Posts Tagged ‘culture wars’

Today’s Book Quote: The “Crusade” to Re-Write History

Posted: August 26, 2026 by datechguy in catholic, culture, Today's Book Quote
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Today’s book quote tackles a fact that people 100 & 500 & 700 years ago knew but has recently been re-written by those who wish the west to fail.

The huge response to [Pope Blessed] Urban’s [II] call at the council of Clermont is even more amazing when considering the cost to go on Crusade—for a knight, four to five times his annual income. Although some modern critics assert that the Crusades were focused on the accumulation of wealth, the historical record shows that the vast majority of those who took the cross suffered financial hardship as result. The certainly did not profit from it. In order to finance such an expensive undertaking many knights and their extended family sold or mortgaged their land and possessions. (emphasis mine)

The Glory of the Crusades Steve Weidenkopf 2014 page 43

I have seen the history of the crusades re-written during my lifetime and it’s always been a bit of a shock how fast the generation who thought they knew better than their parents decided to play games with history to justify their rejection of the heroes who kept violent Islam at bay.

It’s no coincidence that those same times are now allying with said Islam in order to secure political power that their numbers can’t justify.

Repeats Under the Fedora: Fauci diaries, DeSantis v Fauci, 4th Doctor Remains Undefeated on the Powerful & the Stupid, Biden’s Tapes and let’s say it one more time

Posted: July 28, 2026 by datechguy in Always look at the bright side of Trump, Blame Trump, covid, culture, medicine, under the fedora
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It never ceases to Amaze me that people write things down that incriminate them. The Fauci diaries reveal him to be everything that people have claimed he was for quite a long time. It’s also worth noting he didn’t know that he had a pardon coming when he did.

This is what happens when folks assume their allies will have power forever, it also illustrates the difference between an “Italian” and a “Sicilian” and also an old saying that nobody does good like a good Catholic and nobody does harm like a bad one.

The diaries also not how much Fauci detested Governor Ron DeSantis who apparently was too smart to fall for a lot of his stuff.

This is one of the reasons why I supported DeSantis in the Primary over Trump as I believed that the COVID stuff and the Fauci stuff would be tied to Trump like a scarlet letter while DeSantis would be able to use the COVID business against Biden or whoever the nominee for the Democrats was.

Trump was of course able to deal with this by simply not discussing Fauci during the campaign, he learned quickly it was a loser & dropped the subject. In fairness to Trump on this subject he was born into a culture that held medical doctors in high esteem, a culture where the Hippocratic Oath had not been edited and one where the idea that a Doctor or any medical professional would give false advice to harm the nation & the people in it for fame, wealth & power was practically unthinkable.

There has been a lot said on Twitter/X about the Fauci situation but the thing that is most true is that those who have worshiped Fauci (and let’s not pretend it isn’t worship they have friggen Fauci votive candles) will completely ignore the diaries because to acknowledge them would violate their worldview & they can’t have that.

This is also why the left/media can be outraged by Donald Trump jokinkly comparing Kathleen Collins to Dylan Mulvaney without being able to say WHY they’re outraged because to say why is to admit that men who pretend to be women are not.

The 4th Doctor’s line about the very powerful and the very stupid changing the facts to fit their views remains undefeated.

Speaking of facts and views the Biden tapes are now out and it’s rather clear that the President had classified documents in his possession, knew that the items were classified and discussed them with his ghostwriter.

Look for the same media that went after Trump and supported the Mar-a-lago raid to completely ignore this or pass over it quickly, in fact I think they already have.

(see 4th doctor reference above)

Finally let me repeat something I said a long time ago on the subject of Transgenderism that I’ve been repeating for years and still bears repeating:

If a person decides they are Napoleon & decides to talk, act, & dress like Napoleon even to the point of surgery or even chemical use to make them more closely resemble Napoleon that’s on them, their problem, their delusion, none of my business.

The moment that person insists that I shout: “Vive L’Empereur!” & then tries to use local state & federal law & or cultural pressure to make me do so, then it transforms into my problem to defend my rights & I will defend those rights & not submit.

Five Thoughts Under the Fedora: Graham over McConnell, Ignorance isn’t bliss, Yesterday’s Outrage is Today’s Ho-Hum, Planter Political Death and in Egypt yet another Islamic Conspiracy

Posted: July 12, 2026 by datechguy in culture, politics, Sports
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While everyone has been on the Mitch McConnell death watch the entire political world was caught completely by surprise by the sudden death of a seemingly healthy & vigorous Lindsey Graham.

It’s an important reminder that nobody is promised even tomorrow or even the rest of today.

Plus you never know, back when the Catholic “Sacrament of the Sick” which is now regularly given to those who are ill, was the called “The last rites” given to people expected to die my mother had received them 7 times before she was 50 due to illness & incidents.

She lived to be 88.

Of course Graham will get a full autopsy because he was considered “young” & that he was on Iran’s kill list but in my youth a person dying at 71 would not have elicited a 2nd thought.

A lot of people complain food is killing us or the environment is killing us or manufacturing is killing us but the truth is that we are living longer and longer because western civilization gives us a safer & cleaner life than than even the richest people 100 or 150 years ago.

As a biographer of Churchill, William Manchester, noted in the first of his three volumes on his life, the food served to the lords of the Manor in the 1890 would not pass a basic safety muster of today.

We live in what most people in history would consider a paradise & the only reason why so many young are discontented is because they’re too ignorant & uneducated to realize it & it’s in the interest in those who wish to use them to keep them that way.

The reaction to the death of Lindsey Graham is a great example of the new rules of culture and how they are applied.

As recent as two decades ago the idea that any person with a national platform would speak ill of the dead within 24 hours after they died unexpectedly was considered beyond the pale.

Today the fact that I completely expected to see it online, both by people who want to get credibility with their fellow haters & by their opponents to get clicks by saying how nasty they are for doing so, doesn’t move or outrage me at all.

It’s the natural results of the new rules. I disagree with these rules & I would like them to no longer exist but one must live in the world you’re in even if you wish it changed.

I can’t get angry at people when I don’t expect better from them.

Since we’re speaking of death it’s worth noting the political death of Graham Platner in Maine.

I was actually surprised that he pulled out of his race as he had nothing to lose by staying particularly since the left is completely terrified of the violent DSA types, not to mention his overwhelming victory over a sitting Democrat governor. Whatever incentive they offered must have been really something.

The only thing that really surprised me is how fast the media played the “boy were we stupid” card so soon after they had done so with Joe Biden.

That anybody falls for it is amazing, but it shouldn’t be. It’s amazing how much you don’t see when blindness fits into your political or financial desires.

I don’t blame fans of Egypt for being disappointed. After all they were up 2 goals with under 12 minutes to play for a chance to get to the final 8 in the World Cup before the defending champions with perhaps the single best player in the world managed to put three goals in the net

I don’t even mind them questioning the calls.

What I do mind is trying to turn their defeat by the defending champions into a Jewish conspiracy against Islam in general & Egypt in particular & also going after Argentine “football” as something corrupt.

The only thing funnier is how they champion the “Palestinian” cause while having one of the tightest fences & borders to keep Gazans out of their country.

Egypt’s team had a great run that it should be proud of. 150 countries would have celebrated a team in the final 16 & their fans would be right to lionize their players & coach’s skill. Alas that’s coupled with pulling this kind of idiocy because since they attributed their victories to calling on Allah to curse the Christians & Jews before each game it’s impossible that they might actual lose a legit match.

Fortunately they don’t care about losing the respect of outsiders like me as long as they’re able to lie to themselves.

No wonder today’s left embraces Islam so.

Get Woke Go Broke Anna Maria College Edition

Posted: April 25, 2026 by datechguy in catholic, culture, education
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The best non-decision my wife and I ever made still remains not moving to the Portland Oregon area after our Honeymoon there 33 years ago but I’m thinking giving Anna Maria a miss twelve years ago comes in as a pretty solid second.

DaTechGuyblog July 10, 2021 The 2nd Best Non-Move I ever made Anna Maria College 12 Years Later

We interrupt our coverage of Pintastic NE to revisit an issue from the very earliest days of this blog.

Back in 2009 my oldest son was looking at colleges. Having gone to a Catholic Grammar school and a Catholic High School the idea of attending a Catholic College like Anna Maria which offered him a scholarship seemed attractive…right up until I visited the place.

There were pictures celebrating the new president all over the place, banners celebrating diversity, announcements of the woman’s study courses but nothing on the March for Life later this month in Washington. The concert was a “holiday” concert. In the Anna Maria in the news bulletin board at the admissions office there was an article talking about protesting the pope in the US. That was the extent of any recent mention of religion.

The Chapel is downstairs at basement level, its a nice enough place and the corridor leading once one goes downstairs does feel Catholic but it seems to be hidden in order to make sure it doesn’t offend anyone. It’s Gene Robinson all over again:

Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

It’s a real question how many out of 1100 students would know this quote from Luke. Actually the question isn’t that hard, we met with the campus ministry people just before leaving, there are 10 active people in Campus ministry and about that many show up for Mass regularly.

It would be nice if there was at least one picture of the Pope displayed prominently. It would be nicer if Catholic identity actually meant something. I’ve spent much more than I can afford over the last 10 years giving my sons a Catholic education. If I’m going to spend a whole lot more for a Catholic College then I expect a Catholic College.

They were very committed to deemphasize the faith & emphasize diversity, as I wrote to the Bishop after receiving a letter from him suggesting a Catholic education at Anna Maria:

I can’t reconcile your description of Anna Maria with what I saw and I can’t believe you would make that description after visiting the college yourself. While academically I believe it would be strong I don’t believe attending would foster his faith, in fact I suspect if he choose to wear his faith proudly it would go hard on him there.

Lucky for Sam and us Fitchburg State College has offered a full scholarship which will allow him to live at home and remain in our parish as well. This would seem to be much more conducive to both his Academic and spiritual development.

Well Sam ended up attending Fitchburg State, he has a good job and I’m pleased to say his Catholic faith and his brother’s who he shares a house with remains strong. In fact this past Easter Vigil his brother was sponsor to a new Catholic who was one of 8 baptized and 14 confirmed and welcomed into the faith, the most I’ve ever seen at such a mass in my life.

At breakfast yesterday morning I saw this article on the front page of the Sentinel & Enterprise concerning Anna Maria which is not doing as well as they are:

A second Massachusetts liberal arts college this month has announced it will close, underscoring the mounting financial strain facing small, tuition-dependent schools.

Anna Maria College in Paxton said Thursday that it will shutter at the end of the semester after what officials described as an “exhaustive review” of its finances. The decision follows a similar announcement earlier this month from Hampshire College in Amherst.

“Like many small, tuition-dependent institutions, Anna Maria has faced structural challenges driven by declining enrollment and rising costs in the years following the pandemic,” the college said in a statement.

You see Anna Maria is or was, as it soon will be described, indistinguishable from all the other secular colleges out there competing for students. Meanwhile as faith continues to surge in America Catholic parents are seeing Catholic colleges that actually promote the faith.

It speaks volumes that the article doesn’t initially describe Anna Maria as a Catholic college but as a liberal arts college which makes these paragraphs particularly ironic:

Founded in 1946 by the Sisters of Saint Anne as a women’s college, Anna Maria later became coeducational and operated for decades as a private Catholic liberal arts institution.

“The Board of Trustees reached this decision only after pursuing every realistic alternative. We are heartbroken,” Board Chair David Trainor said in a statement. “The legacy of the Sisters of Saint Anne, and of every faculty member and staff person who carried their spirit forward, will endure in every graduate this institution has ever produced.”

The college choose to place their bet on the secular world than with the Catholic traditions of the Sisters of St. Anne and at the time of my visit with the election of Barack Obama that might have seemed a good bet.

Alas they forget that Christ’s Catholic Church has outlasted the Roman Empire, the British Empire, the Spanish Empire, the Nazi Empire, the Soviet Union and the Napoleonic Empire whose Emperor once declared to Cardinal Ercole Consal his ability to destroy the Catholic church if he wished to. The Cardinal answered thus:

Your Majesty, you would be making a useless effort. You would be defeated. We, the priests and Christians, with our weaknesses and infidelities, have not succeeded in destroying the Church! And would you like to do it?.

Now it will outlast Anna Maria College. I can’t say the college’s fate is a surprise, but I will not cheer as any time the enemy manages to compromise a Catholic institution it’s a defeat for us all. That defeat predates the closing of the institution by many years.

Anna Maria the Catholic College died a long ago,

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