Positive Infinity

Obama and the Catholics: It May Be a Kulturkampf, but He’s No Otto von Bismarck

me — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:21:11 +0000

The Catholic League is prepared for war: Catholic leaders are furious and determined to harness the voting power of the nation’s 70 million Catholic voters to stop a provision of President Barack Obama’s new heath car reform bill that will force Catholic schools, hospitals and charities to buy birth control pills, abortion-producing drugs and sterilization …

Social Conservatism is a Hard Sell in the Upper Reaches

me — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 14:30:57 +0000

As this Shiny Sheet editorial/article (the way it’s placed, it’s hard to tell) illustrates vividly: It’s unfortunate it took this long for officials at Susan G. Komen for the Cure to reverse last week’s wayward decision to cut funding to Planned Parenthood. It’s unfathomable that it took the charity three days from when the loss …

The Reason General John Pershing Was Called “Black Jack”

me — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 03:40:26 +0000

February is Black History Month in the United States. I have never done a specifically black history piece on this site, although I have from time to time suggested, for example, that Anglicans realise that the “Anglican Communion” is now and should be the “African Communion” with the centre of authority appropriately relocated. But I …

Another Anglo-Catholic Loose Cannon Hits the Wall

me — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 02:34:09 +0000

It’s becoming a pattern: The former Anglo-Catholic priest of the Church of the Good Shepherd, Rosemont, Fr. David L. Moyer has been denied his final step into the Roman Catholic Church following 10 years of ecclesiastical wandering that started with The Episcopal Church, migrated through the Diocese of Pittsburgh, Forward in Faith, the Church of …

The Sad Case of Gerry McClelland, and My Thoughts on Assisted Suicide

me — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:33:14 +0000

Being the anniversary month of Roe vs. Wade, January is a good month to look at issues of life. Most of the emphasis is on abortion, but we must consider the other end of life, too, when it occurs, and whose decision it is for that occurrence to take place. Over at the Ancient Star-Song, …

Is There a Real Difference Between the Demands of the Modern State and Emperor Worship in Rome?

me — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:33:11 +0000

Maybe not: Since 1789 the United States government has presented its Christian citizens with no moral problem of critical magnitude. This may mean that the moral integrity of the United States is magnificent; it may also mean that Christian citizens do not recognise a public moral problem when they see it. In the morality of …

Bailing Out on the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave

me — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:02:39 +0000

In this case, for tax purposes: Rather than deal with the complexities of U.S. tax law, Americans living overseas are increasingly renouncing their citizenship in order to avoid paying their income taxes. According to National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson, approximately 4,000 people gave up their citizenship from fiscal year 2005 to FY 2010. Renunciations …

Are My Sins Really My Own Grevious Fault?

me — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 17:18:38 +0000

That’s the question many Catholics are asking as they settle into their “new” Mass: Less than a week into Advent, there are many comments being made about the new English translation of the Mass. Many negative comments center around the new language in the Confiteor: “I confess … that I have greatly sinned … through …

Old Army Rick Calls It Quits

me — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:46:57 +0000

Sad to say: Rick Perry is telling supporters that he will drop his bid Thursday for the Republican presidential nomination, two sources familiar with his plans told CNN. The Texas governor will make the announcement before the CNN debate in South Carolina, the sources said. For me personally, this is sad, even though I’m aware …

Lesson from Tim Tebow: Life Is Better When We Focus on the Problems of Others

me — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:19:13 +0000

ESPN’s Rick Reilly believes in Tim Tebow, after a long search for faults: I’ve come to believe in Tim Tebow, but not for what he does on a football field, which is still three parts Dr. Jekyll and two parts Mr. Hyde. No, I’ve come to believe in Tim Tebow for what he does off …