They Just Can't Quit

From Jonathan Martin in Politico:

S.C. Dem chair: Palin primary qualification is she hasn't had an abortion

South Carolina Democratic chairwoman Carol Fowler sharply attacked Sarah Palin today, saying John McCain had chosen a running mate "whose primary qualification seems to be that she hasn’t had an abortion.”

Palin is an opponent of abortion rights and gave birth to her fifth child, Trig, earlier this year after finding out during her pregnancy that the baby had Down syndrome.

By now there must be cooler heads among Democratic leadership warning their colleagues they are hindering the cause, to put it mildly, with these insane outbursts. Trash talk must be as addictive as crack cocaine.

(Thanks to the Instapundit.)

UPDATE: Check out this charmer, found under a rock by Mark Shea. It gets down to business, nice as you please, from the tippy top.

For the first time ever, the 2008 Republican Convention celebrated unwed teenage motherhood by seating Sarah Palin's reportedly 5-months' pregnant daughter with her teenage lover, proudly in the VIP row. As the swollen, 17-year-old Bristol Palin complacently gripped her swarthy impregnator's hand, Alaska's governor and the prospective mother's mother sternly lectured on family values and accused "the media" of persecuting her family.

Thence follows the coup de grâce:

Has the Republican Party gone mad?

What's the word for that? Projection?

They Just Can't Quit

From Jonathan Martin in Politico:

S.C. Dem chair: Palin primary qualification is she hasn't had an abortion

South Carolina Democratic chairwoman Carol Fowler sharply attacked Sarah Palin today, saying John McCain had chosen a running mate "whose primary qualification seems to be that she hasn’t had an abortion.”

Palin is an opponent of abortion rights and gave birth to her fifth child, Trig, earlier this year after finding out during her pregnancy that the baby had Down syndrome.

By now there must be cooler heads among Democratic leadership warning their colleagues they are hindering the cause, to put it mildly, with these insane outbursts. Trash talk must be as addictive as crack cocaine.

(Thanks to the Instapundit.)

UPDATE: Check out this charmer, found under a rock by Mark Shea. It gets down to business, nice as you please, from the tippy top.

For the first time ever, the 2008 Republican Convention celebrated unwed teenage motherhood by seating Sarah Palin's reportedly 5-months' pregnant daughter with her teenage lover, proudly in the VIP row. As the swollen, 17-year-old Bristol Palin complacently gripped her swarthy impregnator's hand, Alaska's governor and the prospective mother's mother sternly lectured on family values and accused "the media" of persecuting her family.

Thence follows the coup de grâce:

Has the Republican Party gone mad?

What's the word for that? Projection?

Leaving No Stone Unturned and Vice Versa

John Fund in the Wall Street Journal:

It's no surprise, then, that Democrats have airdropped a mini-army of 30 lawyers, investigators and opposition researchers into Anchorage, the state capital Juneau and Mrs. Palin's hometown of Wasilla to dig into her record and background. My sources report the first wave arrived in Anchorage less than 24 hours after John McCain selected her on August 29.

Gee, you don't think they're worried or something, do you?

(Thanks to the Instapundit.)

Leaving No Stone Unturned and Vice Versa

John Fund in the Wall Street Journal:

It's no surprise, then, that Democrats have airdropped a mini-army of 30 lawyers, investigators and opposition researchers into Anchorage, the state capital Juneau and Mrs. Palin's hometown of Wasilla to dig into her record and background. My sources report the first wave arrived in Anchorage less than 24 hours after John McCain selected her on August 29.

Gee, you don't think they're worried or something, do you?

(Thanks to the Instapundit.)

From Canada With Love

Miss Heather Mallick, a commenatrix for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation with a delightfully deft touch, shares her thoughts on the Palin nomination.

It's possible that Republican men, sexual inadequates that they are, really believe that women will vote for a woman just because she's a woman. They're unfamiliar with our true natures. Do they think vaginas call out to each other in the jungle night? I mean, I know men have their secret meetings at which they pledge to do manly things, like being irresponsible with their semen and postponing household repairs with glue and used matches. Guys will be guys, obviously.

But do they not know that women have been trained to resent other women and that they only learn to suppress this by constantly berating themselves and reading columns like this one? I'm a feminist who understands that women can nurse terrible and delicate woman hatred.

Palin was not a sure choice, not even for the stolidly Republican ladies branch of Citizens for a Tackier America. No, she isn't even female really. She's a type, and she comes in male form too.

John Doyle, the cleverest critic in Canada, comes right out and calls Palin an Alaska hillbilly. Damn his eyes, I wish I'd had the wit to come up with it first. It's safer than "white trash" but I'll pluck safety out of the nettle danger. Or something.

(Thanks to Small Dead Animals.)

From Canada With Love

Miss Heather Mallick, a commenatrix for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation with a delightfully deft touch, shares her thoughts on the Palin nomination.

It's possible that Republican men, sexual inadequates that they are, really believe that women will vote for a woman just because she's a woman. They're unfamiliar with our true natures. Do they think vaginas call out to each other in the jungle night? I mean, I know men have their secret meetings at which they pledge to do manly things, like being irresponsible with their semen and postponing household repairs with glue and used matches. Guys will be guys, obviously.

But do they not know that women have been trained to resent other women and that they only learn to suppress this by constantly berating themselves and reading columns like this one? I'm a feminist who understands that women can nurse terrible and delicate woman hatred.

Palin was not a sure choice, not even for the stolidly Republican ladies branch of Citizens for a Tackier America. No, she isn't even female really. She's a type, and she comes in male form too.

John Doyle, the cleverest critic in Canada, comes right out and calls Palin an Alaska hillbilly. Damn his eyes, I wish I'd had the wit to come up with it first. It's safer than "white trash" but I'll pluck safety out of the nettle danger. Or something.

(Thanks to Small Dead Animals.)

Soon They'll be Naming Them Featherstonhaugh and Cholmondeley

There is a specter haunting America, the specter of young and upwardly mobile Americans bestowing upon their offspring pretentious and silly names. While the trend was recently brought to the fore with the nomination of Sarah Palin for Republican VP, bringing attention to her and her husband's peculiarly named kids Track, Willow, Bristol, Piper and Trig, the problem, of course, has been with us for some time; it now seems to be spreading unchecked.

Being a boomer myself, I long ago became inured to and can take or leave hippy-dippy names like those the otherwise admirable Palins gave their children, not to mention those given by the late, great Frank Zappa to his progeny.* Of far greater concern is the alarming movement to dub kids with names that seem just plain stuffy, an attempt, I imagine, by at least some parents to move themselves and their youngins up a rung or two on the ol' social ladder.

Only a couple of months ago while enjoying a fine afternoon in Madison Square Park, in the heart of one of Manhattan's toniest and most expensive new neighborhoods, I witnessed over a very short time buff young mommies haling their precious ones, using bloated first names like Reilly, Hunter, Campbell and Parker. I even know of parents who named their kids Walker and Hudson. Fellow Americans, we have here a serious problem.

The good news is at last the alarm is being sounded. Found on the blogs the Feast of Nemesis and Debbie Schlussel are informative essays describing in detail the explosive growth of absurd appellations foisted upon American youth. I commend them both. The authors have taken the first steps toward conquering this malaise: identifying and educating the citizenry of it and warning of its peril.

*Moon Unit, Dweezil, Ahmet Emuukha Rodan and Diva Thin Muffin Pigeen.

Soon They'll be Naming Them Featherstonhaugh and Cholmondeley

There is a specter haunting America, the specter of young and upwardly mobile Americans bestowing upon their offspring pretentious and silly names. While the trend was recently brought to the fore with the nomination of Sarah Palin for Republican VP, bringing attention to her and her husband's peculiarly named kids Track, Willow, Bristol, Piper and Trig, the problem, of course, has been with us for some time; it now seems to be spreading unchecked.

Being a boomer myself, I long ago became inured to and can take or leave hippy-dippy names like those the otherwise admirable Palins gave their children, not to mention those given by the late, great Frank Zappa to his progeny.* Of far greater concern is the alarming movement to dub kids with names that seem just plain stuffy, an attempt, I imagine, by at least some parents to move themselves and their youngins up a rung or two on the ol' social ladder.

Only a couple of months ago while enjoying a fine afternoon in Madison Square Park, in the heart of one of Manhattan's toniest and most expensive new neighborhoods, I witnessed over a very short time buff young mommies haling their precious ones, using bloated first names like Reilly, Hunter, Campbell and Parker. I even know of parents who named their kids Walker and Hudson. Fellow Americans, we have here a serious problem.

The good news is at last the alarm is being sounded. Found on the blogs the Feast of Nemesis and Debbie Schlussel are informative essays describing in detail the explosive growth of absurd appellations foisted upon American youth. I commend them both. The authors have taken the first steps toward conquering this malaise: identifying and educating the citizenry of it and warning of its peril.

*Moon Unit, Dweezil, Ahmet Emuukha Rodan and Diva Thin Muffin Pigeen.

Cleaning the Augean Stables

Thanks to Binky the WebElf (and how did I miss it until now?!) who, in the spirit of ecumenism, provides us with a depressing reminder the magnitude of the mess that is Catholic worship in much of this country. Watch, if you can, lowlights from the "2008 LA Religious Ed Congress Mass - Liturgy of the Word" (Cardinal Mahony, perpetrator proprietor, of course). The Holy Father has a lot of work to do.



On a positive note, the market for this sort of crap is mostly 60 years old and older. The problem may solve itself, if we're patient.

Cleaning the Augean Stables

Thanks to Binky the WebElf (and how did I miss it until now?!) who, in the spirit of ecumenism, provides us with a depressing reminder the magnitude of the mess that is Catholic worship in much of this country. Watch, if you can, lowlights from the "2008 LA Religious Ed Congress Mass - Liturgy of the Word" (Cardinal Mahony, perpetrator proprietor, of course). The Holy Father has a lot of work to do.



On a positive note, the market for this sort of crap is mostly 60 years old and older. The problem may solve itself, if we're patient.

That Entitlement Mentality

From Real Estate Q & A in yesterday's New York Times:

I’m a rent-controlled tenant on a great East Village block, paying below $200 a month in rent. Our landlord is replastering, repainting and recarpeting the hallways for the first time in more than 30 years. Can he raise our rents because of this?

The answer, of course, is no. Decontrolled rents for East Village (Manhattan) studio apartments begin at $1475 per month. If you asked the questioner if he or she had any shame at all, the answer, of course, would be, "I know my rights!"

That Entitlement Mentality

From Real Estate Q & A in yesterday's New York Times:

I’m a rent-controlled tenant on a great East Village block, paying below $200 a month in rent. Our landlord is replastering, repainting and recarpeting the hallways for the first time in more than 30 years. Can he raise our rents because of this?

The answer, of course, is no. Decontrolled rents for East Village (Manhattan) studio apartments begin at $1475 per month. If you asked the questioner if he or she had any shame at all, the answer, of course, would be, "I know my rights!"

Laying it on the Line

Speaker of the House and Church historian Nancy Pelosi declared a couple of weeks ago that despite 2000 years of Church teaching against it, there was still wiggle room in the Catholic Church with regard to abortion. This morning on Meet the Press, Senator Joe Biden, another "devout Catholic" in favor of abortion, joined the fray and, if anything, outperformed Ms. Pelosi.

MR. BROKAW: If Senator Obama comes to you and says, "When does life begin? Help me out here, Joe," as a Roman Catholic, what would you say to him?

SEN. BIDEN: I'd say, "Look, I know when it begins for me." It's a personal and private issue. For me, as a Roman Catholic, I'm prepared to accept the teachings of my church. But let me tell you. There are an awful lot of people of great confessional faiths--Protestants, Jews, Muslims and others--who have a different view. They believe in God as strongly as I do. They're intensely as religious as I am religious. They believe in their faith and they believe in human life, and they have differing views as to when life--I'm prepared as a matter of faith to accept that life begins at the moment of conception. But that is my judgment. For me to impose that judgment on everyone else who is equally and maybe even more devout than I am seems to me is inappropriate in a pluralistic society. And I know you get the push back, "Well, what about fascism?" Everybody, you know, you going to say fascism's all right? Fascism isn't a matter of faith. No decent religious person thinks fascism is a good idea.

So when asked, "When does life begin?" Senator Biden, after reviewing the teachings of the Catholic Church and other faiths, concludes that Fascism is a bad thing and is confident no one will disagree with him. Casey Stengel was unavailable for comment.

(Thanks to Aufer a Nobis.)

Laying it on the Line

Speaker of the House and Church historian Nancy Pelosi declared a couple of weeks ago that despite 2000 years of Church teaching against it, there was still wiggle room in the Catholic Church with regard to abortion. This morning on Meet the Press, Senator Joe Biden, another "devout Catholic" in favor of abortion, joined the fray and, if anything, outperformed Ms. Pelosi.

MR. BROKAW: If Senator Obama comes to you and says, "When does life begin? Help me out here, Joe," as a Roman Catholic, what would you say to him?

SEN. BIDEN: I'd say, "Look, I know when it begins for me." It's a personal and private issue. For me, as a Roman Catholic, I'm prepared to accept the teachings of my church. But let me tell you. There are an awful lot of people of great confessional faiths--Protestants, Jews, Muslims and others--who have a different view. They believe in God as strongly as I do. They're intensely as religious as I am religious. They believe in their faith and they believe in human life, and they have differing views as to when life--I'm prepared as a matter of faith to accept that life begins at the moment of conception. But that is my judgment. For me to impose that judgment on everyone else who is equally and maybe even more devout than I am seems to me is inappropriate in a pluralistic society. And I know you get the push back, "Well, what about fascism?" Everybody, you know, you going to say fascism's all right? Fascism isn't a matter of faith. No decent religious person thinks fascism is a good idea.

So when asked, "When does life begin?" Senator Biden, after reviewing the teachings of the Catholic Church and other faiths, concludes that Fascism is a bad thing and is confident no one will disagree with him. Casey Stengel was unavailable for comment.

(Thanks to Aufer a Nobis.)

McCain's Speech

A bit of a snoozer, I think, but it got the job done.

McCain's Speech

A bit of a snoozer, I think, but it got the job done.

So Wrong it Hurts

The blind fury and twisted rage with which the liberal left, especially in the media, has greeted Sarah Palin's arrival upon the political scene seems so extreme, it makes your Bloviator suspect the source of the anger goes beyond the "hockey mom" from Alaska to something more intrinsic: natural law, as expressed in the Ten Commandments.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches

Natural law states the first and essential precepts which govern the moral life. It hinges upon the desire for God and submission to him, who is the source and judge of all that is good, as well as upon the sense that the other is one's equal. Its principal precepts are expressed in the Decalogue.

As Thomas Aquinas states:

The natural law is nothing other than the light of understanding placed in us by God; through it we know what we must do and what we must avoid. God has given this light or law at the creation.

So what does all this have to do with the Protestant Sarah Palin pissing off liberal elites, especially those in the media? Ms. Palin and her husband recently decided to bring their fifth child, diagnosed with Down's Syndrome, into the world rather than to abort it. Since then the Palins have encouraged their pregnant seventeen-year-old daughter to permit her unexpected child to live and went even further by welcoming the child's father into their family. These decisions of the Palins are at once entirely in accord with the teachings of the Church and wildly disparate from the self-centered secular humanism that so dominates our culture and subscribed to by most members of the media.

The Palin family, for all its "ups and downs," as Sarah Palin described it in her acceptance speech, is vivid witness to God's natural law. The Church teaches us natural law obtains in all persons, that it is, in the words of Pope Leo XIII, "written and engraved in the soul of each and every man, because it is human reason ordaining him to do good and forbidding him to sin." That is the case even for those secular and cynical moral relativists in the media and is, I suspect, what gets them into such high dudgeon over people like Sarah Palin. To them it is not a matter of Palin making the wrong decisions but, rather, the right ones, thus bringing to the surface what natural law already nags them about from deep within: they are the ones in the wrong, not her.

Liberal elites, of course, don't like being reminded they are wrong and will thus do whatever it takes to besmirch the character of public figures, especially attractive and vivacious ones like Sarah Palin, who, through their own good acts, make the elites' wrongness so obvious and painful to behold. Ripping her to shreds may serve as a palliative for the pain, albeit not a long-lasting one, so it must be repeated often. The upcoming election should prove to be uncommonly nasty.

So Wrong it Hurts

The blind fury and twisted rage with which the liberal left, especially in the media, has greeted Sarah Palin's arrival upon the political scene seems so extreme, it makes your Bloviator suspect the source of the anger goes beyond the "hockey mom" from Alaska to something more intrinsic: natural law, as expressed in the Ten Commandments.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches

Natural law states the first and essential precepts which govern the moral life. It hinges upon the desire for God and submission to him, who is the source and judge of all that is good, as well as upon the sense that the other is one's equal. Its principal precepts are expressed in the Decalogue.

As Thomas Aquinas states:

The natural law is nothing other than the light of understanding placed in us by God; through it we know what we must do and what we must avoid. God has given this light or law at the creation.

So what does all this have to do with the Protestant Sarah Palin pissing off liberal elites, especially those in the media? Ms. Palin and her husband recently decided to bring their fifth child, diagnosed with Down's Syndrome, into the world rather than to abort it. Since then the Palins have encouraged their pregnant seventeen-year-old daughter to permit her unexpected child to live and went even further by welcoming the child's father into their family. These decisions of the Palins are at once entirely in accord with the teachings of the Church and wildly disparate from the self-centered secular humanism that so dominates our culture and subscribed to by most members of the media.

The Palin family, for all its "ups and downs," as Sarah Palin described it in her acceptance speech, is vivid witness to God's natural law. The Church teaches us natural law obtains in all persons, that it is, in the words of Pope Leo XIII, "written and engraved in the soul of each and every man, because it is human reason ordaining him to do good and forbidding him to sin." That is the case even for those secular and cynical moral relativists in the media and is, I suspect, what gets them into such high dudgeon over people like Sarah Palin. To them it is not a matter of Palin making the wrong decisions but, rather, the right ones, thus bringing to the surface what natural law already nags them about from deep within: they are the ones in the wrong, not her.

Liberal elites, of course, don't like being reminded they are wrong and will thus do whatever it takes to besmirch the character of public figures, especially attractive and vivacious ones like Sarah Palin, who, through their own good acts, make the elites' wrongness so obvious and painful to behold. Ripping her to shreds may serve as a palliative for the pain, albeit not a long-lasting one, so it must be repeated often. The upcoming election should prove to be uncommonly nasty.

If Only His Stock Picks were this Good

An obscure blogger wrote last week about Sarah Palin: "As a Republican conservative, the feminists, using a variant of the charge lobbed at black conservatives, will shriek she is not 'woman' enough, or some such..."

Today, in Politico: 'A spokeswoman for the National Organization for Women, noting Palin’s opposition to abortion rights and support of other parts of the social conservative agenda, told Politico, “She's more a conservative man than she is a woman on women's issues. Very disappointing.'

Ah well, at least they're not shrieking. Yet.

If Only His Stock Picks were this Good

An obscure blogger wrote last week about Sarah Palin: "As a Republican conservative, the feminists, using a variant of the charge lobbed at black conservatives, will shriek she is not 'woman' enough, or some such..."

Today, in Politico: 'A spokeswoman for the National Organization for Women, noting Palin’s opposition to abortion rights and support of other parts of the social conservative agenda, told Politico, “She's more a conservative man than she is a woman on women's issues. Very disappointing.'

Ah well, at least they're not shrieking. Yet.

Quote of the Day

Roger L. Simon on Sarah Palin's acceptance speech last night:

The big losers tonight are obvious: Joe Biden, who will look like hackopathropus erectus next to her, a dinosaur out the Washington everybody hates, and Hillary Rodham Clinton who, I would bet anything, was staring at her television set in horror tonight at the possible first woman president of the United States - and it’s not her!

Quote of the Day

Roger L. Simon on Sarah Palin's acceptance speech last night:

The big losers tonight are obvious: Joe Biden, who will look like hackopathropus erectus next to her, a dinosaur out the Washington everybody hates, and Hillary Rodham Clinton who, I would bet anything, was staring at her television set in horror tonight at the possible first woman president of the United States - and it’s not her!

Great Move

It appears John McCain has picked Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his vice president. The Democrats and sympathetic pundits will use her age, 44, she's even younger than Barack, as an opportunity to throw back at the McCain campaign the experience issue. It won't stick. Most Americans will accept if the presidential candidate is qualified, the veep, so long as he or she is capable (which Palin is), need not have as lengthy a résumé as the president.

Her being a woman is a big asset. As a Republican conservative, the feminists, using a variant of the charge lobbed at black conservatives, will shriek she is not "woman" enough, or some such, but again, it will not stick. The Democrats and the media are simply clueless how little most Americans care about and for feminism. Those who examine feminist complaints about Palin will quickly divine the hypocrisy behind them.

Romney, the favorite, would have been a dud. Picking Palin was a smart move by McCain and let's face it, it also doesn't hurt she's a babe.

UPDATE: Affirmation Palin is a home run for McCain is this gracious response from the Obama campaign: “Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency.” Nice work, guys: in one sentence you belittle small towns, bring up the age issue and remind voters once again the inexperience of Barack Obama, the one who wants to be president.

Great Move

It appears John McCain has picked Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his vice president. The Democrats and sympathetic pundits will use her age, 44, she's even younger than Barack, as an opportunity to throw back at the McCain campaign the experience issue. It won't stick. Most Americans will accept if the presidential candidate is qualified, the veep, so long as he or she is capable (which Palin is), need not have as lengthy a résumé as the president.

Her being a woman is a big asset. As a Republican conservative, the feminists, using a variant of the charge lobbed at black conservatives, will shriek she is not "woman" enough, or some such, but again, it will not stick. The Democrats and the media are simply clueless how little most Americans care about and for feminism. Those who examine feminist complaints about Palin will quickly divine the hypocrisy behind them.

Romney, the favorite, would have been a dud. Picking Palin was a smart move by McCain and let's face it, it also doesn't hurt she's a babe.

UPDATE: Affirmation Palin is a home run for McCain is this gracious response from the Obama campaign: “Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency.” Nice work, guys: in one sentence you belittle small towns, bring up the age issue and remind voters once again the inexperience of Barack Obama, the one who wants to be president.

Some Sound Advice...

That will not be followed. From Alan Jacobs, proprietor of more than 95 theses:

So my advice to all the mainline churches that see achievement of the MDGs as the core of their mission: sell all you have and give it to the poor. Your many possessions do absolutely nothing for the MDGs: sell them. Sell the chalices. Sell the copes, surplices, and cassocks. Sell the plate. Sell the prayer books, hymnals, and (if you have any) Bibles. Sell the pews. Sell the stained glass. Sell the buildings and the land to those who actually need them. Sell it all and give the proceeds to organizations who can actually do something to achieve the Goals that you say are at the very heart of your mission. Put your money where your mouth is. Or else shut up.

(Thanks to the MCJ)

Some Sound Advice...

That will not be followed. From Alan Jacobs, proprietor of more than 95 theses:

So my advice to all the mainline churches that see achievement of the MDGs as the core of their mission: sell all you have and give it to the poor. Your many possessions do absolutely nothing for the MDGs: sell them. Sell the chalices. Sell the copes, surplices, and cassocks. Sell the plate. Sell the prayer books, hymnals, and (if you have any) Bibles. Sell the pews. Sell the stained glass. Sell the buildings and the land to those who actually need them. Sell it all and give the proceeds to organizations who can actually do something to achieve the Goals that you say are at the very heart of your mission. Put your money where your mouth is. Or else shut up.

(Thanks to the MCJ)

From Those Wacky, Fun Lovin,' Krazy Kidz at NARAL

What do you suppose is inside, Gummi Bears?

From Those Wacky, Fun Lovin,' Krazy Kidz at NARAL

What do you suppose is inside, Gummi Bears?

PJ RC?

I've been a fan of PJ O'Rourke for many years, going back to his National Lampoon days, of course, and especially, his tenure at Car & Driver Magazine, where he crafted astonishingly rude but funny pieces and caused his editors to refer to him nervously as "PJ (we're gonna get letters) O'Rourke." One of O'Rourke's great charms is his willingness to take on any issue, no matter how complex, and with rapier wit and gimlet eye, break it down into tiny, delectable pieces; his explanation of the S & L crisis of 'eighties in Rolling Stone is a modern classic.

One subject, however, that O'Rourke has eschewed (to the best of my knowledge) is God. O'Rourke's political and economic outlook is generally libertarian and I have always assumed he was an atheist or, at best, a deist. Not the case: in Search Magazine, O'Rourke takes on the deity and I am please to learn he does believes in Him, revealing it in a piece called, simply enough, On God that is (thank God!) rich in "O'Rourkeness."

“But science can be proved,” a scientist would say. “The whole point of science is experimental proof.” Yet we non-scientists have to take that experimental proof on faith because we don’t know what the scientists are talking about. This makes science a matter of faith in men while religion, of course, is a matter of faith in God, and if you’ve got to choose …

Personally, I don’t think you do. Science and religion both assert the same thing: that the universe operates according to rules and that those rules can be discerned. Albeit this does make it easier to believe in God than, for instance, organic chemistry. Just the fact of rules implies a rule maker while just the fact of mixing nitro with glycerin and causing an explosion does not imply a Ph.D.

[]

In one way, however, faith in science does come easier than faith in God—if fear is any gauge of how real we believe a thing is. To judge by human behavior, people are not trembling before the Almighty much. But many of those same people are scared silly by science. They are frightened by a climate stuck in the microwave of technological advances, frightened by genetic modifications that may—who knows?—cross cabbages with kings and produce a Prince Charles, and naturally they are frightened by the clouds of mushrooms being grown in the science cellars of Iran and North Korea.

Read it all. With a name like O'Rourke is it possible PJ is a lapsed Catholic? We can always hope, and if so, also hope he will come back into the fold: the world will be a better place when O'Rourke tackles liturgical dancing and contemporary Catholic service music.

(Thanks to Banished Child of Eve.)

PJ RC?

I've been a fan of PJ O'Rourke for many years, going back to his National Lampoon days, of course, and especially, his tenure at Car & Driver Magazine, where he crafted astonishingly rude but funny pieces and caused his editors to refer to him nervously as "PJ (we're gonna get letters) O'Rourke." One of O'Rourke's great charms is his willingness to take on any issue, no matter how complex, and with rapier wit and gimlet eye, break it down into tiny, delectable pieces; his explanation of the S & L crisis of 'eighties in Rolling Stone is a modern classic.

One subject, however, that O'Rourke has eschewed (to the best of my knowledge) is God. O'Rourke's political and economic outlook is generally libertarian and I have always assumed he was an atheist or, at best, a deist. Not the case: in Search Magazine, O'Rourke takes on the deity and I am please to learn he does believes in Him, revealing it in a piece called, simply enough, On God that is (thank God!) rich in "O'Rourkeness."

“But science can be proved,” a scientist would say. “The whole point of science is experimental proof.” Yet we non-scientists have to take that experimental proof on faith because we don’t know what the scientists are talking about. This makes science a matter of faith in men while religion, of course, is a matter of faith in God, and if you’ve got to choose …

Personally, I don’t think you do. Science and religion both assert the same thing: that the universe operates according to rules and that those rules can be discerned. Albeit this does make it easier to believe in God than, for instance, organic chemistry. Just the fact of rules implies a rule maker while just the fact of mixing nitro with glycerin and causing an explosion does not imply a Ph.D.

[]

In one way, however, faith in science does come easier than faith in God—if fear is any gauge of how real we believe a thing is. To judge by human behavior, people are not trembling before the Almighty much. But many of those same people are scared silly by science. They are frightened by a climate stuck in the microwave of technological advances, frightened by genetic modifications that may—who knows?—cross cabbages with kings and produce a Prince Charles, and naturally they are frightened by the clouds of mushrooms being grown in the science cellars of Iran and North Korea.

Read it all. With a name like O'Rourke is it possible PJ is a lapsed Catholic? We can always hope, and if so, also hope he will come back into the fold: the world will be a better place when O'Rourke tackles liturgical dancing and contemporary Catholic service music.

(Thanks to Banished Child of Eve.)

A Delicious Break from Potatoes

His songs are transcendently vulgar but Kid Rock's views on celebrity are a refreshing change from most of those in the entertainment biz:

"I truly believe that people like myself, who are in a position of entertainers in the limelight, should keep their mouth shut on politics," he noted. "Because at the end of the day, let me tell you what I 'm good at: I'm good at writing songs and singing. What I'm not educated in is the field of political science..."

He further suggests that political candidates might be better off to avoid close connections to those in the entertainment business.

"I think celebrity endorsements hurt politicians," he said.

(From CMT.)

A Delicious Break from Potatoes

His songs are transcendently vulgar but Kid Rock's views on celebrity are a refreshing change from most of those in the entertainment biz:

"I truly believe that people like myself, who are in a position of entertainers in the limelight, should keep their mouth shut on politics," he noted. "Because at the end of the day, let me tell you what I 'm good at: I'm good at writing songs and singing. What I'm not educated in is the field of political science..."

He further suggests that political candidates might be better off to avoid close connections to those in the entertainment business.

"I think celebrity endorsements hurt politicians," he said.

(From CMT.)

Don't Penn Me In

Kathryn Jean Lopez at the Corner, in Denver for the convention, this morning witnessed with approval the actor Sean Penn semi-politely declining a fan's request for a snapshot instead clocking the poor fellow over the head. Lopez presents that as evidence Penn has finally grown up some.

Perhaps so, but he could do better. Since Penn, like most of his peers, devoted every ounce of his being during his formative years to attaining the fame he now enjoys, a true sign of maturity would be his willingness to share a small fraction of it with the fans who gave it to him.

Don't Penn Me In

Kathryn Jean Lopez at the Corner, in Denver for the convention, this morning witnessed with approval the actor Sean Penn semi-politely declining a fan's request for a snapshot instead clocking the poor fellow over the head. Lopez presents that as evidence Penn has finally grown up some.

Perhaps so, but he could do better. Since Penn, like most of his peers, devoted every ounce of his being during his formative years to attaining the fame he now enjoys, a true sign of maturity would be his willingness to share a small fraction of it with the fans who gave it to him.

No One Knows Who They Were or What They were Doing

Take a close look at the image above and note the stately Greek temple in the center. That is whence Thursday night The One, "with a scented sponge ‘neath his nose, lest the breath of the vulgar herd should contaminate his sacred person," will deign to accept the cries of the unwashed for deliverance.

It's nice but I had in mind as more appropriate a celebrated interpretation of Stonehenge.

Publish Post

No One Knows Who They Were or What They were Doing

Take a close look at the image above and note the stately Greek temple in the center. That is whence Thursday night The One, "with a scented sponge ‘neath his nose, lest the breath of the vulgar herd should contaminate his sacred person," will deign to accept the cries of the unwashed for deliverance.

It's nice but I had in mind as more appropriate a celebrated interpretation of Stonehenge.

Publish Post

Putting on Ayres

The Obama campaign is going after TV stations running an ad depicting him as far chummier than he has so far let on with unrepentant former terrorist, Pentagon bomber William Ayres. While no one should cavil with the campaign's call for supporters to inundate stations with complaints, the campaign is also demanding the Justice Department to step in, removing any doubts of the ad's veracity for your Bloviator.

(Thanks to the Instapundit)

(Fun fact: the organization Ayres belonged to, the "Weather Underground," was first known as the "Weathermen" but changed its name in a nod to the nascent feminist sensibilities of the time. Wasn't that sweet of them?)

Putting on Ayres

The Obama campaign is going after TV stations running an ad depicting him as far chummier than he has so far let on with unrepentant former terrorist, Pentagon bomber William Ayres. While no one should cavil with the campaign's call for supporters to inundate stations with complaints, the campaign is also demanding the Justice Department to step in, removing any doubts of the ad's veracity for your Bloviator.

(Thanks to the Instapundit)

(Fun fact: the organization Ayres belonged to, the "Weather Underground," was first known as the "Weathermen" but changed its name in a nod to the nascent feminist sensibilities of the time. Wasn't that sweet of them?)

Cardinal Egan Steps up to the Plate

...and knocks it out of the park.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 26, 2008

STATEMENT OF HIS EMINENCE, EDWARD CARDINAL EGAN CONCERNING REMARKS MADE BY THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Like many other citizens of this nation, I was shocked to learn that the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States of America would make the kind of statements that were made to Mr. Tom Brokaw of NBC-TV on Sunday, August 24, 2008. What the Speaker had to say about theologians and their positions regarding abortion was not only misinformed; it was also, and especially, utterly incredible in this day and age.

We are blessed in the 21st century with crystal-clear photographs and action films of the living realities within their pregnant mothers. No one with the slightest measure of integrity or honor could fail to know what these marvelous beings manifestly, clearly, and obviously are, as they smile and wave into the world outside the womb. In simplest terms, they are human beings with an inalienable right to live, a right that the Speaker of the House of Representatives is bound to defend at all costs for the most basic of ethical reasons. They are not parts of their mothers, and what they are depends not at all upon the opinions of theologians of any faith. Anyone who dares to defend that they may be legitimately killed because another human being “chooses” to do so or for any other equally ridiculous reason should not be providing leadership in a civilized democracy worthy of the name.

Edward Cardinal Egan

Archbishop of New York

August 26, 2008

We need to see more of this and wonder of wonders, we are. Archbishop Chaput of Denver, just in time for the Democratic Convention, issued salvos not only at Speaker Pelosi but Senator Biden as well.

"Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is a gifted public servant of strong convictions and many professional skills. Regrettable, knowledge of Catholic history and teaching does not seem to be one of them," Chaput [said].

[]

I certainly presume [Biden's] good will and integrity," said the archbishop, "and I presume that his integrity will lead him to refrain from presenting himself for Communion if he supports a false 'right' to abortion.

This is all to the good. Have we at last reached the turning point, where Catholic leadership in this country will no longer remain silent when putatively "devout" Catholic politicians stump for abortion?

(Thanks to Catholidoxy)

Cardinal Egan Steps up to the Plate

...and knocks it out of the park.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 26, 2008

STATEMENT OF HIS EMINENCE, EDWARD CARDINAL EGAN CONCERNING REMARKS MADE BY THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Like many other citizens of this nation, I was shocked to learn that the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States of America would make the kind of statements that were made to Mr. Tom Brokaw of NBC-TV on Sunday, August 24, 2008. What the Speaker had to say about theologians and their positions regarding abortion was not only misinformed; it was also, and especially, utterly incredible in this day and age.

We are blessed in the 21st century with crystal-clear photographs and action films of the living realities within their pregnant mothers. No one with the slightest measure of integrity or honor could fail to know what these marvelous beings manifestly, clearly, and obviously are, as they smile and wave into the world outside the womb. In simplest terms, they are human beings with an inalienable right to live, a right that the Speaker of the House of Representatives is bound to defend at all costs for the most basic of ethical reasons. They are not parts of their mothers, and what they are depends not at all upon the opinions of theologians of any faith. Anyone who dares to defend that they may be legitimately killed because another human being “chooses” to do so or for any other equally ridiculous reason should not be providing leadership in a civilized democracy worthy of the name.

Edward Cardinal Egan

Archbishop of New York

August 26, 2008

We need to see more of this and wonder of wonders, we are. Archbishop Chaput of Denver, just in time for the Democratic Convention, issued salvos not only at Speaker Pelosi but Senator Biden as well.

"Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is a gifted public servant of strong convictions and many professional skills. Regrettable, knowledge of Catholic history and teaching does not seem to be one of them," Chaput [said].

[]

I certainly presume [Biden's] good will and integrity," said the archbishop, "and I presume that his integrity will lead him to refrain from presenting himself for Communion if he supports a false 'right' to abortion.

This is all to the good. Have we at last reached the turning point, where Catholic leadership in this country will no longer remain silent when putatively "devout" Catholic politicians stump for abortion?

(Thanks to Catholidoxy)

Smug Alert

If you can stand it (it's over five-and-half minutes long), check out this excruciating treacle-fest from the Democrats, a lugubrious paean to The One. Particularly noteworthy are the pious poses struck by b-list celebrities; who no doubt tried their darnedest to feign sincerity when commanded by the director to smile but appear more like Mr. Starker, the coffin salesman played by Liberace in the movie version of Waugh's The Loved One.

Smug Alert

If you can stand it (it's over five-and-half minutes long), check out this excruciating treacle-fest from the Democrats, a lugubrious paean to The One. Particularly noteworthy are the pious poses struck by b-list celebrities; who no doubt tried their darnedest to feign sincerity when commanded by the director to smile but appear more like Mr. Starker, the coffin salesman played by Liberace in the movie version of Waugh's The Loved One.

Reruns

When your Bloviator was but a mere calf and was put to bed for the night, he would listen to Jean Shepherd's nighttime radio program on WOR in New York. Shepherd once told a tale of working late-night at a TV station (in the early days of that medium) when he and an engineer, as an experiment, instead of running the usual "B" western, took a clip of cowboys riding around on their horses and made it into a loop. They broadcast the loop continuously for several hours to see what viewer reaction would be. Not a single call came in. The viewers either didn't notice or didn't care.

I was reminded of Shep's tale when I read today of a demonstration (500 strong!) by anti-war protesters in Denver on the eve of the Democratic convention. It, like just about every other anti-war demonstration of the past forty years, had all the components favored by the perpetrators of these things, including rhyming chants ("hey hey, ho ho" &tc), gigantic puppets and culmination with my favorite, the die-in. It got me to thinking, as an experiment, a TV news outfit, instead of running fresh footage of chanters, puppets and die-ins for each anti-war demonstration covered, might instead broadcast identical footage for every one of them, say for a month, to see what viewer reaction would be. My guess is the viewers either wouldn't notice or wouldn't care.

Reruns

When your Bloviator was but a mere calf and was put to bed for the night, he would listen to Jean Shepherd's nighttime radio program on WOR in New York. Shepherd once told a tale of working late-night at a TV station (in the early days of that medium) when he and an engineer, as an experiment, instead of running the usual "B" western, took a clip of cowboys riding around on their horses and made it into a loop. They broadcast the loop continuously for several hours to see what viewer reaction would be. Not a single call came in. The viewers either didn't notice or didn't care.

I was reminded of Shep's tale when I read today of a demonstration (500 strong!) by anti-war protesters in Denver on the eve of the Democratic convention. It, like just about every other anti-war demonstration of the past forty years, had all the components favored by the perpetrators of these things, including rhyming chants ("hey hey, ho ho" &tc), gigantic puppets and culmination with my favorite, the die-in. It got me to thinking, as an experiment, a TV news outfit, instead of running fresh footage of chanters, puppets and die-ins for each anti-war demonstration covered, might instead broadcast identical footage for every one of them, say for a month, to see what viewer reaction would be. My guess is the viewers either wouldn't notice or wouldn't care.

We're All Geezers Now

Joe Biden (b. 1942) being only six years younger than John McCain (b. 1936) effectively scotches the sub-campaign against McCain over his age. With both candidates sporting gray manes and Biden's face a tad wrinklier than McCain's, we may even be spared some of the unflattering photos of McCain our impartial media, up to now, has run with predictable coincidence.

We're All Geezers Now

Joe Biden (b. 1942) being only six years younger than John McCain (b. 1936) effectively scotches the sub-campaign against McCain over his age. With both candidates sporting gray manes and Biden's face a tad wrinklier than McCain's, we may even be spared some of the unflattering photos of McCain our impartial media, up to now, has run with predictable coincidence.

Biden His Time

By the choice of Senator Joseph Biden to be his running mate, Barack Obama, in the space of a few short months, has accomplished a remarkable achievement: the lightening transformation from starry-eyed idealist into jaded political hack; this in spite of his young age, his scant, four-year Senate experience and his paper-thin resumé (most prospective hacks achieve hoary veneration by forcing the entire country to pay for numerous and unneeded bridges, highways and office buildings in their home states or districts).

It remains to be seen whether this abrupt change was a wise one for Senator Obama, whether the newly transformed Barack will still be the saviour to whom America beseeches. Should the senator have miscalculated, however, and go down to defeat this November, his timely and skillful metamorphosis into Washington warhorse should assure him a pleasant alternative: filling the opening created by the imminent retirement of Senator Kennedy. At only 47 Obama is broken in yet sufficiently hidebound to assume the mantle of that awesome Ciceronian of the Democratic left. Senator Biden will be furious.

Biden His Time

By the choice of Senator Joseph Biden to be his running mate, Barack Obama, in the space of a few short months, has accomplished a remarkable achievement: the lightening transformation from starry-eyed idealist into jaded political hack; this in spite of his young age, his scant, four-year Senate experience and his paper-thin resumé (most prospective hacks achieve hoary veneration by forcing the entire country to pay for numerous and unneeded bridges, highways and office buildings in their home states or districts).

It remains to be seen whether this abrupt change was a wise one for Senator Obama, whether the newly transformed Barack will still be the saviour to whom America beseeches. Should the senator have miscalculated, however, and go down to defeat this November, his timely and skillful metamorphosis into Washington warhorse should assure him a pleasant alternative: filling the opening created by the imminent retirement of Senator Kennedy. At only 47 Obama is broken in yet sufficiently hidebound to assume the mantle of that awesome Ciceronian of the Democratic left. Senator Biden will be furious.

Remembering General Motors

A long time ago in this country beautiful cars were made. The car companies encouraged their designers to let their imaginations run wild and they did. Sometimes the designers' fantasies found their way onto the production line, more often practicality dictated otherwise. The important thing, however, was the designers were encouraged to be daring, to show their stuff. The New York Times has assembled a portfolio of "dream cars" created back in the halcyon days of General Motors; it's simply stunning, go look.

Remembering General Motors

A long time ago in this country beautiful cars were made. The car companies encouraged their designers to let their imaginations run wild and they did. Sometimes the designers' fantasies found their way onto the production line, more often practicality dictated otherwise. The important thing, however, was the designers were encouraged to be daring, to show their stuff. The New York Times has assembled a portfolio of "dream cars" created back in the halcyon days of General Motors; it's simply stunning, go look.

Say Bye-Bye?

Pearls of wisdom from the Chosen One:

Obama, quoting Warren Buffet: "Just Tax the Heck Out of People"

"Obama Says US Is Just Like Russia In Invading Countries"

Gee, first he cites a man who will die richer than Croesus even if the top bracket is raised to a thousand percent and posits there is "some merit" to his idea; then he drags from the trash the tired old "moral equivalency" doctrine that even before the end of the cold war lost credibility with all but the most hardcore leftie loons.

Pundits were saying not long ago the election was Obama's to lose. They were obviously onto something.

Say Bye-Bye?

Pearls of wisdom from the Chosen One:

Obama, quoting Warren Buffet: "Just Tax the Heck Out of People"

"Obama Says US Is Just Like Russia In Invading Countries"

Gee, first he cites a man who will die richer than Croesus even if the top bracket is raised to a thousand percent and posits there is "some merit" to his idea; then he drags from the trash the tired old "moral equivalency" doctrine that even before the end of the cold war lost credibility with all but the most hardcore leftie loons.

Pundits were saying not long ago the election was Obama's to lose. They were obviously onto something.

Blessed are the Cheese Makers

The ever popular ECUSA bishop, the Rt. Rev'd Gene Robinson, recently made a rare and welcome visit to New Hampshire (his diocese) and was kind enough to share his thoughts with a local reporter on the recently concluded Lambeth Conference (to which he was not invited).

"I think it accomplished what it set out to do, which was to build relationships." he said, listening to such talks as the "Bishop of Havarti tell about what it is like in Zimbabwe. Just the chance to hear what that's like is just amazing."

(Thanks to Perfesser Johnson at the MCJ)

Blessed are the Cheese Makers

The ever popular ECUSA bishop, the Rt. Rev'd Gene Robinson, recently made a rare and welcome visit to New Hampshire (his diocese) and was kind enough to share his thoughts with a local reporter on the recently concluded Lambeth Conference (to which he was not invited).

"I think it accomplished what it set out to do, which was to build relationships." he said, listening to such talks as the "Bishop of Havarti tell about what it is like in Zimbabwe. Just the chance to hear what that's like is just amazing."

(Thanks to Perfesser Johnson at the MCJ)

Oops!

(From the Cincinnatti Courier-Journal)

4,100 miles for an arrest that just goes bust

Kentucky sheriff drives to California only to bring back the wrong man

By Andrew Wolfson
awolfson@courier-journal.com

Two weeks ago, the Butler County, Ky., sheriff and a deputy hopped into their cruiser and drove to California and back -- more than 4,100 miles -- to bring a man to Kentucky for failing to appear in court on the minor felony charge of fleeing from police and drunken driving, a misdemeanor.

On the way there, they stopped to sightsee at country music star Buck Owens' Crystal Palace in Bakersfield, Calif. On the way back, they bought T-shirts at a souvenir shop.

Only when they got back to Western Kentucky and turned their prisoner over to the jail did anyone confirm through fingerprints and mug shots what their prisoner, 27-year-old Joe Oros III, had been saying all along:

They had the wrong man.

(Thanks to the Volokh Conspiracy)

At a later news conference, the sheriff proudly displayed one of the t-shirts he and his deputy had purchased at the souvenir shop.

Oops!

(From the Cincinnatti Courier-Journal)

4,100 miles for an arrest that just goes bust

Kentucky sheriff drives to California only to bring back the wrong man

By Andrew Wolfson
awolfson@courier-journal.com

Two weeks ago, the Butler County, Ky., sheriff and a deputy hopped into their cruiser and drove to California and back -- more than 4,100 miles -- to bring a man to Kentucky for failing to appear in court on the minor felony charge of fleeing from police and drunken driving, a misdemeanor.

On the way there, they stopped to sightsee at country music star Buck Owens' Crystal Palace in Bakersfield, Calif. On the way back, they bought T-shirts at a souvenir shop.

Only when they got back to Western Kentucky and turned their prisoner over to the jail did anyone confirm through fingerprints and mug shots what their prisoner, 27-year-old Joe Oros III, had been saying all along:

They had the wrong man.

(Thanks to the Volokh Conspiracy)

At a later news conference, the sheriff proudly displayed one of the t-shirts he and his deputy had purchased at the souvenir shop.

Bring Them On

Vox populi


From Fox News:

Stars Get Ready for Democratic Convention

Monday, August 18, 2008

By Roger Friedman

How many stars are going to Denver next week for the Democratic Convention? Let's put it this way: they're going to have major gridlock in the Mile High City thanks to limos everywhere. The pollution level should go way up from A-listers in their individual gas-guzzling block-long vehicles!

[]

The Creative Coalition, a non-partisan group, is bringing a boatload of stars with them including Annette Bening (which could mean that hubby Warren Beatty is nearby), Matthew Modine, Kerry Washington, Joey Pantoliano, Susan Sarandon, Tony Goldwyn, new co-president Tim Daly, Quentin Tarantino and Lawrence O'Donnell. So many celebs are coming that I've heard Oscar-winning director Barry Levinson is considering making a documentary about the whole experience!

The brass of the Democratic Party are, astonishingly, of the mind the average voter will be influenced by the political leanings of celebrities like Warren Beatty or Susan Sarandon and, in a way, they are right. If the cavalcade of Hollywood royalty does descend upon Denver for the convention, TV and YouTube images of movie stars gliding from fabulous do to fabulous do (while anarchists, as they have promised, toss Molotov cocktails through Starbucks windows) will drive home nicely to the average Joe just how utterly out of touch the Democratic Party is; that it is the Democrats, not the Republicans, who are, however vulgar, the voice of the snotty elite.

So bring on those stars and let them loudly proclaim (before the cameras, if you please) the gospel of Obamessiah. The Republicans must be wringing their hands with glee at the prospect and likely have already shot a slew of TV spots for the fall campaign; the only job remaining for them the delightful task, at convention's end, of culling clips from the video treasure trove so generously provided by Hollywood and the Democrats, for insertion into those commercials.

Bring Them On

Vox populi


From Fox News:

Stars Get Ready for Democratic Convention

Monday, August 18, 2008

By Roger Friedman

How many stars are going to Denver next week for the Democratic Convention? Let's put it this way: they're going to have major gridlock in the Mile High City thanks to limos everywhere. The pollution level should go way up from A-listers in their individual gas-guzzling block-long vehicles!

[]

The Creative Coalition, a non-partisan group, is bringing a boatload of stars with them including Annette Bening (which could mean that hubby Warren Beatty is nearby), Matthew Modine, Kerry Washington, Joey Pantoliano, Susan Sarandon, Tony Goldwyn, new co-president Tim Daly, Quentin Tarantino and Lawrence O'Donnell. So many celebs are coming that I've heard Oscar-winning director Barry Levinson is considering making a documentary about the whole experience!

The brass of the Democratic Party are, astonishingly, of the mind the average voter will be influenced by the political leanings of celebrities like Warren Beatty or Susan Sarandon and, in a way, they are right. If the cavalcade of Hollywood royalty does descend upon Denver for the convention, TV and YouTube images of movie stars gliding from fabulous do to fabulous do (while anarchists, as they have promised, toss Molotov cocktails through Starbucks windows) will drive home nicely to the average Joe just how utterly out of touch the Democratic Party is; that it is the Democrats, not the Republicans, who are, however vulgar, the voice of the snotty elite.

So bring on those stars and let them loudly proclaim (before the cameras, if you please) the gospel of Obamessiah. The Republicans must be wringing their hands with glee at the prospect and likely have already shot a slew of TV spots for the fall campaign; the only job remaining for them the delightful task, at convention's end, of culling clips from the video treasure trove so generously provided by Hollywood and the Democrats, for insertion into those commercials.

Where I Been

The first pic was taken on the beach at the old family place in Maine; the second, from the deck of the house in Bovina. God is good.

While in Maine I attended my first Catholic mass in that state at a small church that was plain but attractive and, gratifyingly, packed with about 350 souls. I suppose it's a race to the bottom when it comes to bad Catholic liturgy and music but this church has set, for me, the new lead standard. The music was a Haas, Haugen & Co. songfest, led by the ghastliest and most heavily amplified soloist under whom I have ever withered. If tonality were geography this poor woman was in Kuala Lumpur not Maine; her timbre would obviate the need for a band saw in a machine shop. The organist must have learned at the feet of the late John Kiley in Fenway Park, with his appliance set at warp-speed vibrato throughout (even during Communion), everything fortissimo, of course.

Happily, the priest (as has been my experience at virtually all Catholic churches) was wonderful. He was a guest celebrant, making the pitch for his mission in his native Lesotho. Despite the horrendous crime and poverty in his homeland, he elected to stay there and do God's work, somehow maintaining a sense of humor as well, e.g. advising us the first collection of the mass was merely a "test to see if we were still awake," that we should "pay no attention to it at all" and save all for the second collection. Had I not already made a check out, I would have complied better with the good man's instructions. His godliness more than compensated for the aforementioned unpleasantries.

Where I Been

The first pic was taken on the beach at the old family place in Maine; the second, from the deck of the house in Bovina. God is good.

While in Maine I attended my first Catholic mass in that state at a small church that was plain but attractive and, gratifyingly, packed with about 350 souls. I suppose it's a race to the bottom when it comes to bad Catholic liturgy and music but this church has set, for me, the new lead standard. The music was a Haas, Haugen & Co. songfest, led by the ghastliest and most heavily amplified soloist under whom I have ever withered. If tonality were geography this poor woman was in Kuala Lumpur not Maine; her timbre would obviate the need for a band saw in a machine shop. The organist must have learned at the feet of the late John Kiley in Fenway Park, with his appliance set at warp-speed vibrato throughout (even during Communion), everything fortissimo, of course.

Happily, the priest (as has been my experience at virtually all Catholic churches) was wonderful. He was a guest celebrant, making the pitch for his mission in his native Lesotho. Despite the horrendous crime and poverty in his homeland, he elected to stay there and do God's work, somehow maintaining a sense of humor as well, e.g. advising us the first collection of the mass was merely a "test to see if we were still awake," that we should "pay no attention to it at all" and save all for the second collection. Had I not already made a check out, I would have complied better with the good man's instructions. His godliness more than compensated for the aforementioned unpleasantries.

Summer Vacation

(Image courtesy of Ninja Airlines.)

Your Bloviator is heading off to the coast of Maine, where there will be no convenient Internet access, then to Bovina, where dial-up service is so slow and unreliable it's good for e-mail only; in short, little or no posting.

With the bald assumption interest in them will survive the hiatus, rants will begin anew toward the end of the month.

Summer Vacation

(Image courtesy of Ninja Airlines.)

Your Bloviator is heading off to the coast of Maine, where there will be no convenient Internet access, then to Bovina, where dial-up service is so slow and unreliable it's good for e-mail only; in short, little or no posting.

With the bald assumption interest in them will survive the hiatus, rants will begin anew toward the end of the month.

Shut Up and Play Your Guitar

There's a brand spanking new church in Venezuela, where they worship the Deity, of course, as well give a nod to God.

CABIMAS, Venezuela — From a makeshift chapel in a schoolhouse where a portrait of President Hugo Chávez and revolutionary slogans from his government adorn the entrance, the bishops of the new Reformed Catholic Church of Venezuela welcomed congregants to Sunday Mass.

Missionary Bishop Simón Alvarado, 39, strummed a guitar and led the small congregation in singing hymns. Bishop Coadjutor Jon Jen Siu-García, 37, preached a sermon on assisting the poor while his wife, Hiranioris Calles, 24, smiled at him from her seat on a white plastic chair.

“The church of Rome is fearful that it could lose more priests like us,” Bishop Siu-García said.

Beg to differ, Your Grace Alvarado, but I suspect Holy Mother Church prays fervently and daily she would lose more priests like you.

It's difficult to feel sorry for these pathetic stooges but I do. For when the inevitable occurs and the good people of Venezuela finally have had enough of the ruinous policies of El Maximo Chávez, they will dispatch him with no uncertainty then turn their wrath on his sycophants, including these tired relics of "liberation theology," dispatching them also; probably in a most unchristian way.

Shut Up and Play Your Guitar

There's a brand spanking new church in Venezuela, where they worship the Deity, of course, as well give a nod to God.

CABIMAS, Venezuela — From a makeshift chapel in a schoolhouse where a portrait of President Hugo Chávez and revolutionary slogans from his government adorn the entrance, the bishops of the new Reformed Catholic Church of Venezuela welcomed congregants to Sunday Mass.

Missionary Bishop Simón Alvarado, 39, strummed a guitar and led the small congregation in singing hymns. Bishop Coadjutor Jon Jen Siu-García, 37, preached a sermon on assisting the poor while his wife, Hiranioris Calles, 24, smiled at him from her seat on a white plastic chair.

“The church of Rome is fearful that it could lose more priests like us,” Bishop Siu-García said.

Beg to differ, Your Grace Alvarado, but I suspect Holy Mother Church prays fervently and daily she would lose more priests like you.

It's difficult to feel sorry for these pathetic stooges but I do. For when the inevitable occurs and the good people of Venezuela finally have had enough of the ruinous policies of El Maximo Chávez, they will dispatch him with no uncertainty then turn their wrath on his sycophants, including these tired relics of "liberation theology," dispatching them also; probably in a most unchristian way.

Behold His Mighty Hand

The latest plug from the McCain campaign is out, this one taking on Obamessianism. I particularly like the use of the clip from the "Ten Commandments," with Moses/Charlton Heston commanding the Red Sea waters to part while the Obama "presidential seal" emerges from the waves. Brilliant stuff, someone is really on the ball in the McCain campaign.

No doubt Barack will divine racism in this spot, too but he would be wiser to ease off broaching this poisonous subject. Other than for masochistic white liberal millionaires who just can't seem to get enough of it, Obama and his cronies' repeated accusations of "racism" will quickly get old for the vast majority of Americans.

Behold His Mighty Hand

The latest plug from the McCain campaign is out, this one taking on Obamessianism. I particularly like the use of the clip from the "Ten Commandments," with Moses/Charlton Heston commanding the Red Sea waters to part while the Obama "presidential seal" emerges from the waves. Brilliant stuff, someone is really on the ball in the McCain campaign.

No doubt Barack will divine racism in this spot, too but he would be wiser to ease off broaching this poisonous subject. Other than for masochistic white liberal millionaires who just can't seem to get enough of it, Obama and his cronies' repeated accusations of "racism" will quickly get old for the vast majority of Americans.