My brother is a Marine vet from both the Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns. He is no longer the brother I knew. He is changed. For one, he suffered a non-combat physical injury that causes him continuous pain and debilitates him. For two, he suffers the emotional consequences of war. For three, he insists that he and God are not friends. He is angry at God and that anger has made him separate himself from prayer and Mass. Despite it all,... Read more
Here’s an old (1987) but good video about life in the modern world. It’s still as relevant today as when it was first made. Read more
A little more than a year ago, the Township Committee in this faded factory town became the first municipality in New Jersey to enact legislation penalizing anyone who employed or rented to an illegal immigrant. … So last week, the town rescinded the ordinance, joining a small but growing list of municipalities nationwide that have begun rethinking such laws as their legal and economic consequences have become clearer. New York Times (HT: antes de la caida) Read more
There’s something incredibly disturbing about how a group of bureaucrats calmly discuss the implementation of techniques perfected by the Khmer Rouge, the Soviet Union, and the Gestapo in modern America. From today’s New York Times: “When the Justice Department publicly declared torture “abhorrent” in a legal opinion in December 2004, the Bush administration appeared to have abandoned its assertion of nearly unlimited presidential authority to order brutal interrogations. But soon after Alberto R. Gonzales’s arrival as attorney general in February... Read more
O.k., I know this is a bit off topic, but I simply could not resist posting a link to Mastercard’s most recent “priceless” commercial. Enjoy! Read more
Some health researchers think it may be so. Read more
As more starts to come out about the behavior of the Blackwater mercenaries in Iraq, one story in particular stuck in my mind. Last December, a drunken Blackwater mercenery shot and killed one of the Iraqi vice president’s bodyguards. The murderer was fired and sent home, but faced no criminal charges. It was understood that compensation would have to be paid, and a $100,00- $250,000 range was floated. Instead, the guard’s family was given only $15,000, on the grounds that a higher... Read more
Toby Byrum, 28, had a vasectomy, because he does not want to have children–his lifestyle could not support children. Ugh. Read more
Good for Archbishop Burke. Read more
Thursday (or He Who Must Be Bookmarked) has an interesting post about Tolkien. It got me thinking about fantasy and real life… (more…) Read more
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