Wednesday, May 26, 2010

In the Torchlight for May 23, 2010

Torchlight Post:
"I don't remember any of you, but I remember you in my prayers everyday"
Last week at a press conference, my mother-in-law, Pat Hall, took the opportunity to say "Thank you" to those who helped save her life while she was attending a Twins game at Target Field last month. (And I add a “thank you” for those of you who have been praying for her recovery.) When she collapsed on the main concourse during the game, she only knew her legs were giving out, until she woke up the next day in the hospital. She had a cardiac arrest that required several shocks from an AED to re-start her heart. We have heard from many connections to other people who were in the stadium that night about how quickly and professionally the swarm (is there a better word?) of volunteer paramedics, first responders, and doctors rushed to her aid. It is not an exaggeration that, if not for them and if she had been almost anywhere else, she would not have survived. The press conference at the Hennepin County Medical Center occurred during National Emergency Medical Services week, putting a spot light on the professionals and volunteers who are ready to act on our behalf at a moment's notice.

Recent Items from the News Digest:
  • Because we cannot go too long without the modern economy being impugned for taking us to the brink of some epic disaster, lest we return to our inner cave dweller ways, the UN’s Environment Program is projecting the world’s oceans will run out of fish in 40 years unless the fishing industry is fundamentally restructured. This assumes, of course, that fisherman do and will behave like wildcatters instead of farmers.
  • Chris O’Donnell graces the cover of the June Redbook with his children. To hear the NCIS: Los Angeles star tell it, he made the conscious decision at the age of 25 to pursue a family following his blockbuster stint as Batman’s sidekick, Robin, effectively putting his career on hold. Naysayers will claim his career was flaming out anyway. Regardless, the 13-year marriage and five children for the Catholic-raised O’Donnell and his wife, Caroline Fentress, still counts as counter-cultural in Hollywood.
  • Violent and institutional reprisals against free expression offend Western sensibilities, and darn near every student in the last 40 years has seen the animated version of The Hangman. These, I think, are at the heart of "Draw Mohammed Day" on May 20th. While I understand and share the sentiment, it is the object of the activity that troubles me. I do not consider myself bound by any prohibition to draw Mohammed that some Muslims observe, just as I do not abstain from eating pork. Nevertheless, being intentionally provocative only serves to undermine solidarity. Of course, who would expect anything less from the equal opportunity offenders who flocked to the event and each imagined himself a modern day Spartacus?
  • Former Oklahoma state senator and current attorney general candidate, Scott Pruitt, has pledged, if elected, to sue the federal government over the costs incurred by the state due to illegal immigration. While some claim (with a stretch) that Arizona’s recent law represents an attempt to usurp the federal government’s authority with respect to border enforcement, not to mention the whole race-baiting meme, the inability of the federal government to execute its constitutional authority regarding national border security is placing a financial burden on the individuals of the several states in the form of increased costs (moneys and access) for social services. It was only a matter of time before some of them started trying to collect on the bill.
You can find links to these stories and more here.

"In the Torchlight" is a weekly post that is part of Sunday Snippets. Sunday Snippets is a Catholic carnival that is hosted each week by RAnn at This, That and the Other Thing. This week's carnival includes, from Smaller Manhattans, a tribute by Christian LeBlanc to his wife. It echoes something I once said in front of a couple hundred people about 10 years ago, which is still true today.

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