Catholic Carnival is Up

Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Happy Belated Birthday to Troglotyke #7!

At Living Catholicism. This week's Torchlight Post is one that I had been planning to do, "James Turner Johnson Calls for Revision of Just War Doctrine" at HerbEly.

"Progressive" Pagan Pushed for Pause...

Here I was going to point to a post from a couple of days ago by a "progressive" student, who happens to be pagan, that argues for holding our collective horses on embryonic stem cell research. Other than a specious argument that the embryo is not alive, it was fairly well reasoned and included a self-consistency that I find too rare among "progressives" of any age, namely the assertion that those who see fit to oppose vivisection ought to be among those standing athwart the headlong rush to experiment on human embryos.

Alas, now that I have time to do a little blogging, the original post is gone, but we do find a post on abortion that, in addition to the same an-embryo-is-not-alive silliness, (Surprise!) sides in favor of abortion's legality. Hmmmmm... Do you hear pink helicopters?

A Joy of Parenthood

Troglotyke #4's Season Opener

Now It's Official

Judd can have a truly great morning as the governor signed the Gopher stadium bill yesterday. The fun continues tomorrow as the Twins push back the start of their game with Seattle to 7:30 PM so they can have a bill-signing ceremony for their new ballpark.

Personally, I've been fairly neutral on both of these. As a matter of principle, I oppose the corporate welfare that the Twins stadium represents (next up the Vikings), and we're paying for the wrongheadedness of Sid Hartman and those who thought the Metrodome would become the Taj Mahal of college football. On the flip side, if we're going to spend hundreds of millions of dollars of state and local money to have big toy trains, then the prices for these stadiums don't seem too high.

When the Clan used to live in Oklahoma, we often attended first, 89ers games at All Sports Stadium, and after the city built the Bricktown Ballpark and the team was renamed, Redhawks games. The prices were low, and Class AAA ball is pretty good quality (not much for pitching, though). I enjoyed both ballparks and we had a lot of good times. That said, I also said I would rather not live in a city that didn't have a Major League club nearby (I have tempered this a bit since moving back to the Twin Cities). And the reality is that the Twins were almost certain to move within a couple of years without a new stadium. Plus the Metrodome, a football stadium, is a miserable place to watch a baseball game (nothing like having seats pointing behind second base instead of toward home plate). I could wax George Willian here about how the performance of excellence in sport, particularly the lessons available in baseball, deserves a fitting venue... Yes, I would have preferred to see the stadium funded solely by private money, but I'm also glad the team will be around awhile, even if we won't be able to afford very many family outings there.

Now, what gets me about the Gopher stadium is that for all the talk about the importance of Big Ten football being played outside, how this will tie in the student body, and what a boost for recruiting this will be, all of which may be true, they are proposing a stadium with a capacity of only 50,000, which not only doesn't match Wisconsin's Camp Randall Stadium (80,000), or Iowa's Kinnick Stadium (60,000), but barely surpasses the conference powerhouse Northwestern's Ryan Field (47,000). There is clearly no expectation that the Gophers can (or will be allowed to?) build a program that has a substantial corporate, fan, and alumni base, the kind you need if you're ever going to compete for a conference title more than once every 50 years. Therefore, I think there should be consideration given for a moratorium on putting "big time college football" and "Minnesota Golden Gophers" in the same breath/sentence/paragraph/piece/anything.

[posted by e-mail]

Gone Fishin' and Back

Memorial of Rita of Cascia

I spent the weekend with one of my brothers-in-law and a few of his friends and another brother-in-law fishing (and having a few adult beverages--OK, more than a few). As a group we averaged just over one walleye per man, but all I caught, besides some sun and a buzz, was a nice-sized smallmouth bass (out of season). Anyway, I saw this this morning as part of an e-letter from Crisis Magazine's Brian St. Paul and think it is fitting:

I experienced the rejuvenation that only nature can provide. The
fact is, in the natural world, we meet God's creation unmediated by
human hands. That tree over there? God made it. The river? He made
that too. And he did it without the help of man.

So consider this a strong recommendation from a confirmed city-boy:
Take some time to enjoy the peace of nature. God made it for us.

Amen.

[posted by e-mail]

Kudlow Gets It On Immigration

Because the approach is comprehensive, I agree, as does Larry Kudlow, in general with what the president is proposing to address the two issues of immigration and border security. Kudlow, in this truffle quote also puts his finger on something that is implicit to my call for increased legal immigration quotas, namely relaxing restrictions on the one group of immigrants who actually are being severely discriminated against:

Amazingly, the Senate has passed another amendment to limit temporary workers to a mere 200,000 per-year, even though numerous studies say we need at least twice that amount. The Upper Chamber is also limiting the volume of skilled H1B workers, primarily engineers and scientists. These workers are crucial to American competitiveness, and if allowed into the country at much higher levels they would throw off more than enough tax revenue to finance public services for unskilled H2B immigrants.

Why legislators fail to understand the economics of this problem is beyond me.

Santorum Buys Hard Bargain

Pennsylvania's two US Senators, Arlen Specter and Rick Santorum announced last week a compromise where they both support investigating several methods of harvesting stem cells without destroying embryos. The Predictable pan this exercise, as you'd expect (they are predictable after all). But there also is plenty to make a pro-lifer be skeptical.

A year ago the President's Council on Bioethics issued a paper investigating possible alternate sources of pluripotent stem cells. Of the four options, I noted that Congress ought to consider supporting the only one with ethical promise, reprogramming somatic cells. Soon after came the idea of oocyte assisted reprogramming. Nevertheless, even though these methods do not involve the destruction of human embryos, there are still legitimate moral concerns, concerns that apply also to the methods of the compromise bill and are underpinned by the Cathechism Nos. 2292-2296,2300:

2292 Scientific, medical, or psychological experiments on human individuals or groups can contribute to healing the sick and the advancement of public health.

2293 Basic scientific research, as well as applied research, is a significant expression of man's dominion over creation. Science and technology are precious resources when placed at the service of man and promote his integral development for the benefit of all. By themselves however they cannot disclose the meaning of existence and of human progress. Science and technology are ordered to man, from whom they take their origin and development; hence they find in the person and in his moral values both evidence of their purpose and awareness of their limits.

2294 It is an illusion to claim moral neutrality in scientific research and its applications. On the other hand, guiding principles cannot be inferred from simple technical efficiency, or from the usefulness accruing to some at the expense of others or, even worse, from prevailing ideologies. Science and technology by their very nature require unconditional respect for fundamental moral criteria. They must be at the service of the human person, of his inalienable rights, of his true and integral good, in conformity with the plan and the will of God.

2295 Research or experimentation on the human being cannot legitimate acts that are in themselves contrary to the dignity of persons and to the moral law. The subjects' potential consent does not justify such acts. Experimentation on human beings is not morally legitimate if it exposes the subject's life or physical and psychological integrity to disproportionate or avoidable risks. Experimentation on human beings does not conform to the dignity of the person if it takes place without the informed consent of the subject or those who legitimately speak for him.

2296 Organ transplants are in conformity with the moral law if the physical and psychological dangers and risks to the donor are proportionate to the good sought for the recipient. Organ donation after death is a noble and meritorious act and is to be encouraged as a expression of generous solidarity. It is not morally acceptable if the donor or his proxy has not given explicit consent. Moreover, it is not morally admissible to bring about the disabling mutilation or death of a human being, even in order to delay the death of other persons.

2300 The bodies of the dead must be treated with respect and charity, in faith and hope of the Resurrection. The burial of the dead is a corporal work of mercy;92 it honors the children of God, who are temples of the Holy Spirit.

In the end it seems Sen. Specter gave up nothing, while Sen. Santorum is stepping on (if not tip-toeing over) his long-held line of principle in the name of political expedience; that's a tough deal to swallow.

In contrast, consider the principled approach of Missouri State Rep. Jim Lembke. Like Sen. Santorum, he steadfastly seeks a total ban of ESCR, in the state in his case. As noted previously, he has also promoted adult stem cell research by offering a passing bill that directs grants from Missouri's tobacco settlement into ASCR, while specifically excluding ESCR. Finally, he is also employing a more subtle approach by having legislative restrictions placed on scientists who receive state money, or work in laboratories built with state money, from conducting research on stem cells taken from clusters left over from fertility treatments, or created through therapeutic cloning, into the state budget, into laws regarding government buying of private property, and into the spending of proceeds from the partial sale of the state's student loan agency. This is the kind of moral leadership we could use in Congress.

Another Invitation in the Offing?

Memorial of Pope St. John I

Following recent concerns about Iran's nuclear development and earlier comments from the Holy See critical of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's desire to see Israel wiped off the map, Pope Benedict is apparently to be the next recipient of a letter from him. The big questions, of course, are 1.) Whether this is a da'wa (call to become a Muslim), like the president received, or a friendly greeting such as delivered at Christmas, and 2.) How will the Holy Father respond? My guess is with love and maybe a lesson about the Church--but probably noy directly.

(hard hat tip:The Anchoress)

The Hybrid Inference: A Da Vinci Code for Biologists?

A team of geneticists and biostatisticians from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard have completed a new comparison of the human and chimp genomes that they claim suggests that after the two lineages separated, there may have been interbreeding for more than a million years.

The mapping of the Human Genome Initiative, completed in 2003, has facilitated a new approach to the analysis of human evolution. A key assumption of the analysis is that the rate at which genetic mutations occur is slow and essentially constant. Therefore, counting DNA differences between two species' versions of the same gene serves as an indicator as to how long it has been since they shared genes, or became genetically distinct.

The fossil record suggests that the split between humans and chimpanzees, a pivotal event in human evolutionary theory, occurred about 7 million years ago. The recent report, published in the journal, Nature, suggests a comingling that did not end perhaps until about 5.4 million years ago.

WaPo has the team's explanation, a narrative a Flying Spaghetti Monster would love:

What probably happened was that some of the evolving human ancestors bred with the evolving chimps. This was perhaps not as strange as it seems, for although there were some physical differences between the two groups, "the early humans must have looked pretty much like chimpanzees," said [James] Mallet, [a geneticist at University College] London.

Males have only one X chromosome, which is necessary for reproduction. As is often the case with hybrids, the male offspring from these unions would probably have been infertile.

But the females, which have two X chromosomes, would have been fertile. If some of those hybrid females then bred with proto-chimp males, some of their male offspring would have received a working X from the chimp side of the family. They would have been fertile -- and with them the hybrid line would have been off and reproducing on its own.

The evolutionary clock indicates this happened no more than 6.3 million years ago, and perhaps as recently as 5.4 million years ago. In that case, the fossils of older species -- such as Toumai, or Sahelanthropus tchadensis, a proto-man from Chad that had a humanlike brow and probably walked on two feet -- must have belonged to descendants of the first human-chimp divergence.

That line must have died out. If it had not, modern man's X chromosome would look as old (or nearly as old) as the other chromosomes.

What we have here, as I am sure the ID-bashers in the crowd are pointing out to everyone who will listen, is not a theory, but a scientific story. Which is fine by me. It is the story and the data that inform all future ground-breaking scientific work, i.e., you do not create a new hypothesis to falsify without having some story behind it that can be consistent with existing data. Here's a truffle quote from NYT:

David Page, a human geneticist at the Whitehead Institute in Cambridge, said the design of the new analysis was "really beautiful, with all the pieces of the puzzle laid out." Whether the hybridization will turn out to be the right solution to the puzzle remains to be seen, "but for the moment I can't think of a better explanation," he said.

Note: "design" = "story" in this context.

Now, sure there are a few paleoanthropologists out there who disagree with the hybrid inference (and question the accuracy of the evolutionary clock). But could that be because they are involved in some millenia-old conspiracy to hide the true feminine-centered nature of the "descent of man?" Hmmmm?

My message to the pro-hybrids is the same as that to the IDers: Go ahead fellas, use your story; try to build some science. And let us know whenever you have something.

Frist Promises Floor Vote on ESCR

That didn't take long. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said he expects to bring to the floor federal funding legislation for embryonic stem cell research (ESCR) before the end this summer, more than a year after the House passed a bill to expand such federally funded research. Inside HigherEd indicates (once you get past the "competitiveness" red herring) the delay has been related to bills on related topics that other senators want to include in the debate. Riddle me this: Why hasn't the floor vote been delayed (or left on the table) by the senator himself?

(hard hat tip: Anne Leonard)

Letter to the Editor: Catholic Report on St. Agnes

My post in the combox:

While not a member of St. Agnes, as a member of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, I've been following this (and blogged it). The Our Word post to which you have linked is an excellent one. The challenge for those of us (self included) who are "well-educated, orthodox Catholics who feel that their bishops are violating their faith, leading them astray, acting against the teachings of the Catholic Church to the extent that they directly contradict what these people believe" is to not lose sight of the fact that the episcopacy is a gift, regardless of the office holder, and use our connectedness (also a gift) to discern and evangelize the Truth, rather than propagate knee-jerkism faster than the common cold, or Dan Brown fiction.

Like many, I am puzzled by the decision to assign Fr. Altier to a nursing home, rather than a parish in need of a pastor because of vacancy, or heterodoxy. One thing I have observed about living the new media life is that it is difficult to exercise reflection. This is where we develop our bedrocks of faith, or take them to the next level. Yes, you can build in moments of silence, cram in deep drinking of great books, and the like. But there is something to be said for the sabbatical.

 

Archbishop Sheen and Pope John Paul the Great, to name but two, had assignments that may have seemed puzzling at the time. I am confident that a "tanned, rested, and ready" Fr. Altier will better help the Church change even more than those for whom he's done that at St. Agnes.

[posted by e-mail]

Bishops Allow Parents to Remove Children from Safe Environment Programs

The USCCB Administrative Committee recently announced new regulations that were accepted last March regarding the implementation and compliance auditing of the "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People."

In a not totally unexpected move that should help diffuse the stirring controversy over the content of the programs that are threatening to divide a number of parishes nationwide, the changes include a provision to allow parents to remove their children from diocesan-sponsored training programs. In the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, a growing number of parishes and schools have opted for an alternative to the recommended "Talking About Touch" program primarily because many think it constitutes a form of sex education that is the primary responsibility of the parents. This new announcement provides recourse for those parents who find themselves still objecting to the training program selected by their parish, or school. Children who receive such "safety" training in another setting, such as a public school, may also be excused from the program.

The archdiocese is still required to provide a "safe environments program" for children attending church-run schools and participating in parish religious education programs. Training is also still required for clergy, employees, parents, and volunteers who interact with children. Parents who choose to not have their children participate will be required to file a form with a church, or school, administrator to confirm the decision.


[posted by e-mail]

Catholic Carnival: Conversations is Up

At A Penitent Blogger.

 

Because I am a father of seven, I am going with this as the Torchlight Post for the week(a new feature where I "spotlight" a post from the Carnival): "Family: Size Matters," by Perfect Work.

[posted by e-mail]

Perhaps Bishop Barnes Should Have Waited for the Speech

Here's a portion of a press-release issued hours before the president's speech by Bishop Gerald R. Barnes of San Bernardino, California, Chairman of the Bishops' Committee on Migration:

The Catholic Church supports the right of a sovereign nation to control its border. As we have stated in the past, however, an enforcement-only approach to this crisis will not solve the problem of illegal immigration.

Over the past ten to twelve years, our nation has spent billions of dollars on border enforcement and has tripled the number of Border Patrol agents along the U.S.-Mexico border. Yet, our nation's immigration system, including its legal channels for entering the country, remain woefully antiquated and ill-suited to address today's migration phenomenon. Consequently, during the same period that border enforcement has grown, the number of undocumented in our nation has doubled and the number of deaths of migrants in the desert has risen sharply.

News reports indicate that President Bush will use the speech to announce the authorization of the use of National Guard troops along the U.S.-Mexico border. I am concerned about the introduction of military personnel because there has not been an adequate public discussion about its implications, especially for the treatment of migrants.

The U.S. Bishops have stated consistently that the real solution to the immigration crisis lies in a comprehensive approach to the problem. This approach must include a long-term strategy to address the root causes of flight, such as combating poverty in sending countries. It also must include comprehensive reform of our nation's immigration laws which features an opportunity to earn citizenship for the undocumented in our country and the creation of legal avenues for migration for migrants to work and join families in a safe, orderly, and humane manner. We are hopeful that the president also will commit himself to these elements as part of a comprehensive immigration reform bill.

Does the New Evangelization require the Church to join the feed-the-beast news cycle frenzy by offering pre-analysis? In the Good Old Days, this tactic would be called out as poisoning the well, or knocking down a straw man. Shouldn't a decent respect for Truth serve better by responding to the actual policy proposal?

Note that here also Bishop Barnes only does a drive-by on the opportunity that exists within the legal channels to address this "crisis."

**Query** When did America stop being a nation of people "dedicated to a proposition" and become a "nation of immigrants." **End Query**

[posted by e-mail]

CNN Snap Poll Shows High/Low Bounce from Immigration Speech

The 25-point bounce from a Republican-skewed sample proves two things:

1. Tony Snow is no dummy
2. The president's low approval numbers are soft

And suggests a third:

The bounce is soft, too.

I still think he missed an opportunity to be pro-enforcement, pro-business, pro-immigrant, and... right. This is like the opportunity missed by the pro-immigrant crowd had they rallied the May 1st protest (too anemic to call it a boycott) around the Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker rather than the usual Commie suspects (hard hat tip on the 2nd link: Michelle Malkin).

Hey, This Tastes Like the Body of Christ!

So announced Troglotyke #3 to Troglotyke#4 after eating a stale Goldfish cracker last night. This tickled me. No, we don't attend Mass where they use something other than wheat. The only time I notice the Host having any taste is when I'm at a parish where they slip in some honey, or something. Here the simple innocence of recent First Communicant reminds us that the Host does have a taste (of course!) because it's not symbolic, He is Real.

Bush Misses Opportunity on Immigration Reform

The telegraphed double head-fake of sending Natational Guardsmen to assist the Border Patrol and the temporary guest worker program will probably do little, either politically, or effectively. Both of these are ultimately focused on the incremental (nationally, anyway) effects of illegal immigration. To fix what ails the country on this point requires a different calculus. Recognizing the dignity of the migrant first could have been the master stroke to seize the agenda.

The National Guard and drawing out otherwise law-abiding denizens of the melting pot can only produce marginal benefit over the course of years. Even a wall, like for what many on the right are clamoring, will take a while and produce a northward stampede in the mean time.

Consider that both legal and illegal immigrants represent a still small percentage of the adult work force and that the economic impact of immigrants is something far less than 1% of GDP, although the burdens are concentrated in a few states. Substantially increasing the quotas for legal immigration and streamlining INS procedures will address many of these issues. It is aligned with recognizing the dignity of each human person. It reduces the incentive for immediate, massive illegal immigration. It puts more people into the system for tracking while they assimilate the culture. It provides an opportunity for the federal government to facilitate dispersing immigrants so as not to be concentrated in just a few states. It eliminates the ridiculous charge of being anti-immigrant. And it puts a little lustre back on the shining city on the hill.

Can We All Step Back from the Ledge, Now?

My first instinct when I found out about the shake-up at St. Agnes was to wait until the dust settled. Really. I have been both critical and supportive of Archbishop Flynn, depending on the topic, but my general rule is that he gets the benefit of the doubt on an issue until he proves otherwise. He is the shepherd, and I follow; sometimes it requires more faith than others.

I am on the school board at the Troglotykes' Catholic school and, as such, because we are, like everyone else, in the very initial steps on the path towards complying with the USCCB's Charter for the Protection of Children and Young Adults, I have been in a position to know not a lot, but a few things (most of which are now in the public domain, but from which, by my own free choice, I will continue to refrain discussing beyond my limited comments here until I have both the motivation and the explicit permission to do so). I will only say that much of what is out there about the current safety curriculum choices is misinformation, primarily because of being out of date, or a result of the "telephone" effect. And, also, I fear, because of some who want to believe the worst. This and the deliberate (read: reasonably slow) steps the archbishop has taken to comply fully with the charter still leaves him with the benefit of the doubt, although, as a parent, I reserve the right to pass judment until after I actually see the entire curriculum.

That said, I think it fitting and proper for many to have raised (and continue to raise) concerns, some as long as nearly three years ago. The question, of course, is in the resolution of those concerns. That Archbishop Flynn has given permission to more than 10% (and rising) of the parishes in the archdiocese to use an alternative to the recommended "Talking About Touch" program ought to dispel the notion of any grand conspiracy. Which brings us to the Fr. Robert Altier situation.

I am one who has benefitted from Fr. Altier's new media ministry, from his catechesis on local cable access to his homilies on the internet to his frequent appearances on Relevant Radio. I can appreciate the loss many at St. Agnes feel. Had our family and Fr. Hamilton, of Ragemonkey fame, both stayed in the same parish for more than a decade, I am sure that I could empathize, rather than sympathize. After watching the archbishop's seemingly reluctant/kid glove approaches to the notorious St. Joan of Arc, the CPCSM, the RSM, cases of persistent, widespread, liturgical abuse, etc., in contrast to the bold move to ban the Legionaries of Christ from archdiocesan property, it is easy to let your imagination run wild a little bit and see a 14-year tenure without a promotion to pastor as evidence that the archbishop has been "holding back an orthodox priest," an order to limit his attention to parish work as "silencing," reassigning him as a nursing home chaplain as "exile," and corruption behind his need to "speak truth to power in the first place." While some may see retribution in the reassignment, Fr. Altier, true to form, realizes there is opportunity here. This is not the last we shall hear of him. To those from St. Agnes dealing with losing both their pastor and their parochial vicar, I offer the wisdom of Fr. Z:

Consider that if Msgr. Alphonse Schladweiler had not left St. Agnes in 1957 to become the first Bishop of New Ulm (thus changing the borders of the Archdiocese), Msgr. Bandas would not have come. Bandas was a peritus at all the sessions of the Second Vatican Council. He implemented the liturgical changes mandated by the Holy See as they were written and intended, without experimentation or exaggeration or confusion. If Msgr. Bandas had not died in office when he did, Msgr. Schuler would not have come. Msgr. Schuler, a member and officer of international Church music organizations, came to St. Agnes in 1969, on the cusp of the Novus Ordo. He brought with him an expertise in the Church’s sacred music as well as a spirit of obedience to doing what the Council asked. He defended the school when the world (and women religious) was freaking out. If Msgr. Schuler had not stepped down, Fr. Welzbacher would not have come. Fr. Welzbacher, one of the five truly brilliant men I know, raised preaching to a new level (he must be heard to be believed) and also restructured the school in a time of great challenge. He integrated his contributions into what others had done before. The new man coming in and he will leave his stamp.

Coverage: Hangingontonothing, Our Word and Welcome to It, Stella Borealis, Domenico Bettinelli, Amy Wellborn, Abbey-Roads, Rome-ing Catholics, What Does the Prayer Really Say, Man with Black Hat, Custos Fidei

Ignoring Real Privacy Problems

With all the hullabaloo over the NSA's wire-tapping and now phone record pattern analysis programs, here's some excerpts from an article I ran across that I find fairly interesting. It discusses some issues that many self-proclaimed privacy advocates seem to dismiss:

Federal Web sites. The hypocrisy is perhaps most clearly evident in the privacy practices of government agencies. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is pressuring private e-commerce companies to follow stringent rules regarding the collection and use of consumer information. The FTC is seeking to codify their "rules" regarding whom businesses can sell or give the information to, and whether consumers can opt in or out of the information-gathering.

It turns out that only 3 percent of government agency Web sites audited by the General Accounting Office follow those FTC recommendations?and even the FTC was among the 97 percent of violators. Government Web sites apparently swap sensitive information on citizens like last month?s Pokémon cards. As [the] House Majority Leader asked, "Which worries you more: the IRS disclosing your personal financial information, or Gap.com knowing how many pairs of jeans you've bought this year?"

Mailboxes. Individuals who don't have too-permanent addresses find post office boxes a convenient way to receive mail. Those seeking a bit more privacy have found that private mailboxes, such as the ones available at Mail Boxes Etc., afford even more protection... [T]he U.S. Postal Service [requires] that anyone wishing to open a new private mailbox supply his home address and two forms of identification. Groups including the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence have decried the new requirements, since it makes it that much harder for people to keep their whereabouts unknown from potential stalkers; not to mention government snoops...

Brady Law databases. When the Brady Act was passed, one of its key provisions was that background checks on gun buyers would eventually be instant and that federal authorities must immediately "destroy all records" created by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). This was to assure that the federal government would not create a national database of firearms owners. But the FBI decided once again that the letter of the law was but mere suggestion. The bureau announced it would be saving records of gun sales for at least six months, ostensibly as an "audit record" to keep track of how well the background check system is working...

In a related matter, the Veterans Benefits Administration has turned over 90,000 names to the FBI for inclusion in the NICS "no sale" list. The names are those of veterans, not convicted felons, whose supposedly private medical records included an administrative finding that they were "mentally incompetent." Besides veterans afflicted with post-traumatic stress (a diagnosis on a written questionnaire), the list also includes "incompetent surviving spouses, adult helpless children and dependent parents" of vets.

Know Your Customer. If at first you don't succeed, snoop, snoop again. That seems to be the government's motto as Treasury et al. have tried to sneak through the backdoor of Congress bank-snooping rules that were defeated by a torrent of unfavorable citizen reaction. "Know Your Customer" rules would in fact require banks to spy on their customers and report anything "abnormal" about an individual's pattern of withdrawals and deposits to the government.
Not to be deterred, anti-privacy forces tried to impose similar requirements on "inter-national" transactions, and the consumers who make them, in a supposed anti-money-laundering bill...

National ID. Although the Social Security number is still too widely used as a de facto ID number, the federal government has been quite busy trying to saddle us with a de jure one... The bar-code crowd tried... with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act..., which directed the Department of Health and Human Services to tag every patient with a unique health identifier. Thankfully, amendments by Representative Ron Paul defunding the identifier have passed the... appropriations processes. But, cash-poor as it may be, the provision remains on the books.

Wiretaps. The ACLU and others who monitor civil liberties have noted that the President's regime has been the wiretap-happiest administration to date. Congress helped the administration earn this dubious honor by passing the Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act (CALEA)... CALEA forced phone companies to install wiretap devices directly into their systems to provide federal law enforcement with easier access to their customers' communications. At the time, [the] FBI Director testified that the FBI would not use CALEA authority to trace the location of cell-phone users. But last year, in a familiar pattern, the FBI convinced the FCC that under CALEA, cell-phone companies must give the government the beginning and ending location of a cell-phone user's call.

The FBI has also argued that it has the right to collect digital content after a call has gone through "keyed-in numbers such as extensions and bank account numbers" with only a "pen register" warrant issued by a federal magistrate. In the analog age, pen-register warrants enabled investigators to find out what number a call was placed to, as opposed to a search warrant issued by a judge, which was needed to actually listen in on phone calls. A federal court overruled that position... And in its fight to make sure it hears everything, the FBI has also had mixed success in barring foreign companies not subject to the FBI?s whims from domestic telecommunications.

And a couple of oldies but goodies:

Echelon. First formed as part of the American-British alliance created after World War II, Echelon is an automated eavesdropping network that seemingly swaths the entire globe. Run by the intelligence agencies of five Anglophone countries (the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand) and headed by our own National Security Agency, the system intercepts "billions of messages per hour" from phone, fax, and e-mail communications. Recent investigations by the European Union and others have revealed that Echelon computers search through those messages and flag for human analysis those with keywords such as "bomb," ... or "CIA."

And the keen part, from the spooks' perspective, is that by having their pals in MI6 spy on Americans while the NSA spies on British citizens, the two can swap information while claiming not to violate laws barring them from spying on their own citizens.

Carnivore. Carnivore is the FBI's answer to Echelon;a "black box" with secret software inside attached to an ISP's computer network. Carnivore monitors all traffic (e-mail, Web surfing, chats, and so on) on the ISP and, the FBI claims, only gives the authorities the information they have a court order for.

Of course, there's no way to keep an eye on the FBI. [The] Attorney General sought some of that elusive verification in the form of an "independent" review by a leading university. But when universities saw all the secrecy restrictions and limits on what they would even be allowed to review, most blanched. Fox News reported that scientists at MIT, University of California, San Diego, and Purdue all declined to submit proposals. The Department of Justice finally settled on a team "larded with government contractors, ex-presidential advisers, and security-clearance types" assembled by the IIT Research Institute in Illinois to conduct the review...

ISPs have understandably been rather silent on the issue ever since an unnamed ISP, presumed to be Earthlink, lost a court battle to keep FBI from installing Carnivore. They may get back some of their gumption now that Network Ice, a leader in the consumer firewall business, has released "Altivore," a free program ISPs can install and run themselves so as to extract for the FBI only relevant court-ordered data.

Of course, this is but a partial list, and a case could be made for any number of government actions to be included... If the debate in Washington... ignores much-needed reform of government abuses, it will be that much harder to even agree on a top 100.

OK, OK. I am guilty of some selected editing. The content is reflected accurately, I think, but I did remove some references. The article is from December 2000, before George W. Bush assumed office. The "President" is Bill Clinton, the "Attorney General" is Janet Reno, the "FBI Director" is Louis Freeh, the "House leader" is Dick Armey. The big deal in this pre-September 11 scene is the hand-wringing over the "'danger' posed by online booksellers" keeping a list of your favorite authors or your insurance company's knowing if you're sick" and such. The bottom line is that this new religion that many in the press and in Congress have found about the Fourth Amendment is about something that is a part of an ongoing active development running more than a decade (probably much longer). In the words of another pre-Bush era article, attributed to Sun Microsystems Chairman, Scott McNealy:

Privacy is dead, deal with it.

The real question for us is, given that from early Christian Tradition private property is prudentially derived, i.e., it is a qualified natural right, and not an absolute, or divine right, why would not the same be true then for "privacy?" And if so, then why get so torqued over this (the existence of such NSA programs)? Don't like them? Disagree that they are a good thing to do? Fine. Still, it's not like we are dealing with the authentically inalienable right to life that the currently unhinged blithely dismiss. (hard hat tips on the last two: Hugh Hewitt)

[posted by e-mail]

Benedict: Marriage is a Real Good for Society

True love between man and woman forms the nucleus of society:

There is a special urgency today to avoid confusion with other types of unions based on a weak love. Only the rock of total and irrevocable love between a man and woman is able to build a society that is home to all men. ...

The sexual differences in the bodies of men and women isn't just a biological fact, but holds a far more profound significance: It expresses that form of love with which the man and woman, becoming one body, can create a true communion of people open to the transmission of life.

Hugo Chavez to Meet with Pope Benedict

[Original posted May 11, 2006, 8:00 AM]

Perhaps His Holiness can plant a mustard seed when he meets to "discuss" poverty with the Venezuelan strong man.
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Update from the Holy See:

"In the course of the meeting," the communique reads, "the president illustrated to the Pope the projects of social change taking place in his country. Benedict XVI then drew to the president's attention certain themes of particular concern to him.

"In the first place he reiterated the freedom of the Holy See to appoint bishops, and expressed the hope that the Catholic University of "Santa Rosa de Lima" may always maintain its Catholic identity.

"The Holy Father also expressed his concern over an education reform project in which there would seem to be no provision for teaching religion. He further asked that public health programs uphold the fundamental principle of protecting life from its very beginnings. He also underlined the importance of the independence of Catholic media.

"President Hugo Chavez gave assurances of his concern for the Holy Father's requests and expressed his commitment to overcome all forms of tension in full respect for everyone's rights.

Frist Watching

Senate Democrats have now been joined by Utah's Orrin Hatch in pushing for a vote on a bill passed by the House a year ago that would expand the number of federally funded embryonic stem cell lines by allowing the use of "surplus" human beings created at IVF clinics as their sources. So far, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has been good to his word. He has been dragging his feet because the bill lacks certain ethical provisions that he has outlined as part of a 10-point framework. Again, Sen. Frist loses claim as a self-defined man of principle (note that he already proved himself a man of expedience by embracing ESCR while claiming human life begins at conception) if we do not see these Top 5 items addressed before a vote on ESCR reaches the floor:

Ban Embryo Creation for Research;
Continue Funding Ban on Derivation [Of Stem Cells];
Ban Human Cloning;
Increase Adult Stem Cell Research Funding;*
Strengthen and Harmonize Fetal Tissue Research Restrictions.

*Note that we should also expect any ASCR bills to have the following prudent restrictions:

Require a Rigorous Informed Consent Process;
Limit the Number of Stem Cell Lines Available for Public Funding;
Establish a Strong Public Research Oversight System;
Require Ongoing, Independent Scientific and Ethical Review.

Multiple Choice

Memorial of Bl. Damien Joseph de Veuster

Does Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's 18-page letter to President Bush represent a:

A. Shrewd diplomatic ploy
B. Lunatic rant
C. Declaration of war on the US (and Israel)*
D. Staging attempt to force the appearance of the twelfth Imam
E. Proof he gets his talking points from the seagull media
F. All of the above

* Or a prelude to a new Iranian fatwa.

Note that the letter includes an invitation for the "infidel," George W. Bush, to repent. This could then be followed by a judgment of non-compliance, a communication to the masses through a Friday prayer offering at mosque, and the formal issuance of the fatwa.

[posted by e-mail]

What Book are You?

I do not think myself to be Rawlsian, but I do admit to Rawlsian tendencies like long-winded-ness and systemic conceptualizations.

You're A Theory of Justice!

by John Rawls

In the beginning, you lived in a town. The town had many problems! Rather than moving, you decided to come up with the idea for the best town ever. Going all the way back to the original position, you created the idea for the best town ever! Lo and behold, the best town ever looked almost identical to the town you lived in. You decided to stay in the town. Now you resent people mistaking your refined thought experiments for "the wall of stupidity" in high school debate rounds.

Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Does Anyone Really Expect This Will be Clarified as Something Other Than a Time for Chastity?

First Communicant!

A big day for the Clan. Troglodyte #3 received his second Sacrament of initiation today. A beautiful day for celebration of the Mass (What day isn't?) and with the family. He was joined by many extended family members, including all his cousins, with a special appearance by Trogling #5. In thanksgiving, I offer for him this version of the prayer of St. Bonaventure:

Pierce, O most sweet Lord Jesus Christ, his inmost soul with the most joyous and healthful pang of Your love, with true, serene, and most holy apstolic charity, so that his soul may always languish and melt with love and longing for You, that it may yearn for You and Your dwellingplace, and long to be dissolved and to be with You. Grant that his soul may hunger after You, the bread of angels, the refreshment of holy souls, our daily and supersubstantial bread, having all sweetness and savor and every delight to the taste. Let his heart always hunger and feed upon You, Whom the angels yearn to look upon, and may his inmost soul be filled with the sweetness of Your savor. May it always thirst after You, the source of life, the source of wisdom and knowledge, the source of eternal light, the torrent of pleasure, the richness of the house of God. May it always compass You, seek You, find You, run to You, attain to You, meditate upon You, speak of You, and do all things for the honor and glory of Your holy name with humility and discretion, with love and delight, with readiness and affection, and with perseverence to the end. You alone, be always his hope and his whole confidence, his riches, his delight, his pleasure and his joy; his rest and tranquility; his peace, his sweetness and his fragrance; his sweet savor, his food and refreshment; his refuge and his help; his wisdom and portion, his possession and his treasure, in Whom may his mind and his heart be always fixed and firm and rooted immovably. Amen.

The Most Perfect of Souls

Perhaps; I understand the sentiment. When we lived in Oklahoma, it was words to that effect that a neighbor of an infant offered during her Mass of Christian Burial. The purist of souls, undoubtedly. It is this purity that is behind the joy of every encounter with a young child, particularly those that struggle after birth, like Trogling #5. And it is that that is behind this statement from Judd at hangingontonothing.com:

He has already brought great joy to our family in his three weeks of life.

"He" is his young nephew, Benedict, who has been diagnosed with Strep B, which is very serious for babies. Please find that you can say a prayer for his speedy recovery and that his family receive the Grace to accept any situation.

For our part, the Clan has good news because we have received word that Trogling #5 is coming home tomorrow. "Thank you" to those who have kept him and his parents in their prayers. May young Benedict's family know the same relief.

Right Result Apparently for the Wrong Reasons

So the jury opted for life without parole rather than the death penalty for Zacarias Moussaoui. I can't say that I'm torqued up over that beyond my default opposition for the use of the death penalty in the US. In other words, I'm fairly well aligned with Mark Shea's position as a Just War advocate and don't share Peggy Noonan's despair.

A couple of weeks ago, Holy Fool went through the Church's position on torture with his usual aplomb. And I've been noodling on it since then.

For now, I am still mulling a question. Looking at all three of these situations (capital punishment, Just War, and torture) rooted in a response to the Fifth Commandment (enter the CCC here), is it just me, or is there a natural tension among them?

Chinese Bishops Excommunicated

The AP in true mouth-foaming style relishes in the apparent triumphant return of "God's Rottweiler:"

The Vatican lashed out Thursday at Beijing, announcing the excommunication of two bishops who were ordained by China's state-controlled church without Pope Benedict XVI's consent.

Benedict's first major political clash since his election as pontiff a year ago dimmed hopes for any re-establishment soon of official ties between the Holy See and Beijing that ended after communists took control of China in 1949.

Also automatically excommunicated for defying the pope were the bishops who performed the ordinations in separate ceremonies since Sunday...

Now, contrast this to the measured tones of the Holy See's actual announcement:

The Holy Father has learned of the news with profound displeasure, since an act so relevant for the life of the Church, such as an episcopal ordination, has been carried out in both cases without respecting the requirements of communion with the Pope.

It is a grave wound to the unity of the Church, for which severe canonical sanctions, as it is known, are foreseen (cfr. canon 1382 from the Code of Canon Law).

According to the information received, bishops and priests have been subjected to - on the part of external entities to the Church - strong pressures and to threats, so that they would take part in the episcopal ordinations which, being without pontifical mandate, are illegitimate and, besides, contrary to their conscience. Various prelates have given a refusal to similar pressures, while others were not able to do anything but submit with great interior suffering. Episodes of this kind produce lacerations not only in the Catholic community but also in the internal conscience itself.

We are therefore facing a grave violation of religious liberty, notwithstanding that it is sought to present the two episcopal ordinations as a proper act to provide the pastors for vacant dioceses.

The Holy See follows with attention the troubled path of the Catholic Church in China and even aware of some particularities of such a path, believed and hoped that similar, deplorable episodes by now would belong to the past.

She considers that now it is her precise duty to give voice to the suffering of the entire Catholic Church, in particular to that of the Catholic community in China and especially to that of those bishops and priests who were seen obligated, against conscience, to take part or to participate in the episcopal ordination, of which, neither the candidates or the consecrating bishops want to carry out without having received the pontifical mandate.

If the news is true that other episcopal ordinations are to take place in the same manner, the Holy See would like to underline the need for respect for the liberty of the Church and for the autonomy of its institutions from whatever external interference, and sincerely wishes that such unacceptable acts of violence and inadmissible constrictions are not repeated.

The Holy See has, on various occasions, stressed her willingness for honest and constructive dialogue with the competent Chinese authorities for the purpose of finding a solution that would satisfy the needs of both parties.

Coverage: In the Light of the Law, Catholic Report, Jimmy Akin

Elsewhere: Here's a nice little tidbit from the AP on excommunications in Roman Catholic history.

A Third Way to Face the Threat of a Nuclear Iran

A while back I noted the results of an online straw poll at Hugh Hewitt that showed a plurality of center-right support for going down the pre-emptive war path again.  The other option drawing attention, of course, is the diplomatic "pressure" being brought to bear (if anything can be brought to bear with incessant hand-wringing) through the UN Security Council. Victor Davis Hanson outlines how the best US response may be to focus on stabilizing the Iraqi democracy and let nature take its course.

[posted by e-mail]

A Loose Thread

Because I got busy, I never really responded to the Courage Monkey in our comment exchange on the case of a Canadian professor having a rejected federal grant request to investigate whether the notoriety of ID has proved detrimental to Canadians.

Based on part of his argument, I will amend my statement that this was probably not a money-grabbing publicity stunt, rather it is just a publicity stunt. He is correct. $40k (particularly Canadian) is not very much, and it probably wouldn't prove to be a very meaningful study. Having dealt indirectly with administrative boards similar in nature to this one, although nowhere near a federal level, and knowing their "zeal" for filling out their forms correctly, I take the board member at her word when she indicates the rejection was not based on a question of whether evolution is scientific "fact." Therefore, I still disagree respectfully that the board's rejection is proof (ironic, or otherwise) of the professor's thesis.

As to the assertion that my point about the legitimate science component of ID being rhetorical, I still disagree. However, the Monkey is not the first person to say something like that, so I think I am going to have to revisit this in the future.

[posted by e-mail]

A Triumph for Science and Help for Africa's Less Advantaged

The U.S. government has changed tack, and USAID officials are now endorsing and funding the use of DDT, the insecticide credited with eliminating malaria in the Western world, as part of the President's Malaria Initiative to reduce malaria-related deaths by 50% in more than a dozen African countries by the end of the decade. DDT was outlawed in the United States more than 30 years ago and is banned in most countries because of a combination of legitimate environmental concerns arising when it used indiscriminately and unsubstantiated fears that it can harm humans. It will be one of about a dozen insecticides deployed in a rotating scheme of indoor residual spraying that compliments other preventive measures, including drug treatments and bed netting treated with insecticide.

 

[posted by e-mail]

Pope Benedict's Prayer Intentions for May

Memorial of Athanasius

General prayer intention:

That the abundance of the gifts the Holy Spirit bestows on the Church may contribute to the growth of peace and justice in the world.

Mission prayer intention:

That in the mission countries those responsible for the public institutions may, with suitable laws, promote and defend human life from its conception to its natural termination.

**Sidebar** Is the US still a mission country? Should it be? **End sidebar**

For more info, see the Apostleship of Prayer.

 

[posted by e-mail]

Catholic Carnival: St. Joseph the Worker is Up

At Living Catholicism.

 

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