a societal bonus for falling in love and agreeing to make a relationship lasting. That is not, of course, to say that love and romance are not an important part of marriage. But they are not the reason it has special status. If romance were the reason for supporting marriage, there would be no grounds for differentiating which relationships should be included and which should not. But that is not and... Read more

The Five Loaves and Two Fishes

Last updated on: April 5, 2011 at 8:55 am By Henry Karlson

When Jesus fed the multitude with five loaves and two fishes, most of us are led to ponder the miracle, to ponder how so many people could be fed by so little. Some think the miracle is that people shared what they brought with the rest of the crowd, while others think Jesus physically multiplied the loaves and fishes to make sure the populace was well fed. However, is this the right question to ask? Is this the point we... Read more

On Miscarriages and Reproductive Loss

Last updated on: April 4, 2011 at 10:46 am By David Cruz-Uribe

In a recent thread there was a discussion about miscarriages. With this in mind, I wanted to give a link to a beautiful article in the most recent issue of America Magazine: A Hidden Sorrow by Christopher Pramuk. A sample: I know that as a man my experiences are very different from those of my wife or sister or of any woman who has felt the anguish of life’s perishing deep in her body. We hurt in different ways. Following... Read more

A Study Of “On The Character of Men And the Virtuous Life”: Part XIII

Last updated on: April 4, 2011 at 10:34 am By Henry Karlson

Introduction and Part II Why was man created? In order that, by apprehending God’s creatures, he might contemplate and glorify Him who created them for man’s sake. The intellect responsive to God’s love is an invisible blessing given by God to those whose life by its virtue commends itself to Him.[1] We have an innate desire for purpose for our lives. We seek to understand what we are meant to do, so that we feel all the work and suffering... Read more

Righteous Anger

Last updated on: April 4, 2011 at 8:39 am By Morning's Minion

This is pretty much how I feel. I really never thought this would happen. I never thought the financial system would simply get away with it. I will never look at things the same way again. “Years ago I remember a lot of moderate liberals talking about how the Bush era radicalized them. For me, it was the economic collapse of 2008 that did it. The financial industry almost literally came within a hair’s breadth of destroying the world, but even... Read more

Wonderful Lenten Movie

Last updated on: April 3, 2011 at 1:31 pm By Sofia Loves Wisdom

If you have not yet had the opportunity, I recommend 2007 Russian film The Island as a film to watch during Lent this year. The film focuses on protagonist Anatoly who during WWII is captured by the Nazis and forced to kill his friend to save his own life. He is rescued by monks living in Siberia and becomes one of them. He spends the rest of his life repenting the murder of his friend. Anatoly becomes the classic Holy... Read more

Despicable Threats of Violence

Last updated on: April 1, 2011 at 1:44 pm By Matt Talbot

I interrupt the April Fools festivities to make a 100% serious, and extremely important, point here. According to Talking Points Memo, a young Wisconsin woman has been charged with making threats of violence against Republican Wisconsin state legislators who were voting to repeal collective bargaining rights from state employees’ unions. I strongly and unreservedly condemn using violence, or the explicit or implicit threat of violence, as a means of making a political point or acheiving a political objective. Such threats... Read more