Monday, May 26, 2008
Another Rick who deserves a cafe
The Rick played by Humphrey Bogart, admirable as he was, lived only in print and celluloid.
Rick Rescorla, on the other hand, was as fine an American soldier as you'd ever want to meet, and Memorial Day is for people like him (so people like me can while away an afternoon chatting with friends at the neighborhood pool, quaffing a root beer in the best Snoopy fashion, and reading a novel by Lee Child).
Rick Rescorla, on the other hand, was as fine an American soldier as you'd ever want to meet, and Memorial Day is for people like him (so people like me can while away an afternoon chatting with friends at the neighborhood pool, quaffing a root beer in the best Snoopy fashion, and reading a novel by Lee Child).
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Beware the tea leaf reader
This in an essay by Stuart Taylor, Jr., that I found via Bookworm, who keeps a weather eye on California courts:
A Democratic president, on the other hand, would probably have a free hand to appoint the sort of justices envisioned by Obama, who opposed the nominations of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito. Obama has suggested that his criteria would not be fidelity to constitutional text or modesty in the use of judicial power, but rather "what is in the judge's heart" and "one's deepest values, one's core concerns, one's broader perspectives on how the world works, and the depth and breadth of one's empathy."
A Democratic president, on the other hand, would probably have a free hand to appoint the sort of justices envisioned by Obama, who opposed the nominations of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito. Obama has suggested that his criteria would not be fidelity to constitutional text or modesty in the use of judicial power, but rather "what is in the judge's heart" and "one's deepest values, one's core concerns, one's broader perspectives on how the world works, and the depth and breadth of one's empathy."
Remembering Pascal
Modern skeptics can still learn from him, wrote Edward Tingley, and the Brothers Judd were impressed enough to excerpt key parts of Tingley's argument.
Memorial Day musings
Anchoress went back to her archives for good, perceptive stuff from a British viewpoint. Andrew Gimson gets that freedom is not an abstraction to Americans.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Rebecca Walker on feminist ideology
It hurt her growing up, says novelist Alice Walker's daughter, in a searing column for which a hat tip goes to Sister Toldjah.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Sloppy editing in a religious story
Most of the secular press just doesn't get religion. That's not news. But occasionally this ignorance makes as much of a scene as Dick van Dyke and a squadron of chimney sweeps dancing with bamboo staffs on imaginary London rooftops.
Case in point: A heading from the Telegraph: "Pope Benedict Attacked by Catholic Church's Most Senior Theologians." It's wrong on several counts:
1. With the arguable exception of the pope -- and not all popes have assumed that office with reputations in theology -- the Catholic Church does not rank her theologians. She doesn't issue trading cards with theologians' faces on them, either. That Francis Cardinal Arinze, for example, makes more sense than Sister Joan Chittister has nothing to do with uniform insignia or time in service, and everything to do with fidelity to the deposit of faith (Arinze thinks with the church; Chittister treats the church the way Lucy treated Charlie Brown every football season).
2. Only one theologian, Fr. Hans Kung, is quoted in the story. The plural headline is nonsensical.
3. Having been relieved of the right to teach theology under Catholic auspices because of his long history of dissent from the faith once handed to the apostles, Fr. Kung obviously lost any "seniority" he would have had among his colleagues.
4. The gist of Kung's unhappiness is that he is a progressive and Pope Benedict is more of a traditionalist. But when Kung says that "Rome continues to block every sort of renewal," he's misread a situation more aptly summarized by a previous article in the same newspaper: "Kung has tended to see the 2,000-year history of the Church in terms of the wrongs done to Hans Kung," the story noted perceptively then. Of then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, the older Telegraph story went on to say that he was "no obscurantist" at Vatican II (which for Kung is practically the only Council worth talking about). The difference between Kung and Benedict is that "During the Vatican Council, [Benedict] sought reform through ressourcement -- going back to the early Fathers of the Church -- not through ideas that happened to be trendy in the 1960s." Exactly!
So the bottom line is that any whining from Hans Kung is -- wait for it -- sour grapes.
Now, if only my visiting brother-in-law would arrive...
POSTSCRIPT: My brother-in-law and his wife got in, safe and sound, at 1:00 am. We had a nice visit the next day. And Sunday morning (May 25) I found an entry over at Art's blog that fits well with the above, because you might say that Benedict swims in truth as much as he can, whereas Kung has been known to hydroplane over it.
Case in point: A heading from the Telegraph: "Pope Benedict Attacked by Catholic Church's Most Senior Theologians." It's wrong on several counts:
1. With the arguable exception of the pope -- and not all popes have assumed that office with reputations in theology -- the Catholic Church does not rank her theologians. She doesn't issue trading cards with theologians' faces on them, either. That Francis Cardinal Arinze, for example, makes more sense than Sister Joan Chittister has nothing to do with uniform insignia or time in service, and everything to do with fidelity to the deposit of faith (Arinze thinks with the church; Chittister treats the church the way Lucy treated Charlie Brown every football season).
2. Only one theologian, Fr. Hans Kung, is quoted in the story. The plural headline is nonsensical.
3. Having been relieved of the right to teach theology under Catholic auspices because of his long history of dissent from the faith once handed to the apostles, Fr. Kung obviously lost any "seniority" he would have had among his colleagues.
4. The gist of Kung's unhappiness is that he is a progressive and Pope Benedict is more of a traditionalist. But when Kung says that "Rome continues to block every sort of renewal," he's misread a situation more aptly summarized by a previous article in the same newspaper: "Kung has tended to see the 2,000-year history of the Church in terms of the wrongs done to Hans Kung," the story noted perceptively then. Of then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, the older Telegraph story went on to say that he was "no obscurantist" at Vatican II (which for Kung is practically the only Council worth talking about). The difference between Kung and Benedict is that "During the Vatican Council, [Benedict] sought reform through ressourcement -- going back to the early Fathers of the Church -- not through ideas that happened to be trendy in the 1960s." Exactly!
So the bottom line is that any whining from Hans Kung is -- wait for it -- sour grapes.
Now, if only my visiting brother-in-law would arrive...
POSTSCRIPT: My brother-in-law and his wife got in, safe and sound, at 1:00 am. We had a nice visit the next day. And Sunday morning (May 25) I found an entry over at Art's blog that fits well with the above, because you might say that Benedict swims in truth as much as he can, whereas Kung has been known to hydroplane over it.
The Doctor is In
Take it away, Dr. Krauthammer:
Does Obama imagine that North Korea, Iran, Syria, Cuba and Venezuela are insufficiently informed about American requirements for improved relations?
Nurse Cassandra is on the same page. Second opinion doesn't look any more hopeful for the patient.
As if one problematic diagnosis isn't enough for Team Obama, Monica Crowley says Barack should watch out for the glad-handing salesman in the waiting room, because that salesman has a wife who is outside in the car but not content to stay there.
Does Obama imagine that North Korea, Iran, Syria, Cuba and Venezuela are insufficiently informed about American requirements for improved relations?
Nurse Cassandra is on the same page. Second opinion doesn't look any more hopeful for the patient.
As if one problematic diagnosis isn't enough for Team Obama, Monica Crowley says Barack should watch out for the glad-handing salesman in the waiting room, because that salesman has a wife who is outside in the car but not content to stay there.
It was a great speech
President Bush spoke with unusual fervor to the Knesset last week, even while sounding his now-familiar foreign policy themes. Paul Kangor says the speech was underrated. I agree.
I actually have a few more thoughts on the matter percolating over at American Spectator, but they may not see publication (either there or on this blog) until Tuesday.
Sophia the puppy
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Quick hits from Bookworm and AT
From the "smoke 'em if you got 'em" school of bloggery:
Bookworm channels Karl Rove brilliantly while debunking Barack Obama's disdain for "preconditions" on presidential meetings with American foes.
Marc Sheppard corrects AlGorean lies about water levels in the Dead Sea and the Jordan River.
Bookworm channels Karl Rove brilliantly while debunking Barack Obama's disdain for "preconditions" on presidential meetings with American foes.
Marc Sheppard corrects AlGorean lies about water levels in the Dead Sea and the Jordan River.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
From John to Julie to me
In a typically thoughtful post about Senator Ted Kennedy's brain cancer diagnosis, Julie cites this perceptive quote from John C. Wright:
To those of you who think religion is a self-delusion based on wish-fulfillment, all I can remark is that this religion does not fulfill my wishes. My wishes, if we are being honest, would run to polygamy, self-righteousness, vengeance and violence: a Viking religion would suit me better, or maybe something along Aztec lines. The Hall of Valhalla, where you feast all night and battle all day, or the paradise of the Mohammedans, where you have seventy-two dark-eyed virgins to abuse, fulfills more wishes of base creatures like me than any place where they neither marry nor are given in marriage. This turn-the-other cheek jazz might be based any number of psychological appeals or spiritual insights, but one thing it is not based on is wish-fulfillment.
An absurd and difficult religion! If it were not true, no one would bother with it...
To those of you who think religion is a self-delusion based on wish-fulfillment, all I can remark is that this religion does not fulfill my wishes. My wishes, if we are being honest, would run to polygamy, self-righteousness, vengeance and violence: a Viking religion would suit me better, or maybe something along Aztec lines. The Hall of Valhalla, where you feast all night and battle all day, or the paradise of the Mohammedans, where you have seventy-two dark-eyed virgins to abuse, fulfills more wishes of base creatures like me than any place where they neither marry nor are given in marriage. This turn-the-other cheek jazz might be based any number of psychological appeals or spiritual insights, but one thing it is not based on is wish-fulfillment.
An absurd and difficult religion! If it were not true, no one would bother with it...
Sure we get thunder and lightning
We're also dealing with a brutal schedule of home improvements and the fallout from home improvements, both of which make regular blogging difficult. But we get flower power, too, man. Totally.Monday, May 19, 2008
Not a commercial airliner
I like this squib found via Instapundit because I don't know whether it is about a real aircraft or a clever fake, but I miss the sight and sound of F-17 pilots playing in the sky over Miramar MCAS.
Before O talks about Republican 'Swiftboating'
Republicans will be accused of "Swiftboating" Barack Obama, or trying to, soon enough.
Let's remember (as T. Boone Pickens does) that in spite of John Kerry's belated embrace of the ""Band of Brothers" that he had once condemned as war criminals, the Swift Boat veterans who questioned Kerry's Vietnam service record were right to do so. Accordingly, "Swiftboating" only has connotations of unfairness to partisan Democrats.
Let's remember (as T. Boone Pickens does) that in spite of John Kerry's belated embrace of the ""Band of Brothers" that he had once condemned as war criminals, the Swift Boat veterans who questioned Kerry's Vietnam service record were right to do so. Accordingly, "Swiftboating" only has connotations of unfairness to partisan Democrats.
Revisiting Narnia and Middle Earth
Rev. Dwight Longenecker makes an excellent tour guide:
The difference between Narnia and Middle Earth points to the underlying difference between the imagination of Lewis the Protestant and Tolkien the Catholic. For the Protestant, truth is essentially dialectical. It consists of abstract propositions to be stated, argued, and affirmed or denied.
For the Catholic, Truth, while it may be argued dialectically, is essentially something not to be argued but experienced. The Truth is always linked with the mystery of the incarnation, and is therefore something to be encountered.
Many Protestants will argue, for instance, that God's primary revelation is Sacred Scripture, while Catholics maintain that God's primary revelation is Jesus Christ. That Lewis produced works that were profound, worthy, and beautiful, but less than fully incarnational, while Tolkien produced a masterpiece that incarnated the same truths in a complete, subtle, and mysterious way reflects the deeper theological differences that remained between the two men.
Far be it from me to throw stones at either Lewis or Narnia. I continue to be delighted by my own visits to Narnia, and I look forward to the release of Prince Caspian with great joy. However, like many others, I admire Middle Earth more.
The difference between Narnia and Middle Earth points to the underlying difference between the imagination of Lewis the Protestant and Tolkien the Catholic. For the Protestant, truth is essentially dialectical. It consists of abstract propositions to be stated, argued, and affirmed or denied.
For the Catholic, Truth, while it may be argued dialectically, is essentially something not to be argued but experienced. The Truth is always linked with the mystery of the incarnation, and is therefore something to be encountered.
Many Protestants will argue, for instance, that God's primary revelation is Sacred Scripture, while Catholics maintain that God's primary revelation is Jesus Christ. That Lewis produced works that were profound, worthy, and beautiful, but less than fully incarnational, while Tolkien produced a masterpiece that incarnated the same truths in a complete, subtle, and mysterious way reflects the deeper theological differences that remained between the two men.
Far be it from me to throw stones at either Lewis or Narnia. I continue to be delighted by my own visits to Narnia, and I look forward to the release of Prince Caspian with great joy. However, like many others, I admire Middle Earth more.
When the movie is better than the book
