Irritation and Concern:

I have a sick baby at my side, and a talk to write, so no guarantees of coherence here. But then, there never are.

First, in regard to Sean Hannity. The problem is not what he or Bill O'Reilly believe or what variety of Catholic they consider themselves to be. The problem comes when they presume to make pronouncements about what the Church teaches - and they're wrong. No excuses, either. No "well, they're entertainers" or "they know as much as the average adult lay Catholic." Nope. These guys are in the process of making millions from spouting their opinions on television, radio, and in print. They have a responsibility - not just to be engaging, confrontational, or whatever it is their bosses want, but to be truthful and honest as well. As a person who has an audience that (when you take everything I write regularly together) numbers in the hundreds of thousands, I feel that responsibility very keenly, and try very hard not to make misstatements and to research whatever it is I'm talking about. Look at it this way: I write about religion, but, of course that ends up touching on everything. Say I want to write on something related to medical ethics. Would I have the right to say, "Well, the American Medical Association says..." without making sure that I'm absolutely positive about what the AMA does, indeed, say on a certain issue? Of course not. And neither do these guys who both (Hannity more than O'Reilly, though) make an issue of their Catholicism or Catholic heritage.

I only skimmed the Hannity thread below, but I noted that once again, the issue (naturally enough) of Catholic identity is rearing its head, and that's fine. But I wonder sometimes about our purpose and our starting point in such musings.

First of all, when it comes to Catholic identity, as much as the Kennedy's, Hannity's, Gibson's, Sullivan's and Daschle's of this world might irritate us, our primary, fundamental and really only responsibility in terms of Catholic identity is our own. Splinters and beams, people. Splinters and beams.

Secondly, if this is an issue for you and you wonder how and where you fit into this huge, diverse thing called the Catholic Church, please, please don't start looking at it from the point of this or that specific Church teaching on this or that issue.

Start with Christ.

Sure, on down the road you will confront these other issues, but as you begin.start with Christ.

Who do you believe Jesus is? What do you believe about Him? Have you read the Gospels lately? Well, go ahead. Listen to Jesus as he speaks, observe him as he acts and accept his invitation to pray. Where do you stand in relation to Jesus? Do you believe what He teaches is true? Do you believe that what happened to him - his death for us sinners and his resurrection - was absolutely real? Where do you stand?

And, of course, all of this must be done honestly and with a completely open heart, without any desire to justify our own sins or to mesh what we hear Jesus saying with what we think he should be saying or with what, as 21st century Americans, we dearly wish he would say.

And then, if we are Catholic, while we are studying and pondering, we are also encountering Jesus - in our personal prayer, and in the sacraments. We go to Mass, not expecting to be entertained by the personalities or inspired by human wisdom, but merely to encounter Jesus, bring our lives to him, and bring him into our lives. Let him change you. Let him speak. Listen.

I'm not being a fideist here, or saying that the other issues aren't important. They are. But way too many people unwittingly use them as an excuse to stay away, not just from the Church, but from God, period. I am not saying, either, that everyone who turns their focus this way will automatically end up as happy Catholics or even Catholics at all. I'm saying that if you are a Catholic who is struggling with that Catholic identity, start all over. Take a break from stressing about specific teachings that bug you, and go to Jesus - in the Gospels, in prayer, and in the Eucharist and in Reconciliation.

And let Him lead you from there.

A Holy Cross alumn weighs in on the Matthews thing at NRO

He offers a broader context, relating how the protesting alumnus shared his concerns privately with the college, but received no response. He also gives the full context of the president's defense, which has been discussed in comments here, but I offer again:

Despite Matthews's copious comments in defense of abortion (he has uttered flat-out on several occasions "I am pro-choice"), McFarland told the paper Matthews "said he feels abortion is immoral. Where he would differ from some Catholics is on the role of government and how intrusive government should be in controlling this. It's a matter of practical judgment. That's allowable in Catholic thought."

This perspective has, of course, been dissected forever, including in these here comment boxes. So I'll just add my own personal observation:

Do you know the problem with the "personally-opposed to abortion, but we live in a pluralistic society, can't force my views on anyone" crowd? They're ultimately a bunch of liars, no more and no less. Well, maybe more. Why? Because there is never any evidence at all of their opposition to abortion beyond their words. Let's put it this way: I've been involved in the pro-life movement off and on for twenty years. I've worked with national organizations like Feminists for Life. I've worked on the local level. I've answered phones in centers offering alternatives to women in crisis pregnancies. I've sorted baby clothes and organized diapers. I've sat in countless meetings at every level of the movement. I've done scads of public speaking on the issue.

And in all that activity, meeting with all of those people, not once have I ever encountered a person, also working at those tasks, who said he or she was personally opposed but pro-choice.

Translation:

The "personally opposed" don't do squat to try to help women and girls make life-affirming choices. The only people that are doing that are the people who are opposed to abortion, proud to say they're pro-life and believe that it should be discouraged by any moral means possible, including, dare we say it, the law. The personally opposed but pro-choice are not, in reality, where it counts - saving lives - really opposed to abortion. And they should just stop trying to absolve their own consciences by uttering empty words and just admit it: they really don't care if kids are being killed down the street. Because if they cared they'd be doing something about it, in some way, no matter how small. And my experience, at least, tells me that they can't be bothered.

Not the rest of us are doing as much as we could - or should - either, mind you.

Update:

As usual, commenters and other bloggers have helped me clarify my thinking. What I was really thinking of here were people who are in positions of power, responsibility and influence, or who are of the activist temperment. Certainly, all of us hold a myriad of positions of various issues and important matters, and we can't be involved or do something about all of them. I may be concerned about everything from the situation in the Congo to problems of health care for the poor in this country to oppression in North Korea to the idiocy that passes for modern education, but I can't be involved in every single cause. Just can't. So sure - there are plenty of people out there who don't like abortion, who live that in their own lives and choices but don't get involved in activism. Those aren't the people I called liars.

No, I'm talking about politicians and government officials who piously cry that they are "personally opposed" while consistently voting with NARAL and NOW, down the line, 100%, or who do nothing to use the power they have to actively nurture and support alternatives to abortion or education programs on the nature of abortion. I'm talking about people involved in communications in media who do nothing to try to balance the way that this issue is portrayed in the media. I'm talking about activists - in the secular world, and in the Church, too - who say that they are really, really dismayed by abortion, and then proceed to scold, scold, scold pro-lifers for being "single issue" and not focusing on the "root causes" of abortion, telling them that they should really be in the business of helping women and education, instead of wasting all their time on legislative issues. Now, if these personally opposed activist types actually were involved in the abortion issue just the tiniest, littlest bit they would know, of course, that perhaps 90% of what pro-lifers do in their organizations is all about helping women, children and families, and education. They would know this. But they don't know this, because, you see, despite their great concern for the issues of the day, they are not actually involved in trying to do anything about abortion, so they have no freaking clue what the pro-life movement is really all about.

So those were the people I was talking about. The people who say they don't like abortion. The people who have the power to do something about it. The people who scold the other people who are actually doing something about this thing they say they abhor. The people who, at the close of the day, have done nothing with the power, influence and responsibility that they have to work on diminishing this practice they say they oppose.

When in doubt...

Bleg

St. Francis Cabrini's body is in New York, but I have read several places that her head was removed and is in Italy. I can't verify this, however, and I can't find out where it is, exactly.

Does anyone know?

Happy Feast Day to my daughter, Catherine!

(Click on the picture to read about her relationship to her saint when she was younger..)

I'm by no means the first to blog this - in fact, I probably close to last - but here goes, anyway -

A good piece by Mary Jo Andersen on Sean Hannity's awesome understanding of Catholicism

I'm jabbing at my phone. No, no, no. We can't let this get by. Hannity identifies himself as a Catholic, and now he tells the listening public that the Church has mellowed out on homosexuality. Lots of Sean's fans will take that as gospel. He's wrong, but they will think he knows what he is talking about (because he usually does).

A caller beats me to it. The caller is polite and he knows more than Hannity in this case. "Sean, you're making me crazy," the caller laughs. "Take a look at the Catholic Catechism, number 2357: It says 'homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.'"

Amazingly, Hannity – the publicly acknowledged Catholic Hannity – asks "What catechism is that?" Now, I'm crazy too. Jab, jab at the phone. Again the caller is on the money, "THE Catechism." But Sean isn't interested. Sean dismissed the Catechism because, he says, he has consulted theologians on this matter and they say something different. This is dangerous.

Happy Pascha to you too, buddy:

A raucous Orthodox Easter in Jerusalem

With a raucous crowd jammed shoulder to shoulder yesterday inside the fortress-like Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a parade of Greek and Armenian Orthodox clergy slowly walked to the tomb of Jesus.

And that's where the trouble began.

Priests from the competing sects pushed and shoved each other as part of an ancient dispute over who would emerge first with the flame they believe miraculously descends from heaven during the Easter Ceremony of the Holy Fire, marked this weekend by Eastern Orthodox Christians.

Israeli riot police quelled the small disturbance, which had threatened to explode in violence yesterday.

Neither side could come to terms, but the priests did promise to avoid coming to blows - as happened between the clergy and worshipers last year - after Israeli officials threatened to limit the number of participants to just a few hundred. In the end, police let 6,000 into the stone church built on the spot where it is believed Jesus was crucified and buried.

Inside, police carrying clubs and guns set up metal barricades to segregate the crowds, which surged forward to touch or photograph the patriarchs and their entourages as they walked three times around the tomb.

Mercy

Yesterday was Divine Mercy Sunday, in case your parish didn’t see fit to mention it.

One of the great sadnesses of contemporary Catholic life and conversation is that it has become so politicized and factionalized. Sure, divisions and disagreements, heresies and heterodoxy have always been a part of Catholic life, but these days, the divisions seem more powerful than ever, perhaps because of the power of mass communications. Too many Catholics, especially those involved in presenting the Faith to the public and the wider culture, are motivated by defining who’s really Catholic and who’s not. Sure, there’s a place for that kind of conversation (not with the end of exclusion, of course, but with the end of honing and understanding our identity) and discernment, but these days, it’s almost all you hear. Everyone is either on the attack or on the defensive.

Lost in all of that, of course, is the Gospel. Which is exactly what the Sower of Discord wants. Exactly.

Lost is the whole reason for the Church: to point every person on earth to the reality of God’s love and mercy.

Mercy, of course, is another word for the compassionate, forgiving love of God.

Do you believe in it?

I don’t mean in general – I mean in particular. Do you believe in it for you?

Yesterday’s Gospel concerned Thomas. My husband has a very interesting perspective on that Gospel, which I hope he will share on his site (I’ll let you know when he does). But when we consider this Gospel as the Good News for us on Mercy Sunday, it takes on a different light than it does in its usual presentation.

Doubt is a part of almost everyone’s faith, and when we think of Thomas, we usually think of it in terms of doubting the possibility of the truth of various tenets of faith. But in the context of Divine Mercy, we might take it to a deeper level. How tempted are we to doubt that most basic tenet of faith – the one that tells us in words and in the figure of Jesus Crucified and Risen, that Mercy is ours?

What pain, what difficulty, what suffering we put ourselves through because we close ourselves off to God’s mercy. For some strange reason, we decide that we know better than God: God may have said that we can be forgiven, but in our strange, masochistic pride, we decide that we can’t. God must be wrong.

Sin is a terrible thing with terrible consequences. When we have done something wrong, we stand looking in horror at what our selfishness has unleashed. It seems impossible that we could ever be forgiven. We will not believe it, we say.

But perhaps, we need to be more like Thomas. We need to confront our doubt and put our fingers in Jesus’ side. We need to contemplate Jesus crucified and consider why he is there. Is he there so we can continue to beat ourselves over the head or be buried under our own crosses? Was he just wasting his time so we can continue our frustrated, angry, mournful journeys, letting sin define who we are rather than God’s love? Or are we willing to really embrace the gift of our baptisms, which is the victory over sin and death? Are we free in Christ or does sin still have power over us? (Romans 6)

We are called to embrace Mercy – God’s mercy on us, God’s mercy on the world, an unbounded mercy that we are invited to share.

Like Thomas, we doubt. We doubt that God could have really meant to include us and our specific wretchedness in his embrace. We doubt that Jesus crucified really and truly has anything to do with us. We doubt that the promise of resurrection can be fulfilled in our spirits, chained down by sin, right here and right now.

But it is never too late. Never too late to join our voices to Thomas’, and say “My Lord and My God.” Never too late to turn our hearts and pray, as often as we need, “Jesus, I trust in you.”

Okay, well...

A couple of days ago, I threw out the remark that I thought Catholic Nexus was your best source for Catholic news. A remark which was followed by a note from Phil Lawler asking, well, what about us?

Well, I wrote him back explaining that I have been perpetually confused about what was available to all on the CWN site, and what was available to subscribers only. I was under the impression that most of their site fell into the latter category. I checked them this morning, and see that I was wrong - most of the news of the day, it seems is available to all.

So, sorry about that - the praise for Catholic Nexus still stands, but I when I made the remark, I was thinking more in lines of blog-like/portal/link sites (like Drudge) rather than actual original news-gathering sites. So, if that's what you're after, check out Catholic World News today, with lots of interesting articles, including one on the fight at Holy Cross over the selection of Chris Matthews as commencement speaker

Father Michael McFarland, SJ, the president of Holy Cross, responded to the criticism by saying that Matthews' support for legal abortion is "allowable in Catholic thought"....

Michael has posted a nice article on the Mass that he wrote for OSV.

Cinco de Mayo...

is coming, and with it, my talk in Kalamazoo. Here are the details:

It's part of the Bishop Paul V. Donovan Lecture Series

I'll be speaking on Monday, May 5 on Saints, Relics, and the Incarnation

The talk is from 7-8, refreshments will be served from 8-8:15, and a Q & A session will be from 8:15 to 9:00. Or 8:15-8:20, depending on how dumb I am exposed to be.

The talk, sponsored by the Office of Evangelization, Catechesis and Initiation, will be held at Msgr. John R. Hackett Catholic Central High School, 1000 West Kilgore Road.

Come one, come all and hear fun stories about your favorite saint's most gruesome relics and why it's all (or at least mostly) for the good.

Via Catholic Nexus: (really your best source for Catholic news)

Vatican backs Keeler's decision to halt prayer meetings led by Gianna Talone-Sullivan

Seven beatifications tomorrow, including Father James Alberione:

This, from Publishers' Weekly Religion Bookline:

How many publishing companies can say their founder is a saint? Two Catholic houses may soon be one step closer to being able to make that claim. Father James Alberione, the founder of two religious orders who run Catholic book publishing houses in the U.S., will be beatified by Pope John Paul II in Rome on April 27. Beatification is the final step before canonization or declaration of sainthood in the Catholic Church.

Alberione founded the Society of St. Paul, an order of priests and brothers that runs Alba House in New York, and the Daughters of St.Paul, the nuns whose Boston-based Pauline Books & Media is both a publisher and retailer, operating 20 bookstores around the country. Born in 1884 in Italy, Alberione began studying for the priesthood at age 16. On the night of December31, 1900, while in prayer, he had a religious experience in which he felt called to serve people of the new century through the emerging means of mass communication. He and his followers went on to publish books, magazines and newspapers and eventually used radio, television, audio and video production, as well as the Internet, to pursue their mission. Alberione died in 1971.

“"He was a little bit ahead of his time,”" said Father Edmund Lane, editor-in-chief at Alba House. “"His beatification authenticates his vision.”" Sister Sean Marie David Mayer of Pauline Books & Media agreed: “"This is significant for the publishing industry because it’'s the first time a person is being put forward as an example by the Catholic Church who really worked with publishing and media.”"

Mayer told BookLine the beautification announcement “"caught us rather by surprise.”" Most of the seven books Alberione wrote are out of print, although two compilations of his writings are due out in fall 2003. Pauline also just released a title about Alberione’'s spirituality, “"Life for the World”" (Mar.) by Sister Marie Paul Curley. The current definitive biography is Alba House’'s English translation of the Italian “"James Alberione: Apostle for Our Times”" by Luigi Rolfo (1987).Given Alberione’'s passion for mass communication, some say he’'s a shoe-in as a potential patron saint for the Internet. He already has his own Web site: www.Alberione.com. Says webmaster Sister Kathryn Hermes, “"If Alberione were alive today, he would be using the Internet.”"

Here's the Italian site if you're interested.

Australian Madonna begins crying again over Easter Weekend.

Gee whiz, you'd think she'd be happy.

An investigation by the Catholic Archdiocese of Perth into the phenomenon last year failed to establish the source of the tears. Announcing the results in February, Archbishop Barry Hickey said he could not conclude safely that the substance was of divine origin.Scientists identified it as olive oil mixed with globules of rose oil.Archbishop Hickey declined to comment further on the phenomenon this week, saying only that it was a "private matter".Although almost 350ml of the liquid was collected from the statue in the fortnight before the investigation began, it did not produce any tears while under observation by the investigating commission.Under Archbishop Hickey's orders, the statue cannot be displayed in church property in the archdiocese.

Pope condemns Cuban executions

Pope John Paul II has added his voice to international condemnations of Cuba's crackdown on dissidents, including the execution of three hijackers. In a letter to Cuban President Fidel Castro, released by the Vatican, the pontiff expressed his "deep pain" at the executions, and appealed for clemency for 75 imprisoned dissidents. ....

...The pope's appeal was dated 13 April, but released only on Saturday by the Vatican, through its secretary of state, Cardinal Angelo Sodano. The message asked President Castro for "a significant gesture of clemency toward those convicted". "I am sure that you share also share with me the conviction that only a sincere and constructive confrontation between the citizens and the civil authorities can guarantee the promotion of a modern and democratic Cuba," the pope said.

The NYTimes on consecrated virgins

As Kathleen Danes prepares to become a June bride, in her bedroom closet hangs her gown, in a shade of sky blue. It is not that Ms. Danes is ineligible for virginal white. Quite the contrary; at her church ceremony, she will formally become a consecrated virgin wedded to Jesus Christ. She chose that hue, she said, because it was the color worn by the Virgin Mary."At this consecration, the greatest, most important celebration of my life, I want to feel close to my spouse's mother," said Ms. Danes, 62, who will participate in an ancient and little-known Roman Catholic rite called the Consecration to a Life of Virginity for Women Living in the World. "There is no better way to reach the heart of Jesus than through his most holy mother."

When Ms. Danes, the sacristan at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Lighthouse Point, Fla., is consecrated in the Archdiocese of Miami, she will join a tiny but growing number of consecrated virgins around the nation. The rite allows women to be publicly recognized as living a life of prayer and devotion while living in society rather than as nuns.

To become a bride of Jesus Christ, a woman must have never married and must demonstrate a life of chastity and devotion to the church. There is no age requirement, although some dioceses prescribe a minimum age like 30. Consecrated virgins have no formal obligations besides daily prayer, but they typically engage in service to the church. There is no equivalent vocation for men.Loretta Matulich, a consecrated virgin from Oregon City, Ore., and president of the United States Association of Consecrated Virgins, said there were at least 100 consecrated virgins in the United States, up from about 20 in 1995. In just the last year, about 15 women around the nation were consecrated, and in the next six months, another 15 will be, Ms. Matulich said.

From Andrew Greeley:Reasons to leave the Catholic Church:

And no, they're not what you think. In fact, it's probably the opposite.

Greeley says that sure, if you don't believe in a loving, merciful personal God, eternal life or sacramentalism, go ahead and leave (although, he notes, it just might be more difficult to do so than you think.)

But, he continues, these aren't the typical reasons he hears for people's departures:

However, most of the reasons I hear advanced these days are not of this sort. They are rather tales of what some priest did or said, of what some nun taught you, of some lunacy propagated by a bishop, of what some RCIA [Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults] director tried to impose upon you, of what some chancery office bureaucrat told you, of some rule that a liturgist said you had to obey, of the moronic failure of the church to deal with the pedophile crisis, of the denial by so many priests that there is a sexual abuse crisis, of the failure of the pope to support our eminently moral president, of the failure of bishops to speak out against the war (which they have, of course, though no one hears them anymore), of the pastor who is spending huge sums of money on a church the parish doesn't need. Etc. Etc. Etc.

These are, in all candor, lousy reasons for decamping--reasons I find it hard to accept, although they often rise from great suffering. They equate the Catholic heritage with the stupidities of its leaders, which have been worse in the past than in the present.

Frank Sheed, the English Catholic writer, put it nicely long ago: ''We are not baptized into the hierarchy; do not receive the Cardinals sacramentally; will not spend an eternity in the beatific vision of the pope. Christ is the point. I myself admire the present pope, but even if I criticized him as harshly as some do, even if his successor proved to be as bad as some of those who have gone before, even if I find the church as I have to live with it, a pain in the neck, I should still say that nothing that a pope (or a priest) could do or say would make me wish to leave the church, although I might well wish that they would leave.''

Now, of course I agree with Greeley, but I think he's being a little too flip here in relation to the real pain people sometimes experience at the hands of those charged with leadership in the Church. It's not simply that people's feelings are hurt. It's that their faith is shaken. If a person who has been entrusted with passing on the Faith lies to you or hurts you or teaches something that is wrong, it is difficult for many to separate that relatively small moment in the present from the weight and breadth of Traditon. And the reason it's hard for people to do this is that over the past forty years, they haven't been taught the distinction. We have been so inundated with a catechesis that emphasizes "we are the Church" in entirely the wrong sense - people have been encouraged to become Catholic, not because of the truth that the Church teaches, but because they find a warm loving community at St. Fuzzy's. The cult of personality has come to dominate how laity see priests, and hardly anyone dissuades them from seeing beyond a priest (or other leader's) "personal gifts" to what he or she is supposed to be standing behind. So yeah, when this is the way that "We are the Church" is presented to Catholic laypeople, when they are encouraged to evaluate the holiness and truth of Catholicism by the "vibrancy" of its liturgies, the "hospitality" of the local parish and the "warmth" of Fr. Laughsalot, when they encounter "boring" liturgies, impersonal parishes and the dauntingly brusqe Fr. Dontbotherme, they're going to be hurt and their faith will be shaken because a subjective, personality and experientially-based "faith" is what they have been taught - through no fault of their own.

Yay. I'm there.

(Seriously - if this actually serves up what it promises to, it looks like what I've been waiting for. I've been contemplating Moveable Type for a while, but didn't want to bother with what it required. All along, though, I thought that certainly, at some point, they'd be coming up with something that was more a bit more user friendly with the added attraction of a host server. They have. I'll check it out once it emerges and if I like it, I will probably spend some time moving my whole Mighty Web Presence to it - this place and the home page, with a new look, new title and slightly new direction for a weblog - can't handle the constant provision of news any more, but I do need some sort of creative outlet that's totally mine, so maybe this will inspire me and help me out...We'll see.)

The Pope's new poems

Poland’s Church-owned St Stanislaw publishing house had hoped to release Roman Triptych as a world exclusive at the Pope’s former see of Krakow, and was disappointed when told it would be launched simultaneously by Biblioteca Editrice Vaticana in Rome. The English translation, now available from the Catholic Truth Society with an introduction by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, is disappointingly low-key, and will colour the work’s reception by missing the resonance and deeper sense of much of the Pope’s Polish-language original. However banal, it nevertheless conveys his ideas and images, and will have to suffice for English-language readers.

Something I learned today:

In 2001, an employee fired by an oncologist charged in a lawsuit that her former employer, who had treated the late Cardinal Cooke, gave slides containing the late Cardinal's blood to patients to use in prayer for healing...

By popular request

(Okay...one reader...)

Here's a link to a page with links about Shi'ite Islam

and here's a rundown of countries with the largest Shi'ite populations.

Lots of linking and quoting these days, eh?

Well, that's because there's been a lot of non-blogging writing going on here - in the past week I've written four Living Faith devotions, an OSV column, an OSV book review, an article for Catholic Parent, read the 500-page book for the review and revised a manuscript. And been to Tennessee and back. And now I have to get to serious work on a talk I'm giving in Kalamzoo on May 5.

So thanks for your continued visits. The nap remains fitful.

Fight about Rick Santorum here, if you like.

From Deal Hudson:

The interview he gave AP was in reference to a case coming up before the Supreme Court regarding the constitutionality of Texas' sodomy laws. The plaintiff in the case is arguing that the state has no right to interfere in one's sexual life (in the form of anti-sodomy laws) on the grounds that it violates our constitutional right to privacy.

The question is, how far does our right to privacy extend? Legal scholars have pointed out that, if the sodomy laws are overturned on the basis of our right to privacy, then other sexual acts that are currently illegal -- like incest, bigamy, and adultery -- will have to be made legal on the same grounds. Santorum's point is not a new one, nor is it
discriminatory. Really, it's just being consistent.

Reading the full transcript of the AP interview makes it even clearer that Santorum isn't "gay-bashing," but merely questioning the constitutionality of the argument for sodomy based on the right to privacy, and then extending that argument to its logical conclusion. Rather than having the Supreme Court come in, Santorum said that the people should be allowed to vote within their state as to whether they want sodomy laws, or any other kind of laws that restrict these activities.

From Andrew Sullivan

But let's examine Santorum's quote in the best possible light, shall we? An optimistic interpretation would be that he is making a constitutional point about judicial restraint. That's fair enough. It's a perfectly debatable proposition whether there is a right to privacy in the Constitution, and it doesn't involve anyone's views of homosexuals, abortion or any other matter. But Santorum must also know that such a right to privacy is now settled constitutional doctrine: It underpins the right to abortion and even the right to practice contraception. If he wants to abolish it, he must surely hold out the possibility of the government once again policing some of the most intimate sexual and reproductive matters imaginable, regulated by nothing but majority opinion. Santorum's position is therefore that there should be no constitutional restraint on the power of government to regulate sexual morality -- even within your own bedroom. The only restraint -- especially against any sexual minorities -- would be mandated by majority decisions.

From Ramesh Ponnuru (in response to Sullivan)

This seems to me a misreading. First, I don’t see where Santorum came out for the active, or even not-so-active, enforcement of anti-sodomy laws. Second, Santorum is not saying that governments should show no restraint in policing sexual morality. He is denying the existence of two particular restraints: a constitutional right to sexual freedom and a valid moral principle that prohibits the governmental policing of consensual sexual behavior. There may be all kinds of other reasons, both prudential and principled, for state governments to show restraint.

An unedited transcript of the pertinent sections of the interview.

Satire that's beyond satire because it's oh, so tragically true.

(But apparently NOW is trying to back off..)

Back from the Lenten Blogging Fast are:

Peter Nixon

Sean Gallagher

and Mark Shea

During this octave of Easter...

we'd all do well to visit the blogs of our neophytes - those who came into the Church this past weekend. It's inspiring, gratifying reading.

From Kathy at Not for Sheep:

I woke up this morning, happy--because I am a Catholic!

I have been reflecting on partaking of the Eucharist both yesterday and the day before. I love it. In partaking of the Eucharist, I feel like I am much more than just myself; that in me, joy meets sorrow and triumphs eternally--all because of Christ.

From Joe Convert:

I am a Catholic. I'm proud of my heritage of faith, and humbled that the Lord saw fit to invite me into his church. I can't really describe it any other way; as I told someone after mass last night, none of this was part of my game plan. The Catholic Church wasn't even on the radar for me two years ago. In a very short amount of time, I transformed from being utterly disinterested in the Church to realizing I'd need a really good reason to prevent me from becoming Catholic. I've read mountains of anti-Catholic literature, had good friends try and talk me out of it, and have been rejected by people who really matter to me. Through that entire journey, I could find no credible arguments against the authority and historicity of the Church, but plenty to back up her claims. I have encountered nothing that could deny the witness of my own heart, as I have seen my life transformed by the gospel to a degree I had not thought possible. After 30 years of professing faith in Christ, I'm delighted to say that I'm starting over.

From Sean at Swimming the Tiber

Well, here I am... a Catholic, received into the Church through the Holy Mysteries of Chrismation and Eucharist. I'm not an emotionally effusive person, but if you were in the room with me right now, you would see my cheeks damp with tears of joy, as they have been almost every time this weekend when I've thought about what God has done for me and what a wonderful experience I had coming into his Church. Christ is risen! Indeed He is risen!

And Will at Mysterium Crucis:

I'm just so happy to know that now I'm on the inside. I'm Catholic. My faith is sure to have its struggles, new difficulties and new doubts will always present themselves to me. But I won't be alone. I'll face those challenges as Will the Catholic. And I'll have the prayers and strength of the Church, militant and triumphant, at my aide. I can only grow stronger from here, God willing.

The blogmistress at Well was also due to make her full profession, but hasn't blogged about it yet..

Go visit these folks, read their experiences and for that moment, remember what - or rather who brought us all here and why.

Easter Sermon

Is there anyone who is a devout lover of God?
Let them enjoy this beautiful bright festival!
Is there anyone who is a grateful servant?
Let them rejoice and enter into the joy of their Lord!

Are there any weary with fasting?
Let them now receive their wages!
If any have toiled from the first hour,
let them receive their due reward;
If any have come after the third hour,
let him with gratitude join in the Feast!
And he that arrived after the sixth hour,
let him not doubt; for he too shall sustain no loss.
And if any delayed until the ninth hour,
let him not hesitate; but let him come too.
And he who arrived only at the eleventh hour,
let him not be afraid by reason of his delay.

For the Lord is gracious and receives the last even as the first.
He gives rest to him that comes at the eleventh hour,
as well as to him that toiled from the first.
To this one He gives, and upon another He bestows.
He accepts the works as He greets the endeavor.
The deed He honors and the intention He commends.

Let us all enter into the joy of the Lord!
First and last alike receive your reward;
rich and poor, rejoice together!
Sober and slothful, celebrate the day!

You that have kept the fast, and you that have not,
rejoice today for the Table is richly laden!
Feast royally on it, the calf is a fatted one.
Let no one go away hungry. Partake, all, of the cup of faith.
Enjoy all the riches of His goodness!

Let no one grieve at his poverty,
for the universal kingdom has been revealed.
Let no one mourn that he has fallen again and again;
for forgiveness has risen from the grave.
Let no one fear death, for the Death of our Savior has set us free.
He has destroyed it by enduring it.

He destroyed Hades when He descended into it.
He put it into an uproar even as it tasted of His flesh.
Isaiah foretold this when he said,
"You, O Hell, have been troubled by encountering Him below."

Hell was in an uproar because it was done away with.
It was in an uproar because it is mocked.
It was in an uproar, for it is destroyed.
It is in an uproar, for it is annihilated.
It is in an uproar, for it is now made captive.
Hell took a body, and discovered God.
It took earth, and encountered Heaven.
It took what it saw, and was overcome by what it did not see.
O death, where is thy sting?
O Hades, where is thy victory?

Christ is Risen, and you, o death, are annihilated!
Christ is Risen, and the evil ones are cast down!
Christ is Risen, and the angels rejoice!
Christ is Risen, and life is liberated!
Christ is Risen, and the tomb is emptied of its dead;
for Christ having risen from the dead,
is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

To Him be Glory and Power forever and ever. Amen!
-St. John Chrysostom

This will be it from me until next Monday or Tuesday, and even then I hope to return the blog to its nap, but for Mondays. But until then, I leave you with my prayer that you will all have a blessed and holy celebration of the Triduum, and with this poem by Edwin Muir:

The Killing

That was the day they killed the Son of God
On a squat hill-top by Jerusalem.
Zion was bare, her children from their maze
Sucked by the dream of curiosity
Clean through the gates. The very halt and blind
Had somehow got themselves up to the hill.
After the ceremonial preparation,
The scourging, nailing, nailing against the wood,
Erection of the main-trees with their burden,
While from the hill rose an orchestral wailing,
They were there at last, high up in the soft spring day.
We watched the writhings, heard the moanings, saw
The three heads turning on their separate axles
Like broken wheels left spinning. Round his head
Was loosely bound a crown of plaited thorn
That hurt at random, stinging temple and brow
As the pain swung into its envious circle.
In front the wreath was gathered in a knot
That as he gazed looked like the last stump left
Of a death-wounded deer's great antlers. Some
Who came to stare grew silent as they looked,
Indignant or sorry. But the hardened old
And the hard-hearted young, although at odds
From the first morning, cursed him with one curse,
Having prayed for a Rabbi or an armed Messiah
And found the Son of God. What use to them
Was a God or a Son of God? Of what avail
For purposes such as theirs? Beside the cross-foot,
Alone, four women stood and did not move
All day. The sun revolved, the shadows wheeled,
The evening fell. His head lay on his breast,
But in his breast they watched his heart move on
By itself alone, accomplishing its journey.
Their taunts grew louder, sharpened by the knowledge
That he was walking in the park of death,
Far from their rage. Yet all grew stale at last,
Spite, curiosity, envy, hate itself.
They waited only for death and death was slow
And came so quietly they scarce could mark it.
They were angry then with death and death's deceit.

I was a stranger, could not read these people
Or this outlandish deity. Did a God
Indeed in dying cross my life that day
By chance, he on his road and I on mine?

Well, now, you must read this from J. Bottum at the Weekly Standard

Tom Daschle may no longer call himself a Catholic. The Senate minority leader and the highest ranking Democrat in Washington has been sent a letter by his home diocese of Sioux Falls, sources in South Dakota have told The Weekly Standard, directing him to remove from his congressional biography and campaign documents all references to his standing as a member of the Catholic Church.

Well, the Dog Bites Man headline award today goes to the AP for its headline on the report about the Eucharist Encyclical, released today:

Pope says only priests can celebrate Mass

Here's a link to the encyclical itself

And if that's too much, here are excerpts.

From Christianity Today:

The Bible was not written to governments about when to go to war, but to God's people about how to live in this war-ridden world. It is about God's plans for the world and for you. And the Bible's view of life, war, and peace gives us the real basis for prayer and action.

From a sermon given on March 23 by Phillip Jensen, dean of Saint Andrew's Anglican Cathedral in Sydney, Australia. Worth a read.

Hi there...

I am pretty blogged out at the moment, and I have a couple of articles I want to finish writing before this weekend, when we travel to Knoxville. I might post something else that strikes me as particularly interesting, but don't count on it.

Until then....

Keep your eye on Mosul - things are really heating up there.

(here's an updated article)

Matt Labash travels to the misery that is Umm Qasr

and, I put a couple of pages of Joseph photos together here

and here.

But we still have Weeki-Wachee, don't we?

Former Sandinista "cultural ambassador" protests war and US imperialism while...

his son serves in the US Army Over There

The story of the old revolutionary and his soldier son is the talk of the town in Managua, where the Mejía Godoy family is a beloved cultural treasure. Though Camilo has not openly disavowed his father nor his beliefs, the circumstances that led him to the Persian Gulf hold powerful symbolic meaning for a country still deeply divided by the lingering effects of a violent civil war, U.S. intervention and the ensuing wave of exiles.

"A lot of people [from Nicaragua] are caught in this same paradox," says Greg Landau, a San Francisco-based producer and guitarist, who toured extensively in the 1980s with Luis Enrique Mejía Godoy, the young soldier's uncle. "In many families, people are caught on opposite sides of the political fence."

What they found in Uday's house

...including printouts of emails addressed to udaysaddamhussein@yahoo.com....how covert of him. How weird if US intelligence didn't ever notice...

Josh Marshall comments

Harold Bloom to donate personal library and archives to a Catholic college

arold Bloom has always railed against what he calls "the school of resentment," Marxist, feminist, Afrocentric and deconstructionist scholars who, he says, deny the aesthetic and spiritual values inherent in great literature. So when it came time for Mr. Bloom, 72, to choose a place to donate his immense personal library and his archives, he bypassed several larger prominent universities that in his opinion house those very practitioners of resentment in favor of a small, relatively unknown Catholic college in Colchester, Vt.

"Dear child," Mr. Bloom said in a telephone interview, using the appellation he applies to friend, stranger, male and female, alike, "with rare exceptions the universities and colleges in the English-speaking world that have sustained some sense of literature as a matter of powerful cognition and extraordinary aesthetic beauty tend to be the Roman Catholic institutions."

We're off to an author appearance and booksigning by one of Katie's favorite authors, Brian Jacques, author of the Redwall series, which is about mice and other creatures who live in a kind of monastery and fight wars and stuff. I guess.

Freedom to worship, at last

While the Sadiq mosque remained open until a year ago, residents said that government agents occupied the adjacent building. "They would send spies to listen and take revenge if someone spoke out of line," Hammad said.Sheik Sabah al-Saady was only a boy in 1991. "But I witnessed the events and I remember," he said.Now, as a young imam, he was chosen to address today's gathering. Many of Basra's older clerics have been killed or gone into exile, leaving younger men like Sheik Sabah to lead.Surrounded by bodyguards, he spoke to the crowd over loudspeakers that sent his voice echoing through the old and battered concrete alleyways in the neighborhood. He exhorted the men to put aside tribal differences and work together to rebuild their country.He also scolded those who participated in the recent looting that further destroyed an already beaten-down city. He said such behavior was forbidden in Islam.

US won't sponsor resolution criticizing China's human rights record

Two weeks after declaring that China had a poor human rights record, the State Department said Friday it will not seek a resolution criticizing China in the top United Nations rights forum.Spokesman Richard Boucher credited China with "some limited but significant progress" in protection of human rights, including the release of a number of political prisoners.He said much remains to be done, adding that the administration will continue to press China's new government to improve its human rights record.Since China's crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators at Tienenman Square in 1989, the United States has introduced China resolutions almost every year at the annual meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Commission in Geneva.

Refugees returning to help rebuild

The Word From Rome is up - not quite as interesting as in previous weeks - a report (posted earlier in the week as a separate story) on the study group on pedophilia and the priesthood that met last week, more discussions about homosexuality and the priesthood, and John Allen's interview with U.S. Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, John Bolton"

For Italians, the big news was that Bolton met with Ruini rather than Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican’s secretary of state and hence the pope’s “prime minister.” Sodano has been sharply critical of the U.S.-led war, while Ruini has opposed the war but has also criticized anti-American tendencies in the European peace movement.

Strictly speaking, the meeting with Ruini was puzzling from the point of view of protocol, and some church-watchers felt it was poor form on Ruini’s part — a kind of upstaging of Sodano on his own turf. Bolton went out of his way at the press conference to praise Ruini as someone with “knowledge and familiarity on some of these issues.” ....

...While the Bush administration may want to forgive and forget, sources tell me the Vatican is not so eager to forget their objections now that things seemed more or less settled on the ground. Certainly the Holy See wants to work with the United States on post-war issues, especially a settlement of the Israeli/Palestinian problem, and it’s also true that some in the curia believe the pope’s anti-war line was exploited by groups with a completely different agenda from the church. At the same time, there is a wide sense in the Vatican that the U.S. decision to go to war without a United Nations mandate, and without having exhausted all peaceful means of achieving disarmament and reform, was dangerous. As one senior Vatican official put it to me April 10, “Even if the war is over, the moral question remains.”

Tariq Aziz' Christian knick-knacks

The kitchen is spacious and looks lived-in. Appliances sit out on the counters beside several Christian icons and Virgin Mary figurines, totems of the faith that always set Aziz apart from his overwhelmingly Muslim country. A bulletin board is layered with snapshots from Aziz family life: celebrating Christmas, playing in a snowstorm, visiting the seashore. And of course, Aziz beaming beside his friend and mentor, Saddam.

A fascinating look at the contents of Aziz's home as well as one of Hussein's palaces.

You knew this would happen...and as much as I dislike finding amusement in the defender of a tyrant ( I mean...think about giggling at Goebbels. Don't think so.) ..still..

Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf Fansite

Speaking of Shi'ites...

Check out the Agonist for links to the breaking news about assassinations in Najaf...

Trying to bring order to Basra

For instance, in their first official act to try to establish order, British offficials said they had been in contact with a local sheikh, whom they would not name, to help form a council to begin to administer the city.But in interviews across the city, people said today that that would be a disaster.

"All the sheikhs in Basra were friends with Saddam," said Dr. Riva Kasim, a general practitioner in Basra General Hospital. "All the time Saddam gave money to them, and they watched as he would cut someone's ear who did not join the military or cut off someone's tongue who spoke out against the military."Although he did not know what sheikh the British had in mind, he said it did not matter. "All the sheikhs and tribal leaders are bad," he said.As he spoke alongside the Shatt al-Arab waterway that cuts through Basra, a crowd of about two dozen men quickly formed. They all agreed with the doctor."First, we want to thank the British and American army for giving us our freedom," said Abdul Aziz al-Salami. "But, if they put these people in power, there will be a revolt."

Baath party members remain in Basra

Some people have remarked that the blog looks weird - posts running way off the screen. I've done nothing to do the template in weeks, so I don't know why that is happening. Please post if you see a problem. I just republished everything, so let's see if that works.

From the BBC Reporters' Log

I want to talk to you about my favourite Saddam statues, in anticipation they may not be here for much longer. One of my favourites a moody looking Saddam on a tall plinth. And there are tiny little models of Mrs Thatcher, George Bush Senior and the President of France, Jaqcues Chirac cringing at his feet. This is a memorial to what the Saddam regime called the American occupation of Kuwait - the first Gulf War. Now I imagine that will probably come down pretty soon. There's another one by the telephone exchange saying "Saddam on the phone". They tend to be themed, these things.

For the idiots out there who have been pontificating for months that Pope John Paul II is an foolish, unrealistic appeaser who turns a blind eye to human suffering, take a look at what Michael has posted today.

Pray for the people of Basra, where there is great relief that the horrid threat of the Baath secret police and their torture prisons have gone, but where other matters are are going from bad to worse, and need to be fixed...soon.

In Basra, growing resentment, little aid:

By far the most common complaint -- voiced here repeatedly to any foreigner who stops a car and attracts a crowd -- is that Basra has descended into anarchy and British forces have done little to establish security.The looting frenzy has touched nearly everything. Government offices, banks, shops, hotels and homes have been stripped bare. Carjackings have begun as well. Tahrir Hospital, in the port area, reported one of its vehicles was taken at gunpoint this morning, a few hundred yards from the main gate. Another hospital reportedly had an ambulance stolen. Looters were later seen using the ambulance to load looted furniture from another house."Now that the British have military control, there's no law and order," said Andres Kruesi, the delegate here of the International Committee of the Red Cross. "People steal everything. They even steal fire trucks."

The first battle for Hilla

..or so the Post says in this excellent-as-usual embed report, but there was action around Hilla last week, as I recall.

A report on the same battle from the NYTimes embed. What - how many embeds do each of these units have to haul around with them?

Those of you who follow this blog may have noticed one of many themes - me looking at different accounts of the same event. It's just the way I do things, and what feeds my mind. It's easy and satisfying to simply rely on accounts that are going to confirm your opinions, but where's the growth in that? What's interesting in that?

When I was in graduate school, I did a paper for a historiography seminar (for those of you who don't know - historiography is the study of the study of history. Got it?) examing the issue of female deacons in early Christianity. As you might expect, there aren't many primary sources to work with, so it's a good, narrow topic to use while examining certain issues in doing history. I read several studies that all used exactly the same primary documents and examined how they used these same sources and managed to come up with totally opposite conclusions about the existence and function of female deacons. I mean - totally opposite using the exact same sources.

I'm not saying, of course, that truth is relative. Not at all. I'm saying that in order to find truth we have to look at it from all sides. To do anything else would be boring, constricting and dishonest. At least that's the way I see it.

Knights of Columbus sending rosaries, prayer books to troops

Tim Goodman says that the networks are doing a better job covering the war than the cable news joints.

A reminder:

Don't just come around here posting links in the comments boxes, with no comment. That's not what the comments are for. Post a link in the context of a comment, yes, but if you just throw up a link without even saying what it's about, I'll delete it forthwith.

Keeping the Kurds out of Kirkuk

According to a senior Turkish government official, US Secretary of State Colin Powell pledged during a visit to Ankara last week that the Kurds would not be allowed to advance "beyond a certain line" around Mosul and Kirkuk.

A Chicago Tribune article on sandstorms and such in which a very wise expert is cited:

Sandstorms, dust storms, whirlwinds: All suggest more than a hint of an angry deity's wrath, of the earth itself being turned against its disobedient inhabitants. Little wonder, then, that some observers in the Arab world hailed last week's sandstorm as evidence of God's displeasure with the invaders.

No matter what one's political or religious perspective, however, a sandstorm must evoke awe at the wind's magnificent sculpting power, its relentless sweep and scoop and spin and push, turning day into night and night into chaos.

"It obliterates everything, creating darkness," says Michael Dubruiel, a Christian writer based in Ft. Wayne, Ind. "Sandstorms certainly make one think of a simpler faith where nothing happens without God willing it or allowing it. The `whirlwind' idea is standard not only in the Islamic faith, but in the Judeo-Christian tradition as well."

Shocking news:

The Boston Globe just won the public service Pulitzer for their reporting of ...well..you know.

John Allen on last week's "secret" meeting on abuse

Experts on sexual disorders told a private Vatican symposium this week, attended by officials charged with handling the abuse crisis that has rocked the Catholic Church, that homosexuality is a risk factor but not a cause of the sexual abuse of minors.One Vatican official who attended parts of the four-day symposium on pedophilia told NCR that this message came through “loud and clear” and predicted that it might help delay, or even derail, a much-anticipated document on the admission of homosexuals to Catholic seminaries. The same official said Vatican observers were struck by questions raised by the experts about “zero tolerance” policies, suggesting that it may lead to guidelines about support of priests after they are removed from ministry.

From Zenit:

A good overview of discussions about the use of war as humanitarian intervention

The Holy Father gave a more detailed exposition of his thought on the issue in his World Day for Peace message of Jan. 1, 2000, in paragraphs 7-12. "Crimes against humanity cannot be considered an internal affair of a nation," stated John Paul II. "We must thank God that in the conscience of peoples and nations there is a growing conviction that human rights have no borders, because they are universal and indivisible."

Armed conflicts within states are numerous, noted the Pope. They are due to a multiplicity of causes: ethnic and tribal rivalries; religious conflict; ideological, social and economic divisions.

Faced with these "tragic and complex situations," John Paul II said that "there is a need to affirm the pre-eminent value of humanitarian law and the consequent duty to guarantee the right to humanitarian aid to suffering civilians and refugees."

The legitimacy of this right to aid, he explained, "is in fact based on the principle that the good of the human person comes before all else and stands above all human institutions." Therefore, once other means have proved ineffective, "it is legitimate and even obligatory to take concrete measures to disarm the aggressor."

He adds a number of limiting factors to the application of this intervention, however. In addition to the need to exhaust all diplomatic means first, he said, the intervention must be of limited duration and precise in its aim. Moreover, the measures taken must be carried out in full respect for international law and guaranteed by an authority that is internationally recognized. The Pope recommended: "The fullest and the best use must therefore be made of all the provisions of the United Nations Charter," along with the framework of international law.

John Paul II called for "a renewal of international law and international institutions, a renewal whose starting point and basic organizing principle should be the primacy of the good of humanity and of the human person over every other consideration."

Scene:

Our living room, Joseph misbehaving. Probably throwing stuff.

Me: Bad!

Joseph: No, good!

Me: Bad!

Joseph:Good!

Me: Bad!

Joseph: Better!

You learn something new every day

There's a permanent German military installation near Ft. Bliss

Fort Bliss, built before the days of Pancho Villa as a cavalry outpost to protect the border, became the US Army's air defence centre during World War II. With increased attention focused on the Middle East, its desert conditions and surrounding military bases have increased the post's importance to both the US military and its allies. Thirty-one allied nations train here, said Fort Bliss spokeswoman Jean Offutt. Only Germany, however, has used US facilities to house permanent military installations. German officials say they reap a number of benefits from being in Texas, from the ease of purchasing US weapons systems to the arid weather. German troops have their own school, church and social club, and have long forged close friendships with US residents and military officials. Postings to Fort Bliss, which often last three years, are seen as plum assignments, leading some Germans to break their ties with the military and move to El Paso permanently.

How very, very sad:

Michael Kelly was the journalist killed in the Humvee accident

Happy Birthday to Joseph!

He's two years old today.

What a racket

Matt Drudge pulls in 800K a year for putting up a list of links and resting on his laurels.

"There is always this feeling that Drudge is about to break something," says Phil Boyce, program director at WABC radio in New York. That leads many loyal readers to check the site 10 to 15 times a day. That drawing power has turned Drudge into one of the Net's biggest traffic generators. "Besides being on the front page of Yahoo or getting some major placement on AOL, Drudge Report is the place to be," says Bill Bastone, editor of the Smoking Gun website. "The second he links to us, our traffic triples." Conversely, getting your link removed from Drudge's homepage can be catastrophic. Just ask the New York Press. Last summer the alternative weekly ran a column that criticized Drudge. In retaliation, Drudge dropped the Press from his list of newspaper links. Overnight, traffic to the paper's site plummeted by a third.

Along with that power comes profit. "If we've been going through an ad recession, I'll take more!" marvels Kevin Lucido, CEO of Intermarkets, who handles Drudge's advertising. Lucido says ad space on Drudge's site sells out months in advance. (The Drudge Report ranks 29th on the Web in advertising impressions.) Such advertisers as DirecTV, Paramount Pictures, and even the New York Times (NYT) pay as much as $2 for every 1,000 impressions. Even with discounting on the ad rate, Drudge's flood of traffic means he can still bring in almost $5,000 in revenue on a good day. Back out a few expenses -- such as server costs, his employee's salary, and Lucido's commission -- and the rest is gravy

I used to be pretty up on Internet stuff, but these days I’m starting to feel way behind the curve. I’m going to post a few terms I see all the time, but really don’t get. If commenters could a)briefly explain what the heck this thing is and b)tell me if I need to bring it into my life, I would be quite appreciative.

RSS?

XML?

An aggregator? What the heck is that?

And what about wireless? Yes, I know what it is, and it seems quite the thing, but does anyone out there actually have it and use it?

Intel Dump is another good warblog

Winds of Change provides good daily summaries

Daily Kos brings together some stories that wonder where the Republican Guard has gone to and adds his two cents:

Whole units are missing from the battlefield and that has to concern CENTCOM planners. Whole divisions are gone. The arrogant and clueless Richard Perle says they've gone home. He's an idiot. They've done no such thing. If they did, you'd see signs. Abandoned equipment, lots of surrenders, the surrender of cities or even the beginnings of civil war as the regulars shot it out with the Baathists.

Instead, they're nowhere to be found.

I'm on Catholic Exchange today.

To Mark Shea:

Michael's not the only one.

I'm half French, too - my mother was a Bergeron...

Ain't got time to blog this morning or afternoon. The end is in sight - the end of the Matthew's Passion book. I should be able to finish it up today and then put the finishing touches on an OSV column, and then I'll have but a CNS column left to do, and I'm basically done with the heavy lifting for the week.

But...I will leave you with a couple of things. One has nothing to do with the war, but is worth a read, and although I am a person with great loyalties to the South and a deeply held opposition to any kind of sterotypical slaps at Southerners of any shape, size or type, I still can't resist linking this story as:

Only in Alabama?

Well, I guess not, since our story actually starts in Louisiana.