Being! Or Nothingness

Bush Appoints Another Catholic to the Court

Ok, so maybe the religion of the nominee doesn't matter . . . but by my count that makes 5 . . . Roberts, Scalia, Thomas, Kennedy, and now . . . Alito.

Talk about a judicial monastery!

What's interesting to me is what this says about a Catholic perspective of Jurisprudence and the virtue of work.  All of the catholics currently on the court, Kennedy included, take the questions of law seriously.  They have a developed, articulate, and nuanced judicial philosophy which, even when there is disagreement, there is honest and intelligent debate about those points.  Kennedy, who is considered the more "liberal" of the bunch is by no means a radical.

But judicial philosophy alone does not a supreme court justice make.  The other factor is their long and thoughtful careers.  These men have taken their work seriously and pursued it as a great good while at the same time being responsible fathers, friends, and citizens.

The fact that President Bush and the conservative movement find judges like Alito so appealing is rooted in that they are not ideological.  Yes, this is what the left will accuse them of, but it's an empty accusation.  Alito has ideas, he adheres to a philosophy that informs his decision making, and he adheres to a religion that emphasizes human freedom as the greatest good.  However, as the news reports are indicating (and the conservative bloggers and commentators are emphasizing) he is a man who has made judicial decisions quite contrary to his own ideas because they were legitimate legal conclusions.

It will be interesting to see how this nomination plays out, but I for one think that the most interesting thing about this nomination process is a question that starts to arise . . . why don't evangelicals make good judges?  I mean, Sandra Day O'Connor and William Rhenquist both came from traditional protestant backgrounds.  Who were the names being touted by conservatives that came out of evangelical churches?  I wonder why the evangelical establishment has not yet cried "mark of the beast" or "whore of babylon" about these judges  . . . God knows the radio crazies have.

The Question Facing Us

"The question facing us who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ today is this one: “Does our faith interpret adequately the characteristic experiences of post-modern men and women, and if so, how?” We really should not speak of facing a “crisis” of faith. Instead, we should be aware of having a task before us."  --Msgr. Lorenzo Albacete

Read the whole intervention at Msgr. Albacete's Blog:  The New Berchet

Don Gius: The Wonder of "the Presence," The Dependent "I"

From the latest issue of Traces:

What is the formula for the journey to the ultimate meaning of reality? Living the real. There is an experience, hidden yet implied, of that arcane, mysterious presence to be found within the opening of the eye, within the attraction reawakened by things, within the beauty of things, within an amazement, full of gratitude, comfort, and hope. And this is so because these things move themselves in such a way that they serve me, are useful to me. Numbered among these things is myself as well–myself, in whom that presence which is concealed, hidden, becomes close, because it is here, forming me but also informing me of good and evil.

ND Football Announces Historic Changes

Literally . . . you gotta love Onion Sports.

With their football renaissance derailed, at least for the moment, by a current 5-2 record that includes losses to rivals USC and unranked Michigan State, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have elected to improve in the one area where they still outclass all other college football teams: their legendary history.

"Although we have great hopes for the future of our football program, Notre Dame has greater hopes for a facet of that program that is far more important to our university: our past," Notre Dame athletic director Kevin White said in a press conference Monday. "With that in mind, we will be making improvements, additions, and revisions that, like our history itself, have been 118 years in the making."

Risk of Education

From Zenit:

Risk of Education, According to Monsignor Giussani
Founder's Book Republished

ROME, OCT. 28, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Monsignor Luigi Giussani's book "The Risk of Education" has been published anew -- to help meet pressing needs.

"Today we are before a profound crisis of the human, endorsed by the passivity of so many young people and the skepticism of many adults," said Father Julián Carrón, who succeeded Monsignor Giussani in the presidency of Communion and Liberation ecclesial movement.

"Catholic schools leave no mark in life, no lasting trace," Father Carrón lamented.

"What is most wanting," he added, "is a method to teach, that is, an itinerary with which a person can verify Christianity's capacity to humanize, to educate reason and freedom, so that it can make a contribution to a person's way of being in the world, to the good of all."

Father Carrón, who took part in the Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist, presented the reprint of Monsignor Giussani's book last month at the Patristic Institute Augustinianum.

Monsignor Giussani, the founder of Communion and Liberation, died last February at age 82. His funeral was presided over by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, then prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Due in Russian

"The main topic for us, in all our speeches, is education," Monsignor Giussani used to say. He had been a teacher in Milan's Berchet High School and professor in that city's Catholic University.

His book presents in a systematic and critical way the principles of an educational proposal based on the communication of a tradition. The objective is to liberate young people and enable them to evaluate things critically.

The volume, first published in 1977, is now available in English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Czech, Polish and Romanian. Editions in Russian and Hungarian will be available in 2006.

New Look . . . what do you think?

Leave me a comment and tell me what you think  . . . I might try a few out over the week and see what I like . . .

23rd Post Meme

On your blog...

1. Go into your archives.
2. Find your 23rd post (or closest to it).
3. Post the fifth sentence (or closest to it).
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.
5. Tag five other people to do the same thing.

My 23rd blog post was:  This is cool-moe . . . in my opinion

And the second sentence (it's the closest to 5th):  "It's cool!  I like mountains, I like il Papa, and I love the dramatic feel of the whole scene."

You can thank Sharon over at Clarity's Place for that.  These memes . . . sheesh!  LOL

And here's to you, Harriet Meiers

Jesus loves you more than you would know, woah woah woah.

Ok, so my observations are neither timely nor particularly unique, but here they go anyway.  Harriet Meiers was clearly not the "best we can do" pick out of the White House for the Supreme Court.  Conservatives reacted with a vengeance and ultimately applied so much pressure that she "withdrew" herserlf from consideration for this nomination.  Fine.  Big deal.  But what's really going on?

First:  W has lost his base.  He was always the "best we can do" candidate for philosophical and cultural conservatives, but none were ever really excited about his presidency.  He is a pragmatist, and not a very good one at that.  He has made decisions time and time again that have completely alienated constituents who voted for him. 

His base was a loose amalgamation of philosophical and cultural conservatives on one side and coutnry club Republicans on the other.  In the middle were the vast majority of Americans who neither understand nor really care about this divide in Republican politics and voted for W because it's what Jesus would have done, or because he would fight harder against the terrorists, or because they looked at the other side and said "No, way, I'm not stupid."

The seems of the very "big tent" have ripped.  Conservatives who are in ascendancy in the Party have declared an all out war on the President.  "We will push you to the right, or we will push you out."  This is the message.  Harriet Meiers was the test case.  Bush capitulated.  Conservatives celebrated.  The winner is clear.

Sam Brownback for President??  Or maybe even Santorum?  Where was he in all the Meiers mess?  Planning, I bet.

Second:  The Meiers fight indicates the left's dream come true.  While they have spent the last 15 years arguing among themselves, Republicans have slowly and surely taken control of the federal government.  Democrats have been in no position to fight back because they are severely crippled from the inside.  Their big tent is too big and no one will work with each other.  Meanwhile, the republicans have had the "left" to fight.  They were united in saying two things.  "The left be bad." and "We ain't the left."

In politics this is called genius.  A simple message.  A simple identification.  Many votes.  Brilliant.  The left tried to retaliate with similar slogans "The right" "The Conservatives"  "religious zealots" "war mongers" etc.  It was too late.  First, they couldn't agree on an attack and second, too many people were already voting republican and saying "but that doesn't quite describe us."

Now, it is obviously the Right's turn to crack up.  The Left is getting ready to cheer . . . Karl Rove indicted, "Yes!", The right's meltdown over Harriet Meiers "Yes!", high gas prices "Yes!"  2,000 dead in Iraq "Yes!"  It's a party over at the DNC, but it will be shortlived.

In the End:  Harriet Meiers has allowed Conservatives on the Right to refind their voice.  They created and worked friendships and networks to defeat the nomination of Harriet Meiers.  They're talking to each other, they're joking with each other, they're planning with each other.  This isn't the end of the Republican party, it's the first signs of a new Republican Party . . . one that is tougher, better organized, and less willing to settle for a mediocre candidate just because they seem winnable (not just for the SCOTUS but for EVERY office . . . watch who starts getting touted in Republican primaries in Rhode Island and which senators and governors will start getting a lot of face time . . . look to Georgia for a vice president, look to South Dakota for a voice, look to Pennsylvania for a president, look to Arizona for a king maker (and we're not just talking McCain here).

The next Karl Rove will be named Newt Gingrich.  He's back. He's not a face man anymore.  But don't think he didn't have a part in the Right's "sista souljah" moment.  Watch and wait . . . forget the next SCOTUS, look beyond . . . this is all about 2008 . . . and it's gonna be a row.

I'm a Quotation Mark

quotation marks You scored 61% Sociability and 64% Sophistication!

There is a lot more to you than meets the eye. You certainly get plenty of "action," but you'd be happier if those who lusted after you were more selective. You hate being used as a general intensifier; haven't these people ever heard of underlining? Italics? And yes, you remember the cruel words Mr. Joyce directed at you. But you let none of this get you down; those who abuse you are destined for a "special" reward, sooner or later. You feel particularly warm toward periods, commas, exclamation points, and question marks, and usually wish to have them next to you. Parenthesis can sometimes trouble you.

My test tracked 2 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 77% on Sociability You scored higher than 66% on Sophistication

Link: The Which Punctuation Mark Are You Test written by Gazda on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

The Mystery of the Sacrament

The Communion and Liberation International site has a new flash presentation with a quote of Fr. Giussani's on the Eucharist.  It's really beautiful.  You can see a large version here:  The Mystery of the Sacrament