[Originally posted on Super(Catholic)Man.]

Recently, I posted a slightly snarky comment on Facebook regarding “10.2% unemployment” and “change”.

My sister responded with her own comment, which is decidedly further left than my own position.  Now Thanksgiving is coming up and, as we do each year, we will all (my brother, my sister and her “partner” and all of our respective children, spouses and grandchildren) converge on my parent’s home for the hyper-calorie fest.  There will be ham, turkey, scads of casseroles, a passel of pies and who knows what else to fill 48 hours of family fun.

What won’t be there?  Religion and politics.  Oh, I’ll be asked to lead the blessing at meals, but that will be my father’s token approval of my conversion to the Church.  They aren’t an atheistic or agnostic lot, so that helps.  But as long as we don’t cross those lines, we all get along just fine.

But when someone steps over the line, they really step into it.

So my new policy, beginning with last year’s ode to gluttony, was to reject any efforts to goad me broach these areas.  No politics or religion.  If they have a question, I’ll be happy to answer, but I won’t debate it or try to convince anyone of anything.  It isn’t easy either–both subjects are near and dear to me.

This was a tough call.  My kids love to visit the farm and make plans for “cookie week”–where all of the kids old enough to use the bathroom on their own spend a full week in December making cookies with their grandmother.  My married children bring their kids and share their own joy from childhood.  It is a special time for everyone.

[My folks are 69, so they are still young enough to handle the hustle and bustle.]

So you’d think my parents, siblings and I would be more like-minded.

My brother, divorced forever ago, and his kids come with his grandchild from his daughter, an unwed mom.  My sister and her “partner” bring their boys, two great twin fireballs (anonymous donor, of course).  Both of them represent living “proof” that these modern choices are just “fine”.  Everyone is happy.  Everyone is satisfied with where they are in life.

At first I thought that sharing all of this would be too much information, but then I realized that lots of families are like this.  The only one uncomfortable is me. I’m the only “traditional” member of my family (out of my parents and siblings) left.  I’ve been married for 27 years, 8 kids and 5 grandchildren.

I’m trying to let my example speak instead of my words.  But sometimes the roar of silence is deafening.

I extended the policy to Facebook, and probably offended my sister in the process.  I’m not willing to “poison the well” before I get dessert.

How do you handle these things in your extended families?  Am I alone?  Thank goodness we don’t have alcohol…

More »

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7HpSuyaOwY

More »

Some days I can’t figure out whether to nod my head in agreement or shake it in disbelief. When we get to talking about Camille Paglia, a dissident-liberal-gay-feminist, I get to do both at the same time.

It is possible to admire someone for their intellectual honesty and analysis and still disagree with their conclusions and basic principles. I have not made a regular habit of reading Paglia, but on those occasions that I have visited her prose, I had to admit to certain things with which I agreed with her. That’s me being intellectually honest — and I admit she has an entertaining flair.

So I ask you: how can the most liberal of liberals write this about her party and President?

First it was that chaotic pig rut of a stimulus package, which let House Democrats throw a thousand crazy kitchen sinks into what should have been a focused blueprint for economic recovery.

Then it was the stunt of unnerving Wall Street by sending out a shrill duo of slick geeks (Timothy Geithner and Peter Orszag) as the administration’s weirdly adolescent spokesmen on economics. Who could ever have confidence in that sorry pair?

And then there was the fiasco of the ham-handed White House reception for British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, which was evidently lacking the most basic elements of ceremony and protocol.

… But I continue to believe in citizen presidents, who must learn by doing, even in a perilous age of terrorism. Though every novice administration makes blunders and bloopers, its modus operandi should not be a conspiratorial reflex cynicism.

Case in point: The orchestrated attack on radio host Rush Limbaugh, which has made the White House look like an oafish bunch of drunken frat boys … Has the administration gone mad? This entire fracas was set off by the president himself, who lowered his office by targeting a private citizen by name. Limbaugh had every right to counterattack, which he did with gusto. Why have so many Democrats abandoned the hallowed principle of free speech?

You read that screed and you automatically think: right-wing nut job, right? Not so. The bedrock of our public education system is supposed to be critical thinking and analysis skills. Paglia is using those skills. (Again, not that I’ll agree with her eventual conclusions.) Why do so many fall into the trap of groupthink and blithe rationalizations? A friend of mine is fond of saying

“Rationalization is the process of lying to yourself.”

Now, I’m no intellectual giant but I do try to be honest about what I believe. I believe what the Catholic Church teaches because I have read, thought, and prayed about it, and chosen that worldview as the one that makes the most rational sense out of body, mind, spirit and the world. Paglia clearly has a markedly different worldview, but it is amazing to see that some things are clear from any vantage point.

As the saying goes, it is what it is.

More »

From the Fathers for Good website put out by the Knights of Columbus:

Another Catholic in the House

As a surprise victor in the congressional district that includes New Orleans, Anh Joseph Cao is the “man of the hour” in the current news cycle. Yet with his strong family values and Catholic faith, which he learned before escaping as a boy from war-torn Vietnam, he could also be a candidate for “father of the year.”

After all, he knows that his role as father will last long after the media glare fades and he settles with his family in the nation’s capital as a first-term congressman from Louisiana in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“My family is the center of my life. I could not live without my wife and two daughters,” said the 41-year-old Cao in an exclusive Fathers for Good telephone interview. [The "C" in his last name is pronounced as "G"]

He was married in 2001 to Hieu “Kate” Hoang, and they have two daughters, Sophia (age 5) and Betsy (age 4).

The most memorable event of his fatherhood was the birth of his daughters, he said.

“To watch them grow into beautiful girls has been the joy of my life,” he said. “I enjoy coming home to my wife, and reading to my daughters and teaching them piano.”

Late Election

In an election delayed more than a month due to the effects of Hurricane Gustav, Cao defeated incumbent William Jefferson, who was hampered by corruption allegations but still outspent his opponent by a wide margin. Cao, the first Vietnamese-American to be elected to Congress, is also the first Republican to win Louisiana’s 2nd District since 1890.

A man who has been through much tougher battles than a congressional election, Cao is taking his newfound celebrity in stride, keeping his message simple.

“My mission in office will be to rebuild the 2nd Congressional District which was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina and where many parts still need help,” he said.

Cao’s own home filled with eight feet of water during the 2005 storm, yet he and his family rebuilt and returned, only to be hit again by Gustav this past September, when more than a foot of water rolled into his house while he was serving as a delegate to the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis.

These are just two incidents in a personal history marked by struggles against tough odds.

In 1975, as the Southern capital of Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese, the 8-year-old Cao was separated from his parents and escaped with two siblings and an aunt, who pulled them aboard a U.S. military airplane.

He landed in Guam and later settled with relatives in the United States. His father, a South Vietnamese army officer, was imprisoned for eight years but was reunited with his family in the United States in 1991.

From the time he arrived here, Joseph Cao’s life has been a true American success story, written with hard work and intelligence. He learned English, settled in Houston, Texas, graduated from Baylor University and entered the Jesuits in hope of becoming a priest.

“I wanted to become a missionary and serve the people of God,” he explained.

He traveled as a Jesuit novice to many poor parts of the world, earned a master’s degree in philosophy at Fordham University in New York City, and in 1995 began teaching at Loyola, the Jesuit University in New Orleans. Soon afterward, he discerned that God was calling him to another mission field, and he left the Jesuit community.

He earned a law degree in 2000 from Loyola University and has served in New Orleans as an attorney and a community advocate.

Through all the challenges, his Catholic faith has been a rock of stability.

“My faith has been the center of my life all these years,” Cao said. “I go to church almost every day to discern what God is calling me to do with my life.”

Right now, Mr. Cao goes to Washington, as a Republican reformer.

See also this piece at Zenit: “Catholic in Congress Praised for Being Great Dad“.

More »

This is a subject that I’d like to explore later, when I actually have a moment to breathe.

We constantly hear the lament (usually in an election year) that the American people are “deeply divided” on social issues. We also hear in the same breath how we, the American people, just want someone to come along and “unite” us. Only then will the clouds part, the birds sing, and America regain her rightful place as the unchallenged leader on the world stage, economically, militarily, and morally.

My question is, why is being divided a bad thing, per se?

This is an indication that something is:
1) important enough to be both energizing and polarizing
2) a sign that something is deeply, radically wrong in our culture
3) the outcome depends on just who cares more

Being divided is a kind of societal pain, and pain is the body’s natural mechanism to tell us that SOMETHING IS WRONG. Rather than seek a way to ignore or anesthetize the pain, the important thing is doing something to address the root cause. Pain is not bad by itself, it is a signpost to the real malady.

Mrs. Nod pointed out to me a long time ago, that having the debate is half the point. (Isn’t public spirited debate a quintessential American value?) In India, for example, abortion is no longer a topic of public debate, it is simply accepted as a normal means of (post)contraception, as bland as having a tooth filling. A former co-worker of Mrs. Nod (originally from India) was simply puzzled by our preoccupation with the subject.

So, let’s be divided for now: talk and debate. When the root cause of our society’s pain has been addressed, the division that causes us so much angst may magically disappear.

Cross-posted at: blynken.blogspot.com

More »

A few days ago, I made mention of a new Catholic Internet TV station – RealCatholicTV.com. I signed up as soon as I heard about it (it’s free for most content). I have been impressed with the content being produced — the news, commentary on “The Vortex”, saint of the day, this day in history, and more — all from a Catholic perspective. There’s no apparent watering down of the faith. In fact, RealCatholicTV.com has been produced to be bold in its Catholic approach.

Case in point is this segment of “The Vortex”; a commentary by Michael Voris. Some of you may know Michael from Saint Michael’s Media. Today’s topic is largely focused on the purpose of the Vortex throughout the election season. See the hard-hitting segment below along with a summary of topics and excerpts.

Purpose of the Vortex

• Presenting the truth of the Catholic faith in many different ways
• Dedicated to helping people learn exactly what the church teaches and to share their knowledge with others
• RealCatholicTV.com is not just a catechism online
• Whatever the church teaches officially is guaranteed by Christ himself to be truth; this truth must penetrate whenever and wherever needs be
• During Presidential campaign season, each daily Vortex episode will bring forward the Catholic truth
• Not about interfering with the so-called separation of Church and State
• Not about supporting John McCain; people are free to vote for any pro-life candidate, a write-in candidate, or to vote for nobody at all
• Does endorse the wholesale abandonment of Catholics voting for Barack Obama for one main reason – his support for abortion on demand up to any point in the pregnancy and supporting legislation allowing for babies that survive an abortion to simply die without any medical care
• Describes Obama’s support of abortion, including his promise at a Planned Parenthood conference to sign the radical Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) as his first action as President (link to YouTube) to undermine every pro-life law that has been enacted through the past few decades
• Obama has lost himself and is bringing down Catholics with him, all so that he can be President
• Catholics with properly formed consciences can not support pro-abortion politicians — Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, Ted Kennedy, and dozens of others — regardless of the other favorable positions they may hold
• No matter what Obama supports, claims to support, position he postures, legislation he proposes, it accounts for nothing in the face of the cruelty he advocates and seeks to expand
• Catholic teaching forbids each and every Catholic politician from voting in support of abortion in any way
• Barack Obama’s platform is a murderous cry for the annihilation of over 1,000,000 innocent citizens each year, all in the name of a false and immoral “right”
• Barack Obama, the “smiling baby killer”, must never see the Oval Office except on a tour
• Does not advocate the voting for the lesser of two evils, but rather a vote for the lessening of evil overall
• With 50,000,000 dead babies and counting, Catholics must do whatever they can to bring abortion to an end; at this point our vote is what we can most immediately
• Wishing Obama no personal harm; praying for his conversion and arrival to Heaven
• Satan is the real enemy, not Obama. But as long as Obama aligns himself with Satan by participating in and advancing Satan’s work, we must fight him every step of the way

Share this with everybody you know. Catholics must have their consciences properly formed before stepping in to the voting booth.

Cross-posted at my blog — Home Built Upon The Rock.

More »

Found this great link on Speakout.com which shows you in general what your political philosophy is and how you match up with the candidates: Presidential, Senate, House.

I found it interesting: apparently I’m a Conservative-leaning Populist.

Take it with a grain of salt, but it does help you to think about the issues, especially if you use the pop-up links which describe the issues in more detail.

Cross-posted at http://Blynken.blogspot.com

More »

In case you have not heard, the Supreme Politburo Court for the Peoples Republic of California has ruled that the people in the state do not have the right to create a law that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. What’s more it was the ruling of only 4 people that essentially created new law – not our legislators, not the people. The good news (as you can see in the link below) is that this thing is not over. Because of this lawsuit, the initiative process to change the state Constitution was already well under way and we should reverse this improper ruling shortly. Read more below.

California Catholic Daily – “This battle is not over”

Richard Thompson, president and chief counsel for the Thomas More Law Center characterized the high court’s decision as “outrageous.” Said Thompson, “The California Supreme Court took judicial activism to a whole new level. When four judges can overturn the vote of the people protecting marriage, the Constitution’s guarantee of a Republican form of government becomes meaningless. This battle is not over.”

Charles LiMandri, West Coast director for the Thomas More Law Center in San Diego, said he was confident the Protect Marriage Initiative, which would amend the state constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman, would qualify for the November ballot. “Thanks to the tireless efforts of the National Organization for Marriage and the many groups that have supported it, like the Thomas More Law Center, the courts will not have the final say on marriage in California — the people will in November,” said LiMandri.

As for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (appropriate first name) and his vow to oppose a constitutional amendment – I guess the Kennedy’s have finally gotten to him. Anyone have the stomach for another recall?

Cross posted at Kyrie Eleison

More »

The remarkable thing about this story is not what it says, but that it comes from the AP, via MSNBC:

NEW YORK – In American pop culture, the face of abortion is often a frightened teenager, nervously choosing to terminate an unexpected pregnancy. The numbers tell a far more complex story in which financial stress can play a pivotal role.

Half of the roughly 1.2 million U.S. women who have abortions each year are 25 or older. Only about 17 percent are teens. About 60 percent have given birth to least one child prior to getting an abortion.

A disproportionately high number are black or Hispanic.

It’s a pretty rare thing to see the MSM admitting to their own red herrings.

More »

A proposed law in California has come to my attention twice in the past 24 hours – once through a forwarded email from The Word Among Us and once from an article at California Catholic. It is an abortion family notification bill, requiring that a family member be informed of a pending abortion by a minor. It is named for a girl who went to get an abortion and died because of the procedure. When she left that day no one in her family knew what was about to happen. No one knew she was going for a medical procedure. No one had the chance to save her. This bill prevents the shame that so many girls fell from ruining or even ending their lives. Make no mistake, the forces of death will be against this. Destroying the unborn at all costs is their mission. Destroying lives is what they do.

Last year a parental notification bill was defeated in California. This is not the same as a parent notification bill. The abortionists like to talk about how a parental notification law would require revelation of an abortion to an abusive parent. Many of us see this as the ploy that it is. But the last parental notification bill was defeated because of this argument. The folks behind Sarah’s Law took that to heart and while a parent or guardian may be notified, Sarah’s Law also provides that, if a minor girl is from a home with abusive parents, the doctor may instead notify another adult family member (for example, an aunt, grandmother, or sibling over twenty-one years old) of the pending abortion.

To get on the ballot, Sarah’s Law needs to get 700,000 signatures of registered voters in the State of California. For those out of California and the US, please pray for this initiative. For those in California who read this, go to www.friendsofsarah.org for more information. You can also click here to download copies of the petition forms. If your registered to vote in California, sign the petition and get others to sign it as well.

Finally, anyone can donate to those promoting this by going to http://www.friendsofsarah.com/donate.aspx

More »