Byron York’s Daily Memo: Electoral College Day

Blithe copy

He winds up a pretty good glass-is-half-full summary:

In the big picture, the election results were not terribly surprising. Donald Trump had a lot of good luck in 2016 and a lot of bad luck in 2020. He faced terrible headwinds all year. Also, in 2016, he won by narrowly winning a few key states. In 2020, he lost by narrowly losing in a few key states. The result was not outside the range of reasonable probability

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A Lutheran explains the importance of preaching the reality of Christ at Mass

Dominus Vobiscum: Notes from a massgoer's underground

If you haven’t got the faith, it doesn’t mean a thing.

[W]hen Christ is not proclaimed as the One who sits on the altar—whose true body and blood that were offered to God for the sin of the world are given to the Church for the remission of sins—when this reality is not understood or clearly confessed, then there is nothing left but window dressing and show.

Why concern yourself with paraments and vestments, or with liturgical propriety and rubrics, if the reason for all this is missing? Gottesdienst [a Lutheran movement and
organization] aims to provide a defense for the liturgy by confessing in no uncertain terms what the liturgy is for.

We don’t genuflect, or make the sign of the cross, or bow, just because it’s the faddish thing to do, or because we happen to think it would be stylish to look Catholic. We do…

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Why the High Dudgeon in Biden’s Victory Speech?

Pique from the new POTUS?

Mr. Biden says “democracy prevailed.” Yet what is so all-fired anti-democratic about asking a court to look at election results? Imagine, for the sake of argument, that one of those courts had concluded that, yes, in some state or county there was enough evidence to warrant enjoining certification of the result. Would that mean democracy didn’t prevail? Or would it mean that the court protected democracy?

Which side was more solicitous of democracy? The side that belittled concerns the contest was cooked? Or the side that took its concerns to court? It’s hard to think of a slice of apple pie more American than taking a controversy to court and abiding by the result. Or, as Mr. Biden himself conceded, “In America, when questions are raised about the legitimacy of any election, those questions are resolved through the legal processes.”

So what’s this about democracy surviving an attack?

Jill’s resume under the microscope

Analysis.

Late Friday, the Wall Street Journal columnist Joseph Epstein wrote a cheeky column pointing out the obvious: that if you burst into a room frantically looking for a doctor, one would be very disappointed to have Jill Biden raise her hand in response.

A bit pissed-off too, in my view.

Epstein’s words prompted apoplexy among the Biden family’s political enforcers. He’d been — wait for it — sexist! Former First Lady Michelle Obama weighed in: ‘We’re all seeing what also happens to so many professional women, whether their titles are Dr, Ms, Mrs, or even First Lady: all too often, our accomplishments are met with skepticism, even derision.’

Our?

Well, of course those accomplishments are being met with derision. First Lady-elect Jill Biden doesn’t even have a PhD, but instead an EdD, famous across academia for being an easy way for school administrators to inflate their credentials and get a bigger paycheck.

While PhDs at least have to slave away for half a decade, balancing coursework and a dissertation with teaching requirements, Lady Biden’s degree was only a three-year part-time commitment. Not only that, but only a 2.75 undergraduate GPA is required to enter the program. Cockburn has met furniture that could manage a 2.75 at American colleges (it helps if the furniture can play basketball).

More more more here from the above-referenced Cockburn . . .

Only frequent church attendees avoided downward mental health trend in 2020

Sunday sermons, weekday observations

Good to know:

CNA Staff, Dec 11, 2020 / 12:09 am MT (CNA).- Americans who attend religious services weekly are the only demographic group appearing to show improved mental health in 2020, despite the stresses of the coronavirus pandemic and other events, says a new survey.

The survey otherwise shows significant self-reported mental health declines among those previously in excellent health.

In 2019, about 42% of those who reported attending religious services weekly told Gallup that their mental health was excellent. In 2020, 46% said the same, an increase of 4 percentage points. Only 35% of those who attend services nearly weekly or monthly reported excellent mental health, down 12 percentage points from last year. Among those who attend seldom or never, 29% reported excellent mental health, down 13 percentage points.

On the other hand, not surprising.

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