Dark Day in Afghanistan

What a sad day for America.



From the Associate Press:

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- A military helicopter crashed in eastern Afghanistan, killing 31 U.S. special operation troops and seven Afghan commandos, the country's president said Saturday. An American official said it was apparently shot down, in the deadliest single incident for American forces in the decade-long war.

The Taliban claimed they downed the helicopter with rocket fire while it was taking part in a raid on a house where insurgents were gathered in the province of Wardak late Friday. It said wreckage of the craft was strewn at the scene.

NATO confirmed the overnight crash took place and that there "was enemy activity in the area." But it said it was still investigating the cause and conducting a recovery operation at the site. It did not release details or casualty figures.

Réquiem ætérnam dona eis Dómine;
et lux perpétua lúceat eis.
Requiéscant in pace.
Amen.

'Fear and Trembling'

Fear and trembling signifies that one is in process of becoming, and every individual man, and the race as well, is or should be conscious of being in process of becoming. And fear and trembling signifies that a God exits--a fact which no man and no established order dare for an instant forget. ...

So holy in fact had the Pharisees and the scribes become, and so holy do men always become when they deify the established order, that their divine worship is a way of making a fool of God. Under the pretense of serving and worshipping, they serve and worship their own device, either in self-complacent joy at being themselves the inventors, or through fear of men. -Søren Kierkegaard

How relevant for today! More and more, we are witnessing a spike in wild innovations and inventions, new ways of doing and defining things that were once considered sacred and inviolable.

Around the World in One Minute

This is a pretty amazing video. I can't imagine the time that went into it. There are some some beautiful churches here. Catch them if you can!

MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

On Denying Communion

From LifeSiteNews:

ROME, August 4, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Top officials at the Vatican are throwing their support behind pro-life Catholic leaders campaigning against dioceses allowing pro-abortion politicians receive Holy Communion, says one such leader.

American Life League President Judie Brown spoke with LifeSiteNews yesterday about her recent trip to Rome, where she spoke with Vatican officials about Communion for pro-abortion politicians and the changing pro-life landscape in America.

Cardinal Raymond Burke told Brown to be “persistent” in her campaign to have Canon 915 enforced, she said.

Canon 915 states: “Those upon whom the penalty of excommunication or interdict has been imposed or declared, and others who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin, are not to be admitted to holy communion.”

Brown also noted that Burke encouraged her to make use of the numerous articles he himself has written on the subject.

“He encouraged us to be persistent, to use his articles and not to back down from our position which is the same as his,” she said. “It’s not arbitrary it’s a matter of the law of the church which needs to be enforced.” ...

The fact that many bishops are “not comfortable” about it, said Brown, doesn’t matter.

Rate Your Priest?

Interesting. From the Telegraph:

Priests rated on new website
German churchgoers are to be given the opportunity to rate the performance of their priests and post reviews on a new website.

The Hirtenbarometer, or 'shepherd' barometer in English, gives people the chance to post lavish praise or withering criticism about their local preacher or senior church members in complete anonymity.

The website also allows parishioners to rate the performance of clerics by judging such attributes as "standard of religious service", "work with young people" and "credibility". The average scores are represented by a sheep's colour with those with good scores getting a white sheep while those with indifferent or poor ratings getting a grey or black sheep.

What We Already Knew...

Or at least what the Tea Party already knew, i.e., the debt deal is a joke, an all too characteristic DC game of smoke and mirrors.

Chris Moody, writing for The Ticket, puzzles it out for you:

After months of rigorous debate over trimming the federal budget, Congress has finally passed a short-term budget
and increased the debt limit in return for what is said to be "historic" budget cuts.

But after all that--the fighting, the 11th-hour back-room deals, the warnings of calamity--will the federal budget actually be smaller in a few years?

Nope. Spending will continue to increase.

Much of the problem has to do with the language of Washington, which, you might have noticed, is different from the speech you hear almost every other place on Earth. When most politicians talk of "cutting" spending, they don't always literally mean that they intend to reduce current spending levels. Instead, under this version of fiscal discipline, Congress merely agrees not to spend as much money as it initially had planned. Once that deal is struck lawmakers then turn around to sell their proposals as "cuts."

Gov. Walker's Advice on the Economy

The sun is shining in Wisconsin!

Is the "Super-Committee" Unconstitutional?

Lessons from Kierkegaard

"The Inviter really thought that sin is man's ruin." - Søren Aabye Kierkegaard

One of the more curious developments these days on the road to relativism is the attempt made by various Christian sects to extract the reality of sin from Christianity. Sure, even the most watered down Christian will hold that murder, or snatching an old lady's purse are "sins," something one simply shouldn't do. It's just not very nice, after all. (Precisely how "sin" is defined and understood by the New Age Christian is still unclear to me.) Malcolm Muggeridge made a good point when he said that Original Sin is, at the same time, the least popular and yet most conspicuously obvious of Christian dogmas. In the arena of ethics, especially sexual ethics, there really is no such thing as going too far, to the point of committing a sin, according the sufficiently sanctimonious, culturally sensitive Christian. Consent is the infallible sanction for a fellow to do whatever the heck he wants with his body.

I am paging through Søren Kierkegaard's fabulous book, Training in Christianity and I am finding his reflections on the demands of Christianity incredibly refreshing. His book stands as a much-needed bucket of cold water tossed on the cadre of ubiquitous revisionist theologians tirelessly scheming to gut Christianity of its essential teachings. Kierkegaard's observations are so direly needed in this world of Designer Christianity, where, more and more, folks in society are acclimating themselves to the dangerous (and blasphemous) opinion that Christianity is basically the equivolant of a paper doll religion, where one is at total liberty to accessorize it, dressing it up or down, depending on a personal whim or passion.

Addressing the youth of the world in the preface to YouCat, the new catechism for youth, Pope Benedict XVI writes, "This supplement to the catechism does not flatter you; it does not offer easy solutions; it calls for a new life on your part; it presents to you the message of the Gospel as the 'precious pearl' (Matthew 13:45) for which there is need to give everything..." Much like the Holy Father, Kierkegaard reminds the reader that Christianity, far from being a religion of ease, fancy and comfort, places serious, heavy demands on the individual, demands which require great sacrifices that come from the very depths of one's soul.

He [God] will not suffer Himself to be transformed by men and be a nice human God: He will transform men, and that He wills out of love. ... Christianity came into the world as the absolute-not for consolation, humanly understood; on the contrary, it speaks again and again of the sufferings which a Christian must endure, or which a man must endure to become and to be a Christian, sufferings he can well avoid merely by refraining from being a Christian.

These citations from the pope and Kierkegaard are a far cry from the ersatz, do-it-yourself brand of Christianity in vogue today. Modern, feel-good Christianity, which really isn't authentic Christianity at all, never talks about this kind of hard decision making, self-renunciation (what Kierkegaard calls "abandon" and "divine compassion"), and the trials and struggles against self will. Rather, this newfangled perversion of Christianity is all about affirming the self will and passions. To deny sufferings and not the self however, is to deny the cross, which is, in essence, to deny Christianity.

'Growing Desperation'

Nile Gardiner, writing for the Telegraph, has strong words for the Vice President of the United States, and the entire administration for that matter, in the wake of Biden's bizarre, ad hominem rant against the tea party yesterday.

Joe Biden has clearly overstepped the line with his comments, and brought the office of the vice president into disrepute. His actions today are symbolic of a White House that increasingly looks bitter, crass and petty in its behaviour as public opinion moves firmly against it. Biden’s outburst is a sign of the Left’s growing desperation 30 months into the Obama administration, and only further reinforces the image of decline and decay sinking in at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Media Hypocrisy

Jonah Goldberg makes an excellent point about the media in this piece appearing in National Review Online:

So flashforward to this week. Tom Friedman — who knows a bit about Hezbollah — calls the tea partiers the “Hezbollah faction” of the GOP bent on taking the country on a “suicide mission.” All over the place, conservative Republicans are “hostage takers” and “terrorists,” “terrorists” and “traitors.” They want to “end life as we know it on this planet,” says Nancy Pelosi. They are betraying the Founders, too. Chris Matthews all but signs up for the “Make an Ass of Yourself” contest at the State Fair. Joe Nocera writes today that “the Tea Party Republicans can put aside their suicide vests.” Lord knows what Krugman and Olbermann have said.

Then last night, on the very day Gabby Giffords heroically returns to cast her first vote since that tragic attack seven months ago, the vice president of the United States calls the Republican party a bunch of terrorists.

No one cares.

So true.

Michelle Malkin Discusses Birth Control Mandate

Very interesting:

Rand Paul's Open Letter

Voting 'No'

Some excerpts from Senator Rand Paul's letter, explaining why he does not support this debt deal. It's hard to disagree.

* Adds at least $7 trillion to our debt over the next 10 years. The deal purports to "cut" $2.1 trillion, but the "cut" is from a baseline that adds $10 trillion to the debt. This deal, even if all targets are met and the Super Committee wields its mandate - results in a BEST case scenario of still adding more than $7 trillion more in debt over the next 10 years. That is sickening.
Never, ever balances.

* The Super Committee's mandate is to add $7 trillion in new debt. Let's be clear: $2.1 trillion in reductions off a nearly $10 trillion, 10-year debt is still more than $7 trillion in debt. The Super Committee limits the constitutional check of the filibuster by expediting passage of bills with a simple majority. ... In addition, the plan harms the possible passage of a Balanced Budget Amendment. Since the goal is never to balance, having the BBA as a "trigger" ensures that the committee will simply report its $1.2 trillion deficit reduction plan and never move to a BBA vote.

Biden: Tea Party 'Acted Like Terrorists'

Dems. comparing the tea party to terrorists? Even for a loquacious chap like Joe Biden, that's excessive, to say the least. Is this the "new tone" we keep hearing calls for amidst the DC Morality Lecturing Circuit?

From Politico:

Vice President Joe Biden joined House Democrats in lashing tea party Republicans Monday, accusing them of having “acted like terrorists” in the fight over raising the nation’s debt limit.

Biden was agreeing with a line of argument made by Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.) at a two-hour, closed-door Democratic Caucus meeting.

“We have negotiated with terrorists,” an angry Doyle said, according to sources in the room. “This small group of terrorists have made it impossible to spend any money.”

Biden, driven by his Democratic allies’ misgivings about the debt-limit deal, responded: “They have acted like terrorists,” according to several sources in the room.

Opening the Floodgates

Amidst the all-consuming frenzy surrounding the budget debate, this ominous story about the Obama administration freeing up access to birth control has largely slipped past the radar. It is a momentous and sad push, but not at all surprising, given the track record of this administration. All the more reason to put everything we've got into the next election.

From LifeSiteNews:

WASHINGTON, D.C., August 1, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Following recommendations by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), the Obama administration announced this morning that insurance plans will be required to cover contraceptives, which include abortion-inducing drugs such as Plan B and Ella, as well as elective sterilizations.

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in a news release included the drugs as part of an essential “preventive care” package. “Historic new guidelines that will ensure women receive preventive health services at no additional cost were announced today by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,” she said.

The HHS release notes that “contraception methods and contraceptive counseling” are to be covered, while CNN notes that the preventive mandate will include sterilizations.

The Pantheon's Secret

Some shots I snapped while in Rome

From the Telegraph:

... mystery has always surrounded what lies behind the unusual design of the Pantheon, a giant temple in the heart of Rome that was built by the Emperor Hadrian.

Now experts have come up with an intriguing theory – that the temple acted as a colossal sun dial, with a beam of light illuminating its enormous entrance at the precise moment that the emperor entered the building.

Constructed on Hadrian's orders and completed in AD128, the Pantheon's hemispherical dome is punctured by a 30ft-wide circular hole known as the 'oculus'.

Tea Party Accomplishment

FromThe Daily Beast:

While the details of the debt ceiling deal remain fuzzy, this much is clear: Barack Obama may be president, but the Tea Party is now running Washington. How did this happen? Simple; this is what American politics looks like when there’s no left-wing movement and no war. ...

Whatever the reason, it was the emergence of the Tea Party as the most powerful grassroots pressure group in America that laid the groundwork for Sunday night’s deal. The fact that polling showed Obama getting the better of the debt ceiling debate barely mattered. The 2010 elections brought to Congress a group of Republicans theologically committed to cutting government. And they have proved more committed, or perhaps just more reckless, than anyone else in Washington.

Holy Communion with "an Exclamation Point"

How he received

For the past several months, I have occasionally turned to one of the Holy Father's recent books, Light of the World: The Pope, the Church and the Signs of the Times. This short book is billed as "a conversation with Peter Seewald," a well-known journalist who has, over the years, conducted a series of thoughtful interviews with the current Pope. The question-and-answer format of the book and the Holy Father's fascinating observations on a wide rage of topics all make for quick reading, but it is also ideal for a prolonged, leisurely period of ingestion. It is a gem that the reader can pick up and put down again over the course of many weeks and months.

One of the questions put to the Holy Father by Seewald deals with a directive issued by the Pope that Holy Communion is to be received on the tongue in Saint Peter's Basilica. The Holy Father's answer is insightful and worth a citation.

I am not opposed in principle to communion in the hand; I have both administered and received communion in this way myself. The idea behind my current practice of having people kneel to receive communion on the tongue was to send a signal and to underscore the real presence with an exclamation point. One very important reason is that there is a great danger of superficiality precisely in the kinds of mass events we hold at Saint Peter's, both in the Basilica and in the Square. I have heard of people who, after receiving communion, stick the Host in their wallet to take home as a kind of souvenir. In this context, where people think that everyone is just automatically supposed to receive communion-everyone else is going up, so I will, too-I wanted to send a clear signal. I wanted it to be clear: Something quite special is going on here! He is here, the One before whom we fall on our knees! Pay attention! This is not just some social ritual in which we can take part if we want to.

I thought these observations were noteworthy for several reasons.

As an aside, I am always somewhat surprised by the negative reaction some have to the growing movement, especially among younger Catholics, to receive on the tongue. I once was told by a priest friend how, during a high-profile mass, another priest concelebrating next to him voiced his displeasure that so many (if not all) of the seminarians were receiving on the tongue. Heaven forbid! I suppose that when someone who is attached to a vision of how things "should" be observes things slipping away, frustration and condescension are the natural result.

The problems that the Holy Father detected at Saint Peter's Basilica, with regard to unintentional (and sadly, intentional) abuses of the Blessed Sacrament, are not limited to the walls of Michelangelo's basilica or the colonnades of Bernini's piazza. The serious reality of sacrilege against the Eucharist exists everywhere.

It is one thing for Catholics who actually believe in the Real Presence to receive in the hand. The problem, as I see it, is when non-Catholics and Catholics who do not believe in the Real Presence (for whatever reason) approach communion. They observe believing Catholics receive in the hand, and, as a result, it becomes much easier for them to simply get in line and expect to receive, no questions asked. Obviously, receiving/taking in the hand is a more casual, routine way of doing day-to-day business. A static frame of mind accustomed to holding out the hand and taking is jolted a bit when asked to kneel and to receive on the tongue. "Something quite special is going on here!" No, this isn't just business as usual.

I noticed this just the other day at mass. Two young ladies, twenty-somethings, were seated a couple of pews in front of me. It was obvious that one was not in the know, in terms of knowing what to do during mass. Sit, stand, kneel? Glance about conspicuously to see what everyone else is doing to figure it out, right? Then came time for communion. Both ladies got in line, the non-Catholic was behind the Catholic and, as usual, many of the regulars at mass received in the hand, the non-Catholic observed this and so, when her time came, she simply put out her hand in a clumsy way and took the Host. Thankfully, the priest asked her pointedly, "Are you Catholic?" She was a bit stunned and offered an awkward smile. How dare anyone question her 'right' to receive! He commanded her to put the Host in her mouth, which I think she did. As she and her friend settled back in their pew, I could see the Catholic giving the still-shocked friend instructions on how to properly receive in the hand, perhaps for the next time. You know, one hand under the other, and so on. The point of this anecdote is that the non-Catholic, by observing the faithful receive in the hand, felt much more confident and comfortable to receive the Host in her own hand. It very well could have been the vigilance of the priest that prevented her from walking off with and pocketing the Blessed Sacrament. Many, if not all of these kinds of incidents, which surely happen regularly, would be completely avoided if, following the Holy Father's example, receiving on the tongue was more widely encouraged. Let's say that someone who should not receive, a non-believer, a Satanist, whatever, is determined to receive communion. If receiving on the tongue is the norm at a parish, it goes without saying that it is extremely difficult to remove a thin Host from a moist tongue. The probability of further abuse is greatly mitigated.

(One of the worst cases I heard took place at a local Catholic high school. A friend visiting the school for the day watched in utter shock as a girl carelessly dropped the Host, while another gum-chewing teen stopped the Host from rolling away by putting out her foot and stepping on the Blessed Sacrament! This disgrace would have been averted had the students been accustomed to receiving on the tongue.)

Back to the Holy Father's remarks. I think it is noteworthy that Pope Benedict XVI says, "I am not opposed in principle to communion in the hand..." and then goes on to limn the abuses and misconceptions that have germinated in the communion in the hand era. His decision for communion on the tongue at Saint Peter's Basilica was based on the reality of the problems that had become ubiquitous over the years, and his desire to reorient people's frame of mind as they approach the Blessed Sacrament. Since many of the problems discussed by the Holy Father are not limited to Rome, perhaps a similar approach should be embraced by the leadership of the Church in the United States.

Anticipating 2012: Courting Ryan

VP?

I don't always agree with William Kristol, but he hits the bull's-eye with this piece in The Weekly Standard:

Paul Ryan can’t accomplish much over the next year in the House. He should run as a candidate who’s shown leadership (the Ryan budget), who has successfully taken on Obama (at the House Republican retreat, the health care summit, and in the White House about two months ago), and who has the best chance of uniting the establishment and Tea Party wings of the GOP. If not Ryan, how about Chris Christie, Marco Rubio, Scott Walker, or someone else who is young, sane, and unafraid?

It’s one thing for House Republicans to go through an awkward patch. It would be another thing entirely to fumble away the 2012 presidential election.

Each of the aforementioned individuals would be a very strong candidate, and how frustrating that none are expressing even the slightest interest in running! At the very least, one of them should appear on the ticket with the eventual nominee.

Few are better at the art of delivery than Gov. Christie

To Do in St. Louis

CNN's travel section featured a nice rundown of things to do during a visit to Saint Louis.