Politics
Numbstruck over Fatima: If you are blaming the Pope, you’re doing it wrong
Yesterday was First Saturday and the Feast of the Transfiguration. I tend to have a post on First Saturday, and I missed it yesterday, but it gave me a chance to consider something. Things are awful today — in the Church and without. Just look at politics and the shenanigans of the candidates. Worse, look at the inane things…
Guarding Our Shrines as An Act of Political Realism
Ours is an era of both functional atheism as well as spiritual immaturity. When recent attacks occurred in France and Germany, it was amazing to read on my Twitter feed how many people shunned the notion of praying for the victims or for the countries involved. Perhaps most Twitter users are more of the secular…
From Under the Rubble…The August Avalanche
Over the years, August has not been good to us. But Mom always said, “try to find something nice to say about everybody.” So, to paraphrase Richard Nixon, “let me say this about that.” Congress goes on recess in August. That’s good. Thanks, Mom! And now, getting back to Nixon, and August. My southern liberal…
From Under the Rubble…A Plea to America’s Bishops
Addressing the crowd gathered in St Peter’s Square for the traditional Angelus prayer on August 10th, Pope Francis renewed his call for prayer and concrete assistance for the suffering populations of Iraq. The news reports coming from Iraq leave us in dismay and disbelief. Thousands of people, including many Christians, driven from their homes in…
From Under the Rubble…The Unholy Alliance
Let’s get one thing straight. Obama couldn’t care less about those Hispanic kids coming over the border. Here’s how we know: his administration has pushed the most savage pro-abortion policies in our history, both at home and abroad. And at home, Hispanic babies are much more likely to be aborted in America than children of…
From Under the Rubble…Gratitude, Government, and Gall
Voluntary Christian charity results in the natural gratitude of both the benefactor and the beneficiary. “Thank you,” says the man robbed and thrown in the ditch; “No, thank YOU,” says the Good Samaritan — “for giving me the opportunity to serve a brother in Christ.” That’s the way it’s been for centuries in Christendom. But…
From Under the Rubble…The GOP’s Liberty Problem
Long ago, Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum won the admiration of conservatives for his unstinting support of human life. His memorable speeches in opposition to partial-birth abortion on the Senate floor flummoxed liberals while they firmly established his reputation as the go-to guy for pro-life issues. While GOP insiders and neocons are famous for betraying pro-lifers…
From Under the Rubble…Catholics, War, and Unintended Consequences
The recent unpleasantness in eastern Ukraine recalls a nagging truth: Wars always bring unintended consequences, and Americans have seen plenty of them, firsthand. In 1916, Woodrow Wilson won reelection on the slogan, “He Kept Us Out Of War!” But Wilson wanted war, and, five months later, he got it. In October 1940, late in the…
From Under the Rubble…Old School Friends
In the Rubble’s constant effort to cull unnecessary stuff, a brief student paper saw the light of day for the first time since the pre-Woodstock era. It summarized the much younger Rubbler’s first impressions after reading about friendship in Aristotle’s Ethics almost 50 years ago. An excerpt: The foundation of the best society is one…
From Under the Rubble…What Would Republicans Do?
During the Reagan years, a story circulated about a meeting between Henry Kissinger and a newly-appointed Assistant Secretary of State. “I have finally met a man more arrogant than I,” Kissinger later told his friends. Mr. Kissinger had not yet met Barack Obama. It’s sad but true that Obama’s colossal ineptitude offers an easy target…
