Two Papers In One!

My spy in NY exulted thus over the added value that comes with a subscription to the Formerly Gray Lady. Tim Blair explains:

The New York Times explains why it didn’t publish Climategate emails:

The documents appear to have been acquired illegally and contain all manner of private information and statements that were never intended for the public eye, so they won’t be posted here.

The New York Times explains why it did publish WikiLeaks documents (that were acquired illegally and contain all manner of private information and statements never intended for the public eye):

The Times believes that the documents serve an important public interest, illuminating the goals, successes, compromises and frustrations of American diplomacy in a way that other accounts cannot match.

 

Great News For The White House

Narcissism no longer a psychiatric disorder. Self-esteem movement triumphant.

Sigh. Note category this is filed under.

TSA Q&A

Not really, but it should be true. Language alert.

Me: So my first question is, should the TSA’s only priority be preventing any terrorist attacks, or should it pay more attention to what effect it is having on Americans’ morale?
Pistole: Well, we feel that flying is an exception to normal rules. What you have is essentially a giant flying bomb with people trapped aboard it, and as we saw in 9/11 this bomb can be used to devast—
Me: Right, planes are huge bombs – and, as Bruce Schneier pointed out in 2005, we immediately reinforced cabin doors after 9/11, so planes can’t be used that way by terrorists any more: there won’t be any more 9/11-style flying-planes-into-buildings attacks.

So, now the only significant thing about air travel is that it’s a bunch of people in a small space who can’t easily leave. Which is a lot like riding a bus, or being in a crowded coffee shop. So do you think Americans should surrender our constitutional rights in those situations, and, if not, what exactly makes air travel special?

...Come to think of it, it’s also exactly like being in the TSA’s security line, which often have more people in them than the planes themselves. What exactly is going to prevent terrorists from just bringing bombs into lines with them? Before you answer, note that this isn’t hypothetical — terrorists around the world strike cafés and lines for exactly this reason.

Curtsy: ninme

Padre Pio Live!

Curtsy: Fr. Tim Finigan

Potpourri of Popery, Pro-Life Advent Edition

The Holy Father observed a Vigil For Nascent Human Life last night, in a service coinciding with the First Vespers of Advent. He'd asked people world-wide to kick off Advent with prayers for the unborn. WaPo noticed.
Here's a snip or two from the homily:

The beginning of the liturgical year helps us to relive the expectation of God made flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary, God who makes himself small, He becomes a child, it speaks to us of the coming of a God who is near, who wanted to experience the life of man, from the very beginning, to save it completely, fully. And so the mystery of the Incarnation of the Lord and the beginning of human life are intimately connected and in harmony with each other within the one saving plan of God, the Lord of life of each and every one of us. The Incarnation reveals to us, with intense light and in an amazing way, that every human life has an incomparable, a most elevated dignity.

And: 

There are cultural tendencies that seek to anesthetize consciences with misleading motivations. With regard to the embryo in the womb, science itself highlights its autonomy capable of interaction with the mother, the coordination of biological processes, the continuity of development, the growing complexity of the organism. This is not an accumulation of biological material, but a new living being, dynamic and wonderfully ordered, a new unique human being. So was Jesus in Mary's womb, so it was for all of us in our mother’s womb. With the ancient Christian writer Tertullian we can say: "he who will be a man is already one," there is no reason not to consider him a person from conception. 

Here is this morning's Angelus, in which he reflects on waiting.

Our whole personal, familial and social existence passes through this dimension of waiting. Waiting is something that is present in a 1,000 situations, from the smallest and most banal to the most important, which draw us in completely and in the deepest way. Among these, we think of a husband and wife waiting for a child; of waiting for a relative or friend who is coming from far away to visit us; we think of a young person waiting to know his grade on a major exam or the outcome of a job interview; in romantic relationships, of waiting to meet the beloved person, of waiting for a letter, or of receiving forgiveness... One could say that man is alive so long as he waits, so long as hope is alive in his heart. 

Well...that puts a whole other spin on Black Friday! Or maybe not:

man is able to recognize that what he waits for and what he hopes for discloses something about his moral and spiritual "stature." 

What are you waiting for?

Everyone of us, therefore, especially in this season in which we prepare for Christmas, can ask himself: What am I waiting for? For what, in this moment of my life, does my heart long? And this same question can be posed at the level of the family, of the community, of the nation. What are we waiting for, together? What unifies our aspirations, what do they have in common?

He seems to suggest that what you find depends on what you are looking for...or give up looking for.

Potpourri:
In spite of the lengthy list just yesterday, there is a little bit.

• Canada: hosted a debate about religion between Tony Blair & Hitch. ninme with details.
• Great Britain: This moving account of one of our new Anglican brothers' last homily in the CofE.  Click through and read his sermon. Made me cry, and when he was done he laid his mitre & crozier at the feet of Our Lady. Also: that poster at the top is part of a controversial ad campaign in the UK.
• Italy: The B16 Foundation!
• U.S. Whole 'nother take on the war on Christmas; Christmas is winning, by the way.

And finally: Squanto was Catholic? Harrods launches the million dollar Advent calendar.

Potpourri of Popery, New Year's Eve Edition

Donald Wuerl receives the red hat

It's embarrassing to grow old and be constantly slack-jawed at how fast other people's kids grow and time flies --but can it really be Advent already tomorrow? Right. To it, then.

Popery
Several  big developments since the last potpourri.
Release of Verbum Domini, the post-synodol exhortation on scripture in the life of the Church. Alas, the Pope's non-magisterial interview book got more notice, even in the Catholic press, but this is the important document, one the Pope wishes to have broad effect. Like all post-synodal documents, it's a mix of theoretical and practical things. This includes profound reflections on the scriptures themselves; guidelines for understanding it; lectio divina how-tos and more. From the prologue:

I would like the work of the Synod to have a real effect on the life of the Church: on our personal relationship with the sacred Scriptures, on their interpretation in the liturgy and catechesis, and in scientific research, so that the Bible may not be simply a word from the past, but a living and timely word. ...Following the example of the Apostle John and the other inspired authors, may we allow ourselves to be led by the Holy Spirit to an ever greater love of the word of God.

First major defections from Canterbury to Rome under Anglicanorum coetibus (5 bishops, 50 priests, several hundred congregants). After meeting with the Pope, the Druid announces Church-sharing plan. More on this in the potpourri below.

The Synod on the Middle East, documents for which are gathered here. The Holy Father gave a lovely homily at its conclusion, reiterating his fond hope that Christians will remain in the Middle East in spite of the risks:

The words of the Lord Jesus may be applied to Christians in the Middle East: “There is no need to be afraid, little flock, for it has pleased your Father to give you the kingdom” (Lk 12:32). Indeed, even if they are few, they are bearers of the Good News of the love of God for man, love which revealed itself in the Holy Land in the person of Jesus Christ. This Word of salvation, strengthened with the grace of the Sacraments, resounds with particular potency in the places in which, by Divine Providence, it was written, and it is the only Word which is able to break that vicious circle of vengeance, hate, and violence.  

...because the Good News is the key to freedom and peace, not only for Christians:

Another contribution that Christians can bring to society is the promotion of an authentic freedom of religion and conscience, one of the fundamental human rights that each state should always respect. In numerous countries of the Middle East there exists freedom of belief, while the space given to the freedom to practice religion is often quite limited. Increasing this space of freedom becomes essential to guarantee to all the members of the various religious communities the true freedom to live and profess their faith. This topic could become the subject of dialogue between Christians and Muslims, a dialogue whose urgency and usefulness was reiterated by the Synodal Fathers.

That last sentence is pretty much the key for understanding the Synod, I think. Various Jewish groups got antsy about some remarks at the synod, and George Weigel and others are nervous that the Synod Fathers don't give Israel its due. I get a little nervous about that myself, but whatever the cultural limitations of some of the Arab patriarchs, the purpose of the synod was not really Jewish-Christian relations, but engaging Islam and Muslims, who are, let's face it, the key to peace in the Middle East (Christians and Jews being sinners, but not of the bombing innocents variety, generally).

The cardinals' meeting on sexual abuse, religious freedom, et al, followed by the consistory (with an excellent homily!) Lots of fun pictures of that event if you scroll around.

The trip to Santiago de Compostela & Barcelona to shore up the family. Lovely homily at the Cathedral of Santiago about the impact of St. James and the meaning of pilgrimage -- a theme he takes up again, more boldly, at the mass for the Compostelan jubilee. What does Europe seek, he asks, and what does it need? The answer lies in God, who is author-- not enemy-- of freedom:

how could God have created all things if he did not love them, he who in his infinite fullness, has need of nothing (cf. Wis 11:24-26)? Why would he have revealed himself to human beings if he did not wish to take care of them? God is the origin of our being and the foundation and apex of our freedom, not its opponent. How can mortal man build a firm foundation and how can the sinner be reconciled with himself? How can it be that there is public silence with regard to the first and essential reality of human life? How can what is most decisive in life be confined to the purely private sphere or banished to the shadows? We cannot live in darkness, without seeing the light of the sun. How is it then that God, who is the light of every mind, the power of every will and the magnet of every heart, be denied the right to propose the light that dissipates all darkness? This is why we need to hear God once again under the skies of Europe; may this holy word not be spoken in vain, and may it not be put at the service of purposes other than its own. It needs to be spoken in a holy way. And we must hear it in this way in ordinary life, in the silence of work, in brotherly love and in the difficulties that years bring on.

Europe must open itself to God, must come to meet him without fear, and work with his grace for that human dignity which was discerned by her best traditions: not only the biblical, at the basis of this order, but also the classical, the medieval and the modern, the matrix from which the great philosophical, literary, cultural and social masterpieces of Europe were born. 

Next came my favorite of his addresses in Spain --the homily for the dedication of Holy Family Cathedral in Barcelona.  Some day I am going to collect all his homilies that take the architecture of the church where he preaches as his starting point: beautiful!

Audiences:  Continuing his effort to re-introduce us to the most important figures of the Church, B16 has been doing an amazing series on the women of the Church. Here's the latest, on Catherine of Siena.

Oh, yes, and there's the new interview book out, Light of the World. You may have heard something about it, though as it's not a magisterial document but an interview with Joseph Ratzinger, it doesn't rise to the level of essential Church business in my view (not to say I am not aching to read it!).

The "Pope oks condoms except he really didn't" flap is just one more proof to me that I have no idea what's going on in the world. I don't understand how anyone who bothers to read could interpret "She of course does not regard it [the use of condoms] as a real or moral solution...,"   to mean "Pope blesses condoms." Nor do I understand the orthodox Catholic blogosphere's panic over Vatican PR, which did not strike me as inept or out of it at all. The Church's stance --agree or disagree--is not hard to understand nor was what the Pope said very subtle or nuanced, requiring special sensitivity. It was obvious and his logic self-evident to anyone who wants to know what the Pope thinks rather than bend it to his own wishes. He that has ears let him hear.

Here's the requisite clarification and a thorough round-up of all the ink spilled if you must, but the take-aways for me from this episode are two:

1. The banality of our culture, even orthodox Catholic culture. As the Pope indicated, "the sheer fixation on the condom implies a banalization of sexuality;"
2. And, related: it is once again demonstrated the only calm, lucid mind in the Western hemisphere belongs to the man in the Chair of Peter. Everyone else: right, left, in-between, is perpetually overwrought --and that is precisely the situation the pope is trying to address in trying to restore Reason.

There is a legitimate question to be asked about whether a sitting pope ought to take the risk of granting an interview of this kind. Is Ratzinger contributing to the diminishment of the Papacy? Francis Rocca takes that up here, suggesting the Pope knows what he's doing:

By speaking to Mr. Seewald so informally on matters of such importance, the pope may be seen to be collaborating in his own diminishment. And yet, on the evidence of the book itself, Benedict's decision to participate in the interviews was deliberate and principled. "Standing there as a glorious ruler is not part of being Pope," he tells Mr. Seewald. "Is it really right," he asks later, "for someone to present himself again and again to the crowd in that way and allow oneself to be regarded as a star?" People, he acknowledges, "have an intense longing to see the Pope" but only because he is "the representative of the Holy One." No one, he says, should "refer the jubilation to oneself as a personal compliment."

Also, the new book is part of the "Courtyard of the Gentiles" the Pope keeps speaking about. Update: Christopher Blosser leaves a link to his excellent round-up of all the other topics covered in Light of the World.

Not so important, but of note to me:

• Reflections on Romano Guardini
• Homily for Christ the King
• Message to Health Care Conference
• Address to the Pontifical Council for Culture on the meaning of language.

Potpourri:

• China:ordains new bishop over Vatican's wishes; reaction of underground priest; Card Zen comments.
• Cuba: dedicated new church, first new religious building since revolution.
• Egypt: Islamists protest against building of Coptic church, two Christians killed.
• Great Britain: in response to the crisis of Anglicanism --and in response to the Pope!-- Her Majesty gets into the act, telling participants in the new Synod of the need to "communicate the gospel with joy and conviction in our society." 
• India: leader of anti-Christian pogroms in Orissa released. 
• Indonesia: authorities close Catholic school
• Iraq: mass held in Rome for its newest martyrs, move to canonize them afoot; Weigel says stand for Christians in Iraq (who are continuing to flee country);
• Pakistan: Card. Tauran in Lahore negotiating release of Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy. (Muslims, too, mobilized w/ Christians against this execution.)
• South Korea: only Catholic Church on island damaged in that NorKo attack; bishops call for avoiding war
• U.S.: Archbishop Dolan elected prez of Bishops' conference in upset (tho' not as big a deal as people made it, in my view -- he almost won last time, too), recently gave interview to Gray Lady; delayed ad limina visits on schedule at last; 10 bishops not donating to CCHD;
• Taiwan: retired bishop's beautiful letter to his brother priests.
• Viet Nam: Catholics in General Assembly say, "We are citizens of our country."
• Anything I may have missed: B16 Round-up

And finally: new film on Escriva;SJ physicist says Hawking unscientific; and, St. statue stops a thief!

Pride & Prejudice & Factories

Have been watching North & South, an old BBC dramatization of the Elizabeth Haskell novel about which I know nothing. It's well done, though a step down from Pride & Prejudice -- a bit more obvious, though maybe that is what you get if you set the story in the middle class!

I note it because Adam Smith comes off well in one of the early scenes. In a discussion about the treatment of workers, the old parson who wants workers to be treated like Christians becomes an ally of the irreligious, hard-but-fair leading man because it turns out treating workers well is good for business. A period drama portraying the hard lives of factory workers at the turn of the twentieth century, but yet shows the factory owner to be humane is a pleasant surprise.

Actually the same scene sort of hints at many current issues: Irish immigrants doing work the English won't do, union demands causing entire industries to pack up and move overseas (in this case, to America). 

Never Let Me Do That Again

I've never understood the appeal of shopping the day after Thanksgiving. It's not the crass commercialization of Christmas that bothers me. After a long period of the convert's pecksniffery about decorating for Christmas during Advent, I've made my peace with the American way. Get everything done early and you'll be calm and available for the spiritual preparation you crave.

No, the nature of my objection is carnal. First, there's never any real reason to go to a mall at all in my worldview. Second, the day after all that food and drink seems to me like an excellent day not to get dressed or even to get up, except to turn from one side to the other while reading in bed, or --if you're one of those health nuts who insists on daily exercise-- to shift from the bed to the sofa for movies under blankets with whichever kids will tolerate maternal cuddling as the price for the screen time they crave. 

What possessed me to promise to take Girl Weed shopping for her birthday yesterday I do not know. Colossal ignorance, I suppose. Having never experienced "Black Friday" before, I thought surely the tales of malls without parking spaces and long lines to enter fitting rooms were exaggerated and blew them off.

This was an error in judgment on my part.

I did hint upon seeing the crowds in the parking lot that perhaps another day would be better, but the crestfallen look on the Dear Child's face at the prospect of having to wait one more day for a pair of jeans that weren't as short as capris on her suddenly-taller frame was more than I could take, especially since she never asks for anything.

So off we went, and we only had to circumnavigate the mall three times to park. Four hours later we emerged with not much, really. We did hit on girls' fashion gold: a really flattering pair of jeans. The last pair in her size, so we could not stock up, alas: but at least we found a pair (literally the last in the store) of just normal jeans and not the abomination of both fashion and English known as the "jegging" which is all the rage in the pre-teen set this year.  [Insert rant about parents who dress their twelve-year-olds as if they intended to trade them for camels here.]

Waiting in line for a fitting room is tedious under any circumstances, but this was the pre-teen section, so the girls go in three at a time and giggle and gossip about boys as they change, blithely unaware of the line building up behind them. The opinions of their present friends being insufficient, they text photos of themselves to other pals off-site and wait for them to phone in with their opinions.

"The green one? You really think the green and not the blue?"
"OMG, you are like totally hot in the green!"
"Shut up, I am not hot!"
"You totally are!"
"OMG, you're so sweet, I love you!"
"I love you too!"
/hugging


After an interminable period of time and a lot of huffing and begging them to finish from moms in line, "the green one" carried the day, and out of the dressing room stepped a pretty little thing in cheap make-up and bubble gum who would look good in anything, but the dress was hideous. An avocado sheath with some kind of brown organza overlay. I debated intervening: "Stop! You look like a 1970s kitchen!" but decided the laughs she'd get from her photo album in a few years would be worth it for her.

Then on to the payment line, after which we beat tail out of there for "lunch" at 4 pm. The joy of having no boys along is one occasionally gets to try something not a taco, burger or pizza, so we went to an Ethiopian place, where Girl Weed did well and I apparently ordered Lentils from Hell. Tasty, but fiery (and I like heat). I think the back of my throat is still burning.

I enjoyed being with Girl Weed, who is lovely and turning out well in spite of us. But I made her promise not to let me go out on Black Friday ever, ever again.

Say What?

Iran's nuclear program in chaos? Who's got confirmation?

in the 21st century, Bond doesn't get the call. Instead, the job is handled by a suave and very sophisticated secret computer worm, a jumble of code called Stuxnet, which in the last year has not only crippled Iran's nuclear program but has caused a major rethinking of computer security around the globe.

Naked Go The Sometime Nude

Last line of a review of Love & Other Drugs confirms my long-held contention that nudity, except in National Geographic situations, breaks the "fourth wall." Nudity in painting, sculpture --even on stage-- can be quite different. Nudity in film, artistically speaking, almost always breaks character. Actresses like to tell themselves they did it "for the character":

Removing Maggie’s and Jamie’s pajamas, however, does little more than make us wonder what, if anything, Hathaway eats, and how often Gyllenhaal goes to the gym.

Peace Prize Contended For

Ear warning: one foul word.

The vid seems as good a rebuttal as any to this, an anguished essay theoretically about feeling sorry for people too poor to be foodies but embarrassingly revealing about the heights of preposterous self-importance which can be scaled.

My personal fave line, in defense of spending hours each day thinking about food and hundreds of extra budget dollars monthly on organic delicacies:

“This is our charity. This is my giving to the world,” says Alexandra, finally, as she packs lunchboxes—organic peanut butter and jelly on grainy bread, a yogurt, and a clementine—for her two boys. “We contribute a lot.”

 Instacurtsies

Happy Thanksgiving!

"Home for Thanksgiving"

Gratefulnesss

You that have giv'n so much to me,

Give one thing more, a grateful heart.

See how your beggar works on thee

                          By art.

     

He makes your gifts occasion more,

And says, If he in this be crossed,

All you have giv'n him heretofore

                          Is lost.

     

But you did reckon, when at first

Your word our hearts and hands did crave,

What it would come to at the worst

                          To save.

     

Perpetual knockings at your door,

Tears sullying your transparent rooms,

Gift upon gift, much would have more,

                          And comes.

     

This notwithstanding, you still went on,

And did allow us all our noise:

Nay, you have made a sigh and groan

                          Your joys.

     

Not that you have not still above

Much better tunes, than groans can make;

But that these country-airs your love

                          Did take.

     

Wherefore I cry, and cry again;

And in no quiet can you be,

Till I a thankful heart obtain

                          Of thee:

     

Not thankful, when it pleases me;

As if your blessings had spare days:

But such a heart, whose pulse may be

                          Your praise. 

--George Herbert

Letter From An Afghan Jail

Said Musa, a convert from Islam to Christianity in prison in Kabul since May for that very reason, was recently able to have a plea to Barack Obama and the Christian world smuggled from jail. He writes:

"To the international church of world and to the President Brother Barak Obama President of the United States and to the head of ISAF [International Security Assistance Force] in Afghanistan!
"My name is Said Musa 45 years old. I have been working since 15 years as a Physiotherapist in I-C-R-C [International Committee of the Red Cross] orthopaedic centre in Kabul, Afghanistan. About four and a half months before by security force of Afghanistan I [was] captured, due to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Saviour of the world. One person ____ he is spy of ____ [a] leader in Afghanistan. He told about me [to] the Government's officials, 'He's believer, He's head of church in ____'. He showed my house to the security force. Since that time I am in jail. The authority and prisoners in jail did many bad behaviour with me about my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. For example, they did sexual things with me, beat me by wood, by hands, by legs, put some things on my head, mocked me ‘He's Jesus Christ', spat on me, nobody let me for sleep night and day. Every person spat on me and beat me. Also the prosecutor wrote something wrong against me. He told from himself something wrong against me on my file.
"He is stimulating every day the prisoners against me, ‘He is also in jail due to spy for Iran country', to reveal the church in Kabul. I'm in a very and very bad condition in the jail.
"I agree with long imprisonment about my faith even for long life. Because I'm the sinnest person in the world. Because sometimes they treated for died I refuse my faith due to died. Sometimes I tolerate the persecution but immediately I acknowledge my sin before Lord Jesus Christ: ‘Don't refuse me before your holy angels and before your Father.' Because I am very very weak and sinful man.
"Nobody could accept my defender before the court. If I say I am a Christian man he immediately spat on me and abuse me and mock me! I am alone between 400 handlers of terrible values in the jail like a sheep. Please, please, for the sake of Lord Jesus Christ help me. Please send a person who should supervise my document and my file, what I said in it. My prosecutor has told something wrong to the judge because he asked [for] money but I refused his request. Please, please you should transfer me from this jail to a jail that supervises the believers. I also agree with died on cross of my pride. I also agree with the sacrifice [of] my life in public, I will tell the faith in Lord Jesus Christ son of God and other believers will take courage and be strong in their faith. Hundred percent I am stable to my word. I have family of seven - one wife, three daughters and three sons. My big son [is] about eight years old. One of my daughters can't speak, she has some mental problems.
"This is a request from me to all over the world, people please help me. I could not have any person to help. For [the] sake [of] Lord Jesus Christ please pray and immediately help me and rescue me from this jail. Otherwise, they will kill me, because I know they're very very very cruel and hard hearted!
"Your destitute brother in the world.
"Please my English writing is not enough good. If I did some mistake please forgive me! From Kabul Provincial jail."

Prof. K. reminds us that when President Bush intervened in the similar case of Abdul Raman four years ago, it resulted in his release. Let's ask President Obama to help Said Musa.

Rocks In The River

Really nice column on what B16 didn't say about condoms --and about the role of the Church in the world generally-- from Jonah Goldberg. Citing his deceased father, who loved Vatican spectacle and loved the popes as what he called "rocks in the river," he writes:

I loved the literary quality of the expression "more rocks in the river," even though the imagery doesn't quite convey what my dad really believed. Dad was a conservative, properly understood. By that I mean he didn't think conservatism was merely an act of passive and futile defiance of what Shakespeare called "devouring time." Unlike human institutions, the rocks do not fight the devouring river of time. My dad believed that conservatism was an affirmative act, a choice of prudence and will. In the cacophonous din of perpetual change, the conservative selects the notes worth savoring and repeats them for others to hear and, hopefully, appreciate.

Then a perfectly lucid explanation of the entirely preposterous condom flap. See? It's not hard for people outside the faith to understand if they care to read for understanding as opposed to what The Curt Jester calls Ginger reading (after the Far Side cartoon about what we say versus what dogs hear). Also, a cogent defense against the absurd claim that Vatican (really, orthodox Christian) opposition to sex outside of marriage is responsible for deaths in Africa. Then this nice conclusion:

As for the church's preferred approach — abstinence until marriage — it may be impractical in most parts of the world, as the critics claim. But it would undeniably save more lives than condom use if put into practice. What seems to offend many isn't the efficacy of the solution but the suggestion that such values have any place in the modern world.
The church's position is that the truest notes are those that not only celebrate life and love but cut through the whitewater racket of devouring time. As those notes become harder to hear, the answer isn't to stop playing them but to turn up the volume.

Lovely, Mr. Goldberg. Thanks.

Emperor's New Unmentionables

I love the Wall Street Journal, but every so often they run a feature that bewilders me. Like this holiday gift guide featuring macarons for $300. Or boxers for $175/ pair and the custom-made lingerie at a cool $600/garment. Far be it from me to deny people who can afford them the finer things in life, but surely there is a diminishing return on investment for certain kinds of items? Spending that much money on either undergarments or denim strikes me as not luxurious but absurd --very "Emperor's New Clothes," and why would anyone want such a thing in the first place?

Nevertheless, I tried this out on Mr. W. , suggesting that nothing would make my little heart go pitter-pat this Christmas so much as undies for a cool grand. He said try my next husband. Hmmph. Just see if he gets the Fendi bicycle with built-in GPS and removable gazelle saddlebags!

Permission To Observe Thanksgiving

This is such a nice story. Having no one to celebrate Thanksgiving with, a man put an ad in the paper offering to cook for the first twelve respondents. It's become a tradition with a group of regulars--and spread to about 80 people.

No one is turned away, Macaulay says.
"Last year, I had a family show up two hours late," he says. "He had lost his job and they had heard about the dinner and wanted something to eat. And, some of these people might not have anything, but they always find something that they can be grateful for. "
Still, Macaulay says his goal is to never have anybody make a reservation.
"My goal is always to have nobody sign up, 'cause that means everybody's got a place to go and everybody's OK," he says. "And that's what keeps me going 25 years later."

So lovely, and so filled with what we want America to be: neighborly, warm, brimming with can-do spirit-- that I hesitate to even point out this sour note.

Also, the health inspector required him to get a permit to serve food this Thanksgiving.

Isn't that outrageous? Why on earth is it the government's business if a bunch of consenting adults want to eat our national feast together? 

Curtsy: Ann Althouse via F&F.

If He Can't Do It, Nobody Can

Many folks have noticed that Obama's come down in the world: from being Christ to being Shiva the Destroyer. What interests me is the subhead here, though
.
Isn't this an admission of Obama's weakness as an executive? No one said Bush wasn't up to the job --they just hated him and his policies. (Ditto Clinton from the other side.) And claims that there's too much power in the executive are perennial from both sides of the spectrum.

But this is a bunch of palaver about how the job's too big for any man.

Can any single person fully meet the demands of the 21st-century presidency? 

Carter is the only other President I can recall who inspired that question a lot.

What The World Needs Now Is Death Panels

I sometimes hear folks ask what the "culture of death" is, and for evidence of it. We gotcha culture o' death right here. Krugman here is not merely admitting that death panels exist in Obamacare, he's positively jonesing for 'em.

First They Came For The Cheese

So do we remember last year's post on the Food Safety Act which sounds all clean and anti-e.coli but is actually anti-farm and garden? My spy in NY sends a link suggesting a vote is on the horizon. Meanwhile, the government is already staging raids on dangerous dairy farmers.  It's Farmageddon!

Much Ado About The TSA Or: Janet Napolidogberry

Having laughed our way through Macbeth, we're now reading Much Ado. And lo, here in Act 3 we found the new TSA patdown/nekkid scan rules:

DOGBERRY

...This is your charge: you shall comprehend all vagrom men; you are
to bid any man stand, in the prince's name.

Second Watchman

How if a' will not stand?

DOGBERRY

Why, then, take no note of him, but let him go; and
presently call the rest of the watch together and
thank God you are rid of a knave.

VERGES

If he will not stand when he is bidden, he is none
of the prince's subjects.

DOGBERRY True, and they are to meddle with none but the
prince's subjects....

The Eyes Have It

Why do the Israelis not make their citizens run nekkid through airport scanners? Because they know the eyes are the window of the soul.

here it is done completely, absolutely 180 degrees differently than it is done in North America," Sela said.
"First, it's fast — there's almost no line. That's because they're not looking for liquids, they're not looking at your shoes. They're not looking for everything they look for in North America. They just look at you," said Sela. "Even today with the heightened security in North America, they will check your items to death. But they will never look at you, at how you behave. They will never look into your eyes ... and that's how you figure out the bad guys from the good guys."

Unfortunately, true dat:

Americans and Canadians are nice people and they will do anything because they were told to do so and because they don't know any different.

Curtsy: ninme

What Doctor-Patient Relationship?

From my spy in NY comes another instance of "Opposite Presidency." We have been told that Obamacare's going to protect the doctor-patient relationship by preventing mean ol' insurers from denying you care.
The recess-appointed head of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, however, thinks the doctor-patient relationship has to die.

In his book "New Rules" he writes: "Today, this isolated relationship (between doctor and patient) is no longer tenable or possible... Traditional medical ethics, based on the doctor- patient dyad must be reformulated to fit the new mold of the delivery of health care...Regulation must evolve. Regulating for improved medical care involves designing appropriate rules with authority... Health care is being rationalized through critical pathways and guidelines. The primary function of regulation in health care, especially as it affects the quality of medical care, is to constrain decentralized decision making."

I would have thought the primary function was to provide medical care to those in need, but I am not a Harvard grad and there is so much my puny mind can't grasp.

Touching Strangers Agency

More civil disobedience against it. A friend of mine asks if we really want the new image of the American to be naked with our hands in the air?

Update: More TSA horror stories. They sound like some of the "enhanced interrogation techniques."

Not A Bug But A Feature

Some time ago I complained that so much of Obamacare was at the discretion of the HHS Secretary that we could not be said to be under the rule of law...or equal as citizens before it.

Pete Spiliakos agrees, but says this presents an opportunity as well.

The weakness of this system of mandate-and-waiver  is its lack of legitimacy.  If the public's attention can be focused on HHS bureaucrats denying particular insurance policies to particular people, then the Obama administration will be forced to choose between backing off or getting mired in a losing public relations fight.
Since the Obama administration is certain to make use of the strengths of the mandate-and-waiver to advance the cause of government-run health care, conservative politicians should use the political weaknesses of this approach (and the potential policy space this weakness opens up) not only to weaken Obamacare but to increase the numbers of Americans with consumer-driven health insurance policies.  Republican gains in governorships and state legislature seats gives the GOP an opportunity to force supporters of government-run health care to either retreat or fight (hopefully) losing political battles. 

The states can help:

One way that Republican governors and state legislators can weaken Obamacare is to reform their Medicaid systems into a subsidy for high deductible private insurance coverage.  A second way is for GOP governors and state legislators to adopt and expand Mitch Daniels' policy of offering and HSA/catastrophic insurance coverage to Indiana state employees.  This approach has saved Indiana money (which is pretty important considering the circumstances of many state budgets) and increased the take home pay of Indiana state employees while expanding the number of Americans with consumer-driven health care policies in a consensual (rather than mandated) way.  Other states should adopt this approach for their own state workers and make it mandatory that municipal governments offer identical HSA/catastrophic coverage plans to municipal workers as union contracts expire.  Let the union leadership fight not only the taxpayers, but their own members who might want the option of picking HSA/catastrophic insurance plans that would save them money in premium costs.  Also, let HHS and the Obama administration explain why a plan that is good enough for Indiana's employees isn't good enough for Kansas, Florida, or Georgia.  And let Republicans in Congress push for laws giving states the unambiguous legal authority to enact these kinds of policies. 
This approach of reforming Medicaid in a free market direction and giving an HSA/catastrophic coverage option to state and municipal employees has the potential to sharply increase the number of Americans in consumer-driven policies, making it much more politically difficult for the Democrats to abolish these kinds of plans through either legislation or bureaucratic fiat.  It also gives conservatives arguments in favor of eventually expanding use of these kinds of insurance policies to groups other than Medicaid clients and public employees.  If they are good enough for those two groups, they are good enough for most of the rest of the working public.  The very act of fighting the Obama administration for waivers for these kinds of policies will tend to increase public awareness of the existence and benefits of free market-oriented health care reform policies.

Why We Love Grassroots

That counter-protest protecting LCpl Terry Honeycutt's family from the freaks of WBC? It garnered 1000 people and the WBC folks couldn't get near --pictured are the folks lining the road for the funeral cortege. So glad the family didn't have to deal with the jerks.

Here's a story about it.

And here's more about our local fallen hero:

Hours after Terry E. Honeycutt Jr. walked the stage with the first graduating class of 2009 from North Point High School in Waldorf last year; he headed off to fulfill a dream he'd had since middle school. He went to boot camp.   The next day was his 18th birthday.

"The weekend before," his mother, Christine Honeycutt, recalled, "we had a graduation/birthday/going-away-to-boot camp party for him."   "Then, on graduation day, we came home, had some ice cream, some hugs and said our final good-byes. The recruiter picked him up a few hours later."

Relatives describe Honeycutt as musically gifted, so talented he taught himself to play the guitar and drums. From an early age, he had his sights set on the military. He was a member of the first ROTC class at his high school.

"We asked him why he wanted to be in the military one time, and he said, 'I want to make a difference in the world,' " his mother said. They supported his decision to join the Marines but worried about his choice to sign up for the infantry. "Every one of us tried at some point to talk him out of it."

His older sister, Dawn Clarke, recalled how, as children, they played soldiers and how he gravitated toward war-themed movies and video games. Her husband, Michael Clarke, also a Marine, said Honeycutt would carry a Marine Corp key chain and talk about the military every chance he got.

"He always found honor in it," Michael Clarke said. "Although he died, it makes you proud. You have these other 19-year-olds overdosing, killing themselves, dying in car crashes. You don't find honor in those deaths."

In a recent letter home, Christine Honeycutt said her son wrote of enjoying his work in Afghanistan. When one team member got hurt, he said, it motivated others to continue. Honeycutt was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

"Terry died doing what he wanted to be doing, and I don't think he was afraid to die," his mother said. "He knew possible traumatic injuries and possible death could be coming his way, but he took it all in stride. That was his job. That's what he wanted to do."

"We just know he's our guardian angel," his aunt, Bonnie Shipley Honeycutt said.

For his family, who recently returned from Germany where they said their good-byes, it is hard to accept that the child who in sixth grade knew what he wanted to be when he grew up is gone.

"We are very proud and love him very much. We miss him terribly," his mother said. "He's now our warrior angel."

 Good on the folks of LaPlata/Waldorf (and a few others rounded up from nearby) for standing up for their own.

One & Done?

Mr. W's been saying for months that Obama shouldn't run for re-election, but should sit out a cycle or two and then come back wiser and more experienced. He's right of course, but I laughed because...well, you know....
unlikely.

But lookee what's in WaPo: One and done. Forget likely. Let it sink in what it means that WaPo's running this at all.

PSA from TSA

Shamelessly pinched from here.

At least people are protesting the nude scanners. More.

Thanks of a Grateful Nation

With gratitude to all who served and are serving.

Update: speaking of gratitude, the Westboro Baptist folks are planning to defile a local soldier's funeral. A friend's organizing a counter-protest to shut them down, as these folks did in their neighborhood. (Bravo!) Who's game to show up in La Plata, MD on Monday morning to protect the family and stand up for the honor of Lance Cpl. Terry E. Honeycutt, JR and drown out WBC?

Update 2: WBC to arrive by 9:30, so patriots tired of these folk and desirous of protecting the family should arrive at around 8:30. New Life Wesleyan Church in La Plata, MD.

Iraqi Muslims Prefer Christian School

Here's a bittersweet and in some ways wonderful story about a Christian school in New Bagdad, where most Christians have been driven out because of sectarian violence.
I note two things. One, that it's not the Iraqis attacking Christians:

When he rushed across the city to Our Lady of Salvation church in Karrada on Oct. 31 after news of a hostage taking, his Muslim neighbors offered their help.
“We got calls from the neighbors – they said just give us the green light and we can bring guns and help the people inside,” he says. “Our neighbors here say if someone touches you that means they touch us.”
In a country that has been almost torn apart by sectarian violence, Christians and Muslims say the attacks are politically engineered and fueled by neighboring countries. They point to their long history of living side by side, and highlight examples of cooperation even amid the tense security situation in Iraq today.
"When I came back to my neighborhood, I found all the neighbors outside waiting for me to welcome me back,” says George Meti Boutros, an Arabic teacher who survived the Karrada church attack. He says he is the only Christian living in his neighborhood in Bab al-Sharja.

[Remember this? And this? And this (scroll to bottom)? And this? And this?]

Secondly, Muslims are attracted by the peace of a Christian environment. The school is 83% Muslim:

Spaces are reserved for Christians but months before registration, other families clamor for some of the 600 places in the school, which serves students from kindergarten to sixth grade.
Apart from its more demanding academic curriculum and its focus on music and sports, one of the main reasons the teachers say parents prefer St. Elia is much more simple: This school doesn't allow students or teachers to hit anyone. Iraq’s overcrowded, crumbling public schools are notorious for violent behavior.

Obama In India

White House Photo - Pete deSouza

I tried tuning in to talk radio after the election and had to turn it right off again so much hue and cry was being raised over the President's trip to India: all of it that I heard low and unfair. For starters, his trip didn't cost $200 million/day, nor did he take an unconscionable number of minions as one Indian tabloid claimed, and we might have fact-checked that before asserting it.
Then, as India is a rising economy, I want to see the U.S. President there --or do we prefer to let it sink into China's orbit? We are competing with China now for influence in India & Africa.
Thirdly, I agree with Bret Stephens that Obama delivered himself of his best speech as President while in India. Not one I can unabashedly get behind --he's Obama, the progressive sophomore and I'm a Catholic constitutional conservative-- but good, for him. So, looking past all the sophomoric tribute to Ghandi, and the need to refer to him as "Gandhiji" (I saw that Ben Kingsley movie, too), I simply note as Stephens does that before the Indian Parliament Obama did three things I like and very much want him to do.
He repeated his commitment to Afghanistan and stood by his reneging on the "date certain" for departure:

America’s fight against al Qaeda and its terrorist affiliates is why we persevere in Afghanistan, where major development assistance from India has improved the lives of the Afghan people.  We’re making progress in our mission to break the Taliban’s momentum and to train Afghan forces so they can take the lead for their security.  And while I have made it clear that American forces will begin the transition to Afghan responsibility next summer, I’ve also made it clear that America’s commitment to the Afghan people will endure.  The United States will not abandon the people of Afghanistan -— or the region -— to violent extremists who threaten us all.

Notice, too, that he names the enemy: al Qaeda --not mere "extremists." And he spoke of defeating it:

Our strategy to disrupt and dismantle and defeat al Qaeda and its affiliates has to succeed on both sides of the border.  And that’s why we have worked with the Pakistani government to address the threat of terrorist networks in the border region. The Pakistani government increasingly recognizes that these networks are not just a threat outside of Pakistan —- they are a threat to the Pakistani people, as well.  They’ve suffered greatly at the hands of violent extremists over the last several years.
      And we’ll continue to insist to Pakistan's leaders that terrorist safe havens within their borders are unacceptable, and that terrorists behind the Mumbai attacks must be brought to justice.  (Applause.)  We must also recognize that all of us have an interest in both an Afghanistan and a Pakistan that is stable and prosperous and democratic —- and India has an interest in that, as well.

He defended freedom and human rights and gave India a speech not unlike the one Tony Blair gave us when he spoke to Congress as PM:

democracy, more than any other form of government, delivers for the common man —- and woman.
      Likewise, when Indians vote, the whole world watches.  Thousands of political parties; hundreds of thousands of polling centers; millions of candidates and poll workers -- and 700 million voters.  There’s nothing like it on the planet.  There is so much that countries transitioning to democracy could learn from India’s experience, so much expertise that India can share with the world.  And that, too, is what is possible when the world’s largest democracy embraces its role as a global leader.
      As the world’s two largest democracies, we must never forget that the price of our own freedom is standing up for the freedom of others. (Applause.)  Indians know this, for it is the story of your nation.  Before he ever began his struggle for Indian independence, Gandhi stood up for the rights of Indians in South Africa.  Just as others, including the United States, supported Indian independence, India championed the self-determination of peoples from Africa to Asia as they, too, broke free from colonialism.  (Applause.)  And along with the United States, you’ve been a leader in supporting democratic development and civil society groups around the world.  And this, too, is part of India’s greatness.
      Now, we all understand every country will follow its own path.  No one nation has a monopoly on wisdom, and no nation should ever try to impose its values on another.  But when peaceful democratic movements are suppressed —- as they have been in Burma, for example -- then the democracies of the world cannot remain silent.  For it is unacceptable to gun down peaceful protestors and incarcerate political prisoners decade after decade.  It is unacceptable to hold the aspirations of an entire people hostage to the greed and paranoia of bankrupt regimes.  It is unacceptable to steal elections, as the regime in Burma has done again for all the world to see.
      Faced with such gross violations of human rights, it is the responsibility of the international community —- especially leaders like the United States and India —- to condemn it.  And if I can be frank, in international fora, India has often shied away from some of these issues.  But speaking up for those who cannot do so for themselves is not interfering in the affairs of other countries.  It’s not violating the rights of sovereign nations.  It is staying true to our democratic principles.  It is giving meaning to the human rights that we say are universal.  And it sustains the progress that in Asia and around the world has helped turn dictatorships into democracies and ultimately increased our security in the world.
      So promoting shared prosperity, preserving peace and security, strengthening democratic governance and human rights -- these are the responsibilities of leadership.  And as global partners, this is the leadership that the United States and India can offer in the 21st century.

And he defended free markets.

despite the skeptics who said this country was simply too poor, or too vast, or too diverse to succeed, you surmounted overwhelming odds and became a model to the world.
      Instead of slipping into starvation, you launched a Green Revolution that fed millions.  Instead of becoming dependent on commodities and exports, you invested in science and technology and in your greatest resource —- the Indian people.  And the world sees the results, from the supercomputers you build to the Indian flag that you put on the moon.
      Instead of resisting the global economy, you became one of its engines —- reforming the licensing raj and unleashing an economic marvel that has lifted tens of millions of people from poverty and created one of the world’s largest middle classes.

(in spite of himself he says something remarkably pro-life and anti-population control there doesn't he?) And:

together, we can resist the protectionism that stifles growth and innovation.  The United States remains —- and will continue to remain —- one of the most open economies in the world.  And by opening markets and reducing barriers to foreign investment, India can realize its full economic potential as well.

 I don't know if he means any of it --it's so contrary to anything we've heard from him-- but it is on the whole a good speech. Substantive and positive.
Plus, I like Michelle's dancing with the kids:

Sporkish Or Foonly?

Paging Formerly Single Gal. Look!

It's called din-ink.

Turning your favourite office tool into a common cutlery item…this is called “din-ink”. A set of pen tops that turns your “writing tool” into a knife, fork and spoon during the lunch break. All tops are made by sustainable resources, to be 100% recyclable, non toxic and hygienic.

Spanish Halloween

The Pope was in Spain over the weekend, and his speeches there were mighty direct, even for him. I guess he understands Spanish "orgullo" well. More on that later, but first, the protesters:

AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza

There was a big homosexual kiss-in on the pope's parade route. A fair number of the protest signs were in English, which means they weren't really intended for the Pope or for their country-men, were they?

I sometimes wonder if people mean to say what they say. For example:

REUTERS/Gustau Nacarino

 

Disagree with Church teaching, fine. But do you really want to make condoms your religion?

  REUTERS/Gustau Nacarino

There's an original line. Rosary doesn't rhyme with "ovary" in Catalan or Galician, either.  The other sign says, "We're witches, we're free women."

Well, one, anyway.

Obama As Nixon

Just putting the GOP sweep of state legislatures in perspective.

Republicans picked up 680 seats in state legislatures, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures -- the most in the modern era. To put that number in perspective: In the 1994 GOP wave, Republicans picked up 472 seats. The previous record was in the post-Watergate election of 1974, when Democrats picked up 628 seats.

Given the Watergate reference, I'm surprised WaPo hasn't mentioned this.

Tsunami

Even better than the pick-up of the House --which is a matter of restoring sanity/ fear-- is the incredible change at the state level, which is the pipeline for the future.

There will be 18 states subject to reapportionment. The Republicans will control a majority of those — at least ten and maybe a dozen or more. More significantly, a minimum of seventeen state legislative houses have flipped to the Republican Party.
The North Carolina Legislature is Republican for the first time since 1870. Yes, that is Eighteen Seventy.
The Alabama Legislature is Republican for the first time since 1876.
For those saying this is nothing because it is the South, consider these:
The entire Wisconsin and New Hampshire legislatures have flipped to the GOP by wide margins.
The State Houses in Indiana, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, Iowa, Montana, and Colorado flipped to the GOP.
The Maine and Minnesota Senates flipped to the GOP.
The Texas and Tennessee Houses went from virtually tied to massive Republican gains. The gains in Texas were so big that the Republicans no longer need the Democrats to get state constitutional amendments out of the state legislature.
These gains go all the way down to the municipal level across the nation. That did not happen even in 1994.

Cutting Edge

I was the only person at the polls when I voted earlier this afternoon --though the poll-workers said it had been busy.

Let the record show that I did not cast a straight-party-line ballot. So clearly I operate in the new spirit of bipartisanship that the Democrats will discover by magic overnight.

İNo Mas!

Latinos souring on illegal immigration according to Pew:

In 2007, 50percent of Latinos surveyed told the Pew Hispanic Center that the growing number of illegal immigrants was a positive force for the existing Latino population. In a Pew survey released Thursday, that number had plummeted to 29percent.
Thirty-one percent said illegal immigration had a negative effect, and 20percent said it had no effect.

As an aside, who knew this about Cesar Chavez?

"Mexican-American populations have been divided throughout the 20thcentury, and (opinions) largely changed since the 1970s," she said. "Most famously, Cesar Chavez came under intense attack from others within the Chicano movement because he ... encouraged punishments of those hiring illegal immigrants."

While we're loosely on the subject of immigration, here's a good WSJ piece on Marco Rubio, whose specific policy recommendations I don't know, but I like his attitude about immigration:

The GOP's cranky side seems to bother him. He argues that the Republican Party needs to offer up clear alternatives to liberal policy, not just say no, and brighten its tone along the way. Take immigration. "Where Republicans have failed: We should be the pro-legal immigration party, not the anti- illegal immigration party," he says. If he wins, Mr. Rubio will be the most prominent elected Hispanic official in the U.S. from either party.

This was my immigration hobby horse during the Bush "comprehensive" immigration effort -- I just hate the way Conservatives talk about the issue, whining rather than "evangelizing." It provides such a natural platform for talking about markets, incentives, the meaning of citizenship, the goods of the founding. Plus, we need the new blood, given that we ain't having any of our own babies. And the "American dream" is an immigrant dream.

The immigrant experience provides the raw material for his most resonant message. Mr. Rubio's parents fled Cuba and worked blue- collar jobs all their lives. He paid his way through college and law school.
"The only privilege that I was born with was to be a citizen of the greatest nation in human history," he tells a breakfast crowd of supporters at the Original Pancake House in Palm Beach Gardens. "What makes America great is that anyone from anywhere can accomplish anything."

Hamas Confesses Its Losses

It took two years, but Hamas has publicly admitted that most of the deaths in the Gaza war were of combatants, not civilians.

Talking about losses in the war, Hammad confirmed significant personnel losses in Hamas' military wings for the first time. He said, "On the first day of the war, Israel targeted police stations and 250 martyrs who were part of Hamas and the various factions fell." He added that, "about 200 to 300 were killed from the Qassam Brigades, as well as 150 security personnel."

Of the earlier claim that the people of Gaza had suffered, the guy says

is Hamas not a part of the people?

And on alleged human rights abuses & al-Qaeda ties?

Responding to reports of human rights abuses committed by Hamas security forces in the Strip, he said, "We are not a society of angels." He added: "We seek to advance the institutions and training, we are keen on the prestige of the police and their enforcement of the law. At the same time, we need to preserve the dignity of the citizen."

When asked if he fears al-Qaida cells in the Strip, he responded: "We do not have an al-Qaida base in Gaza." Trying to distance Hamas' ideology from Osama bin-Laden's terrorist group, he claimed, "We are centrists and are proud of that, we do not like zealots and extremists." 

Curtsy: Evelyn Gordon, who writes:

however belatedly, Hamas has now confirmed that most of the war’s casualties were indeed combatants rather than civilians, just as Israel always claimed. So now all that’s needed is a humble apology from all the individuals and organizations that have spent the past two years slanderously accusing Israel of the wholesale slaughter of civilians.

/crickets

All Saints Day

The Church has new martyrs to honor today. Three priests and dozens of others were killed in an attack on a Church in Baghdad yesterday. Here's a report from Vatican Radio.