How Could this Show Possibly Fail?

Highlights from Rosie O'Donnell's new variety show on NBC:

Segments included Kathy Griffin impersonating Nancy Grace, Alec Baldwin hitting Conan O'Brian with a pie, O'Donnell singing "City Lights" with Liza Minnelli and Jane Krakowski doing a product-placement-themed striptease for White Castle burgers and Crest Whitestrips.

As it turns out, the show could fail and did so spectacularly, I'm happy to report; one more thing for which to be thankful to almighty God this Thanksgiving weekend.

How Could this Show Possibly Fail?

Highlights from Rosie O'Donnell's new variety show on NBC:

Segments included Kathy Griffin impersonating Nancy Grace, Alec Baldwin hitting Conan O'Brian with a pie, O'Donnell singing "City Lights" with Liza Minnelli and Jane Krakowski doing a product-placement-themed striptease for White Castle burgers and Crest Whitestrips.

As it turns out, the show could fail and did so spectacularly, I'm happy to report; one more thing for which to be thankful to almighty God this Thanksgiving weekend.

Taking Stock this Thanksgiving

Two things (among many) for which I am thankful to almighty God:

1) My being received into the Holy Catholic Church.

2) My living in a country where, thanks to her enlightened (and yes, Protestant) founders, I could do the above without fear of reprisal.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Taking Stock this Thanksgiving

Two things (among many) for which I am thankful to almighty God:

1) My being received into the Holy Catholic Church.

2) My living in a country where, thanks to her enlightened (and yes, Protestant) founders, I could do the above without fear of reprisal.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Much Ado About Nothing

The Bush haters, getting in some last shots, are crying foul over Mrs. Bush's invitations to a Hanukkah reception at the White House that happened to be adorned a with a Christmas tree (shown above). Check out the loving comments beneath the story linked. Well, okay, I suppose a more appropriate image might have been used but honestly, is this really that big a deal?

Until few years ago, I lived smack in the middle of an orthodox Jewish neighborhood in northern Manhattan. Interestingly, I remember some of my Jewish neighbors wishing me "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Easter" on those particular days, not "Happy Holidays." My next door neighbor, a concentration camp survivor, often invited me over on Christian holidays to sample some of his single-malt scotch. He, like many in the neighborhood, rose early each day to attend 7 A.M. morning prayer at the synagogue across the street. This kind man did justice, loved mercy and walked humbly with his God. Not only did it please him to wish me Merry Christmas, he would thank me when the greeting was returned. Regardless, I am sure none of his neighbors considered him a bad Jew for that and he certainly struck me as godly man.

I suspect most of the people expressing outrage over this minor slip-up are also not the least bit religious. Forgiveness is far easier when you love your God.

Much Ado About Nothing

The Bush haters, getting in some last shots, are crying foul over Mrs. Bush's invitations to a Hanukkah reception at the White House that happened to be adorned a with a Christmas tree (shown above). Check out the loving comments beneath the story linked. Well, okay, I suppose a more appropriate image might have been used but honestly, is this really that big a deal?

Until few years ago, I lived smack in the middle of an orthodox Jewish neighborhood in northern Manhattan. Interestingly, I remember some of my Jewish neighbors wishing me "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Easter" on those particular days, not "Happy Holidays." My next door neighbor, a concentration camp survivor, often invited me over on Christian holidays to sample some of his single-malt scotch. He, like many in the neighborhood, rose early each day to attend 7 A.M. morning prayer at the synagogue across the street. This kind man did justice, loved mercy and walked humbly with his God. Not only did it please him to wish me Merry Christmas, he would thank me when the greeting was returned. Regardless, I am sure none of his neighbors considered him a bad Jew for that and he certainly struck me as godly man.

I suspect most of the people expressing outrage over this minor slip-up are also not the least bit religious. Forgiveness is far easier when you love your God.

More of this, Please

More hopeful signs from Holy Mother Church she intends to assert herself more vigorously in the future; from the Catholic News Agency:

Cardinal Stafford criticizes Obama "aggressive, disruptive and apocalyptic"

Washington DC, Nov 17, 2008 / 02:27 pm (CNA).- Cardinal James Francis Stafford, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary of the Holy See, delivered a lecture on Thursday saying that the future under President-elect Obama will echo Jesus’ agony in Gethsemane. Criticizing Obama as “aggressive, disruptive and apocalyptic,” he went on to speak about a decline in respect for human life and the need for Catholics to return to the values of marriage and human dignity.

The lecture was given at the Catholic University of America in commemoration of the fortieth anniversary of Pope Paul VI's encyclical Humanae Vitae, which marks him, whatever his failings, as one of the great popes of modern times. The Pope faced considerable pressure to liberalize rules on abortion and contraception but, in the end, heeded only the word of God, thus redeeming the Church from a fate suffered by most of the protestant faiths: the inexorable slide into irrelevancy. Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine.

More of this, Please

More hopeful signs from Holy Mother Church she intends to assert herself more vigorously in the future; from the Catholic News Agency:

Cardinal Stafford criticizes Obama "aggressive, disruptive and apocalyptic"

Washington DC, Nov 17, 2008 / 02:27 pm (CNA).- Cardinal James Francis Stafford, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary of the Holy See, delivered a lecture on Thursday saying that the future under President-elect Obama will echo Jesus’ agony in Gethsemane. Criticizing Obama as “aggressive, disruptive and apocalyptic,” he went on to speak about a decline in respect for human life and the need for Catholics to return to the values of marriage and human dignity.

The lecture was given at the Catholic University of America in commemoration of the fortieth anniversary of Pope Paul VI's encyclical Humanae Vitae, which marks him, whatever his failings, as one of the great popes of modern times. The Pope faced considerable pressure to liberalize rules on abortion and contraception but, in the end, heeded only the word of God, thus redeeming the Church from a fate suffered by most of the protestant faiths: the inexorable slide into irrelevancy. Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine.

The Gulf that Divides Us

This same hymn was sung at Corpus Christi Church Monday evening at a Requiem Mass marking the 450th anniversary of the deaths of Mary Tudor and Cardinal Reginald Pole. Oddly enough, the texts vary considerably between that heard in the video below, shot in England, and the one found in the Catholic Hymnal at Corpus Christi. No doubt exegeses of those two texts reveal the stark disparities in the Catholic-Protestant theological ethos.



Thanks to Hot Rod Anglican.

The Gulf that Divides Us

This same hymn was sung at Corpus Christi Church Monday evening at a Requiem Mass marking the 450th anniversary of the deaths of Mary Tudor and Cardinal Reginald Pole. Oddly enough, the texts vary considerably between that heard in the video below, shot in England, and the one found in the Catholic Hymnal at Corpus Christi. No doubt exegeses of those two texts reveal the stark disparities in the Catholic-Protestant theological ethos.



Thanks to Hot Rod Anglican.

Oh My, My, My! That Would Never Do!

First among the benefits of embracing the full Catholic faith are, of course, the undisputed sacraments; of that there is, well, no disputing. There are, however, numerous secondary and tertiary benefits and probably foremost among the latter is, for this former Episcopalian at least, no longer feeling the slightest compulsion to slog through the mollycoddling hand-wringing screeds from the pen of the Rev'd Dr. Ephraim Radner, of the Anglican Communion Institute, on the troubles tearing apart the Episcopal Church.

Dr. Radner has for years affirmed in numerous, seemingly interminable, essays the same message: while the Episcopal Church is in a deplorable state (oh dear, dear, dear, my, my!), straying further and further (oh, dear, dear, dear!) from Christianity (oh my!), we mustn't do anything rash (oh no, no, no, my stars!) like jump off this sinking ship (oh dear no, no, no, don't even rock the boat!) and seek out Christian alternatives to an institution rotten to the core (oh dear, dear, dear, no, no, no, heaven forefend!).

Radner comes across, in other words, as the clerical equivalent of the character played by the venerable Edward Everett Horton in umpteen movies, most notably the Astaire-Rogers musicals: the fussy, servile and hesitant nervous-Nellie who instinctively recoils at any suggestion of bold action. Horton was merely a comic actor, albeit a fine one, playing a part. Dr. Radner, alas, serves as the unfortunate exemplar of myriad frightened Episcopalians, clerical and lay, who remain in that apostate organization; appalled at what it has become yet too terrified to flee it, unmindful, apparently, of the possible risk to their souls. Wise up.

Thanks to the MCJ.



Image from Wikipedia

Oh My, My, My! That Would Never Do!

First among the benefits of embracing the full Catholic faith are, of course, the undisputed sacraments; of that there is, well, no disputing. There are, however, numerous secondary and tertiary benefits and probably foremost among the latter is, for this former Episcopalian at least, no longer feeling the slightest compulsion to slog through the mollycoddling hand-wringing screeds from the pen of the Rev'd Dr. Ephraim Radner, of the Anglican Communion Institute, on the troubles tearing apart the Episcopal Church.

Dr. Radner has for years affirmed in numerous, seemingly interminable, essays the same message: while the Episcopal Church is in a deplorable state (oh dear, dear, dear, my, my!), straying further and further (oh, dear, dear, dear!) from Christianity (oh my!), we mustn't do anything rash (oh no, no, no, my stars!) like jump off this sinking ship (oh dear no, no, no, don't even rock the boat!) and seek out Christian alternatives to an institution rotten to the core (oh dear, dear, dear, no, no, no, heaven forefend!).

Radner comes across, in other words, as the clerical equivalent of the character played by the venerable Edward Everett Horton in umpteen movies, most notably the Astaire-Rogers musicals: the fussy, servile and hesitant nervous-Nellie who instinctively recoils at any suggestion of bold action. Horton was merely a comic actor, albeit a fine one, playing a part. Dr. Radner, alas, serves as the unfortunate exemplar of myriad frightened Episcopalians, clerical and lay, who remain in that apostate organization; appalled at what it has become yet too terrified to flee it, unmindful, apparently, of the possible risk to their souls. Wise up.

Thanks to the MCJ.



Image from Wikipedia

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

...which means lots of hard-luck stories in the media (at least while there is still a Republican in the White House); poverty American style.

For years, Mike and Kelly D'Addeo planned to use their trove of Intel Corp. stock options to send their son Tony to a top college.

Tony would be a good candidate for any school: He's a straight-A senior at Bowie High School and captain of the football team, with near-perfect SAT scores. He's not interested in playing college football; instead, Tony talks about majoring in computer science or engineering.

"I'd like to have my own business someday," he said.

But the plunging stock market has made their stock options worthless and crushed the D'Addeos' Ivy League dreams.

As Herman Westinghouse (a family friend, generations back) put it so nicely: "The poor have their troubles as well as the rich."

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

...which means lots of hard-luck stories in the media (at least while there is still a Republican in the White House); poverty American style.

For years, Mike and Kelly D'Addeo planned to use their trove of Intel Corp. stock options to send their son Tony to a top college.

Tony would be a good candidate for any school: He's a straight-A senior at Bowie High School and captain of the football team, with near-perfect SAT scores. He's not interested in playing college football; instead, Tony talks about majoring in computer science or engineering.

"I'd like to have my own business someday," he said.

But the plunging stock market has made their stock options worthless and crushed the D'Addeos' Ivy League dreams.

As Herman Westinghouse (a family friend, generations back) put it so nicely: "The poor have their troubles as well as the rich."

Grafitti with a College Education

Two months ago I noticed, neatly chalked on a door in the IND Fifth Avenue station at 53rd Street, the following.

S A T O R
A R E P O
T E N E T
O P E R A
R O T A S

That, you may know, is a palindrome but not just any palindrome, it's the grandest and oldest palindrome of them all, dating back to the Romans. While the Latin words don't have much meaning what is kind of fun is they read the same left to right, going down and right to left, going up; down, left to right and up, right to left. What possessed somebody to write this pentagram on a door in the subway (it's still there) we will never know but I hope it stays up for a long time.

Grafitti with a College Education

Two months ago I noticed, neatly chalked on a door in the IND Fifth Avenue station at 53rd Street, the following.

S A T O R
A R E P O
T E N E T
O P E R A
R O T A S

That, you may know, is a palindrome but not just any palindrome, it's the grandest and oldest palindrome of them all, dating back to the Romans. While the Latin words don't have much meaning what is kind of fun is they read the same left to right, going down and right to left, going up; down, left to right and up, right to left. What possessed somebody to write this pentagram on a door in the subway (it's still there) we will never know but I hope it stays up for a long time.

Don't Let Them Get Away with it Anymore

The ever quotable Ted Nugent:

You don't need tough love in America, you need tougher love. Around the water cooler, at the church, at school. At the work place, at the picnic, and the bowling alley. You should be pounding the desk with your fist, raising hell, and take this beautiful state back from the pimps, and the whores, and the welfare brats, and the gang-bangers who seems to have all the rights in the world while the good people, the productive, law abiding people don't have jack squat -- and I think I am going to throw up.

Meanwhile, Dr. Helen (Mrs. Instapundit, and I hope she never sees that) is doing her part.

So many people who do not support Barack Obama and are downright sick of the creeping socialism in our country are not speaking up. It is imperative to do so, even in small ways. The other day, I was at a drugstore and the clerk was talking to what looked like a Baby Boomer who was discussing how he voted for Obama. They both scoffed that not many in Tennessee voted for him, "what do you expect?" said the older guy, "this is Tennessee we're talking about." They both chuckled in agreement. I looked at the clerk and said in a loud voice, "So what you're saying is those of us here in Tennessee who voted for McCain are rednecks, is that right?!!!!" There were several people milling around in line at this point and the clerk turned red and stammered, "No, ma'am," and went on to give some lame explanation about what he meant. But I knew I had him. He was visibly shaken and I hope the next time he decides to diss Tennesseans while at work, he'll think twice.

That goes for all Americans.

Don't Let Them Get Away with it Anymore

The ever quotable Ted Nugent:

You don't need tough love in America, you need tougher love. Around the water cooler, at the church, at school. At the work place, at the picnic, and the bowling alley. You should be pounding the desk with your fist, raising hell, and take this beautiful state back from the pimps, and the whores, and the welfare brats, and the gang-bangers who seems to have all the rights in the world while the good people, the productive, law abiding people don't have jack squat -- and I think I am going to throw up.

Meanwhile, Dr. Helen (Mrs. Instapundit, and I hope she never sees that) is doing her part.

So many people who do not support Barack Obama and are downright sick of the creeping socialism in our country are not speaking up. It is imperative to do so, even in small ways. The other day, I was at a drugstore and the clerk was talking to what looked like a Baby Boomer who was discussing how he voted for Obama. They both scoffed that not many in Tennessee voted for him, "what do you expect?" said the older guy, "this is Tennessee we're talking about." They both chuckled in agreement. I looked at the clerk and said in a loud voice, "So what you're saying is those of us here in Tennessee who voted for McCain are rednecks, is that right?!!!!" There were several people milling around in line at this point and the clerk turned red and stammered, "No, ma'am," and went on to give some lame explanation about what he meant. But I knew I had him. He was visibly shaken and I hope the next time he decides to diss Tennesseans while at work, he'll think twice.

That goes for all Americans.

Fort Worth Votes with its Feet

The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth is still the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth but is no longer part of the Episcopal Church, having just voted to re-align with the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone (South America).

Fort Worth has a rocky road ahead. ECUSA will most certainly train its considerable and well-funded legal firepower on the Diocese, seeking to strip it of its its real estate. While the Diocese will emerge victorious no matter what the courts decide (good luck, ECUSA, filling all those empty pews should you win), the legal bills will likely be huge. A much graver matter facing Fort Worth is the issue more than anything else responsible for the present-day morass, that could very well fracture Anglicanism beyond repair: women's ordination.

When the Episcopal Church voted thirty-two years ago to permit women to be ordained, the first bold steps were taken leading that institution from being a godly institution into a political one; the same for other Anglican denominations that later on voted likewise. Neither Fort Worth nor the Province of the Southern Cone ordain women to the priesthood (they do so into the diaconate, however, so the problem will come to haunt them in time) but until the Anglican Communion as a whole definitively resolves this contentious issue, on a theological rather than a civil basis, there will be no peace for the Diocese of Fort Worth, nor the other Anglican dioceses and provinces.

Just the same, let us all wish the Diocese of Forth Worth Godspeed! As a former Anglo-Catholic it it pleases me no end that diocese and the Dioceses of Quincy and San Joaquin, the only three "smells and bells," "bowing and scraping" dioceses in the Episcopal Church, have all fled that fallen institution. While a day does not go by without my thanking almighty God for being received into his Holy Catholic Church, I will never leave off praying for my Christian brethren in the Church where I worshiped most of my life. As an Anglo-Catholic I was taught to pray for the eventual reunification of the Anglican Church with the Church of Rome. As a Catholic, I pray for the same.

Fort Worth Votes with its Feet

The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth is still the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth but is no longer part of the Episcopal Church, having just voted to re-align with the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone (South America).

Fort Worth has a rocky road ahead. ECUSA will most certainly train its considerable and well-funded legal firepower on the Diocese, seeking to strip it of its its real estate. While the Diocese will emerge victorious no matter what the courts decide (good luck, ECUSA, filling all those empty pews should you win), the legal bills will likely be huge. A much graver matter facing Fort Worth is the issue more than anything else responsible for the present-day morass, that could very well fracture Anglicanism beyond repair: women's ordination.

When the Episcopal Church voted thirty-two years ago to permit women to be ordained, the first bold steps were taken leading that institution from being a godly institution into a political one; the same for other Anglican denominations that later on voted likewise. Neither Fort Worth nor the Province of the Southern Cone ordain women to the priesthood (they do so into the diaconate, however, so the problem will come to haunt them in time) but until the Anglican Communion as a whole definitively resolves this contentious issue, on a theological rather than a civil basis, there will be no peace for the Diocese of Fort Worth, nor the other Anglican dioceses and provinces.

Just the same, let us all wish the Diocese of Forth Worth Godspeed! As a former Anglo-Catholic it it pleases me no end that diocese and the Dioceses of Quincy and San Joaquin, the only three "smells and bells," "bowing and scraping" dioceses in the Episcopal Church, have all fled that fallen institution. While a day does not go by without my thanking almighty God for being received into his Holy Catholic Church, I will never leave off praying for my Christian brethren in the Church where I worshiped most of my life. As an Anglo-Catholic I was taught to pray for the eventual reunification of the Anglican Church with the Church of Rome. As a Catholic, I pray for the same.