Tag: Blithe Spirit

Radio host Smiley at St. Sabina

From the Faith Community of Saint Sabina, an emailed reminder:

Tavis Smiley will be at the church Saturday, 5/21 to discuss his new book, Fail Up. Mr. Smiley will be here from 12 pm to 2 pm. in McMahon Hall.

It was on Smiley’s show that Fr. Pfleger made the public statement that if he could not preach at St. Sabina, he would do so at Protestant churches.

I want to try to stay in the Catholic Church. If they say You either take this principalship of (Leo High) or pastorship there or leave, then Ill have to look outside the church. I believe my calling is to be a pastor. I believe my calling is to be a voice for justice. I believe my calling is to preach the Gospel. In or out of the church, Im going to continue to do that.

That did it for Cardinal George, who suspended him.

Nonetheless, he’s still pastor, to judge by the flyer.

What a friend he has in Tavis.

Does this man have Sen. Harmon’s number?

In a May 12 letter to Oak Leaves, Oak Parker Daniel Hefner finds Ill. Sen. Don Harmon (D) in a classic dodge, switching absolute percentage to relative:

Sen. Don Harmon’s recent explanation for the necessity of the state income tax increase . . . was laughable.

The good senator pontificates, What are we asking of taxpayers? A temporary increase of the individual income tax rate of 2 percentage points.

[But] (a)lthough the base tax rate increased from 3 percent to 5 percent, the overall increase to taxpayers is 66 percent! The state’s corporate income tax also had a temporary increase from 7.3 percent to 9.5 percent ­­ a 30 percent increase! The senator forgot to bring this information to his letter.

Hefner also uncovers an unfortunate reality hidden in plain sight from most of us, referring to fellow Oak Parker Harmon as “a career politician.” So are they all, to be sure, with exceptions so rare I can’t think of one right now.

In any case, it’s good to be reminded that almost all elected officials are careerists — and be duly suspicious of them, especially when they call a 2% actual tax increase a mere 2% relative one, without saying that’s what they are doing. Fie, Sen. Harmon!

Harry Truman vs. military

Ran across this while looking for something else. Give-’em-hell Harry looks not so hot in this comment by a Korean War airman:

Unlike World War II there was not a great deal of enthusiasm or support for the Korean war. It was often referred to as Harry Trumans war and with good reason. After WW II Harry Truman miscalculated our military needs and decimated the strength of our military. He then made the mistake of informing the world that we would not come to the aid of any country west of Japan, that included South Korea. With this assurance that the United States would not intervene North Korea made its move. Then after the war was underway he refused to fight to win.

The airman is Herbert A Rideout, summing up his recollections while stationed at Kimpo Air Force Base as a radio man for the 45th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, which did photo reconnaissance in P-51s, or Mustangs. The first to arrive at a target, to prepare for the attack, and last to leave, to record results, the Mustangs flew low to get their pix. It was very dangerous work.

Turned on his heel

The sister of the pilot whose plane crashed into the Pentagon 9/11 asked Obama about AG Holder’s ongoing prosecution of the men who interrogated Khalid Sheik Muhammad, who may have led us to bin Ladin.

“As a former attorney I know you can’t tell the Attorney General what to do, he said, ‘No, I can’t.’ But I said ‘we — that shouldn’t stop you from giving your opinion. We wouldn’t be here today if they hadn’t done their jobs. Can’t you at least give them your opinion.’ And he said ‘no I won’t,’ and he turned around and walked away.”

Prick.

Social justice exposed

You were wondering about this social justice thing, where it fits in the econ-political scheme of things?  Here’s something gives an idea, which you may read and weep:

Social justice is based on the concepts of human rights and equality and involves a greater degree of economic egalitarianism through progressive taxation, income redistribution, or even property redistribution. These policies aim to achieve what developmental economists refer to as more equality of opportunity than may currently exist in some societies, and to manufacture equality of outcome in cases where incidental inequalities appear in a procedurally just system. The Constitution of the International Labour Organization affirm that “universal and lasting peace can be established only if it is based upon social justice.”[6] And the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action treats social justice as a purpose of the human rights education.[7]

No wonder libs embrace the idea, which according to this statement is flawed from the outset, doomed to lead us on the road to serfdom, a classic case of good intentions leading us astray — unless you think prosperity is right around the corner of government control of things.

This be part of a Wikipedia treatment which begins by attributing the term to a Jesuit and promoted by Monsignor John A. Ryan in the 20s and 30s — he who captured minds and hearts of prelates near and afar.

Roeser on Pfleger-George: Nice try . . .

In today’s e-blast, Tom Roeser expatiates on possible pseudo-solution to the Card. George-Fr. Pfleger impasse.  (The ball is in P’s “corner,” says Card. G., who is not good at sports terminology.)  Roeser speculates that it will be dissolved in a splurge of ecclesiastical realpolitik and takes a shot at an agreeement:

Q.  Not that you have a glimmer of what a possible settlement would be?
A. I don’t. But suppose…just suppose… there comes an offer for Pfleger to head up a newly created archdiocesan office of Social Justice…so he could visit a number of parishes and do variants of his St. Sabina’s act with a hand mike where he bounced off the walls imitating Hillary Clinton. Wouldn’t that be ducky?

No, no, no.  Wldn’t fly with Fr. P., unless (maybe) he could live at St. S. and preach there on Sundays.  The extra-St. Sabina stuff he does is ancillary.  He’s married to the parish — which he never calls a parish, preferring church or congregation or faith community, because (I say) parish says unit of archdiocese, which has no place in P’s playbook.  And he considers divorce immoral. 

In St. S. he has a stable home, a place to belong to, where he can feel the love.  He will not go gently into the dark night of unaffiliation.  In my opinion.