Posts Tagged ‘reality’

I guess that’s 8 not counting the last one

Posted: October 22, 2009 by datechguy in Blame Bush, opinion/news
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Take a look at this USA today opinion piece on rancor in political debate:

It closes with this line about the author:

Sandy Grady, who has covered eight presidential campaigns, is a member of USA TODAY’s board of contributors.

Read the whole thing and see if you can find what is missing. It it’s too tough to do so then check out the comments, a particular one includes several links to help you out:

Do these people even pretend to know that the internet, video recording and audio recordings exist and have been invented?

I must confess I have been thinking more along the lines of

Posted: October 22, 2009 by datechguy in catholic
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Father Tim:

For many of the Anglicans who have petitioned for an arrangement whereby they can come into full communion, the primary issue is not the ordination of women or of gays but that of authority. For the Church to function properly in accordance with the will of Christ, there must ultimately be a primatial see with real universal jurisdiction. The arrangements offered by the Holy See are courageous and to be welcomed. They show yet again the determination of Pope Benedict XVI to promote unity within the Church without insisting on uniformity of rites or customs. The Holy See’s provision of the new arrangements is a historic landmark for genuine Christian Unity as envisaged by Vatican II understood genuinely as in continuity with the tradition of the Church.

But when it comes to the idea of a “mass” (no pun intended) defection of priests from the Anglican communion to the Catholic church Fr. Z brings up a critical point that I just plain didn’t think of via the Times:

But any serving clergyman would face a marked loss of income.

A job as a clergyman in the Church of England comes with a stipend of £22,250 and free accommodation. Catholic priests earn about £8,000, paid by their parish and sometimes topped up by a diocese.

In terms of dollars that is about $33k vs $12k. If you are a married Anglican Priest that is a significant chunk of change when you are supporting a family.

I don’t know if that stipend extends to C of E clergy in Africa but if so that might be pretty big sort of like the Jizya tax persuading people to convert to islam.

Remember that the unlike political matters such as the ny-23 race the church thinks in terms of decades and centuries, that’s what happens when your focus is on eternity so anything that happens will happen in its own time.

Barack Obama: Christianist?

Posted: October 21, 2009 by datechguy in Blame Bush, internet/free speech
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Here comes that Kryten moment for those on the left (Hi Andrew) who were sure that George Bush was going to impose a religious test for free speech:

While attracting surprisingly little attention, the Obama administration supported the effort of largely Muslim nations in the U.N. Human Rights Council to recognize exceptions to free speech for any “negative racial and religious stereotyping.” The exception was made as part of a resolution supporting free speech that passed this month, but it is the exception, not the rule that worries civil libertarians. Though the resolution was passed unanimously, European and developing countries made it clear that they remain at odds on the issue of protecting religions from criticism. It is viewed as a transparent bid to appeal to the “Muslim street” and our Arab allies, with the administration seeking greater coexistence through the curtailment of objectionable speech. Though it has no direct enforcement (and is weaker than earlier versions), it is still viewed as a victory for those who sought to juxtapose and balance the rights of speech and religion.

I guess all you folks who took that idiotic Blasphemy challenge (which doesn’t actually work by the way) better watch out for Eric Holder and not Benedict XVI or George Bush.

To steal a line from Glenn from who this comes… They told me that if I supported Sarah Palin that free speech would be suppressed in favor of religious speech and they were right!

If there was ever a time that we will find out if the Obamacult is real this is it.

How to understand the elites in both parties and Hollywood

Posted: October 19, 2009 by datechguy in opinion/news
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You have to think of the way things were back in the middle ages and before.

You had a group of elites. Some were wise some were not, they got their wealth from inheritances of lands granted by royalty and lived off the labor of the tenants on the land.

They would patronize entertainers and artists and scientists. Those people would humor their patrons who were amateurs in their fields in order to maintain their funding and comfort. They would also have squires and knights who would serve them and depend on their largess for their place in society.

These Lords would compete with other lords for the favor of the king and the largess that he would supply them, but the King also knew that if the Lords turned on him they would be another Royal house in charge.

Since wealth wasn’t the big issue the primary worry was status. Who was considered the most important.

Because they were elites they also enjoyed the king protection when their actions crossed lines of propriety.

And beneath all of these people were the freedman, the tradesmen, the serfs and the slaves, they actually grew the foods and created the tools and did the work and saw the majority of it. They were expected to do the work, pay the taxes and not complain.

When you wonder about Hollywood and Polanski, about the White House’s attack on Fox, about reporters sucking up to Letterman and Polanski, about networks pandering to the president, about the NRCC and the New York 23rd, about conservatives becoming big spenders and about CPAC west and their treatment of John Ziegler, keep the above in mind and it will all make sense to you.

Update: Salena Zito elaborates.

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