Humorous, yet serious

The Answer: Yes. Most definitely, yes.

The Question:

Source: Minnesota Public Radio via the Corner

Notable Quote

Jackson Diehl of the Washington Post writes:

...Unlike most of his predecessors, Obama has not forged close ties with any European leader. Britain's Brown, France's Sarkozy and Germany's Merkel have each, in turn, felt snubbed by him. Relations between Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu are tense at best. George W. Bush used to hold regular videoconferences with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Obama has spoken to them on only a handful of occasions...

An interesting observation given President Obama's oft-repeated assertion during that campaign that George Bush had ignored and alienated our allies and that he (Obama) would repair those relationships and restore our standing in the world.

Looks like yet another campaign promise left unkept.

The first step is admitting you have a problem

Source: Investors Business Daily, Michael Ramirez

A Must Read: New York Times Magazine profiles Robert George

The New York Times Magazine recently profiled Princeton Professor Robert P. George, considered by many to be the leading intellect of orthodox Catholicism.

The piece is fascinating and worth the read:

On a September afternoon, about 60 prominent Christians assembled in the library of the Metropolitan Club on the east side of Central Park. It was a gathering of unusual diversity and power. Many in attendance were conservative evangelicals like the born-again Watergate felon Chuck Colson, who helped initiate the meeting. Metropolitan Jonah, the primate of the Orthodox Church in America, was there as well. And so were more than half a dozen of this country’s most influential Roman Catholic bishops, including Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, Archbishop John Myers of Newark and Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia.

At the center of the event was Robert P. George, a Princeton University professor of jurisprudence and a Roman Catholic who is this country’s most influential conservative Christian thinker. Dressed in his usual uniform of three-piece suit, New College, Oxford cuff links and rimless glasses­, George convened the meeting with a note of thanks and a reminder of its purpose. Alarmed at the liberal takeover of Washington and an apparent leadership vacuum among the Christian right, the group had come together to warn the country’s secular powers that the culture wars had not ended. As a starting point, George had drafted a 4,700-word manifesto that promised resistance to the point of civil disobedience against any legislation that might implicate their churches or charities in abortion, embryo-destructive research or same-sex marriage.

Two months later, at a Washington press conference to present the group’s “Manhattan Declaration,” George stepped aside to let Cardinal Rigali sum up just what made the statement, and much of George’s work, distinctive. These principles did not belong to the Christian faith alone, the cardinal declared; they rested on a foundation of universal reason. “They are principles that can be known and honored by men and women of good will even apart from divine revelation,” Rigali said. “They are principles of right reason and natural law.”

Even marriage between a man and a woman, Rigali continued, was grounded not just in religion and tradition but in logic. “The true great goods of marriage — the unitive and the procreative goods — are inextricably bound together such that the complementarity of husband and wife is of the very essence of marital communion,” the cardinal continued, ascending into philosophical abstractions surely lost on most in the room. “Sexual relations outside the marital bond are contrary not only to the will of God but to the good of man. Indeed, they are contrary to the will of God precisely because they are against the good of man.”

George looked on with arms crossed and lips sealed. But he was obviously pleased. To anyone who knew George’s work, the cardinal’s words sounded very much as if George had written them, and when I asked him about it later, he acknowledged providing assistance. Rigali’s remarks were a summation of the distinctive moral philosophy that is the foundation of George’s power.

He has parlayed a 13th-century Catholic philosophy into real political influence. Glenn Beck, the Fox News talker and a big George fan, likes to introduce him as “one of the biggest brains in America,” or, on one broadcast, “Superman of the Earth.” Karl Rove told me he considers George a rising star on the right and a leading voice in persuading President George W. Bush to restrict embryonic stem-cell research. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia told me he numbers George among the most-talked-about thinkers in conservative legal circles. And Newt Gingrich called him “an important and growing influence” on the conservative movement, especially on matters like abortion and marriage.

“If there really is a vast right-wing conspiracy,” the conservative Catholic journal Crisis concluded a few years ago, “its leaders probably meet in George’s kitchen.” ...Continued

President Obama proposes new budget - Part 3

The below chart shows the President is not serious about fiscal responsibility.

Why is he growing the budget in every year moving forward?

From the Heritage Foundation:

President Obama proposes new budget - Part 2

More from the Corner on the newly proposed budget (this from Robert Costa):

Rep. Paul Ryan (R., Wis.), the ranking member of the House Budget Committee, tells National Review Online that President Obama’s budget “is not like most budgets, with some tax-code tinkering and spending.” No, he says, “this budget is a choice. We are about to make a decision whose consequences will last for generations.”

“This budget presents a choice of two futures,” Ryan says. “Don’t look at the president’s rhetoric, look at his actions. His substance implies a different reality. Not only is this budget worse than the last one, but it triples our debt within ten years, features gushers of tax increases, and relies on some partisan commission to do the heavy lifting on fiscal policy after the next election. Make no mistake: This is a budget aimed to advance the administration’s philosophy and ideology. By increasing taxes and letting the country spiral into debt, this budget is a firm step toward transforming America into a collectivist society overseen by a social-welfare state.”

“The fiscal future of America, however, is still in the hands of the people,” says Ryan. “It is not too late to turn things around and inject our economy with the freedom to grow. Republicans have offered voters a roadmap. The president, CBO, and Peter Orzag have all acknowledged that it is a credible plan. We want to talk to the American people, and listen to them, like adults, with crystal-clear alternatives based upon the founding principles of this country and let them decide. This budget is about more than specific programs or policies. It is really about the American idea, and whether we want to move towards a European-style welfare state. I know that seems like those are big words, but those are the stakes. It is hard to come to another conclusion when you look at our debt and how we are spending. We are in a very dire fiscal situation.”

This year, Ryan says, “will be the year for the GOP to show Americans that they are no longer the opposition party, but the alternative party. The president acknowledged that in Baltimore last week. We had a good discussion, and I’m happy he came, but at the end of the day, we come to this from a different premise. We believe that the individual is the nucleus of American life, and they see the government in that role. That is our big difference.”

“This is a choice of two futures,” he reiterates. “It’s not too late to make the right decision.

President Obama proposes new budget - Part 1

It looks like it is full speed ahead on government spending with massive deficits as far as the eye can see.

President Obama says he is concerned about deficits, but you would never know it based on his actions.

Here is an interesting analysis from the Heritage foundation that I came across over at the Corner:

Obama Adds $2 Trillion in Spending and Deficits to Last Year’s Budget

One would think the nation’s deteriorating fiscal picture would cause the White House to scale back it spending-and-debt spree. Think again. Over the ten years in which both budgets overlap (FY 2010–2019), this year’s budget would spend an additional $1.7 trillion and run up an additional $2 trillion in budget deficits. In fact, this year’s proposal shows annual budget deficits as much as 49 percent larger than last year’s proposal — raising the debt by an additional 6 percent of GDP over the same period. It is a spending spree that will drive up both taxes and deficits.

According to our quick analysis of his budget, the president’s budget also would:

* Permanently expand the federal government by nearly 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) over 2007 pre-recession levels;

* Raise taxes on all Americans by more than $2 trillion over the next decade (counting health-care reform and cap-and-trade);

* Raise taxes for 3.2 million small businesses and upper-income taxpayers by an average of $300,000 over the next decade;

* Borrow 42 cents for each dollar spent in 2010;

* Run a $1.6 trillion deficit in 2010 — $143 billion higher than the recession-driven 2009 deficit;

* Leave permanent deficits that top $1 trillion in as late as 2020 — a time of assumed peace and prosperity; and

* Double the publicly held national debt to over $18 trillion.

Before the recession, federal spending totaled $24,000 per U.S. household. President Obama would hike it to $36,000 per household by 2020 — an inflation-adjusted $12,000-per-household expansion of government. Even the steep tax increases planned for all taxpayers would not finance all of this spending: The president’s budget would add trillions of dollars in new debt.

President Obama has offered a budget that does nothing to address the nation’s serious short-term and long-term fiscal problems — and indeed makes them worse. By doubling the national debt over pre-recession levels, America could head toward the tipping point when rising debt levels will become too large for global capital markets to absorb, potentially triggering a financial crisis, an interest-rate spike, and gigantic tax increases.

The president who said, “I didn’t come here to pass our problems on to the next president or the next generation — I’m here to solve them” would, over the next decade, pass $75,000 per household in additional debt into the laps of our children and grandchildren.

— Brian Riedl is Grover M. Hermann fellow in federal budgetary affairs at the Heritage Foundation.

Support CBS' decision to run Tim Tebow pro-life ad

Please join me in sending an e-mail to CBS in support of Heisman trophy winner Tim Tebow's pro-life Super Bowl TV ad.

Pro-abortion groups are pressuring CBS to drop the ad.

Catholicvote.org has set up a user-friendly page for just this purpose. It can be found here.

Ralph McInerny, RIP

I am saddened to hear that Notre Dame Professor (emeritus) Ralph McInerny has died.

While I was a student at Notre Dame our paths never crossed, but, after graduation, I became a fan of his fiction writing, especially his mysteries set on Notre Dame's campus. I also appreciated his outspoken defense of Notre Dame's Catholic identity, particularly in the aftermath of last Spring's commencement scandal.

The essay titled "Is Obama Worth a Mass?" that Prof. McInerny posted at The Catholic Thing (an excellent website) in response to the news that President Obama would be giving Notre Dame's 2009 commencement address is a must read and can be found here.

A man of many talents, Prof. McInerny will be missed.

First Things has posted a nice tribute. Below are a couple excerpts.

Excerpt 1:

...Ralph excelled in so many spheres and combined so many virtues in his person that it is difficult to know where to begin in recounting his noteworthy achievements. He was a philosopher (author of more than two dozen scholarly books, he gave the prestigious Gifford Lectures in 1999–2000), a translator (he translated the texts of Aquinas for Penguin Classics), a critically acclaimed and popular novelist (author of a number of mystery series, including the popular Father Dowling series that became a television series), a public intellectual (he appeared on William F. Buckley's Firing Line), and was a member of President George W. Bush's Committee on the Arts and Humanities), a journalist (with Michael Novak, he founded Crisis, a journal of lay Catholic opinion), and a published poet. In the midst of all this activity, Ralph was remarkably generous with his time and his help, especially for his students, in whose families he expressed an avid interest...

Excerpt 2:

...Ralph’s life and career will always be enmeshed with the university he loved, Our Lady’s University. He was of course deeply chagrined at the direction of the University. Of course, the concerns about Notre Dame’s Catholic identity have become very public in the past few years with the administration’s decisions to elevate the tawdry Vagina Monologues to the status of great art and to award an honorary doctorate of laws to a pro-abortion president. Before all that, Ralph objected to the premature firing of Coach Tyrone Willingham, in an New York Times op-ed piece “The Firing Irish,” and to the unseemly image of a president and priest chasing down potential coaches on airport tarmacs in the dead of night. Even prior to that, Ralph objected to hiring practices that focused exclusively on “academic” criteria and rendered irrelevant knowledge of, and sympathy for, the Catholic faith and intellectual tradition. For Ralph, the accelerating abandonment of things Catholic at Notre Dame was the direct result of a craven quest for success understood in conventional, and often quite secular, terms...

The Catholicism Project

Chicago's Father Robert Barron is putting together a 10-part video documentary on Catholicism.

Check out the trailer below. It's pretty neat.

Father Barron's multimedia ministry/website, Word on Fire, can be found here.

The trailer:

My Favorite Post of 2009

Previously, I identified my most popular post of 2009.

Now, I would like to turn my attention to my favorite post of the year, titled: "41st Anniversary of Humanae Vitae."

This post, which provided my personal reflections on Pope Paul VI's controversial encyclical Humanae Vitae, is reprinted in its entirety below.

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My Favorite Post of 2009 (reprinted in its entirety):

Natural Family Planning Week ends appropriately today on the 41st anniversary of Humanae Vitae (On Human Life), the prophetic encyclical of Paul VI which reaffirmed the Catholic Church's opposition to artificial contraception.

Excerpts:

On Marriage:

...Marriage, then, is far from being the effect of chance or the result of the blind evolution of natural forces. It is in reality the wise and provident institution of God the Creator, whose purpose was to effect in man His loving design. As a consequence, husband and wife, through that mutual gift of themselves, which is specific and exclusive to them alone, develop that union of two persons in which they perfect one another, cooperating with God in the generation and rearing of new lives...

...It is a love which is total—that very special form of personal friendship in which husband and wife generously share everything, allowing no unreasonable exceptions and not thinking solely of their own convenience. Whoever really loves his partner loves not only for what he receives, but loves that partner for the partner's own sake, content to be able to enrich the other with the gift of himself.

Married love is also faithful and exclusive of all other, and this until death. This is how husband and wife understood it on the day on which, fully aware of what they were doing, they freely vowed themselves to one another in marriage. Though this fidelity of husband and wife sometimes presents difficulties, no one has the right to assert that it is impossible; it is, on the contrary, always honorable and meritorious. The example of countless married couples proves not only that fidelity is in accord with the nature of marriage, but also that it is the source of profound and enduring happiness.

Finally, this love is fecund. It is not confined wholly to the loving interchange of husband and wife; it also contrives to go beyond this to bring new life into being. "Marriage and conjugal love are by their nature ordained toward the procreation and education of children. Children are really the supreme gift of marriage and contribute in the highest degree to their parents' welfare"....

On Artificial Contraception:

...Responsible men can become more deeply convinced of the truth of the doctrine laid down by the Church on this issue if they reflect on the consequences of methods and plans for artificial birth control. Let them first consider how easily this course of action could open wide the way for marital infidelity and a general lowering of moral standards. Not much experience is needed to be fully aware of human weakness and to understand that human beings—and especially the young, who are so exposed to temptation—need incentives to keep the moral law, and it is an evil thing to make it easy for them to break that law. Another effect that gives cause for alarm is that a man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman, and, disregarding her physical and emotional equilibrium, reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires, no longer considering her as his partner whom he should surround with care and affection...

It would be an understatement to say the encyclical was controversial when it was released.

Pope Paul was ridiculed by many. Proponents of artificial contraception argued that widespread use of contraception would strengthen and solidify family life by easing the burden of unwanted children, would dramatically reduce (if not eliminate) the need for abortion, and would liberate women so they could become equal partners to men.

However, looking out at the cultural wreckage and family dysfunction of our society, Pope Paul has been proven right in the end. He predicted widespread use of artificial contraception would lead to:

1. "...Increased marital infidelity..."

2. "...General lowering of moral standards.."

3. "...a man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman, and... reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires..."

Can anyone deny that all these predictions have come true?

What have been the "fruits" of artificial contraception?

• Half of marriages end in divorce
• almost half of today's babies are born out of wedlock
• 50 million abortions have been procured in the US alone over the last 30 years
• The spread of sexual disease is rampant
• "hooking up" and "friends with benefits" have replaced romance and courtship
• a popular culture rooted in the debasement, objectification, and sexual exploitation of women (have you looked at the magazines in the checkout line lately)?

This cultural wreckage is the real legacy of the widespread use of artificial contraception.

Yet, the proponents artificial birth control ridicule abstinence and argue that even more birth control is the solution to all these problems.

But, under their approach, what does a young person today have to look forward to?

• Having to "protect" themselves from their partner? How did we get to a point where we have to "protect" ourselves during an act that is supposed to be beautiful and intimate?
• Having their hearts broken over and over? And all the cynicism that results?
• As a young man, being told by society that the value and measure of a man is in the sexual conquest of women.
• As a young woman, being told by society that the value and measure of a woman is in her physical appearance, immodestly displayed.
• Having to grapple with lifelong sexual diseases (including possibility of infertility)?
• Taking an act that is meant to be beautiful, special, and UNIQUE to one's relationship with one's spouse, and turning it into something common and casual that is shared with many?
• Being in a position where one of life's greatest joys, the conception of a child, is feared and viewed as a catastrophe?
• "Living together" without commitment which studies have shown decreases their prospects for a successful marriage later on?

Why would anyone wish this lifestyle on their children?

Note: You may also be interested in my previous post explaining why Pope Benedict was right when he said recently that condoms are not the answer to the AIDS crisis in Africa.

NFP Resources:

Humane Vitae - Full text is here.

My previous posts for Natural Family Planning Week:

- Post 1 (NFP resources & information here)
- Post 2 (benefits of NFP here).

Dr. Janet Smith's Contraception, Why Not the most persuasive presentation of the Church's teaching on artificial contraception I have come across. Contraception, Why Not? is available for FREE here in CD format. I highly recommend it.

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NOTE: Here are some additional posts from 2009 that I really like:

1. A Must Read Article: "Liberal academic Edward Green: the Pope is right about Aids and condoms"

2. Grassroots Films: Ordination 2009

3. My Favorite Video About the Priesthood ("Fishers of Men")

4. The National Catholic Register Interviews "Chicago's Catholic Cartoonist"

5. My series of posts on Climate Change

6. Woodstock - Forty Year Anniversary - The Real American Heroes Were Not in New York, But in Vietnam

7. Why Do People Support Abortion?

8. Catholic Ob-Gyn Discusses His Pro-life Medical Practice

9. The Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College

10. National Guard Recruiting Ad - Citizen Soldiers

11. Trace Atkins and the West Point Glee Club perform "Til The Last Shot's Fired"

12. National Natural Family Planning Awareness Week: July 19-25, 2009

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Pro-abortion reporter laments the youth, energy and numbers of pro-lifers at March for Life

Robert McCartney, a columnist for the Washington Post, writes:

I went to the March for Life rally Friday on the Mall expecting to write about its irrelevance. Isn't it quaint, I thought, that these abortion protesters show up each year on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, even though the decision still stands after 37 years. What's more, with a Democrat in the White House likely to appoint justices who support abortion rights, surely the Supreme Court isn't going to overturn Roe in the foreseeable future.

How wrong I was. The antiabortion movement feels it's gaining strength, even if it's not yet ready to predict ultimate triumph, and Roe supporters (including me) are justifiably nervous.

As always, we in Washington enjoy an up-close view of the health of various causes because of the city's role as the nation's most important setting for political demonstrations. In this case, I was especially struck by the large number of young people among the tens of thousands at the march. It suggests that the battle over abortion will endure for a long time to come.

"We are the pro-life generation," said signs carried by the crowd, about half its members appearing to be younger than 30. There were numerous large groups of teenagers, many bused in by Roman Catholic schools and youth groups. They and their adult leaders said the youths were taught from an early age to oppose abortion.

"People our age are going to be the ones to change, to be the future leaders," said Lauren Powers, 16, who came with a group from an all-girls Catholic school in Milwaukee... Continued

Photo and photo caption: LifeSiteNews.com

H/T Jill Stanek

Most Popular Post of 2009

The most popular post on this blog during 2009 was my November post titled, Bishop Tobin appears on O'Reilly Factor. The post is reposted below.

The second through fifth most popular posts:

2. Bill Dempsey, Notre Dame Class of 1952, responds to Fr. Jenkins

3. Political Cartoon: Health Care Reform and Abortion

4. Correspondence: A Letter to Notre Dame

5. An Open Letter from Charles Rice to Fr. Jenkins

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Most popular post of 2009:

Unlike Chris Matthews, Bill O'Reilly is respectful and lets the Bishop speak.

Minor Leaguer gives up baseball to pursue priesthood.

Oakland A's minor leaguer gives up baseball to pursue priesthood. A neat story.

From CBS Sports:

As a top prospect for the Oakland Atletics outfielder Grant Desme might've gotten the call every minor leaguer wants this spring.

Instead, he believed he had another, higher calling.

Desme announced Friday that he was leaving baseball to enter the priesthood, walking away after a breakout season in which he became MVP of the Arizona Fall League.

"I was doing well at ball. But I really had to get down to the bottom of things," the 23-year-old Desme said. "I wasn't at peace with where I was at."

A lifelong Catholic, Desme thought about becoming a priest for about a year and a half. He kept his path quiet within the sports world, and he startled the A's on Thursday night when he told them he planned to enter a seminary this summer.

General manager Billy Beane "was understanding and supportive," Desme said, but the decision "sort of knocked him off his horse." After the talk, Desme felt "a great amount of peace."

"I love the game, but I aspire to higher things," he said. "I know I have no regrets."

In a statement, Beane said: "We respect Grant's decision and wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavors."

Athletes and the priesthood have overlapped, albeit rarely.

Al Travers, who gave up 24 runs during a one-game career for a makeshift Detroit Tigers team in 1912, became a Catholic priest. More recently, Chase Hilgenbrinck of the New England Revolution left Major League Soccer in 2008 to enter a seminary.

Desme spoke on a conference call for about 10 minutes in a quiet, even tone, hardly sounding like many gung-ho, on-the-rise ballplayers. As for his success in the minors, he said "all of it is very undeserving."

The Athletics picked Desme in the second round of the 2007 amateur draft and he was starting to blossom. He was the only player in the entire minors with 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases last season.

Desme batted .288 with 31 homers, 89 RBI and 40 steals in 131 games at Class A Kane County and high Class A Stockton last year. He hit .315 with a league-leading 11 home runs and 27 RBI in 27 games this fall in Arizona, a league filled with young talent.

Desme went into the AFL championship game well aware it might be the last time he ever played. "There was no sad feeling," he said. He homered and struck out twice, which "defines my career a bit."

The Big West Player of the Year at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Desme was ranked as Oakland's No. 8 prospect by Baseball America. There was speculation the Athletics might invite Desme to big league spring training next month.

Rather, Desme intends to enter a seminary in Silverado, Calif., in August. He said abbey members didn't seem surprised someone who would "define myself as a baseball player" was changing his life so dramatically.

Desme said he didn't consider pursuing his spiritual studies while also trying to play ball. His family backed his decision and he said the positive reaction to his future goal - the surprising news spread quickly over the Internet - was "inspiring."

"It's about a 10-year process," he said. "I desire and hope I become a priest." In a way, he added, it's like "re-entering the minor leagues."

Desme's first two years in the minors were beset by shoulder and wrist problems. He said his days off the field gave him time to think about what was most important to him, to read and study the Bible and to talk to teammates about his faith.

In retrospect, he said, those injuries were "the biggest blessings God ever gave me."

Video: "Breathe Catholic" - Christendom College

Christendom College -- one of my favorite Catholic colleges -- has a new promotional video out.

Part 1 (The Introduction) appears below along with links to parts 2-9.



Part 2 - Location

Part 3 - Academics

Part 4 - Junior Semester in Rome

Part 5 - Spiritual Life

Part 6 - Culture

Part 7 - Athletics

Part 8 - Library

Part 9 - Closing

Note: A free DVD copy of this video can be obtained from the Christendom College Admissions Office by calling 800.877.5456 or emailing admissions@christendom.edu.

Christendom College is endorsed by the Cardinal Newman Society's The Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College.

Must read: Yet another climate scientist speaks out against global warming...

...argues that warming and cooling alternate every 30 years as part of a natural cycle.

From Britain's The Daily Mail:

The bitter winter afflicting much of the Northern Hemisphere is only the start of a global trend towards cooler weather that is likely to last for 20 or 30 years, say some of the world’s most eminent climate scientists.

Their predictions – based on an analysis of natural cycles in water temperatures in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans – challenge some of the global warming orthodoxy’s most deeply cherished beliefs, such as the claim that the North Pole will be free of ice in summer by 2013.

According to the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre in Colorado, Arctic summer sea ice has increased by 409,000 square miles, or 26 per cent, since 2007 – and even the most committed global warming activists do not dispute this.

The scientists’ predictions also undermine the standard climate computer models, which assert that the warming of the Earth since 1900 has been driven solely by man-made greenhouse gas emissions and will continue as long as carbon dioxide levels rise.

They say that their research shows that much of the warming was caused by oceanic cycles when they were in a ‘warm mode’ as opposed to the present ‘cold mode’.

This challenge to the widespread view that the planet is on the brink of an irreversible catastrophe is all the greater because the scientists could never be described as global warming ‘deniers’ or sceptics.

However, both main British political parties continue to insist that the world is facing imminent disaster without drastic cuts in CO2.
This image of the UK taken from NASA's multi-national Terra satellite on Thursday shows the extent of the freezing weather

This image of the UK taken from NASA's multi-national Terra satellite on Thursday shows the extent of the freezing weather

Last week, as Britain froze, Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband maintained in a parliamentary answer that the science of global warming was ‘settled’.

Among the most prominent of the scientists is Professor Mojib Latif, a leading member of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which has been pushing the issue of man-made global warming on to the international political agenda since it was formed 22 years ago.

Prof Latif, who leads a research team at the renowned Leibniz Institute at Germany’s Kiel University, has developed new methods for measuring ocean temperatures 3,000ft beneath the surface, where the cooling and warming cycles start.

He and his colleagues predicted the new cooling trend in a paper published in 2008 and warned of it again at an IPCC conference in Geneva last September.

Last night he told The Mail on Sunday: ‘A significant share of the warming we saw from 1980 to 2000 and at earlier periods in the 20th Century was due to these cycles – perhaps as much as 50 per cent.

'They have now gone into reverse, so winters like this one will become much more likely. Summers will also probably be cooler, and all this may well last two decades or longer.

‘The extreme retreats that we have seen in glaciers and sea ice will come to a halt. For the time being, global warming has paused, and there may well be some cooling’...Continued

To put things in perspective for the new year...

Epiphany

Various artistic depictions of the Three Kings set to music. Nicely done.

H/T: The Anchoress

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

A thoughtful reflection for the occasion by Kathryn Jean Lopez:

The image is of a young woman in her bedroom. If you can tell from a portrait that a young woman is beautiful and pure, through and through, you can see it here. She looks like someone you’d want to know, at any time of your life. Young children would be drawn to her. If you’re college-age, she looks like someone you’d want to be friends with. This is the woman the guy who knows what’s good for him is going to want to ultimately settle down with. If you’re the parent of a college-age child, this is exactly who you want your child to hang around with – and would benefit yourself from having around. She’s unassuming, human in real and recognizable ways, complete with some rumpled bed sheets. She sits open and honest and listening and ready to begin the rest of her life in this moment, which could really be any moment.

She isn’t just any young woman. She is the Blessed Virgin Mary. Portrayed by the most luminous light is the angel Gabriel.

Our calls may not seem as dramatic as being asked to be the mother of the Savior of the World – but then again, they do often seem that way. And they seem that way because they are. Our calls are about good and evil, about our personal participation in Salvation History. About bringing Christ to our neighbor, at our office, in our homes. Yes, this is the greatest drama there is.

The image is fresh in my mind, as we encounter Mary at the start of the New Year with her Solemnity today. I saw it a few months ago at the University of Mary in Bismarck, N.D. It’s an 1898 painting by Henry Ossawa Tanner, one that the university’s new, young president, Fr. James Shea, made the graphical image of his inaugural events. And what better image to put up, front and center, on a Catholic university campus? Alone with her Lord, she is asked to do something life- and world-changing. Alone with the Lord, she’s asked to trust in Him.

And with her “freedom of choice” she says “yes.”

Discussing the image, Father Shea explained: “The angel did not say, ‘I will help you to achieve your dreams.’ The angel, in very few words, told her the truth. . .the truth about herself, the purpose of her life, the world in which she lived, the God who had set His heart upon her. And just then, when no one was looking, the whole world started over again.”

What person, especially a young person, doesn’t crave truth? And yet so often our culture, our universities – even our Catholic universities – are skirting that perpetual question, maybe bending over backward to avoid the glorious, eternal-life-saving reality that such a thing exists and is the reason for our being. A campus isn’t populated with young people who are going to be asked to give birth to the savior of the world, but they are called to live differently than Cosmo and FHM and postmodernism tell them they’re supposed to. And the Catholic campus exists to show them the way to do so. Continued at The Catholic Thing

Photo Credit: Philadelphia Museum of Art via ExplorePAhistory.com

Do you feel safer than you did one year ago?

I am more uneasy than ever about President Obama's approach to the War on Terror. He appears to be ignorant of or in denial about the threat we are facing.

The idea that we would treat the Christmas Day terrorist as a common criminal and allow him to lawyer up with the full rights of an American citizen is nuts. Our goal should be to wring every valuable piece of information out of him that we can in order to maximize our chances of preventing similar attacks. His crime was not a common, petty crime, but a vicious, inhumane act of war.

Then again, President Obama will not even acknowledge that we are at war, having replaced the term "war on terror" with ridiculous phrases like "man-caused disaster" and "overseas contingency operations." Perhaps more troubling is the fact that he refuses to acknowledge the religious dimension of the threat that we face. How do you fight an enemy that you won't even acknowledge exists? And, don't even get me started about his plan to transfer dangerous terrorists onto American soil, by imprisoning them in my home state of Illinois.

The President's rhetoric, while fitting for the types of debates found on liberal college campuses where people who have never lived in the real world make all kinds of naive and idealistic pronouncements, is unbecoming for a President whose first and foremost task is to defend the United States against its enemies.

I cannot help but fear that the policy changes he has implemented regarding the War on Terror will eventually result in a large number of Americans getting killed.

Do you feel safer under President Obama than under President Bush? I certainly do not.

Wakeup call for the White House

Michael Ramirez, Investors business Daily

This week's violence in Iran

Michael Ledeen, posting at the Corner, provides an update and analysis of the events in Iran:

Here are the key points from Iran over the last 3-4 days: First, in line with my basic sermon these many years, if you study the videos you will see many many women in the front ranks. They have every reason to be there, as the Islamic Republic (like so many Islamic regimes) is built on the sludge of misogyny.

Second, many of the evil Basij goons wore masks. This is new, and it indicates fear that they will be identified and hunted down. The conflict is ever more violent: On several occasions, crowds attacked security forces, even dragging them out of cars — and then, cursing them, letting them run away.

Third, in another ominous development for the regime, people from the southern (lower-class) neighborhoods of Tehran joined in. The revolt is now very broad based. But it is not yet powerful enough for the Bazaaris to join: Today the Tehran Bazaar was open for business.

Fourth, the regime has been stripped of religious legitimacy by its own panic-driven brutality. By invading mosques and hosseiniyas, by assaulting family members of leading clerics (Grand Ayatollah Sanei is under house arrest), and by ordering murder on Ashura, the supreme leader has violated a whole series of previously sacrosanct rules. I will be surprised if we do not soon hear from Iraq's Grand Ayatollah Sistani.

Finally, there is still no national strike of the sort that paralyzed the shah's regime 31 years ago. But this may come: There were Twitter reports yesterday saying that Mousavi was calling for a strike on January 7.

There is now a state of emergency throughout the country (although some cities are still in open revolt), and many angry calls for the arrest of Mousavi and Karroubi, which would surely provoke more massive demonstrations and perhaps even the use of weapons by the people (even today, Molotov cocktails were thrown at security forces in central Tehran). If this were a normal regime, I'd expect a cooling-down period; but it isn't a normal regime, so it's unpredictable.

Meanwhile, the Western world clicks its collective tongue and criticizes "the violence" and the lack of respect for rights of free speech and assembly, as if that were the point. Not a single Western "leader" has found the nerve and the common sense to denounce the regime and call for regime change. Indeed, President Obama couldn't drag himself away from the beach and the basketball court on Oahu to say anything at all. Nor could our secretary of state. Or Robert Gates, for that matter, whose men and women are being blown up in Iraq and Afghanistan, courtesy of the mullahs.

Notable quote

New York mayor Michael Bloomberg on health care reform:

"You know, if you really want to object to something in this bill, number one, I have asked congressperson after congressperson. Not one can explain to me what's in the bill, even in the House version. Certainly not in the other version," Bloomberg said during an appearance on "Meet the Press." "And so for them to vote on a bill that they don't understand whatsoever, really, you got to question how-- what kind of government we have." Source

Terror attack in the skies - who exactly is wearing the hand cuffs here?

Talk about a close call.

A terrorist's attempt to blow up an American airliner in-flight on Christmas Day is foiled only by a detonator that malfunctions.

He is in custody, and under the new policies of the Obama administration, he now has a right to remain silent. So who exactly is wearing the hand cuffs here?

Really, makes one feel safe, doesn't it?

Below is some pertinent commentary on the terror attack from the Corner.

Andy McCarthy:

Though I share their outrage, I think outraged readers are missing the point. The people now in charge of our government believe Clinton-era counterterrorism was a successful model. They start from the premise that terrorism is a crime problem to be managed, not a war to be won. Overdone "war on drugs" rhetoric aside, we don't try to "win" against (as in "defeat") law-enforcement challenges. We expect them to happen from time to time and to contain, but never completely prevent, the damage.

Here, no thanks to the government, the plane was not destoyed, and we won't get to the bottom of the larger conspiracy (enabling the likes of Napolitano to say there's no indication of a larger plot — much less one launched by an international jihadist enterprise) because the guy got to lawyer up rather than be treated like a combatant and subjected to lengthy interrogation. But the terrorist will be convicted at trial (this "case" tees up like a slam-dunk), so the administration will put it in the books as a success ... just like the Clinton folks did after the '93 WTC bombers and the embassy bombers were convicted. In their minds, litigation success equals national security success.

It is a dangerously absurd viewpoint, but it was clear during the campaign that it was Obama's viewpoint. The American people — only seven years after 9/11 — elected him anyway. As we learn more painfully everyday, elections matter.

Jonah Goldberg:

Understandbly, the White House is trying very hard to get out in front of the would-be Christmas bomber story. The head of the Department of Homeland Security isn't helping. I watched her on three shows and each time she was more annoying, maddening and absurd than the pevious appearance. It is her basic position that the "system worked" because the bureaucrats responded properly after the attack. That the attack was "foiled" by a bad detonator and some civilian passengers is proof, she claims, that her agency is doing everything right. That is just about the dumbest thing she could say, on the merits and politically. I would wager that not one percent of Americans think the system is "working" when terrorists successfully get bombs onto planes (and succeed in activating them). Probably even fewer think it's fair that they have to take off their shoes, endure delays and madness while a known Islamic radical — turned in by his own father — can waltz onto a plane (and into the country). DHS had no role whatsoever in assuring that this bomb didn't go off. By her logic if the bomb had gone off, the system would have "worked" since it has done everything right.

Napolitano has a habit of arguing that DHS is a first responder outfit. Its mission is to deal with "man-caused-disasters" afer they occur. It appears she really believes it. If the White House wants to assure people that it takes the war on terror seriously (a term Robert Gibbs used this morning by the way), they could start by firing this patenly unqualified hack...

"No Room at the Inn"

No Room at the Inn, the latest op/ed from Kathryn Jean Lopez at National Review, makes for a nice companion piece to my Christmas reflection.

Ms. Lopez writes:

Mary Dodd is alive today because her mother said “yes” when Mary entered her life. Now Mary’s mom is part of an effort to make sure that there is always room at an inn for mothers who want to say “yes” to unplanned babies, but need the support to carry through with the choice.

Lacy Dodd was a senior at the University of Notre Dame when she realized she was pregnant. Her boyfriend wanted no part of the child they had made together, but abortion was not an option as far as Lacy was concerned.

She was blessed: She had faith and she had family. Last spring, she wrote movingly about the day her daughter was born: “On All Saints Day 1999, I gave birth to baby Mary. Her name is no accident. This Mary was living inside me while I walked the campus of a university dedicated to a woman who is mother of us all, and it was Mary Our Mother who gave me courage when I was afraid of what would lie ahead. Mary teaches us always to be open to seeking the will of God in our lives, no matter what it is, and never to be afraid of God’s will. God’s will may contain suffering, but God’s will also brings peace and joy. When we place ourselves at God’s disposal, he will do great things for us.”

On that day, she says, Lacy’s father “took one look at Mary in my arms and said to me, ‘This is your gift for making the right decision.’”

Needless to say, not every college student who finds herself pregnant gets that kind of support.

Last spring, moved to tell her story by the controversy involving Notre Dame’s bestowing an honorary degree on President Obama, an advocate of legal abortion (and then some), Lacy Dodd wrote of the consolation she found in her faith as a scared college student: “No amount of shame or embarrassment would ever lead me to get rid of my baby. Of all women, Our Lady could surely feel pity for an unplanned pregnancy. I recalled her surrendered love to God’s invitation to become the home of the Incarnate Word. ‘Let it be done to me according to thy word,’ she had said. In my hour of need, on my knees, I asked Mary for courage and strength. And she did not disappoint.”

And that strength guides her as a mother, an activist, and a role model. Today Lacy lives in Charlotte, N.C., and is involved with Room at the Inn, a Catholic organization there that provides support to pregnant women and young mothers. They’re currently raising money to build an inn at Belmont Abbey, a Catholic college.

The Benedictine monks there have already donated the land for the inn, believing that “we should put into action our faith commitment in the sanctity of human life,” Abbot Placid Solari explains. The plan is for a facility that will house 15 moms and their children, infants and toddlers, adjacent to campus.

“College women now account for a little more than half the abortions that occur nationwide,” Jeannie Wray, executive director of Room at the Inn, explains. “They are the most abortion-vulnerable population that we have.” And while “there are many maternity homes that focus on other populations of women,” she worries that there is a real lack of support for college women, specifically. “We receive several calls each month from college students who need help, need a place to go, who are fearful that they will have to forfeit their education if they don’t have an abortion. The need is very real and it is here now. The need is as real here in North Carolina as anywhere else in the country. Our current residential facility is full, and all our residents have had their babies and are going to continue their post–high school education”...Continued

A Christmas Reflection

To me, one of the most striking parts of the Nativity story is the moment of realization that there would be "no room at the inn."

Anyone who has traveled late into the evening and faced uncertain prospects regarding lodging has most likely had a brief moment or two of uneasiness at the thought that one may not have anywhere to stay.

Imagine then, being in a foreign land, nine months pregnant, evening approaching, and facing just that dilemma. And, in the end, only a manger in the offing.

We have, of course, romanticized the manger in the inumerable and beautiful nativity scenes that are displayed each Christmas. But the reality is that Mary and Joseph, alone and pregnant, were relegated to a stable full of animals, with all the unpleasantries that such lodging would entail.

There they would spend the night and there Mary would ultimately give birth to their Son. Our Savior.

I cannot help, on this Christmas Eve, but to think of all the women through the centuries who have faced pregnancy and impending childbirth with uncertain prospects. Perhaps mired in poverty. Or, pregnant in a time of war or disease. Or, lacking material means. How many women, in contrast to Mary, lacked the support of a loving husband like Joseph. Abandoned, perhaps, even by the father of their unborn child.

And yet so many of these women through the centuries persevered to give birth to their baby and then showered him or her with love as only a mother can. A mother's love, a gift greater than all the material wealth in the world.

This Christmas Eve, I also cannot help but to think of how many women today still face pregnancy in the midst of such difficulties. Unmarried. Meager finances. A college education or professional career in jeopardy. Lacking family support. Abandoned by the father of the child. The list goes on.

With Christmas upon us once again, let us pray for these women.

Let us pray that they find acceptance and support from those around them.

Let us pray that they will choose life. And, let us work tirelessy to find ways to encourage them and support them in that choice.

Let us support pro-life organizations and programs.

Let us support pro-life pregnancy centers and homes for unwed mothers.

Let us pray for a renewed respect for the dignity of women.

Let us pray for a renewed appreciation for chastity and sexual restraint.

Let us foster a renewed understanding of the importance and wisdom of reserving sexual activity to marriage.

Indeed, let us each strive to do our part so that a day will come when no woman will feel alone in the face of an impending pregnancy. So that no woman is lacking in the love, support, and resources she needs to choose life.

Above all, let us pray.

Merry Christmas!

Homily - Pope Benedict XVI - Christmas Eve Mass

The text:

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

"A child is born for us, a son is given to us" (Is 9:5). What Isaiah prophesied as he gazed into the future from afar, consoling Israel amid its trials and its darkness, is now proclaimed to the shepherds as a present reality by the Angel, from whom a cloud of light streams forth: "To you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord" (Lk 2:11). The Lord is here. From this moment, God is truly "God with us". No longer is he the distant God who can in some way be perceived from afar, in creation and in our own consciousness. He has entered the world. He is close to us. The words of the risen Christ to his followers are addressed also to us: "Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age" (Mt 28:20). For you the Saviour is born: through the Gospel and those who proclaim it, God now reminds us of the message that the Angel announced to the shepherds. It is a message that cannot leave us indifferent. If it is true, it changes everything. If it is true, it also affects me. Like the shepherds, then, I too must say: Come on, I want to go to Bethlehem to see the Word that has occurred there. The story of the shepherds is included in the Gospel for a reason. They show us the right way to respond to the message that we too have received. What is it that these first witnesses of God’s incarnation have to tell us?

The first thing we are told about the shepherds is that they were on the watch – they could hear the message precisely because they were awake. We must be awake, so that we can hear the message. We must become truly vigilant people. What does this mean? The principal difference between someone dreaming and someone awake is that the dreamer is in a world of his own. His "self" is locked into this dreamworld that is his alone and does not connect him with others. To wake up means to leave that private world of one’s own and to enter the common reality, the truth that alone can unite all people. Conflict and lack of reconciliation in the world stem from the fact that we are locked into our own interests and opinions, into our own little private world. Selfishness, both individual and collective, makes us prisoners of our interests and our desires that stand against the truth and separate us from one another. Awake, the Gospel tells us. Step outside, so as to enter the great communal truth, the communion of the one God. To awake, then, means to develop a receptivity for God: for the silent promptings with which he chooses to guide us; for the many indications of his presence. There are people who describe themselves as "religiously tone deaf". The gift of a capacity to perceive God seems as if it is withheld from some. And indeed – our way of thinking and acting, the mentality of today’s world, the whole range of our experience is inclined to deaden our receptivity for God, to make us "tone deaf" towards him. And yet in every soul, the desire for God, the capacity to encounter him, is present, whether in a hidden way or overtly. In order to arrive at this vigilance, this awakening to what is essential, we should pray for ourselves and for others, for those who appear "tone deaf" and yet in whom there is a keen desire for God to manifest himself. The great theologian Origen said this: if I had the grace to see as Paul saw, I could even now (during the Liturgy) contemplate a great host of angels (cf. in Lk 23:9). And indeed, in the sacred liturgy, we are surrounded by the angels of God and the saints. The Lord himself is present in our midst. Lord, open the eyes of our hearts, so that we may become vigilant and clear-sighted, in this way bringing you close to others as well!

Let us return to the Christmas Gospel. It tells us that after listening to the Angel’s message, the shepherds said one to another: "‘Let us go over to Bethlehem’ … they went at once" (Lk 2:15f.). "They made haste" is literally what the Greek text says. What had been announced to them was so important that they had to go immediately. In fact, what had been said to them was utterly out of the ordinary. It changed the world. The Saviour is born. The long-awaited Son of David has come into the world in his own city. What could be more important? No doubt they were partly driven by curiosity, but first and foremost it was their excitement at the wonderful news that had been conveyed to them, of all people, to the little ones, to the seemingly unimportant. They made haste – they went at once. In our daily life, it is not like that. For most people, the things of God are not given priority, they do not impose themselves on us directly And so the great majority of us tend to postpone them. First we do what seems urgent here and now. In the list of priorities God is often more or less at the end. We can always deal with that later, we tend to think. The Gospel tells us: God is the highest priority. If anything in our life deserves haste without delay, then, it is God’s work alone. The Rule of Saint Benedict contains this teaching: "Place nothing at all before the work of God (i.e. the divine office)". For monks, the Liturgy is the first priority. Everything else comes later. In its essence, though, this saying applies to everyone. God is important, by far the most important thing in our lives. The shepherds teach us this priority. From them we should learn not to be crushed by all the pressing matters in our daily lives. From them we should learn the inner freedom to put other tasks in second place – however important they may be – so as to make our way towards God, to allow him into our lives and into our time. Time given to God and, in his name, to our neighbour is never time lost. It is the time when we are most truly alive, when we live our humanity to the full... Continued

New Homes for the Poor

Through January 31st, a few generous donors will match all gifts to Food for the Poor's initiative to build new houses for the poor. Click here for details.

Coach Kelly takes the reins at Notre Dame

The first five minutes of the press conference (from ESPN):