Low Expectations

Some (Holy Fool, CAEI, etc.) have taken note that the follow-up for something I mentioned in passing a couple of months ago is rapidly approaching, namely that the Supreme Court will be revisiting in a New Hampshire case the "health" exception requirement established by still sitting Justice O'Connor. The same issue may be addressed again in the spring when the court could consider the appeals of New York, California, and Nebraska judgments against partial-birth abortion bans. As Holy Fool notes, "Now, we begin to see how devoted to Strict Constructionism Justice Roberts truly is."

Catholic Carnival LVII is Up at Crusader of Justice

Confirmation in the Cross

[Welcome Catholic Carnival goers]

A couple of weeks ago the Trolodytrix, the Troglomatrix (who scored the tickets), and I attended the one-man drama based on John Paul the Great's young adult life, Lolek, produced by Epiphany Studios, at a local KC hall. The blunt style of Rhapsodic Theatre takes a bit of getting used to, but true to its form and emphasis on the content of the word, one of the themes of the late pope's life, eventually to be dramatically demonstrated in the suffering before his death, emerges from his testing his decision to enter the seminary and receiving, though not seeking, more hardship in return. Faith is confirmed by challenge and difficulty and decidedly not by the easy life.

Today, Catholic Report has an exclusive interview with Katelyn Sills, the student who was expelled from Loretto, a Sacramento area Catholic high school, after her mother quietly notified the school that one of its teachers was a volunteer for Planned Parenthood. In her story, again the truth of JPG's insight is demonstrated. Here's a truffle quote in response to a question of how this incident has affected her faith:

I think it has deepened my faith. I try to live my faith through such things as
my blog. There’s a death penalty case here in California and I have written
about why I believe the death penalty is wrong, since it goes against life. I
love the Church and through all this I see the wisdom in the Church’s Teachings.
I want to live it out as best I can I am not bitter at anyone. I just want to
move on and I hope there can be reconciliation at Loretto as well. I loved that
school. I volunteered my time to go to the Catholic grade schools to talk about
Loretto and how they should go there. I learned an important lesson about faith
and it’s not easy to follow the path set for us by Jesus and all the saints but
I am trying to live that out.

Week 11 - The Troglodyte Top Twelve

No changes. And if all the favorites win this week, there likely will be no changes next week.

Rank. Team (Previous)
1. Texas (1)
2. USC (2)
3. LSU (3)
4. Virginia Tech (4)
5. Ohio St. (5)
6. Penn St. (6)
7. Miami (7)
8. Notre Dame (8)
9. Auburn (9)
10. Georgia (10)
11. Alabama (11)
12. UCLA (12)

Harvest Prayer That All Men May Worship God

Memorial of St. Andrew Dung-Lac and companions
Happy Thanksgiving!

May God have pity on us and bless us; may he let his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth; among all nations, your salvation.
May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you!

May the nations be glad and exult because you rule the peoples in equity; the nations on earth you guide.
May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you!

The earth has yielded its fruits; God, our God, has blessed us.
May God bless us, and may all the ends of the earth fear him!

Psalm 67:2-8

You Memed Me! You Memed Me! You Really, Really Memed Me!

I have finally been memed! Holy Fool has called me out on the Confiteor Meme. Very well then...

First I must take care of some business, related to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, on the recent occasion of Troglotyke #3's first confession. As is now common practice, our parish imported a bunch of priests to handle the load of 100-something second graders and their parents, grandparents, godparents, etc. Murphy's law of queuing ensured that I got a "one sin only" priest, and in the traditional spirit of making a full confession before the community I find myself compelled to relay this:

1. I confess that I was irritated when, because I go to confession more than once a year (his criteria), the priest said , "I don't want to hear that you have cussed, you get angry at the children, you are short with your wife, you don't work as hard as you should, you don't give enough to charity..." covering nearly my entire list.

2. I confess that I chuckled and was pleased with myself when after I told him my "one sin" he said, "Oooooh, that's a good one."

3. I confess that I got irritated again when he added, "If that's what you are aware that you need to work on, then you are a good man."

OK, now onto the rest of it.

4. I confess that I strike my breast during the Confiteor and bow deeply during the Creed because I hope it will make the adults around me behave better during Mass.

5. I confess that I, too, am obsessed with Sitemeter stats, checking for comments, and TTLB and Technorati rankings.

6. I confess that since we moved back to Minnesota, I don't really care much about any of the sports teams.

7. I confess that I scarcely noticed the first dozen years of John Paul the Great's pontificate.

8. I confess that The Troglodyte is the bastard blogchild of Catholic Ragemonkey.

9. I confess that I dislike Bill Clinton more for ruining political rhetoric with his sentence/phrase/clause-parsing than for his dalliances.

10. I confess that I like talking to hear myself talk.

11. I confess that despite #10 I'm not very outgoing.

12. I confess that I blame binging on diet pop, buying books, and blogging on having an addictive personality, which I'm not sure that I have.

13. I confess that I wanted to be memed a little too much because, after all, there are not many better ways to top off a holiday than with a good meming and a honkin' slice of pumpkin pie.

Now let's go with:

Frs. Hamilton and/or Tharp, or would that be Tharp and/or Hamilton?, of CRM
Judd of hangingontonothing
Joan my blurking former schoolmate (You can use the comment box)
Dave Hartline of Catholic Report (You can use the comment box, too, because the meme doesn't fit your typical content)

Just for the Record, That First Thanksgiving

Memorial of Pope St. Clement I
Memorial of St. Columban
Memorial of Bl. Miguel Agustin Pro

The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) has republished an essay from the 1950s by economist, lecturer, and writer, Sartell Prentice, Jr. about the first Thanksgiving. Three years after arriving at Plymouth Rock and enduring near starvation under the European scheme of "farming in common," the Pilgrims “set apart a day of thanksgiving.” With the plentiful harvest of 1623, Governor Bradford later noted, “Any general want or famine has not been among them since to this day.”

Here's a truffle passage from the essay that could be a case study as to why we must study natural law:

Three years of near starvation—and then decades of abundance. Was this a miracle?

Or is there a rational explanation for this sudden change in the fortunes of our Pilgrim forefathers?

Describing events that took place in the spring of 1623, Governor Bradford answers our questions, in eloquent words that should be engraved on the hearts and minds of all Americans:

All this while no supply was heard of, neither knew they when they might expect any. So they began to think how they might raise as much corn as they could, and obtain a better crop than they had done, that they might not still thus languish in misery. At length, after much debate of things, the Gov. (with the advice of the chiefest amongst them) gave way that they should set corn every man for his own particular [private use], and in that regard trust to themselves . . . . And so assigned to every family a parcel of land, according to the proportion of their number for that end, only for present use (but made no division for inheritance) and ranged all boys and youth under some family. This had very good success; for it made all hands very industrious, so as much more corn was planted than otherwise would have been by any means the Gov. or any other could use, and saved him a great deal of trouble, and gave far better content. The women now went willingly into the field, and took their little ones with them to set corn, which before would allege weakness, and inability; whom to have compelled would have been thought great tyranny and oppression.

The experience that was had in this common course and condition, tried sundry years, and that among godly and sober men, may well evince the vanity of that conceit of Plato’s and other ancients; that the taking away of property, and bringing into a common wealth, would make them happy and flourishing;—as if they were wiser than God.

For this community (so far as it was) was found to breed much confusion and discontent, and retard much employment that would have been to their benefit and comfort. For the young men that were most able and fit for labor and service did repine that they should spend their time and strength to work for other men’s wives and children, with out any recompense. The strong, or man of parts, had no more in division of victuals and clothes, than he that was weak and not able to do a quarter the other could; this was thought injustice. The aged and graver men to be ranked and equalized in labors, and victuals, clothes, etc., with the meaner and younger sort, thought it some indignity and disrespect unto them.

And for men’s wives to be commanded to do service for other men, as dressing their meat, washing their clothes, etc., they deemed it a kind of slavery, neither could many husbands well brook it. Upon the point all being to have alike, and all to do alike, they thought themselves in the like condition, and one as good as another; and so, if it did not cut of those relations that God hath set among men, yet it did at least much diminish and take of the mutual respects that should be preserved among them. And would have been worse if they had been men of another condition.

Let none object this is men’s corruption, and nothing to the course itself. I answer, seeing all men have this corruption in them, God in his wisdom saw another course fitter for them.

This new policy of allowing each to “plant for his own particular” produced such a harvest that fall that Governor Bradford was able to write:

By this time harvest was come, and instead of famine, now God gave them plenty, and the face of things was changed, to the rejoicing of the hearts of many, for which they blessed God. And the effect of their particular [private] planting was well seen, for all had, one way and other, pretty well to bring the year about, and some of the abler sort and more industrious had to spare, and sell to others, so as any general want or famine has not been among them since to this day.

Our first Thanksgiving should, therefore, be interpreted as an expression of gratitude to God, not so much for the great harvest itself, as for granting the grateful Pilgrims the perception to grasp and apply the great universal principle that produced that great harvest: Each individual is entitled to the fruits of his own labor. Property rights are, therefore, inseparable from human rights.

If man abides by this law, he will reap abundance; if he violates this law, suffering, starvation, and death will follow, as night the day.

This is the essential meaning of the two great Commandments, “Thou shalt not covet” and “Thou shalt not steal.”

Discerning the Call

We'll see how this plays (actually, we probably know already), but the Vatican's instruction, Concerning The Criteria Of Vocational Discernment Regarding Persons With Homosexual Tendencies In View Of Their Admission To Seminaries And Holy Orders, strikes me less as homophobia under thin cover and more as promoting the wacky notion that seminarians have an authentically developed chastity.

(cap tip: Catholic Report)

An All Too Commonly Distorted View

The Catholic Report links to a story that quotes Archbishop Jose Gomez of San Antonio as saying that many Catholic politicians do not understand their faith. This is almost one for the DUH file when I consider in hindsight how little I learned about the Catholic faith despite 12 years of Catholic schooling and something I didn't really appreciate until almost 7 years ago, after I saw Pope John Paul the Great in St. Louis. So what we have here is a case where our representatives are indeed representative. May the Light shine before all.

Bishops Take Small Steps Toward Restoring Political Credibility

Memorial of St. Cecilia

Catholic Culture's Jeff Mirus recently blasted the USCCB:

Three controversial issues surfaced at the U.S. bishops' November meeting in Washington: the death penalty, the rejection of Church teaching by Catholic politicians, and liturgical translations. All three are important; one would also think they are fairly straightforward. Yet the bishops clearly have no clue how to handle any of them, apparently because they don't understand their own identity.

Perhaps. Consider that possibility, as Acton's Kevin Schmiesing assesses rightly their death penalty statement:

I’m sympathetic to the thrust of the statement and to many of its claims. The statement makes its case firmly, yet invites dialogue and debate. It adverts to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, accurately reflecting the Church’s teaching on the matter. It makes compelling arguments against the death penalty on theological and pragmatic grounds, stopping short of claiming that Catholic theology absolutely forbids it.

Still, some of the statement’s language is problematic, reflecting, at the least, carelessness, and possibly, bad reasoning. I’d guess that the root of the problem is a willingness to take up the slogans of secular politics rather than to draw more rigorously on the sources of Christian theology. It reminds me of the USCCB’s old statements on the economy, when terms such as “social justice” were used without clear reference to the Church’s social teaching as opposed to the parlance of American politics.

Here’s one example from the death penalty statement:

It is time for our nation to abandon the illusion that we can protect life by taking life.

I mean no disrespect to the authors of the statement, but that sentence does not qualify as sound theological reflection on political matters. To accept its claim is to undermine any possible justification for self-defense, just warfare, etc. It is perfectly consistent with Christian moral theology to assert the contrary: Sometimes the protection of life requires the taking of life.

Karl Keating also noted in the Nov. 22 issue of his weekly e-letter that the American bishops have had a tendency to step on the toes of the laity, despite talk about "empowerment" of the latter. A prime example is the 1986 pastoral letter on the economy, "which went beyond a restatement of the Church's social teachings as given in papal encyclicals. That document plumped for particular economic policies about which Catholics were free to disagree and about which the bishops had no particular expertise."

He goes on to write:

The more often our bishops issue statements that reflect their private preferences but not the binding teaching of the Church, the more they will be ignored. The more they are ignored, the less attention will be paid to them when they do issue statements about non-negotiable issues.

But I think all is not lost. I have generally welcomed an episcopal presence in political debate, not for what it is (as evidenced by my response to Archbishop Flynn's dabbling in state tax policy), but rather what it could be. NC Reporter's Joe Feuerherd captured what may be the most remarkable result of the conference:

Of the 10 items up for debate and vote at the truncated public sessions of the Nov. 14-17 annual meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, eight dealt with intrachurch issues. Among the topics: the $131 million budget for the bishops’ national conference, a new lectionary for children’s Masses, the role of lay ecclesial ministers, and guidelines for the treatment of retired bishops.

Just two items addressed broader concerns: a statement reiterating the bishops’ opposition to the death penalty and a resolution of support for a day of “remembrance and prayer for mariners and people of the sea.” Both won hearty endorsement.

The low-key approach to the bishops’ gatherings -- limiting their collective statements on hot-button issues with political overtones and restricting public access to their deliberations -- is part of an evolving strategy likely to be even more pronounced in years to come. Numerous bishops have indicated a desire to hold more meetings outside public view. And a strategic planning document drafted by a committee chaired by Pittsburg Bishop Donald Wuerl called for the body to “focus on a more limited range of responsibilities and activities in the future.”

“A lot of the bishops are tired of statements and they question their utility and therefore we’re going to have fewer statements and probably have shorter meetings,” Cincinnati Bishop Daniel Pilarczyk, a former president of the conference, told NCR. ...

Under the broad outlines of the strategic plan, more of the work currently conducted by the bishops collectively and by their Washington-based staff will take place at regional and diocesan levels. ...

While only time will tell whether this strategy will bear fruit, a more judicious use of conference statements provides an opportunity to bring more clarity and more force to our informed political debates.

Calif. Prop. 71 Lawsuits Unlikely to Get Tossed

From LifeNews.com:

Superior Court Judge Bonnie Lewman Sabraw listened to two hours worth of arguments from both sides about whether the initiative violates conflict of interest standards and public ethics rules set up by state law.

Judge Sabraw said she would rule on the challenges at a later date.

Lawyers for the stem cell research panel set up under the state measure told the San Diego Union Tribune newspaper that Sabraw will likely allow the legal challenges to move forward.

If the cases are not thrown out, the stem cell panel will not be able to issue its first round of grants because it won't be able to obtain bond funding. If the groups win their challenge in court, the bonds would be worthless. Even if Sabraw rules in their favor, the legal challenges will likely head to a state appeals court.

The two lawsuits say the panel shouldn't be allowed to disburse the funds because there is no oversight from state officials, as is required under state law.

Romanticizing Culture

One of life's milder amusements is the irony that is the uniformity of non-conformity. Recently, in the wake of the French riots, David Brooks noted (NYT subscription, or check here) that this truth has been globalized with the export of America's not too distant fad of hip-hop thugism, as evidenced by the mimicry of the "disaffected" in Paris' suburbs.

The French gangsta pose is familiar. It is built around the image of the strong, violent hypermacho male, who loudly asserts his dominance and demands respect. The gangsta is a brave, countercultural criminal. He has nothing but rage for the institutions of society: the state and the schools. He shows his own cruel strength by dominating women. It is perhaps no accident that until the riots, the biggest story coming out of these neighborhoods was the rise of astonishing and horrific gang rapes.

In other words, what we are seeing in France will be familiar to anyone who watched gangsta culture rise in this country. You take a population of young men who are oppressed by racism and who face limited opportunities, and you present them with a culture that encourages them to become exactly the sort of people the bigots think they are -- and you call this proud self- assertion and empowerment. You take men who are already suspected by the police because of their color, and you romanticize and encourage criminality so they will be really despised and mistreated. You tell them to defy oppression by embracing self-destruction.

OK... I'm not sure I buy his earlier assertion that American countercultural hegemony has always been more powerful than the American cultural hegemony (McDisney) that causes such wailing and grinding of teeth on the continent, but he goes on to twist one too far:

In America, at least, gangsta rap is sort of a game. The gangsta fan ends up in college or law school. But in France, the barriers to ascent are higher. The prejudice is more impermeable, and the labor markets are more rigid. There really is no escape.

I don't know that there were, or are, very many gang-bangers getting out of high school, much less into college. To be sure there are members of America's "high culture" for whom embracing hip-hop is to enter chic-dom. Nevertheless, the conditions from which there is allegedly "no escape" for French gangsta fans applied to their American counterparts a decade ago. We haven't seen an American decline in the extolling of cop killing and gang rape because the lyricists went to law school, but because the culture that spawned them was unsustainable. Contrast this with another group once subjected to impermeable prejudice and fatally rigid labor markets that not only responded with an authentic countercultural movement (no imports, thank you), the Theater of the Word, but one that produced in my estimation the greatest man of the 20th century.

Doin' That Superman Thing

You scored as Neo, the "One". Neo is the computer hacker-turned-Messiah of the Matrix. He leads a small group of human rebels against the technology that controls them. Neo doubts his ability to lead but doesn't want to disappoint his friends. His goal is for a world where all men know the Truth and are free from the bonds of the Matrix. Neo, the "One" 79% Batman, the Dark Knight 75% Lara Croft 58% William Wallace 58% Indiana Jones 58% Maximus 54% El Zorro 46% The Amazing Spider-Man 46% James Bond, Agent 007 46% The Terminator 42% Captain Jack Sparrow 42% Which Action Hero Would You Be? v. 2.0 created with QuizFarm.com

(cap tip: Holy Fool)

Peace in Our Time: Separation of School and State?

Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

I have gone on record that disputes around intelligent design (ID), such as the Dover Panda Trial, do not serve well the actual science part of ID, the community, or public education itself. Andrew J. Coulson, director of the Center for Educational Freedom at the Cato Institute, takes it a step further and comes up with a new reason for a conservative approach to education.

Supporters of the theory of human origins known as "intelligent design" want it taught alongside the theory of evolution. Opponents will do anything to keep it out of science classrooms. The disagreement is clear.

But why does everyone assume that we must settle it through an ideological death-match in the town square? ...

We’re fighting because the institution of public schooling forces us to, by permitting only one government-sanctioned explanation of human origins. The only way for one side to have its views reflected in the official curriculum is at the expense of the other side.

This manufactured conflict serves no public good. After all, does it really matter if some Americans believe intelligent design is a valid scientific theory while others see it as a Lamb of God in sheep’s clothing? Surely not. While there are certainly issues on which consensus is key — respect for the rule of law and the rights of fellow citizens, tolerance of differing viewpoints, etc. — the origin of species is not one of them.

The sad truth is that state-run schooling has created a multitude of similarly pointless battles. Nothing is gained, for instance, by compelling conformity on school prayer, random drug testing, the set of religious holidays that are worth observing, or the most appropriate forms of sex education.

Not only are these conflicts unnecessary, they are socially corrosive. Every time we fight over the official government curriculum, it breeds more resentment and animosity within our communities. These public-schooling-induced battles have done much to inflame tensions between Red and Blue America.

But while Americans bicker incessantly over pedagogical teachings, we seldom fight over theological ones. The difference, of course, is that the Bill of Rights precludes the establishment of an official religion. Our founding fathers were prescient in calling for the separation of church and state, but failed to foresee the dire social consequences of entangling education and state. Those consequences are now all too apparent.

Fortunately, there is a way to end the cycle of educational violence: parental choice. Why not reorganize our schools so that parents can easily get the sort of education they value for their own children without having to force it on their neighbors? ...

Admittedly, the promotion of social harmony is an unusual justification for replacing public schools with parent-driven education markets. Most arguments for parental choice rest on the private sector’s superior academic performance or cost-effectiveness. But when you stop and think about it, doesn’t the combination of these advantages suggest that free markets would be a far more intelligent design for American education?

Midwest is Still a Battleground

Staying true to form from the latest general elections, the Midwest is a bellweather for the nation at large, this time regarding the divide over human embryonic stem cell research (ESCR). Last week, the Ohio Senate passed a bill that prohibits state funding of ESCR, basically along party lines. The bill now moves to the Ohio House, where a similar bill was withdrawn because it did not appear to have the votes needed to pass.

Meanwhile, ESCR supporters have permission from Missouri's secretary of state to circulate a petition that would place an initiative on the ballot next year. This comes on the heels of the KC-based Stowers Institute's decision to fund out-of-state ESCR efforts because of the concerns of a prominent research specialist that the state may criminalize his work if he were to relocate there.

(cap tips: Stem Cell Research Progress Blog)

Of Mice and Metrics

For those who support our military involvement in Iraq, regardless of whether you believe they caved to the bleating of anti-war forces, or that their best laid plans were foiled because they miscalculated the press' response to passing the Warner amendment, in some ways the Senate Republicans better resembled mice last week than men; and it is all in their motivation to avoid a confrontation in clarity with the President's detractors. (You can check Hugh Hewitt, Michelle Malkin, and Captain Ed, among others, for all the appropriate outrage.) Be that as it may, and Secretary Rumsfeld's wise-cracking aside as to how many reports are already sent to Congress, the Warner amendment has in fact swerved into highlighting a significant failure by the administration.

The US has introduced a disruptive cultural change in the Mideast since following through on its holdover policy from the Clinton administration for regime change in Iraq, what Tom Barnett calls a system perturbation. Like other disruptive changes, leveraging a model I've used before, implementing, or assimilating, regime change requires the execution of three iterative processes: 1.) sourcing - identifying a system design based on common values that enables the integration of the selected direction for change (sounds like a constitution), 2.) competency development - just like it sounds, expanding the skills and (including political and economic infrastructure) knowledge sharing of the Iraqis so that they may fulfill the responsibilities of self-government, and 3.) re-evaluation - the continuous assessment of progress and adjusting as necessary through iterative management processes.

Any fair reading of the situation will conclude that the first and second processes are being executed with better than mixed success, but it is in the area of continuous re-evaluation where performance has fallen short. More specifically, the president apparently has failed to define clearly, much less communicate publicly, a set of innovative measures for evaluating the progress of our involvement in Iraq. What's more, it also seems, from administration apologists, that to raise the issue is to call into question one's support for the war, which is mind boggling to me given that measuring progress is a fundamental management practice and something I would expect to be a priority for any executive with a Harvard MBA.

The three processes of creating new societal rules, determining how to live by those rules, and defining how to measure progress of implementing those rules have analogs in politics and in economics, the 20th century's lenses for viewing history. What they point to, however, is something more fundamental. Last August, Michael Barone noted that while polls in the US show Americans are less supportive of our efforts in Iraq with our steady diet of daily death tolls and homicide bomber success stories (something still true today, of course), the Pew Global Attitudes Project has shown that minds are changing for the better in general, when sampling from six Muslim countries, i.e., support for terrorism in defense of Islam is on the decline, and interest in democracy grows. To be sure, this trend is not uniform througout the region, but clearly shows that culture, the engine of history, is on the move.

The president would do well to follow Mr. Barone's lead here to more accurately define the measures of success. With the Warner amendment, President Bush has the opportunity to address anew this performance gap in his historic attempt to change the culture of the Middle East. If he doesn't, I don't think we can rely on Congress to do it for him while they scurry to their corners, and then we will really have a quagmire.

Week 10 - The Troglodyte Top Twelve

Rank. Team (Previous)
1. Texas (1)
2. USC (2)
3. LSU (4)
4. Virginia Tech (5)
5. Ohio St. (6)
6. Penn St. (7)
7. Miami (3)
8. Notre Dame (9)
9. Auburn (10)
10. Georgia (11)
11. Alabama (8)
12. UCLA (12)

John Paul the Great on the Christian Life #4

Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King

Indifference in the face of human suffering, passivity before the causes of pain in the world, cosmetic remedies which lead to no deep healing of persons and peoples: These are grave sins of omission, in the face of which every person of good will must be converted and listen to the cry of those who suffer.

Meeting with the Sick and Suffering, 1998

Week 9 - The Troglodyte Top Twelve

Rank. Team (Previous)
1. Texas (1)
2. USC (2)
3. Miami (3)
4. LSU (4)
5. Virginia Tech (7)
6. Ohio St. (8)
7. Penn St. (9)
8. Alabama (6)
9. Notre Dame (10)
10. Auburn (--)
11. Georgia (5)
12. UCLA (--)

Still Haven't Hotplugged

Memorial of Pope St. Leo the Great

One of the things that happened during last month's hiatus was the significant extent to which I unplugged from the infosphere, including both old and new media. For various reasons, I didn't jump into the stream and pick up where I left. I guess my limited blogging so far counts more as warmplugging, something I expect to heat up in the next week or so.

Catholic Carnival LIII is Up at DeoOmnisGloria

Prayer Request Update

From an update I wrote for my friend Don Cook's private website after my visit to Austin:

Overturning the playground see-saw rule that whatever goes down must come up, Don's new nausea meds helped him go from clear fluids to enjoying a turkey sandwich, a root beer float, and home-made banana pudding this past week. He has had several higher energy days where he was able to visit with a steady stream of friends and family who came into town. The phone seems to ring constantly, and I'm sure everyone who has called has noticed a little bit more strength in his voice.

One of the highlights of my visit had to be getting to meet the kind of people who call Don a friend. And so many! What a blessing he has (made possible, of course, by the blessing we have in him).

The latest round of chemo appears to not have been effective as there has been little change in some topical tumors that have appeared on his legs. Next is the possible trial at MD Anderson.

As we all hope and pray for his healing, Don is doing his part to cooperate and give God a chance to work a miracle. He says he's ready to be a witness, but I think he's started already.

Please don't forget about the benefit for the Cooks scheduled for Nov. 20, and please keep on praying--he and his family and his friends greatly appreciate it.

The West Wing Officially Jumps the Shark

There are those who found last night's "live debate" to be compelling TV, including wistful thinking that only if real political debates were like this. Whatever. Riddle me this: As I understand it, this season is supposed to play out what executive producer Larry O'Donnell thinks is a dream presidential match-up of a liberal former-marine Democrat and a moderate Republican. So why this silly exchange?

"Republicans have tried to turn 'liberal' into a bad word," said Santos.
"Well, liberals ended slavery in this country."

"A Republican president ended slavery," Vinick retorted.

"Yes, a LIBERAL Republican, senator. What happened to THEM?"

The free fall of the writing quality continues with this heavy-handed scripting, despite the appearance of Tommy Schlamme's name in the credits. Nevertheless, I will continue to watch this gawker slow-down through to the end of the season. After that I'll stick to the DVDs from the seasons when creator Aaron Sorkin was still involved.

Aside:

This explains the shark reference.

Week 8 - The Troglodyte Top Twelve

Rank. Team (Previous)
1. Texas (1)
2. USC (2)
3. Miami, FL (5)
4. LSU (6)
5. Georgia (7)
6. Alabama (8)
7. Virginia Tech (3)
8. Ohio State (9)
9. Penn St. (12)
10. Florida (11)
11. Notre Dame (--)
12. Texas Tech (--)

Lighting the Trip Fantastic

Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo

I've been in Austin this week visiting my friend, Don Cook. I don't know how much my visit has boosted his spirits, but it is sure boosting mine, if for no other reason than getting to meet the kind of people who are friends of Don. What a blessing! But, of course, there are plenty of other reasons. Don's a good egg. He is on the rebound again with some new meds that are helping with nausea, and he's now able to keep solid food down. Later this month he begins a new trial. Please keep praying for him and his family.

Some of his friends are throwing a benefit for the family on Nov. 20. I know many of us have been tapped a lot by disaster relief, but any help would be greatly appreciated. If you are interested in attending, please drop me a line and I will forward you the evite.

Host: Friends of Don Cook along with Human Spirit Inc.
Location: Manchaca Fire Hall
1310 FM 1626, Manchaca, TX View Map
When: Sunday, November 20, 12:00pm to 4:00pm
As many of you know, our good friend Don Cook was diagnosed with late-stage melanoma about 17 months ago and has been fighting ever since. He has had surgeries, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and has participated in a clinical trial. With all of these procedures, medications, and the many trips back and forth to MD Anderson in Houston, this illness has been quite a financial burden. Many of you have been asking what you can do to help, and now here's your chance! Please help our fundraising efforts to support Don, his wife Denise, and their two girls, Sammy and Carlye, as they go through this difficult time.

Please join us at the Manchaca Fire Hall for all-you-can-eat catfish, cold beverages, live music, raffle drawing, and a silent auction. Kids are welcome and activities for the kids will be provided. Tickets can be purchased at the door for $25/person. Kids ages 8-13 can buy tickets for $15, and kids under 8 will get in free. Money from ticket sales will go partially to cover event costs, but the majority will go to the Cook family. Please feel free to donate beyond ticket prices if you wish.

We are using this evite format to help us keep track of the number of people who will be coming so we can be sure to have enough food and drinks. Please help us get an accurate headcount by RSVPing if you plan to come. Also, please forward this evite to anyone you know who would be willing to help. If you can't attend the event, but would like to make a donation, please send checks made payable to "Human Spirit" to J. Morabbi at 12004 Fortuna Cove, Austin, TX 78738. Donations are tax deductible. Also, donations can be made using Paypal by going to www(dot)human-spirit(dot)org. If paying online, please send a confirmation email to justinem(at)austin(dot)rr(dot)com.

Thank you so much for your support. Don and his family are so blessed to have such wonderful friends!

Catholic Carnival is Up at bearing blog

When Big Isn't Bad

There are many, including some in the Catholic blogosphere who fancy themselves in a Chestertonian light, for whom "evil corporation" is redundant. I am not one of them. Wal-Mart is one company that is often a target of such scorners, and one thing about Wal-Mart that they often neglect is the corporate culture that exists there and what good can come of it. To wit, there is my experience during the recent urban flood visited upon the Clan last month.

We had received about 6" of rain in a little more than 12 hours and more was expected because it was still pouring. The large amount of water coming off the neighbor's yard and the grading of our yard was such that we had several inches of standing water against the foundation outside the boys' room, a half-level below ground level. This was particularly bad because we had observed occasional dampness in their room after large rains, so we could expect water in their room, which there was and in a big way. Unable to keep the foundation clear by bailing/sweeping/shoveling, I went out at 9:30 PM in search of sand bags.

I went first to Home Depot. The store had just closed and there were about a half-dozen employees standing outside watching the storm. As I pulled up, they all ran into the store, where they scattered, except for one who stood at the door with it just open enough for his face.

Employee: Store's closed.

Me: I really need some sand bags, man. Can you help me out?

Employee: Nope. Store's closed.

Me: My house is flooding, I really need some sand bags now.

Employee: I can't let you in.

And with that, he closed the door on me and walked into the store.

Beginning to feel frantic, I went to a 24/7 Wal-Mart and headed straight for the garden/patio section.

Me: Do you have any sand bags? My house is flooding and I really need some.

Employee A: No, we are all out.

Me: How about dirt? Do you have bags of dirt?

Employee A: We have potting soil on the patio, but we just closed the patio and the registers on this end of...

Now looking at me, she continues,

Employee A (to me): You don't care, do you? Your house is flooding. How many bags do you need?

Me: I don't know, maybe about 20 of the big bags.

Employee A (to Employee B, who had been standing there): Go ask the manager to come back and re-open this register and see if we can have Employees C, D, and E punch back in. I'm going to go get a flat bed cart.

At Wal-Mart, instead of shutting the door in my face, they re-opened a register just for me and paid three employees overtime, two of whom went out to the patio with me, getting completely soaked in the pouring rain. They loaded almost a $100 worth of potting soil onto two flat bed carts, took them out, and loaded them into the truck for me.

I have long noticed a more helpful attitude from Wal-Mart employees in both Minnesota and Oklahoma. For example, it is typical that if I am looking for something, rather than being told to go to aisle such and such, as is the case at other retail stores, an employee will stop what he or she is doing (including coming down a ladder one time) to walk me to where the product is and verifying that it was what I needed. Nevertheless, this time I think they went above and beyond the call with the kind of service many equate with a small business, like a mom-and-pop store. And they responded not as people serving customers because it's good for business, but to a person who needed some help.

BTW, where were the Moms and Pops that night? Closed.

Waiting on Alito

Solemnity of All Saints

Like many, again, I know little about the president's new Associate Justice
nominee. It appears there finally may be the fight that many on the right
have been seeking. Despite my positive first impressions (what with the
"Scalito" moniker and all), I will let the process work its way a bit
before making a call. With both Roberts and Miers, I was less positive by
the end than I was at the beginning. I am not hoping for a repeat of that
particular phenomenon, but at least Judge Alito is starting higher on my
meter than the previous SCOTUS nominees.

Pope Benedict's Prayer Intentions for November

General prayer intention:

That married people may imitate the example of conjugal holiness shown by so many couples in the ordinary conditions of life.

Mission prayer intention:

That Pastors of mission territories may recognize with constant care their duty to foster the permanent formation of their own priests.

For more info see the Apostleship of Prayer.